Problems with my wireless USB adapter and I can't access the broadband. The Linksys technical support line is from Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm. That's office hours, how am I suppose to solve the problem when I can't be at my computer? Don't think Boss will take it too well if I take leave.

Any experts on wireless broadband here? I get so frustrated when my computer conks out.

On another note, the Phuket holiday has been finalised with our air tickets, Phuket and Phi Phi hotel booked.

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:00 PM

DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!

We bought the Zuji tickets again yesterday and today Silkair is offering EVEN CHEAPER tickets?!?!?!?!?!?!

DAMMIT!

It's jinxed.

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:52 PM

Feeling very tired. Atmosphere at work is tense with waves of incidents sweeping over us, with tight deadlines coming up, boss making a big fuss about not receiving her payslip (I think she got it and lost it), Su being in her self-pitiful and down mood etc.

I was at gym just now and picked up this Nokia camera phone someone dropped. Instinctively, I passed it to my trainer in case someone comes looking for it. Now, a teeny part of me thinks maybe I should have just kept it since my bro needs a better phone. But I will feel so guilty afterwards. I think of picking up a valuable and keeping it on the quiet as equivalent to stealing. So not me.

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:44 PM

!*#@$! I am so pissed off. The travel agency where we booked the 3 days 2 nights package called back and said that the room is not available and that they will refund us our payment (which we paid in full, cash!). That totally messed up the plans because we have to arrange the Phi Phi stopover as well (thank god that's not yet paid for). So, I called another 20+ agencies to check but their packages are at least $100 more than the one we originally booked??? No way I will pay so much more for it. In the first place, I wouldn't even go if it's so expensive.

After coming home and looking through the websites, we thought booking the air tickets and hotels separately would be a better deal. Zuji is offering a $170 airfare to Phuket. Now, one problem is that our Phi Phi stopover will have to be put on the last day and we will arrive back in Phuket from Phi Phi only at about 4:30pm. Therefore, our flight back has to be in the evening. After doing a search, I saw an option with the dates we need, with flight back at 6:35pm. I double, triple, quadruple-checked all details, especially our Passport names, flight details and prices and happily submitted the reservations. Payment was made at the same time via a credit card and all this while, I was feeling relieved that things worked out.

AFTER the payment was made, the final confirmation and itinerary showed flight back 2:10pm. I nearly died of heart attack. At first, I thought maybe I was blur and didn't check the timing properly. So, I tried the whole process again, this time choosing the option for phone payment tomorrow (which will automatically be cancelled if I don't call and confirm). And the result was the same! Going to call and give the Zuji customer service a piece of my mind tomorrow.

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:56 PM

Not in much mood to blog this few days. One major reason is because my computer at work is really slow (it can take up to about 5 min for a page to load!) and I've been feeling rather tired at home to have much inspiration to write.

Secondly, I'm planning a Phuket trip with Workaholic and Sleepaholic and have been busy surfing the net for good deals. After some coordination, we finally decided on a 3 days 2 nights package to Phuket (booked today) and a 1 night stopover at Phi Phi Island. Looking forward to the sun, surf and sand. Activities will include spas, snorkeling (if nature permits), elephant rides (I heard it's smelly), perhaps white water rafting, go kart and bungee jump? Yippeeee.

Boss' reaction wasn't too good when I asked her for leave.

"We might need to make a business trip overseas around that period, but it's tentatively ok." Tentatively ok? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Does that mean she can still cancel my leave? But I need to book air tickets!

I held my breadth and venture into her room again.

"Boss, actually I need the leave to be confirmed, because I need to book accommodation and air tickets."

She very reluctantly say, "Ok, go ahead. Anyway, it's only 3 days. If need be, we can always push back the business trip for a few days." Wahhh, that makes me feel like a criminal. It's not even as if the date for the business trip is confirmed. They always delay it anyway. Does that mean I can never take leave? Well, that's over and done with.

I'm going on holiday!!!!

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:42 PM

Just had the very-postponed lunch with May and SY at Hotel Rendezvous. I left the 3-for-2 voucher in my office and had to make a detour to get it. Lunch was fine, the conversation was, as usual, circled around our jobs and gossiping about ex-colleagues.

I dropped by Sim Lim Square after that to look for a cheap image editing software. Unfortunately, they no longer sell it so, ahem, cheap. hehe.

To backtrack a bit:

Friday
On a quest to break away from our usual Friday night haunts, we had dinner at Curry Favour at Stamford House, a new restaurant selling Japanese curry. Nothing extraordinary, and it sent Alcoholic straight to the washroom for half an hour. Headed to Chijmes for drinks after. The place is frequented by more foreigners than Singaporeans.

Saturday
Attended a wedding dinner at a Chinese restaurant in IMM. Maybe I'm snobbish, but I would never hold a wedding dinner at any place other than a hotel or equivalent. If I can't afford to do that, I would rather just do without and go on a honeymoon wedding.

# posted by Shopaholic : 5:40 PM

I have to look for a Commissioner of Oaths/ Notary Public to sign as a witness on my declaration. There's a law firm in the building I work so I dropped by to check out the rates, for convenience sake. My jaws nearly dropped off my face when they quoted me $40 + GST for that measly signature! No way!

No wonder lawyers earn tons of money. haha.

# posted by Shopaholic : 12:14 AM

I just had my first PT session tonight. These trainers are really confusing me. I have posed the following question to several of them:

"Is it better to run faster for a shorter period of time, or run slower for a long period in order to burn fats?"

Most answer the latter. My trainer answered the first option.

And most trainers I talked to encouraged me to sign up saying that most women do too much cardio while they should be doing weights to build muscles which will in turn burn fats even when we are not working out.

My trainer said no, he believes in cardio.

Damn, it's confusing.

Today, we went through the measurements and theory for half an hour. After that, he put me on the cross-trainers for 15 minutes and then we went through 15 minutes of sit-ups. Hello? I don't need to pay you $1+ per minute to watch me while I do cross-training! Duhhh. Anyway, he say we will slowly move on to the weights when I asked him. I'll try him out for another session and see how it goes.

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:48 PM

Hypothetical question: Let's say you are getting married, would you invite your fiance's ex-lover/s to your wedding (assuming he wants to)?

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:03 PM

Just added a whole bunch of shopping links. Fun to browse even if you don't buy. hehe

Have recently come across several online shopping sites set up by friends of friends etc, either by their ads, word-of-mouth, or through emails. The thing is, we have been harping about doing something like this for a long time and never did got down to it whereas others did and it paid off (for some of them). We talk, they act. Guess we just aren't risk-takers.

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:39 PM

About half of tonight's American Idol has ended and nothing sounds particularly spectacular as yet. If this continues, I would say that some of last week's contestants would have won had they compete this week.

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:26 PM

I received my increment letter this morning and usual, it came with a speech, "As you are probably aware, Su has been promoted. You will get your chances too, how fast depends on how much you want it." Meaning if I want to be promoted, I better work harder. As for the increment, it's not much, but slightly more than I expected.

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:56 PM

Hahaha, from Ginvie's blog again:

I asked the Magic Magic Cactus: When will I have sex again? And the Cactus said to me; Very soon. Time is of the essence. [click here to ask the cactus a question]

# posted by Shopaholic : 6:17 PM

I just devoted an hour to pampering myself. Started off with a long shower, followed by Bodyshop African scrub and then body mud. Now my skin is feeling extremely smooth after the body moisturiser. Hair is wrapped up in hot towel to allow my hair mask to work its magic. Super tangled now that I'm growing it long. Later tonight, hydrating face mask! Haha. I'm a vain pot. What to do, no money to pay for the actual Spa treatments.

# posted by Shopaholic : 5:50 PM

Due to an intolerable sleep deficiency last night, I woke up with a pounding-splitting headache this morning and took the day off (as you may be able to tell from the number of posts today).

Su just msg me and said that the increment letter is out today. Shucks, I was so looking forward to it. I'm not expecting a promotion or a substantial increment, but there's still that teeny bit of hope in me which I want to put to rest.

# posted by Shopaholic : 2:45 PM

Last night, a jerk I hardly know said to me on the phone, "Fuck off, you bitch!" after I tried to get him to do something. Before that, I was still quite cordial and civil, even if my attitude might have come across as pushy. But NOTHING I said warrant that from him.

Initially, I was stunned into silence. But when he continued shouting along the lines of "Can't you get the message, you fucking bitch!", I couldn't take it anymore. The smart move might have been to back off and just hang up but the anger just shot into my head at that moment . We started a shouting match, with me saying something like "Why the hell are you swearing at me, you fucking bastard!". Kind of childish and funny when I think back on it. 2 grown adults fighting like this.

I'm shocked by the person's behaviour, at how ungentlemanly and rude he is. And then after that, he had the cheek to complain that I'm rude, without a word on his swearing.

The apology came through this morning via a third party.

# posted by Shopaholic : 2:37 PM

I watched Moulin Rouge on Channel 5 for the first time yesterday. Spectacular, dreamy and surreal sets, a musical-movie like none I have seen before. Nicole Kidman looks gorgeous, with her creamy-white skin and never-ending legs. Why, even me, a woman (with no lesbian tendencies I might add), would be tempted by her. Tom Cruise must have been mad to choose Penelope Cruz over Nicole. True, Penelope might be considered by some as a smouldering beauty in her own ways, but from certain angles, she can even look ugly.

The only thing I don't like is the tragic ending. Yes, I can appreciate that it adds to the "drama" of the movie, the sadness and lost love, without which it might not been as good. But I like happy fairytale endings........

# posted by Shopaholic : 1:24 PM

I just added a Tag Board which I think looks rather cute. However, being a free service, it subjects my blog to a popup advertisement which I find very annoying. I can't decide whether to keep it. What do you all think?

# posted by Shopaholic : 8:36 PM

Whoopieeeeeeeeeeee, I'm finally using broadband!!! Nothing much to some of you who has been using it forever, I know. But for me, it's liberating not to have to wait several minutes for a webpage to load. The sense of speed, efficiency, saved time......zoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:12 AM

Courtesy of Ginvie:

I am

which is equal to the worldwide average 38%

# posted by Shopaholic : 6:12 PM

I just sneaked out of the office with Su for half an hour. Her hubby’s buddy is in another country on army duties at the moment and has asked whether Su can help to order a dozen lilies for his wife on his behalf, money not being an object.

Bearing this in mind, we headed for the most expensive flower shop in Raffles Place, the one with the plush decor at Republic Plaza. Minimum price for a lily bouquet is from S$200. According to Su, this shop packages their flowers in a very classy and unique-looking manner, unlike the common looking bouquets. (Her own hubby sent her flowers from this shop before.) Unfortunately, all their lilies are sold out since morning. The ones left have yet to bloom. We had to settle for a less expensive shop in the end.

Meanwhile, the whole street is full of people delivering red roses, presumably to those people who have ordered way in advance. I have been harping about it to Su the whole day. It would be a wonderful-shocking-astonishingly-pleasant surprise if a bouquet is delivered to me. *hint hint* I adore white flowers (not pink) such as lilies tinged with pink/ purple ones.

# posted by Shopaholic : 4:32 PM

Thurs has got to be my favourite TV night now. American Idol 3 at 10pm and Bachelorette wedding at 10:30pm.

AI3
Fantasia (Is that how you spell her name?) and Diana are voted into the next round last night. I think they both sounded great, especially Fantasia. However, those SMS messages on the bottom of the screen are rather annoying. Who cares whom you want to say hello to? You are supposed to comment on the show! And I guess most people are just going along with the hype about William Hung, not because they really think he sings well (which he doesn’t, even if he is gracious).

Bachelorette wedding
I thought that Ryan’s attitude towards Trista seems rather different from the past. More impatient and a lot less lovey-dovey. What happened to his sensitive, sweet nature and love poems? Is that how all men behave once they win the woman over? Actually, that seems to be the norm, with some exceptions of course. Trista’s choice of colour has my approval, pink! Haha. The wedding shower invites with the tux and pink gown are so adorable! She can get quite annoying with all her giggling though. Ooh, and there’s gonna be an episode of him disappearing with the strippers (!!!).

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:01 AM

The fitness consultant who took me through the Funstart session called and said that the Senior Trainer (S.T.) I requested is all booked out until end of March and since I want to start immediately, he will assign me another S.T.

In that case, why didn't he say so earlier when we were discussing the plans? I paid more in order to get the S.T. that I feel comfortable with and now they inform me that he's booked out. If I refuse to change S.T. now, I will be labelled fussy. Pissed off.

# posted by Shopaholic : 3:11 PM

Some humour to pass the time....

Dear Staff

Welcome back to the office after the long year-end holiday break of 2003.

Please be advised that there are new rules and regulations implemented to raise the efficiency of our company in 2004.

ATTIRE:
It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary.

If we see you wearing Prada sneakers & carrying a Gucci bag we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise.

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 raise.

If you dress in-between, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

PERSONAL DAYS:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

LUNCH BREAK:
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim Fast and take a diet pill.

SICK DAYS:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

TOILET USE:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilets.

There is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the cubicles. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the door will open and a picture will be taken. After your second offence, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.

SURGERY:
As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.

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

Have a nice day,
THE MANAGEMENT

# posted by Shopaholic : 6:07 PM

I paused. That seems to be a very familiar face (and shiny hair). I took a closer look. Oh, it's Workaholic. But something about her seems out of place. And there's Sleepaholic and Nic-aholic beside her. They look so different, particularly their hairstyles and eye makeup. Younger.

I flipped to the front of Juice magazine to ensure that it's the latest edition I'm reading. Yes, it is. Apparently, the pictures in the Scene section isn't really taken at the scene itself. That was a photo taken of them at another party ions ago which was long published.

# posted by Shopaholic : 4:40 PM

I just renewed my gym membership during their roadshow at my company. Since I was entitled to 2 Funstart sessions and the trainer kept bugging me to attend, I went for the first session today, together with Sleepaholic.

It turns out that by limiting myself to the same few machines each time, my body has been conditioning myself against them and thus, not been effective. At least, that's what the trainer said. He made grand promises of helping me achieve my fat loss objective, giving tons of real life examples complete with pictures. In the end, I signed up for 24 Personal Trainer (PT) sessions with Sleepaholic, who signed up for 12. (Of course, she doesn't need to lose weight, just to tone up.)

Another instalment! Just after I rid myself of them 2 months ago. It's no wonder I'm always in debt. Well, he better make good his promises.

# posted by Shopaholic : 12:17 AM

I just read an article about this online bags shopping site, RougeOnline, in IS magazine. The New York New York collection is to-die-for! Check these out:

# posted by Shopaholic : 10:46 PM

The need for a new environment sets in once you have been in the same place for a certain period of time. I can never understand how some people can work in the same company for over 10 years. However, there is also a fear of the unknown when comfort sets in.

For me, I have only been at this job for about 1 1/2 years, so it's still quite "fresh".

I crave excitement in work. I don't see that materialising if I continue in this line. Many a times, I have considered a career change, but wouldn't that be a waste of my training? Besides, I have no idea what is this job that can bring me satisfaction, excitement, money, bright future and stability all in one.

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:54 AM

Most of my friends are looking to change their jobs, in fact, most people I know want to do that. Maybe I'm the odd one out, I'm actually quite ok with my job.

Pros:
1. Quite relaxed, I get to go off by about 6:30 pm most days.
2. Big office, big work space.
3. Not too much office politics (seeing that there are only 4 of us in the department).
4. I'm learning new things, even if it's in an industry I'm not terribly interested in.
5. I have a close colleague that I can get along well with. Bosses ain't that nit-picky also.
6. I can surf the internet.
7. It's a big company offering a wide range of benefits, as opposed to a local company.
8. Good location.
9. I get to go overseas occasionally.

Cons:
1. Low pay.
2. Boring work.
3. Not much chances of advancement.
4. I don't get to meet/ interact with new people.

So, on the overall, I'm quite contented where I am at the moment. At the very minimum, I will hang in there for at least another year, after which I should be able to get a promotion and a pay rise. That should put me in a better bargaining position while looking for new jobs.

# posted by Shopaholic : 4:15 PM

I just heard American Idol 3 contestant William Hung of the "She Bangs" fame on Class 95FM. Actually, he doesn't sound that bad over the radio. I guess you must watch his actions in order to get the full comedic effect , but I don't get what the fuss is all about. True, he earned my respect for his dignified response and exit but it's not big enough a deal to warrant so much attention.

I was passing Collyer Quay during lunch and glimpsed Quan Yifeng and Bryan Wong (Channel U artistes) on location filming. Maybe another season of the Cold Storage game? They had green and red sashes on respectively.

# posted by Shopaholic : 1:47 PM

Hugs, then off to serve jail time: Family members bid former TV presenter Vidya Shankar Aiyar an emotional farewell before he is led away.
Previous report: [20 Jan 2004]

# posted by Shopaholic : 11:31 PM

I sneaked out from work to buy Toto just now. The outlet I went to is Pinthely Floral Centre at Market Street Carpark. According to statistics released by Singapore Pools, this outlet is one of the top 10 outlets with Group 1 winners since 1997. I had to queue for about half an hour, during an "off-peak" time.

I bet $20.

# posted by Shopaholic : 5:31 PM

My mood is down in the pits today. I hate major conflicts but when I'm in an actual quarrel, I cannot soften my stand or let it go, all the more so if the other party is just as stubborn. I will persist until I win or when things turn pretty ugly. But afterwards, I feel upset. Life just pretty much sucks at the moment. On such a day, all I want to do is hide in my bed and not do a thing, very much like an ostrich.

# posted by Shopaholic : 9:52 AM

Saturday night

Jeff is Sleepaholic's friend, and he has a "gambling open house" every CNY. We started off with BlackJack, followed by In-between. The In-between cards seems to be really jinxed that night. What's the probability of numbers appearing outside of A and Q? 24/104 (We used 2 stack of cards), including A and Q. However, there is a just-married guy (ROM that morning) who is so suay (unlucky) as to hit nail every single time we encouraged him to go for it. In the end, the pooled money ballooned to more than $300. It was cleared only at the designated time, 1am, when all the players split it up.

Everybody left by about 2:30am. KV and I stayed back for a mahjong session with Jeff and another guest, Sandy. KV is my secondary school classmate and another of those people we would see about once a year, usually during these CNY gambling sessions. The first round of mahjong set Sandy and me back by about $100 each! We kept egging on the guys for subsequent rounds so that the 2 of us can try and recoup the losses. This went on for another 3 rounds until about 11:30am when all of us were ready to just fall flat on the table and sleep. I managed to limit my losses to $40. Phew.

# posted by Shopaholic : 1:47 PM

I just pulled off an all-night gambling session at Sleepaholic's friend, Jeff's house. It was hilarious but I need to go catch some sleep (falling asleep even on my chair) now because we still have another Lao Yu Sheng session tonight. So, more on the gambling later.

# posted by Shopaholic : 1:01 PM