Stockholm Wonders!

What another blog on travels? Not done with travel blogs yet?

Ok that is just my presumption of what my blog readers MIGHT think (which I hope is not true...is it??) Cos this is my 2nd blog, n coincidentally, it's abt travel. Well, it's not that i don't wana write about other things, but travelling (to some places at least) is sorta the Main highlights of my live now! Too peaceful in my new job nowadays.. No backstabbing or grunges about stupid managers or boring late nights...

Anyways, back to the topic in question, my 1st trip to Stockholm, of cos muz blog! I've been to Bangkok & Melbourne so far but i did not blog about those cos nothing much was done or happened. Stockholm, 1st time visit of cos muz talk abit abt it! It wouldnt be long (nothing compared to the Gunung Stong blog).

Some background info abt the trip:

Dates: 3-11April 2008

Purpose: Global conference (at least once a year)

Weather: Cold or cooling (snowed one day!)

Flight time: 12 + 3hrs in transit

Take away: Weight gain from the good food (this is not good!) & of cos knowledge!

Let's start... From Day 1 to Day 9! Haha kidding i'm not going day by day, it'll be boring!

Anyways, set off by THai Airways to Stockholm via Bangkok (3hrs transit in the wee hours is a terrible thing). Once i boarded the 2nd leg of the flight, it was immediate concuss & sleep...

Central station (just a train station)

Reached Stockholm in the early morning @7am & checked into hotel & off to office. Well since i was already awake, might as well just start the day! Our headoffice has a realli nice building, whole of 8 floors to themselves so cool! There's a gym & a big cafeteria inside where all employees take their lunch. It's not cheap though (for us maybe). It's buffet style & u pay 70SEK (~$16.70) each. Imagine having ur lunch e'ryday that costs u that much! But well, e'rything is expensive there. 1st day in Stockholm, weather is still fine, not THAT cold actually, just cooling with wind, manageable. 1st 2 days, nothing much, more of working in office & meeting the pple from my dept.

Sightseeing started on day 3 (the weekends). After a late breakfast, we headed off to walk ard the city enroute to our 1st stop - Old Town. I like the buildings in Stockholm. Very authentic & olden feel, really a town feeling!

Fruits galore!! Strawberries r damn sweet

Scenery of Old Town. Nice sky!

The gate of Old Town!

Beautiful clouds!!It was a 'great day' in Stockholm!

Old Town - Even older building, all very small shop houses that just looked like they're lifted from the fairytale stories! The walkways are also rather narrow! We went to walk through the narrowest lane (only 35inches apart!).

The narrowest lane in Old Town

Me@ the narrowest lane!I wana stretch my legs!!

Royal Palace was up next. This is nothing compared to Palaces I've seen elsewhere. It doesnt really have the very grand feel to it (maybe I should have gone inside to take a look??) but it doesnt offer a great view of the archipelago!

Royal Palace, not as royal as I had hoped

We continued just walking around Old Town (it's situated on a separate island from the main city) and off to another island and another. I walked a total of 3 islands! Along the coast, and viewing the scenery from opposite, gives a very calm & relaxing feeling. How great it would be during the summer to just walk along the coastal area & lazing the day away. (Abit too cold this time of the year with the wind blowing to njoy)

Katarina Lift. A great bird's view of the surrounding!

Saluhall, a Swedish market but it was not open when we went

Day 2 of sight seeing (Sunday) we went to Skansen, another big island. It's another serene island with lots of trees & nature & u c families bringing kids out for a walk! very relaxed mood. Good plc for families to spend on a Sunday morning!

Overlooking Djurgarden

Map of Djurgarden

Stockholm city from Djurgarden

Along the coast of Djurgarden
Hungry Hungry Yinkait devouring hotdog bread
Skansen!It's actually a museum
Memorabilias from Sweden

Map of Vasa Museum

Coast of Djurgarden

After Djurgarden, we went for a nice lunch at a good Swedish restaurant. Great food there! Seafood gratin (that costs bloody S$60 each bowl which is almost the size of my palm) soup. All of us were so damn full! Then we went for a stroll along the streets (saw cherry blossom!! No need for Japan haha) and the new town for a change in environment! THe buildings in new town are really futuristic & fantastic, by the harbour with a nice quiet ambience! Very modern design which is so different from what u get in Stockholm city!

What we had for lunch:

Starter, shrimp salad

Mushroom soup! Definitely home made!

The seafood gratin! Very nice but cldnt finish!

Cherry blossom in Stockholm!

The new town!

THe following week, the conference started! N it was a whole day of training & talks in the meeting room from morning till evening. Tiring but some topics were rather interesting & useful. Let me sum up a typical day:

Breakfast-Conference-TeaBreak-Conference-Lunch-Conference-TeaBreak-Conference-Dinner-Hotel

That's how a typical day went. Sounds boring rite.. Alittle haha! It's all eat listen eat listen eat sleep.. That's how the story of my weight gain arose! No time to exercise, n sitting ard whole day after food contributed to FATS!!! So now, i'm on HIgh Alert Damage Control!

We had 2 nights of group outing with the global team. Night 1, we went Sports Center for a night of games & fun! We were split into group s& competed on 5 games: Shooting, Golf, Soccer, Darts & Bowling. All of which I don't excel in, except Shooting which I shot 5 outa 8! But in the end, my team was the overall Champion! No prize though...But good fun!

Us with Inger (Secretary) @ bowling center

Aftermath of snow!!!

Snow on trees!

Night 2, came the more fun games! We set out onboard a cruise ship along the archipelago (with the Group CFO somemore) to a fort! After 1hr of cruising & snacking (another contributor to weight gain), we reached the fort & got ready for 1.5hrs of games & fun! We were split into 2 groups & competed in 6 rounds of physcial & mental games: Puzzle, Crosswords, Pinballs, Memory, Shooting etc. It was great fun but my team lost in the end. Well, it's all in the name of fun! After that, we had dinner (fine dining somemore).

Cruise boat along archipelago

MASA APAC team

Scene from cruise of archipelago

Along the river

MASA APAC @ fort Vaxholms Kastell

Starter - Lobster soup

Main course - Ravioli!

Dessert! Sorbet (right) is nicer!

It was a long long dinner stretching from 830 to almost 1130pm. By the time the main course came, we were already tired! By the time we reached hotel, it was past midnight! And the next day i was leaving Stockholm! Dragging my tired self back to the room, I had to rack up all energy i had to pack my bag & tidy up. By the time i was done, it was 2am in the morn & we had a morn session the next day!

Day of departure, dragging my tired self & bulging eyes, I went to office for my last session & said 'Bye' to the Global team by noon & off to airport! Another 15hrs of flight (+Transit time) & it was home sweet home & more sleep!

It was a fruitful trip & I enjoyed it! For the company (my team is the greatest! with jokes & more corny jokes) & the place & the fun!

What I have to do now: Catch up on my sleep (still sleep deprived from lack of slp on plane & not sleeping properly now), Lose weight (with help from my PT i think this will be acheived easily), & heal my eyes (doc say allergic reaction prob from the weather there..Weird though). Plan my next trip to Bangkok (for work) & diving trip in 2weeks' time! Yea leisure! So must lose even more weight b4 I don my bikini!!!

Now, that's not a long blog right! I told u so.... My live is too peaceful for me to rumble & grumble about things now.. hahahha So i may not update my blog as often! Oh wait, I have a diving trip coming up! That'll be my next blog entry! Oops..Another travel blog! Hahaha Well I didnt promise NOT to write abt travel.. It's a diving trip!

Till Next time.. This is Dian Shan, signing off......

Gunung Stong Expedition

On 20th march 2008 at 6pm, I embarked on a journey with a group of not so close people to conquer the highlands of Gunung Stong, at a height of 1,399m. This is my 2nd attempt at scaling the mountains, the 1st being Gunung Belumut at 1,010m. So it's a slight improvement! All thanks to Kin Peng (the link between me & the climbing grp. She was the one who jio-ed me to join her.) I almost cldnt make it to this trip, cos initially had a diving trip which was cancelled (thanks to Sebast!!) so last min decided to change gear & try climbing. Since it was a long wkend, y not do sth adventurous & interesting! Luckily she had a vacancy (someone pulled out) & in I went!

Being a Thursday and a working day, I had to pack my bags & bring it to work. So had all my barang barang, shoes torches, meshtin, sleeping bag & what's necessary for climbing & staying overnight at campsite ready & carried it to work. Luckily it was a training day, and thanks to my nice colleagues (they actually chased me off b4 5pm), I could easily leave office at 5pm, took a direct bus & arrived just on time 530pm @ tanjong pagar railway station!

A group of us, led by Lester, took a short ride from SG to JB to meet up with the rest of the gang. Tired pig as I was, I fell asleep soon at 9pm. Of cos, not b4 I met up with some of the pple in our grp & chatted with them. And begun the 11hrs tedious train ride to Dabong in Kelantan. Yes, surprising alot of pple (even those from Kelantan) have no idea where Dabong is! The train bunk was alright but extremely cold. Well at least I got a few hours of sleep & got up ard 6am for alighting!

21 March 2008
630am: Reached Dabong and headed to a nearby mamak stall for breakfast. N that's when we found out a group of TJC students were also conquering the same mountain as us, with exactly the same itinery!! Our itinery - Caving on 1st day, hike to basecamp & sleep, 2nd day up Gunung Stong. N TJC students had the same itinery! That's when the rivalry officially started! More on that later...

Group photo taken @ Dabong station

After our breakfast, and when dawn broke, we waited and waited and waited for our guide to embark on our caving tour. From 7am, to 8am, still no sight of the guides. So, to occupy our time, we started to play Pepsi Cola 1-2-3! While the TJ students stretched stretched & stretched... Like stretch for what? We were only going for caving...For those who don't have child-hood, it's a game where u start by jumping apart, and the aim of the game is to step on ur opponent's foot to eliminate them! Last man standing wins! Our aim - to defeat Lester!!! Round 1 ended in defeat, so round 2, we ganged up and strike! Finally Lester was defeated & I was the last woman standing!

Playing Pepsi Cola 1-2-3 and aiming @ Lester

830am - Started our caving trip with guide Jai (should be spelt that way). It was to be a 2-hour caving trip visiting 3 caves. Guide's instruction was to wear shoes (cos some rocks are sharp), but I did not bring shoes only strapped sandals, so I was the only one with sandals. Hey, I survived so it really doesnt matter!

Most interesting was the 1st cave! We had to walk through the very narrow pathway in the cave which is pitch dark, only lit by our torches. Then came the most interesting part - To crawl under the stone through a very narrow opening on the ground. This will surely get u down & dirty! Which it succeeded. Luckily i was a bit skilful & only got the tip of my t-shirt muddy. But it was fun! Following, we went the 2 more caves, climbing up and down to reach them & looking at stalmites & limestones formation. Quite interesting but the 1st cave still is the best!

Crawling my way under

Trying our hands @ being creative

Picture perfect!

After 2hrs, it's back to the mamak stall for lunch! Our dear OBS instructor He Yu struck gold when he stepped on a pile of elephant shit right in front of him! Haha sure strike 4D. He still had 'nightmares' about the incident on the last day of the trip.

After lunch at abt 1230pm, we embark on our hike to our basecamp!! Yes, that's when i realised, we have to trek with our full pack to our basecamp through the forest trail!!! Nobody told me that & that was y i went with a slingbag & a small bag, like going to beach resort. So since what's done had been done, I had to carry my slingbag & trek 1.5hrs up up up to basecamp. Yes, i was made fun of by Lester & gang but hey i'm not going to give up ok!

So up up we went, the trek up is not easy i tell u! some parts are rather steep & slippery. But i perservered, with my slingbag on one side & my bag on my back.. N back to the TJ students, they were right behind our backs when we climbed up! Obviously following our trails!!

Yata! Finally reached camp!

After 1.5hrs, finally we reached Jelawang camp! Camping by the waterfall! Cool! But on condition that no soap & shampoo allowed in the waters. Cannot contaminate the environment. N the toilet is rather disgusting... U had to flush with water from the river but most of the time, it is not done cleanly.

After settling down & pitching tents, we went for some R&R at the waterfall, dipping & washing up to clean ourselves. Not much to totally cleanse ourselves but sufficient. Anyway, e'ryone is dirty so doesnt make much of a difference! We had fun by the waterfall, dipping in the water, cooking milo & drinking milo.

Me & Angelina

Scenery @ Viewpoint. Beautiful!

Us @ Viewpoint

530pm: Cooking dinner time! E'ryone (18 of us) gathered ard our campsite & started cooking with our meshtins, stoves. Opening up maggie mee, canned food & even eggs! Nothing fantastic but it was great fun! And at close to 630pm, mother nature decided to cleanse us once more and brought upon us rainfall! Hurriedly, we shifted to shelters & continued cooking & eating!

3 musketeers @ waterfall!

Cooking dinner

Luckily the rain lasted for abt 1hr only, at 730pm it kinda cleared off, and brought upon a rather cooling weather! We went to the viewpoint for some moon appreciation night! Clear blue sky with a full moon. Quite nice and romantic! Good for couples!

Night scenery

Then it was R&R time again. We started to play cards - DaiDee, loser will be changed. I shall not explain the game other than the name comes from just that - Biggest card (literally translated as 'Dai') is 2 (which is called 'Dee'). Rounds after rounds, it seemed like dear Angelina is the big winner, so our aim for the night was to defeat Angelina, the so-called 'Gao Ren' (meaning Queen of DaiDee). Even though we did not manage to do so that night, we deeply believe that there is no such thing as Queen of DaiDee. And we had a record - Record 12 cards held by Kin Peng and 11 cards by Lester (FYI, total cards handed out at the beginning is 13).

9pm: Sleeping bug started to catch on all of us & it was lights out. Immediately it was back to slumber land rather instantly. We had to get up at 6am the next morning (for Gunung Stong people) and 5am (for Gunung Ayam people).

22nd March 2008

615am: Woke up after much stretching & reminding & procrastinating. Packed the day bag ready for the climb & went over the the view point for breakfast with the sunrise! Yes, now i can officially say that I have seen sunrise! I mean, who would wake up at 6am in the morning for nth but sunrise. SO now, with the climb to commence at 7+am, i had a reason to wake up early! N i did. We had our breakfast at the viewpoint, waiting for the sun to rise. At 645am, the sky was slightly amber, still waiting for Mr Sun to show us his face! At 715am, starting to see a slight glimpse of his round face. At close to 730am, finally, Mr Sun has awaken! And my mission is completed! Yes, I was tasked as the unofficial photog for Gunung Stong Expedition (Kevin was the photog for Gunung Ayam). So armed with shots of the sunrise, I returned to the campsite & started on our climb up!

Cloudy morning..Beautiful

Sunrise!!

Sun is up!!

And that's where the TJ story begins.....

At our 1st rest point, after our 5min rest, we spotted the TJ students approaching us. N we started to continue on. At our 2nd rest point (which is abt 40mins into the trek), TJ students were again at our back after we stopped for 5min. Instantly, we hurried up & started to continue our trek. At our final water stop, the TJ students overtook us! We stopped to get water, but they did not n went ahead. This sparked our desire to power on! Our leader for Stong, Kin Peng, hurried in front and gave me & Angelina an order - To overtake the TJ students, forget abt the rest of the group behind, as long as we get up there 1st! It doesnt matter that the whole group cannot reach the summit 1st, as long as part of the group reach 1st, we win! Haha.. So armed with this order, Angeline, myself and the guide powered on. Fastened our pace, never really stopping & on and on we went. Until we finally caught up with the TJ students & their rest point. Yesh! We told our guide that we cannot afford to rest, we had to carry on. Poor Jai (our guide). He only had a piece of biscuit & had to carry on at our orders hahahahaha...

Since that rest point, we powered on relentlessly non-stop, keeping an ear on the TJ students (yes, they cheer & sing along the way). Finally after close to 2hrs of non-stop trekking, we reached the summit! The 1st group up!!! Yesh!!! After a total of 3hrs, we reached the summit. An interesting note, I broke one side of my sandal strap on my way up, but still i managed.. Hehehe.. I pity Jai, he had to power on at our orders not getting much rest on the way up but he knew we had to beat the TJ students.. He was funny as well. He showed his butt in anticipation of the TJ students approaching (cos their chantings were really really loud).

Me @ Summit!

Us @ summit!

After abt 15mins, the TJ students came cheering & singing up the summit. But no matter, we reached 1st! Another 15mins past, and our group came strutting up! We had our light lunch at the summit, comprising of just bread, biscuits, muesli bars & fruits. We rested for almost 45mins, took our group photo & prepared for the descent. The rest of the group descended at 1145am while Kin Peng, Angelina, Me & Jai waited till 12noon to take a photo. The story is this:

Photo taken @ 12noon!

This is the 10yr anniversary for the climbing group. So their mission was to conquer 10peaks concurrently on 22nd march at 12noon. So we had to wait till 12noon, take a picture b4 we descend. No cheating!

12noon: We started our descend. Going down is always harder than going up. Going with the gravity flow. N it is not good for ur knees when going downhill. After abt 2.5hrs, we reached the basecamp. N started to pack our bags for the descent down to resort. Some people started cooking noodles to fill their stomach b4 the descent. After abt 45mins, the Gunung Ayam People came back. They reached the peak at 11am and stayed till 12noon as well! Slight rain started pouring but that did not disrupt our plans.

430pm: Started the descent down from basecamp. With full pack again. N once again. the TJ students just love to follow behind us! When we start descending, they start descending behind us! Of cos, we are not giving way!

Close to 6pm, we reached the resort, and rushed to the toilet for a more thorough bathe. It was no luxurious bathing area, just toilet with hoses for bathing, but at least better than nth. At least I smelled much better.

7pm: After all the cleaning up & packing, we left for dinner! Much better dinner at a Malay stall.

Us @ dinner place!

815pm: Headed to the train station to wait for the 1030pm train. While waiting, we started our DaiDee again to dethrone the supposedly Queen of DaiDee. N we proved! That she is a fluke! Haha, beaten terribly by us! Then it was stupid talking nonsense sessions & just playing a fool while waiting for the train, which was delayed for 1hr. So instead of 1030pm, it came at 1130pm.

1130pm: Boarded the train & instantly slumberland! Everyone was too tired.

23 March 2008

1030am: Reached JB and bade farewell to some of the pple who decided to stop in JB for some food while the rest of us carried on to SG

1115am: Reached woodlands checkpoint finally & Home Sweet Home!!

Total expenditure: S$130 (1st collected at the start of the trip)

Refund: RM50 (due to the superb savings by Kin Peng)

Actual expenditure: About S$105

Not too bad. & a great experience! It wouldnt be the last climbing expedition I hope! The best part is the crowd. Climb was tough at times but the people and crowd made the whole event fun & interesting!!! We are just a bunch of crazy fun pple hahaha... Don't be fooled by appearance, e'ryone is crazy outside of work!

FYI, the day i reached back to SG (23March) I had to fly to KL for training.. So off i went to the airport 2hrs after i reached home hahaha....

Updates, Updates, Updates!

Haven been updating since my last post on review of 2007... Hehe been lazy with blogging nowadays, maybe because my life has been too smooth sailing now that I'm out of that blood sucking company! Hahaha.. That's a good thing rite!?!?

Yes, finally u can start to check back to my blog! 1st 2mths of the year have been slow because the work has yet to pick up! Gota relax a little for Chinese New Year and such b4 really gearing up for upcoming projects! Yes more action installed in the coming months, in fact it'll start 2wks from now! Will be heading to Bangkok for training (Yes, I'm the trainer, not the trainee) So it'll be sth new for me! N some shopping!!!!!

New year, new company, new colleagues, new start! All have been pretty good so far! I nvr expected my new colleagues to be THAT crappy. Goes to show that generation gap does not exist when it comes to the art of CRAPOLOGY and gossiping. I'm the youngest baby in the group of 5 (including my Swedish boss) and a new member joining us (hopefully) in 1month's time. Wana see my family?

Notice 1 extra person? She's Carol and she has left the Singapore office to venture in our US office. Still under the same grou pbut different location. That's our farewell dinner for her! Don't they all look so sweet and cultured... Hahah not to say they're not, but deep inside, they're the most crappiest pple I have met and cultured in multiple areas and colours (haha interpret it in whatever ways u want, it'll apply). N of cos experienced! Sure to learn lots from this group of pple! One interesting fact - My boss (the angmo in specs) LOVES sweet & sour pork, and he only attacks ONE stall in Golden Mile food center - the economic rice stall n only orders sweet & sour pork + bean sprouts and nothing else.

Arh, then it's THE wedding of the year - Not tat great, just that it's my first wedding dinner I've attended for 2008 (with more to come). N this belongs to dear Mr Alvin Tan! Yes THAT man. Gota give him BIG face... All dressed up and dolled up to go.. In the end, his friends say i look Ah Lian cos of my golden streaks... Haiz... But worry no more! Those are gone! I've dyed my hair violet! Haha back to basics!

Yes, Chinese New Year just came & 6 more days left (FYI, CNY is a 15-day period). As usual, it was reunion dinner in JB and back to SG on the 1st day. As usual, it was a boring trip over the causeway and back. As usual, it was steamboat dinner. But this year, we have an extra guest! My cousin's boyfriend from China. N that prompted everyone else to focus their attention on MY CURRENT STATUS! What a surprise! What else will they ask? So it was a nite of fiedling questions like 'Got bf?', 'Y no bf?', 'When are u getting a bf?', 'Bring ur bf'... U get what I mean. Just smile n divert..eat, watch tv or sleep hahahah. This is getting worse. Once this starts, there's no ending. Next year, I must try to skip CNY. And 'boss', u have been tasked with the mission u have promised since 3 yrs ago, which I doubt u'r ever going to succeed hahaha!

Getting angbao from Ah Ma, after which I slept through the countdown

And what's the end result of CNY? Exercise, exercise and more exercise! Gota get rid of those extra pounds and fats from all those yummy but evil CNY goodies. My fav - Hae Bi Hiam (Dried Chili Prawn Rolls) and Cashew Nuts! Hahaha I'm a nutty person. So more spinning classes, more combats & Pump classes! Not to forget YOGA!!

Photo Montages 2007

Happy New year readers!! My 1st entry in 2008, and the 113th post since 1st incorporation!!! What am I going to blog about? Ha, cos I was just too bored at work, I decided to do sth productive and at the same time try to decorate my workstation! Yes, finally I have my own workstation it's so cool! So I have to TRY to decorate it to reward myself!

So what's the product of wanting to decorate my workstation and being too bored at work?? The idea of creating photo montages for the year 2007! N what best subject than travel photos! Yes, 2007 is a year of travels! Been to TOO MANY places as compared to previous years - Bangkok, KL, Vietnam, Cambodia, LA, San Diego, SF, San Jose, Perhentian and Gunung Belumut in M'sia. So once pumped in the oil, the engine just started to keep rolling until everything is complete and finally after about 1week, I have completed all!

9 in total, cos I split some travels into two montages (just too many photos to choose from) and I did an overall photo montage for some occassions and events that happened in 2007.

Hereby, I present, My hardwork - Photo Montages 2007:

1st trip of the year Gunung Belumut to climb mountain

Diving trip to Perhentian - Got my Advanced licence and made great friends (Best & Angie)

1st family trip in a LONG time to KL

2nd Diving trip to Perhentian (I love the place man)

1st business trip in my 3.5years - LA!! Cool rite!

My most ambitious 3 week backpacking trip part 1 - Vietnam

Part 2 - Cambodia

2nd business trip to US again - SF this time! Great place man!

Review of 2007 - Some of the happy events and occassions I was involved (CNY, farewell, birthday, weddings to name a few)

So that's the end of my story in 2007. Interesting photo montages? I hope u guys like it. It took alot of effort & determination to complete it once started hahahha and I'm glad I persevered through. What's for 2008? Who knows?!?! Keep posted!!

Reflection 2007

"Who is that girl I see, staring straight, back at me, Why is my reflection someone I don't know??" - Christina Aguilera "Reflections" from "Mulan"

Haha, a cliche opening but well, the essence of this post (the last post of 2007 and my 112th post) is on reflections. Of the past 12 months. History, some people say what's there to reflect on? It's already past tense! Well, why do we study or learn history? To learn from the past and prepare for the future! To understand what we have achieved or done wrong or done incorrectly and hope to change for the better!

2007! Ah, it has been a great, fantastic year for me! For the past quarter century (yes, now u know how yound I am!!), I must say 2007 has made the most impact on my life. It's a cliche, but really, it seemed like yesterday when I just celebrated the start of 2007!! Ok, I was too young during the 1st few years of my life to really reflect on what I did. But 2007 was really an important year for me in many aspects. All the ups and downs, happiness and sadness, surprises and developments. All those dramas happening within the year. Eventful year, year of change and new realisation....

Year of happiness, Ah.. Lots of beautiful memories... Best year of my life in travelling!! 2 trips to the US, on short assignments led to my extended tour of LA, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose! Great trip I had, saw some really beautiful sceneries, experienced really cool american culture and met great people! I really loved the place! Then there was my annual backpacking trip, which is by far the most adventurous and biggest scale so far -- 3 weeks to Vietnam and Cambodia with my buddie Ting Mei! It was tough at times and tiring cos of the travelling but the experience we gained is priceless! The beautiful place, the great pple we have met along the way and the rich culture of the places we went to... I love it!! Must say thanks and sorie to Ting Mei for tagging along with my sometimes extreme way of backpacking kekeke...

Then there was the diving trip! I really AM glad that I went for the diving trip to Perhentian in May with Ting Mei. It almost did not happen cos of a previously arranged trip that was cancelled due to some reason (which I shall not explain). But am glad it did cos this trip was really one of the highlights of the year! It made me love diving even more and of cos got to know more great frens! Which I initially DID NOT anticipated. I thought, well just another diving trip like the one in Phuket. But lo and behold! We bonded like old frens! Met really great personalities there like Sebastian (our instructor) and Angie (haha the wild one). And we are still great frens till now! All thanks to them and their crazy antics, it made our short stay there so much fun! Of cos our 2nd trip back there in July was as much fun since we've gotten much closer since!

Then there is the change of job, for the better! Finally after 3.5 years of suffering under the wings of EY, i had enough and changed my job to Internal Audit. Hope for the best in the coming year!

Of cos there are some sadness and down moments. The leaving of the dear senior manager on my most important job in EY - Priy. He was and still is the greatest senior manager I have ever met! He is one without pretenses, without air and u can easily just chat with him like a regular colleague! He speaks his mind and appreciates if u do so as well, not like the locals who r so damn political. He is the only senior manager whom I can speak my mind freely with, even though he has gone back to Australia, we still keep in contact and gossip once in a blue blue moon!

Then there is the end of a wonderful relationship. It was great and happy while it lasted but painful when it ended (I don't show it, but it really did hurt) I was really happy during the period. It really opened me up much more, opened my eyes to the world and brought me out of my hermit state. I got to know more frens and they were great! While it did not last, I was happy that it started. Maybe it's just fate...

Of cos, the passing away of my uncle, who fought with diabetes and pneumonia before finally losing the battle. I am not one who sheds tears easily, but this was one moment when I really did. Looking at his emancipated body and lifeless face, I'm actually glad that he left us, as that meant an end of his endless sufferings. It made me ponder on life. He was such a strong and healthy man, and suddenly just suddenly he was down with diabetes which literally reduced him to someone without life! He was weak and shrivelled down to near bones. It really is heartening to see a man who was once strong and fit, become weak and unable to excert too much strength. Life is so unpredictable. So LIVE LIFE!!!

Of cos, there are many 1st times as well for me!

Look at my transformation, from long hair to short & funky(within 1yr)

1st time after 8 long years, I cut my hair SHORT!!! Yes, from near waist length, I cut it to shoulder length 1st, and further reduced it to the famous POB (named after Posh Spice) within 2mths and dyed it red (yes also my 1st time dyeing my hair). Then followed much more trimmings to even shorter and dyed my fringe bright red, hence the name Flamingo bestowed upon me by Guy Fawkes aka Cinderalla Man aka Ho Wee Lin. Still have my short hair 1 yr since and I think I'm going to keep it short (tho i told myself b4 to give myself 1yr of short hair). I think i look good with short hair. But who knows what will happen few mths down the road.

1st time i got drunk, all thanks to Flaming Lamborghini! That's a drink ok. I really was gone case after that drink. And that happend on my 1st trip to MOS!!! After that 1st time, I got drunk 2 more times, once in Perhentian and once during our EY drinking session. That was all. I hate to be drunk, what a terrible feeling after!

1st time i missed my company's dnd. haha n it just happened to be my last year with EY and I missed it! Damn!!

1st time on business trip, which were the 2 US trips.

Of cos I got lasik!!! A new fantastic development that spelt the end of spectacles and stupid lens! I can see clearly now the sky is blue! I LOVE IT!! Must take care of my eyes now.

This is also a year when I really started to be more adventurous in my dressing. Think I started to be more feminine in my wardrobe haha.

I think I changed quite a bit in 2007. I have become more open and adventurous. My outlook of life has changed a little and I think I've become more outspoken (though I shld improve on that). Maybe it's the short hair that influenced as well! Ever since i got my hair cut, people start to think I'm a wild gal! Which I AM NOT!!! I've become much more independent as well! It's a change for the better i think.

I have also got to know more of my colleagues in EY (now become ex-colleagues). 1st and foremost is Cinderalla Man, whom I found out to be quite as crappy as me!! Of cos some other new colleagues whom I sorta clicked with and can just talk crappy things with! Those are the pple who made my last few wks in EY really really great! Of cos there are those who left long b4 me...

Recently, all thanks to facebook, I have found alot of my old classmates and noticed that alot of pple have changed. One of my JC mate pointed out that he sensed that I have changed since my jc days. And that was only through msn-ing that he pointed that out! C how drastic the change has been since JC days (abt 6yrs ago).

Quarter of a century. Maybe that's the time to mold a person to what he or she will become. Maybe it's the working experience that changes people. World is alwayz changing, and pple will change in response to environment. For better or worse. Nothing is for certain. So we must learn from the past, and forecast for the future.

What do I hope for 2008? Resolutions? I don't believe in them. Cos most of the time they are not fulfilled.

I hope for the best in my new job. I hope for a healthier lifestyle (I will try to go gym more often and try to stop snacking on tidbits). I hope for more money (maybe i shld start to buy 4D and ToTo). I hope for some sparks in my love life. I hope for good health to my loved ones. I hope for WORLD PEACE (not kidding this is damn important)

Also, I hope u guys will continue to read my blog!!!

Happy New Year

Continue in 2008!!

A New Beginning!!

A New Beginning has finally BEGUN!!

1st, I've got lasik done, finally after 12 years, I can finally see the world clearly, without the help of glasses or lens. What a wonderful world! The feeling is so shiok!

Of cos it doesnt come cheap at $3K+ but it was all worth it. No more hassle, no more spending on lens (which can be bad for eyes n dangerous if contaminated), no more glasses which is inconvenient when it comes to sports. I LOVE the feeling. Money well spent. Well, the only inconvenient thing is the after care. For 1-2weeks after, cannot do alot of things like gym, washing eyes etc. So I must tolerate!!!

Of cos, a new job beginning! Started work on 21st (Friday). Office was damn empty cos e'ryone was on holiday. Good too, cos it just means an easy start to pick up things. So far so good, nth much to do n colleagues seem reali nice. I'm the most junior so i'm the baby of the team hahahah....1st assignment for 2008 will be a biz trip to KL in mid jan for 1 wk. Then after tat will be china, thailand, australia and possibly a Global Audit Meeting in Stockholm.

So far everything seems smooth, just hope it all goes well. A little scared abt the new job cos it's reali sth new & looking at their past reports, seems like alot of findings & a little amazed at their ability to pick those up. Hope I can learn quickly n contribute as much as I can!

Finally got a desk of my own (abt the size of the EY manager's table), own wireless phone. Can start decorating my desk! Of cos it comes with cabinet & cupboard. & a new pantry with food (containers of biscuits & a posh coffee maker).

Well, Xmas is around the corner, and 2008 is fast approaching. So wish everyone a GREAT XMAS and a fruitful, fulfilling new year 2008!! Hoping for a fun xmas & new year party soon...

The End of the Beginning

Oh so poetic so cliche....hahahha But it's true!

10122007, the day when it all ended. The end of late late nights, the end of sufferings, the end of crazy standards, the end of stupid managers..But it also spells the end of close peers (though only a pathetic few are left), end of comfort (well in audit, u can just sit and wait to be promoted every year), end of taking ridiculously long leave (like 1month). But all in the name of good! Ah so holy hahah.. I'm leaving for a better world (i believe it to be true), leaving for a better life (more standard working hours), leaving for a new, totally different environment where survival of the fittest is the most apt description. Commercial world is different from audit. In audit, we are alittle sheltered. There is no competition to fight to the top. Promotion is almost guaranteed every year for everyone. U don't get fired ever! Maybe it's time to move on, to test out ur own market value & survival instinct!

Am I excited? I get asked by alot of pple. Truth be told -- I'm actually at peace. I don't feel overtly excited or nervous. I'm just -- calm. When it comes, it comes! I'm not jumping with joy or fidgeting with excitement. I'm just calm. It's just another job. I'm not expecting much cos the more u expect, the greater the disappointment. So i'm just trying to keep a clear open mind. Go in with a clean slate, better able to absorb and observe.

I'm actually more excited about my lasik surgery (next mon n tue) Finally i will get clear vision without lenses or glasses. U can nvr imagine how great the feeling is to be able to wake up in the morning, open ur eyes in bed n be able to see the surroundings clearly! Any chauffeurs available on 17th n 18th late afternoon?? Xiaomianyang, u said u could make it.. can come drive me home??

Countdown begins once again.. 10 more days to the start of a new employment...

Birthday @ Fish & Co

Belated birthday dinner with some of my closest friends.

Location chosen: Fish & Co @ Glass house.

Nice ambience and really crowded with youngsters, teenagers and of cos adults!

Seems like e'ryone loves to go there for birthday celebration! Birthday song was replaying itself every 5mins!

Starving diners we were, orders were made within 5mins. But dear god! The wait for food was agonising! So we took the time to test out the camera and did some Kodak moments!

Say Cheese everyone!
Me N Cindy

My food, fish,chips n veges

The time came for the star of the day - My birthday cake! N it was carried out by the Fish & Co staff. Yes, i guess it's the Fish & Co tradition to do a birthday song for the birthday star. So being the star of the day, I was made to stand on a chair (although I am tall enuff), put on a hat (which i bet was worn by tons of pple) and sparkle on hand! Then it started.

"Everybody, we have a birthday girl in the house"!! Shouted the staff and everyone was made aware. Ok this is rather embarassing..I just stood smiling & laughing and they started the Fish & Co birthday rap & song. It was very LOUD. Oh well, all in the name of fun! I'm a fun girl as well!!

Me with the hat n sparkle

Us with the cake!

Yum Yum Nutella cake!!

The rest of the night was really fun with us just gossiping, poking nose into alvin loke's private life and dreaming of Seowling's wedding next Sept. Yes, long time away but damn we're so excited abt it! 1st of our close frens getting married, of cos we're excited!

The last of my birthday celebration..N back to working crazy hours the following week...

But, doesnt matter, the end is near, the light is clear! Monday is my last day. The day I say goodbye to 3.5yrs of late nights, sad life, no life....The day I prepare to embark on a new journey, new life, new job! More time on hand, hope to discover more new things!