SG Girl Next Door

Gundam 2011

2011-11-17T16:59:00.013+08:00

Video: Another Home (The 'Other' National Day Video)

2011-08-03T06:47:00.001+08:00

It takes a Singaporean to understand this video. Enjoy.

How Microsoft Bought Skype

2011-05-14T01:47:00.001+08:00

http://www.toonpool.com/artists/sinann_5624

I like Cheah Sin Ann's comic strips. I remember I interviewed Cheah for an Art project during school days. I scored A for that! I also remember he's handsome too. J Check out Cheah's other websites:
http://www.houseofcheah.com/
http://www.thefunnycartoon.com/comic-strips/comic-strips/event-horizon.html

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

2011-01-17T22:48:00.000+08:00

Love this song! Great lyrics; it’s exactly how I’m feeling now. The ending of the music video shows all couples reunited at a party. Wish it had happened to me too…

Picture perfect memories,
Scattered all around the floor.
Reaching for the phone cause, I can’t fight it any more.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.

For me it happens all the time.
It’s a quarter after one, I’m all alone and I need you now.
Said I wouldn’t come but I lost all control and I need you now.
And I don’t know how I can do without, I just need you now.

Another shot of whiskey, can’t stop looking at the door.
Wishing you’d come sweeping in the way you did before.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.
For me it happens all the time.

It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk,
And I need you now.
Said I wouldn’t call but I lost all control and I need you now.
And I don’t know how I can do without, I just need you now.

Yes I’d rather hurt than feel nothing at all.
It’s a quarter after one, I’m all alone and I need you now.
And I said I wouldn’t call but I’m a little drunk and I need you now.
And I don’t know how I can do without, I just need you now.
I just need you now.
Oh baby I need you now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OH! Open House 2011 @ Marine Parade

2011-01-08T23:08:00.144+08:00

I brought along a friend to the OH! Open House 2011 at Marine Parade today. Some very nice HDB flat owners have allowed the artists’ works to be displayed in their flats and not mind groups of strangers going into their houses to view the art pieces.

It was a good day; it did not rain. Otherwise we would definitely be drenched as the flat units are blocks apart, (though still within the neighbourhood) and we did quite a bit of walking.

The first unit we arrived at is on the 17th floor with sea view! I couldn’t help snapping a couple of shots before entering the house.

Comparing to the 2009 OH! @ Niven Road, I feel that there aren’t enough art pieces to view. This could be partly due to that the 3 & 4 rooms HDB units which are rather small. Hence I find that my ‘glass is half full’ after viewing. However, when in the car later, my friend makes a date with me for the Post-Oh! Show! on 29 January (at 48 Niven Road; 29 Jan - 13 Feb 2011), which he spotted on the brochure.

"Lift" at the common area.

The view from window
ouside the house.

What are they peeping?

Er... No wonder it's entitled
"Parental Guidance".

My Love For You

2010-12-30T21:37:00.017+08:00

It has been years since we last met. Though we dated briefly, I still have vivid recollection of the times we were together. For whatever reasons then, you decided not to see (or call) me anymore. Due to pride (and from my understanding if a guy is not interested in a girl anymore, he’ll stop calling), I, too did not contact you.

All these years, you have never left my mind. I always wonder how you have been. Many times I wanted to pick up the phone to call you, to tell you to give us another chance but I couldn’t do that. Perhaps I was afraid of rejection. Today, I plucked out the courage to contact you. You suggested meeting up and we had tea in town.

You look good, if not better. We chatted. You asked why I am still single. I told you it’s not easy to find a lifetime partner. I didn’t ask if you’re married. I don’t usually ask that kind of question. We talked about other things: jobs, our mutual friends whom we both have kind of lost touch with them. Then very subtly you told me you’re married.

Now I understand the saying: “the person you love most may not be the one you’ll marry”. I’m not sure if the one that you’ve married is the one that you love most. But I certainly understand that the one whom I love most does not love me.

What a way to end the year 2010. I didn’t have the courage to tell you my feelings then, and I don’t see the need to tell you today. So I gathered you’ll never know how I really feel about you. No words can describe the aching feeling inside me now.

The short periods that we spent together were wonderful moments to me. I’ll store those good memories in my heart, forever.

The Man Who Walked into the Female Toilet

2010-12-21T00:13:00.001+08:00

I was washing my hands in a mall’s female toilet. It was deserted and I was the only one in there. Then came in a young man with short hair, wearing spectacles, t-shirt, long pants and carrying a laptop bag. He walked straight up towards the cubicles.

I was stunned. To make sure he did not accidentally walked into the female toilet, I called out to him: “Excuse me.” He answered “yes?” and walked back to face me. It was then that I saw ‘he’ has boobs and the outline of the bra underneath ‘his’ t-shirt.

Immediately I said: “Er… Sorry.” (I didn’t want to embarrass both of us further by explaining why I apologized). She paused for a second and said: “Oh… Ok.” Then she turned to walk towards the cubicles again. Fortunately he she wasn’t mad at me.

I’m not prejudiced against one’s dressing style. I was sensitive because it’s a female toilet; especially there are many perverts roaming around these days.

Books of Humor

2010-12-07T03:40:00.001+08:00

I chanced upon these humorous quotes and encouraging quotes recently. Really funny; great for de-stressing. Takes about five minutes to finish one book.

“It takes you twice as long to look half as good.”
“Your spouse nominates you to go on the nation’s
favourite makeover tv show.”
After carrying your nephew up to bed, it’s you that needs to have a nap.”

“You stop on the staircase to catch your breath, and can’t remember whether you were going up or down.”
“You suddenly wonder why there are so many cars driving on the wrong side of the road today.”

Pet names for each other: Then and Now
Then: Babe Now: Piggy
Then: Sexy Now: Sexagenarian

Then: Gorgeous Now: Gorger

Relaxation comes from letting go of tense thoughts. Frances Wilshire
After a storm comes a calm. Proverb
To every problem there is already a solution whether you know it or not. Grenville Kleiser

Problem accessing internet with Samsung Corby Pro

2010-12-03T15:04:00.000+08:00

Is anyone out there using this mobile - Samsung Corby Pro B5310? I bought it few months back and am facing these error messages when accessing the internet: “phone memory full” or “page too large”. Sent it to Samsung Service Center for software upgrade but is still facing this problem.

Though I’ve no problem surfing hotmail and gmail accounts but when comes to sites that have a few pictures, the error messages pop up and I simply could not continue.

It really makes my ‘mobile internet surfing’ unpleasant. Feeling crappy now…

OH! Open House is Back

2010-12-01T16:34:00.000+08:00

For those who’ve missed the art exhibition Open House in 2009, OH! 2011 is back.

OH! 2009 was held in Niven Road where owners of the pre-war shop houses allowed the artists to display their art works in their homes. I enjoyed the house hoping concept to view the artists’ works.

OH! 2011, as I was informed will be held in Marine Parade in January. The right and below pictures are works of artists Jes Brinch and Teng Yen Lin that will be displayed then. (There should be more artists but I was only given those pictures).

From my experience in 2009, I would like to share what you should pay a little attention to:

Do wear shoes that are easy to take on and off. (Foreigners who are new in this country, in our culture we do not wear our shoes into someone’s house).
Carry an umbrella as there might still be wet days in January.

We were not allowed to use the houses’ toilets back in 2009 in Niven Road. Hence please do your small/big ‘businesses’ elsewhere before you go there.

So mark your calendar for OH! 2011.

Fiction: The Other One

2010-10-25T04:11:00.000+08:00

“It’s over. We signed the papers yesterday.” Sally told Lewis, one of her close friends. “Till now, he still refuses to tell me who she is.”
“Perhaps he didn’t want to upset you further.” said Lewis.
“She has to be someone I know. Why must he protect her identity? Is she one of my friends? Lewis, did he mention to you about her?” asked Sally.
“Sally, you need to let go and move on.” Lewis advised.
“Whatever happens to our marriage vow – till death do us part? I’m still alive and he has left me!” Sally started sobbing.
“I know you’re hurting now. It takes time to heal. Whenever you need a listening ear, I’ll be there for you ok? I’m still your friend even though you’ve separated from Eddy.”
“Thanks Lewis. Thanks for staying around for me. I’ve not told my girlfriends yet. I just feel so ashamed I couldn’t keep my marriage alive.”

Two weeks later, Sally received a call from her girlfriend Lisa.
“Sally, we need to meet. I’ve something to tell you.”
“Lisa, sorry I’m…I’m not in the mood to go out.”
“It’s important. It’s about your husband Eddy.”
“Okay. Meet me at the usual café in an hour’s time.”

At the café, Lisa told Sally: “Sally, you must remain calm over what I’m going to tell you and show you.”
“Is it about Eddy’s mistress? Who is she?”
“You know Richard’s company is the client of Axtra (where Eddy works)? Well, Rich has been hearing some rumor that Eddy is having a close relationship with one of his coworker. He didn’t believe them until last night.”
“What happened last night?” asked Sally.
“Axtra invited its clients for its company’s cocktail event. Rich and his team attended; Eddy was there too. After many rounds of red wine, Rich spotted Eddy and his coworker behaving rather intimately at one dark corner. Rich couldn’t believe his eyes. Anyway he took a picture of them with his cell phone. He asks me to show it to you.” Lisa then showed Sally the picture in the cell phone. Yes, in that picture, Eddy was hugging someone (not a friendship kind of hug); a face that Sally recognized.

Suddenly it all made sense to Sally. Lewis, Eddy’s buddy-cum-colleague. The many ‘overseas business trips’ they had. The many nights that Lewis stayed over at their house ‘to work on projects’. And Eddy always told her: “Don’t wait on me, dear. We’re going to work through the night in the study room”. And what Eddy said on the day he moved out of their house: “I’m moving to Lewis’ place for the time being till I find a place for myself.”

Lewis was the other one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gundam Fiesta 2010

2010-09-12T20:08:00.205+08:00

Realised there's a Gundam Fiesta at a neighbourhood mall. Those toys were amazing; couldn't help take a few shots of the robots. Saw many fans; mostly men and boys buying their favourite robots. A father was carrying his baby and also busying looking at those toys.

Saw some limited edition toys on display. Wonder how much will their prices increase in the near future and is it really money well spent?

APAC Transformative Leadership Program

2010-09-12T19:15:00.134+08:00

Early this month, my company held an APAC Transformative Leadership Program for our staff from the local and regional offices. They had to stay here for 3 days.

On the first day, after the training, the participants thought they could relax a bit and enjoy the dinner. However they were told that they had to cook some local dishes that were assigned to their respective teams. Only two were locals; the rest were from the regional countries.

The dishes they had to cook were: chilli crabs; rojak, asum fish, Hainanese chicken rice, fried chicken & boh boh cha cha (a kind of local desert that has coconut milk in it).

We had to eat whatever they cooked. It actually turned out quite good (probably we were all hungry). And the winning team was the one that did the chilli crabs!

Signs of Aging?

2010-07-31T23:31:00.012+08:00

Early this week, I carried a carton of A4 size papers from point A to point B in the office. Didn’t know how many reams were in the carton; probably 6 reams. And I wasn’t wearing very high heels either. However the next morning, I felt a sharp pain at my lower back.

It was so bad that I couldn’t bend a bit at all. I knew I had strained my back. I had problem putting on a skirt; getting up from a chair was a little chore for me too, (that includes getting up from a toilet seat!). I woke up with pain each time when I turned in my sleep. Never knew turning in bed takes so much muscle strength to achieve.

I didn’t go see a doc; knowing I would be given pain killers and muscle relaxants. If I take pain killers, then I won’t know if my condition has worsened or improved. I applied some emu gel on my back to help relax the muscles. It helps a bit. Now my back has patches of plasters, those that ease muscles and back pains.

Is this sign of old age? Nay…Just a wrong position when lowering my back to carry heavy things that’s all.

World Cup Final 2010

2010-07-12T23:48:00.013+08:00

I’m not a soccer fan but since the final was to be shown on our national tv free-of-charge, I didn’t mind watching. So I bought some munchies and soft drinks and even napped a bit in order to stay awake during the game. It’s scheduled at 2.20am Monday morning.

Netherlands vs Spain; thought it would be exciting to watch. I don’t know much about soccer and the rules. But I do know what’s ‘off line’ and ‘yellow cards’. Many yellow cards were given as the players from both teams played very roughly.

I didn’t particularly support any of the team; I don’t even know the players. I planned to cheer for any goal into the net.

After 90mins and still no goal; extra time was given. At the 116th minute, there’s a goal! I gave a soft cheer (as I didn’t want to wake up my family members). I thought Netherlands had scored but when I looked at the score on the screen, it stated Netherland:0; Spain:1. All along I thought the players in orange shirts were the Spanish and the ones in blue were the Dutch. Oops… Nonetheless I was happy for Spain. They are the champions.

My New Mobile

2010-05-31T23:50:00.044+08:00

I have changed my mobile. My past mobiles were all Nokia’s. The service provider that I’m subscribing to was offering some pretty good promotion (for re-contracting another 2-year plan with them). So I’d decided to take their offer. For $48, I’d chosen Samsung Corby Pro, a touch screen phone.

First time using a touch screen phone, I’m quite clumsy. Whenever I tried to scroll the screen with my thumb on the contacts, I pressed the contact numbers and ended up calling my friends. Perhaps the touch screen is very sensitive too.

What I like about this mobile is that it has ‘auto-reject calls’ function. I receive a lot of calls from advertisers and find them very irritating. If I key these numbers under auto-reject list, I won’t have to entertain or pick up their calls. So I painstakingly keyed in all their numbers including ex-boyfriends’ and others I find irritating. And voila! It’s been peaceful for days!

My previous Nokia phone allows me to copy, cut and paste information. It makes creating new contacts or save information rather easily. However, this Samsung Corby Pro does not have that.

I like the design of it though; looks pretty cool, (I like cool gadgets). It comes with a sliding key pad for those who are not used to touch screen to type their text messages or emails. But you need to use both hands to use the key pad. I’m used to using just my thumb to key messages, (and it’s very much faster). It’s too much trouble using both hands. Also, I can’t put in ringtones for my contacts that are saved in sim directory. I need to copy the contacts to the phone in order to do that.

Anyone using this model out there? Please share your experience here. I’m too lazy to read the manual. :)

The Making of Teddy, the Bear

2010-05-17T03:39:00.020+08:00

A girl friend of mine has recently taught me how to make a teddy bear. I could never have imagined I would be able to do so. Well, after two lessons from her, the making of my first teddy bear has begun to show some progress.

As you can see from the picture, most of the parts were ready, waiting to be stuffed and joined together. However, somehow when I looked at the head, it didn’t look like a bear at all to me. It looked more like a squirrel or a puppy. I began to get worried. I couldn’t go wrong. I could not make a teddy that looks like a puppy, because the materials are very expensive!

I began to speak to the teddy: “I hope you’ll turn out fine”. I sewed with trembling hands, (afraid it might not turn out ok), and often poked my fingers with the sharp needle. I ran out of thread when I was sewing the lips of the bear. I didn’t want to waste time buying for new thread to redo. And hence, the teddy has clef lips.

When I finally finished joining the parts, I was relieved. It looks like a teddy bear but a little grouchy though, (probably due to the clef lips). Nonetheless, I’m quite satisfied. I intend to make another one to improve my skills. Thereafter, I guess I could start receive orders for my ‘teddy business’. But I don’t think I could make a profit cos’ it’s actually cheaper to buy from the ready made market.

For the time being, this teddy is resting on my bed. :)

Learning Spanish

2010-05-13T04:05:00.004+08:00

¡Hola, buenos dias. (Hello! Good day.)

I’ve been self-studying Spanish for quite a while. It’s not easy cos’ I’m not attending a class and I have no one to practise speaking the language. The reason I took up this language is that I love Salsa dancing; (not that I’m good at it, in fact I danced with two left feet), hence I want to understand the language in order to enjoy the salsa music.

In Spanish, all nouns are given a gender - masculine or feminine. And the gender also determines the adjectives. In fact, the noun’s gender affects the usage of other words. (Even articles are given a gender!).

For example: El professor de londres es muy alto. (The teacher from London is very tall). El is masculine; alto is also masculine. From the sentence, one will know that the teacher is a male. If it’s a she, then the sentence would be: La professor de londres es muy alta.

The spelling of the verbs changes according to the gender pronouns. For instance: Estudiar = to study

(yo) estudio = (I) study
(el, ella, usted) estudia = (he, she, you) studies/study
(nosotros, nosotras) estudiamos = (we in masculine/feminine) study
(ellos, ellas, ustedes) estudian = (plural of he, she, you) study

The pronouns are usually dropped out in a sentence since the verbs show the genders. I don’t know how else to learn the verbs but to learn them by heart.

Till then, ¡Adiós! Hasta luego. (Goodbye! See you again.) Oh, by the way, the alphabet H in Spanish is silent (you don’t pronounce it). Hence, Hola is pronounced as ‘o-la’; and Hasta is ‘us-ta’.

Movies

2010-05-07T05:23:00.013+08:00

Movie 1 – Shutter Island (2010)

The film is about a U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigation on the disappearance of a female murderer from a mental hospital on a remote island.

Half way through the movie, I’d guessed what's the ending. I was good. 8-)

Movie 2 – Chloe (2009)

Starring: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried

Suspecting her husband is cheating on her, a doctor (Julianne Moore) hires an escort to seduce her husband (Liam Neeson).
Amanda Seyfried is young and beautiful. Julianne Moore, though more mature, has quite a good figure. Liam, is simply charming. The movie has a few nudity scenes, so one has to be of legal age to watch it.

The Wedge Shoes I Purchased

2010-05-07T04:03:00.016+08:00

I bought a pair of wedge shoes at a mall that were on sales recently. I love wearing wedge shoes cos’ they can make me taller; as tall as 1.75m when I wear a 3-inch heels. And compared to wearing the stiletto heels, its more stable to walk on, (tendency of tripping is close to zero) as the base of the heels are much broader.

Back to the wedge shoes I bought. It’s a lovely red color. I fell in love with them when I first spotted the wedges. A couple of days later, I decided to wear them for my outing. I chose the outfit that matched the shoes. As soon as I reached the lobby of my apartment, and before I could walk more than ten steps, I almost tripped. I looked down and to my astonishment, the sole of one of the wedges had actually came off. I had to limp back to my apartment.

As I was examining the sole of the other one, it too came off. Furious, I brought back to the mall where the promotion was still on to exchange. This time, I examined closely before I took the new pair home.

The next day, I decided to wear it. You won’t believe it. The same thing happened! Only this time, both the soles came off as soon as I reached the lobby of my apartment and I probably managed to walk in them for just five steps.

I brought them to the retail shop at the mall. The sales assistant told me they would send back to the head office and let them decide what they would do. She took down my mobile number and told me someone from the head office would contact me. That was last Friday and no one had contacted me. So on Tuesday, I went back to the store and asked about it. Apparently, they had glued back the soles and were sent back to the store. I asked why no one informed me of the status. The sales girl replied they had received the shoes but were too busy to contact me. Ok, I tried not to be angry at such level of customer service. After all, they had mended the shoes for me.

So the next day, I decided to try the wedges by walking in them to the mall. (I didn’t dare to wear them to town yet). And being a careful person, I had brought along an extra pair of shoes with me. This time I actually managed to walk in them all the way to the mall. I was feeling a sense of relieve when suddenly as I stepped onto the tiles of the mall, I felt slippery. It shouldn’t have happened. You see, usually for shoes with soles that are not anti-slip, I would paste those non-slip stopper on the soles and I would be able to walk in them without tripping.

I looked at the bottom of the wedges and found that both the heels have came off. So I walked right into the store and showed them. I told the sales assistant I wanted a refund. The sales girl told her male colleague what had happened and he called the office for instruction. After the call, he told me he had to send them back to head office for them to examine. I told him I just want a refund as I had lost faith in their products and won’t want to waste time. I insisted if he couldn’t decide, let me speak to their manager. He made another call and spoke for another five minutes. Finally I got my refund. The sales guy had to pay me first (from his own pocket) and claim back from office later. Sigh, the store does not even have a refund system in place.

You would have said since I had gotten my refund, I would suffer no lost. Wrong. The shoes cost $9.90; but the anti-slipped stopper cost me $5!

I Dislike the New MSN Homepage

2010-04-02T03:29:00.043+08:00

I’d been using msn.com as my browser homepage all along, and was rather satisfied with it. (The left image was what the old msn homepage looked like).

Then Microsoft began to roll out their new design of the homepage. Though I don’t really like it, (I'm still used to the "feel" of the old msn), but I still choose it as my homepage.

Then today when I opened my browser, I realized my homepage has become xinmsn.com

Apparently, xinmsn is a partnership between Mediacorp Pte Ltd and Microsoft. The page shows local entertainment news which I’m not interested. I want the U.S. msn homepage. So I checked the ‘internet options’ under the tools option of the browser to retype the msn address. What surprised me most is that even when I set the homepage address to msn.com, I realized it still shows the xinmsn.com homepage. It does not give you an option whether you like to have that as your homepage.

If some of you techies out there know a way to change my homepage to U.S msn, please let me know. (I hate not having choices). Meanwhile, I’ll just set my homepage to yahoo.com.

Why Didn't He Call?

2010-03-20T06:06:00.003+08:00

Recently, a girlfriend of mine was upset that a guy, after their first date, did not call her anymore. I told my truly upset girlfriend that he could be busy with work and might call her later. “But he promised to call!’’ she said. So I asked: “Did he really promise or just said he’ll call?” She replied it’s the latter.

I try to explain to her there are many reasons why a guy would not call the girl (anymore) after the first date. “You know, dear, perhaps he finds you unsuitable for him and so didn’t want to waste time going out with you.” I said. She replied: “But it’s only the first date. How would he know we won’t click?”

Sometimes, during or after the first date one would know if he or she likes the other party or not. Most people called it “chemistry”.

I, as usual, trying to be analytical, explained the possibilities of him not calling her:

He could have lost his mobile phone and hence lost all his contacts. Who can remember phone numbers nowadays?
He feels that he doesn’t deserve you because you are too beautiful.
He finds you resembling his mother.
He dislikes your dining manners. Perhaps you eat too loudly?
He feels guilty of not telling you that he’s married or already has a girlfriend.
He didn’t get what he wants on the first date.
He feels that his mother would not approve of you.
He realizes that he is indeed gay.

Once I accidentally stepped on the toe of my date with my high heels and didn’t even notice till he told me. I never heard from him then. 8-(

I did advise my girlfriend to call him but being Asian, (a rather conservative one), she refused. So I taught her what I learnt from a book I’d read. It’s about mental skills vs physical skills to accomplish something. In that book (could not remember the title), it said that experts had found out that if one mentally project a successful image in the mind, it would come true. For example, a person may not know how to play basketball. If he or she imagines throwing the ball into the net (imagine that a few times), and when they try to throw the ball into the net, it actually work. Another example was that the experts gathered some people and divided them into two groups. Group A would do regular exercise in order to slim down. Group B would just imagine that they would slim down. Guess which group actually slim down? Group B! (I am still trying to use this technique to lose some pounds).

So if my girlfriend starts imagining that the guy might call her, he might call her some day. This, based on my true experience, actually worked for me. Quite a few times, I imagined the guys would call me, and they did. 8-)

I also advised my girlfriend to move on and not waste time on that guy who didn’t call.

One Wife Not Enough

2010-03-10T23:50:00.088+08:00

Most people should know by now about film maker, Jack Neo's affair who was exposed by his mistress. Couldn't avoid not knowing as news of his affair were splashed all over local newspapers and the internet. Many expressed 'shocked' over his exposed affair.

Why shocked? This is happening all over the world daily. Celebrities and non-celebrities are doing it. I'm not saying its morally correct but nowadays, nothing could shock me no more.

Just look around your surroundings: Your married GM could be sleeping with his secretary; your colleagues could be cheating on their spouses; and worst of all, your best friend, (or even your male friend) could be sleeping with your husband.

Some women always say:"I have faith in my husband". However, they do not know, a lot of times, their husbands don't even have faith in themselves to resist temptation. You see, when faced with such situation, men don't use their brains to think; they think with their "little brother". And as they aged, maybe its their mid-life crisis or old aged crisis, they would go for girls half their age, (if not more). I wonder if I'm in my fifties (like Jack), could I have men in their twenties? I feel nauseous with this thought.

One thing I can't comprehend is, very often, the wives would "close one eye" toward their husbands' affairs. Was it because the wives have no earning power and were afraid to starve to death when divorced? Or was it just so simply "for the sake of the children"? Could the wives close one eye if their husbands passed sexually transmitted diseases to them? Beats me, really.

And for those men who proclaimed:"I didn't stray; I'm faithful". Ha, don't be so confident yet. This is because the devil has yet to use this (temptation) to destroy your life. When you really meet one woman/girl, half your wife's age, has all the attributes you'd dreamt of, and by then if you still intend to stay faithful, my advice is: put on your sneakers and run; run as fast and far away from her. Chances are if you stay longer or wanting to prove you can resist her, you end up falling for her and the rest is history.

Gifts Ideas for Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T18:50:00.265+08:00

Valentine's day is just around the corner. This year the day coincides with the first day of Chinese New Year.The latter is an important occasion for all Chinese to be with their families and loved ones. Many couples may choose not to celebrate on the day itself as priority is given to their families.

There are many ideas of gifts for her:

A simple box of chocolates and a card would just touch her heart; provided she's not on a diet. Or else after she finishes the box of chocolates, no doubt she would feel the warmth in her heart, but she would also put on an extra 5 pounds at her hips. lol

A dozen or more beautiful roses would bring a broad smile on most girl's face (also on my face); unless she's not a flower-lover..

If you want to show how much you love her (and don't mind paying more), jewellery would be nice. Diamonds, gold and gemstones are many girls' (mine too) best friends.

Those who want to be more romantic, could consider lingerie.

Too late to get gifts? Since this Valentine's Day is also the first day of Chinese New Year, why not give her a red packet (with cash or cheque) instead?

Here's wishing everyone a prosperous Chinese New Year and a romantic Valentine's Day!!

Spring Cleaning - Once a Year

2010-02-12T05:43:00.061+08:00

When I was young, I used to look forward to Chinese New Year celebration as there were lots of goodies to eat (normally I won't get to eat that much of junk food); receiving ang paos and seeing my relatives (whom I don't get to meet for 364 days). Spring cleaning were usually done by the adults.

Ever since adulthood, the duty of spring cleaning and preparation for the new year had fallen onto my hands. Clearing of unwanted stuff accumulated throughout the year is actually quite a headache. Getting each curtain down to wash was a bigger headache. Imagine I had to climb the ladder to get the curtains (piece by piece) down, machine washed, hang it to dry, iron it before climbing up the ladder to put it up. We have at least five big windows in the house and each has day and night curtains. Thank goodness I had just completed hanging the last piece of curtain back.

For groceries, I had to make a few trips to the supermarket to buy soft drinks, mandarin oranges, tit-bits and finger food. Fortunately, for the past few years, my family has decided to dine out for our reunion dinner (or lunch to avoid crowd). So that makes less to stock up.

Then, two days ago I'd decided I wanted to do some light decoration for the house. I'm not that good at craft work. So I just folded some butterflies and fans using red packets.

(The lantern and the two fireworks were purchased, of course).

I thought it look quite alright..

A Mother's Search For Her Lost Child

2010-01-31T23:38:00.093+08:00

I was on my way walking home after buying lunch today when I heard tiny chirping sounds on the grass patch beside me. I turned to see a very young bird resting on the grass. Up on a tree (behind me), there's an adult yellow bird ( it looked like a black-naped oriole except that it's in yellow and green) 'calling out' loudly. I figured it was looking for her young who might had disappeared from the nest.

There were traffic passing by and the young bird's chirping sound was quite soft. Perhaps the mother could not hear its cry. The adult bird, on the tree, was looking around and calling out non-stop but never looked down at the grass patch. Soon, the young bird was tired and closed its eyes to rest. I tried whristling to catch the attention of the adult bird but to no avail. It flew from one tree to another and it never stop calling loudly. Usually these birds sing beautifully in the morning. Whenever I walked pass these trees I could hear them singing. But today, the sound was definitely not normal. It sounded like loud caws of crows. I could detect the urgency and desperateness in her calls.

(Below is the usual sound of the bird)

As I stood helplessly looking at the young bird, an old lady was passing by, stopped and asked me what's the matter. In my broken hokkien, I managed to explain to her. I told her I do not know how to help. We watched the adult bird flew from tree to tree. Then the young bird opened its eyes but was not making any more sound. We spotted a shorter tree nearby (newly planted; not fully grown yet). I told her it would be good if the young bird could rest on the branch instead of on the grass as I was afraid it might be harmed by cats or dogs.

She agreed and immediately put down her groceries and went to pick up the little bird and placed it on the tree branch. I applauded the old lady's bravery as I would not dare to touch the little bird for two reasons: (1) I feel uneasy touching the soft bones of the bird and (2) I'm afraid of bird flu.

I thanked her for her help. The old lady said she was going to hang around to see if her action was successful. I walked back to my block feeling pretty pleased.

In the evening, I passed by that tree again. The little bird was not there anymore. I really hope it has reunited with its mother.

Memories of the Past

2010-01-01T00:34:00.010+08:00

Was going through my cupboard earlier and found some interesting stuff I still keep till now.

I remember this doll! It was the only one time I asked my dad to buy for me. I knew my dad was not earning alot when we were young and I would usually not ask for new toys. But I could not resist that particular one. It came with three dresses, curlers, hair dryer, make-up, etc. I remember I tried to convince my dad it was not that expensive; "Dad, its only $8.15!" (the price tag is still there at the top left hand corner of the box). Oh, I remember I'd hand sewn extra dresses for my doll too. Isn't she adorable?

This piece of drawing was one of my favourite. I had chosen pastel as the medium and had used perspective to project space between the lady and the guy. The outfit on the guy was actually one of the designs of my collection.

Not sure if I could reproduce the same standard now. Drawing needs patience and lots of practice...

This piece of bangle was my exam piece for my jewellery design class. Though it was an elective class, I still spent alot of effort in researching and refining my designs to come up with the final design. And because I had chosen to make a bangle, due to its size and weight, it had actually cost me a bomb in acquiring the right amount of silver to work on.

Don't assume a piece of silver to be shaped like a bar (like a bar of gold). It actually shapes like a piece of rock; irregular shape. Alot of work has to be done to turn a piece of silver into a piece of jewellery. Cutting, flattening, pulling, soldering, filing, etc. are all neccessary procedures of any kind of hand made jewellery (not to mention the amount of sweat too). I had deliberately chosen not to polish it in order to give the bangle a tarnished, rustic look.

Art Exhibition: Oh! Open House

2009-12-06T23:43:00.054+08:00

Went to an art exhibition on Saturaday night: Oh! Open House at Wilkie Edge. Admission was free. You could also purchase a $12 tour ticket whereby you go house-hoping along Niven Road to view different artists' works. There are pre-war shop houses along both sides of Niven Road.

Some of the house owners had agreed to let the work pieces of the artists to be placed at their homes. Its an interesting concept. Imagine you hop from one house to another to view art and at the same time, view the decor of the homes; plus its cheap. The $12 ticket comes with a free beer. If you don't drink you could redeem three small badges that have artists' work printed on them. I, a non-drinker, naturally chose the badges.

I had forgotten to bring a camera (didn't know they allow photo taking). Hence I could only use my mobile phone (resolution isn't that good) to take some of the interesting art pieces.

More pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/45366345@N05/

How to watch movies for free?

2009-11-21T23:32:00.006+08:00

How much does a movie ticket cost nowadays? Ten bucks. The amount can buy me four bowls of fishball noodles at $2.50 in a coffee shop (the one near my place is selling at $2.50).

If your neighbourhood shopping mall does not have a cinema, that means you need to travel to another shopping mall with a cinema to watch the movie you want. That includes transportation fares (mrt or bus or taxi). If you drive, then you incur parking fees too. Then time is also spent on getting dressed. I know guys are simpler, a t-shirt, bermudas and sneakers, and off they go. Well, girls (most girls) are more particular. We would want to look presentable in public places. So we usually spend a bit of time finding the right outfit, putting a bit of make up, and checking ourselves in front of the mirror at least three times before we can step out of the house. Hence the cost of watching a movie is $10+++.

Nowadays, I've turned to the internet to watch movies. And its free! Yes, members of some web sites would upload the movies and you don't even need to download to watch; just watch online.

Here are the advantages of watching movies online:

1) You don't need to queue for a ticket
2) You can be in your most comfortable outfit (even in your pyjamas)
3) You can pause the movie to go make a cup of coffee or go to the washroom and you won't miss any parts
4) You could even watch some good movies that didn't make it to the local cinemas
5) If the movie is no good, you won't feel you've wasted the money, just your time
6) If you have time, you could watch a few movies without leaving your house
7) You can connect your laptop to your tv if you want to watch with your family

Of course there are advantages of watching movies in cinemas. The screen is so much bigger and the embience is rather good (provided other patrons have turned their mobile phones to silent mode). Some may want to shop around or eat after the movie. So going to the cinema is a better option.

For those who just want to watch alone, spend less money and are too lazy to step out of the house, watching online may be a better choice.

GM of Food Outlet Responded

2009-11-03T23:54:00.005+08:00

The General Manager of the food outlet has responded to my complaint of 'sharp object found in mee siam'. To be fair to them, the Facility Manager of the outlet did reply to my email the next day (as I did not leave my contact number for them). He explained upon receiving my email, they had inspected their kitchen but could not determine where and how the plastic could have mixed with the food.

He also assured me that they will continue to review their food handling process to ensure their food safety and would like to compensate me for this unpleasant experience. Hence he would like me to contact him for further clarification. I left my contact number to the manager via email.

The next day, the GM called me personally (to my surprise). He apologised for the unpleasant experience that I had gone through. He also told me that he has inspected the kitchen and reviewed their food handling process by checking with the packing staff and even their supplier who supplied the containers. However he still could not find out how the plastic had gotten into the food. He ensured me that they will be more careful to prevent similiar occurrence and would like to make up to me in the form of compensation.

I explained to him since I was not hurt by the incident, my feedback was not to ask for compensation but merely wanting them to improve on their food hygiene and safety. The GM insisted saying that my feedback was very important to the company for improvement. He asked me to give him some time to arrange for the cash vouchers so that he could hand them to me personally.

Today, he came and handed me the cash vouchers personally. I never expect a GM to handle this case personally, let alone meeting me in person. I would expect the company manager to handle it and probably mail the vouchers to me. I must say throughout my conversation with him (via phone and face to face), he has been very sincere.

Would I continue to patronise this food outlet (they have outlets island wide)? Yes I would. Afterall, it is a local brand that comes a long way..

Sharp Object Found in Mee Siam

2009-10-23T18:04:00.009+08:00

I bought mee siam from a well known food stall this morning for breakfast. While I was enjoying it at home, suddening I felt something sharp poking at my tongue. Immediately I stopped chewing and spat out the object. It turned out to be a hard plastic with sharp edges at both ends. It measures about 2.5cm long. I checked the plastic container and its cover. They were intact; so it was not chipped from the container.

I decided to take a picture of it with the receipt and emailed the company for an explanation. That was this morning. Till now I have not heard from them. Should I raise it to the relevant authority, NEA? It gives me shivers when I think about children or old folks or anyone who happens to bite on it and it causes bleeding from the gum or tongue or worse, swallow it and it cuts through the esophagus?

Beauty Pageant: My Experience

2009-10-05T02:15:00.014+08:00

The recent news of our Miss Singapore World 2009 has reminded me that I had participated in a beauty pageant before. Yes, me, someone who kept a low profile back in school days; who didn't run for student counsel or made as many friends as possible in school, had dared to join a beauty contest.

Memories of those days came back to me now. Well, I was young then and super slim. I don't remember the exact reason of me wanting to join. Perhaps I wanted some sort of an 'achievement' (since I didn't pass my exams in flying colours but I did pass though) and to gain experience from such events. So I sent my picture and the form to the contest organiser and very soon I got a call from them telling me that I was selected. I was to prepare my own dress and do my own make up for the selection round.

Umm..here's the problem. I was freshed out from school and really didn't know how to prepare for it. So I called a friend, Louis (who was then working for a local designer) for advice. He told me I should get a cocktail dress and offered to design one and got it tailored for me free of charge. How sweet of him. He actually paid for the expensive French velvet and organza and got a tailor with superb workmanship to work on the dress. The dress was indeed beautiful: black velvet with orangey organza trimings; sexy and classy.

What about my hair and make up? A friend was a trainee in a hair salon and got his boss to style my hair and my make up was done by his friend who was working at a cosmetic counter. All free of charge!

On the day of the contest, we had some time to do our last minute touch up in the powder room. Try guessing what was the topic some of them were discussing? The sizes of their boobs. One of the girls even asked me:"Do you think my boobs are bigger or yours' bigger"? Well, I assured her, hers were bigger (as if I care). She then let out a satisfactory grin. Sigh..So shallow minded..

Each of us had to parade ourselves for the judges. When my name was called, I did my 'cat walk' as told. At the end of it, I realised I'd made a huge mistake. Guess again? No, I'd zipped up my dress properly and my dress didn't fall off. I had forgotten to smile!! That was a beauty contest and I did not smile! And so you would have guessed, I wasn't chosen for the semi finals.

Was I disappointed? No I wasn't. I had experienced the process of participating in the contest and had also seen how my friends helped me to get there and those who came and supported me.

Did I join other beauty pageants after that? No I did not. I felt that I don't need to join beauty contests to feel pretty or confident. I would feel more confident with more knowledge I gained; be it academic or work experience. I wanted an experience and I had that. In fact, I went back to my daily routine of going to school (which I'd enrolled) and working part time for my school fees.

What's the name of the contest? I really don't remember. But I still keep that dress in my wardrobe. Just the other day I took a look at it and wondered: how did I fit into that dress before? (It was really small). And I realised I had grown so much (wider). lol

Serving Expired Food

2009-09-18T04:33:00.005+08:00

A friend of mine has recently left a pre-and-after school care centre in the east. Apart from many other reasons that had caused my friend to resign, one of the main and intolerable reason was that expired food was offered to the children for tea break.

A left over birthday cake (that was kept for nine days) was given to the children as snack during tea break. While my friend had reminded the bosses to buy fresh snacks for the children and not to serve the cake, they insisted on doing so.

Did we not learn from the Geylang Serai market mass food poisoning incident in April 2009? How could people be so unethical and irresponsible?

I like to know if you parents out there would offer cakes that are kept more than a week to your children. I had asked a sales person in a bakery shop how long can I keep a cake. She told me to consume within three days and must be kept in the freezer compartment of a fridge.