3 weeks gone by with a blink

I'm back from my 3 week long vacation/work trip to USA. Thoroughly enjoyed myself there and was dying not to come back to SG. Tons of crap to deal with at work and my plan is to take things a day at a time as things morphed so much over my absence. Need to regain my footing all over again... Hopefully summer plans work out as I seriously need something to aim for so that pain will pass faster. Shall upload some photos of my trip soon...

a break for now

Sep 2010, the transfer of Cordis, Matrixx II happened when a team of us went to Campbell, CA for training. 5 months later, after endless weekends and crazy hours, we not only managed to get the entire line qualified at the old building, but also re-qualified the line at the new building. I survived 3 audits in 1 month, tons and tons of equipment qualification protocols and technical reports, and 2 new products transfer from other clients. I have no idea how I've accomplished those but I'm glad it's finally over. Time to get my life back and recharge for the next battle....

blessed x'mas 2010

3rd visit of the year and still lovin' it =)

After 1 week of negotiable 'hard' work, we ended on a high note =) Working in a R&D company, whose datelines are animal clinical trials, 'first in man', regulatory issues etc, are totally different than working in a manufacturing facility. These are the people with imagination, brains and wealth of course. I'm seriously looking forward to the day SG's medical device sector morphs to this stage.

After an hour drive down from Pleasanton (a city with nothing but offices), we reached the most visited destination in SF. Really good weather was on your side =) This is Golden Gate Bridge from Tiburon.

America is totally the land of junk food and candies...

Next up, awesome dinner at Fisherman Wharf =)

Yes it's not black pepper crab or chilli crab but man, they were soooo good =) 5 of us killed 4 buckets of snow crab and king crab. This is gonna be my 'must go' place every time I visit SF.

3rd in a year

Slightly over 1 month returning from USA, I'm making my way there again. This is the first time I've to travel in such short notice. 1.5 days to be exact. It all happened so quickly and it somewhat felt coincidental. Just happened that our client requested to bring a technician to USA to assist in 'first in man' builds, just happened that the same client had quality/materials inspection issues, just happened that I was involved in those issues, just happened that I walked into bboss's office to clarify something, just happened that he knew I love to travel. I'm so unprepared that I don't have anything I'm dying to buy. I've barely settled back after 2 crazy weeks of audit prep. Just as I thought I have 1 slow week ahead before more training resumes, I was thrown with this surprise. As I just managed to lose the weight from my previous trip... My wallet is still recovering. This is bad.....

CA report

9 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of slippers, 3 bags, 3 wallets, 2 pairs of Ray-bans, cosmetics and some other small items. This pretty much sums up my 1 week in California =) My bboss still doesn't understand how we managed to shop so much in so little time and more importantly, where did we get the energy from. I really dread returning to work in SG. How I wish I could be like my counterparts in USA, to be a true R&D engineer or a project engineer to follow through an entire project and not just receive the end manufacturing process (boring....) It's back to reality again.

1 new pair per working day

This is one of those rare occasions that small feet actually is useful. 4 pairs of Tory Burch that cost less than 2 pairs of regular priced Reva pumps =) The sales assistant was 99% sure I won't be able to fit into the kids size 3 and I had to ask 3 separate times before she reluctantly brought out 1 pair for me to try. The leopard pumps is from Saks and was on 50% off its already marked down price. I'm pretty much done with my shopping and its only the first day.

luvvv U.S.A

17 hrs later, 13600km away, I'm back in this lovely city where shopping and eating seems to be the only thing on my mind. 6 months ago didn't seem so long ago.... If only this can become a 6 monthly visit =)

Little Sally

A simple shoulder flap handbag is something every lady should own. Yes, it really puzzles me who a small little purse which requires so little leather cost more than a regular sized handbag that uses more than twice the amount of leather. But there's something about the simplicity of these designs that make them stand out. I've listed some of my favorites =)

Clockwise: Hermes Constance, Celine Box, Mulberry Lily, Chloe Sally, Chanel Flap

Hunting this down was quite painful. Many stores only bring in the bigger size, which was spotted on Rachel Bilson and Leighton Meester. However, I felt that the bigger version made it lose its lady-likeness and continued hunting for the small version. Of coz, eventually finding it made the purchase extra sweet...... I really like the intertwined gold shoulder chain. But it made the bag really heavy for its size. Nevertheless, isn't it always beauty over pain? hahahaha

Little Sally against Bal First. Small bags for petite me =) Spreading my options these days.

black phantom

Preparing himself for MO-ship, my boy's new car - 2.0L Honda Integra aka Black Phantom. He takes joy in overtaking taxis and being the first to reach the next red light...... What a kid....