My Life as Mrs Mc

享受、学习

2012-02-13T05:13:00.001-08:00

情人节又到了。单身的同事纷纷在找节目。我当然也被邀请。对我而言，日常生活也可以是情人节。当然，说天天是情人节就太夸张了- 难道就没吵架、想杀了对方的时候？

走到了轻熟女的阶段，我有了这样的领悟：
首先，享受单身，别因害怕孤单而随便接受一个自己不爱的人，因为你可能得花双倍的时间甩他。而更可耻的是，你可能无形中伤害了一个对你好的人。当然，很多人说试了才知。

其次，所有恋爱模式，都值得享受。无论单恋、暗恋、相恋甚至是失恋，都是人生必经的过程，所以值得享受。从过程中学习- 不重蹈错误，去覆辙美好事物，下次做得更好。

祝：情人节快乐！

New year, new wishes!

2012-01-22T22:46:00.001-08:00

Happy new year of the Dragon! May this be a bountiful and happy year! I'm all ready for the new year, with new clothes and shoes:
1) to put on 5-10 kgs of body mass
2) to find new boyfriend(s)
3) to find a new job with more pay, lesser hours
4) to renew my twice a year holiday schedule
5) to live harmoniously with my mom: eat less meals at home and keep my mouth shut!

Summing up 2011

2011-12-29T21:31:00.000-08:00

2011 has been an exciting year for me. I changed jobs though the new one is just 2 floors down from my ex-company. The environment and culture are totally different and the experience is brand new but challenging. I have also traveled (too) heavily and my job brought me to places such as India and Germany I have never thought I would go, not in 2011 at least.

Jan: To Kochang for the English camp
Feb: Taiwan this time covering Taichung and Tainan
March: Sanya, Hainan Island (and the familiar Hong Kong)
April: Hong Kong again
May: Kuala Lumpur
July: Shanghai - same city but I strengthened the friendship and bond with 2 persons and fell in love with the place a little better. Really hated it when I went in Sep 2007.
Aug: Sarawak. I like the home visit experience.
Sep: Chennai. Love India and the food!
Oct: Germany
Nov: supposed to go shopping in Bangkok but then came the flood and the frustrating encounter with the travel agency Focal. The trip will hopefully materialize next week, i.e Jan 2012. And yes, I met a princess here in Singapore.

My target destinations for 2012 include Japan (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) and Seattle+ Vancouver, and perhaps a short trip to Tainan. So if you're looking at these places, drop me a note:) Very little business travel which is so fine now. Met up with a friend this week and he said I looked radiant. The last time he saw me was in Shanghai in July and I looked really haggard!

With that, happy new year and may all our wishes come true!

Not seeing stars

2011-12-21T23:06:00.001-08:00

I'm enjoying my afternoon here at l'etoile cafe located at Owen road (where the infamous kidnap case of 2 school boys happened some 20 years ago). Etoile means stars in French. The cafe is said to be inspired by a cafe in Nagoya, Japan after the owner stayed there for some years. I came this afternoon to avoid rowdy students who would hoard the seats for hours, according to reviews. No students, no stars either (I saw photos of Pierre png hanging out here etc, on blogs).

My first order was of course a skinny latte. Then came the cake which I asked the quite cute waiter to recommend. He suggested strawberry shortcake, brownies etc and I eventually went for blueberry cheesecake which was probably a leftover and he was slightly bemused. Anyway, nice cake if only the base crust was more...crusty.

Cosy ambience with ikea furniture which sets apart from the environment and now the drilling sound made by a nearby construction site which adds some noise to the quiet afternoon. Many blogs also recommended seats upstairs but i got sleepy the moment i went up and headed back to the first floor. No signs of Japanese influence except for some Japanese wording on the signage and songs.

Cafes like dome and orange thimble are my preferred choices. Overrated cafe but not a bad place to spend a lazy afternoon reading (reading bloomberg business week recommended by a colleague which is quite good) people watching (including at the waiter) and nice coffee!

Happy birthday, Mom!

2011-11-14T01:10:00.001-08:00

It's 14 November - my mom's birthday. Besides wishing her the best of health, happiness, less nightmares and more sweet dreams, I hope that she

1. continues to pin her hopes on winning 4D every week and hits the jackpot this week, so that the whole family can retire together.

2. Nags less and stops telling me to go shower early; if I prefer to eat dinner first or shower first when I go home every day - cuz I usually will shower first.

3. Exercises more to stay fit rather than curling up in the sofa or lying in bed staring into space.

4. Forgets about the horrible memories she had with terrible people cuz all these are history. They translate into her nightmares which sometimes became ours.

5. Fulfills my wishful thinking that she cooks less fish and improves on her cooking.

Happy birthday!

换口味

2011-11-14T00:58:00.001-08:00

I was a coffee addict. So one day, after i've moved out of my estate and later on, discovered that my favorite cafe was relocating, I was fairly upset. It was the place I spent most of my time chilling out, with or without loved ones. And so, I tried many means to find out where it has moved to.

A few years on, I got news that the cafe is closing down for good. To my surprise, it was just another piece of news - like the closing of xyz chicken rice stall (Of course, I was disappointed, devastated when I learned that McDull's McQuarters was gone when I went to hong kong earlier this year). In the last few years, I've slowly grown to love teh c kosong. And many say that the caffeine level in tea is higher than coffee!

Penetration of social media

2011-09-28T06:53:00.001-07:00

The penetration of social media is getting deeper. Commuters of trains and buses are so engrossed watching videos or chatting on their phones, iPhones. More than once, I missed my stop cuz I was too busy talking to my friends online.

My mom recognizes the importance of apps and so, she asks me for the 4D winning numbers on my iPhone.

I was talking face-to-face to my sis last night she ignored me, typing away on her phone. I then whatsapp her and got an instant reply.

10 things I HATE about business travel

2011-09-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

1) away from home - my mom's fish and of course mcdull and my bed.

2) after a long day of meeting, business dinner usually follows. My evening (which is like 11pm-1am) is then spent on work. Wakeup call at 6.30am the next morning. I'd rather walk into office at 8.45am every day, flip newspapers and sip coffee.

3) nice cabin, nice seat on flight but environment is not conducive for ta-baoing things such as pillows and cutlery I like.

4) no wifi in hotel room, only a LAN cable which means I can't use my iPhone for YouTube and whatsapp which are of utmost importance. Another key app for me now is letv.

5) nice bathtub in hotel room but no time to soak myself in it.

6) no time for sightseeing.

7) flight time eats into personal time an sometimes gotta go back to work the same day.

8) Upsets my holiday plans or rather, don't know how to plan.

9) leftover foreign currencies in the drawer and I can only watch them depreciate. Hate the euro I changed at $2.4. Really tmd!

10) lack of beauty sleep and pimples popping out and spending money to salvage my face.

But of course there're also advantages such as avoiding 'red bombs' and my mom's daily lecture!

The pianist

2011-06-27T06:42:00.001-07:00

I finally finished watching the movie 'The Pianist' on DVD. When it was showing on tv on a Sunday and only halfway through at midnight. It's a three-hour show about how a famous Polish Jew pianist survived WW2 under the Germans.

The most memorable scene is Germans soldiers entering a Jewish family's home during dinnertime and made everyone stand up to salute them. An old man on wheelchair obviously couldn't, so they lifted him and the wheelchair and threw him off the balcony.

And the coincidence that I'm now working for a German company and my German colleague suddenly talked about the war. The last time such coincidence occurred was during hari raya when I had wanted to ask why Muslims can't eat p***k and then my friend started talking all about it.

So back to Germans and WW2, my colleague said when he was a teenager and traveled around Europe, people weren't that welcoming, especially the Jews who were exterminated. The Germans have WW2 as part of their education. Students were showed videos of the atrocities. The nation was upset how others looked at them. The Japanese on the other hand, offered no apology to-date. But, do the new generations care? My favorite fashion brands include uniqlo and muji. When it comes to cartoon characters, however, it has to be made in hong kong - McDull. I plan to go Tokyo for Sakura after the radiation but that may be 20 years from now. The day hopefully will come now that most of the bees have disappeared.

Watches change with time

2011-06-04T05:40:00.001-07:00

My dad was a watch lover so when I was young, he bought for me classic citizens, seiko - the kinetic type with a simple face and metallic strap. I was envious of my classmates' Mickey mouse and other fanciful watches.

Then I started buying colorful fun designs when I went to junior college. They might be cheap, but hip and I enjoyed the positive comments from my friends. When I started taking vacation jobs, I was even willing to spend on Swatch watches. Now my budget is only $60 and even then it's a little pricey to me.

Recently, my casio watch I bought some 4 years back for $37 (or was it $35?) during a sale, stopped working due to a flat battery. I was contemplating buying a new, good one but finally decided after some shopping/ market research that all I need was a time teller an this one has served me well. $6 and I got back a reliable and sturdy watch. Good things don't have to be expensive they just need to be reliable and practical.

Beauty shopping guide

2011-05-28T00:15:00.001-07:00

First the beautician will tell u how problematic your skin is.

Then they'll say how fantastic their products are and it's value for money.

I don't intend to spend any money today.

U r the only customer who gets this special deal.

How well they know your skin.

And it's always 'today is the last day of the promotion' as part of the great Singapore what I know started yesterday.

I told them I'm not in the mood to buy anything today and I have more than enough facial sessions.

I saved more than $2000 today n bought myself an unagi burger, fries n iced milk tea. The rest of the money will go (over the next 2 years) to more premium Origins products n the cheap My Beauty Diary masks. I like the red wine n southern France apricot ones best!

5 good entertainment iphone apps I downloaded

2011-05-21T22:06:00.001-07:00

I've 5 entertainment I've downloaded in the last few months which I find myself using very often - on top of youtube, Facebook n linkedin (which really is more about planning for future career moves).

1) apple daily
It's my daily news bible to find out about latest news about 峰峰's romance or just lustful relationship with 霜霜, to the death of Osama. All videos n animation no words no brains needed. Perfect!

2) super radio
Finally, access to Taiwanese radio channels like hit n KISS radio. The RTHK app for hk stations is just as good but more stable. I attribute the instability to the lousy Singtel network.

3) spot the difference apps
Can be fun n frustrating

4) david's harp
Really no brainer app but can play great music on the harp. How I found it was through a competition with a colleague who has an android phone and a guitar app, to find another instrument app which is just as good if not better.

5) blogspace
This is very important cuz to me blogging is an entertainment. And this is the app I used to post this blog.

My first vote

2011-05-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

Like many Singaporeans, I cast my first vote in the general election today! We went to the polling station early in the morning. My mom was amazed with how nice Farrer Park precint has become (though there's still only one bus serving that area.

Voting was a breeze. I already knew where to put the cross and after watching the Bryan Wong and Pierre Png commercials on tv, i thought i knew what to do. However, when i got my card and the 2 second right to vote, i was a little lost with whagt to do and was worried I marked in the wrong box. So excited that i now have already forgotten how it looked like.

To celebrate our newfound rights, we continued walking to Tekka market for breakfast, and took pictures with campiagn posters along the way - this is one of the things i always when i travel and come across local elections. My mum is a diehard PAP fan plus she hates gthe 'teochew woman' and so refused to take a photo even with the WP posters.

On thursday, I went with my colleague to the final WP rally to 'kay poh' what they have to say and take it as an eye-opener and be entertained if the points were not valid. The turnout was phenomenal but phenomenal really is an understatement. People were That was also my first time attending a rally. cheering, shouting and responding to almost everything the candidates said on stage. There, i saw how charismatic Pritam Singh is. He can easily be the future leader of WP to make the local political scene vibrant. There should be more talented choices in the opposition parties.

I like how the election will culminate with the results (show) tonight. It's like watching the American Idols but this time, I play a part too. As for now, it's over to city square mall for a nice meal for the energy to stay up tonight to catch the election results. Maybe i should buy some titbits too!

Which way to lean?

2011-05-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad to experience one of the most exciting times in Singapore - the general election! After so many years, it's no more Tanjong Pagar GRC, no more walkover! And the opposition party contesting this ward is the hammer party, one of the more worthy opponents. We finally have a choice!

So many firsts for me! I saw for the first time, our minister MP standing outside of the mrt station early in the morning on nomination day, though he looked a bit awkward. He dropped by twice this week, which beat the total number of times i saw him in the last 5 years.

After a long wait, the hammer candidate came last evening. The guy knocking on our door looked decent enough and before we could react, this samsui woman looking lady appeared (i found out earlier from the party's website that she's 35. There was total silence from the opposition contestants except for the posters hanging on lamp posts with some on the ground, so i took the initiative to find out about them). She introduced herself as the opposition candidate. My mom went up to say hello in mandarin but she replied in Teochew and continued in the dialect to this old lady who was pissed. My mom was offended to be taken for the older generation (though she really is) which speaks nothing but dialects, and the most shocked to learn about her age.

From their newsletter, however, it is apparent that the party has a clear object (which is always easier for the underdog). With a fat campaigning budget, the incumbent's newsletter has many more pages, and is full of colorful pictures & slogans, but all i can see is they will carry on the status quo. Maybe they have done such a fantastic job, there's no room for further improvement. There's no personal address to residents.

It's indeed a difficult choice.

On a separate note, with McDull's good height and calibre, he can easily fit into the shoes of at least 2 ministers in the near future when he receives his pink IC. He speaks Cantonese and only Cantonese which doesn't seem to matter since the majority of Singaporean Chinese can speak the dialect too, plus HK dramas are so popular here. He prefers to remain as an FT for now, but may opt for PR which gives him almost all of the same rights.

Visiting McDull's Gar Heung

2011-04-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Had the chance to travel via and to HK twice within about a month after I started work more than a month ago. Part of the fun was to fly business class. I tried both the SQ and Cathay business class and trust me, CX is no match for SQ though I used to like the airline a lot esp for travel to HK. The food (the cakes are horrible), service and even the seat (which was manual recline) were a disappointment. The saving grace was the kiwi coconut juice. No wonder it’s much cheaper! Whatever it is, I’d rather have a better pay than good flight.

SQ

CX

But no matter what food and drinks were available on flight, nothing beats the local fare.

And don't think there’s no horrible food in HK! Visit Pancakes sthg sthg (don’t rmbr name, just the horrible food, or something like Pancaks story....a horror story) and it will totally change your impression of that! They have the weirdest pizza – soft shell crab with curry and some unknown stuff. The half thin-thick crust or may be bread adds on to the weirdness. But really it was catching up with friends that mattered. And thankfully, they were with me for a memorial meal.

The good old things:

Tai cheong egg tarts

公和 in 深水埗 (hometown of McDull) – it had been so many years since I ate their beancurd! The tofu and tau pok are also fantastic! We saw so many Singaporeans there!

My favourite porridge – 生记in上环.

New Finds (introduced to me by Jace):
Pork chop noodl/eice at tai pai dong on Stanley St, Central

Hokkaido milk factory (?) on 8.F of a building on Wellington St, Central. Saw it in Causeway Bay too.

Was trying to snap a picture of a golden retriever at Causeway Bay and came across a crowd. I curiously raised my camera to take a shot and found that it was 余文乐. Actually the security officer is better looking. I prefer杜文泽whom i saw at this fantastic vegetarian restaurant at the mid levels!

And how can a HK story (SG's as well) be complete without China men and women. Saw this pair of legs in front of me in the mtr station. She waswearing large shades like a superstar. From her unique fashion sense, i could guess her roots and she affirmed that the moment she and the da shen next to her, probably her ma ma, opened their mouth. On my last evening there, i moved out of the hotel to Jace's place and we were shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui with my trolley luggage like many dozens of China folks there. The main difference was, i was at H&M while they were queuing outside the branded shops (with cash) across the road.

In love with Taiwan (not part of China)

2011-04-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

Had a good break in Taiwan before I started work. It was February but already getting warm. The first few days in Taichung, however, were freezing somewhere bewteen 10 to 15 deg celsius! I had been to Taipei but this time I managed to cover Taichung and Tainan as well!

Starting with the hotel, these are 2 hotels I like very much. My criteria weare location, location and location.
富春大饭店，台中 - My friend die die refused to stay here after seeing the photos, but after a long journey from Singapore, this hotel or motel right across the Taichung rail station is the best choice! And so dirt cheap! SGD$14/pax/night! I had more money for shopping! The noise throughout the night and old furishing are not for the weak kearted. My friend was freaked out by the crack in the wall in the bathroom, sound of footsteps and running tap….as if something from the third space was with us the 4 nights we stayed there. But I didn't see much of an issue.

明日大饭店，台北 – I supposed we got the biggest room at some NT$1800 which was about SGD33/pax/night. Under 5 mins from 西门町station. Look out for the entrance into the building in which the hotel occupies 3 floors. There’s a foot massage station and manicure station downstairs when you turn into the building. Rooms are clean, spacious and cosy. Book way in advance and through phone only and ask for a room on the newly renovated 7F.

Tried new food this time – 红油抄手(basically chili oil on wonton) and 肉丸 (bak wan) from the famous 丁山肉丸 in Taichung. Honestly, they were so-so and didn't captivate me though they are Taichhung's specialty dishes.

A must-go must-try is this historical Japanese restaurant 美观园in 西门町. The sashimi was fresh and other food were equally good!

The night markets I highly recommend are:
逢甲夜市in Taichung – try the 大肠包小肠but beware of this pasta in bun thing. Long Q but yucky food. The pork cutlet is a must-try cuz even the gourmet 蔡澜 was there (on leisure) when we were queuing up.

师大夜市in Taipei – lots of cheap food in restaurants and street market. Shopping is great too.
We concluded that markets near schools are always of a higher standard cuz they need to keep their discerning customers.

Another unique place to go is Wulai. What's more satisfying than a hot spring bath in winter! The Wulai train ride is a must! Sun moon lake was different experience too.

I saw cherry blossoms first time in my life (even Wudang was fascinated!) but no sight of the white japanese sakura which could be found only on yang ming shan (mountain). The steep cable car ride was so fun even a doggy was there!

To immerse yourself in some culture, go on a FOC historical journey with Chiang Kai Shek at the Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall in Taipei. The photos were what i saw only in history textbooks! I enjoyed it more than the Gu Gong museum which has admission charges.

A short but interesting stretch of restaurants which are cheap but worth a walk, 敦南is about 10-15 mins from the flagship 24 hours 诚品bookstore.

For a relaxing breakfast and good coffee, this is the place to go - Feng Da cafe in ximending. But I suggest trying the local breakfast by the roadside too.

Am definitely going back… maybe hualien, kenting etc! Taiwan is so fun and the people are so friendly! Bubble tea cheap n nice! I like this from 50. And the shopping need I say, is the BEST! The red jacket I was wearing was only around SGD15! Only problem is i can't wash it that often cuz the (fake) fur won't be furry anymore and the drycleaning fee can be more substantial than the jacket itself.

I LOVE the oolong milk tea with small pearls and streaks (fen tiao).

Back in full force

2011-04-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Just as yiou might have thought that my blog is dead, I'm back in full force, hopefully. Reason being after much hardship getting from foreign talent helpdesk team based in the Philppines, i finally managed to have itunes installed on my (new) company's notebook (I didn't have my pc since some donkey years ago. And with itunes, i can finally tap the 3G of my iphone what you call internet tethering.

To show my sincerity and determination in coming back to the bloggers' world, I have done the following:
1) changed the look of my blog site
2) bought a documentbag to transport this notebook between my home n office

3) last but not least, still typing away at this hour.

And a little stry about the useless IT helpdesk which makes us so helpless: less than 2 months at work, I already have at lease 6 tickets, some on different issues, some on the same ones cuz whatever couldn't be solved will be rolled over to yet another new ticket. For cases they can't handle on the spot, they will escalate them to the same levels but you still have to call the same bunch of fools for level 2. Don't ask me why.

I had the experience of a customer service office telling me that he couldn't solve my acrobat reader issue cuz he wasn't trained in that software n he kept trying the method i tried n didn't work, so i said they jolly well get someone IT savvy to man the helpdesk. And he hung up on me.

The irony is according to protocol, they always end the call with "Is there anything i can help you with"? No, they can't, cuz they are so useless.

That's all for now. Watch this space! Otherwise, you can find me on facebook.

Kochang school camp

2011-01-25T00:04:00.000-08:00

Start of camp.

I just came back from a 2-day school camp in Kochang. We were supposed to be there to teach English, but the 90 over kids spoke little or no English, and we were only given 2 hours to teach them simple English, so I couldn’t share as much as I had wanted to, though some of the kids were really bright and keen to learn. And I admire very much the KS university students who drive 5 hours to the school every month to teach them English.

Kids learning in their exhibition halls.

The Wat Salak School is made up of 3 wooden buildings, and it sits right next to the village crematorium. The toilets were basic – no flush system but clean and well-maintained by the students. The students were well-mannered. They would show us to the toilet, thank us for scooping lunch for them. The dogs there were equally obedient and clean.

The icebreaking game on day 1 was fun – finding your shoe. The kids had a lot of initiatives in inviting to join them for the games while we were watching on. This little boy pointed to my shoes and dragged me into his group. It saddened us to see some of them in torn shoes and uniforms.

The English session was on day 1 which was followed by a visit to the mangrove forest. I have never been to one! The kids and us were invited to stuff our hands into a black box. In it was a clawless, big crab. Poor fellow had to be touched by strange hands every now and then.

My team mate Grape bending her way to get past the tree.

On day 2, the kids were supposed to draw out what they had learned the day before. While we were planning what to draw, this little boy came up to me to ask for the spelling of the words we had taught them and started practicing. He had a sketch of Doraemon in his notebook, so when I wrote “Doraemon” for him, he and his friends were excited to learn that word. (Given a chance, I would have taught him “McDull”).

This is one instance that I really wished I knew Thai. The entire camp was conducted in English so we replied heavily on our Thai colleagues to play interpreters. The volunteers were also nice people but I was playing ‘charades’ with them most of the times. I’ve added some of them on my facebook so hopefully, I get to know them better through pictures.

The best meal I had this trip!

End of camp.

Another interesting encounter this time was with our van driver. I totally admire him like how I admire our office uncle. This drive is really multi-talented! He could drive safely and continuously for 5 hours, without drinking or even visiting the toilet. When he was not driving, he would be helping to hang banners at the school while our activities were going on, carrying boxes and playing camera man. He made himself useful every other minute!

No such Japanese bun in Japan?

2010-11-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Had this for breakfast this morning. It comes in many flavours and I bought the Hokkaido cream one that my colleague recommended. It’s soft and not too sweet but I was expecting some cream since it says ‘Hokkaido cream’. It says on the packaging that the recipe and preservation method are from Japan so guess that means the brand itself cannot be found in Japan. Maybe I should buy some for my Japanese friend when I visit Japan!

2 for $2 at 7-11. Worth a try (but don’t just eat that for breakfast cuz I had it at 8 o’clock and was looking for food again at 9.

Falling for the Niagara Falls

2010-10-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

After raving so much about the autumn foliage, how can I not talk about another wonderful work of nature – The Niagara Falls! They look equally magnificent in the day as at night! Hearing and seeing the gushing down of water gives you the adrenalin rush. The view from Toronto was much better than from New York as you can take in all 3 falls - It’s somewhat like a beautiful girl not being able to see how good she really looks (American Falls) and others can see it better (from Canada). Get the idea?

The maid of the mist ride is a must! The cruise will send you all the way into the falls to experience the mist and get close to the birds hovering over the falls. Of course they will give you a poncho to keep you dry but your camera definitely can’t escape unscathed.

There are many legends to the Niagara Falls. One of it is that a beautiful young Indian lady (aborigines) ran away from her village to avoid marrying someone she didn’t like. She plunged into the falls and was saved by the son of the water god (or something like that) and he made her the goddess of the falls.

Niagara at night, New York. Can only see it from the side. Side note: the pasta sold at food court was a little too soft.

Bird’s eye view of the Falls at Skylon Tower, Toronto.

I love autumn foliage!

2010-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

I just can’t get enough of the autumn foliage! It was a touching and magnificent sight as our coach (with the lousy tour guide on board) drove past rows and rows of the beautiful trees. We took many videos of the scenery. Enjoy the photos, for even that of fallen leaves on grass is a perfect wallpaper!

Paradise Vacations: It drives you to "Paradise"

2010-10-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

We joined a 5-day tour to Canada with Paradise Vacations – one of those run by Chinese immigrants. Quite but it includes no meals and admissions.

The driver was a careful and responsible one. The tour guide by the name of Jacky… can't say much cuz besides saying "Ok, everyone", Take a rest (on the coach)" and "toilet to your left" and "we'll reach in approximately XX minutes", he said nothing much. No info on the itinerary for that day, no background on the places we were visiting.

Some older folks said this was the worse tour ever and they couldn't sleep as much on the coach as Jacky had wanted them to. Jacky suggested we subscribed to the meals otherwise we could find NO food on our own and even if we did, it would cost us 3 times as much. And don’t we patronize the same restaurant as the group cuz we won’t be served as quickly.

He even chided an old couple for tipping him in Canadian dollars instead of USD cuz he had to change them back to USD.

I would do my own free & easy tour any time.

And look out for his little blue umbrella which doubled up as a guide flag.

Welcome to East Harlem

2010-10-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

This is a story about East Harlem, New York and to be very specific, 105 St Lexington Ave. We stayed in a 4-bed dorm at Central Park Lexington apartment the 6-7 days we were in New York. Contrary to tales that it was a danger zone and crime hotspot, the non-whites a.k.a. the South Americans, blacks and Asians, are extremely friendly and helpful. We felt like one of them living in the little neighbourhood.

The adventure happened in the apartment which looks totally different from the photos on its website. When we checked in the first night, a black lady in her blue nightgown checked us in. she had her hand on her face all the time and didn’t seem very sober, so we though she as on drugs. It turned out that she had a bad toothache. Shortly after we checked in, we met her kids including a 10-month old baby – a black kitten. It was squatting outside the common toilet and hiding in the bathroom the first few nights. On the third night, a Turkish lady checked into our room. Appalled by the condition of the place, she checked out the next day. But and 6-ish the morning before se checked out, the black lady came knocking on every door (still in the same nightgown – we suspected it to be her uniform). She was looking for her baby under the bed and all over the room. I later saw the baby hiding beside the toilet bowl and informed her. She offered to buy me breakfast and was weeping.

We didn’t see her and her baby for the next few days.

We came back one day and accidentally closed the door loudly. The lady heard us and opened her bedroom door and greeted us. She then told us as a by the way thing, that her kitten had died. It swallowed a strand of the mop. We froze cuz we couldn’t believe what we heard (the mop on top of the death). She thought we didn’t understand what she said so she took out that very mop. My friend couldn’t hold her laughter and excused herself and ran up to the room.

It was a totally safe apartment in a safe area. I got all the good training in Little India. No bedbug problem that is bugging New York cuz the bunks are metallic and plastic sheets around the mattresses are still intact.

This was just one of the highlights of our trip. More to come.

Blog vs facebook

2010-09-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

With my iPhone now, I'm more prone to conveniently drop a few lines plus photos in facebook than to blog. Which is bad cuz the thought could not be fully explained or might be misunderstood. Fb n iPhone on the go can be so addictive i sat down at a cafe for 2 hours with a fellow iPhone friend not talking to each other at all cuz we were busy with the different apps on our phone.

Here's something I've to share with more words:
I called 15 minutes cafe at lasalle to make reservation the other day. A girl by the name of Michelle (?) answered n I told her my booking details. She said hold on n after a long time she was back on the line. "hehehe sorry what time, for how many?" I repeated myself n she asked for my name n # n I gave them to her. "hold on please hahaha" n she back to the phone after some time. "kris as in krin?" "no, Kris s for Sweden" and the number she repeated was totally different except for the 9 in front.

What work for my skin, and what don't

2010-09-09T01:55:00.000-07:00

Am trying to save $ on my skincare products – origins is good but costly, so I’m going to experiment with another combination of products in the evening:
1) origins cleanser
2) any toner (other than hada labo cuz it doesn’t add moisture to my skin nor cleanse any traces of dirt)
3) olay regenerist serum (have been using this for many years – affordable and good)
4) Origins A Perfect World -> Olay micro-sculpting cream.

The tricky thing Olay(4) is not that cheap. It’s under $50 cuz it’s $49.90 and when Origins is having am set or fully redeemable facial promotion, it’s really worth it! And I can always buy it from the airport. Was initially considering Simple’s anti-ageing cream but reviews haven’t been as good. It’s still back to Olay. Will try and share the results later. That is if I decided to make that switch.

There’s this website about.com that raves about the cheap n good Cetaphil products which work well for sensitive skin, and most stuff are under $10!

Talking about skincare, how can I not mention New York Skin Solutions? Bought 3 trial sessions @ $100 each cuz they were so hardsell and persistent and won’t let you out of their office until they get something out of you – which they NEVER EVER will again. The therapists are generally ok skilful but not this is not exceptional visible in the results. After my 2ndsession with them last week, the therapist tried to convince me to sign on for another 2 sessions, and that my skin is withering I needed to purchase and use their treatment essence ($65) at once! They can go and fly kite…

Actually after my chicken pox, I stopped going for facial for a good 6 months and stuck to DIY cuz too lazy to go out just for facial and lie there for 2 hours. My skin actually improved. Maybe b'cos all the toxins in my body were purged out togetehr with the poxes? I guess I picked it up all over just to pamper myself and unwind. But believe me, a good workout works just as well!

Different but Same

2010-09-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Can u see any difference betw the 2 veggie dishes in the 2 pictures? From my eating experience they looked, tasted n r even served in the same plate. But my mom insisted otherwise cuz she said there was mushroom in it... She won again!

Oh btw, both dishes next to the veggies were FISH.

YOGeez

2010-08-12T22:58:00.001-07:00

The YOG opens tomorrow. Read about how grand the opening ceremony is expected to be in today’s papers.

I was lucky enough to play guinea pig – attended the rehearsal on Wednesday. I had to use a lot of imagination, visualizing how it would be if Sean Kingston was there, the overwhelming fireworks, the VVIPs. The best were the substitutes (of the YOG and IOC chairmen) saying “Beginning of speech” and that was it. The audience was tickled.

Can you spot the monster/ET in the picture?

We were all quite enthusiastic in the beginning then started feeling sleepy, playing with their handphones, taking wu liao pictures (me) and some just left halfway. There was even a queue at the exit just about an hour into the show. The audience was invited to do a marina wave which didn’t quite take off, and this 4-step dance which required pushing our palms out towards the air, stretching our out hands when we were already packed shoulder to shoulder… the music throughout the evening was admittedly, nice.

When the flags of participating countries were revealed, I cheered loudly for Sri Lanka since I could relate with them.

In line with the hungry ghost festival, they also have larger than life, multi-racial balloon manipulated by performers, floating around. We were all scared stiff when they came round the audience.

I am still at the end of the day, proud to be a Singaporean, if only the tempo of the national anthem at the ceremony could go faster. The best for the evening was the beautiful skyline and of course, the impressive set.

Energy drink

2010-08-02T00:24:00.000-07:00

Pardon this blur photo. Discovered only last Saturday that the ginger tea that I so enjoy drinking at my facial salon is made out of a packet drink. So here it is – Madam Kim. I like it cuz it’s mildly sweet and not overly pungent. I feel re-energised drinking it after my facial.

Got a bad news recently - I heard from my mom that she still has another 50 episodes to go before she finishes the Taiwanese drama, “Ai”. A total of 700 over episodes. It’s crazy!!! I think I definitely need more ginger tea to calm me down.

Italiano!

2010-07-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

Went to Italiannies at Singapore Powers building (111) in Somerset for dessert. The restaurant opened in April this year. Nice coffee (generally $4.90 to 6.90) and a HUGE slice of tiramisu ($11+) which I thought would taste better if less sweet, more bitter with a stronger taste of coffee and alcohol. The place was packed with diners as many of them tucked in to pizzas and pastas (er.... we were already at desserts at 7.30pm). Hope to try those next time. Nice ambience! The best was the free flow of bread which we cud dip into olive oil n vinegar. The only downside was perhaps that the waitresses were quite snooty.

Surprisingly, 111 has lots of nice restaurants and cafes! Good getaway in the crowded stretch of 313.

Attitude House and their magical cream!

2010-07-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

I must say BB cream is quite magical, especially the one from Etude House. But the service attitude is even more so!

I accompanied my colleague to Etude House at suntec to purchase something. She was searching for her stuff so I looked around. A salesgirl who looks young, petite and coloured almost her entire eyelids with her eyeliner, came up to offer her help. I told her I’m just looking around, she insisted on showing me something, so I checked out the pressed powder. She said powder doesn’t provide good coverage as BB cream, so she started squeezing and pumping out the different types of BB cream for me. Then came the cooling aloe vera one. One big lump flew onto the sleeve of my new blouse. She was apologetic and helped wiped some off for me. Then she said she tried her best and managed to remove only 50% of it, and suggested that I went to the toilet to wash it off. I told her not to feel bad about it n wanted to leave the shop. BUT, she insisted that I try out more types of BB cream and started applying them on her own hand, and ended off “So would you like to get one”? Wasn’t she persistent?

Thankfully for her, I was sick, otherwise I would have asked her if she would be keen if she was in my shoes and dragged her with me to the toilet to clean up my sleeve.

But for Etude House, I must say they have gotten themselves such a great, persistent employee!

Thai Accent - don't know what to say

2010-07-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Went to vivo city for dinner yesterday. I had wanted Japanese food but my friend said the Q was freaking long and suggested Vietnamese food. On our way to the Vietnamese restaurant, we got distracted by the aroma from a Thai restaurant - Thai Accent, so we decided to settle for that. The conclusion: the food is like my mom’s cooking – ONLY smells good.

The ambience promised great potential for the food but it stopped just there, like BaliThai (in Suntec). The minced meat with rice and sunny side up was too watery n salty; the clear tom yam soup was equally salty, n unauthentic (the one from Thai Express is anytime better). Only the stir fry kai lan with garlic was passable, but I think i can do that too. The bill came up to about $55, discount if you have the stanchart card. I don’t have that but so what, I definitely wun be going back.

Contrary to the name of the restaurant, most of the waiters seemed to be from the Philippines. Not only was there no Thai accent, one said “sawadee ka” as we left the restaurant.

Don't doubt the oracles!

2010-07-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Was doing my usual morning walk on Saturday when I saw some tourists surrounding a small table outside little india arcade. When I stopped and looked from across the road, I thought I saw Mani, the uniquely Singapore oraculous parrot! However, the world cup final has proven that Paul is the almighty! He has been my idol since the Spain-Germany match, though I lost and said I wanted to eat him. The day after Mani chose Holland, I went to place a small bet. Now; I feel like eating birds (including chicken)!

I have this friend who said she respected the choices of both animals and betted on a draw. And so, she won!

Actually, my McDull also predicted a draw, but as he is a fakie from my boss, I didn’t trust him…

Burger vs Octopus

2010-07-06T23:49:00.001-07:00

Paul the octopus, has once again took his pick on the world cup. He chose Spain over Germany!

But animals can be wrong. Mani, the little parrot in Little India predicted a Uruguay vs Spain in the finals. I had wanted to go Little India after work yesterday to twist his neck but thankfully, he was wrong.

My bet with a colleague for the Spain vs Germany match tomorrow morning is on a BK or equivalent lunch. So, I’ll either have a free BK meal this Friday, if not, I’ll go for a bbq octopus feast this weekend.

Pasta Bravo

2010-07-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

Went to Pasta Brava for dinner last Friday. Fully booked but thanks to the heavy rain, we cud have a 1-hour meal before the crowd poured in.

I had the homemade mushroom soup @ $7.50 (I had strong craving for soup spoon’s creamy mushroom soup. Walked all the way to raffles city and found the shop not there, probably due to the renovation. There was Cedele but mushroom soup wasn’t on its menu that day. And so, my friend suggested Pasta Brava). The mushroom soup was nice and reminded me of what I had at Fishermen’s Wharf in San Francisco, but it wasn’t what I was really looking for that evening.

I can see why there were so many ang mohs patronizing the restaurant. The pasta was really good though a little pricey and not really the best I’ve had. The one I ordered was $21. Under the waiter’s recommendation….scallops n prawns…cream base something. Lots of Italian on the menu.

Fantastic ambience! And my friend said the wine is good too.

Anyway, here’s the address:-

Pasta Brava
11 Craig Road, Tanjong Pagar
Tel: 6227 7550
www.pastabrava.com.sg
info@pastabrava.com.sg

Anti Pig Piracy!

2010-06-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

Besides facial masks, there’re also fake McDulls around! This is more painful than fake masks! Totally despicable! You can spot them in Ladies Market and Mongkok in Hong Kong, many parts of Malaysia and China. To get the real thing, go to McQuarter in HK and some Mu Ee outlets in Singapore. The difference in quality is obvious.

Here’s how you spot the differences between the 2, so you’ll know if you’re getting the real deal, like antiques:-

Real on left, faker on right

Head : McDull always bigger proportionate to his body
Ears : real one has large, thick ears
Nostrils : Real one’s closer together and in dark brown
Eyes : Real one has pea-sized eyes, not kidney bean size like his imposter
Limbs : real one has fingers. You can squeeze his hand/leg and the fingers will open up
Mouth : lower down and ark brown. And he hardly sticks out his tongue.
Hair : real one has longer, smoother, healthier hair

One special feature you can always look for on the real thing is the drop of sweat. There’s always a tag, sort of certification on his left hand.

As for McDull’s friend, McMug, I leave the authentication job to his family/fan club.

It's a Legend

2010-06-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

Attended a friend’s wedding last Saturday.

The Legends at Fort Canning has always given me a good impression until last Saturday’s wedding. The 10-course banquet started at 8.45pm. The second dish was served only at 9.30pm. Between 11-11.30pm, 3 dishes were served. Before dinner, we spotted dirty napkins, crockery. In between the dishes, the waiters and even captain forgot about our drinks request, toppled my glass of red wine. It was so bad and slow that we requested for a jug of water to ourselves so we could fill up our own glasses. Sometimes the waitress would plate the dish for us, sometimes she would leave all 10 bowls/plates there, we were so confused and the lag between them putting down the dish and us eating the food was a good 10 mins at least. Those at our table told the waitress in the end we prefer to DIY.

Thankfully, food was good and the souvenir was pretty, useful. And yes, there was fish - pomfret to be specific!

My friend staying in the north managed to catch the last train home.

BTW, was very touched to receive the invitation to me and McDull, very specifically.

Things i learned in HK

2010-06-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Wellcome, the Fairprice equivalent of Hong Kong certainly left my friends a deep impression. This picture reminded me of the incident.

We were buying strawberry oreos and snacks as gifts when my 2 friends dashed out of the shop saying they saw a rat. Since cockroaches are friends I see every now n then at home (I love flying ones – more challenging), so I was quite ok with their distant relative. I went to pay up but the cashier took my money and jumped off when she saw the rat. It was a pathetic little fellow, skinny and a little wet. It might have licked the packaging of my oreos but certainly not th e cookies themselves cuz its legs were really long n skinny.

Next, the store manager, the only male staff I guess, had to try capture the rat with a waste paper bin, but it went under the atm machine, and he waited. Not easy being a store manager yah?

Open your eyes and ears and you’ll learn something new every day. I heard at the MTR a kid pestering his dad to buy him a toy. His dad saved his wallet n pacified him by telling him (in Cantonese) “This is nice but not so suitable for kids 小朋友”. So smart!

Take note of the faces in this photo

2010-06-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

Yes, these are the selfish souls who pretended 2b sleeping, reading, playing n their handphones…anything but see the poor old man standing in front of them looking for a seat. It was such a relief to them when the old man finally got a seat. Suddenly, they could all look up.

If only i had taken the photo from a better angle to capture all the faces clearly. And a better camera instead of my lousy hp camera!

I’ve sent this to ST stomp, if it doesn’t get in there, at least I have you guys to help me forward the photos. Thanks!

HK Part 2

2010-06-23T00:15:00.000-07:00

I didn’t expect to be back in Hong Kong so soon after my visit in Oct last year, but I had a wonderful time eating, shopping and catching up with my friends. The standard of Cathay Pacific though, has dropped tremendously - headset not working, lousy food, flight delay...you name it.

Whenever I travel I try to explore new places. Even though Hong Kong is a city I’ve been to many many times, I still manage to discover new things every time – new clothes for one! And of course, my passion is always FOOD besides taking slow walks like an elderly.

Walking tours:

Fanling
Far up in the north almost next to China. Nice, historical walled villages (围村/老围- since the Qing dynasty), some of which will be demolished to make way for the rail connecting to Guangzhou or Shenzhen.

The biggest Taoist temple in HK, next to Fanling station, serves good vegetarian food.

Kowloon Walled City, Kowloon Tong
It's a park in the midst of housing estate. Suzhou-style garden built during Qing dynasty. Now just an area residents cut across after buying their veggies etc.

Wanchai
Historical churches, open market which stand in contrast right next to the city’s tallest skyscrapers.

Stanley
Go anytime but during dragoon boat festival for a nice walk by the beach n chill out at the cafes. We went right on 端午节.

Back shopping in Kwai Fong. Nice sweet coconut drink (with red bean or pearl) on overhead bridge linking the shopping paradise (a complex) and shopping mall next to it. McQuarter is in the mall!!! If in Mongkok, go to Argyle Centre for cheap clothes, though slightly more ex than kwai fong.

Food:

Hui Lau San
Well known for its mango desserts but the curry fishballs with squid and radish are equally yummy!

Yuen Long
Sheng Li beef noodles. Very QQQ beef balls and they serve great lemon + coke (冻柠乐). Lemon tea + Ribena is 冻柠宾 and so on.

Back to my favourite Japanese restaurant! Only about S$50 for a sashimi platter!

Tsim Sha Tsui

Sun Kei in dilapidated building on Granville - MUST try the cheese ramen cuz even Louis Koo n all have been there. The cheese ball ramen is my favourite, other than the pig's neck meat. Not easy to locate though. Me n my friend couldn't find this tiny shop the day b4 n ended up eating oily bee hor fun n rubbery singapore fried bee hoon.

Happy Valley
Saw paparazzis at work, taking pictures of some celebrity (we thought he looked like Ron Ng Cheuk Hei) at the atm across the road. So I took a photo of the paprazzis. Went for porridge and ‘zhar leung’ at the shop next to it n told the lady boss about our encounter. Surprisingly, she said Ron Ng is no big deal. Raymond Lam Fung and his mom popped by just last week. My HK friend then told me celebrities like Anita Yuen are regulars!

Causeway Bay
This place serves pretty nice beancurd, though I remeber I had better ones In Sham Shui Po many years back.

Sheung Wan
Fantastic porridge! And the fish cakes also nice!

Central
Shen Heung Yuen – an open air stall that sells nice ketchup soup base noodles, honey lemon crispy bun. Lots of people, nice food but overrated.

The one at Cui Hua tea restaurants is better.

Gau Kei beef noodles – very beefy and sweet! The queue outside even b4 it opened said it all.

Lin Heung Lau – one of the oldest teahouses. Go for the 60s HK atmosphere, don’t (bother to) focus on the food. Ye Shanghai in Marco Polo hotel is posh n frequented by celebrities like Edison Chan, but food is overpriced n nothing fantastic. Go if you have $ to burn.

McDonalds launched a new dip for chicken mcnuggets last week when we were there – the Singapore honey mustard sauce. We Singaporeans never knew it existed!

Probably one of the grossest posters around.

Saw McDull so very often in HK this time! He’s on a roll!!! Even endorsing Canon and Microsoft products.

Got a fakie McDull from my boss this morning. My sis refused to take it from me. Even she said she couldn’t accept anything more than the real thing. LVs can be fake, but not McDull. But I appreciate the gift.

Flavours of Hong Kong

2010-06-07T21:08:00.001-07:00

Went to Crystal Jade HK café at OC last Friday for supper cuz the dinner at Hot Tomato at 313 wasn’t filling.

I had grilled salmon + aglio olio for $12.90 (before GST). The side salad with the very citrus mango dressing is very refreshing but the dressing was also used on the salmon, which drowned out the taste of the fish. The fish was cooked just right, and I liked the excessive olive oil on the spaghetti. For $2.90, you can upgrade the ala carte order to a set meal which comes with soup (it was very campbell mushroom for that day which I couldn’t take) and gelato.

My more satisfying meal was at Crystal Jade. The setting is very HK café. Me and friend shared a set for $13.90, since she was craving for soup noodles and me, chee cheong fun (the sweet and sesame sauces are perfect with the steaming hot, soft cheong fun!). The hot, thick corn drink was a pleasant surprise. We had enough tea and cold drinks for that day, so this was the only choice we could go with. I highly recommend it! No better way to end a Friday evening.

A friend left for hong kong the following day and gave each of us a photo montage as parting gifts. Here’s mine – but don’t understand why my photo taken during our PJs party was chosen….so ah ma!

No GSS but Singapore Eats

2010-06-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tried out a new flavour of noodles from koka – purple wheat noodles. Really healthy (but a little boring. Great food when sick or when u feel sinful). Absolutely no msg and instead of being fried like traditional noodles, it’s baked dry. Maybe because I’ve been deprived of proper human food the past one month, these mildly flavoured noodles tasted really good. Can bake it with cheese, throw in pork chop if you like. For big eaters, you need at least 2 packets. The packaging looks good too. Think it’s about $3 (cuz mom paid for it).

Went to the popular Japanese restaurant Ootoya at orchard central for dinner. Really quite popular as it takes 30 mins to get a table and the Q gets pretty long after 8pm (why? People eat so late?). There’re also quite a lot of Japanese customers. It took an 30 mins for them to recook a pot of rice that went bad, so we practically waited from 7.30pm before we got to eat at 8.30pm. The waiters were imported from the Philippines I guessed. They served with a smile but what we asked for never seemed to arrive – be it tea, food, not during the first attempt. They just went “ok, ma’am” then walked away. No follow-up.

Food is good (way better than Ma Maison). Can only comment on the pork cutlet with miso sauce (quite unique!) cuz that was about the only few things I could eat. The pickles you see blow went to my friend. Had only a few slices of mushroom to avoid the supposedly poisonous spores.

The chilli powder was really good. Spicy!

And why was I in orchard? For the great singapore sale of course! Had wanted to buy something quite badly. But what sale? A pathetic 10-20% off. In the US, sales mean 50-70%. All I bought were sunblock and hair conditioner, and from Toa Payoh. How fulfilling…

And glad to say that chickens n eggs are now back on my plate!

Wasabi kit kat

2010-05-21T00:56:00.000-07:00

Lucky enough to lay my hands on a wasabi white chocolate kit kat bar. A colleague bought it from Japan, shared it with another and that other shared it with me.

Unique, faint wasabi taste but the vanilla taste in the white chocolate was still a little too sweet for me.

American Idols

2010-05-19T23:42:00.001-07:00

I devised this hypothesis that contestants whose names carry one of my names stand a good chance of winning the competition. Last season “Kris” Allen was the winner, and “Lee” has a high chance in this current season.

My sister thought I was too pompous with this thought so let’s see if Lee wins!

Chicken Pox Menu

2010-05-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

It’s either my body’s tough or my doctor is stingy with his mc – I only got 1 week off for chicken pox. Returned to work n every1 was scared. So I went back to him for 1 more week of mc. Expended all my 14 days of medical leave!

I think it’s the lack of food that’s making me sick. Grew so tired of gamey pork n veggie, parboiled rice + pork = porridge my mom prepared that I had to make a trip to the supermarket to grab cereals and pasta (supposed to stay away from oily food but I felt great after eating it). The only consolation was perhaps I got to skip fish for a week but now it’s back on my plate (luckily no pomfret cuz can only eat fish with scales). The most enjoyable things I did were reading and watching tv, and of course sms-ing my friends. I didn’t even have time to watch the dvds my friends lent me for this purpose. Felt like I was on a holiday with no access to the pc (job applications) as the only drawback!

My mom’s famous steamed fish n fish soup. Steamed minced pork.

Did my own cooking when I couldn’t take it anymore.

Potato n pork strips

Pork noodles

Cereals with milk/yogurt and cranberries

Pasta

Pork chop cheese ramen

If u r interested, can ask me for the recipes.

My biggest headache now is what to eat for lunch – only had rice, veggie n a huge porkball on the first day back at work. I had my last good meal for weeks to come –bak kut teh, on the first day of my chicken pox. Had xiaolong bao w/o ginger slices n vinegar at Nanxiang @ city square (much better standard than the Bugis one) n pork rib noodles while my mom n sis feasted on salted egg prawn, crab roe fried rice...

Thankfully, there’s PORK in this world. Have to miss my crab feasts… my mom said n shellfish for 3 months then pantry lady said 4 months! And no nuts. I‘m going nuts. I’m so desperate that I’m inclined to follow the Malay Indian’s chicken pox diets! They said maybe for about a month…article in Straits Times said no special diet required unless there’s a history of food allergy. Very convincing!

And here’s the welcome back present from my boss. Some colleagues commented that it’s a useful method to inform others of my whereabouts.

City Space Bar

2010-04-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Went to city space bar (level 70) at swissotel for tea last evening (which wasn't quite cool actually since it's a place for alcohol but cuz i was down with a cough). And the aircon wasn't powerful enough, not even for a sick person like me.

Would I pay $20 surcharge for window seat? The answer is a maybe cuz the view is pretty good but a pity, still. I prefer a rotating view

Drinks are normal though I ordered the special brew - chocolate tea ($12 strictly no refill) and evian ($6 a bottle). The waitresses are an eye candy in the sexy black dress with the high slits. The singing was good.

Some photos to share but pardon my lousy sony ericsson hp camera.

Top: How the actual place should look like. Bottom: photo from my hp.

More fake flames and the nice lights hanging above, a little like stars.

The most interesting observation: there was this particular seat where a woman sat all alone and stuffed her face and of course drank. Then a man who came in at about an hour later, sat exactly in the same chair and did the same thing. They each had a ring on their weding ring finger, so maybe both were out of love? Or were a couple? So, the next time someone needs a spot to weep, they can take this seat at city space, and eat & cry their hearts out in the dark.

Micro & Macro

2010-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Guardian pharmacy has started carrying美肌之誌 mask, another popular brand in HK and Taiwan. According to online reviews, it is better than My Beauty Diaries but slightly more expensive - 7 in a box. I bought a sheet to try out but haven’t used it. Anyway, my sister just came back from Taiwan and bought a box of My Beauty Diary masks for about SGD8, almost half the price we pay here! And there’re other flavours like birds’ nest, cherry chocolate…
Besides masks and all the beauty products, I also care about the bigger environment. I’m almost quite certain that the elections are here. Just look at flooring compard to a few weeks ago.

Before

Now

More Presents and Yummy Food

2010-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Got 2 presents last week, unexpectedly. One is something I like – a whistle – the face on it, not sure of the function though I’m sure it’ll come in handy when the sleazy boss comes any nearer. The other is something interesting/cute – a Pinocchio accessory from Rome. I’m the only one out of the four in the department to get that. The rest got the same “I love Roma” keychain. Maybe the giver really thinks that I’m into toys?

Started the weekend with good food. Went to Shokudo…or Shukodu for dinner last Friday. The main courses were great and desserts were really the highlight. Btu don’t know why one of my friends ended up vomiting. Maybe cuz of the sinfully rich, creamy pasta plus the ice-creams and waffle.

Then I chanced upon this bakery in Chinatown (Blk 531 Upper Cross Street, behind Chinatown Point) on Saturday. There was a (short) Q and since I had time and was hungry, I joined the line and bought a raisins cheese bun. I tell you – it was fantastic! Eating it hot, the sweetness of the raisins was played down (cuz I’m quite scared of raisins) and the cheese was oozing out. I was too engrossed eating so didn’t take a shot of the bun but I got the shop.

Too much good food...that's why i'm developing a cough. And more food this evening - bbq!

Chicago; Bali

2010-04-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Chicago – the musical
Went to catch the musical last evening. Everything about the show was good – vocals, acting, set… except the Aussie accent. A story with Chicago background but non-American accent (worse still, it has to be Australian), is totally unacceptable!

Had a good time overall. Only regret is that my legs don’t show on the photo. See how nice the (2nd) photo I took was!

Bali
Went to Bali with a bunch of colleagues/ex-colleagues last week. Energy sapping trip but fun – the company and I tried new stuff like jet ski and white water rafting even though I didn’t get to touch the oar cuz there were 7 of us including the instructor, so I just leeched on the rest. Plunging down the waterfalls was not as scary as I had imagined, fun in fact! Best time to visit is July-August because April is the rainy season. Didn’t manage to catch sunset over seafood dinner or Mt Batur (the volcano). But sunrise from our (so-called) presidential suite in a hotel in Nusa Dua was quite something.

Temples and more temples – Uluwatu (lotsa monkeys) and sunset at Tanah Lot.

Thankfully, sometime back I caught this on camera from my HDB window. Makes up for the regret of not seeing the sunset in Bali.

The nice villa with our own private pool in Seminyak, just don't mind the yucky breakfast and mosquitoes in the open bathroom. The menu never changed, so it was american breakfast with tasteless tea english breakfast and earl grey tasted the same) and coffee all the way. I like the exterior of the villa - here was our hamster friend caught in the pyramid style pavement.

Besides the trip, the flying experience with KLM was memorable. It started off with a flight delay. Announcement that they needed to defuel cuz the flight was originally bound for Amsterdam and affected by the volcano eruption in Iceland and they had to tell us only after we boarded the plane. We got off and found our way to the canteen where they offered the $6.80 food and pineapple juice only drink station. The noodles tasted like cooked rubber band and the pineapple juice was something I never had before and shall not have again.
On board the 2 hour flight, they only gave out the headsets long after we flew (and none on return flight cuz all headsets from Amsterdam). When it came meals, there was only menu A – beef and more beef. Forget about having PORK, not even my mom’s favourite fish.

11 of us and we were all seated on our own on the return flight, though it wasn’t a full flight. And I thought I couldn’t board the plane cuz my row number wasn’t indicated anywhere on the boarding sequence - no row 26.

My favourite shots:

The mickey mouse who reminded me of my ex-malaysian, now OZ citizen ex-boss. Her outstanding Stitch bag with the 3D ears that stick out.

Those “overly friendly” people who just won’t let me have my personal shot. Lots of passers-by.

Dim Sum

2010-04-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Am sianz and feel like munching on something. So, 2 new words (in canton-drin) i picked up from the English this morling came to mind - Cha siao bao and 虾搞!

And now there’s “shio mai”. Yea, “xia gao” not complete with “shio mai”. Technically speaking, it is served “shio”.

I look forward to more dim sum!

Good Riddance!

2010-04-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Got rid of 4 pairs of shoes last weekend. They were either over worn or really uncomfortable, or in the case of the charles & keith shoes pretty looking but not functional. This is my favourite pair I bought from old navy in San Francisco in March 2008.

The other pair I liked gave way last year. Can’t find an equally comfortable and pretty pair elsewhere. Comfort in shoes is really important to me cuz I go places in them!

Another thing that gave way was my McDull umbrella which I bought only in Nov last year. Good-looking guys are really not dependable…

The thing to really dump/strike off my list is Ma Maison restaurant (whether it is at bugis, the central or parco millenia). Just cant make it. I was initially enticed by the ambience but the food was enough to make it my one and only visit.

I ordered the seemingly delicious, chef recommended original miso hamburger +stew with udon which was really gross. Imagine drinking a whole bowl of miso/gravy. Quite yuckily original.

At that moment, I was only thinking of ichiban and sushi tei. The beef patty was definitely pure beef cuz it was very beefy. My friend was reminded of tampopo at liang court when she swallowed her pasta. The recommended brownie was somewhat of the bakery standard. The list goes on. The next table gave up eating a plate of pasta, possibly seafood marinara but we couldn’t really see cuz the customer threw the napkin on it.

The only pleasant surprises were the good customer service and the comics available. I picked up a copy of “monster” (showing on okto 11pm Fridays) though I couldn’t make out a word.

Mummies!

2010-03-29T01:25:00.000-07:00

Had a little bit of excitement during the last weekend, as in experiencing something different.

Went to the “Quest for immortality” exhibition at the national museum ($8.50 with mastercard discount). Only 200 over exhibits but needn’t go as far as Egypt. Even then, the archaelogical museum in Athens has far more comprehensive exhibits than this, and it was FREE (on Sundays). Far too many historical pieces in Greece that some were placed outside the toilets or next to cafes.

The oldest of all exhibits, dated some 3000-2000 B.C

Real mummies! Could see their x-rays too.

The sphinxes never failed to amaze me! The centerpiece of the exhibition and literally was the phaoroah.

There was an outdoor wedding going on that evening at the museum restaurant. My friend was totally bowled over by the romantic idea.

Speaking of which, here're some photos of the beach wedding i attended at the beginning of this month at rasa sentosa.

Then came Sunday when we went for our qing ming prayers. Me and my sis were so happy to get home after a hot day under the sun and kopi session, but neither of us brought the home keys! So we had to squat outside the house to wait for our saviour – our mom who no longer carries a handphone. She finally came back after more grocery shopping and $4 fix. I wasn’t really as happy as I looked.

See what a shabby job the town council did with the flooring? Barely a week b4 the cement pieces came off one by one.

More Foreign Talents - Learning points!

2010-03-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

1) Taichi your way in the office

Passed a letter which was supposed to be my china colleague’s responsibility to follow up. She cleverly left it on the boss’ desk saying that he has dealt with the sender before. My boss can expect a surprise when he comes back from his 2 days leave. But my boss is the master of all taichi, so let’s wait and learn from him. This is 一山还有一山高，蛇中自有蛇中王. When there is a phone enquiry, simply ask the caller to email to the general email and wait for others to reply, so you can continue to msn and surf china websites.

2) Fade away

Besides reinforcing the poor service, I also learned from my last Friday’s visit that Charles & Keith’s system to keep tab of stocks isn’t accurate. At least that was what the Filipino sales girl told me.

I was enquiring if there were bigger sizes of a certain pair of shoes. She just said ‘no’ offered no further help. I had to ask if other outlets might have the sizes. She reluctantly checked on the computer and told me the locations, and had to be further told to call the said outlet. After all these hassle, she said the outlet which was reflected as carrying the stocks also didn’t have it and that the system is not accurate. Then she disappeared into the storeroom.

So, which is more talented?

NEWS: My Beauty Diary masks on sale at $14.95 at Guardian. Slight breakout on my face, so today I’ll be using the strawberry yogurt mask.

Easy Masks

2010-03-11T23:05:00.001-08:00

More to say about masks. This time about type. After using so many types – creamy apply-on and wait to dry, cloth and even self-made (egg white, oat, honey… followed by breakout but still keen to try out DIY yogurt and beer later on once I found the right recipes).

For firming and deep cleansing, I think the creamy, muddy types work better. The one-piece cloth ones are good when it comes to hydration masks. But I have realized that those without the eye flaps are better cuz I can watch tv perforimg the daily DIY facial ritual. I was watching a documentary with a typical Korean mask on. Was upset to find the 2 eye flaps and contemplated whether I should put them over my eye area and decided not to waste it. I parked myself in front of the tv, hearing the part on south American snakes, and was curious when they mentioned a 9 meter serpent. I had to bring down th flaps the put them back when the sections were less interesting…. 10 mins later, I decided it was enough for a 30 min mask. I left the flaps hanging.

On another note, I really love Boots’ body scrubs. Cheap by spore’s standard and really good. So creamy and fragrant, you can eat it! Looks organic too! Bought the walnut one in chiangmai. Think it was $15, 1-for-1. forget about going to the body shop warehouse sale. Things aren’t not even 50% cheaper and I’d rather spend that one hour eating lunch. Can even have tea!

I think it’s cheaper and more cost efficient to concoct my own body scrub – mix VOO and brown sugar. Read this inm Urban but forgot the proportions. Trial and error should suffice. Definitely better than fighting the crowd and queuing for an hour.

Courteous fake mask seller

2010-03-03T23:38:00.000-08:00

I tried my luck and asked for a refund from the fake mask seller whom I found out stays in choa chu kang. To my surprise, there was no argument, defence or denial. He/she (refused to tell me the name) simply said ok and asked for my bank account. She didn’t even ask for the mask to be sent back to her. Maybe it was guilt? I asked for a cheque instead and offered to meet up to return the masks and take cash, but she said I would get my money back faster. I told her it was no hurry but she actually said “please” and would pay me back for the return postage, so she must be really desperate just ‘tay’. Maybe she was afraid I may bring some policemen with me.

I was nice too, I asked for a refund less the amount of masks me (and my sis) used. I only used one but I think my sis loves them despite complaining that they don’t fit on the face properly. My friend asked why I sent the masks back cuz these may end up with other victims. Not that I don’t care (though righteousness is really worthless), but I was more altruistic, hoping the seller realizes her mistake and will destroy these fakes herself and stop engaging in these unethical; business.

To be fair, the seller had been very courteous from the time I ordered the masks, answering all my queries when I said I found the products ‘unreal’. So it’s a courteous fake mask seller. I seriously don’t know what content there is in these fakies. This is so unethical and fetches so little $! I will rather sell fake (health?) food! But I think this seller has conscience cuz her masks were the cheapest, with a further $0.10 discount per piece compared to the other possible fake sellers on gmarket.com.sg.

Even if I didn’t get back my refund this round, I will still have confidence in the gmarket cuz I bought 2-3 nice tops from other sellers there.

Anyway, all I wanna say is I have NO more free fake mask samples to give away. You may contact apmcloset@gmail.com (my seller) for $1.30 a piece (before $0.10 discount). I shan’t go on to reveal her hp number since I’ve my $$ back, but if you pay me $, I’ll be glad to share that with you. Aren’t you glad I bought the fake stuff so you get to see the real fake thing?

Fake masks!

2010-03-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

I’m a mask person, so I bought some 3 boxes of my beauty diary masks and 2 boxes of Neutrogena masks on my last trip to Hong Kong. So much ceaper! No wonder most hongkees have better complexion than S’poreans!

My mask stock was running low, so on top of the masks (2 boxes of my beauty diary) I bought on a discount from Guardian pharmacy, I also bought a box from gmarket. Only $1.20 apiece plus free delivery vs $1.80 from Guardian! What a good deal! BUT, when u get a good deal, think twice! Though I’ve bought nice clothes from gmarket before, these masks I bought was a different story. I questioned the seller who insisted they were the real thing. With my experience with the masks and other masks, I am certain that the smell, effect, thickness and packaging obviously look, but far from the originals.

Here’s some links my colleague found’ on my behalf. Won’t bother to write since some else in Malaysia has done the job, and we aren’t too far away to kena:-
http://www.skindeco.net/2009/11/beware-of-fake-beauty-diary-masks.html
http://three2one-go.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-differentiate-real-and-fake-my.html

Maybe I should give them to my ‘best fake friends’ as birthday presents? Or those who gave me ang pows for CNY since they were the source of my mask investments. Anyway, just stay clear of cheap stuff, for all you know, they contain melamine. Fake organic foods have surfaced in China. They are innovative wherever the money is.

Meantime, will try the fakes on-off. Free samples available. Limited stock - 9 pieces to spare. So it’s first-come-first-served. Just drop me an email. I’ve taken some photos but didn’t bring my camera, so pictures another day.

Why is my head big?

2010-02-25T22:18:00.001-08:00

Genes… but the head sizes in my family are pretty normal.
Worms in my stomach – so food is very well digested and nothing’s left for the body.
Nutrients – the fact that I’m so skinny but have a bigger head is probably bcos the nutrients that I take in are transported to my head.

But glad it’s big enough so match McDull’s!

Why is my head big?

2010-02-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

Genes… but the head sizes in my family are pretty normal.
Worms in my stomach – so food is very well digested and nothing’s left for the body.
Nutrients – the fact that I’m so skinny but have a bigger head is probably bcos the nutrients that I take in are transported to my head.

But glad it’s big enough so match McDull’s!

My CNY

2010-02-16T22:46:00.001-08:00

Lucky pick from boss's prosperity tree.

Cheap new clothes

$5 top from bugis street + under $14 skirt from bysi. Decided to go practical this year – buy cheap every day wear instead of impractical stuff like cheongsam.

The cheongsam I was in is my one n only piece. Owned it for about 5 years and wore it for 6 times at most. But nice hor?

CNY Kitty from vendor

The solar-powered kitty that didn’t work on day 1 but has since been consistently moving its head (but not hand), even through the long holidays. My boss’s cat stopped moving. I thought maybe he sapped all the energy from the cat and won big bets during the new year.

McDull’s assets

He started playing black jack with my family since last year and his savings ballooned from $5.50 to $14 this year. Sole winner.

CNY resolution
Vowed to change to a better job (actually my wishes for the past 2 years during new years, birthdays…)
Saw Fann Wong on tv the last few days and was inspired to achieve flawless skin. So I intend to put on facial mask EVERY DAY. Just bought a more boxes of 我的美丽日记masks from Guardian. The good ones so far are the berries and black pearl. The best is of course neutrogena’s hydro boost masks! Can’t afford to eat birds’ nest every day though.

Unexpected ang pows
Got ‘kai1 gong1’ ang pows from the intelligence boss, chairman’s childhood friend sitting nearby, and my china colleague! Used the $ wisely on my masks.

Food
Have been snacking non-stop since we bought goodies 2 weeks back.

The most memorable dish however, was what my mom cooked yesterday – pepper abalone. The black dots aren’t actually pepper but accordingly to my mom, the charred leftovers from the tofu she fried b4 cooking the abalone. The dish was overall tasty, minus the scary dots on the abalone n veggies.

Had my first taste of CNY breakfast this morning – bak kwa sandwich.

Most memorable

The loads of rubbish on the field outside farrer park mrt station on first day of CNY. Maybe the cleaners not working, or IR couldn’t take in so many foreigners, so they just picnicked at the fields.

Breakfast

2010-02-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

My mom is very interesting, as always. She likes to stock up on milk and cereals for breakfast. Then, she will ask, “what would u like for breakfast tomorrow?” However, she insists on cooking rice every morning cuz as typical Chinese, rice is a must 饭做力, 钱做胆. Then all of a sudden one day, she will chide us for not drinking the expiring milk.

She reminds me of my daily talkshow ex-boss. He put everyone down at the daily department meeting (9.30am and 2.30pm on alternate days), then came up and offered to buy us lunch/tea. When we were back from lunch, he would ask if we finished the task he assigned during the meeting earlier that day, which we obviously didn’t have time to complete while having his treat. So, there came another scolding.

Happy CNY and Sweet Valentine’s Day!

2010-02-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

Every Chinese new year seems the same but valentine’s day seems to differ from year to year.

Thanks to my colleague and her iphone, I got this sweet, memorable photo of McDull. He completes the picture.

The near-perfect shithole

2010-02-08T01:05:00.001-08:00

My friend's friend's friend's (anyway, just not me) had farewell lunch for colleagues who are leaving and they brought along their new temp staff since it’s her first day at work in the company. I think she must be traumatized by the working world and working adults when she heard how they spoke about the corporate culture. But what is more traumatizing is being stuck in the culture still. And of course there are those who don’t realize that they are mired in mud. Good for them! Well, there's no perfect shithole.

Silicon jelly

2010-02-04T00:48:00.001-08:00

I can feel my right hand being corroded by toxic gel now. The silicon gel lookalike wrist rest attached to the mickey mouse mouse (yes, mouse x 2) pad burst, probably after my boss exerted his round wrist on it. My hand and pad were wet, so I thought it was water from my mug and used the rag to wipe them dry but the leak continued then I realized liquid was seeping out from the silicon pad. Actually I was a little worried when my sis ‘forwarded’ me this X’mas present she received. It is one of those “made in china” brands and the mickey mouse looks faint though the packaging said HK Disneyland. Eww…

Getting lucky?

2010-01-28T22:52:00.001-08:00

We all hope that our lives are smooth sailing and always pray for good luck and good divine lots when we visit the temples. But sometimes when things get too smooth, it feels a little odd and as if something dramatic is looming.

This morning, my journey to work was perfect! I was slightly later than usual but the lift was waiting for me when I stepped out of the house. The traffic lights turned in my favor when I strolled towards it. Then my bus was the first to arrive after I crossed the road. Many empty seats on the bus instead of the usual crowd. Where was everybody? I turned out to be the earliest at work in the department.

Should I go buy 4D?

Coffee and tea

2010-01-28T01:03:00.001-08:00

I come from a family of addicts.

I’m hooked to the teh-c from Ya Kun and Wang café. Sometimes, I go for the kopi-c. A cup after lunch has become the norm. I could have spent enough to get an air ticket to Japan after hundreds of days working in Suntec. The addiction started off with work in Toa Payoh when we ate snake every afternoon. Drinking teh-c was part of the daily activity which became a ritual.

My mom’s a coffee addict. She drinks and needs to drink 3 cups a day. I didn’t touch the bitter beverage until after college. My best friend then managed to convince (or was it ‘tricked’) me into trying, starting with a milky, frothy starbucks latte. After that, there was no turning back. Fell in love with Vietnam’s strong brew when I visited Hanoi in 2005. My favourite is ali culi though trung nyugen coffee is supposed to be the best. The addiction to coffee became more fatal when I started my current job with the daily talkshow boss. He stressed out so many people in the department that they started buying coffee for our daily self-help group session in the afternoons or right after the talkshows (morning and afternoon on alternate days). Well, that was at least one plus in this for me! With the change of boss who started buying us coffee/tea in the afternoon, I’m back to my Toa Payoh good old days! And on his account!

As for my favorite drink, it’s gotta be the HK milk tea! The standard is so uniformly good throughout HK and even Macau! Call it a personal preference but I think the best so far is from 兰香园 in Central, HK island though it’s a freaking HK$21!!! The next best in Singapore is from crystal jade. Sigh… but ok lah, $2 only.

When it comes to the intake of caffeine and fish, I’m certainly not as good as my mom. Oh, maybe not fish. She only enjoys buying fish cuz it’s expensive (???) and watching us eat. I can’t sleep after caffeine (I suspect even coke) too close to bedtime, which is why I started collecting phone numbers so I can call people up to chat when I suffer from insomnia.

As for my sister, she's hooked onto hitting mcdull - every day without fail.

Sandra vs Dilbert

2010-01-26T01:19:00.001-08:00

Went to watch The Blind Side yesterday. Touching story about an American white lady and her family adopting a black teenager who became a successful football player and winning some best athlete award from NFL (I supposed it’s national football league). Starring Sandra Bullock. At night, I watched Speed on channel 5. Still like her in this better, especially when and Keanu Reeve made such a perfect couple!

Pictures say a thousand words and Dilbert says it all - this strip ran on my birthday. It's a story about a boss who’s only job is to delegate and repackage the merits of his team (and others) as his. Rest of his time is spent on googling on his newfound hobby – golf, besides sleazy stuff (whatever the company allows). Perfect job!

Fantastic weekend

2010-01-24T19:54:00.001-08:00

Friday night was the company’s annual dinner. Not throwing of 5-cent coins at us this year. I won’t miss any opportunity to spend the company’s $$$ but not lucky at lucky draw. No ethnic costumes for me, so I decided to be cowboy (ang moh). Thought I actually stood out by not dressing up.

It was certainly a fun weekend for me, and I guessed a tad too much cuz this Monday seems extremely blue.

Had relaxing breakfast with my friend on Saturday at Coffee Bean. It’s 1-for-1 till 11am at orchard central for now! Discovered this when I was hanging out there last week. No crowd and pace was so comfortable. Even shopping at 313 next door was great. And about my friend, the bride-to-be. She made me a beautiful birthday card and put in the most recent photo of me she could find – look at the bunch of fringe I had on my face. So, always make sure you are camera ready! Looking forward to her outdoor wedding at Sentosa in March! It’ll be my first time to an outdoor wedding!

Another primary school gathering that evening, and probably the last one for the year. Attendance increased by 33.333333%. We were up from 3 to 4.

Sunday was even better. I slept the entire day and read gossip magazines in between.

As for today, it's watching The Blind Side this evening. Free tickets from the person I least expected!

Hope for the day

2010-01-22T00:45:00.001-08:00

One week zoomed by without much excitement except almost a whole week of (free) feasting. What more can I ask for other than for a heavy downpour as early as possible this evening, so our Annual Dinner can end immediately after the buffet.

I also hope to find a same top for me and my sister this Chinese new year it’s been years since my mom packaged us as twins.

Freebies are great!

2010-01-18T01:05:00.000-08:00

This year I’m extremely lucky cuz my birthday treats started from last week and should end by next weekend. Have been enjoying lots of good food. The best was an overnight muffin topped with a candle and a paper flame which ‘flickered’ when I blew at it. Long time no see friends called me up for dinner. And my primary school friends I met up with last Friday for a gathering gave me a pleasant surprise. Free dinner and thereafter a cake. My friend the organiser was supposed to walk out with the cake at the café but it was very crowded so we went to sit at the harbor front and he came back with it after his visit to the toilet. I supposed he also told quite a few people in our alumni who didn’t turn up about my birthday which was probably why I got SMSes from some on my birthday. First time in so many years haha! Since it was a surprise, there wasn’t any photo.

Had turkish lunch (Sofra at Shaw towers. Great food!) and thai dinner on my closest girlfriends on my birthday. Noticed my new necklace from my friend? We took the long ride on the escalator to the rooftop of orchard central for some breeze after dinner to escape from the crowd. The B2 link to Centrepoint was cool. Reminds me of Macau. Orchard road on weekends is crazy! Hope orchard central continues not to do so well.

My neighbour at work baked and brought me a hershey’s chocolate cake this morning. Nice cake – sweetness just right and moist. Yes, the one on the left is the baker. Can reveal her contact number if you need to place an order with her. Guess what? The intelligence chief bought me a gift after receiving a slice of my cake. Can buy 4D! Oh, and u can see i already cut my hair.

My China colleague gave me a present which she said could be taken with me onboard a plane to the States. It’s actually a nice earring hanger. Guess should be safe though I didn’t really understand what she meant.

The company’s annual dinner is coming up this Friday. We’re supposed to turn up in costumes of another ethnic group so I’m wearing the cheongsam since (I really think) I’m Indian.

One year wiser?

2010-01-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

My birthday’s coming up and I’ve received my first cake – a banana walnut muffin (my favorite flavor) (p)reserved from yesterday. The thought really counts! The icing on the cake really was the flame on the candle. Very environmentally friendly and real – it flickered when I blew at it! Thereafter, I could remove it with my fingers. I love it so much that I broke out in tears of joy (or laughter, rather) uncontrollably.

I didn't have to go to OCBC!

Birthday wish for this year is there will be no more terrorists in USA and Canada for now, so I can go for my holiday there in spring. They can make a comeback after that.

For now, I think it’s more important to cut my fringe/trim my hair! And not forgetting a photo of me in the necklace my colleague bought me for Xmas, as presented by McDull earlier!

Childhood Friends

2010-01-11T18:59:00.001-08:00

These are 2 of the friends I meet annually – when the one oin the middle, a PhD student in engineering, comes back to Spore from Australia once a year. Other times of the year, the rest of us are all in Spore but never meet or even contact. Once in a while, I do get sms adverts like so-and-so has gone into some business, festive wishes which have been dwindling.

More about these 2 friends: one in the middle should be my oldest friend unless I can trace my kindergarten friends. I knew him since pri one. The other one was from another class and said he also knew us since pri one cuz we joined them for Chinese classes, but we have absolutely no recollection. He lives and works near me but we never kept in touch. The cool thing about him – he is a ROCKER! So proud that I know him!

Their lives sound fun but I also have my far share of fun and excitement – the daily intelligence journal and now even in the research work for a property project (highly confidential). How cool?!

The one on the left is ME.

Precious English Lesson

2010-01-11T00:30:00.000-08:00

I had wanted to gather over time and then put up the list of precious (but widely/daily available) pointers from a foreign talent. However, the pinnacle was reached last Friday, so I had to put the list up before the next one, at the expense of bad karma. Please appreciate this:

Pronunciation:
Morning/ afternoon = morling/afterloon which have now been corrected but followed by “se-peaking”.
Clinic = key-e-nic
Empty = empathy
Guess what 'organic yoga' means? Our initial guesses were yoga without a mat or naked yoga. It turned out to be neither cuz she meant 'organic yogurt'.

Spelling:
Manicure = Menicure
Pedicure = Penicure (my boss said this service only available to men)

Yes, copyright belongs to the foreign talent who said she got PR status within a year cuz she’s bilingual! Singaporeans, buck up!!!

More X’mas presents!

2010-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

More interesting and beautiful presents received!

From Canada:

One of the three legendary animals for the Vancouver winter olympics 2010. This one is called Quatchi, a sasquatch which eats anything n has big feet – just like me! But it can do a split which I only managed up to secondary school. He wears earmuffs, just like McDull!

Colourful dainty necklace. My friend and I have been searching for a multi-shaped, multi-material and multi-coloured necklace. This makes a good interim one!

From Singapore (and Sarawak – the sender is):

A cute but not-so-powerful milk bottle fan - but probably the most irritating gift i got this year. Quatchi’s hair barely moved.

A bunch of leaves necklace. Love this one but haven’t found right clothes to match it but here’s to show much I value it.

Doesn't he look royal with it?

Avatar

2010-01-06T01:17:00.000-08:00

Great show! Though initially put off by the smurf-looking blue monkeys. After watching it, the characters seemed more based on zebras than monkeys. And must it in 3D, though sometimes I got tricked by my own eyes – I thought the flying stones are going to hit me or something and panicked for a moment.

My only peeve is that the 3D specs are manufactured in the US, so given my asian nose, the specs were too heavy and didn’t sit well on my nose. I was holding it almost throughout the 3-hour show.Those at Universal Studio were so much lighter and comfortable.

The ‘live nature and thy planet’ message is so much clean cut and crystal clear than the days of quacking at Copenhagen. And great soundtrack! Pls lend it to me of you have it!

Incidentally, I thinhk my last movie was Slumdog Millionaire. That shows how picky or out I am. My favourite singers are ABBA and The Bee Gees.

Collectible Accessories

2010-01-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

I’m an accessories lover cuz I believe they can jazz up plain dressing. Most are bought from my own pocket and I’ve also received lots as gifts. Can’t feature so many here (lazy to take pictures and lost some, esp earrings), so here’re some blingy ones:

Bought this in a pair in Portland in March 2008. It turned single less than half a year.

My ex-colleague made this for me to make up for my loss. It suffered the same fate.

Ball of fur - Xmas present this year.

My recent favorite from mini bits. Worth buying – when there’s a sale.

Promised myself to stop buying bags cuz simply too many, esp from Naraya which I deeply regretted. However, when I saw this on new year’s eve, I knew I had to buy it - so chocolaty, delicious looking. And it was on sale.

I believe in choosing clothes and accessories your style. So if you’ve a china face (and most importantly the behaviour), yes you look good in the act-cute/striking/cheapo dresses and the carpet-looking shawl though 99.99% of things are MIC!

Ways to beat the office pervert

2009-12-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

A blog entry suggested by my colleague and here’re my thoughts:-

How to stop the pervert from wolf-ing around in the office:

Warn him or get his buddies who aren’t fellow wolves to counsel him

Button your blouse all the way up (check that no buttons foul up), or simply go for the turtle neck

Wear stockings/leggings even if you dress is more than a metre long

Studs, nails n needles are in, look for those with these latest designs on the shoulders, waist... wherever he's most likely to put his arms around.
Step on his foot with your esp. with your stilettos if he sneaks up to you from your back. Just on his ‘foot’ and not ‘feet’ cuz you may lose your balance and end up in his arms

Roll your chair over his feet if he sneaks up from behind your seat

if he tries to get fresh with you, lure him to a crowded place like the pantry, where there's also hot boiling water

If he snaps your photo (of anything u consider an outrage of modesty), ask for a copy via email with the sweetest smile, then foward it to HR – straight to the director

Passively, wait for him to prey on queen bee
Kick him in the crotch as a last resort?

More suggestions welcome!

Merry Crimbo and may you stay away from all wolves!

No shallow pig

2009-12-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

I’m not just some shallow pig who talks carp and bitches about people. I believe I’ve some achievements which I can safely call them my own:

I started off this theme dressing thing within the department, which got some other gals in other departments excited and joining in.

The whole thing started off as a revolution – we were so pissed off with our boss (the daily talk show host) that I decided we should wear the colour that disgusted him most – red to irritate him. The only guy in the department (besides the host) then only had blues (which he still does) n could only participate on blue dress themes. Even his ties are BLUE. Boring.

Subsequently, it became a weekly thing in the department and people actually asked what was next, so that they could come dressed for the theme. The subculture had died off but for annual office parties, they still adopted my idea on the dress theme for the year.

Within the department of now (new people), we are just contented if we managed to fake a smile at some people.

Farewell and Hello

2009-12-20T23:50:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend, I bade another friend farewell. She has completed her studies in Singapore and went back home, perhaps for a long break.

I brought her to Arab Street together with some other friends. The morrocan meal was always enjoyable but on top of that, we discovered a hidden talent at Zam Zam when we went there for supper! I’ve never seen a man who could carry a stack of 50 cups up to the 2nd floor with two bare hands. He could easily lift 10-20 plates of pratas, murtabaks… on a tray. I was so awed that I forgot to take out my camera to capture these stunning moments. Anyway, my friend managed to help me take a photo with him.

Foreign talent!!!

Memorable Gifts

2009-12-20T23:47:00.001-08:00

It’s once again X’mas – the season for excuse to share and exchange gifts!
I had a gift exchange with my colleagues last Friday and confidently gave away the most irritating gift of the evening. I was quite sure of that even before the exchange.

Nope, not these. The brown lump was actually a nice reindeer beanie if I remembered correctly.

Yes! This was the useful springcleaning set – duster and a sheet of facial mask – no better way to start a new year! Lee Ying was the lucky winner of my practical gift. See how happy she was! Bet she was admiring the gift set over the weekend.

On the receiving end, I’ve gotten many gifts, some more memorable than others but none as impressive as the one from my colleague – a (probably made in china) recycled cushion. It’s unique in that it is some sort of a piggy with 2 tiny hands, of which one is stained with something brownish, most likely chocolate from her son’s hands. The mouth is also slightly soiled, maybe the cushion piggy was feasting on chocolates and basking in medicated oil? The gift came with good finishing – crumpled wrapper (which her son had to take the rap for) and china-looking bag.

If anyone needs a cushion, let me know. The piggy is pretty fat and comfy for your feet. Recycling can help save the environment!

I stopped taking part in the company’s gift exchange this year, knowing my luck, I am better off buying something I fancy with the $10. I don’t need another feet cushion even though I want to do my bit for the environment.

People come, people go

2009-12-17T02:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, people come and go. “People” to me refers to worthy beings, even pets and esp. dogs. For others when fall outside this range, I simply ignore them. The challenge is how to spot good people and make them my friends and keep them, through food, shopping, gossips… and learn to bid them farewell when the time comes or even when I didn’t realize it, let alone prepare for it.

The other challenge is to learn to welcome (at least superficially) people into my life through food and maybe gossips, hopefully get rid of them ASAP and pretend to look sad about losing them.

Neither has been easy to achieve for me. The closest is to stay emotionally detached e.g not keeping another dog.

A man of depth (内涵)

2009-12-07T22:09:00.001-08:00

This the limited edition McDull shower gel my friends in HK bought me. He’s now sitting happily in the toilet of my house, like the way some priceless trophies of award winning celebrities reside permanently in the toilet. But he is unique and draws constant attention – my sis pumps out the gel violently or slaps him on the cheek, and my mum likes to lift and weigh him whenever she notices him the bathroom. Our only worry is the content inside him runs out too quickly. Refill? Maybe not, I can’t bear the sight of him being covered in dove shower cream or hand soap in the long run.

BTW, notice how dirty my wall is? So please do not come and visit.

X’mas gift DIY

2009-12-03T19:43:00.001-08:00

A gift is more than just dollars and cents. It should be from the heart. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. This x’mas, one lucky acquaintance not friend) will receive this beautifully hand altered gift from me.

Original product (Gift from Shanghai which has weird colour combi)

In transition (torn apart, with some yellow fabric still lining th backside of the panda - looking like he jus finished toileting). But i think they look better divorced. The panda's quite cute.

One of the many possibilities

The masterpiece - using convenient resources

For those with less heart/ more money, they can go shopping. I may wanna stick to my online shopping. BTW, the t-shirt i ordered from gmarket.com.sg on tuesday arrived yesteday. Maybe the supplier stays nearby? Looks pretty good, yah (except for my messy hair - the photographer not pro to advise her model)? except that the fabric not fully cotton, so not perfectly comfortable. Anyway, it's CHEAP. Lotsa stuff from clothes to accessories to mask, and perhaps sanitary pads one day if i haven't spotted them cuz of the overwhelming flash animation. All pictures are just calling out to you. Train your eyesight first b4 you visit the site.

Some good stuff to share

2009-12-03T00:25:00.000-08:00

Good things are meant to be shared, except for McDull and his pork.

1) Lots of cheap and good stuff on gmarket.com.sg, esp Korean stuff. A colleague recommended the site to me. I recently bought a long t-shirt from the site. All inclusive of shipment @$8.90 (dirt cheap! - pee ga LS). Will let you know when my order arrives safely…or if there’s a credit card fraud.

It’s addictive like facebook in the beginning – I’ve to browse the site after lunch every day, besides my daily ritual of visiting job sites.

2) Here’s a lip balm from C.O. Bigelow I like very much.

First got it as a x’mas present from my friend in Canada. I also asked a colleague/friend (?) who recently who went to US for a holiday to help buy it for me and she got me 3 (the full range)! I love the pink tint and looking forward to using the (transparent?) peppermint and magenta ones. Glides nicely on my lips and it helps to cover your bad breath if you’re so unlucky to have that… Should be safe cuz not made in China. Most importantly, it's yummy! And it’s only US$7.50 each but if you think it’s too expensive, you can buy used ones which I realized are available on ebay – Friends and esp unfriends, feel free let me know if you want one of these for x’mas, happy to buy if for you.

3) Channel 8 production of the year 《当我们同在一起》- a drama serials about Singaporean from the 30s (I think) – can watch it if you can tahan the accent and storyline.
My mum faithfully watches it every day. 50% of the leading actors are from PRC and spoke weird English and Malay here and there. But like my sis said, it’s totally acceptable cuz our forefathers came to Nanyang at about those times. Er... i categorically say that my grandparents were from Macau, then a colony of Portugal. The PRCs around us may/will be the forefathers to future Singaporeans – if they don’t abandon Singapore for better citizenships or global warming hasn’t killed all earthlings by then.

Let me know if there’re other good ‘lobangs’.

My Daily Life

2009-11-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

A few more characters have died in the Taiwanese show, but not fast enough for the show to end anytime soon. Can they please die faster, otherwise I’ll die even hearing (about) the show.

I’ve been invited for mystery dining at Sakae Sushi this week. Even without eating the food and sampling the service, I already can commend them:

Use of organic ingredients: My friend and I found a caterpillar (or maybe just a worm) in our paper pot. So the veggies must be pesticide free!
Earth friendly: the Sentosa outlet refused to switch on the aircon though it so stuffy in the restaurant that the waiter serving us was all wet in sweat, but still said with a smile that the air was ok. Excellent service too!

I might have told the stories before but can’t help repeating them when I am reminded of Sakae Sushi!

Back to my mom and her fishes – we didn’t just have steamed or pan-fried fish last night, we had pan-fried pomfret with lime! Good change (finally) but give me tandoori pomfret anytime. Can’t stand the sight of pomfret if you had eaten steamed for breakfast and fried for dinner…

TV Piggy

2009-11-23T01:02:00.000-08:00

I was watching the replay of the travel programme《世界那么大》on tv last weekend. If you don’t already know, gluing my eyeballs to the tv is my favourite pastime. I love anything ranging from HK dramas, Taiwanese variety shows, travel, wine & dine to documentaries. This means I can stay at home the whole day. I hate going to the movies. Besides tv, I also use my eyeballs for reading, mainly the HK tabloids and sometimes magazines like national geographics. Now I’m reading a biography of Warren Buffett. It doesn’t send me to sleep but I do need naps here and there, unlike my most recent read “Angels & Demons” (slightly less than brand new cuz I was the first reader. Now available for loan at $1 a week). I also like to feast my eyes on clothes, shoes, bags, accessories… The bulk of my expenses is on food and travel.

Conclusion: I am a little more than shallow.

Ok, back to the travel programme. It was on a small town in Turkey, near the border with Iran. The Turkish seemed like a warm, rugged and unpretentious lot = 豪迈，大口吃肉、大口喝酒, just like their Muslim counterparts in Xinjiang (which I also learned about from another travel programme). So what drove them to desperation? Anyway, Turkey is one of my destinations. I’m also glad there’re fewer groups leaving McDull’s relatives and friends, leaving more of them for me.

Anyway, I really love 黄子华 in 《绝代商骄》 cuz he's really 贱. Love wicked people! That's why i appreciate my China colleague!

我问天

2009-11-17T01:26:00.001-08:00

My mom and are hooked onto this Taiwanese hokkien drama called 《爱》. Apparently, they’re at episode 150 plus already and there’s another 50 dvds of 5 episodes more to go. My mom read from the papers that the show now running on channel 8 will end in 5 years’ time, so she’s glad that with the dvds (which my sister’s friend’s mother lends us), she’ll take only about 2. So time taken is about time McDull moves from kindergarten into primary school, instead of all the way to secondary school.

As an occasional viewer of the drama, my hokkien has improved! McDull has changed from 广东话走天涯to understanding basic hokkien. Don’t know if can converse in it as well. Good for him! And Singapore can’t seem to have enough of the theme song. Everyone’s singing it and watching the MV. Chinatown, Toa Payoh…. No running away from it.

250 more episodes! 我问天！天啊！

10 Things to do in Hong Kong (and Macau)

2009-11-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just did an 8 day stay in Hong Kong and Macau last week. This week, I was transported back to reality on the same flight with my colleague. He told me he paid $345 for 2. I paid (a discounted price of) $300 for 1 WTF!

Hong Kong

1) Go during autumn (Around August to October) to enjoy the cool weather. BUT I was blasted by the weather in HK! Macau was worst! And with 90% mainland tourists gambling on the tiny island, the puffs were unbearable!!! (and this group of aunties were swearing very loudly, in unison, X你妈 along the hotel’s corridor. Exciting!). And not much shopping since it’s winter wear everywhere. With the freak weather these days, end Nov to early December may be a safer bet.

2) Visit the revamped Hyatt Hotel (if u have time). Photo opportunities!

3) Food - Drink the HK milk tea! I love the one from Lan Xiang Yuan (Central, HK island). Also, the egg tarts from Tai Cheong at Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. BIG and nice sushi at Yuen Long. The salmon sashimi is as big as my face! But don’t know where now. Just blindly followed my friend. The famous B-zai liang fen in Yuen Long was huge but so-so. not worth the trip unless u r staying in Yuen Long like me. Drinks at Lan Kwai Fong! I happened to bump into the Halloween countdown party. Fun!

4) Catch horseracing at Sha Tin or Happy Valley racecourse. So exciting cheering though I didn’t place any bet. But my horse came in 3rd! could have won myself an egg tart or meal or something.

5) Visit the outlying islands. This time, I went to the Tai-O fishing village, yes with McDull. Great place!

6) Take the tram on HK island. Anywhere for just HK$2. hop on to the ferry from tsim shat sui to central. Take the upper deck.

7) Shop like the locals at Kwai Fong. Great stuff at under S$20 but looks like S$200. forget about tsim sha tsui, Mongkok or causeway bay.

8) Last but not least, visit McQuarter! Lots of McDull stuff. Felt like paradise! I bought a kiddy umbrella, tote bag and thermal flask (at a discount!) See no touch, no buy! Had wanted to buy a long sleeve t-shirt but no size for me. Some girl said in the shop when she saw McDull in a graduation gown "how come pigs can graduate?". What was her problem? Did she have an issue with pigs?

I was very touched that my friends came fetch me from the airport with McDull. And I stepped into my room, there were balloons and my bed was covered with mcdull’s bedsheet, his limited edition shower gel on the bed. They even got me his latest movie! Don’t be envious.

Macau

大三巴was great and obligatory, but I was more interested in the old buildings on the sides.

9) Visit the black sand beach. Yes, the beach is black by nature, not result of pollution.

10) Go to the Venetian. Beautiful! Grand Canal is indoor! Though the Cotai Strip is a far cry from the populated, exciting The Strip in Las Vegas. Better than Singapore. Look out for the half-completed/abandoned project by Sands opposite Venetian and Four Seasons. BTW, I don’t understand why we can’t take pictures in the casinos. I took to my fill in Vegas.

Bonus: Eat pork chop bun at Da Li Lai coffee shop (I think) on Taipa island, Macau! Guide book says the buns are out at 3pm. Don’t be taken in! They’re out at 2.45pm sharp! The Q starts to form at 2.30pm and the buns are sold out in less than an hour.

and i need to share this interesting window display!

Ok, intelligence journal, here I come!

Good morling! Doujiang, Youtiao

2009-10-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

My craving for a second breakfast with doujiang and youtiao was immediately satisfied when I got them at the suntec food republic yesterday. I managed to save on the other meals for the rest of the day, cuz I lost all my appetite. The youtiao tasted of tons of recycled oil. Thankfully, mom made me herbal soup at night, so after I vomited, the herbal aftertaste wasn’t gross. I was developing the vomit while watching a tv programme on bak chang and that really helped in purging out the toxic in my stomach. After my puking, the same siow bak chang actually looked delicious. Interesting!

For breakfast this morning, I managed to get chicken porridge. However, I’m given a choice of fish porridge or fish soup for dinner this evening.

I’m also glad to know that more people are reading my blog. Ms ‘good morling’ has started saying ‘good morling, XX speaking’! And today, she made an effort to correct ‘ilitially’ to ‘initially’. Good for her!!! So, people, please stop wondering why it's 'good morling'. Hello, ‘good morling’!

This weekend, Mcdull's going back to his hometown!

Professional in every possible way

2009-10-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

Besides the challenging task of skimming all newspapers for all sorts of news – political, social, economic (but no entertainment) and summarizing relevant articles – the task which the company assigned us to mould us into potential research analyst and broaden our career opportunities, we now have another minor tasks in which we have to diligently capture our daily activities, including Saturday and Sunday. Before I go into that, I need to substantiate that we don’t only summarise news. It all goes into a weekly intelligence journal which goes to the ‘who’s who’ in the company. Woohoo!!! The distribution list is divided into:

1. Unclassified

2. Classified
Confidential – limited circulation
Restricted – news that will damage the company
Secret – news that will BADLY damage the company but pardon me that I can’t go into the details b’cos it’s secret.

Here’s my list of activities and status:-

Monday
*Felt blue but still turned up for work - Completed
*Intelligence journal - No end

Tuesday
*Intelligence journal - no end
*Sent out job applications - WIP (Importance: very very HIGH)

Wednesday
*Intelligence journal - No end

Thursday

*Intelligence journal - No end
*Blog - Working on it now

Friday

*Intelligence journal...No end
*To watch my favourite cartoon – Monster, 11pm on okto

Saturday
*To become more intelligent.
*To reluctantly turn up at company’s sports event to show superficial support cover it for the internal newsletter. F***!

Sunday
To sleep like a log.

Note: only the key tasks are mentioned too many nitty gritty like collecting crumbs of info for some important stuff (secret).

To further illustrate how professional i am:

I met this ang moh ladyat the security counter. She heard where i'm going and stretched out her hand and introduced herself "Hi, I'm xxx from the Australia office" and you are?"

Without hesitation, I shook her hand and replied "I'm Kris, i'm here for an interview."

Awkward silence for a few seconds b4 she regained her composure and said "Oh, good luck..."

Chiangmai Life

2009-09-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

I just came back from Chiangmai and I really love the pace of life there.

Even the elephants are more relaxed - they can eat, perform and sh** at the same time!

Everything's great except the long neck tribe and handicapped strays upset me a little.

I believe McDull and myself can stay there for the long term, and make good friends with the multi-talented elephants which can swirl the hula hoop, play the harmonica and soccer, and paint! I think they're certainly more talented than the 'foreign talents' (pandas) we import.

Foreign Talents, or Workers?

2009-09-28T23:22:00.001-07:00

My fellow true-blue Sporean brought my attention to this article:

Melding the old with the new
A more inclusive approach is needed to help old and new citizens find common ground
05:55 AM Sep 26, 2009
by EUGENE KB TAN

Immigration will impact our society indefinitely given the economic and demographic imperatives. Securing the cognitive buy-in is the easy part. Most Singaporeans understand the need for immigration.

But, affectively, the immigration policy has not resonated so well and has a long way to go in terms of popular acceptance.

The grudging acceptance - at best - of new citizens and PRs is a cause for concern. Quite a few Singaporeans see the newcomers as taking away their jobs and depriving locals of university places, among other things.

The National Integration Council (NIC) has just unveiled its Community Integration Fund for activities and initiatives that promote integration. But the lack of integration has nothing to do with a lack of money. Crucially, changing mindsets and correcting misperceptions will be key determinants in integrating old and new citizens.

How can we facilitate and promote a positive mindset among both newcomers and long-standing citizens towards each other? Clearly, there is a need for a sustained engagement since integration is an extended process.

The crux of the matter is the perception that "old" citizens are doing the heavy lifting, while the newcomers have it easy. In particular, long-standing citizens shoulder the defining duties and responsibilities of citizenship like National Service, which makes wealth-making possible.
The solution is not to make NS compulsory for first-generation newcomers, notwithstanding that first-generation new citizens in their 20s and 30s are also completely exempted from National Service. Yet, isn't it ironic that some employers here prefer employees with no NS commitments?

The Government has indicated it will make the differentiation between citizens, PRs and non-citizens sharper. Should we go further and differentiate "old" and "new" citizens as well, to take into account their NS contributions to nation-building?

Even as we seek to recognise the contributions and sacrifices of citizens, recognition urgently needs to be more nuanced, and not always denominated in pecuniary terms. The citizens' constitutional right to vote in parliamentary and presidential elections is also regularly cited as well. But such a right of membership is only exercised once every few years and, even then, not every eligible Singaporean has the opportunity to vote.

The Government's constant reminders of the perks of citizenship, such as HDB upgrading subsidies and the baby bonus scheme, indulges citizens and prospective citizens alike in a materialistic "balance sheet" approach in tallying the pluses and minuses of bearing a pink identity card. For a young nation-state, we should avoid commoditising citizenship.
How can we promote integration? For starters, stop using the phrase "foreign talent". This superlative buzzword, used in official discourse to signal that newcomers add value to our society, is marginalising and patronising. Indeed, many of the newcomers are very much like you and me. More significantly, it harks of a neo-colonial mindset that the locals are "not good enough". But, mind you, we built this fine city, and made it an attractive place to live, work, study and play in.

Secondly, we should engage the newcomers even before we grant them citizenship or PR status to help them appreciate the sort of society they are seeking to be a part of. It is probably too late to meaningfully integrate them at a later stage since they would have formed their particularistic networks of support and information.

Much as we need to right-size our population, it is crucial that those who seek the Singapore franchise understand our society, our foundational ethos, our shared values and heritage, and our limitations. They need to know what they are pledging allegiance to.
Thirdly, anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of new citizens and PRs come from China and India, joining the fairly large numbers here already. As such, they have little need to break out of their enclaves in the transition process. Instead of a cookie-cutter approach, a targeted approach is needed in integrating such groups.

Let's make our approach to citizenship more inclusive of both old and new citizens. If Singaporeans feel appreciated and their identities secure, they will be more welcoming of our new citizens. For citizenship, ultimately, is about how and where we belong and feel rooted to regardless of our talents.

Born and bred in this little red dot, the writer is assistant professor of law at the School of Law, Singapore Management University.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Weekendvoices

/POV/EDC090926-0000028/Melding-the-old-with-the-new

All things "Mc"

2009-09-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

Glad that McCurry won the case against McDonalds. How can the fast food chain stop any non-burger related people (or beings, rather) or brand usethe prefix"Mc"?!

The article from The Guardian:

McDonald's loses McCurry legal battle

Eight years on from the first legal challenge, the Malaysian Federal Court has ruled that the McCurry restaurant can keep using its name
McCurry owners A M S P Suppiah and his wife Kanageswary in front of their restaurant following another legal victory against US hamburger giant McDonald's in Kuala Lumpur.

So it seems that McDonald's, the Great Satan of the food world, has lost another legal battle to protect its brand. After a protracted court case, restaurateurs Mr and Mrs Suppiah will be allowed to keep using the name of their Kuala Lumpur restaurant McCurry.
The global meat 'n' bun wranglers first sued in 2001 and the Malaysian high court eventually ruled in their favour in 2006. On a subsequent appeal, Mr Suppiah obtained a reversal of the decision and it's only now that McDonald's challenge to that ruling has been tossed out. Finally McCurry can let the paint dry on the sign … at least for now.It's no surprise to see a multinational 'protecting' their brand in this way and the tactics of stalling and attrition are pretty much what you'd expect from an organisation of that size attempting to defend a case of such obvious daftness. How can anyone claim ownership over a Gaelic ancestral prefix, millenia old?

McDonald's may well have had some kind of case if the Suppiahs were slinging burgers. There could have been a certain 'passing off'. Some potential customers, albeit the terminally stupid ones, might have felt that this poor imitation was really the genuine article. But in this case they were serving Malaysian curry, a fact indicated with some clarity in the name they selected.

Oddly enough, I don't find myself righteously incensed with McDonald's stupidity, corporate hubris or even general disrespect for Gaelic. It's apparent from the news reports that, now Mr Suppiah's won his case, he proposes to roll out his operation all over the country. Though he obviously didn't, in any way, have the multinational in mind when he named his fast food outlet (apparently McCurry is short for "Malaysian Chicken Curry) he now wants to emulate their fungal spread. What irritates me is that probably one of the top half dozen most powerful and recognisable global brands doesn't have the self confidence to take a joke.

McDonald's of course, do have one point in their favour. If they let operations like Mr Suppiah's proliferate with no quality control, there would be a danger that the 'Mc' suffix would become associated in people's heads with poor quality fast food, made with dreadful ingredients and served by underpaid drones. And we can't have that, can we?

Challenges

2009-09-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

My department (corp comms) has just been given the task of doing the weekly “intelligence journal “ (since our HOD never knows how to say know as well manage the team). Those who aren't in comms or HAVE been in it long enough might have not heard of it. Basically, it’s to second guess a tiny group of readers (the bosses) and sniff out business opportunities for the company, compile the news (and rumours, including those you hear in the toilets) and blast them to the readers every week. It’s a challenge professionally but my manager said I could put this down on my CV to impress people, since no one in comms has heard of it. Hey, this may be the new trend! Or I may carve out a career with the CIA! Will measure my intelligence level again soon and see if it has gone UP.

We’re all pretty busy in the office these days. The colleague behind me was busying tracking the growth of her China-chinese, now Singaporean-chinese son on her sina.com blog, as well as her plant with daily photo-taking.

Speaking of her (now fellow) Singaporean son, we all believe he’ll grow up to be a talented boy, at least in the area of linguistics. His mom claimed that she got her PR in less than a year cuz she’s bilingual, and continues to greet callers on the phone “morling speaking”, “afterloon speaking”, "have a lice day" and has used a sticker to “earmark” her name on her plant. All moms are great. She took half a day off to go to the china embassy to renounce her son’s citizenship, so that he can defend Singapore (provided he doesn’t emigrate further to US cuz his English might have become so good with all the good genes).

I once joked with my friend that the day the china foreign talents “invade” little india is the day we should plan our career and retirement more carefully. I read in the news today about the little india’s identity crisis – “Thosai or tou sha”?

Notice: Change of Name

2009-08-30T23:52:00.001-07:00

I heard that the boss of an ex-colleague liked to call out his name several times to get him into her room. With the possibility of me (and the rest of the department) going under her too, I’ve decided to change my name to “Ruth” after the move. My current boss shall be called “Woof”, so his new boss can call for us all she wants!

Going Chee-na

2009-08-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

McDull recently has a new movie 麦兜响当当showing in China. Lots of HK-style jokes had to make way for the huge market to rake in Renminbi. He’s doing the right thing and I’m proud of him! Let me tell you why it’s important.

We were supposed to buy someone in the department birthday lunch at a rather expensive restaurant. Someone else commented that the place was really not so affordable. Solution? That someone else ordered the most expensive food for that lunch. In the end, we split the cost evenly. (Most) China people never lose out!

Homecoming

2009-08-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

I went to the zoo earlier this month with a bunch of colleagues. It’s been YEARS since I last went to see the animals (or now, their offspring and newer generations, rather). The polar bears I met during my primary school visit would have died of heat, or boredom since there’s hardly space for them to swim and roam freely. Forget about born-free giraffes and zebras acing across grasslands. All the animals look pretty lethargic (esp the pony which walked the same track n times a day with varying loads on its back), except for the squirrels which won’t stop doing the cartwheel. Good thing is, they are well-fed and spared of the animal food chain.
I saw a giraffe with a big head. I wasn’t really happy with what I saw cuz that’s not what I’ve seeing on tv, postcards… then my colleague immediately reminded me that my head’s pretty big too. He’s so darn right! Anyway, he is the most irritating person I have ever seen at a zoo. He never failed to attract the attentions of the orangutans, chimps, ostrich… squashing and cracking his mineral water bottle; tapping on the glass to drive up the snake…leaving no animals spared (except for the tigers and lions). But when we needed to capture the front shots of animals, he would be of great help!

Watching elephants chewing on coconuts while they were peeing and poo-ing was a joy. Of course, I had to visit my favourite, now world-famous, human-eating white tigers. Unfortunately, they weren’t performing (eating humans) that day. We also brought our animals along for cultural exchange.

Weifeng the Primate

Chee Yei the Hamster

Didn’t see Kungfu Panda a.k.a my boss, cuz he’s now at home serving H1N1 quarantine. What a responsible denizen!

中国须知

2009-07-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

Reporting from Beijing: Here's what i've gathered in my one week in Beijing and Dalian:

Terms –

换一下 – means “excuse me” when u need to get off the train, out of lifts. But doesn’t help when beggars approach u on the subway (esp the main line 1 that runs along Tiananmen) cuz everyone will be crouching in one corner.
清真means 'halal'. so dun try to ask for pork at the 清真bbq stalls like i did
兜 - at the airport security check, the gong an (police) asked me what i had in my "dou", i was stumped for a while - how did he know i had a dou (mcdull) in my bag... then i realised he asked if i've anything in my pocket.

Shopping -

i love wandering around the main shopping strip - wangfujing dajie
Don’t bother cuz prices r the same, if not more expensive, especially in the malls. Unless u r looking for fakes. Silk street is then a good place to go but nothing special. Evry level looks the same. Otherwise, give me Bangkok anytime.
Shoes – lots of nice (track) shoes and girlish shoes with画蛇添足 designs. But if u r a bigger than size 39 like me, forget. My feet are so big that foot reflexologists at dalian commented that they r 四平八稳and asked if I can swim well. I told them I dive.

Toilet –

bring your own if possible. Otherwise, door/door locks, wet tissue, hand sanitiser, soaps and toilet paper
Rare to see toilets and water coolers in the stations, only at the Olympic station! Didn’t visit the toilet but the brand new toilets near the bird’s nest already have no hand soaps and broken doors. Quite consistent with the toilets throughout Beijing.

ONE of the toilets in my friend's house - shud give u an idea of the size of her house!

Subway -

There’re security checks at every subway station, so bags have to go umpteen times of scanning every day. To prevent handphone from going haywire, keep it switched off. Watering hole - A rare sight in subway stations, n whole of china. As difficult to find as clean toilets
Their version of the ez-link cards can be purchased easily at ALL subway stations BUT refund at 3 ulu stations only. How “ulu”? so ulu that when I offered to give mine to my friend when I left, she refused to take it cuz queuing will take at least an hour.

Food -

Beijing
Peking duck at the overrated Quanjude; 刷(shua4 - don’t have the exact word in pc) 锅 – not a lamb (骚) person so didn’t try
Exotic food - 现炸现卖scorpions on a stick
Breakfast: My chinese friend's mom said my appetite is as huge, if not bigger than theirs. Anyway, dou juang there is not sweet and alittle chao tar, dou hua is salty with spicy soup. Normal breakfast portion is a bowl of porridge, a plate of steamed buns and 2 doughsticks. Love the eatery right outside my difficult-to-find hotel in the hutong, which turned out to be a warm stay

Tried korean cold noodles for the 1st time and it's authentic! (don't know what's real but i believe my friends.)

Friends

really thankful that my fren invited me to join her for home visit to Dalian and stopover in Beijing. Her mom really took care of me - covering me with blanket after i came out from the shower, topping up my bowl with food
Saw another friend in Dalian

– Yes, this is the source but I heard all小黄, no toy dogs

Places – my favourites

Forbidden city

Tian tan – where emperors prayed to gods and ancestors for good harvest and luck for country

Great wall – where mcdull was supposed to have his photo taken and i was climbing on all fours

Summer Palace – the famous long corridors!

Ming tomb – the one in Nanjing is better, grander

Ming Dian café in Dalian - beautiful!! (er…. But I think bad investment for taiwanese company cuz chinese tea and water are the favourite drinks. For the Chinese, even latte is drunk with at least a packet of sugar and lots of milk. No wonder starbucks is so popular with them).

Good location – near village (where my friend’s house is) which is like Korean setting in korean dramas

Other obligatory mention:

birds' nest actually, i prefer tis version

Air quality in Beijing – just BAD.

The locals said I speak mandarin like them but without the accent, and that I don’t sound like those singaporeans on tv. Should I be glad about that??? Ok, I don’t say儿（鹅） , 侠（虾），青花（蛙），尊（蹲）and I’m happy to stay at that…

I had an eventful time even b4 landing in China!

2009-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Flight connecting time between Singapore – Hong Kong and Hong Kong – Beijing was supposed to be a perfect one hour. I was eagerly waiting at the boarding gate at 2.30pm for the 3pm flight. Then came the announcement – flight delay. Come back at 4pm for the next announcement. Extremely bad weather in Beijing. So I went shopping, net surfing and back to the gate. “Please come back at 5pm for the next announcement”. I was so hungry, I had to ask for food voucher which I thought should automatically be given out to passengers when we went back to make enquiries. So I went eating, net surfing, contacted my friend I was supposed to meet for dinner and postponed that to supper, and back to the gate. “Please come back at 6pm for the next announcement”. Yes! Boarding at 6pm! When we were all settled down, the captain made an announcement – Apologies for the delay due to thunderstorm in Beijing and airspace control. Good news is, we’re second in the queue to take of which is I guess is at about at 8pm…” called my friend again to wish her good night and would meet her directly at the hotel.

I thought my kay-poh-ness/friendliness saved my day. I started talking to the uncle next to me to find out where he’s from cuz he’s definitely no China Chinese. And he really is my neighbour – Malaysian. Upon landing in Beijing at 11.30pm, health officials including 2 astronaut-looking guys dressed in space suits came onboard to take everyone’s temperature. 3 people on the flight were running a fever, and one, an Indonesian was sitting 3 seats away in another block! So the 3 rows side, front and back had to put on mask and had the items we used on onboard discarded. After the chickens tried to question the duck about his illness, the Malaysian finally stepped in to help with the translation.

By the time we got off, it was 12.30am. And if the Malaysian uncle hadn’t showed me the fastest way to get out of the airport and given me a lift, my next plan was to watch flag-raising at tiananmen square. The taxi driver was equally important cuz he provided the dose of humour I so needed after such an eventful day! He said the weather that afternoon was so bad it was like the end of the world. My hotel was located in a secluded (?) hutong and he couldn’t find it. 你这酒店儿订得可真好啊！So we called the hotel to ask for directions and I think the receptionist mumbled. 他说话怎么象小鸡一样儿!

I flew on cathay pacific/dragon air. Why did I not take SQ and went on cathay pacific and dragon air instead? Not b’cuz I’m going to dragon land, but I “gian” the Cantonese shows on cathay, and shopping n food in HK airport. My screen was flickering for the full 3.5hours on flight from sg to hk. And the only next available seat was right at end by the window, outside the toilet. So no go. No inflight entertainment on dragon air. Only HK and majority china cabin crew. But I will still take the airline when possible cuz I really love the Cantonese programmes!

Of Chicken and Pork/Pigs

2009-06-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Hello!

How does Kenny rogers’ honey glazed spring chicken and drumstick for dinner sound? Actually, these were leftovers from lunch cuz portion too big we didn’t even touch them, so don’t know how they TASTE, or supposed to taste. We only finished the PORK ribs. So I tar pau-ed them home. My mum was too lazy to bring out the mini oven, and instead heated the chicken in a wok. Upon prolonged (over) cooking, I think the coats of honey melted and the ‘homely’ taste? It was the usual roasted chicken mom buys from the market on Sunday mornings and heats them up in the evening. My sister asked why there was no dip. I had to repeat that this was Kenny rogers.

In any case, my mom always asks me how long it takes to steam a fish, fry a chicken etc… she attributes her lousy skills to her mom for not imparting her any. So my standard reply is - my mom doesn’t teach me any either. But she says I watch tv and read magazines, so should have learned something. We watch similar programmes and read the same magazines actually.

I’m so glad that the movie I’ve been waiting for, will finally be showing after a 2-year delay! Not Transformers, Harry Potter or Terminator but 《武当。麦兜》 (name now changed to 《麦兜响当当》)! I can’t tell you how elated I am cuz wudang has been with me for more than half a year, bumming around not doing anything and started going on holidays with me this year. He just came back from China and IS angry with me for forgetting to snap a picture of him on the great all, cuz that was what he really was on this trip for. No evidence to prove that he’s a 好汉. But he needs to know that he really is as popular as anyone out there!

Anyway, back to the movie. I won’t be catching it in the cinemas however, cuz:
1) No Cantonese version, so not 原汁原味
2) I need to watch it with the McDulls at home, can’t possibly everyone including the stickers and pins, there
3) Good to watch on dvd and keep a copy. MUST!
4) If it’s really showing Singapore

Dim dim, dumb dumb

2009-06-11T01:06:00.000-07:00

“illuminate” means to give out light. illumnia however, which is opposite bugis junction, is an absolute waste of electricity, totally environmentally unfriendly. With all the lightings on the exterior, I had expected it to look like a jewel glowing in the darker surroundings. Instead, it looks like one of those nearby night clubs. With so many individual lights hanging on the exterior wall, maintenance must be expensive and tedious!!!

Check out the interior! The hollow and spooky building is pathetically dim inside. No useful/substantial shops among its sparse tenants, and the eateries on the top floor are no saving grace. I heard the cinema sucks too, and the seats are worse than our buses.

Oh yes, even my friend who is managing the building agreed with me, wholeheartedly. We have decided that this project is not going into her resume.

Ok lah, one positive thing about the building – it acts as a covered walkway between bugis junction and queen street.

It’s a small world

2009-06-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, I’m hooked on this weekly variety show called << 国际交易所>>. A group of ang mohs from Romania, Israel, US, Brazil etc, as well as foreigners from Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, gather to share their experience on different topics from their own countries and in Singapore, all in MANDARIN. I think the hongkonger is the most entertaining of all. He hardly speaks but when he does, he’s really funny cuz no one knows what he’s talking about – like he asked for more “jip” (汁) at the restaurant; how he tried to drive a “chey” (车)up a “chey” (斜) road.

And the host of the show? - Mark Lee. Ok, he’s averagely entertaining but for someone to laugh at and correct another’s mandarin, his grasp of that “yi wen” (language) (let’s lower that standard to just spoken) should at least be reasonably good, if not superb. He actually booted out someone during a word game when that someone said ”典当” cuz he said it’s invalid. So, Mark, ”典当” means pawn. You may also take it as “prawn” (your 侠) or something, but the words are definitely valid.

Anyway, I really enjoy the show though it’s a copycat of some Taiwanese variety show! The participants are really funny! I prefer “jip” to “yi wen” anytime!

Oh, and the bashful Brazilian guy(Fabio) is CUTE! Every Tuesday 8pm on channel 8!