Was very lucky to walk pass the opening of Gobi Desserts at Central shopping centre yesterday. Central is the shopping cnetre that's built above clarke quay mrt. and they had very nice "reception". they made samples of their desserts and had champagne and red wine. it was superb to eat the desserts and the sip the champagne...It feel as though the 2 were a match made in the stomach...

they had nice lights too...but aiwen didn't want to tell misch about it because of what happened earlier... haha, payback/revenge!! pictures from the "earlier" event is here...: http://photos.yahoo.com/gracecwz/

this dress is very nice, it's featured on MTV pac's life, a tribute to Tupac.

Pnina Tornai Evening Wear Exclusive Kleinfeld designer

Pnina Tornai, exclusive designer to Kleinfeld, creates a bridal collection inspired by New York City and the American bride. Pnina, Israel’s leading bridal and eveningwear designer, has brought her designs to America after a decade of designing for some of the top celebrities, actors and singers in Israel.For Fall 2007, Pnina Tornai’s collection features her signature corset design. Inspired by the construction of original ancient corsets, Pnina adds her own modern touch to create the perfect fit. Pnina Tornai’s gowns are hand made of the finest fabrics imported from Europe and hand sewn in accordance with the principle of Haute Couture. Her collection varies from classic with clean lines and details to sophisticated hand embroidered ball gowns. Genuine Swarovski crystals and precious stones adorn her bridal creations. Pnina brings a new and fresh design approach to Bridal. Her gowns are classic but unique and always sensual. Her fabrics are light and her details reflect her individual sense of style, glamour and beauty.Her line varies from classic and neat cuts to sophisticated hand embroidered gowns. Genuine Swarowski crystals and stones are being used for decorating the creations. Pnina Tornai believes in creating her dresses through personal contact with her customers, which inspires and helps her understanding the need the purpose desired.

Weekend road trip to KL

Spending a weekend for a holiday is quite taxing.
Advantage: you don’t have to burn too much of your annual holiday.
Disadvantage: you have to be prepared to have your energy sapped from your bones.

Last weekend, I went to KL with my salsa friends from Xenbar. We left on Friday night, and I returned on Monday morning, just in time for natural products lecture at 10am. We booked the Grassland luxury coach, which cost $77, compared to $20 if you buy a no-frills coach and board it from Malaysia. The extra $$ went to the blanket they provided, a bottle of mineral bottle, a piece of cake, and a private television screen. Not to mention there was ample space for the legs. My toes couldn’t even touch the seat in front when I stretch it and point my toes. Having such a novel gadget on board, everyone threw sleep out of the window. From the last seat, I could see people turning into movies like Fantastic Four and Harry Potter. It was a surprise to see that the Harry potter movie that they had on board was the last movie edition: Goblet of Fire. However, being so tired from continuous nights of practice and performance on Friday itself, I immediately fell asleep on the bus, although I did try (in vain) to watch a movie after we were woken up at a pit stop.

I cannot help but stop this account of the trip, to tell you about what we saw at the toilets. At the toilet in Golden Mile complex, we saw a lady squatting over a drainage hole to pee, even though there were many empty, squatting cubicles. It was very traumatizing, more so when we saw the lady again when we were leaving the toilet, slowly preening herself in the mirror.

It was 5pm when we arrived in KL. We got off the bus at Berjaya plaza, opposite Times Square and tried/discussed how to navigate from there to capitol hotel. It took awhile because the map we had was very vague and there were no road signs in sight to indicate which direction is where and also because most of us just woke up from our sleep.

In the end we just followed Justin, walked blindly, and actually found the hotel lobby, which was very small and inconspicuous. After we deposited our bags at the concierge of the hotel (there were no empty rooms suitable for us to check into yet because we wanted 4 rooms on the same floor), we walked out into the night to look for any shops or restaurants which were open. We found an expensive Chinese restaurant which sold coke at RM$4 and porridge at RM$13. Having no choice and lots of money in our pockets, we sat down and depended on those of us who could speak Cantonese to order our breakfast.

The porridge we ordered was very tasty, and made us feel that we spent our money’s worth. Justin told Sam that this was the porridge he should cook. It led to the question, did the porridge contain MSG, a taste enhancer. Most of us felt that it did, because the porridge tasted good and we soon became thirsty that we had to order a drink. However Wai Huang said it didn’t because he was hypersensitive to MSG and it made his muscles tighten. The porridge, however, didn’t do so. We then say at the restaurant to talk till 8pm. The conversation was interjected by Justin’s demands for Ivy to tell us our itinerary. That totally stressed Ivy out because it was a free and easy trip and there was no itinerary,

I was sitting beside Justin and being so close to him I spotted a strand of white hair and pimples on his head! Then yanqing reached over to touch his hair, then she concluded, “I give you permission to shave again, now your head not poky anymore!”

We got back to the hotel at 8am to see if they had any rooms. Unfortunately they didn’t so we sat at the lobby and started dosing off. After a while, we shifted to the chairs at the café for better sitting positions. Justin couldn’t sit still, after a while he started garnering the few of us who were awake to go for another breakfast, this time it was wanton noodle breakfast. Terence, Wai Huang, Joyce and me stayed and slept. At about 10am, when the hotel promised us at least 2 rooms, everyone came back, with bubble gum. Thus we started a bubble-blowing competition. We took quite a few tries before we could get a picture of all 4 bubbles taken.

Before the clock stroke 1, we managed to troop down to Federal hotel’s swimming pool to do a bit of tanning. Unfortunately there was more cloud cover that desired, and most of us ended up “half done” or half tanned, only the back was exposed to strong enough sun. Not giving up, we returned the next day and was rewarded with very strong sun. Instead of originally spending 30mins lying on one side, we only took 10mins. Joyce and I were happy to be slightly tanned, unlike Sam and Ivy, who tanned till their faces burned. Not forgetting to take photos, we posed for a few memorable ones, and we caught Kyo’s 6-pac-to-be-8 on photo. DJ Kyo, candidate for the Xenbar’s version of 300.

The rest of the day was quite uneventful as we went shopping at Sungei Wang while the guys entertained themselves. Each of us got valuable buys which we couldn’t get in Singapore. The biggest take-home was the second day, when we chanced upon a factory outlet shop while walking aimlessly from shopping centre to shopping centre. We each other a pair of denim shorts, all prepared to dress as sailors for the May/June performance. The shorts were selling at RM$24 and buy 1 free 1. So that works out to less than S$6.

The whole objective of the trip was actually to get a feel of KL’s salsa scene. And we did. At first we went to Salsa Havana, but it was empty on Saturdays. Next we went to Little Havana. It was D place. All 11 of us trooped into the semi-detached bungalow. I bet the locals were all thinking: who are they? We soon showed them that we were here to dance salsa. All our ladies could do that pretty well. Soon, we took over the dance floor. After all, we were only here for 1 night. It was very enjoyable, the place was crowded, just enough to provide a party yet not too crowded for accidents and feet-stepping to occur. I enjoyed myself there. I actually caught this guy, Jason who could do very nice afro-cuban shines, in action. However the lighting was tricky and I figured that the memory of it would serve better than a dark recording.

After the dancing, which ended at 2am, we were invited to join the locals at a prata stall nearby. It was very much like what we do in Singapore, after social dancing at Union Square. There, I got the chance to talk to a lady by the name of Xiao San. I asked them about which school they were learning from, who are her instructors, whether they danced with anyone, or only among their own classmates. She also asked about Singapore and I told her that Xenbar is a bar, restaurant, club and dance school all rolled into one. As members of Xenbar, we get to customize it and make it our own, like sleeping over during practices and playing mahjong to chill. She said she loves the concept of Xenbar, and would definitely check it out when she comes over. To end the night, we took group pictures with the locals, and exchanged emails. At that point, I felt that my sole aim of coming to KL was fulfilled and I returned to the hotel utterly exhausted. I slept while feeling the aches and pain from my feet creeping up my body.

random pictures from KL here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gracecwz/my_photos

9.30am
In the middle of my 8am lecture, I suddenly remembered that I wanted to do my journal for human relations today. frantically I started looking for paper. None of my cliché has rough paper! Luckily Wey ling, a classmate has, otherwise I would have to procrastinate my work again, and it is not good because I would be away in Kuala Lumpur for the weekend and there’ll be no time for work. To make thigns worse, my Independent study module final paper will be due next week, on top of the human relations assignment.

I have been wanting to fulfill my role as a conscientious student and do my journal before the last week. Unfortunately, I lack a bit of self-discipline.

Dosage form design lecture is getting very unbearable after 1 hour and I’ve been counting down the minutes ever sine 9.05 and it 9.40 now. The good news is, Yay, the lecturer has decided to take a break. A sign of relief could be heard from half of the lecture theatre, the half which is occupied.

Now I have to go look for a toilet where people hardly visit so I can do my make-up for my salsa performance later. I am very excited about it because it’s the first time Nigel and I are doing it for the public. In previous performances, we just did a common choreography, taught to us by Yanqing. This one is different because it was choreographed mostly by Nigel, with some input from me. It tells a story of a couple dating. Nigel is quite satisfied with his current choreography and I hope our practice over the past 2 days have paid off. I just pray that his knee is okay (so he can do a toe touch and jump over me) and the flooring will not have too much effect on us.

11.25pm
Am leaving Yusoff Ishak House to go to Science, where the performance is. Hope I am not too late, but I don’t see any bus in sight either. I did my make-up at the nice and new toilets in the University Hall, and my friends accompanied me there and also walked with me to YIH. They gave me advice on where to paste my crystals, and what products to buy. For example, michelle suggested that I buy the sparkle powder that comes with a brush dispenser from Body Shop since I was going to use it very often. I was at a lost of which eye shadow colour to use. The last time I wore this same purple outfit, using purple and pink hues did not look god together as there was too much on the same colour. Aiwen suggested that I use brown as opposed to michelle’s suggestion on black because I was very fair and the performance was a day performance. I agreed as well, because I did not want to look too over-done, and besides, I did not have black eye shadow, they are expensive and sold-out most of the time. Despite aiwen’s suggestion that I put only silver crystals, I still included green ones as I thought they added a fresh look to brown, and green is kind of complimentary to brown, although it has nothing to do with my outfit. I just like green. I have a green bag, and a green umbrella, and recently, I have been contemplating buying a new pair of lime green dancing shoes. My other shoes have become worn-out. I had put on fake eyelashes, but on the walk to YIH I found that it was placed too far to the side, and was irritating my eye. So when we reached YIH, we went to the toilet behind the career centre, which very few people frequent, to re-apply it. I didn’t eat much for “lunch”, just ordered 2 kuihs to prevent any hunger prangs from bothering me, but at the same time, I didn’t want to allow my stomach and tummy to show when I’m put in the spotlight. Bus is coming, my handphone is ringing, must be Nigel calling me.

4.05pm
Phew! It’s all over. I got to class slightly late but still before the lecture began. I decided to drop by Science foyer again to give the bubble tea another try. I wanted to have a cup of bubble tea earlier, after all it’s free and it was being given out as lucky draw prizes. But because we performed during the bazaar, they gave us one cup each. I love bubble tea because of the chewy pearls. Luckily, I got the last cup of tea. What luck! Otherwise I would feel quite disappointed. Pity the lucky draw contestants later, no more bubble tea, many other prizes have also run out of stock as the lucky draw is so popular. You just need to log in with your matriculation card number and pin.

I didn’t eat lunch earlier, so I felt that the bubble tea would be my reward for fasting. I didn’t eat after my performance as well as I didn’t feel hungry after the “work-out”. It didn’t help that I concussed for 1 hour the moment I reached my room. When you sleep, you don’t feel hungry. After waking up, bathing and preliminary packing for KL, I did feel hungry. So I grabbed some biscuits while leaving my PGP room. Was running late because I just remembered I had to send out the link of the new survey to my group mates so that we can source for more minority population representatives.

I switched on my laptop and it automatically signed me into MSN. Then I sort of got “delayed” there because a fellow performer of ACTFA, Wai Huang, asked me, how was the performance. He performed for the same event yesterday and filled me in with the details of the mistakes and accidents that happened. So I figured that I had to return the favour and inform him as well.

Basically, the Master of Ceremony, James, came late today and we did the performance after an anxious-sounding introduction from Kelly, one of the student organizers. Unfortunately, it didn’t draw any crowds and people didn’t even know that we’re started performing. After we finished performing, I was drenched in my own sweat! So my friends, who were very supportive to come and cheer for me, brought me to a nearby empty lecture theatre to cool down. It was such a relief!

Later at 12.45, James finally arrived. His continuous flow of lame jokes and promotion announcements was in the air. We did social dancing to 2 salsa songs, both salsa remixes of Chinese songs. I figured that if we played songs which the crowd identified with, they would be more interested in Salsa and not thinking of it as a segregated music genre, all by itself, which is what most salsa dancers think. The Chinese songs were so addictive that the MC started talking in Chinese while introducing us between the songs. Having the MC and the correct music really helped draw crowds, so much so, we decided to do our performance once again, to garner more interest.

I was quite happy to see so many familiar faces, like one of my salsa class students, school and dance mates, Jiwei and Rozanna. Fiona, my junior college best friend, also came down, as well as many other pharmacy juniors. After the warm-up and sweat-down of social dancing, Nigel and I were more prepared. On top of that, we received words of wisdom from the Grand-teacher himself, Justin, in whispers just before we got on the make-shift platform. He told me to be more confident and “if you wobble, tell yourself that there is no reason that you should be losing balance.” These words really helped because after doing a turn and a head toss, which usually threw me off balance, I didn’t wobble so much.

Our second performance was better, except that I kept having difficulty catching the music for the solo component. It didn’t help that Nigel always wear our mistakes on his face. Because of the sweating, our hands slipped when we were doing the Slide-through and I couldn’t get up from it, though luckily I didn’t fall flat on the floor. That would have been very embarrassing because I could see the worried faces of the audience when our hands slipped. Fortunately, we recovered fast enough before the next set of moves.

My friends made my day when they told me the performance was great. Fellow dancers told me it was nice too, they enjoyed the choreography. That was topped by a pharmacy junior who also dances Salsa; she told me that I’ve improved a lot since she saw the same item in December.

this is how chocolate feels to a female student of my mom's

i think she asked her students to fill up my survey, in an attempt to help me increase numbers. very interesting, i have a survey which claims to consume 10 red bulls, 8 bars of chocolate, and 20 cokes, plus instant tea and green tea etc in a day....is it possible to eat so much in a day?

my nice pink Ripples slippers have been worn, and is now worn, its not only black, it's also grey, from the wear and tear of my feet...*sob sob*

So lets swear in my new teva slippers, hope they serve me longer than poor Ripples...

From pellets to tablets and capsules

This is the combined effort of my class, after 7 weeks of Dosage form design practicals...every group makes pellets of one colour, surprisingly, we all make a different colour and it ties in very well with the rainbow!!!

Product of last week's make-up class

Went to Marrkesh, forgot what's the name of the place, but it's one those places that allows you to smoke shisha and it has very pretty and exotic lights and layout. it's at clarke quay!! the chairs on the outside are low rocking chairs, then inside you can choose to sit in a "booth" (can sit 2 on each side, with lots of cushions) or on the swing... or on sofas which are partitioned by organza material...and it plays an interesting mix of music, from clubbing to more indian pop songs like Addictive by Rakim... and interesting cocktails. i'll give the place 5 upon 5, absolutely delightful. (the smoking didn't disturb me...it was fruity and mostly inhaled to the lungs of the smokers)

Lingz and me sharing cocktail over the pretty fountain

I got something to confess....

I littered today.


just now i let go of 2 helium balloons, one which nigel and me wrote on. they floated away, but i'm sure they will land somewhere....

I think this kind of make up is quite unique, and if you use "gentle" colours, might be suitable for work, and rather hassle free...it's done by the gel eye liner which is gentle on your eyes and has a smooth finish.

On the topic of makeup, i found out that shiseido has this very good liquid eyeliner called "Fine eyeliner" at $50, refills at $20. this is the conclusion after comparing maybelline, loreal, revlon and one more brand, forgot already...

and thos who like 2 in 1 stuff and looking for non-black pencil eyeliners, the shiseido eyeliner pencil duo is quite good. it resist tears, sweat and oil, draws smoothly, has a pearl brillance.

disclaimer: was at OG, and apparently the best product brand there is shiseido lah...

Is this blend of green and purple cold or what? And it's all due to sheseido's new line of eye shadow called hydro powder eye shadow. it's very smooth and has a shiny/metallic finish and only needs a dab. it's $38...oh, and apparently shiseido teaches you to do this makeup. if you are too lazy to find/read it, can ask me. keke...picked up one or 2 good tips about makeup.

Oh no, i just passed my pharmacotherapy test. 13/25 when the rest of my class did well. it's the one where i had to do a performance the night right before the test. very bad....

must hit the books hard after i finish my caffeine paper..*so scared*

the only comforting tot is that i can acutally score well if i study. i got 19/20 for another test.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=566633376315

everyone please get your father, mother to do this survey on caffeine consumption. CNY must do good deeds, don't forget to do the survey yourself too!

Finally uploaded the pictures from 2 weeks ago...

The Size of the Leaf
There are at least ten different grades of tea leaf in terms of shape, size and quality of leaf. The teas you find on your supermarket shelf are usually teabags containing the lowest grades - tea dust. These are the tiny particles which break off from the leaves during processing and produce a very dark liquid with relatively little taste.

The Age of the Leaf
When the tea is picked there are different sizes of leaves on the plant. All Tea Palace teas are made from the tea plant’s youngest and most tender leaves, which give the finished tea a delicate and rounded flavour. The larger older leaves with a harsher taste, are those that end up in the supermarket.

Single Estate Teas
Like wines, the best and ‘purest’ black teas come from single tea gardens in India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) China and Japan.

Blends
Most popular brands of teabag contain between 15-30 different teas blended together, many of which are cheaper lower quality teas. Those teas that are blended with other ingredients (eg Earl Grey or Lemon), often use artificial flavoured oils in order to flavour the tea.

TASTES

Acidity
A basic taste characterised by the solution of an organic acid. A desirable sharp and pleasing taste particularly strong with certain origins as opposed to an over-fermented sour taste.

Bitterness
A primary taste characterised by the solution of caffeine, quinine and certain alkaloids. This taste is considered desirable up to a certain level and is affected by the degree of roast brewing procedures.

Sweetness
This is a basic taste descriptor characterised by solutions of sucrose or fructose which are commonly associated with sweet aroma descriptors such as fruity, chocolate and caramel. It is generally used for describing coffees which are free from off-flavours

Saltiness
A primary taste characterised by a solution of sodium chloride or other salts.

Sourness
This basic taste descriptor refers to an excessively sharp, biting and unpleasant flavour (such as vinegar or acetic acid). It is sometimes associated with the aroma of fermented coffee. Tasters should be cautious not to confuse this term with acidity which is generally considered a pleasant and desirable taste in coffee.

MOUTHFEEL

Body
This attribute descriptor is used to describe the physical properties of the beverage. A strong but pleasant full mouthfeel characteristic as opposed to being thin.

Astringency
This attribute is characteristic of an after-taste sensation consistent with a dry feeling in the mouth, undesirable in coffee.

I'm writing a report on caffeine, if you were reading it, what things would you want to know more about?

Erm, can anyone is the difference before and after light make-up?

Haha, treated Him to Fish & Co. even though i couldn't eat seafood. that's also precisely why i must bring him there, being with me means less seafood to eat, so must pity him, treat him some.

Desserts? Gobi desserts has all sorts of interesting stuff. i remember some being very sweet, some having cranberry flavoured chocolate truffle...hmmm, yum yum. but finish already. nonetheless, was a very good surprise gift for Vday. so embarrassing, always make Nigel spend so much.

Weather forecast


Strong winds blowing your way. But do take heed, the winds are dwindling, kite-flyers please take note!!

Nigel helped me make this:



Comments?

YEah! Success...Today, I certify myself capable to teach both Bachata and Merengue...the class i tot today got so high after hearing the music and practising the variations, i had problems calmming them down. We did the helicoptor and the second part of "Macucho" ... so we went round and round and went crazy... haha..

later we played merengue all night long!!!

no no no, no one could have survived that...just joking. we did 2 more songs after class ended and that was officially the limit that almost everyone had.. for their muscles. i think everyone agreed that it's a good way to work your Lats/Abs.

at first i tot it was going to be very fast..when i saw that they could do the side to side isolation. but the hardest part to convey was the stepping motion.

"step on your toes first"

"shift your weight"

"bend your knees"

repeat x 10, one minute apart. students could only get the idea after some much stressing....

one student mentioned that my gimmick of making everyone hold their hands up, grab the arm of the people beside, and the whole row of people isolate together, was the best way of illustrating isolation. haha. +1 point to yanqing who gave me the idea.

Went for a course on saturday to learn how to use adobe premiere, didn't learn that much, but i made use of the time and resources to do this:



the original video is : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS58jCTZHZw

too bad the edited version is so blur...

first of all, i want to express my deepest regret that i'm not updating my blog. (esp to misch and Qiu)

nonetheless, when i have more work to do, i want to blog more, so here i am.

Yesterday night went of PRU's V bash at St james' power station. the place is very huge. as in it houses more than 1 club. i think there's a restaurant there too. and the ceiling is very high....and there's a reason for having one too. or rather, they put the high ceiling to good use. What happened was, they had 3 acrobats in the house, and they did stuns while keeping themselves wound on the 6 metre cloth.

its quite accessible, just a road away from Vivocity. but never attempt to park at st james'. it's $6 for first 5 hours from 5pm-7am. and you get charged every hour before or after that. so, park at Vivo. it's $2 per entry in the evening/night.

the music was good for like 30mins. then after that it was trance...so i left before it was even 11pm.

on the flipside, maybe it was good to leave at that time. coz at that time all the children playing/splashing in the waddling pool at the ceiling of Vivo were gone. and soaking your feet in the cooling waters was really "shiok".

all in all, i spend $5 on housepour (screwdriver, not bad for housepour, usually other clubs/pubs don't offer screwdriver as housepour), $5 to watch the amazing acrobats, and $5 to watch 2 bartop dancers grind a transverstite (who was supposedly a girl, who happened to be participating in the bartop dancing compeition as well). Sounds worth it. haha.

想当年。。。。

如果我学会机灵一点，我的"Chemicals and Us"就不会因为没注意时间而拿了零分。那我的CAP就会〉3.7分。说不定， 今年就会被允许， 作FYP。 又说不定， 可能会因此而考个second upper honours。 那我读masters和就业机会会大大的增加。。。

像当年。。。。

OH NO!!!

was just reading up on "non-impt" stuff. a big realisation came to me....

when i graduate, my student's pass will expire. then i'll move on to do my pre-registration.

but i cannot apply for Employment pass (foreign professionals) because my pay is not >$2,500

and i cannot apply for S pass (for mid-level skilled workers e.g. technicians) because my pay will not be >$1,800

which leaves me with work permit (pay not >$1,800, unskilled) and work permit (foreign domestic workers, the kind who cleans your house, cook for you, wash your toilet)

That means my pre-reg is no better than ...than...

Anybody wants to employ me to clean their house? *sob sob*

The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
The second time he does not notice it.
The third time he is conscious of its existence.
The fourth time he faintly remembers having seen it before.
The fifth time he reads it.
The sixth time he turns up his nose at it.
The seventh time he reads it through and says, "Oh brother."
The eighth time he says, "Here's that confounded thing again."
The ninth time he wonders if it amounts to anything.
The tenth time he thinks he will ask his neighbour if he has tried it.
The eleventh time he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
The twelfth time he thinks perhaps it may be worth something.
The thirteenth time he thinks it must be a good thing.
The fourteenth time he remembers he has wanted it for a long time.
The fifteenth time he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time he thinks he will buy it some day.
The seventeenth time he makes a memorandum of it.
The eighteenth time he swears at his poverty.
The 19th time he counts his money carefully.
The twentieth time he sees it he buys it, or instructs his wife to do so.

You Think Gas is Expensive at $3 a Gallon?
Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ....... $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ..... $9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ..............$10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ........$10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ...........$33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ...........$178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ..........$123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ..................$25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 ..................$84.48 per gallon
Evian water 9 oz for $1.49 .......$21.19 per gallon.
So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, or worse, Nyquil!

This is my newest piece of photo art. it's named "one year later.." it'll be good if i can pursue my next project called "years later...."

green bag, green top! yeah!!!

Celebration with my marketing group + friends - boyfriends. hehehex

I want ICE CREAM....lychee martini....

and the horrible photographer just kept snapping......on silent mode!!!

can't take a decent mugshot....ahh....chooo!

me squinting under the sun. took this picture long ago. sigh, it's going to me my turn, so scary/exciting

Love this one, it says sell your children to buy the bag... not that i like the idea of selling children, no no no. it's the idea of the weighing scale and the markings on it. haha

more from the Grand Cathay

the week that killed me.

mugshot of me, the one i sent to Jansen-cilag. looks so old now...

Amidst working and mugging for exams, i decided to apply for the internship at Jansen-Cilag. the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson.

And i GOT IN! for the interview. (chey....)but the interview is in the middle of exams. So everyone wish me luck, any "Do nots" and "Dos" to highlight?

felt the effects of taking 7 modules in a semester. it really feels like dying.

i tot giving myself one day to write each section of my urops report was sufficient. unfortunately, i was wrong. there's still so much to do after writing. most of the graphs and results which i tot i had already standarised, had to be changed. re-titled, font size changed, boldened, and re-pasted into the report. and i had 30 graphs (13 pages) in the appendix. each in different files. there are lots to learn from this. advice to all my classmates who are doing final year project:

1) establish a systematic way of name your results EARLY, foresee the required fields eg not only conc and parameter measured, need volume used, need temperature, batch of chemical used (stock solutions that you prepared).

2) tables and graphs, title properly, with the report in mind, consolidate them in a single file or folder. make sure the values are dynamic. otherwise when you decide to "not show" some results (you have 12 sets, you only want 3 but not in running order), then the graphs will update themselves.

3) finish report at least one week before the deadline so your prof can read and comment/edit. chances are, the report is totally not inline with report-writing-grammar, then you have to re-write. and you have to re-phrase to prevent copyright infringements.

4) record or write down everything the prof discussed with you, be it in full or in notes. you'll need the exact words. especially when you're in a rush and you can't remember what the prof said during your first meeting.

must thank God for giving such a nice supervisor. after i handed in my report on the deadline, she read it overnight, and gave a a 5-page word doc on how and where to improve my report on. of course i know that i'll be graded on my first submission. but she actually bothered. so i spend a few sleepless nights doing my urops, my game theory, my marketing report.

then i fell sick. was preparing for my urops oral presentation on wed, the in afternoon i had to present for DI lecture. i finished the ppt only at 12am wed. so didn't have the chance to print the ppt. then i went early to sci co-op to print it, the guy before me too 15 mins then printed until there was no more ink. so the printer was out of order. then i went to CBLC. but the queue for printers was long, the queue for release of print jobs was even longer. didn't get to eat breakfast either because the queue was so long. i was so stressed and frustrated that i almost wanted to break down and cry, i forgot to ask where the presentation venue was. despair!

thank goodness to the someone who accompanied me and took all my frustrated vents. i reached my prof's office just as she was leaving and dialling my hp number. was very nervous during the presentation, even the examiner had to tell me to calm down. so i paused and carried on. couldn't handle the quesitons they asked, because i didn't and couldn't do the MS part of my experiment. only grad students can undergo the training to use it. and class didn't really go into the practical concerns, Dr Bong, one of my examiners too, taught it and only said we had to understand the principle.

only only consolation was that the new prof was interested to take me when i'm doing my FYP, unfortunately, i am underqualified. haha. my CAP doesn't allow me to do FYP, and it's too late, i'm not a year 3 student.

they encouraged me to do grad studies? should i?

Was back to my wed class. found out that they're all working in a shipping company and the company offers great welfare/bonding activities, hence these sponsored salsa lessons.

my hour of peril came when I was informed that Justin was not around to teach them "intermediate" class. All the instructors around were highly against allowing them to merge with the normal intermediate class. SO....................... i decided to teach, some basic steps.

Found out that justin has been teaching them combing techniques. it was until later that it's VERY wise of him to do that. Thinking that the class did very well in basic class, i went on to teach CBLT, with the agenda of teaching variations using CBLT. But, 30 mins into the class i realised that no one could really grasp the step. and it's very pointless to teach variations for that. so i modified my "syllabus" to the first 8 only, that being a simple turn hammerlock.

considerably simple. but i didn't have the foresight to realise that to get out of that, i was going to do a back-break and double hand comb. if the class didn't get the CBLT, it was worse with the back break, simply because i haven't covered third hand hold with them. and because, they were all not concentrating anymore.

Later, i realised that everything went wrong the moment they shut off. the reason why they did so well in basic was because i still had their attention then. Finally, i pulled out my last card: end the agony. not only the students' but also mine. the students cannot understand how to do the steps, i cannot really explain the steps without taking a much longer time. looking back, i could have plunged into that. but the chances are, my class would be very confused and be further put off.

Later, justin's advice, in such situations is, to calm down, collect all their attention, and say, let's do it together...most importantly, read their minds. whether they are just tired, or they are still very willing to learn, but you are not teaching to them the way they want.

Wed's lesson taugt me that, being a good instructor also requires you to have psychic abilities. and then, be bothered enough to attend to their needs and wants. doesn't help if you understand them, but can't be bothered. imagine:

student: "man, i really can't catch this step"
Instructor: "oh really? you'll just have to practise more later, now i have to complete my class"

But of course, there are no such instructors.

Yesterday, while waiting for a briefing to start, i got stung by an insect. I don't know what insect it is because when it flew away i was more affected by the pain on my third finger than to pay attention to its fleeting escape.

within the next 1 hour, my finger swelled, then the palm, then the other 2 fingers beside it. then the joints started to swell, giving me knobby fingers. as i didn't have any anti-histamines with me, i went to the university health care. Note that my hand was numb and swollen to the point that i can't flex it.

guess how the wellness centre treated me.


The same, okay, take a number (before that i waited a long while cuz the nurse was attending to a clueless grad foreign student). took a number, somehow, the numbers didn't jump very fast to mine. it was the same as normal. i happen to be at the wellness centre on monday too because the haze was affecting my arm, nose and eyes. it took 30 mins eventhough i had 40 numbers between the currently served and my queue number.

yesterday, it took 30 mins too, though only 10 queue numbers were before me. Somebody was saying maybe i should say i cannot breathe or something...oh well.

my hand is still swollen, itchy and the joints are painful. am quite okay with the whole experience, at least next time when someone walks into my pharmacy with an insect sting, i can understand how they feel.

Since last week, wednesdays at Xenbar have been swarmed with a new/big group of corporate employees. must thank Christina (i hope i got it right) for advertising Xenbar to them. Now Wednesdays are back to the way they were. I sincerely hope that after they finish the package that they signed up for, they will stay on.

Was shocked when i saw the first few people walk into Xenbar. then Wee beng said there'll be alot more, and i'm supposed to teach them. the co-incidence was, i actually wanted to give up the class that day because of another event. At the last minute, i decided to teach the lesson, end on time and rush back. but boy was i wrong. the lesson that day ended at 8.30pm. Thanks to Kyo for allowing me to go overtime "a bit".

It's good and bad to have such a big, chattery group. They know each other, it makes the whole environment fun. of course, they were much less serious about the lesson than all my other students because this is their chance to wind down, let down their hair and enjoy.

After teaching for a little more than 6 months, i realise that "following the slowest" actually holds truth. but i don't think it should be a hard and fast guide. sometimes, you have to entertain and take care of the majority too. At times when there is a great disparity of salsa background in the class, i tend to get very stressed thinking how to entertain the majority, while i coach the slowest. I used to stick to the slowest, because basic class is for the beginners, and if i don't entertain the majority, at least one person in class benefited. Now, i think it is still a good approach. However, for this group, i went with the majority because they've attended only one previous class, so the beginners have less to catch up with.

Owing to the large group of beginners, i started on Simple turn at only 8.10. at which my lesson was supposed to be over. I think time had to be spent on explaining. Explaining to them why we are spending so much time on basics. All the time, i kept telling myself, these people are probably smarter than me, so never undermine their intelligence by going too slow. much time was also spent on calming the class. As with most groups, there is always a clown, the attention seeker. While i tried to push the class through my agenda, i had to bear special consideration not to spoil anybody's fun.

For some twisted, co-incidence, i couldn't find the mic that day, and i still couldn't find it this week. Am i lucky i only have to teach for one hour? there must be a better way to capture their attention. Is it because they don't respect me enough? Besides being the boss, what is it about Justin that makes them all quiten down and listen?

Last but not least, i have to thank Natalie and Ivy for helping me in the class. Without them, i'll have to go to Shaolin and learn the art of splitting myself into 2. And especially to Natalie, she saw the areas that i didn't cover, the info that the students needed, and helped me emphasize them. Am very gratefully to the both of them.

Am in a mad rush to finish 4 projects....reminds me of my year 2 life. accept that this is so much more impt now, because these projects are done, (at least to me) for the sake of honing my future career skills.

At the point when we're going to graduate in 6 months, i'm wondering whether i should be doing pre-registration. pre-registration means i can practise as a pharmacist. initially, i am very much deterred by the cold and strict environment of the hospital. i don't think i want to ever, work there. then i went to HPB, saw all the job opportunities there, was thinking, maybe i could see it in my future career options. but first, i need to gain some work experience. so i tot, maybe i could work with some pharma company so i don't have to do pre-reg and have work experience. then i tot, maybe IMH would be interesting.

then i attended this talk by GSK marketing manager. she reminded me of my earlier resolution to be in retail. and her final words were "do pre-reg". well. so i guess, i'll still be doing pre-reg, in retail, or if IMH wants me, i'll try. for 3 years maybe. If retail, maybe 4 years? Somehow, i don't see people in retail staying for a very long time. but we'll see how, maybe i can become area manager for guardian one day? I'm not a very clinical person, so retail is my thing. besides, i can sound altruistic and say, i want to do retail because i feel that improving the health of the public does not only lie in giving and ensuring correct medicine. with the successful marketing of supplements, more and more people need an objective advice regarding such issues. I believe that a person walking in to ask for information is more receptive to advice than a sick person. so i think the way to really impact lives is from retail. and more imptly, a person should also be entitled to professional advice even when they are healthy.

Found this clip on pharmacy in southpark...very funny, drug abuse..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG4OUUKdKaE

Salsa vs Latin Ballroom
Disclaimer: this entry shall not consider standard ballroom dances as it is

1) too difficult to excel in,
2) too rigid,
3) takes too long to master,
4) has no established ballroom dancing teachers in singapore willing to impart all dance skills, and in writer's opinion
5) too stiffling for expression of self (no ballet background, marginally appreciates contemporary dance).

In the above disclaimer, i have already stated the main reasons why i prefer salsa.



It is interesting how a few people can actually document the exact same thoughts over the same time. After posting this entry, i realised that YQ posted an email about "salsa = play" in our yahoo groups. I totally agree with her.

I was at YIH copying rag videos from the NUSSU exco (if you want a copy, come to me) when i chanced upon an old photo of a couple i know, in a rumba pose. I thought to myself, yes, latin dance is interesting, especially samba and rumba, each for different reasons. maybe it's the environment, maybe it's the people, but somehow, i don't see the kind of "play" YQ mentioned. Maybe it's because these dances are learnt for performance and competition sake, so the emphasis is on the audience. On the contrary, i agree whole heartedly that salsa lets the wild and sexy side of you express itself.

In the past, when i was a beginner, i laughed at the adjectives used to describe salsa; wild, sexy. However, now when i know "the rules of the game", everything makes sense. The best part of Salsa is the fact that you can pick up anyone on the dance floor and have fun. it really doesn't matter if your partner is your gf/bf/spouse; of course you'll be in a better mood and position to flirt and be sexy if that's the case. I think in this aspect, Xenbar has done a very good job. Unlike a very popular salsa club that we know, the members of Xenbar come with a goal to dance salsa and this makes one comfortable dancing with everyone. It is inevitable, that if you draw a large crowd, you can't control the people who enter.

Coming back to Xenbar, it is really a precious environment to have. (i'm coming to understand it more and more.) The best times would be when all those studying aboard come back, and their other halves miraculously return, then we truly have a salsa party, switching from partner to partner. I miss those times...

Video Editing

I successfully edited the videos of my trifac bash performance.

BUT....

i used a trial version of the video editing programme, so, now i have "Video Edit Magic, Trial Version" sprawled all over the middle of my video. i was so sad that it turned out like that.

Yesterday, while i was drifting in and out of my drugged sleep, i saw Nigel editing them, then when i woke up, the videos were gone. why? simply because he got too frustrated editing it on iMovie, he deleted it. haha...

Refusing to be beaten, i went to download a programme to edit the videos. everything went well. First i added the subtitle thingy that justin has for all of his videos. easy enough, was difficult on iMovie because it didn't have such a function under video editing, the max duration for its subtitles is 10 secs.

the problem with this whole project was because the person who took the videos took it on a digi cam. and all the videos he could take was 1 min long. so I have to do the video transition thingy. Choosing which transition to use was no issue because i already had an idea what my finished product should look like. The difficult part was how to insert the transition at the correct moments, and allow buffer between your videos, and making sure it works...

after a while, i still couldn't make it work, somehow, the transitions go into a black screen before the next. then after slow realization, i figured that i have to overlap the videos. guess i really got my brains fried again after this flu (yes, cough plus fever plus running nose, virus).

needless to say, after i got over that barrier, i was good to go. thus the video:



but this barrier of "trial version" sprawled over the center, i cannot overcome, i tried finding a crack, but to no avail.

Thank goodness it's term break.

this week saw a lot of firsts in the semester. Other than finding a bazaar which is worth shopping through and buying my first Roxy t-shirt, on tuesday, i skipped the first lecture in this semester. i overslept after taking a nap at 1pm. so i ended up skipping the most boring module ever, Pharm Prac 4. then on the same day, i was so tired, i decided to take another nap at 6.30pm, before waltz class. Somehow, i just slept all the way to 5.30 am. just in time to say hello to my sisters who are preparing for school at home...haha. it's hard to believe that i once woke up at 4.30am everyday and still did not sleep on the bus, and have CCAs, and reach home at 8pm everyday. Come to think of it, that secondary student that i was, was incredible. Now, (yes, i've aged, alot) i "collapse" with a 2am to 7am routine. must make a point to sleep at 1am when term starts again... am so tired.....

testing

Wanted to go Union square last night, but halfway through the day, i was "paged" that there was going to be a rueda video filming at night. So Nigel and me decided to ditch Union, because afterall, we love rueda. Waiting for the day to end was torturous, plus the fact that friday is my longest and more tiring day (8-12 then 2-6 lectures all the way). since practice starts at 8, i decided to rest/nap first. otherwise I would really have no energy.

Arrived at Xenbar at 9 (oops, overslept) but i was surprised to see so many people there, waiting. I'm not sure what they were waiting for, but the numbers surprised me. People who didn't know rueda, people who only know basic rueda, people who love rueda, people who are craving to impart rueda. It was amazing how we managed to go through all the steps from basic to intermediate within 1 hour. i think i fall into the hybrid category of loving rueda and knowing basic rueda. we attended basic rueda, but never got to rueda 2, but somehow, we know some moves. thanks to the people who are craving to inpart rueda. haha.

i think special mention ought to go to Terrence, big terrence. Although he went for all rueda lessons, he didn't get to practise it often. So he was really quite nervous during the filming, and not doing the correct steps made him feel very stressed. thankfully, after Yanqing said something to the effect of: i know you all are tired, but just concentrate and do this well, then we can all go home. So we did. But of course we had to tweak our formation a bit.

First, we thought putting the people who could do the steps well in front, we can scrap pass. unfortunately, rueda is a group effort, so we had to find the best combination of guys and girls that will allow good execution of the rueda steps. For example, guys who know the steps well lead girls who are less sure. that alone wasn't enough. if you're a guy and you know your steps, it still depends on the lady to follow you. it so happened that in our nervousness, some of us forgot to follow, some of us forgot to lead as well. we even committed errors that we would never have done in a normal rueda circle. Cut to the chase, we had to pair the strong leaders with the weaker followers as well. In such a short notice, and such little practice, it was quite consoling that we didn't film till 1am. we ended at 12. After which, we went for the traditional supper at our traditional prata stall. And i guess all the people who were sent home by Wai Hwang would want to thank him for the special trip. =) another small event that makes Xenbar a home.

Haha, went to The Cathay today. it's empty and new....i like. even though lots of shop lots are empty, they boarded it up and had different "stuff" on each panel. this is one i love the most... i believe it says RETAIL THERAPY... haha. and the bottom of the picture "Buy something and call me in the morning". i LIKE this physician's prescription... LOLx

Today was a horrible day for me. first i forgot to meet my junior at 12, and worse, i forgot to burn the cd for her (that's whyi was meeting her). and i have no blank cds...
then came back, burn, guess what, she has to leave school for tuition....

then i tried to run and catch the A2 to go to Arts for lunch. the uncle refused to let me board...

later, i tot i got the venue of my 6-8pm talk wrong, went to look for it. checked it on my PDA. realised my PDA is dying..but i marked it on my calendar as lt 18 so i went there to wait. 10 mins to 6, i decided to buy dinner and take-away. the only thing which could be taken-away iat biz is western food hotdog... so i spent the last 5 dollar note in my wallet. went back to lt 18, realised that nobody is there yet. so sat down and eat...

6.10pm i check the time again... realised the talk was 6.30 instead. so i decided that i wasn't full yet, went to buy tau huey. but no more tau huey. so i settled for cravio ice cream. today i learnt that cravio ice cream sucks and too much mustard sauce sucks too.

wait till 6.30pm, went to lt 18, there were lots of people. but all having dark-coloured skin. then all of them listening to a librarian talk about NUS LINC....

PDA cannot log on to wireless, cannot check email. went to check the other possible LTs...nope, nobody. so i decided to go xenbar then.

saw 143, ran there... was too small/insignificant, the bus driver didn't see me, drove off....

horrible day....

Here's the model reply to whether USP students are elitist...given by our deputy director for student affairs.

"USP students are not elitists. i think of them as prima donnas: they are used to being in the spotlight, and do not like to follow the crowd. Perhaps that is why there is a misconception that they are elitist.

When conducting our admission interviews, we look out for people who are passionate and have a hunger for knowledge. their passion can be in diverse areas - artistic pursuits, sports, community service etc. we value creativity and critical thinking skills highly. therefore it is not surprising that our students are often confident and have a slight slant towards individualism. "

wonderfully said.

Entered and ended another year of Rag, for usp (even though it was pharmacy's first year in rag, i was away in australia too long to catch up). this year we had really nice pixie-like costumes!
and we were the first item, so the wait wasn't that long... and we didn't melt before we started dancing... although we did melt after the performance, while watching the rest of the faculty items. and we had body painting too! so cool. a very nice ending to my last year in NUS and last year in rag...haha

i just did a random personality test which said i rank Pride first, followed by family, then love, then career then money...

explains many things...

We'll be using this song as part of USP rag.... so cool...

MARY J. BLIGE LYRICS

Be Without You


I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
(Oh, oh, oh, oh)
I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
(Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Oooo (oh, oh, oh, oh) oooo

Chemistry was crazy from the get-go
Neither one of us knew why
We didn't build nothing overnight
Cuz a love like this takes some time
People swore it off as a phase
Said we can't see that
Now from top to bottom
They see that we did that (yes)
It's so true that (yes)
We've been through it (yes)
We got real sh** (yes)
See baby we been...

Too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby)
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby)
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby

I got a question for ya
See I already know the answer
But still I wanna ask you
Would you lie? (no)
Make me cry? (no)
Do somethin' behind my back and then try to cover it up?
Well, neither would I, baby
My love is only your love (yes)
I'll be faithful (yes)
I'm for real (yes)
And with us you'll always know the deal
We've been...

Too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby)
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby)
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby

See this is real talk
I'm always stay (no matter what)
Good or bad (thick and thin)
Right or wrong (all day everyday)
Now if you're down on love or don't believe
This ain't for you (no, this ain't for you)
And if you got it deep in your heart
And deep down you know that it's true (come on, come on, come on)
Well, let me see you put your hands up (hands up)
Fellas tell your lady she's the one (fellas tell your lady she's the one, oh)
Put your hands up (hands up)
Ladies let him know he's got your love
Look him right in his eyes and tell him
We've been...

Too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby)
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby)
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby

Heeeeeeeeeeeey Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh
Heeeeeeeeeeeey Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you
I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you

Cute guys abound!!

found a hot pink top for salsa competitions, but the price just didn't justify the purpose

was actually putting effort into beautifying myself, just in case i won some prize...

Girls day out at the fresh water lake at the botanical gardens

Wen, really sweet girl who keeps getting bullied for our entertainment

picture says it all

people who flew with me...

really tall guys!

went on a All terrain Vehicle expedition...

the winner of the patient counselling event, making my First runner up...haha. she's a national champion in Holland..

Hsiu yinn and Wenli, good buddies i made at the congress, malaysians but studying in Monash Australia...haha

[continue from prev prev post]

realised that going to australia for the first time also allowed me to do many many things for the first time. shall compile a list after i've recounted the rest of my aussie trip.

i think i went to this bar on both nights, P.J O'Briens. it was having some pole idol thingy where people go on stage spontaneously to pole dance after 2 professional pole dancers demo...sad to say even the professionals weren't that good, i think Nance/Natalie is better, hahax.

the next night we went there again to see the same horny old guys waiting to grind some young girls. but that night was featuring some world famous coyote girls and they were really quite good...their bodies are very very toned, not muscular.

entered myself into the patient counselling competition in IPSF. just for the sake of challenging myself. entered the intermediate category. the next day, was napping away at some secluded area of the congress venue when my friends smsed me, telling me to return to the LT because i was one of the three finalists....OMG! my mind was a total blank, i forgot how to go about counselling in like the first half an hour i woke up. thank goodness for Vidhu, this indian delegate who was slacking nearby too. she was recapping with me, later i found out that she was to win the first place for the standard category (people who have never done counselling before]. do you believe in lucky days and bad days? just the day before the finals, i lost my ipod shuffle in the computer room and actually walked into the sliding glass door of our balcony (it still hurts now...). the next day, the congress chairperson handed me my ipod shuffle, said it was lost and found, i go into the finals...

i actually got sick of drinking and clubbing. maybe it's the repetitive music (the clubs have only 10 songs which tey repeat every night). maybe it's the frequency at which we were clubbing away, maybe it's coz a special someone wasn't there to have fun with me.

got sick of the long long long queues for dinner everyday, sick of the same old horrible sandwiches they served us every lunch. when i got back, i was so happy to be eating noodles, prata and fried carrot cake...and no more dry scaly skin, it's back to sweat, sweat, sweat. i think my complexion got better there because i was slapping lots of moisturiser on my face. just yesterday, i spent $70 on a new bottle of vichy moisturiser and concealer...hope it's totally worth it.

Personality test: you are more Extroverted than Introverted, Intuitive than Sensing, Thinking than Feeling, and more Judging than Perceiving.

Your love type

About 3-5% of the U.S. population possesses the combination of traits that make up this personality type.

Being an ENTJ means that you've got a bit of a rebellious streak in you. So rather than being the kind who follows, you'll usually choose to lead the pack. You also appear to love a challenge more than most others do. So if somebody wants something done, all they have to do is tell you that it's impossible. You're apt to show them then and there how you can make it happen. You're not one to be easily discouraged in any aspect of your life. So if someone catches your eye, you'll likely find a way to get to know them come hell or high water. You're not just a dreamer. You're a doer.

In relationships, you usually have a clear sense of where you want things to lead. You also know how to take charge of a situation to help things go your way. You can exude a personal strength and confidence that really wins people over. Your friendly, outgoing nature also makes most people quite happy to follow your lead. Perhaps they're empowered or inspired by your self-esteem and can-do thinking.

Possessing a generous spirit allows you to be happy for others' successes as well as your own. You also know how to play coach if someone is lagging behind. These traits can make you a very supportive partner. Because of your usual drive to succeed, you can put a lot of responsibility and pressure on yourself. Finding friends or a romantic partner who can help you stop and smell the roses will be an important part of maintaining some dimension and perspective in your life.

What makes you a good partner and friend?

You believe in honest communication
You know how to be sensitive to other people's feelings
You take commitments seriously
You're one who is ambitious and goal-oriented

So now that you know about your personality and the many special qualities that you possess, it's time to learn which other types you're most compatible with in life and love. You'll also find out why those types are more suited for you than the others. Ready to find out who you connect with best?

Your most compatible types
Because you're an Intuitive Thinker (NT), you can be both creative and intellectual. NTs like you are usually very in touch with your rational side. Consequently, you're apt to appreciate those who are logical and know how to put their analytical skills to work. As a result, your most compatible types are people who are Sensing Thinkers (ST). STs are great for you for a couple of reasons. For one, they're usually on par with you intellectually. They also can be good at keeping your big ideas reined in. STs are known for being sensible and for having their feet firmly on the ground. This worldly intelligence can be very attractive to you. There are four NT/ST matches for you: ESTJ, ISTJ, ESTP, ISTP.

I'm back from Cairns!! first thing i did was switch on my phone and sms, which is about what everyone else on the plane was doing...sms beeps were sounding thru out the plane..

then i did another thing for the first time: buy duty-free liquor, bought the new caramel flavour baileys and Hoegarden...wonder who will i share it with..hmmm.

last i blogged, i was talking about the reef trip...i snorkelled for the first time there too, water was ok, but the winds were so chilly, i was shivering the moment i lifted my face from the water. saw the reefs with my own eyes, like the soft reefs better, more colourful, saw some blue ones too. there was a giant turtle in the waters, but i didn't get to see it, by that time the sea water was getting into my eyes, mouth, and nose...my NOSE, it's the last straw, my nose is very sensitive, couldn't take it, so i gave up the waters.

[i'm so tired, cooked and haven't bathed since i unpacked, gotta wake up at 5am tmr, shall write more another day]

Been in Cairns for the 6th day... did many things.. second day did horse-riding and all terrain vehicle driving. besides having the horse throt off within one min that i mount it and having survived without falling, and getting stuck in the mud or pool of ice water, i'm okay...

3rd day was bungy jumping, despite the initial fear of climbing up the stairs all the way to the top, watching people jump off and causing the stand to sway, waiting for 3 hours just to realise i'm really really scared of heights and had cold feet (in both senses) and couldn't really jump off after the trainer finished counting down, being too light and ended up having half my head dipped in the water below, and having very very high rebounds... i'm still having fun.

4th day we went whitewater-rafting...the rapids weren't that dangerous or rapid...managed not to drop out.. we did a backward drop down one of the rapids too...then we threw ourselves into the water for a relaxing float...and we had to strip in public to change out of wet clothes and underwear. how nice!

yesterday i had the chance to coordinate a performance by myself, chreographing, teaching, training, slave-driving, reminding them to smile, arranging positions, making last minute decisions, being worried that you;re not doing enough to make the performance good...the lot..but something new to me. then i went to look at a local casino, wasn't all that interesting. just learnt that being a dealer is not that easy, we have to be skilled at counting chips and dealing cards out fast and nice...am quite impressed actually.

tmr is a trip to the great barrier reef, shall await in anticipation...

The Dust has settled

after last weekend (Salsa by the beach competition), everything is much more settled, though there are still things to tie up. for example, my flu (had fever on Sunday morning, woke up at 8am. then took panadol and tried to sweat it out and hopefully be "normal" by the finals) and my invisible injuries...still can't execute my spins and cross body lead turns nicely due to my protesting muscles. then work wise, i forgot i have to submit a summary table for one of the TTSH pharmacists, and i have 10 days to write the preceptorship report, on top of trying to conduct/complete my urops experiments before the 11th, for which i'm leaving Singapore for Australia. then of all things, i went to sign up as a student helper for the singapore pharmacy congress, which is making things more difficult for me. but hey, i tot it's good exposure, especially since i'm into my last year in uni.

was hard, difficult, juggling work, work politics, salsa, more politics, lessons, fatigue, sickness, allergy, infection, injury. but nobody will pity me, this is life, some people experience it earlier, others later. somehow i tend to focus on my health conditions eg. my ezcema, and anything that causes my nose to malfunction. it really affects me greatly...i don't know whether i should continue taking the steroids for my nose as its side effects including getting a moon-face, getting premature osteoporosis. . .hyperglycemia (when you have a family history of diabetes). but the steroids help me greatly, no more sniffing the whole morning/day...risks vs benefits, risks vs benefits....

so many things to do so many.... just a side track, found that USP has 2 new modules, one called game theory, which i was told is very interesting, and narative and play in interactive media... sounds like something i can take to improve myself in the area of performing arts....with 2500 points, i think i should be able to bid for both of them, in separate semesters of course.... i can't take the load of 7 modules in a sem.

oh, just realised i haven't started on the whole point of this blog... the competition. there's ALWAYS truth in what justin says. he says even if you're not prepared, you just come down here and do [the competition]. and this time, despite the many many excuses...we really just heck it, and gave our best (whatever i could squeeze out from my flu/fever). and i learnt a lot. less technical, more competition based. things like costume and make-up, always have a contingency, and full-dressed before making your way to the venue. then you also need practice moments, and rest time, and warm-up time, and quiet time...just haven't gotten the hang of the timing yet...need someone to guide..and of course, worst case scenarios. must be fully prepared to cover up (which we did) and make it look as though it was fully intentional (that one still need to work on).

and choreography wise...now i truly understand the importance of a good choreo, and more so the music...before, it was like... yah, music is needed to amplify the effect of the moves... but now: music determines the moves, and practice determines the rest.

meet many friends at the competition (as spectators) too... one of my st nicks juniors, pharmacy juniors, pharmcist seniors, mischy's crush...among like 300 people? small small small

New Discovery Times

It’s been proven that dogs are truly like humans. In one instance when the experimentor’s mum accidentally ran her car over its feet, it withdrew to a certain corner of the house, furthest away from the car. From then on, it has always keep a safe distance away from any moving vehicle. It used to ran to the gate and hop around until the car gradually inches forward, threatening to ran it over, whereby it slowly moves backward. Other instance proved that dogs are actually more receptive of courtesy, as compared to random shouting. Usually, in order to prevent the dogs from licking their legs, the experimentor’s family members will shout at the dogs but to no avail. Yesterday, in order to move the dogs away from the gate as she was going out, the experimentor said, “Excuse me” and they easily moved aside. The last comfirmative incident happened when the experimentor’s sister attempted to feed the dogs curry with rice. To which, the dogs gave a bite, licked its mouth a few times, then withdraw to the side, and continue licking its mouth, in a manner which one might interpret as, “the food is very spicy”.
Thus the experimentor is proud to say that, her dogs are a source of entertainment to her and her family. (more a nuisance though)

-Author has 2 dogs, which are indistinguishable to her. Whether only one of her dogs are responding in such a humanly way and the other is just another dog, cannot be determined as yet.

New Discovery Times:

Did you know, that you can easily remove the seed of the lychee fruit without much hassle to enjoy a mouthful of lychee juice and flesh? When you peel off the lychee’s skin, observe the folding of the lychee flesh at the bottom (point furthest away from the stem). Gently peel open that fold to reveal the lychee seed. From there, tear the flesh away from the skin in a gentle fashion to prevent wasting all the fresh lychee juice. Once you get a good hold of the seed, pull it out in one fast action and Tada! You have a seedless lychee, very much the same as those sold in cans and fruit stalls except that yours is fresh, and not soaked in saccharine. =)

-Written on a nice Sunday morning when the author’s Mum bought $4 worth of BIG, JUICY lychees, discovered by the author’s youngest sis

today is a bad day, i got up late...my handphone battery is flat, and i didn't get enough sleep.. so i'm in a bad mood. now, i cannot sleep, have to practise further for a humiliating performance...i want to try to do better, but...

i want to cry..... are looks everything? just because she is stick thin, and has rebonded hair, she must stand in the center? i'm afraid my dance moves are not even enough to put my on par with her...i think i should just retire from some stupid fantasy of being a dancer and be the auntie that dispenses drug...

i mean, what's the point, i trained and pushed myself so hard in december for the competition just to attain a level 2 salsa cert, i thought it was very impressive, considering i only bargained for a lvel 1.... then here comes people who i don't even think can pass my basic class standard...getting a level 2 cert too??? i must go back today and throw away my certs