21-Dec-16 | Christmas party in the office, Saturdates

Christmas party in the office.

On the first day of Christmas December, all of the SW guys were invited for an early Christmas-slash-appreciation party. It was actually held in our office building's carpark. Which is kind of cool and much better than eating out (IMO). Rica (a very talented colleague who plays a lot of instruments and sings like an angel) invited me over to sing 2 songs for that night. I was actually hesitating but also kind of excited too. In the end, I said yes, and I sang 2 songs (semi horribly, I can't even watch the video my colleague sent to me, I will cringe HAHA). LOL. I still cannot get rid of my stage fright even till now. 

*Flash back* I still remember I sang "Burung Kakak Tua" when I was in kindergarten. It was a solo performance. LOL. I can still remember the clip that was recorded. Then I joined choir too when I was in Primary School. I put myself out there again in my university years, performing one of Una's (one of my university mates) original song. If you ask me for a karaoke session I'll sing my lungs out, don't really care if it's out of tune. Talking about karaoke, it's been awhile since I went to one. Maybe I'll do it when I am back to Malaysia soon. My brother came to challenge me the other day, out of the blue. #random

Percussion by Soerkano and JJ as the guitarist

Joey's 28 Days in Europe | 2 days in Salzburg

24-Nov-16 | Mum's & Grandma's Birthday | Bianca & Grey

Look at all these hungry faces.........

16-Nov-16 | Guess whos back?

Back again. 

Shady's back, tell a friend

Guess who's back, guess who's back

Guess wh.......

Okay, I think I should stop right here. 

It must be the Baileys' effect taking over.
I have been drinking this baby now and then with milk. Though I am not an alcohol person, this is super.

It's been so long since I blogged, and I just don't know where to start. I am also planning to continue writing my Europe trip post which I abandoned half-way without any valid reason. Lol. I just post Prague today. I'll write Salzburg next. 

Joey's 28 Days in Europe | Prague

Surprise surprise! I am writing this travel post after more than a year. Hah. Actually I just feel bad, I just dropped my travel blog post halfway through my Europe trip. And after all those postponing, I have completely forgotten about it. But here I am, back again. And ready to write down all the thing I did and see.... if I can still remember them! Perhaps a good time to indulge in reminiscence.

07-Aug-16 | Revamping my Ami photos

Finally I made my own light box! I always take pictures of my creation via iPhone. It's not bad but I just thought I need to take one step further. Anyway, it's fairly easy to make but I still have problem with the lights and stuff. Borrowed a DSLR from my housemate and I do not know how to use it! LOL. I can't really unlock the full potential. But anyway, the outcome was pretty good... Just that some photos are a bit blurry at the side. I don't know what's the photography term is called... I guess it's aperture?? Anyway, I don't know how to change the settings so I just had to work with it.

I still have to edit them with Photoscape to adjust the brightness and white balance stuff. I don't know why the photos are always too dark and the background colour changes if I focus on an Amigurumi with red colour on it.

But without further ado, here are the results!

07-Aug-16 | Aus 21K Run, Redang Trip

Hi my dusty old blog. I'm writing in again after a few months. I've been neglecting to write but actually I don't really have much to write about because I don't do anything special on the weekend. Unless people actually want to see me writing my grocery shopping list every week. I'm thinking who even reads them anyway, it doesn't contain any useful information. HAHAHA. It's only for my personal joy of blabbering out in public... virtually. 

I just went on my mid-year vacation trip to Australia on the beginning of July! Goldcoast to be exact, and the main reason we went there is because of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon (well, half marathon for me). It was my first time in Australia. I was aiming for Tasmania if I ever visited Australia but I guess I will leave that to my next visit.

I love to visit markets when I'm in a different country. I think this is the best place to see what the locals do and to eat delicious foods (great stuff can always be found there, trust me)!

Amigurumi Pattern | Pikachu & Psyduck Marshmallow Edition

Hi guys! I know it's been a long time since my last written pattern. I got so frustrated at noting down my patterns, that I usually just do as I see fit without noting down how I do my amigurumi. Some how this means that I can do it once, and then I have to figure out how I did it again if I ever wanted to make the same amigurumi. Not really an effective way to proceed if I were to make them again, so I decided to try to note down (as much as I can or want). 

Today, I'm going to share a relatively simple pattern.. actually two patterns. I know there is so much pokemon amigurumi pattern out there, the list is endless but what's special is that each designer added in their own flare into it. It's just a matter of which style you like better.

Heck, I have even created my first design with a pikachu head (not one of my greatest work, but it's my first). And here I am again, with another pikachu pattern, except of course, I think this version is cuter. 

P.S. I actually had to create some of the parts again for the sake of writing down this pattern, because I found out I did not properly documented how I created both of these. Things I do for love.

11-May-16

I don't know how I did it last time but I need a lot of time to even filter out these few photos to upload to my blog post. It took at least 30 mins of my time. There goes half of my lunch hour today. Just figured I would do a quick update. Just felt like it. 

A weekend in Penang. I think it's been like 2 years since my last visit there. When I had my internship I mean. And I never step foot on Penang ever since until this food trip. Thanks Aleena for being our "nanny" and for supplying a roof over our heads for those two days! I think it was then, that my eating habit changed so drastically. Up until now, I am still gaining weight and abstaining from any physical exercises... Guilty. Some how, it's like a miracle that I could keep postponing any effort of exercising. Better snap out of it. 

Foodie Review | Mrs Pho & Derwish Turkish Restaurant

*A month later* *decided to write in* Anyway. please excuse my poor vocabulary as I think I am in a lost-for-word state of mind right now. My capability to "english" is getting rusty. 

As promised, a full review on Mrs Pho! Their winning motto "Feeds you like a family" which explains a lot on how they prepare their food.

♥ Chanh Muoi (Saigon Salty Lemonade) - $2

I tried this on my first visit, I really liked it. Definitely will help increase your appetite.

Da Uo Da (Homemade Yogurt Drink) - $2

Something sweet and a bit sour-ish. Like this as well.

Ca Phe Sua Da (Viet Coffee with Condensed Milk)- $3

I don't drink coffee but it was recommended by a friend of my friend. Review: great!

Foodie Review | Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice & Sinpopo Brand

No time to edit/rotate this picture. So... just.. look at it.. :P

I have been wanting to go to this place for ages and my bf even flipped out on me because he said I said that for too many times (maybe it's PMS time for him) and so, we went all the way from Bukit Batok to East Coast to try this. And after that long journey, it turns out they have a branch in Bukit Timah, which is just 15 minutes away from our home (which made my bf flipped out once again). Sorry love, orz (Just tell me it's been awhile since you see this emoticon).
Okay lol, jokes aside...

Crochet Works | Bags bags bags

Woah, this draft has been sitting here for a long time, I guess it's about time I post it up. I haven't been really active in creating new amigurumi as of now. Because, surprisingly, I have been getting orders for bags after I created two for myself. And actually I have a few amigurumi orders as well after that, but nothing new. It gets really boring some times when I have to do repetitive pattern plus right now, I have less time to invest in my hobby. So, I stopped putting my "Made to order" item in Etsy to avoid orders. But if requested, I will still make it.. Which is what is happening right now. Hah....

Rainbow coloured bag for a friend, who actually ordered for his girlfriend. Which is very sweet of him. :)

18-Feb-16 | It's my Second Monkey Year

No, the holiday is not done yet. After Christmas and New Year, I have Chinese New Year to look forward to. And the food galore has not stopped since (no thanks to my mum's delicious homemade Chinese New Year cookies). Gosh, even when I am sitting in the office, I am still in holiday mood. 

This year is the year of Monkey! Which is my year! Unfortunately, they said it's not a very good year for fellow monkeys. So much for fan tai sui. 

Dinner with friends in SG before CNY. Jason's first salary celebration WOOTS!
Finally he did it, he treated us after all our complaining. Hahaha.

Joey's Diving Trips | Sipadan, Mabul, & Kapalai with Seaventures

All those time and  money spent to get a diving license, but yet never to actually utilize them. I am officially an Advanced Open Water diver as of July 2014 (YES, more than a year ago!). I didn't blog about it because I was in some kind of blog hiatus then. I rely a lot on my blog to look back at what had happened in my life actually. So, it was pretty weird when I don't see any updates about that. Oh well.. 

So far, I had only been to Pulau Perhentian for my dive courses, same place and I have the same instructor (all hail Ethel Toloni). And then, no diving at all. I think the main reason was that I am basically.. broke. You know, because I was not working to sustain my lifestyle then. But finally, I am working right now, I believe it's time to venture into the ocean again. Plus, I had no better plan for my birthday. Don't really feel like doing the cliche birthday celebration thing. And it's a long weekend, so it's absolutely a brilliant idea to spent my time on a beautiful place like Sipadan island. One more place to check off on my to-go list. 

Now, for the juicy details. Here is the gist of it. 

Facebook | Seaventures Dive Rig

Website | http://seaventuresdive.com/

We took a 5D4N diver package with Seaventures Dive. It was suggested by one of my friends as he was planning to go there too. I guess the price was reasonable especially when they are offering unlimited dives at the rig. Unfortunately for us, the current was too strong most of the time, so we only dived once at the rig. Best months to go to Sipadan is from April to Nov (best best best is the month of July & August). So, December wasn't really a great time to go. The visibility was note that great but it was still okay.

Duration of trip | 24th Dec ~ 28th Dec (5 days 4 nights)

Total damage per person | RM3000 ~ RM3800

Total dives possible | 10 ~ 17 dives 

*Calculated price varies as each divers has to choose whether if they want to rent the equipment, adding boat dives, etc. 

*Calculated dives possible varies based on 9 boat dives + optional boat dives with extra cost/unlimited free dive at the rig. It is possible to dive 5 times per day depending on how you spend your time, your stamina and also the weather at the rig. Consider taking morning flight on the day of arrival so that you can reach early and score extra dives at the rig. 

22-Jan-16 | Dec & Jan updates. Yes, I have been very busy

Was hat passiert?

• Christmas celebrations 
• Mum's birthday 
• Solstice Night
• Sipadan Dive trip (in another post) 
• First visit to Universal Studios Singapore
• University mates meet up and we're all working already. OMG
• Macritchie Reservoir Treetop walk
• Eating habits
• What

I feel like I have so much things to write that I can barely write much content for each entry... If that made sense.

1/2 Christmas Celebration

Sorry, unintentionally semi-boob flash

Year 2016

Heeeeyyyy, it's a brand new year! Again!

I've been very quiet on my blog lately. Well, not only because of work. Work is okay, I try to go back on time as always, and 80% of the time, I can. But the time after work, is so precious, I try to spent it on other things besides blogging. Because when I blog, I need a lot of time. Because I tend to rant and I read back what I wrote to make sure I don't make grammatical mistake. Lol, I have a grammar nazi in me.

So, a brand new year. A brand new "New Year's Resolutions". This never gets old. I guess it's a pretty good way to look back on our past year and keep track of our own goals. Thank god I have more realistic goals last year. Else I would have another year of red texts (which means not achieved).
So, as always, I will be copying the resolutions I wrote last year and check if I have achieved them or not.

2015 New Year's Resolution:

1. Pursue your dreams and don't stop till you get there, even if it's just a tiny little step, just take it one at a time. I am still doing my crochet thing and I love it. Not stopping it! And currently, I landed a job that deals with a lot of programming! Another star for this!
2. Don't let anyone tell you what you should do or not do (with reasons, not baseless ones) I still get affected by other people's comments about things but of course only when I have little knowledge over a specific topic. I can be stubborn as hell when I decided on something. So, I think I can cross off this too?
3. Live healthier, eat healthier. Well, this was half and half. I was doing well in the first half of the year. I ate clean, exercised regularly, I felt good about my body. But after I went to Germany, I began to slide back to laziness. I blamed it on the cold weather there and delicious food everywhere. 
4. Learn to manage your money flow. Still flowing like waterfall. Especially when I am earning my own money. I have a perfect meme for this. 
   
   Can't help it. I like to live happy. 
5. Learn to manage your time. I am currently blogging while working. LOL. But of course, I have finished what I should do. So, it's fine. Even though I am working, I am always finding time to do what I like. Cooking, crocheting, spending time with friends and family. I guess it's going well for me. I am very time conscious. Ask my boyfriend. I am always constantly reminding him to buy bus tickets back home.  
6. No more doing things at last minute. Just focus on one thing at a time and not everything at once. Can't remember the last time I have done things in the last minute..... well, at least it's not me who is making things last minute. I like to finish things early!
7. Be happy everyday and remind yourself that you have people who loves you. My mood has been very stable I guess. I don't get moody all of a sudden like in the past. Maybe because I am always busy with things (that I like!). 
8. Do more good deeds. Volunteer or donate when you are making your own money. Working on it! There was this donation thing going on the other day in the office. But I always think "maybe tomorrow", and then the donation period was over. I can be very stingy.. still. :P
9. More cooking! Definitely doing it!
10. Explore. I took the chance to study on the other side of the world. I traveled solo. Regretted some decision but it's an experience. I hiked the mountain alone when I feel like it. I walk randomly through places. I discovered new knowledge during my travels. Made a lot of new friends from across the country and always hear a lot of interesting stories from them. I can say this is the proudest thing I can tick off this year. 

7 out of 10 ticked off. Well, I guess that is not bad. Definitely an improvement from the last two years. LOL. 2015 has been an overwhelming year for me. I can say I definitely grown a lot this year. I even have the luxury to travel even when before I landed on my first job. All thanks to my parents for that. Without them, this would not happened. 2015 is also the year where I started a new phase of my life. I officially graduated with a degree. Thank god for that! I can't believe I have been studying almost all of my life. I mean I started school when I was 4 (I think) and I graduated when I am 23. 20 years of education. Goodbye 1/3 of my life (Asians don't live that long). 

So now, a new year, some new goals. 

2016 New Year's Resolution

1. Learn German. Make it better! 
2. Learn one martial art for self-defense.
3. Give back to the people who has been helping you unconditionally in your life. 
4. Exercise regularly! Stick to your plan! 
5. Learn to wear fashionably. Hello "girl", where are you? 
6. Do more good deeds whenever you can! Even small one counts.
7. Pursue what you want. Do not let anyone hold you back.
8. Complete all those draft post in your blog!
9. As always, be happy.
10. Explore more! Version 2.0

Short and simple. And realistic? 

I had a hard time thinking this out as I didn't allocate my time thinking about this a lot. LOL. But I guess that's how I roll. Okay, gotta get back to work! 

Ciao!