Post-Poly Life

Internship, Contemporary Issues Research Paper, and then now, a break.

1. Career/ Academic Progression

Now that we've unofficially graduated, it is time to apply for universities, or jobs. For most, it would be uni. But not me.

I made my choice the moment I signed on the Scholarship Contract a few months back. So I would just have to wait for next year's university intake.

For the time being, I gotta serve the 6 months bond, while finding out what I really want to do for the rest of my life. In the meantime, it made me realise the difference between a dream job and a dream career.

As I grew up, I never had a particular dream job. I dreamt of being a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, a nurse, a police officer, psychiatrist, etc. all under influences of parents and media. I dreamt of being a travel consultant too.

I soon realise.. that what I wanted was a job, not a career.

Because when a job becomes your career, it becomes routine-like, everyday is going to be the same. Despite the challenges you face at work, you are going to do the same thing everyday. And the thought of doing 'that same thing' for the rest of my life, :/ I'm not sure if I want to do it anymore.

On the other hand, prolly I never had a dream job, nor did I really contemplated on what I want to do.

Contemplated being a housewife.

So what's the point of studying so hard?

No, I was kidding.

If a career was gonna be routine-like, wouldn't a housewife's life be even more so?!

So I guess it's a good year for me to rethink about my career path, and at the same time, earn some $$ for the uni fees~

Beats having to rush into applying for the university after all.

2. Love.

About 2 weeks ago, we celebrated the boy's birthday at J Cube.

We finally went to that ice skating rink after planning it several times, because its just so far away! :x

Hmm, gave him an oversized Topman shirt for his present.

It was the smallest size available, but I couldn't let the shirt go. :x Hopefully he grows into it! :D

Today, (prolly by the time I finish blogging, it'll be yesterday already.) 7th March, was the day we met, two years ago.

I wouldn't say time flew, cause it felt like we've been through so much, it can't be just two years.

Yet again, I could clearly remember that day, how we first met, and how we were first introduced to each other. Oh memories. (:

Next week, we'll be attending another formal event, dressing up & socializing time again~!

And then the following week, my captain-to-be is flying off again.

10 days.

I know, what's 10 days compared to the 6 weeks in Tamworth right.

Oh wells.

3. Food.

We have been lazy, not exploring much places, staying at home to nuaaaa all the time. :x

Well, training on weekdays, rest on weekends right~

But here are some of the food we have eaten recently.

The most recent ones to the least recent ones!

328 Katong Laksa

We went to I12 Katong to catch 'Flight', a must watch for all pilot-wannabes I guess!

On our way home, the boy exclaimed that he has never tried Katong Laksa in Katong before, so we had to have it, despite having dinner waiting for us at home~

Nothing special we concluded. Though the gravy was not bad I would say.

There were prawns, cockles, fish cakes, as usual.

But no tau pok!

You can see Otah from the picture too, the boy wanted to eat it with the laksa, which was.. weird.

Oh wells, he likes it~

$4 for that bowl of laksa.

Not exactly 'value for money' since you can easily get it at $2 at Chinatown! Yumz too!

But oh wells, it's KATONG LAKSA. You pay for the royalties too I guess?

They practice upselling a lot by the way!

And there wasn't a crowd on a Saturday evening dinner time, which I thought was weird.

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Oh. I remember blogging about our Bak Kut Teh at Toa Payoh!

We went back there to have it again.

Still as delicious!

This time I got the menu down, but I think the picture of our food is in the boy's phone!

Wang Ji Mei Shi

Opposite HDB Hub, behind Sinma, the accessories shop.

Affordable and yummy!

Nice and friendly staff too~

$6.50 for a bak kut teh set that comes with vegetables and rice. (and youtiao I think)

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New York New York

Kallang Leisure Park branch!

"Expensiveeeeeee!" was the first thing that came to mind, but we went in anyway. :x

A lil celebration for the first time I drove my boy out for dinner. Alone. Hahaha.

So here's what we had

The Appetizer Platter that came with 3 dips!

Nacho Cheese, Mayo (?), and I don't know what's the other sauce, something like Chilli I think.

It came with Mushrooms, chicken wings and friess!

I love mushrooms that are fried like that. Yumz.

But he loved the fried chicken wings!

And then..

Devil's Fiery Fish and Chips

Eh. Looks a lil burnt, not sure if it affected the taste. :/

I'm not a great fan of battered Fish and Chips because after a while I just want to puke everything I've eaten.

And this fish and chips is not much different. I mean, it still makes me sick after a while.

The servings were huge.

Thankfully we only ordered these two to share.

The platter was not too bad, but the fish, nothing fantastic.

Staff was not very friendly. :/

But I was kinda glad the atmosphere and ambiance were good, prolly cause they don't have much customers, a weekday evening.

Overall, not really recommended if you're looking for 'good food'.

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Saizeriya

Liang Court

"Confusing style"- Japanese owned Italian restaurant

We went there for our monthsary dinner. And I really wasn't very pleased. :/

i. I was confused whether it was a fast food, casual or full service restaurant.

There was a host, guiding you to your seat.

After which, they go missing.

You find your own menu at your seat.

But when you press the bell, someone will attend to your needs.

Order was taken by the waiter at the table, food was served by the staff to the table too.

But you help yourself to the drinks. Speaking of which I don't really understand how the 'free flow drinks' work, and the staff seems incapable of explaining. :/

You don't pay service charge, so I guess, that's the service you get.

But this is no big deal, you just have to figure your way out.

ii. Affordable?

These were what we had:

Special Mushroom Soup ($2.90) & Smoked Salmon ($3.90 for 4 slices)

Chicken Bolognese Gratin ($4.90) & Spicy Chicken Wings ($3.95 for 4 pieces)

Pineapple and Bacon Pizza ($6.40)

It sounds amazingly affordable?

It's kinda like the opposite of NYNY, Small portions.

Really small servings.

So I'm not very sure if it's for affordability or variety.

I think it's more for those who seek small portions, more variety.

Well, that's us, but let's just move on to the next point.

iii. Taste

Other than the Smoked Salmon, the rest of the dinner was.. Not exactly satisfactory.

Prolly my taste buds, or me being picky, or it was just that day, because Jerome said it was not bad the last time he went there. He is quite picky too, mind you. You will hardly ever hear him say any food is nice, other than his mummy's cooking.

Furthermore, Estee has been praising and recommending it ever since she ate there.

The mushroom soup tasted a lil funny, and way too watery.

Not value for money cause the bowl was kinda shallow, and $2.90 is not exactly very cheap.

The pizza was too thick, and filling were just.. too lil?

The Spicy Chicken Wings were not spicy. And kinda blend, yet oily.

Made me kinda sick. :/

The Chicken Bolognese Gratin looked soooo good in the menu. But look at my picture~

I think it was kinda overcooked, so a lil dry, and the penne was too soft it was a lil gross. :x

After all, I told the boy that if he ever suggests Saizeriya again, I'll top up the $$ difference, and we'll visit Pizza hut. Otherwise we can simply dine at a hawker centre too. I'll be a happier girl. :)

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4. Friends

Primary School Friends

Beixi turned 20 last Friday. Soon it'll be Peiling, then me.

Ah. We're all growing old.

On our way to Beixi's party last friday, I was telling the rest that I met one of our teachers when I sent Austen to school, and then we started counting how many years we've left Primary school, and we're like O.O. Hahah.

Amazing bunch of friends. :D

8 years since we left TKPS, and we have never stopped contacting each other.

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Poly Friends

The Clique.

Rachel, Germ, XY.

Someone's attached and it scares us all how she's a changed girl. :x

Been a while since we all met up for a meal or something.

I'm wondering if we'll continue to meet up and be as close, now that we're soon graduating and have no more reasons to meet up. :/

Oh wells, time will tell.

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The Chosens.

Last Gathering was at the ChosenOne's house, CNY Steamboat again! (:

Remembered how we were preparing for the steamboat like one family. Hehe.

This group of people never fails to make me happyyy. (:

Ah, I know we'll meet up soon. We always try, even though a 6-person gathering is harder to organize~

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5. Family.

Went to catch ABTM 2 with mummy and Nic this afternoon, been a million years since I watched a movie with mummy. Heh.

She's so cute I swear, instead of popcorns, nachos or other chips, she was attracted to the container of peanuts at the side. Staring at it the whole time I was ordering the popcorn set.

Then after we were done at the counter, she finally said she wanted it. Like a kid pleaseeeee. hahah.

Alrighty. Till then.

Gotta turn in soon.

TGIF! :D

It's my baby's birthday! (:

This lil Piglet never fails to remind me of how my silly boy loves to surprise me despite everything.

A year ago, this sweet darling appeared at the Singapore Flyer's Greek Theatre carrying a Piglet that is about a third of his size, while I was having a project meeting with the Chosens. This big grown man, carrying a piglet alone, walking around, looking for his gf, who is having a project meeting, without her knowing. I cannot imagine how many weird stares he had gotten himself but I was shocked, touched and speechless. How could anyone be so sweet?

But yeap, so this lil pink thing which we named PigKhoLet, has been accompanying me to bed every night, reminding me of how sweet my silly boyfriend is. (:

We aren't a perfect couple. We have our fair share of bad days, and we are always 'playing hide and seek' as my mummy describes, to the point that I can't help wondering if we're star crossed.

First bookout after enlistment clashed with Australian educational trip.
Taiwan training trip clashing with birthday and anniversary.
Him traveling to Aussie for 6 weeks ending in Nov, while I'm flying to Aussie on 20 Dec, clashing with dear amazing Christmas!

We don't have a hell lot of time together, but we always make the best out of it.
And my dear boy always makes an effort to make the best of everything, buying gifts in advance to get my friend to pass to me on the actual day, etc. I can't tell you how appreciative and thankful I am to have met him.

It's been 19 months. And maybe most of the time I've spent missing him more than seeing him. But it'll get better. I'm sure.

Happy 19th monthsary dearest!
Thank you so much for everything. (:

Happy birthday PigKhoLet!
Now he has learnt how to do headstands and throw tantrums! Haha. :x

It's November

We're coming to the end of the year~!

Well, I don't quite know whether to rejoice or to pull a face at it,
I guess more of happiness at that thought actually!
Cause it means Christmas is coming! :D

I've been lazy, or rather, busy with work work work, and being independent. :/

But before I go on about my life, there's just something I wanna share, which I've been bugged by Jerome for a while already. :x

There's this Ba Kut Teh we had at Toa Payoh interchange, that was yummylicious! Heh. (:

(I'll find a way to attach the pictures through the phone!)

Anyway, it was really good, the soup especially, served with the right temp. A little peppery though, but not exactly spicy!

Mmm, We weren't exactly hungry, so we bought a one person set with an extra bowl of rice!

Pardon me for my memory, we had it in September so I can't exactly the price. It was affordable, I think one set was $5.50, which came with the ba Kut Teh, youtiao, vegetables and a bowl of rice. But from the picture you can see peanuts, which was ordered separately @ $1. The peanuts ain't straight from the can by the way, if you're wondering!

Aside from the good food, the stall owner and staff were very friendly. (:
We couldn't get enough of the soup, so we went back to ask for a refill and was gladly offered, which may have been a norm, but you know some stall owners are kinda, arrogant when it comes to things like that. But he wasn't.

As for the location, the shop may be a little difficult to locate, it was located behind a row of shops, like Sinma, opposite the HDB hub!

We went at about 3 plus, off lunch hour already, so it wasn't exactly crowded, but you can see uncles having it still.

A small coffee shop with no air condition, so it was kinda warm. If you can't take heat, you may have to sacrifice a little for good food. (:

We always have to make a choice and sacrifices come with it isn't it? (:

Anyway, we had that few weeks before he flew to Aussie, and he's been in Aussie for close to a month already.
So yeah, but the memory's still good, except for the pricing part. :x



Okay back to work, till then! (:

Next Chapter

Commencement of Internship today.

Don't really want to talk about it.
But no more Saturdays with the boy. But I'm so thankful we met for dinner tonight at eighteen chefs, after the first day of work. (: I remember how he made time for dinner with me after the first SSM day too! ^^

So anyway, I'm looking forward to getting my own counter and serving customers! :D But now I'm just dead beat, I've no idea why. *shrugs*
In the meantime, let's just say I've to face one of the subjects I disliked most back then in secondary school. Geography. :/


Internship is the next chapter cause.. It's no longer part time jobs, and it means.. After this, it's either you continue to study or it's time for you to venture out into the working world.. No longer viewed as a learner or an intern where mistakes are acceptable. But still, even as an intern, making mistakes feel so scary.

I can't imagine being a full time staff, networking with business partners, having intelligent small talks and conversations, etc. I can't imagine myself being professional outside office hours. Having to uphold image etc. Oh, and a wardrobe full of business wear. 0.0

It's time to grow up soon. Yet, I don't know if I'm ready for it. But just like planes, time waits for no one.

Maybe, internship will prepare me better. Hopefully.

Till then! May I enjoy the next 5 months as an intern! (:

Completed

Soo.. We're done with Semester 3.1.

Or so I assume that I am.

Tough semester, probably the worst of the rest. :/

Oh wells, I survived through it.

Results not out yet, but I can't even be optimistic.

Oh wells, it's over, hopefully.

To mark the commencement of study week before the exams,

I had this totally awesome day out. :D

After ticketing test, met my dear boy to have lunch at Soup Spoon. (:

I've no idea why I like Soup Spoon actually~

Like, the soup ain't all amazing and worth it.

But the Clam Chowder is good though, filled with clams too. heh.

Then we went off to hunt for our white t-shirts to mark start our awesome day.

Finally went to Uniqlo to get our tees! Two pieces @ $9.90.

I think it was supposed to be an inner shirt? But it's really quite comfy. :D

Size S was just nice for me. (:

Can consider if you want to get some plain coloured tees~

So yep, we went home and drew on each other's shirts.

Hehe. Okay.. I don't have much artisitc talents. :/

But oh wells~ I tried my best! But it's really quite ugly. :x

Then we went off to fly kite + picnic at the barage!

A few times our Legless, (yes, that's the name of our kite. :P) got caught with other kites~

And we saw other kites get tangled up too~ Heh, quite amusing.

Hmm, then we went off to Garden by the Bay, which.. is okay lor. We watched the show.. I forgot what it's called, but at the Supertree area~

Quite pretty I guess, but not my favourite place,

didn't smell very nice, and there were a lot of mosquitoes. :/

Okay, to sum off the day, we walked to Marina Square to have sinful oily KFC! :x

Tadahhh. A picture to mark the day. (:

Check out our DIY badges and T-shirts. :D

So.. The 11 days holidays before SIP starts.

Caught up with friends and dinners with family.

Time for myself and some DIY.

DIY Rose~

And finally did something to my ugly nails though its not perfect. :x

NATAS Induction Programme~

And finally went to the library to borrow books! :D

Then today.. Lucky happy girl had the company of the boy who took leave to spend a day with her. (':

And here's the sumptuous breakfast he prepared. :D

So thankful for this boy. (:

Alrighty, till then!

ChosenSix meeting tomorrow! :D

Moving on~

Just last Tuesday, we had the last presentation in our TP lifeee. (well, hopefully)

Don't know how to feel about it.
Bittersweet feeling I guess.
Oh wells~
Now that all the presentations are over, it feels as though presentations are nothing to worry actually.
Well, as compared to project submissions, that is~


Hmm, so after all the submissions and presentations,
Coursework Grades are out this week.
60% worth of grades.
Well, I'd just say, there's no grades yet that is beyond repair.
So I gotta pull up my socks for exams.
(which is not very smart to be blogging right now, but oh wells, we all need breaks, don't we?)

Ahh, not in the mood to talk about school.
Let's just talk a lil about Saturday.

Hmm, went over to Jerome's cousin's housewarming.
Nice windy place! But I think the internal ventilation not very good. :/
But new flats in Tiong Bahru~ Pretty. (:

And then rushed to Cathay to watch Borne Legacy.
Interesting, but a lil complicated.
A lot of action!
I didn't watch the whole series, so can't comment much.
It gave me the 'in-time' feel though!


DINNER.
Finally Pizza Hut craving satisfied!

We went to the branch at Plaza Singapura~
Service is commendable I've to say,
even though I didn't like the seat we got. ):

Okay, so we ordered the following~

Garlic Bread! (: [$3.90]



Isn't this a must whenever you go to Pizza Hut? :D
Well, at least for us, it is~!
Have to say the food quality kinda dropped.
I remember how I used to loooovveeee Pizza Hut's Garlic Bread!
But oh well, still good!

And then there's the soup of the day~ Cream of Chicken~



Mm, quite a few chicken chunks in there~ Yumyum~
It actually came with this cooler.. Summer.. something.



It's some Mango-flavoured drink!
I didn't get to try cause it was no cold drink day for me. :/

And with this main course, one of the new chef's creation.
Garlic Herb Crusted Baked Fish



Well, it costs $15.90 ala Carte.
And $16.90 with the cooler and the soup.
Well, worth it right? So yeah, we ordered the set. (:

(I just went on the web and realised it's actually $1 more for city outlets. ._. )

Okay so anyway~ The fish!
They served it this way.
But it was supposed to come with baby potatoes, which I happen to read in the description when browsing the menu, so I asked the waitress who served this.
So she took it back to check with the kitchen who said they ran out of them.
The captain who took our order came back with the dish, and apologised,
service glitch, they didn't inform her that there wasn't baby potatoes already.
So she offered to change it to fries, which Jerome gladly and happily accepted.

Turns out it wasn't fries though, it was starred potatoes. heh.



Okay, sorry for digressing.
The fish.. Texture was not bad.
The sauce was good too.
But I didn't like the crust though, which was what I initially looked forward to.
It got pretty bleahhh after a while. :/
Typical cream sauce effects for me probably.

Don't know if the portion was too big or I just wasn't hungry enough,
but yeah, felt supeerrrr full after the course.

The grilled veg were yummy though, good accompaniment. (:

And.. This was Jerome's pizza~



Ocean Catch Regular Crispy Thin Pizza @ $12.90.
Well, it's Pizza Hut.
I'd think everyone would know how the pizza's like~ So, nothing to comment.
I didn't eat it anyway~
But yeah, they are having a promotion now!
Think the original price was like, $17.50 or something.
Suited for someone with large appetite?
Or for 2. Cause he only managed to finish half of it!
And we tabao-ed the rest away. :x

Hmm. There was Citibank 10% discount on overall bill with spending above $30 too!
So yeah, after the discount plus the taxes and service charge, it amounted up to $38++?

Satisfying I guess, but I wouldn't spend on the Fish again. :/

That's all for dinner!



On a side note~

Today marks the 15th month! (:

Recalled Rachel saying 'Happy 5th Anniversary' during F&B lecture today.
I was like, 'huh? It's 15 months!'
And she said she thought it's 5 years already.
So I went 'Rachel, I haven't known you for 5 years yet'.
HAHAH. Cute huh!

But I've been receiving lotsa comments on how it feels like we've been together for a really really long time!
Always wondered if it's a good thing or not.
But I guess it's a good thing! (:

And a nice collage to end off the post~!



Indeed we've come a long wayyy~ But there's a longer journey awaiting us! ♥ (:

Okay, gotta go touch on my ticketing!
Till then~

PS. I guess, taking the counselling module will help me deal with any problems that will ever arise between us. Heh. Happy times > sad days :D

Chapters in Life

Just yesterday, there was the SIP launch early in the morning.

And the CM was talking about the different chapters in life.
Indeed, I believe our life is like a book, separated into different chapters.

Of course, it's a matter of what you define as a new chapter in your life.
I wouldn't classify SIP as a next chapter of life.
I mean, I will still be under the care of the school + I'm still paying school fees.
So technically speaking, I'm still studying.

I believe my next chapter starts in April next year.
When I'm out to work, and drawing a proper salary, graduated from TP.

Still unsure of what I really want to do in the future.
And absolutely dreading the thought of university. :/
But probably SIP + the bond would change that perception.

So anyway, like I was talking about Chapter in Life~
I believe this is a new chapter in Alvin's.
Even though it's just a wedding to attend for me.

Alvin's Military Wedding @ Treehouse Villas @ Changi



So this was the first time I attended a Wedding with Jerome.
I've always wondered how it'll feel.
But I guess.. Nothing much.

Hmm. It's a pretty nice place with the flora and fauna.
Yet it's really quite warm. :x
Cause the ceremony was like outdoors.

Military Wedding though!
Quite cool.



Like how the bride and groom enters by walking through the swords.
Officer pride I guess. (:

But told myself I would want a more grand wedding. :x


So.. There was this thing called the throwing of the flower to the determine the next bride-to-be.
I see it on TV all the timeeeee, and always wondered how it feels to be there. Wahaha.
But when they called all the single ladies to go and stand behind the bride who's going to throw the bouquet~
I wanted to go to hide, but was dragged by my auntie, and so I dragged Eileen along.


Catch us at the bottom right of the picture~

It felt inappropriate for me to be there.
I didn't want to catch it. It felt.. Weird.
So before the bride threw, Eileen and I planned to run away.
And so we did.
And the bouquet landed on where we stood.
I swear it felt so scary when I saw it coming towards me. :/
Like the kind of feeling you get when you play musical chairs and you're afraid of not getting a seat when the music stops?

So they all saw.
And asked why we ran away. :x
And then passed the bouquet to us. :/
So Eileen held it cause I'm pretty stubborn you see. :x


Hmm. So a picture of us with the bouquet. :x

Oh wells~
I admit it wasn't a very nice thing to do, but it just didn't feel right.

And so the day went on~
With all the lil chats you do during family gatherings.
And then getting entertained by the lil ones in the family like Ivan.

Overall, a pretty nice wedding~
But it was held for the whole day, got kinda bored after a while~
But it's so nice to see the family together, even though it's not Chinese New Year. (:

And before I end the topic on Alvin's wedding,
here's a picture of me and the boyyyy. (:





Hmm, I'm gonna digress a lil and talk about my dinner on Friday! Hehe. (:

Initially a dinner date at Pizza Hut, but I lost the craving and we ended up at Suki-Ya. (:



It's actually $22.90++ per pax for dinner on Weekends (including Friday).
Then you'll get a free cup of drink if you're a Poly/ITE student.
$4.90 for free flow of soft drinks~ And they sell ala carte cooked items too.
Oh, there's a time limit for dinner though. 100 mins. To increase turnover I guess~

Hmm. We weren't actually very hungry so we didn't eat much.
Didn't manage to catch a picture on the selection of the steamboat items.
But you know, it's pretty standard~
Just that there wasn't fishballs, which got me quite disappointed.

But there were some Sushi, which I thought was quite.. Weird.

I forgot the soup selection that we selected. :x
But I think the black-looking one was Sukiya.
And it was good for meat, cause it's salty and sweet.
Gives flavour to the meat, which are not marinated.

The other one was something that had kimchi in its description. :x
But I didn't like that. Like, not appropriate for steamboat!

Hmm, the meat selection, only three types: Pork, Chicken, Beef.
Pork wasn't very soft, so I don't likee.
Chicken on the other hand was my favourite cause it's pretty tender. (:
Beef was just.. Okay. Not bad said Jerome~

But what I like at Suki-Ya is that you can take the eggs as dips for your meat.
Like.. You cook it, and then dip into the eggs.
Yummy plus it lowers the temperature a lil, so just nice for consumption. (:
I was taught by Estee and Rebecca the last time I was there~

It's not like you can't do it at other steamboat places~ But they gave the assurance that their eggs are checked so it decreases the possibility of having salmonella, a bacteria which is commonly found in eggs.
Well, they're killed when its cooked, but if not, they can cause diseases.
But then again, this time I was there, the 'assurance note' seems to not be there already.  Oops.


But I've to say that after dinner,
quite a while later, there was this weird feeling..
Like not tummyache or whatever,
Just the thought of eating the raw egg as a dip.
We bought had it.
I don't know if it's common.

But it's really worth trying.

As for the monetary value~ I've to say, it isn't very worth it.

Well, there was ice cream as well~



But that's all for you~
I'm not so much of a 'carnivore',
plus there's not so much of a variety.
So~ maybe we won't go back again.

Alright~
That's all for nowww~
Gotta go back to work.

A few weeks more of school before the exams!
Kinda excited, yet dreadful.
Oh wells~

Till then~