had my first harrowing experience in my house.
the electrical cables chose the coldest night this year to snap.
shortly after eleven, i found myself in darkness and silence.
there was no power, no TV, no internet and gasp, no heater.

i poked my way to the toolbox to search out the torch i picked up at ikea.
i knew that would come in handy somehow. talked rubbish to rakesh for half an hour.
read a presentation report using the torch. tried to settle down on the sofa wearing my winter jacket. just as i was nodding off, the lights came back on just before 12.

the giantic Xmas tree in the estate compound must have short-circuited. good intention, bad idea.

one of the perils of living alone - you'll have to figure out how to replace lightbulbs. 3 of my 7 lightballs decide to expire. i found myself at the light aisle in Carrefour, trying to differentiate between 25W/40W/60W, softone/classic tone, energy saving/bright illumination, tear bulb/broad base/narrow base. i gave up and called dad. just wanted to make sure replacing a 25W with a 40W will not set off an explosion in my living room. i survived. :)

just discovered something new.
the ever controversial electrical blanket.
for some reasons, they all have terrible prints! (believe me, mine is already the best looking of the lot)...

yes, i heard all the stories about people being fried in those but i'll take my chances.
there's something about jumping into a warm bed. just brings a smile to your face.

jason from toni & guy recommended the 'Small S' hairstyle (he swears it is the IN thing right now) when i complained about my porcupine hair. i must say i quite like the outcome!

went for my first mahjong session at the mahjong house.
the coolest thing would be the automatic tile washing and arranging table.
everything at the press of a button.
i'll see if i can import one back. :)

had some frens over this weekend.
the curry party went well. must admit that Prima paste is really idiot proof and yummy.
guess everything went so smoothly we thought nothing of moving on to the next challenge - bad mistake!

poor hairy crabs were steamed alive. but the decision to steam them using beer went horrendously wrong. see results below. there is now a running joke about pot ryan whose desperate owner tried to save him but to no avail.

warning!!!: do not forget beer=alcohol and alcohol and pot do not mix well.

weather's turning chilly but hey, winter dress-up has begun!
i love my scarves and boots!

Ate a giant starfish, fried scorpions, fried milk, mutton belly, rabbit foot all in a week.
liked the scorpions best of all! wahaha

Compared to everything else, the starfish and scorpions don't look as bad!

the Great Wall is really amazing. shudders to think how much sweat and blood it took to build this true wonder. the tour guide made a faux pas when referring to the black bears in the vincinity. She calls them 非洲黑熊 (african black bears) which had the whole bus collapsing in laughter. She had earlier warned us that the Great Wall may be blocked off temporarily because the 非洲人 (africans) are visiting that very day.

Beijing came under attack during our last 2 days, from the mongolian desert winds. the winds howl nonstop - we were forced to abandon our biking plans. we could hardly see with all the dust and leaves flying into our eyes.

was actually glad to be back in Shanghai.

my first trip to Beijing.
Beijing reminds me a lot of Singapore. heavy dose of government influence, of which the people seem to take in their stride. trip coincided with the first Sino-African Summit. major traffic diversions and road blocks are the order of the week. No big deal it seems - life goes on. Hardly any mutter from the cab drivers (ok, so maybe this is the difference from Singapore).

the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven..., something about stepping into the ancient worlds of emperors and empresses touched me. There is a sense of reality, history and imagination mixed together.

sis is in town for 2 weeks.
this must be the first time we are going to travel alone.
there is strange comfort in living with someone whom you have grown up with.
i realise we are more alike in some ways than we and everyone else think.
no one believes we are sisters (they ask if we have the same mum!)

the trip to Phuket was refreshing to say the least.the most memorable bits unfortunately has less to do with the sun, sea or friends but the flight to and fro.
the chinese make interesting travel companions:- thank god they don't spit in the plane (at least not within my earshot) but...
- they go 'Arghhhh' in hoards during take off and landings in an ill-advised attempt to clear their ears...
- they like to sleep with their heads on the dining trays...
- they decide when sleeping time is over (for everyone). they would engage in some random conversation, with the person sitting (at least) 3 rows away. shouting across the aisle. it does not trouble them at all that the lights are dim (for a reason) and that the rest of the passengers on the midnight flight would like a rest...
- once in a while, they would decide they need to stretch a little during the 5 hour flight. fair enough, except that while swinging their arms out, they pay little attention to wherethe arms are going. i received a knock on my head in my sleep. no apologies.
- cabin service, by the way, is non-existent on FM flights. the drinks tray was left in the aisle, good luck winning the fight to the drinks against everyone else.

the monster is in town...
breakfast and dinner were at elements fresh.
guess what, we HAD to go back there again, according to His Excellency.
i swear the waiters there are starting to recognise us.

night was at O2 - this trance club at a dodgey location.
some girls keep going round stuffing popcorns and ice cream at us.
monster mistakenly ordered double-shot scotch, nearly spewed it out while it was burning the throat. needless to say, afterwards we were on the way to a wasted night.

nearly slapped the monster when he couldn't stop shouting "I don't want a drink, I want an ice cream". all in all, he got two taps on the shoulders through the night, both by guys. wahaha

golden week is here again. and again, i have guests. but this time, there seem to be more to do. i'm probably discovering more and more of this city.
the highlight got to be the F1 race. i actually did enjoy this cars going round and round thing more than i thought i would. of course it helped that schumi decided to make a race out of this and renault goofing up on their equipment. otherwise, i'm not sure it would be anything more than a yawn, given alonso's early WIDE lead. somehow i suspect this is somehow the sponsors' way to inject excitement. but what the hell, i was actually quite caught up in the whole thing, premeditated or not.


earplugs are a must with the blasting engines.


renault fans (probably Spaniards) who went from being v loud to v subdued along with Alonso's decline.


the 'fashion statement' that we had for a day. in case you didn't know (and i didn't), the circuit they race on takes the form of Shang as in Shanghai in Chinese.

God gives us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we talk... or is it?
maybe he meant for us to talk twice as hard against all the rubbish we hear? ;)

i think the only reason LKY thinks the greatest modern invention has been the aircon is because he has a maid to do the housework. Otherwise, he would have said it was the vaccum cleaner. what would people do without it I don't know. i love my new sexy pink mini vaccum!

never realised this until mui mui pointed this out.
guess i always had it in me. haha.

love this. Shenn made me a cup out of this. how sweet. :)

Waterlemon Cup 2006

the event of the year came and went.
the journey was fun... and bitchy, but certainly was worth it.

come to think of it - i spent some serious moolah on golf this year... wat with a new set of clubs, a (old) genex, 2 golf memberships!!!, sunglasses, balls, and i'm not done yet! still on the lookout for new shoes.

can't wait for next year!


secret training the weekend before! Shhh....

why people get married...

We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

finally plucked up enough courage to do something about that nagging toothache...

my god! so the anesthetic shot was not the worse thing. it's the sound and feel of the dentist wrestling with your stubborn tooth. everytime you think he's finally going to yank it out, the grip slips and he tries again. "Er...I think your teeth has shattered..." bloody hell!

the only commendable thing was the SIA-quality service from the nurses. I keep getting“辛苦您了...”“让您久等了...”“谢谢...”and offers of (boiling) hot towels while waiting for my medication.

the niceties didn't come cheap though. bloodsuckers!

only in China...

chose to concentrate my time and energy here on building up my team. they are really a nice bunch, usually more passive than I would like but sometimes so rowdy and witty that they surprised me. most of them are good singers though. my F4s and S.H.E wannabes.

very often, we are the harshest to those we care the most about.
i think that applies to comments on our country and the system under which it runs.
people care because they want things to be better because they care.

the garment spokeman made an interesting point - that opinions are only allowed when you can offer solutions along with them.

is that true? all too often, we reject criticism as just that - criticism. what we were told to accept is 'constructive criticism' which should come with suggestions and directions to move forward. sounds good in theory but is the world really going to be better place if no one say anything if they don't really know how to solve the problem they would like to highlight?

is that why our people are so apathetic to most things? we don't (nor should) care because we don't have solutions? interesting.

was caught up in the world cup fever for the past month like (almost) everyone else.
one golf kaki was caught commenting “我对世界杯没什么兴趣”onboard the shuttle bus and the driver nearly slammed his brakes in shock (and mostly disgust). the rebuttal came fast and furious: “你如果对世界杯没兴趣，那你人生还有什么意思？！？”

of course the whole bus burst out laughing but I can't help but once again marvel at the power of sports and soccer in particular. how is it that so many people in the world can collectively transfer their mental and emotional energy into watching (practically) strangers trying to kick a ball into the net? this commentator in China got into trouble because he was screaming on air "GOOOAAALLL... LONG LIVE ITALY, DOWN WITH THE AUSSIES" at 2am in the morning. I mean, he's not even an italian! and I saw my fren (and heard that my sis did too) collapsed into tears when England was knocked out. strange game this.

Singapore has made it to the world cup!
before 2010 somemore!
others have 11 men, we need only 1...
go referee Samsul Maidin!

decided to write something more positive after my last post.
the past few days back in singapore were hurried but loads of fun.
guess this is what they mean by the heart growing fonder with absence.

ling and august finally got married.
rachel and boon next.
happiness is in the air.

how can this be?
I won the popular vote for Star of the Quarter in the office.
also won a promotion from my boss all on the same day!

and yet I am feeling lousy today.
stupid clients are screwing my life.
I need to wake up! they need to wake up!

kath and bro - have u seen two siblings who look more alike?
mui mui is fixing the coffee machine...

it just struck me that i have the most wonderful view from my cubicle.
i half expect to see a dead body to whom the boots belonged to.

think i will complain to the office admin tomorrow.

上有天堂，下有苏杭...
went to paradise on earth over the May hols.
definitely worth a stay - welcomed break from the polluted air in Shanghai.
west lake in hangzhou.

when in rome, do as the romans do.
when in china, do as the chinese do.


rachel devouring a poor bird before attempting to wish for blessings by throwing some ribbon on this ridiculously decorated fake tree.

Shanghai Bund must be one of the most over-rated tourist spots in the world, or is it?
in some ways, it does bring out the ironies and extremities ever so prevalent in the city.
two sides of the river - two faces of the city.

for all looking for hope.

Shanghai is undoubtly a city of embellishment.
it is virtually impossible to find clothes that do NOT have anything shiny, lacy or loud screaming for attention. another case in point - nobody eats plain white bread here. all bread sold comes embedded with wheat, milk, honey, nuts, chocolate strips and whatever. somebody has gone mad advocating for choice and variety. give me back simplicity.

i can't access my own blog in Shanghai because the Chinese govt blocks it!
how ridiculous is that???
need to figure out a way to bypass this. And they say Singapore is tough.

doubly grossed out... feeling the blues... yucks.

continuing the day in the Land of Smiles - how do the thai people remain so cheerful?
the heat continues to irritate but felt so much better after my shopping spree.
MBK never fails to deliver.

golden week starts...

Bangkok is hot hot hot!
Never realise that I had a problem with humidity...
Humility yes, but not humidity. now I know.

anyway, has been another week of intense learning, traveling and networking.
exciting stuff's on the way. let's hope the execution will do justice to the depth of thinking behind the strategy.

met with Jeed yesterday. had a deafening dinner at the teppanyaki restaurant where some drunk guests at the next table were shouting and screaming together with the chefs! horrible.
chat till late over beer and coffee by the sea. nice seabreeze.

had a lousy morning meeting. didn't manage to talk much despite the late night before.
sigh. should have slept more.

now in buzzing hongkong.
wish i have more time to buy and eat more.
unfortunately will need to leave early morning.
looks like my plans to buy a cheap digicam here have gone down the drain.
on to Bangkok next!

finally came home after 11 hours of flight time.
i must say the business class service is really in a world of its own.
makes you appreciate once more, the allure of money and the priviledges it brings.

opened my door and am immediately greeted by dirty footprints, dusty sofas, dirty laundry, rotting food in the fridge...I have to decide if I want to first tackle the unpacked luggage, mop the floor, vaccum the sofa or wash the clothes all at once. I can't believe how potent the Shanghai construction dust is! How the world did it manage to penetrate the walls and closed windows?
my house looked like it has been abandoned for years, judging by the dust piles! the dust cake that i eventually removed from my vaccum cleaner is unbelieveable.

I dread to think that I'm leaving on another trip this week.

Still, managed to catch Pool's victory on TV while mopping the floor.
Somehow the housework doesn't seem so tough once you caught sight of the scrowl on Mourinho's face. 'Special One' my aXX!

yeah! the conference finally ended today. tons of work to follow up on. the past few days have been tough, nearly been working double shifts cos' of the time difference. whoever says mobile office is the way of the future is lying...

had a few hours to burn after the conference. warwick castle turns out to be quite an amazing sight. relaxing walk in the cool weather as we were led to re-live the days of knights and princesses...



the rose garden within the castle ground.

Is it that nothing's normal anymore or is everything normal now?

2006 is the year of the People!

This workshop is getting more interesting by the day!
While I must already be one of the more passionate employee around, I must say hanging out with these people in the past few days have made me realise even more now how great the organization really is! We do have a lot of top brains working for the company and they are from all over the world. The fact of the matter is, I never feel so small yet so proud as I have in the past week. I am truly humbled and this is not something I'll say very often.

One of my favourite read nowadays:
http://www.mb-blog.com/

saying hello!

Currently in Warwick, some 2 hours off London. For a workshop. In case you are wondering, MB Global HQ is in Warwick. Yes, Mr Millward and Mr Brown were from here. Weather is freezing and dreary as you would expected in the UK. Terrible jetlag - was awake at 3am this morning. Should probably hang on since I'm flying back to my 'normal' timezone in 3 days.

Spent monday in London with Moon and Rob. They seem happy. Good for them. London seems too cold a place to start life from scratch. The airbed is not recommended though. :)

looking cosy on a sidewalk spanish tapas cafe.

Finally set up my own haven in this strange world...

I have come to realise that some of the simplest things in life can make one very happy.
Like finding the perfect shoe cabinet.
Like finding a coat hanger that matches your shoe cabinet.
Like arriving home to smell the aroma of the rice from your new rice cooker
Like ironing just enough clothes to wear for the next 2 days.

video clips of my place...with running commentary...
hope you have Quicktime on your computer.

My Home: http://clips2.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/04/21/vimeo.97187.a727dd.3gp
My Kitchen: http://clips2.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/04/21/vimeo.97192.a3be66.3gp
My Living Room: http://clips2.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/04/21/vimeo.97193.7bde6b.3gp
My Guest Room: http://clips2.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/04/21/vimeo.97194.92f1c2.3gp
My Bedroom: http://clips2.vimeo.com/video_files/2006/04/21/vimeo.97195.faf602.3gp