Being THIS close…

Being this close to winning or getting something doesn’t matter. What matters is that it fell through. It’s a done deal not in your favour.
There I was, dashing through the passageway that connects the boarding gate to the plane. I could see the air stewardess at the plane’s door waving violently and shouting “No, we’re flying off! Please get on the next flight!”. And then they released the connecting arm.

Perfect! I missed my domestic flight from Los Angeles to Sin City. Next flight with confirmed seats is at 6am tomorrow morning. In the meantime, United Airlines placed me on waiting list for the 3.45pm flight. Last I checked, I am number 7 in the queue. And the plane’s seating capacity is 50. Is that great news or what? I need God’s intervention to put me on the next flight out to Vegas.

As I slumped exhausted and thoroughly spent in the lounge seat, the thought that was on repeat mode was “How could I be this close and not get on?” Suddenly the voice of reality boomed out. “It doesn’t matter how close you are. As long as you missed it, you’re screwed. No amount of ‘what ifs’ will right the wrong. So beat it and deal. Next time, don’t be this close. Close it.”

It sucks but I appreciate my inner no nonsense voice. It shakes and wakes me up all the time.
(God is good and he put me on the next flight out. And missing the first flight of my life makes me plan all my future US flights in a whole new way. Lots of transit time is required. I missed this flight with a 2 hour buffer. And I didn’t even take a toilet break after customs clearance.)

Latest blog entry in 6 months!

Here I am, logging into my personal blog after a long hiatus of 6 grand months. Lots happened. Perhaps it’s just 1 main biggie that consumed my life and time. Gosh. It’s been a rollercoaster since end January I don’t know where to begin. But I will survive, rolling with the punches.

It’s strange that when I feel and experience so much, I am less inclined to write about it. I would rather waste time browsing through other people’s sites (and I have some really very inane sites on my blogosphere hitlist). Perhaps it’s the need to live out a hyper-real life vicariously through looking at how others are going about their lives.

Oh, I caught Transformers 3: The Dark of the Moon the day before its official launch. That's really nice in the midst of the humdrum existence that now plagues me.

Stages of Domesticity

I always feel that if someone else can do it, I can do it too. This applies to every aspect in life.

So, many ladies need to whip up a meal for the household. Alright, cook did I. Nothing fanciful but decent enough.

But when it comes to cleaning, I am motivated solely to have a clean bathroom. So I zealously scrub my "throne" and make sure that the basin area is kept spiffy, dry and nice. This is tending specifically to my personal toilet because I really couldn't bring myself to labour similarly on 5 other units in the house. (Apart from the common bathroom, the rest are all unused. Phew!)

Chinese New Year is around the corner and there's this nagging feeling that if I were to neglect other nooks and crannies, I will be a very embarrassed host when people open my storeroom, kitchen cabinets and examined my window panes and the accompanying grooves closely. And there's certainly no feel good factor if at the back of your mind, there's unattended mess building up somewhere.

So, it's my fortune to have a good friend refer her part-time helper to assist my household for operation cleanup. It's been 1 hour since she has been at work in my kitchen and "Omigod! What she has done in an hour, I will take 5 to achieve!"

Is it the lack of motivation for housework or I am just a plain slow coach? I really think it's the former.

In future, I shall not be adamant. Admit that although I can do things just like others could, some things are better left to the professionals in their respective fields.

This moment of enlightenment makes me feel very liberated.

Failing Fiction

It was a relatively quiet Saturday afternoon. I was in Raffles Place then popped by City Hall for a short while before making my way back to my parents’ home. Parents’ home. It used to be just home. Now there is a need to distinguish between that and my matrimonial home.

Perhaps I have been living in the Northwest for too long. I find it comforting and familiar. Not to mention a more convenient place to live in. Location wise, it pales in comparison to my matrimonial home, which is so much closer to central Singapore. However, this neighbourhood has everything. A suburban mall, an impressive Sports Complex complete with a ‘wave pool’ and eating places right across the street where we reside.

The aforementioned suburban mall has everything. And ‘everything’ by my terms, has to include a community library. So before I headed back, I stopped by the community library. On a whim, I decided to pick out a fiction book. Something light and fluffy to read for a change. But when I was conducting the catalogue search, I was stumped. Which fictional work should I borrow?

“Eat Pray Love” …was the first search. As the movie is currently screened in theatres, all the books were checked out. Hot item I guess. Wait a minute. That’s not really fiction, is it?

I thought really hard and finally typed in “The Last Lecture”. I knew there and then that I had failed miserably in my attempt to read stories. It’s been eons since I read something that had been made up. Was that in secondary school? Fiction no longer appealed to me past a certain age. Has realism set in since my adolescent years? I missed a good read…a real fake story. And I have officially lost the desire to immerse myself in a world of make believe. Escapism is not an option? Sad case I am.

So I walked out of the library with 2 books. Both non-fiction. The second book was a random find lying on a table near the checkout queue. I liked Robin Sharma's first book, so I decided to give this a go too.

7 Deadly Sins: Extravagance

I returned to Singapore recently mainly to see a doctor. The doctors in China, namely Suzhou, are quite unreliable. When I requested for a blood test to be done to ascertain a specific content, they dismissed it and REFUSED me. It sounds ridiculous seriously because they can milk more profits from the patient but perhaps, when a country has a population of 1.3 + billion and counting, the value of an individual's health/ life is treated with levity.

When in Singapore, visiting my doctor in Orchard Road, Paragon, is an expensive trip. Less so for the charges, more so for the temptations of shopping joints that beckons me after the appointment. And there was a pent up desire that was dangerously on the brink of eruption. I didn't buy anything much in China.

To cut the long story short, in 1 hour, I bought 2 watches from BCBG.

Royale Watch in Emerald Strap

Plisse Watch in Royal Purple

Guilty pleasures--that's the oxymoron I am living out daily. And yes, you've guess it right. Watches/ Timepieces are one of my many weaknesses.

Practical Lesson 101

My family (mum, father and sister) often jeer at me when I boast that although I do not lift an arm to cook at home, I will be a master chef if I aspire to cook professionally. They will roll their eyes in disbelief and say that the sun will rise in the west if that day ever comes.
What is so difficult about cooking? It’s not rocket science and you don’t need an MBA to do it. But to do it well, one needs lots of practice, a dash of creativity and lots of passion. The kitchen after all, is Hell’s furnace and if one decides to go professional, he has to undergo the baptism of fire to become a master of the culinary art.
Today, I had my first practice for cooking chicken rice. And here is the finished product.

Like I said, it doesn’t take a genius to cook. Not only is it edible, it tasted good. Delicious is not a term I can tag to it, but with practice comes mastery. Pity it’s not the craft I desire to hone.

In Our Element

Today, a spot of online surfing provided me with the inspiration for this post.

An ex-educator, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, was interviewed for her success as a freelance writer. How does “Lonely Planet” and “Singapore: A Biography” sound? (See interview here, http://nanzinc.com/the-professional-freelancer-yu-mei-balasingamchow ) Her blogsite is: TooManyThoughts.

A friend, Sean Seah, who took Korean language classes with me a couple of years back, left his high flying sales engineer job and turned to wedding photography full-time. His company, www.firewerkzfilms.com seems to be doing well and capturing many happy memories for newly weds.

These people, to name a few, are in their element.

Then, there are others who are simply doing well but haven’t arrived. A meeting with an industry counterpart had me hearing this statement, “Yea, I am stuck here” twice within half an hour. It may have been said in jest or modesty but something in his eyes tells me it’s for real.

Am I in my element yet?
No. I am still an entrepreneur in training.
The current role of managing a modest set-up in China makes me extremely restless. It’s supposed to be an opportunity to learn the ropes before flying solo but the industry seems to be vastly different from what I really want to venture into.

It’s actually very ridiculous to want to abandon ship just less than 5 months into the new role. Doesn't look good on my resume but when you're working for yourself, to heck with resumes!
I feel an internal clock going ‘Tick Tock, Tick Tock’ and honestly, sink or swim, why can’t I learn as I go while pursuing my dream business full time?

My bosses (3 of them) wouldn’t be happy to read this. Then again, there is only a 1% chance of them getting their eyeballs on this article. That 1% is through divine intervention and I doubt God conspires against me.
I am jumping ship this year. Adiós Misters. bosses!

2010- Quarter 1 closing

Time flies! The end of March is imminent upon us and I haven't really much fabulous updates on the home front. The dark cloud is dispersing well and I have regained a sunnier disposition. Afterall, the only way is up when one hits bottom! I have found that a long term goal helps to alleviate the immediate short term pain I am going through now. If I know I am 'suffering' for a greater cause, I will be stronger, braver and happier.

Was telling my husband (I actually feel awkward with this term, perhaps I will call him Mr. Rabbit in future?) that I have a concrete 5 year plan which contains 1 intangible and 1 tangible item apiece.

Intangible=>selfless goal=>family oriented=>produce 2 kids

Tangible=> self centered goal=>material oriented=> 1 posh apartment overlooking the Marina Bay skyline

I pray with all my heart these goals will materialise after 5 years! Wish me luck!

Crumbling down with Haiti

Call it coincidence. The day Haiti was struck with an earthquake, I was down with the dreaded flu. Throat infection, feverish, body ache, runny nose. I departed for home half an hour prior to after office hours. It was the worst flu I ever had and I was out of action for the entire week. I avoided watching television and stayed off the internet too. I was literally cut off from society.

The nose congestion persists and the flu is receding into an occasional cough but I got back to work this Monday.

I wish to be back in Singapore soon...

Finally a functional blog!

The blog skin source I use as my template recently busted the Photobucket storage limit throwing my site into disarray. Yes, it's often the tech-unsavvy who are held hostage to the foibles of others.
After much deliberation, I reverted much to my original setting causing some settings to be lost along the way.
I will just have to revamp the look of this personal online diary in the months to come.
However, I am glad I finally have a functional site to post my entries. I have so many things to blog about. =)

Back from Italy!

I am back from Italy. It's a 'love-hate' relationship with the country. Intend to post my updates and pictures up in due time. Here are a few: These are taken by my LG 5 megapixels phone--the day when my camera went out of battery from trigger happy fingers.

Jim Rogers' Sighting-Singapore

I am sure I wasn't hallucinating when I saw Jim Rogers walking towards me in Suntec Tower 3/4.

My heart gave a lurch and I would have approached him for an autograph if I was not munching on something.
Anyway some quotes for thought:
"If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia."
He relocated to Singapore in end 2007. He chose not to move to Chinese cities like Hong Kong or Shanghai due to the high levels of pollution causing potential health problems for his family. =)

Photo Shoot 2009

Visited the Laneige roadshow at Bugis Junction recently with Aileen to pick up some products and they have a complimentary makeover with purchase. So here's my first photo shoot of 2009.

Spring/Summer 2009 Look

Korean Food at Franky's Kaffe Kitchen

Photo credit from joslovesfood

Fiona bought me lunch one Friday afternoon and being Korean, she recommended a nice cosy Korean cafe at Millenia Walk called 'Franky's Kaffe Kitchen' that serves authentic Korean fare.

We had bibimbap -steamed rice, meat and vegetables and ddok bok ki (떡볶이)-korean rice cake in spicy sauce.

Bibimbap (I love the minced beef! It's marinated to perfection)
Rice cake in spicy sauce (The type ladies eat while bonding in K-dramas. I won't risk talking with my mouth full of it though. It's sticky, chewy and choke inducing, if you're not careful.)

The setting is laid back on a placid 'end of week' afternoon. The food was yummy and the company was fabulous.

The Perfect Evening

Just yesterday, a highly acclaimed drama sequel 'Perfect Cut 2' started its run on Singapore free to air Channel U.

I like the first series and with the 2nd installment receiving rave reviews, I awaited with bated breath to catch it on television.

This series is more graphic (think close up shots in the OT) and with the introduction of Edmund Chen who plays a character I can totally identify with, I am giving it the thumbs up sign.

Coincidentally, a couple of hours prior to watching the debut episode, I was at the venue where most of the clinic scenes took place.

Bamboo Grove @ The Landscape Garden

Garden Cafe

Strange mushrooms in the clinic's 'backyard'

Up Close

Under Construction

I wonder what are they building?

If this is a residential site, I want to buy the property here!

Tick Tock Tick Tock--What are you waiting for?

And so it has come to be that your truly is totally neglecting my blog.
Why you may wonder? Ah, what else but a change of priorities. Although blogging provides me with immense pleasure and I relish putting my thoughts onto paper (or cyberspace for this matter), it appears that I value spending my time on the more important aspects of my life.
1. Reading
2. Learning
3. Planning
4. Practising
5. Marrying (and handling all the nitty gritty that goes into making it happen)

So rather than output, I am stuffing myself silly with input.

(*Pregnant pause*)

29 years into my life and I am still so far behind in so many aspects. And of great importance is the absolute aspiration to be a successful entrepreneur and CEO that fronts Fortune magazine. If I were to continue on the path of my previous trajectory, NOTHING is going materialize.
Therefore, isn't it wiser to kickstart on all of that? My waking hours are thus invested into these areas that I need to build on.
I will be writing on my progress and thoughts of my new life on a new blogsite.
This blog will still be updated with pictures, personal life updates and all. So, it's good to tune in once a while.

XOXO,
Ivy

September Baby

Before I continue on my US posts, allow me to place my birthday entry first.

5th September arrived and I am another year older. I don’t think the thought of adding another candle to the cake matters as much as the nagging consternation that I have nothing to show for the years I have lived. But since the anniversary of my birth is a cause for celebrating my existence, I shall not dwell on such unpleasantries for more than 5 minutes.

Took a day off, compliments of the company and slept like a log till 11am. It’s been so long since I last slept in and my, what an absolute luxury. I totally missed my spa appointment and had to call them up to reschedule. Thankfully, they were able to acquiesce to my request. Took a cab down to the city, indulged in a massage and a milk hydrobath (not tainted milk I hope…) and headed to Funan IT Mall to buy a birthday present on behalf of my fiancé.

Does the previous statement sound strange? Haha. Yes indeed. The man himself was unable to return to Singapore to spend the special occasion with me. However, he sends his love, well wishes and a ‘no budget, buy whatever you fancy’ decree. Believe me, I was extremely tempted to stroll into a Chanel boutique to procure that long coveted 2.55. Alas, my conscience got the better of me and I decided the bag must be a gift bought willingly and personally by my beloved .

So, we agree that I should finally take the initiative to buy an MP3 player. It is an item that's perpetually on my ‘To Buy List’ but it's something I am not motivated to take the trouble to acquire. On this opportune day, I headed to Funan with my heart set on buying Creative’s Zen X-Fi (32G).

It is a micro power gadget complete with an FM Radio. What’s not to like about it? Alas, only the headquarters in Jurong East carries the 32G version. I walked around aimlessly and entered an authorized iPod seller shop. My allegiance to Creative was gone with the wind the moment I set my fingers on the iPod Touch and the rest they say, was history.
So this is the story of my quest for an MP3 player. I am officially a victim of subliminal marketing messages from Evil Apple.

P/S: Thanks bunny for your generosity. You're the best!

Day Trip to New York-24 August, Sunday

I was terribly jet lagged when I arrived in USA on Saturday morning. By the time I checked into Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa, I was dead tired. After checking my emails and running downstairs to buy a cup of coffee and a stale cheese croissant, I plonked onto the bed and fell into deep slumber till 11pm. By then, it was too late to go out for some food and I reckon the hotel's room service will bring up terrible tasting food grudgingly (Room service ends at 12am for ordering food). I was too lethargic to bother about my whiny stomach, took a shower, planned my New York trip a little and went back to sleep. After all, I needed to leave my hotel at 6.20am for the train station to catch the 6.57am service to New York's Grand Central Station.

How I looked for the day: (Believe me, this is the only day I bothered to take pictures of myself in the room. Yes, I am this lazy).

I wore a mustard yellow Forever 21 tube dress with crochet trimings. It's a little dressy though. But hey, it's New York. I changed into sensible flats before getting out-which is one of the most sagacious decisions I have made this year. ;-)

The train station at a Dunkin' Donuts counter where the half asleep duo serve coffee, donuts and muffins with faces more sour than their sour cream bagel. I settled for a bland latte and a putrid looking blueberry muffin (of course I didn't finish that!).

And here are the rest of the trip to Grand Central-in the form of a slideshow. I will continue my Sunday in New York entry tonight.

USA-New York New York=> Connecticut

I am flying off to America this evening. Gosh, 3 times within 1 year! First to Connecticut, then San Diego, now back to CT. Will be dropping by New York on Sunday for a walk around. Thank you my sweets in the Stamford office. Can't wait to see you all again.
And those lovelies in Singapore, you will be fondly missed. Will bring some delicious American junk food back for our mini 'pantry'/ cozy food corner.

You will be missed too, Bunny! Will come to CN to visit you soon. Keeping up the jogging. \(^-^)/

XOXO,

Ivy.

(This time, I had better remember to bring my cable to transfer my photos to this blog!) Omigod! The long haul flight ahead. (=_+)

Wedding Bells A Ringing But When Thou Art Do They Sound For Me?

2 very dear friends got married to different individuals this month. It is with deep regret that I have to miss both of their celebrations. One took place overseas and the other was held on a day I had to actually work! =(
Congratulations Shian and Jenn!

Anyway, this is indeed a year for weddings. A colleague is currently busy with his wedding preparations and as he busied himself with all the arrangements, I am constantly reminded of the fact that I have decided to register my marriage this year. I promised both of us that it will be done in 2008! Now, the thing is, I haven't a clue to kickstart my wedding plans. Indoors or outdoors? Simple or elaborate. If it's the latter, looks like pandemonium will rule since we are well into mid year. But the intent is strong, the mind is set and despite fuel hikes, I am going to grease the wheels and axles to get things moving forward; surely and smoothly. Wish me luck!