the end is near

WOW, I can't believe it's been 9 months since I posted on my blog! Since then, I have been to Tunisia (June), Russia (September) and Eastern Europe (December). On the work front, happy news to report at last! I finish up at my current firm at the end of this month. Hooray, I will no longer with to work alongside Mrs Universe "see lie" for whom I have no respect for (none whatsoever), a backstabber, abuses her seniority and makes herself (appear to) look good by pushing other people down. Hopefully my hours will be better at my new job, fingers crossed! Unfortunately, I don't get any break between jobs, in fact, I have to start work with my new employer on my birthday!!! They won't even give me that day off...oh well, as my birthday is on a weekday this year, it's not like I will be doing much on that day anyway if I did have it off.

fashion design

Today I attended the 8th lesson of a 10-lesson course on fashion design. The course has been extremely intriguing. I can now draw fashion figures and production drawing. The main driver for my enrolment to study this course has been my fascination with how much an ordinary piece of garment with a designer tag can command in price. It turns out that success of a label today depends on how much one is prepared to dump money on marketing. This means that anyone with sufficient $$$ can be a top designer. No wonder I have never found any piece of labelled clothing particularly worth the price on its tag.

Ayers Rock and Alice Springs

I recently returned from a 5-day trip to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs with my mum. There were so many flies in Ayers Rock and its surrounding area! I swallowed at least one fly and two went up my nose but were subsequently sneezed out. We didn't climb Ayers Rock because our tour guide had Aboriginal blood in him and dropped us off so far from the climbing route that it was not possible to complete the climb within the allocated time. I also regret not completing the full circuit at the Valley of the Kings at Kata Tjuta or attempting the rim walk at Kings Canyon (due entirely to the fact that I not only had to consider my interests but also my mum's wellbeing). I guess it means I will have to return to Ayers Rock one day and soon while I still have some small level of fitness in me.

Cambodia and Hong Kong Disneyland

I spent New Years in Cambodia with my sister and dad. (We had to bring dad along as we didn't have an excuse not to!) Cambodia really doesn't have much to offer to tourists apart from Angkor Wat which is so overrated if you ask me. Bagan in Myanmar had more to offer in terms of archaeology.

On Saturyday 9 January 2010, our firm held its annual family fun day at Disneyland. The turnout was great given many of us have not been to Disneyland before and this provided the perfect opportunity. We were treated to a very nice lunch buffet at Disneyland Hotel where we also had a private photo session with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Then we were given tickets to Disneyland for entry after 4pm. Luckily (or unluckily), Hong Kong Disneyland is so tiny that entry at 4pm allowed sufficient time for walking the whole park and also going on a few rides. I went on the Space Mountain which is the scariest ride at Disneyland. It wasn't scary at all. Instead, it made me feel extremely dizzy afterwards because there were just so many turns. The size of the park and the attractiveness of the rides for adults aside, the nightly "Disney in the Stars" fireworks display was spectacular, I have never seen fireworks as good as this! It is definitely worth hanging around for.

Turkey

I returned from a 9-day tour of Turkey just under 2 weeks ago. In a line, I loved Turkey and in particular the following:

1. Turkish men - handsome and cute.

2. Cappadocia - full of natural wonders. I want to buy a cave dwelling!

3. Turkish ice cream - chewy and tasty.

4. underground cities - fascinating.

5. Pamukkale (cotton castle) - another natural wonder.

I bought myself a double-sided leather jacket for a whooping US$795, my single most expensive possession to-date!

goodbye my peace and quiet

My sister has returned after 5 weeks down under. I no longer have my peace and quiet. In return, I get home cooking so it's not all bad.

I have my final exam for elementary Korean next Sunday and am slightly concerned. I have not been putting in the amount of time I would like and my results from the three 10% quizzes throughout the course reflects a declining trend. One must pass the final exam in order to pass the course. There's just so much to revise that it's impossible to absorb everything! Exam aside, I owe it to myself to know as much as I can. My belief in "life long learning" has not changed. Without much ado, I shall hit the books.

scraped my knee

I scraped my knee at soccer training on Monday evening. Generally, this is not something worth mentioning. However, it has been 6 days since my injury and my wound, 2.5cm by 1.5cm, is not healing as it should. It still gives me a stinging/burning sensation and it leaks a sticky fluid with strains of blood. If my condition doesn't improve in the next week, I would have to go see a doctor. Hopefully I won't have to because it seems such a minor thing and I don't want to waste resources notwithstanding that I am fully covered by insurance.