Friends Forever

Spent a fanta-bulous evening on Thursday. Farah was back in S'pore & I haven't seen her for more than a year as she's based in Dubai. Supposed to meet her & Charlene only. Then she sms-ed me in the wee hours that Sadiq was coming & asked me to get Liah to join too (I was so busy that I didn't think about calling the rest of the usual us). When I was at work, Nickole was saying casually that she gonna have dinner with Charlene & Farah. It was funny coz both of us never talk about it before that! Then, Shawn called me..wondering what time Nickole & I could finish our shift...coz he's with Farah! Nickole added that Sue, Gen & Clarabelle gonna meet us too. Like wow lorr!

Farah, Sadiq & I had Muthu's Curry for dinner while the rest of the girls had Fish & Co. All of us met again at Starbucks & guess what...Michelle, Daniel & Jamadi came too. What a lovely gathering. At Starbucks some more! Why, you may ask. Well...each of us will agree that at some point of our life in Conrad, we were THAT addicted to Starbucks Coffee. So, from just a small meet-up, it became a major one that consist all the fellow front office peeps! If all of us were to work in 1 shift, say on Christmas Eve, no matter how busy it is...still shiok larr! Sighs..and that reminds me of the good old days...

P/s: How can we forget to call Suelyn??! It was really last minute...sorry Ah-Fun! And what about Helmi & Frankie? Geez...

It was Faizal's last day at work yesterday. Just before he bid goodbye, I hugged him & gave him my well wishes. My emo-ness came along & I cried! I thanked him for all his guidance (the bitching, scolding & mood swings helps!) & for the fact that he was there for me when I was down & out early this year. He had tears in his eyes too! Gosh...lucky only got Yijun, Faizal & myself at that moment. The trainees saw me wiping my tears & they kept quiet suddenly. :)


I took my own sweet time after my shift & had a chat with Craig & Chandran. As much as I'm happy for them who left for the greener pastures, I can't help feeling sad coz those days when we all had so much fun at work..are just memories now. I was telling Craig, it's not easy to find colleagues who can be your good friends & them..leaving one by one this year, is indeed a great test for me. First was Sadiq, then Suelyn, Sue, Liah & Faizal. I can't help tearing again & Craig almost cried too! Haha..I have that effect on people when I cry, huh? :) I can be so detached & perverse...but I keep friends & relationships close to my heart. Touching, you!

For all those times you scolded me (Norain! Re-update your reg card!)

For all the lies that you made me say (no NS, KB)

For all the joy you brought to my life (Your singing & Melayu drama sensation)

For all the logs that you have write (Remember #2201?)

For everything that you have taught (Misc duties, EF & AM training)

For all the guidance I found in you

I'll be forever thankful...:)

Manic Monday

When I was in the cab on my way back home, I looked out & realised that it was a full moon. It's nice to see God's creation like the moon & shining stars...especially after a long day. Such simplicity. I can't help but smile to myself. :)

Glad that I managed to buy the mooncakes at the Gift Shop. I'm THAT Chinese at heart, you know. I like mooncakes & I get them every year. Well, my family don't really eat them coz they find it...weird? Especially the one with egg yolks. I enjoy them anyway.

It's my 3rd round of 10-day work-non-stop stint. Been on afternoon shift for a month. The good thing is that I haven't got the time to do anything else, let alone shop. So money is saved except for the usual Starbucks indulgence. The side effects outshine it all though. More lethargic. No personal time & for friends. Stressed. And my dearest Eunuch has to propose something dumb to the rest of the Kingdom. I wonder what Empress Dowager will do about it. My fellow princes & princesses are thinking of declaring war with the Eunuch. Like what Princess Tanglin said, Eunuch's stupid cells are acting up! Good gracious!

P/s: An aquantaince told me that I seem very "cold" & that it's tough to know me better. Oh well, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, I'm just...Norain. :)

Rumours

This piece of "news" is hot! Fresh from the oven! I was chatting with Edward awhile ago & apparently, there're rumours that I've something going on with one of the porters! And I thought I have a clean record in Conrad. Haha! Oh well....there's absolutely no truth at all larr. Aiyoh! Might as well say I date the guests. I wouldn't mind Mr Idris Abdullah. *winks*

That Time of the Month

Seems like disappointment (see my previous post on the "d" word) lingers in the air. At least, I know I'm not the only one feeling it. Sighs... I was chatting on my mobile with Liah AND on MSN with Nasir...it's cute that I'm trying to console them as much as I'm trying to comfort myself too.

Liah: We always end up at the same "bus-stop" eh? Must shower in flower water on 31st Dec so that we'll have good karma next year larr! Be strong, tau! I understand it's not easy. I'm always here for you to cry to. I just can't really lend you my shoulder though. :)

Nasir: To think you were making fun of my predicament?! But..for you to not being able to get over the person means something lorr! There'll always be someone new, anyway. Knowing you. Haha!

And so...life goes on, right?

A Call For "Help"

I know I went to Phuket just last month. BUT...I wanna go on a short trip again. It's so addictive! How?! I don't care if it's just across the causeway or over the sea for that matter.

A LOUD shout out to my fellow jetsetters or those who likes to travel but haven't been anywhere (I'm sure they know who they are):

1) KL (makan, shop, party?)

2) Bali (sightseeing, adventure & relax... I don't mind going again!)

3) Cambodia/Vietnam (I so wanna check out the landscapes & culture!)

4) The pulaus : Redang, Perhentian or Pangkor (Beaches are always great)

Anywhere further than these places have to wait till next year. :) I shall plot my remaining leave nicely (Nick: Don't worry...you go for your Bali trip first, hokays? It worries me that your leave still got alot!). I shall have a serious discussion with my counter-parts about the so much needed getaway...AGAIN!

Eventful Week

I spent my 3 off days in glory! Besides coming home at almost 3 am for the past 10 days that I worked afternoon shifts (either I worked till late or went suppering), I got home in the wee hours on my off days too. I only remember coming home to sleep. Haha!

1st Day Off:

Had dinner with Liah, Sadiq, Sun & Nickole. Supposed to watch movie BUT there was a miscommunication between Liah & Sun about the booking of tickets. Alas, we didn't watch any.

2nd Day Off:

It's at MOS! Liah & Riza overslept (Can you believe it?!) & so there were only myself, Nickole & Suelyn. The music was great & the crowd was oooh-kay. Too bad those 2 meenahs didn't join us. Especially Liah....she owe us a treat!! Hmmph! Suelyn wore a low-cut top & she got approached by an ang-moh. Who says she doesn't have what it takes?! *winks*

3rd Day Off:

Arranged to meet Hamsa for coffee. He also...OVERSLEPT. (3 people slept on me this week!) All the more he needs to get me the Gucci bag! I didn't wait for him long enough coz I just had the feeling he'd sleep all the way. "Have faith in me", he said. Right.

Had my Starbucks dose (I've no freaking idea how much was my coffee intake for the past 2 weeks already) with Sadiq & Daniel at United Square. Torn between watching a movie or heading to JB. Decided on watching "Rogue Assassin" instead. And..while waiting for the showtime at 12.25 am, the 3 of us had another round of...Starbucks. I should really consider setting up a trust fund or propose a loyalty programme with them, you know. See how much money they've been making out of me?

Then, the day that I came back to work (which is Saturday), I had lunch with Fizah & Maria at The Manhattan Fish Market. Shiok! The concept is like Fish & Co. Prices about the same too. I was so full that I could skip dinner.

I shared this seafood platter with Maria. Still cannot finish, worr!

I like my famous girlfriends. :)

After my shift ended, I watched "No Reservations" (yes...it's like a movie week larr) with Sadiq at The Cathay. Nice show! Something quite light hearted. If only life could be just as sweet. :)

Thoughts

I got this from Wikipedia:

"Disappointment is the emotion felt when an expectation of something positive desired is not met. Disappointment can also occur when a desired outcome is not met, even if it was not fully expected. In economics, researchers have hypothesized that individuals take into account the possibility of experiencing feelings of disappointment and/or regret when making decisions. Researchers typically assume that disappointment is proportional to the difference in utility between the expected and actual outcomes. It has also been found that increased effort to ensure a postive outcome results in increased disappointment if that outcome is not achieved."

And that explains...the higher your hopes are, the bigger your disappointment will be. I guess...I did have hopes after all.

The Long Awaited Off Days

It's almost 6am & I just finished watching "A Walk To Remember" with Hewlett. It's my 3rd time seeing the movie but I still enjoy it so much that I could tear at the end of the show! I like sappy & touching movies larr. If any one of you haven't catch that show, please do! Typical love story but the scripts are meaningful. :)

Today marks the beginning of my 3 days off! My 10-day of "suffering" finally ended, just temporarily though. I gonna make full use of these 3 days to catch up on my sleep, run errands (thinking of getting a new pair of contact lenses), meet up with the famous girlfriends (Suliana, Fizah, Maria), coffee session with Hamsa & a night out with my usual kaki-arks! Oh, & Daniel asked if Friday I'm on for supper at JB. Great! Spending time with friends are always great.

Will update with the pics (if taken). :)

Supper @ Geylang

Ok.. this may be nothing to others, but I just came back from Geylang for supper! GEYLANG ley! First time for me worr! Oh, for me to be able to go supper also means that I finished work slightly earlier than the past few days. Thank God I had Momo for my afternoon team & Daniel was doing mid shift. It helps to have these seniors around, you know.

Daniel waited for me, Momo & Jamadi to finish our shift & we drove to Geylang to eat...beancurd! Well, there's nothing much that I can eat in Geylang anyway. (I even thought of durians!) I took Daniel's Cherovlet & Momo hopped into Jamadi's Subaru. Jamadi drove sooooo fast that it's hard for Daniel to catch up. Haha!

The funny thing is that I've never been to THAT Geylang area at night. I'm the kinda person who likes to see what's around me, especially if I've never been to that particular place before. We drove past the tiny lorongs, & I was amazed by the red light districts. So suaku! You mean those girls really stood around, waiting for customers? Some even brought beach chairs kind & sat along the pavement, fanning themselves! I've seen such acts on tv but to see them live with my own eyes, it's like WHOA. Jamadi & Daniel were surprised that I've never been to Geylang lorongs before. They seemed to be VERY familiar though. :) Damn...I should have brought my camera.

We ate at one of the coffeeshop along the main road & had beancurd & you tiao. Daniel ordered xiao long bao for himself too. Momo was wondering why it was still crowded at 3am. I told her Singaporeans eat at anytime of the day one. The 4 of us were discussing about the "ladies of the night"...& I must say I'm impressed with Jamadi's answers. This guy is smart & quite an observant! There're certain things that I wasn't aware in the past or didn't bother to ponder about. Hehe...thanks to Jamadi's explaination, Momo & I know men a tad better now. *laughs out loud*

Jamadi gave me the lift back home coz it's more convenient (he stays in Woodlands). Sitting beside him in his Subaru is like sitting beside Michael Schumacher seh. I love the adrenalin rush in fast cars though. Like stress relief! NOW I feel like driving. :) We chatted quite a bit & I understand his predicament. Cheer up, friend! Insyallah, things will work out just fine. Life goes on, hokays!