Happy New Year
Wishing all good health, abundant prosperity and brimming happiness for 2007 in advance!
Cool Weather
How I wish it will rain every night in Singapore. Its just so nice standing in my kitchen with the cool breeze coming in from the kitchen window and doing my laundry. The rhythmic drizzling soothes my erratic work pace making me feel all relaxed and ready to tackle whatever comes the next day.
How I wish that we have winter season in Singapore so that I can buy all the beautiful grey, red, black winter coats that I saw on sale in Zara and Mango today. Every shop in Orchard road seems to be having a great big sale and there were people everywhere, even worse than before Christmas period. I can’t imagine some of them telling their boss “I got to take urgent leave today!” “Why?” “Coz I need to go to Isetan private sale today.” Simply doesn’t sound very right. A answer like “I’ve got a dental appointment or my cat is sick.” sounds more professional.
How I wish my working day is like today. Not as stressful as it was some weeks back. I nearly died working 14 hours day then.
How I wish everyday is going be the eve of some long stretch of holidays like tomorrow will be the eve of the New Year and Hari Raya Haji which lasts till 3-Jan-07. Yippee~ if only tomorrow and Saturday will last forever and ever and ever.
There’s so many wishes of mine but just how many of them can be realised?
Merry Christmas
A blessed Christmas to all!
It is a wet Christmas this year. So much so that we’ve to move our annual BBQ to the car porch where it is drier.
Started preparing for it this year real early. I do majority of my BBQ food shoppings at IMM Giant always where there are lots of choices and varieties though mom feels that their food quality is getting worse. Had shopped for most of the food yesterday in order not to squeeze with the usual last minute Christmas crowd.
Surprisingly, when I went there to grab some last minute items, there are not much Q at the cashier lor. Guess everyone must have thought the same or maybe due to the rainy weather, decided to eat out instead of cooking the Christmas dinner or having a BBQ .
Decorated Dad’s house with streamers and balloons to get into the Christmasy mood last night too. I’m that excited. Hee hee.. Then today, started getting ready some of the foods in the afternoon.
That very unlike me lor. Usually, I start all the skewing, cooking, marinating of food at 6pm-ish after I’ve taken my afternoon nap. Today I skipped my precious afternoon nap to prepare early lor. Can tell I’m that excited right.
I was all ready for my guests at 6pm. And I wait and I wait and I wait. But noone came. Though they did mentioned they would be late. I was starting to get worried that I may have to BBQ again the next day also to finish up all the food lor.
Then I continue to wait and wait and wait. Still nobody came.
Hungry liaos, heck lar, eat first. Alas, finally all our relatives and friends and neighbours came group by groups. Yippee~
I’m happy to know the amount of food I’ve prepared was just nice and we had a roaringly great time together. I love everyone around me. Its just not the same without everyone or missing any one of them.
So the day that I was so looking forward to went just like that. Wonder what next Christmas eve will be like.. 
1st HDB Appointment
Woke up bright gloomy and early today for my 9.30am 1st appointment with HDB. Haven’t been there till today and its such a big difference with the old office at Bt Merah. Very nice lor.
Today, I felt that I’m really really really destinated to buy this new flat :
This flat is the 2nd unit I’d viewed and I made a offer after the 1st viewing 2 days later. The owner accepted my offer and da-tah, my new flat is born.
I like everything about my new place till my ‘bantang’ dad brought up that the location’s fengshui doesn’t looks fantastic. This made me feel slightly uneasy also lor. You know lar, like a tiny nagging feeling.
Other than the run-in with that irritating agent representing the owner, the owner is actually a very nice chap.
During my 2nd visit to sign the ‘Option to Purchase’, saw the female owner studying diligently. Me, as usual, trying to break the ice (I hate awkwardness), casually asked if she’s studying or working so hard.
And that lead to her joining my office with my recommendation, in January as she’s actually looking for an industry-switch to the banking sector.
She was actually studying for her banking degree with UOL at SIM. So that’s 缘分 number 1 for studying in the same school, 缘分 number 2 for studying banking which is my 老本行 and 缘分 number 3 for joining my office.
However, after we became friends, she revealed that she is actually not the female owner of the house but the girlfriend as the owner had went through a divorce because the
wifeex-wife had an affair. Juicy news lor! That somehow made me a little worried linking it to the bad fengshui. I don’t want a DIVORCE lor.But after sitting on it for the past week (knew it on Monday), my liking for the house outweighs the fengshui crap. So decided to go ahead with the planned.
When I saw the ex-wife today (did not see her during signing of the ‘Option To Purchase’ as I could not make it during the last minute and changed to the next day, so she signed first and did not come the 2nd day), I was thinking to myself, how come she look so fat and ugly still can have affair one.
Then came more shocking revealings..
There were 2 rounds in the 1st appointment - clerk to confirm the documents before meeting the officer to settle everything.
During the first round, the ex-wife saw my blown-up IC (I like to zap ICs zoomed 150% till can see the pimple one lor, I’m a professional IC-zapper ok, those IC copies I zap is super clear and sharp one, got technique one hor) and recognized me as her sister’s secondary school best friend.
The world can never get smaller so that led to 缘分 number 4.
We started to turn the HDB office foyer while waiting, into a market with our chattering, catching up over years that have passed. And oh, er, I take back the statement about her being fat and ugly. Haa haa..
Somehow, we started talking about where we are currently working and she’s with the navy as DXO (secretary or something). So Dar asked if she know a childhood buddy of his whom is working in the same place (Changi naval base).
It turns out he is her friend also lor! Wa lau, I tell you, cannot do bad thing in Singapore lor, I mean how many coincidences can there be – 缘分 number 5.
I did not want to continue chatting anymore lor. Later realise even our grandfathers from the same village how?
Ai yah, wished I’ve known earlier lar, else can ask for DISCOUNT! If only I attended my this secondary school friend’s wedding and we would have met and maybe we would realised that I want to buy and she want to sell her flat. Then can axe out that stupid agent saving on the commission as well as get a better BARGAIN!
Anyways, so that brings me back to confirm that I’m really connected to my new place.. Scarily 巧 right!
Holiday Mood
Working in town is an extremely bad idea. I dare not broadcast the huge amount I’ve spent on shopping for Christmas presents this year. Did not want to tally up the receipts I’m hiding in my office drawer for fear I may need some resuscitation till today.
After doing so, I realised I do not need the resuscitation but to die from the heart attack so that Dar can claim on my insurance to pay the credit card bills.
I can buy a NEW LV BAG with the money lor! Thats how much. 
*sighs*
What to do, its Christmas. And working in town, walking pass all the Christmas decorations, lights and carols just heigthens the mood. Plus, it doesn’t help that shopping is just right at my office doorstep. I shop everyday now – morning break time, lunch time, tea break time, dinner time.
Neither does it help that I’ve lots of free time now. Haa haa.. December is usually a quiet month with many of the customers overseas and hence translating to lesser calls, lesser transactions, lesser service requests.
Anyways, I advised everyone to avoid going town already. I think Singapore is going into a mad shopping frenzy as if everything is F-R-E-E!
It takes a freaking 30 minutes for me to walk from Wheelock place to Takashimaya by crossing the main road then going through Wisma. Then you will also see in all the shops that you’ve passed, there is invariably a Q at the cashier (not at the fitting rooms).
Everyone is simply grabbing, pay, wrap; grabbing, pay, wrap; grabbing, pay, wrap. Not that I’m complaining. This does lots of good for the economy and in a mammothly indirect way, results in a higher variable bonus for me in March because our GDP or whatever indicators at high levels. Heh..
Oh well, my damage done cannot be undone so heck liaos lor. Trying to forget that I ever tabulated anything. Gonna burn those receipts when I get back office on Tuesday.
Had a good time at my office Christmas party today. Felt closer to my new colleagues with the games and everything. Hope to make some buddies lor. I still feel like a guest in my new office now. =P
Going to start buying some of the the food tomorrow (Christmas Eve’s Eve) for my annual Christmas Eve’s BBQ. Yippee~ Christmas is in 2 days time! Ho ho ho..
New House
I’m so excited about my new place. Met up with Karen, my Interior Designer (or ID for short) on Sunday to discuss on the floor plan.
I’m hesitating. And the reason why I’m hesitating is not because I do not like what they have proposed. But rather, I’m pretty agreeable to everything they’ve drawn. How can that be right?
I feel I’m the easiest consumer 菜头 ever. “Like that like this like that, ok?” “Ok.” “Like those like these like those, ok?” “Ok.”
Am I a sucker being so ‘anything’? I’m wondering what should I modify on to make the house more mine than the ID’s..
Spread Some Love for the Bloggers
I got tagged by Uzyn on this. Decided to do it in the spirit of Christmas – love!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Bob Sutton
BubbleDesign
Accure’s Carpark
Uzyn
Sparklette
Cuteable
Design East
Design Milk
Design Asides
Fugly Designs
Geekette
Gem Sty
i-Eye
Bjorn Lee
IDAsia.org
Niblettes
Pluit Solutions
reBang
sgEntrepreneurs
Signs and Wonders
Wifi Cat
Sumajin Blog
Technogad
The Foo Logs
Uniquely the Epitome
Aen Direct
Sek Ling
Cobalt Paladin
Daphne Loo
Sweska
Gratisvibes
U-Fong
Linda Chua
Xiao Luo
Whippleworld
Lih Shin
Shimmer
Chuan Zhi
And here’s four of my most favourite blogs to add-on!
Daphne
Boss Stewie
Lim Buey Tor
Keith & Tania
Litttle rules of the game though:
What YOU can do is simply create a new post on your blog, but CUT AND PASTE the list I have below, and then ADD any blogs you feel aren’t getting their due either. It can be 1 blog, or a hundred(or none if you simply want to repost the same list), but the idea is, find those great blogs that, for whatever reason, you feel aren’t getting their due, link-wise.
Then after you leave your post, the next blogger will do the same thing, cut and paste YOUR list, and add THEIR blogs to the list, then repost it. Add the same instructions in your post that the next blogger should cut and paste YOUR list, and add any blogs they feel should be on it to THEIR list. The list will get increasingly long, and all the blogs will get a sort of reverse ‘pyramid-affect’ of link-love.
Do It Yourself
TA DAH!
My very first D-I-Y necklace. Nice right. And it costs a total of … FIVE DOLLARS only can. Can you believe that!!!!! Damn cheap lor. I need a lot of exclamation marks as I still cannot comprehend why outside shops can charge me a freaking $20 for such a necklace.
Anyways, though the workmanship can still be improved (first time lor, what do ya expect), but I think it looks all right hanging on my neck. Hee hee..
I’m so excited! If only I’ve got the time to attend some classes of this sort. Heh, then I can make my own accessories. How cool is that. Very budget somemore.
Maybe I should squeeze some time out after the New Year to do that.
Blogging
Was looking at my blogging calendar and realised have been blogging unhealthily low. November was all right with entries every other or 2 days but December looks a bit jia lat like that. Buck UP!
The new year is coming and time for resolutions, guess will squeeze in ‘blog regularly’ as one of them. But the list simply gets longer and longer every year. I wonder actually, why do people set resolutions? And do people follow their resolutions?
Sad to say for mine, its used to be done every year without fail only in secondary school as its usually the very first entry in the Journal which I can’t escape from. And why the teacher asks us to do it is because we have nothing to do on the first day of school as he/she is busy with all the administrative details.
Noticeably, somehow or rather, after the first half of the school year, I think even the teacher forgot there’s a book call the Journal. Haa..
Oh well, so my resolution number ONE before the blogging regularly resolution is to ‘Follow Resolutions Set throughout the Year’! I mean it.. REALLY!
December
Among all the months in a year, I love December best. I think this December is one of the best ones I’ve had in my life. I’m thankful to God and everyone in my life for making it so.
Work
Enjoying my current work a lot though its been only a week into this new position. This position was newly created recently so the official Job Description is not out till early 2007. I sincerely hope it will be in line with what I’m looking for.
Some of you may be curious with what my job is all about. Actually, I now take care of 384 customers and do my best to make these 384 customers happy. The number of customers tagged to me is considerably low at the moment as I’m new (the other RM-S takes care of 1000+ over customers).
There are Relationship Managers and Relationship Managers-Service. The main difference between the both of them, as it obviously depicts in the title itself, is that RM are sales-focus whereas RM-S are service-focus.
Hence, these 384 customers that I take care of are those whom have zero sales potential and transferred over by the RMs like commercially important customers (directors of conglomerates), politicians, celebrities or complain & fussy customers or customers whose total networth with the bank actually don’t make it to priority banking service but willing to pay a fee (S$50 per month) to remain as priority banking customers and enjoy priority banking services. So I focus on giving them good service.
It doesn’t hurt that I get my own office mobile line to increase my accessibility. Though it means I’m literally 24/7 for customers but to me, its a milestone that I’ve achieved.
Yup, that about sums up what I do at the moment and I’m really enjoying every minute of it.
The excitement about work this month is also BONUS! Dar’s bonus has just came in and my 13th month is coming in on the 15th (company decides to bring forward our payday, usually its 26th!). But must save for the new flat. Trying my best to spend spend spend save save save lor.
School
I passed all three modules this semester – 2 credits and 1 distinction. Yippee~
Only 2 modules for next semester so can take a small breather to spend more time on my work in the new position (still lots to learn). But I’m really happy to be able to clear all the modules.
Actually, I a bit ‘dui’. The distinction is for marketing and I got 78 marks. 78 MARKS CAN! Its 2 marks about from the next grade – High Distinction. 2 MARKS MORE and I get a better grade.
I feel its such a bad idea to tell us how many marks we’ve got, makes us dwell on the unnecessary lor. Just tell us the grade enough liao mar, unless you fail lar, then marks is important so that you can determine if an appeal will work.
Bought a 2GB Imation thumbdrive from one of my RM colleague’s customer whom is a Imation staff for S$68.75! Bargain lor. Heh heh.. Needed it for school when doing assignments to save data. The old one I had was only 128MB, how pathetic can.
Family
Loving Dar and Regan so much every minute of the day though sometimes it may seem not so with my bad temper. Nevertheless, I really appreciate both of them being so tolerant to me and my nonsense. *muaks*
Our Cameron Highlands and Genting trip is coming up soon and I’m really excited about it. Though its only a self-drive trip, I’m contented. As long as I get to go somewhere with my family to drive each other crazy, I’m happy. Laalalalaa..
With my current new position being less chaotic and hectic (leaving office at 6.30pm and working 5 days week), I’m also able to spend more time with my family and doing housework - laundry is in check.
How I measure my housework success, ever since I’ve part-time help to do all the rest (mopping, cleaning, washing), is the amount of laundry un-done. Haa haa..
When I was clocking 15-hours a day in office, I’ve 3 basketfuls of unwashed clothes, 7 tekkos of hanged clothes and 2 basketful of unfolded clothes to tackle. Dar. Regan and me never have the right clothes to wear, either its not washed or its not dry or its somewhere in the mountain pile of clothes and we can never find it.
But its all under control now. I feel satisfied that its in order as I then feel like a successful wife and mom. Haa.. What a werid measurement – by laundry!
Aiming to do my Christmas presents shopping this week. Hope to get them done during lunch hours. I’m in a lot of Christmas mood this year as opposed to last!
