The tower everyone knows about.

The two mexican ladies we met. She's an architect okayy.

My breakfast.

The best croissonts are definitely none of the shitty stuff we get in Sg.

These are the softest and flakiest,

with a hint of buttery cream.

I love the pastries there.

Mmmmm.

Frankfurt, Heidelberg

Ok my comp's being the biggest PMS-ey bitch everrr.

I've been trying to upload photos for the past 2 hours and

this was all that managed to come through.

Technology's simply not co-operating.

Anyway, rest will be up of faceeeboook.

I *heart,love,adore* Frankfurt.

I wanna study there.

These are the Thai people who wanted to take care

of me during the tour. That lady with the white hat (with black umbrella) is so damn cute ah!

"Come, come, let me hold your hand, careful - hey, zip up, COLD, COLD!"

The view from the top of the castle

Redundant post, actually.

Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair

When her Daddy tried to kill him,

she said "Daddy-O don't you dare"

He gives me fever - with his kisses,

fever when he holds me tight

Fever - I'm his Missus,

Oh daddy won't you treat him right.

I can go on talking for hours on end with you (:

P/S: Ok, i wanted to upload photos but the files are really big & it's just taking too darn long! Maybe i'll just print them out & share them with only my sayangs lah.

P/P/S: I'm still all jet-lagged! Which explains why i'm so hyper now & dead just this morning at work. I dowwanna wooork. So lazyyy. I miss school.

i'm baaaack

Yeah, i'm home.
And at work.
Boo.
But who cares cause i'm walking on sunshine, baby.

Hello all!

Oh and hi Nish! Yes, you found me!
I dunno if ur gonna see this entry but...
I hope by the time you head down there, it'll be less cold.
Paris & freezing is not good. Windy & rainy some more, yanoe?
Have a good trip :)

A little bit of Paris

This is the view from the top of the Eiffel tower.

Shopping district! (Near Arc de Triomphe)

Out on our hotel's balcony.

The beautiful, BEAUTIFUL Arc de Triomphe.

Louis Vuitton. Okay, check out my face.

I swear, it's all the bread & pastries.

Meh.

More photos when I'm back then.
Paris is simply amazing.
The view, breath-taking.
"Romantic" hardly describes this place,
in fact, "romantic" hardly even scratches
the surface.
How do i even pick the right words
and slide it into the right
places to form a sentence that'll
be fit enough to describe this
experience i'm having?

I can't believe i'm here!
The cold is a little overbearing though.
As of now on, i have no eyelashes.

Life's wowing me, at the moment.
Just taking it all right in.

Must be Europe,

and you.

Halo

Okay, I'm really tired now actually. You know, Mak Noor looks so pretty in Germany! It's like she blossomed in the cold :)

Frankfurt's really cold. The insides of my nose is frozen. Sometimes i think it's impossible to breathe. I haven't perspired in a thousand hours and it feels so weird. Hahaha. You know what or not, the people here are quite smelly eh. They smell so stale. The men, especially. And they like to put their faces so close to yours when they talk. I never bathe for one week also will smell better ah, i tell you.

Oh and i saw their brothels (from the car) No censorship, at all. Haha.

I love seeing bundled up tots walking hand in hand with their mommies. So cute! You just feel like grabbing them and rolling them around just to see what happens. And don't get me started about the fat fat pigeons. I love those fat fat birds. Our Singaporean pigeons look like pests because they're so scrawny. But the ones here.... OMG, so FAT and so cute la. And no, Khai, I won't kill them and make them part of my coat/purse. Hahaha. I woke up laughing ah, after reading that (:

I wanna upload pics now but i stupidly forgot the cable. Sheesh. Will be visiting castles today. Me stomach's growling now. It's only 6.38 am here and i'm all jet-lagged & unable to sleep. Naj and Hah, wish you're here with me! Don't worry, i didn't forget you two at all.

Delayed and glad for extra time

Okay my flight got delayed. And re-scheduled at 2.50 am, Sg time. Shitty or what.

But i'm walking around the airport like this:

:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

OMFG

It is simply amazing to see a full page story of yours in print.

I am beyond delighted.

Alhamdullilah.

I've been having the best week ever. EVER.

ting-a-ling

/edited@9:32pm

My day was just perfect today. Nothing can bring me down! Not work woes, not even my luggage bag who's combination I can't remember since Korea. Haha. Can you believe it, now I can't even use that bag. But I'm still smiling as I'm typing this since today has been incredibly delightful, thanks to my aunties and of course, really really nice people (person)!

***
I was up so early today, flipping through newspapers without any real concern for the world's many sorrows and pathetic collection of joys.

Yesterday was great :)

I never spoke so much... And not feel too weird about the stuff I shared.

And I'm still ting-a-ling, & hoping that maybe, just maybe I won't screw this (what is this, you ask? I don't know either, cause it doesn't matter) up like I did many other things before.

:D

Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking

I tried to put into practice some "advice" India once shared with me. I thought it might be useful to try it today at lunch; since I was feeling a little lonely and food tastes better with company anyway (because I'd usually be either too nervous or distracted to eat it - viola, a less bloated me!).

One of her tactics, when it comes to meeting people involves this;

"Just pick a table. Any table. Preferably somewhere in the middle. Sit down, close your eyes. And smile. Give your sweetest smile, not some horny stupid one," proclaims India, in the adorable, stacatto way that she speaks.

So, I tried that. And true enough, within a few seconds (though it felt like 2 mins), someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what I was smiling about. I blinked a few times, and said,

"Oh, actually, I'm trying to guess what all these different smells are... there are so many of them.. all around! I'm Nas, by the way" *extends hand*

Omg. What a stupid thing to say?! But it was the first thing that came to mind, because i REALLY was trying to sift out which smell is the sambal belacan, and which one's the asam pedas etc etc (I was at this Nasi Padang place near the office, Sabar Menanti) and it tickled me because if you ever bothered to stop and smell, everything's simply lumped together to form one distinct, oily aroma and it's tough to tell the difference, unless you have it on your plate. Hahaha. It's like eating chilli-paste oil.

So anyway, this guy, also there on lunch break, also alone, and definitely older than I am but still young enough NOT to be my father... laughed, shook my hand and told me to wait cause he'll join me in a bit to "smell things out".

And he made a good conversational company! And I wasn't lonely anymore! And he's pretty cute and very very engaged (they're getting married sometime August). And he's never met anyone like me before (wait till he sees India and listen to all her unconventional theories about meeting new people)! His name's Eric and he works at some advertising company around the area. Oh and I got free lunch. Hehe.

So yeah, there you go. Just smile and you won't be lonely :) Tested and proven!

India, if you are somehow reading this, I miss you so so so much. It's been too long and I really really wanna see your poofy face again - i'll accept any form of punishment? Will that be good enough? Text me, email me, IM me, whatever... call me..? Please..? At risk of sounding like a clingy gf here... where have you been?!

chart it out, so i can at least try get there.

I can't believe how that epiphany I had during my SEA History paper, on the 31st of November - is probably about to shape the rest of my life.

I've always known how much I love writing and that is where I want to be, who I need to be. A storyteller! But since I can't write super long page turning novels. I think i'll get bored halfway and leave my story unfinished, with the protagonist stuck at counting calories. So, I thought I'd try out journalism.

After about a month with the magazine i'm interning at, (give or take 30 approved articles, minus 2 weeks of Xmas break in Dec) I think I've found what I want to do. I wanna report, and write and submit and see it published. Now, getting something published is just the first step. I want to get my ideas published - an original article fuelled by my own chosen subject! That'll be awesome.

Anyway, here's what I think I'm gonna be working towards;

1) Pitch an idea to my editor and try convince her to let me write more than the Personal Growth column, our HR blog and all the white papers... maybe she'll let me write a story for the magazine itself. After all, I already get original stories for the bulletin right? Hmmm. Maybe not yet ah... I don't think I'm ready to handle any kind of HR-related feature.

2) I probably need a general degree at least, before I can proceed (this one will be a major obstacle)

3) Then I'm gonna try out Reader's Digest (as a coffee maker also can, then inch my way to the top and displace the editor.. waaaah!) I think I'd be awesome for all those features on people. I love people (ok, debateable) and I know I can probably make other people want to read about whichever person I'm gonna feature.

4) Then I'm gonna dream big and maybe switch to ______ magazine (i'm not writing it here cause you might laugh at me) after much experience. It's ok, must dream big.

5) Try out at a melayu newspaper (Mampos! Cikgu akan tertawa terbahak-bahak. Karangan tidak pernah dihantar. Lebih dari setahun telah berlalu dan ia masih belum dihabiskan lagi). For a month ah, can?

6) Then when I retire, I'm gonna write childrens' books - they are actually the hardest to write for, i believe, because you want to engage them like your life depended on it.

7) Finally, I'm gonna write a song :) Haha, with lyrics that can beat Mraz's! hoho. Just the lyrics, I can't write music for nuts.

8) Oh not forgetting - spend a whole lot of time...

...with my long neglected husb. So to my future hubby, real life will begin at 60, for us! We'll do all the leisurely stuff like walking by the beach hand in hand and not really knowing where our kids are when we're 80, cause we will have alzheimer's (unless we're like mighty LKY, alert and mentally sound still)! Ha ha. If i even have one. Either way, I think i'll be kept occupied, no?

And I think that's it, for now. Since I have some form of dream/plan, I know there's something worth working towards. If I want something bad enough... I'll get it. I know I will. So far, my wants have yet to fail me... tira lira liraa. Hahaha

Wish me luck okay! Cause I'm pretty sure I screwed up my A's like shittifiediatchediggiefuckyhelloomeemaaaaaahh!!! Still, i'm sure that there's a way out of every shithole I've happily fallen into.

I don't wanna wait before, this dream is over. I'm gonna make it mine. God-willing, of course (:

And we love it like that.

Spent a lovely day with these three girls.

Sayang sangat!

Jana, Shafika & Farah.

Orchard-ed, looked for winter wear, office wear and swim wear!

HEAVY PHOTO POST!

Snow ices!

This was supposed to be a jump-shot man.

She was showing us how she was gonna

throw her platform shoes at anyone who

dare steal our belongings!

(which we kinda left a few meters away)
My gawd. LOL. HILARIOUS!

We're so hot, we pose for cold-wear.

HAHAHAHA.

Presenting,

FARAH A. *ohhh. sexysexysexy

NAS, *awww... sho cute lorh (hahaha just slap me)

Jana, *bang-BANG! Need we say more?

Shafika, *weeee, Korean-ish (mentel tau)

See, i told you, MENTEL!

Okay, then it was time to exercise my arms.
I frikin hate my arms and the way they
appear on photos, esp.
At least i'm doing something, right?
Haha.

Heh.

shagged

my friday was a whole new experience.

the press conference, on the whole was an interesting one. still, i wish xieli didn't leave me alone, to fend for myself amongst the big shots. well well, you learn something new each day and today, i learnt a lot!

networking is such a chore. i suck at it! and CEOs can be rather... improper? i got asked out for drinks a coupla times, by dirty, rich, busy old men. mmmmkay. some of them aren't that old. and are actually quite gorgeous (esp the indian/pan-asian/UAE ones) in that experienced way that i dig so much. i thought it was a common occurance amongst businesses and the press. my editor freaked and asked me to dish out details. hahaha. these are people who run apac developments man. they're pretty scandalous! maybe i shd dish out dirt abt them and do some blackmailing. heck, i wouldn't stand a chance - their battalion of lawyers would be all over me (not that way la!)

Which makes me wonder... do i really look like the kind who wld sleep my way to the top? maybe i just look naive and silly(which i am! i have never worked before). i'd be grateful to get any kinda sleeping done. ha. *dry sarcastic laugh* I stay awake at night just staring at walls. and i dont even go online since i have this irrational fear of having sthg climb out of my lappy's screen; like in that japanese movie, the ring, yanoe?

Today, i caught myself doodling his name. with hearts in between each letter. then i kicked myself. i can be so so so so goddamn bloody stupid. it will never work out, not in a million years (maybe in a million dollars?) i keep wanting to marry everybody these days. must be the money talks man. whisper those figures in my ears... and i'll give you wilder than your wildest fantasy. kidding!

i can't wait for the 21st.

everything is better than "just fine"

The cartoon is just there, to entertain you with its silly happy sideway dance, really. No relation to me post below.

I'm having the time of my life right now. I have been having the best highs and no lows (well, almost) over the past week and it is simply hunky-dory.

They gave me a bigger desk at work today. So yeay! Feels like I just got promoted. Ha ha. Minus a bigger pay cheque. Also, my aunty just confirmed everything with me earlier this week so i will (god-willing) be taking a few days off to join her over at Frankfurt. Maybe i'll finally meet Aike, yes? Haha, can't wait! Everything's superb (heh, all the possibilities!)

Which only means one thing; things can only go downhill from here. One can always deal with it when the time comes though. No rush!

P/S: I'm most probably more human (and a lot nicer) of late to people. 2009 is truly looking up in a thousand different ways (in spite of crazy weight fluctuations; there was one day when i suddenly gained 2.5 kg but woke up normal again after toilet sessions)! Well, for now. FOR NOW. Uhuh, only for now. I'll take it anyway.

blabberings before sunrise

the way she writes is like music more enviable than tchaikovsky as i know it. the way the words flow on her page and through my mind sends shivers down my spine. i can read and re-read but yet, still find something new to marvel and ponder over. no others have this effect on me and sometimes i wonder why boys just lack this capability to evoke such startling senses within me (without our skins touching).

i believe that i've just fallen in love so prematurely and that's a secret between just me and whoever's reading because she doesn't have the slightest clue. besides i'm such a stickler to right and wrong. and i know it's not love la. just pure admiration, because she has this unfaltering believe in her own capabilities.

i gotta get some sleep before catching the monster ride to work tomorrow. i am so tired but my snoozes are painfully restless! i am so sick of reading horrible news wires at work. everything is bad news these days. how can anybody try to even begin cleaning such a mess? It's blowing up 10,000 whales all at once on changi beach. ewww

omg, i hate the morning train rides, still. i hate being pressed up against so many people because it makes me think of how dirty they all are. and i suspect that some of them slept in the same dirty clothes - clothes they did dirty things in, at a place which knows no other word except dirty and all the other synonyms associated, like filthy, for instance.

IT'S A DIRTY DIRTY WORLD.

nyeh. i wonder if it'll help if someone were to talk me to sleep. tell me a story. any story.

A prayer.

If we loved each other
We would find victory
But in this harsh reality
Sometimes I'm so despondent
That I feel the need to
Fly like a bird,
Take to the sky,
I need the strength, God,
to carry me high.

Sometimes a prayer stops short because you just don't know what else to ask for, since it feels like He gave you everything already. Plus, it makes the whole situation seem like you're just being selfish and greedy because you keep wanting even more since nothing's ever enough.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER ALL + more peeks

Added more pics cause i love seeing their faces greet me on my blog. Heh.

Omg, this is classic Clara and me - we are SWEAT BUDDIES!

Just snap ur fingers and we'll sweat on cue.

These girls are the best part of my secondary school life and it really is impossible to say that I hated BBSS, come to think of it. I missmissmiss our threesome and I'm so incredibly pleased with the way I spent the first day of this year. Truly an auspicious one.

Yanni and Clara are completely irreplaceble; besides, we haven't changed a bit - aside from the fact that all three of us have better hair now (hahahaha) we're still the same, albeit slightly wiser and more mature, perhaps?

It's incredible, growing up in front of your friends and reuniting after a period of absence, recalling and lauging over the past. I can't believe how comfortable it was just slipping back into our 13-year-old selves with each other yesterday (minus the overwhelming insecurities and adolescent baggage). Now that was the BESTEST blast back to the past, ever!!!

Clara, me, Yanni!

*loves

Happy 2009,

I have a feeling that it will be a very good year ahead

I'm being rather mushy but I feel so lucky to be blessed with

the best girlfriends ever made on the face of this earth.

No complains there

:)

-xoxo-

In case you were wondering, my new year's eve was spent with my family! I joined them for tennis and pizza after... An uneventful but comfortingly satisfying night :) Sweated like a complete pig. Plus, my supposed-to-be-teman-istemewa (really laugh out loud) texted me all the way into the wee morning hours (: So yeah, company from all directions!

I am loving 2009 already!