I've visited 9% of the world!

Saw this on a fren's blog & decided to try it out:



visited 22 countries (9%)

create your own visited country map

I need to finish Europe, start Latin America & Africa....

It's crazy that I'm thinking of holidaying again given that i'm still sick & sore all over from my sun burn....oh well....

LA Times Part 2

Right... the long overdue post that I owe:

Day 3: Downtown LA & Hollywood
Who said LA was too rough & is impossible to go by public transport from Orange County? Lots of patience & being alert at all times is all that u need and all it costs is 3USD!

Woke up really early, took the hotel bus to Disneyland to change a metro bus into downtown LA. Went by Knotts Berry Farm / Staples Center etc. along the way. Got off at 7th Street to visit the visitor's information counter n got a wad of brochures & bus maps for LA, Hollywood & Santa Monica. Walked ard the area for awhile b4 taking the metro rail to Union Station. Visited Little Mexico (had really nice tacos there for lunch), Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Civic Center, Lady of Angels Church (or something along those lines....), Pershing Square, Grand Central Market, Angel's Flight, Million Dollar Theatre etc. all on foot in about 2-3 hours.... that's what i call travelling... hate to waste time while travelling cuz i'll prob not go back to that place again...

After which we took the metro rail to Hollywood/ Highland and checked out the world famous Kodak Theatre & Chinese Grausman Theatre where the Oscars r held, not forgetting the Hollywood stars walkway as well as doing the touristy thing of taking fotos with the stars... matched my hands with Steven Spielberg's and was next to Britney's star... hee hee.... i love bubble gum pop :p ....

Went on a Celebrity House bus tour as well... 2 hours $27 guess it was alrite... went to quite a lot of places like Justin Timerlake's home, saw Eva Longoria's Pink house, Quentin Tarentino's neverending brick walled fence home, Tom Cruise's place with lots of paparrazi parked outside, Beverly Hills hotel, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip, Beverly Hills... pretty eventful huh? Tried spotting Paris HIlton or someone famous since my fav trashy sites alwiz have them shopping all the time....but didn't spot any....better luck next time.... our guide was fantastic I must say, he's a standup comedian called Little Larry, check out his myspace... interesting stuff: www.myspace.com/littlelarry25



After the tour, I went to get Disneyland & Universal Studios tickets for my bro n myself from the info counter so i don't have to queue for the next 2 days, then we proceeded to take a picture of the hollywood sign from the shopping center's viewing gallery. Then came the highlight of the day: shopping at Farmer's Market & the Grove... too bad i only had an hour at that place so i only managed to get a Forever 21 Jap looking top n a piece of hair accesory + a homemade icecream ... forever 21 is so cheap!!!! everything is about 20+ dollars... compared to the minimum $50+ that we have to pay here in sg.... not forgetting greater variety as well... checked out Abercrombie but didn't have time to try stuff on or I would definitely grab a couple of skirts & jackets home ... loved the shop layout... very very cool stuff but a tad too dark i feel...The Grove is definitely a must go if u drop by West Hollywood... great shopping for both guys n gals... great food at the market too... u wun be disappointed.... trust me on this one!

Caught the 1007pm last bus back to Orange County in the nick of time n got back to the hotel at about midnite... pretty satisfied but wished I had more time at the Grove....:p well i guess it was gd for my wallet...

(rite i need to pop out for a bit.... will finish this when I return 2nite.....)

Day 4: Disneyland

Day 5: Universal Studios

Day 6: The Block @ Orange & Long Beach

Day 7: Santa Monica

Japan photos r up!

Okie... not all my japan fotos... only 2 days out of the 4.... exceeded my flickr limit already... contemplating about an upgrade to pro but i wun need so much space once i'm back at work.... guess i'll have to find another place to host my pictures... any suggestions??

Update on the rest of LA coming rite up.... once i'm done with procrastinating at home tt is.... hee hee.....

LA Times

Hi ppl... sorry was too tired to blog yesterday so I'm gonna combine 2 days of shopping into one blog entry...here goes:

Day 1: The OC Pilgrimage
I love the show The OC and was pretty pleased when I heard that my hotel was gonna be in Orange County. But having stepped foot in here, I can tell u that it's one of the most ulu places on this planet man... besides Disneyland & Knotts Berry Farm there isn't very much to do around this place. The hotel personnels except for one wasn't very helpful either in giving directions, insisting that I need to drive in order to get my way ard n i shudn't go to Downtown LA alone as it's full of muggers...

That aside, I managed to get on a public bus that runs just outside the hotel and asked for directions from the bus driver. Managed to somehow get myself down to Newport Beach & Bilbao Island.. home of the OC :) Having seen it for myself, I now truly understand why ppl say that LA is about beaches n shopping (besides Disneyland & Hollywood)...the beaches were sprawling, blue skies, blue sea, nice soft sand, ppl surfing... it's my kind of place :) There were lots of ppl fishing at the pier as well n this guy actually caught this huge stingray about 1m long... amazing stuff... he threw it back into the sea with the help of others at the pier if u're wondering. Oh and there was this shop near the beach which sells the OC stuff, took a picture with the director chairs with the names of the OC characters on it.

After frolicking about the beach, I took the bus to this place called Fashion Island... cool huh? It's located opposite the opening scene of the OC (this row of houses situated along a cliff) it's so so so huge... it's about 5 suntec city malls put together... amazing stuff, there's Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Nike Goddess (i couldn't find it though), BCBG, Victoria Secrets, etc. .... got a Laundry by Shelli Segal dress at $75 (original was $250) from Neiman Marcus & a Bloomingdales Little Brown Bag :) Got back to the hotel close 2 midnite & watched Sex & the city, Southpark & movies on HBO... nice stuff...

Day 2: Desert trail
Today I went to this really huge factory outlet in the middle of the desert at Palm Springs called Desert Hills Premium Shopping Outlet. Surrounded by mountains & the desert, it's a really "cool" experience shopping there with it's over 250 shops n all... heaven for shopping queen here...hee hee...

I must say being in the middle of a desert in summer was truly an experience... it was freaking hot!!!!! Was practically fried in there... way hotter than Singapore...so I ducked from one shop to another to stay in air conditioning....as a result I got lots of stuff n burnt a huge hole in my pocket in my 6 hours that I was there:

1. Ferragamo pumps (US$120 from $260)
2. Marc Jacobs flats (US$105 from $220)
3. BCBG top (US$40 from $70)
4. Miss Sixty Jeans (US$80 from $120)
5. Coach contact lense case (US$30 from $60)
6. 3 pairs of Nike socks (US$8 from $13)
7. Adidas cap (US$5 from $13)
8. Blueberry Green Tea Frappacino from Starbucks ($3.30)

Am so not gonna shop for the next 2 months at least after this trip man... but at least i havent been shopping apart from the mango sale in the last 2 months so I guess I'm entitled to do so ehz?

Okiez gotta call it a day here as I need to call a fren to see if I can meet up with her while i'm in LA... miss her so much...

Later guys! Ta~

Goodbye Prof Silverstone

Roger Silverstone, 15 June 1945 – 16 July 2006
Convenor, Department of Media and Communications, LSE
The faculty, staff and students mourn the sudden passing of Roger Silverstone, who died peacefully on 16 July surrounded by his family. Roger had undergone corrective surgery last week but died of complications on Sunday morning. This news has come as a profound shock to all of us in Roger’s Department of Media and Communications, the wider LSE community, and will deeply affect very many people around the world whose lives were touched by Roger.

Will always remember the lectures that u gave us for MC400 & for helping me out with some parts of my dissertation. Can't thank you enough. Rest in peace professor. We'll miss u.

Hi from LA & summary of Japan trip

Hi guys... finally got internet access... hope all of u didn't miss me too much! Just got into LA...living in orange county so it's miles from everywhere n the bell man insisted that i shouldn't head down to Downtown LA on my own... grr.... so maybe i'll just have to be contented with Disneyland & Knott's Berry Farm if i don't take those package tours.... we'll see what I can do...

Now for the long awaited rundown of my Japan trip: Warning.... LONG POST!

Let's see...
Day One in Japan: Kinugawa
Very first place I went was the Nikko Samurai Village... honestly it was a joke .... reminds me of the old Tang Dynasty City I went in Singapore as a child...fortunately the teppanyaki lunch kinda made up for it...

Next up was Kegon Falls (one of Japan's biggest waterfalls), Lake Chuzenji and the Irohazaka road known as the Zig-zag driveway... i must really take my hat off to our bus driver... the turns were really sharp n imagine having to manouvere a long bus through... boy.... would love to test drive on such tracks though... would be fun...

In the evening, we stayed in a resort hotel in Kinugawa... although the hotel & room was pretty old & run down but I got to stay in this amazing traditional japanese room!!!! I even slept on a tatami... best of all... it comes with it's very own public bath (wen1 quan2)... was pretty hesistant initially about walking about in my birthday suit but once I got into the open air bath, I'm glad i plucked up the courage.

Day Two: Tokyo
We headed down to tokyo early in the morning... stopped at Asakysa & Nakamise Street first... interesting shopping street with loads of souvenirs & food... too bad i didn't have time to check out this nearby street which sells rubber food (i'm just super amazed by the rubber food displays that almost every restaurant in japan has... esp the ones with the chopsticks holding up the ramen in midair... simply unbelievable)

After which, we headed to Odaiba and passed by the Rainbow bridge... hmm nothing very spectacular... oh n u wun believe it... the tour guide actually arranged for us to have italian food for lunch... Italian food in Japan?!?! it just doesn't taste anywhere near.... more of a half way pt btw italian n jap food... just imagine jap rice used to cook risotto... ewww....)

But I was truly impressed by the next stop & spent over an hour there... the Toyota Showcase at Odaiba Waterfront... very interesting... they have the full range of toyotas in there n lexus... super duper chio sport cars... futuristic display models, f1 cars, the full range of hybrid cars n u can even test drive their mini hybrid car within the building itself... too bad the queue was too long n i didn't have time or i would have gone for it...

Next up was supposed to be Ginza and I was totally looking for it but my group consists mainly of aunties n they aren't appreciative of the sony gallery, shiseido gallery n the interesting upmarket malls so they insisted we give it a miss ... after we got off the bus!... So we actually got off, walked for 100m while they complained nonstop to the tourguide and the tour guide had to get the bus to turn back n pick us up again.... argghhhh.....

The tourguide then arranged for us to check out the shops at Shinjuku but we were caught in this big traffic jam for about an hour ... must say the underground malls r really impressive...tons of stuff & all the better as they're having their summer sale now.... bought 2 dresses ;p Checked out the camera shops above ground as well... prices weren't as competitive as I thought it would be so i didn't manage to get a new camera (tt means more money for my shopping)... was planning to get a Lumix or a Canon IXUS...

Went to a chinese restaurant for dinner opposite our hotel... half decent so i wun complain...after that went to check out Ikebukuro... interesting place with lots of drinking places n pachincos (casinos)... it was a friday evening n u could see hordes of japanese men drinking their sorrows away... walked into this shop selling basic ammenities n found really cool make up stuff like a eye brow shaper in a Y shape. There was a lady who was busking in a square nearby... she sounded really great....got back into the hotel near midnite n the roads were still filled with ppl & neon lights...

Day Three: Mt Fuji
Worst day of my entire Japan trip.... spent almost the entire day on the bus... think my butt must have grown an inch at least from all that sitting....we were caught in traffic enroute from Tokyo to Mt Fuji, what should been a 2 hour drive, turned out to be 6 hour trip... the jam was so bad that the bus was hardly moving so some of the aunties on the bus who couldn't hold their piss in well actually managed to cajole the bus driver to give up his trash bin so that they could pee at the back of the bus... crude i know but i just had to write it as it didn't help that i was sitting at the back where the aircon was spoilt n had to smell their piss.... cuz the journey took longer than expected, the trip to Owakudani Valley was cancelled... was so looking forward to see gushing sulfurous steam from the ground.... we headed to mt fuji straight after we emerged from the massive jam but the weather was bad at Hakone...so we could only see half of Mt Fuji from afar... fortunately we were able to see it's peak after the driver drove us up to the 5th stop of the mountain... as it was a saturday, there were tons of ppl walking up the mountain with a stick... nice place though... as for mt fuji... it was alrite i guess... the alps n mountains in austria & leichtenstein were more impressive....

After that, we headed back to Hakone for dinner and then to a factory outlet at Gotemba... super super huge with lots of gd brands but they were all at least 2 or 3 seasons behind and the prices weren't exactly that attractive so i only got this interesting straw hat n nothing else... amazing ehz? (i'm saving my money for the US shopping outlet... hee hee... heading out to Desert Hills Shopping Outlet at Palm Springs on Tues... can't wait!!!!)

As there were malaysians who were gonna take JAL from Hanade Airport to LA on our bus, we had to drop them off in Tokyo before heading back to our hotel in Narita... n guess what... another traffic jam, so by the time who got back to our hotel it was 130am!

The bad karma didn't stop there.... wanted to take off my contact lenses in the bus on the way back but couldn't locate my glasses... searched high n low for it as i rememberd transfering it to my backpack from my sling bag... got the tourguide to call the hotel to check n it was there.... so i had to make the decision of saying bye bye to it or head down to tokyo early in the morning to get it before I fly off to LA as the travel agency said it will only pick it up after I leave and I'll only get it in a month's time when their tour guides next stop by in Singapore, couldn't do courier service as it was a sunday.... when i told them i'll get it myself ...they kept discouraging me saying that I can't do it as i'm just a gal....

Day Four: Tokyo / Narita
Wanting to prove my worth (& it was my fault any way... really can't recall how it happened... it's the first time such things have happened to me as i'm usually very very careful with my luggage) ... I woke up at 6am, had a quick breakfast n told my mum i was taking off to tokyo... armed with instructions from the hotel concierge i managed to find my way to the train station, get a ticket, get on a train n then walk to the hotel in 1h 20min ... all thanks to my trusty Lonely Planet. Wanted to head down to Harajuku originally as I heard it was a hip n happening place on a sunday but since it was still early i walked around Ikebukuro again... explored a bit further this time so I managed to see the 2nd toyota showroom, sunshine city, sanrio store, parco + many more shopping malls... got really carried away by the shopping malls so I didn't make it to Harajuku in the end (nvm... that means i'll be back!) ... found the much touted Burberry Blue Label store n got myself a bag & a wallet (SM i got ur hp chains!!! saw some really cool Vivienne Westwood bags as well but they were all oddly shaped n not in the fabric u wanted so i didn't get any for u...paiseh...) Went to the supermkt after that n got myself green tea-red bean pancakes and tako pochi balls... yummy....

Then the horror started...japan's railway system is the messiest i've seen in my life man... having backpacked across many countries in europe i've never seen any this confusing b4.... so many lines & so many entrances.... firstly I got off at the wrong stop to change trains... was suppose to stop at Nippori but got off one stop earlier at Nishi-Nippori... when i finally got to the right station, i boarded the slow train instead of the limited express train... boy my heart was beating like crazy while the train crawled through each n every station on the line... finally got to a large station at Aota n hopped off the train. I was running very very late at that time.. .was suppose to be back at the hotel at 3.15pm but I wasn't even at the halfway pt at 2.50pm...fortunately i met this kind lady with 3 kids at the station. I asked if i could borrow her fone n she agreed instantly without asking what for... but her battery ran out so she ran off to look for her husband at another corner who was carrying a child... they both ran towards me so i could quickly make a call to my tour guide before the express train comes...they r really angels man.... bless them..... I think they must have guessed why I borrowed their fone....so they even redialled the no. later to find out if i managed to get to my hotel safely n in time... such sweet ppl.... thank you very much! Got back to the hotel at about 4pm and boarded the shuttle bus with the tour guide to meet the rest of the group who left at 330pm... was just in time to check in with my mum n bro as it was their turn next in the queue. Last few hours were spent loitering around the hotel, buying stuff from UNIQLO (i'm impressed that they sell kimonos too....cheap rough material though....) n the small shops ard.. got myself my fav pocky in interesting flavours: Mixed Fruit & For Men (Bitter chocolate).... pocky was my favourite-- and still is one of my favourite snacks---as a child, if u have a chance to see my childhood pictures, u'll catch me with a pack about 80% of the time... hee hee (okie... next lian wu zhi i write will be on pocky ....tt is after i complete the one about my infamous dog....)

Well... that's the end of my 4 full days in japan... nothing very exciting isn't it?All in all it's been a hell of a trip the last couple of days...remind me never ever to go on a packaged tour....it seems that I travel for miles everyday and just get a glimpse of things before I get hurried off somewhere else...Hopefully this LA trip will be different... right... gotta go... need to wake up real early 2moro...

Catch u guys later! Hope this long post made up for my absence =)

hi from tokyo!

Hi everyone, i'm in tokyo now!

Wanted to blog last nite but the internet was down... running off in a couple of seconds for Mt Fuji. 　Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｒａｖｅｌｌｉｎｇ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｇｒｏｕｐ．．．　ｗｏｎ’ｔ　ｄｏ　ｉｔ　ｅｖｅｒ　ａｇａｉｎ．．．．

Will blog when I　ｎｅｘｔ　ｇｅｔ　ａ　ｃｈａｎｃｅ！Ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｍｉｓｓ　ｍｅ　ｔｏｏ　ｍｕｃｈ！！！！

Ｓｅｅ　ｙａ！

Hi from Changi Airport

Hey peeps, missed me yet? At the airport waiting for my flight so I thot i'll drop by for a bit.

Tried the new Absolut Grapefruit at the liquor counter... great liquor if anyone is into drinking :) Apparently not available in town yet, so if u've got frens who mite be coming back into the country, get them to get a bottle for u. Highly recommended.

Somehow it still doesn't seem like i'm going on holiday yet but just glad that i sort of managed to complete the stuff that I needed to clear b4 i go. Thanks to the rest of u, esp YM & Merv who made it possible by helping me out here & there!

Kiez i'm off to buy an adapter now so that I can charge my camera batteries when I get to Tokyo & LA. Catch all of u soon! Will definitely drop by again when i get the chance.

Later guys ;) See ya!

放假去了！

　　再过几个小时，我就要放假去了。
　　老实说，我一点也不兴奋。
　　为了能够让自己接下来无忧无虑地走天下去，过去几天，我都提早到办公室，很迟才离开，甚至星期六、星期天都回来报到。
　　虽然说，没有我，报纸还是照出，世界还会继续旋转，但身性责任感比较重，不喜欢留一大堆烂摊子给别人收拾。能在之前做的，我都会尽量完成。
　　所以我说，工作期间放假，不一定是好事。与同事M谈起，她也有同感。
　　放假其实只是把接下来需要完成的事carry forward而已，所以你在放假之前要比平日更努力更stress。放假后回来后，还得清一大堆的email等，又要重新调试自己的心理回到work mood。
　　想到这里，还是不放假好多了。
　　不写了，我得赶完手上的这条稿，否则就要赶不上飞机了。
　　See all of u in 2 weeks time! 如果有机会的话，我会pop in to say hi :)

Superman

　　昨天刚和朋友看了Superman。这真的是一出feel good电影。一整个星期生病+stress+一连串不愉快事件，心情很不漂亮，但看了之后全都消失得无影无踪(hmm.... maybe it's the co. too... if u're reading this ;) Thanks!)。
　　很想成为Lois Lane。她不单是超棒的记者、有个可爱懂事的孩子、疼爱她的同居，还有对她念念不忘、死心塌地、能为她牺牲一切的超人。
　　我和她一样是记者，脾气一样倔强，做新闻时也一样执著，就不知道office里是否有个undercover的Superman在守护着我？报馆里，好朋友好同事是有的，但好像还没有遇上一个6feet4，而且长得很帅的牛肉蛋糕。
　　唉，还是不要做我的白日梦了。星期三就要放假去了，有一大堆的工作要在这三天内清完。寻找Superman就留在我的童话世界里，等有闲情逸致的时候再重温吧。
　　我会去tokyo和LA，any suggestions or advice?尤其是shopping & eating!

7 July

　　已经一年了。
　　但还是很清楚地记得一年前的现在，在Bloomberg实习的我正在打电话联络分析师谈伦敦连环大爆炸对英镑和gilts (UK bonds)的影响会有多大，他们或同事有没有困在tube里或死伤，下班后打算怎么回家。
　　忙忙碌碌地追问别人的安危，却完全忘了自己，对事件也没有什么感觉。
　　直到英国市场中午闭市后，终于有空档才惊觉原来第一和第二个爆炸地点离我的办公室其实近在咫尺，走5分钟就到了，而巴士爆炸的地点离开我家也只不过2分钟。幸好我的工作时间是凌晨6时到下午4时，不然很可能就上了那个巴士。回过神的那一刻便赶紧联络上家人让他们知道我安好无恙。
　　我的4年留学生涯，由9/11开始，以7/7结束。
　　去念书之前在电视上目睹两架客机撞入纽约的WTC，父母开始操心，提醒我时时都要提高警惕。有前科之鉴，在伦敦念书四年，已经有心理准备有一天会发生恐怖袭击事件，何况那里的治安不是很好。只是袭击的方式和规模有些令人意外。在事后与当地的朋友聊起，由于伦敦市区没有高楼耸立，大家都猜测袭击者会在tube里放毒气，杀伤力和造成的瘫痪肯定比较大。
　　那天下了班，不敢搭车回家，步行到一个住在办公室附近朋友的家过夜。
　　接下来几天也都是步行45分钟旅程上下班、上学、上超级市场、上教堂。后来觉得逃避公共交通工具不是办法，何况我又附了整个月的bus pass。
　　还记得，每当巴士在车站停下来，巴士上的人都会不由自主地把目光投向入口处，查看上车的人是否有背着超大的背包或外表可疑。曾不只一次目睹头上戴着头饰的中东人被巴士上的人认定是可疑的恐怖份子，当众被轰赶下车。
　　能把每个人变得坐立不安、精神恍忽，我想恐怖份子已达到它们的目的了。生活没有保障，要时时怀疑身边的人，真的很累。
　　过去一年里，陆陆续续看到恐怖活动被揭穿的消息。有时候不仅猜疑，这些是不是法治当局的伎俩。恐怖主义防不胜防，恐怖份子总会在你最意想不到的时候悄悄地找上门，拥有最好的武器到最后也会无用武之地。因此，唯一可以打的是心理战术，看哪一方的人比较强硬、在惶恐不安里生存得比较久。
　　7/7后的伦敦确实改变了不少。恐怖袭击事件没有打击到伦敦市民，反而起了团结的作用，在这场心理战争中成为最后的胜利者。
　　许多伦敦市民都曾经历90年代的爱尔兰共和军攻击，7/7事件只不过是它们人生的美梦中多出来的一场恶梦。几个月“睡醒”后，重拾信心为未来继续努力奋斗。
　　老实说，如果7/7事件发生在新加坡，我没有信心新加坡人能够和伦敦市民一样能够一起从阴霾中走出来，即使会，也要花一段好长的时间。
　　打的是心理战术，没有遭遇暴风大雨，娇生惯养的新加坡人，相信即使有再多的演习还是会不堪一击。当坏人入侵我们这个comfort zone时，丑恶、自私、怕输的心态肯定必露无疑。最担心的是，伦敦事件发生后巴士上的情况会在新加坡发生，什么multiculturalism的课都会抛出窗外。
　　我个人认为，问题就出在新加坡人对自己所属的社会缺乏ownership。Social ownership不是周末看到有人在路边筹款，或是电视上播放慈善演出，捐点钱就算是为社会作出贡献。Social ownership需要将心比心，是对社会对周遭的人和事物产生感情所培养出来的归属感。许多新加坡人只知道为求生而奔波，连自己住家或办公室里的邻居是谁都不知道。
　　虽然说患难见真情，可是如果邻居也需要等到发生事情时才能做到这样真的有点可悲。
　　离国庆日还有一个月，也许今年你能给国家最好的生日礼物就是先认识你周围的人，然后真正去为这个社会作出付出。这才是真正能够抵抗恶势力的最佳招数。

Grrrr.....

　　Prepare for a long long long rant if u wanna read this:
　　The past week has been pretty rough... starting with the England match....had a group of Portugal fans who were standing behind my chair kicking & shaking my chair till I almost fell off....felt even worse when England lost... After which, an inconsiderate taxi driver chased my fren and I off our called-cab bcuz he wasn't willing to drop my fren off on the way to my place or he'll not make it home in time for the Brazil-France match. Chasing 2 gals off the cab after driving a distance at 2.30am in the morning is just totally unacceptable!
　　Following day, not sure what I ate for breakfast or lunch on Sunday morning but I had such a bad stomach upset that I couldn't enjoy my weekly dinner with my family.
　　The start of the week kicked off pretty well as I was able to clear quite a bit of work and then what seemed like it's gonna be a good week started turning sour.
　　Went for a test drive on Monday & somehow due to my carelessness & ditzyness, I managed to misplace my driving licence somehow... and then yesterday I got ticked off and chased away by someone that I once respected. I was merely trying to play fair with regards to the situation mind u if u or ur counterparts are reading this. I could have gone ahead with the article without consulting you at all if I was what you deemed me as.
　　Finally today. Woke up feeling a bit queasy... thought i'll be fine later on as I started real early today trying hard to clear work before I leave for my holiday next week. Thought i'll get better after lunch but I just sank deeper and started to see lights flashing and my head spinning round in circles.
　　Went upstairs to see the doctor and she asked if I watched soccer & didn't have enough sleep. When I left the clinic and bumped into my 2 ex-bosses, they too asked the same thing!!!! To set the record straight......I didn't stay up to watch soccer!!! Decided that there's no point in watching it anymore since my fav England is out and now that matches are played at an unearthly hour of 3am Singapore time. I value my sleep more....
　　Okiez think I've gotten everything out of my system... time to get back to finish up my immediate work and go home for some rest. Tomorrow is gonna be a better day. Fingers x.
　　

《媒体人时评》

针对我今天的《媒体人时评》，有读者SMS《我报》说：
+659750xxxx: 致《我报》记者李韵琳：你说每当政府或任何机构政策或措施时，很多人都会Complain,只是all talk no action？想请问你，国民能take什么action？有那些大团或机构体可以为人民讨个公道的？还有，你说如真的要抗议德士车资起价，那就下定决心该搭巴士或地铁。再请问你，如果巴士与地铁再起价呢？那国民是不是要改骑脚车或途步来表示抗议？《圆圆》

我想说：
　　问题就出在这里：国人总是认为凡事都无能为力，还没有开始想办法就给自己判死刑。即使没有机构像CASE可以帮助人民请命，如果意志坚定的一群人真的想达到理想，它们是可以自己组织团体，合作力量大。
　　如果一个人或一群人觉得交通车资起价真的不合理，不搭交通工具，用步行或骑脚车，这些难道行不通吗？何况，新加坡没有那么大，步行或骑脚车上班出街应该不成问题，只是看你愿不愿意在时间和精力上付出，还要看个人是不是很坚定想为自己的信念讨个公道。在国外，自立组织，或应不满交通费上涨而改用步行或骑脚车的人很多。
　　介绍你一个网站，看一看外国人是怎么表达不满（许多作法虽然在新加坡行不通，但这并不代表完全不能抗议，关键就在于我们是否有创意。）：http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1930916

很谢谢你的意见。非常喜欢这样的互动，代表有人在看我的文章！

Hopeless with Birthdays...

　　Sighz...I'm totally hopeless with Birthdays. It's the second time in a month that a fren has to sms/call me to remind me that it's another fren's birthday. Unlike what some people think, I believe Birthdays are special and should be celebrated with a big bang and I'll be really upset if ppl forget my bdae but I'm just totally hopeless when it comes to remembering dates. An ex-boyfriend used to get really angry with me for forgetting our anniversary but it's really not intentional.
　　Ok, I must admit, sometimes my work does take over my life and that I do not have a very good memory in general (Ppl i've met, pls don't kill me or get offended if I were to walk pass without saying hi... I genuinely can't remember!!!!). Besides my immediate family's birthdays and a few frens' (can count with 1 hand) ... the rest I really can't recall. I've tried writing them down before but after a while they end up everywhere, one book here, another there that I don't actually keep track.
　　Hmm... maybe I really should keep a notebook just for birthdays of close frens/colleagues/ family...i've tried the online birthday alarm in case u wanna suggest that to me but not many people subscribe to it so I gave up...
　　Enough of rambling....Happy Birthday Zwen! See you & the rest on Sunday!

How much is too much?

I'm usually not a fan of flats (... love 3 inch heels to bits....) but aren't they pretty? But the above Pedro Garcia Isaura Ballet Flat with Crystal Chain comes with a price tag of US$426.00.
When buying stuff that you like how much is too much really? Does quality & style come first or your psychological price barrier?
Probably the latter for me.....

习惯性的逆来顺受

　　下周一开始，德士车资将调高，我周围的人怨声四起。对此，我觉得有些懊恼。不是因为我认为车资调整不合理，而是因为发怨言的人。
　　他们现在提出意见，或是抨击政策是因为他们真的觉得不合理吗？还是纯粹为了反对而反对？又或者这是个可以让他们发泄发牢骚的课题，他们认为这样能行使自己的发言权？
　　在本地，每当政府或任何机构改变政策或措施，开始的时候都会有很多人会complain。可是，到头来都只是all talk no action。过了几个星期，即使是当初最强力反对的人也会开始resign to their fate，默默忍受，渐渐学习去习惯，然后变得理所当然。
　　新加坡人总是对改变或在发表不满时抱着三分钟热度，在意兴阑珊或没有得到想要的效果之后就会放弃，逆来顺受地去学着去习惯。对事物能这样，对自己的前途和未来我想多少也持有同样的态度。
　　人们总是希望能在新加坡看到改变和进步，可是这是需要有推动力和实际行动的，三言两语是不足以move a mountain，即使move a sandhill也寸步难移。
　　如果要在这个竞争激烈的环球环境生存下来，确保我国可以长长久久地繁荣下去，人民的习惯性的逆来顺受需要检讨。

奇瑞QQ

　　当记者需要常常往外跑，有一辆车代步，可以省时省力。　　
　　入行半年多来，托YM的福有得去test drive不同的车，时不时都会有买车的念头。几个月前听说中国车将进口到我国，而且价格低廉，所以对昨天的media launch满心期待。　　
　　老实说，我和一般人一样对中国制品有所保留，所以一进入展销室，我就迫不及待地坐进车里想抢先摸清车子的质感。　　
　　拥车证成功标价下跌，以7年贷款期来说，每月分期付款在400元以下的小型车子让许多过去买不起车，或第一次买车的人一圆拥车梦。车商也看准这是个新市场，纷纷引进廉价小型车。
　　不谈Vertex为何想避开QQ的china roots不谈（Made in china的image是跳进黄河也洗不清的。刻意回避反而让人开始想它们是否有意想掩饰些什么...），3万多的车价是蛮诱人，有冲动想把它买回家，但坐在车里的那片刻，想象自己在公路上行驶就开始有些迟疑。　
　　油价频频飙升、可怕的ERP、积少成多的停车费，定期的维修费，这些都是钱。虽然分期付款我负担得起，加上其他的肯定会使我沦为汽车的奴隶。　　
　　就如去逛大减价一样，不是所有便宜的东西都值得搬回家。即使物超所值，如果带回家会成为我的负担，我宁可不要。

Perfect Wedding Dress & Dresses...

Found my perfect wedding dress & the complementary cocktail dress/ROM dress/dinner dress!!!!

BUT....

I need to lose weight, grow taller & get someone to marry me....& unfortunately, all of it doesn't seem possible =p


Wedding Dress =)

cocktail dress/ROM dress/dinner dress

Enough of daydreaming... back to reality:
Totally into dresses @ the moment & it doesn't help that I'm working on it for next week's fashion page....

Found this while researching on the web!

Great vintage looking dresses for dirt cheap prices IMO:

Of which, my fav dress is this:

I'm beyond hope... hee hee...

Pasar Malam

　　报馆对面的pasar malam今天开业了。下午WJ就打来问要不要从那里打包午餐进来。晚上我们几个更难得忙里偷闲到那里去买晚餐，换个地方和口味。
　　非常喜欢pasar malam，因为可以吃到妈妈在家里不准我吃的台湾香肠，还有牛油味香浓的corn in a cup和ultra sinful的Ramly Burger。更重要的，在办公室里困了一整天，下去走一圈，透一透气，回到座位感觉轻松多了，更有精神坚持久一点。
　　尽管每个pasar malam卖的东西大同小异，不是零食就是枕头、睡衣、玩具等，自己大多时候除了零食也没打算买些其他的东西，但每回看到家里附近搭起帐篷，都会心跳加速，欣喜若狂。
　　除了勾起小时候和妈妈弟弟在晚餐后逛pasar malam的童年记忆，它也让我找回Johor 108档和泰国路边摊的度假休闲感觉。还有，每当组屋楼下有pasar malam时，平日闭门不见人影的左邻右舍也会突然出现，让我有机会看看他们的庐山真面目。
　　帆布搭起的帐篷不管是外观或里头卖的东西虽然与现代化的新加坡有些格格不入，但在夜生活有些单调的新加坡，却增添了些许亲切纯朴的communal living色彩。
　　希望时间的快车不会把这个不入时的夜市遗弃在时光隧道里，让我有一天当了老太太之后，还能带着孙子在晚餐后一起去找回儿时的记忆。

新加坡的Canary wharf

　　JTC今天安排了新记者到它们管辖的地方走走，从中了解它们的运作，让我获益不浅。
　　除了有幸能踏上Jurong Island，见识见识Rochester Park长得什么样之外，还让我在这个小岛上找回伦敦的影子。
　　新加坡有伦敦的影子？是的。就在Buona Vista地铁站附近one north里的Biopolis。
　　Biopolis号称本地第一个真正把工作、学习、消闲和住宅融于一体的大型发展计划。它拥有最尖端科技设备，是进入未来生活的一个门户。
很多年前在早报财经组实习的时候曾经来过，那时候这里是荒山野岭。想不到我几年的离开，这里已悄悄地摇身一变成为我朝思暮想地方的化身，让我无限惊喜。
　　这里的建筑依山丘而建，建筑形状不规则，建筑与建筑之间的距离很小，还有空中走道(sky bridge)衔接，马路铺的是cobbled stones，open space则有浅浅的小溪穿流和青翠的green spaces。坐在装潢前卫的餐厅里，望着外头的alfresco dining区，仿佛自己又回到一年前在为London 2012工作时，于伦敦Canary Wharf工作用餐的时光。
　 Canary Wharf位于River Thames南部的docklands新开发区，由英国著名建筑师Norman Foster设计。那里未经修饰的粗犷石灰配上钢铁和玻璃，有一种后现代风格的工业感，好像建筑师有意为我们示范未来世界的模样。
　　虽然Biopolis并非出自Norman Foster这位名家之手，但这里矗立的7个建筑物充分显现深受器械时代的影响，使用了大量的钢铁和玻璃，营造了与Canary Wharf同样的一种高科技的未来感。
　　听JTC的公关说，建筑这个地方，它们破了很多传统规格。
　　希望建筑方面取得突破只是个开始。很期待。

　　
Biopolis @ onenorth