November to December…

Hi dear bloggie, long time no see. Nowadays besides work, whatever time I have left has to be spread across so many other things that I wish to do..and you’re number…(errr)…20th? on my To-do-list. By the time I even get to number 5, my day would already have ended. But well here I am, finally..after M-I-A-ing for what a long time..there’re so many things that I want to tell!

2005 is almost coming to an end.. From late November till now, it has been an especially wonderful time for me. I can’t remember if I enjoyed this part of the year this much last year, or even in the past. But this year, I really did. To think back now, I cannot remember every bit of a detail, but I just know that it has been a time filled with good feelings and high spirits.. I’m truly thankful for every little thing that walked me through for the past one month or so.

I guess caroling played a big part in kicking in the joyous festive mood for me specially early this year, and boy- I’m glad it did :) The audience listening in at the airport were an appreciative and supportive lot.. The greatest fulfillment comes from their applause, their smiles and cheers, and a simple but heart-warming thank you from a stranger who enjoyed our performance. They were a great source of motivation for me every weekend since mid-November, and I was glad to have spent my weekend nights with them.

Of course the next happy thing that I was looking forward to then was Sis’s and my birthday. I have put together all the belated presents that I received from my friends, so that I can look at them again and again, and remember their good :)

All of these were given to me from some of my closer friends and colleagues. I’m really delighted because they are all thoughtful gifts that my friends chose specially for me..I appreciate it a lot. THANK YOU. They complete my wardrobe, and now I declare myself a contented girl who has everything she needs ;)

Buying gifts is not an easy feat I learnt..there are so many gifts out there to choose from, but 90% of them are either useless or redundant things. After 3 rounds of shopping, I finally decided to get this toy for Siok Choo for our gift exchange. It looks so friendly and happy, I hoped it will help to add some cheer to her stressful work day everytime she looks at it :)

Come last Thursday, we had our Christmas lunch-cum-gift exchange at Vines, and I didn’t expect that Siok Choo had picked my name too! We were the only pair that picked each others’ names back..what a coindence! This is what she got for me..Evan loved the little red bag.. I like it too.

Christmas to me is a happy occasion, a time to gather, a time to sing and a time to show appreciation.
Christmas to me is like winter season. Winter means beautiful snow and the air is calm and peaceful.
The weather is cold, but our hearts are warm.
And this year, I realise the thing I love most about Christmas is not chocolates, but… christmas trees.
This is the first time my neighbourhood is done up extensively to celebrate Christmas, in the past there were only boring banners hung at the HBD blocks and nothing else. I was really surprised (or rather, shocked) to suddenly see - not one, but FIVE christmas trees at the park on my way home one fine evening. There’s one papa tree and four baby trees.. Look at them! Aren't they just lovely?

I was smiling to myself when I first saw them across the road, somehow they just made my day. The brightly lit-up christmas trees added this extra tinge of homely feel to the entire neighbourhood, and it warms my heart so everytime I walk past them, like they are just a part of us. It was very sweet of the committee-in-charge to have this arrangement this year too, really. Thanks :)

Music Is My World

Please allow me to present…

My beloved nano.

Engraved words at the top says, "Music is My World, J.Shan"..cuz music means the world to me.

:)

I needed a player really badly especially after I started work..I get so bored everyday on my train rides that I’d always wish I had some music to keep me company.

Amongst all the options available, I was solely attracted to nano. Interface, usability & performace wise, I was confident that ipod is satisfaction guaranteed. The ultra slim design was a big bonus as well. But the only concern that was holding me back was the price.

No doubt it is darn pretty and makes a good player, but the price is indeed steep. I decided to go for it after thinking twice and hard enough. I know I was paying for the quality, but I was still alittle bothered. Some sense of insecurity of spending a huge sum of money and not knowing whether it is the wisest decision I guess..

I’ve been using my nano for more than a week now, and I’m so relieved that it is a decision I wouldn’t have to regret. I’m really pleased with it, and I’m very very happy that I have made my choice.

So I used to go, “har…I’m only serangoon ar!? *sighz*”,
whereas now I’m like “oh! I’m reaching little india already! Yay..”
My train & bus journeys are no longer dreadful now..in fact I look forward to them!

It’s one of the best gifts I have gotten for myself I guess..I really love it. And I’m thankful for being lucky to have access to such great technology, to be able to bring all my favourite music around to wherever I go, all stored in one small device. Cool.