Thursday, August 31, 2006

Truckload of pictures, pictures and more pictures.

Of Eil's 21st bash.

Hah, before this post, I told her I'm gonna blog about her party and she said, "Post only the nice pictures arh...!" Lol. Of cos, my dear girl. That goes without saying. Only the nice pictures will be posted.

Here goes...

And what is a party without this 2 things:

Mahjong!

And...

Dai-Di!!! My latest fave game.

If you look closely, only Eil is looking at the camera. The other 3 of us are looking elsewhere. Haha, so.. Eil, you look the loveliest in all the pictures with you in them. I deliberately chose the nicest pictures of you. Heh. =D

So there, Eil's 21st party, the party that has for the record, the most number of pictures taken.

Posted by Jo at 10:07 pm

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Here I Go again...

Feeling happy now. Just did a tiny-insy bit of retail therapy this afternoon.
I bought a new shade of nail polish from MAC!

I think I can save on manicures from now on. A manicure costs me 20 bucks and the nail polish is 19 which I can use for ALOT of times. Ha, i can paint as well as those manicurists. (almost, with more practice)

Anyway, we had a blast at Eil's 21st birthday last saturday. Good food, cake and company.
Eileen's dad is really funny, he carries around this SUPER pro and huge SLR camera the whole time during the party. I dont think I saw a single moment of him without the camera. He was snapping, snapping and shouting at everyone to smile for the camera. LOL! And the theme was changed from Barbie to Beach Wear. Phew.

And, I want this lovely things which can and will burn a massive hole in anyone's pockets if you buy them. Haha, no kid, make you close to 2000 dollars poorer... -Faints-

Dior Totes.

The best is Dior Gaucho. (the one on the left). Not the ugly brown one, the white one.

Posted by Jo at 5:26 pm

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Random Rants.


I have one less fragrance as of last friday night. My Gucci Envy Me 120ml bottle got smashed onto the floor all due to my clumsiness. Sigh, and it was only like 1/4 used. Heartache. And my whole house smells like Envy Me now haha! Know why, my mum used the vacuum cleaner to suck up all the broken bits of glass and proceed on to vacuum the WHOLE house after that! That's my mum for you. She absolutely loves cleanliness and can't stand dirt and grime anywhere at home.

And, I bought a new pair of wedges again.. from Pazzion (www.pazzion.com)! Teehee. the place sells really pretty shoes and the service is excellent. Girls, do check the shop out, they have outlets in Wisma Atria and MS. All my birkies have officially being da ru len gong (direct translation: banished into the cold palace) lol.. been wearing them less often now albeit the fact that they are the most comfy shoes around. Too common now. Everyone's wearing them in school. I'll still wear them once in a while, thou my white one is falling to pieces. I think I have finally worn it to death. Great, fully exploited it for its 89 bucks worth.

Been bingeing too much lately so am really eager to start kickboxing classes with jules soon. BUT, there's not a single good timing we can accomodate into our timetables, the classes either require me to come back on my free day or stay back till 7/8pm for kickboxing. Bleah. Not sure I want that to happen. So, my keeping fit and exercising regime is still pending at the moment. Worst case senario, I'll jog at bishan park on mon and wed evenings. (read: I'll try my very best to =X)

No driving my dad's car this week cos he'll be out of town. SIGH. The rule is: never drive his car when he's not around to supervise me. Sometimes, I do think my dad is like my 2nd driving instructor. More like my probation instructor. lol. Anyway, I'm alright with it, I still get to drive around the island to familiarize myself with the roads since my dad is like a walking street directory.

alright, bye, nuff of my ramblings.

Posted by Jo at 2:11 pm

Saturday, August 26, 2006

I miss this person to tiny bits.

Posted by Jo at 2:14 pm

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Coach's Sales Attendants

All SAs behave exactly the same way when you enter the shop; they look at the way you dress, the bag you carry and the shoes you wear. They look at you from head to toe and then they smile that fake smile of theirs. How superficial.

Thats why, I got a kick looking at their faces when I accompanied Eileen to buy her Coach bag. Our dressing was way too laid-back for their taste. ha!, Eil in her simple top and skirt. Me in my pseudo junk food tee and capri pants (plus black slippers!). The SAs look at us and prolly think we won't be buying anything. (that was true for me, but I just wanna see how their attitude change once 'we' looked interested in buying a bag from there.) It turned out once they sized up Eil's interest in buying the Coach Soho Signature bag, they turned from icy SA girls to eager school girls waiting to serve you. A tad too exaggerated but somewhat to that extent lah.

Amazing, how superficial some (or rather most) SAs can be.

In sales, never ever underestimate or look down on folks who dress down BECAUSE, they may just turn out to be the biggest buyer you get to serve. Which reminds me of this experience my friend Vanny told me; this auntie who looks like she really can't afford to buy anything in Loccitane (where my friend was working) actually bought 1 grand worth of products from there. 1 GRAND~! thats like 5 years worth of facial, hand, foot (whatever) cream, lotion and masks!

So there, the Loccitane SA who prolly earned the most commission that day didn't see that woman as a suan gu and poor auntie who just came from Mainland China but as a potential customer she ought to serve well.

Posted by Jo at 7:33 pm

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

School is beginning to suck already!

Argh. There're like countless reasons why school is so gonna suck this term but the most obvious reasons to me now are...

1. The cost of textbooks this term is going to burn a HUGE hole in my pocket. I've counted, 150 bucks tops. No doubt.

2. The extremely dry services marketing lessons. I was expecting it to be interesting. C'mon, how boring can marketing lessons get? We get to see hot people in marketing class (yah, the goodlookers are usually in Marketing, obviously aint it? since "sex" or rather looks sell in sales and marketing.) That's besides the point, we are going to school to learn afterall, not to people watch (or drool). The problem lies with the Prof. She's not goodlooking, she uses irrelevant examples to substantiate her points, she speaks monotonously and she makes marketing very very un-appealing. Nuff said. LOL, kinda mean here but its the truth.

3. The fitness club has yet to send us notification emails about their fitness classes. I want to start my kickboxing class asap. For pretty obvious reasons.. ha!

4. Erms.. *I ran out of more reasons why school is beginning to suck.*

Hmm. with ONLY 3 reasons, its not that bad afterall. I'm an optimistic person, so I tend to give myself reasons not to gripe and languish in self-pity too much.

The best thing to being back to school: I'll get to see my friends, Jules, Ellena, Wanling, Cynthia and Fran. The first day of school was spent catching up and waving to familiar acquaintances who crossed my path albeit only for a short and fleeting time. Its good to see them again!

Posted by Jo at 11:43 am

Friday, August 18, 2006

Summer came and went.

The same saying again, "How time flies when you're having a blast!"

The end of term exams and start of summer vacation seems like it only happened like, a week ago? Sure doesnt feel like it was a whole 4 months ago. To many, the end of summer means a whole truckload of school work otherwise, aka participation, project work, class assignments to fret on, school activities, presentations, what to wear each morning as we prepare to go to school. ha, yes, the latter latter is the most daunting esp. if you are heading back to SMU where all the girls (most) take the effort to dress up for classes even if their lessons start at like, 8.30am. At times, we can be a tad too superficial.. sigh.

Anyhow, Im glad my summer turned out the way it did. I can say I had a fulfiling 4 month albeit the first month which was spent slacking my ass off.

The main highlight is definitely my one month summer term in University of British Columbia in Vancouver. No other event in summer can beat that. Sometimes, I do look back and wonder if it was all a dream... It went by so fast that it didnt really seem real to me.

oh yes, how can we forget the World Cup mania... staying up late at un-godly hours waiting for our fave matches to start, the munching on chips, the cursing/swearing, the screams of joy and the bets we made.

And I think I drank beer like water these past 4 months. ha!

Achievement that is related to school: I cleared 3 modules in summer. Im surprised. 2 in summer exchange and 1 in summer term 3B. Now, I have to focus on beefing up my resume to prep for next summer's internship. Not looking forward to it at all.....

So...

Bye to guiltless summer fun. Hi to a brand new school term.

Posted by Jo at 10:57 am

Thursday, August 17, 2006

A Walk Down Memory Lane.

(After reading through this post, I bet you girls will scream at me for posting fugly photos of our past online. ha! just for laughs lah, alright?!) I was looking through some old pictures and well.... URPS.......)

Alright, lets start with how we look like NOW, Year 2006....


Not too bad lah eh? Pretty Above average good looking girls.


But things were WAY different (oh yes..) back in secondary school days....

Be shocked.

If you're wondering who that geeky chinese girl is in that picture. Lemme refresh your memory.... Its Yours truly.. Yes, I have the full works of the typical geek you'd most likely find in any sec school. I have braces, wear spectacles everyday and I was a klutz (still is,sometimes). I can trip and stumble while walking, laugh super loudly, talk super loudly too. I don't give two hoots about my image and not the least self conscious about my looks (if any at that time. hah!). Sad to say, I do miss those days where I don't really care how the world looks at me. Anyway, I wasn't the only one who ditched our specs and our horrible dress sense for the better.




Taadah! My girls (a couple of years backkkk..) haha! never fails to bring back memories and laughter whenever I look at these pictures! Even while typing this now, Im having this grin on my face just looking at how we looked like.

My sec school darlings! Yes, they've been with me through the good times and the bad, the good hair days and the bad hair days, the fashion glam and the boo-boos...

Who say girls are hard to get along with?!

With girls like these, Life is truly awesome!

Love you babes!

Posted by Jo at 1:01 pm

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Xiao Long Bao!

I so love those tiny stuff from Ding Tai Fung. Add slices of ginger and vinegar and its simply heavenly! Went with eil last thurs. A basket of 10 xiao long bao, a bowl of prawn dumpling soup and pork chop egg fried rice all for 13 bucks per pax. Pretty good deal for good food =)

We should eat at Ding Tai Fung. No more NYDC, Marche (or rather the village now) and Crystal Jade. Heh.

-------------------------------------

Pictures from before: My other lovelies... Love them too! That Chitra babe is always M-I-A'ing...

Hmmh, I wonder if she started driving already? She was telling us the other day, her dad has to pick an auspicious day for her to drive officially. haha so funny. I thought chinese folks are usually more particular over such stuff. Well, anyway, I hope Chit will turn up at eil's 21st party.

We were bored, hence the lame-ass pictures.

Posted by Jo at 3:42 pm

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Posted by Jo at 7:51 pm

Singapore: My Island Home

Happy 41th Birthday, Singapore!

This year's theme song is good, it brought me to write this post and to tears. Tears just welled up in my eyes when I heard it. All of a sudden, I feel this sense of belonging here. National day never fails to make me feel so blessed to be a Singaporean. Yes, we may not have wide open spaces, breath-taking picturesque scenery nor clear blue-greenish waters great for scuba diving. But at least we live in a peaceful land where opportunities are abound for people who seek them.

And no matter how much fun I had while traveling, I always feel that nothing beats coming back to Singapore. Everytime the plane touched down at Changi Airport, my sis and I will complain and sigh because we're back in boring and hot Singapore again. But at the end of the day, this place is home where we first learnt how to walk, made our best friends, fell in love, had our first kisses, our memories and our dreams came true. I know most of us complain and harp on the bad side of Singapore, how hot and humid, how boring, uptight and stressful life here can be. But we can always learn to look on the bright side of life and stop griping so much. At least we're not in Lebanon fighting for our lives, in Ethopia starving to death with houseflies swarming around our heads nor in Congo where children has to bear arms. Think about that and you feel that life here in Singapore is good afterall.

And heres to an awesome 41th for you!

Posted by Jo at 7:20 pm

Monday, August 07, 2006

Stop Crying Your Heart Out

I was at the airport last night. And yes, I cried at the departure gates. Alot. And thankfully, my Lancome waterproof Mascara is a darn good one.

Im still feeling pretty much fine up until the point when Alan (Jax's friend's boyfriend) joined youie and I for coffee. While waiting for Jax and his family to meet us, Alan kept going on about reminding his girl (she's going for the exchange too, see) to send him updates through emails, blogger.... so on so forth. My eyes started to water and my face turned warm. Reality showed its ugly face and this horrendous feeling of dread set in. Shucks, my boyfriend, the one who's so annoying and adorable and the same time is really flying off to Norway for 5 months. My usual chatter ceased immediately. Even poor Alan kept quiet, biting his nails.

Anyway, I wasnt the only one crying like hell at the d.gates. Family members were crying, girlfriends were crying and mums tearing. It was like a drama show. I hate this kind of situation.
And I promised myself not to cry like that during these 5 months.

Dont get me wrong, yes, I'll miss my darl really badly but I know I'll get by =) If we are meant to be, this will turn out fine for us. Seeing things positively, these 5 months will put our relationship into a different perspective which Im pretty sure will make both the relationship and us, stronger. Ah well, to borrow a cliche, "Absence makes the heart fonder". No worries, We'll make it. Meantime, I'm focusing on my studies, upcoming 21st bashes and catching up with my girls. Life still goes on.


On a sidenote, Youie is my first girlfriend to get a taste of my driving skills. ha! Go ask her how she'll rate me as a driver. She's leaving for Norway too. Very soon. Sigh.

Posted by Jo at 7:11 pm

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Sarcasm at its best.

"Would You Dump a NS boy for a Uni Man?"
by Mistress Beech (taken from FunkyGrad portal)

Of course!

Oh, sheathe those claws, boys. Don't be rude. You would do so if you were in the same position.
Think about it: New environment and you're all alone; you don't recognise a single face and you're worrying how and where to start; your partner can't understand what you're facing and it's hard to explain; and then, you make a new bunch of proximity friends, and it's so much easier to hang out with them.

Hmmm? That's not university? That's national service? Well, well, well, how alarmingly bright you are. And here I was, worrying myself to wrinkles that I might die in the couple of decades you'd take to get it.

So you see, right? Beginning University and starting National Service is almost the same experience. I say "almost" because I know that if I said "the same", all the NS recruits in the country would be swarming over me like a pack of hounds before the night is out. They'd bay for my blood, because I had dared equate the tortures of 24-klik marches under the blazing sun and grimy sweaty trench-digging with "going to school".

"Going to school"? Ha! Now it's the university students turn to snort. University's a far cry from primary school where wide-eyed kiddies sweetly share their last piece of keropok with you. Anything precious here is more likely to be tightly wedged between a butt and a chair than shared. It is here you feel the need to find friends fast more than ever. It's the pack instinct: safety in numbers; comfort and acceptance too.

So, when you're feeling more than a little vulnerable, you crave comfort, as girls do when they play Moses and bravely face the Red Sea. And we all know that Comfort's schizo, right, girls?
Sometimes she's Ben & Jerry's (gender-crisis), sometimes she's Cadbury & Hersheys, while other times she's Paul & Frank. That is, Paul, your 3-year NS boyfriend; and Frank, that guy from your university orientation group.

It's not that you don't love Paul. After all, he was the one that gave you your first kiss; he was the one sitting next to you, picking at the miniscule plate of Prom Night food you each paid a bomb of $90 for; he was the fool that queued an hour at MacDonald's to buy that Hello Kitty toy you wanted, throwing away the McMeal. (SIN! Mistreatment of food! WASTREL!)

But things have changed. It's not the same anymore, you sniffle delicately. He's changed. All he wants to do is talk about his water-parades, complain about his officer-in-charge, that time he scrubbed the loo with his platoon, and his buddy (now that really perturbs you).
Frank, on the other hand (literally), is ever so attentive, always there for you, and oh, oh, so understanding…..

Smell the coffee, girl! OF COURSE, he's understanding! That guy's in the same university as you! He breathes the same lecture hall air as you, eats the same canteen food as you, sleeps in the library and drools over the same course books as you! It isn't hard to be understanding when you're doing all the same things!

No, shut up Frank , I'm not blaming you. I just want Pollyanna here to see how obvious it is that you have the Unfair Advantage in this case. Yes, the UA.

The UA presents itself in every single situation that occurs. Born of the Unfair World, the UA clings on to one party that catches its fancy and allocates them that tad bit more weight to tip the scales in their favour. Intrinsically irrational, UAs choose not by logic, but by pure whim and coincidence.

Coincidence, that he's at the same stage of life with you, enabling him to be there physically when you need him, to be in the experience with you. If it was based on that alone, Paul would never have had a chance. Why would you choose a partner who can never be there over a partner who always is?

Because you know it's not Paul's fault. He didn't choose not be there. He didn't choose to be away in Brunei killing chickens and wearing 5 day old underwear when you wanted to talk to someone about your voodoo plans for your slacker project mate.

But you've reached a point when you don't particularly care, you just want someone to be there for you. You know you'll hurt Paul's feelings and that bites, but you can't help being selfish. You want to be selfish. You want what feels best for you.

Now we're left feeling awfully sorry for Poor Paul and snarling at Frank the Filch. However, if recall what I said earlier, the situation of entering NS and beginning University life being almost the same, what do you think would have happened if Paul started NS with a co-ed company and Pollyanna entered an all-girls University?

Sounds far-fetched? Well, just indulge me and stretch your imaginations thinner. Paul, is now the one with opportunities galore, and Pollyanna? Pollyanna's the nun.

So, tell me, who is more likely to break up with who?

In a Chanel lipstick case (because a nutshell is so passe), we are all Fortune's fools. She plays us in situations we have little control over. Live with it.

And all the Pauls out there? Life's not over. In 2 years time, you'll be at university, and then, during the orientation camp, you finally get the chance to introduce yourself as " Frank, the name's Frank."

Oh well, I didnt have this hell of a choice to make when I entered varsity life. Thankfully!

Posted by Jo at 1:01 am

Saturday, August 05, 2006

My first speeding ticket!

WTF! I don't have a habit of swearing but oh my goodness, I'm so mad! Know why, I was driving at 90km/h.. 90!90! for goodness sake! And I was on PIE driving to 6th Ave. Correct me if I'm wrong, the speeding limit is like 80km/h and if you do the math correctly, its like ONLY 10km/h over the limit!! I got a warning ticket for driving on the MIDDLE lane at 90km/h. I bet I'm not the only poor soul who got the speeding ticket cause Im damn freaking sure that other drivers are driving way above 80km/h. Not mentioning the fact that I was only on the middle lane, the drivers on the overtaking lane was like at what 100-120 lah! WHAT THE HELL!!!! pardon me, but I'm feeling super bitter and mad!

Thank GOD, Its only a warning letter.


And,

The funniest thing is, I'm only a 3 week old driver! Oh what a way to start my driving experience! ha! Now, Im the rookie speedster. My dad was equally mad at this whole bizarre incident. By the way, my dad speeds most of the time and he was sitting beside me when I drove to 6th Ave the other day. So it's not surprising at all that he's not taking this too well.

I think I drive like a man and I tend to get really pissed and annoyed at idiotic drivers who are so damn inconsiderate to charge infront of me without signaling! And Im equally annoyed at drivers who turn into the main road so bloody slowly that everyone behind them has to step on the brake to accomodate their speed. Didnt they learn from driving schools that oncoming cars on the main roads has the right of way! Those goons! Oh shucks, I think Im turning into a driver like my dad. haha he has this old saying that, "Anyone who drives slower than you is an idiot and anyone who drives faster is a lunatic." haha, I don't really subscribe to his way of thinking when it comes to driving, but I finally see how annoying driving can be at times.

oh and jax commented I am a backseat driver. Why? I love to tell him what to do when he drives. The thing is I do it subsciously and this backseat driver syndrome only surfaced after I got my licence. How weird!

Welcome to the world of driving fast but smartly, the world of swearing at idiotic drivers who get on my nerves.

Posted by Jo at 11:32 pm

Friday, August 04, 2006

I love online forums.

Its a fantabulous way of being in the know about the latest make up, skincare and fragrance products and most importantly the prices.Im even browsing through car online forums and electronics stuff like digicams. The users seriously do seem like they know their stuff. Beats having to ask the cosmetics girls for prices over the counter and you can plan how much to buy before actually buying right there at the counter. Haha saves me from impulse buying.

Hey babes, do check out FlowerPod and CozyCot. Most prolly, you have heard of these online forums. Great girly girl information which keeps you in the loop about the lastest and the best deals (skincare, makeup, mani+pedi, dining and shopping!) in town. Awesome!

Posted by Jo at 11:30 pm

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Brand Conscious. Are you not?!

oh 'fess up all you women out there. Don't we all long for designer brands, shoes, bags, clothes, shades, bling bling and what have you nots. Tell you frankly, most of us (I am no exception.Honest.) are stuck in this vicious cycle of yearning for more, more, more and much MORE. And yes, the phrase "less is more' definitely doesnt apply here.

Sadly, we derive our satisfaction and happiness from our LV, Coach, Gucci and Chanel totes and Salvatore Ferragamo and Jimmy Choos. Do we really walk with more confidence with these superficial things? Do we really exude more confidence when we walk into a LV boutique carrying our latest LV bags? Since when a bag gives us the so-called confidence we need? Aint it an ironic and a sad sad fact. In an economist's words, "A rational human being craves for more good things than less." More is always good. Or is it really?

Oh, sometimes I wish I wasnt this materialistic and overtly pragmatic girl who longs for designer brands and splurge money on more expensive wants.

Life is definitely worth more than all the designer possessions we can get our hands on.

Posted by Jo at 1:04 pm

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