international coastal cleanup day

i love the sun, i love the sea, i love to volunteer and i LOVE TO CLEAN!!! so i was one of the first to sign up when the company was looking for people to volunteer in this coastal cleanup event.

early saturday morning rise and shine - we took a boat ride out to soko island where we dolphin watched for a bit...i wasn't expecting to see any dolphins at all really, but we spotted one - good job HK!we had to hike a distance before reaching the actual beach which we were supposed to clean. somehow the short hike reminded me of my mt kinabalu stint last year!the view from the top of the cliff presented a different side of HK.my group picked up like 300 plastic bottles, 100 glass bottles and lots of miscellaneous stuff from the beach. i wonder how all these rubbish got there seriously, the amount of rubbish there was insane. people should really stop thinking that whatever they throw into the sea will miraculously disappear!it was a beautiful day, the boat ride was awesome and lunch was good! can't believe we did all these for free, all thanks to BB!this must be one of the best days i ever had in HK!!!

小房子

我那小房子，最近成了朋友们的小小避风港了
有的是为了逃避，有的只是想要找个地方歇口气

希望我那不奢华但却很轻松自在的小房子
能让你们找到一丝的平静

虽然我希望我小小房子能够迎来更多快乐分子
但我苦恼的朋友们， 如有需要我还是无任欢迎!

singlish came... and left

and so the BB Singapore gang came...

they were here for a week on business trip and oh my... the entire week was filled with so much fun, food, laughter, singlish and very, very lame jokes. it was seriously the best week i ever had in HK since i moved in august...and so the Singapore gang left... :(

the five matchsticks

B and i finally bought the watch we wanted...and of course i had to update our conversation to:

me: ben... do you know what does "B" mean??
ben: again???
me: it means... "Ben, BOUGHT Biao!!".. congratulations!
ben: HAHAHAHAHAHAwhen LL saw my watch she said: "wow you got job, got rolex, got cat... once you get a man.. your life is tamade complete!"

hahaha - so random and so irrelevant but so amusing... :)

exit B

so for many many nights, me and B went on a mission to look for watches cos both of us had wanted to buy a new watch! we both have been a very "positive" influence to each other - urging each other to part with thousands of dollars for a watch.

coincidentally, all the watch shops are located at exit B of all the MTR stations we went to. hence this conversation:

me: ben... do you know what does "B" mean?
ben: what?
me: "B" means "Biao3"! (表, watch)
ben: hurr??!

me: ben.. ben... do you know what does "B" mean??
ben: what??
me: "B" means..."Buy Biao"!!
ben: what the!!

me: ben.. ben.. ben!!
ben: WHATTT
me: do you know what does "B" mean???
ben: ...
me: it means.. "Ben Buys Biao"!!!!
ben: WALAUEHHHHHH...

don't you think i'm very creative?!! thank you very much. haha.

the snake has left the rabbit hole

i never thought i would live long enough to witness this day. haha. it's so true that what comes around, goes around. it always pay to be a good person because your reputation will definitely catch up with you one day.

hopefully things will just get better from now on and that all my honest, hardworking friends in Singapore BB get what they truly deserve - Respect.

and for those who left us:
"the snake has left the rabbit hole... all rabbits who sought asylum somewhere else may return now"

HAHA.

"A" for "Aeffort"

my mood has improved by about 500 folds ever since my samsung LCD TV and DVD player arrived! - that's the first thing i switch on when i get home and the last thing i switch off before i sleep.

i actually carried my TV and a STANDING fan allll the way from Singapore to HK instead of fedex-ing it over. took airport express then changed to cab before finally reaching my apartment in k.town. i should totally be given an "A" for "Aeffort". as i was checking in at the SQ counter in the Singapore airport; the guy asked: "so what's inside these boxes?" .. i reluctantly said: "LCD TV, electric fan and some other home appliances". he must have thought that my domestic worker employment here in Singapore had ceased and i was to return home with my proud collection of foreign imported electronic products for my family and friends back in one of the villages in the Philippines.

somehow throughout this entire relocation i felt more like a foreign migrant worker than an expat....

having said that, i felt so blessed when i had E and L waiting for me at the taxi stand in the chilly STRONG winds of the HK autumn weather - they helped carry my TV, standing fan and "other home appliances" up to my apartment. E quickly fixed up all the wires and before i knew it, we were in time to catch the special TV segment in remembrance of MM LKY's wife on channelnewsasia.

i am a FX specialeee

so... the angmoh boss sent me to Singapore on a mission to learn about FX spot trading, currency pairs, carry trades, forwards, futures, swaps and options for 9 hrs a day.. 5 days a week... zzZzZz.......and i'm supposed to become a "BB FX specialist" after this. wahaha!

suurrrprise!!!

i felt so bad that i actually pulled an "imel" when i let the cat out of the bag about jy's surprise birthday dinner. i was trying my best to make up for it and i guess i eventually did?

although jy knew that the purpose of dinner that night was to celebrate her birthday (all thanks to me for letting this slip), what she didn't know was that we had balloons, birthday banners, cakes and wine all set up at my hotel room with a fantastic view overlooking the Esplanade. more importantly... a couple of her besties were patiently hiding in the room waiting for her grand arrival.we feasted on cakes, drank so much wine.. and even had dy and cy sing "live" for us in the room. allll these... on a Monday night! i hope it was a memorable night for her as it was for me. :)

formula 1 singapore night race

i'm soo lucky to receive free F1 tickets courtesy of R. nevermind that i was not the first person he asked :p it was perfect timing - had to be back in Singapore for a week on business trip and managed to fit F1 in the schedule - how convenient right!they don't call this the survival kit for nothing! you definitely need ear plugs if you don't wish to lose your sense of hearing the next day! the noise coming out from those power packed engines are thunderous!the mum, the dad, the sis and the bro in law have all watched F1 before except me! so i'm glad i did it this time round heh...

mid autumn festival

i was going round inviting various Singaporeans working in BB HK to my place for steamboat dinner on mid autumn festival night. it was five of us including myself and i was hoping that i'm not being overly ambitious considering the fact that my living room here in HK is 3/4 the size of my bedroom back home.

i had 2 days to prepare for the dinner and the preparations started with... buying a table. yup, i didn't even have a table! haha. i'm glad we successfully had our first steamboat dinner that night... on the table :)
fyi: the tv you see at the background belongs to my Singaporean neighbour. haha, that's how "unfurnished" the house is!!

friday liao!

finally the end of the week! i've been waiting for friday since... monday. haha. anyways today's hottest news in BB must be THIS.haha there you go, free advertisement for us!! i must say it's an amazing replica of our product.

have a good weekend people! :)

feel the L.O.V.E

i'm supposed to be in Angkor Wat this weekend with JY, S and D. tickets and accomodation all booked, but unfortunately i had to forfeit the trip because of my HK relocation. so my three cute friends drew a waterproof PQ and like "brought me along" for the trip!S calls me "princess" at work hence the tiara...haha. they even gave me a camera to take photos! SUPER TOUCHED!!! i feel the L.O.V.EBB FRIENDS FOREVER!!!

friday

went to PETRUS for team dinner tonight. bill came up to over 7,000 HKD for just 6 of us and my ang moh boss said "wow reasonable"... i think she's still in London mode haha. good for us!after being ill treated for so long in that stupid MSN department... i'm making sure i enjoy every single privilege i'm entitled to as BB sales! WORK HARD PLAY HARDER!

happy first month anniversary!

been EXACTLY one month since i worked in HK now - i started work here on a very auspicious day: 9th august national day. hmm.. to be honest i only started enjoying work after my new boss came from London. i'm sooo glad i got her as my boss. she's so nice that i naturally want to do things for her you know what i mean?

i hope the relationship maintains this way and of course i hope the feeling is mutual - ie: she thinks i'm nice too and likes me as well haha, i think that's MORE important.

anyways work has been busy-busy. so much work to do when you cover major accounts i realise. well i'm glad i have a good team, it makes working so much easier. although i still miss my friends from BB singapore alot, the working style we have there is so much more fun compared to here...

anyways first team drinking session cum dinner tomorrow and i'm looking forward to it already!

started moving some stuff into my new place in k.town today... won't start living in this apartment until i lose my service apartment next week cos as you can see the house is like EMPTY! lots of furniture shopping needed!well something i didn't expect today was to bump into my HK TVB idol filming a show just opposite my apartment in k.town!! woah she was sooo pretty... and of course i didn't have the guts to ask for a photograph :( haha.. quite disappointed with myself lor...

iI'll huff, and puff, and blow your house down..

i have been in HK for almost a month now - technically 23 months more to go. (2 year contract with BB). many people have been asking me if i have been enjoying myself here in HK... frankly speaking, the answer is - No.. well at least not YET??

for a start - i been sick most of my time in HK. been to the hospital once and the GP twice. battling all the repiratory problems... i think i can literally huff and puff and blow a house down!

i attribute my ill health to the very, very poor air quality here in HK. if the HK air pollution index is a security which i can invest in, i probably would have made a 500% return by now.

all i'm looking forward to is to quickly move into my own place - making sure it's a clean and green environment in my own little space so that i find some peace and tranquility. start cooking my own meals and eating healthily!!

7 signals too little..

in HK if we reach typhoon 8 or called T8 then people generally do not need to turn up for work! but alamak.. today only T1 - which is irritating cos 1) it's raining cats and dogs and yet 2) still have to come to work. SIANZ!the damn T8 better come at the right day and time (ie: any WORKday and anytime BEFORE work starts) haha.

bali - for D's wedding!

THIRD overseas wedding this year~!!! this time it's in Bali conrad and it's A-M-A-Z-I-I-N-G! behind us is the infinity chapel where the procession was held.the couple had a very cute idea - they made all the guests build a lego man and put their name on the flag so that they can keep it as a momento after the wedding. everyone had fun choosing different accessories for their lego man.the beautiful bride D and her husband S. very good looking couple!dinner's outdoors and the weather was perfect. lots of sea breeze and the moonlight that night was one of the brightest i've ever seen.the wedding dinner ended with an "after party" which was at the couple's 1,200 USD per night penthouse that comes with its very own private pool!

confirm is bookie!

this is definitely an eye opener... 5 mobile phones in front of him!!i can 100% guarantee you + chop that this HK taxi uncle is a bookie!!

i really wanted to get out of his car ASAP cos he was talking on the phone NON stop while driving. oh man. btw he only has one blue tooth headset but it's connected to all his five phones. CHAMPION!

我是优秀人才!!

heh... went to make my HK identity card today and saw this sign:don't play play hor.. i'm a QUALITY migrant k...

house hunting in HK

tonight was my first house viewing experience. the agent took us to four different apartments at this place called north point in HK.

the first house had a really black dirty toilet. the second house had this really old and eerie garang guni neighbour. the third house came with a CRT TV which i really hate!! the last house can smell stir fried beef horfun from the restaurant downstairs...

but all of them all had something in common - VERY OLD, VERY SMALL!!!

i'm officially depressed. i miss Singapore!! and suddenly i think PAP is like the best government ever for building a clean, green and neat country!

going for more house viewing tomorrow. it better be good. sigh.

happy national day 2010!

haha the Singapore "flag" flying high in my BB Hong Kong office! first day at work... so far so good :)

one way ticket

yes, the day to leave singapore has come! today is 0808 - HUAT lah!! hopefully it's a great start to a smooth sailing career :) tomorrow will be my first day at work in the BB HK office. i wish myself all the best!

happy birthday to the mum!

progress in different shapes and form

well so what day is today? - me birthday! and it means "progress" in terms of age - ok maybe not such a happy thing after all.

am moving over to HK very soon, in fact in less than 3 weeks time. as my company put it in the email which they circulate to all the offices: "movement is progress". haha, for some reason it really felt like some PAP's national day punchline.

speaking of which, i will miss out on national day this year.

anyways, i'm in KL this week, hopefully i'll be adequately entertained in KL today on my birthday haha. :)

early celebration

the BB friends threw me an early birthday dinner celebration tonight. we had dinner at this very interesting cafe/bistro located in laselle art school. food was good and mood was relaxedi realised that a big part of my life revolves around the BB friends and i love them!

PQ on the road

was in KL last week and i managed to spend some really fun times with CK and Mel who are both tattoo artists on the road in KL. "on the road" here simply means they travel from one tattoo studio to another to work as guest artists in different countries.

it's cute when CK asked, what was i doing in KL. i said i came to work.. and he innocently replied: "orh you also on the road huh, same as us!"... that's a nice way of looking at my business trip :)

yeah, on the road... and hopefully it's a road leading to happiness.

bb office awards 10

this time the theme was "cool and futuristic" - i absolutely didn't have time to shop for clothes and stuff since i was working in KL all week. as usual, the really sporting ones came all prepared for the party. i have absolutely no idea how T managed to walk out from the shopping mall (where the body art shop was) to the carpark and drove to the party... all in his avatar look!most girls were having fun with their wigs and extravagant eye makeup.the tradebook guys looked really good as a team! i love their outfit - super cute and cool!! look at that satelite dish on her head!!

DHL - 请签收

the long awaited DHL has finally arrived at 4pm last thursday!

ha, and i realised the best way to negotiate is to introduce patches of awkward silences in between the discussion. HAHAHA.

moment of truth came when HR miraculously dished out a second deal today... ah-hah, now we're talking. :)

HK here i come!

it's so taxing to...

try and work out what i ACTUALLY earn vs. what i POTENTIALLY can earn... + how much tax i have paid vs. how much tax do i need to pay (in future). aiyoh... very hard leh. it's all a number's game!!!!

there's alot of math involved = i am clueless :p

of course i outsourced this very difficult task to Ms Doramon. :D

i have no colleagues - just friends from work

i vaguely remember that it was in our organisational behaviour tutorial class back in my NTU days when the tutor asked the class to rank the top 3 factors which we think is important to us when looking for a job. for example, 1) high salary, 2) work life balance, 3) office location etc.

i don't exactly remember what i had as my top 3 choices, but what i do remember is what i did not choose - good colleagues. yes, it never occured to me that having a bunch of good colleagues is so important in a job. it didn't take me long to realise how i would never have pulled through the difficult times in BB without the wonderful support from my colleagues. in fact i've never gotten used to calling them my 'colleagues '- i'd always refer to them as my 'friends from work'. :)

same same but different!

two for the wrists.. two for the ankles.. one for the neck,
that's the plan.

六菜一汤

it was supposed to be 三菜一汤 but somehow it became 六菜一汤!i love to feed my friends :)

i am "jabulani-ing"

and why i am jubalani-ing??? that's cos i am booked on my first ever business trip to KL! woohoo! i have no idea where do i have to be in, who do i have to meet with and what do i need to do there! but it all doesn't matter because there is only ONE thing i care about and that is... to buy my HK TVBssss from the DVD shop uncle in sungei wang because he gives me 40% discount!!!!

well jokes aside, on a much more serious note. i am really happy to be given this opportunity. i am sure it's not going to be a cushy trip and alot of things will have to be done. more importantly i must do a good job because it's my first assignment since i moved department and a couple of senior sales managers and specialists will also be on the same trip. so... ACE THIS TRIP PQ! :)

*jabulani - the african word for "rejoice" and also the name of the Adidas official world cup ball.

world cup frenzy

i guess the only "heat" i felt from the world cup is the "heatiness" in me.. oh man...i'm down with flu and sorethroat and it sucks!! anyways i was raising a request for our PC support guys in BB to issue me a BERRY device and saw this announcement. haha. i think BB people really have alot of time to put in funny requests.

this is singapore.. not jakarta

AMK is the way to go!

yay... the baby niece is growing to look more and more like an AMK (ang moh kia) wahaha.. very good :) i am not 崇洋-ing here but it's true that AMs have nicer features what. not that they are superior compared to us, but just nicer features. :)

no man's land

yup that's where i am now. i totally feel like tom hanks in the movie "the terminal" - a citizen of nowhere. literally no country and no government. haha. i know i'm treading on thin ice - one wrong move and i'm skrooed!!

think, think, talk. :)

i 囍 BB

champagne party at 4pm in all the offices around the world to celebrate something along the line of..."extraordinary sales figures since..xxx". anyways who cares really, as long as i get my hands on my Moet i'm happy.coincidentally the celebration falls on the same day i moved to a new department.. i would like to secretly think that it's my party hohoho...双囍临门！

no more casual fridays

i'm gonna be in a new department as of today! after nearly 2.5 years in my current role, i welcome this change. simply because sometimes we allow our passion to be diluted with the passing of time. doing the same things over and over again makes one bored... it's time for new elements to be injected into my job. i hope to find the same passion i had for work 3 years ago when i first joined BB. new role, new department, new beginnings... (new country???) maybe it's not that bad to feel like it's first day at work all over again.. :)

although the once a week casual friday's gonna be something i'd reallly miss having!!

我家也有大明星!

i had a fun saturday afternoon with the girls at my place. made food, made merry, made friendship...Swi, JY, DY...nice people all over.after a bottle of choya, our saturday night started at...3pm. haha.

amazing race CBD version

if you were walking around raffles place area between 5pm to 6pm today and saw a bunch of people in different coloured bibs running around like lunatics... then yes i was one of them.it was.. fun.. and TIRING!!!! but all the efforts paid off at the final stop - kazbar :) dude... it was free flow at the bar! why do you think we ran so hard for??

我要唱下去！

woohoo! my first time at a recording in mediacorp studios! :) the 3 singers tonight all did very well. was there to support DY and C who were really entertaining on stage. looking forward to see the episode on tv.. erm and i suspect we (the supporters) will also be on tv cos they kept taking shots of us after they knew that we were their friends.oh xiangyun and her two kids walked into the studio and sat behind me... haha, cool. but, but.. where is my chen zhi cai?!! lol.