Thanksgiving..(cont'd)

I signed off the last entry aft thanking my family. Thinking back, frens are also a part of my life, though my frens seem to come and go. Since pri sch, i have only a small grp of close frens, who will eat, play, laugh and cry with me. (in no order of preference):

Liwen (kuah) > My Sec 1~4 classmate. The way i get to know her is interesting. It was my 1st day in NYGH, and it was orientation day. My parents brought me there and seeing that i was the only one from my pri sch there, they tried to help me 'look' for a fren. Mummy spotted Liwen in the queue and went up to her to intro me. Haha, so from then on, we became best frens. Kuah, thanks for being with me all the way till now, though we lost contact for a few yrs during JC, i m glad i found u again and its really one of the greatest gift in life to know you. Kuah, looks like we gotta thank my mummy for intro-ing us. haha :)

Shuwei > My pri sch pal. We were in same class since pri 1 and lived very near each other. I m glad to know her, though our frenship was not a super close one, we maintain a nice, light-hearted and understanding relationship. We keep in touch with MSN, sms once in a while, never forgetting each other's bday (and it has been for 16 yrs > can u imagine?), CNY, Xmas. We get tgt occasionally and still feel as close as during our pri sch days. Shuwei, thanks for being my long-time fren, u mean a lot to me and is a part of my pri-sch memory. :)

Youya (yaya)> Another gd fren from pri sch. Youya sat beside me and sorry to say, i bully her. haha, but its just some minor tantrums and Youya, being the nice and quiet gal, always give in to me. We meet up occasionally and despite the short meetings, i'm always able to snuggle up to her and tell her my true feelings. Yaya, we must keep in contact ok!

Jingyuan (dear) > My uni fren/course mate. Have only known her for a few yrs but it seems like we know each other all our lives. She will always be with me to share the happiness and grouches at work, in life, and before in school. She majored in Civil Engi, specializing in logistics and tpt, now working with a renowed flight carrier. Haha :) I rem when i could not find a job during june~july period, she was the one (beside my family) who supported me and said would help me keep a lookout in her office. She told me not to give up and will def find a job. She was one of the frens to rem my 1st day at work, concerned abt every one of my interviews and the first fren whom i share my job offer with. Thanks dear! You will always be an integral part of my life and hope our frenship can sustain for years to come :)

Tingting (fren)> This fren is special, i was in the same sec sch as her but i dunno her, until we come to uni and in civil engi. haha, the first day in CE, Fren saw me and saw if i going to welcome tea and whether i was from NYGH too! haha, only till then we became frens and went thru all the boring lects, mafan labs and demanding tut tgt. We even take the same modu and went thru some punishing lects tgt. A test of tolerance by us le :P we would eat, sing k, laugh, joke, read and do projs tgt. Complain and grumble tgt also :) Fren! How can we ever forget the times we had in uni?

Wenjia > This is my cosmetics and perfume pal. Met her in uni, yr 2, CE too. Wenjia loves to do make up and read up on it, so we would discuss tgt, go to her room and i help her to do make up. Hair is also our fave topic. I hardly find anyone who likes beauty as much as i do, esp in make up and hair. so wenjia is also a treasure! She is a Christian, but unlike other Christians i know, she will not try to push me to believe in her belief. Instead we always have open discussions abt hers and my religion, we would also share the diff aspects of the two. Wenjia, do u rem wat happen during HRM?? that was a period when i was interested in 'something' and u were the one who share with me! haha :P

Liz > My hair stylist. She is the one who will recreate my style for me every 3mths, with a major makeover once a yr. The only reliable person whom i ll approach for a perm, cut and color/highlight. Liz taught me the ways to curl/set my hair, how to use various Re**en pdts, how to care for hair and maintain my hair shape. During our sessions, we would talk abt life, health and travel too. A good fren and nice stylist. I tink she is the only one who will cut and touch my hair, other than myself. I only trust her hands. No Liz = no haircut!

Angela > Another angel in my life. My beautician and life consultant. I went to her aft using some famous Jap beauty product, and with pimples (big ones) on my cheeks and jawline, i wanted to 'die' b4 i went to Aunt Angela. She saved me and my day by treating the pimples and changed my entire beauty/cosmetic line. Every one of her pdt is gd and reasonably priced, and it comes with after-facial consultation. I m her only customer who will go back to her once a wk aft facial (which is once a mth) to do mini-facials (absolutely FOC). She treats me like a VVIP and i feel so fortunate to meet her! I m tutoring her daughter now and i enjoy our sessins tgt too :P Aunt Angela is really an angel in my life. We would talk abt life and how to live happily and healthily. After meeting her, even Mummy is happier and feels lighter :D

I have other frens whom i did not mention, but i emphasized that all of u are impt to me and makes me a better person. To those frens whom i broke off contact with, though u made me very sad and betrayed, i must thank you too, coz u made me a better person and made me see thru ur true colors.

Last of all....

Zijin (Duckie) > Did you tink i miss you out? I could never erase u from my life, though we are not as close now. My sec sch fren since sec 1 too. Kept in touch all along until now. Frenship with her was nv smooth-sailing as we had many interferences betw us, as i met LN during the course and became closer to her, hence neglecting Zijin. She expressed her unhappiness to me lately and though i have never apologize to her for this incident, i sincerely am sorry and do not blame her for distancing herself from me now. Some things gone can never come back and i kinda accepted this truth now. But a person must be grateful for what she has had b4, i had the absolute frenship of Zijin then, but being an insensitive person, i lost her frenship and drifted apart. We went thru thick and thin tgt, the most significant two events were: when i did pooly in O'levels prelims and could not go to HCJC for 1st 3 mths. Was terribly sad then and one day, Zijin came to me with a bar of CA***ry's Fruit & Nut choc, wrapped with a strip of paper. On it, she wrote: Though u did not do well, u shld not give up and should perserve. >> Though until today, i cannot rem the exact words unless i refer to the strip ( i still keep it), her gesture warms my heart and its a frenship which i ll nv forget. At that time, i was feeling down and all other frens were busy with o's preparations, she is the only one who rem to comfort and encourage me.
Another time was in JC, when we both had bfs, i just broke off with CW and was sad b4 a-levels. She comforted me and when she met with any prob, i also comforted her. I was terribly down then, and she was the only one who lent me her shoulders, listen to my whims and tears and grumbles. A crucial period for us and we managed to pull thru. Duckie, still rem wat happen? Though its a painful memory for u and me, i m glad we pulled thru and i m glad we stood by each other at that time. :P
Duckie, u may not treat me as ur closest fren anymore, just a normal fren, but to me, you will always be the one who knows me the best. More than just a lunch-chit-chat fren, but someone who knows me more than i know myself. If i can turn back time, i promise i ll nv compare u to LN, never to neglect ur frenship. But life always has to have regrets and this is one big regret in my life :(

A very long post and only the patient ones will read till here. A fren just reminded me that day that she is waiting to read my Hokkaido trip. I m sorry that i did not update and i ll do so this wkend when i have my lappy and pics (in lappy) with me.

Thanksgiving :)

I dunno when is Thanksgiving Day, but today, I really wanna thank impt ppl in my life, because I feel that i shld be grateful and acknowledge their pressence in my life:

(Names are not named in any order, except for the 1st one)

Daddy & Mummy > Love them! They are VVIP in my life, from the day I m born till the day I die. Daddy will always ferry me ard, no matter how tired he is, replenish my toilet paper and contact lenses solution when they run out ( I cant even rem when was the time that i need to replenish them myself), cut fruits for me with or w/o request, pamper me, let me suan him, watch soccer with me, support me throughout everything ... you name it, he's the perfect father (though with flaws). Mummy is the person who will do marketing and cut fruits to put into boxes for me to eat (coz i dunno how to cut), boil wonderful soups and desserts, buy my clothes, bags, accessories and shoes for me (match them sometimes so i do not need to worry when i m working), clean the hse, cook for us, bring us on vacation, worry for us..blah blah, u name it u have it. Though parents have their own flaws and personalities, temperments sometimes (and i dun feel happy it too.), they love us and will always forgive and forget the mistakes we make (no matter how angry they are). I LOVE LOVE LOVE you, Deedee and MeeMee.

Granny (Ar Nai) > Who looked after me when i was a baby, bathing me, giving me good food, supplying me with bird nest until now. She will treat me to USA, Aust, NZ, esp Melbourne every yr. Who taught me ettiquette, bought me pretty clothes (and ex), talk to me, help me solve probs, care for me etc etc. I pray that she will be in gd health, enjoy her life and be happy everyday!

Auntie Bee Cheng (Gu Gu) > She is the one aunt who always rem my bday, Xmas, CNY, even my graduation. Will drive me ard to eat watever that i want when i m free, who loves me like her own daughter since my birth, who never forgets wat i like and always buy nice useful things for me, who will wait for me to dilly-dally during holi when we share 1 room, who always make sure i drink lotsa water (and even pour for me) during holis.

Brothers (Edwin and Alvin) > Key figures in my life too. I m the only child so whenever i have prob, i will run to them and start to grumble/complain/throw temper, and they will always patiently listen to me bitch/complain/yel/cry. Aft that, they will explain to me the prob, solution and tell me to treat prob in a diff way. Frens may find me a torture/nag/mafan person, coz they have no patience to listen to me. But Edwin and Alvin are the two ppl who will always stand by me, listen to me, comfort me, stand up for me, assist me in life. They are my dearest bros and I will definitely render them help in every way i can throughout life. Brothers! If u need me, just say it out! :)

Elaine (Jie) > Recently, I found back my relationship with Jie. Mainly coz of MSN, that we get the chance to chit-chat and yak yak online. Mother of my dear Ethan, and a good listener too. She will gimme advice and often show me the truth, a different view from others.

This is a very long post, so i shall thank my family first. Frens, count you in in the next post :)

MIA for so long :P

Why did i MIA for wks? Coz i m WORKING! Haha, yeah, at a local wastewater engi co which in other words, is a company to design and build treatment plants. My job title is process engineer, but in actual fact, i do anything but process design.

Its only my 1st wk at work, so i guess its too early to come to a conclusion, but i dun enjoy office + desk-bound job. This is for certain. But i got ZERO experience so gonna start somewhere and gain some insight into working life. Bo bian la.. plus jobs really hard to come by, so i shld be grateful that i found one, which pays quite well too. :P Plus a no honours person like me > super lucky to find a job liao :P

So wat do i really want to do? Engineering work is ok for short term, say abt 1-2 yrs, but i cannot picture myself in this job for more than 2 yrs. Engi work kills the cheerfulness and life of a person > i look ard my company > those ladies here > dress boringly, look boring, peer into the comp screen the whole day, with eyes bags and dark eye rings, no life, no make up, no looks..sigh..boring le. Wish the company can have some liveliness! Same color everyday, nobody wears pink, red, yellow or some brighter/lighter colors. Everyone sticks to safe colors like: black, white, blue, grey, beige, brown etc > the only difference is the shades la. Light, medium and dark blue etc etc.

Some positive points though: ppl here are generally helpful, smiley, keep to themselves, gossip a bit.. will ask u out for lunch. say gd morn and hi-bye. Most of them are middle-aged ppl, or in their 30s/40s. Trying to mingle with them, and so far i have tried eating with 3 grps of ppl. 1st grp > all guys and some are from the sales dept. they are quite old, except for one, and are very experienced with ww engi proj. 2nd grp are all young ppl, a bit older than me, who are doing drafting, drawing and engi projs based in Europe and States. 3rd grp is ppl who are in piping, instrumentation and very experienced proj/comissioning engi. These ppl are really the old and experienced ppl of the company, and they are the nicest lot. Coz talk a lot and teach me a lot of things. Haha :)

Well, still under observation, and i m on 6-mth probation. During this period, i ll observe the culture of the company, and test whether i really like engi work or not. If i do not like, i tink i will source for other natures of jobs. I prefer communication with ppl, converse and plan things with them. Though i possess technical expertise on ww engi work, i still find engi work dry and boring (up till now).

Hokkaido ~ Day 3 > Tokachikawa > Kushiro > Lake Akan

Day 3 > 16/6/2006

Its a terrible day in Hokkaido > rainy, gloomy, dark, freezing cold. brrrr...

We were told to bring light clothings plus a jacket only, coz supposedly got sun and temp is above 20 degrees. So how now? We end up wearing light clothings lor! And its so cold! 8 to 10 degress only le! Normally in this temp, i would have my beloved white or black long coat with me! but now!! Sigh..wat to do? Can't stay in coach all day and not sightsee right? the worse thing is ... its RAINING! Heavy rain and wind!

First one the schedule is Tokachi Wine Estate, which cells and sells Japanese wine (red, white, sparkling etc). and i realized that its wine chocolate is nice. I bought a few boxes (later on, an aunt said that the wine choc is not that nice le, Royce wine choc is nicer > but i feel that it got a jap taste to it > diff from those rich rich and ex ex choc le!) after trying. Japanese are so generous with their samples, they offer the actual portion as u get when u buy. So we got to try plenty of samples! We took some pics at the balcony of the wine estate, which overlooks the area of the estate. Note : The sky is overcast! A storm is brewing! Cannot use umbrella > coz wind too strong!

After lunch, we stop over at Kushiro to see the Red Crested White Crane > but...too cold and sotrmy > cranes also hide le! So no crane > but for remembrance..Mummy and I braved the weather to take this pic ..

Mummy wearing sleeveless le! Wah! I was so worried she will fall sick! Heng ah! Never!

We din take much pics that day > coz too cold and we were quite reluctant to get off the bus.

More pictures in the next post > I promised! :)

Finally...Hokkaido.. (Day 1 & 2)

*Drum roll.....* Finally, Hokkaido pics are with me now! In my comp already! :) And it means i can update my blog!

I thot abt it..i ll do it on a day to day basis. My life in Hokkaido..haha! Slow to update coz recently watching a drama > Palace (aka Goong) and its so nice!!!!

Went to Hokkaido with Mummy from 14th to 20th June 2006. And it was a tiring journey, coz we need to fly by ANA to Narita, take coach to Haneda, then transfer to Hokkaido by domestic flight. Total > 13 hrs (including air and bus time). I dislike taking plane...bo bian la..moreover its domestic and international is not SQ!! For the sake of Lavender and Hokkaido! Here we go!

Day 1 was spent on the plane and transfer, so nothing to update la!

Day 2 (15/6/06)
After long flights and transfers, we finally stepped onto Chitose, and were quickly ushered onto the coach for the journey to Tokachikawa. Its a town resort, known for its water rich in minerals absorbed from vegetation.

Due to lack of rest, we all look like pandas and din wanna take pics. But the natural scenery too beautiful to ignore..so after lunch...
















It was a good lunch and we could enjoy the nice scenery too. Hokkaido is an island, southern of Japan. Japan has 4 islands > Honshu (Mainland Japan, eg Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), Kyushu (Nagasaki, Fukuoka), Hokkaido and Shikoku. I din go to Shikoku coz its not even a tourist destination! Haha. Well, Hokkaido is an island with beautiful and captivating natural landscape. Except for its capital city, Sapporo, I din see tall skyscrapers, industrial activities or major shopping centres. Its very countryside and the air is fresh and cool.

Its supposed to be early summer there, and we were told that the weather would be 20 to 28 degrees, with sun. So light clothing and a jacket will do nicely! Well..see wat we get in the next few days.. (to be updated soon)...