I went for my diving refresher course this morning, in preparation for my Cebu trip. It has been five years since my last dive, which by the way was my one and only diving trip...
I have always considered myself to be pretty confident in the water and have always being involved in water sports, swimming, canoeing, dragonboating till I graduated and sports sadly became a holiday activity. I was the water-babe. Anyway, back to this morning, I was in the swimming pool going through all the necessary drills and procedures needed to save my life in diving emergencies, I realised that I cannot smoothly execute some of the basic drills needed. All the stuff I had difficulty in doing now, were stuff which I had no problem doing five years ago...Beside the fact that I was ten times fitter five years ago, the main issue here is confidence.
Task One: Flooding my mask and clearing the water out....took me ten minutes to find the courage to let water into my mask and of course another ten minutes to let the water out, which by the time, I had already breathed in noseful of water and nearly caused myself to choke..glurp...
Task Two: Oral Inflation of my BCD (the vest thing which divers wear, somewhat like a life jacket). Almost drowned the first time I tried (cannot understand why) It is a simple matter of keeping my head above the water while I blow air into the BCD to inflate it. Couldn't do it because I just kept thinking that the tank is too heavy so almost drowned myself in the swimming pool.
As we get older, we start to get "wiser". We consider, we ponder, we think and we think too much. When we do that we get afraid. Afraid of the unknown, maybe bad things will happen if we do this or that. Maybe...I wonder where the fearlessness of my youth went. I went on a round-Ubin cycling trip 2 days after I learnt how to ride a bike, bearing in mind that Pulau Ubin twelve years ago has only 1 paved road, so the trip was all-out all-terrain cycling . At 18, a group of 5 or 6 of us led a group of twenty 17-year olds fairly new climbers up the slipperly and steep slopes of Kota Tinggi and stayed overnight on the lightning-proned summit. We also decided that 2 girls and a boy climbing Kota Tinggi and spending a night at the summit with no weapon more impressive than a sharp ended comb was a great idea (Tin must be laughing when she is reading this because she knows exactly what I am talking about, haha)
What was I thinking about then? Or maybe I should ask myself, what am I thinking of NOW? Why am I thinking so much, why am I afraid? I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 6 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments... what is it?
1. Produce: Potatoes
2. Bakery: Fried Sausage Donut
3. Meat: Minced Pork
4. Frozen: Frozen Roti Prata
5. Dry goods: Instant Noodles
6. Dairy: Cheddar Cheese
Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
1. White Sundress
2. Slippers
3.Bikini
If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. Lalalala
2. oh my goodness!
3. Wah Lau!
4. Arhhh!
5. Errrr....
So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
1. My NINE hours of beauty sleep
2. Drink my daily cuppa- tea
3. Kiss my hubby
Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Read a book
2. Have a wonderful soak in my bathtub
3. Lie on my bed and mindlessly channel-surf
4. Go gocery shoppnig
5. Iron my never-gonna diminish pile of clothes
We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Pymg Hippo
2. Zebras
3. Elephants
You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. CSI
3. Maimi Ink (need to check if they are really fake)
4. Any foodie shows provided that I get to eat the food
You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone.
What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
1. Peppermint
2. Sweetcorn
3. Wasabi
Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
1. IC (I lost my IC FOUR times so I guess they might decide to revoke my citzenship if I lose it again)
2. Credit Cards/ Atm Cards
3. Driving License
4. Money usually not more than 50 bucks
5. Old ATM receipts, other evidence of my recent extravagence
You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?
1. Nat Geo Journalist
2. War photographer
3. Marine Biologist
4. Someone who studies plants in forests (what do you call them?)
If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
1. Make more friends!
2. Don't be afraid, you are only 18 once!
3. Girl, you need to have a better fashion sense!!
4. Be nicer to people around you!!  | Sad | Nov 20, '07 10:56 AM
for everyone |
I feel sad!!!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I hate it when people makes me feel inadequete, irresponsible and incapable.
I hate it when others get a 45-minute tougue lashing for my silly mistakes.
I hate it when I am accused of not putting in my best because I am leaving the company.
Damned the bird...totally hate her for making me feel like that.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
I have to stop thinking of all these negative stuff...it is eating my brains...time to think about things I love.
I love at when me and JM walk hand-in-hand in the park, in fact I love it when we walked hand-in-hand anywhere.
I love it when I sit quietly in the middle of my grandparents' living room and all the kids are running wild and the adults are all talking at once at the top of their voice because that is the sound of love.
I love it when me and my friends chat happily and nosily in public places and make a spectacle of ourselves.
I love it when I spend $$ to pamper myself.
I love it when I finish reading a good book.
Love...I have it. That is why I am protected against everything else. Lust Caution must be the most sexually explicit mass market movie to be shown in Singapore so far. I am surprised that the uncut version is shown in Singapore (our repressed little island state, boobs, cut, sex, cut, rape, CUT CUT CUT!!!). All the sex scenes were totally uninhibited, in-your-face completed with a rape-like sequence together with all the body parts neccessary to make it happen. All 15 minutes of it. It is almost reaching porn status, totally unlike the usually blink and you will miss it or the romp in the dark/ under blankets love making scenes which we are quite used to unless of course,you watch porn on a regular basis. If so, these sex scenes will be quite mild. But somehow, I don't feel that the show was in any way sensual or sexy. It is like watching two repressed persons having sex. It totally adds to what the film was all about. You can feel the bound-up energy and emotions of these two characters (Tony Leung and Tang Wei) which begs to be released but they are tied down by their circumstances. I love the way so many languages are used in the film besides Mandarin. Adds a lot of flavour to the cosmopolitan feel of Shanghai in that era. Overall, the film is good except the pace is super slow in the first 30 minutes. Lee-Hom is so totally out of place in a 1940s film. Too modern for such a vintage film. His acting leaves much to be desired. Grasp! Tony Leung has aged so much! I can see the age spots on his hands and face! I was hoping to see more of his delicious naked body but of course, the young and beautiful always wins. They chose to focus more on Tang Wei instead...sign.. I must be getting pretty old myself. Dark rings, puffy eyes, ahhhhhhhhh, horror of horrors!  That is why I mangaged to drop $82.00 on some Biotherm eyecream yesterday. This is like the largest single amount of money I have ever spent on any facecare product. No choice...for the sake of my face. Think of it in a good way...you will save on plastic surgery later in life...I hope... |  | Yippee! Had a little surprise from JM today...It has been a difficult time for us to be away from each other for so long. Just a little encouragement for me to hang in there for two more months (Agrh...). It would be great if he does these little surprises more often (hehe...me getting greedy...) |
 | PC Days | Nov 8, '07 4:28 AM
for everyone |
| | My days at PC are coming to an end. Here are some of my wonderful anti-bird comrades. May the bird be exterminated soon and happiness and peace will be upon all. Down with the bird! Onward my comrades! |
So I am doing nothing in the office again...I found this questions from my friend's blog and decided that this will starve off some boredom and add some highlights to my day. I am pathetic, I know... 1. Who eats more?
Obviously, it is him. If it is me, I will be the size of Mt Fuji by now. It is no wonder that his stomach is taking on the likes of a knoll. It used to be a plain. Not that mine is flat. It is true that marriedpeople grow fat together.
2. Who said "I love you" first?
I am sure that it was him!
3. Who is the morning person?
He is definitely the morning person! I am the 'I need to wake up at exactly 8:05am, not one second-earlier! It is only 8:03am' person.
4. Who sings better?
Neither. We can cause the collaspe of UOB plaza if we sing together. Lalalalala...
5. Who's older?
He is. I am from Generation Y. He is from Generation X.
6. Who's smarter?
Hehe...I dun know. I guess we are smart in our own ways. We complement each other!
7. Whose temper is worse?
It really depends. We all have our moments.
8. Who does the laundry?
Sometimes me sometimes him. Of course I would like to add that I do it MORE OFTEN since I have more clothes and I change all the time!
9. Who does the dishes?
Usually him...hehe
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
I am a direction moron so which side is right?
11. Whose feet are bigger?
His..he has feet of a giant
12. Whose hair is longer?
Hair, mine, he has this complusive habit to cut his hair every three weeks at QB House. He refuses to spend more than $10 per haircut and any haircut lasting more than 15 minutes will kill him
13. Who's better with the computer?
I refuse to try to meddle with the com...
14. Do you have pets?
No...I am against pets because I think that we will not be able to take care of the pets properly. We are only home at night...imagine the loneliness of the poor animal...JM is dying to have a dog...
15. Who pays the bills?
I would like to say we share. But of course the proportion of sharing can differ vastly.
16. Who cooks dinner?
I cook by following the recipe. He cooks on a whim. I will carefully plan the meals and buy all the neccessary ingredients while he likes to throw whatever is available in the fridge into the pot. Thankfully, it turns out edible most of the time.
17. Who drives when you are together?
Him. I have coordination problems. In order to enjoy 80 more years together, it is best that I spend as little time at the wheel as possible.
18. Who pays when you go out to dinner?
Him.I thinks he likes to pay.
19. Who's the most stubborn?
It really depends but I think it is ME!
20. Who is the first one to admit when they're wrong?
Him. I am the Princess who is never wrong...wahaha
21. Whose family do you see more?
errr...think it is my since, i need to visit my parents, my aunties, my uncles, my cousins all the time...BIG family
22. Who named your pet?
NO pets
23. Who kissed who first?
Must be him!
24. Who asked who out?
Of course it is him.. I am the princess!
26. Who's more sensitive?
Think should be him. I am an insensitive brute but I am trying to be nicer...
27. Who's taller?
JM
28. Who has more friends?
Me simply because I put in more effort in showering tender love and care in keeping in touch with all my friends.
29. Who has more siblings?
We have the same number of siblings. He has an elder sis and a younger bro. I have two younger bros.
30. Who wears the pants in the relationship?
I guess we share one pair of pants. We are on a tight budget. We have been dating for 8 years.
Eight years ago, we went on our first date at Jurong Point...that was the closest to civilazation when you were hostelites in NTU. I can only remember the 199 bus ride out to Jurong Point. I remembered that it was exam time and we were cooped up in hall "studying". Apparently, books were not on the top of my mind at that time. My results for my first semster, all Cs, can testify to that. Not that I improved much over the next 4 years.
It is such a pity that JM is not around today to celebrate this wonderful day. Hopefully, we will be able to spend many more future Nov 2nds together. I am sure that on that Nov 2nd evening eight years ago, none of us would have thought that our date will go so far and blossom into a lifetime together. I am glad that it did.  Maggie and I went to People's Park Complex yesterday. Yes, People's Park. I think the last time I went to People's Park was with my grandmother maybe twenty years ago. What a great treasure trove this place this! The teenagers have Bugis Street, the working ladies have People's Park Complex. The third floor of this food cum shopping centre is a shopping haven for working ladies. The clothes are well cut, has interesting quirky details and best of all, very wallet-friendly prices. Just the place for extreme retail therepy with the dreaded hole-in-pocket side effect.
My favourite buy yesterday was this totally cute, pretty and one-of-a-kind necklace. This interesting hole-in-the-wall shop has thousands and thousands of charms and bits and pieces for one to pick and choose to assemble into her own unique bracelet, necklace or earrings. The most wonderful thing is that the owner forms stories with the necklaces. Very very special.
My necklace story
This is a circus. My clown emerges from behind the curtains. He was juggling the balls. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good with the balls, he dropped them and decided to go tease Ms Zebra. Mr Elephant, seeing the two having so much fun, decides to join them for a threesome.
It is a crap story but it is just interesting and you can make any story which you want, only limited by your imagination and creativity.
People Park is definitely going to see more of me! | | 27th October 2007 |
| Gay | Oct 25, '07 3:15 AM
for everyone |
Gay is certainly not what I am feeling right now. I need to survive 29 more days of my boss's black face. I was hoping that she will give me early release but no such luck! She intends to make me finish 2 projects before I can leave. Sign... Yes and back to the gay topic. It is all over the news, internet, the kopitiams. People have petitioned, debated over the issue. Several people have bravely put their necks on the chopping board. So should we or should we not remove Act 377A? The law which will legalize gay sex. Surprise One The person who started this whole hoohaa is a Nominated MP. Nominated MPs are independents who have no party affiliation in the Parliament. Our NMPs are not known to be controversial or even adventurous. In fact, you hardly hear a beep from them. The most controversial news about an NMP was Steven Chia, the guy who took nude pictures of himself. Surprise Two The reaction from our PM is really literally jaw-dropping. Quote from PM from the ST "Yes, we have to accept homosexuals as part of our society, PM Lee said, but they should not set the tone for Singapore society or be considered a minority like Malays and Indians" . I think this is one giant step forward for our very conservative government who tends to sweep unpleasant or debatable topics under the carpet. In fact, it must have taken a certain amount of courage for him to address this topic because any words from the PM is like an official endorsement. It shows that he is prepared to take on controversial issues and that the government is tolerant of people with a difference and we are not cookie cutter figures. It is also a win for the gay society to get this official nod from the PM. Personally, I agree that the law should be retained, at least for now. For most people around my age group, homosexuals are no big deal. The particular law might seem ridiculous to us but the Singapore society is much larger than just us. Older people or very religious people might be really against this issue. Judging from the heated reactions for this issue, many Singaporeans are just not ready to accept gays. I hope that the response from the PM will set them thinking and that they will come around to accepting gays as part of our society and that gays should not be discriminated against. It is a matter of time that this law will be abolished. So in the meantime, I guess that we should not push the matter too far and just take time to savor this little victory. So my gay friends, rest assure that no secret police will break down your bedroom doors, interrupt your intimate moments and cart you off to jail! Argh! I was so pissed off at work today! I thought that I would beable to leave the company happily without any serious misgivings of my boss. Of course, there has been the usual complains and grumblngs but she has yet to personally pissed me off so far. So far so good. Of course, I am destined not to be spared from her ridiculous nonsense. Lack of EQ, extreme stingyness, inability to treat her staff as human being, all these can still be tolerated thus far. What really broke the camel's back today is that she tried to twist her words and make blind accursations.
It is not very often that you see me fly off the hook (I am sure my husband will disagree, but he is different since he promised to be with me for better or worse and in sickness and health). I am usually a amicable and peace-loving person. (No point wasting my life right?) However, once you get me pissed off, you will see a side of Jasmin you have not seen before (JM will totally agree with this). Definitely not someone who keeps quiet when I am angry.
Well anyway, I was going to submit my resignation tommorrow (this is pre-decided, not bought on by this incident).
It will be sad, colleagues have been great! It is really an office without office politics. I guess we all mind our own projects so the chances of stepping on each other toes are not that igh but still it is extremely rare in a place with more than 3 employees. Guess I have always have good fortune with colleagues! Need luck and courage tommorrow. It is never easy to hand in the letter. Help, I am bored out of my mind at work! That is why I am writing this blog during office hours using my office computer. My project is sort of stalled due to some inconsiderate human beings who cannot give me proper answers. The most irritating thing is that these people are paid maybe 10 times more than me and they cannot answer a simple email. All this time, my boss is breathing fire down my neck and staring daggers into my back. I am going to be murdered for a 10-day overdue project. Anyway, I guess I am restless because I need to submit my resignation letter next week and I can't wait to leave. It is always difficult to submit resignations no matter how long or how short you have been with the company. Next week is the week and I need all the luck! Then I am going to be on my way to win the Teacher of the Year Award! Haha... Teaching is like my childhood ambition, I just never got around to doing it. I wanted to try other jobs before settling down into teaching. So enough of experimenting. It has been great working in the tourism and events sector. Totally eye-opening and will definitely help in my teaching career. I really enjoyed it while it lasted and I have been unusually lucky to encounter great colleagues, some of whom have become good friends. Of course I would like to say the same of my bosses but unfortunately, you can't be so lucky all the time. That will be too much to ask! I have had good and bad bosses. Good bosses nurture, bad bosses make you clever. I am going teach English and Geography. Geography is my favourite subject! I am so inspired by my JC Geo teacher. The first thing he told us was " Geography is about everything under the sun including the sun." Not exactly thought-provoking but all my classmates remember this. I also believe that everyone should be given a chance to do some Geography. It tells you about the world in which we live. Most importantly, it pushes you to explore the world beyond your own. Another very compelling reason for switching to teaching is family planning. We will proberly want to start haing kids in 2 or 3 years (This is specially bolded for all the aunties out there so stop asking!) so this is now is a good time to start a stable career and stop experimenting. I want to be able to spend time with my children. I don't want to see them for 5 minutes in the morning and for 30 minutes at night or worse see them once a week! Teaching is not the most lucrative business although the pay is decent. I am not so naive to think that money is not important. It is. But I hate working for money, for profits for the bottom-line. Quality of life wins hands down over money. I will be more motivated if I know that I am working for a cause. I need a focus in my career, something to believe in. Money just does nothing to push me to go that extra mile. It has been a month since JM left for his trip. An angonizing one month. It is not that this is the first time we have been apart. In fact, we have been in different countries for about half of our 1.5 years of wedded life. His work is not the only contributing factor, I go for long work trips too. I guess that this time, it is more difficult because 4 months at a stretch is a long time and time seems to crawl by. It is more trying and painful when you are married because you share a life together. When one party is not around, a huge part of your life is lacking. No fun sleeping a a double bed alone. Alright, I will stop whining and continue to wait patiently for my daily dose of Voice of JM. The phone is now stuck to me. I even bring it to the shower... It is amazing how much and how fast things can change in six months. My former colleague from SDC just messaged me to tell me that today is her 2nd day in SDC. Of the five original execs, she has been there the longest and now there is only one of the originals left. The entire team is gone, even our AM has left for greener pastures. Well all I can say is that SDC suck at retaining talents. I must say that we were a great team. We fit and complement each other really well and the synergy among us was just quite amazing. I really feel supported and happy when we worked. There were many trying moments, stressful times, we were re-starting the entire Ops department and the centre was being re-lauched but someone is always there to share the burden. We never walked alone. Most importantly, there was always laughter in the Ops office, we had fun, loads of fun. It was an amazing time and sometimes I wonder if anyone in SDC will remember us. I think it must be the effect of running the conference for the whole of last week. I see plateloads of food all the time. My daily feeding routine (feeding both myself and the conference delegates) goes like this Morning break: 10:30am International buffet lunch: 12:30pm Afternoon break 3:30pm. Do I need so much food? Does anyone in the world need so much food? And the worst thing is that much of these food is being wasted. Trays full of foods are being thrown away, most of the time, without a tinge if guilt and sometimes without any thought that all these food took effort, resources and time to be produced. Being urbanites, many of us sometimes forget or fail to connect to the fact that food comes from somewhere and that there are people out there who would kill for the food we threw away. In our very affluent and plentiful society today, I am apalled at the education some parents are giving their kids "Oh it is ok, just eat the chicken, leave the rice if you cannot finish" or worse " never mind, cannot finish, leave it" They have forgotten about the value of food and I am sad to realise that their kids will grow up not knowing how precious food is. My parents will jump if there is any food left on my plate or on the table for that matter. They have always insisted that we only order or cook whatever we can eat. There should be no food left at the end of the meal. If there is, it will be kept for the next meal. Throw away food? Not going to happen in my family. That is why I always finish my food even if I am full. That uncomfortable over-stuffed stomach will remind me not to order or buy so much in the future! Many people have this mentality " I paid for the food so why should you care what I do with it?" Well it is not the money, it is the fact that you throw away food which could have kept many food deprived human beings alive! If you don't need the food, don't order or buy it. Leave it for some other more needy people! | | I just came back from a 5-day trip to Hong Kong, work trip. The best thing is that I get to see Frances and the worst thing is that Hong Kong is so crowded and so polluted. I wouldn't live there even if you pay me! Compared to ten years ago when I first visited HK, it has turned from the Pearl of the Orient to Smog Town. It is that bad, the air is perpetually grey and the smell of fumes and stale air is ever present..Argh!!!
But I must say that service standards have improved tremendously compared to ten years go! I was so impressed by the sevice standards at the conference hotel. All the staff were super friendly and attentive throughout the 3 days which we had teh conference. Very nice. |
Check out my new hair style!! I absolutely Love it...nice..
David (hmmm, my hairdresser is David..) said that the rest of my hair was too damaged to be saved so off it all went in one decisive snip. Yes, one snip, hair from shoulder below all gone..I think Maggie and Angie were more surprised than I was. I could hear their loud gasp as the scissors clamped shut. Haha...
But I love it!! Save shampoo, save time, save gel...save hair treatment..how economical!
Check out the before and after photos, a world of a difference right?  
| |
