The Bangkok trip that was meant to be... (yeah, you didn't read this wrongly)

Well well well... I've been feeling off-colour all week. I managed to battle off a sore throat at the start of this week but was defeated by the flu bug which has been bugging me since Wed and has not buzz off. I had to do a presentation yesterday breathing via my mouth and speaking with a nasal voice as my fellow colleague puts it. However, good stuff comes at the end or when you least expected it I guess. So the story begins...

I totally forgot I signed up for the a*star d&d (held yesterday on a Fri) and was reminded to go for it by an email which arrived on Thu (not that I saw it till midnight). This d&d ain't my company's d&d. The latter was held in Jan earlier this year. The reason why we were invited was because we were their scholars. Anyhow, we only had to pay 5 dollars each. However, if we didn't turn up, we had to pay 85 bucks which is the full cost according to the Thu email... *sheesh* here was I feeling all under the weather... needless to say, I was less than enthusiastic. However, the good things started to happen from here onwards...firstly, I didn't have to work a full day. Technically a half day because they wanted to see the scholars at 4 plus before the d&d so I excused myself from office happily....but when Nayu (one of my good friend from ntu...XR might remember her) & I got there, it appeared no one really turned up for that appointment. *lol* Since the dining venue was at Meritus Mandarin (the one at Orchard), no prizes for guessing what we did next. We had a good time shopping at Taka, followed by coffee at coffee club before hopping back to the hotel's ballroom. The 8-course food they served was surprisingly yummy. I kinda like the herbal duck and dessert which was red bean soup with tangyuan. My companions at the table were pretty good company though the whole night's attention was on Phillip Yeo since he's the outgoing chairman. Here comes my personal highlight of the evening: the lucky draw because I actually won something. Can you believe that? Here I was eating my tangyuan, the next min my no. 0224 was called out. The miraculous thing is that I did not win anything stupid or useless...if you know what I mean...I don't really want to go into what people give away for lucky draw here but I actually got 2 return tickets to bangkok (bkk) from jet-star which seriously isn't too bad! My 5 dollar investment yield pretty good returns - half-day leave, good food and airtix. To think I almost didn't go!

Anyway, my parents happened to be going bkk in April. They got their trip settled much earlier. I thought I will give it a miss this time...but what do you know, fate beckons, I'm going to bkk after all with them (and my lucky brother). Cheers to the family trip and here's to shopping and phat thai!

Cowabunga!

I think we are TMNT.

Firstly there are four of us - the fantastically fabulous four. And then the roles we play in our group dynamics matches each turtle (maybe Ninja sounds better).

Xinrong is definitely Raphael. She is agressive (may not be a bad thing, esp with work), expressive and short-tempered (but we still love u!).

Jean is the most bubbly and happy-go-lucky in our group. I've never heard her say "Cowabunga!" but she likes to sit down, read a book and eat - Just like how Michelangelo does his pizza and comics routine.

I reckon Fang's place in our circle matches Donatello's. She's always caught up with her work (like Donatello getting caught up with his scientific pursuits) but she still attends to us. She is also more laid back in the group.

And I... I am Leonardo because thats the last ninja. But seriously, I'm liken to Leonardo because I am always trying to get my work-play balance sorted and get everything right. Leonardo is not really a prefectionist; he just does his best - like me. :)




Maybe "with our powers combined" with Francesca and Gilbert, we can be Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

P/S: I miss u guys...

Got Banana?

With only 2 hrs of sleep last night, I dragged myself to school, sat thru a test, a lecture, a muscle testing pract and had a discussion with my lecturer regarding my presentation. i retired to the cafeteria during the break, still feeling woozy. I sat down and rummaged my bag for my banana. Upon seeing my banana, Tamara, who was seated to my right, whipped hers out and said "I brought a banana as well."

I turned to my left and asked Michael Tomic, "Have u got a banana (too)?"

"...... ."

The rest of the table roared with laughter. ... I swear I turned red. :( I didnt mean it that way...

I decided I needed to go back home to catch forty winks before I go attend Michelle's Grad. Din wanna embarrass myself agn. heh.

"phat yip zhor loh!!"

Luk Ka Ki, gong hei gong hei!

Michelle was really happy to see me. She thought I wouldnt be there becuz of my mountainous deadlines. But i was. With a pressie too! I love giving presents. :)

Weekend bits

Hi peeps~

I'm here with my entry again which I will attempt to write at least weekly.

Anyway, I didn't really do much over the weekend except I had dinner with 2 other friends at Vivo City at the place called Bosses Restaurant (I don't think there's "'s") on Friday. Anyone wanna guess the Chinese translation? It's called Hei She Hui....*lol* I'm afraid the food isn't as interesting as the name though. It serves stuff like La Mian, Xiao Long Bao, Soups and a lot more but the La Mian the three of us had were really mediocre. In that aspect, Crystal Jade would win hands down. In the round of the Xiao Long Bao, CJ gets another vote over the Bosses because the skin was really too thick though the presentation was pretty good. The deep fried eel was probably the best of the lot we had. Had a hard time figuring out where to next. Even though it was 9.30, nobody really wanted to go home since it was Friday. Somehow, we ended up at Cafe del Mar (I hope I got the spelling right...) at Sentosa...*haha*... yeah I ended up driving across the waters to have drinks. Loads of people were there... a lot of Caucasians especially. I don't know if you guys have been there but it's on Siloso beach though the place has its own little pool for patrons who wanna take a dip. The outdoor ambience there was pretty good with sofa / mattress / plastic rattan chairs etc. that sorta stuff with umbrellas. You can be on the sand or on the pavement. It was a pretty cold night though. Sad to say, the drinks were so watered down. I'm afraid the bartender had no idea what he was doing or the management was really trying to save money. The trance music they were playing was initially alright at the beginning but after a while, it started to bore us. We were surviving on ambience (minus the music) and company. I think we will try some other beach bars next time...I don't think I will go back again really. Once is enough.

I popped by to explore the NTU Alumni Club on Sat and ended up having set lunch at the restaurant. Set lunch there tasted pretty alright. The place is huge with 9 floors (of which the tennis courts are on the 9th floor) but deserted. Apparently, the official opening will be in May. There's a Spa there which looked kinda interesting.... the outdoor concept deserves a visit for me... but yeah... the thing is when will I ever go back again I really don't know. I don't have the intention of joining the Alumni Club for now at least (XR, what about you?) Out of further curiousity, I stepped into a condo showroom across the Club (haha.. fang, this is right up your street. The project is One-North. The reason I went in was because I wanted to see the showrooms... nice pretty stuff. Apparently, the project is 100% sold...haha.. but they just kept the place open for people who are still interested to have a look. I guess they are either busybodies (like moi) or perhaps really keen buyers who probably could get a subsale unit...at an exhorbitant price. The thing which kinda caught my eye was their SOHO units. Kinda cool but pretty Western concept to have your bedroom overlooking your living room or in this case, your supposed work area which was next to your open concept kitchen...haha~ Floor area is small though.

Oh ya... remember I said I wanted to get braces? I went for a consultation at my dentist on Sat....just a 45 min information getting session with Q&A. It sounded pretty alright but I will be going for another consultation at an orthodontist... then it's the compare & contrast and weighing the pros and cons. Will keep ya updated...(I know XR wants to know the price but it's kinda complicated.... but let's say basic cost will probably be 2400 - 3600... and supplementary cost will probably come out to be another 1000 more. Anyway, I will check out the orthodontist and see how it goes.)

I watched a movie too on Sat... called Stomp the Yard. It was great and I enjoyed it. Did anyone catch it? I think it's been out for a while...just that I've been lagging when it comes to movies. *lol*

It's going to be a stressful 2.5 months coming up (Belle, you won't be the only one!). My post-doc is going on maternity leave on Wed... goodness know when her baby girl is coming but yeah...I'm going to have to handle her project on my own. *sighz* I hope this 2.5 months go by smoothly and quickly enough. Come to think of it... ever since I begun my attachment, I've been under her supervision...helping her with her project for 8 months. In another 4 months, I will start handling my own project when I start school. Now that should be exciting. In the meantime, just hope to get some positive results while she's away. I think I'm going to miss her a lot.... I hope she comes back after having her baby and not choose to sit home and be a Tai-Tai...*haha*

I wish i was studying in a dance college instead

Ok i have to admit ive been feeling a little down and also stressed out with school. For one, i just recovered and returned for classes. Next, I have a whole series of assignments/presentations to get through before i can take a breather over the 2-week Easter break.


Tues 27th - Clinic

Wed 28th - Pod Test

Fri 30th - Pod Studies precis due + presentation (STRESS ALERT!!)


and it doesnt end here. i have one more week of deadlines.


Tues 3rd Apr - Pod Clinic PBL Presentation (STRESS ALERT 2)

Wed 4th Apr - Pod take home test & Pharmacology Presentation (STRESS ALERT 3)


On the evening of the 4th, i have Pod Dinner. Good timing cuz i would have been done with all my presentations for this semester. Really packed but once its done, i will be done with presentations for this sem. Pod Dinner is the annual welcome dinner for first years. Gonna be a good social night. Last year's was pretty good.

Probably the biggest cheer-up i had the last two days was this poster from Ken. He got it from Spain. I feel its character everytime i look at it. I can almost feel energy emanating from the dancer. As a ballet student, I enjoyed Character Movement the most. I loved the Promenades, Muzurkas and all the elaborate movements and poses (ok, drama mama i know. but im Leo, so i guess that makes me more arty?). I found it easier to express myself through Character work than Classical or Free movement. I'm a more energetic type dancer.



Girls, Fran is in melbourne now and she's thinking of coming down to meet me. It'd be great if she does. :)

You dont have to go to the Louvre

Our pavement artists are world class.

Catching up

Hey my dear girls, i'm an absolute idiot with regards to blogging.. haha.. have no idea what to do.. guess it's like writing an email yah..

Belle, was really quite xin tong to see your hospital picture =( I'm sure u agree with me tt health is most impt yah.. doesn't matter how u got the infection, most impt is that you're well now.. please do take care of yourself k.. dunno wat's the env like in adelaide, but just drink more water, get enough rest, keep warm and take some vitamins if possible k..

i've no idea who's michael or the other guy with the complicated name.. haha.. tink i've really lost track as to who these guys are.. but dun worry, i'll read this blog regularly and i'll be able to catch up yah. *wink*

LA sounds real interesting.. reminds me of the lab time we had in rjc.. haha.. half of the time we din noe wat the hell we were doing.. haha.. ridiculous.. hope you're enjoying wat u're studying there yah..

Jean, i'm so sorry dear i wasn't there to celebrate your bdae with you.. had a real tiring day.. sigh.. sometimes i tink my life revolves around this job so much.. i'm glad you had a wonderful day.. is that settlers game the one we played at gilbert's house? who won in the end?

yeah robertson quay is a real nice place.. there's a club there called butter factory that plays R&B music as well.. maybe u can go check it out? haven tried the restaurants there before though.. is the jap food good?

how's research in school anyway? boring a not? really admire that you can go so far with life science loh.. i was already struggling in my first year.. hee.. same for you, really hope you're enjoying what you're doing as well.. =)

Xinrong, how come your msg to me the number is different from last time? is it a new number? how's deloitte treating you? still interested to join ocbc? must tink hard yah.. see my working life, think will scare everyone away.. haha..

John & i are doing well.. safe and happy =) been hitting target quite consistently for the past half year.. so work is good.. but just busy and stressful.. working for a bank is crazy.. recently have been having thoughts of changing jobs too.. but maybe it's just a phase..

Will try to blog here weekly yah.. LOVE reading all of your posts & pics, keep them coming yah..

Hugz & Kisses,
Fang

I gave my first to Michael (the other one)

Local Anaesthetic, that is. Today we had Intro to Surgery. Needles. Ugh.

It went like this, we had to cycle from Giver to Receiver and finally Support. Giver administers the LA, Receiver sits in the chair squeezing the Supporter's hand, while receiving the LA from the Giver. For everyone, it was our first time administering a Local Anaesthetic. Butterflies in the stomach initially. But when u were done, u feel a great sense of achievement. As Julia put it rather euphorically, "this is one of my To Do Things before i die - to administer a local anaesthetic!!".

I gave my first to Furmaniak. He is "the other" Michael in class.

I have problems receiving needles (imagine how i felt at the hospital two weeks back. i almost cried. really.). Because ur receiver becomes your supporter, I had Michael as my support. My heart started racing even before the needle went through my skin. I held my breath and Michael held my hand. He tried to talk to me about my weekend but I couldnt concentrate on the conversation - my mind was with the other end of my anatomy.

All of a sudden came a "Opps, i'm sorry! I'm so sorry!". That was something you didnt wanna hear in injection class. But well, shite happens. The needle hit my bone. I numbed Michael's toe... and now his hand.

So that was that. It was done and it wasnt that all that bad. Now i just have some residual soreness in the toe.

Btw did i mention that Furmaniak is my personal favourite in class? The order wasnt plotted though.

(picture from La Trobe Uni's Podiatry Photo Library)

Bouncing back

I've recovered from that bout of lung infection. Lower left lobe (for those interested in (grey's) anatomy). I'm not even sure how i got that infection. Just came down with a 39.5C fever after a full day of clinic one tues evening. Nail dust from patients? Sand from road works outside uni? Or was it a bug i caught from Singapore before I flew back here? In any case, I'm so glad its all over. Falling sick in a place far from home is best avoided.

I was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. They put me on saline drip to get my temperature down and then gave me IV antibiotics to tackle the infection, which they initially thought was UTI. The rest of the time, I rested and nursed myself back to health at home. I must thank my friends who came to visit me - they brought with them food (essential for survival!! and gettin well), laugther, cheer and lotsa love and concern. Thank u so much!

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Justin, Josh, Ken, Sam, Wayne, Kimberly and Chiang wei.

Special thanks goes to my best friend, Abel, who took the brunt of the illness and everything else that came with it. Thank u so much. xx. I'll buy u a good dinner soon.

I met Melee today. I was supposed to meet her and Georgina the Friday of the week I fell sick.

Melee introduced me to Mau, Adrian and Mary. Adrian is the odd one out because the rest of us have names begining with the letter M. Here's a picture of the girls at the driving range.


That's Mary to the left and Melee on the right.


It's back to school tomorrow after two weeks of rest and recovery! Bouncing back. :)

Birthday Treats!

Settlers' Cafe, 17 March 2007: Thanks to XR & Gil for such a great time on my birthday!

All the 3 games were played were fantastic. Trans-America felt a bit like Snap - it was so fast --> look at us laying those black tracks!

XR: This is for you! Presenting Ms Tjua's favourite.... Settlers of Catan

TCC @ Robertson Quay

Hey my dears~

There's a place I realised we have not been to together and it's really nice --> Presto! Robertson Quay. There are so many Jap restaurants there... easily >10.. not to mention the other eateries & tonnes of bars & places to chill. For those who don't know, it's at Mohd Sultan...hehe somewhere near DblO. I went to the TCC there with my NTU bowling gfs. So here are a few pics which are interesting:

I'm fascinated by this pic really.. it's such a happening cow. It looks as though it's going clubbing. Look @ the handbag & heels! Yeah... I can hear some of you going...we never went clubbing together (ok.. I've been to Zouk with XR...does that count?)

Ok... sofa chairs & bean bags are like passe! The latest thing I found at TCC are these cool ratten seats which my friend vowed to get one of these for her future home. It's really fun to sit in...except you never ever stop moving...EVER!

The last pic is just for information sake... to my companions of the night - thanks!
p.s. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant earlier.





Gals, let's try to hit this area next time k? After all, we are all sick of the Marina Square routine by now!

Happy Birthday, Eldest!

I missed it last year, missing it this year and still going to miss the one next year.

Happy Birthday Jean! When im back eventually, we'll have a big big celebration to make up for lost time.

xox. love u lots.

Sat event

hello

testing

sian with work

Jean's birthday celebration on sat. its only back to me and gil again . We started a few years ago celebrating each other's birthday. No of people coming down expanded . But after a while, its back to the three of us again.. sigh...

hopefully this celebration will go on a life time

haaa

Babes Galore - Introducing the writers

L to R : Marabelle, Ming Fang, Xinrong & Jean

Jean.. reporting!

Test blog from Jean... =)