Balance is the key.

Someone once told me
that you have to choose
what you win or lose
you cant have everything
dont you take chances
you might feel the pain
dont you love in vain
cause love wont set you free
i could stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
so unhappy but safe as could be

so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about other pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy, yea
just wanna be happy, yea

holding on tightly
just cant let it go
just tryna play my role
slowly diasappear, oooh
well all these tears
they feel like theyre the same
just different faces, different names
get me outta here
well i can stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
pass me by

so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about other pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy
oooh

so any turns that i cant see
ill count a stranger on this road
but don’t say victim
dont say anythng

so what if it hurts me
so what if i break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
i gotta find my place
i wanna hear my sound
dont care about all the pain infront of me
cause im just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy

Is my Christmas Present of 8 years soon to be claimed back by the Giver?

Kidney failure is never good news.

But when it happens to something you love very much, it comes as an even greater blow.

Misty is sick.

"Old age," the vet says.

Yeah, of course cats facing old age will be more prone to illnesses and sicknesses. But seeing her get weaker and weaker still brings tears, even as we spoon out her medicine to mix it with the additionally nutriented cat food. And while I know I need to be prepared to say goodbye soon, just the thought of not having my baby around anymore hurts likes crazy. :'(

She's been one of the constants in the last 8 years of my life when everything else - everything changed.
She was there for my happy days when I could squeeze her for joy.
Or there to cuddle or be quietly near by when I was feeling blue.
Or there to sit right splat on top of the book I was reading just to get my attention.
Or... just so many things!

I have never regretted that Christmas Day that she walked in to our home and our hearts...

now I just hope and pray she can hold on to spend atleast one more Christmas with us...

**She has too many things on her To-Do list and too little time**

Sawatdee Kaa!!!

We needed a getaway....badly......

SOOOOOO, we went and got ourselves some tickets to fly away to Asia's Shopping Paradise!

Sisters = best friends! :)

Arggh, our big beloved bottles of facewash got reduced to 100ml containers to fit the flight requirements..

I got the window seat!!! And received a wonderful front-row view of how the flaps work...

Pretty blue skies promising a beautiful HOT day.

Finally...touchdown! Excitement steadily builds as the queue shortens...

Hummm...which way are we going?

Destination: Chatuchak Weekend Market!!!

Dropping our bags off at the hotel before going to walk our legs off.

Finally some authentic Phad Thai - my FAVORITE.

Pretty gals and pretty slippers!

Ahhh, nothing is quite so refreshing as a cool coconut when you're hot and tired...

Shopping..

Shopping...

..and more shopping...

buffet breakfast at the hotel on our second day!

There's just something so - authentically Thai about this postbox.

MRT rides... as if we don't get enough of it already in SG...

more shopping @ Siam Paragon

You have to use your maths alot in BKK...is this worth buying?

Stopping to snack on healthy yoghurt..

Outside Siam Paragon

Eating a late late lunch (think 4:00PM)

Funny, huh. I thought so too.

Shop till we drop!

candid shot at the river beside our hotel

Dinner @ Baiyoke Tower Sky Restaurant!

My two pretty sistahs..

It LOOKED pretty. How it tasted...I leave to your opinion.

Checking out @ 6AM...

Pretty as you please

What did you say our flight number was again?

Choosing the movies to watch...SQ flights have their privileges!

Bed of clouds

So besides spending up all our Baht, we also got to spend some wonderful gal-time together, and came back lugging bags - so full that they had to be checked in - packed with pretty Stuffs and happy Memories. :)

**Life is giving her the How to Cope with a Combination of Factors lecture**

Blame it on the Day...

You will not be able to mistake this day for any other day in the week - not Tuesday, or Thursday, and most certainly not Monday. Somehow the office carries a certain mood. It is rarely spelled out verbally, but it is hard to miss the air of light-heartedness and gaiety in the step of people, or the genuine happiness that is carried in their laughter. The jeans make their once-a-week appearance, and the additional bling here and there hint of more happening plans once working hours are over...

Or maybe..it's just me.

There's this little thrill that runs through you every few moments, making you want to squirm with delight in your seat, just knowing that YES, TODAY IS FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!! I mean, when it comes to something which you have been waiting four days for, who can help but be excited just a teeny weeny bit?

Who cares that it's raining cats and dogs outside or that I am surrounded by stacks of papers all about my desk? There is so much to look forward to - tonight, throughout the entire weekend, the super short workweek ahead, and then the weekend after that... One half of you wishes everything you are looking forward to can all take place right now and give you a triple-shot of Happiness. The other half of you wants to stretch it out as looonnnnnggggg as possible so that you can wring the maximum amount of Pleasure from the moments.

I expected to be feeling more tired than this. After all, it is not every day that I wake up early to squeeze in a run before heading to work. But strangely enough...the adrenaline which I can only attribute to today being Friday is at work here, and I am embracing Life with its entirety.

I have learned many things over these last few days...disappointments and frustrations have popped their heads out more times than I can remember, and caused me some regret. But they have also created in me a greater appreciation for the moments of happiness that counterbalance the negative ones.

After all, we only live once. And we all make mistakes. Where's the point in regretting? Life is a continuous learning experience. The important thing is to learn from the mistakes, pick yourself up, and move on, the wiser for it.

As Jordin Sparks put it, "We live and we learn to take one step at a time, There's no need to rush. It's like learning to fly or falling in love..One step at a time."

It is a blessing to be young and loving life.

**She finds that the more you know, the more you find out just how much you DON'T know**

To Rescue or to be Rescued

Another small milestone is passed for this year....and I am finally a Rescue Diver!

It was, as the instructor said, "serious fun." Think excitement, stress, exhaustion, at times frustration, and satisfaction, all in one and you will start to get the drift. It was challenging but we learned to work together as a team, all 9 of us who were taking the rescue course (despite the fact that it was the first time I was diving with 7 of them!).

Perhaps the three most outstanding lessons I learnt over the weekend were these:

1) Communication is the crucial backbone to the efficiency and competency of any one team

2) The leader's role is to stand back and see the full picture for everyone so that those who are delegated tasks can focus more fully on what they need to do.

3) When suddenly faced with a crisis, always remember to STOP, THINK, and then ACT. Imagine how much time we save by using foresight to eliminate would-be problems!

Many pics and videos taken, courtesy of Adam and the rest of the papparrazi on the boat...to be uploaded once Blogspot makes up their mind whether they want to let people post pictures on their blogs. Many more mental images taken in my mind, that were indelibly stamped and hopefully long staying enough to come in handy when the need calls.

Finally I can tick "Rescue Course" off my To-Do List for this year! It has been an exhausting weekend from which my body has not totally recovered, but it was definitely one of my most satisfying dive trips thus far, as well.

The only negative side effect of a wonderful diving weekend is that you are left with no mood whatsoever to drag yourself out of bed at 6.30AM on Monday morning to go to Fuji Xerox Towers..... Jia you, Em, jia you.....!!!

**She is looking forward to seeing her best friend's reactions to the surprise delivery tomorrow morning**