#1422.

Happy New Year's eve ya'll! Hope you're having a good time wherever you are. Preparing for the countdown that's happening in 2 hours time. This year I've opted to stay at home. Because I haven't been feeling too well recently. Since Aspire, then all the birthday celebrations, then all the Christmas gatherings. Istill haven't recovered from the busy-ness of it all. I'm down with slight sore throat, cough and flu. Bummer!

Anyway, the boyf is at home too! So maybe we'll skype later. Just to re-live that same feeling last year, same time. I remember the boyf calling me at noon on 1st Jan (SG time), and he was with his friends at Philadelphia, Penn's Landing watching fireworks after the countdown. He had flown to NYC to celebrate Christmas and New Year. It was really awesome because in the background, I could hear everyone shouting "omg so nice!" The boyf was describing every scene possible. Like "omg it's shooting stars now, wow there's heart shaped fireworks, etc"

Ahh I can't believe one year flew past just like that. Watch last year's countdown!

#1421.

Yay finally it's the weekend! I've been looking forward to this day the whole week because seriously, who wants to work during this period? It's all festive & happy & work is an absolute contrast to the mood. I'm actually looking forward to 2013 because there are some major changes at the office. Nope, no promotion, no increment for me. Just more work. But the good thing is the change in job scope so I might be learning more things. Learning is good (:

Ok another good news, I've finally set up my Dancing Quinn blog. Hopefully I have time to keep updating both places (this blog and that blog). All scrapbooking related stuff shall go there so it's not gonna be just about my shop. Do spread the word! :D

DANCING QUINN BLOG!

Ok time to get busy. I must make full use of the weekend because they are so precious! Ciao!

#1420.

Merry Christmas folks! Hope you've had lots of good food, good fun & endless gifts from your loved ones. I had a fabulous time merry making and catching up with old friends. December is the most hectic month of the year, yet my favourite of all. Just need to make time to do all that I need to!

This year, jie gave me a Christmas present. Though it's just a simple pen, it meant a lot to me. I've always felt that jie is intimidating and fierce. But this gift made me feel "accepted" as part of the family (: Thank you jie!

I've also received tons of birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. Thank you everyone (; I'm blessed to have you in my life. And to my baby, Merry Christmas! I'm glad to have you back home this year (:

#1419.

Hello there I'm finally back from Aspire! It was tiring as hell. Seriously physically demanding even though I didn't do anything much. I guess it's fatigue. I haven't had such exhaustion in a long long time. And it actually feels good! Haha.

Now to Dancing Quinn! I launched my Etsy shop on 19th December! Sorry I didn't manage to announce it here because I really hadn't gotten the time to sit in front of my laptop. Everything is mobile these days so I'm heavily reliant on Instagram.

Please follow me @arohammer!

I'll post the most updated information there! :D Here's a little peek into what's in my shop currently. I've decided to post 10 washi tapes and several American Crafts items. The 7 items are all from the Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic collection. Do view them at Dancing Quinn!


I'm still in the midst of trying to set up a Dancing Quinn blog so that I can share more scrapbooking related tutorials/ information/ tips etc! I'll share the blog link once it's all done up. In the meantime, do check out Instagram #dancingquinnshop cos I'll be using this hashtag whenever I'm posting related pictures.

Lastly, please email me dancingquinnshop [at] gmail [dot] com if you have any feedback/ inquiries/ or generally anything at all! I'd be happy to hear from you!

#1418.

This is a scheduled post because by the time you're reading this, I'm already at Aspire! I'm just here to share a little something that's coming very soon!

DANCING

QUINN

Yes Dancing Quinn is the brainchild of Dennis and I. I've been thinking about this long and hard, and decided it was time to put some thoughts into action. We've also been discussing about this idea on and off. Since all the stars are aligned now, we thought, why not? (;

The name came to me while I was taking a shower one evening. Because DQ is our initials - Dennis and Qin. D is also for dancing because the boyf loves to dance. I thought Quinn is a unique name that the non-Chinese might find it easier to pronounce (as oppose to Qin). I've heard all sorts of variations from 'Chin' to 'Queen' to 'Kin'. Hahaha. Most of the US folks I work with call me Quinn, so it kinda sounds right.

I was thinking to launch it on 17th December (yes my birthday itself!) but I'll still be at Aspire. We'll see how it goes. So please watch this space! :D

#1417.

Cannot believe we're almost halfway through December already! My favourite month, please don't pass so fast! I'd been really busy ever since we finished the house renovation. Started to unpack some stuff and did so much cleaning. Dust covered everything. And I really mean everything. Those particles are very evil.

Anyhow, we also went into the festive mood at work. We had a Tropical Christmas celebration as part of Citi Dazzles competition. It was super fun and we played beach balls in the office. Imagine that! Haha glad to have some sporty friends in my clique. Each participating department also had a Citi cake and one of the cakes had the "golden ticket". I think it was $500!





 

We also had Christmas organized by the Culture Club peeps. It was awesome! I took part in the stocking competition but didn't win. Oh well better luck next time! Since it's 100% public voting.







Our own clique also came up with the Secret Santa game and every week, we had to buy something according to the theme.

Here's what I got for the past 3 weeks.

1) Small and fluffy


2) Long and hard


3) Wet and sticky


Amidst all the festivities, I also attended Sha's wedding! It was such a happy occasion seeing our Sec Sch bestie getting hitched. Friends for 10 years and counting (: May you & Ali have a blissful and happy married life. #sashinlove

Ok that's all for now. Off to pack my camping bag for Aspire tomorrow. Yay I love camping!

P/s. the boyf just made me very very furious because he's not able to join us tomorrow morning. Argh!

P/p/s. ok I cried and scolded him and realized I can't stay angry at him for long.

#1416.

Bro recommended me to watch this video and I thought I'd like to share. It's very inspiring.

How To Find And Do Work You Love: Scott Dinsmore 

at TED x GoldenGatePark

Taking up jobs to build your resume, is like saving up sex for old age.

- Warren Buffet

3 points to note from this video:

1. Becoming a self-expert (iow, understanding yourself). Find your unique strength. Value. Experiences. Write down who inspires you and why. Keep a journal of things like "I want to become like XXX one day".

2. Do the impossible (iow, pushing your limits). If you keep thinking you can't do it, you'll never get the courage to start or will give up eventually.

3. Surrounding yourself with passionate people (iow, get away from negativity and complacency).

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

- Jim Rohn

What is the work you can't not do?

Thank you Scott Dinsmore for giving this very inspirational talk. From now on, it's just me and my passion & I'm so going to work towards it! (:

#1415.

House is still in a big mess now so the only thing left for me to do is blog. I miss scrapping already. Anyway, I participated in my first international swap recently & it was so much fun! Search #happymailenvieswap hashtag on Instagram if you want to know more about it.

To summarize, we have to fill an envelope up with (scrapbooking) goodies based on the current month's theme. It's "thankful" for November since it's the thanksgiving month. I opted for 2 envies for a start and posted way before the due date since I'm not sure how long it'll take (being the festive period and all). Surprisingly, it didn't take too long for my receipients to get them!

 Yay!! So glad my envies made it safely. I can't wait to receive mine too! (: I've since joined the December #happymailenvieswap too. It's addictive! Hope you've had a great Thanksgiving!

#1414.

So I haven't blog in more than 2 months but I'm proud to say that I've completed my first scrapbooking album! Yes the entire US + Taiwan trip has been completed! *happy dance* I haven't really thought I would spend so much time & effort on scrapbooking. I'm prepared to give even more for this passion.

I was also very busy packing and tidying the house because of the mandatory HDB renovation for old houses. I've lived in my flat all my live so it's time for some repair works before things start falling apart. Thankfully we were warned beforehand regarding this major renovation so we packed and sealed everything. #noregrets

The first day I came home, I was lost for words. My house looks like a foreign worker's dormitory. Here are some photos I've posted on my IG.

 

Check out the mobile toilet that's installed in my kitchen. Oh my horror! It's so small and smelly that I almost didn't want to take a shower. There's a public washroom at the ground floor but I was too lazy to bring my barang barang down. So I've just decided to shower here. Thankfully daddy, bro & I are petite. How would anyone bigger than me shower here?!

And this is day 2 of my bathroom. 

We have 9 more days to go and I really can't wait!! Ok till next time.

#1413.

Day 3 - 15th Jul 2012

We had a sudden hiccup the night before cos the boyf realized trains do not operate at wee hours in the morning. And we needed to get to the airport by 8am. Dang! Looks like the only option is to call for a cab which was freaking expensive in the States. We had no choice so we called the concierge to arrange a cab for us. Cab fare = USD60!

Anyhow, we arrived at the airport safe & in time for the flight. Even had time for a quick bite at the departure hall.

Upon touching down at Las Vegas, we were greeted with slot machines, bright lights and more slot machines. Yes, right at the aiport. Hahaha welcome to sin city. We discovered one of our luggage was damaged during transit. So we had to spend some time at the customer service office filing for claims. Then we had to take a shuttle bus to the car rental centre to collect our car. And off we drove to Grand Canyon!

After a grueling 5-hour drive (with lunch and washroom breaks), we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park! Yippee! The strange thing was that it began drizzling when we drove into Arizona. Weird - I thought deserts were dry?! Anyway the weather didn't dampen our mood as we marvel at the magnificent world wonder.

Checked-in at Yavapai Lodge and went to enquire about the tours. Thankfully we were in time for the Sunset Tour, and also booked Desert View Tour for the next day.

YAVAPAI LODGE

1 Main Street, South Rim

 Grand Canyon National Park, AZ 86023

While waiting for the sunset, we saw this beautiful landscape and the guide explained that Grand Canyon is so big that you can actually see what's happening at the other side. We could see that it was raining heavily in the middle of the picture below the clouds. Pretty cool stuff!

As with all sunsets, you just gotta wait and wait and get your camera ready. We sat by a cliff and watch as the egg yolk slowly descends. Hehe we also took some cute pictures. I didn't manage to develop these photos so I've yet to scrap a page. Will do so soon!

Day 4 - 16th Jul 2012

Woke up early the next day for the Desert View Tour. We were lucky to get a very funny guide but I was probably too tired so I snoozed whenever we are on the bus.

We also visited the watch tower. I didn't pay much attention to the history of it so I haven't got much to say about it.

The tour ended at about lunch time so we went back to Yavapai cafe for a quick bite before checking out. Took our luggages and off we go again. Then boyf and I had an impromptu plan to watch IMAX. We initially wanted to go on a helicopter tour but it was way too expensive. About USD 200 per person *gulps*. His dad wanted to go on the skywalk where they used glass to build platform and you can actually see through all the way down. We heard it wasn't as good as it seemed because you're not allowed to take pictures there and only a maximum of 20 people allowed at one time. Also, it was a little out of the way since we won't be driving past that area.

So, IMAX it is then. No regrets cos it was so good! As if we're on a helicopter weaving in and out of the Grand Canyon. It's amazing (:

As we were leaving Grand Canyon, we also managed to catch a glimpse of an ewe. Up close right beside us! I love how we can get close to wildlife in countries like US.

On the road again after the IMAX show and we drove to Flagstaff, Arizona. It's a really small town! We checked in at this really vintage hotel - Hotel Weatherford. I love the interior; carpet, jukebox, old rustic wooden railing and 2 pubs within the hotel. The rooms are really small with very little amenities. To save money, we even opted for communal bathroom. Keep in mind that this is not the best option. Haha we'll definitely go for private bathrooms in future :P

HOTELWEATHERFORD

23 N. Leroux

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Settled our belongings before heading out to explore the town. Most of the shops were closed already but we managed to see the train passing by. It was so cool! We were about to cross the road when the bell rang and we saw the lights "rail crossing". I told the boyf to wait so we could take a shot of the railway. It was deafening and the train was super long.

We also found a shopping place and I love that the things on sale were very pretty!

BASEMENT MARKETPLACE

120 N. Leroux

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Settled dinner at Big Foot since we were not very hungry. They serve really good food considering the price it not at all expensive. My favourite was the chicken wings. Goes super well with beer. Pub finger food ftw!

BIGFOOT BAR-B-Q

120 N. Leroux

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

The boyf and I wanted to explore some other pubs in the vicnity that night but we were way too tired. And he had to send some emails for his project. So that's it for the day!

#1412.

Hello! Sorry for the long hiatus but I've been really busy scrapbooking and getting inspirations from all over the world (via internet). I cannot believe how much I've grown to adore scrapbooking and crafting so much, to the extend that it's my new found passion! Whenever I have some spare time, I'm bound to be crafting. It's therapeutic! The main project I'm working on is an album to document my recent trip to the States. I'll be sharing it in parts cos I've yet to finish the entire album. Here's part 1. Enjoy!

Day 1 - 13th Sep 2012
Arrival at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
 

Daddy, being the worrywart that he is, sent me off at the airport to make sure I was in time. Alas, Dennis' parents couldn't get a cab so they were late. Daddy was ultra worried we might not make it. Nevertheless, all went well (: It was a 16-hour flight with stopover at Taiwan. We arrived in Taiwan just in time for dinner and freshen up before boarding the next flight. Luckily I managed to get wi-fi at I-Mei Cafe at Taoyuan International Aiport (TPE) so I was able to inform the boyf that we've arrived safely.

As usual, he was up all night doing the packing and preparation. I think he was also too excited he couldn't sleep! Hehe. Everyone kept asking if I was excited but I guess the long flight made me more tired than anything else.

We finally touched down at 4pm (PST) and it took a really long time for us to clear customs and collect our baggage. It was already 5+ when we passed the arrival hall. I was the first to spot Dennis (of cos!) and gave him a big bear hug (and blocked the exit, hurhur)!

We didn't have a car for the first day cos we were flying off the next day. So we travelled by public transport which was a different experience. We took the BART (similar to our MRT but only within the city area) from the airport to the main city in San Francisco for dinner. The weather was super chilly when we came out of the BART station at Civic Centre. Omg all of us were trembling! It was about 17 degrees, and they call this summer?!

The thing about being in a huge country with no car means you have to walk, a lot! Thankfully it was cold so we don't feel tired (and sweaty) from too much walking. The legs get a little tired though. Boyf recommended this Vietnamese restaurant for dinner:

TU LAN

8 Sixth Street (at Stevenson Street)
San Francisco, CA 94103

Omg I just went to find the address online. Apparently, Tu Lan is closed for being pest-ridden!!! (Link here) Wtf this is so horrible! I was about to recommend this to all of you. But rest assured that we didn't get any food poisoning whatsoever. The portion is huge and the food is pretty tasty. So if they re-open, do try! But at your own risk.

After dinner, we went shopping at Forever 21 because I brought all t-shirts and shorts but it looks like I needed jeans and jackets instead -.-

Back to the hotel at 10pm to do all the unpacking. It was freaking exhausting I tell ya! We fixed the SIM cards, settle some bank statements, unpacked all clothes that needed to be stored elsewhere, and confirmed the meeting time and place for the next day. His parents had an early night while the boyf and I walked back to the train station with the other luggages. This is the hotel address if you need! The room was good but the service not so, as we encountered some situations later. More details when I blog about that day.

BEST WESTERN PLUS AMERICANIA HOTEL

121 Seventh Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Took the Caltrain (double-decked train that travels further out of the main city) to Mountain View where Ali was waiting for us. He's super kind to drive us from Mountain View station to Dennis' place. Reached his place at almost midnight and we had to unpack our stuff and move them to the garage. Fell asleep shortly after our heads touched the pillow.



Day 2 - 14th Sep 2012
Exploring San Francisco and visiting the Golden Gate Bridge.

We woke up at 6.30am cos we needed to take the BART and Caltrain to Dennis' parents' hotel. And we needed to catch the 8am train. It was super hectic cos he timed exactly 20 mins for us to walk to the train station. He forgot that my legs are shorter than his -.- so for every step he took, I had to take 2. I was cursing and swearing the whole time because I didn't want to miss the train (it only comes once every hour). I kept ranting to the boyf that I hated him for making this such a hectic trip. Boooos.

Thankfully everything went smoothly (:

Met up with his parents and grabbed a bite at Subway before starting off the day's itinerary. First stop was the famous Golden Gate Bridge! I love the colour (international orange) of the bridge and how can we not take touristy shots?

As usual, the boyf was explaining the physics behind the construction of the bridge. I was only half listening because the sea breeze made me tremble the whole time. We were pretty lucky there was no fog that day so we could view the magnificent bridge in its entirety.

Thereafter, we took a bus back to the main SF area for lunch. The boyf made a reservation at The Stinking Rose.

THE STINKING ROSE

325 Columbus Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94133

It was fantabulous! Food was as good as they claimed to be, service was top-notch and the ambience was just right. Love that place! Do note that the price is a little steep so be prepared. But I think it's worth every penny. Since the restaurant was situated at "Little Italy", next to "Little Chinatown", we decided to pop by John's place. Too bad they were not home.

Dennis' parents decided to walk around Chinatown to shop for American ginseng while Dennis and I just followed the crowd, which eventually led us to Union Square. I love Union Square because there's just tons and tons AND TONS of shopping places! Malls after malls, shops after shops. It's never-ending! Plus the shops are hugeeee so you can spend a long time in there. I love it! :D

Settled dinner at Westfield. This is also the place to shop for normal stuff like H&M, B&BW, Abercrombie, AE Outfitters. They are already pretty reasonably priced and you wouldn't find nice designs at outlet shops too.

WESTFIELD SAN FRANCISCO CENTRE

865 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Decided to head back to hotel after dinner for an early night as we have a flight to catch the next morning.

xx

Ok, do check back for more updates soon! (:

#1411.

Haven't been posting food reviews for quite a well now. So here goes two!

Brought the boyf to Ah Loy Thai where I had my fav Phad Thai while he had Tomyum Seafood Soup. He was skeptical about the quality of the food at Tampines Mall outlet compared to the one at Shaw. Plus the chefs look young. We weren't sure if they could cook delicious Thai food. Obviously our doubts were unfounded when the food was served. Both dishes aced the taste test! :D

Tom Yum Seafood Soup
Price: $7.50

Phad Thai (Fried Kway Teow)
Price: $7.00


Food 8/10
Ambience 6/10 (small area)
Value 7/10 (relatively good service considering there is no service charge)
Service 7/10

Address: #B1-K17 Tampines Mall

xx

The boyf went to help Jaye on a gig at The Loft Cafe and we had dinner there. It was a pretty fun experience just watching them perform at the back of the cafe. Even though there wasn't many people, the crowd was fun and some of them actually appreciated the music! It was really heartwarming to see some audience grooving to the tunes (especially the original ones written by Jaye's band - The Glad Stones)!

The food was good but not impressive.

Mango Smoothie
I really liked my mango smoothie because I could taste the vanilla ice-cream. Really thick and yummy!

Burger which I didn't tried but it sure looks good!

Breakfast set with pancakes
The serving was pretty huge consisting of 2 poached eggs (but you could choose scrambled too), tomato, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, 2 pancakes (or toast), salad and yoghurt! The pancakes were really quite average in my opinion but I like their mushroom, sausage, and egg! Can't go wrong!

Food 6/10
Ambience 8/10
Service 6/10

Address: 268A South Bridge Road Singapore 058817
Tel: 6221-2103

Ending off with a picture of us just before the cafe closes. Please support The Glad Stones by liking their Facebook page here. Much love! XO

#1410.

It's the long weekend again! Gee August is fantabulous! Just right for me to do my scrapbooking because 2 days of weekend is just not enough. I haven't edited the photos digitally and I don't plan to. I'm only gonna make scrap pages out of all the photos so please bear with me while I take a little more time to get them sui sui. Promise they will be nice! :D

But here's a photo of the boyf and I just to liven up the blog. Pardon my greasy hair and face cos I haven't showered for more than 24 hours at that point. It's our first picture of the trip. Clearly I was extra elated after missing him for 365 days. The feeling when I first spotted him at the arrival hall eagerly looking out for us was... indescribable.

Anyway, my daddy went for a blood test recently and he might have been diagnosed with diabetes. The doctor had asked him to go for a second test before he prescribe medication. So yep. Don't worry people, we're coping well. Ever since mummy's been diagnosed with cancer and me witnessing her suffering and death, somehow things don't look so scary now. Stay healthy and happy all. XO

#1409.

Helloooooo there! I finally managed to squeeze out some time on this National Day PH to blog a quick one before heading out. So, I've been to the States and back and it was really awesome! :D I'm super thankful that daddy gave the go ahead even though I know he's ultra worried about me. I guess he was slightly more relieved when he met boyf's parents at the airport. So yehhhh we spent 12 days in US and 3 days in Taiwan. 1 full day was lost on the plane. I'm still amazed by time zones and such.

I've unpacked a little but most of the stuff are still lying around. I can't find space to store them!! ): And I've been back to work the next day after I touched down in Singapore. It was super tiring! Then over the weekend we had gatherings and dinners so I haven't had time to settle down as yet! Boyf's also busy preparing for school which is starting next week.

I will try my very best to share some pictures and stuff online! Check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and blog. Catch you guys soon. Happy birthday Singapore!

#1408.

Hello all. It's me again and here's a super short post before I finalize my packing. Can't believe tomorrow is THE day! After waiting three-hundred-and-fifty-one days, I am finally flying to the States tomorrow!!! :D

Work wasn't very smooth-sailing these 2 days probably because I had a lot to clear before going on my long leave. As well as to ensure proper handover was done because I don't want people to start looking for me halfway across the globe. I'll probably get a call card there anyway so my Singapore number wouldn't be valid. Hehe.

Anyhow, 2 sweet things today made me really happy and touched.

1. Boyf had some issues with his car (yes again, the 9875317532674th time this year!) so he's really vexed about it. I was hoping I could help but he replied "baby you've already helped me so much over the past year and it's time I settle something myself". Awww baby jiayou! (:

2. Daddy bought char siew and roasted pork for dinner. He hasn't bought such "good food" for the past 10 years so I was damn touched by this gesture. He wanted me to eat nice food before I fly. I think he's gonna miss me for the next 2 weeks.

Ok that's all folks! I'll be tweeting and instagramming from the US of A so catch you on the other side! Bye! xx

#1407.

I'm here to blog a fast one before I commence on my packing. I've been talking about packing since 2 months ago but haven't gotten down to actually doing it. Haha procrastination at work! Anyway this is the last weekend before I fly on coming Friday! Really excited about it!! Not sure if it's about meeting the boyfriend finally or the prospect of shopping at outlet stores. Maybe it's a combination of both! :D

Anyway, I went to read the entry I wrote about a year ago, shortly after boyf's departure to the States. I can still remember the parting moment at the airport. It was so heart-wrenching omg! I tried my very best to contain the tears but I still failed in the end. At least I only teared when he went into the departure hall. The rest of the day felt like shit because I had nowhere to go and felt damn alone. Thankfully, things only get easier as time passes.

Our Skype dates always ended with me crying because I can't bear to see him disappear from the monitor. Yes even after 6 months apart, I still cry. It's just a girl's thing. Or maybe it's just me. Haha. I'm truly grateful that this one year taught me so much more. Independence to make decisions myself, courage to do the things I deem right, freedom to scrapbook, and of course, all the little things that makes our love stronger.

So many events have passed and we never fail to update each other on what's happening. True that some weeks we get busier but we always try our best to catch up later on. Some days I get pissed off because he went missing, fell asleep, got into accidents, forgot to do the things I asked him to, etc. But I always forgive him soon after. This one year has got to be really unforgettable because we had the chance to celebrate our birthdays in a different fashion! Like how he sent flowers to my home, and I couriered chocolates to him all the way from France. These are the things we wouldn't do when we're physically together in Singapore. We also got to work around the time difference because he's asleep most of the time when I needed to talk to him, and vice versa. Really appreciate these 12 months apart but nothing beats seeing him again and finally A BIG BEAR HUG! :D

Ok, I'm gonna share a song which he wrote for me a year ago. It's damn touching. I can cry just reading the lyrics. Haha.

坚强

一路走来有我相伴，
有苦有乐多了灿烂。
一年光阴似墨落白页，
创另一个精彩。

多么想你，难舍难依。
千言万语，甜言蜜语，
不足我写一首肺腑之歌。
把心里话传递给你。

别离的行蒙
靠近你的吻。
抱紧你时，
在你耳边(轻轻)说道，

Chorus:
当我不在你的身旁，
你一定要继续坚强。
你切记要照顾好，
身与心好不好，
千万不可以病倒。

当我不在你的身旁，
你要相信你要坚强。
我们是情深深情难了，
情以定直到老。
你一定要过的很好，
继续微笑。

For the people who don't understand Chinese, here is a very literal translation I did. Pardon me if I didn't get the meaning right ok? My Chinese is also quite bad /:

Be strong

On our journey here, I'm always by your side.
With happiness and sorrow, life is more colourful.
A year's time is like ink falling on a blank canvas,
Creating a new kind of excitement.

How much I'll miss you, how much I can't bear to part with you.
A thousand sweet words,
Is incomparable to this heartfelt song I write,
To tell you the message from the bottom of my heart.

On the day of departure,
Closer to your kiss,
When we hug,
I'm gonna whisper in your ear.

When I'm not by your side,
You must continue to be strong.
You have to take good care,
Of both your heart and health.
Don't ever fall ill.

When I'm not by your side,
You have to trust and be strong.
For our love is deep,
Till death do us part.
You must be well,
and don't forget to smile.

#1406.

It's been a month since I last blogged. June has been a really hectic month because it kick-started the birthday celebrations for my different groups of friends. I also went out with my colleagues more frequently (once a week) to explore dinner places. My month in brief:

• Dinner with Shingzers at Fullhouse Cafe
• Dinner at His.tori with bffs
• Visited QTpies Dav & Clau
• Went to Switch by Timbre
• Went to JB for Veralyn's birthday
• Tried paintball for the first time

Not forgetting the usual lunches with boyf's parents & spent what's left of my free time scrapbooking and reading. Time really flies. I was counting down to meeting my boyf again and voila! Next Friday is THE day! I've never looked so forward to Friday the 13th. Haha.

But the truth is, excited as I may be, I know my daddy is worrying about me. Day and night he drops hints and nags. I really cannot blame him for this is the way he expresses his concern and love for me. I can only listen, nod in acknowledgment and prays the one-way conversation would somehow end soon. Yes I am looking forward to the trip and all, but this last 2 weeks seems to contain more anxiety than excitement. Oh well. I shall practice The Secret (:

#1405.

Sorry I didn't blog last week as I was occupied on both Saturday and Sunday. It was super fun though! We went to Marina Barrage for picnic & kite flying for Yushu's and Weili's birthday. Hoonie and I were in-charge of collecting the birthday cake. But being the dumbos that we were, we alighted at all the wrong stops and ended up late /:

Anyhow, here's some pictures and it's almost full attendance this time! Minus Dennis who's still in the States but he'll be back very very soon and I can hardly wait! We have a good 11 members in AK now with the new member being JJ the Lizard. Hurhur girls are animals but guys are insects -.-

Yep, small world. After 8 years I'm talking to JJ again. Hahaha.

We used to bring chips and fizzy drinks to Barrage for picnic but times have changed. Now it's all sandwiches and salad, which is great! Love healthy picnics like this. More pictures on my instagram (@arohammer) cos I'm too lazy to repost.

xx

On Sunday I met up with Shingzers girlfs for dinner at Fullhouse Cafe and the quality was disappointing. Side note, Sha decided Shingzers is an ugly name so we're now... Pretty Girls? OMG! o.O

Will do a food review on that soon.

xx

And will you please check out this thing called Smash Book! It's super fun and I really want a Smash Book of my own! It originates from scrapbooking but people have since beautify scrapbooking so much that it's more of an art than hobby so here comes smashbooking! Where you just smash down anything & everything. It reminds me of the journals I used to keep in school and even now. Just that it has less "content" now. My journals back in school were filled with stickers, note, news cutting, quotes, etc. Now it's just doodles and mainly scribbles (:

#1404.

Feeling ultra worried now because I arranged a Skype date with the boyf at 1pm but it's 7pm now and he hasn't showed up. Texted him on Whatsapp, Facebook, Viber but there was no reply. If something's happened, he would have probably have informed me. My best bet (and consolation) is that he fell asleep. Le sigh.

Decided to blog to keep my mind away from dreadful thoughts.

Went for community service today with Ann and Ash!

On Thursday we went for dim sum at Swee Choon! Finally I've tried this place. I've been dying to try this famous dim sum place since a year ago?! But the last time I went with the boyf, it was closed. Silly us didn't check that it is closed every Tuesday. So happy that I managed to eat my liu sha bao! Slurps.

Review: Swee Choon @ Jalan Besar

There was no queue when we arrived at about 7pm but a queue started forming shortly after we began eating. So be slightly early to avoid the crowd! Service was very prompt so thumbs up for that! The food needs no introduction since it has been so highly raved and reviewed by many others. So here's the pics!

Food 8/10
Ambience 5/10
Value 6/10
Service 6/10

Address: 185/ 187/ 189/ 191 Jalan Besar Singapore 208882
Tel: 6225-7788

xx

Compilation of pretty-in-pink's! One of my bosses actually flashed my NRIC photo during team meeting this week. Oh gosh the horror & embarrassment! ): I forgot what we were discussing but he suddenly asked for the projector wire and plugged into his laptop. And the next thing I know, my NRIC photo was on screen. Thankfully half of the team was on leave / MC that day. But no thanks Ann managed to snapped a pic. Argh!!!

xx

Review: Eggs and Berries @ Changi City Point (II)

Having tried set B05 the other time, I decided to try another of the breakfast set cos they are so tempting! Glad I made this choice because the others who took set meal were not full. It seems like their portion is only big for breakfast sets. Again, I have to say I love it! My fav rosti, mushroom and sunny side up on one plate. What's there not to love? (:

The french onion soup was included in the set meal which my colleague ordered. Not mine, as mine was ala carte. I like how the onion was fragrant but the soup was a tad too oily for my liking.

Food: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10

Address: #01-37/38 Changi City Point, 5 Changi Business Park Central 1 (Opp Singapore Expo MRT)
Tel: 6636-4212

xx

Polaroids at work! :D Enjoying my colleague's company more each day! Also went for team walk around CBP for some exercise. Ann managed to capture our bored expressions during team meeting. Lol! Last but not least, visit to the rooftop!

#1403.

Here to share a video. I don't know why videos like this make me have goosebumps (:

#1402.

Why hello there PMS, we've met again. Been feeling fatigue of late, and had a runny nose on Friday. Still haven't recovered as of now. This nose block thing is making me very irritated because I can't sleep well at night. Also very sensitive and emotional with the erratic mood swings. Scares me too. Just last week my colleague took my phone and starting browsing through my photos without asking. I hate that! She commented (albeit jokingly) that I've gained weight over the past 10 months. Usually I'd laugh it off but I was already feeling moody so I teared! Omg my colleagues were shocked at seeing me cry. It lasted for less than a minute but I was really affected because I know for a fact that I had put on some kilos. Gahh whatever. Boyf's ultra sweet to me this weekend and let me rattle on and on even though he was deadbeat at 1AM. I knew he wanted to cut me off but he didn't. I heard him stifle a yawn at the other end and realized how late it was already. He even accompanied me to do online shopping at Joann just to cheer me up. Really appreciate the little things. 9 more weeks yeeeha! :D

#1401.

Hokays I'm now on instagram! Hiak hiak I don't know how I can cope with so many social media platforms. Proves how free I am huh! Anyway I was really excited when Instagram announced they are available for Andriod users and I immediately went to download it - only to realize that my phone ran outta space so I had to uninstall it. Bummer! )':


I asked around for help to root my phone (since the warranty was over) or how to transfer my apps to SD card but nobody knew! Decided to consult Google but the instructions were too techy for my understanding. Tried a few times before giving up /: I've since uninstalled other apps just for Instagram! See how much love I'm giving!!!


Follow me on the various platforms! Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (@arohammer), Blogger, Formspring.


xx


Queued at the money changer in Chinatown for it's awesome exchange rates! Colleague said I was super kiasu to be preparing my money 10 weeks before the trip /: I really dislike the last minute rush cos it makes me upset if things don't go my way. Hehe. Thanks to sis Meh and CH for the recommendation. Shall show you how much money I saved by getting good rates!


Money changer at Tampines gives SGD 1 = NT 22.8, while the one in Chinatown gives SGD 1 = NT 23.25. If you think that the difference of 0.45 isn't worth the queue, think again. For every SGD 10 you change, you're saving NT 4.50 = SGD 0.20. Obviously you'll be changing much more for a trip. I changed SGD 500, so I saved NT 225 = SGD 9.80. 10 bucks is a lot of moolahs leh! Can eat 2 meals or add 1 more item in my shopping loot in TW. Hehe.


Don't say I never share:


Crante Money Changer

#01-28 People's Park Complex S(059108)



The queue moves pretty fast since there are 2 counters. So fret not! I waited for about 10-15 minutes only! Pic of queue below. And I settle my dinner at some food centre Ash brought me to (:








xx


If you have been following me on Twitter, you'd known that it is {Inter} National Scrapbook Day on Sat!!! #NSD Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized there's actually such a day! Coincidentally my parcel from US just arrived a couple of days ago. Just in time for NSD. Hehe. It happens on the first Saturday in May annually :D *brings out scrapbooking materials*


So this is what I've been working on. I have a lot of projects half done and will show them once completed!










If I was living in the States or maybe Australia, I'd been frantically signing up for scrapbooking events/ parties/ fun fairs, and the likes. It's so awesome that they have an established community there and all the true-blue scrapper actually gather for scrapbooking. Since there isn't much hype here in Singapore, I shall review my loots from Eyelet Outlet!

I was searching for eyelets at Paper Market ever since I laid my hands on Crop-A-Dile II! Can't wait to start punching. But the PM outlet at Raffles City S.C. always claimed they are out of stock and they didn't know when they would be stocked in. I've been there at least 3 times and decided to look for alternatives online. Tried many many many sites (including eBay) but none of them could beat Eyelet Outlet when it comes to... erm... eyelets!! :D


First up, eyelets of course! I bought gold, purple mix, orange mix, brushed silver. And the packet in the middle is pearl brads. Eyelets costs about USD 1.70 per pack (about 200 pcs). It is the standard 1/8 size and I chose the cheapest just because I need them.




They also have them in the loveliest pastel shades so I might just be ordering them soon! Hehe perfect for this season!





Next I bought some cute brads. Omg their brads are sooooo adorable! Check out the travel set I bought just because I wanna start collecting materials for my major project later this year. Their brads are priced at about USD 3 on average and I think it's reasonable considering the unique designs you can find!





Last but not least, ribbons! One of my all time fav materials. Ribbons are so easy to use and adds a whole lot more to scrapbooking! About USD 1.50 each, so so so super cheap!!! :D





Bought all these babies for only USD 17.59 + USD 3.95 (shipping) = USD 21.54. I placed my order on 21-Apr and the items were shipped out on 23-Apr. Just 1 working day turnaround! (: Shipping takes about 8 working days though and I received them in my mailbox on 3-May!


Link here: Eyelet Outlet

Show me what you've bought too! :D

xx

Work happenings.







xx


Went to the movie screening of The Avengers, with Peisi, Kathy & Vanessa (her youngest cuzzie). Complimentary tickets thanks to Hoonie! Pity I didn't get to catch up with Anton at the pre-movie reception. Next time then! Love the brownies from Stamford catering.






Review: The Avengers (3.5 stars out of 5)




I've not met anyone who gave a negative review on this show but I felt it was just ok. Not too bad but quite typical of an action movie with the climax being the bad guy creating too much damage that it seemed there was no hope... until the super hero(es) came to the rescue! This movie was no different.


Of all the super heroes present, I could only recognize Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man -.- Who are Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow??? O: Aside from the boring dialogues at some scenes, I felt it was a pretty entertaining movie for all ages.


xx


Last but not least, the boyf took this picture a while back. The roses in his Rose Cottage are in bloom now and they're so pretty! Always remind me of The Little Prince and his rose. "What is essential is invisible to the eye. It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."