Been a great long weekend..spent great time with ZJ they all for christmas celebration and countdown!! and also went for voluntary work with them in YMCA, celebrating xmas with the kids with negative health condition..it feels extremely great to do voluntary work..i love the experience and it rekindles my life dream and my joy...especially when you get to do the voluntary work with great friends..

and of course i took a lot of photos...hahah..you all can go over my facebook to take a look..

During the evening party in YMCA, i got to speak to the mother of the girls whom i took care..it's really amazing how a mother's strength can be so strong with the will of a child or even her children..no matter how much a mother can feel alone in the struggle, she always has the willpower and endurance to ensure her child is always protected and loved. And she earns my respect when she can tell meabout how wonderful her kids are. From her narration, I realise the girls who I am taking care are very brilllant, even in their studies.

Getting to know about this family firms up my belief in God. He will always have the greatest gift for every child.

===================================================

Was watching a small segment of this reality show "Life Transformers 2". This episode hits me hard and rekindles what I really want to do long-term in my life. I am shocked that in Singapore, we still do have families which really need our help. Nevertheless, I will have to say they are afterall blessed to stay in Singapore, as they still receive financial assistance from the various schemes and a shelter to stay in. They can't even bear to spend a $2.50 to buy their favourite dish...it really hits me hard..i almost wanted to cry out...

It makes me reflect - we may have a wonderful opportunity and memories of doing overseas community service work. But what also needs our attention is the people who stay in the same island as us..the heartlanders..the neglected ones in our local society..

It keeps me strong in my determination that I will earn and save money and also to go on in my tcm studies. So that I, together with the like-minded people, can provide free medical and welfare services to these neglected ones.

I must always bear this in my mind.

===================================================

ZJ introduced me to this song "The Prayer" sung by Celine Dion and Josh Gorban. Love the way they sang it and the lyrics..

==================================================

Cooked vietnamese spring rolls! shall upload my photos up here! hee..and AG loves it!! hee..he commented,"not bad"...heee hee hee...i'm so happy...!!

AG's been a great bf to me..even though there are times when he kinda bullies me, he still treats me well... =)

Photos!!

Brought my new toy to attend my colleague's church wedding ceremony..he is also my NTU school mate, studying the same course as me..haha..

Still not good enough with the manual mode..still need to do simple mid-tone adjustment..din take a lot too..haha..but i love the camera.. =)

Saw this lady..she's the host of the ceremony..i've seen her before on tv..she used to be a travel host on tv channel u before..!!

******************************************************************

After the ceremony, rushed off to my salsa class..kinda boring today..

anyway, went over to AG's place..and started snapping at his pet turtle...and Paige...Paige is difficult to take a good snapshot..she will shy away from the camera...

Dun know why..i keep feeling the heartache...cos a big sum of money just flew out of my bank account..hahah

BUT i love the camera a lot!!!! it's lovely...!!! and it's positively challenging..!!!

Be bringing my beloved toy to attend my colleague's church wedding...! Hopefully can get good photos!!

OKi, need to stop spending on unnecessary stuff....

The day has come....

And there immediately after work, I dashed down to the shop who offers me the lowest price which I've seeked...

and here i am..my very first dslr camera d90 with 18-200mm vrII len..costing in total of about 2.6 k..and this includes freebies like a lowepro camera bag, cleaning kit, lcd pad, one 8gb sd card..and also bought a filter lens in addition...

which means..off goes my swan lake...the body show...can't buy anymore clothes or bags...gonna save save and save...

BUT i still wanna go to the Chicago musical...and get a pair of shoes...

well, as mentioned by my colleague, Id, i'll enter into the dark side...meaning that there will be future when i wanna pursue better equipments, more gadgets, higher capacity of hard disk, etc..
hmm..i dun tink that i'll need a big capacity of hard disk..i will have the significant photos printed out..i am paranoid over keeping the photos in digital mode..juz feel there is sentimental value in the photo..

hee...have tried out...it's LOVELY..!!!!!!
after my laptop, this is my next big thing... =D

in fact, din tell my parents about it...but anyway they will know it sooner or later..haha..can't escape from them..hahhaa..well...i dun care.. =p

i'm so happy...!!!!!!! my first big toy!!!!

Meetup..and more meetups!!

My first salsa lesson last sat..found it quite amusing...cos we had the chance to dance with different partners, and i realised that different guys have different dancing genes..2 of them actually turned me so quickly that i was kinda surprised and gave a careless giggle..and there are some who dance like a log, very stiff...hahahahhahahaa...

but it can get quite awkward ..there is one guy who tried to make eye contact with me..it's very awkward and amusing...hahahha

followed tat, went to meet up with ZJ they all in tamp..hair cut! i finally had my haircut..i look neater now..haha..

watched "storm warriors II" and as what many have feedbacked to me, the show is bad..it's a great disappointment...

*****************************************************

met up LA for dinner..finally!! i've gotten back my cd from him!! hahah..

think it's been a very long time since i last saw him...i dun know what to ask him..ahhahaha...nevertheless, it's a good catch-up..

*****************************************************

I AM SO EXCITED FOR TOMORROW..!!!!!

i can imagine myself walking into the shop..and can feel the strong emotion within me when i hold the camera..i can imagine telling myself that this is it. This gonna be one emotional moment of my life....

I am so so excited..!!!!!!!!!!

Back to work..boss's starting her 2-weeks leave..have completed my part in the project..yeah..finally take a good break during work..

met up with YS (the NTU clinque)...quite a number have changed jobs...gosh...make me re-think a few things..

met up with ZJ they all too..and be meeting them again tmr! =D

tmr's my first salsa lesson..a little nervous...

gosh..i can feel myself putting on weight... T____T

gonna get my camera soon...i'm so so nervous and excited...!!

My exams is finally over....! yeah...!!
and i've gotten results for 3 of my papers today. gosh, they are super efficient.

results are within my expectations. so nothing to be happy about.
all i wanna do now is to move on and concentrate on refining my theory.

was talking to my classmate who told me about the release of the results. talking about that the exams are not indicative of our future, nor reflective of our skills even in the future. and he told me that he has high hope for me, think mainly cos i am still young, have many years to go and gather many medical experiences. hee..think tat's true enough.

oh well. exams is over. one month of holiday! friends gathering!!! hahha..have promised DLY that i will make the gathering arrangement..hee..oki, DLY, i still remember this deal..hahahhaha..

starting to look out for a new phone and my camera...gosh...need to spend so much..... =(

Tomorrow's one last paper...been struggling with my health for the past few days..
Been feeling sick..running nose, now accompanied by cough...

sigh..gonna go back office on wednesday, need to clear urgent emails and attend my proj presentation meeting. sigh.

i really need a good break after exams..have not taken any decent worry-free break since the start of the year...working non-stop, attending lessons here and there..june's not a good break cos of the stupid convention...SIGH. =(

Sigh. Thought i can do pretty satisfactorily for this paper..but out of my low confidence and high self-uncertainty and numerous self-doubt, i've lost 10 marks for the paper.

Sigh. Never mind. Just need to revise the stuff again. In preparation for my next semester's clinical attachment and the post-graduation license examination which will take place after my graduation.

Understand from my classmate's wife who graduated from the same school that the degree has no ranking of honours, i.e. no first-class, 2nd or 3rd class honours. A relief for this part, but then again, can't lose any chance to be lazy. What matters in the end is whether i will be skilled and confident enough to provide the best treatment to the patients.

Next semester - 3 nights of theory lessons and 2 nights additional for clinical attachments. Gosh. This implies 5 tcm nights and 5 working days, and hmm..1 to 2 family time and 1 to 2 days of AG time...
Need to plan my time even better. But I believe I can do it, I can plan it well, and I can manage the stress level. I may have been through the worst time and this i can handle it.

JIAYOU!!!!!

My "Einsteinous" Hypothesis

Had this relatively interesting encounter with a stray cat.

I was waiting for a lift when i spotted a completely black stray cat at the lift lobby. So out of fun, I meowed at it..well it meowed back and seemed to be following me whenever I went.

The lift opened. Before I stepped into it, the cat moved kinda cautiously into the lift..and somehow it seemed to be talking to me and i responded by meowing..anyway the cat went into the lift in the end and i wanted it to get out of the lift. So the whole conversation kicked off. With all the exchanges of meowing between both of us..Finally i meowed firmly at the cat, trying to tell it to get out of the lift. And it worked! haha..

I know it sounded ridiculous, me being in the public trying to converse with an animal. It does sound bizarre. But well, an "einsteinous" hypothesis forms in my mind.

Here's it. Cats are like women, or women are like cats. Can be mysterious and many times hard to catch. So probably to talk some sense into a woman's head, the man needs to do the cat talk. Communicate with women in women's language.

Well, not sure how true is this hypothesis. But well, you can try it out. =p
Maybe it works.

Walk the talk, man.

*********************************************************

Kinda miss AG now..He had an early sleep and din manage to talk to me..feel a little lonely now..hahahah...ok, gonna go now..tomorrow's 2nd paper...

Finally...one paper down..this paper is still ok, easy to do cos this teacher gives super lots of hint...then again, i tried to refrain myself from all these hints and kept studying whatever can be squeezed into my little memory box..

had a stroll around the basar malam which is set up near the school..happily musing over this stall which auctions for many different decorative items..

so tired..3 more papers to go...my exams end on 1 dec and still need to go back office the next day..thought i can clear my that half-day time off on that date.. hmm..i need a good break after this exam..

had arranged a whole lot of post-exam activities for myself..dance class...cooking (this time must cook something for AG to try..hee..)...exercising...and..shopping for my dslr camera!!!

I'm getting it by end of this year..!!! ok, it will be d90, with 18-200mm lens..and probably one off-camera flash..and of course a bag...and a diy box to keep the camera and the len in good conditions..
and after that i can start playing around with the manual mode..!! need to consult my colleague, I. He teaches me a lot about all these technical stuff..

******************************************************

ok, 3 more papers to go..sat's paper is gonna be the hardest..a lot to memorise and all those four-words phases..gosh....

Been studying intensively...but not for these 2 days, think my stamina has dropped..gosh..tue's the first paper! kinda nervous... =s

still need to go back office for a short while to have my performance appraisal signed...gosh gosh...gonna squeeze whatever info i can squeeze into my little mighty mind...

*********************************************************

AG's back from his trip!! yeah...i'm so happy to see him..!!!!! And he bought me a lot of souvenirs..haha..mainly t-shirts..haa...

and yup, have given him the birthday gift..it's a demonstrator fountain pen - Namiki Custom 823 Demonstrator. And phew...he loves it!!! =D when he got it, the first response from him was that he was speechless. haha..guess he din expect me to get quite an expensive gift for him..but well, i din get anything much for him last year..and for the one-yr anniversary..hahaa..so this can make it up.. =p whahhaa...

**********************************************************

Tada!! A little birthday cake for AG!

I kinda like this photo..hee..

************************************************************

Been working non-stop for 12 hours today..din have any proper lunch or dinner..just kept finishing off the scraps and pieces of the project before i go for my leave tomorrow..

Thank goodness i've finished my work by 9pm..or else i will be in a completely dark office...

Din know that the office will automatically switch off the lights by 9.30pm..i was a little scared last night when i was packing up my stuff and the lights just went off like that. Thank goodness i have a little desk lamp which i bought..

Exams next week! ARG..!! so nerve-wrecking!!!!

*************************************************************

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BUDDY..!!! =D

Was on APEC duty yesterday and met new colleagues..

one of them whom i have the chance to talk had a fantastic wife. He told me that his wife was born with one arm. What is amazing and inspiring is that the wife cooks, prepares the ingredients all by herself, without any assistance from anyone. She can even make swiss roll cakes, and scales the fish with just one arm!

I'm totally amazed and inspired by his wife. =)

*********************************************************

Went to Orchard today to get AG's birthday present. Met my SAC junior and wow, what a change. haha..she seems to me that she has become mature..haha..and a few distance away, i also met Jas and another of my colleague! hahah..goodness me..orchard is a small world.

managed to find a gift for AG..hope he'll like it... =s

had a good walk at kino..and bought myself a book to help me improve for my work.
went over to the list of books in the medicine section...
I can feel my heart crack whenever i walk past or even look through the books.

*********************************************************

Tada~! Master chef AG..!! hee..he did the cooking while i did the photography and the washing up. hee...yummy dish he made.. =D

****************************************************************

Met AG and his family for a dinner. It's an advanced birthday celebration for him. haha..ate in Lawry's ..the food there was wow.......very expensive..but the service and prime ribs are excellent. they even sang a birthday song for AG, and took photos! hee..can't wait to get the photo from them..

i still love black angus steakhouse over near the forum shopping mall. that's where AG brought me to eat for our first month's anniversary and i love the cosy atmosphere. no need to feel restricted..hee...

**************************************************************

yeah! bought an original soundtrack of "Forrest Gump" for myself!! =D yeah, i'm so happy..!!

**************************************************************

Today's marathon was cancelled cos of the stupid heavy downpour. but haha..get to go home early! hee...

apec duty tmr..hee..can rush my work, and do some studies there..haha..

*************************************************************

Can't wait on monday..hee.. =)

and gosh..so many wedding dinners to attend recently..one in nov, one in dec and another in jan next yr.

****************************************************************

was very happy today. Managed to find my ring. could not find it for the past few days, until today when i went back to the office which is based outside hq.

Sesame Street 40th anniversary this year!

woo!! it's one of my favourite tv shows..till now! it's very entertaining, cheerful and musical..haha..love the monsters too...and also the actors and actresses...gosh...it feels so nostalgic...!!!

love this song "sing a song"...woo!! love it love it love it!





"C is for Cookie"..!!

Just some mundane mumbles and grumbles.

On off-in lieu today..but the night before, i was suffering from insomnia..the stress i can feel from the project i'm managing..and the studies..

AG is leaving overseas this friday... ='( but hee..he'll back next monday! think i'll miss him ..... ='(
lucky thing i still have my studies to accompany me, and also the apec duty..

had a relatively good rest...went to meet AG for lunch near his workplace..and did my studies in smu while waiting for him to finish his work..and also reading the same book by rick warren..feel more relaxed and at ease after reading some chapters..it's like a book of calm..hha..reminded me of "black books" (good show).

i'm still having running nose..arg...going to have a marathon this friday!!! arg..need to recover asap..

work tomorrow..dread going work... :p

have signed up for partner salsa! yeah! will be starting on dec! wooh! so excited..! it's not about knowing guys there, which i'm totally not interested at all, but i can get to learn something new! anyway was glad to hear that they din bother to be concerned of whether i need to bring one along..haa..and they told me to wear open-toe high-heeled shoes..i've no idea why must be so particular about open-toe shoes (think like what AG said - so that the guys can step onto the ladies' toes - ouch!) ..anyway i just ignore that open-toe shoes..i'm pretty confident about myself dancing in high-heeled shoes since i can run with such shoes on.

watched "ugly betty" season 4..and gosh..i feel like i'm betty -fresh graduate and struggling a lot at work. but then again, she enjoyed her work while i dun.

Think it's the christmas mood..christmas is around the corner..(and of course, before this festival, AG's birthday comes first..hee..)

love the piano pieces played in "Love Actually". Watching this movie seems to be part of my christmas celebration. Watched it last year's christmas..and now again, i'm watching it. Love the plots, the stories, the humour and it's this movie which i start to like Hugh Grant. haha..he's a charismatic man.

anyway, enjoy these few pieces..great pieces..!






PM's love theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Or4ffMQkeI

******************************************************************

haa..and oh ya! this song "Blame it on the girls" by Mika and "Mercy" by Duffy. Great songs to dance, especially "mercy". largely attributed to the "so you think you can dance" season 5. haha..thinking about dance, i wanna go sign up for my long-desire salsa...! dun know whether should take ladies salsa or the partner salsa.. hee hee..

i wanna dance..i wanna dance! dancing cheers me up!

******************************************************************

school's getting tougher..one of my lecturers kept telling us that there is past history of a high percent of failure from part-time students who went to take the license exam after their graduation exam. partly cos these students are not fully focused.

but what can we part-time students do? work in the morning, sometime even work over-time..married ones will need to spend time for their families..and at the same time, trying to juggle the studies..

i am now starting to feel the mental and physical toll..somehow i just want to keep going on with the studies..yet i feel i'm not focused..there are many times when i wish i can just quit my job and go full-time into this. but this is too big of a sacrifice..my brothers have not started working yet and it's not as if i'm born out of a golden spoon.

i'm struggling in this studies, still many things which i'm not sure of, not confident of..yet i can feel myself enjoying and fighting to make a dream which i once lost dearly into reality. i really want to make this real. and i want to make it good. Not only good but excellent.

I can do it! Mantou can do it!

**************************************************************

a tough week ...off-in lieu on monday and my boss was on leave for a week..trying to finish the first phase of the project, or at least my part in the project and then the rest to the prof to manage the rest. a tough week..and as usual, the friday was a tough one too. sigh, something cocked up again..argh! i really hate this... =(

be involved in the APEC thingy..on duty rooster on the sat..thought the day was not an important one..but well, attended a briefing yesterday and realised that noooo..important events are going to happen..argh...and i'm on night duty..gosh..just hope everything will go smoothly..

but realise myself that i like operational tasks. managerial role especially in project budget management is still a challenge and training ground for me.

life in the company seems to have a lot of changes happening around me..new engineers with better academic qualification than me start coming in..another engineer has left the company..

*****************************************************************

studies are getting stressed up...especially the pathology assignment..!! gosh..was rushing it just now..could not finish... (T___T) all the chinese words for the medical terms...!!! all cramped up in one long paragraph.....ARGH..!!!

*****************************************************************

Halloween D&D 2009!!

Haa..here's the photo..photoshop by my colleague, Id. He's in the photo - the werewolf with the shades on..He's an avid photography lover..teaches me a lot about photography..

Love the off-camera flash he used - i will sound like a total noob - anyway, really surprises me about the beauty of flash..it doesn't give a harsh brighness to the complexion, objects..it's just lovely..hhaa..i as a no-flash lover start to change my perception about camera flash.

haha..anyway can't believe my colleague gave me the nickname "The Latecomer"..hahaha..i believe many of you, especially ZJ they all, will applaud for the right nickname, as I always tend to be late, and "rarely" extremely late.. =p

hee..i've very understanding friends..hahahhaha...

i looked pretty hideous with that halloween make-up. Did the make-up myself..anyway din take a lot of group photos with them, cos i'm always away or quickly have gone to the toilet to remove that hideous make-up of mine..i looked so monstrous and hideous... yucks....

Think i wanna walk around Clarke Quay next year's Halloween, heard from my colleague,Id, that there were many people walking around in costumes e.g. he saw two strangers dressed respectively as US president Barack Obama and the terrorist Osama meet on the street and they exchanged friendly greets..haha..the thought of the scene was pretty funny..

Pretty cool..haa..should go with Zj they all next year if there's a chance.. hee..

*****************************************************************

My colleague CT was convincing me to go for the family day taken place in sentosa..initially had talked everyone that i'm not going cos it's super near to the exam. But when CT told me that she was forming a team for the sandcastle building competition, my persistence was shaken.

haha..wanna build sandcastle and destroy it like a godzilla!!!! ROAR..!!! Think it's prety cool to do that kind of construction and destruction.. =D

*****************************************************************