work in progress

as the curtains of 2010 are almost finally drawing to a close, i cant help but feel a tinge of nostalgia.

in 2009, i had 3 resolutions for 2010.

1) to eat and live healthy

2) to dress fiercely

3) to appreciate the present

if you wanna read more about that blog entry, you can click HERE.

looking back (and being super lenient about it), i think i have probably accomplish 2 out of 3 of my resolutions.

apart from the occasional snacking when craving strikes, i do believe that i've started to adopt a healthier approach to eating. back then Mr Old Chang Kee was my soulmate but now i avoid it like the sweaty construction worker. now, i tend to choose soupy dishes and i eat my vegetables as well. also, i guess my twice weekly sessions on the treadmill does contribute to the part on living healthy.

secondly, the sad thing about the working world is that it restricts your creativity to dress fiercely. the conformity stifles individuality to the point that you just give up. oh wells.

and lastly, appreciating the present moment. a lot of people see me as this happy go lucky guy. i think happiness comes when you dont dwell on negativity and instead focus your energy on the positive side of everything. appreciating that every bad moment is a learning experience and that every good moment is a reason to be thankful, lightens you. just remember, you've got to remove the baggage and lighten the load to make the journey easier. and i believe i've done my best to do so.


i guess 2 out of 3 resolutions is not bad. none of us are perfect, we're all just work in progress.



xoxo,
alijoe

do something

work can get really tiresome at times. that's why it's great to have some after work activities to do. gives you something to look forward to. some people swears by retail therapy, other probably do yoga or go for drinks.

for me, i prefer to meet up with a bunch of my friends for dinner and chit chat over ice cream later. yes, its true my after work activity leads to a larger waistline but it definitely beats dragging yourself home just to catch some 9pm drama on tv.

so go ahead and make some plans, its mid week wednesday anyway. lets make the last few days of 2010 a great one!


xoxo
alijoe

scooter ride

everyone looks forward to xmas but i don't. yes, the fact that you receive tonnes of presents is definitely amazing but on the other hand, the reciprocation process is the difficult part. picking out presents for other people always gives me a headache.

gift giving aside, that't not exactly why i hate xmas. the real reason here is that xmas is a stark reminder that you've only got 6 more days left till the year ends.

december 31st is a day when i bring out my imaginary report card, assess the current year's accomplishment of resolutions (which is always depressing) and plot new resolutions for the following year.

this year felt like i was riding on a scooter in the middle of an F1 race. wasn't chinese new year a few weeks ago???


xoxo,
alijoe

the joy of giving

apparently, santa got my next door neighbor a karaoke set. i mean it would be great if i lived next to Whitney Houston or Celine Dion, but when tone deaf people decide to do their own renditions of these divas' songs, the least they could do is to provide us with ear plugs. it is the season of giving after all.

oh, and if i hear 'My Heart Will Go On' one more time, i doubt my own heart will go on anymore.

save me. please.


xoxo,
alijoe

bowties are sexy.

i'm not a really facebook person. i dont upload much photos and i dont really post alot of status updates. but one thing i do like to do is to browse photos uploaded by my friends. i especially love those photos taken of trips abroad. but then one of my favourite things to do when i'm browsing through all these photos is to untag all the unglam photos of me. hahahaha!!

i know you do it too, so dont judge me! :P

anyway, i found this photo of me taken during the Bata Flasgship Fashion Show in someone's random album.



everybody said i looked like a waiter with my bowtie on. but i think it nice whattttttt!!


xoxo,
alijoe

happy holidays

maybe

maybe i miss it too damn much to leave it all behind.

final act

it's sad how nobody cares anymore. and to that, i bid farewell.


alijoe

so random

i feel like changing my blog layout. like maybe change that act cool picture at the top. i know if i were to ask for suggestions on what to do, nobody would actually reply me. haha! so i think i'll just go with my mood. see how la..

been kinda busy this week especially with my graduation and all but then that story's for another post. have you guys realised how fast this year flew past, its already august and less than a week it'd be september. next thing you know, it'd be christmas already, then 2011. wah its moving too fast! i feel like i'm standing still as the whole world zooms past me.

i know my topics today a little bit random right. hahaha! since we're being random, lets talk about YOG. i like the opening ceremony. they had a really cool stage where they had fountains and some parts look like people were running on water. and i like the fact that the olympic flame was in some lighthouse thingy. very cool indeed! but sadly, i was very much disappointed by the closing ceremony. i was expecting some grand event but i ended watching something that felt like a Singapore Idol concert by those people who didn't even make it to top 3.

and you know what!!! i was like so looking forward to that OH YEAH OH YEAH song for YOG and they didnt even play it once!!! i admit the song is like damn corny la, so corny that its verging on retarded but then, its SO DAMN CATCHY can!!! you tell me who donno the chorus of this song.

OH YEAH OH YEAH OH YEAH HEY!!!

i bet most people even know to exact hand movements to it lor!!! i dont understand why we singaporeans are so embarassed by the song. you look at the world cup and u got shakira singing WAKA WAKA EH EH. i mean granted the fact her dance was more sexier and didnt look like they copied it from street fighter but still. it was catchy as hell and everybody enjoyed it. why not our own local one?

double standards much?

anyway, i just wanna say that i'm proud of our local youth athletes. i dont care that we didnt get a single gold. we did get like a gazillion bronze and 1 silver medal by rainer ng for swimming. but what's the most important thing to me is that these people are true blue singaporeans. not some commodity purchased to win medals.

anyway before i start blabbing away, let just end this post abruptly here. now, since i know most people like to just browse thru fotos when they visit blogs, i shall include some random ones from the past few weeks.

i'm like such a crowd pleaser. *roll eyes*


cousin's wedding at fort canning. i was trying to be artistic but ended up EPIC FAIL.



indonesian food with my army bunkmates. and we caught that movie Inception after that. why is everybody saying this movie is like damn awesome. the show storyline was very simple, there was simply too much dialogue and it was boring as hell. what a waste of my time. i should just stick to my slasher movies.



tengku, my army friend's wedding. its like everyone is getting married ar?


ashley's birthday at Loof. i think that place is becoming like our usual hangout after work already. somebody just make me member already!?!?!


glutton's bay with kath and maddie. food was awesome much. but then we wanted sambal stingray but the queue was like so damnnnnnnn long!!! i want to go lau pa sat next!!!


bunny slippers at work. those are not my feet ar!!! and i do not wear tights la omg!


okay thats all for my very random update!


stay cute and sexy always!
alijoe

wouldn't it?

i admit i'm not really a big facebook user. i dont play games on it, i almost never do status updates and i dont upload EVERY SINGLE PHOTO i take. but there is still 1 thing i like to do on facebook. i like to look at all the photos my friends upload. my favorites are the ones which they take on holiday trips.

when i was young i had a really terrible case of motion sickness so i didnt really get to travel much. but my father got to travel extensively then. and every time when he returns, i look forward to flipping through a whole photo album filled with pictures. i'd be like this little wide eye kid mesmerised by every single photo i see. and the best part would be all the different souveniers he brought from places that i could only see through photographs.

clicking through photo albums of friends' holiday trips only makes me feel like packing my bags and taking a cab to the airport right now and buying a one way ticket to wherever the next flight goes to. hopefully its europe cause i just saw some awesome photos of my friend's trip there.

read a book on a long train ride. take photos while exploring the country side on a bicycle.

maybe. and just maybe, leave everything behind, approach a small patisserie and beg them to take me in as an apprentice baker and start life all over again.

wouldnt that be just awesome?



alijoe

impossible

your kisses felt like raindrops in summer
your hugs felt like a warm blanket in winter
your carress felt like a gentle breeze in the spring
and your whispers calming like the weather in autumn

but my love is like the seasons, never remaining, always changing.

i'm impossible like that.

will somebody come and break down these walls i've built.

hermit

there are days where all you wanna do is party till 4am in the morning. where the last thing you remember is like lying down on the pavements outside zouk.

and then there are days like this, where all you wanna do is curl up on your bed, red a good book, and just not go out. don't wanna meet anyone, dont wanna talk to anyone on msn.

it's just a little mood swing i guess. i'll be back to my old perky self before you know it.


alijoe

do good unto others and others will do good unto you

and so begins the fasting month.

a common misconception amongst many people is that fasting is purely about not eating or drinking because god says so. the truth in fact, is far wider an explanation.

fasting is about abstaining from desires. they're many things that fasting includes, like no alcohol, no gambling, no food & drink, no sex... well you get the drift, basically normal human desires. it teaches you discipline as well as appreciation, because only when something is taken away from you will you realise how much you take things for granted.

furthermore, the fasting month encourages you to do good and practice regular charity. no man who gives charity will land himself to become poor and destitute.

i'm not trying to preach religion here but what i'm merely trying to say is that maybe all of us need to practice a little bit of 'fasting'. abstain from our vices, appreciate what we have and be nice to others.

(^_^)V
alijoe

this is home truly

i wanted to blog today. i already uploaded all the photos, was about to edit them but i decided to catch the national day parade instead.

this year's national day parade was the same like every other but then i make it a point to watch it every year with my family. i love especially the march in section where you have all the different contingents marching in with pride. it just looks really cool. but i notice something off this year. every year, the president would like walk and inspect the troops. he would stop randomly at some guy and chit chat about god knows what, maybe about what the soldier felt regarding Lindsay Lohan mild jail sentence perhaps, but somehow this year i guess he just wasnt in a chit chat mood. he just stood on the back of a jeep and wave. boring la like that!! haha!

i know a lot of people think watching the national day parade is like lame but then i donno why i kinda like it. that's like once a year for like 2 hours i feel all patriotic. i sing along to the songs and even sing the national anthem. you know, seeing all the people at the Padang this year singing along gives me this heart warming feeling. especially when Sezairi sang We Will Get There and Kit Chan sang Home. i got goosebumps!!!

you know what, i secretly am proud to be a singaporean! unless of course, there's a fucking huge influx of foreigners in the near future, then thank god my parents have properties overseas :)

anyhow,
have a happy national day everyone!

back work tmr. bleah!


(^_^)V
alijoe

back to reality

i told you i'd survive didnt i!

when i came to know of my reservist, i was really dreading it. the day before my reservist, i was seriously feeling damn fucked up having to pack all my stuff. and at 6.15am the next day while i was waiting for a cab to my camp, i was DAMN depressed.

2 weeks of shit again. what a waste of time. i rather be at work.


and now it's over.

to a certain extent, i kinda miss it. HAHAHAHA!!! i know!! sick right!!

bu seriously, it wasnt as bad as i expected it to be. generally it was great fun. met up with old friends, caught up on each others life. just pure random chit chat. talk cock. act retarded. play card games. complained about the food. complained about the sun, the rain, everything. catch up on my reading. disturb people.

i mean of course there were army stuff to do, but i'm only mentioning HAPPY moments here.

in the end, there were some parts that were not so happy but that didnt matter cause the happy times overshadowed them. its like going to a bad restaurant with your friends. you complain about the food, the service and the price, but in the end you make do with it cause what matters is that you had great company.


btw, i wasnt paid for writing this.


(^_^)V
alijoe

quoting gloria gaynor

i survived one week. one more week to go.

you know what, it wasnt really as bad as i expected it to be. i got to catch up with people whom i spent close to 2 years with and only get to meet once a year now. next week will be tougher with a major event happening but hey, i'll survive.



gloria gaynor sang it and now i will repeat it, altogether now, 'i will survive! i will survive! yeah! yeah!'


(^_^)V
alijoe

soldier

will be gone for 2weeks.

i do hope camo creams now are mosturising and also contain sunblock. i mean, if they can make BB creams in 3 different shades, why can they make something similar in black and green.

(^_^)V
alijoe

hell hath no fury

oh you childish little boy. oh how sad and pathetic can you be.
run to mummy, run to daddy. throw your little tantrums.
let's see if i care.

remember this motherfucker, there can only be one queen and i own that throne.

know your role peasant!


_|_
alijoe

lazy sundays

this week was like a major hectic week for me. i'm like so busy at work that i actually stayed back till like 1030pm. which was why this weekend, i made sure i did absolutely nothing. all i wanted to do was just to nua at home. just watch tv, lie on my bed and read magazines, catch up on online shows that i've missed. i didnt even want to go shop. the thought of the weekend crowd at town was enough to make me nauseous.

i hope you had a great weekend! oh and if you didnt, there's always next weekend to look forward to!

so here was my week in photographs!































take care loves!

(^_^)V
alijoe

the journey

life is a journey. each day is different no matter how routine your life can be. you meet new people, you learn new things. make the most of it. don't fret, don't complain. take it all in one at a time. challenges are but opportunities to expand.

everything happens for a reason. embrace change and everything will fall into place.


don't be afraid. come hold my hand and we'll take this journey together.


alijoe

no weapons formed against me shall prosper

sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a genuine and a counterfeit Louis Vuitton. you gotta observe it real closely before making conclusions.

so dont try to sell me no premium grade fake shit cause i can tell.

and darling, you have no idea yet what a MEGA BITCH i can be.


alijoe

please stand behind the yellow line

i take the train to work everyday.

just for the record, i prefer taking the train over buses anytime. i like the fact that it's fast and efficient. i mean, if you take the bus, sometimes you never know what time the bus is coming and then, if you factor in random traffic situations like accidents and jams, you can't really be certain what time you'll reach your destination. trains on the other hand, arrive on the average of every 5minutes and the best thing about it is that i dont have to worry about traffic jams delaying my journey. if they say you'll reach city hall in 18mins, they really mean it. unless of course some motherfucker comes along and decide to commit suicide on the train tracks. then, that's like bo pian.

so once you start taking the train every single day, you'll start to notice the idiosyncrasies of different commuters. there are people who like to sleep very unglamorously on trains and then there are those who play with iphones. for me, i plug in my ipod and i daydream about being brandon flowers, the frontman of The Killers, and performing to a sold out concert.

one odd thing, i've been noticing is that ever since they introduced the priority seat, you know the one for the old or the pregnant, everybody avoids it the seats like the plague.

like lets say, the elderly woman got up to alight at her stop, the seat is left empty. nobody wants to seat there. a train packed to the brim and there's one empty seat and everyone's just ignoring it.

i personally find it annoying. just seat la damnit! you waiting for some elderly women to elbow through the crowds of people just to go there sit meh??

ohh, and one more thing. people who give up their seat to kids annoy me. what logical reason is there that says a 7yr old girl deserves the seat more than a 27yr old female wearing high heels and who spent the past 7hours serving unreasonable customers at Mango. i'd say give the freaking seat to the the woman better right?? do kids get tired more easily or smthing? all the kids i see on the trains have like unlimited energy. they can scream and swing on the poles while the parents just sit there and smile. funny meh?! fucking disrupting my daydreaming right!

anyway,

that's like just a couple of retarded things i notice on the train. there's more la but by the time i finish typing everything, its be a 3 part novel with 24 chapters each. JRR Tolkien also paisey.


anyway anyway,

here's some random photos i took throughout the week. i'm too damn busy (and lazy) to do 3-4 post a week, so i'll just upload the whole chunk and lump them all at the end of this entry.




















have a great week ahead yeah!


(^_^)V
ALIJOE

fear not

this blog is not dead. i've just been really busy. every time i come home from work, all i wanna do is just take a shower and go to sleep. sometimes i even fall asleep while watching tv. pathetic right?! i know!

the only time where i get to really sit down and blog is probably over the weekend. i know my sporadic random blogging pattern is causing most of my regular readers to satisfy their bimbotic blog reads elsewhere. but, what to do. at least i got like 5 people still reading this, so i guess its okay. sad.

anyway,

i want to talk about fear.

fear of the unknown.

i'm not talking about ghost or werewolves, oh taylor lautner *drools*. i'm talking about smthing more relatable. like fear of uncertainty. like simple stuff can cause fear. like for example, if you're invited to a birthday party and the dress theme is Moulin Rouge. then you decide not to follow the dress theme because you fear that if you did and when you reach there seeing that only you were gungho enough to dress up like a 1940's prostitute, then it would cause you major embarrassment.

well, you know, simple fears like this. fear that deters you. another example would be like lets say you go to a buffet and there's all this awesome food but then you dont dare to pig out because you're afraid people might look at you and think you're a glutton.

these are the kinds of fear that prevents you from being yourself, achieving your absolute best.

call it worry, anxiety or just fear of uncertainty. it's all the same thing.

now, i shall let you in on a little secret. before i started work, i had this little fear that work would suck really bad. that everyone would be so darn political and hate me. that i'd spent lunch eating sandwiches alone at my desk. and that my boss would be like miranda preisley from Devil Wears Prada.

just random fears of uncertainty. not knowing what the future holds. sometimes the only way to overcome such fears is just by going through it. you've got to kill the cow to make the burger.

sometimes it turns out for the better and sometimes not. you learn and you move on. luckily for me, everything's been going great so far. my colleagues are all awesome and i've got a bunch of friends that i can hang out with and lunch with. people who i can joke with, laugh with and who make my hours at work fly by.

check out these awesome pic's i took over the week.


me with audrey leong, who constantly likes to make fun of me and then laugh at me for no apparent reason. lol!


it was our merchandising manager's birthday so the whole department decided to have a damn yummy lunch at Aroy Thai.


the food was damn good la! and their thai milk tea was just pure awesome!


when we got back to the office, we surprised her with a yummy birthday cake.




and she generously treated us all to ice cream and Spinelli's!!! wootS!!!

that night, a bunch of decided to hang out after work at Loof. it's nice to just unwind after work over drinks and random chit chat.





(^_^)


alijoe