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photos of london!

If you've forgotten how i look like in this 1 week of absence... haha

this is the street where i am going to be staying at for the next 3 more weeks

That's the street to work. autumn hues!

me with a street busker with ultra long arms. ^_^

Westfield shopping centre, during its opening. it's HUMONGOUS at 1.6 million square feet! i'm so gonna go there everyday after work. many brands that i have never seen before!

more other photos on facebook, but more on flikr http://www.flickr.com/photos/31958478@N06/sets/ enjoy! ^_^

WESTFIELD, europe's largest inner-city mall

Today, 30th of october 2008, marks the opening of Europe's largest inner-city shopping mall!!

'With more than 265 shops from over 15 countries, and 16 brands that have never been seen in theUK before, you'll be spoilt for choice.'

and guess what? it's within WALKING distance from where i work!!!! lalalalala i am going over to check out DAY1 of this phenomenal shopping experience very soon!! totally excited!! show your enviousness please!! ^_^

look at the list of shops here. and that's just for fashion. can't imagine we were all so excited abt the opening of vivocity in singapore. >.<

West End!!

i bought tickets to Lion King and Les Miserables!! yayyy!! they're not as cheap as they can get, as i bought them really late! like only today, for les mis on saturday, and lion king next thurs. i didn't know they get sold out so fast! so i ended up having to get them for like £30, which is about 75sgd. it's not too bad a price actually, but les mis has tickets as low as £17 if i had booked earlier! Now i'm so tempted to book tickets for the rest of my trip here, but then again i want to check out tkts on saturday first, to make sure i'm really getting the best deals! up on the rest of my list are wicked, hairspray, grease, sound of music, dirty dancing, sangre flamenca. all of which i can get for about £10-30. i'll get them on monday. hope the deals are still available then! others that i want to watch but are out of my budget are mamma mia, cabaret and stomp. but i'm happy. 6 musicals and 2 dance shows are good enough for a 25 days trip! hahaha~ my card is so going to bust

(and that's still not including the $$ i'm going to need when i travel to cambridge, loughborough, oxford etc!! yikes)

24 on the 24th

oh and i forgot to mention, i'm now my favourite number 24! =) had to work that last day before i boarded the plane to London. had tonnes of work to clear and handover before i left, so it was crazy. even left a couple of hrs later than expected, OT-ing til 630pm on a friday night! then had to pack... so it was a nice night with the family. and yes, thanks to fsc for the wonderful personalized presents! love em. ^_^

it has to be post-bdae luck, coz i bumped into qling at the airpot! she was heading for perth, but she told me her friend was on the same flight as me. sure enough, i met her! and she shuttled me to an empty row for me to have to myself. woohoo! the last time i had a whole row od 3 seats to myself was on a 1hr domestic flight. this was 13 hr flight! amazingly comfortable. =) i've almost forgotten that SQ is more comfy because of more leg space, and yummier food n beverages. i had red wine with steak! (no haagen daz tho. humph.) the screen was further from my eyes (due to more space) thus i didn't get a headache from it. managed to catch 5 movies with good sleep in between! =) hope the flight back is as comfy. hehe

in LONDON!

it's cold, it's windy, it's rainy, but it's LOVELY. autumn leaves are beautiful. the family i am staying with is wonderful. There's no wireless internet there yet, but i finally got my dose of internet here in the lab, where i'm waiting for ym safety course to start. oh finally i can get in touch with people. =) abit of jet lagging (and thus waking in the morning at 5am the past 2 days), but i'm settling in real fine. serene's sis was really great bringing me around yesterday. i covered many places! london's roads are messy tho, just like singapore. so it'd take me some time before i can get around without getting lost. haha.

BIG PRIZES TO BE WON!!

discovered a really fun game, with high chances of winning big prizes!! go go play. it expires 25th oct so hurry! and do share your prize with me if you win, coz i recommended it! haha http://project.omy.sg/onegame/main.php

for at the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold

Am so upset that my london trip would make me miss a picnic. i so very much love picnics, and i am going to miss it. am so so so sad!!!!! =( Well at least i am not too upset about not being able to make it to kusu island, after discovering that there really isn't too much to see there. but I STILL WANT MY PICNIC!! *wails* oh geez. i'll stop whining like a baby after this. London should be more fun than a picnic at kusu island anyway, right? =P

speaking of london, i am finally going! flight confirmed, lodging confirmed. i never expected the flight to be so cheap, less than $2k! i always had the impression that everything would be more expensive than going to the States, flight incuded. haha. ok suaku me, never been to London before can? Now it's my chance. And i'm flying SQ!! i wonder if qiaoling and the rest would be on that flight? Then maybe the 14 hr flight wouldn't be too boring, with friends who'd appear at a press of a button. hahahah.

I cannot help but remember what he said to me. Why must some people talk so dirty? I had such a hard time trying to understand what that joke targetted at me meant. Spent the next hour pondering over it, until i finally got it. and felt so offended. bah. you think it's cool? you think that chemistry would fly just because you speak that way? you're totally wrong man. so sorry. but that's the biggest turn off ever.

Sometimes it really is very difficult to read a person's mind via internet. there's so much less you can receive as compared to meeting the person physically. i don't know what is wrong, or if anything is wrong at all. maybe it's the overload of work recently. but i just pray that he'd be fine. he was a special one all along. to me and to others.

Wii Rockband rocks!

And FSC rockband rocks even more!! ^_^


Thanks FBmummy and daddy for buying the set, for having us around, for feeding us like pigs.... ^_^

Heroine in the making

can't believe it's over. finally. it had been on my mind for ages, but no time to prepare until 1 hour before the real thing. last minute couldn't find mouse, then my thumbdrive kena virus cannot use. whoaa.. never been so worried before. by then, there was a qhole big crowd and no speaker. then i was so stressed i plugged the wrong wire for the projector and nothing would show up. had to get the director himself to help me.. "sweetie, you got the wrong one!" >.< so embarrassing.

anyway, i was done speaking 15 minutes before my estimated time. as usual, i speak twice as fast as i rehearse, just because i am ultra nervous. everyone was very encouraging after tt, but i know i can do better. will train up my guts in this one year! *oomph*

during the discussion, he mentioned that "if this works, you'd be a heroine!" indeed, i really hope it'd work. not because i am desperate to be a heroine, but because i am genuinely doing this for a cause. an important cause for the cancer patients. let's all work together for the greater cause! (and for to be heroes and heroines. haha)

well he pissed me of early in the morning, and so i decided not to bring him up to the office. dumped him to find his own things to do in this unfamiliar area for the next 2 hours. i am not so soft hearted when it comes to manners. teach rude people a lesson.

There's no comma in life.. it just goes on and on..

Have been way too busy meeting up with friends almost everyday, that I have no time to blog. And in the day time, i am way too caught up with lab work. Oh well, at least i found the time to upload pics onto facebook. That's the priority now since i love the tagging function on facebook. haha.

met up with quite some old friends at WL's wedding. the first girl from rgs 401 to get married!! way to go gal!! =P

all of a sudden, i am going london. with ultra short notice. woo. rushing to settle things these couple of days. yet, i don't know the exact date that i'm leaving. nor the date i am returning! have to give up emcee-ing for ronald's wedding (so sorry dude); have to back out of my helping in the youth camp in dec (sorry mama rose..); have to give up going to thailand yet again. so many years, and i still cannot make it there! argh. and the thai classes.. i have to give up teaching too. so sorry to so many people.. realize that i have alot of things to hand over when i leave the country. we don't live alone!

and amidst all these, i am finding friends who're in london. connections! i don't want to be all alone when i go over. during exchange, i had a whole bunch of 10+ pple going over with me. at the conference, there was fangers and i. now, i'm all alone. my first trip completely alone, going with noone, knowing noone there. hope it'd all go fine!

maybe it's God's way of telling me it is time to take a break from all these again. i have been taking up a whole load of things, trying to be superwoman once again. he's now forcing me to throw everything down, and leave. hmm.

solution

it's amazing how i still managed to think of this solution even tho i was almost a living zombie. EARPLUGS! i remembered that i bought a couple of sets when i was doing marble sculpturing, but never used them coz they were provided at the site. and when i used them on the 48-hour train ride to tibet, i managed to sleep past the noise of chinese nationals who wake up at 5am daily! so i used earplugs last nite! haha... but somehow this set wasn't too good. one side had some sort of 'leakage' halfway thru the nite, which shouldn't happen until the plugs have been used a couple of times. nonetheless, i guess i was way too tired so even tho i was awoken by the usual noises, i fell back into sleep and clocked a good 10 hours sleep! quite happy. =P at least i'll be awake for the presentation tonight. or even if i'm not, the wine and cheese should keep me alert with some endorphins. ^_^

snoooooze

i can never understand why people snooze. when friends tell me they have to wake up 1.5 hours before they leave home, i cannot understand. why waste 1 hour on snoozing, when you can get much more quality sleep during that hour, then waking up on the dot at the end of the hour? why let the every-5-minute snooze wake you from your beauty sleep so many times during that hour, that in actual fact you get no rest from snoozing at all? and i think it's even worse to snooze when you're sharing room with someone else. being woken up by someone else's alarm clock is bad enough. but being woken up by someone else's alarm clock 10 times each morning is even worse. i've been so tired lately that every second of sleep counts, but i just don't get it. i probably live on less than 5 hours' sleep each night again. was talking to yw about sleep yesterday, and i realize i can't even remember when the last time was when i had good sleep and felt really awake. i think that was in 2006, before i came back to singapore. it's the new house, i tell you. the toilet is situated in the wrong place (my room). the toilet door is of absolutely poor quality (cannot open nor close without loud banging). the roommate sleeps way less than cat (my previous and bestest roomie). i thought that going overseas for a short trip would help, but i forgot about jet lagging. so in the end i never made up my sleep either. i am now so used to being un-awake everyday. 2 years of it, will i not get used to it? but getting used to it doesn't mean i enjoy it. i wish i were more awake, i wish my brain was more refreshed, i wish i had my good temper once again. i'm just tired. maybe sometime soon i will take 1 week off and sleep in a hotel. in singapore. to avoid jet lagging.

Friends Forever

I first heard this song when lyn sent it to me. lyn's my friend since forever. and today, while looking at wesley's blog, i saw it again. and this time, the video came with subtitles, and i paid extra attention to it. reading the lyrics, pondering upon them, made it mean so much more. Wesley placed this there, knowing that his time at GPC was going to end. I really wish he wasn't leaving, but i know that there is another church that needs him so much more. I hate to see him go, the one who has made tremendous changes to the youth's lives in the past 6 years. Made us all so much more significant amongst the sea of adults. His contributions, i cannot describe. We all know it from our hearts.

But indeed, friends are forever. especially if the Lord's the Lord of them. friends are for ever. i deeply hope that one day, all my friends would become Friends Forever.



Friends Forever

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Can't believe the hopes he's granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

CHORUS:
And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say "Never"
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

With the faith and love God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong


Music: Michael W. Smith
Lyrics: Deborah D. Smith

SPORE in S'pore

it's really addictive. ultimately fun. tho i am really quite busy lately, i did spend a few hours last week playing, and i've progressed from cell->animal->tribal->civilization! yeah man, i'm now a CIVILIZATION! of course, that can beat my bro who is already the most powerful person in the galaxy. bah. there's no game that i can beat him to.

and it's not just about the progressing from stage to stage thing abt this game tt's fun. it's the designing of your animal/creature/whatever at any point of time you like. Plus, you can take picture of it, with any emotion or action on command! hahaha but i didn't. coz i use my bro's comp to play SPORE. mine's bright pink at the moment, living in a snowman-like house. i'm going to challenge myself to make something that looks like that from the pokemon series. bro saw that pple online did that. i don't believe it's out of my ability to do so if i try!

oh how i wish i could play the game now, when i'm out of home. but of course, i can't. not just in principle, but also i have no time to play now. going to be rather busy this week with church and some biannual advisory meeting at the labs. my bro's so going to become the all omnipotent being before i even progress to fight on the galatical stage! darn. it's so ironical how something called SPORE, implying its miniature being, could take over everyone's lives in so short a time from its release. oh, just like a virus.

breather

woof! i can finally sit down and do things at my own pace. i quite like coming to work at 6am, coz noone's around to disturb me and i have the whole place to myself. makes work much more efficient. PLUS, by mid afternoon i am free! like now! hahaha... such a rarity these days. must really rest well til tmr afternoon. Then it's non-stop work til 2 weeks later! >.<

have been talking to friends about various career choices recently. and the conversation never fails to return to something abt science being the worst pit to fall into, be it workload-wise or $$-wise. i totally agree that it's so tiring, and i don't have much $$ prospect (contrary to what people outside the field think, that a simple doctorate degree brings millions to the pocket). yet, during all these conversations, not once have i faltered in my decision to enter this field. exhausting it may be, frustrating some things may get, but nothing beats having a passion for the job. I don't know how so many people nowadays can choose jobs with fantastic monetary gains but minimal job satisfaction over jobs that offer the exact opposite. what joy is there in doing something that you dislike, just for the $$? maybe $$ can make people happy. i don't know. but i love my job. ^_^

we're always on the floor

as i scrolled down my own blog, i realized that the photo of the chestnutties.. was soo familiar. not just the people, but where we sat--the FLOOR. hahaha.. we're always sitting on the floor eh? hey guys when's the next gathering? which floor shall we sit on this time round? =P

ARGH

there seemed to be something odd going on with my blog template, so i decided to make a small change to it. just chose a new, simple template. blogger said tt my page elements would be retained. so happily, i chose this new template. and...... all my blog links disappeared! argh... and the last time i did a backup of those links was like 2 yrs ago or something.. now everything's gone! i'm too lazy to do anything to it now.. not something for an IT idiot like me. it's too much work. let me wallow in self pity for some time first... >.<

chill out

despite the heavy storm that just had to come when we were on our way to dinner, we managed to really enjoy ourselves. It's the company, i tell you. of course, and the food/drinks/music.

since dinner was delayed by something like an hour due to the rain, plus there was a queue at the restaurant, ells and i were H-U-N-G-R-Y. we ordered the set, which comprised of TWO main courses per person, along with salad and soup. hahahha. it was yummy~. poor huishan was too sick to eat much though. >.<

i was quite excited about the mid-autumn lantern display along singapore river, so i dragged elly n huishan for a mini-photoshoot. could see that my clothes were still abit wet. luckily i was in my boots, so my jeans were rather dry. ^_^

after that was of course TIMBRE. my first time at the arts house branch. nice place! goodfellas was playing. lalalla~ and elly's friend came along. neil, he was. took us quite a few tries before we got the right shutter speed and exposure amounts in the dim place. but here they are.

me and huishan aka vivien. her sister is wendy, and my sister is called vivien. haha.

it was yet another scene that i'd seen gazillion times in tv shows and movies. but this time round, to be a part of it was no fun at all. it fact, it shook me so hard i didn't even know how long i had stood there, in a daze. when the sun was barely up, i made my way out of home. the lift came, and through its glass window, i saw red spots splashed all over the sides of the lift. as the lift door opened, i half expected to see dead body sprawled on the ground. the pool of red spots with the absence of a body did not bring any relief to me at all. i ran away from the bloody sight, and stood in front of another lift. but this lift just wouldn't leave the level, and thus i had no chance of getting any other lift. i considered walking down 19 floors, but was afraid that there would be some form of danger lurking in the stairwell. in the end, i waited until someone on another level called for the lift, and i got into another. when i got downstairs, i saw lots more bloody splashes all over the place. ok, red splashes. they looked more like paint, but red still ain't a nice color to appear just anywhere. but the sight of decent-looking human beings at the ground floor made me feel so much more at ease.

things hadn't been going right at work. 4 weeks of waiting came to naught, and this had to happen early in the morning. it sounds like just a prank or a joke, but to see it in person just wasn't something nice at all. and noone seems to be able to understand this. it's not funny. all of a sudden, i only want to spend the rest of my life chilling out with elly and friends.

58th

It was a joyous occasion. I can't even remember when was the last time my dad was in Singapore for his own birthday? If it's the same period as the last time i attended NDP with him, then it must have been exactly 10 years ago. But i am so so so glad that this year he's back, and we could all celebrate this day together with him. ^_^

Since daddy doesn't eat cream, I bought a brownie cake from Polar for him instead. See, my dad’s fav pose is the same as mine! I taught him well. Hahahhaha

With the kids.

Dad singing his own birthday song! Hahahaha

And of course, a nice family shot. ^_^

the leaves would fall...

and it'd be autumn when i go! REALLY!! i've never ever EVER in my entire life seen autumn. i really hope to see it one day, and i think i really might this october! FINALLY!! falling leaves, cool weather and the poetic feel of london. WOOHOO!!!! tho i fear i might be abit lonely there, and may even have to spend my first birthday overseas and alone, i'm still totally excited!! i can't wait for them to confirm the date so i can start planning. ^_^


and on the topic of birthday.. my mum actually said tt the nex cg meeting at my place, we should celebrate my bdae! hahaha... so funny lah. the next meeting is in early sep, and tt's more than 1 mth from my bdae! last yr also she wanted to do tt... so cute. why must every cg at my place be a bdae celebration? maybe she has cravings for cakes or something.. hmm

pamper yourself occasionally...

After working on so many weekends and not having a break, i finally got myself to get away early yesterday afternoon to try out one of the complimentary facials i received from the Shape Run. I was abit reluctant to try them at first coz some were unheard of, and i was afraid that they would cheat me into buying things. But after looking through the voucher over and over again, i was convinced that it was 100% complimentary, and there were multiple outlets in singapore so it should be fine. Indeed, the experience was great! I did the diamond peel thingie at body wellness/royal beauty. I think i was more pleased at the "welcome shoulder/head massage" that came with it. So apt after working for such long hours recently!

So.. to those who went for the Shape Run and haven't yet used the voucher, do use this one! it expires 5th sep!! =)

i'm now considering if i should also try the complimentary anti-stress facial at beyond beauty. i saw the outlet on my way home... hahaha

best friends that really last

What a joy! the 4 best friends in primary 4, meeting up after more than a decade later! ^_^ These are the times i love technology.. facebook brought us all together again! And it's so wonderful that we're all still pretty much the same, personality and looks-wise. We were looking at those old photos.. oh manz i was so cute then!!!! hahahahaha.. and yingying did not change at all. not even her hairstyle. And it's unbelievable how much memories we had of each other, and all the same ones! so looking forward to doing the same things again next week.. swimming at elly's place, having icecream, playing card games... woohoo~

ongoing..

And so I finished the 2^nd presentation today. The breakfast Bobo and I got for the group was well received. They had obviously skipped breakfast to listen to us speak! Unfortunately, the week does not end on a Friday this time round. Saturday and Sunday also have to go back to do stuff, coz those cells just wouldn’t let me rest! Oh well, just for this week. I’m quite excited about what results I might just get in the next month or so! ^_^ (bleah… so geeky)

At least, before a grueling weekend of work, there was RED party today to celebrate national day and to have our regular beer party too! Though I don’t fancy beer, it was a good time just to sit around my friends and chat. Haven’t had such opportunity for a really long time. Been so busy ever since I left for conference a month ago! And… the games were fun! Of course, it’s fun only coz I won. Hahahaha. Shall share my prize booze with my family tmr night~

Tomorrow is the walk at southern ridges! Hope it’d be full of fun. A quick refreshing time before going back to the alcohol-filled lab. =P

at a turn

He displayed maturity and courage when he spoke his mind and reprimanded someone so many years his senior. He’s grown up now, the lawyer-to-be in my household. ^_^

I’m so glad he decided to make that change. I think everyone’s very pleased with the decision. A long wait like this, was definitely worth it. I’m so looking forward to going to work together and having lunch together. =)

must have been so long since i last posted anything. blogger has changed.

one week feels like a million years, having accomplished more than i ever can squeeze in my lifetime. haha. i simply love exaggerating.. but i really have never been so busy before! or at least not in my memories. really glad i still managed to find time to watch Dark Knight (using that free movie tix!), and to spend time with cg peeps. at least i really rested over the weekend. all geared up for the meeting/presentation later! and the rest of the week. ^_^

wish the London thing would settle sooner. been waiting for so long.. it's frustrating to wait for something when you don't know when it will arrive. makes it impossible to count down. bleah. screwing up my plans to arrange a meeting in hk/japan/tw with all my exchange friends.

with so much work ahead, i wonder why i am still planning so many trips. hmm.

No peanuts no walnuts… only CHESTNUTS

Almost a year after we gathered as a group, we finally sat together for dinner once again. With homecooked food! ^_^ 6 of us, eating pacey’s viet food, arzhou’s new creations (foie gras and mexian beer this time!), my healthy food, steph’s chicken, drinking FLORIDA’s ORANGE JUICE! Muahahaha… life cannot be better.. really hope we can all try hard enough to do this on a regular basis. ^_^

dumb and dumberer

Wish I were more street-smart. Now I have no proof of what the salesperson told me thus I cannot repair using the warrantee. Sian. it always happens.

To show proof that I was really there for WORK!

random quiz

Just got this quiz from my sis' blog. it's quite fun. haha. but the results... one part is totally untrue. i don't think i am seductive!! >.<


The results:

Your view on yourself:

You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

ok maybe a few photos since i'm still around

My favourite monterey bay aquarium. Had thought it'd be the same as the underwater world at sentosa, but stil went ahead coz it was the main attraction there, and highly recommended by THE boss. it was FANTASTIC! my favourite was the jellyfish and the huge shoals of fishes. my very first reminder that US is really huge and plenty of space, so everything's big and beautiful. it's a very family-oriented place, with games and stuff to entertain both kids and adults alike. pity there was limited time for us, but totally worth the $$.weather was cloudy and gloomy when we went. otherwise, monterey is a beautiful place with fantastic weather.didn't expect the US Grand Prix 2008 to be held there! haha.. some streets were blocked to accomodate the pre-race party. bikers parked their modified bikes there to show off and to party. i really wanted to take more pics, but was alittle afraid of getting beaten up by all the leather-coated people. it was truly high-ness though! and one guy waved to us as we tried to capture a shot of him zooming past us on a nice white bike! =Pdenice the menace park was the greatest disappointment. just a normal park, with the name and 1 statue of denice. bah.photo-whoring in many of the historical museums.it was real cold, especially at night with the breezes. still, i loved eating the terribly yummy icecream along the beach. chilling both in and out.and the sports bar at hyatt hotel itself was a nice place to go at night. the texas styled fried were oh-so-yummy. *drools*

after 3 days at monterey, we finally saw the sun. so we just had to skip an hour of talks to sun tan a little. and play table tennis with a cute little chinese boy. =P (yes, with our conference attire and all)my shopping from gilroy! i really didn't expect to see fangers coming back with only 1 bag. >.< onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZx24S5f0mBEPcU-81yYaPVGPXljJgHG5eYtGz63xtYhe6o-itMuzXtt86Xradq2n0WP2nM7j6OiGywqgyDaCrPfeHzApQ5x_wEuALNEpapcOb7wyH5oLZhtyWYIkbz8aaI6mYSgaLHfY/s1600-h/P1040350-all+my+shopping+that+day%21.JPG">the huge garlic festival! it's like the 2nd largest annual festival in US. on our way there, a family from las vegas told us they missed last yr's festival coz they had waited too long to book the hotels and they were all full. this time, they booked the hotel in NOVEMBER LAST YEAR for the festival in july this yr! whoahaha. garlic in everything was so exciting. so furtunate tt both of us love garlic. and garlic icecream was the most unique of all! the aftertaste was soo... undescribable. and the coolest part of the festival, is not about the garlic or the people that come from all over US (and the world), but rather the volunteers from the town that come together as one to make the festival possible. every year, for 30 years, gilroy residents plan for months and commit their time and money and energy to plan for this giganormous festival. this year, only 3, yes, 3, people were employed to do all the technical/professional stuff for the festival. the rest of the work is done by 4000 volunteers from the tiny town! i'm so amazed at how united they are. i salute them.


SF had the most unprediactable weather of all. without the wind and clouds, it would be a scorching 30 celcius. but the moment the sun gets covered up and the wind blows, it's freezing somewhere around 10. no wonder we got both frostbites and sun burns in the same trip. haha. golden gate park was really huge. like a botanical gardens that is 10 times bigger, with a huge lake for rowing and even museums inside! the rowing was challenging, with yifang splashing the guy who was trying to teach us how to row. in the end, he gave up on us.. but we still managed to complete the whole distance! so proud of ourselves. ^_^ and i discovered that her aunt takes really pretty pictures.and yes, we did get to visit cafe gratitude! i saw it listed as 'the 10 weirdest things to do in the world'. haha. it's a vegetarian place, with really exciting range of foods that have names such as 'i am elated' and 'i am beautiful'. so tt's what we have to say when we're ordering our food. and before we get to eat, the waitor asks each of us 'what are you grateful for today'? it's really quite fun. and the backyard feel of it all, really completes the experience. YUM.
visited the hippie haight-ashbury, then caught a break-dancing performance along fisherman's wharf before taking a ferry to rich-man's island--sausolito. didn't do much there, but camwhore with the yachts and to eat more icecream. but i must say, icecream there is all so good! waffles especially. another great place is pollyann's icecream on Noriega and 39th. woohoo. spin the wheels if you don't know what flavour to order!
and oh the sunset views of the islands (esp alcatraz) was so beautiful on our way back
city hall looks the same in every country. but at SF, people get married there too. and yes, we did catch a gay couple. i must say it was.. err.. interesting. an eye opener seeing if for myself. but i am really not a proponent of gay marriages. nor homosexuality for that matter. it just ain't correct. look how our bodies are created by God (or evolved, for those evolutionists who insist on not believing in God), they're obviously made for man+woman, no other combinations.fanger's aunt's friend, howard, drove us around on a mini-road trip to golden gate bridge, up the mountains, and down to mills valley. nice view of golden gate bridge that i didn't get when i was previously at SF! and we also saw the magnificant leftovers of the palace of fine arts. ooh..

how i appreciate the stable weather here. for once.

I am back, so much to blog about, but too lazy to do so. In short, it was a GOOD TRIP. Conference was beneficial (though i could hardly keep my eyes open for half of it due to jet lagging), especially the networking. Never in my life have i made friends with so many big shots at one go. And by friends, i mean we chatted, and not with butterflies in my stomach and me trying to impress them, but rather casual talk and jokes. Thereafter, gilroy was abit troubling, but we managed to accomplish what we were there for -- factory outlet shopping and the ever-so-big 30th annual garlic festival. San Frans was superb, with finally someone to pamper us and to bring us around.

Ok, i had spent the entire 22 hour flight thinking of what 10-page blog i'd write about when i return, but tt's all for now. talking is easier. photos are too aplenty. visit facebook for some of them, or my home for the full collection. =P

and did i forget to mention, when i first arrived here 2 days ago, i managed to catch the gathering for US Grand Prix 2008? absolute cool-ness, with the pre-race motor party and motor shows.. =P

It's freezing in summer

Hello from Monterey, California!! ^_^ Jet lagging a little, but its easier to stay awake in cool weather. haha. It's summer here, but way cooler than anyone in Singapore can ask for. Weather forecasts stated 12-20 celcius here, but the past few days have been cloudy and breezy, so it felt more like max 15 celcius even in the day! It's quite chilly, considering it to be summer now. Weather would have been perfect if there was more sun. can't wait til wednesday when i go to gilroy. It's further from the beach and thus a little warmer! ^_^ cya all in HOT HOT singapore in august~~

Goodbye, L

We were just discussing where we should go today after lunch, when suddenly, we had an idea. Changi airport. Happily, it was approved. In secret, of course. It was meant to be a surprise. And since he’s a low profile person, it had to be a quiet affair.

It wasn’t difficult to find out which flight he was taking, as we knew the airline, the rough timing and the destination. To play safe, we reached the airport 2 hours before the flight, and made sure our ‘spy’ informed us when he was leaving for the airport. So we sat at the check-in counter. We waited. And we waited. Half an hour before the departure, and he was nowhere to be seen! I was so sure I saw him with a whole lot of luggage this morning, so he had to check-in his luggage there. Still, we were worried we had missed him somehow.

Suddenly, someone shouted “L!!” and started running in another direction. The rest of us got up immediately from our seats and ran in the same direction. I ran and shouted for him to stop at the same time. But honestly, at that time, I had not yet spotted him. I was just shouting with them. Haha. Then I saw him. He was already handing his passport to the security guy! 6 girls scrambling towards a man, shouting at the top of their voices.. we definitely didn’t keep it low profile! >.<>

Of course, he was TOTALLY surprised when we finally caught his attention. We had almost missed him, as he had a last minute upgrade and thus checked in somewhere else. He told us how sad he was when he was leaving the lab. He had looked around to say his last goodbyes, but to his disappointment, there was noone around (besides the ‘spy’, of course). In the end, he had to bid a pathetic goodbye to someone from the neighbouring lab. Awww.. so poor thing. BUT, what he didn’t know was, everyone was missing coz we were all at the airport waiting for him! With his favourite kueh salat to keep him happy throughout the long flight.

I’m so happy the surprise was so successful. Never have I done such a thing before. I hope he settles down fast over there… but don’t forget us… and come back soon. ^_^

missed chance. AGAIN.

i had gotten over it. or so i thought. until my sis helped me collect the runner's bib and the shape run t-shirt today. I WANNA GO!! booohoohoo. every yr try so hard to sign up for some run, always not free or too late or no more vacancies. this yr, first day it opened, i managed to jio some friends to go sign up. so happy to get a place. and now... i'm flying off on the 19th. the run is on the 20th. how to run!?!?? grr... so not fated to run. and i hope ser and jy have fun running. so sorry i can't join u gals. run faster wor!! ^_^

it's only a week away, when it finally dawned upon me, that i am really going back to the USA! And to a land with Krispy Kreme! but unfortunately, we're not gonna drive around... so most probably we wouldnt' get to eat any donuts. boohoohoo... so near yet so far!!!

oh well. may each trip there be a different experience. This time round, the main food would be GARLIC.. coz it's the annual garlic festival!!! anyone wants garlic from california? ^_^

Friday Night Out

It was my first outing with CB2. I must say, they’re a really crazy bunch of people! Very good example of ‘play hard work hard’. Normally, many of them just smile when they walk past you at work. Then, yesterday at Brewerks, they were challenging one another to down more beer/wine/whisky, shouting funny things around, wrestling with each other.. Haha. As J said, I got to see their drunken side before I get to see their hardworking side! Hee~ Got a few videos down too. And proof of the boss’ funnest side! ^_^ The best thing was, when the younger people left at 10+, the oldest and biggest bosses all stayed to continue drinking the night out! Whoahaha.. I’m so looking forward to a great time with this group =P