Back from Shen Zhen

Hello ... I am back from 5 days of baby watching, going all goo goo gaa gaa over my cute little cousin Baby Jun.

So here are some cute shots of him ...

Baby Jun in his throne .. the only way to keep him still for just a little while!

Imagine my surpise when I saw his mummy feeding him rice when he doesn't even have any teeth !!

A look of helplessness on his face during his regular hair cut.And yes, he did bawl after this shot ...hahaha ...

Our little handsome one ... only 10 months old and quite a looker ... or more correctly, a charmer cos everywhere we go, he has pretty girls fuss over him ...

As a parting shot .. here's Baby Jun in a "Du Dou" ... cute cute cute!

Italian in the heart of Ghim Moh

For those who have watched "HDB Tai Tai" couple of days back, then you would have seen the introduction of an Italian stall hidden in a typical coffeeshop in Ghim Moh.

Ragazzi the Italian Kitchen
Blk 10 Ghim Moh Road, Ghim Moh Eating House
Mon - Fri , 12pm -10 pm
Sat, Sun, PH , 5pm -10 pm

* Or untill the food runs out ... as we discovered tonight!


Well, thats where we had dinner tonight. No, its not cos of the TV show okie (but I admit, I did watch it !!So auntie right ?!) but I really did bump into this stall during one of my "Dunno what to eat so anyhow drive around" mood, couple of weeks back.

We ordered quite a few dishes among the 4 of us but the soup was a tad too watery for my liking but the rest of the dishes were pretty yummy. See my pics below

Here's what we shared among us , amounting to $40 odd ....

• Mushroom soup
• Minestrone soup
• Garlic Bread
• Sauteed Forest Mushroom
• Cabonara pasta
• Cabonara pasta + egg
• Funghi aglio olio (which they forgotten & gave us cream sauce)
• Chicken with Thyme & lemon with mash potatoes
• Tiramisu
  

Me and my Food Host wanna be pose ! Yum !

Things you Find in a Malay Wedding

Us at Faridah's daughter's wedding on 22 July 2007. Was on verge of tearing when I hugged her ... so miss everyone!! Oh, and we met Nasir, Mui Eng, Siew Chin, Mariah, Suhaimi, Cheryl, Kuda, Woon San & Hui Chu there too.

I do love being in a multi racial country ... *sings* This is Home .... Truly ... where I know I must Be .......hehehehe

So here are some things typical of a Malay Wedding:

Simple yet elegantly done up .... nice

Anugerah 2007 ? For the idol in us all

Always been facinated by these arrangements ....if you have yet to notice, they are made of egg shells. Each guest will receive a bunga telur, which means 'flower' and 'egg' - a symbol of a fertile union

During the bersanding (sitting in state) ceremony, the bridal couple will be seated on the dais and sprinkled with yellow rice and scented water by family members, relatives and guests as a sign of blessing.


More dancing for the newly wed

Arch of love ... pretty modern feature though ...

Noticed the smiley handsome man .. yes thats Mohd Yusof!! Din even realised he was posing

And what's a wedding without Briyani !!

And Thank You gifts for the guests for their kind generosity

My First Family Day

My first Family Day with ST Engg. Heard was attended by 10,000 pax but they were like all over Siloso Beach. See how wet the signage was ... yup ... we got caught in the rain too

Of cos nothing can dampen our spirits with friends around. Here's a pic of some of my colleagues and their family.
And here's me and my twin .. hiding from the rain...so nothing to do, take pic lor ..hahaha

The highlight of the day ... President SR Nathan gracing our event... apologies for the blurred pic but there were so many pple trying to snap pics. Best we could do.. = P

Time to Read

Was doing an online survey on reading habits for my profession and *gasp* realised that I spent less than 5 hours a week on reading! This is really really bad . So, to motivate myself, we hopped by to Kinno this evening and gotten myself a HRM Singapore mag (just flipped thru and I think this issue is Boring) and Richard Templar's Rules of Management....amongst a bling bling Solvil Titus watch, a pair of cool black heels, yummy JUMBO tonkatsu dinner etc etc etc .. one needs motivation right ??? hahahah

Anyway, for those unfamiliar with the RULES .. here's how it looks .. By the way, my entire family is reading the rest of the 3 RULES (Rules of Work, Rules of Life & Rules of Wealth) !! And no .. we are NOT Civil Servants ... just law abiding citizens ...hahaha .. okie, thats corny ...

Which Dog Breed Are You?

Gotten this from Teresa Barbie's blog ... pretty fun ... and I do LOVE Golden so YEAH !!
Pssst ... must let me know what breed you are okie ??


discover your dog breed @ quiz meme

Fuming Mad !!

Picture speaks a thousand words. See what greeted me when I picked up my Travis after work today ?!!! Faintz ...was literally POO ATTACK ! Huge brown puddles were splattered all over the car .. I have NEVER seen that much POO on a car ... you cannot imagine man. Trust me, these pics are only the tip of the iceberg.

Pics were taken at the car wash cos it was so horrible that I sped to the nearest petrol kiosk.And guess what ?? The guy at the car wash was laughing ... sigh ...

Am plotting a secret mission to axe the damn tree & those BIRDS ...arrggghhh!!!

ITs Finally HERE !!

He finally said Yes ... and what happened next was in a total frenzy ... Phones started to ring and preparation for the BIG day went underway, booking rooms, checking schedules, churning namelists etc etc etc ....TOTAL MADDNESS with all the coordination. And today is THE DAY ! Could hardly sleep a wink last night I tell you.

This morning, the Place was buzzingly with activites as folks dash in and out of the rooms making last min changes to decoration and table arrangement and all I could do is hide in my little room calming my nerves (& those butterflies too)... among a sea of giggly girls and boisterous laughter ...sigh ... what am I getting myself into ?? Second, third... fourth thoughts starting creeping into my mind. Eeeekk .... breathe breathe breathe ...

Registration flew pass before my eyes and soon I was ushered into the room . Palms turning sweaty and trying my best to maintain my composure, thinking .... Smile girl , SMILE! And of cos containing my pretty pretty make up ... every girl wanna look pretty right?

And anyway, here I am. feeling all relaxed after the event ... what a relief ... dun think I would want to go through that again ... keeping fingers crossed ...hehehe

Hmmm .... have a funny feeling some of you are frowning while reading this ... in case you were wondering ... NO, I DID NOT GET MARRIED !! Faintz .. I was talking abt the SQA re-certification Exercise that I had to lead ... and you thought I have missed you out of MY BIG DAY ??!!Hehehe ....sorry .... blog was meant to mislead ... hahahaha ...

Travis' injury

For those have been asking after Travis, thank you so much for your concern. I have finally met up with the tow company and RM last Thurs to settle the issue and resolution was pretty quick.
The manager of the tow company took a look at my car & the documents and subtlely admitted it was their fault by agreeing to pay for re-spraying.

Now lies one more problem, I need to let them bring Travis to the workshop and there is NO Way I trust their tow trucks anymore. What's more, they intend to come to my office to tow Travis away .. can you imagine?? I will probably be the talk of JBL if that ever happens. ... sigh ..

Travis' injury ... see the ugly green paint....

Car Wash !

Finally my poor car had a wash on Saturday after being subjected to his daily "pepper mask" from JBL for the past weeks. For a moment, I have forgotten that my tyre rims were silver cos they were so coated with dust and mud and what have you that it was BLACK !!! Arrghhhh ...

So here are some "evidences" that we REALLY did wash Travis okie ....No prizes for guessing who did more of the hardwork ..hahaha ... No hor, it is equally tiring sitting inside the car cleaning okie .. = P

Some pointers from this car washing experience:

1. Never do a manicure BEFORE you decided to wash .. nails were all ruined!!
2. Always bring some drinking water when one decided to dedicate 2 hrs under the hot sun! (Yes,yes, my fault .. we were so desperate that we nearly drank off the pail ..hahaha)
3. Always check where "Maria" is cos you DO NOT want soap dripping on your head!
4. Never try washing your car away from the washing bay cos will kenna FINE man. Thankfully, some kind soul warned us of that while we were happily having a foam party.
   

Presents!

See what ACBG made for us ... cute right ? Needless to guess which is mine right ? Hehehe

And more presents from Ler for the 4 of us .... MINNIE is MINE !! hehehee

Covergirl

I know, I know ... I SHOULD be asleep by now, knowing I have to attend a meeting in the morning (yes, on a SAT morning at 830AM, can you imagine!!) ... what kind of company does that ?? hahahaha .. actually many companies do right ?? (make me feel better pleeeeaasssseee...)

Anyway, strange but true but think I have the label "COVER GIRL" stamped on my forehead. Pretty glam right ? Yah yah, I know I hv the au natural flaire ....But wait till you find out that its cos I am always COVERING someone else's duties !!! Faintz .....

Proof ?? Previously, I was known as the CCO aka Chief Covering Officer, with bits and pieces of work thrown on my lap .. "can you cover this B4 the new person comes in" .. "can you cover that in the interim since no owner identified" is my daily fare but I 忍

Now that I have moved, its coming back to haunt me again ! "Can you cover the SQA Cat 4.1 ... oh by the way, maybe Cat 4.4 too " ...."since you hv experience, can you take over Expat Mgt till Aug " ... " Oh, your staff resigned, pls cover her duties too" .... Arrrggghhhh .... see what I mean ?!

1 Person , doing 3 person's work = Cheap labour .... 认命 man hahaha

Now that I said my peace, I can go sleep .....hahahaha

Its raining mud in JBL !!

For those who do not know where in the world is JBL (which is impossible cos its where I eat, live, breathe & sometimes complain for at least 11 hrs a day !) ... welcome to Jalan Boon Lay aka the place where the air smells funny... it is TRUE! Some day could be weird chemical fumes/exhaust/pollution what have you but most days are COCOA days where smell of supposedly "purest" form of cocoa lingers in the air . Takes a bit of getting used to the sourish scent but after awhile, it kinda grows on you but trust me, it is NO WAY near the smell of chocolate which you are used to. Keen to find out, come visit me at JBL then!muahahaha

Oh yes, back to the topic of raining mud in JBL ... My proof ? Look at my TRAVIS !! Okie, I know you can't see so let me describe. Travis WAS one SPOTLESS Dashing little Ford idling his way in the JBL carpark in the morning, happily minding his own business and chatting with his fellow Japanese neighbours when all of a sudden, a huge downpour descended upon him and the aftermath ? Little brown dots spewed all over him (okie, that was a exaggeration .. maybe not ALL over but significant enough). Initially, I blamed our fowl friends for not controlling their bladder well but unless its having a diahorrea in flight, there is no way, the spots could be ALL over the car. This happened on both days so my "logical" conclusion is that ... its raining mud man. Now I know why there are very very very few white or light coloured cars in my carpark. Sigh ....maybe I shd suggest to the Mgt for a sheltered carpark... yah right...I wish

Travis !

Presenting Travis, my new love ... aint he handsome ( and I dun mean my Dad who is thinking of all the permutations for 4D !) The car really looks great under show room lights . LOVE IT!

Here's bro and I giving Travis a wash from the spring water from Telok Blangah ! Hehehe ... bet you din know there's one yah ...

Me and my new love ....honeymoon period

Happily snapping pics of myself as usual ...

Me & my new colleagues

Yup, here's a pic of my new colleagues at the NTU Campus Interview today .. and I meant really new cos 2 of them are less than 1 month old !hahahaha ....me no longer the new kid on the block.

Oh, by the way, like my new "hainanese" haristyle ? = P

In Memory of Mama Lynda

In memory of Lynda who has taught me much right from Day 1 when I joined. I will always remember your teaching and thanks for showering me with words of encouragement & love all these years . I will miss you lots and may your soul rest in peace.

Happier times at NRL.

My New Love .. Ain't it Cool !

For those who have participated in my little game ... thanks for all the comments. It was fun reading thru them and the smses sent. Seems like a Honda Civic tops the list of guesses yah. Hmm .. wonder if it is becos (1) You know that I used to drive a Honda Civic (2) I look like a chiongster/ ah lian (gasp!!) (3) You have been to my company compound and noticed all the Civics lining the carpark, my conclusion, Engineers LOVE Civics/are chiongsters/are ah peks trying to be hip...hahaha

Anyway, surprise surprise !! Think you were not the only ones , even my parents thought I would have chosen the Toyota or Honda....

For those of you who are wondering why I didn't choose some cute little cars like my dream volkswagon beetle with flowers painted all over (so me right??) or even a stylish Toyota Vios.. I really wanted to, but responsibility got the better of me so I decided to be a good grand daughter/daughter/cousin and go for one with boot space large enough for wheelchair/prams/groceries etc etc etc (yes, I am the default family chauffeur now)

And of cos not forgetting my dear friends whom I HAVE to make sure sits comfortably in the rear passenger seats .. otherwise someone will suggest I buy a van like B*** !! = P

Oh by the way, my new love has yet to have a name so suggestions are most welcomed. Nope, I am serious, I like to name my cars ... the previous civic was Luke ....okie, you can stop rolling your eyeballs now lest it pops out .... hehehe

A BIG decision

After a week of reading car reviews (sometimes during work!hahaha), interviewing (interrogating more like it) folks, checking out cars at the company carpark (not drivers okie) and test driving ... I have finally made my DECISION .... yes yes ..FINALLY right !

Just to keep all in suspense, here are the few cars which I have test drive or did more "indepth" research so go on and make a GUESS which is THE ONE ... = )

Dunno why are all the pics on web silver cars... guess that's a pretty neutral colour but that's not for me ..hehehe .. but fear not, it is not in SHOOOOOCKING PINK too (though I did tease my dealer about it) ....muahahaha ... his eyes says it all about what a nut case he thot of me!

My conclusion .. at least what I THINK it is !

Sigh ... after 22 capsules of antibiotics, 13 tablets of flu med, almost 120ml of yucky cough syrup (yes, those in potent PINK) & numbing my tongue with countless lozenges, I'm sad to say ...I am still SICK ...arrghhh ... I can smell another wasted weekend encroaching ... Noooooo...

With the recent spat of events, I have come to a logical conclusion and that is I'M ALLERGIC TO WORK!! OR should I say ... WORK MAKES ME SICK ! C'mon, not in the literal sense... must be politically correct okie cos you never know how a friend of a friend of a friend could end up as your boss and reading this entry!! = P

So for those who are at their wit's end thinking of what to get me as a get well present ... I know that's what ALL of you have been thinking so dun be shy ... I initially wanted to tell you not to stand on ceremony but since I KNOW you will INSIST , I will settle for ..Zzzzzzzzzz .....

Hate Being SICK!

Okie, I know no ones likes being sick but this is really terrible. Been down with god knows what over the weekend and played Doctor with my own prescription of Panadol, Clarinase, lozenges and Woods but sigh ....I am STILL sick ..so have to make the inevitable trip to the polyclinic. It was super crowded I tell u ... feels sick just sitting inside cos every now and then, someone is coughing and blowing their noses.

What makes it more irritating is my new company/colleagues are not too kind when it comes to absence like that . Especially since I am considered new. But it is ridiculous, a person is sick then must take MC right ??!! Such insecurity ... and I can imagine I will BE the topic during lunch time gossip. Can't pple just make use of their time more constructively ?? Medical leave entitlement is given for a reason, not just a show to staff that the org "cares". I am one who objects to any org who gives monetary rewards for being MC free. I agree it has its merits but many a times, pple come to work sick just cos they do not want to have that marked against them and in the process, spread the virus around to their colleagues! Totally irresponsible I must say.

In any case, some of you might have thought the fever has burnt some of my brain cells which has resulted in my raving ... fear not, I am still very sane ... except a little irritated cos of the work related sms I am getting . Arrggghhh ..... and its all under my personal account for your info .

Come to think of it ... maybe the above is the words of a hungry woman ....hahahaha .. time to make my bread soaked in tea ... I know its very ah Ma-ish but I can't swallow so cant be helped right. Short of mincing all my food like a baby ...hahahaha

Interesting Pics over the week

Freedom FINALLY .... *taken on San's last day at work* .... hehehehe

Message from WWF (not World Wrestling Federation lah !) : When trees die, animals die too. Liked the subtle implication cos we must love the EARTH ...

Gives a whole new meaning to 忍到脸青 .... bet Mr Vodoo feels all relieved on his "throne" now .. =p

Tit bits & Peppermint Peckers anyone ?

Who says one can't have FUN at work .. check out these toys I snapped in the Office .

Dedicated to one of favourite colleagues, BARBIE!!

Hi Barbie,
Just realised that it will be your last day tomorrow and I can't be there to give you my hugs and kisses and Hi Fives ... yes FINALLY !!! hehehehe ....

Will really miss you .. in fact have been missing our entire team lots for the past 4 months ... think my frequent emailing and gossiping attest to that ! = P

We were such a great team together & I can't ask for better pals like you girls. Love all those whacky moments when we made so much noise and our shrieks and laughter can be heard from all corners of the office (finally the long awaited peace has come now that we are all GONE). And not forgetting our growing mama shop with loads of turkish delights, meiji chocs, rocher, sour creams chips & etc etc etc ... remember our motto ...We live to eat & eat & eat ....hehehe

We'll definitely stay in touch cos you still owe me a picture of a pretty bride (hint hint) and so this is not goodbye but just see ya later !

Lots Love,
Hainanese United! Muack !

Breakfast For Dinner anyone ?

Yummm .. here I am munching on my cheese (calories ladden cheddar no less) on toasted multi grain bread (my redemption factor ... healthy what) accompanied by a nice cold cup of HL milk and oh, not forgetting my 3 blistery looking (dunno why it turned out with strange bumps) sausages ... cest la vie ...

In case you are wondering ... no this is not my bkf but my dinner for today! Guess I am one of those weird folks who likes to have bkf for dinner (you know, like cereals and oat and pancakes and toasts .. you get the picture) , fries dipped in Macs strawberry sundane, eats harshbrown with raspberry jam and thinks M&Ms with rice can be quite yummy. You think I'm mad too dun you .. admit it my friend ...hahahaha

To say that I am adventurous with food ? Nah ... I dun agree cos I am not the 1st in line to try weird ,and I really meant Fear Factor worthy kind of weird, food when I am overseas. Think the furthest I went was to eat fried grasshoppers along the streets of Bangkok (very oily and salty) & steamed sikworm cocoons (reek of ammonia man) in Korea. Pretty mild I would say.

Was just discussing with my colleagues who just came back from China on the kind of weird stuff she has eaten and apparently fried bees & scorpion are pretty good and she stop short of eating 田鼠 and dog's meat. Have seen signboards promoting cat, donkey, crocodile's meat and my uncle even tried monkey's meat which I thought was totally gross. Heard in parts of Msia, sparrows are BBQ and served... sigh ... always believed that some creatures are created not for human consumption.

Having said that, it is not only the Chinese(not being discriminatory cos I am a Chinese too) who eats weird stuff .. even the westerners have their own delicacies which I find it tough to stomach .

This article is pretty cool on both end of the spectrum so check it out http://www.maxent.org/ch/exotic_food.html

Wild Nite ... woohoo !!

NEWS HEADLINE : Too hot to handle .. 4 supposedly sober girls went wild and lost all inhibitions in a little Karaoke Room at Bukit Pasor !

Think thats not groundbreaking news ??!! Not when the dancing quartet comprised of *GASP* Ah ma ACBG doing her soy milk grinding dance moves , Retro Ms LS rolling her way with every beat, Flabbalious Wenz doing what comes naturally .... wriggling her flabby arms uncontrollably & Corny Monkey with her award winning transvesite impersonation coupled with a spinning Fusia Pink umbrella! What a sight to behold!

Yup, 1st hand witness, Ms cutie pie wannabe was reported stunned beyond words with the strange encounter and secretly video the entire "ritual".

Reliable sources have revealed that the quartet was last seen drinking some beverage which they claimed was hot honey (yah, as IF !) but suspicions are rife that there is more than meet the eye.

Interested parties who are keen to have a sneak peek of the video.. do drop an email to
WLL@youwish.com and special arrangements would be made.

If you are unable to reach me, this email works too ... its WaitLongLong@youwish.com

Skype is Great !

Am now on skype with Ms Monkey (yes , finally I managed to coerce her to download) and we are having so much fun chatting. Only thing is that she doesn't have a camera so she has the unfair advantage of seeing me in my PJs & messy hair ! No fair ... donch care ... tomorrow she MUST get a camera too !! hehehehe

For those who are not on skype, try it ... that's how I get to see my baby cousin & grannie over in China so often .....

Warning : This would also mean that you jolly well look good on screen lest SOMEONE starts critizing you on the flowery auntie PJ you wears!

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/helloagain.html

See this pic taken off skype of my cute cousin ...Jun Jun .... = )

Medieval Wedding

Awww ... am watching CNA on "I Do, Let's Eat!" one of my favourite weekend shows and its the final episode featuring a medieval wedding. So magical right ? And the groom and bride calling themselves KING & QUEEN along with homemade thrones with 12 ladies in waiting and 12 knights ...imagine that! And all the guests were gamely geared in medieval costume .. wish I could attend a wedding like that . Love thematic parties ...

And of cos not forgeting the most important part of a wedding .. the FOOD ! Yup, it was all done in medieval style along with a huge roasted pig (like our suckling pig) and the weirdest of it all must be the Fish & Fruit tart below ...and apparently the most delectable dish of the night !

Here's some pics I have taken from the show .. yup, I do love my camera ... = )