Music of the Heart

2011-12-12T11:51:00.002+08:00

I've been back in SG for close to 2 weeks. Realise I've really neglected my poor blog!

During the last week of our stay in US, we had a road trip to San Francisco and LA. It was very tiring. I felt very tired all the time. I'm getting old indeed. And we had to travel so many hours on the road. Pictures will be up later.

The flights back to SG were terrible. I'm so sick of flying now. I told CY I'm never going on long-haul trips again ha.

I had never sneezed in US and when I'm back here, I sneeze every single day! My poor nose.

So far, have only met up with the Lian group. Too tired to meet the rest. And Keith was down with chicken pox, after sore eyes. He's just recovered, but Serene and I are banned from meeting each other still. Sigh.

2011-10-18T05:26:00.002+08:00

Time flies. 6 more weeks before we fly back to Singapore.

I am looking forward to flying back, yet I know I would surely miss the time here in Vancouver.

Mixed feelings...

2011-10-03T04:04:00.003+08:00

Have been neglecting my blog again :p

It is turning cold. Sometimes, in the morning when I send CY out, I see the fog. In the tranquil morning. Very beautiful.

CY is preparing our lunch in the kitchen now. I appreciate it very much; feel very pampered by him :)

2011-09-13T03:26:00.002+08:00

Tried making sushi for dinner yesterday.

My elderly neighbour gave us some freshly pluck tomatoes yesterday while I was making the sushi. Home-grown! Isn't that lovely?

My attempt at making sushi:

Unglam auntie concentrating on rolling the sushi.

Tadah!

Suceed! Happy and proud of myself :D

Verdict from CY? Doesn't taste that well. Too bland. "Or I am used to dipping it with soy sauce and wasabi," he said.

Ok, I will try harder next time.

2011-09-13T03:18:00.003+08:00

Borders was having its closing down sale, so CY and I went to grab some books.

All these..

Cost us only $15.26.

And we saved a whopping $136.85!!

This one was bought earlier in the sale, at about $2.95?

Also went to the library to borrow some books again. All from the non-fiction shelvcs. They hold more interesting reads than the fiction ones here.

This will keep me entertained for two weeks, I hope.

2011-09-12T11:55:00.004+08:00

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

We couldn't find any lanterns here, so got to make do with Halloween lanterns. Not so bad, we can reuse them during Halloween :p

Playing with candles.

中秋节快乐!

2011-09-12T08:11:00.018+08:00

Last weekend was the Labour Day weekend in the States, so we made a trip to Las Vegas.

The car we rented.

Our hotel.

The weather was really bad there. Too hot for my liking.

On the first day there, we had a road trip to Grand Canyon. Before that, I was deliberating if I wanted to go for, (1) We had to drive 5 hours there and 5 hours back, and I seriously didn't know if my butt could take it and (2) CY had been there for two times already. This would be the third time he went if we should go.

After seeking the advice of CT and PQ (both answered with a resounding "Of cos!", I decided that I should brave the dreadful ride and go for it. It's a 难得的机会, isn't it?

On the way to wilderness.

After an hour of drive, we reached Hoover Dam. Before these three months, I had no inking what Hoover Dam is all about. Then before we came, Channel 5 showed "Transformers". And we watched it another two times here (the US channels keep looping the movies. Sidetrack a bit, CY watched Kill Bill at least 4 times as I kept interrupting him by making him change channel at the gory parts. Until finally he told me to stay away from the living room the last time.) So I knew Hoover Dam was the place where they kept the Autobots.

To Lake Mead first.

At Hoover Dam. No, we didn't manage to find any Autobots.

On the way to more wilderness. Four more hours of it, in fact.

After four hours of drive, I was extremely happy to see the town, Williams. Actually, I was happy because of the McDonald in the town. My bladder was almost bursting.

Finally reached after another hour. See his grin :D

So this is the legendary Grand Canyon.

That is the view I see everywhere.

At another viewpoint.

And another viewpoint. The best one.

The glaring hot sun. We had to drink a lot of water to hydrate ourselves.

Went pass the Flinestones campground on the way back, but too hot and tired to get down the car, so just took these from the car.

On the way back, grateful that the sun was about to set.

And that concludes our road trip to Grand Canyon. Shall blog about the Vegas strip another time. It's taking a long, long time to upload all these photos.

2011-09-08T23:55:00.003+08:00

Have been watching lots of Koream dramas recently, and that made me crave for Korean food frequently.

Actually I only crave for the spicy beef soup and the side dishes.

There's the one and only Korean restaurant here in Vancouver that we go to that serves one of the side dishes I like, the Gamjachae Bokkeum.

One day, I was eating it and thought to myself, that seems simple.

So yesterday, I searched the internet for the recipe and tried making it myself.

And I succeeded!

It is really an easy recipe. And instead of eating it as a side dish, it became a full dish.

Here's the recipe, adapted from many different recipes.

1. Julienne potatoes thinly.
2. Soak the potatoes in cold water for about 10 minutes to remove some of the starch.
3. Pour cooking oil in a heated nonstick pan. Add the potato and fry for about 5 minutes on medium, or until the potatoes are half-cooked.
4. Add some water and salt and cook till water evaporates.
5. Add sesame oil and black pepper.
6. Garnish with green onions.

The original recipes include the measurements and other additional ingredients like mushrooms, carrots etc.

For me, I simply could not follow the measurements so I estimated mostly. It turned up pretty much like the ones served in the restaurant here :)

Next one to try would be the spicy beef soup, but I think that is not too easy. At least, I would need to go and search for the needed ingredients first.

2011-08-26T03:48:00.022+08:00

31 July 2011

CY's colleagues came over from Singapore, so we travelled to Mt Rainier National Park together.

I baked a chocolate cake the day before, so prepared a few slices for them.

It was a 2-3 hr drive and my butt couldn't take it!

Beautiful wild flowers along the way.

Finally we reached.

Paying to get in.

Alighted at the first stop for photo-taking.

I like this waterfall.

Because..

I thought I looked sort of weird here. Well, well.

We headed for Paradise (that's the name of the place) after that.

The both of us were very hungry by then, but couldn't resist taking some photos first :p

Our lunch. Not nice.

Then up to the mountain we went.

Enjoyed myself a lot here. Especially with the hot weather.

Was very tired by then, so not so keen to take photos.

Ending off with a last picture of the little bird :)

2011-08-26T03:30:00.006+08:00

Today, CY had a meeting during lunch time, so he did not come home at noon, and I had some free time to myself.

I had a nap in the morning, then decided I shouldn't be cooping myself in the bedroom all the time. It's really unhealthy.

So I took my newly-bought book out (yes I know I resolved to not buy books anymore, but it's simply too boring here) and made myself a cup of green tea.

And I spent the morning reading the book, having occasional sips of tea, while waiting for my chicken pie to be cooked in the oven.

The chicken pie is cheap. Very cheap at about 55 cents each (or was it 59?). It is not very nutritious, but I don't eat it all the time so it is fine.

I guess I have sort of gotten used to the life here, but I do miss my family terribly at times. I blame it on PMS, pre and post.

Last night after dinner, we went to the library at Vancouver Mall and I borrowed 4 non-fiction books. I think the non-fiction books here might be a more interesting read than the fictional ones. I can't seem to find chick-lits here for a more relaxing fix. Perhaps I haven't searched thoroughly enough.

CT, I'm still not convinced that my (no longer mine) dearest S could be just autistic, so I'm going to read up on Bipolar in kids to see if her symptoms fit!

2011-08-13T01:38:00.007+08:00

I seem to have neglected my blog.

I should have more time now that I am a lonely, bored housewife in the States, but I'm simply too lazy.

Maybe I should start blogging about life in the States now, before you could actually see a spider crawling over the cobwebs :p

CY and I arrived here in Vancouver, WA on 18 July. In case you are mistaken (like me initially), this Vancouver is a city in Washington State, US; not the one in Canada.

We stayed in a cosy one-bedroom apartment rented by his company.

I've discovered the convenience of a dryer! Thought I could buy one next time, but CY said it uses a lot of electricity :(

That's it for now. Very leycey to upload the photos here :p

2011-07-16T14:06:00.003+08:00

Ok. This is making me very excited.

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze!!

Berry Picking @ Philbrook Farms

For years, I had been following Ali and Niks' adventures in US, and had dreamt about picking fresh berries and carving a pumpkin Jack-O-Lantern during Halloween. This is like a dream come true!

Now, I am really excited!! Not to mention, the owner of the berry farm is one good-looking guy :p

2011-07-01T15:19:00.003+08:00

Somehow, I tend to watch opera during my holidays.

I sold my wig to Cailing, thanks to Amai for helping.

Had a good talk with the gals when I went to deliver the wig. We talked about opera, and recalled some songs we used to sing :)

There's this particular one that all the Ye Qing fans like to sing.

I couldn't find the series here. Perhaps I wasn't actively looking. Was happy to find a clip that I could upload to Youtube without it going out of sync.

只顾赏绿梅呀不知雨霏霏
看你如此心陶醉，我自叹不是梅
你不怕风寒冷，也不怕小王醋意生
我却怕你受风寒，病倒美婵娟
赶紧回家换衣衫，炉火边来取暖
多谢关怀情呀莫愁并不冷
王爷切莫醋意生，妾爱梅已成性
本是取笑言，你不必将它记心田
你看桔树栽墙边，望桔流口延
王爷为妾摘一枚，你快去莫迟廷

2011-07-01T13:45:00.002+08:00

Went to the American Embassy today for the interview. Luckily I was able to go in with CY. If not, I would have to go back again myself next Thursday.

I reached the place at 8.15 am and managed to leave only at noon. And the interview itself took only about 15 min. Imagine the amount of waiting we did!

It's going to be a weekend of feasting again. Already made appointments with several groups of friends/cousins for meetups.

Yesterday, I returned to school to visit my P2 class. One child asked, "Ms Pek, are you pregnant?" When I answered no, he replied, "Your tummy looks like you are pregnant."

Sigh. How to jian fei? I simply cannot stop feasting :p

2011-06-29T11:34:00.002+08:00

Have not been blogging for quite some time.

Had been busy with the wedding and honeymoon, and somehow it is easier to do updates on Facebook. Easier upload of pictures.

Today marks the third day of being a "tai tai".

I envisioned being a model (house)wife, cleaning the house well and filling it with the aroma of freshly baked pastries. I envisioned whipping up healthy dishes for my husband every evening. The thing is, there's no house. Instead, I shuttle between two houses everyday. How to be a model wife like that?

But it's ok. It's more convenient this way. Suits the lazy person that I am :p

2011-05-20T23:33:00.005+08:00

I bought myself a new laptop as the current one I'm using seems to be on the verge of a breakdown.

And we got a free Wii! Erm, no it does not come with the laptop. We got it free cos there's a promotion for one of CY's credit cards. CY already has a Wii set in his house, so this red one will be placed in my house.

Isn't it a beauty?

臭鳳旻，你也買了一台紅色的對嗎？有空可以來我傢玩了!!

Raving Rabbits, here I come!!

2011-05-20T23:07:00.006+08:00

Last week, Alvin treated us to Bruno's. It's a quaint Italian restaurant located at Katong.

We ordered escargots..

4 salads..

3 pastas..

And 2 pizzas.

The total bill was about $200 plus. Or $250 plus. Cannot remember.

As I was uploading all these photos, I went to search a bit on the restaurant, and I seem to see pretty good reviews about it. I guess it is good if you like Italian pizzas and salads. Guess fine dining is not for me. I prefer my pizzas from Pizza Hut and Sarpino's :p

2011-05-17T21:41:00.002+08:00

On MC tomorrow. My first MC for the year. I wonder if it is Angel or HM who spread the flu to me :p

The doctor gave me the medicine for nausea. It's supposed to cause drowsiness. It did not feel like the usual grogginess though. I just felt sleepy the whole day.

Just took the medicine anyway. Expect to concuss soon.

2011-05-10T21:50:00.010+08:00

Photos of some beautiful cities.

Helsinki, Finland

Oslo, Norway

Stockholm, Swedish

I think I quite like the old town of Stockholm. Reminds me of Salzburg. But looking at the pictures, I still prefer Salzburg. Its buildings and all. More romantic feel.

Copenhagen, Denmark

This seems quite nice :)

Disclaimer. Had kept these photos in my hard disk for quite some time, so had forgotten where I saved them from. If you are the owner of the photo and would like me to take them down, kindly notify me, thanks.

2011-04-29T22:49:00.003+08:00

(The below article is extracted from http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/)

The Wedding Dress

Miss Catherine Middleton’s Wedding Dress has been designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.

The dress epitomises timeless British craftsmanship by drawing together talented and skilled workmanship from across the United Kingdom. The dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration. Ms Burton’s design draws on this heritage, additionally giving the cut and the intricate embellishment a distinctive, contemporary and feminine character.

The design

The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.

Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.

The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.

The Fabrics

French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition.

All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies. The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team.

The Royal School of Needlework

The Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace, assisted the Alexander McQueen team in accurately cutting out the delicate motifs from the lace fabrics and positioning the lace motifs with precision into the new design. The lace motifs were pinned, ‘framed up’ and applied with stab stitching every two to three millimetres around each lace motif. The workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.

The RSN workers included existing staff, former staff, tutors, graduates and students, with the youngest aged 19.

The RSN’s work was used primarily for the train and skirt of the Bride’s dress, the bodice and sleeves, the Bride’s shoes and the Bride’s veil.

Veil and Jewellery

The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.

The Bride’s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family's new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were made to echo the tiara. The earrings were a personal gift to the Bride from her parents for her Wedding Day.

Robinson Pelham have also designed and made a pair of diamond earrings for Miss Philippa Middleton. These earrings are more floral in nature to compliment the headpiece worn by Miss Philippa Middleton during the Service.

A tourmaline and diamond pendant and matching earrings have been designed and made for Mrs. Carole Middleton. Two gold stick pins, one with a single gold acorn at the head and the other with an oak leaf, are also worn respectively by the Father of the Bride, Mr. Michael Middleton, and the Bride's brother, Mr. James Middleton.

Wedding Shoes

The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

The Bride’s Bouquet

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.

The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are:

Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness

Sweet William – Gallantry

Hyacinth – Constancy of love

Ivy: Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection

Myrtle: the emblem of marriage; love.

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

The tradition of carrying myrtle begun after Queen Victoria was given a nosegay containing myrtle by Prince Albert’s grandmother during a visit to Gotha in Germany. In the same year, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House as a family retreat, and a sprig from the posy was planted against the terrace walls, where it continues to thrive today.

The myrtle was first carried by Queen Victoria eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, when she married in 1858, and was used to signify the traditional innocence of a bride.

2011-04-10T21:15:00.004+08:00

CY and I went to East Coast Park to cycle after I visited Delicia and her baby on Saturday. No, I do not know how to cycle. He had to cycle me.

Anyway, it started drizzling, then it turned into a downpour. We were stuck at the shelters for quite a while. Shelters because we attempted to walk from one shelter back to the bicycle shop, but halfway through, we were completely drenched and chilled, so we decided to take cover in another shelter.

In the end, we had to make a dash cos we were going to be late for a dinner
appointment. It was very exhilarating to be cycling in the rain. But totally cold!!!

See how wet he was.

That evening, we had dinner at Vegan Burger at Eunos. It was pretty nice, or I was hungry after the rain.

Birthday boy with homemade banana cake :)

2011-04-10T21:06:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday, I met up with my dearest cousins for lunch at Tanjong Pagar.

We wanted to go to 2 Days 1 Night initially for an authentic Korean barbeque buffet, but it was closed.

So, we adjourned to the restaurant next door.

It was pretty authentic too. The auntie who ran the shop reminded me of Pu Tingyu's mother in the 7 o'clock Korean show!

2011-04-02T23:34:00.007+08:00

Last Sunday morning, CY came to meet me for breakfast at Mac.

Before that, we went to Bukit Batok Nature Reserve for a walk. I was panting away. So unhealthy!

At Mac, Serene dropped by with Keith. He was so happy. He referring to Keith :p

Please pardon my hair. It was not cooperating with me that day.

It was very nice to mark my stuff and vet the papers with him around :)

In the evening, we saw a rainbow! It was very beautiful.

Failed attempt to self-take with the rainbow.

Succeeded!

And another one before it faded away.

2011-03-17T09:29:00.003+08:00

Packed lunch for CY on Monday.

Fresh from the wok.

We went to West Coast Park to eat. Beautiful.

Our dessert.

2011-03-14T15:38:00.005+08:00

Went to Central on Saturday.

Before meeting my angel and the rest for lunch, CY and I went to collect something. We shared an ice-cream cone too. Enjoyed it :)

Yesterday, met up with Serene and Keith. It's going to be his birthday soon, so I bought him some toys.

2011-03-12T10:46:00.002+08:00

Going out to have lunch with colleagues soon. Will be going to Tun Lok @ Central.

After that we will be having a KTV session with CY's friends. Yeah! It has been a
super long time since I went for a singing session!

And I think I want to get a Koi before that.

So stressed with work the past few weeks!!

After enjoying myself for today, I will need to set my Math papers.

Think one week break is simply not sufficient.

2011-03-03T20:10:00.004+08:00

Today I brought my pupils to the Bukit Batok Nature Reserve. And we were caught in the heavy rain. I was totally drenched!

Some pictures of the rain.

I seriously think my photography skill is getting worse and worse. Sigh.

2011-03-02T20:17:00.001+08:00

More pictures of food!

Went to watch The Kids Are Alright with CY and his friend, Alvin. After that, we went for dinner together. Alvin is a 大戶之子 :p

That was the first time I saw such a receipt. I was so amused.

On Sunday, I went for tea with PQ at Fosters again. It had been quite a while since we last visited the restaurant.

It's great having tea and lazing around on a Sunday afternoon. Wish I could do it every week.

2011-03-02T07:45:00.001+08:00

Some nice arrangements from FarEast Flora :)

By the way, this is not a hint entry! Just thought the arrangements are nice.

2011-02-17T21:44:00.004+08:00

We have officially become Uncle and Auntie.

Just wondering. How many of you hold the Kopitiam card?

2011-02-13T21:40:00.000+08:00

Happily blowing bubbles.

2011-02-11T20:34:00.000+08:00

Bought this pair of pearl earrings with my ang pow money.

Bought the Cetaphil sunblock too. Have been wanting to get it, but had not done so because of its hefty price.

2011-02-02T17:19:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

2011-01-16T00:28:00.006+08:00

Qisheng gave me this CD. It has been a long time since I last met up with him; probably a year or two already.

Saw this clip in Youtube.

I like George Chan's singing. But I think this Kewei girl doesn't really sing that well. In fact I think she spoilt the last song, 写一首歌给你. It would have sounded much nicer without her.

2011-01-09T19:33:00.005+08:00

Took pictures of my lunch. Don't know how long more I can keep at it, but determined to prepare lunch for as long as I could :p

The food look similar cos I prepared the meat for four days.

Tuesday - brown rice, salmon, meat, shittake mushrooms

Wednesday - Brown rice, chye sim, meat

Thursday - brown rice, meat, shittake mushrooms, golden mushrooms

Friday - brown rice, meat, ti huang cai

As you can see, I like my food with lots of garlic. Trying to cook with less oil and soya sauce this week.

Yesterday, we went to ECP again (not to run, thankfully :P).

Guess what we had for dinner?

Finally tried Smiths' Authentic British Fish and Chips! We had dory and chips, and haddock and chips.

2011-01-09T19:21:00.003+08:00

On the second day of the New Year, we had a 餃子-making session in CY's friend's place.

Had quite a nice time making and eating them :)

This is pretty outdated, but on Boxing Day, we went to Ah Hui's place. Her toy terrier, Peanut, is so cute!!

2011-01-04T20:56:00.004+08:00

First day of work. 是累的!

I'm feeling very tired now. Blogging as I wait for my rice to be cooked for tomorrow. Want to sleep soon.

The other day we went to Ah Hui's house. She showed me the Xmas present she received from Ah Jie, the 三菜一湯 recipe book. I was flipping through the book and taking note of the things CY said he liked to eat.

One fine day, I decided to cook for him the dishes he mentioned.

Tofu with minced prawns and meat.

With chilli.

French beans with minced meat.

Pork stew with carrots and onions.

Seaweed soup with meatballs.

How's my 三菜一湯?

Turned out the way I cooked the food is different from how he usually ate it. Chey.

2010-12-28T21:51:00.003+08:00

It's going to be 2011 soon.

My new year resolutions? They are the same every year.

To save money.

To jian fei.

Somehow, I can never keep to it. Hmm..

Received my credit card bill for the month. Was pretty surprised (or should I say, shocked?) when I saw the reflected amount. But then again, about half of it is for my insurance (I switched from Giro to credit), and this month is the festive month, so I guess it's still not so bad after all; I've received bills that gave me bigger shocks :p

Jian fei. How to when I've been going out almost every day of my Dec holidays? You know, when you go out, or when you are in a hearty mood, you tend to eat more. I've been telling everyone I'll start dieting in January.

Have bought myself an Aladdin lunchbox from Tangs. Intending to pack lunch for myself and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll stick to it.

Must jian fei!!

Must save money!

Oh, and one more for the year, to make time for my dearest family and cousins! Have been going out with them for the past few days and have really enjoyed myself a lot!

P.S. Angel, I see you almost everyday, so I don't need to make this resolution for you right? At most I pop by your class everyday :p Serene, we have been meeting every week, so let's keep to that alright?

2010-12-26T22:55:00.004+08:00

We went to NEX, finally.

Had lunch there, and did some last-minute Christmas shopping.

Had our lunch at Shinbashi Soba. First time we eat soba after our Japan trip.

After that, we went to drink tea again :p

2010-12-21T22:49:00.005+08:00

That day I went out with the Lians, I discovered a new chain of milk tea from Taiwan: Share Milk Tea.

Went for dessert at The Cheesecake Cafe in Siglap on Sunday. I like the Victorian theme, and there are many interesting replicates. I found Sissi there too!

Wasn't supposed to take photos, only realised after I have taken :p

Made lunch today again. Something new on the menu: black pepper chicken.

Had a nice time 搓ing 湯圓 and chatting with my mum just now :)

Happy 冬至!

2010-12-10T19:42:00.003+08:00

My angel is going to Japan tonight. So envious!

Will be going to HK soon. Monday, actually. But I have not packed yet!

But I've finished packing my room. Well, almost. 90% done. Isn't that great?

Spent a long day outside with Serene and CY's family. We ate and ate and ate non-stop.

I MUST start dieting really. But it's pretty hard, cos everytime we go out we do nothing but eat.

Maybe conclusion is, I should stop meeting Serene huh :p

2010-12-08T23:56:00.002+08:00

I have so many things to blog about suddenly :p

I finally tried Kki. Felt cheated.

The pink one cost $9.50 (or $8.50??) Totally not worth the money. Super 難吃. The one in the middle was the best, but I've eaten better ones. The one at the right sucked. Period.

2010-12-08T23:18:00.005+08:00

I can't leave comments at my own blog cos of the word identification, so, Angel, no prob lah :p Who's my admirer by the way? Z? He was in school yesterday too. Anyway Vincent went for his holiday already. He said he went to MBS for a staycation and spent the whole time playing in the bathtub with his kids ha.

I'm 60% done with my packing I think. Just threw away a big garbage bag of stuff. There's another one in my room still, to be thrown tomorrow. And three bags of book and clothes to be donated away. And a bag of soft toys. I'm now left with 5 Toyogo boxes of books, discs and piano scores that I would like to keep. I think I will need just one more box and that's it.

Shall now post pictures of my house. The construction of my house is a disastrous affair.

Before baking.

After baking.

The house could still stand on its own without the roof, albeit a bit wobbly.

This is the best picture I could take of the house with roof. My hands have to be there.

Serene trying to prove that the cake is edible.

"Lonely, I'm Mr Lonely.."

No house, sadly, but still..

Merry Christmas to you! :)

2010-12-08T16:17:00.008+08:00

I'm supposed to be packing now, but well..

Have quite a lot of photos to upload.

First, our Prego dinner. I didn't have a good experience there, despite that one waiter and one waitress (only two of them) were nice. CY had a free set dinner voucher, so we went there. I felt like a second-class citizen the way they seated us. Is there a need to distinguish the "non-paying" patrons? And they just assumed we were really not going to order anything. They didn't even bother to give us their regular menu until we asked for it.

We ordered this spaghetti. Not nice at all.

Look at the free main course.

Very pathetic right? I think I can cook the same thing lor.

And the fruit platter. I burst out laughing when I saw it. The waitress (the nice one) was also trying to contain herself.

I condemn Prego. Never going to go there again. Chey.

Wanted to blog about my baking attempt at Serene's house, but decided to continue packing. Shall blog about it tonight (I hope).

2010-12-08T13:15:00.002+08:00

At the HP Customer Service Center now.

It has been quite a while since I last blogged. Did not have the mood to do so lately.

It has been a busy holiday so far.

Have been going to school the past two weeks.

On Monday, I went to the Botanical Garden for a picnic with Serene, Keith darling, my Da Sao, Amelia girl girl, CY's parents, his Yi Ma and his cousin, Rachel. A weird combi, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot. I'm sure the 3 little kids had fun too :) Shall post the photos up later.

Then yesterday, I went back to school. Saw Vincent there and said "Merry Christmas" to him. Ha. Don't want to go back to school anymore, till the last week. Then during noon, CY's colleague came to select some books to take back. In the afternoon, I sent the rest of the books and discs to the church. Some people really treat the church like a rubbish dump.

Still need to pack my stuff when I go home later. Cannot stand the sight of my room right now. Hope to clear the room before I go to Hong Kong coming Monday.

Going to meet the Lians tomorrow. Looking forward to it! I'm sure there will be lots of laughter!

2010-11-22T22:25:00.003+08:00

It's the holidays for the kids, but we still have to go to school for the first week. During this week, lunch is usually provided for us. However, I don't really fancy the catered food, so this year, I've decided to pack my own lunch.

Since I still have the shitake mushrooms and asparagus left from Friday, I decided to stirfry them with chicken. I prepared the ingredients last night, so I just had to chop the garlic and do the cooking this morning.

Added a dash of rosemary.

Proud to say, it tasted pretty good :p

I'm just not so sure about eating microwaved food regularly though. Any way I could keep my food warm till lunch?

2010-11-22T22:19:00.004+08:00

We celebrated Chou Fengmin's birthday on Sunday.

Amai and I spent two whole hours in the car just to collect her cake.

If you look carefully at the candles, you would see that there's a mistake in the number of them. I think the woman 不認老 lah :p

Good friend, did you enjoy your birthday cake? We 千辛萬苦 collected the cake, you know? :P

2010-11-22T22:11:00.002+08:00

On Friday, I prepared dinner for the two of us.

Chye Sim with crabsticks and tang kwei (angelica root).

Shitake mushrooms with asparagus.

Beef with potatoes and carrots.

Hmm. I realise I cook the same stuff all the time.

2010-11-21T13:48:00.005+08:00

On Wednesday, we went for lunch at Hong Xing's.

Usually, PQ and I, or my cousins, would go there for breakfast and we would go pretty early to beat the queue. On Wednesday, we went there during lunch hour, and I was very shocked to see the queue.

Look at the throng of people.

After lunch, CY's mum wanted to walk around in OG. There, we bought ourselves 2 pillows.

2010-11-16T22:36:00.002+08:00

This morning, the relief teacher from next door came knocking at my door.

"You may not remember me," she said, "but I was here to conduct an Art enrichment class two years ago."

Immediately, I recalled. She was the instructor who taught my class to replicate "Starry Night" by Van Gogh.

I remember I was so proud of my pupils' works that I made a video clip of them.

To my pleasant surprise, she handed me a stalk of flower. "This flower is from my garden. It is a kind of rose and it will change its colour."

"I just thought people who appreciate art would like this too," she continued.

I felt touched. Really touched.

True enough, when I saw the rose later in the staffroom, there was a tinge of pink in its petals.

I said, silently.

Thank you, for brightening the day.

2010-11-07T09:57:00.002+08:00

Have been pondering over this for a while, and have finally decided.

I won't be having "gatecrashing" on my wedding day.

After I've made my decision, I went to the forum and read the posts from some brides who had the same ideas.

Was quite amused when I saw these:

"... my friend commented how come i am so "easy", so eager to marry off"

"how much torture he is willing to go thru for u"

"there is one important cost being overlook=> the PG and VG. surely you wan them to capture the most out of every penny you spent on them."

"my parents are very difficult people who will think that letting the groom in w/o gatecrashing will make me look 'cheap' in front of relatives, and they are those traditional kind that cares alot about how our relatives view them"

"although I also received comments of 'so easily married off if no gate crash'"

Hmm.

All these comments are pretty childish, don't you think? I'm pretty surprised anyone would say such things.

I want my wedding to be a simple, elegant and romantic affair. He does not need to prove his love for me in front of everyone.

And if he should sing me a song, or tell me a poem, I would rather he does so in front of me, to me, and not my friends and relatives.

I'm just so glad the few people I've talked to about this so far, including my parents, were quite supportive. Keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be receiving these kind of comments from anyone.

2010-11-07T09:48:00.002+08:00

I don't want to teach P1 anymore!

I used to think I would rather teach P1, for I would have the time to stetch them more.

But, reality is, there is no time to even teach! Have been rushing like mad.

I'd rather have exams than all these little testing, testing and testing. On top of rushing to complete their syllabuses.

Sigh.

Ok. I should stop ranting.

2010-11-05T10:50:00.002+08:00

Meet-the-parent session.

Nervous...

2010-11-01T21:08:00.003+08:00

I chanced upon this website.

PATISSERIE NOUVELLE

There are some recipes of pastries here, but they look so confusing. Maybe next time, when I get my own house, I can try baking them :p

I definitely will try this. One day.

2010-10-31T20:42:00.003+08:00

Today, we celebrated my Mum's and two brothers' birthdays.

Bought her a pair of Birkies.

For those who have not seen my niece before, presenting to you....

Tadah!!

2010-10-31T20:33:00.002+08:00

Went to City Square for dinner last night, so went to buy Gong Cha. I drank the red milk tea before but thought it was not comparable to Koi. PQ told me I drank the wrong one. Should have drunk the Signature Gong Cha instead.

So, I did.

Verdict?

Still not as good as Koi :p

Went to the Chinese physician again. Told her all my problems - sinus, easily 上火, anemia, menses problem, itchy eyes etc.

She asked me if my family has history of thalassaemia. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm supposed to mix all 11 satchets and drink at a go.

What is this?

良藥苦口. But it is simply too disgusting.

Yuck.

2010-10-31T20:23:00.003+08:00

We ordered Nutella cupcakes from Iru's for Tann Wei's birthday.

Very yummy.

2010-10-31T19:46:00.005+08:00

Have not been blogging for quite some time.

Too lazy to upload photos. FB is more convenient :p

I have a lot of pictures of.. food. What else, right? I live to eat. And I'm getting fatter and fatter each day, sigh.

Went to this Spanish pub at Holland V for dinner.

Mushrooms.

Potatoes.

Scallops.

And Paella.

A Pinch Of Salt at Katong. Where I met him for the first time (blush blush).

This was my second visit there, after so long.

Went for his cousin's wedding dinner. Tried putting on make-up (complete with eye-liner and false eyelashes) myself for the first time.

How? Pass?

At the end of the banquet, I took a picture with the rose :p

Shucks. It is indeed time for a diet!!!

2010-10-27T10:22:00.001+08:00

My Best of My Life - Superfly

今ここで息をしてみる
私がここにあるように
包まれて生きてるようで
確かなものを　探すのはなぜ

足早に過ぎてく日々も
間違いではないのかな
ちぎれそうな心を背負って
それでも明日を追いかけていく

めぐり逢いの中で見つける
生きてく意味を　育ててみよう
涙は拭い去って
今　始まる (my) best of my life

幸せに浸ることさえ
なんだか怖く感じて
渇いてた心の悲鳴も
気づけないまま　犠牲にした

優しさに包まれたとき
全て美しく見えすぎるの
ただ　全力で生きてる
それだけなのに
どうして人は　後悔を重ねる…?

幸せを恐れることなく
誰かの胸に飛び込めたら
涙は風に舞って
愛せるような (my) best of my life

本当は誰かにすがりたくて
ただ　過ぎ去って消えてった
足跡は無駄じゃないと
確かに心の中で生きてる
そんな言葉に
抱きしめられて　眠りにつきたいの

信じながら　許し合いながら
誰かの胸に飛び込めたら
ほほえみと溶け合って
あふれるような (my) best of my life

めぐり逢いの中で見つけた
生きてく意味を育ててみよう
涙は拭い去って
今　始まる (my) best of my life

今　始める (my) best of my life

ima koko de iki wo shite miru
watashi ga koko ni aruyou ni
tsutsuma rete iki teruyoude
tashikana mono wo sagasu no wa naze

ashibaya ni sugi teku hibi mo
machigai dewanai no kana
chigire souna kokoro wo se otte
soredemo asu wo oikakete iku

meguri ai no naka de mitsukeru
ikiteku imi wo sodatete miyou
namida wa nugui satte
ima hajima ru ( my ) best of my life

shiawase ni hitaru kotosae
nandaka kowaku kanjite
kawaiteta kokoro no himei mo
kizukenai mama gisei nishita

yasashisa ni tsutsumareta toki
subete utsukushiku mie sugiru no
tada zenryoku de ikiteru
sore dake nano ni
doushite hito wa koukai wo kasaneru ... ?

shiawase wo osoreru koto naku
dareka no mune ni tobikome tara
namida wa kaze ni matte
aiseru youna ( my ) best of my life

hontou wa dareka ni sugari takute
tada sugi satte kietetta
ashiato wa muda jyanai to
tashikani kokoro no naka de ikiteru
sonna kotoba ni
dakishimerarete nemuri ni tsukitai no

shinji nagara yurushi ai nagara
dareka no mune ni tobikome tara
hohoemi totoke atte
afureru youna ( my ) best of my life

meguri ai no naka de mitsuketa
ikiteku imi wo sodatete miyou
namida wa nugui satte
ima hajimaru ( my ) best of my life

ima hajimeru ( my ) best of my life

kotae no nai kodoku na tabitte
meguri ai wo aishikiteku
kotae no nai kodoku na tabitte

Translations from here:

http://www.jpopasia.com/

I’ll try taking a breath here now
So that I know I am here
It feels like something surrounds my life
Why do I search for something I can count on?

As the days go by at a brisk pace
I wonder if I’ve made a mistake
Bearing a heart that’s falling apart
Still I chase after tomorrow

When I find meaning in my life’s encounters
I’ll try to nurture it
Wipe away the tears
It starts now, (my) best of my life

Even being filled with happiness
Is scary somehow
I sacrificed my thirsty heart
Without hearing its screams

When I was surrounded by kindness
Everything began to look too beautiful
I’m just living with all my strength
That’s all
But why do people keep having regrets…?

I don’t need to fear happiness
If I leap into someone’s arms
My tears will ride the wind
And love will be possible, (my) best of my life

Truth is, I want to depend on someone
But they just vanished when I left them behind
My footprints were not in vain
They are truly alive inside my heart
I want to fall asleep
Wrapped up in words like those

We’ll trust and accept one another
If I leap into someone’s arms
Our smiles will melt together
As if they were overflowing, (my) best of my life

When I find meaning in my life’s encounters
I’ll try to nurture it
Wipe away the tears
It starts now, (my) best of my life

It starts now, (my) best of my life

2010-10-11T20:50:00.002+08:00

Welcome Home, Iru

My dear cousin is setting up her own blogshop, selling cupcakes!

I will be sure to order from her from now on!

2010-10-11T19:19:00.002+08:00

I blogged about the Berliner Luft a long long time ago.

Was talking about the clip of the Spanish Nights with Placido Domingo, and managed to find the clip finally!

2010-10-04T21:01:00.000+08:00

Went for the photoshoot last Friday.

Do I look like an auntie?

I like the make-up.

His turn.

Look like Lee-hom meh?

The photographer and assistant.

I enjoyed myself, despite the headache. They are really a bunch of jolly people.

2010-09-14T15:37:00.003+08:00

Tried on around 12 gowns. It was pretty tiring :p

Special thanks to Jane for accompanying me! And of cos to CY who made his way there despite being sick..

Chose these 3 gowns for the photoshoot.

2010-09-12T21:05:00.003+08:00

I will be going for my pre-wedding photoshoot on Children's Day.

Very early, I know.

People have been asking me why I want the photoshoot to be so early (eight months before). "What if you become fatter or thinner?" they asked.

Hmm. I guess I won't become so fat or thin that I would be unrecognizable within a year, so no worries about that.

The lady advised me to take the photos 6 months before the wedding, but that would be in December and I wanted to avoid the December crowd and the rainy season. Looked through the calendar and the only other school holiday available is Children's Day, so that's it.

Only thing is, Ah Hui's wedding will be on the day after that. As her jie mei, I have to be at her house by 5.45 am the next morning. I hope I will survive the tireness!

Oh, and I realised, after reading through the forums, that should there be any problem with the wedding album, they will have to send it back to Hong Kong for alteration. I guess that's why we need to take the photos six months before the wedding, and not the usual three months of other studios.

Will be going for the fitting tomorrow. I am very excited. Serious.

2010-09-09T21:40:00.000+08:00

I bought a pair of heels from Tangs. Saw it a long while back, but when I returned to Vivo on Tuesday, it was out of stock. Quickly called the Orchard branch to reserve a pair for me.

Went to collect it just now.

It cost me $89. There is a BIG hole in my pocket right now.

2010-09-07T22:54:00.001+08:00

When A Child Is Born

A ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass when a child is born

A silent wish sails the seven seas
The winds of change whisper in the trees
And the walls of doubt crumble tossed and torn
This comes to pass, when a child is born

It's all a dream and illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass when a child is born.

2010-09-07T22:52:00.000+08:00

Sigh. Feeling moody :(

I think I am pms-ing now...

2010-09-07T09:40:00.001+08:00

Taken from Yahoo! Fit to Post:

10 steps to follow when buying a property

By Mr. Propwise (courtesy of PropertyGuru)

Buying a home is the biggest purchase most of us will make in our lives.

Yet many people rush to buy a property with less preparation than they would planning a holiday. This can have financially disastrous consequences, especially in light of the new measures announced by the government on August 30th, which have created a lot of uncertainty in the property market.

Follow the steps laid out below when buying a property, and you will be much less likely to make an expensive mistake.

1. Decide whether you want to rent or buy

Buying a home is often an emotional decision. That’s fine – just make sure it’s a rational one too. Honestly ask yourself if you need to buy a home, and whether renting might be a viable option.

2. Calculate how much you can afford

First look at how much money you currently have, including cash and CPF. Note that based on the new measures, if you already have at least one loan outstanding, your minimum cash outlay will increase from 5 percent to 10 percent. Next, figure out how much you can borrow, taking all your outstanding debts into account. You can work with a banker, or use the affordability calculator available on LoanGuru (https://www.loanguru.com.sg/mortgage_affordability_calculator). Most banks will only lend up to a 35-50 per cent Debt Service Ratio (your total debt payments divided by your monthly income).

3. Figure out what sort of home you want

What are your current and future housing needs? For example, a newly married couple that buys a studio or one bedroom unit might find within a year or two that they need a two or three bedroom apartment once a baby is on the way. Would you prefer HDB or private property, if you can afford it? Which districts or areas do you prefer to live in? What are the amenities and public transportation options you want?

4. Build a list of options

You can choose to either use a buyer’s agent and/or go DIY. Look at both options offline (e.g. classified ads in the newspapers) and online (property websites) to get the largest pool to choose from. Based on what you’ve figured out from Steps 2 and 3 above, come up with a list of potential projects to consider.

5. Do market research and narrow down your choices

You can check the recent transacted prices of these projects from the PropertyGuru website. Compare prices there with surrounding projects. Compare the transacted prices with the asking prices. If you are buying for investment, look at the market rents and rental yields. Eliminate the projects that do not look attractive.

6. Go for property viewings

Based on this smaller list of projects, arrange viewings of at least a few different units in each project. It’s helpful to take photos and notes to help you remember what you saw. Visit each project at different times of the day and night to see if it is noisy or otherwise unpleasant. Narrow down your list to your top few units and do a second viewing if necessary.

7. Get indicative valuations and your mortgage pre-approved

Don’t miss this critical step! Before you make an offer, ensure that you have gotten an indicative valuation from a bank and an in-principle approval for a mortgage. You can approach the different banks yourself or use a mortgage broker to save time. Based on the new measures, if you already have an outstanding loan, your Loan To Valuation (LTV) limit has been lowered to 70 percent from 80 percent, so you’ll need to cough up more cash. Also, banks will only lend to you based on the LOWER of the valuation limit or purchase price, so if you are buying above the bank’s valuation, you will need to pay the difference in cash. If you are selling your existing home to purchase a new one and hope to borrow at 80 percent LTV, you now need to present proof to qualify (in the form of a signed purchase agreement for your current home and certification showing that stamp duty for your existing property has already been paid for by the buyer).

8. Make an offer and negotiate the purchase

Once you get the indicative valuations and at least one pre-approved mortgage from the bank, you can then make an offer knowing you can borrow what you need. There have been a number of unfortunate cases of buyers who have lost their deposits because they realised later that banks would not finance their purchase. When negotiating the purchase price, it helps to have a number of options on hand so you are not forced to overpay due to a lack of options.

9. Sign and exercise the Option To Purchase

If the seller accepts your bid, typically you have to put down a 1 percent deposit to get the Option To Purchase (OTP), and have 14 days to exercise it, by which time you will have to pay another 4 percent of the purchase price. Make sure you have the funds on hand to do so. Once you get the OTP, liaise with your conveyancing lawyer and mortgage banker to settle the procedures.

10. Complete the sale and collect the keys

Before the completion date, do an inspection of the home to confirm that all agreed on fixtures and items are still around. On the date itself, collect the keys and check that you have a complete set. Congratulations! You are the owner of a new home. Time to think about renovation and furnishing…

2010-09-04T23:18:00.004+08:00

Last Wednesday, Serene and I brought Keith to the pool.

He couldn't keep his eyes open ha.

I love the following two pictures!

My eyes were swollen again. So ugly.

After the swim. Tired Keith and tired auntie.

2010-09-04T22:48:00.004+08:00

I had a great day out with my mum today!

We went to Orchard. Brought her to Wheelock Place's Marks and Spencers and bought her a skirt. With our spending, we were entitled to one free tea at NYDC. My mum was very embarrassed about it because we didn't order any other food besides the free tea. Ha, but I don't care.

Then we went for dinner at the Taiwanese restaurant in Ion.

Then we went to Kino to look for Jane. She was very surprised when we appeared, and she and my mum kept laughing away.

Then we went to OG, where I bought my mum a blouse and, myself, some Fancl products.

It was tiring, but I really enjoyed the date with Mum!

2010-09-01T22:35:00.000+08:00

I am feeling very sian now.

Sighz...

2010-08-29T20:04:00.002+08:00

Finally, the video for the competition is done. Can't wait for it to be over.

Just saw the PM's rally. Saw our pupils' photos. Their parents must be so proud of them.

Looking forward to the one week break. Even though there is no break really, but, still looking forward to not straining my vocal cords.

Looking forward to 11 Sep, and 13 Sep too.

2010-08-27T08:16:00.001+08:00

Saw this on facebook.

給所有的男朋友~~

1---如果你的女朋友在你面前哭了，無論什麼原因，請抱緊她，再反抗也要抱緊，趴在桌子上永遠沒有在你懷裡安心

2---如果你的女朋友指出了你的不是，請不要總是嫌她嘮叨，若不是因為在乎。。她不會說你

3---如果你的女朋友和你賭氣不理你，不要也學她，這正是考驗你們的時候，“臉皮厚”的精神此時不發揚又更待何時

4---如果你的女朋友不聽你的話，轉身走了，一定要追上她，若真的還愛著，丟下她一個人你又如何放心呢

5---如果你的女朋友說：“你走吧，我不想理你了“，千萬不要相信，女人最是口是心非，其實那是她最需要你的時候

6---如果你的女朋友生氣了，說心情不好不想吃飯，千萬不要問她想幹嗎想吃什麼，她一定說什麼都不要，買好你記憶裡她最愛吃的東西（最好是有包裝的，這樣等她心情好了再吃也不會冷），但一定不要以自己也不吃來威脅她

7---如果你的女朋友在每個月的特殊時候，請牢記，別問她吃不吃冷飲，常將手放在她的肚子上，夏天也可以，她需要那樣

8---如果你的女朋友對你們說狠話，請保持三秒鐘不說話，然後摟過她的肩，笑笑說：“老婆，你講話的聲音真可愛！”

珍惜一直陪在你身邊的女朋友，不要把她想的那麼複雜，女人要的永遠最簡單！

2010-08-16T19:33:00.006+08:00

Had been eating a lot for the past weekend.

On Friday, we went to Arirang, the Korean restaurant my aunt recommended. It is cheap and good! We spent about $21 each for Korean buffet. Imagine, free flow of barbeque meat and soup! I simply love the seafood soup.

Sorry, the photos were blur. Too excited :p

Dear cousins, shall we go one day?

The next day, we went to his friend's house for lunch.

Our pre-dessert.

And dessert :p

Then later on, we had dinner at Sushi Tei.

Bought the birthday cake from Lil' Foot Pâtisserie. Nice, rich, chocolate cake.

Dear Ching Yang, Happy Birthday :p

2010-08-07T00:47:00.002+08:00

He proposed :p

Thanks for everything :)

2010-08-04T22:48:00.007+08:00

My pupil gave this to me.

"A cat for Ms Pek," she said :)

Can't get enough of the strawberry shortcake from Bakerzin.

The warm chocolate cake was good. Only I have a sore throat now.

Oh. We applied for the membership card today. CY felt cheated ha.

I knocked into my desk a few days ago. Again.

The bruise did not subside. It still looks ugly till now.

I'm looking forward to the long weekend.

I'm looking forward to meeting my dearest cousins.

I'm looking forward to playing with my darling Amelia and Kaiyi and Meimei. And Keith Benjamin too, if his dear Mummy could squeeze some time out to meet me :p

I'm looking forward to posting some entries. That will be for later.

2010-08-01T22:10:00.003+08:00

My Jap lessons ended last week. I was actually thinking of giving up and not going for the test as I had no confidence that I would pass. Too many grammar structures to remember. With the た, ない, plain forms to memorise, then thinking of which form to put with the だら,　たら,　かったら,　だったら,　ても,　でも, とき etc and when to use them.. VERY STRESSED!!

But thank god I passed the test. No more 90 plus though :p Only managed to score 70 plus. But, I am satisfied. I seriously thought I would fail.

My sensei, a very nice lady, gave me this rose. Isn't she nice?

2010-08-01T19:52:00.007+08:00

Went to the Garden Festival 2 weeks ago. I know I'm pretty late :p

This year's flowers exhibits were not as nice as two years ago's I feel. Nothing spectacular.

Think the below was the best one I saw.

And lastly, the cute little heart stamp the Uncle "chopped" on our hands :)

2010-07-28T05:23:00.002+08:00

I should QUIT drinking tea after 7.

I had hot green tea together with my dinner and ended up waking up at 4 plus. And not being able to get back to sleep after that.

Just saw a video clip of Jay Chou that Jiehe shared on facebook. He sang 眼淚成詩. Nice!

2010-07-21T21:31:00.002+08:00

B's son came to the school today. I shouted at him from my cubicle, "Where's the monster? Oh there it is!", pointing to him.

He shouted after me, "The fat one!", just as another bigger-sized colleague went to tap her card to clock out.

I was a bit embarrassed, but B was pretty nonchalent. "He's so direct, what can I do?" she said.

"You should educate your son," I joked, "to use the word 'plump'. Or 'the one in pink'."

A moment later, they were about to go home.

"Goodbye, my lady," he said to me. I was surprised to hear him say that. Very amused too. So I replied him, "You like me right?"

He replied, "So pretty."

His mother said, "Go and kiss goodbye then." and he flew over and gave me a peck on my cheek.

Ha. Sometimes being direct is good too :p

2010-07-18T09:03:00.004+08:00

The other night, I went for dinner with CY's friends at 海天樓, Pan Pacific Hotel. His friend suggested the place as he had to attend a conference in the hotel earlier on.

Waiting for the rest of his friends to arrive..

The food was delicious.

We wanted to adjourn to Bakerzin after that, but his friend called and all the strawberry shortcakes were sold out! Wonder if it is because of the 30% off.

2010-07-16T23:03:00.010+08:00

Maybe I should continue with pictures of my Japan trip. After so long :p

We went to Takarazuka on the second day of Osaka. Bought my stuff, bought tickets, went for the photography session, sat on the carousel. I love the carousel; it's so beautiful!

The 公演套餐.

My oyakon-don.

My photos :p

Dinner at HEP Five.

In the Ferris Wheel.

Dessert in our hotel. Strawberry shortcake!

2010-07-10T15:29:00.000+08:00

《奇跡　～大きな愛のように～》作詞・作曲　さだ　まさし

どんなにせつなくても　必ず明日は来る
ながいながい坂道のぼるのは　あなた独りじゃない

僕は神様でないから　本当の愛は多分知らない
けれどあなたを想う心なら　神様に負けない
たった一度の人生に　あなたとめぐりあえたこと
偶然を装いながら奇跡は　いつも近くに居る

ああ大きな愛になりたい　あなたを守ってあげたい
あなたは気付かなくても　いつでも隣を歩いていたい

どんなにせつなくても　必ず明日は来る
ながいながい坂道のぼるのは　あなた独りじゃない

今日と未来の間に　流れる河を夢というなら
あなたと同じ夢を見ることが　出来たならそれでいい
僕は神様でないから　奇跡を創ることは出来ない
けれどあなたを想う奇跡なら　神様に負けない

ああ大きな愛になりたい　あなたを守ってあげたい
あなたは気付かなくても　いつでも隣を歩いていたい
ああ大きな夢になりたい　あなたを包んであげたい
あなたの笑顔を守る為に多分僕は生まれて来た

どんなにせつなくても　必ず明日は来る
ながいながい坂道のぼるのは　あなた独りじゃない

2010-07-05T14:24:00.006+08:00

My Japanese class teacher will be returning to Japan soon, so we held a farewell dinner for her. And for our classmate, Linda, who too would be going to Japan to work for a year. So nice huh.

We went to eat crabs at Crab Party. I love the white pepper crab there.

Crabs!

Moriya Sensei..

A photo with みんなさん.. I only realise my hair is very messy after seeing the photo :p

2010-07-01T23:02:00.003+08:00

I think FarEastFlora has nice flower arrangements. Either that, or their photographer is really good.

So sweet huh. Pretty.

2010-06-30T20:30:00.003+08:00

Look at what arrived in the mail today!

Happy!

She's going to be in a new musical with Ichiro Maki and Toono Asuka.

That's her in MAHOROBA. It's a pity the Tudou clips don't work, the show was wonderful.

2010-06-30T19:29:00.002+08:00

Angel, look! Original singers some more!

I like this one. Don't know why, but it left a deep impression on me.

2010-06-24T23:30:00.002+08:00

Tu Te Reconnaitras - Anne Marie David

Have been trying to find this song, finally found it on Youtube. Have been finding the CD/mp3 for eons.

English version - Wonderful Dream

Just a boy and a girl with a promise we'd always be true
We grew up all too soon and discovered how little we knew
Would the dream leave the ground? Was the future so sound?

You and I, we had a dream to fly
Wonderful dream, beautiful dream, don't let it die
You and I, we had a dream to fly
Wonderful dream, beautiful dream, don't let it die

Then one day, you were gone, and my dreams all came tumbling down
Childhood tears, broken years, our true love can no longer be found
Though I'd waited so long, still the dream lingers on

You and I, we had a dream to fly
Wonderful dream, beautiful dream, don't let it die
You and I, we had a dream to fly
Wonderful dream, beautiful dream, don't let it die

You and I, we had a dream to fly
Wonderful dream, beautiful dream, don't let it die
Oh Lord, don't let it die

2010-06-23T22:47:00.004+08:00

Good friend bought me my favourite noodles from Taipei.

Yummy!

Tried the waffles from Marvelous Cream with Meiling before we went for our massage.

Dinner at Serenity.

I ate Paella for the first time. And by the way, the double "l" is pronounced as "y", so the word sounds like "pay (as in pay money) -yah". Ok, Mr Lim? Satisfied?

Dinner at Marche.

He says he has to eat grass after the Japan trip, so here he is, eating grass.

Dessert at Fruits Paradise Cafe.

The tart is nice, but nowhere conparable to Glace, or the Osaka cakes. Or perhaps, I was still full from dinner..

It is much easier to upload these photos. I think the size of my travel photos is too large. I can't seem to upload them successfully all the time.

2010-06-22T11:50:00.002+08:00

I watched MAHOROBA and マジシャンの憂鬱 for the first time today. They were so so so wonderful.

I especially like the mythical Mahoroba, with its beautiful stage settings and elaborate costumes.

Amai, have you watched this before? You SHOULD!!!! I love Moon 2007!!! I love seeing Asa, Mihoko, Kiriyan and Yuuhi together! And Ahi, Ai-chan, Sonaka and Maggie and the babies, though they are no longer the babies.

Managed to find the whole show on Tudou, but the quality isn't that good.

I love the song Asa sang at 13:40.

Right, enough of the fangushing.

Back to work, sigh.

2010-06-16T12:19:00.015+08:00

I'm back! Finally, I've been to Japan :)

Our first stop was to Kyoto.

This was the first thing I saw when I stepped out of the train station. The barricade actually.

Stayed at the Sakura Kaede Ryokan. It was beautiful.

Mr Lim doing his farming.

Second day in Kyoto.

Off we go sightseeing!

We entered one of the shrines.

After lunch, we went to the Nijo Castle.

At the Imperial Palace.

Passed by a quaint little cafe on the way back.

Goodbye Kyoto and hello, Osaka.

Finally I've finished this post. It took me a long time indeed.

2010-06-05T21:11:00.002+08:00

Was looking through my photos and saw this.

Somehow, sort of miss those times.

2010-06-04T23:35:00.004+08:00

We were at Marina Square for dinner on Saturday, and happened to see Doraemon. Was sooo excited when he appeared! With Da Xiong and Jing Xiang!

Doraemon was so cute, hopping around.

When he toppled over, evil guy couldn't stop laughing.

アンアンアンとってもだいすきドラえもん!!

2010-06-04T23:02:00.004+08:00

We went for Chopin By The Lake and I enjoyed it a lot.

The greenery, the beautiful music. Love it!

My favourite classical composer.

2010-05-30T09:32:00.006+08:00

Brought my parents to Pu Tien to eat. Found out that there's buffet available in the City Square branch, so we went for it.

The food was good.

My parents very much preferred this to the steamboat :p

2010-05-29T15:48:00.003+08:00

Went for Korean food with FM, Amai and Phyllis.

I like the soup! Now I crave for it.

I have been eating a lot these few days. This is just the start of it :p

2010-05-26T22:32:00.002+08:00

Chopin By The Lake

World-renowned Polish pianist Daniel Wnukowski and Japanese pianist Izumi Tateno perform for the audience in Singapore to give tribute to the most famous and legendary Romantic composer Fryderyk Chopin.

With a programme that ranges from ballades and waltzes by Chopin and other artiste this concert promises an evening of romance and pianist fire works inspired by Chopin music that are not to be missed.

I'm going! Can't wait.

But before that, so many things to complete in school.

Need to key in UR results, analysis results, set paper and, not forgetting, the vexing thing.

Sigh.

2010-05-23T20:52:00.004+08:00

Gesang Martohartono, composer of Bengawan Solo (the song, not the shop), passed away 3 days ago.

Osa's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whaL8e1sbzY

2010-05-23T19:07:00.010+08:00

This is going to be very random.

Pictures of Mei Mei, taken on the day we made pineapple tarts. Poor Mei Mei was sick on that day.

This picture would have been so nice. Without Mei Mei's glum face. And Zhiwen in the background :p Ah Jie, I like your pink wall!

Brought pupils to RI. Look at the toilet.

Wary of the high testosterone level in the school? But I wonder why the gap is so wide.

I love this view.

More food.

Dinner at Pizza Hut. I like the soup! It is very, very nice!

This plate of noodles is also very good. Treat from Uncle :p I'm salivating just looking at the picture. I want to eat!!! My god. I sound like a glutton.

Breakfast at Wild Honey again.

The Scandinavian set.

And the California set. I guess the Californians love dieting, that's why the bread's full of tofu. Too healthy for me.

Last picture. Taken during the East Coast trip, grabbed from FB.

Ok. Back to work. Sigh.

2010-05-16T20:56:00.006+08:00

First attempt at baking pineapple tarts.

We were quite disheartened after the first batch of tarts cos they didn't look and taste like pineapple tarts. More like cookies. Ah Ru even suggested we go to buy chocolate chips to put into the dough.

But I thought it tasted fine when I ate one just now. Perhaps they taste better after some time.