寸金难买寸光阴

一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴。

There are only 24 hours a day. I don't relish the fact that you are requested to simply show up because you have to and not because for a purpose. (The purpose cited was just in case you may need to utilise the skill one day.. but not being arrogant, it was not much of a value-add for the past two weeks. it was a case of revision. 'beansprouts' aren't a threat to me. )

To simply waste 17% of your day (i.e. 24 hours including snooze time) just to make the trip there and for the reason that attendance is required is so reasonable. Even the 'skill set' imparted that week may or may not be of relevance to you.  Physical presence does not equate commitment.  Similarly, absence does not translate to lack of commitment. Cutting the debate short since it was going nowhere, with the one representing the authority citing the politically reply – the weekday trip is PART of the requirement. [Regardless of the itinerary of the day]. In my opinion, that's not reasonable.  It's not military right?

I am certainly not against the increased frequency of the weekly commitments should there warrant a need. But making a sort of 'wasted' trip is certainly not my idea of 'sacrifice' or 'service'.

Perhaps, it's time to move on … either that simply adopt the attitude of  得过且过 (which I prefer not to).  Many years have since passed ( think at least 7?), and perhaps, whatever has transpired in the past, has gone down the drain.  It seemed that the NOW is of a greater emphasis, if you aren't as gungho as before, aren't as available as before, it's seems like a downgrade in process.  

This reminded me of the sharing that PK spoke a couple of months back in the combined meeting. And I am certainly feeling the same way the pioneers did, just in a different setting.

 

Whatever it takes!

Chanced upon this randomly at one of the new authorized Apple re-sellers@ Vivocity during lunchtime..

The bright pink hue & the cutesy doodles caught my eye! Not a fan of ms Cruz but was attracted by the idyllic cheery looking design.. Not to mention that it is for a good cause! Cuz a minimum sum of the sales proceed will go to the charity causes supported by this organization (http://www.whateverittakes.org/) & products are manufactured ethically! ;)

Needless to say, my iPhone has yet another change of attire this afternoon!!

Ooo had a mini haul from the MNG cuz hard to resist the 20% carrot! Spring-cleaned the wardrobe yesterday to welcome the spring collection! *lame* but actually not much room left though...

Dawn of a new day!

God's creations are amazing. :) Love the beauty of the nature that greeted my eyes this morning.. The puffy clouds.. and the blazing sun peering behind the clouds as the taxi wheezed passed the SG flyers. (Took the non-green mode of transport as I wanna catch a couple of winks, non-standing mode.)

Whipped out my iPhone and snapped this randomly.. (It's faster to operate the phone camera than the newly acquired S95, which was buried deep within my bag. And I've yet master the non-auto functions yet. Hence relying on the trusted iPhone..)

"But the path of the just is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day."

Proverbs 4:18

Starting the day with a non-fat latte makes today a perrrfect Friday.. :)

Yippie.. 15 more days to the Alpines! :)

R&J

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Prologue. Act I of  Romeo & Juliet

Sad to say, I've yet read through the Shakespearean Classic - Romeo & Juliet. *shy* Didn't have the privilege to major in English Literature in the upper secondary school years. [Alright, I'd randomly decided to major only in History due to the practical fact that the MOE has decided to streamline the syllabus, and  my secondary 2 history teacher made history fun. As compared to the quarter change of teachers for geography which resulted in a less than satisfactory result for my geography - it was a B- average. :( and frankly, English language ain't my forte. And I'd even contemplated in doing Chinese literature as the textbooks are so thin - but then again 文言文will be yet another killer!] Only version I had caught was the 1996's film adaptation, starring the then-uber popular Leonardo Dicaprio & Clarie Danes..

source

Got a pair tix for the opening performance of the Singapore Dance Theatre's Romeo + Juliet. (courtesy of conpany cuz it's the sponsor.).

Despite the lead dancers of last evening performance weren't as eye-candy as my mind's perception of Romeo & Juliet (i.e. based on the R+J), it was equally enjoyable, with the cast's vivid facial/ physical expressions to portray the storyline without words. Being a noobie at ballet, I can't really comment on the technicalities of their steps.. etc. Still it was a great evening, and catching up with May... :)

Caught this visual arts display on the way to esplanade - theatres on the bay. They were actually deflated balloons! :)

Visual threat to the eye! :)

New Day new place

Love the stage design! ;)

Go green!

Wandering around shopping malls while waiting for time to pass certainly spells trouble for the wallet..
Was walking around and trying a random nude wedge for fun at Aldo after failing to locate a pair of boots..
Love how tall it made me.. Hence, another addition to the collection!
And aldo goes green! No paper bag! The box doubles up as the bag too!! Just a simple extra lace at the end turn the box into a carrier! ;)

When procrastination pays!

A pat on the back for getting the essentials done. Considering that I'm a rather laid-back person, putting together these logistic stuff all by myself (almost) was a mighty feat! Finally settled the last logistic preparation bit!

Procrastination pay off! (Usually, it doesn't. Miraculously, in this instance, it does!)

Thanks the mantra of "doing it later"! [ But seriously, I don't recommend procrastination!]

When SQ released some super deals a few weeks ago, I tweaked my  initial plans and that translated into savings on the flight (A380!),  which went (almost) exactly to pay for the 3 nights luxury accommodation @ the English leg of the trip! That, I had chanced upon spring deals, thanks to procrastination (again), and for the price that would probably fetch me a single room @ a typical b&b (inclusive of the gasp! 20%VAT), the last three nights would be in the luxury superior king room, english breakfast inclusive! :) Though it may not be in the heart of the shopping district, but location is still great with the tube a few minutes away (and the brief scan via google satellite sealed the deal!) and there's a in-house gym so I could probably squeeze in some runs cuz the sundown is just a couple of months away and my 'engine' has not been properly warmed up yet (have yet finished another 42k since Dec..). Prior to this, I was considering to pay twice as much for what was seemingly good deal then that was near the Mews & Buckingham Palace. But now the 50% savings on accommodation could actually go towards say.. more loots to bring back home!

And not to mention some other little cheap thrills I got while procrastinated..
1. 15 % savings off domestic flight; &
2. 10pounds off London pass plus a free royal wedding souvenir mug. (Not that I'm that interested but that was added bonus, the 10 pounds off is the draw!)

Flights checked. Domestic flights checked. Swiss Rail & London pass checked. Accomodation checked. Left with the oyster card & the gatwick/heathrow express.

And thanks to the change in events, I will have company most of the days of my trip.. cuz my dearie pal is coming with me to London :) . Probably the last 24+ hours in London would be me time.. which I may slot in a west end musical.. :)

Summing up the total expenditure so far, I reckon I could have purchased a tour package covering more countries in the continent but obviously at a lower end budget accommodation and flight/ travel arrangement. Not to mention, restricted time!

Whoopie.. counting down.. :)

Another event to count down to until then.. Suntec in three days! :)

井底蛙的回報

泡泡茶的熱潮似乎在我們這炎熱的小島沒淡漠。在友人當中，有的偏愛koi, 有的則鍾意貢茶。
我並非個愛茶之人，香濃的咖啡往往是我首號選擇。不可否認茶可解膩，尤其是在一頓個較豐盛的一餐後。

貢茶雖以在宜豐城營業數日，但我不願犧牲只少三十分鐘在那不間斷的人龍。
昨日，因我同事'憐惜'我這井底蛙，在無需要排隊下，終於嘗試了第一杯貢茶！

奶蓋阿里山綠茶+寒天還不滿不錯，但太過細膩了，到了底部，似乎有點像chendol的椰奶。寒天的口感還蠻獨特的。QQ的，沒珍珠的棉感。

但還是crave for non-fat latte!

Opportunistic

Shocked by the 9.0 earthquake in japan that brought about massive tsunami in Japan.. Gosh ever thankful that it was last March i went on my Jap trip n not this March! Saw the news on NHK.. Scary sight of houses swept away by the huge waves!

While newsroom are busy with the news update, the marcom of our local broadcasting media has a brilliant gimmick or simply being Opportunistic?

Wonder which smart alec thought of this marketing gimmick.. Whoever did that is now 'famous' overnight .. Personally I think that's so inappropriate!

darn those mops hiding behind the bushes

Perhaps they are just like the ladies in white shirt with hats and a gadget in arm, hunting for targets to clock their daily quotas.

Thanks to the uber narrow pedestrian path and the ever-red traffic light that seems to favour the vehicles than pedestrians, it's not unusal for those who had freshly alighted from the two buses plying by that bus stop to simply cross the road to either the mrt station or the bus interchange at the traffic light (when there is NO traffic - please that road is not that busy most of the time.... ) rather than crowd around that small waiting area waiting for mr green man to lit up.

Anyhow, the two mops in blue appeared from the bushes and demanded the pink card from the slightly impatient ones who doesn't have the time to wait till mr green arouse from bed. oh well.. yours truly obviously help mr mop  to make his daily quota.. and added a very insignificant contribution to the nation reserve (i reckon the nice invoice will be posted soon). mr blue man had indeed painted Monday Blue for me. Anyway, wonder why they don't hide stand guard with their camera in hand to snap those silly 4 wheelers (ie the motorists) who sped away at amber/red (instead of slowing down) at the pedestrian crossing in between my office block & the merril lynch. I think the harvest would be plentiful...

still that involuntarily contribution to the nation is about 1/3 cheaper of hailing a cab. On the Ah-Q side, that's about 33% savings. ^.^"

I think i prefer Mr Zebra to the silly Green/Red man. At least mr Zebra is very reliable and not inflexible like the pre-programmed mr green/red (sometimes amber for those with wheels).

Zebra (crossing) rules!

Flattered or flattened?

I guessed I should have NOT taken the luxury of flagging a cab to work yesterday but I was sort of rushing for time. For a very long time to come, I will definitely refrain from taking a Premier Cab..

It was quite an alright journey until uncle phang ( can't recall his full name or the car plate no. Else contemplated of lodging a compliant for his unprofessionalism) asked questions like whether I'm married.. And learning that I'm not, he plunged into his life story (totally uninterested !) and asked if accountants are mostly unmarried etc due to the lack of social free time. ( To save unnecessary explanation of my work scope, quoted accountant as profession, since most won't understand what my job entails . Tax seemed like Greek to most and unfortunately (or fortunately ) that's my bread & butter since graduation!)

Was praying for smooth traffic n speedy arrival to my destination( opted to stop at vivo was a wise choice, since that wasn't exactly where my office was.), that dude suddenly started singing praises of me (uhm whole conversation was in mandarin - darned! I should have spoken in English instead!) that me, being so pretty, appeared to be a kind, understanding, nice person, hence should be married by now.. Then he asked '你不介意，我们可以交个朋友吗?'

I gagged! Oh please! I'm certainly NOT impressed by a bummer who was unemployed for 12 months doing NOTHING until a relative spoke to him to drive? And I'm certainly VERY turned off by the cheesy 'if it's not fate, you won't be in my cab.. ' OMG! Not to mention the creepy statement 'If there's a jam, it's alight, cuz I got you for company!' Eeeeeks! Freak! I should have video it and send to stomp!


Obviously I've nicely rejected his audacious request and pretend to look busy with my phone. Weird uncle kept glancing at the rear mirror ..and weirdo was quite determined to find out what went wrong with his request (as to why I ignored him) cuz whilst i was abt to alight, he asked what type of guys I waslooking for, perhaps he could help me look out! Tempted to reply - everything that he wasn't! Needless to say, I declined to reply.. Paid the money after uncle said '有缘再见'. Freaky! This was more freaky then the chap from friendster who think he's my bf after a very casual msn chat!

For a moment, I wondered if I'm still 2 dress sizes bigger, this may not happen.

Oh well, usually man are drawn to pretty stuff right?