Loopie - Joop

Going to watch Rioult tomorrow evening.  looks promising i must say.

i tell ya.  our driver's side window was smashed yesterday morning along Par La Ville Road.  the culprits didn't take anything from the car, there really wasn't anything to take, but the car took a battering.  it's now in the workshop.  we were driving all day with a plastic taped to the car door.  hopefully the mechanic can work some magic at little expense.

Dear Darlings, I have just signed on another all-important line - my contract of employment. The next step is getting the work permit.  Hopefully everything will go through smoothly. Cheers, Stella

Today's the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year!  Brain is accustomed to having at least 2 days off for the new year festivities, but body had to make it to the office this morning.  Wretched alarm went off at 6:40am, slammed the snooze button to catch another 5 minutes of sleep, secretly swearing to myself under the covers.  expected it to be cold after the windy, near gale-like conditions this past week, and true to expectations, it was very chilly this morning.  i don't even want to venture out of my bed, the duvet is so warm and comfortable.... argh.  6:45am the alarm goes off a second time, this time warning me about the 5 mins less i would have for a shower, putting on the face armour and straightening wayward hair.... big groan followed by reluctance in taking off socks, plunging warm feet into cold bedroom slippers, double argh.... today's really not supposed to be a working day... every bone in my body is telling to go back to bed.  triple a...

We braced ourselves for the impact of the gale-force winds and hurricane-force gusts that were expected yesterday and wednesday, a product of the snowmageddon that hit the east coast earlier this week.  But this is another thing altogether,  it was just surreal to see a boat of this size get thrown about by the waves and "sail" right past your office windows.  Apparently, this boat was dislodged from its mooring by the strong winds and the waves brought it fairly quickly across the length of our office, stopping only when it ran ashore on one of the islands across from the city.  it was quite a sight.  i had woken on Thursday hoping to be given a day off, but half expecting i would have to brave the howling winds that toppled parked bikes, sent our shutters rattling all day and all night, caused a power outage for over 2000 people on the island and cancelled 2 days worth of flights to and from bermuda.  it was work as usual except for the boat that went s...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_Mahjong_scoring_rules#Special_event_g.C3.A0ng-sh.C3.A0ng_.28.E6.9D.A0.E4.B8.8A.29

As I learn about everyone's plans to welcome the Golden Tiger Year, the more unhappy I become.  Although it was a conscious effort on our part to avoid being home for the Lunar New Year, I cannot help but feel left out during this all-important holiday. On this island, we have all but 1 so-called Chinese restaurant.  Every year, they would put up the red banner a few weeks before CNY. One red banner compared to the numerous ones back home.  How pathetic eh? There is no atmosphere whatsoever. With the "influx" of Chinese kids, 4 in total plus 1 soon-to-be-born, I made myself pack some red envelopes from home, so that the kids can experience a little of the festivities that I am so used to.   WHAT IS CHINESE NEW YEAR WITHOUT THE RED PACKETS? This year, we've upgraded our celebration to include mahjong!  yes, the mahjong set and table arrived last weekend.  hao-e couldn't stop himself from ripping the plastic cover off those ivory -coloured tiles and we ...

An exciting thing is happening in my life, something I've always wanted for the last 2 years and 10 months, has finally happened.  I must admit I wasn't initially very happy, which led to a binge at greg's steakhouse on friday night after receiving the package.  There were a lot of things on my mind, and a lot of the anxiety was brought on by bad memories of me signing my life away almost 10 years ago!  would I be repeating the same mistake this time around?  would i regret this decision just as I did 6 years ago?  am i being too hasty and taking the first offer on the plate?  would i lose this chance, and never get another similar to it?  i was a wreck, nervous one too.  what else to do but to pray? it's beyond me now, and if it's God's will, then i will be happy with it.  I leave this up to Him. Will update everyone if there's any good news.

Smiling for the camera! [James, Dave, Marchelle and me in front of the Christmas tree] look! here's how we're gonna fleece you!! [Xinyi & me with her bucket of chips!]

A first for me. I was told by by esteemed ex-company, that I had to lodge police report for losing the ex-company's property.  said lost property was an RSA SecureID token for VPN access.  woohoo. so exciting.  diligent me, went to surf our blue uniformed website and realised that i could lodge said report in a relatively non-painful fashion, via e-services!  real woohoo! so i proceeded to lodge said report and under 5 minutes, everything was done and sent and i received a pdf police report as well as the poor officer in charge of my case at the bedok police division.  i say poor, because he's probably never going to break this case.  i really don't recall where i last saw said lost property, so i can't even give poor officer any leads to locate it!  plus of course, this is more a formality for the company so that i can sever all ties to them once and for all. kudos to spf for its promptness and efficiency!

Met Michelle and Sophie at Primavera for lunch yesterday.  I had my fill of hotate sashimi, yum! and a spicy seafood salad, double yum!! Sophie turned one last week!  the big girl is teething too! so cute.  babie when admired from afar, are always angelic and adorable.  i never get to see the crying and screaming, so that's nice. went to town in the rain and wind to send off a letter to SOA during lunch.  there were several times when i thought i could walk no more, cos the winds were too strong and i was struggling to step forward.  and of course, i had to wear a dress in this weather, so it was one hand grabbing my hoodie, the other pulling at my skirt to prevent any public display of things that should not be displayed in public. argh.  why did i wear a skirt, and heels when i knew i was going to walk to town?! so smart of me.  btw, there's a new cafe in town, right next to Cafe 4.  i still went to Cafe 4 to grab a salad for ...

the perks of taking CX tasty chinese meals TVB serials to watch kpop concerts with FT island!! nice stewardesses tasty meals in hkia before flying stopover in hk nice check-in staff at jfk and hkia cons bad seats entertainment system went down after the 3rd FT island replay few blockbusters to watch same shows there and back

2nd day of sleeplessness - i need to sleep!!!

5:00am - started tossing and turning in bed.  hao-e and i woke up at this ungodly hour and couldn't fall back to sleep. 6:00am - hao-e starts making irritating sounds on his blackberry 6:40am - alarm rings and i spring up to silence it.  wth, i've been up for almost 2 hours anyway. 7:40am - still ironing the frizz out of my hair. 8:05am - started the car and realised we're 5 mins later than usual. 8:20am - parked in an empty carpark. thought: is it a public holiday today? walked to the supermarket for some yogurt.  tried to paid for said yogurt except they didn't sell those singly.  bah.  walked back to fridge aisle to get another brand that did sell singly. paid for said yogurt. 8:30am - started tackling the bills.  apparently we didn't pay our cable bill last month.  strange.  double-checked account.  ah well, maybe i didn't.  shucks. paid said bill. started to pay utilities bill.  did a double-take.  checked account. i...

Today marks the start of my life outside public service.  i'm a gahmen servant no more!! Although i've been away for more than 2 years now and some days i don't even recall all the red tape i bashed through or put up (depends on the audience), there was always this fear that i might have to return to serve it out.  all. 3. years. and. 3. months. of. it.  wow, even saying it out puts a chill down my spine. anyway, this is the start of real work.  cannot afford to slack anymore.