~"~"~"~"~"~" C . * . I .. .N . . D . * . Y "~"~"~"~"~"~

The Continual of a "food blog"

2007-10-29T14:01:00.000-04:00

A Food Blog this must be. Just a summary of the interesting places which i'd been in the past few months. Guess that should be the highlights of my life after University. :-(
Let me start off with this mini-road trip which Progistics went. Destination: Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. Mission: Food, food and more food. I actually brought along a foodguide for Malaysia during the trip and to my own astonishment, we completed almost half of what were recommended. **Burppp** (satay sauce Lok Lok, chicken rice ball, chee chiong fun, durian chendol, mata kuching, "lao shu fen"). Oh and lotsa unidentified local food along the way...

Then there was once when Kylie and I went "Senso". Went to this place quite some time back. Great outdoor ambience to enjoy fine dining. Check out the yummy Tiramisu. An all-time favourite and i supposed i will love to try Tiramisu from different places. I can't really remember what i felt for the raw-looking dish which i'm supposed to finish (bottom left corner pic).
So... Work started for everyone. Some found jobs, some got pay raise, some received bonus and so, meal treats somehow become a norm for such occasion. There was one occasion where we headed to Paddy Fields @ Anchorpoint (which seem to have moved or closed down). Simple dishes and nothing very spectacular about. Not sure if i'd remembered wrongly that some1 actually commented that the food is good.

Then there was Broth @ Duxton Hill. A road hidden somewhere near Chinatown. Chanced upon a blog that was raving about this small restaurant and reservations is compulsory. I see why this is so with the limited number of seats they have.

Finally, there is Wild Rockets @ Mount Emily. The owner of the place, lawyer-turned-cook believes that people should not mind travelling a little for great food. A quiet charm located behind Plaza Singapura, with a list of interesting fusion food. They even serve wine by half-bottle capacity - just the right amount to go along with dinner for 2.

A brief summary of my dining experience in Singapore . . .

Alrighty, enough of sounding like a glutton. :-)

CHAM's Graduation Trip on South Island

2007-09-20T12:40:00.000-04:00

Colleagues inspired me to continue this ...

So I shall start on New Zealand adventures... let me start off with the scenic view. Of course, it is accompanied with amazing photography-skills

And we had this opportunity for glacier walk. Hate the unpredictable winter! Blessed with good weather, we'd our first drop of perspiration in 2weeks during the hike.

It's never easy to get all 4 of us in pictures because we were too lazy to get strangers to take for us. Most pictures are done with self-timer or we just take 2-by-2.

Talking about meals, we had planned it nicely. Some indoor by our own chef to save money while some outdoor which we referred them as "a bang bang dinner" to indulge and pamper ourselves. Our favourite restaurant: "Strawberry Fare" which does not sell strawberry at all. Many people swoon there for their yummy and huge serving of dessert. Our home-cooked meals and motels... My favourite part of all motels are their heated-bed. Of course, there are other interestings things in South Island: Cadbury factory, vineyard, Milford Sound, Cadbury World, World Guinness Steepest road, Glow worm cave, Hammer Spring etc etc

"Blog-stipation"

2007-03-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

Haiyo. Have not been blogging... Almost forgot my login-password. It's not that i'm super busy but i'm just plain lazy and suffering from "blogstipation"(adapted from Kylie) .Haha, yes Joo, still Chinese New Year.. Shall i continue with Chinese New Year though it's more than a month ago?

Well, it's quite a 'ang-bao-full' week. Since it's our NUS mid-term break too, there were lotsa house-hopping to do.

Can't really remember the sequence because i'm suffering from short term memory lately and hello... this is a month ago. heehee! Every year, on the first day of lunar new year, Other than going to my granny's house, there's basically no where else to go. I don't understand how 'exhausted' some of my friends can get from visiting too much while Im tired not visiting enough . I stay at 1 place throughout the entire day, trying to find things to do. Nowhere else to go because my maternal side is in M'sia.

Then The Friends came in for the rest of the week...

House-hopping with CHAM followed by Club-hopping with CHAMAYS as a farewell for our dearest SIMMY who had already flew to Aussie...

House-hopping with the 25th MC of Sports Club... What a big family. Thanks to those who hosted us with great food, drinks and the renowned gambling den...
Visiting at Kailing's house who stay in a faraway island - Boon Lay. Y will anyone choose to stay there?! it's far from everywhere!!! The journey there is crazy ... LONGGGggggg...

Chalet with the Progistics and Friends... Of themepark and card games, of not-so-nice bbq food and lousy concoction of drinks... That sums it all...

The late Dinner at Vivo

2007-02-19T21:06:00.000-05:00

I wonder how is it like to have lotsa visitings to be done for Chinese New Year. As my mum's family is in Malaysia, every year for the first day of CNY, i would only have my granny's house to visit and would normally stay throughout the entire afternoon.

For the 2nd day of CNY this year, my family stayed at home, Despite the fact that we had plans to go for buffet, visit the new IKEA or visit my aunt. It's all cancelled! decided to slack at home and mahjong with the family. It's really a good way to keep the family sitting down together, especially when the brother is always in the room.

So mahjong ended at 8:30pm, rushed down to VivoCity because the brother wants to go for Marche. Guess what, it's already 9pm when we reached there and though the whole mall looks dead (am i not allowed to use such term during CNY), there's a long queue outside marche. Dinner started at 9:45pm and we ordered so much. Gosh...

Sadly, can't find those that i used to order at Ochard-Marche: Self-chosen ingredients for pizza and self-chosen stir-fried vegetables which you have to stack up as high as possible...

It's interesting to see that at this hour, everywhere else at vivocity is quiet except for this corner where many people indulge in food and casual chatting.

Unnecessary Traffic Jam

2007-02-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

I was ready for school earlier than before by making sure i wake up especially early. As usual, situation on the expressway in the morning is: CTE with slow traffic but cars normally go smoothly along AYE.

So this morning, the reason for getting up early was because i need to rush to the campus to get my assignment printed. But AYE is moving like turtle so i guessed that it should be an accident. After an extra delay of 15mins, then I confirmed that there's indeed an accident butttttttttttttttt all the cars involved were shifted to the road-shoulder already. In this case, shouldn't the roads be cleared from that incident? So why the delay?!?!?! Anyway, i Haven't been on time for all 1st-lessons, though i only have a 2-day week.

Because there are people who slowed down their vehicles to take a longer glance at the really-'bumped' cars. Undeniably, I was one of them, but definitely don't belong to the group who took the conscious effort to remember the car number plate for (lottery)4D-inspiration.

Then i was late for tutorial for 15mins, without even getting my assignment printed.

p.s. Totally not talking about f**d in this entry...

looking forward to CNY...

2007-02-06T05:05:00.000-05:00

Looking forward to Chinese New Year man! 2 years ago, i learnt to try many kinds of CNY goodies from takashimaya square sampling. haha. Pineapple tart is one of them. Brought Kylie to Takashimaya Square this year and see what interesting items can this festival bring...

Interesting to see how the chef make cheezy pineapple tarts on the spot. Steal his recipe and tell my mum... Selling new year goodies can really earn big bucks. My mum said that the cost price for a small bottle is less than $3 when retailers can charge about $15!

I'm so looking forward to Chinese New Year since i've missed it last year. Winter-Wonderland Waterloo is where i spent my Lunar New Year. Found a Chinese restaurant near campus and celebrate with the fellow exchange. It's fun but still, when dad called from Singapore, i felt so pathetic and then i realized i miss home.

Now i'm down with sore throat and flu even before Chinese New Year, because my house is always stuffed with trial-versions of new year goodies, since my mum has been trying to perfect her baking skills since a month ago. I have to finish them before the next batch is out. Together with the cold weather, i'm sick even before CNY. Amazingly, i haven't fall sick for 5years ago... Heard that if you aren't ill for a long period of time, expect to be down with something serious. Glad it's only a flu. Hope this won't last too long cos the feeling is terrible, horrible and uncomfortable. "Ahhhhh.. chooooo"

a ROARmantic evening

2007-02-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, THE BROTHER has nicely invited me and my friends to have the privilege of trying Carlsberg Sky Tower in Sentosa, since he is OPERATING the ride. Hope he's not shock by the number of friends i brought. Rushing down after class to catch the best view in the evening, just before sun sets. A 7-minute ride, overseeing the Sentosa Island, PSA port, tall buildings and vast sea. [P.S. the one on the right of the pic in green & purple in THE BROTHER]

To make the evening even more 'ROARrrrmantic', we decided to have a picnic, each bringing a surprise item. Well, everything turn out well.. The presumably most 'expected' surprise - chips - was not seen at all. Phew!

It was super windy and because of that, we can't hop on to the skytower for a 2nd time to enjoy the night view. Come to think of it, Whenever we go overseas, We tend to appreciate in awe and think "why doesn't Singapore has such nice landscape?"... Well, this is not true... at least I don't think so. We have scenic setting too, which most of the time, we take it for granted since we get to see it so often.

Using proper English (which he doesn't even use at home) and forbidding me to call him 'Boy', the professional ride operator a.k.a THE BROTHER has given clear direction to guide us to the musical fountain. Glad we managed to catch the Musical Fountain performace for once at least before they changed the storyline. It used to be 2D.. not the laser images are 3-dimensional. How cool... Yet, i prefer the old storyline when they show the history of Singapore. Haha..

Enjoyable night.. Thanks bro! I'm sure my friends had fun...

Which Ben & Jerry's Ice-cream flavour am I?

2007-01-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

After a series of questions... here's the result:

CHOC. FUDGE BROWNIE

chocolate ice Cream with fudge brownies
You scored 81% SWEET, 77% CHUNKY, and 55% UNIQUE

Very sweet, very wild, and very fun! People flock to this ice cream flavor, just as they flock to you. You love being surrounded by friends and getting crazy together! You could probably stand to calm down a little, but the kind of freedom you feel is inspiring. You really care about the people in your life and party hard, but are open to new ideas and experience!

*******************************

ok, happy with the results. though they only talk abt good things, which happen to many of my friends who did the same test. How i wish it's true that i have people flocking to me... haha. but definitely NOT true.

why am i chocolate fudge brownie?!?! i wan STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE!!! it's the best!!! Good stuff ah... despite the fact that i don't take cheesecake..

So for those who're interested, click Ben and Jerry's ice-cream flavour test" ... most common one is Brownie Batter. I wonder which lucky one will get Strawberry Cheesecake. heehee

German Cuisine - Paulaner Bräuhaus

2007-01-22T11:37:00.000-05:00

End of year => Friends from the working class will get bonus. Woohoo! Those who are still stuck in NUS then get to enjoy treats. haha... Thanks dude!

The gang hurried down to Paulaner Bräuhaus @ Millenia Walk after class on Friday for German Cuisine. Drag Alex down to join us despite his 'COOL' dressing which consists of adidas shirt and khakis. How happening?!?!

Menu of the evening:
1) Chef Jody Yu Platter - Frankfurter, Debreziner, Garlic sausage, Cheese knacker, Nuremberg sausages, roast duckling, spit roasted chicken, roast caraway pork, grilled pork knuckle.
~so meaty and for picky eater like me, better make sure i didnt swallow any beef or lamb accidentally~

2) Dill Marinated Salmon Served with crabmeat, avocado tartar and green grapes salsa ~i love the avocado and crabmeat combination. So appetizing~

3) Spätzle - Bavarian buttered pasta

Then off to Swensens because dessert @ Paulaner Bräuhaus contains tint of liquor which is "tak-halal". So.... end off with
4) Earthquake & my all-time-favourite Apple Crumble

The German Sausages are superb while pork knuckles not as good as i've expected. Those interesting dumplings sound so yummy but taste so weird. ewwwwl...

Mexican cuisine is still the top on my list!

the 1st Birthday celebration of yr 2007

2007-01-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

When some of us just hit 22, Ying'en celebrated her 23rd Birthday. Which means, very soon it'll be my turn. Once you pass the Big 2, everything just seems to be escalating so quickly.

Anyway, the birthday girl did something so different this yr which sets the trend for the entire gang of us. She decided the venue to celebrate, pre-ordered the dishes days before, gave us a dinner treat and brought a bottle of wine n some 'glasses'. oh, and checked out the menu that she was holding.. only after the dinner did we know that she actually typed it herself. The description she used -"Low-fat cheese"(which apparently is not!) is effective enough to make sure Mavis finished up her dessert. Food at Lagnaa is superb. Barefood dining experience at Little India. Good choice, ying'en. Thanks!

Virgin trip to Saint James Power House. Complimentary entry and 5 free drinks on Ladies night. What a deal!!! This marketing strategy works on us and many of the LADIES.

There are 7 of us (35 free drinks) and so i wonder how many tequila shots we had. Music was good and of course, great company. Think the previous time when all 7 of us went clubbing was 3 years ago. So not into clubbing anymore but Well, it's always fun to hang out with the girls... A pity that some gotta work the next day..

We left 'when the night is still young'... ... ... heehee

Local Delights

2007-01-15T23:45:00.000-05:00

Introducing . . .

Chatterbox @ Meritus Mandarin Hotel...

The famous Chicken Rice which everyone was exclaiming how expensive it is. So Kylie and I decided to try it out. Ermmmm... i really don't see why it must cost $20+++ per serving. I can't deny that the rice is extremely fragrant and the meat is tender. Don't we get that elsewhere too?!

Then we also ordered Lobster Laksa which cost $29+++. Ok, minus the lobster, Kylie said that Katong Laksa tastes much better.

Dessert was alright - Strawberry tart. but not satisfied enough, we head on to takashimaya basement to get Strawberry Shortcake from Rive... What's with me and strawberries when i used to hate it?!

Though not agreeable with the price, we should just think that it is for the experience and to show support to local food. If European cuisine can demand expensive pricing, local food can do it too! heehee

When the Hongkonger meets the Mauritian . . .

2007-01-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

Not as funny as i've imagined, but still, had a lot of fun by hanging out with them. Hongkie Kylie(glad she doesn't mind calling her that. heehee) and Mauritian Nicolas click off faster and better than expected. From Borat to Menotti, from a walk around Clark Quay to Cafe Iguana. The pics turn out so nice bcos i got them at their best angles. So when Nic is staying at a different side of Singapore, we'll have to go seperate ways when we head home...

And when it is down to just the 2 of us... Kylie and I start taking silly pictures. A packet of Tempo Tissue and a citibank credit card came crushing down on us. haha *so stupid* yET, I'm sure we can get better effect if we are more professional photographers. heehee.. Kylie has started to brainstorm how to improve this effect and what other materials we should use in future. Yeap, let's try it next time

How should we welcome the New Year . . .

2007-01-10T02:45:00.000-05:00

Lunch on the eve at Mavis' place with the girls. We were allocated 'private seatings' (in the kitchen) to have our meals so that we don't have to mingle with her family guests. Huiying talks abt her Mekong adventure as she transforms herself to santa Mary and giving out gifts that she bought from the trip.

At night, Peasant Dinner by packing the popular dishes from both Chomp Chomp and Serangoon Garden Hawker Centre. End the night with some booze and silly games... to laugh our night off. Oh, not forgetting that we turn on the TV for countdown at 11:58pm after we welcome 2007. ... switch if back off at 12:01am to continue with what we were doing

The New Year at Clark Quay with the gals again. This time round, Mexican Food and half-priced magarita at Cafe Iguana. Yummy... To think that i am those who step back when someone is smoking, i Ended off the night, trying Shisha (flavoured tobacco) with them. Did have a taste of it back in Canada when it's so much better. Can't taste the flavour of this at all when we actually ordered Apple. Badddd...

No huge crowds nor big-bang events...Just Simple gatherings --> more than perfect... heehee

Welcome to year 2007

2007-01-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

3 days into the year 2007. Goodbye to year 2006...
In 2006
- Left Singapore on new year's eve in 2005 and embarked on a journey of fun-filled experience of Student Exchange Programme to Waterloo, Canada. Get to know new people but some you might not have stayed in contact already (even though it's only 6months).
-together with unforgettable travelling adventures to Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Orlando, Miami, Daytona, London, Barcelona and Paris. Woke up in a different state/country almost every other day. Adapt to different environment, public transport and way of living within the shortest time possible...
- Spend money like crazy back in Singapore because everything seems much cheaper than Europe and States. On food and shopping. Money come and go without realizing. sigh!!!
- Back in Singapore with a slacking but 'project-ful' semester with only 2-day week though. Had so many tuition to occupy the remaining week when there's no school.
- Made new friends in class... Luke, the talented one... Mia, the organized and capable one... Kailing, the friendly and tiny singer... Kaiting, the chef-to-be... Nicolas, the entertaining Mauritian. Hope this friendship will stay... Thanks for making my semester more interesting.

Alright, now the year 2007...

-Set some new year resolution which i shan't reveal, just in case i failed to fulfill it. heehee

- Want to plan for trips to New Zealand and Shanghai... Have been talking about going to Shanghai since 2years ago... Come on, let it come true this year!!!

-Graduating in less than 6months time.. yes, can't wait!!! hope i find a good job... pray hard...

-Less chocolate. nuts, snacks and ice cream (Things i find difficulty to say 'no' to)... arghhh!!!

- Spend less and save more!!! oh ya, other than money, this will mean spending less time on unnecessary things and save more time for FYP especially!!!

ok, a better year ahead for everyone! Happy new year!!!

The 2 Carnivores @ Carnivore

2006-12-29T12:41:00.000-05:00

I feel like an extreme Carnivore!!!
Went to Check out this place at Chijmes with Kylie on a Friday evening when she felt so liberated for not having to work or train the next day. Finally... you can have a good break over the wkend.

12 different cuts--> beef and lamb (different parts and flavours), pork, chicken and butter fish. Other interesting things that can appear on the skewers are Chicken heart, grilled pineapples and garlic bread. The chef will go around asking you if you would like a slice of whatever meat they are holding.

Kylie said, "hope this makes up for the terrible dinner we had last week!". Yes it did and thanks for telling me the interesting cases you've seen in the hospitals. Stabbing for no rational reason, car accidents during this rainy season, young cancer patients, heart transplants... wow.. yes, treasure your life...

the gift exchange

2006-12-27T02:57:00.000-05:00

Went to try out Scandinavian cuisine (which i have difficulty pronouncing) with Kylie as she thought that the place looks nice to chill. Got a shock went Miss Kylie Siu gave me a disappointed look when she met me. HAHA.. That girl has bought me a shirt for gift exchange... and guess what, it was the exact same top which i wore to meet her that day. Afterall, it's still nice to go back to the shop and change for another design. "Hey Kylie, The idea of having me to shop for my own christmas gift is part of the surprise right? so somehow i guess you've chosen the right one in the first place so i get to go back and choose another design..."

Just see how normal the food looks?! Indeed, it's Nothing special. I can't even remember the name of this restaurant at Millenia Walk. My choice was The 2 pictures on the left side. Overdose of 'pink shrimps'... That don't even taste as fresh as its name. As disappointed as we can be, we've planned for another good eating place before we even finished the meal.

Charlotte's Web after that, which was below my expectation. Still remember that It was the first book which i've completed, after much recommendation from my Primary School English Teacher!

"lalala, on the 3rd day of christmas... my true love sings to me... lalala"

Crash Course - "local delights"

2006-12-21T23:25:00.000-05:00

Name of course:
Food Marathon
Objective:
Let the Mautitian have a taste of the FOOD PARADISE.
Lesson time:
2-10pm
Subjects:
City plaza Mee Hoon Kway, Arnolds Fried Chicken (5times better than KFC, MARYBROWN or Popeye), Muffins from Chocolate and Spice, Peanut Ice Kacang, TCC, The Soup Spoon...
Pre-requisite:
Good stamina for eating, high metabolism rate (but not to the extent of looking like a "fountain" with just a bit of spice, nic! haha) and not thinking about the calories-intake
Additional programmes:
Bitching, teasing, proper pronounciation of french words, slacking
Next lesson:
to be confirmed...

The weekend

2006-12-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

Fed the mosquitoes, chatted with my aunts, amazed by how much my cousins have grown because i haven't seen them for ages, stucked in the traffic jam for hours, shopped with my brother for the first time, witnessed my mum's ability to convince customers at the flea market and the most sinfully important thing i did... 6 meals a day...

THAT'S MY WKEND AT MALAYSIA WITH MY MUM AND SIBLINGS..

ps. i want to know my results too. can 'whoever' please hack into the system again?!?!? Now i gotta wait another 9days, when almost everyone know theirs already!!!

trekking @ Gunung Datuk

2006-12-12T02:09:00.000-05:00

Description of pictures:
1) The 4.5hrs night train to Tampin. Filled with gossips, catchin up and yes... freezing cold
2) Thanks to Liangzan for lugging the big watermelon to the summit...
3) One last pic before we head back. That's our tour-guide on the left
4) All ready for the 2hrs uphill and another 2hrs downhill. I wonder what will happen if you choose to give up halfway, Though 870m tall "sounds easy"...
5) Blue sky, breezy weather and paranomic view at the summit after a long and tiring morning. Brilliant... don't even want to think about the journey back
6) As we climbed . . .
7) The steep terrain... So impressed by this 50-year-old couple during the trip. Sweet and loving... and they conquer the same hill...
8) the last lap
9) Ringgit$0.60 nasi-lemak. Nothing but rice and the highlight... CUCUMBER

tIRING... Tiring... muscle aching like crazy but i like it. heehee... Great experience but doubt i'll go trekking anytime soon...

When it's just so perfect...

2006-12-07T05:57:00.000-05:00

So many days of being a "specky"... outings, shopping, buffet dining etc.. i havent been "contact-lens-less" for so many days... But... this time round, i was so determined because i must get myself all ready for ...

Not much difference.. just not used to it. as though i have not been taking off the lens for 24hrs. Only difference: you wake up in the mornin... clear and bright!!! Shall not elaborate on the operation... it's juz amazing...

BbburrrpPP

2006-12-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

My favourite buffet so far... The Triple Three @ Meritus Mandarin Hotel. Of wide selection, fresh seafood, irresistable dessert and enjoyable entertainment.

Just realized that daddy and mummy love this song called "anak" (which means 'Child'). Though it reminded me that it sounded like 'Pontianak' (a horror movie). Anyway, the "3 amigos" sang it reali well. Together with the Nice windy weather by the pool side, the dinner is much more pleasant...

Had been a long time since the whole family sat down together for dinner , though my brother, as usual, grumbling that he wanna go home early. Well, a celebration for the end-of-exams for the 3 young ones at home.

Ever seen a worse CARNIVORE during a buffet? Yeap, that's my brother. All he took was lamb, beef, beef, beef and more beef... and NOTHING ELSE!!! gross... but that's his definition of "make-the-$$-worthed").

I love those little servings of appealing concoction. It did encourage me to be more adventurous and try most of the interesting dishes. Totally not a fan of oysters, sashimi and scallops... yes i know they are the expensive ones but... nehz... no comments for that except that they look really fresh... and.. erm.. RAWWWWW...

Just check out the dessert man. I have been peeping at them from my very first serving. I tend to rate my liking of a buffet based on the dessert section. heehee.. Log cake, pear in red wine, green tea mousse, fondue, sago pudding, assorted chocolate, brownies, cheesecake and the list goes on...

A dinner that lasted for 3hrs... sinful, yet satisfying indulgence... *BbburrrpPP*

~ The semester is over ~

2006-11-29T07:02:00.000-05:00

yayy! im done with exams! Sorry fellow NUSians, if you are reading this due to boredom from cramming lecture notes..

"yes Joo, i'm done since 28th. ya, The 8th or 14th, though i still don't understand why these particular 2 dates. haha. Can't wait to meet up with the Waterlooers..."

A year ago, i was busy shopping for winter wear and only realized that i made a stupid move for not buying in Canada itself. Much cheaper and nicer... sigh!

Alright, Since not many end as early as me, so it's just me and Huiying celebrating.. Had a longgggg dinner at Uber-Burger. This place sells a burger that cost $101 for one. Of course, we didnt get that but something which is 5times cheaper!!! haha. Anyway, i don't think the burger is fantastic. the patty taste weird but i love the bread. Oh the fries are dirt cheap. Such a big bucket for only $3.50.
Seriously, bcos of the business module i took, day-in day-out was juz doing that project during exam period. so as for the rest of the modules, i haven't even step into the exam mood and tah-dahh.. it's over! Let's not worry abt the day when results will be released. ok, can't wait for next semester.. haha :p This is my last school holiday...

Those who r still having papers, hang on and good luck!

Wedding Dinner

2006-11-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

Just went for a wedding dinner with daddy because mummy has another one to attend on this same night. Of course, between the 2, one at Meritus Mandarin while the other at Grassroot Club (yio chu kang), i chose the former.

Love going to wedding dinner to look at blissful couple, see if the groom do anythin special for the bride, those nicely-dressed ladies and gentleman and the ambience of the ballroom. Oh great, despite my paper the next day and not studying much earlier on, i went for the dinner without GUILT.

Things i realized for most wedding dinner:
1) It never starts on time. Tonight one was really bad. delayed for 1.5hrs
2) The dinner always starts with the "cold plate". Know why? Because the food was meant to be served much earlier, if not for the delay. It has turned ~cold~
3) The bride lost so much weight when comparing the photos she took one yr ago
4) Slide-show of how the couple met...
5) "Yam-Seng" session when you packed family members and friends on the stage. Of course, can't forget to invite the fellow whom you think can yell the loudest to motivate the gang. With that, i don't mean having the best stamina. Because that fellow will go "Yam.......... (take a deep breath) Yam.... (take another deep breath) Yammm"...Not knowing when to end it...
6) Shark fin is another must-have...
7) Questions like "where are you working?"... "how old are you?"..."when will it be your turn?" start to pop out.

Overall, nehz... quite boring... sat with a bunch of dad's army-frens. But anything to get away from lecture notes is good...

the kind hospitality...

2006-11-21T22:29:00.000-05:00

This gal is simply amazing. "Brain-boosting" dinner the night before my big presentation day, "calm-inducing" breakfast on the important day itself. What's more, Let me have the masterbed room to stay over because it is airconditioned and her parents aren't at home, iron my shirt to make sure everything looks neat and proper for presentation, and lend her ears for my boring rehearsal.

Sorry gal, to keep you waiting for the nite despite demanding a home-cooked dinner. heehee. Thanks for the support and hope you enjoy urself at hongkong. *Don't refrain yourself from indulging in the most wonderful thing that we both enjoy...* haha... cya soon!!

English Garden Tea Party to start off 22nd

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

Exams is nearing and before i forget to show my appreciation to friends who have prepared so much for the "English Garden Tea party" on my 22nd...

So this was what happened on 29th Oct... Had to go for tuition before that while The guests arrive at my place much earlier to prepare the not-so-surprising 'surprise' (when i know the theme, the food that they will be bringing and the people that are coming). Still, check out the feast and the decor on the floor. Trying too hard to turn my house into a garden.

Another unsaid-theme is "high carbo and high sugar"... just see the unhealthy stuff that everyone contributed. All out to indulge. It's even enough for breakfast in the next 2wks. Cheapo GD only brings cheapo lipton tea without putting any effort in the preparation. Where are the nice tea pot and tea cups?!

Crap... most of the pictures turn out blurry. Argghh, Fuiji Finepix!!!

The girls try to fit into the theme by wearing something flowery. With GD around, some people just have to look stupid with his crazy ideas - always doing unnecessary things like --> flower hat origami and force CHAM to wear it. For the sake of his so-called effort, we decided to look as silly as he could have imagined.

YES, as always, for such
potluck party, finishing up the food is always a big problem. "Action-packed heart-attack" (another silly-looking activity) will decide the victim.

Really thanks for the trouble in the preparation and the patience for 2hrs of waiting for me and yes Huiying, i got the "neverending-surprise" which apparently ended right after you guys left. Still, i enjoy the 'show' that you gals put up. :-)

Afternoon Tea @ Rose Veranda (Shangri-La)

2006-11-04T11:29:00.000-05:00

A Meal from 12-6pm; 101 types of Tea to choose from; International light snacks and desserts; comfy seats; great company despite bangladesh workers doing construction work juz beside us on the other side of the glass; frequent photo-taking throughout the meal... All these @ Rose Veranda of Shangri-La Hotel .

Took the Shangri La Shuttle bus from Ngee Ann City. Can't help feelin all excited about this 6hrs meal. Free flow of interesting beverage and with the wide variety, we are really spoilt for choice. So here's what we had:
1) A pot of Garden Of Eden
2) A pot of Queen of Cherry
3) A glass of Shangri La
4) A glass of punch in Advent
5) A glass of Kiwi bowle
6) A glass of Ice latte

We even brought our books to read. And Yiwen commented that my book looks like it's from some museum. What can i do if the cover page of engineering reference book is dull-lookin?! Yes, i know it's so boring to read such book but FYP supervisor already "thank me for commitment" sarcastically when i didn't pay him a visit for 8weeks! Check out the "artistic" shots which i tried so hard to capture...

My stamina lasted for the entire 6hours unlike my companion of the day. So grossed out with myself. Had countless rounds of salty and sweet food again and again. Buffet always makes one feel so terribly "stuffed" unknowingly and you only realize it after leaving the place.

Decided to walk around the hotel to digest a little before catching the shuttle bus back to town. Yiwen insisted that we take pictures of paintings, lightings, plants and flowers. Look like typical tourist or worse, spoil out image of 'pretending' to be 'glam' for the afternoon. muahaha. The photographer even asked, "you sure you girls don't want to take the picture at a better place?"

another nice experience! Good place to chill, read and relax. There are much more tea that i want to try but i was really not capable to push any food down the throat...

The 101 tea of Shangri-La @ Rose Veranda...

Interesting!!! :-)

Happy 18th to Dearest Brother

2006-10-28T11:29:00.000-04:00

The Boy at home has finally turned 18. Guess what's his topics of discussion the whole night? "How do i buy 4-D?"..."Can i get a car after i pass driving?"... "how much to learn drivin?".. blah blah blah...

His bday is one day before mine and i'm turnin 22. yucks...

Anyway, a simple celebration for him at granny's place (upon his request... i wonder why...yes, i'm sure he's not eyeing at those bday red-packets).

Still remember how we used to quarrel over the slightest matter. Alright, i admit what a bully i was when we were young:
1) insist that you are the customer while im the chef when we did role-playing games
2) cause you to fall and hurt yourself but yet pretend that i don't know why u cry when i was questioned
3) sat on the melted crunch chocolate and flatten it. Looked kind of gross but insist that you finished it, claiming that it is the latest candy in the market called "wet crunch"
4) when we share the same room, i always suggest playing "let's challenge who falls asleep first" so that you can shut up and i can zzZZ.

ok and many many more. haha.. see any resemblance in us from the pics?!
thanks Boy, for the interest we share, the respect you gave me and your sensibility that has grown through the years.. Happy 18th Bday

Doc Cheng, Doc Cheng, Doc Doc Cheng!

2006-10-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

Went Doc Cheng @ Raffles hotel to try out FUSION cuisine - What i've been wanting to try as it really brings out the creativity of the chef. Thanks to Kylie for the recommendation and the early-celebration for my 22nd.

Got to try the Indian, Chinese, European and Middle-eastern flavours all in one single meal. This is really interesting.

We get peanuts before our first dish in Chinese restaurants, bread loaf in western ones and papaduum in Indian ones etc. For this particular fusion restaurants, they served us Naan with Yoghurt. Alright, once again taking pictures of ... hmmm.. let's see... the candle, the flower and the long and heavy fork and knife.
kylie prepared this for me to add on the blog:

Cindy:
Entree: Egg "Son-in-law"
Main: Drunken Chicken "supreme"
Dessert: apple tatin
Kylie:
Entree: Peikin Duck Pancake
Main: Tandoori Trout
Dessert: Mascarpone Mango Parfait

Just by looking at the names, it sounded really cross-cultured - 'tandoori' (indian), 'parfait' (european), 'drunken'(chinese)' etc. Cool yah?

Don't you think what i wore blend in so nicely with their table?
ok ya... i know.. food again.. well, live to eat is a total leisure. Live to eat and not having to worry about WEIGHT is another story. sigh...

Conquered Les Amis

2006-10-24T03:42:00.000-04:00

Had an early birthday treat @ Les Amis. Was supposed to go for the branch at botanical gardens (Au Jardins) but it was fully booked. My gosh.. wonder why fine dining is so expensive and yet there are people'fighting' to get seats on a normal day?!?!

Anyway, Woohoo, The experience is really remarkable. The dinner lasted from 8:30pm to almost midnight without realizing because the serving is really slow and they keep you busy with little complimentary bites in between the courses - tempura, creme brulee de foie gras, cream puff, warm walnut bun and petite sweet treats at the end of the meal.

**ok, a little out of point but that's a picture of the ladies. haha

Stepped into the restaurant with the waiter checking out on my attire. Then stressed me up with what would 'aperitif' i want to start off when i don't even have anythin in mind without the menu. Digesting the language on the menu is another issue.

All was well... it wasn't that bad afterall with the french around to help. haha. Alright, My Menu of the day:

1) Started off with aperitif - Pussy foot
2) Then to the entree - Carpacio of artichoke, grilled mushrooms, egg confit, spanish ham, classic vinaigrette (bottom right pic)
3) Then to the main course - Pan fried threadfin with mousseline of apple. $65 per serving when it is smaller than half the palm size. Oh the nice thing is the waiter came out and told me this, "The chef said that the lobster today isn't fresh and he recommends the threadfin." So there i go.. with the changed dish. (top left pic)
4) Dessert - Fine tarte aux pommes dragees, caramel with salted Echire butter. Oh sweet tooth satisfied. Enjoyed it totally. (top right pic)
(and a glass of chardonnay to go along)

His menu was more exotic and his dessert was basically warm chocolate cake. I can make better one, if not for the lack of good chocolate as ingredient.

The wonderful service, the idea of dressing up and behaving like a super-refined lady (haha!), the exotic menu with the nice presentation and the conversation about office gossips and cross-cultured practices are amazing.

Thanks dude for the evening...

Reminisce Celestial Temptation

2006-10-20T20:06:00.000-04:00

Last year, the number of "grand" birthday parties were countless because most of my friends hit 21. so the very same year, this was what happened at Meritus Mandarin - Triple 3...

Celebrated my 21st Birthday. one that i'd never imagine will happen. It's really like going through a mini wedding dinner alone. Fortunately, I have so many friends and relatives who helped me with the preparation and most importantly, their presence at the party.

GD who came up with the theme 'Remember Me This Way' that requires everyone to bring along something that reminds them of me. Not forgetting the pretty-looking guest book which you've spent so much time doing.

Puay cher who helped decorated the place and hosted the party.

Shaikh who even surprised me with the stack of invitation cards to be circulated around.

Rongsheng who's my official camera-man for the night and others who have helped him.

Kylie who rushed down from her busy schedule so as not to disappoint me and thanks for the cool surprise.

My parents whom, of course, paid the bulk of the dinner.

CHAMAYS who have been so sporting to give a speech that night and especially Mien's long and funny poem (with lotsa 'inside' joke):

*************************************************************************************

"The day i saw you playing badminton in your curry pok fringe,
Was the day i promised myself never to perm my hair.
The day i saw you bouncing around to "Get Down" on the mayflower stage,
was the day i promised myself never to dance again.
OH MY GOD.Your Curry pok fringe and translucent giordano windbreaker, combined with backstreet boy's "Get Down",
you were the coolest kid in town.

But that was so long ago, when we all had pagers and ocean pacific wallets.
The official last day of sec school, was the day we first chilled out.
Never did i imagine i'll be friends with the curry pok girl.

These few years have come and gone.
Let me recall what we did.

I remember Star Cruise, and how little we did.
I remember sleeping after breakfast, lunch and dinner just because u were "blind".
I remember how we missed our breakfast n boatride to Malacca because we were all still in slumber.
Oh i remember.

I remember that year, when you spent the last few moments before christmas in wheelock's toilet, waiting for someone.
I remember how even the toilet wouldn't accomodate you.
U pulled your pants down, ready to sit and wait but the intercom came on.
"Dear shoppers, please note that our building will be closing in 15 minutes."
Oh i remember.

I remember Thailand, and how CHAM was first formed.
I remember the day when i hugged u so tightly and we "ben1 xiang4 tai4 yang2" on our jetski.
I remember the highlight of our trip, when we witnessed the skill of unbottling caps with our ass.
I remember toto and i remember Ah Pong.
Oh i remember.

Opps!Sorry i got carried away,
i just remembered it's your birthday!Happpy birthday xiaoli!
I thank you for all you've done,I thank you for your eternal humour,
And i thank you for not loving strawberries like bestfriend and ame do."
************************************************************************************
p.s. For those who've read it and kind of understood, isnt this sweet?! I can't stop giggling to myself while she's reading. Thanks mien for the ultimate effort!

Staff of the restaurant is amazing... we Had 3"amigo" singing and entertaining us all night long, prepared a fabulous cake and showed excellent service.
Food was fabulous good, company was great. A good experience for me, as well as for those who attended i hope....

Stepping on to the DOUBLE TWO soon... ewwwwl..

The long walk...

2006-10-17T01:19:00.000-04:00

It's always good to have friends staying near you. So that other than FOODDDDD, you can WALKKKK...

About 2weeks ago, Marina Square was having midnight sales. Yes, was there for retail therapy since 1pm and woohoo, shop for a total of 10hrs (seriously, all meal times were less than an hour). So both of us were pennyless at the end of the night and guess what, we decided to walk home!!! (*inspired by Audrey's adventure years ago when she walked home along from town to Sengkang)
Our Route:
Suntec City Mall -> Bras Basah Road -> Bugis -> Little India -> Lavender -> Boon Keng -> Potong Pasir -> Serangoon

Phew!!! That's crazy, i know! ... it's actually to burn off the high-caloried milkshake we had at Billy Bombers. Sinfully yummy!

Though Rongsheng was As sleepy as always, he still managed to stay awake during the 2.5hrs walk! zZZZZ

Enjoy Autumn @ Seasons Reasons

2006-10-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

Poor kylie, terribly sick for an entire whole of last week that she gotta go for good food now. Sorry but the place that i suggested to try is slightly below expectation. But it's realli cheap when we get to have $20 off the bill. Well, food is still edible, presentation is nice and the waiters are blur and entertaining.

The place is called Seasons Reasons @ Raffles City basement. They change the menu according to the seasons. So here we are with the autumn selection of food. Their servings are pretty small but their specialty is the tapas (mini serving) so customers can enjoy variety.

from the pics:
1) petite dessert - think that photo is rather deceiving because the actual size is tiny
2) Caeser Salad and 3 selection of Tapas. Chicken with a hint of mint is the only up-to-standard one among our 3choices. oh and the herb mushroom seems like those that we can get from vegetarian stall at the hawker center.
3) Autumn passion - realli refreshing with so many types of fruits inside. But the problem of dining with a friend who works in a hospital, is that she will tend to associate things (food for this case) with some excretion from the human body. ewl...
4) Casserole Duck... this is totally not a casserole. It's just braised duck rice. Abit to the disappointing side.

Well, this is just my opinion. Perhaps it might still be worth trying if the promotion continues or when the winter menu is out.

haze-filled week

2006-10-07T14:16:00.000-04:00

Just in case this will really turn into a 'food-blog', i must show some concern to the current issue. AIR POLLUTION!!!

Everyday and everywhere looks so gloomy with the haze. PSI hits 140 today!!! The thick and choking air makes the eyes and throats really uncomfortable. Felt so intoxicated, as though i'm walking into a chinese temple during lunar new year - from burning of incense and joss sticks, emitting thrice the amount of smoke than they usually do... Crap.. so deprived of cleaner air!!! See how serious this is! Even Those tall buildings at the CBD area are drowning in the polluted air.

Such a nice and windy weather but yet we can't enjoy it. Trying to minimize the time spent outdoor every moment, though we attempted to stay a l'il longer at the opened-rooftop. Nah, the feeling sucks. No more Al-fresco dining, long walks and outdoor activities for the moment... Arghhh!!! Stop burning the forest!!!

**"Nice catchup with yiwen though. So much to learn from you, gal!"**

Romantic Rochester

2006-10-06T01:41:00.000-04:00

Finally get to go Rochester Park weeks ago. Have been wanting to visit that place after its completely new appearance.

"ONE ROCHESTER" for a drink and some snacks should be what we would like to afford at that moment. The ambience in the "Garden" is so romantic. Sadly, they do not have any seats for big-group left at that time. So we have to go to their so-called "Library". It was such a cool weather for al-fresco and yet we were allocated indoor. Boo~ alright, quiet & relaxing is as good too...

The food started to turn cold while the drinks started to turn diluted after i spent a long time trying to capture the right shots under the right lighting... Sorry guys! heehee. We must go to the "Garden" next time.

Just take a walk down the row of restaurants.. some of them look really 'enchanting' and classy that you hafta promised yourself to hop in and try one day... :-)

TCC's hat-trick

2006-09-29T08:33:00.000-04:00

One of the last among my friends to try TCC (The coffee Connoisseur). Heard them singing praises about their interesting drinks. So, i wonder what has got into me.. visited it 3times in a week after my first visit. My favourite of all that i've tried, "Shrooms Bites" (extreme right pic). It's super duper yummy la... Oh, the seats are so comfy too. I like the cosy designs of thier different branches. and I must say the Presentation of their food is rather good...

Tried 3 of their desserts too. The serving of white wine sabayon is so small but the taste is really one-of-a-kind. i enjoyed its unusual taste. Oh, their dark devotion is not worth the price and that's what inspired me to search for recipe online and made my own warm molten chocolate cake .

Favourite MODULE of the semester

2006-09-23T06:34:00.000-04:00

I really enjoy this module called "Promotional Management" from the business faculty. No exam but super "xiong" project. 3M will be sponsoring the project-competition and we are supposed to help them think of promotional plans by end of the term. Other than this interesting part, we were shown many commercials all over the world. Some are really creative and impressive. Really wonder how they get the idea. The lecturer showed us so many interesting ones and i tried searching for it on "you-tube". Ta-dahhhh.. scroll down to enjoy. These 3 uploaded ones are my favourite!!!

2006-09-23T06:29:00.000-04:00

commercial (I) ikea lamp

what a twist to the story. award winning commercial...

2006-09-23T06:12:00.000-04:00

Commercial(II) - Honda Car

no camera tricks and used 600 takes before they got the effect they want! cool ~ using the different parts of the cars to create the dominos effect and introducing the various car-functions. wow, impressive!

2006-09-23T06:09:00.000-04:00

Commercial (III)

poor dog... i would not have chosen the bulldog for sure. Isn't it obvious who looks better?

Sandcastle competition??!!

2006-09-17T22:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, Civil Engineering tries too hard to make the academic more interesting. Well, i must say that it's quite fun to make a fool of ourselves thru' Sandcastle competition, while trying to fulfil the requirement for a particular module

Materials provided: Dry sand (no water allowed) and newspapers

So we are supposed to come with ideas on how to stack the sand to reach the maximum height, withstand the most surface load and lateral force by a GIGANTIC "pendulum bob". wow, sounds so technical. Check out the ugly sandcastle that we built?! Don't they just look like piles of garbage? Alright, guess which of this is made by zhenlin and me?!

Chef of the day

2006-09-17T05:57:00.000-04:00

Went "prawning" on saturday nite. A total of 13 prawns - "beginner's luck". Though some are really quite tiny compared to the CATCH by the family sitting diagonally opposite, STILL i should be contented with the performance during this first attempt.

It's $24 for 2.5 hours. Well, it's true that you can get loads of prawns at that price in the market but the whole thrill started off from the tug at the end of your rod, then lifting it at the right angle while anticipating a huge one clinging onto the hook and making sure that the prawns don't just nibble your bait and swim off freely. At the end of the day, leave the place with a sense of satisfaction and all excited to show mummy. muahaha... oh, n of course, good company too :-)

The next day, i was so motivated to cook for the family. So here it goes... with whatever ingredients i can find at home--> grilled prawns with hint of lemon and garlic, potato/egg/brocolo/cherry tomato rojak salad ANdddddd highlight of the day... WARM MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE. check out my nice presentation... haha. FUN...

One example of Bad service in Singapore

2006-09-10T01:47:00.000-04:00

Went Ricciotti with CHAM last Saturday for a really good deal -> 1-for-1 pasta, pizza and gelato when we use UOB card. Ricciotti is under the Garibaldi Group of Restaurants. Menotti which i've visited earlier with Kylie was under the same group too. So after exploring the website, Menotti and Ricciotti sell exactly the same items on the menu, but the latter at a slighter cheaper price.

ok, here comes the irritating part:
Me : Hi, i understand that your pastries are 50% off after 9pm rite?
Waiter: Yes, but you can't combine 2 promotions together since you are using UOB card
Me : oh, mayb i can split the bill
Waiter: no, you can't split the bill for the same table
Me : then i can pay for the bill for my dinner now. then i get the pastries?
Waiter: no, but the restaurants won't earn if you do that. you can't do that...
Me : But any other customers can enjoy this offer. so you are suggestin that if i walk out and come back in to the restaurant immediately, i'll get the 50% off?
Waiter: Yes, you could do that..

*roll eyes* What kind of logic is this?!?!?! Firstly, i felt super-"aunty" arguing with him about this 50% offer and secondly, felt more like an idiot for not being able to get what i wan. Why? Because the policy is such a NONSENSE! what kind of service is this, asking your customer to walk out n back in again! Isn't it funny if we sit on the same table!!!! isnt just like splitting the bill? will te restaurant earn more like that? I don't really enjoy arguing for such instances but just hate it when they don't admit that their offers have loopholes. arghhh... *so what if your Duomo pastry is fantastic?!!?!* ~bleah

The conversation

2006-09-09T01:35:00.000-04:00

An interesting SMS-conversation with my brother...

Brother: Where did you get the ingredients for making Creme Brulee?
Me: It's called thickened cream. get it from NTUC fairprice
Brother: Don't have leh. I'm at "shop and save". Do all NTUC have?
Me: You are so troublesome. Just go to any NTUC and ask. They are the same and will have it.
Brother: Not all NTUC are the same. Some sell ham and some doesn't.
Me: But all NTUC sells eggs and milk. The cream is as common as that. Just go and ask!!!

haha... ok lame...

Lunch @ Marriot Cafe & Movies @ The Padang

2006-08-31T23:35:00.000-04:00

2weeks ago, Progistics visited Marriot Cafe - All thanks to ShAIKH'S generous treat after gettin his first Full-paycheck! *Wonder if this practice will continue when all my friends start working* heehee. Since i always have sweet-tooth, the dessert looked super-appealing. Those colourful little cups and the nicely-decorated cakes, don't they juz look so pretty? Just feel like skipping the main dishes and hop on to the dessert-section. ~International Lunch Buffet with good company on a Saturday afternoon~ nice!

Waited for a couple of hours before we visit the grocery store to get some junk food for "Movies @ the Padang" organized by Class 95. The VIPs of the event were allocated the perfect spot in the middle of the field. They were provided with a basket of food and wine, together with wine glasses n a small table -> So well-planned. We managed to borrow a 'pathetically' small piece of straw mat & squeeze all our butts on it. Well, better than nothing since this is such an impromtu activity.

As much as im someone who likes to plan ahead in order to have something to look forward to, sometimes, the unplanned act might turn out to be more exciting and refreshing. :-)

Dessert-marathon

2006-08-27T00:39:00.000-04:00

@ Menotti
An Italian Cafe & Bar at Raffles City. Almost forgot that there's something called "dresscode "and i was there in shorts and slippers. Fortunately, they don't practise such things.
"50% off pastries after 10pm" - I'm so going back there again!!!
We tried:
1) "MUSA" - banana with hazelnut cream wrapped with a thin slice of banana-flavoured crepe, Topped with hardened chocolate
2) "DUOMO" - Sweet cream with hints of cinamon that comes with a hidden surprise at the core of this pastry - a dark chocolate ball that has bitter liquid oozing out of it.
Woohoo... There are other interesting pastries and the price is rather reasonable (if there's still good ones available after 10pm).
*************************************
and so, Huiying and i went back 2days later after class, to try out more of their half-priced pastries:
1) "Diplomatica" - super 'nutty'. hazelnut cream wrapped with peanut-bits and taste like ferrero rocher
2) "Tiramisu" - as good and as common as it sounds
3) "Limonie" - too sour for me though it comes with smooth meringue to balance the flavour.
******************************************
@ Azabu Sabo (sounds funny - "sabo"?)
kylie can't wait to try the soft ice-cream. Ice cream is nice but To me, The dessert we tried is just Nothing more than ice kacang with ice cream. But the good presentation of menu at the entrance indeed attract many customers.

p.s. Have to rely on Kylie most of the time in recalling the NAMES of the food items.

~Progistics Picnic~

2006-08-26T06:41:00.000-04:00

Venue: Swan Lake @ Botanic Garden
Theme: Blue sky, white clouds (as lame as it can be, check out what we are wearing! haha)
Menu: Fruits, chocolate sponge cake, junk food (LOTSA THEM), chips & dips, assorted and sandwich and pizza!!!

While waiting for the latecomers to arrive with more food, i'd already fed a jungle of mosquitoes upon my arrival. Hat mosquito-bites!!! other than that, this outing is amazing. Well, you juz gotta come up with more of such ideas if you stay in Singapore. Thanks puay cher for suggestin that she needs a tan. haha, no tanning in the end but "pigging" out session is equally good rite?

Picnic was short since everyone has different commitment after that. Can't wait to organize another of such activity. Hope our invited guest, Yew Lim enjoyed himself. THOUGH, he didnt conform to the dress-code assigned to him - GReen grASS & TREES!!!

Orlando, Florida - The last stop in U.S

2006-08-22T23:32:00.000-04:00

Back to my travelling. realized that i always go back to that wheneva i have nothin else to blog about, or when i'm still in the midst of consolidating pictures ("HY, i wan pics from you!!")

OK, basically we went shopping once we reached there, knowing that there's 2 great factory outlets at Orlando, Florida. The bus service is crappy. It requires about 3transfers (jouurney = 2hrs) to get to our destination when a car-journey will take only 30mins. Check out the signboard behind us? That's the LOGO (a paw) of their transit service... Suit the fact that Orlando is a themepark-fantasy.

So i'm not surprise that we missed our last bus on the 1st nite. Know what?! the bus service ends around 6pm daily. Do they assume that everyone drives or has no night-life? We spent 1hr doing something crazy - WALKING ALONG THE HIGHWAY when parts of it are still under construction. Cars drove past so fast and it takes quite abit of courage to look back and realize that 'million' pairs of headlights dashing towards me. We were about 400m from our hotel when a kind couple offer to give us a lift. Phewww.

Here comes the best news: Rafael and Dennis(whom we knew at Daytona Beach), fulfil their promise and came to Orlando to visit us!!! They drove us to "PLEASURE ISLAND" - Different clubs/bars cluttered together. So you pay a fixed entrance fee and you get to go club-hopping till about 1plus am. So much for the name "PLEASURE" island as people get so drunk and you leave the place yakking loudly and laughing happily with one another. Thanks dudes for introducing that place to us. Else we'll think that they only have themeparks. Thanks dennis for entertaining us the whole night. Sara & i still giggle about it wheneva we r reminded of that funny night.

Interesting themeparks they have - wet and wild; bush gardens; universal studio; disneyworld etc. For your information, Disneyworld in Orlando is bigger than Manhatten City in NewYork. They have different parts such as disney sea, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom etc. And guess what, i chose magic kingdom when i'd alredy been to the one in Japan a few yrs back. And here i am, going for the same thing when it cost about SIN$100 for admission. 90% of the rides are the same, and now i realized how kiddish they are. Felt so sorry that Rafael gotta join us for this when he's on tight budget. Arghh!!! ok, nevermind. it's the company that matters.

Well, it's not exactly thatttt badddd. At least i'm sure first-timers will enjoy the feeling that "fairytales-come-true". And kids are all dressed up in their favourite princessy-costume. My favourite of all, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin.

The highlight of the day: Fireworks!!! It's the best i've seen in my entire life. haha. It's really amazing. Nice colours emitting from the castle, fireworks that showed the shape of stars, familiar fairytale-characters' voices, nice disney theme songs, the cool breeze that accompanied all these and last of all, tinkerbell flew out of the castle and across the magic kingdom. I'm so surprised that she's a real-human and not some laser-tricks or figurine.

The last meal at Orlando was at IHOP - International House of Pancakes. The serving is huge and almost thrice the amount we had for 1 meal.

ok, after stuffing ourselves, we were all ready for a 38hrs bus journey back to Canada. I didnt expect myself to feel so nostalgic. I'll miss the U.S...

Introducing... The V-Tea Room @ Esplanade

2006-08-20T04:37:00.000-04:00

Kylie and i visited this place last Friday.

Decided to try their toffee-flavoured tea which cost $12 per pot. Nice teapot!

Oh, the signature liquor teacake is amazing. iN FACT as "amazing" as its price. Just a small slice like that cost $15. We DEICDED on Bailey's cream as recommended by the waitress. We wonder how long did those waitresses take to memorize the description of the cakes. Very well-done as the presentation itself makes the cakes seem mouth-watering and i'm so tempted to try this partially-melted premium cake of theirs which will cost about $20. *ok, CONTROL!*

Initially, i was shocked by our drowning cake but this is Really yummy!!! Bailey's, espresso and hazelnut bits to enhance the plain warm cake.oh, and We had this with vanilla ice cream ... pPpERRRFECCTT!!!

For those who enjoys tea and cakes... highly recommended. A good chill-out place too... :-) haha

First day of school and Hy's bday

2006-08-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

The school started off with something to look forward to - Huiying's 22nd Birthday celebration at Daybed Bar.

Mystery of the day for the bday gal: number of friends arriving and the venue chosen for the party. "Hey ex-rmmate, hope you like the arrangement and the prezzie."

Though i Still prefer bed supper club in Thailand, this place is comfy enough after a long day of lesson. Hugging the cushion, lying on the soft mattress, indulging in l'il conversation and together with a glass of chardonnay and a piece of brownie cheesecake... These are what had kept us staying till 1am on a monday night. *fortunately, i don't have class on tue*

Took some silly pictures in the midst of conversation.
<<<GD pretending to be a pervertthe 3 "drunkards", though each of us had only a glass which is only one-third filledAudrey in the zoneBday gal and GD lying on the bed or was it just leaning against the wall?!?!>>>

I guess my semester will be crazy with the tonnes of project meetings that i'll be having. Though i only have a 2-day-week, the hours for each day is really long, IF i don't intend to skip any. Seem like a part-time student now...

Happy 41st Birthday Singapore

2006-08-10T23:31:00.000-04:00

This year, The Family decided to get a room at RitZ Carlton Hotel during National Day. Not only you get to avoid the crowd at the parade, but also a better way to enjoy the performance, compared to watching the parade from home television.

On national day EVE, the fireworks at the harbour side is not fantastic and we have to watch it at the lift-area outside the room. However, the night view of Singapore in indeed a beauty which i enjoyed it better than the fireworks. To my surprise, many singaporeans actually booked rooms for this fireworks festival. ~nice... The lobby was crowded with singaporean hotel guests who are "well equipped" with chips and drinks.

Our room faces kallang - where the national stadium is. Check out the bathroom and especially the bathtub by the window. Notice the building across the bathroom? Wonder how many times have those ppl from that building peep at the hotel guests. One funny thing about this hotel: they have about 10 staff, JUST STANDING at the main entrance to greet the guests. Wastage of manpower to have so many doormen. THOUGH it feels rather spectacular as i walk in.

We had tea at the lobby. A pot of peach blossom tea which costs $18 while coffee and hot chocolate cost about $9 each. Ok, let's not lament about the unexpectedly high price. I guess the great music, good service and comfy seats are the bulk of the cost. The pastries look yummy and despite how much i've raised my budget, the price for the high-tea is still shocking - $42+++ per person.

It's pretty interesting to watch the live-telecast parade on TV and checking out the planes and lightings used in the show, just by looking out of the window in the room. With l'il sis singing along with the entire National Day Parade (though abit annoying when she sings it wrongly and tries to cover for it) and enjoying all these while having dinner is really fabulous. :-)

"We are Singapore, We are Singapore, We will stand together hear the lion roar.."

p.s/ received this sms that applies to my dad totally:
"I, the citizen of Singapore, pledge myself to strike, regardless of TOTO or 4D. Based on quick-pick and system 7. So as to achieve car, cash and condo."
Gosh!!!

"ORIENTALized" Potluck

2006-07-31T21:44:00.000-04:00

Last friday, IT'S potluck time at IMS again and well, my LAST DAY of work too.
Theme: Oriental food
Venue: As usual, at the lounge area
Time: as soon as the official lunch hour starts
V.I.Ps: Those selected by Lijun and who have shown interest in potluck lunch after checkin out on what we've been doing for the past few weeks.

All was ready and check out the food we had: Egg tart (traditional, strawberry, chicken and mushroom flavours), Thai salad, dumplings, home-made "zhui kuey", Lemon chicken, Phillippine delicacy, old chang kee, roast chicken and duck, "ngor hiang", hakka abacus, taiwan sausage, fried rice and honeydew sago with chestnut "ah-balling". A total of 18 participants from "all walks of department".

The young ones in the office. I'm the oldest among the youngest. And it's not easy working with a group of reali small-sized girls who complain that they need to lose weight. *roll eyes*, then what am i doing?!?! Thanks to the pretty flowers and lovely autograph book which was 'painstakingly' passed around to get the signatures of the colleagues who are closer to us.

Even though there won't be any yakkin session durin work, weekly potluck that made us so stress of what to cook next, gossipin and laughin at 'H' and Y', boasting of how you can get nice clothes below $10 and watching TV at the lounge durin lunch (you gals know what's our favourite show), still i treasure all these times and we'll keep in touch. See you around in NUS. haha.

Oh no, that reminds me. School is starting. And i've not went back to campus since Nov' 2005. Do i miss that place? No i don't!!! :-(

Miami Beach, Florida

2006-07-24T21:38:00.000-04:00

More than 2months since i'd returned from my trip. I have 5 more places to blog about and MIAMI, FLORIDA is next on the list. Everyone told me how great the beach and clubs are so we decided that 2 full days allocated should be enough since i SHOULD HAVE burnt enough from Daytona beach and i don't really enjoy partying.

Frankly speaking, the number of babes and hunks on the streets are definitely more than Daytona Beach. bikini babes were seen everywhere despite the fact that they are still far from the beach. The clear water, vast sandy shore, beautiful seagulls and colourful little houses supported by stilts resulted in us taking pictures, one after another, for about 45mins.

Tanning, parasailing, people-watching, photo-taking are some of the activities that people engage in. well, Not to mention that there are quite a number of hot nude babes around (shall not post the pic though i did snap a few shots for my frens from Daytona, oops :p).

After a warm shower back at the hotel, we visited STAR ISLAND where the houses are guarded by security. All houses are so big and elaborate that they look like a hotel or rather a grand villa. My gosh... And some of them are own by celebrities. So castle-like.. feel like a queen just by walkin around the area. haha

Nikki beach(pictures at bottom left corner grid) is way cool. Almost like "bed supper club" in Thailand. Comfortable beds and cushions to accompany the good chill-out sessions. The best thing is that this is situated near the beach. The night is made much more romantic with the sea breeze and the sound of waves. Sadly, the place is not opened when we were there. When night falls, colourful lights at the BAYSIDE MARKETPLACE (pictures on top row) can be seeen. Just like Clarke Quay in Singapore - Nice restaurants by the river...

Walking along the stretch of restaurants at Ocean Drive is wayyy cool. With the nice music, strong fragrance of food, warm greetings of waiter/waitress, interesting deco of the restaurants and breeze from the beach -->a total relaxation and i really enjoy this part about travelling. Decided to settle down at this particular one (pictures at bottom right corner grid) with 50% off certain food items because of happy hour. Interesting spanish performance and half-priced food items are good to keep us occupied for the next couple of hours.

Some other interesting things in Miami:(1) METRO-MOVER: an LRT which brings you to various stops around the city area. And guess what? it's FREE OF CHARGE!!! (2) Little Cuba: place is a l'il run-down and where most people speak spanish and sell all sorts of mexican food. The real Cuba is just right across the big sea from Miami and for your information, there's no plane flying to Cuba from Singapore because it is a communist country.

Well, Miami is indeed a place of beautiful people, nightlife, sun and celebration. Next up, Orlando!!!

Apple-Friday

2006-07-22T05:10:00.000-04:00

Our dearest Apple has ended her contract in the company and Friday was her last day. As lame as it may sound, the idea of having a potluck with the theme <Apple> for farewell. Glad to know that the potluck-lunch that 3 had started 2months ago, has attracted more than 10 people on last Friday.

menu for the day is so interesting: APPLE fritters (Me)~pineAPPLE w chix (Chiev Fah)~APPLE-seafood salad (Eileen)~clafouti aux POMMES (Mr. French guy - Marc) ~APPLE kissel (Lijun)~APPLE strudel (Yvonne + Apple) ~APPLE-potato salad (Bonnie)~APPLE juice (Rachel). Some other non-APPLE items: $50 worth of KFC and pandan roll.
Pictures from the top row (left to right): Apple kissel and apple fritters

All except KFC was cleared and everybody was so full that we were offering food to whoever's walking into the lounge.

Hopefully, Photo-taking session can aid digestion.

~Marc~~the favourte spot for phototaking when someone is leaving the company~~Apple and Eileen~~Apple-the main character for the day has been cut off from the pic. oops~

At the end of the day, overheard some colleagues' conversation, discussing about the next potluck. heehee. ~Nice

Can't stop feeling excited about The LINE

2006-07-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

After 2weeks of serious discussion about which dining place to splurge, Kylie and i decided to try out THE LINE @ Shangri-la Hotel. *click on picture for bigger view*As what we've expected, the place is totally gorgeous. The modern design with white and orange as the main theme colours are absolutely remarkable because if the purpose of the plain background is to contrast the various colours of the food, making them look more appetizing and yummy, it definitely did! I have nothing else but compliments to the place. two thumbs up for the amazing display of food, the concept of 16 stations with specific chefs mending each cuisine, the design of the place and the helpful service staff. Alrightttt, check out what's on my first round to start the ball rolling. My favourite of all on that plate - salad served in martini glass. To make the money worth, i've tried stuffing as much seafood as possible.

The brilliant idea of having chef situated at a particular station which they specialize, is simply amazing - Because you get to try the chef's own creation and make challenging request to your dish. For instance, kylie had Chef Kenneth to whip up a cocoa-flavoured pasta with dozens of ingredients and sauces. Kylie was so attracted to him that she can't stop smiling at the lump of brown-coloured 'stuff'.

The different stations are categorized according to the cuisines - indian, chinese, sea food, the grill, italian, salad, nonya, dessert etc. Everything looks really delicious and the both of us can't stop feeling excited about the experience! woohoo!!!

Oh man, has "COLD STONE Creamery" from the US arrived in Singapore. Well, the idea is there but still, great difference in the taste and the 'feel'?

Our long awaited moment - the dessert!!! As we sat really near the dessert corner, we can't stop but eyeing the colourful cups that were prettily displayed on the shelves. Cakes were no exception. I promised myself not to miss out any and look how greedy we are-> Plates full of desserts.Check out the red one!! it's actually chadonnay-flavoured jelly. Over-dosage of sweetness to end off the day. i SIMPLY ADORE this experience n totally enjoyed the dinner and company! ~Splendid!!! Left the place feeling sleepy and stuffed. . . :-( heehee

2006-07-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, More colleagues joined us for potluck-lunch and my challenge this time round is creme brulee. Pretty easy to make. Other than Lijun who made a casserole dish, the rest actually went to buy the food for contribution. Totally forgot about the ground rules - home-cooked food. But, food that were bought look so much more presentable and thus, our pictures turn out nice. The good thing is, the next day, we had french and oriental cuisine in return. Wow, culture-exchange. so interesting

Then off to meet Kylie for dinner at Kenny Rogers. All thanks to a friend (in order not to get him into trouble, his name shall not be mentioned) who's working there, we managed to get half a slab of ribs, half chicken, 6side dishes and huge chicken pot pie. ~super filling for 2 to dine.

at 9:30pm, we are all ready for private screening of "PIRATES OF CARRIBEAN 2" for lexus club members. free popcorn and cocacola on every seat. After the only commercial played-Borneo Motors, the show started! Hate shows that leave you wanting for more because it has no ending. Anyway, sadly, we didnt manage to know any lexus-drivers to send us back after the show. sigh...

"Hat-trick"

2006-07-09T10:33:00.000-04:00

This is what gonna happen anually on a particular day of July. The celebration of 3 BITHDAYS in my family - my younger sis, aunt and cousin. And this year, the party was held in my house.

I seized this opportunity to experiment with some baking which i've always wanted to. Needless to say, i whipped up a STORM in the kitchen. Yes, I meant it LITERALLY!!! There's a storm!!! The whole kitchen is in a mess after 3hours of struggling. Chicken pie, pizza, fruit tart, brownie and creme brulee <-- all from scratch and i wonder how much flour i've used. *i agree that they don't look very appetizing. haha.but... I'm IN LOVE with BAKING. Then i was off to collect the 3 birthday cakes. Ranked according to popularity among the guests: "MACHA" (all-time-favourite from CANELE), COCOA NAPOLEON (THE PATISSIER) and LE ROYALE (CANELE).

My brother and i had our first times tryin to start the fire for the BBQ. We took about an hour before the charcoal catche a good flame and i can still feel my arms aching. We were perspiring so "unglam-ly" despite trying to look presentable as hosts earlier on.

The happiest of all in this party --> my sis! She invited neighbours and friends who are all GIRLS... haha.. The house was chaotic with screeching voices.. One of the mother of the kid asked," will there be magician coming later?" oh no, is there a need to be so extravagant? So my sis came up with her own games which seem pretty silly. For instance, walking around with a lantern at the wrong occasion. but well, they somehow enjoyed it.

Check out one of her gifts. Plain tee shirt and cup which she was supposed to personalized it herself. But my brother and i intend to 'design' for her. haha. fun! oh well, To my surprise, my sis is quite sensible. She offered to share her red packets (ang bao) and presents with us since we've helped in preparing for her party. ~well done!

p.s im so into baking. What's next? haha

Martini Party...

2006-07-05T12:49:00.001-04:00

2 V.I.P were invited to the Martini Party at Kylie's humble apartment. Or rather, we forced our way in, and get her to mix some cocktails for us because she has a newly-bought shaker and unethically-owned martini glasses. Why is it called a MARTINI PARTY? Because all our drinks are served in martini glasses. haha

Despite the necessary garnish and the limited liquors, i'm surprised that i actually enjoyed most of the drinks (when i don't really savor alcohol).

From the pictures:
(1)Grasshopper (2)shooter with kahlua, creme de menthol and baileys (3)Kylie using the right amount of strength to mix the drinks (4)Mudslide (5)the opening of a brand new bottle of ice-wine (6)the entire selection of Kylie's collection (7)screwdriver (8)failed attempt of Waterfall (9)the highlight of that night - ICE WINE MARTINI

Woohoo, Kylie, i'm so impressed by your bartending knowledge and we really enjoyed the "cocktail-appreciation class". hehe! Thanks!!!

"false alarm"

2006-07-03T12:24:00.000-04:00

It was supposed to be my last week of work and thus decided to meet different friends, who are supposed to be working around the same area, for lunch.

First was Qijia from JP Morgan and we headed to amoy street food market for a yummy plate of Nasi-Lemak-look-alike. From campmates, then to Mahjong kaki,
then to lunch kaki. This is working life - More of serious work and less of leisure.

Then met auntie for my most expensive lunch in the past 1 month at Tanjong Pagar. But for a 3-course-meal and a good catch-up with aunt, it's all worthed it.

"Potluck lunch" with the gals at work is getting more interesting and the standard is getting better. Menu for the day: creamy macaroni, chicken salad and rosti. The gals indeed makes my stay at this company more enjoyable.

Wonder if i'm impatient or is my supervisor hard to deal with. She, being the secretary and such a perfectionist, sent me a file which i had finished with the data entry, to make changes. Guess what she wanted me to edit?!?! From "postal code" to "Postal Code" and make sure all the borders are of the same thickness. ok, can't she do that simple mistakes instead of sendin them to me again?! That's just one example.Perhaps, she's trained by her direct boss who can't make a call himself. Just this mornin, i was told to make a call for him and once it get through, transfer the call to him. Maybe i haven't seen enough of office scenes. Didnt know it works this way...

Went to catch Superman with Progistics without ah-HUI. Oh man, "hot body with good looks shield the boring story line". haha. Thought i won't be travelling back to Tanjong Pagar to work, so i insisted that shaikh & Rongsheng try the best-muffin-ever hot from the oven on that day!

ok, on friday, i was told to extend my contract till end of July... so here i am, back at work... Still, i have nothing to do and paid to surf the net.

Internal betting

2006-06-30T05:37:00.000-04:00

Quarter-finals for FIFA WORLDUP 2006 is here!
Haha, betting has officially started within the company.

"$5 a guessing, 90mins playoff ONLY. No extra time."

Haha, so fun! good luck everyone!

p.s. and i just revealed everyone's predictions.

Happy Birthday to Daddy!!!

2006-06-25T10:09:00.000-04:00

As Recommended by Huiying, the whole family decided to visit Prima Towers Revolving Restaurant. Although i seem nonchalent about his birthday, i cracked my brain to decide the cake and the gift to get.

OH, and thanks to "Mr. SLEEPY" who slept only 3hrs the night before, n the next day, drove me to get daddy's Birkenstock(though it's closed), get the cake from Amara hotel and finally to the restaurant to leave the cake there before the "big day". Really appreciate the help man! *Glad you manage to stay awake while driving, although not durin the match.* And fortunately, i have shaikh to help me get my gift because i have to work at Venezia. thanks DUDE!

Presentation of the food is good and some dishes are rather unique. But, it doesn't seem to be my family's cup of tea. Ordered serving for 6 when there are only 4.5 of us. So each of us has to take turn to consume the extra share. *full*. The 'Old man' in the family made the longest-ever birthday wish which lasted more than 3mins. "So daddy, how much do you WISH to collect from Singapore Pools?" Finally get to try the cake which i'd made special request to: Macadamia nuts with chocolate moose, covered with a layer of dark chocolate flakes!!! Absolutely sinful but Heavenly...

Happy 54th Birthday!!!

Fruitty Friday

2006-06-23T03:27:00.000-04:00

Just when i was proud to announce that my office has FRUITTY FRIDAY (buying $70 worth of fruits for the staff) every week, Rongsheng has to tell me that his bloomberg has "Thank God it's PIZZA friday". ok, really cannot compare!! :-(

Everyone looks forward to Friday. I do but definitely not this week. Last night, i went for this neuropsychology sleep deprivation experiment (STEMCap - short term memory capacity) which has been bugging me for the past 3wks. Sleepin before 1am and wake up by 9am, ensuring at least 7hrs of sleep. 3 meet-ups and finally, now for the last one. The thought of having to stay in this MRI scanner makes me nauseous because of my previous bad experience. Last night was no exception. forced lotsa sour candies into my mouth to prevent myself from throwing up. alright, sleepless night for me to test how well the brain function aft not sleeping for 24hrs. Well, all these for the sake of a meagre sum of incentive and i didnt want to give up halfway. But, Doubt i'll wanna try agn.

Yayyy, finally it's all over now... will be looking forward to Friday once again!!!

the week...

2006-06-18T22:49:00.000-04:00

My work in the office has started to be slightly more meaningful. Well, that's because i'm 'BEGGING' my colleague to let me cover some of her task and so i won't have to just be a RECEPTIONIST. pui~

What happened during the week? hmmm...
1) Huiying left for Hongkong summer program which i was supposed to go as well. One less person to chill out with
2) boss caught me late for work for JUST 5MINUTES and ta-dahh, i was late again today for half an hour.
3) was wondering if platonic friendship really exist. If there isn't, then won't the bond which developed between a guy and a gal end up either being an item or NOTHING AT ALL? So if the statement "I JUST WANT TO BE FRIENDS" was mentioned, it might strain the friendship which you have been treasuring so dearly all these while? The consequences of LOSING a friend and a different treatment are so worrying that you have to refrain yourself from being too direct. Meanwhile, you can't help it but to portray the necessary care and concern for that pal which might understood it as the wrong signal. To feel bitter and hurt about this is unavoidable. Well, i still choose to believe that PLATONIC friendship does exist. You can discuss about the guy/gal you like, yak about anythin and even one day, you can share the news that "I'VE-MET-THIS-REALLY-GREAT-GUY" topic.
4) Started work at Venezia again. Well, except for the poor business which i really feel sad for them, the Menu, colleaguesa and job scope are totally different. the nostalgic feelin hit me in the mornin and i can't wait to end work after only 1hr. The boss needs staff and so i went back. the fact that i have to drag myself out of bed on a sunday mornin is crap.
****
For 3days in a row, i've Visted Kylie who's working at crowded Barcelona @ Robertson walk. Wanted so much to get my favourite cake from Canele but failed to do so for all 3days. Oh Kylie, so am i considered a REGUALR of the bar now? Whoever said that the Esmiralda Restaurant allows you to smash the plates after consuming the food is bullshit. If i ever do that, the next thing they'll do is to kick me into the mental hospital. Food is overpriced and is not fantastic. Anyway, thanks josh and pls Remember your promise if i visit you at Paulaner Brauhaus!

p.s "not looking forward to friday"

~Daytona BEACH~

2006-06-14T12:31:00.000-04:00

Guess i should continue blogging about my trip before the memory fades off gradually. haha. So next up, DAYTONA BEACH. We were really disappointed after we alighted the greyhound bus after 17hours of journey from Washington, DC. The whole place is quiet and dead, with only Motor-car shops one after another. ~boring. The exciting part is the weather. Once again, i have to admit that i miss the WARMTH when i stepped out of enclosed areas. woohoo, the warmth is so comfortable. Take a deep breath ~ nice....

Checked in to SAXONY inn and don't you think it sounds like "SEX only"? ok that's lame. Well, the place is not as fantastic as other motels that we've passed by earlier on, but that's where we met dearest Dennis <-- the receptionist who offers sooooo much help (ya, the microwave oven too!)

Daytona beach is quiet on weekdays. Heard that over the wkends, it's crazy. Visitors drive their cars onto the sandy beach, loud music, more babes n hunks tanning etc. Well, wrong time again and there's not much chance for me to "people-watch". Hmm, the peace is another kind of pleasure too! Decided to close my eyes for awhile and ta-dahhh, i fell asleep under the sun for 1hr. I'm totally burnt on 1side!
Went for GO-kart. Watching the 3staff at work are more enjoyable than go-karting. They jumped around like monkeys and used Saranya's camera to take random shots of themselves. What an easy job for them.

How can we miss the DAYTONA international SPEEDWAY? A waste that no race going on during that period and anyway, the most we can afford is juz a tour around the magnificent track. Check out how steep the track is tilted and car racers have to maintain a certain high speed in order to negotiate the turn. Wow, sounds exciting. Our tour guide saw a piece of screw on the track and said "who want's a souvenir? that piece lying there flew off from the racing car."

I'm glad we were introduced to "Red tails" so that our night at Daytona Beach doesn't end too early with nothin much fulfilled. Saw spontaneous bar-top dancers and pubbing scenes in the Florida. Most importantly, we gotta know the mexican chap through Dennis, RAFAEL!!! Yeah, he made a positive difference to my trip and i really appreciate that. Florida will not be that unforgettable without you guys.

Other things we did at Daytona Beach: walking across bridges to cross the 'river', attempting to walk 4km under blazing hot sun but failed, pizza buffet, chocolate factory tour, free internet access in library etc. alright, up next will be Miami Beach.

@ work ...

2006-06-13T21:28:00.000-04:00

Time passes so slowly when you have nothing to do. As i said earlier, everyone @ work seems busy except me. So knowing that there'll be a presentation, i can't wait to join and the topic is "Stress Management". Apparently, during the entire talk, the collaegues were walking in and out of the conference room, worrying that their bosses will email them, answering important phonecalls or having to complete certain assignments for the day. No wonder this talk is held... "Smile to your heart and feel the heart smiling back at you"..."Breathe in all the way to your naval and to the back of your body, up the spine n out. Can you feel the lungs smiling back at you?". Ok great, i can't sense any of these. :-(

ok, as lame as it may sound, i suggested a potluck lunch with the NUS colleagues in the office So that there's something to look forward to while i dread my way to work in the morning. Strawberry Fondue, Chocolate crisp, cookies, baked potatoes with egg mayonaise and ham. Home-made is always better than same old hawker food. ~nice. Never had such filling lunch since i started work here. haha. Thanks gals! Game for another "potluck lunch"??? heehee

the WEEKEND after 1 week of work

2006-06-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

When you start working, wkends seem more precious and you really hope that it'll be as interesting as possible. So i started Friday with Rockclimbing which is freaking cheap. It's just at my office building itself. Indoor and air-conditioned with equippments provided @ only $2.50 per person. Well, the best thing is that they don't require any certificate and it just means that i'll be climbin at my own risk. *sorry dude if i didn't manage to belay well*

oh yayy! i finally get to watch "Over the Hedge". Fortunately, Bishan has the 9:10pm time slot because other than that, they are only available at weird afternoon hours when i'm workin. Then after movie --> FIFA WORLD CUP 2006!!! Even went to place a small bet in order to enjoy the excitement. Realized that the results are always so unpredictable. A starting match with 4-2. well, i would like to repeat again, "ya, the ball is round. Anything can happen".

BBQ at Alex's house on sat to meet up with the 25th Sports club committee. A different taste of bbq with the weird, or rather unique marination. Thanks Puaycher and Alex for the preparation.

Potluck with the Waterloo-ers(exchange students) with 2 other additions from Carolina who are here for summer programme. Wheneva we have such party, "Number game" to finish up the food is unavoidable. and my lousy luck caused me to eat twice the amount of the others. Oh man, the 2guys must have thought that Singaporeans have such fat appetite and we were so afraid that they'll mistaken our culture for burping like a frog when Daffy can't control her usual habit.

alright, another long and packed week ahead. :-(

Crazy IT fair followed by lovely BIRTHDAY celebration

2006-06-07T21:50:00.000-04:00

Went IT fair last saturday with Rongsheng and brother. I need a desktop, rongsheng needs a laptop while my brother needs to get his external hard disk. While we were warned about the CRAZY crowd, nevertheless we went. Long queues for collection of lucky draw coupons on the first level, people giving out non-IT related flyers along the way which ended up on the floor and many are carrying big boxes of purchases. Seem like they really have good deal on the 6th level where the fair is.

Stayed there for more than 3hours and we were "inching" every step in the hall. Fortunately, all of us got what we wanted. If $50 purchase allow 1 lucky draw coupon, we could have collected more than 80. Thinking of the long queue and the hassle to fill up the coupons, bro & I decided to give up and head for a more important task of day - Mummy's birthday celebration!!!

Oh man, mummy is already in her late forties. haha. Brother and i giving her and daddy(father's day gift) a good treat at Ananda SPA!!! Great.. since it's 1-for-1, i killed 2birds with 1stone. the package is really good: massage, sauna/jacuzzi, bath, movies entertainment, internet access, unlimited food and drinks. I'm so gonna give myself a good treat when i have money. Dinner was at Merchant Court. My whole family haS the habit of eatin really fast. Buffet is not enjoyable if we are stuffing ourselves within 1 hr. Wanted to surprise her with her favourite cake - MACHA. Looks realli mini despite the price . It's my favourite too! Lousy waiter blurted out "i'm going to clean the table for the cake" before he took 30mins to bring it out. BADDDDD!!!

ok, that's what happened last saturday. Can't wait for the comin weekend...

1st day of work

2006-06-06T04:15:00.000-04:00

Started work at IMS 3days ago. Hmm, ask me about job scope? I don't know how to explain. Receptionist, ad-hoc admin duties and help out the secretary to plan functions. Simple task.. Yup, that's about it and most of the time, i'm slacking when everybody in the office seems busy. So currently, i am paid to surf the net.

Hmm, it's quite a big company with about more than 50employees. I enjoyed the lounge (pantry) though it's still nothin compared to the one at Rongsheng's workplace - Bloomberg(as shown in the pic). hERSHEYS, m&Ms, gummy bears, tidbits etc. woohoo.. But thanks Rongsheng for those interesting "unethical" surprise from your pantry. heehee. sshhh..

Anyway, I enjoy walking in n out of the main entrance of the office because as their staff, we enter the door by having a machine detecting our fingerprint. haha. So fun. alright, i sound stupid.

hope i'm more 'useful' tomorrow!!! :-)

Banana crumble X 2

2006-06-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

Swensen's banana crumble is sooooo good. I have a sweet tooth and this dessert is exactky what i'm looking for. haha., sound like i'm referring to something really special. but nehz... this banana crumble is heavenly. i had it twice in 1 day - once with the "exchange-girls" (Swep, Sara n joo) and the other time with Kylie and David later in the evening. Even tried their new crumble - some white chocolate with lotsa different kind of nuts. not very well done though. The chef had over-baked it. we also tasted thick-toasted bread with peanut butter and otah. Though simple, yet delicious.

Why are my outings always full of eating ?!?!?!? is it the best way to chill out or is it just me!? haha.

Accompanied Kylie to collect her parcel from HongKong. A birthday present from an ACQUAINTANCE, which cost more than $500. YES, she's an acquaintance who is filthy rich... They met each other for a total of less than 48hours in the past few months and tah-dahhhh --> It's crazy... PSP (Portable play station) and some other random stuff which kylie likes. I'm happy for her too.. haha... well, now i believe in "you reap what you sow". *"Kylie, you should know why i said that"*

Washington, DC & Virginia

2006-05-31T05:22:00.000-04:00

Once again, i realli want to Thank Sara's cousin. The trip to Wasington, DC would have been different without her driving us around and offering us accommodation.

As soon as we reached Washington, DC, she drove us to Virginia (another state). Visited Shenandoah Valley. The sceneries are nice and we are suppposed to capture the beauty at various height. But the photos turn out the same no matter how hard i tried to take from different angles. Perhaps this attraction isn't my cup of tea.

The most important and enjoyable moment is up next: SHOPPING. I brought limited clothings and so, seriously need to stock up for the rest of the trip. Spent more than 4hours at Premium Factory outlet and even got myself a new luggage to store my purchases. We had mexican food for dinner and home-cooked food the next day before we set off for Washington, DC.

I was warned that it is a very boring place and shouldn't spend more than 1day. Oh man, they were right... Everywhere were plain buildings, monuments and statues. The WHITE HOUSE (bottom left pic) is so disappointing. So plain n apparently, it's just white n look like a block. Can't imagine that we spent hours on the road, searchin for this... sigh

fortunately, we had a sunny weather. i enjoyed lookin at poeple havin al-fresco dining along the streets. Such relax lifestyle is what i craved for... :-) Check out the pretty flowers. Signs of Spring is nice after being cooped up in Winter Wonderland for 4months.

A total of only 1.5 day spent at this stop. short and sweet. haha

'FOODFUL' weekend

2006-05-28T16:34:00.000-04:00

CHAMAYS unite! the gals came over to my place on friday night for a sleepover. According to experience, we usually sleep not later than than 3am, wake up in the late mornin and that's about it. This time round, it's different.

Chomp chomp hawker center to kickstart our FOODful night since Mavis is hungry who Amazingly lost 7kg in the 5months when i was away. Stress~~ heehee. Then back to my house for an alcohol-party. Ice wine, sangria, yucky-tasting pina colada with vodka and red wine are the drink list for the day. Chocolate, peanuts, 'dou sar bing' and 'ba kua' (pork jerky) are what we had interestingly used, to accompany our drinks.

someone mentioned, "Let's go Mustafa Centre" (24 hours shopping mall which sells almost everything). Everyone meant to be a joke but i'm really enthusiastic about bringing the gals there. So off we go to buy ingredients for breakfast in our pyjames. haha

Afterwhich, we head off to Geylang to enjoy the famous bean curd stall. We enjoyed it despite the oily pancake and 'you char kway' (fried dough). planned to continue with beef hor-fun but it was closed. Slept at 6am and woke up at 12:30pm the next day to prepare our 'breakfast'. Check out the ingredients for our wraps. Mavis and i posed with this funny-looking fruit which looks like 'golden pillow' and reminded us of a show 'NONG NONG AGO'.

In the evening, Huiying, Rongy and i went Thai express for dinner, followed by Ben and Jerry's ice cream then Cafe Iguana (known for their magarita). at cafe iguana, drinks are half-priced after midnight and we ordered mexican side dishes while waiting. Yummy... I'm in love with mexican food and never sick of tortilla chips. Huiying with the spicy sauce that almost killed us and me with the unwilling-look while finishin the beans that nobody likes. keep eating non-stop but who cares... puttin on weight like nobody's business. :-(

i LOVE NEW YORK!!!

2006-05-26T02:02:00.000-04:00

New York City. Our very first part of the adventure. Though we were all excited about the trip, uncertainty about how things will turn out, the problems we might face and anythin which might cock-up still prevail.

We had a hectic plan. Involves waking up early and going back late. Saranya had a shock after being confronted by a passerby for money on our way back. Apparently, it's not safe to stay beyond the Central Park and our hostel was unfortunately located there. Still, this hostel offers free pizza and popcorn which we didn't go for any.
TimeS Square is my favourite. New York City - known as the capital of advertising - the bustling Times Square is filled with 3D commercials and signboards. Hawkers, Souvenirs, restaurants and interesting attractions and shops are found along the entire streets. It's totally different from other places. mY beloved COLDSTONE Creamary is right smacked at that area. Though the ice cream is abit overpriced, once a day is still bearable. So we basically visited Times Square everyday when we were at New York. nice nice~ (apart from the reason that we need to claim our planet hollywood voucher from there). Another important thing at TIMES SQUARE is the high possibility of meeting a celebrity if you hang around the area long enough. When you see crowds or long queues (which happen about twice a day), then you are bound to expect some stars. Check out the supporters of ELTON JOHN.

Went to Madam Thussards which i don't really enjoy. Firstly, Singapore used to have one and secondly, i wonder what's so interesting about taking pictures with wax figures (trying to hard to pretend that the celebrities are standing right beside us).

Other attractions ALSO include the museums such as intrepid air and sea. As usual, i'm not a fan of museum but still went to make our day-pass more worthwhile. We went to NBC tour which is really interesting. Getting to know how broadcasting works, how they scale the props to make the celebrity looks taller etc.
Another not-to-be-missed stop is the "GROUND ZERO" which was formerly known as the TWIN TOWER. Tall buildings surround the vast emptiness. You can actually feel the solemnity as you stepped there. Beams from the drestroyed tower is used to make a 'cross' to remind us of the tragic incident.

One of my favourite attractions: The EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. yeap yeap, it's the one which KING KONG climbed but don't worry, the building is still intact and look really majestic. It shoots out in the middle of the city and outstands the rest of the skyscrapers. We chose the perfect timing to ensure a day-and-night view. ~ I'm speechless by looking at the beautiful landscape! we had this audio tour which introduce the history of the EMPIRE STATE and the significance of most other major buildings from the view on the top of the EMPIRE STATE. nice nice...

Another of my favourite: RIVER CRUISE. Despite the cold we had to withstand, the scenic beauty you can view during the boat tour is amazing. Once again, to enjoy both day and night views, we went for the cruise twice. In the day, sunlight casts strong rays on the buildings, making them classy and unique. The lightings from the skyline in the evening gave a romantic feel which you'll just indulge deeply in. i adore The breeze, the fireworks, the relaxing mood and the idea that i am a tourist exploring this foreign land. Travelling is so fun...

Lastly, the famous CENTRAL PARK which i heard that many scenes from movies were filmed. The abundant greenery, the peace and serenity in the midst of the Manhatten City and its huge area which covers many streets and involve picturesque landscape everynow and then as you walk through the whole park, is definitely a good place for chilling or dating. Sara, Swep and i had a good break in the midst of a large field after 3days of hectic schedule.

Alright, next stop is Washington, DC. Stay tuned!

careless me...

2006-05-25T00:44:00.000-04:00

accidentally left the car keys at the gate in the middle of the night when i went home. Gosh... brother found it lying there when he was heading out in the morning. The keys rested on a position which can be reached by any passerby EASILY. What the hell, the car could have been stolen and i will never forgive myself. Luckily, nothin happen. Phewwww

A million thanks to KYLIE!!!

2006-05-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

Dearest Kylie suggested for a meet-up as soon as i came home and insisted on a treat (as she always does). Thanks for the generousity and hope you like the gifts from my trip. We basically did an EXCHANGE of presents and i don't know why i get a MOGU from her... thanks!!! i have 2 huggable MOGUs now.

Kylie juz got her new cellphone (NOKIA N80) today and with the clear 3.2-Megapixel camera in-built, i was apparently taking pictures for the whole outing. Can't stand the clarity man! so tempted to get it, if not for the bulkiness.

Dinner treat @ SUN-WITH-MOON japanese restaurant. I introduced it to her and she loves it there. Check out the pretty dishes and the amount we ate. Yummy... Haven't had such good meal for quite some time. Had dessert which is totally not worth the money. It's called "Sweet Box". Don't order it!!! NOTHING SPECIAL! -->

Da Vinci Code was next. my treat - the most i can do for the time being in return for the treat. "Kylie, Let me get a job first so i can treat lunch at MICHAELANGELO." oH MAN, i wouldn't have enjoyed and totally understood the show without Kylie man! Thanks for the detailed explanation. It's really heartwarming and pleased to catch scenes that were taken at places i've visited before. Wowowow, the Louvre in PARIS. nice~~~ On the other hand, i'm sad that i missed out certain important paintings. Argghhh. Such a big museum and simply too arty-farty for me.

After movie, we chose APPLE CRUMBLE to cocktail at Balcony Bar because the entire place looks dead> Be sure to visit soon (PROVIDED there's a crowd). Nice chill out and catch up!
Thanks for the night, buddy! hope you get your job at TTSH soon.

Scary Barcelona

2006-05-21T11:54:00.000-04:00

Just got back to SUNNY ISLAND - SINGAPORE. since i've pre-ordered what i wanna eat, i Had a sumptuous home-cooked dinner and the highlight is "ASAM FISH". oH, and mummy's first reaction when she saw me at the airport --> "why are you soooo dark?"

before i forget, i should mention about my life-and-death experience in BARCELONA. I was so looking forward to that destination since many have praised about her beautiful architecture. True enough, that's the good side of the city.

It was about 2am. A few hours ago, Barca V.S ARSENAL at the European Cup Final held in Paris. and Barcelona won. Check out how patriotic the locals are...After the match, we left the hostel and decided to walk to the bus station which will bring us to the AIRPORT. The situation along the stretch of road which we had to pass by shocked me badly. I saw fire soaring fiercely at the end of the road and was curious to know what happen. We kept going forward and The word 'DANGER' didn't occur to me at all until glass bottles were smashed against shop houses and shattered to pieces right in front of us.

We screamed and bent down immediately. After recovering from the shock, we turned back. I called for JU as i managed to get one of the hotels to open the door for us to seek refuge. All the shops are closed. It's only a match and why must everyone get so high?! Policemen were around the area but nothing much can be done. The crazy people even threw glass bottles at the policecars. The police were outnumbered. Bomb-like noises, shattering of glasses, threatening shoutings of the drunks etc made me wonder if we'll ever leave the hotel. Though worried, a part of me still hope to stay longer or even walk out to see what's happening and how the police clear the mess.

The kind security guard from the hotel decided to open the back door for us to exit so that we won't miss the bus. Reached the bus station safely after half an hour though we still see groups of problematic drunks on the streets. We had phobia against people wearing the Barcelona Jersey.

What an experience. So should i still like the country which most people do?

While waiting for my flight at 6:50am . . .

2006-05-17T17:59:00.000-04:00

Currently at Barcelona. Nice architectures and we are behaving like a ´TOTAL´TOURIST. Carrying cameras and takin pictures at almost everything. As i always think, the 2 top favourite things that tourists like to take are FOUNTAINS and Christmas Trees. Didn´t really like the place intially because the MAFIA greeted us to the country by cheating us 50€ each (SIN$100). We felt so stupiddddd!!! All in the hope of wanting easy-money and there goes our cash in less than 3 seconds. Arghhhh... We took more than a day to get over this... hopefully... ok, i shan´t mention this further to spoil my mood. Will just pretend that i lost the money at the CASINO or to buy a lesson. Arghhh...

Despite the fact that our mood was dampened a little, we still appreciate how beautiful Barcelona is . Night life is amazing and the beach has lotsa interesting things to check out. London is great as well. Really enjoy the way that things are more similar to Singapore in London, compared to the States. From the subway station, the rules and regulations, the way that we look right first and then look left before we cross the road etc. BUT the Sterling Pounds is getting to me... Things are freaking expensive. A simple plate of Fish and Chips cost 4pounds (SIN$12) and curry chicken with potato can cost 3.50pounds SIN$10.50). Overall, i still prefer the U.S - The people, environment and the shopping. Saranya do not agree with me though.

Flight at 6:50am later and to be on budget, we aren´t getting a room for the night. Anyway, we saw how crazy the locals because of the soccer match between BARCA and ARSENAL. The wrapped in flags, dressed in jersey, shouting and yelling just before the match. Cool... So we blended in with the local to catch the match. Nice... AND Barca won!

Alrighty, my last stop... PARIS

Those who make a difference to our trip

2006-05-13T09:26:00.001-04:00

The U.S trip has ended and come to think of it, Saranya, Swep and i were indeed lucky throughout the whole trip. It's not just about how interesting the place is, the tons of shopping which you can do nor the chance of seeing things in another part of the world. The most important of all, it's the company and the help we've got from the people around us and these indeed cause my sense of nostalgia once again. The 3 gals set off for their trip one fine day, not knowing what kind of strangers they'll meet, doubts about whether they can handle the trip etc. But, we were never alone in any part of the trip.

It kicked off at New York City with the company of Kailin, Daffy and Amy who brought so much laughter to the whole travelling. We took turns to plan for our day in New York so that no time is wasted. Thanks for the egg sandwich, the queuing for broadway tix and the uploading of our pictures. See you gals soon.
Then it is Sampson who stayed in the same hostel. Thanks for contributing chicken to our macaroni and cheese and joining us for our late night supper. Hope he manage to get a job by now...

Then we went to New Jersey. Swepna's family friend came to pick us up. The good hospitality and comfort of their house is amazing. We managed to settle things for the rest of our trip with the internet access and did our laundry. Sitting down with the family to chat, have dinner and watch movie are amazing. Thanks for driving us out to get ice cream because of my stupid craving, the lift to the station after your long day at work and the nice meals provided for us.

Then off to Virginia and Washington D.C to meet Saranya's cousin. She drove so much that we really feel bad. Blame myself for falling asleep as soon as i hopped onto the car. Not being able to keep her company when she had to drive for hours. Didn't even realize how much she's struggling to bring us to places of interest because she's not sure about the direction. Thanks and i really enjoy taking pictures with you at the bed of beautiful tulips.

Then off to Daytona Beach. The town looks dead because it's a weekday. Just when we thought that we will be wasting out 3days at the boring place, we gotta know this really cool guy from KENYA called Dennis (the guy in the middle). As he warned us, "we are sure gotta miss him". Yeap, we do... Knew him as the receptionist from the hotel we stayed. Thanks for bringing microwave to our room and telling us the interesting things that we can do in Daytona. You are indeed a good host. Better keep your promise: quit ur job, rob the bank and come over to Singapore. I'll remember how you teach us the way to sneak into other hotel for breakfast, how u can't pronounce the letter 'R', how u imitate 'black'-women, how you were so drunk and babbling rubbish in the middle of the night which traumatized Swepna and Saranya etc etc.

Rafael - the mexican whom we know at Daytona Beach through Dennis. Million of thanks to him for going through so much. You can never imagine how i appreciate your attempt to bring me to the plane to watch u fly, though it never succeed. Still, your company at Disneyland and your willingness to travel to Orlando with Dennis is much appreciated by us. Else, we'll never get to see "Pleasure Island". "NICE TO MEET YOU" and hopefully, see you in Mexico soon. haha! All the best in your flight school.

Swiss BOY... haha. he's the sweetest thing man! Saranya and i are so grateful to him. We messed up his room with all our luggages, took up his bed and he had to sleep on an inflated bed which was deflated in the middle of the night, wasted his whole afternoon to do packing with us, troubled him to come all the way to TORONTO to bring our stuff over. Hope there's really nothing else to bother him after this.

:::The trip is short but I'm really surprised by the help and offers we received from these people. It's always sad to leave places and bidding farewell to people that you might never meet again. Really hope that some of them can go over to Singapore so that i can return the favour that i owe... I'll miss them... ONCE AGAIN, Thanks to all. you guys indeed make a difference to my trip.:::

change of LUCK

2006-05-12T23:52:00.000-04:00

Canada greeted us with bad rainy weather when we came back from States. Bad omen... nothing much can be done and it makes the whole place look so gloomy and sad.

So many things happened ever since we came back. Firstly, my luggage is bursting. I shopped too much and it really seem impossible to squeeze everything under the allowed limit. Then it was the pathetic exchange rate that we get for Euros and pounds. I lost about $40 cad because of the drop in exchange rate. Next, i couldn't get a friend who's holding on to a big bag of my belongings. Gotta rush for plane and yet that friend is uncontactable. so goodbye to my bag of stuff which will not be collected. Then it was hell time for Saranya. Some shitty ass-hole hacked into her email and blogspot, messed up everything and caused so much problems. Changed her password for email and wrote ridiculous entry and post disgusting pictures on the blog. Why are there such people in the world with nothing better to do?!?!?!?!

****************

Well, things aren't that bad afterall and in fact, a total change of luck for us within that few hours. Firstly, the weather starts to get better as we approached the airport and this is definitely a good sign. We couldn't get onto the flight due to overwhelming demand and was requested to take the flight the next day. Sounds unlucky right? but wait... they are offering $250 pounds for each of us, 1 night stay in Hilton and 3 meals provided. WHAT?!?!!? I'm totally thrilled. i don't mind spending less time in London man! So here i am, blogging at Hilton hotel. I felt so generous the whole evening, tipping like nobody's business. haha. Then we just found out how sweet Swiss-boy. He agreed to travel all the way from WATERLOO to downtown TORONTO for us.. woohooo... Wonder how to show our appreciation man! nice.. everything is getting on track now... Saranya has more or less settled her hacker problems. Andddddd we are all SET... hope i manage to rearrange my luggage and meet the desired weight limit.

My adventure

2006-05-06T22:27:00.000-04:00

Just ended the trip at Miami. Beautiful city with colourful buildings. The beach is never short of Hunks and babes. Happening nightlife and nicely-decorated restaurants filled up the streets of Ocean Drive near the beach. (*once again, photos to be uploaded later*)

Currently at Orlando - where the magic begins. Will be visiting Disney World soon, despite the fact that i've been to the one in JaPAN. ok, since they have Narnia, i shall pay another $72 USD for the tix. Didnt expenct admission fee to be so expensive so i'm just gonna forgo the rest of the themeparks since all the rides are almost the same to me.

Irritating transit system in orlando when the frequency of buses are in 30mins and it doesn't even coincide with the next bus you need to transfer. Oh by the way, i need to take 4buses just to go to the factory outlet today!!! So on the way back, despite our well-planned trip to catch all 4buses perfectly, the 3rd bus came an hour late, causing us to miss our 4th bus which apparently is the last bus for the day. (well, the time is only 8:49pm). So to save $30USD on taxi, we decided to walk along the highway which doesn't even have a proper pathway. the sight of 'zillion' Cars ZOOOOMinggg pass is so scary that i dare not look back. Also, not every part of the highway is properly lighted. Took an hour walk and run. FFFFinally, arrived at the hotel safely.

Phewwww... Is this how 'backpacking' should be like???? haha.

I'm burnt

2006-05-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

I was longing for warm and sunny climate to have a good tan. Guess what?! i fell asleep at the beach with Sara and Swep. Didnt know that we'll be under the sun for so long and decided not to apply sunblock. Now my front is like a red lobster and the burn is killing me. Arghhh, wanted to pace myself for Daytona and Miami Beach but now, im 'killed' in juz one afternoon. Boo...

ok, my pocket is burnt too. with all the shopping and attraction which i've did and will soon be doing, i won't be able to last the whole trip. Bad money management.

Going off the Miami Beach in a few hours time. Daytona is really not interesting. We didnt even go onto the Daytona USA speedway track because the tour is freaking expensive. But still, going round the track with a professional driver sounds cool. Can really imagine the adrenaline that'll build up. Wooh! But even if im willing to spend more than $700 USD on that, it's not available now. In fact, other than New York, the rest of our trip is pretty relax. So at Daytona Beach, we juz did Go-karting, Pubbing (gals free cover and free drinks), pizza buffet, chocolate factory tour, sun-burning and chilling.... Hope the next destination is more well planned.

Goodbye to cold weather

2006-04-30T09:55:00.000-04:00

In a few hours time, i'm off to Florida to enjoy the sunny and warm weather which i've missed for the past few months. FLORIDA, here i come! Just went shopping at another factory outlet last nite and spent so much. But finally get to have my shopping spree, and got my whole family something. yayy!!!

I really wanna upload the beautiful pictures that we took at Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. But this takes time and Saranya and Swep are fighting for the laptop too. Hmm, wanted to visit Hershey's chocolate factory... Sounds cool right? It's just like the dreams to visit "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The drive is about 4hours towards Philadelphia state and so we dropped the idea.

ok, hope everything is well back home since i can't get updates as frequent as i wish. alright, cya.

So far so good

2006-04-28T02:22:00.000-04:00

It's not easy for me to blog especially when im travelling and not bringing my laptop along. 4days spent in New York and been to places which i've always wanted to visit. Seen alot and took loads of pictures. the company is even better with Amy, kailin and Daffy. Now the 3 of them lhad left for Vancouver while Sara, Swep and I continue to explore the U.S.

I enjoy the bustling Times Square, the greenery and peace in Central Park, our adventure at the so-called more dangerous area beyong Central Park (no choice since hostels are cheaper there), the solemnity of Ground Zero (Former Twin Towers), the Magnificent Empire State Building that King Kong climbs and the renowned Statue of Liberty. Though i didnt expect New York City to be so dirty and that the transit service to be more complicated than expected, everything else is still way beyond acceptable. oh, i manage to get cheap BROADWAY tix - the one thing that we cannot miss in New York. haha *thanks kailin and daffy for waking up early to queue in the cold.

Photos will be uploaded soon... probably one month later when i consolidate everything. Please make do with text for the time being.

Left New Jersey last night. We were in a small town called Edison. Im seriously running out of clothes, Brought only 2-3 sets for my whole trip. So, went SHOPPING at an outlet mall in Elizabeth. Currently at Reston, Virginia. Will be visiting Washington D.C tmr, though it seems pretty boring. Guess what, will be going to another factory outlet soon. Oh man, i'm going to get a new luggage for this trip.

Alrighty, to be continued . . .

Sense of nostalgia

2006-04-23T01:08:00.000-04:00

I've said 'goodbye' to waterloo and is currently in the midst of my journey along the EAST COAST. One semester passed so fast. i still recall how worried i was on my first day in Canada - Greeted by the super duper cold weather, the unfamiliar surrounding, Giselle's family and so the tons of things i have to learn about and adapt. Phewwww, everything was almost over and I'm heading home soon. Indeed, the people i met, the things i've learnt and the independence & experience that i've gained are a total adventure which i will always remember.

The people i live with:
I'll remember how Giselle spent time telling me about her love life, her friends and her day at work and at Salsa. I'll miss the times we cook together. Really appreciate how much she has guided me and teaching me the interesting things that i can do in BORING WATERLOO. oh, making me feel so heartwarming when she invite me to her dad's bday party.
I'll remember how a perfectionist Adam is when it comes to cooking. The baking session, his singing, the song he compose (change in lyrics but the same tune everytime), his friendliness and his jokes.
I'll remember how Jonas can finish 17 large packets of chips in a week and how picky he is (no potato chips, no 'nasty' brands and no BBQ flavour). I'll miss looking at him getting drunk and complaining that he has a "f*cking interview" the next day with his head swaying non-stop.
I'll definitely remember the pet at home called TOM who always sink into the corner of the couch and watch tv all day.
Lastly, i'll remember the ugliest snowman, the best breakfast which is so filling to last the whole day, the beer-drinkin sessionSSSS and the singings.

The people i hang out with:
I'll remember the movie night and the ice-cream, chips and chocolate sessions(basically total pigging out) with Joo and Sara. *don't tell anyone that we take cakes & ice cream from blk E3*The free dinner on Monday invited by kailin and Dap to WCRI. The house and hostel visitings at the beginning of the semester. I'll miss The snowball fights and toboganning. I'll remember how Swiss tried so hard to pronounce and call himself 'hou zi' (monkey in mandarin). I'll remember how the mexican guys teach us salsa and we thought that we are ready to go Flying Dogs(salsa clubs) to embarrasse ourselves. I'll miss clubbing with the gals, the salsa and swing dance experience free trials that we went for.

The University:
I miss the school which has so much entertainment. I'll remember how "RIDE SAFE" sent me home SAFELY without fail at night. Oh and not forgetting Tim hortons - my favourite place in school. The different interesting events that the school organized, the sudden change of environment as the season changed. Woohoo...

::Most importantly::
i do miss home already - The warm and sunny island, my family and my friends... oh, and the food... fried kway tiao, Hainanese chicken rice, rojak and satay.. blah blah blah. ok, im going home soon...

University of Waterloo (UW)

2006-04-22T00:39:00.000-04:00

Have been trying to collect pictures of the campus from beginning of the semester, hoping to cover things that i find interesting.

ok, let's start from my favourite place: Student Learning Centre (SLC). They have this area called the"TURNKEY DESK" which operates 24hours a day. You can basically get Snacks, greyhound and movie tix, drinks and almost any information you need from this "reception counter". Check out the sign 'We ain't never closed'. So cool. And sometimes, they do give out freebies such as recipes, drinks etc. heehee

Right beside it is a booth which i always visit at night. RIDE SAFE. The best-service-ever that a campus can provide, especially when i live at Pulau Glenelm (Glenelm island). Haha. Walking to school for 30mins everyday is quite a chore. Alright, im just lazy but i can't imagine walking back in the cold winter nights. So how does RIDE-SAFE help? From 8:15pm onwards, the van will run hourly to send you right to the door step. What a welfare for the students. Woohoo. And the drivers are students whom i think are quite well-paid. *Shaikh, this job is so suitable for you. Get to drive a van and get paid*. Oh, in fact many of the cafeteria and most services in school employ students from UW. I heard the minimum wage is about $7cad per hour. I juz realized how lowly paid i was back at Venezia.

My earlier entry has mentioned that the SLC has arcade and a club for UW students to get some booze. Let's see what else they have. Secondhand book store. The textbooks here are really freaking expensive. So we have to pint our hopes on the used bookstore to get a cheaper deal. A new book is necessary if you can't find the desired one a the store. But hey, you get to sell it back at 80% of the cost price. So it's not too bad afterall. My greatest regret: Should have taken some of my textbooks back in Singapore to sell here. Good $$$.

They have this big screen where they play movies or sometimes used for UW GAMING which is organized about once a month. Warriors weekend, events, exhibitions and bazaar are all held at SLC. Lotsa study areas and even microwaves are situated here. Most people here packed food to school. Some are simply a total health-freak. There was once which i looked to my right was somebody who's biting raw carrots, to my left was yoghurt and peep right in front of me was somebody eating raw celery. Ok great, and i'm heading to get my ice-cream of the day.

Oh, and the FOOD BANK is really to help out students who can't afford groceries. While those who are better off will actually donate. Such humanitarian is simply amazing. *the school seems like a charity organization, always givin out things*. haha

I still remember the first time when we saw sunlight in canada during the winter. Winter is really gloomy and the brightness reali makes us happy. Couldn't wait for winter to end and now that it has ended, i miss the snowy land...

ok, off to the States now.. will keep updating as much as possible.

US trip confirmed . . .

2006-04-21T01:29:00.000-04:00

ok, took so long to decide where our destinations will be. We decided to take greyhound (bus that brings us across different parts of canada and US). This will sound really insane after i tell you the duration of the journey. 3wks to spend in US but due to long travelling time... we have limited places that we can cover. Irritatin Greyhound change their policy for unlimited-passes. The price increment is almost SIN$200. So we decided to cut down on the places we wanna go and get individual tix instead of unlimited pass..

So the more-or-less confirmed plan to travel parts of the EAST COAST goes like this:
Set off on 23rd Apr 2006
1) University of Waterloo, Canada --> Niagara
yeap, going back again to see the 'unfrozen' falls and take the ferry to be in the MAID OF THE MIST
2) Niagara --> New York (10 hrs journey on Greyhound)
3) New York --> New Jersey --> New York
4) New York --> Washington D.C (4hrs 20mins on Greyhound)
5) Washington DC --> Virginia --> Washington DC
6) Washington D.C --> Daytona Beach, Florida (17 hrs on Greyhound) hope i get to sit on a real daytona-car and not those simulators in the arcade ... *doubt so*
7) Daytona Beach, Florida --> Miami Beach (7hrs 30mins on Greyhound)
8) Miami Beach --> Orlando (5hrs 40mins on greyhound) yeappi, Orlando is where all the themeparks are. You name it, they have it. Disney world, universal studio, Ripley's Believe or not, Wet and Wild etc. But the admission is freaking expensive. but then agn, since im all the way there... haha..

Last but not least, we have to travel all the way from Florida to University of Waterloo and catch our flight 1day later...This takes us more than 35hrs on Greyhound. Yeah, it sounds absolutely crazy...we'll flood the whole bus with vomit...

So inlcuding Canada and my Europe trip, i had travelled and will be going to travel about 16 regions/cities in 5months. woohoo.

ok, now the bad news:
Poor Ju (who is a korean) had forgotton all about the need of visa to enter US. Happily headed towards Philadelphia but got kicked back to Canda at the US-border. She's all alone at the custom and hostel. ultimately still hafta travel all the way back to University of Waterloo. I would be so helpless and lost. Well, at least she get to see a real-life rapist at the custom when she was somehow being 'locked up'. *kidding* BUT this is reali disappointing for the rest of us who planned to tour together. Clubbing, tanning and shopping...the amount of time she spent to plan was wasted, the mood that was built up but yet not being able to experience it and all the booking cancellation fee are too much to be handled in 1 night. . .

My Saturday at Saint Jacobs

2006-04-17T20:59:00.000-04:00

Instead of studying for exams, i keep getting distracted. and so last saturaday, i Finally get to go Saint Jacobs!!! Giselle was telling me that the farmer's market sell interesting stuff and lotsa maple products. I really hafta grab some back home man! else, i don't know how to answer my mum. Thanks to Clarissa who accompanied me though she mentioned that she has been AWAKE only 6 hrs a day after her tough project.

The crowd is amazing and the sunny weather is gooooddd(except for the irritatin strong wind). The surprise is: There's a factory outlet there!!! ok, shall control myself and stay focus... i'm only getting maple products!!! don't spend unnecessarily...

We joined the queue to buy Apple fritters. Yum yum.. it's heavenly... There are lotsa freshly baked bread, chocolates, handy crafts and meat products etc selling indoor. Those outdoor includes fresh fruits and vegetables. Oh, and also Different stalls selling similar products --> Maple syrup and butter. I hope the ones i bought are authentic! hehe. I love such market. It's a great place for sunday family outing.

The factory outlet is not exactly fantastic. I'm waiting for the better ones in the States.. HOPEFULLY!!!

p.s. Kylie, i almost lose the Ray Ban. It fell off the shirt and i didnt realize. Guess what?! i went back to find all the shops and saw it lying on the ground. Phheeww.. Sorry...

i need all the luck ...

2006-04-17T00:09:00.000-04:00

ok "great"! tomorrow is my 'transit planning and operations" exam and i don't have much things to study and i still have the time to blog.. why???? because i didnt want to spend $126 cad on a freaking textbook. I can buy so many bottles of maple syrup with that amount of money.

There's only 1 pathetic copy of that book in the library and it's only available for a maximum of 3-day loan. Arghhh.. and the earliest i can get it is one day before the exam. So i tell myself, alright, since i only need to pass, just rely on class notes (which i have skipped quite anumber of lessons) and cramp myself with as much information as possible the day before the final paper.

Woke up early this mornin to get the book when the fellow who borrowed before me, rather pay the overdue-charges than to return it on time. Arghhhh... Wish me luck for tmr's paper man... i pray for miracle. With the mid-term and the assignments, i'm still far from a passing grade... Help...

the LUNCH that i had longed for

2006-04-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

The best thing that can happen when you are on exchange in a westernized country, is to enjoy home-cooked chinese food. So thanks to Chen Juan, Zhang hua and Weizhi for inviting us over to their house. It's meant to be a potluck but since we can't cook as well as the hosts, we shall bring snacks, drinks and ice cream.

She cooked chicken-rice but without the chicken (just the flavouring on the rice. Singaporeans, you should know what i mean), curry chicken, garlic bread and "fo shou gua"(direct translation: Buddha's hands melon - one of their hua's dish). Joo and i brought onion rings too. oh and soup of the day: "Guang Dong Bao Tang" (ermm, basically some oriental soup. Everything is so yummy... We really feel at home man! Who cares about exam?!?!? haha...

What's next after a hearty meal.. ICE CREAM!!! Haagen Daz is rather cheap here. It;s about $6plus cad(SIN$9) for a regular tub. Strawberry cheesecake!!! Accompanied with Ben and Jerry's Fossil Fuel ~~~ Heavenly. ok, time to work our hands on dumplings..<--- my first attempt. Didnt know it's so easy to wrap. Shall get mummy to do some home-made dumplings when i go back.

While waiting to digest out food before we can enjoy the dumpling, weizhi shared his experience of New York. I'm really looking forward for the trip... yeap yeap... in 10days... Wooohooo...Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, factory outlets, Central Park... :P

Giselle lent me her jacket so that i don't have to look the same in every pictures. hehe.. i love the sunshine jacket but joo and sara said i look like a DUCK... :(

from winter to spring . . .

2006-04-12T11:20:00.000-04:00

How should a 'supposed' STUDY-DAY be?

2006-04-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Wanted to cramp myself with one more chapter before i return the Psychology textbook to Joo. Borrowed the book from her for a week and i completed only 3chapters out of 9?!

Yeap.. so im all ready to start studying at 1pm. ended up playing 'PUZZLE BOBBLE' online?! ok, what an outdated game. I KNOW!. Then ended up watchin King Kong with Giselle and her friend, Cat. There goes my whole afternoon.

Giselle and i Decided to whip up some random dishes with the ingredients we have at home. So these are our creation: 1) Pasta with creamy mushroom sauce and sausages 2) 'Rojak' (mixing random things together - a kind of dish from Singapore) salad - we added whatever we feel like into the bowl. Eggs, parsley, pasta, salmon and pineapple. Haha.. it turns out quite well. So adventurous. And guess what?! before i had my dinner, i juz finished up a donut. Thanks to Jonas' parents who bought them for us in the mornin.

whose turn is it to get a prank this time? ADAM!!! Tom came up with the idea of pushing Adam's bed all the way to the closed-door in his bedroom so he can't enter with the usual way as the door will be jammed. Since his room can be reached from the roof at the car porch, Tom was thinking that he hafta climb his way through to get to his room. Check out the before and after of his room. Great effort GUYS who may be mistaken as burglur if they were to do the prank during the wee hours! but sighhh, Adam came home and broke his way in. The bed isnt strong enough.. what a waste..walked into his room easily...

Oh check out this trolley of empty beer bottles. yeap, the hard work of the guys at home..

This is how easily i get distracted... no work done for the day at all!!!

"Boys and Girls" Party

2006-04-04T01:18:00.000-04:00

Waited so long to get pics fr swep. This event happened on 31st MAr

I went to a "Uniform PARTY" - Boys & Girls- at FED hall. guess this should be the last time clubbing before exam (in fact i only went there twice). I wanted to go when i first saw the poster and i didnt know the girls were interested as well. Yayy!!! I went around borrowing pleat-skirts. In the end, manage to get one from Giselle and another 2 fr my classmate. See which is better? Ive tried my best to look like a school girl? The catch is: dress in uniform and get into the party FOR FREE. So my costume consists of my own shirt, classmate's skirt and neighbour's tie (but the neighbour looked quite bad in the pic so shall just upload a thumbnail-size). Swep didnt know abt the party till the last min. So the only way that she can look better or 'sexier' is to take off her "LONG JOHN (thermal wear)".

it's the usual practice to take lotsa pic in the rm before partying. haha

Yeap, once again, free drinks from LIZ who work there --> Sex on the beach & Malibu Pineapple (sorry joo, for telling u that we had Pina colada the other time and caused u to announce to the whole world that u like "PINA COLADA"). Met up with other WCRI and Village 1 frens at the club. Kailin tied up her hair like a BUNNY, Joo wore her rabbit-fur hat to look like a Japanese high-school gal and basically, most ppl wore white blouse and a tie for the top.

Joo was called up on stage for a chance to win IPOD nano (winner will b judged by popularity among the crowd). She went into the finals but lost because she didnt expose her mid-riff like the winner did. So now we know... n we (including the 'gayish' Walter, haha) decided to pose for a pic like the one on the bottom right corner-->

overall, we had fun tryin to dress up like a high-sch gals/guys, doing stupid moves & gossiping while dancing. One last pic before we part: "Act-innocent" to suit the theme...

Maple Syrup Festival

2006-04-04T01:17:00.000-04:00

Managed to grab a tix to Elmira to celebrate "Maple Syrup Festival". Have been wanting to buy lotsa maple-related products and try a pure maple syrup. Yeap, finally had the chance. Thanks to Saranya! Woke up at 6:30am in the mornin on 1st Apr, to catch the 'school bus' from campus to Elmira. Started off with the long queue for pancakes. Had 2 large-sized pancake with maple syrup which i thought was too sweet.

The weather lately is indeed unpredictable. It's super windy that day and i was underdressed. My jacket looks warm but in fact, the material used for the sleeves actually makes the hands cooler. What kind of design?!

then we went to this crowded lined up with different kinds of stalls (something like 'pasar malam' in Singapore). Check out the interesting food they are selling --> maple syrup directly from sap, jumbo sausage, apple dip, apple dumpling (which looks like mashed potatoe), all kinds of maple products (ranging from syrup to popcorn and to burger), Gigantic turkey drumstick, maple taffy and assorted lollipops.

We are really so cold that we decided to join the sugarbush tour, in order to get some warmth on the bus. It brings us to where the sap are collected. We sat on a truck with hay-seats that bring us deeper into the 'forest'. First thing that catch our attention is the way they are making popcorns that are for sale. Is that the traditional way to do it? P1080561.MOV
It's so cheap and yummy.
We didn't give up any opportunity to warm our hands.

back to the stalls to get maple syrup only to realize tt i dun have enough cash. arghh, only manage to buy 1 pathetic bottle. What a waste! Better not let me know that it's more expensive elsewhere. Apparently the pancakes have digested and we are in search for food agn. The funny thing is ... we have craving for cup noodle. 2 other reasons are: we seriously need to warm our hands and we didnt bring enough $. So Joo and i spent the last 45mins before the meeting time at a convenient store to enjoy our cup noodle.

Went back to sch and stayed in JOO's warm and cosy room for an afternoon nap of almost 5hours.

'celebrate' is a dangerous word

2006-04-04T01:04:00.000-04:00

Completing a 1800words essay (by the way, it's my 4th essay for the term) and givin slight contribution to my group-project essay, together with an exam...All by the same day!!! wHAT THE HELL. sO I Just spent my entire weekend on these (ok, excludin the few hours of chatting, outing and chilling out). But still, this is crazy.

So happy that one paper is down and that means my U.S trip is drawing nearer. Yayy.. Walked into the house and saw the 'whole family' in the living room and shouted, "Yayy, one paper down. Essays cleared. I can CELEBRATE!". Oh nooooo, this word is dangerous. So my housemates started repeating "celebrate"... "oh celebrate"... Adam walked to the shelf which looks like a mini-bartender counter to grap a bottle of ZAMBUCA. *hmm, but i only meant to celebrate by watching TV. haha

"Cindy, you are going home in a few weeks. Gotta drink with us".

Yes i do agree. ok, shall do so since (1) i reali felt liberated and (2) I'm feeling hungry. haha. They wanted to let the alcohol catch a flame but maybe it's already 2months old. It failed. I had to finish the tiny shot nevertheless. Yucks.. taste like some kind of spice.

so never use this word so casually next time. haha kiddin... thanks for offering the 2month-old drink!

April's FOOL day

2006-04-02T14:48:00.000-04:00

This is the most original and whackiest prank i've ever seen on April's-fool. but fortunately, im not the victim. I came home that night, stepped into the house and got a REAL SHOCK. First instinct: did i walk into the wrong house? First i scan though the shoes on the floor. yeap, my boots are there! then i took one step forward and peep into the living rm. Phewww.. the faces are familiar.

Guess what Adam and Jonas did to Poor Tom who was out drinkin with his frens. They moved all the furnitures from his bedroom on the 2nd storey into the living room. The bed, shelves, study table and laundry baskets. In fact, it's EVERYTHING. oh my goshhhh, they actually went though such trouble.

Tom came home late at night when the rest are already sleepin.. i can hear him laughing at himself when he stepped into the house. Sweet dreams in his new room... The next day, he jokingly said that he's enjoying the bigger room and glad that it comes with the TV. oh btw, Tom is like the PET at home who slouch at the same position of the sofa all day to watch tv. Now he doesnt even need to walk up to his room after late-night movies. Happy April's fool day, Tom!

~Daylight Saving~

2006-03-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

oooh.. Daylight saving.. My first time experiencing it. Alright, im making it sound like some big deal but still, it sounds so interesting. On Apri 1st 2006(the first sunday of Apri) at 2am, the time will leap forward by 1hr. So in a few minutes time, i'll witness how the clock on my laptop jump from 1:59am to 3am.

Alright, so i have one hour less to sleep. But wait... it also implies that i get to wake up earlier for breakfast. oh man, what has become of me to think of nothin but sleep and eat?! Anyway, it won't affect my sleep much because i have to stay up to complete 2essays due on monday. Still, it means that i have an hour less to complete my assignment.

hmm, i wasn't here when they added one extra hour to the clock during winter. heard it's fun because you seem to have 1extra hour in ur life. heehee. ok, shall wait for the clock to continue ticking and soon, the hour-hand on the clock will start spinning 360degrees in a split second at 1:59am... haha! and afterwhich, Singapore will be just 12hours ahead of Canada!

The long-awaited PARCEL

2006-03-29T01:49:00.000-05:00

Yayyy!! waited for more than 2 months and it's finally here!!! Came home and saw a BBBBIIIIGGGG box sitting on the table... Jumped onto it when i saw my name!!! As you can see from the contents of the parcel, this parcel is supposedly meant for Chinese New Year (during Spring)! Hey, but ironically, the spring for Canada has just started! So just in time to celebrate SPRING.

So there are lotsa chinese new year goodies for me to share with my housemates and friends, sleeping bag which i don't really need now, "ba gua"(pork jerky), "ang baos"(red packets) and laminated PROGISTICS TIMES. Thanks fellow progisticians... The effort is much appreciated and im glad that the ship has managed to sail its way through the frozen sea despite the winter. Yah, wonder if it can still be eaten but don't worry, i'll force it down my throat even if it's bad! Alright, time to start munching the goodies!!!

Exam is coming...

2006-03-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

First paper on 3rd Apr and followed by a long break of 10days! Engineering professionalism . Quite a dumb subject, learning about ethical and political theories. Alright, maybe im just not into philosophy. Class attendance and participation is 15%. No wonder the canadians talk sooooo much during class. Way too much that they tend to speak more than the lecturer. Perhaps that should be the way. So for joo and myself, 7.5% gone bcos we'd never spoken anything EXCEPT on the 1st day when we rushed to the front of the room to purchase the textbook from the lecturer, which is about $40cad cheaper than usual. Yah, so that's about it. Typical Singaporean's "kiasu-ism" hitting me. (kiasu = afraid to lose out)!

And guess what? 20% of the coming exam goes to an essay question which was given to us to prepare beforehand. So once again, the canadians in class start to speak again," so are we allowed to perpare at home and bring to class?"... i thought that the answer is pretty obvious: OF COURSE NOT!

At the end of the last lesson, we were supposed to evaluate the strength and weakness of the class. "highly interactive" and "over-interactive" are what i've commented. (lame, i know)

Last WARRIOR WKEND & reveal of my short hair

2006-03-27T12:56:00.000-05:00

Wanna see my ugly short hair right?! haha ok here you go...
Anyway, "Warrior Weekend" was held Last friday and Saturday and Student Life Centre. Not trying to be lame but it really has so much LIFE because of the events that has been going on frm the beginning of the semester. Sara, Joo and i were so excited because based on our previous experience, we get to enjoy games with great prizes and chocolate fondue(past entry on the blog - Feb 2006). So this time round, we attended both days!!!

::What are the FREE food offered::
PIZZA of more than 5varieties, popcorns, Cookies, muffins, pop, milkshake of 3different flavours and cotton candy which has stopped distributing aft 5mins because it emits too much smoke and they didn't want to alert the fire alarm.

::What games do they play and what are the ATTRACTIVE prizes::
1) Rock, Paper, scissors: the top prize is a DVD player, then followed by a toaster. I've never thought that playing this childhood game can be so stressful. Damn, i was lost to a guy who kept 'throwin' rock. What a trick. There goes my DVD player.
2) Jenga: This game is rather slow-moving. the top prize is just a monopoly set and you get to keep the jenga. nehz - not interested!
3) "Price is Right": Have you seen this game show on TV? the organizers really put in a great effort to make it look like the real thing. Basically you are supposed to guess the price of a product and the closest guess (without overshootin) will have a chance to go into the bonus round to win something and entitled to get into the next stage. Since there are 4stages, the final one is the GRAND PRIZE - IPOD NANO!!! Other prizes include refrigerator, oven etc. None of us was lucky enough to be called up to play. sigh...
p.s Oh man, i wonder who did the marketing for this event to get such good sponsors.
4) CAMPUS COVE: This is the arcade located within the school campus. On friday from 9pm-2am, we get unlimited play!!! oh yayy, 2 of my favourites are available - photohunt and "bishi bashi". haha. It's so fun hitting the "start" button without havin to pay. no pressure at all when we are about to lose. Made many attempts to break the high score for photohunt with 4pairs of eyes but failed. arghhh!

::What can we learn to make from the "CRAFT CORNER"::
1)Scrap book - didnt know what to do with the pretty papers and so this is the best i can do.
2)Made stress ball which looks really bad.
3)Learn to make animals with balloons. This is nothin interestin but the key thing is: Joo, sara and i think that the guy teachin is quite cute <-- So that's the whole idea. haha
4)Painting photoframes <-- This is where we spent most of the time. We stayed from 10pm-1am, just to paint the frames since they have so many leftovers. haha!! 4 each for Joo and me.

::What movies are they playin::
So they were playing "Fun with Dick and Jane" and "Memoirs of Geisha" on Fri and Sat respectively. But since we wre more involved in the above activities, we gave both movies a miss... heehee

::others::
They have corners teaching "how to knit", "how to hip-hop" and "how to wear a tie".

Great event and effort put up by the commitee. Apparently, some of the students here don't even know about this event. What a waste! heehee :P

See what Joo did to me?!!?!? She keep saying my face is round.. I wonder how many similar shots we took.

St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

So what's this day all about? the culture here isssss... Dress in Green... real green... have some booze and get drunk... sleep/laze your whole wkend away on the sofa(which is what Tom did). haha, Saint Patrick's Day (17/03/06)greeted me with a call from Village 1 cafeteria, saying that i've won a jar of chocolate coins. A few days ago, joo, sara and i participated in "guess the number of chocolate coins" and apparently, my guess was the closes though it's still 50less than the actual number. A total of 208 pieces. It's quite a good souvenir as it's the print of one-canadian-dollar coin but too bad, the chocolates are all gone now.

Then i was surprised by the crowd at bombers(club in school). A long queue of people waiting to get into the place since morning. Almost everyone dressed in green. haha. There are people who painted their face green, wear green hat.. haha.. (the chinese believe that if guys wear green hat, it means that their girlfriends are doing seeing someone else behind his back). Adam did suggest to 'paint' his goatee (which seems more like beard now) green but no action afterall.
Went to downtown Toronto with Giselle and sister, janice to catch the Saint Patrick's Day parade. It's really chilly standing there to wait for the different 'floats' to drive pass. Decided to get a cup of hot beverage from Timmys and yayy... won a cup of free coffee from Roll up the Rim. alright, as you can see from the pics, this parade is really small scale and so, the designs of the floats are not very impressive. The Irish music played during the parade sounds cool though.
Interesting things that i saw:
1)A topless guy doing pumping in the middle of the road when i'm jumping around in the cold
2) A really tall grey dog. Hasn't seen any bigger one yet
3) A really long limousine..
4) when they say Saint Patrick's day must wear something green, some canadians will dress up really green. With a green hat, a green top, a green bottom, green pair of socks and green lipsticks.

~"~"~"~"~"~" C . * . I .*. .N . * . D . * . Y "~"~"~"~"~"~