wow, another long weekend! and this year we can enjoy the new year's eve a second longer because a leap second is added at the final minute of year 2005, in order to keep the atomic clock in sync with solar time.

went to japanese sun and moon cafe at wheelock place and tried their fujiyama ice shaved dessert. it's a combination of red beans, rice dumpling, mango and shaved ice showered with green tea syrup.. refreshing! and the green tea drink was presented nicely on a tray.

























cheers to a happy new year! =)

I despise writing style with all words put in capital letters, esp. in an email. it's very rude, looks like the writer's shouting to the other party. well, unless that is exactly the intention. even worse if the person write it in bold font with red color.

another style is mixed case, some are in upper and the rest in lower case, in random order depending on the writer's mood. for example: i tHInK tHiS iS rEAlLy cUtE. hmph. it's totally not cute, unprofessional and looks like the writer doesn't have anything better to do.

I also hate reading emails with lots and lots of question and exclamation marks. It's like implicitly saying that the reader is too stupid to notice one mark.

*a grumble before end of the year*

went to happy hour at morton's the steakhouse. their chocolate martini was great! the luscious chocolate sauce was served frozen at the bottom and sides of the glass with a dash of cream on top. complimentary fillet mignon sandwiches were served every half an hour or so.. mmm..

food.. glorious food!










a bowl of honeydew sago I had in a dessert house along the stretch of orchard road, can't recall the name.. it's beside shaw house. the desserts are so over-priced, and the taste's not that fantastic.










had a very meaty dinner at tony roma's on christmas day. took photos of the appetizer sampler (above) and another one on the christmas platter which I don't post because it looks like a burnt stack of meat. but it's actually really tasty: babyback ribs, dory fish, bbq chicken, and breaded prawns.




















birthday lunch treat at desa kartika. our menu: ayam goreng istimewa, sayur asem, sambal goreng paru, kangkung belacan, sop buntut, es gula melaka, es cendol.

have a blessed christmas, everyone!

I've finally felt the christmas mood! proof: I didn't do anything productive in office today, haha.. went for a merry-go-round at 10.30 to the nearby mall to collect some food for the christmas lunch. the menu comprised of sushi platter, blackpepper chicken, honey-glazed ham, chicken pie, salad, apple & grape sparkling juice, log cake and chocolates.

the lunch itself was organized in an attempt to at least have some celebration for christmas. despite the pathetic attendance, the fact that it was self-funded and held in a meeting room during lunch (tsk!).. all went well. the managers performed something that looked like a dance, and in turn asked us to play a game - a blindfolded person was asked to identify another by touching his/her face. yuks! I was asked - not once but twice - to let my face be touched.

went for another round of carolling in the evening. luckily it's way better than the session two days ago, making my trip down to super-packed orchard road worthwhile. I guess the one making all the difference is the conductor. now I'm considering whether I should go for tomorrow's gig.

A merry gift-giving


"..it's the most wonderful time of the year.. it's the hap - happiest season of all.." (acapella christmas - new carol that was recently added to my limited repertoire)

and the joyous season just won't do without gift-giving.

every year-end the headache returns. the major problem is the difficulty in finding that special something, unique enough to be wrapped as a present without people knowing where it is sold and how much it costs.

true, it is the materialistic side that christmas brings. and sometimes we don't even know what we are going to do with all the gifts we receive. the only party that's truly joyful must be the stores 'cos business is good.

despite all those, it's still a pleasure to give as well as to receive.. ;) I got 2006 horoscope calendar, few pairs of earrings, a pouch, chocolates, towels, and key chain.

this year I bought some decorative magnets and potpourri. as always I planned to distribute at the last working day before christmas so as to make others not feel obligated to reciprocate. and then few days ago I found out that one colleague bought the same magnets.. so I ended up hunting for another kind of gifts. and the stores were really, really packed by then. later on I found out that another colleague has also bought the exact same kind of potpourri from the same store.. =)

here's a snapshot for this year's gift:
















last year I baked chocolate chip cookies for year-end gifts and put them in nice wrappings, that was definitely unique.. I gave one to my boss and it is still displayed on the shelf of her cubicle until now! tsk!
















* * *

akhirnya voucher body massage gratisan gue berhasil dipake juga. senangnya.. pengalaman baru nih dipijit-pijit.. =) soalnya kan wasted banget kalo ga kepake, worth $120 (katanya) gitu loh.. dan ini udah detik-detik menjelang expiry date.

tadi cabut terbirit-birit dari kantor sekelar meeting dan langsung lari ke city area bareng ibu ini. overall impression oke kok, soalnya gratis, dan kita berhasil menangkis segala godaan sign-up paket-paket mereka yang mahalnya ga karuan itu. masa membership termurah mereka lebih mahal daripada ongkos gue kuliah satu semester.. ck!

jadi sekarang gue deskripsikan acara intinya.. kita digiring masuk ke bilik-bilik gitu, trus ditinggal didalem buat lepas baju. beneran kudu dilepas semua. suasananya remang-remang gitu, wangi dan disetelin instrumen juga. lalu masuklah mbak-mbaknya. dikasih full-body green tea scrub, warnanya ijo keiteman. gue sih berasa kayak lemper. soalnya dibungkus-bungkus pake kayak kertas tissue lebar gitu.. dibuka secukupnya dibagian-bagian yang mau dioles.. blakang-depan-atas-bawah-kiri-kanan.. huehh.. aga2 bikin stress juga, hihihi.. kelar dioles, diselimutin trus ditinggal 20an menit gitu kira2 deh..

abis itu mandi, buang2in sisa2 scrub ijo-item tadi. balik lagi ke bilik semula, dan kejadian diatas berulang lagi. tapi kali ini ditambah sedikit pijit-pijitan disana-sini dan pakenya lavender lotion. dah, selesai deh. kita pulang berlumuran lotion.. =) eh tapi belom deh, keluar dari bagian pijet kita dihadang sama mbak-mbak sales dong, disuguhin teh anget sambil ditawar-tawarin. kita ganti mengajukan berbagai argumen balesan, ini itu ini itu pokoknya ogah disuruh sign-up.. sampe akhirnya dia give up dan bilang "ok I'll let you go".. hihihi..

serius sih gue ga gitu berasa efeknya tuh.. pijetannya kayak seadanya gitu doang. mungkin kalo rutin discrub kayak gitu kulit bisa jadi kinclong kali ya.. entah deh.

pulangnya mampir di asian kitchen, ngabisin seporsi mi ini:

berasa banget beda capeknya antara pake sendal yang haknya 5cm ama 3cm. hari ini pake ganjelan 5cm dari pagi sampe malem dengan tujuan carolling, soalnya males gotong-gotong sepatu. tetep aja gue yg paling pendek di jajaran soprano tadi =p udah dateng paling belakangan, ga sempet warm-up apalagi pake make-up, pake scarf merah pinjeman (semua juga dipinjemin kok, modelnya kayak pramuka soalnya dilipet segitiga dan disimpul bagian depannya..), eh disuruh berdiri paling depan. heheheh.. jadi ya modal nekatlah.. gue cuma dateng latian sekali gitu loh.. trus rata-rata lagunya temponya super cepet kayak lagi ngejar maling. huehh.. untung ga commit buat banyak session..

hari ini kelas new body terakhir. it's a combination of aerobics, body sculpting and stretching. cape sih, tapi kalo udah biasa asik juga kok.. most likely begitu semester baru mulai (which is very, very soon) gue ga bisa afford so much time lagi buat kelas2 itu.. jadi segala bujuk rayu mbak-mbak petugas fitness udah gue tolak.. hihihi.. anyway.. satu misteri yang belom terpecahkan.. kenapa gerakan2 yang diperagain sama trainernya selalu keliatan anggun nan cantik. giliran kita-kita yang nyobain gerakan yang sama, pasti terkesan menjijikkan.. hihiahaihia.. telah dibuktikan oleh deretan cermin di dinding.. hmm.. kenapa yah kira kira..

I'm currently listening to this song by Il Divo and Celine Dion:

I believe in you

Lonely the path you have chosen
A restless road, no turning back
One day you will find your light again
Don't you know
Don't let go be strong

Follow your heart
Let your love lead through the darkness
Back to a place you once knew
I believe I believe I believe in you
Follow your dreams
Be yourself an angel of kindness
There's nothing that you cannot do
I believe I believe I believe in you

Tout seul tu t'en iras tout seul
Coeur ouvert à l'univers
Poursuis ta quête
Sans regarder derrière
N'attends pas
Que le jour se lève

Suis ton étoile
Vas jusqu'où ton rêve t'emporte
Un jour tu le toucheras
Si tu crois
Si tu crois
Si tu crois en toi

Suis ta lumière
N'éteins pas la flamme que tu portes
Au fond de toi souviens toi
Que je crois
Que je crois
Que je crois en toi

Someday I'll find you
Someday you'll find me too
And when I hold you close
I know that it's true

Follow your heart
Let your love lead through the darkness
Back to a place you once knew
I believe I believe I believe in you
Follow your dreams
Be yourself an angel of kindness
There's nothing that you cannot do
I believe I believe I believe in you

For further understanding on the french portion, kindly consult google.. =)

gosh. looks like it's the 'in' thing now for shopping malls to have this midnight sale going on. I got some notification smses and emails. but I didn't go to any of them, though. heard that midnight shopping sessions are usually very packed since they purposely offer further rebates and free gifts. I don't think it's worth the trouble.. more time will be wasted on longer queues and more money will be spent for taking cab with surcharge.. =( not to mention the tremendous effort needed to curb the urge to splurge. well, not to say that it's easier with normal shopping hours.. =p

I've finally had the chance to try the famous ben & jerry ice cream. it's not as fantastic as what I had in mind.. see my problem with high expectation? need to work on this urgently. anyway.. I like my choice of flavour, chocolate chips with cookie dough.. yumm! they also sell various ben & jerry souvenirs, including room spray with funny smell like baked waffle, choc ice cream.. hmm..

watched kingkong the movie, 3-hour long. it's quite nice, with uncommon love triangle involving a blonde, a guy and a huge ape.. ;)

went for tasty year-end team lunch at heritage restaurant at bukit timah that serves north indian cuisine. ordered full tandoori chicken, chicken biryani, plain & butter naan, chicken curry, goan prawn curry, bhindi-do-piaza (ladyfinger cooked in onion masala), punjabi tarka dal (lentils in thick gravy), tehari (basmati rice), and some other dishes whose names are unknown to me.. concluded the feast with a cup of masala tea.. yum!

snapshot of the chicken tandoori:















vocabs of the day (bahasa sunda gaul, haha..):

mereun = kali
ceunah = katanya
ketang = deng

hm.. kayaknya kurang sms-friendly yah.. =p

it's really tiring to sit in endless meetings. no wonder managers are paid high enough to endure such torture. most pitiful are lower level staff whose pay are not as high but yet still need to attend meetings..

the 2 subjects I'm interested to take up in the following semester are both scheduled on wednesday evenings!! arrggghh.. I need to register for 3 subjects and the available ones don't really have that much appeal.. =( time to meditate.

decided to join few of the carolling sessions this year. we're going to combine ourselves with the main choir group, though..

last thurs I just met my old friend telling the state of their famous singing group. I have watched them performed and they're really good. how sad to have it all ended. they've moved on by establishing another group, but a similar fate awaits.. it's like realizing that something you hold on so dearly is taken away slowly from you without you being able to do anything. it's just sad.

anyway, life goes on. with endless to-do list. with some ssdd (same shit different days).. tomorrow's another monday and it's going to be a tough week ahead. I wish I'd reserved few days off this month.. *sigh*

...
I just fall on my knees and I try to pray
In the silence I can hear Him say

The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
Everything in its time

I often feel like I'm two steps behind
Somebody must have moved that finish line
There are a thousand reasons
Why I should give up
But I'm stubborn in the things I believe

'cause maybe there's another plan
One I still can't see
A little surprise, like your love in my life
Funny how time changes how we see
...

(everything in its time - Corrinne May)

forgot to mention in the previous post that there's a book sale in paragon's basement. the books are sold in bargain prices. I got the big version of dean koontz's odd thomas for $5. actual price for the small one is $16.80. funny thing is it looks like they sell few copies of only one same title from each author.

finally had the chance to try out the famous pepperlunch. I chose salmon pepper rice and I liked it! the concept is quite unique, the food comes on a hotplate and we're supposed to pour in the sauce to 'cook' it. the instruction said the longer we take to fry them the better taste we'd get. but seriously who wants to cook for a long time, the smell is so tempting and the meat would be overly done. Anyway no matter how we cook it the food will turn alright, else nobody would dare to patronize pepperlunch.. =)

and since my cell is now equipped with a camera so here's the snapshot of my lunch:














tried toastbox at wisma atria's food republic too, ordered their floss toast and kaya toast.. their bread is really thick - like 1 cm thick - and the butter taste was barely there. I still prefer breadtalk's floss bread and ya kun's kaya toast.


another snapshot:

attended a weekend retreat and I'm now tired of crying.
literally.