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Random Saturday

Sunday, June 28 1:04 AM

Wow. It's already 1.13am and I'm still waiting for my hair to dry. Not a fan of hairdryers at this hour for 2 reasons. 1) There is no such thing as a quiet hairdryer even though they named the model 'Whisper'. 2) They give you split ends.

Yea, that's it.

We didn't catch a movie this weekend, you wanna guess why? Cos all the timings for Transformers have been snapped up! Haha, I'm not a fan but promised to catch it with Dear anyways. Oh well, we'll have to catch it another day.

Drove back to office cos I realised I left my adapter at work. How careless. Anyway, I went back to retrieve it and now all's good. =)

Headed down to town afterwhich. Went Robinsons cos Robin wanted to exchange a pillow which his Mum bought but didn't suit him. And apparently, Shereen saw me there. Hahaha, Sorry, I'm quite blind when I'm in crowded places! Cos Robin was like, 'Is that your friend?' Since I didn't see anyone, I was like, 'Huh? No..'

Then, before I knew it. Shereen was ringing on my mobile. Haha. She was looking at me as I walked past her but I didn't notice her right in front of me. Sorry!!

Ran into a bit of problem when we tried to exchange the pillow cos apparently they need Auntie Julie to be there personally, something to do with her credit card. So, she came down all the way from church.

We walked around while waiting for her and I got myself some undies from Levi's and Jockey. We also went Serta to take a look. And it's true! Serta mattresses does feel a lot more comfy than Simmons!! I like it!! Dear likes it too!!

Yay! I hope we get a Serta cos the sheep is really cute. Hahaha

Dinner was at Pasta de Waraku. We had a combination of food - pizza, pasta, doria, soup, salad. Damn filling! Afterwhich, we drove back home cos dear has an event tomorrow morning all the way at Neo Tiew. At least, he can look forward to sweet dreams on his new pillow tonight.

Okay, that's all for the night. Jacq's flying to Taiwan tomorrow for a holiday. Shiok right? I guess there's now no such thing as a safe place (i.e. the assumption that you will be fine if you don't travel) to be since every country has its own H1N1 cases and the probability of community spreading here is rapidly increasing.

In any case, stay healthy everyone.

Oh yes, we have also been informed that our HLE has been processed cos HDB sent us a sms. I just went online to check and based on what Dear and I have, let's just say we can really afford to live it up! =)

Well, that's a good start! Nights and sweet dreams.

Goodbye, King of Pop

Saturday, June 27 12:43 AM

Okay, now that I've put my new phone to charge for the next 8 hours, I can blog bout the biggest thing that everyone's talking about.

MJ's passing.

Well, can't say the same for Farrah Fawcett cos we know (from Perez Hilton, almost daily) that she's really not doing well. In a way, I guess she is finally relieved from her sufferings. I didn't finish the entire Farrah's story cos it wasn't telecasted here, I had to google for it and then again, it was in bits and pieces but enough to let me know how much she was going through. I respect her for her strong will to live. Only regret I guess would be she never got to become Mrs O'Neal.

Back to Michael Jackson. Let's just say, a shock would be an understatement to describe what most of us felt. I happily logged online this morning seeing there was still time till I need to leave for work and I ended up being stuck online for the next 20 mins cos people on facebook were claiming the King was dead and I was verifying the claims.

I thought it was a prank, seriously since MJ's never been known to be ill. The numerous features enhancement is not an illness. Then again, he died of cardiac arrest. It was sad. A legend surrendering to a cardiac arrest, it's like a heart attack. To think he was planning for a comeback tour in July. He is probably screaming 'not fair!'. On hindsight, he'd be like, 'Farrah, why do I see you here?'

Anyway, I brought the news with me to office and shocked a few more people who didn't know about it since it was not on the news at least till the afternoon edition of Today. It was on TV Mobile - you know those headlines get a special space on the screen? Yah, there. So when I was on the bus on my way to the interchange, I could see many people furiously typing on their Nokias, Samsungs, LGs, Blackberries, iPhones.

I was telling Analyn that Jacko was not somebody I grew up listening to but I'm sure they belonged to Ally's time. I asked Dear too. Well, he's not a fan so he was quite nonchalant. The H1N1 updates were of greater interest to him. Haha

Analyn, who is a good 5 years older than me does recall some bits of MJ from his time in the Jackson 5 and the most blogworthy comment she gave was, 'He was handome black, don't know why he went on to become white'.

I have no idea what she was talking about but after I came back and googled, I realised. Analyn is right, he does look less scary black. Oh well.

There's also a reason why I'm not posting a picture of him with this entry. He looks kinda scary to me. Sorry, but when I learnt to know about this person called Michael Jackson, he was already creating headlines for the wrong reasons so I never quite saw him as an 'idol' but I do admit his songs are catchy and easy to bob to.

I do recall too, that Dear and I went to get Theo MJ's compilation for his birthday last year. I'm sure that copy will become very valuable now.

RIP, MJ!

Okay, on to lighter issues. I've tried my new phone earlier and I could seriously get used to the QWERTY keyboard! Yay! I also downloaded the new Nokia Messaging which is damn cool. You can access emails on the go. SMS2.0 too, except I haven't figured out what it does. Hee

Am thinking of making a trip back to office tomorrow. You know why? Cos I was so forgetful! I left my adaptor in office w/o bringing it home and I'll be away on leave on Monday! Some things to clear and push out. Yea, I think I'll make a trip down office. A quick one.

Dear and I went Simmons yesterday and we fell in love with the mattreesses there. Trying to get feedback from people who use Simmons. So far, the response has been good. At this rate, we could seriously consider getting one for our new place. =) Maybe, we'll check out Serta this weeekend and see what they have to offer. Understand from Ling Ling that she just placed an order for Serta and they are having GSS promo!

I like. =)

Okay, that's all for now. Gotta do some transferring of numbers onto SIM Card. See you all soon.

Bye!

If you're a MJ fan, my heartfelt condolences to you.

E63

Friday, June 26 10:43 PM

Yayyyy!! New Phone!! The Nokia E63!

Thanks Theo! Thanks Dear!!

I'm gonna play with my new toy now!

And it's red! =)

Sneaks of new house

Wednesday, June 24 10:04 PM

A lil' sneak preview at kids' bedroom.

I guess this one needs no introduction. Blue, Big Beefy men who nudge for a living, Bobble head Darth Vader.

I just realised, all Bs. Hahaha. Okay, very random.

The Force

Very cute right, this candy crane? I've been trying to 'crane' one candy out to eat for the longest time but I regret to inform that after umpteen times, I have not managed to put even one candy into my mouth. :(

Yup, this is Al's room!

Up next. Platform bed, not those tatami ones like my previous house but the soft cushiony type of platform (my dad likens it to a wrestling ring). Artsy lamp, mostly reds and blacks.

More red and black. That's Jacq's room.

Last but not least, the very humble pink room with my new bedframe! Though I believe some of you would recognise my bedsheets so that's not new. Haha

This is taken from another angle..which sees the door, my sliding built in wardobe, my swivel chair, my laptop table (which I am typing on now) and my undone packing. Hee

Some sneaks. More to come this weekend!

XoXo

Decor phone

9:46 PM

What do people do when they are really bored and armed with a pack of stickers?

I don't know about them, but I decorated my phone in the weirdest impulse. HAHAH.

Thank god that these stickers are re-peelable (is there such a word)? So I can basically do it over and over again in different ways. The pack of stickers is huge.

Plus the stickers are 3D and a little spongy, very nice to feel!

I know it looks like the work of my 3-year old son but it's all in the name of fun! =)

New house photos coming soon!

Gina

Start of house viewing

Sunday, June 21 11:33 AM

Went to view houses over the weekend. Saw 4 units, not a lot but good for a start. Mostly around Bedok Reservoir and Tampines area.

Dear and I liked one of the units we saw yesterday but of course, we weren't gonna make any offer yet, especially since we haven't viewed a lot, nonetheless it's good to know what both of us are looking for. A couple of the other units we saw were either too small for our liking or that the location wasn't exactly the best we could get.

House-viewing by any measure, is a long process, especially for young couples like us, cos unlike my family who has shifted 6 times and have lots of experience, we have to really spend time looking and with the help of our agent, secure some really good viewings in the weeks or months ahead.

Let's hope we find our dream nest soon. This will kickstart the next phase of our lives. =)

Went for coffee with Aden after the house viewing at Mac, afterwhich, we drove him to the MRT station and we headed to Tampines Mall to catch I Love You, Man.

It is a great flick which speaks of bromance - the IT term these days. Very funny and very heartwarming. Definitely 10 times better than ghosts of girlfriend's past. Definitely.

Jason Segal is hugely entertaining!

Headed to dear's place for the night and I'm back this morning after breakfast. Meeting him again later with rest of the folks for Father's Day dinner.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Monday's drawing near. Sigh, it's been such a long and tiring week for the past couple of days, I just wished I had more time to rest at home.

Shall post photos of the new house and the dinner later sometime next week after the bedframes and settee arrives on Tuesday.

How's everyone doing recently? Tag k?

Love,
Gina

3rd night at New House

Tuesday, June 16 11:40 PM

My internet's finally up! Kudos to Dad.

I shan't be posting any photos yet, for 3 simple reasons. The first, cos we are still unpacking and the house is not exactly in the best time for a photoshoot. The second, the furniture's not all here yet so the house will probably look pretty empty. Third, I'm freaking tired.

I took some photos here and there during my 1 day leave on Monday as well as on the actual moving day, Sunday but to upload them is something for another day. Tired! Haha

Our 50" plasma tv arrived yesterday. It's hugeee. It's sitting preetily in the hall now. I haven't exactly gotten down to watching tv on it basically cos the sofa's not yet here. Sofa and bedframes will only be delivered on 23 June, so till then, it's just me and my tilam. Haha

I also intend to get us a Nintendo Wii for housewarming. This is just the perfect time, don't you think? =) The extra huge hall also serves as a good Wii-ing space!

Went for course at Civil Service College today and will also be travelling there again tomorrow. Met Auntie Julie at the College, she was also there for a course. Haha, used that reason to get Dear to drive down to pick us but he was pretty adamant. See, Buona Vista's so far that he doesn't wanna come even though his mum and future wife is there. Haha

In other news, Dear and I are going house-viewing this weekend. I hope I can last till then, the week's been very tiring and it's only gonna be Wednesday tomorrow and Thursday when I get back to office. Been clearing some work since Internet is up in the last hour or so, but I suspect more work will come when I return to office since I missed a couple of meetings.

Alrighty, time to go for now.

Nights to all!

Gina
3rd night at new house

Last night at Blk 294

Sunday, June 14 12:46 AM

Ally, some more photos for your indulgence. I have photos of Jacq and Al's room too but I haven't gotten their permission to post them so I'll upload the 'safer' ones first.

Haha, I actually filmed a video for you to take a look at my new house. I'll send u when I see you online k? Don't think I want to post them up here for public viewing. =)

In the meantime, here's a view of my balcony and a bit of the hall. The hall is very big, close to 3 times (?) our current place. The balcony is the portion with the platform and within the wooden partition-planks. Very zen-looking right? Hee. You can also see our new marble flooring.

And more from my room.

The IKEA stuff arrived this morning so it's all scattered here. The blue chair's Alvin's, red chair belongs to Jacq. My chair is a red version of Alvin's chair except I think I was sitting on it when I took this photo. Haha. The white desk is a laptop table I got.

My Mammut chest drawers!! I love love love this! I know it's dusty, there were drilling (cuirtains) going on this morning. It goes perfectly with my walls.

Spent a good amount of time in the new house today. Cleaned up the house earlier to get ready for the big move tomorrow. Dear lent us some great help. Thanks dear!

I shan't stay online too long. I only had 7 hours of sleep last night and it's already 1.05am now. Did I mention moving starts at 8am? It's my last night in my current room, gotta have some sweet dreams! =)

Clara / Mel / Tree - Sorry I wasn't able to join for dinner today. This weekend's kinda taken up by the shifting. Promise I'll catch up with you girls once I have settled down k? I miss you all, by the way!

XoXo
Nana

2nd Last Night in 294

Saturday, June 13 12:48 AM

Reached home around 9 plus and we cabbed down to new house cos Mum wants to do some cleaning before tomorrow. The shifting starts tomorrow although we will only officially move in on Sunday.

So technically, tonight is my 2nd last night sleeping in my current house. Awww..

While I was at the new house, I also took some photos and video. I think the vid's too huge to be posted here so I'll pass. I haven't been to the house since the painting, wardrobes all went up so I was pretty excited.

Ta-dah! I painted my room, pink. No surprises huh? Hahah, I like it so much! I couldn't take a photo of my whole room with my handphone so here's just the wall in Nippon paint's Sassy and Sweetness.

Here's how my 10 feet wardrobe looks like. It's made up of 3 panels, although it looks like 2 in the photo, but that's becos the last panel is a full length mirror. It's HUGE. I love it! I couldn't take the whole picture of the wardrobe cos it was that long..

When I was in my room, Dad came in and told me something which I thought was super sweet. He said, 'Girl, this room is yours - regardless if you get married or have kids. It's a room I will always keep for you, so come back often after you get married and bring my grandkids to play here okie?'

I know. Awwww.. Of cos I'll bring my kids back. They'll love the place! (cos I have plans to get a Wii! Hahahah)

Anyway, back to the house. Jacq, Al and Mum's room were also almost done. We also have a special feature in the extended living room just for shoes. It's not your normal shoe rack, we had the contractor built it in with mirror panels so it's super posh! It's about 9 feet, I think..

Fan, lights (chandelier!) and the IKEA stash will also come in tomorrow. Yay. I guess I'll be spending most if not all of my day there.

While Dad mopped the floor, we went over to N4 for dinner. A very late one, it was 10.40pm and what do you know, coffee shops and eating places were still open! There are at least 4 or 5 eating places in all, I never have to worry about tabao-ing food again. There's also POSB, UOB and OCBC ATMs. Neat!

Walk further down and you have NTUC waiting for you. Prefer your fish fresh, there's a wet market and dry market for your grocery needs.

We are also fortunate to have CK oppposite. CK is where we buy all our toiletries. There's one at where we stay currently and I was thinking of the hassle of coming back here just to buy toiletries and tadah, they have one there!

For dear's occasional soccer punting, we have Singapore Pools but I plan to keep it away from him. Haha. Also the 24 hours automatic DVD rental at only $2.50 per movie. Can you beat that? 24 hours!

On my 2nd last night in my current house, I think I will miss many things. The bright orange wardrobe, the sharing of a room with my lil' bro, the platform beds, the purple curtains in my room. The convenience of having Guardian opposite your house and Mr Teh Tarik whenever Dear and I need a quick fix of drinks and prata, the McDonald's which have never failed to tempt me again and again, my grandma house which is a block away.

Nonetheless, it is an upgrade and the new house looks fantastically b.e.a.utiful! I can't wait to move in, even my new air-con looks so inviting! Haha

Okay, time to hit my bed soon,. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day.

Love,
Gina

Updates

Thursday, June 11 8:20 PM

Updates!!

Since my last entry on Monday, my week has gone by in a whirl. Like really really really quickly.

Tuesday:

Attended RCIA. This week's session was conducted by Fr Paul. To be honest, I nearly dozed off. Not that it was boring, but I was so tired. Gah, but it became better after the break cos we broke into groups to share on some topics. Nice. Met a nice lady -Susan.
She's a sponsor so she's always giving us ideas and sharing stories. Anyway, the session ended later than usual so by the time I got home, I was zonked.

Wednesday:

Met my folks at IKEA to shop for furniture for our new house. We spent close to 4,5 hours there. Reached there at 7pm and headed for dinner at the restauarnt. Bought everyone dinner, we had swedish meatballs, baked chicken leg, chicken wings, dessert.. Nice!
We shopped after dinner and by the time we were done around 11.30pm, my legs felt wobbly. My mistake, I wore one of my highest heel so you can imagine how my toes went numb after I walked the entire 2-storey IKEA. Haha
We spent quite a bit there (in thousands!) and I got this very cute chest for my room!

Also got myself a laptop table, swivel chair, curtains. Couldn't decide on the bookshelf I want so I'll return to get it after I move in.
Reached home around midnight, too tired!

Thursday (today!):

Mum just came back from the new house and she told me the wardrobes are already up and mine is hugeass. (whee!) The painting are also done. So is the air-conditioning. Flooring was done a week or so ago. Can't wait to move in. The 1st week will definitely be crazy - unpacking, but the enjoyment will only come perhaps in the 2nd week or so when everything's neat and organised (at least for my room).
Dear and I have also sent in our HLE to HDB. Looking forward to their reply! =)

Friday:

Last day of work before the big move cos I'm on leave on Monday. Okay, my mum's urging me to continue packing now. I have to go.Bye guys! Anyway, I hope my internet won't be affected cos the router and all may take a while before I get to put them up. If you don't hear from me, you know I'm at my new place.

XoXo

Hannah Montana

Monday, June 8 10:27 PM

Pack.Pack.Pack.

It's a hectic week ahead! We are shifting this weekend so this is the final leg of packing for everyone - which reminds me that I should be packing instead of blogging right now.

I would pack, if I weren't this dead tired from work. Mum's doing the kitchen now as I speak and I feel kinda bad for not helping.

On the coming days ahead, there's RCIA tomorrow, so it's difficult to slot some time there too. On Wednesday, I'm heading down to Ikea with my family so that's also 1 day down. This means, I'm left with Thurs, Fri, and Sat to do the remaining packing which if my memory don't fail me, is not a lot left.

I shall attempt to list them down (please ignore the lingo -if any, the list is only meant to help me prioritize my packing) :

- Shoes
- Lingerie
- Pooh / Piglet storage boxes
- Remaining clothes which had just been washed
- Toiletries

And .. yes, I believe that's it. The big ticket items like the rest of my wardrobe and the many many bags have since been packed.

Made a trip to the new house yesterday. The flooring is all up and looking nice! Everyone decided on their room colours and so have I! Shan't reveal it now, will show pictures once my room's ready.

Also decided on the interior layout as well as exterior design for my 10 feet built-in wardrobe. There's now lots more room for all my clothes! Happy! =D

Caught Hannah Montana the movie at Century. I don't know who's a fan among you girls but I did enjoy the movie very much! I'm even asking around for the OSTs. Haha. Oh, I know who's a fan for sure - Seow Min! Haha, if you ever do see this, ask Er Jie to bring you to watch!

Alrighty now, I'm really dead beat as I am typing the last sentence. Shan't waste too much time online.

Good night.

MOF Exchange 2009

Friday, June 5 10:49 PM

So yup, despite the journey, Exchange went well. I enjoyed the session where the CEO of Old Chang Kee gave his presentation. That was hilariosity! I'm pretty sure I was not the only one who enjoyed it.

Took lots of photos on Pauline's cam. Will post it when she uploads in on facebook.

Exchange ended about 5.45pm. Was about to take the long journey (which encompasses of firstly, a one-stop journey on the North-South line from Bukit Batok to Jurong East and transfer to the East-West line from Jurong East to Tampines and at Tampines Interchange to transfer to a feeder that brings me home).

Okay, where was I? Oh yes, I was supposed to embark on my journey to the East when Dear called me. He was having his own (MHA's) version of the workplan seminar at Suntec and today's session ended early! Whee!

Went to meet him at Suntec where the Latio is parked and he decided on Kuishin Bo for dinner. Double yays! I was craving Kuishin Bo since a long while back but haven't got the chance cos they were either packed or we didn't make a trip to Suntec or Great World.

So Dear decided that we could do a bit of indulgence today! =) Happy! TGIF.

Anyways, we headed straight to Kuishin Bo and found ourselves second in line, cos we didn't make any reservation. Nonetheless, we waited less than 15 minutes before we found ourselves being ushered to our seats.

The dessert bar always always get me excited! I think I spent more time there than on the main course. Oh yes, and of course, the Alaskan crabs! What was I even doing, eating crabsticks when there are Alaskan crab?? Oh, we also spotted Priscelia Chan in Kuishin Bo. No sightings of Alan though, not to worry.

Tempted to switch on my work laptop since I've been away from office the whole of today but my bed is staring at me and definitely getting the better of me. Shall rest for now, can work tomorrow morning instead.

We have also confirmed the date that we are moving. It's soon! We have even informed the newspaper vendor.

More details on the new house when I pay it a visit o'er the weekend. Haven't seen it since works began.

Ciao for now!

Random

Thursday, June 4 9:11 PM

Attended a 1-day workshop yesterday on counselling. The session was quite interesting, met some fellow HR practitioners from both the private as well as the public sector. Now, you know who to go to when you need help ya? Haha

Drove down to Tampines after the course to meet Mum and Dad. It was a fruitful trip cos we managed to get all the bed frames, mattresses (memory foam!) and sofa for the new house. Yay, my new bedframe's in cream colour, I think that would be easy to match any room's colour.

Dinner followed. Dear bought everyone dinner @ Bi Feng Tang cos someone just got his increment, haha. =) Found out during the dinner that Cousin Simon's baby boy's called Isaac. Cute name huh? I was just thinking about the name during RCIA on Tuesday.

Telecommuted today, somehow I always manage to get more done at home. The common distractions like tv and the bed to some does not seem to bother me, plus I save on transport and food! I think telecommuting is a very cost-effective and results-oriented work arrangement for me. I like. Haha

And there is Exchange tomorrow to wrap up the week. Have to travel all the way to Bukit Batok! Gosh. Meeting Analyn at 8.30am, I wonder what time I need to leave my house. Any idea how long it takes? I just know that it's even further than Buona Vista - where I already dislike going to the College for courses cos it's so friggin far. No car tomorrow, yikes, I hope I get a seat tomorrow so that I can snooze all the way.

Going to view houses with dear next week. Can't wait!

Okay, I'm gonna sleep now. For once, I already know what I'm gonna wear tomorrow. That will save a lot of time in the morning - can sleep longer! Heh

Ciao for now!

The disappearing Air France

Monday, June 1 9:20 PM

Met Robin's folks for dinner over fish steamboat at Simei. Dad and Mum actually brought me to the same place years ago, so it is not exactly somewhere new.

My stomach has not been feeling well these days so the soupy meal definitely helped. =) (Lunch was also at Soup Spoon). Dear and his folks definitely enjoyed the food though, they practically polished the steamboat. Hahaha.

Read from Ivy Lee's blog that her number 4 has arrived - a little princess. How cute! She's so lucky cos she's the face of Marie France. Pregnancy doesn't get her down. I also wanna be sponsored next time. Hah

Also mangaged to catch some variety show with Marcus Chin clearing the air on his recent divorce. It's like everyone knew it since years ago - how come I don't know? Must be I never read enough Chinese papers (I think they are all filled with gossip and tabloid).. Hahah

On a unrelated note, I don't understand how an airplane like this can just...... vanish.

Unless................

OMG! IS IT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE????

Is it? IS IT???

My heart goes out to the families of those on board the flight. Find them soon.

Anyway, RCIA's tomorrow! =) OH! Before I forget, Cousin Simon's baby turns 1 month this Sunday, 2nd Aunt has invited us to her house to visit the tot. I haven't even asked about the baby's gender and name!

I bet it must be cute!