Time, time and more time please!!

24 hours a day isn't sufficient!!

I need more hours a day...

I have plenty of outstanding work...

I need to study...

I need more sleep (more than one person mentioned that my skin complexion is deteriorating!)...

I need to relax (more than one person said that I look stressed-up!)...

I want to keep my social life and have fun...

My economists are piling up - unread...

I'm still stuck with the same book for a few good months now...

Conclusion: I NEED MORE TIME IN MY LIFE

The only consolation is that I guess I'm living my life to the fullest and I don't even have the time to dwell on anything that I don't want to think about!! ^_^

Claustrophobia??

After a long day at work, as usual I was eager to get home... after waiting for what seems like eternity, the lifts finally arrive... (yeah, the lifts in my office building sucks!!). I was going down from the 17th floor when the lifts stopped on the 12th floor...

Thinking that someone else was also calling it a day, I waited for the doors to open... BUT, no... the doors were firmly shut and there was silence... I waited for a few minutes and nothing happened... I pushed the "open" button once.. nothing... gave it another try... still nothing... okay, now I'm getting worried... I started punching the "open" button but in vain... SHIT... there's no one else in the lifts with me!! (sigh, I guess I'm the only unlucky one having to work late!!)

Since the doors would not budged at all and the lift seems like it's dead, I did what a rational person would do... I pressed the emergency alarm button... This is definitely the first time I ever used the emergency button!! Realised that it's actually a phone line, connecting me to the security people... A voice asked me why did I press the button (DUH, do I look like I'm pressing it for fun?? I want to get home okay??) but seeing that the voice was the only person who could help me out, I decided not to be rude and explained that I was stuck on the 12th floor. The voice then promptly said that they will send an engineer to look at the matter and cut off the call... (er... okay... talk about friendliness... come on, I'm stuck here okay... the least you can do is to give me some sympathy here... )

When the call was disconnected, again there was silence... and while waiting for the engineer to arrive, it suddenly dawned me that I'm ALONE and STUCK in this box!! At that moment, I suddenly felt a shiver and cold spell... All I wanted was to get out and get home... and there was no one to talk to or joke about it... I guess for a split second, I was experiencing fear... 15 mins passed... but it seems like it was eternity to me...

I couldn't take it anymore and pressed for the emergency button again... this time, a friendlier voice asked me how he can help... I explained it again (although I felt quite dumb repeating such a situation over and over again!!) and said that an engineer was supposed to come to my rescue but I have been waiting for quite a while now... the friendlier voice told me that the engineer was already looking into the matter and told me to not worry... (not to worry?? yeah, I'm sure there's nothing much to worry about apart from being stuck in a box smaller than the size of my toilet!!)

Just as I was about to say something else, all of a sudden, the doors just opened... voila, it's like someone has just shouted open sesame!! Still, the engineer was no where to be seen... but I didn't care... I told the voice that the doors just opened and I'm getting out... and without thinking... I went for the stairs and walked down 12 flights of stairs...

Since I have not much luck lately, I figure out that I may be the only person who would actually be trapped in the lifts twice in a row... and I'm definitely not planning to risk that!! When I finally reached the lobby... (oh wait, the lobby is on the 3rd floor.. so it's only 9 flights of stairs...) the cold and not-so-fresh air of London Bridge bus station was so welcoming! (I've never thought it could be that good...)

Hmmm... so... do I have claustrophobia?? Perhaps... but I don't reckon so... I think it's just a combination of tiredness and irritation... (okay, so maybe a bit of fear as well...) Thank goodness we're moving office soon... it's no wonder why they want to tear the building down... And I completely understand why!! What an experience...

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

GONG XI FA CAI!!! Happy Chinese New Year!!

Let's all welcome the year of PIG... Oink Oink :)

This is the 5th year I'm celebrating Chinese New Year in London... but it's probably one of the most chilled out one since quite a few people went home (you lucky ones!!) or have family members visitng (another lucky batch of people!!)... Not to mention, I'm actually staying in today to do a bit of studying (horror!!! no wonder I lost money in poker yesterday night!! hehehe...)

Nevertheless, I still did have a good time with those who were around... since I can't have a reunion dinner with my family, a reunion dinner with friends was the next best thing!! I really hope that everyone had a good time!!

After labouring in the kitchen since 11am in the morning, this is the end result - steamboat for 12 for our reunion dinner! But I forgot to take a picture of the chilled mango sago that I made for dessert. By the time I realised, it was all gone!! (My only consolation: at least everyone liked it!! :) hehehe)

One for the group picture album - shall we put this in the Yahoo Group photo album?? I tried to make everyone wear red (it's CNY after all!!!) but you can see that I've not been very successful with it... Anyway, thanks to Chun Yuan and Pei Juan for putting in the effort to be in red!!!

After few games of Hunter while we wait for midnight to approach, we braved the outdoors cold to put up some fireworks... (since fireworks are banned back home, everyone was really excited about it!!)... hahaha... but you can see that we were all amateurs at it... everyone was giving their two cents worth of how it should be done... naturally, the guys were all flexing their male ego by arguing who is right... hahahaha

The failed rocket that exploded on the ground... I guess two years in the army does not teach the guys how to light up fireworks!!! But nevertheless, it's still a pretty sight.. hehehehe :P

Finally... we managed to get them launched in the air!! Well done everyone!!

Hehehe... my turn to try launching one... One, two, three... light it up and run for your life before it explodes!!! Hahaha... okay... I exaggerated a bit about the running part...

There you go!! My first firework!! And it's red :) hehehe... it was definitely fun!! Too bad we can't have the red firecrackers (you know those red thing that you burn during CNY when you have the Lion Dance performance)... but oh well, you got to make do with whatever you have!!

With that, we stepped into the Year of Pig to leave behind the Year of Dog with a big bang!! (And I mean it literally!!) And how can a Chinese New Year goes by without involving gambling?? We're all Chinese after all... gambling is in our blood!! Hahaha... so, that's where the poker game came in although in the end there were only a few of us left playing!! And yours truly ended up walking home a few pounds poorer than before... I need my ang pau now, desperately!!!!!! :P

Finding Love...

I guess it's only a tragedy if you meet the wrong person and end up getting hurt!!

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day everybody!! May you find the love and happiness that your heart desire!! :)

...

风雨过后就会有彩虹!!

(There'll be rainbow after the storm??? Sorry, can't think of a nicer way to phrase this!!)

Hwa Chong Night

Can't believe that I actually went for this, it's like paying £30 to feel old!! About 90% of the people there are still in uni. Most of the girls are below 21 and the guys... sigh... I don't even have to know their age... they basically just look YOUNG!! I don't know why Kar Teck and Bin Bin even bother bringing their name cards along... it's like networking with a bunch of kids... tsk tsk...

Okay, enough about that... I guess it wasn't too bad. Sometimes, it's good to walk down the memory lane and be nostalgic... Hmm... those of you who have known me long enough would remember my two years in Singapore! (Thank you for always being there for me to help me through it!)... But I guess in retrospective... I am where I am now because of the two years in Hwa Chong... And in addition, I have made some life-long friends and met people who have changed my life... Would I have made the decision to study in Singapore again if I was given a second chance to change the course of history?? Hmm... I guess I would...

Anyway... back to Hwa Chong Night... food and entertainment was not too bad although we had to pay for our own alcohol... but hehe, we ended up having supper at TPT at Chinatown after that... hahaha... I guess at the end of the day, it was the company that counts :)

And oh ya, Pei Juan won the first prize in the lucky draw!! Hahaha...

Bin Bin, me and Pei Juan. Hehehe... like Bin Bin said, sometimes it feels good to have the occasion to dress up :P

One for the North-South relationship... hehehehe... see, we're keeping to our new year's resolution!!

Pei Juan (the lucky one, winning first prize in the lucky draw!!) and Eugene (the unlucky one, not hitting any numbers in BINGO when he had two entries!!)

Reminder

加油!! Add oil!!

明天会更好!! Tomorrow will be a better day!!

^_^

Reflections on a snowy night...

When I first came to the UK, I was told that it hasn't been snowing in London for the past 10 years. But surprisingly, ever since then, it snowed every year!! I'm quite sure that I don't have the great powers to bring snow to London... so I'll just take it as a gesture of welcome by the British weather. Hmm... without realising it, I've already been in this foreign country for more than 4 years now.

Have I enjoyed myself throughout these 4 years?

Well, I guess there are good memories as well as memories which are best forgotten or left hidden in the closet.

I've also changed a lot since then. I can say that I'm no longer the person that I was when I first arrived in London. Can't say it's for the best or for the worse... but I guess we all do grow up in a way.

I have learnt to accept that life is like the British weather - it's unpredictable. Just when you think that the spring warmth has arrived, another cold spell knocks at your door. So just when I think that things are going well, I have been splashed with cold disappointments. But not all is lost, because just as spring and summer will eventually come, I'm convinced that I'll be able to survive and be happy! (*crossing my fingers*)

Hmm.. not sure why but the snow and cold always seems to be making me melancholy and emotional!! I blame it on the lack of sunlight!!

Think I'll take a walk down the memory lane while I'm still at it:

Snow at Hyde Park not too long after I arrived in London. A good 4 years ago! Am I getting old here??

Heavier snow this time! Remember that I was stranded halfway home as the bus couldn't move and had to ask CJ to come and rescue me. However, this picture was only taken the morning after from my room's window of our old backyard, so the damage doesn't look that severe.

This morning, when I woke up my balcony was frosted but no snow yet.

The weather forecast for tonight is heavy snow. I missed the snow two weeks ago as I was in Hong Kong then. It would be nice to wake up with a balcony full of white snow although that will mean it's going to be a long and cold night!! Brrrr...

Confused and upset...

It has been a pretty confusing and upsetting weekend.

Don't know where to start but things are not going well at work and in life as well. I'm in such a mess!! And everytime I try to sort out the mess, it seems to be sucking me deeper into it.

I'm confused with the situations that I see, I'm confused with the words that I hear (and perhaps, also the words that I want to hear and not hearing them) and I'm confused with the circumstances that I'm stuck in. I guess, I'm basically just CONFUSED.

What should I do?? And where do I start??

What do I want?? And do I really want what is best for me??

Where does the problem lies?? In me?? Or in others??

Why do I keep walking down the wrong path?? And knocking at the wrong door?? And banging my head in the wall??

Why do I keep falling into the same trap and vicious cycle??

Why is it that things are always taken away from me everytime I think I have it?? Why is it that I'm always given hopes and oppportunities just for them to be taken away??

Why do people keep on saying things that I don't want to hear and telling me that they are sorry??

Is it so difficult to find the happiness that I'm looking for in life and chasing the dreams that I believe in??