It's official. This will be my last week at WS as i have been offered the position of marketing executive/pr at Garibaldi group. Its amazing really how smooth the path to it was. I feel it was literally a "god send". From the time I sent in my resume on a whim (there was no job opening then), to the two interviews that went so smoothly. I wasn't prepared for the interview. I felt like I knew nothing at all, and it was the end of a particularly challenging week, and I was feeling weary and tired. Yet my new boss liked me, and wanted me to start as soon as possible.

I am very excited about the new job. There are many things to be learnt and to do, so differeny from anything I have never done. Things will be totally different from what I am used to know, thats why I am feeling a little apprehensive also. But I believe that with the right attitude, I can definitely conquer my fears. Plus Roberto is a good boss. In my two meetings with him, I like him already, for his humbleness, his good humour and his willingness to teach.

Now that it is my last week at WS, I feel a tinge of sadness to be leaving. Everyone was happy for me that I am moving on. After all, I can't be an intern forever right. And if they are not going to offer me a job, someone else will. But I am glad to be leaving with the last batch of interns, life would be so different without them indeed.

Looking back, I think it has been a great three months. Three months of learning many new things, being exposed to new people, facing challenges, overcoming challenges, stress, and finding my own quiet confidence in the things I do. I am glad for this opportuinity to work in a PR company. And nowadays, I don't even count down the hours to lunch time, or to end of work, because time just flies past so fast because of the sheer amount of work I have to do. They are trying to get the most out of me before I leave..hah.

Sometimes I swear that the interns at WS are the only things that keep me going at work. I look forward to deciding where to go for lunch, waiting for people to arrive, and the random emails that we somethings send out when we have nothing better to do at work, emails that can suddenly brighten up your mundane day and leave you smiling at your comp or laughing out loud. Or when we pass by corridors or meet in the pantry and gossip or complain about each other's day at work.

Vic, Jayne, Fang Ting, Shao Ru and Nat have been really special people. Good things don't last that long. Vic was the first to leave, and for the few days after she left, I really missed her. Her blurness and chirpyness somehow grew on me. And she was from my team, so we could bitch to each other about people. Not anymore. Jayne and Shao Ru would be leaving this Fri, followed by Nat and Fang Ting next Fri. And things would never be the same again. The new interns who came in somehow didn't fit into our clique, the bond that had formed within the last 2 months or so. Maybe, just maybe, I would be leaving too. Since I don't envision staying for long anyway.

But I guess the time here has taught me many things, and at least next time I can say I have had the experience of work at the top PR firm in Singapore before, but it's no big deal really. One thing I have to say is they really know how to take care of the welfare of our stomachs - all the good food at staff meetings, team lunches etcetera. But who knows what life might bring next...

It has been a very tough week so far. I am trying hard to be strong and independent, but it isn't easy at all. I just feel so emotional and unappreciated.

I can't wait for the weekends to come, where at least there is one less stress, and I can just rest my tired brain and weary soul...

I really can't anymore

A rough day

It was a rough day today, to say the least. It was deceptively slow in the morning, then everything came wham-bam around mid-morning, catching me unawares and causing me a great deal of stress. Add to that some other factors, and I was near tears as I stared furiously at the screen, willing my eyes and hands to move fast.

The interns went for lunch together. I went alone. Headed for my comfort food- Chicken avocado sandwich. Only it wasn't as nice today. Maybe it was just my mood. The chicken was rather tough, and it took me ages to finish it. I got full after eating half a sandwich.

I wish the monster somewhere in me would stop rising up and make me turn into an angry and unhappy person. Today as I was crossing the road, I almost wished I would get knocked down by a car. Isn't that morbid? The phone call just made me more miserable. And then the tears started again.

Right now, I am not going to think so much and just escape into my fictional world of novels. It's kind of mindless to come home and just surf foodblogs and read books. But at least it takes my mind away from things, and in a sense, give me some purpose.

Maybe it's just today. But God, let me have a good day tmr. Give me the strength to last through the week. And make me a nicer person that I am.

Beating the monday blues

It was great finally pushing my lazy butt to the gym after work for a heart pumping, perspiration flowing, fats zapping workout. It felt so good after that, all the angst, lethargy melting away. I do have to start a regular exercise routine soon. My colleagues all admire that I can eat so much at lunch and still eat so much snacks and still stay 'skinny'. But I know that it won't last.

At least I had a healthy lunch today, so healthy that it made the guilt of snacking on Loackers Vanilla Wafer(my new favourite) in the afternoon go away. Today was a slow moving monday. And I am glad, after the stress of last week, I deserve a rest. Anyway, I digress. Here it is, introducing Rosemary Chicken Sandwich from the Bratwurst Shop: It tasted so good that I felt it would be my new staple for lunch. Its the best sandwick around, apart from Cedele, I think. All that succulent chicken, cheese, healthy veggies in a foccacia bun and toasted in a panini press. Thats my idea of a good lunch. Of course they do sell a variety of other sandwiches and the juicest and tastiest hotdog buns, but that's for another day.

So yes, a healthy lunch, a non-so healthy afternoon snack and an exercise to beat the Monday blues

I get real work finally

It was quite a good day today because I finally got real work to do today, in the form of writing articles for a client. I got to talk to big boss herself. I find her very intimidating and also awe-inspiring. I wouldn't deny that I was quaking in my sandals prior to meeting her because I was so nervous. And no, she didn't eat me up. But I sure wouldn't find to find out the consequences of screwing up what she tells me to do. Thus, I face great stress indeed.

We had lunch at QQ Noodle House at Park Mall. The QQ specialty noodles is indeed rave-worthy. The noodles were springy and each strand was coated with their special seaoning and shallot oil, which is probably what makes it so unforgettable. It is not very waist-friendly though, I suppose. One major complain is the $3 portion is too small. Mine was gone in a matter of minutes. I really do regret that I don't have any pictures to post. But somehow I seem to have lost the habit of taking pictures of my food. That is probably because I get very self-conscious of taking pictures of my food nowadays.

For the next three days, I predict I would be kept busy, very busy indeed. I am not sure whether I like that.

I love weekends

The weekend flew past as usual this week, and I am having Monday blues once again. At least I packed a whole lot of things into my weekend to make the full use of it. I find it interesting how I face the same whole pattern of dreading Mondays, a whole long week of dreariness to come. Then on Tues, I would be glad that Monday is over. On wed, I would be happy that midweek has come. On Thurs, yay, its is past midweek. And of Fri, triple hooray, weekend has come. I ought to throw myself into work with more zest and enthusiasm. Sadly, I have been unable to thus far. It makes me worry and wonder about my future, just what I like to do. In this so very competitive society, do I have what it takes? It is something I can ponder about for the next few months while I can still afford to.

This has been a really enjoyable weekend, to eating delicious ramen at Tampopo, to finally going to the much acclaimed chocolate factory. It certainly did not let me down. The Vienna's hot chocolate I had blew me away with the intensity of chocolate and the sheer richness of the cream. Just thinking about it makes me smile. And there was the chocolate tart, which was every bit smooth, rich and delectable and sent me straight on chocolate's high. The black forest cake was just quite ordinary. I would be back again, for the flour less chocolate cake. And just the pure pleasure of soaking in the atmosphere, with chocolate in the air.

Today was just a great day of chilling out with mb, from eating my favourite piping hot kueh tutu at Clementi, to the famous Ah Balling rice balls..What a great way to spend the weekend!

The company lunch that beat Monday blues

My Monday blues are over. The day passed so quickly without me realizing it. I spent the better part of the morning uprooting from the room I have been occupying for a month, to another place where I had problems accessing the network drive, then back to my old room, then to another workstation whose occupant is on leave for one week. Two hours was wasted just like that.

It was the Senior VP M's birthday and she treated us all to "pub grub" at Stumps at The Cricket Club. It was quite a nice and atas place, full of seemingly leisurely men lounging around. Lucky M who was on leave that day had countless glasses of frozen magaritas while the rest of us who had to go back to work could only look on enviously while sipping our juices. We shared casear salad for starters, and the table of 12 women all ordered beer battered fish & chips, except for one who ordered chicken. The portion of it was HUGE and the fish was very fresh, though it was nothing to rave about. I feel that Fish & Co's fish and chips are undisputedly the best I have ever tasted. That being said, there are many other restaurants I have not tried, Greenwood Fish market & bistro being one of which, thus I shall reserve my comments.

Then came desserts. M was very generous, and ordered one of everything. Everyone was very full by then, and I was one of the few who gamely went for more. Three hours was gone by the time we headed back to office. A very satisfying lunch indeed.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a whirl and I was kept so busy that by the time I left work, I was very stoned. And so the cycle continues...

I am making a last ditch effort to save my blog by changing the frilly pink skin and and changing it to a minimalist look. I kind of like it, and as lease it has the comments options where you guys can leave comments instead of my flooble constantly expiring on my because its underused. In time I would probably add more stuff to it, but for now, this would suffice.

Its been exactly 1 month since I started internship at a PR company. Lets just call is WS for now. Its been 4 weeks of great changes, of great stress, of learning many things, and of course making friends. There are other interns from NTU, SMU and poly there, so lunchtime is always quite a jolly affair. I am supposed to intern at this company for 6months, which is an awfully long time to survive on an intern's pay, especially when I have to start paying off loans and such. I suppose I will find a way around it.

I have not beeng blogging for quite a couple of reasons. Firstly is because after a long and tiring day at work, the last thing I want to do when I come home is to involve my brain in anyway. Secondly, I am afraid of sounding boring. I don't want to sound like a run-of-the mill kind of blogger who just talks about her everyday life and bores the shit out of everyone. Third, I might be tempted to blog about work, and that is risky, considering what a big company I am working for.

Well, we shall see how it goes. Its another long week ahead..argghh.. I hate Mondays

Interesting Food for thoughts:

“If a man is called a streets sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great streets sweeper who did his job well.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.



Life
Do more than exist, live.
Do more than touch, feel.
Do more than look, observe.
Do more than read, absorb.
Do more than listen, understand.
Do more than think, ponder.
Do more than talk, say something.
- John Ho. Rhoades

Somehow everytime after I blog, I feel slightly happier. That my pent up emotions are gone..
Or it could be attributed to something called Indofood: Taste of Asia Instant noodles. I am not a big fan of instant noodles, in fact I avoid it whenever I can. But today's Life section had a two page article on 5o ways to cook instant noodles. After reading through and looking at all the delectable pictures, I had an instant craving for it.

So off I went to Great World City to buy the Indofood instant noodles, chicken terriyaki flavour ( i wanted to get salted-fish as it was supposedly rated the best), but somehow I got the wrong one. But anyway, I cooked it as soon as I got home, together with a fried egg. There were so many sauces to add to the noodles, and after I mixed it all up, it looked and smelled and tasted unlike any other instant noodles I have tried. And it was for the better of course. It was so fragrant because of the shallot oil, and the flavours all exploded on my tastebuds.

I was hooked. Immediately. As it was a big packet, I had doubted my abililty to finish it. But somehow, I managed, and there was even a little tongue action at the end to clean it all up. Yum. In my haste to eat it, I forgot to take a picture of it. But there would always be other time yeah.

Now I am feeling stuffed. And greedy. But happy. Burp.

It's been little more than a month since I last posted, and time has just flown past. This semester is the busiest and most challenging ever, and I am starting to sound like a broken track record. I hardly see my friends and I hardly ever go out. Good news is that I have overcome the impossible, coming up with two brochures wasn't as challenging as I thought it would be. It was just pure frustration at times when the programme fails you. So coming up with a website in maybe four days should be achievable. (It had better be)

But I am glad because I have learnt so many new things this semester. I have always wanted to learnt Photosho during the holidays, but did not due to inertia. And now I know InDesign, a little of Illustrator and hopefully Dreamweaver(for the website to come). There is nothing like deadlines to push one to do stuff beyond what you think you can achieve.

Good thing is that it would all be over in two weeks. Bad thing is the new things to come, the Big Unknown. Being an 'S' type personality, I hate changes and love security. That explains why my daily breakfast of peanut butter sandwich has remained constant throughout the years, almost.

But well, I learnt that I shouldn't box myself up. The big word right now is to "think out of the box". I suspect I have always been an "in the box" person, but hopefully that can change. My self-confidence has taken a severe beating and is at an all-time low. Sometimes I just feel like I am not good at anything. Writing- sucks. Communications - sometimes words fail me, at important moments. Baking? I am just an amateur baker at best. Like my dad always tell me, I am a "half-filled bucket", in literal translation from the chinese phrase meaning not good in everything I do.

It scares me, to be mediore when I really want to be excellent. But this entry is not about self-pity or me whining. Its just a reflection of how I feel and maybe then can improve.

I guess this is a journey where I have to find myself.

I've posted so many unhappy post that I had better post something happy for a change. Today, I baked my first ever successful cranberry-almond biscotti which didn't crumble upon being sliced. I was quite alarmed at the stickiness of the dough and could hardly shape them into two logs. The dough was stickier than glue I reckon, and kept sticking onto my fingers such that everything was a big goey mess, so I just dumped it onto the pan and prayed that it would turn out alright. When it was done, and cooled for 10mins, I sliced the log into thinner slices to be baked again until dry, and the dough held up quite well, so my biscotti retained its shape..yayy. But it could also be because I chopped up the almonds instead of using them whole. Anyway 1 hour later, I had the whole kitchen smelling happenly. I was cleaning up the kitchen when my mother came back. I got a big scolding of course, whats new. She scolded me for wasting her electricity and water to bake for other people. Generous woman, my mother. But oh well, I love biscotti, especially when dunking them into hot coffee or milo.

I had a fantastic reunion dinner with my family yesterday. Everybody was gathered at my aunt's place, and she cooked up quite a feast. There was yu sheng, super huge jumbo prawns, mushrooms, sotong, fishcake, tau pok, fish etcera. But what was nicest was the company, everybody gathered around,chattering, kids running around the place. There was at 6 naughty kids and 2 babies there, they were a joy to watch, though they were also a handful. Makes you think twice about having your own kids next time, really. They were wrecking havoc in my cousins room, jumping on his bed, examining his stuff and banging on his keyboard. But it was a really good reunion, with all warmth and laugher spilling around.

Oh, and I simply must share about Da Paolo Gastronomia at Chip Bee Gardens. Its this gourmet shop selling many kinds of takeaway stuff: pizza, pasta, cakes, cookies, antipasti. For their cakes alone, there are so many different kinds that it is hard-pressed to make a choice. But I must simply recomment their flourless dark chocolate cake if you are a chocolate lover like me, it is so rich and sinful and fudgy and totally melt-in-the-mouth yummilicious. There is also the blackforest cheesecake that is very yummy without being overly rich. The tiramisu is also another dessert I would recommend, its is just simply divine. I want to try their Valronha chocolate cake soon.There is also the pizza which I have always wanted to try, but never got around to doing so. And when I did, it simply blew me away. At the price of $6, it is arguably steep for a slice of pizza. But..it is a huge slice, big enough for two not very hungry souls. I had the salmon and pesto pizza. The crust was crispy,neither too thick nor too thin to the point of floppiness and was firm enough for me to eat on the go without anything falling out. The proportion of the ingredients were all just right. The tanginess of the tomato base, the rich mozarella cheese, the basil and the salmon which lifted the flavour of the pizza. Oh man, this is one pizza that I would go back for more. Do go try it out if you are at Holland village and feeling hungry

If I had my way, this entry would be filled with lots of the eff word, but I shall exercise restrain since this is a public space. I am just fillling so very pissed-off right now. I don't know how many times I have been pissed off this week already. I have tried to be as understanding as I can, but there is a limit to how far I can go. I feel pretty fucked up right now. Things with my mum so bad. So many deadlines and assignments looming up soon. So many projects and endless project meetings. Feeling at a loss how to go about doing my assignments. So many things weighing me down. I would be glad to see the end of march. I just wish it is here sooner. The least you can do is really keep your comments to yourself if you don't have any words of comfort. Because condemnation is the last thing I need..

There's this emotional turmoil within me. I am tired of being depressed and listless. For the past 3 days, I have been feeling so weepy, and its more than just stress of work or even my mum. We have been having another cold war which I should be used to by now. I am selfish, prideful and stubborn i know, but I can't help the way I am..maybe sometimes its just nice to isolate myself and not talk to anyone, not feeling very sociable somehow, this fake happy mask I put on sometimes in front of friends or family, guess I am not very good at sharing my feelings,especially unhappy feelings. I wish I can escape from this world now, go to another world made up of chocolates and candies like in Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

On a brighter note, my computer is repaired and fully functioning now, but still kind of slow. I got a new N73, a brand new ipod video, but unfortunately no songs to put inside . And I got treated to dinner by HP to Aerin's at Raffles City yesterday which I have been dying to try for ages, but the prices are too steep for me to venture in without parental sponsors..heh. We shared a leek and potato soup($7) which was nice and creamy, and I had a Aerin's Tagliette($20), which is a creamy pasta dish with mushrooms, smoked salmon and some salmon roes. I loved its creamy without being overly rich texture and the generous amount of mushrooms inside..yummy. And I also had a punchless pina colada($6) which was a great thirst quncher. Unfortunately I didnt manage to take any pictures because I felt that HP would not like it..oh well. I would love to try their high tea one day, priced at $25 for 2 which consists of canapes, cakes, scones and tea/coffee.

And now, I still have two assignments due and a test next week..blah

Sigh, I didn't manage to post any pictures yesterday cos my computer crashed. Sigh..feeling so super down now. All my photos,recipes, music, documents are all gone, there is just this sense of deep loss for things that are unrecoverable. So I don't think I would be blogging much for now..

In a blink of the eye, its already the 3rd week of school, in the midst of a very very busy semester indeed. I couldnt even relax in the first two weeks of school like I normally does because I felt like I had so many things to do, so many new things to learn. Apart from giving tuition, the stress of having to learn many things things, to step out of my comfort zone was quite a challenge. And of course, niggling at the back of my head was the what and the how of post NUS life. I've decided to concentrate on my studies first and hopefully enjoy my last semester in NUS before I start worrying about working because I would have a whole life time for that.

So with my new philosophy in place, and the comforting thought that I am never alone because there is someone greater out there watching out for me, I realized I could finally enjoy school. Heck, I even enjoyed drawing, even though I was moaning and groaning about my drawing skills or lack-thereof. I am taking visual communications of new media which requires me to draw stuff. I just spent the past 4 hours absorbed in it. And I am quite proud of my results because I really sucked at drawing. I am posting the pictures up, but of course this is not quite the end yet. And then there is website designing, photoshop, html and a host of other things which I have to learn, but I figured it would be quite a useful skill to have.

It helps that I have an able partner with me, who is patient with me when I am grumpy and pmsey, someone who always laugh at me, and always ready to indulge his food obsessed girlfriend. He is there when I need a listening ear and shoulders to rest on when I am tired. Its amazing, but I am more in love than ever...

And just because no entry is complete without pictures of food, I am posting some pictures which I took last time :)

Sometimes, there is nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night to warm yourself or just to give yourself a treat. Today, I tried adding 3tsp of baileys to my hot chocolate, and it instantly gave off such a heady aroma and was so so so delicious. Here's my recipe for a small cup of intense hot chocolate, just the way I like it.

100-125ml milk
25g dark chocolate( i use lindt)
Sugar to taste, though I normally don't add any.
A few tsp of baileys to add to the aroma and taste(optional)

1. Microwave or steam or heat the milk until boiling.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and put into milk
3. Stir until chocolate has melted completely.
4. Taste, add more chocolate or sugar if necessary
5. Prepare yourself for a treat ahead

I had a good lunch at Toastbox with my mum today. And I ordered the peanut butter thick toast which came oozing with peanut butter. Thats what I call real good stuff. That crunchy goodness with a substantial spread of chunky peanut butter. Ahhh.

After lunch, I decided to try my hand at biscotti, having searched for recipes for it online and finding it relatively simple and low fat. So happily, I laid out the ingredients and whipped up the dough in no time. Easy peasy, I thought, as I shaped the dough into four phallic looking logs and baked them for 30mins. Thereafter, I was supposed to let the logs cool, and then slice them up into small pieces and then bake it again for another 15mins till they were evenly toasted and dry. But ah, here comes the difficult part, the slicing of the log. It was a tedious process. Its like trying to slice four baguettes into very thin slices,but for mine, it kept breaking. So I had to be very careful when handling them, and had to settle for thicker biscotti just so they would hold. But oh well, I kind of liked my almond cranberry biscotti with the cinnamon taste, but it was somewhat dry due to the low butter content. I love biscotti, especially when dunking into coffee, so I think more shall come till I perfect it. Yummy yum yum. I think my repertoire is growing, and I am loving it

So it was that I spent New year day at home, in bed, nursing a i-dunno-what. All I know is that I keep sneezing incessantly, and what is supposed to be my voice comes out as a hoarse croack. And I feel constantly tired. So I took a couple of unrestful naps, what with my mum shouting for me to teach her computer stuff, and my two dogs deafening barks. But I am hoping that it would past soon, with enough rest and plenty of water. And oh to stay away from chocolates and stuff, not that I even feel like eating them now.

So much for doing something useful like revision. Blah. Tomorrow I shall be well again