Again, i have committed the cardinal sin of procrastination and that explains the grossly long time gap from my last entry. So anyways, let back track from where I last left off ( possibly in the last millenia but who's counting haha). Backlog is a rising killer for lazy bloggers, and I am in danger of drowning in such.

Time to say goodbye...

October 1st was the last day @ Infineon, the pristine and unique office building which overlooks the splay of the Kallang Expressways. It was a 2nd home to me for the last 3 years, and needless to say memories, tears, laughter and madness were forged and hard to let go.

I had a great boss, Siew Peng, who spared no efforts in grooming and nurturing me into the young professional (dare i call myself that :P), and my German director Lars, who had sadly relocated back to main office in Munich after much deliberation.

While it was tough to strive and prove yourself amongst the many talented individuals in office, I am glad I was put through the mill and came out a better person. For without, we cannot know where we stand and how far we can go.
Of course, farewell lunch affairs were a given; and a really nice perk of being in HR is that you get to interact and know so many people. I was once under an 'Operations' team, thereafter was transferred to a 'Central Functions' with a new set of challenges and management....so you can pretty much guess I knew just about everyone!

1st: Purchasing Dept girls. This cosy hidden gem of a restaurant called Dolphin located around Genting Lane. Mainly serves up really good western fare, but I didn't get to take shots cos I was rushed for time

Karen and me

Oops I cut off Cherlyn by accident (right)

From left: me, Angeline, Karen and Cherlyn

2nd: My bowling/ badminton kakki's from the materials engineering dept, with the exception of Linus and Oliver (IT).
They located this quaint restaurant that I can't remember the name except its along the stretch of Macpherson Road.

It is definitely worth the price you pay for their set lunch, with is around $10, comes with soup, a drink, fruit salad and ice-cream :)

Clam Chowder

Minestrone Soup

Dessert!

Christian and Teo

Grilled chicken of perfection

The owner was so nice to accede to our persistent camera requests, haha plus points there!

3rd: IT helpdesk and IT business dept. Funniest ones of the lot.

Here we are at a much loved and hidden eating place nicknamed Penguin. It has the best Chai-Peng around the Kallang vicinity and trust me when I say it is a killer to queue during peak lunch hour. Alternatively, you can choose to sit in the air-con area where they serve you their specials of the week or Japanese cuisine (slightly overpriced) .

Two gentlemen are Umesh and Jhon, while ladies are Joey, Katherine and Maricar (from left)

Pardon the auntie slippers...it was lunch time! comfort mattered more!

Maricar and I looked like we were trying to break into the truck lol

"Dear HR, I would like to report a case of employee abuse..."

4th was with passionate Italian engineer Giovanni and our own HR intern, Murali. They brought me out for a lovely Thai dinner @ Chinatown area and headed to Partyworld for some hardcore karaoke, where this display their impressive singing chops.

Handsome intern bo!

Of course, i do love a good video when my kakki are singing in action:

5th and last was my HR department, which was really nice of all my colleagues to take time out to lunch with me. Quite a big group of 20 of us, and since the special promo for Suanthai was a ala carte option of dishes (ard $5 each), we decided to order as many kinds as possible.

The waiters were more than willing to pose for me lol.

Ah boss Siew Peng and I :)

She is always so sporting to go along with my wackiness.
This kind of nice boss, where to find?????

On my right....

On my left...

After the culinary delights and what nots, it was really time to say good bye. I took a last lingering look while doing my exit clearance...

IT Department

Deborah and Udaya (who btw, owns his own Indian restaurant)

Katherine, Jacky and their nice manager, Ingrid

from left: Serene, Aunty Grace, me and Cristabel

Our security guy, Arif

Abang Johari, our MD's personal chauffeur

Treasury girls: from left, their friend, Vivienne, me and Li Chiang
They brought me out for lunch too, but i lost the pics!! :(((

Agnes and Moi!

Hot mommy who just gave birth but still looks smashing!

Jasmine (HR) and me biting on a random trophy

Eliza (HR) and I

Mr Bobby (HR Manager) and me doing his trademark pose

(Doreen (HR) and I

The cleaning aunties who usually manage our office

Lastly, my employee badge. Worse for the wear but it had became a part of me unknowing.
I will miss Infineon dearly.

Goodbye, and it was my pleasure serving you.

Techno Gadget Mayhem = June is a total PAUPER.(this is not an advert)

Just when I thought I finally finding the willpower and the laptop which my mom actually confiscated from me to abstain me from rabid online shopping.......

..........Until that is, Comex IT Fair rolled by and I heart-wrenchingly forked out around 800 bucks for my all gorgeous LG netbook.

1) LG NETBOOK T280




Some geek speak:

* Intel® Pentium Dual Core Processor SU4100 instead of the usual Atom Processors means that it has better performance than your average netbooks. This was recommended since I like to cram like tens of windows in a single viewing

*At a featherweight of 1.3kg, its goodbye to aching arms and bulky (not to mention dull looking) laptop bags. It encapsulates both the mobility and stylish outlook that I look for in gadgets.

*Smart On function allows one to seamless access to e-mail and boots up a menu of frequently used functions in just five seconds.

*Inbuilt 1.3 megapixel webcam is a godsend (hello, late night video calls!) Furthermore, there is a special video/cam program called Cyberlink Youcam; easy and fun to use for making simple kooky clips like my Lady Gaga one below :P




*DROWNS IN CESSPOOL OF HUMILIATION*

Just when I thought that was enough damage done, my eyes strayed and i betrayed my micro-budget.

2) OLYMPUS FE-4020

I managed to snag a pretty decent Olympus camera in their hourly specials. I paid under $200, which was about $50 off the usual retail price. Not too bad a deal considering they threw in a mini-tripod, a USB memory card reader, 8GB memory card and screen protector.

Some geek speak:

*Lots of Shadow Adjustment Technology that detects faces of subjects and optimizes focus and exposure accordingly (i-AUTO) , including Magic Filter effects for creative imagination. I like.....

*Scene Modes for one-touch shooting adjustment in difficult environments as well as in standard conditions, plus automatic face Detection AF so its good bye to shaky hands and poorly lighted backgrounds :)

*Double-Layered Crystal Shell exterior, offers extra protection and its refreshing azure blue shade adds color pop to my otherwise all black necessities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coincidentally, major crisis struck over the same weekend ...No im not refering to my ever flattening wallet, but a bottle of Pink Dolphin decided to let loose in my bag and claimed the lives of my old Lumix camera and walkman phone.

Anyways, i took it as a sign from above that it was time to end procrastination and marched over to the Singtel retailer the very next day and got me the phone of my dreams (for now). It costed ($198, with recontract)a pretty penny but it was quite worth it, in my superficial opinion. In a nutshell everything i liked?

3) SONY ERICSSON VIVAZ (Pink)




* Its sleek design spells minimalist chic and class. I thought myself to be more of a safe Black-choice kinda girl, but the deep shade of pink wasn't too bimbo like and It has a huge-ass screen for all your viewing glory. Yet at the same time, it fits just right in the palm of my hand.

* 8.1 megapixels with autofocus and 4x digital zoom + 720p HD recording with video light. Since my camera AND phone passed on at same time, what better way than to replace the goodness in my heart with a heavy duty cam-phone that does both? Vivaz in essence, is probably the perfect phone for the hardcore cam/video whore.

* 8 GIGA- freaking- BYTES of memory space. Hello, like I can put a whole season of Gossip Girl and I think i'll still have left over. Nice.

*Touchscreen. Said blogger is a total sua-gu and wanted a piece of the whole touch screen action.
~~~~~~~~~~~

thus marks the end of my damage report.

Any donations for this poor girl are most welcome, considering she has to only live on air and water for the next few days.

REVIVED?

Wow..... 108 posts later.... and being dead on the blogsphere for almost 3/4 of this year.

So without further ado, lets proceed to June's random list resolutions that-she-can't-save her-life-to-keep. Its becoming some kinda weird annual masochistic tradition for me. Hahah

1. Try to keep myself in shape and be healthy

Key word: TRY. I dunno, somehow the idea of gyms scared the bejesus outta me. Claustophobic rooms crammed with tons of tools of torture (aka exercise machines), and sweat drenched people is not really my idea of spending my saturdays.

About being healthy, my well being does deserve better than always surviving on the littlest of sleep and all the kinds of junk food under the sun. Its shows, trust me.
and you know what they say, You ARE what you eat.

2. WORK on my brainchilds already!

Fickle is my middle name; I almost wonder why its not on my birth cert. ah well.
June wants to be an entrepeneur, fashion blogger, media degree student, hot sexay girlfriend, a more fillial daughter, richer person, blah blah blah.

HonestlyI think its about due time i sat down and put my plans in action. Less talk and more action. Wasting my time shopping when I can actually be using that same time to do something that benefits me more in the future.

3. Get my degree before I turn a gazillllllllllllllllllllllllllllion years old.

Its amazing how a piece of paper can cost sooooooooo damn much. Sigh, but if you want it bad enough, you will sure work through hell and fire for it. That shall become my own life story soon enough.

SIGH.

4. Save more $$$ and become a bona-fide globetrotter

Last year's Bangkok trip was just the tip of the iceberg...despite the fact that I always get airsick. Nothing a little charcoal pills and barf bags cannot solve :P This year, where will the winds take me to?

Ultimate dream would be able to see Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Venice, Paris.... the list just does not end!

5. Be a better person, daughter, friend, etc.

I know I am not the nicest or most patient person around. Out of the 7 deadly sins, Wrath is probably the one I can identify the most. Cue waves of guilt and sheepish apologies when loved ones are at the receiving end of my temper; about time I learn some anger management. SO yeah....

6. More Charity Work.

Easier said than done, but very few are able to give altruistically. It isn't hard to fork out the extra dollar the next time you see a student doing flagday or your resident disabled tissue paper seller.
Not only does one gain good karma, we help to make society a much better place to be in.

Well, thats all I can think for now. Some keypoints in my life I'm still trying to identify, not because I have a quarter life crisis but its good to try and improve your life style time to time, no?

My love to all around!

Inaugural Halloween 2009!

Poor janice had to sit this one out as she was nursing a cold while Sherry already had plans. But it was still a great night with the Boy as we walked about in all our costumed glory. This year, budget was the bitch so I tried to DIY with clothes that I already have….presenting Cottequish Red Riding Hood (or rather, shawl for that matter):

Red Bustier top: Bangkok (8 bucks!), skirt: (annals of Bugis V), fishnet stockings: Sis’s, Wedges: Mitju, Wig: Toys r Us. Basket was 'koped' from somewhere in storeroom...

Bumped into my ex-collegue, Serene! She and her husband were checking out the Halloween-goers after their dinner. Nice brief catching up was in order.

Not even a few steps later, bumped into friend Yi DaY (cowboy) and his company.

And this round le Boyfriend fully embraced his look. Last year he complained that his small white angel wings resembled chicken wings, and it didn’t help that we went to KFC for dinner that time.
Idea was to a Gothic, kinda vampire look, ala Edward Cullen. What do you think, success?


Wings/Silver hair Spray: Rocher Centre, silver chain: mine, shirt: Topman, Jeans: Topman, Boots: army

First stop was the stretch along Cannery…where the usual nightlife took on a new whole look. The only bone I had to pick was that most costumed lacked any creativity, I recognized a good half were kinky (and I mean the types meant for bedroom activities) ones from lingerie stores.

PACKED bigtime.

Eh… dunno what to make out of this.
More budget than me!

AIYO. where got dare to hug sia?

I popped by to say hi to Dawn and Felicia at Le Noir for a short while before we headed off to trick/treat @ Players Cafe. Girls were all dressed to kill! I felt so PG-rated that day...

Le Noir

Bevy of Hawt.

Felicia and Dawn with friend Cash

Players Cafe

I wanna join Adel's mile high club.
omg, im so corny.

Boss Adrian hard at work

Dunno why, but alot of children were asking me for photos that day.
Not hard to see why haha, but I hoped I did not warp their idea of the fairy tale character...

She was adorable. Came up to me outta nowhere and passed me a sweet.
AWWwww.......

Cute witch~

Half way, we decided to switch loyalties and found ourselves at Butter Factory. Queue was insanely long and we kinda decided we prolly won’t be able to get in but the company was worth the trip.
Heres Sherry was a sexy Navy captain! :


Our unanimous agreement that the crowd at Butter was waaay better and so much more creative. I spied with my fake lash-laden eyes:

Got out of my cab and came face to face with this, then proceeded to be scared half-dead.
Think the cab driver took a second take as well before zooming off.

Mom always told me tissue is very important, even so to a SWAT member.

Feathers are sooooooooooooooo like in this season.

Halloween can also be a great time to get more mileage out of your anime cosplay suits.
This is a character from the anime, Bleach.

Miss Macdonalds, Chun Li from Street fighters and moi caught in a scruffle

Justin’s childhood dream came true: CARE BEARS!

The Ghostbusters joins me for a coffee break with the resident undead barista

We bumped into our classmates from Diploma, Ummairah and Kelly!

Random halloween-ers.
Snow White has got some serious killer heels nt shown here..

Nuff said..

Celebrity spotted: Max Leong from First Class!
If he was my teacher back then, Id have paid much more attention :(

Somewhere along the way, we took a slow walk down and got to take some pictures of the lovely ‘Durian’ aka The Esplanade and the Singapore Flyer. Its really the simple quiet moments like these that make me relish our limited time together. I am glad that I found someone who is willing to go crazy with me once in a while :P

So that pretty much summed up Halloween 2009 for me. Hoping to top this by next year!

I have a TON of pictures to upload, hectic planning of misc stuff day to day, and people to meet. My mind and feet are always on the move and I seem to have somehow forgotten what it means to just live my life. But when I saw this touching story of little Elena, I slowed down my pace and it made me remember why.

No amount of words can express the sadness for the little girl that I have never known, and never will. If God placed angels amongst us, then she must surely be the personification of it.

Meet Elena Desserich, a six year old girl with the cutest sweet smile I have ever seen.

Beneath her innocent little eyes lies a poise, maturity and love beyond her tender years. Elena suffers from brain cancer, which slowly robbed her of speech, but that did not hinder her the least bit in showing her love for her family in her final days.

In her last days, little Elena delibrately hid hundreds of handwritten notes and drawings in her houses, in places like bookshelves, drawers etc. I read from the news that her parents had kept the truth of her cancer from her, but perhaps somehow she knew. And without fear nor sadness, she decided to keep remnants of her love for her family to uncover, even after she was gone.

Can any of us do what a mere 6 year old girl did?
She made me understand again what it means to love altrustically, something that so many of us aren't able to in our times....such when Money, branded things, self-enjoyment and selfishness seems to be the ultimate calling in these days.



'Sweet Elena,

your suffering is finally over and God has now taken you home, to a place where no pain or sadness exists. I am sure that your parents and sister, Gracie will always carry a piece of your love forever, til the day that you reunite with them.

And thank you , for touching my heart
You are the greatest inspiration to me I hope your legacy lives on to inspire even more. '

And so it did.
Her amazing journey is now immortalized in a book, a diary of sorts that her parents kept in her last days and compiled with her very notes/drawings. And with every book purchased, you are making a contribution to 'The Cure Starts Now' campaign, a foundation dedicated to searching for the cure for all cancers, starting with pediatric cancer, the one that took Elena away.

You can make a difference. read more:

http://www.notesleftbehind.com
www.thecurestartsnow.org

wishing for a better future for all,
juniie