New Beginnings

Wow, I didn’t know that the last post was almost 1 year ago! There’s always the problem of not really knowing what to write after such a long lapse…

I guessed after I started work in April last year, coupled with wedding preparations, days passed just like that. I didn’t have much inspiration or time to post here. The period from mid-Nov all the way to our wedding on 14th Jan was really tiring, with to-dos every night… I’m glad everything went smoothly on the actual day and that those sleepless nights are over~

We went on our honeymoon to Japan the day after our wedding and returned about 2 weeks ago. Planning to post the trip photos sometime in the future…and wedding photos…and 2010 Europe trip photos…ok, let’s take it one at a time.

I’ve been feeling so lethargic ever since we got back. If such a thing is possible, I’m still burned out from our wedding preparations and I think it is also due to the lack of exercise. Well, given that I fell sick and took about a week to recover, technically it’s not 2 weeks. In any case, I must really get my act together from this week onwards!

The next to-do for us is to decide on our semi-permanent accommodation plans for the next 2 years before our flat is ready in mid-2014. Hopefully, we’ll work this out by April or May and I’ll feel more settled then.

Personally, I started taking an instructor course for Pilates matwork last November. The idea to take such a course was formed back in late 2009 and I finally took it after 2 years!  The factors were mainly the cost and whether it is practical. I decided to go ahead to take the course since I’m really interested in Pilates and don’t want it to be something which I regret not doing in the future.

So far, I’ve taken 2 modules and the last one is next weekend. And that’s not the end of it since there are hours to clock for self-mastery, practice-teaching and observation of classes!

It may not have been the best time to do it because I didn’t have any time at all to go through the course materials for the past 2 modules due to wedding plans and everything is just piling up! However, I registered because  I might have to wait 6-12 months for the next matwork course as the schedule depends on whether there is sufficient interest to organize the course. Anyway, I think it is still very possible to catch-up as long as I focus my free-time on it.

I am still unsure if this is a suitable direction to move in but I figured that even if I don’t actually teach Pilates classes, I shall view this course as a personal enrichment and I believe I can apply my knowledge in some kinda way to help family/friends in terms of improving movement or core strength. That said, I’m still very keen and excited at the prospect of teaching so that others can enjoy the benefits of Pilates! I think I can see real job satisfaction in there…we’ll see how it works out!

Spruce

Dinner at Spruce!

The restaurant is quite accessible by public transport, if it is not too inconvenient for you to board one of the two buses that stops along that road. It was quite a amusing situation because we thought we had a reservation here but while walking to Spruce, I got a call from Pamplemousse asking me about my reservation!

(here’s the story: I had already made the reservation earlier in the week. Then, the day before our dinner G confused me while we were discussing about how to get to the restaurant. I was saying let’s meet at Orchard to take a cab to Dempsey…blabla~ and in the end, he led me into thinking that I was mistaken and we should be going to Spruce instead of Pamplemousse…)

Anyway, there were seats available so we didn’t have to wait.

G ordered the Roasted Kurobuta Pork Chop.

Although this dish seemed to be very popular according to food reviews of the restaurant, it was not that amazing. The meat had a chewy texture (is it supposed to be nice in this way?) but the japanese corn, on which it was served, was full of flavour.

The Promontory

Some photos taken on New Year’s Eve at Marina Bay.

hi 2011, bye 2010

As I reflect on 2010, the most significant event that comes to mind was me quitting my job and going to France alone in March for that 1 month intensive French course. I think almost no one (except G) really understood why I did that; the common sentiment being what’s the purpose? I guessed it did appear to be an irrational decision to resign, study French for a month, vacation for 3 weeks with G, then return to SG jobless and without a plan. Sometimes, I even feel a bit embarrassed to talk about what I did because it is really not practical.

The way I see it, it was simply a matter of finally having the courage and also strongly feeling it was the right time to do this. Moreover, having considered it on and off over 3 years, the thought of  “if not now, then when?” grew increasingly evident.

I must admit that I didn’t resign so as to do this although that was what I put across to some people as it was the easy excuse to give. The truth was that, after much thought, I could no longer convince myself that I should stay in that position any more… 換一個輪廓 快樂比較多 放自己好過 (飛魚 by Sodagreen). Indeed, that was one of those times in life to 放自己好過~

I don’t exactly feel changed after that and although my French had improved, it was not by leaps and bounds. Nevertheless, I think it was an experience worth having. Right now, it actually seems kinda surreal that I actually flew there, visited places, talked to strangers, made some acquaintances, attended the course and survived for those 4 weeks alone, haha.

So, the more memorable events of 2010 were…

• studied French at Rambouillet, visiting Strasbourg, Versailles, Paris, Chartres and Rouen
• traveling in Europe with G from France to Austria: Paris, Reims, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Kinderdijk, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna. I saw falling snow for the 1st time from the inside of the bus en route from Prague to Nuremberg.
• visiting Taiwan with G where we went to new places (Pingxi, Alishan, Kaohsiung, Tainan), watched Girls’ Generation concert at Taipei Arena and attended the free floral expo concert where I got my dose of 五月天. Alishan marked the 1st time we looked up into a starry, starry night sky that was so beautifully unreal and also saw shooting stars.
• completing my 1st marathon with G despite a lousy timing
• passed the French DELF B2 exam

At the start of the new year, I’m still trying to find a job. I started seriously looking about 2 months ago and I’d say that year-end is really not the best time for this.

On many occasions, I feel that people around me are progressing in life (be it career, finances or family) over the years while I’m not, and it can be quite depressing. I attribute it to my lack of ambition and nature of not planning for the future – as in the bigger life-plan and not like where to vacation, etc. Even though I had already come to the conclusion that that’s just how it is with me, sometimes, I need to remind myself that everyone has his/her own path in life.

It could seem that I’m living as if I were still young but I’m really not feeling the age factor as some friends do and sometimes remind me of. You could say that I’m immature but I prefer to think that it’s positive to not feel old and to still see life’s possibilities instead of having thoughts of being too old for something. Right?!

To sum it up, 2010 had been a year of personal indulgence and I’m blessed to have the love and support from family and G!

New Year’s Eve was spent with G – having dinner at Din Tai Fung, wandering the grounds of Marina Bay IR, whiling away time at Starbucks and then watching fireworks at The Promontory. Nice place to go  under normal circumstances (i.e. no crowds) and cool weather!

Looking forward to an amazing 2011! Have a great year ahead~~

DELF B2

Wheeeeeeeee~ I passed!! Received the results last week (together with the iphone casing, in fact). My score was 66/100!

I thought that I wouldn’t be able to pass it because I mis-interpreted the topic for my individual oral section. We were each randomly given 2 topics and need to choose 1 of them to give our opinion on the text extract.

The topic that I didn’t choose was an extract about how in a certain place, there were less accidents on the road after road signs were removed. (At least, that’s what I thought it meant) Anyway, I think that’s quite difficult to present so I chose the one about “la presse gratuite” which I literally translated as “free press” – as in like press freedom! So, while preparing for it I was trying to understand the text along that direction – and it didn’t make much sense to me.

I realised that I had mis-interpreted it when one of the invigilators asked me if it exists in Singapore. I said no because I don’t think we have press freedom here. Then, he gave a look of surprise and asked again. That was when it struck me that the topic was about free newspapers! I couldn’t save myself after that because my thoughts were all scattered. *sigh*

I guess some of what I said gels with the topic since there was a journalism element but the invigilators were probably wondering why I said certain things that were irrelevant to the topic! After the oral, I thought about it and everything made sense after I knew what the topic actually was, sigh. Isn’t that always the case?!

As a result, I only got a 11/20 for the oral…failed. And, the sad thing is that our score for each of the 4 sections will be printed at the back of the certificate! Well, well…

On a positive note, I was quite surprised that I did so well (23/25) for the written comprehension – there were 2 articles and 1 of them was quite difficult. Apparently, I managed to interpret the text correctly.

Hmm, I’m not sure what to do about my learning of French. Somehow, I’m not learning much from the classes now – I prefer a teacher who allows students to speak more in class and I’m not getting that with the available classes. Considering that I’m still jobless and the $$ of the classes, I’ll wait till there’s a class with a teacher whose teaching style is more suitable for my needs.

For now, I’m planning to revise my 1 year’s worth of Japanese notes so that I can continue to the next level. Need motivation!!!