I prOmised Audrey i'll blog about cHristmas lights tHis year sO i will :) actually i didn't really take pics of too may places.. mostly along orchard road, at tangs, at AMK hub & at Centrepoint.. i didn't really like AMK's deco.. their theme was more looney tunes than christmas.. i like tangs the most.. centrepoint was too bright and of cos too hot to walk along not to mention too much of a waste of electricity..

Tangs





Christmas Tree mde with bears! @ Taka :)



Lucky Plaza



Along Orchard Road






A badly taken pic of AMK hub..



Centrepoint




At The Central




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mY 1st cHristmas w mY deARie.. cHristmas eVe we haD dinner aT House - Barracks.. pls lor in no way did it resemble a barrack.. -_- misleading name.. but fOod aNd ambIence wAs gOod.. we haD tHe mini burgers & the Metre lOng sAusage.. the burgers caMe w REALLY NICE friEs & frIed swEet potato sticks.. i tot fries are fries.. but no.. other than the fact that they used sea salt instead of normal salt, the white truffle oil they sprinkled over the fries made a hell of difference.. trust me.. the best part was, both kel & i like our fries soggy or at least not hard.. all their fries were consistantly not hard nor over soggy.. yay!! pIctures!!!










i wanted tO get tHe guy a tIe for hIs new joB / christmas bUt cLdn't find anything nIce.. doeSn anyone wEArs a down-to-earth good quality PLAIN black tie anymore? man.. anW i madE hIm a gIft insTead.. maDe hIm an aNgel & a cHristmaS tRee.. placEd it in a biG caRton & told him its damn fRagile.. he held it precociously while i laughed gleefully inside.. lol!! hee.. but i will get thE guy a tie.. the dEArie wAs sWt.. he got me something usEful & nIce.. A Tiffany pen..i'm gOnna cloSe maNy mAny mAny deALs w it!! ROAR!!! nah.. i hope so only.. lol!! caN someone teLL me how they tie the ribbon SO nicely? i KNEW i'll never bring it back to its original state so i took a pic to yan jiu how it gets done.. but actually i was more touched by the cArd.. ".. i love you more everyday..." that, got my heart.. :) i dun wan to love someone or be loved in a way that it becomes a habit not bcos the feeling is still there.. i wan to and want him to fall in love w me and me with him, everyday... :)




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enuf abt cHristmas.. its really great haVing a bf who wks in the cosmetics line.. too bad he's leaving.. but since its greener pastures i've got no complains :) i still hav kakis to hlp me buy staff priced make up & skin care.. but.. thats staff price.. w kel arnd, he gets SO MUCH OF THEM FREE!! grr.. if i'd majored in marketing i'll have chionged for an interview w his co.. just the make up & skin care freebies alone makes me happy.. lol!! but not wking for a specific brand has the biggest advantage.. u get freebies fr various brands.. and yest, he came to pick me w 3 large bags of excess stocks.. "er i ask the boss wat to do w them since i'm leaving ma she say we all share share take home lo" tada! ech person in the office went home w at least a big bag of free goodies! some of which are not for sale in SG!! *faintZ* i picked wat i need & he took the rest home.. basically if all these stuff dun expire, i think i hav enuf lippy to last me 5-6 years & enuf facial stuff to last me 1.5 yrs n enuf eye make up incl shadow, liner, mascara etc to last me 2 yrs & enuf perfume to last me many many years!! yay!! but they all expire one day in the near future.. damn.. i want to give them to frens so as not to waste but in my excitement i always try them on! thats the worst part.. and i dun think its hygenic to give away anymore :(





maybe everYthing haS beEn wRong fRoM tHe sTart.. it has been an unexpectedly rough journey.. unexpectedly unlUcky.. i hate to aCcrue thIngs tO luck.. bUt.. i really cAn't see a reaSon bEhind all these seRies of hurdles.. i'm trying very haRd not tO let tHings pull mE dOwn.. but i fEel sO aLone.. in tHis line tHere are tOo manY sEcrets i hav tO keeP sUch that i can't talk abt a lot of things tHat maKe me upset..




i'm very very upset..



very...


:_(





i met up w 2 fabulous ppl.. one on thurs one on sat.. :)




both are great company.. both are fellow cedarians.. with clarissa, we talked abt life, tots, jobs, beliefs and the future.. with koon, it was a lot of reminiscing & catching up on each other's lives.. both were good and satisfying outings.. :) it made me a happy girl..





uLtimaTe unlUckinEss! :_( i jUst blogged abt how excited i am to meet my 1st prospect this evening and TADA! he drOpped hIs pHone into tHe toileT aND gOtta gO fIx it.. tHAts not the wOrse.. tHe worse is he'll be oveRsEAs nxt wK!!! ARGH... uLtimate dIsaPpointment.. no wonder mY manaGer saId tO survive tHis industry i have to be mEntally sTrong.. gR.. mY heart has tO be sTrOng tOo.. henG i hav other appt next wk else i'll really be sitting there slapping flies.. :(





mEeting mY 1ST pRospect laTer in tHe eVening! i'm so eXcited yET neRvous aT tHe sAme tIme.. i dUn wannA sCrew up like leaVE a baD impreSSion oR sOmething.. but he's an ex colleague so shld be easier right? *sHiver* bAsically tOday i'll need tO gAther inFo only aNd gO bk oFfice aND dO reSearcH.. shld be ok.. buT i'm sTill nErvous.. :(

aNw mEt up w cLarissa yeSt! maN.. it wAs a gReat eVening.. fOod waS gOod, coMpany wAS gReat.. waTs not tO like? :D wHen we weRe yOung, we tOt friends were simply pplE wHom wE kNew aNd weRe fRiendly tO us.. later in life, we rEalise fRienDs are ppl wHo sTick by uS tHRough tHiCk aNd tHin & yeaRs dwn tHe rOAd, nO maTTer how wE cHange, tHose wHO sTill aCcept us aNd gRow w uS aRe cAlled fRiends..

mY colleaGues wEre sHaring w me how SOME of tHEir frens dIsappear aFter knoWing tHey wk in tHis line.. i told mY manAger abt it.. i told him its a mAin concErn of mIne.. he said "it happens to me too.. u see, some ppl can't say no. they feel bad rejecting you. but the funny thing is, i dun pester! so they actually just need to say 'i dun think i wan to do financial planning now' or 'i'm not ready for financial planning' or 'nah.. maybe next time' or simply 'no la dun wan la' and i'll tk it fr there but it happens.. on the bright side, fr this u can filter who ur real frens are.."

he makes seNse.. the last tHing i waN tO see is tHat mY fREns avoid me bcOs of mY job.. i think i'll rather be sacked tHan lOse ppl i loVE.. sO mY dEAr fRens, if i evEr approach you and ask whether u wan to do financial planning, pls just tell me right in the face if u dun wan to and lets keep the friendship going..

aftEr like 5 days into tHis IFA thing, i realised we are a misunderstood bunch.. we're not insurance agents but to many ppl its the same.. we're not sales pple.. but to a lot others its the same! and i know just where the problem is.. the few black sheeps that spoil the market! i can't broadcast it here... but there aRE (few, but there exists) planners wHo value $ more than clients neeDs.. they may or may not hav been in this line for long.. but in my opinion they totally spoil the uniqueness of our job! so how are they different fr sales pple? it brings me back tO thOse G.P days.. ethical issues.. whats right and whats wrong? is there really a clear line? perphaps not.. but a few more dollars (ok maybe more than a few dollars) vs a guilt-free conscience? they can do it.. but i can't.. i'll be sleepless knowing that the client didn get the best value that we cld hav offered him/her..

its not up to me to dictate wat other advisors can or cannot do.. like wat one of my teachers used to say, "u can't ctrl the weather but u can ctrl ur mood. u can't ctrl pple arnd u, but u can ctrl how u react towards them. u can't ctrl other ppl's behaviours, but u can ctrl ur own.." it depresses me to sEe them like that.. thankfully they are the minority.

it serves as a wake up call to me.. Do i want to see myself like that? btwn benefits for clients and my commission.. i choose benefits for my clients.. commission wise, if i do my job well, bringing value to others truthfully, honestly & w/o bias, which is wat we are supposed to do in the 1st place, even if i earn less, those are money that i receive happily knowing my clients are well protected financially, well prepared for their retirement, are growing their $$ comfortably, etc.. maybe at the end of the day i wldn even earn enuf to keep myself in this line but so wat? at least i can slp peacefully at night.. HM! *ROAR* XP





i'M lOving mY jOb. :) i honestly thiNk this platforM allows mE tO hlp ppl pLan tHeir finaNcial gOals.. and tHe flexible timE rEAlly sUits me.. i'm sO lOving it.. :) 2 daYs intO it.. i'm sTill a vERy nEw nEWbie..