credit to the photo contributor

Thanks QI for the photos from MOS :)
Actually should be originally thanking siow wei right???
LOL

the future looks bright!

just this once, my future looks bright. for a good reason!
as much as i'm loving my job at the moment and the work environment, i've already set my career path/direction, and i've been blessed by an opportunity to advance to the next step with UBS. hopefully i keep going on until i get a position in their Investment Bank :)
i am also getting a rabbit. or two. i haven't decided yet! and i'm not sure if i should get a male, female, 2 males, 2 females or 1 male and 1 female. any feedback would be appreciated!
GLORIA PHUA (see now i'm following sharon style) wants me to get a female....as company for her Marco!
had such a GREAT dinner tonight at PS. and it was made even better with the wonderful company - gloria phua and sharon :) i am glad to have introduced and shared TIM TAMS to sharon!! they are THE BEST!! too bad sinyee missed out...i will bring more on saturday!

the last 2 weeks, condensed

well it's been a while since I've last blogged. after my last post, i've taken a road trip to malaysia (I drove!), had a horrible night at the dragonfly at st james (this will be the absolutely last time i go to that place) - old perverted guys staring at my rack and the MALE singers holding an umbrella and wearing a dress?!? i also had to take another trip to the doctors after being fully recovered for one day. this time, i got told i have a sinus infection...i'm supposed to be all recovered now but i'm still coughing. i've also spent a lot more time with the girls from church and i love them all SO MUCH, especially my friend from kindy days GLORIA PHUA!!!!! i thank God everyday for these wonderful friends: gloria, sharon, sinyee & the most recent addition, sera!!! aside to the girls: i use the gothic font on my work email signature! :) on a heavier and sadder note, my cousin passed away very suddenly last week. although i've never really spent time with him, i'm pretty close to his sister and parents and it is very hard to see them go through something like this. on the other hand, i've met cousins i never knew i had and some that have grown so much since i last saw them that i wouldn't recognise them if i had just bumped into them on the street! i've also made a new friend and discovered that we went to the same primary school and our classes were just next door to each other too! haha small world! went out with her last saturday and met her colleagues, one of which i have the hugest crush on now!! i also started work last week and there were 2 other new hires, jason and darren. lol i'm just glad we all get along together and the people we work with are nice. and...i'm going to be very discreet about this...i am also crushing on someone i've SEEN around work. totally hot. and just hope that jason doesn't ask me more about this! actually, jason was commenting on the lack of photos on my blog, so since i've been missing home, here are a few reminders of what i've left behind :)

the awesome views from my window & balcony

this is the Versace Hotel on the right side:

yes, it's literally from the hills to the sea!

so i'm sure you can see why i miss it so much there. but at the same time, i wouldn't trade being in singapore (a real-life city!) for home. it's just something i have to do.....

and now for the person i miss the most. i miss our gossip sess, me annoying you while you're trying to sleep, you annoying me while i'm trying to sleep :), talking until we fall asleep (and i'm left talking to myself!), you hogging the bathroom, but most of all, i just miss having you around.

and friendships to treasure and give thanks for:

clubbing @ MOS

here's to meeting new people and my cousin (the elusive one)

surprises in the mail

i have been a little slack checking my mail but this morning i went down and received a few surprises.
1. a birthday card from esther
2. a present from judy

thank you so much! esther's card really cheered me up - a "never-end-ship" it is!! it certainly does feel that way, doesn't it? i can't believe we knew each other way back when we were in pri 1!! and judy's present is a surprise (in more ways than one!). thank you darl for the eclipse mints! and for the Extra!!!!!!!!! did i tell u why one is not able to get these sweet treats in singapore??? (!!!) but i'm loving the fact that u got me one in every possible flavour! and i will enjoy every bit of it when i consume them in secrecy....

visit to the doctor

i finally relented and went to see a doctor today. actually, it's mostly to do with the fact that i felt like i was dying everytime i coughed. and my mum has been bugging me for the longest time to go see a doctor.

so after describing the various ailments i had and how long for, the doctor goes, "all right. let me check your mouth" so i obligingly opened my mouth wide and made the "aarr" sound they always ask you to make. i swear, the doctor visibly recoiled at the sight of my tonsils! then he goes, "well you have laryngitis...and tonsillitis...your left tonsil is very swollen"

so i guess no kissing then, doc??

at least that explains the major discomfort (understatement) i've been feeling for the past week!

last day being 21

in less than 2 hours (Singapore time) i will be turning 22! looking back on this past year of me being 21, i've achieved a few milestones, i think. amongst all the little things i've achieved along the way, the biggest would be:

Graduating
Moving to Singapore
Get a job in a bank

Ok seriously, most of you would be like, what's so great about getting a job in a bank?!? Well, that was my aim and dream since i was like 10, since I'd ruled out accounting as a profession (and my degree has a major in...*drumroll please*....Accounting!). so i have one week left to be a total bum and then it's on to full time work! must enjoy my time being unemployed haha!

oh yea i was suppose to write a post on last night...well, heather was right that i shld cancel anything before a late lunch today if i go out on wed nights! it was crazy - free drinks all night and i can't say how many shots i had, or housepour at that! started the night at insomnia, where the music is really good, and then kicked on to dbl o. i also don't remember everyone that i met and i think i did meet a lot of ppl! but those that i do remember meeting, they were all lovely and i hope i get to party with you guys again soon!!! lol ok the random things that happened:
- we didn't cab it to the double o, someone in a van took us there and i think we got ripped off
- using the gents coz the ladies had a long long line (i think some guys might still be in shock!)
- falling off my chair a few times when i met my cousin out
- i'm not sure how i made my way back home but i do remember crawling up the stairs coz the lift was too slow
- waking up with the biggest hangover i've had in a long time

anyway that pretty much sums it up and i should probably have an early night. and pray that i'm all healthy again in the morning!

ponderings and reflections

i wrote a really long post last night, reflecting my 3 weeks in Singapore and various ponderings of life here.

but internet explorer froze and i lost the whole damn thing! i'm not sure why i'm doing this now. the hangover is starting to set in, i can't get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke (and now its everywhere! my sheets, my clothes, me...), i'm still trying to remember bits and pieces of last night (and that will be my next post)...

so here's the short version:
i've been living in Singapore for 3 weeks now and what i've realised is how truly aussie i really am. there's a lot of things i'm still not used to but i'm coping.
i get alot of comments from people who say that i must be very brave leaving my family and my life to start over in Singapore, where i know only a handful of people.
but i really feel that if you want to get anywhere in life, you have to leave your comfort zone. and this is what i'm doing and the possibilities are endless. i just need to keep persevering. and i can be very determined when i put my mind to it!

A good weekend

I've had a really good weekend, got to catch up with Jen before she left Singapore and meeting some of her friends who are at NUS on exchange. I really ate too much that day!!

Yesterday I went to Wesley Methodist with Fiona and Gloria and I really liked the service. I think I might have found my new home :) I'm going again next week!

Then Pao and I went to Suntec to have a look at the career fair which is really crappy - and we actually looked around at almost every stand! After that we headed to Orchard and I shopped way too much! At least now I have more clothes to wear though! Hee...and not black too!

But last night, I started coughing and now, I'm being plagued by sore throat, swollen tonsils and a sore tummy and sides from coughing so much! I even went to bed extra early last night but didn't get much sleep - i was rudely awaken at 2am from a text msg and at 6am from someone calling the house! I've upped my vit c intake and lots and lots of water but it doesn't seem to be working so well...

My only consolation: have the internet up and running at home now! yay!!

Btw, thanks Chris for the info abt the mints...I will check it out!!

I hope i get better for Friday, my 22nd birthday!! Oh and I met someone with the same birthday! But Heather will be turning 21 and has organised some pretty interesting activities. Can't wait!!

Pao and I have also decided to celebrate our birthdays with something a little more decadent and quiet - chocolate buffet at the Fullerton!! So I really need to be well by then!

Busy times up ahead...

Next week will be really busy, I've got a whole list of things to do and just maybe, I'll be too busy to notice my own birthday passing me by! I'm meeting a long lost friend from my PL days...gosh that was so long ago! I'm looking for a church to attend and praying that God will guide and lead me to one! I really need a home away from home and where better to be than in God's house, right?!

mints mints mints

i've just finished my last eclipse mint from home. it wouldn't be such a big deal apart from the fact that all the mints i've had from Singapore have the yucky after taste of spearmint!!! and i hate that! give me my fresh minty-ness back! so here's a request to anyone who is travelling up this way, bring me back Eclipse mints (it's the blue one!). and also miss the fact that there is no chewing gum here....my jaw needs a workout! Haha

a depressing post

From 2.01am this morning:

It’s been a terrible night! I discovered a few things quite by accident, and more than just a few reality bites. At least I didn’t put out too much… but by the time I got home, I had reached a new low. I was so depressed I started cleaning out the house and there wasn’t much to clean coz I’ve been good and keeping the place neat and tidy! Then I saw my bottle of Moscato and thought about breaking it out but there were a couple of reasons that made it impossible:- firstly, it hasn’t been chilled; secondly, I wasn’t going to waste a perfectly good bottle of dessert wine for a boy who left me extremely disappointed (ahem, it is the original Italian moscato, not the cheap brown brothers one we get in aussieland! And it was definitely more than I would usually pay for wine (I think I got that from college and drinking goon. From a bag, no less!)). And now I’m just feeling hungry, like I could eat a cow (that’s the expression they use right? Cow?). speaking of which, I haven’t had a good steak in forever! It’s times like these I really miss being back home (in Aus) and having my girls around to offer words of encouragement. Oh, and how boys suck!