aDrenais' Book of Shadows

Trashy she may be, this is one awesome proposal :)

Wish I could embed the clip, hate this mamby-pamby link thing.

It's almost 2 months since I had time to blog (bar the indignant one about my hooker shoes), or even thought about blogging. As usual, a laundry list to kickstart the end of a dry spell. Since 22 Oct, the major occurences in my life:

1) KL trip 22-29 Oct 2009. The very best KL trip I had in my life, thanks to the hospitality of Ahchong and her family. Malaysia is a lovely place to visit when you get to tag along whilst a local shows the sights to her boyfriend visiting Malaysia, Truly Asia for the first time. I only wish I wasn't such a disgrace, sleeping away on long car trips up Genting and around Malaysia in general while Ahchong drove and the boyfriend nagivated the GPS. Useless non-license holding thing I am, I've promised Ahchong's mummy that the next time she sees me I'll be capable of driving her to Penang. Although I don't think I'd ever have the guts to drive in Malaysia.

A side trip to Penang took me to the first Hard Rock hotel I've ever seen, let alone stayed in, and we visited the temples and Peranakan museums with a Penangnite in tow, thanks to the kindness shown to an employee by Ahchong's mother. The first time (and hopefully the last) I felt compelled to finish 2 bowls of Chendol in one sitting, and the first time I've seen so many Chinese in one place in Malaysia.

Since I was in KL anyway, I made my way to Bukit Bintang for the finals of the Malaysian Pole Idol 2009. All the talk about how unsafe KL is for a lone traveller had me clutching my bag tightly under my arm as I made my way down the street from KLCC, eyes constantly sweeping left and right looking for the motorcycle bandit that will drag me for 20m while I hang onto my belongings. I must have looked like a right prat. Thankfully I arrived at NEO safe and sound, and was rewarded for my endeavours by Gordon's guest performance in sexy PVC tights. I took a picture with him, happiness! He is all of 23 years old too.

Pony's big day, the reason for my KL trip. The first time I was given the honour of being jiemei, and the first time I've seen such a grand affair of a wedding dinner. They had a personalised standee by the reception table, and a hugeass personalised backdrop for the stage. There were performances put up by the students of the groom's martial arts school, and the groom surprised Pony with a rendition of 永邦's "你是我最深爱的女人". I cried buckets, for Pony who got her 一生难忘的婚礼, and for myself who should be thanking my lucky stars if I get married at all.

2) Pole Dancing. Started Pole 4 on 3 Nov 2009, last class falls on next Tuesday 15 Dec 2009. It's the first time I'm undering Linna's instruction, she who brought pole dancing to Singapore. It's the first time I'm not able to do most of the tricks in the level, with the same amount of practice. Damn it's time to put the pole at home to good use. Level 5 starts 23 Jan 2010, more than 1 month to get the shoulder mount and damn head stand right. 努力!

Asian Pole Summit pole workshops 5-7 Nov 2009. Much-anticipated classes led by the famed Bobbi and Kim of Bobbi's Pole Studio. I had to give up the weekend KL trip with Tan to support Cheong's stab at CIMB Star with much regret, but I couldn't pass up the chance to attend a Bobbi pole class. It's like learning the tricks of value investing from Warren Buffet, or golf from Tiger Woods, or song-writing from Jay Chou (Note I didn't say singing). It was an honour meeting them in person, both lovely, sexy and and incredibly without airs. Watching them dance in real life, making everything look effortless is almost surreal, after watching their Youtube videos over and over in vain attempts to try to emulate them.



3) November - A month of birthdays. Ying's, Daddy's, Daniel's, and Brother's the most significant of the lot, Brother's 21st the biggest milestone. On the subject of birthdays, my 27th passed without much fanfare. KTV with the family, and the first time I donated blood on my birthday. Tan had steamboat lunch with me after the blood donation, but it's been so long since I had 麻辣火锅 that my tolerance for the spicy 汤底 was at an all-time low - didn't enjoy the lunch as much as I thought I would have. The second steamboat lunch with Linli at Parkway foodcourt was much better, Tomyam instead of 麻辣, and I had my fill of golden mushrooms. Way too expensive though, I must give her a treat in return soon.

4) Ying's wedding 28 Nov 2009. My second attempt at being a good jiemei. I headed for her house after an overnight shift, sincerely hope the lack of sleep doesn't show up on the photos! The other jiemeis were experienced personnel who knew what to look out for, what to remember and what to note, so I was basically only tasked with following Ying around and keeping her handphone safe in the morning. The plan was for me to follow her to the hotel, but I was sleeping on my feet by midday, and I went to Tan's to sleep until 6pm. Everybody was kind and understanding about it, but I felt bad because I'd been sure I'd be able to tahan until the day was over.

Ying, thank you for remembering me in your thank-you speech, it's the least I could do as a friend! After all the Changi Mac days, the 木船 days, the 85 days, you're still surprised that I'd give my all on the biggest day of your life? 太小看我了吧. In my typical "must-make-a-joke-out-of-everything" fashion, after your speech I told the people at the table "死莹莹，没有讲好好我是做什么工的，只是讲我昨晚去她家帮忙，之后去上班，搞不好大家都以为我是舞女", although I was secretly very pleased at being mentioned at all. Very pleased indeed :)

5) Work - too many changes and additional responsibilities taken up by my team. Everybody is on super low-morale mode, the bonus in February the only motivation at the moment.

Lastly: I hope I got it wrong, but in case I'm as perceptive as I think I am - I'm sorry, ZennZenn.

I just bought a pair of shoes from Shoebuy.com for pole dancing, very pretty very hookerish.

Imagine my delight when I found that I could have bought them for about one-fifth the price.

Like, really?

And to think I'm headed for Fujian next week too!! TMD CCB!!!!!!

In T1 heading for KL now, never thought the day would come when I'll actually fly to KL instead of taking the bus. Very excited about being a jiemei, hope it'd be good practice for LYY's wedding in Nov :) Take care everybody! Sister, don't spend so much money.

The Tammy. It's been ages since I've been motivated to take a picture of myself, sucky as I've been at my tricks. Of course I should be arching my back way more, so that my body forms a straight line, but it was as good as it got :(

0800 shift on a Sunday morning, an ungodly shift if there ever was one. The bitching session with BT and OL yesterday was an endless fit of giggles, as always, and the exchange below is something I just have to record for posterity.

Me: *glum* I might have to attend Catholicism conversion classes

BT: OMG! Will they conduct a hymen examination?

10 seconds of maniacal laughter

Me: God I hope not, where am I going to find one?

BT: Don't worry, we'll get you some Japanese jelly to create a barrier for you

Me: Japanese jelly like konniyaku?

BT: Please la, don't be so cheapskate, simi konniyaku! I'm talking about...(I don't know what he was talking about)

Me: Konniyaku atas already, cheapskate is 菜燕 (OL what're the correct Chinese characters? is it even Chinese?)

BT (hysterical): You use 菜燕 la, during your examination the person will tell you "Madam, please get yourself checked for STD, there's something bright green coming out of your vagina, might be algae"

Me: Then I will say "It must be from the lack of use" lor! (you know, like the saying "a rolling stone gathers no moss"?)

BT: Yah you might as well say it's photosynthesis

* * *

BT is amazingly a fantastic teacher! As OL rightly pointed out, his teaching and disciplinary methods will really leave a deep impression on the receipients, unconventional they may be, and 10 years from now they will remember his cutting comments about their bra/spelling/choice of bombastic words.

It's only a matter of time before the office bans blogs entirely. When I first joined, only Xanga was banned - Livejournal, Blogspot and Wordpress worked beautifully and I spent many a voyeuristic hour stalking best friend, Tan's best friend and all the other blogs that make my virtual world go round during the endless weekend shifts. Now Livejournal has gone the way of Xanga, and how am I going to get by without my semi-daily fix of my best friend?

Oh, woe is me.

My dull dull week is coming to an end, and it cannot come sooner enough. It's yet another weeklong midnight shift, characterised by frenetic e-mail sending, supper delivery by the favourite dealer, alot of late-night bust enhancement commercials and the odd episode of 搞笑行动 （全场闹哄哄，让我们用笑声互相沟通..)

LZ asked me why they keep showing bust enhancement advertisements late at night. Regular folks will know that such commercials are only allowed late slots to protect the sensibilities of little children, but LZ is far from regular. "Maybe many Singaporean women cannot sleep at night because their breasts too small, and therefore will switch their TV on to watch the commercial specially tailored to their needs."

Everybody tells me that driving is a skill, something that is good to know. Dealer thinks I'm a wimp for not learning how to drive. Tan thinks I'm being selfish for not learning how to drive, so that he has to ferry me around. I think that pole dancing is a more important skill than learning how to drive, what good will driving do when I need to keep husband happy? Maybe next year, when they open a driving school in Simei.

The F1 hasn't started, and I hate it already. To get to work today, I had my ID checked once, bag checked twice, and then took 15 minutes to locate an entrance to my office building because the F1 organisers freaking caged up the entire place. In the end I had to enter via an adjoining shopping mall, a pointless circuitous route.

It's Titsy's birthday today, happy 27th my longtime friend! It's strange how we've never been close, yet always managed to cross paths because of common friends strewn all over the east. Steamboat at Tommy's, waiting an hour for the 3299 gang to arrive at 85; plenty of chances for us to catch up and gossip about all people we both know (and hate). Enjoy your last year of singlehood my friend.

Oh God, after all that rambling I still have half an hour to go before my shift ends.

Sitting V, aka Wrist Sit aka Hello Boys (for non-too-subtle reasons) is still not going well for me, but at least I had my technique refined by a kind instructor who shared the most important tip: to tip my body to the side so that I will pivot on my inner thigh rather than on my woowoo. So very grateful for the information.

Today's pole lesson is already the 5th of Level 3, and I'm looking forward to signing up for Level 4 and 5 at the upcoming Dance @ Swingapore where there'll be a 20% discount off all 8-week courses. Check out the schedule if you're interested in doing away with your 2 left feet, visit the official Jitterbugs website for more information.

I never thought to refer to myself as a dancer, but I guess that's what I'm aspiring to be at the moment. I who hated every Chinese dance lesson because they took me away from my warm bed on Saturday mornings, because everybody else was more flexible than I was. I who had always admired the dance girls in University, but knew I would never have made the team. I who took the occasional dance lesson but always struggled to keep up. I'm an aspiring dancer now, and I've never been happier :)

It's the hour before dawn, when the night is darkest, when I spend my time surfing the blogs of all the people I love/know/hate (not in order of preference) while waiting for the 8am person to come in and take over the shift. Colleagues are right to point out that our weekend shifts are pointless time-wasting activities, but I quite cherish the opportunity to go through the e-mails and delete them with a sadistic thrill. In addition, working over the weekends means I get to work less weekdays, so that I really work only 3 days a week (weekdays) and come in to while my time away on weekends.

About my shiftwork. Colleagues and I rotate morning, afternoon and midnight shifts on a weekly basis. Friends have commented that that is way too often, and prevents any specialisation advantages from setting in. By the time we adjust ourselves to the difference in working hours and get used to the responsibilities associated with the particular shift, it's time to move on to the next one. We are therefore all "half buckets"; before the bucket can be filled completely the next shift beckons and half the water will slop over. I would love to be able to propose a more efficient way of planning our shifts to minimise rotations so that everybody will be less grumpy, but so far the only bright idea I've had is to stretch out our weekly rotations to fortnightly ones. On top of halving the acclimatization blues, staying longer in each shift will allow hopefully help the retention of information required to perform each shift competently, like muscle memory.

This deserves greater thought, at a later date when I'm not braindead from doing the midnight shift and surviving on less than 3 hours of sleep because of dance classes on both Saturday and Sunday. Only half an hour to go, tahan. Tahan.

God, grant me the serenity to accept that I have stickthin useless arms, courage to train them up so that I can do my pole tricks, and wisdom to know just how much I suck.

I've been trying to do this particular trick for more than a week now. It's called Sitting V by my pole studio, although from YouTube I understand that it's called a wrist sit too. Basically, you hang on to the pole with one hand and support yourself with the other under your butt, and open your legs into a V. Try as I may, I just cannot get both legs to open up in equal measures, my right leg refuses to budge from the pole. Dad says it's because I know my arm cannot support my weight, and hence my right leg acts as an anchor to prevent me from sliding down.

A search on YouTube turned up a nice, fatherly and portly man on the pole (yes, on the pole)who was kind enough to share how he practised for the trick. I then left the clip on while I tried it for myself, and was rather motivated in the beginning to have someone practising along with me. It lasted for 3 loops of 07:22 mins. By the 4th time I replayed the clip, I was mightily frustrated to see the ahpeh manage the trick that I'm still struggling with after so long. I think I'll switch off the PC after this entry.

Photolog - Birthday Festival all over again

2 days 1 night in Bintan was all I could take, I who cannot abide by lying on the beach with nothing to do. For all the pains I took to make him believe he was going to boot camp on his birthday, I didn't have any good ideas on how to present the surprise destination. I ended up revealing my scam by showing him my booking confirmation for Nirwana Resort while we were on the taxi, very slick indeed. His reaction? "Huh, really ah? Eee hee hee, really going Bintan ah?" Nonplussed, a little in shock, "stunned la!" as he so succinctly put it.

We did a little kayaking when we arrived at Nirwana, and had a birthday cake at the deserted Poolside restaurant. Only a couple of hours lying by the pool meaninglessly on each day, the best I could hope for. We arrived bright and early on the second day for breakfast, a decent enough spread with lousy scrambled eggs but fantastic bread pudding. Actually it wasn't fantastic, the fact that it was on the menu at all was good enough for me. Bread pudding always reminds me of trips to Europe with the family. The rest of the time was spent in the room floating his boat, getting his jollies, or whatever publishable euphemisms there are for having rabid *** (edited at his request, coy little fella he is). What? It's his birthday, do you really think we'll spend time in hotel room in companionable silence watching HBO/playing scrabble/comtemplating the meaning of life while sipping wine?

Friday night was spent with his buddies, Fish & Co for dinner because Timbre(s) were packed, followed by drinks at Wine Bar (SOP for the lot of them). Jopie finagled a table for us, courtesy of Sophie who was kindly enough to drop by to wish him a happy birthday personally. She also bought him a Super Flaming Lambo, the only 'sabo' drink the entire night. No more string of graveyards, waterfalls, and what not - he's already 28 after all, and the liver is no longer 18.

Friends who have been there for him the whole while

Tan and his cais

My little man is officially 28, older and wiser. Happy Birthday bb.

五月天 DNA演唱會 香港 心中無別人

OH GOD I'm so jealous, 心中無別人 was featured in the HK DNA concert during the encore!! I love love love this song. I never figured 阿信 to be a 忘词王, it was quite refreshing to hear him la-ing away like Jay, because he's usually so collected and self-assured at concerts.

One of the comments on this video rightly pointed out "搞到玛甜甜(obviously it's 瑪莎, but what's with the 甜甜!!)在 1:23 合唱时还得跟他一起啦啦啦哈哈哈～ " All the members were grinning away at the lack of lyrics, it is so endearing to see their expressions!

At long last the Singapore leg of the concert is over, and I get to break the self-imposed exile from the concert clips already posted on YouTube, so as not to spoil any surprises for myself. It was a fantastic show, as expected. The atmosphere at the concert was electrifying, aided by the fact that we were 14 rows from the stage. Yet...I think I must be too old. I wasn't as excited as I had been during Final Home, and I was a wee disappointed that they didn't sing 憨人. Yes yes I know they sang it for the first night, gah. Will devote a proper post to the concert soon, don't worry Ling I'll burn a copy of our photos for you so that you can relive your proximity to 阿信 :)

The first level 3 class left me totally winded. I was about as flexible as a sheet of metal, and because I was so rusty I couldn't trust my arms to support me through the new tricks and thus sucked at them. The only thing I can still do half-decently is the invert, which thankfully stayed with me despite the 3-month hiatus. I will have to practise hard, at home.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is on HBO now, and again I'm reminded of how the movie adaptations pale in comparison to the books. I understand the necessity of glossing over many important parts of the books to fit a 700-page book into a 3-hr show, and that JK Rowling herself had approved of the plot for the movie, but I always feel short-changed when I watch one scene segue into another, chasing after each other really in its attempt to stay true to the storyline of each book. The latest instalment, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince that opened in the theatres not long ago, went one further - it actually dumbed down the movie version, causing movie goers to have reason to believe that Snape might not have been all that bad a character under all that greasiness. It troubled me greatly, because it differed too much from the book. Then I realised that everybody already knew by then that Snape's the ultimate good guy, so it wasn't a spoiler after all.

On a separate note, the actress who played Bellatrix Lestrange did an excellent job portraying the crazed Voldermort supporter, I think she's my favourite character after Ron and Hermione.

Came across an excellent discussion about the pole dancers featured on NDP here, thanks to Ming's website. By excellent, it means it did not involve (too many) comments like "LOL, maybe next year got strip dance!" or "Wee weet, dis yr muz watch NDP liaoz". I learnt from the comments that tango originated from brothels (next on to-learn-for-wifely-attributes list!), and that Taiwanese are indeed a liberal bunch, going by this stripper hired for a funeral.

I do know what the detractors are getting at though, because even I who love pole to death aren't quite sure what to make of pole dancing becoming an NDP showcase item. Still, it's great that pole is gaining a wider following in Singapore, so that the stigma and strip club associations can hopefully be eradicated in the near future. I'm going to show my parents the comment about pole being "gymnastics using a pole as a prop instead of a vaulting horse, or parallel bars". Maybe it'll make them less uncertain about the pole at home :)

Yay starting level 3 this Saturday, I've been looking forward to it for 3 months now. Hope I don't suck too bad to make all that anticipation for naught.

Halfway into the graveyard shift week, I'm rather pleased at how things have gone relatively smoothly at work. My favourite dealer is back from reservist, and is buying dinner for me every night once more. Trade volume is large, but not unmanageable. And I have fabulous colleagues, who watch my back and help out with my duties as much as they can. Times like this, I think I can work here forever.

I got my Organ Donor Card from National Organ Transplant Unit, certifying that I've pledged to donate any needed organs/parts for the purposes of transplant, education or research once I pass on. Awhile ago, I saw the Live On ad in the papers, and opted in on the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act (MTERA) via their website. Brother figured I've taken my Grey's Anatomy obsession to a whole new level; to want to be a cadaver just because it's about the only way I can gain access to Meredith and Cristina's universe. Well, that too, but really it's a question of why not. It's not going to cost me anything, and I couldn't think of a more meaningful way to say goodbye to this life. Of course I informed my parents about it, because 身体发肤,受之父母,不敢毁伤,孝至始也. They were totally cool about it. Love my parents.

(Can't help thinking about the friend who taught me the phrase from 《孝经》. XQ, are you happy, really?)

The construction of the new place is coming along quite nicely, out of the 8 blocks in the project there's one that's already on the 4th level. I need to muster more enthusiasm for the furniture hunting, deco tips and renovation ideas that seems to be top priority for the members of the PL forum. Kind of lost interest after getting the flat..Tan will not be pleased to hear this.

It was a fruitful week. In terms of expenditure, anyway - I haven't spent as much in ages. Just goes to show, whenever the bank account balance inches up, the itchy hand goes a-wandering.

Monday
- Went for a medical health screening with Tan for CPF. The doctor told us the examination was required because of our high coverage, and we accepted it without question. Initially I thought that the checkup was mandatory for all flat buyers, but after speaking to fellow flat buyers I realised that selection for the medical health screening is random, something like 5% of flat buyers. &^*(%#@^*))_
- Caught Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince at GV Marina. I love Harry Potter to death, and I know that the movie can never fully capture the plot intricacies of the book, but the movie was too draggy, and the acting frankly quite appalling. Couple seating makes for great fun while watching a too-long-yet-too-many-missing-parts show.

Tuesday
- Day off! Woke up late, and missed Brother's scholarship award ceremony. After all the fuss I made and how I promised I'd turn up to show my support, I felt really guilty at the no-show. Brother, being the handsome magnanimous kid he is, forgave me in lieu of the supp card I'm applying for him.
- Had lunch with Jun, who recently joined Manulife and requested to have a look at my policies. This is the 3rd time in the last year I've had my policies reviewed, I probably will not buy anything from him, but since it's to help out an old friend I agreed. I just hope it will not turn out to be like the AIA fiasco, when I had to fabricate a disaster to side-step being arm-twisted into buying another policy. At least I know Jun will not tok me like cabbage.
- Bought a pair of black pumps from Pedal Works, the only local shoe store that makes them in size 10. I can justify the purchase; it is to commemorate my 1st year in CS and the 1st year at a real job - $95

Wednesday
- Woke up at noon, only managed to do chores at home before heading for work. Bought another pair of shoes at shoe store, a by-the-way purchase I spied the day before but didn't buy because they didn't have it in my size. Happily, another branch did. - $43

Thursday
- Went swimming in the blazing morning sun, slathered heaps of sunblock in hope that freckles will stay away. Trying to pick up the frequency of my swimming sessions again, once a week does nothing for my muffin top. Headed for Century Square after that to get my contact lenses supply - $160
- A trip to Watsons to check out the Mandom Cleansing Express Sebum Cleansing Lotion (seems like a super product, read review here and check out the links provided at the end of the article) I read in the magazines resulted in a haul of various Japanese facial products. I bought this Cure Natural Aqua Gel which is apparently even more amazing than the Mandom Cleansing Lotion, and a blemish mask just because I like the packaging. Total damage - $74

Friday
- Made my way to HSA to donate blood, and got rejected again due to low iron count. This is the 2nd time in 2 weeks I've been rejected for low iron count, and I can't for the hell of me figure out where the iron's going to. I haven't made changes to my diet, and I like to eat pig liver better than the average man on the street, so I really have no clue. All I know is I'm getting major pissed off that my last few trips to HSA were for naught.
- Arrived early for my wax appointment, and had a facial after the waxing for the hell of it. Sister was horrified at the thought of having hands that were in such close proximity to own nether regions massaging the face immediately after, which I have to admit is quite gross if you think about it. That aside, I really enjoyed the facial and the massage that accompanied it, enough to pay for 10 sessions for the 'promotion package' - $350

Stop, Serena, stop.

Somewhere in Simei lives a family that loves Singapore enough to want to display the national flag way before National Day, but not enough to know which is the right way up.

Dude was crossing the road opposite Swisshotel, his outfit really brightened up my day. The clothes complemented his carefully applied makeup perfectly, which made me even more ashamed of my slatternly self.

After attending the Singapore leg of De Reel Concert in May, I rediscovered the allure of Aaron Kwok. It was an excellent show, numerous costume changes and the famed 450degree revolving stage. What made it really fantastic wasn't the set, the gymnastic stunts and the water parade, it was his sincerity at putting up a hell of a show. He's officially my favourite 天王.

Pictures courtesy of Von, to whom I'm eternally grateful for dragging me to the show. Her photos are crazy clear, just goes to show what an expensive camera can do :) Only kidding la, I know how zai you are at taking pics la ok!!

It's 0734hrs, and I'm in the last half hour of the 8-hr graveyard shift. It felt like daybreak would never come, time crawled by at an excruciating pace. No matter, at last I'm heading home soon, although it sucks to have to be back in the office at 2pm for a training session.

I'd initially wanted to go straight after work to the HSA to donate blood, but I know that's not going to happen now. Yesterday, I'd gone to the mobile blood donation drive near my place, but was politely declined as the iron content in my blood was too low, as was my blood pressure/pulse rate. That's hardly surprising, considering I went after a graveyard shift, no lunch and immediately after a dance class. Still, I was pissed off because I made the effort to go for the donation drive, and it offends me to be told that my good intentions were for naught, however politely. Hence, I'm heading for the HSA after the training session later - I don't like to be not good enough, especially when it's for something as easily achievable as blood donation. I'll pop a couple of iron tablets later.

And now, it's time to head home, for a couple of hours of peaceful slumber. More about my pole purchase and guilty bag purchases in the next entry.

This entry is to record the details of my pseudo dream, the kind where you go back to sleep after awakening not because you're tired but just because? And you just can't help dreaming because you're not tired in the first place, kind of like punishing the unbelievable sloth you are.

So, probably because I just attended Sister's graduation, the dream had a graduation setting, with all my friends from Etihad. In my dream, I was so overwhelmed seeing all of them at once that I was in a frenzied state trying to talk to as many people as possible at one go. We were all in graduation gowns, and it was a lovely non-airconditioned hall that we sat in - kind of like the school hall of my primary school, come think of it. Even Jason was featured, Jason whom I've spoken probably on all of 3 occasions with.

In the manner of small talk, people like to ask whether I miss flying. I miss buying cheap DVDs in Jakarta and cheap shoes in London (Primark, about all I can afford). I miss grocery shopping in Bangkok and achieving impossible feats like bringing a carton of eggs back to Abu Dhabi during the bird flu scare in Saudi Arabia. Above all, I miss my friends (the 2 of them) who were always there for me, be it to listen to my bf woes or cook a meal for me after an overnight flight. I miss the silly hare-brained things Juliet would do with me, like take a freaking bus all around DXB so that we can save on alittle cab fare, and Pony's mastery of cooking and 5 freaking languages. I can't wait for October to come.

The trick is to not look at other people's blogs before trying to write my own, I've realised. Whenever I've had a spare bit of time these past months, I read the handful of blogs I stalk maniacally before attempting to update my own, and when I finally get around to it my life seems so mundane/insignificant/frivolous compared to whoever I'm comparing it to, the confidence to share my life with the world at large goes into hiding together with my will to blog.

So, everybody around me is sick. Tan is, most of his family is, my colleagues are, as is my mama. Tan's company is totally the pits. They have refused to allow him to take his seven days of medical leave given by the doctor for "Influenza like illness" (as written on his MC - like his doctor isn't quite sure what's he's down with and wants to cover all eventualities). The rational is that they had issued a memo 'strongly suggesting' that all overseas travel that are not of a business nature be curtailed, and if he chose not to heed good advice then the company does not have to honour the medical leave. Freaking load of crap. They told him that his absence from the office will be deducted from his Annual Leave, and only after prolonged discussions did they allow him to work from home next week.

I'm starting my Exotic dance classes tomorrow, looking forward to adding another wifely attribute to my wife-to-be CV. In case anybody is interested. Not that anybody wants to marry me right now. Oh no sirree, let the old bird remain single, never mind that she can pole dance and Thai massage and all of that. Are you reading this TAN!!

Missed my chance to buy a second-hand pole from my dance school - they're moving to new premises and put up all 8 existing poles on sale for $400 each. I was on holiday with my family in Japan when the dance studio released news of the sale, and by the time I returned all the poles have been flogged off. I was just bemoaning the fact that I'll never see my favourite Pole no. 1 again, when my pole buddy (she who goes for practice with me so that we can spot each other) told me she bought that very pole. UGH!! Guess I'll just have to buy a new one when the house is ready - I should start asking for contributions for the long chrome house-warming gift now :)

I lost my grandma's ring at pole pract the day after I returned from Japan. I suppose I was feeling abit creaky, having stopped pole lessons for awhile, and neglected to take off my ring before practice. I only realised it halfway through, and I carelessly left it on the chair before continuing with the rotations. I totally forgot about it until I was a good 15 minutes away from the studio, and all attempts to retrace my steps to recover the ring the following day were futile. Just thought I should record my unbelievable carelessness and stupidity for posterity.

It's been a long time since my grandma died, and I felt quite guilty that I wasn't more upset over the loss of her ring. I decided to put it down to old age - material possessions don't seem to matter as much as when I was younger and wanted to put my name on everything that came my way. I don't know how to explain it, but the absence of the ring is a much more effective reminder of my grandma than its presence...all the years I've had it on my finger, it never quite registered as well as my rue at its loss. Does it make sense?

I managed to catch another episode of The S Factor last night (oh, joy), and strangely something one of the contestants said made me think of something I read earlier in the day, Brida by my favourite author Paulo Coelho. If you live in Singapore you will understand how strange a phenomenon this is - hardly anything the contestants have to say qualifies as thought-provoking.

It was Xue Sha, the giggly 21-year old model that doesn't seem to have an ounce of grey matter, who said on national TV: "If I had the chance to do this all over again, I won't change anything, because this is the real me (loosely paraphrased)."

Such a beautiful thing, the conviction of youth. The last time I felt compelled to show the world the real me was......way too long ago. Once, I too was passionate about staying true to my beliefs and following my dreams no matter where they lead me, intent on taking on the world without artifice. But I was too weak growing up, and did not fight the good fight. And now, I am but one of the masses, all contrived facade and politically correct terms.

Back to Brida. The excerpt from the book:

"I'm always starting things and then giving up," she thought rather sourly. Perhaps life would soon realise this and stop presenting her with the same opportunities over and over. Or perhaps, by always giving up when she had only just started, she had exhausted all possible paths without even taking a single step.

But that was how she was, and she felt herself growing gradually weaker and less and less able to change. A few years before, she would have felt depressed by her own behaviour, but she would, at least, still have been capable of the occasional heroic gesture; now, though, she was starting to adapt to her own mistakes. She knew other people who did the same - they, too, got used to their mistakes and it wasn't long before they began to see them as virtues. And by then it was too late.

Ever since my best friend moved on to the next stage in life, I have been experiencing writer's block. More like writer's boulder, writer's iceberg or whatever's big enough to stem my desire to blog and share my thoughts with the world.


My best friend's not the only one who's moved on - so has his. And I'm stuck thinking strange and silly thoughts like pole dancing during my wedding dinner (if it were ever to occur) and whether seducing the night desk dealers will make them friendlier to us when we call them for trades?


Tan can't make up his mind whether to be exasperated that I'm addicted to a stick, but how can I not be when everybody's deriving fulfillment from marriage, childbirth, plans for the future, when all I have is my desire to become a kickass pole dancer?

It's the time of the month, excuse the moroseness (maybe morosity?)

When the going gets tough, the tough goes bonkers. At least, that's what it seemed like last week, when I did the night shift with a couple of my beloved wacko colleagues.

Talk about job hazards! Bet you never had a knife at your back while you took a call at work. The lovely big screen in the background is my only source of entertainment during the long nights and lonely weekends, providing me with endless reruns of drama serials from the 1980s.

Of course I felt the need to up the ante the moment I hung up, and we obligingly posed for the camera in various positions of cattiness. This was the clear winner in terms of absolute wackiness.

My favourite picture of the evening! Childish we may be, but oh so fun. My department is like a primary school playground, where girls band together against the snotty and disgusting boys (who sometimes manage to get the better of us, but mostly just suffer in silence because they are heavily outnumbered).

So yes, all's good at work :)

Oh God, this is such a cute video, Ling you must watch it! I love 五月天 much much.

出頭天



Don't they look happy? Ashin even blows a kiss at the end, major swoon! Only 146 days to go til the Singapore leg of their world tour, 2009年 D.N.A 創造五月天 新加坡演唱會. Tahan!

Here's another good song in the latest album,夜訪吸血鬼. I think it's as close as they will ever get to a Jay Chou sort of MV, going the whole hog with the gothic set, special effects, blonde chick and all.



Super tiring week just passed, managed to catch 2 movies and attend pole pract on Wed. Confessions of a Shoppaholic is a total girly movie, do not attempt to watch it with your man! Loo's right, Coming Soon is too slapstick to qualify as a real horror movie. Not recommended.

I attended Studio Wu's Eastpoint Openhouse today with my sister, and discovered I was 10 years older than the median age of the participants. Excellent then, that I'd signed up for 12 sessions of dance classes in Febuary on a whim. Should have guessed as much, when I signed up for the trial classes and the receptionist asked whether "you're signing up for your kids or....." (as if he couldn't bear to go on) :s

15 minutes before we're due for the first class, Sister and I were at home mulling over the contents of our wardrobes and lamenting the fact we have nothing to wear - as always. Without a clue what's considered proper attire for J/K Pop (short for Japanese/Korean Pop), we turned up in:

Sister told me to wear a stretchy bottom (although she ended up wearing MY pants, the sneaky...), so I turned up at a class full of teenagers looking like a badly coordinated joke of a twentysomething :(

The trial classes were great fun, and the Yutaki dude who taught J/K Pop was seriously cute! Tan is of the opinion that Sister must have seen him beforehand, and therefore conspired to make an Ugly Betty out of me. The jazz instructor was less asthetically pleasing, and therefore I was able to concentrate of the steps and made some progress over the course of the 1-hr session. The hip hop class was very very painful on the kness, and the years I had on the rest of the class really showed, damnit.

Some random pictures, since I'm uploading pictures from my phone:

My valentine's day gift! Ho ho. I have pictorial evidence, Tan!

Sister hard at work in the lab! Impressive looking, no? She looks like one of them on CSI :)

Abu Dhabi on the side of a taxi, in an Etihad ad, parked just outside my office. Ooh, the memories.

Goodbye, 1st quarter of 2009. Hello, 2nd quarter and DBS Simei :) Can't wait!

10 Things I've been busy with since Dec, in chronological order:

1) Visited Shanghai with the family

2) Had yummy steamboat with old friends for New Year's Eve

3) Declared a time-out with the Tan. No success.

4) Received my first ever bonus, woohoo a very very pleasant surprise indeed :)

5) Attended a lapdance class for the first time ever. Won't be the last though, I suspect. Love the list of wifely attributes I'm amassing.

6) Had Long John Silver's for Valentine's Day dinner. Not with Tan, yippeeee :)

7) Read Harry Potter in a continuous loop, not always in order. I've decided on my epitaph, a line from the last book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows belonging to Dumbledore.

8) Stuck to my new year's resolutions of writing to 1 friend a month just because.

9) Attended an ice-cream making workshop, and stuffed myself silly during the ice-cream buffet that followed the workshop. Shiokness

10) Completed pole dancing level 1! Looking forward to level 2 and learning how to do inverts :)