Red Running Nose

I've only ever had nose bleed once and today is the 2nd time. The first was during an In-camp Training. We were at the rifle range and as we were walking back under the scorching sun, i felt something drip down my nose. For a moment i was thinking, oh my such a hot day and i'm having dripping nose? Doesn't that only happen when I catch a cold? As I try to wipe the 'mucus' away my forehand was covered in blood ... My mates look at me in horror and rushed over to hold me up by the arms. We made it back to the shed and I was ordered to take off my shirt. The medic douse me with cold water and placed ice packs on my chest and stomach while I laid on the floor like a wounded animal. Everyone was staring at me ... My own prognosis was that I was too heaty due to lack of potty action haha I hadn't gone for 3 days. 

This time is a little weird. I was actually in the midst of potty at the office toilet while it happen. Thankfully I didn't stain any blood on the shirt. I wonder what could have triggered it. No it can't be sexy girls, there's nothing to see here at the office. Though it would be nice to have eye candy once in awhile. I'm sure the guys in the office won't mind hehehe. Heatiness? Nope doubt so, I've been pottying regularly for the last couple of days. Hmm really weird ...

Oh well, whatever cause it, I hope it doesn't happen again ... Imagine fainting in potty ... Ewww no one would come save me!

Fire Fire Wheels on Fire!

We live in a fire trap. The place is an enclave with 2 single lane exits to the main roads (see the red circles). Every morning is a jam at the small roads as everyone try to get to the main roads. Add on a school nearby and it gets worst as parents stop their car at the single lane roads and drop their kids off. 

I was joking with Meimei that if there was ever a calamity, we would be better off going on foot and run. If we drove, I doubt we would even get out of the carpark, much less reach the small road to get to the main road.

As bad as the traffic is in the morning, this is still a very convenient place to live. We are very close to major expressways. There are a lot of buses on our main road and the bus stop is just a 3 minute walk from home. It is one of the main criteria Meimei gave our agent when we were looking at a place, it had to be close to transport so we can move easily around without a car. It's such a smart move seeing how the COE has risen 10+ fold since we bought our car. I'm crossing my fingers we will be able to afford another one when ours expire, I'll gladly brave the fires for comfort *grin.

Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert

Firstly we are not in Hong Kong. It's just the outlet's name. If you check it on the web you will discover that it's actually a local chain of HK-ish mango dessert stalls. Just a quick note, doesn't impact how the food turned out. As I feast on the mee, glutinous rice and mango dessert, it truly reminds me of HK. I especially like the rice, it's filled full with ingredients like meats, salted egg work, nuts (I pass all of them to Meimei), mushroom etc. Oh and the highlight of it all has to be the chili.

I never really notice this restaurant at Tampines One. It looks like just a fly-by stall that dies after a year or two. I didn't know it was actually part of a chain of 10+ outlets with outlets in major shopping malls. Meimei has been having this for some time at VivoCity ... It's ok don't complain. At least I've finally discovered this great food chain. There's another thing to eat at Tampines!

My Room Got Jacked

We were back at Hillview today. It's nice to go back once in awhile to see Dad and Mum. We were back there a few weeks ago and Mum had asked me to look through my stuff and bring them back home. I discovered then that they had thrown my bed away and the room is now taken over by my sister-in-law. Ok, that's fine, my books and stuff are still in the bookshelf.

Today I discover that everything had been moved out and the shelves are now stored with her stuff. Mum stacked my stuff nicely in the storeroom downstairs and various places where she could find space. I can't say I'm pleased about this. In fact I'm a little peeved about this development. They didn't even have the courtesy to ask me before doing the deed. Was the last exercise the prelude to this hijacking? I didn't get the memo outlining a phase of the ouster after the review of my belongings. GGrrrrrr .....

It's always been like that since young. I had to give up the bigger brighter airy room to my bro because I wanted my own room. So I moved to the middle stuffy room. Fine that was years ago and I've forgiven about it. Now this again, I have to give way again. And the best part is that they don't get that I'm giving way. And he still had the audacity to laugh at how my room was gloomy and dark many moons ago.

Yes, I've moved out and have my own place. Yes I don't go back often. But still, that's my room. I'm certain if we had moved back when Dad first asked us few years back, I wouldn't have taken my bro's room when he moved out. I at least have that sense of decency. 

Sometimes I still harbour hopes that we would move back to stay with Dad and Mum one day. But this has blown that dream right out the door. *Irritated!

My First Camera - Canon Powershot G15

I got my wish-list item! As an Anniversary gift, Meimei bought me my very first camera! We had deliberated close to 2 weeks on which model to get. And we finally went for the Canon Powershot G15. It had been a close fight between the Sony RX100, Canon S110, Fujifilm X10 and Canon G15. 

The RX100 & S110 were your higher end traditional point and shoot. Small and compact but with adequate figures and picture quality to justify their larger price tags. In fact, the RX100 is considered by many to be the best in class camera and cost around SGD800, which is somewhat close to the low end DSLRs. One of the primary reasons why we were thinking of this 2 models was for the portability. They are slim enough to go into my pocket, lightweight so Meimei can put this into a handbag and still provide good quality pictures. But this tick on the pro checklist was quickly shelved when Sis gave her evaluation ... "If you want portability, just use the iPhone." Makes sense hahaha. We'll look at the RX100 again when Mark II comes out.

As for the Fujifilm X10, the on-off turn dial switch at the camera lens bugs me. You are forced to have both hands free to turn on the camera. To be fair the colours look more realistic on the X10 vs the G15. But then again so does the RX100. Canon has this warmth tone to it's pics which makes some colours distort. But hey, I guess that's why pics of people on the Canon fair better than others.

I think the big plus for the G15 was it's ruggedness. And it's not overly complicated for a novice trying his first camera. It's packed with most of the functions and filters like miniature, fish eye, toy camera, etc. So it fits nicely to what I'm looking for. A point and shoot camera with wide enough grip for my big hands, low fuss on the gadgetry and lightweight enough so I don't dread having to cart it around.

Thank you Meimei *kiss maybe with this we'll start to go on photo-taking trips hehe.

Project Manager Wannabe

Since days gone, I've always liked project work. I don't really take to the 9 to 6, repetitive jobs. I just don't find that you'll learn much. I've always wanted to focus on participating in finance projects either as a member or lead or project manager. It's on my mind but I never really go straight for it. I've been in several roles which had outsourcing projects as major to-do tasks but never one dedicated solely to project work. The last and current job always had the daily operational stuff added in as well.

So recently I decided that I'll really go into this once and for all. I've just signed up for a 5 day PRINCE2 certification course in Aug13 and just signed up as a member of PMI today. I'm intending to apply for CAPM once I've gone through the course. So yeah, this represents the start of my project work life. Hopefully I can find a role on pure project work. Well at least I'm trying to shore up on my educational qualifications on PM. And maybe once I've completed my MBA in the future, hiring managers would give me a chance at it. So I'll just cross my fingers and pray :-)