Sawatdii Kha

elloz everyone, it's getting pretty bothersome to scroll all the way down for this impt discussion bout our next short hol. so here it is... discuss away.

~emi

Life is a cup of coffee??...

Food for thought.... =)

A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering.

''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems.'

He continued...''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups. Then you began eyeing each other's cups.'

''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that has been provided for us. Enjoy your coffee!''

The happiest people don't have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have...so please remember:

Live simply. Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak kindly.

And remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

The Ireland Series- Week One

From your local correspondent in Dublin, Ireland:

Dear friends,

It has been exactly one week since I touched down in Ireland. After a gruelling 16.5 hours flight- 13 to London, 2 hours in transit, and another hour plus from London to Dublin, I finally touched down in Dublin. I touched down- sleepy eyed and dazed from jet lag, and the driver picked me up as planned. After a quick city tower, he brought me to Tesco (a supermarket) and made some grocery purchases. Following that I was brought to my apartment and gratefully went to concuss in the big comfortable bed. Lunch was settled at a nearby restaurant, and I managed to meet an ex-colleague’s friend for dinner. Finally- at least I know 1 person in Dublin. I concussed early, and woke at 6, and had been waking about 6 for almost every day since then.





On my second day, I spent most of it sleeping it. Was feeling ill, and did not manage to go and explore. It was a really bad day. At night I was setting my ironing board- can discovered that its super low! No more than 40-50 cm high! I spend 20-30 mins in a vain attempt in trying to figure out if there was any way to set it correctly. I decided to improvise and raise the board between 2 chairs- so as to have an easier time ironing. I started ironing- only to discover that the iron is dirty! As I was without an iron, and had crumpled clothes, I had to spend an hour plus scrubbing the iron clean, and continuously tested it the cleanliness of the iron on service apartment’s towel ! Super Low morale! Subsequently, the previous occupant of the same apartment did confirm that the ironing board is super low and the iron was dirty. (SO IT WASNT ME!) A thoroughly miserable Wednesday



I started work on Day 3, Thursday, and was initially lost. It was raining, and I could somewhat wet. Certainly not the best way to start work. Fortunately the people were rather friendly, and noticed that the FS (Financial Services ) Audit is a rather multinational in nature. In my team, I have a Parkistani and Australian Co-senior. The Parkistani appeared to be rather friendly, but for unknown reasons I have some reservations. I managed to contact wan ling’s friend who also worked in KPMG and we met up for dinner. Friendly and chirpy, she put me at ease, and I discovered we stayed in the same building. She kindly allowed me to go to her flat to use her iron and I met her housemate there, a friendly and likable fellow. The gal, Widi, is a Indonesian Chinese who worked in Singapore for a few years, while the guy a Malaysian Chinese, Kim, who worked in KL and the Bahamas before going to Dublin. Yeah—New friends- and less lonely.

Friday was rather uneventful and Widi and Kim brought me out to meet other Malaysian Chinese for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The Malaysian community was rather friendly and it was a community of Chinese looking out for each other. I took solace in the existence of such a community. At night, 4 of us played Dai DI in my apartment till 4am, and I lost 50 Euros that night. Really blew a hole in my pocket. It was the first time I gambled with Dai DI and lost big. Oh well, I took it as an opportunity to know the people better, and bond better. After all, these bonds will help me see through lonely Dublin.

The weekend was rather uneventful. Saturday was mainly spend in the apartment as it was raining heavily. We ate at another Chinese restaurant for dinner, and got a free meal, as one of the people within the group is a good friend of the owner. I had early night after dinner, and did not participate in the Dai Di sessions. I spent Sunday out, exploring for a couple of hours and manged to visit the local university- trinity college. Trinity college is a rather large compound, and has lush green lawns and classical European style buildings. It was a beautiful sight, but it was also a little sad. Where are my blading khakis to take photos with me? The thought was really depressing and had took me a while to get it off my head. After the gang who went to the oriental and asian makets. There, I saw the familiar Maggie Mee, and was delighted, and hence bought 4 packets ( of 5)! Hurray.I don’t have to eat bread anymore! Until then, almost every meal that I “cooked” by myself is a sandwich.






Cooking In Ireland
As indicated above, almost every meal prepaid by me is a sandwich. Bread will be toasted and butter applied and a slice of ham or sliced roasted chicken thrown in. A quick meal that is quite filling but after a while I missed home cooked food. Sigh. Until my rice cooker arrives I can only make do- with Maggie mee at best. A significant improvement from Bread but still no wherewhere close to Singapore food

Missing You Guys
Yep. I must u guys. Period. Although its only been a week it feels like an eternity. Time passes slowly when you are alone, and distant. I miss blading, miss our craping session, dinners and clubbing.

Morning Train...

Did any of you get delayed by the congestion at the train stations this morning??

Hahaha… I am a good gal today lor... woke up early (7.30am), left home (8am) and caught the 8.05am bus to work... nearly miss it lah... heng the traffic light was red and my bus cannot move... so the driver just waited for me and another gal while we weaved through the cars...

So... i reached boon lay mrt at 8.15am and was pleased that i would be early for work today... (errhh.. cos i was late twice last week mah... now need to be early to show boss that i am a good gal... hahaha)... then to my horror, when i stepped into the station, ppl were queuing to enter the gantry lah... stairs and escalator were jammed with ppl... platform even worse lor, the train was packed to the door with ppl AND lotsa ppl waiting for the next train on the other side... i was thinking that i dont get myself onto THAT train, i would be late for work lah... so die die I had to squeeze into the train… sian...

and boon lay is the first stop lor… cant imagine how ppl from the other stations are to squeeze in lah… basically, they just have to wait and wait and wait for the next train to come and pray that there's space for them to enter... =(

aniwae, now am quite tired... since i stood for the whole journey, with my heavy laptop and in a tight corner as there's this stupid guy reading paper… I need to stay away from his outstretched hand lah… =(

talking abt having world class train services in SG... please lah, have to wait long long lor....

PS: mood has turned better now... cos i can post entry during office hours now!! hurray!!

My house

Haha…since “loveflower” is having mental blockage. And Mr. Lost is still “LOST"

I would like to introduce you this website. http://www.drawhouse.com/
As usual, you need to ask a few questions and draw your draw house. Base on your answers, it will analysis your personality.

I did it quite sometimes ago - before peak (while my boss was in Japan). I’d been staring at PC for past 8 hours, trying to rush off a client’s December account. Need it for the GST report for Q4 2007. (It’s totally not related to website..haha…sidetracked).

Hope you people …enjoy the website. And post your house here and let’s see who gets the most accurate analysis.Mine is quite accurate..except e flirting part..haha

Little things

I have always believed that it's the little things that count. Be it a nod of acknowledgement, a whispered thanks, a reassuring squeeze of hand, etc. I am suddenly reminded of this song: "It's the little things that we share, the love and joy that's in the air..."

Here are 10 little things that make me happy (in no particular order):

1. Wind blowing through my hair and not messing it up


2. Checking out Ikea and pretending i can buy this, that, this one and also all of that


3. All traffic lights turn green when i am taking a cab


4. Leisurely breakfasting in my bustling neighbourhood market, knowing that i am in no rush to fight for that last piece of chicken or leafy greens


5. Listening to radio and a good song comes along


6. A hug from an exothermic male homo sapien


7. Wriggling my toes in the sand and sea


8. A warm bed, a cup of tea and a novel on a rainy afternoon


9. Strolling along the aisles of the supermarket, from one end to the other


10. When there is laughter all around me
    

Surprisingly, it is rather difficult to list it down cos we don't notice it everyday. I would like to know yours too... Share it!

Just for laughs

hahaha... lifted this from a blog (refer to bottom right hand corner). From the startling news, some time ago, that Dumbledore might be gay. To see my fave snape tarnished like that, it hurts but it's hilarious.

it's midweek wed, people! cheer up...

Us