I'm Tipsy

I just got home about 10 mins ago. It's now 230am.

Drank both white and red wine and I'm now tipsy. We ordered two bottles.

White wine -13%
Red wine - 15%

Went to somewhere in Somerset, all 6 of us.

Each person shed out 34sgd just to get this head-heavy, can't-really-focus-my-eyes and I-want-to-pee feeling.

I might choose to buy a pair of shoes or a nice top next time.

I'm off to bed now.

Another Baby Turned One Month

Another boss's little princess had her first full month. The boss bought boxes of these sweets to give away, and though we weren't given, the food still found its way to my stomach. This time though, I didn't keep the box because I realise I keep taking boxes to supposedly help me with my storage. But in the end, I just pile them up somewhere and rarely get to use them.

All These Food, This Week (25-28Jan2010)

Soya chicken noodles at Crystal Jade

Gerato!! Very Japanese.

Sea salt gerato. Amazingly good when you eat their 1 tsp free taste inside Isetan grocery. But when you eat the whole cup, well, it becomes too sweet (for a seasalt ice cream)

Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice, Bukit Timah

Chili sauce, ginger and dark soya sauce with the nice but environmentally unfriendly paper wrap for the utensils.

Baby Kailan

Chicken... Mmm I haven't eaten this for a loooong time. What I like about their chicken is it's not fatty and it's cooked to the bones ( I just hate those bloody chicken).

My mound of chicken rice

My mound plus some more from my friend

Wow, this picture is quite cute. Very evenly colored and cubie. Fried tofu with wasabi mayonaisse ( I think). Fried on the outside, but silken on the inside.

Silken...

Korean food place at Wilkie along Selegie Road.

Kimchi fried rice and cheese. Well, it taste just like the dish name. Nothing more, nothing less.

Rochor soya milk with egg tart. The yolk filling was lovely tonight, though the crust still needs improvement.

Cost Cutting

I took a picture of the computer cables, because we had to unplug and plug these cables by ourselves during the move. Amazing how a person can do something when there's no other options left. I mean, we girls were crying out at first and wondering how we were supposed to do the cable thingies, but in the end, to each his own. We were able to do it! Then, my PC warned me that I didn't have LAN, so I troubleshoot-ed on that. Woohoo! It felt good when I was able to find the solution (which was simple, plug in another cable with active LAN connection).

That's my desk, whatever's captured in the photo.

Another angle. The space where there's a dart board looking brochure is no longer my territory. Mine ends on the 'in' tray.

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Orchard Road is a really expensive CBD area. Each square feet is .. I forgot how much. But because of this cost, it was decided that we have to squeeze in more people in a row of tables (Our office is located somewhere in between Orchard and Scotts road).

Previously in the office, a row would sit 3 people. Now, there's 4 people sharing 6 small rectangular tables.

The space itself is okay, IF we don't have paperwork. IF we don't have to talk on the phone. But then again, I guess we're still lucky that we get to stay in our Orchard area office instead of the far far away offices. Well, I speak for myself, since my place is near the office and if I'm thrown somewhere else.. waaaah! I won't be able to take it! I'd have to wake up early everyday!

The Day That Was...

... Thursday. 28th of January 2010
(We just shot the clips inside the training rooms)

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Woke up quite early today at 805am. Today was also my 'video shoot' for the service X factor thing that the bank is coming up with. My tummy was feeling weird at 805am, and I thought I was just having butterflies in my stomach so early in the morning... until I realised that it was real pain and not just some butterflies or bugs! I had to go to the toilet! and so, I didn't go back to sleep anymore and instead started my Thursday.

I got to the office at 905 (still late!) and started working right away, since I knew I had to leave around 1130am for my 12pm shoot. At 930am, my heart sank so low that I felt a sudden lightheadedness. My 'favorite' clients popped by again without prior notice, and to think that they just flew back in yesterday, I never expected to see them so soon!

I went down with a heavy heart (but with a quivering smile on my face), but they were suprisingly nice today (too nice actually, that it scared me more). Anyway, more work kept coming up, and it was already 12! I wanted to back out, so I called the girl who was arranging the shoot schedule. Nobody was picking up, so I kept debating with myself whether to go or chicken out.

I wanted to go because:

1. I wanted the experience (even if it means people will laugh at me when they see it).

2. My mum and brother knew about it, and I didn't want to back down because I want to make them proud (even if it means people will laugh at me when they see it)

And so, I went.

I got there almost 12:30pm, but was told there were some delays with the earlier shoots, so I wasn't considered late at all.

I waited for about 45 minutes before my turn came up.

Ridiculous! I thought it would be a shoot showing two colleagues discussing between themselves about execution of instructions, service delivery etc etc etc. But NO! We (me and this girl) were standing side by side, while the director threw questions at us and we would then answer after his prompt. It was pretty awkward, because while the other girl was talking, what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to look at her, nod to convey agreement, or just stare at the camera and smile?

Geez. I'm definitely going to be laughed at. But, what the heck. That's the perk of being a foreigner. You care for a few minutes, then you just forget about it. It doesn't matter if they laugh at me, there's not much people they can gossip with about me anyway.

Oh, what am I saying!? The moment they show the video, I'll probably be soooo red on the face, red as a cherry!

Skinny Pizza for Skinny Me (Future Tense)

I'm still on a diet (and will be so for more months to come), so it's a bit tricky to decide what to eat. Especially on weekends, when my friend and I find comfort in eating better food from nicer restos.

For tonight, we decided on Skinny Pizza, because I thought the pizza's would be ultra slim, and therefore still fit into my no carb diet.

The pizza is indeed very skinny. So skinny that it ballooned during the baking process, and you get this crispy and airy crust in the end.

We ordered the 12" English Breakfast pizza (bacon, tomatoes, mushroom, cheese, some veggies and a sunny side up egg), cauliflower soup (my friend's) and butternut pumpkin soup(for me).

Butternut pumpkin soup - it was too sweet for me and there was a hint exotic 'spice'. Didn't really like it much.

The English Breakfast pizza- It was pretty messy to eat, although I must say when you eat it with the veggies, it's quite refreshing. Made me think of sitting inside a clean country restaurant with all-white design, beside a wide window overlooking a clear garden path or an ocean, or just a wide blank space.

I probably won't eat the same pizza and soup again, although I might try the other pizza flavours.

Total cost: SGD20/person

Avatar's Neytiri is Looking at Me

The toy's special 'feature'

I bought a kiddie meal from McDonalds a month or so back.

I didn't care much about the toy, I just wanted the cheapest meal. So anyway, they gave me this Avatar toy which I found pretty freaky.

I left it in the office and forgot about it.

A few weeks after, I finally went to watch Avatar on 3D, because everybody was saying it's good. and I didn't want to be left behind.

I found the film pretty engrossing. It was really like trespassing into a different world and seeing new things, discovering new er things (for lack of a better word).

After watching the movie, I sort of understood them and accepted how they looked (as if it matters). So now, I have taken Neytiri home and she is on my work desk and er she's actually staring at me. It's still a bit freaky.

PS. I've repositioned her.

Brotzeit Pork Knuckles

Brotzeit therefore literally translates to: Breadtime

View from the second level. That e63 isn't mine =/.

The wall design

My drink: Apfelschorle - 100% apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water.

Sounds fancy, tastes ordinary.

The plate is toooo small, my utensils kept falling out of it and making noisy 'clanking' sounds.

My friends really wanted to have a part on this picture...

bread dumpling

The sinfully crispy and oily skin. So oily that it's probably one of the reasons why I developed a headache last night.

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I wanted to eat pork knuckles a few weeks back, but since I went on a diet, I never thought about it. Last night, my friend suggested Brotzeit (who's known for their pork knuckles). I never really resist on food, so we to Brotzeit at 313 Somerset.

We ordered their pork knuckles, which came with two sides: potato salad and bread dumpling. Then, we also ordered their sausage platter. Actually, both our table and the one beside us ordered the same thing. Except for the drinks. They ordered beer, while we ordered wholesome sodas and iced lemon tea.

The skin was very crispy (10/10). However, for the meat, we (my friends and I) all felt that the Philippine Crispy Pata is better because it's more flavourful. But I do have to commend that in terms of the meat being tender and juicy, Brotzeit's pork knuckles were able to cover that area. It wasn't hard at all, take it from me, who has a baby tooth at the back of my mouth so I couldn't really take tough, overly fried food.

The sausages were okay. It's as sausagey as a sausage can get. I loved the one with cheese, but the rest were just regular tasting. I miss Purefoods tender juicy hotdogs from the Philippines. Nothing beats their red hotdogs!

Total bill was SDG99. But after the 10% discount from using UOB card, it was down to SGD91 for 3 people. Not bad.

KFC Eggtart

I prefer it burnt..

This is something new. KFC is now selling eggtarts.

Of course, my friend I tried it. Hoping it tasted something like Lord Stow's from Philippines.

The crust wasn't flaky and it was a bit too oily. The egg mixture isn't creamy (but in fairness, it was quite thick). But in all, it's okay. I think it's even slightly better than the egg tarts sold at those small kiosks in some malls.

It's 1.30 per piece.

Bloopers

I called DHL:
The girl: I'll check Sally's file if it's in her records.
Me: Ok
The girl: Welcome

I've blogged about this 'welcome' thing before, and it happened again!

One RM approached me:
RM: Can I have a telegraphic transfer form?
Me: I'll print it. Just one set? (With my forefinger pointed for emphasis)
RM: Okay, I come back in a little while...

I asked 'Just one set?' and not 'Just one sec.'!

Aircon maintenance guy:
Guy: Change the battery on the remote or else it will spoil (the remote)
Flatmate: Okay
Guy: No need to buy the branded one Energiser. Some remote blah blah blah, you can buy other one in black for everyday use. Can buy the Everyday one.
Flatmate: Everyday? .... Eveready!
Guy: Oh, Eveready mah? *chuckled*

I was going to take his word for it for the brand 'Everyday', because I thought he was referring to a China imitation, but he really meant Eveready battery!

'Sorrow-looking' Office Furniture

That's me!

On our last department get together, I forgot how and why, but the big boss suddenly commented and said 'there's no one in our department who is more hardworking that (my name), except for me'. 'When I work late at night, she's also still in the office'.

'She's like an office furniture'

(First disclaimer: These are not the exact words, but just the context. I couldn't fully absorb what he was saying as I was in between feeling shy, flattered, surprised and dumbfounded.)

(Second disclaimer: I don't think I'm the second most hardworking , I just sit very near his room, and so he sees it when I stay late.

Well, it's not the best compliment, but I guess some people just find it hard to give one in the first place. I know some colleagues laughed about it (and I myself supplemented that I'm the cushion, before they can even supply other furnitures), some people were surprised and thought it wasn't nice. But for me, honestly I wasn't the least bit annoyed for being compared to a furniture.

The big boss knows my name, nods and smiles at me at times, recognizes my efforts in front of everybody. That's good enough (actually, a promotion would be better). I guess people will see me and remember the 'furniture' thing for a few months, but I'm perfectly cool with it.

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Sorrow face.

My RM (relationship manager) was going on a business trip, and he jokingly told me 'I'm going tomorrow, try not to miss me too much okay?'.

I'm really not good at witty comebacks, so I just muttered 'I'll try', accompanied by a smile.

Then I resumed typing, when this other RM from another team said 'Yeah, I can see it now, she wants to cry/looks like crying (can't remember which one)'.

Then my RM turned around (because our tables are back to back) and told the other RM "Don't take it wrongly, she just has this perpetually sorrow face".

Errrr... thanks for the gesture? I mean, I know he was just trying to explain to the RM, since he knew me better.. but hmmm.. that's the first time that adjective was used to describe my face.

I don't have the right to get irritated, because it's true! I have this perpetual frown indented on my forehead, near the start of my eyebrows (since birth and not an effect of real constant frowning) which makes me look frowny or 'in sorrow' if I'm not smiling.

Oh well =).

Taiwan Porridge

21Jan2010. 10PM. Bukit Timah.

Plain porridge with sweet potato. It's so much like how my mom cooks it... awww, I miss my mommy.

Cockles with sauce. I tried one. Er, it's raw.

Ngohiang Prawn roll, eggplant with minced meat

Egg omelette. My mom cooks something like this too! My mom has been cooking 'Taiwan' dishes without her knowing it.

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This Taiwan Porridge is in Bukit Timah. Which I would never ever know about if not for my friend and her boyfriend.

You order some ala carte dishes and then you order rice or porridge to go with it. The good thing is, it's free floooooow!

I had 3 bowls of porridge with chunks of gas-inducing sweet potatoes (it's true!). That's an awful lot for someone who's supposed to be on diet (it's my cheat day). Oh, porridge plus all the remaining dishes.. except for 3 pcs of ngohiang.

A super filling meal for only 9+/pax. This is super.

*shudder* That Was Fantastic!

I'm referring to what I felt after tonight's retail therapy. Haven't felt this bargain satisfaction since don't know when..

I tried 1 skirt (too wide), 1 brown top (a bit loose but still okay), 2 dresses which were 1 size smaller (XS). Both dresses had zippers on the side. I tried one, and almost couldn't remove it! I was pondering if I should call the girl to pull it off me. Mmm good thing I was wearing nice underwear.. but no! that would be humiliating! Why oh why did I have to force myself into the dress?

I realised I wouldn't allow that kind of humiliation, and decided to pull it off myself. If I tear it, then I will buy it. After a few moments of struggle, where my arms were outstretched and the dress was just there, and my head bent and hidden inside the dress, and I was not moving for a few seconds, I finally managed to pull it off (don't know how I grew another arm and hand that time, one which was long enough to pull it off from behind).

Whew! No tear whatsoever.

Lesson learned: Try one size smaller only for clothes made of stretchable material!

Cute cute pink Vespa tshirt from Bershka. It has some gems on the handle.

It's my second pink vespa shirt. I got the first one from Vietnam.

I even have a Vespa inspired pendant. I changed the original necklace because it turned copperish after one wear!

Cute! *proot proot proot* I can imagine the Vespa cruisin...
(I have no idea why I have this sudden fixation on Pink Vespa)

The knit dress.. a bit loose and does not conform to my body. But it's still okay. I tried it on with black tights, because it's a bit too short for me to wear it as a dress (I'm shy!)

Size Small BYSI dress. Only SGD14.70. Original price was SGD49. Amazing

Simple brown top, which would go well with my black skirt/s.

Pear danish

Mango apricto danish