MissJellybeano 2011

More Than 3 Decades Old

2011-07-24T22:14:00.003+08:00

My birthday this year was spent with the people I least expect to be with, and far away from the shores of home. I was on a work trip with my Director, and a colleague Mel who isn't even directly in my team. Nevertheless, I was immensely touched by the efforts they put in to give it a bit of celebratory mood.

After a tiring trip in Jerusalem (which deserves an entry by itself), my Director headed straight to the reception to book a restaurant for dinner. Good company, coupled with the Mediterranean sea breeze, the stunning sunset and delectable seafood dinner, was strangely enjoyable. My colleague requested a surprise cake with a mini firework displays, with enthusiastic Jewish waiters bursting into a birthday song. It was a truly memorable evening.

On my actual birthday, Mel and I booked a day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. Our tour guide, Zahid, was the same one that took us to Jerusalem the day before. We drove out into the Judean desert, and I commenced the adventure with my first ride on the camel.

Whoopsy-hoo. Careful now, Missy Camel.

Riding amidst the sweltering heat of the desert

We adjourned to a hike along the archaelogical site in Masada. It is located on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. We saw amazing architecture carved out from the rocky mountains, and learnt about the Roman siege of the Jews in Masada.

After the scorching tour of Masada, we were looking forward to float in the waters of the Dead Sea, the lowest point in the world.

To the dead sea and beyond!

Look Ma, no life vest required!

We had tonnes of fun floating in the waters, exploring even deep waters without the need for life vests. The water was so salty I was instantly aware of all the little cuts and injuries on my body since they would start to smart tremendously. We also slammed on the black mineral mud which is supposed to make our skin a lot smoother. All in all, it was great fun. More pics when I upload them from my iPhone.

Not a bad way to feel a year older!

Shalom!

2011-07-18T04:33:00.006+08:00

After a horrendous 16 hour flight, where three out of the five toilets were not working, we finally made it to Tel Aviv.

How on earth does a red-eye flight operate with faulty toilets? You see long queues of passengers forming in the plane to use the precious two working toilets and frankly, I have no desire to use the bathrooms after a group of men have utilised them.

Luckily, we were greeted by a friendly sight on arrival. My hotel is smacked right next to a fancy beach. It's summer and everyone is out to party!

My boss, colleague and I eventually adjourned to a nearby supermarket to stock up on supplies. As I searched fervently for the elusive bottle of mineral water amongst the hebrew-labelled grocries, a guy turned to me.

Guy: Do you speak English?
Me: Yes.
Guy: Great! I was wondering if you can help me. I'm looking for something.
Me: You're kidding me. I can't even read Hebrew. I can't find what I'm looking for too.
Guy: Oh I can help! What're you looking for?
Me: (Puzzled by the change in attitude) Er, minerable water.
Guy: I know where that is!

He enthusiastically started off towards an aisle and eyeballed the rows of beverages sitting on the shelves. 'Nah, they are not mineral water,' he muttered and strode determinedly towards the cashier. In Hebrew, he asked the cashier about the location of mineral water, and victoriously returned with a bottle of mineral water. Duh, he can speak Hebrew. Why the hell did he ask me for help?

Nevertheless, I thanked him for his assistance. He began to try to speak in incomprehensible chinese, as if in an attempt to impress. After acting amused for a bit, I strolled off to join my colleague.

A while later, as I was queuing to pay, he cut the queue and came up to me.

Him: Are you free for dinner tonight?
Me: Nope.
Him: Tomorrow night?
Me: Nope, sorry.
Him: I'll give you my number. You can call me when you are free.
Me: Er, sure.

He took my handphone and keyed in his number, while my colleagued looked on, amused. At this time, someone behind me said something in Hebrew. Again, I presumed the person was complaining he was cutting queue. The guy turned around and retorted,"She's my friend!"

At this point, my boss who was queuing behind looked distinctly unamused. Anyway, in my haste to saunter away, I actually forgot my change from the cashier. The guy called me back, reminded me to take my change before winking "Call me, I know where to have fun in Tel Aviv."

Right. Men.

Kayaking in Ubin

2011-07-11T09:48:00.005+08:00

We had a great time kayaking around the mangroves of Pulau Ubin, avoiding low hanging branches and colliding into the muddy roots.

We're cruising along, baby!

The instructors will first guide you on your paddling skills, and there will be practices in the open sea to raft up as a group.

Rafting up for a group pic!

Showing the instructors our paddling skills

The waters in Pulau Ubin is alot chalkier. It is almost opaque, unlike in Krabi where I could see loads of jellyfish, starfish and other aquatic life from the kayak. Well, still, it's pretty fun dodging all those mangrove branches!

We then adjourned to the coffee-shops at Pulau Ubin for a well-deserved dinner.

Feeling accomplished!

We Made It!

2011-06-28T21:39:00.004+08:00

We made it to the top of Mount Kinabalu, the 20th tallest mountain in the world!

Top of the world

The feeling at the top was indescribable. It was not an easy feat getting up to the summit. The air was thin with oxygen. I had to take calculated steps and stops to catch my breath. However, it was all worth it. Words cannot sufficiently articulate the breath-taking landscape - the view of the world below, the peaks rising above the clouds, the vast alphine meadows, and the awfully beautiful and stunning sunrise.

The climb lasted two days. The first day was a 6km trek up 3,270m to Pendant Hut where we would stop for the night before an early morning bid for the summit at 3:00am. The hike up to Pendant Hut was uneventful until the last 2km when it started raining. My poncho was with the porter who was following the rest of us behind me, so I was throughly soaked. I arrived at Pendant Hut after a 5-hour hike, shivering terribly with cold.

The goal of the first day trek - Laban Rata

After an unfitful sleep, we started our bid for the summit at 3:00am. In darkness.

Thank God for headlamps.

We finally arrived at the summit (4,092m) at around 7:00am. Some of my favorite shots along the way.

We literally ran down to Sayat Sayat Hut at 3,680m in an hour to meet the deadline for our Via Ferrata journey back to base camp. Out of our group, three opted to drop out of Via Ferrata from sheer exhaustion. Only four of us continued. It was a decision I would never regret. The view was simply spectacular and the experience was unforgettable. It was pure adrenaline rush.

For more pictures, click here.

Say That Again?

2011-06-25T00:59:00.003+08:00

We were shopping for our Kinabalu equipment and hiking shoes at a particular shop specialised in such wares. As we browsed through the racks of extremely expensive trekking clothes, we saw a dress, midi-length with collar, almost like an office attire. The tag says "Trekking Dress".

Me: What on earth is a trekking dress?
A very enthusaistic salesman (AVES): Yes, trekking dress! Very good. *nods*
Me: Who wears a trekking dress?!
AVES: Yes! Some women will buy!
Me: What on earth for?!
AVES: Yes, sometimes you trek up a mountain and you want to go to a restaurant.
Me: ...
AVES: Yes, instead of changing to a dress, they can trek immediately to the restaurant.

Right.

Random Tennis Trivia

2011-06-14T09:48:00.001+08:00

Maria Sharapova, grunts at 100 decibels, and is louder than a small aircraft.

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, grunts at 90 decibels, and is equivalent to a pneumatic drill.

Now, Dailymail has revealed that tennis grunt could actually improve the players' performances! Gees.

Kinabalu Practice

2011-06-12T16:39:00.003+08:00

As part of our training to Kinabalu Via Ferrata, we decided to embark on a trial of Via Ferrata at Orchard Central's BorderX. It is supposedly the world's tallest indoor Via Ferrata.

Woah.

A via ferrata is Italian for "road with irons". It refers to a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. Climbers can follow vie ferrata without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing. As compared to the indoor via ferrata, the one at Kinabalu looks a lot more intimidating!

If you miss a step and fall... it would be bye-bye.

Good luck to us all. Initially, looking at the indoor wall at Orchard Central, I was thinking it would be rather easy. I even showered before I left for the indoor climb, thinking it would be free of perspiration. It looks like it just involves climbing up rungs, doesn't it?

How wrong I was! Turns out it was extremely nerve-wrecking. I was holding on for my dear life in many instances, trying not to glance down at the ground floor of the mall ten stories away. At one time, Candice's watch fell into the abyss of the ground floor. I looked down at the guys resting at a narrow ledge and got a bout of vertigo. Uh oh, I wonder what is going to happen at Kinabalu.

This morning, thanks to the great weather, we went for a training hike at Bukit Timah. It was quite fun, and a good time to break into my pair of Timberland hiking boots that has been neglected in the shoe cupboard. Some pictures from Clarence's phone.

Don't mess with Candice.

Well, I think more training for Kinabalu is definitely needed. How does one get rid of this sniggering fear of heights?

It Doesn't Matter

2011-06-09T23:19:00.003+08:00

What are the chances of meeting someone on the train, and then while crossing the road junction... all within a month?

I have plenty of friends in SG, but I don't have such freaky coincidences. One day. The day will come when it wouldn't matter enough for me to blog about it.

Gluttony vs. Rationality

2011-06-07T22:32:00.003+08:00

There has been a corporate communications guy who has been seated in our area. Apart from the initial introductory greetings, we hardly engage him in any conversations, largely because of our different work scope. For the last two weeks, he has been sick and coughing madly in his cubicle. The office aunties could be seen whispering furtively amongst themselves, shooting him dirty looks.

In our area, Amanda and I frequently engage in our men-bashing conversations. Our typical conversations might go like 'OMG! Did you read that Ryan Giggs slept with his brother's wife?! Why are men such bastards?!', 'DSK wanted to sleep with his god-daughter, is he sick?', 'Uhh, yeah, that guy is shady. He tried to pick the girl up when he's engaged!' We are oblivious to Mr corp comms, though I imagine he must cower in much fear as we male-bash with much vigour.

Anyway, as I bustled around on my crazy-busy work day today, Mr corp comms suddenly stuck his arm out, grinned, and offered me chocolate biscuits! I stopped in surprise, looked at the biscuits which was very chocolatey, resembling Tim-Tams. Instinctively, my fingers shot out to take a piece.

Okay, now, imagine this in slow-mo. The battle of my brain vs. my impulsive fingers.

Brain: Hello, are you sure you want that?
Fingers: Yeah, why not? Tim-Tams! Top-notch.
Brain: Hello, did you not see him coughing his guts out last 2 weeks?
Fingers: Tim-Tams! Tim-Tams!
Brain: As he coughed, all the germs were probably sprinkled amongst his snacks...

Right at that moment, my fingers which were inches away from a Tim-Tim, curled away (much to the relief of the escaped biscuit). I think the hesistation lasted 5 seconds. As I looked up, the grin was wiped off from Mr corp comms' face and was replaced by a confused raised eye brow.

'Haaaa,' I squeaked. 'Maybe Later!'

Beyond Pighood

2011-06-07T08:20:00.003+08:00

Have you read about the latest? Not only did Ryan Giggs, the once-droolworthy and humble soccer player in Manchester United, cheat on his wife with a 6-month affair, he also slept with his brother's wife regularly. OMFG, what is the world coming to?

As Imogen Thomas aptly puts it, "The wives of the soccer players have the choice to walk away or put up with it. The reason why some footballers cheat is because they can get away with it."

Condoning such behaviours simply makes them think they are going to get away with it. Without any punishment, you'd think they learn?

What Makes Powerful Men Act Like Pigs

2011-05-31T09:20:00.004+08:00

I must say the cover on Time Magazine for the particular title was adorned by a pig beyond the cuteness level of a typical man.

Piggo feels insulted.

Quoted from the article - When men have more opportunity, they tend to act on that opportunity, said psychologist Mark Held. Well, I would like to add that when Men aren't powerful, they do act like pigs too. I certainly know of a few!

It is interesting how the article discusses how powerful people develop a self-entitlement, especially in the French society when not being able to flirt or seduce gets you branded as a prude. That does not give an excuse for men to behave inappropriately towards women. Quoting Elaine Sciolino in the article, stop using "Ah, we French love food and women." as a pathetic excuse. We are not pieces of chocolate.

Revisiting UK Pleasures

2011-05-19T05:51:00.002+08:00

It was truly pleasant, being able to return to UK after a year plus. I was greeted by typical British rainy chill and dull grey skies when I first arrived.

This evening, I rewarded myself with a musical at the Palace Theatre after three intensive days of school. Watching Mamma Mia amongst the swaying British granny sweethearts is truly amazing! The atmosphere was infectious and I found myself dancing, swaying, singing aloud the Abba songs... You are the dancing queen, young and sweet only seventeen! It was almost like a discothque for the elderly.

Besides amazing and affordable musicals, amongst other UK Pleasures catching-up I did include:

Running in the crisp cold air: I love running in the temperature of the teens. Perspiration seeps out and disappears almost immediately. You feel you never tire. I'm planning to run to nearby Heaton Park when the opportunity arises. So far, I've only run to the nearby Sugden Sports Centre (whose gym facilities are rather disappointing).

Savouring Gregg's Triple Chocolate Muffin: It is a chocolate muffin with huge-ass pieces of chocolate chunks, unlike the miserable chocolate chips you get in the Singapore ones. Besides that, it has a molten lava core that oozes out when you bite into the middle. Need I say more? Oh, it costs only 85p!

I know you want me.

Remincsing over Marks and Spencers Salads: Marks and Spencers salads, ah. The staple lunch of my everyday London life. I already had three in the short span of 3 days and this is in addition to my three meals included during my lessons. Can someone tell Marks and Spencers to include these salads in SG, please?

Shopping: Varieties are large and updated over here whereas the UK brands in SG are rather dated. And can I just give a special mention to Primark and H&M which I miss so, so, so much? I'm gonna head to the city centre for more serious shopping on Friday!

Ah, UK. Shall enjoy it while it lasts. :)

GE 2011

2011-05-08T02:51:00.002+08:00

Nerve-wrecking and nail-biting waiting for the results. Wish Potong Pasir results were different to end the exciting night! Everyone has a soft spot for the underdogs.

Maiden Voting Experience

2011-05-07T10:21:00.003+08:00

It was, well, bland.

I read the Saturday Special on the General Election, as my Dad drove us to our specified polling station. Enduring 15 minutes of his rants against the incumbent, of which some are warranted and some ridiculous, we finally arrived.

There was a tad of electrical buzz in the air as we joined a short queue of like-minded people waking up bright and early on a Saturday morning. Two white-clad PAP candidates stood near the queue, smiling.

I turned to my mum.

Me: Mummy, who are you going to vote for?
Mum: ...
Me: (rolls up the newspaper and put it beside my ear) You can whisper it here.
Mum: *looks uncertain*
Me: Who? Who?
Mum: Er, whatever Papa asked me to vote for.
Me: Wah Lao! Why don't you vote for what I ask you to vote then?
Mum: ...

So much for having a mind of your own. Tsk! Vote wisely, people!

There was no queue at all inside the premises. Many volunteers were stationed to direct us to our polling booth. In a short span of 200 metres, I had to answer the same question 5 times.

I stared at my polling ticket and the two empty boxes beckoning me to pick one of them. This is it, I thought. I am playing my kuching-kurau role in choosing the destiny of Singapore!

And so, I determinedly drew a cross in one of the boxes and strode over to a subdued-looking box to cast my vote.

Election Hullabaloo

2011-05-04T14:55:00.002+08:00

This is hilarious. I don't remember the last elections being so much fun and entertainment. Too bad it only happens once every half a decade! All the issues raised, parodies spoofed, mud-slinging ... are so uniquely Singapore.

Poor little Pei Pei. She seems to be a ligntning rod for all eggs-pelting and mud-slinging.

What?

2011-05-03T15:17:00.003+08:00

If one goes to the hotel room to sleep with a girl, when he already has a girlfriend, what intentions does he harbour? You can't seriously mean he didn't mean to cheat?! Come on! You've gotta be fucking kidding me! So what ARE HIS INTENTIONS? CHARITY???!

Please allow me to drag myself to a corner and die.

Eager Anticipation

2011-05-01T22:19:00.002+08:00

I've just watched the trailer to the final Harry Potter film. It looks mind-blowingly exciting! Argh! I wonder if I can book my ticket in advance to watch it!

Ow, ow and ow!

2011-04-25T10:45:00.002+08:00

A paragraph from my current read "Sputnik Sweetheart" by Haruki Murakami:

No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.

It is interesting how people find it difficult to be in solitude. They think they are in solitude, but in actuality, they are still dependent emotionally on a particular presence. Is it so difficult to be in solitude?

I also like the article by Lee Wei Ling on the Sunday papers where she wrote about "persisting, despite everything". I am very much one with an internal locus of control, and I am aligned with her writing that "No matter the trials, one must roll with the punches and carry on with life." Don't depend on some higher forces or someone else, you yourself can make things and live life better.

That said, I had a great Sunday cable-skiing. I think I have mastered the technique of ski-ing off without clumsy falls in the waters. I even managed a round and a half, much to the delight of the instructor. It was quite some fun. The only complaint I have is the immense aches I am currently suffering, my neck to my butt. I have no idea why my butt hurts, but yes it does. And I am sunburnt! Ugh!

Where is the wind?

2011-04-21T22:57:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday was my maiden venture into wind-surfing. Alas, the weather wasn't too perfect. It was rainy and cold, and the waters at East Coast were in terrible conditions. You get litter, wooden bits and insect swarms. Ew! What's worse, you tend to fall very frequently with the frothy waves that swamped in after a storm. Grrr.

Then again, it was a good workout. Don't underestimate the strength needed to pull the surf up, it's really heavy! Good training for arms and back muscles. I won't mind going back. But this weekend's adrenaline dose will come from ...... cable-skiing!

Please let the weather gods be kind. Sun, we need the merciless sunshine!

Maybe

2011-04-16T01:01:00.002+08:00

Two weak-willed persons are good for each other?

Two were once my closer friends. Now, one of them has shown himself to be the biggest lying/cheating bastard in the world. The other has.... disppointedly decided to condone his act.

Well, it is her choice. But I guess, I have to make my choice then.

Goodbye, Gramps.

2011-04-14T00:26:00.001+08:00

Grandpa has passed away suddenly this morning.

I wonder if he is happier, where he is.

Types of Therapy

2011-04-04T13:56:00.003+08:00

Here is my planned list of therapies to heal thyself.

Intensive Sports Therapy
Exercise releases endorphins, which in turn cause us to have what is commonly known as a "natural high" or a "runners high". I run harder, faster and longer. I lift weights, the heavier the better. I stretch beyond my usual limits, glad to feel physical pain. Give me muay thai, kick-boxing, wind-surfing... anything to release this pent-up angst. Bring them on!

Massage Therapy
After a week of crazy exercise therapy whereby I worked out consecutively for 5 days - running, physical training, jumpboard, muay thai, etc, I suddenly felt fatigued and burnt out. My muscles were aching so badly, I had difficulties just sitting down. I booked myself a session of massage, and had the best masseuse ever. She was soothing, and unknitted all the tension in my muscles with her magical touch. Miraculously, all physical, mental and emotional pain ebbed away for the moment. I slept fitfully that night.

Task Therapy
Giving myself tasks to take up mental/creative energy help tremendously. My entrepreneurial friends are suddenly (and hopefully pleasantly) surprised with my enthusiasim in designing electronic direct mail, magazine advertisements and web sites. I have also taken to reading journal articles on consumer behaviour, creativity and innovation management to see if I could be inspired to pursue any research topics. And yes, as you can see, I have also re-started my blogging efforts and picking up my wacom pen to do random doodlings. Anyone has any entrepreneurial projects? Rope me in!

Tragic Readings Therapy
Reading about tragedies put things into perspective. My problems seem miniscule, compared to what people around the world is experiencing. Were my parents swept away by a tsunami? Did I have to experience the trauma of having my son call me just before his plane crash into World Trade Centre to say goodbye? No. I should be grateful and contented. We should all appreciate the beauty of the world, instead of nit-picking the ugliness.

Well, the gist of this is to keep busy!

Chocolate Tart Therapy

2011-04-03T09:53:00.004+08:00

I think when one goes to sleep, the brain rests while the heart is very much active. As such, rationale disappears and emotions rein. That explains why my sleep has been very unfitful for the past two weeks. Once awake, things get better as sweet objective rationale takes over.

On other matters, I promised my team to bake something as a celebratory effort when all project papers got approved. This weekend, I embarked on baking a new recipe, despite an easier option of the familiar Linzer Torte. Let's bake something I'd like to eat for once, I thought. I got a recipe from Epicurious and set down to baking with Elaine.

I am pleased to say that it is quite a success. Yippee.

Voila!

It Takes a Duck to know a Duck.

2010-01-15T00:29:00.002+08:00

So, on my entertainment read everyday, this is an interesting article on the sleep-talking man who spouts the most hilarious lines when he's off in lalaland. Amongst my favorite is:

Don't leave the duck there. It's totally irresponsible. Put it on the swing, it'll have much more fun.

Yah, hellooo, don't leave the duck there. Ducks have more fun on the swing, ya'know.

Chuckles

2010-01-07T10:38:00.001+08:00

This blog has just made a cubicle rat (i.e. me) guffawed her guts out. I like!

The Not-So-Funny Cab Experience

2009-12-23T23:39:00.003+08:00

This morning, my boss and I hurried to hail a cab to SPRING Singapore for a meeting. As we entered the cab, the driver greeted us in a jolly way. After we directed him to our destination, we continued the business conversation between us.

Suddenly...

Cab Driver: Do you want to go to SPRING Singapore?
Boss and I: Yes, SPRING Singapore at Bukit Merah.
Cab Driver: Okay! I stop the cab and you can walk there.
Boss and I: ???
Cab Driver: Ahahahahaha. Do you get the joke?

(after a pause)

Boss: Ahahaha. Not really.
Cab Driver: You all want to go to SPRING Singapore right?
Boss: Yes?
Cab Driver: I stop the cab, and you all can go there lor!

We threw quizzical glances at each other.

Cab Driver: Ahahahahaha. Do you all still not get the joke?
Boss: No. Should we walk there?
Cab Driver: No, no, it's a joke. (Repeats the "joke" for the 3rd time)

After hearing it for the 5th time and not understanding the joke...

Boss: Okay, we would like you to take us to SPRING Singapore.
Cab Driver: Ahhhh, that's the difference!

I plastered looks of "duh" all over my face for a bit.

Cab Driver: Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?

I choked loudly and almost died.

Boss: Er, no we are colleagues.
Me: He is my BOSS.
Cab Driver: You are girl and his friend, right? So, you are his girlfriend!
Me: ...
Cab Driver: He is boy and your friend, right? So, he is your boyfriend!
Me: ...
Cab Driver: So, I always tell my frinds I have many girlfriends but only one wife.

Wah lao. Taxi uncle's jokes need to be improved, man.

Here, Fishy Fishy

2009-12-20T23:22:00.003+08:00

Mr F has related to me his Christmas wishlist this year - amongst which is an aquarium. Apparently, he got rather inspired by the aquarium kept in the condominium premises and has pointed out a clownfish as a favorite.

After much research, I decided a clownfish, being a saltwater fish and all, may be too much trouble afterall. We did an exploratory research trip to one aquarium store at Sunset way, but the lady was extremely unfriendly and curt.

Today, we wandered two more shops, embarked on several intensive mini-conferences and discussions, before finally deciding on our purchase from PolyArt Aquarium Supplies at Clementi Avenue 2, where an enthusiastic uncle gave advice at rapid pace.

Buy this one, good ok.

We had differing opinions from different shops and we consequently chose an integrated tank, with lights, pumps and filters all installed for convenience. The fishies are cheap, but the accessories are pricey!

$2 for one goldfish... My fish and chips from the food court costs more!

Mr F swiftly picked up 2 goldfish and we christened them Georgie and Georgina.

Say hello, Georgie and Georgina!

We hurried home with our purchases to "prepare" the water for Georgie and Georgina. The salinity of the water needs to be altered, chemicals for fish protection needs and salt for pH-modification have to be added... Phew!

Mr F sets up a spanking new habitat for the Gs.

We further picked out "furnishing" for their new home. Initially, we wanted a picturesque landscape with seaweed, ornaments and pebbles at the bottom. However, the Aquarium uncle sagely dispensed advice on how goldfish may swallow pebbles and it is actually best to keep the tank's floor as sparse as possible. Quite stupid, huh, fishes?

So, we ended up choosing a few plasticky sea-plants so that the goldfish can play hide-and-seek Bollywood style.

Behold the Bollywood-wannabe gardenscape!

After treatment of the water, we obediently ran the aquarium for half an hour to achieve the correct conditions for the grand migration.

The Gs eagerly awaits their new abode.

Georgina: Hey, Georgie, your fins are shaking.
Georgie: I know! It's that darn Mr F. He takes forever to migrate us!

After what seems like forever, it's time.

When they arrived in the new tank, they sunk right to the bottom and started sniffing around.

Hey, Georgina, check out this tall sea-plant man.

Hello, World!

2009-12-11T13:39:00.002+08:00

"The Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation Epidemiology study group looked at thousands of calls to the 995 hotline in the first five months of 2006 and found that Mondays had by far the highest number of emergency calls. The numbers gradually dipped over the week before rising slightly on Sundays. Saturdays saw the lowest number of calls - about 10 per cent fewer calls than that on Mondays, or a difference of 600 calls."

Ha, my heart beats slightly faster on Sunday when I think about going to work on Monday (and the impending stress). On Friday, I'm totally chillaxed.

Gives a whole new meaning to my usual exclamation on Sundays
"ARGH, MONDAY TOMORROW AGAIN????!!! *DIES*"

My Late Night Comfort Food

2009-09-19T01:04:00.003+08:00

In London, on cold nights, I have an insane craving for spicy and hot soupy kind of foods. My favorite type of supper will consist of the rarely-found-in-London

Chilli Crab Nissin Cup Noodles

...washed down with a quenching pint of Yeo's Justea!

Tee-hee. It feels soooooooooooo good to be savouring these foods now!

Slurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!

Bangkok ♥

2009-09-14T09:42:00.003+08:00

My flight home was disrupted pleasantly by my annual Bangkok pilgrimage. We were in the Land of Smiles to celebrate Sandy's birthday!

Alan had made reservations at Sirocco, the State Tower - an alfresco-type of restaurant which has a great view of Bangkok. Alas, it started pouring in the late afternoon and when we arrived, we had to be seated indoors instead.

Sandy staring forlornly at her food.

My snowfish dish was pretty good and I wiped out the entire plate of my food. Yeah, and the appetisers of foie gras and some mushroom thingy were pretty good too. However, to pay that price to eat indoors is really not quite worthwhile. I am definitely willing to pay that price to sample their alfresco dining experience next time.

Happy Birthday, Girl!

The hostel in which we stayed was pretty good - Lub'd.

Outside our rooms... 3 wooden dogs lingered...

The furnishing is contemporary and Lub'd is popular with the international tourist crowd. The hostel has facilities such as theatre, internet kiosks and games tables to provide common grounds for you to befriend other tourists living in the hostel. In fact, we were quite impressed when the hostel staff noted Sandy's birthday and sent her a gift to our rooms!

The first day in Bangkok was spent trawling the streets of the Chatchuchak Market.

We started out looking for breakfast in the market.

What to eat?

We were quickly won over by a friendly man who welcomed us to his makeshift food card. The ambience was certainly primitive and not too impressive. But the food - WOW! One of the best pad-thai I have ever eaten!

Yum, yum, yum and yum!

After being nourished by a delicious breakfast, we were ready to go shopping! We needed to get equipped for the warfare - and thus, we scanned the shops for hand-held fans to combat the humidity and heat in the market.

Our thirst-quenching fruity fans

Yup, and shop we did! Although it was only for about 4-5 hours, I think most of us were quite lethargic towards mid-afternoon and were looking forward to a massage. Since the massage palour we frequented was full and required a waiting time of more than an hour, we decided to adjourn to my favorite GreyHound Cafe for some titbits.

Happy troopers

After our massage sessions and another wonderful dinner of shark's fin and fish maw at the famed Chinatown store, we settled back in the hotel to count our shopping loot.

Candice won the "Who is the best shopper?!" contest.

Special honorary mention to Alan, who surprised us with his shopping abilities, despite being a member of the male gender!

Sandy was just "okay-lah" in amassing a huge shopping loot.

I was too, "okay-lah" in my shopping loot because my luggage is already overweight from all the stuff I had to bring back from London!

Man, the stuff in Bangkok are just so cheap, good and creative! Don't even get me started on the countless rows of shops at the Platinum shopping center. This is almost like CCK with air-conditioning! These are mostly clothes, accessories and other fashion items. CCK still has more creativity injected into their merchandises, I feel.

Nevertheless, I love the food court at Platinum! We started our breakfast and were thoroughly spoilt for choice at the many food stores available.

We shopped till late afternoon and went for a pampering session of pedicure and manicure. Hmmm, what bliss.

And soon, Monday arrived and it was time to head back to Singapore. We will be back again soon!

Whoah! We're Going to Ibiza

2009-09-01T03:49:00.003+08:00

Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza
Whoah! Back To The Island
Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza
Whoah! We're Gonna Have A Party
Whoah! In The Mediterranean Sea

Remember this tacky song in the 1990's by a group called Venga Boys? I used to think they were singing "Whoah, We're going to EAT PIZZA!"

But pizza aside, Ibiza is a spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea and its official Catalan name is known as Eivissa. It is a popular tourist spot among the Europeans and is especially notable (or notorious) for its summer club parties.

I agreed to tag along with Reb and her friends because I was keen to see the beaches on the Mediterranean Sea.

Behold! The blue, blue Mediterranean.

On the first morning I was there, Kerry mentioned I was the most dressed person on the beach. Almost 80% of the ladies on the beach were gloriously tanned with their luscious boobs hanging all out. The sunshine was as hot as it can be in Singapore, yet all these people are just sprawling themselves out, buttering on the suntan lotion and grilling themselves away.

I get tanned even when I stay under the shade! WTH.

Hello..... Ibiza!

My feet says hello to the warm, warm sand.

It's good to be doing nothing at all after a late night. When I first arrived at about 1am the morning before, I was dragged off to explore the clubs in the neighbourhood. Reb got too zealous in her vacation start-off drinks, downing off shots of vodka and the lethal foul-looking Absinthe. She subsequently lost her memory of the night. At one point, she woke up from her sleep at 5am and walked out of the front door with Ian and Frank looking on incredulously. Ian recovered quickly enough and ran after her.

Ian: Where do you think you are going?
Reb: I need to pee.
Ian: The toilet is back in our room?!

Yup, this is what Absinthe does to you. Wipes off all memory. You've been warned, kids!

Mummy says "Girl. Die lah. You look like a dark little Indian girl.

The next night, we wandered to the town of San Antonio. We had wonderful tapas and sangria in a spanish restaurant recommended by a local.

Not bad at all. Dinner ended at around midnight.

Next day, we were off to Formentera, one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses.

Trekking across the sandy beaches to catch the ferry..

The island is reachable by ship from Ibiza and it is famous for its many pristine beaches.

Ahoy! All aboard!

And we're off!

Hello, Formentera!

After exploring the town of Formentera, we headed for the beach.

The waters were so clear, I could see right through to my toes. It resembles the water you find in swimming pool. I almost thought I was frolicking in a swimming pool until a wave licked up to me and the taste of salt reminded me that this is actually seawater.

One of the prettiest beach I've ever seen

And I must add that prettiest included the WOAH! factor of the people suntanning on the beach. They're all supermodel-like with huge boobies. Gees.

Amazingly, after a long day in Formentera, we proceeded to Amnesia to watch Underworld.

I have not a single clue who Underworld is but I hopped along with the energetic crowd from 12 till past 4 in the morning. My legs were giving way then, but the clubs here don't close till 6!

It was no wonder we all woke up way past noon the next day. Kerry and I decided to head to the beach at Playa d'en Bossa once more.

Iced cold coke never tasted so good

The last night was spent exploring Space, which was awarded Best Global Club at the International Dance Music Awards in 2005 and again in 2006.

With that, I left for London the next morning - more sun-toasted than ever.

One Perfect Summer Sunday

2009-08-25T05:08:00.003+08:00

My regular routine on Sundays is to visit the Fitness First gym at London Bridge, exercise for about an hour and half, before showering and grabbing a worthy lunch at my favorite lunch spot nearby. MoreLondon - the perfect, perfect, lunching haven for me for the past half year with a marvellous, marvellous view of the grand Tower Bridge.

Behold!

Yesterday was an uncharacteristic warm, sunny day for London. I bought my yummilicious British Mustard Honey Chicken Pasta, a bottle of freshly pressed grape and raspberry juice, 3 cups of my currently-obsessed-with jelly and a large cold samosa from Marks and Spencers. Huge lunch, it was.

I had the pleasure of Belinda for company and she arrived 15 minutes later, after I have been thoroughly grilled by the cheery sunshine.

Me and my favorite lemonade jelly

Us and the Tower Bridge on a fine, fine day!

Since Belinda was such a darling for packing the picnic blanket, we decided to venture nearer to Potter's Field to utilise it.

Don't mind my auntie-looking gym backpack.

We laid the blanket on a suitable patch of grass, with first-class view of the Tower Bridge. It was a surreal experience, lying down on the grass, chatting and looking at the landmark.

I'm one happy camper, for sure!

Ah, summers. :)

The Squirrel Never Sleeps

2009-08-25T00:03:00.003+08:00

"The Squirrel Never Sleeps" is a phrase coined by Felix in an attempt to dream of a code word for something. Or, he might be trying to indicate subtlely how complicated an instruction is.

Last night, I was giving him directions to a particular Newton bus stop.

Me: When you come out of the MRT barriers, you will need to turn left.
Felix: Uh huh.
Me: Go up the escalator.
Felix: Uh huh.
Me: You will see a bus stop on your left.
Felix: Okay.
Me: THAT is NOT the bus stop. You will need to look right and see a pavement cutting through...
Felix: Wah lao!
Me: Yes, you will see the pavement cutting through the grass.
Felix: Why did you mention the bus stop, if it's not the bus stop?!!!
Me: That's because it's the first thing you see when you get up and you are bound to mistake it for it!
Felix: ARGH! So complicated!
Me: But it's not the bus stop. You have to walk the pavement towards the big busy road called Bukit Timah Road!
Felix: Yes, and then I will see an old man with a walking stick.
Me: ...
Felix: And I will say to him "The Squirrel Never Sleeps."
Me: ...
Felix: And he will say "The Hamster is Hungry." and points the way to me.

Technology Awe

2009-08-17T20:42:00.002+08:00

I figure myself as a sort of technology-savvy person, being able to adapt to technology and gadgets fairly quickly. However, customer service and support for technology is another matter. I either don't use them or never really had a good experiencee with them.

Today, I had to install a university-licensed SPSS Statistical Analysis software on to my laptop. (I am going to get to install SPSS Textual Analysis software as well and I am sooooooooooooo excited about that. Okay, sue me, I am a data analysis geek.) Installation is usually a fairly uncomplicated procedure but university-licensed software can be tricky. After some troublesome and complicated IT-support matters at NUS where I was based for 8 years, I was naturally anticipating that the IT support in the RHUL would be worse.

I called the IT Service Desk and a support officer identifying himself as Matthew responded. I explained to him my inability to install the software and expected him to ask me to come down to the Computer Center. Instead, he sent me an email to click on a link.

Me: Oh! Something is installing.
Matthew: Yep, just run it.
Me: ... (gets bored and started randomly moving my mouse)
Matthew: Erm, excuse me, could you stop moving your mouse?
Me: Huh? What? Erm, why? *Surprised he could see that I was doing so*
Matthew: Yeah, I'm trying to see what's wrong with your computer now.
Me: Huh. You mean you are remotely accessing my computer??!
Matther: Er, yeah? *in a duh-sort of voice*

Luckily, only my mum was chatting with me on MSN and she didn't have a funky nickname. Yeah, so with that remote livehelp, I didn't even have to explain much! He accessed my computer, figured out the problems and got them all sorted out.

Now, is this cool or what?

I've got mail!

2009-08-11T19:27:00.004+08:00

This morning, while I was buried in papers on my bed, I drowsily received an SMS saying a parcel has been delivered. The text message referred to me as 'Felix' and the real McCoy insisted I go down to the porter to check it out.

Coincidently, I have been anticipating an assortment of parcels and mail. I love UK for its online shopping and the huge, huge variety of goods. Don't even get me started on Tesco. I love shopping for groceries at Tesco! It is exactly how supermarkets should be. Supermarkets in Singapore have a long, long way to catch up. Tesco itself deserves an entire blog post on itself.

Yeah, so back to the story, I drowsily made my way down and greeted the porter. There are usually two Caucasian porters whom I am friendly with, including this dusty-hair mustached bloke.

Me: Hi, I'm from Flat 10.03 and I have a text message informing I have a parcel.
Bloke: Indeed! You have flowers sent for you!

Instead of a bouquet, I stared incredulously at this huge, tall box about a meter tall. Together with the rest of my parcels (books from Amazon - my entertainment, yay!), I dragged this humongous parcel back up to the apartment.

Wala - the huge-ass parcel

Flo and Betty were both curiously intrigued and impressed by the sheer size of the box. The bouquet of roses were rather huge too and so beautiful in their deep shades of crimson.

Thank you, honey! I love you, too!

Birthday Barbie

2009-07-28T17:42:00.002+08:00

Rebecca was very sweet to organise a mini-celebration to celebrate my birthday. We decided to have a barbeque at her cosy little balcony of her home and boy, was there loads of food.

Hot and spicy wings, lamb kebabs with mint, burgers, mmm!

Knowing the chocoholic dessert-crazed person I am, she especially bought a super-heavenly-chocolate-GU dessert. In the end, we had THREE different types of desserts - a banoffee tart, chocolate luxury cake and a chocolate and vanilla cheesecake.

Mine! All mine! All mineeeee....

Despite the risk of incurring the wrath of their neighbours, Ian was entrusted with the important duty of grilling our chow.

The Chef-de-Cuisine

Occasionally, Rebecca gave instructions on what to cook. So, I guess you can call her ...

The Sous Chef

Before long, the delicious smell of sizzling meat came wafting through the house and we tucked into a delectable selections of tender and well-cooked meats. Mmmm-mmm. das schmeckt..

Oh, and the erratic weather in London comprising of 5-minute rain showers and 5-minute sunshine spawned the most curious phenomenon ever - a rainbow over another rainbow!

The guys were awesome. They knew that after the very scary experience with candles, I wouldn't appreciate candles on my desserts! Instead, they litted up a tealight and chorused a birthday song for me. *Sniff*

I say we murder the banoffee now!

The awesome gang

Birthday Bonfire

2009-07-27T14:32:00.003+08:00

I was woken up on the morning of my birthday with Felix holding a belgian chocolate tart, glowing with 29 candles.

Now, ever since I worked in London, I have always eyed the belgian chocolate tart whenever I trawled the dessert aisle of supermarkets. Yet, I always stopped myself from buying it because nobody in the household is such a huge fan of super-chocolatey dessert and I didn't want to risk the glutton in me emerging and consuming the whole darn tart.

Hence, I was pretty happy to see the belgian chocolate tart. I was, however, a little nervous about the number of candles. After making a loooooong wish, I attempted to blow out the candles...

..to no avail.

Felix: *chirps happily* They are magic candles!
Me: Uh, and?

The candles started to have sparks coming out from them.

Felix: Aren't they pretty? Just like fireworks!
Me: Erm, but can we still eat the tart after that?

At this point, some of the candles whose flames I have blown off re-ignited. I started to panick a little.

Me: Er, the carpet may catch fire!
Felix: Don't worry, honey! The candles will die down.
Me: Did you read the instructions?
Felix: Instructions? Bah.. who needs instructions.

By now, some of the flames from the 29 candles have merged to form a mini bonfire. I was getting more nervous by the second.

Me: I think the tart is going to burn! Ahhh.
Felix: (Cool demeanour slowly breaking) Erm, don't worry! They will stop burning soon.

We watched as the feisty little candles sizzled and sparkled their way right on to the tart, only to feed on whatever flammable ingredients on the tart.

Felix: Okay, I think we'd better bring this tart to the bathroom.

He promptly doused tap water onto the tart. And we all know what is the perfect recipe for a fire! The instantaneous phase change, from a liquid to a gaseous state, is accompanied by a tremendous expansion. Because the water (now steam) is below the oil, it expands rapidly upward, explosively expelling the flaming oil. It atomizes the oil, in the process, oxygenating it and effectively creating a volcanic blow torch.

Ta dah!

Although thoroughly freaked out, Felix persevered in continuing to douse the tart with tremendous amounts of water...

Finally and fortunately, we extinguished those feisty-we-just-won't-die-muhahaha candles and didn't need to spend my birthday morning evacuated from our apartment.

The remains of the doomed chocolate tart

Yup, I still didn't get to taste my chocolate tart after all. Sigh!

Weekend Getaway to Portsmouth

2009-07-22T00:26:00.003+08:00

As a birthday gift to me, Felix whisked me away to Portsmouth for the weekend.

Portsmouth isn't so popular with the tourists and many tourists seemed to express surprise to hear our interest in heading to Portsmouth. It is known as UK's only island city and has functioned as a significant naval port for centuries.

When I first walked up the stone stairs, leading up to the esplanade atop the walls overlooking the waters, I was awed by the large expanse of the beautiful blue ocean.

The washed-out colours of the stones and quaint buildings by the ocean make for a picturisque sight.

The town architects has also undertaken much effort to emphasize on Portsmouth's connotation with the waters. The benches and walls have feminine curves to reflect the majestic waves in the ocean.

Unlike most beaches I am accustomed too, the beaches in UK are mostly pebbly.

Instead of sinking your feet into soft white sand, you get your feet sunk into gazillions of pebbles. Looking on the bright side, it is as if you are getting hours of foot reflexology therapy.

Gazing into the humongous expanse of open space, I do feel rather insignificant.

The sea breezes, or rather gales, were so strong that sometimes we get blown off course while strolling on the esplanade.

Ahhh!

I kid you not. In fact, there were plenty of times when I looked up in the skies to see a seagull flying in vain against the winds. It would fly on the spot for a few seconds before giving up, and getting blown away by the winds.

On many UK beaches, you will be able to stumble on the phenomenon of seaside piers.

These piers are a British speciality and usually consist of amusement parks, casinos, booths hawking candy floss and ice cream and other carnival-theme activities.

Felix falls victim to one!

Brightly coloured beach huts are an essential part of the British coast. They make a great base for a family on a beach holiday. Many are equipped with small stoves for boiling kettles, essential for the British afternoon cup of tea.

The sunset at Portsmouth was pretty breath-taking, I'll say.

On Sunday morning, we braved the whipping sea gales abd headed towards Fort Cumberland. It was extremely isolated, with not a single soul by the waters. It was just the blue ocean crashing onto the stony walls of the fort and us.

We snoozed...

..monkeyed around..

..and created "art".

Mission Portsmouth, Baby! wasn't disappointing at all. :)

♥♥♥♥♥

2009-07-02T03:03:00.003+08:00

Several weeks ago in London, Sandy - my regular IM buddy, sent me some pictures of Samantha's new office at Central.

She tempted me back to Singapore with tantalizing offers such as this. "Let's hang out here when you are back!" she suggested. Sure, anywhere with great company is great.

The weeks passed rather s-l-o-w-l-y and soon I was back in SG for a visit. I met HT for tea and we hung out at Burger King, waiting for Sandy to turn up. We were supposed to meet at 530pm.

Me: Hey, I am at Central already.
Sandy: Oh, oh I should be reaching soon.
Me: Okay, give me a call when you are here!

The call never came and I was slightly concerned that HT would be late for his next appointment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Samantha standing a distance away from our table, staring at us - slack jawed. I waved frantically and she reluctantly walked towards us.

Me: SAM! Come, sit down.
Sam: Huh, cannot. We need to go up.
Me: Sit down first lah. Sandy isn't here yet.
Sam: No, cannot. I need to go up now.

Ht and I were both puzzled. We had pulled chairs around for her and wanted her to sit down. Sam, on the other hand, seemed quite insistent on going upstairs.

Me: Why?
Sam: I need to bring these bottles of coke to Ivan.
Me: (HUH)
Sam: Hurry up, I need to go upstairs.
Me: But Sandy is coming.
Sam: It's ok, we can head up first. When Sandy arrives, I will come down and pick her.
Me: (HUH)

HT and I exchanged the looks of "HUH".

Me: Aiyo, so troublesome. Why don't you go up first?
Sam: No, no. You are coming up with me.
Me: But Sandy is coming! I just called her and she said she would be here in 10 minutes.
HT: Sandy always late one. You all go up first.
Me: Let me call her.
Sam: Okay, you call her.

And so I did. Sandy requested me to go up with Sam first. After finding out she was with Alan who would be able to provide some company for her, I obliged. We took an elevator up to the rooftop where there was a beautiful garden, adorned with deck chairs, sofas, and jaccuzis. As I stood there admiring the venue, suddenly, out of the bushes - Alan popped out.

Alan: SURPRISE!

My first instinct was anger. The first thought that came into my mind was that Sandy was somewhere waiting for him, but he has come up here by himself. Just when I was to retort to his disappointed quip of "Eh, why you not scared one?", a huge bunch of people emerged from some bushes!

SURPRISE!

And there was Sandy, with a huge bunch of balloons.

I am usually someone who is quite composed and in control of emotions. The key to maintaining composure is to conjure out every possible scenario to anticipate, so you are mentally and emotionally prepared for it. But this! I'd really thought it was going to be a girly-chillout session at a novel venue Sandy has discovered. Furthermore, my birthday isn't until July!

This, plus the fact that I do sorely miss all my friends in SG and other random factors contributed to the extent at which I was deeply moved when I saw my friends together. *Sniff*

In fact, I can say that many of my friends had put on a great pretence. For instance, Kenneth did not mention a whiff of this while we played tennis in the morning. He had casually asked me what I was doing in the evening and I responded with - Ah, hanging out with the girls. The only thing that could give him away was when I wished him Bon Voyage for his pending Korea trip, he waved me away without a word. Wah lao, I thought, so rude! He has since clarified that he knew he would see me later in the evening, and could send me his wishes for my trip back to London then. :P

Both Cynthia and Candice constantly IM-ed me for possible dates to meet up, despite knowing that they would see me on that very night!

The sneaky babes.

Oh yes, and not forgetting...

The sneaky bastards, *ahem*, hunks.

So, we gathered around to make merry and feast.

The place chosen was awesome. It has little pools and comfortable chairs. You can actually lie there and get a massage, if you want to!

Alas! Soon the dark clouds loomed, and we decided to move the party up to Ivan's office. There were champagne, a large array of food from pizzas to home-cooked beehoon to fusion gourmet takeaways. Looking at my friends gathered together was sufficient to make me filled with happiness. :)

Sandy even bought my favorite cake from Canelé Pâtisserie! She is this one person who probably knows what I like to eat and don't. Mmm, maybe that is because I am similar to Alan in terms of eating habits. Ha ha.

Behold - The Richest Chocolate Cake of all!

Happy Birthday to Me!

They even shared a gift for me! Honestly, I felt spoilt rotten. I was initially happy enough to catch up with my girl friends. Then, I was quite thrilled to see the pretty gardens on top of the Central. The surprise appearance of my friends celebrating my "birthday" was the climax of it all. I really didn't need anything else. That explained why I wasn't so excited about my gift, despite the cajoling to open it quickly.

I already had my dosage of happiness.

Of course, I still had to oblige with the crowd.

It's a Nokia E71!

It was a truly memorable day. Who cares if it was my birthday or not?

The Furnace known as London Underground

2009-07-01T03:06:00.003+08:00

It is amazing that in a developed city like London, the most commonly utilized transport mode - the London Underground - is not equipped with air-conditioning. No doubt, London usually suffers from freezing temperatures 75% of the year. Still, I can't fathom why they can't build the air-conditioners that can be utilized the rest of the 25% of the year and just freaking turn them off the rest of the time!

Just imagine being squashed into the tube with the rest of the commuters who are sticky with perspiration, the air thick with odours. Ugh! I only had to suffer 2 stops from Waterloo to London Bridge and I felt faint.

The tube advice includes "Carry water with you." Ha! Do these people even take the tube? The peak-hour carriages are usually so squashed you can't even swing a bottle of water to take a swig.

Yet another reason to love Singapore's MRT.

Ahoy! All onboard!

2009-06-21T21:19:00.002+08:00

Alan's sister, Doris, has chartered a yacht from Lifestyle Adventures Asia and invited us to spend a leisurely Sunday morning basking in the scorching sun.

We woke up in the ungodly hours to make our way to the shores at Keppel Bay.

We walked towards the rows of spanking new, sparkling white yachts parked neatly at the Marina.

Yello, all!

Alas, our yacht didn't look that impressive. Still, it served us well with adequate amenities and nice interior decoration.

The Hidden Treasure II

It has a great sundeck fronting the yacht, suitable for the skewers-wannabes to roast themselves mercilessly.

We aren't skewers though!

On the top deck, there is an alfresco dining area and a comfortable sheltered lounge area beside the captain of the yacht.

We were the cowardly sun-fearers who hid under the shelter, lounging near the captain with cans of coke, sprite and mineral water. The rest of the sun-worshippers could be seen at the sundeck, or at the alfresco dining area.

We passed by several islands - Kusu Island, St John's and Sisters Island...

Are people who live on Kusu Island called Kusuians?

We finally stopped at a quiet beach where there were two other private yachts. We anchored about 10 meters away from the island and lunch was served.

Apparently, lunch was served by Garibaldi - one of the top Italian restaurants in Singapore. However, being on a yacht does mean you can get quite nauseous, despite how delicious the food may be. I had very little portions, just in case I might get seasick.

Feeling a little green in the face.

The humidity in Singapore is just incredible. Sitting under the sun doing NOTHING could make me perspire tonnes. The only way to cool down is to leap into the waters, or dip your legs into the water from a quaint little platform at the back of the boat.

Doris and her posse proceeded to swim and do a little exploration of the little island.

We remained onboard, dipping our little toes into the cool sea, occasionally trying to spot swarms of little fishies.

Alan pedalled around in the kayak, others frolicked in the waters with beer in their hands.

It was definitely an enjoyable way to while away a Sunday morning.

Singapore Airline

2009-06-13T08:55:00.003+08:00

I have been travelling via a number of airline companies in my life. Of course, my favorite is the Singapore Airlines, and very proudly so. A number of foreigners I have met have also mentioned their preferences for Singapore Airlines since the service offered is usually helpful and friendly (and pleasing to the eyes too!). Further, SQ has one of the best in-flight entertainment systems with the widest range of games and movies. In my experience, the stewards and stewardesses for European and American airline companies behave as if they were the lords and the ladies, bossing you around on the planes.

Nevertheless, being typically Singaporean, I still have one thing to gripe about SQ.

You see, I like Qantas or British Airways seats because they have foldable headrest.

Something that looks like this...

(Picture taken from here)

This very simple ergonomic property is extremely important, especially on long flights. It prevents my head from lolling over to a fellow passenger who might be (unfortunately) sitting next to me while I am snoozing. It supports my head, as opposed to my neck pillow which supports my neck. To get a good snooze on the flight, the best combination is to have the foldable headrest and the neck pillow.

For some reason, SQ has neglected this aspect.

So, I'm saying 'Hello, Singapore!' with a very sore neck and dazed eyes.

Strike!

2009-06-10T14:26:00.003+08:00

Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union have walked out from their usual work tasks at the London Underground from 7pm yesterday to 7pm on Thursday, bringing the network to a standstill.

Yep, and the Tube breaks down again!

According to the Daily Mail,

Defiant Tube union boss Bob Crow vowed today to strike for "as long as it takes".
He refused to bow to pressure from the Prime Minister and the Mayor to order his members back to work - despite bringing misery to millions of commuters. The leader of the RMT union said he would keep industrial action going this week and next, regardless of the cost to London. Crisis talks had been due to resume today - but industry sources revealed Mr Crow would not be attending.

Wow. No worries about the inconveniences to 3.5 million London commuters, no worries about crippling London's already-injured economy. The Tube strike is set to be the costliest ever - with London businesses set to lose more than £50 million a day.

You know, Mr Crow, I don't see how the transport authorities or the Mayor can offer you any better terms, if the London's economy is to go on in this disrupted manner.

Now, Singaporeans, are you starting to love the Singapore's ever-stable SMRT?

Yello!

2009-06-09T19:12:00.004+08:00

Selfridges is a popular chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom, founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store is located in London's Oxford Street and recently celebrated its first hundred years in business with a Centenary Exhibition of amazing events, stunning art installations and fabulous celebrities.

As Cynthia did her last minute shopping at Selfridges, we chanced upon a newly opened Yellow Café.

Since Cynthia's favorite color is yellow and my favorite kind of food is dessert, it is no wonder both of us got suddenly distracted and drawn to the colorful eatery.

We decided to have the Original English Cream Tea set as an appetizer to our lunch.

Cynthia says yay.

The very yellow store guide

There were scones, clotted cream, jam and of course, tea.

Sleepy Cynthia needs her tea..

..as I get unimpressed by the scones.

There was some deejay on a nearby stage blasting loud music, hence providing a less-than-relaxing atmosphere for me to rest my weary feet. Overall, despite the spiffy decor, I found the food rather mediocre and boring. I could produce the same scones and tea at home too. All I need is some reaaaally yellow cardboard as a background, I guess.

One O One

2009-06-08T14:46:00.003+08:00

Felix finally completed his CFA Level 3 examination on Saturday, after countless weekends of revision. Woohoo! Well done, honey, on your discipine and hard work!

Weeks before the revered date, Felix was already planning his "Operation Action Hero" - a list of tasks and activities he wants to execute after he regains his freedom. One of them includes going for a nice dinner date.

For excellent dining locations in London, Toptable is the site one should utilize. It has a huge variety of great restaurants listed, sometimes offering many worthy discounts and special offers. The sample menus with prices and reviews are a great help too. After skimming through the seemingly-endless list, we randomly decided on the One O One Restaurant at Knightsbridge.

The One O One Restaurant is an apparently highly acclaimed fish & seafood restaurant located within the Sheraton Hotel, in Knightsbridge. The menu has been designed by a talented Head Chef, Pascal Proyart who specialises in the fish recipes from his native Brittany. A little cautious about the hype created by media, we visited the restaurant with some amount of skeptism.

However, the cloud of uncertainty gradually lifted as we arrived at the restaurant a good half hour before it opened. The waiter was friendly and helpful, offering us drinks and impeccable service, even before we were seated at our table.

The Les Pains included plain and brown bread - light, airy with a wholesome crust and suitably warmed. Felix was a huge fan of the Focaccia which was spongy and fluffy with black olive bits. The bread were accompanied by a duet of butter - one unsalted and the other mixed with salty seaweed. The latter did taste quite heavenly and not much was left after Felix devoured his fourth piece of Focaccia.

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche, literally translated as "mouth amuser" in French, is complimentary from the chef and consists of raw tuna bedded in a shot glass with couscous and coiffed with some kind of lemon mousse. (I didn't really remember every word of what the waiter was saying.)

Entrée

For starters, I had Red Tuna Tartar with Crispy Soft Shell Crab Tempura, Sushi Rice and Wasabi Sorbet while Felix decisively chose Scottish Smoked Salmon with Parsley Crushed Potato & Capers, Horseradish Cream Mouillette, Balsamic Jelly. Being a fan of sashimi, I love the fresh tasting red tuna pieces that have been cleverly mixed with a tangy, zesty sauce. The tempura was fragrant and crispy, with the crabmeat melting at your mouth as you chew. The most interesting part of this dish is actually the wasabi sorbet. It was cold, pungent and sweet - a unique blend of tastes I have not quite experienced before.

Plat Principal

Although the restaurant is famed for its fish recipes, I was feeling carnivorous last evening and opted for Roasted Spring Lamb Fillet with Olive and Rosemary Jus Garlic Confit Persillé, Ratatouille and Gnocchi. The lamb was one of the best-cooked lamb I have ever eaten - tender, moist and juicy. Felix had (after much great difficulty) chosen to indulge in Oven Baked Fillet of Wild Seabass with Niçoise Tapenade, Basil Crushed Potato, Mozzarella, Artichokes and Olive Oil Barigoule Sauce According to him, the fish has been cooked to perfection - light, extremely flavourful with the flesh dissolving at the tip of his tongue.

Dessert

For dessert, we shared the Cinnamon Poached Pear with Warm Chocolate Sauce, Meringue Stick, Almond Sorbet. The almond sorbet was heavenly and wonderfully paired with the poached pears drenched in generous amounts of chocolate sauce. It was so delectable, I swore we finished the dessert in less than 5 minutes. I even attempted to savour every drip of the chocolate sauce, with Felix trying to tilt that plate such that any remaining chocolate sauce can be easily ladled from the plate.

Throughout the dining experience, the service was timely, patient and warm. The waiters were friendly and rather knowledgeable, although their accents were sometimes difficult to understand.

What's more, the meal came with a 50% discount from toptable!

ID, please.

2009-06-06T13:27:00.002+08:00

In the United Kingdom, there are strict laws enforced on the sale of alcohol, particularly to young people under 18 years old. I think it is a great policy since I do observe that the youths here do not moderate their drinking or practise sensible drinking at all. It doesn't help when the wines and alcoholic spirits are extremely affordable here. I can get a bottle of wine for 3 pounds (~ SGD7+).

As such, I am glad to see cashiers at the supermarkets putting on their strictest expressions and demanding for IDs, each time someone of questionable age attempts to buy alcohol.

Although I am in my late twenties, I do think that the people here have a hard time discerning my exact age. It doesn't help if I usually all decked out in my hoodie and track pants on a typical trip to the supermarket. I guess Asians tend to look younger to them. Thus, the frequent requests for ID whenever there are purchases of wine.

Yesterday, I decided to buy sparkling juice for dinner instead.

Cashier: Hi, how are you doing?
Me: Great, and you?

The cashier frowned as she held my bottle of sparkling blackcurrant juice.

Cashier: Can I see your ID, please?

I did a double-take. This is an equivalent of being asked for ID when I am buying a bottle of sparkling Ribena in Singapore.

Buy Ribena, need ID!

I could have easily shown my ID, but then the whole concept of indignance and privacy fell over me.

Me: What?
Cashier: Your ID, please.
Me: I didn't know I need an ID to buy sparkling juice.
Cashier: What?!

The cashier obviously thought I was a teenybopper, trying to trick her into selling alcohol to an illegal consumer.

Me: This isn't wine. This is juice.

With a look of suspicion, she scanned the bottle and realised I wasn't lying. Suddenly, she was considerably friendlier.

Cashier: OH, I am so sorry! I thought it was wine.
Me: That's ok. You are just doing your job.
Cashier: I am so sorry!

She started offering me extra plastic bags to carry my groceries.

Me: It's ok if you want to check my ID anyway. I am almost 30.

She gave a small gasp of surprise.

So, anytime you guys are feeling crappy about this age thing, come here!

Greenwich Park

2009-06-04T16:44:00.003+08:00

Greenwich Park must be one of the largest parks in London. Although I have been there a couple of times, I have never really finished walking it.

It is also the home to the Royal Observatory, where the modern Prime Meridian Line passes through. On a fine summer day, you will see throngs of tourists queuing up to have a picture taken with the famed structure.

We, on the other hand, prefer to loll on the meadows and bask in the sunshine. :P

Raison d’être

2009-06-03T14:47:00.003+08:00

Raison d’être literally meaning "reason to be", and is apparently the French word for a restaurant's signature dish. Since coming to London, I have somehow mastered the recipe for Thai Green Chicken Curry. By "mastering", I do mean I use Green Curry Paste bought from Tesco, and not pounding chili and spices from scratch. So yeah, I cheated.

Frothy Green Curry with Fragrant Basmati Rice

So, whenever there are some occasions or entertaining to be done, the signature dish gets prepared. For instance, during Cynthia's Farewell last Saturday...

Or during Felix's Birthday in April...

What's more, it's really simple to prepare! Look at me! Do I look like someone who can whip up something complicated?

Here is the simple recipe. All you need is:
1) Green Curry Paste

The one I buy from Tesco looks like this. And it served me for 5 Green Curry dinners. Pretty good value for money, I might say.

2) A can of coconut milk, I say - around 400ml

3) A can/pot of pineapples in syrup

4) Peppers, preferably red ones

5) Basil leaves (or spinach, if you can't find basil)

6) Brown sugar (3 tablespoons or more, depending on the level of preferred sweetness)

7) Soy/Fish sauce to taste

8) 6-7 Cup Mushrooms, sliced

9) 600-800g of diced Chicken Breasts (can be substituted with other chicken parts)

I usually marinate the chicken breasts in the green curry paste an hour or two before I start to cook them. Heat up 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the wok and stir fry the chicken breasts for a bit.

Pour the coconut milk, peppers, mushrooms and pineapples in.

The motto I usually maintain while cooking is - "Even if it doesn't taste good, make it look good." At least, people will be deceived into eating them. *Snigger* So, I usually make sure there are colours in my food to make them appealing - Yellow from the pineapples, Red from the peppers and Green from the Basil/Spinach. Ta dah!

Yes, so right now, the stew of coconut milk, peppers, mushrooms, chicken and pineapples is boiling. Add 4-5 teaspoons of the curry paste. The spicier you want your curry to be, the more you should add.

I like my green curry sweet - so I tend to be quite generous with sugar. At this point, add brown sugar in and do constantly taste the stew to see if it suits your palate. If it is too sweet, add fish/soy sauce to offset.

Allow it to stew for a while, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add spinach/basil only when you are about to serve, so that it maintains its bright green colour.

Wala - my Raison d’être

For Cynthia's Farewell, I prepared a British Platter as an appetizer as well. It consists of typical British fare such as pork pies, scotch eggs and steak & ale pudding.

Ah, and crêpes for dessert.

With that, my best mate in London is sent home to Singapore.

Sigh.

Moby Dick

2009-06-02T15:34:00.002+08:00

The Docklands is an extremely picturesque and serene environment for a stroll, any time of the day. Sometimes, when I do not feel like getting squashed in the tube for an uncomfortable commute, it gives me great pleasure to visit Moby Dick - our neighbourhood pub in the docklands.

The pubs in Britain, a convenient acronym to "public houses", can be found on almost every street in London. Unlike Singapore, the pub culture here may sometimes even be somewhat family-oriented, with families bringing their little kiddoes and puppies along as they grab a beer.

On a sunny day, it is an utter bliss to just recline on a wooden bench outside the Moby Dick, nurse a glass of Pimm's and Lemonade and feel the sun rays on your skin.

Mmmm... Pimm's and Lemonade...

Pimm's is a brand of alcoholic beverages which is rather popular in London. Pimm's can be mixed with lemonade and fortified with citrusy fruit pieces to make the perfect summer drink.

Of course, who can miss the pub grub while having a beer or two? Pub grub is food that is typically found in a pub. A typical British pub menu tends to include items such as beef and ale pie, steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, bangers and mash, hot pot, Sunday roast, ploughman's lunch, and pasties. My favorite meal at the Moby Dick is its deliciously crisp fish and melt-in-your-mouth potato croquettes.

Pub Grub! Niam niam niam.

We get a great view of the wildlife at the docks while tucking into a great meal, too. Moby Dick gets my vote as my favorite local pub. :)

Creepy Crepes

2009-06-01T19:44:00.003+08:00

Cynthia and I were a fan of crêpes. Crêpes are thin French pancakes with savoury or sweet fillings. We were always mildly hysterical when we discovered stalls selling crêpes in markets we visited around London, be it Greenwich, Camden, etc.

In fact, Cynthia loves crêpes so much she decided she wanted to eat them on one of her last precious weekends in London. She found Crêpe Affaire online and we had a trek there to have some crepes on a particular weekend.

As usual, I prefer my crêpe sweet and dessert-ish, ideally with loads of nutella, nuts and banana.

Cynthia hasn't had her lunch, so she craved for some savoury fare.

After observing how crêpes are made (these guys usually make a show of it), I decided that crêpes are quite a easy-peasy fare to prepare.

...until I tried them out myself!

I randomly dug out some savoury crêpes recipe from the good ol' Internet. The recipe looked simple enough - and even came with a recipe on how to create a delicious savoury mushroom, bacon and spinach cream sauce for the crêpes.

The filling was made from scratch with flour, butter, milk, water and parmesan cheese and was indeed quite tasty.

Blip! Blip! A stew is boiling.

The problem came with the cooking of the crêpes. I guess, you really do need a flat pan for you to spread the crêpe mixture out to create the signature thin-ness of a crêpe. Otherwise, you just get really thick ones, like pancakes.

What a crêpe shouldn't look like

Nevertheless, I soldiered on. Instead of crêpes with mushroom, bacon and spinach cream sauce, we can have erm... malleable pancakes with mushroom, bacon and spinach cream sauce. Still can eat what.

But nooooooooo, Felix decided wet pancakes are nothing like crêpes and proceed to dump rice on top of my crêpes. "Your sauce goes better with rice, than the crêpes you have made...", he claimed.

I watched in horror as he destroyed my culinary creation.

So, if you want to be a smart aleck like me and try to make a crepe with a pan, instead of proper equipment, better not ah. Don't say I never warn you. But then again, maybe you guys may be more skillful.

Now I have something to scare Felix with - "Creepy crepes for dinner tonight, want a not?"

When the Sun is Out...

2009-05-27T18:59:00.002+08:00

After going to the gym on Saturday, I was delighted to feel the radiant sun rays on my skin as I stepped out. I grabbed some food from Burger King's at London Bridge and trotted over to moreLondon to have a mini picnic and a view of the Thames.

moreLondon has plenty of open space and long benches. It is interesting how they have morphed modern architecture and blended it together with traditional structures like the Tower Bridge.

Cynthia joined me shortly after her shopping spree at Bond Street.

After sharing the Burger King meal, washed down by chocolate muffins, we hopped by Mark and Spencer's for a bottle to Rose and a pack of delicious crisps.

With Greek music playing in the background, great girly chit-chat over wine and crisps, sun rays warming up my face, the weekend can't be any better than this.

Bring on the summer sunshine!

Tate Modern - BodySpaceMotionThings

2009-05-25T16:39:00.003+08:00

The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art. Although I am not a big art connoisseur, I have somehow visited the Museum several times with different companions.

This time, I was keen to visit because of the various events happening at the Tate over the long Bank holiday. One of them is the BodySpaceMotionThings Exhibition by artist Robert Morris.

Apparently, this exhibition is a re-creation of Tate Gallery’s first fully interactive exhibition which took place in 1971. Back then, there was an escalated amount of media and public interest when the art gallery asked people to physically interact with an art work. The exhibition was closed just four days after opening, due to the unexpected and over enthusiastic response of the audience.

We were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, whooping in encouragement as participants attempted to balance themselves on a large square plank.

Whoopsie!

There were people queuing to roll a large ball around trails of sandbags...

...people attempting to balance on tight ropes.

Inspired, we decided to participate in the art ourselves too.

There was the edging-against-the-wall stances...

...abseiling a slippery slope...

Cynthia slid down a wide plank merrily.

There were structures for the bold ones to climb up.

I gave a futile attempt. :p

Cynthia ventured into a narrowing tunnel...

and almost got trapped!

Others tumbled in cylindrical structures.

After an eye-opening adventure, we stepped into the bright sunshine, right onto the House of Fairy Tales - a series of workshops and activities in exploring material and process through activities such as sewing, drawing and sculpture.

Gardens in bottles

The Museum of British Folklore

We stumbled upon the Drawing Room and I got intrigued by the invitation to participate in painting the common canvas.

Yello!

My art piece no. 1, titled "Mr OnionHead sends his love!"

My art piece no. 2, titled "Mr Fishy-fishy"

After some cajoling, Cynthia decides to take up the brush as well!

What's she drawing?

Awww... a picture of us!

Can you spot a '你好!' I have scribbled?

Attempting to draw a merlion on Cynthia's request (but failing miserably)

Other self-created postcards

We felt like newly minted artists already!

Mediterranean Desserts

2009-05-17T16:31:00.000+08:00

I have acquired a rather regular habit of consuming a dessert after dinner everyday. When I was in Singapore, Mummy will usually cut a huge platter of healthy fruit and that will suffice for a dessert. A healthy one, too! Otherwise, I will just ransack the refrigerator for a piece of dark chocolate.

Over in London, desserts are the bane of every women, especially those with a sweet tooth. (That's me!)

Yesterday, I decided I had enough with my regular consumption of cheesecakes, muffins, cupcakes, ice cream ... and boldly decided to venture into untested dessert arenas - Mediterranean Sweets.

We were loitering around Waitrose after dinner, in search of suitable desserts.

I decided upon a choice of 3 types of sweets - a Baklava, a brazi-nut wheatroll and a Raspberry Namoura.

Baklava is a type of Greek pastry traditionally made of thin layers of flaky pastry , honey, nuts, and orange essence. Many other Middle Eastern nations have pastries which are very similar, thanks to a long running tradition of sweet desserts which feature flaky, delicate pastry.

I suffered some cognitive dissonance when I bit into it because in our asian culture, flaky, delicate pastry usually equates to savoury palates. It is a little odd to bite into a flaky texture, only to realize it is bursting with sweetness.

The Raspberry Namoura is a traditional Arabic Semolina Cake, tasting nauseatingly sweet. It reminded me of some nonya kuehs I had ages ago as a kid.

My favorite one is the brazil-nuts filled wheatroll - and I believe it is also a sort of Baklava. It was crunchy, nutty and doesn't make you feel like you are going to develop a bout of diabetics immediately.

Man, this is turning into a food blog.

La Clique London

2009-05-15T16:54:00.003+08:00

La Clique is live at The London Hippodrome in Leicester Square, and my buddy Cynthia, has invited me to catch it with her 2 weeks ago.

The setting of the circus was apparently distinct from any circuses I have been to. The stage was small and the performers appeared to remind me of a nomadic freakshow circus participants, rather than silky-smooth acrobats. The ambience is boisterous and fun, giving a feel you are in a sleazy pub with a beer, cheering some drunkards on the table.

Dodgy lighting conditions...

The girls eagerly anticipating...

La Clique is touted to be a melange of cabaret, new burlesque and circus sideshow. It started with a freakingly large man, cross-dressed as a clown women in a green-Shrek-like costumes and dark pink faux fur, singing in mediocre voice. To be frank, I was more disturbed than entertained, as Mrs-Large-Man sometimes randomly chose audiences to sit on and made them grab his manboobs. I might need psychological therapy if he had sat on me.

The muscle-bound English Gents, as seen above, were slightly more impressive. However, being an ardent fan of Olympic Gymnastics and having watched hours of incredible gymnastic stunts during those competitions, I was not quite impressed by their stunts.

I was totally freaked out by Captain Frodo, an inhumanely flexible man with double-jointed physique, enabling him to twist and dislocate his joints at will. It was so painful to watch (although he frequently had to disclaim it was not painful at all for him) that I had to close my eyes several times to spare myself from the sight.

The rest of the acts were mildly entertaining. I think the audience helped amplify the atmosphere, adding a dose of fun into this overrated circus. Overall, 'twas a novel experience.

Going Greek

2009-05-12T03:30:00.003+08:00

The first time I tried The Real Greek was when Rebecca brought me, after some drinks at The Union Bar near Baker Street.

I kind of like Greek cuisine because it seems to be the equivalent of a healthy dining option, like what sushi is to Singaporeans. Of course, this is not substantiated but I like to believe going Greek is healthy since the distinctive characteristic of Greek cuisine is the use of olive oil. Olive oil is healthy, right?

When I googled for The Real Greek and found out they have a 50% promotion going on Sundays-Thursdays, I cajoled Felix to dine there after one of his intensive CFA revisions.

There are a few branches of The Real Greek. One of the better franchises will be located at Bankside, near London Bridge, next to the River Thames.

We started the dinner with some mezedes. Mezedes or meze are the small plates of food served with ouzo (a kind of spirit, I think). There is a wide selection of cold and hot mezedes. Personally, my favorite appetizer is Greek Flatbread with Htipiti dip.

The Greek pita bread reminds me greatly of the sorely-missed roti prata in Singapore, except alot less oily. The Htipiti dip is described as a coarse purée of roasted red peppers, feta cheese and roasted red onions. Mmmmmm-mmm.

For the mains, we ordered 6 skewers of lamb, chicken and pork, served with two delectable dips of Smoked Chilli Relish and Sun-Dried Tomato & Roast Pepper Relish. Felix ordered an additional Lamb Souvlaki which comprised of a lamb kebab grilled over charcoal embers and wrapped in flatbread.

Looks similar to satay huh?

To Market, To Market... in London (Part II)

2009-05-07T17:19:00.003+08:00

Anytime a Singaporean has something to complain about the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore, I would like to welcome them to London - the place where the tube malfunctions for all sorts of reasons, from union strikes to signal failure. Sometimes, the tube crawls at a speed at which the growth of my toenail exceeds. For some strange reason, the Jubilee Line is forever under engineering works during the weekends.

Being restricted to using the Northern Line from London Bridge, we decided to explore the markets accessible to that particular Underground service instead.

To Angel, we ventured.

There was a pasar malam going on, probably every weekend. It was a electic mix of fresh produce and not-so-appealing apparel. We had just finished 2 hour gym session and we needed food desperately.

We promptly decided to dine outside an oily kebab store - feasting on onion rings, fish and chips, wraps and many cans of coke. Mmm-mm!

Onion rings!

Humongous chunks of fish and chips

In essence, Angel is quaint but not so interesting. There is quite a selection of shops such as Marks and Spencers, Waitrose and Sainsbury and other restaurants we didn't quite sniff out.

We decided to proceed on to Camden.

Camden Market is extremely busy. It can get so busy, they apparently ban people from entering the Tube Station on Sundays - permitting only exits. The stalls sell crafts, clothing, bric-a-brac, fast food, and other things. Apparently, it is the fourth most popular visitor attraction in London, attracting approximately 100,000 people each weekend, according to Wikipedia.

The markets sell pretty outlandish outfits like this.

Anyhow, the Camden Market reminds me of a mini Chatchuchak in Bangkok, except the prices are probably 10 times higher. Give me H&M anytime.

If you managed to survive the crowd and trudge on, you will arrive at Camden Lock.

There are pubs and lovely restaurants at the banks of the canals. Since it was a sunny spring Saturday, there were plenty of buskers performing and there were grateful audience milling around with their food and drinks.

Camden Lock Market is situated by the Regent's Canal. You have to walk up the Camden High Street, make a left and cross a brick bridge over the canals. If you are up for it, you can even hire a boat ride to sail the serene waters in this canal.

And here we are, Camden Lock Market. I can smell the food already!

Yes, I know. We did have a huge lunch at Angels. But...

The stalls in the market hawks an assortment of products: handcrafted traditional and contemporary jewellery, designer clothes and accessories...

Bookstores that look like ones where you can potentially dig out a treasure find.

But of course, all we are interested in....

is really... "Whats for dessert?"

Yeah, so I was in a rather long queue for our dessert.

And here are our chefs preparing our dessert - Chocolate, Banana and Almond Crepes.

Mmmmm...

And finally, after much anticipation, we tucked into our biteful of yummos.

Keep Camden in mind when visiting London!

To Market, To Market... in London (Part I)

2009-05-06T14:56:00.005+08:00

Despite the wide variety of flavours and tastes available, there are only so many sandwiches and cold pastas from Marks and Spencers, Pret-a-Manger, EAT, Waitrose... that a true Singaporean can woffle down her throat. Hence, it is a pleasant welcome to explore London's many open-air markets during the weekends in search of real food.

There is an amazing variety of markets in London - from the quaint Portobello to the overcrowded boisterous Camden. There are loads of smells and tastes to savour, many sights to devour.

Last week, the girls and I explored Greenwich Market.

The great thing about this market is that it is only 10 minutes from my home! Beside the bustling Arts and Crafts and Food Court, there are other attractions nearby. My personal favorite is the humongous Greenwich Park which is the host to the Prime Meridian Line and the old Royal Observatory, and has the National Maritime Museum as a neighbour. From the top of a little hill in the park, you get a fantabulous view of London and the O2 dome.

Before you even enter the Food Market, you are greeted with a trail of contented customers, happily slurping on their purchases, from funky-coloured ice creams to delicious-smelling kebab wraps.

Slices of nougats of every kind - wildest, unimaginable flavours...

Cheeses of the world, unite!

Sauces, spices, herbs and salads

Yes, and of course, the bane of every girl's woes in London - Cupcakes!

If you asked me, I would dare say that the variety of food is even greater than Singapore. It is different, with influences from a diversity of cultures - Eastern European, Mediterranean, African, Middle Eastern - many of which that I personally haven't seen so much in Singapore.

Got lots of chilli here too, you know?

We sauntered around, poking our noses into different stores, curiously picking up scents or sights that may tempt our taste buds.

Ethopian food, you want? inquires Cynthia.

After much ado, we decided on our first dessert item.

Wala - Brazilian Churros.

Now, if you were a true chocolate-loving girl, it will be the ultimate sin to give this delicacy a miss. There is something truly magical chewing on a warm, chewy piece of churro and tasting the hot chocolate sauce oozing from within.

First, the chef produces a length of dough. Perhaps, if you flirted or showed some charm, he may give you a more generous length.

Then, he proceeds to deep-fry them. This reminds me of the sorely-missed you tiao in Singapore.

Sizzle!

Wala - and they are done.

See those little trays of sugar and cinnamon? These churros get dipped into your choice of sugar or cinnamon. I personally adore the smell of cinnamon.

Next and most importantly, the chef pierces the churro with a pipe that pumps in simmering hot chocolate fudge.

The deliriously delighted patron with her brazilian churros.

There are many other stores displaying interesting wares as well. Unlike our local pasar malams which hawks lower-priced goods, these stalls peddle merchandises at a higher-priced premium as they are deemed to be more authentic, I guess.

Yes, they apparently sell huge bananas.

What's more, if you feel bloated after all that awesome food at Greenwich Market, walk it off and make your way to Greenwich Park. The air is crisp and fresh and if you are lucky, rays of sunshine will make your stroll much more enjoyable.

Alas, we didn't make it very far! We stopped for our second dessert the moment we stepped into the park.

Girls. They are made of sugar, spice and everything nice, aren't they?

I ♥ SG & more...

2009-04-27T17:17:00.003+08:00

I impulsively signed up to be a volunteer for Singapore Day in London because I missed home quite a bit. Work commitments soon poured in and I realized I was unable to attend any of the briefings since I would not be in London. Nevertheless, I received an email, notifying my role, just like a regular Singaporean 18 year old boy receiving their notice to serve National Service.

Don't you just love Singapore?

Singapore Day @ Hampton Court Palace

So since I was unable to turn up for the briefing, it is natural to kena the worst role ever - Food Queue Manager Shift One. Shift One indicates you have to report at 9am at some ulu part outside central London. That equates to waking up at ungodly hours on a Saturday, yes sir. And what on earth is a Food Queue Manager? I imagine myself to be screaming over throngs of over-zealous Singaporeans storming the grounds for their beloved home delicacies.

Me: HELLO! QUEUE UP PLEASE!
(Gets ignored)
Me: PLEASE QUEUE UP! QUEUE UP!
(Gets ignored and shoved around)
ME: QUEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEE UP!!!!!!
(Gets ignored and finally stamped to oblivion)

How glamourous.

Anyhow, that is just my over-active imagination. The reality was much more bearable. Singaporeans have been trained to queue since they were born. There was no unruly behaviours and everything was orderly. My job was in fact, quite boring. Few people came to me for directions and recommendations for which food to queue for.

I was a Food Queue Manager located in Katong.

Chili Crab so popular until finished already, you know?

Felix gets highly amused whenever I spout or quip random Singaporean phrases in our conversations. Sometimes, it goes "Why like that?!" (when a major baking disaster occurs) or "Aiya, finished already!" (when I run out of chocolate cookies). Just so to certify the validity of such phrases, I took the above picture just to prove to him that "Finished already" is an actual phrase.

A Not-so-sweet Reminder of Home

Mr Brown, who was present at the event, told some of the incoming attendees that the ERP deducts money each time they enter. Some of them worriedly took out their wallets to check. I tried hard to suppress the urge to check mine when I exited. Such is the fear ingrained in me by the ERP systems in Singapore. They were everwhere!

Finally, my shift ended at 1230pm and I could queue for my own food! Yay. I had nasi lemak, dough fritters, curry puffs and muah chee.

The muah chee was a toxic shade of green, unlike anything I have seen in Singapore. I am not sure why. Maybe Hougang 6 Miles Famous Muah Chee makes them this way. I haven't heard of them, though. Are they that famous, huh?

Anyway, I enjoyed myself tremendously and I just felt really blessed to be part of a country which goes through such lengths to make sure Singaporeans abroad think of home. I mean, how often do you get this from the government of other countries? The Singapore government must have spent a bomb on this - from flying celebrities to the excellent coordination and design of the entire event.

The food must be so good that the London policemen themselves were queuing for them and the goodie bags. Not very professional or impressive, but I did indeed witness that.

I ♥ SG Goodie Bag

Hampton Court Palace itself was a gorgeous location. The cloudy skies gave way to bright sunshine - the perfect condition for a carnival atmostphere and picnics.

Spring is here and flowers are bloomnig.

The duck squad!

Yeah, so Felix tried on the T-shirt, cleverly designed and gifted from Ministry of Communication and Arts.

He wants his chicken rice NOW.

The red shirt is only for volunteers. A man came up to me during my shift to ask me if he could buy it.

Yeah, and that is all for Singapore Day. And yes, I ♥ SG to bits, quirks and all.

On a parting note, yesterday's was Flora London Marathon. I want to run a race in London! I was too late in participating for yesterday's race. Perhaps I will join the Run for Cancer race in July.

The weather and atmosphere is just perfect!

Fuzzy mascot cheerleader

Transversing England

2009-04-23T20:31:00.004+08:00

For the past 3 days, work has brought me to Sunderland, a 4-hour train ride away from Central London. Sunderland is a city in Tyne and Wear, England. Sunderland is a metropolitan county in North East England and consists of the five metropolitan boroughs of South Tyneside, North Tyneside, City of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and of course, the City of Sunderland.

I guess the male population in Singapore will be more familar with Newcastle as it is quite a popular soccer club in the English Premier League. It is indeed odd to have my brother quite excited, learning I am going to Manchester or Newcastle for work. I assure you, there isn't a whiff of soccer during any of my work trips. I did however, did some spots of shopping in these two cities, when I have some time to spare The shopping is much less hassled than in London.

Although the other members of the research team told of the unbearable weather conditions in Sunderland, I was surprisingly blessed with summer-like conditions and sunshine. From Sunderland, you get a great view of the North Sea and it was quite a breath-taking view from inside the car. My local host mentioned you might die of hypothermia if you even try to dip your toe into the freezing North Sea, though.

Now, I am on my train back to Central London. The train has complimentary internet on board - whee!

Off-peak trains are great, with many seats available to choose from.

My companions for the 4-hour train ride: Water, kick-ass chocolate muffin and my current book-of-the-week.

I have another stash from Amazon waiting for me at home. Ordering books online in Amazon UK is just.. well amazingly cheap and convenient.

A view of the North Sea from the train

The most kick-ass chocolate muffin from a bakery franchise called Greggs.

I don't think I have seen that franchise in Central London. I have bought chocolate muffins from Marks and Spencers, Sainsbury and other bakeries. This one hits the spot best. Its official name is boringly known as the "Triple Chocolate Muffin". Somehow, the bunch of innocuous chocolate muffins screamed at me the first day I walked past with Lizzie to get her morning coffee dosage.

The muffin is chocolate, with a gooey chocolate center and huge, huge chunks of chocolate. Now, this is what I call a chocolate muffin.

All righty, another 3 hours to go before I hit King's Cross. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is apparently filming in Central London right now. Darn, I don't think Book 7 went anywhere near King's Cross. Hmm.

I Should Be Microchipped

2009-04-16T14:22:00.002+08:00

(From Mutts Comics)

I miss Mister Toto.

:(

The Book Thief: My Easter Read

2009-04-14T17:18:00.004+08:00

For some reason, I am drawn to the stories of Holocaust. Amongst the many museums within the Smithsonian Institute, I dragged my aunt to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. when we were there 5 years ago.

The Book Thief is not quite about the Holocaust, but stories on the other side of the Holocaust. It suggests humanity within a race that has been branded with evilness during the time of WW2.

Oh, and it is narrated by Death.

The Cat is 30!

2009-04-07T21:45:00.003+08:00

3rd April is incidentally the birthday of my brother, my cousin Rachel and Felix. Woah, I am surrounded by Aries, ain't I?

Initially, I thought of baking a Linzer Torte as Felix's birthday cake. However, Betty has used the baking tray to bake a banana-chocolate cake the day before. So, I got a Mixed Berry Cheesecake from Tesco Finest instead - and I must say - it is one of the most marvellous dessert I have ever eaten. And it costs only 4 pounds! Gee.

Mixed Berry Heaven. Mmm....

Felix was instructed to come home early that night. I spent the late morning putting some birthday decorations up. Flo was a great help with the balloon-blowing. Subsequently, I made a trip to the supersized supermarket, Tesco, 25 minutes walk away. I went to the supermarket without a prior idea of what to cook except green chicken curry. Hence, there was an urgent need to get inspired by any exotic groceries on sale.

At about 5pm, I started skewering prawns, peppers and mushrooms and lavishly spread the precious commodity that is sambal chilli, and some forest honey on the skewers. Flo woke up and helped with frying the bacon, which I wrapped over asparagus that I stir-fried with oyster sauce.

615pm!

Tick, tock. Felix called to announce he is at the Underground station. Panic ensued. Flo quickly worked on the appetizer of bruschetta. I hurriedly started my green chicken curry.

Suddenly, Felix was just right outside the door! More panic ensued and we refused to let him in. Betty, who was coming home, was sent to distract him.

Finally, Flo got the fireworks started...

Sizzling Sparkles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, we sung.

Felix got intrigued by the fireworks.

The birthday boy!

The birthday boy served the champagne to get the feast going...

Food, glorious food...

After a sumptuous meal, it was time to bring out the presents!

Betty presented the Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree which Felix promptly christened Elmo.

Felix was speechless with joy, being the green thumb he is.

The happy boy and Elmo. (Note the badge that announces that he is 30 years old!)

The wonderful housemates who made the celebration a success... Betty and Flo!

Say hi to Elmo, y'all!

Bonjour, Paris!

2009-04-03T21:16:00.000+08:00

Kiwi Lottery

2009-03-05T16:34:00.003+08:00

Mello says:
wat kiwi lottery?
hows london?
lost duckie says:
we ordered 14 kiwis online
and got 50!
wah lao
Mello says:
real bird?
lost duckie says:
..
yah yah real bird
Mello says:
order for?
lost duckie says:
now they all pecking me to death
of course the fruit la!
Mello says:
chey

Yeah, so we struck some form of weird lottery when Tesco decided to bring us 50 kiwis when we only ordered 14.

I am going to turn so green with over-consumption of kiwis.

A Curious Plane Incident

2009-02-27T20:29:00.002+08:00

Three hours into my flight to London, I sauntered down to the lavatory allocated to my particular aisle. I stood outside and patiently waited - for a good 15 minutes. I was even able to remove my contact lenses, put on my flight socks and do some stretching exercises.

As I was wondering if the occupant of the lavatory was suffering from a serious bout of diarrhoea (I might want to refrain from entering, you see) or has lost consciousness somewhat, I saw the sign "Occupied" flipped to "Vacant".

Ah, the guy is not unconscious afterall!

Curiously, the occupant did not emerge. There were some sounds within, so I boldly decided to push the door open.

A 70 plus year old Caucasian man stood, quivering. He looked like he had exerted much effort getting out of the bathroom and was unable to talk much. You can go in now, he mumbled. But he barely moved enough for me to slip in.

A little exasperated, I offered him assistance back to his seat. He was surprisingly amenable to the idea and grabbed my hands immediately.

We started hobbling one step at the time, in the quest to look for his seat, him walking forward and me, facing backwards.

Old Man: Okay, I am going to go "Left, Right". You just follow my steps.
Me: (thinks) Wah lao. Is he from the military or what?

His grip was very strong and he was actually steering me. At some point, he leaned to look if it was his seat and I felt as if I could not support his weight. Everyone around was staring in curiosity.

Old Man: Don't worry about me. I'm not going to fall..
Me: Uh.

We reached the only empty aisle seat.

Me: Is this your seat?
Old Man: I'm not sure....
Me: (thinks) Great! Now he can't remember where his seat is?

I grabbed a bag on the seat with my left hand while supporting his weight and showed it to him.

Me: Is this your bag?
Old Man: YES! YES! I think so!
Me: *relieved* Great! Please sit down and I will get your sandals you left in the bathroom.

He was rather grateful and thanked me when I return with his sandals. I looked for a steward and informed him to assist the old man in any of his trips to the lavatory.

I watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona (which was quite funny by the way) and fell asleep midway through Transformers. When I woke up, there was a commotion at the lavatory area behind. I heard the same old man approached a lady behind me for assistance.

Old Man: Can you take me back to my seat?
Lady: Oh your seat is just a few steps ahead, go on.

This dialouge continued with the old man, now indignant that the lady is not helpful. The lady seemed experienced in handling elderly and was seemingly under the impression that the elderly man just wanted attention. She did not waver in her decision.

The old man walked slowly a few seats forward and now spoke to someone else. Eventually, a steward and stewardess approached him to help him get back to the seat. For some reason, he refused. Then, it escalated to some kind of scuffle.

The stewardess boomed,"SIR! We will have to restrain you if you do not return to your seat. We need to protect other passengers!"

Another stewardess came with an oxygen mask and tank. The old man grabbed the mask, shouting "NO! I WILL NOT PUT IT ON!" The stewardess screamed,"You're going to break it!"

It was a dramatic scene. Three persons (man)handling an old man, who is quite strong for his age.

Subsequently, they managed to restrain him with a rope around the chair. The old man yelled and howled. He rejected offers of water, medicine and oxygen. After an hour or so, he calmed down a little when a different stewardess cajoled and sweet-talked. It makes me wonder if some elderly men really have such an insane streak of stubborness. He reminded me of my paternal grandpa. It also makes me wonder if all these would have happened if the lady initially offered her assistance. Afterall, he didn't make such a huge fuss when I interacted with him.

We landed uneventfully, the old man still restrained on his seat. We were not allowed to disembark because the paramedics and police were called in. Even then, when they approached him, the old man yelled "I WANT TO SEE YOUR IDENTIFICATION!" repeatedly.

The air stewardess, after much delays, decided to re-direct another exit route for us.

Welcome to London, me.

Grandmother's Story

2009-02-22T23:00:00.002+08:00

My Grandma brought me up during my childhood and Teo Chew was the first language I spoke growing up. She was an incredibly resilient and strong lady, single-handedly bringing up 9 children. It is just amazing how at 83 years old this year, she is still feistily making her way around Singapore with public transport.

After WWII, Grandma was a young girl surviving on the ruins the Japanese left behind. Everyday, she would nibble on tapioca grown in the garden for sustanence. Eventually, someone from Singapore came over to her town in search of suitable wives for men who had migrated from that particular hometown.

Apparently, Grandpa was from quite an affluent family in Singapore who has several pig farms. Grandma liked what she saw on the photograph and subsequently embarked on a 7-day boat ride to the foreign land of Singapore.

She told me of the immense seasickness she suffered on the boat. Even after reaching land, she had to be quarantined for 2 days before she could see her potential husband. The saddest thing, she shared, was that she did not return to China or saw her mum until 30 years later.

(30 years! I am not even 30 years old!)

Grandma gave birth to my mum when she was 20 years old. After bearing 3 kids, my Grandpa suffered from cholera and passed away, leaving her to fend for her 3 children - the youngest being 6 months old. She has held various jobs from servants to wealthy caucasian families to school bus driver.

Years later, she remarried and gave birth to 5 more children, even adopting one because she felt sorry for the latter. My step-grandfather left her and she had to once again, take care of all her children.

Hearing her story humbles me. My Grandma - woah.

Goodbye

2009-02-19T09:22:00.002+08:00

I'm not one who are good with farewells. I get pensive, melancholic and try to mask it weakly by making unfunny jokes.

Today is the consummation of my current job and it has been a wonderful experience, especially when I was working with my previous boss (not so much with the current one - but that story of endless rants on my side will take forever). Here, I have made friends and learnt from many mentors, and I hope these friendships will come to last a lifetime.

Lazy Gourmet

2009-02-09T00:49:00.002+08:00

My dad's boss owns the Les Amis Group and distributed some samples of a new foray.

Lazy Gourmet

I tried the mushroom soup this afternoon when I was feeling nibbly. Mmmm, rich with mouthful of flavorful fungi. Now, I am hungry again. Argh.

Kha @ HortPark

2009-02-02T13:54:00.006+08:00

I can't believe it is already February 2009. Happy New Year, everyone and 新年快乐 too!

To start the first post of 2009, I shall introduce you to a pleasant dining experience I had last Saturday night at Kha.

Kha is located at HortPark, one of my favorite locations in Singapore. Toto's favorite park - Kent Ridge Park - is located a 10 minutes walk away from HortPark. I conveniently stumbled upon this hidden beauty while walking Toto at Kent Ridge Park last year.

Yes, walking Mr Toto does lead to hidden treasures!

Since I love HortPark and Kent Ridge Park so much, I recommended it as a wedding shoot venue for my friends. Michelle apparently loves Mr Toto so much she wanted him in her wedding shoot. (I do think it is because Mr Toto looks much more handsome than the groom, too! *sniggers*)

Toto, the ultimate Wedding Accessory

While being a nanny to the Wedding Accessory star few weeks ago, I chanced upon Kha at dusk. The scene was really pretty and I sought for an opportunity to dine there. Since my parents had wanted to sample some Thai cuisine, I wasted no time in making a reservation at the restaurant, despite the dismal reviews it received at HungryGoWhere foodie portal.

Although the alfresco dining was fully booked, the waiter patiently looked for an alternative at my request. He informed me that I would have to arrive at 630pm for dinner and complete my meal by 815pm for the next booking. We could, however, move over to the lounge area for desserts.

My parents were quite annoyed when I told them about the early reservation. "I'm not even hungry!" my mother grumbled.

All this annoyance dissipated once we arrived at Kha.

Behold! A picture of serenity and beauty.

I have earlier chosen the Chinese New Year Set Menu out of sheer laziness to pick dishes the ala-carte way. I am immensely pleased with my choice.

Complimentary Thai appetizer

Our next dish was the legendary Singapore's very own dish - Yu Sheng, served ironically by an ethnic India (I think). He was not very well-versed in English but we were impressed by his enthusiasm in describing what each ingredient represented.

In fact, my Dad was so impressed, he thanked the waiter with a gift of an ang pow.

LO HEI!

I think their version of the Yu Sheng was a refreshing change from all the Yu Shengs I had so far.

Next on the Chinese New Year's set menu was a platter of Thai Appetizers. If I remembered correctly, they comprised of Crab cakes with Mango Salad, Salmon Paste wrapped around Leeks, Chicken kebabs and Prawns with Basil Leaves.

Daddy and Mummy show the appetizers some love.

We just can't wait to devour them all.

The Fish Maw Soup that came next was pretty delectable. The soup was suitably tangy with tom-yum flavour and I finished the whole bowl even as I declared to the table that my belly was bursting.

Subsequently, the main courses materialized.

There were an assortment of 5 dishes - Steamed Sea Bass in Lemongrass, Soft Shell Crab Curry, Stir-fried Chicken, Sweet Potato Leaves and Chili Prawns. All were wonderful! Mmm-mmm! Maybe I am just easy to please.

We adjourned to the lounge area to be served our dessert platter.

The evening breeze was soothing and again, I must reiterate the beauty of the dusk scene above the lush canopies.

Being all filled up by the excellent dining experience, we proceeded to take a stroll amidst the various gardening landscapes at HortPark, towards the scenic Canopy Walk at Kent Ridge Park.

'Tis was an enjoyable evening.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2008-11-24T09:53:00.010+08:00

I am currently typing this entry with 3 fingers because the rest of them are out of action. Still, I am happy because I think the efforts were well worth it. :)

So, as Sandy and I deliberated on a birthday gift for Samantha, we mulled over the pragmatic personality that she is. As such, what can be more practical than the gift of $.

We decided to fold her flowers made of dollar bills. I googled around for suitable origami instructions and we sprung into action.

We initially planned to fold 2-dollar bills, forming a bouquet of $2-roses. Each rose requires about 5-6 bills. However, we soon discover that most of the $2-bills are made of plastic. Grrr. Origami works best with paper!

So, our idea of a bouquet of $2-bills was scraped. Instead, we worked with $10-bills which still comprised of a significant number of paper versions.

The rose in making

The rose looked a little ridiculous initially. But with some "garnishing" of fake green leaves, pretty paper combination and ribbon...

Ta Dah!

We were pretty pleased with our work and proceeded to part two of our project which I shall now name "Operation Recession". The perfect recession gifts - Money and House!

Yes, a house.

Of course, the only one we can afford is the gingerbread one from IKEA. Don't complain hor, Sam.

We have to put the house together ourselves some more, okay.

First, we had to burn sugar to form caramelised sugar.

Then, as Alan became the main chef for the sugar, Sandy and I scuttled to put the house together hurriedly as the sugar clumps together once the heat is off! Man, it was a mess!

To made this roof with Sam's name, I ate about 20 M&M's that is coated with caramelised sugar that were damaged in the process. If I get diabetes, you know why!

Anyway, in the midst of putting strawberry pocky sticks as decor, I accidentally placed my fingers on the stick coated with burning caramel. An instant stinging sensation shot through and I released the pocky stick, only to realize it could not be easily flung away!

As a result, I spent the remaining night with my burnt fingers submerged in a cup of iced water, and slept with an ice pack around my fingers. Yes, so now I am severely handicapped with only 3 fingers as the rest nursed their boiling blisters. Sigh. What a muddlehead I am. I think my camera has been damaged in the house-making process as well.

DAMN all the gingerbread houses and strawberry pocky sticks! No more! No more!

Okay, ignore crazy rant above. We proceed to the pleasant outcome of the messy affair.

Behold!

Fine, I know some of you will be thinking along the lines of "Like that also can behold meh?" But, this is a result of our sweat and blood (and maybe some of my skin). So, it has to be the best gingerbread house ever.

Felix ho-ed and hummed when I asked him for his opinions on the confectionery project.

Felix: Well, the gingerbread houses we used to make were...
Me: Yes?
Felix: ..more quaint.
Me: Why? *Murderously*
Felix: Erm, well maybe because there is like icing sugar to make it snow-like.
Me: This is Singapore ok. No snow.
Felix: Erm. *nervously*
Me: So, how is it?!
Felix: Er, perfect!

*Ding ding* This is called lying to save your life. A skill all boyfriends and spouses should be equipped with.

Yes, so we presented Sam with her gifts.

Now, Sam is recession-proof! Yay!

Sam ah, want to use the petals of the rose, must iron first hor. Otherwise, the bills will be a little crumpled. :P

Happy Birthday!

An Orlando Incident

2008-10-27T16:49:00.004+08:00

Last Thursday morning, I woke up bright and early to prepare for my shuttle bus ride to Orlando Airport in Florida. Although my ride was scheduled to be at 630 in the morning, I was up and about, ringing for the reception at 530am.

A sleepy boy emerged from a room. I bet he was sleeping on his job.

Boy: Right, you are all set to go.
Me: Yes, I have a question.
Boy: Go ahead.
Me: I'll like to walk to Walgreens outside because I have an hour to spare.
Boy: Walgreens? Are you kidding?
Me: No. I would like to ask how long it will take.
Boy: I don't know, man. Maybe 20 minutes or more.
Me: Is it safe to walk out?
Boy: Well, I won't recommend you to do it.
Me: Why? Is it unsafe? *Imagines gun-toting thugs*
Boy: Well, tis' not that it is unsafe. It's just 530am. And for Walgreens?

With that, I made up my mind. I love Walgreens. If there are no gun-toting thugs, I will go for a morning brisk walk to Walgreens for a last minute shopping jaunt then.

However, as I breezily strolled through the quiet open spaces of Orlando, suddenly, from afar ...

That must be what the reception boy was warning me against.

A Boston Lobster mascot.

Saturday Delights

2008-10-24T17:15:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday, we decided to try out the semi-buffet at the Equinox. It costs SGD49.90+++. We arrived relatively early at 12 noon sharp and was promptly rewarded with a window seating with the most breath-taking view.

Forget Singapore Flyer, I say. Go to the Equinox buffet and you can feast both your tummy and eyes.

F has become quite the buffet connoiseur after we tried out several buffets in Singapore. (More reviews about other buffets another time). The Equinox semi-buffet comprises mainly of salads, appetizers, soups and desserts. You get to choose a main course for SGD10 each.

The spread was applaudable although I think the chefs were too fanciful in their attempts to make exquisite fusion food. The lime jelly with alaskan crab was rather odd, and a watermelon cube stuffed with wasabi prawn was just plain weird. There was however, a good spread of seafood like fresh oysters, crabs, prawns and mussels. Sushi and sashmi galore. I felt the salmon sashimi had a weird smell, though.
I had Black Cod for my mains and F had Sirloin Steak. I was already sastiated from my 3 helpings of appetizers. Oh, there is Foie Gras too, if you are a fan. Anyway, I generously offered F my main course and he proceeded to lap up all the food in a matter of minutes.

Finally, Desserts! We made 5 trips to the dessert table, mostly to the ice cream/sorbet section.

The first trip was to sample all the desserts available from bread and butter pudding, to apricot crumble, to some chinese kueh. F will taste each dessert, then proceed to "neutralize" his taste buds with fruits before tasting the next. Mmmm.

With the Raffles Gourmet Card where one dines for free, we spent SGD88 in all. If you do not want any mains, you can shave off $20 from the bill. As usual, since F is a caucasian, whenever we are served water, it is NEVER tap water but always some expensive bottle of fanciful mineral masquerading as water. Our bottle of FIJI water cost SGD15.50.

All in all, I would recommend the dining experience because of the excellent, excellent view. What's more, that is a spread of exquisite food to feed you as you marvel.

After lunch, it was time for some adventure! Enough of eating. It is payback time as we pay to get eaten up.

Fish food!

The Kenko Wellness spa offered the service of fish nibbling away your dead skin cells. There were 3 tanks of fish available: Small, Medium and Large. Being the cowards we are, we ventured safely into the tank of tiny fishies.

Here, fishy fishy. Big Fish Food for you. F noted that the fish were swimming happily towards him and that he could almost hear them cheer "YAY! FOOD!"

It was a ticklish sensation but bearable. It was also surreal looking at the fish swarming around your feet, kissing them. I decided I have gathered enough experience to graduate to the tank of big fishies.

The big fish look like they are capable of sucking off your toe. The sensation was more ticklish and you can discern each individual nibbling, sucking sensation more distinctly. F gave up after a while because the sensation was simply too much and downgraded back to the tank of tiny fishies.

I didn't feel my feet was any smoother after the 15-minute experience. It could be purely psychological. Who knows?

Have You Seen Her?

2008-10-17T10:07:00.003+08:00

Ollie was born in 2006 and the details of her birth are articulated here. Unfortunately, Ollie was brought out for her second excursion of her life and probably left in an SBS feeder bus that plies the route in Jurong West. If anyone spot Ollie, kindly inform me! We miss her crooked beak, spindly legs and all.

O-Day Random Memories

2008-09-14T12:41:00.002+08:00

I think one of the most vulnerable moments in lives has to be when one is exposed on the stone-cold metallic operating table, having no control of the subsequent procedures to dissect your body.

Prior to being transferred on to the operating table, I laid on the trolley bed, nervously waiting for my drip to be administered to my wrist. The anaesthesist murmured warnings of pain and burning sensations as the potion from the clear plastic bottle flowed into my veins.

Ouch, I thought. Okay, girl, relax now and appreciate the music.

The radio/CD was playing in the background and I was suddenly very aware of the lyrics. It was Leona Lewis' bleeding love. And all my ears could hear was the chorus that goes -

You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
You cut me open...

Wah lao, I thought silently to myself. Is this the surgeon's idea of a joke? Can I complain a not?

I ♡ m-o!

2008-09-06T23:35:00.002+08:00

WALL.E marks the second movie I have watched in 2008 and probably the movie I most enjoyed. And my favorite character is . . .

M-O (Microbe Obliterator)!

I think M-O reminds me of Sandy. :D

Anyhoo, I completed The Time Traveller's Wife last night and it had me tearing in my pillow. It was one of the most fascinating love story I have read and really, I am not quite a fan of love stories.

Long Overdue

2008-09-05T09:30:00.003+08:00

Greetings, Earthlings.

I have been sucked away into a galaxy of work where the afterhours leave me barely with time to spent with my loved thingamajigs (including my bed). Anyhow, if you like, here is another blog that is updated more regularly, albeit more cryptically.

Now, work talk alert: Since I work in the field of technology, research and development, yada yada, I sometimes get exposed to extremely interesting technologies. As a matter of fact, I think Israelis are a bunch of very intelligent scientists with technologies that are one of the best in the world. This may not exactly be in my field of IT... but it is pretty darn cool.

I am also currently very caught up in reading an enthralling novel called "The Time Traveller's Wife". I think it is an awesome feeling when you chanced upon a book in the library having no expectations whatsoever, and it turns out to provide the most entertaining read ever, making me forego my beloved sleeping hours to turn the pages endlessly. Now, I think I have over 3-4 chapters left and I am simply devastated.

Wah, my first overdue post is about work and a book. I am a supergeek.

Bustling Weekends

2008-05-18T23:31:00.002+08:00

Last weekend was a chockful of good food with all the Mother's Day celebration.

Firstly, for grandmama's birthday, we reserved 3 tables at Peach Garden, a Chinese Restaurant with food served in a fine dining sort of way. Alas, my grandmama doesn't really appreciate fine dining and found the gesture of them steaming each individual pot of shark's fin too cumbersome and unnecessary.

Grandma loves her peachy buns!

Michelle tucks into the cold dish platter.

The 10-course dinner lasted a long time, starting at 7pm all the way till 11ish.

Me, Michelle, Grandmama and Marcus

Besides the very sumptuous meal that ended deliciously with my favorite chinese dessert of Mango Pomelo Sago, we had to devour a whole ice cream cake too. Oh, the gluttony.

Mango Pomelo Sagoooooo.... mmmmm.

As if a Saturday's of dining feast wasn't sufficient, my brother and I decided to take my mum out for dinner for Mother's Day as well. We went to an ulu restaurant known as Friends at Jelita, serving western (wannabe) fine dining at rather chic settings.

Mummy and me

Rocket Salad to start

My dad and I had steak, my brother had chicken and Mummy had her usual spaghetti. The food was not too bad, but a tad overpriced because it is a day for maximizing profits from poor children like us.

The desserts were pretty good. Lava cake with sinful dosage of chocolate sauce oozing out...

Mummy's creme brulee was pretty awesome too.

Ta-dah! The Lais.

Besides some of the food, I had some fun over the weekend too. Last Saturday, some colleagues and I went down to Orchid Country Club for a session of paintball. Man, I didn't know paintball can hurt that much. I am still nursing bruises from last weekend!

One was so huge, I have christened it Bruce.

Goggles will save your life!

I borrowed my intern's army uniform because I heard from others that the paintball might tear your bare skin.

How ah? I think we are going to die.

Gonna die still so happy ah?

Act garang only

Our mission was to hit our opponents targets and retrieve a box near the opponent's territory.

Paintballs that are hard like marbles, being shot out at 300 feet per second.

Apparently, the guy who is tasked with the job of retrieving the box always get shot at the most. Both Kenneth and Ming Keong, who were attempting to retrieve the box, incurred injuries beyond bruises. Kenneth got a bleeding cut on his neck because a paintball was shot at his neck. Since he didn't button his army uniform, the impact was so great it broke his bare skin.

Tired sia

Presenting... the A*STAR paintballers!

***

Following my Linzer Torte attempt, the simple recipe was apparently very popular amongst my colleagues and friends. Sandy decided to come over and bake the tart as well, lugging Alan along as her manservant.

Sandy spreading the jam on the dough

Presenting, our nicely-browned Linzer Torte!

Yums.

Besides the linzer torte, we decided to attempt another recipe. After searching online and overloading Sandy with a list of potential confections ranging from French Apple Tart to Chocolate Chip Cookes, Sandy decided we should begin from our previous failed biscotti attempt.

As such, we settled on the Chocolate Almond Biscotti.

The learning points of this baking attempt was that Biscotti is really tedious to bake, as compared to the easy-but-delightfully-delectable Linzer Torte.

The dough of the chocolate biscotti looks like crap.

Yes, it does. And it feels like crap too. As I was moulding the eeky stuff, Alan was making gross comments on it

Ahhh! Crap on my hands!

Biscotti Logs in baking...

Excuse me, but I think you have holes in your Sunglasses

2008-05-11T22:08:00.004+08:00

After a very sumptuous Mother's Day dinner, we lingered around Guardian Pharmacy while waiting for my Dad to finish his loo break. (My weekend of sumptuous dinners will be in another post, tee hee.)

My brother suddenly pointed at a weird contraption that was put up for sale at the counter.

Ta dah.. Natural Vision Therapy

Yeah, so it looks like a pair of sunglasses with many holes poked into it. How on earth it is supposed to better your eyesight, I have no idea. On the sidenote, I believe I can fashion a similar pair for you with just black construction paper, some satay sticks to poke holes and scotch tape to hold the round pieces of paper around your eyes.

Fine, my version might not be that glamourous but it will save you US$30, you know?

So, to know more about natural vision therapy, click here. If it doesn't work, don't sue me hor.

Linzer Torte

2008-05-01T20:51:00.003+08:00

Ah, so my week hasn't been very smooth at all. Now, Mister Toto is feeling under the weather, and for some reason, my home laptop's keyboard decided to go on a strike. Sheesh. Don't get me started on the inefficient administrative office of NUS.

Nevertheless, I have been pondering on whether to embark on the baking of the Linzer Tart I enjoyed at Felix's home. Anyway, I decided to impulsively plunge into the baking adventure and ta dah! I'm glad I didn't explode the kitchen.

Mixing all the ingredients of flour, eggs, butter, crushed almond, cinnamon, coffee powder... then spreading the dough on the baking pan...

Use the rest of the dough and shape a 'net' over the jam. Looky, I finished an entire bottom of Smuckers Jam.

Tick tock. The tart starts to bake.

Presenting... the finished confection!

:)

Moin moin and other updates

2008-04-26T00:04:00.004+08:00

Hallo hallo! I'm still alive!

Surprisingly, I still receive random messages occasionally to chide me for not updating my blog. I realize the blog still remains an effective medium for my friends to keep abreast of my happenings, not that there is much anyway. Working life can be pretty tiring! Sleep is a pure luxury I treasure on weekends, mmm-hmmm. So, a shout-out to all my beloved reprimanders: I'm updating my blog, yes I am!

On the latest news, I have just finished an enjoyable 5.6km run with my fellow colleagues for the JP Morgan run. It is different, competing a short run to a longer distance because for the latter, you have to pace yourself. I realized if you try to sprint (or at least run quickly) for 5.6km, it can be pretty exhausting too.

Warming up

We were being prompted to shout 'A-STAR!'

After the run

I was 5th in my company to arrive. My boss was the first, followed by a female Caucasian Boston Marathoner, 2 male colleagues and me at 31 minutes. 'Tis a good team bonding session, definitely.

A more noteworthy event was of course, my vacation to London/Germany planned by my personal tour operator, Felix. I haven't taken a vacation since I have started work so it was definitely a much looked-forward fortnight.

After much anticipation, I finally arrived at London Heathrow, defeating the many questions at the very sombre customs. No, I do not wish to illegally immigrate to London, thanks very much. I love Singapore. For the 100th time, I'm here for a vacation!

Nevertheless, Felix sweetly welcomed me to the sombre city with Krispy Kreme (yay!) and a rose.

And since it was his birthday 2 days ago, he got himself a birthday muffin from Singapore too!

Then, the adventures in London began with a refreshing walk at Hyde Park.

Aw, pretty duckies...

Of course, there were the perfunctory visits to touristy spots such as Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Harrods, etc...

After a hectic tour, I was pretty exhausted by late afternoon and was scheduled to return back for dinner with Felix's houosemates.

Flo and Betty set up a wonderful welcome dinner with an awesome spread of food.

Ta dah!

All we had to do was to appear.

Betty is from Ethopia, Flo and Felix are from Germany and I am from Asia. So.. it is pretty much the United Colors of Benetton under one roof.

A precious welcome. Danke, meine Prinz!

The second morning of London, we were greeted with blanketing snow.

Thankfully, we decided to snooze a while longer and it doesn't hurt to have a personal chef whip up a sumptuous breakfast for me.

Wah

We braved the snow to Canary Wharf to meet up with Isabelle. Along the way, we attempted to be artistic.

Wazzat?

Despite the cold, we boldly embarked on a cruise down Thames river to view the toursity monuments along.

Ah, the legendary Tower Bridge

The London Eye

Good ol' Big Ben

After a breath-taking cruise, it was enroute for a meetup with my old friends Isabelle, Rebecca and Ian and attempt to integrate my Singaporean and American friends.

Aiyor, safe to eat a not?

Third morning in London, I was greeted once again by a sumptuous breakfast by my wonderful chef.

We decided to walk to the tube station instead of hitching a bus ride. Along the way, I cajoled Felix to attempt Limbo Rock.

Ah, I love walks in the parks. The smell of the grass, the crispiness of the air... Mmm...

For the day, we visited the Tate Modern museum.

We browsed through the art, pretending to ooh and aah at the contemporary pieces.

Across the Millenium Bridge we go, towards St Paul's.

We actually planned to lunch in a restaurant but after I entered Mark and Spencer's, I was so impressed by their packed lunches we decided on having a picnic by St Paul's with a variety of Mark and Spencer's packed lunches. It was cold, but very enjoyable indeed.

Felix unpacks the goodies!

By the time we finished lunch, I was freezing and we had to defrost over Hot Chocolate at Pret-a-Manger.

The night ended with a musical "Wicked". The play was pretty enjoyable but at some parts, jet lag set in and I dozed off a little. Nevertheless, still thumbs up! I have always wanted to catch it and am glad I was finally able to do so.

The fourth day, it was Goodbye London and Hello Germany. We had to pack and hitch a bus ride to Stanstead Airport where we will embark on the flight to Billund Airport to meet Felix's parents.

On bus to Stanstead

His parents extended a very warm welcome to Billund. Of course, at the extremely ulu airport of Billund, I had a difficult time at the customs again.

"I don't think I have ever seen a Singaporean passport in my life," quipped a white-bearded custom officer.

A 2-hour drive that spans from Denmark to Flensburg, listening to Mrs M updating us about neighborly gossips, munching on very tasty sandwiches and salads lovingly prepared by Mrs M, and finally, we are back at Felix's home sweet home.

Flensburg is a very peaceful and picturesque town. Before the sumptuous dinner prepared by his mum, we took a brisk walk at the woods near his home.

It was extremely pleasant, occasionally greeting fellow strollers with a "Moin moin!" (a local greeting), and even seeing a lady walk her horse.

Sunset at Flensburg

Since Mrs M is a half Austrian and accordingly, Austrians are extremely adept in making pastries, herein lies the best tart I have ever tasted.

I had a bit of the tart for breakfast and dessert everyday until there is none left.

The next day was spent exploring Flensburg, where Felix shared his childhood memories and showed off all the schools he has been to. We sauntered towards downtown Flensburg, with me stopping to be impressed by their ultra-fun playground.

Ahoy!

An extremely long slide...

A farmer market's at Downtown Flensburg

An apparently popular cartoon character in Germany with the same moniker

Felix chooses an orchid plant to surprise his Mummy...

We drove on to a neighboring town of Glucksburg.

Here, duckies, duckies...

The woods of Glucksburg

Ta dah! Glucksburg. I think Gluck means Happy or Lucky.

We emerged from the woods for some ice cream. Yeah!

We rested by the beach baskets with our ice cream. The beach basket is, according to Felix, a rather German tradition. People usually rest a beach basket to sun tan while blocking the cold winds.

The enjoyable evening continued as Mrs M prepared a delectable spread for dinner.

Papa M, Mama M and Baby M:P

After a good night's rest, we were headed for Husum, the Ms' vacation home in a town 45 minutes drive away.

Ah, Husum!

The Husum house is sort of an interior design project for his parents. I must say, they are pretty good.

We took the bikes and explored the town of Husum.

There was plenty of meadows, blue skies - a pretty rustic atmosphere and I could get up close and personal with all sort of cuddly farm animals.

Felix feeds a bison.

How the bison see like that? I am very tempted to help him snip his fringe off.

Come, let me cut your fringe for you...

Near the sea, there is a vast expanse of green grass. It is rare for me to be somewhere where I can glance across the entire expanse with nary a building in sight. I must say, it was quite a liberating and refreshing sight.

Lambs were grazing lazily, sun shining merrily, isn't it a wonderful world?

Beach baskets by the sea...

Savoring the Husum sunshine...

We cycled to downtown Husum, where I savored an extremely palatable shrimp burger for tea.

We shopped around downtown Husum, picking gifts and putting together a gift for Mummy M. On the way home, Felix decides to show off his bike stunts. Yawn. ;)

For dinner, we decided to visit the supermarket and grab some groceries for cooking. Papa M and Mama M have gone back home to Flensburg, meaning dinner will be left to our own.

Of course, since I am quite the kitchen retard, I left the entire culinary mission to the head chef, Mr FM!

I got assist, okay?

Mainly, he assigned me with cutting onions, tomatoes and mushrooms only. Bah!

Wah, the chef knows how to set the ambience for food too.

Presenting.... our dinner!

The assistant chef and the head chef

The next morning, I decided to cook breakfast for a change. Note his dreaded expression as he testily consumes the food.

I hope I don't die from eating this.

We began the morning with bicycle tours once more. Fresh, crisp air. I likey!

Felix feeds the billy goat.

A tug of war with billy goat

Felix feeds the black stallion.

We rest our weary feet and rewarded ourselves with Sundaes at downtown Husum.

The ceaseless horizons

We monkeyed around, amidst the vast expanse of lands.

Fossilized Star Fish, How pretty!

Whee!

It was extremely relaxing in Husum. We had one of our meals at the terrace on a sunny afternoon and it was really enjoyable.

Mucking around the lawn in the bedroom slippers...

I get to be taller for once!

After a few days in Husum, it is back to Flensburg.

Germany's Burger King serves beer!

A walk at Flensburg Harbor with Papa Momsen after dinner. Mr Momsen is very entertaining with his animated gestures and narrations of Flensburg history.

The final morning at Flensburg was spent at the pier once more, having a quaint brunch at a cosy restaurant.

In the afternoon, his mum bade a teary farewell as his Dad drove to send us to the airport, onroute back to London.

The journey to London Stanstead and transit to Heathrow was an agonizing one as I reluctantly accepted the fact that I was to be thrown back to the reality of work once more.

Oh well, to the next vacation and beyond!

(What an extremely long entry!)

Uncomprehensible

2008-02-24T14:58:00.002+08:00

As we grow older, it is inevitable that we sometimes suffer losses we cannot understand.

Yesterday afternoon, I was aroused from my afternoon siesta by my mother's distraught conversations. Hearing the alarm in her voice, I went to her room only to realize my aunt has been killed in an accident.

My mother went into a temporary shock because she has only spoken to her a while ago at 1245pm. My aunt has informed her she was going to my Gugu's house at Sunset Way for a mahjong session. However, when she didn't arrive at 130pm, my Gugu began to worry. Afterall, Clementi to Sunset way is a pretty short route. Together with a friend, they began to trace her usual route. Her husband, too, began to trace her route.

My Gugu drove her car past an accident, oblivious to the dismal irony that the very person she was lookin for was right there. When she called my mum again to tell her she was not successful, she suddenly recalled the accident. By then, her husband was already at the scene, too distraught to speak.

My aunt is a happy and affable woman, despite the tough life she has been through. Her husband wasn't a very responsible man so the task of raising her 3 sons fell squarely upon her shoulders. Yet, her 3 sons grew up to be fine young men who adore and respect their mum. She used to dote on me alot, profusely complimenting me in her mix of cantonese and mandarin about how beautiful she thinks I am, even though I look nothing more than an awkward bespectacled geeky teenager. She would engulf me in her roly-poly hugs, gushing "Lei ho leng orh!"

Of course, eventually her sons got married and she began to shower those love on her daughters-in-law. It is obvious that there is a rare bond materializing between daughters-in-law and her, and the grief in one of the daughter-in-law was so palpable even visually, in the image on the Straits Times today.

Just when I thought she has reached the stage where she deservedly enjoys the fruits of her labor, her life was cruelly snatched away. Why her? I wonder.

I can't fathom the grief of her heartbroken sons.

I'm Still Alive!

2008-02-01T11:18:00.000+08:00

Hola Amigos!
Yeah, I am not dead yet although nearly was about 2-3 weeks ago where I suffered from severe fever, coughing fits and stuffed nose for almost three weeks! At one point of time, I couldn't sleep at all because of all the coughing fits and I started to consume all the medicine prescribed by my doctors (I have visited 3 different doctors + 1 specialist). That, my friends, could be considered a dangerous cocktail of prescriptions and perhaps one of the reason why Heath Ledger died. Sometimes, when you get desperate to quell your insomnia or illness, you just lose all rationality.

So! Gradually, I am clawing my way back to health. I lost 4kg in the period of being ill but I think I am fast gaining them back now due to the overindulgence in New Year Goodies. Yum yum.

I hope you guys are doing fine! :)

Ahhhh.

2008-01-03T22:45:00.001+08:00

This doesn't seem to be a good start to the year. I've been wheezing, sniffing and coughing. My throat hurts and my head aches. I can only croak "Hello, 2008".

A New Year "Surprise"!

2007-12-31T15:45:00.000+08:00

Danke, Liebe!

Happy 2008, everyone! :)

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

2007-12-25T20:30:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

I spent an enjoyable Christmas evening with my babelicious pals by the pool. But of course, who could forget the gift exchange. I've gotten Jane a nifty little gift - Grow a Boyfriend! He doesn't talk back, he doesn't nag when you get new shoes, etc. Isn't it perfect?

However, she doesn't seem very appreciative, does she?

Ruiling seems to like her present way better. I guess it is probably niftier. It is a remote for controlling a woman.

Here is a better look.

We tried the 'REMOVE CLOTHES' button on Jane. It seemed to work until we decided against it. The COOK button doesn't seem to work on her, though.

Here is a peek of the four Christmas Elves who helped lug the food to the poolside.

Oh, let's not forget my very reliable reindeer for the night.

Toasting to the festivities!

Munchity Munch.

Helen ponders upon Jane's affections.

Ruiling owes me $8 because she lost to me while playing cards by the pool in the afternoon. HA!

Reuben came and joined us briefly with a bottle of white wine. As usual, we played rounds of games until Helen and him both had to leave for their respective churches. No worries, Sandy and Alan turned up shortly.

Here's Sandy and me with my duckie vaccuum cleaner. Ha, I have AWESOME GIFTS!

Jane is amused by my tee-shirt.

The gang

Well, I think at some point of time, one or two of us must have had too much to drink. I hope you guys are feeling better today!

On Christmas day, it is the usual Christmas Luncheon at Aunt Linda's place. The food this year is much more fantabulous. I was absolutely starving because I had no breakfast.

I piled an enormous amount of food on my plate.

My brother quipped "As long as the paper plate isn't tearing apart, you're fine.."

Somehow, my xiao-yi and I embarked on another Christmas project this year. Instead of Santa Hat, we had the Party Hat and Mask project where everyone donned the festivities outfit and posed for a photo.

That includes my very sporting grandmama.

There were loads more! But let's not flood the blog.

My hyperactive mama..

My newest cousin, Phoebe, who wouldn't stop frowning.

The party-hatters!

My Christmas Loot is excellent too! I've gotten...
1) A gorgeous necklace
2) A weird car decal
3) Ernie and Grover Book Marks
4) A box of Royce Potechi Crunch Chocolate
5) A Nike Bag
6) A Duckie Vaccuum Cleaner
7) High Society CD(!)
8) Sports Bra
9) Earrings

Mmm-hmm! Have a very blessed year ahead!

Christmas Prelude

2007-12-23T21:05:00.000+08:00

Jane, our excellent organizer, has put together a cosy Christmas gathering at the Beaufort on the sunny little island of Sentosa. Surprisingly, the room was quite spacious, not as squashed-up as I imagined it to be. So all is good. I had a good time, despite sorely missing a particular presence faaaaaar away.

Meeeeerrrrrry Christmas!

With my dearest babes...

Jane stole away to feast on a miscellaneous mix of food.

The Christmas Elf with a Green-Gloved One

Christmas Retards!

Jane, the consummate game mistress, dishing out the rules.

Yeah, and she celebrates evilly when people lose.

We played a variety of games, including Taboo...

Charades...

Rachel is hilarious because all her animals looked quite the same.

The Green-Nosed Reindeer with ravenous Christmas Elves

Ooo, my favorite Christmas Elf!

Oh wait, another favorite Christmas Elf. I'm spoilt for choice!

Of course, who could forget about gift exchanges! We did a little gift exchange game...

Here are Alan and Sandy, trying to figure my gift out...

Ruiling got the umbrella I bought. See! Useful present!

I've gotten a car decal that says something like "Queen Bee" in Chinese.

Everyone's checking everyone's present out. Sandy looks thrilled by Alan's Voodoo doll! :P

Jane and her Hat-trick. 3 Hats! Hat-trick! Get it?

Anyhoo, have a good Christmas break, everyone. :)

Home, Yet Not Quite

2007-12-17T16:32:00.000+08:00

As I took a stroll back to the hotel in the districts of San Francisco, on the last night of the work trip, I realized I did miss the short span of independence I had led in California 2005.

I am glad to be back in the warmth of Singapore, but somehow my heart feels heavy. Perhaps it is the matters of the heart, perhaps it is the matter of school, perhaps. Quizás, Quizás, Quizás.

Here are some photos of our hectic work trip, which saw us surviving snowflakes, ice storm and then dazzling sun shine in the West Coast of USA, from my boss's camera. My pictures are at home. Shall add them soon if I have the opportunity.

Mexicano!

Travelling long hours on road trips means lunch has to be icky take-out food from drive throughs such as Taco Bell's.

At -20 degree C, the team was still lunatic enough to venture into the snow for a picture. Sheer madness, I say. There is nobody in the open.

Evidence of our rented car that was broken into in Chicago.

Urbana-Champaign has the prettiest icy trees.

At the University of California, San Diego, we were warmed suitably by sunshine.

The weather at Cornell University was cold, but the people were generous with hospitality.

Greetings again, everyone.

Stranded

2007-12-11T11:23:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow spells the most grueling leg of our working trip. We were supposed to start our meetings in San Diego, stopping by UCLA and Caltech before finally arriving at Palo Alto for meetings with Oracle, Stanford and finally Berkeley. For those who aren't in the know, that means a total of more than 10 hours of being on the road.

However, right now, at 930pm, we are still stranded at Chicago O'Hare Airport. I'm thoroughly exhausted, having driven from Urbana-Champaign for 3+ hours and getting stuck in the Chicago traffic. I was looking forward to warmer weather in the west as well as a good rest before tomorrow's hectic schedule. However, this was not to be.

I guess it is hard to stay bright and positive, but I do know that there is no point in being sulky as well since there is nothing much to be done. My boss did mention that despite the very exhausting workload, I seemed to always crack a joke to thaw the sometimes-frosty environment within the group. Well, I guess this is my shot at staying positive. Even then, sometimes I think that endurance has its limits. It has been a looooong day, mentally and physically exhausting.

I can't wait for the weekend. Of course, I can't wait to meet up with Rebs and Ian at San Francisco after the end of it all. Rebs just excitedly replied to my email that she doesn't care if she had to go to work the next day, we can hang out till really late on Wednesday night before my flight on Thursday.

Home never seems further.

The Race Continues

2007-12-10T07:05:00.000+08:00

Unfortunately, St Paul Minneapolis was even colder than Ithaca. It was -17 degree C. The cold was so bitter it cuts through every exposed bit of your skin. My ungloved hands which were exposed for about few minutes while carrying some shopping bags to the car (Sandy, you'd better appreciate your bag more!) were painfully cracked and pierced by the cold. It was quite an excruciating experience. In fact, it was too cold to even walk a block or two in the open. So, I left St Paul pretty much unexplored.

We took a flight from Minneapolis to Chicago where we spent a Saturday. I love Chicago! I was there last year on my own after a conference and thoroughly love the ease of being able to walk around and explore the city. I did tonnes of Christmas shopping and for myself. The variety of stuff there is astonishing! I revisted Millenium Park and Cloud Gate. I always enjoy the feel of winter at this time of the year. I think it adds quite a bit to the Christmas atmosphere. :)

The hotel in Chicago is awesome. I shall upload pictures to show ya why. It is called W Chicago City Center, a welcome change from all the business hotels we have been putting up at. This is more of a boutique designer hotel and I like it!

Currently, I am at Urbana-Champaign after a 3-hour drive down icy roads. This is after a minor hiccup in Chicago when the hotel manager came to me and solemnly announced that our valet-parked car has been broken into. On the bright side, the hotel is taking responsibility for all of this and all we needed to do was to tuck into our complimentary lunch while waiting for them to arrange for a replacement vehicle. It isn't so bad, really.

The experience, however, further tarnished the reputation of the city for my colleagues who were afraid of exploring within 1 block of the hotel even before this incident. They were amazed I actually ventured very far into the city, to the Magnificent Mile of Chicago. Sometimes, Singaporeans are somewhat afraid to step out of their comfort zones, I guess.

Anyhoo, updates later.

Freezing My Toes Off

2007-12-06T13:50:00.000+08:00

It has been a tiring 3 days since Monday, from a long 18-hour flight, 2-hour ride to Hotel at Armonk. Many hours spent on roadtrips through Yale University, 3Com and finally to Boston. After Harvard University and MIT today, we are off from Boston to the freezing town of Ithaca which houses Cornell University.

I came down from the puny jet to flurries of snowflake. The airport played "Welcome to the Winter Wonderland" as I entered. How entirely apt.

There is no need for any directions on which belt to claim your lugguage because there is only one baggage belt. It is -10 degree celsius here.

This feels like The Amazing Race.

Off to Minneapolis tomorrow. I hope it gets a little warmer. Brr.

A Rush of Blood to the Head

2007-12-03T00:01:00.000+08:00

The day of doom has arrived.

It was the day of the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007. My daddy has signed up for the full marathon, while I have foolhardily registered for the half marathon. Right at the crack of dawn, we left for the starting point at Fullerton because my dad's race started at 530am.

However, our usual route was obstructed by a fallen tree and we had to take a huge detour through Dempsey. My daddy was a mental bag of nerves, driving like a maniac and panicking. Eventually, we managed to arrive in time for his race.

At about 6 in the morning, it was my turn. Together with Sandy, her sister and Felix, we jogged off to the start. Felix took off shortly after, and I was immersed in my own world of music. The morning breeze made the run enjoyable.

As usual, my knees started to hurt after about 10km. Still, it was quite a comfortable run. The exhaustion started to sink in at about 17km. I took a cup of 100plus and I swore I never found the drink to be so tasty in my life. It was like heavenly nectar.

I was suddenly acutely aware of my stomach cramps, the stabbing pain on my left foot and my worn-out knees. The last 5 km seemed to last forever. I was glad to see the finishing line, completing the run at about 2 hours 15 mins.

We did it, guys!

Show some lurveeeeeee!

Mummy the Cheerleader, with Daddy the Hero!

..with Popsikins

Well done, everyone!

A Snap of my Fingertips

2007-11-29T13:25:00.000+08:00

A holler to all concerned friends of Mister Toto!

He is doing better already, after the very frantic Saturday. Now, he is barking even more loudly and fiestily than I could bargain for. I think he is making up for the one week where he missed out on harassing me with his leaps and attempts to lick my ears. Well, I ain't complaining. 'Tis wonderful to regain that energy-boundless border collie that I love to bits!

Saturday was spent ferrying Mister Toto to and fro different vets because his drip stopped working when we brought him home. Now, he is still on heavy medication but since he is eating normally again, the drip is off! Goody news.

***

I'm off for a really hectic work trip next week! I'm half hoping the authorities might fault with my passport at the Singapore Airport so I can dramatically protest, but secretly overjoyed at the prospect of not participating in the amazingly tiresome work trip that spans across the United States. Sigh.

***

On other culinary news, I cooked pasta from scratch for the first time of my life yesterday! (Cheese and macaroni don't count!) Well, I think my Aglio Olio is not too bad, considering it to be a maiden attempt. I did everything on approximation, few pinches of garlic, onion, chili, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Do pre-cook the mushrooms with oyster sauce. Boil your Linguine till al dente and mix them all up. Wala! Aglio Olio!

Burps.

My Heart Stopped

2007-11-24T13:40:00.000+08:00

Toto has been losing appetite for the past week. The vet examined him this morning and the prognosis was not good. He is currently hospitalized.

My heart stopped and I couldn't stop the tears from emerging as the vet narrated her examination results.

I am going to visit him again in a while.

It will be okay, Mister Toto.

Evanescence

2007-11-21T10:08:00.000+08:00

I managed to sneak a peek at the papers today.

Pierre-André Salim DRA ’09 dies while setting up for production

Pierre-André was one of my team mates working together on one of the gazillion projects in my varsity days. I don't remember much of him, but now he is gone.

Do you sometimes feel insignficant?

Psst..!

2007-11-16T17:38:00.000+08:00

It's Friday finally!

I know I have been neglecting my blog very much. I would like to shout out a HI! to any surviving readers. I have been so, so busy with work. Nevertheless, the people at my company still managed to pluck out time to run for a good cause at the Frost and Sullivan Charity event.

We managed to come in 11th out of 30 teams, despite our team being comprised of one female and 3 old men (as they would prefer to be known)!

The aftermath...

We survived!

Hello Mister Sunshine

2007-10-28T23:40:00.000+08:00

Ah, it's the weekend again. This has become a sort of weekend blog, hasn't it?

For Saturday morning's activity, I decided to organize a small team for trekking the nice and simple route of Kranji Memorial Trek once again. However, as the weather gods would have it, I woke up to ominous looking skies.

Soon, it started pouring and one by one, people decided to back out. Finally, only Jane, Felix, Jervais and I were left. But hey, the weather turned out to be really awsome!

Raving to go, people!

Hurry up, you slow coaches!

Jane and Felix

Felix has a knack of picking rotten twigs and leaves. You will see more of that later, of course.

Amidst the tall, tall lallangs...

The flying musketeers!

It was a rather warm day and I could see Toto dying to get into any bodies of water. He even jumped into a small drain along the trek.

Alas, the downpour before flooded the trickling stream we always used to take. What a disappointment. Toto was dying to jumped into the deep murky pool and I had to pull him away repeatedly.

Nonetheless, we continued our trek via the outskirts of the woods, finally reaching the pools of water at the end of the stream. Toto was simply delighted at the sight of water and jumped into it without hesitation.

Swim, swim, swim...

I am NOT coming up, nei nei nei.

Next time, Fairyland!

Jane's the monkey!

Felix has bad photography skills.

I have no idea what's Jane doing, but she looks kinda cute. :P Felix and I were probably doing our usual dosage of bickering.

Toto is probably thinking: This human are insane and an utter waste of time.

Since it's Halloween, we tried to be scary...

Here is Felix waving a huge decayed leaf and Jane looking in incredulity.

Felix sticks lallang to my dog because he thinks my dog needs embellishment.

We are doing A-okay!

Here is Felix again, droning on and on about how the stick he is holding is a piece of art.

"This is an old leaf. This is a young leaf. There are currently on different paths, but eventually, they merge into the same direction."

Right, Felix. What did you have for breakfast? Crap? Because you are FULL of it.

What best ways to end the trek besides a nice picnicking feast?

Yum. We had drinks to go round, sandwiches, ngoh hiangs, bread and cheese and Felix's nasty clementines and grapefruit.

Harrassment of Doggies. Someone call SPCA, please.

On Sunday, Felix suggested we swtiched from having brunch to bringing Toto for a swim at Sentosa. I feel so localized walking a dog in Singapore, he claimed.

A very awesome weather at the beach, we are both quite burnt.

The dog and the cat.

Well, Felix the fish obviously had to swim to other islands and he tried to attract Mister Toto along. Mister Toto tailed him for a while (because Felix has his ball), gave up in the middle and returned to his beloved Mistress.

After getting drenched in seawater from head to toe which I have absolutely no intention to (but Germans are evil and they pull off nasty stunts like pushing you rudely into the water, cap and all), we sat down and attempted to dry off while watching Toto pine for pretty little doggies.

Finally, we strolled to Palawan Beach for lunch at Club Islander. The cafe comprised primarily of Caucasians and I was unfortunately the only Chinese around. When the waiter came, he handed ONE menu to Felix.

Does he now know I can READ ENGLISH?

Dudeeeee.

Felix is burnt and in pain.

Peekaboo.

We got bored and decided to compete on who looked cooler.

I loaned him Toto to walk back to the car so as to make him feel more localized. Look at what a hit he is with the kiddoes.

Good weekend ahead, everyone!

Holy Macaroni!

2007-10-21T18:34:00.000+08:00

Dumbledore's gay?????!

*Flabberghasted*

Bon Appetit!

2007-10-21T13:07:00.000+08:00

It was the weekend again after a particularly gruelling work week.

I started the weekend with the most delightful dinner with my family at Les Amis, the restaurant with the dubious honor of being the most expensive one in Singapore. In case you think that we are opulent sufficiently to splurge on expensive meals, let me just clarify that the meal was arranged by my dad in his effort to show support to his boss, Desmond Lim, who runs the group of Les Amis as a hobby.

Momsy and Daddy

Desmond doesn't believe in giving discounts because he feels it cheapens the concept of fine-dining. Instead, he plied us with plenty of champagne and wine. Sheesh, that considering my brother was driving, my dad was driving and so was I!

Charlotte and Me

Charlotte and My Bro

Awaiting the arrival of Gugu and Uncle

Since we are sort of the privileged guests of Desmond, he arranged for us to have the Chef's Room where we could peek at the busy kitchen scene. If you want to, you can stick your face on the glass and make funny faces even.

The Lai Family

My Dad and Gugu sharing a joke.

So, while waiting for the menu to commence, our palates were teased with some amuse-bouche. With each serving, the waiter will go on a lengthy description of the dish. I just don't quite remember what he said. Heh. Pardon my own descriptions, yeah?

Toast with fishy thingy

Fried mushroom on eggplanty mush

This Malay dude, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, is a very pleasant and humorous waiter and it was an utmost pleasure to be served. He has served my mum and I previously when we went to Les Amis for lunch.

He went around with a delectable serving of bread, from tomato, onion to sourdough. Mmm. I love the aroma of fresh bakes.

Wah

While waiting for our food to be served, Charlotte showed me her gift of the newest iPod which was totally awesome. It was like, WOW.

The graphical user interface was completely mind-blowing. I felt like personality in Minority Report, doing the swishing and swashing of album art. Very pretty! I likey.

This was when I told my brother,"You realize if you and I skip this dinner and asked Daddy for the cost, we could actually buy one for ourselves you know?"

Sigh.

Okay, our course started proper. First up: Fillo Cone with Avocado Cream and Ikura

Desmond, the ever generous host, provided us with a complimentary bottle of red wine. Randy, our waiter, educating us on the history of the wine.

Second course of the meal: Fresh Tsraskaya Oyster in a chilled tomato coulis

The oyster was simply succulent and earned the earnest compliments of my Gugu, who was a pretty good cook herself. In fact, she raved about the oyster so much, the waiter pleasantly surprised us with another round of oysters on the house. How spoilt we were, huh?

Gugu looking extremely satisfied with her 2nd round of oysters...

Fine Shellfish Ravioli and Black Trumpet Mushroom in Lobster Bisque

Just as we thought we are already quite filled up, the soup arrived.

Oxtail consomme, quail egg, truffle and leek ravioli

And my favorite meat in the world - beef.

Char-grilled Australian Striploin, Japanese Corn and truffled mashed potato

Soon, our generous host, Desmond, paid us a visit.

This one very nice ah.

Desserts!!!

That was known as the Grand Marnier Parfait in a chocolate cone served with citrus fruit salad.

Happy girls with their desserts.

Desmond pampered us with another bottle of complimentary dessert wine to go with our desserts. Ooooomph...

Even when I thought I was all stuffed up, I couldn't resist the temptation of after-dinner confectionary that was served with coffee/tea.

From the right, you have a canele, a macaroon and a jelly thingy.

The macaroon is the best I have ever tasted. The ganache coated in-between was coyingly melting on my tongue. As my Gugu raved about the canele, I went on about the macaroons, and again, our attentive waiter called Timothy presented me with a dish of 4 more macaroons.

This must be one of the best dining experience I had in my life.

Happy souls after a very satisfactory dinner...

BURP.

What's more, after my dinner, my colleague Kenneth was thoughtful enough to help add to my weight by delivering a box of Krispy Kreme. Man, after all that wining and dining, I now have SIX donuts to devour. *pats tummy*

The degustation experience does not stop here. Saturday was the day where Felix would celebrate his hometown's festival of Ocktoberfest. I was requested to be their chaffeur to bring them around with their groceries.

Buy, buy, buy!

We set into cooking after all the shopping, at Felix's miniscule service apartment.

Cooking up a storm, we were!

Presenting the chefs at work...

Yours Truly

David and Felix

Some fruit of our labor...

The mess that is Felix's kitchen.

Felix flipping hamburgers.

By 6am, we were lugging our foodstuff to the poolside.

We can start our very own cookshow!

Feeling very ravenous.

The kids from GIC

My dinner plate... Mm-hmm!

The guests arrived.

Felix being all arrogant, playing the fishing game...

The yayapapya German

We adjourned upstairs for desserts, which comprised of tubs of ice cream, a delectable chocolate cake, cream puffs and loads of jelly.

Ooo, babes for dessert, anyone?

Man, I'm sooooo putting on weight.

Burp.

Whoosh!@Waterfront City

2007-10-14T11:45:00.000+08:00

After our attempts with wakeboarding, we decided to try our hands at cable-skiing. Jane, the super-organizer, managed to throw the disparate groups into a team of 10. It was a day of stupendous fun!

We started early dawn, gathered at Haborfront Cruise Center at the ungodly 0730 hour to hail a ferry across to the island of Batam.

Early Birds

The waiting game...

Felix and David on board the Ocean Flyte, onwards and beyond!

Jane, Sandy and Alan seated comfortably in air-conditioned comfort...

Me and my telepathetic other...

Hello Batam!

(..to be updated with Jane's photos)

A 2 minute bus-ride from the Batam Ferry Terminal brought us to Waterfront City, a Cable Ski Park set up by some adventurous Singaporeans. Anyway, I don't think we have much photos either because most of us are busy either queuing, falling into the waters or cable-skiing. It was only when Sandy decided to take a break and lounge around, did we manage to get any pictures of us on the water.

We started out with kneeboarding. Basically, you kneeled into a prostrating position, somewhat like the picture below, and get dragged along the cable-ski circuit.

It is pretty easy and fun, and all you need to do is to pull the handle to steer. The first time I tried it, I saw Sandy immersed in the water at Point Five. Uncertain how I might avoid running over her, I let go and sunk somewhere near her. She was kinda panicking because despite doing breaststroke, she felt she wasn't getting anywhere. It must have been a hilarious sight, since I was pretty much a non-swimmer myself and I was trying to get me, her, and our 2 boards onshore. Thankfully, a guy fell near us shortly and managed to drag her and her board up instead.

That's when they are all dry...

After kneeboarding, we began the intensive session of falling into waters while learning how to stand on the cable ski. Although the equipment is pretty much like wakeboarding, the process of getting up is much different. Firstly, there is the inertia and the jerky start. In wakeboarding, we get pulled up gradually while submerged in water. Jane seemed disappointed how our wakeboarding experienced failed to translate to any bonus points in terms of cable-skiing.

Worse, it began to pour heavily! So, while enduring the cold, Jane became more determined to, in her own words, make it count. I was sufficiently happy to be in good company, and it was a Saturday! Never mind if we had to keep falling. Cliche as it can be, it is after much falling that we learnt how to stand, no? So, I constantly had to shake her to snap her out of her stressed mode.

In the midst of our watery fun...

Felix and David strutted their stuff...

We made little baby steps and pretty much near the end of the day, I was able to do rounds through the circuit. At first, I was pretty much getting flipped out of the board the moment the handle flipped. Then I began falling a little further. Then I was finally able to stand and made my way to Point One.

Felix, that bugger, was up in a jiffy.

That's me, in a not very glam posture apparently.

Eugene, my kpkb neighbor, as the crouching tiger.

Alan, the one who must fall with style

Falling at Points One, Two and Three means having the opportunity to hitch a ride back on the motorbikes. That, I think, is pretty cool. Ha. I had the opportunities to hitch a ride with the ahmads for three times and each time, the ahmad made funny conversation with me in Bahasa.

When I was able to learn how to react to the jerks and pulls at the corners, I was beginning to relish the rush of wind that blows across my face at those points, giving me a whoosh of adrenaline all over. Instead of dreading those corners like I did at the beginning, I was beginning to look foward to them. Points Four and Five were especially exhilirating, giving you sharp centrifugal forces that spins you right around the corner. It was an awesome, sensation, really.

I had good fun and kept going until the crew had to whistle for me to stop. My arms were aching at the end of it but I would definitely come back to learn the other equipment. Yeeha.

Here is a sneak peek from David's Camera.

Felix and a lovely pup called Larry

The Three Musketeers!

Jerv, me, Alan and David

Enroute back via the ferry, the lot of us were simply starving. We were hungry enough for Sandy to quip "I CAN EAT A COW" although she doesn't eat beef.

The lot of us, excluding Jane who remained in Batam for a rendevous. Woo.

We eventually settled our dinner at White Dog Cafe. The food was pretty good, but that could be because we were all starving.

My unfriendly neighbor and David

Tired but glad...

Mmmm, warm chocolate cake.

Now, to rest my aching arms.

Quizás, Quizás, Quizás

2007-10-08T11:00:00.000+08:00

Things are kinda slow at work on a Monday morning. Relatively, I would say time is literally crawling, as compared to the weekend that just whizzed past.

Well, I would like to shout my thanks to all who made a trip down to visit us at the St James' Power House Flea Market! Although our allocated stall was at a dark and dank crabhole where everyone dread to enter, we had plenty of very nice kopi-girls and boys who donated food to us. Jane was the super salesperon of the day, diligently greeting every potential sale while I was happy to lounge away in a dark corner, feasting upon my snacks, playing my futsbol table or fiddling with my paper ball plastered with scotch tape. It is no surprise my sales tallied up to a grand total of SIX BUCKEROOS. *Ding ding*

Pictures are with Jane again, of course.

On Movies-Watched updates, Nannies' Diaries was merely passable. I abhor watching chick flicks, by the way. I think it put ridiculous expectations into people's heads. I mean, come on, what are the probabilities of a rich hunky guy falling in love with a geeky nanny? Get real!

Chuck and Larry is better, at least inducing some laughs from a very jaded soul in me. Dang, is there something remotely wrong that I should enjoy a dude's movie more so than a chick flick?

Anyways, a good Monday to you folks.