jungfraujoch.jpg

postcards from switzerland

can't wait for the rest of the crew to send me photos
since i'd probably have flown to zurich twice more
before they finally email me
so i'm just going to settle for the ones i took.

spent the first night taking a quiet stroll downtown
popping into bally and not buying anything,
grocery shopping and failing to find the chocolate i've been searching for
since the last time i holidayed in zurich,
and walking to the lakeside to feed the giant swans.

streets of zurich

got up bright and early the next morning,
rented a car and went on a road trip to the mountains!
we stopped by the town of luzern for a stretch, some photo moments
and a cup of hot chocolate to ward off the chills.

autumn colors of luzern

the scenery en route to jungfraujoch was breathtaking.
we got a tad lost and ended up having a late lunch in interlaken
at the local hooters no less!
when we finally made it to grindelwald
the last train up to jungfraujoch - top of europe - had left,
so we took the next best alternative,
and went up to the second highest peak - kleine-scheidegg.

it snowed!

it was snowing dreamily when we got there
and it looked like a scene out of some wintery fairytale.
we snow-fought and built an unsuccessful snowman,
found a ready-made one and took pictures with it,
and got totally wet and cold.
after a while, it turned dark rather suddenly
and was awfully quiet coz we were the only ones there
so we finished with mucking around with the snow
and headed into the nice little cafe
for another cup of hot chocolate to warm our red-nosed selves up
and to wait for the last train to take us back down to the foot.

next time i fly to zurich,
i want to go all the way up to jungfraujoch
and hopefully, it'll be ski season then!

my birthday treat


"you pick. surprise me," i said.
now i can't get over
how he managed to choose the one restaurant
that i had in mind.

hanging out @ mt emily

taitais hang out

hanging out @ mt emily

i love trying out new food places with my girls.

home sweet home

switzerland's wonderful and my road trip was a great success.
a beautiful drive to jungfraujoch,
soft snowflakes falling from the sky,
snow fights, snowmen and hot chocolates.
i'll post photos once i've got more from the others.
(same goes for XLB photos from shanghai - hinthint YIQIAN!!!!!!) haha

it's good to be back though.
went for a much-needed facial after i touched down,
followed by lunch with mum,
a short rest then dinner with him,
and a long after-meal walk by the beach
filled with some serious talking, crazy laughter,
plane-watching, stone-stepping and childish mucking around.

armin on saturday - woohoo!

today's the last day to vote for ME
at www.vibrantshots.com!
please please go drop in your name, NRIC and contact numbers
and stand a chance to win a SONY T10 camera
and let me not end up as the winner from the bottom up! =P

greetings from zurich!

spent the afternoon at suntec just before i flew here
and checked out the singapore motor show.
the cars weren't terribly exciting
(except for a couple of ferraris that never fail to impress)
but we got tickets for the very last subaru stunt performance show
without even having to queue
coz we met a friend of his who works there *wicked laughter*

russ swift gave such a performance!
spinning donuts, doing two wheelies,
and parallel parking without going into reverse
into a space so tight
i'd crash and burn if i ever tried to do it.
(i've got video clips of them but i don't know how to upload them here)

he rushed me home after that,
and 2 hours of frantic packing and dressing up ensued,
followed by a 12 and a half hour flight
and here i am in cold cold zurich.
it looks completely different from when i was here on holiday 6 years ago,
so it's interesting exploring the downtown area earlier
and feeding some giant swans in the lake.

i'm gona go on a road trip to the mountains tomorrow! wheeeeeeeee!

i don't need this pain

no one knows
what's going on in there.

why can't you just tell me?


wrong time
wrong me
all the time

first foot experience

your sole is one of the most annoying places
where a mozzie can bite you

*scratch*
argh

happy birthday to me!

i am officially in my mid-20s!

i am old.
*peers at my wrinkles with bleary eyes*
but i didn't let age get in the way of celebrating!

it all started with sharon and cherie's swensen's surprise
right on the dot at 0000hrs of 9 november 2006.
our casual (or so i thought) meet-up was made all the more special
when they got the staff to send us a cake,
and sang me a hushed and unembarrassing birthday tune.
it also evolved into a 7-hour chit-chat/share sorrows-&-stupid-people-stories session

got home at 6am only to have to wake up
for an appointment at 2pm =/
i lounged around in paragon alone after that,
sipping a cup of hot choc while waiting for the rain to stop.
he wanted to come get me after work,
but the downpour ceased even before he got out of the office,
so i made my way home myself.

dinner with the family was supposed to be at
a peranakan place along upper bukit timah road,
but it turned out to be closed for the night,
so we went to owen seafood restaurant at turf city
for a yummy seafood spread instead.

dinner ended late,
and by the time we collected the cake (from island creamery)
and i swung by loon's place to get my new camera,
and we cut the cake,
it almost wasn't my birthday anymore.

happy birthday to me!

the next afternoon, i met up with feng and qian
for taitai high tea at marmalade pantry.
we missed the lunch time by a few minutes
and had to settle for tarts and cupcakes
but at least those were yummy too (although the cupcakes're damn sweet).

met him for dinner after a long day shopping
and got my birthday gift that he bought when he's in LA last week.
happy times, and a very sweet night,
but i guess i just had to push it and spoil it towards the end.

butter factory-ed after that with the girls (and some boys)
and drank and danced to my complicated life (right...).
ah, what the hell.
at least mee pok and my girlfriends love me and are decisive.

i self-planned a dinner the next evening
and took edmund's suggestion of trying out le papillon
at red dot traffic building.

we butterflew

i like the wall we sat next to.
tried the "disgusting menu"
otherwise known as the menu dégustation
and the tiny portions added up to fill my tummy.
the cod, beef, and pork that the other tried were also scrumptious,
and so was the exciting 3-storey cake that the staff sent
with a leaning tower of a candle,
compliments for my birthday. =)

checked out st james powerstation after,
and spent the night hopping from movida to bellini room,
sneaking into the chantel room at mono,
listening to a fei xiang lookalike belt out a cheena song at dragonfly,
then back to enjoy the sounds of the lovely live band
in the gorgeous setting of the bellini room.

st james dong li huo che.

i want a wall in my future room to be wallpapered/painted
in a similar manner!!!

anyway, that's that for now,
i'm supposed to have 2 more dinner treats (haha)
but let's see if that ever comes through.
i embark on my 24th year with mixed feelings,
but well, things will get better *fingers crossed*

thank you

to all who smsed, friendstered,
msnd, chatterboxed,
and celebrated with me in person.

it will never cease to amaze and floor me,
how global we've become.
jetsetters sending in birthday wishes
from all corners of the world.

cheers to my beginning as a mid-20s-er!

the partying continues...
(so photos will only come later) =P

a roaring musical & meals fit for a king

lovely london

caught a musical this last trip to the UK
and the lion king proved to be a magical show.
breathtaking sets, amazing imitations of animals, and a live orchestra -
you have to watch it to fully comprehend the sheer beauty of it.

dinner was at papageno -
a gorgeous restaurant near the theatre.
we went a tad crazy taking photos of the magnificent interior
and the colorful blooms that lined the eatery's exterior.

a roaring musical & meals fit for a king

rounded up the night with a walk in the covent garden vicinity,
watching a busker on a monocycle (or whatever it's called),
and seeing the crowd mysteriously disappear when he started asking for cash.

was treated to a 10-course dinner the next day
after long hours on my feet walking down sloane, oxford, brompton,
before heading to bayswater's gold mine
which has, as i said in my last post about london,
the best roast duck and crispy pork and comfort soup in the world.

my last day was spent doing more shopping along oxford street,
and getting into the christmas-y mood.

zurich's coming up, then paris next month.
my bank account's looking rather worried. heh

ahhh...my pictures may be crap but...
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!!
(click above)

i don't need to win this round,
but it'd be nice to get more votes haha
and you might win a camera!

so please, from 10nov to 24nov,
gime gime gime your votes
(you can vote once everyday!)
while i struggle to take a photo a day
and scour for internet wherever i go!

wayang
the art of faking it

and a skill i have yet to master
(perhaps i never will).

four months and counting,
and i've come to realize that
my survival may come to depend on
my ability to wayang.

how fake can one get?
to have to report on every single thing you do,
just so you get marks for doing your job;
to have to subtly mention that so and so just visted his grandchildren in london,
just so you get marks for your PR skills;
to have to say that you walked the entire length of the plane,
just so you get marks for being helpful and cooperative.

the shallowness of it all is getting to me.

someone told me recently:
"in this line, 'please', 'thank you' and 'sorry'
are of no value".
they're terms thrown about freely,
just to save your own ass, and make other asses feel better.
another commented when they saw me give a passenger
some peanuts along with his drink (without him asking for them):
"wah, you must tell the complex leader,
if not no use going the extra mile!"

it is no longer enough that the passengers are happy,
coz what's the point of doing something
and not getting credit for it, right?

what fucking bullshit.

at the same time, it sucks that i'm doing all these
and not getting any recognition for it.
no, wait, that sounds wrong.
i don't need to be praised, i don't need no compliment.
i just want to be treated decently,
and be seen as someone who is doing her job well.

don't you have eyes to see what i do?
granted maybe not all, but at least some?
isn't that part of "situational awareness"?

the fake smiles, the inane conversations,
the vapid gazes, the robotic replies.
the worst are those who think they can be rude and curt
just coz i'm most junior.
hello? i'm human too.
and there are nicer ways to correct me
when you think i'm doing something wrong.

i wish they'd all go away.

of course, i've met many more who are genuinely nice,
the sweet ones who go out of their way
to help me when i'm slow.
the kindly ones who take me under their wings
and show me the tricks of the trade.
the lovely ones who guide me along and comfort me
after i've made a booboo.

and i'm thankful to each and every one of them,
for without them, it'll be sheer hell.

a few rotten apples can really spoil my mood though
and give me a disgustingly horrid check report.

it's tragic that my livelihood depends on them.