Memories of the Past

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

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?

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

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..