Last Day of 2011

in another 11 hours time, we will be ushering in a brand new year! on this last day of the yr, shall spend alittle time to reflect on the past yr. overall, i wld think 2011 has been a not bad year for me, with several key happenings.

first-time voter in general election and presidential election: this yr saw one of the most exciting general and presidential elections in singapore’s history, and im glad i was part of the action – by being a voter hah. with all the dust settled, and the ministers and MPs sworn in, its time for them to deliver on their promises and bring singapore to greater heights.

2 years in UBS and a transition into a new team: this year also marked by 2nd anniversary in UBS, and also the completion of my GTP journey. i got my permanent placement in the collateral management team and so far, am pretty OK with my job and my colleagues. and im really thankful i hav a bunch of great colleagues to make working life less dull and much more interesting.

from attached to engaged: after 4plus yrs of being tgt, i proposed to dear on 30 jul and brought our relationship to the next level. it is a new journey tgt, and with our wedding planned on 5 jan 2013, next yr will be a hectic yr preparing all the wedding stuff (and a broke yr too hah), but lets jus enjoy the whole preparation process tgt!

getting our first HDB: after several attempts, we finally got a queue no. for a BTO which is within the total no. of units available ha. though segar palmview is not our ideal BTO, we are jus glad that we finally got a place that is considered our own – in 3 yrs time though hah. creating our perfect home – another phase of life that we are very looking fwd to!

weddings: this yr was the first time i attended a fren’s wedding. in fact, attended a total of 4 frens’ weddings these yr hah. glad to be part of their celebrations and witness their happiness on embarking a new life journey with each other. looking forward to qida’s wedding in may (where i will be part of his xiongdi tuan – my first! hah) and simin’s wedding in sep next yr. more weddings to come? maybe, hah.

and of cos, apart from these significant events for me, simple stuff like gatherings with frens and spending time with dear, spending time with my family and outings with colleagues etc add little joy to my life, and im grateful for all these. financially, with the euro debt crisis, japan tsunamis and other events that plunge the global economy, it has been quite a bad yr. some of my cash was stucked in shares, sitting on paper losses. and wedding really needs a lot of cash, so need to tighten our belts and save up for it. but im thankful at least i still hav a job that pays decently.

it is a simple 2011, but to me, im contented. it’s abt counting ur blessings, and be happy with wad you have.

here is wishing everyone a great 2012 ahead, and to all my loved ones, be blessed with lots of love, joy and happiness. happy new year!

Johor Premium Outlets

i experienced my first outlet shopping in US, when i was on the work & travel program in Cedar Point amusement park, Ohio. still rem the excitement and thrill during our first ever outlet shopping trip. we rented a car and drove for hrs before reaching the outlets. the sheer size of it wowed us and we were dazzled by all the big designer brands! we went from store to store, to hunt for bargains and it was not hard to find! so after one whole day of shopping, everyone of us left the outlets hundreds of dollars poorer, but super satisfied and happy. that was the charm of outlet shopping – in the US. hah.

heard that johor is also opening a premium outlets in iskandar and gt abit excited, hoping to re-create and re-live that wonderful experience i hav had before in US. it finally opened early dec to great fanfare, and yesterday, we decided to go check it out.

xiaowei, jieen, james + gf, dear and i met at jurong east mrt at 11am. we took the causeway link from the bus interchange to the tuas checkpoint and the trip cost us 4 SGD and took abt 30 – 40mins. after clearing the customs, we waited for the shuttle service JPO2 and it came only at 12.30pm (we shld hav checked the shuttle bus schedule first… damn). JPO2 cost RM 4.20 and took almost an hour to reach the outlets.

on our way to johor premium outlets

though it was raining and it was a monday, the outlets were still pretty crowded with both locals and singaporeans. hungry, we first went to settle our lunch at george & dragon cafe. pretty decent set lunch at abt RM 29++. after lunch, it was time to shop! planning to take the 5.10pm shuttle service back to JB sentral, we had abt 3 hrs to shop!

lunch at george & dragon cafe

there were abt 80 brands and many were familiar ones like coach, raoul, burberry, CK, armani, lacoste, adidas, nike, fossil, gap, puma etc. there were also lower-tier brands such as pedro, charles and keith, vincci, bodyshop and others.

shopping

but it turned out to be quite disappointing. discounts were not great (some only 10%!), and since designer goods in malaysia may b more expensive to start with, ultimately it doesnt seem like too great a deal. variety was also pretty limited for some, such that there wasnt even anything that caught my eyes. so after 3 hours, i only managed to get a puma tee shirt which i think is jus a few dollars cheaper than sgp. the rest didnt net any/many gd buys too, with dear, xiaowei and james’ gf leaving empty-handed, jieen getting a puma tee for his bro, and james getting a pedro bag. seriously disppointing and a waste of our time.

we left at 5.10pm and headed over to city square (journey took abt an hour and we got no seats!) for dinner and some shopping before heading home.

Jingmin Ties the Knot

18 dec 2011 (sun) was jingmin’s big day! and it was also the last wedding dinner i wld b attending for 2011. super broke now! hah. jingmin is my first same-age fren who is getting married, so was especially excited hah (and of cos, is also cos we hav been frens for like more than 10 yrs! so really happy for her). anyway, her wedding was held at carlton hotel and we reached the hotel at abt 7plus pm.

browsed thru her 2 wedding albums and thot it was really beautifully done! photogenic couple + brilliant photographer = perfect wedding pics. could feel a sense of happiness jus by looking thru the pics hah.

jingmin's big day at carlton hotel

the dinner started at 830pm, as usual, for chinese weddings. the food was great! among the best, if not the best, of all the wedding dinners i hav attended this yr. and with its beautiful ballroom and gd location, carlton hotel wld hav been our top choice for our wedding if not for the capacity constraint. oh well.. anyway, jingmin’s wedding was a simple one, but nonetheless still beautiful. especially enjoyed their speeches, sweet.

of cos, wads a wedding dinner without a toast to the newly-weds! a loud yam seng from us to them (and the groom’s brothers), to wish them a lifetime of bliss and happiness! congrats jingmin, and savour every single moment of ur new chapter in life!

Spa Retreat at Tempat Senang

dec is a month of clearing leave. jus finished my 6-day break from 8 dec till 13 dec. decided to go for a short getaway, jus to, well, get away, hah. chanced upon tempat senang when i was googling for short getaway ideas. a boutique resort and spa which i hav never heard before, it is being marketed as batam’s hidden oasis. a thorough search on forums, tripadvisor and blogs throw up pretty gd reviews of the place, hence decided to check this gem out.

they hav several packages available, and we chose the 2D1N spa package, which includes a 3-hr spa session per person for 2, a night stay at one of their themed rooms, breakfasts for 2, and free 2-way shuttle to/from the ferry terminal. at $389 nett, it is not exactly cheap for a batam holiday. cos this price exlcudes ferry, which cost another $47 per pax.

anyway, we took the 8.20am ferry on mon and arrived at sekupang ferry terminal at 8.20am batam time (1-hr time diff). the frenly driver fetched us from the ferry terminal and drove us, and a couple of others, to the spa resort which is abt 10mins drive away.

short getaway to tempat senang

once we reached the resort which is quietly tucked away beside a golf course, we were greeted by smiley staff and being brought to the room of our choice – thai room (hav to top up abt $50 for the upgrade). the room is great, and it comes with a big bathroom with big bathtub, as well as a private fish therapy pond! nice.

our thai room

after settling in, we proceeded to our spa session which was from 9am – 12pm. we could choose any 3 of their treatments that lasted an hour each. there were quite a lot of choices, from masaages, to facials, to body scrubs, to hair spa, to foot reflexology, to body wraps, to milk bath, to ear candling! for me, i had hawaiian lomi lomi massage, balinese coffee body scrub and a detox facial with clay mask. dear chose lavendar body scrub, honey collagen hair spa and a honey cucumber facial and mask. it was 3 hours of bliss! i enjoyed the whole session hah.

relaxing and revitalising 3-hr spa!

after the spa, we went to explore ard the small resort. pretty nice, and does hav the balinese feeling hah. they also hav interesting themed rooms such as the tree house where there is a hanging bed. but we did not see that. we did, however, view the sultan room, where there is a big jacuzzi in the room!

exploring the little boutique spa resort

soon, its time for lunch. we ordered their famed beer can chicken ($49!), which comes with 2 sides of mashed potato and veggies. it was supposed to be very tender but not really the case hah. some of the parts were still too tough and dry, and they shld hav better sauces to go with the chicken. it was nonetheless a very filling lunch.

our beer-can chicken lunch!

after lunch, we jus hung ard the room and enjoyed the fish therapy where the many small fishes nimble on the dead skin on ur feet. ticklish but nice hah. also took a short nap as we both woke up too early in the morn.

enjoying our private fish therapy pond

at abt 4pm, we got them to arrange for a cab to bring us out shopping at nagoya hill. it was abt 30mins away and cost $20 for 2-way! shld hav jus stayed in the resort cos really nth much there! had A&W for dinner, but the food quality really bad. we headed back to the resort at abt 6plus 7pm and had a game of pool, before gg back to our room to play “upwords” and watched DVD (all provided by the resort).

breakfast was not bad – dear had american breakfast while i ordered the nasi goreng. so fast, it was time to check out and that marked the end of the short getaway.

breakfast before saying byebye

spent abt $600 in total for this trip. a bit steep, but i think the spa was really not bad and the room we stayed in was great too. there is basically nth much to do there besides spa, but thats the whole purpose of such a holiday i guess? pretty relaxing sometimes to jus laze the day away with a gd book, or simply jus doing nth ha. and the very frenly staff there enhanced the whole experience too. they were always smiling and helpful. so i wld say worth a try! afterall, tempat senang is voted #5 best relaxation/ spa hotel in asia! hah.

okie back to work tmr. looking forward to my next leave – a 5-day stretch from 17 dec till 21 dec hah.

Christmas Potluck

its christmas again! and like last yr, we had a potluck gathering at aoi’s place. we also had a secret santa this yr, and each of us was supposed to buy a $30 gift to the person we were assigned to thru drawing of lots.

the party started at 2pm and expectedly, most were late hah. and the latest gt to be ade who reached at almost 4pm! food contributions: home-cooked spicy chicken by teng ee, curry chicken by dennis, beehoon by mike, salad by aoi, cocktail sausage and crab stick skewers by lekshimi, cheese baked rice by ade, red wine by kailun, soft drinks and beer by eileen, home-made raspberry sorbet by james, and old chang kee platter by me! it was a spread and everyone was damn full hah.

potluck with ETD colleagues

we then had a gift exchange. the funny thing is thru our conversations, we alr knew our secret santa hah. im buying for lek, lek is buying for mike, mike is buying for dennis and dennis is buying for me. perfect, cos we nt that keen in gift exchange hah. so 4 of us decided to jus give each other cash or pseudo gift. gift exchange settled for us ha. but the rest did real exchange though.

xmas gift exchange

this is my idea of a great christmas gathering – a bunch of gd frens gathering at someone’s home, chit-chatting and catching-up happily over food and drinks. very simple, but definitely enjoyable.

Appreciation Dinner 2011

some time back, we received details abt our annual appreciation dinner. this year, the venue was at suntec convention centre, a far cry from last’s year ritz-carlton. oh well, no wonder they say the DnD venue reflects the state the bank is in hah. the theme for this year: rock stars.

appreciation dinner 2011

the whole collateral ops decided to attend and we formed a table. with our usual low profile style, we didnt bother to dress up hah. gd in a way, cos no need to spend money! actually, many ppl also didnt dress up. though undeniably, there were some who put in alot of effort to look like rock stars! kudos to them.

we reached at 7plus pm and collected our door gift – a gym bag (which looks like those free gift u get when u sign up for credit card ha). it was no way near last year’s classy and elegant leather passport holder and luggage tag. oh well. anyway, we proceeded into the ballroom and there was live performance by a band on stage. we ordered our beer and wine. to our horror, we were told that no alcohols were being served! we actually need to pay for them! seriously?! ya seriously, a beer cost $12 and a wine cost $14 each. totally couldnt believe they stinge on alcohols during DnD! but thanks to our boss, who bought us one round of drinks ha.

like last year, food was a 4-course western dinner. pretty decent and quite filling. the night was peppered with speeches by our CEO, performance by the live band etc. to me, the highlight got to be the stand-up comedy by an australian guy. totally hilarious and entertaining hah. keith and guys also put up a great performance. didnt noe ops has so many talents hah.

our dinner

wad is a DnD without lucky draw? but sadly, didnt manage to win any thing this year! no. of prizes were reduced from 100 to 60, and the quality has decreased too. and we heard that the best-dressed table only won 1 movie tix each?! last yr’s best-dressed table got $2000 cash to be shared, imagine that. quite disappointing with this year’s appreciation dinner really. hopefully next yr will be better!

mayb is the company (still not that close to my current team), or mayb is the quality of the DnD, or mayb both, i definitely enjoyed last year much more.

Weichi’s Wedding at Swissotel

on fri we attended weichi’s wedding at swissotel the stamford, canning ballroom! that was my first time attending a wedding with dear hah. originally wanted to reach at 630pm to catch their solemnisation one, but was too rush and couldnt reach in time, so gave it a miss. we reached at 7plus pm for the cocktail reception.

as usual, the dinner only started at 830pm. to b honest, the food was so-so, service abit not attentive and slow, and many times, after the food was individually portioned, they were not piping hot anymore. however, these were jus minor issues and shld not distract us from feeling happy for the groom and the bride hah. the highlight of the wedding had to be during their 2nd march-in, where weichi displayed his vocal talent and sang 至少还有你 to his wife! that was the song he used to propose to her too hah. very nice, very touching.

weichi's big day at swissotel

we also had fun toasting him at our table hah. a loud yam seng and 5 beers for him and his brothers represent our utmost blessing for him! congrats weichi, and wishing you a blissful marriage! cheers.

Kai Lun’s Big Day

27 nov 2011 was kailun’s big day! his wedding invitation card was the most special i hav ever received hah. instead of using those provided by the hotel, he designed his own and get a printer to print. a very “green” card made of recycled paper! and inside the cards, there are 3 slots which contain small cards with impt details like directions. super nice.

the wedding invite

his wedding was at amara sanctuary, sentosa – my first time there. a very nice place, looks new, and the ballroom is rather beautiful! we reached at abt 7pm for the cocktail reception.

dinner started at 8plus pm and the food was not bad. it was fun attending wedding with colleagues (as compared to with relatives hah)! we had quite alot to drink and we had a huge toast with the groom when he stopped by our table for phototaking!

kailun's wedding at amara sentosa

it was quite a simple wedding, with nothing fanciful like photo booth, live photo feeds, live wedding band performing, speeches or songs by frens etc. but the little details such as the specially- designed invitation card and wedding favor (a 2012 calendar with the same theme as the card) and other nitty gritty stuff makes it sweet. congrats kailun in opening a brand new chapter of ur life! hav a blissful marriage!