What were they thinking?

First making their 'appearance' on Thursday, I was initially at loss for words that I didn't even think of taking pictures of them (yes, that was how shocking it was!) at that time. So during a quick visit to the hospital this morning, I thought I'd share this with everyone..

A few points to make. Firstly, this is a hospital, not a hotel. Hardly appropriate. And the chandeliers...oh my..not sure what to make of them but several words come to mind: loud, garish, gaudy, excessive, tacky and the list goes on.

On a positive side, at least the hospital will look brighter than ever before *LOL*

More guilty pleasures

The past couple of days have seen me revert back to my rather embarassingly guilty pleasure: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Actually I'm not even sure calling it a guilty pleasure is the correct term seeing how I have this love-hate relationship with soaps where B&B is no exception. However with the shortened working hours during this particular month, the lure of B&B is simply too strong to resist particularly when a) one wants to kill time before the breaking of the fast, or b) there's nothing remotely 'interesting' on tv, althoughI can just hear some of you smirking or scratching your head, thinking "What could be less interesting than B&B???"

Here's why: where else can you find plots and relationships that are complicated, ludricous, far-fetching and dare I say, incestuous. Case in point: Brooke Logan Forrester - formerly married to Eric Forrester (the patriarch of the Forrester family), then married Eric's son, Ridge Forrester followed by Nick Marone, who was in a relationship with Brooke's daughter with Eric (Ashley, who is also Ridge's half sister) only to realise that she (Brooke) was still in love with Nick, who then got together with Ridge's ex wife, Tyler, with whom he (Nick) had a baby only to discover that the baby had Brooke's DNA (mix-up of eggs or something of the sort), and now she (Tyler) is seeing Rick (Brooke's son with Ridge) despite Tyler's daugther (with Ridge), Phoebe being helplessly in love with Rick. And that's probably not even half of the whole story!

Now how could you resist ALL THAT?

And one of the cool things about watching these shows is how you can jump in any time and learn the background (well not the complete background but you get what I mean) of the plotline within days!

Stuck?

"Stuck in Wrong Career"

A published survey in Singapore reports that more than half of the workers in Singapore have regrets about what they chose to study during their stints in school, polytechnics or universities, with one in three respondents also (being) uncertain about their ultimate career choices and about 10 per cent saying they definitely selected the wrong career.

Without dissecting the credibility of this survey (and plenty others similar to this too), I can't help but agree with the above headline.

Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to be what-I'm-currently-doing (though it's pretty hazy as to when that ambition came to fruition). It's just that lately I've been questioning my enthusiasm and motivation, often wondering whether I'm in the wrong career, whether I'll get out of this rut and whether I'm brave enough to venture out into other fields (bearing in mind the responsibilities that I have taken up since I started work almost 8 years ago).

As much as I'd like to be able to look into my future via a crystal ball, at the end of the day it all boils down to me and whether I'm willing to take the risk or continue being miserable or demotivated for the next couple of years..

Unforgettable

I recall the day I received the phone call from one of my superiors. Asked me whether I'd be available on so-and-so dates. Unsure of how to reply mainly 'cos I was intending to submit my leave application, I ended up saying "nothing planned". Now technically that wasn't true since the so-and-so dates happened to fall during the week of my brother's wedding and I was intending to take time off to help my folks out with the preparations..but theoretically becos I had yet to submit my application, one could argue my reply was valid. Anyway turned out I was nominated by my boss to attend some workshop in New Delhi, India on those so-and-so dates. Shocked and speechless I was on a fence. How could my boss do this to me?? And of all places, India??!!??

Now I've heard stories about India from friends so I wasn't sure what to expect out of this trip. Armed with plenty of bottled water, Indo Mees and the likes and other snacks which I thought might come in handy in the event I got tired of the local food, I was sorta all set to go. Travelling with a colleague via Malaysia, the flight took almost half a day, not forgetting to mention completely full of Indian nationals (it's amazing how these group of 3-4 year old kids managed to stay awake for the duration of the 6-hour flight by yakking away like nobody's business!), that we only arrived sometime around 9 pm (India time..we're 2 hrs 30 minutes ahead so go figure that one out..). As we arrived at night, there wasn't much to see as we made our way to the hotel aside from the occasional locals walking along the pavements (or lack thereof) although I was hoping to see people sleeping on the streets/pavements, which there were none much to my disappointment.

Now usually prior to my travel, I'd go to the 'net to check out the hotel and its surrounding area..like, say whether there were any nearby shops or famous tourist attractions. This trip was one of those exceptions. All I knew, from my itinerary sent by the organiser of the workshop, was that we'd be staying at the Inter-Continental. With a well-known name as that, I figured we'd at least be staying at some four-star hotel so my concerns about hygiene, food, water and safety weren't that grave in the first place. So imagine my surprise (completely!) when this was how our rooms looked like. This was definitely not a four-star hotel!

Yes, that is the toilet..

Look at that big flat-screen tv!

The nice toilet sink

And check out the universal sockets which could be found within 1m of each other - my last count was 4 - how smart is that? To think my colleague and I were worried about the hotel not having any universal adaptors *hahaha*

Aren't they cool?

Currently undergoing renovation, our only gripe about the hotel was the slowness of the elevators coupled with the absence of any indicators which meant that if you missed a lift, you'd have to wait another 5 minutes til the next one comes along! Other than that, with facilities such as the 24-hour business centre and gym, salon and spa, restaurants and bar, and delightful shops selling jewellery and other local items most notably sarees and pashminas, it would be a shame not to make use of at least some of the facilities..let's just say, I woke up all fresh and energetic after a good Indian massage the day before.

TBC

Dreaming...of Cambodia

I could be checking out these places this week but for a couple of boo-boos down at the office today..

..or perhaps it just wasn't meant to be this time round.

All images Lonely Planet Images.