Happy 2017: Throwback to 2016,

It's time for...

THE REVIEW OF THE YEAR

I'd say that 2016 has been nothing short of amazing! Having to deal with studies for the first 4 months, stressing over all the assignments that had tight deadlines, before I unofficially graduate from university. Travelled to a total of 4 countries in a short span of 7 months and totally loving my life in 2016.

Yes, my friends were all very amazed that I could travel to so many places in 2016. But what they didn't know was that I burnt a hole in my pocket after travelling! Worth it? Yes, definitely!

RMIT University

I got a module during my last semester whereby I had to work with course mates whom I didn't know at all. I'd say that it was an adventure! Half excited, half worried. But I'm glad that things turned out well with our result being one of the better ones!

Graduated with an average GPA from university. I'm not a studious person since young so it's a rlly great achievement for me to be able to get my Bachelor's Degree after so long! Of course, this was just the beginning! I'm still unemployed up till now (I worked for 3 months last year before I ended my contract with the company). So, hopefully my prayers will be heard soon! :)

Thanks for always giving me support in whatever I do. I rant, I complain but you never fail to always give me your listening ears (while multitasking. HAHAH).

Travels

Penang

It was an impromptu trip whereby I had to convince Mr. Z for Penang. I love how accommodating he is without fail. It was a rlly short getaway which was much needed from our studies. Thankfully, neither of our timetables clashes with this trip!

Johor Bahru - Jan & May

Both were one-day trip to JB with Mr. Z for the cafes there. It was also our first time travelling to JB tgth in Janaury. Photos shown below were taken in May.

BANGKOK

As mentioned in one of my posts last year, it was a graduation trip with my uni friends. We planned this trip for quite some time before purchasing it in January. I'm not sure if it's just me or what but whenever I travel to BKK with friends, there'd bound to be unhappiness with the group of friends. Hmmm... Sorry but I think I should just stick with one travelling partner. Hahah, okay I kid!! Anyways, I got to visit some night markets that I didn't have the chance to previously.

HONG KONG

Yay, finally a family trip after soooo long! Our last family trip was in 1998, when I was 6? That was freaking long ago! I rlly cherish the time there so much but, the trip was too short!

JAPAN

Also the trip that I looked forward to the most! Ah, this trip rlly burnt a hole in our pockets but Mr. Z and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we wna go back again when our bank accounts allow us! Our next destination in Japan would be Hokkaido! Hopefully, this wouldn't be 10 years from now.

Working Life

I started working in September 2016. Though it's a short duration of 3 months contract job, I was able to keep myself busy and pick up new skills and knowledge of the field that I want to pursue. Right now, I am still trying to find a job that allows fresh graduate. However, with the market being so bad right now, I guess I have to think of an alternative positions that I think would help me for my future. 

Long Distance Relationship 

Mr. Z applied for a 1-Year exchange program with his school and he got the offer to Beijing. It was a really tough period even months before he flew. Arguments kept occurring. Us, being stubborn and not wanting to give in, minor arguments turned into heated arguments and there were times whereby we felt like giving up. I, being the overly attached girlfriend, was really hard to please on one hand. I needed both actions and words of assurance from him all the time. While him, on the other hand, is a passive guy and wouldn't say anything when arguments happened. 

It's been 7 months into his Exchange Program (I'm typing this now on 11th March 2017) and I'll be visiting him on 31st March and he'll be back in end of July!! That's rlly how time flies! Things have turned so much better since the start of 2017. I think this is also what they say "distance makes the heart grow fonder" and cherishing every moment when you're miles away from each other.

With that, I hope that we would stay together and overcome all obstacles that we'll encounter in life. And I appreciate friends who never leave me during my darkest period, encouraging me and stuff. These really brought some positive thoughts to me during this time and I hope that I'll be able to see my light soon! 

Goodbye :)

Happy 2016: Throwback to 2015,

I guess it's not too late to say "Happy New Year!" even though we are almost reaching the end of January! 2015 past by in a blink of an eye with many agreeing that it's rlly way too fast that we hadn't enjoyed enough! Yet another year has gone by so quickly!

A review of my 2015 in this post!

BRACES

I finally stopped procrastinating and decided to go for braces! It took me almost a decade to decide partly because of the financial issues. Another part of the reasons is due to my skin. I'm born with eczema and there were many times when Mum would say that braces would lead to eczema around my skin because my lips will be very dry. But I'm glad I still went for the braces after  considering for a long time. However, being at this age, the dentist told me that I still have like 3 milk teeth. HAHAHAH! So it's either I put braces and ignore those milk teeth or I go for operation to extract those teeth out. As I could choose, of course I'll go for the painless option right!

May '14 - My set of teeth was perfect. AT ALL!

Before I had braces on, whenever I take photos, I would always either stand on the right side (taking group shots) or that the right side of my face would be facing the camera instead of front view of my face because the right side of my teeth is perfect (this is also according to the dentist) but my left side was ruined by one inward tooth and a tiger tooth. In another word, left side is more of overcrowding issue. It worsened further when an adult tooth decided to grow out when the milk tooth was still intact 100% to my gum T_T

I've never blogged about my braces journey because I thought it was redundant. Friends will slowly get to knw when we meet up for meals and such. Anyway, the first 2 weeks of braces journey was torturous! I was on liquid diet for my first two weeks to the extent that I got bored of the food and decided to just have instant cereal for my meals instead. I was so happy that someone bought a box of Tokyo Banana and my lunch was just one packet of Tokyo Banana each day until one day, the box of banana was emptied :(

Right before putting braces

Right after putting braces

2 weeks after braces

Feb '15

June '15

Yep, the shape of my face changed. I lost a bit of my face chubs. People arnd me kept telling me that my face got slimmer, sharper and all. I don't deny that I love how my face looked like back then because it was so sharp! But ze boyfriend said it wasn't due to just braces alone because he thinks that my face started getting sharper after our HK trip. However, erm, it's transforming back to round face right after I was back from my TW trip due to all the sinful food that I had there and after. HAHAHAH! And also, after I could bite agn, I started eating a lot more than I did. Yep, that's how I got fat agn.

I felt kinda sian when my dentist told me that he would be transferring to s'where in TPY and asked if I'd follow him. But the reason why I chose NP is because of convenience sake leh. So yupp, I stayed on. The current dentist now is very friendly but perhaps not as skillful as the previous one :/

ANNIVERSARY

Last year, it was our 6th anniversary. Having said that, it was also our first time celebrating anniversary in such a high class restaurant: The White Rabbit. Knowing that I've always wanted to go, Baby decided to 'surprise' me on this day but little did he knw that I already discovered through somewhere else. Oops! It was rlly unintentional but I was still feeling happy inside me all the while because he made an effort for this so much and rmbring the little details of where I wna go.

Yes, I'd definitely recommend this restaurant if anyone wants to have a more romantic place (candlelit dinner) with good food and dessert. Try their lunch menu! I think the place would be nicer with natural sunlight shining in too! :)

Oh, it was also my first time watching R21 movie in theatre that night. To which I thought it was nothing nice. I mean, yes. 50 Shades of Grey is nice but erm, not when it was the torturing parts??

I can't wait for our 7th anniversary now. It's in less than a month's time! It won't be fanciful this time because we are both broke. Hahah. Not yet decided on what to do but I believe that as long as it's the both of us accompanying each other, anything else doesn't matter.

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2015

Then it was Chinese New Year and it's the first time Baby ever visited Grandma's house on the first day! I was so elated and looking forward to what he'd wear because that was the year when I bought him 3 tops for CNY! What a good girlf I am! Hahahah, OKAY JUST KIDDING!!!!

That was also the year when Baby and I spent the first 3 days of CNY consecutively together! It was nothing short of awesomeness and I look forward to more of this in future! :)

TAIWAN TRIP

We also had our 11D10N of Taiwan trip in May which I had a really bad post-TW blues after I was back. I even cried a few times because I missed TW so badly. I think the reason why I was being so emotional was because I started my part-time job immediately after I was back. I always regret my choice after deciding. Never ever work/resume work just one day after you're back! Lesson learnt!

Throughout these 11days, we visited 5 different parts of Taiwan. Not sure if they are the legit 5 but we visited: Kaohsiung, Kenting, Cingjing (Nantou), Taichung and Taipei. Till date, I have yet to finish updating on my TW trip!

We arrived at Taoyuan Airport and travelled all the way to Kaohsiung via their HSR. We stayed in Kaohsiung for a good 3D2N and visited Kenting for a day on our 2nd day of stay there. We then proceeded to Cingjing for 2D1N and stayed at Starry Villa. It was super peaceful at night but you wouldn't want to get out of your room as it would attract those flies in. Booked a cab for a one-day tour around the area further from Taichung before we headed to our guesthouse in Taichung for 3D2N. Travelled to Taipei on our 6th day there via HSR - a place which I've anticipated the most. Leaving the best for the last. Felt rather sad that the trip has come to an end even though the times in Taipei was really a very chillax one.

BIRTHDAYS

2015 was also the year that my family celebrated everyone's birthday. I personally think that birthdays are very important. It marks the anniversary of the person's birth date and we should be happy that they are always there for us whenever we needed them.

Bro's

Mum's

Mine

Dad's

Baby's

Oh, and how can I ever forget about Singapore's birthday?! SG50 was also the first time in the six years of being together that Baby and I ever went out to camp at one site for fireworks on National Day. First and last time anyway. We got bored somehow while waiting. Hahahah and my phone battery died way too fast! A good experience though as it was SG50 and there was quite a few different performance if I didn't rmb wrongly.

BACK TO SCHOOL

It was Anderson's 55th anniversary and they organised a carnival in school for the ex-andersonians and current ones to gather back in school. It was rlly nice seeing everyone and relief the moments 6 years ago!

COLOUR RUN

 
Always wanted to participate in fun run and not gna let go of this opportunity esp when the powder was a bit different this time round. So happy that a few of my friends in the clique were so steady to go together!

HAIRCUT

Nov '14

 

I felt that my long hair gave me a sense of confidence and security. From time to time, I told Mum that I wna curl my hair. Finally done it but I dislike the kind of curls on my hair. The salon I went to is a house salon and the auntie has only one kind of curl (Korean perm?). But that is not the kind of locks that I wanted. Still, lived with it for 3 months.
 

But then I realised that curls are very hard to maintain. Either that or it's just the curls that I had on my hair because my friends didn't face such an issues at all... It looks so bad, like this!

Not sure if my curls got a bit straighter due to the exam period (I did not apply any gel or cream to my curls during that one month) or was it due to my natural hair texture. People who knw me will knw that my natural hair texture was very straight and smooth. Some friends & relatives even thought that I rebonded my hair when I did not at all.

Straightened it back after I was back from my TW trip because 1) the curls weren't the kind that I liked and 2) I was lazy to apply the gel to maintain my curls 3) my eczema acted up on my palm because of the gel.

Made a very courageous move by cutting my hair short to shoulder length. I think I considered for almost a year before I decided that "yes, I should just cut it short nownowNOW!!". Hahahah! That, I regretted somehow. LOL!

Yep, these are some of the more memorial things that I'd like to summarise in this post. And nope, no resolutions for 2016 because I don't fulfill them at all. None of my resolutions have been strike off before. HAHAH.

For instance, "no vulgarities for the year of xxxx". Hahahah! It was rlly a secondary-school kind of resolutions every year back then. However, this time, I hope that I can strike out a few of my to-do(s) in my list.

Back from Penang a few days ago, I had wanted to try parasailing but I didn't have the guts to do it. Hahahah! So yep, parasailing is the top in my to-do list!

I'm done! Goodbye! :)

Happy 2015: Throwback to 2014,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2015 has started and I'm greeted with eczema on my lip (again!!) when I was about to go out for lunch ystd! T_T But anyway, before 3/365 starts in another few hours, lemme just jot down (some of the overdue stuff) on how I spent my

1. 22nd Birthday
2. Illumi Run 2014
3. Christmas 2014

1. My 22nd Birthday

For people who don't alrdy knw, my birthday was 5 months ago. This shows how much I don't update my blog! So, on this very day, my boyf dedicated his whole day just for me. It was a pretty simple date with just the both of us and to the places where I wanted to go. We had our brunch at Assembly Coffee! This was the first time I went there and the second time was with Frisbeast (in Oct/Nov)! I'll just merge both days tgth because the food we ordered was totally different. 

Baby-Chino @ $4

Scrambled eggs croissant @ $13.90

Pulled pork sandwich @ $14.90

I've always loved croissant since a kid! Furthermore, it's accompanied with SALMON (!!) and scrambled eggs! Woohoo! Fortunately, the scrambled egg wasn't as watery as I thought. I love my scrambled eggs to be a lil solidified! 

(On the other visit w Frisbeast...)

Iced Chocolate @ $6

Salted Caramel waffle @ $11.50 

Assembly's Brick Toast @ $12

I'm gna bring Baby back again for their brick toast! It's rlly awesome and everyone who goes there should give it a try! No idea how the one (with ice cream) is made. The sides are all connected!

*

I forgot what we did and where we went before dinner so I'll skip that! Dinner was at Blisshouse. The ambience was rlly good there! I love how they design their restaurant! I would recommend both friends and couples to go! The staffs were rlly friendly and they would even initiate to take photos for you! Note: not just one photos but many! It was literally a spam and then things would become a lil funny after awhile. Nonetheless, the photos turned out good!

So, the below were what we ordered. The fact that Blisshouse is a restaurant and the food were rlly good, I would say that the prices were very reasonable. 

Wild mushroom soup

Oreo milkshake 

Quesadillas

Quesadillas is the prata-lookalike food and it's rlly good to the extent that both of us almost wanted to order 2nd serving of that but we thought we'd be too full for our mains by the time they came.

Crispy duck leg confit 

Braised lamb shank

This above photo happened bcos the waiter asked if we wanted a photo! So friendly, right? Who in the right mind will reject? Hahahah! 

Obviously in the wrong camera mode :/

That's how we ended our dinner. Took a stroll along the river and we decided to head down to a music bar to chill - Shuffle Bistro Bar. The first time I went was with my cousins and I thought it was good! Love their truffle fries very much!

Totally forgotten what are the names of our drinks. That's how I spent my 22nd birthday with my boyfriend! 

2. Illumi Run 2014

It's my first time joining a marathon... Wait, it should be called the walkathon/Illumi Walk instead ah! But anyway, that was my first time joining such an event but it will nvr be my last! I had so much fun with the boyf! However, we didn't get splashed as much compared to others bcos we were late (because I had OT and we headed for a light dinz before the event) and I think there's not much neon paint left! It's a pity that we couldn't join Ling and her boyfriend as we were late. 

There were way too many people walking and obstructing the path. I thought we could run but it was rlly hard... Next up: Colour run/some serious marathon! I hope I won't faint halfway for the serious marathon though! Hahah!

3. Christmas 2014

Christmas was a little different in 2014 as compared to the previous years. We spent our noon playing laser tag @ Dhoby Xchange. There's 3 missions altogether and each mission lasted for 10mins. The first mission was individual score. Basically, everyone is your enemy and you just had to aim and shoot whoever you see and you will have your score accumulated. I got the middle ranking for the first mission. 

We were divided into 3 teams for the next 2 missions. For the second mission, every team has to protect their own base and prevent members of the other teams to destroy your base. Again, I was in the middle rank. As for the 3rd mission, it was kinda annoying. Hahahah! Everyone was in their own team. We had to wear the vest of our own colour for every missions. It was rlly easy to differentiate our members for the 2nd mission. However, for the third mission, when the game started, everyone's vests would turn into the SAME colour and it was freaking hard to differentiate who are your team members and who are not! And when you shot your own members, 1000 points will be deducted; if you shoot other members, the points accumulated will be lesser that 1000. What is this?! Hahahah! When you own team members were being shot by someone in the same team, there would be a very annoying buzzing sound. Guess what! I GOT LAST FOR THIS MISSION! -12k points. This proves something, my aiming was very good okay! 

Chilled at Starbucks before we decided to head to my place for dinner and gift exchange! The dinner preparation was a chore! Pizza hut/Canadian pizza and Sarpino's wouldn't take our orders. The guys ended up going to Sembawang Rd to buy before heading to my place. 8 boxes of pizza for a total of 14 people (including my mum who eats very lil).

Game: Resistance

This year, we played Secret Santa with the wishlist stated on the website so it was easier for the giver to buy for the receiver! My receiver was Sylvia while my Secret Santa was Yiyong! ;) Of cus, we got what we wanted (I guess?)!

***

2014 past by in a blink of an eye! It was rlly too fast to be true! So many things happened in the year of 2014.

• Graduated from Temasek Polytechnic
• BKK trip with almost half of the clique
• 2nd overseas trip with Baby: Korea
• Entered university: smth which I've nvr thought I would
• Officially joined Frisbee as my CCA. Initially, it was Floorball but I thought Frisbee would be better, not bcos of Bro but bcos I find it more challenging! Of cus, I'm going for only recrea for now.
• First ever HHN I've been to at USS and I would love to go agn! 
• 2014 was the only year that I worked twice during two holidays so far!
• Working in Transamerica as a part-timer is the best thing ever (even though I've made lots of mistakes)! 
• First run+walk w Baby - Illumi Run.
• Also, 29th December marked the 3rd year of me and Zach back together again! 

I'm really hoping that 2015 will be an awesome one! It's a new year, hence there are more things to look forward to! May 2015 be a smooth sailing one for everyone! Happy new year, once again! :)