there's a snail that lives at the garden patch near the lift exit where i live and he has this funny habit of crawling out of his garden onto the stone path where ppl walk and is forever in other ppl's way as they exit the lift door. grr silly snail.

and cos i'm scared he'd get squashed and crushed alive, i kinda tend to look out for him and put him back in the garden-y part so he can happily munch on the leaves in peace.

i saw him again this evening while hauling my luggage up home and put him back in his place (literally) as always. reminded me of so many other little things i'd missed while i've been away.

where 4 is great company...

and 6 is definitely a crowd.


as we await mdm aw to grace us with her presence
looks abit like one of those OC or Gossip Girl poster ads haha

the aquarium fishtank!

i'm terribly miserable now cos my skin is horrid.

i'm flaking/peeling/moulting/shedding/pimpling/acne-ing/red-ding/erupting u name it.

i will NEVER ever take good skin for granted (if i ever get it back) but meanwhile i have to content with being miserably miserable & awfully awful.

SIGH.

but yeah had a good day today, tons to blog about but i'm headed to apply the numerous creams i have literally in hope for a better tomorrow.

SIGH.

actually, apart from that, i tink i'm quite having the time of my life.

AND i came back to really yummy old cucumber+damn alot of dried scallop+super alot of pork rib soup. for really really selfish and rather un-filial reasons, i hope my gran doesnt die. she makes the best bak zhang, nian gao and soups in the world no one else seems to be able to duplicate. kinda like how i wish the nice ol carrot cake uncle from bukit merah who insists on selling his super big and yummy packet of carrot cake for a mere 2 bucks never dies too.

where are the ppl meant to carry on their culinary legacies????

ok i tink the cupcakes, beer and 7 times table is getting to me. time for bed miss kong!

was listening to a fren pouring out woes the other night, and after reading car's blog, me was musing about how things somehow always seem to work out fine, for better or even the worse seems ok after a bit.

i'm continually amazed by how resilient humans can be in the face of adversity, crisis, turmoil, and somehow still emerge somewhat unscathed with battle scars worthy of display for the whole world to see.

the scars may cause imperfection, but these blemishes are what make us, us. and because we know no other self apart from us, these scars are what will make us the perfect person we are supposed to be.

car & tj, its jus been sweet watching/being part of almost each stage of you 2 til this day. all sorts of happie blessings going out to you! our first fag wedding wor!!!!

oh man i really hope i dun cry later. kaoz CMI CMI CMI tak glam!!! hehe

randomness cos i'm tired and refuse to start on another piece of work since there's barely 4min before 6.

1) my ABC tastes of banana. how apple beetroot and carrot can taste like banana escapes me.

2) i like songs tat start off with the strumming of the guitar and nothing else. better together, 风, snow, shape of my heart for a start.

3) dont understand whats up with the chinese. jus cos of the olympics, all imports/exports are virtually at a halt. import i understand, but export?? no need do biz liao meh??

4) made it thru the 1st round, not sure if i wanna go for the 2nd. i guess i dont really wanna end up bao ga liao-ing again even if being a generalist isnt necessarily a bad thing.

5) din celebrate father's day. kinda wish i could.

6) there are definitely mozzies in the office. i've got at least 4 bites! all the 10c 50c marks on the legs are so not glam.

7) got a bruise fr blading. i wonder if i have a clotting/blood problem. i'm way too prone to bruising.

8) need to get some mediation beads for the upcoming msia trip. and mabbe some tranquilisers. for them and ME.

9) not only are we short of designers, their PC sucks. overheating? restarting? downtime til friday cos IT needs to repair it again? good god.

10) and its past 6 so i shld get going.

tired of repeating myself so here's why.

1) why u so many pimples?/wat happen to ur face?
Ans: er honestly i duno. not like i want them either. but the doc says its hormones.

2) why are u so red?
Ans: apply tretinoin cream is liddat de ma. FDA says 'Local reactions such as peeling, dry skin, burning, stinging, erythema, and pruritus were reported by almost all subjects during therapy with Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05%. These signs and symptoms were usually of mild to moderate severity and generally occurred early in therapy. In most patients the dryness, peeling, and redness recurred after an initial (24 week) decline.' the redness bit falls under the 'erythema' part of the para.

3) orhh so tats why u're peeling ah?
Ans: ya. ah then.

4) how long then ok?
Ans: i duno. anything fr 10-24weeks??

5) wah why nowadays u so scared of sun ah?
Ans: cos i dun wanna waste my 4k????

6) wah! u very rich ah!?
Ans: no. obviously not. my mother made me do the laser. therefore, she pay. cos i do not earn enough to sustain such extravagance.

7) issit working?
Ans: i duno. u tell me. as long as my skin isnt like wat it was before, to me it jus means its like shit. so i duno.

anyway, presenting the rioters and the subjects who caused the riot.

i had a really good lunch with a few good folks jus now. kel n ethan came to join yi and me at hans and i jus felt so much better after tat.

its things like tat tat keep u sane you know. work's been abit weird these few weeks, it takes me forever to reply to an email cos i have to be extra careful with the way i word things, and i jus dont get why i bother with drawing up my SOPs for my dept when its subject to the whims and fancies of other ppl. i mean seriously why bother. then there's the other part of life which confounds and confuses so much i contemplate seeking refuge in a nunnery. oh and did i mention i have to write shipping documents and emails in chinese now? kaoz. 0_0

but yeah, i had a good lunch and somehow we spoke of christmas and there was dismay when i said mabbe no xmas party cos i might go away. but now, i even got a chef to mastermind the menu (there are requests for bacon prawns and salad) and 3 confirmed attendees already. no doubt, its 6mths away but as kel said, 'its something to look forward to'.

u're right. its things like these, cakes like lychee martinis and homemade log cake, the time spent suffering in the kitchen, the teasing and bantering, and the somewhat heartwarming thot tat ppl actually look forward to my xmas party tradition tat make somewhat sad and disappointing days like these so much better.

misskong & missgu are going off on a holiday and we is excited!! at least, i know i am.

well well. wat a surprise.

me, for once, is actually excited about going away. and i'm actually thrilled with the upcoming travel plans for the rest of the yr too (oh next yr in fact if i include palawan). may they materialise!!

i am such an economy booster. =0p

sheeeet. realised i only have next wk left before i fly!
and then june's over.
O.M.G.
tat was wayy too fast.
i wonder wat sort of day fri the 13th's gonna be like. its been a while since i went for such 'activities', scary man *quiver*
perhaps i might be entitled to staff rate in future =0)
wanted to blog about the weekend, but too tired to do it. actually i dont even really know wat happened inside, and i'm waiting for photos *big hint to official photographer* hehe

i.need.sleep.so.i.stop.the.sniffys.

the essence of planning surprises lies in the art of selecting your surprisees. the more 'gong' (quote unquote canuf) they are, the better your surprise will turn out to be.

in other news, i jus discovered why my thumb was covered with all these funny little cuts/slices. scissors, being sharp enough to cut paper, are also sharp enough to cut thru skin.

*just occurred to me while in the kitchen: funny how i managed to dissect frogs and rats with such ease and yet cant even cut a paper flower without getting injured.

o_0

serotonin's supposed to make u happie, and its supposed to encourage weight loss, and salmon has tons of its tryptophan precursor.

so there i was, in mock domestic goddess mode, wanting to whip up something with the salmon in the fridge and then i thot i'd jus do a simple salt seasoning, hot oil grill it so i get really crispy skin, barely cooked tender insides topped with a squeeze of lemon and basil and voila! dinner.

then i realised my fave pan was lost. lost! how the heck do u lose a pan??! -_-

damn.

in kicks in plan B, using the ever trusty rice cooker to poach/steam the salmon seasoned jap style, smeared with some paprika and as a hasty last min decision, steamed it topped with a slice of lemon for that extra punch. fingers were for obvious reasons crossed.

it worked. amazingly.

i'm impressed.

1st lesson learnt today: never underestimate tissue.

ntuc one causes severe abrasion on my nose..and i'm reduced to being rudolph for the day. i'm back to using my good ol winnie the pooh kleenex ones, clutching on to them like there's no tomorrow but it seems to be on a dangerously low amount left.

sucks.

yet another lesson: i still prefer food photography cos it gives me time to get the perfect shot. humans dont allow me tat sort of luxury.

and i jus realised one more lesson. i is so crever. crap!! argh.

bad cold + murphy's law = today aint a great day

bad cold + murphy's law + painful nose + isotretinoin making the skin condition worse = today really aint a great day

when things are over, there's someone i would like to kill who is for now forgiven given the unique circumstances of the situation.

argh!!

*pullhair*

murphy's law definitely out in full force..

i am getting just a weeee bit stressed as the day approaches. i tink its the finer minuscule details tat worry me as always cos its easy getting the big picture settled. but anyhow positive thinking! brownie points for prompt replies and offers of help!

^^

for the first time in a goddamn long (and very overdue-d) time, i feel my epidermis is beginning to have some form of semblance to its original condition. ok its peeling and red and i'm prone to flushing/blushing (ie free blusher) plus i cant put any form of make up at all but hmmm. me will keep the faith for now.

so! its june! HAPPIE BIRTHDAY MICH!! i realise its prob only the 10th time (and counting) i've wished u this over the yrs? muack muack! =0) tons more bdaes coming up tom, the day after, the DAYS after, weeks after too!

Anyways, Happie Bdaes oso going out to huixian, joce (seeya on sunday!), misswongwanjun, mr xavier poon, and a lil red boy far away in philippines (or affectionately known as adobo land)!

so i was planning and talking to some ppl about bdaes and the general consensus is tat when it comes to ur own bdae, it really doesnt seem tat impt cos its jus any other day. but it is! well everyone's bdae is impt to me anyway, its amazing seeing other ppls faces really lighting up or when they have tat happie but slightly embarrassed face when everyone's singing them the bdae song. plus it also seems to be a brilliant excuse to party and celebrate life as it were =0)

wah all tat exuberance (and exclamation-mark-ing) is tiring. the rest of the entry is jus gonna be plain narration, starting fr squash on fri and queuing for Quality hotel porridge at 1030 (who the heck queues a good half hr for porridge these days!). then it was an early morning off to the dermatologist, dentist and the yummy ramen place before we headed to do 'work'. then it was rushing ard being a chauffeur and heading to timbre where we finally heard timbre! curse broken finally! sun was oso an early day despite the late night, cos its xavier's bdae party! i've yet to sort thru the 500 odd pics, so patience ya..eheh. baby photography is not fun. they move toooo much too fast. but i mus say the eclairs were gorgeous scrumptious lil pastries.

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how could i forget. i managed somehow to sorta recover more of my cambodia photos! duno wat the heck i was doing la but i managed to rescue more! hehe yay! exuberance is so contagious..even the camera is getting cooperative. hehe i is happie ^^

ending off with a happie song, this was one of the songs eic did, still love it tho its been quite some time. in fact we heard it twice tat day, once before the band played, once live.



There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard
And no song that I could sing but I can try for your heart
And our dreams and they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving
Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart
Why are we here? And where do we go? And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together

It's always better when we're together
We'll look at the stars when we're together
It's always better when we're together
it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments just might find there way into my dreams tonight
But I know that theyll be gone when the morning light sings
Or brings new things but tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too, too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find there way into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression I was somewhere in between
With only two, just me and you, not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be we'll sit beneath the mango tree now

I believe in memories they look so pretty when I sleep
And when I wake up you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time
And there is no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together
-Better Together, Jack Johnson