~Bliss~ ~Bliss~ ~Bliss~ ~Bliss~

CNY 2012

2012-01-24T12:16:00.003+08:00

CNY is wayy early this year. before i know it, we are already in the year of Dragon!
busy with work and ongoing reno, it was only until saturday night then i've the time to prepare all the ang baos!
but CNY affair is getting quieter by the years...
ever since my gramps passed away 2 years back, reunion dinner is no longer a big affair with all my extended family.
now, we just have it with my parents and brother.

since we are already staying at ubi for CNY this year, we didnt have to travel for reunion dinner at all. ha.
as usual, flowery legs ng family went out to raffles city before dinner time.
everyone bought something except me who are still hibernating after the splurging in dec. *gulp*
our ploy to tire the boys out worked for they were ready to zzz early after the dinner itself!
both were fast asleep by 930pm, muhaha.
ah long and me grabbed the chance to make our way to vivo for "haywire".
the show aint half bad with its convincing action sequences.

then its CNY day 1!
the routine has been same for the past few years:
1st stop is to my in-laws house.

some shots with my boys while waiting for the lou hei

the handsome boys! YR showing off his gold bracelet, LOL!

second stop: to ah long's grandma place

on our way there. when i asked him why was his expression so, he said he forgot to smile... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

last stop: to my big uncle house where all my extended family goes to.
and we stayed there from 3 - 7+pm.
the 2 boys actually skipped their naps yesterday!
they were so tired that they fell asleep the moment we loaded them in the car.
with this power nap, they woke up again when we reached vivo for our movie - journey to the mysterious island!

its a good thing the show is just 90 mins long.
we were glad to give the boys a quick wipe down, their milk feeds and finally settled them to sleep before 11pm..
it had been a long day for everyone, but a fun one nonetheless!

YR turns TWO!

2012-01-19T22:17:00.003+08:00

yesterday was a super busy day for the husband and myself!
we ran a dozen errands and were out of the house from morning till night....
in the morning, we woke up at 7+am even though we were both on leave for the day. zzzzz
after sending the boys to their schools, we went to meet up with the wallpaper person to take site measurements for our new house.
done in a jiffy, we drove to paya lebar area to make final payment for some furnitures to be deliver to the house by end jan.

THEN, we met up with ah long's friend to make our way to JB to collect our lightings purchase as well as to source for the rest of the lightings required for the new house!
lucky for us, traffic was uber smooth and we were in JB by 11+am!

1st stop: yummeh bak ku teh for lunchie first, of cos!

we spent the next 2 hours "chop chop" select the remaining lightings for the house.
wahaha, 100% of our house's lightings were bought from JB lor.
good savings of at least 40% compared to prices in SG!

back to the new house again to deposit our purchases so our contractors can fix up the lights after CNY.
then we went to pick up YR from his childcare. our little boy turns two yesterday! :)

brought him back to mum's place and let her freshen the boys up while hubbi and me took our time to rest awhile after the hectic day...
then, its time to bring them out to ...... NIGHT SAFARI for YR's bday celebration! :)

@ night safari entrance

family shot - but check out YZ's eyes.... @_@ and YR's awkward smile... LOL

the boys enjoyed themselves lots there.
especially for YZ who can name out most of the animals and was totally amazed (or scared...) to see the animals so up-close during our tram ride.
YR, surprisingly, was quite unfazed with most animals and tend to over-shout a wee bit at them... haha.
the only animals he said "pa pa" were the buffalos and cattle.
so, he is afraid of his own kind. LOL.

it was almost 11pm when the ng family reached my mum's place!
after wiping down, the boys K.O.ed in minutes...
hubbi and i still find time to savour some chips after bathing. :)
though a long day but i cant help smiling the whole day for we got things done and spent a lovely evening with the 2 boys!

weekend galore!

2012-01-15T22:17:00.000+08:00

been a super busy work week for me. think i worked OT for 2-3 nights... *sulk*
no choice, with jan being a peak period for me since it's half year reporting and the auditors are here for 2 weeks. zzz.

at last the weekend is here where i got to spend time with my lovely boys!
the weekend kinda started early on friday when i met up with my ex-DT peeps for lunchie @ harry's bar.
it;s been awhile since i last saw GS, PP, cher ying and frances!
we still yakked like last time. :)
then its supper with zm like the good old days when i was still living at east side (now, im back!).
though supper may not be that good an idea for such a busy week.. i was dead tired when i finally got to zzz at 2am...

the boys must be tired out by their weekdays routine like hubbi and myself.
for on saturday, all of us napped for a glorious 3 hours from 2-5pm! LOL.
we moved out from my mum's place at 6+pm, heading to taka square to get some CNY goodies!

we bought mostly from vendors who flown in from overseas.
mian sian and egg rolls from HK, prawn rolls and pineapple tarts from indonesia.
the very nice kueh lapis from rasa sayan indo was sold out - :(

late dinner @ wisma food court.

had an early reunion lunch with hubbi's family today @ vivo's akashi.
the boys were super happy after lunch when my father--in-law let them take kiddy rides with the cousins to their heart content!

outside giant waiting while the boys did their kiddy-ride hop.

matching tees!

we continued walking @ vivo after the rest went home family by family.
i decided to utilise the BYSI vouchers that i had by buying a top.
then we chanced upon pageone having sale! but i didnt have time to really comb the place for YR started getting cranky after his nap.
also, i have already bought some books from prologue @ ion the day before... @_@

and we bought the TV for our new place too!
we had been window-shopping for awhile and kinda know what brand we wanted.
was at best denki today and a few models going at reasonable price. so after some consideration, we bought the model that we want!
cant wait for it to be deliver and mounted at our place in feb! :)
we still need to get a mattress for peanut and a dryer for the new place too..

trying on my shades and loving it!

and now, the most important thing is squeezing some me-time out for my many books!
*gulp*

apart from these, i still have 5 more books waiting for me!!

happy things!

2012-01-08T22:46:00.002+08:00

though lunar year 2012 is not officially here yet, but i think things are looking more and more cheerier for me, hehehe.

1) we have just booked our first trip for 2012 - royal Caribbean cruise in feb! :)
it will be YR's first time on a cruise ship, my first time to malacca (yes, really!) and our first time on royal caribbean. hope the facilities/program will be more interesting than that of star cruise.
but what;s more exciting is the husband has gave the green light for our next destination in may/jun! :))))

2) we finally got the keys to our new place and renovation to commence next week onwards!
chop chop curry pok i like!
we took half day off on friday to iron out all the designs and materials with our contractor.
hopefully, it will turn out decent since we do not involve any ID same as last time for our redhill place.

3) the long awaited ah mei's concert on saturday!
the last time i caught her concert was 5 years back! it was a totally enjoyable concert!
i was on my feet almost all the time and only her can make the whole stadium stand up on their feet dancing to her tunes! COOL!
though ah long definitely didnt look the part of a happy concert-goer, he did enjoyed it.
which is good, for its his birthday that day. teehee.

with my peeps before the concert

at ah mei-s request to flash our lighted cell-phones

4) finally settled the boys' CNY clothings (minus the old boy and that's his business :P).
and YR had his unruly hair trimmed again - LOL.

5) supper and late night movie with the husband is possible again!
hehehe. now that we are at my mum's place, we can sneak out in the night when the boys are asleep. hiaks.
and its lovely that 112 katong to open in this period when we are here! talk about timing!
so on thursday after the boys snoozed, we went there for supper and late night movie - sherlock holmes 2!
as usual, RDJ continued to charm me on the big screen though i still prefer the previous one.

6) caught my week with marilyn on sunday and is totally impressed with michelle williams' portrayal of the sex siren.
she really acted well the vulnerability, insecurity and charisma of marilyn.
an oscar nomination is almost a shoo-in, im sure.

7) time flies and its grace and zm's birthdays again!
we got the birthday girl a T&C necklace and the birthday boy a masterpiece bag.
glad that both are happy with what they got. :)
dinner was at taste paradise which food was sumptious though as usual we felt it was abit over-priced.

with the exception of ser ser & jx

so far, it has been a super eventful first week of jan for me!
so busy till i've no time to read any of the magazines/books i brought to my mum's place..
tsk, time to allocate some me-time soon.

new year, new routine!

2012-01-06T22:22:00.002+08:00

it has been a crazy first week of jan for the ng family!
before the new work/school week commence, we have shifted out of our flat to my mum's place.
with only a day to settle our stuff before the new routine starts the next day!
i really have no idea how come there are still so many of my clothings/shoes when i've packed 4 big boxes of those into the warehouse... zzzz.

and on tuesday, we woke up cheery and bright from the excitement (which soon wear off over the week, lol).
for YZ, he will start taking the school bus to and fro the new kindy.
for YR, he will start going to childcare on a full time basis.
and on the 1st day of all these new changes, it was also the first workday of my closing!
that means i reached home late only to see my sleeping boys. *sniff*
oh well, at least i get to take some time off in the morning to attend yz's kindy orientation with him.

both boys berry cheery with going school.
actually, YR cried at his cc when he realised gor gor is not joining him, ha.

(top) at the school hall for his orientation
(bottom) in his classroom

so far, yz has been settling well in his new school.
he is fine with the schoolbus arrangement and told me he likes school.
everyday after school, he follows the routine of lunch, bath, nap and then some writing under my mum's care. so things are good... until my parents fetch YR back from cc at 5+ and the boys will proceed to create chaos till ah long and me are back from work. tsk tsk.

30 is the new 20?!

2012-01-01T20:39:00.003+08:00

and so its my turn. no more in denial since even the letter has arrived in the letterbox (yes, time to source for a new IC photo...).
after spending most of the month getting sooo busy with moving house, i just want to wind down as the year ends and of cos for my birthday itself.

as with tradition, hubbi treated me to a bday lunchie without the boys around.
after au petit salut & dozo, it was les buchons this year round.
i still find the food good but apparantly the hubbi think otherwise. oh well..

and on actual day, we went to 112 katong the new mall in the east before checking into our mini staycation - mecure roxy hotel! :)

lunchie at nando!

112 katong is not too bad, at least better than bedok point since it has GV!
now hubbi and i know where to go at nights after the boys zzzz when we are staying over at my parents' place in the interim!

after checking in and letting the boys have their power naps, we made our way to good o' PP (parkway parade) for happy relaxed time just walking around.
we had steamboat dinner at my fav. eating place at B1 foodcourt.
my boys have indeed grown up! they actually had steamboat dinner with me now! :)

we called it an early night and retreated back to the hotel to just laze around watching star movies with the boys.
after they turned in, we continued watching movie while enjoying our fav. chips of cos!
ahhhhhh.. the simple joy in life. to be surrounded by my loved ones doing what i like!

recap of 2011

2011-12-30T23:52:00.001+08:00

most of my friends and myself have started the year thinking it won't be a smooth one overall.
at least according to predictions for roosters in general.
so a year has almost passed, all i can say its not as bad as i thought:

jan: hubbi turned 34 while my little nut turned 1. FIL suffered a mild stroke that gave all of us a wake-up call in paying more attention to our general health.

feb: YR started learning to walk at 13m+, earlier as compared to gor gor at 15+m. I bought myself an awesome watch as my wayyyyy advanced early 30yo bday pressie! :P
yz suffered from a bad bout of stomach flu that lasted almost 2 weeks which made me so sad and helpless.

mar: i got DD to help me get my new wallet from europe at a great price! the ng family went HK for 5D4N with my mum. it was quite fun but definitely wayyyy too tiring. both the boys came back and developed cough which lasted almost 2mths.... :(

apr: yr's turn to suffer stomach flu @_@ and i started actively looking out for jobs after being in my previous job for coming to 3 years and feeling more and more stagnant at work. and i signed the appointment letter at end apr!

may: a short month as i was busy doing my handover duties at previous job and a short macau trip before i commenced work at new workplace in early jun!
it was GE2011 too and i voted for the 1st time in my entire life. i was under marine parade GRC before i moved to TP GRC. but ever changing SMC/GRC landscape resulted in my area being under Radin Mas this year and i finally cast my sacred vote this year- haha.

jun: started work, steep learning curve which took me awhile to adjust. finally changed to android phone when hubbi got me the HTC incredible S. android rocks!

jul: rewarded myself with a chanel GST (thanks to eric who helped me get from london) and a ipad2 for the family with help from work vouchers. :) YR stopped taking his paci at 18m+ too.

aug: watched fantastic fireworks with my boys at my workplace on NDP 2011. went down with a terrible sore throat/cough that lingers on for the longest time (almost 1m+) which resulted in a health scare and blood test in between. lucky results come out to be ok.

sept: celebrated 5 years marriage anni with my man. secured a buyer to sign on the option to purchase for our flat at a good price as well as signed on the option to purchase on our next home - at a reasonable price (i think!).

oct: my YZ turned 4yo! gosh, hes growing up too fast! will be going to kindy in 2m+ time!

nov: went for routine check up with a worried heart after the health scare in aug. the results came back generally ok. a good improvement i passed a test that i failed last year. but another area was highlighted for further testing if im concerned. (*sigh*).
went for HDB 1st appt and concluded that our buyers are way nicer than our sellers. pui. well, just have to deal with whatever curve balls are thrown to us!
tasted guy savoy with the husband which was a special culinary experience for both of us.

dec: super busy month at work and outside of it. the whole month was almost dedicated to cleaning up the house (that means throwing away tons of stuff) and packing it to boxes!
YR had a fall and a nasty bump on the forehead which gave me a big scare. and he finally started on his childcare. better than gor gor, he stopped crying after 2 weeks...
had the most fun-filled bday gathering with my peeps to spend my *gasp* big 3-0 birthday!
for the actual day, will be spending a quiet one with my boys at a staycation. :)

yup, that kinda concludes my 2011.
there are ups and downs but being the ever-optimistic me, i think its still a pretty good year for me! :)
im more convinced than ever that H&H - health and happiness is really important.
resolution for 2012 will be to spend more effort in ensuring H&H!

turning over a new leaf

2011-12-30T23:05:00.000+08:00

im finally done with my year-end shopping!
zara started yesterday and i've trawled through 4 outlets by today. *gulp*
i would think the purchases are good: 1 flats, 1 heels, 2 dresses and 2 blouses.

ok, time to turn over a new leaf and lead a frugal life (at least in jan!).
now, its time to choose from all the loot bought over the last month to see which will be my CNY clothings! :)

YZ ready for new school!

2011-12-29T22:34:00.000+08:00

my little wormy is all grown up! :)

lights at JB!

2011-12-28T21:14:00.000+08:00

hubbi's friend have been telling us how cheap lighting can be purchased from JB for the longest time.
so today, both of us took leave to drive to JB with ah long's friend for lighting shopping and of cos, indulge in bak ku teh lunch. haha.

slight jam at the customs given its year-end now and hordes of sg cars driving in for shopping and eating!
we spent about 5 hours there, just very focused on light shopping. :P
at the end of the trip, we were very glad to have purchased near to 80% of the lighting that we will be needing for the new house. :)

we should be making another trip back soon to collect our stock, perhaps get the remaining lightings from other shops and hopefully shopping at the new KSL mall!

xmas season = jolly season!

2011-12-25T13:49:00.001+08:00

xmas is finally here in a jiffy!
23rd was a super happy day for half an hour into the work morning, my VP came round my floor to do the usual shaking hands-best wishes thingy.
THEN, he told us to scoot off after lunch to enjoy the joyous season! :)
and with a tibits tea break inserted in the middle of the morning with my own team, i can only say i've done minimal work on friday morning!

at 12, i scooted off to meet fifi @ my office lobby.
we were meeting gb & dd for lunchie @ verve pizza bar at marina bay city gallery!

the newlywed looking fresh n radiant from her honeymoon break at south africa!

after lunch, gb, fifi and myself continue to MBS to do serious window-shopping of most of the heavy-weight brands.
lol. its sooo fun when shopping with 志同道合 friends.
the adrenalin-high that we experienced as we weaved in and out of the shops came to a deflating 空虚 when we left the shops with no 战利品 of cos.... muhahah.
oh, and we went to the LV maison for the first time. pretty impressive, i must say.
i saw my next wallet too.... wahahahah.

xmas eve is pretty boring for the ng family.
we made various trips to furniture shops to source for our new house. took a rest stop at my mum's place in the afternoon for the boys' nap.
came evening time, a short stint at hubbi's sis house for dinner and then its home sweet home.

and finally, today is xmas day!
we had a surprise for the boys!
there was no xmas tree in our house and we didnt wrap up the present as well, haha.

tada, finally the cooking station that yz has always wanted!

we chose a set that looked safe for either gender, lol.
yz kept asking for reassurance that "this is not for girls one, hor?!". haha.
and the boys love it. they have been cooking food non-stop from morning up till their nap-time at 1pm... @_@

hmmm. now i wonder where can we go after they wake up from their nap...
we cant run errands (there are tons!) as those places were closed....
let's see how....

and the year-end shopping continues...

2011-12-22T21:43:00.002+08:00

and so shortly after my shopping spree, MNG & topshop started their sale as well.
how jolly!

for MNG, i visited the raffles city branch with candice and jx and cheonged the vivo branch by myself during the 45mins window period before the husband and elder son reached...
damage: 2 tops + a dress
topshop sale is not really sincere with quite a small and poor selection on the sales rack.
(was relieved to find the new items that i bought a week back are NOT on sale - hehe)
visited the raffles city branch alone and the knightsbridge one with candice.
damage: a top, a dress + flats
i think im pretty done with the above two liao.

robinson year-end sale started and 难得 i can shop with the hubbi.
its pretty good deal for there is a voucher to less $30 for every $180 spent. not to mention most things are at least 20% off already!
we used up 2 vouchers which means all the items we bought were already discounted, we still get an additional $60 off the total bill of $400+ (a good additional 15% off!)!
we bought toys and kids stuff for the boys and toiletries as usual.
and i got a top from axara and shoes from nine west. :)
oh, and a belt for mr ng's birthday (apparantly, he's not that keen on ah mei's concert as his bday pressie. and i thought i bought him a belt for last year birthday too!?! hmm, so long the mister is happy lor.)

ok, the bill came and i paid with tears streaming down my cheeks.
i hope the bill will be kinder in jan since there is only zara sale left? or no?

advanced xmas celebration @ junren's hse

2011-12-18T23:30:00.004+08:00

as with tradition, ah long and his friends try to have an xmas gathering every year.
this year, we did so at junren's house!
its interesting to see how the group just get bigger and bigger over the years with new additions. :)
yz and yr had fun (i think!) playing with the other kids and of cos eating all kind of nice food and stuff.

can you spot us! this is not full attendance by the way...

left: its a potluck gathering but being the lazy ones, we got the desserts covered - a chocolate log cake and a strawberry shortcake
right: yr terrorising all the uncles with his balloon sword.

Year end shopping is here again!

2011-12-12T23:52:00.000+08:00

im almost scared to write this post but i guess i have to note down all the nonsense i bought so i can be more mindful going forward! though i think the shopaholic me will still reign.... zzzz.
to my credit, i think i didnt buy anything for almost 5 weeks before i started my recent crazy spree!
that is such a feat! :P

but as usual, i think most of my buys are good one:
1) a beige shorts from forever new - i love this brand from down under! think they have only 1 store @ raffles city in SG.
think lace and ruffles. and they have crazy petite sizes for the tiny ladies!
2) Pedro shoes
3) bangles and shoes from Bimba & Lola - crazy year-end sale! check out ion outlet! i love their accessories, shoes & bags!
4) novel 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - no time to read yet in this crazy season of activities
5) top, top, top (yes, 3!) from GG5 - im hoping feverishly i wont see them in any upcoming sale!
6) jeans & denim shorts from Guess by marciano - good year-end sale! check out the MBS branch for good sizes left.
7) dress + (zebra!) leggings from forever 21 - believe it or not, this is my 1st time buying from this brand. had always feel that its quality is inconsistent and maddening. well well, lets see if they last the test of usage.
8) 2 tops & a romper from topshop - thanks to the girls! knowing topshop, im SURE these new collection wont appear in their upcoming sale. some comfort here.. haha.
9) 1 T&C bracelet - my fav. buy!! thanks to GB who helped me to get this from the states! :) though its only a teeny weeny bit cheaper as compared to SG, its my lovely gift to myself for turning 30. :)

i think the above is crazy enough.
the husband only got snippets here and there, i think he's still missing the BIG picture.
ok, no more buys UNTIL the sale gets going at the usual brands (think gg5/MNG/zara) bah!
god bless my pockets.

big 3-O birthday with the girls!

2011-12-12T10:46:00.001+08:00

its amazing how i can still pull myself out of bed yesterday morning after the crazy saturday night @ park hotel.
still, i must make it to meet the girls for my bday lunch and our annual xmas gift exchange gathering!

venue was at DB bistro Moderne @ Marina Bay sands.
we had brunch there and it was delicious! *yum yum*

they knew me well too and got me a topshop value card! *wee*
just in time for year-end shopping! :)
and i got stella's xmas gift - a loewe perfume! nice!

polaroids with the girls! ok, women!

my big 3-O birthday party!

2011-12-11T23:37:00.003+08:00

YEAH~ 10th dec is a big day to me!
the day i spent my 30th birthday with the gang. :)
i booked a room at park hotel and we meant to spend as much crazy time from day to night!
by 5pm, its full attendance! :)

took polaroid shots with all of them! they got me a princess balloon! can you spot it!?
though i cant be any further from being one. i have no 公主病 ok!

we took some shots before heading out for our mini "photoshoot" and dinner @ robertson quay:
and of cos, we downed 1 bubbly before heading out.. :)

baring teeth with the women

prim & proper ( i dun know why?!) with the *cough* hunks.

we walked to our dinner place ~ brussels sprouts @ robertson quay from the hotel.
along the way, we started our crazy photoshoot session:

at first, it was still tame and under control

then, more instructions were thrown and we actually followed suit?!

im glad for my yoga sessions @ cali back then!

mad dd and bin bin jumped real high at the back! well done!
and alot of passers-by threw us dubious glances.. LOL

it was still very fun, all of us laughed till our faces almost cramped. hehe.

by the time we settled down for dinner @ brussels sprouts, im absolutely bushed.
check out my expression. zzzzz

we had like 4 pots of mussels between AND 5 dishes too. *burp*
oh, their fruit-flavored beer were berry nice!

and then, it was back to the hotel for more merry-making.
we chatted and drank and chatted and drank.
for a group who communicated via watsapp EVERYDAY, its pretty amazing we still have so much crap to talk about!

and before long, its time for cake-cutting session and presenting my pressie to me! :)

my first time popping a champagne (with help from dd for loosening the cork first). and MOET is especially yummeh! *slurp*
cake was strawberry shortcake from Rive gauche - light and good. and they very scared i dont know im turing 30 loh. @_@

i was waiting eagerly for my pressie for im sure the peeps will do a good job given how *ahem* well they know me....
so i was sooo happy when they produced a balenciage dustbag and said dd scoured high and low overseas for my pressie.
my 1st thought was really he managed to get a good buy from one of the outlet @ his last work trip @ london....

very suspicious looking me and getting a shock when i realised the real "brand"!

but things started getting suspicious when he asked for the dustbag after i took out the bag and kept it away immediately.
why cant i keep the dustbag?!
when i held the bag in my hand, it just doesnt feel right. too light and the leather too PVC smelling.
and their grins were so up-to-no-good!
and so i checked as they told me and realised the brand is actually................ YIC (i dun know what is this!?!??!).

very unhappy with the (fake) pressie

luckily, they whipped out the real deal soon!

berry nice ferragamo skinny belt. :)

and the rest of the night was really chatting, laughing, singing and of cos drinking.
but we drank happy spirits this time round and all were in high spirits! good!

near to 1am, we still managed to drag ourselves to shanghai dolly. LOL
a bad mistake!
bad crowd and worse music!!
i think it will be our last time there ever.

so with my bday, we finally ended all the big 3-O birthdays for everyone in the group.
back to normal bday celebrations next year onwards i guess.
big celebrations 很伤身! haha.

i just want to shout again that im sooo lucky to have this group of friends for the 17 years and counting!

they are oh-so-cute!

2011-12-09T23:25:00.000+08:00

the screw up

2011-12-06T09:51:00.000+08:00

and so after 5 months of good luck and smooth sailing, i had my first major screw-up at work.
so JUST after my bosses' commendation last month, i went on to commit not one BUT two mistakes for this month closing.
well done, ecookie!
and i only realised the mistake on WD2. hohoho.
that's why i almost cant make it for fifi's wedding that evening!
its a blessings that it was the weekend after WD2 so we have 2 days to rectify the mistake before the deadline on WD3 (ie. monday).

i suggested coming back on saturday to salvage the situation and im so grateful to my team members who came back to help me so willingly.
though we stayed abit longer that we hoped for on sat, it was in a way a good kind of teambuilding! LOL.
im just keeping my fingers and toes crossed that no more next time! *gulp*

to mr & mrs zeng: blissful marriage ahead!

2011-12-04T21:37:00.000+08:00

and so, my dearest fifi 嫁出去了！
hehehe.
i am sooooo sad not being able to be her 姐妹！*sigh*
but her wedding actually falls on 2nd dec = 2nd workday of closing = the bane of all finance people!
and i almost cant make it for her wedding! *gasp* (let's leave that in the next post...)

still, the ng family managed to make it to conrad slightly before 830pm.
i was in time to give the bridezilla a big hug before her first march in!
*aww* she looks great in her wedding gown. :)

and as she marched in to RC's serenade, i actually teared!
just so touched at the moment. ok, emo me lah.
didnt manage to take photos cos the 2 kiddos were there too!
cant wait to see the shots when the newlyweds is back from their honeymoon. :)

and, that was the last wedding for 2011.
as of now, im counting...1...2..3...4..5 weddings to attend next year!! and im sure the number will go up more....
haha, but weddings are happy affairs and i love attending them!

YR finally get a haircut!

2011-11-27T22:33:00.002+08:00

YR has always been scared of getting his hair cut even since he was a baby.
when he was younger, we got around it by waiting till he was asleep and then let the hairdresser do the job while he was zzz-ing.
but as he approached toddlerhood and getting more vocal with his fear, it was almost mission impossible to bring him for a haircut!
so the last haircut he had was almost half a year ago - im seriously not kidding.
he got himself a crew cut the last time my mum brought him to the barber...

for the past few weeks, we have been trying to bring him for his long overdue haircut.
but before we even step into the shop, the tears already start falling...zzz.
so, we resorted to the expensive choice today. and with a combi of vcd and sweets, we managed to cut his hair!!

look at how crazily long and untidy his hair is!!
very focused on bob the builder LOL.

*tada* my handsome little pumpkin!
he has natural brown hair like papa..

i wonder how will he react for his next haircut....

missing musee dorsay & tasting guy savoy!

2011-11-26T22:58:00.009+08:00

had originally applied for leave on fri as the elder son's childcare would be closed for spring cleaning and i meant to take care of him myself on that day.
but he mentioned wanting to stay overnight at my mum's place and she actually agreed despite having to take care of YR from tue to thurs!
SO! the husband took leave on the same day so that we can have a proper date with just each other since both the boys have caretakers for the whole day till evening time!
for the first time, we can dine out at nice restaurants without the boys! haha.

so we started planning our activities 1-2 days before the day:
first thing in the morning, we went to run errands. @_@
our car was due for servicing so we drove it to the service centre after our MIL reached our place to take care of YR for the day.
luckily, leng kee is near our place and there were few people at the centre on a friday morning.
we were out in 20mins time, thankfully.

next stop, cabbed to plaza sing to collect our tickets from sistic.

looking not as fresh as we wanted. haha.

so where are we going?!

tada! to the dreams & reality impressionism exhibition @ national museum of singapore

hubbi and me have been to musee dorsay all the wayyy back in 2003!
it was our first time being exposed to impressionism and i remembered the boyfriend then getting more excited over impressionism works than those classic renaissance pieces by the grandmasters (ie da vinci, botticelli, caravaggio etc). @_@
so, we were both really glad to revisit some of the art works here in singapore again!
though the husband's interest fizzled out real quick DESPITE the 140+ works only being exhibited here. duh!
he was sitting down here and there as we walked through the different sections...... *rolled eyes*

let's take a look at some of more interesting pieces being exhibited here (at least to me..):

one of my favourite artists from impressionism - edgar degas
he was quite popular for his female dancers works. i remember some excellent pieces seen in the thyssen-bornemisza museum in madrid when we were there in 2009.

i like his works - he has a knack of capturing the fluidity of movement in his works.
sadly, there is only 1 piece of his work in the exhibition this time round.

hubbi and i both agreed that impressionist works are best seen from afar.
somehow, the realism is enhanced when you approach the works from a distance.
its really amazing how the seemingly bold careless broad strokes from close-up can translate to such realism of the art pieces from a distance.

some examples:

a well-excuted piece by monet. the couch takes the limelight for this painting, if you ask me.

on closer look, the couch is just made up of some blurred, blotchy patterns. LOL

ooh, ah long's fav for the exhibition. he can even accurately decipher that its night-time for this seaside painting.
hahah, maybe i've underestimated him!
ahh, the waves look so real and you can almost visualise the movement of the waves.

close-up: the waves are just dabbed on in thick strokes of white paint... zzz.

ending with van gogh's starry night over the rhone, undoubtedly the hightlight for the exhibition.
though im rarely a fan of his works. they always give me a psychedelic feel, dont ask me why!
not unlike the scream from edvard munch.... haha.

sigh, i miss paris...
oh well, back to reality. it was lunch time when we left the exhibition.
time to scout for a light lunch since we've something quite heavy planned for dinner.

lunch was at novus at NMS. we share a hearty classic all day breakfast between us and some desserts.
i highly recommended their desserts. quite reasonable at $12 for 3!
and the sizes are just right to be shared with others. :)

we had raspberry meringue, chocolate mousse (which is interestinly graduated from milk to dark chocolate!) and lemon tart. *yummeh*

went window shopping with the husband at orchard road.
bimba and lola was having 50% sale storewide so i bought some bangles at a good price!
and i finally managed to find a specs frame which design i like and fit my flat face to a T after scouring many optical shops from lucky plaza till ion!
placed a deposit to secure the frames so i can come back at a later date to test my eyes' power for the prescriptive lenses. :)

as usual, window shopping with ah long on watches never fail to impress me (the only area he can do so with ease, LOL).
learnt another one or two interesting facts about certain watch features and i discovered another choice for my next watch! *wee*
though the husband said im just a copy cat of him. pui.

we reached MBS too late, i just realised more shops are opened there now and i could've spend more time shopping there. :(
well well, there is always next time since i worked so nearby right? ok, new venue for lunchtime shopping.
window shopping, that is! haha.

we were decidedly excited with our dinner venue - guy savoy @ MBS!
this would never be our preferred dining choice given the steep price, michelin stars or not!
BUT, with the reward i just got from work, i was able to treat hubbi to a fine dining experience. :)
we opted for the cheapest (still crazily ex!) set menu - TGV which came with an appetiser, 2 main courses and desserts.
but we soon find out there are alot of "complimentary" dishes from the chef....
anyway, the TGV menu changes everyday so you won;t know whats on it till the day itself.
and so, we started our meal with no inkling what will be served to us. cos not like we can dislike the menu and opt for other more expensive set menus! wahaha.

i try my best to recall what we had...
1) a bite size foie gras with toast (above left)- to me, the taste is exquisite but ah long found it akin to ya kun kaya toast. zzzz.
2) a bite size hand-made waffle with parmesan cheese melted on it - soft, warm and very good.
3) free-flow bread with salted and unsalted butter (to choose from) - good but not the best. we made the right choice of eating half of what was offered.
4) Palate cleanser - a small drink made of carrot, orange juice with some bits in them (i miss out bits of what the waiter was raving to me...haha)
5) appetiser is........ chestnut (gao lat! LOL). its 3 chestnuts on top of a chestnut pudding swimming in a plate of foamy chestnut sauce. it was very good but the asian in us were thinking about how cheap the cost is!!! but i think credit must be given to the chef for a basic ingredient like chestnut to something so delectable, esp the pudding.
6) 1st main dish is cod fish (above right) - its one of the best ive tasted in my life though i do think forlino's one is slightly better.
7) another complimentary dish - a bite size meringue with orange syrup in it (this is fantastic!) and a shot glass of slanted 3 layers - calamansi syrup (if i didnt hear wrongly), hazelnut jelly, hazelnut mousse. very interesting presentation.
8) 2nd main dish - game bird. by that, its a pie with truffle and foie gras added to it. the meat in it was made up of pigeon, quail and duck.....
again, the dish was nice but we were getting rather stuffed by then and the husband kept insisting he cant taste any truffle nor foie gras in it. again, i felt happy that im not paying the full price of this meal. hahah.
9) desserts was dark chocolate cake - nothing too special
10) *surprise* the waiters pushed out a trolley full of desserts and ask us to choose! (below)
misunderstanding our question on how many different types we can choose, they said up to 3/4 pieces for each type!! haha SIAO! how to eat when our tummies were already bursting at the seams!
still, we chose 9 different desserts (thank god for their bite sizes) and managed to finish them somehow.
11) AND, when we thought its all over, they presented us with the last palate cleanser for the night - earl grey sorbet which was totally refreshing and light.

it was really a wonderful experience overall despite the rather hefty $180++ per pax.

the food was actually very good, the service was excellent as well (though im still not v used to waiters "introducing" the food to us each time they served us - that will be 11 times for this dinner!) though ambience is so-so to be truthful.
when we looked back at what we've eaten, we noted that we have the opportunity to try a good variety of food. also, the food was prepared in a different way from most restaurants.

i guess, thats how guy savoy earned their stars for their paris/las vegas restaurants.

thumbs up for the experience! :)

i had the most lovely day/evening with the husband.
until he kept whining at night when he stepped up on the scales.... haha.

work - never my cup of tea

2011-11-22T21:51:00.002+08:00

due to an unexpected promotion/transfer of my colleague, im forced to prematurely take over her job scope.
just like that, 4.5 mths of honeymoon came abruptly to a halt.
ok, not really. she was still hanging around during the transition month so i was still in safe hands in Oct.
THE CHALLENGE came when she transferred out of our team start of this month and i've to "hold 住" both our roles meantime while taking time out to train the newcomer too. @_@

the past 3 weeks flew past in a frenzy if you ask me.
so much things to do during work (cos i try my darn best to leave by 6+ most of the time) and with the boys coming down with coughs one after another....
finally, things more or less settled for this week and i actually have time to take a breather or maybe two during office hours! :)
BUT, month-end closing is here again in 1.5 weeks time!! *puke*

apart from learning (albeit a steep curve) more so in this 1 mth+, the most notable postitive thing that came out of this busy period so far is that my efforts didnt go unnoticed.
apart from positive feedback from my bosses, i'm able to treat hubbi to some fine dining. *wee* :)
thats what we are planning for this friday. i totally deserved this coming break!! to lose myself in work for extended period of time is such a foreign thing for me!

week 1 of nov: new bedroom!

2011-11-20T22:48:00.001+08:00

so, the story goes like this:
when we first got the keys to our new house, ah long and me just wanted a simple master bedroom with minimal furniture.
so we came up with the idea of doing a raised platform for most of the bedroom area and do away with buying a bedframe.
back then, our dependable contractor did all the necessary and ensured that our renovation works complied with HDB laws and regulations.
and SO, the requirement then is the between any raised platform to the bottom of the window pane, there must be at least 90cm gap. to which we did better, ours was a 95cm gap.

so when the HDB officer came our house to do the routine check to ensure everything is in order before our HDB 1st appt to sell the house to our sellers, we were berry confident that we will pass with flying colors.
which we did. WITH THE EXCEPTION of the raised platform in our master bedroom. @_@
apparantly, the regulations changed in the last 2 or 3 years that the distance between any raised platform and window must be at least 1metre now............
*pui*
so we just went from legal to illegal unknowingly.

nothing too terrible. or so the HDB Officer said.
you just need to remove the platform soon and let me inspect again - he said. @_@

and so we did. :
luckily, our contractor was able to help us do so at a nominal fee.
but the bare cement floor thereafter rendered our master bedroom no longer one......

so we did a 乾坤大挪移。 hahaha.
so for the next 6-8 weeks, our master bedroom will become our study/store room.
and we have shifted our mattress to the study room since.
we are surprisingly zen with the new arrangement and actually think its fun to do so!
well, im now blogging away in my master bedroom ... haha while ah long is zzzing away in the study room.
new set up can be fun, i suppose. :)

tada, our master bedroom became a makeshift study room cum storeroom. *messy*

our new "bedroom". the boys dived onto the mattress once we laid it down. tsk tsk.

they never fail to brighten up my day!

2011-11-19T16:46:00.001+08:00

fifi's hen party - cooking @ cookyn Inc

2011-11-07T21:20:00.001+08:00

had a blast yesterday with my peeps!
it was fi's hen party and we've organized a cooking class (yes yes, i do think its mild for her too haha but we did have tons of fun!) for the bridezilla. hehe.
the class was at cookyn inc which is a short stone throw from my house near queenstown area.
majority of us reached 15mins earlier than the hen.

yan and me in the berry nice open-concept kitchen

before long, fifi arrived!
she was actually blindfolded in the car already, so she absolutely had no idea what awaits her. ha.

dressing her up in hen's gear . :)

she was more than pleasantly surprised to see the gang when she took off her blindfold.
she really didnt expect most of us to be there.

a group photo before the "hard" work starts. :P

with all the ingredients prepared and a chef on standby to guide us on every step, suddenly whipping up a gourmet meal is chicken feet. wahahah.
appetiser: we had hokkaido scallop salad garnished with truffle oil & caviar! *woot*

us with our salads!

next up: roast chicken with feta cheese!

after marinating, before roasting

tada! super juicy and yummy!

the whole cooking process took us around 3.5 hours - not short lor.
but we had so much fun fooling, ahem i meant cooking, that the time just flew past!

me with my main - pesto spaghetti with prawns
putting the final touch on our dessert chocolate mousse - dusting sugar on it.

it was almost 7 by the time we were done with the dinner - *burp*.
next stop - to wine company @ dempsey for more wine and merry-making!

but by 10pm, i've to make a move - meeting dan they all for more drinking. @_@
it was almost 3am by the time i reached home. @_@
very long but fun day lah!

im really very very happy for fifi who will be marrying love of her life - RC - in 3 weeks time! :)
may them have a very blessed marriage!

furniture hunting @ sungei kadut

2011-11-05T23:54:00.001+08:00

today, the ng family went sungei kadut for furniture/furnishings hunting!
its really farrrrrr.... just next to the mandai zoo. @_@
but ah long and me enjoyed such excursions (definitely beat shopping trips with me, haha) as we get to go new places. :)
so we drove, see see look look at one place before zooming off to another showroom/warehouse.
it kinda feel like our perth road trip when we went navigating around swan valley area.

anyway, we stumbled upon this interesting place where there is a Tiny cafe on the ground floor and furniture shop on the 2nd floor.
we got a cute lamp from the furniture place and settled our dinner @ the cafe.

the kids fooling around in the furniture shop
@ the tiny cafe - which has a very retro setting and nice yummeh food!

and we bought a bed frame for our new place! :)
for so long, we have lived without one. same for the boys.
hope we can get some measurements soon and buy their bedframes too.

and for tonight, hubbi and me sleeping in our study room.
more on why we are doing so in another post.
haha, so fun. new arrangement can be pretty fun.
i remember we used to "camp" in the living room with YZ when he's 2m+ and suffering from bad colic.
so much so that we still chose to sleep in the living room (3 of us) when he's older just for the fun of it. :P

ok, ending the post with our new lamp.
its meant for our new study room. you will see why. ha.

dinner @ antoinette

2011-10-31T16:06:00.007+08:00

it was a lazy sunday for us yesterday.
after the boys woke up from their naps, we made our way to the east to pass some stuff to my mum.
as she had a wedding dinner to attend in the evening, she had no time to entertain us, so we were shooed out of her house by 5+pm. ha.

decided to do some window-shopping for furnitures+ furnishings since there are a few showrooms/warehouses at the east side.
by the time we were done, its dinner time.
the husband asked me to choose somewhere near. racking my brains, i decided on antoinette @ penhas street since we were only a 3mins drive away!

been wanting to try their outlet @ mandarin gallery for the longest time but its always full.
so its good that we manage to try the food @ the penhas st's outlet with minimal crowd on a sunday evening. :)

we went a little crazy with ordering food for the ambience is just too pretty! :)
beef patty sandwich, wild mushroom risotto, all day breakfast - sunny side up with mushroom/onion + toast, rose tea, strawberry short cake + macaroons!
but really, just nice for our family of four.
the prices were reasonable too though the portion could be bigger ha.

YR at work:

nope, i dont want take photo with papa!

*baring a cheeky grin*!

Boy A

2011-10-30T22:40:00.000+08:00

this weekend, i continue my ever-going pursuit of SnM (shopping, novel, movie! LOL! ok, very lame).
this time round, i finished Boy A - a novel i picked up previously @ borders closing down sale.
the book left me a little depressed after im done with it.
its basically about a child murderer going back to society after he has grown up.
an interesting topic, nevertheless.
set you thinking lots of questions with no apparant answers. @_@

theres a question at the end of the book asking why are most people more disturbed by child murderers than adult ones?
i guess the answers varied.
but one common one will be its pretty hard to swallow the fact that a child (so young and innocent) will have the intention to murder and may actually derive satisfaction from the act itself.
its easier to push the blame to society and the environment to be responsible in moulding the sinister natures of murderers.
we do like to think of kids as untainted, only to be contaminated in their growing up years right?

i dont think i will follow up with the film of same name.
just too depressing.

movies galore!

2011-10-28T17:00:00.003+08:00

managed to catch quite a fair bit of show this month so that makes me a happy woman.
i so love getting lost in the reel world!

1) real steel
ever since i saw the trailer few months back, ive convinced myself this is a must watch.
given hugh jackman's track record, i know this show will be more than just a no-brainer action show of boxing and robots.
and it never disappoint me! its at least a 3.5-4 stars! :)
im especially delighted by the young boy. so cute and adorable.
and wussy me teared a little at the end when hugh's role is in his element of doing what he loves most....

2) midnight with paris
ive never really like woody allen's show.
finding them a little too bland and unexciting. and i always feel somehow he wasted the talents of the stella cast he always has on hand.
but midnight with paris totally blew me away.
ive always feel owen wilson is a darn good actor (go check out behind enemy lines) and finally someone cast him in a proper show.
woody allen seems to be writing about himself in the show and it ended up really much like an intimate project of the director.
the plot is good and fast-paced. the dialogue is witty. the cast is totally natural (i so so love adrian brody's portrayal of dali).
and best of all, paris is captured as it is. gorgeous.

3) hesher
im still trying to sort out my feelings towards this one.
the plot is totally original. the lead characters totally uncharacteristic.
and i totally cant categorize the show. is it drama? dark comedy?
argh. got me frustrated like how hesher frustrated the other characters.
and despite the irritation/frustation, we are all affected by hesher.
all i can say is gordon levitt's performance is perfect.
he is nothing like his character in 500 days of summer/inception. he is v v v versatile.
he has surely come a long way from 3rd rock from the sun/10 things i hate about you!
i cant wait to catch his new file - 50/50!

4) one day
the novel is definitely much much better than the show.
imagine 1 day as 1 chapter for 20 years in the novel.
even if 1 day is condensed into just 8mins screen time, its impossible to squeeze 20 days x 8 mins.
and each day is chocked full of details of significance in the book.
the show was destined to bomb...
still, anne hathaway and jim sturgess shared a convincing chemistry on screen.
and having read the book, i do find satisfaction to an extent to put pictures to the words.
so much so, that i let my tears free-flowed into tissues towards the later part of the film.
tsk tsk!

5) horrible bosses
i was actually quite reluctant to watch this.
but im glad i did. it was hilarious. so, im tickled by this brand of humor wahahah.
colin farrell is a hoot! he is sooooo funny.
though i know that he can act comedy since "in bruges" its an 8 in imdb, go watch it. totally worth your time!).

what will i watch next? :)

week 2 in oct: waiting game

2011-10-27T21:50:00.000+08:00

machiam like back to preggy days: waiting game... haha.
things have been pretty quiet since both ourselves and our buyers exercised our options to purchase.

HDB first appointment has fixed to be on 1st week of nov. meaning that ive to hand over the keys to the new owners by end dec! *gasp*
which means!! we have only 3.5 weeks for renovation and moving into our new place before we are "homeless".
personally, i find the timeline tight though many have said it takes at most 3 weeks for condo with minimal reno.
hmm... guess it depends how fast my contractor can work and how "extensive" our eventual reno plans come up to be.

my back-up plan is to shift all the furnitures to a warehouse (thanks god for the lower storage rates compare to last time) and shifting back to my parents' place for a week or two.
i actually prefer this plan cos i want the reno to be a proper one rather than a rushed one where we need to rectify defects afterwards!
but stingy hubbi is of cos very very reluctant to go down this road. well, 由不得他! :P

well well, we'll be meeting up with our previous contractor tomorrow. lets see if the timeline is doable by him. :)
yes, we are going back to our ex-contractor who helped us to do up our current redhill flat. we like his honesty and upfront attitude.
and he will tell us pros and cons of different materials but leaving us to make the choice ultimately.
i felt our reno costs was a steal given the work done and the worksmanship (everything well intact after almost 6 years!) but heard that he is not so cheap now... @_@
shall see what the quotation come up with..
the only drawback is he is still at best a contractor, not really an ID, though his staff do come up with some nice 3D drawings for us last time. in fact, all the false ceiling layout were thought by them.. ha. shall see if their "skills" improve after these years!

our project's developers have just submitted approval for TOP to BCA.
*fingers crossed* hope it will TOP by end oct so we can do 1 round of defects check before we get the key in early dec.

can only wait and see. how exciting!
luckily, the best lesson that i've learnt from having 2 boys is 以不变应万变!
ok, getting crappy haha.
updates again!

happy birthday, 黄勇智！

2011-10-26T20:13:00.004+08:00

today is mr yong tee's 4yo birthday and a public holiday too!
that means, we can spend the whole day with the birthday boy! :)
we have a tentative plan for him but the day played out itself really well with all of us enjoying it lots!
lets see what we did today:

(left) bright & alert when we left house at 10am! with a party pack full of snacks, he is ready to rock the day, haha.
he's wearing our bday pressie for him too - birkenstock sandals :)
(right) on board the mrt with papa - where are we heading so early in the day?

to suntec that is! we are going on the duck tour! *wee*
yz was especially excited with boarding "a car that can turn into a boat too".

happy boy with his duck tour ticket

we had a 15mins window time for dim sum brekkie at food republic before boarding time at 11am.
the duck snaked its way past suntec, the flyer and eventually to the splashpoint opposite costa rhu condo to "splash" into the kallang river!

in the water!

the tour was quite a short one at around 45mins and >than 80% of the passengers were locals. wahaha.
still, it was interesting to hear some nuggets of previously unknown information about singapore from the guide.
we were very lucky to complete the river cruise part before it started to rain while on our way back to suntec near the end of the tour. *phwee*
i wouldnt like to be in the water with the heavy rain afterwards.

MBS!

the merlion who has too much drinks the night before.

got this duck whistle for him which makes a quacking sound - ha.

after the tour, we window-shopped abit at suntec while mulling over lunch choices.
i decided to treat hubbi and the elder son to the supposedly famous shin-sapporo ramen (next to old town cafe) for lunch.
we thought the ramen was pretty decent, especially the soup base being light and tasty.
but i guess, we still prefer those from marutama @ liang court and nantsuttei @ parco millenia. *slurp*

after lunch, we were pretty at a loss whats next.
in the end, we let yz chose (by pointing randomly on the mrt map - we restricted him to the yellow circle line) and he pointed at bras basah stop! which was a brilliant idea since we love books. :)

so off we go!

(left) this display is interesting at promenade station. and bras basah station design is cool with alot of natural light flooding in.
(right) when we exited the station, we got distracted by SAM (Singapore Art Musuem) next to it and decided to explore here instead.

we were in luck for one of the exhibition was free for today due to public holiday.
so we took a slow stroll through Amanda Heng's exhibition - Speak to me, walk with me.
i wouldnt say i came out of it particularly enlightened or whatsoever, but its a good exposure to yz i presume.
he did asked some questions of which i have no answers to most of them. lol.

and then, it started raining heavily again. @_@
so we waited out for awhile at the entrance before deciding to go for another round of *munch munch*. ha.

waiting for rain to subside

tired of waiting, we adjourned to the eatery next to SAM - Food for thought!
a very alert yz here. haha.

(left) photo time while waiting for the food to come
(right) mixed berries pancakes - *yummeh*

the food was pretty good. i wonder when can we come here again to try the mains?
the rain finally stopped and we walked to bras basah complex as planned. SAM has been a delightful detour.
hubbi kept saying he didnt feel like he's in sg but more like exploring new places when we were overseas.
i couldnt agree more!

bras basah brought back all the memories of my schooldays when i went there to browse through different book stores and getting different kind of pens/highlighters from the art & craft shops.
after yz had his share of browsing through the children's section, we moved on again (yes, lots of walking...).

back to boring raffles city where we did our usual stuff - window shopping and settling our dinner.
my window shopping led to me buying a pair of shoes from JWest. BUT BUT BUT there is a 20% sale.
so its a good buy.........i presume.
after the early dinner, all of us were mad tired and we were home in a jiffy via mrt (its only 6+pm! haha).
and poor yz having waking up so early this morning and missing his nap, K.O.ed after his milk feed at 8pm!
goody good.
hubbi and i can spent time watching the tube together... until we hit the sack too. :P

it has been a long and fun day for us! i think the elder son really enjoyed himself.
dun forget, he depreciated his full party pack of snacks bit by bit the whole day.
that must be the totally awesome for him! :)

YZ bday celebration @ school!

2011-10-25T23:42:00.006+08:00

today, both hubbi and myself left work early to have a mini bday celebration with yz and his classmates at his school.
cake was simply thomas & friend one from polar.
nothing special but the kids were more than happy to sing bday song to yz, eat the cake and receive party packs (more snacks!) from the birthday boy! :)

look at our iron grips on him! wahaha.

happy yz blowing the candles and cutting his cake

we didnt go anywhere after that as we've programmes lined up for his actual birthday tomorrow!
better go home rest more haha.
and we decided to bake cookies! it must have been nearly 2 years since i last baked..
nevertheless, we had fun mixing all the ingredients together.
esp. yz who helped to stuff the chocolate chips into the cookie dough!

tada, the dough and chocolate chips (top up again and again at yz's request..)

"growing" in the oven

the end results aint too bad just that i feel its a tad too dry.
well well, the husband and son are not complaining so i guess its still a successful attempt!

time to save again...

2011-10-24T23:11:00.000+08:00

was kinda busy for the months of Aug - early Oct due to the following:
- each member of the ng family taking turn to fall ill @_@
- 4 weddings on different weekends...
- busy selling our unit and buying our new house
- staycation
- and many other misc outings.
so i've been more than deprived from my usual shopping activities. and this is not good.

and SO, i went crazy the last 2.5 weeks buying clothings again! *gulp*
and SO, i bought a dress from zara, 2 tops & a skirt from gg5, a top from MNG, a vest from rockstar, 2 skirts from BYSI and a top from Dressy.
ok, time to hibernate again. :(
and how timely when the bill for a-mei jan's concert came along too.
2 cat1 tickets price is crazy!!! its a birthday gift for ah long, if you are wondering.
and yes, im more excited than him obviously.

one got papa hair, one got mama hair.

2011-10-23T22:07:00.000+08:00

GUESS WHO.

staycation @ Novatel - advance bday celebration for yz

2011-10-18T11:34:00.000+08:00

since the ng family is not going anywhere for hols for the rest of the year *pout* due to us moving house, we've tried to plan more activities to make up for it.
so we did a staycation on sunday partly to take a break from the mundane work week as well as to do a mini pre-celebration for yz's 4yo bday (though its almost 1 week + earlier, :P).

so in the morning after yz's phonics class, we went home bath and pack the stuff for the short staycation.
after that, its time to drop yr off at my mum's place. sorry baobei, not bringing you along this time round but will do so for the next staycation in dec (yeah, there's another one!).

we were staying at Novatel clarke quay this time. though also pretty near to our house, this area is seldom explored by us with the kids.
now that yz is older, thought it will be nice to let him experience some "night-life" with us. haha.

check-in was pretty decent at 2pm. :)

we have view of MBS ok, dun play play.

we went to suntec and let yz do all the happy things.
let him snack at ya-kun when he said he's hungry.
brought him to the arcade for games.
let him roam at toy-r-us to his heart content.
i think its a pretty decent outing for the little boy. :)

part of the action

we went back to the hotel to rest awhile before deciding where to go for dinner.
decided to try the in-house restaurant since we've very good experience with novatel perth as well as sofitel macau.
thinking all are under the accor umbrella, standard should be there?

ncl tried tenderloin w foie gars which i tried the baked cod as usual

mine was quite sumptious with the cod being super juicy. but ah long tenderloin was abit let-down especially for that price..
still, it was a good dinner with warm ambience.

we spent the evening strolling at clarke quay area. yz was very very fascinated by the reverse bungee and all those "uncle/auntie" screaming as the ball shoots up. LOL.

we got him a small slice of cake (strawberry shortcake - his fav) and sing the happy birthday song for him.
he was beaming with happiness. :))

*roar*

last stop was to liang court to grab snacks of all kind from the mediya supermart and to kino for mags!
the son and i had so much fun choosing wat to buy to make up his party bday packs to his fellow classmates. :)
hubbi as usual grab chips for our late night movie @ the hotel after the son zzzz.

yz was so tired by the long day though he only K.O.ed at almost 11pm.
hubbi and i caught trashy B-grade movie - Piranha 3D on starmovie which munching on chips. haha.
all in all, it was a really fun outing!

cant wait for the next staycation for my bday with YR as well. :)

week 4 of september: more cast in stone!

2011-10-17T10:01:00.000+08:00

finally, after going back and forth with a few bankers, we have finally decided on our choice of bank!
though there a few clauses here and there that we are not too comfy with, i guess its pretty much the same for other banks.
nothing too much of a big deal, i guess.
just that we have to go and do the necessary repayment and adjustment in few months to come....

and so on wed, we went to sign the letter of offer with the bank and then to the lawyer side to exercise the option to purchase!
tada! all done for the 1st step and now we have more or less buy over our unit of choice! *wee*

and one great piece of good news is that the developers have submitted to BCA for TOP approval. So TOP should be by end Oct/early Nov which is in line with our expectations and plan! we will be doing 1 round of defects check with the seller once they got the keys from developers. YEAH!

things to keep us busy for the next month before HDB 1st appt in 1st week of nov will be to engage our choice of contractor for the renovation!
again, this means me scrutinizing over many home magazines and working out a quotation with the contractor.
im sure the husband will play his usual minimal part in all these. pui!

dun care, so long i get the design and budget i want!

ok, lets see how it goes. *excited*

Arc S + casa kidi = fun saturday

2011-10-15T23:30:00.000+08:00

this week has been a pretty busy one. since the motion for moving house has started, there are tons of admin to do.
we let yz's school knew of our intention to let him continue till end of the year only. so forms are filled (pretty breezy) but i cant help but think if he will transit well to kindy come jan...
met up with our contractor to have a preliminary discussion on what we want for the new house.
he came back to us pretty fast with the tentative quotation. though his prices are really competitve, hubbi and i were still abit fazed by the price.
no choice, guess reno costs has risen quite a fair bit since 5 years back!
and of cos, the ongoing battle continues with the husband as to what should be added or not.
im glad to say aesthetics is going to win over budget... for now. HIAKS.

admist the crazy week, hubbi managed to give me a nice surprise by getting me the new SE Xperia Arc S on a whim!
Singtel was having some 1day promo and he was renewing FIL's contract so he thought its a good chance to get me a new hp.
though HTC is good enough, the camera functions is really blah.

tada: testing out the hp on yesterday once i got it!

its really clear! though i've resized this shot before posting.
love of my life - my boys!

from now on, most of our weekends will be spent viewing furnitures, fittings and such. :(
today, we went to source for bed frames for the family.
after the boys' naps, it was pretty late at 4pm already so we only manage to go to cellini @ changi & casa kidi @ tampines.

出发了！

saw 1 or 2 bedframes @ cellini for ourselves. will keep in mind as we go explore more furniture shops.
next stop is definitely more fun for all of us - CASA KIDI!
so many nice kiddy furnitures there! :)
we saw a few bedframes that will be really fun for the boys but that will have to wait till we assess if their new bedroom can fit those in.
shall wait and see.

meanwhile, there is a mini playground there and they had fun while we sat nearby snacking away. wahaha.

yz with his fav. toystory - wallpaper as backdrop.

week 3 of sept: the mandatory stressful week

2011-10-10T09:30:00.000+08:00

this has not been a good week! :(
first of all, valuation report is finally out after 4 working days (6 calendar days), an eternity to us, on monday.
even better, the valuation is lower than what we expected.
and best of all, upon hearing the valuation for our unit, the buyer requested to lower initial offer price by $5k! @_@
luckily for mr lim, we managed to "hold 住" the price as per originally agreed.

THEN, buyer submitted valuation report to their bank to get the LO. without the LO, they cant exercise the option. sigh.
what has thought to require only 1 day turnaround turns out to another additional 3-4 working days!
which means the earliest the buyer can exercise (provided they REALLY DO!) the option is on fri!!!

this is very bad for we can't issue the cheque to the other side since we dont have a "confirmed plus guranteed" deal on this side. SIGH.
and to make things worse, there is another potential buyer on the other side.
which may means no unit for us or higher purchase price.... :(

after some serious discussion with the husband, we decided to issue cheque and offer to purchase to the other seller on wed.
which means, we are taking a gamble here.
and luckily we did, cos the seller came back to nego on our proposed terms and we were glad to iron out this part before our buyer exercise so our timeline of buying and selling is more in sync.

and we counted our lucky stars on fri! our buyers' LO was churned out in the evening and they came to exercise the option to purchase our flat immediately! :)
and we got the option to purchase our choice unit from the seller too.
*yay*

ok, next step: to nego the best loan deal with all the bankers out there! *sweat*
naturally, the task falls on me with the husband, clueless as usual, washed up on the shore like a blur seaweed... tsktsk.
gimme the energy and bargaining power pls!

water fun at vivo

2011-10-09T23:15:00.000+08:00

some back-dated photos at vivo
the boys love the water playarea there, though im not v keen on the cleanliness of water there...

week 2: be a good salesman!

2011-10-03T14:01:00.000+08:00

and if you aint or lazy like us, get a good agent. :)

week 2 sept:
the valuer appointed by HDB came down on tuesday and the process was over in a jiffy!
when i said jiffy, it really meant 10mins! @_@
open house scheduled on wed - just 1 potential buyer since mr lim has already done 1 round of screening based on offer price from the sat open house buyer.

and guess what, the buyer offered on the spot (despite no valuation report) and said they were able to exercise the same day too! and their offer is actually higher than the 1st offer!
BUT (of cos, there is always a catch in life), there were some conditions im not comfortable with and actually they cant exercise on the same day too since 1 of the buyer is not in town (chey!).

we sort of rejected the offer though the person said will get the other buyer to fly back by week after next. but in reality, 1-2 weeks in property market is eternity! HAHA. but of cos, no harm saying ok since we may not have sold our unit by then......

and the agent/seller for the unit that we are v. interested in are chasing us to offer our cheque asap!! so stressed!
we can only do so if we have a chq from our buyer and exercised OTP on our side mah! PUI!
bottleneck is now the valuation report which is nowhere to be seen!
my buyer needs it to get loan approval from bank before he will sign the OTP.
THEN, i can give MY buyer our cheque for his unit.
really hope valuation report wil be out 1st thing next week! valuer must be zzzzing..... @_@

weddings back to back!

2011-10-02T23:31:00.002+08:00

it has been a super duper tiring weekend for me!
the weekend started with meeting up with the hall friends for fifi's bday dinner on friday evening.
venue was at les bouchons @ robertson quay - steak & fries! *yums*
still, the best steak for me has to be from au petit @ dempsey..
it was so good catching up with them that time flies and before i knew it, its 11pm+ and i made my move first as I've a longggg day on sat!

why was sat a long day?? its shirley & wayne's wedding and im one of the jiemei!
gosh! woke up at 6+am and reached the bride's place by 730pm.. yawn, despite turning in last night only after 12midnight... @_@
was looking forward to the gatecrashing but it was rather a lacklustre one with the brothers being wishywashy and all.....:P
caught in jam when commuting between the groom's family house and the bride's one... so the tea ceremony was officially over near to 2pm..
dashed home to catch a nap (much needed) with the boys... zzzzzzz

in the evening, the ng family moved out to the hotel - fairmount!
my job is to help out at the reception though i think bobo did a much better job than moi... oops.

with jm

with the sisters!

the boys managed to stay up and good till 11pm! well done!
by the time we reached home, they have K.O.ed! hehehe.
hubbi and myself turned to dreamland soon too... esp. for me.

slept till late morning on sunday. thanks to the husband who helped me to take care of the boys while i continued zzzzing.
and i took nap again with them in the afternoon too!
old age is surely catching up. haha.

and before i know it, time for the ng family to move out again!
both hubbi and myself have wedding dinners (again!) in the evening. so we left yr at my mum's place before we left for our respective venues.
for me, its frances wedding @ raffles town club!
yz came along with me and he was pretty managable during the night. but can see that he's pretty tired out from attending 2 wedding dinners in a row!

ok, now back home and yz dozed off on the way back as expected.
i better washed up fast and hit the sack! closing day 1 tomorrow, gulp!

aging is berry scary

2011-09-28T10:47:00.002+08:00

found a photo from the twilight years, ok 2005.
ah long and me look v v v fresh and young lor.
check it out:
http://junlong-wenhui.blogspot.com/2005/11/medear-dear.html

i cant only say 岁月催人老!
though i still look much better, i insist!!!!!

week 1 of sept: dump the junk!

2011-09-26T22:47:00.000+08:00

the very first step to take for selling your flat is to dump the junk!
not only it will do away with the clutter in your house, it will also free up space to make the house roomier for open house viewing!

so after meeting up with our agent (dear mr lim!) to communicate with him it's time to start the whole buy/sell contra madness for the ng family, ah long and me started spring-cleaning the house!

week 1 of sept:
everynight after the kiddos slept, the husband and i tackled down room by room to THROW out anything that is of no value (ie, do we need them?!).
and we threw away tons(!) but surprisingly its very therapeutic! LOL.
and the house was restated to the initial year when we moved in - bare and simple (with the exception of the children room... ). ha!

efficient mr lim has already scheduled 2 grps of potential buyers to come for viewing WHEN:
- we cant offer option to purchase since we've only just submitted application to resell our flat to HDB
- we dont have a valuation report on hand....

still, i was quite proud when the potential buyers come. i really do think our unit is very well-maintained for a 5 years old one.

anyway, 1 grp must have like our flat alot or just paying lip service..they actually came up with a verbal offer! despite no available valuation report.
still, we cant give option to purchase so we will see how this "offer" goes.
ok, more updates next week!

OMG! has it been 5 years!?

2011-09-25T21:51:00.000+08:00

to the man in my life:

Dear mr ng,

time flies and we have been married for 5 years and together for 9.5 years!
it all started with a movie date - spy game- in 2001. the movie was blah but the date ended with me having a good fuzzy feeling towards you. :)
during the dating years, we have our fair share of ups & downs. but i reckoned the ups > downs since we came to the stage where i "proposed" to you outside california fitness and you to me at fort canning. :P

fast forward 5 years later from our wedding day, we are now blessed with two lovely boys.
though we still drive each other absolutely crazy (NOT the lovey crazy way) every other day, im still glad to say that we can still make each other laugh.

thanks dear for letting me retain the inner child in me
thanks dear for letting me laugh with/at you.
thanks dear for helping me to tabao kaya butter toast + hot milo from the coffeeshop downstairs whenever i feel like eating, be it on weekday nights/weekend afternoons.

hopefully, we can go back to have proper celebration for our wedding anniversary when the boys are bigger!

love,
mrs ng

zoo zoo zoo! you you you!

2011-09-22T22:31:00.000+08:00

the husband managed to apply successfully for the corporate zoo pass today so both of us took leave to bring the elder son to the zoo! :)
but 天不作美, it was raining v v heavily the moment we woke up.... @_@
still, undaunted by the crazy weather, we decided to enjoy time to the fullest with yz.
so we went to have a relaxing slow brekkie with him.. no rush no rush.

at 10+, we saw that the rain has turned to a drizzle so we decided to just heck it and made our way to the zoo.
we bought the raincoats bought from disneyland HK earlier this year and they came in v v v handy! :)
its really a different kinda experience to visit the zoo on a rainy day. yz was v gleeful walking in the rain in his poncho. haha.

mother and son, haha.

waiting for the elephant show - its the only show that yz has never catch before.
he has watched others like rainforest fights back, splash safari etc...

we let him have a go at feeding the elephants and he really enjoyed the session! :)

by the time we reached kidzworld, the rain has stopped! just in time for yz to indulge in some waterplay.
i joined him in the fun, sans the slides, in my poncho and stayed miraculously dry! LOL.

we left the zoo ard 3+pm, not a very long duration by any standard but since its FOC, oh well... :P

took some photos at the entrance when we reached and hubbi was VERY sure i will buy at the end of the trip. well, he was right! *thumbs up*

we left for parkway parade (abit 环岛追追追yesterday..) since we need to go ubi to fetch yr in the evening anyway.
borders having 70% storewide sale. though selection not that good, but got me over the moon nevertheless!
i grabbed 4 novels, hubbi got 2 mags and yz chose an activity book - all for $37. very good deal!
though abit sad to see borders doing down this way....

the 2 boys K.O.ed early at 9pm! even YR, who woke up super early at 6+am today to torture my mum....haha.
i cant wait to bring yr to the zoo next year when he turns 2! :)

cosy ROM affair + fun-filled day with the peeps

2011-09-18T22:52:00.001+08:00

this weekend has been pretty fun for i got the chance to catch up with my friends!
saturday marks the 2nd wedding (ok, ROM) dinner that i've to attend for the rest of the year (4 more to come!).
was very glad to be invited by gerry & adrian to share in their joy for their ROM session at the Padang restaurant @ cricket club.
dinner was 5-course western style dinner and it was yummy!
apart from the food, i really enjoyed the night.
for one, i got to catch up with some of my friends (the ex-DTs!).
and its always happy to see 2 persons in love with each other getting hitched... :)
hope the newly-wedded couple will has a blessed marriage ahead!

met up with the gang on sunday for candice's bday!
was out of the house before 11am to have dim-sum brunch at shaw's east ocean resturant.
as usual, we ordered food with total disregard to whether we can finish. @_@

this is only the 1st round of food.....

ordered 寿桃 in replacement of birthday cake for candice and they were soft & delicious! 现蒸现卖!

we bought a bimba & lola bag and the birthday girl likes it! good choice of color by gb & tanny!

taken by the restaurant staff who obviously just want to 敷衍了事!

a much better taken one by a random passer-by!

after brunch, we continued our favourite activities - shopping, coffee break and more chatting and then 卡拉永远ok!
it was dinner time when we parted our way and i made it to my mum's place to meet up with the boys. :)
was totally tired out and now seems to be coming down with sore throat (too much screaming at the ktv to songs like "hold it against me" /"on the floor"....). hope will be better tomorrow!

lazy weekend

2011-09-12T23:01:00.000+08:00

nothing's up during last weekend except that i've to attend a wedding dinner!
its christine's big day on saturday and the dinner was at noble house.
food is yummeh and so glad to catch up with the uni peeps again!
was telling jm that time flies and we have known the uni peeps for 10 years! (since we met each other on the 1st tutorial in NBS!) LOL.
and that silly girl still say got 10 years meh, we have not work that long.... @_@
she forgot the school years are counted as well.... haha.

brought yz along since he's ever so happy to attend "hotel dinners". :)
he was good and was seated for 90% of the whole dinner. good job!

some photos taken at marina square before the wedding dinner.
as usual, the father n son duo who didnt go for the dinner met up with the in-laws after yz and me left.................................

i wonder when will peanut's hair not stand up anymore....
and i think he starts to resemble me more! yay!

kiddy rides getting more worthwhile haha.

MJ MJ 我爱你！

2011-08-30T22:34:00.000+08:00

the last time i played MJ with the peeps was back at CNY this year.
gosh, a good 6m+ liao.
berry berry happy to have a session (albeit a short one-just 两圈) with them today!
as usual, 小赌怡情. its just 两毛，四毛 for us.
still, glad that i managed to win my cab fare back home haha.
very happy bubbly time with them.
i wonder when can i play MJ again?! hopefully, soon!

leave on a monday is shiok!

2011-08-29T23:20:00.004+08:00

both hubbi and myself are on leave today!
and we had a super long, tiring but fun day with the kids!
we lazed and woke up late at 8+pm... even the kids cant wake up at their usual timing too. hehe.
after breakfast with the kids, we sent YZ to childcare.
decided to do that so that we can have most of the day with YR alone. its v v v rare for YR to spend time alone with us.
it always the other way round with YZ since YR stays over at my mum 2 nights per week..

spent an hour or 2 doing some housework chores (never-ending!) before we bathed and left for town. :)
we reached wisma at around 12+pm for lunchie and then its shopping time!
YR took his nap in the pram for an hr or so leaving us to shop in peace.. ahhh.... such a long time since hubbi and me get to do so.

went ion and its not v. crowded.. good.
topshop having 40% off 2nd piece but i JUST cant find a 2nd piece that i fancy in the whole shop. :(
in the end, i bought a linen coat at original price. @_@
we cut through wisma from ion to get to taka and hubbi managed to get tees from esprit.
went to mooncake fair and was quite dissappointed. wanted to get raffles hotel champagne truffle mooncake but its missing from the fair.
wanted to get 面线 from a hong kong brand but its missing too when its here during the CNY fair. pui.
very upsetting.

next stop: paragon!
went to collect my lancome miracle teint liquid foundation which i bought during the last metro sale but it was OOS then.
metro having 20% sale storewide so i got myself a enzo-angiolini flats at 50% off! :)
we bought a big lego duplo board for the boys to build castles/farm/zoo etc with their many many duplo sets!
by the time we were done at paragon, the day was still young!

we went to fetch YZ at 5pm and decided to go raffles city! wahahah.
actually, its me whining to the husband about raffles hotel mooncake!
we had dinner there and continued our shopping! :P
by 8pm, we were really tired out.... so bought the mooncake and we went home.

the boys helped us by K.O-ing by 10pm.
leaving me to savour my champagne truffle mooncake in peace. *yummmmm...*
MJ session tomorrow with besties. better hit the sack soon too!

explorer kids + durian!

2011-08-27T21:59:00.004+08:00

today, the ng family trooped down to downtown east's explorer kids!
it is the 1st birthday of jia xuan - junren's daughter!

my boys! :) ok, 1 too old to be one.

in the lift also must take photo. can you spot the other 2 kissing in the background? tsktsk.

we had a fun 3hrs + there!
especially the boys who ate loads of food that they dont normally eat - fries, cake, chicken wing etc.

and hubbi and i took turn to accompany them in the indoor playground..
super tiring lor! and the slides are so fast and scary! haha.

little one very amused with the tag on his wrist

going crazy in the ball pit

they were soooo tired that they dozed off once in the car. ha.

we went to vivo for dinner and there was a mooncake fair in front of tangs!

i wanted to go taka for the mooncake fair initially but dreaded the crowd hence vivo..

so it was a pleasant surprise!

continuing my mad tradition of eating durian snowskin mooncakes!
-from goodwood park & peony jade

we ate 1 from peony jade once we reached home!
the durian paste was thick with slight bitter undertones. yummy! somehow, the pandan skin goes well with the durian. *yumyum*
shall try the goodwood park one tomorrow!

hoping to get the champagne ones from raffles hotel soon!
hubbi said he's going to buy that for me! yeah!

the boys were pretty tired and were now fast asleep liao. hehe.
my her world mag reached the mailbox timely today. im going to enjoy it with some chips. :P

黄勇睿很棒！

2011-08-26T21:16:00.000+08:00

peanut surprised us when he completed the below jigsaw all by himself without anyone's help!
we bought this jigsaw for YZ from perth when he was ard 2.5yo.
of cos, at that age YZ had it figured out soon after some help from us.
still, im very impressed with YR for being able to do so at only 19m WITHOUT any guidance from anyone.
ok, i bet he must have been "copying" gor gor for sometimes and having much trial and error on his own before he can do it all by himself.

comparatively, being not the only child in the household, YR does not get undivided attention like YZ at the same age.
most of the time, we just let him play on his own/with gor gor while we go about doing the 101 things to do (be it housework chores/our own stuff).
i do feel guilty from time to time and wonder if he will be slower compared to gor gor as i've not been diligent in reading to him on a regular basis (sadly, he doesnt take a liking to reading as much as gor gor... ) or teaching him more things.
but, little pumpkin still surprise us from time to time when he demostrated his ability to self-learn & grasping concepts on his own. :)

勇智出猜迷！！

2011-08-22T22:38:00.001+08:00

Today, yz asked me 2 riddles which he learnt from school! I'm v impressed with him!

It goes like this:
红头盖，禄头盖，
有人怕，有人爱！
Can you guess what is the answer? Hee hee.
I pretended not to and he gave me a clue. A very obvious one, anyway:
" 很辣的！妈咪，你懂是什么吗？！＂
Lol.

The next riddle is :
外面是禄的，里面是红的，
吃下去是甜的，吐出来是小黑黑的！
haha!
Really tickled me to no end!!

man with good body, i like.

2011-08-18T22:44:00.002+08:00

caught 2 movies these 2 weeks!
"captain america" with hubbi and the elder son last week and "cowboys and aliens" with the husband only this week.
"captain america" is actually the better one among these two.
wholesome hero, good action sequences, alrighty plot, what's there not to like?
"cowboys and aliens" on the other hand, is lopsided in its portrayal of the cowboys than the aliens.
the aliens are of no value-adding, typical and totally uninspiring.
the show would really fare much better just as a cowboy flick.
daniel craig & harrison ford are totally believable in their cowboy get-ups!

the next month or so are quite boring for the big screen... nothing much to look forward to.
any suggestions?

mini facelifts for the house

2011-08-15T11:12:00.003+08:00

the ng family went furniture-hunting yesterday!
just a small detour to upper serangoon area before going my parent's place...
saw some furniture stores having warehouse sale in the area so we decided to drop by.

when we first moved into our redhill flat 5 years+ back, we bought a glass coffee table from a furniture shop at liang court L2 (cant remember the name) as well as a dining set (solid wood table + 4 leather chairs) from barang barang.
over the years, the leather chairs have slowly disintegrated (peeling leather, can you imagine!!? eeks.) and we have threw away 3 of them! so now left only 1 lonely (peeling abit too!) chair with the dining table... haha
and for the coffee table, my dear papa broke the centre part (it's a small rectangular pane a layer lower than the main table to hold magazines) by putting his weight on it when retrieving something. @_@ 1 year+ back.

so we managed to find replacements that we like yesterday!
4 leather dining chair & a glass coffee table. :)
can't wait for delivery and see the facelifts done to our living/dining room.

勇智笑语录

2011-08-12T09:21:00.002+08:00

that day, yz was wearing covered shoes for a change since we were heading out to town.
on normal days, he will be wearing his usual open-toe crocs sandals.
in the car, he suddenly told us:" 以后我不要穿这个鞋了！"
so i asked him why.
to which he retorted:"等一下我的脚很痒，我怎样爬？！"
hahahaha, damn funny lor.

NDP 2011

2011-08-10T22:30:00.005+08:00

like NDP 2010, we spent the evening around marina bay area.
this time round, we went to my office which has a bird eye view of the area. :)
so after the boys' nap in the afternoon, we got ready to leave the house.

i must post this photo. dont you think yz's expression is hilarious?! haha
before we took the photo, yr went to bite his shirt, leaving a big saliva stain and the gor gor got so upset that he cried.
wahahah.
we changed his top in the end... @_@

we reached MBFC in a jiffy and we took a slow stroll outside (surprisingly the crowd is all concentrated at MBS side) before settling our dinner at the link mall.

yr & us

me with the reluctant one

we reached my office at around 630pm..

fantastic view! can you spot the stage for NDP?

we settled down at a nice spot at the pantry area waiting for the parade to start. :)

can you spot the parachutes?!

the boys had the most fun i think. running around in the office.
snacking on-off on all kinda rubbish food. hmmm...

see, having fun with the white board around..
i think what he drew were berry cute..

of cos, the highlight has to be the fireworks and the boys watched with mouths agape. haha.
both hubbi and i had our arms full carrying each of them so no photos taken.
anyway, fireworks is best to be seen with naked eyes not through lens!
and we already have a glass pane between the fireworks and us liao...

once the fireworks was over, we got to our car and drove out at the first instance.
already, the roads were filled with people! people, people everywhere!
after some initial jam, we still managed to reach home within 30 mins so not too bad.
both the boys were so tired out by the day that they slept before 930pm..
while hubbi and i struggled to watch movies on HBO (starhub opened up all channels yesterday!) till 1am.. tsk tsk.
in short, a real tiring day for the ng family!

new haircut!

2011-08-07T22:55:00.002+08:00

after having permed hair for almost a year (yes, painstakingly making it last by using hair cream diligently everyday...@_@), i've decided to go back to straight hair!
so after a harrowing 3hr+ "session" at the salon yesterday, i emerged with a lighter head and a frizz-free one too! :)

when i reached home, all the boys in the house found it hard to accept initially.
hubbi commented my 面包脸 is back........
yz said he preferred me with my long hair.
yr..... simply cried when he saw me and waved his hand furiously while shouting "no, no!" at me.
oh, and running away from me at the same time..... @_@
it took some bread plus an hour before he is willing to call me 妈妈。。。。
oh well.
looking forward to the fuss-free routine for the hair in the morning now! yay.

阿虫说话很好笑

2011-08-07T13:11:00.000+08:00

i've just cut my hair yesterday and so i was asking the elder son on his opinion today.
me: 你喜欢妈咪绑头发，curly 头发还是现在这样的直头发？
wormy: 我喜欢你绑头发的样子(while pointing at my wedding photo on the wall). 你年轻的时候很美!
me: ?!?!?!??!?! 妈咪现在很老么?! 不年轻么?
wormy: 你现在年轻!
me: then 谁老?!
wormy: 爸爸咯!
me: 他那里老?
wormy: 屁股咯!

hahahahah, cracked me up totally though what he said was totally 无厘头!

the walking dead....

2011-08-01T10:28:00.002+08:00

hubbi and i have started on a new serial together!
(yup, i have abandoned city hunter for time being.. somehow action and minho just dont go well together..)
and the new show we are chasing now is "the walking dead" by AMC based on a comic book series.
ooh.. my fav. - shows translated from comics (think watchmen, sin city etc).
the storyline reminds us of "i am legend" and "28 days later".
yes, its a zombie show!! which is really not my cup of tea.
to make things worse, these (un)dead come out in the daytime also. :(
but the plot and make up are really good!
it has started showing on channel 5 every sat at 10pm since last sat.
but i think we will finish the serial in a jiffy!
i like such time spent with the husband. :)

sunday evenings should be always this lazy!

2011-07-31T23:58:00.000+08:00

was having desserts time with the husband and the 2 boys at PS cafe @ paragon just now.
my boys are really growing up!
we actually can have a short munching time in peace without either one of the boys going cranky. :)
i will miss this moment pretty soon, i know.

taken with my lousy hp camera...

no more paci!

2011-07-30T23:30:00.002+08:00

since friday night, we've removed the pacifier from peanut's sleep routine!
i was trying my luck since he kept pulling out the paci to babytalk and sing non-stop when its sleeping time.
so i took it fromhim, half-expecting him to scream for it everytime i do so, and told him:" no more du-du, ok?".
thinking its no longer sleeping time, he sat up straight on the bed ready for play.
so i repeated again, "no more du-du ok? 豆豆, you say no more."
which he repeated in 漏风 way:"mo-more." while making the no-more action with his hand.
then i put him down on his pillow again and said:" you see, gor gor also dun need a du-du."
he seemed to understand and held on to his chou-chou pillow instead.
so we waited to see what happen.
and wait we did, for a long time!
though he didnt demand for the paci, he tossed and turned for almost a good hour before succumbing to the sandman!
even yz slept already by then!

and for today, he managed to zzz for both his nap and at 9pm without the paci.
but he needs longer time to settle down.
think its a matter of time before he adjusts fast to sleeping without paci!
im so proud of my baby!
he did it almost the same time as gor gor who was weaned off paci at ard 18m too. :)

an afternoon @ the house of robert timms

2011-07-26T23:18:00.000+08:00

do you remember the name of the cafe in borders previously?
it is now the house of robert timms!
and i just cant recall the previous cafe even though i've dined there once.

were there with the girls last sunday for cecilia's bday.
the food is so-so. not bad but wont be tempted for a revisit.

me & the girls!
on a sidenote, shirley's wedding is only 2 mths more and i still have not buy the requred pink bridemaid dress!!
*oops*

here we go again...

2011-07-23T22:00:00.000+08:00

weekend is here again!
so, the ng family made their weekly visit to vivocity...

some photos.. been ages since i last brought the lumix out!

waiting for papa n the car

yz really like to do this thumbs-up thingy recently!

yr doing his own share of doodling in marche

anyway, GSS seems to have tapered off and ive no mood to trawl the shops.
cashflow not exactly very fluid in this last week before payday... hehe.

yz likes this knight display @ vivocity!

anyway, the evening ended early for us since yr got cranky from his short afternoon nap.
oh well, continue to read book 4 of my trueblood series!

难得的 foreign movies

2011-07-23T10:40:00.000+08:00

watched 2 foreign films with the husband recently and we liked it much better than some of the mainstream hollywood shows.

1) 13 assassins
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1436045/
the plot is simple enough.
13 assasins (though 1 unwittingly becomes part of the group) came together to take down an evil lord.
much rather a suicidal act since the evil lord has like... close to 200+ underlings?!
a film that truly depicts samurai and their code of honor etc. tom cruise's last samurai is a joke!
the evil lord struck me as too handsome to be true but i just cant to recall him with that ridiculous hairstyle.
he turns out to be goro inagaki!! in case you wonder, hes 1/5 of SMAP.
the last movie i saw him in was "hynopsis".
the show finale was truly a masterpiece, a testimony of the director's skills.
it gimme the feeling of 一气呵成.
shiok was the only word as you see the group of assassins used their wits, tactics, skills etc to rise above their obviously out-numbered predicament.
but be warned, patience is still very much required for japanese films..

2) 3 idiots
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187043/
as like most indian shows, this show is long at 2 hrs 44mins!
but sit through it (not that its difficult since its such a hilarious show!) like me and you will be rewarded with a film that teaches a lesson or two about life.
aamir khan played the very very charismatic leading role and im shocked that hes 40+ already.
he doesnt look a single day pass 30?
he acted in the famous show "lagaan - once upon a time in india" which only ah long managed to catch it years back when it was on arts central.
even i cant last the 3hrs 40+mins of lagaan.. @_@
the show is like a big plate of rojak - with comedy, drama, adventure, romance all thrown in. *yummy*
highly recommended show for 2011 though its released since 2009 already. haha.

my kinda of songs from a long time ago (maybe not that long...)

2011-07-22T21:56:00.004+08:00

1) everytime you want - vertical horizon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwSaldFJofM
He's everything you want/He's everything you need/He's everything inside of you/That you wish you could be/He says all the right things/At exactly the right time/But he means nothing to you/And you don't know why
best i ever had by them is awesome too.

2) closing time - semisonic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8&feature=related
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

3) hanging by a moment - lifehouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYqDJ_EEhGY

4) here without you - 3 doors down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPBzTxZQG5Q&feature=related

5) how you remind you - nickelback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQh1ccqu8M&ob=av2n

6) one last breath - creed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnkuBUAwfe0

7) boulevard of broken dreams - green day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWNRUVMboq4
and of cos, when i come around.

8) wonderful - everclear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUfgAbFY4CA
please dont tell me everything is wonderful now...

9) drops of jupiter - train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xf-Lesrkuc&feature=related
one of. my fav. band!
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?/One without a permanent scar/And then you missed me/While you were looking for yourself out there?

10) somewhere only we belong - keane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-If8HQ
So why don't we go/Somewhere only we know?

11) yellow - coldplay
who doesnt love this song?! 11 years back... wow. a berry young cute chris martin. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwjX4dG72s
but the scientist always strike a special chord in my heart.

12) and my fav. fav. fav. band - matchbox 20!!!!!!!!!!!
push -1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkHqYlqops - rob thomas look so so so cute here before he put on the pounds.. :P

ok, movie time with the husband.

rainbow fish

2011-07-22T21:30:00.002+08:00

took half day off to accompany the elder son to the rainbow fish musical @ Laselle this afternoon.
it was an event organised by his school and he has been looking forward to it for some time.

us waiting to enter the venue at laselle. yz did the thumbs up on his own accord. so cute!
(pardon my haggard face. this is the end result of 熬夜 in the name of a particular mr.lee (minho)!)

the stage and the cast

glad that yz enjoyed the whole thing while i dozed off a few times during it.*oops*
too tired from not enought sleep lah.. *yawn*

after that, dragged yz to window-shop abit with me while waiting for hubbi to get off work.
and yz asked:"妈咪，为什麽你每天都要看衣服？"
i've nothing to say...... hahaha

its good to reach home early and spend time with the kiddos.
its even better when they zzz by 930pm.
finally, some time for myself and hubbi. but ive a list of frivolous things awaiting me:
-movie to watch, book to read, songs to listen, drama to chase.... *help*
ok, better get going. time is precious!

and i cried.....

2011-07-20T10:41:00.002+08:00

at the scene where it showed remus & his wife dead. SIGH.
kept dabbing at my eyes with yz's t-shirt (cos i forgot to bring tissue). LOL.
and he kept asking me:"mummy, why you cry?".
and i told him:"mummy very sad these people no more liao."
ahaha, not sure if he understood what im trying to say.

book is really better than movie.
i remembered i wailed when i read what harry told his second son about his name origins.
and that snape is one of the bravest man he ever know.
i really WAILED. LOL.
but the scene just zoomed past without much emphasis..

sigh. has it been 10 years since HP1?
the good thing is the books are here to stay and i can re-read anytime i want in the future..

sidenote: yz can watch the movie better as compared to last year. he can follow the plot generally too. well done!

city hunter

2011-07-18T22:41:00.000+08:00

since last monday, i've been very very bo eng after the kids zzz at night.
ive officially started watching city hunter! oh, lee minho!!
since im not any younger, my current job actually requires my attention during office hours and of cos my 2 boys, i cant 没天没夜 chase the show...
so i limited myself to watch 1.5 ep. or to stop before 1230am each night.
yes, ive been doing so NON-STOP since last monday!
hubbi has been pretty supportive of my mad activity - he left me alone, ordered mac delivery for my supper when watching it on ipad or even joining me to watch snippets of it! LOL.

and lee minho! i can gush about him non-stop!
but i shall spare you the agony. all i can say is this man's legs go forever!!
its fascinating to watch him in those skinny pants! haha.

well, i might have to take a break from it tomorrow since we are going to catch HP!!
i hope i wont cry during the show.
and i hope i wont be overwhelmed by the insane urge to re-read the book.
ive just started the true blood series and there is simply too much on my plate (with magazines/books to read, serials/movies to watch etc)!!

ok, enough of nonsensical talk.
back to daddy long legs. kekeke.

iPad 2 is lovely!

2011-07-12T22:26:00.002+08:00

due to participation of an internal transition program at my workplace, i've gotten myself $200 nu-box vouchers! :)
hubbi and i were thinking what to get since nu-box only sell apple stuff.
its abit crazy to buy $200 worth of iphone accessorties right?
i wanted to replace our home PC speakers but ah long insisted they are in "mint" working condition?!
in the end, we decided to get ipad2!!
despite getting the 16gb, wifi only version + offsetting the vouchers, we still need to fork out nearly $500 for the ipad2 (inclusive of screen protector)!!
something is wrong here. i've free vouchers only to end up spending more?!

anyway, the husband got it sync-ed up in no time and i've been blissfully using it after the kids zzz for the past few nights. hehe.
its still a kept secret from the boys but i doubt 纸包得住火.
will to limit usuage by them to less than an hour per day just like tv....

so now, no more using the PC in study room away from the boys/tv.
i can roll around on the sofa surfing net, watching my fav. music videos/tv serials/movies! *yay*
so far so good. hope it doesnt end up as a white elephant like our wii. *blink blink*

tanny's 30th burpday!

2011-07-10T23:13:00.000+08:00

wow, what a blur photo from tanny's new white iphone4. @_@

all of the gang can make it with the exception of lao lee who is doing his yearly tour to taiwan. tsktsk.

dinner was at shin kushiya followed by dessert time @ the queen & mangosteen. :)

im already looking forward to the next gathering for candice's bday!!

kiddy rides for the kids

2011-07-03T23:44:00.002+08:00

the boys love such rare treats on the kiddy rides!

blurry pixs when your objects are constantly moving!

back to business: shopping

2011-07-02T23:26:00.003+08:00

ever since i've started work in my new company, ive not been shopping diligently.
no more pit stops at raffles city for some of my fav. brands during lunch time like before. *boohoo*
shopping has pretty much been limited to some kind of obscure activity done in snippets after work or during the weekend with the 1 man+2 boys in tow. *eeks*

but to be truthful, i seemed to lose the spark in my shopaholic self.
ever since i came back from my macau trip 1 mth back, nothing interests me much when i was doing my rounds in shops.
and its the GSS season! how is that possible, knowing how much of a sucker i am for sales...
so far i've only bought a dress each from zara and MNG 2 weeks back and that's all.
until..... today.

hahaha. cos zara sale started! so i met up with jm at orchard early in the morning at 10+am to do some serious shopping!
compared to last year, i certainly didnt buy as much.
today's loots: 2 dresses from zara, 1 dress from massimo dutti, 1 belt from pull&bear & 1 belt from isetan.
(ok, i need to focus more on separates going forward for now)
hb reached with the boys only at 1pm so that means ive been walking non-stop for 3 hours!
my poor aching legs! i hope walking burn calories just as good. @_@

oh, and i finally got the bag!!
this is the problem of having too many friends going to europe throughout the year!
keep tempting me to get them to buy things for me!
thanks to eric who helped me lug this back alll the way from london! :)
i know its bulky and heavy. :P

a very badly taken chanel gst w silver chains.

i think this will be a very good functional bag for daily use!
i was telling the husband how i can fit in my wallet, phone, organiser, book etc in it, but he was too busy rolling his eyes to see my demostration. tsktsk.
ok, i think im done with the bag (wish)list for 2011.
now.... for my next bag in 2012.....just kidding (not)!

update: went vivo branch the next day and added another dress, pants + a pair of shoes from zara.
ok, i think its done deal for zara..... til they further slash to 50% and IF there are sizes left.
back to other good stuff in life for time being: movies + books.

it's been a long while!

2011-07-02T01:12:00.003+08:00

and so, today was closing workday 1 for me!
not only its the first month-end closing for me, its ALSO the first YEAR-end closing for me!
how wonderful.
so how late did i work until? .......... almost midnight!
wow, its been a long while since i've worked this late for work.
for my 1st job, its usual for such timing during peak period (as an auditor).
for my 2nd job, its common to work late till 9-10+pm during the peak period (budget! *shivers*).
for my previous job, the latest i've ever worked till is 8+pm?
so ive almost forget the feeling of staying up late, working in a team and trying to accomplish some very tight deadlines!
though most of the time, im still pretty clueless what to do and pretty much more on a standby mode than anything. heh.
maybe everything is still fresh and pretty to me, i do feel rather "charged up " in a positive way tonight working with my team and completing the deliverables.

the good thing is its normally a hard close on WD1, which means things will be pretty back to normal by the other day.
so hopefully, back to usual timing comes monday! :)

ok, need to hit the sack like NOW.
i need all the energy for tomorrow's shopping spree with jm @ orchard. *wee*

HTC Incredible S!

2011-06-25T22:39:00.000+08:00

finally, i've reached the end of my mobile contract and am eligible to purchase a new hp!
of cos, i can buy a new one anytime but i just dont believe in paying so much for a hp without contract...
after some consideration, my choice of a new handset is HTC Incredible S!

im no hp guru.
to me, iphone is not a good choice since its still too pricey for my liking. and it doesnt support flash (not the camera flash! ha). blackberry not berry nice in appearnce.
HTC's pricing is pretty reasonable and i heard good feedbacks from friends so its a done deal for me. wahaha.
Incredible S's screen size is slightly bigger than that of iphone and boosts a 8mp camera.
so far so good and im happy to be using an android phone to surf some of my fav. websites on-off during the day.

thanks dear dear for getting the phone for me. :)
it will be better if you can stop nagging me on my other purchases. hehe.

green latern oath - to infinity and beyond, not!

2011-06-22T10:05:00.003+08:00

caught the "green latern" with the husband and elder son yesterday.
yz was brave enough to sit through the show when it seems to be scarier for a 4yo kid as compared to X-men first class or Thor.
i pretty much enjoyed the show even though it's obviously setting the platform for its sequel.
the action sequences for it are good enough but can be better and longer though.
still, green latern is good enough!
i like a superhero who doesnt take himself very seriously.
i mean, ironman is my fav. fav. superhero, what do you think?!
and blake lively is damn gorgeous lor. lucky leo.
ok, awaiting for the next blockbuster for the son - Transformers 3!

not bad, not bad at all.

2011-06-19T22:19:00.002+08:00

this weekend for the ng family is pretty much the same as others except that we attended a wedding and acquired a cable box!
this is the first wedding that i've attended that both the bride and the groom are getting married for the second time!
what are the odds for both to be married for the second time!?
but i guess, in this time of high divorce rate, getting married for the second time won't be such a rarity as we thought...
ok, more on this thought-provoking topic in another post perhaps.

starhub has given us 3months free trial for their cable service!
so after some simple installation yesterday afternoon, we have much more channels available to the ng family!
i've never had cable in my home before! so im pretty excited.
but i guess the happiest of all is yz! who can watch cartoon ANYTIME NOW!
of cos that is so not going to happen lah. we've told him cartoon is only available during evening time for an hour only.
so far he's buying it.
anyway, i dont think i will sign on the service after the 3m trial.
even with the current limited choices of mediacorp choices, i still have a hard time trying to chase the 9pm channel 8 serial!
cable is really a waste of money for us now.
perhaps when the kids and us are older....

sunday is as usual a lazy day.
phonics class for the elder son in the morning, nap time in the afternoon and vivo in the late afternoon.
this is becoming routine. tsktsk.

me + 黄豆豆
i like my top which is from HK. a giodardo collaboration with leo ku (yes, the singer!)

i might have got tired of shopping after all!
browsing through the stores of zara, MNG & ted baker and yet i cant anything to my fancy!
or maybe its just all the new clothings at home that i've yet to wear playing the guilt card with me...
my outfit for today is worn for the 1st time......

its papa day but hubbi decided to be sweet to bring me try max brenner which i wanted to try for the longest time since it opened its 1st branch @ esplanade... @_@

the chocolate souffle is yummilicious. even yz gives the thumbs up!

another full working week looms ahead!
just rememeber that both jun and jul have NO public hols. eeks.
but so far work is still gratifying as im still learning!
i really hope i dont speak too soon. wahaha.

2011-06-17T23:42:00.000+08:00

the books i bought from bookdepository.com

so im back in the reading business.
while everyone whips out an iphone and pour their heart and soul in it in the trains, i whip out my chunky book and bury my nose in it.

talk about being obsolete. ha.

im done with "have a little faith" in slightly less than 1.5 weeks time.
its good though tuesdays with morrie is still better.
and i think mitch albom's non fiction books are wayyy better than his fiction ones.
i've 4 of his books. dun feel shy to borrow. but dont do so if you do not take care of books properly!

now onto "one day". so far 4 chapters into it.
its a really compelling one and i cant wait to finish it as well as watch the film (yes, starring anna hathaway & Jim Sturgess) later this year!

reading feeds the soul! yay!

yz & his fav. cartoon characters!

2011-06-12T15:31:00.003+08:00

these photos were taken quite sometime back.
it was one of those happy evenings whereby im on leave and managed to ferry BOTH the sons to hb's workplace to wait for him to get off work at 6pm.
yeah, what luxury!

so at hb's workplace area, there are buzzlightyear and woody!
they are yz's fav. , esp. buzz since he has watched toy story 2&3 for a few times in school/home.

check out the boy's happiness!
maybe not so much with woody. ha.

First class rocks

2011-06-09T08:52:00.002+08:00

went to catch "X-men:first class" with the elder son and husband yesterday after work.
the show is first class! entertaining with the characters 有血有肉!
and spoiler alert here: the show has 2 very nice cameo surprises! :)
and we unlock so many interesting nuggests about X-men:
like how did Prof X ended up in a wheelchair
like how magneto got his cap to keep Prof X out of his mind
like how all of them got their "stage" names
and many more. berry nice!

just like how i was pretty impressed by James McAvoy in atonement, it was the same here for Michael Fassbender (magneto in this show).
magneto is the more interesting character in the show and the actor did the role justice by acting well in it.
still, though he acted well, the scene where he showed his sorrow and pain for prof X in the show pales much in comparison to the scene where old magneto looked on in pain at old Prof X in X-men 3 when phoenix killed him.
姜还是老的辣！

ok, enough about my nonsense.
go catch the show NOW!

learning the ropes yet again

2011-06-08T17:08:00.002+08:00

it's almost a week since i've started work at my new company.
so far so good.
the most immediate change for me is that i can no longer drive to work, the parking fees is simply too atrocious!
so now, the husband takes the car but he will send me to work 2-3 days out of a week.
being ferried to work is such a nice thing! i almost forget that feeling for i was the one driving ah long to his workplace most of the time for the past 1.5-2 years!
and i rediscovered the joy of reading books in train.
so now, i read during the journey back home. even though my house is just a mere 5 stops away from my office, i try to squeeze in as many lines as possible.
ahh, simple joy in life.

the other obvious change would be the (serious) lack of food and shopping choices in my new workplace area as compared to my previous one in bugis!
now my shopping dollars are partially channelled to higher food cost. pui.
i shall be diligent and walk further for nicer and more affordable food.

work-wise, its a frenzy of handover from my team members.
im still trying to understand as much as i can but i guess (and definitely hope) things will fall in place naturally over time (depending how long!)..
if going by my gut feelings, my team and boss are a decent bunch.
and that is good enough, right!? office politics and cold shoulders are big no-nos for me!

really hope i can settle in smoothly in my position.
if everything goes well, i really want to stay in this company for as long as i can given its good benefits and hours that work well for people with kids like me.
*fingers crossed*

but again, me being me, my butt will always be itchy.
we shall see.

super advanced papa's day to hubbi

2011-06-07T22:09:00.003+08:00

this is dear dear enjoying the signature burger @ spruce

hubbi was mentioning to me that father's day is just round the corner.
and being the insensitive (only to him) wife, i thought he was thinking of dinner plans for our dads.
until he asked :"so any treats for me?".
then i remembered ya hor, he also papa to my boys. heh.

so when he said that father's day is THIS sunday, i thought it will be good to treat him an early papa's day dinner during one of the weekdays.
so tonight, with didi @ por por's house, we went to spruce for dinner.
it was a relaxed evening. with us reaching home around the same time at 630pm.
last minute reservations done, some house chores done and then moving out of the house an hour later for spruce.

it is until NOW that i remembered that father's day is the 3rd sunday and NOT 2nd sunday of june!
tsktsk.
我们又摆乌龙了...

Macau Day 4: Macau Tower

2011-06-04T18:30:00.000+08:00

last day in macau! our flight is at 5+pm so we still had the day on hand.
we lazed in the room till 9+am then decided to move our butts out.
brekkie was at mac! haha. the boy was very excited and we tried the localized meal - macaroni soup with egg & sausage + hashbrown.
LOL - what a combi. but it aint too bad!

@ mac

after brekkie, we went to michael jackson mini exhibition in sofitel.
yes, there is one in our very own hotel featuring his famous glittery socks & glove. hehe.

then, its back to our hotel room to pack up and we were ready to check out at noon time.

our berry nice hotel lobby

after leaving our luggage with the concierge, we took a cab to macau tower

macau tower on a gloomy day

lunch was at a cafe there and i finally managed to try curry fishball noodles! not too bad! :)

there was really nothing much there and the highlight is actually toy r us on the 2nd floor.
its slightly bigger than the one at vivo and the elder son went absolutely crazy in it.
we actually spent nearly an hour there. haha.

@ toy r us

we left the place for senado square again for some last minute buys and food of cos.
one more egg tart for me before we came back! hehe.

very bored yz while waiting for us to buy our things..

by the time we touched down at changi airport, it was almost 945pm.
still, we grabbed some bites at hans for we were famished!
as you can see from my posts on macau, this trip is definitely more of a gastronomical one than a shopping one!
and im 1 kg heavier from the trip! together with the weight gain before the trip, i need to shed 2 kgs now. *pui*

shopping wise, of cos i still managed to buy something.
but definitely more ok as compared to my HK shopping spree in mar! hehe.
this time round, i've only bought 2 shoes, a dress, a top and a handful of accessories.
but i spent quite a bit on skincare, stocking up on eye cream and make up remover for my current stash are finishing up soon.
:( why is skincare so expensive. sigh.

ok, all in all, it has been a short wonderful trip with the husband and yz!
definitely missed yr the whole time but we really think he's better off being king with my parents then coming along.
i guess, for the rest of the year, no more flying for me. perhaps a cruise or short trip to genting will suffice nearer to year-end!

Macau Day 3: Day trip to HK!

2011-06-04T13:04:00.003+08:00

there is only so much we can do in macau, so we made a day trip to macau on tuesday!
we took the free shuttle bus from our hotel to the ferry terminal at around 9+am to buy tickets to HK.

we took the 945am ferry

a still sleepy yz waiting for boarding time

the journey to HK was a little uncomfy as the waters were rather choppy but luckily the trip took only around an hour.

not berry happy w papa. heh.

the ferry terminal at HK is at HK island side. so we found ourselves around the area of 上环.

1st stop is of cos to satisfy our hunger pangs!

we went to maxim palace @ city hall area for dim sum lunch!

the dim sum was good! *slurp*

after our brunch, its time for some shopping. though more of window shopping for me.
perhaps with GSS at the back of my mind, it just doesnt make much sense to splurge for this trip.
or maybe, im jaded (*gasp*) by shopping.

anyway, this day trip to HK is more for the husband.
he came back to buy something that he failed to do so the last time we were here in march.
so, we went over to kowloon area for that.

and by late afternoon, we were ready for, once again, food! hehe.
to 翠华 tea house!

@ Tsui wah. can you spot hubbi's purchase?
yz looked on excitedly at our 菠罗包!

we made our way slowly back to the ferry terminal to catch the 6+pm ferry back to macau.
being scaredy cat me, i didnt want to make the trip across the sea in the dark. :P
so we reached our hotel at 7+pm and was totally tired out.
but still, we need to eat dinner, no?
since i've the accor card, we decided to try the mistral cafe in sofitel (im entitled to 33% off!).

by then, yz was berry cranky since he skipped his nap for the day (again!). luckily, iphone saved the day before the food came.
my pan-seared cod fish was uber juicy and delicious!
same goes for hubbi's beef sandwich. :)

after dinner, we took a stroll within the hotel.
it was a shame that i didnt bring yz's swimsuit for this trip for the pool is pretty decent in sofitel.
but, we saw some flies in the pool and yz didnt even want to play water in the shallow parts.. oh well.

@ the pool

it has been a long day for all of us.
the son and myself K.O.ed by 10+pm after our bath while the husband stayed up a while longer playing with his new "toy".

zzzzzzzzz

Macau Day 2: Coloane, Cotai & Taipa

2011-06-03T22:42:00.000+08:00

its day 2 of our trip and for today, we will be spending most of the time on the other island of macau.
so we woke up early and left the hotel by 9.30am! what a feat for us, hehe.

me and my mr. strong.

1st stop was to the famous lord stow bakery @ coloane area for the egg tarts!

i prefer theirs as the egg tarts are less oily. and trust me, egg tarts ARE v v v oily given all the fresh butter used...

breakfast was at lord stow cafe in the same area too. and what a hearty brekkie we had, baked potato for me and thai chicken rice for the husband. siao anot, you tell me.

navigating using local transport? ha, chicken feet to me.
some asking around by resourceful me and soon, we were waiting for local bus to bring us to the cotai strip where all the branded hotels (venetian, hard rock, galaxy etc) are!

waitng at the bus stop and on board the bus!

venetian is pretty similar to marina bay sands but the shops here are more "friendly".

@ venetian

whatever the lucky boy requested, we gave in. tsk tsk.
so, we had a go on the gondola rides!
to be fair, i did enjoyed the part where our boatman sang "月亮代表我的心". haha.

berry happy us.

foodie time again. 猪扒包!

because this is only so-so, we decided to venture out yet again to find real yummy 猪扒包!
there is a famous stall (大利来记) at taipa which sells 猪扒包 known to be delicious, so here we go!

i like the 猪扒包 here! despite the crazy hot weather (lucky macau is not that humid at all), there were many people here!
they only started selling at 3pm onwards till they sold out. we reached at ard 3.30pm so definitely still plenty for us. :)

next up, to the famous taipa street for almond rolls, 老婆饼, durian ice-cream etc!

i still prefer durian ice-cream in singapore. not to mention cheaper too!

by late afternoon, we were pretty tired out from all the commuting in the name of food...
we were ready to go back to macau island....
this time we tried the 小巴 which will bring us back to the other island via one of the 3 bridges connecting the 2 islands. :)

on board the bus. look how tired yz was but he refused to take his nap in the stroller! tsktsk.

we alighted near fisherman wharf area as hubbi wanted to visit the panerai official shop at one central (near MGM, Wynn hotel etc).
before heading to one central, we made a short stop to Wynn hotel lobby where it has a free performance every 30mins during the day!

the globe-like thingy behind me has 12 western horoscopes on it.
during the show, it will open up to reveal a dragon who will surface and do a rotation up towards the ceiling!

tada! while it rotated up, the ceiling above (showcasing 12 chinese horoscopes animals) will open up too!

and when it does, it shows a LCD sceen with v life-like fire!

it was really an entertaining performance. :)
it was said to bring good luck to those who watch it so it is not surprising for me to see many people rushing out from the casino to catch it before going back again. wahaha.

after boring one central (too many atas brands), we left for senado square to hunt for dinner.

dinner was @ 黄枝记 this time round.
and im just addicted to their shrimp roe noodles. yum yum!

an early night for all of us. it had been a long day!!

Macau Day 1: St. Paul Ruins & Senado Square

2011-06-02T21:42:00.000+08:00

i've a 2 weeks break before the start of my new job hence we decided to make another short trip during this jobless period!
after much consideration, onwards to macau for hubbi, yz and myself!
so on sunday, we woke up like any normal day.
after some last minute packing up, we were good to go!
first stop was of cos to deposit yr at my mum's place before heading to the budget terminal.
after a hearty breakkie @ mac, we were ready to board tiger airways!

3.5 hrs later, we touched down at macau airport. *wee*

on the transit bus to the terminal from the plane
see how happy the boy was after his nap during flight!

we took a cab to our hotel, sofitel ponte 16, and did the check-in in a jiffy. :)

our berry nice hotel room. can you spot the son trying to blend in?
our view from the room.

no time to lose! after some freshening up, we were ready to move out & explore macau.
our hotel is a stone throw to both st paul ruins & senado sqaure so these shall be where we were heading for the day.

不三不四的时间 @ 4+ pm didnt stop us from having a yummy meal!
i had shrimp roe noodles , a popular dish for macau while the husband ate his usual beef brisket noodles.
check out the huge ass wantons!

after satisfying our growling tummies, we set off for st paul ruins!

macau is pretty picturesque in some areas.

@st paul ruins!

and of cos we continue eating along the way...
be it almond rolls, the very very popular portugese egg tarts, fruit juices etc... *burp*

senado square is pretty small and nothing much though it boosts some shops that i dun mind like staccato & bonjour (something like sasa but more on selling skincare at much lower prices!).

slightly buay song yz @ senado square

we had another hearty late dinner at one of those local eateries which hubbi totally dig.
since its only day 1 and its not like macau has anywhere interesting to go after dark (if you are not a gambler), we called it a day at 9pm and went back to our comfy hotel room. :)

yz enjoying life.
we had a LCD tv in the bathroom too! so here he is, soaking in the tub and watching his fav. cartoon shows!

the rest of macau trip coming up!

2011-05-27T10:42:00.004+08:00

brought the elder son to catch "kungfu panda 2" yesterday and the show is .... AWESOME!
its really rare for sequel to top the first but i think kungfu panda 2 does. :)
apart from the entertaining action-packed sequences, i like the sub-plot on Po's family secret and the lessons learnt by him along the way for this show.
go catch it to find out what i meant. its totally worth my time and money!

and i realised when one has too much time on hand, apart from shopping, can eat alot too!
since i lost a kg from the hong kong trip, i kept thinking that i can jolly well afford to put on the 1kg back.
so the snacking and all the junk food has been coming back with a frevor!
coupled with NOT going to gym for the past mth, the results is FAST.
the last time i weighed myself (which is yesterday, by the way), im +1.5kg heavier!
sigh. i shall start to do something after my foodie trip to macau this weekend...

ok, ending the post with my 2 宝贝s!

time frittered away (same for money spent) will never come back!

2011-05-25T21:53:00.003+08:00

and so, i have been jobless for 5 days and counting.
somemore, the husband is away at sunway lagoon these few days for his department team building.
i was momentarily lost initially when i suddenly had so much time to myself though i really relish such me-time.
but me being me, will of cos try to plan "constructive" activities rather than wasting my time away.
of cos, what's constructive to me may jolly well be bo-liao to you.

so, ive been waking up diligently everyday at 7-ish so as not to waste any precious time!
so these are some of the activities for the past 3 days:
1) i prepared (just simple) porridge meals for the boys once a day - something ive not done so during the weekdays for the longest time.
2) i had a long and slow mac brekkie alone while polishing off a HerWorld mag - shiok.
3) i went for a long overdue body combat class - and totally paid for it with an achy body after that.
4) i caught "pirates of the caribbean:on stranger tides" alone - and enjoyed it immensely. it is way better than pirates 2 & 3, IMO.
5) i did lunch with hubbi and my ex-colls and caught up with candice after her lessons - good to catch up though i only just saw them less than few hours to days ago nia. LOL.
6) i fetched the elder son an hour earlier from the childcare to spend more quality time with him at home.
7) finally, i watched "justin bieber: never say never" show! wahahaha. it was quite entertaining! though the ratings for this in imdb is like shockingly low. *gasp* did i wasted my time on this?!
8) and with SO MUCH time on hand, i went shopping of cos......

GSS has conveniently started on the week that im like totally free. @_@
in such a dilemma cos im going to macau/HK very soon! should i wait to shop then or now!!?
but me being me, still cant resist getting "steals". :(
maybe i should learn to hate crowds like some of my friends so i would be turn off rather than on by SALE.
so far i bought:
topshop: a bodysuit, 2 tops, a mid-length skirt, a romper. ok, i shall shop at topshop no more!
gg5: 2 tops, a pant. not alot given my love for gg5. good, stay this way.
isetan sale: a (super cute) top from ms retro, a top and dress from CK (of cos heavily discounted).
i shall buy NO MORE until my trip this weekend.
i have to anyway since the husband will be back tomorrow night! *wahahah*
..... shoot, i forget im meeting fi for lunch tomorrow at 313.
nothing can happen, right?

ok, time to go watch another movie since the elder son is asleep!
what will i do without movies?!

dear daniel 30th birthday!

2011-05-22T12:06:00.006+08:00

so, dear daniel does get old too! we celebrated his 30th birthday @ pan pac hotel yesterday! :)
apart from jx who cant make it due to stomach flu, the rest of the gang made it despite some of them MIA during dinner-time.
gb to attend a ROM function, tanny to attend a wedding dinner & zm went for a run (?!).
still, the rest of us continue merry-making all the way!!

so, grace, candice, gb and me met at 4+pm to check-in the hotel.

dear daniel's girlfriend patiently awaited for his arrival! wahaha.

when ser and the birthday boy reached, we went for a simple dinner @ marina square.
then to carrefour for mixers and tibits, yum yum!
by the time we were back at the hotel, dan's friends (brian & huimin) reached so the party started!

hello kitty patiently awaited for the birthday boy while he was peeing in the toilet! LOL.
look how happy he was when reunited with his girlfriend!

hello kitty birthday cake!
he insisted that she was to follow him everywhere...

half a kitty left...

then, its time to present the gift!

very constipated look but i think he does like the master-piece bag

then photo-taking time! again, not all photos can see daylight. here are some more decent ones:

me, grace & zm

clockwise from left: ser, grace, me, huimin & tanny

and for the rest of the night, we really just drink it away. *blech*
its been so long i drank so much that i almost puked! ok, i did.
umm....
anyway, we played the most boliao 5-10-15 and the one on your left/right drink.
and betweeen the 8 of us, we polished off 1 full bottle of tequila, 1 full bottle of vodka, 2 bottles of red wine and 1 bottle of moscato.
i felt the taste of liquor in my mouth as i typed now... eeks.

needless to say, i woke up with not my worse but nonetheless sucky hangover this morning.
and i administered my most effective remedy for hangover (for myself) quickly!
1 full cup of cold milk and then wolfed down a big plate of oily chicken rice to soak up all the alcohol in me!
sounds yucky but definitely works for me!

ok, now i need to go nap with the boys again.
im definitely still feeling shitty!

it was a total blast yesterday anyway! looking forward to tanny's birthday in july! *wee*

last working day @ huntsman!

2011-05-21T10:10:00.004+08:00

yesterday was my last working day @ huntsman!
good thing its a relaxing friday and i can take my time to do some last minute work/clearing up.
in the morning, i went to tanjong pagar area to buy the famous chocolat n spice muffins to treat my colls.
and of cos, we tooks some photos for my keepsake at the end of the working day! :)

preggy huishan, me & marianne

me, yufen & veron!

from left: marianne, ally, huishan, veron, yufen & so fun!

me & li san who missed the grp photo taking a call

it has been a good three years working with them in Huntsman!
i've really enjoyed the good working environment and culture there where the people are mostly good!
but oh well, moving on is part and parcel of life, not only in our career.
so i wish them all the best in their future endeavors!

marching on to yet another new phase in my working life

2011-05-18T23:21:00.000+08:00

and so, this friday marks the last working day with my current company!
i've worked here for 2 years 11 months, my longest job in my working life!
good job, ecookie. hehe.

i've started actively sending out resumes by end of march and hence, apr mth was a flurry of interview activities.
its a good thing that im actually very open to interviews (yes, i love yakking to strangers and naming my top 3 strengths/weaknesses! haha.).
im not too sure if my job hunting process is a short or long one by others' standards but its pretty much the same as compared to my 2 previous job hunting process 3 and 5 years back.
my criteria this time round are 1) good work-life balance 2) higher pay 3) progression in terms of job responsibilities/scope.
not necessarily in this order but all 3 must be satisfied!

i shall try to document my job hunting process this time round:
1) Financial service industry.
went through 3 rounds and got an offer!
pretty excited for the coy has a good brand name, good pay + benefits.
BUT, eventually i turned down the offer after much consideration.
work-life balance may be compromised and the role is not exactly an expansion/progression of my current one.

2) IT industry.
went through 3 rounds.
the coy has good brand name, possibility of work-life balance and good role.
but pay-wise, may not be able to meet expectations.
ANYWAY, after going through the last round, they came back saying that they are witholding the decision to hire just yet. i was going HUH?!
oh well, its an employer's market after all.
THEN, 1 mth later ,they came back to me saying another similar role is open now and they are keen to offer me.
too late, ive already accepted my next company's offer.
and i think they can't meet my salary expectations too.

3) IT industry.
went through 1 round and kena rejected. haha.
its a start up coy and so the role requires one to juggle multiple roles while setting in place new processes.
to be honest, its not going to be a easy job and i may not be the best person to do it.
so no good fit between job and candidate and seriously, im not keen on the role after knowing more about it from the hiring manager.
i guess, it shows on my face during the interview too. oops.

4) Education services industry.
went through 1 round.
good role, good staff benefits, good work-life balance and can meet my pay expectations!
the only drawback is the less than ideal location.
so, i was really interested in this opportunity.
but, was told later that the role was expanded by the hiring company and they are now looking for people with at least 10-15 years of experience (which is clearly not for me..).
now, im getting a little pissed.
not sure how true is the above but it kinda shows that employers nowadays are a little unsure who they want to hire!

5) Retail industry.
went through 1 round.
good role, good pay & benefits. but, work-life balance not ideal and much less than ideal location.
the time taken to commute to and fro (even by driving) will take me at least 2 hours each day!!!
so even if i go off on the dot at 6, with the traffic, it will still take me an hour plus to reach home. @_@
hence, i passed on the opportunity to progress to the 2nd round of interview.

6) Commodities industry.
went through 3 rounds and got an offer!
good role, good pay & benefits, possible work-life balance and coy has good brand name.
slight drawback is location wise doesn't allow me to drive anymore (such a minor drawback!).
the culture of the company seems fine and i hope my new boss will really be the good coach that my gut feeling told me.
so.... i signed the offer letter and im going to start work in this new company in early june! :)))

7) Financial Services industry.
went through 2 rounds and got a verbal offer.
good role and possible work-life balance.
i actually fancy the job role for this opportunity the most. so when i got a verbal offer from the CFO , i was quite glad.
BUT, after escalating the decision to hire all the way to HQ in europe, they came back saying they may not be able to meet my salary expectations! *scratch head*
im not sure how could this happen when i've made known clearly my expectations from the start. if they cant meet it, no point wasting any of our time.

ok, that sums up my mad job hunting process this time round.
now, im getting pretty excited over starting a new phase in my working life!
but before that, let me take a well-deserved break by spending more time with my family and going for a short trip with the husband and elder son. *wee*

fun morning @ palawan beach!

2011-05-17T22:45:00.006+08:00

the ng family went to sentosa early this morning!
the idea was to let the kiddos have a go at the water playarea @ palawan beach.
can you believe that this is yr's first time donning on his swimsuit!?

we arrived early at 9am! we were the first to reach! so the boys have the whole water area almost to themselves for a good 20+mins before the first of the crowd started teeming in! :)

they had a total blast playing in the water! my boys have grown up!
i hardly get into the water but just supervised them with hubbi by the side. :)

we left by 10+am when the sun gets really really hot.
its a good thing that they managed to play in the shade for most of the time. dont want them to get dehydrated in this crazy hot weather!

waiting for the tram.. yr not very happy to leave the place..

a berry happy yz.

we let the boys took the tram one round before going back to the beach station.
then we had our late brunch at the new mac there.
though just a very short time in sentosa, we were really glad to see the boys having such a good time!
once we reached home, it was crazy frenzy time for everyone to bath and then all snoozing away for the afternoon in no time.... LOL.

we should do such activities more often for the boys!

in the mood for retail therapy once more...

2011-05-15T23:15:00.004+08:00

ecookie is decidedly in some sorta of a holiday mood recently.
and this is bad.
within a short span of time, i spent again!

on friday, it was the clutch bag from witchery.
on saturday, it was the stocking-up of toiletries from crabtree & evelyn.
then today, i tried out gel manicure for the 1st time! + normal pedicure to make the day sweeter. haha.
plus our upcoming short trip at end of may. *gulp*

PLUS PLUS 2 possible major purchases for dear dear and myself if no hiccups arise in mth of june.
@_@
it will be hard to save for these two months. tsk tsk.

lunch @ oriole with dow girls!

2011-05-14T14:07:00.000+08:00

just back home from a lunch @ oriole with my dow buddies!
the boys have zzzed together with the husband. so i have some time to down/upload photos!

gerry, nelly, franny and me!

all 3 of them have just gotten engaged this year! :)
what good news!
its always good to see others' relationships "开花结果"!
and im glad that there will be more chances to do lunch with both franny + nelly in the near future!

ok, maybe i should go get some shut-eye too.
thinking of going out later to shop for dining chairs/bench for the house.

all-fu day is very good!

2011-05-11T11:46:00.005+08:00

im on leave yesterday and as usual, i tried to run some errands and spent time with the husband.
time and energy are seldom on our side on normal days so we've to resort to taking leave just to spend time together. *tsk tsk*

super heavy downpour in the morning. good thing i didnt have to go to work.
we took our own sweet time to pack things, dress up the boys etc in the morning.
after dropping yz at his childcare, we had breakfast @ kiliney road before hubbi went for work.
good thing the rain has pattered out to a very light drizzle by then.
finally its yr's turn to do breakfast with us alone since gor gor has so many opportunities before him!
the little bun was looking around curiously and of cos getting all excited when the food arrived. heh.

after hubbi went to work, time to drop yr at my mum's place for his staycation at ubi. hohoho.
time to run errands!
1st stop is to sean lau studio to collect yr's prints and photo frame.
its been a good 3-4mth since the photoshoot.
im such a procastinator!
then losing my way (like as usual!) for awhile at kallang way area before finding my way to town.
time for a quick review with my skin doctor and a facial session. *Bliss*

before i knew it, its time to meet the husband who's on half-day leave for our mini date!lunch was at PS cafe @ palais.
i was peering into passion to see if i can get a glimpse of david gan but he was not in sight. LOL.

finally my craving for PS cafe truffle fries was satisfied!

but it was really ALOT Of fries for 2 of us!i ate till my tummy became a convex one. @_@

had a really great time just eating and chatting with ah long for almost an hour plus there.
till we were almost late for our movie session!
"Source code" this time round and sadly, it didnt live up to our expectations.
perhaps we expected it to be much better.
oh well, i got to see full lower lashes anyway. Jake Gyllenhaal!!!

by the time we fetched yz from cc for dinner, we were both so tired out (dont know by what!?) that we just spent a quiet evening at home with the son.
yawn. part and parcel of aging, i guess.

just another weekend with my boys

2011-05-10T23:39:00.000+08:00

somehow, weekends spent with the boys are more taxing on ah long and myself during a busy working week!
saturday was especially a long day for us.
lunch was at serangoon nex to have family lunch with ah long's family. after which, we made our way back to our voting station at redhill area to cast our votes.
didnt manage to have a good nap cos the boys did their really short naps in the car while we drove here and there. :(

can you help me put on my shoes so we can go gai gai?
no dearie, when i say go go, it was meant for your bath rather than going out.
okay, mummy's mistake in not being clear.

to escape the terrible weather, we ventured out to raffles city for our dinner.
we took mrt and yr was absolutely giddy with happiness boarding the train!

dinner @ canele

thanks to the long day, the kids were asleep by 9+pm.
ah long and me munched chips while wating for GE results together... really forced myself to stay awake while waiting for the results.
and mr yam's voice just doesnt help! i was struggling to keep my eyes open as the RO kept droning on in that voice of his. @_@

imagine despite zzzing at almost 3am, we had to wake up at 7+am to ferry the elder son to his phonics class.....
for the rest of sunday, we hibernated at home.
most of the time at a low-energy mode, hiding in air-conditioned room...

my 5 cents worth on GE 2011

2011-05-09T00:49:00.000+08:00

this was my 2 cents worth on GE2006.
5 cents now cos of the higher cost of living. wahaha. ok, very lame joke.
apparantly, my political "awakening" started from the last GE even though i did not have the choice to vote the last time round.
i dont recall being too emotionally-charged the last round, perhaps i've just "woken up".
but, definitely not this time round. i am so pissed mad with one million and one things!!
there is a need to pen down all these crazy/angry thoughts so that 5 years later, i can come back and remember GE2011 for how it is!

most important point of all:
seriously, i feel how people rationalise their voting decision and their ultimate decision is really their own business!
who are you/am i to judge if its a good/bad decision!?
i hate it when people get all personal when your choice differs from theirs. totally mad crazy.
again, who are you to judge?! i ve been seeing all kinda sweeping statements online that im bursting at the seams with anger!
ah long kept asking why are you so affected?!
but the basis of democracy IS everyone has their own voice/perogative. WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?
wah, im getting fucking angry again.

i kept seeing stupid comments online that i just want to puke!
like how people voting for PAP are just downgraded to senile old people who can only recognise the PAP logo or greedy myopic shallow people who are only interested in getting that fresh coat of paint.
and giving snide remarks like he is senile, he is just getting sympathy votes blah blah.
its just not right to give statements like this!
SO bloody angry.
yesterday, i was reading temasek review to get the latest updates and i kept reading comments that make me BOIL.
one guy was saying so sad that WP didnt win for a GRC. all those coward supporters dare to turn up at the rallies, but fail to do the act at the polling stations. i was like HUH?!?! how you know?! this is so freaking unfair to all those opposition supporters who attended the rallies, rationalised their decision and voted FOR WP.
another was saying shame on PP voters for turning their back on CST. i dont know if its laziness from specifying those voting AGAINST CST or he really mean ALL PP voters??
even if its for those against SPP, its their choice?! wats so hard to understand. so many thousands of votes stemming from different reasons and you deemed it as a personal vedetta against CST. SIAO!
一竹竿打翻整船人！

in a nutshell, all these irrational/senseless remarks are getting to me BIG TIME.
one of my friend was saying all these remarks are common and i should just ignore them but its really hard to.
for personally, im really for the notion that everyone is entitled to their own thinking!
so if you are just writing some stuff abt your feelings for the GE, im ok. BUT not when you ASSUME and generalise others based on their thinking/decisions.
dont slam people JUST because they think/act differently!
you know whats worse than prejudice? when it worsens to discrimination.
and sadly i see that happening ALOT during this GE2011.

i got so many things to vent! this is going to be a long post.

1) Potong pasir
in the last GE2006, chiam held on to PP despite the upgrading big fat carrot dangled by PAP. it was a great achievement and it shows that PP people is not lured by upgrading projects. so 5 years later when PAP won by that super-thin margin, does that mean PP people has become old and senile, young and ungrateful, shallow for upgrading plans etc (you know, you can permutate these variables to hundreds of combinations)? who are we to say?!
im sure most PP voters have their own internal struggle before casting their vote. and for every person who is glad with the results, another person is sad with it. life, and especially politics, is never fair.

i dont know chiam personally but from all the news articles and information gathered on the web, i think he's really a very capable man who managed to make his way as one of the very very few opposistion MP in parliament during a time when its so hard for opposition to do so. but for GE2011, some factors to consider:
i) CST is part of SDP previously up till 1996 when he was sorta ousted from the party due to difference with CSJ. after which he set up SPP. and then he set up SDA in 2001 which SPP falls under as part of the group. However, for GE2011, he decided to withdraw SPP from SDA and contest under SPP directly. it may be a possible consideration to some with regards to all this musical chair movement.
ii) having LL as PP candidate. CST's succession planning is his own wife. i would actually expect him to groom or already have groomed a good second in command for PP just like how LTK did with YSL at hougang. and SPP itself knows it may be a concern to the voters as they stressed during their rallies that by voting for LL, they are effectively voting the whole of SPP in for PP.
ive no doubts that LL would have made the many walkabouts/MTPS with CST all these years and PP pple would have known her personally. but to be a MP, is she really the person? is SPP trying to secure votes by appealing to PP's people loyalty to CST?
is this the right approach? WP has garnered such a strong support this time round because of its high calibre candidates line-ups. as well as its clear and defined manifesto for the nation.
emotional calling may or may not work for PP in today's time.
iii) STYP. alot have been heard about him since last time. that he was just someone to sacrifice from PAP viewpoint. that he has no heart for PP people but only focused on bringing down PP for PAP.
during the last GE2006, i only feel he has a slight resemblence to steve chia. LOL.
but his sincerity shown through his videos at least to me this time. just like how CST's speech made me teared and how GY's one moved me a great deal. you may say, ha you are so stupid to fall for his trick. but you being you, so ignorant and thinking you know all, will fail to see that there's a great deal of "stupid" people out there who really feel his sincerity and cast their votes for him.
you cant deny he spent a good ten years at PP too, working hard at the fields. to work against someone like CST takes ALOT of hard work. and STYP must have work hard during the last 10 years too. im sure people voted for him not just bcos of his upgrading plans but somehow he did managed to work his way into their hearts over the past 10 years. he did win my respect when he rejected PAP's offer for him to contest in a GRC (>90% chance of becoming a MP!) but instead chose to continue fighting for PP. again, you may say personal agenda against CST? seeing that CST's condition, he thinks he has a higher chance of winning (as compared to contesting in a PAP's GRC??!) a seat in parliament? you continue with your conspiracy theory, thank you!
i really do think he has the heart for PP people. but its sad how people's love for CST sometimes undermine his efforts and love for PP. even when he wanted to implement upgrading plans (lifts for every floor) BECAUSE (he said) for the old people, people still continue slamming him that PAP only know how to throw money at upgrading. this is v bo liao!! then to prove your point, no upgrading for PP people, and who suffer?! the old pple who had to climb 3-4 storeys of stairs or you who are not staying at PP!?
dont forget that 44% of the PP people voted for him in GE2006! the swing in votes is really not kua zhang at all. for the past 5 years, is it just SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR STYP to do anything to win more hearts in PP? crazy.

sometimes, people are so fast to discredit those that are not agreeable with what they want to root for.
the above factors that i listed are only POSSIBLE reasons affecting the PP voters. they may vote on totally rubbish grounds like face of candidates or tossing a coin.
the point is we wont know. and really no point criticising the PP people or passing rubbish judgements.

to me, both CST and STYP have contributed to PP and PP people have made a choice.
only time will tell if its a right choice. again, time and having an open mind, of cos.
i saw a clip where a PP voter (very obvious that he did not vote for PAP, ha) said that PP can only move on now and STYP had better fulfilled his promises that he made and PP will see for themselves along the way. despite his slight buay song tone, i can feel that he's really willing to give STYP a chance to prove himself.
this is very heartening.

2) Aljunied
i must give credit to WP!! when LTK introduced SL back in GE2006, i was suitably impressed. it has been such a long while that opposition came up with such high calibre candidates!
and SL went to put on a very good fight for aljunied back then. i was still saying in my 2006 post that if WP continues to prove its worth, it has a high chance of winning people's votes in GE2011.
and it did. apart from doing a good job for the past 5 years with keeping in close touch with the people and raising important issues as NCMP, they introduced more high calibre candidates this time round!
aljunied was such a tough decision, for me though. (though i cant vote for aljunied lah, haha.)
as i said in my GE2006 post and still believe so now, opposition will ALWAYS has its relevance as a check on incumbent government and providing an alternative voice for the people.
somemore, WP aljunied team is such a strong team to start with!

BUT, personally i like GY alot. i think he is one of the rare gems in PAP that really still believe in working for the people.
im sure if its some other ministers to replace him, lesser people will make such a big hoo-haa over the loss of a minister for aljunied.
but GY is foreign affair minister and he has done such a good job for this role. im sure many will agree with me on this count.
for even in the alternative medias where PAP is being slammed left right upside down every minute, we seldom see personal attacks on GY. in fact, some of those who are super pro-opposition will even share a positive link about him from time to time.
it is so heartening to see people give credit when its due.
i dont know how the role of a foreign affair minister fit into the big jigsaw of a future singapore that you wish to have, but its definitely quite a big piece for mine.
but if GY stays on, it may mean ZERO opposition MP in the parliament. that is really a scary thought.
hence, the talk of sacrificing a small GY for the better of the bigger picture.
but i still cant swallow this school of thought. i guess some is right in saying whatever vote you cast, cast it with your conscience.
but again, everyone's conscience differs. is allowing a parliament with only two, one or horrors zero opposition MP to exist very wrong to you?
or is allowing 3 ministers (ok, maybe only 2. im still v undecided on ms LHH) who have been very good in their roles to be "sacrificed" for a better good?
personally, im very against the word sacrifice. this word in itself seems wrong.
so its no big surprise for those who know me that i feel its such a big regret and pity that GY has to exit this way.

but, again who am i to judge what should be the "right" way/outcome?
aljunied has voted and we should respect its decision as GY and his team advocated.
im very sure WP will do a good job, if not better than GY's team for the next 5 years! they have to and they can, simple as that.

some questions burning in my mind:
1) who will replace GY as foreign affair minister?
2) will he run for presidency? i hope not.
3) which PAP team will contest against aljunied in GE2016? soooooo interesting.

3. WP
politics is never simple and never easy.
personally, i dont think WP will stop at just being a voice for the people in the parliament. they definitely want more.
to have a decisive say in passing of bills, definitely.
mark my words here (though we can only see 5 years later), WP will campaign on the basis to vote in oppositions to make up more than 1/3 of the parliament next GE.
if this is true, this is good. a good party should be one who will work in the best of the people interests. and what good is one that has no deciding power?
if WP has the calibre and the drive to make things happen, it would definitely be a good change.
seriously, if opposition is just contented at being just a voice in the parliament, such opposition team is really not a good one.
of cos, a gamble has to be taken whenever staus quo is being challenged.
im willing to take such a gamble if the right candidates come along!

4. PAP
winning percentage went down by ard 6 points comparing to the last GE. what have gone wrong?
i still stand by the conviction that the previous (cos the new one has TPL!!! and no GY!!!) government has done a really good job so far.
the general direction undertaken by PAP IS on the RIGHT track, just that the degree needs to be varied a little here and there.
most of the manifestos from opposition suggest changes to current policies but not radically changing or removing them totally.
i think the majority of the people still think PAP knows how to and is capable of running Singapore wisely BUT they defintely need some forms of check on them from time to time.
and not because they are senile, cowards or just lazy people voting out of convenience!
the worst accusation is those who define PAP according to their own definitions and deemed all those who voted for PAP to be of the same kind, ie: stupid, materialistic, selfish, arrogant, rich people etc.
totally baseless! excuse me while i go puke. BLECH.
pls dont abuse the privilege of free speech.

i do agree that PAP seems to have grown detached from the people over the years. and its style is defintely outdated for today's time.
how many MPs are actively learning how to use alternative platforms to reach to the masses apart from the traditional walkarounds, interviews, rallies etc?
how many MPs are fallible to the same crime of passing insensitive/sweeping statements?
thats why i said people are emotional creatures and voting is more of an emotional than logical one.
once you cannot stand someone, whateever he/she does also shit, i tell you!

back in GE2006, i dont recall much people having so much negative comments about PAP. sure, the usual backlash and stuff but not unprecedented level like this for GE2011.
some parties like to ask if your lives have improved over the past 5 years which i think its too short a period to judge. and everyone knows how bad the last 5 years have been to most countries.
but i suppose its too much to ask you to think back another 5 years right? im just trying to say its so easy to pinpoint whats wrong with current system.
the more difficult part is :
1) can anyone propose a better solution (yes, opposition may be able to do so being "nearer" to 民情 & having high calibre candidates as well)?
2) is it feasible in reality? i read a note by a young 21yo chap in fb and i was struck immensely by one of the phase he used inside.
"you can never cheat reality"
pls try to remember this and dont think policy-making is never that easy to formulate. every policy has repercussion effects that commoners like us may not know. and heck, even the almightly PAP also cannot take into account in their foolproof feasibility studies.

you can say that im kind to PAP or im blinded by ..... i dont know what you can accuse.. the material things PAP brought to me?
oh well, i cant stop you from judging me.

there are like a million issues out there but personally im still concerned with the same things im concerned with in GE2006!
1) how is our government helping singapore in retaining its competitive edge and staying relevant in today's fast-paced dynamic global environment?
2) how is our government going to take care of its aging, needy and poorer citizens?
3) how is our government going to ease the impact of rising costs (inflation is inevitable, that im aware of)?

i think for (1) , they are doing a very good job for the past 5 years. so much so it raised the question of foreign influx and putting too much emphasis on GDP growth.
with so much foreign influx, our unemployment rate is still at an impossibly low rate of 1.9%! i think the problem of foreigners is not that they are taking away our jobs but more of making us feel that this is no longer feel like our singapore. national identity is an important issue and PAP should take it seriously. if there is a need to curb foreign influx, they may have to do it anyway. but again, there may be repercussions. dont lie to yourself that foreign influx WONT create jobs for sporeans. THEY do for they encourage growth for certain sectors. but sporeans with lower education level or less technically inclined may be left behind when this trend continues. and the focus on wealth growth is not helping those who are left behind or not progressing in pace with GPD growth. thats why government has a 2-prong approach to this drive in economy growth - education and training to keep sporeans updated/relevance. but i agree that a lid need to be put on somewhere. we can and definitely need to progress but at a slower pace perhaps? it will really be a better scenario if singapore as a whole progress rather than leaving some behind.

(2) having said the above, to contradict myself here, i think there is no perfect system whereby all people can be taken care of. there will always be poor/unfortunate people falling through the cracks of current system and finding themselves helpless/sandwiched.
the best system will be one that take care of the highest % of majority and then through setting up special welfare groups to take care of those which fail to benefit from the system.
currently, PAP strategy is by helping you to keep in pace with economic growth, the % of needy/poor will fall to the minimum. it is indeed the case of so in singapore but as i said, there will always be poor/unfortunate people in need of help no matter how developed/rich a country is.
perhaps, more can really be done for those unfortunate in singapore.

(3) everyone keep harping how how how. until, i also have no answer.
both PAP and opposition have not really touch on this topic! for both GEs!

PAP really need to win the hearts of the people back. as i said, once you are in bad books of most people, 很难翻身!
it is really lucky that the majority is still willing to give it a second chance to prove itself.
statistics have shown that unhappiness with PAP can lead to votes even for the most incompetent opposition just to prove a point!

5) weakest link in PAP
TPL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i tried my best to be neutral towards her for the longest time. i dont want to be biased against any candidate just because of their looks or mannerisms.
but time and time again, this TPL shows that she is really of the lowest calibre!!
we dont vote management trainee into the parliament! and pls lor, even when the best bother to teach, i doubt it will be of any USE for her!
wah, im so so so frustrated with her.
after living for almost 20 years in marine parade GRC before moving over to radin mas 5 years back, i've the utmost respect for SM Goh!
and he was really really 被拖累 by this TPL!
that kind of winning percentage is a disgrace to SM Goh! i am so angry now my eyes blazing with fire! argh! *tearing up the tissue paper on my table*

im sure any other GRC other than Pasir-ris-Punggol, AMK, Jurong, will jolly well lose if she has been in those GRCs!!
she has that ability lor!
mad angry now.

conclusion:
despite some regret and disappointment over the results, im glad to witness a historical moment in singapore's political history to have the most no. of opposition MPs since independence day! :)
lets hope that the MPs will work together for the next 5 years for the best interest of people.
always remember, a good party is one that DOES not divide the people.
to do so, they must try their best to work with one another in parliament.
lets hope this is really the case!

5 years later, i should most probably be in aljunied GRC.
but too early to say much. maybe i wont move there afterall.
maybe GRC system will be abolished by then.
lets see!

ok, i feel so much better after venting out all my frustrations in my own blog.
goody good.