Inspiring Intern

My intern just said she "manually" spoke to someone. Who is not the point. But, "manually" speaking means? Ok...maybe she's kinda free at this moment and decided to "manually" spell out *no pun intended* her message instead.

H.A.H.A. C.U.T.E. :)

Tears of Joy

My best friend is going to be a Mrs soon! Finally. She may not share the same sentiment as I do with "finally" but having seen her go through the different stages of ups and downs and all things in over the 6 years (or is it 7 already?! Oh whatever, love should be timeless). I am elated for her and I suppose it is her perogative as to when "finally" applies. But heck, the proposal's happened, accepted and this is all it matters. Hear bells ringing already? *smile*

The Mr popped the question in a party of friends and family and whilst everyone was enjoying and engrossed in the antics of the lion dance (it was the last day of CNY). Then an odd-looking pink vanguard sheet scroll rolled out from the lion's mouth and there it was, the BIG question written in blue marker..."Dear honey, will you marry me? Love, XXXXX" And in the midst of falling confetti, dancing lion in unison with drum beat, the Mr went down on his knees in signature poise and pose and presented the glittering diamond ring. Awwww...then many nods of her head, out came a huuuuuge bouquet of 99 stalks of roses and a big big hug. *flash...flash...flash from cameras"...*ker cha...ker cha...ker cha from phone cams* It became an even bigger party with the celebrity couple! I was, still am, glad that I was a part of this special evening.

Anyway, in all of 15 years of our friendship, I have never seen my friend in this much tears - red, flooded eyes mixed with running mascara. Heh...sooo touching, sooo happy...I couldn't help but tear for my friend, too. Tears of joy they were.

Psst...following my earlier blog "A New Beginning". Yup, another BIG good thing has happened! Hurray!

Pressies!

Birthday gifts from my luuuurvely bunch of friends and family. You guys know who you are and a big THANK YOU again! Such joy to be surprised and go through the thrill of opening them up. *so girlish* Heh...

Surely not forgetting my other friends as well who remembered my day and made me feel special, too. *hugs*

My First Bouquet

My Birthday present from Me. :) First bouquet of flowers I ever bought for myself. Nice?

Favourite colours on two of my favourite flowers, amongst many other "cold room" flowers, in a perfect vase I found and bought, in a quick matter of minutes, at West Mall, of all places. *wide smile*

This year, work is not going to rule me. I want to live life and take time to smell the flowers. This is my 1st flowery step.

Getting Younger

Happy Birthday to me! *wink* :)

Goodbye Wolfmoon98

As I was going about my usual routine of reading what's new on my favourite Mr Brown's, I got here...

SPC Michael J. Smith aka Wolfmoon98 & "Smitty"
(13th Oct 1980 - 11th Jan 2005)
His life prematurely aborted on this day of 11th Jan in Iraq when a Rocket Propelled Grenade hit the Humvee he was in. He leaves behind his Russian wife, Oxana, whom he married three weeks before going to Iraq.

His last blog entry on 3rd Jan titled "regrets, i've had a few".

SPC Michael J. Smith may have been just another stranger, another hero, another unnecessary life lost every day in this war for whatever reason, whichever lesser of 2 evils you are on. It hit me espeically hard when I realised how close his death was to his last blog titled poignantly so. How many of us live our lives with regrets? How many of us live and not know that we should learn and gain strength from our regrets? How many of us will have time on our side to learn and gain strength? What was I doing on 11th Jan? Unhappy at work and bitching about the weather. Enough said.

His bro, Jim, has posted pictures of Wolfmoon98's Funeral Memorial Service at Arlington. Strangely, just as I activated the slideshow mode for viewing, the song by Five for Fighting, "Superman" played. It was such a moment...I dedicate this song to SPC Michael J. Smith and to the many more out there who lived and fought a greater purpose. Bless their souls.

"Superman" by Five for Fighting

I can't stand to fly, I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find, the better part of me
I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
And it's not easy to be me

I wish that I could cry, fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie, 'bout a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
And it's not easy to be me

Up, up and away, away from me, well it's alright
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy or anything
I can't stand to fly, I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride, with clouds between their knees
I'm only a man, in a silly red sheet, digging for kryptonite on this one way street
I'm only a man, in a phoney red sheet, looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me, inside of me, yeah inside of me, inside of me
I'm only a man, in a phoney red sheet
I'm only a man looking for a dream
I'm only a man, in a phoney red sheet
And it's not easy…It's not easy to be me

My Favourite

Say hello to Chez. My favourite dog. A mini schnauzer belonging to my friend, David. Chez made me realise I do have something for dogs (not the big ones though). He is also the 1st dog that I am completely unafraid of and have no reservations to hug. *Huuugz*

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my dear friends. May more friendships and love be found, and not lost.

Yes, I do realise that Valentine's Day is on 14th Feb and my greeting has come 3 days late. It is intentionally late but nonetheless, intentionally sincere. No doubt, friendships and love relationships play critical roles and are integral part of our lives; and I simply cannot imagine not having either. They make me 'Me' as I pick and grow with my friends and accept that blood is thicker than water, and go through thick & thin with my family. Surely, there will be some waywards who'll come our way, but let's fall back on our precious friends and treasured family.

Back to St. Valentine's Day...truthfully, I cannot help but be a victim of its powerful effect of consumerism. I mean, which Jane can? Really, I admire those who can wholeheartedly believe that this day is nothing but a commercial gimmick and more importantly, NOT expect their Valentine to give them something that will make them go "Awwww". Lovebirds are more apparent on this day and they seem to be every where. The streets lined with floral scent and beautiful flower bouquets of all sorts. So much more open treats, hugs, kisses, smiles and love. By sheer numbers and volumes, this day is made significant. Why not have the same sheer numbers and volumes every day, every day will be significant.

Right now, whilst I agree wholeheartedly that 14th Feb is a great opportunity for commercial profiting (no problem with that), there's this bit in me that'll still expect Mr Right to make me go "Awwww" on this day. But you know, I am still learning and trying and one day, I want to truly believe that it should be St. Valentine's Every-Day and to have "Awwww"s every day in my life...to open my mind and heart beyond the 14th of February.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cocka-Doodle-Doo for a Great New Year!

Happy Lunar 'Birthday' everyone! Yup, for the non-Chinese, or if you are Chinese and you don't know...here's a trivia: Today, the 7th day of the Lunar New Year is also called "ren (people) ri (day)". As what I have learnt from my mum *heh...disclaimer going on here*, apart from the Reunion Dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year, this is the other significant day where families reunite again.

This is the time when the loud, potentially splattering, joyous and luck-inducing occasion of "Lo Hei" takes place. "Lo ah...*splitter splatter*...gong hei fatt choy...*fling*...nian nian you yu...*stir*...Lo ah...strike lottery ah...*hahaha*...many many ah..." What fun! I hope you have "Lo-ed" before at some point in your life. If you haven't, what are you waiting for? Head down to the nearest supermarket and get a prepared set. DIY if you have to coz' you'd find yourself laughing (and potentially lucky in the year) anyway. What a way to start the year! If you have, keep doing it, spread some joy and eat, Eat, EAT!

May the Cock Year be good to you and your family...Gong Xi Fa Cai!

What is Love?

Love is that special feeling, Love is patience, Love is giving, Love is generosity, Love IS a million things that we conjure up, experience and learn from the experts. I am no expert in love. And it certainly doesn't require one to know that the simple four-letter word l.o.v.e. is not that simple after all. It is powerful, and it empowers.

Today, the Sports section of the Straits Times covered a story of a local sports hero - 36 year-old Koh Wei Meng of the water polo team. He retired in 1999 after his 7th SEA Games gold medal. His wife is 30 years old. An average-joe sort of couple they are not. He is suffering from a neurological disorder which he will gradually lose control of his muscles - Amyotrophic Lateral Scelorisis (ALS); the same disease that inflicted Stephen Hawkins since he was 21. Wei Meng has been losing control of his hands since 2003 and his frail-looking wife of mere 30 needs to help with his daily routine. It is believed that most victims of this disease tend to succumb to it after about 3 to 5 years.

Who would have imagined, ever, that a man so fit, so much achieved in the sporting arena, one of Singapore's sporting heroes, would one day, this young, lose his ability to carry out the basic tasks that we, very often, take for granted. And his wife, even younger, looking much older, bearing the burden of watching the love of her life degenerate every day and having to become his hands and legs.

As for me, do I know if I love him? Well, when the thought of all the sacrifices I'd have to make and the idea of taking care of my man, old, ailing and perhaps, plagued with illness, do not make me shudder or revolt me, yet there is the urge to stay strong for him and be happy. I will know. He is The One, my man.

Just Been to Johor Bahru

What a day...just returned from JB with a few friends. Much earlier this morning, I was bracing myself to jostle with crowds, wait for long hours at the immigration, fight the heat, meet potentially rude and inconsiderate Singaporeans, shop big time and eat cheap seafood. Well, I did and experienced none of that. Admittedly though, my expense, and only because my mum asked, was RM100 for cheaper CNY cookies (Lavender cookies are yummily fantastic).

Who would have thought that the weekend before the CNY would see almost no 'crowd' at the most modern JB mall, City Square. Of course, there are many people but they were not the intimidating sort of 'crowd' that we would normally expect in the pre-festive, mega-shopping season. In fact, I never once felt claustrophobic except to secretly swear at the few who would suddenly stop in their tracks in the middle of a walkway. Sheesh! *roll eyes*

But before we got to City Square, the 1st thing we did was to head to what one of my friends was most excited about - which I suspect was the only thing in his mind of the entire trip - the Best Mee Rebus in "Singapore, Batam and JB." (made famous by our very own PCK). It's located at Stulang Laut, 2 minutes drive from Eden Garden mall (Note: Taxi ride** should not cost more than RM3). And it is easy to understand why it's possibly and aruguably the best M.R. in town - only RM2.50 *cheeeeap. cheeeap.*, thick generous sauce with just the right amount of spice and mee in the rebus. You also get the view of the straits right ahead of u. All for only SGD$1.08.

**Taxi Driver aka The Ripper - Good thing one of my friend's born and bred in JB and she sure as hell knew her way (and people) around. We wanted to take a taxi from Eden Garden mall to Stulang Laut. We tried our luck with one of the taxi drivers in the horde, and in her perfectly accented Malay asked for a quote while the remaining 3 of us (which included the perfect 'bait' - John aka the 'ang moh') stood away in sight from the driver. And suddenly, we hear Amy's voice getting louder and louder. Ahhh...indeed The Ripper we have met. He was going to charge us a whopping RM8 for a 2-minute ride! And as Amy walked towards us in a huff swearing stylishly...she translated that The Ripper's rationale to charge us the exhorbitant and ridiculous RM8 was to also cover the cost of time he'd been waiting for a passenger. Ha. Ha. Ha. Well, as we walked away, another taxi pulled over to drop a passenger. His quote without hesitation - RM3.

Oh well, what comes around, goes around.

A New Beginning

Losing my entire archive of SMSes that I have digilently kept for 4 years is absolutely heartbreaking. These SMSes survived 3 handphone changes of which one fell unceremoniously into the loo bowl (yup, another story altogether). They were spontaneous love poems from my ex, words of encouragement from my friends to help me get through a bad day, poignant reminders from closer friends that life isn't perfect and it's not all about me, happy thoughts which I'd use to in turn console friends when they felt lousy and a couple of decently flirtatious ones to remind me that I am attractive to some as well, heh. Oh well, all gone, in a flash, at moment's folly. No one to blame but myself.

But really, there is always renewal...and my dear friend, let's call her "S", sent me this message when she found out about my loss:

"...sms-es can be deleted, but memories can't be erased. It's space cleared for the new ones you will receive from new friends made. I can't make up for some mushy sms, but let this be the first in your archive to tell you what a great friend you've been! And that you have plenty of friends like me to flood you with more. :) Love you! Big Hug! Smile now."

Aww...and suddenly there is an awakening. Like they always say, "a new year, a new beginning." and this cannot be more apt than now. Besides, ex has found someone special and moved on. Guess, it is time for me to move on, from my loss, too.

This year is beginning to look good already with things happening and changes I have observed:

1. Clean and spacious SMS inbox and archive for more SMSes to come.
2. My ex has moved on and I am happy for him.
3. Read 2 books already and on to my 3rd (this is an achievement coz I disgustingly finished only 1, yup ONE, book last year).
4. Found my lost blogspot and have revived it.
5. More support and recognition than ever before from the boss for my teammates and I.
6. Been offered an opportunity to pioneer in the quick-expansion of a start-up.
7. 2 friends happily married and 3 more coming up this year; of which one will be held in Bali...ooohooo!
8. A friend's yearn of having a junior no longer needs to just yearn. :)
9. A friend who's rejoined the crazy (advertising) industry after a refreshing break has regained positive mentality and is determined to keep it this way.
10. A friend ended his relationship of 7 years. It's never a good thing to break. up. but I get a sense of relief from him and I feel the same for him, too.
11. A friend who's been tormented by ridiculously long working hours and cracks were showing on her face, now looks as if she's just been through "extreme makeover".
12. Made a couple more friends; and not about to stop.

It's only the 1st week of February and 12 big, good things have happened this year. This averages out to 2.4 good things a week! Whoah...what a start and I simply can't wait for the next good thing to happen.

Time to celebrate. What A New Beginning.

My Firsts

Oooo Hoo!! (No lah, I wasn't mocking my boss. In the interest of others who don't know, "Hoo" is my boss' surname.) My very 1st photo up on my blogspot. Not bad for a virginal attempt in a night as it always requires finding one's way around. *decent thoughts please* Also, see, see...the Blog Title? Uh-huh, a second...got to figure how to get it there and in my desired typeface!

Looks like my path to becoming a blog-savvy Gen-Y *poseur* is bright! Heh...but really, it's fun to see how the spot will morph and take its own personality. Then again, this cannot be. It must be a relfection of my individuality since this spot is my blog.

Hmm...perhaps, all I need to be blog-savvy in the quickest possible time is the "Idiot's Guide to...". Cheers.

Blogspot - A Reflection of Myself

I am proud this spot is up and running again...yup, only because I want to and am filling its space. I don't want to merely 'fill' its space with my words. I aim to be like the younger generation aka Gen-Y (while I am now a passe Gen-X) who'll decorate their spot with very cool stuff - heaps of pictures, myraid of colours, flashy headline fonts, and howonfuckinearth did that cool thing get in there?! Erh...HTML? Someone correct me please...is that abbreviation for HoTMaiL? *DUH* Haha...

Gosh...suddenly I sound like my mum, envious of my youth. Perhaps, the Gov is right afterall - it's time to upgrade. Free lessons to offer me, anyone?

Finally found my old spot to blog.
Overslept and it’s been 2 years, 6 months on.
Living in different times.
Things have changed.
No more honey, Colin.
No more lunches at Amara.
David’s still my good friend. He writes just as well.
Ikea’s still one of my favourite places to see and touch.
What my dad had said about me being my own best friend – it is becoming clearer.
Dave’s blogs are no longer funny – I think he is numb.
Terme has stopped blogging - he has moved on.
Sad to see lost friendships.
I now own the 1st generation Casio Exilim digicam/mp3 player – 1.3mega pixels?!
My new tennis hero is Marat Safin, winner of Centennial Australian Tennis Open 2004.
I amaze myself at a lot of things I have blogged before.
I scare myself at the thought of losing my wit and ability to write spontaneously.
Hope it’s not too late.
What next?