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I am home! And was greeted with a blast of hot air the moment I stepped out of Changi Airport. How I miss the weather in Japan (Korea was too cold)!

Good news came to me while I was away. I received all my final semester results and obtained a personal best gpa of 3.88 with 1 A+, 2 As and 2 A-s. This may be commonplace to those magna holders but to me it's a sign to me that if I bother working hard for it, I can do it too.

Anyway, gonna update about my trip soon. After I get the rest of the pics from the BF. We took 2.5 gig worth of photos!!! Many things to blog about so stay tuned. For now, I gotta get back to studying CFA before work starts next week.



















Few days ago I realised my aircon has stopped working. It keeps blowing out hot air and it has chosen a great time to do this - when the daily temperature is 33 degree celsius and the humidity level is about 89% in Singapore.

As much as I hate calling home maintenance people to my house due to the countless con-sters I've came across, we called our regular aircon repair/cleaning man. The reason he was regular was because he was the only one that we met that actually did a proper job of cleaning. Nevermind the fact that he used to charge $35 and that price had hiked to $60 over the span of 2-3years. Nevermind that he's quite a money grubber for he often told us to repair this and that when it turns out to be just a cleaning issue. As long as he can get our aircon up and running we're happy.

Today he came (with his wife) and tried to switch on my aircon. Then he said that it was not our usual dirty-and-needs-to-be-cleaned problem. He said the sensor was spoilt and that it needs repairing. Repairing would cost $180. Recalling that my bro's own aircon sensor had the same problem before and he managed to fix it quite easily himself, we decided not to engage his service. The aircon man said that we have to pay him $20 for the petrol he expended driving here. Though not unexpected by his demands, I was enraged. Being his regular customer, I expect him to have the decency not to profit from us in this manner. Of course we are willing to help him recover his costs but $20 is definitely a rip-off. $20 worth of petrol can definitely last traveling for a few days. Pique, I called him a con-man and that $20 is extortion. Not too sure if he heard me coz he was in the toilet packing up his tools. But his wife sitting in the living room heard me alright and I think I frightened her a little. Yes you old bitch, hope it would frighten you enough to knock some sense into your con-husband.

When they left, my bro's girlfriend was saying that it's actually okay for him to ask for the $20 because it is the industry norm. When I heard that I was very sad. Sad not because I didn't know about this. But sad because a norm does not mean that something is okay, yet these conmen has made many of us (excluding me of course) believe that it is okay. I have never come across any other honest profession that allows a person to profit from another without having performed any service. If you bring your laptop (or any other electronics/appliance/watch) for repair, they don't charge you for having expended effort into finding out the problem and quoting you even if in the end you decide not to repair. When you ask an insurance agent out to discuss about a policy you would like to take out but in the end you decide not to take it, does the agent charge you for his trip fare or the work he has put into drawing up the policy? No.

And I'm not even saying that we should let the aircon person bear the cost of the trip. But I would like to repeat that $20 is unreasonable. (We even came across $40 in the past!). Hence I really feel that there should be some form of authority regulating the industry. I know regulation comes with a cost but I believe in this instance, the cost of the harm caused on the consumers due to dishonest practice far outweighs the cost of regulation. If you are not able to behave, then your parents should come in to discipline you. The logic is as simple as that.




Today I am going to talk about you. Yes, you. Sometimes I feel like you're such a great mother, taking care of our basic needs - washing our clothes and cooking our food.



But sometimes you're just too narrow-minded, even though you believe you're not.



How many times have you come to conclusion about something that you barely have any basis on? Assuming that unknown deaths of young people must be because of their nasty dietary habits since young. Randomly give a curing effect for certain food type that you like. Sadly, you like to jump to conclusions about your daughter too.



Do you dare not admit that you like to tell me stories such as:

1. So & so is giving her mother $500 a month, and expecting her mother to look after her kids as well. That's barely enough money for the kids. What a useless daughter.

2. So & so gives her mother 50% of her salary to her mother even though she has a family. What a filial daughter.

3. So & so only gives $300 to her mother. Such a stingy daughter.

4. And when I asked you how much do you want? You replied, "1k (if my take home pay is 3k)"



When I tell you I might not want to have kids because it takes a lot of money and time to take care of them. You label me as being selfish. It really makes me angry. I tell you, the selfish ones are those that bring the children into the world but not able to provide the time and money for them. And the only reason they have children is to depend on them in their old age. Yes, such as yourself.



So then I got you angry too. You did not only give me attitude for the next few days, but I hear you badmouthing me to my brother. And you know what, I'm not surprised. Because you do it all the time. You tell my brothers about all our quarrels and make them sound like I'm an unfeeling person. You also tell me stories about my brothers, about how one never give you a cent after he started working and how the other flares up his temper at you for no reason. Then you ask, why are we siblings not close and loving?



Tell me how do you expect us to love each other when we know so much bad things about each other from your mouth? Even if what you're telling us is true, is that what a mother should do? A mother would keep her tales to herself if she does not want her children to have pre-conceptions about each other. In this aspect, I feel that you've failed as a mother.

I really do want and try to be a good daughter. But sometimes your expectations are just too high.




How do you know the choice you made is correct? Not counting hindsight..

Honestly I don't know and I still feel very unsettled by having to choose between interest and money.

One is a front office job that can possibly move me up to my ultimate career aspiration - investment banking.

The other pays 1k more a month (ouch!), not counting bonuses and other fringe benefits.

What would you do?

On another note, I changed my mind about enjoy my last semester; I can't wait to graduate!




Valentine's day came and went 4 days ago. But true feelings of love does not require the nourish of Valentine's day. And so today, 18th of February, I'd like to say a few words about the boyfriend. Today I will not hesitate to be, what you may termed mushy, but in my opinion honest.





I think the boyfriend is like an obscured gem. As I spent more time with him, I discover more qualities in him that I adore. Here are a few I would like to share..



1. I discovered by pure accident, and to his embarrassment, a list of my likes and dislikes that he keeps, says it helps his goldfish memory. Actually that's not exactly a quality is it? But I like it that he makes an effort in the relationship without giving the impression that he did. It made the relationship light and his effort genuine.



2. He never gets angry, especially not at me. Not once. I must admit if I ever have to live with myself, one of me will definitely end up killing the other me. I can be rather stubborn on my own point of view and has a sharp tongue to match. But he always let me win in the end without a hint of sarcasm or attitude.

3. He is hardworking and driven to succeed. An ambitious man is the sexiest man. In fact, his motivation has some positive spill over effect on me.

4. He makes me laugh.

5. People say that marriage is the end of love. Some girls said that relationship is the end of romance and all the nice things guys do. I am fortunate that some things between us did not change pre and during relationship. What got us close in the first place was the daily smses we sent to each other. I'm certain what kept our relationship strong was that we never stop this habit of smsing each other. We do not drift apart because we do not have time to meet up. Remember, he is just an sms away.

For all the above reasons and many others I have not mentioned, I love you dear, simply for being in my life.

Long overdue post but as it's the weekend plus Tash finally uploaded the pics on Facebook so..




Quadruple Date!


It was a happening affair for me as it meant a get-together with my loved ones and their loves. After much rescheduling due to clashes of personal activities, we finally met up in late december for a nice dinner at Spaggedies.


Q: When do you know you and your friends are getting old?

A: When all you talk about is the glory (or horrors!) of the past.



It was a significant day for TEA as it marks a decade old friendship! (8years plus 2years of B**ing for the Z). With E, there is always something special between us, be it the similarities in looks and thinking, or the craziness of fun we had. T has always been a great listening friend and comforting companion. Z and his Naima instinct who took care of us like little girls that needed protection from the bad guys.




The attendees of the night:
Ivan & Tash, Sharon & ZJ, Me & Shawn, Elise & Alex




Photowhoring:

After dinner, we head down to Mindcafe at Purvis street. Elise and Alex didn't join us as they had a movie to catch. I think boardgames cafe is such a good place for get-togethers and laughter. It also helps us to get to know each other better with some of the games...

The shooting game that ZJ proudly won.

The how well you know your friends game..

We also spent a long time playing Taboo. My fave answer of the night was given by my beloved Tash.

Me: Singapore has a lot of this (refering to reclaim land)

Tash: B**g*a (go figure!)

More photowhoring:
with Sharon

Tash and ZJ

Tash and I!

(Theme of the night: Black and white!)

Labels: TEAZ

Good Friends Are Hard To Come


Group Shot:

Left to right
The boys: Desmond (Haojie), Desmond (Yongzhong), Wenjie
The girls: Angela, Me, Heather, Geraldine

We wanted to buy birks for Heather after dinner but we were too slow and the shop has closed. Running late, we decided to take a bus down to Selegie's Mindcafe where we made a booking at 9.15. Met some of the TMS netball girls there. Really nice surprise. In fact, I've been bumping into a lot of people recently. Few days back when I was out with the boyfriend, I met Tourmaline and Weiling, then followed by Elim. At Fish and Co., I also bumped into Priscillia. Seems like everyone is out enjoying their holiday eh?

Nevermind, I'm digressing again. Oh ya something happened while we were on Bus 65 to Selegie. The 2 Desmonds didn't manage to get on the bus while the rest of us were squeezed right to the door. When we reached the next stop at somerset, the folks at the bus-stop wanted to get on the bus but the driver did not open the door (bless him) for them as it was full. One of the man started rapping on the door and Wenjie commented that they look like Zombies from Resident Evil. The description was so apt all of us burst out laughing inside the enclosed bus.

At Mindcafe, we were cheated by this guy who sold us a useless $20 Mind vouncher for $15. I hope he get struck down by lightning for being such an evil dick. Anyway, this unhappiness was quickly forgotten as we immersed ourselves like kids in the idiotic games. I personally found the last game was the most fun as it was quite comical seeing my dear friends' strange reaction. We played for 5 hours at the cafe until it closed at 3am.

I cannot wait to meet up with them again as each time I'm with them I'm bound to train my abs and cheek muscles. I don't know what's the exact definition of good friends. But I know I see it in my 11 years of friendship with them. Lastly, thank you Haojie for insisting to treat us to both dinner and games. It's not the $200 over that you have generously forked out but the thought (as you so put it) that matters. As long as we're happy it's worth it. Thank you, thank you all. Let us toast to our eternal friendship.

Labels: evps

I haven't blog for so long I had difficulty rememebering my blogger login details.

Why the absence?

Actually that is a very good question. Why? I have no concrete answers to that. I guess I just felt really tired of updating anything. I wanted to shut people out of my life and keep it private. What's the point of knowing that I had several near misses with my dream job? Are you really interested in my exciting activities? Do you really care that I've been working my ass off during my internship?

When repeating stories of my life has become a chore, I only want to share it with people who are genuinely concerned.

That had been my twisted thinking for the past few months. I feel that I have reached another phase in my life and I'm struggling to reconcile with it. Give me some time and I promise I'll step out of this soon enough.




I'm tired of listening. I'm tired of always being the one that you turn to when you have a problem. I want to stop dishing out advice like I'm passing out flyers on a street. I don't want to whisper words of comfort. I don't want to be the pillar of support. I don't want to act like nothing can crumble me and tell you to be strong like me. I have myself to deal with. You're only interested in yourself. Why should I be interested in you?