享受、学习

情人节又到了。单身的同事纷纷在找节目。 我当然也被邀请。对我而言，日常生活也可以是情人节。当然，说天天是情人节就太夸张了- 难道就没吵架、想杀了对方的时候？

走到了轻熟女的阶段，我有了这样的领悟：
首先，享受单身，别因害怕孤单而随便接受一个自己不爱的人，因为你可能得花双倍的时间甩他。而更可耻的是，你可能无形中伤害了一个对你好的人。当然，很多人说试了才知。

其次，所有恋爱模式，都值得享受。无论单恋、暗恋、相恋甚至是失恋，都是人生必经的过程，所以值得享受。从过程中学习- 不重蹈错误，去覆辙美好事物，下次做得更好。

祝：情人节快乐！

New year, new wishes!

Happy new year of the Dragon! May this be a bountiful and happy year! I'm all ready for the new year, with new clothes and shoes:
1) to put on 5-10 kgs of body mass
2) to find new boyfriend(s)
3) to find a new job with more pay, lesser hours
4) to renew my twice a year holiday schedule
5) to live harmoniously with my mom: eat less meals at home and keep my mouth shut!

Summing up 2011

2011 has been an exciting year for me. I changed jobs though the new one is just 2 floors down from my ex-company. The environment and culture are totally different and the experience is brand new but challenging. I have also traveled (too) heavily and my job brought me to places such as India and Germany I have never thought I would go, not in 2011 at least.

Jan: To Kochang for the English camp
Feb: Taiwan this time covering Taichung and Tainan
March: Sanya, Hainan Island (and the familiar Hong Kong)
April: Hong Kong again
May: Kuala Lumpur
July: Shanghai - same city but I strengthened the friendship and bond with 2 persons and fell in love with the place a little better. Really hated it when I went in Sep 2007.
Aug: Sarawak. I like the home visit experience.
Sep: Chennai. Love India and the food!
Oct: Germany
Nov: supposed to go shopping in Bangkok but then came the flood and the frustrating encounter with the travel agency Focal. The trip will hopefully materialize next week, i.e Jan 2012. And yes, I met a princess here in Singapore.

My target destinations for 2012 include Japan (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) and Seattle+ Vancouver, and perhaps a short trip to Tainan. So if you're looking at these places, drop me a note:) Very little business travel which is so fine now. Met up with a friend this week and he said I looked radiant. The last time he saw me was in Shanghai in July and I looked really haggard!

With that, happy new year and may all our wishes come true!

Not seeing stars

I'm enjoying my afternoon here at l'etoile cafe located at Owen road (where the infamous kidnap case of 2 school boys happened some 20 years ago). Etoile means stars in French. The cafe is said to be inspired by a cafe in Nagoya, Japan after the owner stayed there for some years. I came this afternoon to avoid rowdy students who would hoard the seats for hours, according to reviews. No students, no stars either (I saw photos of Pierre png hanging out here etc, on blogs).

My first order was of course a skinny latte. Then came the cake which I asked the quite cute waiter to recommend. He suggested strawberry shortcake, brownies etc and I eventually went for blueberry cheesecake which was probably a leftover and he was slightly bemused. Anyway, nice cake if only the base crust was more...crusty.

Cosy ambience with ikea furniture which sets apart from the environment and now the drilling sound made by a nearby construction site which adds some noise to the quiet afternoon. Many blogs also recommended seats upstairs but i got sleepy the moment i went up and headed back to the first floor. No signs of Japanese influence except for some Japanese wording on the signage and songs.

Cafes like dome and orange thimble are my preferred choices. Overrated cafe but not a bad place to spend a lazy afternoon reading (reading bloomberg business week recommended by a colleague which is quite good) people watching (including at the waiter) and nice coffee!

Happy birthday, Mom!

It's 14 November - my mom's birthday. Besides wishing her the best of health, happiness, less nightmares and more sweet dreams, I hope that she

1. continues to pin her hopes on winning 4D every week and hits the jackpot this week, so that the whole family can retire together.

2. Nags less and stops telling me to go shower early; if I prefer to eat dinner first or shower first when I go home every day - cuz I usually will shower first.

3. Exercises more to stay fit rather than curling up in the sofa or lying in bed staring into space.

4. Forgets about the horrible memories she had with terrible people cuz all these are history. They translate into her nightmares which sometimes became ours.

5. Fulfills my wishful thinking that she cooks less fish and improves on her cooking.

Happy birthday!

换口味

I was a coffee addict. So one day, after i've moved out of my estate and later on, discovered that my favorite cafe was relocating, I was fairly upset. It was the place I spent most of my time chilling out, with or without loved ones. And so, I tried many means to find out where it has moved to.

A few years on, I got news that the cafe is closing down for good. To my surprise, it was just another piece of news - like the closing of xyz chicken rice stall (Of course, I was disappointed, devastated when I learned that McDull's McQuarters was gone when I went to hong kong earlier this year). In the last few years, I've slowly grown to love teh c kosong. And many say that the caffeine level in tea is higher than coffee!

Penetration of social media

The penetration of social media is getting deeper. Commuters of trains and buses are so engrossed watching videos or chatting on their phones, iPhones. More than once, I missed my stop cuz I was too busy talking to my friends online.

My mom recognizes the importance of apps and so, she asks me for the 4D winning numbers on my iPhone.

I was talking face-to-face to my sis last night she ignored me, typing away on her phone. I then whatsapp her and got an instant reply.