riyo mori

riyo mori - ms universe 2007

Hmm... thought her photo after her crowning looks the nicest, the other shots (found in the miss universe website) of her was like nothing outstanding. In fact, the swimwear photo of her looked very 'hiao', the evening gown one was ok, while the one wearing national costume was the worse of the lot! Bad photographer!

Read more about Riyo Mori here.


kurana chibana - 1st runner up ms universe 2006

There's quite a number of supporters for kurana (Luke, are u one of them?)


Closer to home, here are our contestants this year:


Ms Singapore - Jessica Tan


Ms M'sia - Adelaine Chin


Don't they all look the same after a while?

japanese dining sun

Had dinner with Wendy at Japanese Dining Sun (Chijmes). Wanted to go to Sun with Moon at Wheelock but decided to try the original one at Chijmes (nearer to my workplace but then I was still late... -_-''') Well, I could've been there like 10 minutes earlier but somehow, I kind of forgotten where Chijmes was... went one big round before finding it. To tell the truth, haven't been there since... since 3-4 years ago?

I was quite apprehensive about dining there as its a fine-dining restaurant. Never dine at any fine-dining restaurants before. Hmm.. that one at Prego does it count? Probably not... What they reviewed in 2005 was right... kind of hard to find the entrance to the restaurant! However, along the way, noticed that there's this cafe/pub that has the pretty waitresses dressed in Japanese maid outfit. Hmm.. but that's nothing to do with this story.

Ok, anyway, the pictures in the menu were interesting. They have lots of stuffs on the menu. Prices range from $3 (dessert) to $120 (something like a grand set for one person). So we ordered chicken wings and caesar salad for starters, and unagi and clams kamameshi (japanese rice pot dish). The place was kind of deserted on weekdays. We were the only few there at around 7+ and probably about 5-8 tables were taken by 830pm.

So, they served us the salad and wings pretty fast. The salad was interesting, as the bowl, was made out of fried cheese (and some fish perhaps? Not sure but that was what we thought it tasted like... some fishy cheese or... cheesy fish? Hmmm...) And I thought the vege looked alot like 'dou miao'... Wings were ok, as you can't go wrong with fried stuffs.. and since its chicken wings(my favourite chicken part), I have no compaints! But they gave us the wrong rice pot, so it was confisticated back after one minute. Then after some time, they gave us the right one.

The kamameshi was nice. It had chunks of unagi, bits of chestnut, clams, some beans and soya flavoured rice. It may looked small, but it was enough to feed two of us. For desserts, we ordered the tofu cheesecake and sesame ice-cream. Was kind of hard to pretend that we're doing something japanese when the waitress repeated our order and said, "Oh, taufooo cheesecake ah?" Pengz!

Anyway, the tofu cheesecake was really, really small for $5. Same for the ice-cream as 1 scoop is already $4. But ok la, fine-dining mah... so need to charge accordingly. But it was nice. I liked both. Then Wendy ordered something exotic. Grape vinegar with soda. Drinking vinegar is suppose to be good for health. Luckily, it tasted alright. More soda than vinegar.

Total bill was less than $55 for 2 person, which was pretty good as one reviewer once said, "A budget of $50 per person can get you a decent meal even if you order a la carte. " We ordered ala-carte, and ate until we pengz.. and all within budget. Woohoo!

Good experience (and i thought i saw june chua.. but then maybe not...) and shows that fine-dining restaurants as Japanese Dining Sun should not be that intimidating. There are somethings in the menu that are still within budget. But of course, a very big THANK YOU to Wendy for sponsoring tonights dinner! *muaks*

pasar malam

Pasar malams in S'pore runs for very long. It's almost like a funfair... only most of the times, without the fun? hahaha! I think usually, it runs for 2-3 weeks for a stretch! The biggest I've ever seen is in Woodlands ('coz land is abundance over there, I suppose) where they built this huge contraption that shoots ppl to the sky! Ahh, perhaps exaggerated abit but yeah, got such thing you know, honestly!

Anyway, there's one over at my place now. I've bought the yummiest nasi lemak ($1.50 only) from a malay stall and couple with a deep fried drumstick ($1.50... yalar.. expensive.. but cheaper than KFC!), and you'll have a satisfying meal for $3 in total. There's also this stall selling the fried chicken chop Taiwan style, but I've yet to try it. Tried the okonomiyaki (squares of flour with crabstick and cabbage) from another malay stall, but it was like.. yucks... $2.50 somemore.. I want my money back! Also, there's this uncle that sells small little cute young coconuts for $1. Very sweet! (the coconut... not the uncle -_-''')

The keropok lekor here also very expensive... 4 pieces for $1. I think Malaysia cheaper. The pasar malams here and M'sia are different. There's a pasar malam at my hometown (opposite my house) every Tuesday. But to tell the truth, I think I've only been there like once. Dun fancy crossing the road in the middle of the night... very dangerous coz my house is facing the main road and lots of accidents happened at that junction before.

I've been to the pasar malam at Seri Petaling (courtesy of the KL office trip previously). Very fascinating.... I even saw one van selling smelly tofu caught fire. Very drama... Also, you can find beggars (not those healthy kind that just sits there... these are really no hand no leg kind that sprawled on the road... ) Also lots of happening food can be found at the pasar malam. Char kway teow, zhu chang fen (M'sian style with yong tau fu sides), fried carrot cake, chong you bing (onion pancakes), laksa etc. Also got stalls selling fish (although I suspect not that fresh), vegetables, dried goods, fruits, cakes and breads.


ps: today saw the coconut uncle raised the price to $1.20... walao, just because demand is higher, then can suka suka raise the price? (ed: of course can la..) boycott boycott!

botak jones

Went for dinner at Botak Jones (Clementi branch), 'coz my brother's treating. So we reached around 6.50pm, and it was already long queue ('coz its a hawker centre, so you have to queue to order first). Think my brother was at position #12 or so. Managed to place order at around 7.18pm ('coz the time was indicated in the receipt.. else you think I so accurate meh...)

The eta for the food is around 30-45 minutes later, so to pass time, I counted the people still inside the queue.. it was constantly at around 16 people or so. Meaning when one person finish ordering, another one joined the queue.. so that's why constant. My NZ ribeye steak ($14) came first (after 30 minutes wait...) I wanted it done medium but came to be a tad too dry (not so much pink as they claimed), more to medium well. And although the online menu stated that the steak comes with black pepper sauce, I was given their special brown sauce instead. Which tasted like cheesy mushroom sauce with black pepper. So after I ate for 15 minutes, my brother's Cajun chicken ($7) came. He commented that it tasted much drier than he expected. So, all in all, the food was a little disappointing after all the hype. However, if you minus the big serving of fries that came with the mains, the meal should be quite healthy as the meat used are quite lean.




cajun chicken



ribeye steak



One of the staff actually goes around the coffee shop to enquire whether you like the food, to check whether everything has arrived etc. It was observed that they're rather proud and confident of their food.

Almost 85% of the customers in the coffee shop ordered from Botak Jones, so I guess publicity, affordable price and generous portion does help. Taste wise.. acceptable but nothing to shout about. Maybe the rosemary lamb and fish & chips will taste better?

S.H.E Play

Songs List:
01. 中國話
02. 謝謝你的溫柔
03. 聽袁惟仁彈吉他
04. 五月天
05. 藉口
06. BOOM
07. 再別康橋
08. 倫敦大橋垮下來
09. 說你愛我

10. 好心情Just be yourself (達芙妮年度廣告歌曲)
11. 老婆

Everything inside is considered lightweight, easy on the ears. No drama nor anything that requires extensive effort, so probably that's why its called "Play"? Haha.

You'll find track #2 very familiar because the chorus is from an old 五月天's song "温柔" but in this version, it wasn't sampled from them (Mayday) but sung by the boyband 飞轮海.

So far, my favourite track is #3 because I find the tune quite cool. Also because there's a part where Selina said, "喂喂 test test 不好意思由于key定的太高 我们的副歌部分呢就由当家花旦 hebe and selina 帮忙唱一下..." Hahaha!

Track #5 consist of all 周董's signature tunes or lyrics. Like that he no need write new song, just rehash the old ones and pass to his friends to sing(and earn a bit of money as well?). Save time bah...

#8 is basically a chirpy "London Bridge is Falling Down". Hmm.. with a title like that, how can you be chirpy? Tsk tsk...

The new things in the album is that Hebe and Selina tried their hands on writing lyrics (說你愛我 and 老婆, respectively). And Ella tried her hands in composing (老婆).

I usually buy from Sembawang but that day when I went, there was no stock, so don't know what's the price they're selling. In Popular its $20.95 and Laser Fair selling for $20.90. Likely will be selling for less than $9.90~$12, if its a parallel import.

For fans who do not own "Forever" album, you can get this album instead 'coz the songs from the previous albums are all included here as well.

a little older, a little wiser... perhaps!

happy 32nd birthday!

lay-man's planning

I've always been an advocate of some insurance protection, so this issue is to share with you some of the things that I've learnt. Some may scoff or baulk at the mere mention of insurance, but from the way I see it, it is actually a necessity. When I was younger and whenever I wanted something, my mom would always ask, "Is it a necessity? Without it, would your life be any different?" As opposed to luxury, a necessity is something that you need and without it, yes.. one will suffer. Heh, this trick is what some parents could use as well, 'coz ended up, we children didn't get to buy any nintendo's, atari's or what not ('coz can't win that argument!)

As the cost of healthcare will continue to rise, I don't think anyone can be prepared to foot all the bills just by their own bank savings. Unless you're an orphan, then you'd only have to plan for yourself. Most of the time, planning also means, it is for your family members as well.

In the past, most of us may think, diseases will not befall any of us or it won't happen to any of our family members. Yes, no one wants bad things to happen to them. But in reality, it may.

As soon as one is financially able, one should:
1. Get a life insurance. If death occurs, at least the surviving family will get a sum of money prepare for the funeral. Sad la.. but true mah, right?

2. Get a good hospitalization plan. First and simple step, upgrade Medisave to Medishield (it only cost about SGD$96 per year and payable via CPF medisave, so no need touch your cash!) However, take note that there is something called 'co-insurance'. Meaning that, you will likely have to pay some amount of money even after claims. Here is a calculator provided by CPF for you to estimate. If you have extra cash, do consider some other product outside there that offer a more comprehensive medical and hospitalization plan.

So with step #1, and #2 of the above, you can start to make other plans. For example, what happens if life is good but you wanna make more money?

If you're a fresh grad, then can consider:

1. Savings plan (usually this will run quite long, for example 21 or 25 years). This is to force you to put money into somewhere. Like savings to bank but with penalty for default! Haha. Of course, with higher interest rates than banks. I've heard the minimum amount offered by Prudential is SGD$70 per month. So even if the paycheck is small, say, SGD$1500, $70 is just 4.7% of the amount! As it is advisable to save at least 30% of your salary, then please place the 26% into a real bank so that you have some cash on hand. Some of these plan offer cashback annually, or every 3 years. Of course, in doing so, you still can take some of your money out but will reduce the final lump sum at the end of the term.

2. Investment linked policies. Good for when you do not have much money to invest, and can wait for the portfolio to grow slowly.

Retirement planning

As mentioned above, what will happen when we're retired and thus no more income. For lucky ones, of course they would've have some cash generating business running somewhere without them having to lift a finger. For normal ppl like myself, probably having a sum set aside for this purpose, also makes sense.

How much is enough for retirement? Depends on how much you want to spend, it seems. So if you intend to spend $2000 per month for the rest of your life (+30 years after 55) after retirement, you'll need roughly $620,000. If we can save $800 per mth from age 26 onwards till 55, we would've saved about $300,000. So, without some form of investment, likely money will never be enough when we retire.

Luckily, government has some form of planning for us already, which is the CPF and Medisave plans. So something is better than nothing. However, with much factors beyond our control, for example, healthcare cost, living cost (as natural resources are being depleted, its substitute could cost more as money were pumped into the R&D etc).

As the saying goes, "Best to prepare an umbrella in case of rainy days". But the question is, have you shopped for one?

happy mother's day

To all the momma's in the world, "Happy Mother's Day!"

Meng Choo is famous!

Yup Yup Yup! Meng Choo was featured in Digital Life today as one of the mums who blogs! Yippee!

Click here to view the featured picture! Or here to view her blog. Cheers!

I wonder if I can ever get one of her famous cupcakes or not? Heh heh heh... Meng Choo ah, can I (one of your many fans... also Megan n Macy's as well!) get one of your fabulous cupcake for free? Pretty please?

spiderman 3

The truth is out! I'm smitten with the smiling James Franco (Goblin Junior). He's so... so cute!

see... handsome, right?

WARNING: Before you proceed, please be aware that there may be spoilers below. So its your choice...

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

(Last chance! You can still click on the 'X' and close browser...)


Eh... still around.. well, oki doki.... it's your choice!

But, spidey-gone-bad Tobey was also quite funny when he hammed it up as a baddie. It's bad when he's Peter Parker the nerd... but it was even worse when he became a jerk. So guys, remember... a nerdie jerk is a NO-NO combo! Tobey (the bad boy look) became much more attractive (though I suspect it's his hair that made the difference!)

tobey with his not-so nerdie but not quite the baddie look...

tobey in his baddie look (much more attractive, don't you think?)

In Spidey 3, there's also another 2 characters involved... Venom and Sandman. I think in Spidey 3, a lot of things were being squeezed in (to keep us viewers entertained, and also to have a storyline somewhere in there...) Venom didn't quite appear till quite the end (the spidey black suit doesn't count...) and Sandman.. well, he's just a sad character...

topher grace as eddie brock.. basically a much better looking reporter than peter parker

however, he ended up as this ugly thing (just because he lost his job, kanna humiliated.. so he wants to kill peter parker... haiyo, people nowadays.. tsk tsk)

sandman doing his thing...

I was thinking all the while.. Sandman doesn't need much costume... he's just wearing the same t-shirt in the 2 hour and 20 minutes long movie (not counting the prison overalls).

Sandman... in his one and only one tshirt... so poor thing...

Overall, its a sad ending... yeah, a lot of people in the cinema were wiping their tears during the last 5 minutes of the show. It's very sad when people turn over a new leaf and they had to die after that...

ps: i ate up all 5 cough drops during the show.. yah.. still coughing...


Disclaimer: please note that all pictures belong to their rightful owners... i just grabbed them via google search to illustrate to you, that's all. Absolutely no malice whatsoever intended...

les miserables...

been sick since last week.. very sianz you know...
cough cough cough... morning afternoon night.... cough cough cough
sianz!

haha, i think my brother also sianz.. 'coz when i coughed, usually its quite loud.. then night time.. more loud lor.. so, how to sleep? probably they can la, but sometimes also buay song me i suppose? heh heh!

well, spidey 3 is out now. should be watching it tomorrow.. so, spiderman.. wait for me *cough cough cough!*

ps: picture taken from allposters.com, so please go there and buy.
pps: inside suntec there's this shop called popcorn ( i think so la..) and eva said her cousin is the boss but he's at esplanade... so can get discount... (these posters not cheap bah, i suppose)

another spotted!

Vas from Vas and Pris (Dancefloor!) At least, I think that's him la... Haha, wouldn't have noticed him in the MRT if it weren't for his shades. Who wears that kind of shades in the morning? At least not the 98% of people that I see everyday in the MRT. Well, he's pretty fair and some would say, boyishly cute. But then, 'coz its rush hour.. everyone seems to be grouchy and grumpy looking no matter what! Haha!

*cough cough* I think I'm gonna fall sick... the throat is already kind of sandy... (probably too much KFC, pizza and laksa these 2 days...)

celebrity spotted!

Ha... today I saw Zhu Houren... at Yew Tee foodcourt! Probably he's staying somewhere nearby? Don't know. But celebrities do have good skin. They kind of radiate... yeah, I think so too. But he still gotta get his own drinks and food. But they got good habit though, after eating they placed their trays back at the tray counter.

Previously saw Liang Wen Foo (music composer) there as well!

too fat?

Yesterday, like usual, I was in the MRT travelling to work. The train was packed to the brim and had this couple talking loudly in a voice that makes you wanna ask them to shut up. Certain voice tone/quality combined with the way they speak, does sound very 欠便, you know?

Anyway, I was minding my own business when I suddenly felt a tap on my butt. (on my butt leh!!) Surprised, so I turned to see who so daring! I turned and saw an auntie (who was already seated) smiling at me and said, "这里有位子可以坐" while gesturing to the seat beside her. I smiled back (but a little 尴尬） and shook my head and said no need no need. So sad.... she thinks I'm pregnant ah? Or my butt too big and I looked like I just given birth isit? Buahahahaha! 'Coz I'm not acquainted to that auntie at all! Wahahahahah... or probably she just like my 乖乖 look and was just trying to be nice? Dunno... and will never know...

changi airport

Today I was at Changi airport again.. pretending I'm going off to a great getaway holiday, where the sun shines, skies blue and flowers bloom...

Nah.. juz kidding. Was there to send off my brother who is going to Paris. Yep, gay Paree~ Je t'aime~ He's on business trip there for 5 days. So good hor? He just came back from Shanghai the other day, and now off to Paris.. wow. I also want....

So met his colleagues as well, and meeting people for the first time... well, sure is awkward sometimes. Think I'm getting too old for these... My conversation skills is getting from lousy to worse... think probably too much time spent on facing the computer and not humans, will slowly(but almost surely) deplete the human's natural ability to communicate with fellow human beings. Chamz right?

The other day was attending this meeting with boss, and volunteered to answer some questions. Somehow my explanation only serves to confuse them even further... :(

And I really think I am getting old. By 11.30 pm on Saturday night, I'm usually already groggy and ready to sleep. Whatever happened to the night is still young... tsk tsk!

happy people

i dreamt of happy people...
i dreamt that i was staying in someplace (looks like residential houses but not the rich kind type!)
i dreamt that i had lots of friends within that area (who looked like they're hair stylist kind...?!)
i dreamt that it was a happy mood, everyone was jovial...
i dreamt that somewhere in the dream, Joanne Peh was in that area, filming her new drama series that supposedly will showcase her as a skater... (inside the dream, she had to do her own stunts, which involves her skating over a ramp and banging her head against the zinc barrier)
i dreamt that although i was a nobody, everyone still come and chat with me...
i dreamt that i was happy...

fruit juice

There I was, standing in line at Yew Tee Food Court's fruit juice drink stall. An auntie in front of me ordered orange pineapple juice, so I said I'd like one of that as well. So I was looking at the juice auntie on how she prepared it. She took a piece of pineapple from the counter and put it inside the blender (which in fact, haven't been washed probably since the beginning of the day 'coz I saw got a lot of fruit dregs in it... -_-''' ), and then she took one orange from one bucket (which I suspect is where they threw those unwanted fruit pieces that they cannot sell one...) and blended those pieces together. So 1 orange + 1 pineapple, and they charge us $2 for it.. geez.

Anyway, it was our choice, so when my turn came, I repeated the order but with a request. I asked innocently, "Auntie, can you replace that one piece of normal pineapple with one piece of Sarawak pineapple?" The auntie looked at me as if I had asked her the most difficult question in the world. Probably she thought I was asking her what's the distance between the moon and the earth...

She blinked, and asked, "What about the orange?" I smiled and said, "Everything same as just now (meaning same as what she had prepared for the earlier customer) but just replace the normal pineapple with the Sarawak pineapple. Then her able assistant blurted, "Ask her to pay $2.50 for it!" I was like... what! The normal pineapple is $0.60 per piece while the Sarawak pineapple is $0.80 per piece. So at most the drink should be at about $2.20, where in the world do they want to charge that extra $0.30 for? Their maths must be really fantastic. The auntie narrowed her brows and said, "我没有办法。。。这黄鹂太贵了，不能焦成汁给你” (translated: I'm bummed... the pineapple (that you requested) is too expensive, I can't make it into juice for you!" I nearly fainted... why is it too expensive? All I wanted was a one for one replacement.. nothing more. 1 piece of $0.60 replace with one piece of $0.80 means only $0.20 extra.. why cannot? I need enlightenment...

tonight's dinner

Unagi Mee Sua Soup with Bakwan

Ingredients:

1. minced pork
2. chinese parsley
3. chye sim
4. dried oyster
5. red dates
6. ikan bilis
7. chicken stock
8. mee sua
9. unagi


Steps:
1. Put chicken stock (little bit only), ikan bilis, dried oyster, red dates and water into a pot and boil for 20 minutes to make the soup.

2. Wash chye sim, cut off the stalks and put into the soup (for vege taste).

3. Mix minced meat with chopped parsley, white pepper, olive oil and corn flour to make bakwans. Add soy sauce and sesame oil for flavour. Roll into balls and throw into boiling soup.

4. Put unagi into toaster and toast for 5 mins.

5. Place the rest of the chye sim into the soup ('coz the chye sim that I bought looks quite 'old' so can boil longer)

6. Take out the chye sim and bakwans when done.

7. Spread some mince meat on a bowl. Pour some hot soup over it and mix well to cook it (heh, 'coz that's how the bak chor mee people do it, so I follow lor...)

8. Put mee sua into the soup and cook until soft. Once cooked, take out and put inside serving bowl.

9. Place all the chye sims, bakwans nicely on top of the mee sua. Throw in the minced meat on the bowl into the soup and off the fire. Pour soup over the mee sua.

10. Place toasted unagi ontop of the mee sua and garnish with parsley.


There you go. Me and my brother's dinner for tonight!

傻瓜

咳。。。真是个笨蛋。 哪个笨蛋？ Well, 就是我。 彻彻底底的笨的要命！

我做人一向来就是有点小聪明。做了几十年的聪明人，就换回一天的糊涂。 咳。。。（正在叹气中。。）
应该可以猜得到吧。。。就是跟钱财有关。　被骗了吗？　可以这么说。　但是，是自作自受啦。　就是不会说　'no' 。。　其实回想来，我的确有说过　'no'，　不过最后还是答应了。　咳。。。　真的是笨死了！

chio or not?

Chio or not? The new (actually not so new.. came out quite a few months ago...) But it has 18x optical zoom! Just how cool is that!

Can read about the full review here.


I think it cost around SGD$899 or something. The previous model where it has 10x optical zoom already cost about SGD$799, so this one is better!

mystery no more

Oki, as promised.. here's the follow-up to the case of DDDP Monthly deduction.

Well, just the other day, I've received a letter from UOB stating that they've refunded the disputed amount.... a day before that, Club Rainbow actually called me up to check on the status. Which really reflects well on Club Rainbow and so I'd think I'd support them again!

The twist came a day after the letter, when a lady from Singapore Cancer Society called me up stating that the DDDP Monthly deduction was actually for them. I was like, huh? Then why deduct twice? She went on to say that because Singapore Cancer Society actually contracted an external company to do the transactions and thus the name that appears at the charge slip will be shown as DDDP Monthly. Also, the double deduction was because of my credit card bill that fell somewhere in between. Hmm.. not that I really understand what she's saying. She also admitted that since they got this company to do the transaction, there had been complaints and thus, in the next deduction, the bill will reflect Singapore Cancer Society so that the donors are aware of whom they're donating to. But to me, her explanation seems to be hurried and shoddy.. no apologies no nothing... just wanted me to call up the bank so that they can deduct that amount! Which is a pity... as cancer is one of the major cause that I truly want to support...

peat moss

Finally i bought the peat moss bedding (recommended by one of the staff at Pet's Lovers Bugis for the pets to burrough). Found it in the Lot 1 branch. Cost about $8++ after discount. It looked soft and feels like foam. Supposedly it allows the pet to dig into it and the top part will retain its shape while a tunnel is formed underground. (or so the picture in front of the packaging shows that.. the rest of the wordings are all in japanese and of course, I can't read nor write nor speak Japanese!) But anyway, so I brought home the pack (after I bought it, only left 1 more in the shop) and looked at it a little more thoroughly and noticed the word: 注意

Hmm... but after the words 注意, all of it are in Japanese... so warning for something but don't know what. Anyway, I opened up that package and well... it looks like dirt. Powdery and dirty looking (brown black in color), but nevertheless, I poured it into a small plastic aquarium and placed Daisy in it. Oki, she digged into it alright, but the moss thingie sticks to her entire bum, head, nose.. was kinda worried that it might affect her respiratory and eyes. So left her in it for a few seconds and nope, she doesn't look like she's having fun. So scooped her out, powdered her (her bathing sand) and make sure she's clean before putting back into her own cage.

Then, I decided to look up in the internet to see what the heck is a peat moss anyway (yeah, I know.. should've done that earlier.. yeah..my fault la... )

So here's the wikipedia definition of peat moss.

Its some decayed moss that was compacted that can hold up a lot of water.. which is good.. but hey, when you reach that part about health dangers.. that's it, that's done it for me.

So off into the garbage bin it goes.. never to return again. (but probably it could've been quite a safe material to use since it can be sold in pet shops... not sure... )

game consoles

ps3 consoles look like this



xbox 360 looks like this


nintendo ds looks like this



while nintendo wii looks like this


The other day I was at Funan, went walking around and wandered into shops that are dedicated in selling consoles and games. Didn't manage to ask how much does a Nintendo DS costs but I think it should be a couple of hundred dollars... The game cartridge itself cost around SGD$55! Saw one parent bought a Nintendo DS for his daughter. That kid looks to be about Primary 4-6 level.. and she gets a Nintendo DS already. Last time I had to top the class before I was even rewarded with... a mechanical pencil! *piangz* Time has really changed! Although my mom did eventually get us one or two handheld games.. forgot what they called it but it can only play one game, those kind... you know? Probably not your era... Those days, we had games like Donkey Kong, Western Bar etc. But I like Western Bar most... its a shooting game, but I don't have it.. I played my friend's one until the battery gone flat!


Western Bar looks like this


Ok, so back to Funan... Overall, I saw like 2-3 guys walk away carrying Xbox 360.. so I guess Xbox still rules? (for now, probably?) PS3 cost $799 per piece and its game cost about SGD$90+.. goodness.. can buy one desktop computer... And Xbox plays hi-def stuffs, so that's cool... Of course, PS3 supports Blu-Ray and supposedly there is a war going on between the hddvd format, but still to us mass consumers, at the end of the day.. its still the price that counts.. may the best priced wins! You can read more about it here.

Okay, I agree... the graphics shown from the PS3 looks awesome... (as seen from Sony Bravia tv in Funan)

Now I just wish that I have a few thousand dollars to splurge on all these luxury!

the day the building swayed...

Was in the office this morning, when suddenly had this dizzy feeling... 'Whoa.. must had been working too hard.' or so I thought. Then I looked up from the screen and then felt it more clearly now, hey.. the building is shaking! Went out of the room and saw Zak starting at Harold's room. The door was like hitting against the door frame on its own. Now that is alarming. So we decided to evacuate as it was like 11.52am. But first had to make a pee stop. Hendrik said he was in the loo when it happened and he could see the toilet door banging... he thought it was some ghostly encounter!

So we got out of office, and voila.. looks like the entire Gateway East and West people were already down there! I messaged my brother who's working at Jurong East... and yeah, he felt the tremors too. So likely is some earthquake from Sumatra. Zak said Bukit Merah also can feel the tremors. Anyway, we went to low ground and had our lunch.

After lunch, we went back to the office and minded our own stuffs. Then around before 2pm... again we felt it. This time we wasted no time and grabbed our stuffs and headed towards the door. Harold happened to be back and he asked us to pack up and go home. So we did.

Read about the news report here.

from m'sia, with love...

Took the pictures one fine day when i was at home.... yeah, was bored so took out the camera and loaded it with batteries (geez, i think my camera spoilt liao.. it eats up batteries like nobody's business!) , and stepped out of the house in style... hahaha! Anyway, it was hot.... very hot... the weather, of course!



i think this is what my parents called 'steel tree', well.. it looks like just the trunk of the plant and to plant it, you simply stick the trunks into the soil and water and wait. Basically, it'll grow and if you're lucky, it will flower too!



hmm... i don't know what this is.. but my sis does though, but never mind la, next time you ask her! i just liked the way the shadow falls!



this.. is Bobbi, my sister's pet



usually she looks like this (if she likes you...)




this one.. some kind of lime leaves... we took it and put inside our water container when we bathe... supposedly to ward off evil... or, you can use it as a natural air freshener!



i suppose this one is some kind of cactus.. and hey, got flower leh! if you wanna know the scientific name, ask my sister.. ya, she's the one that completed a degree in horticulture or something like that...



this one i know.. bougainvillea... although i suspect the spelling, is like a bit off...



this one my mom's plant.. basically the tree is like high up there.. and it has thorns... has some medicinal value to it, and it basically have a chinese name, but literal translation, this would be 'seven star needle' plant... well, literally ya..



this, is basically how the entire garden looked like... somewhere more to the far right of the picture, is the location of the dog house... Bobbi's home (but of course, you can't see it from this picture coz can't fit...). On the left most of the picture, is the 'seven star needle' plant, and you can't even see the flowers from this picture.. told ya it was tall...




and this, is how the front of the car porch looks like... direct to the main road...


So there you go.. i present to you, my home in m'sia... in a blogshell! (modified from nutshell).

Daisy Pics

Shadowy image of Daisy, curious to find out her surroundings...



Here's looking at you babe! Daisy doing her crouching tiger hidden hamster pose...

mystery...

Have you ever received a credit card bill which charges you for some transaction that you never take part in?

Well, unfortunately I am experiencing this now. It all began when I opened up my UOB credit card bill for February. In it, there was a transaction dated 16th Feb and deducted $30.40 for a DDDP Mnthly Singapore. What the heck is that anyway? But comparing the amount, it seems something like a charity donation or smthg... but since its stated 'Mnthly' as its title, it'll likely means that I am going to be deducted for this amount, every month?! What the.... and moreover, 16 Feb I was already happily in Malaysia, so how could I charge that?

Anyway, so I called the UOB Card Centre. First call, they only picked up after trying for half hour or so. So this guy answered and verified what they need to verify and asked me to wait. So I waited. Finally he came back and told me that DDDP merchant in question, is Club Rainbow. I was like, fine but the only donation to Club Rainbow was like in 2005 and that is for a one time donation only. So I asked him what can I do now. So he asked me to wait again... and thus I waited... and waited.. until the phone went *toot... toot... toot* dead. On 23 Feb, I was very busy you know.. no time to wait. So didn't call them again as I need to prepare for an external meeting at client's site. So seems like UOB guys did try to call again but during the meeting so I couldn't pick up the call as well... and on the same night, I had to board the train back to M'sia so will continue with this problem when I'm back.

So today, I called the UOB Card Centre again, and today the response time is much shorter. So I repeated my problem again ('coz I can't recall the previous guy's name, though I suspect he's the same one that I am speaking to now!) and he asked me to wait again. After like 10 minutes, he came back with 2 numbers, 1 for Club Rainbow and another one for the company that runs the DDDP programme for Club Rainbow (think the company is called APPCO or smthg like tht). UOB says its best for me to call the merchant and ask for a refund.

So I called Club Rainbow and a lady called Stephanie (or was it Daphne? Sorry la but cannot catch the name) answered my call. So I explained everything again, and she checked her computer system and came back with this, "Hmm.. Ms Lee, seems like the only transaction that you did with your this credit card was a one time donation to Club Rainbow.. and that was deducted in 2005?" I was like, yeah.. correct.. but what about this latest transaction dated 16 Feb? She reiterated that there is no record for any request for any deduction for 16 Feb for this credit card number and usually the amount should be $30.60 if its really from Club Rainbow. Hmm... back to square 1.

Oki, never mind.. although the mood level had dipped to -20. So I called back UOB Card Centre and this time, a lady answered and her name is Liza (or Lisa.. not sure but from her accent, likely she is a Filipino.. not that it matters..) Anyway, I repeated my problem again, and she needs to verify whatever that needs to be verified again and as you may have guessed it... she asked me to wait. After like 10 minutes, she came back but she has more manners that the guy, 'coz she apologized for the waiting time (not that it really made any difference anyway...). She can't confirm anything but she said she'll call back in half hour's time to advise on next step.

So she did call back after some time, and she said from their records, the merchant is Club Rainbow. She said I would have to request for a written letter from Club Rainbow to state that they have never intended to deduct the amount from my card, and then fax the proof to them. I was like silent for a while, and then said, "Hmm... this is strange, for UOB to start deducting anything from customer, it would have meant that UOB had received instruction from merchant (with prove and everything) but now the merchant had claimed that they did not instruct. Shouldn't it be like UOB work it out with the merchant instead of the customer having to do so?" Simple question, right? Immediately, she said "Ms Lee, its ok if you cannot get the written letter from them, just simply fill up the form to state that you did not participate in this transaction." I was like.. WHAT? First you asked me to get letter and now you say its not necessary? WHAT IS THIS...? So never mind, 'coz she's just the poor customer service person and the problem didn't start from her anyway. So I said, ok.. send me the form.

But I am still curious (although curiosity should kill the cats but me not a cat mah!), so I called the second number, to the company called APPCO. A lady answered and thus I repeated my problem again for the 101th time. Again, she punched the numbers into her computer and the record only showed the 2005 transaction (but no one was interested in 2005 transaction!). Again, I said, it's very strange as UOB claimed to have received the instruction from merchant and now, none of the merchant (Club Rainbow and APPCO) said they had instructed for the deduction. Its like a mystery waiting to be solved... So I did asked if APPCO is running anything for other charities besides Club Rainbow. She said yes and rattled one but it didn't sound anything remotely like what I would donate to. So she said, she will get back to me as this is indeed, puzzling to say the least.

Questions: WHO, HOW, WHERE and WHY?

WHO:
1. Was it UOB that for some reason, entered the wrong digit and thus poor me had to pay for it?
2. Was it Club Rainbow for some reason, submitted the wrong number to APPCO?
3. Was it APPCO for submitting the wrong number to UOB?
4. Was it myself, who signed up for the donation and then became amnesiac and thus had no memory of it?

HOW:
1. It was obvious, the transaction was via credit card.. but for the past 1 month, my main credit card was Citibank Visa and not UOB... and the only thing I used UOB for, was for a monthly instalment for something else (definitely not a charity donation).

WHERE:
1. On 16th Feb (transaction date), I was physically in Malaysia (together with the suspect, UOB credit card). So how could I have signed up for that? (of course unless a post-date transaction was instructed but no leh... don't have this in my memory bank)

WHY:
1. I'm not rich, cannot donate to so many charities (currently is supporting S'pore Cancer Society and NKF Children's Fund through the UOB credit card) and Club Rainbow I distinctly remember is a one time payment (and indeed the organization itself have confirmed that I was only a one-time donor)

Therefore, there is no conclusion at this moment... Only the frustration level has dippped to -30, but ahah, the mystery and curiosity level has increased to +15. Is this somehow connected the the alien lights that I had seen last year? Was I abducted during that short 2 seconds (not very likely as I was with my brother at that time.. but then time need not run in sequence as we know in our dimension. If the aliens runs in a parallel dimension and what I saw was when the dimensions somehow intersected and thus created a pocket whereby certain objects came into our dimension view... ). So no one knows...

--------------------- to be continued -------------------------------

home

Taking the train home today. Home for the lunar new year. Spring cleaning, lots of food, and gathering with family. Heh, last year nearly didn't make it home 'coz we missed the train. Ya, it was funny but not at that time. Quite 'gan cheong' one... reached the station but the train has just left. So last year, we took the night train instead of the morning one. So this year, no more. Need to leave house at 6.30am, so should reach around 8.00am ('coz need to make detour to get breakfast as well). The train leaves at 8.20am.

Met up with Cherry and Gilbert yesterday, nice funny kids. We went ktv'ing and stayed till 12am. Gilbert brought his colleague, while Cherry brought her poly friend. She gave me a flower too, how sweet!

Reached home about 1am+ as it was quite difficult to get a cab. Waited for the bus for about 15 minutes but no 190 came along... strange ya?

Heh, but anyhow, Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai, Wan Shi Ru Yi!

Hasta la vista, baby~ I'll be back... (on 20th Feb)

today is...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Every year nearing chinese new year, i'm sure singapore retail industry will see a sudden increase in sales. Everything from everyday household items (especially those cleaning stuffs, soft drinks) to undergarments (its considered auspicious to wear new stuffs?) to bak kwa's. For myself, minimal requirements is to get something to wear that is not black in color and everything else can recycle old one. Went to change money yesterday and the exchange rate has dropped from something like 226.15 to 225.19 within a day. But then, me not changing in thousands... so still ok bah. Probably rugi about 2 plates of black black hokkien mee. Haha!

Finally fixed up my TV card, and thus the days of Japan Hour is finally back again! Been deprived for at least 2 months or so.. no TV! We did call up the repair guy but he quoted like $180 to fix the Sony 38" TV. Owner said that if we fix it, then we pay.. else no need to fix also never mind. This owner good hor? Last time, when we rented in Yew Tee also, the owner charged us everything! The washing machine spoilt within few months of our arrival and we had to pay $150 for it. Hng! But now some of the contracts will state that if anything below $100 then the person who rents the place will pay, anything above $100 then owner will bear the difference in cost. Like that hor, I'd advise don't rent those old old place. I've ever stayed in Serangoon North (old flats) and during the last 2 months prior to contract end, the light bulbs dieded one by one. We replaced about 4 of them! Hah! Paid liao only get to enjoy short while, not worth it man!

Haha, lots of stories to tell about renting outside. But that'll be another time, another day. For now, just lots of packing and last minute shopping to do!

popeye chicken & biscuit

Was at T1 Changi yesterday evening to send off Ivan and Agi. Was quite a huge turn-out with his church mates all there as well. So, after that, we decided to go find the elusive but 'famous' Popeye Chicken and Biscuit fast food. 'Famous' 'coz it was highly recommended by colleagues and friends who had tried it. But to me, if it is that good... how come it's not found anywhere else but in Changi? Hmm... but anyway, we went around and found it at the level above the departure hall.

popeye counter

When we reached there, it was really crowded... packed! So, it was a good sign, yes? Anyhow, we went to queue up while my brother go look for a place to sit. We ordered two sets of 2piece chicken and 1 set of 3 piece chicken. It was stated on the menu that the chicken comes as spicy or mild but the wait staff didn't ask, so I also don't know whether the ones that we ate was spicy or mild...

So we sat down and started eating. The set comes with 1 regular side dish and 1 scone like thingie. So we chose, coleslaw, mashed potato and cajun fries as the side. I suppose that is the 'buttermilk biscuit'? Not sure, haha! Anyway, the scone is a refreshing change from the usual bun, and it tasted quite alright with the accompanying jam. The fried chicken looks like KFC's crispy chicken but slightly better. The meat was quite juicy and was probably 0.5% less oily than KFC? (But equally as sinful, I suppose!)

Anyway, conclusion is..... nothing spectacular lor. Quite a letdown from all the hype bah. How apt is this saying, "The greater the expectation, the more disappointment." But the queue was still snakingly long while we were there... heh heh, people here sure like fast food!

for some reason...

there is a phrase stuck in my head... you know those kind something like a song keep playing in your head? Well, same same except that now it is a phrase.. . Haha, for some reason I have 吃力不讨好 kept repeating itself... over and over again. It's there when I was sleeping.. it's there when I bathe, it's there again when I eat... even when I shit!

Perhaps its an omen... a sign... to signal that all that's been done (or doing) is actually futile. Well, not only futile, but it'll suck the life out of ya! Wahahaha... but then, you'd say that..."可能你想太多了"！

S.H.E concert

Ya... today is their concert day and I can't go... so sad! Last minute news is heard that Stephanie Sun will be one of the guest. Sigh...

But as it turn out, lucky I didn't buy the tickets 'coz today we're having farewell dinner for my cousin. My cousin Ivan and his wife Agi, will be staying in Australia for at least a few years for their missionary work. All the best to ya!

gary - superman

Gary 曹格 latest album "Superman" is out in the market now!

Songs list:

01. SUPERMAN
　　02. 两只恋人
　　03. GIRLFRIEND
　　04. 背叛
　　05. 你是我的宝贝
　　06. 3-7-20-1
　　07. 保护你
　　08. 爱到底
　　09. 我的甜蜜蜜
　　10. 天使妒忌的生活

There are a few songs that have 'attitude', e.g 3-7-20-1 and 爱到底. Personally, I like 两只恋人 at this point in time. I feel this album is better than the previous one, 格格blue.

cooking mama

How I wish they have this game for PC as well! But alas, they only had it for Nintendo DS (what does DS stands for?)

Game plan sounds easy. Follow instructions and create 76 dishes using the recipes given. Start from basic 15, and expand the next 61 dishes. Cool, right?

They even have a sequel for Nintendo wii called Cooking Mama: Minna to Issho ni Oryouri Taikai!

The only cooking game that I've ever played so far, is the Restaurant Empire. But its more like managing a restaurant rather than a cooking game.

So, if they ever create one Cooking Mama for PC, I'll definitely buy!

is there life without tv?

For as long as I can remember, television has always been a part of my life. Almost every waking moment was spent in front of the television. Every meal time was always in front of the tv. My mom used to say that my eyes were glued to the tv set. Luckily it never dawned on her to ban television from my life ('coz my grades were still considered ok I guess!), or else how miserable would my childhood be? Haha!

And that was way back then when there were no such thing as internet nor computer. I am a small town kid and doesn't own any computer till I was in my twenties. But that was way back then...

So recently, the tv in my rented place decided to go on strike. Oh, it did gave us some warnings. When we switched it on, it'll give some hissing sound but as usual, none of us gave any second thoughts on that. Till one fine day, it not only produced the usual hissing sound but accompanied but some popping sound as well and the screen will flicker. It does sound like it was going to explode, so we did not dare to turn it on since then. So the tv went into semi-retirement mode till someone get the electrician to come and fix it.

Meanwhile, I've decided to sign on to mobtv for SGD$10.90 per month to catch the current 9pm show on Channel 8 called 'The Peak'. Heh heh, ok.. I admit I like to watch Dawn Yeoh (think its spelt this way.. not sure) since her debut in 'Shining Stars' (but think she acted better in her debut show!). Anyway, another reason is because its story revolved around a shipyard and it brings back certain memories as well. 'Coz last time I had my industrial attachment with Keppel FELS and although I didn't get a chance to wear that shipyard overalls ('coz only engineering attachees got to wear those last time, and I was with the IT dept). And no I didn't get to cycle around the shipyard too 'coz my work doesn't require me to go so many places but yes, there was one time we manage to get near to the ship and it was a totally awesome experience! Come to think of it, standing anywhere near a mammoth object will evoke certain kind of emotions from any living person, I suppose!

i was one of them

Yesterday, me and my brother wanted to go out for dinner. Our usual hangout is at Yew Tee food court. So me and him took the lift down and headed out. Just then, I looked up at the sky and saw the bright green light. It's luminous green in color (slightly oblong in shape) and doesn't look like any space craft. Its movement was quite abrupt with one moment it appeared at one location, the next second at another and very quickly it disappeared.

So I told my brother but he didn't managed to catch it. For me, I only saw it for about a second or two. So we thought nothing of it. But it seems, more people had seen it.

Read more here.

showflats

Had a gathering recently with my uni friends. Most are married, with kids. So went to Wen Pei's 'new' house at Bendemeer. New 'coz I haven't been there but the rest of the world have... haha!

The last I saw her kid was at his one month party. So now he's like 2 years old. Yeah, time practically zoomed past in supersonic speed! He was a big baby, and now he's a cute 2 year old. Looking at him interacting with others, he's a genial kid. Easy to be around with. And, he's exited about Hi 5 <-- I think it's written this way.. hmm not sure. The adults brought the kids to the pool and they were absolutely exited! Haha, fun.

So while the kids were playing, me and another couple decided to go over to the showflats opposite Wen Pei's place. I loved the showflat! Wahhaha, if I have tons of money, I'd buy it! But alas, for normal people like me who doesn't plant money tree nor print any, I can only see but cannot touch. Nicely done up and decorated, with the kitchen almost fully equiped (comes with induction cooker top!). The tiles are nice, aircond nice but very small. One studio apartment costs about $380,000 and one two-bedroom unit costs $580,000 (and that's after a 10% discount). So roughly about $600 p.s.f. Sigh, with that kind of money, can buy 5 room HDB flat and still have money to renovate. Heh, but not bad la, the agent still entertain us even though we're not really looking to buy.

Goodbye 2006... Welcome 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!!

It's like you blink your eyes and a whole year has passed by...

Major events that happened in 2006:
1. underwent appendicitis operation
2. mom had acute glaucoma attack
3. 3 more colleagues left the company
4. found out has poor bone mass
5. adopted daisy
6. permed my hair (haha, ya I consider this as one of the major events as well!)

What will 2007 brings? No one knows...

May you have a happy new year too!

Merry Christmas!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

orchard road coming right up...

'tis the season to be jolly.. fa la la la~ la la la~

Yup yup, Christmas is just round the corner and as usual Orchard (and everywhere else) will light up with a few thousand kilowatts again.

Latest tree attraction, well.. the nearest to my working place, is the Soo Kee diamond studded star tree at Bugis Junction. The one in West Mall is kinda huge too.. going for about 3 storeys high. Ahhh... since Vivocity has much more space... I wonder if they'll put a humongous tree there as well? Don't know 'coz haven't been to Vivo. It's like out of the way, you know?

*take a peek at the Soo Kee tree pic taken by others


Also, been seeing those Hippo buses around and its kinda cool. Going topless on a hot sunny day... (the bus is topless.. not the passengers!) If you're interested, here's the link for more info.


Tuesday was Prudence last day in LS. For her farewell lunch, we went to a quaint little shop at Kandahar Street called Bumbu.



- outside view of the restaurant

Food's not bad, can try the 'Coffee Chicken' and the 'Tauhu Telor'.

daisy

And so, have decided to call her Daisy. Well, not sure if she knows that's her name but I'll say, "Daisy, come come.. gai gai!" when I want to pick her up to play. And her nickname shall be 呆呆, coz she's quite stone at times.

This morning, let her play on my lap and she'll run up the arm, trying the 'obstacle' race which basically involved climbing over a hand wall, running headlong onto a steel tummy and sliding down the wobbly lap. But hor, you know what... she pooped on my arm. Haha!

first day!

Opps...Caught in the act!

Looks like she had discovered that the wheel is so much fun to run on! Still bearable, not too much noise at this moment. Good thing that the cage has no parts that she can chew on.

Been letting her get used to my hand. Didn't dare to pick her up, so waited till she gets into the food tray and then picked up the entire thing. She'll not notice till for about 5 seconds later and then she'll start to panic. Sniffing around and finally coming out to walk on the palm. Of course it didn't help that I also gan cheong and ended up with sweaty palms! Haha, but its fun and will have to hold her everyday so that she'll not go wild...



Come closer...

new home

small cosy home...


Finally the latest addition has arrived! Heh heh, for the moment, she doesn't have any name yet... but she does like to sleep alot. She's been sleeping in the office and now after putting her into her new home, she explored a little, ate a little and seemed 'gan cheong' for a while, and now... sleeping already!


dun disturb!



She's only been home for about an hour or so, and she has finished exploring. Well, the cage isn't exactly very big anyway... Seems like she haven't discovered the exact usage of the wheel. At first she refused to climb onto it... going under, going around.. anywhere but climb on it. After I had finished bathing, I found she's actually perched on the wheel but didn't run on it. Probably she's still young (around a 5-6 weeks old).

Seriously I think she dislikes the cat litter as bedding. She tried to burrow her way through it but gave up as the cat litter is harder and not conducive as a hiding place. Hmm... probably will try to get the recycled paper bedding next time. Softer and more comfy!


can you see me?

preparation for the new arrival

i thought i'd never rear any hamsters again after the last one dieded... but well, things have been buzzing around ever since last weekend. Went to scout for a small cage (coz now its the first time i'm rearing dwarf hamsters... but hor, i read from the internet that black bear is actually campbell breed.. not dwarf.. hmmm.. don't know!) So anyway, went to Pet Station in Causeway Point. Didn't like the cages found in Pet Lovers Centre, as either it was too big, too expensive or they have wires (which makes way too much noises when the hammie starts to chew on them!) Anyway, managed to find one cage meant for rodents and mices (hmmm...hopefully it won't attract the real ones! yikes!). From Taiwan it said (i mean the cage of course!). Well, as long as it is within my budget. Got it for $16++ but somehow got discount so ended up paying $17+ for one medium sized cage and a small hand carry container. Last time I bought Habitrail cage and now i looked at that price ($40), nearly fainted. Why? Coz the last Habitrail cage i actually threw it away when the last hammie dieded. *sob sob*

But, couldn't find the Carefresh beddings (grey colored recycled paper type that was quite popular two years back) there so today went shopping at Pet Lovers again. Asked the sales guy and he recommended cat litter... Cat litter leh! Hmm.. anyway, he said nowadays that's what people are using for the hamster bedding and so i bought one packet (6 litre) to try lor. Also bought hammie food and hammie wood block for them to chew (dun chew my new cage can liao!). Anyway, wood block for chewing is so lame. Can just use ice cream stick I suppose...

Will update the pictures once the camera's batteries are recharged. The stupid batteries will actually go flat very fast(whether u use or dun use).... dunno why also.

unknown

well, at least it ranked somewhere! *LOL*

GST

So GST is increasing again? Well, what do we expect? GST going down? In our next live perhaps!

Well, indeed we had made our vows of less restaurants, less shopping when GST was last incremented to 5%... but how many of us really adhered to that? For the first few weeks/months perhaps... but come one year down the road later, we're still surviving. Shops are still ringing in the sales, houses still get sold, cars are being bought in droves... (hehe, probably the last one was a little exaggerated! :P ) Anyway, the point is, we'll complain, we'll protest... but sooner of later, all of us will succumb and accept our fate.

Still, probably its a conspiracy theory of some sort. A knee-jerk reaction of consumers would be to go all out and buy all our 'big' items this year, just so that we do not need to pay the extra 2% when the increase is implemented. Imagine a goods of $2000... 2% of that would be $40, and that's a lot! $40 could get you a brand new phone (with 2 yr line of course!). Let's say everyone out there quickly went out to buy those items this year (to save costs). Then if the increase was suddenly delayed (or staggered), that would ensure the economy gets boosted up quickly. Shops would be happy that their sales had increased by the tenfolds, no loss to consumers as they probably needed to buy their stuffs anyway and thus, the country's economy rises, yay! Haha, well...

Anyway, the point is, any increase of whatever sense... we'd still survive. For new job seekers, make sure you cost in the extra 2% towards your pay package. For existing employees, just pray and work hard to ensure company is growing and thus (maybe) you'll get a fatter bonus next year. For us not so lucky ones, well.. hawker centre... here we come.

freckles and such

Although I'm quite a sucker for any sales person to approach, but if the price is too high... well, you won't get my business.

Was walking in Guardian West Mall, and as usual, the sales lady saw my freckles and thus begins her sales pitch. "Miss, you want to try some cream to remove your freckles? This product very good, it clears the freckles from within. Not like the others, which just provides the whitening effect..." I was like, okay.. show me the product then. No harm looking. So she went to find her brochure and said the product was from Japan bla bla bla... Then I was like, how much is that? Is it like expensive? Then she whispered and said, "Ya.. its slightly a little pricey but think of the wonderful effects... and it has medicated values to it as well... etc etc" Okay, so how much is that? Guess how much... 1 tube of around probably 50ml or so... SGD$180! Wa lao... so expensive. Cannot afford.

udon for dinner

So was kinda bored... and figured I'd do udon for dinner. The other motive was to finish up some stuffs that had been sitting around in the kitchen for a while now (that would be onions, garlic). So here's what I did:

Ingredients

1. udon ($2 for two packets)
2. seafood (mixed sotong, small prawns and clams. Seasoned with pepper, sesame oil and some salt) ($1.90)
3. ikan bilis soup stock (instant ones)
4. 1 big onion (chopped, and seasoned with olive oil and some salt)
5. lots of minced garlic
6. taiwan sausages ($3.30 per packet, used two so cost is $1.65)
7. butterhead lettuce ($2+ per packet, used one, so cost is $1)
8. red chili ($1, used one, so cost is $0.25)
9. mint leaves ($0.80)
10. fish sauce (optional)

Process

1. Boil udon for about 1.5 minutes to soften and pre-cook. Rinse with cold water and set aside in serving dish.

2. Boil the soup base and set aside.

3. Fry minced garlic, seafood and chopped onions. Add red chili as desired

4. Add soup stock and let it come to a boil. Add pre-toasted taiwan sausages (cut into smaller pieces).

5. Add udon and coat well with soup. Stir gently and add in lettuce when the soup has thickened a little. Let it cook for about half a minute. Dash with some fish sauce to add to taste.

6. Serve and garnish with mint leaves.


Total cost for dinner (serves 2)=$7.60

Quite tasty, but it didn't look pretty. The bowl was kinda small so everything looked cluttered. The first bowl came out dryer as the sauce thickened well. But the second one, came out looking like udon soup.. which I don't mind la.

child of our time

Have you heard of this programme? I find it a great show, informative and educational. Suitable for all, not only parents. It follows through the lives of selected children from various backgrounds, and this project spans across 20 years.

Child of Our Time comes on TV (Arts Central) every Thursday 10pm.

Yesterday, we learn about what motivates a person/child, the way we pick up new skills, why talking on cellphone while driving is dangerous and to recognize some disabilities that we may not be aware that we are having.

It shows that a child, given a reward at the beginning of a task, will actually performs badly or half-heartedly, if done at all. If the child is given a surprise reward after the task is completed, will return to the task will renewed vigour. And surprisingly, if a child is not told that they will be getting any reward at the end of the task, they will still perform the task (and they looked quite happy enjoying it too!) without any expectation of a reward.

Also, it seems that a person will learn better if the new skill is linked to some senses; smell, taste, visual, auditory etc. As a baby, there is a link between skills and senses for us to learn better and faster. However, for most of us, this 'link' will disappear once we have mastered the skill and when we grow, as this 'link' is now deemed useless. However, for some people, it seems this link remains with them. So, when they listen to a music for example, they will actually see blots of shapes or colours forming in front of them (probably when they were young, music was linked to some shapes and colors). I find these information, fascinating :)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

Here's wishing to all my Muslim friends a very very happy Hari Raya Aidil Fitri! Maaf zahir dan batin!

home-made ice cream~

There's this quaint little shop that we always walked past during lunch at Shaw. Outside of the shop stood a chalk board that exclaims exotic flavors such as "Red Date & Longan Ice Cream", "Plum Ice Cream" etc. The flavor of this month is "Wasabi Lime".

So finally today we went into the shop to try. It was a nice surprise that we can sample any ice-cream that we like before we even buy anything. Tried the wasabi lime and its actually quite good! Refreshing, I would say.

But as usual, I'd go for the safe stuffs. I had Chocolate and Coffee (you can mix 2 flavors! How nice, hor) The others tried the Wasabi Lime and Mango, Chocolate Banana and Coffee, and Oreo Cheesecake and Vanilla. The price is $2.80 for small cup. But they'd fill up to the brim and the ice-cream is actually quite the sticky type like gelato!

I give the chocolate flavor, the highest vote in terms of taste. Rich and slightly bitter.. very good, very nice. Tasted a little of the oreo cheesecake flavor.. quite nice and good for those who prefer their ice-cream sweeeet. The coffee flavor, would come in second in terms of aroma, but the taste is not as good as the chocolate. Chocolate banana... hmmm.. not for me.

If you're there, you can look for Eunice. She's super friendly and you can talk to her about any ice-cream flavor that you would like to see on the menu. She did mention that coming flavors would be Durian and Black Sesame!



ps: the shop's name is Tom's Pallete.. didn't ask about Tom though...so i dunno who's Tom
pps: ahah! we've asked about Tom, and this Tom is a common friend of Eunice and the other co-owner of the shop, who has been contributing ideas and honest feedback to them

S.H.E 'Perfect 3' World Tour 2007

They're back again on 27 Jan '07. Anyone interested in going? Tickets go on sale today! Check it out here.

houston, we can't see you

Yah man... hazy days are here again. 9pm psi level had hit 150. Imagine the people in those hot spots.. man.. hope rain will come soon.

mid-autumn night~

中秋节快乐！Have a great day, this mid-autumn~!

To HC n Gerry, congratz! and glad to know that your mini-hunk in on the way!