dhaka isn't as bad as i tot it would be. i mean, 2 engineers spoke to me abt the country on fri. 1st one said, "i've been there 3 times and nv wanna go again. you shouldn't go too." n later went on to elaborate that the moment he stepped outta the airport, hoards of pple would crowd round him - to help? to steal? you wouldn't know... 2nd engineer sat me down and said with dead pan seriousness, "its a islamic country. you should nv wear skirts. you should know wat to wear... avoid jewellery too." countless of colleagues kept repeating: be careful, take care.
so far, it really hasn't been all too bad. for starters, the airport wasn't as scary as described. we had airport pickup and the hotel rep was even quite dashing. haha =p there was smog. ok, that i can accept. no traffic lights or marked lanes on the roads, but roadside lights are still considered sufficient.
our hotel is in the commercial district, surrounded by universities, so the crowd here is rather young. the hotel's up to expectations, with the exception of the lousy water heating system - it alternates from cold to warm to scorching hot and back to cold again despite me not adjusting anything. so that sux since taking nice long hot baths is one of those things i look fwd to in staying in a hotel... oh well. oh yah, power failure is common. just today, think it went off 5times or so. but it'll always return in like 1 min, so not that much of a worry.
food is one of the main concerns before coming here, which explains why i packed quite alot of food supply as compared to nothing for bangkok. buT! turns out that we have free food every 2 hours. breakfast 830, tea 1030, lunch 1230 (ok, this aint free), tea 1530, and late tea again 1730 after class ends. thats why i've been skipping dinner this 2 days... yay, can save money and eat safe hotel food =)
going outta the hotel, however, isn't very fun. the streets are crowded, the traffic is bad and honking is a national pastime. 95% of the people on the streets are men, and they just STARE. everywhere we go, every single one of them STARE, whether they're walking past us or hanging out on the opposite side. i mean, its quite harmless but its not very comfortable.... so i keep my eyes on the ground (which actually needs much attention to not fall), avoid eye contact and grasp tightly to my bag. every going out experience so far (which is only 4times) has been tensed and stressful because you hafta be alert and on guard all the time - to the people, the traffic, your belongings, just everything! hopefully it'll get better after awhile, ie i'll get more used to it. we just went out for abt 2hours this evening, and i was so tired when we reached back... my colleagues felt the same too. its like a big sigh of relief back in the hotel.
oh guess wat?? =) our bangladeshi colleagues brought us to this shopping place just 15min walk away from our hotel and i bought a bright orange salwar kameez (otherwise known as punjabi suit)! i'm happy with my buy =) only abt 28sgd for a 3piece. maybe i can blend in better with the locals after this... haha, fat hope la since its real bright orange. will post pics when i wear it =)
so yahz... everythings been pretty good so far la. as long as i dun fall sick, dun get mugged / raped n dun get into any kinda accident, it should turn out to be a good trip. but its only day2 now! gambatte!
~~~ Angela 11:36 PM
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dhaka beckons
i'm leaving for the airport in an hour or so...... yikes~ bangladesh... i really wonder... wat it'll be like.
=) let you know sooon.... take care peeps! and keep me in ur prayers. ta~~
~~~ Angela 5:32 PM
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
onwards..... with life
i keep my autograph books well. i mean, such are things most of us tuck away safe in some drawer and sometimes when we stumble upon them again, they become a source of warmth and much reminiscing and without fail, i'll always smile at wat my frens wrote. amongst the many entries in my NY autograph book abt my crazy love for the colour orange, my cheerfulness and unexpected maturity despite my kiddish fancies, this one written by rong'er really stood out: "i guess you are someone who 拿得起又放得下。"
i remember thinking, why did she say that? and realised eventually that it is true. i was able to float ard, being in one clique for some time and then move on to be closer with another and so on when at that age, most pple just haf one close grp of frens and stay that way.
altho i acknowledge that trait, i wished i was even more so and more 潇洒, bcoz people can change in a blink of an eye and i shouldn't be shock at all since my entire life's circumstances is as it is today due to such a change.. sigh..... the struggle between retaining vulnerability and guarding your heart. hard aint it?.........
moving on becomes such an integral part of life as we journey onward... then again, its the only way we can isn't it? oh well.
basically, i haven't been feeling too good lately. many reasons la, altho i try to contribute it mostly to anxiety from the upcoming one month long bangladesh trip, i know otherwise. ultimately, i havent been trusting God enough in too many areas.
alot of mixed emotions. worries abt the trip, future in siemens, mummy's health, mine there in bangladesh (esp without any vaccines). feelings abt the impending goodbyes with my capap frens, abt a colleague's husband abt to be removed from the life support system after a sudden brain stroke, how i shld deal with things at work, etc etc etc.... sheesh.
please pray for me k? i need to be all geared up for the trip with the right positive attitude =) n all ready to mug like hell n come in tops. damn, i really do think and stress too much sometimes.
~~~ Angela 9:29 PM
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
frenships
i wish for so much more from our frenship. but circumstances make things hard and humans disappoint. sigh.... having expectations seems to be equivalent to being vulnerable. n being true makes me just that. am i designed to be like this?? in any case, i'll rather be a softie than one with a hardened heart, becoz strangely, i so believe in our frenship.
i wrote the above 2weeks ago but didn't post it due to some forgotten reason. depressing as it sounds, sometimes when it has come to past and when u're outta that moment, perspectives change along with emotions as a result of rationalisation.
the fact is, mortals disappoint. frens disappoint. but at the other end, there are those who constantly amaze with their sincerity, their encouragement, their trueness and their love. perhaps the key is to minimize expectations or rather, manage my expectations.
i had such a blessed evening with xiayi tonite =) she is one amazing fren.
~~~ Angela 11:56 PM
Thursday, February 14, 2008
storytelling rediscovered
have you seen this commercial?? i really really like it. =) its been airing sooo many times lately but i'm still not sick of it. think its so smart and different from the crap that merely disrupts my entertainment. must be the camera angles and haunting music....
~~~ Angela 12:16 AM
Monday, February 11, 2008
CNY 08
*whines* CNY is making me fat!!! once again, i've successfully expanded my tummy's capacity again. sigh... must really curb my appetite and diet starting... hmm... i dunno.... bel just bought me 2 krispy kreme donuts from aussieland n i had a very sinfully sweet plus creamy one for tea this afternoon. yikes~
i enjoyed CNY this year bcoz my fave uncle came back for the festivities. haha, having such a small family is boring. angbao collection ends by day1 n we just rotate from house to house for meals. 除夕 dinner at my place. 初一 lunch at aunt's, dinner at greatgranny's. 初二 lunch at aunt's again and dinner at big uncle's. n in btw, i chauffer my fave uncle for movies. haha. we watched kungfu dunk on 初一 and CJ7 the next day. the latter is highly recommended - its funny (tho not entirely refreshing), meaningful n touching, and the animation is so so SO cute! 初三, chauffered uncle from shopping to dinner and cabbed to vivo for more shopping. for my chauffering services since he arrived on tues, he got me an AX top and some spanish designer casual dress. haha no i'm kidding abt the chauffering fees, coz he dotes on me la =P its soo nice to have somebody say, "我买给你啦！" without having to worry abt my expenses. damn, i so wanna marry rich.
初三 ended with my v first experience in a club in SG. was dragged to st james by uncle and cousin despite my resistance and managed to get in despite being clad only in a extra cute charlie brown tee, jeans and slippers. hahahhahaa. really must be bcoz i was with uncle. we went to dragonfly, supposedly the old folks place. hahhaa, but i enjoyed it coz i actually liked the old music they were playing from the 90s and the live performances were rather good loh. but i was given several disgusted / you're-a-freak stares due to my inappropriate dressing. hahaha, heck. still, it was strange gg with relatives - cant dance... hmm not that i do la. but the perk is i can drink my fill since they just keep coming and are paid for. heh. nonetheless, we only stayed for abt an hour when uncle announced at 2310, "its about time, son is waiting for me at home." hahhaha
drove uncle and family to the airport last nite. was a teensy bit sad that he was leaving but he comes n goes n stays away so often, the sadness is close to insignificant. n kinda glad that the chauffering is over, its really tiring know? kudos to cabbies.
and for now, its back to work. SIAN. need to get back my momentum quick, n try to impress my current, talk-with-bullet-train-speed hongkie boss with sensible questions. sigh, wat are the chances of that man? >.<
~~~ Angela 11:45 PM
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
fighter
i think its time for an update, but am not exactly in the writing mood. more in the i wanna listen to you grumble mood. yes, strangely, i haf such moods..... maybe i'd just rather listen to ur troubles than think abt/mull over mine.
work hasn't been too bad. wasn't too pleased in my new dept last week coz felt that there wasn't much guidance, ppl just weren't really interested. had an update session with CFO on fri, which turned out to be quite a happening day as my lunch session with my seniors dragged for more than 2hrs as we were stranded without brollies. then met up with my "long-lost" twin at clark quay where we spent the entire nite updating each other of our lives. enjoyed a lazy saturday which ended with a reunion with project oracle 05 mates. sunday was last min shopping for CNY, managed to get a top that was kinda clown-like due to its big red buttons. but wat the heck, i look good in it.
met with my boss for awhile yest. we'd decided to give her some pineapple tarts, u know, to make her happier. thank God it went well... i mean, i've been praying abt it for days n even rehearsing wat i'll say if things moved in a bad direction. so i was really really glad nothing happened. but haiz... office politics will never end. went on a date after work yest, watched sweeney todd which was seriously morbid n rather gruesome but funny and strangely entertaining. the company was... well... good but lacking in some departments. oh well, there will be a next time. and tonite, my uncle's back for CNY. assumed the role of ms chauffer, but its ok la, he's the nicest uncle i haf anyway.
still..... i'm kinda disappointed with myself, in many areas. i seem to be losing sight of things again. need to be more proactive. need to be clear of my purpose, wat i wan, wat i wanna achieve, wat i expect, and on whom i believe n place my hopes in. being contented doesn't mean waiting for things to fall onto my lap or accepting everything that does. i still hafta fight.
nonetheless, i fight with the knowledge that the battle has oredi been won. the world has oredi been overcomed. praise be to God!
~~~ Angela 11:47 PM
About Me
The KING's princess
made to worship
wants to be like a fresh lily in a secluded valley by the crystal stream
