Valentine's Day

I don't really celebrate V-day or really care for it because I find it really cheesy and too commercialisd. My friend says I am not romantic but hey, who defines romanticism anyway??

I remember the first time I got flowers (ugly flowers) from this stalker, I threw it into the dustbin immediately. I dislike flowers because I hate carrying the bouquet around and getting stares from people. It's even worse on V-day as the prices are exhorbitant. No way am I going to let those florists and hamper companies laugh all the way to the bank. I sniggered quite abit when I saw some guys buying flowers on V-day evening. Super last min. If you wanna send flowers, deliver a super big bouquet or order one unique one in advance! Moreover, not all bouquets are pretty. Some are just normal and plain and common. A nicely wrapped and accessorized (maybe with bears or keychains, etc) bouquet that is unique is the best. I saw this floral arrangement of a bouquet of flowers on a big champagne glass and on top are 2 bears. Quite a nice and unique arrangement. No expensive chocolates either, nor some expensive candle-lit dinner, all played up by the marketing promotions people to drum up more F&B sales.

It's perfectly fine to have a quiet dinner with your loved one and spend time together, appreciating each other on V-day as a gesture, which I feel is good enough. Making time for each other is very important and I wanna say thank you to my darling for doing so. HAha.

Super busy...again

I thought I could breathe easier now but I was so so wrong. Super busy nowadays, especially this whole week. There were alot of ad campaigns coming in for the whole year and some complicated ones. Gosh, it's tough juggling different accounts all vying for your attention and meticulous handling. I could go off at 1pm today but worked till 3pm. I am always so "suay" during times like this. The other occasion I got time off was during Christmas but as usual, I worked till 3pm plus. Well, I guess busy is good but I just pray hard I don't make mistakes.

Visits to the gym have been dwindling as I can't seem to get myself out of bed early these days. Argh. Anyway, I used up my last free personal training session recently and found out I lost 1% fat and approximately 1.5kg too! Great news. Haha. The numbers don't sound very big but hey at least my clothes don't feel that tight anymore? And not much of a love handle spilling over. The best part I love is the adrenaline pumping each time I exercise. Just makes you feel so healthy. Hohoho.

Which phone should I get?

I can finally change my phone. Not that the current Samsung 600C is not good, it served me well but it's just... getting on in years.

Yet I cannot find a really nice phone that will replace its position. Thought of getting a slider phone and that kind of limits my choice as there are not many sliders but alot of flip phones and candy bar phones. And I only want Samsung because the colours are more vivid and better designed. Nokia phones are too big, having been accustomed to the small Samsung phones.

So I narrowed down my choices. Samsung Ultra 12.9 or E900. Then the worst case scenario would be I get Nokia 6288.

Alternatively I can change a Nokia 6070 and use my dad's Samsung Ultra 8.4. Well, he wont be happy with that cos he's hooked onto the Samsung phone. Yes, it is the colours and well, the slimness of the phone. Am not very keen on Samsung 8.4 as it's too slim for me and my thumbs get tired from sms-ing too often. Hehe.

Next, Nokia 6288. Rectangular, nice basic phone. Just that, it's too basic. It has all the good functions (plus 3G) like camera, radio, etc, etc but it's too rectangular and too much like a spectacle case. Tried playing with this phone at mobile shops and found the slide mechanism loose and number pad too close to the screen. However, it's a good phone to call, sms and take pictures or even assign different ringtones to different users. There is even a mini-SD slot for you to save your stuff with the extra memory. I may just get this. Cheap and good and live with the other issues that I don't like. Ha.

Just that, I am brand conscious and well, I just like Samsung. Oh, did I mention there is a Samsung Mobile Fun Club where you can register and download free ringtones and get updates about Samsung? Yup, it's all about belonging to a club.

Samsung E900 - out of stock, Singtel isn't selling it anymore. Argh. Case closed.

Samsung Ultra 12.9 - currently costs $418 with a 2 year plan from Singtel. Super expensive! No 3G too! Functions are like E900 but with a 3 MP camera and of course the slim design. I love the slide mechanism on this, smooth but not loose. Plus you can do alot of stuff to customise the phone. I like to use photo caller ID which means the user's name will pop up when they call (Yes, I know Nokia 6288 has it too ). The only catch here is the high price.

Oh well, I will just wait for CNY to come as there should be many promotions. AND Samsung Ultra 13.8 (3G) will be launched soon. Maybe there will be some sales promotions since it's the first time the phone enters the market. Just like how my dad got the Samsung Ultra 8.4 for $0. Hoho. Wait, wait, wait. Be patient, only less than 2 weeks to go!

The Excelsior Hotel, HK

Went away the next day after my birthday to HK for systems training and meetings in our office headquarters in HK. I was filled with trepidation of what to expect in HK, given all my fears and worries but I am glad everyday I entrusted these worries to God and let Him do the rest. All in all, it was a pretty good trip, though at the end of 5 days I was quite exhausted and simply just glad to be home.

Took the 1st flight out on Sunday morning to HK but the flight was delayed by about an hour! For the first time, I saw 10 planes queuing up on the runway to take off. Argh. Reached HK about 2pm and had to queue (again) to check in at The Excelsior Hotel. Finally got to my room, (was pleasantly surprised to have an upgrade to executive room - bigger room with nicer amenities like ironing board, small coffee maker and a couch.) And I got a double bed for me, myself and meself! The bed is simply wonderfully cosy, soft and clean. I never slept on such nice beds and pillows before. The pillows were not cotton but probably feathers or something, in any case I did not feel like getting out of bed each morning. I felt luxuriously pampered. (Yes, one night’s accommodation is like S$300?!) Plus the cool weather really makes you feel like sleeping in!

This hotel is really clean and the really very best part is the location. Oh, did I mention that there are a lot of shopping centres nearby and the train station is like 3mins walk away? You can just walk down or outside the hotel and get any food anytime anywhere. The shopping centres open till 11.30pm too and they don’t chase you out or give you black faces!

My previous stay in HK was marred by bad food and lack of food around the hotel. However, at The Excelsior HK, the food was simply good and abundant and the service staff is friendly and can speak to you in proper English. Needless to say, there were a lot of ang mohs staying at this hotel. It was simply hassle-free. The door man would help you call for taxis every morning and he looks very professional in his red gear and turban. Plus he was really friendly and I mean genuinely friendly. HK used to have a bad reputation for giving lousy service but generally not anymore. The staff really treat their guests like royalty.

Apparently the weekend English tea set in Excelsior Hotel is very popular in HK. I think it’s quite cheap at S$22 nett where there are small finger sandwiches with salmon, tuna, cucumber, etc. In addition, there were bite-sized scones, cheesecake, chocolate cake and portugese egg tart. Of course, you could select the choice of tea you like and there really really is a wide range – I could count at least 10! Thinking about it just makes me salivate, uncontrollably. Yum yum. I wished I had more time to enjoy myself there leisurely.

On a side note, I enjoyed myself during this business trip as it was a time to get to know my colleagues better. We drank, dined and shopped together. They also playfully woke me up at 2am to go to one of their hotel rooms and we were drinking chilled San Miguel beer in cold weather and basically just chitchatting nonsense. At first I was grumbling to them for having woke me up when I was in deep slumber but I guess 2 hours less of sleep was worth it. We even had pillow fights, well ok, they threw pillows at me cos I was lazing on the bed and nodding off badly. Sorry, can't show the photos they took at night cos I turned out really horrible!

I can breathe more easy now?!

It’s a Monday today but I feel great for once. I think CNY is coming and so the mad rush at work is temporarily over? At least I feel I can breathe abit now and shoot off to do my long neglected filing. Yup, papers have been piling up on my desk but I think I am almost done with my long neglected filing of 2006 Q4 and Jan 07 stuff and organising the new information sheets I have for 2007. And of course updating myself on it. I love the after effects of filing because I feel that my life is organised once again. At least I don’t have to play that much of a catch-up, probably can brisk walk now and run at times. Keep fingers crossed! Haha. Perhaps the cold morning swim at the gym made me feel refreshed and basically relaxed. Trying to ease myself back into a good weekly routine to lose weight or rather be more toned and have a healthy body.

Burned out

I am back from HK! Yes, but I am busier than ever, with no idea why. Not really much time to blog or even the mood, so just a short post here. Feeling pretty burned out till I have not much energy to go to the gym and workout. Work's piling up and getting to be in a mess and I am playing catch-up all the time! Argh. After a hard day's work, all I want to do is go home and relax or stone but sometimes one has appointments, this and that and this. Weekends are worse, I do physio every Sat morning and the one hour trip to and one hour trip back is killing my time. And the rest of my time are spent rushing for appointments. Hmm... Plus the weather is so cool and nice nowadays, it just makes you want to lie in bed longer such that I keep going to work late! Gosh. I need a break...