F1RSTs

After a year.. I finally got my license! :) It took me four attempts to get this coveted driving license, and now I can't wait for my license to arrive in the mail... The only thing that's missing now is a car.. Anyone cares to sponsor me one? :P

Hehe and today marks my first year work anniversary! Work has been pretty kind to me so far. Okay maybe not really, but I'm glad to say that I've managed it well for the past one year! I'm glad that I've made close friends during this one year too :) Friends that have seen the real side of me, and friends that I can turn to for help. 

My table mates! The very first people I met. I remember meeting with Serlina at the MRT station to go for training on the first day together. It was free seating, and walking into the training room made me nervous for some reason. We were looking around at the tables, looking for familiar faces to sit with. Really glad we sat at this particular table :) We were all from NTU! It felt like the first day of school, except that we were all in working attire. We don't see each other much now, with our different clients and all, but bumping into them in office makes my day better. Sometimes, there will be mini gifts from them stuffed into my pigeon hole too! Such sweet friends :)

There was no doubt that I wanted to join netball when I started work. Netball has always been something I love, and I will definitely not miss the chance to play it again when I can! Work life balance eh :P We may not be a strong team, but winning is not all! Joining netball, and getting pulled into different sports because of the lack of girls reminded me of Hall 5 all over again. Through playing sports, I got to meet many others also! One good thing is that they come from different departments, which means I got to know people that are not just auditors hehe.

My beloved team <3 This is my main team, the first team I ever worked with, and from my biggest job yet. Really lucky to have five first-years in a job together. Everyday is a great day when I'm with this bunch. This may be my toughest job, but having them around makes all the difference. We may need to work till the wee hours in the morning, but somehow, they can always keep my spirits up. We have become closer than I ever thought we would, even coming up with silly themes like wearing matching outfits at work, and having our own photoshoot at the client's stairwell. LOVE THEM VERY MUCH <3 It makes me sad to know that we may not all get to work together anymore this year due to budget issues, but I know this will always be my favourite team :')

And lastly, my lovely Serlina! She's been my closest friend in NBS since year one, and having her in the same company means a whole lot to me! Things would have been alot more difficult if I didn't have her to tide me through the tough periods. Talking to her daily during workdays is also something that I look forward to everyday! She's one of the sweetest person I know, and seeing her just makes me smile :) Thanks for always being there for me, and I cannot wait for our trip together to Japan in three weeks' time!! <3

I would have been lying in bed at this time usually, but I'm lucky enough to get to claim my overtime hours this week! Gonna enjoy my week off... by planning for Japan and other stuff :P Time to go out for lunch and make use of lunch deals at places of my choice woohoooooo!!! :D 

Goodnight world! 

This feeling sucks. I'm not good at everything, but to fail so many times on one thing is a first. This feeling sucks.

:(

Mother's Day

My family has never been one that is openly affectionate. We never give one another hugs, or words of encouragment (unless its said with a tinge of humour), because we are shy like that. I've always wondered how other families do it. How do they open themselves up to their parents and siblings, how do they go to them at the end of the rough day and let out everything that's troubling them. We were always quiet and reserved, except for moments where we celebrate our 'firsts', like graduating, or my brother leaving for army. My mom will always be the one telling us about her day, but with the crazy work hours, I barely even see them anymore. Its a good thing Mother's Day falls on a Sunday though. Leaves no excuses for you to not spend the day with Her.

We visited our grandma on Sunday evening after receiving some bad news. All I can hope for is for there to be less pain when the time comes, or when it eventually comes. After working progressively late that week (1am on Mon, 2am on Tues, 3am on Wed, 4am on Thurs, OH THE HORROR), I had no plans at all on Sunday. Was so lazy and tired that I did not even get out off the house to buy flowers, which is the least I would do. My poor mom spent the whole day preparing and cooking for my dad's side, and I could tell she was disappointed that we made no plans to have a special dinner at least.

I was already thinking of having dinner on Tuesday, Vesak Day, but I couldn't, was too shy/awkward, couldn't think of a better way to tell her without feeling embarrassed that we were going to let the day pass without doing anything. But I knew she was disappointed, and I wanted to make her night happier, earlier. So I grabbed an angbao, slotted a note inside, brought it to her, told her to open while laughing sheepishly (family motto: our sincerity is shown through giggles and laughters) and suggested having dinner on Tuesday instead. In just a split second, her face lit up, and I couldn't have felt any happier. I know some of you will think that it's absurd it took so much effort to just ask her out for dinner, but that's just how my family is. Everyone knows I'm reserved, but I'm actually more outgoing than my members already?? When it comes to expressing feelings that is. Well anyway, my mom hugged me, and I was so happy that I teared. I couldn't look her straight in the eyes, though I really wanted to see if she was tearing too. Hehehe.

There are many things that I bottle up inside. But most of all, I really just want to tell my parents how much I love them. When the next special occasion comes, I WILL make the effort to make their day special, to make them feel loved :)

Family

My little brother went off to army four days ago, and sadly, I do miss him! Not as much as my parents though. He hasn't called back since Saturday, and my parents were worried and a lil sad I think.
From what my parents know, he's only allowed to use the phone after 9.30pm, and his sleeping time is 10.30pm. So when we received a call at 10.30pm, I've never heard my dad moved that fast to answer the phone before. He greeted with a hopeful "Hello?", before passing the phone to my mom, who asked "Zheng Sheng da3 lai3 ah?" Unfortunately, it was my mom's friend!

My brother is a lucky child, and I'm sure we all are too! We don't pay enough attention to how our parent worries over us, sometimes even dismissing it as nagging. But, at the end of the day, they are the ones who have our best interests in mind, and I wish that we will not take that for granted! Seeing how my parents worry and fuss over the well-being of my brother makes me wonder if they do the same while I'm away. I would like to hope so? Not that I like making them worry about me :X

Family is everything! Glad I'm close to my cousins and relatives too :)

And GT, if you're seeing this, you are not just my boyfriend, but a part of my family too! <3

Belated merry christmas!
Waiting for my hair to dry now while googling Kodaline lyrics. Love the band really, and not just because they're Irish. Don't you love having songs that you can get lost in, and forgot just about everything for that few minutes? Thank god for those <3

Motivation

Work has been pretty smooth-sailing lately. Never had to stay beyond 7pm for the past 3 weeks. Gotta enjoy my time off while I can! New engagement next week and its at ... PIONEER. Feels like travelling to NTU all over again, except I don't have a hall room to stay in anymore. Thinking about crashing a friend's room.. but exams will be over by then and it will not be fun staying alone :/

Okay, point of today's writing is because my counsellor/manager praised me today! He was reviewing my work and after updating him on what I managed to complete and my queries, he said 'very good'. I may be making a big issue out of nothing (who knows, he may say it to everyone who worked for him), but hearing recognition for your work really really makes me happy. I started linking things up on how I can be happy in this job.

To receive compliments and acknowledge for a job well-done, I have to put in effort to understand and check each number. To do that, I must not be lazy and just accept everything for what it is. To not be lazy, I have to be motivated. To be motivated, I have to like what I'm doing. To like what I'm doing, I have to feel passionate and happy for my work. To feel that way... I need to be given recognition for what I'm doing? To show that my efforts do help to lift the work of others and contribute to the end result of an audit.

So, I just need to start somewhere.

How my birthday went by:

12am-130am : Got booked on a night stocktake. The start of my birthday was spent with strangers, for my job. :/ Was counting shoes throughout.

130am-2am : Cabbed home. Taxi uncle was complaining about government policies. He called me a good girl and said my parents must be very proud to have me. :P While leaving the cab, he wished me and GT a very happy life. I wished him and his family a happy one too.

2am - 3am : Bathed, surfed the net, responded to birthday wishes through messages and whatsapp while eating four leaves sugar donuts. YUMMMM.

3am - 730am : Sleeeeeeeeeep. Woke up at 730am to text my senior, telling him that I'll be taking MC for the day :P Taking MC not because it's my birthday, but because stocktake ended late!

730am - 9am : Got woken up by my mom cuz she wants me to see the doctor early to avoid the crowd!

916am : Left house in record time.. I think? Hehe.

1015am : Left the clinic. Headed over to Singtel only to find that it opens at 11am. Had breakfast with mom at toastbox! :)

11am: Went to both Singtel and M1 to ask about my plan. I'm currently with M1, but will switch over to Singtel to fit in with the rest of my family. Hehe. Dont even know why I'm the only one with M1 in the first place. But yeah, switching plans and changing to a corporate plan is not as easy as it sounds. Have to wait till next week when my contract with M1 ends before I can switch over. So... no new phone today! :( But something to look forward to next week :) Went to buy my cake before heading home. Birthday cake is a must for me! Even if it means buying it myself HAHA. But nah, my parents will always buy a cake for me every year cuz I'll request for it LOL.

1230pm : Back at home, suddenly feeling tired.. naptime? :P NAH. Did admin work while watching Friends on my laptop. Cannot concentrate if I dont multitask.

130pm : Had a pleasant surprise.. from Ganther! :)) He bought me two flavours of icecream! While delivering the sad news that Venezia is no longer around. :'( My tartufo.. But.. he bought me a flavour that resembles Tartufo! Its from Gelateria Italia :D The flavour's called Ferrero Rocher.. no creativity..
>< But still, it is not bad! Nothing can match up to the original Tartufo though <3

Can you make out the words? Hehehe :)

3pm : Ganther hung out with me till 3. Thanks dear! For coming over even though you have a paper tomorrow :)

3pm - 5pm : Had a late lunch, and continued doing my work while watching Friends! But yeah, finished up what was needed :D Time to slack the day away for reallllllllllllllll :D

1015pm : Alright, so for the rest of the day it's basically just Friends, and family, and food. Mom cooked the usual birthday mee sua for dinner, and I just finished eating my cake! Bought tiramisu from Emicakes.. Coco exotic is wayyyyy better. No pictures this year though!! Kind of regretting it now haha. Birthdays no longer hold as much importance to me as years go by, but yet I HAVE to have my cake every year. Can't believe I'm having my first regret already.. Next year I WILL take a family photo!! :)

12am : Alright, it's not 12 am yet. But I foresee myself watching Friends till then. Gonna publish this first incase I forget. Friends is really really heartwarming and funny. Glad I listened to Devi's recommendation! Although she never got around to giving me the episodes she promised. Haha. I really really like how they gel together. No qualms about being who they truly are in front of their friends :) And Joey and Chandler are soooo adorable together hehehe. 

Oooooooooookayyyyyyy. Happy birthday to me! Is it lame that I documented my birthday in a timeline format. Haha. 

Oh!! Throwback for my first birthday cake last Saturday with these peeps. 

Especially to Babi Yf even though you had 5 papers to study for. Jiayou!! And Kenny even though you were leaving on your Europe trip on that very day.. and you haven't even packed or bought the necessities hehe. And mx.. for providing laughter to our lives :P