I'm sitting in a com lab at NTU school of Comm and Info Mgt now.
Waiting for a test to begin always makes me anxious. It's even worse now since no one around me knows who I am and what I am capable of.

So much to prove and so lil time.

And to make things worse, i wouod very much prefer to write out my answers instead of type them out! AHHHH...


Wish everything goes well. :)

  @  1:26 PM

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Here's the final showdown.
Should I or should I not quit my job at Fareast?

• I'm just starting to get really bonded with Fareast, its ppl and most importantly, its delicious food man..
• Just think about, working here means having MANGO LINGO, OH AH MEE SUA, FRIED MARS BARS everyday.
• And the shopping rocks too. (The shoes and earrings here are so cheap and good la - especially at Trendy Zone)
• Imagine.. We even get to shop at staff prices!!!
• And I can go shopping and buy stuff even during working hours la. Fareast relly rocks.. Almost my second home and so much fun going to work.
• Plus my bosses are so nice..

• Teaching may pay well but i'll never get used to the terror involved dealing with kids and teachers.
• And i hate canteen food like hell...

AI YAH>>> Don't care already la.. I'll stick with the sales job la. haha... Anyways, it's only gonna last till end july.. I'll go with the fun!!

  @  7:24 PM

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Last night, i met up with my JC pal, Wiyah, for dinner and shopping at Whitesands.
We had a hearty meal at swensens before proceeding to shop for clothing and toiletries.

You know how it's like when you stare into your wardrobe and get taken aback by the number of clothing in there, abandoned and left to rot? Well, that's exactly how I've been feeling these days.
I'm both guilty and stupified that I keep on wearing the same set of clothes on and on and on but still bother to go shopping for more. I guess all girls know why this comes about. Apparently, shopping's good for it's process more than its outcome.

In spite of all this, I was tempted to shop at Iora last night when Wiyah informed me that this Saturday's event at school, College Day, had a strict 'corporate style' dress code.
I spent almost 80 bucks on clothing i prob won't wear after the first time. Hais..

Still, I'm looking forward to the interview at NTU on Friday. All this effort to improve my image will also improve my chances of admission in Comm Studies.

Perhaps I should do something about my hair later. I really should pay a visit to IN THE SALON at Fareast before i go to work.. Hmm.. I'll think about it again.

  @  8:47 AM

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• Today's Centrepoint Properties' Family day at Sentosa's Palawan Beach. Haha... The annual dunking session.
• Once me, my parents and my aunt arrived at the main tent, I headed immediately to the dunking station.. I just love it that someone would be willing be dunked into a baby pool just for the sake of humour. haha...
• Anyways, in spite of my attempts to reject my parent's plan to join the Amazing Race, i finally gave in and was on my way with Loki, my parents and 4 other team members to the lil island across Palawan following the first clue.
• In our enthusiasm, I over exerted myself as I sprinted across the wobbly bridge to the viewing towers. Trying hard to catch my breath, i finally found a pleasant place to sit - on the steps leading to the 2nd tower.
• Mum and Dad, as expected, totally ignored me and carried on with the game anyway.. As i vomited and prespired on the way back to the main tent ,after forfeiting my place in the race, I cursed and swore at the wanton oblivion of my parents.. Isn't it supposed to be FAMILY day? Why was the Family abandoned?
• Anyway, after an arduous 20 min in the sun, i managed to "crawl" back to the main tent, looking more distraught and anemic then before. I noticed some worried faces but none of them really came to help me. They must have imagined that i was drunk.
• I was still feeling nauseous after an hour as i enjoyed the comfort of a 0.5 diameter fan blasting away in front of my face.
• Dehydration took over and i was licking my lips to absorb the last trace of water that might have surfaced. There was nothing left however, and the taste of my lips as i later noticed, began to resemble panadol tablets mixed with lemon.
• thankfully, my savior for the day emerged and made everything better for the moment. At around 11, my aunt arrived back at the main tent after tens of games and balloon sculpting sessions. I'm impressed at her patience.
• She passed me an apple and some water, which really helped and in fact lessened my headache quite significantly. I love her.. Really do..
• At around 11.30, mum , dad and loki returned to the station but refused to leave for home immediately as they wanted to eat first, lunch was at 12+.
• At this request, my splitting headache return and i was tempted to leave sentosa without them.. After several failed attempts to convince them that I really was ill, I finally carried out my plan.
• I left sentosa, nauseous, threatening to faint and looking like sadako, with a concerned guma bidding me farewell.. Damn those lousy parents of mine.
• After arriving at habourfront, i made my way to meet Denise and Lijuan at NUS, dying for some company and air con.
• Wasted loads of money on the cab fare to nus and from nus home.
• Thankfully, my bosses let me off the hook and said that i didn't have to attend work that evening, having arranged a last min replacement for me. I'm terribly dissapointed that even my bosses are more concerned about my feeling unwell than my parents. Those irresponsible buttheads. I'm sure I'm better off without them.

  @  8:16 PM

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• I'm sick.
  I've a cold and my nose is runnning.
  The past few days have torn me into pieces, both physically and psychologically.
  
• Tuesday
  A Fat Old Lady came to my shop and bought $290 worth of our products. (A rose quartz pendant and a jap pearl watch)
  Overjoyed, I realised that i keyed 190 in the NETS machine instead of 290.
  I called the customer continuously till she finally responded.
  
  
• Wednesday
  I spent this day at Sentosa with Hakim, who was distraught that he was going to be enlisted in the army on Friday.
  Expectantly, he forgot to bring my bday present again, for the consecutive 6th month.
  The day was filled with loads of fun and excitement.
  
• I particularly enjoyed the luge ride, which resembles go carting, and the 4D cinema ride.
  The chairlift tormented me though. I couldn't believe that my feet were hanging over the sentosa forests without any protection. Needless to say, I clung on to the handrails as tight as possible..
  No regrets going on the trip! It was totally awesome except that my legs were killing me from all that walking.
• 
• I hate this photo.. But just to let you have an idea of the torment i was under. Here's a terrified me! I was holding on the my slippers as one of them had broken during the luge ride as i was making a turn. The turn was too sharp and my bag flew out of the luge. on the way to picking it up, my shoe broke. Hais..
  
  
• Thursday
  
• It was remarkable how i survived this day.
  Both my relief teaching and sales job collided on this day and I was still suffering the effects of the long walk under the hot sun, that Hakim welcomed, at Sentosa the day before.
  
• My plan was to attend the relief teaching then rush off to orchard on a cab..
  Unfortunately, I was so super late that my boss, Grace, called me up and confronted me even before i could jump on a cab. Apparently, she could have been fined $50 if i was any later.
  
• What was i to say except that i was sick and had left home late.
  I still rushed to work no matter.
  Arrived at 1 30 pm, make up melted and face filled with guilt and worry, exactly 1.5 hours late. My bosses were kind to me though. They ordered me to head home straight once the second shift lady arrived, which was at 2 45 pm. So, having spent a whole lot of money on cab fare, I was chased home without earning even 2 hours salary, not that I had the right to complain though.
  
  
• P.S. Teaching was fun. However, I felt as if the school was insulting me for my tendency to 'teach' the students. Apparently, I was chosen to teach Home Ec and Chinese to Lower Sec students this time so that I would be forced to do nothing the whole day. Hais.. Guess what I did? > I spent the whole day playing Hang Man with my students.. Which I kept winning since i insisted on choosing NC 16 and M 18 movie titles against these lil 13/14 year old kids, haha...
  
  
• Friday
  
• You know the saying, 'what goes around comes around'? Well, in my case, this maxim always bodes ture. On Friday, I fell ill and was sneezing throughout my whole journey. the worse thing was that I had a pimple below my nose so everytime i wiped my nose, the pimple would hurt. Ouch... Also, I had to resort to cleaning my nose with wet tissues as my supply of dry ones had run out very quickly.
  
  
• You know the fat and old lady? Well, i had to visit her place in the morning to collect the rest of the $100 from her. I wasn't so terrified at first until i arrived at the building she was living in, Jade Towers at Serangoon.
  
• Omigosh.
  The place looked like it hasn't been renovated since that 70s. If you have watched FU MAN LOU or any other retro drama series, you would be able to imagine what i saw. The building was about 10 stories tall and had an old and wobbly elevator that reminises the elevators from HDB flats decades ago. Its buttons were round and tiny and its light were flickering, almost like in the scary movie Juon.
  When i finally got to the 8th floor, i was given a greater scare. The corridor has absolutely no windows and was terribly dark, like in the matrix at the Oracle's flat, and the doors were all unneccesarily tall and elaboratelt designed, which could have been the fashion in the 80s.
  
• No matter. I wasn't that afraid.. After all, i did have to look for 20 mins to find the place.
  Please bear with me for a lil while more..
  This will be impt for another event on Friday.
  When I finally found her unit, i had to ponder for awhile if i should knock on the door, after all, such an antique house should prob not have a bell. i did knock the door in the end and shortly after, was greeted by an overdressed and extremely friendly lady, whom i immediately recognised to be the customer i was looking for. She wanted to offer me a drink but i refused.
  After that, she handed me the 100 bucks but as i was getting ready to leave, she also gave me back the pearl watch, mentioning that she would like to exchange it for another item on her next visit. I, of course, obliged and wrote her a receipt titled "$100 for items not yet selected".
  
  
• After which, i excused myself and scurried as fast as i could out of that creepy building. I looked at my le petit prince watch assuringly once i was a safe distance away from JADE tOWERS, confirming the time to be 11 35. 'Cool.' I thought.. 'I'm going to make it to orchard on time today.'
  
  When i arrived at work, i was greeted by bewildered stares from the salesgirl from the opposite stalls. They probably were shocked that i still have not been fired yet. I couldn't care less.
  
  
• After a while, Vivian, the new 16 year old salesgirl working at the stall right next to mine popped her head into my shop and greeted me. I was quite happy at the thought of being welcomed and went out to speak to her. She told me that she was quitting her job that very day and smiled when she saw my reponse. I, of course, was astonded, after all, wasn't it I who have considered quitting the job after Thursday's mayhem.
  
  Anyway, to cut the long story short, she succeeded in achieving a truce with her boss that very day. Apparently, her pay would be increased by another 300 as earlier promised when she was first employed but she would no longer receive commission. Her appeal was a success so she didn't have to quit anymore.
  
  
• Just before my colleague, Osel, arrived at work to take over, a faniliar face popped into my shop. My dear old friend, the fat lady, had come to reclaim her pearl watch, dressed in the same red and black i saw her in earlier. I was distraught that she had made me travel to her place that morning even though she was coming over in the afternoon.
  
  Finally, as I was heading to Grand Hyatt for the fair which both my bosses were at, I felt a shudder run down my spine as i considered the option of quitting on them that very evening. Higher and higher up I went on the grand escalators until i caught sight of my bosses on the 5th floor. Ah... This was the moment..
  
  
• But I couldn't think of anything nor even garner the energy to speak of my resignation. Ah.. My nose was blocked and my mind was goggly. Finally, seeing how ill I was, both Ann and Grace chased me away towards the escalator again. And Alas, I was on my way home, feeling absolutely sick and much too broke to take a cab.

  @  7:37 AM

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A nightmare yesterday was. Good Friday huh? Any regular Friday was better than yesterday it seems.

Sales was terrible though there were several "browsers".
I sold less than 30 dollars of goods in 5 hours.

I guess it must have been because the aunties, taitais were hiding at home, avoiding the Good Friday crowd.

Speaking of which, a large group of holiday shoppers aren't actually seasoned 'town shoppers'. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of them look like it's their first time at fareast or like they don't understand enough english to response properly when we greet them. Rude customers really suck. It's like all salespeople are slaves or sth? To tell you the truth, i'd really prefer working on working days.

P.S. I'm terribly pissed with Loki for tearing my new shoes apart. Fixing them up will prob cost me another 20 bucks! AH!!!!

  @  4:35 PM

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The past few days have scared the living day lights out of me.

When I received the innocent phonecall from EastView Secondary school on monday afternoon requesting for my service as a relief teacher on tue and wed, I was filled with excitement and zest. In fact, I was so determined to do a good job at teaching, i was mugging away the entire night after I got home from my job at FarEast.

Little did i expect that teaching at EastView rivals being a zoo attendent. Little monkeys are always running around the classroom shouting all sorts of vulgarities and garbage. No one bothers to listen to you unless you shout back at them and look like you're about to explode. Finally, the HODs are always on the pry for noisy classes, of which all the blame MUST go to their relief teachers.

The greatest bitch I've ever met was also at eastview. The HOD for humanities is a chinese woman, around the age of 30, who apparently thinks she knows everything that takes place in school. Every morning, she sits next to Elaine, the school administrator, and bitches about everything and everyone. One morning, i even heard her bitching about me to Elaine right in front of my face, claiming that I'm "teaching freely in class" and that "relief teachers impair the learning of their students". Damn that bitch la.

What's wrong with answering the students questions anyway. Do they expect me to sit in class and do nothing? If that's the case, what's the point of hiring an A Level history grat anyway. That HOD is a moron la. JUST DIE!!

Finally, after reliefing Mr Farizal's classes for 2 days, I have learnt the teaching SS and history really isn't too difficult. Some classes were angels who would listen to everything i say and actually pay attention to the things i write on the board. Also, for sec 2 classes, the key is really to NOT SMILE when you enter the class and FROWN all the time. haha..

After they realise that you're serious about teaching, they concede defeat and actually start doing their work!! Yippie!! I can't believe I actually managed to handle those little kiddos.

Having said this, I realise that teaching has its ups and downs.

Though I'd never consider being a perm teacher at a sec school, perhaps, teaching at a JC would be cool!

  @  9:34 AM

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The Tom Yam soup I had for dinner at whitesands last night was still terrorising my stomach this morning as my mum and I made our way to Swissotel merchant court. The day had finally come for the long awaited ESTEE LAUDER private sale fair.

We met up with Auntie Doris who was already ahead of the queue by around 8 45 am. Apparently, she had arrived at 8 15, which was amazingly early since the sale only began at 9 30 am. By 9, the queue had already gone around a part of the building. Each time, only about 100 guests could enter. Once the desired no. of eager customers had arrived, the main door would close and the entrance of the ballroom would open. It's totally cool.. and exciting. Wish you all could have been there.

I was totally overwhelmed. In ballroom 3 of the hotel, there was a panaromic view of tens of stalls, all selling cosmetic and skincare products.

The companies that took part included Estee, MAC, DKNY, Origins, Clinique, Bobby Brown, Stella and many more. Most of the prices were slashed by at least 50% and the choices available were endless. I absolutely loved the sale!!!! I bought about 300 bucks of cosmetics and skincare products. Retail therapy really rocks!! Can't wait for next year..

  @  8:12 PM

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I'm SO SO tired. Working as a sales assistant can be exasperating. Forget the long hours and constant standing. Forget the irriting colleagues.. and even forget the rude customers and you still have 6 miserable hours everyday standing in a terribly cramped 4 by 2 cubicle.

My working life so far can be summarised by 4 words, "Everyday, I swat flies"

haha...

Fortunately, at least the shop is selling things that appeal to me. AG accessories specialises in healing crystal accessories and my boss, Grace, is a master of all sorts of mambo jumbo.. From numerology to tarot card readings and face reading. haha... She used to be a HR manager you see, and after 15 years, she had learnt that appearances can be deceiving and that she should turn to numerology for employing staff instead. The irony is that I was employed to work in her shop because of how my name reflected in her readings. Apparently, i was enterprising and good with PR.. Haha.. Go figure.

For those of you who shop at fareast often, please drop by to pay me a visit! promise: free numerology reading and loads of discount.. And I must admit. The quality of the accessories in the store is extraodinary. Grace actually goes through the effort of travelling around the world to look for the best and most unique materials to use in her accessories. Crystals have all been imported from the US and even the metal findings that she uses are imported from Korea or Europe. I have to admit.. Even someone like me who has been shopping for earrings all these time and have even made some myself can be greatly impressed by Grace's skill and endurance. She really is my mentor and leader in this line.

Having said all this, today's only my third day at work! Plenty more to go.. haha:)

  @  8:35 PM

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Yesterday I went for a walk in interview, today I received a phonecall from my employers and tmr i will be starting work!!

Yay! My days as a jobless slacker has officially come to an end! Yippie..

All's cool except that I dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday and it's totally ruined. Hais.. That's just how life goes.

You win some and lose some.

New Job Details:
Shop name: AG accessories
Items sold: Cystals and accessories + info on astrology
Location: Fareast Plaza Orchard
How I got the job: Shopping with Rubys

Can't wait to start work!! Need to get an employment letter though:)

Dun wan to end up getting nothing at the end of the day.

Haha..

  @  4:20 PM

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Yesterday was the 1st of April - the closing date of uni application for JC students. After much contemplation, i still decided to stick to my original choices. For NUS, I selected Arts And Social Sciences as my 1st choice. I had to go with Communication Studies for NTU and yes.. It has already been declared that if I am to enter SMU, I would have to do either psychology, political science or sociology.

Isn't it weird how ppl tend to procrastinate doing the things that really matter to us? As I was sitting in the front seat on my Dad's car on the way home from the dog farm this morning, it suddenly came to me that I am the lazy blob of fat that Dad has made me out to me. It's true. I am gaining weight, getting bored out of my guts but doing absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G about it.

Sigh.. It's not like I haven't thought about losing weight. I have. I'm sure I have. In fact, if i remember correctly, I have been coming up with all sorts of weird dieting and exercise plans since my poly days.. Back when almost everyone around me was stick thin and I could only survive on a diet of an extra large cookies and cream sundae everyday.

When I was in JC, I totally procrastinated my dieting plans thinking that I'd have all the time in the world to burn off those extra calories once the A levels were over. Surprise surprise.. I do have all the time in the world now.

Yeash.. All the time in the world but not even a streak of determination. Sigh.. It seems like the only exercise i get all day comes from cooking and washing the dishes, all of which is completely and entirely undermined by the enormous amounts of carbohydrates that i shaft down my mouth in between.

Ahh!!!!!!!!!!!

I need change of attitude, totally. I'm staying at home because I can't bear to leave Loki home alone but it seems like he's pretty bothered by my company too. Haha.. I used to think that Loki wants to sleep in my room at night because he wanted to be 'integrated into the family' as mentioned in the book 'dogs on the couch'. However, the truth may be that he just wants to sleep in an air conditioned envt.

Evidence of which came a few nights ago. I decided to move out of Denise's airconed room for a night and Woophee.. Loki decided to make a huge fuzz about my move, whining and leaning against Denise's room door.

Hais.. Perhaps I should really get a job la..

• Good news! - I managed to download "Howl's Moving Castle" solo piano music score for both the Merry Go Round of Life and the Ending. Yay!!!

  @  6:33 PM

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