- the heavenly princess of ESPRIT -

chic. urban. contemporary.

esprit.

Esprit Clothing has an interesting history to it.

Selling homemade clothes at the back of their station wagon while traveling through California, Susie and Doug Tompkins unwittingly started a worldwide business. Despite an unconventional method of selling - from the back seat of a vehicle, their very first customers were delighted by the quality clothing that they sold which ultimately came to be known as Esprit apparel.

Esprit apparel has a certain elegance to the name as well.

A team of international designers translates the Esprit attributes into regular collections

self-confidently, naturally, stylishly and sensually: twelve collections are produced for six order dates per year and product line for Women Collection, Men Casual, Kids, edc youth, Shoes + Accessories and Esprit Sports Women, Men + Kids.

IT IS CONFIRMED...

Dear Quintessential Readers,

How r u getting on? Hopefully all is well in our land of crapperness and craziness. I'm writing in to let u noe that it is confirmed. N what u may ask is confirmed?

This, my readers... is confirmed. My address.

M3-4-1, Merville Residences, ----> this has been changed to M13-2-1
University College Dublin Belfield,
Dublin 4,
Ireland.

And, i'll be leaving for Dublin in.. less than 2 weeks! OMG! lots to be done, lots have been bought. I'm just waiting for the time where i get my @$ to the luggage and start packing!

Sadly, my IPOH trip is cancelled.. no more nga choi kai, hoisin mien & dim sum till 2008.

Sadly also, my GENTING trip is cancelled.. no more motion masters, corkscrew, spaceshot, watever coasters till 2008.

I made a new friend too, my housemate-to-be .. Apparently, her name's also J-A-M-I-E ! thats very coincidental.. and she's almost 3 years younger than me! tsk tsk. i'm old. *sighs*

Lotsa lurve,
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Love For Hoops

*There is a tide in the affairs of men ... which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ...
But omitted, and the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries ...
On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves ...
... ... Or lose the venture before us ... ...*

18-8-07 ... My first ever basketball tournament. One word to describe it - Ecstatic, ... and a lil disappointing. Okay, well, TWO.
Weird way to describe isnt it?

I've always loved playing basketball. the thrill of throwing the ball into the hoops is sometimes, rather indescribable. yes. its an indescribable feeling. some can do it effortlessly, while some, try throwing all their life, will still miss the hoop. This challenge, i would say, is d best part of the game. "It doesn't mean anything if you can't knock down that shot"

When i got to ViTrox, everyONE was already there, all ready and pumped up. JW got the ball rolling in d opening ceremony by hooping a basketball. Now I can see that he's really an all-rounder, not just from what I've heard from those around me... lol ! He's truly a rare-breed rite? Good in everything? *sighs* if only, if only... i can find one like that.. *slouchs*

Lost my opening game, won the next two, and lost the last. Sadly, it was one game short to qualify for the semis. To say the least, I didnt choose my team. It was fate, and luck from a lil thing we call - draw lots! Cant say i like my team, and i cant say i dislike it either. Its just one i wont choose if i had the choice... To evaluate, they probably see me as the weakest link, I'm not sure.. cos that guy, that STOOPID guy, that i kinda had mutual dislike for him, from d very beginning i set my eyes on him (not that i want to), NEVER passes d BALL to me. n the way he played, its like he nvr had d word "TEAMWORK" in his dictionary! He shoots air balls, passes air balls, and dribbles like crap. SHIT him! He nvr bothered to rotate, n the worst part, when Desmond hit d ball to him, delibrately, I accidentally covered for him! TWICE! &%$%#&#%$ *my head hurts badly now* imagine.. Desmond, DESMOND's STRENGTH! *ouch* i'm sure it wouldnt matter to hit his fat-ladden body.. (ok, i noe this is a lil too much, sorry!) well, if its any consolation, my other 2 team mates were nice. they played well. kudos!

one of d nice parts of d day, was getting to play wif 2 beautiful gems, Jia Yi & Jia Hui. ahh.. u noe how much i love children, cute ones especially.. i can just play with children non-stop, whole day and still feel energised at the end of it... well, i was kinda close wif the younger sis, Jia Yi. at first she was kinda quiet and reserved, but after that, she was nice. played ball with her. and she HUGGED me three times. that was nice aite? it shows i broke the invisible barrier she built around herself... i love hugs from kiddies. like those from my nephews Maximus, Sydney n Brandon, or Lorraine or even like those reluntant ones from E-Vien! lol.

after the game, went to a light meal at Hongkie with some of the guys - CK, Chen Chung, Desmond, Dar, & Chit Hun. Chit Hun's this new fren i got to noe from the paintball activity earlier.. kinda nice guy, and treated all of us at Hongkie... speaking about food, had dinner at Eastern Wishes at i-avenue. food there is quite impressive, of which the basil chicken, brinjal and claypot seafood is highly recommended. of cos, the mouth-watering black sesame tong yuan at Red Chopsticks is one that leaves me wanting for more !

I told myself years ago, "I'm gonna be a doctor." So, i could not play sports that harms my arms and my hands. I could not wrestle, and couldn't do anything physical but basketball. And I wasn't really that good. I'd just kind of knock people around on the court, that was my little claim to fame.
Baskteball is my passion it always will. All the passions are nothing else than different degrees of heat and cold of the blood. It's not just a game, it's an addiction ...

what is gone, is gone ...

as of today, the look that made me, me, my japanese-korean look... is gone. yes, gone.

went over to grace's salon this morning for a haircut to 'discipline' my unkempt japanese style wavy-curly hair. while we were discussing what style to cut, i spitted out these words, "straighten hair how much ah?" whoa.. from then on, the ball started rolling !

2 and half hours later, voila! a whole new different me .. fringe's kinda long though but she said if she trimmed it would look lopsided so i hafta, HAVE TO bear with my fringe keep dropping down to my nose n cover half my face.. argh.. i really like short fringe !! :S hopefully, my hair wont bring along dirt and clog my pores around that area.. otherwise .....

maybe i should google fann wong and see some of her styles cos she always spots a nice straight silky long hair. oh ya, my head never felt this LIGHT before ! n my hair.. OMG, is NEVER EVER this silky soft.. i love d feel of it. =)

I'm NOT Forgetting The Old

time flies.

'm leaving to dublin on sept 4th.

new friends come.

but old ones, i will never forget u all.

thats my promise.

pau, u're my longest closest fren since std 1,

ups n downs, highs n lows,

we've gone thru so much together,

if i ever forget or turn my back on u,

pls.. slap me in d face!

panda, u're my bestest fren since std 6,

together, we achieve our dreams in med,

graduate from different unis,

but our aims n goals remain d same,

just as our frenship will be.

yy (yingyi), u're 1 of d unique-est fella i ever noe,

crazy n acuh tak acuh,

but still a reincarnated einstein,

ever since u haf lwei,

cuci mata wif u is not fun anymore,

cos ur eyes haf so called opened to one n him only!

phingy, my 1st ever fren in std 1 in CGL,

that time u were ever so pewny..

of cos i was not much different,

but at least now i am bigger, n still growing.

life in sabah sux big time,

dont worry, relax n take on each day with courage,

4 years (or 3?) will pass quickly,

the birdclub will always stand by u.

ejian, my oldest baby.

wat happened to all those LONG phone conversations?

tsk tsk

u're always d fashionable one,

those trips on ur kompressor... memang membanggakan!

*friends forever - to be continued~

If Only I Could Turn Back Time....

.... There's really nothing much in this WORLD that I would change ......

Just exactly 4 hours ago, I had one of d BEST times in my life. My farewell at ViTrox. It was, BITTERSWEET.

<----- OMG, this is exactly how I am feeling right now




AND .......... ------------------------->





Bitter because I'm leaving a really great company. Sweet because, uh, well, my Ou Xiang was there, n a whole lot of really really good pals n phew... TONNES of SEAFOOD! LoL..

At first, i thought he wasnt gonna make it becos of d interview n other 'obstacles' but alas, OMG, i was so relieveed n GLAD to see him walking down d staircase to d door of d restaurant. i was so 'pek chek' k! they were all so hungry. i really didnt know wat to do at that time at d beginning. even this was wat Sooks said, "James! If I were u, n that was Steven, I will feel so so so so TOUCHED!" ok, i'm being jiwang. but but... it was really sweet.. he doesnt really go to farewells. n he even ended d interview in like.. 45 mins k!? when it usually takes 2 hrs! HAHAHA .. urgh! *perasan!*

so we talk talk talk talk.... n *cheers-ed* n that was how d nite ended. with lotsa loud laughters, pictures taken n bonds tightened. JULY 30 2007, 7.30 - 8.30 pm will forever remain in my heart. My world spinned n spinned n stopped. captured. cherished. always.

天堂来的孩子

honestly, i have never really liked taiwanese dramas, until i came across this show on AEC.. THE KID FROM HEAVEN. the ad 1st caught my attention becuse of the lil boy who acted in it and also the younger Zhang Xing He...

lol! Anyways, this song, caught my attention too.. *not too sure how to translate it* but, i guess it sounds good, the words meaningful, good words or inspiration for a bright and better future. more of hope after a certain disappointment.....

title's 黑夜明天 .

artist's Li Wei

走过无声的夜　

zou guo wu sheng de ye (walking in the silent night)

自己的夜

zi ji de ye (alone at night)

总有未知的路

zhong you wei zhi de lu (there are always uncertainties in our paths)　

映入眼前

ying ru yan qian (pathways are in front of our eyes)

映入眼前的画面　

ying ru yan qian de hua mian (the pictures of the pathways)

是不太熟悉

shi bu tai shu xi (is not too familiar)

你的味　

ni de wei (your taste)

草原

cao yuan (in a wide field)

疲惫的心情　

pi bei de xin qing (feeling exhausted)

总带点思念

zhong dai dian si nian

老是流浪的人啊　

lao shi liu lang de ren a

带着几许的倦

dai zhe ji xu de juan (carrying along our tiredness)

那熟悉的妳的脸　

na shu xi de ni de lian (the familiarity on your face)

在脑海的深处依旧清晰可见

zai nao hai de shen chu yi jiu qing xi ke jian (the images deep inside the bottom of the mind is clearer than before)

想了多少遍　

xiang le duo shao bian (think till many times)

回忆的面前

hui yi de yan qian (try to remember in our eyes)

默默逃出的泪滴　

mo mo tao chu de lei di (as tears roll down our eyes silently)

忽然闪烁了这一夜

hu ran shan shuo le zhi yi ye (this dark period of time will eventually be bright)

黑夜总会过去　

hei ye zhong hui guo qu (dark times will pass)

明天不会再逃避

ming tian bu hui zai tao bi (tomorrow cannot escape from truth anymore)

在旅途中只需要听见勇气的言语

zai liu tu zhong zhi xu yao ting jian yong gan de yan yu (we need to haf the courage in listening and talking in our journey thru life)

这暴雨落的多狂急　

zhe bao yu luo de duo kuang ji (anticipate the storm that lies ahead)

也不曾阻碍向前的决心

ye bu ceng zhu ai xiang qian de jue xin (always look ahead with determination)

只能走向前去　

zhi neng zou xiang qian qu (only can continue walking forward)

跳入未知的秘密

tiao ru wei zhi de mi mi (going into the unknown)

在天空里融化那此刻阻挡的乌云

zai tian kong li rong hua na ci ke zu dang de wu yun (overcoming each difficulties that are faced) – melt every cloud in the sky that is in our way

小小蒲公英的世界里　

xiao xiao pu gong ying de shi jie li (small dandelions in the world)

总有　

zong you (always has)

无懈可击的勇气

wu xie ke ji de yong qi (the strength of overcoming something difficult or impossible)

The Kid From Heaven shows love in its purest form in the relationship of Zhang Xing He & He Hai Yun. if love between two can beome so deep... *sigh* they saw the best of each other, that no one else can ever see or feel. at the age of 18, they tied the knot.. but nvr lived happily because of the many objections and other challenges they face. they sacrifice willingly for a better life and love each other unconditionally. all these just so they can be together. if love is this pure, this special, this wonderful, this great; treasure the best of everything in it.

*interpretations are specially for my friends who dunno chinese like me.. but i somehow managed to translate this... weeeee~!

~Itadakimasu~

It's rather amusing to know that people in the last century can ever think out some very beautiful quotes.. It's even more amusing to know that the people of the Rennaisance are able to come up with the many many mind-boggling scientific and mathematical solutions. Earlier last year i joined a contest on lenoardo da vinci to win a trip to paris for 2.. unfortunately, my slogan wasnt good enough to win. however there were some interesting points pointed out by my baby gurl ej..
first, was leo himself. how was he able to become an astrologer, physicist, 'mathematicist', artist, architect, engineer .. bla bla .. ALL in ONE lifetime? weird isnt it? well, in ej's opinion, he employed a group of skilled workers n shot them dead after that, n claim d work as his. *sigh* all d time, he just sun bathed at his backyard!

- George Bernard Shaw, an Irish dramatist and socialist (1856 - 1950) once said, "There is no love sincerer than the love of food!"

Today's a day of FOOD... ok, LATELY! Mum's been complaining that I'm eating a tad too much n thus growing fatter and fatter each day. I say, "Fat GOOD wat! More prosperous! U see, all the prosperous GODs are fat! Laughing Buddha (rubs my tummy), Santa Claus, Chai Sheng Yeh ! Right? Right?" lol

Lunch today was a treat by ViTrox's Finance Controller Mr Khaw. He's just this really nice gentleman who holds doors for ladies and treats you occasionally. Pretty good in 'suan-ing' though. lol. Went over to Teo Chew Meng's. Had a big bowl of mee sua tau, lotsa boiled sotong, deep fried shiitake mushrooms, kerabu mango, tomyam maggi mee, and best of all, PROPERITY OYSTER NOODLES! i miss d oyster noodles at sg pinang. paulynn, when u're back, or rather i'm back, we shall go there ok? overall, food's there not bad. I'd give it a 3 over 5 rating.

Dinner today was a treat by yet another ViTroxian, Desmond our Service Engineer. We went for SEAFOOD ! oh, heaven! true to the typical chinese cuisine, it was cheap and good! with a whole lot of good view of the sea too. we ordered - 2 pieces of cod fish, juicy succulent heh kor, mee teow, 2 'taste'? no, urm, 2 style! chicken and prawns, and 2 types of veg. wow! and did i mention it was only 4 of us, i, desmond, weng chew and emily. n all this for only rm 115 ! my rating - 4 over 5 !

Last week, i had DURIAN buffet at balik pulau. i really need to say this : The XO brand durian is the best so far i've eaten! Real XO smell. I even heard Wee Hong quoting, "Now, this IS what I call Durian!" ;'p lol !
and d next day, went over to Gram's. Had some smacking hot bowl of hokkien mee in d morning, best indian curry in d world with huge prawns and sotong for lunch, and indian curry again for dinner. Gram's cooking is d best. My rating : 5 over 5. except for the occasional generous amount of oil she puts in.

Really looking forward to next week, another round of seafood at batu maung's. it's gonna be my farewell at ViTrox and quite a number of people are joining. Spider promised me he'd go too. JOY! Yipee! and siao ying's plotting the seats there. lol! fingers crossed, i hope her plottings go exactly the way it will. Till then, Itadakimasu! Tuck In !

= Good food ends with good talk =

... The Funny, The Weird & The Blur ...

Kahlil Gibran once wrote - In the sweetness of friendship; let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed

I was rummaging through the files on my PC, n KABOOM, i found something!

it has been almost 4 years since i left CGL.

as a tribute to this 4 years of much learning of independence, i've decided to share

this piece of unpublished article on 5 Arif once wrote by the reincarnated Einstein of CGL ...

Everything explains for itself ... Here goes.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ORIGINAL

by Ho Ying Yi

5 Arif. 5 Arif. 5 Arif. The sole class which when mentioned, lights a spark of fear in every living educator's eyes in CGL. The sole class in which, pandemonium and destruction reigns. Well, there's an exception to every case. In this case, the exception is our disciplinary teacher, Miss Ang, of course. In the staffroom, the teachers scream like banshees; pull their hair; chew their nails; and do everything you would never imagine a civilized educator would do. Try and make a wild guess; what, or who, has such great influence to make dignified teachers behave so?

Well, common sense tells you. None other than 5 Arif.

So, to make a long story short, let's just say that I am here to make a brief introduction to 5 Arif. Proud to say, (or as you might have guessed) that I am proud to be a part of the brats in 5 Arif. Now, you can make up your mind for yourself whether 5 Arif consists of angels… or devils.
Let's start with our dear monitor, Tan Cheah Yin. A change in the leading position has certainly done 5 Arif good; we have grown more mature by caring for a court jester instead of her leading us. Oops, just kidding. Trying to keep up with her is the more docile Nadiah, our assistant monitor. With both of them, the class is managed just fine. On behalf of my class, I am obliged to give a sincere apology and show appreciation for their hard work. Lots of thank yous and sorry!
The three people who help Cheah Yin remain sane are none other than her 3 loyal friends, May Swee, Soo Peng and Wei Phing. Unlike their ‘bloodthirsty’ mafia leader, they are considerably quiet and well-disposed, except when their friend starts to go crazy. Not unlike the relationship between Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and (hate to mention him) Wormtail. Together, they bear Cheah Yin's wrath when she gets a bit too hot.( Oh no!) Next, we go to Loshna, Khaiteri and Safiah, the “YO PEOPLE!” gang. These people are undeniably fun-lovers, and they keep up with the hip and the happening. Fashion, music, and (wow, early planning) prospective colleges comprise only a few of their interests.

Ooooh, next on the list, are the future beauty queens setting their eyes on the Miss World beauty pageant, Winnie and Yen Li. Armed with compacts, make up and hair clips, they set out to conquer the world. Their ‘so-called faithful sidekicks’, Wen Yen and Amanda are actually their archenemies, sabotaging their many attempts. Pn. Pramot, you should be happy people actually pay attention during BM, since they are taking after the footsteps of Sang Rajuna Tapa… “Aku ada belot dari dalam kota.” Forgive me, I’m exaggerating. Radiant and elegant, they are the pride of 5 Arif (Oh my gosh, ignore that previous sentence, teachers. If you get me, according to the teachers, the pride of 5 Arif is the next group coming up).

Brains galore! Audrey, Hui Ann, Kiran, Mandy and Ju Bee are the Einsteins. The rest of us can just watch hopelessly and grow green with envy as they score a close to perfect score for Add Maths and Physics. Word has been going around, a brain transplant is currently being planned. Of course you can guess who the victims of this horrendous project are. Well, apart from her brains, Audrey is also the 'mummy' of the class. And guess what, she goes line dancing and plays quite a number of musical instruments! (Ever thought you heard of a genius before? Well, she's a genuine one.) Well, maybe smart people tend to be a bit dreamy, like Hui Ann). Kiran's laughter sometimes frightens us out of our skins, especially when it comes unexpected. Mandy, our head prefect is very much revered by juniors, but when it comes to us… we should know better, we bully her the whole day round. And we have Ju Bee, the adorable prefect who can crap non-stop if in the right company.

Always together, Harpreet and Pei Yi are associated with Siamese twins (although from two different races, MUHIBAH, as we say) Although Harpreet has migrated to Canada, we 5 Arifans will always remember her…(awww, a hint of nostalgia here…Look Harpreet, I put you in!) Felicia, Mrs. Lim Yen Lee's daughter, joins them to make up The Three Musketeers. A perfect example of how opposites attract.

We shall now adjourn to Sabrina, Samantha, Sharon, Grace and Eunice. These people are hell-bent on converting the workroom into their second home. They form the top committee of the Board of Librarians (except Grace, but willing to help anytime, anyday) and face nothing but books, books and more books the whole day long.
Let’s see, the trendy ones, the geniuses, the contradicting ones, the ‘bookie’ ones… next are the sporty ones! Khai Ven, Li Lynn, Jo Ween, not forgetting Hui Ann, are the basketball and chess maniacs. They play sports like they eat laksa. Chew as fast as they pass, slurp as accurately as they shoot, and gobble as fast as they checkmate.

No surprises there if they eat laksa, sleep basketball, and drink chess.
Chee Mei, the prefect one calls hardworking, always finishes her homework on time (Hey, 5 Arifans, I gave you a tip on who to borrow homework and notes from!). Ainaa, Norhayati, Nadiah and Syazlina are those who actually bother to discuss homework given by our teachers apart from the nerds (Hey, don’t get me wrong, it's not that we don’t discuss our homework, but they do it around… erm… ok, ok! Twice as much as the rest!) But, who knows…

Air yang tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya. We have yet to discover the many

hidden talents inside these virtuous souls.

Next come Paulynn, Charmine, Janice, Joanna, Jessena and Ying Yi. These people look saintly, but believe me, they are actually not. Janice, the president of Red Crescent, is the one who comes to aid when people are sick and injured. Hooray! Three cheers for Janice! Charmine is the Good Samaritan … just call for help and she'll give it to you. Whereas Joanna, who is as thin as a stick, is always diagnosed to have anorexia nervosa (but in her case, she wants to get fatter, not grow thinner! Now, isn't that a challenging case for those future psychiatrists out there to tackle?). Jessena is the hardworking one, the provider of homework to be handed in the next day. Paulynn keeps us updated with the latest gossip, since she has this supernatural ability to hear a mile around. Haha… now comes Ying Yi, always laughing for no apparent reason. Any 5 Arifans or suspicious teachers ever wondered where some intriguing, not-so-birdlike sounds came from during certain ‘strategic’ lessons? If you haven’t already guessed,

she was the culprit.

Well, that just about sums up the attitude of my class, 5 Arif. Anyone agrees that we are one in a million? But, no matter what, we 5 Arifans have one thing in common, to TRY to please and be pleased. Now, I said TRY, didn't I? And, last but not least, we aim to

achieve outstanding results in our SPM 2004!!! Look out there teachers;

this is going to be the class out for record-breaking!

- in class

- prom 2004

The One With The Candles

from top: jean, me, yy. from bottom: xiao ti, esmond, ryan n terh ren

C.E.M. Joad once said, "Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age"

here's wishing esmond a very happy birthday! =)

looking at the quote, i can't help but agree with most parts of it. after pondering into it, i came up with 2 interpretations.

first, it says that man, while getting older "turns" to vinegar! you see, i have heard from lucas that there are 2 tragedies in life. one is to lose it and the other is to gain it. sometimes in our pursuit for fame and name as we grow older, we forget what is most important : family n friends! so in this lil pursuit for wealth, our friends become our enemies, our families turn our back on us. money, becomes our best friend! this, is when man becomes vinegar...

second, man improves with age. as we celebrate more birthdays, we become a little wiser and a little smarter. we appreciate all that's around us and love those people close to us dearly and more unconditionally. thinking that its already mid-july, coming to august, i am very very much gonna treat those close to my heart better. i promise i will watch less tv and less msn just to spend more time with u all! weee..

that aside, yesterday was a rather special day... finally met up with my new friends - Jean, Jo, Esmond, Ryan n Terh Ren ! It was a day of much talking and eating. Full digestion.

Georges Clemenceau once said, "Everything I know I learned after I was thirty"

yes, esmond, we noe u r NOT YET 30!