New stuff in the house! ;D

Here I am, sitting on the couch in the TV lounge, typing this entry... Just done preparing materials for tomorrow's work, and actually I've got loads of marking to clear, but don't think I can go on... brain's super saturated now. Anyway, I'm trying to get better quality sleep by not thinking about or doing work at least an hour before I go to bed. Since today I'm feeling a bit under the weather, I should go to bed earlier. So, I managed to force myself to chuck my work aside and relax a bit over here. :)

Over the weekend, on Saturday, Hubby and I had our insurance agent, Aunty Catherine (friend of Hubby's mum) come over to our place in the afternoon to discuss the policies and plans suitable from us. She's a representative from Great Eastern. Not bad lah, the policies she recommended. And she's quite a nice lady-- liked her from the start. She lives in a three-storey house and can jolly well retire comfortably and just be tai-tai but she's still happily going around working and interacting with people through her job. And she doesn't put on airs or carry fanciful stuff. Can't tell she's so rich from her appearance! Anyway, we trusted her and signed on some policies with her. Hubby finally feels more assured now that our needs are taken care of should emergencies occur. :) *touch wood*

In the evening, we went out for dinner at IMM. Ate at the foodcourt then went around jalan jalan. Dropped by the nice store that sells kawaii stuff. Didn't see anything we really wanted (shopping bug really stayed away from us most of the time after we resolved to save more money this year! :p) But actually, some time ago, Hubby already bought something from there with me in mind... something that looks literally LOVEly. Yeah, a lovestruck Mickey and Minnie plush dressed in traditional Japanese costume! So cute hor... I really like it. :)

Oh, speaking of buying, yesterday Hubby went down to Bras Basah to get some new ping pong balls, but ended up buying more. Hehe. But he had valid reasons lah. He bought 4 new table-tennis polo tees, one of which was actually meant for me, directly imported from Japan. That one was expensive -- cost $80! But the rest were less than $20 each, so he just bought them. So sweet... he told the storekeeper that he wanted to wear the cheap ones, and give me the expensive one to me. But in the end I just asked him to take all of them, including the expensive one, cos he definitely looks better in them than I do. :)

Hee... that's not all. I also finally received a new addition to our collection of DS games. Can you see where it is? Look where the arrow is pointing! ;) And also check out my new game -- Mario and Sonic @ the Olympic Games! Tried a bit of the game last night... not bad, quite fun! :) I'm such a Mario world fan... anything that involves them can't be too bad... at least, not for me! Hehe...

There, the latest game's standing right beside Mario himself!

This is fun! Can battle with Mario and Sonic characters! Many sports to try out...

Sigh, see? Hubby's so bent on saving money this year but is still so willing to spend on surprises for me. Really very touched sometimes. :) Oh ya, in addition to the above, he also bought a small Wolverine bust at a very very good price. Gerald at Alarics gave him a great deal.

*Yawn* Ok, think I'd better stop. Zzz monster's here liao. Tomorrow's a long day. Many lessons plus will be meeting Beebee to go get bak gua at Chinatown right after work. Must go during office hours on weekdays then can avoid long queue (hate crowds like that!). Ta-ta for now. :)

PS. Before I sign off, here's a funny pic that appeared in an article in The Sunday Times last weekend. Hubby and I were laughing when we saw it! Check out the expression (real one, not acting ok!) of the boy who's about to receive a jab for bird flu...

Yummy Day! ;D

So happy to be writing here again... cos whenever I'm writing an entry, it simply means I must be feeling relatively relaxed or have slightly more time to spare for leisure. :)

A number of unhappy things happened at work this week... most of it due to the latest 'O'-Level Exam results, released just yesterday. It was really one overwhelming day when I felt a mixture of feelings for the ex-students, my colleagues and myself. Happiness, sadness, anguish, relief, apprehension, anxiety... wah, so many emotions experienced in one single day. No wonder I was drained by the time I left work.

Ok lah, don't wanna dwell on this too much. Let's talk about something happier -- food! Hehe... and not just any food. Yummy food... ho ho ho. Today I found a cute pack of small goodies from Japan on my work desk! Hehe... Sophia secretly dropped it on my table. Her sis just returned from a holiday in Japan *SO ENVIOUS! SIGH* and bought lots of stuff from there, including edible goodies, so Sophia simply packed a variety of small tidbits into this cute Tokyo Disneyland plastic bag for me to try. See below!

Oooh... wonder what's in this cute Tokyo Disneyland bag!

Ta-da! These munchies! Ooops, whatever was in the empty pack's already in my tummy :p

Yep, the one I ate before snapping the pic was a crunchy butter bread biscuit... very buttery smooth and nice! Like crunchy toasted slices of bread with an OOOMPH when you bite into them. The other one that looks similar but in silver packaging is the same snack, but coated with white chocolate. That one can let Hubby try. I think he'll like it. Hee. Sophia's sis told her that many many people were in the queue to purchase this snack. And having tasted it, NO WONDER! It's really good! The small triangular ones are packs of wasabi peas, and the one where there's a stick of 3 balls is actually a stick of green tea flavoured mochi. Sigh, just talking about this and seeing the plastic bag make me miss Japan already!

Later, after work, I went to meet Beebee at Jurong Point. We were supposed to trim our eyebrows at Fancl today, but Stephanie called and said gotta cancel at the last minute cos she had to rush off elsewhere to relieve a colleague. So no choice, had to postpone to next Friday. Hope no more delay after that, else my brows will be really bushy over Chinese New Year!

Anyway, Beebee and I decided to still meet and jalan-jalan a bit before she had to go cut her hair at Jurong West. I shared an early dinner with her at The Pizza Place too, since she had never tried the food there. I went to the outlet at Raffles City basement level before with Hubby, so I know the food's pretty good. The meal was cheap and filling. We shared a personal gourmet pizza (Chicken Royale -- *YUM YUM*! -- at only $7+) and 2 side dishes -- munchies (which are like cheese sticks coated in breadcrumbs) and potato wedges with a nice special dip.

Clockwise from left: Munchies, Chicken Royale Pizza and potato wedges w/ dip!

Today's really a day of good food... hee... but gotta go back to watching diet again! Still wanna continue losing some weight... :P Ok, Hubby's back, plus I need to start getting some weekend work done, so tata for now! :)

Just a quiet Monday...

Hello to a brand new week...

Today's a relatively good Monday, although I did feel a bit 'anti-social' at work, cos I didn't feel like talking much to anybody unless absolutely necessary. No particular reason, just not in a chatty mood. :p

In the afternoon, I decided to take a break from marking so fiddled with my new camera at my work station.. hehe...pretended not to notice the curious looks from colleagues who walked by and took a picture of my work desk:

Hehe... my work desk looks better here in the photo than in reality

Anyway, once I could leave the office, I went straight back home and played table-tennis with Hubby for about an hour before he had to leave for work. This cheered me up quite a bit and I was laughing during the game cos Hubby thought up a scenario to 'motivate' me into playing better. Haha. So funny. ;P

Oh yes, wanted to put up more pics today. Yesterday gave the Japanese doll to Mummy. Hubby spent some time trying to assemble the display case and even Papa came over to help. We ran into some problems along the way but thank goodness the case could be successfully assembled in the end. Mummy was kinda shocked after she asked about the price but I think it's quite worth it, as long as she likes it. Lookie now... here's the doll...

The geisha doll figurine splendidly dressed and poised in the display case

A closer look at the figurine

The doll displayed on the TV console

Actually Beebee commented that it didn't look very nice where it was... it should be standing alone so that attention can be focused on it. I agree with her, but never mind lah, let Mummy and Papa decide if they want it there permanently.

And here's the surprise gift for Beebee... hee, it looked so cute that we had to get it for her so she can add it to her Keroro collection... didn't expect that a silly frog like that can be so appealing!

Heh, there's that silly frog on a mug with lid...

Looking at these pics, I suddenly feel bad cos didn't exactly get Papa anything. I know Hubby says the doll would be considered a gift for both Mummy and Papa since it's for house decor but I still wish I'd gotten something specially for Papa. It suddenly dawned on me yesterday when I looked at him that he's aged quite a bit. I didn't remember him with his hair so light grey. Feel quite sad when I think of it. Sigh. :(

Ok, gotta go now. Am feeling a bit tired already. Think will pack and just relax a bit while waiting for Hubby to return. Goo-goo night!

Significant Day!!! =D

Oooh yes! So happy with my new camera... fiddled with it in the morning, trying to get used to its functions. It's really quite user-friendly, which works for an amateur photographer like me! Hee hee hee. Bloggy's gonna see more pictures from now onwards! Ho ho ho...

Apart from it being the first day I test out my new camera, several events also took place today, making it a really significant day. While Hubby and I were playing table tennis at home today, a parcel from Amazon.com arrived. Yaay... what arrived was the sets of DVDs that Hubby ordered -- and one of them is the grand box set of the sitcom " FRIENDS" (all ten seasons of them!) that I asked Hubby to order for me some time ago. Check it out...

My very own collection of "FRIENDS"!

So many hours of entertainment all in a box

It's really quite cool... all ten seasons are placed in lovely disc sets, and there's even a collector's book on the sitcom. The box is also of pretty good quality and nicely designed. Hubby and I watched the first episode over lunch today... some parts were amusing to me, but Hubby doesn't seem so enthusiastic about it... haha.. think this show's really no big deal to him... it takes intelligent humour to amuse him... :p

Now for the other DVD set... it's the final season of "SEINFELD"! With this final set, our "SEINFELD" DVD collection is also complete at last! Now that's a show that can really tickle... even Hubby loves it...

Our full collection of "SEINFELD"!

Later in the early evening, after I had worked the rest of the afternoon away, Hubby and I walked to the reservoir for a stroll. We hardly do that, but I think it's a very nice couple activity, plus we get to relax and exercise at the same time, not that Hubby needs the exercise though (I'm the one who needs it :p). Sometimes, just seeing the little waves in the water soothes my nerves. No wonder I like to watch the sea so much. :)

Tranquil scenery of the reservoir

Hehe... that's not the end. In the evening, we finished watching the first season of "HEROES"... as much as I like the show, I didn't quite enjoy the ending... but I guess it won't stop me from wanting to catch the second season (at least still got the "YATA!" guy, Hiro Nakamura in it... hee.) Anyway, we're left with just the bonus disc to watch... :)

So... yep... many many happy things happened today... it's a day to remember! ;)

Pretty gifts...

YEAH!!! *click click click* Guess what? My right index finger's been happily exercising since this morning... Woo hoo!!! That's all thanks to my new digital camera!

Yup yup, finally got a digital camera as planned. =) Hubby didn't have to work last evening so we took a rare break on a Friday evening and went out to gai gai. Actually he was quite sweet; he suggested heading down to Liang Court Kinokuniya Bookstore to choose a nice Japanese doll statue for Mummy... she said she wanted one the other time but forgot to ask us to buy from Japan. Before getting the doll figurine, we checked out Audio House and I ended up purchasing a black Casio Exilim camera... it came with several free items as usual. Bought it at $299... of course, it'd be FREE in the end cos I'm planning to use my professional work funds to pay for this. This model comes in four colours -- black, silver, baby blue and baby pink. Chose the black one cos it looks rock solid plus I like black.

Anyway, back to the doll. We chose the nicest doll at the bookstore for Mummy... the doll's really beautiful. It's supposed to be like a geisha all dressed up and performing a dance for her lover. Well, guess it's the most suitable cos Mummy dances and it looks the prettiest too. But man, it's definitely expensive! Cost $500+ and we bought a display case at $200+ for the doll too. Hubby's gonna assemble the case on the spot tomorrow when we go back to Bukit Timah for dinner. The doll and case are still in the shopping bags, but I'm certainly looking forward to the moment we reveal them tomorrow!

the blue box holds the display case, and the other one holds the doll

After that, we went to Central @ Clarke Quay for dinner at this authentic Japanese ramen restaurant called Ramen Santouka. It serves Hokkaido style ramen, and the soup's quite rich and flavourful! Hubby had the Shoyu Ramen while I tried the Char Siu Miso Ramen. Although the ramen still can't beat the one we had in Japan, it's still relatively delicious and quite filling. A bowl costs between $12 to $16, and there are also generous chunks of meat. It really feels like eating in Japan again cos the restaurant's small and cosy, plus the people working there all speak fluent Japanese. Think some of them are really from Japan.

While walking about the stores at Central, we found a little surprise for Beebee too. Won't reveal what it is now in case she reads this entry before we give her the surprise tomorrow. Hehe... it sure feels good to be buying gifts to make others happy... (but of course, must have enough $$$ to do that too... sigh... I still have to ensure I save my target amount this year! :P)

Just some thoughts... *sad sad*

A song keeps repeating itself in my mind now... a little girl hums until her voice slowly fades in the distance... then a tragic song is sung about how she is killed and the sad truth is, no one really cared about her when she was alive. And the name of that girl? "Little Susie".

Hubby introduced this song to me when I was searching for a song to use as a pre-reading activity in the classroom. I was going to discuss the topic of bullying and after browsing through his CD collection, Hubby just let me listen to the song, and I fell in love with it soon after. "Little Susie" was written, composed and sung by Michael Jackson. It's in his album titled "History -- Past, Present and Future". I guess fans of the King of Pop would have heard this song before, but since I was never really a fan, it's understandable why I would have come across it only now. I read somewhere that a girl named Susie was murdered in 1972, and M. Jackson wrote the song for her, and it was later released in 1995.

The song's really tragically beautiful... the soft introduction of a choir singing in the background, followed by the sound of someone winding the spring of a musical box, then the voice of the little girl humming to herself-- all these parts sound ghostly and sorrowful. Then when M. Jackson starts to sing, my heart would go out to the little girl in the song as I follow the lyrics:

"Little Susie"

Somebody killed little Susie

The girl with the tune

Who sings in the daytime at noon

She was there screaming

Beating her voice in her doom

But nobody came to her soon...

A fall down the stairs

Her dress torn

Oh the blood in her hair...

A mystery so sullen in air

She lie there so tenderly

Fashioned so slenderly

Lift her with care,

Oh the blood in her hair...

Everyone came to see

The girl that now is dead

So blind stare the eyes in her head...

And suddenly a voice from the crowd said

This girl lived in vain

Her face bear such agony, such strain...

But only the man from next door

Knew Little Susie and how he cried

As he reached down

To close Susie's eyes...

She lie there so tenderly

Fashioned so slenderly

Lift her with care

Oh the blood in her hair...

It was all for God's sake

For her singing the tune

For someone to feel her despair

To be damned to know hoping is dead and you're doomed

Then to scream out

And nobody's there...

She knew no one cared...

Father left home, poor mother died

Leaving Susie alone

Grandfather's soul too had flown...

No one to care

Just to love her

How much can one bear

Rejecting the needs in her prayers...

Neglection can kill

Like a knife in your soul

Oh it will

Little Susie fought so hard to live...

She lie there so tenderly

Fashioned so slenderly

Lift her with care

So young and so fair

Hubby's right...if you know someone's in pain and suffering and needs a helping hand, yet you stand by and do nothing but watch this person's life go down the drain, you're a silent bully, indirectly allowing hurt to be caused to someone. Whenever I listen to the song, I feel like crying as I imagine the little girl so alone...so tormented...so helpless.

Yes, neglection CAN kill. In my research on past bullying cases in the world, I chanced upon this video on youtube that showed pictures of teenagers who committed suicide because they could no longer tolerate the bullying acts that rained on them. Maybe they had no one to turn to for help, maybe they were too scared or ashamed to allow others to step in to help them... I don't know. All I know is that these young lives... so promising and innocent, suffered an abrupt end.

May all victims in fatal bullying cases be resting in the safe haven they deserve.

Tired but happy again... :)

*Yawn* Had such a long day at work... reached home at about 7pm. Fell asleep on the sofa for about 20 minutes before showering... now wearing my lovely pink yukata (Japanese casual robe)... hee, feel so Japanese. ;P

Am glad to say that everything's back to normal for Hubby and me. Actually our arguments rarely last more than a day cos I think we really can't stand being in conflict with each other. Sometimes pride gets in the way but as long as one of us gives in first (usually it's me though :p), everything'll be ok again. So last Saturday we met after work to go walk walk in town. I printed out BORDERS coupon again and, with two previous receipts that we collected that allowed us to get a direct $10 off one purchase item each, we managed to pay less than $40 for 3 books that would have otherwise cost us about $70 or so. Really not bad, these BORDERS promotion gimmicks. Only thing is that sometimes it's not easy to find the book you want. I've gone there before only to find that they do not have the book I want in stock. Happened more than once already.

In the evening we went to Hubby's parents' place for dinner. It's been about a month since we last went, so it's about time. We showed them the pictures we took in Japan and I think they enjoyed looking at them. They even talked about visiting Japan on their own. Heh. Who can resist such a beautiful country? After the visit, Hubby and I took the train and bus back home. I'm proud that we managed to stick to our resolution -- not to take cabs unless absolutely necessary! Since the ride from my in-laws is rather long, it'd surely cost us a bomb to take the cab back.

Nothing much happened on Sunday -- most of my time was spent on work. But Hubby and I did play table-tennis (finally! We've put it off for maybe a couple of weeks already!). I was quite pleased about my performance. Hehe. Think my skills have definitely improved. Before bed that night, I played with the Rubik cube again. Oh no... think I've gone rusty again. Am determined to play with it at least once a day so I don't forget the steps. It took me so long to master it last holidays that it'd be such a pity to forget how to solve it so soon.

Heh, just noticed that Hubby's got us a SURPRISE again! He changed the poster facing our main door. It's now replaced with this adorable mickey and minnie poster where they hold nice banners for chinese new year! I love it! Especially now that I am considerably more of a mickey and minnie fan, having been to Disneyland last December. :D Will post a picture of it online when I get my digital camera... hee hee hee...

Yeah yeah.... that's right... digital camera! Today I received news that I can start making claims for purchases I make from my professional growth funds. Yes! Can finally start hunting for a new digital camera for myself. The old one I'm using has such a tiny screen that it looks like an antique already! So pathetic! Also, the quality of the photos isn't fantastic. So I definitely need a new one! But will keep that one for sentimental reasons lah. :) Received a brochure from Fujifilm that offers a 9 Mega Pixel camera for only $259... pretty cool, but with only 4x zoom. Anyway can spend a maximum of $400 so can check out other options too. :)

Weekend quick come!!!

PS. Saw Beebee's blog... haha, the fish farm and fish spa look exciting!!! Would love to try it out one day... Must ask Beebee for more info eg. how to get there and how much $$$ required to try the services. Heh, her video of her feeding her favourite tortoises is pretty cute too!

Like a see-saw...

Sigh... the weekend's here again... but won't be totally free to relax as usual, especially since tomorrow I've to be back at my workplace cos there's an event and staff must be present. Then I'll probably spend Sunday working again. :(

The past few days have been full of ups and downs... happy and unhappy incidents occurred to me both at work and at home. Let me talk about the happy moments at work first (I won't venture into the unhappy events at the workplace... I shall keep my mouth zipped cos of issues related to professionalism, as mentioned in my first entry). A girl from my previous class who hated her new form teacher and spoke bad of her loudly behind her back told me that she has recently decided to change for the better and not provoke the new teacher again. When I asked her why, she said it's cos I spoke to her the other day and advised her to be a good girl and stay outta trouble. She stated that it was because of me that she refused to join some troublemakers in her class when they went against that teacher. She even proudly declared to her peers that she didn't wanna be like them cos 'Mrs L says I should be a good girl.' How's that? Hee... was very touched and happy at the same time cos I was actually able to make a difference and make a positive impact on a sweet but headstrong teen who could have gone rebellious. :) Also, many of my kids from my previous form class have been dropping by my class and also telling me they miss me. Sigh. I miss them all too actually. They were such a great class... so many wonderful personalities.

Ok, now skip to unhappy events. I don't really wanna go into detail cos I don't like to remember unhappy things, especially those that happened at home. Just that Hubby and I had a hiccup earlier in the evening and then he left for work with us both feeling unhappy still. He's not back yet but I've sort of cooled down already and am now just feeling sorry that it all had to happen. Just a minute ago, I SMSed him telling him I'm sorry. I just hope when he sees the SMS later after work, he'll feel better. A relationship can't be all smooth-sailing. People are different after all, and they have different expectations and perspectives, so some kind of conflict is inevitable. But of course, at the end of the day, I would like the conflict to end up positive and make us understand and appreciate each other better. I know I do, cos I know I treasure him enough to wish that the argument had never taken place. Sigh.

Sigh again. Like I said, tomorrow I'll still have to return to work. Must reach the workplace at 7.30am, which means I won't get a chance to catch up much on my lost sleep. I've been sleeping an average of about only 5 hours each night since I started work last week. Very bad. No wonder feel a bit grumpy today. I guess it's all accumulated.

I shall now proceed to finish some admin work then go sleep asap. Can't afford to lose too much sleep tonight. Tata now, bloggy.

Post-weekend's ZEN...

Ommm.... the weekend's come and gone, and I should be feeling the blues today cos it's a Monday, but strange leh... I'm feeling kinda 'zen', hence the Ommm... *meditate in an upright yoga position* Perhaps it's cos despite the fact that I had to work most of yesterday away, I had an enjoyable weekend. :)

The last time I posted something here was before I went to meet Elmo for dinner last Friday. Met her at the foodcourt at Vivocity and sat there chatting with her for a straight 3 hours plus... we don't need elaborate or expensive meal venues to have a great time with old pals! :) We updated each other about ourselves, chatted about old times, discussed some current issues, and exchanged souvenirs we got for each other on our recent honeymoon. I got a lovely painted giraffe leather bookmark that she got for me in South Africa. We also promised to bring along our photos for everyone else to see when we meet up with the rest of the gang at the next gathering. Hopefully it's around Chinese New Year, before Kaiyi returns to Australia again.

The following day, Hubby and I went to Jurong Point to collect his new pair of Gucci specs... I think he looks good in them! ;) Later on, we went to Marina Square and chanced upon this specs store called Optique Lens Park (#02-214A) that promises to have your specs ready for collection in 15 minutes. Fast hor? Apparently, the store caters to tourists who cannot afford to wait even a day for their specs to be ready. Anyway, I was so tempted by that offer that I walked in, determined to pick out a new frame for myself. After all, I've been thinking about getting a new pair of specs cos there were times when I had trouble viewing a screen from a distance away. I succeeded and got myself a nice pair of brown and beige Zio framed glasses for $220 (the boss gave me a 25% discount.. yipee!).

Yesterday wasn't very eventful cos I spent most of the Sunday working. In the evening, Hubby and I went back to Bukit Timah for dinner. Beebee showed us a letter of commendation she'd received for being one of the top students who achieved a high distinction for a business ethics module she took last semester... very proud of her for having done so well. :D After dinner, Beebee gave Hubby a post-Christmas gift -- a metal puzzle thing that had to be dismantled and assembled again. Beebee said she chose the most difficult level puzzle for Hubby to solve, but lo and behold! Hubby solved it within minutes. My goodness... I think I married a genius... :p By the way, must remember to buy Fu Gui Xiang bak gua for Chinese New Year... Mummy says the chilli one's nice and they have this special herbs flavoured bak gua too.

Ok... getting a bit sleepy again. Waiting for Hubby to return then can sleep liao...hope tomorrow I'll still wake up feeling so zen... Ommmm.... *close eyes*

TGIF!!! :D

Yes, yes, YES!!! HAPPINESS!!! The weekend's here once again! Although I've only been back to work for about 3 days now, I feel kinda drained and overwhelmed already. So you can guess how happy I was when I finally left the office earlier on.

Had a bit of problem accessing the Internet just now, but Hubby resolved the problem. Actually this singnet broadband not bad lah.. there's this smartfix software that helps to set things right and check connection and stuff, so no need to panic even when things go wrong. Sigh... I've already learnt how to stay cool even when I feel anxious and worried. At least, I try to lah. There are so many events and people you encounter in life that can upset you, but I realise at the end of the day, how you react to them determines how you feel in general. To lead a happier life, we really should try as far as possible to let go of these horrible experiences, and look forward to whatever makes us happy. Even when it's time for me to pass on, I'd like to be able to smile as I take my last breath. :)

Ok ok, weekend's here, so cannot be so morbid... must look forward to the next 2 days of joy and more sleep!!! Hehe... yep, haven't been getting enough sleep at all. Eyes were even slightly red when I awoke this morning. Hmm... this evening's going to be interesting. Hubby's got a friend over at our place now... can hear their guffaws in the living lounge ("BUA HA HA HA HA!!!") while watching the DVD of Dodgeball, which is quite a good show, I must say. Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller put up a great hilarious performance for that. :) Anyway, they're gonna go out to town later while I meet Elmo for dinner elsewhere. So it's an evening out with our own friends today, something that rarely occurs cos we usually tag along when either of us is meeting our friends. Heh.

Gee... suddenly feeling a bit sleepy... Zzz monster's coming to grab me again... Think will take a short nap before going out again... Really looking forward to catching up with Elmo... it's our first time hanging out together after I married her off a couple of months ago... hee. Sure got lots of girl talk to do. ;)

Hello 2008...

It's the second day of the year 2008... Hubby's not home...still at work, and I've a bit of free time now so decided to start this blog in order to post memories of my days this year. Last year was full of ups and downs for me, although I'm glad that there had been more ups than downs. It's through all these ups and downs that I learnt to grow as a person and appreciate what I possess even more. I know that more experiences, good and bad, would be in store for me this year, so I just wanna start blogging as an avenue for me to express my thoughts and feelings or simply put down my experiences in black and white so that at the end of the year, I have something to look back at... :)

However, due to the issue of professionalism, I think I'd try to avoid quoting anything to do with my work. Even if I do (cos it might be hard to resist sometimes..heh), I'd make things kinda vague so I don't get into unnecessary trouble. :p Anyway, I hope the focus would be more on my personal life cos honestly, much as I am committed to my job, it's my personal life that I value more.

Sigh... speaking of personal life... I really miss my recent honeymoon trip to Japan. Can't help but keep looking at the photographs Hubby and I took there-- the wonderful feeling of simply being in that lovely country just comes flooding back into my mind... the shiok winter weather, the breathtaking scenery, the courteous and friendly people of Japan, the relaxing hot springs, the exciting shopping districts, the fun major theme parks, the serene and majestic temples, the yummy food (I'll never ever forget the cha shu ramen we had for supper!)... wonder when we'll visit the place again. Would definitely love to go back again!

Oh no... looks like my heart and mind's still left behind in the last month of 2007... cannot cannot... I can reminisce the past but I should also look forward... to the next holiday trip! Hehe.. in a bid to comfort me cos I was kinda glum at having to start work once again today, Hubby sort of promised that we'd go somewhere again this year, perhaps to Australia. Even talked about how we could stay on a farm and ride horses and stuff... he'd better not be just kidding me! :S

K... Hubby just called home. He's on his way back. Glad he'll be home soon... but will need to turn in early too. Gotta wake up early tomorrow.