It all begins with a +

Was stuffing myself with clarinase to stop my nose leakage when a little voice went off for me to do a double check. So there i went to buy the kit. Yah.. DE KIT, The 'p' kit. P...r...e...g...g...y kit. And the sign that greeted me when i checked: +.

Nothing could be more positive than that. Was i elated? surprised? horrified? let's just say the first thought that ran through my mind was 'wha lau!!! buy toto also not so accurate lar.' :p

went through somemore test just to make veeeeeeeeeeery sure that the jackpot has been hit. TA DAH!!! yesh... APS has never hit the jackpot, and this time round, it's a lucky triple seven. Woohoooo.... so, here's introducing *drumroll* kanah chee aka poddie chee aka attap chee... *kanah chee aka poddie chee aka attap chee... takes a bow, and continues sucking thumb*

been 5 months since the discovery, and wish me luck guys, for a smooth delivery. :)

Sniff sniff...

Happy b'day to me... happy b'day to me.... This gotta be one of the most miserable birthdays i've spent in years.

My body is a wreck. Hacking & sniffing, cramps (twice in the night!!!), stiff back & neck. So even if i'm supposed to enjoy my healthy organic lunch at dempsey, i'm busy keeping my nose dry & looking dignified. While i'm supposed to be enjoying the buffet dinner at trader's htl, i'm busy trying to figure out the taste of the food. Ah... is this a sign of ageing?!?!???!!!

Shall stop my whining... & back to my sniffing. *SNIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF*

Holiday!!!

Who's the smart aleck to make us work in Dec?! It's a sin.

Yup, you've guessed it. I'm in a hyper holiday mood, starting right in the beginning of Dec. Thks to my ingenious planning to scrimp & save my leave.. hehe... have calculated, i'm working a grand total of less than 10 days this month. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X'mas & b'day ain't helping either. Have been gorging myself for the past week, and more to come. *gulp*

To everyone out there, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Forget about working (for this month at least). Go party, shop, laze around... heck... just relax! :)

Battle between the good & the evil

Have been trying hard to adhere to a healthy diet these couple of months. And as many of you know, most healthy food = yucky food, or not dat yummy food. :S

To top it off, it isn't helping when i'm polishing off my 3 meals out everyday. Imagine lor... no mummy's homecooked nutritious food, & gotta battle the temptations everyday. Argh!!!

FINALLY, the day has come when i succumb to temptations. Was standing right in between the porridge & laksa stalls yest. Literally the angel n devil rgt beside moi. Have been fighting off the craving for laksa for months. AHHHHHH.... the laksa was beckoning to me & was happily lured to it. Even managed to polish off prata for supper.

Right.. it's devilishly unhealthy. Neh mind, it's only for yesterday night. What with me sticking to a decent diet of veg, meat, fish (yucks!), i'll need a holiday at times also. It's like swimming laksa bliss when u finally get to savour your cravings. :)~

Talk about temptations, the worst was when my Malay neighbour was deep frying chicken. Aiyoh, just let me swim in the chicken fat and munch on the crispy deep fried chicken.

Weddings....

have attended a few weddings this yr, and *ahem* haf also held one myself. i'm usually not a huge fan of weddings, and would only attend if they are held by (a) relatives, or (b) close friends.

attended my first wedding function at fullerton over the weekend. okay, i know.... what to do?! i'm suahku & my relatives and friends are too poor to hold the event there as well. :P

which idiotic chap design the ballroom to incorporate stairs leading down to the hall? insensitive dude. DUH! try wearing 5 of your mom's longest dress,3" heels (AT LEAST) , & to walk elegantly down the darn flight of stairs without holding onto any railings, except for your pathetic hubby's arm. gdluck to the bride if she marries a skinny dude. kinda pity the husbands, imagine ur wife digging their nails into u while they are desperately balancing themselves while floating down the stairs.

urm.. no offense to bossa nova fans. i like bossa novas.. in fact, i listen to it at work, chilling out, stoning.. watever.... good music, BUT bossa nova is soooooooooooooooooooooooo overplayed during weddings. how many 'fly me to the moon' can u endure within a yr?! newly weds... be innovative! come up with something new.... *desperate whimper*

AND... the emcee may adore the newly weds.. in fact, most of the guests do. if not, nobody would be stupid enough to attend a wedding, pay good $, & yet can't fill up our poor tummy. But, do spare us with endless clapping of your accolades to the couple. yes, yes. ah pui soh experienced that before. try clapping intermittently for 15 minutes, & you would get what i mean. not only do i fill like throwing my wine glass at the emcee, but at the couple too. alrite... i know u two are lovey dovey, goo-ey, mushy, oh-so-ador-y. bleah.

Diary of a self-confessed shopaholic

Dear Diary,
Finally after a two year hiatus, i'm back at Bkk again. woohoo!!!! finally!!! a chance to quench my shopping thirst.
Day One - MBK
How to give this place a miss? what wif the 199 baht shoes and shoes. but prices seem to haf increase in MBK. it's more of 259 baht shoes, instead of 199. but who cares?!?! we are in bangkok, the beginning of the crazy shopping spree. JUST BUY!!
Day Two - Central, Paragon
Not much bargain to hunt for in isetan. DISSAPPOINTED!!! but nonetheless, managed to grab a few narayas. I nearly broke my leg walking Central, and i really felt like sitting on a wheelchair when we reached Paragon. Now i understand why Thais are generally skinny - the diet & the walking are a killer for couch potatoes like moi. Didn't even managed to cover 1/4 of Paragon & i'm already screaming for mercy for my poor legs. H..e..l..p... ah pui soh is defeated by shopping for the 1st time.
Day Three - Chatuchak
No trip to bangkok is complete without a visit to CTC. Newsflash: CTC is now opened on Fri nites & weekend evenings... YEAH!! more shopping.. more splurging... more blood-gutting bargaining.... more lugging of shopping bags for ah pui. WOOHOOOOO....

BUT, age is really catching up on me. haf to lug my iron clad legs back after 1 afternoon worth of non-stop shopping. argh.... should have trained up on my stamina before going to bkk. *bang wall*
Day Four - Platinum Mall & Suan Lom Night Mkt
We have the good fortune of being neighbours to Plantinum Mall. (more yeah!!!) Ah pui was astonished that we spent the entire afternoon scurrying in the 6 level-high malls. Hello, what do u expect? 5 levels (san foodcourt) of clothes, shoes, bags??!!! It already is a miracle that i cover the mall within 1 afternoon.

Hehe, the proudest moment must be when i'm paying for 6 bags at wholesale price. Nearly did the victory dance in front of the cashier. S$24 for 6 bags... BWAHHHAHHHAHHAHAHA....

Went suan lom on ah pui's insistence. Bleah.... sacrificed my snooze fest for a bleah trip.
Day Five - Home Sweet Home
Bye bye bkk. Til we meet again. *sooooooooooooooooooooooooooobs, BWAAAAAAAAAH* But before, the tears, more last minute grabs from MBK.

Some of my humble conquests:



Bags - woolala... some at wholesale price :D





Clothes (part 1) - my black collection. Don't ask me what got into me to buy so much blacks. Must be my never-ending quest to look thin.








Clothes (part 2) - my coloured collection. okay, a grey sneaked in. smart ass. :P









Shoes - could have bought more, if ah pui is not nagging at me, AGAIN.

Chee...

Disclaimer: No malicious thought is intended for this post. All names suggested are to be taken in good faith, fun & the spirit of having a good laugh. Cheers~

Top 10 Names for the Surname CHEE:

1. Kuah Chee
2. Air-Tap aka Attap Chee
3. Moi aka Muah Chee
4. Kanah Chee
5. Kimberly aka Kim Chee
6. Lye Chee
7. Chee Ki
8. Chee Ku
9. Chee Li
10. Chee Cheong Fun

Take your vote for the best name that goes with Chee! Closing date: 31.10.07.

APS

I'm watching Kumar... i'm watching Kumar.... lalallla

But come to think of it, i'm nearly paying thru my nose to watch the Queen performing, when i could previously watched the Queen in Boom Boom Room. APS = ah pui soh = another pathetic sucker.



Another not to be missed...

My best friend's hubby is....

In all fairness, my best friend's hubby is.... hmm.. *scratch head* urmm... *think hard!!* eh.... *focus!!!* ......

Ok ok... my best friend's hubby is:

1. A man. Right, that sounds utterly lame. BUT... that pretty much sums up everything. Period. I mean... MAN, man, Man, mAn, maN, whatever the permutation, is that. A MAN. Need i further elaborate on a MAN? Whomever he should be, he's the MAN of my best friend.

Thanks to you, for sharing with her best friend. :)

A Best Friend is....

A best friend is my:

1. Lover - yakking through the night, only stopping for toilet & supper breaks. Heh~ more time has been spent on the phone with best friend than any of my bfs or Ah Pui.

2. Fellow patriot - spurring the S'pore economy with our relentless shopping.

3. Fellow detective - proven & effective sluething work in sniffing out our missing shopping bag as a result of overloading of our hands with even more bags.

4. Family - deciding between sacrificing granny's b'day dinner for best friend's wedding.

5. Counsellor - aunt agony for my troubles & grievances.

6. SOS - 1st person i called for my 1st ever experience in killing the despicable roach.

7. Time-killing device - 1st person i called if i should kill time while waiting for the bus or watching my nails grow.

8. Reference book - dispensing tips on child-bearing, hrm aka human relations mgt :P etc.

9. Decision-maker - what should i wear??? what bag should i carry??? should i do mani/pedi???

10.Time-machine - reflections on our stories & history together.

11. Tabloid paper - the bearer & receiver of gossips.

Thank you, my best friend. :)

15 KPH

Happened to see this sign at East Coast Park at the walkway for pedestrains & inline skaters. Did a double take when i saw it. I was like HELLO?!?! who is the smart aleck with pea-sized brain who thought of this & the bird-brain who approved it?! *don't roll eyes... don't roll eyes*

Hmmm.. since when did any normal human beings see roller-bladers strapping on speedometer on their skates or pedestrains having speedometer on them. ok ok.. granted that bicycles may make illegal entry onto the path (orh.... notti cyclists!!! how can?!), how many bicycles actually have speedometer?!?!? DUH!

To be constructive, feel free to adopt any of the suggestions below to avoid exceeding the speed limit:

a. Strapping shackles onto inline skaters. Approximate max speed for such skaters would be at around 1.5kph.

b. Pentagon/octagon wooden wheels for cyclists. Approximate max speed for such cyclists would be at 5mph. Drawback is danger of catching fire during hot weather due to friction between tyres and ground.

c. Auto-stop devices for skaters & cyclists travelling at more than the speed limit. Don't laugh at such devices. These mayb a god-send to virgin skaters preventing any fatal accidents when they are travelling downslope. *achoy!!*

d. Pedestrains to strap speedometer on their foreheads that would emit loud beeping sound if they should exceed the speed limit. This should be able to shame those speedy gonzales who think that the whole track is for them to zip around in. Members of the public to cooperate in the ORH-ING & finger pointing process.

Dat's it! i can't stand it anymore. *ROOOOLLLLLLL EYES!!* @_@

The Never-Ending Debate

The never-ending debate of women's sexuality, rights, empowerment & the yadah crap took its stand here as well. The ever-changing moral values would just ding-dong the article over the next millenium & beyond.

Hmm.. what's with women asking for equality & adopting the i'm-a-woman-but-yet-i'm-macho attitude? Just give me the due respect anytime.

Translation

Read the article in the papers over the weekend:
________________________
Lost in translation II

THE column in this space last week was entitled 'Lost in translation'. It was apt, for it turned out to apply to the writer as well.

I had written: 'When Coca-Cola first entered the Chinese market, it called its drink ke-kouke-la. Unfortunately, the Chinese characters the company chose for those phonetic sounds meant 'bite the wax tadpole' or 'female horse stuffed with wax'. Coca Cola scrambled when it discovered its mistake and came up with ko-kou-ko-le, meaning 'happiness in the mouth'.
Well, my sources turned out not to be altogether correct. A translation howler did occur, but it wasn't quite Coca-Cola's fault. And the company did settle upon a felicitous name, but the transliteration of that name in hanyupinyin is ke-kou-ke-le, not ko-kouko-le. The latter, it turns out, is a butchered version of the old Wade-Giles transliteration of the name - k'o-k'ou-k'o-le^. Those little ticks do matter. The apostrophe in k'o, for instance, signifies an aspirated sound, and without it, ko would be pronounced like the unaspirated ge in pinyin. Not knowing that, numerous sources have Coca-Cola known as kokou-ko-le in China. That looks like hanyu-pinyin, but isn't; is supposed to be Wade-Giles, but ain't.

Lost in translation, indeed! From English to Chinese to WadeGiles to Wade-Giles butchered to hanyu-pinyin to hanyu-pinyin misunderstood - it was enough to set my mind spinning. With the considerable help of two knowledgeable readers, Mr Phua Kok Heng and Mr Ian Lim, my senior colleague Mr Leslie Fong and my old teacher Professor Koh Tai Ann, I spent the better part of a week navigating the mysteries of the Chinese 'Coca-Cola'. Fiddling while Rome burns, one might say, but the mystery proved irresistible. The ke-kou-ke-le story, it turns out, is more interesting than I had imagined.

It began in 1928. Coca-Cola got a toehold in Shanghai and planned to penetrate the hinterland. But before it could, the Coca-Cola trademark had to be transliterated into Chinese characters.
The problem was there were about 200 Chinese characters, with a wide range of meanings, with sounds vaguely resembling Co-Ca-Co-La. While the company was sifting through them, Chinese shopkeepers, taking the initiative, put up their own signage, 'adopting any old group of characters that sounded remotely like 'Coca-Cola' without giving a thought as to the meaning of the characters used', reported H.F. Allman, a former legal counsel to Coca-Cola in China. Some of these signs adopted characters with bizarre meanings - 'tadpole biting wax', 'tadpole crunching wax tadpole', and what not, depending on the version of the story one reads. The howlers, according to Coca-Cola's official account, were the fault of the Chinese, not culturally ignorant Americans.

Other versions of the story have another Chinese, one Professor Jiang Yi, riding to the rescue. A well-known artist and poet, Prof Jiang was residing in Britain in the 1940s when he came up with ke-kou-ke-le in a competition. Some say he received a prize of £25 for his brain-wave, some say more. Whatever it was, Coca-Cola got a winner cheap. Branding experts nowadays would have charged much more - upwards of £250,000.

The characters corresponding to ke-kou-ke-le can be translated literally into English as 'can- mouth-can-happy' - or idiomatically in Chinese, ke-kou ('delicious') + ke-le ('enjoyable'). In Hokkien, the characters are pronounced approximately ko-kowko-luck; and in Cantonese, horhow-hor-lok.

The Coca-Cola example reveals the possible felicities, as well as pitfalls, in translating Western brand-names into Chinese. After all, the words 'Coca-Cola' do not evoke much in English. We know, in the dim recesses of our minds, that the drink is called thus because its recipe originally included coca leaves and kola nuts. But the fact that it may be 'the Real Thing' does not inhere in its name. Because Chinese is ideogramatic, it is possible to choose especially meaningful characters to convey the phonetic equivalents of English words. Thus, the Chinese 'Coca-Cola' can declare itself 'delicious' and 'enjoyable' - 'the Real Thing' - in its very name.

Many Western brands have exploited this capacity to produce felicitous results. Thus Mercedes-Benz is called ben chi in China, which means 'galloping swiftly'; BMW bao ma (for the first two letters of its initials), meaning 'treasured horse'; and Louis Vuitton lu yi wei deng, which suggests 'stepping up to the upper class'.

Even brands that have been unable to find phonetic equivalents for their names, have managed nevertheless to adopt felicitous Chinese names. Pepsi, for instance, is known as bai shi ke le, or 'hundred matters enjoyable'; and Nestle as que chao, or 'sparrow nest' - quite a coup, considering that 'Nestle' is a German surname meaning 'small nest'.

Companies do not always get so lucky. Consider Goldlion, the Hong Kong men's garments and accessories company. It was first known by the Chinese equivalent of 'Gold Lion'. In Cantonese, that is Kam See - which, unfortunately, sounds very much like the Cantonese words for 'gold loss', not at all an auspicious link. The company soon got itself a new Chinese name by splitting 'Goldlion' into three parts - 'Gold' (kam) + li ('profit' in Mandarin or lai in Cantonese) + 'on' (understood as 'come on' or lei in Cantonese). Thus, it became known as Kam Lai Lei in Cantonese (or Jin Li Lai in Mandarin), meaning 'gold and profit come'. Amazingly enough, they did.

Considering the lengths to which companies will go to find the correct Chinese transliterations of their brand names, it is understandable why Chinese Singaporeans were annoyed a couple of years ago when the Bayfront MRT station was initially called Bei Fu Lan. As this newspaper reported then, Bei Fu Lan didn't mean anything much, except that it sounded like 'Bayfront' mispronounced in English. Worse still, 'fu lan sounded like the Chinese word for decompose'. If Coca-Cola could have paid £25 to Prof Jiang to come up with ke-kouke-le, surely we could have paid somebody $250 to dig up something more lively than a decomposing body.

By the way, I've never asked anyone what my name in Chinese - Cha-Nah-Tha, I think it is - actually means. I fear discovering it means 'hanging toe nail' or something dreadful like that. If you do know what it means, DO NOT e-mail me unless it means something nice.
_____________________________

Have some silly translations that i just discovered. Pick ur brain & have a short brain-teaser.

1. 水上烟
2. 联合公园

Answers ready??
.
.
.
.

Stumped?
.
.
.
.
.

Pulling ur hair out at how annoying i am???
.
.
.
.

Ok, ok... before i get bashed... the answers (drum-roll...!!!!)

1. Smoke on Water (for the uninitiated, it's the anthem by Deep Purple)
2. Linkin' Park

bhwahh... it might just be better to just leave the names as it is & to perserve the dignity of the names, instead of shredding it to bits & leaving it for ridicule. *tsk*

Postmodernism

Dis the book that i'm currently reading.





Being the shallow me... was decieved by the illustrations in each page. Thought it would be easy reading, but it's actually heavy-duty material. Have to re-read the paras a few times before fully grasping the idea behind it. Eh... it's largely attributed to my bloken engrish. Ideas raised make good discussion topics for like-minded frens tho. :)

THE dress

Having spent quite a bit of time choosing THE dress & now dat it's over (boo-hoo!!! adieus to the dress), here's a peek at IT!! Yesh, never in my life shall i wear such elaborate gown that i can't even walk properly in... :P



TA DAH!!!!!!!! 搞神秘. Bwahahaha.. :p

Paying Too Much for Art?

Was tempted to watch SRT-RSC's collaboration of The Seagull. NOT because of Sir Ian McKellen. No doubt he's an excellent actor - he managed to look sinisterly evil as Magneto wearing the coconut-husk helmet... no mean feat, BUT is it too much to pay $400 just to watch a play?

APS (not UPS or APES) aka ah pui soh's cousin raised an eyebrow when i told her i'm interested in The Seagull. Simple reason being that i don't see much interest in Russian playwrights in S'pore... and hey, it's an interesting story.

Wouldn't other theatre companies be able to pull off equally thought provoking rendition of King Lear like RSC? Aren't other theatre companies equally good, even tho 'their style is more avant garde, cutting edge, experimental... watever! Speaking of which... i so mish LunaID!!! To pay $400 for a play... nah... i'll pass.

Legally Ah Pui Soh

Life as an official legal ah pui soh ain't easy so far. Been nursing my cough & flu since last week, and still am hacking like an old hen suffering from asthma.

Bones were aching & i could hardly turn my head as i'm still getting used to the new bed. Not to forget my much cramped-up, reduced space on the bed since i've gotta share it wif ah pui now. & not to forget... being whacked by ah pui while sleeping! itz machiam kung fu in bed wif mi as the punching bag. try being smacked on the head, elbowed & kicked while u were snoozing happily. &$*(*%$%*$#.... it's no wonder that i'm getting dumber by the day.

More Than Meets the Eye

accompanied ah pui to watch transformers. definately a guy show... tho' some of my gfs like watching machines turning into robots which r 10xs bigger than them (how the hell can they haf so much metal to transform?!?! duh!!). kinda miss the cheesy theme song. shd haf played in the movie. bwahhaha!!!

some real-life transformers.... enjoy!!!

The Model... NOT

Finally... my much awaited pics are ready. n i look CORNY!! urm... what to expect? i'm not a knock-out beauty in the 1st place. a knock-out scary freak show yeah... but definately not a blown-away goregous babe.

Managed with great difficulty to lug the pics home wif ah pui. To celebrate the use of my muscles, had a great meal at Cafe Eden or Eden Cafe?? Ah.. watever.. the plc has a cafe & eden in its name. @ Club St.

Haf always wanted to makan flowers. Yup... im crazy enuf to want to munch on flowers. & munch sure i did. managed to savour wat i've wanted to all this while. saffron, osmanthus & roses...

cldnt really figure out watz the deal wif saffron, but it taste great wif the salmon & cream. ah pui was salivating at it. his dish seems so bleah as compared to mine. honey mustard chicken... duh... gimme saffron n salmon anytime baby. :D

osmanthus tea taste good~ hk period dramas always haf osmanthus cakes... now im juz waiting for a chance to sink my teeth into it.

rose petals.. well.. it taste like.. urm... flowers. bwahhaha.. go figure how it taste urself. :)

Play!

Surprise... surprise~ ah pui actually is interested in an arts fest event. went to watch Play! A Video Game Symph0ny on Sat. @ the esplanade concert hall. expectedly, the place was swarmed with teenagers, looking funny when they are trying painfully hard to look formal.

somebody oughtta give the kids a concert etiquette 101 before they attend anything close to anything arty. there's a overly excited kid who tried to clap before the beginning of his favourite game. thankfully he's sitting far from me.

hmm.. prob coz im a gaming idiot. most of the pieces din really reasonate wif mi 'cept for super mario bros. yesh.. im dat ancient. things soon start to sound boring when most of the pieces sound pretty much the same, wif the same zen beginning, majestic music. the dash of oboe n clarinet solos were good tho. :)

a good starting ground for teenagers to cultivate an interest in music. h/ever for serious aficiandos, just go for the fun of it.

Fly away...

The travel bug has bitten. I'm dying for a short getaway... have been bugging ah pui to make travel arrangements & he's still procrastinating. Hate dat.

The thought of travel is always rejuvenating. Arriving at the airport is already a throw-all-rubbishy-troubles-outta-window moment. Stepping onto foreign soil is the start of mindless wandering & carefree exploration.

I want to get away... I want to fly away..... yeah yeah yeah....

MessEd uP

Preparing for the new chapter is really mESsY! room is in a mess & dozens of stuff are left undone. Need chicken essence to get through the month... 8S

Bought the materials to beautify the Ang Pao box. Friend commented that i'm being too extravagant, since nobody is gonna notice it anyway. What the heck! I need the retail therapy. Kinda sad, my retail therapy is conducted in Spotlight. Duh....

Picnic by the Park

Thank goodness it was only a shortlived downpour on Saturday. Weather was cool, and the crowd was great. & i did the un-me thing to have a picnic. Friends were laughing their heads off when i told them about my plan. Hey, it's not everyday that we get to watch Shakespeare & to enjoy a picnic at the same time. So what the heck........ laugh your buttcheeks off... i'm having the picnic!!! :)

Yup, i brought along a checkered mat. I'm just lacking the straw basket & a sunhat. Reckoned that i would look like a nutcase wearing the hat at night. Jap bento yummies provided the hassle free dinner & considering the humid weather... the all important ice cold beer!! Yes, yes... no picnic is complete without the vegetarian beverage. Just a bummer that I don't have an ice-box... if not can ask ah pui to pack in wine & champagne. WHA!!!! if only....

Shakespeare is always good. Midsummer nite's dream is apt for Fort Canning. Kudos to SRT for the good use of space. The stage setting is good. But costumes.. er.... let's just say some of the clothes make me raise my eyebrows abit & some of the scence were rather cliche.



But who cares! Overall, it's fun, cool (thankfully for the rain) & refreshingly different. Love it!

Lousy Morning

Talk about being woken up by the alarm clock yesterday morning. Was woken up from my deep slumber by a car alarm pre-dawn this morning. The car was wailing 5 minutes non-stop. Good grief... the zzz monster was long gone when the owner finally came to shut the damn car up. Took me quite some time before i courted back the zzz monster. Expected, woke up late for work. To top it off, waited for 15 minutes for the bus, & i can't even see its headlights. Took a cab instead. Wasted 15 minutes of my life.... should have took a cab immediately.

I'm not a morning person. In fact, don't even think of dragging me outta bed before 12 noon during weekends. It's a love-hate relationship for me to hear the birds chirping in the morning.

I'm thankful for a new day. Not everyone can have the luxury to hear birds singing. But it would also mean that i've woken up too early in the morning. The birds should be hiding from the blazing sun when i wake up.

Cynical Bitch

Was rudely awakened by the alarm clock this morning. Think i was happily dreaming when the alarm clock sang its annoying tune. Damn... what a way to start the week. >~<>

A friend just told me about another friend's blog. Caught a sneek peek at it. Urm.. let's just say it's enough to leave my hair standing for a week. It's just soooooooooooooooooooooooo mushy. Love, love, looooove & more LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE.

I admit. I'm not the typical girl next door who gushes non-stop at how awfully cute the cupcake is, how adorable the little baby looks like, or how sweet the flowers smell. More likely I'll be whining on how awfully sweet the cupcake tastes, how noisy the baby is crying, and how badly it would stink if the flowers wither. Yes, I'm cynical & bitchy as well.

I dun view life as a journey on the rainbow with a pot of gold at the end. Rather, it's a journey on a bed of nails with a pot of dung at the end. I dun see things as rosy n cheery. Rather, it's bleak n urm.. bleah. Every minute of life isn't living, every minute of life is dying. 'Nuf said.

Sad to say, i'm managing my life with quite a pathetic combi. Hit by frequent bouts of stupidity, this makes me a stupid, cynical bitch. Great. Pop the champagne, and I'll mostly likely to hit myself with the champagne cork. Don't believe it? Try falling off the bus. It takes tremendous stupidity to do it. & I'm still nursing my sore foot after all these months. #&(@&#((#@....

New Chapter

Hadn't been blogging for some time now. been rather bz. i know, crap excuse. but it's the truth. :P

yup, haf began a new chapter in my life. finally gotta do something dat i've always wanted. not sure if i've made the right choice tho. definately life has been bz-er & more frentic now. hope it's just a bad phase of orientation & this wun last forever! *gulp*

gonna begin another new chapter soon. dat we'll talk abt it at another time...

izzit common to lose the past as we move to newer pastures? relationships seem to be a in haze, frens seem distant. hope not. plain selfishness to behave dat way? shd we be happy for the person that have moved on, or to mope around & sulk on our butt off.

Work-Life Balance

had recently read some postings done in a forum complaining abt their work. hmm.. what exactly is work-life balance?

shd it be WORK-life (in)balance or work-life (trying-damn-hard) balance? seems that the former is preferred by employers. true true, the government has been preaching that we shd be working hard & partying hard. uh.. how true can it be when poor suffering folks are expected to work OT so that bosses would think that they are hardworking, or they are being penalised for taking leave to take care of their folks/children.

think that we still have a looooooong way to go before we can achieve the right balance. izzit a problem with our culture or just that we have pretty screw-up HR policies? probably a mixture of both. companies/bosses shd recognise that even though hard work is much valued, a right dosage of rest accompanied by good ol' quality time with loved ones would translate to double efficiency at work. however, that would translate differently to individuals. what defines the rgt amount of rest & relax. i've known of people who has absolutely no private life. their life just revolves around work, work & MORE WORK. yup, they even showed up in office on sundays, and they have no qualms on messaging you after office hours. to these people, it seems perfectly fine to be on the ball 24/7.

on the other extreme, some people have a strict dun-contact-me-after-office-hours policy. a clear line is drawn between work & rest. heheheh.. clashes of 2 titans if these 2 kinda people shd meet. :P

having a broad HR policy may work in encouraging work-life balance, but let's be practical & realistic. it's up to the individuals as to how it should be achieved. fairytale policies will just fall flat on the face if it's not practised & believed by the people carrying it out.

Under the Weather

have been feeling under the weather lately. think have been infected by my parents. both of them have been sniffing and coughing for weeks. guessed it should be my turn now.

twisted my foot b4 cny and now am sick. the piggy year definately has not been that great so far. choy choy choy!! hopefully things gonna be better after this.

bought a digital camera during the IT fair on sat. haf no idea on how to use the camera. yes, i admit. im a techno idiot. ah pui commented that i should get a camera without the fanciful functions. to think that he's the one who recommended me to get that camera. #&*(&^*#&!...

celebrated ah pui's birthday yesterday. went to brazil churrasco at vivo for dinner. oh man, dat place is a meat paradise for canivores.

ah pui chose the place. stuffed himself silly with food & complained that he's bloated. great... makan until dunno how to stop. DUH!

made him a b'day card. hahahaha... it looks like CRAP!! looks soooooo amateurish. anyway, i always failed my arts in school, so can't expect too much from me. shd be glad dat it still looks like a card. heheheh...