I've never been a great advocate of change so it's no wonder my stomach was exploding with butterflies on my first day at work yesterday. It was a day I had looked forward to tremendously, towards financial independence and rebuilding my depleted savings account which was brutally savaged by my university tuition fees. Second day down and I have got to say I really hate this perpetual feeling of ambiguity and uncertainty. According to my recruiter, I was not supposed to come in for another two weeks because he is overseas during this period, but a communication breakdown with the HR department meant that I've got time to burn during this fortnight. I mean it's a good time for me to familiarize myself with my fellow colleagues and the way things work in the office but I just feel so helpless, not knowing what I should be doing next. And those who have worked with me before know that I like knowing what to do and being given the autonomy to do it, so this current phase isn't really something in my comfort zone. But like what Sab advised me, I should embrace this period of adaptation before work starts proper because by the time my workload hits me like a hurricane, I would be regretting my current complaints.

Anyway, I am glad to be able to find a job, with the employment market facing tumultuous times. Those instances whereby I was lamenting the lack of replies from my job applications have me grinning now at how silly I was to be worried sick all that time. The last two months of rest have been a godsend, but I am regretting not using that time to properly adjust my body clock, which explains the unparalleled fatigue I felt after work yesterday, having not woken up at such a godforsaken hour for ages. Luckily for me, I don't feel as tired today and I hope I'll get used to things as time passes. I am really excited to be establishing this personal milestone, and for Sab and I to be both working hard towards our future together.

It's only been the second month of 2017 but Sab has already made a visit to the clinic for suspected food poisoning, been to the A&E for a related case of stomach flu, and seen a Chinese physician twice for a recurring shoulder ache and most recently, a sprained ankle. It really breaks my heart seeing her subject to these bouts of sickness and injury, and how I wish to be able to share in her pain and suffering if I could in any way. I've never been a firm believer in chances because I believe that you make your own luck. But here I am wishing fervently that everything else will go smoothly in her favour this year from now on. Because nothing matters more to me than knowing that she's safe and sound.

On a happier note, Valentine's Day and our 28th monthsary went by in quick succession last week.

The old hardworking me would have prepared something for her for both separate occasions but I really got to admit that the sloth in me is starting to show its true colours lately. And it takes a certain degree of courage to carry the bouquet around on the train, amid the unforgiving stares of other commuters. That is why I housed the bouquet in a paper bag because I was too chicken (see what I did there?) to hold it in plain sight. To be honest I wasn't confident in its appearance actually, given that it's my first time making one. And I got to admit that it's really nerve-wrecking trying to skewer twenty nuggets onto the bouquet in record time because it was pretty intimidating to do that in a Mcdonald's restaurant, albeit it being Valentine's Day. But it was all worthwhile when I caught the sheer look of surprise and happiness in her eyes when I gifted it to her. And yes, we were both afraid of getting caught with food on the train so we covered the bouquet with a paper bag all the way home. Looks like the fear of being fined for bringing food aboard the train still trumps the outright show of affection and love that Valentine's Day is supposed to be about. But anyway, the nugget bouquet got to be in quite a number of selfies with Sab, and were still delicious even when cold, so I guess this year's Valentine's Day surprise could still be considered a success!

I know I ought to apologize for abandoning this space for such a long time. But I've been suffering from a severe attack of 'writer's block' and never could find the appropriate time or occasion to update. But considering the fact that I am unemployed and have time to kill, I should at least get something out or this space will fade into oblivion in no time.

CNY this year was such a bore. Although the long weekend may have been a welcome hiatus from work for many, jobless me sees no difference compared to any other day. But at least it allowed for many long-procrastinated meet-ups to finally materialize. I don't know if I am meant to feel this way, but the thought of having such a long break and not having any events in my sights is starting to scare me. Occasionally, I fill myself with incessant worrying because I fear that I have assignments undone or appointments I failed to adhere to but a second later, it dawns on me that I have absolutely nothing on my calendar. The constant job applications and sending of resumes is starting to wear me down as well. I know the employment market is really bad right now and I shouldn't be so hard on myself, especially since this is my only chance of a well-deserved break before working life kicks in and I'm forced to slog the rest of my adult life away. The constant reminders of my dad and aunt asking me to find a job or at least a part-time job is wearing me thin as well. It isn't as if I ain't trying, but it's just really that difficult now okay. Do I seem like I am simply lazing around at home every single day? This is all so depressing, but I'll probably just listen to Sab and take it slow. No one knows me like she does anyway.

Sab started work last week and it really pains me to be apart from her for such long hours. Yes we are clingy like that. In the past months, we were probably apart only on Sundays. Even my aunts kept asking me where she was at family gatherings because they thought we were inseparable. I think out of her five work days last week, I met her after work for four days. Plus a full day Saturday as well. I know how hard it is for her this time to step out of her comfort zone and take on something so novel and challenging, but I'm sure she will definitely slay it.

And I'm finally starting on "The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" after three months of it lying stagnant on my shelf. Sab keeps scolding me for procrastinating but admit it, the title doesn't seem very appealing does it? HAHAHAHAHA. Seems like I've lost my spark for reading so maybe I should start to find it again.

I'll be having my PES status reassessment in 10 days. It has been a struggle being confined to this E9L9 status for the past year. So maybe my career options can be widened if the MO has mercy on me and decides to reinstate me to at least a B or even an A.

Oh yes, and even though I've began to run on alternate days lately, my weight seems to be gradually heading towards the 80kg mark. My metabolism levels just doesn't seem the same anymore :( Face it, the people calling me fat were right all along.

It's been almost a week since I'm back from TW but I think I should really get around to getting this post up or the desire to do so will fade away just like it did for our BKK trip last year.

Sab and I decided on an impromptu trip just one week before our departure date because we will both probably be starting work next year and it will get more difficult to sync our schedules then. And also because I initially promised to bring her to HK Disneyland at year-end but scrapped the idea because the exchange rate is really bad. Imagine our joy and excitement when we booked this trip just days before! The excitement did not even have time to sink in before we found ourselves en route to the airport to the land of awesome street food and milk tea!

The flight was so damn uncomfortable and as usual, I did not manage to sleep on the plane. But I did grab some shuteye at Sab's place prior to departure. But I somehow survived on that hour or so of sleep for the whole of Day 1. We obtained our data sim card at one of the telecom stations (approx $12 for 5 days of unlimited data). Then we randomly hopped onto one of the buses at the terminal after asking some questions and not fully understanding what the conductor had said. Luckily enough, the driver explained to all the puzzled passengers that were heading to Ximen station to alight and transfer to another bus. The bus was just leaving the airport and that was when I caught my first Farfetch'd! Sab only has a sighting but it appeared on my screen so I was so apologetic to her and kept reassuring her that we would definitely catch others over the next few days. It was still too early to check in so we put down our luggage at the hotel and went to roam about Ximending.

 

It was drizzling quite abit so we had to lug our luggage to the hotel which is 5mins away from the station. I have no idea why Sab was wearing my jacket though. 

This beef cubes thing was so damn good that I think we ordered it at least once everyday. By the second day, we were ordering NTD200 (SGD8) portions instead of the primary NTD100 option, because there really just wasn't enough to go around. We had it in rose salt flavour for the first day and after that, we simply got spiced salt for the other times.   

Our hotel was pretty close to A-zhong Mian Xian so we headed there first. It was still good, but I feel that the standard has really deteriorated throughout the years. And there are no oysters anymore, only the pig intestines. You just have to purchase their bottled chilli sauce and add it to any mianxian that you make and it will taste 90% the same as A-zhong's! We went back to the hotel to check in and nua a little before heading to Shilin Night Market. Honestly, the place was really badly organised and had too many alleys so I'm not sure if we managed to finish walking all the stalls. Moreover, the place mostly had game stalls and only some souvenir stalls. Wouldn't recommend it anymore. Seems like the place has changed quite abit since the last time I was there. However, we chanced upon this cake shop that we initially wanted to visit but it was at Danshui so we decided to forgo it. But lucky us found a branch right here at Shilin and oh my god the cake was heavenly.

Coming from someone that detests cake and probably has it only like twice per year, it is really sooooooo damn good! And for about $3 for an entire block of cake, it's so worth it. It comes in two flavours- original and cheese. We got the original and couldn't even finish half even after having it for breakfast the next morning too. The weather was chilly and the cake was freshly baked. The smell, taste and texture of it comes together to give it a very homely feel of old school vibes. I'm not kidding when I say that I can have one slice of this cake every morning. And I don't usually eat cake even. And although the guy dishing out the heavenly cake was wearing a face mask, Sab and I both agreed that he is really good looking. I don't give compliments easily so ladies, trust my taste and just shang ba. It's somewhere in Shilin so just walk around. Good things must put in effort one. Other than that, Shilin was pretty boring. We didn't even find the famous massive chicken cutlet that the place was famous for. Maybe we just weren't looking hard enough.

The queue for this fried potato stick thingy was really long so we went to get a queue number as well. But it turned out pretty meh only. Really doesn't justify the 10min wait. There was this Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang stall that sells sausages wrapped in glutinous rice right opposite this stall. That stall had at least 10 people in queue so we didn't bother queuing. Must make a mental note to try these highly acclaimed stalls next time.

Day 2 - We went to Wufenpu. The place was pretty meh and we managed to finish walking the entire place. I got myself a blue ombre(?) pullover and Sab got a pink top. Funnily enough, I bought five tops throughout the entire trip and they are all pullovers. I'm thankful that my tolerance to heat has improved quite a bit. Other than that, the items at Wufenpu were really pricey and some require you to buy a minimum amount of items. We then headed to Raohe night market when the sky got darker. And of course we can never resist fried quail eggs, a delicacy we had so much of in Bangkok as well. Come to think of it, I must have eaten at least 50 quail embryos and I actually feel a little bad inside.  

 

 

The place only had two lanes so it was pretty easy to walk. Walk up one lane and eat all the food, then walk back the other lane and eat somemore. This was our favourite night market so we ended up visiting it again on the last day. There was this pepper bun stall that had snaking queues on the two days we went, but apparently we didn't want to waste time so we didn't queue for them.

Apparently Sab was obsessed with brown sugar milk tea throughout our entire trip and we chanced upon this stall that has brown sugar pearls. But it turned out pretty meh, although we must say that the pearls in TW are really fresh and chewy, a phenomenon rarely found in Singapore, especially from those Kois and Gongchas that probably cut down on preparation time and produce substandard pearls. 

Can I just express my pure adoration of sweet potato balls? I think I had this every single day because they were just so good! Sab dislikes the taste of WW2 food so she detested it. I had this in cheese, which came with cheese powder on the top, and it was amazingggggggg!

This is Sab's favourite street food throughout our entire trip. Coming from someone that doesn't even like milk, which explains her lower centre of gravity (see what I did there?), she could not get enough of this. Prudent her went for just one stick the first time round and got addicted so we ended up buying three more sticks. 

Day 3 saw us visit the Taipei Zoo! We were initially skeptical of the standard of the zoo in comparison with Singapore's because the entrance fee is just NTD60, which is barely even $3. Our fears were proven right because although the place was pretty huge, each exhibit only had one animal and we could clearly see that they were lonely and distressed. One of the lemurs that we saw was pacing up and down the window pane, completely oblivious to visitors. And the animals all looked so sad. It was starting to drizzle so we bought ponchos! We hopped on the tram, which was only NTD5 per pax, which was about $0.20. I have no idea how they make money over there. 

We found Harambe!

The prairie dog was really cute and fat that he(?) reminded us on Curious when he was munching on that green plant/vegetable. Sadly, it seemed like he was the only one in there so he must have been really lonely.  :(

We headed over to Tonghua/Linjiang might market after that but it was really small. I don't think we managed to eat much there either.



We had this milk tea snow ice which was really good too!

Day 4: We had no plans for this day, other than Shida at night. So we had KFC at Ximending for lunch and decided to head over to Taipei 101 and see if we can find our way up the tower. The entrance ticket to enter the observatory was NTD600 or approx $24 so we decided not to head up. We were rather aimless so we decided to head over to SOGO to see if there was anything to do there.

This matcha ice cream is really good and can be found near the KFC in ximending.

It was pure madness at SOGO because I think they were having a 15% storewide sale. The ladies' departments were chock full of people and promoters so we had to escape the building to even breathe. Then we headed to Shida night market when the sky started to get dark, but it was so disappointing. The government had changed the layout of the place and it was so hard to even find food there. The stores were also pretty meh and the prices were quite expensive, probably because the shops were permanent and not makeshift. We decided to leave and pay Raohe another visit before we returned to SG.

 

I really liked this cheese potato thing with ham and bacon inside, but Sab said the cheese tasted like cheap cheese. I finished it nonetheless, being the eternal glutton that I am. 

Oh my, this coffin bread is simply amazing. We had it in kimchi pork flavour and were expecting it to be just another average street food. Oh boy, how mistaken we were. I could have ordered another of this and finished it all by myself. And mind you, I was already super full at that point of time. Of course, we had grilled mushrooms too, which are always Sab's go-to food. 

This was our very first bowl of braised beef noodles. I felt that the broth was really good, especially when it was raining. And the beef was so abundant! For just $6, I think that it's super worth it. And because I am forbidden to have beef at home, the beef dishes in Taiwan totally fed my cravings. 

Tripping with Sab always gives me the longing feeling whenever I return to SG. I am really bad at map reading so her directional sense really saved the day for us on several occasions. And the slow pace of the trip really accorded us time to relax and take things slowly, without the mentality that we were wasting precious time because we haven't ticked things off our itinerary. I'm really looking forward to our next trip with her family to HK in December! To a million more trips with you, my love 💗.

I came across this post on Facebook and immediately felt immensely guilty.

"What car owners would like non car owners to know"

We are not obliged to send you anywhere, it's out of goodwill when we do. So don't complain about it and say behind our backs. You are not the one paying the erp, parking, petrol, installments and maintenance so stfu. Be appreciative. If your friends start to not sending u back or what like the past, reflect on yourself. Have you ever appreciated? Tried to like offer to top up petrol, Cashcard or chip in abit even treating a meal or what? It's not about being stingy. But about appreciating. Even a cup of soft drink/ ice kachang would do. Please la, take taxi also how much le. No one likes to do things and end up feeling there for a use.

Stop complaining and whining. It's our car, we have pride in it. When you were having fun, we work hard for it. Having a car is easy, maintaining it is hard. It's our pride. P.s: I may not own a big car, but I slog hard for it.

Where we feel like parking is our problem. We may park a distance and walk across sometimes, not because we can't afford it, but we don't feel like paying to the money eating gantries can? Unless we are feeling lazy, and furthermore, you are not paying for it so shut up.

What time we want to head into town is for us to decide, if you think you want to head in earlier or later, go yourself la! Like I said, not cannot afford. But don't want let the gov earn even more can. Before 12 or after 8 only UNLESS I FEEL LIKE IT CAUSE IM THE DRIVER. You don't know how it feels like to top up your Cashcard every 2 days and it will never be enough.

Don't slam our door. It's our car, Because why? We pay for the repairs. You don't. It's our baby. You won't like people to give your baby a slap would you? Who do we find when our lock spoil because of your slamming and the mechanism malfunction and then tell you, you would say 'how can that be, I not very hard what.' Or 'I only did it once' or 'sorry' and then WE had to pay for the repairs ourself because of you people. Be considerate.

It's our car, whatever color or modifications we do to it, WE LIKE IT, END OF STORY. No need for your comments. If you got so much comments or opinions, get your own car and do on your car.

**no hard feelings, no direct to anyone, just seen myself and ALOT of car friends having this issue over the few years of driving. Just that it definitely doesn't feel good to be used as an chauffeur**

P.s: having a friend who has a car doesn't make him/her your Ahmad (unless your partner), but learn to appreciate. Be thankful for it.

Credits to Kailing Loh ที่รัก

I would thus like to thank the following people for sending me home or giving me a ride to somewhere, although you are definitely not obligated to. I really really appreciate it, especially since transport and costs of driving are so high lately. If any of you that are are reading this have sent me home before and I forgot to mention you, please don't take offence alright? My poor memory fails me sometimes. 

In no particular order:

Wes (plus both your parents and Ense too!) - I have lost count of how many times you have sent me home already, damn paiseh hahaha)

MF hyung
RH
Gale
HY
Daniel
Duane
Beverly

As we grow older, the meetings happen less, the words seem sharper and the patience runs thin. It is now pretty evident who matters and who makes the effort to. The promises of yesteryear seem hollow and fake all of a sudden. Distance in this case doesn't seem to make the heart grow fonder, but instead it serves only to make it more guarded. Negative thoughts cloud the mind with disappointment and despair. It now seems apparent to me that friendships do wither, however much we assure ourselves they don't. These relationships that previously seemed so promising have become fragile, delicate and vulnerable. Happiness can always be found from what's ahead. Stop looking back. The little specks of joy that remain from the past are all we have to remember the happier times. But that too, can and will probably fade, and cease to exist in time to come.

Attended Sab's convocation at NTU yesterday! Couldn't have been a prouder boyfriend as I watched her step up on stage gingerly to receive her degree certificate. It was at this moment that I realized the effort she had put into her studies was all worth it, and for her to graduate with first class honours is no mean feat. 

Apparently we could stand here cos we donated at least $5m to the school.

Met the trekking gang on Wednesday to watch The Purge 3! Had Yoshinoya for dinner and felt ostracized by the staff because I wanted to get the student meal but they said it was only for local university students. I tried to explain that my uni was based locally too but she didn't listen. What's the difference cos I took tuna's card to get it anyway. And they passed me my first birthday card this year! Thank you zhiqi for printing the photos!

The first part of my birthday celebration actually took place on Saturday, when Sab joined my family for dinner at I'm KIM Korean BBQ restaurant at SOTA. Stuffed ourselves silly and headed to Plaza Sing to shop. Saw this shirt at Uniqlo so Sab bought it for me! :) One step closer to emulating my superhero idol but as usual, the physique is still miles apart.

Celebrated my 24th birthday on the actual day which was Sunday. Aunt came by for just a short while without notice to pass me by birthday 'present' and had to rush off to work because they were short on manpower. This must be the most interesting one I have received this year! But I don't really fancy crustaceans as the meat isn't worth the trouble, so my family will be having either steamed crab or crab stew or something like that. Received the customary red packet from them too!

Hehehe my mum labelled Sab a sashimi-head. 

Headed over to Sab's and her mum tried to con me by saying S went down to look for me, which totally did not trick me because knowing S, she will never do something like that out of the blue, and that most definitely raised my suspicions because it was my birthday. Spotted the cake box on the table the first thing I stepped into the living room, and since S surprised me with a blackforest cake the previous year, I figured things were gonna be the same. I'm sorry my love, but Sherlock blood apparently runs in my veins. S still tried to keep up the surprise by presenting me with a cake and singing me a happy birthday song, but I was my usual awkward self and didn't know what to do. Pardon our tired faces below, we're getting old.

Went to Eastpoint to get groceries because I decided to keep the celebration simple this year by cooking together with Sab at home. We decided on steak with garlic butter, sauteed mushrooms, hasselback potatoes and brazilian cheese bread. It didn't seem that much until we took almost four hours to complete cooking all of them. I would have totally not even made the qualifying mark for Masterchef! I got a little agitated during the making of the cheese bread because the first batch didn't turn out as planned. But that's also because I tried to combine two recipes. We played a couple of rounds of L4D2 with Wes and Ense after dinner too!

Here are the gifts from Wes and Ense! Told Sab to tell them I didn't need anything for my present but Sab apparently realised my recent obsession with gudetama so they got me these!

Sab's parents got me this pen from Parker so now I have two pens fit for signing in the capacity of a CEO! 

I always look forward to cards and letters from Sab because they are always so sweet. She tried to be discreet and placed it on my bag when I was not in the room but I think I finished reading it and put it back where I found it even before she realised. Hehehe I'm such a spoilsport aren't I? :( 

The greatest present this year will have to be Curious the hamster. Sab really really loves her and I do too. So I try to send her pics of Curious whenever I can, since Sab only gets to see Curious once per week. I've always wanted a pet, so Curious will have to be the best present I could ever ask for this year. 

To all who wished me for my birthday, thank you for remembering, from the bottom of my heart. I know it isn't easy because I removed my birthday from fb and there's no notification. And all of us are getting busier nowadays, so who has the time to remember birthdays right? For those who forgot, there's always next year!