In finding your dream home

Once, a painful lesson taught me that i could be better off being somewhere else doing anything other than being in the civil service-something more appropriate for a lady like me.

Sincere advice don't always work-we all usually get the wake-up call from bad experiences.

I left the comforts of the civil service (forsaking 35 days leave, 12 days study leave, medical and dental allowances) and took on a job in the media industry, following my experiences in the public relations department.

The basic pay was high and commission was pretty decent, but the people u work with and see in the media industry are rather complicated. Lotsa entertainment, drinking and one can feel blood pressure rise as high as the mountains each time the topic was on how to super exceed sales targets.

Alternatively, i love real estate. Everyone was urging me to go into HDB as the 'market is not gd'. I only had the passion to do private property and glad i went with my gut feeling.

I find myself falling in love with the rustic feeling of old, cosy condos and am in awe pleasantly and mostly impressed with the luxurious beauty of the new condos.I wish to buy such pretty homes for myself one day.

The job:
Nevermind the endless explaination to concerned home buyers that "there are not a lot of Indians staying in City Square Residences and hanging around outside the condo". Indians/Banglas are also humans and they can be pretty helpful! Having witness couple of them Banglas giving up their seats on the train..

Nevermind the amusing agents that ask me if the Beacon has TOP (not only TOP, also 2nd owners, some of them), another joker told me he was an agent and claimed to be buying for his home-stay(refused to reveal company name-duh..).

Nevermind the unscrupulous external agents who try to undercut u, stalk ur buyers during viewing or eating ur fair share of the pie nor the buyers who wanna ask me out for meals or coffee and not work..

I entered the real estate industry because i wanted to do more for myself. Hope that i could provide more for the family and in setting up my own family in the near future-i wanna give my children anything i didn't manage to get in the past. The recent deals up my battery level and exceed my own expections with my income doubling that of the last job.

The real estate is really a lucrative career. I love meeting and talking to people and helping them find solutions. But, with the stress from external sources, it seemed to have taken a toll on me.

I wish that i could make people see that time, effort and expenses need to be put into this job, with a little of luck but not many see it that way. Us property agents' revenue are not measured by the no. of viewings should you not already know.

I find myself possibly giving up this trade which i like for the sake and pleasure of others dear to me.

Maybe i should get a regular 9-5 job, so that i will not be inferior in terms of how much CPF i have in my account if you deem so. Maybe it's just not meant to be..

A nice cuppa Starbucks for Tissue Auntie

Attire: Pink Dress
Venue: Starbucks, Pacific Plaza

The Starbucks counter guy handed over my order of "Chai Tea Frappacinno". I commented that it looks darker than the usual Chai Tea hmm.. he then realised that that was "Chocolate Cream", giving me my new drink and asking me to keep the Chocolate Cream!

I pushed it back to him, saying it was "on us" but he insisted we have all 3 drinks..3 drinks for the price of 2, including our order of Java Chip Frappacinno! He prolly have a daily 4 servings of Starbucks drinks to accompany his 3 meals and "coffee break" so he doesn't want more *grins*

Liz said i should give it to some cute guy.. but i was afraid tt the guys here may tink tt i have spiked the drink lol. So we decided to give the Tissue auntie..

Walked across the road to find the Tissue Auntie outside LIDO.. she had a mat of stuff and was standing there.. my heart aches when i always see the elderly having to work..

I passed Tissue Auntie the Starbucks Chocolate Cream:
"Auntie, Ni yao bu yao her ka fei? Ge ni her.. (dunno how to say chocolate cream in Chinese!)"
She held it the drink, looking at is.. tilted the drink and the whipped cream nearly came out.
"Ni her.."holding the drink near her lips.
She took a sip..
"Hao her ma?"
She nodded and looked rather shy in a half smile..

Liz and I waved at her..had a feel-good feeling coming over me, yet worried that people may misunderstand seeing her drink it, thinking that she had used donations to buy such stuff..also wondered if she would actually enjoy the drink or put it aside..

After parting ways, I asked Liz to see if Auntie drank it as she walked in the other direction. She called me to say Tissue Auntie was packing up to go, and saw that she finished every sip of the STARBUCKS drink which was on the ground nr her stuff..

Yay!

Hello Kitty Madness

Was at the multi-storey carpark when i spotted the vehicle of a die-hard Hello Kitty fan..

The Head Over Heels Challenge

Today i ran my 1st 8 klik. Drank Redbull in the morning for an energy booster. Love the egg sandwich!

Taking part in the Head Over Heels Challenge was done in the name of fun, a test of endurance and whether we could tide over it together. When the challenge kick off, we even had time off the put the goodie bags in the car and visiting the washrooms lol.

Overheard this guy who was jogging at a real leisurely pace telling his female partner "Ok, we maintain this pace can already". The pace was equivalent to me brisk walking :p

The last 1km was made possible as my partner took my hand, motivating me tt the finishing line was just 'in front'.

We sprinted towards the finishing line. There was a photographer there - i'm sure the photos will turn out 'fine' with my constipated look as we made the final dash ; )

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Things you'll never want to receive or give!

Have you ever received a gift so bad that you had to muster all your courage to say the most sincere "thank you"?

Although being giving is a virtue, perhaps we should just take a little time and effort to find and give the perfect gift for that special someone..

Because, a gift expresses a lot of how you perceive each other and how he is thinking of you. So if he did not put any thought into it, you start to wonder if he cares enough to make it work..

Let's just say that some of the things compiled in this list has been given by someone in some point of time. Otherwise, let them serve as a "warning" to you:

1) Here today, gone tmr
Chocolates, cakes or any food items.. these can compliment your gift but should never be the solo or main gift. It's usually forgotten and there ain't much memory left for something you ate and pass out..

2) Ornaments
Photo-frames, decorative items - I totally hate photoframes.. they just show little thought or effort. .The only things that should be hanging on the wall are your clocks, wedding photo or mirrors.

3) Teddy Bears/Hello Kitty/Any other soft toys
We may look young but we ain't tt young anymore. Such toys would prolly delight us in our teenager days when you win them for us at the fun fair, displaying your cool shooting skills

4) Someone else's gift
By this, i mean that you know that this gift was not bought for you. Maybe the giver didn't manage to give it to the intended party / had received this gift he did not need..

5) Flowers
Avoid the cliches. There was once in my life where i received flowers on every occasion because the guy 'doesn't know what to buy'. I could possibly be a florist for an alternate career..

Let me know if you have anything to add on ; )

If only..

It's supposed to be sugar and spice now, but what came along was heat and scrutiny. Perhaps she is supposed to emerge stronger after this episode. However, if she really does come out of it stronger, does it mean that she does not need him around her anymore?

If only everyone could just let them be.. leave her alone..leave him alone. What's most important is that they still have each other to look out for. It wasn't easy for them to find each other and get to where they are now..

Everything will be just fine. Really.