Saturday 31 January 2009

Who let the dogs out!?

Just came back from watching Underworld -- so worth the time man! =)

I never watched any of the other Underworld moovies before, so thank god this was a pre-cursor to them..i.e. Jean is not lost like sotong in the cinema..haha...

Hmmm...first Red Cliff, then Underworld...*innocent grin*...I'm really soft at heart you know...not the violent sort...*adjusts halo*....hahaha

Of course, in between I watched the HK movie with Anna, All's Well End's Well, which was ok only lahz...the only thing was that it reminded me of the 'tan' tone of Louis Koo whom we spotted in Paris...=)

I drove from home to the Balestier Cinema in 12 mins. Terrible man...such drivers should be kept off the road...haha...I left home close to 1120 and the show starts at 1130pm lor. =) God was good lah...really if it weren't for all the greens lights (only stopped once) all other traffic was smooth. And I must add, I learned a new way how to get to Balestier liao...=) 3 cheers for accurate street directory! counted on my memory of it as i whizzed at each turn!

It's my first time at that cinema...so you should've seen the !?!?!?! over my head when I realised it's 'insert cash card' type...aiyoooo....late liao...still need to 'go the extra mile'...hahaha...

Ooooo...actually the real purpose of my post is to introduce you to my new 'comments' --- now officially re-named "Woof"!! Hee...so dun blur hor...you want to add/ read comment now you must click the Woof okie?...=P

All thanks to ge who die die re-learned how to do it + several trial and errors + for almost and hour + On an empty stomach! Just so that me can have a "Woof!"..even though half the time I was telling her to forget it lahz if so hard...=)

She's schweet lahz...=) though some may interpret as stubborn..*innocent grin*...I'm for the former!!! hahaha...

So yeah, i'm all buzzed up about my new Woof!....LOL...I childishly keep opening my blog page just to see the Woof...=P 2nd childhood! hahaha...

Keep woofing!!!

Wednesday 28 January 2009

Dear Rolling Pin...

...go join Safety Pin in heaven k?...we'll miss you... especially Terror and Bowling Pin.

You were the biggest and heaviest! Probably coz you ate the most..=) but you were flat and round like a circle. Like Safety, you loved to sleep on laptops and so trusting when I hammer on the keyboard around your feet. hahahaha...you would cram under the bridge with Bowling, until 'chor' Terror barges right through and you just hold your ground with your massive body the best you can..hehe...=)

Sorry you had to go through such an ordeal coz you were the trusting one. You fought hard to live, but seeing you maimed, injured eye and with such a deep wound, I could only know you held as long as you could...=)

I know I'll see you in heaven...I'm sure Safety will make you feel welcomed in my home. He's probably made this special tank already...make yourself comfy ya?..=)

...will bury you next to Safety tommorow...

u go be happy k...

bye...

Saturday 24 January 2009

Feel free to laugh...

....at ME!!!!!

TODAY I had a good laugh at myself in the car. You see, I reached home and took a shower, picked my clothes, made sure I was all spruced up and comfy, packed my sling bag, said bye bye to my doggies and got into my car. I thought about someone (name to be revealed later as it would spoil the joke now). and if that someone would need a lift knowing the usual pre holiday last minute situation, and ride from me would be beneficial. A glance at my watch told me otherwise.

Before driving off, I read ge's sms which indicated heavy traffic on the PIE. Hmmm...the gears in my mind turned. Was there another route I could take? Everywhere would be bad being the friday night to a long public holiday.

So there I was heading to the PIE along Marine Parade/ Still Road. Zipping through traffic, wondering how late I'll be and if I should consider supper after the meeting.

THEN...IT STRUCK ME...man...I suddenly remembered...THERE WAS NO CG meeting today!!!

Aiyo....and to think I was thinking of giving my cgl a lift to the place lor...hahaha...actually if i smsed her, I would have got my answer and saved myself the ride out of home.

It was crazy...there I was all dressed up and literally no place to go!...to be honest, if it weren't for the fact I was thinking about who i should sms to inform I'd be late...I ReALLY would have just shown up at the door...hahahah..

Other versions of this has happened to me before..but I usually realised it much much earlier... *blush*

Ah well...first time for everything..hahaha...=)

=======================

TODAY me asked boss to give the office a 'quarter' day and succeeded...Yippe yay!

=================

TODAY I just asked my uni fren who is in US now (who lost her job back in end nov due to the recession)..how's things?...She said she just found a part time job for 3 weeks!...thank god. That's awesome lah. Better than nothing i say. =)

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TODAY I learned that not only prices go up for in salons for haircuts approaching CNY. A dog shave would too...20% increase!

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TODAY I had the honour to bless ge with a book and kopi. Though I have completely no recollection of the former or have any substantial evidence of the act. (Other than the fact she was holding the book on our way out of the bookshop)...all conversations thereafter pointed to me doing the deed.

Hmmm....there had been rumours of a brainwash. (you know, before chinese new year, everything alos must be clean and wash rite???...brain also lor...ok ok..lame joke..-- just thot of it...hahaha...)

The time with kopi was good as usual, except for the diappointing cinnamon roll. The only thing that worked for it was that it was twisted in a cute shape. =)

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TODAY I assure you that I am NOT promoting the TODAY newspaper --- Er... I think i just did! =P

Tuesday 20 January 2009

It was worth a shot mahz...

After friday's cg, my leader gave out the cellgrp ministry list she had taken the time to cut out and paste on different coloured cards. The quality of the sticking is very good...no curved ends! I'm impressed..ahhahaha...scissors cut also very 'zun'...=P

Everyone was discussing/ scrutinising their new roles....it was fellowship time already...

Anyway, amongst other roles my name had appeared in, I'm in charge of the 'Outings' again. =)

Hmmm... challenging you know this one...SG--> HOW many feasible things are there really you can do on the cheap!

I decided that to win over all my members with an instant positive vote and confirm like no other outing -- there will be full attendance! *evil laughter*

I stood up and declared --- "Next outing, we're going Australia!"

HAHHAHAHAHAHA...the cg broke out in amused chuckles and excited cheers, just to play along...hahaha...many went "Onz ah!!"...and my cg guitarist announced that cg fund would go up to $100 per week...HAHAHA...--- you see..NO ONE protested!

*pats self on back*...instantly have achieved full awareness, keeness to participate and a positive atmosphere! -- not bad neh!

I think my cgl gave up and rolled her eyes at some point...hahaha...

Creating mayhem is so fun... =P

Saturday 17 January 2009

The Metal Asparagus...

On the way to Eiffel Tower, we popped into a supermarket to get food...I couldn't find milk! Which was quite sad really...they have lotsa yoghurt...but no milk! Was so craving for milk at that moment...=S ...Me bought cheap chocs (for home) and a bottle of strawberry yoghurt and ge got her kinder buenos for the road.

One thing about the Effiel Tower was when I first saw it in it's entirety today from the far end of the Champ de Mars gardens, I was like -- Jean you really are here in Paris! hahaha...I know, it sounds so ridiculous since it's already our 3rd day there...hee...it's me lah..the kid in me spoke.

I guess it's the same feeling I had when I climbed the Great Wall of China. You spend your years seeing it in movies, photos and TV ...and then to be finally face to face with a world recognised icon! I'm so obedient..hahaha...ge said: " There's one picture you just gotta take now with the Eiffel tower..." then she just waved me in front of her onto the grass patch. Hmmm...what could it be? ....."Okie, now you have to jump high up k? then take the picture with you in the air"....Muh!?!?!

LOL...I'm pretty much game to do whacky stuff for photos, I went "Muh?!?!"...coz I seldom have a photographer so willing to bear with it...hee...better still participate in it...coz it can just get pretty embarassing mah...hee
The Eiffel Tower looks more brownish than metal grey. So those souvenirs you see of it that is silver/ grey, really isn't close! It's really amazing when you walk towards it...I felt dwarfed and excited at the same time...

"Yipppeee....I'm going on the Eifel Tower...neyeh-ee yeah ee-yeah"...singing and jiving...=P
When it first came up, one unkind Parisian paper called it the 'Metal Asparagus'..hahaha...I don't think I'll ever forget that reference. =P

So at the base of the tower, it was time to make a decision how high we wanted to go and how. You see, the tower has 3 levels. The first 2 levels is accessible by stairs (horrors!) and by elevator. The 3rd level which is effectively the top can only be reached by elevator.

By elevator, it's 12euros for the top, and 8euros for up to level 2 only. (4 euros by stairs..hee..)

I decided to treat myself and go to the top!..hee..aiyah..if i was a poor student, I'd probably not even consider it...but...if not now then when hor?

So after a long but decent moving queue, we bought tickets (painfully having to declare we were adults when asked if we wer students again...haiz...the student rates are just good lahz..but I wore my halo at that moment k! *puffs chest*)

The elevator could hold a large number of people, about 25 to 30 and we were packed like sardines in there...I moved ge closer to the windows when we could, so that she could take pics! She managed to catch nice ones...=)

There's a ominous metallic clanging sound at intervals as the elevator moves up...its as though we were meeting our doom...hehehe...

The ticket to the top gives you access to the 2nd level too. So we hung around to enjoy the views.
You really can see all of Paris from the tower. You see below...that's Invalides lor! Yeah! we walked all the way from there! At this point, ge turns around and with the sincerest look on her face, was about to ask me a question.

She stopped herself midway coz she realised the answer...hahaha...it was so funny after I asked further and she told me what it was..hehee...=D

And coz I love her, I shan't embarass her here...but it's really so farnee I still laugh each time I think about it, coz it's a classic ge...=)

I realised that the building colours all quite monotone eh...I guess it's deliberate to maintain the 'quaint-ness' (if there is such a word!) of the city.

That level has two tiers...which we had to climb to to get to our second lift that will bring us all the way to the top!

OK...more ominous clanging...and worse, intervals where it was dark!!! Coz we were going up the thin portion of the tower, and the beams were alot closer.... the buildings below got smaller ....and smaller....eeps...

So here we are at the top!

Disappointingly, the view not that much different neh. We wanted to hang around to catch the sunset and see Paris light up...it's really the best time to be on the tower, and Thank God once again it was the off peak season, we could hang around as long as we want, even though it was quite crowded.... I can only imagine how congested it would be during the summer!
(La Seine river!)

The top level has an indoor and outdoor area, which included one room built by the man behind the tower who entertained guests such as Thomas Edison, and it was spookily illustrated with wax figures! Hahaha....

So how did the tower come about?

For a special purpose, the Journal Officiel launched a major competition to “study the possibility of erecting an iron tower on the Champ-de-Mars. The project proposal by entrepreneur Gustave Eiffel (1832 - 1923), who was an exceptionally gifted engineer and buidler, was chosen out of a total of 107!!!! It would be the grand entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.

The monument was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.
Well the top is a small place...with only 10 seats?...So it took patience and endurance on our aching feet. The outside was really cold...so i left ge indoors at one point and tormented myself (the shiok sort) by braving the winds outside and marvelling at the views, and remembering God's presence as i gave thanks that I could have this opportunity in my lifetime to be a part of this...=)

There are alot of interesting facts about the Eiffel tower, which I've read with interest..haha...=) Do you know...
Number of analogical TV stations: 6
Number of free digital TV stations: 30
Number of radio stations: 31
Number of antennas: 120!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pic below shows to tip of the tower from where we were! =) ...was it possible we were looking at 120 antennas!!?!?!

So it took....50 engineers and designers produced 5,300 drawings, and over 100 workers built more than 18,000 different parts of the tower in a workshop. Another 132 workers assembed them on site,a nd given the technology/ safety procedures of the time + working with all that metal, only one workman died.


Indoors, you can see the scenery too! They included flags of certain countries just to make visitors feel proud...hee...

And we were there! yup! We are officially 10,745 km East (Est) from home! I felt so far away...

Number of rivets used: 2,500,000........duh, that is alot of rivets.
Weight of paint used: 60 tons.
Time required for painting: repainted in its entirety every seven years. *gasp*

(Arc de Triomphe!)

The Tower sways slightly in the wind. Approximately 13 cm from its initial position. But the Tower is also affected by heat. At high temps, that portion of the structure exposed to the sun expands more than the portion in the shade. To “get out of the sun”, the Tower can lean as much as 18 cm.
(The Place de la Concorde! OK, you can't see the obelisk...but you remember the ferris wheel?)

It was meant to be left standing for only 20 years and to be dismantled! Imagine that! =S After all the hard work! Thank God science prevailed and many other uses were found for the tower for experiments, which began it's frist few reasons for extending it's lifespan...

You see, like the Lourve Pyramid the Eiffel tower, during construction, suffered much criticism from Parisian, personalities and art community who felt it was an eyesore and destroyed the architectural beauty of thier homeland. A number of persons did later change their views and make amends...I guess such things take time to grow on you. Besides, it is still art...in a modern architectural sense...=)


You can see the lights starting to come on and the snaking roads lit by cars....nice hor...we headed down back to the second level for more photos...


The scenery above was the best among all...like somethiing out of a postcard...

I recall we were freezing but trying to take photos to capture the moment...haha...but it's really hard coz your hand can't shake...

And how can we miss taking a shot together in such a God painted background eh? so we tried....hahaha....we really tried....and after many shaky shots, this was the best we managed to get!...LOL....you can see our smiles were all plastic from the chilly winds and retakes..=P

We did try asking someone to take for us lah....but...she just didn't capture what we wanted..=) still, the purple sky is so so nice!! hahaha...
Such sunsets always remind me that I must see the Northern Lights in my lifetime...I rarely, if ever make lifetime promises to myself...so this is one of the few... (eversince I was just in Secondary school and saw photos of it...). I wouldn't mind seeing it everyday 'live' actually...hahaha...

Okies...finally, we were willing to leave the tower! After about over and hour on it!

Little did I know I'd simply fall more in love with it very soon....hee....

Thursday 15 January 2009

I believe in you.
Love,
God
P.S. More than you can ever imagine

Monday 12 January 2009

Sunday nite is here...

....ARGH!!!!!....
The weekend just passed way too fast...so unproductive somemore neh...it could possibly be vying for the 'Nuah-est weekend' award!
Had wanted to add one more Paris post! hee....oh well, i just did a whole lot of online vid watching...and falling asleep while waiting for it to load. Hahaha...
Let's see, since Red Cliff II is just opening in cinemas, I realised I couldn't remember the first movie..haha...only 5 months ago leh...I am getting way too old. =( So i did a night marathon for the 150min movie of Red Cliff I.

Feeling pained that I've been forgetting to watch my fav series on tues nights and that I'm a full season and a half behind, I found a link for Criminal Minds. So I alternated watching CSI Season 8 and Criminal Minds Season 3. I think I watched 4 episodes per series.

I found out that my usual link for House has been scraped! ARGH!...haiz...the latest season had been continuously uploaded on the link for the past few months, but i refrained in hopes to 'treat' myself over a holiday break (i.e. like the Christmas one...ya lor..that's when I found out it's gone...Sniffs...). Coz for House, i know once i start, I can't stop!
So yes, been spending 80% of my waking hours doing illegal things (piracy mahz..oh.. dun get all innocent on me!)...and the remaining 20% is eating, reading bits of Max Lucado book and going to church...hee...man..I wonder what God has to say about that...=P

Sadly, I truly couldn't work this weekend. had the puke feel and I ran to my CSI...hahahaa...I'm dead this work week then! HAH! Keeelllll meeee....
Okies, I'm off to watch one more episode and gg to zonk. Tomorrow early morning got breakkie appt at Macs with ge!
Raaarr!!!! New work week has begun!! ...*Puts on armour of God*...*spits into hands* ---Bring it on man!!!

Friday 9 January 2009

9 months worth of....

...recyclable office paper and scrap boxes has officially been send to the recycling bin!!

YAY!!!! =)

Recycling paper at my office is a hard and manual process. There were times, I just wanted to spare myself my boss's nagging (he does it every few months) and just toss it all into the big rubbish bin downstairs. These years, I'd been doing it on my own when rented the car, I'd pop by the office on a late saturday night, and cart some off to the Marine Parade Recycling Bin. (You need the big kind, not the small type.)

Naturally, with more humans = more recyclables....hahahah.....so...First, there was the creation of the small manageable pile. Which sometime very early 2008, grew into quite a monster. Due to lack of discipline, people just tossed the recyclables into a messy pile. After a series of 'saying' -- to (1) open up the newspaper and stack, (2) A4 paper in another stack (3) organise into boxes, ...

And really, the most EFFECTIVE way of saying was to make people + D.I.Y. to take the time to reorg the mess, they appreciate they should've just done it properly in the first place.

There is no recycling bin near my office. (or the big kind lah...not those small type you see at the MRT/ shopping malls). Call the Karang guni you say? --- hiaz...we tried...those that all worked under me before have tried..hahaha...we get the same reply...too small, not worth the effort to come get...OR...need a long term contract so they expect ___kg of recycables to collect each month...

I just want to save the environment...is it so hard!?

sigh...small office blues...=S

So...the monster of a pile could no longer be seen on the outside with more outsiders visiting...(I came to this conclusion after one episode with my boss and i had no where to put it coz we were plain running out of space.)..hahaha...so i bargained with my boss to be REALISTIC if he can find storage space in the office that was not in the open for all our barang + recycables, I'd glady comply...He was slightly dumbfounded...*evil laughter*

He's nice lah...he appreciates our efforts to recycle. But he's boss so he must maintain the image mahz...haiz...

Anyway, he dumbfounded right? He best u know...since no proper answer, he did the boss thing and said -- "I just don't want to see it there anymore." and gave a sheepish grin...(kindly note this sheepish grin)

I boggled at him...AND HE KNEW I was boggling at him...He just smiled and shrugged...coz he knew that I knew he was trying to run away...ARGH!!!...this idiotic man!!!

So I put forth a suggestion that I was happy to do, but need his blessing -- convert his old office to a store room of sorts...*hiak hiak*...I've always wanted to do that but felt it was a waste as it was properly furnished, and subbed at times for a meeting room.

It was approved! (this was in...erm...sept)

Just before Christmas, my boss did his usual inspections. Sigh..when he do his inspections...EVERYONE is involved. You can choose not to be involved for the time being...just wait your turn he will call your name...hahaha...

When i sensed his inspection movement, i quickly crouched in front of my comp. Quick, I said to myself, churn out that last e-mail before he calls you. He started decimating my exec and intern...and caught helpless staff who happened to be walking to the printer...hooo boy...hahaha...I listened as I heard him comment at each corner and move towards his old office which is adjacent to mine. There was a pause after I heard the light switch of the room being flicked on....(he must have been drawing a breath)

"MANAGER, CMA!!!!! come here....come here now!!!!"

Hehehehe...I popped outta my office and gave him the same sheepish grin (note above).."You said can use as store room mah..."

"Ya (sarcasm), you really made it into a store room...."

Hahaha..it had been stacked high with boxes, both with recyclables and alot of corporate items we needed to store...=)

Anyway, funny story aside, we finally found a big bin around simei and i got my intern and jen to get all of it - 6 large boxes - in me car...and we spent half an hour unloading it into the bin, cutting up the boxes and putting them in the bin too. (sorry, dun believe in just stacking it up at the side) then i gave her a ride to her home in sengkang...=)

We both felt so happy with our accomplished task. We sang our praises for a few minutes in the car afterwards...HAHAHA...

Wednesday 7 January 2009

A gem and a half...

I'm in the middle of reading this book that started off great...the way she writes and introduces the story is is so different from other authors...unfortunately, halfway through, she kinda goes overboard with it and i find myself skimming over the details and/or jumping paras where she goes off on some new way of playing out the scene...that I 'eye-jump' in search of where she next continues with the story.

So will i finish it? Yeah, I will, I just went past the halfway mark during my time on the toilet bowl...hee...=P Her writing is still intriguing enough to make me want to know why and how.

This was one of the two books i bought cheap at the Expo book sales..=) The other book, The Laments, that I finished during the dec hols was really good and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Fact-of-life sad but not over the top, yet has a decent ending. =) the book ended with the lead character talking about Paris! Oooooo....so cool...it just made me wanna go blog more there and then...hee...but i would've been mad coz i finished the book at 6.15am. =P It was so fun to be able to relate to the places in Paris he talked about!!!...hee...

So yep...the gem and a half...=)

I managed to wake up a bit earlier, but could only dish out 2 of the 5 e-mails. I was thoroughly distracted with new developments in e-mails that came in in the early morning...hmmm...OK lah...nothing disastrous..just work...=)

It was an interesting day, starting with my boss quite amazed I was up early...haha...i guess he felt bad and wrote me an e-mail (which I only saw when i got into the ofc) ...that left me numb (maybe coz i suspected something)...ahaha...true enough, something was up...he ah....sometimes....hahaha...

Anyway, day was alright, good I got one more confirmed company taking part in the aussie show...sigh..i just need 4 more - ASAP.. =) Isn't life exciting?!?!?...that last statement so reeks with sarcasm man...

God is good! =D

Got a chance to catch up with Joyce on the phone this evening toos. Haven't spoken to her over the phone since ...erm...early March this year? Subsequently it was two-three liner msn conversations. =) Am glad she's doing well, moved back to the east side of S'pore ---Wooohooo...and her baby girl Johanna is good toos! =) Soddee....bias again, coz johanna was born on 8th Sept....(Sept babies see...LOL)....actually she was 'scheduled' to be born on my bday really, but she's such a eager beaver eh?...HAHAHA...

okies, gg to watch something and zonk...another old battles to fight and new ones to anticipate...*Growl*...God be our guide!

Tuesday 6 January 2009

=S

Today was the first day of work in .... hmmm...effectively, almost two weeks. There are times I overestimate myself. I thought I could at least last a day before 're-living' the horrid feelign again...

The first 2 to 3 hours was alright. By 1pm, it all came flooding back to me. (the icky stuff)...and I felt right back at 'home' with the same dreaded feelings in work circumstance. And I actually muttered a sarcastic: " Hello, you're back...". By 3pm I swore I was going home on the dot.

By 5.40pm after the evacuation of the majority, I said I was packing up in 10mins..

Five phone calls later, and goodbyes to two colleagues...I was in the descending elevator at 6.48pm. Met mum in Bugis for dinner then home at 9.15pm.

Not used to the mental requirements for the day, I zonked for 2hours and dragged myself up and hit the power button on the comp. ( I left work with about 5 non-simple e-mails that should be done.)...I went to shower at that time, mustering some form of motivation and sorting my thoughts...came back to my room, logged in to my user ID...an internal check confirmed I failed to do so --- no way I'm working tonight.

A quick download of e-mails to see if there were any potential hazards -- Thank God there was none...

Put my doggie to bed and here I am!

Sigh...I'm going to pray and rest. Hopefully tomorrow wake up earlier with a better drive to do those damned e-mails.

Bad start you would say?...haiz..look at it this way, there are 1001 other scenarios that could've made it worse right?

OK, let's talk good stuff -- my internet is working again (pats self on back + prayer..haha) , my boss is more pissed about the things I'm pissed about too! (hahaha....the drama unfolds...easier to work also lah...), my dog loves me ( No...she hasn't told me today, but I'm assuming this since she still leans on me!)....I've got a job, my car's working well....and I have a comfortable bed to sleep on!..heehehehee...

*breathes*...There! =D

Me miss ge... pray she's happeee, protected from germs, sniffles and safe in Korea. =)

orkies, time to go talk to Daddy!!!! Tommorrow new battles!!! Raarrr!!!!