walking the bubblez

walking the bubblez

Bubblez, doing her favourite thing - chasing the poor little birds.

This is what I do when I get bored or stressed or unhappy. I go over to Glenn's place, and I feel loved right away. Not always from him (you know, boys being insensitive boys take awhile to figure things), but always, always from his dog.

Even before I step into his house, Bubblez already makes me feel as if she's been pining me for me forever. Everytime I press the doorbell, I'd hear her trot to the door, and try to sniff through it. Then all I have to do is whisper her name, and she'd start barking and whining and commanding Glenn to get the door. How else do you feel unhappy when you know there's a cute ball of fur begging to see you!

Needless to say, the moment the door is opened, she jumps right up to me and tries to kiss me. Hahaha as much as I love her, I don't fancy her wet sloppy kisses too much!

Usually I try to bring her out for a walk everytime I go over. And she gets soooo excited about it! As soon as we put on her collar, she'd start running to the door, and back to you, and whine at you to "get out already!" She's pretty much trained now, so we can walk her without her leash, except there is still the risk of going hoarse yelling her name when she finds 1.) birds to chase, 2.) cats to disturb or 3.) food to eat in secret.

And a little more on #3... The little thing is really sneaky and too smart for her own good! When you catch her eating food that she's not supposed to, she PRETENDS to be the angel of all dogs. She gives you the most innocent and obedient look, so that when you yell at her to sit down, and give her two sayangs of a beating on the backside, people around you start to whip out their phones and key in the SPCA's number.

I swear, if there were a dog personality competition, this darling would take the cake.

See, she even scowls!

What kinda dog scowls??

sophomore no more

sophomore no more

Third year in school feels old and new at the same time. Thanks to the lovely break in Canada/US/Europe, I feel all refreshed and ready to tackle another semester of madness. Also thanks to the few months spent away from the NUS campus, I am back to getting lost on campus. Where on earth is LT14 again?? I swear they only went up to LT12 for FASS! So far, it's been 3 days of school, 3 days of cab, and 2 days of getting lost. Fail much! Haha.

Yet at the same time, I look old enough to warrant a question on the whereabouts of the POSB ATM from a Y1 freshmen when I was walking along the Central Library walkway with Fadilah. We were fairly bitter about it for a moment. Hahaha. But there's no denial; we've lost our freshie glows. Yes, freshie glow is the term to describe that ethereal happy aura that surrounds there fresh young things as they wander about school in their Monday bests hugging new friends.

Me? I've gotten so used to school that I seriously cannot be bothered to dress up anymore, especially on training days. It's gotten so bad that when I went to get a haircut after school, my hairdresser observed "Hmm, you really do like sportswear, don't you?" So I guess the sloppy clothes and flipflops have to go! I WILL dress up for school at least one day a week! That creates one more reason for liking school. (:

Yes, you didn't get me wrong. I've been meaning to reveal that I actually do like school! I've been secretly looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now actually. I call it the Glenn streak in me - I'm a secret workoholic. Hahaha. I absolutely cannot stand long days spent lazing around at home. I have to have a packed calendar and there's a certain thrill to rushing from place to place and finally crashing into bed at night.

So that's exactly what I'm going to get this semester - busy, busy, busy. With 4 tuition kids, regular touchrug trainings, Turbo Tryzone carnival, Korea trip in the middle of the term, Winter Touch League every Saturday and the grand ambition to pull my CAP up one final notch, world, you are going to miss my existence elsewhere for awhile.

And goals to keep me in check for the semester:

1. Keep up with readings every week.

2. Less Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.

3. More regular blogging.

4. Time for family, friends and boy.

5. Punctuality. For classes at least. :D

Bonne chance à moi!

greece, gorgeous greece (1)

greece, gorgeous greece (1)

Athinas

Can you stomach another holiday post? Because that's exactly what you're gonna get. And this one was drafted right after the best part of Europe, so you might wanna get a pail in case it makes you puke. Haha. Here goes!

As the 737 flies over the Mediterranean seas towards Milan, I'm already missing Greece. The ancient ruins of Athens, the blue and white dome tops of Santorini's rooftop houses and the medieval town of Rhodes still beckon with all their charm. Greece, of history so old it dates back to the beginning of time. Greece, of seas with a million shades of blue. Greece, of Gods and Goddesses, myths and legends. Greece, I could stay there forever.

Yes, as you can tell, I'm completely charmed over by Greece.

From the moment we saw the aquamarine seas surrounding the islands from the cramped, upright seats of Ryanair, we were already in love with Greece. Even when we set foot in Volos (have you ever heard of Volos? No, me neither), where possibly the smallest international airport in the world (it's probably twice the size of your living room, no kidding) is situated, not knowing how we were gonna get to Athens or whether we could even get to Athens on the same night, we were still happy that we were in the country. And even upon reaching the bus station and realizing that there was actually a bus to Athens that very night BUT we didn't have enough cash on us to get those bus tickets, we were still semi-rejoicing over the fact that we found ourselves a cheap flight to Greece. Of course, the Greek Goddess of Luck worked her magic, and we first found a group of very nice HongKong kids who were willing to do a private exchange of GBP with us, and then we (okay, not we, but Glenn) ran quite some distance and found an ATM that works! Greece!

This is where I attempted to jump off the plane.

Welcome to Volos, Greece.

When we finally got to Athens the capital, it was close to 1am, and a whole TROOP of cabbies surrounded us, blasting us with suggestions and prices. After much bargaining and some threatening, we managed to get a cabbie who agreed on a flat fare of 10 euros for the 10min ride to our hostel. I couldn't help giving myself a pat on the back for checking how much it's supposed to cost, because otherwise we'd have been victims of the let's-milk-the-tourists-dry scheme. But well, it was all part of the crazy Athens charm.

In daylight, the city is completely different. Well, not completely. I mean, of course there were still gypsies who "accidentally" bump into you so that you drop your wallet into their waiting hands. And strange men trying to coax you into buying the bloody dog hanging in the window while stroking your arm. But in general, the city is pretty safe in the day. I guess with PLATOONS of soldiers and police around every other street corner, it's kinda hard not to feel safe.

But once you step into the touristy areas around the Acropolis, you can stop clinging on to your handbag and start behaving like a normal tourist again. And finally, after a rather steep climb up the Acropolis itself, the view of the city just takes your breath away. My favourite part of exploring the Acropolis was sitting on the edge of the hill with my eyes closed and imagining the ancient Greeks walking the same grounds as I walked. I'm not even a huge history fan, but that feeling of being connected to people from thousands of years ago is simply amazing.

Reason #1382975 why I wanna be Greek - their little oh-so-charming streets.

Ahh, there you go, THE tourist shot.

And when the tummy starts to growl after the long walk around the Acropolis, stop by any local eatery for their 2 euro kebab and grab a cup of fresh orange juice for 1.50 euros, and you'll have died and gone to Greek heaven. It was a much appreciated break from the big, expensive European cities for us. Hmm, cheap food, breathtaking sights, city madness... What's there not to love about Athens?

Fresh fruit carts, 2euros Kebab, 5euros Fendi's and a happy boy.

best memory: july

best memory: july

Attending Fran's 21st birthday party on a kickass cool yacht the day after Sports Camp '10 (which I attended the day following our return from Europe), and staying up all night to catch up after the party ended. Quoting her, I do wish we permanently lived in the same country.

Post-script: Kais, we missed you!

surprise for the 24yo

surprise for the 24yo

For Glenn's 24th birthday, I decided to go ahead with a 'first' for both of us. I decided to plan a little surprise party for him! Now, as all of you know, we practically spent every single cent we had in our bank accounts, and therefore, this party had to be BUDGET.

Fancy dinner parties were out. Anything that involved the booking of a location was out. Even an elegant Sunday brunch was out. All the kind of parties that I usually throw or attend were all out of the question! That left me to think up a free public space and food that doesn't require us to pay 10x the cost price. And here's what I came up with: picnic at the Botanic Gardens!

The initial plan was a no-brainer - throw together some food, grab the old beach sarongs and bring a set of poker cards or something. But halfway through, the prettyist in me took over. (Prettyist as in perfectionist, you know? Perfectionist strive for prefection. Prettyists strive for well, pretty.) There was a sudden, urge need for the whole thing to be pretty. The prettyist demanded "It's a BIRTHDAY. We CANNOT have mismatched sarongs and random tupperware sitting around. We must have a GLAM-A-ROUS picnic!"

So off I went around looking for cheap but colour-coordinated picnic stuffs. The picnic mats should match the cups which should match the serviettes, while the fork and spoon should match the food containers and blah bah blah. Dear Internet of Singapore, you will find it easy to find cheap picnic stuffs. You will also find it easy to find colour-coordinated picnic stuffs.

But when you combine the two criteria, IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE! I went to Spotlight, then I went to Daiso, then I went to the party shop at Holland V, then I went to NTUC, then I went back to Spotlight again, and finally I bought some of the party stuffs in plain view of Glenn because there just wasn't time for me to make even more trips. Hahaha thank goodness the boy isn't too observant.

And in the end, we did have a rather pretty colour-coordinated picnic. I even decorated some trees, and I can't thank my bimbos enough for coming all the way down to help me out. I was real embarrassed to ask for help at first because this was how it had to go "Hey, can you help me set up a party that you're not invited to? That's totally not offensive right? You will still invite me to all your parties right? And I am still your best friend right? RIGHT???" Precisely because of that, I'm really, really thankful to my lovely girlfriends for offering to help. :D

My minions for the day and I, abusing the trees.

I think it turned out real pretty. (:

Glam little picnic!

I went COMPLETELY crazy with "glaming up" the picnic. I suddenly decided that there should be a centre piece in the middle of the picnic mats, and therefore I needed to get the sushi mat thingie. And I also decided I didn't want to deal with any leftovers, and since Glenn was very much amused by the noodle box we saw in Europe, I went hunting for some noodle boxes for the food.

And because the noodle boxes were so pretty, and I bought some twine to decorate the trees, I decided that I needed to tie some serviettes with them. Then because the fork was white and the spoon and blue, I had to add something blue to the serviette, so I bought some blue tape to personalize the cutlery.

Finally, I decided we should have some wine (the very word itself already sounds glam!) to make it REALLY glam. So I went to buy some disposable wine glasses, and at the last minute decided I should tag the wine glasses so that people don't mix up their glasses, and so that, well, they can match the cutlery sets.

I know, friends, I know. WHO ON EARTH tries to colour-coordinate a PICNIC? I just had to indulge the Martha Stewart in me for a day.

I wasn't very far away from stabbing myself in the throat with that fork halfway through tying the serviettes. Hahaha.

And Glenn, oh Glenn is the funniest person to surprise ever. The cover story was this: I was celebrating my very belated 21st birthday with Sarah, Peiyan and boyfriends and he simply HAD to be there. I even went to the extent of having a little fight with him about the clash of dates! Haha. Then I kept pestering him for the details of celebrations with his friends (who were all in cahoots with me to turn him down). The poor boy was so sad when everyone basically ignored his attempts to plan his own celebration! Hahaha.

So when I met him at the entrance and led him to where the whole party was waiting for him, he actually thought that his friends met up without asking him along! The silly boy only finally realized it was a surprise when I turned his head towards the decorated trees. Hahaha. Too funny!

"EH! What are you guys doing here!"

God bless this boy for matching my colour scheme.

I would have dyed the noodles blue if I could, believe me. Hahaha.

The birthday boy cutting the cake.

When all the food were wiped out, we had a little game of Pictionary. It's such a classic, and it never fails to entertain at gatherings and parties. Especially when you have friends who draw a single flower, and declare "That's all I can do, the rest is up to you guys to guess." when the word was ORCHARD. Hahaha.

See, the prettyist even demanded I decorate a jar for markers.

Desperately trying to draw a "tramp". Haha.

And finally, I just hope you had as much fun as I did, despite your total oblivion to my very important colour scheme. Haha. Happy 24th birthday, darling! (:

Photos stolen from Jun.

You can see her whole album here!

best memory: june

best memory: june

Waking up in Santorini, Greece, after missing 2 flights, getting chased off a train, surviving a late night walk in Naples, evading pickpockets in Athens and a 10hour ferry ride. When I opened my eyes to the blurry scene of beauty in the morning, my heart literally sang with joy. This was our real holiday on our very, very adventurous trip.

paris in 8 hours

paris in 8 hours

Aside from sleeping on restaurants' tables and on benches in the parks, here's the other crazy thing we did - we tried to tour the most romantic city in the world in 8 hours. Yes, we had 8 hours to see Paris!

We consulted The Oracle (Lonely Planet Western Europe), picked and chose which pieces of advice to take, and set off without delay. Okay, maybe we spent 45mins trying to wash up in the toilet at Gare du Nord, but hey, you gotta make sure you look decent at the very least in those Parisian photos right! Especially after a 23hour bus ride!

Those were such tough decisions to make. For months, I've dreamt and drooled about Paris. I wanted to take a million photos of the Parisian streets and of course, the Eiffel Tower. I wanted to sit by La Seine and eat about 204 macarons and drink 3 gallons of wine. I wanted to recite French poems and speak proper Parisian French in the capital. I wanted to finally see all the places that I learn about during French cultural lessons.

I wanted to take many, many photos like that.

But thanks to our very careful planning, we had 8 hours in Paris. And that meant we could only pick TWO attractions to visit. Since we'd purchased tickets for the Louvre in advance, that took up one slot. Glenn suggested spending the ENTIRE DAY in there, so that we can actually appreciate some of the art pieces instead of just walking through the hugeass museum. I looked at him with tears in my eyes, and asked "Do you really expect me to examine the wrinkles around Mona Lisa's mouth while every cell in my body is screaming LA TOUR EIFFEL???"

Between the former,

and the latter...

I'll always pick the former. HAHA.

So our eventual itinerary went like that: French breakfast dans un petit café, Le Musée Louvre, La Tour Eiffel, beaucoup des photos la-bas, et finalement Notre-Dame avec Camie! I was a little disappointed to skip the Pompidou and Champs-Elyseess (dammit, I wanted to show off my almost perfect pronunciation of that one name that bug so many tourists!), but really, once you arrive at the pyramid of the Louvre and the iconic Eiffel Tower, you know you've arrived. By then, Paris would have engulfed you already, like it did us.

In front of the iconic glass pyramid.

Da Vinci Code. Haha.

My favourite. (La Baise d'Amour)

And then

.

.

.

LA TOUR EIFFEL! VOILA!

My best poster shot.

Despite the fact that Paris didn't seem quite as clean and therefore as romantic as movies, books and the posters portray it to be, I became deliriously euphoric the moment I saw the grand metal structure, and went shutter-happy immediately. In short, Paris is probably overrated, but the very idea of Paris takes over, then you're gone. Hopelessly in love. Lost in its classic romance.

So after 8 hours in Paris, my final verdict is: J'aime Paris. Beaucoup beaucoup.

Oh, and I resolve to go back and see the Eiffle Tower by the moonlight. I know right, which loser goes to Paris and leave not seeing the Eiffle Tower lit up. ): While I'm at it, I will also actually go up the tower and see Paris with all its dazzling lights at night. Paris, I will be back.

Until the next time!

the skirt of many stories

the skirt of many stories

Spot the similarity.

Yups, you've got it, it's the skirt! But this is not just any skirt. This is the skirt of many, many stories. It's an ordinary H&M skirt, and the only thing special about it is probably the fact that it's kid's size. Hahaha. It's a great trick to stealing excellent deals especially with your favourite brands! Try it, pretending you're trying for a niece/cousin, and then buy it! HAHA.

Anyway, back to the skirt. It's been my BEST piece of clothing throughout the trip. It's comfortable. It's rather glamorous (however glamorous you can get semi-backpacking). And it's got SO many stories.

I think the first time I wore it was on the long-haul flight from Boston to Glasgow. Now, having not seen the boy for 4 months, I didn't wanna be completely unglam when I step off the plane. Then again, I have to be comfortable right?? 7 hours is a pretty damn long time on the plane! So I wore the skirt with stretchy leggings and spag top, along with a cardigan and scarf. That way, I can sit however I want and be comfy no matter warm or cold. Much later, I realized I wore the EXACT same outfit on the even-longer-haul (7hrs + 5hrs) flight back to Singapore. I've now declared it my official plane outfit.

The next memorable time I wore it was when we took a day trip to Edinburgh. Wanting to look nice in the photos, I wore the skirt with stockings and, again, a spag top. (Spag tops are your MUST-HAVE'S when traveling, I swear. Plus the skirt, of course.) BUT, my idea of Edinburgh didn't include a climb up a pretty steep hill! Not to mention the fact that my pumps were highly unsuitable for the climb, my skirt was highly unsuitable for the wind! So half the time I was flashing the poor Scottish people who were trying to have a nice picnic. Lesson to learn? Always, always wear matching undies!

On the Scottish highlands, terrorizing pinickers.

That wasn't the only time where the wind caught me unaware though. The next time was in Santorini, Greece. I wore the skirt without tights, cos the temperature was just soaring in Santorini. And I picked the skirt because 1.) It's cooling, and 2.) It matches my strawhat and spag top! and 3.) It's pretty awesome for the beach. Now, what I didn't think of was the clifftop walk that we'd be doing in Fira and Oia. THE WIND WAS CRAZY. Well, once again, long-live matching undies, or rather, bikini bottoms this time. I guess if the ang-mohs can prance around in bikinis all over the island, I can show off my bikini every now and then too.

The guy who took this for us was so embarrassed about my flying skirt for me that he offered to take another one for us. Hahaha.

Because this skirt is great for pairing with leggings/stockings, it's also great for visits to churches and temples because I stupidly didn't bring my jeans on the trip. Now, it's only respectful that your shoulders be covered and your skirt/shorts/pants reach your knees. Most of the time, as long as I wore a completely opaque pair of tights (which are almost like long pants actually), it was okay.

Except at the Doumo in Milan. The security guard took one look at my skirt and went uh-uh, too short. But I really, really wanted to see the inside of the Doumo and that's the only reason why I went to Milan! And I even consciously dressed for the occasion! But I guess to him, leggings = stockings = nothing, rather than leggings = pants.

Now, this is the beauty of high-waisted skirt with a stretchable waistline - you can adjust the length however you want! So, I went to a corner and pulled my skirt as low as I could, and viola, it was knee-length and properly acceptable! So yes, I did manage to go into the Doumo in that skirt too.

Leggings? Stockings? Pants?

As much as this was a glam skirt, it also became a comfy, lazy skirt, as did ALL my outfits towards the end of the trip. Haha. So I stopped wearing it high-waisted, just so I could simply throw on a spag top without even bothering with stockings and shoes.

Lazy outfit for a photo trip in Pisa.

Oh, and finally, this skirt also manage to score a story in fashionable London. After a 5min walk from our hostel to the subway, I felt a light tap on my shoulder just as we were entering the station. Slightly startled - because I didn't know anyone else except Glenn in the city, and he was right beside me - I turned around suspiciously. An elegant lady in her mid-thirties looked at me shyly, and whispered "Excuse me, your skirt is tucked into your tights."

I WALKED 5 BLOCKS IN LONDON WITHOUT REALIZING THAT MY SKIRT WAS TUCKED INTO MY TRANSLUCENT TIGHTS. Oh dear Lord. The embarrassment. The appalling embarrassment. WHY do I have to have all the wrong fashion statements made in all the fashion capitals? First it was the girlfriend tights, and now the skirt that's tucked into my tights! Bahhh.

Oh wells, at least I got noticed in one way or another huh. Hahaha.

My infamous skirt and the famous tower bridge.

And will I ever wear that skirt again? Hmm, maybe it deserves to be framed up on my wall more than anything. Just in case there's another windy (or unlucky) day.

big night out

big night out

December 2009

That was us about half a year back, all dressed up and hyped up for Mambo night. This year, Kais fell sick, while Fran and I remained determined to prove that we're not getting THAT old. We've been lamenting about our (pending) adulthood for the longest time.

So tonight, in our killer heels and pretty frocks and eye makeup, we charged to Zouk! Then, Fran and I realized we were ALONE. By ourselves. Two of us who don't fancy clubbing much. So, we walked two rounds, trying to look cool, while frantically trying to remember (in secret) which queue to join. HAHA. Shh. It's just been too long!

After we finally got our chops, we decided to hop over to Clarke Quay to do some minor pub-crawling since it was still bright and early. But 20minutes later we found ourselves at Coffee Club, with pasta, cake and TEA set in front of us. Hahaha.

You know you're really getting old when your "big night out" consists of making a round through the entrance of Zouk, having high tea at midnight, followed by a nice, long chat by the river. Then home. Yawns! But oh, it's a good kinda getting old with your best girlies. Thank God for girlfriends. (:

Post-Script: We were too happily relaxed to even get someone to take a photo for us this time. HAHA.

first year

first year

First.

Last year, this day, I shared a story about us. This year, we've grown 365 days older, together. It hasn't been an easy year. We loved, we fought and we spent 4 months apart. Then we almost broke up. But we met up, made up and jetset Europe together.

Everyone has been telling me how lucky I am, and yes, I'm one incredibly lucky girl. To be able to travel to all the beautiful places with this beautiful man. To be able to spend 2 months in a space that's entirely our own. To have someone who loves me despite having to keep watch while I pee under a tree.

We're jigsaws from the same box falling into place. Yet we're each other's anti-thesis. Even on this day that's meant to be special, we fight and annoy the hell out of each other and ruin an evening. But what I like best about us is how we always, always make up afterwards. And what I like best about you is how you always, always give the best of yourself to me.

We're not the cliche couple, and that bothers us sometimes. Sometimes we struggle to fit into today's romance. Sometimes we fight those lines drawn. Then we realize it doesn't matter, because we've got something else; something bigger; something better.

I love how we ended up at a non-air-conditioned coffeeshop tonight with a bouquet of the most traditional roses, in celebration of our first year together. I love that we can laugh about how we fought the whole damn evening because you were late and I was determined to be angry and how you refused to give in to me and how I reluctantly made that dedication to you at the huge fountain and how your lips found mine and how you scrambled between the restaurants and the florist trying to make me smile and how we finally ditched all expectations and ended up in the most unromantic of places, celebrating one year of the best kind of love.

Je t'aime, toujours. Happy first year, babe.