saw these beautiful carpets at chinatown today. chinese new year is a tiring affair but i guess i like the annual concentrated amount of time spent with my relatives - even though some of us have drifted apart, and some weirdos are present (as with every family). it’s the dragon year too, and i feel weirdly privileged to be one. apart from those tenous early academic years of course

superoldgranny:

For French Class, We’re supposed to prepare a ‘blague’ each haha

i would like to hear your blague!! are you taking at alliance francais?

hahaha from chewy

no i am not a workaholic

work has been nothing short of crazy..i can’t say much about it so i keep saying it’s crazy/i’m stressed - to the point when i wish i can actually bring work home to complete. but this sentiment is short term (for sure), since work-life balance and not thinking about work once i leave the office is always preferred.

everything is overwhelming. everyone tells me that it is the end of the year/festive season so there should be a lull period..but i think in the government service there is no fixed lull period. many things are planned months ahead, so at the end of the year you start doing things for the next year. and there’s the last minute stuff, and the daily things that are routine.

i should really learn to catch my breath but when you receive so many different calls (and have to make an equal number of calls) about each detail of 10 different things that are happening, and coordinate amongst so many different parties, who might not necessarily know what is happening - it can be quite the nightmare. and on top of that you have to send/receive an email for everything that’s said over the phone. and of course make sure your bosses are pleased with your work, and you have to listen to them even though you don’t think what they said is best, and overall make sure you don’t step on people’s toes and offend them. given that i’m only 4 months into the job, and stumbling around in things that even very experienced people (like my boss, or my boss’ boss) have no idea of protocol/SOPs (oh, that acronym) - that and the higher ups going off on leave - makes for a nightmare.

can’t wait to take leave on friday! even though next monday is a public holiday, i’m getting weirded out by myself because all i’m thinking is that it’s one working day lost leading up to an extremely packed january work schedule. that’s problematic

12 arty parodies of the beloved christmas tree

(Source: ummhello)

people + things i miss, a lot

sigh

yesterday during a rare lull period at work, i spent my time checking out books from bookdespository.co.uk. since they were books that i couldn’t find/would be exorbitant in singapore, it was very pleasing to look at my order form and feel this weird sense of anticipation for when they arrive at my doorstep. and since i was feeling happy about it, i decided to share my joy..only to be met with a judgmental “WAH!” (no prizes for guessing who) after being interrogated on “are they cheap” and “how many did you buy”. i could literally see the mental sums (on how much i spent) being done.

the answers to the 2 questions are: no they are not that cheap, at least $17 per book, and i bought 11 books; hence the aforementioned reaction. i felt like as though i had to justify myself, and my mom doesn’t even expect this of me now that i’m working. i’m not a spendthrift, and i save a significant portion of my salary each month, BUT WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN MY PURCHASES, and WHY AM I BEING MADE TO FEEL GUILTY!! must be dirt cheap then can buy is it

sorry for my (temporary, but recurrent) angst

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

Letter Four (16 July 1903) by Rainer Maria Rilke

i couldn’t resist reblogging

(Source: bougiehoneycut)

comfort food

since i’ve been sick for the past few days, i decided it was high time to look through my nigella’s kitchen cookbook. some culinary experimentation is in order!

have also been reading Paris Was Ours - a collection of short stories/observations by 32 international writers on the City of Light - something i was given for my birthday. so far it has been nothing short of lovely.