smile

2007-08-26T16:08:00.000+08:00

Life has been busy but rewarding...
Going to different clients' places,
Constantly meeting new faces, new challanges,
Working with different seniors,
Learning, learning and still learning...

I still have several entries that have yet to be posted!
I will find the time to do so soon...

2007-08-05T11:25:00.000+08:00

Convocation 2007 (24th July)

Took a half day leave from work on that day to attend my convocation.
It was absolutely nice to see all my friends again. Everyone of them.
Must really thanks josiah's mum for helping me with the convo robe.
Finally, i got the chance to wear the robe, to put on the cap and to officially declare that i've graduated with an honours degree!

Gwen who used to be my colleague in IRAS, and is still my colleague now in Deloitte.

Zhen jun, my dear friend since sec sch.

Bump into Guo Xiang, my jc classmate, in the audi. Really surprised to see him there.
Your turn will come pretty soon!

Shao wei, my 205 projectmate.

And now pictures of my tutorial mates since Year1........
They've really played a major part in my uni life, and i've learnt so much from them.

Left to right: Waiyue, Sok Leng, Deon's gf, me

Alicia!

Amelia!

It was sooo difficult to have group photos on that day. Everyone was busy taking photos with everyone. The handphones were all ringing non-stop, and the most spoken phrase would probably be "where are you?". Lolx

We are missing Joseph in this group photo because he couldn't attend the convocation. His company has sent him to new york for training. Don't worry joe, you're definitely not forgotten!

SHIRAZ, my orientation group, the funkiest, the craziest and the best in my heart!

Left to right: Jieying, Betsy, me, Cheryl, Wanjun, Josiah (aka boss)

Left to right: Ziyang, Wenshun and David.

Ernest was at Germany then for his interviews. So he couldn't make it for the convo as well.

We are really close like family. haha..

We did what every graduates like to do. Yes, throwing caps =)

My love ones who came down to ntu...

Mummy! I know she was the happiest person that night, and i also know she has always feel so proud of me. Her smile that night was something that i know i'll remember for the rest of my life.

My Twin! Her convo will be next year and i'm looking forward to it..

My younger sis , Roe Roe!

Louis, twin's bf!

Yi zhang and my cousin from Taiwan! Both of them were in s'pore that day, and i'm so glad they came for my convo.

Last but not least, Adrian, my bf. Thanks for rushing down from work. Your presence means a lot to me.

2007-07-21T11:06:00.000+08:00

Graduation trip 2007

Part II (Kunming)
The flight from Bangkok to Kunming took around 4 hrs as the plane stopped over at Chiang Mai for awhile. Ernest told me that we were in Cambodia and naive me actually believed him. Lolx.
The weather at Kunming was absolutely perfect! Not too cold, not too hot.

Departure at the new thailand airport terminal.

Our gate was all the way towards the end of the walkway.

We had a very friendly driver who drove us from the airport to our accommodation - The Hump

The location of our accommodation is superb. It's exactly in the city centre and has the coolest roof garden, which overlook the town!

I felt really excited when I arrived at Kunming. Couldn't wait to explore the town because it just seems so busy and lively.

This is one of the two 1,100 year-old pagodas situated in southern part of downtown Kunming.

In the vicinity of the pagodas is an area known as Old Kunming. We got to see many ancient style buildings and scupltures.

Wenshun giving Ernest a kick and sinyee at the back enjoying the show.. Haha..

David and Wanjun day-dreaming away...

Jinma Biji Archway. This place is the symbol of Kunming.

The archway at night..

The guys were wonderful during the trip! Always looking at maps and travel guide to check out the nicest place to see, shop and eat. A BIG BIG BIG thank you to them for making the grid trip so awesome! =)

Yummy dumplings for dinner...

City of Kunming at night...

KTV at midnight. Only S$8 for 6 hrs! Unfortunately, we were too tired to sing for 6 hrs, only managed to sing for around 4hrs. I lost my voice that night. And it was only towards the end of the trip that i started to get back my voice.

I think it was around 4am when this picture was taken. We were on our way back to our accommodation and it was very cold! Saw a guy selling "yang2 rou4 chuan4" and we decided to buy some from him..

We had quite a good rest the previous night, and didn't wake up until 11am in the morning. Breakfast was on the guesthouse - bread, jam, pear and coffee/tea. We didn't bother to change up and went straight for the breakfast.

Our room. All of us in one room. During the trip, we spent on average around S$4 each for our accommodation per night. Cheap cheap cheap right!! And the rooms were all not too bad.

The guys slept downstairs and the ladies upstairs.

The bathroom has no rooftop!! Hence, no one can go upstairs when someone was bathing. Lolx

Green Lake (Cuihu) Park

Shopping near our accommodation.. A lot of cheap cheap stuff...

Good place to buy souveniers.

Lunch time! We went to eat the very very very famous "guo4 qiao2 mee2 xian4". A must try food in Kunming. You have to pour the ingredients into the bowl of soup yourself.
Super huge portion and super cheap, only 7 yuan = less than S$2!!

After lunch, we took bus 73 to Dianchi Lake. There weren't many seats on the bus and the journey took around 40mins.

There wasn't much to see at Dianchi, but it turned out to be very fun because we played and cracked jokes non-stop.

Ernest ar, you're too heavy for the swing, should come down and let wanjun play with it..

Hang on guys! David was trying his best to take out his camera as fast as possible..

See who can run the fastest. Ernest probably stand a better chance because he has longer face and can use it to his advantage to cross the finishing line first. Lolx

This is not easy! You have to be really good at balancing..

Back at Kunming city. We tried the hot dogs and it was super super hot!! I teared after eating it, and it further worsened my throat causing me to lost my voice completely. Wanjun got a red and swollen lips after eating because she asked the person to add extra chilly powder for her..

We took a night bus from Kunming to Lijiang. The journey took around 10hrs and the ride was truely an eye-opening for me! There were no seats and what replaced them were double-decked beds.

It was very cramp. You can't move yourself much on the bed and for tall people like David, I don't think there was much leg space for him.

And that's not all, you must also bear with the smelly feet and the cigarette smoke. I felt like my life was shortened by half after inhaling all those secondhand smoke.

There were small TVs on the bus for us to watch movies. The movies shown during the journey were very lame and they became the topic for our next day..

2007-07-15T19:20:00.000+08:00

This evening, twin and i had a mini performance at the School of Music, the place where we have our piano lessons.
Our piano teacher has specially arranged for the two of us to play a duet.
The piece that we played was Canon in C.
As compared to the popular Canon in D, Canon in C is less complicated and easier for beginners like the two of us.
Mummy was there to see. So were Adrian and Louis.
Playing together with twin was truely a pleasure.

We only have keyboard at home. The keyboard is not long enough for the two of us to play together. So we've been going over to Robin's place for the past few weekends to practise. Thanks for bearing with our poor skill buddy! Haha..

2007-07-08T21:43:00.000+08:00

Graduation Trip 2007

Part I (Bangkok, Thailand)
We took Thai airways from s'pore to kunming. But it was not a direct flight. We transited in Bangkok for one day, so we got to shop, eat around and spent the night there.
We felt kind of "cheated" by the ride from the airport to our accommodation, felt that we could have gotten a cheaper deal.
After putting our stuff at the hostel, we took the skytrain to Mo Chit station and spent our afternoon at Chatuchak Weekend Market. It was super hot there!!!

6 people, 3 guys, 3 ladies and 18 days of adventure.
From left to right - David (the food king, aka "da4 wei4 wang2"), Ernest (the money king, aka BOE-Bank of Ernest), Wenshun (the entertainer king, always making us laugh), Sinyee (the conversational queen, always enlightening us), Wanjun (the funny queen, aka Humour Tan) and myself!

Eating at chatuchak weekend market...

We continued our shopping at night at MBK...

Our accommodation at Thailand. It's called the Hostel Thailand.

All six of 6 squeezed into a room. It was the smallest hostel room that i've ever seen.

2007-07-02T22:17:00.000+08:00

After all the fun, the travelling, and the endless gatherings with friends, its time to work hard....

Today's my first day at work in Deloitte.
I enjoyed it.
Enjoy the feeling of seeing familiar faces,
Enjoy the company of the new friends i made,
Enjoy the way the seniors treat us just like friends, and also
Enjoy the free buffet lunch catered for us! Lolx

From now on, no more study... It shall be all about my life as an auditor!

2007-06-29T09:06:00.000+08:00

2 Days in San Francisco

This is Union Square. It's the central shopping, hotel and theatre district in San Francisco. Our hotel is just within walking distance from here.

One of the must do things in San Francisco is going on a ride on its cable car. It costs US$5 each trip. We got lucky that day, because the three of us got to ride it for free!!

The driver was a very friendly chap and chatted with me throughout the journey.

I guess it was considered rather early in the morning and we avoided the tourist crowd, so the driver just let us alighted the cable car without collecting money from us...

I recalled what the bus driver in New Zealand said when we were making our way to Wellington last year. He said that Wellington and San Francisco gave him a very similar feeling. Both are famous for its cable car, have tram lines everywhere in the city and steep rolling hills. And he was right!

We took a ride on the tram too. It was interesting to note that instead of having the sign "Bus Stop", the sign read "Stop Requested".

Us at Chinatown. There's quite a large population of Chinese in San Francisco. This was the only place throughout the entire trip that we came across chinese channel on tv.

The very famous Lombard Street. It is aka "the crookedest street in the world"!

Making our way down the slope. The reason why the street has such sharp turns was because in the past, it was meant to allow traffic to descent the street incline with less difficulty.

Taken from the bottom. Now you can really see how crooked the street is. The flowers along the way were beautiful. Mummy was soooo in love with them...

Hanwei and I at the cross junction of Lombard street. She and her family also joined the same tour! Knew her in ajc and she studied business in ntu. What a coincidence! Got to know her even more throughout the trip.

We took a cruise to see more of San Francisco. There were lots of sea lions at the bay, doing suntanning.

Golden Gate Bridge, the landmark of the city.

Alcatraz, the infamous maximum-security prison.

The island is only a mile from the shore. However, i read from the brochure, there was no evidence of any successful escapes. It was the only one in the federal system that provided hot showers for the prison. Why? To keep them from acclimating to the cold sea water.

Bay Bridge behind us. Alot of ppl tend to mix up Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. The former is silvery in colour whereas the latter is orange in colour.

After the cruise, we explored Pier 39. It was a very lively place.

Chocolate Heaven! Yes, I felt like I was in heaven... =)

After having a look at the golden gate bridge via cruise, we then admired the bridge on foot.

Twin Peaks. This place has San Francisco's best 360 degree views! The view up there was awesome!

San Francisco is renowned for its chilly summer fog. In fact, it has the coldest summer and warmest winter. The fog is able to blanket out the whole area within a few hours.

Civic Center, where you can find all the government and cultural institutions. Behind us is the City Hall building.

If you go to the usa, you definitely must try their cheesecake factory. Though it's not exactly very cheap, it's worth the money.

See's Candies! We regretted didn't buying more. It was so nice..

The rainbow flag represents the gay community. In San Francisco, the rainbow flag is so prominent, it's almost everywhere.

Roaming about in the city...

Entrance to chinatown..

The buildings in San Francisco all have fire escape stairs outside the apartments.

The flight back home was a very interesting experience.

Firstly, we got to travel on the new sia boeing 777-300ER. I like the quality of the monitor which is considered bigger and also the cup holder design. The flight was from San Francisco to Seoul. And then from Seoul back to S'pore. During the second part of the journey, the monitor infront of me was not working. I was fine with it because i have already watched 11hrs of movie during the first part and was already intending to read my storybook.

But the air stewardess was really kind. She gave me alot of magazines and newspaper. And towards the end of the journey, she even presented me a USD75 voucher for me to buy stuff from their kris shop!

2007-06-23T15:25:00.000+08:00

Monterey

The journey from Las Vegas to San Fransico was a very long one.
We stopped over at a little town called Fresno for a night, and the next day, we visited Monterey which is located in northern California and around 115 miles south of San Fransico.

The place seriously reminded me of Auckland.. Really do miss there alot.

The Fisherman's Wharf at Monterey was once the center of California's fishing industry.

The street...

That's our tour guide in the middle..

The place is famous for its clam chowder. There were many restaurant selling it and they have sample outside for you to try..

After trying a few sample, we decided on Grotto....

Slurp~

17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach

17 mile drive is a scenic road drive and you got to see a lot of rich men's houses there. It's basically a place for golf lovers as it passes through the very famous Pebble Beach.

The place is very strict about conserving the trees, especially trees that have a very long history. So if they say you can't cut the trees, you will have to build your houses around the tree or find another way out.

See the tree in the middle of the road? It has a very long history and hence even if it caused inconvenience for the cars, it can't be chopped.

Lone Cypress Tree behind us. It's the official symbol of Pebble Beach. This view has been patented. Meaning, we can't developed the photo and sell it to someone else.

The lodge..

2007-06-21T22:58:00.000+08:00

Today is the day that I have been waiting for since 3 years ago...
Adrian is back. For good.
It felt really good to see him after 1 year.
Even better to know that we won't be apart in the near future.

I am used to leading my own life.
Having him by my side seems unreal right now.
The feeling of falling in love all over again is back.
Somehow, it seems that our relationship has only started to begin...

2007-06-21T10:39:00.000+08:00

Grand Canyon

The journey from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon took around 2hrs plus.
Grand Canyon is definitely spectacular.
And the best way to see it all is to take a helicopter ride!
The ride was awesome! We got to descend down into the canyon.
It was with a bird's eye view that I realised how magnificent the whole place is.

The helicopter can take 6 people at a time. 2 passengers infront and 4 behind...

After we touched down at the bottom of the canyon, we took a small boat to get a closer view of the multi-colour rock formations..

Lunch Time at Hualapai

Eating lunch in the desert was a challenge.

The wind was extremely strong that day. Plates, cups even food were flying around.

I remembered my salad "flew away" before i even got the chance to put it into my mouth!

And not forgetting the sand that constantly add on as an extra ingredient throughout the meal..

Skywalk at Eagle point!

There is a reason why the place is called Eagle Point.

If you look closely at the picutre, you will be able to see that the rocks are shaped like an eagle with its wing spread out.

The skywalk is a new attraction in Grand Canyon, just open to public this year.

It's an U-shaped glass bridge and is suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

What makes it so special is that you will be walking on three-inch-thick glass and the feeling is like walking in the air.

I've never seen anything like this and it makes me wonder how they actually built it.

Mummy didn't dare to walk on it so she helped us took picture from far.

Btw, we cannot take camera or handphones onto the bridge.

And before we stepped onto it, we were given a pouch to wear over our shoes. I guess they do not want the glass to be scratched.

Personally, i think the walk was not very scary. But maybe for those scare of heights, you may not wish to try it.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam has a very interesting history. It's one of the greatest engineering works in history and is also considered one of the critical asset in America. That is why the place is heavily guarded by security.

More of Las Vegas at night........

The Paris Hotel

There was a sand storm that night. So the wind was very strong, and the sand kept getting into my eyes and mouth when i talked. We had to wear our sunglasses even at night to block out the sand. But it was an interesting experience.

Harley Davidson Cafe

M&M's world!
A must see for chocolate lovers like me. Haha...

It's a four storey retail shop that sell some of the M&M merchandise that you can't find elsewhere.

I love it!

Custom M&M colours that you'll not be able to find in those normal M&M packets.
The sight of it just made me droool....

They taste the same though...

Coca Cola World!

If you collect coca cola products, then this is a place you must go. It's just beside M&M shop. There are lots of original style bottles.

The vending machine sells coca cola with all different languages.

Jubilee Show!!

At 10:30pm, we went to see the Jubilee Show at the Ballys Hotel.
I was impressed by it.

Though the dancers were topless, they were really professional.

In fact, the "costumes" were so beautifully decorated that you may not even be aware they were actually topless.

After showing the pictures of so many hotels in Las Vegas, here's a final one. It's the place that we stayed in. Called The Stratosphere.

It has the world's highest thrill rides and city view.

Once you stepped into the hotel, it's casino everywhere...

Trying my luck on the jackpot..

2007-06-19T15:34:00.000+08:00

Las Vegas - The city that never seems to sleep

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LAS VEGAS!!
Everything is so amazing there..
Turning a huge desert into such a beautiful tropical getaways is already amazing by itself..
And the hotels there, they simply intrigued me..
Each hotel has its own theme...
Here's to name a few:

To start off, here's Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as "The Strip"...

MGM Grand

This is the world's largest hotel with over 5000 rooms!
Behind us, you can see Leo, the MGM lion that guards the entrance to the hotel...
The Signature attractions inside MGM Grand include lion habitat inside the casino area...

Excalibur

The hotel is themed as the castle of King Arthur. Very popular with children..

New York New York

As the name suggests, this is a themed hotel that takes you to New York! I really felt like i was in NYC with the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge right infront of me... Not forgetting the real life Coney Island roller coaster that actually runs around the hotel!!

Bellagio

It's a 7 star hotel, and is indeed very very grand. When you enter the hotel, you will see the most expensive hotel ceiling in the world.. It also has the best hotel reception..

Bellagio Fountain is the hotel's most famous landmark. The fountain is beautiful!

And opposite Bellagio, you'll be able to see The Paris hotel and a half-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower outside it! You can go up to the Eiffel Tower to view of the Vegas strip.

Caesars Palace

This place is modeled after ancient Rome! The interior design is exquisite!

We got to shop at Bath & Body Works there too...

There are plenty of shops inside and the architecture captivates me everywhere i go...

There are still lots of interesting hotels in Las Vegas.

For instance the Luxor hotel which is really cool, as it brings you into the paradise of Egypt.

And also the Venetian hotel which brings you to the romantic world of Venice. You can even take a gondola ride on the canal that snakes through the hotel.

Downtown Las Vegas

Downtown Las Vegas is the beginning of Las Vegas. Most of the newest and grandest hotels are located along "The Strip". Hence the hotels in downtown are relatively cheaper in order to entice people to come and gamble at their facility.

Although the place is less spectacular as compared to "The Strip", it is still beautiful and exciting.

The Fremont Street Experience

At 10pm, it's show time!

All the lights were switched off, except those high above Fremont Street.
It was a great show to watch, and it's free!

2007-06-14T13:46:00.000+08:00

Universal Studio

The globe at the entrance....

Shopping street outside the Park..

Getting a feel on the red carpet...

First up, we went for the legendary Studio Tour for a behind-the-scenes look at moviemaking secrets and special effects. It was a very interesting tour and we also got to see some amazing movie stunts such as those from the movie The Fast and the Furious!

Many famous movies had their scenes filmed at Universal. For example, Bruce Almighty, Austin Powers etc..

Everything's made of styrofoam here...

Movie set from Steven Spielberg's Film - War of the Worlds

After the Studio Tour, we went to see "Shrek 4-D" followed by a walk in "House of Horrors". It reminded me of the "fright night" during foc.

"Water World" is next. I enjoyed this performance the best! It was like seeing a life action movie right infront of you. There were numerous stunts, fire, and of course water splashing around...

It's time to get high on some thrilling rides....

"Mummy the Ride" was something new to me. It was an indoor rollercoaster ride, but beside moving forward at great speed, it moved backward as well.

Want some water splashed onto you? Try the "Jurassic Park Ride"...

We managed to take a picture with Shrek just before we left Universal Studio...

City tour of Los Angeles in the evening.....

Mann's Chinese Theatre, one of the oldest and largest theatre in town..

The main attraction however, was the authentic handprints and footprints of famous movie stars in the courtyard of Mann's Chines Theatre...

Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame - More than 2,500 gold stars that commemorate famous individuals in movies, TV, radio etc can be seen on the sidewalk.

Oh look, even Mickey Mouse made his mark there!

The famous Kodak Theatre!

Think there was some advertising going on for the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 3". We got to see people dressed up as the characters of the show such as the popular Jack Sparrow. If you were to take picture with them, you'll have to give them some tips...

2007-06-12T15:39:00.000+08:00

I'm back from West America. The trip was superb.
After almost 16 hours of flight, we finally reached Los Angeles, California. The first day there was not easy because of the jet lag. USA is 15 hours behind Singapore.
No more backpacking hostel. Lolx.
That's the great thing about travelling with mummy, I got to enjoy myself in the bathtub and relax myself to the max during the whole trip.. =)

Disneyland Park - Where dreams come true
After having a good rest, we visited disneyland park on the second day...

The tiles at the entrance were carved with the names of people who made donations to Disneyland.

After dreaming of going to Disneyland since young, i've finally step foot into one at LA.

People don't call Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth for nothing.. Because it's true.. Everywhere you go, the colourful surroundings, the beloved Disney Characters just brighten up your mood...

Entering mickey's world...

It was a funny sight to see how Pluto sign his signature. He had to place the book right infront of his eyes...

The design of the houses were all very adorable...

Want to get your face painted?

Singing acappella...

Lunch time - Huge turkey leg!! The meat was very tender, very juicy...

After lunch, we went over to California Adventure Park, which was just opposite Disneyland Park. The rides there were more thrilling.

The 3D movies there were all fantastic. Not only do you see the effect, you also get to feel it and smell it..

Not the usual ferris wheel. The carriage actually swings left and right, up and down by itself as the wheel goes round...

We rushed back to Disneyland at 6:30pm to catch the Disney Parade....

Minnie Mouse posing just for us.... =)

We didn't get to see the fireworks at night. Due to the strong wind, the fireworks were cancelled. Was rather disappointed.

Interesting kiss-meter machine...

A final shot before we left disneyland...

2007-05-31T23:45:00.000+08:00

Haven't got all the photos from David, so just a few photos from my camera as a short preview..
Have been feeling rather tired these 2 days. Kept sleeping whenever i've got the chance..
Will be flying off again early tmr morning..
So i guess blogging abt the grad trip will have to wait until i'm back from america...
Hope everyone's enjoying the holidays to the max..
Catch up with you guys when i'm back during mid june!

Chilling out at Shangri La...

Breakfast time... (we ate alot during the trip btw!)

Arriving at Lhasa airport...

2007-05-30T01:30:00.001+08:00

Time check - 1:30am

I'm back in singapore!!!
The plane just touched down at 11:00pm...

It was absolutely a fun and enjoyable 18 days!!!
The gang - Wanjun, Sinyee, Ernest, Wenshun and David...
I love them all..
Thanks for making my grad trip such a memorable one...

David will be compiling the pictures..
I shall blog again when i got them.. =)

2007-05-11T12:28:00.000+08:00

There has been a change of plan.
Instead of going mongolia for grad trip, we are going to Shangri La and Tibet...

The adventure will begin tmr and ends on the 29th may.
We will be stopping at Bangkok for one day, doing some shopping and eating before heading to Kunming.

Besides Shangri La and Tibet, we will also be going to Dali, Li jiang.. But i guess the highlights will still be shangri la and tibet.

Really grateful that the guys are in-charged of all the planning.. Thank you so much Ernest, Wenshun and David...=)

2007-05-03T15:00:00.000+08:00

3 years, not too long, but not to short either.
I can say, I no longer feel the same as before.

Another phase of my life is about to begin, probably in July.
New environment, new challanges, new faces....

Right now, i'm not going to worry about what the future will hold, because i guess this is the final long break that i'll get to enjoy.

Do whatever i want, see whoever i want, learn whatever i want, go wherever i want...

2007-04-23T22:14:00.000+08:00

Happy 22nd birthday to us!
I feel so loved even in the midst of exams...

Mummy prepared (or rather bought) a sumptuous dinner - sushi and my favourite sashimi!!
My ever so thoughtful roe roe went to queue up for the donut factory for 4 hours this afternoon despite having a paper tmr morning..
Louis arranged home delivery ice-cream bday cake and 22 balloons...
Robin, my childhood buddy, made a photo album compiling the journey of our 22 years of life... Not forgetting once again, the sweet lovely messages from my dearest friends..

It's the thought that matter most to me...

This year, I wana say a big thank you to 2 people:

To roe roe, Although i know you are smart enough and can easily have perfect score with minimum studying =p , i'm still touched that you spent so much time today just to buy the donuts.. I really love them and most importantly i really love you......

To robin, What can i say buddy, seeing the effort you put in to make the album means alot to me. Handmade stuff always melts my heart... Absolutely meaningful and i do treasure it.. thanks again!

The spread! The donuts were gooooood....

Forever 18? Lolx....

The two adorable "weights" for the balloon...

First time trying ice-cream cake from "Angie the choice".. thumbs up!

Now, back to the books.................

2007-04-20T21:51:00.000+08:00

Exams will end on the 30 April for me..
That's around one week time...
Assuming that i cleared my final 2 papers, i will be graduating in one week time...

I wonder if that's a good thing or bad thing.....

2007-04-02T22:09:00.000+08:00

1 April (Sunday)

We celebrated mummy's bday one day in advance. Nothing beats me than to see her happy. I may not have grown up in a complete family, but since young, mummy has given me nothing less than what other families have given their children.
She's the one whom I've always look up to... The one that made me realised women can be as successful on their own...
No one can replace her in my heart and I do wish I can be as capable as her in future =)

On a side note, to update my life...
Well, I've started learning piano at the start of this year, and with the peak period finally gone, I can have more time to practice it now... Still, I think I've such a long way to go before I can play a decent piece...
Been planning my grad trip these few weekends too.. Will be going to Mongolia with my dear og friends from 12 May to 29 May.. So looking forward to embracing the nature! Really wana take a break from the fast-paced city life.. Haa...
After which, will be going to west america on 1 june with my family (excluding twin because she'll be doing her internship then).. Mummy said it's gonna be my graduation gift..
I really do feel blessed....

Mummy is a member of Olio.. So we went there for lunch because she's entitled a free meal on her bday... The food is really good.. And the service is great too...

2007-04-02T22:08:00.000+08:00

Free chocolate cake from the restaurant... My forever young and pretty mummy..

2007-04-02T22:07:00.000+08:00

We went to Azhang at night for a drink.. The restaurant serves mediterranean food and is situated at Mohd Sultan Rd.. Roe roe's recommendation.. Not too bad...

====================================

2007-04-02T21:46:00.000+08:00

2 April - Happy Birthday dearest mummy!!!

Mummy kept telling us not to buy cake cause she always eat alot of cakes in school... But what's birthday without her favourite cheesecake and singing happy bday song ya.. In the end, we came up with the idea of buying just a slice of cheesecake with yummy eggtarts as decoration.. slurp!

2007-04-02T21:43:00.000+08:00

The night was spent drinking red wine again.. Mummy's really loves wine..

Louis is an expert in this field!

As for me, i love wine too, but still don't know how to differentiate a good one from bad one..

I hope i can master the technique soon, maybe have more drinking session with Louis ar... haa..

We made an arrangement to drink again after exams, and to test each other threshold! Let's see who will be the last one standing.. lolx

2007-03-19T09:51:00.000+08:00

Received a sms from Adrian today, and he wrote:

"i'll be seeing u in 3 months time... woohoooo...."

All of a sudden, i feel so unbelievable..
Can't believe he is finally coming back, can't believe 3 yrs have passed, can't believe i'll be able to see him everyday, can't believe we can go out together, can't believe i can finally have him by my side, can't believe i can get to see him and not just hear his voice through skype or see him via webcam...

He's coming back for good soon....

Am i dreaming?

2007-03-16T21:22:00.000+08:00

I'm taking a very short break now... Really exhausted, have been busy studying for quizzes, doing projects, assignments... Probably all my friends would agree, this semester is not an easy one.. But i'm really thankful that i have my tutorial mates around! So gonna missed studying with them, eating with them, gossiping with them, hanging out with them after we graduate...

9 March 2007 - Deon's bday

Holland Village XO Fish Bee Hun... It was a very nice meal, both the company and the food...

Deon the bday guy and his gf Ivy... Ivy came all the way down from Malaysia to give Deon a surprise!! Really sweet of her.. Seriously, I think they are such a loving couple. It's not easy to be in a long-distance relationship but they have been through it for the past 5 years and counting...

Settlers Cafe at Holland V.......

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7 March 2007 - Random photos taken in school

I really had a good laugh after seeing this picture. We just had our 306 quiz that day. Amelia suggested that those who think will not do very well for the quiz show a sad face. So all of us did, except Joseph and Deon. They must thought we were joking.. haa.. But i know both of them will surely do very well =)

My pretty and lovely friends - Amelia, Alicia and Wai yue....

2007-03-04T20:34:00.000+08:00

Went to Chun Dao He Pan with my family and Louis... Had fun eating and eating. Mummy even gave twin and louis a nick name each - Elephant and hippo.. Lolx It's time to eat less and exercise more!

Louis trying out chou4 dou4 fu2 for the very first time... All of a sudden i'm craving for taiwan's tan2 zi3 chou4 dou4 fu2!

Food makes us happy.... Mummy was really satisfied with her bowl of spicy stuff...

Mummy was borned in the year of chicken....

2007-02-26T00:20:00.000+08:00

24 Feb 2007 (Sat)

The BIG day is finally here! It's dear Xiao Wei and Ashley's ROM day! The night before was hen party at xiao wei's house and we stayed over at her place.
It still seems a bit unreal that my buddy is now married.
Congrats to the newly wed!!!

In the midst of make up session...

Presenting to you the pretty bride, Xiao Wei....

I realised I haven't introduced my dearest twin's bf yet! He's Louis and we all knew him since sec sch days. But it was only recently that the two of them got together. Hee. Sooo happy for them...

Looking handsome and lovely.....

Missing shing yee.....

Group photo...

The ceremony that touched my heart....

The newly wed with the marriage certificate...

Zhu ni meng xin fu, kuai le, yong yong yuan yuan......

Shifa was the professional photographer for the day!

Jamie's house-warming at night

We had BBQ and it was the most smoke-free and healthy bbq i've ever been to. To add on top of that, I was constantly being served throughout the night! My lovely uni tutorial mates have decided that I should stay away from the fire since I was wearing all white. =)

So all I did was eat and eat and eat... haa..

Jamie is the one in green....

Thanks for the wonderful dinner Jamie!

2007-02-25T23:55:00.000+08:00

25 Feb 2007 (Sun)

It was another fun-filled day spent with my buddies.. Visited Zhenjun's house at noon, followed by majong at twinz place and crab dinner at night. It has always been nice going to jun's place because her parents are really sociable and sweet.
I love simple outing like this, enjoying my friends' company and laughing at our silly jokes.

Zhen jun's house bai nian..

Together with jun's family...

Majong session at twinz place...

2007-02-25T23:14:00.000+08:00

The newly wed's treat @ AMK's famous place for crabs....

The main dish...

Xiao wei with Power crab claw! Huge, juicy and spicy, slurp~

We all had a good laugh at this picture. Managed to capture Ashley's awkward expression! He told us beforehand to sing the bday song softly but evil us decided to sing it loudly not only once but twice, and he was caught off guard. Hahaa...

Happy Birthday Ashley! Thanks once again for the sumptuous dinner =)

2007-02-17T12:33:00.000+08:00

Lazy me have decided to just blog about the highlights of the remaining tour in NZ.
Personally, I think NZ is a country that you should visit while you are still young and physically fit. There are simply too many exciting activities to experience and is the perfect destination for sports lover.
Of course, not forgetting all the amazing sceneries!
A country worth the visit in my opinion.

2007-02-17T12:16:00.000+08:00

26 Nov 2006 (Franz Josef Glacier)

One of the incredible experience I had during the trip was the Glacier Hike at Franz Josef!
Though the hike was demanding, the feeling of standing at the top of the Glacier outweighed anything.

The glacier appeared dirty below, but as we climbed higher, it gets cleaner and cleaner..

One person crossing at a time only!

2007-02-17T11:58:00.000+08:00

29 Nov 2006 (Queenstown)

We signed up for the shotover canyon swing! It's the world's highest swing, free fall of 60m! A platform has been built on the edge of a cliff 109m above the Shotover River and it was where we leaped off! There were over 10 different jumpstyles each interesting in its own way. Absolutely fun!

My jump, covered with a bin. The bin definitely increased the level of excitement and scariness for the jump because I had no idea where I was going, and before I knew it, I was screaming and falling down and down...

Twin's jump, backward style

Peishan's jump: sideway style

Highly recommended by our bus driver - Fergburger. It was HUGE and simply mouth-watering~

2007-02-17T11:36:00.000+08:00

30 Nov 2006 (Queenstown)

We took the scenic gondola ride to the skyline to enjoy a panoramic view of queenstown. And guess what, it started to snow!! We were so surprised because it was spring time then, and supposed to be summer the very next day. The weather was erractic and the snowing ceased suddenly just like the way it started.

See the contrast!

Luge riding was exciting..

LOTR shop

With over 200 pubs to choose from, you'll be spoiled for choices in Queenstown. Lucky us, we got free drinks everywhere we go!

2007-02-17T11:17:00.000+08:00

1 Dec 2006 (One day trip to Milford Sound)

Milford Sound is one of the main tourist attraction in South Island. We were very lucky because it was a beautiful day that day. It was really amazing to see how mother nature can create so many incredible landscapes.

Milford Sound tour...

Complimentary coffee and tea onboard

I've never seen anything more beautiful than this...

2007-02-17T10:55:00.000+08:00

2 Dec 2006 (Queenstown to Christchurch)

Breathtaking sceneries en route from Queenstown to Christchurch

Christchurch's landmark...

We pampered ourselves the last night at "Strawberry Fare Restaurant". The ambience was great and their desserts were superb! No wonder the restaurant was featured in the tourist brochure. Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Sticky date pudding, the ultimate chocolate dessert... Ahh~ The next time you are at Christchurch, do check out this place!

2007-02-14T22:26:00.000+08:00

Time check: 10:40pm

Everyone at home had a date tonight, including myself.
Met up with Huiling at city hall at noon.
She brought me for a tour around her school, smu.
After which, it was shopping and endless chit-chatting with the lady.
We stopped for coffee at starbucks, dessert at the coffee club, and finally dinner at the village.

Thanks for the great company my dear! It was absolutely nice catching up with you.
Our night ended with a glass of really good white wine each - Torres. It was the best white wine I've ever tasted.

And yupz, to both our bfs at Europe, Happy Valentine's Day.

2007-02-14T22:23:00.000+08:00

At the coffee club, enjoying our second tea break for the day.

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My lovely date for the day:
Huiling!

2007-02-14T22:14:00.000+08:00

Lastly, thanks for the roses and card Adrian. You may not be physically here, but your presence was felt.
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2007-02-14T02:16:00.000+08:00

Time check: 2:15am

Happy 24th Birthday to Adrian dearie.
Not sure whether this year will be the last year that he's away.

Sometimes, I thought we have drifted apart, but you're always trying and putting in so much effort to assure me.
I hope I can be your strength and support, just like the way you have been to me.
To the one who is thousand miles away,
Loving you too. Still do & always will.

2007-01-28T20:32:00.000+08:00

27 Jan (Sat)

It seemed like yesterday when we were dressed in school uniform, staying back in school for cca, gossiping about guys, listening to each other's love story, being there for each other when the relationship didn't work out......
Yet tonight, I found myself standing beside my dearest friend and giving her opinion on what dress to wear for her ROM which will be on the 24th of Feb..
I feel excited for her.
I feel glad to see her radiant smile.
More importantly, I am so happy for her because I really think Ashley is a great guy!
My dearest xiaowei is getting married soon! I can't wait to attend her ROM!

2007-01-28T20:25:00.000+08:00

A recent photo, taken on Xiao wei's bday...

2007-01-28T20:23:00.000+08:00

Trying on one of the many wedding dresses.. She looks beautiful in any dress...

2007-01-28T20:19:00.000+08:00

The blissful couple - Ashley and Xiao wei

2007-01-13T14:51:00.000+08:00

22 Nov (Wellington to Picton to Nelson)

We took a 3 hr ferry ride to cross over from North Island to South Island early in the morning. People like to say, "If you haven't been to South Island, then you haven't been to NZ."

We spent the night at Nelson, a town at the top northwest corner of the South Island, and the place that delivers NZ's highest sunshine hours.

2007-01-13T14:49:00.000+08:00

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2007-01-13T14:48:00.000+08:00

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2007-01-13T14:44:00.000+08:00

After the ferry arrived at Picton, South Island, we went for free wine tasting! The sceneries in South Island are more beautiful as compared to North Island.

2007-01-13T14:43:00.000+08:00

The neat rows of a vineyard..

2007-01-13T14:42:00.000+08:00

2007-01-13T14:41:00.000+08:00

Jiayu and I with free red wine.

2007-01-13T14:15:00.000+08:00

We headed straight to Abel Tasman Tandem Skydive after checking into our accommodation at Nelson. To quote from our bus driver, "It was absolutely a wicked day to skydive!"

Our plan to skydive at Taupo failed due to the bad weather. Luckily, the weather today was fantastic! It was quite a long drive from our accommodation to the destination.
We did the 13,000 feet Tandem Skydive which cost NZ$260.

The time was nearly 8pm when we jumped, but the sky was still kind of bright.
I still remember the whole adventure vividly. I was told to jump off the plane with my arms criss-cross. After a few seconds, Bob, my instructor, gave me a signal by tapping on my shoulder to let me know that I can spread out my arms and experience flying and spinning in the sky.
It was the Ultimate Freedom!!

After some time, Bob opened the parachute and from then on, it was breathtaking sceneries of Abel Tasman, beaches, blue oceans and green landscapes!
I really felt like I was at the top of the world. Everything looked like toys. I saw the tiny sheeps and cars moving around, the rivers flowing, the beautiful sunset infront of my eyes.
The view took my breath away.

2007-01-13T14:14:00.000+08:00

Ready to FLY....

2007-01-13T14:13:00.000+08:00

The place where the parachutes were packed..

2007-01-13T14:12:00.000+08:00

Doing our very own warm-up by jumping down from the bench...

2007-01-13T14:11:00.000+08:00

Fully equipped with jumpsuits, goggles and helmets..

2007-01-13T14:09:00.000+08:00

Our Fletcher turbine aircraft ready to take us up into the sky.... Jiayu, Peishan, Twin and myself with our respective instructors squeezed into the little space inside the plane and throughout the whole journey, I sat on the lap of my instructor. We were the last 4 to jump for the day.

2007-01-13T14:02:00.000+08:00

Colourful parachutes in the cloudless sky. I was the last to jump out of the plane so I got to see my dear friends flying below me...

2007-01-13T13:58:00.000+08:00

2007-01-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Depending on the speed, the instructor will let you know the way to land - either landing on foot or in a sitting position.

2007-01-13T13:55:00.000+08:00

After the ultimate skydive adventure, all of us were smiling non-stop...

2007-01-13T13:49:00.000+08:00

The people who made my skydive experience an unforgettable one. Left to right: Simon, Peishan, Matt, Jiayu, Bob (my instructor), myselfm, twin and Tomas! Not forgetting Wendy who helped us took this picture...

2007-01-13T13:44:00.000+08:00

The evening ended with a beautiful sunset.

2007-01-13T13:40:00.000+08:00

We received our skydive certificates at the end of the day.

2007-01-11T18:02:00.000+08:00

20 Nov (River Valley to Wellington)

We left for Wellington (the capital of NZ) in the morning at 10am. The journey was considered a long one and we finally arrived at the city around 3pm. Our accommodation was nice. We had the room to ourselves, beautiful scenery from the balcony, carpeted floor and clean toilet. =)

Te Papa Museum was our first stop. It was worth a visit. The museum has everything, from Earthquakes, volcanoes to Maori culture, sheeps etc.. All that you need to know about NZ!

The city gave me a very different feeling as compared to Auckland.
I prefer the architecture of Wellington but I enjoy the habour view in Auckland more.

2007-01-11T18:01:00.000+08:00

2007-01-11T17:59:00.000+08:00

View from our room at Base Backpackers.

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The famous Te Papa Museum

2007-01-11T17:56:00.000+08:00

2007-01-11T17:54:00.000+08:00

After dinner, we went to walk around the city to see the night view. The streets were rather empty at night and it was cold, but I did get to see some nice lightings and night sceneries...

2007-01-11T17:51:00.000+08:00

Burger King in NZ looks like Billy Bombers in S'pore. Don't you think so too?

2007-01-11T17:50:00.000+08:00

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2007-01-11T17:41:00.000+08:00

21 Nov (Wellington Day 2)

Woke up at 8am and set off for a day tour in Wellington City.
The weather was great today as well!
We visited almost all the touristic places - Lambton Quay, Cable Car, Parliament House etc..
I love the feeling of exploring a city!

2007-01-11T17:39:00.000+08:00

The blue sky was really enchanting..

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City view

2007-01-11T17:34:00.000+08:00

Wellington Cable Car!

2007-01-11T17:33:00.000+08:00

Cable Car Museum

2007-01-11T17:31:00.000+08:00

Botanic Garden

2007-01-11T17:30:00.000+08:00

Rose Garden

2007-01-11T17:23:00.000+08:00

To experience Wellington, we decided to pamper ourselves with coffee and cakes after lunch at Liquidate. Heavenly~ If I had the time, I wouldn't mind just sitting in the cafe, doing people watching, relaxing and enjoying a cup of coffee for the whole day.
After lunch and dessert, we headed to the Parliament house. It was famous for its Beehive shaped.

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Interesting facts:
Wellington City has more restaurants, bars and cafes per head than New York with over 300 eateries!

Indeed, after a day of touring around the city, I was convinced that Wellington is a "Cafe City"

2007-01-11T17:07:00.000+08:00

Cafes.....

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... cafes...

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... and more cafes

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This is a rather interesting chocolate shop because of the packaging of the chocolates and we were told that it is the one and only in New Zealand.

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House of the Teddy Bears & Hats

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The Christmas Shop.

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Inside Old Bank Shopping Arcade. The place is catered to rich people.

2007-01-11T16:08:00.000+08:00

We had our dinner at Abrakebabra cause all of us wanted to try out the kebab.
The restaurant had a middle east feeling and the food was great!
Later on, we went to a pub to sing karaoke.
Had a good laugh singing on the stage.

Here's the procedure:
We wrote down the songs we wanted to sing and our names on a piece of paper, and passed it to the DJ who will then find the song and call out your name when it was your turn to sing.

Jiayu didn't put down her name, instead she always draw a smiley face ---> =)
So whenever the DJ called out her name, it will goes like this, "For the next song, let's welcome Smiley face!" Haha...

The stay at Wellington was really an enjoyable one.

2007-01-11T16:06:00.000+08:00