Helping A Prickly Person

When you want to offer advice to a person
about a flaw or a shortcoming in his or her
character, it's best to do it the way
porcupines make love: very, very carefully.

It's often difficult to open the eyes of
friends or relatives to their own blind spots.
It's even more risky to discuss a mistake in
the way parenting responsibilities are being
handled. You're liable to get your ears
pinned back, even when your motives are
honourable and you have the other person's
interest at heart. Let me offer a suggestion
that may be helpful in handling this delicate
assignment.

The right to criticise must be
earned, even if the advice is constructive
and desperately needed. Before you're
entitled to meddle with another person's
self-esteem, you must first demonstrate your
respect for him as a person. You have to
invest some time and effort in his life in an
atmosphere of love and kindness, and human
warmth.

When a relationship of confidence has
been carefully constructed, you'll have then
earned the right to discuss a potentially
threatening topic. Once motives have been
clarified, you can then feed your suggestions
and criticism in very small doses. But as
you do it, it's wise to keep one other thing
in mind: someone, somewhere, would like
to straighten out a few of your flaws too.

By Dr James Dobson

LOVING TOUGHNESS

Whether you need to heal a troubled
marriage or maintain a healthy relationship,
my recommendation is an attitude called
"loving toughness".

The best way to keep a marriage healthy
is to maintain a system of mutual
accountability within the context of love -
in other words, to carefully protect the line
of respect between a husband and wife.

Let me give you a personal example.
Suppose I work in my office two hours longer
than usual on a particular night knowing
that my wife is preparing a special
candlelight dinner. If I don't call to let her
know I'll be late, you can be sure I'll hear
from her when I get home.

Shirley would see my behaviour as
insulting - and she'd be right. She'd say in
effect, "Jim, what you did was selfish and
I can't let it pass." In those few words, she
would have spoken her mind in love, held
me accountable, and then we could move
on together.

In a healthy marriage, some things are
worth defending, and mutual respect is at
the top of the list. I'm not talking about
nagging, insulting or publicly embarrassing
your mate, but a workable system of "checks
and balances" can help keep your marriage
on course.

This kind of mutual accountability
is the best way I know to avoid an
unexpected explosion when stored
resentment and anger reach a critical mass.

By Dr James Dobson

recap

For the last 3 weeks, I had been dealing with much emotional upheaval; which suddenly struck me that this may be the cause of the sudden bout of gastritis that I am having now... but being me, I'm striving to be as positive as I can be... even though its tough work... I know I will be able to survive with the love and concern from all the friends around me.

I am kinda excited too, at the thought of returning to school as a part-time student pursuing my degree. After many years of procrastination, and even abandonment of the thought of ever having this certification, I have just submitted my application at SIM for the Degree of Bachelor in Business Management, majoring in (you wouldn't believe this) but yes, Human Resources.
Haha.

To me, the path of pursuing higher education is really to enrich myself and gain greater knowledge (of course, all the better if it could help me get a higher salary, lol)... and therefore, I have left the choice of the major to my cousin to decide. Having my cuz with me to pursue the degree will be a great motivational factor, as she will ensure that I don't slack (well, at least not
all the time) and that hopefully, we'll both be able to graduate in glory come 2008.

Of cos, the fact that Sam would be leaving for Australia next Feb to pursue his dream education has also greatly contributed to the above. Rather than having to "wait in vain", I might as well make full use of the time available and do something fruitful for myself. We will both then be busy, and hopefully, I won't have the energy or time to worry / think unduly.

And this leads me to think of my job. I'm already thinking that if my application is being approved, I would have to stay on in the MIS department to allow myself the flexibility and time to study. But ain't sure if my boss will agree to this, for this is not what I have told him in the first place. Granted that there are absolutely no benefits for them to let me stay on in the department for 1.5yrs, and having me transferred out to another dept eventually, I reckoned I will just put forth the proposition, and leave the final decision to him and the management.

Do understand that it's selfish of me to only stay on because I have to manage my studies, but I know I will have to sacrifice more if I were to go back to Projects during this period of time
cos I've been through it once and didn't survive even the 1st semester at school. :P

Life's generally the same... apart from the new interest in going JB for shopping (hee, one do save quite a bit)... and o my Japanese lessons are coming to an end soon. *sad* And it will be the JLPT thereafter... no surprise that I'm not at all prepared for it. Hahaha. Nevertheless, will still give it my best shot, and pray that miracles do happen. The only regret is that I won't be able to continue the higher level lessons immediately as I had planned, so will pursue this interest of mine, after I have obtained my "si fang mao". :) 请为我一起加油吧！

FREEDOM AND RESPECT

Someone said that if you love something
greatly set it free. If it comes back to you,
it?s yours for life. If it doesn't come back, it
never was yours in the first place.

When it comes to romantic relationships,
some individuals become so highly motivated
to find someone to love that they begin to
violate well-known principles of freedom
and respect in human interactions. That's
like turning a fire hose on a flickering
flame.

I heard about one young man who was
determined to win the affection of a girl who
refused to even see him. He decided that
the way to her heart was through the mail,
so he began writing her a love letter every
day.

When she didn't respond, he increased
his output to three notes every 24 hours.
In all, he wrote her more than 700 letters
and as a result, she married the postman.

That's the way the system works. Appearing
too anxious and too available actually drives
other people away rather than attracting
them into a committed relationship.

Romantic love is one of those rare human
endeavours that succeed best when it
requires the least effort. And remember that
respect precedes love, and that relationships
are constantly being tested by cautious
lovers who like to nibble at the bait before
swallowing the hook.

By Dr James Dobson

the mid-autumn festival week

the haze is getting so bad in singapore... im starting to wonder if face masks will soon be required when you have to travel outdoors. i can already feel the air choking my air passage and not allowing me to breathe properly. it sux. have to literally shut out my windows before i can continue with my beauty sleep.

yest was the annual mid-autumn festival. here's some pics taken at Chinatown:

i think my hand was shaky....

display 01: pelican
display 02: beetlebugs

display 03: peacock

display 04: the butterfly

display 05: the peacock at its best

gtg. running late for my pri sch friend's gathering with 2 teachers!! hmm, im so excited and yet afraid of how it will turn out, as we have a few new classmates joinin us this time round. praying that it will be smooth, with as little awkwardness as possible. hope my fone will do the job well in capturing these moments for me later. to be continued. ciao~

THE NO-KNOCK POLICY

Article from Today

-- felt that this is something we can all learn from...

We've been talking these last few days about those youngsters who need a little help in
coping with peer pressure and rejection.

These are the boys and girls who are just a little different, physically or emotionally,
which places them at risk for problems with low self-esteem. Another suggestion for
parents is that they teach their kids what I call a "no-knock" policy. One of the common
characteristics of a person who feels inadequate is that he or she talks about it to
anyone who will listen.

An overweight man, for example, feels that he ought to apologise to his friends for ordering a hot fudge sundae. "I'm fat enough without eating this," he says.

Or a woman who thinks she's unintelligent will admit freely, "Oh, I'm really bad at math. You know, I can't even add two and two."

Now, this kind of self-criticism isn't as uncommon as we might think.

You might even be surprised by how often you tell your friends about your own faults and while you're babbling about all your inadequacies, the listener is formulating impressions of you.

After all, you're the expert on that subject. If you think you're a loser, then others are going to tend to see you that way.

You can help your child understand this simple principle. Teach him or her to accept blame and criticism when it's valid, but not to continually talk about embarrassing flaws and failures. If your kids learn to respect themselves, others will tend to be more respectful, too. It's called a "no-knock" policy.

a pain in the a**

wat is it about people/families getting together to chill and do absurd or silly stuff that they probably hasn't done in a long time that's boring? i mean don't we all just want to have some fun and the purpose of it all is to enjoy the moment and bond with everyone else which is so hard to come by these days with everyone's heads being buried in work.

and yet, each time we have a gathering with my cousins, im starting to hope that someone's partner will not be present. truth is, she's starting to irk us with her too chatty behaviour and whenever she's with the bunch of us, we become "BORING" folks, who does nothing but childish & silly acts that she has done in sec sch days.

cmon man... doing all these stuff is just to relieve the good ol days... even though we've grown old doesnt mean we have to behave like some blockhead eh? and the worst of it all, dont pretend to have the interest to come when you do not have the intention at all. we wish our cousin will join us without ur presence, but that is so "never" gonna happen... so dont give us
empty promises... and den as the hrs passed, give us some lame shit excuses that you guys are being caught up with something and thus couldn't make it eventually.

one day, i will get this into her brain: this is the way we are, and this is what we will be. if u dont like being with us, just shut the f*** up, and live with it. we will not change, and we certainly dont give a shit about u nor ur opinions.

weekend newsflash

I'm seriously in a delirious state now from having only 8 hrs of slp within 2 days. deprived of slp. yes thats wat it is.

Finally visited zouk with their refurbished look, and for once, i thought it looks gd. but the crowd at phuture is still so terrible!! u barely have any space to dance, and when u do, u r being pushed or bumped by either people making their way across the floor or clubbers who are jus being too inconsiderate to the fellow mates around them. we probably spent about an hr in there, and by the time we're done, it felt as if we've just finished battling in the world war. cant deny that the music is good, can they expand that freaking dance floor then? lol.

So aft a few hrs of rest, and i wasnt able to get myself to nap in the blardy afternoon, its off to Changi Airport to study for me Japanese. i wish the trick with burning up the notes and drinking it down will really work cos there's just so much memory work to do! and JLPT is coming soon... i really doubt i will pass it, but still wanna try give it my best shot!

Then it was another long night of fun at East Coast chalet where we had a farewell gathering for my beloved cousin Mark who's again leaving to pursue his studies, this time around off to Suzhou to obtain his masters... but i must say the night spent was incredibly worth it. i wouldnt have it exchanged for anything else. we spent the night sharing ghost stories (with the joker in me making fun out of all the spooky situations), went to have breakfast at Macs at 5am in the morning, headed back to chalet to have more fun at the games "zhong ji mi ma" and "murderer".

All in all, we had a great time chilling, and laughing together... though we didnt share any intimate moments sharing our deepest thoughts, but we noe that we will miss him. So Marko, do come back and visit us often. Even though we may have all grown up and perhaps have changed over the years, no matter what, you have been through some of my roughest part of life with me, and I just want you to know that it has been appreciated and will always be remembered. Take care of yourself and Meiyan in China! I hope this time around, you can really achieve your dreams... so set your wings and fly high.

On this note, Irene dear, I feel so bad to have missed your baby's shower today, only because I really need to get some hours of sleep otherwise will really go nuts. Promise I'll make it up to you okiez. *HUGS*

Alright... so much so for this hectic weekend... the weeks ahead are filled with invitations to baby showers, and more weddings to attend... the hole in my pocket is growing so big, i have a feeling it will not be mended anytime soon. therefore, all monetary donations/contributions will be welcomed. Muahahahaha... u noe im just kidding.

Till my next delirious moment then, chillz folks.

a new image

finally i found something i like enuf to create a new image for me blog! :D do u like the new do? well i certainly do. hehe.

but there's still a few problems to be sorted out.. like my archives.. strangely, it seems like for the month with more than one posting, the alignment goes all haywire. wth, till i sort that out, pls bear with me for the time being. haha, stay tuned. cheerz~

A Very Funny 'HR Memo'

imagine if u were to receive this memo from ur mgt one day.. lol! *flip*

To all Employees:

Effective January 2006

Dress Code
1. It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a pay raise.

2. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a pay raise.

3. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a pay raise.

Sick Days
We will no longer accept a doctor's certificate as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Holiday Days
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

Compassionate Leave
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

Toilet Use
1. Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the cubicles.

2. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the cubicle door will open, and your picture will be taken.

3. After your second offence, your picture will be posted on the company notice board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.

4. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sanctioned under the company's mental health policy.

Lunch Break
1. Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy.

2. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.

3. Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. Remember we are an employer of choice and we are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

Management

Meaningful Article: DROPPING IN ON A FRIEND (by Dr James Dobson)

When was the last time you had friends drop
in unexpectedly for a visit? For many of us it's
been entirely too long. There was a time when
families made a regular habit of packing into
the car and driving over to a friend's home for
an afternoon of good conversation and a piece
of apple pie. It was one of life's special little
pleasures.

I'll never forget the many times as a boy I
would hear a knock on the door and scurry to
see who was there. The screen would crack
open a few inches, and a familiar voice would
echo through the halls. "Is anybody home?"

Mom would rush to put on a pot of coffee and
for the rest of the afternoon we'd sit and talk
? about nothing and about everything.

Finally, it came time for our friends to leave, and we'd
hug them goodbye, encouraging them to drop
in again sometime. Sadly, that kind of intimacy
is difficult to achieve in today's fast-paced
world. The pressures and busyness of life
have all but destroyed the sense of community
that was once common among families and
friends.

We seldom ? if ever ? drop in on
friends unannounced. And even if we did,
they'd probably have to cancel a string of
appointments in order to be with us. Thus we
go about our days, careening through life,
wondering why we don't have very many close
friendships.

Let me encourage you to take some time
out of each week to get together with friends.
Reach out to the people in your neighborhood.
I can't think of a better way to spend an
evening.

10 steps Of Success

Self -Belief Success
it begins in the mind.
One has to be a believer, first, if one wishes to be an achiever.
Never under-estimate yourself.
You have no idea how often can you surprise yourself.
So to begin with, let's get in the belief, "I Can."

Clarity of Vision
There is no point running around without knowing where one wants to reach.
you must get your job cut out.
Greatest achievers in the world have been visionaries.
Know exactly what you are best at and give it your best shot

Setting the Right Goals
The goals should be realistic .
The goals should be achievable ,
and yet challenging enough -
neither too easy nor too difficult -
something in the middle.

Be focused
If the sun's rays are focused on a piece of paper with a lens,
the intensity of the conce! ntrated energy burns the paper.
Focus on your objective will enhance the intensity of
the effects of your efforts

No Short Cuts to Success
There are no short cuts to success.
Divide your overall goals into smaller targets.
Divide your monthly plans into weekly and
weekly plans into daily plans and
see how simple can things be.

Take Risks
Without any risk no progress is possible.
Life comes to a stable standstill.
People who take chances are the people who get ahead in life.
The only way to reduce risk is to take risks.

Take the Initiative
People who take the initiative make the most of their lives.
Proactive people do not wait for success to happen;
rather they make it happen.
As they say, 'JUST DO IT'.

Never Hesitate to Struggle
No one has ever climbed a mountain just by looking at it.
Struggle, hard struggle, is a key to success

Own Responsibility
Failure to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target.
People, who own complete responsibility of their lives,
are the people who make the most of it.

Never Give Up
Many people who failed in life, where those who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.
Success demands extra-ordinary amount of perseverance.

Never, never, give up.

Il Mare - OST Main Theme - We Must Say Goodbye Lyrics

the korean version of the lakehouse movie... the hopeless romantic in me just cant help but love it to bits.

Release me, I know the only way
To reach me, that is the way that it should be
So free me from all your memories
I know we must say goodbye
We must say goodbye
If you belong in this world
Then I know we?ll take the step to every road
Now alone, I realize you?re far ahead
Without knowing you were there still in my heart
I know we must say goodbye
We must say goodbye
Can?t we belong in this world
Then I?m sure you?d take me to your every road
Just one thin, not realizing you were there
Without knowing you were there still in your heart
I know we must say goodbye
We must say goodbye
I know we must say goodbye
Must we say goodbye

Request to God

There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mails that had illegible addresses.

One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about.

The letter read:

"Dear God,I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension check. Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?
Sincerely,Edna"

The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few dollars. By the time he made the rounds, he had collected $96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman.

The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.

It read,

"Dear God,How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift. By the way, there was $4 missing. I think it must have been those bastards at the Post Office.
Sincerely yours Edna".

Accepting Yourself and Others

When you perceive others to be treating you badly, the usual reaction is to feel resentment and an urge to retaliate or assert yourself. Sometimes you can get some sort of recourse, at other times, assertion may be necessary simply to send a strong signal.

However, there are times when you just can't do anything and there seems to be no way for your steam to escape. You're agitated and hurt but you seem to have no power to feel better. For example, you may have a boss who is authoritarian and pushy. You could quit, but you really need the job right now. What to do?

Well, try not judging him. Try accepting him instead. Now, normally, whenever he makes an unreasonable demand or cutting remark, you'd feel how you were being treated. You'd take the attack personally and imagine talking back. You'd feel the heat flare at your temples and your heart race. You'd keep replaying that incident over and over in your mind and continue to feel upset about it later. Basically causing more damage to yourself than he could possibly afflict.

But once you release the judgement and start seeing your boss with compassion, you'll feel an amazing freedom. Your boss is no longer that forked-tongued monster whom you'd like to strangle, but a flawed human being who's struggling with his own demons. There are obviously catalysts in his life that have caused him to handle his world in this manner, nagging problems that continue to push him to behave this way. In a way, he really deserves your sympathy.

We all struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually to survive in this world. To do this, we use all the means available to us. Our resources may be different and other people will respond in different ways based on what they can grasp or hold onto. We can't understand what it's like to be them, so how can we judge them?

If you think he's being hard on you and you feel angry about it, then you're being equally hard on yourself and on him. But if you stop clamping up and really try and open your heart to people, you'll stop being a slave of negative emotions.

You can apply this to anyone who makes you feel upset - don't judge them, accept them. Accept yourself, build your self-esteem, love yourself too much to feel angry. Over time, your quiet confidence and "non-defense" of yourself will make others think twice about making your life difficult. They will learn that their words and actions have no impact on your peace of mind. You know what they say? "The best revenge is living well."

Well, I suppose revenge can be sweet.

The Love Story: Parts 1-4

check out the following 4 Thai commercials! very farnie!

Smooth E Commercial 1
Smooth E Commercial 2
Smooth E Commercial 3
Smooth E Commercial 4

One up for the ladies

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.

Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a Game Warden in his boat.
He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.

"That's true , but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

What Kind of Cool Are You?

Click to answer:
1. You'd rather be known as:
Super hot OR
Super cool

See how you score!


Me?
Apparently I'm Calm, Cool, and Collected. Ha.

Which means.....
Do your friends like to lean on your shoulder? Ask you for advice in life and love? Put you on speed-dial for emergencies? We bet they do. You're as balanced as they come. When it comes to making decisions, you're not afraid to take the time to weigh your options carefully in order to make the right choice. And it takes more than a few obstacles to rattle your cool head.The good news is that you've also got lots of heart, and you make sure that people know that you always have their backs. There's almost nothing more important to you than the people in your life, so being a support to them is the coolest thing around. Just like you.

Secret to a long and happy marriage....

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.

Their domestic tranquillity had long been the talk of the town. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.

"Well, it dates back to our honeymoon," explained the lady. "We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon by pack mule. We hadn't gone too far when my husband's mule stumbled.

"My husband quietly said 'That's once.' We proceeded a little farther when the mule stumbled again. Once more my husband quietly said, 'That's twice.' We hadn't gone a half-mile when the mule stumbled a third time.

My husband promptly removed a revolver from his pocket and shot him.
I started to protest over his treatment of the mule when he looked at me and quietly said 'That's once.'"

Annie Wan

This is hilarious!

Caller : Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan?
Operator : Yes, you can speak to me.

Caller: No, I want to speak to Annie Wan!

Operator: You are talking to someone! Who is this?

Caller: I'm Sam Wan. And I need to talk to Annie Wan! It's urgent.

Operator: I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone! But what's this urgent matter about?

Caller: Well... just tell my sister Annie Wan that our brother Noel Wan was involved in an accident. Noel Wan got injured and now Noel Wan is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan is on his way to the hospital.

Operator: Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital, then the accident isn't an urgent matter! You may! find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!

Caller: You are so rude! Who are you?

Operator: I'm Saw Lee.

Caller: Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!!

ITS LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Hurray! Its the Lunar New Year again.... time of the year to have the biggest excuse to binge on goodies, have more shopping treats and collect more red packets! Wahoooooo..... but truth be told, ur value decreases with age. Keke. Yes its true. If you're still single and not married by the age of 30, some can forget about getting red packets. That's sad. Ha.

Anyway, thats just the bait to get us to do house visiting. At the same time, I am also looking forward to gatherings of relatives of whom we seldom get to meet (and convict ourselves to hours of "interrogation") - like do you have a bf? when r u getting married? duh. like our lives do not get any more interesting than that. :P it gets boring when you get 10 similar qns like tt in a day, i reckon it will be better if our answers were being recorded as well so we can play it over and over again.... heheh.

Well, thats it for me during the next few days. More visiting and binging... and hopefully more angbaos. Cheerz!

congratulations? MY ARSE!

Dear colleagues

I am pleased and proud to announce the promotion of XXX to the position of Project Director (LS Events).

For the last few months, XX has more than held fort for this position and has grown to be the asset we need to spearhead and bring the LS events to further heights. Do join me in congratulating her on her appointment.

Regards
Chief Executive


^^ words like "asset" and "spearhead and bring the LS events to further heights" - overstatement. earlier on during the day, this news was being mentioned at one of the meetings... but after it was being said, it was pure total sweet silence... HAHAHAH. imagine that! no one even said a word of congrats or gave an indication tt it's a piece of happy news. but think we care? No, we don't give a shit.

Its a brand new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone out there!

Another year just wheezed past like that... another yr older and hopefully wiser too... keke =P

Guess what?! Our office has decided to put an end to IM in the office, no MSN, yahoo, ICQ or wadevers not... "WOH GNIROB!" [read it backwards ;)] hehehe... kinda attracted to this trick from Cecilia Ahern's new book - "If you could see me now". another brillant works of hers... truly enjoy reading it... not the kind that guys will fancy (not that they read anyway, though I happen to noe one and tts my baby hee)... but definitely this is a must-read for ladies. Nice!

From the internationally bestselling author of PS, I LOVE YOU, a lively and romantic novel about two lost souls who find each other in the most unexpected way. Everything in Elizabeth Egan?s life has its place, from the espresso cups in her gleaming kitchen to the swatches and paint pots of her interior design business. Order and precision keep life under control?and keep Elizabeth?s heart from the pain and hurt she has suffered in the past. Being a reluctant mother to her six-year-old nephew while trying to keep her business on track is a full-time job for Elizabeth, and one that leaves little room for error?or fun.

Until, one day, Ivan unexpectedly comes into their lives. The mysterious Ivan is carefree, spontaneous and always looking for adventure?everything that Elizabeth is not. If You Could See Me Now is the extraordinary tale of Ivan and Elizabeth. Of how Ivan meets the love of his life before she even sees him, and how he teaches her that life is only worth living when it's blindingly colourful and the occasional mess. Yet just when Elizabeth is starting to trust him, it turns out that Ivan isn't at all who she thought he was.Playful and at times intensely moving, this is a novel about how seeing isn't always believing. Full of Cecelia Ahern?s trademark warmth and poignancy, If You Could See Me Now is a story of enormous heart--and just a little bit of magic.

OK, i kind of side tracked there... well ya as i was saying our office have blocked all IM programs... well i guess this is kinda like the last resort as they have already sent out multiple warnings which have fell on deaf ears... and now we'll have to once again use email as the only form of communication for our gossip sessions (if any). did i mention we're quite devastated? lol.

alright... gotta get back to work now... more to come in the months ahead but well wth... bring it on... guess will just have to handle the shit one at a time... anyway whats new right? we can already foresee more shit, more work, more miscommunications, and more shift-blaming... so if there's a course out there on "how to save your own ass effectively"... pls sign me up. i'll be more than willing to take it on. ha.

btw my photos have already been uploaded, if you have not been venturing out into my photo album, here's the direct links:

Vietnam Trip, HCMC

Dinner&Dance 2005, Shanghai Night