|
wat's up?
|
|
|
about
claire
20 yrs old 9th dec cps.nygh.njcian.nus life sci drama fan outdoor gal beginner chef looking for a goal in life things i wanna do
steamboat go for a spin ride the singapore flyer a night stay in a local hotel dress up my hamsters wardrobe makeover Tagboard
Exits
graceshuning oac07-08 waikit ben hong mervyn jessie terence kaiting shangfei xiuwen ailin xiangjun kah han hsiangwei rachel nicole bernice jia yin doris yini archives
credits
Design: doughnutcrazyIcon: morphine_kissed |
wahahahahahaha
feeling so happy now! cause my family likes the mango sago pomelo dessert i just made :) i have lots more in the fridge. how to finish? yay!!!!!!!! successful attempt! :D whee :) and we got ourselves a camera at the pc show :) the irony is that after we bought it, none of us went out since then. so we had zero chance to use it. o_o 
current fav chinese dessert!
Mango Sago Pomelo 杨枝甘露 it tastes so good! i'm so into desserts right now :) i feel like making all my fav desserts!!!!!!!!!! who want to eat? i make for you :D a random saturday
today i woke up, looked into the mirror and decided that it was time for a run. it has been 9875784 months since i exercised. lari's plan/ goal to exercise during semester time was never fulfilled. and i dont think it will be even in the sems to come. i've always thought of embarking on some sort of exercise regime. but that thought just stayed in my head, never materialized. even today's run doesnt mark the start of that regime. i just realised that the other interns in the office are exercising regularly. except me. is exercising the latest in thing now? never knew so many people are into it. gtg off for lunch now :) i'm starving... it's gonna be a quiet and relaxing saturday :) enjoy your weekend ^ ^ no hard feelings kaes
just came back from dinner with lari at jurong point... it was such a coincidence that we met at a random traffic junction near my workplace this morning. so we decided to celebrate this coincidence. amazing isnt it? how affinity works... as usual we talked about work and life... and somehow i mentioned about how mean i was. at least i think i am. for some reason, i dunno what... i feel that i'm treating my boss like crap. seriously, i really dont mean it... he's a really nice and friendly boss...he definitely deserves better treatment... but i always give him 'duh' responses and the 'roll my eyes' look.(as if he just asked the lamest qns on earth) :( i just cant help it. and then lari said that i treat benjy the same way too. oh man... i tried to be nicer... but my mouth and face always work faster than my brain. by the time i remind myself to be nice, i already gave that 'roll eyes' look. :S haiz.. i wonder why that happens...i dont treat the rest like this...i reckon it's because the two of them are over friendly guys.thats their only common characteristic. the only constant. maybe i dunno how to talk to over friendly guys...maybe i'm scaring the guys away. just hope i didnt offended them in any way with my o.O responses. lari says it doesnt matter even if i scared them away..... lol :) oh well, 'being nice to everyone' shall be my next week's aim. haha.. i'm coming up with crappy and lame aims. u can tell how bored i am... have u watched silent hill before? it's showing now... and it's so weird... i have no idea what's going on... thurs and fri were great. i'm doing what i like now :) feeling so satisfied and happy :D and i had a wonderful lunch today with the interns.. so glad to know them better :) off to bed ^ ^ sweet dreams~ leading a working-auntie kind of life
for the past few days, my life is just a routine. life gets monotonous, boring because there's a lack of goal. not that i hate it or anything. but when i try to imagine myself, perhaps 6 years down the road, stuck in a 9 to 5 office job,leading my current working life, it scares me. i do enjoy the time spent with my colleagues, the small talks with them while scanning docs, or along the corridors...the lunches... but it's not adding enough colour to my life. i'm so glad that i'm currently doing familiar things.no awful stats or econs journals or studies to digest.. :D i became the official slides churner :) it's a little hard to put together a set of slides with content that you are not familiar with at all. Using the most basic tool: microsoft ppt 2003?(i would really prefer 2007 version, cause it has cool effects that gives your slides more oomph)and the awful company ppt template, i have to make the presentations professional and engaging. My brain juices are drying up, and i'm so tired just trying to live up to my boss's expectations. somehow, i'm lucky that he thinks that my slides are good, even though i myself am not convinced. and then this becomes a vicious cycle, because he thinks i did a good job, so he expects more and better slides the next time, and so i have to meet his higher expectations and then i will be more stressed and then eventually i produce something that is better.. then he expect even even more... so my stress level will just keep increasing... :( or perhaps i'm just thinking too much... maybe i'm just stressing myself out unnecessarily. maybe subconsciously, i keep pushing myself to do better because i want to hear the praises. i like that gratification. maybe i'm a sucker for stress... but dont you agree that it feels so good when u manage to overcome that stress and do a really good job? thats probably why i find myself staying in office even though it's past my office hours or bringing work home to complete.. and staying up till 2am just to finish data entry. it's a little crazy because sometimes i think i'm more enthusiastic and committed than a perm staff... that enthusiasm in work is giving me less free time. free time at home is so precious. i dont even have the time and mood to catch my fav dramas online. and i've been sleeping at 12 plus waking up at 7am everyday... (i dont even slp that late and wake up that early every sch day)isnt it sch holidays?!? the thought of being in office again in 8 to 9 hours time is just scary. it's like i work slp then work again. omg. what kind of holiday is that? time passes so quickly... if i dont start doing something meaningful during this period of time, i will so regret it when holz end. it's already halfway through the holz!!! :S claire! take control of ur life. add colour to it!!! be yourself, inject some youthfulness into your mundane life. stop leading that working auntie kind of life!!! u dont need anymore premature ageing. o.O i dunno whether i should allow myself to rant or try to control it. i dun wanna be seen as someone with a lot of negative vibes... how ah? i wanna help shuning sew stuff. coming up with new designs should be really interesting:) maybe that could help inject some fun into my life. shu, u need help? deadlines
more and more work are coming in... all their deadlines just overlap each other... everyone is making use of this available worker to clear stuff that they have to do... being kind to them means being unkind to myself. i couldnt bring myself to reject them, partly because the satisfaction i derive from helping them out is greater than that from helping my boss. doing corp comm stuff is much more relaxing too...at least i know what i am doing(sometimes i am better than them at it).. eg. ppt slides or excel spreadsheets... and my work is appreciated. but for my main work under boss, i always have to read the articles that i have zero interest in... and after all that hard work i put in, my work may not be fully utilised.. and not really appreciated... and i hate the fact that my boss assumes that coming from a prestigious school means i am smart. thats totally wrong. he thinks that my chinese must be very good since i come from nygh. what crap is that?!?! urgh. i hate false expectations! i'm so so so so so tired. i just wanna sleep in.... shoe woes
my poor feet. every single muscly is aching. and my calf muscles are aching too. thanks to my grey HIGH heels. just wearing them for one morning killed my feet. in order to not ill treat my feet any further, i set out to buy a pair of covered flats last night when i met up with shuning, ailin and carolyn. was so excited when i found nice simple flats at only $15.90!!!! BUT, today when i wore them... my feet died again. it's either because i'm not used to wearing covered shoes... or the shoes are slightly too small.. or my damn feet grew bigger overnight. it was fine when i trid them on last night... :( but if i bought 1 size larger, my shoe will be slipping off when i walk. ahh... WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND NICE FITTING SHOES?!?!?! hopefully my new shoes expand in size soon enough... hang in there poor feet. now i know why slippers is my best friend. at least my toes could breathe :) first day of work
so was it like what i expected? yes, most of it was. everyone did comment on how tanned i became, and i'm so proud and happy abt that fact. was a little disappointed when the first colleague i met in the morning asked if i grew fatter. she said my face look rounder. NNOOOO!!!!! :( i expected myself to lunch with my usual lunch buddies... but since mj asked me to join them. i did, not knowing who the them were. i dreaded lunch... the whole group was made up of young people.. fresh grads. but it turned out alright in the end... a bit awkward and left out at times... but i still survived. currently sitted at the worse seat ever.. everyone esp the big shots can see what is on my computer screen when they walk pass... leaving me zero chance to skive. (not that i have the time to skive) esp when i was given so much work plus a short deadline on the first day. plus a whole load of reading. it is really torturous to read papers or journals or articles on stuff that i have zero interest in such as stats. staying awake while reading is a big feat. second day of work and i'm already drinking lots of coffee to keep myself awake. my goodness.. plus my 'just right' height shoe is spoiling... forcing me to wear my 'super high' heels to work. my feet are dying... i definitely need to buy a pair of flats ASAP! well all these rants seem so negative... but they are the hard facts of life. i'm sure in future, i might have to do boring work at some pt in time... so this is the time to get used to such crap... meet ups with friends and having a source of income keeps me motivated :) i really hope i can make more new friends in office. well time to start work! :D gonna meet ailin, shu ning and carrot later! whee :) lovin holz...
watching breaking magician's code now. feel so cheated... when i know how the trick is actually carried out... magicians are just really good actors or and tricksters..anyway, before i digress further.... i spent my whole friday afternoon at ailin's house playing monopoly. ailin's monopoly is super cool... no paper money involved, everyone owns a credit card and all transactions are carried out with the cards. the denominations of money is in thousands and millions. i was super unlucky. 99% of the time, i was on meiying's and ailin's properties... i just kept paying money till i became bankrupt. ailin and meiying were enjoying being millionaires....nonetheless, i had lots of fun.  and then it was dinner with patricia and lari :D we celebrated her birthday. i'm still waiting for busy lari to post the photos... great dinner, great company :) on sat, i met up with waikit and lizhen to sing k. teo heng brought life to katong mall.... it's booming with business. everyone loves teo heng! haha :D we sang and sang and sang.. till we didnt know what else to sing.. haha :D so shiok!!! and then i met up with 2 jumpers (tc and liuying) to have dinner at parkway parade. at first i was afraid we would run out of stuff to talk abt... but those worries were so unnecessary.. we had so much stuff to talk abt.... endless topics... we could go on forever and ever... so enjoyable!!! i love talking to them... cant wait for next sat to come, then i can meet other jumpers too :) whee!!!!!!!!!!!! in 10 hrs time, i'm gonna be back in my old office. back in tanjong pagar, doing part time job.waking up early, wearing boring office wear, squeeze on sardine packed trains... reading story book... i'm gonna meet the people i worked with last yr. i wonder who are still around.. and what has changed....i can predict what the aunties are gonna ask... and say..... stuff like: what did u do? why do u look so dark? hows uni life? what are u studying? etc.... hopefully i can bring some youthfulness and happiness into the office.. lighten things up a little... make their office life less boring.. haha :D i just hope there wont be awkwardness... tomorrow is gonna be a good day. i just know it :D (next drama episodes coming out tmr!!! currently following 3 tw dramas!!!) i've mastered it!
dumping festival? or do u call it dragon boat festival.. whatever it is.. it's just round the corner... :D mum decided to wrap rice dumplings.. so i get to help out :D after many tries, i finally mastered the art of wrapping nice triangle pyramid shape rice dumplings :) super successful! looks simple, but it's really hard to get it right! whee....currently waiting for the dumplings to be cooked ^^  thats my mum, hard at work :D dumpling wrapping shifu!  closed up shot of my beautiful dumpling :)  i wrapped all of these and more :) gonna meet meiying and ailin later at ailin's hse. wonder what are we gonna do the whole afternoon.... will be meeting pat and lari in the evening for dinner at tao :D gonna use up all my leftover vouchers. most prob wont be gg there for a very long time.... oh and i managed to get a temp job at my old office :) yay!!! cant wait for pay day. haha.. starting work next mon! 3 days in genting ^^
within 5 hrs after i return from vietnam, i was on another holiday trip. going to genting has been the norm since young. that was before our crazy mountain climbing holidays. we haven been there for quite a few years already. this time i'm the driver!!!!!! i drove for 6 hrs straight. it was crazy, it was my first time driving at 120km/hr, overtaking so many vehicles at that speed.. had cars tailgating me...feeling sleepy while driving... super exciting!!!!! plus the sun was shining at me.. i was sun tanning myself while driving. chewed lots of gum to keep myself alert and awake. the upslope was horrible.., it was hard to control the amount the force i used to accelerate... plus the cars tailgated me once i slowed down a little... and down slope was scary too.. so afraid that the brakes would become too hot.. my dad says that the brakes wont function that well when they are too hot. the whole drive was just mind blowing. the return trip was another 6 hrs of driving. a really good experience. cant believe i'm a little sick of driving already. from this trip, i realised that all of us have grown up. we used to collect the tickets and used them to exchange presents. but that was so dumb... wasting so much money just to get a lousy toy or stationery. we could put that money to better use. and queueing up 1 hr for each ride, knowing that the actual ride is just 2 mins long... was a complete waste of time too. the snacks such as cup corn, candy floss etc were no longer as cheap as before. paying so much at the funfair booths ( those shoot the bottles and get a teddy bear games...) was senseless too... what were we thinking when we were young?! we end up having more fun playing pool than catching fish from the pond(we used to do that everytime)... we end up enjoying massages(shoulder and foot) more than swimming... i guess we wont be visiting genting for the next few years....perhaps the next visit would be of a different purpose, not to check out the theme park... but to check out the casino... ^^  <3<3<3 more photos ^^
managed to take a photo with each jumper using my handphone :) 
homestay kids :) they were teaching me vietnamese... love them lots^^ 
group shot on the mountain in dalat :) 
program team!!! we are the ones who met up everyweek to discuss the prog for this trip :) we work so well tgt^^ closest team among the jumpers. 
feeling cold? or having a bad hair day? just wear ur hoodie! we're the hoodie gang. 
something similar to the sentosa luge.. we took this to see the waterfall. 
waterfall in dalat ^^ 
cable car ride in dalat:D 
right after cable car ride :) group photo ^^ 
view from the top of a mountain in dalat :) 
this is the cu chi tunnel... we had to duck walk thru the tunnels. super narrow and dark. this is the first time i wished i had shorter legs. definitely not for those who are claustrophobic. 
most of the tunnels are already enlarged for tourists. this is the actual size. a foreigner got stuck in it. 
from the top of marble mountain. a part of danang city :) 
by the river... in danang ^^ beautiful riverside... 
light from heaven?! lol.. one of the caves found in marble mountain in da nang. 
cham island, an off shore island of da nang. quite deserted.. a bit like survivor. haha :D it's so quiet and peaceful. we have the whole beach to ourselves. 
lazing on the beach chairs... enjoying life. 
love this shot <3 
也许在城市里。。我们忘了如何开心的笑和跳跃。。 
beautiful sunset in long an. let the photos do the talking ^^
 the school we stayed at and taught at  6am in long an province. the village we stayed in.  most locals wear masks, coz it's really dusty when u're walking along the streets. each of us got one too. but i never ever wear it. it's far too hot!  one of the classes i taught. :)  we always go out to grab cold drinks tgt:) i bet the auntie made a lot of money from us...  the kids just come and attach themselves to u :D so cute!!!  this is the traditional dance team. we wore trad costumes for the traditional hat dance. omg.. the shirt pattern very old fashion. but the top has a super high slit to the chest area. and it is so translucent. :S felt like i've aged 50 years when i wore that.  best teammate, busmate, sleepmate, washing clothes mate, singing mate, dancing mate... ever :D everyone says that marilyn look like my twin sister. dont we look like we're on an amazing race? lol :)  best scenery in long an :)  we visited this church in dalat :) cooling weather plus beautiful church.. great place for wedding photos :D haha  i love jump shots! taken in dalat :) still have a lot more photos of the retreat. shall post them later in the day. time to go to bed :) i wanna jump again!!!
the sequence of my posts seems to be a little mixed up. but who cares?! i spent 18 days in vietnam. 18 carefree days, with no worries, with lots of laughter and happiness, with lots of precious and memorable moments and with a whole bunch of super nice jumpers! the best 18 days ever! this trip had been so wonderful. i love every minute of it... it's one of those trips that will leave a huge impact and even after many years down the road, i guess i will still remember the time spent in vietnam with my fellow jumpers, just like the chiang mai cip trip. there's so much things about the trip i wanna share, i dun even know where to start. there's just too much to write. the best part about this trip is that i could leave my city life behind. life in vietnam was so simple, it made me appreciate every simple thing i have. knowing that i have clean bathing water, a working toilet, a plastic fan, a simple home cook meal, clean clothes etc. can make me feel so happy. our living conditions in the village were a lot better than expected. the whole city is more developed and cleaner than i expected. and of course the weather was hotter than i expected.the only good thing about the unbearable heat was that it gave me nice tanned skin :D although it's supposed to be the rainy season, there was no rain at all... erm i think it only rained once throughout the 18 days. and that rain only lasted 1 min. bathing didnt make a difference because u start perspiring profusely again right after stepping out of the toilet. plastic fan and mosquito repellent became my best friends. just couldnt live without them. ice was a luxury. cold drinks were daily necessities. i craved for rice and bread(noodles are the most common food available). so everyday in vietnam, when we were in the village, we woke up at 6am, have breakfast, start teaching, have lunch, teach again, have dinner, practise concert items, have debrief, sleep at 11pm. such a simple life, it probably appears boring to u.. but it was so fulfilling. we spent our free time playing catch, piggy backing, riding bicycles with the children...the innocent smiles on the children's faces were the best rewards after a tiring day of work. they remind me of the worry free life i used to have. the kids were so lovable! we took lots of photos with them, and they even asked for all of our autographs. it was as if we were super stars. i only hope that we did made a difference to the kids' lives. i had so many first time experiences: bathing with a teacup, making mango icecream, love mango, love mangosteen, finish drinking a coconut by myself, wearing viet traditional costume, dancing viet traditional dance, wearing viet hat, drinking one whole can of beer by myself, ride a motorcycle, learn how to identify stars, ride a speed boat, jetty jumping, see blue starfish, camped on an island, speak vietnamese, viet ktv, drink viet beer, visit shrimp farm, doing manicure, witness a love story etc. then came the retreat. the whole team spent 4 days in the highlands, dalat. lots of sightseeing, bonding sessions, and beautiful sceneries. the visit to dalat marks the end of our whole cip trip. some of us then spent a day in ho chi minh city. we visited the famous Củ Chi tunnels (dug during viet war). we took a domestic flight to da nang, a city near beautiful beaches. climbed the marble mountains, spent a night on an offshore island and did snorkeling. vietnam jump was a blast. it was so worth it. i missed the place and most of all the people and my fellow jumpers. cant wait for post celebration to come! thinking about it makes me feel so excited. looking forward to receiving the rest of the photos too:D if u ever have a chance to go for overseas cip trip, go for it! it's the best type of holiday ever!!! :D I WANNA JUMP AGAIN!!! back home ^^
alright, it's time to blog again...have been back in singapore since sunday...was totally overwhelmed by the number of emails i received from facebook, and the amount of photos posted online. the whole team took 21 gb of photos + some priceless videos!!?! have no idea how i'm gonna get them from the photographer. first sms that greeted me on monday morning was my results. there was improvement, but not as good as i expected, especially my core bio modules. i'm supposed to be doing better in my bio modules.. coz they 're my major. but it turns out otherwise. i'm still far away from my goal of getting into the dean's list. wonder when i'll be able to hit that target. oh well, i guess i have 3 more years to catch up! jia you!!! was a little disappointed about the fact that i still haven gotten a holiday job..feeling kind of broke. have been rotting at home watching drama serial from day to night for the past two days. so lazy to move my ass... so lazy to blog. currently looking for new shows to watch, cause i've finish my current supply. thought of hitting the malls to check out the GSS, but haven got enough money. plus i'm just too lazy to move out of the house. everyone else seems to be so busy with work, dating or jetting off to other places. i better start looking for something meaningful to do, before the sem starts. wont want to waste this precious 3 months break. well, so thats exactly what i have been doing so far. how bout you? what have you been doing so far? hope u're having a great holiday ;) cant wait to meet up with everyone! ;D |