Another GSS buy

Dunno if it's the thought of having to be rudely awakened once again by my mobile phone alarm at 5 plus in the morning, or having to go through a long crazy day, or having to handle many difficult people/ situations I most probably would meet somewhere along the way... whatever it is, I was really dreading the first day of this term, especially since many things would be beyond control at work cos of the Influenza A outbreak.

And I was right. It's been such a mad mad day indeed. Shan't dwell on it. At least I had something new to carry to work today. Er... yes, it's a... BAG.

*sheepish grin* Yeah, got a new bag over the weekend -- but I'm doing better than previously okay! It's only my third new bag this year, and the first two weren't even bought by me. So technically speaking, it's MY first bag purchase this year! :p

Saw this CK bag -- large and squarish with magnetic flaps as covers -- some time ago before the GSS started. That was when I was still looking for a work bag and before Hubby bought me the blue and white striped Zara bag. Loved the CK bag but thought it was too expensive, cos I really was trying to cut down my expenditure in this area, but during the weekend, I saw it again, this time at Isetan Wisma, and it was going at 30% less than the price before. So enticing! But again, needed to think and re-think cos wanted to make sure it wasn't an impulse buy, so ended up walking along the different levels of the department store on the pretext of looking at other stuff, but not really paying much attention. All I could think of was me carrying the bag to work today! (Maybe cos I dreaded today so much... needed something new to perk me up a little :p)

Sigh... after an agonising hour or so, I finally decided to head back and get it. And bless me, I got another 10% off the discounted price cos paid using DBS/POSB card. Ho ho ho!

Heh, some time back, it was so hard to find a nice work bag. Now, I've got two that I love! Yippee! V^_^V

Chilli PRAWNS!

There's the famous chilli crab, then there's my chilli prawns!

Haha... think after consuming chilli crab and the lovely gravy that comes with it for the past 2 weekends, I kinda missed its taste, so yesterday, I decided to try my hand at cooking my own chilli... PRAWNS! (Of course must substitute the crab with something else -- I won't really dare to handle a crab :p)

Tada!

There's my just-cooked chilli prawns in the pot, and then later served with leafy vegetables and calrose rice. Hubby said it's 'ok ah', but I thought it tasted goooooood.... hehe. Perhaps it might have tasted better if I'd used tiger prawns instead of the normal grey prawns that I usually buy from the supermarket downstairs. Oh well, never mind. It's the gravy with beaten egg that I love!

And I owe my thanks to...

Yup, found this recently while doing grocery shopping and bought it, hoping to try it out soon. And I'm really glad I came across this. No other seasoning needed -- didn't have to marinate the prawns either. I just dumped whatever I wanted -- fishcake, capsicum etc.-- with the prawns and mixed them up real nice. Then added egg and some water to get more gravy, and then that's done! Cooked extra last evening and had the leftover for dinner just now. Still tasted good! ^_^

Hmmm... maybe can just cook the gravy next time and have it with toast or something! ;P

Michael Jackson

I learned about the sudden demise of the King of Pop yesterday and was a little taken aback, but didn't think much of it the rest of the day. But this morning, the news was splashed in several pages of The Straits Times, and it finally sank in.

The legendary Michael Jackson is no more.

While reading the reports about his death, and his life before that, Hubby played a cd from an album containing MJ's greatest hits during his music career. Dunno why, but while the music was playing, I just felt so sad. But like one of the celebrities interviewed mentioned, MJ may be gone, but his music will certainly live on.

This brought to mind one of his songs that I would always appreciate -- "Little Susie". Think I mentioned this in my blog last year, but haven't been listening to it, so when the thought of this song came to me, I switched tracks and played it... and cried. To me, this is one song that sounds truly soulful, because the singer himself feels so much for the girl in the song who died, and it never fails to tug at my heartstrings. And perhaps the tears fell more today while listening to the song because the singer himself is dead.

His death also reminded me how short the human lifespan really is, and how unpredictable life is too. One blink and our lives may just pass us by, no matter how beautiful, how rich, how famous or how powerful we are. This is also why I believe we have to consider what is more important to us in life instead of blindly pursuing what others think of as important. Ultimately, it's we who lead our lives, not others.

Rest in peace, MJ.

Happy...

Since my last post, several things have made me happy... ^_^

FRIENDS poster! It's now hanging in our apartment... I'm a fan of the sitcom, so I was absolutely delighted to chance upon this @ Popcornpop. Now whenever I walk by this poster and admire it, I feel so tickled as I'm reminded of the funny episodes and how I enjoyed watching the on-screen lives of these 6 fabulous-looking people. :)

Using my new lappie at work! Dunno if it's cos it's new, or cos it's white, or cos it types so well, or perhaps it's all 3 reasons combined -- whatever it is, it really brightens up my day at work! Had to return to the workplace for some ridiculous reason this week, so Hubby suggested I bring the new lappie to work so I'd feel happier working. And he's so right! Hehe... despite having to lug it to and fro, it really cheered me up. :) And yesterday, when I had to turn on my old school laptop, a black no-nonsense looking Acer, for a short while, I actually caught myself frowning at it. It pales so much in comparison to my white lappie lor. :p

Durians! Durians! It's the durian season now...and Hubby has been occasionally bringing home these yellow babies from the supermarket near our place. Yum! And there're more reasons for me to love 'em even more now!

*Benefits of eating durians:

1. They are a strong blood cleanser.
2. They contain high levels of the amino acid tryptophan, known to alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia, and create feelings of euphoria, by raising levels of serotonin in the brain.
3. They contain high levels of soft proteins, so they help in building muscles.

Yeah! Durian wan suay! :)

White radish! Only attempted to cook this recently, and it turned out so well that I'm beginning to list this as one of my favourite food now! Cooked the radish with carrot in soup today, and added some fructus seeds for added goodness too. Also learnt that white radish soup can aid digestion, and radish itself has the following health benefits:

1. expels heat from the body and aids in sore throat

2. enhances metabolism

3. stimulates appetite

4. treats problems to do with asthma, bronchitis, liver and gallbladder

Also tried including white radish in potato salad... It's not bad too! :)

Gotta officially get back to work next week... am so gonna miss my holiday! Hopefully there'll be more things to make me happy then... :)

Hubby's 31! :)

When my mobile phone alarm went off at midnight last Sunday morning, indicating that Hubby's birthday was here, I got Hubby to go around the bedroom searching for three separate gifts that I had gotten him, and which I'd hidden in different parts of the room. :p

Hubby was a bit tired but still sporting enough to do the search. Well, I really was eager for him to see his presents cos I wanted to know what he thought of them. Didn't really have much high hopes cos it's always so hard to find him something he likes or appreciates so I knew I wouldn't have that "WOW! THANKS... I LOVE YOU!" kinda reaction from him but I wanted to at least know if he was okay with what I'd bought.

Got him a transparent clock showing gear movement (Hubby loves watches so much but I didn't wanna get him a watch cos it can be so tricky; ended up getting him this to display in the bedroom near where he places his watch magazines at times), a Batman Forever movie soundtrack (cos he likes a couple of songs in there but never got down to getting the CD) and a Marvel DVD revealing the art of drawing comics (which I thought he might like since he also likes reading comics and learning new stuff). His response? He didn't quite appreciate the clock when he received it that night but liked it better the next day when he got more accustomed to seeing it. The Marvel DVD was 'okay' and the Forever Batman CD didn't quite intrigue him as much now that he's heard the rest of the songs in the CD and decided that they weren't that big a deal after all. Sigh. See why I say it's so tough to get him anything? =.=

The good thing is that Hubby knows he's like this too, so he certainly won't 'blame' me for not getting anything that delights him. :p Anyway, on his birthday, we went out for meals and some shopping and I managed to give him a lunch treat that he really enjoyed-- not for the food, but for the effects that 2 glasses of wine had on him!

The story began when we were looking for a place to eat at Wheelock Place. We eventually settled on the western restaurant Big O cos we'd never dined there before. Hubby ordered a steak, I ordered some breaded chicken and we also had a bowl of veggies ratatouille. On top of that, there was a 1-for-1 promotion going on for wine, so Hubby accepted it and ordered red wine to go with his steak. Since I was to stay off alcohol, I couldn't help him drink the second glass of wine, which was free, and Hubby happily started drinking one glass after the next on a hot Sunday afternoon, and this was what happened:

When the glasses were still full...

We started eating our food and chatting at the same time. Hubby was his normal self. Hmm...think the prices of the dishes we ordered were really not worth the price. I would have paid about half the price of the breaded chicken I ordered if I'd known the portion and quality was no biggie. All these aside, the service was good.

Anyway, after drinking almost all the wine in the first glass...

Hubby started cracking silly jokes and giggling.

After the first full glass of wine...

Hubby began feeling a bit woozy, and experienced one of those floating sensations which he loves. His vision was slightly blurred too, and couldn't focus much.

After downing the second glass of wine as well...

Hubby was really pleased (see his 'victory' sign behind the glasses?). He said his arms felt like 'puppet arms' such as those or Kermit the frog cos they seemed so heavy and he could just let them hang limply at his sides. When he stood, he had difficulty walking straight and even had to lean on me for support! =.=

Okay lah, at least he didn't throw up or continue his funny drunk antics throughout the rest of the day. :P Hehe, the whole experience reminded me of the time he acted silly after drinking a bottle of sake at Sakae Sushi some time back. Oh well, as long as Hubby enjoys being intoxicated with wine, I suppose that's all right with me too (but I'm sure gonna watch how much he drinks in public from now on! :p) The effects of the wine eventually wore off as we went about Orchard Road. We moved on to Suntec City later in the evening and more or less ended our day with a simple but hearty meal @ Soup-erlicious at Suntec City, an eatery that specialises in soups and sandwiches located on the first level.

I thoroughly enjoyed the broccoli soup made from superior broth. It's got such a rich texture and I loved tasting the melted broccoli in that soup. Hubby and I also had chicken teriyaki as well as ham 'n' cheese sandwiches which came with little sides like potato or vegetables salad. Pretty good meal. :)

All in all, I'm glad that though Hubby didn't get fantastic gifts from me, he has the memory of being so happily 'drunk' for half of his birthday afternoon! Hee.

Early Father's Day meal

Hubby and I returned to Owen Seafood Restaurant @ Turf City last Saturday evening, this time with Papa, Mummy and Beebee.

This time, we arrived at a normal dinner hour past 6pm so there was a much bigger crowd than when we went there the first time. In fact, I thought it was lucky I'd made a reservation in advance because by the time we were eating, almost the entire place was full, except for a table located beyond the air-conditioned area.

Besides ordering the drunken prawns which everyone enjoyed cos the prawns were really fresh (they were sea white prawns instead of tiger prawns, so they were bigger and more succulent than the latter) as well as the chilli crab and fried man tous that Hubby and I tried and loved the first time, we ordered a few more dishes that the rest wanted to try. There was the deep fried butter lobster (Beebee's favourite-- pretty yummy, especially when you get a whole huge chunk of flesh from the shells), sweet and sour fish fillet (which was okay), coffee pork ribs (which didn't really have much meat so wasn't that fancied by everyone) and the stir fried ee mian (which was a bit bland but tasted better if light soy sauce was added). I guess this experience just tells us that it's really the seafood that make up the better dishes at this place. :p

After dinner, we did a bit of shopping at Giant Supermarket before taking the shuttle bus back to Clementi. Okay lah, quite a contented evening overall at Turf City, but because there really isn't much else there, I doubt we'd be going back any time soon unless there's a reason to. So bye bye for now, Turf City!

All about food!

Been indulging in good food quite a bit these past few days... *groan* feeling kinda sinful (which is why I've also been bugging Hubby for more ping pong workouts :p) but am glad I had the chance to sample some of the dishes...

Owen Seafood Restaurant @ Turf City

Met up with HZ and Jess last Saturday evening for a fabulous seafood meal here. It's the first time Hubby and I visited Turf City cos it's so outta the way for us since we don't drive at all. But at least we had fun just taking the shuttle bus all the way in from Clementi Interchange. :)

Unlike what its website claims, Turf City really doesn't offer much in terms of entertainment or shopping. In fact, when Hubby and I got there, our first impression of the place was how much it resembled a really 'ulu' shopping centre, not unlike those found in some parts of Malaysia. Even the Giant supermarket there doesn't seem enticing to even a supermarket fan like me. :p

I guess it's only saving grace is the interesting range of restaurants that are located there...and of course, there's this seafood place that we patronised that evening, thanks to HZ and Jess, who'd decided to give Hubby and me a birthday treat there! ^_^

Even before we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by this huge display of live seafood that were quite fascinating to look at. What especially wowed us was this tank of gargantuan crabs -- the Australian king crabs -- which weighed an average of 1.5kg, according to one of the waitresses at the restaurant. This means that feasting on one average-sized creature of that species would cost close to $300, based on the $19.50 per 100g calculation. The price is one thing... imagine staring at it once it's cooked and served on the dinner table... my, what a sight that'd be!

Well, although it was interesting to think of, we didn't order the gigantic crab. Instead, we chose the drunken prawns and 2 normal-sized crabs (one's buttered and fried while the other's cooked in yummy chilli gravy) for greater variety. Also ordered the fried man tou to go with the chilli gravy... *both thumbs up*!!! Doesn't seem like a lot of dishes, does it? But the great thing is that the food's oh-so-tasty yet what we ordered didn't make us feel uncomfortably bloated at the end of the meal. We just felt nicely contented, which is even better. When it comes to food, quality should be more important than quantity! :)

Besides the great food served at the restaurant, the price deals are also something worth going all the way there for! Some dishes at apparently going for half-price when orders are placed by a certain time (think it's 4.30pm) while the seafood's going for 40% off what it normally costs! Woohoo! Hehe, these are why Hubby and I are going back there again this coming Saturday, this time with Papa, Mummy and Beebee for an early Fathers' Day feast. Heehee. That's another meal to look forward to! ;D

Coffee Club Express

Another place that I enjoyed good food at recently was Coffee Club Express -- went there twice in the past three days. The restaurant's not new to me, but its recent menus were pretty appealing to me, more so than what I've tried there before. Was there first on Saturday evening with HZ and Jess for supper, after the early seafood dinner and some shopping at Ngee Ann City. Loved the 'obsession with sandwiches' menu they had, and the meal I selected from there -- this cheesy yet light sandwich with smoked chicken breast and apricot dressing.

Thank goodness I tried that then, cos when I went back again, this time to the outlet at Paragon and with Beebee after a day of shopping yesterday, they'd changed the menu! This time, it's something called "bowled over" or what. Beebee was so looking forward to trying the sandwich that I had last Saturday after I showed her the pic of it, so imagine the look on her face (she really looked like this: =.=) when we realised that she'd just missed it.

But never mind... fortunately there're other good stuff to try there. I had the new stewed chicken with loads of mushrooms course upon the personal recommendation of the manager there (nice!), while Beebee had some salmon pastry thingy and a slice of her favourite black forest cake. I also bought home something that Hubby was tempted to try last Saturday but didn't -- the hazelnut caramel tart. It looks literally sweet! Will present it to him tonight when he returns from work. :)

Ebisbashi @ Iluma

Beebee and I also went to Iluma shopping mall opposite Bugis Junction for the first time yesterday as part of our shopping day. It's such a nice place to visit! Many stores are already open, and the whole of level 4 looks really inviting with the range of restaurants there, some of which can't really be found elsewhere. The whole area is also well-designed and decorated, with each restaurant sporting a signature look and feel.

This Japanese restaurant really captured our attention because of its authentic Japanese feel. Check out what it looks like! There're three different menus catering to different varieties of dishes, and each menu is for a different section of the restaurant (so it's like a huge restaurant divided into three mini restaurants). What's fun is also the way we could order our food. Upon being seated, we were taught by a waiter how to use an electronic pen to order what we wanted directly off the menu. Each time we used the pen to press one button next to a food item, we'd hear a cute Japanese female voice from an automated recording stating our selection. Kawaii ne! ^_^

It's a pity the food wasn't much to rave about though. I had a mini ebi don, which was a tad too salty for my liking, while Beebee had a set of a mini kani fried rice, which she claimed she could cook an even better version of, and a mini ramen, which we both agreed wasn't as good as Ajisen Ramen's. Maybe we just didn't pick the house specialties, which might have been more delicious. But I certainly give full marks to the ambience! ;)

Spaghetti @ Home Sweet Home

Heehee, after talking so much about food sampled outside, I figured I might as well be a little thick-skinned and feature my own recent creations too. After all, if my in-house food critic could gimme an 'ok' or 'up to an 8.5 outta 10', they can't be too bad right? ;P

Ta-da! Been cooking spaghetti in tomato paste these days. Won't be cooking that for quite some time next lest Hubby gets sick of eating it! But so far so good...the first one on the extreme left is spaghetti with pan fried cod fish, asparagus, baby carrots, lettuce and shitake mushrooms. The middle one's pretty much the same ingredients, except that in place of cod fish, there's a pan fried chicken patty. The third one's what I specially cooked for lunch today as a little 'special 16th' treat -- spaghetti with grilled tiger prawns, yellow capsicum, lettuce, baby carrots and grilled tomato. This was the one that won me an 8.5 outta 10! Yippee! So happy... hee. ^_^

Wowee... just realised what a long post this is, and all on FOOD! Yum... sigh, but now gotta get to work. Haven't been working much at home -- loads to catch up on. Tata!

New lappie!

Yes! Finally brought home a new laptop to replace the good ol' Fujitsu one that Hubby and I have been using since we got married. Not bad, that one... managed to last us slightly more than three solid years without servicing. It's still working, but since it started acting all slow and cranky some time back, we'd been talking about sending it into retirement and getting a new one.

And a new one we did get -- today! It's from the Sony Vaio series -- VGN-CS23G-- nothing too expensive or complicated, cos we only need it for work and the occasional entertainment. In fact, this one's one of Vaio's lowest priced products at $1499. It's cheap, stylish, comfortable to type (very important factor in my decision-making process) and really hassle-free.

Actually Hubby and I were on our way to the PC Show @ Suntec, but we thought we'd just drop by the Sony store at Bugis since I'd been eyeing a Vaio anyway. Besides, we were assured that we'd be given the exact same promotions available at the PC Show, so we could avoid having to jostle our way through the ridiculous sea of people that always appears at such events. And yup, the salesperson we spoke to was true to his words. We received a free upgrade of speed from 2GB to 4GB (worth $70) and a Vaio shock-absorbing laptop case (worth $99). The guy also threw in a free white mouse to match the laptop. ;)

After fiddling with the laptop almost the whole evening since we returned home after dinner, transferring files, installing new programmes, re-setting configurations etc, it's ready for use! Love typing on it... the feel and the look of the item is all great to me! Heehee. I'm lovin' my new gadget! ^_^

Special Needs

Just completed the first module of my training in special needs at NIE which lasted 3 days. The entire course will stretch till next year, and if I do well enough, I'll be certified as one of the 20% of secondary school teachers in the nation who are qualified to assist in student cases requiring special attention.

I didn't volunteer for this training -- just received an email telling me I'd been nominated by the school management and I'll just have to sign up for it within the next 24 hours (yeah... this happens a lot...) -- but I was quite open to attending it cos the topic's something I'm interested in. Learning/ behavioural disorders, disabilities... basically I need to learn how to manage and assist students with special needs, whether these needs stem from a diagnosed medical condition or simply surface for whatever unknown reason.

But I'm so glad I learned more than just this. I had the chance to listen to heartfelt sharing by children facing challenges because of certain disorders or conditions, their parents, certain school key personnel, and many lecturers and tutors who come equipped not just with knowledge and skills, but also both humorous and heartwrenching anecdotes from past experiences with such cases. I never knew that there are so many cases of students who are labelled failures at school simply because they do not succeed academically when the truth is that there is an underlying condition that prevents them from doing well. Some parents refuse to accept the notion that their child could be showing signs of a particular syndrome. Some others fear the social stigma that could be attached to their child once he is diagnosed with a certain condition. Many do not even pay enough attention to their child to realise that something is not quite right.

So many challenges. Parents. School system. Teachers. Society. Everyone has to start caring about these children. They might not do well at studies, but they could be blessed with other talents. Why shouldn't they have an equal chance to succeed at life instead of being marked down as 'abnormal'? Who's to even define them as 'abnormal'? Nobody's perfect. There're people who are short-sighted. People who are hot-tempered. People who are snobbish. People who are careless. People who are bad at directions. Don't these people show weaknesses in certain areas? Aren't we all lacking in some ways? What makes these children with 'special needs' less human than us?

Okay okay... *take a deep breath* Starting to get too overwhelmed with emotions. Not gonna ramble on. Will let this video sum up my thoughts:

Lessons I've learnt from Mr Flu Bug

Lesson #1: Stay off work at the first sign of Mr FB! (Don't even think of work)
Lesson #2: Sleep...sleep...SLEEP!!!
Lesson #3: Drink loads of water.
Lesson #4: SUBWAY cold turkey sandwich with fat-free onion + mustard sauce whets appetite!
Lesson #5: MacDonald's makes me feel more ill when MR FB's around *blea*
Lesson #6: Playing competitive games on the Xbox with Hubby worsens my fever! (especially when I keep losing =.=, think too agitated liao so temperature just shoots up -- really!!!)
Lesson #7: I can be so paralysed by aches and pains and fever yet be well enough to attend a course less than 2 days later -- it's like a miracle!
Lesson #8: Anti-fever and pain drug named 'Neurofen' ('beef powder'?! :p) sold at Watsons pharmacies works wonders -- it's even more effective than prescribed painkillers!
Lesson #9: To reduce phlegm, take whatever Chinese cough syrup that has the words "ban xia" in the name
Lesson #10: I hate Mr. FB! X(

Taboo... as well as veggies and crocs!

Taboo's such a fun game! Haha... First learnt the game while playing at HZ and Jess's place with some others a few years ago. Then didn't really have the chance to play much of the game till Thursday during some free time in the midst of the camp (yeah... the one during which I fell sick after the first night :S). Well, at least I had the chance to have fun and gain some new experiences during the camp. :)

Anyway, back to Taboo... Wai Yee brought along the game and asked some of us to play since we were all free for a while. So 6 of us -- Portia, Sophia, Chor Seng, Wai Yee, Sharon and I played in 3 pairs. It was the local version of Taboo and although we were already tired out from the events of the day, I think it helped us to relax and we were all having great fun competing with one another...haha...it certainly left me wanting more of the game...heh...

Okay then... what about veggies and crocodiles...??? What do they have in common... NOTHING... the first one got me feeling all calm and relaxed while the second just made me nauseous, albeit full of awe for the ferocious creatures. I'm talking about a trip to Lian Wah Hang Farm and Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm somewhere in Lim Chu Kang, an area I probably would never visit if not for the scheduled trips arranged as part of the camp programme to allow students to learn more about different trades and methods of doing business.

Lian Wah Hang Farm

Oh this one's pretty fun! Learnt some stuff about new technology in farming, and witnessed the germinating process of various veggies, which made me realise how precious even the life of plants are. Really not easy to grow a single plant well, let alone a huge farm covering acres of land. Think I'm certainly going to look at my veggies in a different light from now on. :p We had the privilege of walking alongside the boss of the farm as he personally led us on the tour. He came across as a really passionate man, full of pride about how he grew his veggies and how, because of the use of dependable technology, his harvests were less likely to be affected by seasonal or weather changes. This farm is also where NTUC supermarkets get their vegetables from.

And here're 2 other highlights of the trip...my first time tasting this butterhead lettuce with kiwi lime juice, a complimentary drink presented to us by the boss himself. We were told that it sells for $1.85 a bottle at selected supermarkets only, which probably explains why we'd never seen it before. At first I was hesitant about drinking it, cos I thought lettuce juice'd taste really weird. But I was pleasantly surprised after taking my first sip gingerly, cos the kiwi and lime mixed with the lettuce really well. It's like drinking kiwi and lime juice but with a tinge of lettuce in it. Cool!

And then, there's the lovely cat that I found stretching lazily on the ground... well, of course I couldn't resist playing with it, right? Ended up squatting there for quite some time stroking the kitty as it warmed up to me pretty fast while everyone else enjoyed another complimentary serving -- this time a large dish of salad along with dressing. Hee.

Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm

Okay, this one was an eye-opener, but not as pleasant as the previous farm. The first thing that hit us as we entered the gates was the nausea-inducing stench which the crocs seemed to all love nestling in. Ewww....

Check out the tough creatures... aiyo, they were so scary to look at, especially when they'd suddenly thrash about in the water as you stared at them, kicking up a real splash (and causing lots of kids to scream like there's no tomorrow). Thankfully, those cases were fewer. Most of the crocs simply remained in one position as if they were immobile, even with their jaw held wide open. Actually, after a while, I kinda got used to the stench, but what really made me wanna puke was when the guide invited everyone to admire and even touch a piece of fresh croc skin. Oh man... the smell was just horrible, and although there's no blood (which would almost certainly make me wanna faint), I just couldn't bring myself to stay a second longer near the skin after quickly snapping a photo of it. Ugh!

Think the kids were really more thrilled at being near the crocs than looking at some veggies. They also had the chance to take turns holding a baby croc. I also learnt from the guide that the only way for us to distinguish between a male and female croc was to insert a finger into the 'private part' on the underside of the croc (that sounded so crude, btw) and feel for a p****. He even jokingly asked if anyone wanted to do that. =.= Anyway, as much as I love animals in general, I wasn't eager to carry that baby croc at all, even though I like watching crocs on documentary shows. Maybe I'd be more inclined to just try holding it if it didn't remind me of the skin I saw before. That really upset me quite a bit, and also reminded me to go for VEGAN BAGS! It's just so cruel to use an animal's skin for some accessory. T_T

Speaking of accessory, before we left the farm, we were each given this:

It's a simple necklace featuring the tooth of a croc. Imagine the number of teeth that had to be plucked from the crocs to make this for every visitor that turned up?! (Btw, I checked... each croc has approx. 60-80 teeth.) That trip alone had about 150 of us visiting. Sigh. I brought it home, but I really don't know if I wanna wear it. I guess not...I'll just keep it as a souvenir. Poor croc.

Belated birthday surprise

Am now nursing a bad flu that I came home with after camping in school for one night, but thankfully it isn't as bad as it was yesterday when I felt kinda bedridden cos of the severe body aches and headache plus high fever (for the record, I slept like 28 hours between Friday evening and Sunday morning!). Today's much better... just the phlegm-filled cough that's troubling me. Need to get much much better in time for my course at NIE tomorrow! Argh!

Anyway, thought I'd relax a little by entering some nice events that happened during the past week before I got sick. First on my list is the surprise that I received from my form class after I had a lesson with them on Tuesday:

Awwww... have I ever mentioned how sweet a class this is? In my one-and-a-half years of being their form teacher, they've never failed to always amaze me by demonstrating how big their hearts are. If any one of them were my kid, I'd swell with pride at how they shine by being ever so sincere and willing to go the extra mile just to be nice towards others.

Heh, what happened was my class chairman pretended to wanna hold a class meeting to discuss a 'serious issue' after my lesson. We'd always have ad hoc class meetings like that so I didn't think much of it and agreed to stay back in class with them for a while as he conducted the meeting. Then ta-da! He and my welfare committee kids presented four mini log cakes from The Icing Room -- choc, strawberry and hazelnut (I only managed to take a pic of what was left of the choc cake after distributing the rest to the class :p). Ok, THAT caught me by surprise then, since I don't normally announce my birthday to students, but I might have mentioned that whenever anyone asked. I guess they just took note of it and decided to surprise me. Then one of my Student Councillors presented me with the lovely water bottle with my name and our class pic printed on it. Oh and there's the warning: "I'm hot!" on the bottle too, which I just read aloud in a 'sexy' voice when I noticed it. That certainly cracked the kids up...haha...

And what cracked ME up was when I had to blow out four candles (one on each log cake) after the class sang me a birthday song. The flames simply refused to be extinguished no matter how I tried to blow them out! I kept calling out to the kids, saying, "Hellooo, people! A little help would be good here! Else I'm gonna start spraying saliva all over the cakes ah...!" but they just kept laughing at how funny I looked. It was only later that my class chairman finally came to my rescue and snuffed out the candles for me. Hahaha... so cheeky, the kids... but I didn't mind. They're so super sweet and lovely that I'd provide them with a good laugh anytime! :D

Oh and there's another girl who wanted to give me something extra... she made a little bookmark with a handwritten note for me. So touching... :)

Sigh...am surely gonna miss them when they graduate at the end of the year... really think I'm so lucky to have them for two years cos they've made my past two years at work so enriching... :)

Woo hoo! Night Safari!

Yeah! After wanting to visit the Night Safari for ages, my wish was finally fulfilled the evening of my birthday! ^_^

Hubby was the one who first spotted some discount coupons in the papers and got me to print them from work. Then we invited Beebee along to share in this experience cos, like me, Beebee had never been to the Night Safari before. We had dinner at CCK Lot 1, then took a bus all the way there. Caught a little aboriginal performance, then queued for a long time to enter the Creatures of the Night show. Though it was hot and humid while we stood waiting for so long in the queue, it was totally worth it cos the performance led by the main host/ trainer was so hilarious. Some parts were also full of suspense as the audience waited for the animals to appear. One of the best parts was when a few trainers suddenly appeared yelling that a creature was loose in the house and made a big deal of trying to locate it, even getting some people in a frenzy for a short while. Then they finally zoomed in on one particular bench on which sat part of the audience, then they got those people to stand and after they lifted up the top wooden bench, hey presto! There lay a huge python! It took those few trainers to lift the heavy creature out and present it before the audience on the stage. Wow! Can you imagine -- the python was right under wherever those people sat for throughout the first half of the show! Cool! But in the early part of the show, I was a bit put off by some among the audience who did not heed instructions not to use flash cos the animals would be scared by it. It took so many repeated reminders by the host/ trainer before the flashes eventually subsided. Geez, what's up with those people?!

After the show, the 3 of us quickly went to take the tram ride. We came face to face with the animals as we rode on the tram... so exhilarating! I just love the excitement of being out there in such proximity to the wild animals. Then after the first half of the tram ride, we alighted and went on the walking trail to visit other animals. Some highlights of the trail I particularly enjoyed include entering the fruit bats area where large bats fed on hanging fruit right in front of my face and whizzed past my ears at times (poor Beebee kinda escaped from the bat area in a flash cos she was so scared), as well as squatting down and staring at eye level at a spotted leopard with just a layer of glass between us. Awesome!

There were so many trails to explore that it was really great exercise... haha. Thank goodness Hubby was with us though. I don't think either Beebee or I would be able to find our way about the place that easily without him. We were just following him for most parts of the trail. Haha. Anyway, after all the walking, we went back to board another tram to complete the second half of the ride. I really really enjoyed myself, save for the fact that it was sometimes hard to squint to spot the nocturnal animals in the dark.

By the time we were done with the tram ride, it was already past 11pm. We then explored some of the souvenir shops but I guess the stuff there appeal more to tourists than locals, so we didn't buy anything. In the end, we just hopped into a cab waiting right outside the Night Safari (so convenient!) and went home, exhausted but more or less satisfied.

I think the novelty would definitely wear off after some time, so it's unlikely that we'll visit this attraction again in the near future, but I'm glad I've got some wonderful moments to remember! :D

BBQ mini party @ Regent Park

My British colleague, Fiona, invited the whole department to the condo where she stays for a little BBQ party last Thursday. At first, because the party was in the evening at the end of a looong hectic work day, I thought I would be too tired to enjoy myself. It turned out to be quite relaxing and heartwarming though, especially since it also doubled up as a farewell party for our young intern and another relief teacher who'd be going on to university soon. Before heading over to the gathering at Regent Park condo, Adra and I went to Sophia's place for a while cos the 3 of us were supposed to go shop for drinks to bring to the party. And yoohoo! Look who I had eyes for only while we were at Sophia's! Yeah... who else but Xiaohua, the cutie pie!

Anyway, when we finally got to Regent Park in a cab, I was wowed by what greeted us as we walked from the security guard post to the BBQ pit. There's a majestic pool, jacuzzi, dim romantic lighting created by the lamps and the palms, and a huge lounge house that consists of function rooms, what seems to be like a mini library, and even a billiard area. Wah... this is like the nicest condo I've seen. So relaxing, the ambience!

Though there wasn't a fantastic range of food, everyone was satisfied by what was prepared. There were sotong balls, chicken wings, otahs (oh, but never buy them -- these were the ones in convenience packs... yucks), self-created salads, bread, sausages and lotsa fruit to go with choc fondue! Haha, notice the big frying pan in the pics above? I learnt how to 'BBQ' food the efficient way from Sophia! At one point, the fire was too huge and anything that went on top of it would be burnt in no time, so the ingenious Sophia did what she normally did at BBQs -- she used a pan to cook the food above the fire, then once it was more or less cooked, she simply put it on the grill for a while to give it the charcoal flavour before serving. Haha. She was the main chef that evening while I simply stood next to her and ate whatever she set aside for us to share. :p

Before the party ended, we had a little farewell speech ceremony for the 2 temps whom we would be saying goodbye to. One was Alvin, whom I taught when he was in Sec 3 the year I first joined the school (I feel really old now that he's already completed his NS and is going on to university!) and the other's Ren Ying, the intern who's attached to me for one of my classes. They each gave a really heartwarming speech and I also said a few words to wish my intern all the best. In return, I got a really touching self-designed note from her:

Just as I might have inspired Ren Ying, I think I was encouraged by her words too. Knowing that an 18-year-old looks up to me as a role model in her future career makes me feel that I should continue to strive hard, despite feeling overwhelmed and down at times when I meet with failures or didn't do as well as expected. That's why her note is now pinned at my cubicle with other motivational items that remind me to push on. :)

Girl stuff ;)

Recently got new girly items for me to use... some are gifts while the others were purchased after they caught my eye during recent shopping trips, plus there were great discounts offered!

First check out this set of bronzing powder from Sephora that comes with 3 pretty prints of various shades... so adorable! Sophia bought this for me as a birthday pressie, together with a hot pink shade of nail polish that she'd ordered online. That girl's been ordering and experimenting with lotsa colours for her nails these days... haha. Anyway, I'd love to start using this set of powder but gosh! It's really so cute that I can't bear to spoil how everything looks right now in its original pack. But since the hols are about to come, I guess I'll just begin playing with it a little when I can totally take my time to dress up to go out. Haha.

Then I have this pretty sakura print set of glass teapot and flask, thanks to Beebee! ;) I'd come across this when we went shopping some time ago and commented on how lovely they look, especially the flask, and how the sakura on it reminded me of my favourite Japan. I didn't get any of them cos I thought they weren't exactly cheap plus they were just what I'd like to have but didn't need. Hee, in the end Beebee actually surprised me with them! So sweet of her to remember...heh.

And finally, there's the simple but stylish-looking workbag that I came across at Zara while out with Hubby some time ago. I'd been hunting for one cos I was getting tired of bringing my Burberry manor bag to work all the time -- just wanted something less showy (save the showy bit for the weekends! :p) and bigger so I could fit more stuff in it. Was quite pleased when I saw this bag after seeing so many other ones which were either not what I like or above my budget. Even though this bag was reasonably priced, it took me some time to decide to get it cos I didn't want it to be an impulse buy. Dear Hubby eventually made the trip back to Zara after a few days to get it for me. Hee. ^_^ I've been carrying this to work for the past few days -- hung my Etro mandarin duck bag charm on it to liven up its look too. :)

Oh and my latest latest purchases at the GSS! Got myself a pair of Tangerine flats at only $19.90 at Tangs! Think I'm gonna declare myself a fan of this brand. Their shoes are really comfortable, good-looking and even more importantly, really cheap! This is only my second pair by this brand and I'm already loving it. The skirt's from FCUK and used to cost close to $160 at normal retail price. I bought it for only $19.90! Wowee! Think it's the biggest discount I ever earned for anything I purchased! Then there's the nice checked blouse I got at Nichii for about $33. Really not bad; this entire set cost me only about $70 or so! Hohoho... I love good deals! :D