It's that time of the year again...



Every Chinese male colleague and student are sprouting neatly trimmed hair. There's a certain vibe going about with people humming familiar 'gong xi gong xi' tunes and there are red packets hanging from ceilings and plants everywhere!

No matter how crass and commercialised this celebration can be, and even during the frenzied cleaning and guest entertaining, it really is a fun fun celebration. I got my lanterns and token decorations up yesterday at home and I'm all geared up for a week's break, and a whole lot of eating and merry-making :)

In anticipation....

Warning: Grumpy Dan is about

Grr... am grumpy grumpy grumpy. Having another bout of allergic reactions, so am spotted, itchy, and very edgy. You can't imagine how annoying an allergic reaction can be until you one. Worse still, mine are those long sustained ones that takes weeks to rid. Gah... terrible...

Been quite nasty at work as well, biting colleagues who irritate. No regrets though, some of them deserved to be bitten, muahahahaha! :)

Chinese New Year is coming but it's somewhat lacking in spirit this year. Looking forward to the break nevertheless, and oh, LONG weekend coming up! WOOHOO!

Freeze Frame

I'm the kind of person who carries torchlights, basic first-aid and a fully charged handphone whenever possible, just in case. My car is loaded with a first-aid kit, water, and 3 torchlights on top of contact numbers for car repairs, emergency services, and a whole bunch of other stuff. So at home, considering I don't have the budget for a full-fledged alarm system, I've installed rudimentary ones at all entryways. The kind that will let loose an ear splitting 120 decibels of mayhem when the door is opened.

So the other day, I was home alone, in the middle of the night and was walking down the stairs when smack in the middle, the back alarm went off. There I was in my jammies, standing in the middle of the stairway dumbfounded. Should I run back up to the room and lock myself in? Should I go down and explore? It was a weird, seemingly forever decision but after considering the possibilities, I decided a quick venture is appropriate (plus I didn't want to drain the batteries and drive the neighbours mad).

Apparently a cat snucked in and triggered the alarm. If I thought I was shocked, the cat was going berserks. The loud sound probably got to it as it jumped aimlessly, seemed disoriented and was frightened silly. Gave it a smack with the broom and promptly showed it the way out.

Interesting...

The passing of time...

Been quite a while since I've blogged, largely because I've been quite tied up and also because it seemed frivolous to blog about daily life when the tsunami tragedy still permeates. Like all things however, it is slowly tapering from the greater consciousness (and Yahoo! has relegated news on the tsunami after-effects to a small sentence link) and life (with all our selfish needs) come to fore.

Work has been quite interesting for me. I came here with the intention of just doing my job and bide time to study my Masters and build up CreativeKids. However, I'm getting more and more responsibilities with very likely promotions in the wake. Not too great time wise since I've maxed all free time on weekdays. Not sure what this will mean but will see.

I've been quite occupied so when I've been asked to do some superfluous work lately, I've been rather biting. Among other things, I:

1. Barked back at the Vice President of the group because he wanted changes in the presentation I was doing which really isn't necessary.

2. Demanded the IT people to unblock Blogger. Barring messenger I can understand. Barring blogs is too much. They complied within 5 minutes.

3. Put my foot down so many times I've probably gave a lot of people sore toes.

It's going to take me awhile to get into the groove but darnit, I am so thankful that Charmed is back on air :)

Bullock Donates $1M for Tsunami Relief
Monday January 3 3:07 PM ET

Actress Sandra Bullock has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help relief efforts in countries affected by the deadly earthquake and tsunamis in southern Asia and eastern Africa.

Bullock, whose screen credits include "Miss Congeniality," "While You Were Sleeping" and "Speed," contacted the American Red Cross last week, the organization said Monday. She also donated $1 million after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"At this critical time, I am grateful to Sandra Bullock for once again demonstrating her leadership, compassion and belief in our global humanitarian mission," said American Red Cross President and Chief Executive Officer Marsha Evans in a statement. "Sandra continues to enable our lifesaving work and is a model for personal generosity."

.....

sigh... so sweet :) i sooo want to marry her...

First blog in the new year!

It's finally 2005, and amidst all the gloom and tragedy, it is still a time for optimism and hope :) Kicked off my year with family with me (due to an unexpected incident) so it kinda turned my plans upside down but comforting nevertheless. And then sis needed to stay with me for a week or so, so that messed up my schedule even more. So my year started with backdated work and a heck load of stress! :)

It's gonna be interesting though... I will be working 9 to 9 from Mondays to Fridays now (because of additional classes and stuff) and only consolation will be better income stream. Masters is picking up pace so this added workload may not be too smart in retrospect. Will see how things juggle out. Like I said, it's gonna be interesting :)

Have been majorly neglecting friends... have not even managed to do dinner with Saw who lives 5 mins away. Time is really maxed out... can't imagine that just a year ago I was lazing my bum off watching tv from dawn to dusk. Ah... all because of a meeting with a friend who pumped me up to do more.

Anyways, to all friends, have a blessed new year! Like I always say, count your blessings before you dwell on the negative. Most times you find that the blessings more than make up for the shortcomings we all have in life. Take care :)