Status : Single ..... Again

It finally happened! And while I'm crying my eyes out (in the office, no less! Thank goodness my immediate supervisor is on leave) trying to get over the fact that I've become the dumpee (as again) instead of the dumper, I am also simultaneously trying to get some reports churned out. Yes, I'm multi-tasking, blogging, working, crying, checking mails, rushing documents for clients all at the same time. Not a good idea if I wish to remain gainfully employed, but I'll start imagining things if I don't occupy my mind.

Much as I wanted to sleep last night (or this morning), I was crying too much to get to sleep. I started taking out Da Vinci Code to read. One of the best books I've read last year. I could not even get past a page without my mind conjuring up images and I just could not get rid of them no matter how I tried. So I started clearing my wardrobe, sorting out all my clothes, got rid of some, changed my mind, put them back, got rid of others, changed my mind, put them back again. After an hour, my wardrobe was still as full as ever.

Then I decided to watch DVDs. I went to the living room and settled down onto a couch, but my dad suddenly appeared and asked me what I was still doing up. (Good question, what was he still doing up then in that case?) Not willing to let him bombard me with questions should he see my tear-stained face, I just went back to my room and started reading again, this time my collection of Archie comic books. But even their slapstick humour could not make me smirk, so I gave up and just buried my face into my pillow and cried until I dozed off.

My alarm clocks (yes I have 2 to wake me up) chimed at 7:30am. I woke up with a jump and was still feeling so blue that I was contemplating taking MC for the day, especially since I saw how swollen my eyes were. But I figured better to go to work to occupy myself rather than rotting at home and letting my mind idle. So I made sure I'm heavily concealed (as in lots of concealer to get rid of my eyebags and counter the swollen eyes) and made up before leaving my house.

Thus, here I am, trying to juggle so many things at the same time. Imagine in just 24 hours, my life could have such a drastic change.

Ode to a Mobile Phone

I started carrying a mobile phone the day I turned 21. My first phone was a gift from my dad for my 21st birthday as per my request. Actually it was the only request he agreed to; the other 3 birthday requests, i.e. my own personal laptop, a supplementary credit card and my own car, were thrown out with no appeals allowed. :( Anyway, the phone was a red colour flip phone called the Ericsson GSM 768. Yes, it is practically non-existent now, but at that point in time, it was the coolest phone around.

Since then, I have upgraded several times. After the 768, I received a red Phillips Genie as part of a package deal through a 1-year's subscription to TODAY newspaper. (The similarity in colour was just a coincidence.) Alas, the poor phone only lasted 3 months, as it was stolen by a student when I was undergoing a school attachment as part of my teacher training programme. Thus, I could not even remember what it looked like. Needless to say, I never got it back, so I had to buy another phone - Nokia 3210, the oldest and biggest Nokia model around. It was big and bulky and heavy, but since I was still an undergraduate and footing my own bills, I could not complain. Afterall, beggars can't be choosers.

The 3210 lasted me several years, until after the time I graduated and started teaching. Then, it was stolen by another student. (Why do these things keep happening to me?!) Luckily, I replaced the grey casing with my own fancy Winnie the Pooh casing, so I was lucky to get it back the very next day from the second-hand mobile phone shop where that particular student had sold it to.

Later, the 3210 gave way to a smaller, sleeker phone - Nokia 8250. It was a gift from my then-boyfriend, complete with a Winnie the Pooh casing. I loved the phone. It was small and handy and light and I could download my favourite tunes into it.

Then, in 2003, I got lucky. I won a series of contests organised by M1, i.e. the Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Weakest Link SMS Games. I won 2 Motorola mobile phones for being the top scorer for both games. The first Motorola phone was a pink Motorola E360. The features were pretty alright, but it was not that user-friendly. I took a while to get used to it. Besides, it was quite big, bigger than my old 8250, and the battery was not long-lasting. I had to charge every 1 to 2 days. The second Motorola was a silver T720 with a flipcase. That was a cooler phone with polyphonic ringtones and a colour LCD display screen. Then, I won a Motorola lucky draw by dropping in my waranty card, and lo and behold, I won another T720! I gave that to my boyfriend so we could have "couple" phones.

Last week, I made a major decision to change my phone. I wanted a phone with MMS, Email, Camera and Video functions. So, I bought the Nokia 6170 - a sleek phone with a silver flipcase, colour LCD screen, camera with zoom, Video Recording, GPRS Email and MMS functions. This is the most expensive phone I ever own. Ah, what bliss to be a working person with disposable income. I can at last indulge myself a little bit more. xp

What happened to my previous phones? The 768 was given to my ex boyfriend, who broke it when he threw the phone at me for making him angry. The 3210 was given to my first brother, who needed a phone when he went overseas to study. Alas, he lost it in the big country down under. The 8250 is still with me, albeit not in working order anymore. The E360 was lent to my friend, who lost the charger and scratched the original casing before giving back to me. And the 2 T720s? Both are still with me, although with the display gone for one and the sound gone for the other.

As you can see, my phones only have shelf lives of 2 years at the most. I am hoping my new 6170 will last me for much longer. Perhaps the title of this piece should be changed to "Ode to 7 Mobile Phones" instead?

Digital Cam - Here I Come!

I always seem to be behind the times. Those days when my classmates were going about in CDs and Discmans, I still carried a Walkman. (For those new generation who does not know what a Walkman is, ask your parents, or those who have survived the 90s era.) When sneakers were allowed in school, I still wore white canvas shoes. When everyone else I know had switched to contact lenses, I still wore glasses (those thick geeky glasses). When all the world is carrying a mobile phone, I still had a pager. And when all the world has a digital camera, I still had a normal camera.

I cannot really complain right now especially since I had almost everything I could ever ask for. I too now own a mobile phone, wear contact lenses, and clad in (almost) the latest threads. One thing that was still lacking is a camera, not just an ordinary camera, but a portable digital camera.

My parents can be the most old-fashioned people on Earth. They actually asked me, "Why do you need a digital camera? Can't a normal one suffice?" Are they kidding?! A digital camera has so many more advantages over a normal one.

Firstly, a digital camera can let you take up to 500 or so photos. Secondly, you do not have to specially make a trip down to develop films or buy an album to store all the photos. Thirdly, photos from the camera can be uploaded into the computer and further uploaded into an online album. This process takes the most half an hour and you can do it anywhere, anytime, as long as you have a computer with internet access.

Having considered that it is more a need, I spent two weeks researching on the type of digital cameras in the market. There were a few that caught my eye - Olympus Mini Digital 500, Olympus Mini Digital-S, Canon Ixus 700, Casio Exilim, Sony Cyber-Shot T7. There were many factors to consider, most importantly being affordability. All the above shortlist have about the same features, but the price ranges from S$500 to S$900. After considering all factors like price, design, features, resolution, I finally settled on the Olympus Mini Digital-S.

Why? It has 5.0 Megapixels with two times optical zoom and three times digital zoom, the resolution can be adjusted according to how big or small you like, it is portable and fits snugly in my handbag, and it comes in PINK! It is really a made-for-ladies digital camera.

Thus, I went down to Sim Lim Square today (or was it yesterday?) where I was told I could get the best price for any electronic products. I knew exactly where to go - Alan Photo Trading at Level 1. They are the exclusive wholesalers for digital cameras of every brand. I found the one I wanted and bargained down to a reasonable price. The customer service officers are really friendly and warm.

I not only got my camera, but two XD cards, one with 16 MB and the other with 256 MB, a manual, worldwide warranty card for a year, two batteries, a charger, and wires that will connect the camera to the PC, TV and charger. All in all, it's a pretty good deal for a novice like me.

I tried out my new pink camera at my friend's birthday celebration today. It works well, with sharp pictures and strong flashes, although the batteries did not last for long as I have not charged them yet. Even as I am typing this, Battery B is sleeping on its stand, hoping to be more refreshed and ready to work tomorrow.

Digital Age, here I come.... finally!!!

At Last! A Blog of Thine Own

What made me finally decide to start writing?

1. I love writing.
2. I have been keeping a diary for almost all my life, so I figured, why not save paper and the Amazon forest and money and just migrate everything online?
3. I have been inspired by the interesting things in my friends' blogs (especially a particular individual with the initials RP, who never fails to keep me rolling over in laughter).
4. It is time to keep up with the times.
5. My 13 year-old cousin has a blog!

Initially, I was not comfortable with the idea of a blog. Afterall, the reason I keep a journal is to keep things private. Having everything online just defeats the purpose. But I warmed up to the idea after a while, as I realised a blog is more than just an online diary - it is also a forum for thought-exchange and debate. So I figured what better way to reach out to the masses than sharing my views and thoughts with them? I can always keep my most private thoughts, urm, private.

To start off, I must go back to the basics, ie start from the very beginning. Think about this date - 28 May - and how it has impacted my life. 28 May is actually very significant to me as the events that shaped my life on this date made me who I am today. As I think back through time, this particular date holds many memories, some good and some not-so-good, for me. I always welcome turbulence in my life, as I believe those trials are learning stages and help me become a better person. Let's go back in time :

1. 28/5/1992 - Participated in SYF (Dance) (incidentally, my school's Ballet group received a Gold Award for this particular event)
2. 28/5/1996 - Ended 1st relationship
3. 28/5/1997 - Got accepted into NUS Law Faculty
4. 28/5/1998 - Dropped out of law school and got accepted into the BA/BEd programme at NIE
5. 28/5/2001 - Officially graduated with a BA/BEd (Pass with Merit) (Hey, if I got a Pass in Merit, why wasn't I selected into the Honours programme???) :-(
6. 28/5/2002 - Received my Confirmation as a teacher after passing the 1-year probation (Whew!)
7. 28/5/2004 - Major decision to switch careers despite hinted promotion to Music Coordinator
8. 28/5/2005 - Created my very first blog

Come to think of it, my life has been rather fulfilling so far. Perhaps I really should be thankful for everything God has given me.

Till next time, toodle-ho!