Penny's travels...

OK, so I bit the bullet and purchased a BB Playbook. Yes, the one I have been raving about and complaining about. I decided to get it. I figured that if I was going to get a tablet, it would have to be the BB Playbook even if it is shite.

Anyway, I bought it on Saturday from an American seller. I only thought to do that because there were no Australian sellers and true to Murphy's law (and the saying that patience is a virtue), an Australian seller appeared some two days later. So should have bought from them.

I decided to name my new addition to my geeky techy family Penny. I thought Penny the Playbook had a nice ring to it. Apparently too nice - someone told me it sounded like a porno name. Whatevs.

So the seller told me on TUESDAY that he had sent Penny to me. TUESDAY the 3rd of May 2011. on Wednesday, I could see, through the wonders of the tracking number that the item had left the States. That is an outright and BS lie because on FRIDAY, when I telephoned AUSPOST to find out why the tracking number did not show that the item had arrived in Australia when it allegedly left the States on Wednesday, I was informed that it was because Penny was not in the country yet. AND that Penny only left the States the night before (which would make it Thursday). So the USPS website telling me that Penny left the States on WEDNESDAY was an outright lie. WTF.

So Penny has gone on some grand tour of the States no doubt.

AND the seller told me that the post office told him that it should arrive on the 9th. BULLSHIT.

It is now 10.28pm on the 11th and I am still waiting for Penny to arrive. Apparently, it now appears that Penny is on a grand tour of Australia. Either that, or she's propping up a three legged table somewhere in the middle of woop woop. They have confirmed of her arrival in the country, but the tracking site says that she is in customs. I telephoned again (ok, what do you want from me - it's an expensive thing!) and it turns out that she has cleared the customs and is en route to Hobart. Via Melbourne. And she flew into the middle of the desert somewhere near Alice Springs. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.

So a big shout out to USPS - when you say express mail and delivery between 3-5 days, I say BS, don't lie!

And of course, I predict that it will arrive tomorrow and I will not be able to pick it up til Friday because of course, I have a meeting til 4.30pm and will not be home until after 5.

Patience is so not my middle name!!!

xoxo

Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty

You know how songs get stuck in your head? Well, this morning, it was the Selangor anthem. I know. Pretty random. And I was mildly impressed that I could remember all the words.

Then me being me, I proceeded to try to remember the words to all the songs that they made me sing throughout primary school and high school. I went through Negaraku, Duli Yang Maha Mulia, SRK Taman Melawati School Song, then the CHIJ School Song and even the Singapore National Pledge. I remembered everything - all the words, all the tunes. EXCEPT THE SINGAPORE NATIONAL ANTHEM. How the hell did that happen?

Anyway, being a complete Google geek - I typed in my old high school motto: Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty. And found this. I also went to the school's website and found out that there was an IJ iPhone (or iTouch) application - WTF? I'm so checking that out when I go home.

So that was my reminiscing for the morning. Time to keep my head down and get some work done. Only two more days until I finish up at my job! Eek!

3.30pm rocks up and I am desperately trying to gain some momentum on this complaint which I have been trying to write up for days. I was getting frustrated because all day, people have been interrupting me and preventing me from getting work done. When I assessed my status report last week, I thought that I was able to finish my work before I leave. I don't think that this is the case now.

So 3.30pm - half an hour before I leave work (and before you judge me on that, please note that I have been at work since 7am) and this woman walks up to me and starts asking me where to get good Chinese food. Come on. Define good. And define Chinese. And... who are you?

She starts telling me about how she was Singaporean and that she loves Chinese food and the Chinese food in Hobart will never be able to replicate the delicious food in Singapore, etc. She then proceeds to ask me where I'm from. I inform her that I'm from Malaysia, but I studied in Singapore for four years. She asked which school and I say IJ (Toa Payoh). She didn't say anything. But then further into the conversation she tells (quite proudly) that she was the CONVENT OF THE HOLY INFANT JESUS. And the one in Victoria Street too. To which I say "That's the same school I went to!". Turns out it didn't quite register when I said IJ (Toa Payoh) and also she informed me that they always called it the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, or CHIJ at the very least. I think she was even quite distressed that we shortened the name that much. She had graduated in 1962 and from what I can tell, it was a very different school back then. But one thing doesn't appear to have changed - the pride we felt for the school when we talked about it.

I never thought that I would like IJ, let alone love it. I was receipt of the ASEAN Secondary Scholarship, picked by the Ministry of Education in Singapore and left home for the first time when I was 14. Went to live in this hostel and was placed in a single-sex school. Life was vastly different from what I was used to. Attending my first day of school, I remember thinking: I have never seen so many girls in one place before.

And I was convinced I was going to hate it.

But far from it. I loved every minute of it, the friends I made, the laughter we shared and the memories which would last forever. I am extremely proud to be an IJ girl.

So back to my story with Rosemary. It's funny, once the IJ bond was established, it didn't matter that we were years apart and only knew each other for al of five minutes. We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch. It is funny that after working at RBF for a year, I meet a fellow IJ girl (woman) in my final week there, on the same day I was reminiscing about my younger days!

So calling out to any old IJ friends out there - if any of you are reading this, leave a comment and tell me your favourite IJ memory!

The IJ Spirit's living on,
It's stretching far and far beyond,
It's never gonna die it's gonna live in each of us.
And we will keep it burning burning strong,
The flame of zest lies in us all along,
Always inspiring us, to go on.

Gossip Girl, Season 4, Episode 19

Just when I thought that the return of Louis (or Louie?) the Prince was a bit of a "so what?" It was far from it. I was intending on watching Gossip Girl while culling my wardrobe and clearing my bedroom, but it kept my interested that I just sat there and did nothing but watch the episode.

So Louis is back from Paris, bearing the shoe that Blair left him when she left Paris to come home to Chuck. She had just rejected Chuck for the upteenth time (this is turning out to be a saga, but quite a good one) and turns out that the kiss with Humprhey meant nothing to her, and she realised that all she wanted was to be friends. Unfortunately, Dan has fallen for her - even he can't believe it.

Enters a new character, Charlie, Serena's long lost cousin, who, for some reason (I don't know, she just wanted to fit into the Upper East Side elite or something) does everything a Nosey Parker can do to spy on Dan and Blair. It screws up Dan and Serena's friendship, Serena and Blair's friendship, Dan and Vanessa's friendship and possibly Dan and Blair's friendship. I hope you're happy Charlie! How many bodies do you want to leave in your wake? RUDE!

I hate when Serena and Blair fight. And looks like this one is going to be war.

Which reminds me - what happened to Ben? He was no where to be seen and I can't remember whether he and Serena broke up (CW network, this is why you need to stop taking these massive long breaks in the middle of a season!!!)

Chuck Bass is desperately trying to figure out if Russel Thorpe is lying to him about his father. And even though I was a little annoyed at Chuck Bass last week, he's still got the Bass appeal! Love him.

Nate is being boring and in a love bubble.

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But let's talk about the dresses! There were a plethora of beautiful pink dresses on display as Manhattan's who's who (including some women who were absolute bitches!) attended Lily Bass' Pink Party. I personally love everything that Blair wears anyway, and once again she was perfectly stunning in her Oscar de la Renta gown. However, I thought in this particular episode, Serena and Lily might have outshone her!

Serena's dress was a tight, short little number. And while I don't usually like dresses like that, they definitely suit her as they accentuate her long legs and trim figure! No wonder all the top designers want to dress her. BUT, what I really liked about this dress is the detail on the back. The open back dress with suede applique and a mini bustle was absolutely stunning. Loved it!

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As for Lily, my research tells me that the stunning one shouldered chiffon gown she wore was a Charles Chang-Lima number from Bergdorf Goodman. Stunning!

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Bring on episode 20!

xoxo

Very interesting day!!

Today has been a pretty full on day. First of all, I got offered an AMAZING job! One that I think will be the role of my life and something that I cannot turn down. My current workplace is trying to offer me something to make me stay, but the more I think about it, I would be mad to turn this role down.

I love the people I work with now. They are professional, smart and absolutely AMAZING to work with. BUT I need to think about where I want to go in my career, and at this stage, it appears that they are unable to offer me as much money or map out a clear career path for me. So I have to move on.

I'm looking forward to my next adventure!

AND - Will's and Kate's wedding! Her dress was absolutely surprising, but at the same time, simply stunning! I love that she went with the long sleeves - not something I would do, but the (now) Duchess of Cambridge could definitely carry it off! And while that much lace tends to be a bit old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy, I think the modern collar just made it work. I loved everything about it! Even her tiara (so I should, the Queen lent it to her!) and her lovely veil!

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I also liked the fact that she didn't have her hair up. So she looked like herself (yes, because I should know! ;))

And how cute was Prince Harry when he snuck a peek at her when she was walking down the aisle. I would love to know what he said to his brother after he saw Kate! Cheeky!

All in all, I was glad to be able to witness THE Royal Wedding! The ceremony dragged a little, but it was awesome all the same.

That's all from me! Enjoy the weekend! Rest assured that I will be updating a bit!

xoxo

** I should mention that I have corrected all the spelling mistakes on this blog - sorry! It was late, I was tired... you know what it's like! x

Rosie and the Lazy Song...

My poor darling Rosie has hurt herself and she will need to undergo surgery. AGAIN. I can't believe it, the silly thing. But we love her too much to keep her limping. We have to fix it! Fingers crossed for tomorrow then!

On another note, how awesome is this video?? It is so my theme song (the bit about not doing anything, not the bit about the other stuff....) But the monkeys are hilarious! Love! They actually made me laugh out loud!

Hope you guys like it too!

xoxo

The Dance Scene - Episode 2

I don' know whether Lauri Ann (or how you spell it) thinks that she is a bad ass or something, but I don't understand her. WHY do you need to haze Kherington? Is that really necessary? I am still undecided about Kherington. I'm undecided about the whole show actually. I think that it's a good background filler TV - and I wouldn't care whether I missed the show or not. I just can't decide. Give me a few more episodes.

Although, having said that, I do enjoy the dance scenes - I always wished that I could dance, but alas! I was born with two left feet and a voice that would scare the dogs away.

Ugh - time to wrap this up - Chelsea Lately is on and I just can't stand her. AND that is an understatement to say the least!

What is this week going to bring! Bed time! Night peeps!

xoxo

My commitment this week...

Alright - let's get serious. I am thinking that I need to get into a dress fitting by October. That give me 6 months, so I need to work hard and lose some weight. So, right now, I need to commit to 3 cardio sessions, (each lasting at least half an hour) and 3 strength training sessions a week.

Food wise, the idea is NOT the starvation diet, it's all about grazing. There are only three days left of this week, surely I can do it.

The goal for the week, at minimum:

a) one walk with the Rosemeister;
b) one running session at ZAP; and
c) one hula hoop session.

Baby steps.

xoxo