Finally after a long while (3 years 4 months to be exact), I’ve gone for my own personal holiday!

Least expected, I’ve travelled to somewhere where I swore previously never to go again LOL. It was really funny to think about this. I remembered telling Mum that I won’t ever go to HK again even if someone sponsors me the air tickets but hey, I didn’t regret going back now ok! I had good company from my colleague G. We shopped so much, spent so much, ate so much and just laughed and had so much fun together that I forgot those unpleasant experiences I had when I was in HK 12 years ago which was really sooooooooo long ago.

It was a last minute decision to go HK because I was feeling so stressed and I needed a holiday badly and I just didn’t know where to go. So Thursday night, we decided to just book the flight and hotel and Saturday morning, off we flew to HK!

We stayed at Eaton Hotel, Nathan Road. Pretty small but cosy room. Overall looked quite good as compared to the Salvation Army one that I stayed in previously.

On Saturday, we went to Tsim Sha Tsui for shopping and I spent more than a thousand bucks at Coach, splurging on 2 bags. Scary isn’t it but if I had the money, I would end up buying all the LVs, Guccis and maybe even Pradas back, lol. We ate this really good 格仔饼which is like egg pancake shaped like a honey comb. Really hot and crispy on the outside and moist in the inside. Simply heavenly! Bought a lot (really A LOT) of tidbits from Ichiban as gifts for family & friends and for supper we had this BEST IN THE WORLD beef brisket & radish soup. It’s just tooooo good to be true because the soup is soooooooooo sweet and it’s not from MSG. At Temple Street Night Market, we bought plenty of socks, keychains and mobile phone accessories that really looked like food dishes (e.g. green bean soup, glutinuous rice balls, etc). Also bought an Armani replica sunglass for only $13. Oh yes, we bought plenty of VCDs as well! Well 11 movies to be exact for me, lol.

On Sunday, we headed to Causeway Bay for more shopping – this time I went mad at Crabtree & Evelyn because they were having sales and I ended up sweeping away their hand creams (really enough to last me for more than a year!), body scrubs, foot smoother and bath tablets! Bought an ebi tempura wrist rest from some cute gift shop. What else…let’s see…fleece jacket, 2 tank tops, wool scarf…too many to name and remember…lol. To end the night, we had a really huge Hoegaarden at the hotel’s bar where we sat outside to enjoy the cooling weather and night view of Kowloon city.

On Monday, we became kids as we visited the Hong Kong Disneyland. A bit disappointing in a sense that the park is smaller than expected and the entrance fee is like $70 per pax. We did the Space Mountain, train ride and It’s A Small World ride. That’s about all as we spent the rest of the time eating hot dogs, pop corn, cotton candy and shopping for Disney souvenirs. Things are really expensive but since I won’t be going back there again, it’s hard not to spend, lol. The best thing about it is that on Main Street, USA, they have these fake snow that falls during intervals and with the cold weather, it really looked like real snow and I was so excited about it because I’ve never seen the real thing before. Oh and of course, seeing my fave Winnie the Pooh!

On Tuesday, we did quick shopping at Harbour City just before we headed to the airport for our return flight. So much things to see, so little time. I should have extended two more nights and then further burn the hole in my pocket, lol. Well, overall HK is a lovely place for a holiday. I’m so glad to be back after 12 years and I find their people more pleasant and they do speak Chinese or English much better too. Wonderful holiday – I will never forget.

Thanks G for the great time and I look forward to our next trip together! :)

It had been some mad weeks since the end of last month because I’ve been travelling like nobody’s business lol.

It was a last minute thingy to travel to KL on the 14-15 Dec with my boss M and colleague D. I remembered I was feeling a little stressed up because it was the first time I’m travelling with my boss but hey, all those worries were for nothing because things really turned out great. We had a full day to ourselves where we simply ate and shop!

When we arrived in KL on 14 Dec, we headed straight for Ampang Yong Tau Fu the moment we dropped our luggage in the hotel. Oh yes, I must really compliment the Impiana Hotel that’s just within walking distance from the KLCC – it’s a very nice hotel indeed! And very convenient location.

After lunch, we went to Bukit Bintang where Sungei Wang Plaza is and we just shopped like mad – DVDs, shoes, etc. The best thing is 神木与童was there to do a 签唱会. The atmosphere was really high with their live singing and I bought an album which was personally signed by them which was even better! Woohoo! We had an early dinner at Nandos where they served really good bbq chicken – try eating it with their special garlic sauce – bagus!

Next, we went back to the hotel to put down our shopping stuffs and headed to KLCC for more shopping. This was where I tasted the best bagels ever at Vienna Bagels – the texture was somewhere between an American bagel and a donut. It was soooooooo good! After some shopping at Isetan and at some wacky gift shops, we went to Madam Kwan’s for supper where again we had the best Nasi Bojari – they have the best fried chicken! Oh, and the oxtail soup is also the best I’ve ever tried!

To end the night, we had beer at The Apartment at KLCC. Apparently it was closing but we decided to ‘beg’ for beers before they close and what a way to just wash down a good dinner with a chilled Hoegaarden. Yum.

We headed back to the hotel for a 3-way bubble bath which was really funny. M bought this milk foam bath from Face Shop and D had to prepare baths for all of us so we could enjoy the milky foamy bath at the same time, lol. And I really love it because it’s just like in the movies where the whole tub is filled with bubbles and you can just sit in the tub and blow bubbles and foam from your hands – oh man, heavenly!

The next day, we had to do a site recee of KLCC and then went on to the universities to meet their respective VCs. It was a short and rushed trip but it was a fruitful one :)

Well well, it’s indeed the time of the year again…year-end – that’s when I start to have lots of random thoughts in mind, of whatever’s happening right now and whatever’s happened in the past year.

It’s been a fruitful year though full of ups and downs. Ok, I don’t mean to do a reflection of my year 2008, that I shall leave to the last day of the year. I just have so much in my mind but all in bits and pieces.

How about starting with something lighthearted? Like how I spent $800 bucks on skincare products when I came back from Jakarta last Saturday. GL and I spent like more than 2 hours at the Duty Free Shop just to buy cosmetics and skin care stuffs. SK-II products were so cheap (as in cheaper than what the departmental stores sell) but they are not so cheap literally, lol. A 215ml bottle of facial treatment essence is only $155 compared to the $208 price which was advertised in the papers recently. And with my outstanding purchase combined with a fun-loving and easy-going personality, the counter staff had to give me more freebies lol. Well, I got away with a SK-II facial treatment mask, Repair C serum, cosmetic pouch (both SK-II and Clinique), sample bots and Clinique’s skincare stuffs. Lol. What a buy. First time ever I went on a skincare/cosmetic products spree.

Ok, now I swear by SK-II products. I never understood what was the craze about previously. My ex-colleagues were mad about SK-II so were most women in Singapore. I even told myself that these women must be crazy to spend hundreds on these Japanese products. So now I totally understand. Having used the product for 1 week, I see a significant change to my complexion. Fairer, clearer and most importantly, my skin no longer looks as dull as before which is really amazing. I swear I’m not earning commission from SK-II lol. But I think every cent you pay for, there must be some value to it. I’m waiting for this 28-day skin renewal cycle to come and I shall give another verdict by Christmas.

Another heartwarming thing that I’ve experienced recently is having a new man in my life. Ok, not exactly a boyfriend. He’s a little boy (well 6 years my junior) who used to work for me in my last company as a temp helper for some events. It’s really fate that brought us together. I mean, he was a friend of another temp who used to work for AL. We first knew each other in July 2007 and we just hit it off so well. So well that he calls me “Ah Bu” which is “Mum” in Hokkien because he thinks I’m very motherly and treats him like a son. We enjoy KTV and we both like Jay Chou lol. I remember the night when we went to Top One with KJ, K, D, J and A, we were seated next to each other on the couch and we were just so comfortable with each other that I could just rest my head on his shoulder.

He’s doing his National Service right now so he doesn’t have as much time as before to hang out with us that often. These 2 weeks, we have been sms-ing each other every morning and night. It’s funny that it just happened out of the blue but I’m kinda enjoying this daily routine of wishing each other good morning and good night. He never fails to cheer me up. I think it’s been a long while since someone can touch me with little words and gestures.

I’m lucky to have a good friend like him because he always stand by me in times of trouble. I’m lucky to have a friend like him because he reminds me never to skip my meals and reminds me to have breakfast everyday. I’m lucky to have a friend like him because he is in my life or rather part of my life. It really brings a smile to me every single day.

I’m contented really. I’m contented with life right now and I just love the way things are. Bad memories are now history. I’m living life and it’s so worth living! I can finally understand what it means by drinking water can be a form of happiness too – it just depends on how you tune your outlook in life to accept the little happiness that’s happening around us all the time. I LOVE LIFE! =)

Ok, the following excerpt is from a draft copy stored away since I-don’t-know-how-long-ago, perhaps when I was still with my ex-company a few months back.

Start

If you were to choose between “being unscrupulous, unfeeling, aggressive and shrewd just to get your way and climb up the corporate ladder and get a big fat pay check” versus “having a clear conscience, refusing to do what’s wrong but forever going nowhere in your career”. What path would you choose?

My “weakness” of refusing to succumb to reality, being too straightforward and just say things without thinking of consequences has become the greatest downfall of my life. And the greatest dilemma I have ALL THE TIME is I know what I am doing and I know sometimes that what I am doing is NOT right but I still do it. And then the whole world starts hating me because I’m more and more like someone.

End

Maybe there was more because intense emotions were flowing. But I guess whatever that was meant to be said…it’s all in history now.

Well well…almost 5 weeks into my new job, I’ve already more or less adjusted myself to a different job culture and environment. Things have been so far so good for me. Guess I’ve been too used to a fast paced and multi-tasking environment so now I feel I’m not so efficient and productive as before because the pace is slower and everyone is almost like honey-mooning! Hey..but the good thing is MSN is ultra ‘legalised’ at my workplace haha…amazing isn’t it.

What more can I ask for? I have a job with a good pay (amidst this bleek economic crisis thingy). I go home before 7pm. I have dinner with my family more frequently now. I have a social life (after office hours). I have more time to run personal errands and more leisure time. I don’t skip meals anymore. I get to travel for work. Everything seems just perfect for me at this moment. 

Anyway, I got the chance to travel to Jakarta last week to run an event on late notice because our fellow colleagues from the London office were stuck at Bangkok Airport due to the mass protest. Was good experience. Though I didn’t have time to go shopping or see more of the city, I had a good time with GL and DL. And the massage was DAMN SHIOK! Ooooohhh…I wish I had more.