My Facebook news feed is being flooded with polytechnic graduation photo albums! After checking out the graduation hoods and gowns from all 5 polytechnics, I still reckon NYP's has the most regal colour combination. (Nah, I'm not being biased.) I liked wearing the gown! It fitted me nicely and the material was nice to touch. Kinda miss it now.

Been getting loads of well-wishes and congratulations with regards to my polytechnic graduation and university admission from family, close friends, and friends I have lost touch with. (The power of social media is amazing.) To be honest, school hasn't start and I'm already stressed about making it to the honours programme. It's more than a personal goal. It means everything to me. I haven't come this far to fail. Come this June, I'll work myself to the bone to juggle my studies, work, interests, etc. I can do it! Failure is not an option. :)

Fervyn brought P.Osh brownies over to the workplace! I've heard about it but haven't got around to trying it for myself. We heated it up in the microwave and it was fantastic! Brownie was moist and the chocolate, thick. I don't consider myself a big peppermint fan but this one's great!
My boss got Shihui and I graduation gifts. Haha! She got us these cute hamburger watches (I think we're starting to go crazy about burgers. I bought a cute burger t-shirt recently.) and door tags. Awesomeness!

Woon Ching's graduation gift to me. I looooooove handmade cards and gifts, and she never fails to delight me with her gifts over the years. She surprised me when she suddenly appeared at my workplace to pass me and Shihui the gifts! This time, she made me a mini mortar board with jumping clay! So, so tiny and precious. She'd wanted to bake cookies as well, but her oven died on her. So she bought some brownies, and decorated it herself. It looked too pretty, I couldn't bear to eat it (but I'll anyway!). :)

NYP SCL Graduation: Class of 2011
A year or two ago, I couldn't wait for this day to come. I can remember mentally counting down to this moment. Yet now that it's finally here, it seems like time flies even in the shitiest periods. Shows that the rainbow will definitely come after the storm, hm? :)

But yeah. Another chapter of my life has ended; a new one is about to begin. I'm finally about to fulfill my psychology dreams. I still recall that crushing feeling of defeat when I scored so dismally for my 'O' levels. I thought it was all over, that I couldn't get into any psychology diploma or degree course. But as I've come to believe it, God has plans for me (most of my major life events are fated). I went through my food science diploma and used it as a passport to get into JCU Singapore's Bachelor of Science in Psychology. So yay, I'm finally where I'm supposed to be. I love God. :)

Wow. Woon Ching's parents managed to take a photo of me receiving my diploma (actually, the stupid folder is empty to avoid mix-ups) from the SCL director.

It's not the end; it's only the beginning. I truly believe that even as we move on to new schools and new jobs, some of us are going to remain friends for life. Cheeeeeers! :D

The dress-up themes (and camwhoring) really give me something to look forward to on Fridays! The theme for today is 'Revenge of the Nerds'. All our geek spectacles were provided by one of our regulars who is an optician. Tony is awesomeee! :)

Even our coffee roaster has become a nerd! Look, he's waving hello!

We're such a goofy bunch, you just gotta love us! :)

Zomg at Lemuel's bow-tie and Shihui's striped socks! :D

I swear Swee looks damn cool in this photo!! And Ian looks so stylo milo posing next to his Expobar coffee machine!

It was a pity our dear Nicholete didn't dress up. She definitely got an earful from us for that, lol. By the way, do you reckon those are onions or coconuts? Those huge onions sure gave us something to laugh about. (As if we don't have enough to laugh about everyday. They made me laugh so hard while I was drinking iced latte during lunch and it came out through my nose!)

After my guitar lesson (learnt Chris Medina's What Are Words! Beautiful song), I decided to drop by Sembawang Shopping Centre to get some stuff as well as to have my dinner. Well, I used to frequent that restaurant with Esther on a weekly basis a year ago. That was before Esther left for Shanghai to further her studies. I would only go once in the blue moon thereafter (or whenever I feel like it).

So I was surprised when I was given 'special' treatment. I certainly wasn't expecting them to remember me. Or maybe it was because I spent quite a bit for someone dining alone. (Stoning alone while eating yummy food is therapeutic.) Or maybe it was because I tipped them. Ahhhhhh, whatever. I guess I'm already considered a regular at some restaurants. I ought to consider re-newing my membership cards at those places. :)

Shihui's and my tumbler! Gifts from our boss. I love its practicality, considering we are working in a kitchen. Now my iced drinks can stay cool and hot drinks, warm for long periods. Brilliant!

Coffee lessons from our barista, Ian!

Shit. I left my blog to rot again.

Been somewhat busy the past week. Going out loads, buying loads, planning loads of surprises, etc. If any of you are stalking me on Facebook, you can see from my photo albums how much fun I'm having. I'd love to blog about those events but I can't be bothered to update long gone events.

I got accepted into JCUS Bachelor of Psychology. The letter of offer (actually, it was e-mail, but whatever) came yesterday. All I have to do now is go down to personally sign it. I'd imagined that I'd be over the moon when this day finally comes. I thought I would be crying with joy and relief that the thing I've been waiting and wanting since I was 15 has finally arrived. But nah. I stared at the e-mail as though it was one of those stupid fliers that we always find stuffed through the metal door grilles. I reckon all the shit I have been through these few years is making me jaded, I can't even be too happy now.

Lots of things are going to be happening in June. I'm having mixed feelings.

Someone explain to me, what's so great about 'family' and 'friends'? What's the point of a family that has so many skeletons in the closet, a family without communication and trust? What's the point of building friendships that weaken with distance and time? What's the point, when I'm the one who is getting burned in the end? Wouldn't it be better if I break existing ties, keep my distance and remain acquaintances with everyone?

Little wonder why I'm becoming an arrogant, aloof prick who likes to be alone and carry the world on her shoulder by herself.

Awesome Friday! (: Made all the more fun because of our dress-up theme (new theme every week!) and the royal wedding. It's been some time since I last got artsy-fartsy. Felt nice to do some props like the SoHo7 pirate flag and sotong hats (meant to be worn by sotong people, of course). The customers were really amused!

Swee had a blast doodling fake tattoos on our arms using PERMANENT MARKER. Arghhh!

Haha. This one is an inside joke. Swee loves to bully one of our regulars, Joyce. It's so entertaining to watch them disturb each other!

And for the first time, the television at the cafe was switched on. Lol. Just so we could all tune into the royal wedding. All the customers at the cafe were so transfixed by it!

Natalie and Ian dropped by the cafe in the late evening. I ended up getting a free taxi ride home 'cos Ian was heading to his girlfriend's house at Woodlands (her family organized a booze party, lol). I seem to be hitching free taxi rides of late. Good coincidences! :D

Looking forward to next Monday. SoHo7 outing! :D

Had a good off-day! I dropped by The Icing Room at 313@Somerset to get a cake for Mei Ferng before stopping by my workplace to pick up Shihui. We then arranged to meet Mei Ferng at Timbre @ The Arts House for dinner. We treated her to dinner to celebrate her belated birthday! :D

I decided to try a new cocktail since I was always having the same stuff. Finally decided to give apple martini a go. Sure looked pretty enough to drink. Haha :) And no alcohol for Shihui today! Can't be having her drunk 'cos she has to attend a food hygiene course the next day. The funny thing is, Mei Ferng herself got a little high after downing her Tequila Sunrise. Now Shihui knows how I felt the last time I watched her got drunk. I always have a gooooooood laugh whenever one of my friends get drunk and start spouting gibberish. In fact, I will humour them to see what other rubbish I can get out of them. (I'm a good friend, I know.) But seriously, if I have to bring two drunk girls home tonight, I'm gonna throw myself into the Singapore river first! Once is enough. Lol.

Went to Haato & Co. at The Central for ice cream on Mei Ferng's recommendation. We all ordered very different flavours. Mei Ferng had mango and rum and raisin; Shihui royal chocolate and cookies and cream; and I had sesame and green tea. I thought the chocolate one was super rich and thick. And the sesame ice cream sure had loads of black sesame seeds in it.

Mei Ferng's super happy with her birthday cake! And I'm super happy with my green tea ice cream! :D

After all the sweet treats, we needed something to cleanse our palate. Had tea at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. We were already feeling sleepy by then (no thanks to the heavy dinner) so we headed home after that.

Back to work tomorrow!

Haven't updated in a week.

Last week was crazy. Maybe a little too crazy. I ended up falling sick over Easter. It started innocently enough with a sore throat on Thursday before it decided to upgrade to a runny nose and cough. Spent the past few days working and then going home to sleep till the next day. Still coughing a little, but I'm much, much better now! :D

Still, last week had its hilarious moments. And I got to know some of the customers better. Guitar is an excellent conversation starter, really. Now that we have a new member on the team, Nicholete aka Nikki the chef, things are going to get even crazier. She's a firecracker herself. When I teased her for the 1357634753th time today, she slapped my butt so hard that the customer at the cashier made the "o.O" face! But when she heard about my 'gossip' (no thanks to swee!), she got even with me. Payback time. Oh my God.

This Friday's gonna be interesting. It's pirate day! All of us are going to dressed like pirates. Definitely something to look forward to!

Off-day tomorrow. Shall force myself to settle some mundane miscellaneous stuff (e.g., graduation ceremony registration) before getting some guitar practice done. Neglected my guitar for almost a month. I just played the chorus of Cascada's Everytime We Touch for fun and it sounded good. (I reckon a good song will sound good no matter what.) Trying to learn my favourite love song, Collin Raye's Love, Me, now. I swore I would learn how to play this song if I ever learn the guitar. (:

It has been a long and crazy day at work. My nerves were stretched taut by some of the customers. (That's saying something because my patience is usually endless.) Thank goodness for dinner! We all (Swee, Nat, Shihui and I) decided to have a good meal at Din Tai Fung at Raffles City Shopping Centre. There were too many funny moments, like trying to help the waitress clear the plates but ended up creating a bigger mess (越帮越忙, lol). Or when Swee mistook the xiaolongbao-shaped yam bun for a xiaolongbao and dipped it into the vinegar. And it was supposed to be dessert. Haha! Or Shihui's noodles which took a ridiculous 35mins to arrive. And she ordered it only for the vermicelli, but not the beancurd. Then we started the whole "I want papaya milk without the papaya" joke. Lol.

We ordered a whole list of dishes that the waitress asked if we were really all right with it. Haha. We managed to finish everything! Pretty good, eh? I love the xiaolongbaos. They're fantastic when eaten with sliced ginger and vinegar! And kanpai to the cafe! (:

Desserts! I kept choking on mine because the three of them kept trying to matchmake me and hatching crazy plans to make it happen. They were beside themselves with laughter. Zomg. They'd better be joking. (._.)

Good week ahead! Going back to my usual short shifts. Going out for some fun on Friday. Sunday night karaoke with colleagues. Much to look forward to. I'm excited!

CHARMAINE CHEONG.

I’m a somebody and a nobody. I’m rational and emotional. I’m critical but I’m non-judgemental.

I like my things categorized by types and chronologically. I like taking photos to preserve the moments of my life. I like dystopian literature. I like reading Wikipedia articles at random. I like travelling to foreign lands and seeing the world. I like long conversations over good food. I like pop and classical music. I like guitars. I like cats. I like writing random, mushy letters and notes to the people important to me. I have a whole long list of things that I like, but you’ve got to get to know me better to know them all.