Life on the greedy side...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!! IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Finally, I'm back to report on my life as a Singaporean. Yikes...I wonder how long must I backtrack till...

20 December 05 - Food n Shopping Excursion to Malaysia

Start - 8.30am Stop 1 - Gelang Patah toilets and stocking up on car snacks.




Stop 2 - Pontian "Heng Heng" wanton mee and otah. STRICTLY NO LEFTOVERS!!




Stop 3 - Pontian relaxing yet cheap chinese massage.


Stop 4 - Pontian city centre to shop, eat melting ice cream and kaya toast. EATING AGAIN.


Stop 5 - Pekan Nanas plant nursery, road-side fruit store and 3 sleeping beauties.






Stop 6 - Johor Bahru shopping at City Square. Sorry, too busy shopping, didn't have time to take pics, but here's a photo of us leaving the mall.


Stop 7 - JB Sentosa road side food stalls for dinner. BEFORE AND AFTER. Now this is the way to eat!




Stop 8 - More shopping, insane causeway traffic jam then home.

BURRPP!!

21 December 2005 - A Different Kind Of Shopping.

Pear and I went shopping on Wednesday, but it's not the normal kind of shopping. The theme was entirely different and very much out of our expertise. But I was very impressed with our efficiency!!

We bought 2 tennis rackets, 1 sports shoes, and a pair of googles in an hour!! It was record breaking time considering that there were so many sports shops around for price comparisons and you could bargain with them on prices.

That night, I stayed over at Pear's place. While her mum, Junren and friends played mahjong, Pear and I did some bimbo bonding over hair, make-up and everything girlish! Here's some photos to entertain you!

Contrast: With and Without


Contrast: Day and Night


Contrast: Pear and Raine


22 December 2005 - More You-Know-What.

Yes, more eating and shopping...LIFE IS GOOD.

23 December 2005 - A Different Kind Of Work-Out.

On Friday, Pear, Junren and their friend Zeyun came over to my grandpa's place and we played doubles. See...that's why we went tennis racket shopping!! It all makes sense now doesn't it?

Tennis was fun, but it seemed like we were constantly picking up balls...goes to show our skills are 'fantastic'!! Of course the guys played better while Pear and I 'bai siew'ed (singlish for 'standing and looking pretty'). It was good fun and after that, we went for lunch and watched Narnia!! It's an alright to goodish movie, since I didn't have any expectations of the movie.

24 December 2005 - Carolers at The Florida.

On Christmas Eve, carolers filled our house with glorious music.



25 December 2005 - TODAY!!

The church Christmas dinner tonight was alright, but the company was great. Pear, Junren and their friend Zeyun joined us on this festive day...



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Ho Ho Ho!!

Application for Leave

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA for the past week or more...me just applying for annual leave right now but the shoppa-fcuk-aholic will return to her blogging work soon - when I find some time. Peace out!

Hole in my pocket

Today, we went to Sim Lim Square to shop...and I did serious damage to my wallet - though it was anticipated.

So what did we go shopping for? We went electronic goods shopping. Laura got a new camera - actually, I wanted a new camera as well, but the guy kept on promoting this camera by the brand Ricoh and though it meets and exceeds all my requirements, I didn't fancy the brand - yes, I'm a sucker for renowned brands like Canon, Sony, and Olympus. But now, after playing around with Laura's camera at home (zooming down from the 15th floor to the playground and getting a very clear snap shot), I have to admit - I'M IMPRESSED. Perhaps we'd go back tomorrow and purchase another - hee hee - Raine and her indecisiveness.

However, I was rather impressed with myself and how quick I decided on my new laptop - I LOVE IT. It has all the specifications I wanted and at a reasonable price - I wouldn't know if it was the best price I could get, but I was impressed. I'm not one to search for the best price. If you sell it to me right - and if I'm impressed with the brand - you've got the sale. Though the cameraman did sell the Ricoh really well, but I just wasn't impressed - however, it didn't take me long to regret my stubborness and now, I WANT THAT CAMERA.

We also came out of the shop a multipurpose printer richer. It's a 4 functions in one printer with scanner, printing, photocopying and with multi-cameracard slots.

Apart from those electronic goods, I also bought 3 CDs - all SHINHWA. Making up for the many years of being away from Singapore and away from the availability of Korean CDs.

Singapore, Round 2 - FIGHT

Today's my second day in Singapore...it's very warm and since I'm just waiting and waiting (for the telecom guy to come and set our internet connection and new desktop computer), so I thought I'd blog.

I survived Day 1 in Singapore with flying colours!

The weather was insanely warm and it was a constant battle to remain cool. I also conquered the cockroaches that were lying on the floor on our way to breakfast. I managed to sleep through the night on the floor of our bedroom. Yes, the floor coz Grandpa's house is a little over-crowded (Uncle John and family are occupying the other room while my family took the other). I survived the busy Orchard Road and the swamps of people.

And my reward...abso-bloody-lutely FANTASTIC!!

I had Wanton Mee for breakfast, the famous Nasi Lemak at Changi for lunch, and amazing duck, char siew and siew york rice with yummy gravy and lots of chilli for dinner. I went shopping at Orchard Road - need I say more. But the best reward...the this-person-is-very-familiar look on Pear's face when I surprised her after work and then went over to her place to hang, did some cell phone shopping together (nope, didn't find a cell phone that shouted out to me, the picky shopper) and I also watched Full House Episode 1 - Pear's fav Korean Drama serial at the moment. Plus, I made my first buy on Monday - a $2 yellow basket to put all my toiletries.

Janetta's 21st Party!!

Getting ready for Janetta's 21st party: $140+

Random picture with a friend's brother's friend: $0.40

Breath-taking scenery shots on-board a hired cruise: $2000 (or there abouts, for exact figures ask Janetta)

The smile on the birthday girl's face...

And the company of friends...

$PRICELESS

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, get a Digicam!

IT'S BLOODY AWESOME!!!

I think my body clock is a little warped today. For the past few days, by midnight, my eyes can barely keep open, but right now it's way way way past my bedtime (2a.m. to be exact) and I'm feeling perfectly awake. And I haven't done anything to induce my alertness - no espresso, no afternoon nap, no waking up late, nothing. Strange...

But since I'm awake, I might as well make full use of my time, updating you on my short road trip to Taupo and Rotorua with Jasmon, Jacques, Lydia and Rachel.

We left on Saturday morning at 7.30am - yes, we were insane. The drive down was pleasant, but slightly worrying. We had scheduled for a 2pm skydive (yes, my second time in 6 months) at Taupo, but the weather did not seem to agree with us. The morning sky was overcast with many grey clouds and though it wasn't raining, clouds are a big NO-NO when sky diving. Of course, we were still 3+ hours away from Taupo so we remained hopeful. I didn't want to have to reschedule our skydive for the next day - weather permits - as precious holiday time would be wasted so I prayed hard and God answered. The weather was brillant in Taupo and we arrived in Taupo with plenty of time for a good meal and a Santa parade! What brillant luck and timing! While having lunch at a cafe - without knowing, we had sat ourselves at a prime spot with clear views of the parade - we managed to catch the entire Santa parade with all sorts of floats and procession, and of course, SANTA.

After watching the Santa parade, we proceeded to our skydiving destination. There, we got briefed, filled in our next of kin's contact number and Jas, Rachel and I signed our lives away upon the dotted lines. We geared up into the full jumpers and harnesses before take-off.

The skydive was AWESOME!!! I requested for flips as we jumped off the plane and the adrenalin rush was just as good as my first time, or even better because I could fully appreciate it the second time around. I had a brillant time in the sky and I have to say, "I'll be back!"

After the skydive, we headed over to Rotorua and checked in to our motel for the night. The next morning, we went to Skyline to ride the skyswing and the luge.

The skyswing is like this massive pendulum contraption where we are suspended horizontally in mid-air and with a tug on a rope to release, we are swung like a pendulum to and fro. I rode with Jas and Jacques. Here's us preparing to strap ourselves to our seats.

I was left incharge of pulling the rope and releasing us from the wire that was holding us back. When we reached the top and the man gave us the greenlight to release, I tugged and tugged at the rope to no avail, screaming in my seat, "I can't pull. I can't release us!" The rope refused to budge. Jas reached over to help me and with a yank, we plunged - I was too absorbed in my struggle that the release caught me off-guard and I screamed for a second while Jacques sweared at the sudden plunge. But once the big plunge was over, we cheered at how awesome that adrenalin rush was.

After the skyswing, we did a couple of luge rides before breaking for lunch. The afternoon was spent Zorbing. Zorbing is TOTALLY COOL! We did the hydro zorb. A zorb is an enormous clear plastic, air-cushioned ball with a hollow centre. With the hydro zorb, the hollow centre is filled with a little bit of water so that the innner surface is slippery. Once inside, you are rolled along a zigzag path down a hill, slushing and rolling around in water. I lost all sense of direction in the ball while I was tossed and turned. It was AWESOME, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face the whole journey down the hill!! Now, I know exactly how it feels to be in a washing machine. IT'S BLOODY FANTASTIC!!!

On our way back from the Zorb, we stopped by at some geysers to bask in the smell of 'rotten eggs'. That Sunday evening, us girls had a nice hot 'spaing' session in our motel spa to wind down.

This morning, we checked out of our motel and headed back to Auckland, stopping over at Wahii for the best pancakes ever - a brillant way to close our short yet adrenalin-filled weekend.

ONE MORE DAY OF WORK

Need I say more.