There is no secret that I love Singapore. But wait, there is more. Changi Airport is just the place you want to be stranded in. Free internet kiosks (where I am currently typing this blog from), 24 hour food gallery (which only a couple of stalls were open, but I still got my wantan noodle fix), and more importantly, the TRANSIT HOTEL. Now, I didn't get a room in there (which seemed quite reasonably priced), but I did pay $8.00 for a shower! They gave me a fresh towel and a free drink (bottled water) and the bathroom was immaculate! It is amazing how the last 21 hours (13 hours in Melbourne Airport + 8 hours on the flight) can just fall away after one shower (and not to mention a 7 hour nap on the plane... yes, I can sleep anywhere)!
After my shower, I popped over to their Business Centre to do some much needed printing. (I had to print off a hotel voucher and sign it for the hotel in Hong Kong - I really don't know why I was so unorganised for this trip - it might have been because I have been so busy at work). It cost to print, but I like that I am able to! Last thing to do is finally DONE!
All by my lonesome in Changi airport...
I feel like a million dollars and ready for the next leg of my adventure! Will probably be out of reach (my phone doesn't appear to have internet roaming) for the next week or so, so no blogs from me!
So that pretty much set the tone for the day. Lack of sleep, check. Missing camera charger, check. Left my mobile in the car and Luke had to turn back to give it to me, check.
Virginblue took off on time and I slept for the whole hour. Arrived in Melbourne at 7am. Upon reaching though, got a text from jetstar informing me that my noon flight was now going to depart at 3.30pm. Great.
Then it got pushed to 5pm, then 6pm and now it's 8.35pm and I am just about to board. I am so unimpressed!
But can't complain. I am going for a holiday!
Although I am disappointed that I won't get to see my Singapore girls for dinner and a catch up.
My fb statuses:
No worries jetstar. A three and a half hour delay is just fabulous. I had nothing better to do anyway. It's not like I had dinner and a goss session with my SG girls planned or anything. I would love to sit around melbourne airport waiting. You're just awesome.
I hate jetstar.
Ok. So I have been in Melbourne airport for an epic 13 hours now. I've taken my lenses out, bought some vending machine toothpaste to clean my teeth (it even came with a toothbrush, how convenient) so now I'm ready for a snooze. CAN I PLEASE BOARD???
My wee vending machine toothpaste! I've put my pinky next to it for comparison. And before u say it, no I'm not a bumpkin, I'm just bored. And delirious from lack of sleep.
It's almost like I was going through the stages of depression, but in my case it was probably sarcasm, anger, acceptance and delirium.
I've even sent Luke a silly photo of myself with a song from himym: night night lukey, night night lukey.. Sha la la la... :)
But here is one thing I can show you.. because most of them have been sent out! This was our Save the Date cards. Luke took this beautiful photo of Rosie (which I have accidentally destroyed) and I added on the words. We wanted to include Rosie in our wedding somehow and as she could not be part of the wedding, we thought it would be nice to have her be the face of our Save the Date.
I got them printed as glossy postcards and I was quite pleased with the end results! Some of our guests even got little fridge magnets which looked exactly the same.
The back of the cards reads as follows:
This photo didn't turn out that well as it was a shot of the computer screen.
When I send the invitations out, I'll put another post up!
Ok - so I'm just getting ready for Christmas and after the beautiful photos I got of Rose and her Easter ears, I was hankering for another holiday photo. When grocery shopping, Luke saw these antlers (so yes, Rose, you can totally blame Daddy for this one) and suggested that we get them for Rose.
A couple of things:
a) Rose is a dream to photograph. She just seems to does what I tell her to do. Although at one stage, she did seem like she was a bit upset with me for putting her in such a ridiculous get up; and
b) even though I hate animals dressed as humans (with a few exceptions), I don't put this in the same category!
So expect a Christmas card in 2012 (I wasn't organised enough this year) with Rose's face on it! A star is born! :)
I don't know why we don't host afternoon teas more often! I think I might start high teas again! And cocktail hour! :)
Kelly D was coming over for a coffee and a catch up and I thought that I would whip up some cupcakes! I was initially going to make coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream, but I wasn't sure if Kelly liked coffee, so I went with the vanilla cupcakes and vanilla buttercream. I have to say though that I was immensely pleased with the consistency of the buttercream.
Case and point:
Yes, I had a yellow thing going...
And in case you are wondering, it wasn't a special occasion. I just like making things pretty.
The cupcake recipe is the same with the ones I made for the engagement party if anyone wants to try it out!
End of another lovely weekend - I'm ready for a big work week now!
Have probably said it to death today, but am feeling extremely nostalgic. It started with a lovely facebook wall post from my friend Yvonne, who I went to high school with. And when I talk about Yvonne, Kok Siew and Jin Lee, I don't JUST mean people who I went to high school with. I'm talking about people who are practically my sisters. Back in 1996, I left home at the tender age of 14 to take up the ASEAN scholarship in Singapore. So did Kok Siew, Jin and Yvonne. We were on the same scholarship. In the same hostel. Yvonne and Kok Siew were even roommates. We were also in the same class. We spent nearly every waking moment with each other. And even though we had drifted apart over the years, we got talking again about a couple of years ago, and planned our ten year reunion, which was a trip to Japan. And it was like nothing had changed!!! Now we are still close and talk to each other on a weekly basis through the beauty of whatsapp.
When I got to work and put my headphones in, the iPhone played "Run" by Collective Soul. I felt like I was instantly transported back to my old room at Hua Zhong Hostel, sitting at my table, "studying". And Claudia would be in the table next to me, also "studying". And by "studying" I meant that we were singing, talking and laughing. This song was very popular in 1999, and I remember it clearly because I was studying for my O-Levels and the start of the song used to catch Claudia and I... "All these times contagious, I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS BORED BEFORE!!!" Plus, the chorus which was "Have I got a long way to run" was heard as "We've both got a long way to run" and therefore, we thought that Collective Soul was totally singing about us and our exams. :)
For all who don't know the song, here it is:
And of course, the lyrics:
Are these times contagious I've never been this bored before Is this the prize I've waited for Now as the hours passing There's nothing left here to mature I long to find a messenger
Have I got a long way to run [x2] Yeah, I run [x2]
Is there a cure among us From this processed sanity I weaken with each voice that sings In this world of purchase I'm going to buy back memories To awaken some old qualities
Have I got a long way to run [x2] Have I got a long way to run [x2] Yeah, I run [x2] Have I got a long way to run [x2] Yeah, I run [x4] Have I got a long way to run [x4]
I had a dream a few weeks ago about being back in Hua Zhong Hostel. It was weird, yet wonderful. Time had passed and we were all the age we are now, but for some reason, we were back there and were going back to high school. It was almost like being at uni and working was the "summer break" from what was acutally going on... we were going back to school. And that's not even the weird part. The weird part of that dream was that all of us knew that it was weird, and was likely a dream, but we were excited about getting to go back to hostel life and promised ourselves to savour every moment.
It is just so amazing that one song could transport you to a point in time of your life, and help you remember every detail of that particular moment. Nothing like a blast from the past to help you remember where you came from, thankful for all the wonderful memories and grateful for the beautiful present life you lead. Thanks for the timely reminder.
