and i just received more bad news.

i have to work this weekend, the next weekend, the weekend after next and well, it's basically every day for the rest of this month. true, it's not retail hours, but there's no off days for me and i'm not paid overtime. i wonder if this is even legal. lol, doesn't take much to find out. but nevermind, considering that the whole year has been pretty lazy, i will do the necessary sacrifice.

my only regret is not seeing enough of abbie. maybe we could work around this tricky thing. well, one can always hope. yep.

but of course i'm not going to let december slip by just like that even if my weekends are burned. nope nope. i need to do some serious self enrichment in between pockets of time and achieve other things.

December Goals
1. prepare 12 amigurumis for display
At least after that, I might be able to have it displayed in Iluma. I'll be able to have my very own display box. How cool is that? Though it's only a dream for now, I have the hope and confidence 

2. finish the EQ book
remember the book prize? -.-

3. read all about touring Europe!
yeah! in preparation for next year. probably sophie's world has bits of Europe too.

4. buy the FX trading book that I saw the last time in popular
it looked easy to understand, but i didn't buy it, seeing how averse i was to finance..and of course, basic common sense that i shouldn't spend money on hated subjects. BUT i shall not let irrational dislikes disrupt my curiosity to try new things. and if i didn't try it, i would never know.

yep, that's all.. pretty heavy goals for 4 weeks. i think i will just spend most of my free time on the amigurumis. the rest is just for variety.

anyway i'm meeting abbie and yonghan this saturday night after work. i've finally gotten my poems account and am dying to get my hands burned in the stock market. i just need a basic idea of how to go about doing it. haha.

there you go, two baby steps (intention to dabble with fx and stocks) towards finance for me, and another two baby steps towards my little passion (amigurumi exhibition and blogshop).

and finally, it may jolly well be a waste of time for me to be doing so many things which are not related. but seriously, if life was a piece of graph paper, i wouldn't want to plot a straight line.



celebration 1 : I am going to Europe
abbie said we could go to europe next year. *dances around*  we could go in May during spring time...

after some rough calculations, i think i need to save around 7k, 4k+ for the package, 1k for the additional tours and another 1k for expenses...OMG but nevermind, i should be able to save up this much if i'm strict with my expenses for the next few months... besides i feel all motivated to save money again... xD

celebration 2: Abbie's sleepover next week
abbie's coming over to my place for a sleepover next week... i'm thinking i might not get to see him frequently these few weeks because of christmas preparations... but this is definitely a yay for me.

celebration 3: Only 2 months + till our ROM
*wedding march*
deng deng deng deng
deng deng deng deng
not the actual wedding, but good enough for me
abbie already got the solemnizer, just need to do the registration...

yep that's all for the celebration...

I guess next week's going to be an exciting one...
gift wrapping course for me on tuesday morning till afternoon.

I'm still waiting for my pottery to be fired...



woody is so cute.

he's got this corner which he hides his food. this corner is obvious because it's got the most woodshavings. recently he de-bibed his baby elephant toy and placed the elephant bib on top of the heap like some sort of a decor ornament.

i guess i would do that too if i were a hammy.



finally, my online amigurumi website has been officially launched at thepixieshop.blogspot.com ... sort of.

it's as empty as hell, and siskapoo thinks the layout suck. but oh well it's really tiring to maintain multiple blogs... i have already tried my bestest and i refuse to put in anymore effort for something which brings in nothing.

so much for the entrepreneurial streak. i guess nothing works if you just put in 20%. but i don't have the confidence to put in more. i already have a job.



went down to bugis yesterday to look at the bazaar setup. so far so good, though storage wise, i've been advised that i will face difficulties during the peak season. abbie was asking me why they placed me at the bazaar knowing that i haven't any experience.

good question. i haven't any idea. maybe they'll change their minds.

ate at ebisboshi with abbie after work... dropped by cat socrates to see how the little ones were doing and hellen told me that some customer went to shake it. oh well, sort of expected it already.

bought movie tickets for harry potter.
a little bit on the long side, but still a great show. so sad it's at its 2nd last...

i just finished my 2nd amigurumi...
maybe i should get started on the bunny.



been going home late these few days. not that late actually, but later than usual.

still, i had plenty of free pockets in between stuff.
am hoping that i will be utilized fully before having to stay back, but it seems like this won't be the case.. of course. just hoping that my weekends don't get burned. at least not so soon?

which reminds me...
i have a followup chicken pox vaccine this saturday. another 80 dollars poorer.... but still, a really small price to pay for immunity towards something so ugly, uncomfortable and risky.

will take a bath, settle down, crochet a little and go to bed.



just stocked in my stuff in cat socrates... skeptical about the price that i have set... but well, it's christmas now, so i'm at least a little bit hopeful...

i finished 2 more amigurumis today... even though they were "forgotten" projects in the pipeline... i managed to get them together... it's not easy though... crocheting them is not difficult. it's getting the pieces together and making sure that the expression and everything else is correct is hard.

bunny amigurumi, christmas edition






teddy amigurumi, christmas edition


woody's new bungalow
comprising of 1. the attic (pee corner), 2. the old sock and food corner, 3. the hut and 4. water, wheel and toys corner.





and right now, i'm determined to do so.
i don't know why, but i suddenly feel inspired to write and publish a book on crafts.

the life of a poor "artisan" really sucks... and it sucks so much, i don't know whether just to bang my head on the table.. chew on my yarn... or throw the crochet hook at someone.

i don't know... i spend hours on end, painfully crocheting a doll and in the end, after selling them at some 30 dollars, less the consignment fees and raw materials, i am earning a miserable amount and am so much better off working in my day job... sigh...

anyhow, i already have a structure in mind. and yes, the structure is for the whole book. it came out quite easily for me.

there's quite a number of amigurumi craft books floating around and doing it better isn't easy at all. but i'll do it different. definitely.

umm, not sure what's gonna happen. very time consuming i guess, and i'm gonna lose my drive and succumb to laziness...but at least, i don't think it's going to cost a lot... i don't know... what's the worst that could happen? i could sell it online if nobody's gonna publish it or something. yep.

i will need to create new things... and record down the methods/patterns... something which i have been lazy at doing. after everything has been done, i could sell the dolls online or cat socrates, as i am already doing now.

or, i could teach my patterns at spotlight. not sure if they would want me, but i have someone in mind to approach to help me. :d

ah, i suddenly remembered why i feel compelled to write a book.

i've always wanted to because it's something that i like, just that there's greater urgency now. my passion currently brings me the rags, not the riches. rags refers to both the day job and my side job. maybe riches in terms of satisfaction and experience, but definitely not riches in the literal/money sense.

i've always wanted to go to europe with abbie, but i cannot afford it. this is a painful reality that abbie has driven home. so it'll have to wait until 2012.

waiting 1 year to achieve a wish such as this is ridiculous. stupid.

true, i have to save up for the marriage and stuffs. but is there nothing else i could do in the meantime? even if i don't get that pay raise, even if my amigurumis aren't bringing in the bucks, even if my book don't sell and even if i can't teach, surely i can do something about it. i definitely have to be more proactive, because there's nothing left to lose.

or if you put it in an optimistic way, there's everything to gain.



stumbled upon this interesting exercise (about finding one's direction in life) on the net. the writer called it the Heart, Body, Mind, and Soul exercise...and so i've decided i shall do it to see what comes out of it...

Questions to answer
* What do you want to do? (desire)
* What can you do? (ability)
* What should you do? (purpose)
* What must you do? (need)

Then you look at your list and try to see if there’s anything or any thread that made all four lists. 

what i had wanted to do when i grow up - my desires
i think at some point in life (when i was below 12 years old), i had wanted to become a scientist... a detective..an artist or a pianist when i grow up.. i wanted to work in a pet shop... a zoo... or a farm because i love being with animals.. i wanted to work with the lego company, little tikes, toys r us, playdoh and all the other cool toy brands that i love to play with, even now.

i like solving mysteries and puzzles. i like playing and having fun - literally. i like to build blocks and knead dough to create something of my own. i like animals because their behavior is simple.. unlike humans. who insist on complicating simple things.. i like designing.. though i don't have the patience nor heart to re-sketch, redesign or refine.. stuff like that. which brings me to my next point

for someone who can work on a grueling project spanning many months, i actually have a very short interest span. i can be passionate about something for some time.. and after that time has passed. you can count on me to be very unpassionate about it. haha..

what can i do - my abilities
systematic thinking. i am concrete and logical, i guess.

anything with words and numbers should be easy enough. though, probably not the engineering kind of calculations, nor the philosophical kind of words..

i think i'm quite good with my hands (crafts) though there's probably many who are much better than me.

i am much more careful and meticulous than the average worker... tho when there's too much stuff floating around me, i sometimes make mistakes too.

finally, i think i'm really a jack of all trades: music, crafts, business, a bit of engineering and computing.

what should i do? (purpose)
honestly, i have no idea.

helping people and making them happy is good. having fun and relaxing is good. creating beautiful things is good.

what must i do? (need)
i need to earn lots of money to support my family and pay my debts, to build my dream house, tour my dream tours and live my dream life (which is mostly doing my own things at my own time and earning peanuts - tested and proven).

i need to work in a place where i am free to be myself. free from false pretenses and other time wasting complexities. free to create the things i want whenever i want, to work hard and to idle.

ok i have completed this exercise but it has not lead me to anywhere.
maybe i'll think about it a little bit more.

*************
shopping trip at vivo
went down to vivo to get some supplies for my craft yesterday and after walking for like 5 hours, i could not find some crucial things that was needed.

2x glass fishbowl/globe
food bowls just wouldn't do... i've seen a couple of smaller betta bowls on sale at the aquarium shop but those cost 18 bucks. yikes.

small autumn maple leaves. 
no luck in daiso. they sell huge ones though. gah. do i really have to make everything myself?

dried starfish
remember seeing some in chinatown last time. no luck in vivo

hamster dollhouse
no luck in pet safari

still, i managed to complete another "terrarium" without the glass globe -.-


bought the basket and zeolite pebbles from daiso, but managed to dig out some shells from my stash of odds and ends.. and do up a small card from paper, potpourri and felt.



not gonna get to meet abbie because he's got work to do for the whole day :(

but nevermind, i shall preoccupy myself with a couple of things which needs to be done:

1. tidy up my room a little bit more
2. buy more glass containers and stuffs from daiso to do up my amigurumis for sale
3. drop by cat socrates to stock in stuff and get paid
4. check with pearl if my pottery is ready for collection
5. check on the status of my application for philipsecurities account
6. return library books and borrow new ones



lookie who i brought home today...

 it's cheeky hunny bunny bunny bunny hunny with a huge red nose that is totally squeezable.




you know bird watching... but do you know abbie watching?



just be careful not to get carried away too much with the stalking...



pilfered from the designer's camera :3

training


dress up




limbo rock

prizes

group pics









this week had been crazy. stayed back till at least 11 pm for mon and tue to prepare for a company function. the thing finally ended on wed night at 11 pm..

at least the whole thing turned out well and everybody enjoyed themselves... even the fairytale dress up theme was a success... the staff really took it seriously, which is heartening... the venue's toilet was packed for at least a good half hour... and they all emerged with dresses, suits, butterfly wings, capes, hats, long noses, broomsticks and make up...

what's even better is that it was a break away from the tradition of cultural night, which i think is more suitable for a much older and more serious crowd.

received a book prize along with 2 other colleagues for helping to organize the event. i guess i did learn a lot this time round... some games ought to be dummy proof so that it works when the time comes.. also, we should have been less strict with the games because i had intended for them to be creative... but that's all right because i know what to do next time.

my only regret was that we didn't allocate more prizes to the dress up since a lot of them made the effort. should have cut down on the lucky draws. why leave rewards to chances when we can give them to the people who earned them. yep.

christmas is almost here. spent yesterday afternoon catching up on some work and listening to a few sets of christmas carols. maybe can make some suggestions as to what could be played in the stores.

opps, that's all for now.
running late for work...



piano
someone's gonna come by to see the piano tomorrow morning... was reluctant to have the viewing on a weekend since it can potentially ruin my plans. the shelf buyer took eons to come on friday morning and i couldn't leave the house.

anyhow, i hope i can sell it off for 388... still, i guess i will miss it when it finally goes... oh well.

polaroid
am still thinking whether i should get a holga camera with a polaroid back.


it'll cost me around 200, excluding the film. the polariod back is about 130 and the holga cam about 60-90 depending on the model that i'm gonna get.

abbie was telling me that it's a waste of money because i'd be done with the camera once i have enough pictures to do a mini mosaic in our room... but i think i could always continue to shoot pictures.

besides, i think the framing of the question is a little off when he asks if there's any use for the cam once i'm through... it should have been something like: are physical keepsakes worth this much?

and then, i'd probably say... yes.. maybe much more.
but i'm still thinking about it because i'm poor :|

woody
is really sweet and well behaved today.

i took a long lie down on my bed today and placed him on my stomach. he looked at me for the longest time... looked as in stood on his two hind legs and stared... after a while, he settled down and rested there without the usual squirming... and let me stroke his back.

i think it must have been the sunflower seeds. i munched a good 1/4 packet (the large one) that abbie bought for me during my pottery class today and got my blouse slightly dirty. woody must have thought he was lying on a giant sunflower husk or something like that...

pottery
it was my last class today.


i definitely have plans to go back and try out some other stuff, but since a weekend afternoon schedule no longer works... i'm not sure how i can do this again next time...

anyway this is the stuff of next year.
i reckon i would be able to come up with an idea by then.

also i would love to try oil painting. but there's no room for such things at home.

abbie's sleepover
the sleepover this weekend was great. we watched the owl movie and it's like a watered down version of lord of the rings... a little too straightforward, but still nice. i still find the concept of being moon-blinked very funny.


we had intended to drop by bras basah to stock in one of my new creations, collect payment and check out paintings + lomo camera but i changed my mind in the end because i was too tired and it looked like it was going to rain. so i guess i'll just do that next week.



yessh, after a long long long long while, i managed to get something done today :D
i call it the beary lovely terrarium... dumb sappy name i know... but can't think of a better name


don't wanna sell it for so much either... because i don't think it can fetch that much...

but i don't have a choice. after the cut by the consignee i only get 26 back... and that's really little, considering the cost of the raw materials for this alone (unlike the previous ones that i have done) is more than $10 :S


thinking of selling him at tea cosy instead. don't think the rates are any better than cat socrates... but i think i shall just ask.



room plan in place
after weeks on the drawing board (or notebook) i finally settled on the layout of the room. it would be funny if it turned out shitty. most probably it would since i haven't any experience...

i read online that white furniture will turn yellow. but i'm still going ahead. the whole room's gonna be white. white bed and shelves, table. only the book shelf is red. and we'll have a green rug and beige curtains. yep this is the best and possibly the only time for me to try... with just 1 small bedroom, the damage can't be that great.

gonna buy a polaroid camera too... been wanting to play with one. and now i can decorate the wall with pictures of abbie. yay.

busy weekend ahead
managed to sell my old shelf for 20 bucks. the guy is gonna come tomorrow to dismantle and shift the thing away.... can't wait for my piano to be evaluated and sold. haiz...

afternoon will be at hock siong's...owl movie in the night... bowling with abbie's co the following morning (groans) and last pottery lesson in the afternoon. maybe drop by cat socrates to get my money. they managed to sell the elephant at last (they sold the other 3 last month, i think)... but still need to prepare invoice... argh

a busier than busy week ahead
next week is really tight. op manual form for STGCC is past due... and there's gonna be a large scale training on wed...

we had a good shopping trip today, getting all the necessary supplies... turned out to be really expensive... we're just short of getting some chocolate prizes... will get them over the weekend...

most importantly, i just hope things will turn out right.



was having a migraine so i didn't think i could go to the fc, but in the end i did.

wrote quite a number of letters yesterday and among the 4 people that i interviewed, i met this educated guy who was retrenched and couldn't pay his bills because he's unemployed for so long...

i think he was so emo and agitated that my friend peered over his booth to see what was going on in mine -_-

i don't know how he makes me feel. grim?
i guess i'm feeling that this could very well happen to me or abbie or anyone else that i know.

so the moral of the story is to:
1. always cherish your high paying job :d
2. be grateful that you're employed

just saw the news on yahoo that the retirement age may increase to 68... plenty of irate comments, as usual.
but well... i definitely want to work part time from age 50 onwards to 68 or whatever (if i could)...

not sure what i want to do then... maybe reclaim my piano skills? make more amigurumis? work in a cafe.. or a nursery (plants).

on a brighter note, i managed to get my friend from the fc to come to my house to do a valuation for my piano next tuesday after our volunteer session. hopefully, the price will be better.

and i think it would be, because 100 is too low, or so he said. he's also a band conductor, so any lobang from him is a bonus for me. hee.



tangled
finally, a movie that i feel like catching. too bad it's still about a month away...

abbie has been buying plenty of donnie yen movies and they're all... bloody :|  and this guy has been acting since 1982 so there's really a lot to watch... but guess what, i definitely won't want to spend another weekend to watch him die again. heh

selling my piano
somebody did a valuation for my piano the other day and it's worth 100... sounds a bit too little.
i've posted up an ad on locanto and there hasn't been any response... so maybe 100 dollars is just right.. lol

bowling
gonna go bowling with abbie's colleagues this sat... time to become part of the furniture again... :x



abbie made me promise not to feed meal worms to woody ever.

well, maybe once in a while? like once every 3 months or something. it's a promise i can't keep. and woody seems to have gotten fat suddenly. maybe i have caused him to overbinge :| but it's not necessary a bad thing... he seems less resistant to being handled.. or maybe he's just bribed by all the food.

in the mean time, there's still way too many worms so i'm giving some to my colleagues for his arrowana.



i joined pap. young pap actually. will get abbie to join as well so that we can attend stuff together :]

i bought a tub of worms. meal worms for woody.. and he devours them like yummy noodles... albeit naughty squirmy noodles that ooze the gross stuff.

siskapoo was insistent that i hide the worms somewhere so that mum would keep her nagging to tolerable levels... and so i hid them among woody's supplies... but who am i kidding. you mean you really believe mum wouldn't spot a jar of worms?

it's only a matter of time...yepyep.

i only hope woody finishes them before they all turn into beetles :|



did plenty of things recently. but life grows increasingly boring.

having had all the basics (i guess), maybe it's true that i'm taking a lot of things for granted. but i can't explain the restlessness. i feel compelled to try as many things as possible until i find out what's missing.

signed up for poems yesterday and looking to psycho abbie to join young pap with me. the idea of indoor rock climbing is also forming in my mind, even though it hasn't solidified yet.

i'm not sure exactly what i'm looking for. but whatever it is, i hope i find it soon.



actually, i'm looking forward to tuesdays...

there's not much of other highlights in my life, except for the ROM three half months down..and maybe later.. where abbie's gonna bring some meal worms from his place to mine so that i can feed woody his proteins. crunchy..

these days, my room is in a mess.
mess from the hamster's stuff, library books, clothes, bills and shopping bags... which i don't feel like cleaning up because we're going to do the room soon.

though, i wish we could do up our room sooner... maybe next week..
so that mum would stop harassing me about my mess and woody's 

first thing first, i'm thinking of arranging for some people to remove the piano, shelf and the two blue chairs and help shift siskapoo's table over to the other room. this will help create space for us to move in the furniture.

.



resolution for 2011
for better or worse, i will take control of my life.

training
happy news. training has finally come to an end today, after 3 months. in spite of the little slew of shits here and there, i'm relieved that there's still some sense of satisfaction in what i did.

can't say what 2011 will bring. but i am certain that training will never be the same again.

cca
i've been volunteering my tuesdays to writing appeal letters for the residents at bishan and yesterday was my third time. each session lasted for maybe one half hour and i'd get to type 3 to 4 letters.

overall, it's quite fulfilling even though i was initially terrified. i still am by the way, but i'm coping - the meaning in what i do gives me the courage.

am looking to join a couple of other stuff... but we will see.

woody
has the largest, pinkiest, fluid and veiny testicles.
and he likes to sleep on them. lol.

smoking ban
fully agree

save money
save the environment
no more negative externalities (and that means less migraines for me)
save lives
save families

people need to be saved from themselves.

they think they only have duty to themselves and they're fine with squandering their own lives away, which they term as freedom.

but they do not consider the feelings nor freedom of those who have to care for them if they ever fall ill. they have put self gratification above the happiness of their loved ones. and that is just plain selfish and irresponsible.



shoouup shoooouup shooouuup



no batteries required

what do you know... i guess woody is really cute even tho he's..totally.. destructive.






anyway, it's moments like these that makes me feel really...weary. weariness within weariness.

i screwed up again at work... or so i would think...definitely not the best day at work but also not the worst. still, everything ended on a somewhat positive note... or at least neutral..so it can't be that bad... right?

i still have not figured out what to do tomorrow. but i feel like i want to do nothing for a change. maybe return my library books...

managed to finish 4 of the 6 books that i've borrowed.. didn't finish the lky book - as predicted. it was taxing to read even though i found it interesting. i started on the last book today... pavilion of women. another long read....

maybe i'll clean woody's tank as well.. he's been shitting a lot... no diarrhea though. must be all the lettuce at work...



hammy
it seems like the socializing process is taking place quite well.

woody let me hold him for a period of time today, not only without getting bitten, but he also managed to stay on my palm longer without struggling to get out. the only time he nibbled at my palm was when i was feeding him some a little piece of lettuce from my zingerburger... the vege had left some traces of mayo on my hand.

food wise, i have decided not to fill his food tray because we have this ant problem at home. there was like this army of ants buzzing over his food last tuesday when i got home...with more streaming in from one corner of the aquarium. disgusting. we threw away everything... all the bedding and food... and we decided to feed woody only what he needs for the day, twice a day. me in the morning, and siskapoo in the evening.

so far, the only problem is that NOTHING is working as it is supposed to.

the food dish is useless because woody would vacuum the dish empty, and hide his hoard in another corner

the decorative hut became his platform for escape and had to be removed

the running wheel also served as a mini platform for escape, but because it provided woody with some form of exercise, i decided to keep it in the aquarium and cover up the side with a wooden plank to prevent him from escaping.

and finally, the running ball (which abbie bought yesterday) made him so nervous, he couldn't really move. first he peed through the ball. and then he started scratching his way out. with nothing to indicate that he's having fun roaming around in the ball whatsoever.

work
it's been quite a while since i've blogged about any. but anyway, i'm glad the staff training is finally coming to an end. amen to that.

i guess i would have enjoyed the process a little bit more if i worried less and trusted more in providence. most of the mental torment is probably my own doing, worrying about nuts...but i just can't help it.. being the person that i am.

there's a bigger training event that is coming up. and honestly, i don't think i have any energy left for that.

on the bright side, we're moving in to the new office. and i'm definitely looking forward to the new facilities.



apparently the sweet hammy that i got isn't as innocent as i thought it was. first of all, it wasn't even a she. what do you know, you can always count on good ol abbie to miss the huge testicles... o_o

and, i'm just beginning to get a taste of mischief.

the rodent chewed off a good portion of the running wheel's rubber that was meant to fix the wheel to the side of the aquarium. it's also trying very hard to chew its way out of the tank...

abbie and i bought this pretty little hut with a chimney to decorate the tank, but it used the chimney as a platform to escape from the tank... and succeeded. yep.

i woke up at 2 am on sunday morning... after 2 hours intermittent clunking of its dislodged porcelain food bowl against the glass tank... there was suddenly silence.

walked into the study room half expecting hammy to be out of the tank... and to my horror (still), it was.

luckily for hammy, it was too chicken to leap off from where it was (which was about 1m from the floor)... caught him, put him back and removed the hut.

anyhow it still hasn't got a name. maybe i should just call it hammy.

the silver lining?
i could hold hammy without getting bitten...



busy day today.

i finally had my chickenpox vaccination done this morning... the queue was awfully long, so we looked at some syrian hamsters in the nearby petshop... and it proved to be fatal...

am now 82 dollars poorer from the jab (another followup jab in november) plus another 50+ dollars poorer from acquiring a new member of the family...

+ 1 hammie.

didn't really give her a name yet. was contemplating hamster 001. but it just sounds... ominous... haha. yep, maybe i'll call it woody since she's a mix of browns. she's not the prettiest of her lot. but she definitely has the nicest temperament. doesn't nip and doesn't mind being handled... that's all i need from a hamster really.

bought a couple of toys for her too.. the running wheel proved to be too big for the tank. it still fits in, but everything will be so cluttered. so i'm hoping the pet shop aunty will allow me to change it to a running ball or anything else to replace the exercise.

mum doesn't seem too happy about the acquisition... but i'm keeping her at bay by telling her that abbie's paying for everything.

pottery lesson today was productive.
i made 2 small vases and 1 large bowl.

made the downpayment for tea cosy as well.

am downright broke.
but happy.



graduated
from my letter of credit class today. i think i'll get to attend another different one next year... but this time, i'll be going alone. oh well...

vaccination
i must get my chicken pox vaccination tomorrow. been wanting to do it for a while now... and it stinks to have an injection on your to-do list. so the best thing to do is to get it done asap.

it's just that finding a common schedule between me, abbie and the clinic opening hours is a little bit challenging. heh

library
been going to the library quite often these days. i just found out (after 27 years) that we are allowed to borrow six books. i always thought we could only borrow four... haha.

got this thick old book on lky. don't ask me why... i guess sometimes political apathy can be a little embarrassing. i've already started and it seems quite interesting so far, so hopefully i will have enough resolve to finish it....

i already finished a book by r.l. stine by the way... rubbish book, i know. and i finished a sandra brown one a couple of hours ago (romance, but also trashy :d).. there's this thin book on positive thinking. it had colourful large fonts (and colourful background) that i found annoying to read. so screw it. yep.

i never really liked books with pictures... it disrupts my imagination.

what's left for now is another sandra brown book.. and a novel called pavilion of women. i think it's about some rich family politics.. i think i might skip it. for now, i have the lky book to keep me company during the ironman exhibition.

events
which reminds me...i dread exhibitions.
possibly because i can't find a good use for myself apart from standing there and becoming part of the furniture. i feel awkward when i'm supposed to be "working" and there's no real work or output involved.

still, i think it's a necessary experience.. and a good platform to learn more so that maybe someday, when we're ready, we can participate in a trade show. 



letter of credit module
went for my l/c class this morning and man it's a complete opposite of how i used to study in nus.

nice chairs, nice venue, very nice food. even the study content is well... nice also.. and the lecturer is super funny. haven't had such an enjoyable time studying, not worrying about grades. i could use more courses like these. i don't mind studying like that everyday.

i was telling steve about how life in nus was like... moving from lecture to lecture, not having enough time to eat... hopping into the over-crowded oily canteen to pick up some food. climbing up the damn hill of stairs with a bun in the mouth..rushing to attend another one of those brain draining lectures...

and you know what's worse than mugging a whole day for exams?

it's waking up at 5 am in the morning to face the wall and recite my presentation for the 8th time.

anyhow class ended at 5 so i had time to drop by daiso in the evening to pick up some flowers.


ROM project
embarked on a DIY flower bird cage project so that i get to keep it as a furniture decor after i'm done with it.



hopefully, nobody will laugh at my rom table centerpiece...

it's my first time arranging flowers and i don't have much knowledge, but it doesn't seem that bad... considering how cheap it is.

i can't remember how much i paid for the bird cage, but everything else cost me $14...


the excess cost me $10. this includes an unused vine and a packet of potpourri...

got carried away and bought too many things >-<  but nevermind, i will find a good use for these when we do up our new room...

and i can always use more flowers in my environment. i saw some really lovely ones in spotlight... but again, it's too expensive. :|



when you're having a heck of a busy time... it's been a lull period so far for the past many months and i'm just beginning to have a taste of the busy final quarter.

it's funny how i'm starting to lose track of things. i'm looking forward to the day when i step into the office and don't know what to do first...lol

october and 2010 will be over before i know it.
i'm still not sure what my plans for 2011 will be, but i hope the future will be just as exciting as this.



rings
we bought the rings today. the most decisive move of the day. thank heavens.

met up with someone that abbie knew at gold heart and got our rings from the brilliant rose range. it exceeded our budget by about 200+, but the deal was closed in about... 20 minutes.... a record time considering the amount spent. and a relief.

i had initially expected us to drift from store to store just to compare prices... but this time round, we didn't even look at the diamonds through that little magnifying thing. i mean... is it really that important? i don't expect us to scrutinize our rings every now and then.

shrimp 4 & 5
shrimp 1 had lasted for a long while and grown a whole lot bigger, but suddenly passed away after moulting. we passed by the aquarium shop today and even though abbie wanted to buy some for me, i was quite insistent that we don't get any.

i didn't think it was a good time to get them as christmas is coming. they would become a little emotional burden or guilt. because i know that i may not have the time to take care of them properly... so i don't think it's even fair for them that i get them during this point of time.

on life
some comments are meant to be taken positively, but yet i feel as if i'm sinking into an abyss because some things just don't sound possible.

there are things which i know i ought to do for my own good, but didn't because i don't like doing them.
i don't know. i just want to be a good employee. and i'm sure on some level, i was... but i also know that i wasn't on many other levels.

it's not possible for me to become someone like abbie. for a start, my entire being will need to be rewired.

the warped silver lining?

if i'm really that pro-abbie as i had declared, and i can't be bothered to make myself a better person for my own sake, it would be reasonable for me to at least make some effort for his.



the abbie-centered syndrome is back with a vengence...

it's like i can't think about anything else except for the ROM... and i'm just wishing every now and then for february to come faster...everything else just seems not very important.

well almost.

yesterday i received this email from spring about some training grants that smes could tap on. and one of them was a partial sponsorship for doing masters...

meh, always wanted to do one. looks exciting. and the structure is similar to the biz program, i know i'd be able to somehow survive... if only i could get past the barriers to entry.

barriers to entry
1. company: perceived need to develop graduates in public institutions .. does it exist?
2. spring: personal interview and strong company performance
3. nusmba: personal interview and GMAT test (Good Analytical Writing Assessment, Verbal, Quantitative and Total GMAT scores.)



in the end, i didn't go down to the community centre today... was supposed to check out the volunteering stuff... but unfortunately, martin wasn't around for me to tag along...

will probably drop by some day when he comes back from overseas... i really need to beef up my portfolio... volunteering would definitely help. of course, it is also important for me to volunteer in something that i enjoy and feel for.



settled
- ROM package
- venue
- shoes
- inform relatives of timing and venue

stuff remaining
-wedding band (next week)
- flowers and decor (dunno when)
- solemnizer

it's been fun so far... shopping for all the stuff... and mainly because abbie's been so accommodating. yup, i know it.

met up with the owners of tea cosy this afternoon and finalized the deal. great people. was asked by the owner to join in some grassroots activities...

meh, don't think i'm really cut out for those, but no harm finding out, i guess.

had the high tea set later on... can't get enough of their scones...


some stale photos from desaru and my birthday celebration

desaru


yes it's true...
in spite of all the bitching about bad room conditions, the desaru beach is as good as it looks.


keeps the shore a little cleaner than the ones in singapore...


not sure what it is, but it sure looks cute




abbie's mum saw this pic and had originally thought it was a soft drink.
i proceeded to correct her... only to end up insisting it was a soft drink because of her reaction...

me and my big mouth -_-||

birthday celebration


love seafood!


which i really wanted to have (eat) for my birthday luncheon, but didn't. haha...
it also looks real cute in an aquarium.

maybe i will keep them some day... and i will cook them for dinner when i'm sick of them. yums.



there's also the cake cutting later during that evening, but the photos turned out all blurry.:(

jumbo seafood
went for another one of those mouth watering feast with my colleagues...


and everyone's shying away from steve's crab slaughtering, shell catapulting and gravy splattering action.

sentosa chalet


my favourite shot of the day... it can't get any better than this.
too tired to blog anymore. lol.

Hello World! I have a soft spot for yummy foods and cute toys. I also love to crochet, bake and draw during my free time. All the art and craft work that you see here are made by me :)
♥ More about me ♥





1. excellent health
2. a beautiful home
3. mookie the shetland sheepdog
4. maximilius the scottish fold
5. penny the hen
6. prague with abbie
7. air plant terrarium
8. book shelf



♥ 2010 List ♥






♥ alex ♥
♥ daphne ♥
♥ desmond ♥
♥ issac ♥
♥ jeanine ♥
♥ shaowei ♥
♥ yonghan ♥





February 2010 | March 2010 | April 2010 | May 2010 | June 2010 | July 2010 | August 2010 | September 2010 | October 2010 | November 2010 | December 2010 |

♥ life has been a blur these days
♥ yays yahoos and woohoos
♥ secret stash
♥ it's done
♥ more meetings today
♥ things are starting to get hectic...
♥ tired beyond words
♥ another goal for next year: a second career
♥ living congruently
♥ plans for tomorrow



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