Kenko, my stress buster..

Love that they have an outlet located right across my workplace. Have been popping by rather frequently in the last year whenever I feel the need to soothe out those nasty knots in my muscles. Just 10 mins of massage is all it takes to make me a happy person again. Well, of course it helps that 10 mins of massage only cost $10! ;)

Tis the season to be jolly! Falalalalala!

*Could not resist stuffing my neighbor's santa stocking that's hanging on their front door. Hubs think I'm crazy! :P*

Being a non-Christian does not stop me from indulging in some festivity this season! A team of us from hospital decided to put on our santa hats and spread some good cheer to our home-based patients with christmas carols and a self assembled hamper of goodies each! It was tiring but well worth it especially upon seeing how happy our patients were! =)
We had our annual year end party where I sang Jason Mraz's "lucky" with a colleague of mine. The crowd loved it! Guess my toilet singing paid off and of course it helps that my colleague is musically very talented. Love how we all get to bring out our "hidden talents" during this time of the year! That kinda boost my confidence a little and we performed again at our friend's wedding reception last night - this time a rendition of "chasing cars" by snow patrol.
We also had a great game of secret santa in our team for a month leading into Christmas! Who would have guess that my Santee is also my Santa this year! =)
And finally, Christmas day was spent chilling out with friends at Queen and Mangosteen british pub that served really scrumptious Christmas turkey lunch. The rest of the evening was spent with hubs sipping our favourite brown brothers moscato with crackers and cheese while we watched Coraline on DVD. Nice! =)

Hope you had a good Christmas too! =)

R.I.P, Scruffy

We will miss you very very much...

Crazy weekend!

Went to yet another GF's hen party on Friday and I ended up going to bed at 4 am! Slept the whole day away yesterday and I had to haul myself outta bed for a kid's birthday party in the evening. It was quite funny because we were drinking so much (free flow of alcohol!) and running around asking men for their underwear, phone numbers and chest hair on Friday and then it was birthday cake and kids screaming on Saturday! What a contrast! Haha!

Anyhoo, this coming week is hub's birthday week! Have yet to decide on a place for dinner but I have bought tickets to Maksim Mrvica's concert (front row seats!) I'm sure it's going to be blast! Can't wait! =)

Switzerland- Pilatus

More than meets the eye...

I am not blind, ya know!

Slow cooking

Been a long time since I put my slow cooker into good use. Decided to so today since I've got a wedding to attend this evening and hubs will be having dinner on his own. Love how idiot-proof and easy it is to prepare a meal with it. Today it will be pork chops with mixed vegetables (peas and carrots) and lotsa barbecue sauce. There will be plenty of soup remaining from lunch as well. Guess that should keep hubs from eating badly when I am away! =)

Switzerland- Luzern

Jet lagged! @@

Argh..can't sleep! Still functioning on Swiss time and I've to work in a few hours! =( Let's hope my first day back at work will whisk by without me needing to use my brains too much! *fingers crossed*

Switzerland - Zurich

Am baaaack...

...from my 10 days trip to Switzerland! Actually it was sorta a mini Europe trip with one day in France and a weekend in Germany. Based myself in Basel where my friend is staying and we took the train out for day trips from there. Had a wonderful time meeting up with my friends and the Swiss Alps was absolutely gorgeous! =) This is the first time I'm traveling with just an air- ticket and zero plans and it was fantastic! ( I even forgot to bring an extra SD card for all the pictures I was going to take. Thank goodness I got to upload them onto my friend's computer so I could have space for more pics!) Wish i could stay a little longer but alas it's back to the grind tomorrow! Well, I can only look forward to my major break in 3 mths' time. Yippeee! =) Gotta do my laundry and go the the supermarket to stock up on food today. Poor hubs has been eating badly for the past week and waking up late for work because his walking talking alarm clock was missing. Haha! Alright then, I'll be posting some random pics I took on this trip in the meantime..enjoy! =)

*Sniff Sniff Cough*

Feeling a little under the weather. The flu bug is floating around again. *blows nose*
Need to be well for work tomorrow. Boss is away on course for three days and I am holding the fort! =S
Wish me luck!

Weekend!

Yippee that my workshop was finally over yesterday! =) This is actually my first in my working career. Have given talks before but never a day long workshop. Glad it went well and it helped that I had two very knowledgeable colleagues who were conducting it with me! Was really tired by the end of the day but happy that the knowledge was shared. More to come, most definitely! =)

Lovely Sunday morning! Have got a bunch of things to do today:

1) Clean my bunnies' cage
2) Grocery shopping
3) Cut my hair (Need a change but am too chickened for anything too drastic. Hmm... or maybe I should just leave it in the hands of the hairstylist??)
4) Plan for my Switzerland trip! =) (have got a list of things I've got to bring over for my friend there!)
5) Work on my current major project (one that is driving me administratively crazy! )

Alright, off to do some work now!

Have a great Sunday, you all! =D

A word of advice

There is no need to be nasty or to lay a guilt trip on someone to get things done. Sometimes, all you need to do is to ask [nicely].
Well, just too bad...

You do your part as I have done mine.

The love of my life

Meet Scruffy, a lion-head lop bought from a local pet shop by my sister more than a year ago. He's a real sweetheart with a great personality! I decided to take over his care when my sister could not provide him with enough attention and he has given us much joy since! This is him sound asleep. =)



Here we have the lovebirds (or lovebuns)- Chewy (grey) and Alfonso (black). We adopted Chewy from an animal shelter in Michigan about 5 years ago. Wanted to name her Corey initially but changed our minds when she started chewing up our apartment furniture! Brought her back with us when we had to return to Singapore and was glad she made the trip! A real hardy girl and very poise at the same time! Love her to bits!

Alfonso was adopted in Singapore from a friend who decided to breed her bunnies and then give them all up for adoption. We picked Alfonso because he stood out from the rest of his siblings. He was the only black bunny despite the fact that his parents were both white and brown and he had splay legs. He doesn't warm up as easily to us but I am glad he bonded well with Chewy and it is so cute to see them so lovey dovey together! Aww...
If you look closely enough, you will notice that he is missing a ear. We discovered a lump on his ear sometime early this year and it turned out to be malignant melanoma. The poor bun had to undergo two surgeries to have his tumor excised. He recovered amazingly well and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will continue to lead a healthy life together with the love of his life! =)

So there...my three lovely bunnies. They who keep me sane. =)

Beware of the candy eating child!

Do Candy-Eating Kids Become Criminal Adults?

Woah...so now I am at risk of turning into a criminal?! ;)

Lunch conversation with hubs

Me: Do you think we are getting our priorities in life mixed up?

Hubs: Why do you say that?

Me: Well, we spend almost all of our time at work and most of our weekends working on projects and more work at home. All these at the expense of our personal life and family time. Perhaps we should relook at what is really important to us. Why must it always take a terminal illness or a life changing event for someone to decide that they really should be spending more time with their family and friends or doing something that they have always wanted to do?

Hubs: You are being irrational here. I am enjoying what I am doing now. Why, are you suffering from a terminal illness?

Me: NOooo?!

Hubs: Then perhaps we should have this conversation again when one of us do!

Me: #@!$& *bangs head against wall*

Wii...!

Had a cosy all girls gathering at MW's place yesterday. Great fun. Went crazy playing Nintendo Wii and we were all so physically drained by the end of the evening. Guess that's enough exercise for the week! ;)

Letting go...

In preparation of my leaving, we decided it was best that I started training my next in line to take over my work. Handing over has already begun and it is starting to depress me. I must learn to let go however hard it is.

No one is truly indispensable.

中秋节

With Mid- Autumn Festival around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with a nice hot pot of Chinese tea and my favourite snow-skin mooncakes? =)

PS. The green tea mooncake from Ritz Carlton is particularly good! Skin stays soft despite refrigeration. Am most impressed!

Much anticipated break =)

I have just booked my flight tickets to Switzerland in October! It is only for shortly over a week but I just wanna get out of this country and far away from work! Will get to bunk in with a colleague of mine who is currently staying there with her hubs. Hopefully I'll get to visit my friend in Germany as well if his schedule allows. Can't wait! Woohoo!!!

I spy with my little eye...

Why do I have this feeling that someone I know is secretly reading my blog?
Well, then again...maybe not. ;)

Tis the season for getting marrrieeed!

I have already got 5 wedding invitations starting from next week till December! Do these people know what they are getting themselves into?! :P
Anyhoo, here's Austin Powers and his mojo from our hen party last night.


May the bride-to-be have a very productive year ahead! *Yeah baby!* =)

Need. Some. Love.

It was a last minute decision to have the contractors come in to fix our lights and paint the ceiling yesterday under the watchful eye of my MIL. Now here I am on my only Saturday off in weeks with three loads of laundry and an extremely filthy home. My curtains have also been removed and hooked back incorrectly so now they can't open properly and I can't rectify it without a really tall ladder. Sucks really. Wish there is someone else in the apt who can help me. I need my mommy! =(

A beautiful cover of Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter"

A reason, a season or a lifetime...

It all makes sense now. That it was only meant to be for a season. Friendship that will however last a lifetime in our hearts. =)

"That's it? You made me come here first thing in the morning for this?"

That was what the contractor said after assessing the situation in my home today. Gosh...what was he hoping to find? My whole apartment in shatters?!? *faints*
Anyway, they have removed the dangling piece of ceiling so I am feeling much more at ease now. Kept having the mental image of the loose piece falling and crashing through my windows! Am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of my false ceiling in the living room do not decide to give way as well. Apparently the previous contractor (from the previous owner) had not secured the wood panel properly so there is a possibility that I might get smashed to pancake just sitting under my roof watching TV. *gasps!* Better go inspect for cracks now....@@

The day my roof came crashing down...

Ok, actually it is more like my ceiling came crashing down. The wood panel for my false ceiling must have weakened and gave way resulting in this:


Thank goodness my main living room ceiling is still intact and no one was hurt. Why do these things happen to me? Sigh.

Be Inspired

Officially a [Mac] cult member

Slept really badly last night. My body was so sore from pole class and my 11/2 hrs gym session on successive days. I really should have been kinder to myself.

Anyhoo..managed to take the afternoon off to catch up on lost sleep today (Thank you, boss!). Am feeling much rested now. To make things sweeter, hubs returned home with a pressie for me - a brand new Macbook Pro! *woohoo!* It is funny that hubs is even more excited about it than I am! Haha! He is helping me set it up at the moment. Can't wait to fiddle with it soon! =)

Am so glad it's Friday already! It's off to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) this weekend for my friend's engagement! *Woot!* Back on Monday!
Enjoy the weekend, you all! =D

During the [blog] lull period...

...a failed IVF and a very heartbroken colleague. I wish their families didn't have to put her through so much pressure...

... an arranged marriage and a friend who is about to sacrifice all that she has here - a good job and her friends to move to Malaysia to be with a man she hardly knows for the rest of her life. She is scared shitless. Who wouldn't be?

...disappointment. From a friend who never keeps to his word. Why do I even care?

...the possiblity of working out something with HR to fly me back periodically next year to help out with our departments' work processes/ audits. I am not sure how this is going to work. Boss will need to be clear on her expectations of me. We shall see. Some source of income is always good but I think I will be pretty happy bumming as well. Haha.

Alright..gotta get to work. (Yes..on a bright and sunny sunday morning!) Need to prepare my slides for my upcoming workshop! *bleah!*

Gooood Morning, All! =)

(Happy House, Singapore)

Samurai Dog

(Kyoto, Japan)

Long weekend! Woohoo!

Am on leave these 2 days. Thought it'd be good to take some time off work to recharge and to clear some clutter from our apartment. Have already got bags of clothes and stuff I hardly use waiting to be transported to the Salvation Army. *Woot!* Will work on my study room tomorrow - time to recycle those journal articles. I will refrain from buying any more clothes, shoes or anything at all from now on. Could certainly do with less stress with the packing next year!
Busy weekend ahead! Got a wedding to attend on Saturday, friends coming over on Sunday and a housewarming party to go to on Monday (which incidentally is a public holiday because it's our National day on Sunday). And for the first time in a long while I'm actually going to watch our National day parade on TV this year. Both my mum and aunty will be participating in a dance segment for the parade so I'll need to keep a lookout for them! :) In addition, pole dancing will be featured in this year's parade. I'll definitely be giving the girls my support! =) Not surprising, it has already created a stir among our very conservative netizens. Oh well...

It can only get deeper

(Curious goat in India)

"As long as there is love, there is hope"

The Love of Siam is an endearing, romantic film with a homosexual theme (but nothing overtly offensive) between two good looking teenage boys. Essentially, the movie centers on family, friendship, love and hope. Watched it at the cinema yesterday and I was teary-eyed most of the time! Well worth a watch so do catch it if you can. In the meantime, enjoy the theme song! =)

The subconscious speaks...

Been dreaming alot lately. Reminiscence seems to be the recurring theme. Maybe it is all that talk about leaving (I finally broke the news to my boss and some of my colleagues). Feelings are still a little muddled at this point but it will be hard when the time comes for me to leave for the States second time round. Family. Friends. Work. I am going to miss them all. Sigh.

Let's Recycle!

Ueno Park (Tokyo, Japan)

Serenity

Bronze Buddha of Sinheungsa (Gangwon Province, Korea)

A Tribute To Love

Taj Mahal (Agra, India)

Aren't they the sweetest thing? =)

Turning to greens

I have a confession to make - I hate vegetables. Green vegetables to be more precise. I try to avoid them whenever possible so you can imagine the meals prepared by me are not the most balanced of diet. Lately, hubby has been putting on some extra pounds and I'm starting to feel a tad guilty for not giving him a healthier choice of food (there's just way too much meat). I started searching the web for some healthy recipes and I found this:
The Minimalist: 101 Simple Salads for the Season
How timely! I must say the salads actually do look yummy here. For all you know, I might actually be a convert after trying some of these! And with my family history of cancer, I really don't think colon cancer is the way to go...

Best to stay fit and eat healthy! =)

Coveting

*To hubs: How about earning some brownie points with that bonus of yours, huh? ;)*

Plant magic

Air plants on sale (HortPark, Singapore)

I am generally not too good with plants. I wish I could be more nuturing but alas I have failed miserably thus far - most have simply withered to nothingness under my [lack of] care. Anyhoo, imagine how thrilled I was when I found these no soil required, hassle-free, live on air plants! I have got one hanging from my kitchen window now and it is surviving longer than any of my plants ever had. One thing I must admit though - it is not thriving as well as it should. I had taken the term "air plant" too literally at first and to make things worse I had placed it under direct sunlight. *I can just see the frowns on your faces now! :P* Am doing all I can to make up to it and I have found some really useful websites to guide me through. I think it will do just fine now! Promise. =)

On the roads in India