Shanghai trip LAST year!

Last year, my company organized and paid for a 3 days-2 nights "incentive trip" for all employees to Shanghai. That was sometime in Sept06, I think... I remembered that the hairy crabs were in season.

Before I know it, a year has passed and for this year, I am entitled to go to Perth. As my dept is extremely lean, basically it's just me and my boss right now as the other fund manager has left us to relocate to HK.

So, I'll be traveling to Perth with BF, just like what we did last year for Shanghai.

This is a picture that BF took while he was wondering on his own and while I was somewhere in Jiangsu attending a meeting. This is "lao Jie", which means Old Street. It is situated just next to Yu-Yue (aka Jade Garden in English), which is a tourist trap. I've never seen more tourists in any other parts of Shanghai.

However, just a street away, Lao Jie managed to retain some of its old charm where locals were still cycling away, no tour group leaders waving their flags and you can find rather cheap items to buy. I bought a traditional Chinese tea cup for only S$3, which can easily cost 3 times more in Singapore!

Anyway, I just wana post something about my Shanghai trip b4 I go for my next one in Aug.

Someone once told me that once you hit 25 years old, time will just fly and b4 you know it, you will be an old fart and that's provided that you are lucky enough to be still alive and kicking!

Yup, I do begin to feel like an old fart.

More pictures from my baking class on last sat!

My very first baking class!

Last Friday, while I was surfing the net, looking for cute pictures, I came across Karen’s website – perfectfairycakes.com (as mentioned in my most recent post) and I realized then that she would be holding a baking class on the very next day!

Immediately, I called her and signed up for the class. Another good gf of mine decided to join in the fun as well.

So, on the very next day, I woke up a bit earlier to get ready as Karen’s class was at 10 am. GF and I shared a cab down to Karen’s place, where she holds her monthly baking classes.

There were 8 of us in total, 7 were girls and 1 brave boyfriend joined the class with the girlfriend. How very sweet of him.

After some small talk, we started on my virgin baking class! =p

We learnt 3 recipes – carrot cake cupcakes, savoury onion cupcakes and marmalade bread pudding.

My favourite part of the class was the moment when we started decorating the carrot muffins with all the girly flowers, butterflies and pearls, awww… so sweet! Then, the highlight of the day – we got to eat what we baked! Yeah!

Mmmm… the bread pudding was really delicious, and the savoury muffins, woah! And don’t get me started on those pretty, darling carrot muffins. Yum Yum Yum!

All in all, I really had fun baking and EATING the goodies. Can’t wait for her next class.

Oh, did I mention that I actually do NOT have an oven at home?!?! Although I suspect my microwave oven does have a “confectionary” function. Hmmm, time to check out my kitchen ware.

I’ll be traveling!

Recently I went to the library to borrow some books and I borrowed a LonelyPLanet Western Australia Guide Book as I will be going to Perth in Aug!

Yeah, yeah!

Finally a long awaited and well deserved break! I’ll be hitting Perth during the National Day weekend and will be hanging around at Down Under for 6 days. Heard that there is really nothing much to do in Perth (the guide book kinda confirmed that already), but luckily, both BF and I are such alcoholics that we are planning to spend most of our days getting drunk at Margaret River.

For those who are not so familiar with the drinking scene, Margaret River has many of the best vineyards in Australia, so I am really excited about the trip! Plus, this is my virgin trip to Aussie!

Other than this trip, I’ll also be heading to the Banyan Tree resort @ Bintan (Indonesia) for a 2- days-1- night stay in about 2 weeks time! Yeah, can’t wait again… I have always wanted to try a Banyan Tree. Heard so much about their spa, services and beautiful rooms that I can’t wait to experience it first hand! Although the resorts at Bintan are considered to be at the lower range, but that is as much as I can afford. ;(

And after that…. I will be heading to KL, Malaysia for a hardcore pig-out session! A bunch of us have decided to book ourselves a suite at The Ascott KL, eat ourselves silly at the Overseas Restaurant (THE best Chinese restaurant in KL), and then go back to our suite and drink, watch DVD and basically…. Just chill.

Ahhhh… meanwhile, back to reality. I’ll be working over this weekend. Argh. Not the best way to spend a weekend.

Nonetheless, all these trips are making me so excited!!! ;p And all these happy thoughts are making me hungry, so here is a picture of a beautiful cupcake that I found online. This chef makes the prettiest cupcakes! I wonder do they taste as good as they look....

Cupcakes from this website: http://perfectfairycakes.blogspot.com/

Check them out!

To end it all?

Once again, I am very tempted to end my blog. To start with, how many people actually read it? Not that many.

Then I look through all my old entries and hit me once again that I have recorded my thoughts and beliefs for the past 2 years or so, it would be such a pity if I end were to end it all… all else fails, I can always read my own blog.

Ha.

So, I’ve just joined Planet Fitness last week. After 1 year of consideration, I have finally decided to pay the exorbitant fees to use a few pieces of gym equipment and hopefully to lose some pounds and tone some muscles.

Why the sudden enlightenment, you may ask?

Well… Last Saturday, I had to attend a wedding dinner and I had my wardrobe all planned out days earlier before the actual dinner. From the dress, to the earrings, to the clutch bag, to the type of shoes, to my eye make-up. I had it all sorted out.

Until I realized that I could not fit into the god damned dress! Cannot even zip it up. Even after sucking in my breath! Sigh, so sad.

So, I had to find another dress at the very last minute.

After the wedding dinner, I joined Planet Fitness immediately on the following Monday.

In fact, my body is aching all over right now, especially my thighs and calves. I went for the “Cyclo” class yesterday for the very first time, thinking “Aiyah, how hard can riding a bike be?” Since I run at least 8 km every week, I should be quite fit right?

Yeah right. I nearly fainted after the class. Woah… talking about a workout session manz.
My knees buckled after I got off the stationary bike and I am now walking around like “stick figure” as my legs are so, so sore.

So now that I have a reality check, I’ve decided to go for this “Cyclo” class every week until my legs stop cramming after each session. Guess that will take a while though…

Hopefully in time to come, I will be a lean, mean fighting machine. Not that I wana fight anyone lah. ;p

I found a baby cockroach in my drink! YEEK!

I went to Swiss Culture at Suntec yesterday for lunch and I actually found a baby cockroach in my drink. As I was drinking ice lemon tea, the drink was dark coloured and thus, I did not see the cockroach until I finished the drink and I was like “Hmmm…. What is that black thingy among my ice cubes…. A COCKRAOCH!!!”

I nearly fainted.

I was so totally grossed out.

Called the waiter over and said as loudly as I could “There’s a cockroach in my drink”

*a look of disbelieved from the waiter* Then he said the stupidest thing, “Was it from the cup?”

“THEN FROM WHERE?!”

“Sorry Mdm, I’ll waive the cost of the drink.”

“What?! There is a one FREAKING cockroach in my drink! I’m going to complain to the MOH. Get your manager here.”

*The waiter crawled away and the manager came over*

Then it hit me that I was so dumb as well. I should have taken a picture of that cockroach, twitching in my drink before giving the cup away to the waiter. Damn, he would have just destroyed the evidence!

“Very sorry Mdm, I’ll waive the drink, service charge and get you a cup of coffee – on the house.”

“WHAT? The least you can do is to waive my set lunch (which costs only 15 bucks), this is totally unacceptable. You have to improve on your hygiene and I’m going to complain to MOH”

“Really sorry Mdm, I’ll waive the set lunch for you.”

“Ok. That is the least you can do and I’m not ever going to come here again” Suddenly, I had this urge to get my cup back and show it to all the patrons in the restaurant.

“Nah ,SEE! Got baby cockroach in my cup! Check yours!!!”

No free lunch in this world, well… unless you find a cockroach in your food.

I felt ill for the rest of the day. YeeK!

The Inheritance of loss

BF’s friend gave me this book during last X’mas and I’ve finally finished it *yeah!*

Overall, it was an enjoyable book (won the booker price last year hor, don’t play play), I like the way the author played with her words, story line is a tab weak though.

All in all, it still couldn’t beat The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. This book totally broke my heart and got me to appreciate the English language again. The story was tragic yet with a touch of innocence and joy. For both times that I read the book, for both times, I wept. I wept for him - the “God" of small things, I wept for the forbidden love between him and "Ammu" and I wept for the innocence lost by the twins.

I read it somewhere that Arundhati Roy is working on her second novel and I am so looking forward to it!

If there is one book that I will recommend, it has to be this book – The God of Small Things. (Lord of the Rind is the second that I’ll recommend!!)

Open your heart when you read it. Some said it's a girly book... yah yah, macho men only read books like "Dune" ah? Wrong! I read "Dune" too. But seriously, God of Small Thing touched me like no other books had ever able to...

I’m out of the team…

I’m a quitter. Officially.

Due to tremendous workload AND studyload, I’ve decided to withdraw from my salsa performance team. I’ve with this dance school, Two Left Feet ever since Dec 2004 and have totally enjoyed myself.

I started out as a “freshie” in the salsa scene, stepped on tons of toes (sorry, guys), being elbowed a few times and even got my boobs grabbed ACCIDENTALLY by fellow salsa mates on some occasions. (They told me they accidentally touched lah)

And in Jan 2006, I went for the audition to join the performance team and got in! Thus, I started on a very, very demanding yet totally fulfilling journey in being a performer for Two Left Feet Dance School. In preparation for the performance in L.A Salsa Festival in L.A (Duh) in May06, I endured extremely demanding trainings. We practiced up to 4 to 5 times a week, each session lasting at least 3 hours. Not only that, I also endured scoldings from the instructors when my dancing was not up to their expectations. They had very, very high expectations… …

Although the trainings were tough, I improved my dancing skills by leaps and bounds and made a few valuable friendships along the way.

For this year, I wanted to be in the team as well, to perform in the Malaysia Congress in August, This year’s performance routine is even much more exciting than the last, and I was really excited about being able to perform again. However, as workload got heavier, in addition to the CFA exam that I’ll be taking in June, I am having problems coping with the schedule of 2-3 times of salsa trainings per week.

Thus, I quit the team…

I have to tell myself that “I love my job, I love my job, I love my job” to justify to myself that I had to give up on one of my dearest loves – dancing.

Sigh. “There is a time and place for everything but salsa is just not on your agenda right now”, said BF.

I guess he is right.

I am older today
Am I wiser, I say?
A year has past and I have learnt
I am older today

I look older today
With a line or two on my face
A little more depth in my eyes
Yet my hair grows limp and thin
I look older today

I feel older today
More burden on my shoulders
Heavier as time goes by
Serious thoughts have to be acted upon and not merely entertained
To ensure things are done before spring is over in May
I feel older today

I’ll be even older by end of today
Will get older tomorrow, and the day after
But I relish in the process of aging
Where I will gain more by giving more
I yearn for the day when I can look back,

Well and alive with a head of frizzy white hair
Reminiscing the good old days and a life well-lived
I want to be older today

I used to be happier?

Just today, one friend commented “what happened to you? You used to be happier..!” Another commented “You are like an old fart now!”

All because I do not enjoy clubbing anymore.

E (one of my gfs) wanted to get me out clubbing on this Friday… but I am not interested at all. I told her I am good to meet up for dinner or some chill-out bars, but not Zouk, MOS or Butter Factory or any of the clubs. And she said “What? You are behaving like an old fart!”

I was like “yeah… I feel like an old fart, although I do not want to look like one!”

Feeling amused, I told another gf of mine, L. And she commented that I used to be more extrovert and was such a party-girl. She was like “What happened to you?!”

Actually, nothing happened to me. I am still as extrovert as ever, in fact, I'm just more at peace with myself as I finally know what I want in life and I try to work towards my goals.

I have decided to put my party days behind me as I do not enjoy partying anymore.

The late nights.
The insane drinking.
The self-indulgence style of dancing.
The waste of time.

I try not to stay up late anymore… if not for work, if not for reading, if not for my fav TV programs (;p). Nowadays, I enjoy waking up early and try to go for a quick run b4 I hit my office or during weekends as well.

I try not to do hard liquor anymore except for whiskey. Haha, I am such a whiskey fan. Give me a Macallen anytime! Nonetheless, I find it so much more meaningful to appreciate a bottle of wine with close friends or with like-minded wine lovers than to binge drink.

Instead of doing senseless hip-hops, I’ll rather hit a salsa bar to work on my salsa dance steps and improve on my coordination and footwork. I do not get any satisfaction in grooving to Justin Timberlake or Madonna anymore, I mean… for what? To attract attention? Kinda passed that phase.

I begin to realize that time is running out. I only have 3 more years to go before I am 30 and there are so many things that I want to achieve before I hit the big 3-0. Thus, I try to engage in value-adding activities such as: reading, exercising, working, catching up with friends and family, traveling and some self-reflection.

I think I have grown up. *FINALLY*

A special friend

Ok… here I am, blogging about friendship again. But I just have to blog this, to remind myself of a very talented friend, who has always inspired me in so many ways yet I didn’t know that he leads such a lonely life until today.

Technically, he is actually BF’s friend. I only got to know him through BF. Let’s call him D. BF and D are from the same kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and junior college. After that, D went to the US to pursue his studies and currently is still based in the US for his professorship in physics.

Thus, BF and I only hang out with him when he is back in Singapore during the winter break. Only for about 1 month in a year, I get to interact with this great guy.

D is easily one of the MOST intelligent human being I have ever met in my life. Always full of clever jokes and interesting stories, he has never failed to amaze me.

He self-taught himself to play the piano.
He takes amazing pictures.
He makes me laugh all the time with his witty remarks.
His dad makes me laugh even harder with his “uncle-ness” and I-am-always-correct attitude (in a non-imposing and oh-so hilarious way)
He engages in conversations that made me go quiet and think.

I really enjoy his company because I can learn so much from him, and I am really fond of him, as a friend, as an older brother, as a buddy. Among all of BF’s buddies, D is definitely my favourite. Hands down.

And just about 15 mins ago, I chanced upon his blog and his blog made me wana cry.

I didn’t know that behind that cheerful face, he is tormented by loneliness.
I didn’t know that beneath that intelligence, he is lost and questioned about his purpose in life.
I didn’t know that under that shield of strength, he longs for her pair of gentle arms to stroke his hair. And all these while, I noticed his glances at her and I have always thought that she is perfect for D. But yet, there is really nothing at all that I can help nor do.

His grief really saddens me in a ridiculous way, in a way I cannot explain. I feel really helpless. And the worst part is that I do not dare to confess to him that I have read his blog. Now, I understand his loneliness and despair, but I am nobody to comfort him or to show my support.

D is rather protective of his blog and doesn’t want many people to read it. Should I leave a comment on his blog to let him know that I understand his pain? Or at least I try to understand his pain?

I didn’t. And I don’t dare. I’m afraid that he would just shut down his blog and that tiny, little window for me to glimpse into his life, his fears, his pain and his longing for love.

BF is greatly troubled too. I know because he is sitting there, looking far away and swirling his wine without really drinking it. I know that he is upset that his best friend has been unhappy and he didn’t find out until 15 mins ago. And he couldn't do anything about it as well... can he?

D is flying back to the US tomorrow and we will not meet till about 11 months later, in the next winter break.

With all my heart, I sincerely wish that D can be happy. Can find that purpose that he has been looking for. Can hold the hand that he has been longing for. Can answer the questions that he has been asking himself.

D, my friend… all the best.

Im disappointed… …

I’m kinda disappointed with my circle of friends right now. Then I looked around and I realized that I don’t really have many friends to start with. That, itself is not an issue since I’ve always believed in the quality of friends rather than quantity.

But now, I can’t help feeling a little disappointed. Maybe it is my fault on my part that I have not been "maintaining" my friendships or maybe I’ve been too giving as a friend that people took me for granted?

Technically, I only have two girl friends from my secondary school. GirlA takes the path less traveled and now is an entrepreneur, her son is almost two and she is expecting her 2nd one. Our friendship works such that we do not meet up all that often but when we do, we have endless things to talk about. But as her life is really different from mine, sometimes, I do kinda feel detached from her.

GirlB has been my best friend since young as we were in the same primary school, secondary school, JC and even university! So, we have really come a long way. GirlB has always been the quieter one, more feminine and private. While I’m just a loud, over-the-top and don’t-you-dare-to-f**k-with-me kinda girl.

I will usually tell her whatever happened but sometimes, she kinda keeps things from me. It will be a long while before I knew exactly what happened (sometimes I am still clueless!). I understand that some people needs some time to digest and selectively give out some information but I really cannot help but to feel disappointed that a friendship of almost 20 years cannot even “handle the truth”.

Sigh.

I used to be rather cosy with a bunch of hall friends but lately, I just feel that whenever we hang out (it had been a while since we last hung out), the conversations became extremely superficial… so much so that I feel that I am entertaining a bunch of acquaintances instead of friends.

Maybe I am just too overbearing. Yet, some said I am aloof.

I have always been envious of Carrie in “Sex and the City”, specifically her strong friendship with her 3 other friends - Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. I really do wish that I have 3 other girl friends who we can all hang out together and have breakfast/ Dim Sum every Sunday morning to bitch about everything under the sun. (esp. cute men or the lack of cute men in or lives)

Ok, time to recruit new girl-friends. If only it’s really that easy.

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… ;(