[Travelog]: Paris Revisited

City: Paris, France
Dates: 18-21Dec07
Travelmates: Dear and Denis

I left london for glasgow on the night of 14dec. our 40days40nights separation was finally over - ok, sounds cheesy but yea, it really was 40/40. finally got to see dear again. denis joined us on the 17dec (my bday!!) from dublin and we left on the 18th for the romantic city of paris , the one that the FRENCH are so proud of that they figure its a good enough a reason to snob foreigners (wherever else you're from).

Still, the city did indeed charm me all over again with its immaculate and magnificent architecture one can only dream about coming from a modern island nation like singapore.

The weather was cold cold cold and absolutely freezing on the first day. [when we were up on the eiffel (at -10degC), the strong winds and cold were too much for all 3 of us to take that we had to retreat indoors after a brief 3 minutes of phototaking out in the cold. pity.. but still beautiful - hmm.. i don't know why i keep defending paris despite the flaws i saw there; its beauty and charm are probably blinding (just like love is) and too difficult to resist.]

Shopping on the Champs de Elysee is madness. designer stores lined up in ranks. we all agreed that its depressing walking into every store and not finding anything u can afford - not that u were going to buy it in the first place but yea, u get the idea. but that's good too i guess, the less u can afford, the less u spend on items that are probably quite over-the-top anyway.

It was great that denis was with us though it turned out to be quite embarrassing for me on the 2nd day when i managed to throw a fit (at my baby) due to PMS. anyway, it was really good quality time spent with a great friend. we had al-cheapo wine on the last night coupled with some crisps from the nearby supermart.

and yea, the hotel we stayed at was great. private room with ensuite. woohoo!! no more stinky hostels.

just a few fav piccies...


By the Seine River


With Denis on the way to Champs de Elysee




Jardin des Tuileries


Louvre


Sacre Couer


Eiffel Tower


Grand Palais

23rd Bday Celebration@Work

Another year older and truely i believe, another year wiser.

Celebration at Work just before i left for glasgow for a 3 week vacation!!!! woohoo!!


Stuff i Baked

Traditional Choc cake, brownies, Choc chip muffins and Honey&yoghurt muffins

Bday Cake from PSS downstream


Cutting the cake with Charlotte

Was a combined celebration - charlotte's actual bday is literally 2 days before mine

Mighty PSS Team!

love u guys!!!!!! xxxxx

Lonza Christmas Party 2007

Event: Lonza Christmas Party 2007
Venue: Rainforest Cafe, London
Date: 12Dec07

The venue and food totally sucked but all was not lost as plenty of friends, good pics and some booze made up for it. i didn't really like the music but i don't club much anyway - that prob explains it, nothing to do with genre. it's great to see everyone totally let lose and go completely insane. the singaporeans were pretty controlled and sobre mostly - but that's just who we are i guess, the group of us that is.

and it was another first time for me - wearing pants instead of the usual customary dress to a formal party/D&D.

some not so crazy pics to complete this...

Wedlock and Me

really love this pic

With Tanya and Tara - PSS babes


With Eliza and Karen


Some of the Sgreans


Yew Zhen


Dawnie

Birmingham Shopping! ~

Date: 17NOV07 (Day Trip)
City: Birmingham, UK

BULLRING - Mega huge esplanade-dy like mall
The Frankfurt Christmas market near the Pallasades makes the atmosphere in the city really christmassy. i can finally feel it (the christmas spirit that is...)- Christmas is coming and i'm so looking forward to my 3 week break in Glasgow & Paris with dear. (just 26days away and after my break its 4days at work before i fly home)

2GBP return by coach, how awesome is that?? =P
1GBP for a pair of pretty pink shoes @ H&M, even more awesome!!


In Selfridges & Co.

Wish i had one of these..Reese's pls. =(

Tropical Fondue stick

The choc coating is reaaly to die for~

Taste of Home...

... away from home

WARNING!!!
If you are hungry and a huge food fanatic please do not proceed.

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Nasi Goreng


Roast Duck, Oxtail soup, Spicy Beans, Chinese Sausage


Chicken Rice


Roast Chicken Noodles


Three Meat Roast


Roti Chennai


Prawn Cheong Fun


Penang Laksa


Char Kway Teow


Curry Chicken


Ma Po Tofu, Oyster Sauce 'Xiao Bai Cai' and Pecan Tarts


Honeydew Sago

Les Misérables

Date: 10NOV07
Venue: Queens Theatre, London
Mates: Xinhui & Teckwei

Find the synopsis here

Halloween 2007

All done in the name of fun~

Celebrated on the 31st of october, 'Halloween' is actually shortened from "All-Hallow-Even" (eve of All Saints day). it is mainly influenced by old pagan traditions especially those surrounding the irish festival of Samhain, which celebrates the end of the harvest season in november. in western paganistic cultures, it is believed that halloween a time of the year where spirits can make physical contact with the mortal world.

In Sandeep and Angela's new flat in Burnham! it was a housewarming-cum-halloween get together. Photos!!

The Babes of the house and the Singaporean TAPs
where's eric?? hehe~

Hot chicks


Poor bunny

yea right.. i was made to do it.

Dracula and I

Francis's powder was falling off his face!

Dear and me

In his surgeon/hospital scrubs as a last resort. good save though =P

Meal at home

Myself, Tanya, Eileen and Karen

Our very own Jack-o-lantern and Eyeball Jelly!!

Thanks to Tanya's carving skills and Karen's lychee supply.

Biscester Village

Biscester village is located in oxfordshire, just outside london. it is a designer shopping village which sells end-of-line ranges at discounted prices. its not much compared to the factory outlets in the USA but still, better than none at all.

Thanks dave and steph for taking me there.
i had a fabulous time and managed to grab a couple of bargains. the rest were just too over-the-top for me. bought dearie a timberland jacket for christmas (early christmas surprise there.. =) ) and a polo ralph jumper for myself!

~click here~


Polo Ralph Store


Shopping Village

Tracking List

Sorry to my friends out there who regularly read this. been really busy and the months have just been flying by. i'm really backdated on blogposts and there's loads of catching up to do. it's just been activity after activity, event after event, trip after trip since april; not to mention the ever-increasing number of things to do at work.

lets make a list and see what i can remember:
- 18-26APR07: Italy
- 03-05MAY07: Weiting's Visit to London!
- 23MAY07-13JUN07: Sis's Visit!
- 07-10JUN07: Scotland Trip with Sis
- 28JUN07-08JUL07: Glasgow Trip + Dear's Graduation
- 11-16JUL07: Dear's Visit to London
- 21JUL07 - 12AUG07: Trip back to Singapore!
- 03-07AUG07: Trip to KL with Dear
- 20-25AUG07: Dear flies back to London!
- 10SEP07: Back to Pilot.. =)
- 28-30SEP07: Trip to Cardiff with Mark and Francis
- 13-21OCT07: Yet another Trip to Glasgow
- 02-05NOV07: Seeing Dear again!! can't wait!

so that' kinda brings me up-to-date. guess i'll start on the backlog and slot them in so the dates are reflective of whatever that has passed. cheating.. haha.

Work has been great, transferred back to development officially on 10SEP07 after a horrendous, trying, frustrating and utterly miserable 4 weeks back in manufacturing upon my return from Singapore. i really wanna praise God for this transfer because during those 4 weeks i was really broken and totally lost. manufacturing just doesn't suit me, well at least for now, here in the UK. i will not say more.

I'm happy now in development and learning loads, getting the experience i need and figuring out, in a way, the path i wish to take in this industry in future. i definitely wanna further my studies to improve my technical ability/knowledge and for interest sake and self gratification. sounds so noble but really, i do enjoy my work tremendously! pharma is going to be monstrous in Singapore, just watch.

Just wanna praise and thank God so much for His grace and mercy; i know that i do not deserve it. He has been ever so gracious, pouring blessings upon me and Us. life since graduation has been ever so smooth and i could never thank Him enough for giving me a place on this program and what more, placement in the UK to be with ken - to think that i once doubted whether i made the right decision in coming here. being here in the UK has changed me, in more ways than one and though i can't say for sure what those changes are, i know i've grown and changed. (hmm.. starting to get into that reflective mood again)

Come end Jan i'll be back in Singapore and will be there for at least 2 years to serve out my bond. Hopefully things will continue the way they have been, smooth sailing. i know that church life will improve tremendously, o! how i miss ministry and the preaching!! i miss home now but i know that when i finally leave UK, i will leave a part of me and with me i will take away a part of it - i will miss it dearly. 2 out of the last 3 years of my life would have been spent in messed-up UK.

God is good and i really desire to do so much more to please Him. Father, please don't ever let me lose sight of you; the consequences will be disastrous. grab my hand and never let me go!

Autumn Harvest

My very own home-grown stargazer!!


Sunflowers


Blackberries on my way to work


Gooseberries in my backgarden


Fuschias in my backgarden


Dalias


The pinky ones


Courgettes


Wild Rose


Lily from a bouquet dear gave me~