day 2 - lijiang snow jade mountain

this must be my best shot of the entire trip! fully depicts how excited i was to climb the snow jade mountain! this is my first time seeing snow, haha swakoo right.we forced the taxi driver to pull over by the side of the road just so that we can take photos before reaching the foot of the mountain...we had to wait for our turn to hop on the cable car which will bring us up to 4056 meters above sea level. we were at 3000+ meters above sea level at this point.it took just less than 5 minutes for the cable car to transport us up, the moment i arrived at 4056 meters above sea, i immediately felt the high altitude symptoms and was soon clinging on to the compressed oxygen can!had to sit down and rest after every 20 steps or so.. (not exxagerating)according to miss LL, our face and feet will become bloated because we are at high altitude which is why we will look fat in the photos. so happy, it's not because i have been pigging out, it's the high altitude ok!soon i was rolling in the snow and having snow fights with them.. forgot all about my high altitude symptoms. heh!

day 1 - lijiang horse riding and boat ride

we arrived in lijiang after taking a midnight flight from SIN-Kunming then domestic flight from Kunming to Lijiang. we siezed the day immediately by going for a 4 hour horse and boat ride.i was very happy that the horses were allowed to have a break because for some reason i think i am too big for the small horse.. haha.. look! i'm like the same size as the horse.. (some say it's a pony) maybe i should let it ride on me instead!!the water was so clear, unpolluted and cool (ok, more like cold) it'd be quite nice to jump in for a dip on a hot summer's day. but the weather obviously didn't allow us to!my attempt to do a mario brother's jump hee hee, eh not easy ok, it was so cold and at high altitude + i am like obese.the day ended with a boat ride, there were some locals selling roasted fish freshly caught from the lake which i didnt bother having any because i could never handle fish bones.

Terminal 3

ok putting all the unhappy things aside... our family went to the airport to send The Bro-in-Law and The Sis off last Sunday. Early Sunday morning.. breakfast at Ah Kun.. Terminal 3 Changi Airport.. happy farewells... was a good day.

i still remember The Sis used to break into tears each time she had to leave Singapore and return to NZ. i guess it's a mixture of "dont know when's the next time i'll be back home again" and "dont know if NZ is really my home" kindof feeling that made her felt like crying. she didnt shed a single tear each time she's leaving for London. i think she's really happy.. and the fact that they knew they'd be back in 2 year's time made saying goodbye so much easier... The Bro-in-Law is looking forward to come back to Singapore like every single day.. haha. strange ang moh!

alrighty, my turn to be at the airport tonight! yipee! going to China for 16daysss!! i'm so glad to get out of work! woohoo... and i am so excited to be departing via Terminal 3! promise to blog regularly throughout my trip!

as if being scammed was not enough...

No one in my family except The Sis knew about the scamming incident. since my blog post about how i was scammed, i received a couple of phone calls and SMSs from friends telling me that they received the same call from the telemarketer.

afraid that The Mum might be a potential victim to the same scam, i wanted to warn her about such cases so that she will not go for such talks in future if contacted...

me: eh ma... you know nowadays you may get phone calls from companies telling you to attend a talk, afterwhich you will get some attractive free gifts.

the mum: uh-huh

me: then hor, when you turn up at their company they will try to hard sell you some travel/holiday membership and it's actually a scam

the mum: orh...

me: so if you get such calls, don't ever turn up for the talks ok?

the mum: yeah...

me: you dont be kiasu and fall for their trap ok?

the mum: ha-nah..

me: eh seriously, you have to take caution!

the mum: walau you very lor soh leh! this kind of scam 20 years ago also have already! they very nice to you, bring you to a small office room, chit chat and try to know your income level, become like so budddy-buddy, friend-friend with you then try to hard-sell you. only those ignorant aunties then will fall into their trap lor! you think i so stupid is it?

me: .......

me: good for you lor.


sighh...... sian lor. paiseh liao.

Recruit also shrink liao...

i was reading Saturday's Recruit (going to try to make that a routine now haha) and to my 'horror' it's not even half the thickness compared to the Recruit some 3 months back.

and the headlines on the front page, printed in BOLD was: "Happy to be at work" .. thankss arr... i think it's another government propoganda telling us to be happy to even have a job now.

the article gave a couple of suggestions on how to evaluate your job. something like listing down the pros and cons and what's most important to you. breaking down different aspects of your job/company/corporate culture/ colleagues etc into smaller bits and to really find out what's exactly making you unhappy.

i think i will spend my day doing this afterall i'm at home today because i am on "urgent" leave. hopefully i will feel "Happy to be at work" after this...

i hate it. period.

i'm at work today and the long weekend did not do any good to me. i contemplated quitting my job again today. you really dont understand how much i hate it now... i feel that it's sapping every single bit of energy and youth out of me. it's really not the people, not the compay, but THE JOB that's unbearable.

cant wait for 8th nov where i will be going to China for 16 days... i really need to escape from reality.

i was SCAMMED, and you could potentially be victim too...

been so long since i last blogged again. it has been a truely eventful period, and there's something i need to share... I HAVE BEEN SCAMMED. yes, cheated of my money. and for those who know me well enough, will not believe how stupid i was.

to cut the long story short, this evil company named D I S C O V E R Y VIII called up one day asking me to go for their 'talks", they were so persistent (they called at least 8 times before i said yes to them) and so i attended the talk, it turned out that they were a time share company.. after 3 hours of hard-selling, i was tired, and vulnerable..

eventually i signed up for a membership which costs $11,000... sigh. when i dug out more dirt about this company through google (try it) i called up to cancel. they were then full of excuses and their attitude took a 360 deg turn. i ended up having to go to the police, CASE and even called up Citi-bank to try and dispute the payment(cos i paid using my Citi-bank credit card) i was pretty depressed for a couple of days, and it's not just about the money.. it was the time spent visiting the different authorities and emotional stress i have to go through when negotiating with that evil company.

i am really very very grateful to Citi-bank's dispute officer, she truly went the extra mile to assist in disputing this payment. girls and boys, if you need to have a credit card, Citi-bank is your only choice. so now this case is pending a cancellation and refund from the evil company. Citi-bank called up 2 days ago saying that i dont need to repay this on my next bill. :) to me, it was as good as going to hell and coming back again.

**updated
got a call from IW after she read this blog post. apparently she was also contacted by the telemarketer to attend this "talk" - she suspects that someone we know must have given our contacts to these telemarketers.. hmm..

looking forward to going home today...

i'm a firm believer of travel insurances, since i've made a small fortune a couple of times from it! i'm going to fly from HK back home in a few hours time.. and i rrrealllly hope that Typhoon 8 strikes HK right at the minute of my flight! hohohoho.. so that i can stay at HK few more days!! muhahaha

yes, you can't believe how much i pray for it to happen...

but honestly, judging from the weather now.. it's going to be a little hard. it looks nice and cool outside. hmm...

anyways

i am in HK, i look fat and i'm still not done eating...

sigh, the pictures says it all. not joking about the FAT and EATING partFAT....FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT!!!!!ooh, i LOVE the Adidas shop here! it's amazing.. our only activity apart from eating.. - SHOPPINGok, back to more eating... sigh

thoughts on cambodia 1

i cannot stop telling people how much i love Cambodia, i think everyone should go to Cambodia at least once. not just because of its US1.50 mojito cocktails...or it's US5.00 pasta at Blue Pumpkin cafe with a really cool sofa sitting...or the mesmerizing Aspara (traditional Khmer) dance and music (coupled with a US10.00 super duper huge buffet dinner spread)...maybe alot has got to do with the tuk tuk driver with PINK croc shoes who is ever so friendly, mild, humble, considerate, hardworking and reliable... Mr Chivek definitely made this trip an unique experience for me.i went with a heavy heart and 3.1kg of check-in luggage. came back with more than just materialistic products and plastics i've gotten for a bargain from the market. but even more so, a deep realisation of how lucky we are, as Singaporeans and how i should really learn from the Cambodians about working hard, complaining less.

lazy

was having dinner with friend other day.. and she was eating very little, so i asked:

me: eh, why you eat so little!
friend: lazy to chew leh

she just brought the term "laziness" to a whole new level. if only i am lazy to chew too! haha...

cambodia part 2 - siem reap angkor wat

going to Cambodia for the Angkor Wat was something i should have done a long time ago. it's a beautiful place and i can barely imagine how it would have been like during the time when it was built.
the entire place was covered with forestation after the demise of the Angkor Empire. the decaying ruins which were abandoned for three centuries was rediscovered by a French naturalist Henri Mouhot in 1861.lots of the beautiful carvings were destroyed by elements and war. the statues were stolen by theives who resold them in the black market. but who's to say whether they are right or wrong? during times of hunger, what would you have done for your family? you never know.
wouldn't recommend anyone to do this without any travel insurance though. heh.they were not joking about the 'climbing at your own RISK" part. not for the acrophobias.my legs grew twice as big after one day's work in angkor wat.. climb climb climb climb climb......the sunset is the the most beautiful time of the day, but it also marks the end of the day...always remember to make full use of time and ask what have you done today to make a difference in your(orsomeone else's) life...

cambodia part 1 - phnom penh and Pol Pot's regime

day one was spent visiting all the aftermaths of the Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime. went to the killing fields where it was the mass grave of god-knows-how-many innocent Khmers, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979. and this is recent history we're talking about here.it has now become a tranquil surrounding (albeit filled with lots of mozzies) and yet it never fails to send a chill down your spine. the feeling's just weird, it's like you don't find any reason to even smile (or laugh) when at this place.the executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks.next up was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also called S-21 prison. it was in here, peasants were kept as prisoners and were tortured, most of the times to death.could still see the blood stains on the floors of the prison. mug shots of thousands of Khmers each tells a different story.for those who survived S-21, it's amazing how they did it. i'm sure it was sheer determination to stay alive to see their loved ones that helped pull them through.

many thanks to Silk-air

our Silk-air flight was unable to land on Siem Reap on Wednesday night due to bad weather so the flight diverted to Phnom Penh instead. which was really the best thing for us since our original plan was to take a bus to Phnom from Siem and back again (because ours was round trip ticket SIN to REAP).

initially we were told that they will fly us to Siem on a later flight when the weather gets better..but thank god (or not) the weather didnt get better.. so the airline had no choice but to arrange for one night's stay in Phnom.

as a result: one FREE night in a 5 star hotel with fancy shower (with water squirting out in 360 degrees...) and an all expense paid buffet dinner! we ordered wine... beer.. juice.. like NON stop.. muahhaa yes.. ugly Singaporean but so what?! - i'm sure the airline bought insurance.. LIKE US TOO! yes!! heng i last minute remember to buy travel insurance so this means that i can easily make a claim for flight delay!! muahaha.

this trip is super TAN DIO..

above all.. we also met some really nice and kind people along the way who helped us alot at a very reasonable charge. all the tuk tuk drivers/guide we engaged were really helpful and sincere, which makes me feel really blessed.

more updates and photos when i come back! meanwhile i am really enjoying Cambodia! (in Siem Reap now btw... 6 hours bus ride to get here from Phnom, but it's really worth it!)

goodbyes from everyone, including Lehman Bros

some shocking news before i leave for Cambodia tomorrow...

the President of BB sent out a firm-wide message last night in New York time. basically in the video he was telling us how Lehman Bros are officially game over, (never mind that Lehman Bros contribute to some one billion dollars in revenue to our company each year)... how screwed up the economy will become in the near foreseable future.. but don't worry too much because we've been through many financial crisis so we can also pull this off if we stay together...

IF we stay together.. that's the keyword here.

then at 11am.. my colleague JY packed up his bags and said Goodbye because he has decided to resign.

then at 6pm (end of the day) .. HR told one of my other colleague RS to pack up... didn't give him a chance to say his goodbyes and gave him the SACK.

hmm... interesting. anyways going to Cambodia tomorrow!!!

it's a story about A and B

i made an observation and it started quite some time ago...

i think A likes B at work. but B doesnt know it.

the interesting part about this story is.. A and B are both females!

hmm..........dont get me wrong, i have nothing against gay or even corporate gay.

anyways... important thing about what i want to say is... i dont dare to tell anyone about it.. because i think it's way too scandalous.. too 8gua!!! but yet i have this burning desire to tell someone!!!

ROARRRR

power of google

recently i found a long lost friend via google! we lost contact for some 7 years?? recently she came to my mind again - so i tried searching through the internet for her information.. and actually found her photo on a school's website in the United States.

i emailed the school and it turned out that my friend IS the owner of that school. :)

formidable.. and i'm happy.

my Korean Coachee-nim

met up for a dinner with Coach Park last night. we bought her a meal at Kuishin Bo and also a box of mooncake to celebrate the mooncake festival. so happy to see her again after so many years. she is definitely someone whom i will not forget for a long long time.Park is a Korean coach we hired to teach at the National Team some 10 years back. (the "Aunty" look she has now is because she is already happily married with two kids.) she used to be really strict and fierce on her trainees! and it was something Singaporean athletes were not familiar with.

she was the first and only person who ever caned me in public in my life! yes CANE - that was how fierce she was. whenever we went overseas for competitions i had to sleep in the same room as her because i was the youngest in the team - i always felt it was so unfair - but in fact, the best room to be in is in her room. :) because that's when she taught me discipline, respect for seniors and principles of life. i still remember being the very Korean style of training, she used capital punishment on us. it doesn't help for someone who has a whole lot of attitude like me - always talking back to her - always got punished.. but these just made me stronger. last time i always think she is wayyy too long winded and too harsh on me, but as i grow up, i really appreciate her teachings.

thankyou Coach!

my 10th national gold medal

i recently bought a set of Adidas Taekwondo uniform which is retailing at $256.00 in local stores. it is made of dri-fit material and feels almost weightless! i was so out of touch with TKD - i never knew about this new invention until i saw PL and Polo wearing it. and immediately i was like.. shit! i got to have that man!! (thats so me) it was my first time wearing it on Sunday - my competition day. man, i tell you, this is the speedo suit of Taekwondo! muahaha.i fought in two matches on Sunday, i have never fought such a relaxing match before! mostly because my opponents sort of gave up on trying which was a pity really. my second opponent tried harder than the first which was really good. both matches i won by Tehnical Knock Out so the matches ended pre-maturely.to be honest, as much as i was relieved to have won, i didn't feel very happy after this competition - i feel that even though i gained much recognition from the rest of the TKD members (like players and coaches from other clubs and schools) due to my consistent performances all these years - i was never able to gain recognition from the Federation. due to politics? - partly. due to a flaw in my attitude as an athlete? - partly. due to the timing of events? - partly. well basically i'd just say it's unfortunate! *big sigh*

i cannot deny the fact that i was a little disappointed that the special Best Player award did not go to me, even though it was my 10th gold medal in the Nationals.

in any case, it was a really nice gathering with the "old folks"lanet, mich and i trying to act nerd by wearing our belts super high up.here are the group of kakis i train with during these few weeks of buildup to the competition:

my coach for this competition and also my long time childhood friend - Bygon!mel who did a fantastic job despite being off competition for 5 years!PL, we've fought with each other in competitions on a few occasions and decided that it's time we so "seperate ways" - we registered for a different weight category and both of us clinched gold :)if you have noticed from the photo, all of us are wearing Adidas uniforms...

golden rule in TKD#1 - don't care can fight or cannot, wear everything Adidas first!!

golden rule in TKD#2 - don't know how to fight nevermind, must know how to SIAM!

yes - and that is the reason how i retain my success all these years. hahaha.