1 Jan 2008 - 31 May 2008

I can't believe I have not updated my blog for 6 months! The first half of year 2008 went by at the blink of an eye. I suppose this is natural when people are kept busy. Clint and I have definitely been occupied. A lot of these things we've been doing are mundane and often laborious. However, looking forward to moving back to United States keeps us going.


By the way, have you heard? I have accepted an offer to do PhD in Immunology at University of Rochester. The program starts 1 July 2008. My last day of work at Novartis was on 16 May and I went to visit my sister in Sydney right after....for 10 days. I've been getting ready for my big move since I was back from the trip. There're so many things to take care of....so many loose ends to tie.


Anyway, here's a brief outline of what Clint and I have been up to (Be warned of the endless string of photos you're about to see):

5 to 9 Feb 2008 - Chinese New Year in Taipei, me and my mom

24 Feb 2008 - Gathering with my secondary school classmates

Mar and Apr 2008 - Indoor Rockclimbing (a new activity that I started doing)

Above: That is Clint climbing

16 Mar 2008 - A Visit to the Singapore Zoo

30 Apr to 3 May - Labour Day long weekend in Bangkok

Above: Incredible IT mall in Ratchathewi






Above: Sky bar with an awesome view of Bangkok



9 May 2008 - Farewell dinner with friends (For me and Clint) at Villa Bali

A good friend of mine took so many photos of me.

Alright, I'm going to stop here for now. Clint left Singapore on the 11 May, 2 days after the farewell dinner. He's now back in California. I will not join him until 12 June (hopefully not any later than that) and from there we will move to Rochester, NY, together.

Coming up next....

Photos of my Sydney trip, where I visited Rachel (my sister), Brice (my brother-in-law) and Mathieu (my 3-month old nephew).

Xmas 2007

So Clint was finally back in Singapore on 14 Dec, after being away for 6 weeks. He has decided to stay till after New Year, which means we'll spend Christmas and New Year together. I'm very glad.

Anyway, this year's Christmas is relaxing and enjoyable for me. I did not host a party like I did last year, and attended friends' parties instead.

On the 23rd Dec (Sun), I was at my convent schoolmate's place for a gathering. It has been our annual tradition to meet up and this is our 12th year celebrating Christmas together. We had potluck dinner, followed by gift exchange and played Taboo until it was time to go.

I had to go to work on Christmas eve, but left pretty early. It was very quiet at work, as most of my co-workers (Europeans) have gone home for Christmas. In the evening, I went to my boss' condo with Clint, and we had Christmas eve dinner with a few other co-workers. It was quite a good chill out time for us.

Above: Gu Feng's living room

Above: View from balcony

Above: Me and my boss, Gu Feng

Above: Highlight of the dinner - Christmas log cake from Awfully Chocolate

Clint and I were back home around 11.30pm. We chat on Skype with Roz and Dana for about an hour and a half, before they had to head out for Dana's parent's house. That was the first time the four of us talked on Skype, and even had our webcams turned on.

Clint and I unwrapped all our gifts before finally going to bed a little after 2am.


On Christmas day itself, we slept in. Well, not quite. I woke up about 8.30am, which is considered late for me. I woke Clint up at 10am to chat with the family. It was fun seeing everyone over webcam, including Widget.

Early afternoon, Clint and I went to Sentosa to spend some time at the beach. It has been a while since we have done that, due to our busy schedules. We made a snowman (er...sandman, I mean) and Clint showed me how to make drip castles. It was rather cloudy and had rained before we got there, so we didn't get much sun. That's good in a way, I suppose.

VivoCity, the mall that we go to, to catch Sentosa express which takes us to the island

Another view of VivoCity, facing Sentosa. In the background are cable cars, the alternative way to get there.

New buildings at the beach area, mostly restaurants and bars.

Snowman in the making

Completed!

Me and snowman....for size comparison. Many kids came to look at him.

A few of the dribble castles that we built

In the evening, we met up with a friend of ours, Lukas Tanner, for dinner at a Mexican restaurant near our place. Dinner was simple, but it was nice catching up with each other.

This was not the end of our Christmas day yet. After dinner, we headed downtown to meet Clint's cousin, Murray Fortune, who had stopped over in Singapore with his family, on his way from Germany to New Zealand. They have not had dinner, so we went to a food court where we ordered some local food for them.

After dinner, we showed them around a little. It was already 10.30pm, so most shops are closed and there is not much I can show them. We did go to Parkview Square though. It's a 472 ft-tall office building with a unique architecture. What is more interesting about this building, is the restaurant that is on the first floor. All of us took a peek through the glass door. The interior design is very grand...Art Deco style, almost everything painted in gold color.

The wine cellar is the most fascinating one I've ever seen. It is 3-storeys high, and the waitresses have to "fly up" in order to pick out the correct bottles of wine. To be exact, they are gracefully suspended by cords which are fitted with a remote control system to move them around. So cool!

1 Nov 2007 to ????? - London

Clint left Singapore on 1st Nov, 2 days after my birthday. He spent 1 week in Hong Kong/China, and then went to London to start a business with a guy who lives there.

Early morning on 14th Nov, I too arrived at London....to visit dear Clint. My stay was very short, but both of us really enjoyed the 4 days I was there. I know....it's a lot of money to spend on flights just to spend 4 days there, but I have ran out of leave days from work. That's the most I can do.

Anyway, here are a few photos taken during my trip. We did almost everything I wanted to do, except for lower priority ones like iceskating at one of the outdoor rinks. Christmas atmosphere can be felt at every street and every corner (yes, already!), but it's a nice feeling. One of the most memorable moments during the trip was our visit to Harrods. As we walked into the chocolate section, my breath was taken by what we were surrounded by! I thought we were in candy paradise! We spent a fair bit of time in the food hall. Even though we didn't buy anything, I felt very satisfied by just looking. Moreover, people there seemed.....very happy....very relaxed. Makes me want to stay on longer.

Clint and I also went to watch a musical. I bought tickets for half price online. We watched RENT at the Duke of York's. It was not bad. I have not watched a musical of this setting, so it's something new for me.

I'm hoping Clint will return to Singapore soon, although it sounds like he wants to be there for another 3 or 4 months.

Above: Harrods

Above: Covent Garden Market