First Day at Work

Working right beside one of the largest fountains in the world! There is a cool story behind this fountain so be sure to Blackle it.

I started my first day at work today and was introduced to all my work colleagues. Apart from the introduction to my superiors and colleagues I've already been handed a project that should be really interesting. My line manager is extremely helpful and I have my own buddy to help me through - so I don't get lost etc.

Reception Officer Yen YoongFountain of Wealth - Suntec Towers

I have my own desk in the corner, nice and private. And I sit diagonal to a girl named Amy! So it's going to be fun working there; working out which Amy is being called. And oh, I should learn Mandarin too cos a lot of my work mates speak it and I'm feeling like I just moved to a country where I don't speak the language!

Updating... National Day

It is Singapore's National Day tomorrow (9 August) and all the apartments (flats) are lined with Singapore flags. There will be a parade at the Marina (but only for people with tickets) and lots of SALES everywhere~! So the city will be packed.

I really admire how proud Singaporeans are of their country's national day. Apart from the sales, there is a patriotic feeling in the air when you to see all the flags flying from the sides of buildings.

I am going to be in KL from Thursday to Saturday! Let's see what I can discover there...

At the moment I am collecting up all my thoughts and observations in a new notebook that I bought from Prints a very snazzy notebook and stationary shop here... I love notebooks, imagine how happy I was when I came upon a whole shop dedicated to them!

Arrived in Singapore OK!

I don't have regular internet access right now because I can't seem to get it working at Aditi's >.<

But it'll work soon, until then, I'm here, I'm having a good time walking around finding my way around, getting a little lost at Suntec towers, using the bus system, trying to speak clearly and buying clothes for work - that's quite fun ;)

Also, the people here seem to be very friendly, already had someone come up to me in a mall saying I looked familiar! Guys here sure know how to pick up girls.

Thank you everyone for alllll the birthday greetings! And I heard there were drinks on Saturday in Wellington for my birthday -sniffles, I'm miss my friends there! I had a night out in Auckland with the Aucklanders, that was fun, thanks for coming everyone :)

I haven't even had a chance to do anything on Facebook except change my status.

Facebook vs Email

My friends and I were having an interesting discussion last night about Facebook. Now Simone and I are quite into it and the other two guys, they were not. Wei-Yen is somewhere in the middle, he's a Facebook sympathiser.

Why is Facebook so much more popular than email as a way to re-communicate with lost friends? I had an earlier discussion about this and it may be because of the following reasons 1) too formal 2) has a lower chance of someone replying 3) gets lost in all the spam 4) people change their email addresses constantly. Whereas Facebook is a little more accessible - at least when you know that the person is 'active', you can send a one-liner to say "hey you, how's it going? Where are you now?" and they will get a 'notification' in their inbox to tell them that you've posted something.

The point about MSN also came up - why don't you just chat with them? Now this is a little different, in the day of instaneous gratification people are also starting to protect their time more and don't like to be interrupted - hence you have to leave voice messages etc. Facebook (and its counterparts) offer the deferability of email without the formality.

So the next time you go to email your friends, why don't you just go to their "wall" and post a message? Chances are they'll go and read your "notes" which are updates of what you're up to. I still love mass emails though ^.^

Just for some fun, we also talked about this youtube video which is sure to make you wonder what people do with your profile... ;)

Those things you keep with you forever

For me is it cards (and letters too). While packing for Singapore, I came across my old cards from the last two years.

Birthday cards, postcards, farewell cards... sugar cubes. I keep them all... I even saved Christmas cards from when I was in primary school and all my birthday cards from my 21st.

Why are cards so special? Because words mean a lot... and having wonderful words written just for you on a piece of paper takes a lot of thought, emotion and time. That is why cards are special. My friends and I used to write essays on our cards to each other and fill up every single gap - so the more blank the card, the better! Birthday humour always brings out the creativity in people ;)

And in the darkest, most depressing and deeply confusing times in your life, you can open them up - wherever you are - and read what others have put into thoughts and given to you, and you get a glimpse of what they were thinking at the time, always positive, to lift your spirits. Above photos, above gifts, I love cards, but they have to be meaningful and filled with sincerity. Unlike presents, cards can never be thrown or given away, because they're addressed to you alone.

This is one of my favourite lines (I wonder if she remembers writing it). On the cover reads: happy travels, new places, new faces. Inside: "Sorry the card is a bit misleading, but at least it's HUGE!! Mwahaha...who says we forgot about your birthday, aye?"