Box of surprise

Guess what came in the mail!


I was supposed to have received this huge brown package last week, but because no one was home to sign for the registered mail, I only managed to collect it from the post office this morning. I was waiting in anticipation whilst the lady at the PO took her time to search for the package. The thing is, I've always had a phobia of things going missing in the mail. I shop online very often and rely on Singpost to do a good job of delivering my mail safely to my home. After a few scares of my purchases going missing, I decided to invest in insurance to ensure that in the event my mail goes missing, Singpost is made liable for the mishap and compensates me for my loss. Small price to pay for peace of mind. So far, none of my registered mail has gone missing, thank god.

I was elated to hold the package in my hands, but I was not prepared to open it yet. It's not everyday you receive a nice big package like that, so I wanted to prolong the moment. Throughout the day in the office, I took little peeks at the package and it really made Monday feel less dreary.

Finally, at 11pm at night, I tore the brown paper away to reveal a heavily guarded shoe box.


I stripped the box of its defences, leaving it helpless and susceptible to attacks.


Ta-da!! A nice fluffy pillow!


An exquisite piece of patchwork....


Put them together and what do you get?

King of all Pillows resting on its mighty throne!


Picture of a happy patchwork pillow onwer. What better way to say thank you?


Another darling creation from Onebowl Inc.

Advertisement

My friend Onebowl has a passion for sewing and being crafty! Not in the sly sense of the word, but rather, she is good with her hands at creating new things.

I promised her a while back that I will advertise her website on my blog, on the presumption that there are still some people checking my blog for updates now and then (I know, I know, I've been neglecting it!)

So without further ado, here's the link to her blog cum Etsy sale page.

http://two11.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5372393

This is a multi-purpose clutch bag. It can hold money, credit cards and whatever rubbish girls like to hoard in their wallets!

Another type of clutch with cutesy Hello Kitty prints.


I have seen (and received) some of her products, and I must commend her for the excellent workmanship. She really has nifty fingers, no joke. She has some ready-made pouches and clutchies, matchboxes containing tiny goodies and knick-knacks for sale on Etsy now, but she can cater to custom orders as well! Just drop her a line and she'll be more than willing to help! It'll be good if you could casually mention that you came from JellBell's blog (for the purpose of collecting commission haha). Best of all, her creations are inexpensive and would make great gifts for your girlfriend/sister/daughter etc.

Plus Etsy is such a nice place to shop. It's an online platform like eBay and Yahoo auctions where people sell their handmade creations or stuff they no longer have any use for. I love browsing through the vintage dresses section! They're very cheap, compared to what you will find in Oppt shop or Granny's Day Out. And the best thing is, you're being ecologically friendly by recycling! :)

Have fun shopping!

Reflection on 2007

In the blink of an eye, we have heralded in the new year and left 2007 far behind us. I've neither had time to sit down and reflect on the year that has so fleetingly passed me, nor anticipate what the new year will bring me.

2007 was definitely a time of change where my career was concerned. I took a big step and left my shelter...a place which was both familiar and comforting to me, a place which saw my peers and I grow up and bond together. Leaving certainly was difficult, but the reason to leave at that time was so compelling and as they say, opportunity doesn't knock twice. Till this day, I still miss some of the people in my old firm, and though painful, I have accepted that things can never be what they were again.

The past year in the new firm is what I would describe as tumultuous. Going into a new job scope and environment meant a great deal of re-learning. I had to start from scratch and seek guidance (instead of being the one providing guidance!) from junior staff. I invested time and effort to build new relationships with my colleagues and clients. And most crucially, I had to adjust to the dynamics of the new firm. It was truly a humbling experience! Earlier in the year, a couple of unpleasant incidents shattered my confidence and morale badly. I was miserable, depressed and unmotivated. Fortunately, things have taken a turn for the better and I am glad I gave myself the time to slowly adjust and recover.

The past year has left me feeling jaded, insecure and drained. I can't say I'm truly happy here but neither am I unhappy. Metaphorically, I feel like I am just "floating" around, without a destination and purpose. I want to feel more passionate and optimistic about my job but I don't know how to achieve that. I refuse to make resolutions that I know will not stick. Hopefully, the answers that I seek will find me faster than I can find them...

We lurve Bali!

I meant to continue blogging about my Greece trip, really! It was supposed to be a "Top 5 favourites" and "Top 5 dislikes" about Greece. Somehow I couldn't bring myself to blog about the bad part. I think most of us choose to share the pleasant and happy things that we experience during a trip, and gloss over (but never forget) the lousy bits. Nonetheless, little incidents both pleasant and unpleasant, make our trip a complete learning experience. I mean, if you embark on a 2-week trip and experienced only good things, that sounds too good to be true! Even 2 weeks spent in sheltered Singapore would expose you to some unsavoury incidents.

Anyway, not too long after the Greece trip, P and I decided to go to Bali! :) It was a short 3-day trip but we enjoyed it to the max!

Day 1 - Legian, Kuta & Tuban

Our lovely hotel opposite Legian beach - Alam Kulkul. We were greeted by this lovely floral arrangement in the bathtub when we checked in! Pity they cleared it the next morning!

The adorned walkway leading to the hotel.

Pretty Legian beach. The sand is soft and fine, but not white. I still think Thai beaches have the nicest white sand! The local dudes ace at surfing!

Favourite equation: Bintang beer + Beach + Bum = Heaven

Sunset at Legian beach was a dramatic affair.

Kuta: Touristy area. Plenty of shops selling surfwear, fake watches, clothes etc. There's a lot going on here and definitely not the best place to stay, in my opinion. I met the coolest Ronald Mcdonalds ever - surfer dude with red hair!

Tuban: Bubba Gump restaurant in Tuban. Mascot of the restaurant: Lobster and his friend the shrimp.

Forrest Gump looks lost!


Day 2 - Seminyak and Jimbaran Bay

Black beach of Seminyak. Tried bodyboarding here! It was exciting riding on the waves but tiring when you have to drag the board out to sea again! Will definitely try surfing the next time I go!

Grocer and Grind - trendy restaurant with good food and great chill-out music. Felt totally relaxed here after a day at the beach.

Quaint shops of Seminyak. There were many designer boutiques at the Seminyak area, as well as the road leading to Legian. Very pricey though!

Jimbaran Bay - Seafood on the beach! We had barbequed fish, sotong and prawns! It was romantic? (and kinda dark - we couldn't see what we were eating!)

Local band serenading song requests. I requested for "Just the way you are" but the singer kept forgetting his lyrics! Sigh!


Day 3 - Ubud

We travelled 1+ hour to Ubud, the arty town of Bali. It was very interesting, there were lots of arts and crafts - paintings, wooden sculptures and carvings, batik (dyed cloth) etc. P and I decided to go for a spa treatment @ Bodyworks while we were there. The spa was carried out in airy rooms fully equipped with a bed, toilet and bath area. A massage, scrub, yoghurt rub-down and floral bath cost less than S$25! Cool huh!

Did I mention the surroundings were so rustic I could hear chickens clucking and birds chirping while the massage was going on?

Neat streets lined with unique and arty shops.

Near the Monkey sanctuary. Lots and lots of monkeys scrounging for food and posing for photographs!



Looking forward to my next trip to Bali...wonder when that will be?

3 year wait

...is finally over!

Jay Chou is coming to Singapore!! Hoot hoot, phew weet! I caught the dude's concert 3 years ago, must have been his 3rd (?) concert in Singapore and he rocked man. Such charisma, though I'd bet my last dollar that some would object vehemently to this statement!

Since that last concert, I've been waiting...and waiting....and waiting, year after year...after year...The scariest bit was when Sistic started selling the tickets to his 2008 concert last week, it was operation covert and I had zero inkling about it, until the tickets were sold out. How fortunate.

As you can jolly well imagine, I was devastated. 3 years in the waiting and my dream could possible be dashed, just because you punks out there have such quick fingers. But lo and behold, Jay decides to hold a 2nd night concert on his birthday! On that fateful morning when the tickets were launched, on the MRT to work, P and I exchanged vows to book the most expensive tickets as soon as we got to the office. And try we did, but to no avail. The Sistic website refused to load, hung, crawled and basically rejected our valiant efforts at securing the tickets. The Sistic hotline was too darn hot and acting like a real hot line for the first time. Again, I felt dejected and on the verge of crying tears of frustration.

Over the next few days, I tried but Sistic remained uncooperative and continued to prolong my agony. I witnessed (to my horror) the tickets dwindling from "Seats available" to "Limited seats available" to "Single seats available". Mind you, at this point, I was still praying for a miracle to happen and it finally did! On that lucky morning, I managed to secure not 1, not 2, but 3 tickets to Jay Chou's concert on the 18th January 2008. Not the best seats, but I'm not complaining yea?

Chin Yi is thankful that her dream is not about to be shattered yet.

Top 5 favourites in Greece

1. Gaping at the grandeur of the hanging monasteries of Meteora

Meteora means "rocks in air". The sandstone cliffs were formed beneath the sea millions of years ago, and left high and dry when the sea retreated. These rocky pinnacles became the religious retreat to monks and nuns, as well as hermits seeking solitude. Today, only 13 monasteries remain, out of which 6 are open to the public.

Wow....

Doesn't it make you wonder if the monks and nuns ever get out?

Intruders in quaint St. Stephens, home of the nuns

Fashion faux pas or trend setter?


2. Greek mythology and visits to the Sanctuary of Zeus and Apollo

Learning about the incestuous relationships the Greek gods had, retold by our favourite guide Emilios, certainly was entertaining. Sometimes, it became our bedtime story before we dozed off on the coach. Muahaha.

On a more serious note, I enjoyed visiting the archaelogical sites of Delphi (Temple of Apollo) and Olympia (Temple of Zeus). Though not much is left of these sites, the sheer size of the compound, towering columns, huge rocks and marble slabs that remain will give you an inkling of the magnificence of these sites during their heyday. Of the two, I preferred Delphi, mainly because the site was located on mountainous slopes instead of flat ground.

Temple of Apollo


Temple of Zeus

Is that the great-great-great-great-great....grandson of Zeus?


3. Greek Island - Mykonos

Private joke during our whole trip, as the name sounds like some man's family jewels. In fact, it is not pronounced my-ko-nos, but mee-ko-nos.

The igloo-shaped building is none other than our hotel - Hotel Pelican! Highly recommended for its cosy feel and yummy breakfast!

Famous windmils of Mykonos

Pretty blue and white themed houses

Exchanging marriage vows outside a church in the presence of the priestess


4. Artistry at its best on the streets of Athens

We are not talking about Da Vinci's Monalisa or Monet's Water Lilies here. We are referring to the controversial form of art - graffiti. You can find it anywhere in Athens. Pick a street or building in Athens and it is almost 99.99% defaced / decorated with graffiti.

Random street in Athens

Random building in Athens

The vandals would not even let an innocent van go unscathed!

Ain't graffiti, but pretty work nonetheless


5. Back to nature

Blue skies greeted us everywhere we went

Wonders of the mountainous Peloponnese region

Crashing waves (view from Little Venice, Mykonos)

No hair left unmessed - howling winds of Mykonos

Hiding from the strong and chilly wind of Mykonos

Remnants of a beautiful sunset on the island of Santorini

Gorgeous sunrise (also on the island of Santorini)

Fancy a Greek man?

It's been ages since I posted my last blog entry! I know I've been lazy, but come to think of it, there hasn't been anything exciting for me to blog about before this! Anyway, 2 significant events took place during this time lapse.

First, my 2-week vacation to Greece. Yea Greece, the mere mention conjures images of Greek god-like hunks and gorgeous beaches in my mind. Did I see any Greek hunks on this trip? Hardly! Greek guys are, sadly, not as hunky (complete with 6-packs) as we imagine. They're scruffy-looking and not-too-tall like the Italians, infused with exotic Mediterranean wavy hair and skin tone. And the most striking feature of a Greek man is his big, razor-blade-sharp nose.

This, is the Greek god Zeus/Apollo.



A photo of our tour guide Emilios, would have provided the best comparison between a Greek god vs Greek man. Unfortunately, I do not have his photo. A photo of a random Greek restaurant owner/waiter will have to do.....


He looks rather grim, don't you think?

The 2nd significant event would be my 2-year pak-toh anniversary with my darling boy! Yes, our relationship turned 2 when I was in Greece so we did not have the chance to celebrate. The sweet boy came to pick me up at the airport and surprised me with a lovely bouquet of roses! :)


Jetlagged but happy to receive flowers!


More on Greece later!

The Insolent Maid

This morning, I woke up earlier than usual. Hoping to get into work early, I turned off my internal snooze button and stumbled my way groggily to the toilet. Unfortunately, the maid was inside, washing her clothes. I waited for 5 minutes, and decided to knock.

Sleepy CY: Liz, can you let me use the toilet first, I need to get to work earlier today.

10 seconds later, the maid emerged, carrying her pail of wet laundry.

Irritated maid (in her Indonesian-accented English): Next time you want to use the toilet, tell me earlier!

CY (slightly miffed): What do you mean? Didn't I just knock on the door to tell you?

Angry and insistent maid (complete with flaring nostrils): Next time tell me earlier!!!

Agitated CY: I've already told you. What's your problem anyway? Stop giving me that attitude! (slams door)

This incident was reminiscent of the Forever 21 fitting-room incident that happened last year. Yea, remember the rude salesgirl who retorted "whatever" in my face? Do you also remember the fate that befell that unsuspecting salesgirl? Well, of course, yours truly reported her to the supervisor. Bad service is something that I could never quite stand.

Given my track record, no points for guessing what I did after this unpleasant incident. Yes smarty pants, I reported her to her boss, i.e. my landlady. My landlady replied me with this SMS message:-

"We also know she has an attitude problem. Bear with it for a few more days as we are going to send her back this weekend......"

Oh boy...no wonder the maid was in a foul mood!!!!

Jostling Singaporeans

P and I were at the Corrinne May Showcase earlier. Thanks to Mr Choo, we were the cool dudes who didn't have to queue! We non-chalantly walked straight into Barfly whilst the people queueing threw invisible daggers at us! It felt divine :o)

Inside, the place was packed and there was no way we could ever get ourselves close enough to the stage. We trailed behind people making their way in, but didn't get very far. Moreover, the further we moved in, the stuffier it got. In the end, we decided to stay where we were, get some drinks and just chill out. But even that was an impossible feat, as people kept jostling past us. What really irked me were:-

1. People who jostle their way inwards, and 15 minutes later, they jostle their way outwards again. You'd think jostling was their favourite past time. And hey, don't think I can't remember your face!
   
2. People who squeeze their way in, despite the apparent lack of space. Worse, people who push to get their fat bodies past you. "Hey buster, no space means no space OK, don't keep pushing!"
   
3. People who jostle and decide the best spot is that small space directly in front of you. Or people who stand right in front of you whilst they decide whether they are in or out. These people know nothing about gratitude.
   
4. Sweaty bodies (enough said).

What is wrong with all these people anyway? Granted, the place was freaking crowded and if you really had to go to the toilet (which is right at the back), that's fine. Or if you were late and all your banner-carrying friends have lined themselves along the stage, I'll be happy to let you pass too. But please please please don't move around more than you have to, alright?

It was hilarious!

We finally caught Simpsons - The Movie. And boy were the yellow folks funny or what?

We were particularly tickled by the comical antics of Bart and wisecracks from Homer. If you have seen the trailer, you should remember a pink pig (Homer looked like he was raping the pig in the trailer). Yes, it was this pig, together with Homer (no doubt), which caused the peaceful town of Springfield (home to our yellow friends) to turn topsy-turvy. And it was, predictably, also dear Homer who saved the day eventually!

Don't expect too much in the storyline, but I can guarantee a guffaw or two at some of the witty/silly liners in the movie. Even P, who hasn't watched a single episode of 'The Simpsons' on TV, was snorting away throughout the show.

We're eagerly anticipating the sequel of the movie! :)