Iphone 6

After months of waiting for this...

Okay la, I didn't wait very long. I had plans to buy it but not those first batches. Now the problem is there is no stock everywhere in Singtel, especially the 64gb one which supposedly is the most price worthy. Singtel says cannot reserve or call me when there is stock. And actually I didn't know their website can track stock too haha. I just wanted the most convenient Bishan outlet because the account is under my dad, and I need him to be there when I purchase the phone.

Until one day, Harry told me that I can buy online LOL. I didn't know. I think the price is the same and all. I went to Singtel online store and saw that for 64 gb, only gold was left, and it was selling fast. I wanted that colour. I went through the creation of an account under my father's IC. Actually the one pass account was created some time ago, I just retrieved the password. It was too stressful to buy in office, so I just explored a bit. I was meeting Denny and Hong Wei that day and couldn't fly home as soon as possible to purchase. When I reached home, there were no stocks anymore -.-.

So the next morning I checked again, Gold 64gb was up, selling fast again hmmm. This time I tried to buy fast fast while in office. Super stressful and hoping nobody comes to disturb me. Finally, I purchased my Iphone 6 and then there were no stocks again! HAHAHA. I opted for Singpost Pop-station collection because delivery is more troublesome. I need to have an authorization form and my dad's IC upon collection. 2 days later (I chose the earliest given date), I went to collect the phone from the locker by entering the locker number and password. So convenient. I think this works great rather than you miss the delivery and all. 

I was too tired so I only used the phone the next day. I should have done something earlier: activate the nano-sim card! I tried to activate it online but there was some error. So I called to activate, typing in the number and stuff, but also can't. They linked me to a customer service person who told me that it will be done within 4 hours. About 5 hours later, I called back to ask them why it hasn't been activated. The guy said that I was in a queue -.-. OMG activate one card also must queue. Never knew this since my sim card was always almost immediately activated when I buy in store. He said within 24 hours. So I ask whether Monday [I called on Sat] will confirm get? He cannot guarantee too. Then on Monday midnight, suddenly my two phones had no signal. 

I waited till morning and saw that there's still no signal from both phones. So I called Singtel again. The lady told me that it's already activated and maybe I should restart my phone. HAHA. It's not that I never thought of it but somehow I just didn't restart my phone and kept thinking that the sim card was still not working. Dumb dumb. 

Switching back to Iphone requires a little adaptation but it's still very user friendly and I am so in love with it. One good reason why I switched back is because of the battery! Never realized the good in its battery until I started using S3 which has a lousier battery life. And if you remember, my S3 battery was bloated and I had to replace it. See, not lasting at all. Also, the plus point is that Iphone 6 is larger than the previous ones! When I started using S3 after Iphone 4, it was really nice because of the big screen. 

Anyway, my Iphone 4 is still alive and well. Just a bit lag and the buttons not so well [Sort of repaired the lock button myself hehe]. It can't be updated to the latest anymore. Nevertheless, apple is really a good brand!

P.S. I bought my covers before I got the phone :p

Chicken Pox

This post is a recount of my terrible experience with chicken pox, just last year August.

On a fateful Saturday, I was out with my bf at Tampines Mall. We were having A1 porridge at the food court for dinner. A1 porridge is my favourite but somehow I had no appetite that day. I felt sick for no specific reason, no flu or fever, just felt tired and sick. When I woke up on Sunday, I felt bodily aches but I continued with my schedule to give tuition to my Thai students. On my way up to their unit, I scratched my neck and felt like water came out. I didn't put much thought into it as I thought they were pimples. Afterwhich, I realized that I burst a few of them. They were slightly itchy and seems to keep producing the watery substance.

Everybody thought I shouldn't be having chicken pox because I got it before (or so I thought). Later that day, I started to feel a few bumps on my body which looked like blisters. Because of curiosity and itchy hands, I used a cotton bud to burst one of them lol. On Monday, 2 to 3 red dots started to appear on my face. They looked like pimples so I was still able to face the world. I called to make an appointment in the polyclinic but was told that I could walk in straight because it is a suspected chicken pox case. The staff on the phone told me how she knew because her kids had got it and consoled me T,T. Poor me.

I was told to wait outside when I arrived at the polytechnic.Then I went into this special isolated room and waited for the doctor, who then came, all wrapped up. Thinking that I have had chicken pox before, I told the doctor about it. He looked surprised as I think it is probably very low chance to get chicken pox a second time. He prescribed me some itch medicine, fever medicine and calamine lotion. The medicine was sent to the room for me and I don't even need to pay as the bill will be sent directly to my house. Then, I left from the backdoor lol. So outcasted.

The pox begin to appear more. I asked my mother about my chicken pox incident when I was young. Turned out, there isn't a diagnosis that I had chicken pox because she didn't bring me to the doctor. She assumed I had chicken pox and said that at that era, people don't see the doctor and just let the chicken pox go away by itself. Hence, my conclusion is that it wasn't chicken pox at all the first time. My neck was starting to be infected and itch because of my accidental scratch. I kept applying calamine lotion till my neck turned white but this lotion doesn't work very well in stopping the itch. I resorted to putting prickly heat powder and had to slowly caress my neck to relief the itch haha. The rest of the body seems less itchy, from what I remembered. But there are nights that I can't sleep because everywhere is itchy.

The pox grew all over my body, a few here and there on my legs and arms, and a lot on my face, and also my scalp T.T. I scratched my scalp anyway since even if scars were left, they can't be seen. Washing my hair was so difficult because I cannot wash properly. Feeling an uneven scalp filled with poxes is quite disgusting. I had to wear sports bra instead because they would not press against any pox. My face was horrifying to look at.

Despite my condition, I forced myself to catch up with my readings in school. I cannot go to school for two weeks and had missed the first two lessons of a module I took with my bf, upset much. My mother would prepare a kind of herbal water for me to bathe with everyday [felt so touched]. I couldn't eat any chicken, seafood and so many things that time. I was emo, lethargic and so sad. At the same time, I was quite worried I had spread the virus to people who interacted with me. One of my thai student caught the bug, but her symptoms were so much lesser because she's still a kid.

As the pox started to dry off, I just felt like plucking them out HAHA. Some drop off themselves, and most of them left scars. It has faded a lot since then, except those on my neck, they look so damn obvious white circles kind. And there's like two pox on my face which are bigger than the rest. I had to be so careful when they dry off, in case I accidentally scratched them off. Anyway, the dried skin dropped off by itself but it still left holes -.-. The holes were so obvious at first but has become better now. When I put concealor on the hole last time, the hole become more conspicuous.

Because of this, I researched on chicken pox. I will definitely give my children the chicken pox jab because the chances of getting it is lower. And even if they get it, the symptoms will be very mild. There's also another thing called Shingles which a person can get if he had chicken pox before. The chicken pox virus will remain dormant in the body and strike again when we're older, to become shingles. Factors such as stress may increase the chance of shingles attack. I better be stress freeeee.
 

=(

I am on two days MC because of my stomach..

Because of my weak stomach, I have to control what I eat. I seldom take raw food because I am afraid that my stomach won't be able to take it. Too much oily food will cause much discomfort. I need to eat on time too because too much air will be produced if I don't. Gastric problems will occur too. Also, my stomach cannot be exposed to air when I sleep. 

So if I can have one wish, I wish for a strong stomach.

I feel terrible when it's sick.

Pappa Rich

Love and I decided to try the food at Pappa Rich. Pappa Rich doesn't sound like a Malaysian cuisine restaurant, it reminds me of Beard papa's puffs. Their menu offers quite a variety of local favourites. There are chicken rice, briyani, roti chanai, hor fun and etc at a higher price as compared to those you can find in our hawker centres. We ordered a chicken rice set, a wholesome briyani set (with braised beef, fried chicken, and spicy squid), a coffee bun, a molten chocolate cake and two cups of yuan yang. Our drinks are one for one because that is the promotion for the weekday time. Wheee. 

The chicken rice set is only so so. The rice is abit on the soft side and does not have much of the chicken rice taste. The chicken however, is very tender and moist. The bean sprout is cooked just right too. The soup, although  I must say it's so damn small bowl, is actually the prawn noodle soup. That is nice. 

The briyani set is good, although the briyani rice on its own is quite bland but that's usually the case I guess. The fried chicken is crispy and tasty. The beef is on the sweet side and not to our liking. The squid, in sambal or curry sauce, is soft and chewable. The only thing lacking in this dish is the amount of curry sauce they provide. It is far too little as compared to other places. Of course, I believe you can request for more without any charge.

The coffee bun is heavenly. It came out hot and crispy with just enough butter within. However, the bun turned cold and not nice after I left it there for awhile. The molten cake is very moist and thick with cocoa flavor. Although it is too sweet on its own, it pairs up well with plain vanilla ice cream. 

Local delights at this price is probably too expensive, since we can find similar food at our coffee shops and hawker centres. The service, the environment and ambience are what makes the difference. Give it a try!

RUNNING MAN

28 NOV 2014- I am just so lucky that this year's running man's autograph session is at Suntec City Mall, and the stage is right outside my office! I saw the stage during lunch, if not I wouldn't have known they were coming the next day. Although I am not a VIP ticket holder to their show [only they can get autographs], I can still get to see them from far far hahaha.

29 NOV 2014- My bf supports me all the way. We met at 9am and had mac breakfast until about 10am. When we reached Suntec at about 9.30am, the second level was already filled with one row of people seated down on the floor. Wahhhh, I was actually feeling panicky and preparing myself to be disappointed. At 10am, we went to look for a spot to chop. We just sat at the "second row" behind two ladies. The autograph session starts at 12pm by the way, so we were actually pretty early. Just sat there listening to Kjk and haha's songs playing in the background.

While baby went to buy movie tickets, I safeguard his space.

his grateful face

while everyone was seated

At about 11.30am, as more people start to stream in, the crowd queuing had to stand up to make space. The ladies in front stood up, and I managed to squeeze into the corner for a clear view wahaha, while baby's view was partially blocked. But I'm the crazy one, so my view is more important to him heeee. And the cast came late, only arrived at about 12.20pm or so.

Each running man member picked a scroll to determine their colour. Fans below the stage will get the autograph of the members according to their wrist band colour. And the signing starts. Nothing so special actually but I first time chase idol kind ma. Won't be so crazy to wait so long unless Jae Suk comes the next time. Didn't see them leave as our movie was starting. Waited so long for that few minutes haha. And there I was just pretending I took a photo with them, in the background. :)

Today is such a happy day! Not just because of RM. It's because of love.

Stranger

Random guy: "Hello... hello."

Me: *Turns around, puzzled* "Erm you are?"

Random guy: "Can we be friends? Can I have your number?"

Me: "Er no?"

Random guy: "Why?"

Me: "Why should I, when we are just strangers?"

Random guy: "Really no?"

Me: "Ya."

Random guy: "Okay bye." (his tone is still nice, haha)

Me: "Bye."

This is the sudden conversation I had with a stranger I met just now. I must document this because this is the first time a random stranger approached me for my number HAHAHA. Maybe it's a dare from his friends. Nevertheless, he is quite a good looking stranger.

妈妈的问题

17 November 2014-

Mama对我说: "我一直有个文号,question mark,想问你"。
我说: "是什么?"。
她说: "你喜欢呆在家,你和你男朋友是怎么拍拖的?"。
哈哈,我觉得mama的问题太好笑了。

我回答:"我们俩都喜欢呆在家,看戏"。她觉得我很奇怪,青春时期却不爱时常外出。

K Cook Korean BBQ Buffet

I brought my family to K Cook Korean restaurant for a meal recently. I was thinking of introducing Korean bbq to my parents since they haven't tried it before. Online reviews showed many positive feedback about K Cook at Orchard Central.

We arrived at about 5 plus on a Saturday. It is still quite empty when we got there. Most of the tables are outdoors. We requested to sit inside but we were told that the table would be too small and squeezy for 5 people. Hence, we settled for the outdoor area since there's three tables together and ample amount of space for the raw food and dishes.

Transition, Graduate to Working Adult

"To be somebody, not just anybody."

I officially started working on 20th October 2014. My first job is actually by chance, through a recruitment agency. I got to know the agent through my good friend Hong Wei, as she is his neighbour. He introduced me to her at first because there was a good merchandiser job at $9.50/hr. I took it up and then she found me suitable for this current job, so I just gave it a try. Although there's some unhappiness and changes in between, I am quite content now. I think my job is a challenge and I hope I continue to enjoy the process. Thank you Hong Wei!

As a working adult, there's so many differences as compared to being a student. Actually, I still cannot really believe I am working full time now. I feel really happy at times because I have some earning power now :). At the same time, I don't need to bring back assignments and readings from school. Maybe I would need to bring back work next time but currently everything is still manageable. I can just laze around and watch tv when I reach home, and that's great!

So here are some things that have changed ever since I started working>>

Sleeping early waking early

My job is actually almost retail hours style; 11am to 7pm, so it is not considered early. However, this is still a big change from my sleeping-at-4am and waking-up-at-12pm style. After commencement of work, my body gradually goes back to a more normal cycle. Because I wake up at a consistent time everyday, I find it hard to sleep more nowadays. 9 hours on the weekend would make my back ache :/.

Weekends become more precious 

Supposedly, I need to work on one weekend every week. It hasn't started and the real arrangement of roster is not confirmed yet. But I already feel the preciousness of my weekends. 6 days work week is just sad because there is only one rest day, although I work the same number of hours. It's a long story about this 6 work days issue. In the past, when I feel very tired of going out, I would stay at home even if my family goes out. Now I feel like I am obligated to spend the weekend time with them, and not waste the time at home. In the future when my one weekend is gone, need to alternatingly spend time with bf and family already :(. People feel the elation for TGIF,but I won't be able to.

Dressing

Shorts, tee shirt and slippers used to be the standard for school. No more of that. I need to dress up office appropriate now and I kind of enjoy it. I feel more diligent to put on my mascara or eyeliner frequently now too. Last time, they always dry up only after a few application because I seldom use them. The need to dress up also gives me a reason to get more clothes hehehe.

Hungry easily

I get hungry so easily now la! I think it might be because I am awake for longer hours and I walk here walk there. Last week, I carried the office laptop every day to the headquarters and that used up so much of my energy. At the end of the day, I felt so drained and hungry. I usually split my breakfast into half and eat the rest at about 4/5pm because I am sure to be hungry. Gastric seems to come more often now too. If I don't leave work on time, by the time I reach home for dinner is already 8pm T.T.

Increased responsibility

With earning power, there comes financial responsibility. My parents just told me that I said to give them $200 each per month for allowance when I start working. Ohh my big mouth, I don't even remember I said that amount. I still wanted to slowly increase Lol. Parents allowance, insurance premiums, phone bills, transport fees, daily spendings will soon to be paid by me. I also need to be responsible for my work, it is the real working environment now, with real clients and customers. I cannot be like a student and go, no can I not go to school today.The amount of learning I have to do and the potential future workload is starting to scare me.

Better appreciation
I appreciate homecook dinner much much more now. I find it hard to eat a balanced meal outside and food around my area is so expensive. Plus, I am now hungry more often and mummy's cooking taste so good to me haha. I also need to thank my mother for helping me to hang my clothes dry in the sun. I really wonder how do working women get the time to hang their clothes. Maybe they have a dryer or they use indoor dry detergent. Life would be so different if my mother is also a full time working woman.

Got nothing to do??
As a student, my everyday goal was to finish up my assignments and readings. I felt productive when I finish all those. Now I don't really have anything specific to fulfil at home, and it doesn't feel productive. I know, this sort of contradicts to the fact that I enjoy watching tv all I want when I am home haha. Watching tv isn't productive right?

That's about all the changes I can think of now. Cheers to the bright future!

"That's what I love about you, being so emotional. It makes me want to love you, and protect you." 

Keisuke Tokyo @ Suntec

On a Saturday date with my love...

There was a queue for this ramen restaurant, and since we were hungry, we decided to give it a try. I was 99% sure that I won't be satisfied because so far no ramen tastes better than Marutama or Ajisen. Those that I have tried before have a rather strong taste and are mostly too salty for my liking.

The wait was not very long, and we were seated down comfortably. The shop is very spacious.There were two pieces of paper for us to choose our ramens. After making a choice on which flavored stock, we can add on toppings or noodles by ticking in the boxes. You can also choose your level of spiciness, hardness of noodles (I like) and amount of seasoning. There is light, normal and heavy taste too. Basically, it's like you can customize your bowl of ramen! The other sides we wanted from the menu were written down by the waitress on the paper.

While we waited for the food, we saw that other tables have containers of beansprouts. It is similar to those side dishes we get to eat in Korean cuisines. We noticed that they only serve the beansprouts after your noodles are served. The wait for the food was rather long, considering the limited number of people in the store only. Our carbonated green tea is served first, not bad tasting.

Our plate of gyoza comes second. They look very mushy and out of shape. In fact, the gyozas are very oily although the taste of the meat is okay. The outer skin is too soft and not crispy. There was only white vinegar, and dipping the dumplings in black vinegar would taste better.

Our noodles arrive after a short period of time. We both ordered spicy tonkotsu ramen with egg (His is called special, with extra toppings of meat). Bf ordered a topping of extra half noodles, but the amount of noodles in his bowl doesn't look much different from mine. The hardness of the noodles is the same, even though I requested for harder noodles. But I like their noodles because it is very chewy and QQ. The soup has a very bad burnt taste and it is too strong for my liking. The half boiled egg is not bad, but it is spoiled by the soup's taste. I find the char siew nice and lean too. Quite a big piece. The spiciness of the soup comes from a ball of marinated mincemeat (similar to Ajisen). The mincemeat by itself tastes really frozen and disgusting. There are also these white things around that look like fats.

Halfway through eating the noodles, we realized our container of beansprouts is still not given to us HAHA. So we had to ask for it. When we asked whether the half noodle was actually added already, the staff didn't get back to us until we asked a second time.

I would not go back again, definitely. The food doesn't taste good. I didn't take any pictures of the food, but you can visit their website.
Overall experience: 2/5.

Orchard Shopping Alone

Before you think that I am so lonely because I shop myself, I actually prefer to shop alone! Well, it's partly true that I couldn't find company. As in I believe my girlfriends leave weekends for more important stuff too, and it was a last minute-friday-decision to shop today, so I didn't bother to ask also. Bf is busy with his work, and he doesn't like to shop either. Therefore, shopping myself is really the happiest because I have the freedom! I can take as much time as I want at whichever shop :D.

I wanted to look for clothes to wear for work, hopefully all at an affordable price. But in the end, I didn't buy any work related clothes HAHAHA. Shopping always like this one, make me buy extra stuff. I bought a pair of shorts from Pull & Bear because the thigh opening is bigger than those other stores and it fits me well. I wanted to get a pair of low-waist jeans but the cutting for that is very small and the material is not as good as their medium waist range [I have 2 medium waist jeans from P&B, very nice!].

Walked into F21 and bought a pair of $13 medium waist black jeans. Personally, I don't think the material is that good [I have 1 f21 one at home] but it's $13 and I don't have anymore black jeans already. Got another basic long sleeve top from there too, @ $10. This one can wear to office ;).

Went into Isetan to see Mango bags. I saw one soft soft bag the last time I went there but I didn't buy it then. Thankfully, the design is still there! The nude colour is also very nice but I went with the black instead since it's less likely to get stains. This is actually a replacement for my cotton on bag which is tearing already :(. I hope Mango lasts longer.

FIRST-PAY-BAG

Same but different

At 313, there's this shop called Temt and their pricing is very affordable. So many people queuing to try the clothes. I went in the fitting room once but I didn't like all the clothes I tried. I went to La Senza too. I love their bras, so comfy I almost wanted to buy, when I still have new ones, from La Senza :X.

And that concludes my day.

Fast Forward

"I would have my own family in 10 years time."

Lunch time at 40 hands with the Australian team today. So nice of them to give us a treat. The cafe was packed when we arrived at about 1pm. I ordered a dish called Big Bang which includes sausage, bread, scrambled eggs.. couldn't decide on what to get so fast. Had latte too. I guess due to the number of customers in store, our food took really long to be served. And we sat at the non air conditioned area, which made me so sweaty. 

I was abit surprised when my food came. It is only a pork hot dog with bun topped with mincemeat, 1 bacon and 2/3 pieces of scrambled eggs. This plate cost $15! Very expensive and not filling at all. Taste not bad though. The table is too small for 5 people to eat in comfort too haha. 

Gordon asked us this question "What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?". I gave the above answer without much thinking. Boring, he said. Jamie's answer is to open a cafe while Geena's answer is to travel around the world. He further asked me how many children do I want, and I said initially I wanted 4. Children are expensive. Haha yes, that's why it's reduced to 2 now.

I don't think my vision is boring, it is my goal. 10 years later, I would already be 33, and that's not very young anymore. Starting a business has never came to me because I don't know what I want yet. But I will support my love through his dream. As for traveling, I am the least traveled one among the girls. Didn't go to many places with my family and have only started to travel recently. It's nice, and I will try to travel once a year. Not alone, but with the ones I love. Snow, I will see you soon.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years time?

Children

People say that they don't like children because no children like them.

This is referenced from a post on Xiaxue's dayre. I agree with her. There is a difference in children's behavior depending on whether you are in the inner circle, outer circle or stranger category. 

My mum took care of my two younger cousins since they were young, so the daily interactions put me inside their inner circle. I had no problems bonding with them, making them laugh, carrying them and etc.

On the other hand, it took hard work to gain the trust and bond with my nieces. They see me only once in awhile and I guess to them, I was basically a stranger. I felt that they disliked me. When I was around, they tend to misbehave more. They cry because their parents want them to greet me. They refuse to let me carry them. They refuse to smile for a photo with me. Things like that make me think that I am bad with children, which I am la. Haha.

The situation got better when I started going over weekly to tutor them [K1, K2 only, but you know foundation is very important]. The occasional gifts from overseas also helped with our relationship. Haha, bribery works. As there are more interactions, they may feel closer to me. I started out tutoring Chloe, who is the older sister.

At that point of time, her younger sister, Cheryl, still kept a distance from me. When she eventually agreed to let me teach her, the bond just got stronger. She would initiate conversations and greet me with some enthusiasm. Recently, she even agreed to go out with me alone [which she had refused for very long because she is afraid since her mummy won't be there].

I have brought Chloe home for a stayover and a day outing before. She was perfectly well behaved until the moment my bf appeared. Despite the fact that I have kept reminding her that my bf would be joining us for dinner, she cried when she saw him, even though I did not force her to greet him. Then, she wanted her mummy. So I called my sister, and she had to use some bribery skills again to make her mood be better. It's not that she dislikes my bf [because he didn't do anything], nor is she a naughty or spoiled kid. She just feels scared because he is a stranger to her.

The two girls also have a baby brother. At first, baby Caden was okay with me carrying him and all. As he grows, he began to recognize his inner circle. He is now only willing to be carried by people whom he sees often. And my once a week visit is too little for him. He would cry if I force carry him T.T. 

All my effort will be gone to waste soon. Tuition has stopped because I have started working. I cannot visit often because my work ends at 7pm and it would be so late when I reach admiralty. I am going to revert back to being a stranger soon.

P.s. Children exhaust me. Somehow I felt so tired when I brought the kids out. And this definitely makes me appreciate my freedom now.

Port of Lost Wonder

 3 October 2014-

Children's club by the beach! Sounds so fun. Adults can't go in freely you know, so I have to thank the two little ones :D.

Breakfast at Macs Vivocity before our adventure begins. When we arrived at level 3 monorail area, I was stunned by the number of people, foreigners and Singaporeans. It is no wonder since it was a school holiday (Children's day), I guess :(. There were two queues to even board the monorail, one for ezlink card payment and one for cash payment (to get another form of card). Waited for about 10 minutes before we reached the tap in area. 

Alighted at Beach station and walked towards the tram and bus interchange. One of the tram near the end goes towards Palawan beach and POLW. You can take that and alight after one stop or walk towards Palawan beach, it is very near!

What I Want

I am taking reference from this post on "7 Things Women Really Really Want in a Relationship". It's written from a woman's point of view and I think the points are so true. They reflect what I want.

1) Time

This is no surprise. Every girl wants attention and time from her other half. Honeymoon period? We didn't have any. That sucks, but I have moved on. The amount of time couples get together is really dependent on their lifestyle and preference. What is more important is the understanding from each party to accommodate to each others schedule. And if the time you spend with each other is already so limited, please keep away your phone and pay 100% attention to your girl when she is in front of you. Some couples talk on the phone regularly too, but we can never pass this thing.

2) Spontaneity and Surprises

This might be lacking in our near 6 years relationship. We have been to almost all the attractions in Singapore, and I know it's pretty hard to plan some date day because we don't know where to go. But I really don't like hearing "Singapore is too small". Our meetings are so routinized nowadays. Routine is actually a good thing [Running Man every week is fun], but it gets boring. I am not saying there is no spontaneity or surprises in the relationship, but more should come, in a more regular stream. One can't keep harping on the past old surprises that happened.

"Surprise her with an impromptu getaway for the weekend; hide sweet little notes in her bag; turn up with flowers when there isn’t any special occasion to do so; tell her to get dressed immediately because you have just booked a table at her favourite restaurant."

Baby, I realized you haven't given me anything related to what you are good at. Relating to computers, you can compile songs, pictures or create a mini game. Or animation kind of thing? 3D figures. Build something for me which lights up [I am thinking about your electrical board]. And now you can video yourself too haha. Or a maths theme puzzle? If you can't draw, you can write me a story. But you know, your lobster drawing is the cutest lobster I have ever seen :). There are so many possibilities.

3) To be understood, in our language.

Yes, do not take our words literally. You need to observe the overall situation and her expression too. It takes time and effort to master this skill. Ultimately, she's your woman. You should be able to figure her out as time goes. Why do women not say things directly? I guess from my point of view, I want to see whether my bf understands me deep enough. And also, many things are not meaningful anymore when it's said out loud. 

"Can you buy me flowers?" VS The flowers magically appears on your office table. Well, this can be put under the spontaneity and surprises category too. 

Baby, I think you do relatively well here. 

4) To be praised/ To feel beautiful.

I think women should learn how to feel beautiful herself. However, it wouldn't do good if the other half tend to put her down or doesn't praise her at all. We feel beautiful because you remind us that we are. Don't do any comparisons or contrast though. How do I say this? Don't tell your girl she is not fat when she feels like she is, tell her she is beautiful despite how she feels. My bf telling me I am not fat doesn't make me feel less fat actually [I have those "I feel fat today" syndrome, although I shouldn't be agreeing with the societal defined beauty], especially when I can't fit into those old pants anymore. And if your girl is sensitive about say, her bust size. Don't even try to convince her that she is big [because she knows she is not], or the opposite. Just don't even mention anything about size. Get it?

Tell her she is gorgeous for herself, don't tell her she is prettier than whoever.

5) To be heard.

Sometimes, I don't feel like I am heard. My words are not taken in seriously enough dear. An article I read before stated that men tend to propose solutions to women when they complain about something. While it seems logical to do so, women just want you to listen to them instead. Some things cannot be solved, and they don't want to solve it, so please just be their listening ear. It's better than they don't tell you anything at all [because they give up on talking to you to feel better]. And when they tell you about their experience, sometimes it is not good to insert your own experience and then compare.

6) To be your princess and to feel special.

I have no complains here. Bf always makes me feel princess. :D

"Give her pet names; show her off in front of your friends because you are proud of her; do things for her and only for her; draw the line clearly with your female friends so she feels secured."

7) Consistency.

Continue to do the things you have been doing since the start. That's probably how she even fell in love with you in the first place. Everything seems pretty consistent in mine, but maybe that's because there is no honeymoon period [you know, the time when you do a lot more stuff] in the first place. HAHA. Bf still holds the door for me, carries my bag if it's too heavy, sends me home every time... I think it is consistent :D.

With that said, don't do too much at the start. You will have a lack of things to do afterwards. And when you do less, it seems like it is not consistent anymore.

8) Effort 

This last point is added by me. Women want men who show that they put in effort in maintaining the relationship. He should put in effort to be on time for her [too important for me]. 

He should want to keep in shape for her. Many guys slack off in appearance especially after marriage thinking that they already have their women. There's always advice for women to maintain their shape to stay attractive for their other half, so I think it should apply to men too. We want to fall in love with you again and again. We want to stay attracted to you. And that's not to have some super muscular body. It's the effort that counts. 

And also, women like to dress up because we think you would be proud to have us looking good for you. Hence, putting some effort in your dressing is very important. If you don't know how, learn. Youtube or Google is there to help. We also started from scratch. Appearance may be secondary, but appearance can make us be so in love with you.

I know this might be hard, because sometimes I don't even understand myself.

Just don't give up, you will soon master the skill of understanding YOUR woman.

Star Subway Smile

My bf has this module that require him to go for 2 star gazing nights, and he asked me whether I wanted  to go with him. So I went, thinking that it is going to be romantic! We were late, and I had to rush through my mee sua dinner. 

When we reached the school football field, there was a large group of people standing around. Everyone was holding a piece of paper and doing their own things. We found out that a worksheet had to be done and handed up, and that would count as attendance. So by right, we could leave once done. There were star gazing devices around, but most were handled by people doing their own projects. We saw some stars that look like clothes hanger through a refractor. 

It look like this >>>>

          

                                                               .  .

                                                            .

                                                  .    .   .    .    .    .    

This can't be seen when you look directly at the sky. Stars just look like dots from earth. Do you know? The closest star to us is 4 light years away. 1 light year is the distance that light can travel in one year. Which means that technically, the star we see with our eyes now, is actually the star 4 years ago. It is a history star. 

At 8.35pm, we decided to go off. Subway 1 for 1 was still available!! hehehhh. Apparently, I had wanted to eat subway for lunch, but I wanted a cheaper lunch, without knowing the deal existed. After that, my sister bought back subway and told me about it. She didn't have to queue for it. But when it was dinner time, the queue was madness at j8.

So thankfully, I still have my chance for the deal at YIH subway. We started queuing when it was 8.45pm. At 8.50pm, the staff were already announcing "10 minutes left". The guy in front of us also had no idea of the deal when he was asked if he wanted the free sub. When the guy asked "There's a one for one?", the staff misunderstood and said "Yes of course you can have your 1 for 1, do you want it? You have to decide fast if not the people behind won't have their 1 for 1". Similarly for the lady behind us, she was slightly reprimanded for taking too long to decide. "6 minutes left 6 minutes left, you need to decide fast if not the rest cannot have the deal", and she proceeded to ask the person behind her whether she have decided on her order hahaha.

We headed to Utown and sat on the large grass field to munch on our subway. I ordered Terayaki chicken while bf order Italian Bmt. The choice of bread have to be the same for 1 for 1 deal, so bf sacrificed his choice for my parmesan bread. The subways were put in a specially designed bag that states "My other half for my better half". AWWW, so meaningful!

And that's my night, with my better half. And my half of subway. <3

Virgin Kite Flying

02102014-

Today, we decided to go fly kite at Marina Barrage since it is a weekday. We don't know whether we have time in the near future for such carefree activity, so we shall do it now!

Arriving at the barrage at about 4pm, it was still very empty with very few people around. We went searching for the gift shop first because we didn't purchase a kite beforehand. Well, actually we saw some kites at Bishan SKP, but there were only a few designs. They were smaller and doesn't seem to be of good quality. So glad to have bought our kite at the barrage despite it being more expensive!

The sales uncle recommended us some kites. The smaller ones he said, are not much of a kick. He told us that anyone can be an expert after 15 minutes, and then regret not buying a bigger kite. Initially, I was aiming for a smaller $26 smiley face kite. But since he said the blue bigger kite is more challenging, we decided to get that since it is only a difference of $6 ($32).

Now we have to decide what kite string length to get;100m, 200m or 500m. 500m is like $48 but if you count by length, it is more worth it than the shorter ones. We got the 200m one at a price of $28. Good kites are so expensive T.T (not saying our kite is best or what, sure got more expensive kites). But you would regret getting cheapskate kites when they cannot fly well, and spoil the whole experience. Besides, good quality strings and the reel are more durable. It also reduces the chance of getting tangled strings. [ours, the string keeps moving out of the device when everything goes too fast]

Noobcakes

I tried three cake recipes recently!

Steam rice cake

Following the white honeycomb cake trial, I decided to give the steam rice cake a try. At first, I followed the recipe from Sweetday. But I tried thrice and it wasn't good enough. It tasted so much like fa gao (发糕), moist and sticky. The end product was mustard brown color.

The baked rice post

Cooking baked rice is easier than I thought! The recipe is adapted from noobcook again. Simple steps for nooby cook like me :D.

Ingredients

1 packet lean pork

1 canned mushroom

1 small broccoli

1/2 cup rice/bunch of spaghetti (maybe 30 sticks)

1 can of Campbell soup

Sliced cheddar

Grated Parmesan

Steps

1) Marinate the pork with soy sauce (agar agar), sesame oil and lots of pepper for about 2 hours.

2) Heat the pan. Add some oil. Stir fry the pork and mushroom.

3) Cook rice or spaghetti. My rice:water ratio is about 1:1.

4) Pour out about half of the Campbell soup (I use wild mushroom) into a bowl. Mix a same amount of water into it. Taste to test saltiness.

5) Take out an oven safe bowl. Place rice or spaghetti first. Pour the Campbell soup evenly on top. Spread the pork, mushroom, and broccoli.  Lastly, decorate the top with cheese! (choice of cheese is up to you)

6) Preheat the oven to 200 degree celsius. Bake the yummy food for 20 minutes and there you go.

Baked spaghetti

Dish looks messy here. Cheese unable to cover everything. haha.

Broccoli taste like grass because they are dried out. Do add more Campbell soup to spaghetti so it is more moist.

Baked rice

Alternatively, you can mix the Campbell soup, ingredients and rice all together so it flattens out. Now the cheese covers nicely!

To my horror

It was about 4.50am. I don't know how.

I got jolted awake because I felt something on my arm. Immediately, I grabbed it and threw it on the floor. There was a "piak" sound. 

And then I realised. I stood up and switched on the light. I looked for it. Nothing. I begin to wonder if it was just a dream. But it was too real to be a dream.

I used my torchlight to shine around, moving things away to make sure that it wasn't hiding. Suddenly, there it stood. That disgusting black thing. It started to move. I stared at it and moved away my things as it go. When it got to a corner, I quickly go grab the baygon. I was already in tears. Locating it beneath some stuff, I sprayed at it till it died.

I was hysterically sobbing due to the aftershock. I have just held it in my hand. That disgusting creature has just crawled on my arm. I don't know how it got in though. Is the gap below the door big enough?

It's weird how I could instantly grab it and throw it down. It was as if I knew. 

This day, I was made to face my fear.

Universal Bridal Studio Review

So there's this pest called cockroach...

This is linked to my most recent post on 20 things about me. I stated that I see cockroaches almost every night in my kitchen right. I think it may be because of our dustbin being built inside instead of outside. So here's the most horrible thing that happened yesterday! (other than a cockroach being on my foot some time ago)

At 4am, I was preparing to go to bed after watching my HK drama. As I squatted down near my bag that was right beside my bed, I spotted a normal sized cockroach on my hoodie on the floor O.O. I remained as calm as possible, while trying to cover the creature inside my hoodie so I can bring it outside the room. After the hoodie was left outside the room, I took a clothes stick to lift up my hoodie, attempting to shake the roach out. No sign of it. I left my hoodie outside and went back to the room. 

THE MOST WTF THING HAPPENED. It got on MY BED. What why how what to do!! I suspect it could fly. What would you do if you are scared of it? So I told myself, I have to attack it, if not it will disappear and who knows don't know appear where again. I couldn't use insecticide on my bed and the thought of it dying on my bed is disgusting. 

Using the stick that I was holding, I dragged and swept it off the bed. EWWWWWW, it dragged on my bed T.T. When it dropped back on the floor, it ran into the corner under my bed. Quickly and frantically, I went to retrieve my weapon, the baygon spray. Aiming at it, I sprayed. But there was a distance, so it took quite awhile for it to stop moving. Like 15 seconds before it was dead. I can't give it any chance to survive. As long as it keeps moving, I keep spraying. I kept saying, why are you not dead yet. I was sweaty after the whole battle with it. I was breathing very hard. I didn't want to kill, but it had to come into my territory and I had no choice.

After that, I couldn't bring myself to sleep on my bed. My room smells of insecticide anyway. Although the smell is made to be pleasant, it's ultimately toxic right. I stayed on the living room sofa. Couldn't sleep there either because I felt uneasy. Cockroaches will usually reach the living room before it comes into my room. Watched a movie and finally fell asleep at 7am. Headed to my parent's room after they were awake. T.T.

So much fear, anger and frustration because of one ass cockroach. This is one FML part of my life.

The 20 Things About Me

This tagging is going around on Facebook and Mag Mag has tagged me on Instagram to answer to the stated title. As I said before, I don't really do such things on FB and I don't really post on Instagram either, so I am going to write it here!

1) I am obsessed with Food!?
This quiz that Hui Ting recommended suggests that food is the thing I am most obsessed with.

"Your subconscious is obsessed with FOOD!

One of your biggest passions in life is food: Eating, cooking, creating new recipes and especially - sharing it with others.
The pictures you have chosen indicate that your subconscious is constantly occupied with thoughts about food. You are a very passionate, warm and loving person. You love to experience life to the fullest, and there’s no better way to get energy than by eating delicious meals. There’s one thing you like more than eating food, and that’s cooking food. You see the act of cooking for another person as one of the strongest signs of affection. You like to see the faces of others enjoying your creation.
Although food is your biggest passion, you have a pretty strong power of will, so you know when to stop eating so you won’t gain weight or suffer from high cholesterol. You know how to balance this healthy love so you could keep on enjoying food for many years to come.

Do you agree with your result? Is food a big part of your life? Tell us in the comments"

I do agree with the verdict. I really get energy from eating delicious food. You are right Baby, you have spoiled me with good food. I don't know if I really enjoy cooking and creating recipes, but I do believe that cooking is a strong way to show your affections for someone. 有得吃是福! 

Try the quiz here!

2) I didn't have a wonderful and perfect childhood, at least I don't think so. 

Mag, your psychology test is partially right. 

3) I have two mothers, two fathers, two sisters and two brothers. 

Blessed.

4) I cannot balance well if I stand with both feet close together. 

Small feet so choice, center of gravity is too high I think.

5) I cannot keep my nails long because they always break.

6) I talk to myself, a lot. 

7) I am very particular about punctuality.

I think it says something about a person's character. And I realized how much it irritates me when people are late. I can do better things with the time you know. Like just yesterday, I was supposed to meet this girl at Bishan Mrt to close the deal of selling my top to her. Initially, it was so smooth, the deal was settled so fast and we agreed to meet the next day. She requested for me to send her a reminder so I agreed to do so. We were supposed to meet at Bishan circle line area at 3pm, so I whatsapped her at 1.30pm to remind her of the time and place of meeting. Who knows, she replied "you're?" Firstly, I gave her my number. Secondly, even if she can't be bothered to save it, she would at least remembered something about 3pm or Bishan circle line since we only talked the day before? 

I told her I am the seller of the top and she asked if she could have it at a lower price. This, I found it super weird because why in the world did she agree to my initial price so swiftly and then to ask for negotiation after the deal was agreed upon. Shouldn't she negotiate the price before she actually decide to buy from me? And then she asked for a photo of the top. Why now then ask? In fact, I sent her the same picture that I uploaded on Carousell. She can just see it there.

I asked her whether she could reach at 3pm as agreed, she said no. It's fine because I am home and she mentioned she need 30-45 minutes to reach Bishan. I told her to inform me the estimated time she could reach when she board the train. She said okay. At 2.45pm, I asked her what time is she going to reach again. She said "4pm" at 2.58pm. !##$@*((&%$& Clearly, she really doesn't have any sense to responsibility to let me know she would be later. At 3.50pm, I asked her if she was reaching. She said 4.30pm. I almost went down, luckily I didn't. 

At 4.30pm, while I was walking to the circle line area, I asked her where was she already. She told me Serangoon. We told each other what we were wearing so it's easier to identify each other. At 4.45pm, I said "Why is it that you need so long to come from Serangoon?" Then she called. I think she asked me where to meet and what am I wearing. I was pissed off. So I said sarcastically "I thought we have already said circle line control station, and I have already smsed you what I am wearing?" She said she was walking over. Then I received her whatsapp saying she accidentally tapped out at Junction 8 exit. I WAS BOILING MAD. I decided to go home instead. 

You may wonder why I didn't just meet and settle it all since it's only Bishan. There's a distance to walk from circle line to red line from the outside. I am really too angry to want to walk that route for her. And I doubt she would know how to walk to me from the outside. I was tired of waiting, so even if it pisses her off for making her come all the way to Bishan for nothing, I don't care. Why should I be nice to you,  if you can't even understand or remember simple agreements on where to meet. I find her very rude to be late and not informing the person she was going to meet. Where is that responsibility?

I told her I am very fed up with her and I am going back. And that she has wasted my time and some other stuff I mentioned above. Even after I said that, she still asked me where am I, and that she is waiting for me -.- So I had to repeat myself again saying that I need to go and I'm not selling. Eventually, we agreed with postage. Told her to transfer money to me within that day, if not I would take it that she is not buying. She said she would transfer, but no she didn't. Just my luck to deal with such an irresponsible person who has poor time management and who doesn't keep to her words. Yes, I am irresponsible for walking away, but she really needs to have a taste of her own medicine.

8) If I can really choose something to do in life, I would choose handicrafts, cards and drawing related stuff.

9) I regret studying banking and finance.

But I wouldn't be able to meet my bestest friends if it wasn't for it.

10) I exercise regularly, albeit for short amount of time only. 

11) I blow my nose loudly.

I need to do it to clear my congestion okay. 

12) I hate mosquitoes and cats.

13) I'm afraid of pigeons.

Due to my mum's influence, I am under the impression that they have poison under their wings. Which she clarifies recently that she was referring to their faeces. 

14) I see cockroaches in my kitchen almost every night. 

I must be quite brave. 

15) My first hand phone is second hand and has an antenna sort of thing.

16) I am not close to my grandparents at all. 

17) I like to help people pop blackheads.

18) I think manicures and hair dyes stuff are a waste of money.

I don't know if this will hold true next time. 

19) I am contented with my life, even though I do complain. 

20) Sometimes, I still can't believe my bf is my bf. 

@magdalene It's done! :)  

Swee Choon Dim Sum Review

Bf and I finally went to try the famous Swee Choon dim sum on the 6 of September. Since it was a Saturday, we were expecting many people and were willing to wait. Very luckily, we managed to get a parking lot immediately when a car nearby left. We got our queue number and menu from the front desk, sat down and waited for only about 5 minutes for an outdoor table. They have indoor seatings too, but the air con's strength is not very strong either. And definitely have to wait longer. Initially, we were assigned to table number 88 and it was just right beside the rubbish bin haha. Thankfully,the staff swiftly helped us to swap to table 84 that is situated in the middle of other tables by the roadside. We ordered our food and all arrived pretty quickly. 

Picture menu

Wet tissues

Me being me

I thought that by consulting in you I would feel better, but it almost never happened that way. 

You claimed that you definitely know my character well enough, but I don't feel so. By saying my personality is actually very negative is already not knowing me. I am comfortable in my own skin but I will still step out of my comfort zone when needed. I feel miserable trying to pretend to be someone I am not. Not all people click together. That is why only my friends are my friends.

You told me that although I have a higher education, my experience in life is too little to make me understand how things work in life. But, it is precisely because of my higher education that I learned about the importance of certain things. You just refuse to absorb my learning and words when I try to convey the message. 

How do you expect me to communicate with you when I always have to raise my voice to put my point through, because you start raising your voice? And when you tell me you are not flaring up, I can totally feel that you are. There's always an aura of authority around you when sensitive topics come up. We never get to make a point because you don't listen and stand in our position. You merely stand in your position and tell us your story.

The challenge

So there's this thing called the "thankfulness and positive" challenge?

I was nominated by my cousin on Facebook to write down 3 things I am thankful for, for 5 consecutive days. I would be able to nominate 2 people each day to do the same. So, my cousin tagged me in her post, and I am not going to accept the challenge because I don't like doing such stuff on Facebook. I don't want to nominate anybody also as that's like pressuring them to post something they may not want to. Besides, you don't have to shout out loud what and who you are thankful for. Just keep that gratitude in your heart and thank the people face to face!

I am still going to write down a few things that I am thankful for, but they are not going to be for anyone. Of course, I am thankful for many people in my life but it should come more in the form of actions rather than words. Besides, they may not be reading this. Hence, this is just going to be about me, about the little things in life that we often take for granted.

1) I am thankful for my eyes and the ability to see.

Have you ever wondered what is the worst thing that you don't want happening to you? The thought of blindness scares me a lot. Sometimes I rub my eyes too much before I go to bed, and hope I won't spoil my eyes. My eyes aren't perfect you know, they are quite dry at times. When I was in poly, I had my first eye infection. It was during the exam time and I was having a hard time even trying to open my eyes because they were irritated and dry when I open them. It was so tough, I just wanted to study but I can't. The infection still comes to haunt me once in awhile. I really appreciate my eyes feeling moist and comfortable.

2) I am thankful that I can breathe, through my nose.

My lungs are fine. Though it scared me when the doctor told me I had white spots shown on my x-ray of the lungs during the mandatory poly checkup. It's mostly the problem of my nose. Allergy rhinitis, the doctor said. My nose is always sensitive and is prone to nasal congestion. It got quite bad recently, I don't know why. My nose is mostly partially blocked, even as I am typing now. I am thankful for the times that I can breathe properly without the thought of cutting off my nose.

3) I am thankful for the ability to move. 

The awareness of ALS has made me realized how great it is that we can move freely. I often remind myself to enjoy the jogging process, no matter how tiring it is, because I can run. Here, I also have to thank my too-small-for-my-body feet for bringing me around.

4) I am thankful to wake up every single day.

Yes, I am very lazy to wake up every day. But, it's a good feeling to wake up healthy and kicking. 

5) I am thankful to be a Singaporean.

Many people complain about Singapore, the weather, the policies, the housing, the money.... I do complain too. But there's no one policy that can make everyone happy. One have to look beyond and realize the bigger purpose. For example, the expensive COE is to regulate the number of vehicles on the road. If you decrease that, more people can own cars, more vehicles appear on the road, more jams will occur. Then, what's the point of a car if you take a longer time to reach your destination. There is always the good and the bad about everything. The key is to decide whether you want to focus on the positive or the negative. 

Other than point number 5, you can see that I am thankful for my general well being. Comparing to a lot of the people around me, I am considered to have a "weaker body". But, I have decided that I am still more fortunate. Instead of complaining and focusing on what I have less than others, I am thankful that it is only the small little things that are affecting me.

There's no FML in my dictionary. I look forward to more positive and wonderful things in life.

Same same but different

A gamer buying a mouse is similar to a woman buying a bra.

They need to try and feel the product to determine its comfortability.

Colour is important to them even though no one else really sees it.

It takes some time for them to determine which design and size is good.

They need time to ponder about their purchase because the product will be sticking with them for quite awhile.

Even after the purchase, it takes time before they get used to it.

A good mouse and a good bra doesn't come cheap. Both of them would be very sad if they made the wrong choice. Nevertheless, it's a right decision to invest in a good product.