Latest buys

Oh ya, almost forgot to post my latest item to add to my bag collection:

A fairly new arrival by DKNY -- supposed to be a casual sports tote cos the metal bag tag says 'DKNY Active'. Got this last Saturday. Anyway, the circumstances surrounding the purchase of this bag are different from those of my other bags. Hubby was the one who 'insisted' I get this by issuing me an ultimatum -- "If you don't buy this one, you don't buy bags anymore ah!" Wah. That's cos this one's quite cheap if you compare it to other DKNY bags, and actually looks nicer than some of the even more expensive ones. Plus it's quite spacious, which I like, and it's non-leather (yes, remember I'm trying to go for vegan bags now?). With all these reasons, he thinks I'd be crazy to let this bag go, and my next purchase would have to beat all the above, which could be pretty tough. So yeah... I got it in the end.

No regrets though. Carried it to the NATAS fair yesterday, and carried it to work today cos I'm dressed in casual sporty wear anyway for today's Teachers' Day celebrations. Kinda like it more and more with each time I use it, cos it looks good and is functional. No complaints! :)

Our study room aka 'comic shop' also underwent a revamp. We found a nice shelf at Muji for only $39 on Saturday too which Hubby assembled later that night. Now we've a nice corner to store many things that have been taking up too much space on our study table as well as most of the bags that I can afford to stack together. The whole room certainly looks so much neater than before! :)

Think it's really a good idea to switch the position of our furniture once in a while cos it really feels as if it's a new place and it's pretty exciting to still shop around for new additions to the home! ;) Now I'm also more motivated to sit for longer hours to do my work in the study room. Haha.

NATAS Holidays 2009

Usually we don't go out on Sundays, but yesterday was the last day of the NATAS fair and we've been talking about going for a holiday with Beebee this coming December, so the three of us agreed to go find out more over there.

And it was a good thing we went, even though both Hubby and I were a tad reluctant at first to go cos we had to pay for admission, plus travel all the way east, plus we didn't like jostling about in crowded places. But it turned out to be quite all right -- despite the crowd, there was sufficient space to walk about without hitting people whenever we turned, and we picked up quite a bit of information. But the best thing was, we managed to catch some really cool performances, including a sneak preview performed by the cast of the Korean martial arts comedy "JUMP" which Hubby took me to watch a couple of years back. Now they're back in Singapore again for another performance -- it's so hilarious, but some stunts are really breathtaking. Hubby and I were still tickled by their antics even as we watched them again a second time yesterday! A MUST-WATCH indeed, I say! ;D

And the best part? After the show, we got to take pictures with the entire cast! Yeah! They were so friendly and all... wah... really happy...heehee...

Okay, back to the travel plans. We narrowed down our options and decided on one particular tour package by SA Tours to Perth, which includes a farmstay and a visit to the Pinnacles, orchard, chocolate factory, winery, Fremantle, Caversham Wildlife Park etc. It's a 6-day tour, and we should be going off in the early part of the first week of December. Initially, it was just supposed to be the three of us going, but I extended the invitation to Mummy and Papa, who agreed to go along as well, especially Papa who loves to venture around places and explore what's available.

It'll be the first time all of us travel overseas together, so hopefully it turns out to be a smooth and enjoyable trip for everyone! :)

Staff Dinner 2009

Our annual staff dinner was held @ Hilton Hotel last Thursday evening. Tried their food before at seminars and conferences etc. and know how great the food there tastes, so was quite looking forward to an evening of great food and games...plus, I get to wear the black dress I bought recently and the pair of super high heels by Hush Puppies that I bought eons ago but hardly get to wear! ;P

Got a ride from Peggy to the hotel and rode in her car with a few other colleagues. Quite enjoyed the light-hearted conversations we had, especially the part about the drama serials we watched...didn't expect there to be so many fellow TV drama fans around...haha...

The event was held in the Panorama Function Room on the 24th floor and there was at a cocktail reception by the pool (felt so relaxed lounging by the tranquil pool and its lights) before the dinner started. Think each department really did its best to come up with games and performances so that everyone'd be constantly entertained throughout the 8-course meal. Overall, pretty fun -- oh except for the fact that I had to wake up as early as usual cos the next day's still a work day! :S

Touching words

今天，另一位可爱的小心灵
开心地献给了我
一篇作文。
内容描述着我在她心目中的地位与对她的影响。
我读了，
深深地感动了，
也觉得被鼓励了。
谢谢你，Jaslyn。:)

New TV lounge...

Hehe, when the cat's not around, the mice come out to play. Well, I sure have a large adorable 'mouse' at home. Look what I came back to after work today...

Hubby and I were at Jurong Point for a while after I left work last Saturday, and we chanced upon this curved half leather sofa that looked really comfortable. Tried sitting on it and thought how cosy it'd make our TV lounge look if we had that instead of the one we have at home. Then today, I came back to see that the 2-seater had been moved out from the study to the TV lounge, along with the magazine rack that used to hold comics in the study.

Think this new arrangement makes our TV lounge look more inviting...it did make me wanna just drop my bag and plonk myself on the couch to read my latest issue of 8days, which Hubby left right at the top of the rack. Hee. Only thing is, now without the 2-seater in the study, that room looks kinda empty. Just spoke to Hubby on the phone...apparently this mini makeover isn't complete yet. There's gonna be more moving and, knowing Hubby, it'll be really soon! Can't wait. ;)

Yummy Sunday homecooked meals!

Though busy with work over the weekend, I managed to make time yesterday to cook two out of the three meals we had at home. Turned out much to my liking (and quite to Hubby's :p) so am really pleased.

Breakfast was...

No Japanese style breakfast, cos woke up later than planned and didn't have enough time to cook porridge and the mini dishes. But this worked fine for me too! Toasted bread, pan fried luncheon meat (wanted breakfast ham but couldn't find any at the last minute grocery shopping), grilled tomatoes, egg sunny side up with melted garlic & herb cheese and sprinkled seaweed flakes, and seedless black grapes. Yum! Actually I 'stole' this idea from a recipe book I was browsing at a bookstore the day before and sort of reinvented it with whatever ingredients I could find at home. :p

Then, dinner was...

Yum, one of my favourites -- pumpkin! Experimented with this for the first time last Monday after work, and it turned out to be quite ok, so I tried it again a second time last evening, hoping it'd taste just as good for Hubby to try. It turned out even better, I thought! But too bad Hubby just has this thing about pumpkins... he'd never quite fancy it, I guess! Never mind... shall cook this for myself in future then. Like the experts always say, choose food items that're bright and colourful cos they've got more nutrients. Pumpkins are great cos they contain:

• a good amount of Vitamins C, K and E -- great for skin and immune system
• a burst of Vitamin A -- great for the skin
• antioxidants -- help to lower the risk of cancer
• lots of minerals, including magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc -- reduce risk of hypertension, boost immune system, aid bone density support
• fibre -- prevents cancer and heart diseases

I also cooked wanton noodles to go with the pumpkin (hmm, actually it's the other way round :p). Bought the noodles last week but didn't quite get down to cooking it, so thought it'd be good to cook them last night. Added some leafy green veggies and prawn/fish dumplings, plus some stir fried diced luncheon meat (left from breakfast) and red capsicum. Cooked enough to pack a portion to work today and had it as lunch. Yummy!

To top it off, there's also my white radish and carrot soup, which I grew to really love. Hee.

Actually, with all these dishes I've been experimenting, I'm wondering if I should start a food blog. Haha... so 不要脸 right? Not a gourmet chef, can't even bear to touch raw meat etc. yet wanna start a food blog? :p Just thought it'd be interesting to take pics of what I cook or maybe what I enjoy out there and put them in a separate blog for records. After all, I do love looking at pictures of food! *drool* ;P Think they're kinda therapeutic, just like how cooking sometimes is to me.

Anyway, we shall see...heehee...

Western breakfast... kinda :p

Was still thinking of the nice breakfast buffet Hubby and I enjoyed last weekend... decided that I'd wake up earlier today to prepare something like that for a Sunday breakfast instead of having the usual cereal and milk over newspapers.

And here's my homemade imitation of the hotel breakfast comprising 2 grilled sausages, a hashbrown, scrambled eggs, scrambled tomatoes and toasted wholemeal bread with melted garlic & herb cheese and tomato between them. Coupled with a glass of milk, this breakfast can really last a long time! Had it a few hours ago and till now, both Hubby and I are still feeling pretty full, despite having a game of table tennis just now. Maybe I shall go without lunch today...really can't stomach anything else now.

Am most pleased with my scrambled eggs, of course. Added some melted light butter over it for extra taste. Yum!

Thinking of attempting a Japanese breakfast set next time... hee. ;)

Tokidoki Fever

Am starting to feel a bout of fever... tokidoki fever, that is.

After visiting the toy convention earlier today, I returned this evening to change the laptop wallpaper to feature tokidoki, and my mobile phone's images -- both cover and main image -- have been changed as well to this.

Tokidoki means 'sometimes' in Japanese. It's created by an Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners. I first took notice of this at the toy convention last year. Also bought two of its badges at a toy store at Far East Plaza just cos they were really cute. So hard to resist!

Have seen the designs on LeSportsac bags and also the limited edition tie-ins with Hello Kitty at Takashimaya Hello Kitty corner (but the items, though tempting, were really expensive eg. close to 100 bucks for a coin purse, I think). Onitsuka shoes also started having their prints... they seem to be doing really well everywhere! Anyway, I always end up just admiring them then walking away from them later on. But now... oh dear... I even went to the website earlier at http://www.tokidoki.it/ just to check out their other products and saw so many stationery items that made me drool.

Ugh.

Ok ok...no more thinking about Tokidoki. Must REALLY get down to work now.

See & Shop

Today's weekend trip to City Hall area was rather eventful, and also quite rewarding.

Hubby's gains today:

1. a Fortis watch at 60% discount (went to Sincere Fine Watches' sale)

2. an Orient watch at slightly over 20% discount (this was at Hubby's favourite watch store)

My gains:

1. a formal black dress at 20% discount at Robinsons -- plan to wear this to the upcoming staff dinner @ Hilton Hotel

2. a number of freebies to go with my usual Face Shop supplies

3. 2 cute sticky pads

We visited the annual Singapore Toy Games & Comic Convention at Suntec City too. That's where I got my cute sticky pads. Think this year's event is more fun than last year's. There were also many cosplay participants and also more cute items on display. The comic book artist Brian Bolland was also present at a booth to autograph materials and take photos with fans of his works.

Also signed up for an MOF citizen card after having lunch at MOF @ Suntec. Like the place for its fast service and yummy preservatives/ MSG-free food. Even more encouraged to visit it after learning that part of its takings go to charity. :)

Returned home early in the evening to catch Jim Carrey's 'Liar Liar' on TV. Saw the trailer and thought it'd be a hilarious show but was unfortunately not very much captivated by his exaggerated antics. Maybe I'm past the stage where I'm easily amused by slapstick humour...Hmm..am I getting old or what? :p

Later, Hubby'll be watching 'Silent Hill' (yaay! Another free movie) while I work before the TV. Don't really wanna pay full attention lest I get nightmares later tonight -- thanks to my over-active imagination. @_@

*Yawn* Am already feeling tired. Oh no. Better get down to work now. Tata.

Staycation @ Meritus Mandarin: Day Two

Slept pretty well at night...when morning came, I was raring to go, even though I was still partially drowsy from sleep (it's a complicated feeling :p). Took more pictures of the buildings outside -- the roads of Orchard were so quiet in the early morning and there was hardly any traffic around. Doesn't the slightly frosted glass of the hotel window present a rather surreal picture of the area? :)

Anyway, after I had a quick shower, it was time for us to get breakfast! Went back to the Chatterbox and soon found ourselves going around gathering food on our plates. There was quite a spread, from the usual items included in American breakfast to Asian breakfast stuff. Didn't really go for everything -- skipped most of the Asian stuff except for the Cantonese chicken porridge, and had loads of salad, a couple of sausages, a chicken wing, some crisp bacon, seafood gyoza (one of my favourites there!) and egg. Almost thought I wouldn't be able to heap my favourite scrambled egg onto my plate cos there wasn't any to be seen on the buffet tables, but later came across a special counter where you could order scrambled egg with your choice of fillings, so I ordered one with mushroom, chicken sausage and tomato. Yum. :) No breakfast buffet would be complete without scrambled eggs, I say! :p

After breakfast, we returned to our room to rest a while before going out again. Read newspapers and managed to catch most parts of a wonderful movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer on HBO which brought me to tears (sigh...what else is new? :p) too while Hubby was in the shower. Then, it's hello Orchard once again after a few steps out the main entrance of the hotel. Heehee.

Went back to the Chatterbox for their famous Mandarin Chicken Rice, which was included in the promotion. We weren't very hungry cos of the breakfast buffet we had, but fortunately, we were still able to eat. Omg... this award-winning dish that makes the hotel famous is a must-try! It costs $25.50 per set, but one can't really complain. The steamed chicken's pretty tender, and comes in three layers, each piled on top of the other. That's a whole lotta chicken for a single person to handle! Then the rice. Fluffly and light, with the flavour of chicken, but not oily at all. Both chicken and rice go really well with their special chilli, which I'm impressed with, cos I usually don't get any kick outta eating the normal chicken rice chilli. But this one's actually able to set my tongue on fire for a while, and it tastes really good. :) Then there's the dark soya sauce and ginger garlic mix. MMMmmm... thumbs up! What I love too is their chicken broth which tastes really healthy, with a generous piece of round tofu and lettuce served along with it. Overall, delicious!

Sigh... really enjoyed the stay, the great food, the company, the shopping/ walking about so leisurely these couple of days. Went back to BT for dinner, and could barely walk anymore after that. Stomach's just too stuffed! And guess what, Mummy cooked CHICKEN as well for dinner -- dish AND soup!

Anyway, now that it's back to reality once again, I'm missing the weekend stay lots. Though we never left Singapore, it really felt like a holiday for us. Now I'm beginning to see why some people are all ga-ga about staycations instead of going abroad. You get the holiday mood, minus the hassle of having to pack so many things and travel long hours on planes, as well as going through all the check-ins and outs at customs etc. But of course, I know I'd still enjoy going abroad; it's just that now, gimme a staycation like this any time and I'll be delighted too! *grinz*

Staycation @ Meritus Mandarin: Day One

At last, the mini weekend getaway (to the heart of Orchard) arrived!

The service we experienced at Meritus Mandarin was quite impeccable overall...and a pleasant surprise was in store for us when we were checking in -- Hubby and I were supposed to get a deluxe room for the promotion, but we were bumped up to a premier room instead cos the former's all fully booked, and at no extra charge! Lucky us! ^_^

We were given a room on the 26th floor near the lift, so it was really quite convenient for us. The view was quite great, with familiar shopping malls in sight everywhere, just that at that level, we got to view the top and less noticed parts of those buildings. :) I think the coolest part of our room was the bathroom -- it was so spacious, with a comfortably large bathtub and two separate sinks before a full mirror. Other hotel bathrooms we've used before weren't this nice. Hmm...wonder what the deluxe room's bathroom is like...

After chilling out in the room a bit with Beebee, and giving her her birthday pressie (a DS Scrabble 2009 game), we left to explore other parts of the hotel. Was a tad disappointing that the swimming pool was still in the process of undergoing upgrading works, so that was out of bounds, and Beebee didn't get to explore the hotel gym as she'd hoped to, cos there was someone sitting at a counter right outside the gym and it'd be a little weird to ask to go in for a look-see. :p We did get to go about the restaurant where we'd be dining at the next day for breakfast and lunch -- the Chatterbox, located on the 38th/39th floor. Pretty cosy. The 38th floor's more like a bar lounge while the regular diners climb the stairs to the 39th floor. The lift doors that go straight to the 38th floor double up as the direct entrance to the restaurant. Lovely. :)

Next, we walked right out for some shopping-- pretty decent having Ngee Ann City at our doorstep, albeit for a day or two! :p Time really flies when you're having fun. The next moment we knew, we were settling down for dinner at the Forum. Oh, and I finally got the TH large pink and brown tote bag that I'd been thinking about for two weeks. Like the bag, like the Hilfiger Denim carriers it comes in! Beebee liked them too, and got Hubby to ask Isaac, the manager we were familar with, for extra ones for her carriers collection -- the second time she did that to him! Haha... after that he kept joking about how 丢脸 it was... :p

After dinner at Secret Recipe, we went back to chill out again in the hotel room, but not before Beebee chose some cakes at TCC for her pre-birthday desserts. Had some fun singing a birthday song with Hubby for Beebee, and then sharing the cakes. Then we just watched some TV programmes on the different channels.

Later, after Beebee had gone home, Hubby and I had fun filling the bathtub with hot water, cos we wanted to soak in it and savour our Tokyo onsen experience once again. It was so hilarious cos it took us ages to get the temperature of the water right! At first it was really too hot... each time we out a foot in to test the water, we ended up taking it right out a few seconds later, going 'oww...oww...owww..' and making all the hissing sounds, and maybe a few #@&#@#*! from Hubby. Heh. Oh but once the temperature was fine, my...it really was shiok! You could just feel the tiredness and stress of the week al draining from your body. Of course, it wasn't exactly like the onsen experience, but it's good enough for me! ;D

Finally retired for the night after watching "Wanted" on HBO, a film Hubby'd wanted to catch. Next day's pretty fun too! ;)

--

Thank you for making the effort to speak to me in person today
and to show concern after knowing I was terribly upset a few days ago.
Thank you for humbly admitting that it was an oversight on your part
that caused me to have to endure horrible words,
and for patiently explaining to me that it hadn't been my fault,
and that I did what was actually right.

Your words restored my self-esteem,
for I pride myself as a professional who, though not always perfect, is at least responsible.
So though I was previously very angry and hurt
and even upset at you,
I thank you for setting things right now,
and making me feel that I am still the kind of person whom I view myself as at work.

And I must say that in doing so,
you have also regained some of my respect for you as a superior.

Thank you.

Finally...

Got 2 new items that delighted me today...

First, it's a new chair for my workstation. I've been using my previous chair for about 6 years already and it's stained, unstable (every time I sit on it I feel like I'm out there at sea, rocking in all directions) and the wheels are so stiff that I can hardly move about while in my seat. Anyway, once I received notification that I could just send my old chair for a one-to-one exchange, I immediately responded. Yipee...no more rocking around whenever I need to sit. :p

The next thing that made me even happier is the book that I asked Hubby to get for me! Yeah...he went to Kinokuniya to get it for me this afternoon and now it's safely in my hands. Can't wait to finish reading the current novel I have and get started on this one. :) It'll take a while though, cos I only have time to read as I travel to and from work whenever it's term time. But never mind, what matters is I've got it now!

Tomorrow's National Day celebrations in school...am holding a mini class food party while the kids complete the work on their National Day projects. After tomorrow will be the day Hubby and I check in at Meritus Mandarin for our mini staycation. Can't wait!

Back to normal

Things are fine now.

Everything's back to normal.

I was shown concern and offered some valuable advice, which I heeded and which served me well.

Now I'm finally pacified and at peace once again.

Hurrah...till the next destructive moment?

Sigh. That's life. Gotta survive it.

Upcoming hotel stay

Hubby surprised me today with his plan for a weekend stay at Meritus Mandarin Hotel. Well, at least I've got something special to look forward to this National Day weekend, and this plan made me feel better at the end of a terrible day.

There's the ad that he came across in the papers today and showed me just now when he came back from work. Seeing such a great deal usually gets him all excited, and since he figured we probably wouldn't be booking this room there at the usual price anyway, what better time to book than now? So he called up the hotel, and managed to get a room!

Beebee will come along and kay poh around the hotel room and its facilities too when we check in... haha. Am thinking of giving her a pre-birthday tea treat too, with her favourite blackforest cake. ;)

Thank you, Hubby. :)

I'm seeing RED.

YOU just made me so darn mad today.

You and your stupid words
You and your implied accusations
You forming your dumb conclusions without finding out the facts first
And then even making me look so bad in front of others!

You might not know it's me you offended
But it doesn't matter to you anyway
cos you think you have the right to act in any way you like
to anyone you want

You're BIG; you're GOD.
That's why.

Everyone's gotta kowtow to you
to get into your good books
And don't you just love twirling them round your fingers
And have them hankering after more perks you might offer them?
Or scream at them whenever you want
Just cos no one else will dare to holler back at you?

But sorry. I don't go for these.
I don't wanna play your games.
I don't wanna demean myself just so I can be somewhere
or someone.
And so I certainly don't see myself
forgiving you for these nasty remarks you made about me without even bothering to find out the truth from me first.
Even criminals are given a fair trial before being sentenced!

And YOU.

You upset me too.
You and your 'I'm a nice person' image
Trying to do your best to improve things
But always ending up a failure at that

All because you are timid
All because you don't speak up when you are the only one with enough authority to do so
You allow darkness to reign
and extinguish what little flame of hope we had left for brighter days.

And YOU OTHERS.

You others who know the truth
You others who know that someone has been maligned
But all hiding in your little holes
Not daring to say anything
for fear of being attacked by the monstrous being.
You give me advice on what to do
how to resolve the problem situation
But keep quiet otherwise when your words could vouch for my innocence.

I'm angry.
And I'm absolutely disgusted.

Desperate for this book!

I made Hubby sit and watch through a DVD last night with me, titled "One Litre of Tears" or “一公升的眼泪”. It's a Japanese film based on the true story of a young girl, Aya Kito, who suffered from spinocerabellar ataxia, a degenerative disease of the nervous system. She was diagnosed at the tender age of 15, but due to the lack of treatment available since it was a relatively rare condition, there wasn't much that the doctors could do except help her with physiotherapy etc. to delay the possible effects.

Despite being struck with this wasting disease, Aya Kito continued to face life with optimism. Sometimes she fell, sometimes she cried, sometimes she felt rejected, and sometimes she felt helpless. All these, together with the more positive moments she experienced, she documented in her precious diaries as she loved to write. But never once did she give up on life. However, she eventually passed away after battling with her condition for 10 years.

Having watched this movie last night, I felt inspired to face life the same way she did. If she, someone who has to go through such a devastating experience, can still smile each day she wakes up, I believe I can face the challenging days at work with courage as well. Somewhere along the way, there might be events occurring to upset me and fill me with dread again, but I'll try to remind myself of the name 'Aya Kito', and her story. Hopefully, that will get me in better emotional shape. Now that I also know that Aya Kito's diaries have been published into a book and translated into different languages, I'm so gonna get my hands on it!

I learnt from someone's blog that she found the published diary translated into English at Kinokuniya, Ngee Ann City. Just called up the good people at Kino and found out that the book is still in stock, but there aren't many copies left! So I immediately made a reservation (so kiasu right) and am gonna ask Hubby to go down to get it for me since it can only be reserved for 3 days and I certainly don't have the luxury of going all the way to town on weekdays.

Hubby please please get me the book!!!

'My' new...WATCH

Okay, this might sound like I've been brainwashed by Hubby, but that's not the case, I swear! I'm still me, the crazy bag lady, not Hubby's twin double! :p Anyway, the thing is that recently I caught myself gazing more often at my watch box, especially after it's got a new addition to the family.

Okay, check it out. I've got me a new secondhand Tissot Seastar 660. How's that??? Here's how the story goes:

One day, SOMEONE bought this brand new watch at a Tissot boutique cos he'd done some online research and sorta liked this watch. He was happy with his purchase at first, but after some time (and some ding-donging :p), decided that the watch didn't feel right on his wrist, and should belong to me instead, especially since the first time I tried on the watch for fun. So now I got myself a secondhand but new watch! :P

Initially I thought the watch was nice, but didn't have much 'feel' about it. Just liked the fact that it looks masculine yet not too guyish. After all, I'm more of a big watches kinda girl. But after wearing it a few times last week, I sort of grew more attached to it, and thus began the recent habit of admiring my watches, especially this one.

Today I wore my Rado, partly out of guilt for not having used it for the last couple of weeks, and partly cos Hubby just tightened the bracelet for me so it fits better than before (guess I lost some weight on my wrists! Hoorah!), but no prizes for guessing what I'll be staring at to tell time at work tomorrow! ;)

Injustice

经验多，并不代表永远对。
辈份高，并不一定就完美。
几次错，不表示永远犯罪。
微笑时，不一定是种叛逆。

为人师表， 在指责孩子的当儿，
带着有色眼光，完全不顾小心灵的处境与感受，
甚至含血喷人， 以逼供做为目标。

他也有他好的一面，
也懂得以礼待人。
但他错就错在他不会因为面对的是师长
就低声下气，或处处讨好。
他选择对那些对他好的人
露出他最真诚的那一面。

试问：真正错的，到底是他，还是不懂得以基本待人的道理来对待他的大人呢？