FYI: I woke up in time for the meeting

But none of the people with whom most of the issues were to be discussed joined the call. Good thing I didn't hurry to get to the office at 7 in the morning.

Thinking that peak hour traffic would have passed after 9am, I decided to drive in to work. Unfortunately, there was a different kind of "traffic". I don't recall driving alongside huge oversized trucks on the narrow lanes of the Pacific Hwy, let alone a whole fleet of them. I was driving our 8-seater van and being constantly overtaken by oversized trucks mere centimetres away totally freaked me out. The frequent and ever-widening &/or deepening pot holes aside, that's yet another reason I try to avoid the Pacific Hwy. At least when I'm driving the big car.

Confession: I am not a morning person

I had every intention of being in the office for the 7am conference call with our US counterparts tomorrow morning. However, after careful calculation (ie. to get to the office by 7am using public transport, I would have to catch the 6:14 train which, in turn, would mean that I have to wake up at 5:45 at the very latest - very doubtful!), I have decided to take the option of joining the call from the comfort of my living room couch. (Oh how I wish I could crawl under a warm kotatsu...)
Fingers crossed they don't set this time as the time for the proposed weekly call!

July Photo Updates 2

What is this and why is it sitting in the middle of a train platform??


Taikoz Workshop in a warehouse studio


Miniature surprise produce from our garden (originating from compost wastes)


And here they are close up...

July Photo Update

Small reunion dinner with high school friends


Mum's birthday dinner


A happy egg.


A carton of happy eggs! (^_^)

Magic skirt?

When I got dressed this morning, I thought I had put on a dark grey, nearly black skirt. When I walked out into the sunlight, it was dark khaki green. Magic!^^

Lunch-hour Circuit Class

The boxercise class I tried out last Friday lunch was quite bearable, so I thought I'd give today's circuit class a go. OMG, it's painful! How my shoulders, arms and legs ache! Having never taken part in a circuit class, I had no idea what torture I was in for.

Warm up was 5 minutes on the exercise bike, then some push ups, followed by those weight machines which I didn't know how to use until today. Even 1 minute per machine was torturous, especially the ones that work the upper body. Even using the lightest weights possible, I couldn't keep up on the first rotation let alone on the second.

Immediately the class, my arms were like jelly. Geez I'm weak. But it actually feels like I've done some exercise. Should I try pilates on Wednesday or should I wait till next week?

In any case, I think I'll book myself in for a 10-minute massage tomorrow.^^

Go watch transformers!!

Sorry, I've been a bit slack with the updating...after staring at the computer screen for hours on end at the office, I like to give my poor eyes a break when I return home. Going to the big screen, however, is a different matter...went to see Transformers the movie today. I was kinda lazy to go especially with there being no trains on the NS line due to track work, but I was keen to kick the blues out of my system so I made myself stick to my schedule and I'm glad I did. I don't know how they made it look so life-like, but the film was truly amazing. I loved it!^^ Ok, so there were some corny bits in it but it was action-packed with some humour and touching moments...just what I like in a movie.^^ The spicy Thai dinner and ice-cream was good for me too, not to mention the free live concert we stumbled across on the way to the station. Apparently, the live concerts are a week-long event held in celebration of the Asian (football/soccer) Cup. Might go check out next Saturday's performance too. Sometimes I really do love this city.

しかしながら、最近、何だかさびしく感じます。外食したいと思うとき、かいものへ行きたいと思うとき、いっしょに行ってくれる友人がいないことを気づきました。リリー先生...なんかおいしいもの食べに行かない？買い物行かない？
昨日、買い物行きたかったが、一人で行く気がなくて、結局ママについてあっちこっち行きました。
以前、私はだれと遊んでただろうね。よく考えると、大学じだいでも、私の活動はほとんど勉強中心で、あまり出かけなかったね。それと、遊び好きな親友たちはみんな海外へ行っちゃって...

Declared normal and healthy

...but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm fit as well, unfortunately.^^;
I haven't done a fitness test since high school. My arms failed me at 12 push ups, and my sit ups were more like stomach crunches. >_< style="font-style: italic;">
Mon- circuit class
Tue- boxing
Wed- pilates
Thu- free!
Fri- gym
Sat- free!
Sun- badminton as usual
Hmm...when should I start?

Today was a welcome change from the usual database maintenance. My day started with an 8am conference call with our counterparts in the US, the fitness assessment at 1pm followed by a meeting at 2pm that went on for close to 2 hours, and concluded with a one hour "catch up" session with my buddy. It's funny how people at the office use the phrase catch up.

A new leaf

Welcome to my new blog! It's still under construction, so please bear with me.^^

It’s been a tiring but eventful 2 weeks. The early mornings are slowly killing me. I need to get into the habit of going to bed earlier...

Everyone at work is, or appears to be, very hard-working. The colleagues that sit in the same area as me (behind the blue wall which marks the APJ section) barely leave their desks except when attending scheduled meetings, during their lunch break (though many eat at their desk too) and “when nature calls”.

I made a new friend at work who is closer to my age, and started just over a month ago. We live on the same train line, and our brothers know each other! Small world, eh?! So anyway, we met for lunch twice, and on Friday night we went out for laksa then joined her friends for drinks. I think I found my drinking buddy…we were both red in the face and slightly tipsy after one Citrus Swizzle.^^; It was a good time…thanks LC! The bar was a pretty classy-looking, with curtains and crystal lights – pretty impressive considering it was once the GPO stables!

After 2 weeks of life at C@, I have realised that my corporate wardrobe consists of black, white, and different shades of grey (which actually falls in line with the majority). However, I’m getting tired of wearing the same colours everyday, so I decided to go shopping for some slightly less gloomy-coloured business attire at the weekend. I’d signed up for a taikoz workshop early Sunday afternoon which was held in Ultimo, so I checked out the factory outlets nearby and picked up a pair of beige pinstripe pants. Well, at least they’re not grey. Nor black. I miss shopping in Asia where pants don’t make me feel so short and more importantly, no need to take up the hems.^^

The taikoz workshop was definitely a good workout for the arms and legs – I was puffing by the end of the warm-up exercises! We learnt a few basic rhythms and each got a go on the different drums throughout the session. All in all, it was good fun despite it conjuring up memories I’d rather forget :(, and my being hopelessly uncoordinated. My left arm (hand and fingers included) is useless when it comes to quick movement, and this was not helped by the lingering soreness after the cervical cancer injection I had had the day before. How smart of me to schedule an injection the day before a drumming workshop! And I’ve got a fitness assessment at the office gym scheduled for tomorrow…