New Chairs!

Boss is in Thailand with Nicholas and they won't be back till wed. After which, Boss will be headed to Korea for a golf game (sigh, life of the rich) and we will have to entertain Nicholas until he leaves on 3rd Oct.

Anyway, check out what came for the new office!

Our old chair.

The new one that arrived on Mon.

At first we were going to get the chairs from IKEA but when we went there last week, they were sold out of the ones we wanted. So, these chairs were ordered by my cousin, Lin Wei.

The new chairs are pretty comfy and I like that it has a tall back. The wheels are a little stiff but I think that is just because its new. No worries, there is not much moving around on the chair needed :)

On Tues, I had to set up appointments for Nicholas and I would be going with him to meet the suppliers. I tried to set them up by location by unfortunately because it was pretty last min, I ended up just squeezing ppl in when there is a slot available. GREAT, its going to be a lot of running back and forth ...... Thank god I have Wed to rest :)

Goodbye, Charmaine!

My cousin Charmaine is going to Japan for a year on an exchange program. A bunch of us went to the airport to see her off on Sun nite.

We were running late when u got there and so did not have much time to hang with her b4 she had to board her plane. Hmm .... she told me where she was going but I don't remember :P

Me, Charmaine and my sis.

The family members that were there to send her off.

She will be back for a visit after 6mths ... hmm, I wonder if I can get her to buy me some exclusive LTS stuff ... hehe. Will definitely going to miss her, but no worries, we will still be able to chat online!

My 1st F1!!!

The week has been a bitch. I have been grumpy and things just did not go well. And it didn't help that I was also PMSing. On Fri, Boss said something that really hurt/annoyed/pissed me. That started a nite of tears that didn't stop flowing.

On Sat, I woke up early to collect a parcel from the post office and then had plans to meet a friend in the evening, around 6.30pm. Sometime in the mid afternoon, my boss text me, asking me if I wanted to go to the Formula 1 Qualifying Race that nite. OMG! U guys know I have been wanting to go to the F1 since FOREVER! Sure, I was still pissed at my boss but to say no because of it? Come on, what do u think I am? Stupid?

The race starts at 10pm, I would have been able to meet my friend, then head on to the race, no problem. It would be a little rush, but it could be done. However, at about 5+pm, my friend text me and told me she had to cancel. Hate that I would not be able to meet up, but then, it leaves me plenty of time to get there.

So I headed to Nick's hotel where we grabbed a quick bite with Boss, then it was a short walk to the F1 grounds. When I got off the MRT, the station was packed! When I was on street level, I could already hear the cars zooming by ... it was LOUD!

This is the cool tic, they punch a hole when u enter the area and if u exit, u need to get your hand stamped. This prevents a day's tic from being transferred.

The back ... we were seated at the Padang Grandstand.

My fave team - Ferrari! This was their souvenir tent.

The beautiful skyline.

After we got it, we tried to get info on a little handheld set that we could watch the race on. Nick and my boss saw someone with the device on Fri but did not ask the person where he got it from. So we walked around, asking the ushers, the ticket ppl, but no one knew where it was. The ushers were mainly high school students whom I felt knew crap! WTF? Shouldn't it be part of the training? To tell them where everything is so that they can USHER ppl to it?

Finally Nick saw a Singapore Tourism counter and I went to ask the guy there. Surprisingly, he knew straight away what we were talking about. He directed us to the tent which was just a short walk from where we were.

Its called Kangaroo TV! Nick said that he hasn't seen it in Monaco b4 but when he talked to the person, he was told that they were in Monaco .. they then proceed to discuss the location while I quickly took this shot :)

This is the set where u can tack yr fave drivers, stats, standings, in car cameras and more! Its cost S$100 for one day rental and $150 for the whole weekend. Nick rented it for the weekend so that they could use it on Sun too. Its a really cool device to have.

The back view of the Padang Grandstand.

We were seated right b4 the S turn.

The view from the left.

The right.

That's Singapore's tallest hotel.

Nick and I. Haha, he also knows how to take pics of himself by himself. I thought it was just a Singapore thing.

Some track views.

Bad job of trying to catch the cars zoom by. My camera is not professional enough.

Check out some videos that I took. Umm ... make sure your volume is turned down :)

After the race .... ppl still hanging around.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The sound of the cars driving by is nothing like what u hear on tv. Earplugs are a must! Even though u can hardly see the car in the pics and video I took, I could actually see them pretty clear b4 the turn as they had to slow down.

Moreover, the race last nite was exciting as it was a close one, with the fast lap changing hands a few times. The fave, Hamilton, almost did not make it on the 2nd qualifying and the held on to pole position for a few seconds on the final qualifying only to lose it to Masa! Haha, Ferrari all the way!

Crap, woke up late!

I was so freaking tired last nite that I totally forgot to set BOTH my alarms. Lucky for me, Boss and Nicholas had an early appointment that didn't involve me. Dierdrey's sms in the morning saved my ass and a few mins later, Huiyi sms me. If not for them, I would still be in bed!

Yesterday was bad day for me. Had a problem with a vsl and I didn't know whether I dealt with it correctly. And then when it came to dinner, sigh .... I just felt my boss did not make things clear when inviting us for dinner and I did not want to be thick skinned and invite myself. So I just made a move .... and it was only when I leaving that he said "u r not joining us?" WTF ... NO! Its too late!

Anyway, I was grumpy, going out with them would have made it even worse.

Azamar and Ocean Energy Bunkering.

I am in the office now ... haha ... yes ... but nothing to do now. And I have been neglecting my blogs. So I transferred all the pics I needed to my thumb drive and decided I would update at work if I had the time .. which, as u can tell, I do.

Next week, Boss and Nicholas would be heading to Thailand and Boss would be back 1 day early as he would head to Korea for some golf thing. That leaves me to entertain Nick for 1 day .... HMM ....

Going to catch up on sleep this weekend and watch F1 on TV :'(

Walking Work Week ;)

Our new signs. Red and green ... XMAS colors!

I have been going out with visits of suppliers with Boss and Nicholas. OMG, those two gentlemen walk super fast! Me, with my short legs and heels have a hard time keeping up with them. They would be in front and I would be behind trying to catch up.

And when it comes to meeting the suppliers ... sigh, I would just sit there as Boss and Nicholas talk to them. It is nice to actually meet the ppl I have been communication via Yahoo! and sms for the past 2 mths but other than that, its just sitting there, trying to act interested in things I am hearing again and again. And the worse part is they would talk like I'm not even there :(

I guess I can't really complain as I have heard from my boss that it is very tough to be a trader for OE, all of the ppl Nicholas hires have some experience ... things at Azamar is nothing compared to OE. Sigh ... great, it sure makes me feel better!

A long overdue pic of Dierdrey's desk :)

Dinner with OE's boss.

Nicholas, the boss of OE is in town to set up Ocean Energy Bunkering Pte Ltd with my boss. He would be here for about 2 weeks to visit suppliers and also to make a short trip to Thailand and meet suppliers over there.

Supposedly he and my boss have known each other for a long time. My boss even knows his mom who was the one who started Ocean Energy. The new company they are setting up is the main reason I was hired.

On Mon nite, we brought Nicholas out for dinner. We went to this cool Indian restaurant at Boat Quay, but it was super expensive! The bill for the 3 of us came up to almost $180. I ate till I was so full .... but I made sure I left room for beer later on ;)

My boss and Nicholas. Haha, he looks so uncomfy here with Nick's arm on his shoulder. I have also realized that my boss likes to stand with his hands placed like that.

We went to Brewerkz for beer.

Group pic!

I was so tired after that glass of beer ... it was a great nitecap for me. Luckily we called it an early nite as Nicholas was tired too because of jetlag.

It has been a busy tiring week for me. It was only on Fri that I realised why .. it was because it was actually a 6 days week for me when u take into account we had to move office on Sun.

The first week at the new office was ok. But the thing that really bugs me is that for some reason, every morning when we step into the office, our eyes would hurt. I don't know where the fumes are coming from but I am sick of tearing every morning when I go it. It would last for about 1/2 - 1 hr b4 it becomes bearable.

On Monday, my cousin treated us to lunch at a pretty nice vegetarian restaurant over in Chinatown. It was a celebration of our new office. I ate so much I thought I would burst! But food was good :)

I met up with an old Coach colleague on Tues. She had informed me last week that she has finally left LV and is giving up on retail forever. I congratulated her on that :) I, myself, would never go back to retail ... I enjoy life on the other side of the counter.

We went to Hog's Breath at Vivo for dinner and also bitched over a pitcher of beer. It was much needed, especially for her. She is going to take things slow for the moment and maybe in a few mths head back into the job mkt.

On Wed, it was a meet up with Rydwan, Kerine and KL. I have not seen Ryd in ages, prob not since I first came back. We decided to meet at Sushi Tei at Raffles City .... Kerine was the happiest as it was very close to her work place. We chatted over dinner and I did my usual of telling them what a Bunker Trader really is. Ryd seemed really interested ....

It was nice reminiscing over the days in SI, even though there are alot of things I cannot remember. After dinner, it was more talk over at Starbucks. No, we did not stop by the Coach store .... why go?

Thur was a long work day ... I did not leave the office till after 8pm as I was busy trying to close a deal :( And work did not end then. I came back home only to receive a call from Jordan asking me about a vessel. Crap, there was some screw up. Thank god after making a few calls, the supplier was able to fixed it and my ass was saved. I could not imagine what would have happened if things were different .....

Fri was slow ..... no enquiries so it was just some paperwork to do. After work, I stopped by my sis's work to join her for dinner and then waited for her to get off work....

That's it ... that was my week ....

Moving!

Had to meet at 8.30am this morning as it was moving day. We met first for breakfast at McDonald's b4 heading up to our old office and waiting for the movers to arrive.

One last good bye to our home at HarbourFront.

Getting the fishes ready for the move.

Here come the movers. They were pretty quick in getting everything packed.

We left Jordan at the old office while Boss, Deirdrey and I headed to the new office with the fishes.

Our empty office with partition put up.

That little area with the desk will be my cousin's office.

Our stuff finally arrived! Now the hard part is to get everything to where it belongs.

It was alot and alot of unpacking. I had the least amt of things so it was pretty easy for me. I think Boss had the most, followed by Deirdrey then Jordan.

Are u ready to see what our new office looks like? Here u go!

This is the entrance.

Our little area for our water and fridge.

My boss' desk. Check out his collection of alcohol which I have been told to stay away from ... haha.

The small seating area within my boss' partitioned corner. Yes, that is wine u see ... we had a small celebration after most of the unpacking was done.

An empty desk for any future employee ... this was taken while still unpacking. Its alot neater now.

My cousin's desk and area.

Jordan's desk.

CRAP .... NO DEIRDREY'S DESK!!!

This is my desk. Closest to the door, farthest from the toilet.

Haha, check out the bottle of XO that my boss said I could have ... perfect decoration for an alcoholic.

Teh, aka Boss, Me, Deirdrey and Jordan.

It was a long day. We finally left the office at about 6+pm, just as it started to rain. Thank god my cousin was there to give Deirdrey and I a ride home. I am so not looking forward to travelling to and from work. Luckily my boss has offered to pick us up from the MRT tomorrow morning AND he said he will be late! Hahaha...

Hello Kitty Online Founders' Beta

Haha, the game I was hooked on a few mths ago is BACK!! U can bet I am counting down the days to it. So if I am suddenly MIA from Oct 8, u know where I am.

In case anyone wants to join me in HKO, visit the Official Hello Kitty Online Blog. U can find instructions on how to be part of the beta there or by clicking here.

Shanice ... u very bored rite? Haha ...

Btw, if u guys still have not visited my Little Twin Stars Blog, pls do so by click on the lovely pic below :)

Featured as one of the Bloggers of the Mth in the September Sanriotown Newsletter!

Lunch @ Chinatown

We travel out of the HarborFront/Vivo area at least once a week. One of the places we frequent is this vegetarian coffee shop in Chinatown. Umm, in case I didn't tell u, Deirdrey, my colleague is a vegetarian.

This is the coffee shop, its a short walk from Chinatown MRT.

Deirdrey was the one who first brought me and the food there is really yummy and cheap! A rice with 2 veggies and 1 "meat", what I usually get, is only S$2.20. We would also usually get some "kong bak bao" (pork buns) for our tea break. There are also a wide array of dishes that are made to order.

Anyway, I have fallen in love with this place ... haha, ok, too drama, but seriously this place is not bad. And u can't tell that the meat u r eating is not meat.

Fri was our last trip to Chinatown from our old office. I wonder when we will get to go back there again. Its going to be a hassle in the future as the MRT is not within our doorstep. Boss did mention we could drive in the CBD earlier so as to escape the ERP charges. We'll see how that goes.

Hmm, if I bring my sis there I might be able to take more pics. Wonder if she is keen ... haha.

F1

There will be a European biz partner coming down to Singapore to visit us and when he found out that he will be town during the 1st F1 night race, he asked my boss to get tics. I remember the shocked reaction my boss had when he was told, I honestly thought he was kidding until Dierdrey msged me on msn, telling me to go help Boss find out how to get tics.

Of cos I knew how to get them .... I have been to the websites a few times, drooling at the tics but not being able to afford them. Anyway, a quick Google and I was directed to the website. Unfortunately most of the cheap tics were gone by then. The cheapest I found were $498 :(

My boss had no choice, the guy wants to go and so my boss bought TWO tics @ S$498 each .... OUCH!!! You can be assured that the tics are going to be a gift to the guy.

This happened all last week and this week, my boss was able to go collect the tics and he whipped them out to show us.

Check out the cool tics! They are actually cards with bar codes on the back and each has their own lanyard.

Yes, my colleagues are getting used to me taking pics all the time, even my boss. Unfortunately, taking pics when out with suppliers is still a no no.

Anyway, when my boss showed us the cards, he said MAYBE Jordan and I could use the Fri cards as he and Nicholas would be busy. OMG ..... a MAYBE is better than nothing! I am going to hope and pray we do get to go. Yes, the 1st day is not going to be as interesting as the 2nd or last day but, hey, beggars (me) can't be choosers. I think the first day is for the drivers to familiarize themselves with the course.

Just the thought of seeing a Ferrari zoom by ..... :)

Its 9/11 ....

Lets take a moment to remember the ones we lost ..... I can still remember what I was doing that day, the scene on the tv, the voice of the commentator .... I think it will be something I will never forget.

Anyway, this has been a pretty slow week at work. We will be moving to the new office next week and so this week is packing week. Well, actually Deirdrey has been doing most of the packing, I'm just an onlooker :P Boss also has been packing as alot of the stuff in the office belongs to him. The only good thing about this week was that Boss allowed us to wear casual at work, that means jeans! Haha ...

However, I forgot that we were going to meet a supplier on Tues and so was in jeans and T-shirt ... so unprofessional, luckily I have a jacket at work so I wore it and it look SLIGHTLY more presentable. And it didn't help that the supplier was young and cute.

We, Jordan and I, went to Suntec to meet him and we had lunch at Imperial Treasure. Yes, same restaurant as the one I went on Sat with Christine and the rest of the gang. Throughout the whole meal, Jordan and Ivan kept talking in Teochew .. my command of that dialect is minimal and I could barely understand them. So I just sat in the corner, eating my food.

On Wed, it was another lunch with another supplier. This time it was Dierdrey, Jordan and I. This was a more relaxed meal, non biz type of lunch. I finally got to sit my first BMW! He brought us to the Singapore Yacht Club which was a short drive from our office. The food there was pretty good at a reasonable price .... I was so tempted to order a beer like him but, sigh, office hrs ... he's the boss, I'm not. Don't think my boss would appreciate me working intoxicated :)

That's about it for the week .... Sun is moving day, will definitely be bringing my camera .....

Dinner with Friends

Adela is always asleep when we are at Christine's, so we decided to meet up for dinner, so that we can at least play with her. We went to Imperial Palace at Taka for a nice meal.

I call this fake peanut soup, because it taste so much like it but it is actually Lotus Root Soup.

There's the lotus root and pork. I do not understand why in Chinese restaurants they separate the soup and ingredients when serving.

小笼包. Taste the same from the last time I was there, no improvement.

Silver fish. Most of them said that the one at Crystal Jade is better, but I have not had them there so I can't compare. Still tasted pretty good to me.

This was yummy! Long Beans with .... I think shrimp? Or was it pork? Haha

Chicken with Cashews. This was pretty delicious too.

Pork Ribs. I wish I could have eaten more but they were calories suicide.

Noodles with Eggplant (aka brinjal) This was surprisingly good. I think the only time I don't like eggplant is when my mom cooks it ... oops.

Fried rice with dried scallop and egg white.

Adela was a very good baby because she slept almost throughout our dinner. She only got up during the last dish. Christine and KL then took turns holding her finishing up with the meal.

It was finally her turn!

Haha, she has a very serious look here.

It was then time for dessert!

Red Bean Pancake.

Deep fried banana coated in honey/sugar. When serving, they first dip it in an ice bath. That way it had a hard sugar crust and a warm center. Very unique and will definitely order again.

After that, it was part 2 at Coffee Bean. It was more chit chat and baby stories. It was only 10+pm when we left but it was late for the little gal.

Fast asleep .... so cute! She was a very good gal throughout the nite, only whined a little when she got hungry :)

But it was not home for the rest of us. KL was meeting O so Huiyi and I invited ourselves along .. haha. Well, they were just meeting at McDonald's :P But that was also a short meet up and we still managed to catch the train home.

It was good to be out .... being home alone in my room is doing horrible things to my sanity. I wonder how long this bout will last?