. . Motorcycle Diary Part II . .

Bright and sunny Sunday. Great day to go riding. Hah. As the day before, I decided to go for a running-in session today. Spent the early afternoon lazying around and watching tv. Caught the show; Roll-Bounce staring Bow Wow and Nick Cannon. Quite a funny family-oriented show. Oh, and I got a belated birthday present from my elder bro and his wife. They got me a Rip Curl T-shirt that has a classic Japanese style drawings of a samurai on the front. Cool.

Left home around 2.00 pm. The digital fuel gauge on my bike displays that it left 3-bars out of 6-bars of fuel left. Hm, I think still can make it 1 round. First stop I made was at Jurong West where there's this bike shop that sells helmets and motorcycle accessories. I was about to reach the place when it started to rain. "Great!" I thought. Just like yesterday. I parked my bike illegally on a sheltered walkway and went to check out the shop. Haiz. It was closed. Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays. I waited til the rain lighten before I continue my journey.

For today, the plan was to travel in the opposite direction of the route that I took yesterday. Means by taking the route in a clock-wise direction around Singapore. I stopped at a petrol kiosk at Jurong East to get a StreetDirectory. Just in case I got lost. My previous directory is 10-years-old already. I've already planned the night before, checking online the route to take at the early stage of this journey. From Boon Lay Way (Jurong East), I headed up north to Bukit Batok Road. Bukit Batok Road then connected to Choa Chu Kang Road. From there, I turned to Woodlands Road which brings me further northwards. This stretch of road is quite long and it travels north-eastwards. When I reached Woodlands Ave 3, it started to pour again. Arrgh!! This time the rain was quite heavy. The rain forced me to find shelter under a flat void-deck which was situated near Marsiling Mrt. I was a 'lil bit soaked but not enough to piss me off. While waiting for the rain to stop, I took the time to study the directory again and plan my journey.

I realised that my journey would pass San's place. I sms-ed her to see if she's home 'cause I wanted to collect some photos that we took at Makcikz wedding, but she was out. Looks like I'm not going to get those photos. I continued my journey when the rain stops, towards Woodlands Mrt Station. The road that I took is adjacent to the Mrt track all the way to Lentor Ave, after which I took a turn into Yio Chu Kang Road. Another long stretch of road. Got into Hougang Avenue 2 near the end of the stretch and into Tampines Road after that. Exited Tampines Road into Tampines Ave 10, which connects to Pasir Ris Drive 12 and Pasir Ris Drive 3. I detoured into Elias Road 'cause I wanted to stop at the Pasir Ris Park, where I had a toilet break and got myself a drink. The seaview there was beautiful and the sea breeze was wonderful. Time-check : 4.50 pm.

5.00 pm and I continued my journey. Went back to Pasir Ris Drive 3 then turned into Loyang Ave. Yeah, I was here yesterday but today I decided to take the road round the airport. Reached Changi Village when I realised that the fuel gauge was displaying 1-bar! S#$t! I prayed hopefully that I might be able to make it back to Jurong before the petrol goes into reserves. From Loyang Ave the road connects to Telok Paku Road then into Nicoll Drive then connect to Changi Coast Road. So funny the roads here. Wondered why did they come up with so many different names to 1 stretch of road. But then Changi Coast Road is really a long stretch. It literally covers the distance of one end of the airport to the other end. It's feels like more than 5 minutes ride of straight road. I think. Well, unless I go faster then I'll say 3 minutes. Anyway... From there I turned into Xilin Ave and then turned into New Upper Changi Road. From there on, for the journey home, I used the same route as yesterday east-wards but now in the west-ward direction of course.

I managed to reached back to the same petrol kiosk at Jurong East on that 1-bar of fuelage in the tank. Hah. That's how big my bike tank is. 1-bar of fuelage can still cover the distance of more than from 1 end of Singapore to the other. Reached home around 7.00 pm and distance covered today was around 118km. *Phew* Bit more than yesterday and total mileage altogether is around 456 km. As usual, my butt sores and my right shoulder muscle aches. Was having my dinner n front of the tv when EC sms-ed me to asking me to catch Cloverfield. Was a bit tired but I figured I just go and catch it.

Will talk 'bout Cloverfield when I recover from this slight nausea I got from watching the movie.

. . Motorcycle Diary Part I . .

It's Saturday! Had been pondering whether I should go back to office today to get some work done 'cause Mei had already said that there be lots of fresh renders coming in on Monday. But I decided against it. It's a beautiful day and I think it's best that I get some more mileage on my new sayang.

Left home around 2.00 pm plus. * I spent the early afternoon lazing around after waking up quite late!* Head out to Welson Motorshop near Lakeside for a quick while. Bought those coupon disk holder to put my road tax in. Slowly, the sky darkens and suddenly it starts to drizzle. Haiz. "God, are you serious?" I thought. I didn't really think nor care much of it as it was really a slight drizzle and had prayed that it didn't get any heavier. But it soon did. I took the scenic route and managed to reached Dover when it really pours. For the scenic route, these roads are near housing estates. Which is good 'cause when it pours, I just need to get to the nearest covered carpark and wait out for the rain to stop.

Rain stops around 3.45 pm and I continued my journey. The plan was to make a circular route from the west to the east then north and then back home. Kind of literally going around Singapore in an anti-clockwise manner. Made another short stop at the motocycle shop at Alexandra to get back my I/C. After which I make my way to Chinatown, the same route I took to work.

My journey from there on took me through Esplanade Drive, Nicoll Highway, which I made a wrong turn and U-turn back to Beach Road. Continued my way eastward through Kalland Road then Sims Avenue, which was quite a jam. The road then converged to New Upper Changi Road where Bedok Central is situated. I made a stop at a nearby carpark and decided to sms my NS buddy, Fiq, to see if he's home. It's not everyday that I passed this area so might as well pay him a visit.

Met up at his place at Chai Chee Street and had a short catching-up session. The bugger had just woke up when I sms-ed him earlier. Hah. Bid him goodbye at 5.00 pm and continued my way up New Upper Changi Road til I entered Tampines Expressway (TPE), and exit shortly afterwards to enter Loyang Avenue. Yup, I wanted to go to the Changi Village. Loyang Ave was quite a stretch. When I reach Changi Village, I didn't really made a stop. Just detoured into the carpark before I head out to the seaside area. I parked my bike for a while to admire the seaside and enjoy the sea breeze. Was quite refreshing. Didn't stop for long and then headed back towards TPE.

From there I took the TPE towards Seletar Expressway (SLE). This was my journey back by going up north. I didn't really want to go through the expressway but I didn't know of any major road that leads from Tampines to Ponggol to Woodlands. And I also quite tired already. I'll check up the route next time. From SLE I then connect to Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) then connect to Kranji Expressway (KJE) all the while trying hard not to go over 80 km/h. It's really hard not to go full throttle. But it's ok. After I finish running-in this bike, I'm gonna test how fast I can really go. Hehe.

From KJE, lead back to my home estate. Reached home by 6.45 pm. By that time my butt was already sore and my right shoulder muscle was hurting. All in all, I'd covered around 108km. Hah. That's alot of serious mileage but still got a long way to go before I service it for an oil change.

Hmm, where shall I go tomorrow?

. . Routine . .

Had a hard time waking up today. Felt really tired. I kept telling myself not to sleep so late. But couldn't help it. Maybe I shouldn't blog daily. So that I can catch up on my sleep time. But then again, most of the time also, I finished work so late. I could just go home straight after work and not do anything. Been there before and it was such a bore. Have been trying to do stuffs after work so that my life is not so boring.

Nothing much to talk about today. I actually finished what I had to do today by 4 pm. Hah. Didn't really know what to do after that. Just waited for new renders I guess. Don't know what I'll do tomorrow. Kept thinking of where I want to go riding to this weekend. I planned to ride around Singapore during the weekend for the running-in purpose. Visit Fiq at Bedok? Or Mok at Woodlands? Or both?! Hmm.

Went to the gym after work. Quite a crowd but managed to get a treadmill. Did my usual routine and left the gym before 10 pm. Earlier than usual, I know, but my butt is itchy. Keep wanting to sit on my new sayang and feel the power in between my legs. *Hah. That actually sounds quite explicit!*

Seriously, this bike is really a joy to ride. :)

. . Smile . .

Woke up with a smile on my face today. What a lovely day! So bright and sunny. What a perfect day to go riding. But. Got to go to work today. Haiz.

Left home earlier then I usually would 'cause I planned to take the scenic route to work til' I finish running-in my bike. I call it the scenic route 'cause I'm not taking the expressway. I'm taking the normal road linking from Jurong all the way to Chinatown. Yup. Traveling pass Jurong East, Clementi, Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth, Queensway, Redhill, Tiong Bahru, Outram then into North Bridge road which is Chinatown. Travel time took around 30 mins. Well, I had to travel slow. Will take down the time again once I finish the running-in. Total distance covered is around 21km. *Good to have a digital tripmeter* Reached work around 9.45 am. Will try to reach work earlier tomorrow. But of course after passing the North Bridge ERP gantry after 9.30 am.

Not much work today. Still having a light workload this week. But already have a few deadlines by end of this week. The usual last minute give-today-to-submit-tomorrow kind of deadlines. If it's a few amendments or those fresh render but 1st draft submission is considered ok. I can definitely rush through those. But if giving me major amendments and just a few hours timeline is pushing it.

Shironu emailed the staffs today stating that The Company movie outing this week is cancelled due to poor response. Well no harm done. Me and Frecky decided to go by ourselves. She called in San to join us. It's going to be last screening tomorrow night and we dont' want to miss it.

Left the office around 8.00 pm 'cause Season 2 of the Heroes series debuted on Star Channel at 9.00 pm tonight and I don't want to miss it. Took the scenic route home, with a smile on my face.

. . Change . .

Woke up feeling like a zombie today 'cause I had a couple of hours sleep only the night before. Couldn't sleep til 5 am. *Note to self*. No more afternoon naps!! Got out of bed around 9 am and caught The Amazing Race Season Finale. Was ok. Didn't really thought the team that started last in the final race to the finish line, could eventually won it.

Today's the day I've been waiting for since 3 weeks ago! Was on leave today and was waiting/watching tv til afternoon, after which I was instructed to give the shop a call to confirm whether my personal birthday present could be collected today. I called. And YES!!! They told me to collect it after 3 pm. Woohoo.. Well, if you have been guessing what the personal birthday present is, then here it is.

Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! It's a Red Honda CB400 Super Four!!

Called my friend , Mran, as he has agreed to be my guarantor on this motor purchase. Initially, he told me he couldn't make it today. Which made me pissed off for a 'lil while. But somehow, his job was cancelled and he agreed to fetch me to the motor workshop. My previous bike, my sayang Kawasaki KRR 150, was traded in last Friday for this. "Goodbye sayang, I'll miss you" Hah. Friends had been asking me who is this "sayang" which I had posted on my msn message. Who am I missing? They asked. I'm a single guy who loves to rides bikes. Who else is my "sayang"? Duh. But seriously, it was heartwrenching to bid farewell to something that had been close to my heart for the last 6 years. That's the reason why I was so glum the few days before today.

BUT!! I have a new sayang today!!! *Imagine me dancing like a happy nerd here* Collected it by 4.30 pm and started running-in the motor. Running-in is important for new motorcycles that just left the workshop. *Not so sure about 4 wheel vehicles thou* It would greatly prolong the engine life if proper running-in is done in the early stage. Running-in also means I will be traveling at a certain slow speed limit so as not to exert the engine this early. Simply put, running-in is to travel slow for a long long distant (* in 3 stages of 1000 km each and service it for an oil change at every stage.* )

Finally, my dream has come true. Well, 1 of my dreams anyway.

Here is a tribute to my previous sayang. I'll miss you sayang.

*You can stop imagining me dancing like a happy nerd already*

. . Settler's Cafe . .

Happy Birthday to me. Another year wiser. Hah. Gosh, yeah, just sunk on me how "young" I am. Well, I believe I am still young. Age is really just a number. And since I look younger for someone my age, then, I am still young. Although sometimes I wish I could run as fast and jump as high, as I was 10 years ago. Got a simple birthday message from my colleague Ah-Hoon in the morning. Thanks Ah-Hoon!!

Gekky messaged me in the morning stating that the lunch was going to be delayed for a while and meet up straight at Settler's Cafe instead at Dhoby Ghaut.. Which was great 'cause it's a Sunday and I myself was just sluggering around at home. Finally, planned to meet up around 1.30 pm. Took the mrt again. Gosh. These few days travelling without my motorcycle is such a bummer. Travelling by public transport once in a while is alright I guess, but I've been going out last 2 days straight on the mrt/bus and it's making me missed my motorcycle more. Reached there around 2.00 pm. I know I got there late but I was the first to arrived.

Gekky came soon and we settled in. We got the couch seats nearest to the entrance. Well, not that bad seats but could be better. We ordered our lunch and played a game of Lost Cities.* If I remembered the game name correctly* A perfect game for 2, while we were waiting for our lunch. My best bud, EC, came soon after while we were in the midst of our game. Well, that's all of us. Jules couldn't drop by 'cause she is having some renovations at home and Wai-see is sick. She wanted to come by later, but I told Gekky to message her to rest at home instead. After lunch, I had a smoke and then went for a toilet break.

Surprise!! When I return, a small birthday cake for me!! Hah. Gekky had bought a small cheesecake topped with brownies cubes for me! What a pleasant surprise, really. Sang the last verse of the birthday song, made 3 wishes, blew out the candle and cut the cake in 3 equal pieces. Haha. The cake was quite a sinful delight but was very nice! She also got me an Adidas striped polo-shirt! Thanks Gekky!! Appreciate all her efforts organising this small birthday celebration! Played a few more round of Blink! game. A simple no-brainer card game and also Jumping Monkeys *If I remember the game name correctly* Another no-brainer game. Left the place around 4.30 pm and I went straight home. Took the mrt, of course.

Another great day today. Thanks again to all my friends who remembered my birthday. Tomorrow will be another great day if my personal birthday present comes on time and not delayed. I've already took a day leave to collect it. I'll be pissed-off if it is delayed.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

. . Polo Explorer . .

Had a very good night sleep the night before. Wanted to sleep through 'til 10 am but woke up at 9 am instead. It's kind of a rest day for me today. Been very tired these few days. Caught the movie Children Of Men on HBO and boy, was it a good show. Although the storyline wasn't that strong but I like the ways the director execute some of the shots in the film. There were a few long-uncut-shots in the film and I was amazed at how precise the planning and the timing of these shots. Definitely a must see.

Took the rest of the Saturday afternoon lying around and playing games on my Xbox360. Wasn't feeling quite well. Think I've caught the flu bug. By 5.00 pm, I was getting ready to go out for the family dinner at Seoul Garden at Marina. Took the mrt with my mom and sis and reached the place around 7.00 pm. The place was crowded. Good thing I had placed a reservation. But I think the management planning wasn't good at all. I've already placed a reservation for 11 pax today so I expected them to sit us at 3 adjoining tables. But, they didn't really reserved the tables and try to squeeze the 11 of us to 2 tables. "What the ..??", I kept thinking. I was quite pissed. It's not that I placed a reservation just yesterday. Why did they insisted on giving us just 2 tables? "Can ah? Can?" the manager kept saying. Haiz. It's not as if we have a choice, do we?. Well, since my family and relatives didn't mind the squeeze, I didn't blow up on the matter. Definitely not going back to the place if there's a big group. Small group still can.

Got another 2 more presents today. Hehe. My aunt and uncle got me a Ralph Lauren Polo Explorer eau de toilette natural spray. Great! I was going to get this spray a few weeks ago but decided against it. Instead, I got the Hugo X Y. Now I got it as a gift! It's like they knew what I was thinking of getting. Hah. My cousin and his girlfriend got me a simple Nike T-shirt. Thanks for all these great gifts!!

After dinner, all of us went window shopping. My condition worsen and I kept sneezing and sneezing and sneezing. That's it. Definitely flu. Think I need more sleep. Drink more fluids.

Hopefully I get better tomorrow. Popped 2 panadol pills already. Gekky had already organised a meet-up on Sunday; lunch at Dhoby Ghaut then gaming at Settler's Cafe. Hah. Still remember how I easily conquered the monopoly board the last time we were there. They even resorted to ganging up on me but by then, I was unbeatable. *Insert Dr Evil's laugh here*

Ahhhh-choooo!!! Still feeling a bit glum.

. . Burberry Touch . .

Was feeling a 'lil bit emotional this Friday morning, feeling sad. Anyway, somewhat got thru it and headed for work as usual. Cleared out my stuffs for the day, replying all the emails that needed attention 'cause I'll be on leave til' Monday; the confirmation list for The Company's Chinese New Year's Dinner, gym survey, the monthly Photoshop Artwork submission among others. Managed to finish all that I needed to do before I head for Friday's Prayer.

Run my errand after lunch. Well, the errand was to send my motorcycle to the motor workshop at Alexandra. It's quite near my workplace, took less than 15 mins to reach there. After that, I had to take the bus back to office. Why go back to the office? Well, I had to leave the motorcycle at the workshop, so that means I had to carry my helmet around when taking the public transport. I went back to office to leave the helmet there. I was meeting up with Trixx and I didn't want to carry it around.

I meet up with Trixx at Carrefour at Suntec. She had messaged me earlier asking me if I was going to be around City Hall area in the afternoon 'cause she had a gift to pass to me. "Ooh, a birthday gift?" I thought. Well, I was going to meet up with San and Frecky for dinner around there anyway, so I agree to meet up with her first. And Oh, Trixx got me a mini Burberry Touch fragrance for men for a birthday present. VERY nice!! Smells great!! Thanks Trixx!! We went toy shopping for a 'lil while when San called.

I invited Trixx along for the dinner and meet up with San at Cafe Cartel at Raffles. Frecky came soon after and we had a good time chatting and enjoying our dinner. Yeah, I was the only guy in the group but so what? I love the company. And all these ladies are my good friends. Me and Trixx were poly-classmates back in 1998. *Gosh, that was 10 years ago?!* Me and San were close when she was working in The Company. And now I'm close to Frecky. Me and Trixx head home after dinner while San and Frecky head to East Coast for a night blading session.

Was feeling very glum on the way back home. Pumped up the volume on my mp3 player trying to drown away the gloom.

. . Red Delicious . .

If you guessed that today is another normal, boring day. Then you're right. The stupid project kept coming back. I was quite pissed when the they called telling me the comments, and I kind-off brushed them off rudely. I know it's not nice. And truthfully, was a bit regretful. Got to keep my cool.

Didn't really have much to do today 'cause I've already passed to the team all the work that needed to be done by this Friday. Even the ones they're doing, they're still awaiting for new renders. So quite a relaxed day. Left the office by 8.00 pm after I've made a phone reservation to Marina branch Seoul Garden for this Saturday.

Going to have a dinner gathering with my family and relatives this Saturday. A 'lil food celebration for my coming-soon birthday. We usually have a small dinner gathering when it's one of ours' birthday. Last month was my 'lil sis birthday and she treated us to a Japanese buffet dinner at West Coast. Oh ya, today she bought me a DKNY Red Delicious fragrance for men. Woohoo. Just liked I asked her to. Haha. I've always been using Hugo Boss, *current favourite is Hugo XY*, so this DKNY fragrance is a fresh change.

After work, I headed to the gym. Managed to forced myself to complete 8 km in the 1-hr run. Did the usual machine-training and stretches. Was feeling very, very tired. I think I'm going to have a few good rest days this weekend before I head to the gym again.

Going to run an errand on Friday afternoon. 3 more days.

. . Unwell . .

Frecky messaged me this morning stating that she'll be coming into the office in the afternoon. Finally, she's going to see the doctor. I reached the office a lil' bit late today. Wasn't feeling quite well. Also, I didn't have a good night sleep yesterday. I was tossing and turning for a long time. Last I checked the alarm clock, it was around 2.45 am. Woke up damn tired.

Today had to rush some deadlines and amended more others. Even the one that I did yesterday came back. Well, I'm used to all this. Just taking it one at a time. Received a few new renders today that needs to be 1st drafted by Friday. I gave them all out to the rest of the team 'cause I'll be on half-day afternoon leave this Friday. Got to run some errands, after Friday Prayers, at Alexandra. Anyway, other than that, today is a normal day. *edited*.

*edited*.

Well, right now, it's already Thursday morning and officially 4 more days to collecting my birthday present that I've bought for myself. Yeah, single guy like me have to buy birthday presents for ourselves. I'm quite excited BUT at the same time quite sad about it. Why sad? I'll tell why.

But not today.

. . Monday . .

Another boring Monday today. The usual Stupid Monday Deadline to rush which I kind of completed it before lunch. But it came back for amendments again around 7.00 pm. Not that bad since it was only some minor comments. Took lots of deep breaths and start amending the changes.

Finished up the works by 8.30 pm and head to gym. There wasn't much people today. I like it when there's not much people at gym. I can have a choice of which treadmill to use. I prefer the treadmill that's in the centre 'cause there are 5 flat screen tvs in front of the machines and the centre treadmill have the best view to all screens. Hah. Didn't do the usual 1-hr run but I ran faster and complete 5km under 40 mins. Good or bad running distance, I'm not sure. But it's all good for me.

Boring days like these makes my head thinking about lots of stuffs; about the people around me. Which eventually make me think more to the negative side. I need to keep myself more busy. More preoccupied. Need some activities to keep my after-work hours more occupied. Other than gym, of course.

6 more days to go. :-)

. . Makcikz's Wedding . .

Attended Makcikz wedding lunch reception today. Woke up around 10 am 'cause initially the plan was to meet up at Khatib MRT around 11.30 am. But I left home late and I reached there around 12.15 pm.

Khai was aready waiting for me when I reached. We nearly went to some other couple's wedding reception 'cause it was next to Makcikz's. Fortunately, we remembered that Makcikz was holding her reception at the Community Center. Lucky we didn't sit in to the other reception. Anyway, just a few of our colleagues were earlier than us. The rest were all late. Makcikz herself didn't show up on time. Even the groom was a lil' bit late. No harm done. I expected these 'cause I've yet to attend a wedding reception where everything was on time. Why is it so? I'll be pissed off if it was my wedding and everything wasn't on time. Hah. Someone did asked me, "When is it your turn to get married?" I really don't know. Eventually, the groom reached around 2.00 pm and the usual malay wedding procedures was away. The silat and kompang performances to welcome the groom, then a sing-song session from the kompang group. After that, a short traditional dance number before the photo-taking session starts. When it was the "Friends and buddies" turn for the photo session; that's what the Emcee said, the whole lot of us took to the dais. Yup, the whole lot of us from The Company, plus some who brought partners. It was like 30 people on that dais. That's a whole lot of people gathered on a small dais!

I didn't wait for the cake-cutting ceremony, left soon after the phototaking session. Choosed not to ride my bike today 'cause I was afraid that it would pour in the late afternoon. But it didn't.

. . Shopping with Trixx . .

Had a good night rest although I'm still a bit tired when I woke up at 10 am this Saturday morning. I need to finish uip my work at office today. Didn't finished it up yesterday because I got bored doing it. Sometimes, well, most times on Friday evening, I would slowly do up my editing 'cause I know I can slowly finish it up on Saturday. But that's only when I know I have no plans on Saturday. After I finished up the work, I head to Orchard to meet up with Trixx.

I messaged Trixx the night before, asking her if she could accompany me and help me with picking up a shirt. Basically, I need a lady's opinion when it comes to shopping. Most times when I shop alone, I would come home and show my lil' sis what I bought. And the review would be quite negative. She would say, "Not nice" or "Why choose this colour?" From then on, I'll try to find a lady friend to accompany me when I need to shop. Other Fashion Consultants I've had shopped with was Jules and Frecky. If no one is free on the day, then most time, I won't buy anything.

Trixx agreed and I met her at Isetan Scotts. I picked a Topman shirt and used up my $50 Isetan voucher I got since last year. Other stuff I picked up was a Nike Pro shirt which I was eye-ing for quite some time. There goes my last $50 Takashimaya cash voucher. I also picked up an Eye Rescue Serum For Men from Bodyshop. I saw an ad for this on Men's Health and I want to see if it can help reduce the dark circles under my eyes. Wanted to treat Trixx dinner for accompanying me shop but she had to meet a friend for dinner. Maybe some other time then.

Tomorrow is Makcikz wedding at Yishun. Got to sleep early tonight.

. . Time to appraise me . .

Had the appraisal meeting today. Usually The Boss and GM sit in for the appraisal, but since GM is still out of office, there was only The Boss. Quite a lot of staffs had their appraisal today as yesterday's was cancelled. I was told earlier in the day that the appraisal will start around 4.30 pm. My turn was supposed to be at around 5.30 pm. But as usual, it was delayed. When it was my turn, it was around 7.30pm.

I'm not going to write down here what discussions I had during the appraisal. But I think I had a good exchange with The Boss. He told me of his expections for me in the months to come, and I am grateful for what he thought of me. I also let out some of my problems I'd encountered during the past year *edited*. I guess I can get too expressional sometimes and let anger get the better of me. Nowadays I try to be more patient. Appraisal ends around 8.15 pm *edited*. I stay around office for while before I head off around 9.00 pm.

I actually intended to go to the gym after the appraisal meeting. But I forgot. Hah. By the time I remembered, I guess it was too late to head to the gym. Excuses! Think I head down to the gym tomorrow, after I finish up some work at the office, that is. Stupid Monday morning deadline.

9 more days to go!

. . Blackout . .

We had a blackout. Again. I can't remember how many times our office suffers a blackout. Almost everytime when it rains heavily, those with thunders and lightning, we will have blackout. And it sucks 'cause only our office unit will suffer. The space above and below us is unaffected. So there must be something weirdly wrong with the main switch. The blackout happened when we were all out having lunch.

Was stucked at Tanjong Pagar after my solo lunch when the rain pours suddenly, when it was really bright and sunny a minute before. That's why I didn't bring along the umbrella. Ella, ella, eh, eh, eh.. I waited under the void deck, together with some office ladies that was also caught off-guard. And there was this really cute girl. Gosh, she's like a mix of Chinese Japanese or something. Really pretty. And she caught me looking at her a few times. Hehe. The rain lighten half hour later and she took off. Max found an abandon/spoilt-handle umbrella and we head back to office. Thats when someone called me and informed me about the blackout.

Standard Procedure : Switch on back from the switchboard in our office. When that failed, we had to check to see if the main switch which is located on the ground floor at the back of the shophouse was triggered off. But you see, the shophouses here stretches about 15-20 units across and our office is located around the centre of this stretch. So to reach the back of our unit, simply said, we had to take a 6 - 7 mins walk. After a few trys, which we had a few mis-fire and switches confusions, and after 3 trips to the main switchboard, we got back the juice by 4.15 pm. By then all the work was delayed, and I was sweating like I had a 7 km run.

Was supposed to have my appraisal interview with The Boss today after work. But was informed that he was busy and postponed it to tomorrow.

. . Let's be happy . .

Woke up very tired today. Been turning in very late these few nights plus the gym workout yesterday. Was literally dragging myself around work. Went to the main office for a brief project meeting and a colleague noticed and said I look like I just woke up. Yeah, I think I just did. Figured I need to draw up a system or something. Manage my time better so that I can have sufficient rest. It's no wonder the dark circles under my eyes won't go away.

I want to be a happier person this year and I'm not going to let this make me break my resolution so early. Had been a very very moody, black-face, long-face person last year and I want to change all that. Being negative makes my life less fun. I expect lots of new things in my life this year and I'm well-prepared for it. No more Jay Chou moody mode. I want to smile more.

11 more days to my birthday present!

. . Stupid Monday Deadlines . .

Nothing much happen on Monday. The usual work and the stupid monday deadlines. Why do people set monday deadlines? Do they think we work on weekends? I don't. My work ends on Friday, not Saturday nor Sunday! But it's not so bad today. Least the whole team is back in office so I can shuffle around the workload. No more holiday mood. But still, it's a slow start.

Wasn't really in a good mood. I'm still feeling down. *edited*
Checking the time : its 12.10 am Tuesday. I got myself a birthday present and it's 13 more days til I can collect it. Can't wait.

. . 1st Movie Marathon . .

Today is laid-back sunday. Woke up around 11am after last night's late-ending movie marathon. Didn't really do much of anything today. Thought of moving my ass out of the house and wash the bike, but my body is really aching from the gym workout the night before. So I decided to "rot" at home. Just eat, watch tv, nap, eat, watch tv, nap. You get the idea.

I met up with Frecky yesterday at Orchard MRT around 3.15 pm and went straight to Lido to get the tickets she booked earlier from home. This was my 1st ever movie marathon. Seriously. I've never thought of ever watching a few movies in a single day. But it's a good way to spend a weekend if you've got nothing to do the whole day.

First show starts at 4.15 pm. Elizabeth : The Golden Age. I realised afterwards that this is a sequel. I didn't catch the movie before this so I really didn't know what to expect. But it's quite a good show. Cate Blanchett is a great actress. Next show at 7.20 pm : Eastern Promises starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. This is a great show. Great storyline and twists. But I don't really get it. Why get an American (Viggo) and a French (Vincent Cassel) to play Russians? Can't they get real Russians to play the part? Or is it because they were counting on the image or star-power of these 2 great actors for the movie to get attention? Anyhow, it doesn't really matter, these 2 great actors acted as Russians quite well. Next movie at 9.45 pm was : AVP2. Aliens Versus Predator. An ok show. Its more gore than the 1st AVP and as usual, a lot of people died, some survivors and the Predator accidentally left behind something for the humans. A hint of another sequel by the end of the movie.

Got home really late and went straight to bed. *edited*

. . Too early . .

Oh man. I woke too early today. Awoke at 5 am! Tried to get back to sleep but I kept tossing and turning. I gave up by 6.40 am and decided to head for work. I was tired but I just couldn't sleep. I made a short detour on the way to work and head to Jurong West to get a nasi lemak breakfast. What luck! Or should I say no luck. The shop was closed. Maybe they're still on holiday. So I head to another shop not far away. The breakfast wasn't as good as the one I intended to get but I'm not going to be choosy so early in the morning.

Reached the office at 8.15 am. The traffice wasn't so bad considering that it quite a wet morning. I don't usually come to work this early. I usually reached office around 9.45 - 10.00 am. Usually the last one to reached office. Officially we start work at 9.00 am. But then, no one comes in at 9.00 am. The Boss had mention about our punctuality once and had set a 9.30 am latest-to-be-in-office timing. We followed the timing. For a while. Hm, maybe for a week or two. After that, we would stroll in around 9.30 - 9.45 am. The Boss wasn't really upset or what. Anyway, he didn't really made it into a big matter. 'Cause he knows we all work past the official end of workday timing. Sometimes passed 8.00pm. Like today.

Was still in office passed 8.00 pm. No gym again for tonight. Had a good chat with Frecky, one of my closer colleagues in the company. *edited*.

. . Back to work . .

What a drag.. Its the end of the holidays and work starts today. The alarm rang as usual for the start of a workday: 7.45 am. Still too early.. zzZZzz.. Got myself out of bed at 8.30 am after a good 45 mins of oversleep. I always set my alarm earlier so I have time to oversleep, which works for me 'cause usually I'll be wide awake by then. But today I had to literally drag myself to the bathroom.

*edited*

Wanted to go to the gym after work today but changed my mind. Maybe tomorrow.

. . 01/01 . . edited for friendly version

Its the start of a new year! Woke up around early morning today as my family had planned to head out to West Coast Park for a simple picnic near the sea. Quite a throng of people were already there when I reached. * I came later then the rest 'cause I ride by myself.* Nothing much for the picnic, the usual lying around listening to the radio and enjoying the sea breeze. Quite boring actually, so I left around 4. After a short nap, of course.

2007 have been a good year generally for me. Got my driving license. Passed my Class 2 bike license. Picked up photography and the.....

2007 was a good year. Lets see what 2008 has in store for me.