Today is the last day of 2007 and thinking back, it has indeed been a full year. A year of many emotions, challenges, and a BIG loop of a roller coaster ride!
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Someone asked me if I had the opportunity to turn back time and re-do certain things in 2007, what would I do. My answer : NOTHING.
Each and every one of those experiences, good or bad, helped me learn many lessons this year. Some I am not-so-proud of and some, I will remember for a loooong time to come…but redo them, I will not. I still believe they all happened for a reason - to help me learn in my journey of Life. 
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So here are the reasons why 2007 has been a GREAT and full year.
- Lived a full year in my very own home.
- Had many great parties with wonderful memories to cherish.
- Moved from a boring job to an exciting, challenging one.
- Learnt to adapt to the many (some extremely diversed) styles of management.
- Survived 3 leader changes.
- Learnt to draw the line with drinking.
- Discovered some pretty unique recipes to fulfill one of my many interests : exploratory cooking.
- Added some exciting, new bottles to my Absolut collection.
- Learnt to differentiate between friends and acquaintances.
- Learnt to control my temper and be less impatient (this is an on-going process that will continue on to 2008).
- Fought some ugly demons in my heart.
- Harshly reminded not to let little, inconsequential things stress me out.
- Went for many Cuti-Cuti Malaysia trips.
- Had our first overseas vacation together (definitely not our last! :D).
- Enjoyed an awesome outdoor bathing experience.
- Promoted some folks to different levels of friendship and demoted some.
- Hit by the realisation that some folks are just ‘beyond help’.
- Reminded of how much I truly appreciate the guys in my life - past and present.
- Grew stronger and learnt how to say NO to certain individuals.
- Reminded, yet again, of how much I detest family politics.
I can go on and on with the list but I gotta start getting ready for the Countdown dinner and party to wish 2007 audieu and usher in 2008. Gonna be a huge bang to end yet another great year!
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May all your WILDEST dreams come true and oh, do make some reasonable resolutions this year - ones that are accomplishable. 
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Happy 2008!!! *hugs & muax*
Question : Is there any difference between ‘Penile Disorder’ and ‘Erectile Dysfunction‘?
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Guys turn instinctively cold when these words creep up. I am told by my guy friends that to some, it’s worse than death itself.
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In my humble opinion, I think that many guys (and I am not talking about the uncles or grandfathers; I am talking about young stallions like most of our male friends) go through some semblences of ‘performance dysfunction’. I understand that they could be due to a number of reasons :
- exhaustion
- over-consumption of alcoholic beverages
- over-indulgence in substances
- performance anxiety
- stress
- and many, many others
I guess I am just really curious coz it’s not something that I ever had to worry/think about with Sweetheart. Yes, I know…I know…the Gods are smiling down on me but hey, there is no such thing as too much education.
We decided to take a break from the celebration scene and have a semi-low key Friday night. Not our usual idea of a Friday night but hey, variety is the spice of Life.
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It started with the guys screaming to Linkin Park’s trademark songs. Heck, I swear I could see Sweetheart’s neck veins crying out to be released! At some points in the night, I feared that some concerned folks might barge into our room asking if we were alright.
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I soon realised that those were the only songs those guys will NOT bastardize. I almost died laughing when I hear them replacing
"No woman, No Cry" with "No Pussy, I Die!"
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And the night ended with a bunch of super talented backup singers adding ‘Under the blanket’ after each line in "Oh, Carol". So, it went something like this :
"Oh Carol! I am but a fool"
‘Under the blanket’
"Darling I love you"
‘Under the blanket’
"Though you treat me cruel"
‘Under the blanket’
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Surprisingly, we had LOADS of fun. Maybe it’s coz the song selection was mainly English songs with only one Beyond song thrown in and my favourite Mumbai song. Took some great shots but can’t share them here coz I’ve utilised all my monthly picture quota (damn Friendster and their picture quota!). Oh well, will hafta make do with no pictures till January rolls along.
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Ok, time to get ready for the next party. This one is a 3-in-1 BOMB! Christmas-cum-New Year-cum-Birthday. Poolside party, so that’s gonna be fun! 
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Hmmm…wonder if I should bring along my bikini….
Reasons why the year-end holiday can be bad for us :
- over-indulgence in food (but not drinks, mind you!).
- tendency to stay up late and watch CSI reruns.
- turning us into vampires - vegetate at home during the day and roam the city at night
- tendency to blow the credit cards (it’s proven that when one is not at work, one tends to spend money doing other stuffs).
- lost ability to wake up early in the mornings.
But hey, all is not lost.
We just need to keep in control. Yes, all of the above can/will happen but it’s really up to us to maintain control over them, eh…
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Oh well, I will start with the control from next week onwards. Am just too blardy lazy to be in control this week.
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P/S - Since Boxing Day, I have been trying to haul my ass out of bed in the mornings. I tried…I swear, I really tried! But it was too hard, waayyy too hard. The parties wouldn’t stop! It’s all their fault - for throwing those endless parties!!! I am but an innocent victim. *big, wide-eyed stare*
She looked to her right…
Then to her left…
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"They are everywhere!" - she thought happily.
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"Hieee there!", she purred to the guy on her left.
"Yes, I love the tree too", she threw her sweetest smile at the nice looking guy sitting to her right.
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Across the room, she caught the eye of the party host and hostess and they exchanged smiles. A wink and a grin later, they were off to making sure everyone else was having fun.
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"I must remember to thank them both for always throwing the BEST parties and making sure there is an abundance of good looking people to ‘cuci mata’ and flirt with. The best part is : I never have to worry about going to their parties alone - coz I always NEVER go home alone!" - were her last happy thoughts as she was whisked off by the good looking man she just met hours ago.
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To quote Sweetheart’s favourite phrase :
"Whatever that rocks your boat, baby!"
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*BIG wink*
It’s tough,
It needs a LOT of work,
It’s exhausting,
It’s frustrating,
It’s beyond comprehension,
It sucks Life outta me,
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…yet,
It’s rewarding,
It’s exhillarating,
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But most importantly,
It puts a smile on my face and warmth in my heart.
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Recently, a guy who was a BIG part of my life many years ago wrote some things to me that reminded me of how precious each and every one of my relationships are to me.
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As quoted from his email:
"Relationships matter for all different kind of reasons. Hopefully, those reasons are good."
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Then, he wrote something else that put a smile on my face and warmed my heart.
"You are such an inspirational individual. Your personal strength is uncanny. I am not sure that I could define where your personal strength comes from but I know it exists."
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And ended his email with this :
"Thanks for all the memories."
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Yes, thanks for all the memories too, B.
You and your family gave me one of the BEST Christmas memories I have and I will never forget the warmth and love I felt in their homes during our time there.
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I will definitely dedicate one of my later posts to the wonderful memories we had. *hugz*
Love my prezzies this year.
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Ok, Ok…maybe not all, but most of them. So much so that I only needed to re-gift 2 of my prezzies. Yes, I am in the group that believes in the practicality of re-gifting stuff that I don’t need/like.
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My reasoning : The chances of the gift finding a more appreciative owner is higher when I re-gift it rather than keep it stashed away in some store room.
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Love the books I got (love it that my friends were looking out for me by suggesting that I finish ‘certain’ books prior to my trip next month or risk being frustrated for my entire time away from Sweetheart!), love the lamps, love the ‘fire’…and many, many others.
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Thanks folks, for those wonderful gifts!
And I hope that you enjoy the gifts we got for you too. Trust me, a lot of love was put into selecting each and every one of them. :)))
"I vow to religiously stick to my at-least-3-times-a-week gym schedule AND eat like a bird for the next 4 weeks….so that I don’t look like a wrapped up potato in winter clothes come January when I am in The Lone Star State"
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I shoulda known better than to make such a foolish vow.
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It’s Christmas, for cryin’ out loud!
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How can anyone find time to do anything other than eat, drink and be merry???? Any other available time is spent catching up on sleep to recuperate and ready for the next sessions of eating, drinking and being merry. So, how lah???
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Christmas came and went….but the eating, drinking and being merry still has NOT stopped! At the rate things are going, I am thinking that it’ll carry on till New Year’s Eve and then, end the year with a big BANG!
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Oh well, might as well enjoy the holidays before the new challenges of 2008 creep up to bite us!
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HAVE YOURSELF A BERRY MERRY X’MAS & SPLENDILICIOUS NEW YEAR!
Despite all the year-end partying and celebrations, work still managed to weave its way into my already-tight schedule. Yeah, the timing’s a bitch but man, I wouldn’t trade the learnings and challenges for anything in the world!
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Let me share some valuable lessons learnt in the past few weeks as a Project/Program Manager/Leader.
- Ability to create and nurture a vision
- Ability not to fear failure
- Ability to expect and accept criticism
- Ability to take risks
- Ability to empower others
- Ability to be decisive
- Ability to be persistent
- Ability to be happy
- Ability to laugh
- Ability to leave the ego behind
- Ability to think before acting
- Ability to meet commitments
- Ability to be a role model
- Ability to maintain a winning attitude
- Ability to believe in oneself
*Mental note to self*
Yes, I can be all of the above, and more.
Watch out world! I am charging ahead - at FULL speed!
… is when we find reciprocated love
… is when expectations are aligned
… is when balance is achieved
… is when sipping good wine
… is when God comes a-visiting
… is when I get to pick my Christmas present and Sweetheart pays for it!
… is when cuddled in each other’s arms just before sleep claims us
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Life is good? Like, wayyyy!!!
*huge grin*
I’ve always believed that one is happiest when one is surrounded by folks who make the heart soar. Last weekend, my heart was soaring waaayyy high!
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Undoubtedly, these past few weeks had been one of the MOST stressful times I’ve had in a really long time. In fact, I think this year-end has gotta be the MOST stressful holiday time for me - ever!
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Work’s never been more demanding, and all the many parties/events to plan, attend, help out - I was putting my multi-tasking skills to the REAL test. I found that as I was trying to absorb certain information, new ones were already rushing in - by the minute! My brain and heart felt like expanding to a million times its original size and then EXPLODE to a million pieces! *take deep,deep breath*
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"Concentrate, Eleen…concentrate. Give your ALL to each activity/task as you deal with them. No point worrying about the 1 million and 1 other things waiting to be done/achieved. They will have to wait while you throw your heart and soul into what you have to do - one by one of them."
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In the past, Sweetheart used to dread the times when I get stressed ‘coz he usually has to bear the brunt of it. To his pleasant surprise, I have been managing it well this time. Maybe I have learnt some very valuable lessons this year.
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Yes, it has been a most eventful 2007 - filled with blood, sweat and tears. Lots of tears. Yet, it was all worth it. Yes, it was.
I’d like to end the series of our white Christmas party update with some appreciation notes to all the wonderful and gorgeous people who took time off their busy schedule to have an early celebration with us.
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Thanks for the time and effort to be part of our biggest party for this year. The yummy food and drinks…WOW! I especially lurrvee the turkey!! Thanks, Sheryl for the various creative sauces and the simply beeeaauutifulll deco for the big bird. *muax* You know what this means, right? You are now officially appointed as our big bird chef for Christmas every year!
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And to Jonnie Boy, thanks a bunch for your many attempts to keep my stress level from exploding. I know your heart’s in the right place and I do appreciate all the things you offered to help me with but dahling, we need to be practical ya. Sometimes, it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way round, know what I mean?
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Then there are those who had to leave the party early.
You may not be there in person with us for the rest of the night but trust me, you are definitely not far from our hearts and minds!
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And to those who were meeting most of the folks for the first time, your fantabulous social skills blew me outta my mind! I was intially worried that some folks may be too shy and end up hiding at some corner but hey, everyone was mingling….talking…cracking jokes…getting to know many new friends…or just plain having fun.
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Of coz not forgetting the baby at the party. He was simply lovin’ the attention, the Christmas goodies and the booze. Man, I’ve never seen a kid take to alcohol as well as this ‘lil guy!
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Those who were thousands of miles away from their families and friends, I hope you enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed yours. Now that I have shown you folks how much fun you can have in Penang, it’s only polite for you to return the favor, no? ;) Trust me, the opportunity for you to return the favor may present itself sooner than you think. Stay tuned!
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Then, there is the tree.
The tree everyone went Ooooohhhh and Aaaahhhhhh when they walked into the apartment. I was told at least a million times that night that it was most difficult to not just reach over and pluck the items off the tree as a souvenir. My answer to them all - "Only if you put it to GOOD use!"
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Will end this final party update with this :
Thanks to those who contributed to the night - with their wonderful company, their laughter, their stories, and their craziness. Those who were unable to join us, fret not - there will be more to come!
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Hope all your 2007 dreams come true, and even if they did not, there is still 2008 to look forward to! :)))))))
Ok, I was gonna leave this part to the last…but due to popular demand, I had to move this up the ladder and blog about it before I blog about the rest of the night’s activities.
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Firstly, Santa arrived late….but he brought booze with him (our kinda Santa alright!). So, no one complained about him being late.
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Then, Santa had too much to drink which led to Santa talking too much. I am not really sure how it started but it seemed Santa kept telling some girls at the party that he wanted to get waxed. So, finally, after many repeated requests, I decided to grant Santa his X’mas wish.
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It turned out to be one of the most FUN experience we’ve had at any X’mas party, ever!
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I knew our beloved Santa is much hairer than my Sweetheart but what I didn’t expect was the difference of response I got from both guys. While one was usually lying half-asleep while I wax him monthly (and it’s not his chest I wax *wink*), the other was screaming the entire place down! And it was just his chest I waxed!
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The first strip came off fairly easily.
View the 1st video here.
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2nd video is the longest and the most hillarious.
Had Santa screaming : "You’re the first girl in that position who is not doing anything with me but giving me pain, you know!"
Then, my Sweetheart got all fascinated with Santa’s nipples : "It jiggles! It jiggles!"
Finally, there was Sheryl trying to drive the ‘hairy demon’ outta Santa.
View the 2nd video here.
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It seemed the cooling gel I bought from my wax therapist came to good use with Santa.
View the 3rd and final video here.
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If you are still keeping a straight face after viewing all 3 videos, something’s terribly wrong with ya! :p
Lots and lots and LOTS of updates on our White Christmas party to celebrate the year 2007.
- The preparation and the deco.
- The food and the drinks.
- The tree and the prezzies.
- The friends and their friends.
- The baby of the party.
- The famous jello shots.
- The late Santa.
- The sexy, waxed Santa.
Way, way way too many pictures to edit and distribute. Will try my best to share the night’s exciting activities and upload as many pictures as I can, kay?
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As hard as I try, work can’t be put out of my mind. :\
Am stressed to hell and back about work…yet, at the same time, trying my best to enjoy the parties and coming holiday as much as I can.
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Happy Holidays, y’all!
Why is there ONLY 24 hours in a day?
Why am I allowing small, inconsequential issues stress me out?
Why should I worry about things that are out of my control?
Why does an off-day feel like a full-working day?
Why are 10km/h drivers ever allowed on the roads?
Why do the Mat Rempits believe they are F1 riders?
Why do I love you?
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Because Life would be oh-so-boring without all of these…and more! :)))))))))))
Was supposed to post these pictures earlier in the week but work’s just been too crazy. Only non-work time I get, I try to squeeze in some party planning time. From deco to food to drinks to guest list - they have all got to be done right. David Tutera’s job ain’t easy, man! Fun…but *not* easy.
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Anyway, back to last Saturday’s update.
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We received VIP invitations from our favourite club in town, MoMo. Main agenda for the night :
- 1st Anniversary celebration
- Finals for the ‘Miss Momo Party Gal Of The Year’ award
Buffet-style food and free-flow of beer was served till about midnight when they kicked start the Finals.
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After everyone had filled their tummies with food and beer, they decided to bring out their ‘prosperity pets’. Admittedly, It felt weird to hear the sounds of the lion dance gong when it’s not even CNY yet. Still, it was good fun!
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Of coz the highlight was when the lion went up to ‘retrieve’ the high-hanging reward
- a symbolic part of the entire lion dance performance.
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Read all about the history of the lion dance here.
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Next was the ribbon-cutting event to officiate the 1st year celebration. Our fav man is in this picture. You know who you are, R!
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After that, it was partayyyyy time!!!!
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The 10 finalists of Miss Momo Party Gal Of The Year started strutting out one-by-one. It wasn’t a regular contest where the girls need to look sexy and hot, they gotta DANCE hot too! Thus the title ‘Party Gal Of The Year’ and not just ‘Miss Momo’.
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The ever-creative management handled the entire event themselves. No hiring of professional event management consultants who charge a bomb and always have their usual supply of professional models for these kind of events. It was indeed refreshing to see new and different faces competing for the main prize of RM 5K. (As opposed to other club events where we see almost the same faces over and over again even though the events were held at different clubs)
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Needless to say, our guy friends (more joined us much later when the party started after midnight) waited eagerly for the swimsuit event. They were not disappointed. I remember one contestant (# 4!) who was extremely bouncy that had ALL the guys’ heads bouncing up and down as she walked up and down the stage in her 2-piece swimsuit.
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Unfortunately, we were too busy watching that I forgot to take any pictures. Darn! Should’ve taken a short video clip of Ms. Bouncy. *regret* Oh well, it was still fun.
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What made it more fun was - D is back in town!!! Ready to party!!!!
We didn’t realise how much we have missed him till he got back here again. He’s always the life of any parties. Am sure he’s gonna ROCK our X’mas party this weekend!
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Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Can’t wait!!!
"Forgiveness is an act of imagination. It dares you to imagine a better future, one that is based on the blessed possibility that your hurt will not be the final word on the matter. It challenges you to give up your destructive thoughts about the situation and to believe in the possibility of a better future. it builds confidence that you can survive the pain and grow from it.
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It is not necessary for forgiveness to begin the process that heals the hurt. Forgiveness has little or nothing to do with another person because forgiveness in an internal matter.
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Choice is always present in forgiveness. You do not have to forgive AND thare are consequences. Refusing to forgive by holding on to the anger, resentment and a sense of betrayal can make your own life miserable. A vindictive mind-set creates bitterness and lets the betrayer claim one more victim.
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There is nothing so bad that cannot be forgiven. Nothing!"
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Had this short article shared with me earlier today. Made me think about a few folks and some stuffs about myself too.
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I wondered - Do I forgive easily?
I reflected on the things in the past that made me angry. That tore me up inside.
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Then, I realised.
And I am grateful … that I do not have a single name in my ‘never-to-be-forgiven’ list. Or ‘hate-till-I-die’ list.
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What a relief to have a heart so free.
Finally got our tree and had it set up over the weekend - lights and all.
Hung some of the stuff on it too. Not intending to overcrowd it with stuff. Will stick to the simple and modern look.
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Here’s a peek at a part of the tree.
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The other parts - we’ll only reveal after our party. Otherwise, it’ll spoil the surprise for our friends.
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The guest list gets more and more interesting each day. We now have a hot Thai model in the list - can’t wait to get all the goss on the best places to club and hang out in Bangkok for our trip in January. Woohoo…
In the long ‘must-have’ list for our Christmas party next weeked, one item kept creeping up. Maybe it was because we couldn’t easily get one off a shelf. It stayed in our list unchecked while all the other items like ‘tree’, ‘lights’, ’something non-starry or angelic to put on top of tree’ get checked off.
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We cracked our heads.
We wondered where we can buy one.
We wondered if and how we can make one.
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That prompted me to do some research on it and here are some interesting facts I learnt about the mistletoe.
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As taken from this site, it is an Anglo-Saxon word that means "dung-on-a-twig". Go to the same site for more interesting facts about it.
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Common belief : A sprig with red berries hung in a doorway as an excuse to KISS.
Fact : A parasitic shrub with white berries that hinders the growth of a tree. And oh, it’s poisonous!
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Read more about it here.
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We’ll most probably make our own mistletoe. That way, we get to determine how it looks like. Found a site that even gave some tips on how to make one. Hmmm…
We wondered -
"Why did Friday feel so much like a Saturday?"
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Then, we remembered -
"That’s coz we had the day off today!"
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Ahhh…THAT was why. :)))
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What a day, What a night,
Of smokin’ roti canai,
Of cheeky moments,
Of exciting X’mas shopping,
Of wild partying into the night.
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Oh, what a day & night!
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P/S - I found some cute angel wings for our Patrick. He is gonna be oh-so-adorably ready for our party next weekend. Can’t wait!
The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of activities. No time to stop and catch a breath at all.
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In my ever-anal need to have a good WLB (Work-Life-Balance), I refused to allow work to come in the way of my personal life. The price? Later con calls with my American boss and team mates so that I can still go for my after-work gym sessions and quality time with Sweetheart. Consequence? Suffering in the mornings when I try to get out of bed after 4 hours (or less) of sleep.
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Ok, enough bitching! Time to put work aside (for now till at least tomorrow morning’s con call) and allow myself to be carried away in the exciting planning of our Christmas party next weekend. That is actually 8 more days to go, NOT 18 days! *panic mode on*
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What I have gotten so far :
- Some cans of spray snow
- Some 3-D snowflakes to hang from the ceiling
- Some feather-like white drapey thingy which I plan to use as an alternative if I cannot find the white feathers that I have in mind (the type that showgirls use to drape over their sexy shoulders and flick it at the men’s faces. Hehe…)
What I need to shop for this weekend :
- A white X’mas tree (because ‘certain’ folks lost the tree I bought and left it in their care together with all the ornaments)
- Some shinny balls to hang around the tree (still contemplating on this one)
- Some ‘mysterious’ items which I plan to hang all over my tree and which can be handed to my guests as ‘thank-you-for-coming’ gifts
- Something to put at the top of the tree (no angel and no star please…boringggg)
- Lights for the tree (single color, don’t like those multi-colored ones)
- White feathers to drape over my railings
- Mistletoes (or my friends will kill me for not giving them excuses to kiss each other!)
- Wreath - a large one for my front door and a smaller one for my kitchen door
- Oh! A sexy black and gold dress for the Dell Award dinner on the night just before our Christmas party!!! Damn…still no dress to wear for that night! Stresssss….
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Turkey, cute finger food, alcoholic (Abo then!) eggnog, vodka jelly shots, marshmallows - amongst the items that we’ll be stuffing our faces with.
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And booze, there will be LOADS and LOADS and LOADS of booze. Been stocking up my bar since the begining of the year for this year-end party. No one’s gonna leave our party sober - and THAT’S a promise!!!
I think I made at least 3 attempts to get out of bed that Sunday morning.
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1st Attempt :
- removed Sweetheart’s arms from around me and turned my body to get up only to have his arms snaking back around me.
- Hmmm….sooo nice.
- Fell back to sleep.
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A few minutes later,
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2nd Attempt :
- sat up and tried to shake the sleep outta my head.
- He pulled me back into his arms. Nice…
- Fell back into the comfort of his embrace. ZZZzZzzZZzzz…
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Another few minutes later,
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3rd Attempt :
- sandwiched between the sleeping couple on one side and Sweetheart on the other side, my only option was to roll over Sweetheart to get out of bed.
- tried rolling over him but was stopped halfway by his arms, trapping me in mid-movement. So, there I was on top of him. Hmmm…yet another favourite position of mine. Nicceeeee…
- ZZZzzzZzzzzz again!
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Finally, we managed to get all our butts checked out of the hotel and to our Spa appointment which was just a short drive away. Thanks to the wonderful management of MoMo (thanks, R!) and Danai Spa, the four of us got pampered BIG time! For free! It couldn’t get any better than that.
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First, we were sent off to our respective rooms for our 1-hour massage.
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After the massage, we proceeded to our Footbath. Fuyoh! Such luxury. Sitting there in the rattan chairs - with the sound of flowing water amidst beautiful greenery - having our feet pampered. This is Life!
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Once our feet were nicely bathed by the smiling staff, we then took a ‘meditation labyrinth walk’ through the Rainfall Pool - what the therapists referred to as ‘A truly Malaysian style cleansing". Here’s a picture of Sweetheart with the Rainfall Pool behind him. Nice, eh?
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What the next picture was supposed to show is of our macho men in their cute, identical boxers. What they were really saying was : "Brrrrr……damn cold!!! Faster take the picture so that we can move on to the heated jacuzzi!"
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The next picture was taken a few seconds too early.
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We had the entire jacuzzi to ourselves, just the 4 of us. It was pure HEAVEN.
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They had to leave early for the evening’s Jazz event back at Bayview Beach. So, Sweetheart and I stayed on to enjoy the Garden Jacuzzi. All I can say is, It was one helluva time spent together! *smug grin*
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A truly amazing outdoor bathing experience. :))))))))))))))
While having dinner at Gurney Drive after our gym session tonight, Sweetheart and I were entertained by music from a nearby DVD stall.
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We almost choked on our dinner when the DVD vendor decided to play a Taiwanese rap song. Thought our ears were playing tricks on us until we saw patrons sitting at nearby tables shaking their heads in annoyance and parents putting their hands over their kids’ ears.
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Here’s what we heard (although I am sure there is more that we missed out) :
Khuah hah mi lanciao!
Kong hah mi lanciao!
Siong hah mi lanciao!
WEIIII…khuah hah mi lanciao!
…and there is more but we were too busy watching the reaction of folks around us to pay attention to the song anymore. *LOL*
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Wonder how long that DVD vendor will last before someone lodges a complaint against his song selection in such a high-traffic place for tourists and families.
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*Mental note NEVER to bring any of my Hokkien-speaking tourist friends to Gurney Drive, EVER*
It seemed like a never-ending day, but no no…we were NOT complaining. It was one of those days that you wish would go on and on, for eternity.
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Great music, fabulous friends, cosy ambience - the perfect remedy to fly high into the ebony sky. I was kept amused and entertained the whole night long….just watching them having fun. Sweetheart had this silly grin on his face the whole night long. Here’s a picture of him hugging one of the fluffy pillows.
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Of coz the night would not be complete without the cards. Looks like it’s no longer just a CNY affair. When we got hungry, darling Drey delivered supper. Fried rice never tasted so good!
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While they amused themselves with the cards, I sat back and allowed the jazzy tunes take me to some faraway land. A place where all dreams come true and love is aplenty. Hmmmm….. :)))
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It was not long before I was lulled to Dreamland, curled up in the big lazy chair. Seeing how tired I was (considering that I was motoring all over Penang earlier in the day, searching for clues and treasures), Sweetheart then cleared a spot on the bed for me to sleep. Amazing how I could just sleep on one side of the bed while the others played on. I was out like a light in seconds, with a grin on my face and with Sweetheart spooning me : my favourite sleeping position. Nice.
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Woke up to total darkness, and Sweetheart snoring next to me. The guys left and I wasn’t even aware of it. Oh well, back to sleep. Poor Drey was kept awake by Sweetheart’s snoring, though. She asked how I could still sleep like a baby with all that snoring. Guess I am just used to it already, and he only does that when he’s super exhausted. It has been a rather full and exciting day for us. :)))
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What a great Saturday - from morning till night. *huge grin*
We almost didn’t make it.
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Work has been so crazy lately that we had absolutely no time to submit our entry form. We talked about it for weeks but all of us were just too tied up with work. It was only 2 days prior to the event that I finally got round to submitting the "Assorted Crackers" team for the largest food hunt in the nation.
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Leg One
We were given 5 famous eateries in Penang and were tasked to drive to those places to do 2 things : (1) Obtain a special stamp from them (2) Take some creative shots of us at the eatery as proof that we actually went there in persons. Needless to say, we had loads of fun getting creative! Our favourite was at the Balik Pulau Laksa stall. Check out our first attempt below.
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The photographer was too excited and snapped the picture when the whole team wasn’t ready. So, first attempt scratched. After about 6 or 7 attempts, we finally got the shot that we were satisfied with. All the efforts were totally worth it as it won us the TOP prize for the Kodak Challenge! Here’s the winning picture that was also featured in The Sun today with the Bernama write-up on the event.
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My face was partially hidden by Kit and Gent but hey, I didn’t mind. This picture won us the Kodak M753! How cool is that???
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Some other shots taken.
- Gent trying to be ‘hawker for the day’ by scooping rice at the famous Nasi Padang @ Transfer Road with my darling Patrick sitting on his head.
- My teh-tarik attempt at Sup Hameed @ Penang Road (our convenient makan spot after clubbing on weekends!)
- Emma & Kit chewing on each end of the crispy ‘eu char koay’ @ the famous Kimberly Street stall.
- Emma & I pausing to strike a pose while running around town looking for answers to the riddles.
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Leg Two
We were then given 10 riddles to solve. All answers for this leg were to be found within the New World Park (latest eatery in downtown Penang). We were given our 1st challenge here : Popiah-making. Surprisingly, the stud in our team volunteered his services and we were so darn proud of him! From a rating of ‘A’ to ‘C’ (’A’ being the best looking and fastest rolled up popiah), he got our team an ‘A’! Here’s the picture of our hero and his popiah creation. We got to eat it afterwards and it tasted as good as it looked!
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Leg Three
This was probably the hardest part of the entire hunt. We were given another 15 riddles to solve and this time, we had to drive all over Penang to find the answers. From Georgetown to Air Itam and back to town again. We were glad to have Gent as our driver. I would’ve lost my patience with the super heavy traffic! It was a Saturday and it was school holidays. ‘Nuff said.
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So, to keep our driver happy, we stuffed him with…FOOD…what else??!! *lol*
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Finally, when the overall result was announced, we got 3rd place!!! We were actually expecting to come up 10th or so since we were competiting with almost 100 other teams and some are the nation’s best and veteran hunters. So, it was a pleasant surprise indeed.
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What did we win?
$1500 worth of cash and prizes! It was double joy for us. Bagging the 3rd prize and also the digital camera for the most creative shot in the ‘Kodak Challenge’.
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Here’s a picture of the ‘Assorted Crackers’ at the finish point.
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Thanks to my fellow hunters - Gent, Emma & Kit - I had a crackin’ time!!! :)))
Here’s the list of updates.
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Update # 1 :
- Took part in our nations’s biggest food hunt ever. A total of almost 100 teams and we were team # 92. Spent 6 full hours driving and hunting around Penang - from town all the way to Balik Pulau - in search of famous eateries.
- We won the Kodak Challenge! Will share the winning entry in my later post. Details as well.
- We won overall 3rd placing! More exciting prizes. Cash and others. Detailed updates later too.
Update # 2 :
- Enjoyed great music at the Penang Jazz Festival.
- Crazy friends just refused to call it a night.
- We flew high, high into the sky.
- Spooned and snugly cuddled in Sweetheart’s arms, I slept like a baby through the night.
- Next morning, went swimming at the pool. Got to cuci-mata sunbathing chicks and hunks.
Update # 3 :
- Self-pampering time.
- Foursome Fun.
- Massage, foot wash, jacuzzi and all things nice.
- Discovered some fun things to do inside a jacuzzi tub.
Lots of pictures and sharing coming up.
Stay tuned!
It was one of the most eventful and wonderful weekends I have ever had…topping all my other wonderful weekends. I mean, it’s like the wonderful-EST weekend, ever. I swear!
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I don’t even know how to start writing about it. Think I’ll split them into a few entries since they cover a few different things (3 main updates to be exact) - all within 48 hours. Will break them down and share the pictures I have on each of them.
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I am still grinning…
From such a FANTABULOUS weekend.
If only *all* my weekends are like this, I will die happy. :)))
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