2008 Review

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
1. Live in Singapore
2. Visited Disneyland (Florida & HK!), Eiffel Tower , Louvre and Rockefeller
3. Had two long vacations (2 winters in one year!)

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Nope and probably not

Did anyone close to you give birth?
None, surprisingly

Did anyone close to you die?
None, thankfully

What countries did you visit?
Indonesia (Bali), Singapore, USA (East Coast), Malaysia (KL), Hong Kong, Germany, France (Paris)

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A baby

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
December 28, 2008 – tour of Paris, cruise along the Seine, top of Eiffel

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting promoted to a regional director position

What was your biggest failure?
Not making progress on the baby plans

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major

What was the best thing you bought?
Breitling watch

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Husby for doing good on his bike business ; Sis B for finishing college ; Sis A for buying a house

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The person who “underestimated” me

Where did most of your money go?
Travel-related expenses (buying darn souvenirs!)

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Disneyland and Paris

What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
Auld Lang Syne (from SATC soundtrack)

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Even Happier
ii. thinner or fatter? Even Fatter
iii. richer or poorer? Just Richer

What do you wish you'd done more?
Explore Singapore

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Working late nights and weekends
Eating unhealthy

What was your favorite TV program?
Price is Right, 30 Rock and Gossip Girl (XOXO!)

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No one close

What was the best book you read?
A lot but most memorable would be Ian McEwan's “Atonement”

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Avenue Q

What did you want and get?
Veranda with a view while sitting on a swing

What was your favorite film of this year?
Mamma Mia and Sex and the City

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 35. Had a guided tour of Paris streets and sights, lunch cruise along River Seine complete with violinist playing La vie en rose, went up the top of Eiffel Tower

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More maturity to deal with weasels at work

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Unexperimental

What kept you sane?
Husby’s home cooked meals
Overseas calls to my mom in Manila

What political issue stirred you the most?
I chose to be indifferent

Who was the best new person you met?
Global MR folks?

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008 :
Have faith to tame the lions

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Avenue Q "For Now" ---- “Everything in life is only for now…”

Do you have a new years resolution for 2008?
Yes, which I didn’t get to keep

What was your favorite month of 2008?
Always December

How many concerts did you see in 2008?
Swing Out Sisters

Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?
Never

Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Acquiescing and losing confidence in my abilities

How much money did you spend in 2008?
A lot

What was your proudest moment of 2008?
Receiving news of my promotion and move to Singapore while accessing email in a cozy Manhattan hotel

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2008?
Being terrified at the Sentosa sky ride

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be?
I have no regrets

What are your plans for 2009?
1. Get pregnant
2. Visit Rome
3. Start saving for my dream house

How are you different now that the year has ended?
1. Better traveled
2. An MR director, finally – and regional at that
3. Less insecure

What are your wishes for the new year?
1. Continued good health for family
2. More financial blessings to share
3. Yuan or Yana

Happiness this week is...

• A lazy afternoon with Husby, eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, with rain pouring outside, and listening to I-tunes.
• Watching Husby enjoying himself playing Prince of Persia Wii.
• Coming home to catch Drew Carry's Price Is Right show on the local channel.
• Looking forward to spending Christmas in a cabin near the Swiss snow capped mountains and spending my birthday in Paris.
• Looking forward too to having the Coke gang visit us here in Singapore.
• A quick visit from sister A bringing some of Mom's longaniza find in exhange for Tiger Balm :)
• Riding a Mercedes Benz cab
• Finally figuring out who the agency person I met up with looked like ( he looks like the janitor in Harry Potter movies, oops, mean ba?)
• Baked Spaghetti and Fried Chicken Wings made by Husby
• Eating char kway teow in Penang place instead of soup from Yucky Yucky canteen

Lethargic

I have not written in a long while. Lately, I've just been sleeping through my weekends (pathetic!) and possesses no desire whatsoever to explore what life out there is like in Singapore on Saturdays and Sundays.

I also don't feel like writing today! Sigh.

Being Underestimated

Someone said to me last week " I underestimated you". I didn't know what to say back or how to react. I dismissed the thought but it lingers until now.

It sounded flattering but then again, it sounded insulting at the same time. And it reeks of arrogance from the person who said it. But then again, it may be a humbling admittance.

One thing I know for sure though is to never ever use that on someone else.

Another Life Plan???

My friend A sent another distress signal - i.e.an email for me to call him because his company is cutting down on phone call expenses hahaha -- and we got to talking about our usual "what have we done to our lives" melodrama. He and I are like wonder twins gifted with superior sense of paranoia and unique tendency to overanalyse things. I think we are both getting the concept of stepping up in Maslow's ladder to sef-actualization but never have the guts nor the will to leave behind our material bliss. And so we labor (or so it seems) day in and day out as corporate slaves. What sucks more is that we are actually good at what we do and are in fact high potentials. High enough to actually have been given rare lavish expat packages which many would die for and funnily, something which we never asked for . And since we so often tend to look at things half-empty, we blame ourselves for not having had a hand in controlling or steering our destiny. And so, come end November, we will once again congregate, together with our two other bestest buddies, to re-craft our life plans which for some reason, we never get to follow through on. Pathetically, we both gave up on 2008 already (even with two full months ahead!) and start anew in 2009.

I call mine my Jerry Maguire worksheet which details my desired endpoint until 50 years old. Not a surprise to me that none has been fulfilled to this day. But it gives me comfort somehow that a plan exists even if there's no deliberate execution. Sigh.

Can't Wait to See Avenue Q Again :)

Yup, the Philippine cast of Avenue Q is coming to Singapore and I'm watching again! Tickets are pricey but who cares. Husby was begging me not to drag him but too late, already bought tickets online. He will be less motivated to go because Rachel Alejandro (Lucy the Slut/Kate Monster) , his only favorite in the cast, was replaced by Carla Guevarra.

Anyway, reason for this short entry is because I'm listening to my I-pod at work and "It Sucks to be Me" came on and brightened my afternoon. I stayed up late last night and I'm really struggling to stay awake!

I also got reminded of the time we "almost" watched Avenue Q on Broadway but was so jetlagged we woke up at 10pm so we missed the entire run! We still went to the theater and came just in time the show ended and actually had the rare opportunity to meet the cast as they were walking out of the cast gate. I had a shot taken with Howie Michael Smith (Princeton) which was so cool for an Avenue Q fan like me. Sadly, the memory card got corrupted (together with all the other US pics taken from Husby's camera) and to this day, I'm not letting Husby forget about this, hahaha.

So excited to watch on Nov 1 at the Esplanade. My sister B will also be here in Singapore on that week to spend her birthday with us and she is ecstatic as well when I told her I already got us tickets (she didn't get to see the Manila run).

In the meantime, I am also able to get tickets to the rare Vienna Boys Choir one-day concert on Oct 17. While I'm not exactly a fan, I know it's a rare opportunity so I grabbed the chance. I don't think I can watch them ever in Austria!

Thank gad for Singapore COLA!!!! hahaha

I Heart Kate Spade

Husby is on a roll. Last week, he surprised me with another Kate Spade bag.

I can certainly remember how he surprises me with it everytime -- this latest one, he put in the shoe cabinet where he knew I can't miss not seeing it because I always park my shoes the moment I enter our house. It was another just-because surprise (or probably because I hinted I needed a weekend casual bag hehehe).

It's the sixth KS bag he's already given me since I became a fan of these wondeful creations last year. It all started when I started with my ASEAN job where I was constantly jetsetting together with my goddess boss who has just about all the coolest designer bags, clothes and accessories. My North Face bag then just wasn't making it -- I looked and felt like a PA next to her, hahaha.

So Husby and I searched around for a brand that will put me in my place i.e. an upstart, young apprentice who is paid well enough to afford a designer bag but not enough to afford ridiculously priced ones. Bulgari, Prada, Bottega was just too darn pretentious for my level (will probably graduate to this if and when I become VP or something!). LV, Coach, Chanel bags were just too everywhere, even trying hard and wannabes have them on their shoulders, real or otherwise. Zara and Mango were too young and hip and it's quite embarrassing to be having the same bag as assistant managers and trainees considering their salaries are probably not even half of what I get.

And so we saw Kate Spade in Shangrila Mall. It had exactly what I was looking for : understated elegance. Has funky colors and designs which shouts young and experimental but at the same time has real functionality which shouts serious and practical. It is also not a high maintenance bag, it is in fact quite unassuming. But it does have a solid yet silent equity about it of style, manners and graciousness. It's a respectable brand and I love it.

To top it all, it is quite affordable. Affordable enough for me to have more than one of it. Unlike some ladies who invest in one really snooty bag and guard it with their lives. What is so amazing is that I have not bought a single one - what I have are all Husby's gifts with his hard-earned business earnings. I remembered teasingly telling Husby "how can I be a Kate Spade fan if I only have one?" -- the next day, he got me my second bag.

My KS babies are the stars in my closet. I hang them so they don't lose their shape even if it means folding a lot of my office blouses as my Singapore closet is not as big as the ones I have in Manila. I love looking at them because they remind me so much of my Husby's thoughtful ways and selflessness.

Sad thing we didn't get to reach the Kate Spade store in New York when we were in the US last March. We were on our way but Husby had a bum stomach so I didn't get to visit the "mother ship". He made up for it when we got to Leesburg and he got me two bags and a wallet -- which is not a bad deal for me at all :)

I don't know when the fascination will end. I tried looking at Tod's store last weekend but it just didn't have the "it" for me yet. Until then, my loyalty to KS will continue. Saw their latest lines and the Northhampton Stevie line one I fell in love with... already showed it to Husby and knowing him, he's probably already looking around for this to give me this Christmas.

Hay, life is great.