Huiting wedding

She had many major bumps here and there in her teenage years but she remained so pure and true to herself. Now she found her long deserved fairy tale! Very happy for her and she is also very happy!!!

Me and Albert.

I had a bad haircut the day before but I managed to save it using my styling skills haha.
No shortcuts to the hair.

Anyway I just found my old hairstylist Chloe in a new salon at....... Kovan. KOVAN. T_T
Worth traveling 1 hour for a haircut?

Friday adrenaline

It was a very productive Friday for me. And adrenaline rush.

I was doing the following at the same time:

• Fighting a law case on "if you don't share this you will have bad luck" posts on fb
• Reading lots of organisation changes emails because there are so many changes
• Helping somebody find his lost iphone using findmyiphone because he got pickpocketed in China
• Deciding if I should have a weekend trip to Hong Kong because Scoot is giving away free tickets, and eventually buying a return trip for $76 nett for a Jan weekend. A very competitive online bargain with heavy website traffic. Such an impromptu buy!

A different day from the rest of my week.

complicating future

It's always on my mind to leave this job but as some of my friends tell me, this is the best job in the world because you get paid to surf the net. True enough.

I met Betty for lunch the other day and got to know that they are expanding this year, expecting to hire more people. But if I go in, I'd have to start from scratch because I don't have any experience. Well, three months doesn't really count. 

Earlier on she had reserved a place for me when I'm finishing my year 4 but the timing wasn't right so she gave it to one of her temp staff. If I were to join this time round, I would be more junior than him, which makes it awkward because he's younger and more experienced but my qualifications are above him. In addition, she has another 2 temp staff waiting for that full time position which makes it even more awkward if she had me fill in instead of them.

Anyway I'm just thinking out loud here. I had also researched on getting a part time Masters in financial engineering that will increase my chances of getting a great paying job dramatically.

Should I? One year of studies will cost 30k. It would be best if there's some sort of sponsorship if I join a bank, but I'm not quite sure if the cost of education is worth the lack of income. 

Income: est 36k per year 

Masters: 30k

If my increase in income is 1k after graduation, I would take 30 months or 2.5 years to recover my cost. That's even more than my whole 4 years of college! Sighs.

I don't come from a rich family, unlike some of my friends who can just go somewhere to study as much as they like and I'm already behind by 2 years of NS as compared to the female counterparts.

Career is so damn complicating. 

After work excuses

Monday: I slept too late yesterday, I need to nap
Tuesday: It's only Tuesday, there's the rest of the week
Wednesday: It's raining, good weather to nap
Thursday: There's still Friday....
Friday: I'll be swimming on Saturday anyways.
Saturday: Swimming
Sunday: I swam yesterday, and I'll start next week

focus at home

I always have a problem focusing on what to do after work at home.
I need to focus because I'm trying to do too many things at a time.

plan for travelling

bake

make ice cream

learn Japanese

learn ukulele

exercise

read novels

read comics

search for jobs

watch shows

Ok since I have high cholesterol problem and fat problems, I should concentrate on exercising. 

And I should prepare to go Japan soon again, I'm gonna learn Japanese.

2 main priorities now.

encounters on omegle

My week has been "fulfilling" with the discovery of Omegle.

After my last post I went on to find out if yahoo chat still exists and apparently yahoo removed the chat in 2012. Then I typed yahoo chats in the yahoo search bar and found Omegle, an online chatting website and within a week I have accumulated LOTs of stories.

I have encountered the following:

• a shemale, and I immediately exit the chat
• a double major in Econs and marketing who just finished his 1500 word literature essay who has a cocky friend from Harvard living in a mansion in a small town
• somebody who liked tranny porn
• a Cali girl who found out her chatmate was from NC and exited immediately stating "I don't like hillbillies"
• a girl who has friends who were raped and one of them are in hospital currently, but refuse to admit sometimes it's the girl's fault for seducing the guy. Oh and she assumes that guys can "aim" when they are peeing and want to try that one day.
• a 20 yo guy who has encounters with somebody from the navy, has a girlfriend and intends to break up with her next month because he's moving to San Diego stating "we are only together because of sex"
• a lost student whose friend is mad at him for no reason and not knowing what to do with his life so I guided him to study literature in college
• a guy who would choose invisibility instead of flight because "i can grope people and get away with it by saying I'm a ghost or something"
• two person doing some role play cybersex for 1 hour
• two person doing LOTR role play cyber.

yea and the list goes on and on....

a lost penpal

I just vaguely recalled that when I was 12 years old, I used to hang out at the CCK library after school to surf the net or play games on the computers. At that point of time, online chatting is a very cool and popular thing to do.

I was on yahoo chat. I forgot how I started, I began chatting with this guy at Arizona, USA and he was serving the military. I think he was 19 or 21 at that point of time, so we began chatting and we agreed to exchange addresses to become penpals. 

I will always remember after exchanging, he wrote, "looks like you got yourself a penpal, buddy."

He was in the Marine Corps, and at that point of time I didn't know what is the marine corps. I thought he meant marine crops, so I was thinking, is he in marine farming or something?

After a week, I consulted my form teacher how much the stamp costs to US and I bought a $1 stamp before sending out the the letter. 

I never got a reply, and some of the reasons might be due to:

1. I forgot to write his name on his address

2. I forgot to write Marine Corps

3. The letter never got to him

Well this was 14 years ago. By now he should be like 35? I dunno. I wonder if yahoo still keeps a history of chat logs, because I totally forgot his name. I think it was John or something. 

In any case, I hope he is still doing well, or at least, still alive.

colleague just quit

That's the thing with working.

You either have to do a reasonable amount of things, have a lot of time in your hands and earn reasonable amount of money.

or

Have a lot of things to do, have little time in your hands and earn a lot of money.

Well the best thing is to take the best of both, do what you like, have a lot of time and earn a lot of money, but that's not going to happen to just anyone. It's always a trade-off between time and money.

I just heard that one of my colleagues under the same program just quit the company because he was feeling unsatisfied with his work because he's not really doing or learning anything. And he hasn't found another job yet! 

Its's such a risk! And the employment market in Shanghai is still so competitive!

I mean you should at least have a backup plan right, and we need to do another half a year for the bonus. The best thing is to start finding another job now, wait to take the bonus and run. 

I'm also not very sure if I would like the other job, but if it's a change, it's always good.

Robinsons at Heerens

Saturday I had a rare day to really explore Orchard all by myself since I came back.

It was all window shopping and I almost bought a tee but decided I have too much clothes and maybe wait for the end of year sale.

So I went to the new Robinsons at the Heerens and I'm very impressed by their offerings in the new store!
It used to be a departmental store for the older generation but the store at Heerens turns out to cater to the young and modern adults!

I'm really impressed by the layout of the store, the brands they carry and the design of their products, which cleared a path for the younger generation to shop. I was wowed by the exclusive stuff that they carry, like Uniformware watches, Kiel James Patrick bracelets and Herschel Supplies bags. The chocolate section at the basement carries Valrhona chocolates too!

Congratulations, Robinsons, you have re-branded yourselves to be the new departmental store for young adults and I know where to get my new furniture next time.

How to become rich

Ten Keystone Habits That Will Make Your Rich:

1. Wealthy individuals have eliminated most of their bad daily failure habits and replaced them with good daily success habits. Yes I need to start doing that.
2. Wealthy individuals set daily, monthly, annual and long-term goals. They understand the difference between a wish and a goal. Yes I need to start doing that.
3. Wealthy individuals engage in 30 minutes a day of daily career-related reading. I do read the news.
4. Wealthy people are healthy people. They exercise aerobically 30 minutes a day, four days a week and stay below their “caloric threshold” (This is the number of calories consumed each day that will neither make you gain weight nor lose weight). For men this ranges from 2,000 calories a day to 2,600 calories a day. For women this ranges from 1,500 calories a day to 2,100 calories a day. I need to exercise more...
5. Wealthy individuals manage their relationships every day. Strong relationships are the currency of the wealthy. They employ certain strategies to grow their relationships such as: “The Hello Call”, “The Happy Birthday Call” and “The Life Event Call”. They use a specific strategy to help them increase their Rich Relationships and eliminate their Poverty Relationships. Yes I need to start doing that.
6. Wealthy individuals live each day in moderation.They eat in moderation, spend in moderation, work in moderation and play in moderation. I do that.
7. Wealthy individuals complete at least 70% of the tasks on their daily “to do” list. I do that.
8. Wealthy individuals engage in “Rich Thinking”. They are upbeat, positive and focused on achievement.  I do that.
9. Wealthy individuals save a minimum of 10-20% of their income and live off of the remaining 80-90%.  I do that.
10. Wealthy individuals control their thoughts and emotions, every day.  I do that.

Need to do: 1,2,4,5.

Bad Habits That Are Keeping You Poor

1. You watch more than one hour of T.V. a day. Guilty... need to keep that in check.
2. You spend more than an hour a day on recreational Internet use (Facebook, Twitter etc.) Guilty...
3. You eat more than 300 junk food calories a day. 
4. You drink more than two glasses of beer, wine or hard alcohol a night.
5. You drink more than 12 ounces of non-diet soda a day.
6. You don’t exercise aerobically a minimum of 30 minutes a day, four days a week. Sometimes...
7. Your relationships are on an “as needed” basis. You only reach out to your friends to socialize or when you have problems and need their help. You don’t call them just to say hello, happy birthday or to congratulate them or console them when something happens in their lives. In other words, you ignore them unless you need them for something. A little bit guilty...
8. Procrastination is the rule rather than the exception. You don’t maintain a daily “to do” list, or if you do, you don’t accomplish 70% or more of your daily “to do” list each.
9. You devote very little time to your career beyond working. You do not read a minimum of 30 minutes a day of career-related reading material. I do read the news... on twitter...
10. You do not network or volunteer a minimum of 5 hours a month. Guilty.
11. You do the bare minimum at work. You have “it’s not in my job description” syndrome.
12. You talk too much and don’t listen enough. You violate the ”5 to 1 Rule” (Listening for 5 minutes for every 1 minute of talking). I don't talk. Does that count?
13. Oftentimes, you are putting your foot in your mouth and saying inappropriate things. Not me.
14. You are not generous with your time or money with respect to your relationships. Maybe...
15. You are a spender and not a saver. You don’t save 10% of your net income every month. You violate the “90 % Rule”
16. You spend more than you earn and your debt is overwhelming you.
17. You don’t control your thoughts and emotions on a daily basis. You lose your temper too often and belittle others too much. Def. not me.
18. You think a wish is a goal. Goals require a specific physical activity, otherwise they are just wishes and wishes don’t come true. Sometimes...

Need improve on: 1, 2, 7, 10, 14, 18

Taken from: http://richhabits.net/?s=20+things

Focus

I've been wanting to do too many things lately that everything is not done completely. It's like trying to do this and that but it's getting me nowhere.

Like I bought so many ingredients to bake so many things but I didn't have the time or equipment to bake! and the things are going to expire quickly. Argh.

Focus on one item to make, then buy ingredients and make.
Focus on one thing to do, do and get it done so that you can move on.

I need to focus focus focus.

4 day back in Shanghai

I had to attend a 2 day "training" in Shanghai and it felt like going back after a business trip to Singapore. 

The company rejected our application to take SQ so we had to stick to their cheaper house brand, China Eastern, which I wouldn't have boarded if I didn't need to collect my load of stuff left at Evan's house.

 I forgot how bad the air was, the first day was horrible and everywhere smell like cigarettes. Fresh air is such a luxury. 

As usual, training is just a social event to get away from your work once in a while and met up with friends.

Luckily I extended my trip by 3 days, arriving there one day early and spending the weekend there and I had my usual fixes: Nougatine, Haidilao, burgers, blue frog, Chu Hua and alcohol!!! 

Alcohol is so expensive in Singapore, I always had to drink my fill in Shanghai. Cocktails, sake, beers! I really miss the good affordable food and drinks there.

I settled most of my accounts, including phone, bank, gym etc. so that I don't have anything left to miss or return for. I have also thought for very long what else I could get from taobao but currently I'm quite satisfied with what I already bought: 2 leather shoes, 1 sports shoes, belt, headphones, googles, contacts, baking stuff and clothes.

I really hate to tempt my Singaporean friends with how comfortable Singapore had been because they had to endure for at least one more year there and most of them had been contemplating to quit. Well, one year is the turning point for me. 

So long, Shanghai, till April 14, if I'm still with the company. And they provide SQ flight.

a close iphone shave

I was watching the TV on the sofa when the doorbell rang and I sprang up to open the door.

CLING CLANK PIANG

My iphone slipped from my pocket and went face down on the floor.

After opening the door, I checked on my iphone.
Pressed on the power button, home button, silent mode button, volume button, no response.

My iphone officially died with my only way of communication with all my friends.

Only 3 days before my biz trip to Shanghai, I came out with plan Bs in case my phone can't be fixed.

1. Buy a completely new phone without plan
2. Buy a completely new phone with my dad's expired plan
3. Use my backup non-3G phone until my plan is up in next June
4. Trade in my old phone to exchange for a new iphone with Singtel

But which phone should I get? Iphone 5S is very expensive and Iphone 6 which will have a completely new design will be out next year. I don't like Samsung phones. I'm leaning towards Nokia phones but they don't have my PVZ 2 and I need to restore all my contacts one by one.

A quick online research on where to get my iphone repaired and I'm down to the shop. They also couldn't figure out what happened after they dismantled it, and then suddenly the apple sign on the screen just sprang up.

WHAT...........................................

The attendant told me maybe something short circuited but it's ok now.

It was such a close shave! My phone officially died for 3 hours and came back to life!!! A miracle!
Oh phone I promise to take better care of you and never drop you again, until you are due for exchange. Heehee.

This is what I was afraid of 2 years ago when I got my iphone. Over-dependence.

Charge

Now comes that part when everything's much settled to a automated daily schedule.

On weekdays,
Wake up at 7am
Shower
Taking train
Apple for breakfast at 8am
Work
Lunch at 12pm
Work
Home at 6.30pm
Work out/run/nap
Dinner at 7.45pm
Shows
Sleep at 11.15pm

On weekends,
Saturday swim/tan at 11.30am, baking
Sunday F&E

I'm not complaining. I feel much better in the comforts of my home and bed. I need to find something healthy to fill my stomach during mid morning and mid afternoon when I'm always hungry. Having lived overseas alone made me feel like getting a space of my own, like my own home or something but then again, nobody to wash/iron my clothes etc.

It's actually quite a dangerous feeling - being so stabilized, because any bump on the road will topple you.
Therefore I'm seeking change in other aspect of my life, like my job. Not that I don't like my job, just that sometimes I feel overqualified and wasting my youth instead of going out there and charging like my friends while we still have the means to.

Charge!!!

Zn's wedding

13 years ago this guy was sitting in front of me in the same class and I never thought I would wake up at 3.30am on a Saturday morning to be the one of his brothers in his wedding.

Also, this was the first wedding of a classmate of a same age that I attended.

Gate crashing wasn't that difficult, the worse part was the wasabi-chilli-padi popsicle and after that groom's house and we left wq in the bride's house. Ha epic.





Capella wedding lunch

The lunch was rather good, the food was separated individually for each person and their tea selection is superb. Gryphon Tea Company.

The couple also had a complimentary stay at the Capella Villa, which was like a large suite with an individual outdoor pool and bathtub. A real good place for a quick staycation! and off they are gone for honeymoon the next day. Ha.

Happy wedding Zhengnian!

Bakes and such

Saturday is pool and oven day.

 Milk Tart

 Mocha Macarons

 Chocolate milk tart

 Marshmallow mud pie

 Orange cupcakes

Hershey's Chocolate velvet cake

Tie loose SH ends

I have a business trip back to SH this November and I have some stuff to settle back there. My phone number, internet accounts etc has to be terminated I guess,  it should be one my last trips back there, not going to visit SH any time soon unless its a business trip.

Anyway I won't be with my current job for long. I'm sending out resumes and going towards the direction that I have aimed instead of dwelling in this industry. Please show me some guiding light. 

I'm back to my routine life, just like in SH and running out of things to do at home. I don't wanna face a screen after doing it for 8 hours at work.

Comics, tick
Packing, tick
Catching up shows, tick
Exercising, tick
Baking weekend, tick
What's next?
Japanese book left in SH, Ukulele left in SH, golf probably?

Gotta plan for my xmas/end of year break too.

sore body

Last week I did squats with my old weights and a few days after that I could not walk properly.

My body had been sore since I started my working out schedule - weights on 1,3,5, running and arm training on 2,4. Saturday is pool day, tanning and swimming in the noon and Sunday is recovery and indulgence day.

My diet had been regular, less carbs and I'm actually considering to buy protein powder to gain more muscle mass and fill my stomach when I'm hungry... hm....

Just a random note, I chanced upon this video of the new Apple Mac pro.

This is why Apple products is so awesome... from an engineering perspective.

Be careful what you wish for

Because once you get it, karma is going to ram into your ass so hard that you can't even remember your own name

First work out

On Saturday, I went for a swim the first time in a year. Oh gosh the water, the sun and the swimming- super missed it, and I was so energetic the whole day. Water has healing properties.

And while swimming I realised I am super super fair. I seriously need the sun! I need to photosynthesize.

I also checked out the golf course that I'm thinking of signing up for, a little bit expensive

So I baked 2 cakes on the same day, one failed attempt because I missed out some ingredients. Ha. then Sunday was out with the gang for Pear's bdae.

Today I worked out the first time in a long time too, I really missed my free weights below my table. Haha and now my whole body is feeling sore. My movements are weird, but its a great feeling that my muscles are developing. I hope it will be more shiok tomorrow.

Chengdu, Siguniang Mountain, Jiuzhaigou

With 1k savings a month, I could put that money to good use and travel around!

I desperately needed a break from work because I haven't taken any leave this year and this holiday came just right on time. I had one of the most beautiful and amazing trip in Si Gu Niang Mountain and Jiu Zhai Gou in the western part of China. Panda city they call it.

First day was spent exploring Chengdu and their famous panda center and baby pandas were so CUTE!
I had to buy some groceries and food to support myself for the 10hr bus ride the next day to Siguniang Mountain.

A 10hr bus ride sounds long but in fact we had a short break every 2.5 hours so it seems a little better. We had to pay for the worst washrooms ever. We had to take a mini-van to our hotel/hostel in the evening and had dinner. The accommodation was quite average, just that their toilets do not have seats and they use bed heaters instead of air conditioning.

The entire place was almost at an altitude of 4km, so I had a little bit of altitude sickness whenever I moved too much and a constant headache and sometimes out of breath. 

3 full days of 8 hour hikes, 10 + 5 hours one way of bus rides and a lot of snow capped mountains.

Eagle peaks at Shuang Qiao valley

looks like New Zealand

Yak skeleton

Chang Ping Valley

We hiked instead of taking the horse rides and I was surprised that there weren't much people at this beautiful place. The whole place is so wonderful I wanted to sit down and admire the scenery the whole day but then the shuttle bus down the mountain would have ended. There's always a price for beauty. Tranquility was short-lived.

Note to self: Never travel with a social media whore because he will just ignore what's in front of him and just edit his pictures in instagram/facebook/tweet just to show off or get attention. Just like when you are dehydrated and want a sip of water from his waterbottle in his bag right beside him, he will ask you to wait while he edits his picture or whatsapp his friends or instagram/facebook/tweet.

The hostel we stayed at was wonderful. Newly opened, great wifi, great food, clean toilets and rooms, it was much better than the one at Chengdu. It was cold but they have bed heaters. They even helped us booked a 5hr car ride back to Chengdu! Much faster but more rocky roads but the scenery was also very nice.

Back in Chengdu, after grocery shopping and spending a night, 10 hr to Jiuzhaigou again...

The place we stayed were also very nice and this time they had a toilet bowl instead of squatting hole. The whole place is very much commercialized with mountains of people everywhere. We were the first to enter the park in the morning and it was freezing! It was a very nice place nevertheless and now I understand why its a touring place for old folks.

Nuorilang falls at Jiu Zhai Valley

Multi-coloured pond

Spending my holidays in Autumn is definitely worth it, especially when the colours of nature are dancing in the background while the climate is suitable for a fashion parade. An escape from the city life and living closer to nature, breathing in fresh air with a hint of pine scent, it felt like Yosemite National Park. I'm looking forward to more nature places to visit during fall. 

Presenting.... Four Sisters Mountain

I love travelling in autumn!

ponds and highways

This is the point of time where you ask yourself how come you are so old already and not really accomplished anything.

Just thinking about the career and your future job is vexing enough. It's probably the most complicated thing ever because every step you take it's gonna be with you for the rest of your life. Like a crossroad, I know/heard of people deciding if they should take the professional sportsman route or the academic route; the finance or engineering route; the public or private sector etc.

Visibility vs Ability

I have already set my target but there's always a trade-off. Either you become the big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond. There's only so much that you can do in the small pond but you know you are the big guy; there's a lot that you can do in the big pond but you will always be the small one fighting along with other fishes.

Money vs Interest

Would you rather do something that is more interesting but less money, or less interesting and receive more money? After all, working is all about getting money isn't it? Of course it would be perfect if both come together but how rare is that.

Long term vs short term

Would you exit immediately to a rocky road towards the start of the highway or would you travel a longer distance to the start of a highway? 

How do you achieve everything perfectly?

random stories

After 3 weeks, I am proud to say that I have completed most of the new comics in the library! Its time to move on to online manga and comics...

Macarons making every weekend, I have no idea why they keep failing... so i'll be trying and trying until I can get 2 good batches in a row.

My first buffet after I came back yesterday night at Carlton Hotel, the promotion was 1 for 1 and it was quite worth it! I have yet to satisfy my chilli crab craving though...

I am meeting a lot of people, and as I expand my own circle and dug deeper, I find everyone has their own stories. But I guess if not for the stories, they wouldn't be where they are today.

I just realised I'm flying off in 2 weeks time and I have barely started with my project and I'm blogging at 3.30pm on a Monday afternoon. GG.

Fitness plan

Time pass by. So slowly.

Two and a half weeks back in SG office and I'm dreading it. Dread waking up in the early morning and reaching office at 8am with nothing to do. I think if work piles up then I won't feel so bored then.

I saw myself in the mirror yesterday, I seriously need a fitness plan. Getting back in shape is harder while I'm back with all those dinners and sweets and bakes.

Fitness plan:
1. Healthy breakfast: an apple/fruit every morning
2. Weights on 1,3,5. Cardio on 2,4
3. Limit ice cream to once a week
4. Less carbs in meals since I can't control my lunch in office and dinner at home

getting used to sg

I think I need a break from work.

I still need to get used to waking up at 7am in the morning to catch the 7.20 shuttle bus at Gombak to office, reaching home at 6.30pm and nap till 7.30pm, bathe, dinner, sleep.

My body has been rusty since I haven't applied for a gym membership here. It's hard coz there's no walkable gym near my place and the one near my work place is crowded. And I feel so tired after work every time, as compared to last time. I used to have energy to do some running or spinning class after work but now when i reach home i need the bed. 

Maybe I'm getting old. I miss my friends in Shanghai.

I'm also looking to switch to another company and industry, just waiting for the right opportunity though.

Met up with my family and friends, and got my BKT and frog porridge etc. I just bought 2 pints of Ben n Jerry's and I'm eating it everyday. It's just too addictive!

Looking forward to my chilli crab!

3rd day back

Why does it feel like the week is passing by, day by day?

Its only Wednesday and I haven't cleared a lot of things. I have borrowed my whole load of comics to occupy me. 

I need to:

• iron my clothes
• clear my wardrobe
• pack my winter clothes
• pack my storing cupboard
• pack my stationary drawer
• pack my store room items
• catch up on my drama
• catch up on my anime
• buy baking ingredients
• buy a gym membership or start gymming at home

It just feels weird being at home after 1 year of being away.

Sneaky

So I sneaked back last night.

Last week was a mad rush during work. I hated it and made me wanna leave the place more. Even in my last week Shanghai didn't leave a good impression. Tsk. The good thing is I have free shipping back or else I won't have cleared my stuff in time. I still have tons of stuff at a friend's place... Sighs.. how am I gonna ever bring my stuff back. I missed staying at my friend's hotel-suite-like place.

The first day of work today in Singapore office and I felt so much more organised and informative. I kinda feel bad that I'm planning to leave, but you know, this place is not for me.

I felt like I shifted my house and squeezing everything into a room. My DHL just arrived and my wardrobe is exploding. I have cleared a good load of rubbish in my room and now I need to clear another pile... just replace all those not needed. I just need to throw throw throw!

Clean air, safe roads, clean water, home cooked food, my soon baking sessions.
I'm glad to be back.

4 last weekends in China

1 weekend spent at the beautiful Huang Shan

One of my must-go list is Huang Shan and I wasn't ready to depart China without visiting the most beautiful mountain in China. From Shanghai, Baldwin and I took a 6 hour bus ride there and took the cable car up. We only had 2 full days to explore so we skipped the climbing part.

It was absolutely amazing! It was like living in a Chinese painting! We stayed up there for a night to wait for the sunset and sunrise, then climbed to the highest peak and then its back to Shanghai.
Huang Shan is absolutely beautiful.

1 weekend spent at Beer Festival Qingdao

Overall the beer festival was kind of disappointing. Expensive diluted beer, I guess it was just a gimmick to attract tourists. All thanks to Ambrose's dad who drove us there and back, and gave us free tickets to the beer fest! The lemonade beer was the best among all... I guess. We climbed a mountain the second day and ate very awesome seafood. Hm... I'm missing the seafood in Singapore. 

2 more upcoming weekends, I'm just meeting friends, catching up before returning to Singapore. I can feel the time is just right for me to return, I have explored almost whole of Shanghai, saw whatever I planned to see in China, buy whatever I wanted to buy and made nice friends and contacts. 

Anyway I've got a feeling I will be relocated here again soon. 

I'm treading on dangerous waters but this passing phase will be over soon.

Say it

Was it because I knew I am going back, I pushed myself to do more stuff in Shanghai so now I realised I have so much more things to do in Shanghai?

And recently I got to know more people including Singaporeans or colleagues who had worked/studied in Singapore who had helped and gave a lot of advices, who made me felt like I am leaving too early. Oh wells, that's how fate plays with you. Its kinda sad.

4 more weekends left!

one more Shanghai month

A very dramatic weekend for me.

Friday I was told by the program manager that my manager and the Singapore HR has aligned and I had to return in 2 weeks time. I was fumming so I went straight to the my HR director and I had support to stay till the end of August. Today I found out that my manager actually didn't know anything about that and it was all orchestrated by that f-ing program manager so I took things in my own hands and sent an email to all of them that we had already aligned my return date, w/o informing her.

Take that! Don't mess with the guy with powerful backing.

Well, I will be returning earlier than I had expected. My feeling now is that I will kinda miss life here, the free time and the cheap stuff and never-ending food hunt. But with the savings now I can actually fly here two times a month!

Yeah, I could actually come back anytime I want for fun because I have friends that could host me and I will also be here for training too. I hope my travel plans can remain the same too.

Meanwhile I have a lot of work to do before I go back. Sighs.....

good day

I had a good day today!

I was away from my usual work routine today because I was on training these 2 days. 

A very relaxed course which was quite basic but fun.

So it ended really early today so I went to the gym, did quite an intense workout with the help of one of the trainers and did a fitness test, which revealed my muscle mass to be 27.5kg, and fat percentage to be 17.2%, an increase from 12% from my peak. I need to work on that. Overall, its pretty good for a guy already, there's always room for improvement. I think it was the testosterone after the workout that made me feel good.

Anyway I went home to find out I forgot to hang the laundry from the washing machine last night. I suddenly miss somebody doing the housework. haha. And my internet is still working! It should be ending anytime now......

and I have allowance for my Qingdao trip! I need to earn for my JZG trip too.

No more internet

Ahh!

I just realised my broadband subscription at home is gonna expire in 3 days time and I'm still unsure of my staying time left in Shanghai so I'm not gonna extend my subscription, until August when the HR gives an answer.

So for my night entertainment I have stored some shows to spend my days without internet at home. It is probably also good survival training for me in case I get lost somewhere without the internet for months.

Shanghai Summer Shopping Spree

The hot and humid summer weather in Shanghai doesn't dampen the mood for shopping, especially when all the big summer sales start. I guess they are really smart to attract shoppers to get out of their house and visit the malls in this weather.

I have already bought these within a week:

• H&M dark blazer, orginally 599rmb, last week was 200 but dropped to 150 this week
• H&M pink checked shirt, originally 249rmb, last week 100 but dropped to 50 this week
• Jcrew red chino shorts, original 39usd, online 98rmb
• JS briefcase original 399usd, online 499rmb
• Uniqlo pants original 250rmb, sale 149rmb

More clothes this week... hee hee

• clover pattern shirt 79rmb
• anchor pattern shirt 79rmb

I'm so broke this month and my wardrobe is bursting.

1 year in Shanghai

Today marks the my 1st anniversary for surviving in Shanghai! Fireworks please!

Congratulations to myself for surviving China thus far! It had not been an easy journey, a lot of things that I'm not very used to, so I still like staying in Singapore. Haha.

One year ago I came here on a plane and stayed at a hotel in the hot weather. One year later the weather is still as hot but I got to learn more about Shanghai and China: Taobao, friends, travel, 4 seasons etc.

Well, its also my first year as a working adult in my first company that posted me here on some very unfavourable terms, so I actually requested to be back sometime soon. But sadly I am not going to stay in this company for long, I will be working towards my dream company.

It had been fun and not fun staying in China and this is the longest I have stayed away from home. I still wouldn't know if this would benefit me in the future, but for now I'm being optimistic. I hope I can get used to the life back home.

I wouldn't miss this place because I now have an extra 1K every month that I can use to travel. Hee Hee.
So to celebrate, I did:

2 toys to celebrate my anniversary.

New hair for the anniversary!

Having the new hair in the office boosted my morale quite a bit, if you know what I mean. Haha. 

Experience it yourself

You really wouldn't know how it feels like until you get to experience it yourself.

Like I have always wanted to get the Jack Spade briefcase but I wouldn't know how it feels like until I really have it in my hands, in exchange for SGD100.

Like you wouldn't know how the dinner taste like until you paid for it and sat down for dinner.

Kinda abstract.

late 20s

It just dawned on me that after 25 years old, I'm in my late 20s!

In my younger days, I have never expected to be in my late 20s so fast and I would have never expected my late 20s to be like now. I would imagine having my own house etc, and not having the mentality of still being 23 years old.  Gosh. And I have only just started working! This is too troubling. I have no vision of me being 30 in 4 more years.

Meanwhile, I just got news that my HR is actually trying to get somebody to replace me from Singapore, but that guy rejected the offer. Makes me wonder, who will be actually dumb enough to take up such a lousy offer?? And she actually planned to locate me in Thailand. Hm...... those are some very weird plans. I have no idea where my job takes me, but I will still want to be here till at least October, after I enjoy my well earned holidays and complete my travels in China.

Choir Visitors

Some choir folks came to Shanghai to visit!

Was at Hangzhou for the weekend with 2 guys, met a few interesting people, watched the boring West Lake show which costed 250rmb and explored Shanghai on Sunday.

Anyway the haze at Hangzhou wasn't as bad as the one in Singapore now. hahaha

First day, we went to French Concession, Huai Hai lu, Tian Zi Fang and Haidilao for dinner

Second day they went to Qipu Rd, Lujiazui, Yu Yuan, and we met at Lao Wai jie for dinner at Blue frog

Third day they went to She Shan,  Qi Bao, Xin tiandi and Xu Jia hui.

Forth day they went to Jing an Temple, French Concession and the bund for dinner at Jean Georges

So glad that they came and enjoyed themselves, as much as I did.
I was missing a lil bit of Singapore and they brought a part of Singapore here.
 More visitors please!

Chengde Mountain Resort

I have a love hate relationship with holidays in China.

The holidays are not as it seem. 3 holidays in a roll, but you have to make it up during the weekends.
There will be MOUNTAINS of PEOPLE travelling within China, which jacks up the flight ticket prices, empty train tickets quickly and jam up the whole train station.
And it's really troublesome to plan where to go, because major attractions will be filled with people and you can't go far with just 3 days.

So with these troubles during this Dragonboat Festival, I delayed thinking about my travel plans until the last min, I just bought my flight, train and hotel 5 hours before my flight. Most of my friends said the Cheng-de Mountain Resort was worth going, including my mum, so I thought why not, since I won't get a chance to go there anytime, and I have no plans for the holidays, and somebody said he would pay for my food and hotel if I went there.

Overall it was alright, its just a big garden to me.
The highlight of the holiday was when we returned to Beijing and I had a huge lot of food to eat at home, like caramel ice cream, dark chocolate cake, curry pasta, mushroom soup, double cheesecake, thai tea ice cream and white fungus papaya dessert. So wonderful.
Total damage for 3 days: 2000rmb

Beijing Highlights

Beijing in October 2012 and May 2013: