I am so blessed.

I am so dead. Feeling exhausted - both physically and mentally. For the past month, I have been having poor quality sleep. Seems like it has become a habit of mine. Everytime I close my eyes in an attempt to sleep, I think of things. Things that I have to do tomorrow. Things that I have to buy. How to earn money. How to allocate my time. Basically, I think of everything. Argh! Seems like I have forgotten how to sleep. Teach me how, guys. Tell me how to sleep.

Anyway, I slept at around 4am last night. Thinking that I have to wake up at 8am today. Yay! My sister is back. I went to Changi Airport to accompany her home. It was an... eventful trip. The ChannelNewsAsia reporter was there, to cover the Tsunami news. It seems that most of the planes were from Phuket, Indonesia or Thailand. Seeing me loitter about the arrival hall, the ChannelNewsAsia reporter came over to ask me whether I was waiting for anybody arriving from Phuket or any of the disaster area. Hee. Yes, I was. For my sister who transitted at Thailand. But that doesn't count, right. Saw some really traumatised disaster victims. Crying. It was really sad. I really count myself blessed. That Singapore evaded such a disaster, thanks to Sumatra. Please people, please appreciate what you have. Stop making a joke out of the Tsunami - victims or countries. It is not funny. Period.

Okie, back to my sister returning from Paris. So the girl who goes to Paris comes back to Singapore. The best part is the presents! Yay! My sister bought me a green top that was 10 pounds. Wow, 10 pounds = S$31.50. For a top so expensive, I promised her to wear it to school everyday. =) The rest of my presents are apparently still in a parcel sent home via VPost. Still have to wait. But I am glad that my sister is finally home. Oh, and welcome to the family, Henry the London Bear.

Shopping.

~ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! ~

Joy to the World!

CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE SHOPPING QUEEN: That's me. Yeah, a self-confessed shopping freak. Once I start, I can't stop. There is just this amazing feeling of exhilaration when you buy that very last piece of top and you know that your trip to town is not wasted. It's Christmas time. My gosh. The entire Orchard went crazy yesterday. The whole place was simply overwhelmed with people. Who says Singapore is facing a dwindling population? If that is the case, then why is it that I see kids everywhere - running around and big kids fighting with each other over that one piece of clothing? Aha! Everybody was in town yesterday to do their Christmas shopping. It didn't help that Mango was having its sales. I see tonnes of women. There are some things that men just don't get it. The joy of shopping. They don't see why women can leave babies in prams lying in a corner while they rush to hunt for items on sale. It is amazing how hands were flying everywhere. Tossing clothes, yes I mean literally tossing clothes around, searching for clothes in XS or S sizes. Queues to the fitting room were so long that you will probably think everything was free. Women who don't hesitate to try on their skirts or top on the spot. In full public's view. Wow.

I always thought that I was rational enough to not join in such sales. But sadly, I succumbed to the shopoholic side of me. I joined the queue outside Mango Takashimaya. Or rather I cut queue. I didn't know that I cut the queue of 20 women standing in line. Nobody told me that I cut queue. Neither did the security guards saw me. So I happily blended into the crowd. Hoping that nobody would hurl verbal abuse at me. At last, I came out spending only a measly $9. Ahem. Anyway, good luck to those hitting town. Happy Christmas. And happy shopping.

My New Year Resolution.

I have made up my resolution for the new year.


(1) STAY FOCUSED. I resolute to, need to and am going to stay focused for the next semester. Seriously. With my 6 modules, I am apparently heading for suicide. Gosh. I really doubt whether I can manage my big 6.


(2) WAKE UP ON TIME. I resolute to try to wake up on time and not waste precious money on cab fares! With 2 out of my 3 days being an 8.30 class, I better hurry.


(3) SLEEP BEFORE 2am. I resolute to sleep before 2am every night so that I will not wake up a zombie the next morning. By sleeping before 2am, I will ensure that I have at least 5 hours of sleep for the next class.


(4) SHUT THE LAPPY. I resolute to shut the lappy in my bag so that I will not surf the net too much. No more Friendster. Less blogging. No more MSN! Yes, no more MSN. The bane of my life. I hate it when I put in my MSN nick - Too tired to talk/too busy to talk/don't want to talk and with a BUSY sign in place and people still come to chat with you. By that, I am referring to the smoothies (PUN: SMU-thies). Excuse me. The signs are in place for a reason, in case you are wondering. Do you seriously think after staring at your face for over 10 hours in school, I will still want to chat with you when I am home? Dude, get a life! Business is business. And by that, I mean business.


(5) GIVE ME THE MONEY. Haha. I seriously need to earn money given the shopoholic me. I am contemplating teaching tuition. But given my seriously overwhelming workload...


(6) SKIP TOWN. I resolute not to hit town so frequently. Given the proximity between Orchard and SMU, I find myself in Orchard during the afternoon so often that I have developed a slight phobia of Orchard.


(7) NO MORE SHOPPING. I need to cut down my expenditures. No more Topshop, Zara or Mango. No more Adidas. No more jackets. Hopefully, my bank account will be growing in time. Seriously, I need money if I were to make it to Europe...


(8) GET A LIFE, WEIRD DUDES. I am going to ignore weird dudes in my life. Weird dudes with a limited vocabulary comprising of extreme vulgarities. Seriously, I am so perturbed by this that I find my blood pressure rising whenever I think of guys who use such language. Even though it is none of my business. Sigh.


(9) WHAT'S THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN? This will be the leading philosphy in life for the year 2005. I will not take everything too personally and close to heart that I risk getting a panic attack. I will learn to take a deep breath. Count to 10. Tell myself everything will be alright when I open my eyes. I shall not overstress myself again.



That's all for now. Can't think of anymore. Will be adding more to the list as and when I think of more resolutions. Till then, take care and ciao!

I hate Chinese. Sentosa trip!

I have a big problem now. My blogger language has mysteriously changed to Chinese. Goodness. I really can't figure out what it is trying to say. What is going on? Seems like my laptop is fated to be a Chinese. My settings are also in Chinese and apparently I can't convert them to English. Everybody who borrows my laptop to check their mails will ask me "Why is it in Chinese?" Don't ask me. Ask Mr Laptop. What is wrong with my lappy? =( I haven't touched Chinese for like almost 1 1/2 years and my Chinese sucks. The lesson I hated most in JC was Chinese. Thanks to our Chinese teacher. I don't remember what is her name anymore but I definitely remember her face and her freakingly disturbing voice. The thing I hate most is that Chinese lesson is always at the end of the day and she would rattle on and on about some weird Chinese essay and telling Yuan Hui to stop talking. Wah lau! Waste of my time.


Okie. I have been lagging for several days due to my cold. Now I shall update the most happening event in my entire week. The Sentosa trip with my dearest 26/02 babes! Finally, we made it to the beach - though the weather denied us of any reason to celebrate. We spent most of the time eating and eating and eating. I have something to protest though. Nearly everything is in cheese. I can't take cheese and milk. I can't take Ali's ham and CHEESE bread, Qimin's CHEESE flavoured Ruffles and MILK bread. Boohoo. But I did had a great time chilling out in the water. Chilling out, yeap, I mean really chilling out cos I did caught I chill from there. The water was FREEZING. And I did had a mouthful of salt water. Though the trip to the beach was short, I did had great fun there and I would love to go there with my bikini babes again!


There's about the most exciting event of the week. Till the next time, ciao!

Second post of the day.

I have been feeling groggy the whole day. Sneezing and sleeping the entire afternoon. It is really that bad. I think I must have caught a cold. Just had my second Panadol of the day. And I finished the entire box. Come to think of it, I think the cold must have been due to the Famous Amos that I greedily gobbled up during the Sentosa trip and my venture into the freezing water. I must have caught the chill from there. Great.


Actually I intended to go to the gym on Wednesday. I started planning my gym trip from last week but my plans have been disrupted by my sickness. I am really bored. Just woke up 2 hours ago and really don't feel like sleeping again. For the first time in my life, I don't want to sleep. Only because everytime I shut my eyes, I can feel my entire head throbbing. As in going to burst. It's that bad. I am so sick of being sick. Can't do anything. Can't go out and play. Life is sick.


I have been having weird dreams lately. And my dreams are continuous. It is like 4 to 5 dreams in a single sleep. Probably due to me sleeping too much. Last night I had a weird dream. I dreamt that I took up piano lessons again. My playing techniques were of course bad due to the lack of practice for years. The funny thing was that my piano teacher was my real-life piano teacher's husband. I couldn't really see the face. It was as though it had been blurred but I just know that the person was my piano teacher's husband. Then, this crazy new piano teacher wanted me to play a Grade 6 piece with 2 other fantastic players. I was only beginning to sight-read the piece when he wanted us to perform it for him. I was only playing the treble clef but I couldn't catch up with the other 2 players. Then crazy piano teacher screamed at me. I was frustrated and angry and I screamed back at him. "Are you mad? I haven't been practising for so long and now this is my first lesson you want me to play so fast?" Then, I left. After that, I went home to find my elder sister unpacking her parcel in the living room. Weird dream, right? Anybody know what it means?

I am sick.

If there is one thing I hate in this world, it is being sick. Especially during the holidays. I have been sick for the past 2 days. It feels horrible. It all first started yesterday morning, when I woke up to a nasty sore throat. By the afternoon, it has progressed into a spliting headache. All I did the entire day was to sleep. I continuously slept for 16 hours. Can you believe it? A whopping 16 hours! If there is any sleeping competition in the world, I think I will most probably be able to win the race... Hands down. Anyway, during the night I felt especially nauseaus. I felt like puking the entire night. By today morning, I was suffering from a noise block and a bad bout of sneeze. Argh! I attributed the entire suffering to the Famous Amos cookies I ate at Sentosa on Tuesday. It must be it! Retribution to me for not baking the cookies? Maybe. That is up to you to interpret.


My dear sister. Mummy went to collect the parcel. Only the wines were taxed - $15. You know what they say about the thing that runs in the genes. Yeah. That must be it because while rummaging through your parcel, I discovered you bought the exact same Zara pants as me! The black striped one. Except you bought it cheaper in Spain, I presume. I bought mine at nearly $50. And I love the purple Mango bag you bought. It's nice. Your shirts are nice too. Hehe. Anyway, Mummy wants you to help her buy Yomeishu at Changi Airport, where there is no tax. 1 bottle will be enough. Also, mummy wants you to help her see if there is any clothes to buy in France cos our cousin Xiao Yi will be getting married in January. I will send you the details later.

Lazy Huiling. Singapore Idol.

My arms and back are aching like mad now. Ouch! I went swimming yesterday. Finally managed to kick some ass and stretch my muscles. Still, the effect of the swim is pretty much offset by the huge packet of Hershey's that I ate yesterday. Sigh! But still, at least I didn't just pile on fats into my body without working out.


Anyway, I told Sindy and Jasmyn that I would bake cookies tonight. But I have decided not to. Why? Because I am a lazy girl. I am feeling so lazy and comfortable now that I don't feel like moving my already aching body and arms. Furthermore, I will have to mix the butter, beat the mix, pre-heat the oven and everything. This means that I will smell of cookies tonight. I am sorry that I am such a lazy bum and a let-down. Just call me Lazy Huiling. I promise to wake up earlier tomorrow to bake those cookies. Then, you guys will have freshly baked cookies... Straight from the oven! Oh yah! I am going to Sentosa tomorrow. with the 26/02 girls! Whoopee! This has always been a trip that never materialised. Hopefully... *Cross Fingers*


You guys know what? I am such a Singapore Idol fan. Absolutely fanatic about our very own Singapore Idols! I am now sitting by the radio, practically every minute that I am awake, awaiting for "I Dream" and "That's What Friends Are For". I get pretty excited. Okie, VERY excited each time I hear this 2 songs even though I hear them like ten times a day. I am such a radio junkie. You guys must definitely listen to these 2 songs, especially "That's What Friends Are For". This is one of the best rendition that I have ever heard before. I think they even sang better than the American Idols single. Especially Leandra... She is like Singapore's own version of Alicia Keys! But since she was ousted, I have been rooting for Taufik! Singapore's answer to Usher! Too bad my dear sister can't be here to witness the PHENOMENON! Okie... That's enough of Singapore Idol. Back to reality now.

Live Life. No worries.

I have had a weird apprehension lately, inspired by my sister. She wrote in her blog: Well, I think you have only one life. Live it the way you want it. Pursue what you believe it. The things that you achieve will be satisfying. Even if you meet some obstacles along the way, it will serve on to build your character stronger. I couldn't help but keep thinking about these words. Yes, I agree that each of us only have one life. We should do what we want and believe in ourselves. This life belong to me and myself. Do I want to live my life for myself or for others? How many times have it been when you decide to do something, only to call it off when you think of other people's reaction towards your action and behaviour? For me, it has been many a times... Countless. After this, I would think about what could have been. Would I have been different should I have taken that path? Would I be who I am now if I have done what I wanted to? Maybe. But pondering over those words made me feel the urge to live my life. Right now. What if tomorrow never comes? Sounds scary, right? But seriously, I don't want to wait until I am an old grandma before I look back and regret that I had never gone bungee jump or skydiving when I was young. Wow, that would be way too late. Hmm... Nevertheless, the decision to LIVE LIFE comes only when you have the courage. You must have the courage and determination to live life before you can really get about living it. Opportunities don't come knocking twice. This saying is really true. There are many things that you don't get to enjoy if you don't cherish the opportunity. Ultimately, all these boils down to attitude and character. If you think of everything including worries about what other people think, then you will never be who you will be. Afterall, most of these people are just strangers in passing. People who don't really matter in your life. 10 years from now, you will probably walk pass them along the streets without recognising them. For me, I think I spend far too much time worrying about how other people feel about what I do that I don't really spend enough time being myself. I am not who most people think I am. Till now, I can say that most people (ie. my new SMU friends) hardly know me. I don't think I have ever revealed my true self to them. Maybe this is because of human's natural instinct - to protect themselves. Folks who know me really well will know that I am different from who they perceived me to be initially. Okay, here comes another of my resolution for the new year. Be myself and no worries about others. Live life to the fullest and seize everything opportunity.


Anyway, today was Music Day for me. Why? Because I was surrounded by music the entire day. Albeit willingly. Thanks to Perfect 10, All Hits All Day, I did not die of boredom. I am so attached to Perfect 10 that I take Carrie Chong and Otelli Edwards as my new found best friends. Haha. I like Carrie Chong. She is so funny and not to mention, PRETTY! Also, I finally heard Taufik on the radio today! Yay! Our very own Singapore Idol, Taufik Batisah! He rocks, the Soul MAN! I will definitely buy his album when it is released on December 19th. Anxiously anticipating... Feel so inspired by Taufik... to sing in the BATHROOM! Haha! I doubt I will ever make it to participating in Singapore Idol. In my dreams maybe. I am just happily contented watching our own Singapore Idol. I remember when I was in Primary School, I participated in my school's Talent Time. I sang Disney's A Whole New World. Heh... Surprised? Of course, I didn't managed to bag the top prize but I got the consolation prize. Boohoo. But what can you expect, I was a kid then! Okay, enough crap about myself. Going to hit the sack soon! Sleepy me... Nite.

Latecoming

Something dawned on me recently. A very disturbing and annoying bad habit of mine - latecoming. A very common idiosyncracy to be found in Singaporeans, nevertheless. I just realised that whatever I do, wherever I go, I will always be late.

Example 1:
Yesterday, I was supposed to meet the 26/02 girls at 2pm at Cineleisure. I was eagerly anticipating this gathering. But, I still only managed to leave home at 2pm. See? I meet people at 2pm but I leave home at 2pm! Oh my goodness.
Example 2:
I remember how I always rush into Prof Wang's lessons panting and in sweat because I ran up the huge mountain to get to school. Finanical Accounting lesson starts at 10.15am. But, I leave home at around 9.40am on average. Worse, there was once I left home at 10am. You guessed it. I was late. Very late for class. Worse still, I was perpetually late for the FA quiz that starts immediatedly. So I only have around 5 minutes to finish the quiz.
Example 3:
I am always late for project meetings. I don't know why this happens but I only managed to leave home 30 minutes before the mutually agreed upon meeting time. Truthfully, my mentally for project meetings are people are surely going to be late, so I will be even later than them. So, this one don't really count.


The list goes on and on. Come to think of it, I don't really recall a single time when I was early or worse still, on time. Don't ask me why. I planned everything before the day. I am a control freak. 10 minutes to brush my teeth and freshen up. 30 minutes for breakfast and newspapers. 20 minutes for contact lens and wardrobe. So, all in all 1 good hour before I leave home. But somehow, I will always be plagued by unfortunate circumstances like that day's papers happened to be carrying some entertaining news that I overshot the allocated time by 10 minutes. I would not realise it until my mum calls out to me "Xiao Hui... Bu Yong Qu Xue Xiao ah!" (Translate: Don't need to go to school ah!) Then, I will start to make a mad rush. Sigh. This is my typical morning. I call it my own version of Morning Madness. The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Latecoming has really become a trait and my personality. It is not easy to break out of this vicious cycle. We first make our habits, then our habits make us. I used to not be able to understand why my friends can procrastinate when it comes to getting work done or studying. Now, I understand. It is a habit! Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into but difficult to get out. Friends, let's unite and defeat bad habits! Together, we can make a difference. Haha. I am so full of crap and bullshit. That is another bad habit of mine. Crapping and telling lame jokes. But, not as serious as latecoming, in my opinion. I really wish to be on time, for once. That will be my resolution for the new year.