2008: My year in review

JANUARY

• Clare came to visit all the way from Australia... after leaving the UK for a year...
• I watched my first football match in the UK after I've been here for more than 5 years!
• Started our biannual shopping trip to Barcelona (although now I'm not sure it's worth going anymore considering that the £/€ exchange rate now is 1-1 already!!)
• I made a promise to myself to walk away... and I'm glad that I did...

FEBRUARY

• One of my cousins from HK came to London for a business trip... I'm quite glad that since my trip to HK last year, we kept in touch and they would always let me know that there are in town...
• Made pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year!! =) hehehe... thanks to Zhi Rui!!

MARCH

• Bade farewell to Chong... things may not be as rosy as one would expect, but I really do hope that everything will work out eventually for you...
• We started our weekly Sports Day and I'm proud to say that it's still going strong... it has been a good year for me in terms of exercising!!!
• Booked a spa weekend with Sook Leen and it was really good... probably should do it more often and pamper myself...
• I'm glad that we both made the decision to try things out... thank you dear, for giving me the opportunity to be part of your life and for being part of my life...

APRIL

• Espana extravaganza... and not Barcelona this time!!
• Went travelling with new faces... Yan Bing, Wally and Shandip... it was good fun at Spain...

MAY

• May Bank holidays road trips!!! Never knew Britain could be that beautiful... Cornwall was amazingly breathtaking... also went to Salisbury and Stonehenge with Sook Leen and Grace...
• Summer BBQs!!!!
• Watched the famous Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed

JUNE

• Home sweet home!!! Haven't been home for the past two years... and there's really no place like home...
• Grace's wedding!!! My first experience as a bridesmaid!! =)
• Bon Jovi's Concert - Prior to this, I didn't know a single song from them... but I did my homework and at the concert... surprise surprise... I actually knew more songs than any of my friends... hahaha...

JULY

• My first experience of a live poker tournament event... although I was there to support Bin Bin, Nav and Drakey... and not to play myself!!! It was an interesting night and I now know someone who had won a poker tournament before!! Kudos to Bin Bin!!!
• Yi Hua came to visit with her family and I accommodated all 6 of them in my tiny flat!! hahahah....

AUGUST

• Went to Brussels for the second time... it's a nice little city... but hopefully, I won't be there for the 3rd time... hehehe...
• Olympics, Olympics, Olympics... yes, the craze here in London was unbelievable... my colleagues were counting the number of golds that team GB was raking... sadly, Malaysia didn't take home any gold... but hopefully... one day we will!! I truly believe in the Malaysia Boleh spirit!!
• Home again.... for the 2nd time in the year?!?!?! Hahaha... I don't go home for 2 years and all of a sudden, I'm home twice a year...
• Well, this time... it's for Cheau Yann's wedding... and I was one of her 姐妹!!

SEPTEMBER

• Went to see a fortune teller... and she said some very interesting stuff... but... at the end of the day... I firmly believe that my life is in my own hands, and I'm not about to make this a self-fulfilling prophecy!!!
• Met up with Li Leng, one of my high school friend which I've not seen for about 7-8 years prior to that... and we went for a makan trip to Ipoh together with Grace and hubby...
• Australia!!! Haven't been on a family holiday for so long!!! As we are all grown up now and have our own lives now... I don't know when we'll be able to have another one in the near future... the good old days...
• GIRO - my first overseas conference... made a couple of new friends, did some networking, enjoyed business travelling, visited southern Italy including Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and Positano... felt more like a holiday than a work trip!! =)

OCTOBER

• My birthday!!! Thank you dear, for making it so special for me... I had a wonderful time and it meant a lot to me!!
• Surprise birthday trip to Madeira!!
• Am officially a qualified actuary with my 3-year anniversary of working...
• Made some of the most important and difficult decisions in my life... made the decision to buy a flat... even put down a holding deposit for Maple Quays... but in the end, I also made the decision to walk away from the deal... I don't know whether I will regret it as I walk past it everyday... it was such a painful experience for me!! God knows how many people I consulted!!!

NOVEMBER

• My first business trip... to Bermuda...
• And I even flew by business class... now that is travelling with style...
• Found out that one of my very close friend is planning to leave London for good... felt a bit sad as it will mean that things will be quite different and our friendship may drift away... but I sincerely wish you all the best and I will definitely miss having you around!!!
• Had a not very nice experience at work... but I'm determined not to let it affect me...

DECEMBER

• Yuni's visit!!! I'm really so glad that Yuni came over to spend Christmas with me...
• Went to Nice with Yuni and two of her housemates... it was an interesting experience to travel with them...
• For the first time in many many years, I sat at home to countdown on New Year's eve and watched the fireworks on TV instead of being out...

Well... whether I like it or not, the clock keeps on ticking... so GOODBYE 2008... and WELCOME 2009!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

A not so Christmassy Christmas!!

Yeap... this Christmas is probably one of the most un-Christmassy Christmas that I ever had in London... hehehe... not that I'm complaining... it was still good fun nevertheless...

We started off the night with Szechuan spicy hotpot dinner... hahaha... since there were only a few of us around this Christmas and it was easy to just have hotpot...

The few of us who were around this Christmas... and my younger sis came to spend the Christmas with me too!!! (I had a great time with her... so glad that she came!!! More pictures and posts to come!)

Yummy food cooking in the hotpot... on a cold winter Christmas, it was really good... and I think it was as good as the hotpot that we had in the restaurants!!


Everyone in action...



And after dinner... we actually played Win, Lose or Draw!!! Hahaha... surprisingly our impromptu preparation turned out to be good fun... we managed to entertain ourselves for more than 4 hours with the game!!!

And the conclusion? Bin Bin is not the only one whose animal (dog, dragon, cat etc..) drawings all look the same... Peter Tan's animals were equally bad... and my hammer looked like a dress to everyone?!?!?

Christmas Parties!!!

"Level 5" Group Christmas Party!!

@ The Langley, Covent Garden

Though the food wasn't fantastic... it was quite fun... especially when some people drink a tad too much...

Say cheese!!







********************




Then, there was my department's Christmas dinner...



@ Vinopolis, Southwark


Don't know why but there was this bizarre performance of this woman hanging on a sash throughout the dinner!

Food could have been better, especially the main course... but oh well, it's the Vinopolis, and they are more famous for their wine and not food!

I always end up eating too much during December festive season... feeling very very bloated and fat now... bleh...

Intentions

I don't know what your intentions are... but somehow, I don't think they are good... so please, stay away!

Bin Bin's Birthday

We celebrated Bin Bin's birthday last weekend and went to.......... Bentley Oyster Bar & Grill....... even though Bin Bin doesn't eat oysters!!! Well... Mr Yeo organised it.... and he wanted to have oysters.... so.... that's why we ended there!

I love oysters as well... although I can understand why a lot of people are not a big fan... An Associate Director once even told me that he thinks oysters taste like phlegm!!! What??!!?!!

Anyway... apart from oysters... they had quite a good selection of seafood and meat as well... and the wagyu beef fillet served with stilton garlic butter that I had was quite good...

Mr Yeo was trying to scare Nav with the oysters... hahahah... only Bin Bin and Nav don't eat oysters...

Karen, me and Bin Bin...

And of course... a birthday cake for the birthday girl... although Bin Bin complained that she had to go and choose and collect her own cake... hehehe.... I did offer to get the cake, but Mr Yeo said it was sorted!

Happy Birthday girl! May all your wishes come true!!!!

The big family picture... :)

Splurge...

Was supposed to go out to Oxford Circus to shop for a birthday gift for Nav... But he was undecided what he wanted for his birthday... and with many retailers already offering pre-Christmas offers on top of the Christmas shopping crowd...

I ENDED UP SPLURGING AND BUYING SOMETHING FOR MYSELF INSTEAD!!!

Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh...

I'm such a shopaholic...

Sigh...

This is what I bought...

A Gucci wallet...



Oh... I absolutely love the classy buckle...




And the smooth leather...

Sigh... but... I needed a new wallet... because the one that I'm using currently is torn and I have been using it for the last 3 years... and I had a £50 voucher from Selfridges that everyone gave me for my birthday... and it doesn't help that I have been working late lately as I always tend to shop when I'm stressed... just to pamper myself a bit...

FINE... I know I'm making excuses...

(feeling guilty)

^_^

bleh..

Impossible

It is really proving to be impossible to find a nice flat within 5 minutes walking distance of the Canada Water tube station that is affordable to people who don't earn a 6 figure salary man!

Since I have been having problems with my water boiler and my landlord can't seem to fix it, I thought I'll find a new flat when my lease ends at the end of this month... I have been viewing numerous flats and all there are out there... are flats which are old, tired and without a good kitchen and shower... and the good ones... they get snapped up so quickly and at an exorbitant price...

I saw this ad on the rightmove website which was added a week ago for a flat at Water Gardens... and by the time I called, the agent told me that it was already taken and the asking price was a whopping £310 a week! Hmmmm...

And then, I went and view this flat at Pump House which I really like... I put in an offer for £270 a week, and I have been told by the agent that the landlord received another offer for £280 a week... so obviously the landlord didn't accept my offer...

I mean... everyone tell me that the house prices are falling and rent prices will follow suit... it's a tenant's market now and landlords are desperate to rent out their flats... why am I not seeing this???

Aaaarrrggggghhhhhh...

This is just proving to be impossible... do I need to move out of Canada Water?? Sigh...

Christmas Wish List

Have been eating lunch at my desk these days because it's too cold to go outside... and so while I was surfing the net, I came across this gorgeous bag!

• 100% Napa leather body, trim, handles, and comfortable shoulder strap
• Removable laptop sleeve is generously padded for protection
• Fan-fold section for files and papers
• Lots of internal pockets for organization
• Convenient easy access front pocket for smaller items
• Designed for laptops up to 15” or 14.1" widescreen
• Colorful striped twill lining
• Rear strap for optional attachment to upright rolling luggage
  

Drooling over this bag now... but it's quite expensive... I scoured the web pages and the cheapest that I could find is a whopping $127... and with the GBP so weak against the US Dollar... sigh... belated birthday or Christmas gift anyone?? :P