Ms Muffin and TV

Ms Muffin is a known TV-addict... the electrical gadget that CANNOT be missing from her house is the TV... :P

Once upon a time, before the k-drama era, she's a j-drama fan... and she has a small collection of the j-drama (now stored away after k-dramas came along)... heee~~

She first began watching k-drama on tv... can't rem if it was 爱上女主播 or 秋天的童话... :P hahaha... sooo long liao hor... then she got hooked on k-drama and started a collection too... lost count on how much she spent on the vcds... :P and the tissue papers used to wipe her unstoppable tears...

Then she turned smarter... found a shop that rents dramas rather cheap cheap... imagine her happiness!! No storage problems and can save quite a fair bit... woo hoo~~

And also there's a few websites that she found... can watch online without those irritating streaming lags... some also can download with a small fee... shiok ah!! She can spend the whole Sat afternoon glued on to her laptop... either laughing her head off or pulling kleenex to blow her nose...

The point is.. No TV, no Ms Muffin... No drama, no Ms Muffin...

Been a long time...

Just realised it's been real long since i last blog-ged... muahaha!! Been freaking busy since my transfer... many things to take over... those horrible stats that drives me nuts... and the "event of the year" - budgeting. And seems like the worst is yet to be over... re-org seems like forever on-going... nothing seems to be finalise... maybe another one is on the way... yes... AGAIN!!

The year's coming to an end. Recalling the past year events... transferring to a new dept... change a new boss... finished my intermediate korean... micole entering her first trials... meeting up with ex-schoolmates... bought my desired ipod touch... gotta new mac book after re-contracting my broadband... nothing very exciting to others I guess... nothing major either...

Counting down to 2010, not my cup of tea to set new year resolutions... just hope to stay healthy and possibly to plan a holiday next year... better still if a well paid job drops at my feet... muahaha!! and oh yes, I dun mind striking toto or 4d too!! God bless~~ :)

BBQ!!

Had a bbq session last evening... minus the initial hiccup (cant publicise :p), the session was fun and "filling"... haha... or rather bloated i shd say...

Brought Micole there, but didnt have much time to entertain her... so she basically laid and slept in her carrier... hee...

We bought the marinated drums and beef and prawns and sausages at Giant on Friday nite. My.. it was very crowded at Giant that day...prolly cuz Sat was a holiday and many ppl are preparing for an outing. Oh yes and some sliced pork collar... like those u see in korean restaurants or dramas.... they are really good... slurp~~~

May plan for another bbq in December... celebrate x'mas maybe? Hmmm... Bb couldnt get any chalet, so we'll juz hv to make do with a bbq session...

Adopting the "f-care" attitude!!

Really pissed with work recently.... forever changing with no directions!! Changes are supposed to be for the better isn't it? But sadly i hv no such feelings.... people are forever fire-fighting and ppl like me are forever "filling up missing holes in the org chart".... apparently i was told that i'm very "desk-bound" thou i dun understand what's wrong with that since most of my work ARE desk-bound.... nevertheless as the saying goes "官字两个口", so i cant be bothered explaining any further. Just my change alone has "many versions"... some say not confirmed, some say better to stay... as i told my boss "当事人永远最后一个知道". And i really mean it. She knows i'm not happy and i really am, but she's in not in the situation to make further comments. I dun blame her actually... juz this suck-up work environment. Like i said, since I'm not given much choices, I will definitely try out... lest to give ppl opportunity to say that i'm resilent to changes. But things happened these few weeks made me worked harder to surf the net for greener pastures. Honestly I'm not those who switches jobs easily but I "see no light" in front of me... Someone commented that my "draw-line-clearly" attitude is not right but let me tell you this, in this place, it's everyone for himself.... I considered myself with very high EQ liao... at least i dun burst into tears... muahaha... oops no names mentioned...

Officially mid-30s...

110909 marks the day i offically turned mid-30s... haha... well yes i'm 35 oredi. Dun bother telling me i'm old cuz i really dun f-care. i dare say my heart feels younger than many in their 20s... ;P

As usual no "major" celebrations for me on birthdays. Had korean food at Su Restaurant for lunch... ate my fav samgyetang and spicy rice cake. Then went to see the minis outside ION and had ice-cream at taka... eating non-stop... muahahaha :P

Later in the evening, met Hippo and family for dinner at Popeyes... but then i was still too stuffed from lunch... so only had a chix wing and some mashed potato and the famous chix biscuit. then we moved on the Coffee Bean, when Hippo and wife tried to "embarass" me (per their context) by getting a warm choc cake with a candle and started singing Happy Birthday... my my... pai sei... hahaha!!

Then the next evening, Angel and Apple, together wif their other halves, we had steamboat near Liang Seah St... in one of the popular ma-la steamboat shop. Again very stuffed after the 1+ hour of gorging... thanx for the dinner ladies!! and the shopping voucher too!! :)

Also met up with Peishan and the 2 Huilings.... been "flying kite" the last few sessions... so if i still missed this time round, prolly they'll slaughter me... we had dinner at the new Orchard Central... a korean restaurant... haha yes, korean food again. Nolboo Hangari Galbi is a place i found from hungrygowhere... and it sure didnt disappoint me (at least :P)... would hv thot the prices are steep, but apparently the 4 of us spent ard $70+... after feasting on the grilled marinated prok ribs, spicy rice cake with seafood, kimchi pancake and many side dishes. I was pretty stuffed that evening. The ambience was nice and best of all, we didnt have to do the bbq ourselves... we focused on indulging ourselves with the tasty food. Slurp~~ will find time to visit the place again with bb... :)

Passed Out!!

Habent blog for some time oredi... been busy with work and weekend class and my 2 noti girls... quite mentally and physically drained... but it seems like the earliest i can clear my block leave in either in Nov or Dec... ming-ku ah~~~

Anyway.. we passed out from our Intermediate class last Sat (22 Aug) *a big pat on my back* Been an interesting 2.5 mths... getting used to a new lady teacher and her accent... :P but she's nice and gave us many other course materials apart from the textbook included...

Think unlikely for us to make it for the Sep's Advance class... so will likely to join in Dec instead... hopefully Angeline is still willing to join in with me... :P

Intermediate Korean

After months we passed out from the Basic class, Angeline and me embarked on our Intermediate journey~~

We started our 1st lesson... staring blank and question marks starting popping out above our heads... hahaha!! no joke at all. The lady teacher speaks quite fast, and her English "requires more attentiveness" to understand... :P and it seems like most of our other classmates were previously from her basic class, so they can catch her faster...

She encourages us not to do any pronounication markings anymore, so that we can be less dependent on them and can learn to read faster... after 3 lessons, I seemed to have slowly appreciate her reason for doing so... :) and slowly we can catch her English a little better... :P

Moving on to lesson 4 this Sat, hope all will be fine... with lesser "huhs"... :P

I'm funny meh??

Recently I always hear comments either saying I'm very funny or I'm cute... hmmm~~~ well, I admit I'm CUTE (ugly but adorable)... :p Never did I tell people I'm pretty... usually, or rather most of the time, I tell them I'm CUTE... :)

Funnily enough, these comments seem to flow in quite often these days. Have I really turned more comical than before? I ponder~~~ One incident is when I was replenishing my Laneige products, the lady serving me suddenly broke into a smile. I looked at her and she said I'm funny with my words... prob is I dun rem saying anything funny at all... hmm~~~

Oh well, if me being comical/ funny can bring some smiles, even laughter, to people ard me, why not? It's free anyway... I didn't have to spend anything to make them smile... take it that I'm doing a good deed... "serving the society"... muahahahaa!!!

So... if I manage to make you smile one day... tell me... I'm be very glad... :D

What's new at work??

Been quite busy last few weeks. Besides the usual process flows to complete, I was "roped in" to help in some UAT. Haizz... Actually it was ok to learn more things.. then again with a short period of time... many things were "set to roll out"... so it's really a very "exciting period".

Then came the worst piece of news.. this Adam decided to ORD.. leaving us to sink into "deeper despair"... haizz~~ He's been "joking" about it for some time and bingo!! He finally striked yesterday (I heard)... sob sob... abandon us~~

More changes coming in the next few months... that's definite. Dunno what else is going to take place... or who else is leaving... haizz... future very grey ah~~~

Ms Muffin is sick again~~

I think I do fit the bill of "中看不中用"... keep falling sick recently... think this is the worst so far for 2009... :( fever for 2 days, then flu and cough... wah lau... y am i so suay??? Esp now with the recent swine flu thingy, ppl give u the sideward stare if u cough or sneeze in the mrt... well not exactly that i wanted to, but i couldn't help it...

Falling sick is really no fun... I'm quite sure i slapped Micole for barking and pushed Schnappi away for licking my legs non-stop and yelling at them for playing madly with each other... Sorry girls, mama in bad mood...

Well seen the doc again for more medication. hopefully will recover soon... it really sucks to fall sick~~

The Painter of the Wind (바람의 화원)

Synopsis of this drama:

In 1766, Kang Su-hang, a painter and senior member of Dohwaseo, the Academy of Painting, was found killed after being secretly commissioned by the son of the crown prince who would later become King Jungjo (1752-1800, the 22nd King of the Joseon Dynasty). The commission was to paint a portrait of the crown prince. Seo Jing, another member of Dohwaseo, was found dead while investigating the death of Kang Su-hang. In addition, Seo Jing’s wife was murdered and his daughter went missing. Ten years later, Kim Hong-do, a senior member of Dohwaseo, discovers Shin Yun-bok, a new student. Hong-do discovers great talent in Yun-bok and tries to protect the student from conspiracies that surround him. King Jungjo also discovers Yun-bok’s enormous talent. Kim Hong-do and Shin Yun-bok serve as the eyes of the king, depicting the true reality of the common people. However, powerful palace officials conspire to get rid of the two painters, and soon afterwards, they are kicked out of Dohwaseo. Then, the king secretly orders the pair to find the portrait of his father painted by Kang Su-hang ten years prior. Kim Hong-do and Shin Yun-bok are successful in recovering the portrait, overcoming hurdles and dangerous traps set up by enemies. The recovery of the painting also helps reveal the secret behind the death of Seo Jing, who is actually Shin Yun-bok’s father. In the process, Kim Hong-do realizes that he is truly in love with Shin Yun-bok. However, he tries to leave him because he knows that the affair would be an impossible one. But to everyone's surprise, the truth is revealed. Shin Yun-bok is actually a woman. She had disguised herself as a man to enter Dohwaseo, an institution limited only to males, in order to uncover the truth about her father’s death.

Ms Muffin enjoyed this drama as much as the previous two she had seen earlier these few weeks... Been some time since her last "ancient" k-drama le :) she wonders why women is treated so unfairly in olden days... why women were casted with so many restrictions... haizz~~~ she is thankful that she's not born then... :P and she wonders what's her past lives like... heee~~~ Anyway, Ms Muffin gives 4 muffins to this drama... a pity the end was a little "open"~~~ Ms Muffin still enjoys happy endings... :)

Hooked on Beethoven Virus!!

Woo hoo~~ finished the drama last weekend... shiok man!!! Totally in love with it!! Very impressed with the orchestra maestro, Kang Gun Woo, played by Kim Myung Min (김명민)... i would say he portraited the character really well...

Short synopsis i've gotten off the web :) ...

“Beethoven Virus” is about a misfit orchestra of random people brought together by their love for classical music. Kim Myung Min plays Kang Gun Woo, an orchestra conductor in his 40’s. His character is an elite conductor with a very bad reputation, and who will do absolutely anything in order to create the very best music. An arrogant man with no patience for anyone less than perfect, he is unable to form good relationships with those around him. Also, he is an elite conductor who insists that classical music is made for nobility only. He meets Du Ru Mi, a violinist, and a trumpet player who has the same name as him, and together they form a love triangle.

This maestro Kang really has a... what people may think as "foul mouth" or "unapproachable personality"... but though he's EXTREMELY blunt, he has a very "sentimental" side of him that first appeared when his poor dog swallowed sleeping pills. His violinist Du Ru Mi was the first to notice this... and like she told the rest of the orchestra members... although Maestro Kang is vocal and harsh with his words but he doesn't backstab his players. He seeks perfection in his music and demands the same from his players. Under his tough side, he is actually a lonely man with only a companion, his dog Thoven. Together he and his orchestra members overcome many obstacles, and he finally opened his heart to care for his players and love Ru Mi. But when he realised the change in his music, he couldn't overcome it and hence decided to part with Ru Mi.... oh sooo sad... :( but this doesn't seem mark the end of their relationship... at the final episode, it just seems that the relationship is put "on hold" till he can overcome the "barrier"... wah sei... sounds very zen hor~~

Guess the reason I like this character is because I'm a rather blunt person myself.. wahahaha!!! But hor... i also dun backstab people de... so dun worry... in case u've been hurt by my bluntness... let me apologise to you here... dun take it to heart ya... i'm just being me... :P

Btw, the soundtrack is fantastic too~~ personal view lar... makes me wanna pick up music some day... :) then i remember!!! I was part of the Instrumental group when i was in Primary School!!! Damn it... sooo long ago!! Wahaha... old liao~~~

Overall, Ms Muffin (that's me) will give this drama 5 muffins... wahahaha... just like those ppl give popcorns to rate movies... me give muffins... :)

Beethoven Virus (Korean: 베토벤 바이러스)

Halfway thru watching "Beethoven Virus'' now... the drama depicts the lives of classical musicians and orchestra... and ordinary people who have dreamed of becoming musicians since they were young, but didn't have the chance for various reasons... It's a "heartwarming story about people who strive to make their musical dreams come true'', as mentioned by one of the actors in an interview. People from different walks of life doing their best to realise their dream of playing in an orchestra... somewhat motivating...

Of course there's always a romance part... the love triangle between a woman and two men (coincidentally with the same name)... and and and... the pair in love didn't stay together... Sob sob... not "physically" together at least... but they do understand their love for each other... how i knew? I peeped into the last episode... haha!! can't wait to know~~~

The soundtrack is very nice too~~ i would recommend it!! Go watch the drama... think it's worth the time... :)

Haircut.. finally~~

Almost a year from my last visit to the salon, finally make it for a haircut today... Tony cut couple of inches off my long hair... layered it to make it lighter... after everything is done... really felt a lighter load of my shoulder... hee... how i wish life would be as easy... just a snipe and all troubles will be gone...

Congrats to the new Daddy and Mummy!!

Thot it's a good piece of news... definitely worth a post on my blog :)

Our classmates in CD Trainers... Neville and Claudia have been promoted to Daddy and Mummy... Their daughter Chloe arrived this afternoon weighing 2.9kg!! Hope the mummy and daughter are doing fine...

Once again, congrats!! Take care and we'll see ya soon~~~

Love and Law (대한민국 변호사)

Latest K-drama I watched... Nice~~~ Many little scenes touched me... It reminded me that there's always a right someone for everyone... Someone who will love you not only for your "goods", but also for your "bads"... Someone who can see the real you... Someone who can heard your unspoken words... Someone who is willing to share your pain and sorrows... Someone who can fill your heart with love and warmth... Someone who's willing to brave the fire with you...

So Everyone out there... have you found your "Someone"??

My Bejeweled score...

Hee... I rarely can score so high for games... so when Lady Luck decides to shine occasionally on me... I must quickly record down this moment...

幸福。。 是和所爱的人分开时。。 没有遗憾。。

我喜欢这句话。。。 推荐我正在聆听的一个电视原声带 《心星的泪光》。。。

Oops...

Dear me... Doc says my BP is a little high... Oooooppps!!!

Think it's time to return to my exercise regime again... been too lax these few months... and to cut down on the fast food, eat more portions of veg and fruits, and to relax and "see open"... haha!!

Anyway it's pretty important to stay healthy... thou i've never wished to live a long life... i dun want to end it in sickness either... so... i've to start abstaining from the junk food i love and the sofa i couch on daily... Boohoo... :(

We'll see how it goes... hopefully the red light alert my body raised... will start to go amber... and back to green again... :P

My current feel~~~

笨人还是有希望的。。。 只是要付出更多时间和努力！！！

After struggling to compute some damn data for the past few days, I finally am able to make some sense in my computation... sob sob... so 感动... hopefully the info is useful... :)

Proclaimer

Me wish to make an announcement... I'm really not suitable for housework... wahahahaa!! How cool can this be... :P

Me got weak arm joints leh... they are throw tantrums after i do "tedious" housework like mopping the floor or massive spring cleaning... :P Like yesterday hor... I was helping BB clean and fix the jumps... then hor later in the evening the left arm was very painful... sob sob :(

In exchange for not having to do housework, i admit i'm an old woman with rheumatism... wahahahaa!!! really desperate... :P

Also that Micole is really getting heavy, my arms ache after carrying her (to clean her eyes and ears...)... muahahahaa!!! Must really go find out how heavy is she now... :)

Marley and Me~~

I'm nearing the end of the book... soooo sad~~~ had to stop reading for few seconds in the mrt to prevent myself from crying...

Marley is gone... and it struck me how sad it is to lose "someone" so dear to you like a family... it particularly touched me when the author wrote, "I was embarassed by how deep my grief went for this dog, deeper for some humans I had known..."

Everytime I see these sort of things... I really dun even dare to venture my thots to my dogs... same like after I watched "10 promises to my dog", I start to think I muz really treat them better... but the thot lasted till either of them made me mad... hahaha :) but of cos, I love them still... very much... thou the big one always bites and scratches me, and the small one snips on my eyelid... yayaya... trust me... i really have high tolerance level... :p

Congratulations~~

Ms Muffin has decided that the happiness of Ah Boy and Ah Girl (no names mentioned to protect the innocents.. :P) is worth a post in her little blog... haha!!

At long last, the status has officially changed for a young budding relationship... Congrats to them both and may they stay sweet and loving forever~~ The road is long and hopefully they can hold hand in hand to overcome any possible obstacles that may come their way~~

To the guy: Treat her well hor~~ help her overcome her blur-ness... unless of course u like this "special streak" of hers sooo much... then there's no need to change lar~~ :P

To the girl: Be confident... U are good in your own ways...

To Both of them: Dun pai-sei... U are just another normal dating couple... no need to cover here cover there... :P

CNY gathering at Chris's house...

Gathered at Chris's house last Sat for a CNY gathering... had lotsa food and drinks and card games...

Arrived ard 6pm and was fed with lotsa dumplings (courtesy of Aunt E). Me not exactly a dumpling fan, but the dumplings were really nice... gorged at least 8 down.. :P then came the lo-hei... and a 9-course buffet, cooked by the maid... and really leh... the standard very good... missed curry chicken and then bingo... one of the course is curry chicken... yum yum~~

After dinner, there were some chit chat session and card games... think i lost ard 30 bucks... not a good gambler i would say :P more food (cakes and dessert) after that... my, i'm REALLY stuffed that nite...

Glad that the group of us can click so well... we've had several gatherings now and hopefully more to come... :) it's really fun to have these get togethers~~

OX Year... moooo~~~

OX year... a year to plough hard... really hard, esp with the current economic outlook... i guess many are feeling the pressure now...

Heard some ex-colleagues got retrenched.. :( read the news that many companies are retrenching or shutting down... haizz....

I can feel my hair dropping at a faster rate... stressed ah... Anyway nothing much to do except to look forward... hopefully everything will blow over soon... meantime we can only do what we can and be positive... 加油!! 加油!! 加油!!

My 1-week break...

Soooo fast... the time juz flew by... and there goes my one-week break :( when's the next one coming?? :P

Let me recall what i actually did the whole week... Miller's stayover, washed the curtains, did facial, did manicure & pedicure, went training and had 2 BBQ sessions!! hmmm~~ would these be considered a fruitful week?? :P

BBQ with fellow dog trainers and classmates was fun... 2nd time we did this... but most of the food arrived after 8pm... so Bb, me, Chris and Connie "survived" on the satays and otahs first... :) nevertheless it was fun eating and eating... oops... my ever-expanding waistline... :( looking forward for another time round!!

Following nite had BBQ with Hippo and family... went shopping for meat and stuff at Giant in the afternoon... we find the marinated meat quite nicely done and it's very convenient... and the Japanese sweet potatoes were real cheap!!! we bought around 40 pcs for the 2 nites and they were wiped clean!! Yummy~~~

Have to start the exercise regime soon... after the endless gorging of sausages and sweet potatoes!! :P

2nd BBQ for CD Trainer's...

The last BBQ we had couple of months ago was quite fun... a rare time to get-together besides training time... and we are having another session tomorrow!! yippee~~~ food and drinks and fun and chit chat... a fun session prior to more "gruelling" trainings to come in the next few weeks before the trials...

Hope we all have fun tomorrow ya... a pity Bernard and Neville and wives can't make it... it's ok... i'm sure there are more chances to come... ;)

It's 2009!!

Another year's gone by... and today is the beginning of another year... What do people normally do during a new year? hmmm~~ new year resolutions? hahaha... so cliche... honestly i hardly believe in setting any new year resolutions... to me it's like crap... no offense :P... but seriously how many people follow the resolutions they set... hahha... anyway to those who wants to set any resolutions.. make sure it's something attainable... resolutions are different from wish lists... personal thots lar..:P

Well no resolutions for me.. but a few wish lists lar.. i want to go a new camera this year... and thinking of a short weekend getaway in May for Bb's birthday... and maybe a holiday trip within the year... so!!! i need to save save save!!! :)

Other than these... hopefully all will be well at work... times are gloomy ahead... hopefully the economy will pick up soon... all in family be fit and healthy... and the 2 noti girls be obedient and eat well...

Hope it will be a smooth sailing and fruitful year ahead!!! All the best!!!