Goodbye 2016 and hello 2017!


Amazing. I know we probably say this every single year - but damn this year really flew by! I am every bit the left-brainer so I'll just stick to the same title I have exactly one year ago 



So 2016...

was a bit of a mixed bag year for me - immensely blessed in personal relationships and financial planning but not that great in terms of work. I guess you could say I gained some, and lost some 


WORK
It's my 4th year in this company and it's my longest serving company since I joined the workforce! It's pretty incredible what one year can change - my bosses went from being the biggest supporter of my career growth to telling me that they have no more value-add to it. All within one year! Big sigh.

The bright spark was I got to assist the Finance department in a performance review and audit trip to Yangon. I learned so much in the 2 weeks stationed on the property. It certainly helped immensely that the 2 colleagues I tagged along with were extremely helpful and willing to share their findings and experience. 

On the whole, I felt stagnated in my current role as it offers very little challenges in my opinion. 


HEALTH AND FITNESS
In terms of health, I think I fare pretty well! I caught a bout of flu somewhere mid-year after coming back from Shanghai and that was the only time I fell ill in the entire year. 

My diet has changed a fair bit this year, steering towards that of a vegetarian diet. Having a co-worker who has the same diet certainly helps and most of my lunches in 2016 were vegetarian - not the fried-gluten-mock-meat kind of vegetarian though! I have certainly found joy in this diet as I find myself consuming lesser meat even with my family and casual dinners. As cliched as it sounds, I do feel lighter. 

2016 was not as great a year for fitness as compared to 2015 I must admit. My gym schedule was going all well until that bout of flu (yup I'm blaming it on the flu hahaha) which saw me drop the gym for a straight 3 weeks as I wanted full recovery and steered clear from any form of exercise during that period. As with most things in life, once you stop, it requires herculean strength to kick start it all over again. Yes, 3 weeks was all it took to take away my drive. My gym sessions dropped from 3 times a week to 2 and sometimes once  In the name of laziness, I certainly did not bother to drive myself harder as well. Yikes. 


READING
I missed my reading target in 2016, reading only 19 books instead of the targeted 30. This meant missing my goal for the 2nd consecutive year! On the bright side, I cleared 4 more books than 2015. Hahahaha. A dear friend of mine read 100 in a year - incredible! That is a number I will find it hard to hit. Might have to start with quitting the mobile games 


CLOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILY  
This is a year of proposals (myself included) and babies. My bestie announced her pregnancy after trying for almost 4 years - conceived naturally! So so happy for her! Different groups of friends saw the birth of their babies this year and wow conversations have definitely changed - from wedding planning previously to now diapers and childcare  A few friends finally proposed or got proposed to this year, looks like it will be another wave of weddings in the next 1 to 2 years! 

I wish I could say I am a better daughter and sister but I keep falling short of that. My tempers are still short, especially when it comes to my mum blasting the TV as her hearing deteriorates with age and her playing mobile games day in and out. 


OTHER PERSONAL MATTERS
I fared not too shabbily in terms of financial planning. But of course, there will ALWAYS be room for improvement in this area. I do wish I had bought more stocks this year as I held back as there was just too much volatility this year for me to venture into the market. Well can take that as a lesson I guess! 

In terms of my romantic relationship, I'm really really happy to have J back for good. No more long-distance! He brought our relationship to the next level when he popped the question after our anniversary dinner :) We have commenced our house hunting and booked the venue for our banquet. Exciting (and probably stressful as well) times ahead! 


TRAVEL
I only traveled once for work this year and that was Yangon. It was a fruitful trip but I do wish that I had more opportunities to visit the overseas properties.

Similarly, I only had one personal trip in 2016 to Shanghai. It was to meet the boy and we had a fun time exploring Beijing (you can read about our visits to Temple of Heaven, Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Lama Temple and Prince Gong Mansion).



For 2017...

It will definitely be an exciting year of changes (hello mortgage and wedding planning!) and setting deadlines for some dreams :) And may it be a year where I surprise myself with what I am capable of.


WORK
2016 is a year I feel I truly plateaued in terms of professional growth  On a positive note, it does force me to reflect on what are the skillsets I should be focusing on in the next 3 to 5 years and how to find those opportunities either within the same company or elsewhere. 

It's a little hard to plan if the job-hop will happen this year so I will focus on learning as much as I can in my current place by exposing myself to more cross-department training and property audits if possible. This would really help to build my portfolio towards my goal of being an effective asset manager. 


HEALTH/WELLNESS AND FITNESS
With the pending wedding, I will have to start taking this more seriously. Hahaha. Especially so in terms of diet - while I'm happy I'm more into the whole vegetarian diet now, I do have to cut down on the junk food like cookies and chocolate, especially so at work. 

Fitness seems more important now as well, I need to look fit and lean in my wedding gown! #priorities  Will definitely to kick start the whole 3 times a week gym routine.

I've included one more WELLNESS category this year I do find it getting increasingly important as the age and responsibilities creep up. I have had negative thoughts running through my mind in 2016, especially so with the setbacks and growth plateau at work. I will want to practise more mindfulness in the coming year :) 


READING
I'm going to be absolutely shameless and go for the same target I've set myself in the last 2 years. 30 books it shall be! 


CLOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILY
It is indeed true that the older you get, you cherish the quality friends a lot more. I guess it has something to do with having lesser personal time and also more family responsibilities. You prioritize meaningful relationships more than focusing on collecting a large number of friends just for the sake of it. 2016 was a great year in terms of friendships for me (didn't lose any! Hahaha) and I hope 2017 remains the same. 

I will be a more tolerant child this year and will need to bear in mind that my parents are getting on in age. It is high time I disregard certain habits of my parents that will not change and that I should focus on cherishing my time with them. 


OTHER PERSONAL MATTERS
2017 should be a year that I will see a lot of capital outflow with the pending wedding and house hunting that is going on. We hope to get our house within the first half of the year and that should see a huge hole in our pockets! The good thing is we have saved up a fair bit so far but we will have to continue to be prudent with our funds and continue the saving habits that we have. 

On the investment front, I want to be less emotional about my money and stocks. 

This year will see a lot of changes in the dynamics of my relationship with J, with plans to own our first matrimonial home and also plan our ROM and wedding. I'm honestly really excited about building a future together with the boy :)

I will have to add one more item to this category - which is to blog more on this platform. I have had this space for a good 12 years and it has been a great depository of wonderful memories. For it to continue that way, I will definitely need to be more active in keeping this page updated! 


TRAVEL
As I've put my hand up for more property audits next year (which hopefully materializes), I hope to be on more corporate travels! 

For personal travels, J and I will probably plan for a short trip or no overseas trip at all especially with the house hunting, pending renovation and wedding planning that will take up the bulk of 2017. 

Like good old tradition, I shall end this post with a quote for me to drive 2017: 

Our hunt for banquet venues!

So here comes the wedding planning!


Well technically, there isn't a real perfect wedding venue  but we try our best! 

It is not easy to hunt for the best venue when you are also looking for a new abode concurrently. Throw in budget considerations, table count requirements, unavailability of dates in shortlisted venues, I can assure you that the adventure of scouting for the ideal wedding venue can be both fun and frustrating! Hahaha. 

After the proposal on 30th September 2016, we decided that we needed to nail down some dates first. We made an appointment with Master Long before the proposal (funny I know hahaha) and our appointment with him was 2 days after the proposal. Pretty good timing I say! Hahaha. 

We were given 3 years worth of dates (2017 to 2019) and they were applicable for ROM, banquet, moving into the house, An Chuang, Guo Da Li et cetera. VERY USEFUL STUFF. Especially when it comes to checking out availability of certain popular wedding venues. 

Our initial hunt for wedding venues wasn't exactly fruitful because we weren't clear what we were looking for  We made appointments with banquet coordinators and some of them kind of headed nowhere because we didn't know what we needed, what was important to us that we wanted to negotiate for. 

So word of advice: Do try to shop around different venues and get a feel of the pricing of the market. If you already have a budget and know you will not deviate from it, it's much much easier. If you have a rubber budget (i.e a range) like us, it would be better to go online to search first before meeting the coordinators. 

We decided to go back to the drawing board once more and also clarify with parents on both sides on what is important. Once we settled a rough table count and budget, we (or rather, I) got down to some serious online shopping for rates and offer. We came to a few key things that are considered important to us:

• Within Budget - This is evidently very important. I don't wish to fork out additional money for a one-day event; 
Accessible - most of our relatives don't drive so a venue that is easily accessible by MRT is very much preferred;
Min. table count of 20 and below - We are looking to have 20-22 tables max so that eliminated quite a number of options for us. Most venues are either too big (25 or 35 minimum) or too small like YAN at National Gallery and the Straits Room at Fullerton Hotel (max 12 to 15 tables);
High Ceiling - Though I wouldn't call this a deal-breaker but it would be nice to have!; and
Natural Light - This is more like my criteria because we plan to do lunch and it would be nice to have natural light! 

1. Grand Hyatt Singapore

I was so convinced this is THE hotel. It is an absolutely stunning hotel and I've read so many glowing reviews about the food here. Because of our table count, we were offered the option of The Gallery or the Grand Residence. 

The Gallery stole my heart. Really. The area is very exclusive with only one escalator leading up to it. You can have the whole area to yourself, which includes a pre-function area, a bridal room for ease of change and touch up, the solemnization room and also the main banquet dining area: 


Image credit to honeybrides

The package listed online is fairly straightforward but it also meant they were a little rigid with their perks - which was affirmed when we went down for an appointment. Despite that, because I was so sold by the space (le sigh), we almost signed with them. Of course, they also had the date we want available in late 2017. However, when we changed our minds to have ROM in 2017 and our banquet in 2018 instead (as we still have potential house renovation to consider in 2017), we were given quite an unfavourable offer - We had to top up $100 more per table if we wanted to secure the date in 2018. And if they do come up with a better package for 2018 with no change in prices, we will have to stick with our old package at a higher price. It was quite a deal-breaker for us so we walked away from it. 

You can read some articles on this beautiful space here, here and here.  

Personal Pros & Cons:
 Good location, walkable from Orchard MRT
 Beautiful space and all activities can be contained into one area
 Rave reviews about food
 Upfront perks are decent
 Pricey
 Rigid with perks
 No natural daylight and ceiling is quite low for The Gallery. Grand Residence has a much higher ceiling but it has a huge pillar in the middle of the ballroom which may block the view of some tables when there are activites on stage. 

If we were doing our banquet in 2017, I would seriously consider it!

2. Hilton Singapore

We chanced upon this hotel because they were running a bridal show somewhere in October 2016 - though we didn't make it for both wedding shows as we were out of town both times. So we made an appointment with them separately as their package was extremely competitive. 

The hotel isn't at the most accessible location in Orchard and the photos online didn't encourage us much. Nonetheless, we still headed down to see it for ourselves. Due to our table count, we were given the option of Vista Room on the second floor (next to the largest ballroom) and the Panorama Room on 23rd floor. 

Both Vista Room and the Grand Ballroom were recently renovated and are very new and pretty. Unfortunately, I didn't like the Vista Room as much as I expected to. The deco and lighting are nice but I didn't like that the pre-function area was so close to that of the Grand Ballroom's. The boy liked the Panorama Room as it's on a higher floor next to the pool (which means poolside solemization - but not that we need it haha) and has full glass panels which meant natural daylight. However, I didn't like that it was L shaped and that 2 to 3 tables won't be able to see the march in until the couple reaches the stage. 

The coordinator was very friendly and professional, she was also very generous and flexible with the perks. I found it so hard to turn it down thereafter! But a venue that we both like is important for us - so this became a no go.

If you have larger table count than I do to qualify for the main ballroom, this is a good option. The coordinator is also very friendly and prompt - which is pretty important!

Personal Pros & Cons:
 Newly renovated main ballroom and Vista room
 Flexible perks 
 Extremely friendly and prompt coordinator (important as I've noted some coordinators needed multiple follow-up emails which is quite the red flag)
 New themes - they are launching new themes to match the newly renovated ballrooms!
 Pre function area for Vista Room is right next to the main ballroom - no exclusivity
 Panorama Room is L shape and some tables will not see the march in. Some tables are blocked from the LCD screens too


3. PARKROYAL on Pickering

Banquet venue hunting can be quite tiring - especially if you are as clueless as us haha. We don't really have a theme in mind yet though I'm more steered towards a garden theme (which only came along the way while venue hunting hahahaha) But given Singapore's weather, I wasn't that keen to take the event outdoor (either you melt or you get drenched ). So towards the last leg of venue hunting, we decided to give PARKROYAL on Pickering a try. 

Prior to the meetup, I emailed the coordinator multiple times for different queries and it was always promptly replied within 24 hours (except over weekends or when she's out of office). That gave me a pretty good impression already.

They only have one main ballroom in the hotel which takes 20 - 30 tables - perfect for us. Our tiny table count for other hotels meant we could take the main ballroom for this one! 

Image credit to PARKROYAL on Pickering

I love that it has natural light and it's almost like getting married in a garden but not quite. 

Personal Pros & Cons:
 Accessible location as it is walkable from Chinatown MRT - the boy remarked that he likes the convenience as it is near his workplace and he can pop over anytime to run errands if required;
 Within budget! 
 Accepts our 20-22 table count and qualifies us for the main ballroom;
 Friendly coordinator who's prompt with her replies;
 High ceiling at 6m
 Natural daylight and could definitely fit my garden theme (that is if I don't change my mind half way hahahaha)
 Limited reviews online about this venue (they are quite a hot choice for weddings - previously when we enquired for late 2017, they only had 31 Dec 2017 left! - which left me thinking why there are limited reviews online but if they are so popular...  should be okay!)
 Mixed and limited review about their food.

We are still in the midst of finalizing the perks and the chances of signing with this property is pretty high! I did raise the concern of food quality to the boy as our main focus was to also ensure our guests have a delicious meal while celebrating our matrimony. He countered it by citing we can opt to upgrade the menu if we wish to as he likes this venue the most out of the few we went (including those unfruitful ones earlier haha)

Shall see!  

UPDATE: We signed with PARKROYAL on Pickering! One big ticket item off the list 

Hello November!

It's my favourite month of the year again!


As a child, this month meant two things - end of examinations (i.e school holidays!) and also my birthday 

The start of November is usually when the sweltering hot weather in Singapore starts to take a turn for the rainy monsoon (hello 25 degrees wet weather!) season and Christmas decoration starts for the shopping malls . Preparation for Christmas shopping and gatherings starts to gain momentum as well. For the Chinese folks, Chinese New Year is usually just 2 months away. November always seem to be the starting month for an extended long period of celebration, from my birthday to Christmas to Chinese New Year in late January or early February.

As I grow older, it becomes a period of reflection of the achievements and pitfalls of the year, a moment to give thanks and a moment to internalize what can be done better in the coming year. Office activity also begins to slow this month, giving me more time to plan my work schedule in the months to come.

So hello there my favourite month of the year, please be good to me! 

Getting the e-ring


I wanted to write about this for the longest time since we went shopping for the ring together last year. However, I did not get to see the final product (in real at least) until I was proposed to.

So.... that's why the post is only published now. Well, I also don't want to sound so presumptuous - writing about something that I have yet to receive officially  So yes I've received my ring on our anniversary dinner celebration about 2 weeks ago. Although I had shopped for the ring with him, he still managed to surprise me with the proposal 

Back to the ring. It all started middle of last year when a friend of mine introduced me to Jannpaul as that was where she got her engagement ring. Not that I was shopping for one, but besides making rings, they also customize other forms of jewelry like necklaces and earrings. When the boy told me his friend is looking for a place to buy rings, I threw up Jannpaul as an option that he can consider. 

When the boy returned for a 3-week long holiday in October last year, he surprised me with a visit to the shop in Orchard. 

"Since you will be the one wearing it for life, I want you to pick your own engagement ring"
You can imagine my shock when he dropped the bomb on me while we were waiting for the lift at the carpark. And thankfully that wasn't his idea of a proposal 

Our first visit to Jannpaul was completely unplanned and it turned out they close at 7.30pm on weekday nights. Our first visit and it was closed - bad on the boy for not researching properly haha. So he made an appointment with one of the sales person and we paid the outlet a second visit - which made it the first official visit to the store.

We were tended to by Cheyserr - a very sweet lady. She's extremely vivacious and pleasant to chat with. The boy made it clear that while he will make suggestions, I will make the ultimate decision on the design and carat size (subjected to being within his budget of course!). In my opinion, it does help that we were tended to by a female sales person - she could understand some of my concerns and design ideas better. If you search around the forums, you will notice everyone will go through the same diamond education course on their first visit to Jannpaul. We were no exceptions. It was educational and I was impressed she spent a good 1.5 hours with us and didn't push us to buy anything. Instead, she wanted us to discuss and think through what we want and if we are still keen, we could always drop her a note.

And so we left Jannpaul and went around other bigger chains to shop. By the end of that day, we were still thinking about them and decided we will go with our hearts 

We (or rather me, since the boy flew off after paying a deposit on the diamond I picked) made a few more visits after the selection of diamond and setting - I wanted a little customization and it needed a fair amount of tweaking. They even provide complimentary wax mold to give you a rough idea how the final product will look like.

All in all, I must say I was impressed with the level of service that they provide. There was not a single point in my whole experience there that I felt I was being forced or pushed to buy something beyond my budget or something that I didn't like. If anything, Cheyserr was open to providing advice on the setting whenever I ask. The whole experience felt more like going diamond shopping with a friend.

Now that the proposal is done - we will need to start planning the banquet! 

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