In the midst of a fun 3-day stretch learning photoshop!

Hey hey... im somewhere in a corner of shenton way, learning Photoshop! Yup, finally I'm doing something about it. I'm literally at halfway point now, being 1.5day into the 3 day course. It's at Oaks Training, at Bestway in Tg Pagar. The instructor Ronnie, is a chilled but experienced man. He seems fairly a nice guy, but a little aloof during breaks. I guess that comes of being an instructor for long. And a certain gentleman's voice annoys me greatly, mr alan behind me. I cringe inwardly whenever I hear another "Ronnie ar..." in his funny chinese accented English. Sigh... Lucky he's not sitting beside me, although my current neighbour doesnt speak to me, I much prefer it this way. I am Madame Aloof myself too! haha

A weekend of easy christmas gatherings

I'm at Gardens@Bishan with Melvin's colleagues now! Linda organized a Xmas gathering cum housewarming at her house. Food is not too bad. But eh it's only 8.35pm, and really there's nothing much left to do Liao. Haha

Yesterday afternoon was dear Patrick's annual Xmas gathering at his place. It was a simple gathering. I met up with ex colleagues like Priscilla, Susan, Lionel, Chee Keong oops Jared, andrew, wilson, Nicolas and of course Patrick & his family. I realize in recent years that such once in a year Xmas gatherings are kinda heartwarming actually. Nice to have all your friends looking forward to such gatherings whenever it's Xmas!

Yesterday night I stayed over back at Bishan. Funny enough it felt abit like a stay-cation (new fashionable term for holiday by staying over in a local hotel in Singapore). But in a nice and fun way.

I also did more reading! I finished My Lord & Spymaster by Joanna Bourne, now in the midst of another book Dancing At Midnight by Julia Quinn. The first book was nice, Joanna Bourne is a consistently solid writer! I still think The Spymaster's Lady was better, somehow Sebastian (Captain Kennet) & Jess was nice but not as slick or written in such 细腻 detail as before. I think Jess is great, like that she's got such a great business mind and also a previous underworld runner. But somehow her movements didn't seem to achieve that skilled level as Fox Cub. Oh well but still a great book that's more than above average! Im still midway through Dancing at Midnight but so far so good. It's a classic historical, 100% romance book. Haha update u more on that later!

NTU job... no more!

Today I checked my email and received the sad news that my NTU position is gone-ed. No more! they picked someone else! boohoohoo

Is it I asked too high pay? Is it because I spoke too frankly to Dr Lim in the first interview? Is it because I am only available in Feb and their first meeting is expected in Jan?

Why why why? I am just totally crushed! :((

waiting..and waiting...and waiting (PAINFUL)

Sigh I am still waiting for that elusive call for second interview from NTU. It is beginning to seem that may not be coming after all!

Part of me is still hoping that the delay is not bad news, merely a result of the interviewer and middleman arranging this is away for vacation. Perhaps they might still call today? Tomorrow? Monday?

But the other part of me naturally, like Melvin & Geraldine, is beginning to think the call will never come. It's over, I am OUT!

Dear God, please not let the latter come true! I want this job so badly! Dear God, I need a sign, a direction, some hopes and basically a new job!!

'High' after a great great 'oh so romantic' book

14 books, that's how many I have read to date since my recent renaissance with reading exploded big time. Thank god for GoodReads for all the up-to-date data on every single book I ever wanted to know really! and for keeping track of the books I have read.

Back to my subject header, yes I am feeling the sweet, warm bliss after finishing a particular romantic book. :) Secret desires of a gentleman - I am in love with Laura Lee Guhrke! Nothing spy-ish about this book, it was a classic romance, a historical version spin-off from Pride & Prejudice! LOL

Philip Hawthorne (1 of my fav names) and Maria Martingale (not my fav but i'll overlook it), the stuffy, upright, very gentlemanly and honour bound and of course, devilishly handosme Marquess of Kayne. and his 'qing1 mei2 zu2 ma3' crush from childhood days, Maria Martingale, daughter of his family's chef. Lord should forbid that he befriended a servant! But it was a mutual meeting of hearts, both adored each other at childhood. but naturally, Philip should feel so highly aware of his status, social class and great disparity with Maria that *gasp* he decided he needs to distance himself from her in order not to bring disgrace to himself and his mighty family name. But it's true it will only have killed any chance of a HEV (happily ever after) between a 17 yo Marquess and a 15 yo daughter of a chef. Lawrence, Philip's brother, had a side role in their story, but he was never a major factor. Maria's heart was always for Philip, he was just a convenient spare tyre, genuinely in this case!

Fast forward 12 years, and Romeo & Juliet's paths cross again. Guess what, Philip secretly kept Maria's handkerchief (is there something suspiciously shakespearen here? Hamlet??) with him for 12 years, always by his side no less. How sweet is that?? Aww.... this ultimately (propelled by Lawrence) was what melted the lady's heart. Aww

My feelings?

Love, loved, LOVED it!

HOWEVER - The ending was rather contrived and a spoiler in certain ways for me. Philip publicly declared his affections for Maria at a charity luncheon. If Philip was such a private person, he would never have done this. And I believed this was not what Maria was demanding from Philip - it is not about declaring his heart in public for god's sake. All she was asking was for him to acknowledge and tell her he wants to marry her because he loves her and none of that crap that her station is below him, or demanding she mold her life to his requirements. This could have been done equally well, and much more convincingly, in a private scene with just them and at best, Lawrence and Duchess of St Cyres. A public declaration was just OTT for me.

Other than that, I love this book!

Love the Pride & Prejudice twist, not surprisingly ;) The reluctant love but unstoppable romance between Darcy & Elizabeth Benning has already long been a fav of mine (THAT is my idea of a fairytale love story, not Cinderella, not Snow White!). I vaguely remember my pleasant surprise back in JC that a literature book, Pride & Prejudice no less, was actually such a sweet romance. :) Back to this book, naturally I fell for Philip in a major way too because I have always liked such heroes in historical romance - elder brother Lord, strong, tough guys, stuffy and honour bound, married to his responsibility and title but whom ultimately still fall prey to vulnerable, sweet sweet love. Of course they have to be tall, tough, devilishly handsome, dashing and charming. and yet a thoughtful gentle giant to the heroine (I swear only female authors could include this aspect) That's why I am so excited to get my hands on Rothgar's book!! (which sadly is still out there, nowhere close :S)

The heroine is no more special than classic historical romance heroines, courageous, stands up for herself/her beliefs/not caving in to the invisible jail bars set by society for her... but I did like the twist of a patisserie very much, it lent a nice chic European bistro setting to the book which happens to be another factor that appealed to me. *grin*

Anyway conclusion is - I MUST BUY THIS BOOK!

Can't wait to get my hands on other books by Laura Lee Guhrke too. I have another book which promises to be great too (hopefully I wouldnt be wrong about this) Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn, another romance diva author!

Just checked out 9 books from the library. Extremely excited!!

Just wanted to exclaim my bursting excitement over 9 books I have just borrowed from bk merah library. Yippee!

I'm excited not just to know I have sooo many books waiting for me, but also amongst it includes many powerhouse authors! Lisa klepas, Lorraine Heath, Julia Quinn, sheryl thomas, kieran kramer... Fortunately I didn't end up with a lot of spy plot books unlike what I initially started out with. Quite a nice variety I must say. Also having GoodReads is such a great help!!! It allows me to find reviews and ratings for books instantly and without every single books I picke out was found in their database. Wondrous!

And now I'm on my way to buy 天天 chicken. It promises to be a great weekend ahead!!

Back to work, lucky its Fri!

I'm back to work! Lucky it's Friday so it's not so sian. and fortunately for the meeting this morning with Paul, and the thing about sending out e-greeting cards for xmas so I have at least done some work this morning already. ;)

I'm a little foxed/stoned actually, having slept at almost 3.30am this morning. Hah reading of course! I am in the midst of this great great book by Mary Jo Putney - The Bargain. It's a lovely book. Even now I can't wait to get back to the book asap. I'm meeting geraldine & ks at suntec tonight, I'm certainly looking forward to taking a bus to suntec so I can read on the bus! hehehe

the 3 days of video training didn't go so bad actually. Somehow I managed to complete a video clip! it's by no means fanciful or near as good as what shuhui or guoliang did, but at least i am not a hopeless case! haha and last night I went for my facial at toa payoh. the salon ladies were horribly pushy but fortunately i would say her service seems to be quite decent. although they certainly tried very hard to make me pay $38 for diamond peel (on top of $28 i paid for this facial, that would make it $66!) which is part of the normal facial i do at Adonis leh, so this fathoms me. LOL but I'm glad i manage to dapao dinner back home for my family last night too. hope my mum recovers fully soon!

btw next tue i will be receiving $7.3k for salary inclusive of bonuses! yippee! the biggest amount i have received actually. haha but i was hauled back to reality by force when i did my maths this morning. apparently i'm not going to have so much spare left to splurge then what i thought. $7k sounds like a loud, i'm amazed it will all be going so fast. sigh!

Contented and waiting for my bunny!

Woohoo it's been a great day! For various reasons really

1. I made it to Changi airport, am waiting to pick up my hubby now!

2. It was a really shiok! Fun and great drive from Bishan to airport. Sometimes in life, u really just need to give thanks for such small mercies!

3. I went back to my parents place and had a yummy home cooked meal!
And my mum included so much vege tonight, thus I didn't feel too awful even after eating a full meal.

4. Blessedly it was a safe drive to and fro VS today. The morning was perfect, but slightly harrowing in the evening. But I'm safe, the car is safe, and that's all that matters right? :)

5. I read another FABULOUS book!!!!! How to woo a reluctant lady by Sabrina Jeffries! This book is the reason I slept at 2am yesterday but it was most definitely worth it. I love the character Giles, hes dreamy! So capable, intelligent, a fav lawyer! And a sexy spy to boot, which means hes fit, hunky, intelligent, great protector who can keep any female SAFE... Not to mention he's sweet, sensitive, Manly and heroic of course, and so sweetly professes to marry Minerva from the start. Of course the deep deep love between Giles and Minerva was another touching aspect which drew me to the book. I dare say it beats Oliver & Maria even. Hah! The writing was delicate and beautiful. I love how the author managed to capture perfectly the way young ladies idolize and fall in love so easy at tender kindness at young age. She aptute this well! Ahhhhh... I must so own this book!!

Videography 101

I'm at Victoria School now. There still remains something magical about this school, to me anyway. I'll be here for 3 full days till thur for a videography workshop!

So far I realized its been rather technical for me so far. Many of the terminology that Steven has been rattling on is quite chim for me! Gasp

Having said so, but I really still should put in more efforts to listen. Already I see ways for this course to be useful to me. Maybe I might get Ntu job if in lucky which I could still use video skills. I could make short video clips of when VIPs visit my school or I organize conferences as part of my job. Of course on a personal note, I could make recreational video clips

God, please give me a new job!

Ahhhh I am so going mad. God, please give me a new job!

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just feel painful, sian, miserable, frustrated, utterly demotivated and empty w.r.t my job! Help!

I dont know what I should do next, I feel I am just standing by, watching time drift by, praying for 6pm. I dont even know what working life means anymore I think, it's utterly meaningless now. What's work? Will I ever be motivated and passionate and driven about work again? What job should I do so I could feel my blood and adrenaline pumping again? Yet I have no idea what other jobs I want to do. Really drawing a big, big blank.

Am I reading too much that it is distracting/affecting my daily life now, I wonder. That I am only interested in rushing home to read, checking out book reviews and excited about heading to the library.

What's wrong with me?? Is it that I have allowed reading and escaping into the books take over my life, and I've become a hopeless addict, period? Or this is the true state of my interest for my work beneath the surface all along, reading has merely taken on the catalyst that is draining out any lingering feelings for my work at an accelerated rate?

I'm so going mad!

I ought to be worried, that I have worked for 7 years, only to meet with a blank now. That's pretty scary. That I am working towards...nothing! Clueless still, directionless still... and feel my life is so empty, save for my marriage and a blessed small number of wonderful people that I can call my friends. Even my marriage I am not working harder at it! I am being self centred and cold I think. Shouldnt I have more passion, physical and emotions and excitement towards my hubby?

What's wrong with me?!?!

conclusion: quiet but no less lovely weekend

Hey guys, its Monday and I'm back at my desk in Malan road again. *bleah*

I am however, glad to say my weekend was quite fulfilling and a nice, quiet weekend to myself (and yet not quite).

First and foremost, I am really suffering from a great lack of sleep at the moment. I slept at 4.45am this morning, utterly of my own doing of course... reading! Yup, again :) I had the fortune to finish 2 wonderfully marvelous books over the weekend - Surrender to a Wicked Spy by Celeste Bradley and The Truth about Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries. I am glad to say, both were wonderful reads that I enjoyed very much, it was a great decision to shelve The Devilish Pleasures of a Duke.

Surrender to a Wicked Spy - it was one of those books that casually caught my attention. Well, because I recently discovered my soft spot for historical romances where the hero (and heroine sometimes) is also an important, influential, darned kickass spy in addition to being a suave duke or other lord of course. On Saturday afternoon past, I was rather reluctant to continue with Devilish Pleasures, not wanting to spoil my marvelous weekend of reading opportunities that was looking really promising. Thus I decided to give Celeste Bradley a chance over Jillian Hunter (I am surprisingly disappointed, given her books have had such great reviews in good reads - it goes to prove one man's meat is another's poison!). I am pleased to say it paid off well. I'm a little embarrassed that I still cannot completely remember the full title of this book, or the author's name but I shall strive to do better than that! However the book wasnt without it's pained moments. I am really disappointed with Dane many a times. Seriously, how could he doubt Olivia (not my fav name for a heroine) again, and again, and again? It's heartbreaking alright, when she loved him so wholeheartedly. I know the author is attributing it to professional hazard (a spy is naturally suspicious and doesnt believe everything at face value?) and his personal experience as scarred by the father he idolised, an ex-spy as well, whose ultimate betrayal in becoming a traitor for the country that eventually ended in his death. But still, how could Dane claim to be sorry over and over but still abandon Olivia at urgent times from suspicious distrust? Sigh... but I still admired the courage of Olivia to fall in love with Dane so whole heartedly!

The Truth about Lord Stonevile - this marks my first book from Sabrina Jeffries. I loved it! Actually the plot was fairly straightforward - dark cynical man (Lord/Marquess) who believes he is extremely wicked, evil and undeserving of all good because he might just have indirectly caused his mother to kill his father.In comes a knightress in shining armour, kind, all-good, voluptuous (and of course) blonde who is brave enough to stand her own against cynical wicked Lord Stoneville but at the same time, she truly believed in him, that he is not a black guard unlike what he had condemned himself to be. Someone who just might genuinely believe in him wholeheartedly and have the soul connection to Oliver (seriously? couldnt he have a better name like Aidan? and Freddy? Maria? *roll eyes*) to bring down the fortress he has walled himself into and of course she did! With a predictable storyline as thus depicted, yet I was still wonderfully drawn into the book all the same. You can imagine she must be a wonderful wonderful author! Esp in being able to convince me not to put down the book despite I am so glad that I chose to read her 1st book anyway, despite being more drawn to the 3rd book initially. There's a happy problem now - I might just have to end up reading all 5 books in the series! And no skipping book 2!

Ok but reading was not all I did the whole weekend, I did go out on both Sat & Sun as well! I'm still horribly guilty I knocked out like a log early on Fri and didnt send Melvin to airport on Sat morning. Sat night I met Alynn and Cinnie for a lovely dinner cum movie date at NorthPoint. haha but the company was good, food was nice (I got to go to my fav Mayim), cinema was surprisingly nice and the movie was really nice (You are the Apply of my Eye). The carpark was horribly expensive though - $9.10!! Fortunately, the movie was a nice one. Although the great romantic in me couldnt quite reconcile with the ending. How could the 2 leads, evidenced by their wildly passionate kiss at the end of the movie, not be together?! How could the female lead marry another?!

Sunday night was spent at Somerset, I did some shopping with my sis. Bought jeans, a casual top and some socks fr Espirit and a really nice dressy but still work dress from Fond and a necklace. We had a light but nice dinner at Din Tai Fung followed by my fav, ice cream cold stone creamery!

Yup that's about it! Quite a long entry eh? Wish me luck to a) survive the rest of this work day somehow, b) hope my dinner tonight with Geraldine & KS is postponed and c) get the call I am eagerly yearning for (NTU inviting me for a 2nd round interview!). Wish me luck truly!!

Excited to start my weekend!

I'm inside bus 175 leaving Malan road as I am typing this. Yeah!!

My hubby bunny will be away for the next 4 days. *sulk* hope the next 4 days pass in a whirl and I won't be too sad by myself!

But most of all, I am really excited and looking forward to extensive, luxurious and wildly indulgence into reading! And I have already discovered soooo many other juicy books out there awaiting me to read. Hehehe

One thing I am downright annoyed is that I can't get my hands on the books I see online as quickly or cheaply as I would like. I doubt kino has such an up to date collection of the latest historical romance and the shipping cost over amazon is simply too much. Sigh!

Now another question remains... Should I or should I not continue on to the other 2 Jillian hunter books in my loan? Her current book which appeared really promising is not turning out as intense as I had hoped. And there's so many other books out there! Hmmmm

Anyway, I am just really looking forward to the weekend!! :)

(and a small devilish part of me wishes the remaining candidates vying for the same Ntu position as me err didn't write or do so well in their interview(s) today. Haha mean fernzy!

1 December 2011...

Welcome in December!

As the last month of 2011 kicks in, I can't help but wonder what is to come in this last month of the year.

Of course, top of my mind would be a call from NTU... a second interview... and hopefully with abundant grace from above and lotsa heavenly blessings, a job offer! That would make my Dec the ultimate best. *keeping fingers crossed*

Apart from that, it's Christmas celebrations and lotsa year end gatherings. Wine and dine! Cheers!

And oh ya not forgetting, Happy Bunniversary!!!