One word: Suay!

I had a great day telecommuting today. I thought everything was going fine. I managed to finish my minutes of meeting after lunch (a 9-page long essay). The amount of incoming emails weren't huge.

I was happily starting out on my portion of the term paper. I had all the data at hand. I was already writing half way. I stopped to take a sip of water. A drop of water slipped from the mug and landed on the keyboard. I wiped it away with a piece of tissue.

The next time I know, my keyboard was not working properly. And stupid me went to shut it down thinking that when I switch it on again things would be OK.

Bad move. Why?

Because I couldn't type in my password properly and after 3 failed attempts I was locked out of the system. *Bang head against the wall*

The IT lady said that I'd have to take the key to the security company to reset in on Monday. And because it might be a hardware problem, I'd have to take my laptop to the IT dept for check up next Monday.

I would have no problem with next Monday. Except that I had saved my work on the desktop and not on my thumb, which means that I had to redo all my stuff. ARRRRRRRRRGH!

And so I 自暴自弃. Bought a box of 20-piece nuggets, a double cheeseburger and big fries from Mac and finished it together with Mr. Jang for dinner.

Best thing is, when I tried to start work again on my home laptop. It died... this time due to battery error. *Bang head against the wall again*

So I gave up and borrowed Mr. Jang's laptop. I hope I will be able to churn out something in time for the meeting with S and J tomorrow.

On this last day of my life, I think I have reached the suay-est point in my life and I actually find it quite funny.

The good and the bad

Basically, my day is summed up like this:

The good stuff - Mr. Jang is here again, this time to help me plot charts. And I have a present - a brand new Logitech mouse! At least I feel slightly better doing work with my new mouse.

The bad stuff - I had to endure a 4-hour long meeting this afternoon WHERE I WAS THE SECRETARIAT AND NOW I HAVE TO WRITE THE MINUTES! HELP!

The stuff that I don't know if it's good or bad - DD told me that during the short dept meeting this afternoon, Boss and Big Boss said most of us will be moving to another Div due to the re-org. I am now faced with a dilema. Which path should I take?

I feel a little lost, on this last day.

Sustainable grace

It was a mad day running around the office bugging my colleagues to give me the slides for tomorrow's meeting. Argh. It's like a food chain: Directors chased PAs -> PAs chased me -> I chased my colleagues -> my colleagues chased the agencies. What a day.

In the midst of it, I finally managed to come up with a draft itinerary (or rather, the to-do list) for my Nov work trip.

Met the girls for our Wednesday lunch gathering again. F just came back from Israel and had loads of interesting stories to share. Felt slightly better at the end of it. J also sent an email of encouragement after that. Thanks for the sweet gesture. Really needed that.

Outsource my data mining task to Mr. Jang again in the evening. Thank God he knows how to run data tables etc. I'd probably have to spend hours doing it manually if not for him.

Once again, I realised that there are lots of people around helping me, and I give thanks for that.

On this last day of my life, I feel that I'm "sustainable grace" because of them.

:'(

On this last day of my life - I don't want to talk.

A doggy morning

grrrr.... sooooo hot! pant pant...

my name is 阿呆...

so tired... zzzz...

It was the kind of "guilty parent" thinking that got me out of bed at 9 plus this morning. Sis and her friends were going to bring the dogs out to East Coast for a doggy gathering and I figured I should play my role as a co-owner as well. Almonn hasn't been out to East Coast for ages (bad me!) and I wanted to take loads of photos of him since he is already 8 years old.

The day turned out to be fun although it felt as if we were all badly burnt by the end of it. Needless to say, Almonn was the one with the biggest attitude problem, barking at children/passers-by/fellow dogs. Drift was the loveliest and a fave with children because he is just so sweet! I have nicknamed him 阿呆 because he just likes to 发呆. Cody was just as hyper as a puppy can get. He went bouncing and jumping at everyone and P could hardly restrain him. I think he must have grown 5 times his size since the last time I saw him.

Glad that I went for the morning "work out" although I'm still itching like crazy from the sun.

The afternoon was spent doing report (again!) and watching movies on the HBO channel. Started out early because I really wanted to make the effort to go for S' housewarming although she is really more of Mr. Jang's friend. Didn't make it though because I spent longer than I imagined on the report, what with Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix on TV followed by Meet Joe Black. Argh. I just looooove watching movies/TV and Brad Pitt looked really cute in MJB. Lucky Angelina Jolie!

And so, dinner was just marcaroni soup for me. Found some leftover Ben and Jerry's ice cream in the freezer and finished it while watching Mission Impossible 2. Heaven...

On this last day of my life, I wish life can stop just right here.

A simple Sunday

During church today the pastor announced that a family of four will be going to East Timor (!) for missionary work. I seriously admire their bravery because that region is known to be extremely volatile. God bless their lives there. It will not be an easy path but we will be praying hard for them.

Came back home after lunch and wanted to start work again. It must have been the weather. Felt terribly sleepy and went to nap instead.

Woke up in time to meet Mr. Jang and his mum for dinner at Soup Spoon Bugis. Shopped around a bit after dinner then came back home to have this yummy chocolate kiwi cheesecake made by Sis' BF' brother.

It was really this simple, on this last day of my life.

Feeling better

The three things I remembered about yesterday were:

1) My new shoes broke. First it was the sole, then it was the strap. Luckily I had a spare pair of shoes in the office.

2) Lunch with A at the fish and chips place, and the crash course on buying HDB flats and using (or rather the locking in of) CPF monies. And then it was a heated debate on gay rights. Yes, he emphasised that he is not gay.

3) Drinks with YC in the evening @ Majestic Bar. 2.5 martinis later, I found myself getting really sleepy. I recalled going to Vivo to collect my camera, discovering that the service centre was closed, taking a bus, reaching home, collapsing on the sofa, waking up 3 hours later, washing up, and went right back to sleep. Hmmm... the fact that I remembered all these meant that I was not drunk. Was thinking of sms-ing YC to make sure that he got home safely as well (since he had 3.5 martinis!), butI decided that I shan't insult his level of alcohol tolerance.

Woke up before the alarm clock rang this morning. Went to look at some gowns with Sis and settled the Dec trip train tickets with Mr. Jang at STA.

And then it was flag day! Stood for 3.5 hours near Lavendar MRT under the hot sun and kept bugging people "Hi, would you like to donate to the elderly and people with special needs please?" The cute thing was, even the elderly donated although a few murmured "I also elderly!" or "I also need help." Sis got a couple of nasty ones who snapped "Asked LKY's son to donate lah!!!" or "I lost all my money already lah! STILL ask me to donate!!!??" Anyway, we managed to get a decent amount at the end of the day (at least both Sis and my bags weighed sufficiently heavy). The bad thing was, we got a parking summon for not putting enough coupons. Argh.

Dinner was then once again home cooked fried rice. It was actually a strategic move because I need to set a trap for Mr. Jang to come so that I can outsource my data entry work to him. Hee.

On this last day of my life, I feel extremely exhausted from having participated in the flag day but am glad that I did a small part for the needy. Am also very grateful towards the people who made me feel that they are always there for me. Thanks.

Wedding preparations

Had an OK day at work today although I had to sit through a 3-hour meeting. Took lots of notes in case Boss wants an update and also for my own learning points in preparation for the trip. Was actually quite glad that I don't have to go for the second meeting even though I'm supposed to be the LO for that. Erm... Think I'm quite redundant anyway cos there are already a couple of people handling that.

And I think it's a sign of aging - am finding it hard to concentrate lately and my eyes are also getting more and more dry and watery... (gulp)

Sis is already in the midst of finding her ROM dress and has been looking at some bridal magazines. Am already starting to feel amused about the amount of things she has to consider: venue, date, timing, dress, who to invite etc. I'll also be helping her keep a look out for gown designs and accessories during my trips. She said that tiaras may be too common, so I half-jokingly replied "why not you do the SJP thing in Sex and the City and plant a bird in your hair?" Aha. I am a meanie. ^ ^

On this last day of my life, I understand that Sis won't be around for me to poke fun at after she moves out but I'm sure there will still be other channels to disturb her.

Many trips to prepare

Things picked up a little today and I managed to clear a couple of outstanding items at work. Am starting to feel a bit nervous, excited and stressed from the preparations for my first overseas working trip. There will be many things to look out for and I hope I can at least do a proper job.


Met Mr. Jang after work today. I needed to get my digital camera fixed at HarbourFront for my trip and had asked him to accompany me to the service centre. I don't know what it is with my annoying camera. I was still testing it on my way there and it was faulty. But when I showed it to the service staff, it worked perfectly fine. So there was this awkward embarrassing moment when the lady raised her eyebrowns at me and I went "Er... it wasn't working just now". Fortunately, she still offered to take a look at it since I was already there and so I just need to come back and collect it after 3 days.


And then it was dinner with Mr. Jang at Kim Gary 茶餐厅. Shared a set dinner called "海陆空铁板烧" (or something like that). The Bosche soup is rather nice! Think I will go back for it next time.



Went off to search for winter clothings thereafter for our trip in December. Had plenty of fun trying on the gloves, overcoats, wool caps etc. Gosh, I am starting to wonder if it's really going to be freezing cold and if all we'd do is to stay indoors or walk like stiff robots on the street. But am looking forward to it all the same. Just that we (especially me) will really need to make the effort to plan our itinerary and start booking accomodation and train tickets.


On this last day of my life, I am thankful that I have people (friends, colleagues, family & Mr. Jang) to cheer me on when I feel down.


Thanks guys.

First attempt no good...

I was feeling a bit down again today because my first attempt at the report didn't turn out to be as well as I hoped. Heck, I didn't even feel that it was a decent report. And I feel bad whenever this happens because it'd mean that someone else will have to clean up after me. Sigh.

Class was alright today and was quite glad when it ended 20 mins earlier. Prof spoke to me on my request to defer my exams. Would have to withdraw from this module with a 'W' this semester. I secretly feel that it is worth it because the trip is a rare opportunity and I really love travelling. Prof apparently thought otherwise but I am just happy that I got the approval to defer. ^ ^

Came back home and had marcaroni with Sis. It tasted terrible terrible terrible not because of Sis' cooking but because stupid me had bought a jar of olive-based pasta sauce when the both of us don't even eat olives! Argh.

So on this last day of my life, I feel a little demoralised about work, and I still feel a bit hungry. :(

Champagne and Popiah

Managed to pull through my first day back at the office although there were over 100 emails to clear. Boss is going to be posted out to another division so we had a simple farewell lunch for her. We are all going to miss her presence.

The presentation at NTU wasn't that bad either. Prof said that ours was quite straight forward and easy to understand. We just need to have more meat in our actual term paper.

The highlight of the day was coming back home to find Sis and Chick at the swimming pool with a bottle of champagne and some nice popiah from Siglap. Was supposed to do my report for tomorrow but am just too tired from the chit chatting and scanning through Facebook for nice wedding gowns for Sis.

On this last day of my life, I am glad that I stayed and talked to Sis and Chick, instead of heading backto the apartment to hide and do my work.

:)

I spent the whole of yesterday with Mum. First to settle the tenancy agreement at our old house, and then at Far East Plaza to do our hair and some shopping. Sis joined us in the afternoon after she got off from work. By the time we headed towards Tony Roma's for dinner, I have:

- 3 more pairs of shoes
- 2 new belts
- 1 fairy pendant + chain
- 1 new hairdo

Maybe I should take back what I said about retail therapy. I feel guilty about spending money when there are people struggling with daily necessities. Bad me didn't even give anything to the uncle singing at the Orchard MRT underpass, nor to the old auntie selling canned food outside Lido.

On a brighter note, I got what I wished for - to spend the weekend with Mum and Sis. Had a happy time although at the back of my mind I felt obliged to be at home doing my slides for tomorrow's presentation.

Am going to meet J and S for project discussion again at 5pm today. Will have to come back later after dinner to work on my report.

On the whole, I feel happy on this last day of my life, because I got to spend quality time with my family.

Phew...

The last day of the course finally came. After a round of project presentations in the morning, we were allowed some time off to do our own stuff before waiting for Big Big Big Boss to come and present us our certificates. So the girls from Table 1 (A X 2, MJ and I) went off to Borders + Marks & Spencer to buy some thank you gifts for the sweet organisers - a card and some nicely packed soap.

And then came the brief ceremony. In his closing speech, Big Big Big Boss said we must all be "winged octopus" (...) I think he meant someone with the ability to (1) multitask, (2) handle pressure from multiple fronts and (3) keep his/her eyes on the big picture somewhere up in the skies.

(I am already trying very hard. I hope my tentacles don't get tangled up in the midst of trying.)

Shopped with MJ for a while at Far East Plaza after the course while A X 2 went to cut their hair . Bought two dresses and a pair of earrings within 20 minutes. No joke but retail therapy really works.

Flew back home to grab my laptop before meeting S for project discussion at Siglap Mac. Thank God we managed to lay a decent egg for Monday's presentation. It had felt like a difficult pregnancy + long and painful labour. Maybe I am just getting too old and rusty for term papers.

And then Mum and Sis packed dinner for me while we went up to the old house to do some last minute cleaning before the big handover tomorrow. I finally said goodbye to my good old faithful bicycle of 10 years. It will be henceforth "donated" to an unknown trainee pilot who needs to navigate his way around the run down Seletar camp.

Phew... a bit exhausted... I think I have accomplished quite a fair bit on this last day.

Mum's coming...

Day 9 of the course didn't start out too well with me being arrowed to be the class rep early in the morning (when I still have not recovered from my depressed mood + the lack of sleep)! Was feeling particularly nervous about having to introduce the speakers (formal/informal?) especially the big directors. Didn't help that I tend to feel awkward speaking in front of a big group of people.

Thank God that I didn't screw up, and that I remembered how to write 知己知彼, 百战百胜.

Halfway through the course, SIA flight info sent me a sms saying that check-in was confirmed for SQ873 HKG-SIN 16 Oct 2008 2015h. Wanted to send a reply telling them that "You've got the wrong person!". Turns out (when Dad called later) that Mum's flying over tonight because our old house is finally going to be rented out this Sunday. :)

I have a presentation next Monday evening for my NTU course and I know I have to prepare some slides. I hope despite that I can spend some time with Mum and Sis this weekend. I didn't get to eat dinner with her on the last day of her previous trip. :(

So Mum will be here with me, on this last day of my life.

真的不开心

Today is Day 8 of my 2-week course on Public Relations and we had a workshop on new media. Actually it's not that I don't know how to set up a blog. In fact, I already have an existing one. I just wanted to start afresh though, because I have been feeling rather down lately. Felt that I have lost myself completely and a bit disillusioned + disoriented because I simply don't have time for myself (or anyone else) anymore. While I know this is just a passing phasing, this time round it hit me harder than ever for some unknown reason. :(

And so I spent the whole day trying to pay attention to what the trainer was trying to say (it's really hard to concentrate when I have a laptop and internet connection right in front of me). The info was useful - but just not that relevant to me (yet). I would rather embrace new media for leisure and not for work.

And then we had a discussion on the group project that we are supposed to present to Big Big Big Boss and other directors on Friday. The topic is OK but I think I just didn't have enough energy.

Met Mr. Jang and his colleague for a brief (unplanned) dinner at Bugis Qi Ji before heading home to do work again. Mr. Jang is forever so full of energy. People called him "Mr. Funny". If I were like him and then maybe I wouldn't feel so grumpy all the time. Sigh. :(

And then I continued working and clearing emails till past midnight today... Mr. Jang called again to say goodnight while I was in the midst of an email. I gave him that impatient tone. And hence, once again, at the end of the short conversation: me -> guilty, him -> resigned.

And so, on this last day of my life, I wish I had done better and made the effort to be nice to people who really matter. :'(