faded

was just looking through my old photos. such happy, youthful faces. i feel quite the opposite now. i wonder if things haven't changed much and the photos captured plastic, insincere emotions; or if i really have grown older, more jaded, in a matter of a few years.

mind your language

a couple of months back, i commented on the train announcements.

they changed it again!

now the lady says "the train that is approaching platform A will terminate its service at yishun"

i think they got it right this time around =)

asset management

i've decided to put a little more effort into my "beauty regime". i put that in inverted commas because currently, all i do is wash my face in the mornings and nights, and dab on some moisturizer before i head off to work. i don't think that qualifies as a beauty regime, nor a beauty regime.

realised that youth is an asset that needs some investing in less you lose it and regret it.

wandered around dfs today while waiting for my dad to pick me up. i got lost among all the brands (origins, clarins, biotherm, sephora, i dunno wat...) and the types of products (eye serum, mask, face serum, cleanser, exfoliator etc.).

i don't want to be extravagant or vain, but just enough so that im not all dried and wrinkled up when im 40? i know nuts about such stuff though, and don't have much patience either. sigh, can you get the best of all worlds (quick, affordable, effective)?

also, now that i'm working, and will probably be meeting plenty of external clients when i finally settle in to my perm deployment, i think i need to ramp up my makeup collection. all i have now is:
from cvs in charlottesville
- covergirl face powder
- l'oreal eyeshadow (black/gold, brown/pink)
- revlon eyeliner
from sephora
- urban decay eyeshadow base (cos my eye makeup always smudges, too dry/oily eyelids? strange)
from singapore
- bodyshop blush

i feel suaku. any advise?

morning rituals

saigon.

the sun rises above the horizon and you are awakened not by the cock crowing nor the chirping of the birds, but the cacophony of honks from the mass of motorcycles and vans on the road. as the city awakes, roadside stalls start to set up, serving up vietnamese coffee (iced or hot), warm baguettes with your choice of pate or meatballs, or vermicelli. vehicles pull up to the roadside and stall owners have the baguette sandwiches ready beforehand for their regular customers. others sit on squat stools around tiny fold out tables and enjoy their coffee while watching the hustle and bustle of the morning traffic. you, the foreigner, observes this ritual with much interest and attempts to take part in it as well. you sip on the ice cold coffee and enjoy the sweet sensation and the bitter aftertaste. you have been initiated and you think you could live like this every morning. a motorbike carrying two huge blocks of ice, one between the rider's legs and the other behind, pulls up to the curb. you find this fascinating. the rider hauls on block onto the ground and drags it along the walkway to where the stall owner is. you look at what used to be a cup of iced coffee, now a cup of ice.

little things

work can get so dull that little things will cheer you up, such as:

getting dropped off right infront of the train station
riding in a non-crowded mrt carriage
getting a seat on the train
a good novel and fifteen minutes to read it
not having to wait for the greenman at the cross junction
not having to wait too long for the bus to arrive
tehcsiudai in the mornings
less spicy korean beef ramen
purple coloured agar agar
tea breaks
weekend plans
telecommuting
public holidays
music while at work
five minute foozeball

feeling accomplished

things have been looking up =)

after having been abroad for 2 years, i cant seem to be able to stay in one place for too long. i've booked myself an air ticket to tokyo in june (whoopppeee!!) and will also be heading to vietnam with the family a couple of weekends from now. yay im a jetsetter globetrotter backpacker nutttt. the idea of just being out of this tiny little country that i try so hard to persuade others to visit on a daily basis excites me.

i went down to smu the other day. caderas is setting up an alumni, so we had a little meeting. got to see lots of people that i havent seen in a long time! including benkoh. time for meetups and catchups!

speaking of which, vinny dude is back in singapore so i am forseeing several prata nights. unfortunately, most of the dudes will be overseas doing something or other, and so i don't think there will be a karaoke session. but i have been getting more than the usual dosage of KTV since starting work so that's ok ;)

we met up last saturday to celebrate yong's birthday. my alcohol tolerance seems to have decreased significantly. oh! what happened to all the training that i went through in the US?? i had 2 frozen margaritas (tiny cups too) and threw up my unagi rice burger and nachos one hour later. this only means one thing: i need more training!

i have also started spanish lessons. had my second one yesterday. im still very lost and i couldn't say something even if i had to.. ok well i can say good morning, and good night, and hello gorgeous (yes that last one is very important and useful aye).

i like making lists of things that i am doing/have done. at least im not sitting at home rotting away so much anymore. been reading, although not the economist. ive already accumulated a backlog with those. they just seem to keep on coming before you can even get halfway through the previous issue. seems to me to be a conspiracy of some sort! between who, i don't know, but definitely against me.

and, i went to the gym today (i did take a 2 week break though) and ran a full 30min, 4km! not very fast, but im slowly slowly creeping towards the half marathon target in december.

hooray for me being hardworking and making things happen! =)


ps: go here, select any country, and click on the marina bay weekends banner. its one of the projects which i did some work on! =) although i didnt do much, and the process of getting it done was a pain in the butt and rather ugly, it feels kinda nice to have your work up on the world wide web with millions of people (ok i exaggerate) viewing it.

i feel like screaming f***


i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate... all of this.


but, i did get a flower delivery today. =)

overhaul and revamp

march 31, i made a list of things i needed to work on:

read the news, and literature
learn something, a language or a skill
pick up a sport, or some type of exercise
keep in touch with my friends
spend more time at home

since then, ive made some progress on some:

1. purchased a subscription for the economist. while i have yet to read an entire issue, some is better than none? although, i have come to realise that i don't like the style and voice that the economist adopts. i also started on memoirs of lee kuan yew, which i have since abandoned for 1984. will get back to mr lky shortly.

2. enquired about violin lessons, which are bloody expensive. considering learning spanish. after some thought, i've decided that i might like to work for the UN World Tourism Organisation eventually, and thought perhaps knowing some spanish might land me up in south america. but still thinking. the other option was continuing with salsa.

3. made it to the gym twice this week and once last week, and am slowly getting back my stamina and loving it! targeting for the standard chartered half marathon in december. yes, im still up for it. woooot!

4. im meeting up with cherie this saturday. i last saw her... in january. and i initiated it too. yay! brownie points for me! and planning on a trip to japan in june to visit the ex-roomie and bj. just keeping my fingers crossed that it will eventually work out.

5. been spending more time with the grandma and talking more nonsense to her. sometimes, i just sit next to her and read a book, but i guess just having someone accompany her is enough for her. she is feeling much better too and is even able to walk some.

i guess, all in all, i've been making good progress. just need to keep it up, and work harder on 2 and 4. would like to also get involved in some charity work and have registed with nvpc.

work's been slow but its gradually starting to come in, so i guess things have been improving on that front too.

cheers to a new and improved life! one more thing i need to work on, is getting my photos uploaded promptly. it is such a chore though, on this broken laptop and lousy internet connection!

part three: hamilton and two

we weren't sure of where we were going from memphis. so we hit the highway and when the sun had set, we stopped at the nearest town, hamilton, where we spent the night.

dinner at oh!bryan's. the chimney was smoking and lots of truckers were parked upfront when we drove past!


steak and onion rings, catfish and hushpuppies for dinner


the next day, we explored the town a little, and found piggly wiggly's!


heading out of hamilton, we weren't quite sure of which direction to go...


pulled up at a sketchy diner for lunch just on the edge of the town


where i had a greasy burger and tater tots. the waitress was astonished when she heard i didn't know what tater tots were. boo.


detoured to natural bridge..


this is what an indian face looks like (the plant! not the person)


puddle


under the natural bridge


since we had visited one bridge that day, we thought we'd might as well visit another one

the last covered bridge in cullman county


feeling like the king of the world



to be continued...

part two: walking in memphis

and finally.. more pics from the december road trip! (i know, very very slow la)

all excited to be hitting the road


we got lost, and look where we ended up at!


sunset in memphis on christmas day


elvis' abode in graceland


possibly the oldest department store around


a peek inside a.schwab


lost and found in the store


we found treasure!




sun studio, where elvis' path to fame and glory started


sweet! red velvet and chocolate cupcakes


the road out of memphis leads to southpark