To sum up 2017

It's the penultimate day of the year and a lot has happened in 2017, especially in the past two months. I'm not sure if this is a characteristic of aging, but time has been flying past really really fast lately. And every day in my last working week felt like a week in itself with insufficient time to complete what I had planned for the day.

Priceless 9: Victory

Priceless is...

... that moment when my colleague passed her phone to each one of us team members notifying we had won third place in the treasure hunt, during our VC's speech. All we could display were sheepish smiles and raised eyebrows!

Priceless 8: HTML & CSS

Priceless is...

... the moment when I found out how to edit the copyright info at the footer of my blog in three clicks.

Priceless 6: Numbers

Priceless is...


... when the first time I glance at something and the numbers jumps out at me! Today's was 888 views! I'm not superstitious but I love finding patterns in series of numbers, in other words finding meaning in numbers. This is why car plate number watching is fun when I'm stuck in a jam or on a long drive!

Priceless 5: Kind Gestures

Priceless is...


... when a director brings cookies and sweets especially for us all the way from Singapore and Macau.

Priceless 4: Relief

Priceless is...

... that feeling of relief when something that has been troubling my mind is resolved.

Priceless 2: Jazz

Priceless is... that smile which comes from my heart when old school jazz is playing in my ears. Piano, snare brush and trumpet with double bass is enough to calm, sooth, raise the spirit and will my mind to study on.

I am listening to Roy Hargrove's Ruby My Dear.

Priceless 1: Warm bath

In light of some recent social media diarrhoea and hypocrisy, I shall neutralise the experience, forgive and forget, rise above the lowness and create positive vibes. So here's starting another slew of thematic posts to be thankful for the little things in life, that anyone can enjoy.

It is priceless...

More Firsts for 2016

Just another half month to the new year and a couple more entries to add to my 2016 stocktake list!

22. First time to Taiwan and smelling chou tofu (smelly tofu)
23. First time flying on business class (this was a pleasant accident during check-in)
24. First time using Uber
25. First time in Taipei 101 and seeing the damper in real life (not as impressive as I remembered it in a documentary)
26. First time in a trampoline park and trying all the stuffs which I wouldn't try on my own choosing
27. First time wall climbing - I made it halfway up
28. Which resulted in my first time wrist injury - immobilized for the whole weekend but thankfully improved by Monday and I didn't need to see the chiropractor (dreaded)
29. First time building a nano block Pokemon!

Pokemon Gengar!

Unfortunately I couldn't think of #30 - another 15 days or so to achieve it!

Stocktake of 2016

It's October - past the mid-year review of my goals for this year. Initially I was thinking that I had not achieved much so far. But when I look back at the experiences I've had this year, I think I am on track! This year's resolution was to have as many firsts and yes, I have been having many firsts! Some of my 'mini achievements of firsts' thus far, in no particular order:-

First Car Break Down of the Year

Today was an unexpected day off at home. I had full intention of using the spare car so that my car could go into the workshop to fix the air conditioner problem. However, when I wanted to head out, the spare car couldn't start - the steering lock could not budge. So I took my car instead and it was not meant to be.

Have not seen this buddy in a long long time... I miss catching ladybirds in empty assam bottles

Starting with Many Firsts

It's the 5th day of the year and already there's been quite a few firsts for me. But first, let me share my first dessert plate for 2016.

Cakes, tarts and puffs in Grand Millennium Hotel, KL

Happy New Year 2016!

Stock taking and resolution making. 2015 came and went so fast with many stumbles and letting go and moving forward. The past two years have breezed by without me really feeling it.

Happy New Year 2016 from Kuala Lumpur!

Last minute packing

It's 1a.m. and I'm still packing. Seems like I'm missing something but I'm not sure what.

Not sure what to expect in the next few days. This is probably going to be the most impromptu trip we've attempted. But our motive is to just chill. And no phones! ;)

So let's let our hair down and have a well deserved breather!

Benefits of Singledom

Chinese New Year means family reunions and the expected small talk and asking when is your turn. But let's look at the brighter side! Ang pow abundance for the unattached! ;)

Lunar New Year Ang Pow

Good Friday

Today I'm thankful for:

1. our fourth training session - more visibility with the independent directors.
2. completing more and more assignments.
3. leaving office at 7.30 p.m. - the earliest for the past few weeks!
4. having Milo nuggets while driving home.
5. seeing light still in the sky.
6. Poppy and her enthusiastic welcome home jumps - such a big gurl!
7. Poppy having a proper house, safe from the rain.
8. Poppy's recovery after being shot by the dog catchers on Wednesday. She's surprisingly submissive to having to wear a collar.
9. the weekend! After murmuring in my head for the past three days, I have come to a resolve - I will try again and again. Knock and the door will be answered.
10. Zacky boy and his "hah hah hah hah hah".

Being Thankful: Days 146 - 150

It's so weird, I'm losing track of the days and every day I discover more and more outstanding (not mine) work that I need to settle for someone. It really gets tiring when the tasks date back to early 2013 and the business units are chasing me like it was my fault to begin with! So so difficult to walk the talk of being forgiving and professional.

But, I am still thankful for:

1. my other colleagues who despite their heavier workload (due to the disruption from portfolio change) still offered to help me out. Every day is an overwhelming experience of panic till past 8pm.
2. learning the little things that will make me self-reliant in future. The downside from my previous role was that I was too reliant on my assistant for certain matters.
3. the cheque coming right on time. No penalty for my 'almost slip up'.
4. the e-board training session done and over with. Constructive advise received. Next time (if there is one) I will need to steer the directors conversations back to our training objectives. 
5. being able to receive criticism and agreeing on it. Surprisingly. Maybe it's part of growing older?
6. letting go of things out of my control. Leaving work in the office to focus on my weekend!
7. meeting up with the girls for a healthy vegetarian meal... and then we adjourning for cake! Counter all the goodness in one night! 
8. getting a bottle of almond butter. Mmm...
9. our final weekend in Genovasi. Final presentation done. Buka puasa and farewell dinner. Laugh and laugh and laugh.
10. finally deciding not to go back to office on a public holiday. It was a productive day (in a stress relieving sense). Good early start and finally having the chance to exercise. Quality time with family and the dogs (Meowww! Poppyyyy!).
11. learning the difference between Registered Shares and Bearer Shares, thanks to filling up HSBC forms. Registered shares have share certificates with the shareholder's name on it whereas Bearer shares don't have the shareholder's name on the share certificate. So anyone who gets hold of a Bearer Share certificate may claim ownership over the shares of the Company. Therefore it is always good practice to execute a share sale agreement, even for transfer of Registered shares.

I think 150 is a good number to stop?

Being Thankful: Day 140

I'm thankful for:

1. the lunch treat at Zen. I guess it's a gesture of peace after the c*** I went through last week. Ah sm remember, remember... challenges = growth.
2. my colleague sending me her draft simulation board papers from the last round of training. At least I don't have to start from scratch for next Friday's training. Need to work out what to say, pronto!
3. getting the PAL and forms out. Hope this don't trigger a backlash.
4. meeting up with a potential partner. Seemed to have a lot of experience and gave us some constructive advice.
5. (can't think of any. brain shutting down)

Being Thankful: Day 139

I'm thankful for:

1. discovering that my phone only has one speaker. Didn't know this until yesterday. I actually texted the shop owner about claiming warranty! Thanks to Google, I now know that my mini heart attack was utterly unnecessary.

   

   See! A pair of grills - how would I know that the left was a speaker and the right one was for the mic?

2. someone saying that I 'sound' tall over the phone! This is the second time she has said it haha.
3. the DCFO mentioning something that jogged my memory - OMG, I haven't raised the company's authorised share capital! Yea... this is what I hate about changing portfolio (again) in the middle of a corporate exercise.
4. secretly being excited about having the chance to try leading our e-board training to some of the L1s. So glad I volunteered myself this round instead of having to draw lots to take charge of the VVIP training session! Foresight.
5. a productive discussion.

Being Thankful: Day 138

Ong ong numbers 1-3-8! Yea... anyway, I'm thankful for:

1. walking a lot today. Choosing to take the stairs and walking to the bank instead of driving there before or after work.
2. getting some filing work done. There's no better motivation for filing than a change in portfolio (again) and statutory audit (of course).
3. tackling the odious journey of filling up the HSBC account opening forms - wasn't too bad, just really tedious. Why must they have so many different sets of forms and T&Cs just to open one account and what's with the KYC forms when the Group has been a long time corporate customer!?! Foreign banks have too many red tapes.
4. not much jam going to PJ for our team meetup and having a few laughs about the sink hole and interesting pictures.
5. Texas Chicken - yums!