Sticky Notes

Yesterday I retrieved something real pretty from my letterbox:

The two lines read "480 decorated stickies in assorted sizes" and "Post Messages and Reminders in Style" :)

The sender hoped these would 'jazz up' my workstation. But who would waste such pretty things on ordinary documents :P

They really do come in assorted designs and sizes... :)

Afternote to earlier post: I realised earlier this afternoon while fiddling around with the 'spoiled' Olympus DSLR that it really wasn't spoiled at all... hahaha. Certain modes appeared spoiled 'cos the exposure settings had been set to like -5EV (which made everything come out black black) I guess it just goes to show that you need to get to know your camera well b4 you can tap on its functions! Yay can save some money and perhaps free-ride when Dad gets another DSLR... (yeah this Dad, always want to buy new gadgets then 80% of time dun really know how to use)

First photography class

Was really looking forward to this class all day and was like a bit kan cheong spider when I couldn't get off work till like 645pm... But luckily I still made it in time :)

My instructor is this pretty young chap in his late 20s maybe and he does some wedding photography as well as documentary photography. The first half of the session was somewhat haphazard and disappointing 'cos he didn't appear very prepared and several times during the class he openly told us he forgot what he wanted to say. I mean, imagine going through the history of photography, then like you forget the year this famous pic was taken, pause for long time and refer to your notes halfway... And he wasn't very articulate; or rather, he wasn't very good at expressing himself/ putting across clearly what he wanted to convey. Which in my opinion is an impt skill for an instructor to possess. Of course, not like I'm in a position to criticise him for that 'cos I know I've made ppl get real impatient with me for taking like super long to say certain things... But on the whole he appeared nice and approachable lah. And I shall not be too critical so soon, as long as the practical bits of the class are decent.

The people in my class seem pretty interesting. There are four teachers in the class - An Indian lady who teaches P5 English; a lady who teaches at Republic Polytechnic and two American guys who teach at the Singapore American School. And apparently both their wives bought them this class as a present. So sweet. I also got to interact with a girl who quit her accounting course to be a freelance videographer... And this 23-yr-old runs a few-wks-old company doing wedding videography for ppl... Out of curiosity I asked her what made her decide on such a bold decision... And she said, "Just do it lor". So brave.

Unfortunately, I didn't really learn much today 'cos Dad's DSLR was spoiled or something; some modes just didn't work. Then when instructor said to do this this this or that that that my camera just couldn't make it... Then like so sao3 xing4. And so I think I'm going to splurge and buy myself my very own DSLR... Even though it might easily cost me my whole month's pay... it might be a huge initial investment well worth it.... No pain no gain?

Poor Boss (II)

Hee just a status update from V-day episode. So yest morning, everyone received a pot of cactus + an artificial rose from you-know-who. And it turns out that the reason why roses weren't given on V-day itself was 'cos Boss had already ordered cacti for us... just that they didn't arrive in time (or he didn't manage to collect in time) Unfortunately, 'cos the 'mini flower pots' had diff designs; it still led to some behind-boss's-back comparisons....

Hai. Moral of story is women can be very petty creatures. Not bad lah; Boss already learnt that if got leftover roses give to the one and only guy in the unit then no one will complain. But next time he should perhaps also bear in mind to give all the ladies the same thing cos else they will still secretly xin1 li2 bu4 ping2 heng2. This bunch of ladies so hard to please, maybe that's why previous boss never give anything, hor ;)

The Kite Runner

If you read the book, think you'll enjoy the movie.
If you haven't read the book, you should still catch this!
If you studied at Berkeley, you HAVE TO watch this!

It was quite an emotional 2 hrs for me; and in particular this kite scene done at the Berkeley Marina made me feel very nostalgic... There are just some places you grow really attached to and know that you long to return to some day. I don't know if the Afghanistan bits were really shot in Afghanistan but I liked the movie for bringing to life the street scenes, the children, the kite-flying... and it made the 1970s Kabul seem like such a bustling and beautiful place. And I like places and buildings that feel old and historical...

Poor Boss

I suppose it's never easy to head a unit of ladies. 'Cos boss set precedent last year by giving everyone a stalk of rose for V-day, some of us were (jokingly) expecting similar treatment this year. That did not happen of course... so early in morning borrowed bouquets of flowers were placed in boss's workstation as hints to him. When he discovered that the lovely flowers were not meant for him; i bet he was secretly thinking... these subordinates damn difficult to please... But we sorta half made up for it by buying him a cake later in afternoon... which apparently made him v touched... but while cutting cake (and so he kept saying he v touched and wanted to share his heart) some ppl still couldn't get over fact this yr no flowers and like kept telling him places to get flowers from... I... erm... have no comments. haha. Our new DD was sympathetic of boss's plight and sent him an email with an animated bouquet of flowers, with the msg "hope this helps".

Later after proper office hours, Boss came over to convey some amendments he wanted me to make to a paper... (smthg like just adding one 's' to something). Then he walked away, self-proclaiming he very 'particular' hor... Then like he asked what's a better word to describe that... Then while he walked down the walkway, I suddenly shouted "anal"... Eh, then boss like got quite violent reaction... saying that it was 'uncouth'... Miss yy was like laughing v loud in her workstation... Hai, I very 'geh kiang' and dunno how to zuo4 ren2 right, but came home and verified with dictionary -- Anal merely means "showing too much concern with small details, especially in a way that annoys other people"... Where got uncouth :P

Past three days at work have been quite crazy... and two ten pms made me terribly, terribly eye-achey :( During times like this I really wish I were a taitai... Nonetheless, managed to squeeze out two lunches with two friends the past two days... and one was at Holland V, after attending a self-initiated lect at the CSC ;P Somehow whenever I'm out somewhere during office hours I feel like my surroundings are brimming with activity and life... perhaps I felt it more keenly after a lonely depressing night in the office... like it's just really refreshing to not be in office.. :P And I discovered a new, week-old yogurt bar at Holland V yest called 'Frolick'. It had good, plain yogurt and cute shop deco... Their walls were evenly polka-dotted with a variety of 'lil badges, with interesting texts like "I like it topless", "Cereal Killer".... And apparently their badges were as appealing as their yogurt -- to itchy fingers that pilfered them off the (street-facing) walls.

Colors of Haji Lane

I returned to Kampong Glam yest evening, this time to check out Haji Lane... 'cos recently heard many good things abt this little street and wanted to check out its quirky stores. Alas! Most of the stores were closed (guess ppl are still resting for CNY)... Instead, I took to photographing some of the shopfronts.

Nice blue gate.

While J was trying stuff, I scouted around outside for photo ops. Above: Shophouse with color-combi I really liked. Below: '46' was painted on one of the pillars outside an adjacent store... to mark the address '46 Haji Lane'.


This was not taken along Haji Lane but at the old Cat high sch. I thought the patterns were cute... and liked the weathering/decay going on on the left-hand side-- an indication that it has prob been around for a while! Wonder how old this wall is.

In the end we settled for dinner at a Turkish restaurant at Kampong Glam... After a very satisfying meal, we strolled to the pedestrianised Bussorah St... past the Morrocan Deli place I dined at the other time. This is prob one of the few nice spots in Sg that's not overly touristy/upmarket, with relatively affordable eating places. There seemed to be a substantial Caucasian crowd, but I couldn't really tell if they were tourists or expats. Prob more expats. We also discovered quite a few ppl smoking sheesha in relatively dark corners/five-foot ways along Haji Lane on our way back. Anyway, the alluring Sultan Mosque by night...

p/s: Actually Haji Lane is not a v colorful st. My pics might be misleading 'cos I only showed you things I chose to snap. As with many things in life, you are unlikely to get the full picture unless you experience it yourself... :)

Singapore Art Museum on Chu1-Er4

Admission was free at the Singapore Art Museum today and I decided to pay it a visit... Not a big fan of new year visiting and too poor/sian to go shopping. There were two exhibitions I wanted to see -- These very pop-artish paintings by Chinese contemporary artist Feng Zhengjie; and hand-woven pieces by renowned S'porean fashion designer Benny Ong (The banner on the left depicts one of his works).
I was very drawn to Feng Zhengjie's art-- Though most of his glamorous women drawings on display were primarily in rather clashing colors of bright pink and green, the overall effect was so... captivating. And I couldn't help but marvel at the nice blend of colors on the life-size oil paintings...
Hee, though I think picture-taking was not allowed, I sneakily took some (Aiyah it didn't seem to be strictly enforced, so I assumed it was ok :P). I somehow really like the shot I captured above, with the men discussing the glam woman painting :P

More glam women paintings... They are all in green/pink style, but took a couple in black-and-white. I think it actually shows how well his shading is done.....

I find this quote very true... on the other side of this wall was an English translation --

It is very easy to change one's appearance or pick up a new kind of fashion - A way or a style to maintain one's looks or a very cosmopolitan lifestyle... But it's not that easy to emulate inner substance and the more intangible values in life.

One of themes that Feng Zhengjie tries to explore is the divide/ tension that exists between the inner life of an individual and the outer face that is turned to the world... Which is supposedly why all his women portraits all have diverging eyes... They are beautiful but disturbing at the same time... and I get the feeling that they are all hiding something...

This last picture was not taken at the SAM, but at a rather run-down building right behind the SAM... and according to my mum, it's the old Catholic High Sch... True enough, I found the words "Gong Jiao Zhong Xue". Though old and somewhat dilapidated, it had quite a serene feel to it. This was one of many little angel statues lining the stone-wall structure fronting the side road. I thought the stairways in the background were really lovely... :)

Had an extremely early (5pm!) reunion dinner at a Teochew restaurant this year. Think ppl are increasingly busy (or lazy) and so dine-out reunion dinners are getting very common. The restaurant I dined at had 3 sessions -- 5pm, 7pm and 9pm... So it was somewhat difficult to like stick around after dinner 'cos restaurant was waiting to 'recycle' our seats :P Nonetheless, it was actually nice to get home early to laze around/tidy up a bit...

Was sorting out letters and re-discovered this letter from DBS... with the Live Fresh credit card enclosed, only pending activation. Wanted to toss it away but decided no harm finding out what's so special abt this credit card... Ok, most of the discounts/offers didn't catch my eye... BUT they had an interesting section with discounts on courses. "15% off aerial photography/ jewellery-making courses", one of the 'perks' read. Upon further investigation, I was directed to the Emily Hill website and the art workshops offered.... and hey, they seem pretty cool. The aerial photography course seems fun and out of the world and I would totally try it if not for the fact that it costs like $400 for 3 sessions. Sigh, out of budget. But I might really go for one of the printmaking/jewellery-making stuff :) Hai, I might activate this credit card after all.....

A Happy Chinese New Year to all!

My problem with FB...

One thing I absolutely detest abt FB is how some applications refuse to let you proceed to a more advanced level/ play around with more interesting features unless you invite XX number of friends. As a result, Facebookers will flood their friends with invitations to add this/that application... Maybe I dun understand the fine details of how things work and there are actually ways to get around this... but this 'requirement' really puts me off! Simply 'cos you have to bug your friends to be able to derive greater utilty/ enjoyment from the application... Else having that application is quite fei4. And I hate doing it 'cos it requires too much 'pro-activeness' for the AS me. And sometimes you invite ppl not really 'cos you want your friends to have the application; but cos you want to find out what this application is capable of and you can't find out unless you invite XXX friends. Like so insincere.

Hee... actually I also dun like how sometimes ppl find you and add you when you scarcely know them. Then like you add all these random ppl as your friends, when in actual fact maybe only like 1/3 of your friends on FB are your friend-friends... In short, these kinda social networking sites not too appealing to AS ppl like me :P (Very mao dun right, then why i still join? Why i dun quit? I guess there's still a tiny KPO streak in me that wants to know what's going on with ppl I know)

That said, I have to say that some applications are pretty cool. Esp those that dun entail these inviting here and there. All the AS-friendly ones lah. Such as the Traveller IQ Challenge thingy.. can just keep playing and playing on my own. But realised my geography really v lousy... haha. Ppl who come up with all these applications can get so creative!

It has been a busy week and am so glad it's Fri! Met up with Ms wong and had a nice lil catch-up session. This was after a long walkabout at Raffles City, bumping into 3 Berkeley ppl at diff spots in shopping mall and being turned away from 2 full-house Jap eating places. We ended up at Canele for dinner cum dessert. The Brioche Burger I ordered was pretty good... but was like surprised by the Chestnut ice-cream cum crepe dessert we shared... 'cos for some weird reason I kept thinking Chestnut=Water Chestnut... so when my ice-cream tasted nothing like that I guess I couldnt hide my surprise :P Earlier today also had special lunch date with tph at Crystal Jade... And earlier yest dear Buddy comforted me after I just got pretty upset with myself & state of affairs arising from some meeting... I'm so happy to have such dear friends around me... For me, in-person interaction beats virtual interaction hands down... (despite being shy and AS) I'm actually quite baffled why ppl can 'sustain' so long and remain so active on Facebook when things you do aren't even real.... In fact, am rather irritated with certain features on Facebook (yeah, I'm weird) but i suppose I shall talk abt it in a separate posting next time :) Time to rest now.

D & D

The D & D we have been planning so long for finally took place at Shangri-La last night... And am relieved that everything went pretty smoothly! Though I was only in charge of a sub-set of the entire event (VIP/Registration) and the team leaders kinda ran most of the show I guess I did pick some valuable experiences. And after unpleasant memories of my dept D & D 1.5 yrs back I was somewhat hesitant to be the stand-on-stage pass trophies/LD prizes girl and kinda requested that I do only a watered-down version... Glad that things really weren't as complicated/ intimidating as the worry wart me had imagined it to be.. and on hindsight I should have been capable of doing all the stuff the whole night. But aiyah at least for a start... paranoid a bit better :P

Also realised that I am really not a v graceful person... So I was vain and tried to do a french pedicure for the evening... but for some reason I managed to (very obviously) ruin the white bit on one nail the very night I had the pedicure... Then was v upset and thought ok, on Sat morning I shall do something to the that toenail... Then when armed with nail polish remover the next day I very absentmindedly forgot that fingers had nail polish too then like kena tissue stuck to forefinger fingernail... Then er, like got one blemished fingernail and toenail now. So in the end I gave up trying to salvage the situation... Lesson learnt: No french mani/pedicure for me next time :P

Mtr Koh

Was doing Party Team stuff today and checking on placement card revisions we had to notify Shangri-La abt. We asked some VIPs how we ought address their spouses -- mainly cos for female VIPs we couldn't possibly address their partners as Ms XX's partner (whereas it was easier for guys cos you can just do Mr and Mrs XXX). Was v puzzled with one set of names... So we expected a particular Mr Koh to reply "you can do Mr XX Koh and Mrs XX Koh". But it was Mr XX Koh and Mtr Gabriel Koh. Now... cos I really had no clue what 'Mtr' meant I was pretty confused. The first thing that came to my mind was... now.... Gabriel should be a guy's name-- this guy cannot be so openly gay right. Then another wild thought crossed my mind -- wah, this guy can't be bringing his mistress along right. Then i thought ok, perhaps it was a typo and he really meant Mrs Gabriel Koh (cos Gabriel is still a relatively 'androgynous' name, though the female version probably has an additonal 'le' behind). So I trotted over to seek some affirmation from tph and she kinda said, possible. Hai, but just so I wasn't being presumptuous I finally decided to clarify.... And it turns out that Mtr really stood for 'Master' and that Mr XX Koh was just bringing his son along. When I saw that email I couldn't help but go.... Oh......! So suaku, right ;) Actually might have heard of little boys being addressed as Master XXX, but it just didn't occur to me Mtr would mean that!

Me feels very sian. But dun really have much free time to like rot & just do nothing. I shall blog abt something frivolous today; before continuing with some work... :(

So yest afternoon was like listening to some old songs I had on my laptop... Then I like realised (after 4 years of ownership maybe) that this song I have -- Somebody by Depeche Mode actually had such aawwww lyrics. esp like the latter half of the 1st stanza... but 2nd stanza like a bit questionable...

Somebody - Depeche Mode

I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who’ll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
She’ll get my support
She will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
She’ll hear me out
And won’t easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact she’ll often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand me
Aaaahhhhh....

I want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought and
With every breath
Someone who’ll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don’t want to be tied
To anyone’s strings
I’m carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I’m asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
I’ll get away with it
Aaaahhhhh....

Lovely sunrise this morning. I've got nothing to take, so try to find beauty in everyday things.

Met boss in lift on way to office in morning and the first thing he said to me was, "You look sleepy"... To which I (audaciously?) replied, "You don't look very energetic either"... But it's true leh. He had tired look and I suspect I did too. Work can be so draining and exhausting (I very pathetic right, only 24 already so lethargic) Later in the day during pockets of eat-snake moments, colleagues were discussing how life is so stressful in sg; how everyone works such long hours here; how having and bringing up kids can be very stressful these days; how the older you grow the lower the likelihood of making new friends etc... painting a bleak picture of life for me :P But when I commented life seems so tiring hor, then colleagues protested saying that I was still young, cannot think that way. But sometimes it really is. Wake up. Work. Work. Work. Sleep. *repeat*

Kampong Glam

Met up with C, J & S for dinner yesterday and we decided to go along with C's idea of sampling some Morrocan food, "some 5 min taxi ride from Bugis"... When the taxi turned into a street lined with carpet shops and all (think Arab St) someone commented that it didn't feel very sg. Someone else wanted to bring her Persian ex-roommate here haha. The first structure that greeted us upon alighting was the Sultan Mosque (which, sadly, none of us could name. S however recalled that it appeared in our textbooks last time...) Then while walking to our dining place, I kept trying to recall what this area was called. It's the Malay version of Little India & Chinatown, I thought. But I just couldn't pinpoint what it was, till suddenly while deciding on what to order I blurted out "Kampong Glam!" (felt very proud of myself haha, but like everyone seemed v doubtful till we saw a NHB signboard nearby). Hee, quite sad right, this is how well I know my sg. I have to say that it was my very first time here (as much as I can recall).

Anyway, I quite liked the area, with its quaint restored shophouses and a beautiful mosque in the background (7-eleven had white wooden doors as entrance!). The Morrocan restaurant, Delimorrocan, was situated halfway along the pedestrianised Bussorah St. We settled for a outdoor table in the middle of the street. Food was alright, but service was patchy. The lady who took our orders didn't seem to be very bothered to serve us (C waited for her ice lemon tea all meal and was told close to end of dinner that it was actually "self-service"). The (Morrocan?) owner was friendly; but strangely decided to practise his Chinese on us (something I typically only experience out of sg). Anyway, it was a nice place to chill 'cos there weren't very many ppl around; and it's so hard to find a nice, non-crowded place in sg these days (esp on Fri night). We also discovered some other interesting looking restaurants along other streets in the vicinity. I shall return some time. :)

Facebook

Alas! I've succumbed to colleague pressure and finally signed up as a member of this social networking site. As with many other things, I have delayed reaction :P Actually many ppl have been telling me to sign up but I never did, cos I suspect my relationship with Facebook would be as doomed as my previous one with Friendster. Nonetheless, for K-P-O sake, I signed up to see who's friends with who, what ppl are up to etc... For time being, my interest is still sustained by the novelty of it all. But haven't really got around trying all the features. General impression I had was that it was a very American college kinda networking site, but am quite surprised by how popular it has become among S'poreans too (and globally as well, i suppose).

I had an eventful morning today. First thing in morning, found out I had been 'arrowed' to draft a speech... Buddy was v cute and remarked that I've been 'shot again'... and asked whether it was painful or not haha. But then 15 min later, a sweet gesture somewhat salved my fresh wound ;) I earned myself a loaf of home-made banana bread/cake from a colleague from another unit. 'Cos she wanted to thank me for translating some Japanese instructions for her some time back ;) Rest of morning was spent following film crew videoing staff cum management -- for an opening MTV item at our D & D... After laughing at the antics of some v enthu staff and getting amused by spontaneity of senior management/ HODs, realised at the end that my Party Team was not spared from the dancing & lip-synching either... (But I have to admit it was actually somewhat fun) Poor S, being the only guy around, was pressured by his evil Party teammates to perform the gross act of stuffing black curly wig into shirt (as fake, dense chest hair). Dun think I've laughed so hard in a long time. Everyone joked though that our MTV had better not suffer the same fate as the MDA one...

Maybe I'm just strange, but I really miss putting together like a well-argued paper.... Ok, not like I am very good at it, but I just miss the whole process of thinking everything through... Tying all you want to say together nicely... NB: all YOU want to say... and not what XXX or YYY wants to say. I think writing 'work papers' is hard cos you always have to be pseudo- psychologist and imagine/figure out what XXX or YYY would want to say. No doubt you are given instructions on what roughly to put into a paper to Ministry etc... But still... it's just so different.

And I realise that I actually enjoy editing essays... Though it's like time-consuming... Because somehow I feel like my brain is actually working. At times I can get so thrilled over being able to say, find one brilliant word to use, stupid things like that you know? But aiyah, at the back of my mind I know that I am not suited to editing things as boss or team leader... I will take super long, cos I am a slow thinker and I can have perfectionist instincts over the most trivial of things. :P