My dream house

Today I'm on medical leave as I just went for wisdom tooth surgery. So I have been staying home and resting because of the surgery's aftermath. No I would not talk about the surgery as it's scary and I still have dull ache after taking the pain killer pills.

Anyways, since I have some time to kill, I then checked out Flickr for some pictures browsing. And so I began looking at the pools of interior design and related subjects. Oh well, heaven knows I have been secretly thinking about how would my dream house be like.

In my dream, I can see mainly white colour, mixing with other earthy/ random colour. It's such a simple yet refreshing colour.

The interior must not be over dramatic, it's not something that I would prefer and I think it's not my style afterall.

Here are some settings that I heart:

Living room: love the white fur carpet and the random cushions on the white sofa.

I heart every little detail of this living space, the white chair incorporating with the cozy sofa, the white shelves, the greenery and the warm fireplace (picture courtesy of Jeana)

Oh the natural sunlight! And the book shelves! I would love to spend my whole evening there reading and knitting.

Dining space: A studio-like setting which I think is pretty cool. Love the chairs!

I said I'm not fancy of dramatic design, but I have a thing on crystal chandelier. I just cannot stop looking at it. Again, love the eclectic setting of the chairs, the lovely white flowers and the black-and-white portraits on the wall.

Kitchen: Oh I always wish there is a center island in my kitchen!

Work space: Who would not love working in this quaintly space?

Lastly, there must be peonies in the house.

I heart peonies :)

Now I shall come back to reality, and continue working on my secret project.

(Note: all pictures are courtesy of Flickr unless stated wise.)

Comment ca va?

Hey ya (if there's still anyone reading this). I've abandoned the blog for the longest time, I know. Guess I've lost my mojo in blogging /writing since the past year. Sometimes when something really strike me up in my mind, I just couldn't state them down in words before I could still remember.

Hence, the longest-ever hiatus up to date. Hmm, what an excuse.

So. Life's been good for me, if the working life doesn't count. I have started working since June when I was still soaking in the holiday mood which I've always longed for. The typical working hours and workload just couldn't make me smile and laugh from the bottom of my heart anymore like those days back in my uni life.

Sounds like I don't satisfy enough for my job. Yea, I guess? Maybe I am not sure with the path that I'm walking on right now; whether is it wise for me to stand still for..say... the next 5 years. I just keep thinking whether I will be sick it or regret of choosing this. I am STILL sucks at making choices if I really don't have a concrete idea of it. Anyway, sometimes I would think that this career path has good potential, definitely and will always be challenging despite some of its seemingly-tedious daily routine work. The point of this path is, you have to deal with PEOPLE, poeple and people - both internal and external ''customers''. But of course, management skill is utterly important; same goes to decision-making, multi-tasking, and pandai-pandai ing (that's what I think a freshie should have, as normally we freshie would never learn to say ''no'' to those tasks which are not within your work area).

So, be pandai-pandai at all times if not you will just end up NOT finishing the things that you are supposed to do.

When you are not getting right-things done, you are just not doing the right things.

"What is your ideal working place? And what is your dream job or at least having a job which will make you a happy person?"

Those are some of the questions running in my mind now.

Less than 3 months I'll be done with my contract job and HOPEFULLY I could have a holiday to loosen up my mind for quite a bit.

But that said, I should start looking for another job if I'm not staying in my current company. Hmm... now off to bed..

渐行渐远

人家对你好，你当作草。别人当你是草，你当作宝。

醒醒吧！别再自找苦吃了！

该做的，我们都尝试了。再这样下去，只有绝望，没有希望。

只期望你会有醒悟的一天。

记忆的烙印

话说，我爱上摄影已经有一段日子了吧。大概三年前的我还没领悟到那种按下快门的瞬间感动，所有无法形容的感觉。所以现在每当回想起那次的香港行，都会有点自责。那时的我超懒惰，就连启动相机的欲望都没有。所以那次的旅行，也是我的第一次远距离的海外出游，相较之下少了许多具体的回忆。如果再给我一个重游香港的机会，我一定不再让自己后悔。

这两年来虽说拍了不少的照片，可是都没怎么整理和过瀘。一堆堆的相片还好好的存在记忆体里，心想得找个时间，冲洗它们才行呐。毕竟这做法非常的不保险。万一我的电脑或记忆体报销呢？呵呵，我一定会哭死。

如果有一天，我能够把那些相片印成一本自己的摄影书，那该有多好啊。记载着满满爱的回忆。看着肉拉的po，心中一阵感动。

毕竟人生的旅程只有那么的一次啊。

Time flies...

been so busying on assignments and presentations this month. other than doing assignments, I've been spending time doing anything but no blogging cos I just seems to lose my mojo in blogging. time flies. in a month or so I'll be having my final and last exam in uni and I'll be saying byebye to my uni life. just saw a vid made by rika and started feeling emo. I'm gonna end my uni life very soon. what will be the feeling of saying goodbye to your friends that you have been having laughters with? moving into a different pace of life, all of us might not be meeting each other (anymore?). lately I've been spending my time with couple of new friends. and they are so cool (I mean, come on. I like them SO much). we played pokers together. we laughed so hard we almost teared. we had gin + sprite and chilled out together listening to my fav songs. singing the songs together. swaying. laughed again. swaying. so comfortable.

but then I started pondering - what if we all get to know each other earlier? like...way back then? could my uni life be different? oh I'm sure it's gonna be tons of fun. well oh well, at least I still own a month of FUN time with them :)

just cherish the moment.

Here they come

I just woke up from a sweet dream that pretty much sounds like this:

"The sweet boy gave the girl a sweet surprise by traveling all the way from the Venus (which was weird cause I heard that's where women come from) to the Land (where the girl's staying at). He told the girl not to worry about anything and it's going to be two awesome weeks. They spent their time happily together. Walking side by side along the never-ending-walkways. Spraying each other water while watering the garden. Playing games together. Teasing each other while the girl kicked the guy cause he tickled her. Eating nice food together. Holding hands. Looking into each others' eyes. But then the image got blurry and the boy faded away...."

That's the time I woke up. And now the nightmares are coming. They are knocking on my door. Now.

I want to run away but I can't. It's depressing.

Travel Diaries 1- Tokyo

So this was my trip to Japan. There is so much I could say about Japan, as it has now become one of my favorite countries, but sometimes words just never express the impressions the country leaves in me. I will separate my travel diaries into separate entries, and try not to write too much at the same time...

Everyone knows Emily is very blur and forgetful. Aha. What happened was I could not contact my bf after I reached Narita Airport because I did not know which number to be inserted before making call to local mobile number (I did not pay much attention when my bf told me about that and eventually totally forgot about it). Luckily I managed to get some help from an airport officer. She can't understand what I was saying at first, so I just used my very limited japanese vocabulary, and kept repeating "keitai" (mobiles). And she managed to get what I mean in the end and helped me to dial the numbers. Phew.

We went to Wako (和幸), a restaurant which sells a range of とんかつ (Tonkatsu or Deepfried Pork Cutlet) for lunch, together with Yushi and Fatt as they were there traveling as well. You have got to try their Tonkatsu as it is SO crispy, crunchy and light, which I didn't find oily at all. I had lunch set of Tonkatsu with shoyu sauce, onion and egg inside. It was very nice although the pork had lost some crunchiness after soaking in the sauce. Anyway, the pork inside was soft and tender! My lunch set was a tad bit much for me, as the tonkatsu was huge and occupied the whole pot and so I had some leftover :/

Shopping is another thing that I missed about in Tokyo. There are wide choices of brands for you, no matter which style that you are opted for. Marui City (featured as 0101) was a shopping mall that I frequented the most, as it carries the brands that I like - Olive des Olive, Lowry's Farm, Pageboy and many more. I didn't get much stuff on my first day at Marui Shinjuku though.

We had a brief walk in Shinjuku before heading to Oedo Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba. The weather was so cold and the strong wind just kept freezing me up. Even the scarf didn't help much. Anyway, Oedo Onsen has a large scale hot spring facility and will not dissapoint you for paying the price of 1900 yen (nightime price). Entree fees includes a yukata (there are at least 5 different designs for ladies!), bath towel and small towel. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, skin care and haircare products are all provided too. There are 16 various baths including rotenburo (outdoor bath), which is a must visit if you ever visit onsen with rontenburo! (imagine you get to feel the cooooold breeze while enjoying the onsen) It was pretty fun as the couples and groups can meet up in between taking the waters, while dressed in yukata. The central section has plenty of restaurants, bars, noodle and various game stalls. We just used the barcode on our entrance pass to order/shop. The bill will be made when you are checking out. (it's a good business tactic as you will not be thinking while making the purchases.lol!)

Left>> Front view of Oedo Onsen Monogatari. Right>> The lovely couple, Yushi and Fatt.


acting cool ar, darling?


The tower in the right picture is the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building. It is the tallest clock tower in the world.

After having our haircut at Earth in Takadanobaba on the next day, we headed to Shinjuku for Krispy Kreme. heee. Bf knows my love for doughnuts. So each of us got a free glaze-flavour while waiting on the line. We visited Takashimaya nearby after that and I bought a few hosiery. I spotted some cute Vivienne Westwood there but I just can't imagine me wearing them :(

He seemed lost.. haha

Anyway, we had our dinner at Nabezo, a famous reasonably priced all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and sukiyaki restaurant, with a 90 minute course available for 1890yen. We got the mixed soup - Shiyo and Kimchi. The Kimchi soup was great for beef while Shiyo was better for pork.

It was the Adult's Day (成人式） in Japan on my 3rd day there. It is the Japanese coming-of-age ceremony and is held annually on second Monday in January. And so we visited Meiji Shrine (明治神宮) as we could get to see people dressing up (girls, to be exact) to celebrate the passage into adulthood. lol.

The crowded Harajuku Station

Before visiting the shrine, we had chocolate croissant at Choco Cro (a part of Saint-Marc cafe), which is nearby to Harajuku Station. The croissant was so crispy and totally worth the price (140 yen each I thk.. can't remember) as you just can't resist the yummy gooey chocolate. A must-try for chocolate lover! It also has a selection of drinks and other delicious pastry as well. Sadly, I'd stupidly forgotten to try the banana chocolate version, even there is a chain store in Koenji and so very nearby to my bf's place :(

The Torii gate from afar...



Back to Meiji Shrine.... It was fun to snap pictures of cute Japanese Girls dressed in beautiful kimonos! I'd written my wish on prayers, which is called 绘马 in Japanese.




Bf writing his wishes on prayers


one of the ice sculptures displayed in Meiji Shrine


a cute lil' girl in Meiji Shrine..

Of course, we didn't missed Takeshita-dori, a famous street which is fulled with fashion boutique, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku. You can't miss the crepe if you're taking a walk in Takeshita-dori. Oh, and for girls, there are shops selling cute and affordable lingerie as well!! (do drop by Amo's Style... You can get pretty lingerie there ^_^ )

Lunch was at Otoya, a typical Teishoku (定食, set meal) chain restaurant in Japan. It serves rice, Miso soup and some dishes for each standard meal set. If you are looking for cheap and delicious meal set, then this is the place where you can get a decent meal priced from 600 - 1000 yen.

Fake food displays @ Otoya

After a long walking/shopping trip around Harajuku and Jingumae [must-visit: LaForet, H&M, UT, Gap and some designer shops like Burberry, Charlotte Ronson which I obviously couldn't afford lol], we had dinner at Venire Venire, an Italian restaurant in Harajuku. The meal was great; I loved their cheese pizza (!!!), garden salad [with all leavessss but it was delicious serving with olive oil (?) ], lamb ribs and tiramisu.

Overlooking H&M while dining in Venire Venire.

Half of my 4th day was spent by shopping in Shibuya, together with Yushi. We stopped by to check out the Hachiko's statue in front of Shibuya Station before heading to Shibuya 109.

To be honest, Shibuya 109 is not really a place I would shop in. It is loud and busy but really fun to have a look.

Haha I looked stupid while standing in front of the infamous Shibuya crossroad...


I just missed the Japanese pastry... so well done and delicious. oh chocolate shortcake...with caramel-coated chestnut on top somemore!

After the shopping trip, we met up with the guys and had dinner at Rokkasen (六歌仙), a grilled meat restaurant which serves all-you-can-eat yakiniku and shabu-shabu. The dinner was so fulfilling as we could get to taste a variety of Japanese-produced beef (Wagyu), Galbi, scallop, king crab and etc. It was pricey as we opted for Kikyou Set - all-you-can-eat + all-you-can-drink (桔梗(ききょう)の宴 / 食べ放題!飲み放題). Anyway, I should have more cocktail but my stomach was so full I can fill the food in my throat....

I had gained on weight (2kgs?) on the first week there as I had three all-you-can-eat meal in a week! THREE! I was like shit when I saw the reading on the weighing scale. T_T

The next day was spent in Gotemba, is a city located on the southeastern flank of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka. We went to Gotemba Premium Outlets for shopping, not me but another couple (Fatt and Yushi.lol). Oh well, if only the Yen was cheaper. Bah. So, I rather enjoyed overlooking the beautiful Mt. Fuji instead...

Next - Asakusa, Disneyland and Disneysea and others... Till then..

It was heaven...

.. to have you by my side for the past one month. And now I am back and stuck in the reality.


On Saturday morning, I was still in my heaven, but had started to feel uneasy and also had insomnia for the past two days. It was the first time of me unable to sleep in the cold but warming (as I sneaked myself in the thick blankets and because, I'd got him) weather. It was weird. All I was thinking about is the flashing images of everything I'd gone through in the past month. It is like a dream, yet so true. It seemed far reach but I managed to touch it - to touch you, your hand, and your face that makes me smile.

Tokyo tastes like a dream, a dream which you fell in love with yet you might hate about sometime.

But, to me, you taste like a real dream, which is happened at somewhere in the heaven, some place which I really want to be in.


I just could not stop thinking about every seconds that we had spent together. I still remember the response I gave you when you hugged and kissed me goodbye before you going to class while I was still in bed. (Okay to be honest mostly I just continued sleeping and ignored all the action above cos the bed is super comfy...) I still remember how I yelled at you and stopped helping you to cook when you yelled at me first. (hmm, not yelling la but just slightly high pitch talking...) But you still managed to cook good foods without me, which is one of the great things about you. I still remember how we got into different fights, but we made up eventually :) Oh did I tell you it was so sweet of you when you offered your pocket to one of my freezing hands? You always give me the best. You always try to. Just like when you know that cream puff is so fattening but you will not fail to ask me to buy whenever we went for grocery shopping in kombini or just simply passing by the patisserie shop. Because you know I love it.

What have I done for you? Maybe it's little compared to what you have done for me, but you know better than on one that the only person which I have been thinking about is you. No one but you.

Sometime this feeling makes me hurt. Or should I say it hurts me all the time.

p.s.: I will be back very soon and till then, I will write about Tokyo. No more emo post, em.

Happy Chinese New Year!

First off, Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends! CNY is on tomorrow and we just did spring cleaning today! Haha, it was fun to do some hardcore house chores cos the bf's house (his room's windows to be exact) is fulled with mold. Not that he didn't clean well, it's because of the weather (The difference of degrees between outside and the room will make the room condition become wet). He cleaned out the dodgy looking mold, while I vacumed the floor and cleaned other places... It was fun to do the spring cleaning, despite all of the yuckiee scenes...

Gong Hei Fatt Choi.. 8 = Fatt!

Anyway, the last minute spring cleaning is because of we just got back from a short trip in Nikko （日光）. Bf is cooking Bak Kut Teh and other jazz for dinner while I am blogging here. Gotta go before he finds out!

--------

Post-editing:

Here's some pic of the dinner! Simple but fulfilling... I was bloated! Had some beer by Suntory and Gin as well.

The beer by Suntory

He was showing the guys how to train the arms by using the thing he's holding.

That's all for this time. Hopefully I will be start writing post (from 1st day - present) in these 2 days. A great and exciting news is that I'll be going to Kyoto and Osaka on this weekend, if everything goes well! Can't wait... but gotta be prepared for the weather! It's getting colder and colder...