Christmas Meal

My Christmas Feast.

I woke up late feeling rested and refreshed at around 12PM.

I cleaned my room and toilet. And I mean the thorough clean-up, not just the sweep and wipe cleaning.

By 4PM, I was finally finished (and the long cleaning hours was worth it bacause my bedroom's wooden floor is now shiny, and my bathroom tile is clear of any hairstrands or remnants of past showers).

After showering and changing clothes, I went to the Velocity Mall in Novena to check out the shop selling the Fitflops (flip flops that would supposedly help tone your muscles more) that I was vying for, but it was so expensive! SGD99.90! I was going to use the money from the angpao to buy it, but I decided not to. I could buy a lot of other stuff with the money if I don't spend it on a single expensive item.

It was time for lunch (at 5pm), so I ate at the Organic Cafe (picture shown above). I ate their pan fried chicken with spaghetti. It was yummy because it has a clean taste, and although the sauce is cream based, it's not so heavy on the stomach. Total bill: SGD15.90.

Then, I went to Novena Church and listened to the mass. As usual, I was teary-eyed again. Novena church does that to me. For some reason, I am oftentimes moved by the songs and I get emotional. Because it's Christmas today, the choir and all the other churgoers sung Silent Night and other Christmas carols. It was lovely!

After church, I went around the malls again to do yet another round of shopping. I bought quite a few pieces of gift items, and I was able to find good bargains (branded tops) for myself.

To end the day, I had dinner with a friend at Billy Bombers in Marina Square. I had the barbeque rib and chicken dinner meal which came with cream of mushroom soup and strawberry milkshake. The verdict? I don't see myself going back to that resto again. It's not all that bad, it's just not good enough to go back to. The total setback for 2 people was SGD 61. Well, it was a setback for my friend, because he treated me.

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Oh, the cupcake-like thing shown above is actually a hazelnut-dark chocolate combination with small sugar flowers and pistachio leaves. After my lunch, I wanted to treat myself to something sweet. I saw a gingerbread cookie, but then I saw this one and it was cute. So I bought one, and ouch, it was expensive! SGD3.70 for one piece. Wah-law (oh my gosh, Singlish style).

It's Christmas!!!

It's 15 minutes before Christmas, and I've already arranged my gifts on my bed. At exactly 12 midnight, I will tear them open! Whoopee! It's the first time ever that I've managed to find enough strength to wait till Christmas before opening them.

Well, actually I've opened two already. One is the angpao (red packet) and one is the L'occitane hand creme (because it's not wrapped up anyway). The angpao itself is good enough. One of the managers I'm personally working with gave it to me. How much is in it? That's a secret. But it's enough to buy ... mmm.. maybe 1 Lacoste shirt?

I already know what I'm going to buy with the angpao money! Tomorrow, after going to church, I'm going to check out the shop selling it=)

State of Calamity

This is my room.

There's a big pile of unwrapped gifts.

In it there's Crocs shoes, Crocs clothing, Charles & Keith, Mango bag, G2000 shirts, various herbs, Japan cookies, Esprit shirt, massage pillow, slippers, seaweed crackers and etc etc etc.

And I haven't even completed my shopping list!

My 14.5 Hour Workshift

I work in a bank.

But not in the call center.

Not in IT

I'm a Service Relationship Officer. (Much like a relationship manager, but concentrated on services.)

Why then, do I stay so late?

I don't know, I don't know! I wish I knew.

When I get to the office, it's continuous work. No joke! Even getting water is a waste of time. It's that busy.

Lately, I find myself working later and later. So does my lunch. It used to be 230 or 400. Then it became 500 or 700. Now it's... oh, never mind.

People might think "Customer service takes 14.5 hours!?". Yes, it does. I speak for all the customer service people out there: We are busy because aside from attending to walk-in and by- appointement clients, we also have incoming calls, outgoing calls, emails and follow-ups. We also have transactions, maintenances and various applications to take care of. Not to mention, doing clerical tasks like sending out mail, doing reference letters, filing and monitoring previous days transactions. Then, we also have to attend meetings, trainings and online learnings.

All in a day's (and night's) work.

I want to go home

I called my dad to say 'hi', and to convince him to see a doctor. Basically to run a general check-up. Then he said he was already in the hospital.

I was like, what!? I couldn't really tell if he was serious or joking. He likes to joke and say stuff.. But then, I heard my mom on the background, talking to someone and saying something like "He's okay." So I was surprised, shocked and sad.

I talked to my brother to confirm the details, so he told me that they (my mom and brother) decided to check him into the hospital so that the doctor can do a thorough check-up, and also to detoxify him (because my dad smokes.)

(My dad hasn't had any complete check-up in the recent years. )

I asked my dad what he wanted as a gift, and he said he didn't want anything. He just wants to see me. And I'm really sad, I still have 3 more weeks before I can go home. I have been away from them for over eight months, of which my parents visited me around October and stayed in Singapore for only a week.

My daddy said he wanted to wait for me before he does the check-up thing. So I said the check-up was long overdue, and he should listen to the doctor. He said he will only listen if I was there...

Why am I here? I want to be with my family. My daddy wants me there. I want to be there.

I'm so sad. I'm back to crying again.

Ooooh gifts!

Gift actually, without the 'S'.

This is the first gift that I'm giving out to a friend.

Lazy lazy me, I haven't Christmas shopped much- mostly just food for my aunties back home. So now that it's just a few days before Christmas... I am panicking! Which means... I will probably spend more!!

---

So again, this is the first gift that I'm giving. It's a nice, cute and useful item. But I won't say what it is until this holiday season ends.

The reason(s) why it takes so long for me to shop are:

1.) I'm hesitant to immediately buy stuff because I might see something better as I go around the malls.

2.) I want to give gifts that I think my receiver will like, plus it should be something that I like as well (meaning it has to be with my stamp of approval.)

3.) I'm waiting for the stores to go on sale.

4.) Sometimes, my stingy side will take over. Which means I'll end up buying nothing.

5.) I can't make up my mind fast enough

I was hit by a sudden wave of OC-ness

I left the office at 11pm. Gosh darn gee.

But I stopped working around 10:15pm last night. While I was packing up, I had the sudder urge to rearrange my things. One, because I saw one of the managers doing it earlier today. Two, because my other manager has already left our team and will be moving back to Manila so she left behind her magazine box, plus her in/out tray. Woo-hoo!

That's when I suddenly felt the urge to clean my desk. Lately, the workload is overwhelming. You'd think that with the recession and bank issues, there would be less work for us bankers (yes, I'm a banker). But no, I think it has doubled, and since most people are using their vacation leaves this holiday season, it has tripled.

So I thought, perhaps because my desk is always so messy, that's why I work longer. When your things are messy, your brain tends to become messy as well because there's so much more to remember- like: the instruction for this client is underneath the pile by the left. The urgent request is on the right, the list of clients to call are clipped together and inserted somewhere..
I decided to clean up and get organised. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

Makansutra

My friend and I had dinner at Makansutra near Esplanade.

We ate Bah kut teh, chicken wings, and prawn omelette. I just remembered to take photos in the midst of the semi-feast.

For those visiting Singapore, It's a good idea to visit this place for good eats. Well, it's not super super yummy, but it beats jumping from one area to another to try different dishes.

Blockbuster

Guess what these people are queueing for?

Yes! They are queuing for Lotto. I'm actually somewhere near the middle of the queue, so it means there's more people that's not captured in this photo.

Third world and first world county, it's the same thing. People will queue (and do anything) just to get a shot at becoming rich (instantly).

Eat Like an Astronaut

Again, I can't seem to adjust the layout.

Anyway, Eat like an astronaut. That's what the packaging said. I bought this ready to eat, black pepper chicken rice meal from the Meidi-ya Japanese grocery at Liang Court yesterday. The viand and the rice were sealed in aluminum foil. To heat, the contents should be poured into the microwave box and, well, microwaved.

The taste is okay, it just feels weird to be eating a dish that was prepared a long time ago. It's a good way to cross the hunger though (tawid gutom).

The cost: sgd 4+.

Picture Blog

*All these pictures were taken in the Orchard area last night.

*Two bronze statue ladies. Pay 2 dollars and you get to take a picture with them. (No thanks, they don't look interesting enough to pay 2 bucks.)

*Waiting to cross the street.

*Dinnertime! Chicken claypot and Ngo-hiang at My Mum's Kitchen, Paragon.

*Coca-Cola Christmas tree. It's made of empty 'sexy' coke bottles.

Reason why we grow fat in Singapore

There's not much to do here in Singapore except to work, shop and EAT.

Hmm it's the same anywhere else in the world, I guess. It's just that since I'm alone here in Singapore, I feel like weekends is the time when I have to treat myself. So I would often eat good food, buy small things for momentary happiness and eat good food again.

For my first 4 months here, I lost about 6 lbs. Probably because of the adjustment, long walks, work overload and loss of appetite. But as more friends and family come over to visit, I started gaining some back because I would, naturally, tour them around and let them try the local food.

Then, it became a habit for me to eat good food during weekends, with or without company. So I gained a little more back. In all, I'm just about the same weight as when I first came here. Nooooo! That's not good enough. I really have to watch what I eat! After the new year, that is.

I mentioned that I ate at Swensens, so I took a picture of their menu and thereafter took a shot of the real thing:

Yum!

Hmm...

Saturday Itinerary

<---- My Saturday attire.

It's now 12:05AM, Sunday.

Yesterday, I woke up quite late. Almost 12 noon, I think.

Aaaah, it's so nice to wake up when you feel like it, not because your cellphone alarm is bugging you.

My itinerary for the day :
1.) Clean the room
2.) Meet my friend and go mall-hopping

I cleaned my room a bit, mostly just swept the floor and wiped the table top and mopped the floor (mop=wipe, since I literally bent down to clean the floor with wet disinfecting wipes, using my hands). Then I showered and leafed through the free newspaper (delivered to our doorsteps daily) to get some ideas on where to go and what to buy.

I went to Compass Point in Sengkang to meet my friend. It was about 3 then, so time for lunch!

I ate at Swensens (It's a very popular restaurant in Singapore. Locals really queue for it just to eat their food), because I saw their newspaper ad about their holiday lasagna . (Yes, I'm one of those people who's easily swayed by advertisements.)

It's okay lah, but nothing extraordinary. I certainly wouldn't be ordering it again.

It did fill me up though. Well, it should since it cost me sgd15.90++.

Nimbu Masala

Haldiram's Nimbu Masala (Soured Potato and Pulse Flour Noodles) is simply one of the best junk food for me.

In Manila, you can get it from the Indian Grocery Store along UN Avenue. Here in Singapore, you can buy it from Mustafa in Little India.

It's basically just potato with lots of spices. Tomato powder, red chilli powder, mango powder, lemon powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, onion powder, garlic powder and citric acid powder (Wah, that's an awfully lot of powder). YET it's stated on the packaging that it contains no MSG.

It's like crushed noodles in texture, so the way I eat it is I pour some on my palm, then I bow down, and let it stick to my tongue (much like how birds eat actually).

It's addictive because it's a burst of different flavours- salty, spicy and sour. You'd want to keep on eating because the flavour is intriguing. The only thing is, when you finish up a whole pack, by the next two days, it will incorporate into your system (my theory), and when you sweat, you can actually smell the nimbu masala. So it's advisable to either eat just a handful OR eat it only when you're not going out OR drink lots of milk afterwards.

For me though, I'll just drink a lot of milk afterwards. It's too good for me to let it pass.

Biatch!

There's this saleslady at Isetann, Orchard who fits the definition of 'biatch' right to the last letter.

My friend and I were looking for a present during our lunch break. I suggested we take a look at the perfume displayed at the center of the department store. I think it's a new product (Harajuku Lovers, inspired by Gwen Stefani), so they were really promoting it. What made it so cute was the packaging. The bottles were in cute little girl shapes, for each scent - love, baby, etc.

I was sniffing on the paper samples. I wanted 'Love', but it was out of stock. So I sniffed again, trying my best to imagine what the recipient would like. So I asked this young sales lady "Can this be exchanged?" She was quiet for a while, obviously, she did not have any authority to decide on that.

So, she asked her 'biatch' partner, who was this older saleslady. This biatch said "No, cannot exchange because when we punch it into the system, it's already removed. We cannot exchange because blah blah blah (it will mess up their files)."

So I said "Because it's a gift, so I'm not sure which scent would be.. (I trailed off, I think)"

Then she said "Cannot exchange. That's why the samples are there." (In a condescending tone)

So I said "So, we cannot exchange because it will be a hassle for you?"

She said "Yes, cannot exchange."

So I said "Oh,okay, so never mind then."

Then the young sales lady probably saw my hard expression and said "So sorry about that.."

Biatch!!! When I have taken about 10 steps, that's when all all these remarks started popping into mind. One of them was "Oh, okay. Never mind then, I wouldn't want to hassle you."



Disclaimer: The dialogue is not in exact wording. But the context is the same.

Despedida and more ouchy

I don't know what happened, but I can't seem to get the layout right.

Anyway, tonight I had dinner with two of my friends in the Bank . It was a despedida dinner for my boss because she's going back to Manila to assume a higher position.

We ate at Seoul Garden in Ngee Ann City. It's a Korean buffet dinner, so I, well, practiced the art of gluttony again. I ate with my eyes, so whatever looked nice went to my plate and thereafter to my stomach!

I guess, it's wheat bread for dinner again next week.

You can see from the picture above that I took vegetables. I'm not really a health buff, but whenever I get the chance, I take a lot of it- to make up for days when I feed myself junk.

In all, I didn't eat THAT much. I only had one round of ice cream (with 3 small scoops).

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After dinner, we walked around a bit and I felt pain on both my feet again. I was wearing a different pair of shoes, and it worsened my already corny feet. Ouch ouch ouch! Dang you too shoes#2!

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Along Orchard, two girls were doing body bending stunts. They usually do it on Saturdays, but I guess to take advantage of the season, they're also doing it now on weekdays. The other girl was bent backwards, and the other one was on top of the bent girl. Look at the picture above and try to imagine it.

Ouchy

Dang you shoes, dang you!

I have 3 fresh corns tonight, all because of these semi flats.

I left work at 830pm, and decided to walk around

the malls for some christmas shopping. I haven't been walking long (maybe just an hour), when I felt pain on both feet. My toes were squeezed so tightly that it was pinching my skin.

Dang it, most of my shoes have 2-inch heels, but they're not as uncomfortable as this one.

Nutrition Information

This is the SGD2.oo/piece Japanese scallop. My friend bought the 4 pc pack and shared it with me.

So big and tender

This was my lunch and dinner. Chicken bulgogi packed meal. We also bought buy 1 take 1 fruit juice (which expires on 15Dec, but it's okay, it's a goner by tomorrow)

Sometimes, I live on the sticko and wafer snack provided by the company. It's just in the pantry.

The Cup a Soup I bought in Mustafa. Not bad at all. For today, this was my lunch.

Bolt's #2876 Fan

I watched Bolt last Sunday evening at Cineleisure in Cathay (Orchard).

It's a cute movie and some scenes were really adorable.

So, I was chatting with my brother about it, and he asked me which was nicer: Ratatouille or Bolt? I said "Ratatouille."

Weird huh? I hate rodents. They freak me out, they are gross and they scare the S%7t out of me. But I liked the movie. And I found them cute.

On the other hand, I like dogs, I don't have one but I love watching them. Most of them are cute!

So..where's the logic?

Well, maybe that's the thing. Dogs are already adorable, so when they make an animated film about them, the cute dog traits are, well, just cute dog traits.

Whereas for rodents to be cute, they really had to pour their creative juices out. It's more challenging for the creators.

I guess I'm like that. I appreciate things by the effort that went into it. Sure, the end result is important, but what goes into it has as much bearing.

Oh my gosh! The fly in the plastic bag is trashing about. (Refer to my previous blog).

I think it has regained its strength, or its wings are now working. Whatever, I'm throwing it out now.

Fly!!!

This is a breaking entry. I was bluetoothing some pictures for my blog when I heard a 'tick tick' sound. Being the paranoid that I am, I immediately got up and looked around. 'tick tick'.

It seemed to be coming from the grocery bag, which contained my 25oml milk in tetra pak, freshly bought from Fair Price.

I jerked the plastic around, and saw something move inside. Gulp! could it be a small frog?

Frog!? Why would I think that? Well, because by the backdoor of the condo where I'm staying, it's quite grassy, there are a lot of frogs hopping around. And lizard. And snails. And leech-like thingies sliding around. In fairness, the place is nice, it's just that it's very much natural- the grass, the soil. So it's equally natural that these nature-loving creatures would love to live there.

Anyway, I was thinking "Oh man, yuck! What should I do!?". But I had to be tough, so I jerked it more forcefully now. As if my arm strength will make my fears disappear. Then, there it was, the fly! Moving about (It might be missing it's wing, that's why it didn't just fly off). So, I took out my milk as fast as I could, thinking I could outmove the fly... and I did! So I hurriedly tied the plastic, with so much air inside that it's all ballooned up. I don't want to touch it anymore, because if I try to press it down to release some air, the fly might just fly off, or hop out! And I don't want to be chasing it the whole night.

'Tick tick' It's moving about. I'll throw it out later.

Wedding Photos

Champagne pouring

The menu and giveaways (his and hers keychain, small plate)

Wedding Photos

First Dish

Formation (with mismatched uniform)

The Stage

Hors d'Oeure (Spelling according to the menu)

Lighting effect (and my orange soda)

Singaporean Wedding

Yesterday, 08Dec08, I attended the Singaporean wedding lunch reception of my colleague at the Sheraton Towers near the Newton Mrt station.

It was supposed to start at 1:30pm, so my colleague and I met up at 12:45pm (1pm actually, since I was late). The Sheraton Towers is a beautiful hotel, there was a grand staircase leading up to the grand ballroom, and from afar, I could see a beautiful landscape of greenery and waterfalls by the open-air area.

We went up, and saw the bride and groom there, meeting the guests as they arrive. First, we wrote on the dedication book and then, this is a cool idea, there were 2 boxes on the reception table. One for the bride and one for the groom. The guests will then just drop their angpao (red packets) on the designated box. No more giving directly to the bride or groom. Nice! Because in a way, it is awkward to be giving money to someone else. Well, at least for me.

We took pictures with the bride and groom. Snap! Snap!

We entered the grand ballroom. It was dimly lit, and so beautifully set. There were red, green and yellow spoltlight on the tables. That, against the dimlights created a beautiful colored glow on the white plates.

We waited for some 30 minutes, before the emcees queued for the showing of the wedding video. Then, afterwards, the ballroom doors were closed for the grand entrance of the bride and groom.

They walked slowly to the stage, where they cut the cake and posed for pictures.

After that, they walked down to their table, which is a round table where they sat with the groom's family. It's not at all like in Manila, where the couple have a special table all to themselves.

We sat patiently, waiting for the food. The lights were suddenly turned dimmer, then, a hip and groovy music suddenly blasted from the sound system, and the doors were opened. In came the waitresses dressed in black coat with the first dish on their hands. They did their formation and danced a bit (like take one step forward, turn then step backward).

They went up the stage, took a bow, and started serving the first dish.

This was our menu:
-Deluxe hors D' Oeure (Deep fried spring rolls with minced chicken, prawns & yam, deep fried scallop coated with bread crumbs, deep fried prawn with mayonnaise & suckling pig)
-Shark's fin soup with shredded chicken and crabmeat
-Roast Chicken with preserved beancurd
-Braised dried scallops with shiitake mushrooms and Hong Kong seasonal vegetable
-Steamed live sea bass with broad bean sauce
-Fish noodles with prawns
-Sweetened sago cream with mango

In between the dishes, the bride and groom were called up to the stage again for the toasting. The family and close friends also went up, and, as the tradition went, everybody was supposed to shout 'cheers!', but in Chinese, which is 'Yang Seng'. This is the thing, people were supposed to shout yang seng like this: "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang Seng!!!". You're supposed to shout "Yang" and hold your breath for a long time, like when we used to do when we were kids. Then, all together, shout "Seng!!!". This went on for three rounds, one for good luck, one for well wishes (for them to grow old together) and one for... I forgot.

The bride and groom also poured champagne over stacked champagne glasses, and did the arm twisting thing (to drink together). Then, the emcee asked the couple to do a slow dance. The groom said "I don't know how to dance." Of which the emcee said "That is why you will do so on this special day." (Or something to that effect).

While they danced, the emcee asked "What are you going to tell your wife?". The groom then told his wife, using a microphone, and in front of everyone "I love you." and she said "I love you too." Awwww... it's so nice to be in love.

Crazy

After my chunkfest episode, which took as much time as the walk from the Dhoby Ghaut Station to Fort Canning Green (where it was held), I went to the nearest mall, which was Raffles City.

Oh, while I walking down the downhill slopes of the venue in Fort Canning, I failed to see a big step downward. So I was walking, then suddenly my left leg was on a lower level than the right, my whole being was shocked by that one step! I didn't fall, but it felt like I did because I think my brain shook from the impact.

Anyway, while I was in Raffles City, I remembered that I had to check out the grocery for some gluten-free cookies for a friend's nephew. I looked around, and ended up buying some other stuff. Mostly to bring back home to my mommy back in Manila. There wasn't any gluten-free cookie, so I bought a gluten-free pancake mix instead. Close enough.

It was heavy, the mix plus some powdered drink I bought.

Next, I went to Bugis because I wanted to buy the cufflinks that I saw about 2 months ago. But when I got there.. eh? How come it doesn't look as nice from the first time I saw it. Good thing though, since they were like, SGD46 per pair.

Next, I went to Orchard to look for an Esprit store. I needed to buy a polo shirt. But to my surprise, they didn't have a stand alone store in Takashimaya. So, I ended up buying 2 long sleeve polos for myself. (They were on sale, 50% off)

Next, I went to Little India. At night. And this is the 'crazy' part.

Why, oh why, would I go to Little India alone? And at night? ..... Because I was crazy!
Stubborn too! I couldn't even convince myself not to go. Honestly, my 'tiny-self1' was telling me not to go. But my 'tiny-self2' was saying "Get it over with, just buy those things you need, then go". So 'tiny-self2' won, as always.

Why did I go there? Because I wanted to buy the 2 items I saw, these were gifts to my friends. It's not because they were cheap that I had to go back to Mustafa to get it, it's because I didn't see it being sold elsewhere.

In 45 mins, I finished with my shopping, and I rushed to the MRT. It's not far, but I was carrying 5 big bags!

A few minutes past 12 midnight, I was home. Finally! And I haven't eaten anything after my subway lunch. Well, just a kitkat bar. (Another crazy thing)

I hurriedly prepared the instant noodles. While waiting for that, I drank a lot of water, because I literally felt my body heating up!

Die Die Must Take Pictures

The entrance

The Head

The Band (and some people)

The queue for the 12 new flavours from the US plus some that incorporated Singaporean desserts into the ice cream. It was crazy, the queue was so long, I am thinking there might have been 80 people waiting for their turn. So, never mind, I'm not really a Ben & Jerry's fan. If it were Baskin Robbins though, I might fall in line.

I ate the Jamaican Me CRAZY sorbet (SGD4.50 for a small cup). I queued for this one because the line was short, like 5 people in front of me.

Die Die Must Do

I heard this phrase from my Singaporean friend. I actually like it because in just four words, it's able to stress just important a certain thing must be done, no matter what.

For me, this phrase was applicable yesterday. I had so many things to do, so many places to go to. I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet! And although my Manila vacation is not until the third of January, I still have to start moving. Or else I'll be panic-buying again.

For yesterday, I planned to do this: Go to the gym, clean my room (as in general cleaning), go to Yishun for the Esprit outlet store, meet my friend somewhere to get something, go the the Ben & Jerry's Chunkfest, go to the mall to shop around and finally, go to Little India to purchase some items that I saw a week ago.

Shouldn't be a problem. Except that I woke up at 1pm, dilly-dallied around and finished gym at 3pm. Cleaned my room for an hour, dilly dallied again. By the time I got to Subway for my lunch, it was already 5pm!

So I skipped the Yishun visit and the rendezvous with my friend and instead went directly to the Ice cream festival. It was in Fort Canning, a place where I don't know much about. So, I got off from Dhoby Ghaut station and walked to the Fort Canning park. I saw people walking, so I figured they were also going there. I kept following them, not sure where I'm actually going. Then, I heard some band music! Hooray! I have arrived!

Little Korean Girl

Today I witnessed this little Korean girl's first bus ride alone.

For the past few days, I have noticed that this little girl would hop on to the bus, followed by her mom, but her mom and her baby sister would be sitting at another part of the bus, far from her. Then, at Toa Payoh interchange, she would get off. I don't know where the mum and sister went after.

Anyway, I saw the same thing for a few days, but ofcourse didn't think much of it. Then, today, the little girl climbed up the big bus ahead of me and blocked the way because she was dropping some coins into the payment slot.

I took my seat and then I saw her sit on one corner, all hunched down and looking sad (and worried). She was hugging her pink bag. After a few minutes, I saw her shiver and pull a small white jacket to put on.

I watched her for a few minutes. Wow, I'm guessing she's just 6 or 7, and she's riding the bus alone. I wonder how her mom felt, letting her little baby go (into the big bad world). But I know exactly how that little girl felt.

Scared, worried, sad, lonely, excited, anxious, feeling brave. All mixed up.

She has no choice but to grow up fast because this place can be harsh. Really. No room for lost people. You have to move fast or be left behind (and stepped on).

How It Started

Well, there's not much of a history on how my blogging started, but anyway, there's Still a story behind it.


I've always liked writing. Back when I was just a little girl, I would write on these small sheets of bond paper- Poetry, short story, corny stuff. You know, childish things. Then, I would staple them together so that it would resemble a book.


In college, I joined our college literary office, and even had 2 of writings published.


In between, I would write on my diary. I started by writing on those cutesy notebooks, then as I mature, so did my diary-writing habit. I started to write on the computer, which wasn't really a good idea because the CPU crashed, and I wasn't able to save it. Dang! All those college memories. Probably about crushes and petty frustrations like not being a dean's list. (Geez, college days.)

So anyway, a lot of people have their own blogs now. I wanted to start some time ago, but I couldn't come up with a nice blog name. It seemed like all the names and phrases were already taken.

Thinking of a name alone took almost a month. That, plus my laziness.

Now, finally, I have my own blog.

Seedling

I have this tiny seedling cutely named WarmBubbleBath.
It is my blog.
I've started with the planting process.
I don't know if I have a green thumb, but I'll make it grow!
But I need help...
So read, people, read!

Rihanna's Concert

I watched Rihanna's concert. Woo-hoo!