Sunday, June 12, 2016


So I've heard gossips and rumours spreading like wildfire in the office.
And this time around, the target is me.

Am shocked to hear news about me that I didn't know myself.
Wild guesses snowballing with added salt and peppers?
Perfect recipe to tarnish one's reputation.

So to you guys who have nothing better to do than talking behind my back... grow up...








Monday, February 29, 2016


"I need vitamin-sea!!!"

"I miss the sea... but not so much of the sun...."

"I need to get into the water!!!"

"I'm SOOOOO DRY!!!"

"I'm dive deprived!!!"

....those are some familiar complaints my friends heard from me for the past few weeks.

The last dive trip I made was in September 2015 at Tenggol Island
and it has been 4 long months since I touched the soft sand on the beach,
and the salty sea water that always calm me down.

I'm yearning for another dive trip.. the month of May seems like a long way to go!

Me in May!

While waiting for another dive trip in May to take my breath away again, I could only 
cure my dive hunger by viewing photos and videos of the previous trips. And this made me reminisce about one of the most memorable trips to Subic Bay & Anilao at the Philippines 
in Dec 2014 where my main objective is to dive with the dolphins and sharks.


joyce yap dive
At Ocean Adventure @ Subic Bay, Philippines

subic bay ocean adventure
The dolphin showed us some tricks taught by his trainer.. he is one very amazing performer!

subic bay ocean adventure kiss dolphins
I stole his kiss... but he stole my heart~
kiss dolphins
I will definitely go back to visit you all again!

Why are the kissing dolphins photos online so much cooler than mine?




While I can go on and on about how much I needed a dive trip,
I'm just glad that I finally have a day off after working 14 days
non-stop, clocking approximately 135 hours for the past 2 weeks!
*so proud of myself for not breaking any bones or any brain nervous system*

It's an off day well deserved and I enjoyed my day out with friends, pampered 
myself with a 90-minute Thai massage, had a great dinner at Meat Point, 
and a quick wine session to put me in a relaxing mood
before heading to bed, charging myself for another battle soon.

Goodnight peeps!

adolf meme funny adolphin tenggol
Gimme a buzz if you get this! >.<

And I miss you dolphins!!!



Friday, February 5, 2016


The Pixar movie Inside Out is a pretty good movie focusing on the emotions inside us, particularly the common emotions that we recognize as Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness.

My least likable character is Sadness. Being down, low energy, negative, and frown most of the time, it do not jive with my own character and it was hard for me to accept this character in the movie.

Hello Sadness...

All she did was ruining plans and lying down on the floor and cry! Seriously? That's the only role of Sadness in us?


Having to be visited by Sadness or rather her big boss called Depression again, I recognised the moments when I was conquered by no other emotion except for Sadness.

There are days when I would have to struggle to get out of bed, and there are days when I struggle to keep my eyes shut and try to get some sleep. Either way, I can't figure out what's bothering me.

And there are also days that I would just lie on my bed the whole day not wanting to do anything.


Sadness and Depression crashed into my mind uninvited and have stayed for few days now, and I would really love to kick them out of the door soon.

Yeah.. but no thank you? 

I'm sending invitation to Joy for a long stay! 



Monday, January 25, 2016


Last week, I celebrated Justin's 33rd birthday 
(yeah I had to spell it out loud)... from 10,000 miles away!

I have to admit that long-distance relationship takes a lot of hard work. 
The distance makes a lot of things harder - especially when it comes
to celebrating special occasions together.

Instead of sulking the whole day for not having each other's physical company 
on special days, there are still ways to enjoy special occasions and show our love & care.

One of the way is...

--- A Video Chat Date! ---

Being there at real time is important, despite the time difference; Justin's 8a.m, Joyce's 9.p.m. 

It helps to get into the mood with fun party pack! For Justin's birthday, I got a few birthday items 
like cakes, helium balloon, colorful hats, noisemakers, and I wrote him a card too!

I make sure that I get to sing him birthday song, and that he get to make a wish... although it 
means I have to be the one eating the cake at the end of the day.

ldr birthday, ldr gift, long distance relationship, ldr special occasion
His birthday party in Malaysia!

ldr birthday, ldr gift, long distance relationship, ldr special occasion
Screen shots he took from our video chat
Lexie attending the party in style~

Another way to show that you care...

--- Send Him Care Packages ---

Like... A gift!

Sending each other handwritten letters and gifts is important to keep the relationship alive.
And it is even more important to be extra-sweet on special occasions.

I gave him a few presents when he was here 2 months ago 
for him to bring back to Orlando and to open only on the specific occasions.

For his birthday, I got him a matching t-shirt with me - soooo looking forward to wearing it together! 

Because I like camouflage...

Or... A Cake!

Birthdays will not be complete without your significant someone! ....or a cake!

To compensate my absence, I searched high and low (Google & Instagram in this case)
for a bakery in Orlando that makes good cakes, and provides delivery!

The first problem with this surprise is that I'm unfamiliar with bakeries in Orlando 
and I had to send emails to a few bakeries to ask about the delivery services 
and choices of cakes they have.

Tips : Make sure to read reviews for the bakeries. Take serious consideration 
if the bakery is capable to deliver a whole cake without smashin em' up 
- yes apparently it happened, as stated in numerous reviews.

Making sure that this will not happen to Justin's birthday cake

The second problem is... he's working and I DON'T HAVE HIS OFFICE ADDRESS!

I looked up the address for the company he's working with, but it turn out that 
they have several offices. I remembered him telling me that it takes approximately
15 minutes to drive to work. Google map is very handy in this situation as I'm trying to 
locate the office that's 15 minutes away from his home address - VOILA~

To be safe, I gave the bakery his mobile number if they fail to 
locate his office - no surprise if the bakery calls, but at least he'll get the cake.

So he did. A total surprise with his name called out loud on the intercom.

Delicious made-from-scratch coconut-lemon cake
from Sugar Loft Bake Shop

Well, he wasn't pleased with the surprise and told me that I can send it to 
his house instead, and for the next time I'm planning for a surprise. 
At first, his comment crushed my heart as I feel that my efforts were all in vain, 
but then later I understood his concern about security issues in the office.

--- Effort ---

All in all, he had a good day and I'm glad that distance 
did not keep me from making the birthday boy happy.

It takes extra effort and planning to make this happen. 
Again, long-distance relationship is not easy! 
But with love, trust, effort, and the same goal in mind, I believe we can make things work.


** HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN OLD MAN! **

I just had to post this... you make a very good impersonation of an old man!