After 4 years in NUS SDE:)

I have finally graduated!:)

Amongst all the academic gowns, throwing of mortar board and photo-taking overload, the fact that I have graduated and is a student no more is slowly settling in. And the fact that I'm counting down to work in less than 2 weeks time makes the entire graduation experience even more realistic.

I would like to take this opportunity to share the valedictorian speech which I have prepared and also practiced as the reserve valedictorian:) I'm really glad that Adrian didn't back out or fall sick last minute cos he is our only first class graduate and indeed he gave a great speech!:) Plus I just wish to enjoy my commencement without butterflies in my stomach haha..

Still, I would like to share this speech with my fellow PFM graduates:D

NUS Pro-Chancellor Dr Cheong Siew Keong, NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Associate Professor Patrick Tseng, distinguished guests, fellow graduates, ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to one and all.

Today is the day. The day where we celebrate the completion of our university education and the achievements each of us have attained thus far right here in NUS.

And today is the day where we not only commemorate our successful graduation, but also celebrate the commencement of a fresh new chapter of our life.

Today is also the day where we all come together, not solely as the class of 2010, but also as course-mates, friends and perhaps soon-to-be colleagues, just like how we came together four years ago for our inauguration, although completely unacquainted then, as freshmen, or more affectionately known as the freshies.

Today, I stand before you, humbled and honoured, to be given this opportunity to deliver the valedictory speech on behalf of the graduating class of the Projects and Facilities Management Programme.

First and foremost, being the pioneer batch of this programme, our courage to embark on this new journey and to walk the path that has yet to be travelled is definitely worth applauding. I am thus very proud to be here together with a group of promising graduates who represent the pioneers to be conferred this degree.

No doubt, today is the day where we finally graduate with an honors degree. However, I would like to believe that we graduate with more than just an honors degree. More specifically we graduate with shared memories with our friends and we graduate with bonds that are meant to last beyond our university life. From the drinks stall uncle in Techno Edge who never fails to brighten up our school days to the times we spent with our group mates in the computer labs for our presentations and projects that never seemed to end. Day by day, year by year, all these inevitably form an intangible but yet huge part of the degree we are graduating with today.

The point I’m driving at is this. As much as we recognize the importance of education and life-long learning, as much as we spend more than 10 over years pursuing our education and as much as we know that qualification is the key, or at least, one of the keys, to the next stage of our life, I always believe that there is much more to it.

There is definitely much more to life. Learning is one of the many aspects of it and I’m proud to say that each of our presence here has proven that we have indeed excelled in this aspect.

Even the degree scrolls we are holding now encompasses more than just what we have learnt, but also the memories we share and the friendships we gain. So it is with life. As we now move on to our career, which I believe will form a major part of our life, let us not forget about the other important elements of life other than work, status and monetary gains. Family, friends, love, health, happiness and growth are equally or even much more important in the pursuit of success in our life.

Although we, as the pioneer batch of PFM graduates, may face challenges in establishing ourselves in the construction industry at the initial stage. Let’s be hopeful and embrace our new phase of life with the same level of enthusiasm and confidence we have during our orientation camp 4 years ago. I’m sure a couple of years down the road, we will be able to savour the sweet taste of success.

Today is the day where we enjoy the fruits of our labour, celebrate the bonds we share with our course-mates and also give thanks to our parents and loved ones. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, daddy mummy 谢谢你！ And not forgetting my PFM friends, especially the 13 of them who are always seated at the left side of the LT, you all are the best!

And as I approach the end of my speech, may I appeal to my fellow graduates to also let today be the day where we start to better appreciate our life as we strive to learn, to live, to love, to laugh and to leave a legacy in each of our own lives. Thank you!

(After National Anthem)
As we remain standing, my fellow graduates, this is a proud day for all of us and for our parents and loved ones, who have supported us in our journey here.

Therefore, before we leave this hall, let us take this opportunity to show our appreciation for our family and friends with a round of applause.

Please join me in this gesture. Thank you.”

Happy graduation, class of 2010, pioneer batch of PFMs!:D I'm really proud to have known each and every single one of you all:)

I guess no amount of photos will be enough to commemorate such a happy milestone of my life with such fabulous people:D

LOVE my family!:D Thanks to my daddy and mummy for making me into what I am today:D And my sister and brother who always are there to entertain me! Haha..

Mr Loke Wai Kei for always being such a patient, sincere, thoughtful and ever sweet and loving bf:D My last 2 years of uni life would not be the same if not for you:) Xie xie ni!:D
And coincidentally, our 2nd year anni was one day before our commencement:D Double celebrations double joy:D And he surprised me with a hand-drawn bouquet of flowers with Stitch:) Long story cut short, we actually agreed to prepare our present one week after commencement, but he cheated and I didn't prepare any!:S
I WAS HERE was simply too crowded so we made do with pirated versions of it:) And I like it!:D

So happy to be able to take this photo with Dawn! OMG~ who would have imagine 10 years down the road, we would be able to witness each other's graduation:) More photo taking together yea!:)

Post commencement nights out:D 1st time visiting Keppel Bay and they say it's a nice place for dating. You know, Mr Loke;)
Couple-fied outing! Haha:) Wonder when will be the next time we can have the luxury of chatting our night away.
More photo taking with the PFMs outdoor just last Sunday!:) Love the sun and the scenery!:D I'm glad we did this together in a big group, so many eyes were on us! Haha.. And we even became the attraction of Singapore.:)

Love the photos taken by Hazel:) Here's some of them:)

And this is my favourite shot from my G11:D

And jump shots!!! Esplanade's roof terrace is a great place for cushioned jump shots!:D

More on fb!:)

Looking forward to Despicable Me in 3D with the PFMs nxt week, my last week of holidays!

I'm really going to start work~

With all the time in the world AND zero budget

As I woke up today, I thought of how I should spend my holidays now with zero budget (as I'm running low on budget already). Then I attempted to come up with a list of activities for me to do with zero cost. And amazingly I did it (I thought I will get stuck at number 5):) So here's the list for those of you spending your holidays on low budget just like me:)

Top 10 activities that cost $0!

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1. Read. Old books or borrowed books from the library.
   
2. Go out for a jog. Reconnect with nature, build up your stamina, breathe in fresh(er) outdoor air, strengthen your immune system, burn some calories and enjoy some "me" time.
3. Pack your room. You can even re-discover new items, reduce, reuse or recycle them! Green for the environment, good for your soul:) I even found my hand written notes in my secondary school days and the evolution of my handwriting as well!
   
4. Edit photos with free programme like Photoscape. Gain a sense of satisfaction from seeing how you can create different nice effects and transfer a normal photo into pretty ones:) Zero dollar for personalizing your photos:)
5. Have fun with your camera! Just head out to anywhere (even just your neighbourhood) and capture interesting moments which we usually don't notice. You may start to see things from different perspectives too:)
6. Medidate. Nothing to do with anything religious, perhaps except for the fact it is recommended to be done religiously. It is said to boost immune system by preventing our body system from running on an overdrive and as a result creating a greater demand for energy. It also helps to create more self awareness and if done properly can help to promote better breathing (abdominal breathing as compared to chest breathing).
7. Sleep early. Although getting more sleep requires zero cost, it will reap invaluable benefits for our body and beaty:)
8. Watch catch-up TV on xinmsn. Catch up on shows which we miss during our busy times without having to subscribe to anything.
9. Blog. More time to jot down your thoughts and upload tons of photos. :)
10. Let your creativity juice takes over:) I'm sure there are more activities to this list:)

So ending off with edited photos from my holidays:)

POXML Dim Sum lunch cum Lin Yi's 23rd!

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The 主角 for the day - Mr. Dryfit! :) He better uses the BPA-free water bottle which we got for him!

I like this!:) So Singapore~

And the LG hp group. Busy with their gadgets.

Greg&Joan wedding videoshoot!

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The process of video shoot was really sweet and interesting:) Cant wait to see the end product soon:)

PFM Kushin Bo Atas Dinner cum Juan's 24th!

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Happy birthday to Wei Juan! The process of surprise was hilarious as she still have no idea what happened even though the birthday song is played throughout the restaurant.

The bangs gang:)

Ending off with our group photo, missing Hui Fang and Hazel. Hope the flash wasn't too harsh:) Look at all those working adults! How we evolve~ Collected more namecards too! Good to see everyone slowly settling down with their work and for those of us still on holidays, enjoy it while it lasts:)

Alrighty I shall be good and wait patiently for my gst package while I exhaust my top 10 list:)

And the researcher starts work:)

Before Researcher Loke starts work, he brought me to one of my to-go places!:) Quite surprised that he actually remembers:)

Pixar Exhibition

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It was an eye-opener to see how cartoons are actually hand-drawn and then professionally done by media:) Sadly, photography wasn't allowed to protect the integrity of the hard-work of Pixar.

But not too much 3D exhibits though, unlike the Body Worlds which is more interesting in this aspect.

The best and the amazing part is the revolving thing which shows how static models come alive and appear as animated motion right in front of us:D Amazing:D

Then we proceeded to Science Centre after having a quick bite. LokeX2 is so amazed by all the exhibits there! That shows how long he hasn't been there!

Swensens Dinner

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Shopping for his working pants and socks at G2000! I bought a pencil skirt too:) So looking forward to work when everyone has already started work:)

Then simple dinner at Swensens:)

Showcasing our Disneyland nail clippers *cutess!*:D

Sex & the City 2

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Although I guess that there's 90% chance that CHAOS will want to watch tog (and indeed Deon initiated it alrd!), I still have to catch this movie with LokeX2 as we watched the 1st one when we just got together almost 2 years ago:) I seriously dont mind watching with my girls again:D I kept thinking of them when I watched it lah!:)

I accompanied LokeX2 for lunch before meeting Ryan and Joel. I think he looks really good in this photo:D

Then off to pass Ryan her hand cream and have a short chat with then before catching the movie:) Ryan must be have a great time over at Australia now:) Finally got to meet up with Fazal after being miles apart for so long:)

Ole Ole box!

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He came over J8 to collect his altered pants and then went for Ole Ole KFC dinner:)

The look of an officially employed:)

Now into 2nd week of his job, he seems to like the job, the environment and his colleagues so I'm really happy for him:) He actually feels that he's really lucky as he didn't dare to apply for too many jobs before our grad trip. So the fact that he managed to get this job almost immediately after we came back is indeed a blessing:)

加油加油喔! :)

Work for him means less time together. So we treasure our time together more:) And with me on tight budget, it means spending quality time together with our friends and our family:) Simple and meaningful:) And he's into watching Little Nyonya on xinmsn, so that's our stay home activity since I didn't actually follow it on TV:)

Looking forward to JB trip with the Loke family this weekend!:)

Up till now

What have I been up to ever since my Japan grad trip w the PFMs?

I sort of lost track of time for awhile with the luxury of time and laid-back lifestyle hehe:)

It's only until I have just transferred photos into my laptop that I realized my holidays are actually more than just sleeping late and slacking. Haha..

So it has been HK grad trip, Pixar exhibition, spending time w LokeX2 before he officially started work last Wed, reading, dim sum w POXML, videoshoot for Greg and Joan wedding, PFM Kushin Bo:D

Before I sort out the photos to upload on fb, here's a preview:)

HK Grad Trip w LokeX2!:)

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Our 1st time exploring a new country together:) The MRT stations are really colourful!:)

We concluded HK is more like a shopping heaven (for me!). And he prefer those sightseeing places:) Luckily for the research we done beforehand, we had a great time exploring places though usually by the end of the day we were really tired. I must really thank Mr Loke for being so patient with me, esp with all the shopping:D He's really the best:) 谢谢你!:D

All in all it was a great experience for both of us to plan together and really understand each other even better:) I'm actually looking forward to our next overseas trip after both of us start work and saved up of course:)

Here's a brief (in the end it turns out to be quite a lengthy one) overview of our itinerary:)

Day 1:

• Arrived and checked in (Jordan)
  
• Wantan Mee lunch (Mongkok)
• "Far East style" shopping @ Argyle Centre! (Mongkok)
  
I declare Argyle Centre as my personal favourite shopping place at HK!:D Loves!:D
• Avenue of Stars (Tsim Sha Tsui)
• Symphony of Light (TST)
  The night view was nice:) But the symphony thingy was only alright, nothing really fantastic. We very much prefer to breeze:)
• KFC dinner and Mazazu Crepe @ Habour City (TST)
  Oh! Mazazu Crepe is heavenly too! Tried Strawberry cake. As nice as the one I tried in Japan:) And there's an outlet in S'pore Liant Court:D
• Shopping @ Sasa
  Sasa and Bonjour are like everywhere. So every night before we returned to hotel, I couldnt help but step into one and buy something almost every night!

Day 2:

• Dan dan mian and soya milk breakfast (Jordan)
  One of my favourite meal! The dan dan mian is nice:) Why all the food in HK like also so nice?
• The Peak tram, Sky Terrace and Madame Tussauds wax museum (Central)
• Shopping @ Citygate Outlets (Tung Cheng)
  Wai Kei was surprised that I didnt spend at all there. I wanted to buy high cut shoes, but just couldnt find one that I really like, so I saved the $ for more shopping hehe:)
• Temple Street preview (Jordan)
  Wai Kei was disappointed that he could not find street food there.
• Dessert @ 绵绵冰 (Jordan)
  But we were delighted to find this shop otw back to our hotel. :) The mango dessert is nice even though I'm not a mango lover:)

Day 3:

• Breakfast @ highly raved Mido Cafe (Yau Ma Tei)
  Omg! The 菠萝包 is soooooo nice!:D Wish I could bring it over to S'pore lah! I no longer want to eat those in S'pore alrd lah, they really pale in comparison (either that or I have yet to eat those HK standard ones).
• Off to HK Disneyland! Whee~
  
Wai Kei loved HK Disneyland the most! Esp the Stitch Encounter where we really have a unique encounter with Stitch:) This totally made our day at Disneyland:D

In comparison, HK's is really smaller than Tokyo's but because of that we can slowly enjoy walking arnd Disneyland without worrying about not having enough time:)




The parade was also a great one! It was Mickey's Water Works and the entire parade was like 泼水节! So fun! Luckily Wai Kei there to shield off the water while I tried to snap photos:)

And I finally caught the fireworks which I missed in Tokyo!:D Splendid way to end our magical day:D



• Japanese dinner (Yau Ma Tei)
  Again, delicious food even if it's just some random stalls that we decided to give it a try.
• Shopping @ Bonjour
  Enough said. Habitual shopping.

Day 4:

• Off to Macau!
  
A day of食字路口 searching for the must-eats!
Almond cookies, 菠萝包, 猪扒包, double skin milk, shark fins, Margaret's Cafe portugese egg tarts
• Went to explore Langhram Place but it's more mid-range shopping with those popular brands like H&M, Shu Umera, Lush etc. So I decided to head over to Argyle Centre again! I spare Mr Loke and let him go back to hotel to rest 1st.

Day 5:

• Off to Shenzhen!
• Windows of the World
  We were quite tired to explore the entire area and as we wanted to wait for the free performance at night, we just rested and watched video from his BB.

It was until we decided to visit the ice cold area that we were totally energized again!

A warm cup noodle after that was really timely:)

The night performance was awesome really! With like thousands of performers (sounds exaggerated but it really seemed like there's alot of performers), it was like professional performance you watch at Esplanade. Then it ended with a blast - series of fireworks! And it was totally free! The performance was totally worth the entrance fees! A must watch if you go there!:)

Day 6:

• Our self-declared relaxed day!
• Yummy dim sum breakfast overlooking HK Island (TST)
• Shopping @ Ladies Street and Fa Yuen Street (Mongkok)
  These 2 streets are much more interesting than Temple Street! Shall spend more time there if I revisit HK again:) And Wai Kei finally found his street food there!:)

Day 7:

Bye HK~

And home sweet home!:)