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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

back
been missing in action for the longest time. many many zillion things happened through the course of 3 months. i have been rather busy catching up with cherish-able things in life which i thought i should spend time on. the word that sums it all, relationships.

in times of separation, i always find relationships fragile. it is difficult to comprehend how a pair of good friends could suddenly disregard each other, or a family member disowning their own loved ones. yet, i choose to believe that with time spent talking to each other and understanding each other's needs, much separation could be avoided.

you may probably think i'm too sticky about spending time with loved ones. i could only say, you'd have to lose it to know how precious it is. i have learnt my lesson hard. i won't want to regret any single thing which i never did but have always wanted to do.

~gracie left a note at 5:13 pm

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

has time flown?
if you were to ask me, i'd say i don't think so. it has always been crawling on me!

5..4..3..2..1..and finally! the day has FINALLY come. sometimes it's easier not to look at the calendar and then realised that time flew. and that's exactly how i feel now that the day has finally arrived.

no farewells has been ever so exciting as this.

~gracie left a note at 9:51 pm

Sunday, May 11, 2008

arab street rediscovered
3 years ago, a friend asked me: where would you bring your friends if they were visiting singapore for the first time? and my friend brought me to arab street. since then, i fell in love with this exotic place of inherent beauty and rich culture. i cannot explain the simple joy of admiring the place for itself and be intrigued by the little things along the streets.

perhaps i've always been a mountain turtle... ask me about shopping malls and sentosa and famous beaches in singapore, i will be able to tell you much more. when it comes to going around places to look at stuff, i think i'm still totally green. and when i say stuff, i mean the buildings, the business activity, the aroma in the air, the aesthetic window displays and the narrow streets...

i spent the weekend walking down haji lane with syl and joel again... looking at interesting accessories, cheap clothes shops, boutiques, fabric shops, sheesha outlets, arabic food restaurants and i'd say, it was another eye opening trip!

~gracie left a note at 8:29 pm

Thursday, May 08, 2008

counting down to liberation day
mixed feelings i'd say. well, in life you don't usually have the luxury of having the best of all worlds. you gain some and you lose some. is there an ideal job somewhere? sadly, no. how nice it would be to be selective in doing the things we like to do? hmm.

much recently, or rather this week, i've been living and breathing fusionopolis. so much has been absorbed, talked about, discussed in meetings and so on. and it's scary to meet my HQ colleagues for most hours of the day, so much so that the office has become our home. perhaps there's really nothing wrong with being enthusiastic and eager about work. yet, i still think there should be a balance somewhere.

i've been down with work and right till last week, i've been slogging. i'm still slogging... but have been trying to do less of it and more of resting. i figured that i should terminate my efforts a bit, and try to give myself a stopping point somewhere along the way. i'm taking tomorrow off to do what i need to do and care less of work. with the pressing datelines, it is sometimes challenging to just set work aside.

anyway, weekend is near. work should stop.

~gracie left a note at 9:58 pm

Sunday, May 04, 2008

rest
i think i finally caught the rest that i badly needed for the past few weeks. this is ever the first weekend i stayed home the whole time. i'm like sleeping my life away... but i realised its importance. i've been too overstretched. and my body has surrendered to the ordeals. i was bleeding profusely over the weekend. i would be going down to the hospital for thorough checkup in the next couple of days, when i'm fully rested.

~gracie left a note at 2:21 pm

Thursday, May 01, 2008

missing in action
i've been overwhelmingly busy for the month of april. many many big things happened. reshuffling. tension. datelines. debates at work. and for the first time in my life, i was truly busy closing FY07. and as you can see, that leaves very little time to eat, rest, recharge and blog.

just came back from a short trip from bangkok though. when you think of bangkok, first thing that comes to mind? SHOPPING. i wouldn't say i'm a shoppaholic, and i ain't someone crazy over pedicure/medicure...nor am i someone who's longing for the thai massage. i must say my trip agenda is mainly to take a break. i know i'd scream freaking tired if you want me to walk round Chatuchak for 8hours! i'd just die. yar, of course, shan and i went to Siam Square, Siam Discovery, MBK and the famous Platinium Mall. but i didn't expect myself being down at the Safari Zoo at 10.30am on our first day. i have always thought that our Singapore Zoo is the best. yet, i'm pleasantly surprised by the interesting jungle tours as well as the opportunities forcloseup interaction with animals. for me, nothing beats the joy of being close to Nature. it's way different from watching National Geographic on tv or documentaries. it is being right next to them and appreciating the mysteries of God's creation. and something i cherish most from this trip: have never seen a Walrus in my lifetime until the Safari Zoo.

and well, been watching Channel U's -Find Me A Singaporean 2, hosted by Belinda Lee. this 360Productions received overwhelming response in the first series. building on its sucessful first season, the second season continues its search for fellow Singaporeans residing in remote and unheard corners of the world. the recent episode of the Chengdu(China) trip revealed the cruelties of bear torture as well as the illegal sale of bear paw powder. last night's episode featured this singaporean who married a doctor in Botswana (Africa) and how she changed her mindsets of life after stepping into a poverty-stricken place. honestly touched by the various lives other singaporeans are living in other parts of the world. truly impressed and will continue to give support to viewership to this programme!!

~gracie left a note at 9:40 pm

Monday, March 31, 2008

girly fascination
thanks to sher, i've become hooked on kate spade. a new york brand, they have two big stores in raffles city and takashimaya. personally i think their bags and accessories are more stylish and high classy than what most women are carrying nowadays. i'd say, LV, Coach or even Guess are way too common now. like all these famous brands, every nice thing on earth comes with a price tag. i was shocked at how much the smallest thing in the shop cost! and it's always been my dream to own some things from this shop :) some day...

~gracie left a note at 4:47 pm

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Show Your Professionalism
i had a chance to meet vendors this week. and everytime i meet new people, im excited. my previous employment has taught me well; always prepare your name card, your pen and notepad. and so i did! got ready all the necessary documents and off i went.

one thing about this meeting was, i went to the meeting together with my Strategic Marketing Director. and man, when you see how these people interact in the business setting, you drop your jaw in awe. or maybe i'm really green in doing all that kinda business-pitch stuff. here's what i mean...

i was seated in the meeting room already with the vendor, all poised and ready to meet my Director. Director came into the room, shook the vendor's hand, exchanged name cards and started the conversation going. i sat there feeling superbly ashamed of myself, especially when vendor pulled out her LV name card holder asking for my name card. she sat down with grace, and pulled out her pretty LV organiser and wrote some notes using a DKNY pen. when my Director asked for paper to draw, i passed him some recycled paper and my red-leaf black pen. he turned down my offer, and pulled out his Mont Blanc fountain pen from his jacket. how cool was that?

that 30-mins session taught me the basic rules of any business meeting. yes, materialism aside, carrying a nice pen, presentable organiser and business cards is a showcase of sincerity and forms the basis of professional business language.

~gracie left a note at 1:01 pm

Monday, March 24, 2008

i'm taking you with me
i need you to be with me, as i live. there's just too much of stress out here and i wish you could be around to be my shelter. the only thing i do everyday is to watch the time tick past and wait longingly for your return. soon baby, soon... and yes, im always dreaming of that special day when i will see you again.

there is this kind of emotional burden you feel when you're apart from each other. you learn to trust more, miss more and think less of yourself. you can't afford to take each other for granted, but more so, be contented with all the little you have. time isn't on your hands. somehow the international calls and emails cannot seem to make the joy complete. any amount of goodies, chocs, icecream or shopping cannot fill that empty slot reserved for someone special. something's missing. and that's the big You.

and so, i'm taking you with me.
sweet memories. photographs. places. songs.
and to cherish and hold on.

~gracie left a note at 10:23 pm

Friday, March 14, 2008

im sick.
terribly sick... squirmed at the corner of the sofa with 3 layers of wools + blanket and wished the fever, the headache, the cramps, the ulcers, the flu, the cough, the sorethroat would disappear. it was at times like these that you wished you had the super mighty powers to endure pain. and yeah, as a result, the doc gave me 2 days mc to rest like a big baby.

my colleagues were telling me how my predecessor used to fall sick very often, because my work desk which i am now seated at has bad fengshui. i don't really believe in those kinda things, but now as i observe, i'd choose to believe that it has to do with the fact that i'm seated under the blasting aircon. it's forever fixed at 21 degrees no matter rain or shine. and with much recent thunderstorm and rain, the blasting aircon made it extremely unbearable for me. well, perhaps my body just can't take the wind and cold.

time for medicine.... zzz time again....

~gracie left a note at 8:25 pm