Wedding Bells are Ringing!

Not mine of course! That was so long ago....

31 Oct 2009: Neo and Zing
A very touching church wedding with Neo reciting a poem he wrote for Zing which chronicled their blossoming love. Neo could sing for nuts but he crooned just for Zing who was brought to tears.

I was the jie mei. Tim was the bro.

15 Nov 2009: WX & MQ
A thematic wedding. Many people dressed up to the Shanghai theme. Ladies donned the cheongsum. There were song and dance, speeches, presentation of flowers, and even best dressed award. A very interesting event.

Tim and I were the emcees.

21 Nov 2009: Simon & XX
Tim's cousin is getting married in a few hours' time. No one has met the mysterious lady before. I wonder how the wedding will turn out. It's gonna be a journey to the west as both the church wedding and dinner are in Jurong.

Tim is the bro. I am the kaypoh since I will have to turn up early cos Tiff is helping out at the church.

29 Dec 2009: Zina & SK
There will not be any gatecrashing but that doesn't mean we will let the groom in without him having to give any ang pow.

I am the jie mei. Tim is the dodo.

20 Dec 2009: Jaguar & joey
A luncheon at St Regis' neighbour The Regent.

Tim thinks that there is a possibility that he might be the bro although he is not really certain.

25 Dec 2009: Ivan & Adeline
A Xmas affair which means no Xmas eve party this year for the gang.

No duties for us.

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The above excludes the other weddings that Tim has to attend. No wonder 钱不够用！

Bali Getaway

I can't wait to leave for Bali. Not because I am excited about going on a trip but because I simply can't wait to get away from work. I am so looking forward to just lazing in the pool, sleep all I want, waking up only when I like, swim if I feel like it, and maybe read a book or two. I don't even mind staying in the villa the whole time even if it means I dont really get to see Bali.

So swarmed with to-dos that I just dont want to do anything during this trip. Hopefully I will come back rejuvenated......

When will it end....

When I was in the Human Capital practice years ago, I worked towards the April 15 individual tax filing deadline and the subsequent extended deadlines. The first half of the year was always busy, right from Chinese New Year all the way to around end of August after all the individual tax returns were filed. For a good half year, we would work until 12 midnight almost everyday and going back to the office on Saturdays was absolutely necessary to ensure we complete the work on time. Nevertheless, the times after August were always great. That's when we could use the time off in-lieu that we had accumulated throughout peak to go on long vacations.

I just started work then....

When I was in the US, I worked towards the September 15 corporate tax filing deadline. All transfer pricing documentation have to be contemporaneous with the filing of the tax returns to have penalty protection against adjustments. Busy season lasted at most three to four months with the busiest time right around August to September 15. Even though it was known as the busy season, it was nothing compared to the long hours I had to endure back in Singapore. I was home latest by 8pm.

Since there could be no extension of deadline, all documentation would be completed on time and this would be followed by a long lull period where we worked on planning, FIN 48 and other ad-hoc projects with no hard deadlines. I would travel around the US with Tim and the rest of the Houston gang during those non-busy times.

Life was great then...

Now that I am back in Singapore, I don't have any specific peak period. There is no contemporaneous documentation requirement in Singapore. But somehow, with no major deadline to meet, I am busier than before with no end in sight. All my deadlines now depends on the nature of the projects. I had been working long hours for the past 2 months reaching home only at about 9 plus at night and then taking conference calls after that. I almost have to work every weekend as well albeit from home. This is starting to take a toll on me especially as I don't envisage the long working hours ending any time soon.

Now, this is what they call pay back time...

On a happier note, I am leaving for Bali in about 2 weeks. I seriously hope I don't have to cancel my trip because I just received another project which has an extremely tight deadline but at the same time we are still not sure when exactly the deadline is. I know this sounds odd but I have not been able to get a confirmation from my overseas counterparts either because they are just not fluent in conversing in English.

Winner vs Loser

Yeah! Man U just won 4-3 in the Manchester Derby with a last min goal by Owen. He's the man!

Hmm...now I am feeling like a loser...watching soccer on a public holiday when Tim is not even in town.

And I need to work on Mon too. :(

When the hubby is not around....

Tim is now in Sydney and will only be back early next month. I miss his company yet at the same time I am glad that he is away. Whenever he is around, I feel the pressure to leave work a little earlier. Now that he is away, I can concentrate on working without feeling guilty of not spending time with him.

This has been a particularly crazy week. I have been staying back until 830pm before going home for a quick dinner and then taking conference calls from home after that. Usually the hours after office hours should be the most productive given that there will not be staff asking questions or clients calling.

But this week, I had the client calling me at 730pm and asking for a conference call at 8pm the same night. The boss had also been calling me on my cellphone several times to discuss about projects. I have so many projects on hand that I wonder if I have to become a superwoman to complete them all.

No wonder the daily horoscope in the Life Section of the Straits Times says I need to prioritise. How true!

New found hobby

I am so into monitoring the stock prices nowadays. Whenever I am online, i will definitely be checking on how the stock market is doing. To make sure I don't get distracted at work, I only track the US stock market. It is alot more exciting than the Spore one due to the volatility of the prices.

Imagine, AIG shot up by 90% in a single day! Even FNM which had been almost dead, more than doubled in the past month. Evem Citibank is now at almost $5 from just a dollar back in March. These financial stocks are really surging like nobody's business due to heavy speculation. Nevertheless, without real economic fundamental to support the increase, I am sure one of these days the prices are going to fall. Until then, I am happily holding on to a couple of these financial stocks.

Sexy? I think not

Check out this video clip on an interview with our very own Miss World Singapore 2009 posted on Asiaone Diva:


http://www.divaasia.com/media_video/4934

She really makes "lehpert and zigbra preens" sexy...