Canon Powershot Seminar on 16 May 09

Attended the Canon Powershot Seminar on Sat at Raffles City Atrium Ballroom on Sat and learnt quite a bit on photography and more importantly rekindled my interest in exploring my canon powershot.Hahaha ...

The guest speakers were Mary Bukom (she was the host too), Jino Lee (Canon Expert), Thomas Ong (Photography Enthusiast) and Dr Leslie Tay (Food Blogger).

Here's some pics of the Seminar.

Some tips on photgraphy ...

An attempt by Dr Leslie Tay


A shot for the album ..

At the end of the sharing by the speakers, we had a chance to mingle with them to seek more advice on photography and their experience with their canon powershot.

My fav will definitely be Thomas Ong (not cos he is read cute ok) but becos he is real.He did not put on any airs and was very earnest trying to help when posed questions on the functionality of the camera. What's more, there were no fake slang, in fact he sprouted mandarin and even hokkein in his presentation ... damn hilarious ...

I spoke to Mary Bukom and Dr Leslie too but found them pretty superficial and probably was more interested to impress others rather than share on their experiences.

Happy Mother's Day !

Buffet lunch at Novotel Hotel

Emotions

Err ... I tried my best .... = P

Love Boat ?

There I was wandering aimlessly onboard the cruise, looking for something which even I, myself have no idea of ... thinking and wishing ....

And that's when I spot him hiding in a little corner ... could it be ... is it real ??

My heart skipped a beat when he turned to present me with the big cuddley cushion ... so sweet ....is cupid finally shining on me ??

I gleefully grabbed the present and held it close to my heart ...=)

I snuggled up to him to strike a conversation but he looked away shyly ....awww




So I waited ... and waited ... and waited ....

Qing Ming 2009

I survived Business Mandarin Level 1 ..YooHoo !

Yup, after 5 weeks of rushing down to 新加坡中华总商管理学院for evening classes twice a week, I have Finally completed Module 1 of Business Mandarin !为我的成就而骄傲!hehehe

On reflection, I really did enjoy myself tremendously (imagine, I did not even skip a single class and we are talking abt my most hatred subject in sch ! *gasp*) and it helped that the teacher and classmates were such a fun loving bunch so lessons flew by with all that fun and laughter in class.

I can't say that I am proficient to converse in Mandarin now but at the very least, I am a lot more confident of business terms (surprisingly I could actually recognise a lot of the terms though my writing sucks..hahaha) and have a deeper understanding of the Business Culture & Etiquette in China.

So here's the course content:

• Meet people and Introduction (Super tongue tight man )
• Meet client and Arrange entertainment ( 董,总,秘书长,省长etc baffles me)
• Basic Banquet Etiquette and Convention (My Fav!!敬词,劝酒)
• Schedule and Gift (送礼 is an art)
• Deal with the Differences, Choose the Topic carefully
• Recruitment
• Presentation and Application of Numbers (十百千万亿兆)
• Phone Call, E-mail and Official Document

Out of my class of 12 participants, almost 75% of them will probably continue with Module 2 which starts next week.

For me, though I would love to join them, I think I really need to revise and brush up on my Chinese first cos Module 2 requires a lot more writing and reading...= (

Our Family Pic

Taken in a studio on 27 Jan 09 looking all set to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Ox-picious start to 2009

Have been battling the dreaded sore throat,cough and flu bug(the works) for almost a week and the worst thing is thatI have yet to start on the new year goodies!All the pineapple tarts, sugee cookies, kueh lapis ...

Throughout the few days of feasting, all I could do was stare at the spread before me and take photos (how sad right).But strangly enough, I still DID NOT lose any weight.. sigh...

Hopefully I will recover by tomorrow else my weekends are so gonna be burnt!!

Pineapple Tart Frenzy

I was on the verge of giving up baking pineapple tarts (after trying 2 different recipes) when I chanced upon a winning formula from my colleague ..yippee!!

Only problem now is how to make them look prettier!!Hahaha..

My first try was pretty ok but lack the milky taste to it so that failed my own test. The second try was by following a recipe on the Sunday Times and it was really bland ... Dad even had to suggest spreading peanut butter on it (to make it more edible???!!) ...

So it was with much anticipation that I embarked on my third (and final) try and lo & behold, it turned out to be what I like ..the melt in your mouth texture...yummy...

Ok, I admit, I cheated.I had to "bug" my colleague to ask her mum for the recipe after tasting one of her yummy pineapple tarts...hehehe

Watching them is a joy ...
What else can you do while waiting right ? Pose lor...hehehe

My not-so-round pineapple tarts

I love these 贺词 ... fun!

一帆风顺、

二龙腾飞、

三羊开泰、

四季平安、

五福临门、

六六大顺、

七星高照、

八方来财、

九九同心、

十全十美、

百事亨通、

千事吉祥、

万事如意!!!

I am a trainer's nightmare

Have you ever attended a training and came out of the class totally dumbfounded ?Well it was exactly how I felt today after Day 1 of training. Granted, it was an enjoyable session, trainer was pretty eloquent and engaging,but I was struggling real hard to make the connection between what was taught and the course objectives. Tek boleh match sia ...sigh ....

I "endured" all the way till the end of the class before I could no longer hold my horses and charged ... err... strolled cooly more likely, to the trainer, flashed my innocent grin and then went for the kill ...muahahaha ..and said, "After an entire day of training, I am still UNABLE to see the connection of the content with the OBJECTIVEs ....blah blah blah ....as HR (though me participant only) need to ensure that money is well invested in effective course with real application ...blah blah blah .... "

This obviously was kind of a shocker to the trainer cos by that time, all of his other "students" have gleefully scooted out of the room (of cos what, ended at 5pm),except this joker.

So the next 10 min was spent trying to flip through the handbook (which was like not used 90% of the time while teaching)to show me where the course objective was and trying his level best to convince me of the indirect linkage of all that was taught.

At the end of our conversation, I was none wiser and even more pissed (which resulted in this entry) with the far fetch concept that was presented.

Maybe it is an occupational hazard (to constantly evaluate trainers), maybe it is just me with my high expectations , or maybe , probably maybe, the trainer just happen to be "suay" to meet me with my Monday Blues .

One takeaway though .. I am an ENTP type under MBTI profile ....will that give a clue why I am such a nightmare ?hahahaa

Black Forest Gateau for Mum's Birthday

My first attempt at baking a Black Forest Cake for Mum's Birthday.

Though it is not visible in the photo, there are layers of cherries and cream in between which is the most difficult part to do ...hehehe..


I do hope that it will turn out yummy .... = )

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake

After my success with the Chocolate Chip Muffins, I decided I HAD to buy the same series of cookbook but this time round, it was cupcakes and I finally bought it 2 days back!

So it was with great enthusiaism that I gathered all my ingredients and started work on what SEEMED to be one of the easiest recipe.. the Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake. I mean, how difficult can it be right, just squeeze some lemon juice, throw in some lemon rind and hey presto, my cupcake is done!

I was soooooo wrong !!!What started out as a quick baking therapy soon became a test of preserverance as I squeeze and grated and mixed and cooked and whipped and beat into a 3.5hr marathon.Yes, exactly! I must be out of my mind and what's more incredulous was that I started at 10.30pm and ended at 2am (hahaha... told you I was mad)

So, here are the fruit of my labour (pardon the amateurish look yah ).. The Lemon Meringue Cupcake！！！

Sand's Birthday Celebration

Happy New Year !!

A & E

Just came back from having spent 9 hrs at NUH today and I am really zonked out by now.

What happened was that at 12.30pm today, suddenly I received a phone call from Gran's home (which is like NEVER a good sign when one receives call from home during working hrs) and my Auntie was rattling off in a panicky and shaken voice that grannie has gone all soft and fainted twice at the dining table and she is at lost as to what to do next.

My mind went blank when I heard that cos I am extremely close to my grannie and I cannot imagine (and refused to imagine) the worst.

I swiftly grabbed my laptop and ran out of the office and sped my way home. Looking back, it was pretty scary the way I rammed my engine as I attempted to pick up speed. But good senses got the better of me and safety prevailed

Anyway, by the time I reached home, the ambulance has already arrived and gran looked pretty weak and in a daze when they wheeled her onboard. Since children are not allowed on the ambulance, we had to leave grannie alone with the paramedics (so sad) and my Aunt, cousin& I followed behind in my car

When we were at the A & E, grannie was quickly pushed into the room for doctors' attention and that is when the incredible waiting started. We waited for 3 hrs before a doctor came to speak to us and asked some questions and then the waiting resumed for the next 3 hrs. All these went on without us being granted any time with gran or any information on how she was getting along. The only thing we know is that she needs to be warded and is queueing for a bed space. Soon, concern turned to weariness and exhaustion and I was getting impatient

My phone was also ringing off the hook with uncle and cousins and mum asking for updates of the situation. Especially from uncle in SZ who witnessed the fainting incidents throught SKYPE

At 7.15pm, I finally gotten a call from the nurse informing us that we are allowed to see gran and we hurriedly made our way to the ward. It was a huge relief when we saw grannie sitting up on her bed and beckoning us to her bed . Colour has gone back to her cheeks and she was no longer breathless or weak like earlier on. She even managed to play with Baby Jun and related the fainting incident to us.Though we were all chirpy and making lots noise teasing each other in the ward about missing our favourite TV show (which is Little Nonya), I know that we are all putting up a brave front so as not to affect grannie

Though there is no confirmed diagnosis as yet(more tests need to be done), stroke or a heart condition may be the probable cause

I just hope that gran will recover really quickly

Heartland

I love walking around the heartlands, buzzing with activities, and taking in all the sights and sounds.

Here's an introduction to Hougang ... nearest town to Sengkang and one of my favourite place to shop .

Apparently there was some Karaoke singing competition and this uncle was belting out his tune with much gusto and was pretty macho man ....hehehe...Sand was staying this is a typical Karaoke pose to show heartache and angst ..hahahah


Kids enjoying themselves while their parents were glued to the Karaoke Competition. Yippee !

Always thought Malay barber shops are really cool with their crew cuts. Stylo SIA !

Sneaked up to a group of Ah Peks (oops, some lads too) pitting their skills at Chinese Chess. The hilarious thing was that when I took the shot, the Malay Barber (cos this was placed outside the shop) came out and this is what happened .

Barber : *Smiles* Why are you taking the picture ?

Me : Errr .. for my own keeps ...* smiles sheepishly*

Barber : You want to interview my boss or not ? See that young man over there in blue, he is the boss ... Oi Ah "XXX", this girl want to interview you !!

Me : *Panics* ... No, no, no .... I dun want to interview him ... Oh, Hello *waves to Mr "XXX" ...hehehehe

Barber : You doing school project ah ?

Me : Yah yah , hehehe .. thank you..... bye bye .. * scoots off quickly*

Hahahaha ... me must have looked "young" ...still doing school project ....

Found this at a traditional medicinal hall and wanted to get Sand to pose next to the bottles so that I can take the retro thermos flask but she refused (think she learnt her lesson in Bangkok..hahaha..ask her for the story the next time you see her) so it is ZOOM lens to the rescue!

Oh, who can miss out the newspaper auntie .. Ma Bui Po .....

A must have in most heartland towns, the towel & curtain shop. But sometimes the towels are not absorbent enough leh ...

A pity the shop was not opened ..have always been intrigued by the workings of the Dang Tian..

Muffins Galore

Was totally overcome by excitement when I saw this book at the book store and I grabbed onto it with my dear life! I have tried quite a few muffin recipes but none was satisfactory so was filled with hope that this will do the trick... *keeping my fingers crossed*

Of cos I was not alone in my baking frenzy ...had Sand Sand to help me and take my pics too (noticed how I LOOKED slimmer ...hehehe...Sand is a pro at that already cos I kept nagging NOT to take my fat arms..hahaha)

Anyway, it was a pretty simple recipe and we had fun baking & mixing ...

My final creation... Vanilla Chocolate Chip Muffins on my new pretty plate (see I told you it will come in useful... see my previous entry..hahaha)

Extremely pleased with how the muffins turned out.It is very unlike the typical buttery muffin (which bro likes so he is not a fan of this batch).

Instead, it tasted more similar to those muffins found at the coffee/tea joints & cafes with a milky after taste. Good thing was that it is neither oily nor overly sweet and would be a great snack during tea time.

Post Christmas Sale!

Yup, you heard me right ... Tis the season to be jolly cos the Post Christmas Sale is now On ...woahhhooooo...

Actually, what started as innocent window shopping (yah right, like who will ever believe that I will ONLY window shop??!!) developed into a full blown shopping mania at Aussino@Paragon.

I mean the store was huge (oki, me sua ku can, never been to Paragon outlet what..hehehe) and within minutes, the damage was done.

After 2 sets of bedsheets, 1 set of quilt cover, 2 sets of kitchen towels, 2 pairs of bedroom slippers, 2 sets of plates and an apron & mitten set, I was totally happy with myself. Yeah !!

So here's what my mum will says as SPLURGING but they are so adorable that I MUST have them ....= P

Princessy "fur"lined slippers is an essential in the bedroom okie...

Such adorable darlings ..Anyone for a cuppa tea & muffin?

花花one ... I like.....

Perfect attire for my new found hobby (baking!)

So... justifiable not ?? = )