Bali getaway March 2011

Bali was great! On a different scale from the honeymoon of course, but still great with the gang. Highlights of our 3D 2N getaway ... 1) Bali Dream Villa - we booked 2 villas, each with 4 and 3 bedrooms with private pools ... Bali villas are affordable luxury! 2) Sunset @ Rock Bar at Ayana Resort 3) Visiting my favourite temple in Bali for the 2nd time

4) Sunset on the Bali Hai cruise boat

5) Morning breeze at Tanah Lot

The past 6 months

• Went to Phuket for the first time, and watched girls spit goldfishes not from their mouths
• Fell quite deeply in love with German beer and all things German - this is one place I would love to return to, one of the best trips of my life
• Rode a bicycle (not the stationary ones in the gym) for the first time in 15 years, and was thankful I still remember how to ride
• Got my very first Apple product - the iPad (thanks boss!)
• Made the biggest purchase of my life and am looking forward to enjoying it
• Left my boss after 8 years, and started a new job
• Experienced a sleepless night for the first time in my life - looks like my stress levels have never really been tested prior to this
• Picked up the badminton racquet for the first time in 20 years! Am feeling it today, 2 days later, but boy does it feel good to know that my racquet can still meet the shuttlecock :)

Only 18 posts in 2010! But had a great year of travelling (my bank account doesn't thank me though) and great experiences (authentic nasi kerabu in Kota Bharu woohoo!, learnt sudoku, Glee-fied my life, experienced firsthand the mass density of China at the Expo, tried but failed at capoeira, went for my 1st yoga class).

Am hoping that 2011 will be as good, maybe better. Here's to another year of new experiences, adventure and spiritual growth :)

The end of the first week. My productivity levels have increased by leaps and bounds. The workstation is not the best in its class, but it suffices, for the moment. Thank goodness pest control came in the week before I started work. My neighbour said it was a haven for my "best friends" before that. So far, I haven't seen any grown ones - just little baby ones I could snuff out with tissue paper. So that's alright. Having downgraded myself on so many physical levels - open car park, having to pay that on my own, a partition-less workstation, no computer speakers, lack of so many researching / brochure facilities - it's amazing how I managed to get out so many reports on time this week. But I guess maybe the lack of those physical boundaries (or distractions) improved my focus? Or, just being put in a new environment did it. My brain juice has been squeezed dry this week. Cannot type eloquently - especially with constant drilling going on in the neighbouring office lot. All those aside, am appreciating the amount of learning I can pick up from the new bosses. It's gonna be a good ride.

Okay, today is November. My one week of being a housewife was fully utilized for housewifely duties. And the house isn't even fully spring-cleaned yet okay. It was just the kitchen cabinets, a store cupboard, the linen cupboard, half my wardrobe (or maybe not even half), the entire 2nd room (which still looks like a store room). Sigh. Being a housewife is a full-time job.

And now that my full-time job has started, housewife-ing can take a back seat. And that goes for the trip photos and travelogues, not gonna happen nope.

Today's first day at a new desk, new office, new parking lot, new boss, new colleagues. It's interesting. I'm happy :)

Watch this space for:-

• Shanghai in early June
• Perhentian in mid-June
• Kota Kinabalu in July
• Phuket in August
• Munich in September

Yes, those are the reasons why I neglected this space, and why I cannot afford to belanja you makan when you're in town.

This year has turned out to be rather (happily) unexpected. Starting off with that whirlwind trip to Angkor Wat in March, and then into several other great trips - and a couple of meaningful life events (I know I'm fat but no I'm not pregnant and yes I shall go to the gym more and eat less but then what's the point of working so hard if you can't indulge?!).

All coming up in mini-spates before November (you will find out soon enough why November is so significant). 2010 is turning out to be an awesome year :)