so....it's the last day of the year 2006.

looking back at this year, i think i've changed a lot and grown a lot.

2006 is the year that i've had to go through a lot of things....and they are life changing experiences. this year was filled with plenty of challenges and i got through most of them one way or another.

in a way, i'm glad 2006 is coming to an end, but on the other hand, i don't know what 2007 has in store for me, but i sure hope it'll be a year that's way better than 2006!

not that 2006 has been ALL that bad, coz plenty of good things has happened this year too!

whatever it is, i hope i'll be ready to embrace whatever comes my way in 2007.

Happy New Year to ya'll!

I finally have some time to sit on my comfy chair at home. It's been a long day, especially having to wake up early (read: 9am) on my day off! Usually on my days off, I'll be in bed until the sun is high up in the sky and I'll only crawl out of bed when I feel like it, unless I have something planned for that day.

Anyway, the day started off with me picking Jacques, Justina and Caleb up to go to Jo's surprise party. I drove down to Whitford with 'em commenting about my driving (pffft! next time drive yourself!), and when we got there, we waited for a while for the big guy (Eugene) to arrive, coz he's the one who organised everything. When he arrived, he transported us to Jo's house with a big car - had to hide our cars from Jo so she wouldn't suspect anything when she got back, and the preparation started. Jo's parents and relatives were busy with the food, while us YOUNG ones were doing the decos, and the shorter ones (*cough* Len and myself) were just...standing around :p

Had a big feed there, ate a really nice ice cream cake which Eugene made, had a walk around their property (they have a farm!) and played some games, then I headed to Lucy's after dropping the other 3 off at Jacques' place. Going back a little, the farm adventure was...interesting.

First of all, I had to put on gum boots (thanks Jo for the boots! saved my shoes from getting poop-tified), then we walked to where the chickens and turkey were. Now, this is where the adventure started. Everyone who knows me well will know that I'm scared of birds. Well, chickens are birds right? A bigger version of birds I'd say...Anyway, I was standing around with Len and a few others, and this whole mob of chicks and a few chickens started coming towards us. I got scared and started screaming, and then Len got scared because I started screaming, and so she started squealing! Then everyone started laughing! So mean, laughing at us being scared of those chickens! Didn't your parents teach you to not laugh at other people's misery? HUH???

Later on, Daphne pointed out that we do NOT have to walk past the whole mob of chickens because it's a dead end at the other end (PHEW!!), so we turned around and walked through the gates. Then we walked, and walked, and walked, and stopped. And there was a tree house, and a swing! It's called, 'the swing'. You basically climb up a small platform, then sit on a small cut-in-half log, life your feet up, and scream your guts out. Why? Because once you step off the platform, you'll be about, 4metres off the ground. But it's fun nevertheless, once you've gathered enough guts to step off the platform.

Anyway, when we were at the swing, this peacock decided to hunt us down and watch what we're doing. It stood there, and will start er, shouting (?) every now and then. VERY LOUDLY. Everytime it did that, I'll freak out. I felt like putting it on the swing and send it off flying, somewhere far far away, but I don't think Jo'll be very pleased...
_____________________________________________________

Had some button-bashing adventure at Lucy's place on PS2 playing SoulCaliber III. I do NOT have hands made for playing games. And button-bashing is just not my cup of tea, aye. My hands got so tired after ONE game -_-
_____________________________________________________

After dinner, I picked Stefan up and we went to Shaun's place. They played table tennis for a while, then we headed to the beach for stone-throwing, which I failed miserably! After that, we headed back to Shaun's place, and I played table tennis, for what, first time after 15 years? After a little bit of practise, I got quite good :D At the very least, I can serve and I can hit the ball back and forth now :) Then June came, and we started chatting. And just before we left, we had a really good time teasing Shaun out him and his intimate partner (read: vacuum cleaner). It was mainly Stefan teasing Shaun about using vacuum cleaner for intimate purposes, but it got so funny that Shaun's brother started rolling around on the table tennis table to laugh at him.

HEHE!
_____________________________________________________

And that's my day. I'm heading off to bed now. G'night!

gigantic women -_-

WTH is wrong with everyone today? OR, is it ME?

seems like everyone's trying to piss me off. the day started off alright. went to work at 6am, and everything went quite smoothly. then came 7am...then 7.30am, then 3 gigantic women came in. when i say gigantic, i mean it. they're probably 3 times my size and weight.

anyway, these 3 gigantic women are quite good swimmers. all 3 of them jumped into the fast lane which already had another swimmer in there. as this swimmer ain't as fast as these 3 giants, the giants waved me down and started complaining. so i reluctantly asked the guy to move over to the medium lane...but he wasn't happy about it, and neither was i. i dont like moving people to slower lanes UNLESS it's absolutely necessary, but this guy is a fast swimmer alright..

anyway, i had to move some other people from the medium lane as well, coz the guy is fast, right? there was this lady in particular, i've been watching her because she's super slow, and she was holding other swimmers up in the medium lane. but i hesitated because first of all, like i said, i dont like moving people and people do not like it either. anyway, in the end, i had to because she was way too slow for the medium lane, and people who were doing breast stroke were passing her -.-" she was doing freestyle (breast stroke is one of the slowest strokes). then guess what she said? "why should i move? i'm not moving!" to which i explained "there are faster swimmers in this lane...and you're holding them up. sorry.." and she just rolled her eyes at me and continued swimming in the SAME lane.

WOMAN! you're not a friggin' olympic swimmer. how thick is your skin that when someone asks you POLITELY to move over a lane, you can refuse? and even the other swimmers barged in to say "you held me up! i had to pass you on the other side. you're quite slow you know.." and she just said "i'm not moving! i don't see why i should move!" and continued swimming again -_-

what a nice start to my day. but she left after a while, which was the best thing ever. then the same swimmer who barged into the conversation came up to me after her swim and we started talking about people who are slow and like hogging the medium or fast lanes. i think i'm a medium paced swimmer, but i still swim in the slow lane. why? because i dont want to hold people up.

put yourself in another swimmer's shoes. you're swimming and then you have to stop just because there's another swimmer who's slower. annoying, right? and everytime before you start swimming, you have to keep a good distance from the swimmer in front of you. i HATE that. even when i swim with flippers, i swim in the medium lane.

what is WRONG with that woman?! seriously >< never met anyone so thick skinned and stubborn in my whole entire life!

oh, after that, one indian lady came up to me and asked "excuse me, how fast do you have to be to be in the fast lane?" and i replied "as long as you don't hold the other swimmers up, you're fine!" and she said "ya! that's what i thought as well! but you see those 3 women there? one of them said to me "i hope you're not planning to swim in the fast lane!" even before i put my goggles on. i havent even started swimming and they said that to me!"

how ridiculous is that? is it because she's indian? is it because she's not as ginormous as you 3 giants? if you want to train for a competition, go and friggin' book a lane and you can do whatever you want there! dont hog the lanes and intimidate other people!

another swimmer even said to me "look at how they swim! they can DROWN people with all that water movement!" to which i burst out laughing. oops!
_______________________________________________

later on my team leader came and i was ranting to him how bad my morning had been. then he sent me off for my break, and he helped watch the pool while i went away. when i came back, he said "oh i'm thinking of telling that giant there in the yellow cap that she's not allowed to do breast stoke in the fast lane" and i said "go! good luck!" then he said "um, i better now. HEH!" and i said "yeah. smart, coz you'll get smashed by 'em giants!"

stupid giants. hope i'll never have to see them again! apart from that, work was alright. jumped in for a swim after work, then came home and went to get a hair cut and get my sandals exchanged. that's about it for today :)

i had the weirdest dream ever, while napping.

i can swear that i get all the weird dreams when i nap - but i hardly ever nap..

and then jacques sent me a txt, and i got woken up -.-"

i'm not even going to blog about the weird dream, but there is nothing obscene. everything's G-rated.

it's only weird because he was in that dream (no, not he as in he, but he :p )...coz i dont even like him -_- must be him traumatising me all of today. poor me :(

oh wells. he'll be gone for a jolly good 10 days. no superman for 10 days. hee hee heeee :D

i think i'll catch an early night. haven't had enough sleep, but i've had enough laughs for the day. russell peters cracks me up *rofl*

hmm....interesting..

i have this customer on trademe, who won an auction for a pair of jandal earrings. it is stated very clearly that the auction is for ONE pair of jandal earrings, however, this customer thought it was for two - as they have to choose between a pink or blue coloured earring at the end of the auction.

anyway, i kinda sorted that out with her, but obviously she ain't very happy about it. today, i got an email from her saying that one of the earrings broke and she was going to place a -ve feedback for my trademe account, but decided to email me about it first, and see what i can do about it. woah, wait a minute, is that a threat or what?

okay, i do appreciate you emailing about me first, but then to put it that way? gee, go ahead and place the -ve feedback. what's ONE measly -ve feedback going to do to my over 150+ POSITIVE feedback? AND, it broke AFTER you received it, so really, it ain't my fault. haven't had any customers complaining about my jandal earrings breaking!

anyway, this is my thought: remember how she thought the auction was for TWO pairs of jandal earrings? is this her way of "claiming" her 2nd pair, by getting me to send a replacement to her? i think what i'll do is to get her to send me back the broken pair of earrings, so she cant have two just for the sake of it :p
___________________________________________

feel fresh now! did quite a bit of swimming today. i got off work at 1.30pm, and was hesitating to jump into the pools, coz i was quite tired. but my friend pestered me to swim, and i did. but since i was quite tired, i decided to rummage through our store room to look for a pair of flippers, and jolly jolly, i found two pairs, but only one fit me :)

swimming with flippers is cool, aye! the speed while swimming. gosh! it's FUN!

anyway, since i'm wet, and i'm soaking my uniform up, i better go shower and take a little nap. toodles!

Trent-sy boy is the guy i hated most, even before i started working at LEP.
Trent-sy boy is the guy i didn't really get along with, because he had such an attitude ("I'm your SENIOR!" kind of attitude.)
Trent-sy boy is the guy who drinks almost everyday -.-" and is horrible when he comes to work hung-over.

ANYWAY,

Trent-sy boy is the guy i get along best with, after mr team leader. LOL.
i think he's quite nice, despite being a smoker and a drinker (his poor lungs!), and i guess he's not as mean now.

i remember, just before the assessment, i went to the pools to practise, and i was practising my stride-in entry, and he said "YOU SUCK MANNNNN!" and i was like :(

but because of him, i worked harder and got the perfect stride-in entry. mwahahaha. also, coz he gave some tips ^^

yah. so i hated him when i started working....and always loathed having the same shifts with him, but i guess after a couple of weeks, i got to know him better, and he's much nicer now.

he even bought me a can of fresh up today :D and i didnt even ask. he just offered :p

and Trent-sy boy is the one who gives me all sorts of names: midget, oompa-loompa, shorty, and the list goes on. today, he gave me 2 new ones: amy-kin and little asian darling -.-" i also have a lot of other nicknames: little one, God's little girl (coz i'm a Christian) and etc etc.

sheesh. he's like the nickname generator.

but yah, work today was SUPER boring. it was quiet...coz it's boxing day. those people who went swimming today do NOT have a life. seriously! GO SHOPPING! or go enjoy the sun out there!!

then someone poo-ed in the pools, and so i kicked everyone outta the pools, and informed Trent that someone poo-ed in the pool. and he got so excited, and ran over to the pools and even agreed to clean it up. if he didnt agree, i would've had to scoop the poo out -.-"

apart from that....nothing much happened. boring -_-

i got the 5am start tomorrow. woohoo~ anyways, gonna clean up then shower then...maybe just sleep.

ta!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas day, filled with celebrations and giftwrap ripping ceremonies :p

i've decided to not get a present for myelf this year, but give a present to a young child who needs money a lot more than i do :) i've decided to sponsor a child, and i'll wait for my sisters to come home and i'll get them to pick a child for me.

i cannot decide which child to pick, because when i look at their pictures, i feel like sponsoring ALL of them, but obviously i cant, so my sisters will have to pick a new brother/ sister for all 3 of us. us 3 will be their sponsors, and i'll be the one paying $40 a month, but i'll get my sisters to write to their new sibling, and include inexpensive gifts to the child.

haven't decided which organisation i'll go with, but it'll be either tearfund or childfund. both these organisations allow us to be in contact with the child :) also, i'm thinking of sponsoring a child in a country which i'll be able to visit next year, when i go back to malaysia. a child from cambodia/ thailand/ vietnam/ indonesia will be top on my list for now. will consider the other countries as well of course!

anyway, since it's such a lonely Christmas for me and dad, i'll go sort out my clothing stocks now!

toodles!

whee!

1 more sleep to Christmas :) only have a couple of prezzies left to get, but they'll just have to wait :p still thinking of the correct gifts to get you's all!

slept at around 3am last night, coz when i went to bed around 1.30am, i realised that i forgotten to write Christmas cards for my CG/ church friends, so i pulled my blankies off, jumped out of bed and put my wardrobe on, and hobbled downstairs and pulled all my Christmas cards out and started babbling on them :p

then i picked some gifts for the darling CG girls, and the guys, well, i sorted 'em gifts this morning. woke up extra early just to go get 'em, and sat in the car wrapping 6 pressies up. LOL, i must've looked silly, but all's worth it. managed to put a smile on people's face who weren't expecting the gifts :)

also got a pressie for my baby sis. only one more sis to sort out, but it shouldn't be too difficult. just need a wee bit more time.

went for lunch after church with len and jas, then came home to drop daddy's food off, and got changed, and went over to eugene's to watch ice age 2. it's so cute ^^ that stupid thing (the squirrel) is such a crack up. the ending's pretty funny. *rofl* cant wait to watch happy feet ^_^

after i left eugene's, i went to foodtown and saw tina there. so we had a brief catch up, and we went our separate ways - card & choccies for her, and meat and juice for me. sipping on my juce now - mccoy real ruby red grapefruit juice. nyummy!

anyways, gonna shower now, and then get ready for dinner. dad invited bro and his partner for our 2nd Christmas dinner. we had one with them as well yesterday at a jap restaurant and today will be the 2nd one. wonder if there'll be a 3rd?

toodles!

MERRY CHRISTMAS peeps!

ps: oh, my silly friend didnt txt me back. probably still working at the pools. i wanna know who's going to o'hagans tonight!!
pps: jacques, thanks for driving to eugene's house just to check the address for me. LOL!

pearl milk tea

i was googling about pearl milk tea, and this came up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea

didn't know pearl milk tea actually made it to wikipedia -_- but it seems like everything/ everyone is on wiki. even bloggers are on wiki!

but anyway, i made a batch of pearls, and i think i should throw them away. everytime i cook 'em pearls, the middle part remains uncooked, hence it taste powdery, meaning it's AWFUL!

anyone got any ideas how to cook them completely?

more conversations @ work

this is the scenario:

whitney, peter and myself were in the poolside office, slacking off :p then mr manager walked into the office with a medium sized grey paper bag and shoved it before my face:

mr manager: have some, amy!
amy: *peeks in the bag and takes one* thank you!
mr manager: *stares* can you uhh....please take MORE?
amy: why?
mr manager: coz..there are SO many in there! and whitney there has taken like, a dozen already!
amy: *reaches into bag and takes another one*

hmm...so we got fed chocolates by our manager. heaps. mr team leader shouted us pizza and all sorts of junk just the other day. now i know why almost everyone working at LEP has a round belly -_- and i can see mine developing too!

whoever believe that lifeguards are fit can scrape that thought now. it's just a whole load of bollocks!
____________________________________________________________

this poor little girl lost her goggles and she went to mr team leader:

girl: i'm looking for something, but i cant find it. i went into the shower and when i came out it was gone :(
mr team leader: what did you lose?
girl: my goggles :(
mr team leader: *takes little girl to amy* hey, could you take your sister here through the changing rooms? she lost her goggles. a blue one
amy: sister?! what?! WHERE?!?!!?!?
mr team leader: *rolls eyes* this little girl here! YOUR sister!
amy: OHH! come on!

so girl and amy walks through toilets, changing rooms, lost property but couldnt find anything. so little girl goes away and she looked SO upset!

amy: darryl! why'd you steal her goggles eh??
mr team leader: for my wee one! it's Christmas you know, and i haven't done any shopping!
amy: -____________-

sheesh!
that darryl's one heck of a funny fella -.-" married at 24, with 2 wee ones, 3yo and 10 months. wonder if they're ginger. hahahaha. should ask him one of these days :p

photos from eugene's bday dessert: 20/12/2006

most of us couldn't make it for eugene's birthday lunch in the city, so jo organised a dessert meet up at Rio, Highland Park:

L-R standing: me, len, sam, jacques (gangsta, yo!), jas, catherine, grant
L-r sitting: peter, eugene, christine, nathan, daphne

erm, replace nathan from above pic with jo.

that's the peeps from cg, minus a few who couldnt make it.

yummy taro milk tea! hehehe.

anyway, i dont understand why Trent called me an albino yesterday. i was walking to the spa after swimming, and he and Brendon were standing by poolside, and Trent said "look at her! bloody albino man!"

i look so tanned in the pics -.-"

i've totally forgotten what i wanted to blog about...

nvm, i'll blog about something else.

today's blog entry is about mr manager. this was what happened about 2 weeks back, when i just started working:

mr manager: D, i'm going to *insert place's name*.
D (team leader): what for?
mr manager: *does wanking motion with hand*

-___-

and he did it in front of the swimming pools, filled with kids -.-"

shocking aye, the people i work with!

oh, and W and i had this conversation this morning:

W: oi! you going to Burnz' (he works at the gym) house tomorrow?
A: nah! what you's gonna do there?
W: i dunno! i dont know what to dress up as!
A: oh, dont bother dressing up. B said you'll only have to run round the block in your undies if you dont dress up. no biggie! hehe
W: run round in my undies? hellooo? we're talking about Burnz here. he ain't that polite! he'll make you run in the nude!
C(newbie): sounds like a nice guy already! i have yet to meet him.

*rofl*

O.o

now i'm thinking whether to go or not. there'll be drinks and bbq. mmm, will see how it goes tmrw. i'm working till 8pm newayz.

----------------------------------------------------------------

oh, i remember what i wanted to blog about. it's erm, another conversation i had with R(another guy who works at the gym):

A: *enters staff room*
R: MORNING!!
A: *stares blankly* (after 10 seconds...) MORNING!!!!!!!!
R: *blinks* sorry, i just had to you know..wake up!
A: i know! me too!

*both buggers off to get coffee*

this was at 7am. i started at 5am. R started at 6, so we were both like.....blur. hehehehe

anyway, work was interesting today. it went by rather quickly coz well, i started at 5am. there's really nothing much to do between 5-6am. the pools open at 6am, and at 5am, there are a couple of things to do, but mr team leader was nice enough to let me do the pool tests. so i was back at the pools at 5.30, and from then, both of us just slacked off in the office till people came in around 6.10am. cruisy as!

i've never seen anyone SO awake at 5am other than mr team leader. he's all cheery and very normal -_- i was like...yawn yawn yawn. coffee coffee coffee. yawn yawn yawn. gee, i wonder what his wife makes him for brekkie..

anyway. tired. sleepy. full. gonna go catch up with my sleep soon-ish. 4 hours of sleep, and 8 hours of work -_- not exactly 8 hours, since i slacked off a lot today. more than usual :p but mr team leader's cool. he said "take as long as you want in there!" bwahahaha. then T kicked me off poolside at 1.15pm, and B and i got called to the staff room to have a big feed. nyahahahahhaa. pizza!

w00t!

the day turned out to be better than i thought it would be :)

didn't get grilled by mr manager or team leader from yesterday's incident...hehehe. good good :D but then, i wasn't given a chance to react. Andre reacted WAY too fast.

this was the incident:
it was 6.30pm, and i decided to start hosing down the lap pool area. i was standing on the deep end, with my back towards the pool but i turned to check the pool every few seconds. while i was hosing, i saw andre running really quick from the poolside office and grabbed hold of the throw rope, and the next thing i knew, i saw a lady struggling in the water and andre was right beside her. i put the hose down, and helped pull the lady to the side. when everything was alright, i stood at the side and asked andre what happened.

he said: i saw you turn around to check on the pools while hosing. but the moment you turned back around, the lady started struggling so i came running from the office! phew!!

and i just went -__________-

it happened in the blink of an eye. seriously...if andre didn't see her struggling, it would've taken me a few more seconds to get to her. coz well, i do check the pools every few seconds. funny thing was, the lady was laughing when we pulled her to the side. apparently, she ran out of breath -.-" coz the last time i checked on her before she struggled, everything was fine. she was doing her breast stroke and yeah, like andre said, the moment i turned around, she was struggling. sheesh! bad timing, yo!

but i felt SO bad ok. i was so quiet for the rest of the night, and the other lifeguards had to keep checking up on me -_- and i was kinda worried that i'll get grilled by mr manager or my team leader. before i started my shift this morning, i talked to mr team leader, and he didnt even know about the incident. so i told him about it, and he just smiled. hehe...

i'll do a better job next time. from now on, i'm not gonna start hosing at 6.30pm like what i was told by a lifeguard. every lifeguard has a different method of doing things, but i think i'll start hosing once the pool is empty. i dont trust myself hosing AND watching the pools at the same time...!

that aside, andre seems to think i'm a competent swimmer -.-" he is a very competent swimmer...and you should see him swim. hahahaha. he swims in his speedos and i crack up everytime i see someone i know in their speedos. *rofl* but anyway, yes, andre is a very good swimmer. the other day he asked me "oh, how many laps are you doing today?" and i gave him a look and then said "errr...until i get tired!" and he went "...."

then today, when i got off work at 6pm, i changed into my bikini and jumped in for a short swim, and hopped into the spa. then andre saw me and said "mm, you just cant get enough of this place aye? it's like, you wanna be here all the time..." and i said "uhhh...no...i wanna get OUT of this place right NOW! i'm not like you...!"

-_-

if he knew how crap i am at swimming...hahahahahhaa....but anyways, he's really nice! he's the only nice guy at work. the others all mock/ tease me a lot. like stupid trent, who calls me midget. then shorty. then malaysia ("ooh! how you doing there, malaysia?"). then now, the latest, is oompa-loompa -.-" he got a good smack on his stomach for calling me that. nyehehehehe.

i think i've ranted too much. anyhoo, gonna go sort my hair out before i go out..ciao!

i've been thinking about sponsoring a child for over a week now. i pay $19 a week to YMCA and i dont even use their facility, so it's basically giving $19 a week to YMCA for nothing. to sponsor a child, it only costs $40 a month. so that's about $10 a week, which is less than 10% of what i get per week from work.

with that $40 a month, a child can continue to live, have enough food, have clean water, some clothes to wear and medical supply/ attention. by giving just $40 a month, i can actually change a child's life, and make a difference in their life. what's $10 a week to us right? it's the cost of one meal perhaps, but why eat out when you can get something at home? to some, it may be the cost of a couple of drinks...and to many of us, it cost less to sponsor a child than to buy new clothes.

we spend over $100 in day without thinking twice, but why is it so difficult to just give $10 a week to a child who really needs it? think about it - the luxury food that goes into your stomach comes back out, but with a total of $40 a month, you can actually CHANGE a child's life, who is in much need of just basic food.

so, my friends, think about it - if you can afford to sponsor a child who is in much need of your help, do something about it.

as for me, i will pay $100 for cancelling my membership with YMCA, and then start sponsoring a child.

what about you? will you make a difference in someone else's life today?

i am back!

my left cheeks are still numb -.-" went to the dentist because one of my molars cracked and a small piece fell out -_- so i've been going around for 2 days with a chipped molar. it feels really funny coz there's like a huge cavity there and it's rough, and the rough bits keep brushing against the inside of my cheeks.

-______________-

anyway, dentist said that tooth is REALLY bad. *sweats* and to save it, i'll have to fork out $1200 to get a cap, which is sort of like a fake tooth, but not a whole tooth. only partial. i'm gonna have a fake tooth at 21?! oh noes! but then, $1200 is like, about 4 weeks of my salary. that means working for a whole month just to save that tooth. is it worth it? oh, i dont know :S

i discussed with dad and he told me to just leave it as it is, and wait until i go back to malaysia to sort it out. it'll be WAY cheaper there......but then, the dentist told me not to wait so long to get it fixed, coz i've only got a temporary filling blablabla. to be honest, i'm quite worried about that tooth, coz you know, if the dentist is telling the truth, then my tooth is in danger :p but to fork out $1200 just for that? i really dont know =_=

dilemmas!

moving on to more happy-fying things (more dilemmas actually), i need some advise!

i ordered this jacket in, and i love it! but then, it's a little too big for me, but it's the smallest size they have. but i still love it. however, i dont know if i should keep it or sell it. also, there's a dress which i really like, but because i have flabby arms, and i'm too much of a tomboy, i dont like wearing dresses.

i've taken a few photos, so you's all be the judge ok?

the white jacket that i oh-so-love. does it look too big on me? to keep or to sell?

the floral print dress. how? does it look funny on me?

----------------

GAH! damn the injection! i cant smile properly! i think she jabbed me like 3 times before it went numb -_- but i guess it's better to be jabbed 3 times than to feel her drilling through my tooth. heh. haven't had a jab from the dentist in a very very long time. think the last time i got a jab would be like, 9 years ago?

anyway, all's good for now. cant wait for today to end, because small unfortunate things keeps happening. gonna go swimming tonight. hopefully....

ta!

shopping!!

i havent been on a proper shopping spree since...the weekend after my exams, when i went with lucy and tina. so, today, since it's my day off, and i've been working very hard (40 hours a week, yo!), i decided to take a drive down to dressmart, onehunga for a little shopping.

actually, the main reason i wanted to go there was to get a sports duffle bag, coz i really need a proper bag to chuck all my swimming stuff in whenever i go to work. all my bags, including backpacks are way too small to hold toiletries, towel, togs, goggles, food etcetcetc. anyway, i went into adidas and was quite disappointed at the amount of things they have. they had empty shelves all over the place, and the only thing they were well stocked up were rugby jerseys. sheesh, not what i'm looking for. they also had their normal range of shoes....since nothing caught my eye, and they didnt have the bag i was looking for, i left the store. BUT, just before i stepped out of the store, i saw this sign: ALL SWIMWEAR ONLY $5!!! and i just went O.o WHATT!!!! i paid $30 for mine! so i thought i'll get another one, since i swim quite often anyway, but too bad, they only had men's swimwear left.

now i know why so many people have the same togs as i do -_-

then i went into a few more stores, and one of them was ripcurl. got a nice ripcurl drink bottle for $8 which is a steal :) then i went to some clothing stores, but i reckon all the clothings were yuck, and i wasn't really interested in the clothes they had. so i just browsed :p

next, i went into new balance, and yay! they have the bag i was looking for, and for a steal too :) $25 only!! and they had this really nice gray colour. the other lifeguards all have the boring black adidas duffle bag, but i'll be different. was gonna get a black and pink one from puma, but i prefer the one from NB better :D

then i made a few more rounds, and decided to leave dressmart and head to sylvia park

the drive to sylvia park was kinda annoying. firstly, the traffic was quite heavy - possibly due to people rushing around to get their Christmas shopping done. secondly, this eejit pulled out from a driveway and drove beside me on the flush median and swerved into my lane all of a sudden. sheesh, cannot wait for your turn is it? so i beeped at him, and he decided to throw his middle finger out of the window. tsktsktsk, he has done something wrong already and still has the cheek to show me his middle finger. but because i wasn't having a good day, i threw my middle finger back at him. i've never shown my middle finger to any drivers so far, until today. i reckon he's just a dumb shithead, and he deserved that finger!

anyway, bought a boardshort and a shorts from jayjays, both for $15. what a steal, again :p and my shorts was a size 6. nyehehehe. i'm usually a size 8, but i think that design was kinda..big. so yups. size 6 :D

then i went to the warehouse to get some other stuff, including groceries. think i spent over $100 today. oh wells...mum owes me a lot of money :p but i owe her too. my new glasses cost over $200 i think, but it's alright. i love them :D cant wait till i get to wear them!!

OOOH MY NEW CLOTHING STOCK JUST ARRIVED!! BYEE!

me: *sings along to high school musical songs*
bro: ew! you're like a small kid!
me: eh?
bro: you're singing along to kiddy songs!
me: so? jealous is it?
bro: *rolls eyes*

HEHEHEHEHE! everyone should follow what i do to retain their youth :p
my swimming kids said i look 15 and the look on their face was priceless when they found out i am 21, going on 22 very soon. nyehehhee. i'm starting to like the fact that i dont look 21. in fact, i look like the youngest lifeguard out of everyone..hmm, maybe after Lana, who's 16 this year. so yeah, i look like the 2nd youngest lifeguard around :D

*continues singing*

year 2006..

I'm not a fan of doing New Year's resolution, because I'm not the kind of person to follow my resolution - I prefer to go with the flow :) It's mid-December already, and before we know it, it'll be 2007, then 2008, then 2009....and then you'll find yourself surrounded with a husband, then a kid, then 2 kids, followed by 3, then you find yourself staring in the mirror in disbelief as you try to count the number of grays on your head.

But, let's not go down that track now...Instead, let's have a look at what we have achieved in 2006. Personally, this year hasn't been easy for me, but it has made me grow up so much more and be the person that I am today. I've stepped out of my comfort zone so many times this year, and I'm actually quite proud of myself for standing where I am today.

So, let's take a look at my achievement list for 2006:

What have I achieved this year?

>> I travelled to another country without my parents
>> Visited 2 countries I’ve never been to – Cambodia & Brunei
>> Saved up enough money to go on a holiday
>> Lived away from family and be independent
>> Learned how to make jewellery
>> Started a small scale business on TradeMe
>> Found God once again and have grown a lot spiritually
>> Put myself back on my feet after going through a hard time (couldn’t have done it without my friends though..)
>> Got a new job in a totally new environment
>> Achieved 16 NZQA units/ credits
>> Got a First Aid certificate
>> Got a National Lifeguard Award
>> Am a certified Assistant Swim Teacher
>> Met A LOT of new friends

2006, right up until now, has been a remarkable year, filled with lots of tears and laughter – I was forced to grow up quickly and to be more mature when handling things but by growing up, I've learned a lot and that is probably how I am the person I am today. With everything that I've been through this year, I am a living testimony to how miraculous God is and how important it is to have family and friends around you. My family, especially my mum, has helped me through a lot this year, and my friends were there to support me through my ups and downs. Thank you so much dahlings!

Having to go through 2 months of disappointment, hurt, betrayal and all that, I think I’m a wiser person now. Being upset for 2 months is not the best feeling, but I’m happy with where I am now. Everything happened for a reason, and if the break up did not happen, I’ll still be the same old person I was few months back. Nothing interesting and my whole life revolved around him. Not good, right?

Now that it’s all over, my life revolves around a lot of NEW things, though for now, it seems to revolve around the swimming pools. I’m loving my current job, I love the way I’m living my life, I love the people I hang around with (both work mates and friends), and I love how I’m growing spiritually! None of this would be happening, if God didn’t pull me away from that prick.

Needless to say, 2006 is the year I’ve mature the most and finally found my grounds =)

ps: feel free to add to the list of my achievements if you can come up with any!

i feel loved!

*melts with happiness*

got some thank you cards from my swimming lesson students from river hills primary:


Joni gave me a really hard time on my first lesson. she refused to do anything, and actually cried half way through the lesson, but i sorted that out, so she stopped crying. but she popped by the swimming pool after school one day, and she was really nice to me! i got to know her a little better, and she's been one of the greatest kids since then :) it's so thoughtful of her and nathan to make us the card!


this card was done by 2 indian girls, whose group i've only taken once, before today. i promised them i'll take their group today...they're in group 2, and i'm actually the instructor for group 3, however, due to a mix up last week, i ended up taking their group for a day. one of the girls couldn't swim at all, and i taught her the proper technique to kick with a flutter board...and she has improved so much since then.

i spoke to this same girl yesterday and she said to me "please take group 2 tomorrow! you're the only one who taught me something! i didnt learn anything from any other instructors!", and when a kid says that to you, how can you say NO, right? so i said i'll try my best to teach her group..and i did today :) it was their last lesson too!

anyway, we got a whole pile of thank you cards from the kids, and all of them had very nice messages. however, only 3 were personalised. 1 for Barb, who's the main swimming instructor, 1 for Amy (ME!) and another one for 3 persons (me, brendon and victor - first 2 pics). i feel so special coz i got a personalised card ^^

those cards totally made my day coz you know, at the end of the day, after teaching kids how to swim for 2 hours, you feel miserable - these kids can either make or break your day. if they behave, then they've made your day. if they are like shitheads, then they'll break your day. but at the end of 2 weeks, with all the thank you cards, i feel much appreciated. oh, and also the joy of seeing these kids swimming without any flotation aid...ahh, the joy :)

ps: got a nasty bruise from one of the little kids coz he was so afraid i'll let go of him, that he decided to grab hold of my arms (it was a pinch!) and refused to let go. ho-hum!

HELLO! *waves*

i'm kinda hyper, but my eyes feel as if they're about to pop out of their sockets soon -.-"

all LGs who were on duty at the leisure pool concentrated SO hard on our duties because we had a mission: to catch the SERIAL SHITTER!!! so far, this serial shitter has striked twice since i started working at LEP and when i was on duty. but i cant even count how many times this shitter has striked when i was away!

so today, we got 3 LGs to guard the leisure pool, and another one to semi guard it while watching the splash pool. all 4 LGs were positioned at the hot-spots, and guess what? the serial shitter did not strike.

i have a feeling that the serial shitter brings poop in their pocket and lets it out at each corner of the pools. what kind of sick idiot does that? this is what i have in mind: this serial shitter takes a dump at home, then keeps his/ her poop in a bag. and then brings it down to the pools and let it go there -.-"

but we are determined to catch this serial shitter and bash the shit out of him/ her. pun unintended :p

--------------------

had a few difficult customers today. one thing that i cant stand is how ignorants some parents can be. and while being ignorant, they dare to be arrogant too!

- a mum was in the pool with her little daughter, who was in a doughnut (float). the little girl then toppled over while in the pool, and the mum did nothing because she was staring into space. so the LG on duty there quickly ran over and puller her back up on her feet, and the mum just nods -.-" and later on, the same mum brings the little girl to the deep end (1.3m) and the girl was floating on her doughnut. all of a sudden, the mum pulls at the little girl by her feet, and the girl was gagging away coz she was swallowing heaps of water and she couldnt lift her head up, out of the water. what kind of idiotic mum does that?!

- a really common scenario at the toddler's pool: mum has 2 kids. one is 3, and the other is 7. mum carries little 3 y/o into the toddler's pool, then proceeds to walk out of the gate with the 7 y/o. she then chucks little 7 y/o into the deep pool (1.3m at deepest end) and goes back into the toddler's pool, and expect the LGs to babysit her kids. the new rule is that kids under 10 y/o must be ACTIVELY SUPERVISED by someone who is over 16 y/o and kids above the age of 5 are not allowed in the toddler's pool, unless under certain circumstances. so, for this parent, she is allowed to bring her 7 y/o into the toddler's pool, or bring little 3 y/o into the big pool, and supervise BOTH of them at the same time. if i was a mum, i will not take my eyes off my kids for even 1 second, especially at the swimming pools where they can drown in a matter of seconds/ minutes. and it's worse if the parent is asian, you try explaining to them in english,and they just look at you and go "huh?" at the end of the long lecture -_-

some parents get really upset when you tell them that they have to be supervising all their kids at the same time, and that they cant just leave one kid in a pool and another kid in another pool and expect the LG to look after them. we LGs have plenty of responsibilities, and when something happens to their kid, the parent will come back and point their fingers at us. how is that fair? you bring your kids to the pool, and you dont supervise them, and when something happens, we LGs have to carry your blame. sheesh!

so, if you're a parent/ guardian/ brother/ sister/ aunty/ uncle/ whatever, PLEASE supervise your kid at ALL times and not leave them by themselves. and PLEASE, if you dont speak any english and you live in an english speaking country, go take some classes and at least learn the basics. dont just assume that every yellow-skinned person with black hair and chinky eyes can understand what you're saying!

*pfffft*

the above community message was brought to you by Amy C, your very responsible LG.

ta!

left work early today and drive like a crazy woman to the doctor's coz my face was itching like mad -.-" thank God mr team leader was nice enough to let me off early and find someone else to jump into the pools and pretend to drown.

i owe him BIG time, but then he owes me big time too :p in fact, he owes me erm, bigger time. i've jumped into the pools TWICE for him, and i was gonna jump in today too, but the itch was driving me crazy.


oh yah, i have rashes on my face. why? because ms. smarty poo here went to make a paste out of cinnamon powder and honey to apply on her face as a home remedy to pimples -__- lesson learned. honey never ever touch my face again. my face is SO ugly now :(

oh wells. tired. going to get ready for bed now. night!

:D

nyehehehe.

i sold everything on trademe (for the auctions which closed today) and 3/4 of my clothing stock is GONE. NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHE :p

just listed a few more items, and i'm ordering more stock.

me like! me is busy woman :)

*grins*

i'm getting a spanking BRAND NEW jumper for work :D mr team leader promised me just before i left, after much persuasion, he gave in.

actually, i didnt ask for a new one..i just wanted one that's a S size. coz he gave me a M..which i later found out, is a male's jumper -_- sheesh!

work was alright today. it's so much better not having to shadow someone else. i'm glad i did my swim ;) mr team leader wants me to keep practising, and he wants me to do 10 laps non stop with flippers next time. and he's gonna gimme a time limit to do those 10 laps. hmm....gonna go swim on monday and try using flippers. never used them before, but apparently they help with speed...time to start using my swimming cap so my hair wont get damaged and go all over my face when i'm swimming.

anyway, i met one of the kids i teach swimming today. she was one of the most difficult ones on my first day of teaching...but i think the problem with her is that she wants attention. coz she was super nice today...which i found quiet odd, coz she cried the other day -.-" misunderstanding...but anyway, yeah, i'm glad she came in today coz i got to know her better and it should be easier to work with her next week.

anyway, that's about it for now. gonna go shower coz i feel like crap. tired >"<

my life is becoming SO predictable, what with work taking away almost 9 hours daily.

this is how my life when i'm working is like:

• wake up, shower, put contacts on, brush my teeth, walk to my room, get changed, moisturize and tie my hair up
• go downstairs, look for brekkie, have brekkie, pack my stuff, and i'm out the door
• drive to work, find a park, get out of car, swipe card to get into centre, annoy the crap out of whoever is standing closest to the door, walk towards poolside office, chuck my bag at MY corrner, and waste a few minutes until my shift sarts
• when my shift starts, i pick a good spot to stand for 2 hours, then have my 10 minutes break, stand for another 2 hours, have my lunch break for 30 minutes, then go back to stand for 2 hours, then have another 10 minutes break, and continue standing for the next hour or so
• after that, i jump around and wave goodbye to everyone with a smirk on my face saying "HAH! i'm going home, s*ckers!" hehehehehe.
• then i drive home, park the car, and drag dad out for dinner
• after dinner, i'll sort out trademe stuff, and do some other things, and then shower.
• after shower, go online for a while, then sleep.
• and the whole process repeats again

-_-

so, anyone like to be in my shoes? :D

--------------------------------------------------------------

ANYWAY, i dont really care how my life is like. work is getting more and more enjoyable as i get to know my fellow workmates better and get along better with them :) and i've passed my swimming assessment, so i'm all sweet now :D

did my swimming assessment this morning, and i'm quite happy. i did 25m in 20s. but mr team leader wants me to keep training, but this time i'll have to train for speed -_- i wonder why? i'm not even going into competitive swimming. but i'm just thinking, if i do improve a LOT, i'll join the Masters swimming club. hmmm...................

so today, work was really good, even though i was at the pools from 8.30-6pm. got mcd for breakfast after swimming, and mr team leader asked me to get him some too. and he got TWO combos. gosh >< it's as if he's eating for THREE! and then he gave me his bunch of keys and told me to go to his car and look for his eftpos card. and then he proceeded to tell me his pin number.

HAHAHAHAHA!

but, i didnt find his eftpos card in his car, so i took off without his card and shout him breakkie. i was running out of time, coz my shift started at 9.30 and i had to drive to mcd and back again, and finish off breakfast. so yeah. doesnt matter. $11 for a super cool team leader is nothing ;)

oh, and i taught kids how to swim again. i think the kids are slowly warming up to me, so it was slightly better today. almost lost my voice though, because apparently i speak too softly, so i kinda had to yell to get their attention today. mmm, looking forward to my next lesson on tuesday :)

oh, and i got a packet of fruit bursts to bribe them *evil grin*

and yes, that's about it for work today. oh, after the lesson with the kids, mr manager came up to me with a VERY serious face saying "come see me after you're changed" and i was SO worried. then mr team leader and mr senior lifeguard went "OOOOOOoooooooooooo! what did YOU do?!"

anyway, mr manager went MIA for a while after i got changed, and when he got back, mr team leader went to talk to him, and then he said "nah, dont have to go see him" and later on mr manager came to apologise to me saying "sorry, i got the wrong person"

-_______________________-

and i told mr team leader before he left "he got me SO worried for nothing!" and mr team leader said "nah, you'll never get in trouble!"

looks like i'm all sweet :D they all think i'm a goody two shoes girl. bwahhahahahahahahahahaha!

SO FULL SO FULL SO FULL!

ex-boss tried to fatten me up -_-
dad and i went to her restaurant after i finished work, and we both ordered our food, and when we were done, she brought a HUGE glass of lychee milkshake to me! and told me to finish it >"< and she said "you have to be fat like me!" O.o no thank you!

anyway, doing my swim assessment tmrw. mr manager said i can do it in the leisure pool :D which is like, 1.3m at the deepest end. bwahahaha, is mr manager cool or what?

mm, what happened at work today..

- had to attend to a little girl, who cut her toe on the lane rope (i wonder how?!)
- met a new lifeguard: probably one of the oldest and cannot speak english -_- oh yeah, it's gonna be fun communicating with her..
- errr..cant think of anything else. nothing "interesting" happened today.
- OH!! i taught little kids how to swim :D actually, make that smiley this >:( they were autistic kids. and it was SO difficult trying to get their attention. the only time you'll get their attention is when you put them on the "magic carpet" which is basically a huge piece of foam that floats and they can sit on it and you push them around.

i have to teach 20 hours to get my Assisstant Swim Teacher Award (ASTA) and i only did 1 hour and 45 minutes today. GOSH i have 18 hours and 15 more minutes to go before i get awarded -__- i think i'll do another 2 hours tomorrow :$ it's gonna draggggg.........

someone shat in the pools today

-_-

and yesterday too, but i wasnt there to witness it.

but i was there to witness today's mishap...

it was one HUGE pile alright. and one in particular, which found its way to a corner, was SUPER HUGE.

now everytime when i'm eating, that image of that huge piece of poop will come to mind.

>"<

photoblog: Mt Ruapehu ski trip

i am very free now, and i have nothing to do. so, why not blog right? what to blog? hmm, my long overdue post about my ski trip sounds good :p enjoy!


obligatory photo: walk up to someone and SNAP!


sis and i - first time up on the slopes :)


cant remember when/ where this photo was taken, but i have a feeling i was on the chair lifts then


pretty sight ;)


quite a bit of uncovered brown land. maybe coz it was late season when we went :p i wanna go again next year! when the snow is super thick. who's up for it?



i love both these pictures. i had the second one on "scenery" setting and it turned out really pretty :) like a postcard picture!


a little fountain up on the slopes. interesting huh?


it got really misty at one point, my sis and i were shivering in our seats!


looking down..from where we were. nice scenery - everything was so breath taking!


erm..pretty? i dunno what to say :p


sis and i half way up the mountain -_- it's a long way up!

and then we took more chair lifts up the mountain. the higher we went, the colder we got. and then we just went up to a point until we couldnt go any higher. then we went back down. bracing the wind *shudders at thought of how cold it was*

i'm still amazed how i got through that long day. first of all, i only had 2 hours of proper sleep. the rest of the time, i was napping in the car. but i was full of energy that day!

anyway, after skiing, bro drove us to taupo, and that's where we stayed. it stank -.-" we checked into our hotel, and got everything sorted. then we were out again, for the gondola and sky line. got lost on the way there, but after a few turns, we were back on track and we saw the sky line!

so we got our tickets (i got in for free!), walked a wee bit, and hopped onto the skyline. took some pictures on the way up:


i believe that's lake taupo? LOL


and this is my cheeky sis pulling a face. but i absolutely HEART this photo. she looks SO adorable here *sigh* i miss her...


while waiting for our turn to go on the gondola.

man those gondolas are funnn! if only i didnt have to look after my sis :p i could've gone faster!


sis and i after the gondola, on the chair lifts to go back up. we both got SCOOPED off our feet to get onto this chair lift and boy, it hurts!


took this while waiting for my bro to go on his 2nd round

they had 3 paths i think. scenery, intermediate and expert. i went on the scenery one, coz my sis was too much of a scaredy cat to go on the intermediate, let alone expert path. but oh well, it was still fun :)

so yeah. that's basically the end of this photoblog. summary of the ski trip? i fell over 3 times (or was it 4?), scraped my palm on ice, and my feet were very achy after wearing the ski boots for a long time -_- it was fun nevertheless!

weird people at the pools :p

- amy - says:
that day, our trainer was telling us like, this guy right, he walked out of the changing room stark naked! and then a lifeguard went to tell him, and then only he realised he forgotten to put his speedos on!
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
haih
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
-.-"
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
liddat oso can
- amy - says:
seriously man! scary ok! walking around stark naked!
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
shit
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
malu siut
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
he must be so used to it
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
was he.. well endowed
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
?
- amy - says:
nah, apparently he was so shocked that he used one hand to cover his ass, and used his bag to cover his front
- amy - says:
then he ran back into the changing rooms
- amy - says:
and erm, came out again with like, a bright blue swimming trunks with silver stars on them -_-
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
is he gay!?
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
hahahhahahahhah
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
i'm laughing like a retard
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
- amy - says:
so my trainer said "i cant believe he ran back to get changed and started swimming! i would've died of embarassment! AND HOW COULD YOU FORGET TO PUT ON THOSE KIND OF SWIMMING TRUNKS?!"
- amy - says:
hahahahahahahhahaa
- amy - says:
maybe he wanna flash flash a bit!
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:

wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
haahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
i'm sorry
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
i'm about to fall off my chair
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
brb
wacky ol' ChRstnE! says:
shower
- amy - says:
okok!
- amy - says:
hahahahahahaha

life would be..

so different without my sisters around.

they're the ones who makes the house go noisy and alive. i know i do complain about them making noises and such, but you know, since they left on thursday, the house has been so quiet.

the only form of noise comes from my speaker, occassionally the telly and dad and i talking. and that's about it. i come home from work to a dead house, with no one to giggle and be silly with :(

i was ranting to mr team leader yesterday about how my house is so quiet without my mum and sisters around, and he just smirked. dont know the smirk was for..

and while i was watching the splash/ kiddies pool yesterday, i was reminiscing about the times when both my sisters were still young. meili was super adorable when she was younger. she was really fair and super chubby and playful. it was my first time being the elder sister, and she was my little bundle of joy then! now that she's all grown up, things have changed. meiyen on the other hand, was more of a bulligan. she likes to bully meili even though meili's older than her. and well, let's just say meiyen was one heck of an interesting kid :p

also, when i was watching the kids in the learner's pool for the birthday party, i was thinking back to the time when meiyen celebrated her birthday in there. that was like, 2.5 years ago. gee, time sure flies huh? i remember giving a slice of cake to the lifeguard watching the kids at that time, but howcomes those parents didnt give me one? LOL, not that i wanted a slice...the cake looked...scary with all the coloured icing on it -.-

mum and sis left on thursday, and dad and i have been eating out since then. on thursday, we went to the vietnamese restaurant along aviemore drive, friday i was out for dinner with my company and saturday, i worked till 8, so dad said he'll sort out his own dinner. anyway, after work i drove to the same vietnamese restaurant along aviemore drive, and stood outside their entrance txting my dad asking if he wanted anything. when i was done, i opened the door, heard someone's phone go off, and saw my dad, bro and his fiance there. interesting, eh? it was totally random. the first thought that came to mind was "eh?! i know that guy there! oh, it's dad!" heehee!

so bro and his fiance left after a while, then dad took off for a walk, and i was left alone to finish my dinner -_- picked dad up on the way home...and that basically summed up my evening. oh, i watched 24 with dad later that night and that was it~

during the day, i woke up around 10, got ready to go to work, had brekkie, packed lunch and etc. then at work, i was told to shadow with a senior lifeguard, and he was telling me how he got smashed the previous night after the company dinner. then he told me that his missus smacked the back of his head with a bottle. i laughed so badly and then he gave me the evils. and i just went "oops! ouch!"

then later, he asked how old i am. see, they all had an evil plot to get me drunk on friday night, but they thought i wasn't legal yet. they thought i was around 16-18. hehehe. but anyway, when he asked me how old i was, i told him to guess. his first guess was 17. and it slowly build up to 21. then he told me that i was older than him by 5 months -_- but he looks WAY older than me :p another senior lifeguard said i have a babyface. hahahaha, interesting i must say..

and then another lifeguard, who's 19, thought i was 18. the look on her face was priceless when i said that i'm 21. hehehehe. and i found out mr team leader is only 24 this year, and he has TWO kids! my goodness! and he looks as if he's....maybe around 30? must be the bald head and his moustache! the only person who looks close to his age is jimmy, who's 21 as well i think, but he still looks older than me :p

ahh, the joy of looking young....

photoblog

me looking like a retard :p but look! my hair is a lot shorter :( at least it's not so frizzy anymore..

me and my $15 top. hehehe that's how i went for the LEP staff dinner and Ben's little gathering

front view. yes, i know i look short and stubby. and i have very short legs. shut up already!

side view of me wearing my ridiculously big uniform

O.o

i feel super blur today.
and i didnt put on my scottish ears today, so i could hardly understand what mr team leader was saying to me all day.

at one point, i even said to him "speak english!" and he just started at me. i felt so stupid after that >"< he WAS speaking english! blahhh...

and sometimes, he'll have to repeat THREE times before i get him. sometimes FOUR. sometimes FIVE. TWICE if he's lucky!

i have NO idea what is wrong with me. nyeeerrr~ maybe i'm just tired :p

oh, i got a whistle :D

mr team leader: *holds up a whole bunch of whistles*
amy: *stares at all the colours*
mr team leader: *jingles bunch of whistles*
amy: *pulls on the black whistle*
mr team leader: BLACK!?!?!
amy: well, you dont have pink, do you???
mr team leader: *rolls eyes*

see. it's either black or pink. no pink, then black. no black, then i refuse to have a whistle.

8.5 hours at work today. *counts* OI!!! i just realised i didnt take my last 10 minutes break! NOT FAIRRRRRRRR!!! oh wells, nvm :p

compared to my other workmate, i had a pretty slack day today. hehehe. because i was with mr team leader most of the time, and he's very slack :p he got me to do all the easy jobs like taking stuff out for a birthday party, do water tests/ treatment (which is pretty boring, but it's better than standing at poolside), go to the office and pick some stuff up for him, and just...sit/ stand around and chat.

HAHAHAHA.

what did my workmate do? well, he had to stand at poolside for 8 hours. nyehehe. and he only got to do water treatment/ tests ONCE! i got to do twice. WAHAHAH~

anywway, i'm ranting way too much. tired. sleepy. hands are sore from hosing down the pools and helping mr team leader finish up his work. -_-

Invitation to the Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner in February

Dear Amy,

As a former staff member of The University of Auckland, you are invited to attend the Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner on 23 February.

The dinner is the main alumni event of the year, recognising and celebrating the achievements of some of the University's most outstanding alumni.

In 2007, the guest speaker for the evening will be His Excellency the Governor-General of New Zealand, The Honourable Anand Satyanand, PCNZM.

Find out more about the dinner, including how to RSVP

We hope that you will be able to join us.

Kind regards,

The Alumni Relations Team
The University of Auckland
www.alumni.auckland.ac.nz

___________________________________________________________________________

okay, first of all, since when was i a staff of the university?! maybe, like Christine said, it was that one day when we worked for Courses and Careers Day. or maybe because i was a uniguide and an i-space buddy? oh, i dunno -_-

anyway, i am not interested. it costs $90! pffft, i have better things to do with $90 than to spend it on a 3 course meal and wine.

my staff dinner tonight only costs $10, for a $35 set menu :p mr manager is paying the rest. bwahahahha! and it's good food. you want to drink, you pay for yourself.

AND!!! mr team leader admitted that THERE IS AN EVIL PLAN to get me drunk -.-" those idiots! but anyway, it isn't gonna work. hehehehee. i am not gonna get drunk! ladelaaaa..

anyway, *throws confetti* for 3 weeks of NPLA training is FINALLY over. boy, what a long 3 weeks it was, eh! lots of hardwork, challenges and role-plays involved. oh and fat burning. hehehehe. 3 weeks of training, 3kgs of fats gone. hmm, not bad not bad.

ooh, our facility won the npla award competition :D not bad huh! we had the full time staff and seasonal staff competing (i was involved too! i was the erm, support team, as mr manager put it). see, my team wouldn't have won without me screaming my lungs out right? i was cheering like mad -_- but yeah, i think it's the first time our facility won *cough* all because of ME :p

i am going to stop ranting now. and go take a nap. because, for some strange reason, despite 8 hours of sleep, i feel very sleepy.

oh, i got a haircut!

somehow, i still find it surreal, that training basically ended today. well, technically it ends tomorrow, but tomorrow's all about having fun, and getting paid at the same time :)

i'm glad the assessment is over. the night before the assessment (tuesday night), i was tossing and turning in bed so badly and i couldn't fall asleep for ages. i had all sorts of images - from standing at the end of the pool jumping around with joy to sitting at the grandstands sobbing away -_- weird, aye?

but i'm REALLY glad it's over for now. if i continue with my job, then this will be repeated in 2 years. hahahaha~ but anyway, mr team leader was super supportive on that day. i'm usually quite cheerful in the morning, chatting away with my fellow training mates, but that particular morning (wednesday), i was just stoning away, looking really worried.

when mr team leader arrived, he came over to give me words of encouragement. one thing that i really like about my trainers, manager and team leader is that they never put the pressure on you. they'll just keep encouraging you, and make sure that we know they're there to help us through. when i was waiting for my turn to jump in to swim, there was this huge guy sitting beside me called Wills. he's like a massive teddy bear you've always wanted as a child, but if he was my teddy bear, i'll die of suffocation.

anyway, because he's such a nice teddy bear, and i was feeling very stressed, i kept punching him, and it felt good! haha, yes very mean of me, but he just went "WTF?!" everytime i punched in a funny way. then i explained to him that i am feeling very stressed :p and he said "okay! keep punching then!" LOL.

then i jumped in to swim with 2 other girls, and boy, i was struggling like a pig -_- mr team leader will be assessing my swimming aagin in 2-3 weeks, but hehe, it's a lot easier swimming at LEP than MAC coz i can stand! bwahahaha~ and mr team leader is super slack :p

so, what's on the agenda tomorrow? we've got our last bit of training tomorrow till 11am, then it's the NPLA (national pools lifeguard award) competition, which i am NOT taking part for obvious reasons, and then there's the BBQ to celebrate the end of our 3 weeks training, and it's back on site...except that well...sorry, i cant say what's gonna happen then :p just in case someone from MCC actually reads or comes across my blog!

then around 7.30, it's the staff dinner, so it's kinda like our "welcome" dinner. and that'll be at Thai Flame. i can somehow feel/ sense that there's an evil plot to try to get me to drink or get me pissed -.-" but either way, i have 2 very good mates that will look out for me, including mr team leader...since i'm the "baby" of LEP..in a way. not because i'm the youngest, but because i am the smallest. hehehehe. oh and mr manager will probably keep a look out for me too. since i'm his "good" staff. hahahahahahhaa. good, apparently :p if he only knew the things we get up to at work. *giggles*

ANYWAY, i'm officially starting work on Saturday, so if any of you's go to the gym/ physio/ pools at LEP, do come and say hi :D

gonna wait for daddy dearest to get hungry so we can go out for dinner. meantime, i will get out of my ridiculously HUGE uniform -_- i feel lost in it!

imagine..

at this time tomorrow, i'll know if i'm a certified lifeguard or not.

oh, the nerves!! it's driving me up the wall. part of me just wants to get it done and over with, but another part of me is being a worry-wart -_-

this is so not cool. i cant eat, i cant just relax and do nothing, because my brain will start telling me to go swimming...and i really dont want to. why? because i'm 'conserving' energy so that i will be fine tomorrow. we were in the pools from 12.30 till 4.45 today. i think i'm gonna be sore tomorrow

*runs off to get deep heat*

the only part that i'm worried about if my swimming. when i get too excited or nervous, i cant seem to breathe properly. and guess what? it's difficult to swim when you cant breathe properly. your coordination goes all over the place and you might as well start calling for help :p

i have an option...and that is to swim head up. but because i've only "mastered" swimming head up like, today, i dont think i will. coz it's really tiring....oh i dont know >"< it's really driving me crazy!

today's session was alright..why? because mr team leader trained us, and he's pretty cruisy (sometimes i wonder how he manages to get any work done!). the other trainer who usually trains us was just sitting around and did nothing. and i'm happy :p coz he's pretty mean and strict and staunch.

oh, and i swam without goggles on today (except when i was doing my laps) and my contacts went UP my eyes TWICE! TWICE i had to shut one eye and run to the changing rooms and dig it out. mr team leader feels my pain, coz he wears contacts too, and boy, they sure are annoying! thank God for 1-day disposable contact lenses! hopefully tomorrow will be better, but i managed to duck-dive with my eyes open and when i re-surfaced, my contacts were still there! LOL

anyway, i'm gonna go wash up and continue to keep myself busy and do something not work related..maybe i should just go to bed now :p

this is the hairstyle that i'm looking forward to getting...but i dont know if it'll suit me, since i have a round face..but anyway, my hair needs a good crop. the 13% chlorine swimming pool water is really sucking the life out of my hair -.-"

today...was a rather long day, but interesting i'd say. we got to act like kids (for once!) and went into the learner's pool, which is 0.8m deep. hehe. and we had to "learn" how to swim in there :) the objective of today's training was to train us to be assistant swim teachers, also known as the Assisstant Swim Teacher's Award..

you know what's amazing with this job? we gain SIXTEEN NZQA credits if we complete everything..so far, i've only completed TWO. hehe, both for first aid.

someone commented that my handwriting looks better than those printed out. hehehe :) even our trainer nodded in approval and i got "excellent" for my work today. we had to write out a plan to teach kids. i cant wait till i get to teach kiddies! only one more week!! ONE MORE WEEK!!

just need to get through tomorrow's practical session, and then it's the assessment, and after that it'll be pretty cruisy :)

just in case you've been missing me *grins*, well, here's how i look like these days :p

no changes i'd say, except for chlorine soaked hair most of the time and a few zits here and there. oh, and i've ditched my coloured contact lenses! time to get new colours :D

luv the photoshopped-butterflies on my seatbelt. LOL

if you're reading this, do pray that i'll be able to do well and PASS my national lifeguard award assessment on wednesday ok? thanks in advance!

second day working on-site and we've pulled pranks already..tsktsktsk, we're such bad staffs. *rofl*

see, this is what happened. mr team leader had his day off today, and us 3 seasonals had to work on-site. so, mr senior LG took us today, instead of mr team leader.

well, mr senior LG is a very funny person. at around 10am, he was teaching us some stuff about chemicals and etc, and he got all excited, and we ran up to the gym to had a chat with R. then us seasonals found out what was happening later on that morning :p

3 persons have planned something for T. mr manager has a BIG box of fridge magnets (credit card size) and he wanted to get rid of them, because there's no use. so, instead of chucking them into the rubbish bin, those 3 geniuses came up with a prank.

at 11.30am, we (6 of us - 3 seasonals and 3 senior staff) sneaked out to the staff parking. one of the senior staff pulled his 4WD right beside T's car, to block it just in case he sees us sneaking around. then, we started sticking all the magnets onto T's car.

we managed to cover ALMOST all the metal bits of the car (gotta get the photo off mr senior LG) and it looked so PRETTY. hahahaha too pretty for a pretty boy :p

when the whole car was covered with those magnets, we got another staff to go inside and tell T "something's happened to your car........." and T came running out. when all of this happened, we climbed up onto the roof of the swimming pool to have a good view.

HEHEHEHEHEHE

it was soooo funny!! the look on T's face, priceless :D

funny thing was, when mr manager came out, he knew what was going on..and he said "gosh i dont pay you guys to do things like that! 6 of you's out here! that's more than $100 i'm paying!"
LOL..but he gave us hints like "ohh, you should just stick the magnets on the left panel of his car so he'll drive home NOT knowing that he's got magnets all over his left side of the car".

BWAHAHAHAHA

i tell you, mr manager is such a crack up. all his actions...omgoodness >"< sometimes they're almost obscene. hahahahaha~

but yes, i'm always happy when i work on site :D

life as a trainee-lifeguard..

wow, i'm at the end of my 2nd week of training. time sure flies, huh?

i remember this time last week, i was feeling quite upset because i feel incompetent and i'm not up to stamina, compared to all the other people. i started hating practical session with a passion :p

anyway, i got a few tips from my trainers and mr team leader, and they all told me to not give up and keep training, and i did..few days later, i could feel my stamina improving slightly. and i've been happy since then :)

anyway, today we had to swim to warm up, and i just jumped in without thinking twice. yes, i did not complete what i had to, but hey, compared to a week ago, i'm glad where i am now. given enough time and enough practise, i'll be able as competent as the other swimmers :D

this week, practical sessions have been nothing but fun. they were surely tiring and hell-ish, but hey, we learned heaps at the end of the day. why am i complaining? i'm getting paid to LEARN and to be fit at the same time. i'm no longer whining about being bloated, because i go swimming almost every night, after dinner, and i try not to eat too much before swimming, so there goes the crazy diet and bloated stomach. the tummy's still there, but i can see a wee bit of abs coming my way *grins*

my training-mates are becoming nicer and i'm getting more fond of them. i've been nicknamed "little-G" (maori slang) and i think it's pretty cute :p hahaha! yeah, they're a really fun bunch, alright. no doubt that i stick out like a sore thumb because i'm yellow while all of the others are brown :p but they still welcome me, and are really friendly. what i like about the browns (not being racist here) is that they are all very supportive as a group, and even if they have a close-knit group, you wont be left alone.

last monday, i started my first day of training, not knowing anyone. today, i am proud to say that i've spoken to all 30 of them :) and i've become pretty close to quite a few of them.

taking up this job opportunity, i've been pushed out of my comfort zone in everything that i do. first of all, it's the location of training (manurewa/clendon/papatoetoe) and i've never driven to these areas before. getting lost seems like a daily routine, but i'm getting better now :p and the next one is the people there. you all know that i hang out with mostly asian people and maybe one or two odd kiwis, and that's about it :p when i got there, all i saw was BROWN -_- that basically explains it..next one is the level of fitness. i am such a couch potato, i have NO fitness at all! spending a few hours in the pool for each practical session, followed by daily swimming has been really challenging for me...but hey, i am no where close to giving up.

my practical assessment is next wednesday, and we only have one more practical session to go, and that's it. i'm just hoping and praying for the best for my practical assessment, and hopefully i'll be able to buck up my stamina in time for it. if not....then, well, it'll be embarassing..

did the spinal injury scenario again today...and i had to be the victim -_-

and the people who were "saving" and "tending" to me said "SHE'S TOO SHORT!! SHE'S TOO SMALL FOR THE SPINAL BOARD!!!!!"

omgoodness ><

and before that, this guy, Troy who's an ex-army was saying how i'm wayyy too tiny and he lifted me up in the pools and i got frightened *rofl*

the girls were laughing at me..coz they said i had a very terrified look on me

-_______________-

these people are all way too massive. it's not because i'm small :p

but yes, training's getting fun. hehehe, working on-site again tomorrow. yay! hope mr team leader will be there :)

i am SO angry..

seriously. this idiot 'bought' something from me on trademe (a necklace), and then after the auction closed, that idiot email to me saying they dont want it anymore.

so fine, i placed a -ve feedback for them. and guess what? me, being all innocent, they gave me a neutral feedback. WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS IN THAT??!?!

i didnt even DO anything wrong! seriously.

stupid bugger!!

totally spoilt my day. thanks idiot!

today's training..

is by far, the most exciting one ever :D

we learned about water safety programme, and we'll be teaching little kids how to be safe (and have fun at the same time) in water, after the summer break (:

cool, aye?

we got to play with boats, floatation aids, kayaks and life jackets. being the tiny-tot that i am, i had to use the smallest (kid's size!) life jacket available...hehe, so cute ^^

already half way to the finish line for training, but practical assessments are next week (still bucking up my stamina!)..cant wait till i'm actually a qualified lifeguard!

did our theory assessment today, and it was quite good. the questions were pretty straight forward, so i'm happy overall. even got off training an hour early (:

oh, i'm working on-site tomorrow (lloyd elsmore park, if you dont already know!), and it'll be site induction, centre procedures AND uniforms :D

me is getting bumble-bee uniform tmrw :D

*hippity hoppity hop*

yes, i'm happy, but i'm still very tired. my whole body is aching, because i've been swimming everyday since wednesday of last week..except for friday, because i wasn't feeling well :p

i'm slowly morphing into a fish.. -_-

anyway, toodles! gotta get some work done, and leaving to go swimming soon!

O.o

what am i doing online?!

i've got an exam tomorrowwwwww...and i have a whole MANUAL to go through...and my bedtime is in 1 hour -_-

bleurgh >"<

---------------------------------------------------

i now know why mr team leader said he's an idiot. ho-hum..

oh and, i know it's rude when people swear, but when mr team leader swears, it's pretty cool. coz of his scottish accent. *rofl*

never knew...

the people i'll be working with are such jokers

-.-"

which is good i suppose...dont have to be too serious while working :)

dropped by the pools after my blood test (which i waited for like AN HOUR!!!) to give my MC (just to prove i wasn't wagging yesterday) and they were all joking around =.="

mr manager: so, is it true?
mr team leader: *rolls eyes*
mr senior lifeguard: *waves manager off*
me: what? yeah it's true. i WAS sick yesterday! look! i have my MC!!
[all 3 mr burst out laughing]
mr manager: right...it's not mine, it's not his and it's not his either! you know, we have a childcare centre here..
me: O.o noooo....it's NOT TRUE!! NOT TRUE!!NOOooo!!!

see what a bunch of jokers i'll be working with -.-" and they're all my seniors...

anyway, gonna get food now. havent eaten since i woken up because i had to fast for the blood test :$

*speechless*

i'm VERY glad i've lost 2 kgs now. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH

i didnt go for training today. i just didnt feel well :S woke up at 6.17am to go to the toilet and my poor tummy hurts! so i went back to sleep for a little more, then woke up around 7 to tell mum that i wont be going for training..

then she said "if it's really that hard and stressful, just quit.." and i just shook my head and went to my car to get the manager's number. he didnt seem very convinced that i was sick, but anyway, i went to see the doc later in the afternoon and i got a letter :p so i am sick!

my legs and arms were super sore though! but they're much better now. probably just needed more rest :)

anyway, the doc thinks i have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and that it only strikes when i'm under stress or exhausted. which is true. my stomach's been pretty screwed up the past few days coz i've been very stressed AND tired.

gotta go for a blood test tomorrow and take a stool sample on 3 different occassions (ew!!) but yeah...hopefully this crazy stomach aches will go away.

anyways, tired now. but i'm still chatting :D bye!

ps: i lost 2 kgs in 2 days :S my gooddddnessss!! anyone wanna go for a "gain weight" feast???

no pain, no gain.

my my, that phrase sure makes sense to me now :p

a little bit of pain ain't gonna kill me, it's only gonna make me stronger, yo!!

today, with lots of prayers from friends and myself, and half a bottle of BLACK V, i did about 99% of all the activities - didnt do the last one coz i got lots of water up my nose and down my mouth prior to that activity. not fun. but anyway, my team leader asked if i wanted to TRY it, and i said NO. heheh :D i love my team leader ^^ he's got a cool accent (scottish! i finally found out!) but yah, he's very nice and supportive :)

in fact, everyone's been really supportive :) love my team mates - love all of them in fact. you know, these people, they can be real arseholes, but when it comes to team work and providing support, they're the best :p

got a few grazes and bruises today :$ dont know where they came from though -.- but oh well, nothing major. i can still walk, and kick and erm, save people. *rofl*

managed to "save" someone a whole lot bigger than me, with flotation aid. you know one of those thingies you see the lieguards use on Baywatch? Yah, those :p not easy though when you have to swim back and have someone twice your weight tugging behind. but i'm still glad i managed to do it.

now, moving on to more serious things. i have my national lifeguard awards practical assessments in about 10 days. and i have to keep practising in that 10 days. anyone interesting in being my "victim" so i can practise to save you? hehehehe :p i'll buy you chocolate/ice cream/ sweets! dont worry, i wont let you drown :p or rather..i'll try not to. heh -.-"

one more practical session tomorrow, 3 hours only, and i'm done with pools at manurewa. bwahahaha :D but i'll be practising really hard at LEP. my poor poor hair. cant wait till i get them chopped off!

going swimming soon. ta!

yes, 4 hours + 1 hour of swimming today. aren't you all proud of me now? LOL

i am tired beyond tired. i'm speechless...

1st day as a trainee lifeguard

too tired to blog properly, so i'll just give you some bullet points

• got to experience the Maori culture. had to do the hongi (that nose to nose and handshake thingy) and erm, hear a few speeches in Maori. the only words i could pick up were: whanau, kia ora, haere mai, manukau (rofl), wahine
• got to hang out with a whole bunch of Maori people....and they'll be my whanau for the next 3 weeks of training :p
• i am officially a family member of Manukau City Council
• i get free gym access to lloyd elsmore's fitness club! w00000tttt!
• i am probably the weakest swimmer among all 26 of us *dies* everyone else are either competitive swimmers or regular swimmers or are lifeguards already
• i have to get used to waking up at 7am everyday to get to training centre on time

that's about it. will blog properly when i have more energy :S

F R E E

that, my dears, is the face of a girl who will NO LONGER be bound to her table, studying the day and night away. i can now burn all my notes (but because i am smarter than that, i will not do it)!!! i should really go buy a pack of confetti and throw them all over the place to celebrate!

it's time to celebrate!


FREEDOM IS MINE!!!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



anyway, living up to my ms shopaholic status, i bought TWO bags today :D both for a steal! can you believe that i bought TWO ROXY BAGS for the price of less than ONE? can you? CAN YOU???


that's the white roxy bag that i got. been wanting something like that for a while now, and i saw it on 50% sale today. wahey! ran back to my dad's shop to get my wallet. hehehe :)

and this is the black one, which i intend to use when uni starts. or when i have a lot of rubbish to throw into my bag, and the other smaller bags won't fit. mum was complaining how i have way too many bags already. well, i am a bag collector. *rofl* what can i say, mum? you own way too many pairs of shoes, but since i dont fancy shoes, i buy bags instead :p

so yes, those two bags costs $44.20, when usually it would've cost at least $40 each :p