Early celebration.


I celebrated my birthday with the people at the office today. I had ordered the cake sometime last week and it was delivered around 4pm this afternoon, just in time for tea. It was a massive 3.5kg rectangular looking thing from Prima Deli and it created quite a commotion at the office. Primarily because I think that no one had ever ordered such a humongous cake to be delivered there before. Secondly, everyone was amazed when I they saw the cute design on the cake and they oohed and ahhed over it like little kids! Hahaha!





My superiors saw the cake and wondered whose it was. I told them that it was my birthday cake and they promptly wished me a Happy Birthday. I said that I was celebrating it early with everyone as it’s more fun this way. Some of the people at the office then asked me how old I was and everyone started guessing my age. I told them that they only had one chance and many of them blew it just like that. Too bad, I’m not telling them at all! Heeheehee! Quite a few of them guessed my age to be around 19 to 20. Well, seriously, I’m flattered that they think I’m that age, although I’m not that much older anyway. At least it gives me an excuse to behave like a child since they think that I’m that age. Wow, not even of legal capacity yet. Perfect! Yeah right!


When I lighted the candle (I only put a big one there), my talents couldn’t stop gushing over how cute my cake was. They even asked me whether I could give them the sugar animals. But I was like, sorry, they have been reserved for others in the office. Maybe some other time, I said. It was fun to hear people sing and clap along to the Happy Birthday song for me not only in English, but also in Mandarin and Malay.





I felt kind of sad when they sang the songs because my mind was thinking back this day some years back when a certain group of people sung me my birthday song. It was so wonderful to be with them. I miss them very much and though we still keep in contact through emails, Friendster and SMSes, somehow or other, it’s not the same anymore. We’ve all grown up and are I feel, more cognizant of what we want out of life though many of us still do not know how to set the whole thing in motion yet. We will never be together like we all were that wonderful year, yet, we will always remain the best of friends and confidantes.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:52 PM ~ ~ ~
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Years apart.


Xue was telling me that if YC and his girlfriend can make it together despite the huge age difference, I should also be able to make it with er, ahem, you know. I know that 15 years may seem like a lot to some people, but to YC and his gal, it wasn’t that much of a bother. Especially since someone is about 10 years my senior.


For me, 15 years isn’t that much anyway, since I prefer guys who are older than I, never mind that it is a decade or so more. Because with age comes maturity in thinking and a somewhat broader view of life. So unlike most of the guys that I know, who are still behaving even more childishly than I do, be it in class or at work.


Some of my friends have asked me what sort of attraction do older guys possess that has me so enthralled at times. They wanted to know why I do not prefer someone who is nearer my age group. Hmm…I wonder too!


Jos ah, what is it about QQ that makes your knees weak and your heart all aflutter?


I think that age is not that important a factor for me. What is crucial is the amount of time that we are able to have with each other. Without the needed time to interact with one another, it will be very difficult to make things work out. I think this is one aspect that Xue said I have to concentrate on.


Sigh… It’s such a difficult thing to do since I’m no longer there now. At the very least when I was there, we could still see each other about once to twice a week. Now, I only get to see him when I have to go there. Absence may make the heart fonder for some people. But for certain people (most definitely NOT me), out of sight equates with out of mind. So the fact remains that everyone is slowly drifting away from one another.


Things Fall Apart, just like Achebe’s novel.


That’s why Xue advised that M-GM or maybe even M-Maz would be safer bets since we work in the same office and I get to see them everyday. We’ll see. But I’m not pinning any hopes on the office thing at all. Just how do you say NOT INTERESTED? They are just okay to chat with. Nothing else.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 8:21 PM ~ ~ ~
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Ying’s birthday.


Today is Ying’s birthday, but we’ll be celebrating it together with mine next Saturday. This way, we don’t have to meet up twice to celebrate. Lil has already gotten Ying her birthday present and I think that I accidentally let slip what it was when I saw her at Suntec about 2 weeks ago. Heehee! I’m sharing with Lil for Ying’s birthday present and though I know what it is, I haven’t even seen it yet.


I can’t wait for Friday to arrive! I’ve already ordered my birthday cake from the nearby shopping centre and it will be delivered on Friday afternoon, just in time for tea. I’m celebrating it with the people in the office but I have yet to tell them that it’s my birthday. Tis best not to, in case I become inundated with all sorts of useless presents that I have to get rid of!


I’m the easiest person to buy any sort of presents for. I love to read so much that I always tell people to buy me book vouchers from Kinokuniya or Borders, whenever they ask me what I want for my birthday, Christmas, whatever. It’s not only convenient, it also saves them a lot of brainpower, guessing what to buy for me. Hmm… the next time someone asks me what I want for a present, I’d probably say shelves from Ikea, because I’m running out of place to put my books!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:15 PM ~ ~ ~
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Dinner at Seoul Garden.


I met Yee for dinner this evening. She has been hankering after the food at Seoul, so I met her there after work. And the best thing is that she wanted to eat the food so badly that she even offered to pay for my share so long as I accompanied her along! Who am I to refuse such a good offer? ;0)


It seems that she has a lot of stuff to complete lately. I have too, but thankfully, my workload is not as bad as hers. She complained about her colleagues, work, superiors etc.. during our meal there. And we ended up gossiping about our ex-classmates until we left the place at 10pm!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:59 PM ~ ~ ~
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Witch!


I went for my meeting expecting it to be very boring as it always is, more so than the one on Tuesday, but to my surprise, it was somewhat different and more fun-filled.


The management decided that they should not torture us with any more boring stuff for the week, so they invited this famous storyteller from the States to tell us a story and also, to teach us the fundamentals of story-telling. I was so happy for a chance to just relax during the meeting! Her name is Linda Fang, and she told us that the main things that a storyteller must possess, in order of importance, are: voice, imagination and expression.


Towards the end of the session, she got us to come up with a story and to have one person from each table come up and tell it to the rest of the people. Okay, so my friends nominated me to go up and perform. I think that I shocked everyone else (except those who know me better) by adopting the persona of a witch and singing the “Worms” song! Heehee! The entire room thundered with applause when I ended my performance! I was exhilarated, but embarrassed at the same time, because I seemed to have played the part of a fool to perfection. Ah well, never mind. It’s all in the name of fun anyway.


So for the rest of the day, my colleagues came up to me and told me that I was very good as a witch and I accepted their compliments somewhat bashfully. They even told me that I’m talented at such stuff and am in the wrong profession! Hahaha! My close friends at work told me that “我真的很好, 演得超像巫婆”. But I said that I was very funny and not a tad good at all. MH replied by saying that “你知道好笑跟很好的意思吗? 你是很好, 不是好笑啊!”


Hmm… I know that I have always been good at imitating certain characters and making funny noises. But I never expected people like those in my profession to appreciate such stuff. Even Mr Good Morning came up to tell me that I was superb as a witch. Know what I told him? I said that I was a witch in a past life and we both ended up laughing.


If you CANNOT see the Chinese words above, click 'VIEW', then 'ENCODING', then 'UNICODE (UTF-8).

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:27 PM ~ ~ ~
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Invitation.


I received a message on my phone this afternoon from an ex-classmate inviting me to his wedding on 12th November this year. I haven’t been in touch with him at all ever since graduation and I wondered whom he got my number from. Come to think of it, my number has remained unchanged for the last 7 years, ever since my uncle and his girlfriend bought me my first cell phone.


Nope, I’m not going to the wedding at all. Because I don’t want to anyway. And I also do not like him at all. He was my classmate when I was doing Law and I don’t think that he liked me very much. Methinks it’s because I always scored better than him in all of my tests and exams! HA! Hmm… I didn’t like my some of my classmates then except for a few. I felt that they were very fake and parasitic in nature. It’s a waste of my time to go to a boring wedding and see all those boring faces that I have no wish to see and make asinine conversations with the airheads gathered there. Worse, they were very Chinese, though I have them to thank for helping improve my spoken Mandarin.


I would rather spend my time with my friends and family or doing something that I enjoy – like curling up in bed and reading my book.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 9:15 PM ~ ~ ~
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Rainbow!


We went for a car ride to Suntec City this evening when I saw a rainbow! It was SO BEAUTIFUL that I couldn’t help taking pictures of it. I think that this is the third time I’ve seen a rainbow within 2 months and this time round, it was a double rainbow.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:06 PM ~ ~ ~
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Being silly.


I was doing my stuff when my mum went to hide behind the wall, signalling me to keep quiet and not to let anyone know that she was there. I was wondering what on earth she was up to when I heard the sound of my dad’s footsteps approaching. Then it dawned on me what my mum wanted to do!


When my dad had stepped into the house, out jumped my mum and shouted, “BOO!” like a ghost! HA! You should have seen the grin on his face and the giggles which she was caught in after that. Now I know where my penchant for frightening people come from!


They are a pretty funny couple, my mum and dad. If I ever do get married, I think that I want a marriage like theirs. One that is filled with lots of love, trust, fun, silliness, laughter and the occasional squabbles. Gee, if they can still be so silly at this age, methinks that they will continue to be so when they are in their rocking chairs. Perhaps more so. :0)


We went for dinner with my maternal granny (she’s the only granny I have left now, after my other three grandparents dropped like flies years back) at this place called “Bottle Tree Village” at Sembawang beach. You have to drive through Andrews Avenue and go all the way straight through the deep dark forest before you’ll reach the place. Quite a nice place actually, great view, good food, though the shark’s fins soup was a tad too salty for my liking.












While waiting for the food to arrive, my granny, Xue and I decided to take a walk around the place and I was like “Wow! Not bad ah. Got fire engine and police car for protection leh.” When I said that, Xue and I stared at each other and you could hear the brains at work. A little glance thrown around told us to walk towards where a group of people was congregated. It was there that we saw policemen, divers, a dinghy and the police boat in the waters. We saw that the area was cordoned off by the police and there was this woman crying away. My granny chatted up this maid who was carrying a toddler and found out that a boy had drowned in the waters and they were looking for his body.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:57 PM ~ ~ ~
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Birthday.


It seems that today is my Chinese birthday on the lunar calendar. Eh, I’ve honestly forgotten all about it until my dad and Xue reminded me. Now, why would people these days remember their lunar birthdays? I mean, not many people will bother with such birthdays until their parents remind them about it.


Does celebrating my Chinese birthday make me more Chinese at heart? I don’t think so. After the many years here and the occasional stretches of time abroad, it’s difficult for any of my friends or me to admit that we are 101% Chinese. Yes, I do speak Mandarin, with a Beijing twang to it, but I most definitely do not see myself as a pure Chinese. I seem to be more mixed than anything, not in terms of race though.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:12 PM ~ ~ ~
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Busy!


Today’s a very hectic day for me. I didn’t even have the time to take a breather throughout the whole day. At least I wasn’t counting down the hours until the end of the day, which is what I’ll usually do when I am ultra-bored everyday. I got quite a lot of things done today considering that I’m rushing certain stuff.


I like busy days. Especially when I’m so busy that I do not even have the time to eat at all. In a way, I am a workaholic. I like to be busy and have tons of things on hand to complete. More so when my stress level is turned on. I think that I work better with stress than without it. When stress is absent, I tend to slack off, my energy level dips and all I want to do is sleep. I must be kept very busy so that I will not have the time to think about all sorts of things, especially since I have such an over-active imagination.


It’s the middle of the week and soon, Friday will be here!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:21 PM ~ ~ ~
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Flashes.


I was standing at the photocopier and zapping some stuff when images of the past started to flash across my eyes. I saw the faces of some people whom I’m trying to forget and would not wish to recall at all.


Sometimes it’s bad enough that I think too much of them. Really, it doesn’t help matters at all. Whenever I think about them, I would start to forget all other things and I can spend my time just daydreaming and nothing else. Much as I want to daydream, I cannot afford to do so at work. Especially since I have such a challenging project on hand, I need all the powers of concentration just so as to stay focused and see the project through for the next 5 weeks, or at least until 28th October, for that’s the due date of my project.


Xue said that I should re-think my priorities and try to set things right. She said that I should look somewhere nearer home as opposed to a place that is so far away and out of reach. And she meant M-GM, and not those, you know, few.


Maybe she’s correct, I don’t know. But I do know that all the fun times that I had with those people can never be fully erased from my memory. It is difficult to even try and block these memories from being dug out of the depths. What I cannot comprehend is why these images would suddenly flash through my mind of their own accord. I think God only knows why. Perhaps I know too, but I just refuse to admit the reason.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:26 PM ~ ~ ~
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Why blog?


Have you ever wondered why people blog, at all? I mean, why would someone blog about the going-ons in one’s life only to have others read about them?


Why do I blog anyway? For the most simple of reasons! Because I want:
1) to rant about my life.
2) to destress.
3) to have fun.
4) the convenience and accessibility of getting to my blog, as opposed to looking for the key to my treasure chest, which in turn, leads to my diary.
5) to share some parts of my life with my friends and people who love me.
6) to keep in touch with my friends and family who are overseas.
7) it to be part of my memory.
8) to re-live what happened the day before, especially when it’s something wonderful, like er, you know.
9) to better remember certain days, events and people in my life.
10) to entertain myself when I’m stuck at some spastic meeting with my computer.
11) to be able to write about things that I would never or seldom talk about with others.


I always like to read about what happened to me in the past and I would laugh, cringe, snort or even blush when I read about all the funny things of yore.


I think that a blog is a place where the reader can steal glimpses into the writer’s life without even having to know the latter at all. It contains some of the writer’s most personal thoughts that are sometimes best kept hidden, though it can be fun to share. It is one where the writer is more apt to show one’s true self that others can rarely get to see in public. Why? Because we wear different faces in our daily lives.


I know because I do, and also because I’ve done Pragmatics (DUH!). I wear a different one when I’m at work, at school with my classmates, at school with my tutors, with my friends and even with my family. It’s as if one is a performer, responding to the change in scene to putting on the role required for the moment, before exiting to take on another role. It can be tiring though.


In school, I’m the blur, incurable scatter-brained girl, who asks a whole lot of questions because she does not understand what is being taught. I think that it’s because of this that my coursemates think that I’m a very stupid student, who always scores Cs. Er, I’ve never bothered to change that impression of theirs. Anyway, I think that they’ve changed what they thought of me, especially since graduation day! HA! At work, I’m the ever-bubbly girl who is never without a smile and is among the top 3 best-dressed people at the office. With my friends, I’m the hopeless girl who goes out in polo tops and Bermudas. They have forbidden me to dress like that some time back and I’m quite used to dressing up (minus makeup – I never put it on) whenever I’m out with them. At home, well, I’m basically just ME! :0)

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 9:45 PM ~ ~ ~
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Exam fever.


This is really bad. Jos and Xue are having exams and I’m stuck with nobody to disturb for the next 3 weeks. It’s too bad that their exams are in September. They used to be around the same time as mine, which was the end of October to the first 2 weeks of November. Somehow, their stupid schools changed the start of the entire academic year and everything was thrown into disarray. And I mean all our plans. Sigh… If not for the asinine way that their schools planned the school year, the 3 of us would have been able to leave the country last December, this June and during the upcoming winter break.


So the poor things will only get their holidays in October and return to school sometime in November to December when the entire population of students, primary to tertiary, is having their annual year-end vacation. And yeah, they have to go to school during Christmas week. How boring can that be! Hopefully, I won’t be in Singapore during that week, or for the matter, the entire month, as I’m hoping to spend my holidays with my brothers and their families this Christmas. I’m sure that my parents can spare me this Christmas. Anyway, they would want to see that cute little boy who just joined our family! :0)


Hmm… I know that I can always disturb Ying and Lil, but then again, they will be very busy these few weeks. It’s not as though I have nothing to do. For the next 5 weeks, I too, will be up to my neck in work, and can only look to relax a few days before Halloween.


Ha! I can FINALLY get to enjoy my Halloween this year! Well, I did enjoy the previous ones, but they were always smacked right into my revision and exam periods that I didn’t really have that much fun. Because when I was trying to be whatever character I was that night, my head would always be going through all the stuff that I had to study for my papers. Call it paranoia. I always dreamed about what I had studied at night. In a way, you could say that it was another form of revision.


Come to think of it, I miss exams! Yes, I miss the thrill of studying for exams and the free time that I had. I miss doing all those past-year papers and the feeling of my aching hand after completing all of them. I even miss dreaming about my revision. But I certainly DO NOT miss answering all those phone calls from the irritating classmates of mine who somehow or other, did not bother to take down notes during class and would call to ask for a scanned copy of my notes! Argh! I detest answering my phones (mobile and house) and having to entertain all of the free world. Thank God only An knew my house number. I don’t mind discussing with her what to study and how much I’ve covered. I just didn’t like to attend to the rest of my coursemates, for they can be very demanding at times.


The easiest exams I’ve had so far were my Biology and some of my English papers. They certainly were enjoyable! Did you know that I was smiling when I was doing them? Heehee! My friends and classmates thought me weird (they still do now) when I told them that I enjoyed doing the exams. I even hummed to myself when I was attempting them. Maths papers were the worst, as I never scored more than a B grade for them and I absolutely hate calculations. Physics and Chemistry were all right, but I disliked doing them, as I could never recall whatever law I had to study, though the Chemistry part was fun. Nah, I didn’t flunk those subjects. Got an A grade for them though. Amazing isn’t it, how I can even pass them at all?


I think that the reason why I’ve never been able to perform well for Maths is because I am a memory kind of person. I tend to memorise things, even the steps taken to solve Maths sums. Take one step away or change part of the question and I’ll be lost. That’s why I’m more of a Language and Humanities person. It’s a wonder that I even got to take A Maths in secondary school at all. Poor Mr TKS struggled to make me understand every single concept that he taught in class. I’m surprised that he didn’t hit me with my A Maths textbook when I still couldn’t understand a simple concept or get my sums right even after he had explained for like, the tenth time. I think that I had a major part to play in the sudden increase of white hair on his head at the end of secondary four!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:55 PM ~ ~ ~
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Lost and found.


The girl was walking along one of the many corridors when she her ears detected a soft, whimpering sound, coming from a deserted corner. She stopped in her tracks and made a turn for the corner, hoping to find the unhappy soul who was crying and provide some comfort.


It was a dark corner that not even Sun’s rays could penetrate and tried as she could, she was unable to see who was crying there.


Girl: “Why are you so sad?”


Unknown: “Because I am alone… and scared.”


A sense of familiarity stirred in her when she heard the voice. She has heard this voice before, but was unable to recall where she heard it.


Girl: “Why? Are you lost?”


Unknown: “Yes, I am lost. I am waiting for my owner to come find me and love me again.”


Something ached in her and she whispered, “Who are you? Do I know you?”


Unknown: “I am your Heart and yes, you knew me once upon a time.”


Girl: “My Heart? When did I lose you? And why?”


Heart: “You lost me a very long time ago. I was a gift for somebody that you liked, someone who never failed to bring a smile to your pretty face.”


Girl: “Somebody that I liked? Who? I do not remember who that person is now. Not since I left. Can you tell me who it is? Please?”


Heart: “I will show you. Put your hands together on the floor. Close your eyes as you do so and do not open them until I tell you to.”


The girl did as she was told and gasped when she felt something warm jump onto them.


Heart: “Now, open your eyes.”


The girl opened them and saw images that made her want to laugh, smile, cry and wail, all at the same time. She saw the familiar face of that someone whom she lost her Heart to. How foolish she was then! She saw how he had praised her Heart and made it happy. How he had teased her Heart and made it all aflutter. She also saw how he had trampled, trodden and belittled her Heart and made it cry.


Tears welled in her eyes. Before long, they broke the dam that was holding them back and flowed down her cheeks.


Girl: “I’m sorry, so sorry! I didn’t realise how badly you’ve been treated. If I had known, I would never have given you away. Will you forgive me and return to me?”


Heart: “Don’t cry! There is nothing for me to forgive. I have never blamed you at all. It was all meant to be. That is what Life told me. Gladly will I come back to you! We belong to each other.”


Girl: “Thank you! Thank you!”


And she put it close to her chest and let it return to the empty place where it used to occupy.


Girl: “I will never lose you again, I promise.”


Heart: “Hush, my dear. Do not make such a promise. For the time will come when you will lose me to someone else again. This is all part and parcel of Life. Neither you nor I can help it. And I will never be angry with you no matter what happens. I am back with you now and that is all that matters. Nothing else is important.”


Girl: “I love you,” she whispered.


Heart: “I know. I love you too.”

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:55 PM ~ ~ ~
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An addition to the family!


My second brother messaged early this morning to inform me that his wife had given birth to a baby boy at around 2.35am. I was so happy when I read his message that I immediately called to congratulate him! Now there’s another kid to play with me when I visit my brothers in December, bringing it to a total of 4 noisy but fun kids. Wish the holidays would come again fast.


I went out with Jos and Xue in the afternoon, just to relax before their exams start next week. Too bad we didn’t alight at Orchard MRT station, otherwise we would have been able to see the police in action. Apparently, a cleaner found a sports bag somewhere at the mural outside the station and it contained a head of a woman with long black hair and some other body parts. So the police were called in to investigate. Then, another bag containing body parts belonging to the victim was found at MacRitchie Reservoir in the late afternoon.


We had pizza and sushi for tea before going to Suntec City for ice-cream at Andersens’. We were seated and waiting for our sundaes to be served when we heard a voice calling out our names. Xue looked up and saw Ying and her friend, S, coming down the escalator and kind of waving at us. They were on their way to the shoe sales at one of the halls.


For dinner, it was at Crystal Jade as Jos had this S$30.00 voucher to spend. It was such fun just to be able to chill and talk nonsense with the 2 of them. I also met my friend, who is a Chinese teacher at a primary school in town, together with her husband. She looked so slim and pretty now! Way better than she did the last time I saw her, which was like 2 years ago. Even her hubby looked “hipper” now, unlike the “uncle” in the past.


In all, it was a fruitful day, especially since I bought a suit, 2 blouses and 6 pairs of shoes! Heehee! :0) I can’t wait for their exams to be over so that we can hang out again.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:01 PM ~ ~ ~
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The Loser.


My ex-classmate (let’s call her EC for ex-classmate) from campus called up this morning to complain about her boyfriend. It seems that they have quarrelled again and it’s usually over money – so what else is new? EC said that they were browsing at the Comex fair at Suntec City on Sunday when he asked her why wasn’t she buying a laptop, quite a few times. She retorted that she could, if he had returned her the money that he owes her. EC said that his face turned black immediately and he turned sulky and said that she made him lose face in public.


Sheesh! What is the problem with this guy? If you have the guts to borrow money from someone, especially a female, then you should be able to stand teasing about such a loan from her. You know what? Apparently he borrowed more than S$1000 but less than S$2000 from EC just so that he could pay off his credit card bills! IDIOT! If you cannot afford to pay your CC bills, you jolly well leave your cards at home and don’t use them to show off to your girlfriend and other people. Moreover, he said that she had on previous occasions made her lose face in front of his friends and colleagues, which may lead them to think that he is unable to “control his woman”.


GOD! THIS IS ONE HELL OF A MALE CHAUVINIST PIG! YOU DO NOT CONTROL A WOMAN! SHE HAS A MIND OF HER OWN TO TELL HER WHAT TO DO AND WHEN TO DO THINGS.


A guy who feels that he has to control his woman is an insecure idiot and the biggest ass in the whole wide world. Not only that, he is a loser too. I absolutely DESPISE guys like this! They think that the whole world owes them a living and expect everyone to dance to their tune. I really pity this friend of mine and much as I dislike his type, I hope that they can solve their problems soon. Otherwise, poor EC will be moping around at home waiting for his call. It is always the case when they quarrel. She has to be the first to apologise even when it was obviously not her fault.


I remember once when they quarrelled over his getting a lower pay than EC during the semester that just ended. According to her, he complained incessantly about her being paid a few hundred more than him and said that people would think that he’s a useless man for being unable to support his woman. For God’s sake, if you keep on job-hopping, of course your pay will be low. HA! Let it be known that I am the first person to think that he’s a useless bum, not because he earns less than EC, but because he’s an MCP. A naggy, whiny, petty and spastic MCP. He even had the nerve to tell EC that they should meet less often because of the rise in petrol prices! Come on, if you really love your girlfriend, you can definitely get around the petrol increase. Like taking the public transport to her house or when you meet in town. Nobody said that you have to drive your girlfriend whenever you are out.


I am certainly relieved that I am so single and without such stupid problems. That is why I prefer humourous and intellectual guys. This boyfriend of hers is neither humorous nor intellectual and his spoken English is atrocious, though I have to admit, his Mandarin is way better than mine. Also, he is a year younger than her. Eh, this is another reason why I prefer older men. At least they are not as childish like EC’s boyfriend.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:43 PM ~ ~ ~
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Delivery girl.


I went back to campus to deliver mooncakes to my tutors this afternoon, but not all of them were in their office! ARGH!


Of all my English Language and Literature tutors, I only managed to pass the mooncakes to Dr L, Dr MS and Dr W (she wasn’t in campus as she had to leave for a conference that night, so I asked her secretary to pass it to her). Dr D, Dr G and Dr M were MIA (read: Missing In Action) so I gave their mooncakes to my tutors in the Social Studies department instead. I didn’t know who else to pass them to from the ELL department, and since they are the snow skin type that needs refrigeration, it made better sense to pass them to Ms T so that she could put them into her department’s fridge.


Ms T was so surprised when I gave her a box of mooncakes. She said that she would take them home for her mother to try. I complained to her that I couldn’t find some of my ELL tutors so I’m giving her another box. She said that she’d share this box with her SS colleagues during tea. I met Mrs H on my way out and she asked me how I was doing at work, so I told her all about me getting molested during my first month there. Sigh… I also saw Dr A being his usual funny self, but he was busy running about and had no time to entertain me. There was also another tutor of mine who is perpetually suffering from PMS even though he will never admit it, and he was being his usual grouchy self.


I think that I need to buy more mooncakes. I don’t have enough for my primary and secondary school teachers. Hmm… I think that I shall buy them over the weekend and send the mooncakes to school next week. Heeheehee! :0)


I headed down to town to met Lil for lunch and some shopping. Despite us spending the afternoon and evening there, we didn’t buy anything much except for that lip gloss of hers. And for the first time in my life, I COULD NOT FINISH MY DINNER! This is really pathetic. I didn’t know why and how I was unable to eat my dinner. So I asked the waiter to pack my salmon pasta into a doggy bag for me.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:01 PM ~ ~ ~
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ICT Symposium.


Hmm… I wonder why I was chosen to attend the ICT symposium today, when I had better things to do!!!! But I don’t regret attending at all.


It wasn’t that bad actually once the whole thing started. I went with a couple of my colleagues in their car and reached there with 15 minutes to spare before the event started. Anyway, the VIPS were late, so the entire thing was delayed by half an hour. I’ve heard about some of the stuff that they were showcasing today when I was doing my final year. But to actually see the whole thing in action and to have the people explain to you the rationale for doing it when they presented their papers, made me re-think how ICT can be effectively maximised in my work.


It was sponsored by Apple and the representative from Apple, Mr Junior Tan, presented on the various ways that one can use ICT to get things done for people in my profession. One of the things he presented included Podcasts and Blogging. It seems that he knows Mr V and have collaborated with him over some projects. He showed the audience one of the Podcasts that he said was the brainchild of Mr V and even showed Mr V’s resume, which was done in the VR kind of way. Have you ever viewed an online showroom before? They always have one where the visitor can click on the room and navigate 360 degrees around the room. That was how Mr V’s resume looked like when I saw it. Cool!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:38 PM ~ ~ ~
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More mooncakes!


Okay. So Lil didn’t buy enough mooncakes during our trip to City Square last Thursday. What would 2 reasonable females do when faced with such a problem? Why, return to City Square to buy more mooncakes of course!


I went to work for about 2 hours in the morning before meeting her to go to Kranji MRT station to take the bus into Johor. The traffic today was smooth and we cleared the Malaysian Customs in less than 5 minutes, way faster than the usual time it took to clear the Customs. No one was free to drive us in, so we unlucky souls had to trudge our way across.


Of all the different brands of mooncakes that I tasted last Thursday and today, I still think that Seasons’ is the best. For the mixed nuts kind, New Hong Kong’s tastes way better than the rest of the brands being sold there. Lil bought 2 more boxes of mooncakes today, while I bought thrice more than her. Now, why would I want so many boxes of mooncakes for, you ask? What else but to give them away as presents!


There was a hitch in our mooncakes shopping spree today and that is the Ginseng flavoured mooncakes, snow skin and over-baked, that I wanted were sold out at City Square. I was helping my teacher to buy 3 boxes and she specifically wanted the Ginseng ones after I told her how nice it tasted. So Lil and I had to take a taxi to Pelangi Plaza to collect 6 of the snow skin ones that were reserved for us, before hailing another cab to take us to Holiday Plaza to buy the over-baked ones. Ah well, at least my granny and mother could get to savour the Ginseng ones again.


We were on the way back when the strap of my slipper snapped, and I had to slide my way back to the shops to buy a pair of slippers! Sheesh! The next time I go to City Square, I’d definitely want to eat the Yami Yoghurt again! Especially the 12oz one. It only cost me RM8.80, way cheaper than in Singapore!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:00 PM ~ ~ ~
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Dead tired.


Eh, I was so tired from my 2 excursions last night that I slept in today. By the time I woke up, the house was devoid of all living things except my hamsters and I, so I called McDonald’s for brunch, rather than starve to death. After lunch, I gave my hamsters a bath while washing their cages. I’d wash their cages every Sunday and rotate them among the 2 cages weekly. In this way, each of them will get to stay in the house with a second storey on alternate weeks.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 6:35 PM ~ ~ ~
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Company function.


I had this really weird company function on board the Island Jade Cruiser this evening that I could only go for the Comex fair at Suntec City in the early afternoon. Poor Xue was complaining that it was too crowded, but we braved the crowds anyway. It wasn’t that fun as I was pressed for time and had to be back by 3pm to bathe and get ready as my ride was coming at 5pm. The theme for the night was Fairy Tales and Super Heroes, and I went as Little Red Riding Hood.


All of the people who were going met at Harbourfront before boarding the cruise at 6pm. It was a dinner cruise around the southern islands and we would touch land by 9pm. Now, it most definitely was NOT the size of a normal cruise that most people are accustomed to. To put it nicely, it was a very cosy cruise. In other words, it was about one-tenth the size of a Star Cruise ship! The food was extremely bad, according to my standards and I only had a bite of something fish fillet-looking thing, 2 forkfuls of the vermicelli and a swipe of the fruit punch before parking myself on the sun deck of the cruise for the rest of the evening.


The view was really great and so soothing that I just spent my entire evening on the deck while the rest of the people had fun downstairs. Hey! To each her own okay. What is fun in another’s opinion may not be so in mine. I am the type who, when presented with a choice of the beautiful sea view and a night of “debauchery”, would most assuredly choose the former. I love the view of the sea, islands, boats, ships and most importantly, stars. It was soooooo peaceful to be alone with my thoughts.

















There was another person on the deck with me and I call him Uncle Ben. Seems that he is also a Nature kind of person. That guy sure is weird, even though I am a weirdo too. He would stand with his hands clutching the rails and stare out at sea. Sometimes, he would put his head down and sigh deeply. So I wasn’t the only one who had troubling things on my mind. I spent most of my time on the deck seated with my legs drawn up to my chest, my hands hugging them and staring out at sea while enjoying the cool sea breeze. I really liked sitting there and looking out. At least I didn’t have to entertain people, even though I’m in the PR line. Moreover, it was claustrophobic just being inside there.














We spent some time chatting about work and he asked me whether I was feeling lost. Now, this is really bad if other people can see it. He said that he was standing there and looking at me when it struck him that I was unhappy. Uncle Ben advised me to forget about the past and just let go. He also said that I have to lower my expectations otherwise I’d find it difficult to get out of this rut that I am in now. Yes, I am unhappy with my work. Though I may look the energetic and happy-go-lucky me on the outside, inside is another story. No matter how bad I feel inside, I always make it a point to smile and look happy. Keeping up appearances is my forte, something that had been inculcated in all Convent girls during my primary and secondary school days there.


When the cruise stopped in front of St. John’s Island, memories of having spent 3 wonderful days and 2 lovely nights there with my class when I was in secondary 3, suddenly came flooding back. I remember the fun times that I had there! Especially the part when we had to go on a treasure hunt and we went exploring around on the island and found this thing called the “Moongate”. It was a rounded archway and was green in colour, if I recall correctly. I was immediately attracted to it, not sure why, and kept on touching it, not wanting to let it go.








It seemed that my disappearance caused a ruckus during the costume competition part, because they couldn’t find me to take part in it. Eh, I was grateful that I couldn’t be found because I didn’t want to join the contest. I dressed up because I felt that it was fun and sporting. I didn’t even collect the lucky draw prize, which I won. It was only towards the end of the cruise when the people came up to the sun deck to enjoy the night view that they found me and told me all that I’ve missed. One of my colleagues even passed my prize to me later on.


When they came up and saw me huddled in one corner and gazing out, some of them were concerned and asked me whether I was feeling fine. I told them that I was just enjoying the view and didn’t want to go down to join the party. Even if I had to go for the cruise again, I would still choose to spend my time sitting on the sun deck by myself and look out to sea. :0) Especially when I had the company of the lighthouse on the island beside St. John’s, shining its light at travellers.





After we docked at Harbourfront, I got a lift from the same colleague who lives near me. He is a very old and friendly uncle who dishes out advice to people prone to depression like I. There were 3 other colleagues in the car beside us and since the food on board was horrendous, we decided to drive to Geylang for supper. Too bad, but we were unable to find a place to park and so had to forage for food at home. But we saw many “little dragon girls” which my colleagues had to point out to me!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:59 PM ~ ~ ~
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Day trip to JB.


Yesterday sure was a hectic day. I went out with Lil, Lun, Ying and two of her friends who are teachers, to City Square in Johor Baru to buy mooncakes. Actually, it was only supposed to be the 4 of us, but Ying decided to call her friends along, ah well.


They didn’t have to go to school because yesterday was Teacher’s Day, a school holiday for them. Both of them are teaching in the same secondary school. S’s a Biology teacher, while J’s a Maths teacher, somewhere in the western part of Singapore. S brought her book along to read, and was quite quiet during the trip, though she warmed up to us towards the end of it. J was, in a way, chatty right from the start of the trip. Anyway, he talked mostly to Lun and Ying. J reminds me of this Elective classmate from campus. They have the same name, behave in about the same way and can be obnoxious at times. I wonder, do all people with this name behave like this?


Between the 5 of them, they really bought a lot of boxes of mooncakes! I only bought 2 of the mixed nuts one for my dad as he didn’t want too many. If I had bought him a box of 4, I’d most likely be reprimanded for wasting my money. Sigh… Fathers are all alike in this sense. Even when my dear of a mother buys 3 different packets of ham, all with the expiry date of 1 week, my dad is liable to say that it’s a waste of money! This is despite us having different tastes for ham.


When we finally decided to return to Singapore after having spent the last 7 hours or so eating, shopping and hanging out, it was already 6.50pm. Refusing to be caught in the traffic jam, we opted to take the 8pm train back home instead. To while away the remaining one hour, S went to Reds to have her hair cut, while we roamed about on the different floors of the shopping centre.











Eh, I haven’t taken that kind of train ever since I was 10 years old, and it was quite fun actually, after all these years. The air-condition on board the train was somewhat missing, so I was immensely thankful for the strong air-con at Woodlands Train Checkpoint. Nothing like home!

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:28 PM ~ ~ ~
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As told by a Teacher.


“I cried yesterday. I was so touched that you came back to visit me that I couldn’t prevent the tears from flowing. It has been 2 years since I last saw you and I’ve missed you a lot.


My 3F 2000, you were the best class that I’ve ever had. All other classes after you will never be the same again. You taught me how to love, to share my time and to teach. You were the inspiration that kept me going during the years when I was being trained as a teacher. Every lesson plan that I designed, I did it with you in mind. Every single step in the lesson always had me asking, ‘What would my 3F do at this stage? Are they able to do it? Will they enjoy it?’ Because I kept you in my heart and mind, I scored ‘As’ and ‘Bs’ for my lesson plans most of the time. Your love and encouragement kept me going. Without which, I would never have done so well in my years of training.


I thoroughly enjoyed the chat we had yesterday and I wish that we could do it again soon. My memory of you will always remain frozen at the time when you were in Primary 3. Even when I see you, all so tall and grown up now, my mind never fails to conjure up an image of you when you were in my class. I even remember where each of you sat and the behaviour you exhibited then. How eager you were to see me each day, and I too felt the same. I will always remember the way that I’d shout ‘Crooked!’ in the hall and you would automatically move to make the line straight again. When you were awarded the best class for 3 consecutive months in term 3, I recall the pride and joy each of you showed when you came up to my table and wrote your name on the certificate. I still keep them with me now, even some of the essays that you wrote.


I remember that time when we celebrated Children’s Day in the canteen. I ordered such a huge cake and so many pizzas that it seemed impossible to finish them all, but we did anyway. When I asked how to divide the cake and pizzas among all of you, and you brought in the concept of fractions, which you learnt in my class without me telling you, I was so happy. When we went to the zoo to play and learn, I’d never forget the fun that we had at the Children’s Zoo splashing water at each other and playing hide and seek.


When I came back to do my attachment for nearly 2 months in 2002 and 2003, you always welcomed me with open arms. I relish the hugs that we gave each other along the corridors even when your form teachers were present. I recall you asking me to be your teacher until Primary 6 and the words of love that you uttered.


I thought that I would never in my life experience such love again until I saw you yesterday. You took the time and trouble to come and find me, even putting up with the long queue at the gate because of the school’s security measures, just so that we could be together for that precious hour. I was overjoyed at seeing you again that I abandoned my Primary 1 class in the hall while they watched the concert, just so that we could have a little time together at my table in the staff room.


Because I’ve experienced so great a love once, after you went to Primary 4, I have never opened my heart to any other class anymore. The agony of losing you was too much to bear and it really hurt to let go. All classes after you were just, a class. They will never be like you. My heart is closed now, because I don’t want to suffer the pain again. I know that it is unfair to the children, especially my Primary 1s, but I really don’t dare to love again. I would always compare you with whatever class that I teach and think, ‘If my 3F could do it, why can’t this class?’


What people say is correct: First Loves are unforgettable.


But I was fortunate enough to be blessed with 40 first loves by the names of – Ain, Shu Yan, Durga, Hafizzah, Cheuk Ni, Anqi, Xinxin, Li Yun, Yi Xian, Munirah, Nadiah, Norliana, Amirah, Aqilah, Syahirah, Azruhil, Qian Ci, Ailin, Rashna, Joyce, Syaza, Ardy, Ren Yuan, Ming Yuan, Dell, Hezel, Ming Quan, Afiq, Aidil, Harith, Mahdi, Yusri, Wee Keong, Wei Xiang, Rahmat, Samuel, Ee Tat, Marvin, Zhi Kai and Boon Jie.


You are mine for keeps and I am yours too.”

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:25 AM ~ ~ ~
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