It’s nearing the end…

Hmmm. It’s the time of the year when one should sit down and reflect upon one’s achievement for the past year… …

*picture a old lady in a rocking chair, sipping some tea and goes “ahhh” while nodding her head at the meanwhile*

Heh. Hopefully that will be me in like 50 years’ time. Still alive. Still kicking and in one single piece.

I don’t know about you, but I kinda started doing this “reflection-at-the-end-of year” thingy while I was in the US.

As I was there for only 1 and a half years, time was short, so I really need to sit down and reflect upon what I had done for the past year and were those activities “value-adding” and with the remaining half-yr to go, what other sports/things/places that I must pick up/do/visit before I left the States.

I learnt how to ski, how to fish (game fishing), how to ride a horse, how to survive alone in New York. I traveled to Costa Rica, parts of Canada and parts of the US that I wanted to.

And since then, I picked up the habit to reflect upon what I have done and I try to do that on a consistent basis, for example, at least once every 6 months.

I truly believe that this is a very meaningful exercise and I do think that I’m leading a more fulfilling life after practicing this exercise consistently.

Take 2006 for instance, at the beginning of 2006, I started to get bored of my ex-job and wanted to get a job that I really enjoy, so that I do not have to drag myself to work everyday. And so, in Jun06, I was indeed very lucky to find one, which I totally enjoy and was exactly what I wanted.

It was in 2005 that I first went for my virgin-10km "race" and would have gone for the half marathon this year if not for the CFA exam that I had to take, which was on the same day as the half-marathon. But for the past 1 year, I have been running regularly although I do wish that I can cover longer distance in each run.

I told myself at the beginning of 2006 that I wanted to go back to school and upgrade myself, and I did. I took up the CFA exam and I am determined to BE a CFA. This in turn, means that I will most probably sacrifice a chunk of my social life to study part-time on my own for the next 2-3 years.

Now that I look back upon 2006, I really do think that it was a truly great year for me and I do have a sense of achievement that I have accomplished what I have set to do at the beginning of the year.

Just a tip from me, set small, realistic goals for yourself and trust me, the sense of achievement can be really satisfying.

So, for the coming 2007, this is a list of what I have set for myself:

1) Run to MacRitchi Reservoir from Bishan (that’s where I am staying now) and do the full 11 km run, around the reservoir. To prepare myself for the half/full marathon at the end of 2007.
2) Sign up for the New Balance Run at Sentosa in July, and clock a decent timing.
3) Continue with my pursuit to be a Certified Financial Anaylst.
4) Go diving?
5) Be an expert in the Vietnamese stock market.
6) SAVE MORE MONEY!

The Ugly Truth about Myself

Ok… I know I have many ugly truths, but this… this… must be the ugliest of all ugly.

I HAVE CELLULITE.

ARGH?!?!?!

These horrible “orange peels” reside at the back of my thighs. How can that be? I run regularly, I used to dance regularly ( I will start on my salsa classes once again after my CFA exam), I stretch regularly… So, where the hell did these “orange peels” come from?

And after doing some research, I realised that those are “hard” cellulite, which many runners and athletic women suffer from as well.

And guess what, hard cellulite is MUCH harder to remove than soft cellulite. As soft cellulite is mainly due to sedentary lifestyle, overweight and bad drainage, but for hard cellulite, these unsightly fats are actually imbedded in the muscle, just under the skin. Thus, no amount of running or exercise can get rid of it?!

WTF?!

Luckily, all is not lost… Apparently, with religious scrubbing during baths, massage with essential oils MIGHT improve the situation.

Ok, the New Year resolution for 2007

[1] Remove cellulite
[2] Remove cellulite
[3] Remove cellulite.

Ok, you get the picture.

Bourne. James Bourne.

Yup, I went to watch the Ugliest-Ever-James-Bond on last Friday. Hrm, the name of the movie is Casino Royale.

For the very first time in Bond history, I did NOT walk out of the cinema screaming “STUPID MOVIE”. This time round, no invisible car, no DNA-exchange-from-Korean-turn-AngMoh and no stupid gadgets.

Although pretty women with big breasts are still there lah.

Nonetheless, this Bond actually made me sit up and go “hmmmm… he is pretty good, isn’t he?”

Yes, he is so ugly that he should be Mr. Bean instead of Mr. Bond BUT he has the most striking blue eyes brimming with intense intelligence (and not lust).

Yes, he’s not that smooth BUT he actually fell in love in the movie… *awww* And almost lost his balls for that.

Yes, he looks like he is balding But who gives a f**k? Real men bald! (That’s what BF likes to say)

All in all, I really did enjoy the Bond movie! Sigh… and I thought Hugh Jackman might have a chance to be Bond as he is oh-so yummy, but Daniel Craig really had me eating from his hand from the opening of the movie! I guess Craig is definitely here to stay!

Go watch Casino Royale, as it is more Bourne than Bond. For once, you really do NOT feel stupid watching a Bond film.

I miss Halloween…

I miss dressing up. I miss being invited to crazy, private parties where EVERYONE would dress up and had a hell of a time.

Sigh. I miss New York.

I had the best Halloween party when I was in New York 2004. The whole street was filled with people in hilarious costumes and everyone was checking out everyone’s else costume.

I remembered being invited to a private party which the owner took pains to decorate his place with a huge spider web! Not only that, he even dressed up his cat in the “MIB – Man in Black” costume which the pug was wearing. The cat looked so cute! And everyone attended the party in costumes and we had so much fun taking pictures…

As for last year’s Halloween, I went to Wisconsin for a private party and that was so much fun too! It was a college town and WOAH! All the students dressed to kill! I must say that most of the costume was extremely creative and was self-made!

And this year… Although I was invited to a salsa party which the theme was “school uniform”… (a tab boring), I stayed at home to study. Totally unhappening and depressing.

*sob*

And the saddest part is that when I suggest to my friends and BF to dress up and attend Halloween parties, they said that I am “boliao”.

WTF?!

Anyway, I used to have a pug when I was a kid and it was given away when my mum got pregnant with my youngest brother. Nonetheless, if I were to own a pug now (and I will, in the future!) I will definitely dress my pug up! Just like the picture!

To Shanghai and Back

Yup… I am back from Shanghai! I went to SH for the long weekend, so it was a really short trip of only 4 days 3 nights. In fact, it was shorter than that because I had to go for a plant visit on Monday and attended a meeting on Tuesday noon. Thus, effectively I only had Sat and Sun to explore Shanghai.

The first thing that struck me when I hit the Bund, was the familiar feeling of being in New York City. Besides the fact that people around me were speaking Mandarin instead of English, and the occasional spits and spats (SO GROSS!), Shanghai definitely has the buzz. Just like New York.

The sky scrapers, the honking, people pushing and shuffling… ahhh, I did kinda feel right at home. ;p

Anyway, BF and I got bored after a while… It was too crowded to shop or do anything else, thus, we headed back to the hotel, took a power nap and got ourselves ready to eat hairy crabs and party!

O yah, hairy crabs. Couldn’t believe how bloody expensive one can cost… especially a female crab since they are in season now, i.e: they are full of roe. Well… I do have to admit that the roe of the hairy crabs is indeed sweeter and has a more robust taste than our Sri Lankan crabs, BUT nothing can be compared to our Chili Crabs or Black Pepper crabs. Plus, the hairy crabs are so darn small… maximum effort in digging the flesh and minimum flesh to dig and eat. Not worth it.

Ok, after the hairy crabbys, we went out partying. Clubbing in SH is so, so, so expensive. NO Shit.

We went to Bar Rouge at Bund 18, supposedly THE bar at the moment. Cover charge was 200 RMB and drinks are NOT included?! Goodness, that’s S$40?! Drinks cost at least S$18 each… well, no wonder the place is full of Ang Mohs and expats from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Hmmm… oh, and the view of the bund wasn’t that great either. All in all, not worth it. Super NOT worth it.

Then we went to “Guan Di”… ahh, that place was pretty cool. Played good Hip Hop music although the music was a little dated. No Ang Mohs, mainly Chinese expats trying to groove to hip hop. Definitely more casual and less pretentious.

So we grooved till about 4 am, knocked out and woke up at noon the next day to eat the best xiaolongbao in SH. We went to “Nan Xiang Man Tuo Dian” at Yu Yuen, where it was basically a huge tourist trap. However, the Xiaolongbao was excellent! Definitely better than all the ones I’ve tried in Singapore and Taiwan. This Nan Xiang wins hands down.

That basically concluded my Shanghai trip. All I did was eat, drink, party and sleep. Actually… much more happened, but I am just too lazy to write lah.

Well, I wouldn’t mind going there again if the next trip is FREE. Or else… I’ll rather go to Beijing.

You can wash everywhere but DUN wash my FACE... ...

I SAID DUN WASH MY FACE!!! You, @#$%&*!!! Cannot understand English issit?!?!

Don’t feel like studying

Agrh… I am supposed to be studying for my CFA now, in office. But it does not seem to be working out.

I am too tired and somehow too restless to study. It takes me like 5 mins to understand a single paragraph.

CFA is such a pain… but I cannot afford to fail and my exam is just 2 months away and I still have other 4 books to go?!

Shit.

Sigh.

I am depressed.

I NEED a study buddy… ;(

Too much good food and wine…

Past weekend was a sinful one.

One of BF’s good friends organized a wine tasting event: “Pinot Noir: Old World vs New World” on last Saturday. It was a small affair with only 12 but 2 “heavy weights” of the local wine scene were around!

So, I was privileged to taste some of the better Pinots from Burgundy, Australia and Oregon. (No New Zealand though.. weird)

One Pinot really caught my fancy, Domain Drouhin from the US, Oregon. Most of seasoned drinkers did not find the wine great as it was “very un-pinot”. At the beginning, the wine had a “smoky” nose, with a tinge of roasted peanuts. Very un-pinot indeed.

However, as the night progressed on, the wine evolved to a slight herbal nose with the usual tinge of strawberry. And finally, the full nose of raspberry, oak and fruits were presented at the very end.

What a delight!

Usually, I am an “Old World” drinker, usually prefer Burgundy, Bordeaux, Chablis, Pomerol or Italian. Not a great fan of Australia or US, as I find the wine to be “too big” for my taste.

However, this Pinot Noir from Oregon was really elegant and well-made. And most important of all, it was able to "hold" for at least 4 to 5 hours. It constantly evolved and changed, and did not collapsed. Unlike some other Pinots, which collapsed after 2 hours or so. Definitely the “wine of the night” for me.

O yah… and I ate so much. Not a pretty sight.

Argh… this weekend will be another sinful week. Mooncake “celebration” on Friday and another wine dinner on Sat. This time, the theme is Amarone from Italy. Hmmm… tough theme!

Alrite, enough of all the snooty and "ah-tas" stuff.

The haze is back and it's killing me... it's really irritating my eyes and throat. Worse of all, I can't run outdoors!

And with all these rich food and wine... I AM GETTING FAT.

I need a gym membership... but being a "giam-kana", I refused to pay for anything that costs more than $5 bucks. Sigh... I missed my old gym from my previous workplace, which cost only 5 dollars, with shower facilities and a swimming pool somemore!

;(

Back from China, Shandong

Last week, I went to China for 3 days, for my very first business trip. To be specific, I visited Yantai , Shandong province.

Yantai is considered to be a 3rd tier city, with a population of ONLY 3 million ++. To be a 1st tier city in China, the city gotta have a population of more than 10 million, 2nd tier city à between 5 to 9 million and a 3rd tier cityà less than 5 million loh.

Hmmm… is Singapore a 3rd tier city then? No lah… Singapore is not part of China mah!

*Bo Liao*

Anyway, business trip went well except for the very last day, which I suffered from food poisoning. Woah… must be the fried scorpions, fried roaches and 1 fried silk worm cocoon which I ate. I took pictures of those insects before I crunched them in my mouth. I’ll have to upload to the web once I got the chance… One of the roaches, which I named “Xiao Qiang” is extremely tasty!

Yup, I am so proud of myself that I actually tried those “exotic” foods. They did not taste that bad, except for the silk worm cocoon. The cocoon was too “squishy” and tasted really weird. As for the scorpions and roaches, they were pretty yummy… aiyah, all fried food taste yummy to me.

And I visited my very first Wal-mart in China. Very different from the Wal-marts in the U.S. Well… you cannot find live soft-shell turtles in U.S Wal-marts. Not even as pets. Those turtles were sold as FOOD in the China Wal-mart!

All in all, it was a fulfilling trip as I got to learn more about China’s consumer habits.

I can’t wait for my Shanghai trip in Oct!

1st tier city leh…

Zouk – Zonked out…

Last Saturday, Sien had a house warming party where the “Hall 6 Kit Kat Gang” decided to destroy whatever she has in her new home.

Oh, I am part of the Kit Kat gang, by the way.

So, we chomped down almost all of her food (much to her relief, actually), drained her wine and Choya collection, messed up her bedroom, bullied her new dog and treated her husband like our new maid.

Wahaha… damn fun! And it was so good to see all of the Kat Kat Gang again, especially our MamaSan is back from the U.S for a short break (a.k.a Min), Miss Powerhouse (a.k.a Serene) is also back for while before heading for China. Also good to see Huanghui as she is so busy with her schedule with TCS (Yeah… I have a friend who is a star leh…)

This house warming party also served as a farewell party for our Miss Happening (a.k.a Fiona) and Mr. Piggy (a.k.a Jeff) who are heading for Tokyo and Vietnam respectively! Wow… with all these friends overseas… I can leeched on them when I visit. Yeah!

After destroying Sien’s place, Kit Kat Gang wanted to party so we headed down to Zouk.

Woah… Haven’t been to Zouk for such a long time!

However, there wasn’t much of a crowd for a Saturday night. Hmmm… guess everyone is either at MOS or Butter Factory nowadays. I was kinda disappointed... Nonetheless, I was at least with my Kit Kat Gang!

And since, it had been a long time since we last gathered; the guys started acting crazy and ordered drinks as if they were free.

My God.

There were: 2 jugs of Gin Tonic, 2 jugs of Vodka Ribena, 2 jugs of vodka orange, 20 shots of Lychee Martini, 30 shorts of tequila, 20 shots of Apple Shooters and 20 shots of Sex On The Beach.

And there were only 8 of us… …

Everyone got zonked out.

Some started puking… *not very glam*

But we had tons of fun!

Hrm… although I do wish that the guys had gone easy on the alcohol… binge drinking is not that fun. Especially the hangover on the next day.

But it was really nice to hang out with old friends again.

Viva La Kit Kat Gang!

I'll post some pictures once I lay my hands on them!

Café Le Troquet

I have not been to the one in Paris, but I must say that the Le Troquet in Singapore is pretty damn good!

BF and I decided to check out the place last Saturday after hearing so many good things about the restaurant. In fact, we did not make any reservations as the restaurant is located in Balestier, thus assuming the place should be empty. (Despite being a Saturday night, but who wana hang out at Balestier on a Saturday night?!?!)

And we were right.

There were only 4 tables being occupied, although the restaurant can easily sit about 26 people (inclusive of the “al fresco” area outside). It was a very simple restaurant, no frills. The crowd was casual, we had a group of Ang Mohs in a corner, a young couple behind, and another two older couples beside us.

The restaurant has a set dinner that cost S$48 NETT, with a glass of wine, starter, main course, dessert and coffee/tea. We took the set, although I exchanged my starter to “Pan fried Foie Gras” (you have to pay a bit more) and that was absolutely delicious!

It was crispy on the outside but totally soft in the inside and melted in my mouth within seconds. Wow… it had been a while since I had such well made foie gras.

BF’s starter was salad with cold cuts and that was absolutely delicious too! The cuts were of good quality and tasted really fresh, like fresh, good quality sausages. Yummy…

Oh, before I forgot, they also served WARM bread with Greek beans by the side for pre-starter. The bread was mini-baguette which I remembered eating in Nice and Paris… ahhh. So nice.

I ordered steak for my main course and BF had the Duck Confit. Oohh… the duck confit was excellent! The chef flew in the ducks from France and thus, they are so plump and juicy. A very well executed duck confit… highly recommended!

As for my steak, it was well made; however, it paled in comparison to the duck confit.

By the way, Le Troquet carries a very good range of French wine, which is not expensive at all. We ordered a bottle of red from Rhone Valley and I totally enjoyed it. (I couldn’t remember the label though).

As for the dessert, we went for the cheese selection, where 3 kinds of cheese were served. I believe they are blue, bree and camembert. I personally love blue cheese… thus I gobbled that within minutes. I did not try the sweet desserts, thus I cannot comment much on that.

All in all, it was an excellent dinning experience where I had good quality French food, in a relax environment where I don’t have to pretend and speak in a fake accent to get my orders done.

The owner of the restaurant is Suzanne Leong and she stayed in France for a couple of years. Thus, that explained the authentic French food.

She is very friendly, but a bit blur as she misunderstood my orders twice. Nonetheless, she is warm and sincere to serve the best food to her customers at attractive prices.

I really like the place and will definitely go back again.

By the way, both BF and I wore berms and slippers, but had good French food and wine. And nobody is there to sniff their noses at you because everyone there is so casual!

I love this place.


The address:

Café Le Troquet

529 Balestier Road #01-01
Singapore 329856

Tel: 6736 1070

Near Accident

Last Sunday, 27 Aug06, I drove one of my younger brothers back to his hostel in NTU, and had a near-accident experience…

I just got my license almost 4 months ago (in April) and have been zipping around on the roads to practice my driving.

So, back to last Sunday, as I was zipping down Mandai road, towards BKE/KJE (pretty close to the Zoo), a dog dashed out from nowhere and wanted to cross the road?!?!

My first instinct was to brake but as I was traveling at about 80 km/hr, I knew that brakes would not be enough and I would definitely hit the dog for sure! So, I SWERVED my car to the left.

That was a mistake that could have killed both me and my brother.

There was a van on my left, trailing behind me and THANKFULLY, he was driving slower and thus was able to avoid me even though I swerved into his lane without warning!

Good God!

My brother was screaming “Jie!!! What are you doing?!?!”

p/s: “Jie” means sister in Hokkien.

Broke into a cold sweat after that… and the dog ran back to the side of the road.

Good gracious… my brother started scolding me, saying that I couldn’t just swerved into other lanes like that… should have jammed brakes instead… blah blah.

But what if I really ran the dog over?

But what if there was a lorry behind us, and if I were to jam brakes, the lorry would have run us over?

I only had 2 seconds to react to such a situation. I had no time to analyze but to act on my instinct, and my instinct was to “save the dog”!!!

I can still remember the fear in the dog’s eyes when it noticed my car was approaching really fast and it immediately tried to turn back. How could I have run it over..?

*scary*

NO more driving for the next 1 week!

Purple and red lights upon me
I see nobody but my own shadow
I crave for the embrace of a partner
To swirl and move together
But I am alone
In an empty dance hall filled with my hollow echo

*****************************************************************************

This picture was taken at the Upper Club where 2LeftFeet presented its maiden performance and was snapped by my salsa partner with his cellphone camera... not bad huh? Got artistic feel huh?
Although it looked kinda sad and lonesome isnt it?
Actually the whole of performance team was just practising the routine in front of me!! Out of range of the camera of course...

Performance at Upper Club

My salsa dance school, Two Left Feet organized one of the biggest salsa event on last Sunday, 30 Jul 2006 at Upper Club, CHIJMES.

And what a blast!

Firstly, the tickets were all sold out – all 314 of them! In fact, the school had to turn down many people as the club simply could not contain any more people.

Secondly, Two Left Feet showcased its dance routine, which was performed at the L.A West Coast Salsa Congress, earlier this year in May05. And I was one of the performers too!

All in all, I think our dance team did a great job as we received much appreciation from the audience. As for me, I did not screw up any dance steps and put up my “performance face” through out the whole dance.

*phew*…

Previously, I was rather stressed out as I did not train as hard ever since I was back from L.A, and my instructors had commented that I was very rusty and not in sync with the rest of the girls. In fact, I was thinking of pulling out from the performance on Sat night, as I was rather discouraged.

After months of training, sweat and tears… the performance only lasted 4 minutes. And the best part is that I did not even perform the whole routine! (only did the 2nd half)

Nonetheless, I am glad that I did it. Even it was only 2 minutes and 34 seconds. Haha.

Private bankers vs Personal bankers

I just want to put things straight to those personal bankers out there. Stop calling yourselves “private bankers” when you are not.

Unless each of your clients invest at least 1 million USD with you (and that is the barest of the bare minimum for most private banks), you are NOT a private banker.

Makes me sick every time when someone self declare that he/she is a private banker when apparently he/she is not.

I have nothing against personal bankers… in fact; I believe most of them are making more money than me. But I simply cannot tolerate it when people pretend to be someone whom they are not.

I am just being a little anal today.

Yeah, just a little.

Superman Returns and Shux’s Wedding!

Caught the show last weekend and my, oh my… Isn’t Superman supercute, or wat? It has been a long time since I went ga-ga over a movie star (the last was Brad Pitt from Fight Club) and I am now ogling at the picture of Superman like I am 15 years old again.

*fun*

Although I do get pangs of sadness as the new Superman really reminds me of the original Superman and what he had to go thru in the later stages of his life. Reeves was so handsome when he was the superman and the freak accident robbed him of his life and his fame…

Sigh. Even a movie star is venerable.

O yah, someone commented that Lois Lane in Superman Returns not being pretty enough but I beg to differ. I think that her beauty is not the “stunning” kind, but the “grow-on-you” kind. By the end of the show, I am totally convinced that Lois Lane is a hot mama man!

By the way, I wana congratulate my friend, Shux… she just got married! And she held her solemnization … believe it or not, at the Canadian Rockies!!! Next to a river and among the mountains… the scenery was so beautiful…

O, I forgot to mention that her husband is CANADIAN lah.

Anyway, I wana wish the newly wed couple eternal bliss and happiness! And I look forward to hugging their beautiful Eurasian kids!

I noticed that I have not blogged for quite a while and decided to steal away from work and write a tiny entry.

*beam*

As mentioned earlier in my previous blog, I’m supposed to talk about my San Frans trip. However, after thinking about it, I don’t think it’s very nice of me to write nasty things about fellow salsa team-mates, so I’ve decided to keep my mouth shut.

p/s: you can still always ask me how was my trip when you meet me in person and I can then get it off my chest! ;p

Yeah… ok, this is supposed to be a tiny entry. So, I must stop here.

p.p/s: Get a flu jab… I have just recovered from the worst case of flu EVER. I thought I was going to die… But I recovered!!! *cough cough* Life is good without body aches, sore throat and painful lungs! Heh.

Recap: 8th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress in L.A

As I have mentioned earlier, I went to the U.S for 12 days where, out of that, 7 days were spent in L.A for the 8th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress. So, a group of 12 people (me, included!) from Singapore, 2 Left Feet Salsa School set off on the 23 May 2006, ready to wow our audience with our dance routine.

Our performance was on the opening night, Thursday, 25th May, and despite being the “Opening Night”, there wasn’t much of a crowd. (However, it was full house on Friday, Sat and Sun) In fact, to my utter disappointment, we performed to a half-full audience. And to my dismay, the crowd was awfully quiet and boring during our performance, no cheers nor whistles during the ladies’ shines and men’s shines. So, after the performance, I was relieved that it was all over and yet, I was disappointed at the same time.

O well… I guess our performance was not striking enough to create any uproar from the audience, although personally, I do think that our routine is rather clean and elegant. If I were the instructor, I will definitely ponder upon that and worked towards a more exciting choreography in the future.

Anyway, after the performance, I was free to attend the workshops in the mornings and afternoons (from Fri to Sun), which were conducted by world renowned salsa dancers and instructors. One brother-sister couple particularly caught my attention, “Junior and Emily”. They are from San Francisco and specialized in dancing”on2”, and the incredulous part is that Junior is only 21 years old and Emily is only 16 years old!

They are a good looking pair, really exotic looking as they are Eurasians and have some Asian blood. Not only that, they have tremendous stage presence and great chemistry as a couple. They are definitely the star couple, at least in my opinion lah… You can check out their website if you are interested:

http://www.juniorandemily.com/index1.html

After nights of dancing salsa, as well as being stepped, elbowed and punched during the process of salsa-ing, the West Coast Salsa congress was over and we flew over to San Francisco for a short 5 days trip.

Will blog about that another time… as it was a rather interesting trip…

Yosemite Nationl Park was so beautiful that all I could do was to stand there and stare. Why can't we have something like that instead of Bukit Timah?!

New Job, New life… and more stress!

I’m back from the Salsa Congress trip! Not only that, I have also just started on my new job… pretty crazy with the jet lag AND a steep and scary learning curve.

Will talk about more in details about the congress, but all in all, I had a BLAST! To watch all those world class performances, as well as to dance with some of the really good dancers, in addition to those excellent workshops… WOW! The L.A West Coast congress definitely brought another dimension to my perception of “salsa passion”.

Really glad that I went for the trip, will look forward to another congress… maybe Japan Salsa Congress will be cool… ;p

As for my new job, one word: DEMANDING.

Partly because I do not have much relevant experience in hard core finance, and I just have so MANY things to learn and pick up… so much so that, I am kinda overwhelmed. Thankfully that both of my bosses seem rather nice and patient… *phew*

So currently, my new focus in life will be my new job… and to sit for a CFA exam.

*fun*

Will definitely try to update more about the congress trip once I have the time!

General Election 2006

The election is over, but unfortunately for Gomez and the WP, it seems that the nightmare has begun. Gomez was denied exit from the country and his passport was being detained by the police…

This general election 2006 is deemed as the Gomez-incidence election as the saga of “why-did-you-say-you-have-submitted-the-form-when-you-did-not-submit-the-form” was more widely discussed than pressing issues such as rising health costs, increasing public transport and generally increasing cost of living.

The way that the issue was being pounded by the PAP really disgusted me. So much for a first world government and a first world election process huh? Nonetheless, Gomez is a real blur-c**k to screw this up…

This election is my very first election and for the first time, I followed the news/blogs closely regarding to this election. I am deeply aware that my vote will indicate to my beloved government what I think of them and hopefully, the govt will reflect upon that in a constructive way.

In fact, my mum and I went for the Workers’ Party rally on Friday, 5 May 2006 and I must say that I am overwhelmed by the crowd, by the passion of the speakers and I have never been more proud when I recited the Pledge that day, under the lead of Mr. Low Thia Khiang.

The post-65 voters (meaning voters who are born after 1965) want to see a government, who will show more empathy towards its people, more openness in the media and a more level playing field during the elections. Well, at least I do hope that I can see my country progress towards that direction.

I want to thank the opposition parties for contesting against the PAP and give me the opportunity to vote. I want to salute the new candidates of the opposition parties for standing up against the old guards and make them work. Kudos to all of you!

Performance at Velvet, 28th May 2006

Last night, 2leftfeet put up a GREAT performance at Velvet!

It was our virgin performance as this routine was meant for the West Coast Salsa Congress in L.A in this coming May.

Thus, currently we will be doing some free performances to gain some exposure. Last night everyone put in their best and we had really good reviews about our performance!

After so much sweat, time, effort and tears... finally, 2leftfeet performance team is rocking the world!

Career Switch

I am quitting soon.

Currently, I am working in an American based MNC, and have been with this job for the past 1 year and 2 months, working as a Financial Analyst, doing corporate accounting. After months of consideration, I have decided to switch career and return to the cold, hard world of Finance to work my ass off (for a better bonus, I hope!)

So, in about a month’s time, I will say good-bye to my fabulous boss and to my fellow colleagues.

I was really lucky to get the new job, as I was just leisurely looking through Recruit and spotted this rather small ad, looking for investment assistant as a newly set Hedge Fund is looking for an assistant to support the fund managers. During that time, I was deciding to quit corporate accounting as I’ve always wanted to try Finance again…

I was previously a Trading Analyst when I 1st graduated from NTU… working for an Oil trading company, supporting the oil traders and seeing how much money they trade in a day. (Losing 25 million USD per trader per day is very common!) Work was rather exciting as I had to watch the market rather closely…

Anyway, back to the story of finding this new job, I saw the ad, I applied for it, and I got a phone call later, went for the interview (without any expectation as I do not have much relevant experience) and got an offer within the same day of the interview!

That was a lot of change within a few weeks! Nonetheless, I am really excited about my new job… It will be tough, but at least, I will be doing something more exciting! Yippe!

I passed my driving test!

Yup! I did it! I finally did it! I can finally drive legally in Singapore! Yeah Yeah!

After some calculation, I spent close to Sing $3K to get my driving license. Ouch… so bloody expensive isn’t it?!

Nonetheless, I am so pleased with myself!

I took the test on last Friday, 7 April 2006 and I passed! ;P

So, am I going to buy a car? Of course… NOT. I cannot afford it…. Sigh, so expensive to own a car here in Singapore. I’ll just make do with my mum’s Nissan March and zip around during the weekends.

If I am loaded… I’ll buy my dream car! The Mini Cooper S! Too bad, I cannot afford it. One brand new Mini Cooper S will cost around $150K Sing dollars (inclusive of COE). Even a 2nd hand Mini (less than 5 years old) cost around 100K!

Anybody wana buy me the miniature of the mini? I prefer red, PINK or orange color…

I’m going diving again!

After days and days of salsa dancing, salsa trainings, salsa music and salsa partners, I am just about to bish (means punch) anyone who mention the word “salsa” to me…

Especially after the recent weekend’s training, sad to say, the current morale of our team was really low and I was just so tired on Sun’s practice as I had a late night on sat and had to wake up really early on Sun due to Ching Ming Jie, where I went to pay respects to my late grandfather.

Back to the morale issue of the performance team: we need MORE guys! Currently, there are twice as many girls than guys in the team, and to make matters worse, some of the guys are rather weak in their dancing and since salsa rely on BOTH the guy and the girl to look good, it can be really frustrating when the guy is not making much effort to buck up.

Sigh… and the performance in L.A is only less than 2 months away!

Anyway… some of my hall friends are organizing a diving trip to Pulau Aur (Malaysia) in August and I am just so excited!

Although, Pulau Aur itself is not a great diving site… in fact, there isn’t much to see at all, except for some sea cucumbers, rocks and occasional fishes. Nonetheless, it will be great to dive again, to breathe the crisp and dry air from the oxygen tank, to enjoy the peace and silence that the ocean offers and to do something else besides salsa!

Hmmm… I will need to get a wet suit. I do not want to go through the agony of squeezing into a wet suit that is too small!

I can’t wait to dive again! ;p

For those who MSN me... will know that this is the portrait of myself.

I just love this picture so much! One of my cats really look like that... fat, yellow, cute and a little stoned.

Hey... she may be fat, but she is NOT clumsy. Jumping from one cabinet to another cabinet is her favourite hobby.

I have a fat, flying cat. ;)

The lucky boy in white is the Birthday Boy!
Happy Birthday!
And all the sexy, gorgeous girls in black are, of course, the girls from the performance team!
And the fairest of them all... is of course ME!
Haha... literally.. "fairest"... ;p

Horror of all horror

I was at Union Square (Singapore one and only salsa bar) last night, and to my horror, I realized that I truly sucked at social dancing!

It has been a while since I last social dance as I have been busy with the performance training for the L.A congress. However, I got to learn the hard way that being a good stage performer doesn’t equate to being a good social dancer! (I’m sure many guys got to experience that 1st hand last night)

I was soooo S-L-O-W in reacting to the guys’ lead, and not only that, my rhythm was in a mess. Basically, if anyone knew that I am going to perform in L.A, he or she will most probably go “yah… rite.”

Sigh… I am so upset.

Time to pull up my socks and get my ass to Union Square every week to social dance!

Cool Salsa Video

Came across this salsa video and I am all motivated again! This video showcases how dips can be done with style and grace, and currently, my performance routine seems to be focusing more on lifts, rather than dips. Although my instructor did mention that there will be a difficult dip in our routine (Can’t wait!)

So, for those who are curious to what salsa dips are (hrmm… not those with nachos), check out the link!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5061062132646680465&q=salsa

Meanwhile, a quick update about my life:

Work. Dance. Eat. Sleep. Work. Dance. Eat. Sleep. Work. Dance. Eat. Sleep.

Yup, that’s my life right now. Although I am perpetually tired most of the time, there is a sense of purpose in me: to learn the salsa moves and execute with excellence, so as to “wow” my audience.

There is a part of me that gets all excited (yet stressed!) when I perform as I see performances as a kind of “exam”. After invested so much time, effort and money into salsa, I’ll like to test myself whether I have put my time to good use. Plus the fact that I really do like to perform lah… haha.

Meanwhile, for those who are curious about my cats, my mum is still keeping all of them. HDB has kinda given up on us… and actually told my mum to be as discreet as possible with the cats. Hrm, how to be discreet when you have 7 cats???

So much for the “HDB vs my tubby cats” Saga.

And just for you, Chio, I am enjoying your book “Riding towards the sunrise”. Will blog about it next time!

I am sooooo stressed!

Life is so stressful for me nowadays; in fact, it has been like a mad rush since the beginning of 2006.

Most of the stress is work related, as I have been rotated to a new role with more responsibilities! (My pay is still the same though…)

And currently, I am also training for a salsa performance, which will take place in late May. During the weekends, I’ll spend up to 8 hours on both Saturdays and Sundays on training… it can be really tiring. Going forward, there will be at least 3 to 4 trainings per week… how fun.

Nonetheless, this is something that I really want to do since this performance will take place at the prestigious L.A Congress. Yeah, that’s right! I will be performing with all the salsa experts from all over the world, how cool is that!?!

However, all these stress from work and salsa is taking a toll on my mood… I can be really cranky and grumpy. So, if I snap at any of you, most probably I do not mean it.

Meanwhile, I will continue to update on the “Saga of the HDB cats”.

p/s: If you can’t fight them…. Find their loophole. This is how I am dealing with the HDB now.

Dear Mr Ang,

Thank you for responding to my letter, however, I would like to bring up a few points:

As quoted from you:

2 "We wish to explain that cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB flatsas they are nomadic in nature and are difficult to be confined within theflats. Due to this, cats can cause nuisances, such as shedding of fur,defecating/urinating in public areas, noise disturbance etc, which affectthe environment and neighbourliness in our housing estates."

Firstly, animals will be nomadic if the pet owners are not responsible to keep them within their premises. Dogs, cats, rabbits and birds will definitely roam beyond the flats if they are not properly caged up. Therefore, the problem lies with the pet owners and not due to the animals if they are found to be roaming in the common areas.

Furthermore, for my case, the door and windows of my flat have been specially grilled to prevent my cats from venturing out to common areas, in addition to the fact that they have been sterilized. Thus, they are extremely quiet and are all toilet trained.

Secondly, dogs will also shed fur, defecate/urinate in public areas (I have seen many dog owners who DID NOT pick up the droppings of their dogs in public area such as lifts and parks), as well as noise disturbance (dog's barks is generally louder than cat's meows).

Therefore, the above reasons which you have quoted do NOT only apply to cats, but to dogs as well. And dogs will equally affect the environment and neighbourliness in our housing estates if they have irresponsible pet owners.

Thus, once again, it is the pet owners who have to be responsible to ensure that their pets are not a nuisance to the neighbours, regardless whether it is a dog, cat or parrot.

I understand and appreciate HDB's priority to promote a pleasant living environment and good relationships for all residents in our housing estates. However, it is extremely unfair to discriminate cats because any animals will be nuisances to the environment if the owners are irresponsible. The problem lies with the owners and not the animals, by prohibiting cats to be kept as pets is just curbing the symptom and not the root of the problem.

In addition, the ruling that disallow cats to be kept as legitimate pets could be one of the reasons why the numbers of stray cats in neighbourhoods are high as cat lovers have no choice but to rear the cats in common areas. Thus, fuelling a vicious cycle where cats are causing nuisances to the public.

In fact, I suggest that HDB to issue licenses to cat owners, similar to the current policy where dogs are licensed pets.

In conclusion, I urge HDB to revise its ruling, so as to allow responsible pet owners to own pets of their choice and do their parts to reduce the numbers of the stray cats, thus reaching a win-win situation.


Yours faithfully,
Miss Lee.

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I will fight for my cats... I refuse to let them roam the streets.

I need support... ...

Responsible Pet ownership versus HDB ruling

On 4th February 2006, SPCA has once again urged the public to be responsible pet owners. However, I will like to highlight that under the HDB ruling, “Housing and Development (Animals) rules 1989”, cats are not allowed to be kept as pets in HDB flats.

Toy dogs, birds, hamsters, fishes and rabbits, which can grow to the size of a cat, are allowed to be bred as pets, but just not cats. Even though they are sterilized, and after sterilization, they are usually very quiet and tamed.

I will like to understand from the HDB why there is such discrimination towards cats.

And being cat lover myself, I have 3 cats at home. Unfortunately, due to complaints from a neighbour, I have been warned to “remove the cats” (as quoted from the letter) within 2 weeks, or else I will be slapped with a fine of two thousand to 4 thousand dollars, and upon second or subsequent convictions, I will be charged in court under the Housing and Development (Animals) rules 1989, in addition to “Environment public health act, section 44” and faced imprisonment of not exceeding 3 months.

My cats are sterilized and are kept indoors at all times. They are extremely quiet and I sincerely believe they do not pose any nuisance to my neighbours at all. I love my cats very much and pride myself being a responsible pet owner. However, with the warning from the HDB, how can I continue to be responsible towards my cats?

I hope the HDB can revise the rules and allow cats to be legitimate pets, especially since more than 80% of Singaporeans are HDB flats dwellers. If dogs and rabbits can be kept in flats, I cannot see any valid reasons why sterilized cats cannot be pets.

Currently, in my situation, I really do not wish to abandon my cats and sincerely hope that I can continue to care for them till they die of old age. It is extremely frustrating and heart breaking if I have to give up my 3 beautiful cats to the SPCA or any other shelters, just because I stay in a HDB flat.

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I am having some troubles with the Housing and Development Board of Singapore. As you have read above, I am sending my frustrations to the Straits Times Forum, to the HDB, to the Singapore Cat Welfare Society.

This is issue is causing a lot of grievances to my mother, who is extremely attached to the cats. Sigh… they are more like her children now than me.

My mum is the best…

Just had dinner with my mum and it just hit me once again that I probably have the best mother in the world.

I did not have an easy childhood; my father was missing from my life most of the time and even when he was around. He was more of a terror than a father.

I still have 2 younger brothers and yet, my mum brought us up single-handedly. All these while, I knew that I have to work very hard, so that my mum will have an easier life in future.

Despite the hard times, my mum never let me felt that I am poor. She gave me what ever she could, scrimping on herself and gave her children the world.

When I graduated, my dream was to travel Europe. Although my mum thought that it was a total waste of money (she had never traveled by plane), she “loaned” me additional 2K when I most needed the money (for my frivolous want!) And of course, she never asked for repayment for the “loan”.

When one of my brothers secretly bought a motorbike, my mum got so freaked out that she bought a small car for my brother to zip around. She paid for the car in full.

Now that all 3 of us have grown up, and especially that I have already started working, I told her to take a break and not work so hard anymore. She refuses to listen, stating that my two younger brothers are starting on their universities soon and she needs the money to pay for our education. She is even trying to save up for my Masters.

Upon hearing that, I wanted to cry.

A mother’s love is so selfless. Without my mother, I will not be who I am today. (Not saying that I am anyone great now…)

But I could have easily been led astray during my teen years. Yet, my mother was also there for me and my brothers, playing the roles of a mother, a father and a breadwinner.

Just have this urge to tell everyone how great my mother is.

Mum, I love you.

I’m tired…

The time is now 10 pm and I am still in office. Worked till 2 am last night. Worked till 930 pm the night before. I foresee working till 10 pm tomorrow and the day after as well.

I do not think my brain is working anymore. Ever single brain cell is either on strike or has already crashed and burnt.

At times like this… I really ask myself why am I working so hard for?

I do not know…

All I know is that I am fucking tired now, and I need to sleep. Yet, I can’t finish my work and the deadline is tomorrow.

You know what…

Fuck it.

That’s it. I am going home NOW.

Salsa Performance School

Although I have failed my driving test, I got into my salsa school performance team instead! Yeah! Which means that I will get to perform and might even make my way to L.A for the Salsa Congress in May!

Really excited about this since it has been quite a few years since I last performed for any actitives. F.Y.I: I used to dance for my college's Modern Jazz team. (Can't tell huh?)

Can't wait to start dancing again!

Today is a sad day for me…

I failed my driving test this morning… (Sob)

Now I really feel stupid because everyone around me passed on the first attempt. My 2 YOUNGER brothers passed, beloved passed, brother’s girlfriend passed, my mousy girlfriend passed… and to think that I took my driving lessons from the school.

I am so disappointed with myself.

Sigh… now I have to wait for another 2 and a half months before I can take the test again. Not only that, I also have to pay for another 3 revision lessons and that will cost me altogether 350 bucks. Just because I failed the damned test today!

And I did not even make any major mistakes! And there was this STUPID SILVER CAR that suddenly stopped in front of me and caused me 8 demerit points! I hate all silver cars now… especially Mitsubishi silver cars…

The stupid tester is inhuman. He has scarred me emotionally for the rest of my life.

I hate him.

Back to reality

Back to Singapore. Back to work. And back to reality…

Holidays always have this surreal quality that allows people to be ridiculously happy, relax and somehow spend a lot of money, especially on shopping! Haha.. At least for me!
Now… it’s back to slogging in office. Sigh…

Anyway, the Taipei trip was great and I truly enjoyed myself. Despite the fact that I traveled alone! Highly recommend one to travel alone… at least once in your lifetime. Where you can walk around at your own pace, enjoy your own independence and basically chill… …

I was really happy to see my friend (Taiwanese) again after two years. I first got to know her in New York and somehow we really clicked and had so much fun hanging out together. She was so nice to let me crash at her place (free accommodation! Woohoo!) And that freed me loads of money to shop! And all the girls’ talk that we engaged during this period brought us even closer. I really appreciate her friendship…

Next, Taiwan has really great food and shopping that my daily itinerary was “eat, shop, eat even more and shop even more”. That was basically how I spent my days in Taipei… Furthermore, the cool weather (It is now winter) means that make-up stays and you do not perspire when you are out shopping. Ahhh… heaven!

More about food, the Stinky toufu really tastes FANTASTIC! Ok… I know it really stinks like garbage mixed with someone’s fart. BUT IT TASTES GOOD. Pinch your nose and put it into your mouth… and the stink will be miraculously replaced by a sweet aroma and taste. Viola! You are now hooked to Stinky Toufu.

And for the very first time, I soaked in a hot spring! A.k.a Onsen (in Japan). Taiwan has many great hot springs and I was brought to one in Wu-Lai. The spring water was so silky that it made my skin baby smooth for 2 days! Not only that, I had the view of a mountain with a little waterfall, gushing daintily down the rocks. One of the highlights of my trip.

Ahhh… will definitely want to return to Taiwan. But I will like to explore other parts of Taiwan… that’s if I can tear myself away from the shopping and eating in the city!