Hectic week

The past week was almost like a whirlwind...everyday was a flurry of activities and tasks urgently demanding my attention. When it's time to knock off on Friday and I've reached home, can feel my body and mind aching under the exhaustion.

Luckily saturday's meeting was cancelled and I just have to be out with sis besides attending my piano lesson. Decided to go to Orchard and had lunch at Sun with Moon...been quite a long while since I've visited the restaurant...miss the food and ambience. Besides walking around Wheelock, we went to Isetan supermarket and Takashimaya before walking down to Plaza Sg. Christmas decorations are already on display and there's a huge Xmas tree in Takashimaya with another smaller tree made up by teddy bears. The weather was quite hot and I couldn't resist getting a peach Yami yoghurt on the way.

After my lesson, we went to MOS burger for dinner and headed home after checking a few other shops in PS. Reached home with tired feet, really feel I'm getting old...used to be able to walk for longer distance without getting tired feet.

Stay home weekend

Will be spending this weekend at home to recover, hopefully the medication will help improve my condition, at least now my throat is not hurting as much. Hoping to complete a report over the weekend.

On medical leave

Couldn't win the fight against the annoying sore throat and cough so decided to go to the doctor. Spent almost 2 hrs in the polyclinic as there were alot of patients today. Quite amazed when I told the doc that I have rather sensitive eyes which get red or become irritated easily, after shining a mini torch to check my eyes, he asked if i had sinus problems...which i used to have...They didn't have the eye drop so I had to get the prescription and buy it from guardian pharmacy.

Bought Shape November issue and found out that their website is quite useful...think the "calories burned" is quite a useful tool:
www.shape.com.sg

Discovered a new healthy snack that taste quite good...to eat mixed berries yoghurt with whole wheat cereal...=P

Sick & bothered

Didn't sleep well the night before...bothered by lots of troubling thoughts, woke up this morning with runny nose and cough...Felt quite lethargic but have arranged to go for a haircut with Esther so dragged myself out of the house...also to get some fresh air to clear my mind. Was in a rather irritable mood caused primarily from the illness. Panadol cold lemon drink didn't prove as effective as before. Hope I get well soon and not waste my Deepavali holiday trying to recover. =(

5 Languages of Love

Heard about this from Yifen and decided to search for it online...found the following website which provided rather interesting articles covering various topics (check out the left navigational panel):
http://www.sharedpaths.com/personal-growth-tools/5lovelanguages.html

Great World City

Had Bak Kut Teh for lunch with 5th aunt, parents & sis before leaving for Dhoby Ghaut to catch bus 16 to Great World City. Intended to go there for sometime as it's the only Dorothy Perkins outlet that has the petite range of clothing.There's a sale and I managed to find a nice pair of jeans going for half price.

Karel joined me awhile later and since we walked past the cinema, decided to check out if there's any movie we can catch. Managed to get tickets for "Max Payne" and personally I prefer this movie to "20th Century Boys" as it's somehow more realistic to me...

Rushed down to Plaza Singapura for my piano lesson before we walked over to the Mind Cafe at Princep Street, only to find a full house. Followed the directions given to walk over to the other outlet at Purvis Street. Opted for the package meal with 2 hrs of gaming. Tried a couple of card games and board games...the place is quite similar to Settler's Cafe only that when our time is up, they didn't inform us but conveniently charged for the extra time we stayed on. Here's the website for those who are interested:
http://www.themindcafe.com.sg/index.php

Body balance

After PSLE marking, had lunch with my colleagues before heading home for a short rest. Headed to the gym as it has been quite awhile since I went and there's a bodybalance class at 4:10pm. Entered the class just a few minutes late and had a good work out.

Intended to meet Jimmy to exchange our belated birthday gifts but it was pouring very heavily so I went to the Organic Cafe Experience beside California to get a drink and wait for him. Tried the organic respiratory tea which tasted quite soothing. He brought along his imac so could view the photos of his Japan trip. Some of them were really of high standards fitting to be wallpaper or screensaver.

Karel met me there for dinner before we went to watch "20th Century Boys" at Cineleisure. Tried the pan fried salmon which I finished readily cos was starving and found out that there's 15% discount for California's members. We had a long discussion and clarified certain issues. Reached home later than expected and felt that the movie would be better if filmed as anime. Since it's only the first part of the trilogy, will have to wait patiently before the rest of the story is screening at the theatre.

"Jie mei" gathering

Arranged to have dinner with Yifen and Wanjun since we are marking at the same centre this year and it's a good chance to catch up. Had a good time enjoying our food and each other's company as we updated each other about what's happening in our lives. =)

Clarke Quay dinner

Went to Clarke Quay's Waraku with my colleagues for dinner after PSLE marking. Got the chance to be one of the first priviledged few to be a passenger of Esther's new car...xiao hong! Felt quite tired and was in a rather "zombie" state, quite paiseh that I wasn't as responsive as usual...=P

The food was tasty and the view from the restaurant was quite nice (Clarke Quay with night lighting). We took a walk trying to find a place to chill and get some drinks but most of the places was crowded. Ended up going to TCC and we tried a couple of their new drinks with cheesecake. Had a good time unwinding and chatting with the gals, especially catching up with Sharon...didn't get the chance to meet up since she left for NIE.

Birthday treat

Dad treated me to Japanese BBQ dinner with mum & sis at Daidomon on the sunday before my birthday.

Karel gave me a belated birthday treat on the saturday after my birthday. We went to Shangri La's The Line for the international buffet dinner and Blu for drinks after. There was a wide spread of food and the desserts were the highlights at the buffet. The view from the 24th storey Blu was also quite memorable.

A BIG appreciative THANK YOU to all my birthday well-wishers! (if you chance to read this) =D

Surprise surprise

Thought this year's birthday would be similar to the past few years with well wishes from friends who remember and family dinner with birthday cake in the evening.

However, there was actually quite a few unexpected surprises throughout this special day...

Got sms from Jiahui that she would meet up with me briefly after work as she would be near my house...can spend some time to catch up. =)

Karel wanted to have dinner if I could make it but I figured he would be busy and tired after work so told him to postpone our celebration together. Sent him an sms abt the possibility of meeting for awhile if he were to drop by near hougang before 11pm. He replied saying that it's too far so I told him it's alright, we don't have to meet today.

Everything went as expected and soon it was 10+pm, I felt quite sleepy and decided to head to dreamland...just as I fell asleep, he called to ask which block I'm staying and that he's already in the area. I thought he was joking but he told me he's serious and I was soon fully awake. Met up with him while he passed me my birthday gift...Didn't expect him to do this at all...but it was sweet.

What a race!

Watched most of the world's 1st F1 night race with Dad and sis...lots of unexpected turn of events that totally blew spectators off...predicted on a website that Felipe Massa would be champion, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen. In the end, Fernando Alonso finished first. The drama of various car crashes along the circuit didn't amaze me as much as the pitstop Massa took. He drove the car with the refuelling hose still attached, leaving a mechanic tumbling over. I suppose the scene is the worst nightmare possible for the team. Feel sorry for him that he lost his pole position in the race this way. More information are available on these websites:
http://www.singaporegp.sg/
http://www.formula1.com/

1st month celebration

Went to Baoqin's baby girl's 1st month celebration...feel so happy to see both mummy and baby well as it has been a trying 9 months for my colleague...Spent some time to catch up with Mrs Chow, Waiyin and Kangni before Tiong bee arrived with his wife and their 6mth boy. Looked quite different since we last saw him in March for his 1st month celebration. Babies grow and change so fast in their beginning years...=)

F1 First Night Race

I'm on the racing track!!!

Feel so excited once we reach the venue around 730pm on Saturday for the qualifying race...can feel the great atmosphere, especially with the F1 race cars wheezing past below us when we crossed the bridge to reach the Padang. There were quite a number of stands selling F1 merchandise. Bought a keychain Ferrari teddy as memento.

Walked to one of the turns to capture shots of the cars during the practice rounds. They were at most 15metres away from us and the deafening noise of the engines was exhilarating =D Tried to capture a few videos and the end result in both photos and videos was more similar to playing a game called spotting the cars. Haha......

Think the esplanade bus stop had one of the clearer views of a straight stretch before ending with a bend amongst the 4 standing sites we went to. The qualifying race ended by 11pm and Massa got pole position, with Hamilton in second and Raikkonen in third. The actual race tonight will be quite exciting...

Walked over to the Support Paddock as more Porsche cars are on exhibition. Took a couple of photos before heading to Cityhall MRT by 12+am. Was on the cab home when the driver shared that the message system requested drivers to head to the F1 area as a total of 360 cabs are required. Can't imagine the exact number of crowd in the area for tonight...definitely more than 90,000...

Cousin's wedding

Rushed home from work to join my family to attend Aishan cousin's wedding at Hotel Intercontinental. The wedding dinner started around 830pm and the food was really tasty. Though the dinner ended quite late felt happy to be part of this joyous occasion.

Celebrating Grandpa's 85th birthday

Staying home this sunday as my family will be celebrating ah gong's birthday with a steamboat dinner. As he needs to use the wheelchair if we were to eat out, thus this year there's a slight difference in the dinner celebration. When questioned what he would like to have for his birthday he simply answered he don't wish to have anything. I suppose at his age with most of his needs met, he is pretty contented. Just want to wish him good health for many years to come.

Shopping for a guy

Went for 18 degree meeting in the morning before meeting Karel at Cityhall for a late lunch at Shokudo. Tried the omu rice with grilled chicken and teriyaki japanese pizza which tasted quite good. The mango canned drink and red bean dessert are also quite nice as they weren't too sweet.

Proceeded to Marks and Spencer's as Karel needed to get new working outfits. Glad that he managed to get formal pants he fancy. Suggested that he try checking out G2000 and John Little for shirts at Plaza Singapura as I had to go for piano lessons soon. He managed to find suitable shirts from the two places during my lesson.

Brought him to try the korean food at Meridien food court. There's a longer queue than the last time I was there with sis but the tasty hot plate beef set is worth the wait. Tried the korean potato pancake which had a vinegar-based sauce. Ended the meal with my fave Yami yoghurt (he prefered honeydew flavour though)...

Intended to go to Fort Canning but since we were closer to cafes, had a change of plans. Went to TCC at Centrepoint where I tried Iced Kaffela Latte. The coffee jelly in the drink wasn't too bitter and I find the drink more interesting than other iced lattes. Checked out HMV for Neon Genesis Evangelion OST but they don't have it even after searching online. Too bad I don't have any idea where to help find this soundtrack cos he seems quite persistent to get it.

New watch

Went out with my parents and sis today. We went to the temple at Bugis before heading to a bak kut teh place near Central for lunch. Headed to Dad's friend's watch shop as mum wanted to get me a watch as my birthday present.

Selected a silver seiko watch...really like the simple classic design. Can't find a sample of the watch image online...will prob post a photo some other time.

Lunch

Met Brother Dave for lunch at Raffles City The Soup Spoon. Caught up and also passed him his belated birthday gift. Hope he likes the music. =)

Wall E

Dragged myself out of bed and was in school by 750am as there's musical choir practice. Waited for my colleagues before getting lunch and then headed to Nan Chiau Primary for our Action Research Proposal meeting with Dr Chua.

Luckily there wasn't alot of changes to be made. I headed to Vivocity after editing our report. Since I'm meeting Karel at 7pm, I went to PageOne to look for "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.

Managed to find a place to sit down and I started reading the book. Finished reading the book by the time Karel called me. Think the most touching part was when he wrote about telling his nephew and niece not to hold it against his children if they were to dirty their cars.

We had dinner at Secret Recipe before getting tickets for Wall E. The movie is actually quite cute. Since the movie ended late, by 1130pm, had to get a cab home.

Meet the parents day

Karel met my parents and sis for dinner today. I met up with him at Ang Mo Kio first then Dad picked us up.

Went to Serangoon Gardens hawker centre for our dinner. Quite surprised that Dad talked quite alot with Karel. Think the whole meeting went quite well...whew...

Sisters bonding

Headed to GMPS thinking that there's 18 degree meeting, yet was informed that they've cancelled and forgot to inform. Called sis at home to meet earlier at Vivocity cos parents are away in Indonesia for the weekend.

We went for breakfast at Burger King before walking around and buying stuff from Daiso. Headed to Thai Express for a late lunch before going to Plaza Singapura. After my piano lesson, we walked over to Le Meridien food court for Korean food. There was an old lady with her son and daughter-in-law with their baby walking in front of us. As they only had one umbrella, the old lady was walking in the rain. Don't feel comfortable seeing her like that so offered to share my umbrella with her since we are walking the same way. Besides eating the beef hot plate set, we also shared the peach Yami Yogurt. Feel quite full and we took the bus home cos we didn't want to squeeze on the train. Reached home by 9pm to catch the taiwanese drama serial “恶作剧2吻”. Think I prefer watching “命中注定我爱你”which I'm trying to follow every Wed-Fri at 7pm.

Fireworks display

After teaching till 2pm today, left for Nan Chiau Primary with Xihua and Shi Min as there's a Beginning Teachers' talk. There was a Shanghai principal who visited the primary school who gave a talk about their school system. Nan Chiau's VP, Mrs Lau also gave a talk about her experience upon visiting the Shanghai school. Two other teachers shared about classroom management and relating to parents.

When the talk ended by 530pm, the sky was overcast and we hurriedly walked to Compasspoint. We were pretty lucky as the first drops of rain started pelting down once we reached the building. I went to Esplanade library to look for the piano scores in the exam list B. Managed to find all of them as I waited for Karel. We went to Humble House for dinner as the other places were pretty crowded and both of us have never tried the food there. We ordered the Chicken Rice and it's the most expensive chicken rice I've ever ate ($9.90 before taxes) but it really tasted very good. The soup was also different, melon soup with wolfberries.

Once we're done with dinner, we walked to the esplanade waterfront to try to get a standing spot to view the fireworks display by the french. The whole place was really crowded and there was an uncle who was standing right in front of me who pretty much blocked my view. Only managed to take a few shots and video from the limited view while Karel, being tall managed to get most of it. It was really spectacular and nice as the loud explosions in the sky revealed amazing designs of fireworks. The whole display lasted from 930pm to 950pm.

We hanged around the area as there's a live band performance at the outdoor stage at 10pm. It's a local band by John Chan. His music is actually quite nice. Enjoyed the performance till 11pm, then took a walk down Singapore River to Raffles Place MRT. When I finally reach Yio Chu Kang to catch the bus home, I was 10min late, ended up taking a cab home.

PSLE Oral

Was notified earlier on that I will be one of the oral examiners posted to Edgefield Primary for this year's PSLE exam on 14th and 15th August.

Since Mrs Chow was also posted to the same school, she kindly offered to give me a lift and asked me to wait for her at the bus stop outside our school at 7am. We were to report at 715am but Mrs Chow took a wrong lane and we ended up on TPE and had to make a u-turn at the 2nd exit. Luckily there wasn't a jam but as we turned into the smaller road, we missed a turn for the school and had to make another u-turn. We reached the meeting room only by 730am and i was glad that the briefing was still underway...so paiseh, being late for the first time on such an impt day.

As I was appointed OE2, much of the work actually falls on my partner who was a teacher frm Compassvale Primary. The students actually performed quite well and soon after the exams ended, I headed home to rest...not used to waking up so early.

For the second day, we were on time and as my partner had fallen ill, another replacement teacher was sent from her school. There was a boy whom I believe is Singh taking the Chinese oral exam. His reading was quite ok just that some of the pronunciation wasn't accurate. Yet, during the picture description, he tried his best to impress us. After every sentence, he would looked into either one of our eyes with a very sincere expression. It was also quite funny as he would express his opinions as "this is a good habit" or "i think this is a bad habit".

After the oral exams ended, I went to Compasspoint as I needed to return the 2 library books I borrowed earlier on. Headed home to rest after that.

Day I ate "real cheese"

Met up with Karel as it's a school holiday in-lieu of National Day falling on a Saturday. We walked down the other end of Orchard road towards Tanglin Mall. Took photo of Tudor Court Shopping mall as I like the architecture.

Karel got quite excited when we happened to chance upon the cheese section of Jason's Marketplace located at Tanglin Mall. He found the dutch smoked cheese that he used to eat when he was young and couldn't resist getting some. Tried a piece of it and it's really quite filling yet nice. He kept insisting that this is "real cheese"...@_@

Walked back towards Wheelock Place and on our way, went to the Hard Rock Cafe shop where Karel got 2 tees and a lanyard for his work pass. Had dinner at Sun with Moon. Been quite a while since I last had a meal there. Left for home after dinner as both of us felt rather tired.

43rd National Day

It's our country's 43rd birthday today!!! Went to the Singapore Philatelic Musuem with Karel in the afternoon as they are having Open house. Waited at City Hall MRT station and could see the crowd forming as people gathered to go to the National Day Parade Show.

Though the musuem was pretty small, but there was quite a collection of stamps from different countries. Bought a first day cover showing different festivals in Singapore (Issued on 29 Feb 2008) and another commemarative National Day first day cover with the designer for the stamp offering his signature.

As we were leaving the musuem, it started drizzling and I really sympathise with the performers for the NDP as it will be quite challenging to perform when the grounds are wet.

"The Dark Knight"

Met Karel at Vivocity for lunch at Superdogs...either the hotdog was really good or I'm really hungry...taste was superb.

Went to watch "The Dark Knight" and found the movie quite violent and sick...the joker relished in creating havoc and i find the character rather sinister.

Tried Ben & Jerry ice-cream with Karel...coincidentally, it's our first time. Prefer Haagen-Dazs though...=P

The Dancing Sky, Night Museum

Went to China Square Central with Karel to check out some collector's toy stores before going to PS for piano lessons. Headed to Indulge at Cathay for dinner as PS was too crowded. Was quite dismayed to see that it was raining after our dinner as we intended to go for the night museum outdoor dance performance.

Luckily by 850pm, the rain finally stopped and we walked over to a growing crowd just outside National Historical Museum of Singapore and SMU green. It's amazing how big the crowd is and we managed to stand near where the action is. The whole performance was stunning. Having dancers flying and somersaulting in the air, with huge props like a sailing ship, a white grand piano and artistically designed huge balloons.

The second part of the show involved performers using elements of water and fire. There was a female acrobatic swimmer who dazzled us with her swift movements and fluid moves. Truly enjoyed the whole performance which made the night magical and surreal.

Singapore Flyer

Bought the tickets (nearly half-priced) during the NTUC linkcard promotion and decided to go on the Singapore Flyer with Karel today.

Luckily, there was clear skies and we took the flight around 230pm. It was quite amazing as the ride was very smooth. Didn't detect that it was moving till you view the rotating bearings. The view was breath-taking and it was a nice experience.

Went to Kokontozai Cafe to have tea. Tried matchacino which tasted quite weird. Decided that it's an acquired taste...felt like I was drinking mildly green tea flavored warm water...bleurgh...the matcha cheese cake tasted really good. While the chocolate cheesecake was only ok...

Took a cab down to Sultan road cos Karel wanted to bring me to a turkish western restaurant. As it was still too early for dinner, we walked around the area, took photos of the Sultan Mosque exterior, explored the shophouses, went to the Malay Heritage Centre (was closed but there's fountain in the courtyard). Actually found a Sasha Bear shop there and a Children's toy museum, selling old toys and knick knacks...

Dinner was nice as I tried moroccan mint tea, mutabel (egg plant and spice sauce for pita bread)and chicken chop along with kebab. The mutton kebab tasted too strong, while the chicken and beef kebab was nicely done. The restaurant also offered shi sas...but then being a non-smoker, didn't try it, just curious abt how it works.

Toy Convention 28-29 June 2008

Went to the toy convention with Karel at Suntec City on Sat...didn't expect such a big crowd, but there were lots to see. Bought a Tokidoki tee only to come home to find that the wrong size was given...have to make another trip on Sunday to change it. Was early so queued up to get the free gift-limited edition bear brick. Really liked the design, red and white...like singapore flag...haha. Luckily managed to get the tee changed and quickly left the place cos couldn't really stand the crowd. A sample of the variety of toys that was on display and sold at the convention...