impful life

Pat's Farm Visit

2011-03-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Patricia's Farm Visit Mar 23, 2011

A wonderful day with Jen and new friends at the farm. We had an awesome time walking through the farm, battling through knee- high grasslands, dodging manure land mines, climbing over fences and gates, balancing on strips of dry land so that we won't fall into the puddle. After all that, we had delicious bbq food waiting for us at home, all prepared by excellent hosts.

Wished someone had captured Jen slipping into the puddle twice and Anna piggy backing me over the blackberry bush so that I wouldn't get scratched by the nasty thorns. Thanks Anna, I owe you a piggy back ride. :) Let me know when you want to claim it.

One year anniversary @ Chef Ramsay's restaurant

2010-10-17T03:51:00.000-07:00

One Year Anniversary - 17 Oct 2010

We finally decided to head to Cung's most admired chef's restaurant, Gordon Ramsay's Maze Grill at Crown Casino for our one year anniversary dinner. The verdict? Disappointing for the fact that it's Chef Ramsay's restaurant. The meats were good but the sauces were very bland, lacking character. Thus Cung's disappointed face in one of the photos after dining there.

Question now is whether I'd be stroking his ego if I still call him Chef Ramsay while he cooks.

Children's Farm in the City

2010-07-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

Sophia Mundi Steiner & The Collingwood Children's Farm

An old convent built in the 1800s, now used as a commercial building housing the Sophia Mundi Steiner School for pre-schoolers to high school kids. After brunch at the bread and pastry cafe located in the convent, we walked across to explore The Collingwood Children's Farm. It's still the school holidays and the place was filled with kids...one of the kid who was petting the baby cow told his Dad, "Daddy, I want that cow!"

A Walk with the Twankies

2010-05-26T01:49:00.001-07:00

A Walk with Katie at the Botanics

Visiting Miso and Mazer in SG

2010-05-26T01:43:00.000-07:00

Visiting Miso and Mazer

A Road trip along Great Ocean Road - Erskine Fall

2010-04-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Erskine Fall at Great Ocean

It's Anzac Day so we decided to do a little road trip and get out of the city. Weather forecast said showers during the day but that didn't stop us. In fact, I'd be happy storm chasing. During our journey to Great Ocean Road, we went through a section of torrential rain. It was great car wash and then it stopped. Spotted a full rainbow arc right after the rain. After that, it was cloudy/ fine weather all the way to our destination. Temperature at Great Ocean Road - 11deg celcius. Temperature in the city - 16 deg celcius.

Ice for my drink?

2010-03-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Pieces of ice were smashing against our car so we decided to take shelter at the Shell station until the hail storm is over.

Driving in a hail storm and flood

2010-03-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

It was 27deg when we headed out for lunch. After lunch, on the way home, the sky started to become overcast and temperature dropped to 18degs. We knew there was going to be a severe storm but wasn't expecting it to be a hail storm.

Nothing beats fireworks at home. Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hookay fireworks gone wrong here...went straight for the neighbour's nectarine tree! Lucky no bushfire.

No Korean in the party but we are playing a Korean Drinking Game which is too easy. Any number with 3, 6 or 9 you gotta clap. It's not even multiples of 3 so it's a no brainer.

The final fireworks..Not only was it raining, it was raining magnesium dust on me.

In the search for ducks to feed

2009-12-28T02:24:00.001-08:00

In search for ducks to feed

Was supposed to visit the zoo today but ended up looking for ducks to feed. Well, Cung wanted to look for kangeroos but I wanted ducks so ducks it is!

NYE2009 Fireworks Test

2009-12-27T00:13:00.000-08:00

Test 1 - In the garden

Test 2 - By the river

Test 3 - At night.

We couldn't see the explosion during the day so we decided to do a third test at night. Not much of an explosion compared to the fireworks we've set off in Shanghai. The ones we've set of in China could even set off car alarms.

How to tire your hyper active kids out

2009-12-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a way to keep your hyper active kids tired out without much effort - Get them a trampoline!

Watch Isabella and Alessandro's hidden talents in trampoline jumping. Seeing them go makes me feel like I've just done a 5km run.

Meet the Melbournian cats

2009-12-18T03:54:00.000-08:00

These two kitties never fail to welcome us back home. Always running towards us whenever we approach the entrance of the apartment building. Meet CJ (the furry one) and Kurla (I call her Blackie).

Will be exploring further to look for more neighbourhood cats.

Melbournian cats

The Apartment

2009-12-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

The Apartment

This is the place I now call home - The Yellow Apartment. (The building itself is in pale yellow colour)

Enjoy the tour of The Apartment!

My New Middle Name

2009-12-14T04:54:00.000-08:00

Australians do not recognise Chinese names. I've just lodged my spousal visa about a week ago and to my shock and horror I got my Chinese name turned into a middle name. That's because Australians do not recognise Chinese names. Funny how the Asian service staff who handled my case couldn't even tell which was my surname.

It makes me wonder what configuration would someone with a middle name and Chinese name will have.

Anyways, I am now known as Lynda M. Lim.

Death of the cardboard target

2009-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

We are in Saigon, Cu Chi. No we didn't go to the Cu Chi tunnels, instead we went rifle shooting. This is me trying my hands on M16. Freaking rifle was fixed so high I had to be on my tippy toes. The ear muffs provided were crap so I had Cung cover my ears as my ear drums were at the edge of bursting.

This is an M30. As you can see the rifle is taller than me.

Re-enactment of Rob's fall into the pond

2009-10-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Rob re-enacts his jump into the pond. In a quick search for shelter in the Viet monsoon rain last night, Rob makes a huge leap straight into the pond. Mistaking it for a flat concrete ground, for a second he was airborne, the next he was fully submerged. He killed his iphone, almost drowned himself (he can't swim) and is now in the danger of catching malaria.

His not so wet night, turned out drenched with frogs and fishies falling out of his pockets.

Back from Swine Land

2009-07-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

I had a blast during the past 2 weeks in swine land. Took a 5 hr road trip to Falls Creek to ski and was tempted again to head to Buller for another round of skiing. Now I'm back in Singapore and will be staying home for abit to see if I've got the swine flu.

Miso and Teddy

2009-03-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

Miso wants to go out too

2009-03-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with the Kardashians

2009-02-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

and so they say, if you don't follow traditions then you are not serious. I'm talking about marriage here. First of all, I would like to say that traditions are formed by other people so why do we have to follow what others are doing? Why can't we form our own traditions and have a nudist wedding on a nudist beach on a cold winter day and experience severe shrinkage and erect nipples? That's just judging without a basis.

To everyone else who attends a wedding dinner will eventually have that memory blurred away because to them, it's just another wedding dinner...how many do we have to attend such of these in your lifetime? Like it or not, it becomes a chore. How many times have I heard friends complain about having to give red packets at a Chinese wedding? To me, a wedding should be a celebration, not a chore.

I even heard that in Hong Kong, they even announce the amount of money you've given to the couple...so you ought to give more if you don't want to be embarrassed. The society we live in has created us to live in fear and paranoia, we have to keep up with the Kardashians and show face to other people. Silly isn't it?

So, are traditions a result of a society gone mad or are we keeping traditions because they are traditions?

Roadtrip to Sydney

2009-02-07T05:33:00.001-08:00

Aussie New Year 2008/09

Roadtrip to Sydney was filled with smashed bugs on the car, fireworks, cold waters, ribs and a new bikini.

And the winner for best Xmas decoration is... this house

2008-12-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

M is for Merry Christmas

Was down with hay fever but that didn't stop me from getting the best boxing day sale. This year's sale was better than ever, retail are all desperate to get rid of their stock in preparation for spring '09.

Went to visit M too. She's alittle bit bigger with much more hair and can say the words "No", "Bear" and "Baby" in English, the rest I dunno if its in vietnamese or baby gaga language.

Tomorrow will be my first road trip to Sydney. It's gonna take over 10 hours as we heard there are speed cameras stationed all along the expressway, meaning we've got to travel slower. Hotel rates are lower than last year's which is good for us. Looks like recession is not a bad thing after all. I'm all geared to becoming a recessionista!

Merry Christmas from CJ

2008-12-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

The tree right outside the kitchen window has started blooming fire red flowers. I've never seen it like this before, most of the time, it is just bare brunches. There were at least 4 Rosellas perched in the tree licking nectar off the flowers. Yes, Rosellas are parrots.

Merry Christmas from CJ, Santa's helper.

Santa's ho

Xmas with the kitties

2008-12-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

Yan is twice the size now, cuter and naughtier than ever before. He climbs trees, destroys Christmas decorations, not to mention he toppled the Christmas tree once. I fed him pork pate yesterday, I hope he liked it. Come to think of it, the pork pate does look like food for cats.

Mary on the other hand just chills out but she gets really perturbed by our lousy karaoke singing especially when someone tries to sing like a tranny from Thailand.

Pearlin and the Kitties

Dropping Dead

2008-12-03T16:58:00.001-08:00

Was bringing Miso out for a walk this morning when I discovered another dead bird just outside of my house. The last one was a brown hawk owl. This time, I don't know the species...

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Treron_vernans.htm - after some research, I found out that the bird is a female pink neck pigeon.

Olive green with some yellow feathers at the sides.

Looks like it crashed beak first... just look at the bloody splatter on the ground.

Other dead animals on my blog:
http://impishdreams.blogspot.com/2006/10/dead-lizzy.html
http://impishdreams.blogspot.com/2006/10/big-bird.html

Sunday Nature Excursion

2008-10-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Bollywood and Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve

Went for a really hot and humid excursion to Bollywood farm at Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Buloh Mangrove swamp. What can I say about Bollywood farm? I was actually shocked to see so many people there. Damn Singaporeans really don't mind travelling for food. Now about the food. Certainly overpriced...but then again we didn't get to try alot of their better dishes because they were SOLD OUT! The highlight of the lunch was really the banana cake with ice-cream, tasted really fresh and the cake really went well with the ice-cream...my first time having banana cake with ice-cream too.

So after lunch, Ben and I headed to Sungei Buloh mangrove swamp because it was nearby. I wasn't dressed to go trekking but thought what the heck since we are already all the way up north. Saw lotsa interesting creatures from mudskippers to blue and red crabs to monitor lizards to fishes which like to jump out of the water and land on their sides. Don't exactly know what were they thinking.

I have to stress that it was really hot and humid because I felt all sticky and icky and I got bitten by so many mosquitoes.. just waiting to get dengue only. One time I saw 3 mosquitoes biting Ben's arm and I killed 2 of those suckers. Bloody hell! So piece of advice, wear long pants and long sleeve or use mosquito repellent because once you stay still, the mozzies will come blood sucking.

The Becoming of Mrs. Twanky

2008-10-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Twankies

There's so much to say, I don't know what to say about this wedding. Just so happy for one of my bestie, Cheryl.

Once again, Dean and I coordinated our outfit and pretended to be married to each other but some smart-ass soon found out that he is G, not S. Really fun fooling strangers at weddings and catching up with old friends!

If Yan Can Drink Milk So Can You!

2008-09-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

Yan really enjoying his milk..he finished the whole bottle when he normally only drinks half a bottle.

Yes we made sure it's not melamine tainted milk from China.

Samui and Mishaps

2008-08-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

Koh Samui with Cung

This is the first time I've gotten into 2 lame accidents in a day. Crashed into a bush and got my scooter stuck in a huge pothole at a T-junction. Luckily I only suffered from a deep cut on my left big toe and a big bruise on my left knee cap.

But that's not all, on our last day at Samui, we went jet-skiing right after breakfast...I felt sooooo sick after that that I puked and puked all the way to the airport and on the plane while it was taking off.

In between all that, we had a really great time scooter riding around the island, beach hopping, getting ourselves fitted at the tailor, eating banana honey pancake, drinking coconut, riding scooter in the rain and ordering seafood from she-males.

Tree top walks

2008-08-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

Canopy walk from Kent Ridge to Mount Faber

Woke up at insane hours of 5.45am and set off to our next destination, Kent Ridge Park to do the Canopy Walk all the way to Mount Faber. Very exciting because once again we didn't know the way and couldn't find the connection between Kent Ridge Park Canopy Walk and Hort Park. There were two older folks who were also first timers, so they followed us from behind like blind leading the blind.

Once you reach Henderson Waves and Mount Faber, you'll realise how small Singapore is.

Monkey week

2008-08-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

So I went to the zoo on Thursday for F&N aLIVE's launch, after which my colleagues and I toured around the primates section of the zoo. Some pictures of the primates captured.

Mother baboon holding on to the tail of her baby so that she doesn't run away or get kidnapped, becoming another male's harem.

One of the most unique looking monkeys I've seen...it's tail looks like it makes an excellent giant calligraphy brush and it looks like it is wearing a white jacket on its back.

Dicku Baboon.

No not the interest rate hike, it's the Bukit Timah Hill hike

2008-08-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

Bukit Timah Hill Hike

We could be so lucky lucky lucky lucky to live near the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Never thought this hill hike existed as the last time I was at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve about 10 yrs back was to mountain bike off the beaten tracks.

Woke up at 6.15am this morning just to get to the start of the hill by 7am. Did a 2 1/2hr hike through the steep slopes of the Bukit Timah Hill...it's no joke, even the aunties and uncles were faster and fitter than I am. Every time I finally reach the peak of a slope, I'll be huffing and puffing...but these aunties were damn POWER! they still could talk so loudly as they were at a wet market doing their leisurely weekend grocery shopping.

After the hike, Dean and I rewarded ourselves with prata and curry at Al Almeen.

KL Makan Trip

2008-08-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Last month, Dean and I decided to hit KL after surfing this website www.friedchillies.com belonging to one of Dean's friends, Honey. We even got to stay at their summer retreat apartment. Check out their video featuring the sloppiest burger in Malaysia which Best Super Short Film at the NYC Food Film Festival - http://www.friedchillies.tv/tv/tv/more.php?id=1537_0_1_0_M

Couldn't stop salivating after looking at all the food on the website so we decided to follow our stomaches! We had some of the best of Malaysia's nasi lemaks, roti cinai, teh tariks, laksa at the laksa shack, beef noodles at some street where rats and cats cohabit. Target for next trip: River of beef horfun and char kway teow!!

KL Makan Trip

Too bad not much food photos as we were too busy eating and shopping. By the way, Malaysia is also having their Mega Mall Sale, 100X better than the Great Singapore Sale for those who haven't got enough of GSS.

Void Deck Wedding

2008-08-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

How come Chinese wedding not like that? So relac...

Ada and her Norwegian husband. See his dagger, better not piss him off.

Ada in her sexy kebaya and her power hair-do

IMSG relaxing one corner

The lovely dancers

The good people at IMSG

Beware of Deodorant Testers

2008-06-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite past time is hanging out at pharmacies to test out and smell the scents of different products. It was a therapeutic hobby for me and Dean until yesterday.

Dean and I were looking at deodorant sticks and I noticed one that says crystal. I opened up the tester stick and there it was, a white crystal looking stone staring back at me.

First thing that came to my mind was since it is a deodorant tester, should you be smelling it or not? I wasn't expecting people to use the deodorant testers under their pitts as that means sharing pitt juices with other people with pitt problems. So I braced myself and took a whiff of the crystal stone...

F**king hell! It had this rancid smell of someone's B.O., I screamed in horror and asked Dean to smell it for himself... being so enthusiastic about him smelling the 'deodorant' stick I accidentally brought it too close to his nose and smeared some on his poor nose. Haha! I guess that person who used the stick had odourised it. So much for deodorant sticks...

Utt and the Polaroid Andriods

2008-06-21T03:34:00.000-07:00

Pretty boy Uttsada. God I love my job!

The office

The office girls

Sexy pouty Karen

Dean and Ian at the gate of Botanic Gardens

Gumbaya Park and Puffing Billy Adventures

2008-06-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Gumbaya Park

Went to Gumbaya Park and was expecting to feed the kangaroos but NO...they were scaredy cat Kangaroos. Well actually they didn't come to us cause we didn't have any food.

Check out the emu with afro hair!

Puffing Billy

Puffing Billy at Mount Dandenong was really fun. We took the steam train from Belgrave to Menzies, Emerald and Lakeside then back. The cool air of the countryside was so refreshing and we even found a new BBQ site just beside the lake for our next BBQ outing. There was a delay on our way back as the train driver had problems starting the fire. I must also say, I really like the train conductors' uniform. ;)

Lil' M

2008-06-05T04:23:00.001-07:00

Cung's lil' baby sister, M. This lil' devil can get away with everything even stuffing brooms into people's faces.

I watered my new plants this morning

2008-06-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

Decided to add some flora and fauna into the house as it lacked some green colour. Since balcony is pretty small I had to play around with smaller plants and be more space conscious.

The selection at the indoor nursery at Bunnings wasn't as wide as the one at Far East Flora or the nurseries around Thomson Road in Singapore but it was good enough for me.

My new Tahitian Bridal Veil.

Bought these seedlings and transferred them into a larger pot. Grow little ones..grow!

Maidenhair Fern in the kitchen. Just look at those delicate looking leaves and stems.

Arabic fusion cuisine at Maha

2008-06-04T06:37:00.001-07:00

Was extremely tired after a full day at Chadstone and at Bunnings. Cung and I went to this newly opened restaurant called Maha for some Arabic fusion food and cocktails. Very interesting concept with good food...too bad not enough room for Arabic dessert.

Front of Maha restaurant.

Arabic sausage appetizer with yoghurt on the side

Arabic cocktail. Lemon + honey + arabic alcohol

Me munching on fries with Arabic spices and yoghurt dip

Cung's 350g steak again with Arabic I dunno what

ah this one I remember! John Dory with Arabic mushroom sauce

Arabic container filled with fragrant rose water. For you to wash your hands after eating. Your hands will smell like rose syrup after being washed in this special water.

Bill comes in a 'Quran.' How holy is that?!!

Saturday morning breakfast & Waygu

2008-06-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Just landed and feeling peckish as I didn't have any food on board the plane. The turbulent journey made me feel like puking.

We are at a Danish pancake place in the city. Looks and tastes like thin crusted pizza.

200g for me and 300g for him. Grade 9+ Blackmore Wagyu beef.

Cross-section of the cooked Wagyu beef.

Got to get my 'new' gizmo Lomo

2008-05-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken by a lomo camera. It gives one the effect of an old fashioned camera, as if the photos were taken in the 70s. You can even do special effects by clicking on the shutter twice without winding the camera, resulting in the overlapping of images. A lomo camera itself is cheap but the special film and developing of the film costs a bomb. Whatever it is, this is one of the coolest thing ever invented!

Sunday brunch at Mezza9

2008-05-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

Champagne brunch at Mezza9

It's Wednesday and I'm still thinking of Sunday's brunch at Mezza9. The food was A+ but I can't say much about the champagne because it wasn't Moet. Nevermind about the champagne, it was still high quality buffet with a wide selection.

My Most Disgustingly Happy Birthday Cake

2008-05-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

First get ready made puddings in different flavours. We've got chocolate, custard and caramel.

How to make your own birthday pudding for less than $4.

IMSG sings birthday song

The only colleagues in the office today

I want to go to a sushi bar, I want to go with you

2008-05-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

photo by Dean Johari

Just a lazy May Day at a sushi bar... I had cha soba, salmon sashimi and tempura sushi while Dean, my partner-in-crime had salmon don and salmon roll. Damn full!

After that i bought 2 belts from Tangs.

Vogue Vogue Vogue...

2008-04-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

1 TwentySix Wild Party

Last night, we had a wild party at this chill out place at East Coast called 1 TwentySix. While everyone else were having relaxing after work drinks, we were HAVING after work drinks. Check out our wild vogue papparazi photos...

Lastest Craze - Yoghurt Petite

2008-04-18T02:45:00.000-07:00

F&N Magnolia Yoghurt Petite ice-cream is my latest craze. Everyday I take 2 servings of this heavenly snack, one in the morning and one for tea time. Only because the packaging states "Limit to 2 servings a day", that I'm sticking to the limit, otherwise I would have finished the whole box by the end of the day.

Anyway, it comes in 2 flavours, Strawberry with Strawberry Ripple and Mango with Mango Ripple. Personally, I love the strawberry flavour, its got bits of strawberry seeds in it, so it has this interesting texture. Best of all, it is light and creamy and comes in cute little sticks which is just nice for me since I don't really enjoy the je-lattness of conventional ice-cream.

Trans fat free with no more than 56 calories per stick and it has been endorsed by HPB as Healthier Snack. What a healthy indulgence!

Dinner with old friend after smelly zoo trip

2008-04-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

After the zoo, I rushed home to take a good long bath as I didn't want to smell like a hungry hippo. Managed to get rid of the zoolander smell with the icelandic moss shower gel which Evonne had given me. It smelt kinda like moss in a good way which makes you feel so au naturale after that. John Frieda shampoo which Melinda gave me was also a blast...hair smelt so fresh and clean. Bathing after visiting the zoo felt like you've never bathed in years really.

This is Pearlin aka Pei Pei, my old skool secondary skool friend from long time ago. We are dining at Simply Food at Wheelock Place having the Teochew porridge set. Free flow porridge which both of us had 2 bowls of. Was yummy especially the watery soft texture of the porridge. Of course this can't beat any other real Teochew porridge stalls out there since this place is more atas.

Birthday at the Zoo

2008-04-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

Birthday at the zoo

What an unique way of spending your birthday, in the zoo with orphanage children. Kids say the darnest things like when asked why is the polar bear white, they went "Albino!" or they'll ask silly questions like "Ah Meng wife where ar?" when Ah Meng is a female.

It was a fun, hot, smelly Sunday all rolled into one. GG's mom sponsored some orphanage kids to visit the zoo and also to celebrate GG's birthday.

We even took a photo with the orang utans just for the hack of it.

Feline Talent

2008-03-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

When I saw this video at Topshop today, I thought to myself "I'd love to be in that white furry cat suit doing the dance."

How do I cast for such roles? I've got feline talent.

Cung's Manliest

2008-03-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

We found a helium balloon floating around the mall and so decided to see how chipmunky Cung can sound.

Cung doing this inverted butterfly scissor kick. He and his troop of 8 water ballerinas will represent Australia at the Beijing Olympics 2008.

No more hard caps and Ronald McDonald boots!

2008-03-24T06:09:00.001-07:00

Coming back to Singapore a month back, only to be greeted by the Singapore Flyer on the way back from Changi Airport was the one of the best welcome home feeling.

Gone are the days of touring the construction site with the media in hard caps and oversized construction shoes. As we all know, safety is key at all construction sites and walking around the site looking like a fashion disaster was never on the minds of the people working there.

Megastructures and architecture are so intriguing, it awes me to know the precise engineering and calculations behind the works, getting everything right from the start. One minute error and major disasters could arise. The thought process from the start must always have the end in mind. An amazing work of art and modern civilisation.

Me in my trusty white hard cap. Obviously too large for me.

I think this was a size US 9 pair of construction shoes...imagine me trying to catch up with the client while flopping init.

At this time, they were fitting the spindle. The device which the wheel rotates around. It took them more than 10 hours to get it up, slowly does it!

And then sections of the wheel started to emerge.

Visited the Singapore Flyer one weekend...that's one of the capsule at the loading and unloading of people section. I like how the platform is curved so it gives people ample time to get on and off the capsule comfortably.

One of the features below the Flyer is the Yakult Artificial Rainforest. Definitely cooled down the areas without air conditioning.

Chilling below the Singapore Flyer, enjoying some Kirin plum lager with Strawberry Dippy sticks...better than Yan Yan, go get yours at the Japanese supermarket at Liang Court!

Sunday with the pets

2008-03-23T01:44:00.001-07:00

Observing your pets on a Sunday can be very therapeutic. Watch their every little move and see what they see. They seldom miss the little things in life like we do.

Mazer looking at Miso, Miso looking at me, me looking at Mazer and Miso

Miso the irritant trying to strangle Mazer.

This move is called the Single Paw Cat Attack with claws out.

Miso gives up and leaves Mazer alone for awhile.

Miso and Mazer make peace and share the same window to people watch.

Singapore Airshow 2008

2008-03-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

So Evonne and I went to check out the Singapore Airshow 2008 at Changi. We only intended to watch the aerobatics display at noon but ended up staying the whole day...why? because it the crowd was atrocious and thus we spent alot of our air time in the queue.

Yay! Finally got in. Big smiles!

Little boy covering his ears as the noise from the aircraft was too loud for him. Use ear plugs like the malay boy and his father below dude.

A380 making a graceful 90 degrees turn...I call it the whale of the sky.

Apache...this is Ron's baby. Also my favourite helicopter.

Funny friend Ron the Porn was on duty that day.

Bins were hard to find at the airshow so people created their own. This is a perfect example of the herd effect. One person litters and the next follows and soon a pile of garbage emerges from the ground.

Apart from cute pilots, this was the other thing I was looking forward to seeing, the A380. Too bad we couldn't go in to view it.

Lunch time Retreat @ Colbar

2008-03-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

Today, Melissa and I braved the rain just to check out Colbar tucked in a little corner of Portdown Road.

Built in 1953, it used to be a canteen for British soldiers who lived around the neigbourhood. Today, it is a quiet bohemic eatery for office workers (during the weekdays), expatriates and those who simply love the peace and quiet.

I'd consider the food expensive but for its special location, I wouldn't mind the price.

Will definitely head there again for weekend breakfast and evening beers.

Grand old trees with huge roots.

The few creative offices located around the neighbourhood.

The distinct blue wooden planks and red Colbar sign. Office workers queuing up to order inside, canteen style.

Inside Colbar, photos of British soccer teams perched on the walls.

I ordered Rib Eye Steak which costed me $16.90. Wasn't the best quality piece 'o meat but I guess soldiers wouldn't complain about their food. I like their home-made tasting chips. The sunny side up was like a bonus!

Melissa's lamb chops. She's says it is really thick and juicy and that she likes the sauce alot.

Big Day Out 2008

2008-01-28T04:25:00.001-08:00

Big Day Out 2008

At the end of the day, we were covered in dust. Dust anybody...dust? Zero Calorie Fat free dust!

We were just in time for the band I was looking forward to, Faker. They played my favourite songs "This Heart Attack" and "Hurricane" which are plain addictive. We also managed to catch Midnight Juggernauts, Grinspoon, Regurgitator, Arcade Fire, Silverchair and Bjork in the blistering heat.

Bjork's performance had a quirky castle theme. Her entourage consisted of trambone, french horn and trumpet players dressed in really weird costumes...she, herself was wearing a number from her Majesty Bjork. My favourite Bjork's performance was "Bachelorette" where the orchestra was in full-force, it was simply breath-taking...ending with an unexpected clownish jester sounding tune.

Australian Open 2008

2008-01-28T04:16:00.000-08:00

Australian Open 2008

We managed to get into the arena grounds for the Tsonga vs Nadal match. We watched it on the lawn with several others who couldn't afford the tickets but still wanted to soak in the atmosphere. The crowd obviously wanted Tsonga, the unseeded player to win and so he did against Nadal, but I'm glad that Djokovic was this year's champion.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic...you've brought the game of tennis to a whole new level. The adrenalin rush is just awesome...makes me want to start playing tennis again if I can find myself some tennis kakis.

Yet Another BBQ

2008-01-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Yet another BBQ

Having barbies are fun but when you have them twice in a row, it's hazardous! Okay okay, I admit, I was using the bbq pit as a fireplace as I was freezing in the Melbourne's summer night and got smoke in my eyes, face and lungs.

Special Guest

2008-01-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we had a special guest. The meow meow from downstairs. It followed us up into our apartment and watched History Channel with us on the sofa...such a sweet meow meow it was.

Becoming another Singapore?

2008-01-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Sydney New Year 08 Hols

Sydney is definitely very similar to Singapore. Everything is fast-paced, even the traffic lights - the moment you put your foot down on the tar to cross the road, the red man starts flashing. It's mad, crossing the road in a leisurely manner is very rare. At restaurants, most of the time you'd need to place a reservation or else you'd end up waiting or get rejected by the restaurant host. Too many people, too few restaurants.

That's why, the only thing I love about Sydney are the beaches and I'm not even talking about Bondi which is now overcrowded with tourists. I am talking about the more private, less polluted with thrash beaches like Maroubra. Just love the sound of the crashing waves and the coolness from the sea spray.

A Perfect Ending to 2007

2007-12-31T05:56:00.000-08:00

Our efforts paid off after jostling in the crowd for about 30 minutes. We faced lotsa angry people who didn't manage to get through the Opera House section. We were one of them so we decided to move on to Plan B, that's to try the Carl's Expressway.

When we got to Carl's Expressway, we realised that we needed tickets to get in. Apparently ticket holders got them from a lucky draw...we tried our luck and got Cung asking ticket holders if they've got spare tickets and guess what?! We managed to score 2 tickets to Carl's Expressway which has the best view of the fireworks display. We couldn't believe it...we didn't have to jostle among the crowd and got ourselves front row seats!

Ok got a video of the countdown but it's too big to be loaded online. Apologies! In short, there were fireworks everywhere...in front of us, at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and even behind of us, on top of the office buildings. Magnificient!

Have a Happy and a Prosperous New Year friends!

Us trying to get through the Opera House section but failed because they closed the section. AGAIN!

"Eh! Someone is touching me!"

Up on Carl's Expressway...food stalls with international cuisine.

Cung with Sydney Council cameraman who was filming for Discovery Channel. We got ourselves on camera and might be on Discovery Channel in 9 months time. Watch out for it but I bet you gonna forget.

Retarded Cung

Fake policemen on skates

Balloonman made me a flower.

One of the many lit up ships at the harbour

Our front row seats. :)

Pathetic 9pm session

2007-12-31T02:18:00.000-08:00

Just look at the crowd behind!

The crowd at the Sydney New Year Countdown was massive. We were too late and so wasn't able to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. Anyways, we are going to give ourselves 2 hours for us to find a good spot to watch the 12am countdown because they wouldn't let us into the Opera House section as it was FULL. What a disappointment!

33 degrees for 90mins

2007-12-18T04:11:00.000-08:00

I'm talking about Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga). Today was my third class and I still feel faint midway through the class but according to the teacher, it is normal for first-timers.

It's a whole different story after the class though. The effects and results were immediate! I now feel more flexible, I eat better, breathe well and feel more energetic. Not only do I tone and strengthen my muscles and joints, I'm also clearing toxins from within my body, strengthening my internal organs.

33 degrees for 90mins...all that was worth it!

Catching our breaths after class

Still wet and sweaty. I feel stoked!

Best way to cool yourself down after Bikram Yoga is an ice-cream.

Home-cooked dinners

2007-12-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Home cooked food

Spent the past few days cooking up a storm with Cung's spanking new hot plate set he got from Sovereign Hill. We had Bulgogi beef with Saffron rice, Lemongrass mince meat and Roast pork with Baked Dutch Cream potato and Sweet potatoes. I really loved the creamy texture of the potatoes! Go to Prahran market for a wide variety of potatoes from Mr. Potato Man.

Exceptional Weekend

2007-12-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

Ballarat & Kyral Castle

Last weekend was exceptionally wonderful as we got to go to the Kyral Castle rave, Sovereign Hill and the Tangled Maze. Ballarat is Victoria's largest inland city with a population of approximately 90,000. It is also an icon of gold rush experiences.

Kyral Castle rave -Apparently 8 overdose cases that night.

Sovereign Hill - 14ha 'open air museum' which recreates aspects of Ballarat as it was in the city's gold mining heyday of the 1850s. People in this little town dressed and acted the part.

The Tangled Maze - One of the most unusual Botanic Maze.

Sydney beaches and Melbourne Possums

2007-11-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

Sydney beaches and Melbourne Possums

Finally managed to upload all the pics on picasa...friggin' took me ages with the crappy wireless connection. Anyways, the photos will tell the story. Enjoy!

Hello Sydney!

2007-11-08T04:22:00.000-08:00

Seeing Sydney Opera House for the first time was the most exciting part of the city on my first day here. Apart from the buildings, the first bird I saw in Sydney was a fruit bat flying gracefully like one of them Jurassic Park flying dino bird. I didn't just see one, I saw a whole flock of them which kinda irked me. My friend who has been living here for more than a year didn't believe that they were bats, she thought they were just big birds. :)

Harbour Bridge aka "Coat Hanger". We crossed over the bridge to get over to North Sydney.

Driving across the "Coat Hanger".

The "Coat Hanger". See the Falcons hovering above the tower.

Passed by Luna Park.

Vhaat shall we order??

2007-10-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Looks like I've been going to Little India pretty frequently. Went there two weeks back to look for Dean's vacuum cleaner...was at Mustafa at 2am the day before yesterday...and now for Evonne's birthday dinner.

Deepavali, Festival of Light...Seen along Race Course Road

We celebrated Evonne's birthday at Delhi Restaurant...this place serves up really good butter chicken, Cottage Cheese with Spinach, Mutton in Mint Sauce and other hard to pronouce but palatable dishes. Not too spicy.

Mango ice-cream mixed with nuts and Mango puree...very thick and one of the least cold ice-cream I've had.

Cheese balls in ginger syrup...MUST TRY! It has this very milk powdery taste to it.

Kingfisher beer, a sweet Indian beer. Evonne looking drunk even before even drinking...

Check this one of a kind public sign out. It says, "Please Do Not Loiter Around the Passageway, The Staircase and The Lift Lobby."

The Lim family

2007-10-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Mazer Lim, protector of the house. He gives anyone who comes near the Lim residences the evils...

Closer view of Mazer Lim's evils

Miso Lim squashing Mr. Teddy

IMSGians and random things

2007-10-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

IMSG nonsense

This little house at Jalan Kuning may seem a little dodgy on the outside but check out what happens inside!

IMSG nonsense 2

Selamat Hari Raya

2007-10-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

To me Geylang Serai bazaar during the Hari Raya period means Ramly Burger. Well, because you can only get it in Singapore during this festive month.

Beef patties grilled in butter and then wrapped in fried egg, smoothered in chilli mayo, finally sandwiched between two slightly grilled buns is...ORGASMIC!

Grand old tree at this junction always the best dressed tree during this month. Dean and I on a double decker bus, shooting more pics from the aerial view of Geylang Serai as we head home...

Early birthday gift

2007-10-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Ooo...something from Pantry Magic!

*ruffle ruffle* Must not spoil the packaging...

"Ooo yay! A trendy kitchen towel and a silicone BBQ brush that wouldn't melt in the heat. Now I can host my BBQs in style!"

Happy Birthday Evonetta!

Bangkok with the Ang Mos

2007-09-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Bangkok with the angmos

Thailand is my favourite of all Asian countries. Not just because things are cheap there but because the whole culture is so flavoursome!

It's been awhile since I've been to Bangkok and my has it developed so much. Pollution and traffic are still as horrendous...we always had to take our mid-day bath before heading out again for dinner.

We landed really early in the morning at about 3am Singapore time. The taxi driver refused to drop us directly in front of our hostel but instead dropped us some where along Khao San. He tried to cheat us but Marcel, the ever calculative German managed to set things straight with him. We were greeted by the sight of strange looking people loitering the streets of Khao San... the smell of sewage suddenly became familiar to us as we continued our search of our hostel. Finally, we found our hostel right at the end of a narrow alley way.

Our visit to Bangkok consisted of temple visiting, long boat ride along the Chao Phraya river, clubbing at Santika (my favourite local club in Bangkok) and shopping at Chatuchak market. Surprisingly, I didn't buy much. Well, just didn't see the need to.

Ski videos from Falls Creek

2007-08-18T01:34:00.000-07:00

Finally got the time to upload my ski videos. It was my first time skiing and Cung taught me how. I was so used to wakeboarding and snowboarding so skiing forward instead of sideways felt awkward at first. But I didn't take long to get the hang of it and made use of the ski techniques that were taught.

This is a crowded run...see if you can spot me coming down!

Wodonga, Albury!

2007-08-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

Melbourne - August 2007 (Book 3)

Click the photo for more pics!

We couldn't ski on the 3rd day of our ski trip as there were wind warnings causing them to shut down all of the ski lifts except for one. It was quite a disappointment but good thing was that they gave us free one day credit (valid for a year) for the ski lifts which were paid for in advance. The old guy at Koki ski rentals was too nice, he also gave us a full refund in the form of credits with no expiry date.

And so after having Risotto with mushrooms and a Heineken for lunch, we decided to start on our roadtrip back to Melbourne. Cung was asleep during the part when I was driving up to the Falls Creek so he wasn't sure of the directions back and so he inquired "Is this the way back...does this road look familiar to you?" And I went "Ya kind of, I remember alot of winding roads...I remember passing through a mountain." I guess that didn't help him much as the country side is FULL of winding roads.

The sun had set and there were no street lights, only lights you rely on are your headlights and the moonlight. We had already travelled for more than 30 mins and had a feeling that we were heading in the wrong direction - we didn't pass through any mountain. Lucky we had our trusty road directory. I have always wondered how the road directory was formed for a country which is also a continent by itself, also larger than Europe!

Looking at the directory, we realised that we had missed a turn called "Bright Road" and we were actually headed north towards Victoria's last town before hitting New South Wales. Wondonga, Albury is a town shared by both Victoria and New South Wales. If we had continued on for another 5 hours, we would have reached Sydney. It was so tempting.

Finally we reached Wondonga, Albury and had planned to take the all scary Hume Fwy. But before that, we stocked our stomachs up with some Charcoal Chicken and Banana Fritters, my favourite! Tastes like our version of goreng pisang but with cinnamon hint. Wondonga, Albury is a small town with only one night club. Got to know this from the Asian waitress working at Attunga Ski Resort. She lives in that town. I wouldn't survive it.

We took on the freeway, passing by huge trailers (Optimus Primey looking ones) containing sheeps (very stinky), cars and other goods. I sat in the car, wide awake just to keep an eye out for any kangaroo which decides to use the freeway as well. If we were to hit one at a 110km/h, we would probably have turtled the car and died.

After 3 hours from Wondonga, Albury and after switching over 10 unlistenable radio stations, we finally saw the sparkly lights of the city in the distant. Finally, familiarity, finally content. This is one of the scariest road trips I have ever done.

Melbourne - Getting ready for the snow (Part 2)

2007-08-05T01:40:00.001-07:00

Cute ski mittens by Roxy

Ski googles by Smith. Asian fit.

You won't miss me in this colour!

I finally got myself the almost full gear for snowboarding. I couldn't find ski jacket and pants in my size/ ladies size, so I had to go for one that was made for 16 year olds. The last time I was at Falls Creek was last year and I wore oversized gear because I didn't get my own gear. This time I can go skiing with my own gear, no more renting of crappy gear. :)

Can't wait to go up to the mountains!

Click on the freaky doll to view the rest of the photos.

Melbourne - August 2007 (Book 2)

Gastronomical Melbourne (Part 1)

2007-08-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Melbourne - August 2007 (Book 1)

My trip to Melbourne has so far been gastronomical.

Wagyu beef at Bluefire steakhouse located at the Docklands, Vietnamese noodles at Saigon Rose at Chapel St, Japanese teppanyaki at Koko Restaurant at Crown Towers and Bluefire at Melbourne Central again.

It's been crazily cold over here but good thing is that we are indoors most of the time. Last night, temperature was as low as 8 degrees celcius. We were supposed to go clubbing after our thai massage but I couldn't move after the session. I think I got bruised as the lady had stepped too heavily on me. Lucky she didn't break any of my ribs.

Next week, we will be heading to Falls Creek for some snowboarding I hope. We will be joined by Cung's friend Dean and his friends.

Click on the photo to view the rest of the photos!

125 Van Van

2007-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Other than the Vespa, this is my other choice, the Suzuki 125 Van Van. Cute name! Just look at those large front chrome light and large muscular looking tyres. Super retro-styling. This is the closest match to what I have been looking for. Wide handle bars don't really work for my petite size though but we'll see...

I need, I need, I need to pass my riding!

Branded office desk

2007-07-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

My office desk is covered with various brands everyday.

Yesterday, I consumed the following all at the same time:

1) 1 X Magnolia Gelazia ice-cream in French Vanilla and Tiramisu
2) 1 X Fruit Tree Fresh Cranberry Pomegranate & Apple juice
3) 1 X NutriTea Waterchestnut & Sugarcane
4) 1 X F&N aLIVE yoghurt in Pomelo & Apple
5) 2 X Brands Essence of Chicken
6) 5 X Hershey's Kisses which my colleague had given all of us as farewell gift

It was a treat to myself after having to wrap 40 styrofoam boxes in blue paper.

Boxhead

2007-07-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

40. That's the number of styrofoam boxes my intern and I had to wrap in blue paper, lid and body of the boxes wrapped separately. We took 3 days to complete this tedious task which drove me into thinking I was a faceless box.

"How I wish I can be as blue as you all."

Box hug - All going to leave the office for a media drop soon.

Poltrona Frau - Modern Living

2007-07-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

Never been to a furniture opening before so I thought why not attend my first. I was invited to the opening of Poltrona Frau located at Purvis Street, just down the road from the other furniture boutique, Cappellini.

When I arrived, there was a mass of people overflowing the street. At first, I thought that it was the queue to the pub next door but no, it was in fact the event. So Jacq and I checked out the furniture pieces in the boutique - modern and contemporary. Was chatting to one of the lady who works there and she told me that all the furniture in the boutique are hand-sewn. Incredible... how do you actually hand-sew furniture man? Seriously. Oh and another guy who works there said that the boutique was actually designed to replicate the boutique in Italy.

We even got a private tour of the other furniture boutique, Cappellini. Both Jacq and I agreed that we prefer Cappellini's range as they had a more funky attitude with the bright colours that the designers had used for their pieces. If I had the kaching! I'd love to own some of these pieces. :)

Double Patties Burger Party

2007-07-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Before the rest of the party people arrived, Evonne, Jeff, You Yi and I took the opportunity to make ourselves double patties burgers so late-comers only get single patty. My juicy double patty burger layered with cheese, mushrooms, onions, lettuce and tomato sauce was kick-ass, tasted better than Carl Jnr's and looked even better than Billy Bomber's. All ingredients used for the party were "diet" or "suitable for diabetics" except for the meat patties which weren't for weight watchers. I know, sounds sick but you know what's sicker? The Hostel.

We watched The Hostel later on which almost made me chuck everything out. Go and watch it and you'll understand why. Apparently, The Hostel 2 will be out in theatres in about 2 weeks time. Brace yourselves!

Burger Party

Click on this photo to view the rest of the photos.

Lunch + Tea + Picnic time

2007-07-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

It's nice hanging out with your old girl friend from secondary school. Maybe it's because I haven't been keeping in touch with most of them since graduation. Chatting about the silly things we used to do back then and how one of our schoolmate had led such a dramatic life after being expelled from school. Something which both of us really admired of her.

It's Sunday. Evonne and I had decided to do girly things like have lunch and tea one after another. Here we are at the village... two small girls with huge appetites.

Sunday afternoon tea

After lunch at Thai Express, we headed straight to Foster's Rose Cafe for some tea. Yes, tea starts at 3pm init?

Just for $9.50, you get the tea set which consists of the following:
- 2 scones
- 1 slice of Walnut Banana cake
- 1 salmon sandwich
and a pot of tea of your choice. We chose Earl Grey.

My mom often brags about the tea set they offer here everytime she drives past the village so it's a must try for me.

After tea time is picnic time. I met Alexandra and Marcel at Tanglin Mall to get a bottle of wine from Jason's Supermarket. We were heading to Botanics to watch some school bands perform at the Symphony stage you see.

On the way there, we fed the fishes at the big pond with some of my leftover raisin bread. The terrapins didn't eat any of my bread as they don't fancy raisins. Soon, a mysterious dark shadow from under the murky waters approached us. It surfaced to gobble down one of the torn bread pieces we had thrown in. Families around us watched in awe as Big Fish slowly swept the surface and decended back into the darkness. Looked like a humongous Luo Han at first but after looking at it carefully again it looked like a giant Garoupa... it's eyes were popping out so hard I felt worried for it. It could probably feed a family of 15 with a size like that.

Performance was I would say so-so but it didn't really matter because it's the company that matters most. Highlight of the picnic was tree climbing. :)

Picnic at the Botanics

NUS Field Trip

2007-06-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

NUS field trip

Just over 5 years and there has been so many changes to the NUS campus. Construction is still rampant, making way for all things new.

It's the school break so the place was very empty except for the field filled with freshman going through orientation and the few theatre students rehearsing for their play at the forum. I remember how painful it was for me during orientation days where we had to take part in silly games. Lucky for me, the sports orientation group wasn't as tacky as the other groups.

As we walked past the hostels, I told Marcel,"This was what I heard from my friends who used to stay in hostels...that hostelites organise mass orgies and usually you hear that only the nerds attend them simply because they ain't getting any." Surprised with what I just said, Marcel commented,"Really?! We don't have that in Germany. We are over-porn and under sex." What he really means is that you can find porn everywhere in Germany but they don't really have a sex life.

Despite the scorching sun, we managed to visit the University Hall, NUS Museum and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. Check out the modern architecture!

Quentin Tarantino's "DEATH PROOF"

2007-06-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

I've decided not to watch Transformers or Ocean's 13 after having tasted Death Proof. That's how GOOD the movie was. I don't know how to describe what I feel but it was bloody good alright. Think 60's and 70's, think drug, sex, violence, think sick freaks...

You can even purchase their soundtrack on special 12" vinyl. Every record has a unique blood splatter pattern. How wicked is that?!?! Next movie to watch, Planet Terror, also part of the 2007 Grindhouse series or what you call Exploitation films.

Also listen to my favourite song in the movie which also will give you the moral of the story - http://www.deathproof.net/

Lyrics of April March - Chick Habit :

hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
or you'll be alone in a quick;
hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
or you'll never get another fix;

i'm telling you it's not a trick;
pay attention, don't be thick;
or you're liable to get licked;

you're gonna see the reason why;
when they're spitting in your eye;
they'll be spitting in your eye;

hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
a girl's not a tonic or a pill;
hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
you're just jonesing for a spill;

oh, how your bubble's gonna burst;
when you meet another nurse;
she'll be driving in a hearse;

you're gonna need a heap of glue;
when they all catch up with you;
and they cut you up in two;

now your ears are ringing;
the birds have stopped their singing;
everything is turning grey;

no candy in your till;
no cutie left to thrill;
you're alone on a tuesday;

hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
or you'll be alone in a quick;
hang up the chick habit;
hang it up, daddie;
or you'll never get another fix;

i'm telling you it's not a trick;
pay attention, don't be thick;
or you're liable to get licked;

you're gonna see the reason why;
when they're spitting in your eye;
they'll be spitting in your eye;
{x4}

Weighty issue

2007-06-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

I was catching up with my secondary school friend over msn one afternoon when she asked me, "Are you seeing anyone now?" The conversation continued like this...

Me: "Ya, you can see him on my blog. The cute chubby guy."

Geok Khim (not her real name to protect her identity): "Ohhh, no one can beat my boyfriend."

Me: "Huh, what do you mean?"

Geok Khim: "He is 105kg and he towers over me."

Me: "Tall still okay la...won't look so fat." (Thinking to myself - So now we are competing as to whose boyfriend is heavier.)

Geok Khim: " Haha...He is fat alright! He cannot ride horses in Australia because their maximum load is 100kg."

Me: "WTF?!?"

Geok Khim: "Ya they have alot of animal rights in Australia ma."

Me: "Eh send me photo leh"

Geok Khim: "Wah lao, you damn cruel"

Notre Aventure De Déjeune

2007-06-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

At the backdoor of our office lies a quiet and peaceful hawker centre located at Commonwealth. Unspoiled by any development, the old estate holds what I feel is unique to Singapore - friendly neighbourhood cats, clusters of pigeons pecking away, widely spaced low-rised HDB blocks with large pastures of land enough for the kids to play mini soccer, old school playgrounds which no one plays at anymore because it is filled with weed growing all over it and lotsa old people. The pace of life here is so much slower you can almost feel the effects immediately upon entering the old world. Looks like my colleagues and I will be heading there more often instead of the usual crowded, stuffy, under serious construction, "I can feel the effects of global warming" Holland Village. Holland Village is known to be the boho hang-out place in Singapore but with all that MRT construction going on, it is already taking the rustic charm away from it.

Us heading back to the office. From the top of the hill, you can see the rooftops of Chip Bee Garden and the newer HDB flats in the horizon.

The playground consists of two slides on one side with many little blue coloured stool looking things perched on the slope.

This tunnel caught my attention. Is it part of the playground or is it a military tunnel used in WW2?

Me testing the tunnel out...The verdict, an excellent place to hide away from your enemies aka my boss. As you can see, lots of weed growing in there...rubbish too...I wonder why people mistake this as a rubbish dump. Does this look like an elongated bin to you?!?

Last bit of our adventure was this narrow lane...if not careful you might fall into the drain or get zapped by the electric fence on the other side.

Mich's Wedding Part 2

2007-06-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Mich's wedding was held at the Asian Civilisation Museum...pretty swanky place to hold a wedding. During the reception, Mich read a really sweet poem which almost made me wanna cry. On the other hand, Jacksen's song to Mich, "You say it best when you say nothing at all" was like telling her that she yaks too much and she is at her best when she shuts up. But oh well... perhaps there could be another interpretation of that song. By the way, I've got the video of Jacksen singing... should I or should I not post it on youtube??

Reflection of two idiots

Ben checking the kitchen out to see if we can 'cut' the buffet line

Jackie who flew all the way down from L.A. to attend Mich's wedding and her sister who just came back from Perth. Our strategy and collaborative effort in getting the food from the long buffet line was excellent...good job guys!

Selena and I doing the tian mi mi pose...later on she made me do the heart-shape pose using our arms but erm... not going to upload the photo here. ;-)

I wonder what they do to the lovely roses after the wedding...

Eat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!

2007-06-23T04:00:00.001-07:00

A little surprise this afternoon when I received half a dozen of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts all the way from Australia. Opened the box and I thought to myself "Don't think I can stomach all these... arteries would probably be glazed with a layer of sugar if I were to finish everything myself."

So mummy cut them into bite-size pieces so that everyone can have a sample of each flavour. For me, Original Glaze is still the best!

Special thanks to Jerry for the special delivery and the Krispy Kreme chef hat...now I can play Krispy Kreme chef.

Newly Weds - Jacksen & Michelle Ng

2007-06-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ng...Guess after this we won't be seeing you much in Pine Grove but do keep the Pine Grove spirit alive! Gonna miss our jogging and walking the dogs sessions. Have a blast in Florida and save Pine Grove!

Splitting headache

2007-06-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Today was one of them splitting headaches day where you feel like taking the day off but you know you can't because you've just got too much on your plate. Working 11 days in a row is definitely no easy feat. I feel like a truck had ran over me five times, plus that new pimple which found its way to my chin isn't doing me any good.

For now Nurofen is my new best friend...

First attempt at Cereal Prawns

2007-05-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Okay so after having tasted Cereal Prawns at the many restaurants I've went to, I decided to try my hands at it.

Here is the end result:-

Looks good in photo but the result wasn't ideal. The prawns and cereal weren't crispy enough. :( I only found out later why from Cung.

Reasons why the prawns weren't crispy:
1) The oil wasn't super hot when I added the prawns in
2) I added all of the prawns into the oil pond lowering the temperature of the oil. Should add in afew prawns at a time.
3) Mixture should be dry and not soggy. Should not add too much evaporated milk and butter.

Note to self: Look for job as Food Photographer.

Thank you for the music

2007-05-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the music...May you rest in peace Wayne Thunder, drummer of The Suns (formerly known as Boredphucks)

Ah peh fight

2007-05-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Was at Holland Village hawker centre having my dinner when suddenly this ah peh started arguing with another ah peh (very frail looking one) He pushed the frail Ah Peh down onto the floor. Like KA BAM! So poor thing lah...got blood all!

So Benedict came to his rescue and tried to stop the fight. The frail ah peh went back to his table and continued drinking his beer. And then ar...he stood up again, this time wit a beer bottle in his hand(shan't expose the beer brand...bad publicity)and walked up towards the strong ah peh. I could tell that the strong ah peh was quite scared though he tried to look cool.

I was like OMIGOD...should I get out of here??? Will I be walking out of the hawker centre with glass shattered all over my face??? But I really wanted to finish my dinner...so Benedict came to the rescue again. He walked up towards the frail ah peh and asked him to put the bottle back. Then the ah peh went,"Later I try again."

When we were leaving, the frail ah peh said to Benedict,"I so old already still want to fight...three against one also not fair right? If want to fight then one on one la. Thank you u ar...if not for you I die already."

Wah liew...so old still behaving like kids.

Bedtime sweets

2007-05-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Graham Fine Tawny port, tiramisu and lemon grass crème brûlée - things you need just before bedtime.

Saturday morning breakfast at the Botanics

2007-05-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait for the new Botanical Gardens to be refurbished...I miss feeding the fishes and the terrapins in the old pond.

So we decided to pay Botanics a visit and have some good old bacon and eggs.

After breakfast, I was determined to feed the terrapins and fishes at the old pond. I walked in my heels, in the blazing heat from the new end of Botanics to the Main Gate where the old pond is situated. Not only did we feed terrapins and fish...we also fed the duckies on our way.

Those ducks stood so still on that patch of land... we almost got fooled into thinking they were fakes.

Cung rolling the ball...making it go faster. Some ball obsession he has...

Feeding of fish and terrapins with leftover toast. Gourmet breakfast for them fishies and terrapins.

Bumboat ride

2007-05-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

We waited impatiently for the boat to arrive...

Another bumboat passes by.
"Dayung sampan...dayung sampan" - music in the bumboat is played in between the recorded commentary about Singapore's history.

I love the smell of bumboat diesel...reminds me of the times when I was travelling to the little islands off Thailand.

Night view of Singapore's urban landscape

After a hearty black pepper crab dinner at Boat Quay, Cung and I decided to take a ride in one of those bum boat you see along the Singapore River. Always wanted to sit in one of them but never got down to doing so.

Just for $12 per person, you'll get a 30min ride up and down the enchanting river. We did it just before sunset and so got to see the river, the sky scrapers and the shophouses along in the river in two views.

I thoroughly enjoyed this little romantic bumboat trip.

Sweet Sixteen!

2007-05-09T05:37:00.000-07:00

From birthday dinner at PS Cafe to the party at Winebar, it was a blast! As they say, it's the company that matters most so thank you to all my wonderful friends who made it for my Sweet Sixteen!

Attempting to cut the cake while high on alcohol...

Focus now...

Almost there!

Picking on the yummy Berrymisu cake...

Did it...simple init?

Cheryl takes over the rest of the cake cutting..yay!

What's worse than a skidmark?

2007-04-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

A choked toilet bowl! And that's what happened to me today at work. Flush once and the water level rises, flush another time and it rises again. It is by far the most stressful thing that has happened to me this year.

And so, I had to inform the rest of my colleagues of how the disaster had happened and warned the rest who wanted to use the loo.

My mind was on tackling the choked toilet bowl problem at work...I didn't want to do the plunger method as the paranoia of backsplashes kept flashing through my head, so I ran to Cold Storage to buy Mr. Muscle's drain declogger.

I couldn't believe it would be that easy. Just pour the gel in, leave it in for 30mins then flush. The solvent will disintegrate any matter in its way except for metal.

And then, a second disaster came my way. I went back to work and totally forgot about flushing the toilet bowl after 30mins and left it in there for a whole hour! Went back in to flush and it did not work...Apparently, the solution will harden if you leave it in there for too long.

Disheartened and still stressed out, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight until I solve this problem. At 11pm, Ben and I went to get a plunger from Cold Storage and headed straight to the office. With Ben's moral support from behind, I plunged and squirmed and plunged. Ben said that I did it really half-heartedly with little strength (coz I was afraid of backsplash) but after about 5 plunges, the toilet bowl totally cleared. It was that easy! Oh and he also said that I look very sexy plunging the toilet bowl. :)

Relief swept through my body as I walked out of the office knowing that the toilet bowl is back to it's normal state. I sweared to myself that I will never do that again. Never!

It's been an hour and a half since my first plunge and I still can't believe I did it. I actually used the plunger!

Note to self: Give interim flush