hoorah!
Though the trip to Bangkok did not happen, my mum and Lynn are going to Singapore with me tomorrow!
Sam left today to fly to Koh Samui tomorrow morning and was brutally molested by 3 fat women in the small car. Poor fella.
I'm so excited about the shopping that'll happen tomorrow and the day after. Mum also wants to visit the potatolily museum, which is probably going to bore the heck out of me... but I'll pretend to be interested anyway. :P
If time permits maybe we can go for the Body Worlds exhibition at Expo on 1st Jan (they also leave that day). I went there when they were first in Singapore several years ago and I thought it was pretty cool and at the same time, pretty sick. I think it'll be an eye-opener for mum and Lynn.
The last two days have been fantastic. Was back in BeePee and spent quality time with family since everyone took leave and wasn't working. Love love love. Also ate like a pig. Ate every hour. Happens every time when there's a guest in BP.
In the rumour mill: my company wants to reduce the acceptable BMI. :-o
Wokiez, time to get some shut-eye for tomorrow's fantastic return to Singapore. For once, I'm happy to be going back :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Last flight of the year
Oh nos! I forgot to call Apple to tell them to cancel the DHL pickup! And the pick-up's tomorrow! Hope it's not too late to call at 9 a.m. tomorrow :-\
Christmas is over. It's also about time our cleaners removed all the Christmas deco from our planes because one of the decos actually dropped and hit the head of my sleeping passenger today. Even the decos know Christmas is over!
I want a yellow luggage. Looks like a sliding banana!
My phone contract's almost up. But there's no other phone that I want because I really like my E71. The only other phone that I was interested in was the N97 but my colleague on this flight showed me what a downright terrible phone it was. Shouldn't have been released at all!! I feel I shouldn't get any basic phone because I will end up never using it so why waste this opportunity. I want a Blackberry (yes I lurve qwerty) but I'm too cheap to sign up to the BB plan because I'm hardly in SG to be able to make full use of the data plan.
Decisions, decisions.
On a brighter note, I'm back from my last flight of the year!
It was a bit crazy. So many of them couldn't speak English!
And those who could troubled me till no end. -____-
When I have a tray of wine, beer and juice and I ask what you want, can you please help me by choosing something off the tray. If the drink you want is not on my tray, just please tell me what you want so that I can get back to you later because I have to serve another 15 rows of very thirsty passengers. They expect me to give them their drinks right away, seriously how selfish can they be? If I had to go back to my galley with all my drinks still on the tray just to fix his/her one pineapple juice then I'll be holding up the entire service. Imagine if there are 7 more ad-hoc requests like this impatient person's, the plane would have landed already and nobody would have had anything to eat yet. This only happens when there are the Bangsa X (X People) on flight.
Hint: They happen to be kiasu too.
Will be picking Sam up from Swissotel later. He arrived in Singapore on Christmas day, en route to Koh Samui. I didn't make plans to join him for the NYE Full Moon party at Koh Samui because I thought mum and Lynn will be going to Bangkok with me. Plan failed. I don't have tickets to go anywhere now so NYE is gonna be pretty quiet.
My next 7 days will mostly be spent trying to solve the Rubik's cube.
First I've got to dig out that old cube from the store-room...
Awright time to unpack and choose my outfits for the next 7 days in BP.
Christmas is over. It's also about time our cleaners removed all the Christmas deco from our planes because one of the decos actually dropped and hit the head of my sleeping passenger today. Even the decos know Christmas is over!
I want a yellow luggage. Looks like a sliding banana!
My phone contract's almost up. But there's no other phone that I want because I really like my E71. The only other phone that I was interested in was the N97 but my colleague on this flight showed me what a downright terrible phone it was. Shouldn't have been released at all!! I feel I shouldn't get any basic phone because I will end up never using it so why waste this opportunity. I want a Blackberry (yes I lurve qwerty) but I'm too cheap to sign up to the BB plan because I'm hardly in SG to be able to make full use of the data plan.
Decisions, decisions.
On a brighter note, I'm back from my last flight of the year!
It was a bit crazy. So many of them couldn't speak English!
And those who could troubled me till no end. -____-
When I have a tray of wine, beer and juice and I ask what you want, can you please help me by choosing something off the tray. If the drink you want is not on my tray, just please tell me what you want so that I can get back to you later because I have to serve another 15 rows of very thirsty passengers. They expect me to give them their drinks right away, seriously how selfish can they be? If I had to go back to my galley with all my drinks still on the tray just to fix his/her one pineapple juice then I'll be holding up the entire service. Imagine if there are 7 more ad-hoc requests like this impatient person's, the plane would have landed already and nobody would have had anything to eat yet. This only happens when there are the Bangsa X (X People) on flight.
Hint: They happen to be kiasu too.
Will be picking Sam up from Swissotel later. He arrived in Singapore on Christmas day, en route to Koh Samui. I didn't make plans to join him for the NYE Full Moon party at Koh Samui because I thought mum and Lynn will be going to Bangkok with me. Plan failed. I don't have tickets to go anywhere now so NYE is gonna be pretty quiet.
My next 7 days will mostly be spent trying to solve the Rubik's cube.
First I've got to dig out that old cube from the store-room...
Awright time to unpack and choose my outfits for the next 7 days in BP.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
All I want for Christmas is Chinese food
An 8-day Middle-Eastern pattern makes me want Chinese food very badly... Enough of bryani rice, chicken tandoori and kebabs.
I WANT MY CHAI TAO KWAY!
I don't think I've gone without chai tao kway this long since I was in Moscow for 5 weeks in 2006.
This time tomorrow I should be 400ft from Changi airport and approaching it fast and steady. I really really can't wait to go home! Because I'll be off til the 2nd... *mind wanders off*
Just a thought: It's weird how I have never seen any signs in my hotel bathroom/rooms advising me to shower fast to conserve water in all the hotels I've stayed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but the hotels in Australia tell me to? There'll be these placards on my desks that has words like, "Brisbane is in serious drought. Please spare a thought for the environment and conserve water." And then somehow these smartass Arabs miraculously pull water from God knows where. They build humongous aquariums (read: maintenance) and plant fountains wherever they like and they don't even remind you that hey you're in a desert so please shower fast and be thankful you even get to shower.
Also, (source The Star online):
The Terengganu government has set aside a special allocation of RM10mil for the treatment of patients with chronic diseases next year, said Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said.
I'm sure Terengganu can do better than this!
I WANT MY CHAI TAO KWAY!
I don't think I've gone without chai tao kway this long since I was in Moscow for 5 weeks in 2006.
This time tomorrow I should be 400ft from Changi airport and approaching it fast and steady. I really really can't wait to go home! Because I'll be off til the 2nd... *mind wanders off*
Just a thought: It's weird how I have never seen any signs in my hotel bathroom/rooms advising me to shower fast to conserve water in all the hotels I've stayed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but the hotels in Australia tell me to? There'll be these placards on my desks that has words like, "Brisbane is in serious drought. Please spare a thought for the environment and conserve water." And then somehow these smartass Arabs miraculously pull water from God knows where. They build humongous aquariums (read: maintenance) and plant fountains wherever they like and they don't even remind you that hey you're in a desert so please shower fast and be thankful you even get to shower.
Also, (source The Star online):
The Terengganu government has set aside a special allocation of RM10mil for the treatment of patients with chronic diseases next year, said Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said.
He urged those suffering from serious diseases like cancer, hole-in-the-heart and those with nerve diseases to contact the mentri besar's office to facilitate treatment.
Big deal. Terengganu is an oil-rich state for crying out loud. The airline I work for has a annual budget of S$16 million... for wines.I'm sure Terengganu can do better than this!
My Google toolbar died
HEY! Why is this happening to me!
I'm really irritated right now.
A month ago my Google toolbar just froze for good on my FireFox 3.5 (running on Windows Vista). It happened 2 days after Google automatically updated the toolbar to include the Sidewiki feature. I wasn't impressed because Google practically didn't give me a choice. It just NOTIFIED me that this feature was updated and that's it.
Two days later, my toolbar died. In the past I could type a query in the searchbox and hit enter and it'll straightaway show the results page. But what happened after the Sidewiki feature was included, nothing happened. Even the search button was dead. It just froze. Didn't even have the G icon beside the word 'Search' anymore.
In fact all the buttons changed and even though there's a menu when I right-clicked, all the options were just useless. Nothing happened when I clicked on them. I couldn't even uninstall the toolbar. Super frustrated because I use the toolbar a lot and I'm so used to it that I use it very subconsciously... then suddenly, nothing happens when I use it.
I tried looking up online to see if others were experiencing the same problem but it seemed like nobody else was a victim except me!
Fine... so a few days later, I stopped using my old laptop and switched to the new one.
Right now, I'm using FF3.5 (running on Mac OSX Snow Leopard) AND AGAIN IT HAPPENED!
Yesterday Google notified me of the updated toolbar with Sidewiki and today the toolbar froze. Everything about the toolbar is unusable.
Can't uninstall, can't fix the problem. Just don't know what to do :'(
After so many weeks, I googled and still no one else seems to be facing this problem.
Can somebody help me out here???
I'm really irritated right now.
A month ago my Google toolbar just froze for good on my FireFox 3.5 (running on Windows Vista). It happened 2 days after Google automatically updated the toolbar to include the Sidewiki feature. I wasn't impressed because Google practically didn't give me a choice. It just NOTIFIED me that this feature was updated and that's it.
Two days later, my toolbar died. In the past I could type a query in the searchbox and hit enter and it'll straightaway show the results page. But what happened after the Sidewiki feature was included, nothing happened. Even the search button was dead. It just froze. Didn't even have the G icon beside the word 'Search' anymore.
In fact all the buttons changed and even though there's a menu when I right-clicked, all the options were just useless. Nothing happened when I clicked on them. I couldn't even uninstall the toolbar. Super frustrated because I use the toolbar a lot and I'm so used to it that I use it very subconsciously... then suddenly, nothing happens when I use it.
I tried looking up online to see if others were experiencing the same problem but it seemed like nobody else was a victim except me!
Fine... so a few days later, I stopped using my old laptop and switched to the new one.
Right now, I'm using FF3.5 (running on Mac OSX Snow Leopard) AND AGAIN IT HAPPENED!
Yesterday Google notified me of the updated toolbar with Sidewiki and today the toolbar froze. Everything about the toolbar is unusable.
Can't uninstall, can't fix the problem. Just don't know what to do :'(
After so many weeks, I googled and still no one else seems to be facing this problem.
Can somebody help me out here???
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas 2009
Merry Christmas everybody :)
Hope your Christmas is spent with your family and loved ones! Oh what I would do to have carolers in my room right now!
I had a very good dinner at the hotel with the entire set of crew. Almost a full turn-out, except for the Captain who was too tired from shopping at the Bazaar in the afternoon. We had some wine but I had to come back early to rest... I don't know what's wrong with me - my doctor couldn't speak English and I had to tell my symptoms to him through a nurse who acted also as an interpreter. All I know is that I'm on antibiotics and medication for the runny nose and also vitamin C.
The visit from the doctor costs $100 (I'm still not very sure if it's in Turkish Lira which is almost equivalent to SGD or if it's in USD). The pharmacist later delivered the medicine to me but it's all charged to the company so I have no idea how much the medicine costs. I was telling my colleagues how ridiculous the charges are when they told me $100 is "very cheap" when compared to other stations, like in the US where a doc's visit will set the company back $300 at average. I think it's great being a panel doc!
My colleagues are probably still drinking in the crew lounge... They still have another 2 hours to be merry before they have to stop because we're not allowed to drink 10 hours before duty.
Meanwhile I'm going to bed and make a visit to H0H 0H0 in dreamland.
I wish you all a happy x'mas, and peace to the world :)
Hope your Christmas is spent with your family and loved ones! Oh what I would do to have carolers in my room right now!
I had a very good dinner at the hotel with the entire set of crew. Almost a full turn-out, except for the Captain who was too tired from shopping at the Bazaar in the afternoon. We had some wine but I had to come back early to rest... I don't know what's wrong with me - my doctor couldn't speak English and I had to tell my symptoms to him through a nurse who acted also as an interpreter. All I know is that I'm on antibiotics and medication for the runny nose and also vitamin C.
The visit from the doctor costs $100 (I'm still not very sure if it's in Turkish Lira which is almost equivalent to SGD or if it's in USD). The pharmacist later delivered the medicine to me but it's all charged to the company so I have no idea how much the medicine costs. I was telling my colleagues how ridiculous the charges are when they told me $100 is "very cheap" when compared to other stations, like in the US where a doc's visit will set the company back $300 at average. I think it's great being a panel doc!
My colleagues are probably still drinking in the crew lounge... They still have another 2 hours to be merry before they have to stop because we're not allowed to drink 10 hours before duty.
Meanwhile I'm going to bed and make a visit to H0H 0H0 in dreamland.
I wish you all a happy x'mas, and peace to the world :)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friends marathon
I'm sick :(
I've got blocked/runny nose and fever.
It was worse yesterday but somehow I still managed to make it to the mall and spent 6 hours there. Hehe. Well I had to go to get medicine!
Conveniently got 3 dresses too. I hate shopping in Dubai. So freaking expensive, even food is expensive. I paid RM7 for a can of Sprite. RM17 for an alspritzer. Doesn't freaking make sense.
Everything else is also more expensive, like this top from Desigual which my friend bought for S$80+ (roughly AED200) was selling for AED385! Madness.
I forgot to take my moisturizer with me this trip (very smart~) so I had to buy a temporary one from the pharmacy. I thought of getting something cheap but sorry, every moisturizer in the pharmacy was above AED150 (about RM150) so I had to go to the supermarket to buy a Nivea one. Even that I thought was expensive!
I've got 3 more sectors to do: Dubai-Istanbul; Istanbul-Dubai; Dubai-Singapore. From tonight onwards it's check-in check-out every day. I hope my nasal passage clears by tonight... How am I suppose to fly when my nose is blocked. What if *knock on wood* my ear drums burst :S
And fingers-crossed I hope this is not the H1N1. *shy* I still haven't gone to get the vaccine shot. I need 2 days off for the shot because it might have side-effects like fever. I was supposed to get the shot after my Copenhagen flight but if you remember my bag came back late so I had to wait at the airport and then rush back to catch my cab home. Then after my London flight was the marathon - couldn't afford to fall sick... And I've not had 2 straight days off since.
Tonight's flight is at 4 am. I'll be staying in and be watching Friends. I've finished 12 episodes since I got here and I guess this will continue on in Istanbul. It's pretty cold there and I don't think I wanna aggravate my condition.
p/s: I luv Chandler Bing!
I've got blocked/runny nose and fever.
It was worse yesterday but somehow I still managed to make it to the mall and spent 6 hours there. Hehe. Well I had to go to get medicine!
Conveniently got 3 dresses too. I hate shopping in Dubai. So freaking expensive, even food is expensive. I paid RM7 for a can of Sprite. RM17 for an alspritzer. Doesn't freaking make sense.
Everything else is also more expensive, like this top from Desigual which my friend bought for S$80+ (roughly AED200) was selling for AED385! Madness.
I forgot to take my moisturizer with me this trip (very smart~) so I had to buy a temporary one from the pharmacy. I thought of getting something cheap but sorry, every moisturizer in the pharmacy was above AED150 (about RM150) so I had to go to the supermarket to buy a Nivea one. Even that I thought was expensive!
I've got 3 more sectors to do: Dubai-Istanbul; Istanbul-Dubai; Dubai-Singapore. From tonight onwards it's check-in check-out every day. I hope my nasal passage clears by tonight... How am I suppose to fly when my nose is blocked. What if *knock on wood* my ear drums burst :S
And fingers-crossed I hope this is not the H1N1. *shy* I still haven't gone to get the vaccine shot. I need 2 days off for the shot because it might have side-effects like fever. I was supposed to get the shot after my Copenhagen flight but if you remember my bag came back late so I had to wait at the airport and then rush back to catch my cab home. Then after my London flight was the marathon - couldn't afford to fall sick... And I've not had 2 straight days off since.
Tonight's flight is at 4 am. I'll be staying in and be watching Friends. I've finished 12 episodes since I got here and I guess this will continue on in Istanbul. It's pretty cold there and I don't think I wanna aggravate my condition.
p/s: I luv Chandler Bing!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Family away from home
When I'm flying, my set of crew is my family.
If anything happens to one of us outstation, we only have our own colleagues to rely on...
So we have decided that since we can't have the reunion dinner with our family this Tuesday on the Winter Solstice festival, we'll have one of our own here in Dubai.
And another for Christmas Eve in Istanbul.
And another round of partying on Christmas night when we arrive in Dubai...
I kept reminding myself to bring party clothes because I just knew there'll be people partying on this flight. Yet I forgot and I've to go buy them tomorrow *rolls eyes*.
Later today though (it's 5.11 a.m. now, just arrived in Dubai about 2 hours ago) I'll be going for the Desert Tour!! Excitedness =) I gave away my London and Johannesburg flight to do this flight for the Desert Tour (because it's not baking hot at this time of the year).
Signing off first...
If anything happens to one of us outstation, we only have our own colleagues to rely on...
So we have decided that since we can't have the reunion dinner with our family this Tuesday on the Winter Solstice festival, we'll have one of our own here in Dubai.
And another for Christmas Eve in Istanbul.
And another round of partying on Christmas night when we arrive in Dubai...
I kept reminding myself to bring party clothes because I just knew there'll be people partying on this flight. Yet I forgot and I've to go buy them tomorrow *rolls eyes*.
Later today though (it's 5.11 a.m. now, just arrived in Dubai about 2 hours ago) I'll be going for the Desert Tour!! Excitedness =) I gave away my London and Johannesburg flight to do this flight for the Desert Tour (because it's not baking hot at this time of the year).
Signing off first...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Tired but contented
Today was a good day. Work was tough, but it was good.
Had a pleasant surprise also while shopping at the duty free (thanks to a very short briefing, allowing me more time to shop) and that brought my day from 40% to 85%.
I've 4.5 hours to sleep and then it's breakfast at Fullerton! Waited a whole year for this...! 2009 wouldn't be complete without it.
So many things to do tomorrow...
* Breakfast
* Look for a new plan, decide on phone
* Finalize hotel and air-ticket reservations
* Bake cookies (for my housemate because I didn't get her anything for Christmas)
* Pack for an 8-day flight - last flight of the year!
Had a pleasant surprise also while shopping at the duty free (thanks to a very short briefing, allowing me more time to shop) and that brought my day from 40% to 85%.
I've 4.5 hours to sleep and then it's breakfast at Fullerton! Waited a whole year for this...! 2009 wouldn't be complete without it.
So many things to do tomorrow...
* Breakfast
* Look for a new plan, decide on phone
* Finalize hotel and air-ticket reservations
* Bake cookies (for my housemate because I didn't get her anything for Christmas)
* Pack for an 8-day flight - last flight of the year!
Friday, December 18, 2009
World filled with love
My childhood friend's love life is going great at the moment....
Things aren't official but are going great. I'm so happy for her!!
And everytime I hear her story I just ~melt~...
It's as if I'm in love myself!!
Wishing her the best!!!
=)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Elevator etiquette
Bizarre topic, one might think.
But honestly this has been bothering me for the longest time especially sometimes when I'm caught in a situation myself and I keep telling myself there must be notes on elevator etiquette SOMEWHERE.
To my surprise Google returned 102,000 results. I suppose I'm not the only one facing the awkwardness of possibly doing the wrong thing when using the lift.
My two most common problems:
1. Not knowing who boards the lift first - will it be the guy who arrived first and pressed the button, or myself the lady? (let's say we're both standing quite a distance away from the lift that just arrived)
2. When I press the button outside to hold the lift door open when it arrives, a whole group of people will rush into the lift - and yes, it can only happen when you're with a group of Singaporeans/Malaysians - while I continue to hold the button. The lift is full and I end up waiting for the next lift with the few remainders. HULLO, my day job is not a lift-button girl! At least tip me?
To my first problem, after a bit of reading, I've found out that whoever stands nearest the door will board the lift first. However it still seems unclear if ladies are given priority to board first because some say the gentlemen should step in and hold the lift door open for the lady while some say ladies are of course first.
OH GAWD.
Problem unsolved.
As for my second most common problem, it will take a lot of educating this bloody kiasu society some courtesy... Or next time I will just refuse to remove my finger off the button and see who's going to get anywhere at all!
But honestly this has been bothering me for the longest time especially sometimes when I'm caught in a situation myself and I keep telling myself there must be notes on elevator etiquette SOMEWHERE.
To my surprise Google returned 102,000 results. I suppose I'm not the only one facing the awkwardness of possibly doing the wrong thing when using the lift.
My two most common problems:
1. Not knowing who boards the lift first - will it be the guy who arrived first and pressed the button, or myself the lady? (let's say we're both standing quite a distance away from the lift that just arrived)
2. When I press the button outside to hold the lift door open when it arrives, a whole group of people will rush into the lift - and yes, it can only happen when you're with a group of Singaporeans/Malaysians - while I continue to hold the button. The lift is full and I end up waiting for the next lift with the few remainders. HULLO, my day job is not a lift-button girl! At least tip me?
To my first problem, after a bit of reading, I've found out that whoever stands nearest the door will board the lift first. However it still seems unclear if ladies are given priority to board first because some say the gentlemen should step in and hold the lift door open for the lady while some say ladies are of course first.
OH GAWD.
Problem unsolved.
As for my second most common problem, it will take a lot of educating this bloody kiasu society some courtesy... Or next time I will just refuse to remove my finger off the button and see who's going to get anywhere at all!
Up up and away
Did you all see the B787 Dreamliner take its maiden flight on TV?
Isn't it a beauty!
I know most plane enthusiasts will still argue that the 747 is the Queen of the Skies but I really think the 787 is very elegant. It's got a new wing-shape, yo!
And why does my younger sis have a pair of Balmain shoes??
And I'm going to Osaka next month!!! Can't tell you how happy I am :D
I'm probably the only person in my company who hasn't been to Japan... Every time I tell people that they look at me in disbelief... :(
100 yen shop!!!!
I promise myself shopping is secondary to sight-seeing. *fingers-crossed*
Isn't it a beauty!
I know most plane enthusiasts will still argue that the 747 is the Queen of the Skies but I really think the 787 is very elegant. It's got a new wing-shape, yo!
And why does my younger sis have a pair of Balmain shoes??
And I'm going to Osaka next month!!! Can't tell you how happy I am :D
I'm probably the only person in my company who hasn't been to Japan... Every time I tell people that they look at me in disbelief... :(
100 yen shop!!!!
I promise myself shopping is secondary to sight-seeing. *fingers-crossed*
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Commonwealth Bank
Hey Aussies, if at any day you're feeling a bit too rich or have spare change, you can always bank it into my account at Commonwealth Bank ;)
I keep doing stupid things like this - like getting an Aussie number and then now a bank account. At the end of the day, my expenditure is more than ever even though the initial motive was to save money with these. How ironic!
With an Aussie number I don't control when I sms locally or overseas. And because I'm on the 'Every Now And Then' plan, my rates are not that good. Calls are expensive too - and yet I still make them.
With the Commonwealth Bank account I had to bank in a minimum of A$500 to start the Netbank savers account (oh man, the interest rate!). To have a Netbank account I need another transaction account that charges me A$4 a month - which works out to be exactly the interest I'm getting. And because I have to change my SGD to AUD at this time when the rate is so awful, I don't even know if I'm gonna be making any money at all at the end of the day. AUD, don't f-ing disappoint me!
To make sure that I get more interest than is being deducted every month, I need to change more money and bank it into my CB account.... My next Aussie trip's next month, so until then anytime you guys have spare change, please do some charity. I'll give you my account number if you'll ask for it :)
I keep doing stupid things like this - like getting an Aussie number and then now a bank account. At the end of the day, my expenditure is more than ever even though the initial motive was to save money with these. How ironic!
With an Aussie number I don't control when I sms locally or overseas. And because I'm on the 'Every Now And Then' plan, my rates are not that good. Calls are expensive too - and yet I still make them.
With the Commonwealth Bank account I had to bank in a minimum of A$500 to start the Netbank savers account (oh man, the interest rate!). To have a Netbank account I need another transaction account that charges me A$4 a month - which works out to be exactly the interest I'm getting. And because I have to change my SGD to AUD at this time when the rate is so awful, I don't even know if I'm gonna be making any money at all at the end of the day. AUD, don't f-ing disappoint me!
To make sure that I get more interest than is being deducted every month, I need to change more money and bank it into my CB account.... My next Aussie trip's next month, so until then anytime you guys have spare change, please do some charity. I'll give you my account number if you'll ask for it :)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Rottnest Island
They say one can never forget how to cycle.
For most of my cycling life, I cycled on 4-wheels *shy*...
By the time I graduated from those to two wheels (when Dad removed the two smaller wheels at the rear end), the bike I cycled on was getting a bit too small and mum was over-worried about me venturing further than the street I live. Many years later, at 14, a few of my friends and I 'borrowed' (without permission) the bicycles of a few girls from the bike shed in school on a Saturday morning to go to the sundry store behind our school. We decided to take a longer way back to school and ventured to housing areas nearby. I remember being extremely wobbly on the bike because my legs were too short to pedal properly. I almost fell off the bike into a big drain and that was the last I touched a bicycle. I told myself I'm just terrible at it and have not rode on a bike since.
Fast forward 10 years later, Timothy said we should go to Rottnest Island because there are interesting things to do there like snorkelling and biking.
Errrr...
I can't swim and I can't really cycle.
So I told him I'll bring a book along and he can snorkel while I read :p
We arrived early in Rottnest Island. It was just a 30 minute ferry ride from Fremantle. Rottnest Island is beautiful and tourists came from near and far. There were a few whom I overheard saying that they had come from other states of Australia.
With 6 hours to kill, I decided to just rent the bike and see how things go.
The colour coordination is purely coincident.
When I tried to ride for the first time in 10 years I was so amazed that I could still do it!! So the saying is true :)
Luckily there are no traffic police on the road of Rottnest Island. I cycled like I was drunk. :p I could barely keep to my own side of the road!
Even though I got myself a bike with gears I hadn't expected it to be so tough to go uphill. There were so many times that I had to get off the bicycle to push -____- Very embarrassing especially when there were other cyclists passing us. HAIH.
But it's really no joke ok. My muscles and ligaments all felt like they were about to snap. My lungs were also unable to catch up with the entire strenous activity. At the 4th km when we arrived at Porpoise Bay I was so tired and couldn't believe it was only 4 km from where we left.... Seems like it's easier to run 4 km?
The best parts were definitely when we were going downhill. With the cool breeze against the face and awesome scenery to boot, it felt like this is the way life should be. I remember saying out loud to myself, "This is good, real good." And because we go downhill so fast, no flies could catch up with us.
I have to mention though that the flies annoyed me to no end. There could be as many as 4 flies on my face at one time. I heard the fly problem was very bad in Perth during summer but I wasn't expecting this! It was particularly annoying when I was cycling because both hands had to be on the bike handle and thus I had no hands to waive away the damn flies. Every single facial muscle was put to use to get them bloody winged dipteras off my face. More often than not it involved me blowing a lot of air out of my mouth (and I'd go "hooh! hooh! hooh!", with the end result of me laughing so hard that I'll lose control of my bike) so that the wind will blow the fly away... ohmygoddddddd... it was such a pain!
Timothy and I made stops at various lookout points. And everytime he asked me if we should turn back (because I was the one who can't cycle uphill) I'd be like, "No no no... let's move forward." Felt super gung-ho about covering the entire island.
At Henrietta Rocks. That's a ship wreckage. Oh! oh!, hot girl and hot guy. There was another couple on the left (not in picture) who were rubbing each other and then making out. Timo and I had better things to do so we didn't stay on for the show :P
Best toilet view in Australia. The rich were partying aboard those and looked like they were having so much fun!
This really looked like it came out of a documentary in real life. It was so beautiful, with several strong waves in the background.
By the time we arrived at Salmon Bay, I was close to dying... We spent about half an hour there, sitting on a mat on the sand and baking under the sun. Throughout that half hour I continuously slapped on sunblock every 5-10 minutes because I swear I was already darker by 4 shades in just that 2 hours.
Salmon Bay!
The way life should be.
I told Timothy I couldn't go on anymore. I couldn't imagine how many more hills I had to ride up to go around the island, so we turned back. I was also running out of drinking water.
Where we started off was Thompson Bay. Less than 1 km from where we set off, we saw a signboard that warned us that we were exiting Thompson Bay and there was no food and drinking water source outside Thompson Bay.
The ride back was so much faster though I still had to get off the bike to push at times because I was really running out of energy to ride uphill.
On the way back we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a quokka, a native marsupial of Rottnest Island. It hops like a kangaroo. It can't really walk, it's just limps ahead.
The whole trip was super fun. It was tough riding but it was fun too. Timothy kept repeating, "Ok, be steady... easy does it, easy does it!" whenever there was a hill to climb. That'll send me into fits of laughter and my bike will come to a halt and I've no choice but to get off and push it. *rolls eyes*
I daresay this has been the best trip to Perth. Perth has always been fun but this is definitely the best thus far.
I had a minor injury though. I knew I wouldn't be so lucky as to be able to get off without an injury riding a bike after so many years. I'm just lucky it's a minor one. I could have fallen off a cliff.
I was putting the bicycle down on the ground for my toilet break but the bike went down too fast because of the weight. I'm not too sure which part of the bike poked me but it left a hole in my leg. My legs turned jelly when I saw it and I had to be seated on the ground for 2 minutes before I could regain strength to stand up again. A freaking hole in my leg! This picture doesn't really show how deep the puncture is but I was so amazed there was no blood.
Already looking forward to the next Perth flight!
For most of my cycling life, I cycled on 4-wheels *shy*...
By the time I graduated from those to two wheels (when Dad removed the two smaller wheels at the rear end), the bike I cycled on was getting a bit too small and mum was over-worried about me venturing further than the street I live. Many years later, at 14, a few of my friends and I 'borrowed' (without permission) the bicycles of a few girls from the bike shed in school on a Saturday morning to go to the sundry store behind our school. We decided to take a longer way back to school and ventured to housing areas nearby. I remember being extremely wobbly on the bike because my legs were too short to pedal properly. I almost fell off the bike into a big drain and that was the last I touched a bicycle. I told myself I'm just terrible at it and have not rode on a bike since.
Fast forward 10 years later, Timothy said we should go to Rottnest Island because there are interesting things to do there like snorkelling and biking.
Errrr...
I can't swim and I can't really cycle.
So I told him I'll bring a book along and he can snorkel while I read :p
We arrived early in Rottnest Island. It was just a 30 minute ferry ride from Fremantle. Rottnest Island is beautiful and tourists came from near and far. There were a few whom I overheard saying that they had come from other states of Australia.
With 6 hours to kill, I decided to just rent the bike and see how things go.
The colour coordination is purely coincident.When I tried to ride for the first time in 10 years I was so amazed that I could still do it!! So the saying is true :)
Luckily there are no traffic police on the road of Rottnest Island. I cycled like I was drunk. :p I could barely keep to my own side of the road!
Even though I got myself a bike with gears I hadn't expected it to be so tough to go uphill. There were so many times that I had to get off the bicycle to push -____- Very embarrassing especially when there were other cyclists passing us. HAIH.
But it's really no joke ok. My muscles and ligaments all felt like they were about to snap. My lungs were also unable to catch up with the entire strenous activity. At the 4th km when we arrived at Porpoise Bay I was so tired and couldn't believe it was only 4 km from where we left.... Seems like it's easier to run 4 km?
The best parts were definitely when we were going downhill. With the cool breeze against the face and awesome scenery to boot, it felt like this is the way life should be. I remember saying out loud to myself, "This is good, real good." And because we go downhill so fast, no flies could catch up with us.
I have to mention though that the flies annoyed me to no end. There could be as many as 4 flies on my face at one time. I heard the fly problem was very bad in Perth during summer but I wasn't expecting this! It was particularly annoying when I was cycling because both hands had to be on the bike handle and thus I had no hands to waive away the damn flies. Every single facial muscle was put to use to get them bloody winged dipteras off my face. More often than not it involved me blowing a lot of air out of my mouth (and I'd go "hooh! hooh! hooh!", with the end result of me laughing so hard that I'll lose control of my bike) so that the wind will blow the fly away... ohmygoddddddd... it was such a pain!
Timothy and I made stops at various lookout points. And everytime he asked me if we should turn back (because I was the one who can't cycle uphill) I'd be like, "No no no... let's move forward." Felt super gung-ho about covering the entire island.
At Henrietta Rocks. That's a ship wreckage. Oh! oh!, hot girl and hot guy. There was another couple on the left (not in picture) who were rubbing each other and then making out. Timo and I had better things to do so we didn't stay on for the show :P
Best toilet view in Australia. The rich were partying aboard those and looked like they were having so much fun! 
This really looked like it came out of a documentary in real life. It was so beautiful, with several strong waves in the background. By the time we arrived at Salmon Bay, I was close to dying... We spent about half an hour there, sitting on a mat on the sand and baking under the sun. Throughout that half hour I continuously slapped on sunblock every 5-10 minutes because I swear I was already darker by 4 shades in just that 2 hours.
Salmon Bay!
The way life should be.I told Timothy I couldn't go on anymore. I couldn't imagine how many more hills I had to ride up to go around the island, so we turned back. I was also running out of drinking water.
Where we started off was Thompson Bay. Less than 1 km from where we set off, we saw a signboard that warned us that we were exiting Thompson Bay and there was no food and drinking water source outside Thompson Bay.
The ride back was so much faster though I still had to get off the bike to push at times because I was really running out of energy to ride uphill.
On the way back we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a quokka, a native marsupial of Rottnest Island. It hops like a kangaroo. It can't really walk, it's just limps ahead.
The whole trip was super fun. It was tough riding but it was fun too. Timothy kept repeating, "Ok, be steady... easy does it, easy does it!" whenever there was a hill to climb. That'll send me into fits of laughter and my bike will come to a halt and I've no choice but to get off and push it. *rolls eyes*
I daresay this has been the best trip to Perth. Perth has always been fun but this is definitely the best thus far.
I had a minor injury though. I knew I wouldn't be so lucky as to be able to get off without an injury riding a bike after so many years. I'm just lucky it's a minor one. I could have fallen off a cliff.
I was putting the bicycle down on the ground for my toilet break but the bike went down too fast because of the weight. I'm not too sure which part of the bike poked me but it left a hole in my leg. My legs turned jelly when I saw it and I had to be seated on the ground for 2 minutes before I could regain strength to stand up again. A freaking hole in my leg! This picture doesn't really show how deep the puncture is but I was so amazed there was no blood.Already looking forward to the next Perth flight!
Wish I were a fish
I love this video...
I go back to the website once in a while just to watch the video and feel relaxed.
Watch it in full-screen, the HD-quality is incredible!
I go back to the website once in a while just to watch the video and feel relaxed.
Watch it in full-screen, the HD-quality is incredible!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
FireFox
Honestly I just couldn't get used to Safari. I missed FireFox like mad and I don't know why didn't I just install FF here earlier!
I've missed all the shortcuts and add-ons that I'm so used to. I'm particularly reliant on the F6 feature (it highlights the entire URL bar) and my favourite extensions like Gmail Notifier (the official Google one for MacOS isn't as good) and my search bar which I can drop down and select the different kind of search engines I need like YouTube, Amazon, Thesaurus, Wikipedia, etc.
I ♥ FF.
I've missed all the shortcuts and add-ons that I'm so used to. I'm particularly reliant on the F6 feature (it highlights the entire URL bar) and my favourite extensions like Gmail Notifier (the official Google one for MacOS isn't as good) and my search bar which I can drop down and select the different kind of search engines I need like YouTube, Amazon, Thesaurus, Wikipedia, etc.
I ♥ FF.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
French vs. Australian
France and Australia produce fantastic wines, especially the red.
On most flights when my passengers are asked if they would prefer the French or Australian red, a majority would go for the French medoc rather than the Australian shiraz.
On a recent London flight however, ALL chose the Australian but one, and he's a German.
I don't know if the Brits just happen to like shiraz a lot more than medoc or if they just don't like anything French :p
Even when it came to choosing white wines, ALL went for the NZ sauvignon blanc rather than the French chardonnay.
That was the first time I've witnessed the French wines barely used.
OFF TO AUSSIELAND. And Perth says to me: Welcome back!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Gondolo serata
I pulled out a long-abandoned handbag to use today and in the bag I found a Patek Philippe catalogue.
Even though I've had the catalogue for a long time I've never really gone through the watches. So while I was waiting for my number to be called today (today I took a few queue numbers and I waited a lot), I browsed through the pages and fell in love with the 'Gondolo serata', with 18k white gold and many many diamonds.
I really really want it.
It's retail price is US$32,100.00
No choice but to make more money!!
Even though I've had the catalogue for a long time I've never really gone through the watches. So while I was waiting for my number to be called today (today I took a few queue numbers and I waited a lot), I browsed through the pages and fell in love with the 'Gondolo serata', with 18k white gold and many many diamonds.
I really really want it.
It's retail price is US$32,100.00
No choice but to make more money!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
I'm gonna cry!
My official time is 1:10:30!!!!
I think I deserve to buy myself a present. A luggage maybe? :p
Because like Alinta said, from the girl who didn't like the playground... to marathon.....
Also, at a recent wedding I heard a funniest story about myself from my dad's cousin. She clearly remembered that I hated being sweaty and that I stayed away from playgrounds and playing with other kids. Once she said she heard me complain to my mum that I was feeling hot and sweaty (and then she showed me how I was like rubbing away sweat from my forehead and neck with my arm) just watching the kids play. She said that was the most illogical thing she's ever heard. This is why my friends celebrated my 17th birthday at a playground - to help regain my lost childhood :p
Others' times:
Chin Shi - 1:14:35
Kon - 1:26:57
Shing Wei - 1:29:46
Beatrice - 1:34:21
Seng Kiat - 2:06:28 (but this is because he started off with the rest of the men but stayed back at the first drinks station to wait for Shing Wei who started a whole hour later)
Charles (our alumni President, at age 50) 42 km - 7:09:02
Monday, December 7, 2009
Apple customer service round 2
Saw a dent on my brand new laptop.
Called Apple.
Call started at 12.37 p.m. It's 1.23 p.m. now. I'm still on the line.
I've spoken to 3 people, waiting to be transferred to the 4th. Each time I speak to someone it lasts 5 minutes, then I wait at least 10 minutes to be transferred to the next department.
The 3rd department said, "OK, I don't know why you're transferred to us because you're suppose to be transferred to the after sales department regarding such matters. Were you speaking to one of our representatives from this department before this?"
Yes, damnit!
And if you don't know why I got transferred to you, DO YOU THINK I WOULD KNOW?
Damnit. I can type all that with my head tilted to one side holding the phone between my shoulder and head.
still waiting....
Called Apple.
Call started at 12.37 p.m. It's 1.23 p.m. now. I'm still on the line.
I've spoken to 3 people, waiting to be transferred to the 4th. Each time I speak to someone it lasts 5 minutes, then I wait at least 10 minutes to be transferred to the next department.
The 3rd department said, "OK, I don't know why you're transferred to us because you're suppose to be transferred to the after sales department regarding such matters. Were you speaking to one of our representatives from this department before this?"
Yes, damnit!
And if you don't know why I got transferred to you, DO YOU THINK I WOULD KNOW?
Damnit. I can type all that with my head tilted to one side holding the phone between my shoulder and head.
still waiting....
Sunday, December 6, 2009
I did it
*pops champagne*
I did it! I completed the quarter marathon (i.e. 10 km) and now my friend will have to eat a bowl of shrimps ahhahahahahaha.
The official time is not out yet but I do believe my time is about 1 hour 11-12 minutes, which is a little bit behind my target time of 1:10.
Still, I BEAT CHEN CHIN SHI!!! The most athletic of my girl friends. She used to represent the school and ran a lot back in school. I never thought I'd ever beat her because when she first signed up for this marathon, she used to train along the marathon route every Wednesday evening and could cover 8 km in 45 minutes?
She said when she lost sight of me she lost motivation to run already... because she doesn't know how to face our friends now hahahaha.
Feeling very victorious =D
Will post the official time when it's released in the next week or so.
It was great to see my friends who came down from KL for the run. Will be meeting up with them tonight.
TeamMonash has only half the participants compared to last year (the Aussies didn't fly in this year), but they still managed to set up a marquee with other corporate companies. There were about 20 or less of these marquees so it was pretty special.
Our two neighbours were Barclays and Visa. Swensen's sponsored ice-cream so we had ice-cream to eat when we got back to the marquee. There were free massage and H2O and FOOOOD too.
Now to rest and prepare for a good night out tonight!
Whoa ... burn burn burn
I'm suppose to be sleeping but I think I slept enough since 7 pm... but must sleep! Otherwise cannot run later!!!
Checked my email and saw Apple's email:
Thank you for your Apple Online Store purchase! Tell us what you think.
Of course I'll tell you what I think. That's what I've effing been trying to do! Except that there's no customer service email and nobody answers that damn 1800 line. NOW'S MY TIME.
So I filled out several pages of questionnaire. The ease of purchase at website and product parts scoring very high. But delivery and customer service sections scored extremely low.
And then came this part I wasn't expecting, something along the lines of 'is there anymore more you'd like to add' or so. And there, a box to write with no character limit.
1. It was impossible to get through to Apple Store Online Malaysia's 1800 number. Between myself, my sis and my mum, we called the number 2.5 days straight but no one ever picked up the phone. And because I travel a lot, I'm hardly in Malaysia to be able to use the 1800 number. I wasn't sure if I had called the 1800 in the countries that I was in at that time, they would be able to help me with my problem so I had to always trouble my family to try to call from Malaysia.
2. It said 3 days to ship (because I made changes to the specifications). On Amazon, it would have been shipped out within 3 working days, and no more than that. AT APPLE, I was only asked to verify my credit card on the third working day. Point to note: again, I'm hardly ever around. I bought the machine thru Apple Store Online ebcause of the ease and supposedly fast delivery time. I made sure that when I placed my order, the VERY last day of delivery will still coincide with the time that I will be in Malaysia. By the 5th working day, Apple told me the Credit Card statement that was fwded to them was wrong. But they did not freaking open their eyes to check the bottom of the page, which has my credit card number! That further delayed things. Things just got worse from here because this was when I was boiling mad and was trying to get hold of the people who were at the other end of the 1800 line... but maybe times are bad, Apple did not hire anyone to man the line.
3. I scoured the entire Apple store page. There was NO customer service email address for me to write to. I googled several times, going through forums, but it's just like calling the 1800 number - a total waste of time. I was helpless on one end about my purchase AND TIME WAS TICKING - I was about to leave Malaysia for a month! There was nobody to write to, nobody I could talk to about my grievance. AT the Apple reseller I was told that it would take about 3 wks for them to get the MBP if I wanted to change the specs, and that was the reason why I did not want to buy from them - because I thought it would be faster getting it outright from Apple Store Online... And I was told shipping takes 3 working days... it would surely arrive bfore I leave for another long work trip. By buying from Apple Store online, I have missed out on all the freebies that 3 resellers I visited were going to give me: keyboard protector, wristguard, case/bag... I bought from Apple online for a reason. But u all failed me, big time.
4. My item was suppose to be delivered to me 23-25th November. By 24th, the status of the order was still 'not yet shipped'. Again, I had nobody to ask what was happening. nobody sent an email. AND NOBODY was answering the calls.
5. By 25th, Apple called my mum. The purchase was made under my mum's name and address in Malaysia because I'm hardly around. I was on my way back to Malaysia from Europe and was unable to specifically ask them what was going on. All I knew was that Apple explained to my mum that my shipment was taking longer than expected to ship out of China because it was modified. HELLO? If i hadnt modified that machine, Iwould have expected it to be shipped out of the warehouse THE NEXT WORKING DAY! That was what's stated on the website. Specifically because I modified, I expected it to be shipped out of the warehouse only on the 3rd working day, and yet you all failed to deliver hwat you promised.
6. By 25th of course I still hadn't gotten my item. Apple failed again to stand by the promise. My delivery time was then revised to 3-7th Dec. When Apple called my mum, they said delivery should be "by Monday or Tuesday" ( i.e. 30th of Nov or 1st of Dec). I received it on the 2nd. That was the third time Apple broke a promise as far as delivery time goes.
7. When I left Malaysia for work for a month on the 29th, I left extremely disappointed because I left without my MBP. I had wanted so much to go on my trip with the MBP. When I knew apple said that the machine would arrive on teh 30th or 1st, I was very close to pushing back my departure date to 1st just so that I can leave on my work trip with my MBP. Luckily I wasn't an idiot. I couldn't believe Apple's promises anymore.
Now that the machine is arrived, I won't get to see it till almost a month later. I was soooooooooooo excited about getting myself a MBP. It took me much consideration and just as much consideration when it came to reseller vs. online store.
This is my 'Apple experience'.
Unforgettable.
I know there are typos but I was so angry as I relived the entire agony.
Damn you Apple. And damn you Eve for another reason (the biblical Eve, not you Evelyn I still love you).
p/s: I exaggerated the part about getting the laptop a month later. I'll be getting it this week but I've to trouble mum to get the taxi man to send it for me - not FOC of course. But I had to exaggerate because Apple isn't gonna pay my taxi uncle for me right?!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Bruised ankle
I walked so much today (almost 10 hours) that my right ankle is bruised from my boots.
I started the day pretty late. It was a good morning, until I saw an email from someone. It just ruined my mood for the entire morning.
I headed off to see the Westminster Palace and Big Ben. At the same time, I saw the London Eye. To be honest I am very impressed by the Westminster Palace and the Big Ben. Such a shame the weather was gloomy and it drizzled the entire day so the pictures won't turn out nice (I assume, though I haven't uploaded them yet). After that I walked down to Westminster Abbey. I didn't get to meet Gordon Brown so I thought I'd go meet the Queen.
Actually I didn't have much on my agenda because the weather forecast said today's suppose to rain like it did yesterday. It poured yesterday, by the way. So I only took enough information with me to see enough things for the morning (which was basically only 2 hours).
It turns out that the rain never came so I used information that I overheard to head to Buckingham Palace. I heard someone say it was at Victoria Station, and so there I went. I ended up spending a good deal of time looking for the Palace -___-
I came out to Buckingham Palace Street. The thing is, it could be on either end of the street, right? By the time I got so tired of looking for it, I asked someone and it was too late to catch the changing of guards. Just before I reached the Palace, I saw many people walking towards me (i.e. opposite direction) so I knew the changing of guards had ended. Oh well, but I should still say Hi to my grandmother right? So rude not to drop by since I'm in London.
When I saw the Palace my heart fell. That's it?!
Sheesh. Unimpressed with the Queen's home, I decided to leave.
I would have gone to see the Tower Bridge and even the Princess Diana Memorial Walk but my camera battery went flat... so I decided to go shopping at Oxford Street instead.
OMG.
I thank God that I'm going to Perth next week.
I'm sooooo SICK of looking at clothes on racks. I'm so sick of Zara, H&M and MORE H&M. There are always 3 H&M stores in a street I don't know why. I have been seeing the same clothes over and over. And today, the amount of clothes stores that I went to was enough to make my brain explode. I was dead bored so I stopped at Starbucks to read my book instead.
Then I continued shopping. The crowd was crazy. All the Christmas shoppers... I was suppose to do a London from 20-24th of this month. THANK GOD I CHANGED IT. It would have been impossible to walk on Oxford Street!
When I got to Topshop, my brain exploded again.
This is the second time I gave up on looking for anything in Topshop. The first time was in Manchester. 5 stories. And each floor is so massive. I just gave up...
To be honest, I was looking for Primark. You know, for ₤3 tops and ₤4 shoes. From Bond Street station, I walked to Oxford Circus station, made a left turn and walked all the way until I came to Picadilly Circus station... realized Primark can't be there, made a detour and continued walking from where I was before I made that turn... and I came to Tottenham Court Road station... STILL NO PRIMARK IN SIGHT!!! But I kept seeing shoppers with massive Primark shopping bags. So I walked all the way back to Bond Street station and continued walking down. And finally I found Primark. At 6 p.m.
Of course, along the way I had stopped and gone to shop. Tried to shop. I was more like killing time because I was meeting my cousins for dinner at 7.
According to Google Maps, in my search for Primark, I had covered 4.0 miles.
This is crazy.
And when I thought "Here I am in Primark. Time to go crazy. I have only 30 minutes to shop." I was hugely disappointed. I was done in 15 minutes. Nothing appeals to me anymore...
Just so glad to finally be going to Perth next week - my first time in a year! - and be doing something else other than shopping at the same stores!
p/s: the highlight of the entire afternoon was my stop at Bose. Jay, the sales assistant, was very nice. Even though I was enquiring about the multimedia speakers, he spent time introducing the other systems that they have. Then he let me have the entire cinema to myself for a 15-minute presentation on Bose's latest surround sound system. That was probably the first and the last time I'll ever have an entire cinema to myself! Mind-blowing man, that new sound system... Love it! Before I get surround sound system for the living room, I've to first save up for Bose's Companion 3 for the computer.
I started the day pretty late. It was a good morning, until I saw an email from someone. It just ruined my mood for the entire morning.
I headed off to see the Westminster Palace and Big Ben. At the same time, I saw the London Eye. To be honest I am very impressed by the Westminster Palace and the Big Ben. Such a shame the weather was gloomy and it drizzled the entire day so the pictures won't turn out nice (I assume, though I haven't uploaded them yet). After that I walked down to Westminster Abbey. I didn't get to meet Gordon Brown so I thought I'd go meet the Queen.
Actually I didn't have much on my agenda because the weather forecast said today's suppose to rain like it did yesterday. It poured yesterday, by the way. So I only took enough information with me to see enough things for the morning (which was basically only 2 hours).
It turns out that the rain never came so I used information that I overheard to head to Buckingham Palace. I heard someone say it was at Victoria Station, and so there I went. I ended up spending a good deal of time looking for the Palace -___-
I came out to Buckingham Palace Street. The thing is, it could be on either end of the street, right? By the time I got so tired of looking for it, I asked someone and it was too late to catch the changing of guards. Just before I reached the Palace, I saw many people walking towards me (i.e. opposite direction) so I knew the changing of guards had ended. Oh well, but I should still say Hi to my grandmother right? So rude not to drop by since I'm in London.
When I saw the Palace my heart fell. That's it?!
Sheesh. Unimpressed with the Queen's home, I decided to leave.
I would have gone to see the Tower Bridge and even the Princess Diana Memorial Walk but my camera battery went flat... so I decided to go shopping at Oxford Street instead.
OMG.
I thank God that I'm going to Perth next week.
I'm sooooo SICK of looking at clothes on racks. I'm so sick of Zara, H&M and MORE H&M. There are always 3 H&M stores in a street I don't know why. I have been seeing the same clothes over and over. And today, the amount of clothes stores that I went to was enough to make my brain explode. I was dead bored so I stopped at Starbucks to read my book instead.
Then I continued shopping. The crowd was crazy. All the Christmas shoppers... I was suppose to do a London from 20-24th of this month. THANK GOD I CHANGED IT. It would have been impossible to walk on Oxford Street!
When I got to Topshop, my brain exploded again.
This is the second time I gave up on looking for anything in Topshop. The first time was in Manchester. 5 stories. And each floor is so massive. I just gave up...
To be honest, I was looking for Primark. You know, for ₤3 tops and ₤4 shoes. From Bond Street station, I walked to Oxford Circus station, made a left turn and walked all the way until I came to Picadilly Circus station... realized Primark can't be there, made a detour and continued walking from where I was before I made that turn... and I came to Tottenham Court Road station... STILL NO PRIMARK IN SIGHT!!! But I kept seeing shoppers with massive Primark shopping bags. So I walked all the way back to Bond Street station and continued walking down. And finally I found Primark. At 6 p.m.
Of course, along the way I had stopped and gone to shop. Tried to shop. I was more like killing time because I was meeting my cousins for dinner at 7.
According to Google Maps, in my search for Primark, I had covered 4.0 miles.
This is crazy.
And when I thought "Here I am in Primark. Time to go crazy. I have only 30 minutes to shop." I was hugely disappointed. I was done in 15 minutes. Nothing appeals to me anymore...
Just so glad to finally be going to Perth next week - my first time in a year! - and be doing something else other than shopping at the same stores!
p/s: the highlight of the entire afternoon was my stop at Bose. Jay, the sales assistant, was very nice. Even though I was enquiring about the multimedia speakers, he spent time introducing the other systems that they have. Then he let me have the entire cinema to myself for a 15-minute presentation on Bose's latest surround sound system. That was probably the first and the last time I'll ever have an entire cinema to myself! Mind-blowing man, that new sound system... Love it! Before I get surround sound system for the living room, I've to first save up for Bose's Companion 3 for the computer.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
All gloom
Where's the sun?
I'm in London... I had a bad night's rest, and then had to wake up at 4 a.m. and then fly to London. So here I am now. It was wet and a heavy gloom hung over the entire city when I arrived at 2.10 p.m.
Firstly, thank you for the support. The special words that you all have said to me, the love you all show and most importantly, your understanding.
I don't know how I'm going to do it, to be honest.
During my flight today, I was kept busy and had no time to think about it. My work is my therapy. And now, in my first trip to London, I'm not going to allow it to bother me too.
Will deal with myself when I go back to Singapore.
It's pouring out there. Tomorrow's weather forecast is showers too. Can't sight-see, can I? What a bummer.
p/s: My knees feel like 100 years old. Can't bend them!!
I'm in London... I had a bad night's rest, and then had to wake up at 4 a.m. and then fly to London. So here I am now. It was wet and a heavy gloom hung over the entire city when I arrived at 2.10 p.m.
Firstly, thank you for the support. The special words that you all have said to me, the love you all show and most importantly, your understanding.
I don't know how I'm going to do it, to be honest.
During my flight today, I was kept busy and had no time to think about it. My work is my therapy. And now, in my first trip to London, I'm not going to allow it to bother me too.
Will deal with myself when I go back to Singapore.
It's pouring out there. Tomorrow's weather forecast is showers too. Can't sight-see, can I? What a bummer.
p/s: My knees feel like 100 years old. Can't bend them!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
For the girl who has everything
I don't even know how and where to start.
I'll just babble and write whatever comes to mind.
It hit when I saw a photo of him and her with a group of people, with the title of the album being, "welcome! new member! :D"
All the jealousy, hurt and bad memories are rushing back to me.
From the start I had known about her. Yet she hardly knew of me. I think she knew a little bit, but not much. Seeing how much he protects her (as in, her feelings) she would never have known more than the next guy in Timbuktu. I, on the other hand, know more than I had to. I took it as honesty from his side. Now I feel as though he did all he could to protect her but he never did anything to protect my feelings.
There were countless shit that I had to deal with in those two years. Even more in the past year.
But I was never prepared for what was to come. I mean I was sort of, since he had talked about how his parents were forcing him to walk a path which he doesn't want, but how much of that is true I do not know. I just merely listened to it and treat it as if it will happen, but not anytime soon.
On my birthday this year, he called me two or three times. The first call, he asked what I was doing. I said I was withdrawing money because I was going home that afternoon. I remember him calling again in the evening, to wish me happy birthday (nope, he didn't wish me when he first called).
What I did not expect was a call from a good friend that same weekend. Not to wish me happy birthday, but to drop the bomb that somebody's gonna get hitched. Only a small group of them were informed by him and he made them keep it a secret. I don't get why, since everyone's gonna know you're married sooner or later, right? How do you hide a marriage? Especially when she's coming to Malaysia after the wedding.
I remember asking him many many times in so many ways about his impending wedding but all he said was it wasn't true and he's not getting married and he doesn't even know if he's going to get married, nonsense like this. I got so frustrated over it (this was on MSN) that I called him and asked him, point blank. He still denied.
The highlight of this was that the wedding was due to happen 3 months later. We never spoke again.
-------------------------------------------
And so the wedding happened in that faraway country.
-------------------------------------------
There are details in this entry which I've never told people till now. Only people very close to me knew what happened.
During my own convocation I was made to stay away from the reception area by him because his family and her had come. I said I wanted to meet his family but he refused. He was up to the point of begging me not to step out of the hall to look for his parents. During convocations, isn't it the most normal thing to do to meet families of your good friends just to say hi? At least you let your family know who your friends in uni are, how they've taken care of you, etc. But he refused to let his parents meet me, and most importantly, he didn't want her to see me and vice versa. He went to such an extent of getting a friend to make sure that I don't leave the hall to the reception area.
Everytime I look back at this episode my blood boils.
How dare he command where I go and not go on my own graduation day? How dare he try to keep me aside just because she was there? When he told me she was coming, he assured that it was nothing other than his parents inviting her to the convocation (because they like her and want her as a daughter-in-law). He claimed he didn't have a hand in it.
Now that the union is solemnised, she has flown to Malaysia to live here as a lady of leisure.
I doubt she has work and I doubt she'll be employed easily. Cheap and illegal labour, maybe. Anyway, fucking idiots at Immigration.
I've always told him, don't stay on in Malaysia. Just get out of it and never appear in my sight again. As tough as it is for foreigners to get a job in Malaysia, he was shitass lucky and got one. So he stayed on. Then I told him, if you're getting married to her, please don't stay in Malaysia. Just go home to your country, be married and live happily ever after there. Just don't be in KL where I might have the chance of bumping into him, or that my friends will become her friends and crap like that.
True enough.
Worst nightmare.
What's this whole member-member thing? Isn't it bad enough that she's playing badminton with my friends and then now she's acknowledged as a 'member'? First she had it easy. She never had to go through crap that I did. She was nestled away comfortably from reality. Then she gets him and moves here with him. Next thing you know, she already has friends! MY FRIENDS AT THAT TOO!
It's always easy to be well-liked by your partner's friends if your partner's a cool guy. And this is why she got in easy and will continue to hang out with the group of people. After all, "member" already isn't it.
Sometimes when you think that you have everything, you might just not.
There are details in this entry which I've never told people till now. Only people very close to me knew what happened.
During my own convocation I was made to stay away from the reception area by him because his family and her had come. I said I wanted to meet his family but he refused. He was up to the point of begging me not to step out of the hall to look for his parents. During convocations, isn't it the most normal thing to do to meet families of your good friends just to say hi? At least you let your family know who your friends in uni are, how they've taken care of you, etc. But he refused to let his parents meet me, and most importantly, he didn't want her to see me and vice versa. He went to such an extent of getting a friend to make sure that I don't leave the hall to the reception area.
Everytime I look back at this episode my blood boils.
How dare he command where I go and not go on my own graduation day? How dare he try to keep me aside just because she was there? When he told me she was coming, he assured that it was nothing other than his parents inviting her to the convocation (because they like her and want her as a daughter-in-law). He claimed he didn't have a hand in it.
Now that the union is solemnised, she has flown to Malaysia to live here as a lady of leisure.
I doubt she has work and I doubt she'll be employed easily. Cheap and illegal labour, maybe. Anyway, fucking idiots at Immigration.
I've always told him, don't stay on in Malaysia. Just get out of it and never appear in my sight again. As tough as it is for foreigners to get a job in Malaysia, he was shitass lucky and got one. So he stayed on. Then I told him, if you're getting married to her, please don't stay in Malaysia. Just go home to your country, be married and live happily ever after there. Just don't be in KL where I might have the chance of bumping into him, or that my friends will become her friends and crap like that.
True enough.
Worst nightmare.
What's this whole member-member thing? Isn't it bad enough that she's playing badminton with my friends and then now she's acknowledged as a 'member'? First she had it easy. She never had to go through crap that I did. She was nestled away comfortably from reality. Then she gets him and moves here with him. Next thing you know, she already has friends! MY FRIENDS AT THAT TOO!
It's always easy to be well-liked by your partner's friends if your partner's a cool guy. And this is why she got in easy and will continue to hang out with the group of people. After all, "member" already isn't it.
Sometimes when you think that you have everything, you might just not.
The government's gonna come after me
In Singapore, it's all money-talk.
And yet I just realized, after a phone call to the tax office, that I haven't filed my tax for LAST YEAR. I'm freaking 11 months late!
One day the tax officers are gonna show up at my door and haul me up to court...
Argh, hate all these big adult official matters.
And yet I just realized, after a phone call to the tax office, that I haven't filed my tax for LAST YEAR. I'm freaking 11 months late!
One day the tax officers are gonna show up at my door and haul me up to court...
Argh, hate all these big adult official matters.
Final practice run
Feeling good =)
Did a final practice run. Being so out of shape and practice, I managed a personal best of 6.5 km in 40 minutes (with the first kilometre as a warm-up).
Yoges has one final chance to retract his challenge AND he's got to
Oon-Ee shares the same office as Yoges and Alpha in Uni and never has a good thing to say when he sees me *heartbreak*.
I hate this humidity though. It felt like I couldn't breathe. Running in Zurich was a breeze because the weather was great and the air much less humid. Today I woke up so early to run that I was the only soul running on the streets (er, I hope?). Conditions on Sunday will be much more different as the ladies start only at 8.30 a.m. The men start at 7.45 a.m. Hmph. Sexists, all of them.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Centripetal force explained
Yesterday my friends took the private cabs that I travel with to Singapore and back to BP the same night.
So Alpha was telling me how the cabbie was driving at 160 kmph.
(things to know before reading on: my cabbie is 100% chinese educated and Alpha speaks no Mandarin or Hokkien)
MinnieMoose says:
*hahahahah
*he's crazy
*he does bends without slowing down
*n doesn even go out of line at that
agape says:
*yea i noticed
MinnieMoose says:
*bet he's never heard of centripetal force
agape says:
*hahahaha
*you think?
*ape benda tarik tarik..
*tu wa punye steeling mau potong masuk
*wa mesti mau pikang kuat kuat jangan bagi tu steling pusing gila
*tu jam masa mau kasi kereta lari
*mesti mau tengok.. jln..
*siang hari wah tak berani..
*jalan banyak panas..nanti itu belon ar
**burst* (hand expression) :P
*wah bagi ni kereta lari malam malam.. tu angin ar banyak sejuk.. karau hali hujan lagi sedap WOH..
*thats what he thought bout centripetal force :)
*i asked him
*:D
*kowtow*
So Alpha was telling me how the cabbie was driving at 160 kmph.
(things to know before reading on: my cabbie is 100% chinese educated and Alpha speaks no Mandarin or Hokkien)
MinnieMoose says:
*hahahahah
*he's crazy
*he does bends without slowing down
*n doesn even go out of line at that
agape says:
*yea i noticed
MinnieMoose says:
*bet he's never heard of centripetal force
agape says:
*hahahaha
*you think?
*ape benda tarik tarik..
*tu wa punye steeling mau potong masuk
*wa mesti mau pikang kuat kuat jangan bagi tu steling pusing gila
*tu jam masa mau kasi kereta lari
*mesti mau tengok.. jln..
*siang hari wah tak berani..
*jalan banyak panas..nanti itu belon ar
**burst* (hand expression) :P
*wah bagi ni kereta lari malam malam.. tu angin ar banyak sejuk.. karau hali hujan lagi sedap WOH..
*thats what he thought bout centripetal force :)
*i asked him
*:D
*kowtow*
Hungry
Just got back from a pretty good flight. I expected it to be awful, especially on a Monday morning. Turned out way better than expected.
Not only that, I found ONE bottle of L'Occitane's Honey Face Cream in Terminal 2's main DFS!
The one that has been discontinued worldwide for the last two years, and the one which could only be found in Australia - and as I found out last month, has also been discontinued in Australia already.
And the cream isn't available in the main DFS in T3, which I think is the biggest DFS Cosmetics & Perfumes in Changi... only in T2 woohoo and I found it! To top it off, I found it cheap..... *beams*
The marathon is less than a week away. To be honest, I haven't been training much in the last 2 weeks. I now run about once every 2 weeks and I can't go that far as well. Since 2 weeks ago, I've seen more and more people running around the blocks in my area. I'm pretty sure they're among the 200,000 who are taking part in the marathon this December 6th.
Might I also add that a friend has made a bet with me that he will eat a whole bowl of shrimps if I finish the marathon in 1 hour and 25 minutes. Initially the bet was to finish it in 1 hour and 05 minutes but he has such low confidence in me that he increased it by another 20 minutes. Incidentally he's allergic to shrimps. Hah, get the paramedics ready!
Oh, I received this email from my friend...
All the Starbucks outlets are giving out free drinks in Tall size from 5-7 p.m. on December 3rd. It's Christmas, you see. Make sure you're there! And do drink on my behalf.
*the small prints: Event only in Singapore*
Not only that, I found ONE bottle of L'Occitane's Honey Face Cream in Terminal 2's main DFS!
The one that has been discontinued worldwide for the last two years, and the one which could only be found in Australia - and as I found out last month, has also been discontinued in Australia already.
And the cream isn't available in the main DFS in T3, which I think is the biggest DFS Cosmetics & Perfumes in Changi... only in T2 woohoo and I found it! To top it off, I found it cheap..... *beams*
The marathon is less than a week away. To be honest, I haven't been training much in the last 2 weeks. I now run about once every 2 weeks and I can't go that far as well. Since 2 weeks ago, I've seen more and more people running around the blocks in my area. I'm pretty sure they're among the 200,000 who are taking part in the marathon this December 6th.
Might I also add that a friend has made a bet with me that he will eat a whole bowl of shrimps if I finish the marathon in 1 hour and 25 minutes. Initially the bet was to finish it in 1 hour and 05 minutes but he has such low confidence in me that he increased it by another 20 minutes. Incidentally he's allergic to shrimps. Hah, get the paramedics ready!
Oh, I received this email from my friend...
All the Starbucks outlets are giving out free drinks in Tall size from 5-7 p.m. on December 3rd. It's Christmas, you see. Make sure you're there! And do drink on my behalf.
*the small prints: Event only in Singapore*
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Ooh la-la
On this flight I had an out of ordinary Captain from Mexico.
He loved coming to our galley to talk to the crew, which is very nice. Bonding, I say.
He's quite old.
When he heard that I was single, he stepped one step closer to me and asked me if I've gone out with a Mexican - he hears they are hot and spicy. Of course, he's joking.
Then during the preparation of arrival announcement, he made the usual announcement except that he mentioned the wrong date. He said today is Friday the 26th. He didn't realize his mistake and he went on with the announcement, going something like (with the Mexican accent, think Speedy Gonzales), "I'm sure you had enjoyed the flight. The crew must have delighted you and 'ooh-la-la' we hope to have you in our future flights!"
I couldn't help myself from breaking into a smile in the cabin.
What a cuckoo case...
He loved coming to our galley to talk to the crew, which is very nice. Bonding, I say.
He's quite old.
When he heard that I was single, he stepped one step closer to me and asked me if I've gone out with a Mexican - he hears they are hot and spicy. Of course, he's joking.
Then during the preparation of arrival announcement, he made the usual announcement except that he mentioned the wrong date. He said today is Friday the 26th. He didn't realize his mistake and he went on with the announcement, going something like (with the Mexican accent, think Speedy Gonzales), "I'm sure you had enjoyed the flight. The crew must have delighted you and 'ooh-la-la' we hope to have you in our future flights!"
I couldn't help myself from breaking into a smile in the cabin.
What a cuckoo case...
It's my cargo bag again
Talk about bad timing.
My friends are coming to BP from KL today. After months of planning, it was all down to this day and I was so pretty darn excited about meeting them and showing them my quaint town.
It was all planned out nicely.
My flight will touch down at 6.10 a.m. and then my cab driver will pick me up between 11.30 a.m.-12 p.m. and then I'll head home and have late lunch with them.
After the first meal service, my Chief Steward told me, "Ann Gie. I have bad news for you."
I was thinking what the heck had gone wrong. Second time in two weeks someone comes up to me and tells me there's bad news for me. It's very bad for my heart OK! I thought I had done something terribly wrong.
Then he asked me if I had a check-in bag. I said yes. Then he still said he had bad news for me. You know what I actually started checking my uniform to see if I tore my uniform or my bag tore my uniform or something stupid like that.
Then he handed me this piece of telex from Copenhagen:
SUBJECT: -FSS XX XXX XXX (my name)
MESSAGE:
PLS ADV CREW THAT HER BAG WAS LEFT BEHIND IN CPH X THE BAG WILL BE FORWARDED ON TG951/26NOV/TG403/27NOV CPHBKKSIN X TG403 IS SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE 11.15AM X BRGDS CHARLOTTE/SCSO
Er, I think an apology would be good also?
WTH. Of all days, it has to be on THIS DAY, THIS FLIGHT.
In March, my cargo bag went to Zurich without me. Today I came back without my bag. Things like this don't seem to happen to my friends or housemates. Why?
Now I have to hope for many things:
- hope that my cab driver hasn't planned to pick me up early. best time would be 12.30 p.m.
- if he did plan to come early, I hope he's fine with picking me up last now
- if he can pick me up from the airport, then I hope the ground services can send my bag to my place in Singapore after I take out the essentials
- Thai Airways fly out of Bangkok to Singapore on time
- Thai Airways' ground staff remembers to load my bag on TG403
- the bag comes out of the belt FAST
And this is why my friends, ****never ever***** put your expensive handbags in your check-in bag. Always carry them in your cabin luggage. You just never know where your luggage may end up. Also you may sometimes find that even though you have your luggage with you at the end of the flight, the items in your bag have gone missing. You can buy new clothes or toiletries but your limited edition handbag...... I doubt you'll be able to replace it.
My friends are coming to BP from KL today. After months of planning, it was all down to this day and I was so pretty darn excited about meeting them and showing them my quaint town.
It was all planned out nicely.
My flight will touch down at 6.10 a.m. and then my cab driver will pick me up between 11.30 a.m.-12 p.m. and then I'll head home and have late lunch with them.
After the first meal service, my Chief Steward told me, "Ann Gie. I have bad news for you."
I was thinking what the heck had gone wrong. Second time in two weeks someone comes up to me and tells me there's bad news for me. It's very bad for my heart OK! I thought I had done something terribly wrong.
Then he asked me if I had a check-in bag. I said yes. Then he still said he had bad news for me. You know what I actually started checking my uniform to see if I tore my uniform or my bag tore my uniform or something stupid like that.
Then he handed me this piece of telex from Copenhagen:
SUBJECT: -FSS XX XXX XXX (my name)
MESSAGE:
PLS ADV CREW THAT HER BAG WAS LEFT BEHIND IN CPH X THE BAG WILL BE FORWARDED ON TG951/26NOV/TG403/27NOV CPHBKKSIN X TG403 IS SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE 11.15AM X BRGDS CHARLOTTE/SCSO
Er, I think an apology would be good also?
WTH. Of all days, it has to be on THIS DAY, THIS FLIGHT.
In March, my cargo bag went to Zurich without me. Today I came back without my bag. Things like this don't seem to happen to my friends or housemates. Why?
Now I have to hope for many things:
- hope that my cab driver hasn't planned to pick me up early. best time would be 12.30 p.m.
- if he did plan to come early, I hope he's fine with picking me up last now
- if he can pick me up from the airport, then I hope the ground services can send my bag to my place in Singapore after I take out the essentials
- Thai Airways fly out of Bangkok to Singapore on time
- Thai Airways' ground staff remembers to load my bag on TG403
- the bag comes out of the belt FAST
And this is why my friends, ****never ever***** put your expensive handbags in your check-in bag. Always carry them in your cabin luggage. You just never know where your luggage may end up. Also you may sometimes find that even though you have your luggage with you at the end of the flight, the items in your bag have gone missing. You can buy new clothes or toiletries but your limited edition handbag...... I doubt you'll be able to replace it.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The little mermaid
This morning my colleagues and I set out to see the little mermaid monument.
We had to ask the locals a few times how to get there because signboards were all in Danish and not very clear - especially at the train stations. The trains have their own system which is really confusing.
Anyways, we were pretty sure we had arrived at the right place when we still couldn't see it. So we stopped another guy for help.
And he was like, "You know what? She is so small that you have just missed it."
-_-
Then we found her, sitting there doing nothing but being pretty.
We had to ask the locals a few times how to get there because signboards were all in Danish and not very clear - especially at the train stations. The trains have their own system which is really confusing.
Anyways, we were pretty sure we had arrived at the right place when we still couldn't see it. So we stopped another guy for help.
And he was like, "You know what? She is so small that you have just missed it."
-_-
Then we found her, sitting there doing nothing but being pretty.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
I's in Copenhagen
So many things to do - only the cold wind's blowing a bit too strong!!!
My hotel's called the Island, and it's surrounded by water. Linked to the hotel is a shopping mall.
*luvs*
What can I buy back from the supermarket? What's good and famous from Denmark besides coffee and biscuits?
My hotel's called the Island, and it's surrounded by water. Linked to the hotel is a shopping mall.
*luvs*
What can I buy back from the supermarket? What's good and famous from Denmark besides coffee and biscuits?
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Apple experience
In the beginning, it was love. I went to two Apple resellers in Singapore to help me with my decision (Macbook vs. Macbook Pro).
Then it was excitement when just as I was about to step out of the house to go for my Zurich flight, I sat down and made the purchase over the Internet.
When I got to Zurich, I saw the confirmation of order email from Apple and I was eagerly counting down the days to getting the machine.
NOW I just want to pour acid on every one working in the back office!! And the things that I want to do to the team manning the 1800 line ... &^%!@^!!!
JUST FREAKING GIVE ME MY MACBOOK ALREADY!
Then it was excitement when just as I was about to step out of the house to go for my Zurich flight, I sat down and made the purchase over the Internet.
When I got to Zurich, I saw the confirmation of order email from Apple and I was eagerly counting down the days to getting the machine.
NOW I just want to pour acid on every one working in the back office!! And the things that I want to do to the team manning the 1800 line ... &^%!@^!!!
JUST FREAKING GIVE ME MY MACBOOK ALREADY!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Man of few words
<3
The captain that flew me home today was totally swoon-worthy.
He had flown up to Zurich on another flight and joined us today, so when he came down to the lobby today all eyes were on him. Not because he was unfamiliar, but because he was so damn good looking.
He introduced himself as Al. Like wth is Al? We were all playing the guessing game, trying to guess his race.
In the end my leading stewardess got hold of the General Declaration (the piece of paper with all our names and other important information that allows us to enter a country without visa/passport) and found out his full name ;-)
Please just let me go on about the captain, please!
How good-looking is he? Imagine a slimmer George Clooney with a longer face and shorter spikier hair. OMG! When he smiles, legs turn jelly.
And he barely talks. Ask him a question, he'll flash his charming smile and answer without saying much more.
I had the opportunity to serve him while he took a rest in Business Class. Unlike the previous pilots who might strike a conversation he didn't. When he was in command (i.e. flying) the crew who checked on the cockpit crew regularly also said he hardly said a word.
He was the topic of all the girls whenever we had time to gossip. Oh mannnn.
On a slightly different note, my colleague tried to matchmake me with another pilot.
Just because his name's Mickey.
Go figure.
But how can you take a person who's name is Mickey seriously? Especially when your lives are in his hands...
"Good evening ladies and gentleman. This is your pilot Mickey. Currently we're cruising at 36000 feet above sea level. We will start our descent into Singapore shortly. Weather in Singapore looks good, with a ground temperature of 24 deg. C. We expect to arrive at the gate at 5.40 a.m., way ahead of schedule. We hope you had a pleasant flight and hope to have you with us again. Cabin crew, prepare for arrival."
OMG I can't believe I managed to type that out. Dang I think I'm flying too much.
The captain that flew me home today was totally swoon-worthy.
He had flown up to Zurich on another flight and joined us today, so when he came down to the lobby today all eyes were on him. Not because he was unfamiliar, but because he was so damn good looking.
He introduced himself as Al. Like wth is Al? We were all playing the guessing game, trying to guess his race.
In the end my leading stewardess got hold of the General Declaration (the piece of paper with all our names and other important information that allows us to enter a country without visa/passport) and found out his full name ;-)
Please just let me go on about the captain, please!
How good-looking is he? Imagine a slimmer George Clooney with a longer face and shorter spikier hair. OMG! When he smiles, legs turn jelly.
And he barely talks. Ask him a question, he'll flash his charming smile and answer without saying much more.
I had the opportunity to serve him while he took a rest in Business Class. Unlike the previous pilots who might strike a conversation he didn't. When he was in command (i.e. flying) the crew who checked on the cockpit crew regularly also said he hardly said a word.
He was the topic of all the girls whenever we had time to gossip. Oh mannnn.
On a slightly different note, my colleague tried to matchmake me with another pilot.
Just because his name's Mickey.
Go figure.
But how can you take a person who's name is Mickey seriously? Especially when your lives are in his hands...
"Good evening ladies and gentleman. This is your pilot Mickey. Currently we're cruising at 36000 feet above sea level. We will start our descent into Singapore shortly. Weather in Singapore looks good, with a ground temperature of 24 deg. C. We expect to arrive at the gate at 5.40 a.m., way ahead of schedule. We hope you had a pleasant flight and hope to have you with us again. Cabin crew, prepare for arrival."
OMG I can't believe I managed to type that out. Dang I think I'm flying too much.
World Toilet Day
The moment I stepped into the house, I could smell a stench.
Straightaway I knew it was the rubbish that I had forgotten to throw out before I left for flight.
My housemates have both gone on 8-day flights and won't be back till tomorrow and the day after. And I happen to be the last to leave for flight. So it was really my responsibility.
Why am I so stupid!! Now I don't know how to get rid of the stench. Oh no, please don't ask me to wash the bin.
Haih, sometimes I really wonder if I left my brain in my mum's womb.
Anyway let's celebrate World Toilet Day today by making sure your toilets are clean after you use it and please leave the seat cover down.
Fun fact: King George II of Britain died falling off the toilet. What a humpty dumpty.
Straightaway I knew it was the rubbish that I had forgotten to throw out before I left for flight.
My housemates have both gone on 8-day flights and won't be back till tomorrow and the day after. And I happen to be the last to leave for flight. So it was really my responsibility.
Why am I so stupid!! Now I don't know how to get rid of the stench. Oh no, please don't ask me to wash the bin.
Haih, sometimes I really wonder if I left my brain in my mum's womb.
Anyway let's celebrate World Toilet Day today by making sure your toilets are clean after you use it and please leave the seat cover down.
Fun fact: King George II of Britain died falling off the toilet. What a humpty dumpty.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The alphabets, on Google Earth
Why do we love Google Earth?
Because of this: the alphabets, all found in The Netherlands.
Because of this: the alphabets, all found in The Netherlands.
_____________________________________
I can't verify this but according to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.
I can't verify this but according to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.
Hate hate hate Malaysian radio now
I had to listen to Taylor Swift 8 times a day in each of the trips I made back home in the last two months. I only listen to the radio when I'm in the car, by the way.
When she comes on, I change channels. 5 songs later, this new station will play her song too. So I switch back to the first channel. 2 hours later, they play her song again. Chances of hearing her again are even higher if I switch to a third station.
I mean, WTH?
No better songs to play?
This coming weekend that I'm home, I'm gonna listen to my own CDs.
When she comes on, I change channels. 5 songs later, this new station will play her song too. So I switch back to the first channel. 2 hours later, they play her song again. Chances of hearing her again are even higher if I switch to a third station.
I mean, WTH?
No better songs to play?
This coming weekend that I'm home, I'm gonna listen to my own CDs.
Burn money burn
EDIT: I feel like a total idiot. I bought a coat thinking that it was CHF139. Somehow when I paid for it with another pair of shoes, the extremely high bill did not strike me as being out of ordinary. Now that I'm back in my hotel, I realized the real price of the coat is CHF229. WHAT AN IDIOT. If I had known that was the price of that coat I would never have bought it!
I came here telling myself I will not spend more than $300.
Who was I kidding...
I've already spent almost 3x that.
Consolation: this is my Swiss goodbye.
Yuppers, this is very likely my last Zurich flight. Once the superjumbo aircraft takes over in February, I will not fly here anymore.
Oh, do you know everytime when I walk about in Zurich, I'll wonder at every well-dressed person who walks past me if they belong to the insurance or banking industry?
I was told about 70% of the people in Switzerland are in the service-sector and a huge chuck of these are in the insurance and banking line.
__________________________________
I came here telling myself I will not spend more than $300.
Who was I kidding...
I've already spent almost 3x that.
Consolation: this is my Swiss goodbye.
Yuppers, this is very likely my last Zurich flight. Once the superjumbo aircraft takes over in February, I will not fly here anymore.
Oh, do you know everytime when I walk about in Zurich, I'll wonder at every well-dressed person who walks past me if they belong to the insurance or banking industry?
I was told about 70% of the people in Switzerland are in the service-sector and a huge chuck of these are in the insurance and banking line.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Self-destruction
We girls can be so self-destructing for things that aren't even our fault sometimes, like falling for someone else.
Then we start doing things like *kicks self*, *pulls hair*, *bangs head against wall*, *slaps self*, *jump off the building*.
Anyway I'm gonna get myself vaccinated against the A(H1N1) virus this Friday.
I usually tell my uncles that I'm really afraid of needles so please be gentle. Now how do I tell the doctor at the airport that?
:-/
Then we start doing things like *kicks self*, *pulls hair*, *bangs head against wall*, *slaps self*, *jump off the building*.
Anyway I'm gonna get myself vaccinated against the A(H1N1) virus this Friday.
I usually tell my uncles that I'm really afraid of needles so please be gentle. Now how do I tell the doctor at the airport that?
:-/
Top of Zurich
I finally made it to Uetliberg. That's the city of Zurich behind me. I was afraid that it was going to be too cold but thank goodness the weather was lovely :)
Then I had to be forced up the look-out tower by my colleague. I was so afraid of going up and kept squealing... and I knew coming down was going to be worse. It was indeed. I almost broke her hand by the end of it, and I couldn't help laughing and shouting throughout the 10 minutes of coming down. I think the whole of Uetliberg heard me....
Then I had to be forced up the look-out tower by my colleague. I was so afraid of going up and kept squealing... and I knew coming down was going to be worse. It was indeed. I almost broke her hand by the end of it, and I couldn't help laughing and shouting throughout the 10 minutes of coming down. I think the whole of Uetliberg heard me....
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Not how it's suppose to be
1. Had a wonderful flight today. The weirdest part was when my very adorable passenger patted my arm and commented that I will make a very good housewife.
I think my smile faded and I told him straight, " But I don't want to be a housewife."
He could have just said I will make a good wife... ?
2. I have just got off a chat with Anshii in Kenya. OmyGod my life is so dramatic I've come to realize. One day she and I will look back on this day and laugh our asses off. However, right now, I'm just afraid of things to come :S
If not for my long long day, I doubt I can even sleep tonight.
I'm going to Longchamp on Wednesday (it's still Monday in Zurich). If you have anything to get from there please leave me a text on my mobile phone. Though it's not as cheap as in Paris, it's still cheaper than Asia.
I think my smile faded and I told him straight, " But I don't want to be a housewife."
He could have just said I will make a good wife... ?
2. I have just got off a chat with Anshii in Kenya. OmyGod my life is so dramatic I've come to realize. One day she and I will look back on this day and laugh our asses off. However, right now, I'm just afraid of things to come :S
If not for my long long day, I doubt I can even sleep tonight.
________________________
Also, I have made my purchase on Apple.com/my :) People, buy your Mac machines on the Malaysian website to save yourselves money.I'm going to Longchamp on Wednesday (it's still Monday in Zurich). If you have anything to get from there please leave me a text on my mobile phone. Though it's not as cheap as in Paris, it's still cheaper than Asia.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Obama's reaaal close
EDIT: *heartbreak*
Obama arrived yesterday...
Unless he arrived after 6 p.m. I missed that chance of being reaaal close to him.
Since Singapore is 26 miles across from east to west, I can still safely say that he's definitely within a 20 mile radius from me. *weak smile*
At one point of time today (probably already happened) President Barack Obama will come within 3 km radius of me.
Gee writing that made me freeze for a moment. Quite unbelievable!
From the airport he will have to take the highway behind my place to town to presumably Suntec Convention Centre where he will meet the rest of the world leaders. And that few seconds he travels on the TPE/PIE that's when he'll be about 3 km radius from me. OMGGGGGGGGGG!!! excitedness :D
Obama arrived yesterday...
Unless he arrived after 6 p.m. I missed that chance of being reaaal close to him.
Since Singapore is 26 miles across from east to west, I can still safely say that he's definitely within a 20 mile radius from me. *weak smile*
At one point of time today (probably already happened) President Barack Obama will come within 3 km radius of me.
Gee writing that made me freeze for a moment. Quite unbelievable!
From the airport he will have to take the highway behind my place to town to presumably Suntec Convention Centre where he will meet the rest of the world leaders. And that few seconds he travels on the TPE/PIE that's when he'll be about 3 km radius from me. OMGGGGGGGGGG!!! excitedness :D
Getting it right this time
I'm not running today. I'm going to make uncertainties a little less uncertain.
I'll start bombarding inboxes and email everyone with a Rome this month to swap flights with me.
I'm telling you I'm sure now there's a God. Because he's playing a trick on me.
I had hoped so much for an offday on the 6th so that I can go for my marathon. I was also hoping that if I didn't get an offday then, I hoped that I'll be rostered a long flight then so that it's easier to change away the long flight for offdays (money is their motivation).
But God had to give me a ROME. Of all flights, ROME which comes so very rarely. Because unlike a HK that we fly to 35 times a week or a Melbourne that we fly to 21 times a week (and do you even see me flying there?), we fly to Rome twice a week and sometimes, three times a week (depending on the time of the year).
Maybe that's why God gave me a Rome? So that it's superduper easy for me to change it away to run the marathon?
ARGH. Time to get down to work and start mass mailing.
I'll start bombarding inboxes and email everyone with a Rome this month to swap flights with me.
I'm telling you I'm sure now there's a God. Because he's playing a trick on me.
I had hoped so much for an offday on the 6th so that I can go for my marathon. I was also hoping that if I didn't get an offday then, I hoped that I'll be rostered a long flight then so that it's easier to change away the long flight for offdays (money is their motivation).
But God had to give me a ROME. Of all flights, ROME which comes so very rarely. Because unlike a HK that we fly to 35 times a week or a Melbourne that we fly to 21 times a week (and do you even see me flying there?), we fly to Rome twice a week and sometimes, three times a week (depending on the time of the year).
Maybe that's why God gave me a Rome? So that it's superduper easy for me to change it away to run the marathon?
ARGH. Time to get down to work and start mass mailing.
Sitting down here
It's almost 7 a.m.
I had set my alarm to 5.30 a.m. for a run....
When it rang, I still felt very sleepy and turned off the alarm. I mean, I did wake up at 4 a.m. yesterday to do a flight!
Went back to sleep. Told myself I'll run in Zurich because I heard the hotel gym there's very nice.
Then I heard the unmistakable sounds of luggage wheels outside my room.
Isn't John suppose to be off today? He did a Jakarta flight the day before yesterday and then a KL yesterday. That's two flights, definitely it's his offday.
Jumped out of bed, opened my door and saw this smartly dressed housemate of mine leaving the house.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Seoul-Frisco, didn't you see it on the whiteboard?" John replied, referring to the whiteboard in the hall that has all our rosters on it.
OH YAH, he changed flights.
I'm so jealous...
That's one prayer God hasn't answered - for another Seoul-San Francisco flight!
And that's how I can't get back to sleep. And sitting here, wondering if I should run or not because I don't know if I'm still going for the marathon.
I hate uncertainties.
I had set my alarm to 5.30 a.m. for a run....
When it rang, I still felt very sleepy and turned off the alarm. I mean, I did wake up at 4 a.m. yesterday to do a flight!
Went back to sleep. Told myself I'll run in Zurich because I heard the hotel gym there's very nice.
Then I heard the unmistakable sounds of luggage wheels outside my room.
Isn't John suppose to be off today? He did a Jakarta flight the day before yesterday and then a KL yesterday. That's two flights, definitely it's his offday.
Jumped out of bed, opened my door and saw this smartly dressed housemate of mine leaving the house.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Seoul-Frisco, didn't you see it on the whiteboard?" John replied, referring to the whiteboard in the hall that has all our rosters on it.
OH YAH, he changed flights.
I'm so jealous...
That's one prayer God hasn't answered - for another Seoul-San Francisco flight!
And that's how I can't get back to sleep. And sitting here, wondering if I should run or not because I don't know if I'm still going for the marathon.
I hate uncertainties.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The verdict is out
On my flight today I saw one passenger using a laptop. At one glance, I thought he was running Windows 7 (if you hadn't already heard about the new Windows 7 desktop being very similar to Mac's).
As I was merely refilling his glass of water, I just took a quick look and asked, "Is that the new Windows 7?"
And he reacted as though I had just insulted him :S
He was like, "No way, Windows. This is Macintosh." I took another look and realized oh geez this is the baby I want!
So we discussed a little bit and he told me to "go for Macintosh, without a doubt." I asked him if he'll ever go back to using Windows and he said no, no, no, no, no *both hands waving in the air*. My passengers are sometimes quite funny.
As I was merely refilling his glass of water, I just took a quick look and asked, "Is that the new Windows 7?"
And he reacted as though I had just insulted him :S
He was like, "No way, Windows. This is Macintosh." I took another look and realized oh geez this is the baby I want!
So we discussed a little bit and he told me to "go for Macintosh, without a doubt." I asked him if he'll ever go back to using Windows and he said no, no, no, no, no *both hands waving in the air*. My passengers are sometimes quite funny.
An hour later I spotted another passenger (he's a priority passenger but he has no airs at all! <3) using the Macbook Pro and I stopped by his cubicle to talk about his laptop. He was actually working and I know if my superior caught me disturbing his work he'd probably tell me off but this passenger actually stopped working and showed me the wonders of Macintosh and with just a few flicks of his fingers he showed me how he has FOUR desktops. :-o
And he displayed all the desktops in one view. I was amazed!
I asked if he'll use Windows again and he said he doubts. According to him he's been using Mac for many years now. Then one day, he "itchy butt" (his words yeah) went to buy the compact Vaio (from the dimensions he showed I think he meant the Vaio X) since he travels so much. He said he used it for a month and gave up and returned to his Mac. I told him that's my problem - I wanted a Vaio so much because it's such a beauty but for that money shouldn't I be getting a Macbook instead... and he said I really don't have to think further.
This same passenger told me he got his Macbook Pro from Shanghai and if I were to buy mine from Singapore (which is cheaper, again according to him) I should use the adapter that we sell onboard otherwise the battery will die faster when we use it in China. I suppose he bought his from Shanghai because he travels to China a lot?
I suddenly felt like this is it! No need to think anymore.
I need a flight to the U.S. NOW!
And he displayed all the desktops in one view. I was amazed!
I asked if he'll use Windows again and he said he doubts. According to him he's been using Mac for many years now. Then one day, he "itchy butt" (his words yeah) went to buy the compact Vaio (from the dimensions he showed I think he meant the Vaio X) since he travels so much. He said he used it for a month and gave up and returned to his Mac. I told him that's my problem - I wanted a Vaio so much because it's such a beauty but for that money shouldn't I be getting a Macbook instead... and he said I really don't have to think further.
This same passenger told me he got his Macbook Pro from Shanghai and if I were to buy mine from Singapore (which is cheaper, again according to him) I should use the adapter that we sell onboard otherwise the battery will die faster when we use it in China. I suppose he bought his from Shanghai because he travels to China a lot?
I suddenly felt like this is it! No need to think anymore.
I need a flight to the U.S. NOW!
____________________________________
Did you say you wanted a tan? :)
Did you say you wanted a tan? :)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
Life can never be smooth. It has to be tough and has to let you make tough decisions...
And thus my latest problem:
I have a ROME flight from 3rd-7th. Rome is one of the cities that I have been looking forward to so much because every single cabin crew loves Rome! If cabin crew can be sick of Zurich but still love Rome, Rome must be fabulous.
But my marathon is on the 6th.......
HOW NOW BROWN COW?!
I must go for my marathon. My housemate says I can go for my marathon again next year. Well, I doubt. I'm not gonna bust my knees training for another marathon. I can already feel my knees weakening.
And I don't wanna miss Rome either.
When life is presented with tough choices, I think of Robert Frost.
And thus my latest problem:
I have a ROME flight from 3rd-7th. Rome is one of the cities that I have been looking forward to so much because every single cabin crew loves Rome! If cabin crew can be sick of Zurich but still love Rome, Rome must be fabulous.
But my marathon is on the 6th.......
HOW NOW BROWN COW?!
I must go for my marathon. My housemate says I can go for my marathon again next year. Well, I doubt. I'm not gonna bust my knees training for another marathon. I can already feel my knees weakening.
And I don't wanna miss Rome either.
When life is presented with tough choices, I think of Robert Frost.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
This is the plan
The time now is 9.13 p.m.
I woke up 11 hours and 45 minutes ago.
I'll be on standby in less than 3 hours for half a day. Until my standby ends at 12 p.m. tomorrow, I'm determined to sleep/stay in bed until they call me.
Ideally, I don't get a call so that I can do my HK turnaround on Saturday (there, there, William, see I'm actually gonna do that flight!).
So my day ends now and definitely will not start until 12 p.m. tomorrow - providing I don't get a call up.
I want to start my day late I want to start my day late *repeat 100x*
Here's to 15 hours of sleep, cheers!
I woke up 11 hours and 45 minutes ago.
I'll be on standby in less than 3 hours for half a day. Until my standby ends at 12 p.m. tomorrow, I'm determined to sleep/stay in bed until they call me.
Ideally, I don't get a call so that I can do my HK turnaround on Saturday (there, there, William, see I'm actually gonna do that flight!).
So my day ends now and definitely will not start until 12 p.m. tomorrow - providing I don't get a call up.
I want to start my day late I want to start my day late *repeat 100x*
Here's to 15 hours of sleep, cheers!
One Golden Celebration
Okay uhmmm I'm repeating another song on my iTunes ARGHWHY!
It's Juwita Suwito's One Golden Celebration, the theme for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign.
I LURVE IT!
I even have the song in Malay and Mandarin =D
Watch this video - you know you miss Malaysia :)
It's Juwita Suwito's One Golden Celebration, the theme for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign.
I LURVE IT!
I even have the song in Malay and Mandarin =D
Watch this video - you know you miss Malaysia :)
On Repeat Mode
I played Moby's Lift Me Up over and over this morning. Must have played it 8 times...
but it wouldn't beat this which I listened to close to 20 times this afternoon <3
No, I don't have OCD.
Aku yang lemah tanpamu
Aku yang rentan karena
Cinta yang t'lah hilang
Darimu yang mampu menyanjungku
Selama mata terbuka
Sampai jantung tak berdetak
Selama itu pun aku mampu
Untuk mengenangmu
Darimu kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku kaulah cinta sejati
Chorus :
Bila yang tertulis untukku
Adalah yang terbaik untukmu
Kan kujadikan kau
Kenangan yang terindah dalam hidupku
Namun takkan mudah bagiku
Meninggalkan jejak hidupku
Yang t'lah terukir abadi
Sebagai kenangan yang terindah
but it wouldn't beat this which I listened to close to 20 times this afternoon <3
No, I don't have OCD.
Aku yang lemah tanpamu
Aku yang rentan karena
Cinta yang t'lah hilang
Darimu yang mampu menyanjungku
Selama mata terbuka
Sampai jantung tak berdetak
Selama itu pun aku mampu
Untuk mengenangmu
Darimu kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku kaulah cinta sejati
Chorus :
Bila yang tertulis untukku
Adalah yang terbaik untukmu
Kan kujadikan kau
Kenangan yang terindah dalam hidupku
Namun takkan mudah bagiku
Meninggalkan jejak hidupku
Yang t'lah terukir abadi
Sebagai kenangan yang terindah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)