Reflections

It's the last day of the year already and I just wanted to pen down some thoughts..

2012 has been such an awesome year I don't know where to begin.

Career-wise, I finally got my deepest, fondest wish. That alone would have made my year.. =) But on top of that, I have wonderful managers and colleagues. I'm in a firm with great benefits and supportive people programs. It's something that I'm thankful for every single day. I hear about friends with horrible bosses and rude colleagues, or corporate cultures that seem to stifle and limit one's potential, and it makes me really thankful to be where I am today. (: 

Travel-wise, I've been to three new places this year and they were all pretty good trips! First was a weekend getaway with Eric to Krabi. We had a really nice resort closeted next to the mountains so it was really peaceful. Food in Krabi was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, 'nuff said. And Krabi was cheap! 

Second trip was a 9 day holiday with the family. We haven't been on one together in years, and family being family, we still had our quarrels.. but the trip was still so much fun. Whale watching, theme park hopping, and trekking in beautiful Australian trails.. Not forgetting parasailing! That was the highlight of the trip. 

Third and most recent was another 9 day holiday with Eric to Vietnam. Another budget-friendly place where we ate so much good food, and met a ton of friendly people. Halong Bay was gorgeous, Sapa torturous. But I still really enjoyed Vietnam and I would definitely go back again!

Good news in my family too, Jie got engaged this year and we're all really psyched. Tom's awesome and we're all really lucky to have him join our family. =D Mum had a thyroid infection, but non-cancerous and she had it removed without any complications. I'm happy my parents are still around and very much healthy. On top of jie's engagement, she got a transfer and an increment so things look good for her. Mei outdid herself in her exams this year with outstanding results. Anddddd, we adopted a cutie pie goldie (Bailey) into our family! I would say it's been a great year for the family. 

I also started my own blogshop (Royal Troika) heeehee. I've always talked about wanting to start my own blogshop, but I've never really dared to begin with so many uncertainties. I'm really glad to have met Yvonne and Huiqi to embark on this journey together. I feel it's quite an achievement to have gotten this far, and I really respect other blogshop owners who have propelled their blogshops into superstardom. It's really not easy. And we've learnt a lot of lessons along the way..

And last but not least my love life. It's obvious, my life pretty much revolves around Eric hahah. I am so so so thankful to have him in my life. He's been a pillar of support these past 2 years, and he really gives me the confidence to forge ahead in my career as well as my blogshop. One cannot ask for a better bf than he.. Especially when I'm sick, he thinks of every little detail to ensure that I suffer as little as possible. He even bought me Vitamin C for Christmas!! hahaha.. 

2012 has been so good to me, AND the world didn't end! =D

Here's to another awesome year ahead~ *raises champagne glass*

Christmas Collection!

Christmas day is just around the corner and I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to update this space.

Have you gotten your dresses for this festive season yet? 

We are bringing in on Royal Troika dresses suited for day and night parties in 4 different colours!

We got up really early to go down to MBS for the photoshoot. 

I was unwell and so tired that I left the dresses at home! >_<

Here we are using our very first prop.. the Piano.. We hadn't warmed up yet and so we took really long to complete taking pictures of the first set of outfits..

Here are the closeup details of the bustier. (:

I like this picture.. but sadly my hand blocked Yvonne's mouth zzz..

Can't have a photoshoot without my amazing boyfriend. He skipped MacR training just to help us out. (:

the pic one the right was taken by me.. trying to be funny lol.

me.. on my way back up the escalator! (:

Totally random but I really like this pic. Too bad we couldn't use it coz it doesn't really showcase the dress.

As the day wore on, we took better shots.. Check out this photo. (:

I found some props lying around heehee.

Tired feet.

Fooling around some more..

And lastly, my favourite dress, AND photo of this collection. :D

That's all for now.. See you 9pm on Thursday Evening at Royal Troika!

back

I'M HOMEEEEE!!!

Been packing and repacking and packing again this past week. Feels awesome to be home, take a nice hot shower and scrub all the grime off.. Plus intense skincare regime for the face, hand cream and body lotion everywhere heehee.

It's so good to be back.

Only drawback is work tomorrow.. 

hai.. =/

Snapshots in Vietnam

It's our last morning here.. It's a bittersweet feeling to finally be on our way home.

Just throwing a few pictures I took with my phone, some already uploaded through instagram.. (:

My first manicure ever.. I was a little surprised that they were all the same design but it's so pretty nonetheless.. A lot of effort went into designing each and every nail.

My first craving for salad here... Caesar's salad in Joma's cafe..

Eric really liked this cafe just 30m away from our hostel. (:

We occasionally splurged on dinner.. ~US$10 which is ex for Vietnam, but cheap for Singapore.

No pictures in my phone of Halong Bay, but many taken in Sa Pa.. coz there were so many wifi spots. =P

Lovely cafe called "The Hill Station" in Sa Pa. I loved the hot chocolate and carrot cake! (:

The cafe...

Up on the mountains, we thought there would be nothing to do, but we found this "one and only bar" with free wifi! (; And I ordered apple rice wine, eric ordered 2x baileys.. And it totalled only US$10. Really cheap compared to the prices back home..

Us..

We spent one night at Auberg Hotel with a really nice view of Sa Pa's surrounding mountains.. (:

And the cutest little white kitten that will forever hold a place in my heart. (:

one more night in Victori'a Hotel where I'm "Mrs Chan"...

Luxurious bedroom (:

check out the embossed bedsheet!

cold foggy night in Sa Pa..

Yummy pastry for breakfast! =D

That's all I have in my phone. Hope I have time to do up decent blog entries for this trip. (:

I'm coming homeeeeeeeeeee~!

Vietnam part 2 [delayed post]

On yet another sleeper train back from Sa Pa to Hanoi. I can't say our sleeper train experience this time round is any better than the previous trip. When we left Hanoi for Sa Pa, we were in the same cabin with a peaceful and kindly Vietnamese couple who kept mostly to themselves and even offered us some snacks before promptly going to sleep.

This time round, we had two separate local travellers, one male one female, who each came into the cabin with another Vietnamese who was probably sending them off. I don't know much about the culture here, but I personally found it a little offensive they would talk so loudly and and stare at us the whole time.. And even coming over and sitting on our beds, placing their hands and feet everywhere, so that they could face each other and talk amongst themselves.

Not my most fond experience. :/

Anyway, I'm really glad to finally be leaving Sa Pa. It was a beautiful place but it's always misty, with loads of rain and cold.

You know, going to Sa Pa, I had no idea what Eric signed us up for.. Eric told me I needed shoes, and that we would be walking to paddy fields. I was like "Huh paddy fields? Will my shoes get wet?" To which he assured it me it would not. So I packed my f21 boots that I wore to trekking in Australia.

Boy, not only did my boots get wet. They went swimming in mud.

We trekked 9km on our very first day. The pace was really quick, ground was really muddy, and I barely had time or energy to look around and enjoy the view. There I was thinking I run ~9km at least once a week.. Trekking that distance should be easy peasy. Boy oh boy I was the last person for every leg of our journey.

Imagine terraces of paddy fields stretching far and wide, and how does one get to the other side? No, we won't go up and around it.. Let's trek along the edge of each terrace, risk falling into one, oh and yea soak our shoes in mud. Thankfully, my boots were very good boots and kept my feet dry throughout the whole journey. But to be honest, the trek sucked big time. I hated it so much.. the disgusting mud, the breakneck pace.. I didn't even have time to enjoy the scenery! :( 

Oh and ya, the one day we were supposed to have an easy trek where we could wear slippers, I decided to be conservative and wear sports shoes instead of boots. Bloody hell easy trek my foot! It was so slippery, still muddy, I slipped and fell and landed on my tailbone.. :( it was so painful I couldn't move and teared like a big baby with everyone else watching. Eric had to literally pick me off the ground as I was pretty much paralysed with pain. Even lying flat on my back as I am now, I can feel the bruised area. :(

The whole experience was not completely horrible though.

The trek was made so much more bearable by the people we trekked with. We met a group of Swedish, a Mexican staying in Austria, an Italian + Czech couple, a Taiwanese, and two Australian girls. This group of oddballs really made the trip so much more bearable. The Mexican has half past six English, and every sentence is peppered with German words. It's hilarious to watch this guy. And his favourite phrase to anything you propose to him is "neinnnnnnnn", dragging out his rejection to whatever you said. The Australian girls were really sweet and it just feels nice to be around them. The Italian and Czech pair were really friendly and the group as a whole just really bonded to the point we've added every one on Facebook hahah. One memorable thing about this group of people that really touched me was how they would all chip in to help clean up the mess after we were done eating our meals. I mean, people are paid to do it for us right? But they still help stack the plates together and wipe the table. (:

Eric extended our trip by one more day after all the trekking to stay at the Victoria Hotel in Sa Pa. it's supposedly to be the most upz hotel there with the best view. We were really excited.

It was a wet and tiring walk to the hotel. I was so so so tired from the three days' trek.

The hotel was very cosy with nice big fireplaces but it seemed more unfriendly than the one we stayed previously. They had a pool table in the main lobby which I lost 3 games total to Eric. ;/

They also had a sauna, steam room, and heated pool that was free for all guests. Eric forgot to tell me about the pool so we didn't use it as we didn't pack any swimwear. I used the sauna and their shower facilities today and I felt really pampered heehee. The place smelled wonderful and the staff were very helpful. (they also had a water dispenser where we filled our bottles so we wouldn't have to buy anymore for the rest of the trip! =P)

We had mist and rain all day yesterday and today. It was such a pity we did not manage even a glimpse of the view from the hotel that we booked this hotel for. Visibility was so bad yesterday we could not see ~10m ahead of us in the fog that we got lost going back to the hotel at 6pm! It was dark by then.

Our afternoons to ourselves were mostly spent drinking coffee in two cafes owned by two Norwegians. We got to listen to relaxing English music (a first in Vietnam), and drink westernised coffee, plus play a couple of board games. I taught Eric how to play Backgammon and managed to beat him in a game of chess by pure luck! So he and I are even as he won three games of pool and I won three board games. 

I have some good memories of our experience in Sa Pa, but a lot of painful ones too. I am soooooo happy to be going back to Hanoi.

Sian the idiot is shouting into the phone again and it's already lights out in the cabin. What an ass! >_<

My Vietnam Trip [delayed post]

I'm on a sleeper train en route to sa pa, the mountainous area of Vietnam. It's 11pm local time and I can't sleep.

I'm unsure if it's the excitement of travelling and being in a foreign land, or if it's the annoying sway of the train that's keeping me up. So here I am.. Awake and "blogging" on my phone. (This is a delayed post as I have no wifi right now).

After 3 nights in Vietnam I realise that I have horribly misjudged Vietnam food and the Vietnamese people. Vietnamese food is amazing, contrary to the typical Vietnamese fare you find in Singapore. It's also really diverse and yummy. The beef pho (pronounced like "fur") is nothing like those in Singapore. It's so much better with loads of beef & lime, awesome soup and slurpy noodles.

I've had a us$7 meal shared with Eric where we ordered every item on the menu and ate till we nearly burst. Another popular meal with locals and tourists alike is bun cha, which was served to us with fried pork slices and patties thrown together in a soup, one plate of white noodles, one plate of mixed vegetables, and an empty bowl. Eric and I were at a loss as to how to eat it. After watching several locals, we just threw everything together and ate it. It was soooo good! For the more adventurous, throw in the raw garlic. It's the best!

Other than the occasional bitter mint leaf, every Vietnamese meal was fantastic! And no tau geh! :D

Vietnamese people are one of the most industrious and diligent people I have ever seen. Depending on the roles they play, there's no sub-standard work. The lady at the road side fries each egg individually for every order she receives. If she has run out of cut tomatoes she will walk to her store to retrieve another one, cuts it to put in the meal, so that each meal is served with the same amount of ingredients. The dishwasher woman washes each and every bowl separately to ensure that they are clean. And the lady carrying baskets of fruits walks from door to door, tourist to tourist, trying to sell her wares. And whilst they are not of the cheery-eager-to-please personalities, they will do more for you if you only ask, and without complaint. I am very impressed.

We were on a two day one night trip to halong bay earlier and it was gorgeous. The sheer number of islands produce different shades of mountain silhouettes depending on how near they are to you. It is breathtaking.

We slept on the boat for one night and were treated to best night sky I have ever seen. There are no lights to distract you from the glow of the stars and there were just so many! Imagine being in the middle of the sea surrounded only by islands (which you can't see at all as it is pitch black) and it's just you in complete darkness and the sky littered with stars. Words simply fail me to describe the wonder of the experience. I really recommend this to any of my friends going there.

I dragged Eric out the next morning to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately it was a cold cloudy morning with a slight drizzle. We were the only 2 idiots in the tour group that waited valiantly for the sunrise but to no avail. It was so cloudy we didn't even know which side the sun would come from.

The weather was really horrible that day.. We had gone from tank tops + fbts the previous day, to jeans + sweater + north face the next. We did manage to get some gorgeous pictures of Halong Bay though so it was totally worth freezing our butts off in the cold morning.

It's 11.39pm now and I probably should get some rest. We will be reaching Lao chai (I think this is the spelling) tomorrow morning at 5am and I really need my beauty sleep! You'd think my eye bags couldn't get any worse but sadly they are.

the second collection

As usual, I'm always one step behind in uploading previews for RoyalTroika before the launch ahaha.
I only have time to update post-launch. 

Some thoughts on this launch.. 

As it's our second collection, we have a little bit of experience under our belt already and were so much more efficient in preparing for this launch. The photoshoot probably took half the time, and we had a system and clear timeline to follow and keep track of our outstandings. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with our progess! (:

Anddd.. I really like this collection ahahha. I mean liked the first one, but I like this even better! =D

We took our pictures at MBFC this time round, with a mix of shots outdoors and indoors. We had wanted a more corporate venue for the shoot with less people and we heard MBFC would be like a dead town on a Sunday... SO UNTRUE! There were loads of tourists walking into all our photos.. Cleaners as well.. and cisco trucks lol!

Anyway, I wanna share some behind the scenes photos! (:

Group pic! You know, when I first saw this dress I was like... I LIKEEEE THIS! WE HAVE TO GET THISSS! 

We are all wearing the Alyssa Chiffon Dress.. I feel it's a really versatile piece. You can match it with a simple blazer and heels for work, or boots or flats for a casual day out. (:

It was a really hot day out.. Imaging being out and taking pics at ~1pm! =P

Yvonne always looks so photogenic! (:

ok this isn't a candid shot.. But it's one of the rare nice pictures of me closeup! =D

This is how we take pictures.. with Huiqi looking super unglam in the Annie Tweed Dress and birks. =P
(and i'm barefoot lol)

my superhero.. the bulk of our nice pictures came from him! He's becoming such an expert photographer...

tak glam..but huiqi says nice. hahaha still pretty la babe (:
(see cisco van photobombing all our pics zzz)

oops yvonne is barefoot here too!

zipai! (:

Another nice closeup taken in Eric's cam.. I'm wearing the Omega Cutout Dress in white..
The details are so pretty!

Yvonne looking super cute here in the Summer Florals Vintage Dress! (:

me (in background while yvonne is working hard) : -shaggg-

Me in the charcoal version. Eric says I'm too skinny for this dress.. but i likeeee. how?! :(

Last photo from the shoot. MY FAVOURITE PHOTO!!!
I'm using it for my twitter and whatsapp profile. =D

Special mention to our dear Yvonne for being such a rock star. She had a mega sprained ankle from falling down in Kota Kinabalu and she still put on platforms and heels to model for this collection. You're awesome babe.



Sadly it's another month before we launch again coz I'll be in Vietnam for 9 days, and then Huiqi will be flying off for another week or so.. :(

Do check out our collection here! We just launched one hour ago!

On an end note, I'm really grateful for the support from everyone..

Tanks everybardi tanks~ **barbarella wave**

Milestones

Milestones~ 

A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a 
road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile (from Wikipedia).

This word used so frequently but one never really bothers to think about the origins of the word.

For you to even encounter one milestone, you have to be on a journey with a beginning and an end. And throughout this journey, you had to start from somewhere and move forward to reach an end. Each milestone brings you one mile closer to your destination. As you progress, you accumulate new values and experiences that changes who and what you are.. for the better hopefully. 

I feel that one travels many different journeys in life. And each journey has different origins and destinations, with different milestones that characterize the whole experience. 

anyway.. what am I doing trying to wax lyrical on milestones?

October has been a wonderful month.. and it's not even over yet with more things to come.

I feel like I achieved two milestones this month and I'm really really happy about it!

First was regarding my career.. I've been in an unpleasant situation ever since I started work. What came so easily to all my peers, did not fall into my lap as simply as it did them. I got really depressed talking about it, thinking about it, even trying to get out of it made me feel depressed. I could best ignore it and feel good  not thinking about it for a while.. before someone or something that would remind me of it and send me back into that downward spiral. 

It has not been easy this 1 year 9 months. 

But after seemingly hopeless waiting.. I finally got it. And it's so unbelievable to me that I actually managed to wait it out for so long. I wanted to find an alternative so I could leave.. but finding alternatives wasn't easy, with me being extremely fussy about what I wanted and not many roles looking for my skill set. And despite the tons of applications i sent out, I probably got a response from less than 5%.. I really wanted to just quit without any alternatives at least a gazillion times.

Looking back, I'm sort of glad I didn't. I don't know where I'd be if I had left.. But if I did, i wouldn't have what i have today.. I know i'm talking about this issue in circles but I don't wanna elaborate on it. =/

So here's a message to you, and to myself as a reminder.. anytime I feel like giving up.


---


My second milestone is my anniversary with Eric today.

You may say.. one year also consider milestone meh?

Yes. To me, one year is a milestone. AND every year after that is also a milestone.

We should not take things for granted and a relationship can't work out if only one person is putting in effort.
Both parties need to work together to nurture and grow a relationship. Relationships don't stay healthy by just leaving things as it it..

It's been a wonderful journey and we're only just getting started. (:



I'm just really thankful to have him in my life. (:

here's another "mile marker" to show where we are in our relationship..
'cept i couldn't find one that said one year! oops. =P

September Updates

Yesyes I know October's halfway gone already and I'm posting September updates only now?! heh.

I was really busy with the blogshop launch near the end of September which took my every spare moment for two whole weeks.. And then October has been a whirlwind of activity that never seems to end! (I wouldn't want it to end anyway..=P)

After-work Drinks @ Erwin's

There's been some restructuring in my firm and we now report to new bosses. And so to get to know one another better, we had an after work session at the restaurant Erwin's Gastrobar, just below our office.

Being the german-influenced one, I was the only girl that ordered a beer, and I recommended the wheat beer to some of my colleagues who've never tried it before. Needless to say, I've converted some colleagues to the dark side. =P

Anyway, pictures!

Start off with a team photo..

 The only food i bothered to take.. Too hungry!!

The guys..

The girls..

candid #1

candid #2

*scandal* heehee

my girlies.. (:

candid #3

astroboy! (i think maybe he was drunk here haha)

last photo of the night! 

check out the act cute. =P

It was a really fun session, albeit awkward sometimes, but I really enjoyed myself and was glad that our new bosses bothered to take the time and effort to get to know us little people heehee.

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22MC Reunion

Our dear pres was flying off to HK for work so he organised this get-together for us. I can't believe my juniors have graduated and started working already! I mean.. It feels like I've only just graduated but actually it's been two years already!

Even my sis is graduating in 6 months time! How time flies...

We had lunch at Relish. I've never been there before but the food was yummy (and pricey!). I took pictures of everyone's food haha but I don't remember what they are..

me with Jem & Sher.. two of the sweetest girls i know.

FOOD SPAM

I ordered this Steak sandwich or something like that. SO GOOOOOODDDD! (:

Panna cotta which jie loves.. But I'm not a fan.. =/

Group photo!

It felt really good to see everyone again. 

Find out how they're doing at work as well as their social lives. 

I've really missed these awesome people.. (: (:

---

F1 Singapore

I never really did like F1. But when I heard that Katy Perry would be performing.. I was DYINGGG to go.

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to spend the money and resigned myself to not going.

Until my sister, lucky duck that she is, WON some tickets at a UBS event! I was like "Can i buy from you????" and she was like "Do you want to go with me????" 

Damn nice right?! I wasn't even expecting her to give me for free.

When we reached we were like omgomgomg so exciting..

Then here I was like.. "mehhh". Only the first 2 cars were exciting..

zipai. (:

UNTIL THE SAFETY CAR CAME OUT! =D best part of the whole event... watching the stream of cars all zoom by together! Check out this video I took! (:

We got to see the fireworks at the end of the whole thing..

Tricia so happy lol

street performers..

taking photos on the track..

It was such a crush after the event. 

We were virtually crawling all the way back to the Padang to catch Katy Perry's concert!

We came in from the gate right at the back.. so far away... ;(

It took a good 15minutes, but we navigated the crowd to get as close as possible to the stage... 

Which wasn't really that close.. owell..

She sang all the singles that she released so it was quite a bit. (: 

Going to a concert with Singaporeans can be quite depressing though.

 No one seemed really excited to be there.. jumping around or singing around, 'cept for a few foreigners.. =/

she's so hot omg

(:

Last pic of the night.

ONE DAY, I am going to buy front row tickets to her concert in an air-conditioned location haha... 

one day...

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White + Jeans day

Every 2-3 months, the firm will have a "jeans" day for our dept as part of a charity fundraising effort. So each time, our team will decide on a theme for that day. Last month's theme was white tops + jeans.

The view from my seat =P 

Everyone in white tops..

The Ladies in different textures (and prints) of white..

The guys doing the act cute thing.. inspired by an earlier picture in this post heehee..

Team photo. (:

woohoo! And that's all the updates for September! 

peaceout! (: