Work hard, work smart

Oops, sorry for the lack of blog posts but I've been ridiculously busy.

Being an adult grown up is difficult. Especially if you've been promoted, that's right babyyyyy! Pogi got promoted again....well it was officially set in April but I have work travel this week and next. I is now a Technical Analyst. In the I.T. system cycle I'm one of those people who has to communicate with a client, understand what they require and turn it into business processes. Bored yet?

And with that comes meeting the department heads and training, so I am here in Colorado Springs, CO, the United States of America.

This is not my first time in the U.S. but it is my first time in Colorado Springs.

You see the buildings there in the middle of the picture, that's the office. Just kidding! We're actually situated on the front range, of the Rockies. Very nice location but as per usual, like LA, the city is stretched out, so everything is everywhere, and rarely in one easy place. The funny thing though, is that everyone, and I mean everyone drives everywhere. There is no walking whatsoever. Besides walking to your car...hehehe

An odd thing about this city is that the elevation is at about 6,000 ft above sea level. Meaning the air is thinner here, which leads you to being more dehydrated and you've got less endurance for any exercise.

I speak the truth. On my first night here I woke up in the middle of the night and was dying for a drink. Luckily I had Pibb in the hotel fridge.

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I hate flying.

Why? Because my 1.25pm flight last Friday was delayed 3 times and finally took off at about 6pm. We did receive compensation, however, I already ate lunch when Qantas (hate) awarded us with a lunch voucher. I wasn't hungry or thirsty at all so I spent the money on 2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. ^_^

If only I flew Singapore Airlines. :/

Pogi being the definition of silly, did not have the stomach to eat any of them, and carried them on the plane from Sydney (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX). [-_-]

Stupid aren't I?

Wearing a leg brace, carrying a laptop bag and a luggage bag, plus 2 boxes of Krispy Kremes. Stupid indeed.

Flight on Qantas wasn't too bad, but a class of highschool of American students were also on my flight. Now after watching Final Destination many times, I'm a bit freaked out and couldn't stop thinking about that movie. For the people who have seen the movie, I even checked if my tray table knob broke off. :/ Scaredy cat.

Thanks to my sister, she booked me a seat where my right (injured) leg is next to the aisle. It made my flight experience more comfortable, but not too get too comfortable incase a flight attendant with a trolley knocks my knee....which almost happened! Irresponsible old lady. hmmmmf!!

16 hrs later, I arrived at LAX in the afternoon, and since I originally missed my connection flight around midday that day, I had to wait an extra 5 hrs for the evening flight to COS.

I flew United Airlines from LAX to COS. Funny thing is, I beeped like crazy when I walked through the metal detector on my way to my domestic flight. Could it be the bolts in my knee, my belt, my shoes or my jeans (has metal studs on them)?

I was pulled into a special search section of the security group, forced to take off my belt and my shoes, luckily, not my pants. :) Then the searcher guy used a sweeper across my body several times, front and back, ,and get this, he took a swab of my hands and of my leg brace, then ran them on his illegal substance finding machine. He questioned all my gear, and was kinda scary cos he spoke softly and calmly, just like on the TV show Airline USA. At this moment, I was wondering if I was being filmed, and will appear on that show:

"In LAX, this young, Australian of Asian descent is acting suspiciously and is causing alarm on our metal detectors...."

After a 1.5 hr flight, I finally made it to COS on (their) Tuesday morning at 12.15am. *yawn* I feel so sorry for my driver, Dan, who had to wait there at the atrocious early hours of the day. But the cool thing though, is that he was holding up a sign with my name on it!

Albert Igonia

I was like, this is sooooo cool! It's just like in the movies, and it's happening to me! hehehe. So I casually walked up to him, like this situation was normal and said, "Hi, I'm Albert, how you goin'?". I wonder if I fooled him? hmmmmmz

Only sucky thing was he folded the sign and threw it away in the trash can. *cries* Missed out on snapping a picture.

And now life in a hotel begins, yay for staying at the Hilton in downtown COS. This means Pogi won't make his bed, clean up after himself and does not do laundry at all! Woohoo!!

Airplanes waiting for me to take off

LA looks so tiny

What is my plan here in COS?

To work? Maybe.
To kiss all the boss' ass? Of course.
To eat? Hells yeah!!
To shop? Definitely!

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Oww.

Here is a snap of my knee, post surgery. It has been about a month since that painful day in the hospital.

Will I get scars? EEWWWW

You see? I stayed at a hospital in Chinatown. har har har

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Food porn

Details: Maple flavoured waffles, with banana and maple syrup
Notes: Delectable! Because it was made by me!! Hei hei hei ^_*

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Annoying Office moments #32

Conversations in the restrooms - Ok, here I am, need to go to the restrooms to pee. A work colleague catches up with me and starts speaking to me as I approach the restroom, then continues to chat to me whilst I walk in, then continues to blab away whilst I'm relieving myself and finally, and even when I'm washing my hands!

The heck?!?!

Where's the privacy?

How awkward. I was silent the whole time.

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Fanx to my boo, Helena, for featuring me as her favourite on her blog.

More details of my experience here in COS, the food I ate and the clothes I bought in my next post. ^_^

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Meanwhile, I'm watching A Model Life with Petra Nemcova, which is a copy of America's Next Top Model, but instead is hosted by beauty Petra Nemcova, only difference is, Australia's Next Top Model is more entertaining. Why? Because of the bitchiness. So hilarious when they fight. hehehe

A model on the show was told to lose weight.....OUCH!! Poor girl!

Petra = Gorgeous

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Fashion

Top: Zara suit, G2000 shirt, Tag Heuer timepiece
Bottom: Dickies belt, leg brace, crutches

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I want.......XD

First and foremost, I can't get over this suit. It just looks so perfect and well suited (slap me for the pun) to my physique and my style.

I WANT IT....

But unfortunately, I can't, for the item is located in Japan, although I can purchase it online, I'm very fussy about the fit, it must be perfect. I'm very afraid of choosing the wrong size, or worst-case scenario, the fit is just not right.

Just look at it, the slim style which results in a snug fit, the jacket length is also shorter, and the lapel is slimmer which results in a more compact look. It still appears to be elegant, but strikingly fashionable at the same time, and best to be coupled with a narrow tie to add to the slim theme.

Plus it suits both my role at work (perfect for my meetings in the boardroom) and stylish enough for use at a drink lounge in the City after work. 2 uses in one day? Can anyone say perfikt? :)

C'mon seriously, you can totally see me wearing this.

Dang, I want it so bad. I need to fly to Japan now! I'm planning to go to Tokyo this year with bestie Grace and her bf Joni, but we'll see how we go between work and study.

I could also pray that work will finally open an office in Tokyo which has been in the works for quite some time, even before I started. Then I can go visit there. ^_^

Speaking of Japan, I was shopping the other day at Market City and some dude who works at one of the clothing stores said I look like a famous Japanese actor, then proceeded to ask if I was Japanese, only problem is, it didn't get me a discount on the stuff I bought.

Har har har. >_<

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Accessories

Clothing brands come with their own odd accessories, and one that I've recently come across is well known Japanese label BAPE (A Bathing Ape).

Check out this BAPE inspired toilet paper.....

I can see Pharrell bringing this along at a Hollywood party showcasing it.

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Food

I finally got around to tasting these chocolate biscuits. They are ridiculously delicious. Reminds me of the chocolates I ate from the Philippines or the U.S.

The chocolate is different, much better than the ones we have here. I think the chocolate here has preservatives or something? :/

But I always enjoyed imported chocolates more than the local variety.

Definitely add them to your chocolate list, McVitie's Penguins, from Sugarfix at Sydney Central Plaza, or from an Irish grocery store in Bondi.

Mood: sick (fever) and in pain (retarded knee).
Song of the moment: Razor Light - Dior Homme

A collection of Dior Homme songs, that were used at their fashion shows can be downloaded here. Enjoy!

My work + Shopping + Food + Fashion

I thought it would be nice to introduce y'all to where I work.

I work for an international I.T. CRM (customer relationship management) software firm located in Sydney. We have offices all over the world but our office is part of the Asia-Pacific region. The office atmosphere is awesome and I wouldn't have it any other way, the people I work with are amazing. I learn a lot from them.

I'm very lucky to have been hired by them as well as they being very lucky to have me. XD Why? Because of my superb waffle cooking skills which I make every few days.

Here is a noted pic of my workstation.

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Shopping

Last week Thursday is what? Late night shopping! And thanks to my mom I have a Myer gift card to spend. XD

I shopped amongst Chinatown and George St but I mainly was in the area of Pitt St mall.

To pretend to be a tourist, I took some snaps of the place. :)

But I had to be grown up and spend the monies on practical items, i.e. my cousin Anna's 18th cotillion today. I shopped

And here is what I copped that night:

• Florsheim shoes
• 2 x Van Heusen Euro slim fits business shirts
  
• Van Heusen cufflinks (woohoo! this makes up for the pair of Bvlgari cufflinks I lost somewhere in my room [-_-])
• 3 x neck ties (2 x Van Heusen and 1 x Hansarde Hauteur)
  

QED. Sexay Pogi.

RAWR!!

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Food

Later that night I ate dinner at Sydney Central Plaza, and due to my Malay and Indo work colleagues intro-ing me to their native chilli, satay and curry dishes, I had the urge to eat satay chicken.

It doesn't look healthy or that appetising but it was tasty although it later gave me some tummy trouble. :/

And since I was in the area, I had to pop in to Pogi's favourite candy store: Sugar fix.


Sugar fix is the penultimate candy store in Sydney (second to Haighs, Lindt, Darrell Lea, etc.), they sell popular candies from all over the world.

Johnny G from work mentioned a Timtams rival called Penguins by McVities.

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Fashion

Another TGIF post and another casual Friday outfit.

Top: 2 x wifebeaters from Phils and U.S., RL polo from U.S., Dickies jacket from U.S.

Bottom: unknown pants from Phils, Vans slipons from U.S.

And now, time to get ready of cotillion tonite. If you're from Sydney, you'd notice the torrential rain we're having. >_<>

Mood: still sick :/ but excited.

Song of the moment: Chemical Brothers - Galvanize

Work + Fashion + Cheesecake + My Sexy Byatches

Work

For those who know Pogi, he is:

a. not built for physical labour (translation: lazy kient),
b. is not used to waking up prior to 11am, especially on weekdays (translation: Yogi bear), and
c. takes forever to get ready hence always late (translation: minty).

And Pogi + Job is a combination that goes against all science and logic. Who would have thought that I, the definition of laziness (who strives to find a new level of laziness every day), has settled into a real job?

Bit unbelievable isn't it?

But it's a reality. One that I still cannot believe, one that family and friends cannot believe.

I have however adapted to working, before it took me 1hr and 15 mins to get ready: 10 min shower, 15 min nap, 5 mins face stuffs, 5 mins choosing what to wear, 1 min putting it on, 5 mins deciding whether it suits, 1 min taking it off, 5 mins choosing what else to wear, 1 min putting new outfit on, 2 mins preparing and drinking a glass of milk, 1 min brushing my teeth, 5 mins packing my gear and the rest for my hair (usually around 20 mins).

Now I can get ready in 45mins! Superb!!

Work today was a byatch. The last 3 days were busy, I actually felt like a grown up. I didn't even have time to take a nap at my desk or surf the net. How cruel.

Today alone, I had 3 meetings this morning, three! Is Pogi really that in demand? d|0_o|b

But it all worked out good, peeps at work gave me props for my hard work.

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Fashion

Today's work outfit:

Hot day! 27 degrees plus possible showers (and it did in the arvo).

Top: RL blue themed shirt from U.S., standard 2 wifebeaters (under) from U.S.
Bottom: Esprit plain black slacks from DJs, Dickies black
Accessories: Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male

Neato?

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Cheesecake

This cheesecake deserves a mention, especially with it's own part in this blog post.

I love you Johana for making this cake.

This folks, is a homemade Mars Bar cheesecake that work colleague Johana made for the office (really for me - cos she knows I have a sweet tooth). She also mentioned her hubby is eating healthy and abstains from sweets. Poor him, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. But advantage Pogi! More cake for me!! :)

Delicious, no?

I had a cakegasm when I saw it. 0_O Then another when I took my first bite.

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My Sexy Byatches

Quick shout out to my sexy hunnies Maria (on the left) and Lucia (on the right). This was taken in Parramatta after Karla's b'day dinner. Don't we look hawt? OK maybe not me but the girls!!

Maria I've known since 2nd year Uni, and she is an absolute gem, a beautiful girl and an amazing friend, I have so much in common with you, you are my adopted sister (big sister - hehehe).

Lucia I met through Maria and you too have a beautiful soul, so wise with your words and never afraid to speak your mind.

I'm wearing a Yogi mask because I blinked in the photo (sensitive eyes). ^_^

Notice how these girls are wearing heels? CHEATERS!! You'll never be as tall as me! Mwhahahahahha. *slap*

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Mood: feeling sick/nauseous, from meds.

Song of the moment: Dido - White Flag