3am thoughts

It's late late Saturday night... or maybe call it Sunday.

Today, I have completed quite a few tasks... Why are my weekends never free? Got to do laundry, settle online stuff (e.g. internet banking, looking at friends' updates in FB & clearing the week long of emails) and finding time for myself to relax... e.g. blog. I know I haven't been blogging, work was bugging me. I even went out today and bought myself a really adorable organizer that allows me to plan the monthly schedule, I can't live without one... need to jot down the happenings for the next 1 year.

I have renewed my contract, now working on a new project (not new, just something other people are dumping because they are leaving). However, I'm not thoroughly enjoying myself, my project manager is a 2 faced animal, sometimes he's nice and a lot of times he's not. I heard so many things about him that I don't feel like doing his projects anymore. I was supposed to help him with a new one once this one ends (which I doubt will be on time with all the issues coming up!). I feel that his main problem is he doesn't know how to improve his interpersonal relationship with others and he's also kind of lazy in a way. What to do? I will see if I am able to enjoy or bear the coming months, I really want to finish this contract then go for a holiday later on.

Since I have gotten my BlackBerry, it seems like a lot of people suddenly are using or interested as well. It'll be good in future then I can do data plan and IM them for free! For now, I'm good... I'm using it like a normal phone, occasionally surfing on FB or checking email... but I love to MMS :)

Chinese New Year is coming... faster than I expected. Angela is coming back to spend CNY, and maybe Syndy too. A small reunion without Joy, but I'm sure one day we can all meet again. I told Angela about the idea of us celebrating a joint 30th birthday! It's scary to think that it's coming... well in 2011.

I used to have an ideal age to get married. I even wrote down a list of requirements of my ideal man when I was young. It's amusing to think of it now. It'll be even funnier if I can manage to find that piece of paper again! But by now, the ideal age is already over... and I somehow have also lost the urge to find the ideal man. And love isn't as simple as I thought (when I was younger, probably read too many fairy tales). It's a bit of everything. Luck, fate, chemistry, timing, lust... etc. Well I think it is. But it's even worse to settle for one just for the sake of the pressure from parents, peers or age limit. I'll tell you all about it one day... if I ever find this ideal man ;)

Recently I was introduced to hypnosis, and was even talking to a hypnotist. He practised it himself for years, and I thought it'd be interesting to find out what my subconscious mind is thinking. Hypnotizing isn't as scary as it is perceived to be, the movies and TV shows portrayed it badly. It is harmful when someone wants to use it for bad causes but not often the case. It seems that it is indeed more helpful if you can apply it to change your life for the better ;) If I manage to do this, I shall share with you the experience!

Time for bed.

It is time to curb ;)

But the most sinful of all... has to be...

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Would you like your pizza skinny, mister?

The last satisfying meal of 2009. New Year's eve. Accompanied by my good friends, in a super cool restaurant along Dempsey Road named Barracks... We were served very good quality food and given very attentive service. What a way to welcome 2010...

I've been to Camp (Camp, House & Barracks seem to belong to one) with the drinking boys the last time round, we had finger food and a bottle of wine. The environment is set very close to the nature, with the huge trees surrounding you in the background. This place used to be a former camp, which is why it's named Camp according to the boys. The prices are all very reasonable.

The only thing about this place is the location, you really need a car to get to this place.

My friend had made a booking at Barracks. At about 2pm, I got an sms... asking if I had anything on that evening. I had the intial plan to join my sister and her friends at East Coast's Timbre Mobile for countdown but I somehow figured I could actually combine the two! It worked! A sumptuous dinner with friends at Barracks plus a sinful treat at Dempsey's Ben & Jerry and followed by countdown drinks at Timbre Mobile. This Timbre Mobile is a really nice concept where they will move to different places bringing along their portable tables, chairs and toilets! They have a really rustic feel and is indeed very unusual... At 12am, everyone shot their party poppers in the air, crazily waving. We then quickly made our way to the beach where we watched the farway ships and vessels shooting navigation lights. It was beautiful, magical... Not to mention, lots of people were on the beach toying with their sparklers. It was a day to celebrate!

Getting back to the food. The food were awesome, except the price for the salad seemed unjustified for its quantity. We had the pear with walnut (can't remember the exact name), the pear was fresh and sliced very thinly... love the involvement of the walnuts. Barracks' specialty, I suppose, is their skinny pizza (with arugula leaves). I read somewhere they got this inspiration from "tissue prata", and so they decided to make pizza with super thin crust (you can't call them crust anymore!). The pizza on the left is named H&C, topped with very fresh slices of cheese, generous serving of hams and is kids' friendly! The one on the centre is chosen by me, it's Macadamia Roasted Pumpkin, I guess the name says it all. The combination is deadly, at first look, it looked alright. After my first piece of H&C, I almost thought that was going to be the best pizza (so fresh). But I was proved wrong immediately, Macadamia Roasted Pumpkin just tasted like honey that literally melted in my mouth when I had my first bite. Love at its first bite! I almost forgot to mention those arugula leaves were my best companion, they go with anything! We also ordered a 1-metre slightly spicy sausage for 4 to share, and a bottle of apple cider (yum yum, love this drink!). I could give up alcohol forever just for this drink - just for you to know how good it is (well, for me!).

p.s: We also visited House, which seemed quite happening... They were having an Olympics theme party that night, unfortunately we weren't prepared for it. We got a free shot of vodka neat! I'm so seriously not a fan of vodka :X

My little great find

All of a sudden, it came up my mind... I knew it was a hint. A hint calling me to buy it. Over a month ago, I chanced upon this leather handbag. No matter how tempted I was, I resisted. I went home, still thinking about it. Just as I thought it would eventually slipped out of my mind, it returned and I recalled how fond of it I was. I made a detour today, just to see if I'm fated to buy it. When I got there, the very last piece was there hanging at the window display... and there won't be any more stocks. I am still in love with it. I tried it on, and before I did, I already have set my mind on it. The other color (I was told it was navy blue but I remember it as black) is already gone, but this cream colored one is the very first I laid my eyes on. I told myself if I find it this time, it will be mine. And now I'm the proud owner of this awesome little bag. How I love shopping!

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New Windows 7: Simplify what you do everyday. Find the right PC for you.

Being a friend is hard, be a good one is even harder

Friends usually realise who are their true friends when they fall into shit pit.

My close friends are not physically near me but they do listen to me when I need them. At least I know they would read my email.

2 of my friends are feeling very down now. One just broke off with the boyfriend (not the one I mentioned the last time). I happened to know both of them since they were my schoolmates. It's a pity to hear of the news, but maybe they will sort it out eventually. Or end it for the better? I hope not the later, but whatever it is, it will only be for the better. Another one is the friend in depression because of friendship, even though she's not angry with me but she is very hostile. She even brushed off my concern for her, so now I just leave her alone... I don't know what's wrong, but I think she is sinking further and further into the hole of darkness. She doesn't want to grab the rope I threw in for her, so I guess it's up to her now. If she just wants to stay in the darkness... no one will be able to help her out. It's very frustrating actually when you have friends like that, I wonder who will understand? I wish I can stop being a friend if it's so difficult. Well I wish.

More food reviews to come

I have been eating so much but my fingers haven't been doing the same amount of typing! I need to catch up and share all my food sampling experience with you guys! Please be patient :)

Not so prime

The other day, my colleagues and I dined at Astons Prime located at CentrePoint. I wasn't really enthusiastic about it after reading their numerous bad reviews. People complained about their service and food quality. But since everyone wanted to give it a go, I went ahead to give them a second chance.

The service wasn't that bad, probably because it was pretty empty when we arrived. The food also was served after a reasonable waiting time. To be truthful, the steak wasn't that fantastic. The accompanying sauce (mushroom) was quite normal - nothing exceptional. It can't be compared to the one at Hog's Breath or Outback Steakhouse, and for the price of $20.90 (rib-eye) I'd rather pay a little more for better quality elsewhere. I have to admit some of their sides were pretty well done, e.g. onion rings and potato wedges. My chosen sides were buttered mushrooms and cheesy potato skins. I was pretty happy with their generous amount of cheese on the skin but the mushrooms were rather tasteless. It felt more like they were soaked in water than butter.

The pork chop looked alright but was charged at a hefty price of $29.90 (if I didn't remember wrongly). It seems a bit overpriced. The steaks are priced more reasonably... but only if their quality improves, else I guess it isn't worth to return for a second time.

台湾零食

My colleague came back from her trip in Taiwan and bought us some goodies! I haven't been there though I'd really like to in near future... and perhaps on a solo trip.

This is Taiwan's Sun cake, it looks and tastes very similar to Hong Kong's Wife cake. But compared to Wife cake, this is incredibly soft. The soft crust fell off the moment you bit into it... and you would end up with flakes all over your clothes if you're not careful. My sister came back from Hong Kong recently, and now suddenly I'm not a big fan of their Wife cakes after sampling Sun cake... mmmmmm.

Taiwan's mochi. Singapore imports a lot of Taiwanese mochi... and to be honest, they aren't cheap at all over here. Despite that, I'm still a big fan. I love the black sugar one because they are not too sweet, the yam because I'm a fan of taro, and the green tea because they are always so fragrant! This green tea mochi has a very intensive green tea flavour, unlike the ones I bought here at NTUC/Cold Storage Taiwanese imported section. It literally tastes like the green tea powder... and I also like its soft and not too thick skin. I heard there's an even better brand out there, can't wait to try them out!

遇见怪脾的人 (12) - Little rascal

I like kids when they are adorable, playful and obedient... but I met this little rascal in the train that evening. It pissed me off so much that I DID NOT want to give up my seat for her. Such a spoilt brat! She boarded the train apparently with the mum, another kid and someone that looks like a maid. The mum happily had one kid on her lap on the other side. The maid sat besides me, however this little rascal did not even want to sit on her lap, she immediately crawled between us and started to push around. She made enough sapce for herself and looked like she was the queen. Seriously, I could have told her off in front of her mum but I didn't want to. I didn't want to let her have the seat too, or she would think she will have her own way. Then she started complaining to her maid that she didn't have "space". Neither her nor the maid wanted to give up the seat to each other... I have never encountered such an ill-mannered kid for a long time! Such a BRAT!

p.s: If you're her mama, please teach your child some manners.

2010 with a roar

Happy 2010!

I can't believe the new year has arrived, can you??

Somehow I am glad that the last is over... 2008 was a horrible year for me, 2009 was slightly better and this year it should be the BEST. I am starting it with definitely a much more positive attitude than the past. Having gone through so much sh*t, it can't get any worse, right?

Christmas 2009 was fabulous... and so was the countdown to 2010. I caught up with so many old and new friends in past weeks, that I was wondering what I had been doing the rest of the time. Though some of my friends are still abroad, I still remember them fondly during these time.

Unfortunately, some of my friends are in some kind of depressed mood, and it can be kind of infectious too. One of them just split up with the girlfriend whom chose to return to her home country after living some time in Vietnam. I think I can understand that. Another of my close friend just suddenly withdrew into her own world just because she took her friendship with others too seriously. People changed over time, friends come and go... I guess she's just too sentimental for her own good. I ended my 8 years friendship with a guy I deemed my best friend who knew everything about my life too about a year ago. It was difficult but I made the right choice and my gut instinct still says it too. I took so long to realise I have befriended someone whom constantly picked on me, put me down, used me as his punching bag... though he did sometimes help me quite a bit. But eventually the negative parts of it overwhelmed, I couldn't take it anymore. That's when you understand the phrase "Enough is enough!". I hope both of them will overcome the bad times and soon see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tomorrow.. the first Monday of the year also marks the start and end of my working life. My 2-months contract is up, time flies ;) I loathe my recruitment agency (or more the agent really). So I guess, what's next? Another unpredictable start - which I am almost no stranger to.

Life. I have fortunate friends who have blessed lives, as well as others who seem to have miserable ones. I guess at the end of the day, it ultimately depends on the individual's perspective of their life. You can be miserable for as long as you want to, but you can choose to be happy too. REMEMBER YOU HAVE A CHOICE. My life is so imperfect, but I'm getting by fine, happier and no longer like Mary who lost her little lamb. Sometimes it's easier to live by without setting expectations. I looked back and realised the happiest time I actually had were those without expecting something in return, because when you set one, you always have the risk to get disappointed. Set goal instead of expectation! :)

It's time to get in bed now. I hope my first post of the year will somehow inspire anyone who reads it! Good night, sleep tight too!