taipei 2 Aug - 27 Aug 2009

truly, i was very excited about the taipei trip with my colleague. i was buzzing with excitement & anticipation & i couldnt wait till i can reach the airport!

anyway, i took about 300 pics in this 6 day trip... !!!!

Taipei is 4.5hours away. we reach there in the evening time & below is my first glimpse of the city.

we had a coach journey to the hotel & it lasted about 1h. after settling our things in the small hotel room (but with decent beds :)- we were off to SHILIN night market.

i enjoyed the food & the shopping and were pleasantly surprised that the shops closed late. VERY late. our late night shopping hours is their normal closing time.

the aborginals happen to stage an act when we reach...

the chicken cutlet which was so very juicy!

the crushed ice which were soft & cottony... my FAVOURITE!

DAY TWO- sunday

we schedule today to go to their version of chartuchak @ Wufenpu. but we were too early. didnt realize that shops there only happen from 2 plus.

since we were too early, we found a nearby KTV & had buffect lunch there as well. food wasnt great which was to be expected. but it was pretty cold! my camera lens were frosted by the time we came out which was only 3 hours later. they definitely had better KTV technology too.

shopping shopping!

we were there from afternoon to night!!! & i think we still got a little bit not yet explored. legs aching, we gave up going to the nearby Raohe night market. too tired to eat! but the night is still young so... we went for a late night movie!

such a big theater & we were the only ones! just kidding. we were the first 2. out of 6?

big theater with only me... luckily not.

DAY THREE

we slept till we wake up naturally- such a good feeling. we took a bus to the nearest theme park called Leofu. or as my other colleague says- the pirated Disneyland of taiwan.

it was a super duper duper hot day!!!!!!!!!! i am glad its sunny & not raining... but it was dammmmmm hot! we all got darker by the end of the day.

by the time we left, it was 9pm and closing soon. took the bus & train and went to yet another night market. this time is SHIDA. the meesua was FABULOUS!!!!!!!!! & i crave for yet another bowl of ice.

DAY FOUR

we took MRT, TRAIN and finally bus to reach a scenic place call JIUFEN. its high up in the mountains & it overlooks the sea. gorgeous really.

there is also a museum of masks which is quite interesting. but i am skeptical when the owner said that those masks of of the ghosts which he can see...

it is really just a few interlocking streets and we finished that area in a few hours. went back to taipei on that 90min journey again. & we were off to DANSHUI. yet another scenic spot famed for the sunset but we were too late.

just managed to catch the amazing colors of the majestic sun and the sky in the train and its enought to elicit a WOW from me.

we made it to the fisherman wharf!

we chose a nice restaurant with a really good ambience. & there was life entertainment i.e. someone singing too.

good experience with the sea breeze blowing. a very romantic spot for the couples to hang out.

DAY FIVE
day 5 is the day we hit their town area! Jay Chou is my friend's idol, so we promptly went to Mr J for lunch. Good decor & good looking/stylish chefs(acccordingly to my friend at least)

i wonder why Din Tai Fung is a landmark as well. i wonder why tourist groups frequent the place so badly that we all have to queue for it. i duno.. the food was... good. but not exquisite. i guess i duno how to appreciate?? now then i realize they have a din tai fung mascot as well.

after food, after shopping we went to Taipei 101. yet again, we didnt made it in time for the sunset. becoz of the jam. becoz we spend too much time looking for breeze centre... ;X

the nightscape looks good and i guess my camera didnt do justice to it. so i shant bother posting them up here. the city is a night owl! so colorful and vibrant even the architecture reflects that characteristic.

at the end of the day, we just want a restaurant which we can rest of legs. went to back to ximending where restauarant are still open. there is a quaint little place where by patrons sit on swings!! i am hooked on swings!

the food is nO good! at least the swings are ok...

DAY SIX

its the last day & we just wanted to blow our money away. at least i did. we went to YongKang street to see whats the fuss about. the famed crushed ice didnt impress me coz the mango SOOOOooOOO sour!!!!! i prefer the one in SHILIN.

stock up on masks. why this brand isnt in Sg, its a mystery. i am sure it will sell v well with a pricing that match face shop.

i have bought enought to fill up 2 extra luggage!

here is my loot! some cosmetics, a few accessories and several packs of masks!!! which is simply a big love of mine!

i blew my last few NT dollars on shoes. i wonder why... why must i enter the shoe shops... while waiting for lemon green tea?

which reminds me, a pair of ALDO shoes on sale is cheaper than the average pair of shoes on sale in departmentals!

funny moment:

my friend joked (at least i hope its a joke) to a cab driver that bringing me along with her is like bringing a very blurr little sister. she wish she can throw her away... so that she dun need to worry for me on top of herself.

and guess what the cab driver said?

he said: "ok, u can throw her to me... i will bring her back and make her my wife!!"

me: Uber incredulous. i find it funny to a certain extent. hahhahaha.

i guess this trip didnt have much surprises and is pretty much like wat i anticipated. which is good in a way. made it back in one piece safely.

district 9

i am still blogging cause i love writing.

i just watched DISTRICT9 & i love its gritty style & i like the plot. i also like its portrayal of the Aliens stranded in Earth.

i especially love the last few scenes cause it provided a lot of food for thoughts...

how can a fellow human being be more than willing to kill its own species?

how can a different species be more than willing to protect a human being who is more unlike than like them?

how did it happen that humans have less compassion for their own species compared to aliens?


how...? why...?

OCBC mightsaver ad aug 09

whenever i see the current OCBC Mightsaver Ad, i just feel irked and pissed off.

i feel that the message it is sending just kinda degrades the female populations. and it degrades them right from they are just kids. as seem through my twenty-something-years-old mind. (not sure about what the kids think though, would be interesting to find out.)

i get that the core message is to encourage kids to save much as possible.

but isnt it for a rainy day, as my teachers advocated during my primary sch days???

now, the kid want to save up his money so that he is deemed qualified and eligible enough to ask his female classmate out!? Gosh! will the female classmate turned up her nose if she knows that the kid is not a mighty saver & doesnt have one hundred dollars(or should it be million?) in his bank?

why do they equate desirability with money? as though all girls make friends with boys based on how much they saved...?

i prefer saving for a rainy day over saving for a member of the opposite sex just so that he/she is impressed.

that is just dumb and materialistic. & implying that girls will choose bread over money any time any day!

signed,
the feminist in me.

Good FoooOOood

we had been enjoying really good food for past working week! we went to Earle's Swensens to take advantage of the one-for-one promo lunch main course & it was very worth it. less than $50 for 4 of us. i guess the best part is that each main course comes with free flow salad bar. hence you are gauranteed to be full.

if you know me, i am not a person who lives on salad, but the greens are fresh & i esp like the mango chicken salad :) in fact, my other colleagues like it so much we went back again in 3 days.

it was our 2nd anniversay. so i think we are entitled to splurge... on food at least. we went to the PS cafe at dempsey. nice ambience. main course so-so but i do love the chocolate cake.

it is the first time i see fish n chip served up in a bowl...

i ordererd a brasied chicken pie which i cant finish. i like the mash potatoe texture but too bad that isnt much gravy...

And ... the desert! double chocolate cak with vanila ice cream. we were very very full. but we managed to stuff the cake inside us. hahahah. if you like moist, warm cake with rich chocolatey taste, this is a must try!:) very rich!!

too many calories in a day. =X

i think my bf is a poor thing, he doesnt deserve to be fat! or round! hahah. because his appetite is actually considered small for his size. hurhururhurhuhr. regardless. i still *heart* you.

he mentioned he MIGHT be outstationed. if so, i think it will be great! i will be praying you get this big break. i can only hope he will be outstationed in countries which i actually can afford (and look forward) to visit.

SLS D&D 2009

we are lucky that we choosen the first flight to KL and not the second. we are lucky that we chose to take the train and not the cab even though it's slightly more expensive per head.

because our colleagues from the second flight bumped into a demonstration when they were in the cab going to the hotel. jam there for quite a few hours & very innocently too. time was of essence and the plans they made to go shopping before the D&D was thrown upside down. the demonstration pretty much took up 90% of the original free time.

i woke up at 5.30 am to catch the 8am flight. Many thanks to ALEX SHIEH who help me print out the silkair confirmation slip. Many thanks to ALEX SHIEH for waking up at 6pm to pass me that. you are truly a good friend for keeps! :)

D&D was enjoyable. nothing to complain about... despite i had drawn a mini fridge in the sure win lucky draw. i mean, how am i supposed to go shopping with that in tow? lucky i got a colleague who help me to handcarry to Sg together on his earlier flight.

other colleagues won a tissot watch and a WII as well. how cool is that? lucky peeps!:) SLS ppl are quite lucky as a whole. i mean, in that whole D&D that is 140 of Msians and only 10 of us. there is 15 special lucky draw prize winners and 2 of them are from SLS! whats the probability of that happening?

tiger beer happens to be a free flow drink which none of us are interested in. =X the HR director was desperate of ppl to finish the barrel of beer he ordered.

D&D pics are at my facebook if anyone is keen to see. =D

after a good night sleep at Le Meridian, we were off to explore shopping malls again. hurhuhur. i am never tired of shopping. truly a shoppaholic.

i did my hair at a really good price. if i live in KL, i would probably be a regular with that salon. i am pretty satisfied with the results. jeap yip (my last visited salon) really really pales in comparision and i am left to search for a cheap and good salon which i can be loyal to.

even though work is not very stressful i wonder how come i feel tired so easily. i feel like i cant keep my eyes open. my eyes are reduce to tiny slits because my eyelids feel too heavy to open them.

Sucks!!!!!

there are many friends whom i yearn to catch up with. i really cant wait to see them again. sigh. it really feels like we forsaken each other in our busy lives... how many friends will i be left with at the end of the day?

mood:bouyant

hm, i am pleasantly surprised that they called me for a sec interview. i totally gave up any expectations cause they told me if i were to be shortlisted, i would receive a call on sat itself. i didnt & i thought it would be the end of story.

oh well. sometimes when one truly habour no expectations, things will turn out to be better. thing will work itself out.

ya. i am feeling this way. things will work itself out. things will right itself. i shouldnt fret. just go with the flow & be happy go lucky.

:)

i suddenly feel very patriotic. cause i am so proud of spore. maybe cause it nearing national day again. i am amazed and proud that construction projects i.e. shopping malls, spring up so often & frequent. they get constructed without anyone caring much so it feels like, all it takes is a weekend and TA DAH we get a new shopping mall to explore all over agin.


this is the way i feel towards ION. i've yet to finish exploring but i already think it definitely lift Orchard Road up a few notches in terms of the (shopping) places to visit in the world!

yet another 'no''

well, i have been to about 4 interviews with prospective employers now & i made the mark for none.

but its ok cause all involve hideous amt of traveling courtesy of my ulu home address. UGHHHHH. why am i disadvantaged BECAUSE of where i live?? why do i FEEL disadvantaged because of where i live???? prospective employers think that i live TOO FAR from the office. omg. i hate it. i wanna live in places like TPY, AMK, TBR... sux sux sux.


anyway. went to interview for product exec. i guess deep down my sixth sense know i cant make it. i was intimidated slightly by the interviewer who was pretty tough talking.

but still was pleasantly surprised when they DID call me. though its because they wanna offer me a position as account exec. jeex.

jeez. i didnt impress as a product/mktg exec but i left behind a impression that made them think i will be a good account person? Is it my amazing rapport building skills??? my pleasant disposition?

whatever. diasappointing. then i just stay in my current co, they wanna train me as account exec anyway & i am learning from the sales manager himself.

have decided to take a break from looking out for jobs. i think i am having crisis at work. sourcing premiums is a headache. so is making something that people will buy.

progress

i've already spend 1.5 years in this lovely company of mine. i think i no longer am a job hopper coz i am happy where i am.

i thought i grew a lot a lot too. time seem to past by very fast week after week and i feel tired regardless of how taxing (or not taxing) work is. i wonder why. maybe i am just getting old. i feel llike i experience too much compared to peers who are still schooling.

i had gone though my first appraisal here & given proper decent increment! its encouraging to see my boss n colleagues getting promotion coz this company believes in retaining talents and also taking action to show its appreciation.

this week seems extra short coz we did a fair amt of trade visiting... but still, i feel tired.

this month is the first time that i spend SOOooOOOO much just on stuff for myself! holiday, handphone, skincare, clothes, shoes, bags... everything add up to my MONTHLY salary!!!!!


& i am still shopping around for a pair of sneakers & cap.

concrete plans

here are some concrete plans worth sharing
1- my soft ins event is tomorrow, 4pm. less than 24 hours away but i am still here. if i need to rehearsal at least 3 times- i need about 2 hours. sigh...

2-D&D is early-aug. erm. not as exciting.i am not saying i cant wait. need i say more?

3- 5 day trip to taipei is in mid- aug. i cant wait. HOLIDAYYY. need i say more?

4- i "heart" pixon. even though its touchscreen and my SE contacts are all screwup and i cant be bothered to make everything consistent.

work is pretty fun and made up of loads of laughter. i laugh so much that i'm slightly worried that ppl cant take me seriously or may find me annoying. but if work isnt fun what's the point of working and going to work.

something miraculous to share- we hit our last financial year's targets despite the stupid bursting of economy!!!!!!!! very WOW. maybe it is due to trade overloading/overstocking instead of true sales... but really who can blame the sales dpt when they delivered good news like this?

drag me to hell

everytime for the past 3 saturdays, i had been trying to go to the night safari with bf. but it always had to rain on me... & when it rains, we will have to take a rain cheque. why is my luck so great?

our wet weather plan included catching a movie. DRAG ME TO HELL. i like! i like its blatant b-grade feel and the ridiculous special effects that just happen to be funny and gross. one doesnt need to care about the plot & should just enjoy being grossed out :)

plans

plans changed. ad hoc plans always rule. all the planning might wreaked due to unforseen circumstances i.e. H1n1. (whoever thought of that??)

i love sale! i would love to buy buy buy but i am damm worried i will end up jobless... one fine day. things are not going well and one big way to cut cost is to cut me. i know it. i know it. i know it.

will i really know whats the taste of joblessness?

i hope not.

i am trying dammm hard!

i should be so lucky

we were like a production line, repacking those AP CAR products. we were fast & efficent because we had teamwork. so NO NEED OT! :)

after work, we drop by Change Alley to look at fashion boutiques but nothing caught our eyes. it was pure window shopping.

off to Cityhall to meet old colleague, E! who had a new hairstyle yet again. we were gossiping, bitching, window shopping and eating. the happiness of hanging with a gal pal.

i drop by Kate Spade. & i saw a tote which look pretty nice and the price was quite attractive. well, i think it was GSS pulling off its magic. cause i decided to buy a piece of overpriced canvas made expensive by a branding.

& when i walked out of the boutique, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said i was spotted paying with Mastercard!& hence I am rewarded with a $10 Dorothy Perkins gift card and I am also eligible for a lucky draw! wheeeeeeeee. very nice!

so... it turned out to be a one day promo & i was just being at the right place at the right time with a super broad dash of luck.

i entered the lucky draw and waited patiently for the draw... only to find out that i didnt win. like, duh. that's only the norm. we left the place, feeling lucky to be spotted at least. & then... i got a call from an unknown number & it turned out that i did win something afterall!!!!!!


not the grand prize but i guess some consolation thinggy which i will be picking up later!:)

end of fy

its the end of financial year and people are leaving yet again. leaving for better jobs at least in terms of salary. is the economy bad? apparently not. to certain ppl at least.

i am wondering, when will i get called up for a interview and later be informed that i am offered a job??

i thought i did well at the previous interview but then again, maybe i am not good enough and there is simply too many better people who can do better things. which is the truth i guess. then its kinda of demoralizing to realize that.

but my self confidence is still intact. no worries.

on a bright side, maybe my new colleagues will include a cute guy. maybe i will have motivation to put more makeup and let less makeup go to waste.... hahahaha. we all agree we need some eye candy in the ofit unanimously.

hate hate waiting

waiting is a simple process which tires me.

i dislike it. hate it. even tho i might know what i am waiting for ... it's still a pain in the ass. i just hate that time is slippin past ur fingers and yet, there is seemingly nothing you can do except to... well, wait. and wait.

love affair

well. its great to be young. its even better to be young and already know what you are working towards.

i love marketing. i just do. the moment i scored good grades for it back in polytechnic. hahahaha. now... it just feel like i duno what to do with myself professionally besides marketing and communications.

i am lucky to have a foot in fmcg & also to discover that i do love it sincerely and whole heartedly.

i love having to launch new product. liasing with suppliers. working with global team, no matter how shitty. developing creative visuals. coordinating point of sales materials. drafting press release. organise events. sourcing partners. (but i hate the cold-call-to-follow-up part). human relations with my internal departments and suppliers. media planning. ( i have no idea/experience abt the number game in mktg yet though)

"i hope to be a brand manager in 3 years."i kinda stunned myself with the ease and conviction that i spoken that with. did i really say that without thinking?

no wonder there has been no calls

i am very glad i went for the appointment.

i met a nice sir who really helped me by guiding me to write and impress better. he was practically givin me a professional consultation. maybe he just knew how badly i needed some good luck and pointers.

perhaps perhaps perhaps...

melaka & j.b.fun & food.

bf&friends planned a road trip to melaka to play paint ball so i tagged along. it was lotsa fun even though we lost our way a bit initially and had to wake up at 5am to get ready.

we played go-kart which i skidded off the track and got a lot of big ugly bruises to show for now, paintball which i was lousy at coz no stamina to run and shoot, and archery which i got no strength to pull the bloody arrow strong enough to shoot properly. gave up after 5 tries. and below is my fav pic of the day.

dear bf had to hold the bow steady for me to pull the string and even then, i dont have enough strength in my arm to do it. i suck. i know. he's so sweet. i know that too. haha.

after we are finished with the resort in melaka, we drove for another 3 hours to reach J.B for our dinner. which is the must-have- CHEAP & GOOD SEAFOOD. yum yum yum yum.

it was truly very enjoyable. better than i thought. not as bad as i feared. coz it was the first time that i hung out with his friends. & lucky they find my sense of humour acceptable. hahahahahaha. & they are a bunch of nice & easy going ppl too.

& just now, we went deliberately to bukit merah to eat the claypot laksa only to discover that the stall close at 3.30 pm promptly. omg. its like they earn enough for a living in just 6 hours!!!!!!!!

looks like we have to go there again!

error= embarrassed of myself

i made a boo boo. & i feel so embarrassed of myself. coz i made the boo hoo not due to ignorance but plain carelessness & also cause i assume things and was lazy to check things out. & hence i reported wrong info to my bosses! DIES!!

very horrifying. i wish i can have a hole to hide my face.

fashion & car

credit to kelly giang for givin me the chance to see my first fashion/catwalk show. in the comfort of a air conditioned marque. dun need to squeeze. hurhurhur. more memorable moments included the model with the super long veil which got blown off the catwalk by the air conditioned...

and the model who took off her shoes n walk barefoot halfway.

loved the shows by jimmy choo and coach.

witnessing catwalks really delivers the message that modeling is hard! shoes so high. shoes so loose. cant wear proper undergarments- i hate the idea of that! haha.

& being the small frys we were, there isnt any need to mingle except to just enjoy the food and alcohol .the red wine was really hard to stomache.

bf has been car crazy. it might be due to his work. or due to pressure from me. i hadnt brought him back home ever though we have been dating for a yr plus. because my parents reject a motorcyclist as a person whom their daughter dates.

happy for him. it's a big purchase! i am happy for myself cause i dun need to hear about cars and COE again ... so everyone is happy.

IFF workshop

Was given the chance to attend a perfumery workshop @ IFF and it was an eye opener. Veryy interesting to learn about top, middle and bottom notes. cirtrus notes. floral notes. herbercous notes. etc etc.

we were separated into groups & asked to match a perfume based on the diffferent notes given &... we were the ones to match it best!! hurhurhuhr. i was pretty cocky/confident that our group will be able to do it... so i was glad that we did manage to come up with the best mix if not, i would feel worse for my cockiness. hururhurhur.

we won an elegantly designed USB thumb for our efforts.

i love workshops! ended earlier than a regular day too!