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Do all new buildings smell the same? My new office smelled exactly like the new apartment I stayed in Hong Kong a few years ago. I felt weird then. I thought I was back in Hong Kong again. I am not going to commence recollecting those memories again. I just shouldn't. Memories be it happy or sad ones will have the same effect on me: upset. Memories that don't belong to 2007 will be kept inside my pandora box. I won't document them down because it'd make it painful for me. And I always bear those 'signposts' in my head to avoid making the same mistake which I always did in the past.

I am not going to anticipate what'll be in store for me in 2007. What I know is working hard is the way to great success. More facial treatments, more body massage, more workouts in the gym and uhmm... more overtime in the office.

End result: Looking prettier, I hope.

It so describes me!

As seen at Seeking Solace

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship. You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you Your flirting style: friendly and sweet What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Reunion Dinner

A day before Chinese New Year (CNY), we chinese will have this custom of having a reunion dinner. No matter how busy you are, everyone in the family must be back home to have dinner together. My family has steamboat dinner most of time for reunion thingy. Don't ask me why. It just happens that way. Looks sumptuous yeah? Thanks to my lovely mum who did all the preparations.

Mini Celebration

To reward myself for working so hard at work (not by choice), I had red wine and had a session of "lo hei" with my colleague. "Lo Hei" is an act of tossing raw fish salad for prosperity. "Lo Hei" is very popular during Chinese New Year in Singapore. The fun starts when everyone stands up and commence tossing, he/she will start saying good wishes. It is said that the higher you toss the dish above, you'll have a better prosperous year. It's really fun when you "lo hei" with a group of friends or with your family. Anyone can "lo hei", this is not a racist dish. If your luck turns for the better after you "lo hei", remember to thank me.

Martin Yan’s New Year Fish Salad

Serves 4-6 Salad Mixture
1/2 cantaloupe or 1/4 honeydew melon
1 grapefruit
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet pickled ginger
1 medium carrot, shredded
3-inch wedge (113 grams.) jicama, shredded

Dressing
3 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons plum sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
170 grams salmon fillet
170 grams firm white fish fillet, such as sea bass
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts1 green onion, slivered

Getting ReadyPeel melon and cut into crescents. Segment grapefruit by cutting away the peel and white pith; cut and lift out segments. In a bowl, combine melon, grapefruit, ginger, carrot, and jicama.

ombine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place sesame seed in a small frying pan over medium heat; cook, shaking pan continuously, until lightly browned, which should take 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from pan to cook.

Remove skin and bones from fish. Thinly slice fish across the grain to make pieces about 1 by 2 inches. Fan slices on a serving platter, alternating pink and white fish. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, and white pepper. Putting it togetherDrizzle lime juice mixture over fish.

Mound salad mixture in centre of fish. Spoon dressing over the salad. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seed and green onion.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is going to be a special day for me this year. Am gonna 'spend' it with my client. Another long night for me. Maybe I'll have some baby cockroaches spending it with me too. Honestly, I hope not. I'm not alone, really. My colleague is going to be working late with me, so let's just say that we are spending V Day together with our client.

Actually, V day is just like any other normal day. Strange thing is, I only received a bouquet of roses once during V day, delivered to my doorstep. And they were not from my bf. I love flowers, I really do. However, none of my former bfs gave me any. I want to receive flowers, not by request though. It feels different if I have to tell my bf that ,' Hey, I want you to give me a bouquet of flowers for V Day.' Of course, it is not wise to buy roses on such a 'special' day since it will cost a bomb. It'll be nice to receive some during my birthday or annivsary which I'd a couple of years back. Couldn't recollect how many stalks of roses then, but it shld be either 3 or 2 stalks.

I wish I can finish my work early and head back to my comfy bed. I need my beauty sleep badly more than a romantic dinner. Nothing beats a good night's sleep. Whether you're attached or not, Happy Valentine's Day to you if you happen to be reading this! =)

Hey, chill if you've got no date on Valentine's Day. You won't die. It is just simply 14th February 2007.

Looking forward to my well-deserved break

Looking forward to my long holidays. Nope, I didn't apply for leave, not supposed to and not allowed to. Sad isn't it? Glad that I am a chinese and that my country celebrates Chinese New Year. After this week, I'll have Monday and Tues off due to CNY. Reporting back to work on 21st Feb 07. Before that, I am going to attend my facial treatment and a good massage this coming Friday. Signed up for a facial and massage package recently. Due to the nature of my work, I am doing everything I can to retain the last bit of my 'youth' and 'beauty'. At the same time, am saving up for botox shots which I believe will be much needed in the near future.

There're so many things I need to do before the holiday season. Am gonna have a pre-CNY party with a bunch of good frds on Friday. 2007 seems like a fun and fufiling year for me. A fresh new beginning. I just want this feeling to last as long as possible. I owe these to my parents and my good frds. Without them, especially my mum, I won't have all the luxuries in the world. Thanks mum. Thanks dad. Thanks S for being with me when I needed you most. Thanks J for introducing me to a whole new bunch of interesting people who make my life more colorful.

Alone yet again

I worked late again. Nothing's new. What's new was that I had a baby cockroach keeping me company at my client's place. It chose to appear right in front of my very eyes after my other colleagues left the place, say 1 0r 2 hrs later. I stayed on because I still have quite a bit of area to cover. I tried to speed up but my work was too tedious. Documentation takes time. And the cockroach kept running around the table. There were a few occasions when it tried to crawl towards me.... I didn't want to kill it, so I used some papers to fan it away. Glad that it was a puny insect, else I would scream my lungs out!!! First, it was the cockroach. Next, it was the switching off of all the lightings at my client's office. I was sitting inside the meeting, so the last staff standing didn't realise my existence. I heard the sound of switches and I looked out, the whole place was in total darkness. I thot the security guard came up to lock up the room and I rushed out of the room. Eeeehhhh!! I couldn't see a single thing... Did I cry? No. Was I scared? Yes. Uncertain where the light switch was located, the only thing I could do was to retire back to my meeting room and continued with my work. I can't go until I collected all my audit evidence. Ok, maybe life is not that bAD after all. Soon after, lights were back on again... The last staff found out abt my existence finally. I know I am not alone. I still have that little crawler as my companion.... Finally, I can head back to my sweet and safe home. Left the place by 1130pm. Switched off all the lights and pressed for the lift. Couldn't imagine if I leave the plc by 12am. I don't want to think or speculate what may happen to me. It just too scary a thought to have.

Is finishing an assignment more impt than health?

Had a friend A from Hong Kong coming over for a couple of days for a holiday. I brought her to some popular landmarks during her trip here. On the night before her last day in Singapore, I brought her to Geylang for some good durians since both of us adore them very much. I took merely 2 slightly big pieces of durians and guess what? I had sore throat the next day. This king of fruit is simply too heaty for me or that my health is too fragile to consume it. My condition worsened and I took one day medical leave for it even though my doc gave me 2 days'. I reported back to work the next day after having rested for 24 hours. I wasn't fully recovered and I started to develop flu, itchy throat. I coughed non-stop at client's place but no one bothered to ask me if I was feeling ok except one colleague. My engagement manager was around too and seemed oblivious to my condition. Maybe he thought I am faking it just like the show on Discovery Channel 'Faking It'. My eyes were teary and red due to intense coughing. Yes, the deadline was super tight. Yes, we were short-handed. But hey, I was feeling so sick and drowsy the whole time. The drugs were not working their magic on me at all. I don't feel appreciated at all, esp so in my line of work. If I had known, I would just rest at home to nurse my poor health back to recovery. And if I had known, I would win the lottery. Hahaha... Been working till 2am since wednesday and I need to report back to work on Sat to clear some review points. I still have some work unfinished but I'm going to take a short rest now and be up again in another 2 hours. Life sucks sometimes. Yet sometimes, it seems beautiful too.