i got flowers!

just a couple of minutes ago, i had a call in the room, and the caller said i had flowers sent, and waiting at the lobby.

and because i thought it was a prank by one of my colleagues, i went "Ya ya ya, 真的吗？不好笑。" and hung up the phone on the poor guy.

and he called back immediately to say it wasn't a prank and he'd bring up the flowers.

and yeap i got flowers from mr kwok. 20 red roses cos i'm 20 years old. (SHUT UP ALL OF U!)

*looooove*

*swoooooooooon*

ok i am girly. let me be cos it's my grow old day.

i'm old, boring and predictable.

CRISTINA: "There's a club. The Dead Dads Club. And you can't be in it until you're in it. You can try to understand, you can sympathize. But until you feel that loss... My dad died when I was nine. George, I'm really sorry you had to join the club."
GEORGE: "I... I don't know how to exist in a world where my dad doesn't."
CRISTINA: "Yeah, that never really changes."

i haven't really had time to myself to really think through everything that has happened in 2007. yes, i've had time alone, but never as peaceful as today. lots of reading, thinking, and just.. spacing out. and when i read the above lines from grey's, it just struck a chord.

and yes, i'm officially 25+1 years old today. last year, when i filled out survey forms, i could happily tick the 25-30 age group and feel i'm the youngest, but today i'm "upgraded". and hopefully a little wiser, as val pointed out bluntly. THANKS. and to all who are happy that i'm older..... *ROOOOOAR*

26 years old. many years back i had dreams of me being someplace very accomplished in my career. i am someplace, but nowhere near accomplished nor in my dream job. but things change, expectations change, we change. i've changed. what plans do i have for this year? nothing much. I'm still on the recovery, in many aspects, trying to deal with myself, with certain issues in life and with my own expectations.

the last day of chinese new year, the lunar valentines' day and my birthday. last year today i was in the air from los angeles to taipei, and didn't see the date 21st February. Tomorrow i'm headed for Los Angeles. Last year today i remember standing outside Sheraton Taipei, making a video call to dad, chatting to him, mum and seeing charcoal on the phone. This year, it was just mum and charcoal.

The reunion lunch this year, was a minus one. we set a table for 4, the dishes on the table significantly lesser, but still those he would have liked. but we ate in silence, and at a point, in tears.

and there are still many days i wake up, wishing that it had all been a dream and things would go back to what they were like in the past. and sometimes i do wonder if things would be better had I chosen another path. but i learnt that there are just some things you can't ever change.

on a happier note, dinner with the igualans was pretty successful. people who went MIA previously turned up, people who couldn't navigate on four wheels previously turned up, though the mahjong addict was in the air from denmark to singapore his presence was sorely missed (ok i said that to appease the legend). and i had a great time. nothing beats being around people who grew up with you, who knew you inside out, who forgive you for not making enough effort to meet up, who can still be there for you when everyone else in the world gives up on you, who love you for just being you, and who will still love you even when you are no longer you. From hideous stories you'd never want your other halves to hear (which is why the legend never brings out his girlfriend anymore), to surprisingly good news you'd never think you would know (the pilot and the missing miss shum).

i've received cute presents this year also. the very first was val's PIGGY bank to me (LITERALLY PIG. PINK PIG) which went oink oink whenever i dump money inside, and sends charcoal growling, and my very very very first Agnes B. coin pouch, which, only has space for coins. meaning i cannot do the auntie thing and dump notes nor cards inside. then the next day i had another agnes b. card pouch from some ex-colleagues, which i am told not to put coins in.

mr kwok baked me a cheesecake for the dinner, which he graciously sponsored also, at arab street WHICH was finished up by the second day, and a dual-time watch to replace my current one. and now it means whenever i wear it on board i cannot be too rough.

the guys got me a handcream, ("it's very good! not greasy one!") and yeah it's good and smells nice tooooo. *smooch*

i finally met up with the potato, though it was a brief one, and we had a very good time sitting outside coffeebean and talking about whatever and anything. *love* and i got a chain with my name. non-kinky chain.

mummy got me a cake and we had an early celebration at home and charcoal loaded me with kisses and dumped his favourite toy in my bag.

this morning Rat came down all the way from taipei to give me my present and a birthday cake, sang a silly birthday song for me and left after breakfast to go back to taipei to work. just so that i could stop whining about being stranded in boring taoyuan on my get-old-day. THANKS LAH OK?!

I made almost everyone sign up for a mahjong account online and forced them to play with me last night. or when they are online. and i have a mahjong addicted other half.

and yay, finally finished updated, cos K complained that no one whines as much as i do, and that he had nothing to read for the past 3 weeks.

Back to more reading.

to my lovely huggable friends who smsed me early this morning or at midnight or left me messages on facebook msn wherever, THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL.. *SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH*

k now i am going to just stare at the number 26.

SHUCKS!

was sorting through the hoards of photos in my ibook and macbook, and it suddenly hit me...

where the fuck are the photos i took when i went to copenhagen and my first paris flight? and first frankfurt? argh! and many other places?

and then i sorted them thru dates, and a whole chuck of photos from june 06- oct 06 .... MISSING!

damn. must still be stuck in my Piss-See. freaking arsed.

must get harddrives out. SOON!

not a sunday...

mum and i did our annual chinatown chinese new year tour today. but this year it felt really different, firstly because we aren't celebrating, and then because we're gonna be short of one at the reunion lunch.

so we went down to waterloo street temple to offer our prayers, and i asked for a divination lot for.. well, everything. it didn't feel like sunday though, today, even until now. it was crowded, but it just didn't feel like sunday.

hopped on the bus to chinatown, and en route, a pair of grandparents chatting over someone's head to their friend seated right in front left me feeling amused. and i missed, right that instant, the times i used to spend together with granddad and grandma.

the skies didn't hold up, and it poured heavily when mum and i were only 5 minutes into our window shopping. and i was almost gonna faint from hunger! so maxwell beckoned, and i felt disappointed at not being able to eat my sliced fish noodles. and chinatown seemed bleak this year, not sure if it were the rain or just me.

lots of mochi in my bag later, we hopped on the bus for home. just because i bought some really cool gadgets for my phone, i killed our half an hour waiting time by forcing my mum to take pictures with me.



and NO, i am not strangling charcoal.



this picture will be shown to people who piss me off BIG TIME. check out charcoal's butt.


another random post. because nails painted, flight tomorrow and i no want to work.

and instead of being in roma and standing in front of fontana di trevi, i opted for a japan stay with more days off at home.

so i spent close to 4 hours shopping, buying things that i have no need but can create a need for, and eating all my yummy yummy saba fish and unagi. LOOOOOVE.

the crazy senior gave me lots of weird funny ideas to do on my last day at work, or to people who are bullies at work. i am slowly compiling a list. hur hur hur.

ok i am just plain tired and lethargic, heading out to chinatown with mummy now.