Finished our reunion dinner at about 8pm. The thing about eating out for reunion dinners is that there are many rounds and if you happen to be in the first round, you have to hurry up and eat.
Last night, we had our reunion dinner with my grandparents at Lingzhi as usual. Gramps does not like change much and we love the vegetarian food there and so here we were again. Food was good but by about 3am, I was hungry already.
Tonight, we had the dinner with my two aunts at Soup Restaurant. Food was fantastic but the service superficial. Plus we were the first round and there were two more rounds after us and so they were rather rushy with our food.
We went to the Soup outlet at City Square Mall and this place did not provide any dessert. Therefore, when we passed by Swenson's, we decided to go in to have some...ice cream! I was really delighted to see those old fashioned shell lamps being used, again. It brings back lots of memories when I was brought to the Swenson's at Plaza Singapura.
This year's CNY would be very different without a car. Already, I feel very tired thinking about all that walking and taking of public transport tomorrow.
Anyway, will not think so much now. I'll go watch the countdown variety shows and wrap red packets now!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Family day
Brought Dad and Mum to 313@Somerset and Ion@Orchard today. They were needed to go see these new places and I was getting mouldy from staying at home.
It was a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling, the three of us. It was like a treat for a small child as I have not gone out with both my parents together for a long time now. We ate at Food Republic, shopped at HMV and Dad even bought a t-shirt from Uniqlo!! He was so proud that it was his third shirt from Uniqlo. The first two were bought in Hong Kong quite some time back. I asked him what's the point of telling me all this and what is there to boast about. His reply was that it showed that he was still very young and trendy. Indeed!
Dad had a fun time at Ion too as there were so many different food stalls at the food hall. That is the only thing that really attracts him. Anything else would be too expensive; a luxury that he can do without. Just my Dad. :)
I also brought him to see Prologue, the up-market version of Popular Bookstore. He also received free red packets compliments of Dunkin' Donuts!
After a long afternoon, we decided to get take-away for dinner. I found a Vietnamese stall that sells my Vietnamese sandwich, but it is still not as nice as Baguette, which was at Raffles City but closed down.
It was yet another happy Sunday but then, it will soon be Monday and will be back to work day. Sigh...Why can't we have 3 days of weekend?
It was a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling, the three of us. It was like a treat for a small child as I have not gone out with both my parents together for a long time now. We ate at Food Republic, shopped at HMV and Dad even bought a t-shirt from Uniqlo!! He was so proud that it was his third shirt from Uniqlo. The first two were bought in Hong Kong quite some time back. I asked him what's the point of telling me all this and what is there to boast about. His reply was that it showed that he was still very young and trendy. Indeed!
Dad had a fun time at Ion too as there were so many different food stalls at the food hall. That is the only thing that really attracts him. Anything else would be too expensive; a luxury that he can do without. Just my Dad. :)
I also brought him to see Prologue, the up-market version of Popular Bookstore. He also received free red packets compliments of Dunkin' Donuts!
After a long afternoon, we decided to get take-away for dinner. I found a Vietnamese stall that sells my Vietnamese sandwich, but it is still not as nice as Baguette, which was at Raffles City but closed down.
It was yet another happy Sunday but then, it will soon be Monday and will be back to work day. Sigh...Why can't we have 3 days of weekend?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
My love life
Just got my life fortune told and it was not so good in terms of my love life. Haha! What is new? Apparently, I am not suited for marriage and if I do, there would be lots of quarrels and unhappiness. How true!
The sad part is that the person that I like is also not suited for marriage. Well, I guess the not-so-sad part would be that I can let go and not try to imagine him as my potential boyfriend.
Funny thing was that I dreamed of him as my boyfriend this afternoon while I had a nap!! We were so lovey-dovey and intimate and it was so real that I could not believe myself (in the dream of course).
Apparently, I will only get lucky after I turn 42 or so. What is the point, right? Anyway, I shall TRY to concentrate on other parts of my life that are OK and hope that life would not be so tough.
The sad part is that the person that I like is also not suited for marriage. Well, I guess the not-so-sad part would be that I can let go and not try to imagine him as my potential boyfriend.
Funny thing was that I dreamed of him as my boyfriend this afternoon while I had a nap!! We were so lovey-dovey and intimate and it was so real that I could not believe myself (in the dream of course).
Apparently, I will only get lucky after I turn 42 or so. What is the point, right? Anyway, I shall TRY to concentrate on other parts of my life that are OK and hope that life would not be so tough.
Proud of my dad, and some thoughts
I must say that I am proud of my Dad and envious of him too. He has done things that I would never dare dream of doing. He just finished a series of 2 talks with the National Library. One was at Woodlands Library and the other (that just happened yesterday) was at the Bukit Merah Library.
The first talk, which was on Chinese Oldies, saw a turnout of about 50 people. The second, 100 over. This was all thanks to his good network of friends, who themselves are also promoting Chinese Oldies, who helped him to promote his talk as well.
I think it is no mean feat to be standing in front of so many people to do a talk, but I guess it is a subject that he likes and is close to his heart and therefore, he does not have any difficulty in conducting the talk at all.
I find myself so inadequate next to him and it leads me to think back to my own same old question as to why should people be so competitive. Why should they want to outshine other people and step and trample on others while trying to prove their own self-worth? By belittling others, does that make that person a better person?
Well, I suppose such is life and sometimes (even as I sound pessimistic), I feel that I am not of this world; that I may never fit in and am always standing on the outside looking in. People have also never attempted to include me into this world. They have always seen me standing outside and left me there.
Such are my thoughts sometimes. It is a recurring thought and I suppose, I should jump away from this thought in order to shift my paradigm (Stephen Covey) and go for some change (Haha! Cliche!).
The first talk, which was on Chinese Oldies, saw a turnout of about 50 people. The second, 100 over. This was all thanks to his good network of friends, who themselves are also promoting Chinese Oldies, who helped him to promote his talk as well.
I think it is no mean feat to be standing in front of so many people to do a talk, but I guess it is a subject that he likes and is close to his heart and therefore, he does not have any difficulty in conducting the talk at all.
I find myself so inadequate next to him and it leads me to think back to my own same old question as to why should people be so competitive. Why should they want to outshine other people and step and trample on others while trying to prove their own self-worth? By belittling others, does that make that person a better person?
Well, I suppose such is life and sometimes (even as I sound pessimistic), I feel that I am not of this world; that I may never fit in and am always standing on the outside looking in. People have also never attempted to include me into this world. They have always seen me standing outside and left me there.
Such are my thoughts sometimes. It is a recurring thought and I suppose, I should jump away from this thought in order to shift my paradigm (Stephen Covey) and go for some change (Haha! Cliche!).
Home cooking
I had a lazy day today, but I would say, quite productive in the morning. I walked from home to Pek Kio Hawker Centre with my Dad to have breakfast. After that, I bought some very nice and fresh romaine lettuce and mushrooms to cook for lunch.
We then walked to City Square Mall (again!) to get some bacon and some stuff from Popular Bookstore before taking the free shuttle home. Technically speaking, we did not spend a cent on transportation.
The dish I cooked up was, in my opinion, was yummy! I just thought it off my head but I suppose, there was a little inspiration from watching "Jamie at home". He was cooking romaine lettuce the other day and I felt I had to get me some to cook too!
I fried the garlic first with olive oil and mixed it with Aminos (the equivalent of soy sauce in my household). Then I mixed all the linguini into the sauce. My inspiration came from those balsamic vinegar salad dressings that I so often see the chefs make on Discovery and Living Channel.
Next, I fried the bacon bits that I have chopped up earlier from the streaky bacon that I bought. Sweat it out a bit before finally putting in the romaine lettuce. Gave it a good stir and then put it on top of the linguini. Yum!
Last week, I cooked hairy gourd with dried scallops. Thought it was very good for a first-time experiment, except Dad did not like the fact that I did not have vermicelli. He said, that would have made more a Cantonese dish. I told him that this was an updated (and my own) version of the take on the "auntie marries off her daughter" (the name of the dish. We usually use dried shrimps and vermicelli to fry with the hairy gourd. Except that I did not particularly want to eat or cook vermicelli that day. Felt it was something that was not easy to handle/cook.
I find that as I get older, I am more prone to experimenting with food and this cooking thing is growing on me. I have not gotten the oven yet but when the time is right, when I am ready to do more baking, I think I would invest in one OK one. Then there are the mixers and such...the list goes on. Must focus on Amsterdam trip!
We then walked to City Square Mall (again!) to get some bacon and some stuff from Popular Bookstore before taking the free shuttle home. Technically speaking, we did not spend a cent on transportation.
The dish I cooked up was, in my opinion, was yummy! I just thought it off my head but I suppose, there was a little inspiration from watching "Jamie at home". He was cooking romaine lettuce the other day and I felt I had to get me some to cook too!
I fried the garlic first with olive oil and mixed it with Aminos (the equivalent of soy sauce in my household). Then I mixed all the linguini into the sauce. My inspiration came from those balsamic vinegar salad dressings that I so often see the chefs make on Discovery and Living Channel.
Next, I fried the bacon bits that I have chopped up earlier from the streaky bacon that I bought. Sweat it out a bit before finally putting in the romaine lettuce. Gave it a good stir and then put it on top of the linguini. Yum!
Last week, I cooked hairy gourd with dried scallops. Thought it was very good for a first-time experiment, except Dad did not like the fact that I did not have vermicelli. He said, that would have made more a Cantonese dish. I told him that this was an updated (and my own) version of the take on the "auntie marries off her daughter" (the name of the dish. We usually use dried shrimps and vermicelli to fry with the hairy gourd. Except that I did not particularly want to eat or cook vermicelli that day. Felt it was something that was not easy to handle/cook.
I find that as I get older, I am more prone to experimenting with food and this cooking thing is growing on me. I have not gotten the oven yet but when the time is right, when I am ready to do more baking, I think I would invest in one OK one. Then there are the mixers and such...the list goes on. Must focus on Amsterdam trip!
Out of the house
I almost did not get out of the house today. I was almost going to turn mouldy in an empty house. Dad and Mum had gone to Bukit Merah Library where Dad was going to give his final series of talks. He is just so amazing, but that is another story which I might blog about later.
I was contemplating whether to go to City Square Mall to cut my hair. The last time I was there, I was given a pamphlet by this hair salon and it kinda looked good. There was a free shuttle from the town centre so that was not really a problem. The real problem was walking from home to town centre, especially now that I do not own a car anymore.
I finally made it out of the house but I was in-between times: the previous free shuttle bus had left and the next one will only come in about 15 minutes. Decided to walk to Old Chang Kee to get some munchies. After all, it is going to be 3pm and I haven't had my lunch.
Going up the shuttle was already a long queue (and I almost could not make it) and then when I reached the mall, there was another beeline for the ATM. Lunch became tunch and it was quite late when I decided to go check out the price from Creme hairdressing. I had wanted to cut and do treatment.
There was no usual frustration as I slowly explained what I wanted (even though I did not really know what I want except that I had wanted bangs). I was also very assertive as to what I wanted and did not want. She was trying to push for me to do another scalp treatment and I told her (more than once) that I would just try out the present one that she has on offer before trying the other treatment next time.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the cut and treatment today. It is almost like Reds, my previous, previous hair salon but more expensive than the one at Toa Payoh Lorong one. This one might be it for me.
Oh yes, forgot to mention that while I was having lunch on the fourth floor food court, I had a nice and full view of the the Thaipusam parade. There was also the Haiti Relief Fund-raising and I did my part but did not stay back to see the performances though. I saw Babe Conde trying out the piano but felt that it would be too late for me if I stayed back to wait for the concert to start at 8pm.
Did I just "all in all"? Well that was for the hairy issues. In general though, I enjoyed my day and am glad to have made it out of the house :)
I was contemplating whether to go to City Square Mall to cut my hair. The last time I was there, I was given a pamphlet by this hair salon and it kinda looked good. There was a free shuttle from the town centre so that was not really a problem. The real problem was walking from home to town centre, especially now that I do not own a car anymore.
I finally made it out of the house but I was in-between times: the previous free shuttle bus had left and the next one will only come in about 15 minutes. Decided to walk to Old Chang Kee to get some munchies. After all, it is going to be 3pm and I haven't had my lunch.
Going up the shuttle was already a long queue (and I almost could not make it) and then when I reached the mall, there was another beeline for the ATM. Lunch became tunch and it was quite late when I decided to go check out the price from Creme hairdressing. I had wanted to cut and do treatment.
There was no usual frustration as I slowly explained what I wanted (even though I did not really know what I want except that I had wanted bangs). I was also very assertive as to what I wanted and did not want. She was trying to push for me to do another scalp treatment and I told her (more than once) that I would just try out the present one that she has on offer before trying the other treatment next time.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the cut and treatment today. It is almost like Reds, my previous, previous hair salon but more expensive than the one at Toa Payoh Lorong one. This one might be it for me.
Oh yes, forgot to mention that while I was having lunch on the fourth floor food court, I had a nice and full view of the the Thaipusam parade. There was also the Haiti Relief Fund-raising and I did my part but did not stay back to see the performances though. I saw Babe Conde trying out the piano but felt that it would be too late for me if I stayed back to wait for the concert to start at 8pm.
Did I just "all in all"? Well that was for the hairy issues. In general though, I enjoyed my day and am glad to have made it out of the house :)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Fine line between deal or no deal
Sometimes, I really do find that it is tough to be salesperson. You never what you said or did might just trigger a bad reaction or impression on your potential customer.
I went to a gym tonight under the invitation of an ex-colleague. This particular club has got Jackie Chan as its branding. It has been yonks, and I mean yonks, since I last visited a gym. I was with Planet Fitness before and now it is no longer even existing. It got bought over and was re-named as something else (not going to give free publicity though).
My friend/ ex-colleague introduced me to her personal trainer (PT) and they decided to let me do a fat/muscle/weight thingy. Hmm...it must have been bad coz the PT shook his head and went "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." in a dramatic manner by shaking his head. I suppose he thought that this would spur me on to sign on with the club but it just spouted negativity and I thought to myself that it must have been my fats area (I am conscious about it mah). As much as I know that I am on the plump side, I really do not wish people to make remarks or have such reactions like that. It is a rather sensitive issue.
Anyhow, that "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." and the fact that he said something like "...we can make you more sexy", just did not go down well with me. I suppose there was nothing wrong with what he said, but somehow, to me, there was some negative connotation to it and I quite decided then that I do not want to sign up already, even before the branch manager spoke to me. I mean, am I not already sexy? Duh! Anyway, I feel sexy already so if he meant to say "slimmer", then say so.
The thing is, everyone will have their own idiosyncrasies and their own likes and dislikes of words that should and should not be used. Therefore, I really feel that a service/ sales person's job is 100 times tougher than most others as they need to get the chemistry right with each and every customer.
Maybe though, just maybe, I am fussy. :P
I went to a gym tonight under the invitation of an ex-colleague. This particular club has got Jackie Chan as its branding. It has been yonks, and I mean yonks, since I last visited a gym. I was with Planet Fitness before and now it is no longer even existing. It got bought over and was re-named as something else (not going to give free publicity though).
My friend/ ex-colleague introduced me to her personal trainer (PT) and they decided to let me do a fat/muscle/weight thingy. Hmm...it must have been bad coz the PT shook his head and went "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." in a dramatic manner by shaking his head. I suppose he thought that this would spur me on to sign on with the club but it just spouted negativity and I thought to myself that it must have been my fats area (I am conscious about it mah). As much as I know that I am on the plump side, I really do not wish people to make remarks or have such reactions like that. It is a rather sensitive issue.
Anyhow, that "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." and the fact that he said something like "...we can make you more sexy", just did not go down well with me. I suppose there was nothing wrong with what he said, but somehow, to me, there was some negative connotation to it and I quite decided then that I do not want to sign up already, even before the branch manager spoke to me. I mean, am I not already sexy? Duh! Anyway, I feel sexy already so if he meant to say "slimmer", then say so.
The thing is, everyone will have their own idiosyncrasies and their own likes and dislikes of words that should and should not be used. Therefore, I really feel that a service/ sales person's job is 100 times tougher than most others as they need to get the chemistry right with each and every customer.
Maybe though, just maybe, I am fussy. :P
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