hello blog! it's been awhile

wow. it has been quite some time since i last update this blog. okay, i confessed. i actually have another blog at http://www.cathryneleanor.wordpress.com/... even so, i update that blog sporadically. i've decided to move back to blogspot and i want to import some of my post at wordpress but i have yet to find out how. it's so confusing...


maybe at the end of the day, i'll just be lazy and say, oh screw it, i know where my two blogs are and i will be able to track them myself.


it has been a long time. long enough for me to switched 2 jobs, planned a wedding, got married and finally quit smoking. i have been so busy with my work life and personal life that i have neglected my blogs. after 2 years or so of not regularly blogging, i kinda miss it and sometimes i wonder if i had blog those times, maybe i'll be able to freeze those moments forever.


henceforward, i shall make a vow and commit myself to update my blog regularly, if not frequently.


someone said to me, "Let not all your youth be consumed by Time. Leave a memento of (e)words." i think i shall do just that.


hey blogger world, look out. i'm back!

it's that time of year again

time to say goodbye to 2007 that is. a chapter is closing and a new chapter is beginning. would it be more interesting? gosh, i actually wrote alot today, however, in my rush, i did not manage to publish it. which kinda kills my mood to write.

what i was saying mostly was of how 2007 was for me. recently someone asked me, what kinda things that i have achieve in 2007.... and i was stumped by the question. i couldn't answer as honestly, i can't remember what sort of stuff that really makes me proud and want to proclaim it to the world.

to me, i take life when it comes. i live life, not planning ahead, absorbing every single moment of it. don't get me wrong.. i do plan of course, but not everything. i find it hard to plan what to do during my weekends, i find it hard to plan my career, i find it hard to plan for the future, but i do plan how much to save each year, i do plan for trips, hmm.. how do i explain this? i guess, i just don't plan aka think much when the end result requires other factors than just me.

i don't measure my life based on achievements... i measure it by who i'm with, how i'm spending my time, have i been kind, and whether i am happy. i measure my life, based on lessons learn every single day.

to everyone out there, happy new year! live life the way you want to live it, not dictate by others.

and for my memories, a recap of the year 2007:-

• changing jobs yet remaining in the same company - a first for me.
  
• meeting a lovely new friend and fellow reader, Hsin.
• joining the RCIA, thus the beginning of my Spiritual journey.
• acquired a more improved skill of applying make-up, thanks to lots of practice.
• realizing that i'm aging by the speed of Bryan growing up and the numbers of wrinkles on my face.
• commiting to a long term plan where most of my finances go to - sob sob
• finding out that my metabolism rate is sluggish - uh-huh back to square one! darn
• realizing that love is not to be conditional - thanks Mabel!
• climb the Great Wall of China and went back to the past in Hanoi
• gathered my courage and cut my bangs - a hairstyle that i wanted to try since ancient years
• went to lots of weddings and received lots of invitations - congrats, guys! but.. does that mean i'm getting old?
• improved my driving skills - i finally have more confidence in driving further away from home!
• learnt that perseverance paid off..... and it made me a stronger person.
  
• and finally, to end this, i found out that resolutions without the determination and discipline are like empty promises, it just won't happen.
  

was 2007 a good year? of course it was! and to an even better year, 2008, cheers!

Random Pictures of Me

My new found friend in SOHO, One Utama. kekekekeke

The Shopaholic In Me - Now you know why I'm so poor

Hmm.. I wonder where's my food??

15 minutes later.... still waiting....

30 minutes later.. Yup, still waiting and starving

Before my make over.. Yeah I know I look very country bumpkin but my hair was in the way

Ta Dah! New look...

I like my LC look better.. haha.. suits me better.

here's to all of you! thanks!

Happy 23rd Birthday!
Gosh, I'm old.
Dear friends, thanks for coming.
I know I suck at making that speech.
But I am shy (Yes, I am!)
and
I do not know how to express myself in front of so many eyes.
I guess, for the many years that you know me,
you'll know how much it meant to me.

1,2,3 BLOW!

take 1 - don't bully me, take 2 - a better shot, take 3 - blurry eye?

Long Long table.....

dear dear friends

the aftermath

my birthday dinner has come and go. i will post the pictures of it later. i haven't upload it to my laptop yet.

thanks guys! for coming! thanks for the presents! and most importantly, for the company!

now, i am no longer allowed to smoke. sigh. today is my second day without a smoke. withdrawal symptoms are kicking in. i miss it. i miss inhaling it. i miss holding it in my fingers. my mouth feels stale without it. i feel lost but i must overcome this!

i don't want to be dependent on cigarettes. help! my mind keeps on thinking about getting a smoke. hmm, does chewing gum help?

any suggestion to kick this habit far far away?

btw, is shisha another form of smoking?

my birthday my birthday

surprise! i found a present on the chair when i woke up! hehe.. i so hearts it!!!!!! thank you... muacks! a really pleasant surprise!

everyone at work, well at least those sitting nearby me, wished me happy burfday! and gave me *hugs*. "leap of joy"

and made me so embarrassed, cause they played a happy birthday song!.... embarrassed but happy!

then my colleagues belanja lunch! thank you!!! arigato!

hmm. what about tonight? anymore surprises?? hehehehehe

my pretty friends and me!

*Tah Dah! Me!* Fatter I know

*Muacks, Yan Chun*
she's my Pillar of Strength.

*Pretty Hui Ling, Thank you! i'm touched by you*
she's like my guardian angel..

*Gorgeous Mabel - i hearts you!*
I think she look absolutely sweet and pretty here,
don't know why she says she looks horrible in this picture.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yeah I know it's late. Albeit a bit late, it's better than late than never. Other than the bad news that I received, and feeling a little down, my spirits were lifted up when Yenny came to have lunch with me. While on the way to see Yenny, I bump into Myatthu. Talk about coincidence.. what are the odds? LOL sure is a small world! So I asked Myatthu to join Yenny and I for lunch.

Apparently, he was at the Singapore embassy to settle his visa stuff and he was on his way back when he saw me. If I were to walk out of my office a minute later, I would have missed him. Hmm.. it was quite a pleasant surprise.

We went to a restaurant that serves noodles in big bowls... called Taiwan Noodles, somewhere near Ampang Point. The food there is serve in big portions and are relatively cheap. Albeit its name, it does serve other types of food, besides noodles. Haha I had a big bowl of dry glass noodle with fish balls, one wintermelon tea and some extra dumplings. I only had to pay RM13. Cheap right?

After lunch, I rushed back to office, and to my pleasant surprise! I saw a bouquet of red roses on my desk. Thank you so much, Stephen. I know it must have cost a bomb, especially since it's Valentine's day. This is actually my first time having someone sending me flowers in office. It's such a sweet thing to do. Nice gesture, to me at least. You light up my day! Hmm.. a dozen of red roses.. I wonder what does it mean?? Hehe.. I know that numbers represent something... well, if you are into such things. Haha Sorry guys, the flowers are gorgeous, you should have seen it, but too bad, I'm not really into taking photos and posting it up here. You just need to imagine it. Ekekekeke

On a another hand, tomorrow I'm on emergency leave to attend my uncle's funeral. Gotta wake up really early to take the LRT to Gombak and have my brother pick me up from there. Then we shall head on to Bentong. The funeral procession is starting at 11 am so due to unpredictable CNY traffic, we have to leave as early as possible. My mum asked me to wear dark colors (of course, mum.. I know the culture..) and not to wear any make-up (huh? mum... how is that possible? can't i at least apply some powder?). I'll look like a monster. I think at the very least, I need to apply some powder, else, I don't think I dare to walk out the house. Sigh.

Anyway, have a great day ahead, I shall need to go now. I still haven't take my shower. Adios, amigos.

Merry Christmas! & Happy Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas everybody! & a very Happy Boxing Day! You can officially open all your presents today!

Hmm.. Santa didn't visit me and i didn't get my MOST WANTED but I did get alot of Christmas presents from my close ones. I got a really lovely Bracelet, a really Cute and Colorful Bumblee Bee Photo Frame, a Notebook, a Bvlgari toiletry bag filled with Bvlgari perfume stuff, a Scrabble Calender, a Purple Sparkling Ring, an Estee Lauder Mascara, Ettusais Cream Blush, a Mint With Mirror, A Cute Pink and Black Bag, a Coin Pouch, a Hair Band and .......

Muacks Muacks.. Thank you all! Have a Merry Merry Christmas .. and a Happy New Year! Don't get too drunk ya! P.S: Anyone drunk on Christmas' Eve? hehehe

Happy Winter Solstice Festival!!

Happy Happy Winter Solstice Everybody!
As Chinese, we all know we grow a year older today! Wait.. I check describtions about this festival in all sorts of sites.. but none says about the getting older part. hmm.... But that's what my mama says! Anyway, if it's correct, a year older, a year wiser! So dear friends, be more matured ya?

Here I would like to say, Mama I love you! I'm sorry that I'm not back at home today to have tangyuan with you! Don't worry about me, I know how to take care of myself, I'm no longer a baby..(I know she won't be reading my blog.. Perhaps this is why I can say this out loud)

Friends from around the world, here I'll like to wish you a very happy winter solstice and hope that you'll be surrounded by love ones! Cherish those you love and appreciate them as they are still with you. Cheers!

*life is not entirely about the final destination; it is about the journey whr you touch people's life and allow them to touch yours.*

Cathryn

Excerpt from Wikipedia:-

The Dōngzhì Festival or The Winter Solstice Festival(Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning").

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in Cantonese; Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Every one in the family receives at least one large Tang Yuan and several small ones. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savoury broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl.

In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing of Han Dynasty. On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, distributed them among the poor to keep them warm. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named it "qǜ hán jiāo ěr tāng" or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From then on it became a tradition passed down to eat dumplings on the day of dongzhi to keep the ears from getting chilblains.

Christmas Countdown :- 3 Days

Lunch at Cochine, Asian Heritage Row

Today I had quite a long lunch. HAHA From 1pm til 3.45pm. Akakakakaka. We went for lunch at Cochine. Read about it here -> http://www.asianheritagerow.com/Establishments.asp

Free lunch, yippee!! Paid by the company. Hehe. The food was average. The ambience -> would look better at night. During the day, it is not bad, I mean quite good, it is classy and even exclusive..Quite interesting, there's a small pond with some koi, if I'm not mistaken. They have different types of seatings. Those small stools type, restaurant long table type, pubs long couch and table type, etc. I'm sorry but don't really know how to describe. Hehe

They offer Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian food. It's quite interesting to the taste buds but I am not really into this type of food. Too bad I didn't take any photos. We shared the Cochine Platter.. Er.. Er.. Really do not know how to describe.. Damn.. really quite hard to review bout food. haha.. not my expertise. I had a main course too but don't remember the name. Some sort of glass noodles. Oh, and I had a banana split. Nothing special bout it though.

Anyway, I will go back there for drinks at night for the sake of the ambience but not for the food? hahah.. Enough said right?