qiuqiu

9 May 09

2009-05-09T01:07:00.002+08:00

Hm, incase some of you do not know, I am currently selling stuff @ pushcart. Been as busy as a bee. Busier than before, infact. To summarise, I have no off days, go toilet only once in afternoon and eat dinner @ pushcart fast fast. I can't rem when I got to eat slowly during dinner le haha... Btw I am not complaining, after all it is my business. I just want my friends to know that I absolutely do not have time to meet them since I am working everyday.

My day:

9am: Wake up slack...
10.30am: Go work
11am: Start of work. Lay out the new goods.
3pm: Go toilet
7pm: Dinner
9pm: Pack up
10pm: Order more new goods
10.30pm: Pack/sort goods to bring the next day
11.30pm: Bathe
1am: Sleep....

So you see. Im a bumble bee...

8th May 09

2009-05-08T01:42:00.002+08:00

Been some time since Stellar's passing. Hm I thought maybe I can talk about how special it was to me, just so that the reader (you) can understand how unique it was...

Not easy to have pet in my family since my parents are anti-pets pranks. My dog only lasted 1 week before being let go (wild puppy who was injured & doctored by us). So when Stellar first came, my mum didn't allow it to sit on sofa, cushioned seats on basis that it was dirty. Luckily she did not have any excuse to remove it as Stellar learnt to go to toilet at pet litter area once we taught it.

This pesky creature also loved to bite ppl. It bit my bro, who kicked it away, which made it attack my bro again. Harrowing events to a start, with my bro shouting at the cat. (but the cat doesn't bite me when its sleeping with me).

Still, it knows to greet family members when they arrive back home (except my bro. they just ignore each other) in its nonchalent cat way. If you are the only 1 in the house, you will notice the cat is always in the same room as you, but not needily so. It just wants company but doesn't need you to play with it.

Stellar also knew how to chase after balls, like a dog. It could carry its favourite chew toy around so that it could chew it anywhere. Over time, it was the favoured child of the family... My mum gave it fish and scallops, my dad was the morning feeder and I was the wet food feeder. Shicai just irritates the cat. For my wet food feeding, I would bring out its dish and spoon, and it would immediately go to the kitchen to wait at microwave area.

It was a greedy cat. When we eat at the dinning table, if there was any vacancies, Stellar would jump onto the vacant chair and wait expectantly.. Not that we feed it :P It also slowly took over all the furniture for sleeping. Sofa, my bed, cushion chairs.. My mum placed towels specifically over its sleeping areas. If you are occupying its sleeping area, the cat would pointedly walk infront of you AFEW times, just so you would give up the area.

We would wipe its butt after it shits. So everytime it shits, it would be watching out for us. And run !! once its done. Tell me, would a dog have such attitude?

When someone unknown is outside the door, the cat would look at you and then walk to the door (& look at you again). How smart the cat is right...

It loved plastic bags. Hang one up and it would hop into it. Literally a cat in the bag. My mum would carry the cat bag around just for fun & it would stay inside.

Somehow it became friends with the neighbours, even so as to going into the neighbour's house. It knew my mum didn't like that & if we walk pass the house, it would hide itself.

It had free access to the outside world & loved to explore the floors of my HDB block. To call it back, we would ring our keys at the stair well. You would see a cat's head popping out afew storeys up, looking down to see if we are below. Then it would run down, popping its head out at every floor.

If I had to go & find it, all I had to do was ring my keys and walked up the stairs and soon I would see it. Infact we walk down together, with Stellar always making sure it reaches the next floor first. Then it would chill flat on the floor & look at you: why are you so slow?

After every trip to the vet, the cat would sulk for a day. Ignoring us & not rubbing against our legs (even if we tempt him with food). How like a human right?

Most importantly, it was there for each of us (even my bro I guess). It would paw against the door if you didn't wake up at your regular timing. In the morning, when my dad awakes, it would rub against his legs, sit on the washing machine whilst he is brushing his teeth & wait outside the toilet for him. He was so glad to see the 1st person of the day.

When I have off days and awaken at late morning, once I open my eyes, I see Stellar walking into my room... How weird, I did not even move - how did he even know?

It was disciplined by 2nd floor stray cat at one time, for being unruly in cat behaviour I guess. Ever since, it had been wary of new cats. If there is prescence of cats nearby, the rascal would obediently stay in our house, not venturing out till coast is SUPER CLEAR, afew hours after the cats were gone.

Yup thats all I want to write. Night everyone...

Stellar (Oct 08 to Mar 09)

2009-03-21T14:03:00.002+08:00

Hi All, Stellar died yesterday after falling down from my bedroom window. Am still grieving for it. Especially since it was fine one moment and gone the next... All the what ifs passed through my head the whole night. My dearest darling Stellar, whom I have been hugging just yesterday and slept afternoon nap with, is no longer around to accompany my family.

No silly cat to greet you when you arrive home, wake up or simply step out of the bathroom. No cat to hug and touch noses with. No cat to bite me just cos' it wants to...

Thank you Stellar for having been with us, we love you so much, even my parents... sadly its ironic that my parents are overseas at moment and they do not know of this news yet.

May you rest in peace in Heaven.

Stellar!

2008-12-19T14:45:00.003+08:00

Hi, incase this is news to you, I have a kitten! (for the past 6 wks already I think). Its a black male, grand total age is abt 3 months and is super naughty...

Given to me by Shicai. His classmate found the sickly mother cat & 3 kittens; kittens were up for adoption as mother cat was too ill to take care of them.

Quite a handsome cat. Yeah it sleeps with me on the bed but its more like I'm squashing it... Likes to bite too. Likes to follow ppl ard when its in the mood. I think its a half cat half dog. Stares & meows at you when you are eating... Hm and meows till like wanna die when we bathe it...

Been wandering ard my neighbours too. Saw my neighbours playing with it. Disloyal cat!

Bro hates it. But I dun care. Its my darling cat haha...

2nd Oct 2008

2008-10-02T01:53:00.002+08:00

You know how when you thought you know someone, that someone proves you wrong? Maybe its just me... That I have been too naive/nice/shallow/inexperience to see beyond the surface of things/relations/people. That I expect & believe people are nice till proven wrong, so much so that I find excuses for their behaviour ... That what was in the past may not be what is now... That people change... That you should see beyond how people treat yourself, instead see how people treat everyone to know their character...

One of my colleagues left in September. Still kinda miss him, because there are very few such nice considerate people at my workplace that I can relate to. With my current lack of enthuse in work, I am not sure if I may push myself deeper into becoming depressed. But I know I have a high level of mental endurance, its just that sometimes its so painful but I cannot cry (since at work you see) that my heart is just crying silently. I guess it is just my gloomy perspective, enforced by peer pressure & to meet work standards & projects.

Of course, I have my counter-balances. I believe my character leans towards joy & optimism by nature, thus if I cannot find it at work, work becomes secondary to me. (Alas my boss & seniors dun think so, thus OT is still in sigh) I have my books, my friends, my family and my dear darling for comfort. Ha even spending a day at home resting, with family or a book or by myself is enough to bring my spirits back up.

Ha and this is only my 1st job... There are layers & layers of truths in the workplace, one can never be sure what is really happening. Who said you needed passion in work? I believe at least 50% of people out there do not have passion in their jobs. To students out there, please DO NOT believe that your 1st job will be a rose-tinted experience, the more pragmatic you are, the less hit you will be. Maybe someday I will find my calling. Currently I am just trying to fit into the rat race, be it if I am the last rat in the race, as long as I have tried my best & am contented with my life, who has the rights to reprimand me for being the last rat?

I am still me, just a tired and maybe weary me.

Malaysia trip! (unedited)

2008-07-01T02:19:00.005+08:00

Went to Malaysia with Shicai on 24th to 30th June: 2 nights Cameron and 3 nights KL. It was a much needed breather away from work. Knowing me, Shicai planned the itinerary. Anyway here are some of pictures I took, unedited version (meaning not photoshopped ha). Only took some photos actually, either cos I didn't bring along my camera on that day or was too hot and crossed to take anymore pictures ha :P For detailed pictures, pls refer to shicai's blog.

I loved Cameron for its fresh air, cool temperatures and breathtaking views while Shicai preferred KL for its sights and vibrancy. Food was cheap and good, we took LRT in KL and taxi in Cameron. Hm surprising was what I bought... very little infact. I think we spent most on food. I got myself a top, a book, a wallet and a soft-toy. Rest were souvenirs for my colleague...

At Cameron

At Strawberry farm...

Strawberry farm with hydroponics cabbage etc

Strawberries!

View from my hotel balcony

Me at tea planation

Tea plantation
At KL: Batu Cave

15th June 08

2008-06-15T23:47:00.002+08:00

Hi~ Some updates about my life. Hm currently I'm feeling alittle demoralised by my work = time for a breather. My enthusiasm to finish my work seems alittle short these days... Thank god I will be going for one week holidays with Shicai to Cameron Highlands & KL in last week of June. Ha Shicai will be planning the itinerary of course, I cannot be bothered with maps actually.

This week was the first time I went on bonding session with my female colleagues. Thurs tennis and friday KTV. Why didn't I do so earlier? Partially its cos' we were from different groups and also cos' they've been sending outing emails to the wrong person. Apparently there is an email called "quiling" but its an empty email to nowhere. For ppl out there who do not know how to spell my name, its qIU not qUI. :P

Today I went with Shicai to the new boardwalk near Vivo. Well at first I thought it was a simple straighforward at most 1 hr walk, so I went for a jog in the morning. But.......... sigh......... I was deluded. Basically we started walking from NUS, walk & walk & walk to Mt Faber. Total time = 3hrs. Total distance covered = ~10km. My knees were threatenin to wobble from the mental surprise & jog in the morning. .

Tomorrow I will be doing skin patch test. Hopefully it can show what materials I am allergic to. My eczema is causing some slight concerns. Can't bathe my back from Mon to Thurs as the patch is there = no strenous excercise. Ha dunno to be happy or not.

Okay that is my schedule. Emotionally wise, I have changed alittle since starting work. I am not as blatantly naive & trusting of ppl.. u never know if the person u are talkin to is actually diggin a hole for u to fall into with his words... I also came to realise my character more. I think that I tend to make up excuses for people's flaws. What do I mean? Person "A" is mean to me & I will think: its alright, maybe he is having a bad day. I know he is a good person at heart.

I only learn my lesson after afew recurring incidents that if a person is a jerk, he/she cannot be excused away. Cannot be so soft hearted - I help them but they are mean to me, so whats the point of helping them anyway? Thus I end my entry, with a hard note.. haha *tuunnnggg* (sound of solid metal ringing)

Company DnD @ Swissôtel The Stamford

2008-04-09T20:37:00.002+08:00

The pictures say it all... For your preview.

Paintball!!

2008-04-02T21:24:00.002+08:00

On Saturday, my colleagues and I went for our company sports event, paintball at Orchid Country Club http://www.paintball.com.sg/h_intro.html. We were geared with masks, vests and guns and on we go, into the field shooting like crazy... hahahaha....

Basically we cannot cross into the opponent's field; the objective is to shoot down the targets posted on the opponent's field, then bring back our ammo box lying very near the opponent's field. Anyone who gets shot need to go to "medic corner" to get ressurrected.

I was posted to the tower (higher ground). Very safe, only my head exposed and I get to shoot people! Haha sadistic but I do not like to be shot at duh... That went on for 2 games. Sadly in the 3rd game, we decided to play only on the ground. I was basically hiding behind a barrel praying I wont get shot. FYI: Direct shots will result in a volcanic like bruise.. ouch...

In all, it was exhilariting and blood pumping adrenaline!! So fun!! Although I was of not much help in the 3rd game, I was sure my skills (and bravery) would improve in the coming rounds as it was my 1st experience playing on the field (1st 2 rounds hidden safely in the tower).

The One

2008-03-14T14:24:00.003+08:00

Hm this post, as I promised, is about the one who has been with me for 4 years and counting.... Love, I believe, is actually through trial and error. I am glad that we are complimentary - we share the same tastes in food and he is firm in matters where I am flexible and vice versa... We may not understand each other fully but we can see one another's true faces.

How do I put it? He is very much an integral part of my life. He is equals to myself. If I do not meet up with him, it hurts. When we part after meeting, it hurts. To tell the truth, I am a very rational person. He is the only one who I feel sad parting with after meeting up. I can happily say goodbye to my best friend who is going overseas (without feeling a hint of sadness, sad to say) but he is like another part of myself.

Thank you for your support all this while Shicai :)

Friendship

2008-03-12T14:10:00.005+08:00

You Are An ESFP

The Performer

You are a natural performer and happiest when you're entertaining others.
A great friend, you are generous, fun-loving and optimistic.
You love to laugh - and you like almost all people equally.
You accept life as it is, and you do your best to make each day fantastic.

In love, you are a smooth talker and incorrigible flirt.
While you get into relationships easily, you don't tend to stick around when times get tough.

At work, you do well in groups. You keep everyone laughing through difficult tasks.
You would make a good actor, designer, or counselor.

How you see yourself: Capable, fair, and efficient

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Incompetent, stubborn, and silly

What's" Your Personality Type?

Hm.. I think I am rather free-spirited when it comes to having friends. If I get along with the person, I would be nice to him/her i.e. start with full marks first and deduct marks as time passes. I remember one girl saying she was wary of me cos' I seemed overly friendly but she realised in time that it was not a facade...

How do I put it? I give my friends the space they need, I respect their thoughts, I try to listen to their frustrations and heartaches... But I expect the same too. I do not like to be restrained/constrained in a friendship. Tie me up and this bird will fly away...

Hm I remember I used to be very close to this guy (whos really nice btw. Hes attached lah ha). We would talk everynight on ICQ and sometimes on phone. Hes the type who defines close friends as being in contact regularly while I feel that as long as the hearts are unchanged, friends remain close irregardless of time, space or contact. So we just drifted apart. No regrets on my part since its just a difference in thinking. Take care friend!

Well ontheotherhand, my stupid JC BEST MALE FRIEND MR YANZHENG has not picked up my calls or reply to my smses for at least 2 yrs I think. Hm... but simply put, I still treat him as my BEST MALE BUDDY even so...

Anyway as usual my posts are meandering along without a central theme or a main purpose. Thats the purpose of a diary right? Next post I think I should dedicate one to Shicai. After all he has never had the honour of a whole post from me abt him... haha ppl too shy lah... nothing mushy of course.

Day

2008-03-08T01:33:00.003+08:00

My work routine:
7am - Wake up
8.30am - Start work (Passdown meeting)
9.30 am - Work
12-1pm - Lunch
5.30pm - Passdown meeting
6pm - End of work
6-7pm - Dinner if I do not have much work to do, else soy bean drink or oats for dinner
7-11pm - Work
11.30pm - Reach home
2am - Sleep

29-2-08

2008-02-29T00:39:00.005+08:00

Hm finally updating my blog. Sometimes I have so much stuff I want to write about but become wordless infront of the computer. Not sure if I'm tired out, really miss the days when I had more leisure time to myself, but seriously I think working will put me in a situation to grow up. Sometimes I just think too nice of ppl, plus I'm afraid I maybe easily influenced by others' opinions. Anyway I just pray that if I do change, I will note my behavior and to curb my fall before the end of the road i.e. I do not want to become a selfish inconsiderate person... but what constitutes being selfish? Saying no to others? When does it justify it and when does it become an excuse? Sigh I'm a confused girl whos wanting to be sure of decisions she make.

Anyway I remember when I had my hamster; I became this self-sacrificing person who, though sleepy in early morn, would spend time feeding hamster instead of tryin grab more sleep time. Worrying abt hamster when it is ill. I like it when my focus is not on me, cos' I do not need to grapple with my emotions like now. I would just shrug and concentrate on the hamster :P

To all those who are thinking of buying a hamster for me, pls don't. I do not have the time to commit now plus my dad swore to throw any hamster I brought home into the dustbin (He is really serious about it). Doubt I can go thru the pain of losing another hamster again anyway.
Heres to commerate my past 2 hamsters, may you rest in peace:

Pudding

Sapphire

December, the month of Christmas

2007-12-08T12:14:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

I finally have the time to write... Hm... it has been a really hectic time at work. To sum it up, I usually end work at 10-11pm. Luckily I live quite near. Anyway will appreciate if you all can support me, or at least don't nag at me for working so late. I will try to go home earlier, but its an additional pressure to face if I have to work late (stress!!) and yet face criticisms (more stress!) even though I know you all may be concerned. Give me time to settle down... as time pass, I should be able to go home earlier.

Anyway days are flying past like a whizz. I'm outdated with respect to news - used to rd newspp everyday but now barely have the time. No time to chk emails either.. sigh I don't mean to be a workaholic; but in this industry I guess you have not much of a choice. I miss slacking as much as anyone else would. I miss hugging my storybooks to sleep, taking care of my neopets (now neglected) and having time to watch TV... :p

Ok I shld stop portraying myself as a victim. I chose this job, so will stick with it for a year, then a review is required. Hm... next on, to christmas. Actually I like decembers, the cool month of the year, where breeze is often felt. Somehow it reminds me of the mood of christmas... Ok thats all. Merry christmas everyone and have a happy new year!

26th Oct

2007-10-27T04:35:00.001+08:00

It has been 2 months of work for me... hm... now I spend my money more carefully because it is really "hard earned" money. Working is really different from school: there are expectations placed on you to excel in a limited time while for the latter, there are minimal expectations in place (mainly your own expectations of yourself) and ample time.

I have always been capable of chatising myself for not meeting my own expectations; what more with the expectations placed on one in the workplace... I'm afraid that I am not learning fast enough, that I may be blur, that I may make mistakes... the list goes on... It has been a challenging two months, but it may be just that I do not like the learning process. I want to get the results fast but the learning journey may be arduous. Oh well, after being spoon fed by the education system, its time for me to brace myself and try to learn independently.

Hm anyway I am not unfamiliar with the feeling of being down. In jc first year when passing common tests was a struggle and in uni where there are people who are so much cleverer. So *shrug* like that lor.... :P sigh just have to work hard.

Anyway I kinda think I'm abit of a workaholic. Hm nowadays clocking in 12hr workdays (no OT, actually my company do not force us to stay back. I just feel that I need to learn faster, so I stay back)... Actually I think I was a workaholic from young... eh ha...
6yrs old: I rem happily doing my homework. Then I would sometimes forget and carry my bag ard at home after I finished the homework.. (its after school)
Sec sch: Not much of a life except for gatherings and cca. Rem getting stressed while going with my family for dinner on wkend during exam period (I didn't want to go out for too long).
JC: Really no life. I can only rem mugging and mugging. But the workload was also the heaviest during this period.

When I was young, my idea of "having a life" meant chilling out at home, but after meeting Shicai, it included having time to go out with him as well. Well I don't want to sound like I'm rantng. Gotta sleep, getting more pimples :(

Movies

2007-10-07T15:51:00.000+08:00

I watched "Waitress" last weekend. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473308/
Its about a woman who made great pies but could not escape from the misery in her life... The acting was great! And many commented that it was a pity that the director was murdered cos' the movie had a thoughprovoking plot and smooth flow.

This weekend I watched "Day Watch", part of a trilogy with the first called "Night Watch". Its worth watching if you have seen the 1st movie, else it may be alittle confusing. Its a mix btw matrix and LOTR, but totally original. Good vs evil, with shades of grey.... hm...

My family convocation photoshoot arrived from Serangoon Broadway. Mum chose a photo size way bigger than our TV (x2) and now we have not resolve which wall is big enough to hang it. Well at least I look ok in the photo, so even though the photo is gigantic, I still look ok hahaha... I'm gonna save up my gown to take with Shicai when he graduate. Personally, I think its vainity and a waste of money to take individual graduation photoshoot; I rather take with Shicai as a couple photoshoot. Personal preference la...

Nowadays I seldom bake in my home - after having a chance to use a proper oven at Shicai's house (as compared to my microwave's baking function) , I think proper oven yields much better results. Haha so although my baking was good from the start, with a proper oven its fantastic! *don't agree? ask shicai haha* So why bother with 2nd best when you have a best option? Problem is I don't really go his house so too bad.

I have not been blogging lately - only 2 reasons: either Im too busy or Im not really in a good mood. No point blogging down my stressed thoughts, I am just such a person. Work wise has not been easy, I still have alot to learn. Hm its intellectually challenging... Actually I don't think I am really matured; to be matured, you have to be a person able to shrug off others' opinions of you, to not try to seek others' approval and to not be easily daunted. Eh we needed to be pliable and obedient when we were young, but now its a reversal of our innate natural programming. Ha anyway needa stop my mumblings before I turn into a lunatic whom no one can understand :P

Lantern Festival

2007-09-15T21:41:00.000+08:00

The below pictures were taken at Clarke Quay on friday night. Shicai and I went there to stroll and check out the atmosphere. Ha one of the few times I see so many children in Clarke Quay. Check out Shicai's blog to see his pictures.

Anyway since I have started work, guess my blog will focus more on my ramblings (other than my activities). Hm I will definitely rear a pet when I have a place of my own. Mainly because after 2 hamsters, I realised having a pet allows you to stop being so selfish; to stop worrying about your work, duties, stress etc and to bring your focus away from yourself and onto a being that needs your care... *doesn't apply to friends and bf* Friends are to hang out with and talk to and bf is your life long partner.

Getting back to the topic, it feels abit like having a child of your own. So in the past, whenever I was stressed out by my workload, FYP etc, I just had to attend to my hamster (including playing with it haha) and I kinda forget about my own worries and feelings. Hm its related to the thinking of: "Do you think you are that important? Your troubles are not The World. The world can live on even if you are not around. Compared to the infinite universe, your troubles and how you are feeling are nothing..."

Yeah so its like you are selfish to worry, stress or feel sorry for yourself while you have this animal to take care of. Anyway the stress will return again to you once you finish playing with the animal, but it seems less of a matter, of less importance to you. Hm basically, to end it off, I like having pets because I like the person I become when I have pets. Maybe its abit like being a social worker bah... Anyway no pets allowed in my house so we will see how in the future when I have a place of my own.

8 September 07

2007-09-08T21:26:00.000+08:00

Hm... I didn't want to have a definitive title... so there it goes, the date as title. Anyway our dearest Yanling is going overseas to study Masters tomorrow! Bye Yanling! See you next year!

Started work this week. First 2.5 days orientation, then rest is start of work. Hm I won't write much about work as I do not want words to limit what I think... What I can say is that work is fine, not to worry ppl. Environment is interesting, and I'm getting along fine with my colleagues.

Well work attire is casual (no skirt! cleanroom attire is overalls so no skirt sigh). I finally bought myself a new pair of jeans since a year ago. Now I have 4 pairs of jeans to wear: 2 aged 4 yrs old, 1 Levis that I only wear sometimes as I haven't altered it yet and my new jeans. New jeans from Giordano and there's free alteration! Yay!

Well I would consider myself a middle spender, probably cos' I'm too lazy to try on tops. Somehow I can happily try on skirts but I have less interest in tops. This resulted in a skewed "graph" of my clothes. I have my happy selection of skirts, but its hard to match my tops to my bottoms. Many of my tops are at least 2 years old. Yeah so I do need to update my tops. Haha I do need to dredge up the feeling to shop for TOPS and pants... Yup pants too. Hm whatever lah, I will makedo with what I have.

Spent the day with Shicai. Went Katong to eat yummy lunch, then Parkway to walk. Thank you dear for accompanying me today. Rest your feet yoh...

NTU gang

2007-09-02T19:28:00.000+08:00

Today I met up with my uni gang after a looonnnggg time (almost 2 months). Theme: Farewell gathering for Ms Yanling, who is going to France & Italy for a year for Masters. Place: Settlers cafe. Okay sorry gals if you all are not as pretty as reality in my photos (haha). I don't photoshop my photos :P (more like dunno how to).

Heres the star with the soft toy I gave her to cry on if she misses Singapore. Fish bought from Esplanade.

Gang of 5 gals, with other come and goes who didn't come. 2 studying Masters and rest working.

This week I bought my 1st MP3 player from Samsung at Comex exhibition. Infact it can be considered as a "couple" purchase as Shicai got the black coloured one. Hm.. lets see, we also have "couple" esprit orange umbrellas... :P

Teeth@

2007-08-30T14:10:00.000+08:00

Went to be bf's dental patient yesterday, its the Part 4 saga (meaning my 4th visit). Dad fell sick and took the day off, so I could not sit in his car. Took public transport to NUH: sigh I dislike taking morning public transport, its quite stressful. Anyway was walking down the stairs of overhead bridge when I began rubbing my eye. And there I was musing "What if I trip since my eye is blocked by my hand?" and poof! I misjudge the steps and tripped... Ha talk about talk becoming action. Its a small fall, don't worry.

Well Shicai diagnosed that I have pretty bad gum disease. Remember how in primary & secondary school, the annual visit to the school's dental nurse involved poking our gums till we bleed? I always thought the nurses were crazy. Its actually called scaling, a procedure to remove the plaque from beneath our gums. If your gums are healthy, you won't bleed...

Turns out that I was brushing and flossing wrongly. There are brushing techniques for children and adults. Since I was taught how to brush in primary school, I am still using children's technique. The correct adult technique is to brush at 45 degress to your teeth so that the ends of the brush will brush against your gums. Check out http://www.tutorials.com/08/0868/08683.asp. Its really important people! Make sure you know the proper method. (Why do you think I'm writing all these? Its for you to read and learn. I wouldn't want my friends toothless hahaha)

Yeah my flossing sucks too. I flossed to remove food stuck between teeth. What you should do is to wrap the floss around a teeth and bring it down into the section between gum and teeth. Read http://www.tutorials.com/06/0626/06263.asp.

Heehee I care for my friends leh. Oh btw we found ants attracted to the really expensive lingzhi we bought back from Taiwan. My mum was saying if the ants did manage to eat them, they will mutate and become gigantic ants... HAHA... cos' lingzhi is super beneficial to health...

Taiwan

2007-08-23T21:00:00.000+08:00

I went to Taiwan with my family for our long awaited family holiday for 7 days on 16/8-22/8 (7 days). I know its the typhoon season but somehow we still signed up with CTC hols for the package haha. So heres the photos!

P.S. Due to my lack of direction, I may not know where the place is nor its name...

1st Day
We arrived at Taipei on a bright sunny afternoon. Infact, the sun is much stronger than S'pore. Tour guide warned its the silence before the thunderstorm (since typhoon was arriving the very next day). First stop is a site undergoing renovations. It used to commerate Chiang Kai Shek's glorious days but was changed to one condemning his wrongdoings. Anyway its sealed off so we just took some photos outside.

Then we proceeded to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (I think its called that, else the memorial hall might be referring to the 1st venue... mixed up of names argh). What I know is that this place was one of their homes (Mr Chiang and his wife Ms Song). The below is the guardhouse: incase of intruder, the guard will slam the window shut and jump into a hole inside the guardhouse to shoot at the intruder (theres a small opening below window to aim the gun out).

This was their car: super long and bullet proof. They changed it about every year in the past I think.The tourguide mentioned that Taiwan is one of the top fengshui practitioners. Even Mr Chiang followed fengshui in his house. The below is an angled bridge, reasoning being that corpses can only walk in straight lines, hence they cannot cross the bridge.

Me and my mum. The house had a very nice park etc as Ms Song loved roses.

3rd stop was Yeliu Geopark to view the results of soil erosion. The tourguide mentioned that the soil had alternating hard and soft layers, so usually the soft layer will be more eroded, resulting in unique shapes (I think the hard layer is larva). First off, "Fairy's shoe".

"Elephant rock" (view from the right). If you see from the left, its more like a hippo.

"Queen's head". Those who want to see it better hurry. It is eroding pretty fast at the neck.

Dinner was spent at Shihlin Night Market. Shihlin is made up of 2 parts. One is like the hawker center built for tourists while locals usually frequent the pushcarts across the road from the hawker center. Well we stuck to the hawker center, tried fried chicken, oyster omelette, big sausage wrap small sausage, big biscuit wrap small biscuit and xiao long baos. I think the last was not bad (its a stall right at the back) and prices was cheaper than S'pore.

2nd Day

Arrival of typhoon. We had plenty of venues changed throughout the tour due to the typhoon, especially those mountainous areas. Oh well... Lunch was spent at this hill top eating fantastic fishballs with fillings and beef noodles. Yum!

Taiwan gave the locals day off to make sure they reach home safely before the typhoon arrives. Luckily the performers at Hualien: A-Mei Aboriginal Cultural Village was willing to perform for the tourists for 5pm show. All other shows were cancelled. During the show, I received a call from S'pore saying I was accepted into the company. Yay I have a job!

The typhoon arrived at night about 2am while I was asleep. Hm... I remembered the rain hitting against the window; its very loud. My mum was freaked out but I was too tired to bother.

3rd day

Morning came with signs of bloated rivers and collapsed lamp poles and signboards. Shicai said newspaper reported that this was Taiwan's worst typhoon this year... Hm actually my trip was ok, except that driving in the mountains was abit worrying, with the slippery roads and fears of landslide (worrying mainly done by the tourguide and bus driver).

In the evening we went to Master Bear Resort at Taitung. All the other tourists cancelled their trip to this resort on a mountain, but not our tour group. Infact we were the only group who didn't cancel: the travel advisory said not to travel to hilly areas. Night activity was spent setting up a kong-ming lantern and small fireworks.

4th Day
We proceeded to Kaoshiung's Fo Kuang Shan Monastery. My mum was really excited by it. We saw Buddha's se li tzi and climbed up to see the gigantic statue of Buddha. It was raining; got our shoes and socks wet....

Then we went to Spring and Autumn Pavilions: Tian Shangdi Temple. The tourguide said the temple's "qian" or slips of predictions are really accurate. Furthermore it is dispensed by this machine. Drop a coin in and this fairy would go into the model temple to retrieve a mini scroll. Well I gave it a try, and asked for my future. On the paper it said something about stop hesitating and focus and things will turn out well. The tourguide related it to me finding a job. All in all I do feel its quite accurate. wow... :)

5th Day
We visited Taichung Wu Chang Temple. Taichung was the worst hit during 1997 Taiwan 7.3 earthquake. Below is my mum with a dog who followed her around. The dog somehow knew its a camera and posed infront. It literally paused there for 10seconds hahaha... Anyway dogs in Taiwan like my mum.

This was the old temple that collapsed. A new one has been rebuilt across the road. After the earthquake, the deity statue on the 3rd floor remained unharmed. The locals believed it was a miracle and moved the statue to the new temple. They clamied that the beard of the deity grows longer every year. The tourguide said a temple worshipping the same deity on a Taiwan's mountain experienced a more miraculous annual event. 1 week before the deity's birthday, big moths would fly in and rest on the beard. After the birthday, they would then fly away. Up to you to believe or not.

We went to Peacock Garden. The peacocks were kept in their pens as they would suffer colds from being under the rain. Below is the blue bird, only found in Taiwan. The peacock was huddling miserably at the back of the pen when we came with its 2 female mates. But I had the bright idea of using my orange umbrella as a "rival peacock" and I happily strutted the umbrella infront of the pen. Then the peacock casually strolled to me and opened its feathers. Yay! This shows that you should watch more documentaries haha.

Wen Wu Temple. Check out the clouds on the mountain.

6th day

We went back to Taipei's Martyr's Shrine. In it lies the tablets of people who had sacrificed for Taiwan, more recently were the doctors and nurses who died during Sars period. There are 2 immobile guards stationed outside and inside each and they changed shifts every hour. Its a solemn process lasting 20min, as shown below. They are marching to the outside to change guards. Guards selected had to be >1.8m and shouldn't wear spectacles. Btw you cannot touch the immobile guards. Its a sign of disrespect. If you do so, they will slam their guns down to make a sound. Then nearby guards in white uniform will come to warn you. If the immobile guards bang twice, then you will be taken to questioning. Tour guide mentioned that this Korean had hit the guard's butt and was brought to questioning. So hands off people :P

Dinner was in this very special/weird building called five dime. The restaurant does not follow the normal building's structure, even inside the building. Pretty nice decor and food. Do go if you are in Taipei. They have other outlets too. Check out http://www.five-dime.com.tw

Takashimaya

2007-08-14T21:57:00.000+08:00

On Saturday, Shicai & I went to Orchard for a nice stroll. Objective was to get: manga from Kinokuniya and hairbands from Muji.

Firstly we bought mocchi from Taka: the delicious 3 mocchi on a stick are grilled over a stove and you get to choose the flavourings you want, $1.80 from the Japanese counter at the back near cold storage. The below picture was taken at Harrods section with the Harrods bear!

I bought Japanese instant noodles $1.80 from Cold Storage. I strongly recommend Japanese noodles! They taste as if you have bought them fresh from a stall. Hm...

Got my books and went to Paragon Muji and then Bugis Junction Muji to look for my elastic hairbands. The bundled hairbands are out of stocks though :( Well I like Muji hairbands cos' they don't give you a headache when you tie your hair. Fantastic Japanese technology haha...
Shaw Towers has a very good pasta cafe too, $15 for set meal (soup, drink, pasta & dessert).

For today, I just went for an interview. I will only know the results next week: they are choosing 1 out of 6 ppl... Hmm....

For everyone's notice: I am going to Taiwan! So check my blog next friday onwards for any new updates. I gotta pack my luggage. Tata~~

National Day

2007-08-09T22:39:00.000+08:00

On Wednesday, I went to NUH Dental Clinic to be my dear bf Shicai's patient. Won't tell you much about the screening except I got my teeth X Rayed... haha sorry but to a first timer, its quite fascinating so heres my X Ray.

I stayed over at his house after watching the movie 881. 881 was not bad, but the plot was not comprehensive and they had some gaps. Its interesting to see the costumes though. Hokkien songs with costumes are nice haha. Morning we baked banana muffins: the trick is to use over-riped bananas. You can get them at less than $1 at wet markets.

Saw this cat in AMK Hub when we went there in the evening. It is really fat and happily lying on the middle of the street. Bemused bypassers were looking at this presumptious cat blocking the way with its meat. One thing I noticed is that fat cats are usually neutered (as this case goes), probably because they do not have large areas to roam to secure their harem. Ok Happy National Day everyone~~

(This picture was taken by shicai)

Graduation outdoor pictures

2007-08-07T00:30:00.000+08:00

First of all, I gotta show some of the pressies I got. Mainly because the contributors have not seen it yet.. haha they gave vouchers. So tada! This is my new wallet from Renoma! Sponsored by my NTU gang. Very pretty, got crystals haha. My previous 2 yrs old wallet was decomposing so I needed a new one urgently.

Shicai got me a necklace from Arialis that sets off the skin nicely but I didn't take any pics... :P Ok I won't talk about other presents I got. Now back to the main topic: grad pictures! Well since I didn't have my fill of pictures during convocation, I met up with my FOC friends yesterday for some serious photo taking.... :) Courtesy of my so-called "personal slave" (as my FOC friends claimed that he helped with camera, carrying and wearing of my gown), my bf Mr Shicai!

First off, at the esplanade:

We mean business...

and... the goofing starts, thanks to shicai :( What happened to proper photos??

I am almighty, bow to my many arms...

Hobbits? From China?

Empress with crown and robe

Then we proceeded to the old Supreme Court for more photos. I took off my gown before heading there, but many weren't as lucky as me to have personal servant. So they proceeded in stately attire, attracting the tourists to take picture of us haha... We even met another NTU group taking graduation photos at the Supreme Court.

My personal photographer!

Leos unite~~

2007-08-01T16:44:00.000+08:00

Hee this is a HAPPY BIRTHDAY message to all my Leo friends (friends of other signs, pls do not complain...I'm biased towards Leos).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

lalalala.....

Ok this message is for: Kelly, Alicia and Rachew of my Cedar gang. Yanzheng from VJC. Sokyee of my uni gang. Hm... may Leos be less blur, become brilliant with maps and best of luck to everyone (including me)!

Board game cafe

2007-08-01T16:19:00.000+08:00

On Monday, my FYP friends and 1 postgrad met at Pitstop cafe for Kian Kern's farewell (the guy). He is going to Shenzhen to work... Bye KK! although I don't think you have my blog add. Haha... Hm.. the food was not bad, pricing was OK and service was good: check out their blog www.pitstopcafe.blogspot.com. We played a multitude of games but what I liked the best was playing the game ticket to ride!! So fun!!

Basically you are a railway builder. You are given at least 2 goals to complete (thats a total of 4 stations far away from 1 another) and you have to try to build the tracks, intercept others and make 1 continous railway for each goal. The railway tracks are colour coded so you need to have cards of that colour and the correct amount of cards stated to build tracks (example 4 pink).

Each turn you can only choose to draw 2 cards or build your tracks. 5 cards are always opened up and the rest are closed deck - you draw 2 cards in anyway you want. And if you finish building, you can draw more goals to complete. How fun is that?

Ha so yesterday (Tuesday) I spent the day scouring the net to see where I can buy the game. Well Settlers cafe do sell it, but price is $80+. USA Toy R' Us sells it for about S$60... Sob...
Anybody wants to sponsor? Haha :P

Cont: Convo & Grad Dinner

2007-07-29T22:49:00.000+08:00

Hihi... Adding 2 more pictures 0f convocation and graduation night.

Convocation

2007-07-28T14:28:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was my convocation. Hm... some stuffs happened towards the end but overall it was ok. Guess I didn't manage to take as many photos as I like and its quite sad to see myself missing from my friends' group photos taken after I left but oh well... :P Anyway I just include 2 photos to give a feel of the ceremony. One with my parents and one with my NTU cliche. Btw if some of you didn't know, I permed my hair. Yeah thats all for the photos.

lalala...

2007-07-25T17:43:00.000+08:00

Ha my dearest bf Shicai has requested I put up an entry on him. The above picture was taken at takashimaya 2005. Hm... we've been together for 3+years already, knew each other in VJC but only got together when he was in army. He is now studying dentistry in NUS (which everyone would proceed to say "wah next time you will be a taitai" and I would go "I can support myself ok!" ha but I don't mind extra cash).

Taken at a stroll above Park Mall, at road to Fort Canning? Ha sorry I'm not good with maps. That site is actually quite scenic, plus its a shortcut to... eh I think raffles city bah.. I can't remember haha.

Books!

2007-07-25T12:10:00.001+08:00

Hee those who know me knows that I'm a fantasy booknerd. In the past, whenever I go out I will have a book with me. Anyway to my sec school friends: do you rem how I encouraged everyone and anyone to read LOTR and Harry Potter but ppl just ignored me? Sigh it is indeed very discouraging to see how a movie can arouse ppl's interest to read but poor me's recommendation is just not enough.

Actually I do not like HP that much. The plot is good but the author seems alittle disillusioned by her fame etc. Books that I like, I will reread & reread &... you get the gist. So ahem! Here are my favourite books that I will happily recommend to anyone & everyone!

Firstly, the Exiles series by Melanie Rawn: http://www.melanierawn.com/books.html

The Damar Series by Robin Mckinly: http://mindstalk.net/mckinley/
A most beautiful writing. Blue Sword is my favourite.
The Dark Is Rising Series by Susan Cooper: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/susan-cooper/ "Silver on the Tree: The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; Over Sea, Under Stone" A series much akin to LOTR, but more towards King Author's writings. I believe that there should be a movie in production.
Earthsea Series: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/ursula-k-le-guin/ "A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore; Tehanu" It is an epic of its own. Hayao Miyazaki, the animator behind "Spirted Away" has produced a movie on it. However, the movie has not reach S'pore yet I think.

Dimsum

2007-07-25T11:41:00.000+08:00

Dimsum was held with my freshmen orientation camp (FOC) buddies on a weekend morning at this chinese restaurant at Habourfront (I don't remember the place but I do know its near the carpark). Pricing is around $18, it is a dimsum buffet and the only thing I like was its red bean paste... :P Well the best dimsum I have tried is at Changi Village, at this coffeeshop across the road facing the interchange.

My best male friend! Ha sad to say I have only afew best male friends, eh 3 at the moment, excluding my bf. Well the number of my best female friends make up for the lack though. :)

Grad Night

2007-07-25T00:43:00.000+08:00

Grad night was held on... 4th May 07 at NTU Alumni Clubhouse... (MSE Graduation Dinner 2007) I know its a looonnnggg time ago but well I wanna post pictures :)

Here is a picture of my pretty NTU clique:

(from left) Yanling, Gelaine, Mabel, Sokyee, Yandan, Kristin & me.

Haha we sat together in LT and giggled the loudest! Nevertheless the lecture still made its way into our heads *grinz*

The silly things we do. Oh well it brightens up the day you know. (Picture is Yanling hugging the vending machine)

Tada! My smart FYP friends, under the same professor:

We are quite close... Thanks to the rigours of FYP: seeing each other everyday doing lab & comparing if anyone has managed to progress in their FYP... (FYP is an individual project) However I suspect some of them don't want to meet up now as they do no want to be reminded of their FYP times... :P

This guy was helping out in the dinner. He was my freshie 2 years back during freshmen orientation camp'05 when I was chief group leader. Why I put up his picture? Cos' he is born the same day & year as me@@ That is why we are gesturing 84 = year 1984.

yay~

2007-07-25T00:33:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone....

I decided to create a blog!! Haha... Its more to describe events in my life. Eh... Im not sure if I will be a faithful blogger but at least you all can come to take a look if you are curious or out of touch. Yeah thats the main reason I want to set up the blog. And to tell you who my friends are heehee...