FUNNY JOKE

Baby! I have a funny joke! I know what happens when you eat cheese!

Love,
Sans

Beach Bums + VIVA ESPANA!!!!!!

Hi Baby,

I am very jealous that you get to be in Spain while Spain is the soccer soccer football futbol champion! I wonder what you have been up to - and how emotional some people got last night. I actually stayed up quite late to watch the game - and though it was not particularly exciting, you know how much I love to watch sporting events! :D I was definitely rooting for Spain the whole time!

Yesterday afternoon I met up with CN to go to Sentosa, which is a small island off of SG - where the beach is. The sand was not very fine, and the water was not so blue - but I still had a good time! We actually were just laying around when her friend called - who happened to be about 20 meters away - and I played some sand volleyball (w/o a net -_-;;) and met some people - including a girl from VN! She's really really nice.

We all went to eat sushi afterwards - and I found one that I really like: "Sun Maki". Hm...it's crab, cucumber, japanese mayo, and avocado. YUM!

Well I guess I'll catch you later, baby!

Love,
Sans

Para no entienden, llego' al apartamento a las siete esta manana. >.< Estoy un poco cansado, pero es bueno pq me encantan los partidos.

playa / plage / beach / arena

Yesterday the designer of tokidoki was in Singapore, and my friend got her hat signed - with additional sketches!!!!!!!!! - soooooo jelly!!!!

Yesterday I was a lazy bum allll day. I was planning to go to the National Orchid Gardens, but I didn't want to go by myself - it was so hot in the day that I stayed in the AC all day. I went out for dinner at Clarke Quay [and dessert ^_^]- and went to Ministry of Sound for a while. It was so much fun!

Today I think that the plan is to go to Sentosa (the beach) for a little bit - "Underwater World"?? che pas. We're meeting at 230 at HarbourFront. I have to go shower, change and pack some necessities. :p. It's almost noon now - means I have to eat soon too! haha

I tried to watch Stairway to Heaven (korean drama) but the beginning was so frustrating (typical cinderella beginning) that I just read all the spoilers. It's such a depressing tale. And baby, then I tried to watch Coffee Prince but because my friend will give me the season later, I'm not going to bother.

I miss you un poco.

Love,
Sans

shoppingla

TINKIPOO,

I see you hiding away in the pictures of Valencia! Um...are you taking pictures. I wish you would upload some. Does the family have any pets? Onwards with my life!

I met someone who owns a bunch of korean drama, so I get to borrow them. HIP HIP HOORAY ! I was slightly brokenhearted when I found out that princess hours only goes to the 4th epi on youtube. But I was chatting with Mai/Jan about some drama/anime forums. I'm starting to watch stairway to heaven, per Jan's recommendation.

Yesterday I bought a BCBG dress - TOTAL STEAL!!!! I think it was $400 less!! SO AMAZING. I love that store so much. I was afraid of being cheesy because I'm going to the wedding in a blue and black dress when the theme is black and red. I am a pale chicken though, so I think it will be OK.

Well M is talking to me now. I guess I'll update laterz.

Tomorrow the hope is to go to Sentosa and see KF panda :p. :) Meeting some friends tonight.

MOM

MOM actually stands for the Ministry of Manpower, which is where I was all day yesterday. I went to pick up my employment pass. I waited about 2.5 hours for a 2 minute process. Then I came back at 4 to pick up my shiny new green card! I officially am employed in Singapore now! Hooray hooray! Nevermind that it's been a few weeks since I've started to work.

During my two hour break, I went over to Orchard and bought Wheelock's Latin because I want to keep it up. I really regret not bringing the one from home here with me. It cost me about 36sgd. No big deal. I think going through it by myself instead of for class will be better because we would skip a lot of the 'interesting points' relevant to the lesson. It really is the best text for learning Latin. It is so well constructed and logical. I miss my Latin classes a lot.

I'm trying to get pooface FM to go with me to a piano recital of Rachmaninov's preludes. Some asian guy from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on July 11.

I don't think the next Will Smith movie Hancock sounds particularly exciting. I heard that Get Smart was really good, but I'm a little picky about comedies (animations excluded).

Yesterday I sweat like a mad cow, seriously. I wore jeans (mistake #1) because I thought it would be a quick in and out. WRONG. And I took the bus when I learned later that I should have taken the MRT (mass rapid transit) instead. I walked sooo much yesterday. I also ran intoBCBG MaxAzira and found these two dresses... The original price is about 600 sgd (450 usd) but they're both on sale (off 70%), which means that both of them are about 130 usd, which is a TOTAL steal!!

On the way back (past my apartment, of course), my boss called to let me know that there is no point for me to come in. So I slept a lot yesterday and talked on the phone a lot. My auntie told me that she can start to hear the Chinese accent in my ENGLISH!!!!!! HOW MORTIFYING!!!!!!!!!!! I hate Singlish, but just like every other time, I pick up people's accents so easily. DELAY DELAY. (moro) uhhhhhh yeah I am definitely not looking forward to speaking with some singlish accent. It scares me, and even worse is that I'm slowly picking it up.

So what is the plan for the weekend? hmmm...I think that this Saturday I'm going back to Botanic Gardens to look at all the orchids there and will post pictures soon online (there is a wireless router outside my room, which is the apartment management's way of telling me there is internet. Then on Sunday I am HOPING that I will be going to Sentosa for some beach volleyball (no shame with my pseudopregginess) and some KUNG FU PANDA! I've been waiting forever for the group to get together to go see the movie. It better be good because I've waited so long for it to happen. Grr >.<

Hm...baby? I'm sort of jealous that you're in Spain right now because it's in the finals now...yeah. I wish I could watch it. :( hmmm...what else? I am jelly.

Yes, and I am so inflexible now. My hip flexors were not happy with me when I just wanted to bridge up. seriously. How terrible. I'm going to stretch out a lot more from now on!!!!! Maybe after I get my splits back I will start to go to the gymsies. 10 weeks - 200sgd. SO CHEAP... But I have to find out when the classes are.

OK Lunching time la. ^_^

Puccini's Turnadot

I just bought the tickets for Puccini's Turnadot show on August 29 (Friday) at 8 PM!!!! I got pretty decent seats (the premium ones were all taken, so I had to settle for the second best). I'm pretty excited, even if I don't get to dress up all the way. The lady said it wasn't a very formal affair - just a simple dress and heels will do. But because I've practically worn all my dresses here already, I think I'm going to be on the lookout for a nice one during the Great Singapore Sale. I still need to buy a few items for business wear (and will buy another suit soon) as well as the dress and some shoes..................................................yes.

But I am very excited to be going to the opera on it's opening night!!!!!!!! w00t w00t!!!!

Missing my tinky,
Sans

ps. un poquito

Tuesday

Hi Baby,

I just finished translating your e-mail to Mama y Papa.

Yesterday was a lot of fun - in a very simple way. After work I went to play some pool next to Parkway Parade ('twas fun even though I wasn't playing very up to par -__-). Then I went for some Thai food (yes, I got the "phat thai" - as we know it, Pad Thai) and then walked home (about a 20 minute walk in high heels. My feet were not happy. AT ALL). So follow this CLOSELY: FM's gf's sister's bf's twin. Just easy going. I found out that he has a bunch of Korean drama and HIMYM SEASON ONE AND TWO!!!!!!!! SCOREEEEE!!!! Now I don't have to watch Phim Tau all the time. :p. I also wrote on your wall today. Pushing Daisies just started here...so lame! I also walked by the St. Patrick's school yesterday and on the gate it says: Potest qui vult. Baby Latin. seriously. But I am going to buy a version of Wheelock here so as to review everything. I really regret not bringing that book over here now. Most likely it's going to cost me an arm and a leg.

OH yeah! And I got him to go with me to Puccini's Turnadot (opera) in September - but this means that I owe him a favor so I'm going to his best friend's wedding (don't worry, it's a guy) as his 'date'. Psh. Opera v. wedding. I think I win on both accounts because I love going to weddings/wanted to go to the opera in the first place. I won twice, and he won only once. I think he is taking pity on me and will go with me to the opera. I suppose I might wear that black gown - but of course I need to get some clothes altered soon. I need to find a place here soon!! I have to hem some pants and the dress - oh dear. I'm going to buy the tickets during my lunch break.

Can you explain the 7 jumps into the sea and 3 jumps over the fire to me? At least you won't be there for the new year celebration where you have to stuff twelve grapes into your mouth for every chime of the clock. It's not a very ....attractive thing to watch.

I am a cold little girl in my igloo office. Y porque no me escribas nunca??? PORQUE LES ESCRIBAS A MAMA Y PAPA Y NUNCA A ME????? ENOJADA! ARBOR MORTUUM EST !!!

Te amo un poco,
Sans

I am a good girl.

I am a good girl! I don't eat bananas... ^_^

Um.......TB, I did all my laundry yesterday, swept and mopped the floor, and watched some phim tau. I'm getting darker slowly but surely everyday.

Today I think I will go play pool with a friend, and tomorrow have dinner with a friend whose birthday party I missed to go to the wedding instead. Did you see the pictures? Facebook and picasa....stupid how you can only upload a few onto these blog thingy and how it's individually uploaded (well, grouped in 5 but it takes Forever!)

You know what is embarrassing? I almost forgot what BSE meant -_-. I mean, I know mad cows (run away!) but you nose. you nose.............

FELIZ CUMPLEANOS!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Tinkers,

Today is your birthday!!

Love,
Sans

Sunday

Hola Tinko,

Hable con mama y papa ayer cuando estaba en la oficina trabajando. Toda es buena en la casa - y nuestro tio llego de Francia para ayudar Papa con el proyecto grande. Lei pocos investigaciones y luego fui al apartamento para cambiar la ropa y ir al fin de la boda de una amiga. Estaba muy buena - me vesti el vestido de diseno de puntos con las perlas. me encanta forever xxi! Que barrato pero que gemas!!

Luego fuimos a la casa de los esposos y vimos esta pelicula Pootie Tang. No veas nunca - es una produccion de Chris Rock - pero es tan graciosa. Luego vi School of Rock, cual es afectada pero no me gusta Jack Black (no estoy un fanatico de el) (pero, no se si esta va a cambiar cuando vere Kung Fu Panda). Come pizza por la primera vez desde llegando en sg, tu sabes.

te amo un poco,
sans

PS Voy a Dubai la semana que viene!

Hi Tinky,

I talked to M+D yesterday morning while I was doing some work in the office. Everyone is OK at home - Uncle from France just came over to help D with the big project. I read a few reports and then went home to change and catch the end of my friend's (day 2) wedding. It was quite nice - and I wore the polka dot dress with some pearls. I LOVE forever XXI. So cheap yet such gems!!

Then we went over to the bride's house and watched this movie Pootie Tang. Don't ever see it - it's a Chris Rock Production - but it was hilarious. Then I watched School of Rock, which was cute, but I'm not much of a Jack Black fan (that is, until I see Kung Fu Panda soon). I had pizza for the first time yesterday, since I've arrived in Sg, you know.

Love you a little bit,
Sans

PS I'm going to Dubai next week!

Weddings!

Hello Baby,

Friday I came into the office a bit late because I came back so early in the morning from KL. Just worked some group dynamics stuff and took off a bit early to get the manicure for the wedding on Saturday. A little juvenile pink with sparkles, but they didn't really have the color I wanted (you know me: flower girl), so I tried to mix two things...it worked out all right. I already smudged it though. I need to learn the way not to ruin a manicure. The place is downstairs from my office and $20SGD (meaning, $15 USD). SWEET!

The wedding yesterday was so sweet and beautiful! It was at the Botanic Gardens. I saw a traditional Malay wedding with Western influences. The bride was so beautiful, and the groom was so happy. It was a lot of fun. I wore this pink/red/yellow/fuschia armani exchange gown with a red belt, big gold earrings and a white handband with shoes to match. My shoes were killing me about 4-5 hours into it (they're Bakers, but they're good for a while), but I took a break. LH had pockets so she took all these pictures, but since I don't have internet access righty now, I can't upload them. Boohoo. Overall, it was fun being there.

I wanted to go see the Orchid Garden (because it is the National Orchid Garden), but I was so tired. I'm going to go back someday to look at them again. I love orchids so much.

Got home by taxi and took a quick shower then met some friends at Parkway Parade for dinner - Beef Udon at Sakae Sushi! Yum yum yum!

Then I got beat in pool :(. 3-5 :'(. Hopefully I will get better. I always mess up at the end.

Today I'm working on a report but hopefully I finish in a timely manner so I can go hang out somewhere. Some friends were planning to go to Sentosa, but I don't think they're going because it's rainy right now. I want to go to Sentosa next weekend - and try to play some volleyball. I also plan to go see Kung Fu Panda this week with some friends...cross fingers! I heard it was great (from Mommy!!). hahahaha

Te amo un pocito,
Sans

Malaysia!

Dear Tinkers,

So here is a summary of things that I saw/felt on the way to, in, and coming back from Malaysia:

• Woke up at 2:45 AM to take a quick shower (fell asleep finally at 11 after packing for a quick trip to Malaysia in my carry on)
• Realized that a carry on was a bit excessive and transferred everything into the tote bag
• Waited for an hour for my ride to come (he woke up at the time he was supposed to pick me up). I was really worried about being alone on the road so late at night and tried to look fierce. Unfortunately, the appearance of a cockroach destroyed the facade.
• Picked up the other two members of the team and set off for Malaysia.
• Went through the two immigration offices. Fell asleep for an hour or two (not nearly enough to compensate, as I would eventually learn)
• Fell in love with rubber trees! There are palm tree plantations everywhere (palm oil), but on the outside near the roads are just a bunch of cute little rubber trees. I want to grow one, but I have no sunlight in my 'hotel room'.
• Arrived in KL and saw the 'twin towers' (which used to be the tallest in the world). Ran through the highway to the office.
• Sat down in the conference room and talked for a while and then lunch break.
• Buffet-style of Malay food. It was all right. Nothing special.
• Back to the office to talk a bit more and delegate tasks. I received a substantial amount of work :p.
• Went to the hotel and took a nice, long nap.
• Ate dinner of chicken strips and french fries (regretting now that I didn't order the grilled lamb) :'(
• Woke up to have some breakfast. Left around noon and made several pit stops along the way. Ate KFC for dinner.
  
• Something that I don't like about Malay buffet food is the fact that there are always a lot of flies everywhere (luckily, no mosquito bites this time - knock on wood!)
• Came back at 1:30 AM. Couldn't fall asleep.

Pictures are up on facebook and picasa.

Love,
Sans

I'm sort of hungry....yes

Yesterday was so much fun! I came to work early and ate at a hawker center next to Parkway Parade, which is the name of the building in which I work. I had roast pork with rice, and it costs like $2USD!! So amazing!! What else? I left work on time and met up with some girls (one who I know from Purdue). We ate at this Indian restaurant (funny how I keep typing Indiana instead of Indian) which is basically a dim-sum style where people come around with buckets of curry, etc. and ask you what you want. It was a little spicy so everyone was a bit runny but it was cute. We had a good time! Then we went to Dempsey - I think - to have a drink and dessert. I shared this warm chocolate torte and vanilla ice cream with CN - and snuck a few bites of fruit as well! The blueberries were quite disappointing, but I did enjoy the strawberry and orange slices.

One thing I love about Singapore is the fresh fruit juice. The apple juice here is freshly pressed - and tastes like what apples actually taste like. I mean, I like AJ and OJ in the US - but the AJ/OJ here is just SO amazing. The orange juice tastes like naval oranges (my favorite) and the AJ is from Fuji apples (my favorite). Hooray! The only thing that would make it better is if they removed the foam from the top of the drink. Bleck!

When I was in Batam, the flies loved my OJ so much that a couple drowned in it :(. I ordered another one and burned a candle nearby so that they would avoid it. Nasty flies! And that place is where I got eaten by mosquitoes!

So today I will be packing for KL for the next two days. I'm reading a bunch now in preparation.

This morning I went to get a chest x-ray for my EP (mandatory). It was quite a quick ordeal.

Missing my Tinkers!

Random Things

1. Dove Shampoo and Conditioner are amazing for my hair. It has never felt so silky smooth.
2. I saw a completely white cat with a black tail and a little black dot on its head this morning.
3. Two things almost hit me on Saturday: a fruit fell from a tree (stupid bird!) and some aircon fluid inside the museum.
4. An ant bit my arm this morning. I even said 'ow' because it actually hurt!!
5. I watched so many chinese drama yesterday :p.
6. I did 4 loads of laundry yesterday. My white socks now have a shade of green. Stupid (cute) bebe skirt!
7. Darphin Purifying Balm is AMAZING. I keep having these little bumps on my forehead from not gommaging (scrubbing) enough, but I did Clarisonic last night on the highest frequency and slathered the balm on my forehead and all the bumps are GONE! as of this morning, my forehead is a smooth piece of land.

I go to malaysia Wednesday - early morning. ho hum.

For Tinky, my sister...

Dearest Stinkbomb,

So I read the chatty you did with JW. I don't know if I can leave up my internet, but I will do my best. Chatty boomba. Anyways, what have I been doing the last few days? I have been reading lots of reports about shipyards and about marketing strategies for the language school project. I am only writing in English because the rest of my audience wouldn't be able to understand.

So what else? I'm going to Malaysia this week, to Kuala Lumpur (the capital) to meet up with the office there to talk more about ship yards. Friday night I went out to dinner with a Spanish guy who grew up in Switzerland (therefore, suiza, therefore speaks French fluently also - German, Italian and English all very well also). Sickening. Then yesterday, being Saturday, I went to the Asian Civilisations Museum to check out this "Viet Nam! From Myth to Modernity". It wasn't anything spectacular, to be honest. It was a lot of old civilisations (civilizations) that used to live in Vietnam and how the Chinese were blah blah blah to the Vietnamese but put aside all the differences for the War (which, the Vietnamese call the "american war" now).

There was also a resident artist: Le Quoc Viet. I felt sort of bad for him because he only spoke Vietnamese (and later I found out, Mandarin) and had no one to talk to, so I started to talk to him. You should look up some of his works - they're kinda interesting. He even knows chu nho (reading Chinese characters with Vietnamese words) because he learned in the But Tap Pagoda (where his aunt taught classes, I think). My Vietnamese is so poor, but I did end up talking to him for about two hours. He's a really nice person, and he gave me one of his books for free and autographed it. He lived in New York and Vermont for a while too, but his English is not so fluent. Yesterday was also his last day at the museum - so I picked a good time to go!

I took one picture with flash (which was OK because it wasn't in the gallery - gorgeous mother of pearl table:

There were some really cool Malay royalty wedding outfits. That was really impressive to me to see hand-embroidered things for royalty to wear. The weddings are very intricate and neat. I like one of the customs: the mother of the bride spends 20-30 years to make (or buy, depending on how much money the family has) a bedspread. It signifies the last bedspread that a mother will buy for her daughter (now that the daughter is getting married). I really liked the bride's room because it's all flow flow nice nice. Sweet and comfortable. Very fem.

I was very disappointed that the lighting is so weak inside the museum. Of course, no flash photography so none of the pictures actually turned out decent. You know how much I adore Thai things though, so I just had to take a picture of the headdresses. The scary masks aren't really my thing at all. :p

I didn't know anything about the ancient civilisations of Vietnam (the Cham/Champa) but maybe if you have spare time you should take a look. I came home and kinda felt terrible (maybe my feet were killing me) so I ended up taking it easy the rest of the afternoon and sleeping a lot. I watch all the chinese channels here right now because the english channel is the badminton championships in singapore. soooooooo boring. so drama it is! i'm trying to DL princess hours right now too and Coffee Prince. :p because I have nothing better to do, but the DL takes sooooo long.

Brass/Wood Instruments, from Thailand (I think)

Next week, I'm going to a Singaporean wedding in the Botanic Gardens (which also houses the National Orchid Conservatory or something like that). Usually, weddings are under HDB blocks (which are huge government-built flats all around Singapore) so luckily it's somewhere as nice as the Botanic Gardens here. I'm finally going to wear that pink Armani Exchange dress that I have yet to wear!! I also need to buy a white belt or gold one. I haven't decided yet - whichever I see first, I suppose.

My legs are getting better. The bites don't itch anymore, but they sure are ugly. It's been nearly two weeks, and they're just now getting better.

So at the office, I am always eating. It is kinda good and kinda not good because no one else eats as much as me. I mean, I am the youngest here....but I'm always kinda a snacky snack person. So right now I have some Rold Gold Pretzels, some lemon gumdrop things (I detest gumdrops, but they're called Lakerol), a case of Sprite, and a box of Frosted Flakes. I am such a fatty boomba, according to FM. :p

I also bought a book: The Rough Guide to Singapore. I think that this the best one available in the bookstore (thought a bit pricey), so I hope that I will be able to go around Singapore looking at things it mentions in the book.

Things in Singapore are a bit mundane. The national pastime is: shopping. Because I have started to do what you do (save), I have nothing to do really. I think I'm going to use this opportunity to start reading books again. I have to figure out how to use the National library though once I get my employment pass (should be very soon, as you know!). The food is super cheap (though Viet told me that a bowl of pho in VN is like $1USD. Which is totally awesome). Clubbing is really not my thing at all. I don't like noisy places - I just like conversation. Most people think that I speak Chinese (so I'm thinking about starting some computer software or something to learn a bit), and it's a bit cute (from the old people at least). The metro system here is so much less than the French system. The reliance on buses versus more metros is sort of disappointing, but the metros and buses prohibit food/drink - so they are ridiculously clean!

I'm supposed to be reading a bunch of reports today (Sunday), so I will start soon. I just got off the phone with Mama. :)

I miss you loads, baby.

growing pains

The last few days of work haven't been as exciting as last week (of course). They mainly consisted of me reading some marketing books for the language school and looking up articles relevant to the shipyard project. I probably will be going to Malaysia next week sometime to work with the team there on constructing a report. Last night I went to Orchard Road (which is definitely overrated) to buy some work clothes and hang out with some friends. I ate some chicken fried rice for dinner at a thai/chinese restaurant. It was so funny yesterday - so many people just spoke to me in Chinese. I wonder what my blank stare looks like; I love when one of my non-Chinese friends answers in Mandarin. Hilarious. What else? So today I'm helping LH look for a laptop because hers broke.

It's only Thursday...but I don't know why I am SO tired all the time. Even when I get a lot of sleep, it is sometimes difficult to get out of bed. Someone told me that I might be getting up around the same time in the States because of the sunrise. Well now that I have no windows in my studio, I have a luxury of sleeping in - except that I wake up randomly sometime during the night and have to force myself back to sleep. My apartment is so bare bones right now. Even the closet is so lonesome. All the clothes I brought don't fit into it, so I use my suitcases as drawers and such for my clothes :p. How poor, mm? And sadly, my waist is a size larger. This is terrible news; I've lost weight on my legs but my tummy has seen better days. And the girls here are SO STICK THIN. I am a fatty bumba.

One thing that struck me odd here is that all the girls my age (or even, in their late twenties) still live with their parents (apparently a very Asian thing to do even though they have jobs, etc.) .

What else? Maybe this weekend I'll pop into the Asian Civilisations Museum. I rode the MRT (mass rail transit, I think) for the first time last night from Orchard to Eunos. I waited and waited for my bus to come, but finally I ended up taking a cab home (so cheap though because it is so close!!). I also have to learn how to do laundry for myself. This will be interesting...

updates...

so bad :p just settling into the apartment right now. i took the bus to work for the first time today! what a good girl. what else? hm...i'm trying different restaurants for lunch every day. i bought triple cream brie yesterday, but i think i'll save it for dinner tonight.

other than that, nothing really new. FM and family are leaving for dubai today, so i will be a bit alone for a while. :(

blah blah i need to take more pictures to entertain myself. i went to a party saturday night, and if you're on facebook, you'll see plenty of pictures of me there :p

Setting up l'appartement

Yesterday I went crazy at the "Wal-Mart" of Singapore: Giant [superstore?]. There is another one, but I don't remember the name. I think that a Costco or Sam's Club would do really well here, honestly. I mean, who doesn't need to buy things like cereal or beer or Coke in bulk? I mean, it could be the American consumerism coming through my perspective, but because most Singaporeans are so frugal, it seems like it would do well here.

I have a studio apartment, and it's quite nice. All the appliances are new, including the bed. I just bought all the bathroom and bedroom things, totalling around $600 SGD, which is about $450 USD.

Bedroom: 2 sets of sheets, blanket, pillows (interestingly enough, no one sells the liners, just the fitted bedsheet here)

Bathroom: shampoo, conditioner, soap, loofah, tissues

Kitchen: plates, bowls, saran wrap, cutting board, kitchen knife, utensils, cups

Cleaning supplies: floor cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, air freshener

My studio is so tiny! I really think it's about 400 sq ft. But I don't need much, so I'll be OK!

iPod: Transferring Songs from iPod to PC

I know that this is not necessarily relevant, but it was useful information to me, so take note:

If you want to transfer all your music from your iPod to your music folder:

http://lifehacker.com/software/ipod/how-to-copy-songs-from-your-ipod-to-your-pc-105256.php

1. Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
2. In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
3. In the Tools menu -> Options, in the View Tab, check "Show hidden files and folders."
4. Navigate to the Music folder. On my 2nd gen 'pod, the full path is
   Portable Media Devices\GINA'S IPOD (F:)\iPod_Control\Music
5. Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.

Hope this knowledge is useful one day!

And yeah...

There was a sign in one of the ladies restrooms:

Please don't wash dishes in the toilet.

I laughed like a loon.

First Week of Work

Ferry to Batam

Fried Fish! Karaoke


Quick summary of my past week because it went by so quickly, and I had no Internet access in Batam (an island of Indonesia).



On Monday, didn't go into the office. I just went straight to Harbourfront in Singapore to get on a ferry to Indonesia (going through customs, etc.) to Waterfront City. I fell asleep so everything was good; I was so worried that I would get seasick.

FM and I went to the famous seafood restaurant there: Golden Prawn. Of course, FM ordered more than he could handle -__- blah blah silly. Hmm?? Oh yeah, we saw a RAT CRAWL UP THE WOOD POLES. We were on a platform that juts out into the sea (which is kind of neat, I guess). This, of course, was just before we received our food. Lovely. The food was not too bad, but I mean, it is the first TIME I"VE EVER SEEN A RAT. According to Singapore food service cleanliness ratings, this place would have definitely been a D. I am so glad I brought along diarrhea medicine, even though I didn't need it. FM and I would like to thank my dad for insisting for me to buy this medicine to bring along. THANK YOU DADDY!!!!



On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had a bunch of meetings to talk to some managers of some shipyards in Batam. One night we went to karaoke and the other night we just ate. The food was quite amazing. Hm...a few pictures I suppose are in order (because finally my computer is capable of downloading pictures from my camera).



So then Thursday everyone else left, leaving FM and me to swim swim around in the pool and find a secret lap pool that the general public didn't know about. We got back around 7 PM in Singapore and went through customs.



Today I woke up and went to the office. I had a meeting with a language school administrator (which was pretty cool), and I also set up my e-mail address, etc. Blabbles. I was so tired earlier, but I'm going to watch a bit more of Goong Princess Hours on veoh.com (GPH).



Ttfn!

SimLim

Ate a brunch with MamaBear and Fpoo - leftovers from last night. Then we went to SimLim (though we were waiting for an agent to call back for the longest time...she didn't even call later on - we called her around 6 even though she said she would call back around 11. stinker!) and FM and I each bought an Asus. His is nicer and more gaming computer, and mine suffices and will complete the job. plus an extra gig of ram to blah blah blah. 3 GB RAm is a bit excessive in my taste, but it was 200$ more for a much better laptop. i am now out of cash like a loon.

Hm...what else? I start work tomorrow by going to Batam in the afternoon. I just booked it over the phone. Batamfast is the company.

Then after SimLim, I went to Sims Ville to look at a condo. I got a bit of vertigo as it is the 16th floor. I was quite embarrassed that I actually got ill from looking down. But the pool is very large and nice, and there are gym facilities too. The room is not too bad, and it has a nice few. The floor is clearly old. The two people living in there are a father and son from New Zealand. Nice man. It is close to a not-so good area (Geylang) but it is very close to the MRT and the security is quite tight. MamaBear was very on top of things today. Watching her haggle was totally awesome when we were purchasing the laptops. I love when the salesman just pulled out some Indian dialect, and she was like "I understand you!" and I was all like GLORIOUS MAMA BEAR (not to her face though)! hahah! i love when I understand, and no body knows it but me...

What else? I've been talking a lot to ES lately from BJPS, and sometime, somehow - I want to make a trip to Japan and then Seoul and then back here. The trip is about 6 hours and then 1.5 hours respectively to visit friends. It would be totally awesome, but I doubt it will happen soon. Hm...what else?

While we were setting up the computer, Fpoo kept choosing all the pictures and settings that I chose. I laughed and told him he was such a loon. Actually, I told him that I was beating him (because I was further along) but really in ML-ese it definitely means that I am STRONG sauce and he is weak sauce. booyeah! ^_^

Twinkle is so cute. MamaBear isn't too fond of the cats, but she has such a soft spot for Twinkle. I asked FM what would happen if I bought his parents another cat, and he said that they would definitely cry. It was just a thought... :(

Had a longan freeze today (slushie). And I ate some vegetables and fruits! I am such a good girl. and a lot of meat. stupid black pepper sauce on crab - I sprayed myself today. I am such a neat eater, and Malay food is eaten entirely with hands. I am not so good with hands but Baba (MamaBear's mama) was impressed when she invited FM and I to eat lunch at MamaBear's sister's HDB flat. Hm.......it was delicious, of course. I'm usually such a picky eater, but the food here hasn't been too bad so far. In fact, I think the worst thing I ate was DimSum.

I also talked to CoBay today. That was very much needed. Hm...I have to go pack for Batam now.

Toodles!