Beautifully Imperfect.

Light Years Away

2018-09-01T16:16:00.001+08:00

When I was a child, Wawasan 2020 always seemed so far away. I remember passing by the garden landscape that proudly said '2020', beside the Federal Highway every Sunday as my dad drove us to church in KL. I would sit in the backseat, and make my way to the right (yeah, so my parents never enforced seatbelts - I would then later grow up to realise how dangerous it was -_-) to look at it, calculating how old I would be in 2020. The answer was 32, which seemed like it was light years away. I wondered what I'd be by the time I was 32.

WELL. That light years away, is merely 2 years away now.

I recently had this conversation with my family at dinner, about growing up, which led me to this post.

One of the things that made me realise that I was now an adult was:

1. I don't mind hot beverages anymore

When I was younger, I had to order cold drinks. Milo ais, iced lemon tea, you get the drift. I never understood why adults liked to have hot drinks. You almost always burn your tongue, the damn steam fogs up your glasses, and it's not like we need it to warm ourselves up because it's 37 degrees outside. One day, I caught myself ordering a hot ocha. The next time, it was a hot chocolate. Then a hot matcha latte. Hot honey lemon. Then it hit me, I had become one of those adults.

Hot chocolate in the afternoon? Blasphemy

We put this to the test during that same family dinner, which was at a Japanese restaurant, and true enough, most of those over the age of 30 ordered hot green tea, whilst 5 out of the 6 teens/kids ordered iced green tea. Hypothesis proven.

This hypothesis had me thinking a little more about this, and led me to this next point:

2. Your friends have children who will start calling you aunty once they can talk

One of my best friends Ching, whom I've known since I was a toddler, now has a toddler of her very own named Ellie.

I know I have a host of nephews and nieces, so I've technically been an aunty since 11, but they call me aunty on Hokkien terms (Wen 'Kor' - referring to their father's sister, or Wen 'Yi' - referring to their mother's youngest sister) so it never really sounds that bad.

Now, when there are younger children around, you try to insist being called jie jie or kor kor because you really don't feel like you're that old, or that much of an adult yet. But when I think about it, there's really no two ways about it especially now that these are my friends' kids.

Because... what did you call your parents' friends when you were younger? My parents would gently chide me, "Wen, call aunty uncle la". When you went to a friend's house to hang out or to work on a project together, you'd also immediately greet their parents with an "Hi aunty" or "How are you, uncle?" simply because your parents had reminded you to do that a hundred times while they were dropping you off.

Oklaaaa, Ellie you can call me Aunty Wendy.

Hence, what should Ellie call her parent's (Ching) friend (me)? Uh huh. There's no denying this entire generation gap between the both of us, so I guess Wendy jie jie won't cut it anymore.

And last but not least, my favourite point:

3. You shouldn't call people kakak anymore because you are the kakak

Well, not literally the kakak, but okay, let me explain.

You know how you usually call some shop assistants 'kak' out of respect because they're older than you? Slowly one day, you start to realise that you're not that much younger than these kaks anymore? I've also started noticing that shop assistants now call me ma'am instead of miss wtf.

But that's not the worst. The true clincher came for me about 1-2 weeks ago.

So, my mum recently started having temporary cleaners come by once a week to help her with household chores. One morning, I came down the stairs, about to leave for work, and I saw the temp cleaner sweeping the floor. I opened my mouth, about to greet her but she turned around beat me to it.

Smiling cheerily, she said, "Selamat pagi, kak".

HAHAHA it was like she took the words out of my mouth. -__-

Oh well. If I knew things were going to change this way, why the heck did I keep on looking forward to Wawasan 2020 all those years ago?

Why I Really Should Starting Writing Again

2018-08-26T13:42:00.000+08:00

So, I'm really not very good at this blogging thing.

Or maybe, I'm really not very good at finishing things I start. (Case in point, last point about 4 years ago, about the same topic HAHAHA)

Writing (way before blogging even became a thing) was my passion. I wrote short articles for the school magazines because I had stories, made up in my mind, that I wanted to tell.

Then, as puberty hit, and I became overcome with emotions, I turned to writing as an outlet to release all those pent-up feelings that I couldn't really share with anyone else. People would judge or share my secrets, but my blank Microsoft Word 1995 window would never. One of my first memories was being very upset that my favourite singer didn't win some award - so I turned off the TV, switched on the old box desktop and turned to my Word window, furiously typing a few wall of text and immediately feeling much, much better.

When blogging became a thing towards the end of secondary school, it seemed like the natural thing to do. At first, I used it as my ranting space, like a diary where I could pour out my most heartfelt feelings, and then some. I got scared at times, because I didn't know who was reading my blog, and so I started toeing the thin grey line between candidacy and censorship.

As I grew older, I realised that beyond writing to find a release, I wanted to write to remember. I wanted to write about moments that are fleeting, moments that are painful, moments that made me laugh so hard that I couldn't breath, moments where I didn't think the sun would shine again. So that one day, I can read those lessons, bring myself back to those times, and remember the people and the moments that define me.

So here I am, trying very hard again to get this off the ground, to start a treasure chest of these moments. Who's with me?

Positive Thoughts, Here We Go

2014-10-12T13:38:00.000+08:00

Kota Kinabalu International Airport, September 2014

So, I struggled for awhile after creating the "new shell" of this blog. I chose a pretty wallpaper, painstakingly aligned my widgets to make sure nothing was crooked (yes, am anal like that), even asked my best friend if I should start blogging again. And then, nothing.

I haven't been consistently writing for a long time. Back in high school, I used to pen fanfiction - these childlike stories about my favourite celebrities - and entertained secret fantasies about becoming the next best author the world had seen. I wrote for both my school and college magazines and started my own blog some time in Form 4 or 5, and diligently blogged away about anything under the sun until my uni days. I really wanted to pursue journalism, until my boring realist parents convinced me that accounting and finance would give me a cushier bank account. Meh. But that's a story for another day. Point is, writing doesn't come as naturally as it used to. But, I'm hoping it's something that I'm just rusty at, something that can come back with a bit of rekindling. Hopefully this blog will allow me to find the joy in writing that I used to feel. :)

Anyway, at the beginning of last month, my friend Laura tagged me to take on a positivity challenge. Being the natural procrastinator that I am, I haven't done it...yet. I didn't really want to do it on Facebook, because I feel like that's a space where I have to censor my thoughts most of the time. I toyed with the idea of putting it on Instagram instead, but I think really, the best place for me to do it would be here. Who knows, maybe this will help me kick off a spurt of blogging! The challenge is reaaaaaally simple (I know, I know, I really should have done it much earlier). Just list down three positive thoughts for 5 consecutive days.

However, being the rebel that I am, I'm going to tweak things a little and make it three positive thoughts or things I'm thankful for, and... I'm going to do it over 5 consecutive posts instead. :p Here we go!

Day #1: Taking to high skies and new lands

The Peak, Hong Kong, September 2011

1. I am so thankful that travel is so easy in this day and age. The travel bug has bitten me and I hope it never leaves. I love that I can open an AirAsia website and book myself a flight when I feel like it, and not have it burn a hole in my pocket.

Bandung, March 2012 (omg, I just realised I'm wearing the exact same thing as the HK pic above wtf. I swear I have more clothes than this.)

2. I'm glad for the people I've travelled with - all the memories we've made and all the good times and laughter shared. There's nothing quite like seeing the world through your eyes, but with the eyes of the people you love as well. Here's to more to come!

Holy-moly amazing seafood, Kota Kinabalu, September 2014

3. Last but not least, I'm awfully thankful for a job that's given me some opportunity for travel thus far. It's not certain that we'll get to travel all the time, but so far, I've gotten to go to Penang, KK and very soon in November... overseas! *ahhhsoexcited

I think I've written an introduction to the challenge that's actually far longer than the actual challenge itself (heh) but am hopeful that I'll continue with this. Spread the positive thoughts! :)

Four letters, one word... time.

2014-10-04T13:01:00.004+08:00

I remember a time where stringing together random words could describe everything I was feeling, everything under the sun for me, and lift the weight off of my shoulders. I haven't sat in front of an empty blog post in what feels like a long, long time. I still remember a time where my fingers could type furiously, dancing over the keys, only stopping for the next paragraph. That fluidity doesn't come any more, instead, there's pregnant pauses and heavy hearts.

Maybe some things you just don't get any longer with time. Time is that one scary concept, that one constant that is so unknown yet contributes to the very beauty of life. Time changes all, slowly, stealthily, before you even know that things are no longer one and the same. I guess we're so caught up chasing shiny diamonds that we don't stop enough to see just what time has done to us. Or is it that we're too scared to stop running, too scared to face time itself?

Time changes all... but does it? I believe in the very core of a person, that deep down there is something that is unshakeable, unmoveable. Call me a dreamer, but I believe in the very goodness of people. There's something deep within you that is the true essence of you. What makes you, you. It's only with time that we get disillusioned, with falls that we get hardened, with freedom that we get lost. But if we choose to look hard enough, beneath all the fronts and layers, beneath all the scars and bruises from life, that person you used to be - no, the person you are - is still very much there. You only have to look. Or rather, you have to choose to look. And look hard, you must.

So really, time changes all, but maybe it also changes none.

But If You Must.

2012-02-08T10:45:00.001+08:00

"May you never steal, lie, or cheat. But if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you."

- Bride, in the movie Leap Year (2010)

While my attempts to start blogging here again have been futile in the very least, I thought I'd share this quote from a movie I watched on the bus on the way home from Singapore yesterday. :)

Day 14: Can You Smell Chinese New Year?

2012-01-14T18:40:00.000+08:00

I've been making cookies with mum for CNY for as long as I remember and this year is no exception. Only that mum ditched me to go Genting Highlands so I was measuring and stirring away myself. -_-

But all is good, the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip and almond cookies immediately makes the world shiny again. Plus, it signifies that the Chinese New Year mood is in the air! :D

Can you almost smell them?

When I was at Jaya One doing grocery shopping earlier, I stumbled upon a Hush Puppies sale and grabbed two pairs. The pair of purple suede flats is something I've been eyeing since the beginning of the year but at a hefty RM 199, I just couldn't betray my bank account like that. But, today I found it at RM 80, which is too good to pass down. And the other pair, well let's just call it collateral damage. :p

With fresh cookies and new shoes, I'm now officially almost ready for the New Year. Just a teensy bit more shopping to go... :p

Day 13: A Week of Craving.

2012-01-13T18:13:00.000+08:00

They say the way to a man's heart is through the stomach. Well, I like to think that's partially true for women as well, although it probably only works for sweet things as the journey to my heart is probably via my sweet tooth. :p

The Signature Dessert at ZenQ.

The weekend before was a scorching one and I had a terrible craving for something icy and cold - Taiwanese desserts! Adam almost as good as ignored my plea and so today, my colleagues obliged and teman-ed me for a round of ZenQ Taiwanese Desserts in Pyramid during lunch. :D

You know, people say only pregnant women have cravings. If my cravings are already so frequent and random now, I really fear for the day that I'm ever pregnant. Eep.

Day 12: Staying In.

2012-01-12T14:15:00.000+08:00

Having a bottle of Herbalife and staying in office for lunch because I ate too much yesterday, all while browsing food blogs.

Am I a sucker for punishment or am I a sucker for punishment? Seriously, now. -_-

Day 11: It's All in the Focus.

2012-01-11T23:52:00.001+08:00

Today was one of those days at work where it was difficult to focus. Mainly because I run so many different projects at a time that more often than not, I get very scattered. Time is spent dabbing a little in Project A, then moving on to Project B before skimming through the updates for Project C. And then suddenly you remember you have a very important meeting to attend for Project F. As if that's not bad enough, HR calls you and tells you that you were specially selected for a cross functional group-wide Project W.

If I can stay on top of all these projects at the same time, I'd be quite proud of myself. But how many can I actually do well? Do I be merely mediocre at all, or neglect some so I can at least excel at a couple?

S'crazy, but at least I have a great bunch of colleagues that keep me sane. :)

So tonight's agenda: No thoughts about work. Recharge levels of optimism. Just going to focus... On me, myself and a friend named Bed.

Because hey, if I can't focus at work I might as well focus on sleep. Good night everyone :D

(And of course special post focus for Adam who came all the way here to have dinner with me - enduring Chilli Rush level 4 chicken wings and my constant complaints about my tummy about to explode from too much food - when a guy sees you as absolutely stuffed and completely dying from having to pee and can still laugh at you endearingly, you know he's the one :))

Day 10, a Late New Year's Wish.

2012-01-10T17:51:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Seems like 2011 passed by in a complete whirlwind, so much so that I kinda wished I had more time to reflect on things that I did, more time to just... smell the flowers. Do you ever feel that way?

There's been this trending topic on Twitter since the New Year began, today it was "Page 10 of 366". Yesterday it was "Page 9 of 366". Intrigued, I looked at it to find out more - some twitter-ers are making twitter into a diary, a diary with 366 pages. (Well, if you wanted to be sticky about it, it technically would be Tweet 10 of 366, but never mind :p) Every day, they tweet a "page" of their diary; it could be a quote that summed up the day, or just a simple recap. All within 160 characters.

Back when Twitter didn't exist, or not enough Malaysians knew Twitter existed, there was also Project 365, where you capture your life for a year by taking a picture every day for your blog. (Though now, I suppose you could even run your own Project 365 on Facebook!)

Both are pretty nifty ways of immortalizing a year of your life - twitter works if you like things short and sweet, and blogging works for the rambly types like me. :D

Which leads me to say... I don't usually make new year resolutions because I'm pretty crap at keeping them, but if I were to make a list of resolutions for the year 2012, blogging would definitely be on it. I've said time and time again that this blog is a personal diary of sorts for me, and that hasn't changed. So maybe it's time to make this resolution, to diligently capture these days of 2012?

The year of Passion at work.

So, will 2012....

Impressive CNY mall deco at Sunway Pyramid that kept us mesmerized after lunch today.

..the Year of the Dragon be the year that I finally manage to keep to a New Year resolution? :D

Only time will tell.

/fingers crossed

The Games Children Play.

2011-06-08T15:07:00.006+08:00

My nephews and nieces have grown up so much. Back when I started this blog, they were nothing but toddlers, saying the darnest things, and happily allowing me to bounce them on my knees.

Now, the older ones have lost their baby fat, are too cool for hugs, are incapable of smiling for the camera (cause it's not cool, probably) and like to say "yo" (cause it's cool, probably). o_0

Even my boyfriend is cooler than me to them, because he plays some simulator-battle-real-time-war thingymajib on his iPhone and I don't. :(

Just the other day, the oldest (turning 12 in December this year), called me up at work. He had a pressing issue with me.

See, one fine day he just decided to google his full name (Why he would think of doing that at age 12 is beyond me. At age 12 I would probably google; "how to score 5As in upsr", or "which barbie doll has green eyes" wtf.) and stumbled upon this post. He was appalled with a few things:-

That I had a blog. (He said it with a lot of pressure in his voice; either, disgusted that I had a blog cause blogs might be uncool in this day and age amongst children, or that I wasn't cool enough to have a blog.)
That I posted a "horrible picture" of him (His words, not mine. But hey, when you're a child, doesn't that automatically give your aunty permission to post photos of you that they deem cute? ~~Maybe that's why he doesn't smile in pictures anymore, for fear that I would deem them cute.~~)
That his picture was so freely available on the Internet because his friends would definitely google his name and find that god-awful picture of him.

I certainly had a good laugh after that call :p

.
.
.

It's obvious the course of time has caught up with us so quickly that they've grown so fast (even my 3 year old nephew insists of fist-bumping me instead of high-fiving me FML) and that the advancement of technology has helped that growing process along even faster. Which can be totally good and totally bad at the same time, I guess. They're so immersed in the world of the www, of iProducts, even Facebook (he also tells me that his whole class has Facebook except him cause my sister in law doesn't allow it yet heh)... Whatever happened to children and pure, simple imagination? Imagination, after all, is the best toy a child could have.

Which is why I was glad when I left to work this morning and saw this:

My living room, transformed into a "Level 3 Tent". Don't ask me what a Level 3 tent is and how it differs from a Level 2 Tent - I really have no idea. All I know is that I once made a tent similar to that when I was young (mine was probably so awesome that it was like, Level 49 or something), and I'm glad to see these age-old activities come out at home.

In the meantime, here's to children not growing up so quickly, and learning how to look up from retina screens to explore the vast corners of their maturing minds. :) I think a balance between tried-and-tested, and tech, will be best.

P/S: And Joel, if you decide to google your name again.... HELLO! WEN KOR LOVES YOUUUUUUU. <3 <3 <3 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Now how's that for embarassment. :D

Sharing Some Contentment.

2011-04-11T14:12:00.000+08:00

Adam and I have maintained separate blogs since our teen days. I know I started mine some time after Form 5, and I think he, even earlier. Since hitting varsity days & and now even work, we both neglected our blogs (poor blogs!) for study time, work time, and now, dating time.

But that comes as a shame, because if not for blogging, there is no avenue for us to document down food we tried together, places we went together, things we saw together and well... memories we made together. :)

So, to cut a long story short, Drops of Contentment was born.

Hello, world!

To kill two birds with one stone - help us be our own little treasure chest of memories, and also to share some of the things we've tried with you. Hopefully this blog doesn't die off!

Of course, I still have every intention of keeping splashes dot blogspot dot com alive for myself (I really think there are no readers left anyway :p) as I still hold this diary very closely to my heart.

If you have a moment, do have a look! Link here.

Legoriffic Memories.

2011-03-03T09:51:00.001+08:00

Because it never hurts to start your day off with a bit of humour from my new favourite site, The Oatmeal. Wit and snark combined.

Luxury.

2011-02-24T09:37:00.003+08:00

Now I don't usually do shameless product placements for work, but when this one popped up in my mail-box... oh boy, I feel the power of advertising.

Because, if I had a million bucks to spare, I'd splash out on one of these. A sandy beach as your garden? Hell yes.

Especially after a working week like this... it feel like it's been the longest week ever, and yet it's only still Thursday.

What Happy Tastes Like.

2011-02-22T12:43:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday night, parked at the intersection of Bangsar Village 2, Pappa Rich & Cziplee was an ice cream truck bearing some happy.

Kreme Kart, my new found friend.

A dollop of creamy vanilla goodness in a cup.

That's what happy tastes like, but sharing it together? Now, that's what happy feels like. :)

/burp

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Putting the Gold in Goldilocks

2011-02-21T15:42:00.001+08:00

I was doing a spot of web surfing before staying in to through lunch today; because 1) I have a ton of flowcharts I need to give birth to, and 2) I had/have a splitting headache. And then I stumbled upon this:

Goldilocks Jewellery - a Singaporean based jeweller that fuses fun yet delicate doodles with gold, and tops it off with a personal touch. Why? Because the pieces are customizable, and hand-twisted to perfection. I reckon odds are no two pieces are exactly the same.

You might argue that the uncle along Jonker Street can do these in the form of key-chains for you, but there's just something about these beauties that caught my eye.

Goldilocks Jewellery allows you to choose alphabets, or even custom-make your name. I'm not sure if there's a limitation to the number of alphabets, but I should think not, as long as you're willing to pay the difference?

The beauty is, you can choose from 18K white, yellow or rose gold, and choose if you'd like your creation to be accompanied with a diamond. Jewellery never got so personal before this.

A cursive E in white gold.

A capital K with a diamond to boot.

Pretty cursive letters, and oh-so delicate!

If you don't like it horizontal, you can even have it dangling this way.

Former Channel V VJ Sarah Tan sports her name. The beauty of it is, it looks abstract from afar, but you have to look closer to read it.

They do bracelets too. Pretty-ness.

Everything looks easy enough to order online - you can even send them a picture of your own doodle and they'll give you a quote.

Go visit http://www.goldilocksjewellery.com/ for more info. Prices look like they start from SGD480.

Oh, lust. /dreamy sigh

Well. Don't say nobody ever told you it was expensive to be a girl. Or have a girlfriend. :p

One Step Closer to the Maxis Om Nom Nom Race

2011-01-12T15:42:00.001+08:00

It’s 2:51 p.m. as I start writing this – exactly 3 hours & 9 minutes to the Maxis Om Nom Nom contest deadline!

I’ve never joined a Nuffnang competition before… but this one really caught my eye. Adam is extremely keen, so I figured, why not? Being the natural procrastinators we are, we’ve left it till the very last day, and in true couple fashion, he’s banging out his entry post as I type this.

Now the race sounds awesome. ‘Nuff (no pun intended) said.

What’s the race all about?

Ta-daa!

60 bloggers. 11 hours. 5 locations. Lots of food. (!!!)

In this day of technology, it’s only right that the yellowed, crinkled treasure maps are put away and instead in their place for this treasure hunt… a shiny iPhone 4, the trusty Maxis Finder301 app (found at http://itunes.apple.com/my/app/maxis-finder301/id375530216?mt=8# ) and Wireless Broadband (http://www.maxis.com.my/personal/broadband/wireless_allplans.asp if you'd like to get yourself one of those handy dongles) will be provided to get us to the ultimate treasure. All the devices are courtesy from the folks at Maxis. How times have changed!

I daresay Adam and I will be making use of this app a lot :p

Along the way, the contestants will be tested with riddles that can be solved with the help of the iPhone 4 GPS & the Finder301 app. You’ll be expected to make your way to a location, at which you’ll be given food --- now here comes the tricky bit, upon trying the food, you’ll be expected to produce a complete food review on your blog before you get your next set of clues.

For more info on the competition -- http://maxis.nuffnang.com.my/2011/01/04/the-maxis-om-nom-nom-race/

Only the toughest bloggers will prevail! *nods empathetically*

Why I’d love to join

Being the complete food junkie I am, and the withdrawal I felt when The Amazing Race 17 drew to an end awhile back, this race sounds like a perfect one for me. (Granted, I’ve never actually ran an Amazing Race before, only having hurled yelled remarks at my TV screen and lament at some contestants’ stupidity and jumped up and down in my living room when my favourite team was on the brink of elimination, so it’s probably time for me to walk the talk. Or in this case, run the talk. But, I digress.)

Did I mention I love food? I did? Oops, sorry.

Why we would make a good team

Adam brings the Om and I bring the Nom Nom to the team! He takes big bites, makes quick siapa-cepat-dia-dapat decisions, zooms through traffic while I nom nom nom my way through my food, take my time to think and ponder a little more. We’d be an interesting dynamic… so, pick us? Hee.

Here’s Adam’s blog link on why he should join – http://inadamsgarden.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-step-closer-to-maxis-om-nom-nom.html

Ready, Set, Go!

Looking forward to om nom nom-ing our way through together!

p/s: I hate couple t-shirts so this race might be the only time I will willingly be in a matching t-shirt with Adam. (I hear him rejoicing already -_-") Size L, please.

Pretty Things.

2011-01-10T12:33:00.002+08:00

Simple brightly coloured flowers in a rustic metal pail are an instant pick-me-up. It's a shame that these daisies don't dry nicely which is why I've resorted to artificial ones.

I don't remember how much they cost per stalk but I got these from Ikea - even the act of choosing one of each colour was pure happy happy joy joy.

What are some of your pick-me-ups?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

One Down.

2010-12-11T10:09:00.001+08:00

I'm officially 5 papers away from completing CPA. Okay, granted it's still another 2.5 years to go... But one down, with a grade I didn't expect is sure to be better than nothing at all, right?

Yay! :)

To top things off, it was Financial Reporting which was such a pain in the ass. Double yay!

Is it just me, or does this woman on my CPA booklet look like a young Sue Sylvester from Glee? Hee.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Questions We Can't Answer.

2010-12-06T14:49:00.000+08:00

You know when you were little, there would be all these seemingly simple, childlike even, questions you had in your mind. And in your teeny voice, you would go, "Mommy, why something something something something one?" (Well, I always asked my mother questions, not my dad, for some reason or other.)

And the simplest question sometimes could seem like a Harvard-worthy or SAT question to your parents. Why is the sky blue? Why does B come after A? How come dogs have four legs? Where do babies come from?

(Okay, so that last one isn't something that can't be answered, more like parents choose not to answer it correctly -_-)

But let me tell you, last weekend, I heard the winner of all winners of questions we can't answer. It was at Vincci, Mid Valley.

Auntie: (two pairs of shoes in her hand) "Miss, can you take size 5 for these, please?"
Salesgirl: (examines shoes) "Sorry Miss, this one no size already."
Auntie: "...WHY?!??"

I walked away, biting my tongue, trying not to laugh.

Watching the Days Go By.

2010-12-05T13:00:00.002+08:00

After years and years of asking, dad asked me last week, "Eh, do you want a fan in your room?" I jumped at the chance.

I now have this pretty silver fast beauty in my room, newly installed by this kind worker who said, "Wah, your fan very nice hor?" I agree.

It kinda puts me at ease, lying in bed and seeing the blades swipe around in this large circular motion. I think I've found a new form of therapeutic companionship.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Oh, Saturday.

2010-12-05T11:46:00.002+08:00

My muscles are crying "Mommy" today from the torture I put them through yesterday morning in BodyPump class with Caryn. I think we worked every muscle in the human body including ones I didn't even know I had. Heh.

In true sloth fashion to gain back whatever I burnt off in the morning, and in a way, to celebrate Adam finishing his first two papers, we went to Tony Romas for dinner. :D

I love Tony Romas, but it's so expensive! And of late we've been rather broke so we haven't been in awhile.

My favourite appetiser in the world. I've loved onion rings since dad bought me my first from A&W when I was a kid. But that was before I tried these. Tony Romas onion rings take the cake. /greedy

Rib sampler. Okay, you can't really see the clarity because of the filtering by the Instagram app, but sigh, the iPhone4 camera (no, Adam's new toy, not mine unfortunately) is crazy clear. Compared to my 3GS. I want.

Toy wonderland at Mid Valley! The Christmas deco is pretty stunning. They've really outdone themselves. There were all these huge-ass plush teddy bears all over the centre decorations & throughout the mall. Kids were tumbling all over them. If only I had no qualms. Hee.

Caught The Social Network, yay! Been wanting to watch it ~~because Justin Timberlake was in it~~ because it's supposed to be really good but it took forever to come out in Malaysia.

I dont think its going to be a movie for everyone because the script was fast-paced, and laced with sarcasm, but I really liked it. Jesse Eisenberg added so many quirks to his character. One can wonder if the real Facebook founder is really like that, but then again it's based on a dramatised book which was based on the true story, so I wouldn't hold my breath. It's still a good watch though.

Twas a good Saturday night. Only one more week before Adam finishes his exams! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We Excel at Excel.

2010-12-04T08:19:00.002+08:00

Slow Friday evening at work. I remember back in school, I couldn't figure out Microsoft Excel for the life of me. I swore by Word.

Oh, how times have changed. My Microsoft Word is dusty now.

I'm going to say that this new found comfort zone with Excel is a sure sign of aging. Heh.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Vacation Lust.

2010-10-14T14:12:00.000+08:00

I miss holding your hand and walking down the busy, bustling streets of Bangkok. :)

My Large Denominator.

2010-10-09T15:17:00.000+08:00

(In retrospect, the title of this blog posts suggestively seems like something you'd see on the cover of Men's Health magazine, or in large colourful letters across the cover of a porn DVD. But, never mind.)

I feel like I'm being pulled in more directions at once, with many sub-directions pulling away at those main directions. Work, special projects, studies, other commitments, relationships, personal tasks... and even, time for myself, if I'm lucky. The running joke is that at work, the aim is to "stretch" you so far till you're at that point of breaking. I wonder if I'll break or if I'll bounce back all springy like a new rubber band. Or like Elastigirl from The Incredibles. (Maybe I'll have damn a lot of stretch marks like a woman after pregnancy. That sucks.)

I'm being expected to divide myself into so many sections, and sub-sections. So what happens when you do division with a big denominator? (Sorry, I was a bit of a math buff back in school - remember how we used to do 'pecahan' during Maths? The denominator is the bottom number.)

1 / 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = something friggin small. Zero point zero zero zero.... something.

One me divided by a bajillion commitments and responsibilities = Well... tired.

That's one equation that ain't too fun solving.

When it's two-three weeks away from exams, it's not fun turning down invitations to go shopping, dinners, yum-chas, or constantly clocking up the hours in my head, thinking that if I go, I have that much less time to study or to recharge myself. Or hurriedly packing up to leave at 6 p.m. on the dot, under your bosses' noses because every less minute spent inching in rush hour, is one more minute for me to unwind or... study somemore.

It's selfish, but I think I'm going to have to be selfish for awhile. At least until my denominator gets a little smaller.