dines al desko - having your lunch break at your office desk.
i like the name given to this form of dining. makes it sound classy. :P
i do that way too often. during my first job, i was just too busy to eat. getting to eat at the desk was good enough to keep the gastric away. i do that now mostly because i want to read the daily news and catch up on gosips in personal emails.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
WTF happened to me...
yes...a lot of people have asked me that. i just don't know how to explain. over the last year, things were happening but i was just in my own nightmare...
i came back to Perth in Sept last year. got job 1 in no time. however, didn't think i'd fit in cos i didn't know the technology well enough. quit 1 mth later.
started job 2 the week after i quit job 1. was told there was to be lots of work for me. excellent (no...really!) 5 months into the job, i found myself twiddling with my thumbs a lot. there was only that much news i could read online. i kept asking for work but soon after i'd be back to twiddling. the event that tipped me over the edge was when we were given a stress management talk by a professional in the office. i found out that boredom was one kinda of stress and instantly i knew i was in this category. when we were doing the stress relief exercise (slow breathing), i felt tears building in the corner of my eyes. i was that stressed and i didn't know. one day, during my quarterly review, i just broke down in tears and cried. i left the job that day.
over the last few years, i had build up a lot of stress in me. locations, jobs, money, family, friends... many issues contributed to the level of happiness i was feeling. i used to watch/read comics or comedies and realise that i don't do that full out laugh to the jokes anymore. i felt the joke always had and underlying sadness to it. i was always sad and there were times i cried myself to sleep. i had been playing WoW everyday so time passes by quickly and i don't feel sad.
the events happened a few months after a news reader took her own life due to depression. i start to question myself if i was in depression too. i asked a good friend of mine/doctor on msn and he told me the symptoms and i felt that i totally fit that category. the day onwards, i deemed myself in depression.
to be continued...
i came back to Perth in Sept last year. got job 1 in no time. however, didn't think i'd fit in cos i didn't know the technology well enough. quit 1 mth later.
started job 2 the week after i quit job 1. was told there was to be lots of work for me. excellent (no...really!) 5 months into the job, i found myself twiddling with my thumbs a lot. there was only that much news i could read online. i kept asking for work but soon after i'd be back to twiddling. the event that tipped me over the edge was when we were given a stress management talk by a professional in the office. i found out that boredom was one kinda of stress and instantly i knew i was in this category. when we were doing the stress relief exercise (slow breathing), i felt tears building in the corner of my eyes. i was that stressed and i didn't know. one day, during my quarterly review, i just broke down in tears and cried. i left the job that day.
over the last few years, i had build up a lot of stress in me. locations, jobs, money, family, friends... many issues contributed to the level of happiness i was feeling. i used to watch/read comics or comedies and realise that i don't do that full out laugh to the jokes anymore. i felt the joke always had and underlying sadness to it. i was always sad and there were times i cried myself to sleep. i had been playing WoW everyday so time passes by quickly and i don't feel sad.
the events happened a few months after a news reader took her own life due to depression. i start to question myself if i was in depression too. i asked a good friend of mine/doctor on msn and he told me the symptoms and i felt that i totally fit that category. the day onwards, i deemed myself in depression.
to be continued...
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Monday, August 06, 2007
Guess what?
I've moved again. No. Not my blog. This time I've physically moved back to Australia, Perth to be specific. Many people asked me why. I just can say its about time.
It has been 6 years now that I've moved out of home and I've always enjoyed the freedom and no worries lifestyle. It was until in May this year that I've heard the song <爱得太迟> which got me thinking.
Its about time. Its about time I moved home to spend time with my parents. My parents are not getting younger and if I do not make a move now, I don't know when. Now being back at home, I'm sitting next to my mum and talking to her. A really rare chance. I want to treasure these good times.
It has been 6 years now that I've moved out of home and I've always enjoyed the freedom and no worries lifestyle. It was until in May this year that I've heard the song <爱得太迟> which got me thinking.
Its about time. Its about time I moved home to spend time with my parents. My parents are not getting younger and if I do not make a move now, I don't know when. Now being back at home, I'm sitting next to my mum and talking to her. A really rare chance. I want to treasure these good times.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Grasshoppers are still hopping
I've just came back from The Grasshopper's Forever concert. It is one of the best concerts I've been to.When you watch concerts in Singapore, the production security will forbid you from standing during the performance. However, this time round The Grasshoppers invited us to stand up and dance with them. :)
At the beginning, the crowd were holding back and just swayed their body and arms while sited down. Half way through the concert, The Grasshoppers brought on their dance tracks and everyone around my area stood up and danced and sang with them! I joined them too and it was fun. This made me feel that I was on the stage with them.
Most of the songs in the concert were sang in Cantonese, only a few songs within a medley were in Mandarin, which is surprising as not all of Singaporeans know Cantonese. Although the language might not suit everyone, I felt that everyone enjoyed the concert as much as I did. I spotted an African American (with a Chinese girlfriend I believe) within the crowd and he too stood up and danced with us.
Their dance steps were strong and lively, making it hard to believe that they have aged to their 40s. I am going out to buy their concert VCD tomorrow and relive the excitement. If you have a chance to watch them, do go. It was well worth my $128.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Short trip
I had escaped to Hong Kong last weekend to enjoy some time away from work and WoW. If you guys remember from my earlier posts, you'll know that I love HK.
Thanks to the Chow couple for allowing me to put up at their place during the five days there. I was just at HK last year this time to attend their wedding. It almost felt like yesterday.It also happened to be Yan's birthday on Saturday and we went to a Russian restaurant, Balalaika at TST to celebrate her special day. If you ever go there, you'll have to try their flaming beef in kebab style. Its absolutely delicious. (Picture on the left)
I guess everyone won't believe, that I spent this trip purely chilling out. I did minimal shopping. I guess the most expensive thing I spent during the trip was on my new hair do. And no, I won't be telling you the cost!I managed to catch up with Dr Ed. He almost sprinted out to meet me when I told him I had House for him. I also got to meet up with Mrs Ang's mum and brother for dim sum. Their neighbour and long time friend, decided to donate all their DVDs to me when I ask them about the latest in the HK cinemas. Now I can spend my weekends watching all of them. =)
There are a few things I will always do while at Hong Kong:
- Visit 黄大仙. Went there to pray for my family and also ask the Gods for direction in my life.
- Eat street foods. 鸡蛋仔, 碗仔翅, 咖哩鱼丹, 杨枝金露...
- Walk the streets of 旺角.
moving back
Okay. I'm back at Blogger again.
Why? Because I was bored and went back to read some of the stuff I wrote back in 2005 and 2006 (stored in blogger) and they mean something to me. I wanted to keep everything back at the same place. I lost a whole part of 2006 because it was stored on a private server and it crashed. That was the part that really meant the most to me. I guess after the server crashed, I lost most of my entusiasm to keep my blog up to date. The post were getting lesser and lesser.
I've went to wordpress to copy all my last dozen of post back here but I'll not copy the comments over.
After being away from Blogger for a year, I've found that they have improved slightly. However, they still lack many features found in many free blogging sites. I do hope Blogger will improve much more in the future.
Oh... btw, time to update your feed again, that is if you are still following me around =P http://journal.mon1ca.com/feeds/posts/default
Why? Because I was bored and went back to read some of the stuff I wrote back in 2005 and 2006 (stored in blogger) and they mean something to me. I wanted to keep everything back at the same place. I lost a whole part of 2006 because it was stored on a private server and it crashed. That was the part that really meant the most to me. I guess after the server crashed, I lost most of my entusiasm to keep my blog up to date. The post were getting lesser and lesser.
I've went to wordpress to copy all my last dozen of post back here but I'll not copy the comments over.
After being away from Blogger for a year, I've found that they have improved slightly. However, they still lack many features found in many free blogging sites. I do hope Blogger will improve much more in the future.
Oh... btw, time to update your feed again, that is if you are still following me around =P http://journal.mon1ca.com/feeds/posts/default
Friday, January 26, 2007
Long awaited update
Okay. Its been more than a month since I last wrote. During the past month, I felt as though I had morphed into a worm. I did not want to move, or do anything much. Weekdays were spent in the office or in the data center. Nights were filled with TV, PPStream and WoW. Weekends were spent with Isaac. Really nothing much. Daily routine. I don't remember much of it happening already.
For what I remember, I almost spent Christmas Eve alone again (did that back in 2003). Isaac had family plans to have dinner at his uncle's house. I had none. He had suggested for me to join them, but he was afriad that I will be in a difficult position and left the decision with me. His whole family speaks Hokkien. I don't understand much of it. I was also not sure if Isaac was ready for this next leap (I've seen his parents but not his other relies). I was standing on the line. If he had said "I want you to join me for dinner tonight", I wouldn't have had such a hard time deciding. Anyways, I did went for the dinner. It felt so good to be with someone on a special occasion. Thanks Issac.
New Years Eve. Isaac had to be at work filming the fireworks at the Esplanade. It was crowded and he won't be able to spend time with me. I had 打边炉 with my landlord's family and friends and retired back to my WoW and online count down via PPStream. I watched the Taiwan count down online. But I was alone.
* Picture courtesy of Tourism Bureau,Rep. of China (Taiwan)
January was just a rush in project schedule. Project manager leaving after a 3 months contract. New staff entering into the project but still had not fully hand-over his last project. Network switches arriving for my project that are too heavy to lift. I have to thank my colleague for his help for being a coolie for a few weeks. 高生, Thank you!
My brother and my 大嫂 was in town a couple of weeks back and they are the first to meet Isaac. Needless to say, they quickly grabbed a picture of us together. Within 24 hours of arriving back in Perth, my parents were well informed with the happenings here.
10 days ago, the evil of all evils was released into the world. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. If you do not know what WoW is, skip this whole paragraph. I was confident that I will not be one of the crazy players who had pre-ordered the game few months back before its release and stake out at Suntec for the official launching. On the very day at 4pm, a US friend messaged me on MSN and started telling me that he had got the new expansion and was playing the game. Not long after, another friend asked if I had got the new expansion... Everyone was just tempting me to go out to get it. I left work at 7:30pm that night and rushed down to Funan to try and get a copy. I was just way too naive to think that there was any left. I only managed to get the software the next day.
After ditching Isaac on several nights on MSN to play WoW, he wanted to have a go and see what all the hype is about. Since then, he has been playing every night... on my account! With him playing means I can't play. :( Anyways, officially, I have a WoW addicted boyfriend!
This is just January. 2007. I hope the worm in me will go away. I will write more then.
For what I remember, I almost spent Christmas Eve alone again (did that back in 2003). Isaac had family plans to have dinner at his uncle's house. I had none. He had suggested for me to join them, but he was afriad that I will be in a difficult position and left the decision with me. His whole family speaks Hokkien. I don't understand much of it. I was also not sure if Isaac was ready for this next leap (I've seen his parents but not his other relies). I was standing on the line. If he had said "I want you to join me for dinner tonight", I wouldn't have had such a hard time deciding. Anyways, I did went for the dinner. It felt so good to be with someone on a special occasion. Thanks Issac.
New Years Eve. Isaac had to be at work filming the fireworks at the Esplanade. It was crowded and he won't be able to spend time with me. I had 打边炉 with my landlord's family and friends and retired back to my WoW and online count down via PPStream. I watched the Taiwan count down online. But I was alone.* Picture courtesy of Tourism Bureau,Rep. of China (Taiwan)
January was just a rush in project schedule. Project manager leaving after a 3 months contract. New staff entering into the project but still had not fully hand-over his last project. Network switches arriving for my project that are too heavy to lift. I have to thank my colleague for his help for being a coolie for a few weeks. 高生, Thank you!
My brother and my 大嫂 was in town a couple of weeks back and they are the first to meet Isaac. Needless to say, they quickly grabbed a picture of us together. Within 24 hours of arriving back in Perth, my parents were well informed with the happenings here.
10 days ago, the evil of all evils was released into the world. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. If you do not know what WoW is, skip this whole paragraph. I was confident that I will not be one of the crazy players who had pre-ordered the game few months back before its release and stake out at Suntec for the official launching. On the very day at 4pm, a US friend messaged me on MSN and started telling me that he had got the new expansion and was playing the game. Not long after, another friend asked if I had got the new expansion... Everyone was just tempting me to go out to get it. I left work at 7:30pm that night and rushed down to Funan to try and get a copy. I was just way too naive to think that there was any left. I only managed to get the software the next day.After ditching Isaac on several nights on MSN to play WoW, he wanted to have a go and see what all the hype is about. Since then, he has been playing every night... on my account! With him playing means I can't play. :( Anyways, officially, I have a WoW addicted boyfriend!
This is just January. 2007. I hope the worm in me will go away. I will write more then.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Rain...
Its been blooddddyyyy raining for 3 freaking days straight! I can't believe this! Everywhere I go, I see flood puddles, poor souls being drenched by rain, and even worse, being drenched in the water splashed on by the traffic.I have wanted to show you the Straits Times Interactive clip which shows you that I'm not kidding, but I can't seem to find a link to it. Go to this link and look for the picture on the left. Cars being submerged in the flood, Koi fishes being washed away... not a scene you'll usually see in Singapore.
*Picture courtesy of Straits Times Interactive.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Speachless and Rub with salt
This is what you get when you win an event in the regional games for Singapore.
2 lines.
This is when you lose!
Above are two screen captures of the articles from The Straits Times Interactive website.
2 lines.
This is when you lose!
Above are two screen captures of the articles from The Straits Times Interactive website.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
King’s Hotel Buffet
I am sooooooo... fulllllllllll!!!
I don't have time to explain how delicious the food is. I'll just show them to you!
There is a lot more...
P.s. Bring along your Citibank credit card if you have one. You'll get 15% off.
I don't have time to explain how delicious the food is. I'll just show them to you!
There is a lot more...
P.s. Bring along your Citibank credit card if you have one. You'll get 15% off.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
I know I shouldn’t…
I know that the exercise I did last week will be wasted after this meal.
I know Isaac will push me to work harder after reading this.
I know I shouldn't be eating such sweet foods.
I know I shouldn't be eating such fatty foods.
I know I shouldn't tempt you guys with the pictures...
I know Isaac will push me to work harder after reading this.
I know I shouldn't be eating such sweet foods.
I know I shouldn't be eating such fatty foods.
I know I shouldn't tempt you guys with the pictures...
BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!!!
| Medium rare roast beef | Escargot |
| Apple pie |
Friday, November 10, 2006
LV adopts China-Man bag!
Guess what I saw when I opened up today's "My Paper 我报". I was shocked, and then I wanted to laugh! Notice the bag on the top right hand corner in the picture above? Doesn't it look familiar? Of course you've seen this. Yes! Yes! Yes! Its a 红白蓝胶带 (The China-man red-white-blue bag)!!!
This is Louis Vuitton's 2007 Spring fashion. Yes. LV!What the hell?!?! What were they thinking? Or have the designers ran out of ideas?
I still remembered that I did a lot of shopping during my trip to Hong Kong in April 2006 that I had to buy a huge 红白蓝胶带 to carry all my stuff back to Singapore. Instead of looking 土(unfashionable), I bought a Winnie the Pooh version! All my friends were laughing at me for looking so 狼狈. If I had bought the red-white-blue version, that will now become a fashion accessory!
I can imagine on their "Where to buy" section of their website will show You can buy this at your local Chinese grocery store!
Reference:
http://www.bagsnob.com/2006/10/louis_vuitton_spring_07.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no2JtaY_e4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRVZJnZW6sE
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Green shopper? Green checkout assistant?
Today the local news reported on the use of plastic bags in Singapore and how supermarkets are now trying to reduce the use of plastic bags by introducing recyclable green bags. This is not a new idea. Australia, and probably other countries, has begun this "recycling" scheme quite a few years back.But do you know how "green" are these recylable bags? I've found this SMH news article and in it, a reader, who has retired after 30 years in the packaging industry, exclaimed that "these bags are made of the same 'almost indestructible' materials used in car bumpers and wheelie bins".
I don't condemn these bags. I have to admit that I did own about 4 of them when I was living in Sydney. I am almost certain that every household in Australia owns one of these too. These bags are stronger than the normal plastic bags and can hold a greater capacity. I found them really useful since I have to carry the whole weeks shopping from the car to the apartment, alone. I just want to inform Singapore what you are getting, before everyone heads out and buy a dozen of these.
On another point, I believe that we should be smart shopper instead of being dependent on plastic bags, especially if you do not have a green bag with you.
I have been observing shoppers and checkout assistants over the past month. I've noticed that some shoppers are plastic-bag-aholics. They will request for plastic bags every time without fail! Recently, I was at my local convenient store and there was this lady in the line in front of me who had just paid for a small carton of fruit juice. This lady requested the item to be bagged after noticing that the checkout assistant was not going to give her one. In my mind, I think that this lady will be heading to the nearby bus stop to finish her drink and throw it away. Bag use life = 5 minutes. Time taken for bag to disintegrate = a life time.
I've also noticed that some checkout assistants will automatically bag your items, no matter how big or small they are. Some will even insist on you using a plastic bag! Again at my local convenient store, I was there to buy a bottle of soft drink. After paying for it, the checkout assistant quickly bagged it for me. I told him to keep the bag as I am sure I can manage to carry a bottle of soft drink home without much trouble. He exclaimed "啊唷! 我们公司那么大, 又那么多钱, 不用帮它们省啦!" At other times, when I reject the use of a plastic bag, the checkout assistant will give me a nasty face, as they believe I was slowing them down because they have to remove my item from the plastic bag. Sometimes I also wonder if they do reuse the scrunched up bag that I had rejected. If not, my effort will be wasted. But one thing for sure, the mentality of these assistant must change.
We have treated plastic bags for granted. We have to change our ways and mentallity to help the environment. Ask yourself if you really need to have a double bag for your 5 apples? Do you already have a bag to carry your items?
*Image courtesy of Planet Ark
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