Just rambling and feeling a bit unwell..

After the high of December.. January 2011 had got on with a slow start.

Not that I've planned it this way.. but I guess I needed some rest. And while having NY day and Sunday resting (and working sporadically) was good, what I did not need had happened..

I have been feeling sick-ish for two days now. :(

I can't exactly pinpoint what's wrong or what caused my flu-ish feeling, itchy throat and now slight cough.. but i think it started after I drank more than half a bottle of red-wine with quite a heavy meal (neighbours came over) on Sunday evening.

I slept for two hours yesterday afternoon and today felt like sleeping too but had work to do.. Even cancelled my Italian class. Drove down to the pharmacy to tell the pharmacist for something to treat my `unwellness' and all she said was take more Vitamin C! But when I insisted, she gave me something else that would boost up my immune.. so I bought it.

Don't know why but I am one of those who need to take medicines or other forms of remedies, but I guess this time I have reason to do so as I can't afford to fall ill.. tomorrow have things to do and must do!

What a lousy post but I think better than nothing as I now try to go back to blogging and not let Facebook alone dictate my online life.. Speaking of Facebook, spent so much time asking friends to vote for Jelly in a pet shop contest. I know we won't win but still the competitive spirit of me want her to go further (as in getting more votes!)

Just a short update cos it's been an eventful week... too busy to blog!

What a BUSY and TIRING week so far.. but it's also meaningful! B'coz after fiver years, I've volunteered to teach in our church's Vacation Bible School (VBS) and I can't believe it's just one more day to go!! It's not easy to teach children - especially to get them engaged with activities at the same time to part the Gospel truth to them.. now I really salute all the teachers out there..

I've taken some photos but just too tired now to upload them..

Oh, another update: I got back my own car yesterday - finally!! and it looks as good as new! ;) But this morning, got an sms that tells me the est. cost.. :(

Ta Da! But You're at the Right Place!

Hope this new look to my blog will inject some inspirations for me to blog now!

But it's really late now so I will just do a short one to announce the `birth' of another phase of Jess' two Js!

For the first time, this I.T. idiot of me tried out other templates on the world wide web, instead of limiting to the default Blogger templates on Blogger.com. I have always wondered why other ppl have unique layout on Bloggers.. yeah, i know i'm slow..

Anyways, since this blog is indeed inspired by my two Js.. what more fitting to get a layout with dog in it! I thought this is quite cute.. not sure whether it is easy to read :p

But in changing to this new look, I had lost all my `widgets' or whatever on the sidebar. Sigh.. all my blog links are gone - so are some items and my pathetic blog advertisements which are just useless anyway..

Oh, I welcome feedback (if any) of this new look..

This blogger's block lingers...

I am mourning for the sad state of this blog at the moment.

The truth is I hadn't been doing much of what I vouched to do in the last post. But just that suddenly I lost all the inspirations and motivations to blog! No, things have been happening - there was a nice wedding, the passing and funeral of a dear friend's mom, a new rather `impulsive' purchase of a new notebook, going to be 3rd-time bridesmaid, some interesting work and social related stuff etc..etc... but yet, I didn't feel like blogging about anything!!

So ya, i've broken my record of not blogging for the longest period in my 3-years-3-months..

Now, I just want to say I'm still alive.. and that this blog isn't dead.

Just be patient (if anyone is still coming here!) and hopefully my blogger's block will be over soon!

Last couple of hours in HK...

One week has gone.. and in a few hours time I'll be home again!

An Internet addict is always one.. so when I saw a free terminal at Pacific Coffee which I decided to get a cuppa, I instinctively decided to go online. Having neglected my blog for a week, it's about time to update a little!

Well, time does not permit me now to write about my adventures at the Fragrant Harbour. But the main highlights were meeting old friends and became a glutton! Yep, my jeans had gone tighter in one week! :(

Will be taking the express train to the airport in about half an hour time.. one thing about flying.. I feel a lot of time is wasted. Although the travel time is just 3 1/2 hour but today practically the whole day is gone..!?

Felt a bit sad that I did not get to say bye to Alexis.. instead of coming home at noon, the maid took her to see doctor from her school. She has a bit of cough..

Will soon upload pix of kids, friends and Ginger the crazy dog. She is really sweet and cute alright but quite neurotic - hyper-hyper one minute and scatty cat another... very funny. :p

Curse of the OWL

This is not good... no, not talking of the cut of my finger which has more or less dried up..

It's the curse of the owl, which has plagued me big time! and no thanks to a lingering flu that saw me consumed up a big (200 piece) box of tissue in just three days... i feel quite horrible. Both physically and mentally... hopefully not spiritually.. sigh.

The average time that I go to bed this week has been 4:15am. (gets worse when my parents not around). No wonder I feel lousy right? And there was just so much co-ordination to do for the shoot. I lost count of the no. of calls and e-mails I have made.. not fun really.. And then there are two more deadlines coming and one of them still requires a lot of writing.. and I am having writer's block.. :(

I shifted my `office' from my room to downstairs today - using my laptop. A change of environment hopefully will do me good but right now I am snizzing (today the cold got really bad maybe because I had the air-con on but with windows open too!) and feeling really groggy..

Must confess and admit that i'ts my sheer lack of self-control and discipline and the `addiction' to the Internet especially Facebook! Yes, i know i'm ranting and repeating myself as i've already blogged about it. But I have to let it out somehow.. so just pardon me or ignore this or if you're kind enough, say something motivating...

Sigh.. there goes another week and weekend.. Looking forward to my holiday to HK early next month but before that, must live through this coming week!! God help me...

It's that time of the month again...

No, it's not what you're thinking!

Ever since like a few months back where work has been coming in quite regularly, the end of the month is always the BUSIEST!! That's because most publications esp magazines have end of the month as deadlines..

So as usual, I have procrastinated for a while.. and now realised that the deadlines are SO near.. and I still have SO much to do.. HELP!!

It didn't help that I didn't feel well since last night. Guess I caught the flu bug but thankfully it's nothing very serious except that I'm just feeling so tired and sleepy.. This afternoon I was in bed for more than 4 hours in between doing things.. and not much work was done :(

I wasn't up to it to attend CCF tonight but I need to work too.. so here i am at the PC. But before I settled into work, I thought I better just update this blog. I can't bear to neglect it for more than 4-5 days somehow. Though I have nothing interesting to say.

Oh, I'm actually writing a story on women bloggers! Featuring a few interesting bloggers who blog on various topics from serious to `frivolous'.. :p Well too bad I can't publicise my own blog.. hehe, or can I?

Ok, this is supposed to be a filler only and I have over-ranted again...

Hope tomorrow is a better day..

Assorted Updates

No time to write something long and structured. Need to finish concert review fast and yet to start! But guess what, blogging still preceed work!

So what has been happening in the last 4 days? A lot really.. and these are just the `highlights'

• Have been busy with dad buying furniture for the condo that I'm re-letting out. It was in quite a bad condition after the last tenant left. So we did a bit of refurbishment - flooring, lamps, curtain etc.. and also replaced the furniture in the master bedroom.. So on Thursday we finally completed our furniture shopping! The condo should be fully ready by mid week now! :)

• Participated in the RBC Women's Bible Conference on Friday evening and Saturday morning - and helped out in worship sessions.. Was really glad I went. It was very timely reminder on the topic of making `choiced choices' and although the messages seemed quite simple and the scriptures familiar, I believe the speaker had touched each of us with the challenging and meaningful encouragement.
  

• Drove up to Genting Highland to cover Hacken Lee's concert on Sat nite and had Annie to company me. Well, am not really a fan but he has many tuneful ballads and familiar hits and also, it's his first solo concert on our soil. Will blog more about it hopefully and post pix that I took myself (kneeling on the floor!) Yep, it was very enjoyable although I won't rank him as one of the better performers. Reached home at 1:30am..
  

• Ok, I guess I should mention about my on-going `activity' for a week.. It's incredible how so many of my friends managed to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in just a day or two! But I chose to read it `slowly' as I had decided.. so I can savour the book. Well, because of a busy two days I am at page 365 - the chapter on Malfroy Manor. So far it has been pretty good but I know the suspense is just building up...(will be reading more tonite)
  

• Guess I should also confess how I've been more addicted to the Net these days thanks to Facebook!! Yep, its addictive, a few of my friends (you know who you are!) are also very active on it. There are many applications including games and all other fun but frivolous stuff! Anyways..it's like a form of escapism back to my teenage years that i missed out on as computer wasn't part of my life then!
  

Trailer filler..

Had a rather interesting and eventful weekend!

There was my sharing at World Vision `Tribute to Sponsors' day.. outing with two `accident-survivor' friends.. a bridal-shower beach party.. among them.

Yeah quite a bit to share.. BUT alas, can't do it now. Cos i need to sleep early and get up early for long-overdue medical check-up with mom. (maybe THAT would be another story)

Will blog more soon I hope! Nites..

This blogger's block

I'm back. Have so much to blog about on my three-day trip to Singapore - the activities, the trendy hotel, the food, meeting up old friends etc etc.. and of course, took quite a lot of photos to show too.. !

But alas, somehow I have this `blogger's block' - tried to start on it but didn't feel inspired/motivated to carry on.. or maybe I'm just plain lazy.. but actually, also kinda busy.

Well this is just a short note to say that I (and my blog) is still alive.. hopefully I'll post something interesting over the weekend.. But there's also work and other things.. how I wish there're more hours in a day!

And now to catch the repeat of my HK drama series over Astro :p

'tis busy days..

It's been a real B-U-S-Y weekend packed with activities!! And yes I'm tired out..

Will update later if inspiration strikes. Pardon me this short filler.

p.s. Sis and kids leaving back to HK today (Mon) :(

My sis has got a `Ginger' dog

My sister has bought a toy poodle! (like the pix here.. no its not this one) A dog lover herself, she succumbed to the plea of her eldest son Edgar. Earlier today, I received a sms from her that said: `guess what i bought? you have got two of them.' :)

The dog is female, named `Ginger', she is brownish and her curly long locks made her look very cute even before she was groomed. I only saw a pix she MMS me.. She is quite tiny - about 6kg, six-month-old and toilet trained! And how coincidental can it get - Ginger shares the same birthday as Edgar! :)

At first Alexis, my niece was not friendly towards Ginger as she felt jealous with so much attention given to the dog! But the latest I heard they are now the best of pals.. yeah, all my nephews and niece adore dogs (like their yiyi hehe) :P

Sigh, I'll have to go all the way to Hong Kong just to see her... I already planned not to go HK this year but I am soooo curious.. darn!

p.s. hopefully will have pix to follow (Chin, hurry up email!)

Update (noon): The real Ginger with the kids! :) Aint she cute?

My Starbucks `office' ;)

It's true! I can work better outside my cosy room!

Today (i mean yesterday) I spent three good hours at Starbucks Plaza Damas after interviewing a friend, working on a review for the concert i attended the previous night.

It just felt good..! Maybe it's the coffee, maybe it's the ambience (many people also working solo on laptops), and maybe it's the happiness of owning a personal notebook.. whatever the reasons, i could concentrate better there. I managed to complete the first draft of the story, as well installing yahoo messenger and did some email replies.

:) So I will be going to Starbucks near my place tomorrow to work on another story! If only Starbucks will come out with a customer loyalty program!

@ Padific Coffee, IFC, HK

Yes, just hours later, and i'm on line again! Got to HK at about 4-ish and then took the rail express to Hong Kong - where my sis' office is. Poor girl is still stuck at work so I am just `touring' the IFC mall which I don't really mind.. hehe.

Wanted to go to Starbucks at first but the queue there was just shocking! never seen this kind of line for F&B places in KL.. well, Pacific Coffee seems a little pricey but has like 5 Internet terminals which suit me fine.

Guess sipping my Cafe Mocha and being online is a way of curbing my spending.. can't guarantee what i will buy if I like myself wander away in this nice mall... :p

Only five and a half days of my time here to be exact.. won't list out the places to visit and things to do but just say it's gonna be quite busy days of itinerary ahead..

Time to sign off.. again! ;)

@ Taipei Airport...

Greetings from Taipei!

Had about 2 hour plus to kill at Taipei airport.. and guess what, I managed to find one terminal of free internet access to check emails.. ;)

Well, I had a fruitful tour of Taipei in the last three days and now on my way to Hong Kong! Hoped I had one or two more days as time wasn't enough in Taipe but anyways, looking forward to Hong Kong again after more than a year of not going there..

And at my sis home, there's definitely Internet connection. :p

Well, so I ate my own words from my last post.. i am even blogging now! but short one.. wanna grab something to munch before boarding the plane.

Adios for now..

New Look!

`Jess' two Js' has undergone a `makeover'! Ever since I started this blog in May last year, this would only be the 2nd time I experimented with the layout..

I have now changed to using Beta Blogger.. but still having some problem with the template (as u can see!) The site meter is meant to be at the end while the flickr is also not supposed to be where it is now..

When I arranged properly and tried to save, somehow an error sign will pop up! :( Hope i know how to design my own.. but still up to there.. anyone can tell me how to do it?

Pix filler

Gave up writing a post on dad's birthday dinner tonite. It was taking ages to uploads the many pix! Well, that would come later. In the mean time, here is just a `narcissist filler post' with a couple of pix showing my new hair-do ;P

This was taken at dinner just now


With Tan Soo Suan, the resident soprano of Dama Orchestra and my (occasional) vocal teacher! This lady has an amazing voice! Just finished an interview on their upcoming production `Butterfly Lovers'.