Time of the year...

the new year ushers in.. year of the ox. the joyous mood seem dampened this year. perhaps due to the bad economic sentiment. i wish it was just due to that. however, deep down inside, i do realise why things are different. his absence. he used to buzz abt with mum. from florists to groceries shopping. the heart wrenched as i recount the days spent together.

the flood gates somewhat were released on desk today. thank goodness everyone was away.

First weekend

of personal time. the absence of buggy assignments and dreary eyes is bliss. somehow am just in the sorta state where planning is out of the picture. saturday was spent well with mum, aunts and uncles. They love the bakery at Prive.
Sunday afternoon at changi was relaxing too.

Next up, the running routine and a new lease of life..

Spring cleaning

Time for a sweep, a mop, a scrub, a polish and a new face lift.

Final destination?

Perhaps..perhaps not. Saturday marks the end of all written exams. not sure if i'll ever make another attempt

12 hours..

Before the farewell to the final paper. Can't believe thats all.
Is this the end? Or the advent of a new beginning?

My toes and fingers are all tied up. Prepping for tomorrow's big day.

Final countdown...

to the last paper. 1.5 years of commitment is finally marking its end.

the portfolio results were revealed 1 week back. amazing that i managed a distinction. felt like it was a fluke job. hah.
am looking fwd to end nov and dec- spending time with the lady..

Final lap..

1.5 years whizzed past at a glimpse. The entire experience still feels unreal. wonder how things would have been if i didn't take that leap. The leap that twisted the path perpendicularly. No regrets. Time spent with the team was great. Love 'em all.

The final lesson ended a week back. I'll miss the chattering over coffee breaks, snacking in class and a whole bunch of banter at our fav tcc. heh..fancy a grp of adults doing that. i'll miss daddy picking me... and his frequent "Yvonne girl... hw are you..." "Yvonne girl, you're dress is pretty.. " Yes i miss being daddy's little girl.. the pesky girl who planted a scratch or two during her first attempt of driving. the sneaky one who bumped it again on second attempt and stealthily kept mumb.

I just wish that he was around.... to witness that 3rd attempt on stage..

I now know what i'm wishing for.....

3rd mth has passed...

still missing you. always will.

Brand new change after 3 years...

Finally after such a long time.. decided to execute the plan yesterday right after work to prevent any hold ups by myself or ppl around me. hah

a good 30cm of locks were chopped. the experience was great. there was an initial sense of anxiety.

"something simple, yet chic, yet not oldish..nor outlandish..." must have been a traumatic session for vincent.

the blade got whipped out from his stash of tools, which sliced off millions of keratin fibers. 4 aggressive slashes. that was it. sealed my fate for the next 3-6 months. well,i asked for it. the heart beat surged. the remaining 45minutes were just mere finger-crossing, toe-crossing and silent prayers. May the outcome be decent......

6:55pm. the results spoke. i love it...

i love to go against consensus wishes.... heheh

Moving on to the next phase of life??

I wonder if i'm ready..

Was talking to myself today during the warm down walk, after the run. I recalled significant episodes of life which steered the "pathway of life" (POL) in various directions. There were times where the jump to POL2 was just in my face. Yet, somehow.. someway.... the next significant episode sets in, driving the POL in another direction.

New Addiction...

not drugs nor chocs..not desserts either. got into the swing of bringing lunch lately.. hehz. within 1km locus of dbs tower 2 has horrible food. definitely not an incentive to pop out for lunch. ah well.. guess the occasional walk down to market street or lau pa sat might help. but the heat is certainly a deterrence.

currently the hot fav - mediterrenean style pasta salad :) sundried tomatoes, olives, mesculun mix, herbs, tomatoes, carrots

alright.....i get the drift..might be rabbit food to you. but oh well.. its got all i need! carbs, loads of veggies and the occasional protein! a very well balanced diet :) brekkies are muesli, fruits and milk - good GI


No. 10 started on friday.... final countdown. I'm starting to wonder if i'll get withdrawal symptoms. haha! The topic is great. Treasury Risk Mgmt..how apt for a time like this. Am looking forward to credit risk and the topic on securitisation :) i'm a geek. i actually thought of working through the accounting bit all over again. Well i did plough thru db's balance sheet for last quarter...

Italiano..

4 consecutive days of italian food is turning me into a freak. haha.. friday's dinner at valentino's was great. Not forgetting the lovely treats in hk. So glad that the portions were just tasting portions. else i wud have gained a tonne.

weekend's been great. visited the birdpark after a long long while. quite a nice treat to spend the afternoon viewing birds. the last visit was perhaps a good 10-15 years back. popped by the magic pantry to take a look see as well. the silicone baking ware were really intriguing. "Withstands heat up to 230 degrees celsius" so says the shopowner and mktg collateral.. hmm i still have my doubts. Wouldnt the microstructure of the material degrade or change under high temp? hmmm...i'll google it.

flood gates opened late last nite. blame it on the sappy chinese show on tv. thought of daddy once more.

Ugly .....Uglier.....

Thats what the entire markets is spinning towards. A horrid situation which will eventually find its way to the shoestrings of men on the streets. I sense it for certain. 1 mth back, the malls started to quieten a little. Impulsive shopping purchases is starting to become apparent. Time to tighten our belts. I didn't want to shop much in aussie land, neither in hk, although the latter was well known as a branded goods paradise in asia.

Merger of Banks, Nationalisation activity and bailouts do not portend well for the future. Jokingly with fellow colleagues, we remarked about the lack of future employers. But am thankful that i still have a seat in the dealing room. Perhaps its sour grapes, but, i do a glad that this systemic meltdown highlights to the regulators about the toxic pdts. Fair enough, human beings are greedy. The higher the margins from a sale, the better it is.

Pack 'em in! Pack 'em in!! Voila a perfect structured pdt/derivative which meets all your needs! Lovely!

The sales person gets the keep of commission and the client has his desired needs met. Why not??

Anyhow, i know this is a sick thought. But i do feel tat its good this situation has happened. Time to turn the tables around!

Back home...

2 weeks away from home... the getaway with mum n mich was rather nice. been a while since the 3 ladies went on a trip together. there were moments where points of view were different. am glad we managed to resolve everything. it was a lovely trip afterall. but cud tell that mum felt a little lonely at times. moments of helplessness on my end. mich was right. its about us understanding her now...not the other way round.

the short getaway to hk was simple too. mkts are too grim for much partying. enjoyed the simplicity of just resting in a foreign land alone. ok..perhaps nt alone, but just with some good friends. wanted to head up to macau, but was too tired. jeff invited a boat trip to the neighbouring islands too, but the drinks at sevva spun the head the day after.

feels great to be back.. have much to do at work tmr i believe.

Time to take flight to faraway land

Gonna spend some nice quality time with mich and mummy in down under.. must have been so long since we went on a vacation together. Kinda interesting for 3 ladies to travel together... am sure we'll bicker a little along the way. Yet, i'm so looking fwd to it.

Am tired after all the packing. time to head to bed...

See ya all in 2 week's time...

Fruitful weekend...

Said goodbye to number 9. Just one more to go and i'll be officially done. I'm beginning to wonder i'll feel strange with additional free time over the wkends.. we'll see we'll see.

Wanted to head out for a couple of drinks on sat nite after the paper. but the lousy weather just had to come along. was quite thankful that J popped by and took a drive out for simple indulgence at ben & Jerry's.

Sunday mrg was lovely. Mum n i headed to botanical gardens for a jog. lovely weather. would have been nice if daddy was ard. was a little worried that she'll feel lonely doing her walkaton alone. she seemed fine. brunch at dempsey was perhaps a new experience for her. so glad that she likes it.

Caught up with gp , jason n pohchun at prive. happy to see them tog =)

Oh! and i baked brownies! Slurp... dark lindt choc brownies =)

Michie's Bday

Happy birthday mich.. =) hope u had fun at dinner..

It was great to have aunt and uncle at dinner. helps create the atmosphere. cousin joycelyn got mich a nice mango cake from baker's inn.

i need to bucker up on revision.

Back to the fav haunt..

Finally after many days of downpour, managed a nice semi long run at macritchie with shyan. Yak yak yak abt the cammie.. shall drag him and charles for a photo op soon. Noticed a new highway link from braddell road to lornie... think it zips me to destination way faster. shall give it a shot nxt time round. the last round of drive along that stretch of road was just about 1mth. Amazing how the infrastructure falls in place that quickly. Kudos to the workers who left their faraway land for this little red dot.

Today's buddy's bday. Happy Birthday!! Many well wishes to you!

i seriously need another pair of trainers..... shopping time?

Knowing what u don't want seems to contradict the theory of knowing what u want?

hmmmmm.....

Its almost 1 mth......

It feels like a long vacation away. We're still making adjustments.. Am looking fwd to the trip with mum and mich.. A getaway will be good. I guess we all need a break and some time away.

Miss you lots still.. i wish you were still around to take the flyer. Mum's bday was simple, mich's bday is upcoming. You'll always be close to our hearts...

Nothing hurts as much as losing you. Thanks so much for giving me the strength to hold all things together. I wish i did you proud and you read the letter.... my first and last to you.