HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY

Today, is the day we strike off the 4th year mark as a couple. We have been together for four years now, it seems so long and yet, so short at the same time. I did not feel it until I slowly go through all the pictures we have taken together. We took so SO many pictures, and been through so many things together. From studying together in college, to graduating from our degree, taking our baby steps in Singapore till now. We have been working for almost two years now. Dang! Time do pass by very fast no?

People say after the honeymoon period, things will gradually go downhill and you will start to feel tension between you and your partner. But, I still feel like we are in our honeymoon period. haha. We still text like how we used to, I still can't get my hands off him, I will miss him a lot even if he is away for one day and it is as though we are in this stage whereby we just started dating. I am truly grateful for that.

Yesterday, while me and my colleague going to this gift shop to get a birthday card for our boss, I saw this handsome looking guy from far and it immediately strikes me that hey! He is my bf! And Oh my god, he looks so handsome and tall. haha. ( It is actually a surprise went busted by myself. haha.) Seriously, that really went through my mind. Paiseh la, this is suppose to be an Anniversary post! I still feel the electricity feeling ( like what others said ) like the day we first started. What curse have you cast on my b! haha. How can I love you more and more everyday! =p

For me, to have found someone that is so significant to me, so patience towards our relationship, love me like no one else ever will, understand me even better than myself, I must have strike the biggest 4D in my life.  I am one very lucky girl. Very.

4 years, and I am pretty sure there will be a whole load more to go in the future. I will constantly improve myself, so that you can fix your eyes on me =p, and I will try and be the best for you as well. So baby,

HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY!!! 

I LOVE YOU BABY AARON!

I hereby present you with a lot of pictures of US ^^

All pictures are arrange in chronological order within the last two years time france. You can see how much we have changed since two years ago, whether its our hairstyle or our chubbiness. Once again!

HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY!!! 

That's all folks. ^^

On our way to Jeonju!

Waking up as early as 6am and I am all pumped up for Jeonju!

Spring is in the air!

Flowers everywhere!

I have never traveled  during Spring before. It is always during autumn or winter whereby the flowers and leaves are all dried up. So its pretty astonishing to see so many beautiful flowers along our trip in Korea. 

This picture deserves a bigger space in this post! I LOVE this picture.

We took the free shuttle bus to Jeonju, which is located near Gwanghwamun station. As we alight the train, we were greeted by this beautiful sun rise picture of Seoul.Just the perfect angle for this picture. 

Admiral Yi Sun Sin Statue

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Gyeongbokgung Palace is right at the back of this picture.

As you walk along Gwanghwamun, you can see the Admiral Yi Sun Sin statue and also Gyeongbokgung Palace from afar. 

More flowers!

Time to leave Seoul for Jeonju!

And there you go, the bus we took to Jeonju.

Every year, the Korea Tourism Board will have this free shuttle bus services to several location. This one that we took is to Jeonju, which is also the gastronomy center of South Korea ( well, it is also where Running Man shot one of their episode as well. =p ) You will need to register on their website to take this bus. If the bus is full, they will draw lots. Only the lucky ones will get a free bus trip down to Jeonju. Just so happen that we are lucky enough to be chosen, and off we go to Jeonju!

At one of the Service Station, I manage to capture my FIRST Cherry Blossom picture in my entire life!

And you, my first sakura, will have a very special place in my heart. ^^

Arriving in Seoul

Arriving in Korea

Fly with budget airline or commercial airline? If you want to have a direct flight to Korea from Singapore, you are only limited to SIA, Korea Air or Asiana Air which are more than 1.5k SGD for two person. If budget airline like Air Asia will cost around 1k plus for two person, I might as well top up another 400 for Cathay Pacific? Hence, we choose to fly with Cathay Pacific to Korea which you will need to transit in HK for a few hours.

Greeted by Big Bang poster!

After 6-7 hours in flight in total minus the transiting time, we have finally reached Seoul! What you need to do in Incheon Airport before departing to the city? Firstly, you need to get a pocket wifi / eggie? haha. Well, it is actually a portable wifi device that will allow you to access to internet wherever you are as long as you have coverage. If you worry that the places that you are visiting is pretty far from city area and not able to connect to the internet, worry not as the wifi coverage in Korea is pretty wide and fast. We traveled to Jeonju and have no problem with the internet connection at all. There are a few telco companies that offers pretty good deals for pocket wifi, so choose your telco company wisely based on your needs. All these telco companies have a little booth outside at the arriving hall which is pretty convenient for all tourists. If you can not find the right out, do ask the information counter for directions.

Then, you will need to source for T-Money which is equivalent to Easy-Link card in Singapore and Touch N Go card in Malaysia at any Convenient store. This comes very handy if you are travelling free and easy around Seoul. After getting all these, we are free to go. We option for AREX which is also known as Air Port Rail to Hongik University Station where our Guest house is located at. You can choose to travel with bus, or taxi, but we find it more convenient to travel with Arex. 

If anyone tells you that Seoul is not that cold in early April, it is so not true. Perhaps it is not for those who are staying in a four season country, but as for us, it is freeeezing! Especially when we reached Seoul, it was already 8pm plus local time, the temperature is almost as cold Winter time, for us la. haha. Despite suffering from cold attack, it did not stop up from getting out of the guest house! First stop, Hongdae! 

Hongdae is famous for its nightlife district and cafes. But, drinking is not really our cup of tea at that time, we are craving for hot food to fight this cold weather! Hence, we found this Mandu shop that was introduced in Eatmykimchi! Do check out here on the video they produced.

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/hongdae-mandu-fapfap/

Everything looks so yummy! We option for the Fried Mandu and Spicy Mandu Soup to warm us up. 

Deep Fried Mandu with Japchae fillings. THIS, is the bomb! We love it so so much!

It is deep fried to perfection, with Japchae fillings. It just cannot get any better than this. Slurrrpssss. This is one of the thing that we really miss in Korea. 

Spicy Mandu Soup

This Soup comes with various dumplings, potato noodle/tanghoon, eggs and also spring onion. Perfecto to combat the cold weather. We slurps down everything in the bowl and were stuffed to the max.

Not forgetting our first kimchi in Seoul! ^^

So if you are ever dropping by Hongdae, do look for this shop for its awesomeness Mandus. 

If you are walking around Hongdae, you can never miss the beautiful mural paintings along the streets. This is where quite a few drama shooting take place at. 

Street food Cart!

Something that I personally miss the most in Korea. You can always find a street cart like this around Seoul selling various snacks from teokbokki, to Soondae, deep fried items, or Hotteok. We stopped by this for the ever famous street food, teokbokki.

Hoho! First teobokki in Seoul. and it is oh so yummy!!! Spicy, chewy and flavorful! Mummss..

That pretty much sums up our first night in Seoul. Till next time! ^^

Moving again

I will be moving house, AGAIN this Saturday. Well, due to certain unforeseen circumstances, we are forced to move out in less than a month time. It is totally not our fault of course, but oh well, things like this could happen. So this place that we are moving now is much further to work compared to where we stayed now, but its one whole unit!!! Its a two bedroom HDB where we will be sharing with our couple friends aka colleagues. I am quite excited actually. Now we can finally get away from the screaming annoying couple, we can cook in ease, we can just do anything that we want in the house which is pretty amazing! Can't wait. But, the moving things part would definitely be a nightmare. @@ Our things had doubled since our last move. uh uhhhh...

I manage to finish up one of my task within a short deadline, which is a thumbs up to myself. Another one to go, and hopefully I can get it all done within the time frame given. If only my job is just sitting in the office and finishing up all my paperwork, it would make my life much easier. Juggling between paperwork and operations is so tiring.On the bright side,  I can learn how to manage my time better.

You can call me stubborn, but unfortunately, I am not a very forgetful person when it comes to certain things.  I can be nice, and I can be the ultimate Biatch. Sorry, but you have crossed that line and there is no turning back. Wishing you all the best. You should not have mess with me at the beginning. Oh gosh, I sound so bad huh. What to do, before you find any fault with me, get your stuffs right. If not, don't come judge me for what I do. Work politics.

Anyways, Sydney Trip is up and good to go in another three more months. Can't wait. I am missing Korea badly now. My kimchi...my mandu...my bibimbap..my teokbokki..aiyogooooo. Wait for me, I am definitely coming back and visit you all in the near future. keke. I am still conflicting between enjoy my life while I can, or save up for the future. hmmmmmsss~~

I will be back! Holiday! Wait for meeeee~~

Introduction to our Korea Trip 2013

Oh Hello there...Finally, a little time for me to blog on my Korea trip...Being a vivid K-pop fan, I always wanted to go back to Korea ( Went there once when I was in 14 or 15 years old ). After getting my first ever bonus, I am more than determine to plan for a holiday to Seoul. And voila! Here comes a Spring trip to Korea. We did not follow any tour, or have any korean friends who can guide us. It is really free and easy with lots of research done. I have been checking their tourism website aka Visit Korea official website from time to time, and their website is really good. You can get all sorts of information you need to travel to Korea, from where to stay, to where to eat, language guide, free e-book etc etc. The link is as below :

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto

Another website that is pretty helpful will be Visit Seoul.net. It is somewhat like the link above, but with more comprehensive guide on travelling around Seoul. In this website, you can find loads of good places to eat. The link is as below :

http://www.visitseoul.net/

So once you have all your research in hand, you are good to go.

We travel from the 18th of April 2013 until 14th of April 2013. If you are ever wondering, is it cold during this period of time? I will say, don't forget to bring your thick jacket. There is a huge temperature gap between day and night. The first morning in Seoul was so cold with chilly wind blowing at us.As the sun rises,  it gets a lot warmer. Worst still if it rains. Oh god! Keep checking the weather forecast from time to time, it is really accurate. 

Travelling around Seoul has been pretty easy and convenient as their public transportation is very well developed and established. We have no problem getting around and it is not very pricey as well. We only took their monorail and trains though, because we couldn't understand what is written on the bus. Most trains can bring you to all the major touristy location around Seoul, hence it is really convenient. All you need, is to get a T-money from the local convenient store, and top up as you need. 

As for accommodation, we chose local guesthouse instead of hotels because it is budget friendly, and you can really experience the local culture. 

 Lee & No Guest house

We stayed at Lee & No Guest house while we are in Seoul. It is located near Hongik University metro line and around ten minutes walking distance from Hongdae. 

They have this little garden within the guesthouse compound.

That would be the living room and a little balcony outside. 

And this is our little double room. It is not huge, but cosy enough for both of us. Just for your little info, most korean house have heated floor to cater for cold weather.The host is pretty friendly as well and allows guest to leave their luggage within the premises if the guest needs to travel to other place for a few days. 

As for our stay in Jeonju, we chose Seonunjae Guest house which is a Hanok house ( Traditional Korean House ).

As you can see from the picture, it is a beautiful house with wooden floor, red clay rooftop and wooden door. 

And this is our room. It looks a little dodgy in the picture, but it is actually quite comfy. Yes, you will be sleeping on mattress in a Korean house with hard pillows. That is part of the experience isn't it? But surprisingly the toilet is pretty modern. haha. Our room comes with a mini fridge as well. The best part of this guesthouse is the friendly host aka ajussi. He explains to us on where to go around the hanok village, even personally bring us to a restaurant where we wanted to try the famous korean table food. So if you ever travel to Jeonju, I would highly recommend you to stay in this guest house. 

So that's all for our Korea Trip introduction. More to come in future posts. =)

Forgiveness

Everyone has their limitation, and today, I overcome one of it. Forgiveness.

I dislike people for pointing their fingers at me when I am not at wrong. For over a year, I have been giving my best in everything I do even when my physical strength has reached its limit, I still push it through. But perhaps because of that, I become very pushy and expects everyone else to be like me. But not everyone is like that isn't it?

I cried through the afternoon. I cried because i felt it is really unfair, and I could not figure out where I have done wrong. I have given my very best, and yet, it is my fault? After the little talk, I realize that no matter what I do, people will still comment, talk. I should know my limitations, and not putting everything on my shoulder. It is not me, who should be in that shoes, so why should I even be stress about it?

I should focus on my responsibilities, and do my very best to prove to the rest that hey, I should be respected too. I should not care too much, and learn how to be forgive others.

It is not easy to not hate someone within an hour, and it is really mental draining. I have to tell myself to change the way I think, and learn how to give others another chance.

I put on my actor's mask, and tried to be as nice as I could ( even though my eyes were all swollen from all the crying ). And I realize hey, it is not that hard after all. It is easier to be nice, than hateful. I just need to relax and chill. It's okay to not do everything all the time.

As long as there are people who appreciate what I do, I am happy enough.

The moral of the story is, you will meet all kind of people in this world. Haters will always be haters. But thanks to them, you learn how to be strong. Even if it takes one whole afternoon of shedding tears. haha.

Rethink

Sometimes, I wonder myself. Can I do better than what I am doing right now? Can I achieve more than what I can achieve now?

I know I can do better than this. I know I am capable of something more, something greater. But I don't know how and where to go to.

It hits me when someone ask me what I do. Not to say I am ashame of it, but at that moment, I suddenly felt like hey! I could have been better, I should be better. Yeaw Zhi Lin should be able to do more!

But the question is, how?

Gaining experience is important, I know. But it is also very tiring. Perhaps not as tiring as my friend, but physically, mentally, I am tired. It has been a year of split shift, and it is almost like working the whole day every single day, except for off day and holiday of course. It is the life style I dislike, it is the stereotype I dislike.

It is not that I am very proud of myself and think that I am super great super genius, just that, I know myself, I can do better than this.

So i suppose, it is time to rethink what I want and what I want to achieve and how I am going to do it. Back to work for now. I mean paper work, then later, start dinner service, on Saturday. *sigh*

Swaggy

By the way, 

How do you like my new swag for Dinner and Dance?

Thick eye brows, fake eye lashes and red lipstick?hmmmm....

Not too bad huh?

Passion

Passion

So what about passion? How many out there, can proudly admit that they are very passionate about what they are doing right now? And how many actually work for passion and not for money?

Well, for myself, its half and half. If I really want to work for money, I will not be jumping into this industry blindly. There are so many other jobs with lesser working hours and higher pay out there that I can choose from, so its not all about the money.

When I was in college, I used to think that hey, what am I doing all these for? Why am I carving chicken every week, why am I doing flambe every week? Why am I doing this and that? But as I step into working life, especially at where I am now, I realize that hey, what I have learnt in college really helps. Those mental torturing training and research back in the days did trained me up in certain way which helps me to adapt into the working environment quicker than the rest. Yes, most of the skills that we learnt is a bit old school, and may be a dying trend, but hey, like fashion wise, it will come back one day. Fingers crossed.

During my college days, I went through a general training, specialization training, Higher diploma training and last but not least, Management training. Just found back my uniform pictures of all trainings, let's see see shall we?

( Before we continue, just so you know, I was really chubby back then. Thank you very much. )

First restaurant that I worked in. Not bad ya the uniform?

Followed by kitchen training

Then I went to housekeeping.

Second Training was in an individual restaurant, I am sure someone read about it years ago. haha

Hence, the second restaurant that I worked at.

Then comes me in higher diploma training. Okay, I couldn't find a proper picture of me in uniform, hence this picture...haha

Last but not least, its our final training.

As you can see, we are wearing formal in the picture, its management training after all.

So after all these trainings and years of education, where am I and what am I now?

Officially turned into a Mafia. Just kidding...

Alright, this is how I look at work now.

Today, I suddenly had this thought that college has taught me a lot, and I wish I could turn back time and appreciate it more instead of whining about early classes or late classes. I wish I could remember every single thing that my lecturer had taught me and not by doozing off in classes. I sincerely wish that I had all my practical notes with me right now. 

What we could do, is to do what we do best, and make our lecturers proud. Trying my best to be a proud Taylorian and a successful one in the future. At the mean time, some snippets of my college life, just to relive the moment.

Fruit carving class

Flambe practice before diploma finals

Pastry class

Bar management

Steak au poire training

So what is your passion?

Mine, is food. ^^

On happy side

Phewwww...I was sweating myself in the chicken ( Oppsss..I mean Kitchen..I was thinking about chicken so...haha ) and hell my Recette de Poulet Saute Basquaise will be AWESOME! All it needs to do, is to be slow cooked for another 30 mins and voila! Bon Appetite!

I have been wanting to cook this dish for the longest time, somehow I am just craving for chicken in tomato sauce ala French style. So I went to the supermarket to grab all my ingredients and I got greedy! I took everything that is cheap and I ended up with four big bags of vegetables and meat plus one roll of toilet papers. After all the hassles of getting on and off the bus, I realize I missed out on important ingredient, tomato sauce! DAMN! So, i decided to cook the dish anyway without the tomato sauce, substituted it with four big tomatoes. So hope it will be just as good.

Whether I am having staff meal at work, or eating out, somehow, the best food, is still the ones we had at home. Sometimes I may come out with some bizarre dishes that I had in mind, which I always do since I know how to cook, but both of us still enjoy eating it. I hope.....ya darling? haha. You know what you are eating and you know it will be good for your body. So...home cooked food is the best! No matter how tired we are after work, we always try to cook at home. Its like some energy pill of vitamin of the day. So people, you guys should start cooking too! Too much of outside food contains a lot of MSG and its really bad for your body.

Anyways! We are going to KOREA in one month time! I am SO FRIGGING EXCITED! I have been going through so many websites on places to eat and visit for weeks and can't wait for next month! I got my red luggage ready, long sleeves clothes ready, even walking shoes has been bought specifically for this trip. Time to plan for my itinerary, the tiring and yet the most fun part! wohooooo~ I can not wait! Bring it on restaurant week and hello April!

We are having our Dinner and Dance this Sunday, and its my very first DND, hence I have gotten all pumped up for it. Everything from head to toes got to be perfect! Will be taking a hell load of pictures of course, and please anticipate a lot of pictures in future post. Since now I did not post much pictures...Lazy lazy to upload to the laptop..haha.

A little picture of myself in case you forgotten about me. haha..I was trying to look shy in this picture since I am suppose to pose as a princess..haha

Till next time folks!

Down

I..am sick. Dayummmm. So much for cursing myself to get sick after so long, I finally got it and regretted it like hell. No one should ever wish to fall sick. I am down with vomiting and nausea. Started from yesterday during dinner service whereby I am getting some tummy discomfort and feels like puking whenever I went near the stewarding area.

I tried working this morning and it was, terrible. My focus is just not there and my back aches like hell. If my job is sitting in the office and not running around, I would have continued to work, but it seems like I am just forcing it. Now, even sitting in front of the computer I am feeling a bit giddy. I did not have any food intake that manage to stay in my tummy since yesterday.

Suddenly, I feel so helpless. All I do, is to lie on the bed, or browsing through my handphone, even looking at my phone makes me giddy at times.

Please, just get out whatever that is bad in my tummy already. I feel bad whenever someone else need to cover me for work. Sigh. Real sigh. Body please be strong alright? I will love you more when you are back in shape. I will reward you with all sorts of food that you crave for. So please get well alright?

Keep it chill

For this past week, I realize that I can be a real biatch when it comes to work. Ah well, I admit it, I do make mistakes at times, most of the times to be frank. But I will get real pissed when others screw up my station.

I assumed that people with years of experience are fast in picking up the pace. I assumed that they know what should be done. I assumed a lot of things. Because of all these assumptions, I get irritated when it did not turn out to be what I expected it to be.

I was taught by my manager to not trust anyone else but myself, and do not make assumptions. Do not make assumptions that some things are not needed, hence no need to be checked before throwing it into the dumpter. So, yes, do not F up my station, if not don't blame me if I am being rude.

Do not mess with girls who are working in FnB. We get irritated fast when things doesn't go in our way, and yes, we do have mood swing like any other girls, perhaps worst during PMS. So yes, we will try and be understanding, hence, have some patience at the same time. A lot of patience to be frank.

Anyways, I will try to keep my cool because its only one week time. Breathe in and out and hope I will not burst out anytime soon. haha. And oh! Please do not step on my tail! If not, you shall be black listed.