Something for the kiddies:
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Introducing the new PR chick.....
Yes I know, I have been slack...sorry sorry...don't abandon me...
This post is really abt answering some qns that i have been getting from friends over the last month...like "have u found a job", "what r u doing so early on msn" and the occasional "great! u found a job, how is it?"....
in short, to the above concerns, yes pple, i am officially gainfully-employed (again) as of 2nd Oct 2007...yippeeeeee
to be honest i wasn't sure abt the job...small company again...little pay....and the PR role i was offered is pretty unfamiliar territory...
but after a good couple of weeks with them...i can honestly say it's really FANTASTIC...the pple are nice...i get to learn from the current Marketing Manager...there are systems in place...and most of all, a lot less stress being that i am not ultimately responsible for the whole marketing dept.....pay is really really low...but hey, less stress so i guess it's kinda worth it...even tho i start at 7.30am...but i can swear to god i am seriously a million times happier than at that f***ing plc!
however there is an issue at the moment.....i am very comfortable with the workload...and altho i think i am ready to take up more...i really dunno if i want to...it's a very very fine line btw challenging myself and going back to those dark times where stress and sleeplessness takes over....
but it's not really up to me to choose...i dunno why i seem to be ending up in companies where the staff t/o rate is damn high...the Mkting Manager is leaving next week....i have been offered by the boss to take up her role with significantly more pay of course (altho he has not specified the amt yet)...and i can either choose to hire an assistant or do it ALL myself...the difference obviously is how much pay i want to get...
well, life is not always good timing issit...had it been one year later, i wld have put up my hand, no hesitations...but now, a little unsure tho...i really don't want to over-promise and under-deliver...yet i think i can do it...how how how....
the boss has already begun to test me...hopefully he will be pleased and i get to make the call on what i want....
Please God, can you let me have an easier 2008?
This post is really abt answering some qns that i have been getting from friends over the last month...like "have u found a job", "what r u doing so early on msn" and the occasional "great! u found a job, how is it?"....
in short, to the above concerns, yes pple, i am officially gainfully-employed (again) as of 2nd Oct 2007...yippeeeeee
to be honest i wasn't sure abt the job...small company again...little pay....and the PR role i was offered is pretty unfamiliar territory...
but after a good couple of weeks with them...i can honestly say it's really FANTASTIC...the pple are nice...i get to learn from the current Marketing Manager...there are systems in place...and most of all, a lot less stress being that i am not ultimately responsible for the whole marketing dept.....pay is really really low...but hey, less stress so i guess it's kinda worth it...even tho i start at 7.30am...but i can swear to god i am seriously a million times happier than at that f***ing plc!
however there is an issue at the moment.....i am very comfortable with the workload...and altho i think i am ready to take up more...i really dunno if i want to...it's a very very fine line btw challenging myself and going back to those dark times where stress and sleeplessness takes over....
but it's not really up to me to choose...i dunno why i seem to be ending up in companies where the staff t/o rate is damn high...the Mkting Manager is leaving next week....i have been offered by the boss to take up her role with significantly more pay of course (altho he has not specified the amt yet)...and i can either choose to hire an assistant or do it ALL myself...the difference obviously is how much pay i want to get...
well, life is not always good timing issit...had it been one year later, i wld have put up my hand, no hesitations...but now, a little unsure tho...i really don't want to over-promise and under-deliver...yet i think i can do it...how how how....
the boss has already begun to test me...hopefully he will be pleased and i get to make the call on what i want....
Please God, can you let me have an easier 2008?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Visit
Finally finally!!! After 6 long years later, Andrea dearest has decided to grace me with a visit!!! No no no... I am not complaining...so happy already...there's no space inside for anything else other than excitement!!
Damnit...shld have made that pic larger...nvmind...if anyone's interested let me know and i will send it to u....
The poor girl so badly needed a break...and it was great that Serene came along as well...can't believe I got to meet her first before the others...hahah
Day 1 started out pretty good...made breakfast for all...(and discovered that i cannot talk and cook at the same time)...we then spent the whole afternoon at Freo...walked the markets, drank the beers, ate the seafood...even met an old secondary school classmate! pretty amazing story i tell u...the girl saw Serene first...but when she approached our table, Andrea realised it was an old classmate of ours...the girl even called out our names without blinking an eye, while i was like still thinking it was one of Serene's friends...i guess the most hilarous part was afterwards Serene admitted she didn't even remember that girl's name either...
all i can say is, Serene, u seriously crack me up...this incident is just the first of many to come... :) Probably the most memorable thing said during the entire trip was after i commented that I did not scale the Great Wall of China coz it was super steep...u actually replied that it's probably coz the ancient Chinese knew martial arts and have qing gong...they didn't need to walk down the tiny, slippery and steep steps... !!
*if i cld put an emoticon here i wld*
i think it would have turned out to be a pretty decent first day, have the poor dear not ended up puking her guts out the rest of the evening...oyster allergy it seems...poorthing :(
Thank goodness medication helped...or it could simply have been that she threw up absolutely everything...if not, we probably would have cancelled the trip to Margaret River...
"Selfishly", Mere was the self-appointed designated driver...yes yes, he wanted us chill...but i think (ie: know) he probably didn't trust us girls to drive...hahaha...when we came home he admitted that he didn't think we cld hack driving at 150km/h to overtake the trucks...duh....
Saw some pretty cool stuff on the busselton jetty...didn't know that you could fish for squid like how u wld fish for regular fish...ermm..then maybe it should be called squid-ing instead? Too bad the underwater observatory tour was later that afternoon so we couldn't check that out...but yah, i thought it was too far a walk anyways...the tram no longer runs on the jetty...so if we were to get to the observatory it was gonna be a 1.8km hike! i am freakin lazy i know...but it was also pretty cold lah!
Candy Cow was next....but hey, I just wanna say i am happy to be there...but it's not like its my mooooossst favourite place in the entire universe can? yes, i like fairy floss...(see above pic for fairy floss bigger than my head...raspberry flavour somemore!) yes, i think the candy & fudge making is pretty cool...but i dun eat them anyway...AND, i only WAVED to the guys making fudge coz he smiled at me first! serious!!
we were so tired at the end of the day that we just bought dinner back to the very very nice motel and ate in front of the TV...the nite was capped off with a couple of rounds of scrabble (forgot the mahjong set) on which Andrea won both times...tho we are still abit suspicious of "twirly" as a proper word...
the next morning was a mad rush of taking in what Margaret River has to offer...after a quick brunch at The Berry Farm with to-die-for boysenberry pie, scones with home-made strawberry jam and savoury scroll...we jetted off to a few different wineries, a venison farm (didn't see deer leh, only 1 insane dog) and most importantly, the Margaret River Chocolate Company...
i honestly thought they used to be known as the Margaret Chocolate Factory...but they must have grown bigger over the years...*shrug*...anyways, we got Pam her block of Rocky Road...which i might add, it's pretty small compared to those cheapo ones you can get elsewhere...but MR chocies are by far one of my favourites...i don't think she will be disappointed...only thing is...i just found out from Pam that Yousing loves Rocky Road too...oh well, that small block will be demolished in seconds i guess...hahahha...come to Perth next time lah..i'll take you there myself and you can go crazy shopping for chocolates....
the last thing we did before embarking on the 4-hour drive home was to go up to Dunsborough to the Whale Lookout...had to trek abit before we got to the clearing overlooking the ocean...met a few angmohs along the way...kept insisting the white sprays far far away were whales "playing"...*rolls eyes* honestly those sprays were nothing but sprays ok...dun lie to me can...BUT, we finally did see a whale...tho just a lap of the tail...it was lucky i suppose...it happend just as we were about to leave....
I think age has really caught up with us.......the Margaret River trip completely wore us out...we were all K.Oed that nite...
Slowly recovering from the trip, we got to a later start on Day 4...Mere had to go back to work so too bad he couldn't join us...we trotted down to Subiaco first thing and decided on a coffee brunch...Mere works in Subi so he knew of a great coffee place where I have been wanting to try as well...
If I told you that Stimulatte (great name isn't it?) has great coffee and that is why you should all go there...that would be such a lie...the coffee is great, yes, but that is not really the main thing...hehe...all i can say is that the SINGLE girls from Mere's workplace are frequent patrons of Stimulatte...and don't worry, guys can get their share too...:)
from there we went on to Leederville where Andrea bought a pair of cute sunnies...can never remember the shop name even tho i'm always there when i'm in Leederville...Andrea was tossing up between a pair of brown ones and a snazzy red pair...i tot both looked good on you anyways :)
Shopping in Perth...how can I not bring them to Harbour Town...where everything is cheap...ok, maybe not when compared to Singapore...but certainly not too bad lah...
Then it was to glorious King's Park...thank goodness the sun came out...it was all damn farnie at the whispering wall...you know, surprisingly, not many pple know that that semi-circle of a wall is actually one of those with the fascinating acoustic effect of being able to hear your friend sitting at the other end, metres away, whispering...
That evening, we had dinner in Northbridge...followed by a spot of Bubble Tea (the "infamous" Hot Lavender Milk Tea) at Farmosa...felt abit bad tho...Andrea and Serene came all the way to Perth...and we ended up having an asian meal and taiwanese bubble tea...pretty duh....but get them to tell u the story of WHY we had to go try the tea...makes for an interesting conversation...what was farnie was the way Serene reacted to the smell of the tea...dun worry, i agree..it stinks...
Sad to say...There are no pics for the last day of their trip...we simply had Shepherd's Pie for lunch and proceeded to Carousel for last minute chocolate shopping...
By the way, I just wanted to say here that 90% of the photos shown here were taken by the very talented photographer Ms. Andrea Goh...seriously, i think your phototaking rocks!
Below are some bonus shots that i hope you find cute...hahaha...check out the puppy tummy flab on the bottom right!!...
Damnit...shld have made that pic larger...nvmind...if anyone's interested let me know and i will send it to u....This entry is dedicated to our dear friend Pam, whom for various reasons have been hard to catch up with and hence holiday plans were made w/o her....Andrea is holding ur Rocky Road ransom...u better go rescue him soon! Hope u enjoy the pics! :P
New Couch
Having lived in our current place for well over 3 years, it hasn't been (and will not be) given the interior decorator's touch...nicely put, the house is basic...but in all honesty, it sucks...
I caught him snoozing on top of the back-rests one afternoon....not sure how he got himself up there...but so far, at least there hasn't been a repeat performance yet...otherwise, someone's gonna have an appointment with the cane...
Don't get me wrong..i am fine living in "these conditions"...altho Mere might beg to differ...but there is really no need to deck out the joint when we did not have the (original) intention to live here for long...tho we didn't expect to still be here after 3 years!...we are procrastinators lah...
Our furniture are bits and pieces that we have bought/received over the years..our latest acquision is a "new couch"....given to us by the PILs becoz:
1) my FIL thought it was such a steal at $200 from the swap mart *roll eyes*
2) but it didn't match the PIL's furniture
3) our old couch needed replacing
the colour's not great but seriously, whatever....who cares if my furniture matched or not... *shrugs*....only issue...it's one of those microfibre ones...comfy for lazy asses like us...but bad also for pple with shaggy dogs...like us...can't win right?
we now have to resort to laying down the back-rest cushions on the seats whenever we leave the house...thinking that Shiro wld then be unable to jump up and get all comfy with the fluffiness...
how wrong are we....
I caught him snoozing on top of the back-rests one afternoon....not sure how he got himself up there...but so far, at least there hasn't been a repeat performance yet...otherwise, someone's gonna have an appointment with the cane...
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Urbanites turned Farmers
Hi Folks! Missed us? Nah...didn't think so...hahaha...probably none of u even think we were gone...albeit only for one nite...but still...
We finally went up the the PIL's farmhouse in York (97kms outside of Perth Metro) on Saturday for an overnite stay... "long-awaited" in my PIL's view...but not for me...:P
"Are we there yet?"I will admit right away that i wasn't so enthusiastic abt going...but yes, we HAVE to go some day...so why not now?I was really going to try to enjoy myself...i swear!
It's a beautiful place, granted...fruit orchards at the back and fields of wildflowers everywhere...but i cldn't possibly stay for more than one nite...for many reasons that shall not be mentioned here...let me just say, it's not simply becoz i am being a prima-donna when it comes to holiday accommodation...
Some of the activities that the urban farmer couldn't resist....
"I'm a lean, mean, grass-cutting machine!"
"A farmer believes in self-sustenance"
" Breath-taking sunset....A lovely end to an excellent day "
The happiest camper the entire time was probably Shiro...running happily (read: madly) amongst the tall grasses and wildflower fields...chasing bugs and sniffing at grass-seeds...
This was him at the end of the nite.....
The poor dog simply couldn't move...no matter how much u prodded or called out to him... 
" Missing York already... "
Really thanks but no thanks...next time Mere can take Shiro up there alone...I think I am comfortable remaining an urbanite.....
Friday, September 14, 2007
Culinary Adventures
Not sure why...but I have had some "adventures" with seafood lately...
Just today...I was having some leftover chilli mussels from last nite...and I found a half-digested baby crab in one of them...I only made that discovery when the crunch between my teeth happened and i tasted roe....Nice!
Usually if this happens...i would shrug it off...possibly even thank my lucky stars that i got some yummy crab roe thrown in...(this is someone that happens to like chewing on cooked prawn heads for their cholesterol-laden brains and little black beady eyes that go 'pop' when u bite into them...)
After my incident with the baby crab...i kinda didn't feel like having the rest of my mussels...dunno....really feel like vomiting...
it does take A LOT to make food repulsive for me...i mean...i can honestly eat anything...(expect for bugs and creatures that you don't find in a supermarket)...
i will eat innards...i will eat fish eyes...i will crack the fish's skull to suck at their brains...so why the sudden repulsion...i actually dunno....maybe i am getting old?..
tell u guys something esle...something gross...
last week, my FIL saw this frozen conch for sale at the chinese shops...he said he wanted to try it...I didn't think it was going to be good coz i have always used the dried variety for soup...the dried version is tasty (tastes like abalone, serious!...) but I dun think the frozen one was going to be tasty at all...plus he wanted it stir-fried...i honestly never heard of anyone using the conch for dishes except soup...
Mere agreed that stir frying wasn't going to soften the conch at all...so he decided to steam it for dinner...with the usual...ginger, garlic, spring onion and sauce...the conch did soften...but it was completely tasteless, save for the taste of the condiments...so, in our opinion...the frozen conch sucked!...
coz the frozen conch was pretty large...we kept half for for ourselves for the following nite's dinner...now..not sure if u know what a conch is...it is essentially a large sea snail....shell-less...so perhaps more like a slug?! anyway...the portion that got kept, was the part where the 2 knobby long bits were..u know, like "feelers"...
I really dunno what happened...but i got seriously grossed out while preparing it for dinner...i was slicing it...and i kept thinking it is a damn SNAIL...i was really close to tossing it away...i was so scared!!!! see, you got to understand, i once freaked out and chucked a whole chinese cabbage away coz there were tiny neon-green caterpillars in it...yes, i cld have simply rinsed them off...but i was terrified...so when i was faced with this snail/slug...all i cld think off was chucking it away...but i knew i shldn't coz it was like nearly $20 a kilo lah!
So i pep-talked myself...it's dead...it's not a snail snail...it's like abalone...etc...i was nearly done with the slicing...when i realised the damn thing had intestines!!
my god...i wanted to die...i had to pull them out and rised the slices to make sure that there were not remnants of the snail's crap (literally!)...how gross is that..snail's intestines! i mean pls...it's almost like chicken intestines can?..but it's not chicken...its a bloody snail!
i must stress, i have cleaned out chickens and fishes before...blood and guts dun faze me...but snail's innards?!!?!...errghh...thinking abt now just makes my hair stand....
i honestly am off seafood i think...but how? We might be going to the Oyster Bar for our anniversary...Oh, haha...that reminds of a worm-in-my-oyster story...but i'll save that for next time...
Just today...I was having some leftover chilli mussels from last nite...and I found a half-digested baby crab in one of them...I only made that discovery when the crunch between my teeth happened and i tasted roe....Nice!
Usually if this happens...i would shrug it off...possibly even thank my lucky stars that i got some yummy crab roe thrown in...(this is someone that happens to like chewing on cooked prawn heads for their cholesterol-laden brains and little black beady eyes that go 'pop' when u bite into them...)
After my incident with the baby crab...i kinda didn't feel like having the rest of my mussels...dunno....really feel like vomiting...
it does take A LOT to make food repulsive for me...i mean...i can honestly eat anything...(expect for bugs and creatures that you don't find in a supermarket)...
i will eat innards...i will eat fish eyes...i will crack the fish's skull to suck at their brains...so why the sudden repulsion...i actually dunno....maybe i am getting old?..
tell u guys something esle...something gross...
last week, my FIL saw this frozen conch for sale at the chinese shops...he said he wanted to try it...I didn't think it was going to be good coz i have always used the dried variety for soup...the dried version is tasty (tastes like abalone, serious!...) but I dun think the frozen one was going to be tasty at all...plus he wanted it stir-fried...i honestly never heard of anyone using the conch for dishes except soup...
Mere agreed that stir frying wasn't going to soften the conch at all...so he decided to steam it for dinner...with the usual...ginger, garlic, spring onion and sauce...the conch did soften...but it was completely tasteless, save for the taste of the condiments...so, in our opinion...the frozen conch sucked!...
coz the frozen conch was pretty large...we kept half for for ourselves for the following nite's dinner...now..not sure if u know what a conch is...it is essentially a large sea snail....shell-less...so perhaps more like a slug?! anyway...the portion that got kept, was the part where the 2 knobby long bits were..u know, like "feelers"...
I really dunno what happened...but i got seriously grossed out while preparing it for dinner...i was slicing it...and i kept thinking it is a damn SNAIL...i was really close to tossing it away...i was so scared!!!! see, you got to understand, i once freaked out and chucked a whole chinese cabbage away coz there were tiny neon-green caterpillars in it...yes, i cld have simply rinsed them off...but i was terrified...so when i was faced with this snail/slug...all i cld think off was chucking it away...but i knew i shldn't coz it was like nearly $20 a kilo lah!
So i pep-talked myself...it's dead...it's not a snail snail...it's like abalone...etc...i was nearly done with the slicing...when i realised the damn thing had intestines!!
my god...i wanted to die...i had to pull them out and rised the slices to make sure that there were not remnants of the snail's crap (literally!)...how gross is that..snail's intestines! i mean pls...it's almost like chicken intestines can?..but it's not chicken...its a bloody snail!
i must stress, i have cleaned out chickens and fishes before...blood and guts dun faze me...but snail's innards?!!?!...errghh...thinking abt now just makes my hair stand....
i honestly am off seafood i think...but how? We might be going to the Oyster Bar for our anniversary...Oh, haha...that reminds of a worm-in-my-oyster story...but i'll save that for next time...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Foodies
I know at this point in time I shouldn't even think of "celebrating"...but it's the weekend...and we have nothing better to do...so we went to EAT loh...our "dates" have always revolved around going to a restaurant anyway...
Mere kindly reassured me that tho i have joined the ranks of the unemployed (for the time being), he can still afford to feed my face...reeaaaallllll nice issit he?
Yeah Yeah...I am fat becoz I love food...tell me something new ok?...
Mere kindly reassured me that tho i have joined the ranks of the unemployed (for the time being), he can still afford to feed my face...reeaaaallllll nice issit he?
Mere picked this place that he had no idea where it was except that it was around the Fremantel area...yup, no idea...we only decided to go there after we hopped into the car, so yes we could have checked the web...but we don't usually lug our laptops around like some pple i know...
Thankfully Mere had the common sense to heard towards the river and just drive along that stretch...found it pretty quickly...pretty quirky place...next to the river bank and near a flyover too...so when the band plays..the sounds reverberating off the concrete kinda gives the whole area a pretty cool vibe...
Apparently The Left Bank is pretty popular...but as I was not a born and bred Perthsian...i had no clue about this place at all...the only Left Bank i know is in France...
Like any Freo restaurant...seafood is the predominant item on the menu...everything was pretty pricy and honestly, seafood doesn't interest me much...especially "normal" stuff like fish and chips....
Knowing Mere, I knew that we will be ordering the tasting plate...and coz I knew the servings were going to be pretty small, I ordered a oyster and seafood chowder to share...
Verdict? I was right about the food portions...don't get me started on food portions...having been here for so long...I have grown to expect large servings on even larger plates...if I can finish the food..it's not generous enough!!..yeah, its the fatty talking...but really, why is it that prices have increased so much over the last few years, but our plate sizes have shrunk?? Don't give me the crap about healthy eating ok...if i want to eat healthy, i can make my own salad at home...
The chowder was ok...but not enough stock...it's like the chowder was watered down and then liberally salted...yes, there were quite a bit of seafood pieces in there...but the taste was really just so-so...
Thank goodness for the company tho :) Great company makes even the crappiest food taste like heaven...
Altho the experience wasn't as great as I expected...I will go back again...I believe in second chances...who knows, maybe the cook was off sick that day? Maybe the ingredients were not as good that day?...or simply, I think I might order the lamb shanks next time...hahaha...and I shall remember to leave some space for dessert too...
I shall leave you with a pretty picture of us foodies...
Yeah Yeah...I am fat becoz I love food...tell me something new ok?...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Life as I see it right now...
It's been, what, 2.5 days since I left that place...how am I feeling?...haha...pretty relaxed and happy actually...
I get up at whatever time I like...without my usual panic of how much time I have left to slap on moisturiser and make-up, thinking if I still have time to put on mascara without poking my eye out...running to start the car up...deciding which pair of black shoes to wear...
I've been very good...no TV at all during the day...so, no Cath, I haven't been watching Oprah & Dr. Phil..hahha...I didn't even touch my DVDs...
Afternoons are spent having a quick lunch at home or out at the shops...ducking into the supermarkets for a few grocery items or even at the cafe having an ice-coffee and strawberry shortcake...mmmmm....nice as it may sound...but I do find sitting somewhere with a magazine pretty boring...i'll rather lie on my bed to read to be honest! So, i'll usually be back home in less than 2 hrs...
While at home, i'm parked in front of the comp for a good portion of my mornings and afternoons....the job hunt has been pretty ok so far...nothing exciting...but yes, there are stuff are there for me... but i think i must have hit the download quota...the connection is so slow...i am growing old just waiting for the page to load....damn optus!
it's nearly 5pm now...time to do another of my most favourite thing in the world...i think i haven cooked dinner in months... now that i am home...i can be bothered to make yummy stuff for dinner!! So happy just writing about it...
On tonite's menu is Emperor Chicken and a simple dish of stir-fried garlic chives and chicken gizzards...ok..enuf of me rambling on...need to go steam the chicken liao...
Tata ~
I get up at whatever time I like...without my usual panic of how much time I have left to slap on moisturiser and make-up, thinking if I still have time to put on mascara without poking my eye out...running to start the car up...deciding which pair of black shoes to wear...
I've been very good...no TV at all during the day...so, no Cath, I haven't been watching Oprah & Dr. Phil..hahha...I didn't even touch my DVDs...
Afternoons are spent having a quick lunch at home or out at the shops...ducking into the supermarkets for a few grocery items or even at the cafe having an ice-coffee and strawberry shortcake...mmmmm....nice as it may sound...but I do find sitting somewhere with a magazine pretty boring...i'll rather lie on my bed to read to be honest! So, i'll usually be back home in less than 2 hrs...
While at home, i'm parked in front of the comp for a good portion of my mornings and afternoons....the job hunt has been pretty ok so far...nothing exciting...but yes, there are stuff are there for me... but i think i must have hit the download quota...the connection is so slow...i am growing old just waiting for the page to load....damn optus!
it's nearly 5pm now...time to do another of my most favourite thing in the world...i think i haven cooked dinner in months... now that i am home...i can be bothered to make yummy stuff for dinner!! So happy just writing about it...
On tonite's menu is Emperor Chicken and a simple dish of stir-fried garlic chives and chicken gizzards...ok..enuf of me rambling on...need to go steam the chicken liao...
Tata ~
Monday, September 3, 2007
Don't bother polling...
Firstly thank you for all you "helpful" people who did cast your vote...i'm sure striking lottery is really an OPTION...that choice was simply put in to see which of you are seriously out there to help me...tsk tsk tsk...turns out there was none...
honestly waaaayyyyyy milder than what Mere would prefer...like what Dana told me..."don't burn you bridges"...but hey, no bridges there..and also..this mild version probably got my towkay steaming from his ears already...(which btw, I'm told...he hasn't spoken a word since I left...ha!)
Before I submitted my resignation this morning...I cleared up my desk and threw away all drafts, files and paperwork that I was working on...it's MY work...they didn't like it...so everything into the bin...I also deleted all my digital files...of course, I know IT can possibly salvage them from the depths of the server...but i renamed them all to either "draft", "draft1" or "text" or something really "useful"...if they want to spend time opening all the files before salvaging...be my guest :)
In a word of fairness to my jing li and towkay...i honestly don't think they knew about the ad at all...i confronted my towkay this morning when i gave him my letter...he was really lost for words...asked me to wait for the Towkay Neo to come back...no fucking way! I'm outta there...why should I wait...wait to be told that yes, they are replacing me becoz they thought i was crap?
I know deep down my towkay knows that the towkay neo did it...not the first time btw...i was the one who did the previous round of ads...we advertised even before the person was told to leave...and yes, that person found the ad..and sent a stinker of an email to everyone in the office..."watch out, you could be next" was the warning...ha!...just didn't expect that it would be me...
i left not sobbing but with my pride intact...as far as i'm concerned...i know i am not at fault and if the other staff members hear of this...Managment will be blamed and seen as despicable...i probably did hit the nail on the head with my letter as well...if not, my towkay whom is a really nice, gentle, kind person...won't be still red in the face and steaming at his ears...
My Jing Li did call earlier to let me know he thinks that i was very unfairly treated and that the towkay and himself are trying to find out exactly what happened...i said my peice...i don't feel the least bit upset...
How I am feeling now?...just a little bit du lan..and wish that I will find out if the Towkay Neo will get told off by the Towkay...hmmm...i will check into that...but as of 3pm this afternoon....i know the Towkay Neo still hasn't stepped into the office...so we shall see...
My plans for the next few days is to chill out a little...and continue with the job hunt of course...
who knows...i might come back to singapore for a while...just had a look at my bank account..had more money than i remembered...luckily...
Anyway, the main reason why there is no need for the poll anymore is that I have taken the decision to quit. Things were actually sorta looking up and so....yes, it's pretty sudden...even for me...
My company (ex-company, rather) hired a HR professional months ago...her task was to speak to each and every employee on what their job role was...only a couple of weeks ago, she finally got to our department...honestly I really dunno what is the point of hiring someone to draw up your job scope...considering, aren't you already hired? if your bosses dunno what the hell you r doing...ain't something seriously wrong?
I didn't know exactly what to tell her...as in, should I hard-sell myself or not...coz I don't even know what the objective is...how to play the game? anyway...it was pretty antagonising...but after 2 super long discussions..she finally came up with my role description...very detailed...right down to the nuts and bolts of what I do on a daily basis....
Now, this role description, to my understanding...was only a "draft"...it will be sent thru to Management (ie: Towkay, Towkay Neo & Jing Li) to get approval..meaning i assumed that they will have another discussion with ME..to see if both Management and I agree that these are my responsibilities etc...I mean, you don't need me to tell you that this is the appropriate way to handle this kind of matter right?
At the same time..my Jing Li wrote me a role description as well...based on how he thought my role should be like...we agreed to have a discussion this week to talk about it...
But...my role description written by the HR professional turned up on seek.com...tho the company name was not mentioned...how i know it was for my job?...well, firstly, the agent was the same one that got me this fucked-up job...and she was so lazy that the ad was word for word as what the HR professional wrote...save for some stupid typos and the fact the ad was to advertise for someone with 3 times my work experience...
how fucking under-hand and unprofessional...seriously why did I waste my time with them at all?!
Maybe they are trying to hire a more experienced person to help me...maybe I'm mistaken, the ad was not put up by my company at all...maybe maybe maybe...i have discussed the possibilities with Mere...the bottom-line is they are still unprofessional and why should I work for this type of people anymore? Besides...i am not quitting just for one stupid ad...the ad was simply the last straw...
For some reason...when I get pretty worked up...my mind tends to express everything in chinese or cantonese...as in...i dunno why..english words can't seem to give me the exact description of how i feel and what i would like to do to people who annoy me...don't worry...no hokkien vulgarities involved...don't see how someone esle's maternal genetials come into play on how i feel....
hence...i am sometimes lost for words on how to express myself in formal writing...i can't exactly use the words "stay in your stupid company any longer my life will be shorter leh" in my resignation letter right?...
So Mere kindly offered to draft it out for me...I didn't use his in the end..coz in summary, his was really pretty harsh...and, it's basically not me...so we compromised...and this what i submitted this morning:
honestly waaaayyyyyy milder than what Mere would prefer...like what Dana told me..."don't burn you bridges"...but hey, no bridges there..and also..this mild version probably got my towkay steaming from his ears already...(which btw, I'm told...he hasn't spoken a word since I left...ha!)Before I submitted my resignation this morning...I cleared up my desk and threw away all drafts, files and paperwork that I was working on...it's MY work...they didn't like it...so everything into the bin...I also deleted all my digital files...of course, I know IT can possibly salvage them from the depths of the server...but i renamed them all to either "draft", "draft1" or "text" or something really "useful"...if they want to spend time opening all the files before salvaging...be my guest :)
In a word of fairness to my jing li and towkay...i honestly don't think they knew about the ad at all...i confronted my towkay this morning when i gave him my letter...he was really lost for words...asked me to wait for the Towkay Neo to come back...no fucking way! I'm outta there...why should I wait...wait to be told that yes, they are replacing me becoz they thought i was crap?
I know deep down my towkay knows that the towkay neo did it...not the first time btw...i was the one who did the previous round of ads...we advertised even before the person was told to leave...and yes, that person found the ad..and sent a stinker of an email to everyone in the office..."watch out, you could be next" was the warning...ha!...just didn't expect that it would be me...
i left not sobbing but with my pride intact...as far as i'm concerned...i know i am not at fault and if the other staff members hear of this...Managment will be blamed and seen as despicable...i probably did hit the nail on the head with my letter as well...if not, my towkay whom is a really nice, gentle, kind person...won't be still red in the face and steaming at his ears...
My Jing Li did call earlier to let me know he thinks that i was very unfairly treated and that the towkay and himself are trying to find out exactly what happened...i said my peice...i don't feel the least bit upset...
How I am feeling now?...just a little bit du lan..and wish that I will find out if the Towkay Neo will get told off by the Towkay...hmmm...i will check into that...but as of 3pm this afternoon....i know the Towkay Neo still hasn't stepped into the office...so we shall see...
My plans for the next few days is to chill out a little...and continue with the job hunt of course...
who knows...i might come back to singapore for a while...just had a look at my bank account..had more money than i remembered...luckily...
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Has the choice already been made for me?
the hunt continues...but how not to feel that the guy up there is trying to tell me something when i got this via email today....
how suay can one person be....i wanted that job...sounded so good...sigh...i shld have known when i checked out the company website and the pdts and services were completely different from what was specified in the ad...stupid stupid me...
the guy up there is either telling me that i should give up the hope of ever finding a good job...or that my destiny is to be stuck with this bunch that will slowly but surely drive me insane??
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Eeeny Meeny Mynee Mo...Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I know this has been a pretty hot topic of late...
It is rather difficult to decide as, seriously, who can be sure of what's gonna happen in the future? If someone out there does..pls, forget answering my above question...just tell me what's the winning number for the saturday lottery thanks!
I can't believe I am finding it so hard to make up my mind...I am usually quite decisive...not that I make really good decisions all the time...but hey, I rather not waste time thinking...just do it lah...won't kill me!
So here I am after..hmm...2 weeks?...and I am still thinking...very irritating you know...this feeling of not being able to make up my mind...so...let's do a poll shall we?
Just one small request folks...as this is quite an important thing to me...please read what I have to say first and then give me a response...and no, I wld prefer if it's not a simple yes/no answer...pls try and convince me...coz I really need a very good PUSH or PULL...
Ok here goes...
This is what I have come up with so far:
Scenario 1 - I should stay because....
1) This is a proper marketing role...varied tasks with lots of room to grow...great on my CV
2) It has only been less than 6 months..I should give this company/job another shot...don't give up easily
3) Direct Manager seems to be trying to re-define my role...make me feel more confortable
4) The pay is not fantastic but still great...even if I an unhappy, at least I have my pay
5) Colleagues are great
6) The new job that I found is good but not great..not even a marketing role...
Scenario 2 - I should leave because....
1) These variety of tasks put together is quite an unreasonable work load..mgt also have their unreasonable expectations (ie: don't give me directions but expect me to know what they are looking for...am I GOD?)
2) Quite a few things have happened recently that made me doubt myself...whether or not I am right to doubt my abilities...to me, the damage is kinda done...confidence levels are pretty low at the moment
3) The efforts of the Manager just made me more inclined to believe he thinks I don't take enough initiatives...so again, I feel pretty down and I don't feel like asking him abt the issue...
4) I found another job that potentially can pay me the same..different industry, different role...whole new attraction all together
5) one person that although we can be friends..I cannot work with...quite an obnoxious character...
6) New job may open the door to a new career path
I know there is always "scenario 3"...that is wait for a good marketing job to come along..then no qualms abt jumping ship right? hahah...easily said than done...but don't worry..I have begun the hunt...and still hunting...
The above 2 scenarios are pertinent only to my situation NOW....that might change...but who knows when...
Any comments would be welcomed and considered.. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post note 1
haha..just suddenly remembered another reason to add to Scenario 1...as stupid as it may sound...you guys dunno ok...i am scared of serving the one month notice...can be so eaten alive...
tho I mus say if I do tender...i will try to get them to let me serve 2 wks instead..since I get paid every 2 wks anyways..so dun have to wait till month end...
It is rather difficult to decide as, seriously, who can be sure of what's gonna happen in the future? If someone out there does..pls, forget answering my above question...just tell me what's the winning number for the saturday lottery thanks!
I can't believe I am finding it so hard to make up my mind...I am usually quite decisive...not that I make really good decisions all the time...but hey, I rather not waste time thinking...just do it lah...won't kill me!
So here I am after..hmm...2 weeks?...and I am still thinking...very irritating you know...this feeling of not being able to make up my mind...so...let's do a poll shall we?
Just one small request folks...as this is quite an important thing to me...please read what I have to say first and then give me a response...and no, I wld prefer if it's not a simple yes/no answer...pls try and convince me...coz I really need a very good PUSH or PULL...
Ok here goes...
This is what I have come up with so far:
Scenario 1 - I should stay because....
1) This is a proper marketing role...varied tasks with lots of room to grow...great on my CV
2) It has only been less than 6 months..I should give this company/job another shot...don't give up easily
3) Direct Manager seems to be trying to re-define my role...make me feel more confortable
4) The pay is not fantastic but still great...even if I an unhappy, at least I have my pay
5) Colleagues are great
6) The new job that I found is good but not great..not even a marketing role...
Scenario 2 - I should leave because....
1) These variety of tasks put together is quite an unreasonable work load..mgt also have their unreasonable expectations (ie: don't give me directions but expect me to know what they are looking for...am I GOD?)
2) Quite a few things have happened recently that made me doubt myself...whether or not I am right to doubt my abilities...to me, the damage is kinda done...confidence levels are pretty low at the moment
3) The efforts of the Manager just made me more inclined to believe he thinks I don't take enough initiatives...so again, I feel pretty down and I don't feel like asking him abt the issue...
4) I found another job that potentially can pay me the same..different industry, different role...whole new attraction all together
5) one person that although we can be friends..I cannot work with...quite an obnoxious character...
6) New job may open the door to a new career path
I know there is always "scenario 3"...that is wait for a good marketing job to come along..then no qualms abt jumping ship right? hahah...easily said than done...but don't worry..I have begun the hunt...and still hunting...
The above 2 scenarios are pertinent only to my situation NOW....that might change...but who knows when...
Any comments would be welcomed and considered.. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post note 1
haha..just suddenly remembered another reason to add to Scenario 1...as stupid as it may sound...you guys dunno ok...i am scared of serving the one month notice...can be so eaten alive...
tho I mus say if I do tender...i will try to get them to let me serve 2 wks instead..since I get paid every 2 wks anyways..so dun have to wait till month end...
Monday, August 27, 2007
Entry 3
Blogs .. as we have established, it's not fresh and young ... it's just become older bolder and more in your face and hangs around like a bad smell... much like old men ...
The mine site itself? well it was pretty big ...
So after 5 days of hard labour, it's back to Bali enroute back to Perth ...
Why is it that when people get old they get annoying, weird and impudent? Like this nutter beside me on the plane .... must be in his late 60's ... normally a person would feel rather pai-seh to get up and down in the plane to get shit from the overhead locker ... but noooo ... old people don't give a shit about what others think now do they?
This trip to Bali, contrary to everyone's belief, was a working trip.
This was my office:
It was really hard ... the accommodations were appalling:
I mean seriously! what's with all that water just outside the balcony?
The mine site itself was in a remote area (try middle of nowhere) only accessible by company seaplane ... the trip was long and arduous ... and there was nothing much to see on the way in:
The mine site itself? well it was pretty big ...
err...actually.....
And all we had were seafood restaurants ... man ... shocking really ...
So after 5 days of hard labour, it's back to Bali enroute back to Perth ...
I really need to talk to my boss .... the poor treatment is simply unacceptable ... i'm threatening class action ...
Due to this injustice, I've decided to thumb my nose at company policy ... smuggling "fan ban" dvds, 400 cigarettes and 10 indonesian cigars!! Can you imagine what they are worth in the black market over here?
Anyway ... blogging sucks ... piss off! I'm a fat, tired and angry old man and I can say what I like ...
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Monday, August 20, 2007
Let's talk about Happy Things
Ok, let me first start off with something not so happy...Mere is away for a week in Bali...I know, how dare he leave me with my shitty job right? haha...but it's ok lah...he is not holidaying but on work training...and he has promised to buy me stuff!! He'll be back with pictures I'm sure...we've just bought a new camera...Also, now that he is away the comp is all mine....hahahah
It's not like I am totally fine at work...But yah, I know I should not dwell on it...so, let's talk about happy things...I must say I have had a couple of good weekends...much deserved I reckon...for all the crappiness that I have to put up with during work...
2 weekends ago, I met up with my cousin Patricia...she was here on a short holiday and wanted to meet up coz my aunty had something to pass to me...guess what folks...the gift couldn't be any timelier...I now have 7 new serials to watch!! If each serial averages around 30 episodes, with each episode being roughly 45 mins...do you know that equates to 9450 mins worth of vegging out in front of the TV???? Super Cool!
No lah, dun be crazy...you think I am like when I was 20 meh? I am getting old plus I still have to drive myself to work every morning...I wun finish watching them all till probably next year...I just finished a 40-episode serial recently...took me a grand total of 1 month...is that slow or what...very unlike me isn't it?
Sorry, I got to digress, that SHOW is one of the best recent serials I have watched!!
And just on Saturday Mere and I went to the City to get our new camera...the ancient digital camera we have has decided he wanted to retire...understandable...he was like the first generation digital camera...so we unashamedly, with his blessings, upgraded to a hotter, younger model...
Since Mere had an outbound ticket to Bali, we could buy the camera at the duty-free store...cheaper mah...anyway it's not the camera I want to rave about...it's the fact that it cost only $320 and yet it came with a free return ticket to Adelaide! How great is that? I know alot of pple think that Adelaide is like the slums or something...but having been there 3 times...I can honestly say, there is a lot more happening there than right here in Perth...so, I really look forward to going back there again...this time with a new camera and a blog...I'll be able to share Adelaide with you guys... :)
Oh yah, and also my MIL came back from Singapore on Saturday nite...and up till then I was still using a camera-less, mp3-less, colour-less mobile phone....I am now a proud owner of a daddy-sponsored, brand-new mobile phone...yay!!
Pls...I haven changed my phone for the last 5 years...so let this sua-ku wallow in her excitement for a while longer ok?
It's not like I am totally fine at work...But yah, I know I should not dwell on it...so, let's talk about happy things...I must say I have had a couple of good weekends...much deserved I reckon...for all the crappiness that I have to put up with during work...
2 weekends ago, I met up with my cousin Patricia...she was here on a short holiday and wanted to meet up coz my aunty had something to pass to me...guess what folks...the gift couldn't be any timelier...I now have 7 new serials to watch!! If each serial averages around 30 episodes, with each episode being roughly 45 mins...do you know that equates to 9450 mins worth of vegging out in front of the TV???? Super Cool!
No lah, dun be crazy...you think I am like when I was 20 meh? I am getting old plus I still have to drive myself to work every morning...I wun finish watching them all till probably next year...I just finished a 40-episode serial recently...took me a grand total of 1 month...is that slow or what...very unlike me isn't it?
Sorry, I got to digress, that SHOW is one of the best recent serials I have watched!!
And just on Saturday Mere and I went to the City to get our new camera...the ancient digital camera we have has decided he wanted to retire...understandable...he was like the first generation digital camera...so we unashamedly, with his blessings, upgraded to a hotter, younger model...
Since Mere had an outbound ticket to Bali, we could buy the camera at the duty-free store...cheaper mah...anyway it's not the camera I want to rave about...it's the fact that it cost only $320 and yet it came with a free return ticket to Adelaide! How great is that? I know alot of pple think that Adelaide is like the slums or something...but having been there 3 times...I can honestly say, there is a lot more happening there than right here in Perth...so, I really look forward to going back there again...this time with a new camera and a blog...I'll be able to share Adelaide with you guys... :) Oh yah, and also my MIL came back from Singapore on Saturday nite...and up till then I was still using a camera-less, mp3-less, colour-less mobile phone....I am now a proud owner of a daddy-sponsored, brand-new mobile phone...yay!!
Pls...I haven changed my phone for the last 5 years...so let this sua-ku wallow in her excitement for a while longer ok?Sunday, August 19, 2007
I'm soooo over it
I am so over it...I have spent weeks thinking left, right and centre about what should I do with my job...
Something happened on Friday (I HATE you) which caused me to make up my mind on a few things...I have come to the following conclusions:
A) The job is not for me/I am not up to the challenge/My skills are not those that are required
B) The company is shit/The bosses are shit/Not my fault
Whichever is correct...it doesn't matter anymore...much that I want to stay...I think it is time to leave before things become uglier...
thank you jason...you made me realised it doesn't matter if A or B is the truth..it is a simple case of incompatibility btw me and the job...hence time to put a stop to all this (sis, it's time to type your resignation letter!)
so back to the drawing board...I have to re-evaluate what I wanna do and make sure I have the appropriate skills and qualifications to match...
I'm so tired...just want to be happy...why is it so hard?
Something happened on Friday (I HATE you) which caused me to make up my mind on a few things...I have come to the following conclusions:
A) The job is not for me/I am not up to the challenge/My skills are not those that are required
B) The company is shit/The bosses are shit/Not my fault
Whichever is correct...it doesn't matter anymore...much that I want to stay...I think it is time to leave before things become uglier...
thank you jason...you made me realised it doesn't matter if A or B is the truth..it is a simple case of incompatibility btw me and the job...hence time to put a stop to all this (sis, it's time to type your resignation letter!)
so back to the drawing board...I have to re-evaluate what I wanna do and make sure I have the appropriate skills and qualifications to match...
I'm so tired...just want to be happy...why is it so hard?
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Catching Up
The plan started with Naz msning me two weeks ago...Naz wanted to take me out to lunch on the new company credit card she got (damn, how come I never got a credit card while I was at Surpac!?)..for the help I gave her for the June maintenance run...
I really didn't want to be paid for the "help"...I mean, I did it really just coz I will feel bad if it fucks itself over...so anyway...I just told her why not we go for drinks...no need for the company to foot the tab...
Then it turns out that Jared was leaving Surpac too (ok, I should stop saying Surpac...they are with the commies now) so I asked Jared if he wld like to come to drinks with us (ie: Naz, Mere & Me)....from there I found out that 2 other ex-colleagues were leaving too...total mass exodus...
Long story short...their farewell drinks were organised on the same day as the drinks I was organising...so of course Jared cldn't come by himself...more ex-colleagues were invited...I booked a table for 12 but it ended up with only 6 of us...pretty embarassing...
Tho only 6 of us...but it was the "right" group of us...It felt so nice to see everyone again....I missed you all!!!
You know, I think the mass exodus wouldn't have happened...had it not been for the commies...Surpac was really a fabulous place to work at...great colleagues...wonderful bosses who were not overly controlling...beer o'clock at 4pm every friday...etc...
I can keep going with how great Surpac was...I know I chose to left...but I had no choice...
I had to leave coz I was seriously getting pissed off with our overseas offices (shall not name countries here) and the fact that there was no career future for me at Surpac...marketing was all controlled by head office in Vancouver...
Drinks tonight really have sparked off a whole lot more job/career/money related issues for me...I am unhappy at my current job...but I dunno what to do about it...
If I leave:
How do I know if I will be happy in the next job I take up? Do I want to continue in a Marketing role? Did I bite off more than I could chew when I took up this job that offered me more money (more money = more responsibilities?)?
I think just let me grovel over this somemore...hopefully I can get a clearer perspective on what I want to do with myself sooner rather than later...
And just in case anyone is wondering...no,quit working altogether is not an option...tho supported by Mere...but I don't think I can do it...for now anyway...
I really didn't want to be paid for the "help"...I mean, I did it really just coz I will feel bad if it fucks itself over...so anyway...I just told her why not we go for drinks...no need for the company to foot the tab...
Then it turns out that Jared was leaving Surpac too (ok, I should stop saying Surpac...they are with the commies now) so I asked Jared if he wld like to come to drinks with us (ie: Naz, Mere & Me)....from there I found out that 2 other ex-colleagues were leaving too...total mass exodus...
Long story short...their farewell drinks were organised on the same day as the drinks I was organising...so of course Jared cldn't come by himself...more ex-colleagues were invited...I booked a table for 12 but it ended up with only 6 of us...pretty embarassing...
Tho only 6 of us...but it was the "right" group of us...It felt so nice to see everyone again....I missed you all!!!
You know, I think the mass exodus wouldn't have happened...had it not been for the commies...Surpac was really a fabulous place to work at...great colleagues...wonderful bosses who were not overly controlling...beer o'clock at 4pm every friday...etc...
I can keep going with how great Surpac was...I know I chose to left...but I had no choice...
I had to leave coz I was seriously getting pissed off with our overseas offices (shall not name countries here) and the fact that there was no career future for me at Surpac...marketing was all controlled by head office in Vancouver...
Drinks tonight really have sparked off a whole lot more job/career/money related issues for me...I am unhappy at my current job...but I dunno what to do about it...
If I leave:
- Does that mean I was "wrong" to leave Surpac?
- Does that mean that I was not ready for the new job in the first place?
- Does that mean I am a loser coz I didn't try hard enough at my current job?
- Does it mean that a marketing role is just not my cup of tea (the horror!)
How do I know if I will be happy in the next job I take up? Do I want to continue in a Marketing role? Did I bite off more than I could chew when I took up this job that offered me more money (more money = more responsibilities?)?
I think just let me grovel over this somemore...hopefully I can get a clearer perspective on what I want to do with myself sooner rather than later...
And just in case anyone is wondering...no,quit working altogether is not an option...tho supported by Mere...but I don't think I can do it...for now anyway...
Sunday, August 5, 2007
More money spent...
This weekend has surely turned out to be one of the most expensive yet...
Weeks ago, I read that there was going to be a Truffles Festival in Perth...being such a foodie...I asked Mere if he was interested to go with me and have a look...it's not too far a drive...only about 30 mins away...
There was going to be some cooking classes, talks by world-class chefs, food tasting and even a demonstration of truffles-sniffing dogs..but what I was most interested in was the Produce Market...
Look, I didn't go with much expectations...as we have been disappointed by a lot of such markets already...I knew exactly what to expect...the usual assortment of stalls selling honey, jams, pickles and olive oil...granted u can't get these in your normal supermarkets coz they are directly from the farms and small businesses...but still, it gets boring after a while...
The Produce Market was exactly as I described...BUT I was there on a mission...I wanted to get a bottle of truffle oil...
Disappointingly, there was only 1 stall selling truffle oil...can u believe that? I mean, this is a truffle festival for god's sake! I am happy for the other stalls to carry on selling their non-truffle related goods, but hey, didn't the organisers think of getting more relevant businesses involved?
Anyway, we did a bit of tasting before going ahead with our purchase...it was decent, not fantastic :(
and it wasn't all free tasting by the way, tho I can understand...these truffles are $200 per gram...
All we had were:
A slice of hazelnut bread with truffle butter - $2
A slice of bread with brie cheese & truffles - $5
A cube-sized New Norcia Nut Bread - Free
A tiny piece of bread dipped in truffle oil - Free
A little disappointed I didn't get to try the soft-boiled egg with truffle shavings...all sold out by the time I got there...
So, I got my bottle of truffle oil for $30 and we simply trudged home...I still can't believe all it takes to flavour the entire bottle of oil is one tiny slice of truffle...maybe half the size of a 5c piece...
Weeks ago, I read that there was going to be a Truffles Festival in Perth...being such a foodie...I asked Mere if he was interested to go with me and have a look...it's not too far a drive...only about 30 mins away...
There was going to be some cooking classes, talks by world-class chefs, food tasting and even a demonstration of truffles-sniffing dogs..but what I was most interested in was the Produce Market...
Look, I didn't go with much expectations...as we have been disappointed by a lot of such markets already...I knew exactly what to expect...the usual assortment of stalls selling honey, jams, pickles and olive oil...granted u can't get these in your normal supermarkets coz they are directly from the farms and small businesses...but still, it gets boring after a while...
The Produce Market was exactly as I described...BUT I was there on a mission...I wanted to get a bottle of truffle oil...
Disappointingly, there was only 1 stall selling truffle oil...can u believe that? I mean, this is a truffle festival for god's sake! I am happy for the other stalls to carry on selling their non-truffle related goods, but hey, didn't the organisers think of getting more relevant businesses involved?
Anyway, we did a bit of tasting before going ahead with our purchase...it was decent, not fantastic :(
and it wasn't all free tasting by the way, tho I can understand...these truffles are $200 per gram...
All we had were:
A slice of hazelnut bread with truffle butter - $2
A slice of bread with brie cheese & truffles - $5
A cube-sized New Norcia Nut Bread - Free
A tiny piece of bread dipped in truffle oil - Free
A little disappointed I didn't get to try the soft-boiled egg with truffle shavings...all sold out by the time I got there...
So, I got my bottle of truffle oil for $30 and we simply trudged home...I still can't believe all it takes to flavour the entire bottle of oil is one tiny slice of truffle...maybe half the size of a 5c piece...
Yes folks, the little black speck you see on the bottom left...that's what all the fuss is about...Let's hope that tiny slice does its magic...I'll let you all know if the oil is really worth its weight in gold...On a happier note, Mere and I can look forward to a freebie on Wednesday...as a job perk...I occasionally get free tickets for movie premiers organised by the radio station that my company advertises with...last time it was Fantastic Four 2, now it's Die Hard 4.0...let's face it, this movie is more for Mere than me...but at least Maggie Q is going to be in it...I'll just eat my popcorn and shut-up...
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Saturday Shopping Spree
This morning started good enough...with a headache from last night's farewell drinks with Carly at the Queen's subsiding almost immediately with two Advils...but I still had to get up at 8am to get ready for a doctor's appointment...
To Mere's credit...even after the issue at the pharmacy...he was truely the perfect husband :) He even participated in the super drawn-out bag selection process...the chinese sales-lady (all of them are chinese...Don't be surprised...who else buys this sort of stuff?) was really enthu abt getting me to try carrying virtually all the bags in the shop..in all colous as well...I felt pretty bad that she had to scale the ladders to reach the stock and after a while I told her not to bother...but she insisted...thank god I did find something I like...if not I would have felt like crap...or worse! buy something I didn't like....
Yah, in an obiang translucent white plastic bag...we were happily walking ard the whole shop with it...thinking abt it now really seems so funny...I really thank the sales lady today...for being so professional the whole time (how did she know I will actually make a purchase?) if this was back home, I don't think we wld have gotten the service that we did, considering I had no make-up and Mere was in a fugly, ratty, gray sweater carrying a bag of pads.....
It's such a pain going to my doc's...it's all the way back into the city...as if I don't go there often enough...I know I work in the bloody city, but there's not enough time during lunch to see the doc ok? Anyways, just needed to go there and confirm if my skin aliment was indeed turning me into a walking mushroom farm, or it's something else...turns out nothing was wrong except for a really serious case of dryness...so no more hot showers for me..and I have to use those non-commercial body lotions...damnit...
Hence after a nice big plate of fry-up for breakfast, we trotted down to the pharmacy...bought a whole heap of stuff that came to a grand total of $117.
*shake head* Mere couldn't imagine why toiletries came up to so much...all I can say is - dearie, make-up is not cheap and the vitamins to increase your metabolism, well, it's nearly $40....so, c'mon!
After going to the pharmacy, we thought we might walk to my office to get my car...coz I left my car there last nite...so I could drink myself silly (as per usual for a Friday evening)...proved to be a bad move...for Mere at least...haha...see, we had to walk past a certain shop...that Mere absolutely hates...
This shop is somewhere I have visited at least 3-4 times over the last few months...looking for something in particular...something I can use...something I need...something expensive...
I mus say, I swear I expected that it will turn out to be another window shopping experience...but...
To Mere's credit...even after the issue at the pharmacy...he was truely the perfect husband :) He even participated in the super drawn-out bag selection process...the chinese sales-lady (all of them are chinese...Don't be surprised...who else buys this sort of stuff?) was really enthu abt getting me to try carrying virtually all the bags in the shop..in all colous as well...I felt pretty bad that she had to scale the ladders to reach the stock and after a while I told her not to bother...but she insisted...thank god I did find something I like...if not I would have felt like crap...or worse! buy something I didn't like....Jason and Dana wld know how long I have antagonised over this...if I were to spend quite a bit of money on a bag, I wld naturally have to find the perfect bag...I have been searching for so many months...it's either I liked the shape but the design was ugly...or vice versa...
I have seen this bag before..it's a simple shape which I like, with the classic monogram (abit iffy abt the classic monogram coz I already have a wallet like that...)...but this is a limited edition piece...they have added a silver thread design to it...pretty pretty pretty!
Also, thank god for the AUD..it's superb performance against the Euro...I got the bag at nearly $300 cheaper than if I had bought it a few months ago...so, Cath, thank goodness I waited!!
I left feeling great of course...and happy that Mere was actually ok with it! You guys don't understand man...but Cath, I know you wld get what I mean...hahaha
The last funny bit to this entire story...remember the stuff we got at the pharmacy?..
Yah, in an obiang translucent white plastic bag...we were happily walking ard the whole shop with it...thinking abt it now really seems so funny...I really thank the sales lady today...for being so professional the whole time (how did she know I will actually make a purchase?) if this was back home, I don't think we wld have gotten the service that we did, considering I had no make-up and Mere was in a fugly, ratty, gray sweater carrying a bag of pads.....Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Entry 2
Back for more of my rants eh?
I liken blogging to office politics ... cheap, nasty but in today's society apparently a necessity.
From this point forward, use the words, "blogging", "ass-licking", "brown-nosing", their equivalents and grammatical permutations, interchangeably*
To blog or not to blog ... that's not a question ... it's a demand.
To get accepted as part of the inner circle and climb the ladder of achievment we must have a go at blogging. Any "great" person these days worth (or believed to be worth) their salt, blogs.
Check out some of the websites of the biggest companies on earth (e.g. Oracle, Wal-Mart (world's biggest company btw ... take that Exxon!))and you'll undoubtedly find blogs in them from employee/bloggers trying to get ahead in life (or perhaps under duress...)
Question is, do you believe in ass-licking? and do you believe the sweet nothings muttered during a good brown-nosing? (check out the Basic Candy Buyer's Assistant's proclaimation: "There is not another company I would rather work for than MY Wal-Mart!"). No? And yet there is a swing towards using this un-edited, un-governed media as a source of information?
I've had to think about this lately at work ... to blog or not to blog? Is another rung up the corporate ladder worth my dignity, self-respect and friendships? Hmm ...
The pondering continues ....
I liken blogging to office politics ... cheap, nasty but in today's society apparently a necessity.
From this point forward, use the words, "blogging", "ass-licking", "brown-nosing", their equivalents and grammatical permutations, interchangeably*
To blog or not to blog ... that's not a question ... it's a demand.
To get accepted as part of the inner circle and climb the ladder of achievment we must have a go at blogging. Any "great" person these days worth (or believed to be worth) their salt, blogs.
Check out some of the websites of the biggest companies on earth (e.g. Oracle, Wal-Mart (world's biggest company btw ... take that Exxon!))and you'll undoubtedly find blogs in them from employee/bloggers trying to get ahead in life (or perhaps under duress...)
Question is, do you believe in ass-licking? and do you believe the sweet nothings muttered during a good brown-nosing? (check out the Basic Candy Buyer's Assistant's proclaimation: "There is not another company I would rather work for than MY Wal-Mart!"). No? And yet there is a swing towards using this un-edited, un-governed media as a source of information?
I've had to think about this lately at work ... to blog or not to blog? Is another rung up the corporate ladder worth my dignity, self-respect and friendships? Hmm ...
The pondering continues ....
Close entry.
footnote:
-if you've been too thick to understand *, my company does not literally have a blog ...
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Shiro: Sensitive new age dog, GSOH. Call me now 1900-Hot-Dog. $5 p/min
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Random Stuff
Poker-Face
We got invited to dinner by Mere's colleague (a very nice girl, Sylvia) a few Saturdays ago...a fresh thing for us coz, you know, Mere is not exactly the most sociable..was pleasantly surprised when he said we were gonna have plans for that Saturday...
Anyways, dinner turned out really well and we played our very first proper game of poker....Sylvia's friends even had the plastic cards and chips! Great for Mere...he finally got to do what he have always dreamt about - SHOW HAND (a la God of Gamblers) But yah lah...as usual...guess who's money he showed-hand with?...he was already cleaned out by then...so basically with that one Show-Hand he cleared my chips, effectively bankrupting both of us....the irony in that was the pile of chips he showed-hand with was actually won by me in a round of show-hand too....ok ok...I am not a fantastic poker player alright? I put all my chips in only coz I had a set of flush...heheheh...kiasu (or rather, kiasi) I know but still a spectacular win right?
Lost $40 in total, both of us combined...Nonetheless, all in the name of good fun....as what my auntie used to call it..."pay school fees" loh...
Not sure if we did get any decent photos for that nite of poker...check with Mere on that one...
The Lost Art of Cocktails
"Discovered" this bar in Northbridge two Fridays ago...I said "Discovered" only coz we have walked past it during our last 6-7 yrs here but never thought about going in...now I am so hooked!! The band on Friday nite is superb...and most importantly, the cocktails there are fabulous!!!...All freshly-squeezed by the way...haha I can say its healthy, full of vitamin C lah...see, it's winter and I haven't had my cold yet...
I really hate the usual pre-mixed lousy sweet stuff they try and pass off as cocktails in most of the popular joints....seriously, where are all the pple who can make you the world's best cocktail from freakin fresh ingredients?..ok lah, sure the alcohol is not "fresh ingredient" per se...but you know what I mean...
When I pay for a cocktail....coz it's so fancy you wanna charge me more for it, fine..then you jolly well make it a helluva good cocktail..I want the fruit, mint leaves and god knows what other heavenly stuff you put in to be hand-smashed into an unrecognisable pulp...chuck said pulp into a chilled shaker ( I said CHILLED) and give it a really good shake (plus some smooth moves please) before pouring into a perfectly decorated (no ugly umbrellas or pineapples for me, thanks!) and chilled (again, I say CHILLED) martini glass rimmed with salt crystals...perfect for a friday nite drink...celebrating the fact that we have not strangled the boss or slit our throats yet...
My favourite at the bar? Mmmmm...Chilli & Ginger Margaritas...most pple I know don't share my enthusiasm for Tequlia, not to mention the addition of chilli (gasps!) and ginger (eeks!)...u guys dunno what u r missing man....imagine sipping your cocktail, waiting for the alcohol to work its voodoo...then it hits you..the wonderful spice and kick....frighteningly exhilarating...
OOO...can't wait for Friday...missed one last week coz although I brought Jelly to the bar, she wasn't keen on my choice of poison...see what I mean about not many being enthusiastic about the Chilli & Ginger Margarita?...still, we had a good nite and I got to try another cocktail - Luscious Limbo
In a word of fairness, I did go to another bar (strangely called a deli dunno why...I can tell u for sure the prices are not what you can find at the local deli!) recently...on our "wedding anniversary" no less...whose bar staff are just as apt at making cocktails from fresh ingredients...but sadly, aside from chilled shakers and glasses, the other most important thing to me is that my drink simply cannot taste like cough syrup...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
No I didn't get to read it at 9.02am WST on 21st July 2007. You must know by how Mere reacts when it comes to money and fads....
We got invited to dinner by Mere's colleague (a very nice girl, Sylvia) a few Saturdays ago...a fresh thing for us coz, you know, Mere is not exactly the most sociable..was pleasantly surprised when he said we were gonna have plans for that Saturday...
Anyways, dinner turned out really well and we played our very first proper game of poker....Sylvia's friends even had the plastic cards and chips! Great for Mere...he finally got to do what he have always dreamt about - SHOW HAND (a la God of Gamblers) But yah lah...as usual...guess who's money he showed-hand with?...he was already cleaned out by then...so basically with that one Show-Hand he cleared my chips, effectively bankrupting both of us....the irony in that was the pile of chips he showed-hand with was actually won by me in a round of show-hand too....ok ok...I am not a fantastic poker player alright? I put all my chips in only coz I had a set of flush...heheheh...kiasu (or rather, kiasi) I know but still a spectacular win right?
Lost $40 in total, both of us combined...Nonetheless, all in the name of good fun....as what my auntie used to call it..."pay school fees" loh...
Not sure if we did get any decent photos for that nite of poker...check with Mere on that one...
The Lost Art of Cocktails
"Discovered" this bar in Northbridge two Fridays ago...I said "Discovered" only coz we have walked past it during our last 6-7 yrs here but never thought about going in...now I am so hooked!! The band on Friday nite is superb...and most importantly, the cocktails there are fabulous!!!...All freshly-squeezed by the way...haha I can say its healthy, full of vitamin C lah...see, it's winter and I haven't had my cold yet...
I really hate the usual pre-mixed lousy sweet stuff they try and pass off as cocktails in most of the popular joints....seriously, where are all the pple who can make you the world's best cocktail from freakin fresh ingredients?..ok lah, sure the alcohol is not "fresh ingredient" per se...but you know what I mean...
When I pay for a cocktail....coz it's so fancy you wanna charge me more for it, fine..then you jolly well make it a helluva good cocktail..I want the fruit, mint leaves and god knows what other heavenly stuff you put in to be hand-smashed into an unrecognisable pulp...chuck said pulp into a chilled shaker ( I said CHILLED) and give it a really good shake (plus some smooth moves please) before pouring into a perfectly decorated (no ugly umbrellas or pineapples for me, thanks!) and chilled (again, I say CHILLED) martini glass rimmed with salt crystals...perfect for a friday nite drink...celebrating the fact that we have not strangled the boss or slit our throats yet...
My favourite at the bar? Mmmmm...Chilli & Ginger Margaritas...most pple I know don't share my enthusiasm for Tequlia, not to mention the addition of chilli (gasps!) and ginger (eeks!)...u guys dunno what u r missing man....imagine sipping your cocktail, waiting for the alcohol to work its voodoo...then it hits you..the wonderful spice and kick....frighteningly exhilarating...
OOO...can't wait for Friday...missed one last week coz although I brought Jelly to the bar, she wasn't keen on my choice of poison...see what I mean about not many being enthusiastic about the Chilli & Ginger Margarita?...still, we had a good nite and I got to try another cocktail - Luscious Limbo
In a word of fairness, I did go to another bar (strangely called a deli dunno why...I can tell u for sure the prices are not what you can find at the local deli!) recently...on our "wedding anniversary" no less...whose bar staff are just as apt at making cocktails from fresh ingredients...but sadly, aside from chilled shakers and glasses, the other most important thing to me is that my drink simply cannot taste like cough syrup...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
No I didn't get to read it at 9.02am WST on 21st July 2007. You must know by how Mere reacts when it comes to money and fads....
A few months back:
Whinger: "Why can't I pre-order the freakin book? it's only $29.95!"
Stingy-Miser: "Coz in a couple of weeks after the first release it will cost $19.90 at K-mart"...you guys can see how the conversation went right...
but he is right...it's not that big a deal for me after the initial whinging...I only paid $25.99 for the book a mere 4 days later..haha..yah lah..I know, $4 savings...like damn great liddat...
I am not simply gonna talk abt how great it felt to save $4 (Mere: Up Yours Rowling!)...I just want to say how depressed I was after reading it...damn damn damn...maybe I am sensitive but I got all teary...what a nut job right?
My eyes welled-up when I read to the part where Fred, Lupin & Tonks died. So sad....especially Fred lah...
Aside from giving me "shallow eyelids", I've got another question...maybe it's just me...I'm not the ultimate fan so I admit I might have missed some details...at the part where Harry goes visit his parents' graves...it is written that his parents died on 31st Oct 1981...obviously we all know Harry was a baby then...debatable if he was a year old already...but that is not the point...the point is doesn't that make Harry older than moi?? and I thought he was meant to be 17?
I always thought the books were written in today's day and age..have I missed something for the last 10 years?
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