we had to pay to enter zouk yesterday. i only came to know about it later towards the evening. it was a public holiday the next day.. so.. we had to pay like $20.

i squandered away lots of money yesterday. die la. gonna be broke soon because my pay is like damn fucking low this month. nvm.. i shall work hard .. just to spend more away. -.-""

Anyway, the crowd was TERRIBLE yesterday. can u believe it? i arrived at like.. 1040pm and the queue was rumoured to be until the bridge. but anyway, people were just standing around la. but.. anyway.. then we got to the real queue.. which was damn hard to cut in. some people were said to be queuing since... 930... -.-""

some people got in ... 5 mins after they got there. -.-"" what a world of difference!

anyway, my point is.. public holiday the next day thats why more ppl go.. and... the place was so fuckin packed... that.... the reception was super bad la. esp for Starhub subscribers,. i tink.

so scary.. its like one moment you can call, the next moment u cant. but i dun experience that during countdowns leh. why ah?

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

i'm so looking forward to my weekends where i can just slack like nobody's business. damn tired..

hello! just finished MJ prac... it was rizal's item today.. slow hiphop.. very nice song. though.. i really have no clue what the title is? but i tink.. it shld be last night by p. diddy.

then we also have one more song.. tt.. i dun recall the title again. the song worm keeps ringing in my head. and when there is the song.. i tink of the steps.. coz in rizal's choreo.. he doesnt count any eights at all! he goes.. ta.. di dam... da da da da.. da di di da.. whatever whatever.. so.. i rmb the lyrics to rmb the steps..

here goes..

" it was so strange.. i knew who she was.. from the moment she said hello...

i pause for a minute.. i cannot control it.. blah blah blah...

she said i'm sorry but...its something u shld noe.

This is what she said to me.. i cant let u go i know i cant let u go, ... blah blah blah.. "

yeah. this whole song keeps ringing in my head!!!!


anyway peeps.. i'm much freer in JUNE.. so.. PLEASE ASK ME OUT. if you think i m a friend, ask me out.!!! coz.. i m SHY. -_-""

yeah. true la. i m very shy one. quick! ask me out! hahaa.. what a desperate attempt!

anyway, i wanna watch pirates in the cinema.. anyone wanna watch with me? yeah. ask me out k! hahaha -_-""

DAY 4 of Korea Trip - yeah. i know. damn outdated

It starts off with a 3hr road trip to "Qun zhou" also known as Jeon Ju in English.
The first stop is a tradtional wine making museum where there are really cool and interesting things there. theyteach you the traditional wine making method.





some pot to put wine?



Above: i think... its barley seeds.. for the wine making process



Above: LOOK! they have distillation technology long before the scientists have!



Above: a hand written instruction manual on how to make wine the traditional korean way!



After tat was lunch where we ate over 30 dishes. it is the tradtional lunch the rich koreans used to eat. Jeon Ju is the state where the more affluent koreans stay. Of course, this is in the older context la. The more affluent koreans would consist of academics, generals and their families. Thus, the presence of better and more stable houses instead of the tradtional straw houses in Jeju.



Following lunch was a visit to the cultural area where we look at shops selling traditional handicrafts.


Above: do u noe? this is made of paper?



Above: little wooden house where they have all the handicrafts







Above: isnt it cool? like damn... long ago back to the past feeling









After that is a one hour bus ride to the place called "Ma Er Shan" i.e. Horse Ear Mountain.

ALong the road.. there is ....



a close up... (below)



So anyway, back to "Ma Er Shan"... This is the place where there is this old man who stack stones. haha.. yah. i know. you read, and u feel... -_-"""

This man.. too much time arh?
hahaha..

Anyway, this guy is a hermit. he stack stones and.. amazingly... they haven fell even aftr braving so many storms and all.

Well, anyway, he deserves the admiration because the stones did not fall.. and they are really stacked damn nicely la! Before going to the stacking stones place, we have to walk abt 30mins through this really nice park.







Above: cute little puppy..









Above: the old man who stacked stones...



Above: the temple where they worship this old man.

c the stacks of stones?









Above: a sculpture of the old man.. who stacked stones




Abve: a close up picture of the old man....



Above: view from the top! we climbed up high high.. high high up the temple..... to take this picture!




Above: the stack that me n my dad made. haha.. i made a wish. guess what is it? haha

Next was a visit to the Ginseng farm..



The guide taught us.. how to tell how old the ginseng is.
one yr --> 1 branch
2 yr --> 2 branch..
and so on.





Above: Ginseng is below the ground... ermm.. this is for those who.. dunnu. -_-""




We then proceeded on to dinner.. dinner was chicken soup.. shiok. the tour guide treated us to alcohol and coke. no. not mix.



We then went to Muju Ski Resort to stay. the thing is.. its a ski resort. so.. everything is only active in winter. so now.. we go n stay... its like a ghost town. haha..

I guess the reason is because its cheaper .. and so.. the tour people booked it.



cool rite? so many pillows!



Sooo vintage!

ok. the rest of the photos.. nt uploaded yet. when they are.. i will put them up! thats all for today! tata!!!

woah.. time passes really quickly and May is going to be over already!

i haven blogged for quite a while. yeah. i know for some people, not bloggin for a month is quite a while , but for me, not blogging for a few days is already quite a while! haha.. i m a bloggin addict.. i tink.

anyway, have been really busy for this whole entire month and i predict its going to be the same for the next few months to come. haish! busy with work, busy with dance, and... busy with my own personal stuff (which of course i wont say here la) . haha..

And so.. i've been kept pretty occupied for the whole week with myself reaching home at late hours of the nite.. and now.. i'm beginning to appreciate actually staying at home, and doing NOTHING. but of course, i dont have the time and opportunity to actually do that.

Anyway, working at Capita now seems better than initially working at The Recruit Room. I guess its because of the presence of males. haha.. and no.. i'm not sounding desperate but everyone knows that when a place, a society, a club, etc, is full of females only ... there is bound to be cat fights, politics and what not. The presence of males actually help to reduce such tings.. so.. i'm quite glad i came from a mixed school since young and do not have to actually sit through all these politics since young. so.. my first brush with real female cat fight was at The Recruit Room. The bosses are nice.. but the colleagues were NOT. haha.. they ostracise you initially etc just because.. you are not their friend. in fact, they ostracise all the newbies. coz after i joined.. came another colleague. she is the blur blur kind.. and her english kinda sucks and all.. so.. they saw her a a potential target ! Then.. they shifted away attention from me and vicki , to her. haha..

So, i say.. the ying and yang must be balanced.. thus, the presence of males actually seriously reduce all the politics and negativeness in anywhere.

Whatever it is, Capita seems really different now. the environment is very different. everyone there is like.,. damn motivated to earn money. haha.. and all damn smart !

okok.. anyway, time to stop talking about work! haha.. Great Singapore Sale is here! and since i m earning money now... its time to SHOP TIL I DROP! wahahahahaha!!!

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

Damn tired. my holiday.. like not holiday like tt..

chui.

KOREA TRIP DAY 3 - Daegu

Breakfast was continental buffet. Scrambled eggs were perfect.

Aftr that was the visit to the Donghuashi temple ( if i din get it wrong).



Above: lots of colourful lanterns! perhaps... preparing for some festival!



Above: nice view from above



Above: colourful flowers that you will hardly see in singapore



Above: mum n dad




Then we had a very healthy meal-- tofu lunch!




Above: usual side dishes in a lunch



Above: healthy tofu soup lunch! like our very own "yong tau foo!"



Above: if you look carefully at the rice.. u will see many things in it. there is .. da mai, xiao mai, whatever watever watever!!!all the healthy things.. that people used to say... poor people will eat this type of rice. BUT NO! now... its rich people who enjoy such things because prices for such condiments have rose!

Today is a super healthy day ! u will noe why in a while!

After lunch, we went to the shopping district. Okay la.. btw,, the cheap things there are stil very expensive. you can get cheaper ones in singapore. i only managed to buy a skirt and some accessories. After shopping, it was our long awaited SPA!
Thats why its a healthy day. can u imagine? we're like.. living like tai tais.. after a long shoppingtrip.. we go for spa. damn shiok rite? if every day like tt .. hahahahahah!


There was an indoor swimming pool with lots of massagin water therapy equipments such as hydrotherapy, full body water jet, etc etc.

Then mum and i proceeded on to the sauna area where everyone has to strip naked. of course, this area is separated into guys and girls. how can mix rite?!!!

The tour guide recommended us to try the scrub.. which a lot of tourist go to try everytime they go. And of course.. since we're in korea.. we definitely must try it! We paid 20 000 won for the scrub. that would mean about S$32. quite cheap.

At the sauna area, its full of naked bodies. its not like what you all are painting in your brains now perverted people! its not really like porn or what la... haha.. so STOP IMAGINING THAT. hahaha!! its more of... think of a poultry shop with many chicken hanging without their feathers. chicken, pork, or whatever meat you wanna think of la. yeah. thats the idea.

The place is also full of aunties.. and of course, the sparse good looking and full figured young ladies. so.. theres nothing much spectacular to talk about, especially, when everyone has the same body parts.

ok. i shall not continue to describe the scene anymore. Anyway, the scrub is where you lie down and the person willl scrub all the dirt out of u! The people scrubbing are aunties. (for the guys, uncles) The aunties will do the same thing for everyone having the scrub and will say the same ting to all Singaporeans " dirty! dirty!" then , they show you your dirt. haha.. coz.. "dirty" is the only word they know how to say.,

After the scrub, we went on to the lobby of the SPA where we tried out " Doctor Fish!"
This is where you put your feeet into the pond and the small specialised fishes will come n bite the dead skin away from the soles of your feet. It was very ticklish at first. and it is definitely not advisable for people who are prone to tickles. But after a while, after you get past the threshold of ticklishness and you look away, it is not so bad after all. it just feels like many things on your feet, just touching you. you cant even feet their bite.

Dinner was some pork chop thing at the SPA itself. but .. i dun eat pork. or more like.. i dun like pork.. so it was rather wasted.

Then tonight, the guide surprised us by saying that we were changing and upgrading to a 6 star hotel to stay.... coz.. he noes the boss. ai yah. such things.. dunu real or fake. maybe bluff us one. maybe originally alr tt 6 star hotel then they pretend pretend a bit so that you will think " wow! they very zai!"

whats the meaning of this?

the moment i come back from malaysia i received an sms from someone asking abt changing dance pracs. i tot u very zai one?why u need to change for wat?

u miss some pracs u sure v fast can catch up what rite? u see me no up rite!

u want to change with me because u know i m lousy and you are good rite?

you dont have to be like that one. ok?

wtf.

look down on me.

i'm not here for you to be looked down on. i will prove all of you wrong because i know i will get there through hardwork.

shit u.

A DAY AS A RECEPTIONIST AT FRANKLIN TEMPLETON INVESTMENTS..

Franklin Templeton is Capita's client, or more accurately, elaine's client.
The receptionist could not work today as thus, they needed a one day temp at Templeton. I volunteered readily, without knowing that... i was headed for doom.

I volunteered because i wanted to try out the PABX switchboard that sometimes receptionists are required to know. And when i got there.. i found out.. it was chicken feet can? it could be understood in less than 30seconds.

Luckily, i listened to Elaine's advice and i bought a magazine there to read. but can you believe it?
I completed the whole set of Business Times, Today and Women's Weekly.

And i still.. have a lot of time to waste. This includes... helping them fold more than 1000 copies of letters, sorting out mountains of mails into different departments, calling the courier, handling the courier and lazing around.

This shows how boring the job of a receptionist can be. i would rather go back to be a recruitment consultant anytime! LUCKILY, the receptionist job is only for a day.

I dont understand how people can be receptionists for like.. 20 over years. not boring meh?

And.. receptionist job... is really a no brainer. I thought there would be a computer there for me.. but guess what? there is none. i initially thought.. not bad. can go to templeton and slack and use msn etc. but guess what? no! haha.. there was only a telephone.. and a switchboard.
can you believe it? how do people stone for a day like that?

But i guess the receptionist job that day really kind of opened my eyes. I was actually really exhausted today . I had.. only 2 hours of slp on wednesday ... and.. only 5 hours of slp on thursday. Besides, i had dance prac too.. so.. i guess it was a much needed rest. At the same time, it was a good time for me to reflect on what was going on in my mind and why i m so easily affected by things that seem so superficial and yet are so insignificant in my life. and yet.. i took them all too seriously for my own good.

I thought seriously about why i was so affected by many actions recently. all the cumulativ subtle things that i have encountered, as well as.. the superficial and obvious things that i have experienced personally.

* and thus after much thought, i have decided to delete that post that i wrote just yesterday. becuase it was too degrading of me to be like that. i simply cannot just wallow in self pity anymore. it is not doing good for me but just pulling me down. As much as i hate it.. it simply made me feel better asking those questions of " why m i so ugly and fat? why m i so lousy? why m i so stupid?"

It just gave me reason to feel low, to feel down .. so that i can just stay in my comfort zone and continue being there and not tell myself to pick myself up after i fall.

And this is when i realised that .. it is no point feeling like that. because no one would actually bother about how you feel. Because ultimately, its each for themselves. Ultimately, everyone's goal in life is to feel happy. happy for themselves. people would definitely care less for how u feel and care more about how they themselves feel in the first place rite?

So.. when people say stuff about you.. do stuff towards you.. you are the one who is feeling the hurt and the pain. the person who do stuff onto you.. is actually the one who doesnt feel anything at all. and no matter how much you weep.. how much you cry.. the people whom you are interacting with cannot feel exactly what you are feeling and would not be able to and sometimes would not think of emphatising with how you feel.

Its like.. for example.. you tell friends you feel sad, down. the best they can do is to comfort you and thats all. and for some friends.. they comfort you.. do a follow up a few days later.. and thats alll. i mean.. what more can we expect them to do? thats the best anyone can reach. rite? So i say.. ulimately.. we have to realise that when we feel down or sad..we are the ones that are receiving the most negative impact of all. the ones that are hurting us.. they dont feel it. so .. we must stand up for ourselves.

After saying so much.. all of you must be thinking.. this is a bunch of bullshit. but if it really is.. then why are you still reading?

I must admit i was rather affected by quite a lot of things recently. things that do not bother me at all.. and things.. that i was also directly involved in. so.. in short.. many things. haha.
And i realised.. all these people who are hurting me without knowing.. wun stand to feel hurt even though i m grieving here. so.. i m left with 2 choices.
1. hurt them by harming them
2. stop grieving and make myself happy

and thus.. the logical answer is 2. rite?

And i ask myself.. so m i that lousy? m i that terrible? m i that lowly compared to the rest of my friends?

i used to think.. yes. i m. because they have much greater things in life while i dont. but after thinking over today, i realised.. i dont need all those things that they have. I dont need those attention that they get from worthless people who end up as jerks. i dont need those things that are worthless because all the things they are getting rite now.. are just plain superficial.

in fact, those greater things in their life.. are actually lowly things by nature.

i'm not that lousy. i'm not that terrible. i'm not the kind of person who can stand being a receptionist for even a day. why?
Because i m made for much greater things in life.
Because i dont need all those shallow attention that others are getting.
Because i have much more important things to deal with than get affected.

So i say, from now onwards.. i'm going to try my best to take a different outlook in life..in those minor little things.. and in major ones..

minor,subtle , little hints that show disfavour towards me or that would put me down.. are all but superficial because at the end of the day, the person who judges you... is yourself.

Thank you and congratulations to you if you actually managed to read through the whole ting. and i mean read, not scan through. because only when you read, you actually will understand what i mean. but if you scan.. i can just say.. just.. treat it as yet another post that you would forget, just like the rest.

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

Back to talking about work, i had to go for lunch today alone. because.. duh.. it was a one day temp at templeton. how can i noe the people so quickly and go for lunch with them and.... a recptionist always stands alone.

so.. i must say.. if i were to sit down and have lunch myself today, it would be the first official time i have lunch all by myself. but unfortunately, because i could not find the place that i wanted to eat ( they shifted) i just bought some food where i could eat and walk around with.

So, now to talking about lunch.. i would like to talk about an amusing experience on the telephone with a candidate the other day ( sorry for any offense if you happen to find this situation familiar. it is perhaps.. purely coincidental).

There was a temp job for an undergrad for about 2 months.. so.. i called up this particular candidate , lets call her X.

Me: " Hi! this is cathryn calling from capita. i have this temp job for 2 mths.. blah blah blah.. would you like to try it?"

X:" hmm.. is there only one position available or are you looking for more temps because i want to work with my friends."

Me:" hmm.. ok.. but currently.. this position is only looking for one person. would you like to try?"

X :" er.. i guess i dont want. "

Me" why???" (the pay and working hours are not bad )

X :" because i want to work with my friends.. "

Me: "okay"

X:" because i scared later lunch time i got no one to go for lunch with."

Me:" ?!?!?!?!@$#$@$@!#!@?!?@#!?$#?$!"

Me:"ok. bye"

i cant believe it. i cant believe the last sentence. in fact, with the last sentence eliminated.. the whole conversation would have seemed more mature and better.

Let's put it this way. i have a phobia of loneliness. ok. monophobic.
I HATE to eat alone. but i still do. i have no choice.

who doesnt like to eat with friendS?

but... for the sake of that.. you give up a job?

lets say if this was a permanent job.. what would hapen to u?
Recruitment consultants will laugh their heads off at you and bitch about you in the office and no one would use you anymore as their candidate.

Do you know what that shows about a person when they reveal such stuff to strangers (recruitment consultants)?

it shows immaturity.

It shows.. this person.. cannot live without friends. and to the extent they tell the recruitment consultant that? they are heading for hell.

So people please.. even if you ever think that way ( i admit.. sometimes i do. but for the money.. i try to overcome it).. please.. dont reveal to strangers.. esp the PEOPLE WHO ARE FINDING A JOB FOR YOU!

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

as for my korean trip.. so sorry i haven had time. will most prob do it tml or sunday.. i;m only at third day! gosh.. actually.. i wonder how many people read.
then again.. its for myself. haha..

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

Super duper busy next week.. gonna be a hell of a week for me. wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007 is one very busy year!!

for those who think i have a lot of free time in the world, think again. its not because i m very free and thus i ask u all out, but its because i treasure you all as friends and i want to keep in touch! Thats why! haha.. and anyway, i'm kinda booked for the entire month alr! so scary! omg.. i'm so freakin busy!!!!!!

busy is good.. busy is good.

hello...!! today is a mad mad day.. i have 7 new job orders all from one company! a japanese merchant bank! wahhh.. first time so many orders at a time. summore, each pays 3k n above. one pays 3 k ard there.. and the rest.. mostly are above 6k!! wah!! STRESSED!! i NV HANDLED THOSE POSITIONS BEFORE... so.. i tink... very low chance of success.

i even have a VP position worth 10k! imagine.. if i close the VP position.. den a trader position.. just 2 out of these 7, i will get 16k of sales can!! OMG..

haha.. then again. this is cathryn dreaming. its impossible. get back to trying to fill the admin assistant positions insteaD!

DAY 2 OF KOREA TRIP

*warning: this is a VERY LONG POST

Day 2's morning has deliciously great abalone porridge for breakfast! shiok!! I love it man!! i can eat it every morning!!!




Above: This is abalone porridge after adding "zi chai" (whats tt called in english?) and stirring it.

The first stop was to some dragon head thingie. It is said that a volcano had erupted and the lava solidified, forming the shape of a dragon head. Nothing much la seriously. when you see the pictures, you will get what i mean.





Above: There! can u see the dragon head?
i think its a bit crap..




Above: Observe this horse and see the next pic!



Above: So cute hor.. the way the tail is cut!

Then, there is this pair of "tu di shen" aka Harubang. It means earth god in english. Legend says that women cannot touch it. The guide said it was too long a story to tell. (but dont worry.. it wil be further elaborated in the future posts!) Also, these pair of god are only found in Jeju Island.



Above: Females must not touch it!



Next, was the riding of the ATV. It is a 4 wheeled motor vehicle. Very funny. Last time.. they brought tour groups to ride horses.. now.. upgrade alr.. ride motor! hahahaha

so anyway, my ATV was damn chui. it was low on petrol so it was literally CRAWLING. wanna die man!! sometimes it couldnt climb!!!!!




After the ATV, we were brought to a "traditional" folk village where the place was made to look like what a folk village is like 100s of years ago. But.. you can see it is too commercialised. BTw, this is where the show Da Chang Jin is filmed. So, you might find some of the scenes familar.


Above: Beautiful flowers at the folk village




Above: BLACK PIG









Above: So cute!!! there is a pony, a donkey, and a horse!









Lunch was barbequed pork. YUCKS. But the pig rite.. is different from the normal pink pigs.. it is those.. BLACK PIGS. ok. call me sua ku. but i only know of the presence of black chicken. BUT NEVER BLACK PIGS.. i even thought they were wild boars until my dad pointed out to me that they were not. and whats the difference?
Well, these black pigs are also allowed to roam around freely and run about, unlike those pigs that we eat in singapore, only know how to sit there and do nothing but eat, shit , and sleep.
So, these black pigs have more muscles than fats.. and the fats.. is "Q Q" one.. as in.. bouncy bouncy.




After lunch.. its the journey to the Sunrise Peak!! which.. is 182m for us to climb!

Sunrise peak took a while to climb. you might think its nothing much but hey! its seriously quite a bit ok! the irritating thing is that there are a lot of students and school children, ranging from 7 to 18. Korean students are a lucky bunch. They go on field trips twice a year to different parts of Korea. you can see them at almost any tourist destination. The thing is.. they are damn rowdy, so.. it gets very dangerous when it comes to climbing such hills. The hill... is not really a hill. it is a plateau. This is because it used to be an active volcano. Now that it is a "dead" volcano, or is it sleeping volcano? it is filled with grass.. in its hole.





Above: View from the top



After that, we went to the tangerine or mandarin orange farm! Becasue of the season, there are no mandarin oranges to pluck. BUT we were allowed to take photos at the front of the farm. During other seasons, tour groups are given a chance to go in and pluck as many oranges as they want to bring back. and of course.. immigration policies states that.. fruits cannot be brought out of the country (korea).



Above: guess! is it a real or fake one?



Above: Real or fake!

The answer is... the first one is fake..w hile the second is real. during this season.. there are no oranges. if there is.. its all those lousy ones.. so.. the boss had to hang fake ones.. the reason being also.. that tourists like to take photos.. and they liek to touch here touch there.. so.. the boss puts fake ones to hang... so that peiple can take photo and not destroy the real nice ones when the orange season comes.


See the wire ?





Above: nice pot of flowers..



Above: Tangerine garden

The next stop is to the Teddy Bear Museum!!!! i thought intially it was the one in Full House.. but.. turns out.. not very similar leh!!

It is designed (the exterior) somewhat like the Lourve Museum in Paris rite??



ok.. here comes the excessive amt of fotos.. u will see until sian. it will be like.. u have seen.. 50% of the museum after this!









































Above: Seem familiar? heee



Above: Even more familiar?





Thn.. it was to the magic road .. aka.. mystery road. Where the road is going up.. and yet... when the bus stops its engine.. the bus is able to move up the slope! also.. when you pour water, the water moves up the slope instead of down. it seems as though everything is defying the laws of gravity.

The actual fact is it is an illusion of the human eye. or, also called.. human error. my dad explained to me alr. those who wanna noe why.. can ask me personally.

After that, we proceeded on to a restaurant to have Ginseng Chicken Dinner. damn GOOD! One whole chicken for ourselves!!! though.. the chicken is quite small. but more than enuf for a single person to handle. it is about the size of a kampung chicken.

There is glutinous rice stuffed into the chicken, along with a ginseng. It is served with many different condiments.. as well as a cup of ginseng wine. which.. amusingly tastes like vodka. this reminds me of a certain prof who said he likes to drink ginseng with vodka. no prizes for the correct answer.





At night.. it was free and easy time! the tour guide told us that there is an e-mart place to shop. its like.. carrefour or giant. this is what he told us. but guess what? my parents and i walked a bit further and discovered a really nice shopping area!


Above: coast

Other than tt, we also found an underground shopping mall.. just like coex mall.. only better. the above ground one is filled with those high end shops while those undergroung are the bugis street kind. BUT WAIT.. EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT THINK BUGIS STREET KIND.. the price.. is definitely not. the price is about Zara pricing. so... you can imagine how much higher end those above street shops are.






Random picture of a Jeju Orange.

This is the only kind of orange in season now. dont underestimate it due to its ugly exterior. it is very nice to eat and very fresh and juicy

that place (undergrund) is filled with locals only. see see! if we followed the guide's instructions.. we would not have found such treasures! to sum the night off, we entered the casino before retiring back to our room. I bet dad is going back to gamble again.