Thursday, April 27, 2006
voting...
finally get to vote this time round :)... was following the nomination news this whole day, tuned to radio for the latest news even though supposed to doing my mth end closing :P... looking forward to popping by some rallies to catch the candidates during this long wkend... think most of the pple in my dept get to vote this time round...
me n rachel thinking of going KL the same weekend but on sunday instead since cycy didnt wanna go n i had plenty of leave to spare. will be able to save on all the holiday surcharge n avoid the holiday crowd... havent confirm yet but going down on to the agencies in beach road to check out the agencies... sourcing for hotels online at the moment...
10:00 PM star light star bright... Y
Sunday, April 23, 2006
my weekend... 
super fast wk... spent most time doing ot to prepare endless payments...finally the wkends, which unfortunately passed by even faster :P... sat
spent the whole of sat going round town with my sisters to shop for cycy's rom gown... yup yup, confirmed getting married within this year. day started at city hall ard 12plus coz me n rachel were late ;p... not many shops specialising in gowns there, there was one very taitai shop whose clothes were either very flamboyant (lotsa glittery sequins, silky tops...) or slightly "kinky", i.e. there were clothes that look like those hong kong school girl's uniforms which we 4 concluded must be for some taitais whose husbands hv some kind of school girl fetish :P...
had lunch at this new sushi tei outlet at raffles city (juz beside the fod court). really great place!!! deco n atmosphere was incredible but at affordable prices. it cost the 4 of us 60++ but they had opening promos so 15% off so the bill only came up to 50++ (cycy's treat :P)... the moment you walk in. they had a raised wooden platform at the entrance which makes u feel like a catwalk model ;p...upon entering, there's a passage way with streams of water following down from the ceiling which act as a "screen" (which gave us the urge to touch it and explains for all the water on the floor :P)
the interior was equally impressive with the kitchen in the middle blocked up by glass panels which give customers a view of how their food is prepared. besides the seats round the conveyor belt, there were great circular seats which looks somewhat like those seats in "pure" at mos, really nice for gathering with friends!! must bring my family/friends go next time...
continued to orchard for more fittings... 1st stop, wisma where there was a nice daniel yam outlet with lotsa of selection. really nice gowns so we spent quite a while there helping cycy pick her gowns and time for her to try out these gowns. manage to shortlist a few but decided to move on to other shops b4 making decision. saw a group of gals who were some other bride-to-be's sister group shopping for identicle gowns in diff sizes, heard there were at least 10 of them!! so cute :P
there were also nice sweet little gowns in isetan which were very affordable but just shortlisted one b4 moving on to tangs for more shopping. nothing much there as expected so was on our way to shaw centre but stopped along the way to go to scotts for a look coz saw a "sale" sign on one of the window displays.. one of the most unlikely places to find a gown coz the place was quit"dated" and not much flow of shoppers ard except at a coffee outlet... ended up at a celia loe outlet which was pretty "quiet" compared to the daniel yam outlet which was "bustling with activity".. was only 1 cust ard when we arrived so while the single salesperson attended to her, we went ard to look for the gown ourselves. must admit collection n deco wasn't as impressive as the former but amazingly cycy's meimei managed to find a white, halter neck and really "wedding gown like" dress out of no where which had a trailing hemline.. can see that she liked it alot as it was something she had in mind, simple and lengthly enough for her height and within her budget. it fitted nicely and didnt emphasize on the minor tummy prob :P... salesperson (p.s. a guy) was somewhat helpful in giving opinions and tips on how she could get into shape and improve her skin conditions. turns out he is a freelance makeup artist n thot quite clever of him to choose a job in this line to improve on his customer base :P... were all very happy that she managed to get the gown so fast (oredi 7plus n me n rachel pretty shag liao ;p)... had dinner and later cycy n her meimei went back to daniel yam to get meimei's cute little princess cut bridemaid's gown...
was oredi 9 plus by the time we left town but popped over to the flat cycy is planning to but to look at its feng shui ;p... apparently, the mil is not very approving of it coz there was some kind af corners/edges pointing towards the main door (p.s; according to feng shui, it was inauspicious for a sharp corner to point directly to the main door) but from our amateur stds, it looks pretty ok coz the so called corner was pointing at one if the windows instead of the door...
sun
woke up usually early at 10am naturally... after breakfast, went to a temple beside chua chu kang cemetery coz she had signed up for some prayer ceremony for the deceased.. pretty huge place which was actually a place where pple kept their ash urns... it had a huge airconditioned hall where there 3 huge statues of the buddha. they even had VIP slots for urns and ancestral wooden plaque (not sure how they called it)... we even saw an old lady who came with her daughters/grand daughters to select her own resting place and seems that she preferred the nice ex inner halls compare with those outdoors one...
on the way back, saw a road sign directing to Hay's Dairies Farm (goat farm) so managed to persuade my parents to drive me there coz it wasnt often that we drove all the way so far west. turned out that the farm was pretty far away from the temple n we nearly gave up halfway coz it was no where in sight... took awhile to get there finally but slightly disappointed coz it was not as lively and big as expected. they also didnt hv much goat dairy pdts on sale. think they shd maybe hv more pdts such as a small outlet selling food made with goat's milk or things like powdered milk, snacks or even ice creams... onli had bottled milk which mum n dad didnt really fancy coz they insisted that the was this goat taste which i couldnt tell, only felt that it was a bit blend n diluted compared to cow's milk. was raining when we reached and there was only few families visiting with their kids.. anyway, bought a pack of hay/grass and went in to take a look since we were there.
me n the goats (the one on top hopped up to grab the hay from me while i was trying to take photos :P)
dad n the goats
kids adore the smaller goats :P
pretty small farm and they only opened one barn for visitors to view the goats. most visitors were busy gathering bits of hay from the buckets or ground to feed the goats. like the smaller ones more coz they were more lively and some even propped themselves up against the railing juz to get you to feed them, so cute... only spent a while there taking pics and finishing our hay b4 proceeding to visit another temple in jurong ;p... on the way, also dropped off to take a look at this kraji war memorial beach ard the lim chu kang. looks like the old punggol end in the older days but more deserted and there was a coastal guard camp there. nothing much there except a wooden platform stretching out to see, a mud flat coz the tide has went down and a few kelongs in sight...
on the way back, visited my sis-in-law who was warded at cgh for decompression sickness (some diver's illness caused by sudden changes in pressures, i think??).. got it fr her recent dive the previous wkend. still under observation coz her oxygen levels werent that stable yet...
by the time we got hm, it was oredi 6pm. fell asleep till 8plus b4 waking up for dinner...
very "eventful" weekend that i didnt even had time to go to the m'sia travel fair as planned. in the end cycy n meimei may join us on the trip n we may head off at the long vesak day wkend. wonder if we can still book out trip in time...
11:00 PM star light star bright... Y
Friday, April 21, 2006
KL trip ahead but...
elections finally confirmed on 6may, sadly was thinking of going kl with rachel for shopping that weekend.. now hv to wait n see if any opposition contesting for our grc b4 deciding on the trip. one of the evening papers predicted there may be contest in our constituency the other day so temp hv to put plans on hold till the candidated are finalised. was hoping to find a cheap f&e package for kl at the m'sia travel fair this wkend at suntec coz dun think wanna stay at aunt's place coz gonna be a short trip and too much time would be wasted on travelling ard. h/r may not be able to confirm on a package unless they allow flexi date changes coz candidates for election may only be confirm next thurs on nomination day...
btw, surprisingly even though i din really enjoy shopping at batam, other members of our group were very enthusiastic abt going again purely for shopping, apparently they heard from one member that levis is ridiculously cheap there and they also really like to polo shops there. some asked me to reorganise again but dun think so coz me dun think worth it unless we really hv something in mind to buy. ferry ticks plus tax would cost 30 plus oredi... anyway, thinking of organising to go somewhere else, maybe m'sia, think will get "inspiration" fr travel fair this wkend...
anyway, think cycy really getting married for sure coz she oredi went hse hunting and searching for rom and wedding gown and restaurant etc... may be going to see her try gowns tis wkend :P
1:10 PM star light star bright... Y
Sunday, April 16, 2006
batam trip 
tiring trip which lasted one whole day, i.e. 7plus meet up till 9plus reached sg.. didnt sleep much the nite b4 coz was too engrossed with reading dan brown's "angels and demons" (veri nice book, so "exciting" that i had to finish the final chapters b4 going to sleep ;p).. woke up at 6am n left at 6.40 to catch the train. had to meet the others at habourfront @ 7.35... by time we got to the ticketing counter, the whole area was packed, prob coz of gd fri holidays.. was so chaotic there and realised we didnt hv time for breakfast as planned as we had to start queueing up at 8.15 despite ferry scheduled at 8.45. so everyone rushed to get a tah bao b4 boarding. couldnt really get a seat coz pple b4 us had "chope" the good seats. luckily one of my colleagues, her hubby n friend managed to get a get seat with tables indoors. concluded that we must go xtremely early if we have to go next time... me and rachel striking a pose on the ferry (background: irritating indian national who took yrs to take photos and refuse to move away even after ;p)
the ferry took nearly 2hrs due to unknown reasons and queueing up to get thru the customs took very long too as they didnt have a systematic queueing system and not much queueing space at all so by the time we met up with our guide, it was already 10.45!! the weather was horrid coz raining all the time so couldnt take more photos. lotsa rushing ard so had little time to take photos with the group. our group on board of the mini bus :)
me n rachel 
1st stop was the handicraft indonesian emporium, nothing much there coz they were only selling overpriced wooded sourvenirs... luckily they only gave us 15min there so off to our next stop, POLO shop, as in the branded brand shop. dunno how authentic it was but those who at 1st skeptic abt the visit started their shopping spree. almost everyone got something except the few of us. the rest got on the minibus 1st while waiting for the rest, this is when the peddlars brought along sourvenirs or fruits/food to try to sell to us through the bus window. tried our best to ignore them but one came along with these really cute foldable bags and naturally being gals, we were suckers for these kind of things so eventually most of us got one each. although it was onli $2, could see that the guy was making a profit and think he gave our guide one as gift ;p
next stop was the Tua Pek Kong temple. except one of our malay members, the rest of us got off to pray. the whole temple ground was really quite big, they also had a confucius temple for those who are studying or having examinations. there is also a row of shops selling kuehs kuehs, fruits and keropok alongside but didnt hv time to check it out as i was busy taking pics of the statues ard the temple alone ;p indonesia emporium
tua pek kong temple 
confucius temple
next lunch at 933 golden prawn seafood restaurant. while waiting for our tables and food to be ready, we bought keropoks and coffee at the shop situated at the restaurant itself. prob were too bored that we started comparing who spent the most at the shop and eventually, our colleague who came with the family spent the most and annouced to everyone ;p... finally table was ready, luckily they spilt us up into 3 tables instead of 2. we had 23 pple so if they spilt us up into 2 tables, it wld be too squeezy.. spread was ok, had fish, crab, prawn, kangkong, soup, squid, gong gong and 1 drink each. small portions though. when we were abt to leave, it was still pouring so the restaurant actually had 2 guys juz to open umbrella for guest who were leaving, my friend and i were quite surprised as they opened the brolly at the same time when we approached ;p
next stop, a small dried food shop selling dried ikan billis, prawns, crackers, coffee, tidbits etc...
table a ( fr left: eva, jun, angelia n bf, carine. missing: carine's hubby and friend who refused to take any pics during the trip)
table b (cindy n family)
table c (seated fr left: cindy's colleague, kim, lilian, fong ying. standing fr left: me, rachel, cherine and friend)
the spread 
finally proceeded to the shopping centres. 1st stop was diamond city shopping centre which was quite disappointing, felt that m'sia shopping malls were better. abit run down, lotsas malay shops but did manage to get a pair of shoes, n rachel 2 pairs. gave up aft a while and settled down at the surprising new a&w (which are prob extinct in sg) for huge rootbeer float and fries. the group's damage which was temporarily dumped at the empty seat beside driver
the guide 
next stop, mega mall shopping centre juz beside the terminal. it was really new but noticed not all shops were opened yet even though itz been nearly a yr plus since it opened. nice shopping mall but realised prices werent that cheap so spent most time window shopping and finding mum's avocados. ended up at a malay restuarant for dinner. as usual didnt leave enough $$ so rachel n i shared a plate of mee goreng (which looked nice but was actually fried maggi noodles) and a really great dessert call es teller 77. its a combi of coconut, jackfruit and avocado, tasted really unique :))malay restuarant @ mege mall
great dessert "es teller 77" must try! 
finally gathered the group ard 7.15 to cross over to the terminal for check in. were abit early and waited till 8plus to board. boarding was as choatic as arrival, no systematic queues as usual. didnt manage to get nice tabl seats this time but got seats indoor. h/r as we were sitting rite inside and a stupid batam malay girl actually put her luggage in front of empty seat beside her thereby depriving others of a seat and blocking our passage ways. decided to get out and sit outside at the decks of the ferry instead since it was at nite and both of us had the intention to enjoy the nite breeze and scenery. luckily we did coz it werent as crowded as it was during the day and it was really cooling and rachel n i had a nice time chatting (actually shouting at one another coz kinda noisy with the sea breeze and engine ;p)...
reached sg ard 9plus, didnt wait for the others since everyone was tired and making their way back. luckily i managed to get a seat at outram and slept all the way back to pasir ris. wa so tired that fell asleep almost immediately that nite...zzzZZZZZZmy "damage"
the cute foldable bag
opened up ;p
not a great trip overall but at least get to see batam finally. felt that it was still very much undeveloped and shopping cant even really beat m'sia.
1:45 PM star light star bright... Y
Sunday, April 09, 2006
bro's grad ceremony 
took leave to attend my bro's grad ceremony at sim. went all the way to collect my cammy which was fixed in juz 2 days... reached sim ard 1plus two, sat ard while matt went ard to take pic and put on his gown. sitted in the mph by 2.30 something. couldnt get a better seat coz the doors opened earlier then expected so the others got in earlier while we were sitting ard rotting, taking pics n playing with the snacks vending machines ard (p.s. like this new machines which weren't there during our times. they had some snacks which we dun see outside. btw thw old bookshop closed down and is replaced by a popular bookshop outlet. so surprised to see that!) the vending machines :P
cute little grad bear bear i bought last min for my bro :P
me killing time b4 ceremony
ceremony quite long, ended ard 4plus and one uncle even fell asleep openly with his mouth wide opened. had to wait for a few pages of grads b4 my bro's turn to go on stage. tried to take pics of him accepting the cert but stupid cam blurred coz the distance was too far... noticed that there weren't as many lecturers from london as our yr and their gowns werent as "impressive" as our year (they used to look like wizards fr harry potter or lord of the rings that yr :P)
the ceremony
the reception after was chaotic!! think too many pple this yr and they had to set up the buffet both indoors at the main lobby and outdoors near the koi pond and the spiral stairs... selection limited and they ran out of fruits and cakes very fast. some uncles and aunties even attacked the fruit decorations (which have been there since the morning session, ewwww...) and some even took the flowers fr the displays!! mum says that the buffet spread was better at my grad and the crowds were urm, more "civilised" :P we stood ard eating while matt n wife were busy taking pics.. met my ex mgt lecturer nageb and he actually recognised me n remembered my name. even suan me abt that time when i skipped his lecture to go m'sia :P...
matt and nageb
family :)
went ard to take more pics at the koi ponds and in front of the building. met karen's cousin who graduated in the same batch with his gf and karen's aunt too. by the time we were leaving, it was oredi 6plus... was quite "inspired" to take up studies once again so went to pick up application form for the grad diploma course which i was eyeing and realised the sat was the closing date so had to go back down to sim the next day with all my documents to submit. was sure whether i could afford the time to study yet (3 times a wk!! for a year) but decided to sign up first n decide later.
me and bro acting cute :P 
catch!!
my school :)
6:05 PM star light star bright... Y
new shoes finally
yeah~ finally got a pair of really cutesy bright new pair of shoes that i like and is veri affordable!! found them at world of sports at downtown east. havent been there in a loooonnng while and didn't realised that they had a brand new outlet there and since we were there for chicken rice (yes, all the way there coz mum read this article abt one of the chefs from chatterbox was retrenched and decided to start his own stall there) decided to check it out after dinner. was trying to find shoes as my current ones had holes in them oredi and wasnt able to find replacement shoes which i liked on my bangkok trip (bought my current converse there for less than SGD20, was on 50% disct then)... took me juz 10 min to spot the shoes, try them on and buy them! they were within my budget, onli $39 despite being gola shoes (originally $80plus but they were clearing older stocks).. actually saw a few other designs of the same brand which were on discount but werent as nice and those which i liked didnt come in my size. so lucky to spot these and at the exact size i wanted!
4:50 PM star light star bright... Y
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
nothing much lately...
not much to tell this week coz 1stly, no life coz do ot everyday n pass journals till wanna puke n no photos to show n tell coz cammy is spoilt!! *sobz* dunno why all of a sudden lens got problem... had to specially take leave down to their "ulu" service centre at gateway west (went to east according to the warranty but they shift to west.. luckily nvr shift far if not hantam them ;p).. n where got stupid service centre open 9-6 office hrs n mon-fri onli??!! so not customer friendly... walk until feet pain, 1st fr suntec to there and then fr there to bugis...
anyway so sianz coz 1st phone got problem n now juz when i need the cammy for my bro's convo this friday at sim and my batam trip next wkend... luckily the person say can be ready by this wk so hopefully i can go down on friday morning to pick it up b4 the ceremony. (sianz, juz heard it will cost me $80plus to replace lens part)
last week was a week of "goodbyes" to our temps n esp my little assistant. would hv to do all those misc cred by myself again... sianz....
meifen (right) n eileen's last day. eileen got this huge kitty fr her dept
me n eileen (cant believe these high quality photos are taken by my colleague's 3pix handphone cam fr hk) 
weekend spent "sweeping tomb" n troubling over batam trip coz stupid agency, KIAN MIN travel agency at Fook Hai Building, told me there werent places available despite assurances from them that i could go down on fri or sat to make my booking. apparently, they say another group came b4 us to book n make payment and they base on 1st come 1st serve. ask whether we want to go at 11am instead of 9am but go down so late no point oredi rite, half a day gone. no sense of customer service at all!! didnt even take down our numbers when we called down to enquire and follow up with us and when i tried calling up again to ask on monday for alternatives available, they even gave me the take it or leave it attitude. not as if they are the onli agency ard offering the tour and their agency looked rather run down and so not cutomer friendly hrs. operate till 6pm only. waste my time going down!
went ard to ask the other agencies and manage to find another similiar tour and decided to pay $2 more rather than book with them. even though the agency smaller, they were more helpful and even took down our numbers to follow up in case we didnt call back. went to the same agency for my bangkok trip, PERFECT TRAVELS at people's park complex... went down yesterday to book immediately since me on half day, so more walking...looking forward to trip coz we managed to get 21pple and form 1 tour group by ourselves :)
going for play tonite, "the magic fundoshi"... local production tink comedy.. nvr really been to a play besides all those school productions so decide to go since ticks are cheap and with hossan leong in it, must be quite funny :P... it's at drama centre at the new national library, get chance to see how it looks like also...
1:15 PM star light star bright... Y
