A storm tonight

Floods have visited Singapore again. Singapore seriously has to look into flood prevention and prepare for stormy weather for the future. It never used to be this rainy during May or June.

As I pulled in the window pane, I felt the stillness outside, the trees were barely swaying. But the breeze brushed against my skin and knocked on my bamboo chimes. I looked up, the sky was red... almost dark red. It was as if it was bruised and awaiting revenge. I could feel it coming.

I lay in bed. Minutes ago, I read about a tsunami from the sky in the west of Singapore from a friend. I'm also getting live updates about it hitting Sengkang, the north-east side. I hear the chimes from my kitchen, the sky moaning softly... and I know it will all be here very soon.

Randomness XVII

Lately, a few good friends of mine bid farewell to their 20s...

Even though it's not my turn yet, I'm feeling it. I'm imagining how it will be like to be 30. Dreadful, to think of it now. To be honest, I'm just thinking too much. Age is just a number, isn't it? Some people died early, suddenly or intentionally... and the rest of us should count each living day as a blessing. When I was younger, like a lot of the others, I set a target for myself. To get married by this age, to have kids by this age, that kinda things. As we grow older, we realise these are not determined by ourselves. It's not something we work hard and can be expecting good results. It's about luck, timing and the lessons life brings us.

Time to get a new identity card, eeeekk. Then again, it is time as the 12 years old look is way overdue.


Am I really going to Sydney??? 

Maybe. Today my boss is talking about the dates. I'm not excited about going to Australia (just not sure why), but I am keen to see a new place, hook up with a friend whose going to have a baby soon, and be near to nature again. The Austrailan currency is really strong against us now, such a bugger! Well, I will talk more about it again when things are more finalised.

I have also started looking at a short getaway. I'm just thinking if my parents want to go as well... I have to start looking and asking around, and will tell you more when I have a better idea.


It has rained continuously since last Saturday. The forecast is saying that it will continue for the next 4 days. What is wrong? Isn't it the hot sunny weather usually by this time of the year? Something's just not right, I think the earth is probably sick and everything has started to go cranky. With an earthquake started in Christchurch, then Philippines, numerous ongoing in Japan, then hitting Taiwan... flooding in Thailand... Japan throwing their nuclear dump in the sea... And do you remember the snowfall last December that caused so many disruptions?

I think Singapore is going to be flooded again.

It's wellies day

Today it's the first time my wellies walk in the rain and streets of Singapore since I bought it. It was brought here recently by my best mate as I shipped them to her from Amazon. I have walked in them in the United Kingdom... But trust me when I say they're not the best for shopping. The wellies tend to be a bit more stiff to walk in, heavy and not the most comfortable when you have stairs to climb. I shopped in them one day and fortunately I bought a pair of shoes that day and I could change into them... My feet were seriously screaming for help after 6 hours!!! These wellies sure come in handy for rainy days as the rain has apparently killed a few pairs of shoes before. So happy wellington day!

Rain, rain, go away...

I think this is the first time I am asking rain to go away... I love rain, I enjoy the drop in temperature that comes with it, I like to snuggle under the blanket. Well, I love my sweaters and jackets even more! But today, it is disastrous.

Orchard river? Heard of it?

We only have Singapore river but after today, we are going to re-write the history, today we have an Orchard river. Orchard road is practically flooded. I didn't witness it, but looking at the video posted in Facebook and pictures on STOMP, then I realized my office area was also affected this morning. Thanks to the 4 walls I'm working within, I can't even see anything beyond blocks of concrete! I came out during lunch and witnessed the aftermaths.

Traffic was horrible. Cars, bikes, lorries all lined up... slowly moving. There was half of a rubbish bin right in the middle of the road. The other half was laying some metres away. Not just one, but all the bins have fallen apart. What's worse - I saw the postbox laying flat on the ground... it is damn heavy and I wonder how strong the rain was to be able to move this thing?!

I like the cold, but I can't sacrifice Orchard road, can I? :(

Weds in a dump

Rainy Wednesday. Cloudy thoughts. Dampened mood.

I don't understand why...

• Women wear super high heels on rainy days and had to walk slow as snails.
• Men still think of cheating when they already are with someone.
• A human that resembles a fat cat is as lazy as one.
• People at work need to be moved, be chased, be harassed before they can reply emails.
• Diamonds are woman's best friends.
• Delicious soups take so much trouble to make, unhealthy ones are sold everywhere in supermarkets.
• There isn't a term "Thank God it's Monday!".
• There's only 24 hours and there is so much to do - Sleep for at least 6 hours, eat, shower, make up (for women) & skin care , commute, make meals (for hardworking people), laundry (for hardworking people), iron (for hardworking people), do sports (for hardworking people), relax (doing something you like - shop, watch TV, read, write, surf internet), run errands (grocery shop, wrap a gift for a friend), socializing after office hours, and spend at least 9 hours at work. And many a times, you simply can't finish all of these in one day! It seems like I only iron once in months, or only when I want to wear something that particular day! And of course, God will reply, "That's why I created weekends!"... But God, life is too short to wait for weekends!!

Monday morning danger

It's 10am on a Monday morning and unusually dark. I hear the agitated thunder roaring, I see the grey clouds hanging up there so dull and lifeless, I can almost feel the chill outside. The trees stood motionless, not a wind in the air. Somehow I imagine those leaves trembling, not in coldness but fear. It's a dangerous morning. No birds are flying across the sky, maybe they are feeling it too. The one that did, scurried across hastily.

The seat besides me is empty. It was 9:45am when I knew my colleague wasn't coming in anymore, some minutes later someone else confirmed the news. Is he also feeling the danger on this Monday morning??

10 minutes has passed. I see white. The sky has brightened up slightly, somehow the blanket of grey is making everything look gloomy. So has my mood, and Spongebob and the guys (his new companions) whom are sitting with me. I stared several hundreds metres ahead and saw the place I was working almost a year ago. That grey building with others stood among the light grey sky, with a mass of dark clouds hovering over them. I can almost see the rain coming down hard. Heavily.

The rain has ceased. The fallen yellow leaves seem to be running along with the cars as they passed by. The roads are wet, the puddles of water mirrored the lives of the passer-bys. I feel a contraction in my stomach... and I know it's asking me for another piece of "button-size" chocolate.

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After 2 rainy weeks

Sun is finally out... but only briefly before the dark clouds took over again this afternoon.
It has been a wet March! Last week of February, the unexpected rainy season began. Everyone expected rain in January but strangely it never did arrive. I don't mind the rain, as I can dig out my favourite sweaters. But the weather loves playing tricks on me; whenever I wore a sweater, it became scorching hot during lunch time!! And when I didn't, it poured so heavily that you feel "spring in London" has arrived in Singapore.

Keep the water pouring... my Lord.

The winter rain

The German poem I have been working on is about to be out of the oven, but let's wait patiently. It's done in fact but I'm just not so sure when I want it up.

It has been raining continuously for at least 6 hours, I'm afraid Singapore is being flooded. I'm sure some parts are already, like it always does. The past few days, I have compensated more than enough on my beauty sleep but I didn't feel the benefits on my health somehow.


On the other side of the world...

Miss China is being crowned Miss World 2007! Not only has she brought glory to the Chinese people, and I feel it is important that the Far Eastern is being recognized as well. Miss Japan has been crowned Miss Universe earlier, and it is becoming increasingly significant to show that everyone can be equal regardless of skin color.

Quoted from BBC News:
"Miss China, Zhang Zilin, has been crowned Miss World 2007 in the Chinese resort of Sanya, the first time an East Asian contestant has won."

Singapore sets into early winter

It has been raining too much till I'm unable to differentiate the days and nights...
What time is it now? What time was it? What day is it today? Thursday?! Friday??!!

London is in "autumn/spring" mode. Richard said he still needs to turn on his heating... Angela asked where has summer gone... TV reports the bad floods happening in England again since years. Rainstorms have also ravaged northwest, southwest and central China. Parts of China are in serious flooding, and parts are in serious drought. Very bad:(

In Singapore, it has been raining almost non-stop for 2 weeks... Every morning I woke up feeling a breeze of cold wind blowing into my room, and me (getting too cosy) hiding under my quilt lazing another hour in bed. As much as I love cold weather, it is getting to be a nuisance when you feel like going outdoor and doing something in the sun - not wanting to bring a damn umbrella or be soaking wet, and the next thing you know, sick in bed with a bad cold/flu.

Rain, please stop and grant me a few days of sunshine! Scorching heat is sometimes necessary!!!

Good news, my phone has recovered. Pea, I don't need a new white man!!! He is more mobile than before; although every phone has its pros & cons, I have slowly adjusted myself to him. He's not the best partner to write/sms with, but he's the perfect man to take pictures with... other than that, it is not that bad:) I love the slim package (as slim & almost the same size as my previous phone), good battery life and it's white with blue eyes.

Give me some Bear's love

Slowly chewing away my almond pretzel coated with caramel, sitting on a bench among the tall office buildings, the raindrops slowly fell on my head. Ignoring them, I continued with my slow nibbling. The pretzel was too sweet. I don't really have a sweet tooth and especially not a fan of caramel. This is my 6th pretzel in 5 months?? I have now 6 stamps to redeem the next one free... Yet, I'm not excited at all. I'm getting sick of things very easily, and I mean at a fast rate. I looked up at the grey sky, talked to myself,"Shit! Please don't rain!" I managed to stuff myself with the pretzel, not feeling very happy about the sweetness lingering inside me. I began to head back to the building with my leftover Pudding milk tea. Not long after, it started pouring... really heavily.

Tommy, a colleague (who also happens to be the "joker" among us), just told me he's also leaving the company. Coincidentally, it falls on the same week (our last day), and he was quite pleased with the fact he is leaving earlier than me! At least, a day earlier. It's kind of funny!! Somehow, I'm relieved I'm not alone and I won't be too sad to go.

I'm tired... I need some baby love from Knut.

The chain of thoughts

Is it my wool cardigan or am I feeling the heat from within?? I feel my temperature rising... I'm not sick, I reckon it's the wool that is keeping my body warm and leaving other parts cool, thus making me feel weird/unbalanced. The cleaner lady is too kind, she offered me an apple the other day, today she gave me sweets so I won't fall asleep she said. LOL.

I'll be IKEA's friend soon (just need another stamp from IKEA alexandra), finally bought my quilt cover, not the one I intended but seems to work just as good. It kept me protected from last night's cold weather *brrrr*

After watching "The day after tomorrow" on TV last night, I'm convinced the world will meet its end one day... I don't know when, but I know it has brought flooding rain to Singapore, when will the Tsunami come... so scary... Global warming... Extreme weather... We'll all die... but I'm not afraid to die, just afraid to be alive and see ourselves suffer.

My dad hates the word "death" whenever I mention it. I think he dreads it. But life is short, and death will eventually come. Why should we be afraid... if we live everyday like we want it to. My dad still sits at home daily, he's the houseman. I wonder at times if he ever gets bored, if he feels lonely with the television as his constant companion. But my dad's greatest achievement is being able to calm my mum when she gets all fiery, he is so accomodating that I wonder if mum has chosen him for that.

From my parents, I learnt that marriage isn't about love... but being with someone who can bring the best out of you, or whom can help you to do that. By being there for each other during the lowest points of life and sharing the peaks of happiness and joy, by being honest and having healthy arguments, by making an effort to keep things going... Love and marriage is not faultless, and certainly not like what my ex-boyfriend thought - conflict-free. It's a commitment you should stand by it for life.

My pilates instructor just rang me. She told me she'll be starting the "Bodyrolling" class if there's enough people. It's the course I wanted to take up instead of pilates (maybe it could help my funny knee and also work every inch of my muscle! Ooo...). Now I have started pilates, she told me to ring up to change the course if she can get 2 more people to sign up! Woo... looking forward to it!! New sports (well if you call these sports as well)!

Recently I became a book mania, I am constantly on the lookout for books even though my shelf is about to collapse. I'm trying to donate some away, so I can have space for new ones. So friends, you might be getting books from me as presents... LOL, no, not the donation ones, but the ones I happened to find at shopping and I think it will suit you. LOL.

Rain, rain, rain... it's pouring outside. I wish I could say the similar dialogue as the one in the movie (The day after tomorrow),"It has been raining like that for 3 days now." I have not began to miss the sunny weather, I still like the cold somehow.

Den Regen mag ich...

(DAMNIT, MY IE CRASHED!!! I HATE IE. IT NEVER WORKS PROPERLY!!!!! So there goes my "99%" done entry, scheisse.)

"Plok... plok..."

I was drawn to the sudden splattering at my window. I turned and saw huge droplets falling from the sky. Very heavily... Within minutes, the rain ceased. Amazing. Not even a drizzle. The clouds had hovered over the clear sky, I noticed shades of white among the cluttered grey. It paints a very dull image on my window right now!! Time to time, I hear the thunder calling... who is it that it's beckoning??? The lighting just flashed across the sky...

I love the sun, but I love the cloudy days as much. I could almost feel the temperature drop outside, just like the air-con in my office I believe. But I yearn much more to be out there, breathing that fresh cold air. It feels just like autumn, as real/close as it could get, just without the leaves turning red and stinging chilly winds.

It drizzled... for a few minutes. My feet are cold and it reminds me of cold winter.

2am, one night in April, Singapore

I stood by the living room window in the middle of the night (2am), I could smell the freshness of the green... Those pots of plants my dad keeps along the corridor gave me such a refreshing feeling at this hour. It made me missed the usual rain that sometimes comes at night. I could vividly recall one of the nights, it rained very heavily accompanied by thunder and lightnings. Those thunder never fails to make me shuddered, however I begin to miss them now. I want to smell the essence of the rain, I want that splattering sound to ease me into my sleep...

Never remember Singapore as so rainy...

What is happening??? It has been raining far too much since I returned and I can't believe more than half the time the sky has been pouring like waterfall. Isn't April supposed to be hot and sunny??? Isn't Singapore supposed to be summer all year long??? Is it global warming?? Or is it just lousy weather? Or perhaps it is expressing my deep sense of loss that I haven't been aware of...

it feels like winter.. but why is it not snowing.. it feels like winter.. but why is it not snowing...

Are you sure this is summer??

Maybe a Londoner will tell you,"If its not crappy weather, this is not London".

A week or two of sunshine has been over, the hot scorching sun that makes me sweat and detesting it is now missing. Suddenly, I am missing it - just a little. That weather reminds me of Singapore, but a little sun is always good. This week, it has been cloudy, rainy - far too much!! I woke up with the rain, walked to work in the rain, came back and slept with the 19 degree weather; the next morning I woke up watching the rain pouring again :(

Freakin' cold

I was on my way home last night. My watch showed 20 00. My usual hour at 18 30 was undeniably delayed due to some online business. I was holding tight on my backpack one hand, the other trying to shield myself from getting wet. It started to drizzle. I had no cover, and needing to protect my notebook in my knapsack, I couldn't afford to get drenched. I couldn't run, with that possibility my poor machine wasn't shock-proof. With that speed I was walking, I would have cut down half my usual duration to the train station.

For a moment, I felt that I was back in london.

It reminded me of the cold, the horrible weather. Especially at night, it was absolutely freezing. One of the nights in london, my friend and I were lost in the streets. A lonesome neighbourhood except the two of us, totally lost, stood there waiting at a bus-stop. Checking on the street map for umpteen times, we were arguing about the directions. I guess we were both exhausted and afraid, just trying hard to hide our fear. It was horrible, our second night, and we were sick of getting lost [even with a street directory in hand]. We got through it, got back to the house after over an hour of serious hunting -- almost knocking on the wrong house.

I felt scared at that thought. If I was back in london working till 20 00, the sky would be dark plus its freaking cold. Everyone on the streets hid behind the bus shelter, trying to seek refuge behind someone much bigger. The chill wind blowing in your face and you hate yourself for still being out in the coldness. You can't wait to sit in a bar and have a nice beer or having a warm fish & chips laying on your table or even be cuddling on that couch watching Sex & the city or something...

After 30 minutes of train ride, I alighted, feeling so glad Singapore doesn't frost this time of the year. It rained so often though, accompanied by high level of humidity, it was simply shit trying to get to sleep. Across the road, I looked up at the sky and hoola I'd be home in a minute. And I wasn't freezing...