Happy Holidays!

After many unfinished, unpublished posts, I hope to write a completed one tonight.

I am going off in 3 days time and I can’t wait! I finally managed to get a parka, a few sweaters and gave away a significant portion of my paycheck to the retailers! And late x-mas shopping means not all the gifts are thoughtful! I am so excited about the trip – and also a wee bit guilty. I hate it every time my parents bring it up because they don’t know all the reasons why I am going. But hey, I just finished paying my student loan as of this Friday – and that’s a good enough to counter the guilt! Yes – it is done and over with. 4 years of undergraduate paid for in 18 months. On my own. It’s a darned good feeling – even though the heart sinks every time it sees the bank balance. So I am penniless but loan free!!!

Other than that, I have had not one, but two off-sites in the past month. That’s two 3-day holidays paid for by the dear company! Many games were played and much booze was consumed! and many men were *ahem* objectified! The men I work with were made to catwalk on the stage and “show us their stuff” – every one of them. And then the winner was chosen by the applause and hoots they got! It was borderline politically incorrect and very very funny! The last session was a 2 hour spa session before we headed back to Singapore – and the only thing better than a spa treatment is a free spa treatment! It’s on days like this that you love your employer! The timing for the two off sites was perfect because it puts one in the holiday mood – a prelude to the BIG vacation coming up! I expect it to be a good mix of sight seeing, cultural stuff, romance, shopping, reuniting with old friends, reuniting with loved colleagues who moved, road trip, drinking, and freezing!

The thoughtless x-mas shopping for the team includes a pair of shot glasses from Hard Rock Café from a previous trip – for the boss (yes, and he will love them. This boss thing is strange, yes.) A copy of “Memory Keeper’s Daughter” for the favorite team mate, two boring coffee mugs for people they would suit, and one set of aroma therapy candles. Apart from the coffee mugs, I think they’d be appreciated. Oh well – you can’t please ‘em all!

The other day it dawned upon me that it’s my parents 25th wedding anniversary in 6 months time! Need to plan a fancy-shmancy present for them and magically grow the $$ for it too! Any suggestions? For both the present and the $$ plan!