One of my colleague had her friend from Singapore visiting her. Over dinner she was listing the places she wanted to visit in Boston. That was when I realised that all I had visited in Boston were Chinatown, Newbury Street and Washington Street. For those of you who have never been to Boston, well, Newbury Street and Washington Street are where most of the shopping in Boston is. Every weekend, I have been going to Boston but its always to shop and eat. Other than that, I have not seen much of Boston.

Of course I have been doing other stuff besides shopping. I went whale watching at Cape Cod, got lost driving to Salem and ate lots of seafood! Eating is something I have been doing alot of too. Asian food is quite easily available so I am not really missing that. The portions here are HUGE and everything comes in SUPER size in the supermarkets. I have been sharing food with my colleagues to avoid eating too much.

I am proud to annouce that I have been driving myself to work each morning for the past one and half week. Roads are much wider here and parking spaces are wider so in a way, it is easier to drive here. There have been incidents of course. I got very lost in Boston and on the freeway the last week and I had no GPS. That was damn scary man. But, Thank God, I managed to drive myself back to the hotel safely.

I have taken quite abit of photos but I have been too lazy to transfer them from my camera to laptop so the photos have to wait. I have another one and a half weeks more here, then its Tokyo and finally home. I do not think I am really homesick yet but I am glad that I will be going home soon.

I have a good relationship with my handphone. It serves me well, although recently, I have had to charge it more and more often. The functions are not fancy but they serve the purposes I need a handphone for. But, its an old old phone and I will not be able to use it in USA, Japan and Korea and those countries are likely places I have to be in the near future so I have to buy a new phone. I think being uncontactable for long periods of time will no doubt result in severe home sickness for me and my parents being totally freaked out that they cannot contact me.

Anyway, one of the mobile providers was offering a really good mobile plan offer so I decided to get the stylish new handphone that I have been thinking of getting. Its a slider phone with a 5 megapixel camera and 1GB microSD storage.

So begins the frustration of learning the functions of the new handphone. Man, I took five minutes just trying to figure out how to send a smart message on my new handphone. And trying to take a photo took an amount of time too embarrassing to write down here. Its a damn stylish handphone alright, however, its smart messaging function leaves much to be desired and I just cant turn off the damn bloody annoying keypad sound no matter how I try. I am sure many of you know which brand of handphone I am blogging about. So if any of you know how to solve those annoying problems, please drop me a mail! Argh, I can just see myself being constantly frustrated by my new toy in the next few days!

The plan had been in the works for weeks. Making dinner reservations at the restaurant, reservations at the club, with Dragon Girl being the Chairman of the Hens' Night Committee and me being her sidekick. Ha ha. Bridal veil- checked, sash-checked, plastic flowers- checked, camera-checked. We were all ready for the big night. I split the work with Dragon Girl, she will arrive early at the dinner place to "chope" our table and I would go to the bride-to-be's office to stress her so we will not be too late for dinner. As I was in charge of the sash and plastic flowers, I had brought them along with me and made the bride to be wear the sash which said "Bride To Be" on it and carry the plastic flowers as a few of us took public transport to the dinner venue.

Dinner was a safe enough affair. The only surprise was the lovely bridal shower gifts supplied by Dragon Girl. Dragon Girl made the bridal veil and all of us insisted for the bride-to be to wear veil and sash throughout dinner. Haha. After dinner, we hopped over to the club where we had made reservations. That's when the fun started!! The four of us took turns drinking mixed Scotch with the bride-to-be and in the course of trying to get her drunk, the rest of us became quite high too. Some fellow clubbers at the next table decided to join in the fun and started toasting the bride-to-be too. The bride-to-be was obviously high but none of us knew how far gone she was until she did not come of the washroom cubicle despite us repeatedly banging on the door!

How much did we drink? Well, the six of us finished a bottle Chivas within 2 hours! That was how much we drank! The icing on the cake, while a few of us went to the Ladies with the bride-to-be, one of the members of the entourage ordered another bottle of Chivas. So after, sending the bride-to-be off with her Prince Charming, we continued drinking. Man, I feel so sick now, so excuse me if this entry does not make too much sense.

The other thing is having to book my own air tickets and accommodation for my overseas trips. Man, its soooo complicated. You have to get the cheapest flights and hotels. And somehow, its just damn difficult to book hotels and flights for the periods I want to travel. On the traveling bit, I will be out of the country and in a different timezone for most of the next few months. Think I will super crave Asian food and I am still trying to figure a way to bring all my skincare products with me since I am going to be away for such long periods. I also dunno how I am going to fit 5 pairs of shoes into my luggage. Faint. Think I better start to pack my luggage at least one week before I am due for my trip. So does anyone have any travel tips to share?

那些女孩教我的事
(詞：陳沒+阿信 / 曲：阿信)

要不是你讓想念猖狂 打破天窗
我不會發現枕頭上的荒涼
以為你就是故鄉
卻變成我的流浪
誰的傍晚 是誰的天亮？
十九八七六十六億人 同時狂歡
五四三二一個人倒數孤單
回憶的擁擠廣場
假裝你還在身旁
就像你最愛 依賴我的肩膀

第一行詩的狂妄
第一首歌的難忘
第一次吻你的唇 你的倔強

第一顆流星燦爛
第一個天真願望
第一個諾言對你的荒唐

你教我愛的善良
你教我恨的野蠻
你教我忘記該忘 傷心太傷

那些你教我的事
讓思念更苦更長
只想問 想念的 想念的 想念的你
怎麼樣？

愛情是信仰 或只能是旅途風光
那女孩帶我漫遊一次天堂
你教我怎麼愛上
卻沒教怎麼遺忘
讓我的陽光 都變成了淚光

P/s: The rumor mill has it that the author has a long time girlfriend who has been with him for many years. I strongly feel that she is the muse of this song/poem. For those of you who still have not figured out, the author is also the lead singer of a certain rock band and I always wondered how his girlfriend could wait for him for so many years. After reading this post, I finally understand why...........

P/s II: If you are still reading and interested, this song is included in the new album of 品冠 titled 「那些女孩教我的事」.

Stealing a quote from Ashin, the lead singer of Mayday,"在这几场演唱会后，五月天就要踏踏实实的准备下一张专辑了。". (please note that I may changed some words as I cannot remember the exact words). Today is the last concert Mayday will be having in 2008. Its being held in Hong Kong and several friends I know will be attending the concert. I see similarities between what Ashin said and the current situation in my life.

All good things have to come to an end. The concerts probably signified a time of fun for Mayday where they get to play music they love/enjoy and interact with their fans, however, no rock band can move ahead without making new music to keep their fans interested so after this series of concerts, they will be taking a break to work on their new album. Finishing off their concert tour in the month of May was probably a deliberate decision for them as they had named themselves after the month of May and this year the month of May will signify both an end and a beginning for them.

For me, the decisions which I have made happened to coincide with the month of May. No, as much as I am a huge fan of Mayday, I do not do crazy things like purposely making my decisions to coincide with May. This May signifies an end and a beginning for me too. I have left behind a comfortable, well paying job (albeit that I had to work very long hours) and numerous friends which I have made over the years. It was a comfortable environment which I sometimes work on auto-pilot after so many years and with good work mates I could count on. But my decision has been made and come 2 June, I will be starting work in a new place. Of course I am not without my apprehensions but sometimes I have to make a decision for me too and what I think may be good for me. So just as the concerts were a form of playtime for Mayday, they were a playtime to me too before I embark on this new path where I have to use the knowledge I have gained in the past few years and learn to work well with my new colleagues.

In the next few months, just as Mayday will be working hard on their new album, I will be working hard in my new job. Next year, after Mayday's new album is released, they will begin a new concert tour and you can bet that I will be there again screaming my lungs out and singing along with them, wherever I may be or they may be.

五月天， 明年我们会再见面！ 在那时之前， 让我们一起加油吧！

I have quit my job and will be starting a new job next week which will take me to many new places. Its kind of scary and I am really sad to leave behind the friends I have made in my last job. But I suppose there comes a time when you know that its time to leave place and move on in life. Its really kind of funny when I think about it. I have stayed almost 4 years in the job but upon submitting my resignation letter, I left the firm in a month. Anyway, I am leaving that part of my life in my memories and hopefully making new happy memories soon.

I have watched two Mayday concerts. One in Singapore and another in Taiwan. That is probably about the craziest thing I have done this year so far. After their concert this Saturday in Hong Kong, there will be no more Mayday concerts till 2009. That is soooo sad. However, I am looking forward to their new album! Love the new song that Ashin has already released on his blog. Stay tuned for more entries on my Taiwan trip and Mayday.

The main reason that I have not been blogging much was because my faithful desktop died on me. After 4 years of faithful service, the motherboard just upped and died on me. I nearly fainted from shock as I have not backed up my stuff for a really long time. But it just refused to start at all. So I have spent the last few months lugging my office laptop back and forth which was very irritating. And of course I was simply too lazy to get my desktop fixed. However, today, my spiffy new Dell has arrived so I have a new toy to play with. Ha ha, hopefully that means I will blog more often.

Anyways, my little update ends here, I wanna go play with my new toy now.....

I bought my first luxury item after graduation from university. Such a momentous event of course must be celebrated. I bought myself a green Salvatore Ferragamo wallet which I have not used yet till today. Why??? Well, on the advice of my good friend, in my first job and as the lowest life form in the company, it will not do me any good to be flashy. Although I have since progressed from being the lowest life form, I am now saving that gift I bought for myself for some other time.

After that first splurge, I did not buy anything in the next few years partly due to the fact that I was getting a really tragic pay in my first job. Besides basic necessities, there really was not much left over to splurge. I love luxury goods but I am not one of those people who are so crazy to own a luxury item that I am willing to forgo basic necessities in order to buy an item.

My second luxury item was a blue Bally bag. Until today, I still have no idea how I ended up buying it. It was on sale and I felt like spending money and that handbag was just calling me to buy it. To date, the handbag ranks as one of the most expensive impulse buys for me. I still use the bag these days and its in good shape even after 3 years.

To celebrate my promotion from a graduate assistant to senior, I bought myself a Gucci bag with pink leather trimmings. That bag is my most expensive indulgence to date. I thought about for some time before deciding to buy but decided that I should just buy it. Hey, you only live once and I really do not want to regret not buying that bag.

Since then, I have been buying little treats for myself every year. I know some of my friends do not understand this fascination with luxury goods just as I do not understand a techie's fascination with buying the the latest technology. I do not try to make excuses or try to make people understand, its just a part of me. I enjoy buying luxury goods and I enjoy carrying them. I also know that there are cheaper stuff which are just as pretty and durable and I do buy those too. But if a pretty luxury item does catch my eye and its within my budget, well, I am buying it!

This was my first trip to Bangkok. Yah, I know, its rather funny that I have been to Europe, USA and Australia but have seen so little of Asia. For the record, I have never been to Hong Kong also but I intend to remedy that this year. Many people have laughed at me already that I have never been to Hong Kong and Bangkok since those destinations are so common to Singaporeans so if you are laughing, you are not the first.

Besides the food I ate in Bangkok, the other thing that remains deeply etched in my memory from my Bangkok trip is the amount of walking I did while I was there. Yes, XZ, I am going to keep talking about it!! Ha ha. My dear friend XZ insisted that I should see as much of Bangkok as possible and since everything is within walking distance, we walked and we walked and we WALKED! By the end of my first night, my feet were aching very badly. Ok, looking back, I am quite glad XZ made me walk so much coz I really got to see alot of things and went to many places. And dear XZ kept laughing at me coz by the end of the second night, I was limping. She could not believe how lousy my stamina was!

On my second day, XZ went to work while I slept late in the hotel. Then I took the BTS and hit the shops. Walked alot but did not buy much. Everything is so small size in Bangkok and of course Fatgirl had difficulty buying clothes there. Actually I ended up buying very little this trip. Most of my money was spent on food and the only major purchase was bras! Yep, the bras in Thailand are definately cheaper than in Singapore! After work, XZ met up with me and we did more walking. We had a light dinner at one of the shopping malls and that was when I ate the hottest salad ever. If you know me, you will know that I have a super high tolerance for chilli. In fact, chilli is a staple in my meals but this salad nearly KILLED me. It was so damn hot that XZ and I were close to tears after every mouthful and I think our tongues were numbed after eating it. After that, we went to the night market where XZ had to help her friend buy some stuff. XZ was insistent that we not go for a massage although I was quite keen. She thought I was crazy to want to go so many times just becoz its half price as compared to Singapore!

On my last day, we woke up early to go to Chatuchak Weekend Market. It was really huge and really hot as the shops are packed really close to one another and there were MANY people there. Besides, clothes and souveniers, on sale were art pieces, pets and furniture! Luckily we went to the market early and it was not so crowded. But a really unfortunate event happened when I was there. I got a really bad stomache and had to go the toilet. As you already know, I was at a market and I can tell you, the toilet was quite gross. It was like "eeeewwwww"

After that, XZ brought me to a really nice restaurant at Chidlom for lunch. It was the yummiest meal I had in Bangkok but also the most stressful. XZ was going back on an earlier flight than me so we had to hurry through lunch for her to get to the airport. She insists that we had to hurry coz in her words, "You walk so damn slow and spent so much time in the toilet at Chatuchak lah. So now, have to eat faster or we will never make it back to the hotel in time!" After XZ left for the airport, I went for my last massage in Bangkok as I was going back on a later flight.

All in all, I had a really enjoyable time in Bangkok and thanks to XZ for showing me such a great time!

The super duper hot salad. Looks so harmless but packs a punch!

Soya sauce pork rice. Another one of Bangkok's famous food. XZ and I were already halfway through this plate when I remembered to take a photo! Yums!

The yummiest meal I had in Bangkok! Ceasar salad, thick tom yum soup with seafood and of course, pad thai! Can't leave Thailand without eating Pad Thai at least once when you are there!

I visited the usual tourist spots in Taipei. However, the place that left a really deep impression on the trip was Hua Lien. The scenery there was super gorgeous and the hostel that I stayed in was fantastic!! The owner of the hostel is a super friendly auntie and she makes the most FANTASTIC breakfast!!

The Stone House Hostel that I stayed in Hua Lien

As part of the entertainment provided at the hostel, we were invited by Auntie Liu to paint rocks. All materials are provided by Auntie Liu. What a cool way to spend time with friends on a holiday!! At the end of our stay, Auntie Liu gave us the rocks to bring home as momentos. These are my handiworks!

Line and I at the beach. It was super cold then!!

Taroko Gorge, Hua Lien

Along the shoreline of Hua Lien

And here's one of Line renacting a scene from Titanic!! Ha ha.

That got me thinking, maybe Fatgirl is Fatgirl because she only puts in like 10% of what the gorgeous actress puts in. Just make up alone, there are so many things you can do with false eyelashes that boggles the mind. I always feel like screaming in fustration after 10 minutes trying to stick transparent tape to my eyes to give an illusion of double eyelids. And till date, practice still has not made perfect so I have kind of given up creating such illusions. I do not even bother with make up most of the time, so the world see my freckles, dark eye rings and whatever else skin imperfections on my face. And most mornings, I am too lazy to bother with contact lenses as well. Most times, I look like the frumpy, boring accountant because I seriously cannot be bothered.

Next came the section on diet. The actress seriously puts in thought on her food. Everything is boiled and healthy, nothing is fried nor does she recommend lots of sauces. Most times, lunch and dinner for Fatgirl is hawker food, which is high in calories and cholesterol. I mean, hey, there is only so much of fish soup and niang tau foo a person can stomach when one has to eat out so often!! Okay, maybe if Fatgirl had more self restraint, I will make a bigger effort to choose healtier options.

Oh well, as the Mandarin saying goes "There are no ugly girls, but only lazy girls". I realised that I am a very lazy girl after reading the beauty magazine. Of course, to begin with, the actress is pretty and slim, however, to look as gorgeous as she does, she does put in ALOT of effort and she does not just get out of bed looking that stunning. After reading the magazine, I do feel a little more inspired to make a bigger effort to make myself look better. It will probably take a long time before I put in as much effort as her and I will never look as gorgeous as her. Hopefully a little effort a day will start my renewal process and you will see a more beautiful Fatgirl the next time you see me. Stay tuned for updates here.

Here's the link to the magazine I bought. Click on the link and see how gorgeous she is!

Top reasons why Fatgirl has not been blogging:
1) I am really really really swamped with work.
2) Facebook is too addictive.
3) Youtube is addictive too.
4) There is just so much I can get done in a day.

Anyway, hope everyone else in the different parts of this big big world is doing fine. I will try to give more updates when this crazy period is over.

But......... curiosity got the better of me and I decided to join so thus my addiction began! HA ha. I must say, my addiction is not as bad as some other cases I have read about. I check my Facebook account about once a day and have managed to resist from logging in during work hours so far. I have fun trying out the applications I have added like "Superpoke" and "Boozemail" but I do not keep randomly adding new applications and I am not addicted to any applications. Facebook has been an interesting experience so far and I think it will probably hold my attention longer than Friendster did. Let's see how, so if you realise my blog has been empty of late, please check out my Facebook account. Ha ha.