I'm still Kicking!

Someone commented my blog is dead..quite true, I have been playing the MIA game long enough ever since I started working.
A day of 8.30am to 8+pm at work really drained me dry, and I meant 5 days of the week, not just one day. I'm so surprised I'm still kicking..
How's my job?
Interesting, unique, what I wanted, stressful, steep learning curve, unexpected pain-in-the-ass shit.
physically and mentally tired. period.
Some commented I'm getting all these negative vibes because I'm not enjoying what I'm doing. Not true leh, I enjoyed organising events and sourcing for premiums..BUT... there's always many other factors,,,environmental, political..sigh..
Makes me even more determined to want to be a tai tai..a hdb taitai would do too..

Well, anyway today's the last day of the year.. I'm on leave the whole of next week (whoppie!) so I shall better update my blog and my sista's now before i forget..

1) Went to ndp preview with js. something wrong with my cap, just doesn't fit. anyway thanks debbie for giving us the tix.. I know ndp was donkey months ago, but den again, thnx! tt's so sweet of you..


2) Js and I went to the zoo..I think we spent more time taking stupid pics den looking at animals..




3) I went Batam with my relatives. It was a great trip, time well-spent I must say as it took my mind off work, I really had fun..



4) I was down with another high fever and coughing blood-stained phlegm the day before my MOS Christmas event.. Due to manpower issue, I stayed at the event site til abt 11pm..Thank goodness the event was a success and my sacrifice didn't go to waste..


5) Met up with SIM gang at Brewekz for christmas gift exchange. Too bad I don't have the pictures. It was really quite hilarious as anyone was praying out loud that they don't get XXX's gift. I got a great gift! Coincidentally the prez I recieved was sth I chose for my colleague which I personally really lk it a lot too..

6) My Christmas prez!! From friends and colleagues..that Christmas week was particulary fun, everyone is in the festive holiday mood, giving prez, walking round sending well wishes..

Check out my Christmas corner in my room, I even put up a mini tree there..

7) Christmas with the Babes!!!! hee, this year I got 2 gifts cause tay wasn't ard last year for the exchange.. and this year I got hers again! see my sista's blog for pictures..

8) Christmas with the sweetheart.. I love the first 2 pictures, the colours are damn nice...




Anyway, Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Please read..

..and if you are as emo as me, do prepare a tissue box..

I meant to share this article and video clip long long ago..well..finally got down to blog it out, I'm really very touched by this amazing dad..

From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I stink.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate.

``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

"Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the
time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.''

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

TAIPEI 11-16th July 2006

1st Day
Airport -> Hotel -> Shi Lin -> Hotel


My mom and Bro


Ready to go!


At Changi Airport Harry's..



On Jetstarasia..

S$4 for 3 pieces of pastry!!


Taipei International airport



After we checked in the hotel, it's off to ShiLin!

It's actually bubble tea's pearls..only that it's more chewy..


Smelly beancurd!


The famous Ah Zong Mee Sua..I don't really like it, I prefer Singapore's ShiLIn mee sua..



Chicken Cutlet!! *droolz*


At the pups section


These toy machines are everywhere in Taipei..


Car Racing

TAIPEI 11-16th July 2006

2nd Day
Hotel -> Taipei underground s.c. -> Ximending -> KTV -> Hotel

Hotel Lobby


Fried Dumplings for breakfast, cost 5NT for one..which is about 25cents..


People waiting for the departmental store to open..don't know for what reason, it's not even having a sale..


At Taipei underground shopping centre..
Mister Donut! didn't get to try the cheese donut Wanqing said, I was told it was seasonal..



We ate here, it has a cute shop name. I overheard the next table complaining the portion was very little, the other taiwanese replied,' that's why pian4 chi1 pian4 he1 ma..'


(L) took from Rainbow Hotel in XiMenDing
(R) Shui Long Wang..the soup is nice, but the place has a stinky smell..


And then it's off to KTV @ CashBox!
Damn huge! The whole buiding belongs to CashBox..

Check out their lobby, like an hotel's!

and their dian3 ge1 machine..


Our KTV room has our own private toilet..
a table and a lcd that let you eat and watch the mtv at the same time..


a stage for the exhibitionist..


..3 microphones..a nice and comfy seating area..


and fantastic dinner served! the food is really good! it's nothing like the cheapskate lunch package KBox serves..


QianQian's sister, YingYing..her eyes are so pretty!


Overall, singing at CashBox was really worth it, $20+ per pax for unlimited hours and ala carte dinner..tsk tsk..KBox should really do something about themselves..

TAIPEI 11-16th July 2006

3rd Day
Hotel -> Wu Fen Pu -> Yang Hwa(?) Night Mkt -> Ximending -> Hotel

We heard that the hotel breakfast is not edible, so we had our breakfast at one of the beef noodle store near our hotel..
I love the Q-Q noodles..


On our way to the MTR, our umbrellas were broken by the typhoon..


On the MTR..
when in rome do as the romans do, so must act cute when taking pictures..but we look more lk our fingers were having spasms..


It was drizzling again, but fortunately we were smart enough to stock up raincoats from 7-11.

we had fun getting into our raincoats..it's quite a funny sight actually, 6 yellow men walking in a line..


Wu Fen pu..alright only, can't really find any stuff suitable for working.
(R) Push cart selling sotong balls, tempuras!! My favourite would be the tempuras! damn nice!



Had hot pot for dinner, they call it the shua shua guo..We went to the one that's near QianQian's school..ordered quite a lot, average about less than S$9 per pax.


After which, we went to Ximending, didn't take any pictures because it was pouring..was rather inconvenient. That night, we took the MTR back on our own, without QianQian's guide. We managed well but on our way we met the strong wind and rain again, the wind is strong enough to stop us girls in our tracks. By the time we got back to our hotel we were drenched and exhausted from all the shrieking. The impact of the strong wind is unforgettable, very exciting to me in fact.. and to think that the one we experienced was rather mild!

TAIPEI 11-16th July 2006

4th Day
Hotel -> Din Tai Feng -> Taipei 101 -> Dan Shui -> Beitou hotspring -> Hotel

Din Tai Feng, very packed on a Friday morning..never try the DTF in singapore so couldn't compare, but the service in tw DTF is fantastic, they even clean the toilet seat with warm towel after each use.

3 couples and a girl..




Outside Taipei 101..




(Inside Taipei 101) The Kawaii pose QianQian designed for us.


(L) Dan Shui..was drizzling..
(R) it's a pity we went Dan Shui quite late, didnt get to catch the sunset..went to eat their seafood instead..


(L) Js and QianQian loves the Di Gua Chiu..They had a second helping on our way back again. It tastes like starchy dough to me, it's just sweet and QQ..
(R) Tie Dan..all of us bought quite a few packets..


We end our day by going to BeiTou hotspring, perfect for the cold weather...S$10 for 40min.

TaIPEI 11-16th July 2006

5th Day
Hotel -> Taipei underground s.c. -> Miramar Ferris Wheel ->Shi Lin -> Hotel

Groomy sky, we were so worried we couldn't get on the ferris wheel because of the typhoon.


(left) I didn't really enjoy the scenery high up in the ferris wheel, cause I was too scared to look down. It's an experience neverthless.
(right) Our first couple basketball score, not bad not bad.. we did better at the Shilin arcade, we scored 300+!!




Shi Lin! Horribly crowded on weekends, illegal stalls lined up in the middle of the narrow street. These illegal stalls have a network, they use walkie talkie to notify each other of raids. I got to witness a false alarm raid, where this young man would shout on top of his voice and the message would be pass on down the neat line of stalls, then they would push their carts calmly like they had done it a million times through the crowd.

(right picture) I tried the lu3 wei4, which is like lu3 duck, lu3 chicken.. it's reallt quite tasty, but too bad nobody dare to try it.



Jingyi and I finally found one decent shop to do our manicure in ShiLin, at a reasonable S$20 with 6 crystals..It's money well spent, as we get to rest our tired feet too.

After which, we went to play car racing again. This time round, I keep crashing into one corner which got me rather pek cek, I thought I could drift..chey..

TAIPEI 11-16th July 2006

there's too much to blog..i shall start blogging from the last day of our trip..

Our last day in Taiwan.
Hotel -> Jiu Fen -> Airport -> Singapore

Our hotel


QianQian brought Candy along! I look taitai-ish carrying Candy..


On our way up to Jiu Fen.


Jiu Fen
-the grilled snail is suprisingly quite tasty,oo..I love the egg part..




Tea House with a view..






The Xi Shua Shua game we played everywhere we go..Js and I still play it when we are bored.



Before departure..




Qian's family brought Candy's pups! They're so adorable!


I'm very happy with my loot from taiwan. I managed to buy my MM foundatiin case, FF blusher, Tiffa lipgloss, Tw eye masks, DHC cleanser, 1 shorts, 2 skirts, 2 tops, 2 shoes, 1 cap..and lots of tibits.Not a lot of stuff in fact, I remember I bought more from Bangkok with the same amount of money. Can't compare of course. Would definitely visit Taiwan again..the next time I would like to explore the southern part of Taiwan, especially the off shore islands.

Missing the food in Taiwan, the XXXL chicken cutlet is superb.. the way it taste is just so different from S'pore's Shilin..maybe it's the spices they used. The sausage is nice too, especially the outer coat of sweet honey taste..Their beef noodles is another must-try..and and and..TEMPURAS! I just can't get enough of it from the WuFenPu pushcart stall..Shall try out ShiLin's tempuras one of these days..

Above it all, I miss our small tour guide,QianQian, who showed us around, from 10am to 11pm for 5 days consecutively.. She has been such a darling, she would dig out clothes that she think is our style, look out for the stuff that I casually said I wanted to buy; and of course her goodbye kiss really make me want to pack her into my suitcase and bring her home. Can't wait to see her when she visit Singapore again.

In d end, the trip went smoothly and peacefully, no quarrels, no one is upset, and I feel damn proud of myself for attaining the ren3 gong1 of the highest level.. For 3 girlfriends to travel so harmoniously together is certainly no easy feat., but fortunately, we've all been so understanding to each other's needs and hence made the trip enjoyable. So, this tw trip..Cheng2 gong1! yea!

My very mini JC class gathering

well, it's more for Shawn who came back from England for holidays. He definitely succeeded in making the guys' hearts wrenched, by telling them he took a picture of Rooney's butt.
I remember 4 years ago, the guys were watching the World Cup at Qimou's house. 4 years later, we are still keeping in contacting and they are still talking about the World Cup like before.
Miss the days in SA, miss playing tabletennis after school, miss not being hard-working when I should be and i miss the uniform!

Random

*Jeslyn with her belated birthday present. Hmm, I really think we still look young, like when we were in JC, minus the plucked eyebrows and painted nails.


*Walked around town today and I realise weekend crowds really give me the gripes. Hence, to stay away from the massive human jam, I avoided shopping centres as much as possible, but the heat outside is simply unbeareable. The weather is a killer nowadays, it hardly rains. They should hold the GSS in a much cooler season, say after the monsoon season.
Anyway, today was a pretty normal Saturday, Js is working so I shopped around alone after having lunch with him, bumped into a jc classmate, then decided I really can't stand the weather anymore and made my way to find Jeslyn.

*I like my fringe..only when it stays this way.
However it don't and so I'm going to cut it soon. But I feel the pinch when I thought of spending $18 just to cut my fringe.

*Emily is back from Taiwan! Can't wait to see her Taiwan pictures and dig all the must-see and must-buy.

*One of my girlfriends is attached! Her sms annoucing she's attached literally screams her joy..hahhaa..So happy for you girl! Congratulations! Hugs!! Next time bring him out for our next gathering k!

*Currently, my iTunes is only allowed to play one song 'Please Baby Don't' by Sergio Mendes f/ John Legend..Looove the tune and the delightful lyrics..

*I learnt a new term 'Don Juan'..it means casanova..but why? Don Juan sounds like some characteter name out from an erotic novel.

yawn..I'm tired.. ciao..tomorrow must go jogging..

badminton

oh, the bottom left pic is there just to show off my new pouch. hahaa

I miss my long hair

I didn't realise how long it was until I saw some of the pictures. The next time I shall perm those big curls before I cut it off again.

Anyway that's Amanda looking great in her sexy little blue Alice in Wonderland dress. Unlike me decked out in a knee-length skirt and gypsy outfit, so not cool for a night out in a club. For next halloween I shall think of something sexier..hmmm.. no idea leh..