A WALK THROUGH THE PARK...

Our visit:

Southern Ridges Park, from HarbourFront MRT - Marang Trail - Faber Walk (@ Mt. Faber Park) - Henderson Waves - Hilltop Walk (@ Telok Blangah Hill Park) - Forest Walk - Alexandra Arch - Floral Walk & HortPark - Kent Ridge Park - Singapore Science Park II... The actual end point will have end at West Coast Park.

Our walk:

The original trail should be around 9km. However we were only able to complete about 6-7km of the journey due to Charmaine's backache & sore legs... hehe.

Today's a bright sunny Monday~! Last Friday was my last day at NUS... and Wednesday will be my first day at my new workplace. So better enjoy ourselves before I soon dedicate my time to my work.

Woke up early in the morning, all prepared to set off on our trip! Met up with Charmaine along the MRT down to HarbourFront. Went to VivoMart @ VivoCity to stock up on our snack & water supplies for the long walk.

Went ahead to the MRT underpass & came out of Exit D which was the exit opposite of the Seah Im Road Food Centre & the beginning of the Marang Trail. Immediately, Charmaine & I got into the mood with some cam-whoring to kick start the beginning of our lovely, exciting trip!

We proceeded into the woods of Marang Trail... followed along the trail, taking pictures here & there, and arrived on top of Mount Faber - "Faber Walk". The surrounding is very different from when we went there once at night. In the night, the feeling was more romantic with the dazzling lights from the street lamps & "The Jewel Box's" decorative lights. Whereas in the day, the atmosphere had more of a soothing, relaxing touch to it.

After the Faber Walk, we came to the Henderson Waves, the highlight of our trip today. Managed to successfully capture our jump-shot after 11 attempts. But I still feel that the jumping pose could use so more practice, cuz our pose seem abit awkward. Hahaha... We stayed on the bridge under the HOT HOT SUN for quite a long time, cam-whoring. But we soon surrounded to the heat and went into the Hilltop Walk in Telok Blangah Hill Park...

When I reached the Terrace Garden consisting of a series of semi-circular terraces all the way to the top of the park, I realised that this was the location that I have seen in many TV productions. Hehe~ Many wedding couples also like to patronise this spot for their photo taking! They have those purplish pink flowers (called Bougainvilleas) planted everywhere on the terraces. Makes it seem so beautiful & magnificent, especially so when it is in full bloom! As expected, we spent a long time up at the Terrace Garden... hahaha...

Then we went downhill to the Forest Walk, an elevated steel walkway that stretched through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill till it reached the Alexandra Arch. The raised walkway above the canopy of trees offered us a bird's eye view of the forest. The experience was really good, as though we were walking in the skies...

Alexandra Arch was the next stop... after the long walk in the 'skies'. Alexandra Arch is a bridge with the concept of a open leaf, which spans across Alexandra Road. The bridge will light up with dazzling & changing LED colours into the night, making it a spectacular sight.

As we walked down the bridge, we came to the garden hub - HortPark. It is the second time I came to HortPark. The trees and flowers were more or less as beautiful as when I went previously with the Lin Clan... except for the new look of the display room near the entrance. It has moved in a lot of new indoor plans, and innovative ideas of incorporating interior design together with plants into your home. For example, fixing pots of plant against the wall of the room, as well as having a plants within a picture frame, framed up against the wall. The air-conditioned display room was a relief for both of us, a pit stop for us to enjoy the air-con & recharge our batteries, and take plenty of pictures before we carried on. We definitely spent alot of time in HortPark snapping away shots, coz there's always something new or beautiful to take pictures of~! HAHA

Finally after we finished walking through HortPark, we were pretty much exhausted. Too sweaty & tired to carry on... especially after climbing up slope to Kent Ridge Park past the "Reflection at Bukit Chandu" war museum. Finally we walked until we couldn't carry on anymore at the Pond near the Science Hub, and we found our way out to the nearest bus stop & took the bus to Holland Village for dinner before we head home!

What a fulfilling day for me as I got to spend some quality time doing something new with Charmaine, before I start my new job @ First Capital Insurance. But she still feels that I cheated her, cuz she thought we were only walking to the Henderson Waves, not the whole stretch of Southern Ridges Park. HEHE

- Friends, take some time off your busy schedule for a stroll down @ Southern Ridges Park and enjoy the nature, the greens and fresh air...

WORK LIFE @ NUS...
11 Aug 2009 - 11 Sept 2009

After the wedding on Sunday, 09 Aug 09 (National Day) & the following Monday being a public holiday, it was time for me to report for work @ NUS on Tuesday, 11 Aug 09. Haha. I feel the ironic, a NTU graduate working in 'rival grounds' - NUS, but that's just one of many Life's turns & twists...

First off, I got the job through an recommendation from Charmaine's sister who works in NUS too. There was an opening for a temporary/part time position in her department at that time. Since I was looking for a job & I didn't waste time rotting at home, I decided to give it a shot, keep myself occupied while looking around for a permanent job. Needless to say, I got the job after the interview by their HR manager.

So I reported for work @ the Shaw Foundation Alumni House - Office of Alumni Relations. Close to 1 hour of traveling time & changing from the MRT to bus to NUS. The traveling is a turn-off for me, even though it's just one hour... as compared to those who travel from the east to the west or vice versa. But it's just me...

My department is truly a wonderful place to work in for that one month or so of working there, before I switched over to my current permanent job. The whole Office occupies a small space on each floor for each department. Our department, the Operations Division occupies the second floor office on our own, so we're practically in our own world, most of the time.

One of the best perks in my job, is that because there are always events going on. The hirers will have to order catering & sometimes, the guests don't eat as much as they can or the hirers will cater more than enough food. In whichever case, there will be leftover food at the end of their events. Most of the time, the hirers will give us the green light to go ahead & help ourselves to the food. No point in wasting good food, right? In that case, the whole events team will activate! We will pack the food for ourselves as well as the housekeeping aunties & uncles, sometimes the security guards. We are like a big family over there!

Once I remembered that I packed so much good food for myself that I did my work & ate at the same time, I started my work & eating at 2+ pm & ended up finishing my food at close to 5pm... HAHA! My colleagues were like "OMG, Leslie, are you still eating!?" Pamela even caught me off guard & took a snapshot at me across her cubicle. Haha

Check out the wide spread of food - Sushi! Soft shell crab! Teriyaki chicken!
& Me caught off guard on camera with my stunned look~!

More good food~~! I'm loving it~!

Besides that, we also order Sarpino's Pizza for eat-in's on any occasion we can find! Be it somebody's birthday or my farewell treat... During my one month stay there, I already had the pizzas on two separate occasion.

Another thing was that the people there are wonderful. They are kind, friendly, helpful & a bunch of joy to work with! There's Nurul, Ramy, Pamela of the Event & Venue's Team, and Mark Twee, Lee from the Building's team & Belinda the Department Head. The thing I like is that they are very close to each other as well... celebrating each other's birthday & buying presents.

It's Ramy's birthday~! And it's time for a group photo~!
(From left to right - Belinda, Ramy, Me, Nurul, Lee, Mark)

The two pretty Malay girls, Ramy (mother of two) & Nurul (one year younger than me, as I found out towards the end of my working days there) have really been a bunch of joy to work with, always helping me out. I always approach them whenever I'm handling funny queries from hirers for their events. Nurul & Pamela are my e-mail check through list. They are always helping me check through my e-mails before I send them out to hirers. They, together with Pamela, have taught me many a things about events.

The two pretty Malay girls - Ramy & Nurul~
Thanks for brightening up the office place!

Mark & Lee on the other hand, dealing with the Building & AV side, have also taught me alot of things that I've never came across before - electrical risers, aircon cooling units, AV equipment etc. Beside being my lunch buddies, they have also been very patient & open towards me, sharing what they know unselfishly with me...

Finally, Belinda the Department Head, though never really personally teaching me anything, has taught me more than she even known. Through my observation on her, I have also learnt quite alot on the managing system, setting & demanding standards etc. Well, though some may not have fancied her much, I feel that she has being misunderstood to some extent. She is those kind of people that as long you do your part up to her standard, she won't purposely find fault with you.

These are the impressions I have of my colleagues at OAR...

I wished that I could spend more time there & get to know all of them better, but I nonetheless, have to find a permanent job position & start my career going. I Wish All of Them Best of Luck!

And thanks for the farewell gift & card for me...