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Bad decisions make good stories. And I always have a good story.

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All good things — and feeling like shit

Obviously not feeling like a ray of sunshine yet I feel like I have to act happy for everyone else’s sake. But faking happiness is so tiring and doesn’t help at all so I don’t want to do that either. I should be thrilled though, because lots of good things happened in January. But I’m not, so why pretend to be. Still, they are worth a mention…

I guess if there’s one good thing that came out of everything that happened last year, it’s that I buried myself in work as a distraction and at least that paid off.

SPH masquerade party

1. Ushered in 2016 with a masquerade-themed Start Of The Year Party for Digital Division. Was in the organising committee and the best part was getting dibs on the buffet dinner before all the guests arrived HAHA.

We also had an awards ceremony. Stomp won one out of two awards that we got nominated for so I was really happy because everyone has been working so hard.

Heard that my editor nominated me for the ‘Behind-The-Scenes Wonder’ Award which was a huge surprise. I didn’t get shortlisted which is fine as the admin and IT people are the true heroes who deserve way more recognition. Editorial isn’t really behind the scenes.

But just the gesture and thought alone is enough because now I know that all the effort I have invested hasn’t gone unnoticed :’)

Gorgeous shot straight out of @estelliarmus’s ?… Our hilltop villa is amazingly huge and ??

A photo posted by Cherlynn (@twiinklex) on

2. Went on a short weekend getaway to Montigo Resorts in Batam with Estelle, Jeremy and CK. So happy that I booked a hillside villa but somehow we were given a hilltop villa (better view) when we were there 😀

The villa was crazy huge even for four of us (private infinity pool, living room, kitchenette and bathroom downstairs, then two bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs) so it was kinda jaw-dropping. And the service is impeccable.

singapore to batam holiday

Really nice for all of us to be away from the bustle of work even if it was just two days and one night. The seafood there was so cheap and awesome that we went back the very next day and ordered one crab each.

A bit angry with myself though because I had an accident (for lack of a better word) at night so I woke up on the villa’s living room floor despite the huge beds and plush couches everywhere, and even missed the free breakfast.

Definitely coming back, but hopefully less stupid next time.

SPH presslines

3. Got featured on SPH Presslines, which is like the company’s monthly magazine-newsletter thing. I actually did the email interview at the very start of the year but I didn’t want to say anything until it was actually published.

I don’t know why they chose a nobody like me but it was quite an honour, considering that there was several Somebodies like Glenn Ong and Flying Dutchman who got featured as well. My chief editor also joked that I got more space than our Division Head lol.

SPH New Year resolutions

Hard not to return to school now that everyone knows about it???

4. Got a promotion and because we are focusing on a performance-driven culture, the bonus I received was really generous too. When I told Kenneth, he said that back-to-back promotions are “extremely rare”.

Actually I didn’t think I would get a promotion since I had already gotten one last year. So I was feeling a bit sad when the announcement period was nearing because I felt like it was probably my turn to take a back seat and give other people a chance, even though I feel that I have been working my ass off every day and contributing so much.

Truly grateful to my editor for everything (it is pretty much all because of him and his glowing appraisals). CK calls me the “golden child” lol.

shilifang

Life’s been pretty crazy the past two weeks though. As you can tell from my Presslines feature, I have a few roles at work = loads to do. Currently working on multiple products/campaigns etc so stress is at a maximum.

Things were so overwhelming at one point that I spent the night in the office three Wednesdays ago. Had lots to work on so I went back to office even though it was my day off. Rushed off to dinner with my family (nearly skipped it) then returned to office again.

sph office

This was us at 3am HAHA. I was only done at 5am, then I went to take a nap before continuing my usual morning shift the following day.

Note that this is completely voluntary and nobody asked me to stay behind. I just wanted to finish my work and it was a hassle (waste of money plus time) to cab home and then come back in like two hours.

sph office at night

Wanted to take a shower on the other side of the building before sleeping but the walkway was so scary at that hour wtf. I did walk though, only to find the showers locked (double wtf) so I had to walk all the freaking way back again.

Every time I show people this, they ask how I can still take a picture because it looks scary as fuck. It is la, see how I couldn’t even take a straight photo because I was so nervous! But I said I’m the kind who will take a selfie even on my deathbed. I need to record every moment so that I never forget.

sleeping in office

Wrapped in my hoodie to block out the cold and wearing that sunglasses that Carousell sent us to block out the light. I only realised that there was a couch in a room at the back at 8am so my neck was aching the next few days from trying to sleep at my desk.

To make things worse, I kept hearing mouse-clicking sounds while trying to sleep so it was quite freaky. Not sure if it’s because I’m so used to hearing them all day.

I can’t believe it’s already the second month of 2016 and Chinese New Year. One more day before I’m off on holiday to visit friends in Australia. Best part about it is I don’t have to plan anything or book any accommodation, ha.

And after CNY comes Valentine’s Day so if you are looking for the perfect gift, now is the perfect chance to check out these lovely watches by City Chain Singapore on Zalora! You can even get movie passes and dining vouchers with your purchase 🙂

city chain zalora

city chain zalora


Batam weekend getaway

Been to Batam twice, earlier at end-July (with mum) and last weekend (mum and bro). Both times I joined a tour from StreetDeal but I’m thinking of going Free & Easy the next time, now that I’ve seen enough sights and know where I like shopping best.

Last time I posted a selfie on my blog was in December O_O so here you go. Pre-purple hair. Not a fan of selfies these days because I think I look better last time… hahaha.

batam selfie

Very early in the morning at 7am+ while waiting to board the ferry *yawn*. Not helped by the fact that I stayed up till very late to read fanfiction 😀

We were on the tour bus at Batam time 9am+ and I told my mum, “It’s 9am and I want lunch.”

 batam chocolate house

From the first trip but both times we visited the same places (no idea how I missed the hair dye the first time!). This was at the Chocolate House. Also visited factory outlets for clothes, layer cake (kueh lapis) bakery, Batik shop, dry markets, dry goods stores (so much keropok :P) and more.

batam golden prawn restaurant

Seafood lunch at Golden Prawn 933 restaurant as part of the tour. Food wasn’t that great (probably because we came as a tour group and not regular guests) but I ate a lot to get my worth anyway. But okay la… you pay what you get.

batam golden prawn 933

Same menu both times:

– White rice (my favourite lol)
– Corn and egg soup (more starch than soup)
– Kang kong in sambal chilli (the only nice thing)
– Fish fried in sweet sauce (over-fried)
– Fried sotong (very hard and chewy)
– Baby lobster (like really baby… mostly shells and no meat)
– Crab in curry sauce with vermicelli (prefer SG’s chilli crab sauce)
– Gong-gong

Continued the tour by visiting the aforementioned shops and it was all pretty boring until the final stop. Which is also my favourite and what I’ve been waiting for – shopping at Batam City Square!

All the bags and shoes are from the same store (except the polka dot and purple thing at the top which are foldable bags at 3 for $10). I LOVE THAT STORE because everything is so dirt-cheap and nice (the first thing no longer applies to Singapore and it’s starting to be the same for the other)!!

Paid about S$70 for all of these I think 😀

Visited the Hypermart and bought many bottles of green tea (honey, melon, peach, lychee, etc) which cost only 40 cents each! Then went to takeaway dinner before making our way back to the hotel.

We stayed at Nagoya One Hotel previously and at Nagoya Mansion this time. Both are about the same, with hot water, wifi, TV and other basics. Clean, comfy too. The latter is pricier but you’ll see why later.

 ayam penyet batam city square

Best ayam penyet ever!!! From a stall inside Batam City Square Mall and the tour guide recommended it to us. Only at $1.60 and it comes with those cucumber, cabbage, tau gua, tempeh, fried chicken and rice. SO FREAKING YUM.

Bro when I opened my pack: Why your rice got tissue inside?
Me: That’s not tissue, it’s cabbage.
Mum when bro opened his pack: So gross, why you put tissue on your rice?

Best part was the chilli as it was really spicy (which is really saying something in my case). I love how chilli in Indonesia is legitimately spicy everywhere, even the ones at fast food restaurants.

Anyway this was like heaven and I kept saying I wish I’d bought an extra pack. We had also bought mee soto and fried mee goreng from BFC which we shared. So good.

Ayam penyet from our previous trip which was passable but nowhere as amazing.

Showered, watched TV, read and bed time. Woke up for breakfast the next day and it’s the reason why our stay at this hotel was pricier than the last.

nagoya mansion breakfast

Ok damn annoying forgot to further resize photos before collaging so they look blurred. But anyway –

What a luxurious spread!!! There was also a salad bar, egg station, drinks station and more that I didn’t photograph. I usually don’t opt for hotel breakfast when overseas because there’s so much local food outside so maybe this was why I got so excited… hahahaha.

nagoya mansion hotel breakfast

Loaded up my plate like a pig 😀 my stay at the previous hotel only served eggs, sausages and bread for breakfast. Not sure if it’s always like that or because it was fasting month then.

nagoya mansion breakfast

nagoya mansion batam

nagoya mansion hotel breakfast

More of a carbs and meat person so I didn’t really eat the pastries. Quite a variety though!

nagoya breakfast

My brother’s salad… *pulling a face*

batam hotel breakfast

I only wanted to eat the butter actually. Butter is god.

batam hotel breakfast

Was so full that I simply went back upstairs for a lie-down right after. I guess this is what they mean by a food coma. I might have even napped but I can’t remember.

Walked to Nagoya One shopping mall afterwards. It was said to be a 10-minute walk but they just have meant Indonesia’s pace of life as we Singaporeans reached there in 5 minutes.

Loads of shops but didn’t buy much because BCS still has better prices. Checked out and left for the ferry terminal. There’s another mall just beside where we left our luggage and continued to shop.

batam A&W

Chilled at A&W and binged some more 😀

batam A&W fried chicken

batam A&ampW root beer float

These three photos are all from my first trip.

batam A&W chicken meal

This is from my second trip… one regular fried chicken and one Spicy Aroma chicken. Prefer the taste of the original but I liked how spicy it actually is (never found the ones in SG spicy, regardless of KFC or wherever and whichever recipe)!

batam coffee donut

Batam is really a good place for short getaways ^^

No idea my post would be this long even though it was an overnight stay… can you understand why I have yet to blog about Bangkok (2013), Taiwan and Phuket yet? Going to Bangkok and Hong Kong in November, can’t wait!!