A Nice Surprise From Moo

Yay! I have finally received Moo's present from Sydney!

It was sooooo sweet of her to come up with this package as a birthday present. I didn't even expect anything at all! It really came as a surprise, a very sweet one too.

The oh-so-familiar mailing box from Australia Post. The parcel was addressed to "Bbit" Karen Lim. Hahahaha.

Oooo...so many things!

What's in the box? We've got:

4 packets of Tim Tams for my chocolate cravings that I get so often

Our favourite snack - potato chips, typically Australia's Red Rock Deli chips. And a packet of OUR MOST UNHEALTHY AND FAVOURITE junk food - Burger Rings! Gosh, I didn't realise how much I missed Burger Rings until I saw it!

On Being Grumpy - a book Moo found in a second-hand bookstore which we both love to spend a lot of time at.



A matching blue sleeveless top and cardigan, something which Moo says will suit me for work and for dressing down later at night.


And a handmade card just for me...

These are such meaningful and thoughtful gifts, reminding me of the times we would rave about Burger Rings, gorge on Tim Tams, recommend books to each other and supporting each other with meaningful advice from time to time.

I was so touched when I went through the parcel and my mom was commenting that it was so sweet of Moo to send me such stuff, especially when she's not physically around.

It's always nice to receive gifts from another country. Thank you so much, Moo! It was such a nice surprise and it means a lot to me.

:D

I'm a Reserved Creator

I just did a personality test in Facebook and it says that I'm a Reserved Creator:


About You

You are a CREATOR:

Your imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty make you a CREATOR.

You are independent, and you enjoy your self-sufficiency.

Defying convention, you are very innovative, and you have a vivid imagination.

The look of things is important to you, and you have a keen eye for aesthetic beauty in multiple arenas.

You have a strong interest in what is new and exciting—and that includes forging ahead with new ideas, not simply discovering what is already out there.

Your eagerness to seek new and varied experiences leads you into many different situations.

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you are creative when it comes to finding novel solutions to complex problems.

You trust yourself to be innovative and resourceful.

Your confidence allows you to take your general awareness and channel it into creativity.

You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

You have a strong sense of style and value your personal presentation - friends may even seek your style advice from time to time.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:

Appreciate the earthly, practical elements of things—there is beauty in form as well.

While you are good at thinking abstractly, focusing on details a bit more may help you discover things about the world.



How you relate to others

You are RESERVED:

You are RESERVED – you aren't someone who always needs to have others around, and you find you can handle most situations on your own.

You can be very happy spending time alone, and enjoy your own thoughts and ideas.

You find it difficult to understand why some people get so emotional and tell everyone else their problems.

You believe that if you want to get something done, it is best to do it yourself.

In your experience, other people are not always completely dependable, so you generally rely on yourself and only a few close others.

Despite your independence, you are not a closed-minded person who makes hasty judgments about others. You know that it isn't always easy to walk in other people's shoes.

At times other people's feelings are puzzling to you, and you wish that people were more rational.

Your vision of the world is complex – your values are not set in stone. Instead, you are able to change your beliefs as you learn new information.

If you want to be different:

Even though it is tiring, making an extra effort to spend time with others even when you feel like being alone can have powerful positive effects on your relationships.

Practice talking about yourself to people you haven't previously trusted. You will forge friendships where you wouldn't have thought possible, and with practice, sharing your thoughts and feelings will get easier and easier.



My Personality Chart:


If you take a closer look at it, you'll realise that my openness, femininity, attention to style, and aesthetic/functional personality traits are VERY high.

Of course I fail in extroversion, masculinity and trust in others. I'm so not masculine. I scored only a 4.

Steak Dinner

I've been resting over the weekend and I felt much better on Saturday. Friday night was bad - weak, giddy and could hardly eat properly. But I managed to pull myself out for tennis, although the weather was FREAKING hot and I was recovering from blood loss.

Bunny cooked a fantastic meal on Sunday! Her signature steak with grilled asparagus and mushrooms, mashed potatoes and a salad:

Mash...mash...mash...

Grill...grill...grill...


Ta-da!!!


Taking a closer look

I love the way she cooks steak. We shall do this more often.

During last night's dinner, we were already deciding what to make for this year's Christmas dinner. Hehehe! A bit early, but what the heck!

Death Scare

I just had a near death experience. Or rather, fear of death experience.

We went for lunch during office hours with a lawyer and his friend, to some high-class Japanese restaurant. Without knowing, they opened two bottles of champagne. I had only two glasses. But everyone knows my alcohol tolerance is 0, and I still had two glasses.

All was fine, the food was great. I had strange sashimi which I've never had before; chawanmushi with sharks fin, and all sorts of weird stuff which I've never knew existed. All was fine, until I reached my office building, smoked two cigarettes and wham! That was it. I was blacking out in the toilet, shat and puked, and to top things up, I had BAD period cramps.

So bad that I experienced seizures. My hands and fingers wouldn't moved and were cramped in an awkward position. My feet were rooted to the floor and I was moaning and groaning in pain. The pain I was experiencing was such an excruciating one; one which I've never felt before. My mind was closing in on me and I wanted to just switch it off and shut it down, so that my brain wouldn't experience such torture.

But then I thought of my family, friends, Bunny, stuff I've not yet experienced, places I've not been to, and I kept telling myself I can't let my mind shut down, in fear of not waking up again. Because who knows, I might just black out and never wake up again to see the faces of my loved ones. I was even deliberating if I should just close it up and switch off, so that I wouldn't experience physical pain anymore, or should I remain alert in order to see my loved ones again.

And I chose the latter. Somehow or another, I managed to pull through. My pain stopped even before I took any medication. Doctors and nurses from my office building came down and were calling for an ambulance. I opened my mouth and could barely utter a "no, no hospitals, no ambulance." I'm ok, I really am.

True enough, I was fine. In 15 minutes. Albeit weak and exhausted, I was ok. The pain vanished on its own accord and I was mentally alert once again.

So it IS true when people say: mind over body. I've never, ever experienced it till today.

And I'm so glad my mind pulled me through this ordeal, that I could shut out the pain and regain self-consciousness.

I'm going to fix an appointment with the office doctor for an examination, as the pain I experience each month is so excruciating that perhaps something might be wrong inside of me.

So, after this drama, I just want to say: I love you guys. And you're the only reason why I pulled through. :)

Wear a pink ribbon

Richard's back from Melbourne for a short visit and we met up for lunch today. I popped by Watson's to get myself some chocolates to refill my office stash and came across this at the counter:

Wear a pink ribbon to raise breast cancer awareness (oops, the ribbon isn't sitting properly)

On the back of the card writes, "Be spotted wearing a pink ribbon this month and you stand a chance to win blah blah blah..."

Honestly, what has a charity drive got to do with winning prizes? I cannot comprehend such ideas, so I've decided to pin it up on my desk instead:

She's got small hands...

Bunny was a hand model....of all things. Look at her petite and dainty hands. Hehe.

Our mini celebration

After the wasabi torture in the office, Bunny and I went to Waraku for dinner. We were soooo hungry and craving for sushi and sashimi. She also went all the way to Bakerz Inn to get me a slice of strawberry cream cake, because I mentioned to her before that I luuurvee strawberries with cream.

Sushi...sashimi...

...and beef kaminabe

Stuffing our faces:

Photo-whoring while waiting for the taxi:

STILL photo-whoring:

We went back and I did the popular aspirin mask...and it works! Not fantastically as it was only my first time doing so, but it kind of works! Shall do it again either tonight or tomorrow!

And at the 11th hour (11:17pm to be exact), we performed the birthday ritual again:

Making another wish

I didn't celebrate my birthday with a big bang, but I did celebrate it with my loved ones and those who made an effort when they didn't need to: my colleagues.

I enjoyed my day thoroughly and everyone was so sweet! Thanks to those who wished me via sms, msn, email, and in-person. *beams*

I had a GREAT day!

A wasabi filled 26th birthday

It's my birthday today!!! (and I can do whatever I want!)

It seems like everyone shares the same thought. It's only 10:51am now and I've received a few comments from friends saying: "you should take the day off! It's your birthday!". Erm, yes. I DO have a day off on Friday (yay, long weekend!). Not today. Such similar thoughts! Hehe.

My mom has been really sweet and silly today. After forwarding an e-card to me which she received from Great Eastern for her birthday in July, she also sent a text message with sweet greetings and affectionate words.

It's such an awkward feeling when parents show their affections. I'm happy and very touched, yet feeling a bit strange inside too. But happy, nonetheless.

I'm wearing Bunny's other birthday present for me which we chanced upon last week at Tangs:

My first pair of cufflinks!

I've been looking around for cufflinks and initially wanted a silver letter "K", but I simply love this one! There were other nice cufflinks which had loud designs and were rather showy, but I chose this pair as I thought that it really suited me perfectly! I think it's quite "me". Thank you, Bunny!

###

26 years of living on this planet doesn't make me any wiser, just a bit more old (and it's beginning to show!). I've started fretting about my skin, body and health condition. No, getting old doesn't make you any wiser, it makes you more worried about your body! I remember the times when we were young and how we "abused" our bodies - picked up smoking, didn't follow any skincare routine, hardly exercised, not giving a care about what we feed our bodies with, partied till the break of dawn, and barely slept a wink.

That was what happened to me. For others, I guess it was the constant abuse of drinking till the skin turns sallow, partying (with or without drugs) and barely sleeping a wink too. Such activities have taken a toll on my appearance and I'm beginning to worry!!! In time to come, I'll be getting health scares!

Urgh. I want to look youthful...I want...I want....I want to look like Bunny! She's a cow. She gets to look youthful ALL the time.


Shall do the highly recommended homemade aspirin mask tonight.

###

Our team's birthday ritual is either to "sabo" the birthday person or make them hunt for their present. Mine was getting sabo-ed and they made me eat crackers with wasabi:

Shit!


They look harmless but they're not


Stage 1: Choose one cracker



Safe!

Stage 2: Choose another cracker and eat it



Yucks! Wasabi and cheese!


Stage 3: Choose another cracker AGAIN!!!


They ALL contained wasabi!!!



THIS one was potent.


Taking a breather

Back to the ritual:

Group shot

Hahahahaha~~!! Off to dinner at Waraku later! Wasabi again!!!