Merry

Have i told you that i'm getting married soon? I havent told many people cos I'm afraid of the massive fall-out amongst all the single gals i know. Im keeping it small and not inviting anyone i havent met for the last six months.

Korean Gift

I hosted the Mayor of Busan the other day. At the end of the meeting, he gave me this. When i showed Someone the box, she said it was exactly the same box as one that she has gotten before. I opened my box and it turns out that there's another box inside. It's some mother-of-pearl box. And it's exactly the SAME one that Someone got some years back! Seems like the korean economy is in a worse shape that everyone thought.

Gifts

Some of you older readers might remember i have a pretty Shanghai gal friend. She has since gotten married and is expecting. In fact, she was due lat week but now still waiting for baby to come out. Time flies, doesn't it? I have now known her for more than eight years now. Right from young punks to young adults, we shared our ideals and aspirations even though we came from different worlds. I remember a particular conversation where we spoke about how it'd be weird to get married and tough to meet up as often as we did. That conversation didn't happen too long ago. But the fact is, the frequency of us meeting up got lower and lower because we just got so busy with our own lives. At the same time, i didn't wish to impose on her every time i come, she might take time out to meet me and entertain me. We had a three-hour lunch the last time i was in Shanghai. It was nice catching up and nicer because i didn't have anymore meetings left and she was on maternity leave waiting for baby to come out. At the end, she gave me these. Turned out to be his and her key chains. How sweet!

Peacocks!

Saw these peacocks by the road the other day. Had to stop my car to let them cross the road.

便当

I've no idea if that's how you write 便当 but lest you think i eat big fish big meat all the time. We were negotiating contracts until 12pm when the client said it was lunch time and they said they ordered 便当 for me. They brought it in and said see me at 230pm. ??? Some of you might not know but the chinese would have lunch then take naps. But usually for my other clients, they dont do that! So im all alone in their office and read my Kindle till they returned.

Scirocco Flash Mob

For those Star Wars geeks out there:

Beijing/Tianjin/Nanjing/Shanghai

It seems like one of those normal multi-city trips squeezed into a week. Three different hotels in one week. Literally living out of the bag. I was a little apprehensive going to Tianjin because i never had good experiences going to Tianjin. The first time i went, that was probably 6 years ago, I got a complaint from a client to my boss for another project. That was shitty. The second time i went, I left my charger there. It was a pretty good trip this time actually. In fact, the client asked me for an LOI. In my world, that's a good thing. Arrived in Singapore at 6am on Saturday and after unpacking, and washing my car, I went for a meeting at 10am. Am i working too hard? Achieving a work-life balance isnt easy. Some companies exhort it, some people try to practise it. There was an announcement of pay increment this week, with the official amounts, including bonus to be provided in an official letter next week. The pay increment has already been paid into our accounts, including an accrued amount for January. On pay day, I hurriedly went to check my account, with the following formula in mind. Increment = (Current balance - balance before pay was credited)/2 Of course, as always increment is lower than expectation. Now waiting for bonus announcement.

Korner

This is the little korner in my house that i blog on my Lil' Korner. I like it because on days when i wake early on weekends (and no golf), i sit here and open the windows to see the greenery and hear the world wake up.

Fines

Sometimes things happen in pairs. I was trying to get used to travelling in KPE the other day, especially trying to see where the speed cameras are. Quite ironically, I got caught speeding. :( This was with my old car. On the day I collected my car, I was concerned not to go above 100km/h since it was a new car. So i kept my speed at 100kmh. Unfortunately, i did it on a 80kmh road. Got another fine. :( Two fines in two weeks. All for the first time in my 8 years of driving. Kwa kwa.

Golfing Fanatics

I haven't been golfing for some time now. The fact is i have hit a slump recently and therefore quite sian. Plus with the new house and all, my attention has been taken away from golf. I hope i get back into the groove soon. Played last saturday and took pics of the super duper early dawn conditions where me and my kakis would wait in the dark until day breaks before starting so that we can see where the ball lands.

Rims!

I always wanted nice rims. In my previous car, i didn't feel like it justified the money. But for this one, i thought i could spend a little on rims. Managed to get a decent lobang today. Here're the workers working on it. It almost feels like F1 with four people working on your car at the same time. Taking out the tires seems complicated. Tada! New five-spoke rims!

Interior

Here're more interior shots at shitfong's request:

Coins

I have a habit of keeping one dollar coins. They're stored here: And because my wallet doesnt have a coin compartment, i have a lot of loose change at the end of the day. I'd also collect them somewhere. With my recent car purchase, what with the solar film and sealant application, plus the opportune time that my one-dollar coin coinbox is full, I decided to deposit them all. W00t! got $300 more in my bank!

Gourmet Cooking

Someone decided to be a gourmet chef this week. She was inspired by my mum, who recently tagged onto my cousin's bandwagon to order gourmet beef from Huber's. I think 1kg beef costs about $90 for pretty decent beef. Definitely not rib-eye. But here it is, Monday night's dinner being made. Sirloin beef with onions, teriyaki chicken and potato shop. w00t! I could get used to this. How neat! This is the most efficient way of placing the dishes when eating for two. For some reason, the picture came out blurry at the edges like some effect. W00t!

More Car Pics

At shitfong's request, Im posting more pics of my car.

Here it is having the solar film applied.

Here it is after getting a sealant job. Buggers took 7 hours man.

Here it is back in the car park.

No interior pics for now sir. I keep forgetting.

New Car

My new car finally arrived!

It's the Volkswagen Scirocco.

I just realised that I used to own a handphone called the Nokia Sirocco. I actually still have it and use it as my spare phone with my China SIM card when im in China.

Awards

Swimming was a big thing for me when i was growing up. We went swimming almost every weekend at various places because my dad went to play golf.

And then i joined the lifesaving society in my secondary school which really involved training for those certifications and then training the juniors.


During school holidays, it was basically training junior from 8am to 12pm and then our own training from 2pm to 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Pretty crazy if you ask me now.


Below are the badges i found when i was clearing my stuff.




Oddly enough, the toughest and last certification that i went for is the one called "Award of Merit". This is the name of the award. There's no Award of Distinction or whatever. Just Award of Merit. Silly name really. Makes people think that i achieved second best.

Toiletries

I have posted a couple of times the toiletries I take back from the hotels I stay at.

At my new place, they'll all be in one drawer, categorised under shampoo, body wash, body lotion, hair conditioner and miscellaneous.

Which tie?

Which ties should i bring to China on this trip?

New Car

I feel like buying a new car.