A lot of changes... And a new head (I mean hairstyle...)

Since we adopted a new management, things have seen many changes. Gradually, but a lot. Many changes were quite shocking to all of us. But since like people says, these are decisions of the company, no one dares to voice them out. Everyone out there just grumbles about it amongst themselves, and it also becomes a lunch break/tea break topic.

Whilst some changes appear to be good, they also pose a fair bit of inconveniences. Some changes on the other hand are very questionable, but of course no one dares to question (who would since most peolpe either are too afraid to speak up, afraid to lose their jobs, or simply, can't be bothered). I used to be very opinionated. I would always voice out what I feel. I never had any trouble talking about what I thought or what others thought. I never had qualms defending good ideas, and was also keen to express alternatives for things that didn't appeal.

But these days, I felt that speaking up is difficult. Sometimes, a single opinion or suggestion would face violent objections, and at times, people don't even bother since they already made up their mind to go in a certain direction. Perhaps if I tell them I feel otherwise about their decision, I would be deemed as just simply not complying.

Maybe with the new management/new system/new whatever, the way people behave around here must also change. Traditionally, for most companies, if not all (I think), when mergers occur, they keep the old culture, but add on new ideas. Here, they change the culture and add the ideas. Cuture shock I feel. But nothing much we can do. Someone said, Go with the flow... But others commented, Eagles don't see as well as horses do.

Anyway, I've been pretty stressed out at work for quite a while. Many factors involved. Since the re-structuring, other than the changes, I've also seen many people leaving (and some coming). Last 2 years, many good people whom I've worked with had either willingly, or unwillingly left us. Just recently, the whole office in Japan had been affected. And with that, another group of people left. Shoji, a big brother who's taken care of me really well, always there to teach patiently, and never selfish to impart skills and knowledge, has also decided to leave. Over in Korea, EunJin, who's been really sweet, always there to make me smile, has also decided to seek greener pastures. While back here in Singapore, Tweetie, who hit it off with me almost instantly since her 1st day of work, who had been like a big sister, who always made me burst out laughing, whom I fought with and drank with, had been unwillingly let go of... ...

Apart from that, the usual flow of very difficult customers and some colleagues I have to deal with everyday, as well as the usual & unusual challenges I've been facing at work, have taken a toll on me. I was joking just the other day, that I think I'm suffering from depression. I've been suffering from breakouts, I'm still recovering from my seafood poisoning (which had been really really really bad this time), and I just told Jessica the other day, I think I look like a 54 year old lady! Hahahaha... Hmmm I think I should start spraying SKII miracle water during the day rather than the Evian facial spray!

But, I did something over the weekend in an attempt to take some stress off. I cut my hair. Short. Not very short, but just short. Alan had been quite reluctant to cut my hair short. He'd always be putting my long hair in curls, and changing the colour of my hair. But I guess since I haven't had time to take care of my hair properly (I think the ends actually looked like sun-dried hay!), I made Alan cut it off. Hubby suggested the style, and Alan just did it! And the moment he snipped most of it off, I felt instantly lighter. The perpetual neck/shoulder aches I've been having were just gone at that instant. It was like a relieve... ... I'm still not quite used to it yet. When I woke up this morning, I still reached out to my hair clip as usual, but realised there was nothing to clip! Hahahaha... And earlier, when I walked into the office, Mei Chin & Michelle exclaimed at how short my hair was. I think I must have shocked them, hehehe...

Well, something different for a change. 所谓三千烦恼丝，希望这一剪，可以把所有的烦恼剪掉。。。
So, how do I look?

Wind & water discussion

So I wrote an interesting entry with my thoughts and opinion abt the wind & water. And that caught some attention, together with some very interesting feedback in the comments page. Of course by the way the comments were written, more or less I can guess who left the comment(s) (as in people that I know personally).

But it's interesting to see & hear everyone air their views, agreement/disagreement on a certain topic. It really shows that not everyone can agree with certain things that is being done, or plan to do. And whilst some may agree, they have different perspective as well.

But someone commented "it is a prejudiced view if we distinguish the sender's country by traditional or simplified character, coz all could be manipulated by software." But I beg to differ (though not 100%). I said I think. It's only a thought. And as far as to my knowledge, that is how it is. Or perhaps I'm not knowledgeable enough. Come to think of it, maybe old people write in traditional Chinese characters too. As for manipulation by software, yes, that may be possible. But that would also require the person who wrote the comments to be also know how the traditional character of that character looks like. Else, whatever you type in there may not make sense with all the wrong characters. But on the other hand, why would a person intentionally manipulate their comment entry? To hide their identity (which some people are already doing by way of posting anonymously or signing off with a pseudonym, but nothing wrong with that)? Hmmm... Perhaps I'm thinking too much. Maybe he/she has only either traditional or simplified Chinese character entry on his/her computer.

I still maintain that I won't and can't believe in this wind & water thingy 100%. My theory, just like supernatural-ism. Do you believe that there are Gods and ghosts in this world? Some say YES, some say NO. Those people who say YES, because they have seen it, but there are some who say YES only because their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents told them Gods & ghosts exist. Traditionally/culturally it's been like that. As for the group of people who say NO, simply because they have never seen ghosts, and they don't believe in the existence of God, or it just don't make logical/scientific sense. But of course there is also a group of in-between YES & NO.

So now, do such things exist only because people make believe their existence, thereby offering self-assurance and self-comfort? Is the 5 elements & 8 trigrams really something that will changes people's lives? Frankly, I did know of some people (including an ex-colleague and 1 other a "geomancy master") who so believed in the wind and water. The ex-colleague would be seen placing certain "auspicious things around the office/workspace. Shifting files and trays and changing computer direction. Even opting to sit, facing in a particular direction which was deemed very good for the career. But in the end, unfortunately, the career came to an unintended end. Apparently, the wind & water didn't work here. The sad part of it all, was health and other personal factors didn't go smoothly for this ex-colleague either. As for the "geomancy master" I knew. He was always offering advice to us, saying we must do this, we can't do that, we have to change the colour of this and replace that etc etc. But no matter what people did, according to his advise, nothing changed. Life was just the same. I ever asked, that if this so-called wind & water was really powerful, had it changed his life? Did his career/health/whatever improve? He proudly claimed YES. But some years down the road, I read in the papers that he went bankrupt! Maybe some of you might just comment that he's lousy or bogus. Whatever. But, I believe that in order to make things work, one must depend on himself/herself. Believe in oneself, and with knowledge, you can make the world go round.

P/S. A colleague (as well as myself) is thinking of putting small but beautiful/colourful cacti terrarium in the office (in my room/in her work station). I'm waiting to see if anyone will jump and strongly object due to ... ... wind & water?

P/P/S. if you choose to believe in it, it will be there. If you choose not to believe in it, then it won't be there. But does it really exist in the world, and not just in your mind?

Giant Moth!

Earlier this evening, I saw this HUGE thing fluttering around. I was trying to avoid it but it just kept flying towards me. I was almost on the brink of screaming cos I didn't quite like the idea of a moth ribbon on my head. But after awhile, it just landed on the steps (prob figured out that I didn't quite like it!)

A very "brave" me inched a wee bit closer to have a look at it. And mind you, it is really huge. with it's wings wide-spread like that, it's even bigger than my palm (from base to finger tip)! Not joking. Really big. So funny, the last time I saw giant snail. Now it's giant moth. What's next?

My Monday... Ironically filled with 99% Bitter Chocolates & Strawberries....

It's been quite a while since I last ate bitter chocolates. Always liked it because you could taste the real cocoa rather than sugar and milk. And the high concentration of chocolate acts as a stimuli to pump more blood to my brainz (if there's still any left by now). Basically, it wakes up me and enables me to think better.

Initially, the girls bought 65% cocoa. Then 75%. Then slowly, it went up to 85%. And suddenly, the last grocery shopping trip, I found 99%. Oh well, I need that. Super bitter I must say. And many of the girls had very wrinkled faces when they tried this. But I felt that it gave me the kick I needed when I faced the challenges everyday.


Last week, I was eating almost nothing but this 99%, almost pure chocolate. It was so bitter. Of course I made a nice hot cup of hot chocolate if I ate it in the morning. But still, this chocolate was so bitter, I swear my blood pressure would dip to zero if I didn't have the hot chocolate.

Anyway, challenges are always there. But the level of difficulty and the amount of understanding and sympathy, coupled with my co-workers' support (if any at all!) was what mattered. I'm almost to the edge now. Last week, I was told to clear some leave. And that was almost perfect timing. I had a good opportunity knock on my door. But thanks to someone, I had to let that opportunity slip by. I was fuming about it. I still am. And I wasn't able to clear my leave in time so I had to ask for an extension, which was granted, thank goodness. So now, I must, by hook or by crook, clear it before end of next month (and more to clear before end this year!). But, the question is, HOW??? That, I'll have to figure out very quickly.

Anyway, today, we had a "celebration" in the office. We celebrated the completion (or near completion) of renovation and a sparkling brand new office. (-_-) We popped champagne, cut a cake, and ate strawberries. I was only interested in the strawberries! And I still have the balance now on my desk!!! I confiscated them after the boss made a speech!


Moving forward, this week will be another very challenging week. I have a deadline to meet latest before Wednesday 9th (which means I must complete by tmr when some ppl replied my email on Friday past 10pm!) Sigh... Challenges. Really tough one this time. And of course tmr is the busiest day of the week, as always. And I have some other matters to attend to. And I need to figure out when to clear my leave (and make sure they get approved!)

Tmr, I'll be starting my day with a whole load of meetings/tele-conferences, whatever you call those. And then I'll be super-duper busy. So, anyone of you looking for me, pls pardon me if I don't sound cheery/normal/friendly/sweet/lovely/what-ever-you-would-like-me-to-sound! Cos I am on super high stress levels!

Till, then, have a good Monday (yr Monday can't be blue-er than mine!)

A "bright" new office

After 2 weeks (I thought someone said it'll be over in 3 to 5 days) of renovations, we came back to work yesterday to a very messy, dusty, disorganised office. There were still contractors running around and I was completely thrown off balance when I saw the work-station Michelle & Jessica were allocated. It had RED partition panels! I remember we were give 3 colours to choose from, GREEN, BLUE & RED. I told Michelle & Jessica to choose since they were the ones sitting there, so they settled on BLUE. But somehow, when I came back yesterday, it was RED (not my idea!!!) I wasn't prepared for it, but then again, I wasn't surprised. People change their minds really fast around here, and probably too fast to send the info round. Either that, or the earlier asking part was probably just a topic to talk about. I'm not sure. I'm just assuming.

Colours aside, my room (new room) was... well... weird. I can't describe it in words. Just looks strange, and feels... weird. It's smaller than my old room. But still has a sea view. Although from a slightly different angle. And the room's quite dark. They already added an additional set of lights in here, but still dark. (Dark office rooms no good according to the books of wind & water, I was told). There's a water sprinkler directly over my head (probably they think I'm too hot-headed, so they position me under the water to put out some flames (probably some wind & water theory, I don't know). But I'm not allowed to complain. It's supposed to be a nice room (according to someone). And it's a decision from somewhere-up-there that I move. So here I am. Moved. To the new office room. I'm not used to it. Yet. And I'm having a bad headache & dizzy spells today (wonder if it's anything to do with the wind & water?)

But I must say that the pale beige wall-paper with a tinge on gold is pretty nice. Reflects light well to make the whole office brighter. The carpets have been replace with laminated wood flooring so we won't be breathing in dust all the time. And the ceiling boards have been changed too. All the big partitions have been torn down, leaving the office look very... open. Not much privacy left unfortunately for the girls out there, but it's supposed to be a friendlier environment. So now, this office looks 99.9% like the office in Hjelmeland! Duke O, Prince H, if you do come by (again), you'll feel like you're at home... To those others who've never been to Norway, just think Ikea colours!

Oh, did I mention that I'm not allowed to walk around in my stilettos anymore? It makes loud clacking noises on the floor. It might be too irritating for the others as I tend to strut around the office quite a lot. To the pantry for a lot of water, to the photocopier, to the toilet etc. I might piss the hell out of some people if I run around in my 3.5 inch heels too. Oh, I might scratch the flooring! So I have to put on rubber soled sandals. Hmm... I wonder...

Anyway, there are more additions and add-ons yet to be complete in here. So over the next few days, or week, I might be further surprised/shocked/astonished by whatever that might change/add-on. Till then...

Oh, I just realised, my room door faces directly into the storeroom/server-room door. Is that good in wind & water? Anyone out there to advice?

P/S. I'm not a staunch believer in this wind & water thingy. Most things are fated & happen for a reason. So it's not gonna help much to force a change on things to get them going in your direction. But of course, everyone for themselves. It's only normal that people change certain things for the better, or to compliment their direction. But it may not suit the rest of everyone. In my opinion, as long as things are not strangely out of place or shockingly mis-matched colours used, it don't bother me. But if everything has to be a wind & water reason, then it's probably too over-board. At least I feel that way. I heard a couple of girls feeling the same way too.

P/P/S. It's been a very challenging day today, with some people testing my patience. Wind & water again? Hahahaha.....I'm mocking it, can't you see?

P/P/P/S. OK, I'm just being mean.

P/P/P/P/S. Shall I post pics of the office here? Hmmm...

犬と私の１０の約束 - 10 PROMISES TO MY DOG

Caught this very touching movie @ GV Vivo City earlier. Melted me on the spot & made me cry. I have a soft spot for animals. Especially dogs. I have a dog myself. So this beautiful story made me sit up and think. But of course, there was more than just keeping promises to your dog. It's also about responsibility to your family.

Go watch this one. But, remember to bring a box of tissue. Everyone was crying in the cinema! Yes, EVERYONE!!!


The 10 promises are:
1) Give me time to understand what you want of me.
2) Place your trust in me. It's crucial to my well-being.
3) Be aware that however you treat me, I'll never forget it.
4) Before you scold me for being lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me.
5) Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand the voice when it's speaking to me.
6) Remember before you hit me, I have teeth that could hurt you, but I choose not to bite you.
7) Take care of me when I get old.
8) You have your work, your entertainment, and your friends. I have only you.
9) My life is likely yo last 10 years. Any separation from you will be painful to me.
10) Go with me on difficult journeys. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember I love you...

I'll name it YODA!

You won't believe how fast it grows. Only 20 days old and it's like big. Big, fluffy and furry, and super cute! Nibbles on my fingers from time to time. And always giving me that super act-cute look. Melts me...

See how cute it is!

Even butt-view looks cute!

It's acting cute!

And yes, I've decided to name it YODA. I have no idea why, but it's head is so round. Eyes are so round. Looks like Yoda. So from now, it'll be known as YODA! Muahahahaha.....

Very Romantic Sand Art

Such a lovely piece of art and very soothing music too...

What to do when your mobile phone or ipod drops into the water

Hubby sent me an email with this attachment. Not sure if it works, but at least we now know what we can try (touch wood) if the accident happens.

ひやしちゅか Hiyashi Chuka for lunch

Had a major headache today. So many things on my shoulders. Also wondering how to balance next week as Michelle needs to take days off to look after her sis who fell and fractured her ankle. Plus next week, accounts will be rushing for their closing. So I guess next week I'll be working till I go completely flat, again. Oh! I forgot to inform Michelle that she can go on leave (-_-) Oops! Better tell her tmr...

Anyway, with my major headache, I didn't quite have any appetite to eat. Plus the warm weather wasn't exactly helping. So since I had veg in my fridge, plus my fav cha soba noodles (yep, I used cha soba instead of ramen or soumen), I decided to make a quick, healthy and refreshing lunch. A simple dish that took me only 10 mins to prepare. I chucked it in the freezer to super chill it down quickly too! And it was super yummy and very healthy! No fat and almost no oil... おいしい！！！I'm so proud of myself, hehehe...

So colourful v(^o^)v

I am a piece of art!

See, my pics have made it to a museum. I'm a piece of art! Wahahahaha.....

MISSING 深海寻人

Went to watch Tsui Hark's MISSING 深海寻人 at Downtown East earlier.

I felt that it was more of a psychological thriller than a horror flick. In fact there were so many twists to the plot, and so many so-called endings to which the movie never quite ended. And that put even more question marks into my mind.

From a hopelessly romantic story start, an eerie horror twist, then psychologically challenging endings. But, the way the movie was shot, the direction was not typical of Tsui Hark. Something was different. Sadly, the storyline was not as good as the TV trailer. But at least the underwater scenes was interesting enough, although it would be better if they filmed the Yonoguni Island ruins. Computer special effects was also interesting. Fiery ghosts... hmmm...

Anyway, after the movie, we ended up at Carl's Jr Playground @ Big Splash for supper. That place was quite happening. Quite crowded. I think maybe next time if we need to take people out for seafood and drinks, we'll go there.

P/S: I love the theme song of MISSING. Sung by Li Xin Jie.

It's Friday!

Woohoo! It's Friday!!!

Yep, end of the week. Not much of a planned party this weekend. But at least it's the weekend where I can relax and not worry so much abt work. I think I've been thinking abt work too much. So much to an extend I've kind of lost touch with civilisation, really...

Last Sunday, Joey arranged for us to meet up with Karen. Supposed to be a girly-talk weekend. But I was more than happy to see that Jimi joined as well. Ah... It's been eons since I last saw any one of them. They were my old classmates. And that meeting actually brought back a lot of nice and fun memories. Although everyone's moved on and leading their own lives now, but at least there was a part of us that we had in common. Memories of the old school days.

I enjoyed the meet up session. And I'm looking forward to catching up with them again more frequently. Of course there are many others, somewhere around, which we found on facebook, but haven't had the right time & opportunity to catch up with yet.

Let's try and set aside some time. We should have an old friends gathering really soon.

Actually, last week ended with a horrid Friday the 13th. Having been shoved around at work was bad enough. Getting railed at by assumptious customers who think that they were being very smart themselves just got me started. Then came the argument abt some non-work-related issues in the office, and horribly cold-blooded emails from the big one. That was like drenched by a bucket of ice water in winter. And the last straw was when I was asked a question which I had never expected. That lead to THE big fight. Urrghhhhhh...

Someone asked if I should apologise. But no. I shouldn't. I won't. I had every right be angry. I was. Very angry. Very upset. Very disappointed in fact. At that time though. But anger subsided after a few days. War over.

Anyway, it's been pissing hot these couple of days. The stupid weather was one of the most unpredictable I've ever come across. The sky had been unbelievably overcast grey. Not much winds, but there was just lightning all over. It was like that for abt 3 days this week. But, not a single drop of rain, can you imagine? It was so freaking hot and humid. But no rain!!!

I know it rained elsewhere. But nope, not the slightest droplet detected in my area. Damn... Probably too hot and the rain evaporated even before it reached the ground!

Anyway, thks to the hot weather, my orchid plant blossomed. Very nicely in fact. Added colour to my green plants. Made my day (since some other people wasn't interested in making anybody's day).


OK. It's a wrap for today. I'm gonna try and catch a movie later. I need a break...

Any name suggestions for my 10 day old ND?

Last Saturday, my Soot gave birth to a super cute baby bunny. Today, baby bunny is 10 days old. And it's HUGE!!! I let Michelle have a preview and she commented it was soooooooo cuteeeeeeeeee! Hehehe, yes, it's really adorable. Very cuddly. The feet is so big and looks so clumsy....



I haven't given it a name yet... Can't tell if it's a boy or girl yet. Shall I call it, Velvet? Furball? Big Foot? Hahahaha..... No, I can't come up with nicer names. Any suggestions???

A new addition to the family

Good news!!! 家有喜事!!! My Black ND Soot, had given birth to a baby!

Soot on the right, baby on the left

Close up of baby hiding behind the food bowl

Soot was struggling in labour on Saturday morning. I noticed she was quite traumatised since a few days before. She was just acting really weird, pulling hay and newspapers and tucking them in a corner of the playpen. And she was also very aggressive towards Snowy. And finally, in the wee hours of Saturday 7th June, at about 3.30am, she gave birth!

I haven't decided what to name it yet

See, so cute, and so tiny!

It was a pair of twins, but only 1 survived. The other was still born :( I'm not sure if it's a boy of a girl yet. But it sure does look very strong to me. Let's hope you grow up to be a healthy baby bunny!

A speechless post full of rant

I was very tempted to post a blank entry here. After all, I am speechless.

I was hoping for someone to make my day. But the tables turned and I'm asked to make someone else's day.

I really prefer to keep things the way they are. But I understand it is not always possible. However, I am also not expecting a very rude tell-you-what-you-must-do-and-you-will-do instruction. Which I did. I highlighted in a feedback, but got a "professional tick-off" instead. Perhaps the stick insect is more precious that I thought.

I don't need sympathy, but just some form of recognition for the time I spent in here. Which I didn't get, yet. When will it come? I have no idea. People out there are moving things upwards in their favour. Perhaps I have to start changing. And where do I start? From the wind element? Or the water element? I must be able to professionally cover it as upgrading maybe... hmm... Hang a HUGE mirror somewhere. Put a BIG pot of plant in a particular corner. Hang something pointing in a particular direction. Or maybe change the colours of everything in my room to PINK by force! Yes, it might work, or I might get fired! Hahaha....

OK, Michelle just told me she's craving for 猪肚汤! And I'm thinking of... ... Criss-cut fries and Onion Rings from Carl's Jr AGAIN! But, I have to slog late today. Sigh...

Ooops! I'm also thinking of Tako-yaki (the ones I ate in Tokyo were awesome!) and Char Siew Ramen (again, that bowl I had in Tokyo can never be found here in Singapore).

In a nut shell for this post, things suck, big time this week. And it's only Tuesday.

And, to that particular person happens to read this post, pls, these are my thoughts coming out of my brainz. You are not required to comment. I never invited you to read this right from the very begining anyway, though I knew you did so even before you confessed. Anyway, I never told you to read it. I'd like to say here that I can respect that decision. But I'm definitely not happy with the unprofessional way it was handled. I'll never mention that last sentence to you, because I know you'll never see it the way it's meant to be. Neither do I want to be accused of being unprofessional and not following certain "rules".

Kung Fu Panda

I was so tickled pink yesterday when I went to watch this animated movie @ Bugis. The cute fat panda was absolutely hilarious. The entire cinema was almost full, and not only were there lots of kids, there were also lots of young adults. Every few scenes, everyone would burst out laughing uncontrollably. And those kids... Their giggles and laughter... So contagious! Once the kids start laughing, they can't stop. And when you finally manage to contain your giggle, the next scene comes up and you burst out laughing again. It was really damn funny.

But actually 1 question went thru my head as I watched this flick. Why was Po's father a duck? It's so hilariously strange. But I like the parts where frames freezed of went into slow motion. The expressions on the character's faces simply sent me bursting into fits of laughter.

It's a good movie to catch this summer. Bring the kids, and don't forget the popcorn!

陋室铭 - A Tang Poetry

山不在高，有仙则名

水不在深，有龙则灵

斯是陋室，惟吾德馨

苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青

谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁

可以调素琴，阅金经

无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形

南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭

孔子云：“何陋之有？”

Jackie Chan recited this Tang poetry in one his earlier movies. I was only a teeny weeny little kid at that time. Chinese was definitely not my forte then. But somehow, this verse manage to remain etched in my brains until I heard someone recite this again recently.

And indeed, a mountain need not be high, as long as a saint appeared there, it'll be well-known...

Sichuan Earthquake

The past couple of weeks, the only headlines on local papers and news on TV was about the earthquake in Sichuan province in China. The fateful 8.0 quake that hit China on 12 May 2008, had taken more than 68,500 lives as of today. That had reportedly been the strongest quake to hit China since 1976.

Each time I flipped the papers, sad images of the aftermath fill my eyes and bring on tears. It just hurts to see so many people suffering, so many innocent lives taken away, so many children dead due to "tofu" school buildings.

I cried when I saw this picture

It must have been horrifying for the children

"Tofu" Buildings

One lucky survivor

This lady fainted after she learned that her daughter had died in the quake

Those that didn't make it

A butterfly mourning for the dead girl

School bags waiting for their owners to claim

Even as I write this post, my eyes still well up in tears... ... To all survivors, pls be strong. To all victims, pls bless yr loved ones... ...