sweet sorrow

i'm especially satisfied, because the hols up to this moment in time, has been really fulfilling. i felt i've left behind a trail of very good and happy memories, that on retrospect many years down the road, will bring plenty of smiles and laughter.

today marked an end to the communicasia exhibition; farewell to all the lovely docomo staff that we've spent the past week with!

how should you feel when you look at someone in the eye and know that perhaps, you're never ever going to see him again for the rest of your life?

i feel especially attached to this japanese 'family' this year, as compared to last year. this year, bonds were made stronger; there were more talk, more laughter, more jokes, more interaction...

partings are such sweet sorrow.




the clothes rack, so neat eh!


preparation before work: in the toilet putting on make up


the ntt docomo stand


the information counter girls: me and zx!!


the girls at work! xiao min, hadley, huiren.


photowhoring at the LG and samsung booths. i love the new LG chocolate phone!


me, zx and the docomo staff!!


me with the interpreters! yong hee, the korean who doesnt know how to speak korean, only jap and english haha..and maria, the honkie who can speak jap, english, chinese and cantonese!!



me and mika! she isnt one of us, but she dressed up in our uniform at the celebration we had after the exhibition ended, as an appreciation to all the hard work we've put in over the days. totally kawaii!!!!


seiji, apparently the cutest guy in docomo. all the girls have developed major crushes on him! my fav guy in the docomo booth too!!!.....


...hence this is another picture of both of us haha...


all the staff, these japanese are really such adorable people haha..

smiles, for all the good that has passed.

working

just came back from a rather unsatisfactory pa7 gathering. unsatisfactory simply because i felt we didnt have enough time together..sigh i really miss 'us'. 'us' meaning the whole group of us together, without having to worry about whether we've work the next day, or whether we are able to catch the last bus home. it was so nice talking and catching up, even though it has only been..what..11 days since we came back? however, because everyone only arrived at around 8pm and half of us have to work the next day, it was a rather rushed get-together session. there was only time for fy, deb, qm and ch to share their life journeys, and before we had time to watch the powerpoint of our trip, most of us have to rush home already.

i'm tired, tired, and tired.

it has been a long day at expo, working at the communic asia exhibition. i dislike our uniform for this yr; it looks even worse than last yr's! in my opinion, it really doesnt do justice to us haha. we can look much better than that. the only good thing abt the uniform is that it keep us real warm in the freezing cold halls. in comparison, the LG and samsung girls look so much better, though their uniforms might be a tad too skimpy for meaty people.

working has its pros and cons. get to meet all kinds of weird people from all walks of life, and there are bits of funny incidents everyday. learnt a lot too just by observing how other people handle situations, or by talking to people.

of course there are also agonising times when each second, each minute just seemed to be excruciatingly longggg.....

and for the happier matter..my hongkong trip has been confirmed! 8th - 18th july..whoo hoo 11 days!! yes yes i guess most people are going say 11 days is too long a duration to stay in hk....but i'll be visiting macau, shenzhen and guangzhou too, and besides i'll have great company! will be there with my dearie, bro and hanfai...meeting rita, bro's gf and michael, bro's friend from brisbane, both honkies, there. looking forward to a hell lot of fun there! :)

tired, tired, tired.

random thoughts

as i see more and more of my friends around me about to step out into the society and starting work, i feel a surge of panic, knowing that in a year's time, it's likely going to be my turn.

and i have no idea, absolutely no idea, what i'm going to do. no concrete plans that is, only fleeting, frivolous desires here and there.

i have a lot of friends who almost have their entire lives paved out nicely in front of them already. those on scholarships, will serve their bonds: teach, do research, or serve the army.. some have family businesses that they intend to help out with, some are fervently serving internships everywhere, securing a position in the society even before they graduate.. those taking medicine or law, needless to say, are likely to become great doctors and lawyers.. others who dont fall into any of the above categories, already know what kind of jobs to look for when they graduate, which is logically speaking, something related to the field they major in.

where does that leave me?

nowhere. out in the open to fend for myself. but i know there's always a route to survival, i wont die. i have my choice, to decide my destiny. life is all about choices.

that's the exciting part about life, isnt it! not knowing what is going to happen next, not knowing what to expect, not knowing where the next step will take you... i have the luxury of creating my own adventures.

whoa hoo! yiming, here is a prize for your optimism!

***

today

first day at training for communic asia, ntt docomo once more. it was okay, pretty much similar to last yr's. japanese technology never fails to amaze me with their creativity and novelty. i mean..they think abt the most bizarre things lar!

ok take for example, there has been an increase in children being kidnapped in japan recently. hence docomo came up with a phone specially for kids. cutesy design, has this thing (i forgot wat liao) that when pulledl out, will trigger off an alarm. and in the case that the kidnappers want to remove the batteies, they wont be able to do so!! because the batteries are screwed onto the phone. and if they try to turn the phone off?? once the phone is turned off, an email will be sent to the parents, informing them of the kids' GPS location. yes the phone is equipped with gps function. how duh!!!!??

besides that, other semi jaw dropping functions include, being able to watch tv with crystal clear images on the phone, download segments of music programs from radio channels while you're asleep (....), using the phone as a tv remote control (....), dvd player remote control thru the network, 4.0 megapixel camera with anti shake function in 6 AXES (.....), waterproof properties, credit card, japanese's version of 'ezlink' and 'cashcard' (embedded in the phone!)............and lots more.

it's cool.

went out with dearie after that, shopping for father's day pressie. after much indecisiveness, i finally bought an ashworth polo tee for my dad. hope he likes it! although i dont think he has ever heard of ashworth......... i bought a num shirt for dearie, the one that he has been eyeing on for ages. he bought a zebra tube top from warehouse for me that i loveeee, and a really nice tommy hilfiger polo tee for himself. hmm i just realised something, every piece of clothing we bought today was the last piece on its own, believe it or not! we have good taste, hah!

and btw, we're going hk! yay yay yay! so happy. planning the itinerary now. anyone with any die-die-must-go places in hk to recommend, please let me know k!

thank you dear, for everything. wo shi xin fu de! :)



at kbox with jasmine and her boy boy on thurs

chronicles continued...

really cant resist posting up these photos..some because they were so well taken! others because they are beautiful memories..

day 14 & 15: phnom penh, undoubtably the most developed city in cambodia. busy streets..but still you wont be able to see any tall buildings anywhere. there are many vehicles on the road but still, you wont be able to see any marking dividers or zebra crossings..even traffic lights are rare sights.


me and fengyi, behind is the royal palace..urps..a bit small eh..


tonle sap river behind

wine cellar

wine tasting: pretending we know a lot about wine..haha we're certainly enjoying life. wine is cheap! i bought a bottle of white wine for $10.


a pic of our reflections: can u tell i'm the one taking this photo?


i took this as well! attempting to be artistic. liangguo praying.

killing fields: remnants of the khmer rouge, the dark side of mankind

skulls dug out from the mass graves

genocide museum

barbed wire: to prevent prisoners from jumping and committing suicide


iron bars to lock prisoners' legs

if you've studied the history before, you'll realise that cambodia is a really really sad place...there has been so much suffering here...


eating fried bananas..tasted a little..weird..but still alright..behind us is russian market, shopping paradise!


it's flooding, the car is sinking, and i'm soaked to the bones.


thankfully we managed to get a tuktuk!

day 16 & 17: sihanoukville, the beach..





being harrassed by a boy, to buy his fruits. these kids are everywhere, adults too..selling fruits, sarongs, seafood...even services like manicures and pedicures! all the girls had pedi and mani done for US$3.


bikini babes


snorkelling




chilling out in the guys' room.

day 18: kampot, lovely lovely place





going up the mountain


wind running through our souls


hiding from the sand storm




what are we looking at?


looking at this! the view can only be described as spectacular, although you cant really tell from here..it literally takes your breath away..


hail the world! PA 7!


it used to be a casino cum guesthouse until it was taken over by the khmer rouge and used as a prison. left in semi-ruins state now...




peering over the edge


at the top of the world


jumping for joy


as the night approaches...


love by the bay




the furthest point

day 19 & 20: back to phnom penh and home sweet home

central market behind..another shopping paradise!


van-load of backpacks


at phnom penh airport, and discovered that i didnt close my shampoo properly and it leaked in the compartment of my backpack.




home...will always be home...no matter what..

it has been a long time, since i last stepped into a club. yes i've been chilling out w friends, but i havent danced in a long while! so last night the trip to zouk was the first after..4 months? didnt particularly enjoy it. music wasnt good, we were packed like sardines at phuture until it got unbearably hot and irritable that we went off to zouk and finally out at 2am.

zouk is rather different from its old days. one could say it has lost its former glory, after the emergence of mos. it used to be packed to the brim by 11pm and there wont be any space at the bar because 1 for 1 would have started. but now..there is still plenty of free space around. it's only when the night comes later when the scene is reminiscent of its old days. nonetheless, zouk will always be zouk, irreplacable. the place where i have so many fond memories of. the place where i had numerous clubbing sessions with different groups of friends, the place where both my sci n eusoff pageant bashes were held, the place where.....so many events.

has clubbing really lost its significance to me? how is that possible?