happy new year!

this year, new yr's eve is going to be a home alone business. home alone with my mama! for ba kut teh. i think i've past the age to go out partying for new year's. shall just stay home, use the internet and watch the telly :)

gonna start work soon!! 4th jan. presentable clothes at a clinic called sunshine place in chua chu kang! hehe. those of you who stay near CCK, perhaps we could meet up for lunch some time! ;) my lunch break is 12.30 -2... (i think) im just hoping i wouldn't dispense the wrong drugs.. oppps. that would not be very funny.

now i have to get used to writing dates ending with 06 instead of 05.. damn. how! what a headache. and im getting old. 22 is such an ugly number to celebrate! i mean.. 21 is like.. YEAY 21... and after this prime.. you just fall further and further down the how-happening-r-you curve of life. you guys don't understand it...*shakes head*

i think i should bake something some time soon. but what? any ideas? something nice but fuss-free please? ideas ideas! no lemon merigue pie fidel...

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shit i left out something VERY VERY IMPORTANT! yihong's birthday surprise! haha. the look on her face was priceless man!... like "EH HOW COME ALL OF YOU ARE HERE?" we were the parasites (who still paid money) at the bbq. all hong's other friends brought yummy food, which we so unshamingly ate so much and so fast! the curry, beehoon, jelly, sambal stingray... haha only weiann our representative, stood zealously at the bbq fire pretending to be hard at work bbqing the chicken wings. it was hilarious...

ok not the bit about me. and all the thousand other jokes arrowed in my direction. i wanna protest! i ALWAYS get bullied. no matter who, no matter where, no matter when! this is not fair! and even victor laughed along. *faints* one day i shall be strong! and defeat all corny jokes aimed at me.

but all in all, it was a wonderful gathering, re-living all the stupid moments in jc.. laughing at each other. punching, kicking, and poking fun at each other...SICK jokes (insert udders) feeding each other food. this is the one of the reasons why i come back home so faithfully every holiday.. the reason why i would sacrifice myself to be the butt of jokes the entire evening. i mean, i would love to believe that our little gang would continue meeting up every so often. simply because it's really good!

hokay~ maybe hong getting sprayed wasn't that fun. haha but it was fun looking at her struggle with the men... lol. happy belated bird-day hongie! you will always be my mummy! ;)

cakes out of a pan~

haha! they are called PANCAKES - quite literally! ok sorry, not funny at all. *daph giggles hysterically to herself* well my sister and I decided to make pancakes from scratch and it was a success! erm okie, i shall give victor some credit. He plucked the leaves off the strawberries and cut them up. anyway... don't they look pretty!! ;)

hokay i got to go liao. we need to commence operation webcam!

PS: this is just a post for me to show off the pretty pancake.

i suck big time at bowling (the real issue!)

there's nothing really, except the obvious. went to bowl with victor and his brother. victor had like 10 strikes out of 2 games. nic had like 10 spares out of 2 games. daphne had like a combined of 1 strike and 2 spares. and alot of balls went down the long-kang. yeah. so im lousy. but i got 2nd at daytona!!! thats very out of point. but yeah.

i suck big time at bowling.

my 2005.

everyone seems to have written about their year and i have not. so i better start writing. next few days are filled up with lots of outings and bbq. i don't really know where to start. perhaps a chronological order would be nice. and orderly. haha.

start the year off in singapore. summer hols are always good. had a blast of a 21st birthday before i left for adelaide. so many people, so many things to do. so many talk. parties are always so fun but so tiring. managed to catch up with alot of people that one single night.

went back to australia earlier than the others so as to sit for my medical sups. haha i didnt fail them and thus got promoted to year2 ;) moved into my new place soon after. my housemates were so nice to me all the time. and i guess they always felt i was a little kid that needed looking after. hee. well i didnt mind. there were always some one to talk to, or some poodle to tickle and throw bone for. but i think i was somewhat lonely? i don't know. living with 2 other people was so different from college life. i missed the friends that i made in college.. all the late night talks, walks to pizza house to have supper and partying out together. but at the end of the day, i grew up and learnt to live by myself.

travelled alone all the way across the big desert to melbourne. stayed at tim's place, which is really quite funny because i haven't seen tim since we left jc. but he was such a wonderful host, giving up his bed for me.. and i also visited wong. and i followed them to uni. haha. except i was just being extra. and i had the whole of melbourne city to explore on my own. i ventured out to the suburbs, taking trams by myself.. walking down streets after streets. making new friends. i felt liberated.

the rest of the term was just mainly study and play.. nothing really exciting. i made a real new friend - joel! he was tim's friend. we would talk online and on the phone. could really click with him. not many people around can do that to me.

came back to sg for the july holidays. nothing much really, except the then attached mr chia decided to ask me out for lunch. which i gladly went for. and we sat together on the flight back because he volunteered to do phone check in for me. i didn't really suspect anything. what's there to suspect of a guy who was attached??

and then it was all a blurry of events, which ended with me being his girlfriend. and we have been trying to learn more about each other ever since. it is a constant learning curve which i think i have adapted and integrated very well into my life. we spent quite alot of time together, especially during school days. some part of me felt that i have neglected my other friends. but i don't know. i will try to meet up with them more often i suppose? it's hard maintaining good close friends when you are attached, but i will never be one of those people who forsake their friends for their other half!

final exams at the end of the year was quite a killer. and i must truly thank god that, despite my inconsistency in studying and my last-minute crazy cramming.. that i passed my exams! wooh. and that my other singaporean friends also passed. yeayyy. *waves flag of victory*

and i shifted out of my place and all my stuff ended up in victor's living room. haha. shortly after, fidel and hong and her 5 friends came over to adelaide!! it was really nice having them around. travelling to different places and doing things that we would not have done if we were in singapore. went over to sydney with victor and fidel and tiffany and hong... sydney was nice. but my heart belongs to adelaide. the loner quiet small place that hardly qualifies as a city.

and now,december has come.. and is almost over. i sit in my study room typing away at my laptop. wondering how a year could have just zoomed past me just like that. 2005 has been rather smooth-sailing. 2005 has been a good year. i gained some knowledge, gained more white hair, gained a boyfriend... i am contented with the way things turned out at the end. and i do hope that 2006 will promise to be a great year too!...

sun WITH moon. night AND day

a fateful day that brought paul and I to the same place on earth after sooo long. he looked different. streaks of red in his hair, more muscular perhaps? yeah but still the same inside, thank god. he's a person in my life who isnt really there but when the opportunity comes, we actually manage to strike up a rather engaging conversation. and we use the same phone model!! haha. great minds think alike.

oh and we went to this jap restaurant at wheelock place. it's on level 3 and its called Sun WITH moon restaurant. which to me, is a rather bizarre name. i mean, sun AND moon i understand. sun BUT moon i understand but sun WITH moon? it's like "can i have a sun WITH moon dish please?"

anyway, back to the topic, this is one jap place which looks classy, uses very nice plates for food and serves ice water without us asking for it ie: so far so good. we tried the green tea square, which was served covered in this brown cage thingy. all nice and dandy, with an origami paper crane to top it all off! the green tea square wasn't really a square, twas' a rectangle. it measured something like 3cm width X 5cm length X 2 cm height. which you can imagine isn't alot of volume at all. it tasted light, with the texture of moose cake. yet the green tea flavour still gets to your taste buds.. and the cake was sweetened by the existence of its partner-in-crime.. the red bean paste! btw the square was 6bucks before GST and service charge.

i ordered a green tea parfait. which was really a rojak of anything japanese. little pink glutinous rice balls (dango) with green tea jelly, with cornflakes (don't ask me why) and green tea ice cream. might be a tad weird. but it tasted ok to me. oh. and the red bean paste featured in my parfait too. paul helped me polish some of it.. haha.. but please do no think that it is THAT big. the glass used was probably 500ml tops?

yeah. but the thing about sun WITH moon, was the little nooks and seats they have inside. we were seated in this L-shaped seat, coupled with very nice comfy cushions. all in white soft leather. we were separated from the seat adjacent to ours by see-thru sea green curtains. not alot of privacy but enough. ;) if you come in a bigger group, you sit at the round tables with nice red comfy leather chairs. heh..

so all in all, paul + nice jap dessert + nice ambience = a good afternoon tea ;)

oh i bought wire.. finally! haha.. can finish my artwork.

i suck big time at bowling.

wow! finally watched king kong. haha, hes the biggest friendly giant that i have ever seen depicted in movies. but the movie was abit too draggy. personally i think a 2hr version would be good to build up the suspense but not kill it. anything over 3 hrs better be darn good or don't even try going there.

carl's jr. after all the hyper received from friends, it was quite a letdown. i mean! 8 bucks for a big burger. and 11 for burger + fries + free flow drinks. after all, burgers will always be burgers. the patty was the sort macs and BK use.. straight out of some commercialised beef odds and ends minced together and stuck using meat glue factory. not like those ang moh restaurant with real ground beef, thick and filled with goodness. anyone can tell with just one bite. the mushrooms were definitely way better than the mushroom swiss version. haha portobello can never fight with straw mushrooms. and i like the fact that they had vegies in the burger. vegies are always good for you. but the bottom line is this, burgers from fast food places should be one of the the cheapest foodstuff around. no matter how tasty. and since fast food is supposedly targeted at the teens and young adults. i can never imagine my 14 yr old self spending 11 bucks on something that is the epitome of processed and convenience food.

because 11 bucks can always be spent on...
1) a bowl of la mian at crystal jade
2) some don at sushi tei
3) 3-4 plates of chicken rice at the hawker centre
4) 9 bread buns at breadtalk
5) 1/2 a haircut
6) a movie on the weekend with change for popcorn
7) 1/6 of a medical textbook
8) 10 mr softee at 7/11
9) 220 local smses
10) a new story book

there you have it, i have convinced myself. might sound a little stingy, but i wouldnt mind paying if the burgers were wow enough. too bad guys, it wasn't....

my boxing day

spent my morning reading a psychiatry textbook. which turned out really interesting. i didn't fall asleep reading it! hee. when there is no pressure to speed-read, which is the case during term time, i find that i actually enjoy the reading process more. i get a greater sense of pleasure. heh. no wonder studying is such a chore....

and before i forget. xmas eve with ian and gang was pretty interesting. i suppose putting in the effort to meet up for a meal is already an acomplishment in itself. furthermore, it was really silly, all the shit we talked about. sometimes life only needs to be this simple in order for it to be enjoyable and pleasant.

boxing day dinner was at victor's place. alot of good food. his fridge is stacked to the very brim with all the goodies that they bought from their holiday in japan. haha and i kept asking victor to feed me the royce chocolates from otaro. it is yummy to the power of yummy. after royce, you cannot imagine feeding yourself cadbury man. tsk tsk. dinner was really good. alot of seafood, gourmet style display, interesting combinations, and after-dinner activities ranged from bridge with his family to baby talking with his little girl cousin. who is so damn cute.

and in between xmas eve and boxing day, it was all the time in the world with my mum and sister. church, homecooked meals, italian food for dinner, car rides to thomson plaza to do grocery shopping.

i also dunno why i write so much mundane details. haha. opps

HO HO HO...

yes i am feeling very festive. esp since a 2 people gathering turns into a 5 people one. so what we don't even have a clue what we are going to eat.. where we are going ro down the beer.. all's good when you have ur friends around. ;) even yup the non-drinker is willing to fork out 6 bucks for her coke. hehe.

when im all out partying, mr chia is going to be midair across the south china ocean. on his way back to make it for xmas in singapore! yeah!

alright. time to picture spam my own blog. ho ho ho! merry merry xmas!!!!!

ALL I WANT FOR XMAS: JUDE LAW. (i don't really care that he has kids and all)all i want for xmas... a BIG huggable stitch.

people need love...

People need hope, people need loving
People need trust from a fellow man
People need love to make a good living
People need faith in a helping hand

Man has always wanted a woman by his side to keep him company
Women always knew that it takes a man to get matrimonial harmony
Everybody knows that a man who's feeling down wants some female sympathy
Gotta have love to carry on living
Gotta have love 'til eternity

People need hope, people need loving
People need trust from a fellow man
People need love to make a good living
People need faith in a helping hand

Flowers in a desert need a drop of rain like a woman needs her man
If a man's in love and his woman wants the moon
Then he'll take it down if he can
Somebody who loves you and somebody who cares
Isn't that what you call a friend
Gotta have love to carry on living
Isn't it easy to understand

People need hope, people need loving
People need trust from a fellow man
People need love to make a good living
People need faith in a helping hand


PS: a very hippy song. but yeah... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

all i want for xmas is....

i don't even know actually.

but re-watching love actually really puts you right into the mood. hugh grant is so cute. the only other UK actor they lacked was jude law perhaps. but i got my fix of jude law by re-watching alfie. such a sad show.

plus receiving mas cards from people... and the thought of PERHAPS getting a present.. and going to church and all that hymn singing.

xmas is gooood! ;)

Your Christmas Song Is

Jingle Bell Rock Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square In the frosty air For you, the holidays are one big party And you always end up having a little too much eggnog!

What Christmas Carol Are You?

What pie am I?

You Are Mud Pie

You're the perfect combo of flavor and depth Those who like you give into their impulses

What Kind of Pie Are You?

wow-derful service centre

my laptop had to visit the doctor. so i trotted down ALL the bloody way to ulu alexandra road to a place called technopark. how lame. the bus ride was disgusting. what could be worse than a crowded bus with people jostling everywhere, aircon bus that has no air flow and a wailing baby on baord?

ans: a ah-soh sitting next to you, COMPLAINING about the situation. i mean, auntie arh, the aircon spoil i also know, the bus very crowded and noisy i also know, i also buay tahan. but please! spare me a thought can a not? it's one thing knowing how shitty things are, and another when people say it right out loud.

anyway, the HP service centre is certainly one of the best service centre i have ever been to in the world! really! the waiting lounge was crazy. there were computers (all HP brand - what were u expecting?) with very-wow-speed connection, hot water to make coffee and tea and milo, biscuits and kueh to eat, nice comfy cafe style lounge chairs for you to snuggle into with a cup of kopi in one hand and the magazine in the other. best of all.. it wasn't a long wait!! haha i was so busy chatting online that i almost missed my queue number.

just a while ago, the technician guy called up to say its all fixed! and my baby is fine. the coolest thing is: they will deliver it back to me at my home address! i mean. wow. wow.

all for not even a cent. coz it was still under warranty. which was something i didnt expect. coz my laptop is already 2.5 yrs old.

so you see, wow-derful things do happen sometimes. you just have to not expect them to.

waiting for fish to be steamed

my mum's idea of supper is steamed fish. haha. don't ask me why!

now that i have cooled down, a tiny bit of me thinks that i should de-block the person. hmm on second thought, not just yet. wait a little longer. haha. or maybe forever. since ian the smart boy told me people don't know if you blocked them.

heh heh.. and wong! she's the birthday girl!! HAPPY 21st WONG!!! you will always be my wongie. haha. take care and have loads of fun!! i love you!!

opps

i hope i didn't scare anyone with the previous entry.

supposed it was raw. but at least it was honest!

gonna be a hectic week around. have to scoot for presents for the boy. have to get my own presents! from my cousin.. haha.. budget 100. wheee! and finish writing my xmas cards.

oh my goosh.. no time no time.

and for some reason, i cannot find my handphone, although i am pretty sure it is at home. damn it. and it is on vibration mode! so calling my own number doesnt really help... hawwwwww hawwwww.. sob

i wonder how some people can be THAT annoying

when i say you are annoying. you ARE annoying. it is a fact, a statement, a proclamation from all earthly things that can move and breathe.

when i ignore you online. i am trying to ignore you. trying to hold back my vulgarities and un-niceness. so STOP asking if i am ignoring you. because you will get a smart ass answer from me.

when i say NO online. i mean NO. not "no lah.. *giggle*..perhaps... *giggle*.." sort of shit. I mean NO. nothing false, nothing scary. just a NO.

this is a first time i blocked someone online. but he totally proved himself worthy of being blocked. no my fault. his! *points finger*

conversation went something like this...

x: you miss vic ah?
me: no.. im miss daphne
x: wah lao.. you two so sticky.. how can you not miss him?
me: i miss him but i got a life
x: you? life? hahaha..
me: you are annoying. go away.
x: wah lao! dao eh!
me: ...

later on...
x: what?
x: what?
x: why.. you avoiding me huh?
x: what?
x: what?
x: haha.. see i flood you!

*daph proceeds to block x*

now i feel better.

PS: and just to point it out, i was not AVOIDING him. wrong way to use word! i was ignoring him. stupid ass.

and i don't really care if he reads it. serve him right!

i love fridae!

spent a nice time at the pool swimming. i don't know but if i ever have to name a single sport that i really enjoy, it has got to be swimming. when you swim, you don't have to make small talk with others (simply because u can't when you are under water). you don't have to worry about perspiration and smelling like socks. you use your arms and legs and back and lungs and just about everything that constitutes your body ie: you get a total workout.

im like 2 shades darker. o.o don't know if im supposed to be happy or not. i think the older you get, the more pro-white you become. and a dark complexion is not really good for makeup, in my opinion. ohh ohh...

i paid a visit to my cousin. she just got married and she has her own house now! i am so happy for her. the renovations were pretty nicely done. alot of greys, dark brown. very zen to me. and her fridge is filled with japanese goodies from her honeymoon recently. my sister and i raided her fridge. melon flavoured pocky (yum), green tea ice cream (yum yum), and white choc biscuit.... ok that's all i had! really!

vic's aunt says i look smart. i don't know if that's a compliment or not? smart like do-well-in-school-goody-two-shoes? or smart like she-knows-too-much-for-her-own-good? or smart like look-smart-but-dunno-really-smart-or-not? sigh.

stuffed days

I spent my last 24 hours gorging exquisitely wonderful food. Last night at the French Restaurant was such an irony. how can something so expensive taste so good? expensive delicacy should be considered an oxymoron. heh. Please, Please, if you ever have the spare cash, go taste it.

Started off with foie gras, and then had escargot for a middle course, some really wow beef for the main and ended the perfect dinner with one of the most perfect souffle i have ever tasted. even though I am not much of a raw food person (except for jap food) the foie gras was oooshy and smooth. like a high class peanut butter. the escargot was cooked with tomato, onions and other herbs, bathed in a nice olive oil. the beef was wow to the power of wow. the side of veges were crunchy and nicely salted & peppered.

and if you think that was too much for a night, i spent lunch at straits kitchen at the Hyatt hotel. having a local cuisine buffet. bring on the laksa, rojak, orh luak, chicken rice, etc etc....

im stuffed. i have to spend my next lifetime on a gym machine! sob.

slack day

whilst people would expect the exuberant daphne to go out and celebrate last night.. i don't really think that there's such a need. afterall, it is fundamentally only a PASS. it didn't state that i aced it, or i had a report card full of distinctions or As. and i was probably more relieved than anything else. repeating a year would be truly traumatic.

i want to watch pride and prejudice! even though i watched it in australia 2 months back. it is a very nice show! hee. go watch if you haven't! the boy wants to watch king kong. i'm not exactly keen on big monkey scaring big t-rex.. but i will go, because i am always so nice. haha...

tomorrow night is a big night out, at a french restaurant that doesnt not display the price of each item on the menu for the guest. only the host's copy has the price. hee, and tmr i am going to be the guest! the down side is i have to dress up and look presentable. -.- dressing up is difficult in singapore because i only brought back like 2 sets of decent clothes. damn it.

a metal piece of my laptop dropped out. does anyone know where i can repair that? o.o

RESULTS

I PASSSSSSEEEDDDDD.

Phew phew... and so did most of my friends. can't believe i am so estatic. haha.

ok. going out to cycle at ECP. bye!

dinner at vic's

no, sorry guys, that's not the name of any famous and funky restaurant. it's victor's humble and warm home in singapore. phew thank god the experience was not too bad. in fact it was quite fun. except the fact that i broke a plate in the kitchen. [pls tell me that's not some kind of bad omen?]

seeing how vic papa and vic mama talk to each other, it totally reminded me of vic and i! when vic papa wanted to eat another tart, vic mama scolded him. just like how i always refrain mr vic from his second helpings and all.. haha.

vic granny's cooking is really good. had ngou hiang, crabmeat ball soup, fried prawns, chicken stew... except i was wondering where the veges were. vic claimed that they were in the deep fried ngou hiang. i let the joke past, even though i was tempted to tell him that there wasnt any in there. haha.

everyone was pleased with fruit tartlets and durian wells. *phew* even though most of them probably ended up in victor's tummy anyway. what the hell...

holidays and the ordeal

The past few days were pretty relaxing. sports (cycling, badminton, swimming) and meetups with friends, chatting with my little sister, hanging out at granny's place. makes me very happy :D

the only thing that eeicks me right now is the fact that.. MY RESULTS ARE NOT OUT YET. years 1 and 3 got theirs back yesterday. Year 2s not out yet! why! damnit. this is the sole thing that is stopping me from playing very hard. i am very pissed.
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realised that i am very morbid. I saw a mum at Bishan park pretending to throw her kid into the river.
daph to sis: eh look, that's a very big live bait huh
sis: *stares hard at daph* u are disgusting!
daph: well, maybe the mum wants to catch a whale or something really big
sis: EEEWW! stop it!
daph: laughs out loud.. at her ingenious thought.

okie. i just proved it to the world that i am morbid. but.. who isnt? :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and today, victor was being the weirdest date i ever had in my life.
whilst waiting to be entertained by the qantas personnel, victor got real bored of waiting. (he's very impatient one) this customer at the counter, the ah-mah woman took forever. qantas personnel printed rolls and rolls of paper for her, so much so that the quiet office was bombarded by the zzz-jeee-zzz-jee sounds of the printer.

vic to daph: we better call green peace
daph: huh? why?
vic: arrest that woman lah. waste so much paper on her.
daph: WTH...

and for the rest of the wait, i was just entertained by his comments.

lunch saved us! we ate xiao long baos that promised to have 18 exquisite folds in each bun. haha we tried to count but we gave up after 10 coz the folds were so teeny-weeny.
---------------------------------------------------------------

i have to suffer the ordeal of dining at victor's house. im petrified and terrified! i was going to bring fruit tartlets and durian wells until i chatted with yueping online. she made my eyes pop by confessing that she brought BIRD'S NEST to her bf's house when she went over for the first time. can u imagine!? BIRDS NEST. oh man. and i don't know what to wear. plans to wear a nice simple black top and a skirt had to be abandoned because his granny hates black. damn. now i have to look like candy floss in a bright pink shirt that is screaming "I AM VERY HAPPY PLEASE EAT ME". sigh. i hope the candy floss look will work though. sigh. so scary.

wish me luck!!

sunny days

ok the pics are up! these are only 27 out of the original 100+ too many to choose from. heh. anyway, i went cycling with my sister at bishan park. the sun was rather potent today.. i feel like a fried fish. damnit. both of us came home and my mum was lamenting about how stinky the two of us were. obviously we were oblivious to it. haha. poor mum.

a game of badminton tomorrow! and i finally get to see victor. yipee. mesa happy. :D

*daph runs off to suck ice cubes

Odds and Ends of Sydney

Row 1: 3 wise monkey pub, say 'keith'!, fidz & me outside QVB
Row 2: Fidz @ bar 333, harbour bridge views
Row 3: All of us!, Hyde Park, Turtle&me

Row 1: Mint Museum, St Mary's Cathedral, General Post Office on Martin Place
Row 2: Darling Harbour, Art Gallery of NSW, Bondi Beach
Row 3: Birds @ Watson's Bay, Fish&Chips @ Watson's Bay, Dessert for dinner

Adelaide Highlights

Strawberry picking. Wine tasting. Beach watching. 

stupid laptop

damn my laptop! i cannot write files to CDs now. it's behaving weirdly and i tink it's time for another re-format. except i forgot to bring all my recovery CDs and what nots back home. shit.

hmm finally got the taste of being physically separated with victor. nice and not nice. thinking back, we have been spendig so much time around each other it's probably good to be slightly apart sometimes.

and making it worse would be the fact that the aircon in the study has broken down. so im typing in sweltering heat. im sticky all over and its just grosss.

heaps of pics from adelaide and sydney when fidel and hong were around. but all in my laptop. would take a while before i attempt to overcome inertia and upload them.

spent heaps of time last night and today reading. yeay i love reading. read read... yeay yeay. like there's no tomorrow. read till you fall asleep on the sofa, read till you lose sense of time.

till then, does anyone have sex and the city on CDs or DVDs? i really would love to watch it again.