Me? Lee Hyori?

I don't really know who is Lee Hyori. But at 83% resemblance, she sure looks good to me!

熱浪回憶錄(下集) - Redang Trip (Part II)

This trip has too many elements to be explained in details. Let me summarise in terms in starfishes. Maximum 5 starfishes for perfect quality.

#1. Transportation
Motion sickness was not much of a problem for me. Instead, I suffered severe stiff neck due to the discomfort of the 25-seater Konsortium bus. Ferry ride was ok, given the calm seas and air con which was set at just the right temperature.

#2. Accommodation
We chose a humble room to save on money so that we can spend more for other activities, hence I did not have high expectations. Credits to 4 free mineral water bottles and 24hrs telecast of <<夏日麼麼茶>> on Channel 6.

#3. General Facilities
Another very humble setup at Laguna. There is only one small souvenir shop at More More Tea Inn, a mini pub/bar and a buffet restaurant. Swimming pool was not impressive either, compared to the one in Bintan which have a underwater pool bar and two meandering pool slides. And due to the non existent road transport to other resorts, you are pretty much confined to the same resort for 3 days. This place is not for the party animals, the elderly or children in tow.

#4. Snorkeling
This must be the part I enjoyed the most. Instructors are friendly and humorous, and the deep sea snorkeling for 2 days were fun-filled. Marine Hotpark is the MUST visit site, where we mingled with the fishes in the sea at 零點距離 and took underwater photographs at RM$5 per picture. Snorkel equipment is cheap too at RM$20 for both days and RM$2 pack of bread is enough to attract the Nemos and box fishes to nimble on you all day. It turned out to be a good workout too.

#5. Massage Centre
A foot reflexology at RM$60 on the first night sent me straight into La La Land in the first 15 min. Masseurs look professional and friendly, interior of the centre is scarcely decorated, except for the Kenny G CD playing in the background. The full body massage at RM$120 on the second night was an outright disappointment as my therapist seemed to be purely gently rubbing with the Johnson & Johnson baby oil at my back rather than focusing on the massage itself. But I am still sore over the fact that there is no spa facilities in Laguna, as I was looking forward to a full set of body scrub/ wrap and aromatherapy prior to the trip.

#6. Scenery
Nothing beats the crimson sunset, and the clearly tiered sea lines which transists from sandy-brown to turquoise to ocean blue. Beach is unpolluted and water is crystal clear. On a lucky day, large and beautiful fishes swim to the main shore and you can feed them at just knee height. Due to the humble setup, there is also no huge crowd of tourists or drunk party gangs, which adds points to its serenity. However, due to the abundance of sea shells and corals on the shore, there is a high potential of sharps and tripping hazard.

#7. Overall
The trip did not score on physical attributes but more on the softer sides such as aesthetics and new experiences. So why is there such a high overall rating? Because my company is worth 5 starfishes.

熱浪回憶錄(上集) - Redang Trip (Part I)

This is the first time that I visited this beautiful island of Redang. For those people who are as "山龜" as me, I will be sharing some information I learnt during the trip. Instead of the usual R&R, there was so much educational value for this resort such that I felt like a Primary School kid who just attended an excursion =)

The road and ferry trip there took 12hrs. So we spent 24 hrs in all just on transportation alone! But by looking at the picturesque views, I guess it is all worth it.

Rules to Follow
#1. Do not collect dead or alive material, including seashells, corals, fishes and even sand.
Penalty: RM$20,000 fine and 2 years imprisonment **dun play play!!!**
#2. Do not book facilities like spa or diving packages in another resort.
There is NO road transport between resorts in Redang. The only way to travel from one resort to another is to charter a boat via sea which cost RM$350 per trip
#3. Do not miss your ferry
The last ferry to Mainland is at 12pm everyday. If you miss that ferry, chartering a boat back is charged at RM$2,000 per trip (one way)

Fast Facts
#1. There are occasional sharks which will swim to shallow waters. But they don't bite as they have no teeth
#2. Malaysia government discontinued the use of snorkeling flippers for tourists due to massive destruction of the corals by flippers in recent years
#3. Corals take approximately 10 years to grow a 1cm in length
#4. The original More More Tea Inn in year 2000's HK movie <<夏日麼麼茶>> was torn down and rebuilt at the right corner of the beach. The original location of the inn now stands Laguna Resort.
#5. There is florescence sand which is visible at night where the plankton surfaced at the damp stretch of the coast line. Just pick up a pack of sand, rub with your hands and the grains will glow in blue **wow, but I have not tried**

Surprise Findings
#1. Apparently, spa is only available at Berjaya Resort which is "miles" away. There is only a massage centre which offers full body and foot reflexology at a reasonable price in Laguna Resort **very disappointed**
#2. There are only a few restaurants here, and not much variety of food. All buffet meals are served at a restaurant at the second floor.
#3. There are 4 beds in the room we booked: 2 single beds and 1 double bed. They are actually proper good size beds and not just mattresses or sofa-beds. 4 persons can bunk into the same room, with considerable amount of moving space.

想 [ 當 年 ]

There is an interesting shop in China Square Building 2nd level, which I stumbled upon this morning. At first glance the small shop looks like a junk ship full of second hand and unwanted goods. Although there is a huge spread of items, they are all categorised neatly in piles or stacks. As I took a closer look, treasures from the 50s to the 80s were but everywhere. I was so excited that I took pictures of all those items which I find nostalgic.

From the photos on the wall, the shopkeeper seems to be a prominent and high ranking figure in the Singapore Scouts Society. Many local and overseas celebrities have also visited his shop. He took photos with ministers and the president as well. Luckily the shopkeeper was exceptionally busy today and did not notice me snapping pictures away. And out of my expectations he actually have a website for his shop at http://www.viewpointtrading.com.

There is no price tag for all items in the shop. Well I guess antiques, no matter what are they, appreciate at various rates with time. And some of them are not even for sale. The one closest to heart will have to be the 1st generation Singapore Broadcasting Centre 电视广播周刊 which I used to read when I was in primary school. As I flipped the pages, the magazine is still in very good condition and still reeked of the familiar yellow paper smell. And the price tag in the 80s? 60 cents.

Okaeri Nasai~

Friday evening at Changi Airport T3 is serene and peaceful.

Somehow I got the feeling that T3 is overdesigned, with less than 20% of the check-in booths in operation when I was there yesterday. But it was as clean and majestic as about 8 months ago, when I was there on its opening day on 9th Jan. But not many more shops were opened, compared to in Jan, which surprised me.

Anyway this is first time I am at T3 in the daytime, so I went to the viewing mall to observe the planes which I did not get to do so when I was there at night. As usual it was packed with school students "trying" to study but the view was indeed quite magnificent.

By the way, Desmond was not aware that I would be here, so this was meant to be a surprise... Unfortunately I let the cat out of the bag when he phoned me after he landed =(

Desmond's flight landed at 505pm, but he did not appear at the arrival hall until half an hour later, when I spotted a man snapping photos curiously with his phone camera. It must be him.

As he walked out with his luggage towards me, I had an overwhelmed feeling. What is supposed to be a week long of duty in Guangzhou, really feels like a month. See how ecstatic he is to be home =)

And I got a present for him! Part I of the present was a white fluffy monkey with a curly wiley tail and a shy bashful face. I find it so cute that I have to get it for him. It also fits the theme of his new blog, which is gemini-monkey-journal. The only heart-ache of the journey back is that the trip from airport to Bishan on a maxi cab cost nearly $30, which I thought was exorbitant.



Part II of the present is a 8-piece fine chocolate which I made (Yes I did!) in NYP workshop on Thursday. It has a green tea or a orange filling. The final product does not look that professional though, but the taste? Still ok lah =)


Demond lost 2 kilos during the trip; he said he owned it to the low carbo diet he has been keeping for the past 7 days. I wish he had lost more though... but now he is at a prosperous 88kg... Keep it up!

Wake Me Up, Before You Go Go

Time at Yio Chu Kang Station: 605pm.

It was another start of a 37 min MRT ride from YCK to Jurong East. I don't know why, but I have always enjoyed deep sleep on MRT trains and I was exceptionally exhausted today. Even with bustling commuters around me, the short nap perks me up to continue the rest of my long journey home.

I must have dozed off at Yew Tee. It will be another good 10min before I need to alight at JE to change to the west bound train to Boon Lay~

"Bukit Gombak" came the next announcement. Subconsciously, I thought I heard this announcement twice. I opened my eyes and the train was packed right to its brim. Cannot be. Just now at Yew Tee, the train was only half full. What is happening? Time: 700pm. I got up fast and squeezed past the sardines of people in front of me to alight.

I wonder how I could have missed the lengthy announcement made when train is approaching JE station; and what I would have done if I see a lady sleeping through a terminal station. Maybe my fellow commuters were too eager to hussel out of the train. Maybe the train was so packed that I merged perfectly with the mad rush of incoming batch of passengers. Or maybe I look like one of those who rushed into the train to grap for a seat, just to fall IMMEDIATELY asleep.

Maybe Singaporeans just don't have time to notice people around them anymore.

Maybe my expectation is too high.

Strawberry Shortcake

It has always been a joy celebrating sis's birthday. Not only because it falls on Singapore National Day; but this time round, we had a record of 7 members of the family in the birthday cake photo! Could have been 8 but Desmond was helping with the photo taking. By the way, this is a delayed post, as I got the photos only today =)

Yuan has grown fond of blowing candles. She even mastered the full "Happy Birthday" song for Mummy, and happily sang it the whole day long. Before the cake cutting, I was teaching her some Maths. I asked her how many candles should there be on the cake since Mummy is 31. After much negotiation with Yuan, we decided that it should be three.

But during the actual candle lighting, my parents thought that one candle is simple enough. That's why the initial photo was taken with only one lighted candle. And here comes Yuan's protests, who refuses to carry on with the celebration unless there are three candles. Of course she won.

I bought the Strawberry Shortcake from Prima Deli. Why SS? Actually it was a close fight between SS and Dora The Explorer which is Yuan's favourite character. SS because the cake design was bright and cheery. Also, it brings back memories of me and my sister when we were young, when we collected everything from SS wallets, stickers and pencil cases. I was surprised they still have this design after so many years.

Paper Lanterns

Yesterday, Desmond was off to Guangzhou, Dongguan, for his first FIBA International Referee Duty. He is going there for a week, having buffet for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. I hope I can still recognise him when he is back =).

On 9 Sept, 3 days before he set off, we had an impromptu pre-Mid Autumn Festival Celebration @ Vivocity. It was a Tuesday night, hence the alfresco deck of Vivocity is pretty quiet. Quiet was good as we do not want to be embarrassed.. hehe. We found an open area near Mr Snowman and started taking out our gadgets, sticks, candles, lanterns and lighter.

It turned out that the lighting at the deck was so dim that nobody can really see this two bashful and childish adults trying to indulge in a childhood activity. The dim atmosphere also turned out to be a blessing as the photos turned out to be really bright and colourful. Credits to Desmond's Nokia N82.

Desmond lit 3 paper lanterns, red, pink and green, and it was really difficult as the wind was STRONG. We then made a contingency plan that if the wind were to blow the lanterns topsy turvy, such that the flame burns the paper lantern, (the cylinder is really small in diameter!), I will throw them to the space in front of us and Desmond will use his big fat foot to step on the flames. When we successfully lit up the candles, there was announcement sound through the Vivocity PA system. We thought the security spotted us on their CCTV playing with fire. Momentarily we panicked. Luckily nothing of that sort happened.

I had to do a presentation tomorrow morning, hence we did not stay too long. When we were about to leave, a gush of wind toppled the pink and red lanterns to the ground. Flame was extinguished immediately. No passer by around us was hurt. Phew. We were left with the green one, which we extinguished manually.

Nowadays, lantern carrying seem to be the activity for the privileged young. No adults become excited in it anymore. Maybe because it looked childish. Or we simply have no time and energy. Even the children carry battery operated ones. Are bulbs and music coming out from the lantern really more fun and interesting?

I did not remember seeing a moon on Tuesday, no mooncakes or Chinese tea were prepared as well. But atmosphere created was really heartwarming. It brought me back to my childhood days.

Thanks for bringing these memories back to me. Wish you have a safe and fulfilling trip, Desmond.

I Love Home Cooked Food

Today, I had my first taste of home cooked food during lunch, in more than a week. Actually it is just a simple porridge meal with chicken, fish and vegetables. No extraordinary ingredients. But it tasted very special.

Mum was sick since last Friday; she was down with a very serious cough, flu, fever and sore throat. In fact, she was so delirious that I thought she has some mild memory loss and slight hallucination. What was worst was she has multiple allergies to drugs like penicillin/panadol. We suspected she got the flu virus from Dad, who just recovered less than 3 days ago. It was a costly oversight on my side for not quarantining them at night, as her immunity is very low due to the multiple drugs she is taking. I MUST remember to do that next time.

The first GP we see didnt seem to alleviate her condition much. Desperate as she still had bouts of fever, we went to her oncologist since she will know what kind of medicine goes well with her routine drugs.True enough, the $300 (!!!) fees for medicine + consultation worked magic on her, though she still took nearly 6 days to regain proper strength and vitality. On Thursday, she starting her daily nagging again, and even managed to go for her regular KTV session. Amitaba~

But for the past week, I suffered big time. Both me and Dad cannot even hold kitchen utensils well, so we dont want to make ourselves suffer even more by cooking. Two of the days, I had my packed dinner at a nearby hawker with Dad and one evening's dinner was spent at "Kou Fu" in NYP. Other days I ate with Desmond after work. And I must really say that the hawkers in Singapore really need to work on their recipes to cook up a proper "balanced" meal. Their high carbohydrates and protein dishes certainly dont work well on me.

I am the sort who cant live without plenty of greens on my plate. And the amount of veges I took for the whole week may be equivalent to what I took for lunch today. I also find myself walking aimlessly. without an idea in mind for dinner, looking for nutritious food. I cannot imagine if I ever need to do this on a long term basis. Maybe I should seriously start learning to cook.

So glad that she is well and up now; and of course has resumed her head-chef status. Will be dining at home tonight too. And I am very looking forward.

My Love Affair with Scrapbooks

I did not expect to fall in love this way.

Especially when this is a rather costly hobby, and also demands a lot of time and concentration. I inherited my first set of tools and "scraps" from my sis in May, and it initially started as pastime as time was in indeed in my hands. And believe me, my first scraps was horrendous. What you see below is an improved version from the inaugurate.

I guess in the end it was the motivation to complete my first anniversary present for Desmond which persevered me to the end, completing about 30 pages of scrapbooks in almost a month. But my pockets were severely burnt too.

To many, scrapbooking is an time-wasting, arty farty tool, tailor-made for the tai-tais to spend their lazy afternoons with. I beg to differ. For one thing, not all tai-tais have the patience and passion to complete this task. It takes a lot of perseverance to choose material, pick colours, select photos and create a good theme. In fact I think the last element is the most crucial and most difficult. I can still remember how many hours I spend at "Made with Love" and "Laine's Papeterie" to select cheap and good materials. Desperation even drove me to "Spotlight" which surprisingly sells economical versions of those sold at the two shops. I spent so much time, emphasising on the details, analysing the value for money and finally restrict myself to get only those material I really needed.

At last, my efforts paid off. My favourite will have to be this:




It took me about one whole day to finish and it is the second time I did one which can be hang up on the wall. I especially like the lace details. And of course, this went straight to my dearest =). The first hanging scrap was actually a 32nd anniversary one for my parents, inspired by a nostalgic post on http://www.madewithlove.com.sg/.


I manage to do one for my dear niece Paige, just before I started work. I managed to use some recycled material too (the stems of the flowers are from the handles of a paper bag). Actually I like it a lot, it has a great theme and a nice colour combination. And she is REALLY a gorgeous little angel.


It has been a quite long while since I last scrapbooked. Maybe 2 months? Now my tool box, and remaining material are all lying quietly in one corner on my working table. About there. I hope that patience and time will be on my side, and I can start indulging, again. And my inspiration has just arrived: Baby Matthew.

圈圈。圆圆。圈圈

别误会，这栏不是有关林俊杰的江南，而是我两个侄儿名字的缩写 =）

小小源泉就快两个月大了！上两个星期看到他，也明显的“发福”了许多，也比他姐姐爱喝奶，真令人疼爱！有时，他的招牌“无影手”还依稀可见，可是却老是让我以为他在发抖擞。但他现在总是贪睡，醒着的时间不多。除此之外，源泉与姐姐小时候，实在是难以分辨。以下照片为证!

小思源对于她这新降临的弟弟似乎没什么大抗拒。。反而显露出兴奋新奇的心情，也跟平常一样蹦蹦跳跳的。她也好像突然长大了， 知道泉泉才是baby， 有特权哭闹撒娇耍脾气， 而她，已经是小大人咯！那天，她要求我帮她画画，题目是“我的一家人”，我随手涂鸦了Andrew, Jasmine 和小思源，便问她：“家里还有谁呀？”，她立即回答：“还有爷爷，奶奶，大姑姑，二姑姑。。”“家里还有一个在睡觉的是谁啊？”经过了一阵子的纠缠，小思源才娇滴滴地说：“还有源泉咯！”

他们的世界是简单，纯洁的，所说的话也是发自内心的。对我而言，这是每个小孩最讨人喜欢的一面。可能唯一能让人受到威胁的就是他们说流就流的眼泪，而且他们也知道用在谁身上最管用，这应算是他们最狡猾的武器吧。

单纯无邪的童年时光，真令人又羡慕，又回味。

Welcome!

To all the 有缘人 out there！

Welcome to my blog! Suddenly I was prompted to start a blog after talking to colleagues and reading some interesting blogs. Hopefully in time to come, this can become an inspirational blog for many =)

This blog will be about my life and my loves. I always believe that we should live life simple, and it is nothing but a race against yourself, not with anyone else.

Sometime ago, I learnt from a friend: "Life is full of unexpectations... so the worth of it is not measured by the number of breathes we take, but the moments which take our breathes away... "

I do hope, I will continue to have countless of those moments to share with all of my dear friends here.