older by another year and not by choice part 1

**BIRTHDAY DINNER**
and yes seems like i have grown older by yet another year...not by choice. i originally intended to hold a big ass birthday bash this year because i have never actually had a birthday party since my 1 year old birthday. and those who came to my party then were obviously not my friends. heh. yeah i didnt even celebrate my 21st. i was busy training for the SEA Games somewhere else in this part of the world.

anyhows, so many exciting things have happened to me throughout the previous week. couple of close friends from work brought me to dinner at this place in United Square. the food was awesome (the pork knuckle is OMG *slurp*) and it had over 100 kinds of different beers to choose from. from strawberry to honey.. *think jolly shandy and you get the idea.halfway throughout dinner the live band started playing the Happy Birthday song and i was like "walau dont be so kuazhang can?!" ... then here comes the cake. the embarrassment was unbelieveble, and those who knows me, will know i will be super shy about this kindof situation. paisehz to the maximimum. but oh well, the cake was very delicious so i quickly forgot about it. :)was a very nice dinner instead, gave me a really warm feeling which is probably better than a big ass birthday bash eh?

you know you have been nice when...

you get a surprise message on Facebook that says:

"hihi sis, i would like to ask u whether u r interested to join me for a diving trip on the 18-20 july...?

i would like to celebrate ur birthday with u at pulau tioman this year bcos i was out from singapore last year & not able to celebrate for u...

ur birthday present is ~ u don't have to pay for this trip, i will pay for u as a leisure diver as ur birhday present this year!"

Mel Aug,

**and what does this mean? -- I AM SO GOING TO DIVING THIS WEEKEND!
haha it's amazing how impromptu things can get with me, inform on Tuesday, Friday depart. ALWAYS READY TO GET OUT OF SINGAPORE-- i think i should be in Army leh, mobilization sure very fast.

CHEER me up

i spent the entire hot and humid sunday sweating like a pig in Yishun Sports Hall. thanks to HS who reminded me that there's a TKD competition there today. had to cancel my poly mate's lunch gathering at the very last minute because i just cannot bear to miss watching my old friends fight. felt really guilty to bail on my poly mates cos they planned to celebrate my birthday today :(

that's how much i miss it. i only like to watch good matches - which is pretty rare. honestly Singapore TKD standard has dropped so much, the good matches were from people of my batch or earlier! which is worrying because i can be considered one of the youngest in my batch already! -- come on, we need more young talents! and if only we can put politics aside i'm sure we can excel! sigh!

i went to the competition with shorts, tee shirts and a pair of flip flops. already tried to be as low profile as possible but still was spotted! they made me go in to referee the matches and even managed to find me an extra referee's uniform, a pair of track pants (it was even Adidas! they knew if it was some other brand i will REFUSE to wear, hah) and a pair of shoes!!! what the hell, really is win liao lor.

even though it was totally disgusting to be in various people's gear from top to toe... people started cheering for me when i stepped into the competition area to referee my first match. hah was weird cos you would expect people to cheer for the competitors and not the referee?? it was amusing and i enjoyed it. and yes i was so out of touch with refereeing - forgot all the hand signals and rules of the game! heh heh...

i miss those cheerings, i miss competition. i miss winning. cheer for me please.

OMG and I WON!

*AHEM* hello, welcome the Champion Chen please. yesss lim pei won in the BB bowling competition today. mai siao siao...chao chao got 159 high score. this is my team and we call ourselves the United Nations aka Monster Haters. United Nations because (in picture from L to R)DL is an Australian (or so she claims), TP's from Sri Lanka, limpei is Singkaporean and Jer is ex Taiwanese ah lian(hahaha), whilst NV's a Thai.it was reallly good fun playing with a bunch of crazy people from the company. some 130 Bloomies were there and occupied the entire bowling alley, everyone was screaming and yelling and cheering.
when our powers combine, we are Captain Planet! haha -- yes she is the "Captain" i was talking about in my previous entry :)Jer got like 126 pinfalls for one of her game!! very well done :) and her sneaky face when we "cheated" was damn funny lah!prize giving ceremony with the APAC sales manager.called up the mum and the dad right after the competition to tell them that i won!! just like the good old days after my TKD competitions hee hee *blush* yes, i really like to win. :P

competitive streak runs in our blood

went to play bowling this afternoon with the mum and the dad. it was really good fun. i bowled like 6 games! hah.. and i was so happy that my highest score of the day was 175! i can't remember when was the last time i had such a score, maybe during primary 6 or something. hah. been so long since i bowled so intensively.mum stopped bowling for like 10 years i think? and she still has it! hah.. not bad lah her average was some 150. she used to be better though.and if you're wondering why i am so enthusiastic about bowling all of a sudden... it's because next Friday my company's going to have a bowling competition! and yes, the competitive streak that runs in the family made us all go for practice together! the dad is super eager to give me some last minute coaching, and the mum showed her support by digging out her decade old bowling ball and shoes to come with me for practice! hah.

my BB anniversary dinner

OMG! i have worked in BB for almost a year already! time passed SO FAST! gosh it felt only like yesterday since i last attended Ian Mcgovern's tutorial in NTU. hah. on 16th July 2007, i joined BB with AA..the two of us survived the training..yawned together in class, bitch together after class.. and colluded with each other during exams *wink wink* hah.BB arranged for an anniversary dinner for us at this restaurant called The Coriander at Boat Quay.it has a pretty unique concept - team building through cooking together. all the people whose anniversary months were between May to July went for it. we were split into teams and each team had to produce 2 dishes in accordance to the recipes given.at the end of it, the restaurant owner awarded me with the "Serial Killer Chef Award" because..

Chef: "do you cook at home?"
Me: "yes i do."
Chaf: "oh i can tell from the way you cut up the ingredients, very experienced."
Me: " yes, i can even cut you up.. wanna try?"

**Chef walks away**

yay!

awesome weekend

had a fucked day at work, i think i just screwed my future in BB. as a result, i left the office at like 6:00:32pm. i've never left this early before man - 32 seconds after 6pm?? - it's amazing. but it later turned out to be one of the most fantastic night out on Friday! met up with my good'ol poly mates at Ice Cold Beer on Emerald Hill. NN our ex lecturer came as well! we had so much to talk, so much to drink. the turnout was good. it felt like we did not grow any older at all. it's amazing how we were just 17 then and now we're like 27.NN was having fun laughing at all the silly jokes we made that night. she was saying we all are still behaving the same way we were in her class. i'm sure she meant the part about all the hokkien swearing and flashing of middle fingers at each other's faces. hahaha. yes that night was full of NABEHs, KA NIN NAs... and occasional CHEE BYEs.the night only ended after going for more drinks and food at Dempsey. Hopefully we'll have another of such gathering soon. but this time we'll be missing KL - she's going to New Jersey to work for the next 2 years.

Saturday was spent half the day crying over spilt milk.. (about 'saga' i had with my manager on Friday) and other half went out to watch ZOHAN - this movie is amazing. Adam Sandler is HILARIOUS (and his body is HOT). was laughing and trembling like i have parkinson's disease. went bowling after that and i think we made so much noise that the poor couple sitting beside us decided that this was not the most romantic place to have a date. hah!

i'm lucky to have them...

we address each other as 'Captain' at work... our most common phrase when see talk to each other is "shaaaarduppp lah!!" ...on that day she knew i was having some trouble hanging in there.. she went to the pantry, picked up a couple of "interesting" snacks... folded a paper box and dropped off the "package" on my desk.

some days i come back after lunch and see a TCC chocolate cake on my desk.. other days i see a box of "ondeh ondeh" from bengawan solo... the feeling is just so sweet. i always feel like i can tell her the truth about everything and not fear being betrayed afterwards...

we have our little secret chatroom where we can say anything we want. we go out almost every other night. they buy me dinners and ice-cream when i'm feeling down...they are always there for me no matter what.they never fail to put a smile back onto my face each and every time.

sometimes i ask myself, what else can i ask for, from a workplace full of amazing people like them.

the leaving.. and the left.

P and Sis are leaving Singapore for London tomorrow. quite excited for them. P is going to start a new job in a very good bank once he gets back. he hasn't really worked in London properly before, he was with BarCap prolly for about a year and a half as a graduate then. he's pretty excited about his offer and we're really happy for him too! as for sis, guess she's also a lil nervous about moving there for the next couple of years. pretty much uncertainty for her... but i'm sure she'll survive anywhere in the world honestly. hopefully i get to visit them soon, must choose a very nice weather to be there. heh!

now.. done with the ones who are Leaving... let's talk about the one who Left.

a colleague of mine left our company today. countless people have left... some are just so fed up with the kind of work we have to do... and some left for better offers. well this time, V left for the first reason. she really disliked what we were doing. she left slightly after lunch time and without an offer. hah.. that's how bad it is. honestly if you asked me, i really dislike my job. it's not something i think i can do.. for long. but thing is, i reaaaallly love my friends at work, and BB is a good company to be in. well i hope i get to go into the team of my choice cos all the most awesome people are there and the Manager of that team is fantastic. if i do really get there, and i may just change my mind about this job! .. afterall when i started out in GCUS i harboured thoughts of leaving as well, thinking i suck at the job. hahaha. oh craps.

time for bed!

milestone...

my boss from the previous department is coming to join us in the new department on monday. last friday was her last day in her current department. everyone chipped in to have a hamper delivered to her. apparently she was so happy that she teared. so happy for her! it's like a milestone for her i guess?looking forward to working with her again, and hopefully we can be in the same team too! wootz!

let me share my wonderful day with you...

a FUCKINGG rude client said this to me today.. and not only he is rude he is a DUMBFUCK

11:00:27 i fucking hate you people

11:00:54 this is why poeple dont use this service as its all about repeating and son of a gun, here we go as predicted you are worthless, give me to another person who cares at least a little enough to read

11:32:28 i really don't have a use for the help desk and will go to reuters terminal when freed in three hours you have sucked an hour from my day you have won,i lost. good job

11:40:55 tearing up your application to starbucks as don't want my coffee screwed up too

11:46:58 god you are dumb...have your supervisor call me now

**and so... this saga spoilt my entire morning. i decided to go for lunch alone. went to tabao nasi padang and ordered chicken curry. i can bet you my toes that i saw LOTS of chicken breast parts in that tray of curry... i thought to myself "well cannot be so suay right?"... now guess what? the aunty gave me a huge chicken drumstick (by random)...except that I HATE DRUMSTICKSS...

fine...i couldn't be bothered to ask for a change...i took the rice and walked back with my head down. on the way back someone called out my name...

it's an nice old uncle friend of mine from TKD...before i could even say anything..he asked: "hey girl! have you graduated from NTU already?? would you come and work for me! my company is looking to fill a sales position and i think you fit perfectly!" ...he shoved me his namecard and told me to call him tonight...he had to take off urgently but turned around and signalled to me to call. you know...that expecting-your-call-kindof-signal..

赢了lor

你说这是不是天意??

****Updated:

my ex dept Boss found out that i was having a terrible day and bought me a super delicious cherry choco cake from TCC after lunch. really did brighten up my day abit..

then i went out with mel and tina after work. they knew i was really upset and affected by whatever happened in the morning. we had a nice dinner and they even treated me to topless 5 at Swensens after~~ wohoo...an entire topless 5 to myself!

THE PEOPLE AT WORK ARE REALLY AWESOME...ABIT WANNA CRY MAN SO GAN DONG!

it's all about the friends that night.

last night i had dinner with the usual NTU gang.. and NY had a huge surprise to tell us! she is *OMFG* pregnant!! oh man.. NY's the same age as me and she just got married March this year... looks like her fate is to be a dutiful housewife at home all her life now. heh. anyways i'm sorry i couldn't show that i was very very happy for you for the fact that i never believed having a kid is a blessing.. hmm but well i hope i will change? heh...

anyways it was the usual catch-ups... about the latest updates in our lives, our jobs, how much bonuses are we getting and not forgetting to gossip about other NTU school mates.

after dinner i headed down to Bali Lane for CK's gig. met Mel and Sody there too. was good as i haven't seen Sody since i left the National Team couple of years back. it was nice getting back again (this time NOT talking about politics in Taekwondo..) to chat about school..work...life...diving...future...

after the gig we randomly went into a chillout cafe kindof place for a drink. (trust me that cafe was TOTALLY random!) and to my great surprise, the owner of that place is Barry! - my ex Temasek Poly TKD friend. that's too much of a coincidence man. we chit chatted and as i asked more about how he managed to get that business set up...it got me reaaally interested to go into a cafe business.

hmmm.... hmmm.... hmmm...

dream all day and one day it will just come true...

lunch gathering with my BB friends!

invited some of my BB friends home for lunch. it's been so long since i cooked for friends. my skills like abit rusty alr! haha..but they still enjoyed the lunch i suppose, especially since Mr Kotawala broke my dining chair! prolly too full from that lunch heh. i miss my friends..school friends...taekwondo friends...i realised that i haven't been keeping in contact as frequest as we should be...hmm

JP Morgan run

ooh, just gotten these photos of the JP Morgan run from the public drive in office. it was a very nice evening after work, the sun was about to set, it was not too warm, the weather was just about right.apart from the fact that there were some 11,000 participants whom some of which smelt like they were some coolies just coming back after carrying sacks of rice for the day. SUPER SMELLY lor...esp ABNNs :P... i'm glad i participated in the run really, (no not just because i get to go off one hour earlier from work) but i really needed to get out and have a good run in the sun.i was looking through the pictures in the folder and to my surprise! our cameraman caught the bro-in-law in the photo as he sprints toward the finishing line. he finshed at 21:08 minutes, it is IMPRESSIVE that he could pull that timing off after 2 weeks of honeymoon in Thailand! hah...

my mover's party!

woohoo...last week was my movers' party (in case you guys didn't know, i have moved department) it was a night filled with fun and laughter indeed. i realised that the entire GCUS department was actually quite big! there was never a photo where we can fit everyone together.this is The Boss whom i will miss badly, i really like her managing style, cos most of the time it seemed like i was managing her. ahaha...she's too nice and i'm too evil, that's why.our batch of movers, so happy to move with tina, mel and mr kotawala!and to everyone's surprise, the presents we got as a mover was a free ride at the reverse bungy at Clarke Quay! i was very happy cos i've been thinking of trying it for a long time! but i cannot say the same for the rest as they battle with their fear in heights! haha. but for someone who has done a real bungy before - this is like see-saw. :Pi'm sure you see some nervous faces! look at Kongg (in the middle) ahahaand of course the smart ass PQ is here to create havoc again! i got the movers to secretly buy 2 more tickets for our managers! (middle and right in picture). HAHAHA and they totally freaked out when they saw us waving the tickets at them~ in disbelief. but really kudos to them for being such a good sport and went up there anyways even though their treshhold of heights are limited to like standing on a balcony of a 2 storey house. hee!we even got certificates from The Bosses after the daring stunt!after the crazy reverse bungy the remaining ones went to chillout and a bar nearby as the weather was simply tooo warm!one of my best friend in GCUS! we call each other CAPTAIN!! haha...The two Bosses together. lovely people.i wonder what were we talking about? looks like a serious discussion over here. heh.some of my team members in Hsupremes.whether it is for the better or worse, i'm glad i have moved on anyways.

why we so kiasu!

i was watching a variety show on channel U tonight. it was about getting high school kids to come and compete in a chinese language proficiency game. the whole aim of this is to promote the chinese language and to get kids these days to like chinese... but guess what? like 90% of those participants are PRC students!!

this is really ridiculous!!!!!! defeats the whole damn purpose. and of course the whole reason why schools send their top PRC students to come and compete in this show is because of one word - KIASU!!!

all wanna win only. nabeh. couldn't stand that show and i ordered my mum to change channel immediately! damn those ah tiongs.