Wake up!

I had training today. It was about Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). It's gonna be on for the next 4 days. Very riveting stuff. Learning all about the COSO framework and how to apply it to SOX audit. There're other stuff as well, but I think I'll save all of us the pain and also from preventing you from closing this window.

Throughout the course, I was fighting to stay awake, checking my watch every 5 minutes only to realise that a minute has passed. Please help me! Thought of slapping myself to keep me awake, but that'll just arouse suspicion around the room, not to mention a possible attempt to exorcise me.

There're 2 things at work that I find is successful at keeping me awake.
1) Coffee
The coffee that we get at work is really crap. Douwe Egberts or some other unheard of name. It's so weak, I'd probabaly fall asleep while drinking it.

Which is why, I bring my own coffee to work. My colleagues call me anal, but once they try my Mocconna Temptation coffee, they swear by it. Mocconna Indulgence is heavenly too. It is made of dark roasted 100% Arabica beans which spoils you with its sensual luxury.

I don't mix it with water. No, I pour about 3/4 of LOW FAT milk into the mug and put it into the microwave for 1.5 minutes. After that, stir in about 2 teaspoons of the delicate freeze-dried coffee granules. Add 2 sachets of raw sugar. Mix in with water. Stir. Heaven in a mug. Not to mention, it'll definitely keep you awake.

2) Mentos

Some of you may be going, Mentos? What?

Well, mentos has sugar. And I think its the sugar that keeps you awake.

Why Mentos?
Coz we get it free at the reception. Hehe. Yeah, cheapo me. But hey, there's a whole fishbowl of it there. So why not grab some eh?

My colleague would always ask me to grab some on the way for training. And I'll just reach my hand in and grab as many as I can, without looking too greedy. They should just place it away from the reception area. I'll just bring the largest Tupperware I have and stuff everything inside. Hmm, maybe that's why they keep it there.

The Mentos that they have comes individually wrapped in cute little blue plastic wrappers. Yeah, we only have the mint variety. But hey, that's my favourite.

The chewing action keeps you awake too, coz you're doing something else besides sitting there attempting to keep awake.

3) V


Ok, I know I only said 2, but hey, I this one works!

And DMNK, no, the V that I'm referring to here is not Viagra.

I used to take a can of V every night when I was studying for my exams back in uni. There were really effectful. I would be up all night burning the midnight oil and wouldn't get tired. I stopped after a while when I got hives. Probably from the stress of studying as well. But yeah. This is good shit!

Unfortunately, it isn't free at my firm, so I don't take that to keep awake.

Friendship

I wonder how my friends view me. I wonder whether I am a good friend or just a fair-weather friend.

There was an accident that happened in my housemate's friend's fiance's family. So, she's been at her friend's place since Tuesday. I wonder, if something like that happened to a friend of mine. I wouldn't know what to say or do. I surely wouldn't have thought of going to my friend's place to stay over and all.

The other time when DMNK was in a very bad mood, I tried thinking of what to say to him, but I just went silent over the phone. So I gave him some time (of which he then managed to wreck his room and destroy the towel hanger in his bathroom) to vent off his anger. After dinner, I texted him to see how he was. Since he had cooled off, I suggested taking him out to Crown to get away for a while. I think we had fun, and he managed to forget about the whole drama for a while.

I guess that's my approach. I give them space to cool off first before I go in to console them.

But there're other things which would question the kind of friend I am. When friends ask me to club, and I'm tired (which is almost all the time), I wouldn't bother going. But then again, maybe clubbing isn't something that I really look forward to. Will write about that some other time.

Toe Socks

Some people can't seem to get them off their feet, and some people cringe at the sight of them. Yes, its that love-it-or-hate-it toe socks.

I personally LOVE them! I have anklet toe socks, and I have toe socks for work. I love them so much, that when I wear "normal" socks now, it just doesn't feel right.

Blame it on my obsession with hygiene and my active lifestyle. I mean, besides sitting at my desk the whole day resuscitating myself with coffee and diet coke, I do have a more-than-usual active lifestyle compared to my colleagues. I hit the weights 3-4 times a week and I dance 3-4 times a week (why am I still fat?). Both involve lots of sweating, especially at the feet. It not only prevents smelly feet (I'm very particular about smells too. Will write about that another time), but combats athlete's foot too.

How many times have I taken off my shoes and left my toe socks on and everyone just starts staring at them. Be it at the gym or at a friend's. There'll be bound to be comments.

I was at Andy's place last night, when Freddy noticed my socks. Then, everyone got around to looking at my socks. Apparently it didn't do it for all of them. Ahh...well, I guess if you're not used to it, it would look weird. My housemate got a shock when she first saw my socks. At least it helps when we do the laundry - all toe socks are mine.

I do hope there are other toe-socks-lovers out there and I'm not the only "weirdo" around here...

Singapore vs Melbourne

There are times when I miss Singapore and tonight's one of them.

My colleague who just came back from Annual Leave today asked me what my plan was after next year. We've been here for almost a year (a year for her today, a year for me in 8 days). She said it's time to think where we are headed to next year.

Back when I was in Singapore, I always knew that Melbourne was where I want to be. Ever since my first counselling meeting with my manager and partner, I always reiterated the point that I would want to come back to Melbourne. Now that I am here, I have always wondered what else is next for me.

I've already obtained my Chartered Accountancy. That's my passport to the world. However, I'm a bit weary about leaving Melbourne prematurely as I don't want to stay as a senior accountant forever. Especially if I go to another foreign country (like UK), I would have to prove myself again from a senior accountant's perspective. Hence, it would take me much longer to be a manager. And hey, who wouldn't wanna be a manager eh? Get to manage people and the project, instead of doing fieldwork. Lol...yes. I'm a bossy person.

I digress. I was also looking through a friend's Friendster, who is my colleague from Singapore, who is also in the Melbourne office. His last days in the Melbourne office are coming close and he will be returning to Singapore soon. As I look at his pictures, I just feel that if I were in the same boat as him, I would definitely miss Melbourne. The friends that I've made, the places that I've been, the experiences that I've had. Everything - priceless. Would I trade that for the extra $$$ that I could earn in Singapore?

Also, I've been getting breakouts recently. Maybe its due to my recent chocolate addition. I've been having 4 squares of Cadbury's Old Gold 70% cocoa. Mmmm. And I'm like...I wanna go for a good facial. One which does good extraction like Leonard Drake back in Singapore and KL (I just checked out the homepage of Leonard Drake and found out that they have an outlet in Sydney. Why not Melbourne?? Arghhh!!!).

Ah well. Time to start thinking about my future. Where will I be in 2007?

Lucky Strike #2

After having our taste buds teased and tantalised at the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Exhibition at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Andy and I went to Crown whereas Charles went home. He had to study. Poor guy. Ah well, we all have to go through that sometime in our lives. Glad that mine's over. Am thinking of doing a MBA, but we'll see. Just need some time to rest and pursue other things first.

But I digress. As Andy and I went to Crown, we only had 1 intention in mind - to win some money. As I had a good streak playing Pontoon the other time, decided to play that this time around too.

In summary, I won about 100% this time around. It could've been 250% but I got greedy :P Moral of story, don't be too greedy. Andy, unfortunately, lost his capital. At least on an overall basis, we won. So that's good.

I told Andy that he's my lucky charm and he has to come with me everytime I gamble. Will bring him along when I buy tattslotto for $27m next time. And I'll split half the winnings with him if we win :) Imagine what we can do with $13.5m. Mmmm, can only dream of the possibilities.

[Community Message]: I do not condone gambling. Addictive gambling is a disease and help should be sought if you think you have a gambling problem. [End of Community Message]

Upgraded

I'm so happy today!

I've just been upgraded at work. So I used to be a junior senior, now I'm a senior senior. Haha. Well, the official title still stays the same - senior. But it's just an upgrade to a higher level of senior. The next level would be manager. But we'll see when I get promoted to that level. Next year, or the year after? We'll see :)

Boom gates

Had 2 boom gate incidents this week. I'm hoping that the boom gates that I'm talking about is that gate that opens and closes at the car park when you put your ticket in. Please do not correct me if I'm wrong. Lol.

First incident happened on Tuesday. I was still recuperating from the long weekend and wasn't in a very good mood. Add to that the lethargy and exhaustion from work. This equates to a not very alert Jushie. After paying for my ticket at the ticket machine, I put the ticket on the passenger seat. As I drove to the boom gate. I had no idea what I was doing. Day dreaming probably. I reached over and kept pressing this button that was below the ticket slot. I kept pressing and pressing and wondered why there wasn't anything that was coming out (usually when I press something, sooner or later, something else will come out). I was thinking of pressing the red button to call for the operator, when I just looked over to my passenger seat. Oh! There's my ticket! Thank goodness there wasn't anyone else around at that time. I sheepishly put the ticket in and drove off as fast as I could.

Second incident happened today. I was in my suit and had just sent my car for servicing. I didn't bother taking off my suit as it was only a short drive from the service centre to the hotel where I park. As I arrived at the boom gate, I reached over to take a ticket. This time, I pressed the button below the ticket slot and a ticket did come out! Phew! However, in my haste of collecting the ticket, I must've reached over too much (it has to be!), and my suit button just popped. I just felt like I could breathe again. I'm like...oh shit! I didn't eat that much! Now I'll have to look for the damn button and sew it on. I hate sewing!

On another note, life here is so boring and lonely without my dear friend, DMNK. Hope you're having fun in KL, and can't wait for you to come back! :)

Lucky Strike

What was just an ordinary Saturday night proved to be quite a rewarding experience.

After dinner with my housemate and a friend to celebrate the friend's new job, I went over to DMNK's place to attempt to cheer him up. I said I'll take him out for coffee and cake and come back quickly so he can return to studying. I feel so guilty for making him go out as he had an exam on Monday. However, he was pretty upset to study anyway, so I thought a breath of fresh air away from the boxed up apartment would be a good distraction.

We called Bree out as well, who was also feeling a little moody due to the death of one of his patient whom he was close to.

We decided to go to Crown's Cafe Greco for coffee and cake. I wanted to go Sienna but DMNK said it was too far. I can't imagine finding parking anywhere near Chapel St on a Saturday night either. So, to Crown it was.

Bree and I ordered a latte (I think Bree ordered either a soy latte or a skinny latte. I know should've ordered the same too, but I keep forgetting to tell them that I want it skinny) and DMNK had a Riesling. I ordered a chocolate tiramisu to share. What better way to lift spirits up than with something chocolatey?

After Greco (No hotties to mention about either. Sorry!), we decided to walk into the casino to see whether there was anything interesting to waste our money on. DMNK got stopped, naturally. Bree and I didn't get stopped. Oh, and also, when Bree went out to get money, and we all walked back in, they stopped DMNK and Bree, but not me! *sigh* Age is creeping up on me.

The first thing we played was roulette. DMNK and I had no idea how to play that, so Bree showed us. That was $20 down the drain.

We wanted $2 fish and chips and $2 soup of the day, but when I went to the snack counter to ask them for it, they said the promotional prices will only take into effect come 6 am only. So we'd have to pay $5.50 for fish and chips. What a rip off! So we didn't get any snacks.

Then, I decided to try my luck with my favourite game - Pontoon. So I walked around the Pontoon tables, eyeing which dealer's having a bad night. Since all the tables looked pretty even, I decided on this asian dealer, since there was space at the table. Changed my money and put some chips down. First round - dealer wins. Second round - busted. Not very lucky here. So, I got up and took my chips along with me.

Went to this table where everyone looked happy. Good sign. Sat down and played along. Won some, lost some. Then, the guy next to me, while attempting to wave his hands to signal that he doesn't want anymore cards, he knocked his glass of beer over the table. What a dumb ass. So, they had to finish that round and close the table after that. *sigh* Just when I was up 50%. I always stop at 100% of my capital. So I just needed a few more wins.

What can I do but move on to another table. The way I choose tables is:
1) Look at how much the players are betting - the more they bet, the worse the dealer's luck
2) Look at the dealer's face - if he looks gloomy or tired, his luck is bad
3) Look at the mood of the tabe - the happier they are, they happier you'll be

So I went to this table where the players looked reasonably happy. Not as happy as the 2nd table that I was at, but still, happy enough. Lost the first round, but subsequent rounds, I managed to get a black jack, a 21 double and a 20 double. The last 20 double, I was up 130%! So I was like, ok, stop here. Excitedly asked the dealer to change my chips for me and I scurried off with DMNK and Bree to the cashier to cash my chips. We were so happy! I suggested we all go to Supper Inn for..supper - my treat! Who could resist such an offer.

At Supper Inn, we ordered a bowl of seafood combination congee and a bowl of lean pork and century egg congee. We also ordeed pippies in XO sauce and half a roast duck to share. It was so super yummy! I felt so happy - winning at the casino and being able to treat my friends to such a scrumptious dinner.

[Community Message]: I do not condone gambling. This is only the 3rd time I've gambled at the casino in the 5 years that I have been in Melbourne. Addictive gambling is a disease and help should be sought if you think you have a gambling problem. [End of Community Message]

Winter Cravings

I don’t know if it’s the weather or my sexual appetite (they do say that it is better than sex), but I have been having chocolate cravings.

Last night, I was hunting all over the apartment for a piece of chocolate. Any kind of chocolate. I didn’t even care if it was not dark chocolate (my fave). I just needed to taste the milky chocolatey taste of, well, chocolate.

Alas, I couldn’t find any, so I resorted to left over Snakes and Party Animals from Saturday night’s party. I also could not resist having some Arnotts shapes. My fave is the pizza flavoured ones. Mmmm…

So when I came to work today, guess what I found on my table? 2 bars of chocolate – Picnic and Caramello! I think someone up there must’ve heard of my cravings for chocolate and answered them. It is also my colleague’s birthday today, so she must have left some on my table. Will start devouring them later. More exercise over the weekend…