VinVin’s Tots

A couple of months more and its 010707…By now, most of my dear frenz will noe tat 010707 is the "Pig Day" for me & DD pig,kekeke..Yepz, we are gettin hitched on tat special dae..Y tat dae some ppl might ask..Well, 1st of all according to the Chinese Tong Shu, tat dae is a suitable dae for marriage for DD pig & my horoscope and in addition, its exactly 4 mths from my bro’s wedding date…Juz in case any1 is wondering, ME (erm hmm erm hmm) is the one who chose the date 010707 after gg thru the Tong Shu by myself without any formal training or consultation by expert (kinda floating in the air rite now..hahaha)

And since me & DD pig haf been doing lotsa homework abt wedding preparations, its finally time to put our research into practical applications…And so we shortlisted quite a no. of hotels & restuarants and so far we haf recd quite a no. of quotations and viewed 2 locations. Speaking abt these 2 locations, kinda pissed off wif the attitude of the coordinators..Reali relegated these 2 venues to the bottom of my list which I hope I wun haf to refer to again..Arrgghhhh *shake head*

The 1st venue is a hotel in CBD area…The coordinator sound quite nice over the phone and the venue is acty on the top of our list (the pics of their set up reali impressed us). When we reached the place, the coordinator was late, no surprise coz she reali arranged all the appts back to back…Dere were couples b4 and after our appt, so can tell tat their hotel is reali popular as a wedding choice. The actual set up was quite identical to wat were shown in pics and so plus point for them. But den when it comes to dollars & cents, their true colors are shown.

My "Pig Day" will b on 010707 which oso happens to be the day tat GST will increase from 5% to 7%. And so my argument is tat for any amount paid b4 the 1/7/07, GST should be 5%. And normaly, a deposit of 50% will b required. However, the coordinator simply showed me the attitude tat no way is she gg to gif n take. Reali makes me wonder how does one do biz coz we are lookin at havin 80 pax for our luncheon and 80 pax is not a small figure. Imagine how much the hotel is gg to earn for chargin me XX+++ for 50 pax since the 1st 30 pax is locked in at a fixed rate of XXXX+++.

The next bomb she dropped on us was tat the luncheon timing will either b 11am-1pm or 12noon-2pm. We haf already agreed wif our JP to haf the solemnization at 1.30pm and the hotel’s time slot simply dun fit us. Even after we’ve explained our situation to her, she still insists tat dere is no way she can extend the hours for us. Instead, she recommended tat we take up their Hi-Tea package from 3-5pm. Isn’t she doing more harm than good???

At tat moment, the impression of tat venue went for cloud nine to zero. I noe tat the place is gettin alot of good reviews for their unique solemnization set up by the poolside but den still must b flexible mah…Furthermore they oni haf 1 entrance & exit to the swimming pool & its exactly next to the buffet table. Biangz…

Anyway, I still try to maintain a positive attitude when the coordinator for the next venue called. Its a restuarant wif a pretty romantic theme and the lady who replied my email even attached an excel file which had all the sums worked out and they are chargin me 5% GST (whoa!). So far so gd I guessed. But den good things dun seemed to last long (well, at least in my case).

The boss of the restuarant called up after I told them tat I wanna haf the luncheon to start at 1pm and ends arnd 3.30pm. Guess wat he told me after I explained to him y its gonna b 1-4pm instead of 11am-2pm as wat they had planned for me. He asked me to change JP!!!! OMG!! Wat kinda idiot is tat ah??? Reali feel like screamin at him, how dare he make such a suggestion!! He tink his restaurant so big shot until I must listen to all his biddings isit??? He can even haf the cheek to tell me tat he can provide me wif a couple of JPs’ contact numbers coz they had done solemnizations at his restaurant b4…

Finaly, after I insisted I do not wan a change of JP, he reluctantly relented and told me tat he can try and arrange for 1-4pm luncheon. Reali leh, dunno who’s the customer nowadays…Dun they noe tat forums & words by mouth is by far the most powerful tool tat can make or break any biz??? Seriously, these ppl shld go and attend some biz mgt courses, it will do good for themselves and their biz.

Still haf a couple of venues to view and hopefuly things will get better…Its reali an eye opener for us even tot we haf oni viewed 2 venues. And so, I will kip all my readers posted on any new developments for mission 010707. Sayonara for now

~Each new encounter is a new learning which will constantly improves my EQ~

Gong Xi Fa Cai Everyone!! Ur frendly neighbourhood blogger is back!! Once again, I’ve "missed out" on CNY by gg for a 6D/4N trip to Melbourne wif my parents, uncle & of coz DD pig…kekeke…

To kick start of my summarised blog from eve of CNY to end of the trip (hey, relax, I already said its summarised okie..lol) We had reunion lunch wif my bro, future SIL and DD pig’s parents on CNY eve and took the 9pm nite flight to Melbourne. Gotta gif SQ a pat on the back for their great variety of onboard entertainment..Watched abt 3 movies coz dunno y juz couldnt stay zzz for more than 1hr…To tink tat I used to fall aslp even b4 the plane takes off,hahaha..

Oh well, we reached Melbourne at arnd 7am (Aussie time) and suddenly I gt tis feeling tat I was in China..Found myself surrounded by tons of Chinese at the immigration…Guessed China’s economy must b doing very very well Took abt 30-45 mins to clear the customs and get our luggage..For the 1st time in the many trips we took during CNY, our luggages were the lightest..Yepz, no lugging of super super thick jackets tat ballooned me up once I put them on,kekeke…

We were whisked off to our coach where the othr half of our tour members who had arrived on an earlier Qantas flight had been waiting for us..And tats the start of our 5 days adventure in Melbourne. To cut the long story short (its 5 days of adventure leh, of coz its super lengthy), we visited Victoria’s market, Chadtone, Chinatown and a cathedral on our 1ts day. We managed to grab some cheap bargains at some shops near our hotel. Btw, our hotel (Grand Mecure) was simply wonderful!! The beds were huge, nice bathtub, spacious room and the environment is so comfy..I could go on n on n on..heehee

Next day, we made our way to see some koalas, visited a farm to milk some cows, feed some kangaroos, watched how sheeps are sheared, taught to crack a whip and followed the penguins on Philips Island back home…Its a full day of gettin up close n personal wif nature…Not to mention tat the koalas & penguins are so adorable tat one couldnt help but wanna cuddle them..But too bad, the guide told us tat cuddling of koalas are not allowed in Australia..Duhzzz..

And when nite falls, we sat by the beach of Philips Island to welcome the cute penguins who were gg onshore after a day out in the sea..They came onto the beach in batches and they reali stick together as a team, swayin from side to side as they made their way back home. We were told not to make too much noises so tat the little fellows werent be scared..Who noes (acty its expected), some irritating Chinese who sat rite at the front row started shouting and talked at the top of their voices to some "tong zhi" seated a few rows back…Pls lor, ppl are not blind lah, can easily spot the little fellows in black & white, no nid to tok like tryin to inform the whole village rite (mayb the whole village was reali dere)..

Once again, these Chinese totally disgraced themselves..Its not like the announcements were made juz in English, in fact they even bother to make the announcements in Jap!!! So wat excuses can these irritating (super no face) Chinese haf for not kipin their mouths shut. Dun tell me they can oni understand their own native dialect lor..Biangz..And its no wonder tat Aussies always seemed so shock whenever we picked up a conversation wif them..Coz everyone juz assumed tat yellow skinned ppl = ppl from China..Duhzzz…

Anyway, we went on the

Great

Ocean

road on the 3rd day. And its reali fascinatin how mother nature has managed to create so many beautiful artwork..The 12 Apostles (oni 8 are left) were reali an amazin picture of great worksmanship..The sight was simply breath taking..So any1 out dere who hasnt been to

Melbourne

, better act fast coz u wun noe how many of the 12 Apostles will b left as time passed…

On the 4th day, those tour members who were on the Qantas flight made their way to Sydney and we were brought to a vineyard, strawberry farm (strawberry pickin time & yummy home made ice cream!), got ourselves into the rose maze and had fun in a garden full of lavender. On the 5th day, we did some last min shoppin b4 headin for the airport to catch our evenin flight home. And little did we expect to experience some drama.

1st of all, we wanna claim tax for our purchases and after openin our well packed box for inspection, we were told the airline counters & tax counter were outta strings or tape!!! Fortunately, we managed to get some tape at a stationery store and tat solved our 1st hiccup. Next, we were so engrossed in lookin for our gate tat we totally missed out the tax refund counter located b4 the customs. Imagine me n DD pig gotta go outta customs, get the refund and den thru the customs again…Duhzz…

And juz as we tot tat things couldnt get much worse when we were airborne, a super dramatic scene enacted rite infront of us. Tis big sized ang moh seated in the next row started to sweat like mad and the SIA gal was frantically fannin him (not tat it seemed to do miracles) and b4 we knew it, announcement was made requestin for assistance from any medical personnel tat is onboard. And like in most movies, suddenly a Chinese guy seated a few rows upfront stood up and we guessed he must b a doctor, judgin by the way he handled the sethescope (I hope I spelt correctly). The ang moh was given oxygen and whisked off to the Biz class for some rest. B4 we noe it, he was walkin back to his original seat like nothin had happened. Me suspect tat he must had a drop too much for his size (or age), coz I saw tat he had at least 2 rounds of Foster. Wat can I sae, alcohol is free onboard *wink*

Home sweet home at arnd 10pm and headed straight for bed. Overall, the trip was great coz 1st time having a nature adventure and best of all, no nid to rush frm 1 place to another. Not forgettin tat dun haf to pack lotsa thick clothins which take out almost 90% of the luggage space even b4 we reached the destination…hahaha..

~A time to slow down our pace so tat we can admire the beauty & wonders of wat nature can offer~

Yoz yoz, its been awhile since I last blogged..Too busy wif work during the week tat passed…Yah, ur eyes not playin tricks lah, reali busy wif work coz now 1 person doing 2 ppl’s work mah..Cant wait fr my staff strength to b back to normal in March.. Yeah yeah yeah!!

Juz saw tat my last blog recd quite a few comments (well wishes to b exact) frm my ex colleagues & dear fren Thanz alot ppl!!! So wats ahead of me after gettin my rock..Well..We’ve decided to ROM on 1/7/07 (hehehe)..Suddenly realised tat got alot of things to prepare for ROM (wedding bands, ROM venue, JP etc) and of coz, time to temporary retire frm beach VB (acty I dunno if I can curb the itch to play..hahaha)

Me haf abt 5mths to get into good shape n become fairer..kekeke..Hopefully can resist the temptation to go to the beach..If any1 has better methods to become fair within a short period, pls share!!!! *desperately seekin help* The last VB comp abt 2 weeks ago reali tanned me and I was on the route to becoming fair (thanz to the rainy season during the past few mths)…But it was quite worth it, coz we were the top 16 teams (becoming yaya again :P)

Tmr’s Valentines’ Day so Happy Valentine’s Day to all my frenz!!! Its my 1st Valentine’s Day wif DD pig,kekeke…Haben bought anythin for him yet, mayb not buying coz nid to save for ROM…hahaha..Nw must start to save so tat will haf enuf $$ for our customary which will b 2 yrs down the road =)

As usual, there are always 2 views to everything…While dere are frenz who feel happy for our r/ship, dere are bound to b opposition parties (if not how to balance our world??) And of coz, wat can I do when ppl are the jealous type? Cant help it if ppl wanna be sceptical & doubt our r/ship..To me, these ppl simply eat finish nothing better to do (mayb nothin to fart too *oops*)…Basic reaction when hear tat fren gettin married is to congrats rite…Well, some ppl juz jumped straight to the size of the rock & can even make comparisons to othr frenz…Duhzz…

In tis world, shld b contented wif watever we haf..The world is sooo big, cant possibly compare wif every1 rite..Some ppl juz dun get the idea (mayb they do get it, juz tat they r too blinded wif jealousy)..Dun understand wats dere to b jealous abt coz every1 leadin a diff life..Even ppl who share the same taste for things will haf diff views abt life coz the encounters we all went thru is diff..

Sometimes, ppl juz c the wonderful side of othrs’ life but do they realised tat dere were sad moments too? Sometimes the best of frenz can turn into arch enemies juz becoz jealousy gt the better of them…For me, I would prefer to kip my distance coz no pt tryin to get ppl to feel happy for u when deep down inside their heart they feel super miserable and juz fakin their "well wishes" *roll eyes*

For me, I always try to b sincere when makin frenz but somehow always end up me being too nice to some ppl & being take advantage of…Some ppl simply take frenship fr granted..And the worst kind of ppl are those who tink its alrite to make use of frenz for their own personal motives (happened to mit a couple of these kinda ppl b4). Advice to these ppl, pls do some self reflections or else no point hopin tat things will get better (in a new yr or watever) coz wat we do/tink affects our lives…

Tink I nagged too much already..hahaha..Cant help tat must "release" some grumbles now n den…muahahaha..Everyone nid some form of venting out their "grievances" mah..heehee

~Be contented and you will find ur own pasture of peace & happiness~

B4 anyone starts to tink tat I m tryin to brag or prove certain points in tis blog, pls hold ur horses and read abt my prev blogs…All along I’ve been writing abt my tots, views and events tat happened arnd me, so tis blog is nothin more than juz another event tat happened in my life

5th Feb, my 28th bdae (yah, I m tis "old" lor..lol) Busy workin day, had a total of 3 interviews frm morning till noon..2 of the applicants came at the same time..duhzz..Back to back interviews were reali tedious and I reali lost my concentration in the last interview..Imagine having to repeat the same old story for 3 times in a day & dere are nothin new to add each time the story was repeated..Reali admire my fren SH who told me she can luff at her own jokes everytime she conducts orientation for new staff (same jokes everytime lor)…

Anyway, time reali flies when dere are so much to b done..Gotta handles interviews and do my closing (due on tis Sat!!! Arrghhh!!) Reali feel quite outta breath having to cope wif so much stuff tat seemed to be screaming "urgent" or "high priority" non stop…Cant wait for my staff to be back at work on 1st Mar and I m not the oni one missing her…My mgr seemed to b havin quite a time having to do Petty cash and btw, she oni disbursing out the cash..I m the one doing all the data entry hor…Duhzzz

Wasnt expectin DD pig to pick me up tat early and was still tinkin tat could OT abit to clear some more work..Who noes he turned up arnd 5.30pm *roll eyes*..We went to a petrol kiosk 1st so tat I could "borrow" their ladies to change into a nicer outfit..Wore a set of boring (serious lookin) office suit coz conducting interviews, its my bdae leh, so of coz must dressed up for celebration rite..heehee..

DD pig had to pissed me off the moment I gotta into the car by askin me where shall we go fr dinner…Shldnt he b the one to plan & surprise me since its my Bdae?? But anyway, he’s not the super romantic type so oh well, gotta b contented wif wat we haf rite *wink* 

DD pig kept askin if wanna haf dinner at Merchant Court and so I juz go along wif tat idea..We were on the expressway and DD pig drove to Mt Faber instead of Merchant Court..At 1st I tot he missed the expressway exit (again) but den he parked the car into a lot at Mt Faber and sae y not haf dinner here since already at the place..I din reali tink much so juz followed him..At tis moment, some irritatin bird must b having a bad stomache and guess wat, shited on my dress!!!!

OMG!! Bird shit on my bdae, how "lucky" can I get???!!!! Suddenly, 4 numbers came to my mind and told DD pig to note it down..The last time a bird shited on me, I won TOTO (hahaha)..Luckily, the shit stain not reali obvious (no smell oso) so we headed for the dining spots at Mt Faber to clean up..Juz as we were cluelessly searchin for a way to the 2nd lvl of The Jewel Box, a guest officer came over to our aid and DD pig told him we were lookin for the Sky Dining…

Wait a min, did I hear wrongly?? Sky dining means having dinner in the cable car leh, dun tell me we are to do juz tat?? DD pig approached 1 of the staff at the cable car counter and we were told to take a seat outside the (cable car) boardin & alightin area..1 of the staff came over and DD pig told her he had make a reservation..Surprise surprise, DD pig not tat "mei qing qu" afterall *giggle* Was kinda touched tat he acty planned to haf dinner in such a unique environment

Our cable car was ready & we boarded the cable car to kickstart off our 3 course dinner for the nite…Appetizers were smoked salmon and tomato bisque..The scenery was breath takin..Dere are altogether 3 stops frm Mt Faber to Sentosa..And the journey to & fro Mt Faber took abt 30mins…The last time I took cable car was when I was in pri sch, super long ago rite..hahaha..And tat time was too scared to enjoy the beautiful scenery,kekeke…

Main course was up next, DD pig had chicken & I had fish..Both items were of a sizeable portion and made me kinda sleepy after devouring them, muahahaha…Desserts wif tea/kopi was the final item on the menu and juz when I was anticipatin how my desserts will look like, 1 of the staff brought a heart shaped cake into our cable car, followed by a big bouquet of flowers and a plate (covered wif towel)…

Lousy me gt all emotional at the sight of the flowers..Started to sob den cried (super ma lu & pai seh :p )…Nvr ever expect my pig to gif me flowers, in fact frm the day we were 2gether, he hasnt given me a single stalk..Duhzzz..He prefers to go for more realistic everydae usable stuff..

Juz when I was abt to tuck into my brownie desserts, DD pig handed me the plate covered wif towel..I was tinkin it could b some bear bear souvenirs which the cable car dinin give away to everydae couple…Turned up to b a box & the cable car was so dimly lit (romantic effect,hahaha) I could hardly make out wat was written on the box…Closer look, it read "L H JEWELLERY"..1st tot to my mind, a bracelet frm L H judgin by the size of the box…

Guess wat I found inside…A metal ring look alike bolt/nut..Duhzz..Wat an anti climax..Suddenly, DD pig started gigglin and pulled out something frm his pocket..Although it was quite dark (abt 8pm), I could c tat he was holdin a diamond ring!!! One more time, lousy me started to cry…(wat a cry baby)..It was a mixture of feelings, surprised/touched/happy all in one..Was kinda lost as well..DD pig gotta asked "Will u marry me?" twice b4 I answered..kekeke…

Alas, the ring was too big fr me so gotta take it back to L H for resetting..But fret not, I’ve taken a pic of my ring so for those who wanna view it can take a look at the slide in my profile My 28th bdae was indeed very very memorable..Altot we din videoed the whole process but we will always rem it deep down in our hearts..Btw, my DD pig was infected by my cryin bug and was doing a little sniffin of his own Emotional nite for both of us & reali wished tat time will juz stop dere…

Altot DD pig’s proposal was not a big scale project tat involves frenz..I m still very touched by his efforts to surprise me wif the unique dining experience and showin me the romantic & considerate side of him tat I’ve overlooked and taken for granted =) And yes, I’ve gt my ROCK!!! WooHoo!!! (hahahaha)

~Sharing wif my dear frenz my joy, my happiness, my grumblings and my bo liao nonsense~

Its gonna b a long post, so everyone juz bear wif tis once okie? Must gif face to bdae gal ah..kekeke..Ok, let’s start frm Fri..Went to rebond my hair (yeah, finally I’ve straight hair once more!) den checked into chalet at costa sand sentosa..Was kinda disappointed wif the small bedroom, but oh well juz made do wif watever tat is bah…

Went to the muscial fountain b4 heading to sakae sushi for dinner…The performance at muscial fountain still the same wor, same storyline, same Merlion shootin laser rays outta its eyes, not much surprises…I guess, juz haf to wait fr the new laser & water attraction at Siloso beach to b ready by end of tis mth??

Sat morning, wanted to get b/fast at Coffee Bean but den oni realised they dun serve b/fast (diff outlets, diff services) after walkin frm chalet to beach carpark..duhzz…Decided to attend my staff’s baby gal full mth at Simei (she catered buffet for vising relatives & frenz,heehee)…Had to double up as baby sitter at my staff’s place..Her son juz wun leave me alone (wat can I sae,kekeke), 1 moment wanna eat desserts, next moment wanna play wif the fan..Kids, so cute…lol

After the buffet, went home to get clothes for Sun’s VB comp den head back to Sentosa..My gd fren Leng was already at the beach when we rched Sentosa..Sent her off to swim at the chalet den went off for a game of VB..Acty, its 2 games of VB..hahaha..Made our way back to chalet arnd 6, washed up & voila! Food already laid out by caterer..Super hungry me started the ball rollin wif Leng, Wx, Uncle H & DD pig…

The rest of the VB kakis started to stream in by batches and some even took a dip in the pool b4 headin for showers..We all sat around to chat while havin dinner…Quite a quiet affair..kekeke..DD pig surprised me wif a chocolatety mousse cake after almost every1 was done wif dinner…Din expect him to get me a cake coz not actual day yet mah…And the best part was I dun even noe when did he get the cake…lol

Sun~Surf & Sweat 2007…1st VB comp of 2007…Woke up arnd 6.30 to get prepare for the short journey to Tanjong beach…Gotta report at Tanjong at 7.44am (weird timing) & 1st match agst Mike’s team 1 hour later…My team mate J was kind enuf to get b/fast for us and the whole bunch of us sat under tis huge umbrella, eatin beehoon, wanton mee & Mac b/fast…hahaha

Saw alot of familiar faces at Tanjong, either from old Sunset times or current opponents at Siloso..Watched the 1st match of the day and was quite puzzled wif certain "fouls"..Dunno wat kinda rules the referees are using but they told us tat blockin not considered 1 touch & can even use fingerin & back set..duhzz…

Substandard referees…Later we learnt tat the 3 courts all haf different rules..Some sae blocking considered 1 touch and some dun even blow their whistles when someone use set for 1st ball…Super damn lousy standards..And to tink they’ve been organisin tis event fr a couple of yrs…

We managed to won the 1st match and was up agst our 2nd team of opponents…Frm the start, already noe tat the opponent team has a member tat sux…Asked many questions as if 1st time playin beach VB…Den the most irritatin and pissing part was when he kip Hoo, Haa whenver I wanna recd the ball…Such low standard of play man..Where’s the sportsmanship??? Wanna win den win on real capabilities lah,resort to tis kinda lousy techniques..Worse than a bitch..Complained to the referee and guess wat the idiot referee say.."Not obvious"…HAR!!!! Of coz not obvious to the bloody referee lah, the speakers all juz behind him, hw can he hear properly????

Was so pissed tat I told the opponents to play a fair game..Tat worse than a bitch guy had the cheek to tell me tat in Australia tis is how he played!!! Told him to go back to Australia & play coz tis is S’pore and tis is how we play…Even his own team mates oso paiseh tat I told them to play fair..The gal told him not to do it anymore and the captain told him tat S’pore is S’pore so cant bring the way he played in Australia here…Tat bloody worse than a bitch guy tink he some sort of National player ah, tok until like he super good…Pls lah, dun even c him spike once lor…Tok big oni..Ptui!

Damn sickening to play wif tis kinda ppl, somemore referees totally KAYU!!! To tink the organisers gt cheek to attached the Beach VB rules wif the registration forms but their referees dun seemed to follow anything and still nid the players to help them point out committed fouls..Biangz, S’pore oni haf a few beach VB comp a year and cant the organisers afford to employ qualified referees???

Last time when we took part in Rip Curl and the opponents oso resort to scaring techniques, the referee immediately gave warnin to the team…Tis is the kinda professionalism..Imagine if some foreigners were to take part in Surf & Sweat and encountered wat we had gone thru, it would be such a disgrace to both the organisers & our sunny island as well…

Lucky us were able to re group and manged to won the final game and emerged as runner up of our grp..Outta the 5 teams we sent in for comp, 3 teams went on to the top 16..Felt reali lucky to b able to proceed to next round of comp wif my team mates coz we seldom haf time to play together…Kinda similar situation wif Rip Curl…Anyway, we lost in our next match and our journey once again ends at the Top 16..kekeke…But we reali did play a good match

~A game of wits, composure & calmness..I still haf a lot to learn~