i feel blessed...

just lying tummy-down on my cute ladybug bedsheet, using my laptop at a pace with no urgency to surf mostly-unconstructive sites, mildly dazzled by the slightly dim but warm incandescent lightbulbs hanging from my room ceiling, and feeling no bodily discomfort at all.

i feel guilty for enjoying such comfort & indulgence; i must remind myself to cherish all these blessings, always!

.....

to be outstanding in a less-than-challenging environment, or mediocre in a high-achieving one?

what's your take on this?

first instincts

how much do they mean to you?

to me, they reflect our innate priorities & values.

when someone's first instincts are not in line with yours, do you-

accept it, try to change it, or walk away?

being fashionable!

wahahaha, upon diana's persuasion & out of my own vanity & curiosity, i just dyed my hair! got the liese bubble dye, in chiffon beige. just shampooed & conditioned my hair but waiting for it to dry so i can apply that nourishing lotion that came along in the box!

can already see traces of the brown, and i can't help but feel i resemble those orang-utans i saw in the zoo the other day- exact same orange/brown colour!! :( i feel scared to get out of the house tmr and go to work like that already!!! help!!

and my colleagues who were with me when i bought the dye (we went watsons at international plaza to walk walk during lunch!) already teased me even before this- they started calling me Chiffon Tan instead of Pavan Tan (Pavan was the name that appeared when ppl dialed my extenstion for the longest time; it belonged to a previous MALE intern!!). can't imagine what they'll say tmr!!!

that said, felt the urgency to dye my hair to signify a fresh start to a new working year. letter day was yesterday, and for those of you who do not know what it means, it simply means bonus day. everyone has to enter a room with his/her manager separately, when the latter would then hand over a piece of paper indicating the bonus for the year, as well as incremement going forward.

well, it is my FIRST ever bonus, and i guess it's sth to be celebrated! as a newbie, i totally couldn't discern if it was good or bad..but after some subtle discussions with my closer colleagues, i realised it's pretty lousy! mainly cos my bonus pool comes direct from HR cos i'm part of the graduate program...i'll only be evaluated against my own colleagues in my team this coming year, which would hopefully then recognize me with a compensation in line with my performance.

but all in all, i feel lucky to even received sth! hehe...shall give my parents a good dinner treat!

new year, new outlook!

i must have been too bored; instead of doing something more constructive like studying for cfa, i actually wasted time designing a new layout! just felt like giving this personal space a new look, and hopefully new inspiration in thought.

feel quite proud of it actually! of course i didn't type the html code from scratch; i downloaded a template from blogskins, removed the frills, copied elements from my previous template, and customized the fonts/colour/layout. most of all, i used a photo i took myself and added the lovely poem (from the internet) on it! :)

i guess this would be an apt post to throw in my new year resolution- to stop being a procrastinating sloth, and to always seek the positive in situations and people instead of harping on the obstacles/flaws.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened -Anatole France

taking a stroll around the zoo for 6 hours with a camera in hand and a best friend on whom i can depend made just my perfect birthday. thanks diana dear for always being available & making me feel that you are; few people allow their lives to revolve around their friends to such an extent like you :)

thanks to all who remembered & for your well-wishes. i have finally reached 22, am now a working adult, have become a little more cynical about people (not life), but still as contented with my blessings as before. shall keep my new year resolutions to the next post!

for now, do enjoy some of the photos taken at the zoo below!