Really nothing beats celebrating the nation's birthday live. I was among the thousands who were able to to celebrate Singapore's 42nd birthday held on the world's largest floating platform @ Marina Bay. The city skyline was breath-taking, the F-16 flypast, the parade contingent all added to the thrill. There was a spectacular showcasing of our nation's advanced weaponry, agility and might and to end the evening on a high note, popping fireworks filled the air. I will let the pictures do the talking. ENJOY.

After all the waiting, Potter mania has hit town. It was entertaining but after all the anticipation, I left the cinema thinking the book was better.

Here's my random thoughts for the movie
(1) A more appropriate title for the movie would be "Invasion of Dolores Umbridge". she had more screen time than most of the main characters put together.
(2) 80% of the movie showed Harry as a sulky teenager
(3) Hermione and Ron had negligible roles
(4) The Order was skimmed over
(5) The hype about Harry's and Cho's relationship was just based on the 30 sec smooch
(6) Sirius Death if you can even call it a death
(7) I enjoyed Evanna Meghan Lynch portrayal as Luna Lovegood. Very ethereal.
(8) The Last fight at the Ministry of Magic was the most memorable

I am still a Potter fan but this movie how should i put it... it felt as though they wanted to put everything in but didn't have enough screen time so they just skimmed the surface for all the different plots.

Now we await Book 7.

I have found my Summer fragrance!

CK ETERNITY summer
A modern interpretation of the classic ETERNITY fragrance, ETERNITY summer is crisp, clean, and perfectly summer-ready with sparkling top notes like Japanese pear, a petal heart of white peony and gardenia, and a summery dry down of tonka bean, heliotrope, and white musk.

Both Female and Male scents appeal to my nose.
Style:Optimistic. Crisp. Fresh.

This picture was taken last month. Nice hey! The beauties from my department. Each very much an individual with quirks of their own but nevertheless special in their own way.

I have been reminded by my annoyed pals that it has been a while since i last updated my blog. So here is a short update.

Well for starters I got a new job so that's zapped all my energy.
Trying to learn the ropes while gaining respect from my collegues is a challenge.
I am rostered for shift work five day week but sometimes i gotta do a double shift That is my choice to catch up.

Work is interesting. There are many areas that i have to cover.
So that keeps me on my toes.
Will try to write more frequently now that i am slowly getting used to my new routine.

GOD BLESS YOU c",)

What to do on a rainy day but to snuggle in a corner and enjoy a warm cuppa coffee and linger with a good book in hand.

That's the life... haven't done this in ages for a couple of reasons mainly the lack of coffee spots that actually serve good coffee, no annoying staff and not packed to the brim with people.

So the choice hangout if you haven't figured it out by now.... "the coffee connoisseur". Hasn't disppointed me once & i have patronised four differently located caffé boutiques. Every one Artistic, Stylish, Cosy and Urbane.

Today i had the Upside Down Lilikoi Cheese Cake & a Toasted Hazelnut Latte. Thumbs up !

Capability is 99% effort,
plus 1% possibility.

Effort is 99% steadfastness,
plus 1% dream.

Steadfastness is 99% love,
plus 1% worry

That means that... ...

Love is 99% stupidity,
plus 1% hope

At first...I wondered, is it real? is it a lie?
I thought about it...but to me it became real.
Constantly waiting for you,
feeling heartbroken and also...feeling happy.
Like that...because of you...It became real for me.

When i doubted if i was able to protect you,
and was thinking about it,
I thought I was gonna go crazy.
Thinking about you constantly, worrying about you, and missing you.

I really...I was really hurting.
Loving someone...Hurts and it's tiring.
But it's not something I could stop.
Going to you...I can't stop that.

I love you...
As much as the entire universe exploding,
As much as the waters in every ocean drying,
With my spirit burst, as much as it spreads outward.
I love you very much. I love you so much.

Three things that scare me:
* walking alone in the dark
* disappointing others
* going to the dentist

Three people who make me laugh:
* Moi
* Matthew
* Misty

Three things I love:
* Sipping tea/coffee in a cafe with a good book
* Pyjamas
* Japanese Culture

Three things I hate:
* Durians
* Expectations
* Spots on my face

Three things I don’t understand:
* the minds of others
* unnecessary ending of life
* the passing of time

Three things on my desk:
* Bible
* Computer
* Candle Burner

Three things I’m doing right now:
* This Duh!!!
* Enjoying Dou Hua (soy milk)
* Using msn

Three things I want to do before I die:
* own a super cool car
* travel to as many different countries as possible
* look back on my life with no regrets

Three things I can do:
* read
* listen
* procrastinate

Three things you should listen to:
* God
* Your bank account
* Your parents

Three things you should never listen to:
* music you don't like
* horoscopes
* tarot readings

Three things I’d like to learn:
* Master a new language
* Learn to forGIVE
* Who God created me to be

Three favorite foods:
* Potatoes
* Chicken
* Chocolate

Three beverages I drink regularly:
* water
* tea
* coffee

Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
* Gummy Bears * Duck Tales * Angelina Ballerina
* Enid Blyton series * Roald Dahl's Books * Boxcar Children

Three people I would like to tag:
* Marianne
* Patricia
* Jocelyn

Wow Wee!!! In three days i watched four movies in the cinemas.

(1) Bobby
(2) One Last Dance (Chinese Movie)
(3) Babel
(4) The Illusionist

The interweaving of the story plot for all four movies were excellent.

One Last Dance was not my kind of movie...a lot of killing and blood.
Bobby could also have been titled The Ambassador Hotel and has a stellar cast involved.
Babel was thought provoking...worth watching Marianne. It gives quite a number of insights...different cultures, the attitudes of people, the customs, the packing order of nations. Fascinating but packs quite a lot of juice. Straight forward yet open to interpretation.
My favourite was The Illusionist just because i enjoyed it.

昨天排了六个半小时但最后仍错过相见的机会. 幸好至少在最后看到他们唱了一首歌.

Unbelievable. This might be the first and last time I ever go to an autograph session. I thought okay since i'm free and we have tickets, might as well head down. But horrors of horrors. After standing in the queue for six hours... still didn't get an autograph. It is a miracle I got to take a picture. Sigh... ... the organisers of this event did a really lousy job. They gave out too many tickets and planned it in a small gathering place. Security was lax crowd control almost zero. Only one policeman was mobilised to crowd control but he wasn't very useful.

There were thousands of screaming teenagers. I heard someone almost fainted and there was a lot of crying. Sheesh... too emotional. Now i know why i've never attended such events before. I was squished like a sandwhich, couldn't get out of the queue even if we wanted to give up. Truly an "unforgettable" experience.

However in every situation, there is always a silver lining awaiting you. Look above, 4 new friendships have begun from this event. Totally unexpected but definitely appreciated. Common interest, slight rain, the sharing of umbrellas, a conversation is begun n strangers become friends. Honest to goodness we didn't know each other until that moment but it makes a pretty gd beginning don’t u reakon. I look forward to seeing how these friendships develop.

It was something i have never done before so all in all it is pretty cool.

Love my Perth friends... You who have shared life with me, my ups and downs... tis just not the same as any new friends i make here. No matter the distance or the time we haven't seen each other... everytime i see you it feels as though i haven't left.

You guys will always be special. To Marianne, Darren and Joey who i got to spend time in Singapore, to Siew Ping, Tina and Michael who i caught up with earlier in the year. Hope to see all of you soon.

3 simple things to practice everyday....

(1) Thank God for One good thing that has happened today

(2) Reflect on One unpleasant event that occurred

(3) Bless One person who you do not like or get along with

Unbelievable it is going to be a year since i last posted on my blog. I was going to hang on until the new year. But i had to vant my frustrations somewhere so that i can start the new year with a light heart.

I almost cried at work today!!! An old HAG at work unreasonably repriminded me very loudly without giving me a chance to defend myself.

Let me set the stage for you.... ... to understand i need to tell you 3 separate incidents that happened one after the other prior to the falling out...

---------------------------------------------------------
Stage: Cosmetics Department with many brand areas
Time: Evening

(1) Green Sales Assistant (SA) brings Customer 1 (C1) into my shop area, I helped serve the customer so that i could get a receipt and than i give the Green SA key the sale. Old Hag witnessed this and commented..."Ohhh you have a Secretary to help you." (Childish jealous remarks)

(2) As i walk out of my shop area, a Customer 2 beakons me to assist her with a product from another area. I cannot find the stock, i approach the Green SA who is free to help me find. At this point in time, Old Hag is doing something at her counter. When I walk back with Green SA, Old Hag is standing by C2. I find the product and since i had approached the Green SA i give the sale to her.

(3) Customer 3 walks into my shop area, I approach and she says, "Can you recommend an eye cream for me please. In the last few days my eye lids are very flaky...is it dry??" Not being very expreienced, I had to confirm with someone else...I call the nearest Blue SA over. Blue SA confirms and closes the sale. Of course by all rights she gets to key but she chooses to give Green SA as she has yet to hit her monthly target. Old Hag sees me with them and presumes i gave the sale to Green SA and gets angry.

The next thing i know she walks over and says...."I and so and so don't care if you don't give your sales to us to key but you cannot reserve customers for other SA. (referring to incident 2 & 3) I was serving this customer first. Other people haven't hit their sales, I also haven't hit my target. I don't want to hear any explanations, You can say all kinds of things now but your own conscience knows..." She walks off and complains about me to other SAs on the shop floor. (What rubbish... if she serve first than how come the customer ask me find for her the product. If i can give the sale to anyone why she being so small minded, immature and causing other people hurt)

How unreasonable is that... she just based her accusations on her deductions without giving me a chance to explain. I really felt like crying. Already i was tearing. I had to ask God to help me to be strong and not cry...kept reminding myself my treasure is being stored in heaven.

The many times that I give my sales to her she don't mention...
the many times she take other SA's sale through me without me knowing until later, she also don't mention...
the times i help her pack stock when it is not in my job description...
the one time she thinks i have taken her sale she yell at the top of her lungs and complains to everyone.

What do you think! I can't believe people can be so self centered and unreasonable. = (

The two other SAs who heard said... "Just ignore her, when we all first come she also got scold us..now also still have... just pretend you cannot hear."

My mum says..."The next time you see her you tell her, my conscience is clear, God knows."

My sis says..."You smile sweetly and tell her, "Aunty what is your problem...why you must make life difficult for everybody. You want we go see the supervisor now and talk it through"

Whoa.... 2005 has come and gone. WELCOME 2006 - The Year of the Dog. Nice one, Yippee!!!

This is the first time i spent Christmas and New Year abroad. Very interesting experience. I have enjoyed it. New year, new resolutions, new path to take. Look forward to it.

For now... HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.... May this year be fruitful and full of love. God Bless.

An extremely satisfying dinner... upon the invitation of a fair maiden, our entire household went out for a belated birthday dinner. Who is this fair maiden well have a look yourself and see if you can identify from the four choices below.

If you guessed C...an eye test is highly recommended. If you chose B, congratulations...you are absolutely spot on - it is TINA. We had a good time at Siena's; an Italian restaurant in Leederville. The fish that i had was simply devine. Don't believe me see for yourself.

Good food & excellent company. You can't ask for anymore.

HAPPY 24th TINA.

Thank you for dinner.

Your Japanese Name Is...

Mitsuko Matsuki

I am slowly but surely becoming an anime OTAKU. How do i know this well this arvo when my housemates came home after chatting abt the day... we went on to renaissance about anime we have seen... from the story plot to how we would like to date guys like Sagara Souske and Uchiha Sasuke and animation drawing...until "eggs on beard" suddenly cropped into the convesation. It was suppose to be "eyes very big". Haha...it was hilarious.

This is not just today...but in the past couple of days anime is never far from conversations. **sigh** I admit it I am an ANIME OTAKU. This is your doing Jacob !!!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In modern Japanese slang, an otaku is an enthusiastic fan of any one particular theme, topic, or hobby. Perhaps the most common uses are anime otaku (one who sometimes enjoys many days of excessive anime watching with no rest) and manga otaku (a fan of Japanese comic books). The term otaku used by itself just means "fanatic".

In friendship's fragrant garden,
There are flowers of every hue.
Each with its own fair beauty
And its gift of joy for you.
- Friendship's Garden

Dinner was with a few close friends; my housemates - Siew Ping, Tina, Michael and super friends - Pearl and Jason. Thank you guys for willing to spend time with me. It was super to catch up. We went to Chutney Marys @ Subi for dinner. Never been there but it was not bad. The food could be spicy but a great way to end the day.

Pearl, Siew Ping, Tina, Michael & Jason

It has only been three days but wahh..... i miss having my car.

I was on my way to uni on tuesday and it started smoking... ... gave me a massive heart-attack to notice white fumes coming from my bonnet. Best part it was on vincent street and there heavy traffic. Looking back though... it was a good thing coz of the constant start and stop, i noticed the overheating much quicker than if i was constantly driving.

The bill is going to be quite high i can imagine... three days at the mechanics must be quite a large job. = (

You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.