A New Phase... soon...

I know that I have been neglecting my dear blog for quite awhile but it seems like there are a hundred and one things to do and there is simply not enough time.... So here's a little summary of what has and is going to happen... keke...
Handed in my resignation to the company at the end of last month.. Eversince, it has been looking foward to finally being able to wake up in the morning not having to stress to go to work.. =P At present, I am handing over my stuff to the new girl that they hired to take-over my position. So, I will be officially 'unemployed' by end September. Still have loads to do even after I have stopped work. Have to go to Immgrations - ICA - to pick up my passport, then the Ministry of Foreign Affiars (MFA) to get our wedding certificate stamped and finally to the German Embassy (Deutsche Botschaft) to submit my documents for my visa application at the end of next week. Guess this will drag awhile cos from what I understand, there are still documents to be translated into German for the application but I will not know what they are until I have submitted the initial papers. Did I mention before that I have passed my A1 for my German Language course at Goethe? Results were not fantastic but I didn't do too bad either *winks* Also, I successfully passed my Advance Theory Test for my driving (I have to brag.. I got 100% correct answers.. keke...). The next step will be to complete my remaining 3 lessons and book a Test Date for my driving test itself. Think that's all? Nein... far from that. Have to start packing up my stuff to ship over to my 'new home' in Germany.. Mom has been nagging me to start packing. I made a joke that she can't wait to 'get rid' of me. Lots of stuff to be shipped so that's gonna cost me a bomb.. keke... *wonders if Mikka would subsidize me something.. LOL*
Before I leave my beautiful ASIA to go to EUROPE, my dear friends - Keani & Lucy - decided that we have to go on a trip together so we have arranged to tour Taiwan a little bit from end Oct - early Nov. 10 days in total and we will be eating and shopping to our hearts content.. *HAPPEE* I will go more into this in a separate entry.
Besides my own 'events' there are lots going on around too. Jo is already about 6 months pregnant, which means my little niece would be out to see the world sometime in November. I promised to wait till I can finally see her before I leave.. As for our new venture in the bag business here, things are progressing well and we are growing steadily with a regular base of customers.. This weekend we will have our first ever 'Roadshow' as Adrian calls it at T3. Hopefully the response will be good. So much so for now.. will update again soon.

Bangkok.. after peace returned...

Made my 'annual' trip to Bangkok over the last weekend. Just as expected, things were just not the same anymore... There were so few tourists around and the malls were relatively 'empty'. The shops closed much earlier than expected and there were actually not much to see anymore. We stayed at Grand Diamond Suites (again) which is next to Platimun Mall opposite the Pratunam Wholesale Market. We were already busy buzzing around from the first day of arrival. We managed to check-in early as the rooms were available and the first stop - of course Platinum Mall which is only next door. Spent around 2 hours there then we proceeded to venture into the market across the street. My favourite shopping place.. keke.. (Keani... I missed you!!) Next stop was Chinatown (Yao Warat) for a great tasting seafood dinner thanks to Justin's friend's recommendation.. =D After conversion, the stuffing meal was less than 30bucks (singapore dollars) per person (bearing in mind that the dishes we ordered are not cheap going by Singapore standards). Just luurrrve eating in Bangkok.. keke.. Last stop for the day - Suan Lum Night Market. Geez.. when I stepped off the tuk-tuk I was genuinely surprised.. The place was - deserted. More than half the shops were closed. Even the food stalls were cut by 60%. It was such a pathetic sight. Wonder how the shop owners survive... Thankfully there was a nice coffee place around the corner which was what we all needed after a whole day of walking walking walking..... Last activity for the night.. the very needed - massage!!! I had a great massage but poor Justin. Cos of his swollen ankles, he more or less could not walk after the massage as he didn't tell the masseuse to leave the legs alone... Thankfully it was ok again the next morning or else he would have to stay in the hotel which would be terribly boring cos there was nothing to do there.

Second day was Erawan - Four Faced Buddha - which some of the guys wanted to go to, then down to MBK. Along the way, we passed Central World which was partially burned down by the Red Shirts. Almost one-third of the building was closed due to the fire. They are rebuilding it at the moment but then I guess the memory of this chapter in Thailand will always remain. I managed to get a few shots of the building as we passed. At MBK itself, was another round of walk walk shop shop. Nothing too interesting but we had our early dinner at my favourite Japanese restaurant on level 3.. =D Funny that I never can remember the name of the restaurant but everytime I'm in Bangkok, I am sure to visit.. keke.. Took a cab back to the hotel after that but the driver took us on a merry-go-round ride and we paid twice as much.. =( By the end of the day, we were totally drained... Too tired to do anything anymore... Last day was a little more relaxed. Last minute shopping and then we were on our way to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to be at 1835hrs. When we arrived at the airport, we realized that it has been delayed to 2000hrs. Great!.. Means we have to spend another 2 hours doing nothing..... As the departure gate was not confirmed during our check-in, we had to keep referring back to the flight board for updates. Our flight was later confirmed to depart at 2050hrs (which is already further delayed) but when we boarded the plane, we were made to wait for another good whole hour before we actually took-off... We finally touched down in Singapore at around 1am. *For the cheapest fares, please go to Tigerairways* Yah, right.. i say *For the highest rate of flight delays, please go to Tigerairways* =P

Our Studio Shots (Preview)

Yesterday I made a trip down to the bridal studio to confirm the layout of our studio shots. Silly me.. my appointment was supposed to be on last Friday but I totally forgot about it. Since I had time yesterday, I thought might as well go get it done. When I saw the pictures, the first thought was.. 'the wonders of photo editing' LOL... Not too bad, at least I look pretty pretty.. keke... I made a few snaps with my mobile for  Mikka.. keke... Now only waiting for them to complete the album and the potraits. Well.. here's a sneak preview... =D 

Back to Driving lessons....

After a BIG break from my driving lessons due to my wedding, moving home and exam, I was finally back to learning how to operate that mean machine called 'Auto'..... My first lesson back in the driving school was a compulsory lesson for the Automatic car... (i'm actually learning the manual) Cool!! Its really like what Mikka says.. an arcade machine... LOL All you have to do is accelerate or brake.. Reminds me of the Daytonas in the game arcades... keke... I was actually wondering to myself why don't they just make all cars automatic.. saves the hassle.. *chuckle* Anyway, last Sunday I was back on to my normal 'Manual' lesson... I really hate the slopes!!! Kept dying off there.. I actually got it.. clutch and accelerator perfect! Guess what? The handbrakes had to play a joke on me... It was more or less stuck and I couldn't release it.. When I finally did manage to move it down (after much pulling and tugging) the balance was gone and the car died... *sob sob* The instructor knew that it was not my problem so she passed me thru for this lesson anyway.. =P But I sure hope I don't get that car again for my next lesson again.... Tomorrow is next lesson.. wish me luck!!

Prüfungsangst (Exam Stress)

Will be having my Start auf Deutsch - A1 examinations on Saturday.... Super stressed out!!! Haven't had time to do much studying cos of the moving lately.. Hopefully everything will be more or less in place so that I can finally sit down and hit the books. Thank God for nice classmates... Have been borrowing notes and getting hints and tips from all over the place. Feel so bad that I can't join them for study groups. Just hope that everything goes well... 

Moving.... a whole new enviroment....

Have been a very busy week for me. Busy moving house... A lot of mixed feelings actually. Have had the old place for the last 24 years. A lot of childhood and growing up memories there.... But then again... you lose something you gain something too =)

The moving process was terrible.. We had the movers run 2 trips and not everything is cleared. In the end we spent a bomb and still had to return to clear up the misc stuff left behind. That was not all, when the furniture and carton boxes arrived at the new place, the corridor was more or less jammed pack with our stuff. Worse part was the lock guy was fixing up our main door so nothing can be moved in. We had the electrician, the lock guy, the carpenters and the movers here all at the same time. Can you imagine the chaos... *Headache* Everything is still only more or less half-done, that means unpacking is not possible. Can you imagine living in a dust and junk environment at the moment... Geez...

Have had 'mein neuer bester freund' (my new best friend) - the sofa for the last few days. My bed is here but we have no place to fix it up so it has to stay in its corner for the time being.
I guess the only one that is really having fun is my little doggie. Had to put him up at the groomer's place for these few days and from what I see, he most probably would have to stay there for another few days till the place is a little more freed-up. My mom calls his lodging - 'The Hotel'.. LOL
Hopefuly everything will be able to be completed within the next few days. I'm having my Deutsch A1 exam next Saturday.. Have totally no time to study... I really have no clue what will happen... *sigh* 'Ich habe viel stress!!!'