_astral

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:23:27 GMT

This is symbolic of Hari Raya Aidilfitri - on this day, people "salam" (a form of handshake) each other to ask for forgiveness. Hari Raya is a time of letting go of the bad and embracing a fresh new start.

My parents

Left to right: My cousin-in-low, my younger brother, mother, father, myself and elder sister

Sis with my grandma

And myself. My grandmother is amazed at the contraption that is the digital camera. "I can see myself in there(the screen)!" She exclaimed.

Sis with my grandpa

Like father, like son

In order of height!

What I wore for the first day of Hari Raya

As mentioned in the previous entry, NUS was EVIL to make us sit for an evening paper on the 2nd day of Hari Raya! Efforts to study for my Finance paper on Hari Raya itself turned out to be futile as I was too busy with the celebrations.

Hairol and I happened to both wear our baju kurung to school yesterday. I reckon I saw our finance lecturer gazing in our direction when we were waiting to enter the exam hall. And that was when we both decided to be bitchy and walk past her (she was also with a group of tutors) and talk loudly to each other about our celebrations. So I was asking him, "EH ARE YOU GOING VISITING AFTER THE PAPER OR NOT!" and he replied, "NO LAH HOW CAN! BY THE TIME OUR PAPER ENDS IT WILL BE TOO LATE ALREADY!" I think we walked past them twice, and we shouted those words twice as well. I hope they got our point!

The paper turned out to be insanely tough; I could only work out a grand total of four questions out of 25. So for the last few minutes I was decided to shade all my remaining blank answers in this sequence: "C", "D" and "E". In other words, I channeled all my energy from attempting to answer those questions into taking a gamble on how best to shade my answers to yield the most number of correct answers, hurhur.

More Hari Raya visiting to follow over the weekend! Will see whether I decide to take more photos but in the meantime, that's all for now! And I reckon I've eaten one kuih tart too many already :(

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:16:26 GMT

Sitting for the mid terms in the midst of Hari Raya is UNCOOL! :( And it doesn't help that the finance paper tomorrow will only start at 8 pm tomorrow. By the looks of it all, we'll probably only be done around 10 pm after the collection of scripts. It's INHUMANE!!!

The only form of finance I want to dabble in this time round is to count my Hari Raya takings and I don't want to give a damn about measuring the risk, returns and future values of investments and whathaveyou. Garhhh.

But that aside, I hope you've all had a blessed Raya so far!

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:50:35 GMT

So Wilfred and I were on the train earlier on, doing lots of catching-up what with his return from his 10-month army stint in Taiwan just days ago - and we saw this mother whipping out a white plastic bag for her (presumably) 5-year-old son. I thought the son needed to barf into the bag because just moments ago he was sliding around here and there on the pole(pole-dancing, anyone?).

But NOOOOOO!! Said mom proceeded to lower the bag to his crotch...and then the unthinkable happened: HE URINATED INTO THE BAG! Like, I totally saw the whole bag filling up with urine!! No, I was not being overly kaypoh, because it just so happened that they were directly in our line of vision!

Very, very disturbed I was. And then I started getting all paranoid. Picture this: A plastic bag is after all, VERY flimsy. It takes alot of dexterity and stealth to handle a plastic bag filled with liquid (or rather, URINE in this case). What was going to happen if said mom were to accidentally lose control of that bag? Wilfred and I would have been the first to get wet, and VERY WILD, and VERY FILTHY.

I quickly asked Wilfred to get up from the seat and we "sought refuge" at the other carriages. Well, I'm sure the other passengers might have seen just what was going on but maybe even if they did, they probably just pretended not to notice. I made no effort to conceal my disgust, however.

I have a very good mind to complain to the Straits Times Forum regarding this issue. Now, how to do so in an objective manner? I've never written in to the Forum before, so I need help on this one!

PS: Said mom was a Chinese national. Could tell, from the way she was talking to her son. Of course this is not an entry to slam the Chinese everywhere but man ... is such an action actually acceptable back home, or what?

PPS: And I saw them both getting off the train at Tampines. There was no white bag of urine found on either of them, however. *raises an eyebrow*

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:26:40 GMT

I know, I haven't updated in the longest time ever and there's no excuse for that - just that I've been busy as hell, and terribly unmotivated to blog.

So the 4th week of the semester is drawing to a close; it's been an unexpectedly fast and frenzied month in school. I have a pretty flexible timetable actually - free days on Wednesday and on Fridays (well sort of, cos I only have one lecture on that day, which is webcasted). But of course, that also means squeezing almost all my modules back-to-back on the other days. Like on Mondays, I have lessons from 11 to 7 pm NON-STOP! Well, until 6 pm officially actually, but I have aerobics lessons thereafter which I am attending with Sheryl and which is such a blast! Tuesdays are pretty fine though - lessons from 10 am to 3 pm and on Thursdays, lessons back-to-back from 10 am to 6 pm with a 2-hour break in between.

I joined a CCA as well, partly because I should stop sitting on my tiny little ass and quit moping over how school is oMgZz s0000 siAnz aNd b0`r1ngZz! I'm in the CAC Guitar Club Band, and this Saturday evening yours truly will actually be performing at 'Scape @ Youth Park! It's part of the inter-tertiary band competition (Jam Aloud) but we're not participating though, we're the "guest band", so to speak. Do make your way down this Saturday evening if you happen to be in town then!

I've gotten to know more people this semester too, partly because I registered for all my tutorials alone. I thought it'd be rather nervewracking having to go for lessons alone initially, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces around in every lesson.

But that aside, I can't wait for the week to be over. Or rather, next Monday. I've been busy as hell - last Wednesday, for the first time ever, I spent 12 HOURS in school! On my free day, no less. I've been swamped with so many projects and assignments, it's not even funny. Econs presentation this week, Econs graded assignment due today, Managerial Accounting presentation next Monday, Biz Comm presentation next Monday, *attempting* to catch up on my readings, Saturday's gig, *attempting* to start mapping out my modules for Mannheim and making other preliminary preparations (e.g. surveying the accommodation costs over there etc) but failing miserably simply because I haven't had time to do so. I really, really need to take time out to sit down and start my planning proper!

Okay, I will attempt to update more regularly. But that's all for now, ciao!

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:11:29 GMT

Am still immensely proud of Singapore for garnering that silver medal :) There was a lump in my throat admittedly as I saw the Singapore flag being raised at the victory ceremony. Even if detractors might be quick to label it a "hollow" win for Singapore, because of the fact that those peddlers are China-born, to me, it matters not. As Mark Richmond summed it up yesterday on "Today in Beijing", if anything, this would indeed inspire many more locals back home to scale greater heights in sports for Singapore :)

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:26:52 GMT

Business Communication lesson today was rather interesting, save the fact that our discussions got rather heated at one point of time - pertaining to the service industry here in Singapore.

During the discussion, people were only too quick to opine that the standard of service in Singapore is terrible. And this particular classmate didn't mince her words by saying, "I think when I go to high-end stores like Chanel and Gucci, I don't get very good service because these SAs think that I look like a student and can't afford anything at all. It's as if I feel that they judge me based on how I look and what I wear. And sometimes these people (referring to the SAs) think that they're very high and mighty just because they're working there."

Last part got me rather riled up. I was about to retort more when the tutor cut off the discussion.

Well, I feel that it's always those friends/relatives/acquaintances/outsiders who put us on a pedestal, instead of the other way round. In their eyes, we are perceived as ambassadors of a high-end brand. That, of course, is true. It's often easy to think that working in a high-end brand equates to glitz, fun and glamour. Well, not necessarily so. You're under scrutiny all the time, people expect (or maybe even demand) more out of you, and as I spoke up earlier on, "Sometimes, customers tend to forget that we're only human and they tend to nitpick on every single detail, making an entire mountain out of a molehill."

And I really don't want to make it seem like I am putting myself on a pedestal either, but hear this: Back when I was working in Gucci, I actually enjoyed what I was doing and personally tried to give it my best when it came to serving customers. Of course, sometimes you have those blah-days, when you feel moody and maybe sometimes it tends to show up on your face, but you realize that it's all about professionalism and that you have to compartmentalize your feelings and still focus on your job. And hey xdolls and Justin, befriending you both (having started out as my customers initially) was actually one of my job highlights and certainly did make my job more meaningful.

Receiving compliments from customers also went a long way towards making my day - no, it's not that I consciously fish for compliments as a measure of self-worth or anything, but you do realize that in the service line, it really does make your effort seem even more worthwhile and meaningful. What prompts a customer to extend his/her compliments to you is rather subjective - one could be simply happy with the mere act of you "surprising" him/her by giftwrapping the purchase(especially when he/she walks into the store pointing out the desired item almost instantly), and for another, it could take a comparatively longer time of recommending an item/giving your input/giving advice on taking care of the product before he/she expresses her appreciation.

The bottom line is, insofar that people have been quick to point fingers at us and say that we are not doing our job well enough, I feel that there's another side of the story. True, there may be other black sheep around but how about others who are sincerely trying their best to render as best a service as they can? Sometimes you really have to cut us some slack, I feel.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:28:31 GMT

Oops, I think I've been a tad too excited for school.

(Clockwise from left) Gold/Orange woven bag from Esprit, Limited-Edition Longchamp tote, Camera bag from Agnes B, laptop bag from Charles and Keith (this was a gem of a bargain - I'd wanted to buy it in the stores initially at $55, but scored it for only $25 at the John Little warehouse sale!), black/white bag from Hula & Co

Gucci scarf to match this black Longchamp tote. I always use this trusty black bag whenever I just can't seem to find any other bag to match my clothes with. And the scarf is such a cheery addition! Black + White + Red = My most favourite colour combination ever.

Anteprima German purse that doubles up as a bag charm for my other red Longchamp. I have to admit, it hasn't exactly been the most practical of purses, so instead of relegating it to bottom-of-the-closet status, why not hang it off my bag and display it in all its glory?

Belts, all bought during a recent trip to Far East Plaza. I'm a sucker for all things kitschy, so I knew I just HAD to grab that multi-nation belt from Black Clover! Talk about advocating international peace and diplomacy :P And the black, red and silver belts cost $10 altogether!

Laminated make-up pouch from Kate Spade. Okay, this isn't exactly a back-to-school purchase, I know. I really wanted this other laminated pouch from Gucci, but it sold out before I could finally lay my hands on it! You either hate it or love it, where this Kate Spade pouch is concerned. My verdict? The latter, of course :)

Gucci Envy Me perfume - my first fragrance purchase since 2006(!!). Till now, I still mourn the loss of my 100ml Limited Edition Stella McCartney Sheer perfume (I broke it when I was only 30ml through with it) and hadn't gotten any other perfume since then. (2006) Have mainly been freeloading off mum's and sister's perfumes throughout these 2 years, so time to get a bottle for myself!

And everybody loves Reese's! Some chocolate to keep me awake during lessons and whatnot. And I think I will be greedy and NOT share them ;P

T-shirts are always a school staple. Pictured here: Ed Hardy t-shirt

Loserville tees from David & Goliath. Miss Shopaholic, because it is so apt. And Miss Shameless, cos I love the way Britney & LiLo are parodied here!

But on days when I don't feel like pairing my jeans with my tees, these tops will do :) From Sense.

High-waisted skirt from Mango. Have only worn it out once, because well, I still can't decide whether I look funny in a high-waisted skirt. I'm really short, so I don't know whether this high-waisted skirt seems to drown my torso or not.

Bought other tanks and tees at the Mango sale too, but I don't have pics of them.

Blue satin dress from Cotton On. Designs remind me of a baju kurung somehow :P

And I bought a pair of white shorts and a blue shirt from Cotton On too, but once again I don't have pics of them.

Blue dress from bonitochico. Yes, I know the design is somewhat similar to the previous dress!

I haven't made any mention about my shoes ... and the thing is, I acquired 10 pairs of shoes alone this holidays. Stay tuned for a shoe post soon!

PS: I will also be starting a sales post soon. To clear out my over-flowing wardrobe space and also because some items of mine need better owners now!

my lip gloss is cool, my lip gloss be poppin'

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:15:07 GMT

(from left: Calvin, Qiling, me and Beets) I had the best time with this bunch of friends from German class yesterday!

These lovely friends came down to Pasir Ris all the way from their homes in the West and the North, in a bid to check out Escape theme park. And, in typical Azzie fashion, yours truly came late (okay, only 10 minutes late though!) even though I live in PR itself!

Alas, much to our disappoinment, Escape turned out to be closed on WEEKDAYS!! We were racking our brains over alternative plans, because, well, Pasir Ris does not exactly rank high on the "Cool Heartlands" list - at least, that's my personal opinion!

And so we decided to go for a karaoke session at K Box! So for 3.5 hours, we were crooning along to all those old-school hits (think Backstreet Boys! And A1 - omg who can forget Ben, with that center parting in all its glory!) and current ones ... made me realize just how much I miss karaokeing! Food served as part of the lunch-time promotion was TERRIBLE though, urghh.

Me with darling Beetsy! I look like I have long, curly hair in this photo don't I? Well it's actually because of Beets' hair falling by my side ... and I must say, I think I quite like the whole effect! I want my hair to grow out asap just so that I can perm it! What do you think, yay or nay?

They celebrated my belated birthday as well! To the tune of a "Happy Birthday" karaoke song playing in the background :)

Look what Qiling and Beets got me from Deutschland! An impossibly pretty H&M gift set! :D Yes, I know H&M is Swedish, not German! But anyway, my present was placed in a plastic bag from a shop in Heidelberg, so I am also going to keep that bag as a souvenir!

My collection of lip products received as birthday gifts this year! You know, each of the 4 presents I received consist of a lip product - how cool is that! Pictured: Crabtree & Evelyn cocoa lip balm with SPF 15 from Liza and Johannes, Estee Lauder lipstick from my A106 girls, H&M lip gloss from Beets and Qiling and lastly, MAC lip colour set from my twin Lynette!

No, it's not that I'm complaining - it's just that I am highly tickled by the sheer coincidence of it all :D And the best part is, all those lip products are in different colours so I have so many shades to choose from to suit my mood!

(Now you know the inspiration behind this entry's title)

Only 3 more days to go before school starts officially - and surprisingly I am not actually dreading the new term! I figured, I really want to make use of the new term to buck up and pull up my CAP, stop complaining how it's so hard to find real and proper friends in university and perhaps be more proactive in joining CCAs and finding like-minded people and all that. Oh, and hopefully, I'll get to hear from the University of Mannheim with the commencement of the new school term. (Well actually, I've been sent a link to fill up an online application form at the Uni. Mannheim site, after which they will verify all details and send me my application package ... soon, I hope!)

It's a lazy Thursday afternoon, I think I will just stay in and do absolutely nothing.

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:01:27 GMT

I cannot believe my stint at Gucci has come to an end. Everything felt quite bittersweet yesterday - settling my last bill ever (with this Indon customer buying 6 sales items at $3000 altogether), changing out of my uniform, exchanging email addresses with the colleagues and taking random photos.

It's been 2 months, I can't believe it. I felt rather apprehensive about going back to work after a one-year absence in June, but it got more bearable as time went past. I worried about whether or not I was going to fit in with the colleagues, both part-timers and full-timers. And I'm glad to say that I walked out of the job with new friendships that I'll definitely treasure in time to come.

My colleagues have been really nice and helpful, on the whole. Even if there were times when I admittedly felt rather sore about getting lectured, I learnt to accept that it was just part and parcel of the job without any personal vendetta against me. It was meant to shape me into a better person ultimately.

And of course, I can't forget the customers either. Having customers ask you for your name or compliment you on your service really goes a long way towards making your day. Even in times when you have personal issues to grapple with, it's something that you need to compartmentalize and still make it your priority to render as best a service as you can to the customers, I've realized. Customers for sure aren't always 100% right, that I will argue on. Even though there might have been some customers lacking in social decorum and grace, I must say that I'm glad that I have never encountered an exceptionally mean one before.

These part-timers are the best bunch to work with :)

Diyana and I! BFFs working together as well :) Pictured: Purple and black patent lambskin small Hysteria handbags

With Lynette, my twin!

With Rebecca and Di

Bryant, le Superman

Shing Kai! I won't forget your KFC treat on the 1st day at work :)

With dear Juliette, the nicest manager ever. Pictured: Babouska tapestry handbag

With Adrianna, an easygoing assistant manager as well :) She looks like an Anna Sui dolly! Pictured: White guccissima leather small Indy handbag

My 2 buoys at work.

With Keith, Rebecca and Wilson

A little something I bought on staff purchase, shh.

Make that 2 actually! Gucci men's scarf and Abbey mini handbag.

We bought matching handbags! And we also have matching tops actually! (See Lynette's top)

It feels kinda strange - knowing that I don't have to wake up at 7 am (if I'm on the morning shift) or 9 am (the afternoon shift) anymore, taking the train down to Somerset, meeting Lynette en route to work, those frenzied 1-hour lunch breaks, basing your time on the punch-card system (always having to make sure to punch our cards on the dot) ... and finally having my weekends free! When I was at work, my perception of time became rather screwed up ie. weekends felt like just any ordinary day, instead of a day to relax and unwind and etc.

I never expected to stick it out for the entire 2 month-duration! We started out with 8 part-timers in June, and at the end of it all there were only 3 of us remaining - Wilson, Lynette and I. (The other part-timers featured joined us later) I was really questioning my intention of staying on after seeing almost everyone leave.

But I'm glad I stuck it through :)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:46:10 GMT

This is a birthday of many firsts:
- My first birthday in my TWENTIES. I'd like to think that I'm twenTEEN, not twenty-one. (that can wait, when I become an adult officially next year)
- My mum, aunt, and grandma giving my first sum of birthday money about 1 week back
- 05A106, for being the first to celebrate my birthday (and Shu En's), complete with the cake :)
- Nora, for giving me my first birthday treat! Thanks for lunch at Soup Spoon the other day!
- Lynette(my TWIN!), for being the first to give me my birthday present. Thanks so much for the MAC lip palette! I swear I teared when I read your message!
- Feesh, for being the first to give me a birthday call
- Jacqueline, for being the first to give me a birthday sms
- Bryant, for being the first to give me a birthday handshake
- Johannes @ Dutch Sesat (:P), for being the first friend of my sister's to chip in for my birthday present. Thanks for the Crabtree & Evelyn gift set!

Dinner out with my girlfriends later. I've got the urge to go shopping since pay is in, although I'm way too lazy to hit town!

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:44:27 GMT

Saturday's class gathering at Neh's was wonderful. Neh's finally back from her 6-month internship in Dubai and will be here till the end of August before she flies back to Lausanne for her new semester. Eating crepes aplenty was GREAT! Especially the choco-cheese ones ... and basically, just catching up with everyone else :) And thank you so much for celebrating Shu En's and my birthday in advance! :) Wow, never have I actually celebrated my birthday 1 week ahead!

Within a week, I have had two sexually-oriented dreams. One, that I was about to enter into a threesome and had a meeting in a cafe with the other two involved. It was like a formal, corporate-style meeting ie we actually had an agenda to adher to and were discussing the exact time we were due to arrive at the guy's house. I recall nodding my head in agreement at everything, but after the meeting was over, found myself wanting to back out. The last part of the dream I remembered was that I had to change my mobile number just so that there was no way the other two parties could contact me ever again.

And just last night, I dreamt that I was fooling around with a friend. You know, the whole lust-without-emotions issue. Woke up feeling quite weirded out because well, I could never ever see myself doing so with said friend! Anyway, I am seriously wondering what these two dreams were supposed to mean. What, maybe I am unleashing my inner nympho or it could also be that I have been so sexually-deprived. *snorts*

Off to meet Nora for my advanced birthday lunch - and just last week I treated her to an advanced birthday as well!

And I would like this Miu Miu wallet (in red) for my birthday please, thank you!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:03:56 GMT

4 reasons why I wanna bang my head against the wall:
- Lost my German library book at Raffles Place MRT station. Asked those customer service officers if any kind soul had returned that particular book to them, to which one of them replied, "Nein." And another asked me, "Was ist dein Name?" It was quite hilarious, although I wasn't supposed to be laughing over the fact that I'd just lost my library book and that I'd have to fork out unnecessary $$$ just to pay the darned replacement fee.
- On my way to meet Lynette, I saw 2 rather cute backpackers (a brunette and a blonde) on the train. We all got down at Paya Lebar MRT station coincidentally. I was standing outside the train station, keeping a lookout for her when one of them approached me, asking me for directions to Betel Box Hostel at 200 Joo Chiat Road. At that point I had no idea where the heck that was. And I told them that my sense of direction was really bad and asked them to go take a cab. What I didn't realise later on (and upon doing some Googling) was that said hostel was merely a 15-minute walk away from Paya Lebar MRT!
- And we also got talking along the way and I found out that those 2 were from LA, fresh out of college! Brunette was really hot, with floppy shoulder-length hair and Sandy-Blonde was equally hot too, although he didn't really talk much. They were on a 1-month backpacking trip around Asia - they asked if I wanted to go join them at a bar, to which I declined and said that I was on my way to meet a friend. Brunette was also like, "I hope your boyfriend won't mind!" and I was like, "Nah, I don't have a boyfriend at all." Brunette asked for my number, saying that he would call me and so I gave my number but I totally forgot to include the area code!! I'm not sure whether he's smart enough to figure out the area code eventually, or whether he would even bother. And well, I didn't ask Brunette for his number in return cos uh, I just thought it was kinda odd for me to do that. And I also said something totally random - I told him to drop by Gucci Paragon and visit me. He hadn't a clue where Paragon was, and I don't even know whether he will even bother remembering it. What do you think? He hasn't called, and of course I'm not getting my hopes up too high that he will call eventually. Hell, I don't even know why I'm bothering so much! Maybe, (at risk of sounding like an extremely superficial bitch) I'm just not used to attention from a TOTALLY HOT male. Arghhhhh. Well, love life's really as exciting as watching paint dry. Which explains why small little encounters like this make me too excited for my own good.
- Spilled my loose powder ALL OVER MY BURBERRY HANDBAG!!!! And I can't exactly get it all out with a soft damp cloth as well. Which means, I have to fork out even more $$$ to send it for dry-cleaning. GARHHHH. But maybe it's high time I did that too, since I've got so many colour stains at the back as well.

ode to my bags

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:29:51 GMT

Hallo! Ich heiße Mädchen. Ich bin eine kleine Tasche aus Anteprima eigentlich. Azlyn hat gestern abend mir gesehen. Ich bin teuer aber sie hat mir gekauft, denn sie liebt mich. Azlyn möchte eine größer Tasche, aber das ist zu teuer. Das kostet $690. Trotzdem, Azlyn ist glücklich.

Hello! I am Mädchen(translation: Little Child). I am a small beaded handbag, actually. Earlier this afternoon, Azlyn was walking past Anteprima @ Raffles City earlier on when she spotted me on display. I have a larger-sized partner, but she thought it was too expensive and decided to bring me home instead.

I am so kitschy and so adorable, so how could Azlyn pass me up? Besides, I was the only Mädchen brought in last week, thus making me one of a kind. Azlyn has a weakness for all things whimsical, and clearly I am no exception! I am severely anorexic, measuring at only 14 cm by 10.5 cm. Azlyn wishes to feed me with her wallet, handphone, cosmetics and iPod but there is no way that she can. I am the new THINSPIRATION for her; she is trying to switch from big bags (where she dumps so much junk inside) to small, compact ones. Practice will make perfect, I say :)

I am an unconventional mixture of Swarovski, plastic and wires. Azlyn has been naughty - she keeps wanting to get a classic black leather bag, but she always ends up getting anything but a leather bag! But I am special, that's why she will always have a soft spot for me :)

And I have just been introduced to my other playmates she has acquired this year!

Agnes B camera tote purchased on Tuesday.

Satin clutch that doubles up as a slingbag, from Mango.

LE Longchamp Le Pliage tote

Scallop-shaped woven tote from Esprit

Stripey wristlet and red mini skinny from Coach

Yes, I am sure we will be one big happy family :)

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:37:35 GMT

I know my posts have been getting very job-oriented, but life really just revolves around work these days, I know I shouldn't be complaining but I suppose I miss the feeling of being able to catch up with my friends and family or idle around at home. Because sometimes doing nothing is just about the best that there is, actually.

That aside, at least I've got wonderful colleagues at work. I'd definitely say that I'm much closer to the part-timers than I am to the full-timers, but I guess I don't really have any issue with it actually. Just the other night Lynette, Elizabeth and I went to chill out at Alleybar after work and it felt so SATC(although there were only 3 of us) as we sat down and regaled each other with stories about customers, and stories about ourselves. Jeremy (the supervisor) keeps calling me and Lynette "twins" now - everytime he sees either one of us he's like, "Yes, twin? Where's your other twin? You eat together, shop together, change (into our uniforms) together!"

And Jeremy's words really ring true - in fact each day Lynette and I discover even more and more uncanny similarities ... TKGS being our alma mater (albeit different batches), sweet tooths, certain attitudes towards our diets, same taste in clothes (we bought the same tops on our off day the other time!) ... and today we coincidentally had banana for breakfast, coincidentally wore identical nail polish and coincidentally brought raisin bread to work!

Other highlights of the job:
- I served the Malaysian royal family the other time for a few minutes without realizing who they really were, until Seha told me so. I mean, they looked like a typical wealthy family - there was no regal air around them whatsoever! Needless to say, I was and still am embarrassed.
- I've only come across German customers thrice, but they've all been so warm and friendly! I met a lady who happened to live in Mannheim, and she passed me her contact details, telling me to give her a call if/when I get there next year. And just the other day I spoke to another German couple from Stuttgart - they returned on another day when I was off, just so that they could pass their namecard to me.
- Getting compliments from customers from time to time - small things like that go a long day in making my day, especially when you're in the cut-throat service industry.
- I will save my comments about HORRIBLE customers for another entry :)

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:11:29 GMT

On my way back, I saw a shooting star(and no, my eyes were certainly not playing tricks on me) for the first time ever. I hope that shooting star heralds some hope for better times ahead - this week has been extremely rough, and I believe that's affected my performance at work. Work allows me to channel all my energy into it, yet conversely it also leaves me with little or no time to sit back and do some deep soul-searching within myself.

But anyway, here's a shoutout to xdolls and Justin for being such nice and cool customers, Saf, Di, Suq, Sarah, Fab, Sheryl and Zizi for dropping by to say hi :)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:21:11 GMT

My off day today feels like such a luxury - woke up at 1030 to get my hair cut nearby and when I came back, slept again all the way until 3.30 pm! Work has been exhausting but it's coming along pretty fine. Helps to take my mind off my abysmal results as well. Yesterday I was working from 10 am till 1130 pm - doing tagging for the sales items at night was quite fun, actually. Colleagues seem rather nice; nicer than the ones at LV but then again maybe it's only early days. And Gucci sales is on now, so if any of you want to get anything please come down and look for me ;) And I'm currently lusting after this bag in thiscolour, but it would mean burning my entire month's salary, SOBS :(
Okay, I'm off to shower now before meeting Corinne and Kelly for dinner.

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:14:47 GMT

I screwed up my exams, FUCK.

Thu, 29 May 2008 07:03:51 GMT

I was in KL from the 24th to the 27th - it was a short holiday/shopping trip of some sorts for my family. KL was food and shopping galore (although most international brands are cheaper back home) - the Marc Jacobs store there is bigger than the Ngee Ann City outlet! And I felt like such a little kid at the Juicy Couture flagship store ... it was pink overload, there were so many elaborate displays, and the undies were packaged like lollipops; they were so cute! But horribly expensive too :( Unfortunately I didn't manage to take photos of the store, but let me just say that KL is a shopping galore! More range of international and regional brands, I'd say. Unlike in Singapore, where almost every other shopping centre in town has the same old Topshop/Mango outlets so much so that shopping in Orchard Road/City Hall really does get very boring after a short while.

My family and I settled for a late lunch/early dinner at Nando's. Cream of mushroom and chicken soup was our appertizer.

My main course consisted of a chicken quarter with peri-peri sauce, peri-peri fries and coleslaw. Peri-peri's this sweet-sour, tangy hot garlic sauce. Here at Nando's you can request for your food to be served in increasing levels of spice: from Lemon Sauce (sans spice), Mild Peri-Peri, Hot Peri-Peri and Extra-hot Peri-Peri. I opted for Hot Peri-Peri and by the end of it all my nose was running. It was not so much of the chicken that was spicy but rather, the fries! Then again, I don't have a very high threshold of spicy food :P

Taken outside the Coach boutique at Pavillion.

Bumped into Rina (a mutual friend of my sister and I) at the 3rd-level toilet at Pavillion, of all places! And we were only supposed to meet up the next day actually - she very kindly brought us around KL for 3 days!

Rina and Iqbal, her beau. Nicest couple ever :)

Rina and I.

Rina and my sis.

Regular-sized chocolate fondue that the 4 of us shared at Baskin Robbins. Damn you Singapore, bring back Baskin Robbins please! This was my childhood favourite ice cream brand. And Swensen's.

Remember how much I waxed lyrical over Reese's peanut butter cups? Spotted them at the Mercato Supermarket at Pavilion mall ... and later on I realized that Reese's is available at every supermarket around in KL! And possibly other parts of Malaysia too I think. On the first night alone, my sister and I bought a huge box of 36 packets of peanut butter cups, and I bought an additional 2 packs of cups and 3 packs of Reese's pieces. By the end of the trip we accumulated 60 packets of Reese's chocolate! I was thinking of selling some of them off, but my lil brother has urged me to keep them all :P And secretly, I am a rather selfish bitch too so keep them I will!

And seriously, Reese's peanut butter chocolate beats Snickers HANDS-DOWN anytime! Chocolate texture is so smooth, the flavour is soooo rich and the peanut butter is soooo indulgently salty! I feel like I'm taking in 10,000 calories with every bite but it's all worth it :)

My not-so-little-anymore 15-year-old brother. He's now slightly taller than me, life is unfair :(

Brother's beef lasagna at Secret Recipe

Cheese fries. It's not the typical fries with cheddar cheese dip, as you can see. It's the sticky twirly type that you normally have in your pizza. Mmmm.

My sister and I both snagged a Longchamp bag each at an amazingly good deal! We loved our bags so much we started wearing them out as soon as we'd paid for them! Okay fine, rather, after my sister had paid for my bag .... I owe her some money for the bag :(

My limited-edition Le Pliage bag in all its glory! This is from the past season, hence the reduced price but I loved it so much when i first saw it a few months ago! Tweed with patent leather trim and embroidered details ... very grungy, very nice! I got it at half price and as far as I know, this isn't on sale/in stock in Singapore anymore.

My sister's full-leather sling bag. Now I'm not a really big fan of sling bags but I have to agree that this is a nice one. Surprisingly roomy, and practical with its several compartments too. This is the 4th addition to our Longchamp stable!

Dinner at Chili's on our second night. Chili's is this Mexican/Western restaurant that serves HUMONGOUS portions for its meals, as you will see in subsequent photos.

This garden salad with crotons came along with our wild mushroom soup(not pictured).

My sis, Rina, Iqbal and I shared this starter's item ... nachos, chicken wings, chicken strips and some egg-cheese item. Sehr gut!

At RM20, this isn't exactly the cheapest chocolate mudcake around (they call it the "molten chocolate cake" at Chili's). But it was super, super good!! Warm chocolate cake with chocolate filling, topped with chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup ... my mouth is watering as I'm typing this!

The ice cream started sliding away before any one of us tucked in ... I guess it didn't want to be eaten aye ;)

My sister and I don't look alike.

Day 3 - random graffiti on the streets.

Froth art - Rina's Caramelette at Gloria Jean's.

"Ahhh..." . Suap shot.

Dinner at Pastamania on our last night ... I know, you can find Pastamania everywhere over here! Surprisingly there's only one outlet over there ... at Pavilion. Here: Minestrone soup.

My spicy chicken linguini

Sister's chicken cream linguini

Rina's spicy Portobello mushroom fusili

Me, squashed amongst all our shopping bags at the back of Rina's Kancil car :P

Last day - pretzel sticks snack at Auntie Anne's. Items there are majorly cheap! Makes you super disillusioned with food prices here.

Imitation Billabong bag (look closely) at Sungei Wang Plaza. HAHA! Pity I didn't manage to shop around at Sungei Wang Plaza earlier on sighh. It's a good place for budget buys.

ANDANDAND I just have to mention this ... on our way to KL I saw this rather ambiguously-named S & M Shopping Arcade. I didn't manage to snap a pic of it in time, but man, I was so tickled by it!!!

I do hope to return in December - this time on budget airplane please! Fiona was just telling me how she managed to snap up a pair of $50 2-way tickets to KL (taxes included)! Airplane anytime please, especially when the journey is 45 minutes versus 6.5 hours on the road! The extra time is valuable for more shopping and eating you know! And Rina says she'll bring us to Batu Caves and the Petronas Towers when we come back ... just as well because I haven't exactly done any touristy activities for all the times I've been there!

So are any of you planning a holiday anywhere? Share with me :)

Thu, 22 May 2008 12:03:59 GMT

3 things that made me sm:)e today:
1) David Cook winning American Idol. Cook, I now declare you, my husband.
2) Chinatown/Ann Siang with Jacq dearest.
3) Getting the Gucci job!

I sent out 20+ resumes for office jobs actually (the first batch dating back to end April) but since it's taking those recruiters FOREVER to revert to me (if they ever would, that is) I've decided that I'm not going to have anymore patience to wait. So Gucci, here it is! Nope, don't ask me about staff discounts cos there won't be any for temp staff :)

Wed, 21 May 2008 16:48:08 GMT

Caught the MJC soccer finals versus VJC earlier on, and ... we won! 2-1. At the risk of incurring the wrath of my fellow VJC alum friends, we've reclaimed the champions title back after all these years! Good game nevertheless. And never mind that I couldn't muster enough energy to shout/cheer/scream my lungs off as I used to before (and maybe because we didn't see many batchmates this time round) :) About 1 year ago I still recall how excited me, Andi, Di, Li Ting, Suq and Van were for the match. 1 year on, unfortunately, we were unable to meet up for this match but that aside, I miss you girls! I feel like we haven't all exactly managed to catch up properly for a long time so please do that once Van is back in July!

Yesterday was a rather jam-packed day - went for the Gucci and FJ Benjamin interviews, met up with dahling Nora for shopping and then with the councillors later on in the evening for Pal's 20th birthday celebration.

It was my first ever half-priced waffle Tuesday experience at Gelare! We decided to opt for the supposedly healthier yoghurt flavours (although I couldn't taste any yoghurt) of Soy Bean Chocolate and Hazelnut Cream because let's face it, dessert is always very indulgent so if you can find ways to "save calories" why not do so ;)

Back when I was still working at LV, I saw this pair of heels with cut-out details, fell so much in love with it, but knew that I couldn't LVOE it enough to have to pay $1000+ for it. A few months back, I saw the above pair at Guess at a fraction of the price but because of my perpetual state of wallet nullification (haha you saw this phrase here first), decided that I shouldn't get them. And yesterday I finally snapped them at 50% off! And just the other day I bought this 5.5" pair of black patent maryjanes from Miss Selfridge. Parents have been nagging at me because our tiny shoe cupboard is running out of space for storage! Maybe I should get one of these Rakku shoe wheels, what do you think?

And I got this Agnes B black silver pendant too! Wanted to get it when it first came out a few months back, but it was sold out and I finally spotted it back in stores this time round!

I know, I know, forgive me for I've sinned. I've spent instead of saved $$$, SIGH :( Oh, mock me if you need to!

Le Birthday Boy!

Ali and Mus got him the red skinnies and this totally rad t-shirt. SO FUNKY!

And the girls!

Okay sleep beckons, because I need to be up in 7 hours to catch the live broadcast of the American Idol season finale. DAVID COOK FTW!!! I wanna make love to you!

mir geht es schlecht

Sat, 17 May 2008 15:49:02 GMT

I'd be lying if I were to say that I do not feel any regret over my decision not to sign up for the German Immersion Programme. Because the truth is, I do. And the reason why I'd registered for the Language Preparation Programme in the first place (before matriculation itself) was so that I could partake in the immersion programme.

And also because mostly everyone in my German lecture group "clique" are currently in Germany - I keep imagining how much of a blast we'd all have together in Germany, followed by additional traveling around Europe after the programme. I was oohing and aahing so much when I was chatting with Beets online for 10 brief minutes, while she regaled me with interesting stories during her first 2 days over there in Stuttgart.

But I keep reminding myself of the rationale behind my decision - because I do not want to burden my family too much in terms of the finances. Even if I'd applied for the IRO award which covers the tuition fees overseas, I'd still have to pay for my airfare and daily expenses. And additional travel perhaps ... making up about $4000. I do not have that amount of money and even if my family did, I still have to bear in mind the additional amount that they would have to come up should my Mannheim application be successful.

I chose not to go for the programme also because I want to get a job this holidays to fund my exchange programme but till now, no job available :( Well actually, I did have 2 job offers but I turned both down because of the pay and the distance. Internship applications have all been unsuccessful too, boo. I've an interview with SMRT next Tuesday (but truth be told, I am really halfhearted about that opening) and 2 walk-ins at Gucci and FJ Benjamin so we'll see how it goes.

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:11:26 GMT

The highlight of the day:
Has definitely got to be the job interview I had at a recruitment firm earlier on. At the end of the session, my interviewer said to me, "Just wanna tell you something random...I think you're on my Facebook."

And no, that wasn't any pick-up line whatsoever. I tried to recall...and yes, we were indeed Facebook "friends" - in the sense that I'd previously accepted a friend request from him without knowing who he was. And throughout the interview session, I had no idea that he was my Facebook friend all along until he said so - Little did I expect to meet him under such unlikely circumstances!

Moral of the story? Your potential employer could very well be "that random dude/babe" on your Facebook account :P

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:24:05 GMT

(edit) Picture sizes are kinda warped, I know. Will try to fix it when I get back home later on. (/edit)

Am finally dancing to the sweet rhythm of freedom! Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna have to say goodbye to my current CAP because the exams were really bad. Bad to the extent of being unable to finish my papers, throwing away so many marks here and there ... you get the drift.

But anyway! Now that the exams are over, I am free from the shackles of NUS for the time being! Main priority is of course, to find a job pronto because I really need the extra moolah this summer. And I'd like to spend some quality time with my friends too because the past semester has really robbed me of my social life!

Yes, this was my cheat sheet (double-sided) for the MNO1001 paper!

We're planning to hit the gym at NUS soon! Might as well make full use of the facilities ... after all, uni fees are so expensive and yet I don't exactly utilise anything useful on campus, actually.

After the paper, it was off to Thai Express for lunch ...

Boys not pictured.

Min Li and I

Nora and I

Yes, food prices are really skyrocketing - which explains why they're stingeing on rice servings.

Nora's green curry. Mmm.

O'Curried Soft Shell Crab, how long I've craved you so!

And afterwards it was off to Orchard ... Nora and I, that is. Pigged out at Coffee Club, where we indulged in the sinfully-orgasmic mudpie!

We decided to have wedges as a snack because we didn't exactly have any appetite for dinner.

But we always make room for dessert! Here, the delectable Muddy Mudpie in all its glory ... with a thin layer of soft, Oreo-like biscuit at the bottom, served with ice cream, drizzled with a generous serving of Herhsey's chocolate syrup and an even more liberal sprinkling of crushed Oreo powder!

Food maketh us happy!

And on the subject of food ... I have been craving Reese's Peanut Butter chocolate so much, it's almost insane! I missed 2 sprees on those peanut butter cups because my IBanking account was being a bitch. And Candy Empire @ Vivo City is out of stock! According to the SA, they will only be bringing in new shipment NEXT MONTH! That's insane isn't it! Am sending Suq off to Korea at the airport later on, so I will try my luck at the T3 outlet. Even so, I doubt I'll be lucky. What can I say ... buy me a huge-ass pack of Reese's Chocolate peanut butter cups and I'll love you forever ;)

Till then!

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:03:22 GMT

I'm currently suffering from a terrible spell of rashes and prickly heat. There are so many tiny red bumps on my legs currently, as well as 3 major scab marks. My legs really look very unsightly now, and I can't help but feel really lousy :( If you had a chance to see the state of my legs right now, you would know what I mean.

And it doesn't help that I have a bad habit of subconsciously scratching myself in my sleep. Within these two weeks I've woken up with horrible, deep scratches on my hands and legs. Sometimes, I tend to scratch my scalp too - it's evident when I wake up and see dandruff all over my pillow and clothes.

Because of that, I have very horrible scars all over my legs - I kid you not. I've resorted to wearing pants in my sleep (and two weeks ago, I managed to somehow lift up the hem and scratch my ankle, leaving behind a very deep gash), wearing gloves (not much use actually, because I end up pulling them off in my sleep) and wearing a jacket all the time. (but there were 2 occassions when I scratched my lower arms at the same spot)

I've been taking rash medication for the past 10 days but there doesn't seem to be any signs of improvement. I cannot describe how upset I feel ... I know I shouldn't be saying that it's affecting my self-esteem, but to some extent, it really is. And no, I'm not fishing for sympathy, just so you know.

Coupled with my acne medication, 'm currently popping 13 pills a day. Absorbic acid - 2 each, twice a day. Antibiotics - 2 each, twice a day. Isotretinoin, twice a day. Cetrizine, twice a day and Hydroxyzine, once at night.

You would think that I was suffering from some major disease, looking at the number of pills I have to ingest each day.

I guess I'll have to stay clear of jeans for the time being ... and it's kinda difficult because jeans would be the best way to cover up my unsightly legs, but oh well.

I just wanna get well soon, dammit! And the exams? Another different matter altogether :(

Alles Klar? Ja!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:03:47 GMT

I was on my way back from Harbourfront earlier on, when I met this middle-aged German couple. I happened to have my German grammar book with me. That A4-sized book, with its bright yellow cover and big, bold words of "ALLES KLAR!" (All is Clear!) caught the husband's attention. It was quite funny, really, how he leaned in all the way (over his wife's lap - she was seated between the both of us) to peer at my book.

Him: *starts mumbling away to his wife in German with the words "Alles Klar"*
Me: Hmm... Kommen Sie aus Deutschland? (Do you come from Germany?)
Him: (together with his wife) Yeah, yeah!

So we took the train till City Hall together ... and I spoke to them in a mixture of English and (halting) German. I learnt that they come from Frankfurt, and I also told them about my tentative plans to go on an exchange programme in Mannheim. (not too far off from Frankfurt) Coincidentally, their daughter happened to study in Mannheim University! So I asked them general questions about Mannheim and from what I gather, Mannheim is a really small town without many places to shop(haha) or visit. I guess it kinda validates whatever I've read up online about that city! But, still, it does look like a nice, laid-back and quaint little city to live in.

Mannheim University is housed within this castle, which is the largest Baroque one in Germany

The Christ Church

The Water-Tower

Mannheim University will only revert to me in August. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that nothing will screw up my plans. You know, things can really screw up sometimes because of unforeseen circumstances, right? I'm really, really, hoping that it won't happen to me :(

Okay, back to my German! Yet another test tomorrow, sigh. Revision for the other subjects leave much to be desired, unfortunately.