幸運小豆もち

scribbling away boredom

2012-01-29T22:15:00.003+08:00

mochi's scribblings... when in a boring, trainer-thinks-he-is-very-funny course....

ramblings on CNY day2 - 24 Jan

2012-01-24T15:07:00.001+08:00

2nd day of CNY and zero visits!

Haha. except for friends coming over to chat and nua.. I did not attempt to step out for visiting.

I'm quite happy with the arrangement actually. Been having my essential dose of sleep and settled quite a bit of administrative stuff for the hut.

Need to ROM to get my hut. Still planning now..date not fixed... or rather changing the date to accomodate my mama.

I have so many people on my invite list but sad to say I gotta really limit to the besties as I'm keeping it to be a simple affair. The lucky besties are sharon san, zhe san and SMAB

The rest of my buddies will enjoy the bigger event which I shall start to think about when my hut is done up.

I'm not worried... Got lots of talents among my friends... photographers, wedding planner, make-up artiste, grade 8 pianoist, singers, hip hop dancers, tarot readers who can provide professional services and entertainment. :)

Not too particular about the event either, preferably near nature, trees and flowers would be good.

Theme would be for everyone to have fun.

Abit random but just decided how cute jurny is. She shall have the honour to be bestowed a unique collage under mochi's hall of babies.

Where new adventures begin...19 Jan

2012-01-20T22:46:00.001+08:00

Woohoo. Did house shopping on 19 Jan. Yep..I'm soon-to-be a proud owner of a piece of property in the west.

Murphy has always been hot on mochi's heels. No exception for this big life-changing decision we had to make as well. In short, I chose a level 6 flat and ended up with a level 3 height flat. due to super misleading or incomplete info, topped with 2 very blur lovers who didn't even think of looking at the scale model at HDB before making a decision. Talk about adventure..

Well, that aside, I already see my new year starting with a bang, with a few bigger bangs that would follow. Apparently, my hut is all ready and there's high chance I would be collecting the keys in 3-4months time. Gulp.

So which means I need to ROM before Apr, get the hut, and start hunting for humble stuff which would make my hut cosy and complete. Then, comes the renovation and designing.

The exciting intermissions would be 3 events back to back at work in the next half year which I'm very sure would zap me out of whatever remaining energy I have left. Not that I have alot to start with.

It's just the beginning and I'm loving it.

I won't give up - Jason Mraz

2012-01-12T08:22:00.001+08:00

Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmm ...

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

11 days into 2012

2012-01-10T22:22:00.000+08:00

It's 11 days into 2012. Blink Blink.

Been good so far though I've been on a long gone battle with the fatigue monster, or maybe it's just plain resistance to go back to work.

Talk about new year new resolutions... One moment I was telling sharon san that I am abstaining from holidays for 2012 and saving up for the ridiculously gonna suck me dry 98sqm govt housing. The next minute I expressed my immense urge to go HK again for shopping and eating. Sharon san said how come my resolutions broken so fast one.

Ya.. resolutions are meant to be broken so that we have a constant and steady flow of resolutions.

So I shall skip this year... or I'll call them 'wishes' instead. A wish for my loved ones and myself to have happiness and good health wherever they are and in whatever they do. Simple wish which would make anyone rich to be able to own it. Hmm.. and maybe I hope I can change my attitude this year to be more accepting of differences. I bought an aromatherapy set from BKK and the oils I chose were lemongrass, night jasmine and lavender.

I LOVE lemongrass smell. How can anyone hate it. and I was wrong. I found at least 3 people who HATED it.... stella, ES and my dad... not including those who hated it but haven't lashed out at me, and not counting those who didn't want to hurt my feelings. haha. I even found the scent too weak but before I could increase the dosage, my dad started grumbling that I was fumigating the whole house with this horrendous scent.

Yep. So yes, pls accept the fact that there are millions of people who are different from you mochi.

Oh oh. Koh Samet and BKK new year was simply amazing. The fireworks were everywhere, close above me, making that moment of countdown to 2012 so surreal. Definitely my best new year so far.

farewells and hope

2011-12-28T00:55:00.000+08:00

bye singapore.

Hi BKK. Haven't seen u in 6-7 years. Hope it'll be a good reunion. If I'm not in time, wishing all my buddies a happy happy 2012. It'll be a blast so let's embrace it together.

RIP Hammie.. You had a good mummy. Thanks for being part of her life.

pulling close to end 2011.

2011-12-26T23:37:00.003+08:00

I'm putting up this post in advance since I'll be spending new year in BKK this year. Hopefully it'll be a good relaxing one.

Xmas is really the season of giving. I felt it exceptionally strongly this year...dunno why. not that I got money to burn but probably I'm beginning to feel that it's great to be able to give, show appreciation and make someone else's day better than it would have been.

Kitties were role models for this. As usual, they congregated for a very strict and intimidating session of xmas party and gift exchange this year. Some braced themselves for the scoldings for their lousy choice of gifts while some basked in the limelight with theirs being voted the most well-received present. Some showed humility, vowing to do better next year. Some just showed great spontaneity by just being part of the fun and laughter. The recent precious get togethers I had with my loved ones, family and friends, reminded me to just worry less and be here, in the moment. It's a luxury in fact to be able to do so.

Just caught New Year's Eve the movie and I just had to quote this from Claire Morgan ( played by Hilary Swank) coz it really resonated with what I want to achieve in the coming year. Moved me to tears by the way probably coz it was so heartfelt and the great acting.

She made this speech to the audience waiting for the countdown at Times Square when the famous ball dropping act suffered a hiccup.

"It's suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the New Year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by.

To remember both our triumphs and our missteps - our promises made, and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures - or closed ourselves down, for fear of getting hurt.

Because that's what New Year's is all about: getting another chance.

A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about 'what if' and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight - and it will drop - let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long."

Cheers to a brand new year and friendship.

Great gifts this year kitties.

ES bought me this scratch-map where we could scratch out those countries we have been together. COOL. We hope to conquer the globe together! His disclaimer: Not allowed to scratch those I went with friends or 'some other men'. -_-

merry christmas 2011

2011-12-24T11:36:00.001+08:00

MeRRy chRisTmaS

& happy2o12.

It's the time of the year when I start lamenting how cruelly fast time sped by. On a positive note, I am proud at how well I managed 2011. Has got to be my best year so far. really.

Completed a few major items on my MUST-DO list with several memorable occasions along the way lighting up the year. Lots of outflow this year to commemorate the big 30s with different groups of friends... it's all worth it.

As I browse through my pictures folders, these were what made it to mochi's charts:

1) SMAB grand tour of USA - 3 weeks with SMAB driving ourselves nuts from east to west coast of the big apple. Totally ridiculously adventurous.LOVE it. I thought we grew closer this year by a huge step..knowing everyone's living habits, scolding each other all the time.

2) Celebrated 5th year with ES. Quiet dinner and he threw in a Bali rendezvous holiday for me. Deserving a No. 2.

3) 98A03 wedding fiesta - Em, Adrian and Les all got hitched! woohoo. Definitely worth a mention. Babies soon please.

4) my irritant Bro's wedding - like finally. Despite the mega saga where a strong intention to disown him nearly took over me, I was very touched that someone else is officially sharing our burden in this. haha. He's changed alot ever since the marriage and after I wrote him a looooong touching sms. Family rocks.

5) Close colleagues weddings - so glad for Mahani and Eric. They are people who make my day at work though we are no longer in the same Group. They deserve a standing in mochi's charts as well.

6) Last but not least, my recent India and Kashmir trip with my besties Sharon and Zhe san - been a loooong loooong time since we travelled together and we decided to make it a boomz one with a boomz destination choice - Incredible India. Indeed, the trip lived up to its name. Truly incredible that I had nightmares about AMK station drowned in heaps of garbage and the tracks submerged in garbage water. Me and sharon san were forced to jump into the water to escape from a man with a rotting face. Luckily, it was just a dream.

7) Got a queue number to select a flat! finally I am one step closer to owning my own place. I am so excited but at the same time, worried about the finances. Well, will stop being a worrier and take things as it comes.

8) To end off the year, I'm going to visit BKK again...after a good 6-7 years? Yes yes, don't remind me on my screaming bank account, dry and dehydrated. I'll save more next year k.

taught the unintentional bokeh here really looked amazing.

How my little space looks like at year end. 2 MD albums... a card bro sent back from Venice and my daily accessories

best xmas gift from colleagues..thanks angela. you know me well. must be coz my constant blasting of my music and my constant singing that gave you the idea.

Not so bad

2011-12-17T18:41:00.004+08:00

The bustle of crazy xmas shopping was arrested by a mood of uncertainty as people wonder if SMRT would fail them.. again. Well, NS line was crippled twice in 3 days and for a good 5-6 hours for each incident. This is scary. As a good public officer, I mulled over why the sudden surge within the last 6 months.

Just like electronics and systems, or technology in general, the more integrated, advanced and complicated it gets, the more problems and the harder it is to find out the cause. I remember my good ole canon printer which only had one function, PRINT. It's durability was incredible considering how many notes and papers it had to spit out during my schooling days. As compared to the all-in-one printers which I seldom use, their lifespans were pathetic.

The disruptions became more frequent after the start of CCL and upon investigations, the faults identified were unheard of..like track faults,power rail problem, cable fault etc. The root cause might be something deeper, underlying the mesh of transports hubs,tunnels, lines and tracks.

I'm not very disturbed by the spate of news on the disruptions. I find it quite entertaining actually... hot conversation topic whether face-to-face, on whatsapp or on FB. :)

Could be that I was lucky enough not to be caught in any of the disruptions. The other could be my recent experience in India which helped greatly in negating some of the anger as well.

People lived in a hell of constant honking, pollution that could whip up a fog and an almost non-existent transport system. That's how they live, with 1.21 billion others.

It definitely made me more grateful for what I have and where I am.

Took this pic while in a 1.5hr jam on the way to Taj Mahal.

Never seen SOOOO many people in my life. Traffic was bad and people were just huddling under the sun in their tentages, I dunno waiting for what. Maybe they have no idea as well.

Wild boars rummaging through rubbish. Never seen so much rubbish in my life.

TGIF highlights

2011-12-02T18:06:00.001+08:00

Cleared my email to the point where I didn't have to scroll to see my incoming mailbox.

Had cedele carrot cake for breakfast and saved half for tea break. Well
Worth the 6 bucks.

Cleared my workstation to finally reveal
parts of my table top. Harlow! Haven't seen you for a while!

Bro giving a treat at manhattan fish at Citysquare mall. Love Family dinners .

Used for the first time, a scarf Sharon
bought for me from chennai. Wrapped it around my neck.. Wildly imagining
the raindrops are snow. So surreal.

五月天2012

2011-12-01T23:02:00.001+08:00

Mayday五月天2012「作品8號」11/29開始預購;

12/16正式發行

五月天「諾亞方舟」世界巡迴演唱會

日期︰2012年02月25日

星期六, 晚上8點

地點︰ Singapore Indoor Stadium

Public Service Sports Carnival - 26 Nov 2011

2011-11-27T18:06:00.001+08:00

Lots of chillis must have been sacrificed for this event coz the weather was unpredictably kind with the help of mr sunshine. The PS Sports Carnival was held at Marina Barrage.

Singapore's skyline is becoming more iconic. I love how MBS, the unique greenhouse structure of Gardens by the Bay and the flyer form a picturesque landscape from the barrage. Maybe the Merlion could be planted in the middle of the bay just like statue of liberty in USA.

Experimented with some infrareds today. Loving it.

Marina Coastal Expressway in construction at LTA site office

Jurny was there. Looking blur and totally engrossed in the Clown magic performance, not in the mood for phototaking. well. haha.

the dragon boaters.... all ready and set.

Toy Camera effect - neko as my model

2011-11-24T22:28:00.001+08:00

Been totally in love with the iphone photo apps. Love how the effects can significantly change the mood in pictures. Here's a hardworking mochi trying to reproduce the same effect using the long long but good old photoshop way. Key thing is the light leaks to give the polaroid effect. Pretty complicated process which I'll need to practise over and over for deeper reinforcement.

Harlo toy camera neko. Oh. and not forgetting my buddies at work. They're my models too.

Before

After...with light leaks and a kodak frame..

my buddies at work..... literally and non-literally.

Buddies in Polaroid.

19 Jan 2012 - 10.45am

2011-11-23T22:40:00.001+08:00

Casa Clementi. My future home I hope! Fingers crossed. Feel uneasy thinking of becoming a westerner. Being a north easterner has its perks.. Yummy food easily within reach.....good curry rice near kovan...wanton mee at hg green.... ban mian at hg green... teochew porridge at simon road... wanton mee at hg ave 8....fried hokkien mee and carrot cake at ave 8....

and in general it just seems less cluttered, less pollution and less human traffic.

Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it... The familiarity.

Grouses aside... I'm still exploding with excitement.

W3ddings

2011-11-22T21:28:00.001+08:00

A popular weekend for weddings. Couples who can't get THE date 20.11.2011 will settle for the next best 19.11.2011. Definitely not doubting that some genuinely wanted 19 Nov of coz. Eric don't kill me. heh

Lovely couples each with their beautiful story behind their union. Argh. Bumble bee week ahead... actually for all my colleagues maybe.. office seems quieter.. less chatter, less music, more sighs, more furious typing sounds from keyboard. My eyes are popping out from too much report writing. They felt like expired halloween eyeballs...achy and teary. minus the blood.

ganbarimassho!

Happy bday to my halloween baby

2011-11-06T14:16:00.000+08:00

I've been pretty deprived of beauty sleep and rest since 20 Oct. I made up for it by sleeping from 10pm to 10am a few days ago. woohoo.

Thanks to all the occasions and activities that were lined up one after another. Not that it's a bad thing, just that I'm physically more intolerant towards late nights now. Adding on to these activities was a frequent workout regime with sharon san for the past 2 weeks as she brought me in to Fitness first for some 3 day free trial, part of a perk of her new membership. Plus SWEAT which gave me aches now and then, I think my body is screaming for help. haha. Work is coming in hard this month. The only way to survive would be to look forward to India 2011! ganbarimasu!

Enjoyed a chope chope getaway to KL with Sharon san and zhe san. Swiss Garden Residences was nice, spacious and newly refurbished. Highly recommended if you are going with a group of 3 friends or for families of 4.

Then came our JC halloween party and potluck at Chean's place. Chean's place was a zoo for Sean. He made friends with the Donkey.

Bec's halloween bucket for naz. The cloak was from Daiso which Naz dressed up in. Neko had a mini celebration after our party.

A message which made me luff out loud in the train. Love how honest kids are.

Had an early bday celeb with my halloween baby

Some chemistry in Vic and Jess's getup. haha.

Kirby...My fave shikh who lives on the coke side of life.

quote from movie coach carter

2011-11-03T14:59:00.001+08:00

Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

(A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3])

家有喜事！20 Oct 2011

2011-10-24T22:13:00.002+08:00

Congratulations to my greatest irritant ototo. It's a love hate relationship. I love him as much as I hate him. I hear alot of this in movies and dramas. Now, I truly experience this feeling.. in great depth.

It's such a miraculous feeling to see him so joyous on his special day. It's just so not him but at the same time, so believeable when I saw that very sincere grin hanging on his face throughout the day.

I am so happy and I wish you all the best in this next momentous phase of your life.

La la la la...

2011-10-16T14:25:00.002+08:00

Pictorial view of what I did the past week.

Met up with Amirah during the super cocked up MDIS convocation. haha.

Sharon san signed up for FF! woohoo. start of a great workout regime. Me? I concluded that I've got too many other opportunities to get my weekly dose of workout. I'll pass and save some money!

The MDIS bear. cute hor. my only tangible takeaway from the 1 day wasted at the convo. oh, and of coz the Macs Deluxe breakfast with buddy was something memorable too!

India I'm coming!! bolly...bolly....bolly...

Ended the day with yummy Ayam Penyet at Lucky Plaza. love it.

Hotpot date with buddy JY. Quality hotpot and chatter about our HK dramas.

The story of Steve Jobs and an Apple. 5 Oct 2011

2011-10-14T23:19:00.001+08:00

An interesting read of how this HK university student's weaked the design of the apple logo by weaving in Steve Job's silhouette on the logo. Amazing how viral internet is... with his artwork reposted everywhere, it was found that his design resembled another designer's work.. all in a matter of days. Whatever it is, the design is incredulously apt. It's going up my wallpaper to thank Steve for bringing me closer to my friends and making information so much more painlessly accessible.

RIP Steve.

picture from http://jmak.tumblr.com/

ultimate discipline

2011-10-14T08:45:00.001+08:00

Mochi crawled out of bed on wed, changed n went straight out for a morning jog at 7.30am. Oops.. Forgot mention that I did not brush my teeth and wash my face. I had no time since I already woke up late.

This is one of the flexibility of working from home. I am not less productive, in fact more productive as I felt fresher from the adrenaline rush. Clocked 5.6km in 36min.

Just am amazed at my discipline..sometimes. TGIF peeps. I hope this motivational story inspires u for the weekend to leave the couch, laptop and tv behind for a few hours. Get out, do stuff which your organ heart will thank you for.

Oh, I've also decided not to sign up for fitness first. The bodycombat class wasn't as intensive as I liked it to be. The class is simply too crowded and I hate the idea of a huge mass of ppl exercising in a confined place. People running on treadmills remind me of hamsters having fun on the wheels.

Not ready to be a hamster yet.

Au Natural state of mind

2011-10-01T13:46:00.001+08:00

sleepy. sleepy. Mama san..don't misunderstand my body language when you try to dig me out of bed at 8am. Firstly, it's... 8am. Secondly, it's a saturday. Thirdly, it's my sealy bed's fault.

I really like going to the market with you and when I think of the yummy local breakfast, all the more I would feel that the trip is worth saying sayonara to my sealy. I also get to see the familiar fish uncle and chicken auntie and totally adore the sight and smell of fresh poultry and seafood lying in their au natural state on ice. Something different from the compact cold frozen ones in ntuc.

Seems like a busy Oct ahead. Not exclusive to the germans. I am looking forward to all the festivities, a short KL trip with my tomodachis and the halloween party with another bunch of great friends.

For work, expecting some stuff coming up with some restructure, new colleagues and a bunch of ongoing projects which I really hope to see some closure soon so that I can receive year end celebrations with open arms.

Good luck all in whatever you do.

aging w grace

2011-09-22T08:37:00.001+08:00

My mama San recently extracted all teeth coz they were giving her pain. In place was a full set of dentures which she had to soak in a container as part of her daily routine.

I realize how fast my parents are aging.

I never thought it will come to this..

2011-09-14T22:19:00.001+08:00

"You want me to be nice to you? Must see if you are worth it. "

If you want to see the epitome of the highest quality of ingrateful shits, you can come to my house. I have one perfect specimen which you may feel free to bring it back to the laboratory for tests.

Today's just a bad day and it wasn't simply just waking up on the wrong side of the bed. It involved a throbbing heartache which lingered through out the day and possibly for the next few days.

What have we done to earn such ungrateful, hurting words from you bro? WHAT. TELL ME.

We never dared to raise our voice at you these past few years and used words in caution in the few rare occasions where we talk. Either pretend we didn't see it or we 'tell u off' in a joking manner in fear of incurring your wrath. Or we just want to avoid hearing those cold sarcastic remarks from you. We've graduated with a PHD in the subject of Patience through out these years. Just some respect for us as human beings who have been with you through thick and thin, wonderful parents who have given you a roof over your head, fed you when you are hungry. Is it too much to ask?

What do you mean by worth it? How do you measure in your warped mentality whether someone is worth you being nice to them?

MONEY? Yes, that's how you measure worth. Your ILs paying for the wedding banquet first and offered to top up the difference. Your wife-to-be auntie paying for your honeymoon package to Holland.

Oh. So these are the people worth your respect.

In that case, I would not be able to be your emcee for your wedding. Neither will ES. You are not worth it too.

I love colors!

2011-09-12T20:58:00.000+08:00

Went to Popular today and bought this set of 48 colors crayon set which would make any kid giggle in bliss. Never owned a set of crayons in this many shades and tones in my life. I hope I'll still keep my passion for card making for as long as I live. I figured that the way to fuel this passion is to buy new colors for me to play around with! heh.

Handmade card for ES. Evidence of 5 yrs of tolerance for each other's shit.

My 12 color crayon collection that had served me well ...since Pri school? The promoter came to my school and marketed them as smudge-free, good quality crayons. And the quality remains after so many years.

my new collection... see if you are the lucky one to get my handmade cards. heh.

Slightly off topic but I really love the colors of the F1 3 day Bay Grandstand passes I bought for my otosan.

Love declaration for mama san

2011-09-10T22:16:00.002+08:00

Never been a mushy person. Not in my character at all. I'm probably forced to be mushy to ES coz he loves being mushed at... so... i'll mush him from time to time. guys guys guys.

But I was mushy to my mum today. I held her face and told her she's the greatest mum in the whole world and I'm so proud of her. I wanted her to know that although she isn't educated and not jiak kan tang like my bro's future in-laws, she should still feel confident about who she is and how proud I am of her.

Reason why this sudden PDA urge to her was coz she felt very uneasy throughout the food tasting session with the in-laws. I know her and knew that she doesn't look forward to such interaction sessions at all. She kept repeating the same lines and ended up sounding abit inane and repetitive.

I knew she has this complex that they are richer and more highly educated than her and hence, she refrains from displaying her straightforward character fearing that this would invite criticism from them....and from my bro. Sad right, own son not on the side of her and the family. My bro was sitting at the other side of the table, chatting and laughing so happily with the ILs. Never seen him doing the same with us. Why? ? Familiarity breeds hostility? totally idiotic and unacceptable to me.

So I gave my mama san a lesson on changing the way she thinks and feels. Like what a trainer taught me how to be confident when doing public speaking, constantly remind yourself that your audience is not the expert in the topic you are speaking on. You are. As much as you are struggling to discover what strikes a chord with your audience, your audience are also doing the same.

I told my mum to be natural and be herself. As much as you fear that you cannot understand their english, the ILs were also desperately trying to put together a chinese sentence with their pte limited store of chinese words. They were humming and errrrr-ing for a 10 secs wondering how to say ah ballings in chinese until i rescued them with the oh-so-difficult answer... 汤圆.

So what if they stay in bkt timah and speaks only english.

My mama san's life experiences win them hands down. Her sewing skill is impeccable, she holds several driving licenses for all kinds of vehicles, she can speak 4 dialects, she's a super cooking mama, knows how to choose the best durians and freshest ingredients for cooking. She has time to do all the household chores despite her work and busy mahjong schedule. She's ever so sweet, patient and considerate to us. She never raises her voice or shouts at us except when we were kids or when she wants to wake us up for breakfast.

I love u mama san. You're never beneath anyone and you are incomparable. I will never exchange ANYTHING for you.

Religiously yours

2011-09-04T21:31:00.002+08:00

This song rocks! Haven't grooved to a good rock song in a long long time... and as usual.. the lyrics are unbeatably motivating and charismatic. Their songs are my religion.

五月天 - OAOA
电影《追梦3DNA》主题曲

我相信苦涩的眼泪
我不信甜美的誓言
我相信音乐就该音乐
我相信爱情的纯粹
我不信华丽的诗篇
我相信热烈的争辩
我不信无声的和谐
我相信秒秒的瞬间
我不信年年的永远
我相信摇滚就能万岁
快张开你的嘴 OAOA
再不管你是谁 OAOA
人生都太短暂
别想别怕别后退
现在就是永远
出生的那一年 OAOA
转眼就这一天 OAOA
人生都太短暂
去疯去爱去浪费
和我再唱 OAOAOA

我相信苦涩的眼泪
我不信甜美的誓言
我相信音乐就该音乐
我相信爱情的纯粹
我不信华丽的诗篇
我相信热烈的争辩
我不信无声的和谐
我相信秒秒的瞬间
我不信年年的永远
我相信摇滚就能万岁
快张开你的嘴 OAOA
再不管你是谁 OAOA
人生都太短暂
别想别怕别后退
现在就是永远
出生的那一年 OAOA
转眼就这一天 OAOA
人生都太短暂
去疯去爱去浪费
和我再唱 OAOAOA

我相信秒秒的瞬间
我不信年年的永远
我相信摇滚就能万岁
快张开你的嘴 OAOA
再不管你是谁 OAOA
人生都太短暂
别想别怕别后退
现在就是永远
出生的那一年 OAOA
转眼就这一天 OAOA
人生都太短暂
去疯去爱去浪费
和我再唱 OAOAOA

OA OA OA ~

The Old Photo Effect

2011-08-30T16:58:00.004+08:00

Finally enjoying some mochi time. Me, myself and mochi. I find that as I grow wiser (i.e. older), the more challenging it is to dedicate time to self-improvement activities. Excuses? We have more commitments which never fail to zap us of our energy. Physically, we are more 'mature' making our bodies succumb to fatigue more easily.

So once we can breathe free time, we'll indulge in lazing around catching up on our dramas, surfing net, activities which do not require much effort. I feel it so much. I need like double the amount of motivation to make me jog, clean up my room, housekeep my computer, organise my life in general and improve my PS skills. urgh. such are the cruel truths as we mature.

That's why I haven't been diligently reading of my photo mags. I still buy them religiously but haven't been conscientiously reading them. They are still there on the shelf, stacked up high and nice, neat and untouched. yucks. Guilt.

So today, I successfully ejected my butt from my sofa and relieved some of the guilt by playing magic with my photos. hmm. This website has pretty good and comprehensive tutorials. Though I had a hard time trying to save the instructions on the webpage into PDF for my future reference, I managed to do it after some googling for PDF converter software. CutePDF converts files into PDF in an instant and PDFmerge site merges several PDFs into 1 PDF doc FOC. 好万得福. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/old-photo/

Tried the old photo technique with one of the pics I took with sharon san during our recent healthy 3 hr trek at macritchie. This pic was taken at the tree top walk... sharon san, photo for you to commemorate your virgin climb to the tree top!

~Before~

~After. Added the sepia tone, then added the grain and noise effect. finished up by revealing some color from the original photo to show the loss of photo color due to ageing~

when photography gets tough

2011-08-30T10:44:00.001+08:00

Met up w Matt who went on a 6 mth backpacking trip in USA and recently back to earth again. We had a good meal at Shokudo @ bugis and adjourned for dessert at honeymoon desserts. He was in an incredibly chirpy mood and I think it's really what good holidays and break can do to a normally shy and reserved person. So not wasting any chance, I tried my luck to wriggle a cheeky pose out of him despite numerous protests.

Though it wasn't picture perfect but it showed that he can have a fun side too! and thanks for humouring me matt!

Speaking of which, I'll be getting my periodic dose of rejuvenation soon... bali bali bali bali.

new acoustics

2011-08-22T08:42:00.001+08:00

My new toy with incredible sounds that make me can't help but to bob along to every song. I Might be caught on stomp soon. Haha.

Kelsey Martinovich

2011-08-13T15:16:00.000+08:00

I have always admired beautiful gals. She's my recent obsession - Kelsey Martinovich, runner-up of Season 2 Australia's next top model. She's a goddess who missed by a few votes to becoming the winner. Quite drama la the finale where the host Sarah first wrongly announced her as the winner and then apologised saying that the real winner was Amanda. OMG. haha. She handled it pretty graciously though.

Dun you think she's gorgeous with aura of Keira Knightly cum the x-factor of Diane Kruger. The few times where I go lesbianic.

Les Bouchons @ Robertson Quay

2011-08-09T00:53:00.000+08:00

That's where I brought ES for our 5th anniversary dinner. Heard raving reviews about the fries, steak and how authentic the french food is. Happy anniversary honey. love u loads.

It wasn't a disappointment though I wished I was a beef lover coz like 95% of the menu were beef dishes! dam. I had to order a salmon coz that was the only non-beef item. They had lamb but I don't fancy lamb too. Salmon's not my fave fish either. So ermm.. why the hell am I introducing this place??!!?

Coz the Fries were cooked to perfection. I'm a sucker for carbo remember? lol. it was crisp outside and soft inside and it was lightly seasoned with a little charred fragrance to it. Yumm. Free flow fries by the way but was way to full to top up as usual. I'm definitely Asian.

ES's steak was good too for the price. 300g ribeye @ 34.50 with fries and salad. Escargots with herb butter and garlic were really slurpy good.

In all, it was a nice quaint restaurant which is really good for pat thor after dinner where you can walk along the different quays... robertson all the way to clarke quay. Boat quay is round the corner too if you feel too bloated from the great food.

Friends can pig out there if you want a quiet gathering. Pls call to make advance reservations coz it's usually booked out.

A post about Aliens

2011-07-26T20:59:00.000+08:00

They are so called foreign talents but I think we can do better without them.

I had been having this ache just slightly beneath my left jaw since saturday. The pain aggravates when I tilt my head towards a certain direction and when I swallow my saliva. Any slight movement of my face would send a nagging ache across my left cheek up to my left ear. It felt like a mega toothache but my gums and teeth were fine. Went to the panel clinic doctor and yes, Healthway at Hg Mall is just hopeless... actually any healthway. They just give you the same old type of medication over and over again which doesn't work and in best case scenarios, take very long to work. They will give you a pack of useless medication and MC.

Harlo... not everyone is there to geng MC from you k. We are really sick! sometimes.

Yup, so I went to the chinese medicinal shop near my place hoping to get some good advice for liang teh from the shop uncle who is also the owner. He was not in and I was greeted by a foreign talent who simply couldn't be bothered with what ailments I had and not interested in listening to me. She just brushed me off to buy the bottled liang teh and insisted that it was good enough in her irritating accent.

The powdered one better right? I want something stronger and more effective coz..... No, no need powder, if you buy the bottled one no need powder already k. okay?

I reluctantly forked out 5 bucks for it and when I drank it, it tasted so sweet and so mild.

Compared to the local uncle who cleared my plate at the kopitiam, who politely asked me if I still wanted my food, they are worlds apart.

Babu calls them MICkey mouse. I like how subtle it sounds. They are here to just earn our money, provide lousy service, jam up our transport and use up our resources.

Not until they feel a sense of identity in our country will they start serving us like they should, like a local. But I am also not looking forward to that day which means that these aliens would have successfully invaded into our sunny island. BRRRR.

I am seriously stereotyping here. There are some kind aliens. Just that you really have to squint and find.

no sweat. really?

2011-07-02T12:31:00.002+08:00

wonder if I'm getting lazy to blog. that's bad. bad. bad. i like blogging compared to the SICK notes of meeting and management approval papers type of writing I do alot at work.

I wonder who invented notes of meeting. It's just a super waste of time especially with people who abuse it by thinking it's another form of detailed report of the meeting.

stop digressing mochi. yes, the lazy bug hit me and i'm infected. got too many things to do nowadays with my drama chasing, meeting-ups and the workout package I signed up with SWEAT www.sweat.com.sg. Really coolly intensive circuit type of workout sessions which targets at toning all muscles in your body. It clearly showed that jogging only helps to build up your stamina and improve your cardio functions. My body had been aching non-stop at different areas after each weekly workout. Like last week the focus was lower body toning which made me look obscenely clumsy getting up and down the coach during my day trip to JB, groaning with every step I took. Well, my only consolation was that I had sharon groaning with me as well coz she went for SWEAT as well! hahah.

I would recommend SWEAT to anyone who wants to tone up their muscles and just sweat the day's frustration at work out! The training environment is nice and casual too with friendly trainers. Location is at *Scape 5th floor which is very centralised. kope these pics from Sweat's FB page. That's me and ES!

Most memorable for me

2011-06-14T21:32:00.000+08:00

back to the work routine.

The withdrawal symptoms were harder to overcome this time round. I missed the days where I wake up to a new unknown everyday.. just key in the location and let it bring us to the place.

My deepest impression of USA. That's a common question from friends and colleagues since we really went to quite a few places in 3 weeks.

The most vivid memory I had of the trip would be in LA. We googled and keyed in what we thought was the best viewing location for the hollywood sign. The driving route was along narrow roads, windy and pretty hilly along the houses of rich people. We couldn't make out actually where was our next turn. I remembered carefully maneuvering up the windy curves and listening to B's instructions on directions.

Then somewhere, we drove though some tall, bushy trees and when we were out of the shade, the hollywood sign was right smacked there, just like in postcards. And we just gawked and squealed in excitement like little gals, exclaiming that this must be the BEST view ever. The sky was blue and the sun lit up our faces. Just the right amount for a kodak moment. Don't ask me why but that feeling was just unspeakable.

SMAB's back

2011-06-07T05:59:00.000+08:00

I'm back!

As you can tell from the ungodly timing of this post, I am suffering from jetlag. I'm so bloody awake now. Will be going to work later and I hope the withdrawal symptoms will not be too severe.

photos still pending. I really wonder if my cranky laptop can take the huge load and processing.

GREAT trip. Weather has been very kind throughout the 3 weeks with picturesque blue skies when required. We have managed to avoid crowds in many of our activities as well and that's important coz I'm allergic to crowds. Our dear GPS performed so well and got us to where we wanted to go.

Greatest achievement for me was to get everyone safe and sound back to Singapore. Unfamiliar roads, left hand drive and long driving time. Daunting even for the best driver. Total driving distance = 4000km

This is really the trip of our lives. so far. Amazing. Can't find a better way to mark our 30th. :)

mini sound monster - X-MINI

2011-05-16T14:09:00.000+08:00

So excited to get have these for the road trip. Incredible music at an affordable price and size. The music doesn't even crackle at the highest volume. Crazy. Price? This x-mini v1.1 is only $29.90. yummy.

The most crazy is that it's designed and produced locally. We're the first to come up with capsule speakers! Singapore rawks.

SMAB adventure begins

2011-05-16T11:34:00.004+08:00

Boomz pink luggage from ES.

I'm going with a clueless mind... not sure what to expect... abit apprehensive about left hand drive in the strange familiar big apple. Whether I'll recover soon enough for the whirlwind tour remains a question. I need to also devise a plan on how to lug back shopping loots.

These are happy problems though. Trust me, I'm not complaining at all.

Boomz way to celebrate my 30! See u next month!

This is what I call a real GE

2011-05-09T09:53:00.000+08:00

This is how a real GE should be like. Exciting, controversial and with everyone feeling that they have a stake in the future of our beloved nation.

I struggled to stay up to watch the results despite having worked in the killing heat for 15 hrs. KO at 1am and caught up with the news the next day.

WP won Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC securing 6 seats in parliament. Compared to the pathetic 2 seats in the last 5 years, I think this is a feat and indeed a watershed election.

I'm not pro-opposition but I would like to see how the close margins would transform PAP. I'm a firm believer of competition and how it can bring about constant improvement to make things better.

For those who cannot accept the results and thinking of moving house in fear of property devaluation, shut up and move on. Democracy will die in your hands if you were in the political arena. There are bigger issues than this.

Let's give them a chance to really see what they can do. We are only giving them 5 years to prove themselves and it's a pretty reasonable timeframe.

Ganbatte Singapore!

I dont like to share.

2011-05-05T10:36:00.001+08:00

I need to rant it out. Here!

I borrowed my office camera for a site visit and seeing my other colleague needed the camera for her site recce, I offered the camera to her. But hao xin no hao bao one... Somehow she passed the camera to someone else n end up my pictures were deleted! I Have not downloaded lor! Firstly, I think u should remind the person that Shirle chew's pics r inside he camera and pls pass the camera back to het after u downloaded yours. Secondly, what's the hurry to deleted those 30 pics from the camera which has 4 bloody GB of space!!!

After the trauma, I thought that probably the pics could be in that person's comp trashbin which means still retrievable! No... That person has to clear the pics from the camera itself. Who the hell does that????

It might just be a case of miscommunication but doesn't deny me of the right to be pissed.

PISSED

I shall bring my own camera next time.

Elections fever..I've had enough

2011-05-03T20:34:00.002+08:00

I'm never into political stuff. The only time I will bother to read about them is when it's part of my school textbook. Even though so, still a really involuntary and grouchy reader. It's dry, it's boring and maybe I'm too in my own world to care about who becomes government.

I must say I am very proud of myself this year. I actually know who LTK, Sylvia Lim, TPL and NS are, read through all the FB posts (not that I wanted to, coz FB is flooded with it!! I'll come to that later.), googled a few rally videos and even know how NS's bf looks like.

Social media should get the most credit for this.

What's meant to be a personal opinion when posted to the social network, becomes bigger than that. A politically retard like me actually holds some vague opinions about the various parties now. I asked myself why. It was all the FB posts, articles and videos, taking effect. And I believe I'm not the only one. A simple opinion you might have like "I think PXP can be better." can snowball into "PXP runs singapore like a private company, profit-thirty firm.....blah..blah."

It's crazy. The power of these little nuggets of news you read and hear about. Gunpowder smell was strong among some of the posts where people who commented held opposing views. scary.

I hold a simple view. Go with your heart. If you are a contented person, vote for them. We cannot deny that they have done a good job and I believe it would not get worse if they continue. The question is if it could get better.

If you think they can make a difference and the risk is worth it, vote for them. There's no right and wrong and you're just exercising your right as a citizen. Sad but true, we are brought up in a risk-adverse culture. If it ain't broken, don't fix it. What if you create new cracks while trying to fix it? What if it works even better after you fix it? You decide.

People have been slamming the opps that they have not revealed any conclusive plans in the rallies so far. Stuff they said were targeted at putting the other party down and some very broad future plans. I think that's really normal psychological warfare.

Who would be interested in listening to the detailed boring 5-10 year plan for Singapore at the sardine-packed rally? Let's keep that for parliament meetings and budget speech. More than half the people are at the rallies to seek immediate comfort in knowing that the person on stage understands how the average Singaporean is feeling. It does not matter that they do not have the concrete plans as yet. The assurance that they understand your needs already made it a battle half-won. The boring long term plan? That can come later. Clearly, the smart move is to maximise the short 1 week time you have to rally for support.

Yup. Being a political retard, I am on the fence. To think more objectively, I am going to start my cooling period today. And about the cooling off day. It's really dumb. What can change in a day before the elections??

Let's all start now people.

30 April 2011 - TVB concert

2011-05-02T15:09:00.000+08:00

Happy labour day everyone. Thank you for working hard!

Ironically, I did not have a good rest this long weekend, jam-packed with activities. Phew. One of which was the TVB male leads concert which was a gift from my colleagues. A dream come true to see my Bosco LIVE? haha. More often I saw him through my camera lens. Intentionally lugged my DSLR with super zoom lens just to see if pictures would turn out better than normal compact cam. Pics at concerts with normal cams are usually disappointing. I set it to manual mode and the quality of pics were good considering I was sitting at the far side of the stage and really maxed out my zoom.

Bosco was a scrawny hyper monkey that night. He's so much skinnier than on TV! The songs they sang were mostly in Cantonese except for Moses who sang English and Mandarin songs. Bosco was the only one who bothered to ask if we preferred him to speak in Canto or Mandarin. Probably coz he has a pretty decent command of mandarin. heh.

After watching this concert, an immese urge for a MD concert multiplied within mochi. Not becoz it was a fantastic concert but coz the singing and musical part of it was so weak that I made me love my MD more. I need a good concert. Anytime.

~ He's 1969 - 42 years old.... older than Chen Hao - 1971- 40 years old. Can you believe it.?!~

Elections coming......

2011-04-19T20:38:00.003+08:00

A tiring, eventful week passed.

1. Coaxing a 55 year old man to go seek medical professional advice is a challenge, I dunno why. My otosan went to see this old man who opens a 'clinic' in his house. His forte is to heal by whacking the pain spot with rods, as hard a possible to whack the toxins out of the body to eradicate the pain in the knee. The next step was to rub the raw skin with ginger. SIAO. MAD. GILA. and people believed that this can heal.....ridiculous!! His knee pain was probably just a minor strain from jogging and needed more time to self-heal. He ended up with this horrible bruises that looked like one of the pics from some maid abuse article. After pulling stunts and struggling for a week with his bai ka, he decided to see a doc at mount E to get an xray and jab. Now he's flying. Sigh. MEN. OLD men.

2. A really apt picture to describe how I feel right now. My sense of patriotism towards Singapore peaked knowing that election is near. Parliament officially dissolved. No garmen now till 7 May! I must do my part! Yes, by dedicating my precious 7 May to Yio Chu Kang Pri Polling station. Interesting experience for mochi who has zero clue about the political arena.

As long as I know him....think that should suffice. Wonder when I'm going to start reading it. LOL.

3. A bold request to Becca to spice up my otherwise boring and lethargic Fri. I feel so much more connected to her with whatsapp. Thanks iphone. You brought a friend so far away so close to me. She sent this incredibly adorable pic of sean. This would put a smile on anyone's face. anyone. The video which he danced to Boom Boom Pow of BEP was such a genius. Bec, you should be so proud of this beautiful son of yours. Love him to bits.

Long weekend is up and I'll be zoo-ing with another kiddo. Looking forward.

Life is generally good... if only I can find a way to absorb more energy. I need to feel less lethargic so that I can do more things! ....such as going for THIS! see below! Anyone interested??? Bosco Bosco Bosco.....muacks.

Happy 3 years 8 months ES!

2011-04-10T20:54:00.002+08:00

ES surprised me with what he prepared for me to celebrate our monthly anniversary. Check out the spread! Yums. The green curry was really good though it was from those ready made green curry mix. He knew I needed my carbo so he bought some sushi as appetiser in case the prata wasn't enough to fill me up. Salad coz I need my daily veg. And the star was Brown Brothers Moscato which was really the best I've tried.

Cheers cheers.

One of the best weekends I've had. We don't intentionally celebrate monthly anniversaries now coz it's just meaningless to just go through the motion. Exactly coz we don't do it often, it was exceptionally sweet. heh.

Me? I did not prepare anything... keke. I am still waiting for the arrival of my ANGRY birds... angrily. Hope they didn't fly to another country...where are u birdies.

Weekend was spent mostly with ES's friends. Yep, this is one of the few times I felt less anti-social. I was kinda resistant to hang out with this group as I was really afraid they would turn out to be like his the other group of juvenile friends whom I just have zero interest in even making small talk. This group turned out more fun and I could tell that they are really sincerely nice people.

At Emerald Hill No.5 having happy hour martinis

Besides the usual BBQ meats, Elle cooked up a thai feast, really authentic thai food. Hope we can get to go visit her in BKK at the end of the year. That'll be cool!

guys guys guys

2011-04-07T09:52:00.001+08:00

This is a very stale topic which never fail to drop my jaw. I would like to give them benefit of doubt sometimes but sometimes, it just doesn't work. They bring you endless surprises with their one track mind and puzzle you with their totally inefficient way at completing certain tasks. To be fair, there are some things they are better at la. But hey, this is not the focus of this post.

Yep, that's probably why the saying of women r from Venus n men r from mars. In my opinion, Venus is a much smarter planet.

Composite pictures

2011-04-03T21:27:00.000+08:00

I've always been allergic to washed out skies. Could be due to the strong sun, cloudy sky or that the camera angle was just not right. Tried this composite image technique today which took only 15min to miraculously give life to the otherwise plain and sad looking sky. Eye candy now. :)

~ image before edit~

~ sky image..my preferred sky! ~

~ After~ composite image!~

Sentosa Boardwalk

2011-03-31T22:56:00.000+08:00

Wow. Trying out the new blogger posting interface.. it's really much more intuitive and user friendly. Cool!

It's time anyway...the old interface really made it a pain to put in pics. Super old fogey.

Testing 1 2 3. I like it. Yep, you should check out this boardwalk after a nice kim gary meal at Vivo. Scenic way to digest your dinner.

~ had a lomantik walk w ES along the boardwalk...~

~ lights which kept me snapping for at least a few minutes~

HOP over it

2011-03-30T14:17:00.003+08:00

one of the few times posing with walking stuffed toys..never really into posing with furry cartoon characters coz I think it's like childish and so mainstream, touristy and suaku.

Ya... I did.. while waiting for the free sneak preview to start. HOP over it. You can give it a miss. storyline not great and feels like lamer version of alvin and chipmunks.

garlic on the go!

2011-03-30T14:05:00.003+08:00

No more manually mincing garlic... no more yucky lingering garlic smell on my fingers... no more huge bags of garlic rotting in the fridge..

Tada... found this in the mart...dam cool...can keep for like 1 year in fridge. I can now scoop as much garlic as I want for frying my fave aglio olio...with min hassle! woohoo.. who wants to eat...I'm more willing to cook now..

Spending a lazy day to recuperate from the busy weeks.. packing my cupboard, enjoying lunch with otosan, listening to their naggings, sleeping all I need, doing my online errands...

47 more days. I hope my comp don't conk out on me. I on my comp today and realised the comp clock dated itself to Feb 2006.... the slow clock problem is getting worse. Some webpages couldn't display and popped up this error message due to this problem.

Weird... see how long it'll last. Weather too hot to think of fixing it.

birdie obsession.

2011-03-27T18:44:00.004+08:00

Just closed my eyes and swiped for these angry birds plush toys. Bought 2 piggies too but sad that the black bird is out of stock. I'll get it another day! THEY ARE SO CUTE and so so irresistable...

After conversion from USD to SGD and after shipping, you wouldn't want to know how much they cost.hahaha. Absurd for these furry balls. Collector's item i tell myself....collector's item...collector's item.... kawaii....kawaii...

Not so bad la.. it's a gift and I hope he likes it. He doesn't read my blog so it's ok to ANNOUNCE IT HERE. keke.

Tapping my fingers wondering when they will arrive... the site doesn't state approximate shipping time. fantastic service.

ZSS meet up

2011-03-27T13:38:00.003+08:00

Sharon san has been raving about saizeriya ever since I brought her there. Knowing how boring we can get in terms of thinking of where to eat, saizeriya might take over Xin Wang as our new lao di fang.

zhe's treat since she just got her bonus and I treated dessert since I just got my bonus too!

All our first time having the Giant Earthquake @ Swensens! 8 large scoops with 8 different toppings. Yums. ES joined us for dessert to help us wipe the bowl clean.

I love gatherings with my best budds.

LOST! Punggol Promenade Riverside Walk

2011-03-20T23:02:00.002+08:00

I made another trip to this boardwalk after going with Jo yesterday. My target was to jog there, chill and I timed it so that I could see the sunset.

Address: 10 Tebing Lane, Punggol East. (imprinted in my brain...impossible to remove)

I started off at 4.45pm and got really lost though I had the GPS on my iphone. I felt really upset coz I'm still in disbelief that I can get SO lost.... in PUNGGOL...north-east area which is suppose to be my territory.

After 1 hour, I wanted to give up and head back home. But at the weakling thought that I did not manage to achieve what I set out to do made me whip out my iphone again. This time, I seriously tried to make use of my whatever's left of my sense of direction. I did finally set foot on the boardwalk. After a whopping 1.5hours..10KM? hediously CMI.

Ooh.. but I was in time to catch sunset though. Not great but not bad considering the trauma I went through. I also had a good laugh at those who drove to the place since the parking there is really pathetic and the queue was just ridiculous. Jog there people!

The way back was a sheer test of my patience and perseverance. I was thirsty like shit and when I saw 7-11, it was like seeing an oasis in a desert. I reached home with dinner for my mum and myself at 7.55PM. My mum thought I went missing and she nearly fainted from hunger.

Come jog with me, I swear I can run the CORRECT route with my eyes closed now.. come come join me.

Are you A or B? or AB?

2011-03-19T13:30:00.004+08:00

~ Can u guess what maria, siti and babu had for dinner?~

We all have different facets to our character. When and which facet comes out stronger depends on a whole pack of factors. The situation, the people we are with, the place and the time.

There are 2 shirleys in my division so irritant jo distinguish us by shouting across the cubicles "bimbo shirley" when she wants to talk to me. Maybe coz they all THINK they are smarter and cooler than me, so I appear the most bimbotic among them. haha.

But if I were to tell this to my other groups of friends, they'll think like.. "what...bimbo? you're not bimbo lor." coz there're more crazy bimbotic people in the group.haha. simple as that. It's relative. So we don't need to take nicknames too seriously...like seriously.

ES will probably see the the different facets of me coz of the time we spend together and the closeness of our relationship. Sharon san will have a total different assessment of me being my bestest friend. And I'll chameleon into something else when I'm with SMAB.

It doesn't mean we are not genuine or not behaving like us. Group dynamics coax different facets out of us, making the dominating facet in each different relationship different. That's the secret to how we can get along with different groups of people.

Despite the amazing capability to moth into different selves, we somehow still retain that unique flavour in our characters that's common to all.

The versatility should not be abused though.

Strength

2011-03-13T11:59:00.002+08:00

My impression of the orderly country, known for being innovative and futuristic, warm service staff and people has not changed.

The magnitude of the disaster shook the world but not enough to shake the courage of the japanese.

Footage of supermarket staff still trying to hold onto glass bottles on the shelves, undaunted by the strong quake, stranded commuters seated orderly at the SIDES of staircases when transportation system was paralysed, calm faces at the broadcast office when lamps fell and ceiling collapsed right in front of them, with some still working on their computers.

Amazing. I know you will recover from this soon.

8.9 earthquake hits North-East Japan

2011-03-12T15:40:00.004+08:00

~Mount Fuji taken during my trip in 2006~

Praying for those in Japan while Singaporeans are struggling to beat the crowd, wrecking their brains on how to grabthe best deal from the IT show.

How lucky we are.

Down 1

2011-03-09T21:52:00.004+08:00

My favourite seat on the double deck. I call it the VIP seat with unblocked, first-hand view of the traffic situation. Relaxed.

That's how I feel. The incredible sense of achievement from completing a inhumane project that spanned more than 3 months. Well, this is not the worst I've been through but it's still bad.

Developing the storyboard for an e-learning courseware is no joke my friends. The rounds of reviews, error spotting, scanning every single ppt and making sure the content flow works.... IS NO JOKE. I'm done and pls no more of such brain draining stuff for the next 2 years...at least. Sometimes, I am amazed at my luck to kena such shit.

So I'm happy now. It's thurs peeps. I can say with affirmation that counting down to the weekend is the hobby of all working peeps.

2 more days to weekend and 70 more days to SMAB grand tour.

trying their luck at bingo

2011-03-06T13:14:00.002+08:00

Received garmen's letter addressed to my okasan on workfare bonus thingy for people earning lesser than a certain amount of income.

It said that " we have checked your records and noticed that you were self-employed in the year of 2010. To be eligible for the bonus, pls complete the attached form on your status of employment." blah blah blah.

Firstly, my okasan was NEVER self-employed. You have access to her contribution records and can check easily that she was NEVER self-employed.

Secondly, just because you SAID that she was self-employed, we had to tick the "No, I was never self-employed." Afterwhich I had to "Pls state the reasons why you were never self-employed."

Like &($&^$&^%)^$^$$@@###@.

My guess is that you have some deadline to meet and you're sending out a mass mail to people without checking your records. Then you'll use the super inaccurate data to payout the bonus, leaving your poor customer service officers having to deal with complaints from those who did not respond to that mass mailer and who are actually entitled to the bonus.

Garmen work for you.

scrumptious meals

2011-03-02T14:49:00.001+08:00

Visited seoul garden yesterday. Besides having satisfied my craving for grilled meats, it revived the feeling of old school days where feasting in Seoul garden was our periodic indulgence. Students face lots of stress too so good food was one of most affordable way to de-stress.

We would go to the Seoul at taka at 12pm.. Stuff our faces till 3pm and a few of a would take a break to digest our food by going shopping for an hr or so.. Head back to Seoul and continue stuffing till 6 pm. Lunch n dinner covered for the day.

Amazing how hard our digestive systems had to work and it didn't break down or protest at all. It is an impossible stunt for me now.

And now I'm planning for a swim tonight to relieve some guilt.

4 years ago

2011-02-23T22:59:00.002+08:00

夏り。。

– Hide

284 Posts, last published on Nov 1, 2006 – View Blog

Caught my eye.

It's been a good 4 years since my old blog addy. Wow. I read through my really old posts and it gripped me hard that I could write better 4 years ago. My posts are so much shorter now decorated with pictures more than words.

I choose to believe that my engrish standard has maintained and I've advanced to a higher level, writing in a more concised manner. Positive x3!

The mere thought of the weekend is exciting as I'll be seeing my dearest becca san and sean. I've got 2 days to mull over which lens to bring for the staycation.

I hope my friends who are right now going through the phase I did 4 years ago will find strength and move on. Ganbatte ne! I wanna thank my blog buddy ayu who has been giving me encouragement...virtually! hahaha. It helps.

Ayu, let's meet up sooN!!!!

最重要的小事 episode 1

2011-02-23T00:57:00.003+08:00

I really am loving my iPhone.

Intoxicated by the amazing photo apps n hopelessly addicted to words with friends. Dun think it'll replace my SLR though which is still great for travels n special occasions.

Just trying out blogging using this blogger app I downloaded.. Pretty user friendly so far! It's mid week people! Weekends almost there.... See the light...

Meantime I wanna share 最重要的小事 pics series with you. Episode 1: little things that make my life complete... ES, travel, nature n flowers, mayday. Life is beautiful.

Happy Vday 2011 with Jay Chou

2011-02-14T22:14:00.003+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day mina san! and happy friendship day to all my friends.

Having taken psychology, we know how complex the human mind is. We process so many things, everyday, every single second. Erikson's various stages of development of human life explains how it affects our priorities and outlook in life. Sigmund Freud's theory of the structure of personality where we constantly battle with our ID, Ego and Superego to come to a compromise. Our conscious and unconscious minds shapes our behaviour unknowingly.

Yes. So we need these special occasions to bring our unconscious to consciousness, helps to remind us of the important people around us, to remember to show care and love for them. That explains the existence of mother's day, father's day as well. Not to mention that these occasions help to boost the economy too. It's vday for all the retailers as well.

Never queried how V day came about. So I decided to google it and here's what I found. http://www.gifts-wizard.co.uk/valentines-day-history.php

Pictures time!

~ magic mouse for the magic in my life.... brrrr...cold. check out my $2 daiso gift box with DIY couple pic! after i pasted it on...realised we look like jail lovebirds. haha~

~ Early dinner on 11 Feb at Hyatt, The Oasis. Great poolside BBQ grill buffet with free flow alcohol...not that we can eat that much though. old liao. We go for quality..~

~ never in a million years I would have guessed that my cute ES would get me this. Yes, rub your eyes. It's Jay Chou limited edition ROBOTS. omg omg..... i dun like jay THAT much honey! yep, he already know how bad this present choice was. He could tell it straight from my FACE.~

~ he boasted that there're only 5000 precious sets in the whole universe....woohooo.~

~ the flowers he sent to my office saved him from constant nagging about how bad his gift choice was.... muacks! ~

兔年快乐

2011-02-03T11:07:00.004+08:00

There will be a zhou family CNY pic every year from now onwards directed by mochi san. Gonna catch Jack Neo's flick tonight with my family.. Think it's the 2nd time since I started work that I've arranged a movie outing. My dad always felt that it's expensive to go as a family and he's contented just watching the dvd at the comfort of our home. But watching it in the theatre is just a different, great feeling altogether.

Happy labbit year everyone! Love my family.

Not lucky at all

2011-01-31T20:33:00.005+08:00

~ i decided to mosaic every single detail which might remotely suggest my location, my identity and to prevent being stalked by my crazy colleague furla.~

Received a huge package of goodies from HDB which I would be so darn excited if it was in normal situation. I would rather not have balloted in the first place if I knew that I'm so near to getting it and now I gotta give it up just like that.

I have this weird stubbornness that keeps mumbling to me... You are one of those few who got a queue number in your first try! like 1000 + pple balloted for 500 units and you got a number to select a flat. That's first timer luck that you should never let go. My ototo tried like more than 5 times and recently only managed to get a new BTO. And mine was under sale of balance flats = the flats are gonna be ready real soon. What's more, isn't it gonna be dam cool to be neighbours with putri and babu?? Grab the chance!

I hate this feeling. Life is as such. The more perfect it seemed, the less perfect the ending would be.

Yep. Accept it mochi. Get over it and move on.

sky's detoxing

2011-01-30T12:43:00.005+08:00

The rain got heavier through the night and it's still going strong. It's gloomy but I love how the air smells exceptionally fresh. The only thing that's ruining the serene ambience is the dong dong ciang CNY songs my otosan is blasting away. I think he's trying to prove that his stereo can outshine the sound of the rain. I HATE CNY songs.

With that, actually one of my 2011 resolutions is to cultivate more tolerance of my family members. It's not enough coz like my ototsan's annual cny songs craze still irritates me year after year. But I'll tell myself to breathe in and ren3 coz these are the little irks of life which you'll miss someday. Ironical life.

Anyways, just got off my lazy bum to clean the windows yesterday and now the sky decided to make them 'cleaner'. Great.

Well, I'm supposed to be attending ES's friend's nephews' (they are triplets!) bday celebration @ holland V and as everyone knows... Holland V is FAR for a HGian.

Was feeling all reluctant to get out and kiss the rain. At this moment of dilemma, ES saved me from the deadly kiss. He called and asked if I still felt like going and told me it's ok if I don't go. My answer was... YES. Can I? Okay, then I won't go ah. It's really okay right? Ya...the rain is so heavy and holland is so far. Ya lor.. your friend's nephews somemore, it's okay la. I thought you mind but if you don't then yay! BYE honey! Enjoy yourself.~!

ES replied confidently that he knew that I would gladly accept his invitation for me to stay home. I asked why.

"4 years... of coz I know la!" he said. Yep... he has probably had a taste of all the stunts I've pulled. E.g. I adopt qualities of a 宅女 pretty easily, with changes in mood and weather.

So here I am, back to my lazy chair with blogger. Been really addicted to America's next top model..and britain's NTM series... really crap but sometimes I need these junk to comfort my brain which is suffering from an overdose of MS office applications.

Good habits

2011-01-24T22:37:00.006+08:00

I would not have been attracted to him if I met him now.... A friend told me.

Arent those school time relationships the most beautiful? While you still innocently held romance in high esteem, doing the sweetest stuff for each other... Having that incredible adaptability to get used to and love his ways, that immense patience to explore the new stranger whom you ticked with in that first simple greetings you exchanged. You change your behaviour in subtle ways, unknowingly to accommodate him. .

We had all the time in the world then.

Frankly, I don't think I would go thru all this if I were to get into a relationship now. I'm like that... Mochi in your face attitude.. Take it or leave it. I've lived fine like that and you just have to get used to me. Gomen Ne.

Then came another discussion about whether we are together just coz we are too comfy with each other that it becomes a habit where sparks have flown down right down into the drain. Then I asked again. How often in life would I be able to make another person a habit in my life? Chances are slim with low birth rates n the large number of nice guys who turned gays.

My resolution for 2011... Learn the art of compromise.

Mad for Garlic @ Suntec Level 1

2011-01-23T15:02:00.007+08:00

22 Jan - gathering with Chean, Les and gang. It was fun night of good food and games late into the night. Les was raving about how good mad for garlic is and we decided to try it for ourselves.

Results was unanimous. Food was tasty, ambience and service was great as well. What more can one ask for right.

~ happy SK who FINALLY cut his hair and enjoying his lobster n fish roe pasta in cream sauce.~

~ my cream sauce scallop n mushroom pasta.~

~ ES's bacon arriabatta.Spicy though..ooo~

~ tiramisu for dessert. We concluded that it was coz of this garlic motif that caused our long wait for the dessert to be served.!~

~ ambience was nice and it's a nice chillout for any occasion.~

Realised I've been eating quite alot recently from the number of reviews I've written! dam. But I only blog about places I feel is worth blogging about. and with IP4, it's really more fun to take pictures as the quality is more pleasing to the eye than my previous e63 grainy cam.

ootoya 大戸や @ Orchard Central Level 8

2011-01-23T14:41:00.002+08:00

Sharon san recommended that the food here is not bad. Thought of trying it coz my dear ES brought me to a place for dinner which apparently has closed down in 313. WTH. So we hopped over to orchard central for dinner choices.

This place is popular judging from the queue but it's not for me since I'm more a noodle person and I like variety when it comes to jap food. This place serves mainly rice with their famous charcoal-grilled chicken or pork. There's no sushi, nabe or handrolls. :( The food is alright in my opinion and let's just say I will not trust sharon san again. Give me ichiban boshi anytime.

~ my charcoal grilled oyako don. which was alright only.~

~ ES's healthy salad which cost $8. The pic was taken before ES ate it. With that few pcs of vege and 2 pathetic sized chicken, I think I can do better.~

on the first day of 2011

2011-01-22T11:24:00.004+08:00

How I spent it. With a bunch of crazy peeps and the oh all mighty Wii. Thanks Ah Seng for the invite and the wonderful start to 2011, loads of laughter with friends that matter.

~ cheers furla.... to more crazy times ahead.~

~ sorry, my iphone cam not wide enough. attendance taken! click.~
~ looks like bali? lucky hermits..~

~ sarpino's n sparkling grape juice. cheers!~

~Lucky hermit~
Sidetrack abit... dug this pic out when clearing my phone camera roll.

It's as if my desk is not messy enough. My very friendly buddy colleagues conspired to spray confetti (using MY cans of confetti leftover from chean's hen's party.) all over my desk while I was away.

Totally merciless to shock diarrhea mochi on the last day of 2010 and amidst the 200 emails to clear, have to make time to clear the sticky shits.

The good out of this bad is that I feel loved n remembered. They must have missed me while I was in ZJJ. muacks.

Abit dated this pic but that's coz I just had time over the past weekend to clear up pics from my phone n categorise them proper.

The CNY songs are driving me crazy.

mochi in 1 year's time

2011-01-18T20:53:00.003+08:00

On my way home from my jog, I passed by some project site barricaded and spotted a signage put up by PUB to inform that the project will be completed on 27 Dec 2011.

27 Dec 2011, I repeated this in my head and I could almost immediately feel goosebumps popping. It seemed so far but I know it isn't.

Been melancholic recently. Maybe it's just the... oh.. it's the new year again.. mood where I'll feel that life is but another year passed.

Mochi will become muah chee soon.

JB day trip - 9 Jan 2011

2011-01-16T12:25:00.004+08:00

1st overseas trip in 2011 to our friendly neighbour JB. Didn't buy much but had a good lunch at Arashi @ Tebrau City. The shabu shabu soup was really good as I wiped the pot clean, till the last drop.

The highlight of the day had to be our kena-ka3 cab fare from tebrau to citysquare. There was a whole row of cabs lining up just outside tebrau and we wanted to get onto the usual red cab. The cab driver waved to us and gestured for us to get onto the blue cab instead. We should have questioned but guess we were too tired to play investigators here. We hopped on and as he drove off, we noticed that the starting fare was 6RM instead of the usual 3RM. The cabby then said his was an executive cab so more ex. Thinking that it applies only to the starting fare, we thought the increase was still acceptable. As we were nearing citysquare, we glanced and the fare had ballooned to 28RM!!! That's like double of what we paid to tebrau which was only 15RM. The uncle promised a discount later. When we reached, the fare was 33.20RM. We asked for a discount and he replied..."okay la... 33RM. " "what discount is this uncle?" we lazily asked as we were abit resigned to our fate at that time already. He was insistent and we told him we'll pay him 30RM, that's it and that was the deal.

Andrea was mad whenever reminded of this stupid episode. So dun remind her. I was too tired to remember to get angry. Just wanted to warn you of these dangerous blue executive cabs.

~ salmon shabu ramen~

~ Bob and camera!~

~ Eric and Ivy..standard stuff they do~

~ Andrea wasn't feeling well and we both felt super sleepy after my hair cut n color. Dozing off at Nandos.~

Out of the Pan @ Raffles City Basement

2011-01-16T12:02:00.002+08:00

Met up with chean for lunch at raffles city - out of the pan. This restaurant occupies a huge floor area and is strategically situated beside the fountain. But I have never tried it till chean recommended for lunch. I was surprised that they are mainly known for crepes and guess what! I LOVE crepes!!! crepes with anything, as long as the crepe itself is nice, anything goes!

Mine was sze chuan chicken and chean ordered the peking duck. I like. Might be a little pricey though, about $15 for a crepe but it was really quite good.

Another choice of crepe-like carbo would be Senor Burrito also at the basement of raffles city which you can get takeaway burritos for $8.50. Totally worth the burp after the meal.

暂别了。。but we'll be back!

2011-01-15T19:01:00.004+08:00

12 Jan 2011. Farewells are never my forte. Before I can utter words like take care, keep in touch, I would have choked up and it's actually quite embarrassing. Already half a feet into the big "3" and I'm still shocked at how incompetent I am at controlling my emotions. Emo is me and so are my SMAB kakis.

Probably the strongest would be B who would usually be able to control till she see others cry. M, Ahmad and myself are comparable. I cry listening to a sad song, watching dramas, thinking about my grandma, life in general, how lucky I am, just merely thinking about saying goodbyes, thinking how my parents will look when they grow old, how much I'll miss them...

Frankly, with FB, MSN, emails, skype... it's kinda impossible to lose contact. Muri yo. I'm like msn chatting with A this very moment. So that illustrates my point.

We wish you all the best in your career A! In the meantime, our short term goal would be to plan a totally screaming Sex and the City trip to NY to visit you! Fingers crossed.

so yep... 4 months more. Till then, I shall embrace the ton of work ahead with gusto and courage.

2011 is here.

2011-01-08T16:18:00.005+08:00

so much to do, so little time.

It's 2011. When I was 18, I felt like 21 years old was a long way. Upon hitting 21, I felt that life was fast forwarded without my permission. Like harlo. Please, it's my life, how come never get my approval? And yes, time is the probably the only thing that's zooming by, regardless whether you like it or not, how you live that second, and there's really no such thing as turning back time. So for 2011, my resolution is to live better and hopefully with no regrets. Less of .... "i should haves.. " and more of "Yes, this is how I want my life to be."

You can replay though, looking back at how you have lived your life. This I do religiously through my love for photography. Our memory does not keep up with time and we need pictures to help us relive that one time in our lives.

I can feel age catching up. My knees seem to be getting cranky now and I'm afraid to do jogging. I get aches and cramps here now and then. My digestive system seems to occasionally hold mini demonstrations as well.

Naturally, another 2011 resolution - to take better care of myself and reduce that stress on my knees before they bust. Now I know what old people mean by saying... dun think you are young you can do anything... the effects will come as you age.

Looking back... the highlights and ups and downs of 2010:

1) first backpacking trip in my life to vietnam with ES.

2) ES proposed on my bday and I accepted it like so desperately. haha. I demand for another makeup proposal.

3) ES's mum suffered a stroke putting our emotions on a rollercoaster ride. The adaptation after definitely wasn't an easy situation to get used to. But she's on a long but stable recovery process. :)

4) Spent my first white christmas in Zhang Jia Jie

5) May Day Concert in April!

6) My work portfolio underwent a major overhaul and the months of adaptation was 'memorable.'

7) Had the first BBQ with SMAB in 17 years of our friendship. That's really a feat.

Hmm. that's all I can recall and yes, should be the highlights since these are the memories which sprung up immediately.

2011 will be better. I will make sure it happens!

white xmas 2010

2010-12-30T11:43:00.005+08:00

~ snow greeted us on 24 Dec morning when we visit Tian Men Mountain~

i'm back. Must be weak at adapting to foreign air, water and food coz I'm suffering from fever and diarrhea again. Just like after hokkaido and vietnam and my last trip to jiuzhaigou in 2005.

took 882 pics this round which is really little in my records coz the weather was so cold that I felt so lazy to take out my heavy camera most of the time. moral of the story is to bring along a dummy especially if you're expecting snow and cold weather. The really cool part was that I spent a white christmas this year. first time!

The tour group was pretty fun as most of them were singles as this was an unofficial trip organised by this freelance tour guide who is also in charge of arranging trips for singles under MCYS. Was looking for a place to go and was recommended by my colleague that he's a great and fun tour guide and though I'm engaged, I'm still considered single so I can join! yippee.

No families with noisy kids, no elderly. Cool. haha.

The next part of my hols starts now as I start sorting my pictures.

めり　くりします　みなさん！

2010-12-20T13:07:00.005+08:00

~ That's how mornings should be spent.. lazing and watching hk drama~

Monday feels great today. I'm cherishing and making full use of my Dec. Year after year I'm still shocked at how time flashes by. 2011 will be another busy year ahead but I'll embrace it with positivity and as much as I can.. enthusiasm. C'est la vie.

Before that happens, I'll pop by China and say hello to Mr 张 first. 2-6deg winter. brrr. I'm looking forward and at the same time fearful of the unpredictable weather.

Advance merry xmas ppl!!

Food Review - Mad Jack @ Nex Mall

2010-12-04T16:30:00.004+08:00

Woohooo. Life is never a bed of roses. So time for a bad review!!!

Frankly. I've never had such lousy burgers. Either that or just refrain from eating at a newly opened mall to avoid bad food and service.

I wonder how is it possible to make such horrible tasting burgers which is just meat kiap between 2 pieces of bread laden with butter, cheese and mayo.

Well. It is.

hmm..where shall I start. We each ordered a chicken and beef blue mountain burger which was supposedly chef's recommendation. Blue Mountain coz it had 3 patties of meat in each burger. We were deliberating whether to order the normal single patty or try this mountain burger. Through 1 bad decision, we ended up not just one but three inedible pieces of perishables. Sorry...i can't call them meat.

~ still quite excited about our food before tasting it. Looks can be deceiving.~

1) We saw our one burger going round in circles coz the waiter couldn't find our table. By the time it reached us, it was pretty cold.

2) We asked Waiter 1 if it was chicken or beef. He said beef. So Sharon took it. Then I realised that there was no fries on the plate and informed the waiter. He came back with fries...cold soggy fries.

~ my mock chicken burger which I left almost untouched. Soggy fries behind. ~

3) Waiter 2 served the 2nd burger. I asked if it was chicken coz the color was so dark. He said it was beef. ?! and I pointed to sharon's burger n asked if hers was beef too. Waiter 2 replied sharon's burger was chicken and so I exchanged with sharon.

4) I cut it open and it was OBVIOUSLY beef..so actually, both burgers were beef.

5) He apologised and made a quick service recovery by serving us another plate of unevenly fried fries.

6) My "chicken" burger finally made its way to the table and upon tasting it, it had ZERO taste of meat. It tasted like mock chicken made up of shredded carrot and tasteless minced paste.

7) Sharon who eat to live actually felt that it was the worst beef she has ever eaten. We tried to resolve our problem by murdering the food with wallops of chilli and mayo.

~ murder scene~

8) I asked the waiter 2 if it was mock meat we are eating. He assured that it was real chicken. The reason we made this guess was because we saw "mock chicken burger" on the menu. And Sharon also feedback that her beef was really horrible. To our disgust, he pointed excitedly at sharon's burger and exclaimed that THAT unpalatable burger is in fact his FAVE burger.

I said NEH MIND NEH MIND. Treat it as we paid $15 to buy a story to tell and for the laughter we had joking about our burgers.

Food Review - Koo Kee Ramen & Dumplings @ Bugis Village

2010-12-04T16:22:00.002+08:00

An accidental recommendation I made when thinking of what to have for dinner. Turned out to be a surprisingly nice dinner.

Soup, noodles and ingredients were generous, all with the right consistency, flavour and texture.ES left the shop exclaiming with super affirmation that the food was great, ending his lines with a burp. hmm.... need I say more.

~ Great Xiaolong baos comparable to crystal jade and definitely Ding Tai Fung~

~ Mt Pork Ribs noodle with incredibly soft ribs and yummy soup. slurps.~

~ Veggieless spicy seafood ramen ordered by ES. The soup was really good. Thinking of it already drooling. Slurps~

Food Review - Keisuke Tokyo @ L3 Marina Bay Parco

2010-12-04T16:08:00.004+08:00

Go visit this place if you really want to be treated like VIPs. The waitresses actually kneel down beside your table to take your orders. Similar to how the Japanese bow 90deg to thank customers for patronising them. Not sure if the kneeling is a common thing in japan though. Emily san..pls verfiy.. :)

Anyways, another thoughtful service was having beanssprouts and onions served chilled in bottles for customers add on to their ramen only if they wish. Yep. Very useful for me and ES since ES is ALLERGIC to veggies and I LOVE veggies.

The speciality of this place is the crab stock ramen. which I found the stock too thick for my liking. I prefer more soupy type of soup base. Okay food but it's a good dining choice to escape from the weekend crowd.

~ Crab Stock Ramen. The egg was yummy though.~

Food- Review - Rock n Ash

2010-12-04T15:40:00.005+08:00

As promised, I'm gonna complete all my belated food reviews now.

ROCK n ASH. I was attracted by the name. Sounds very rock which is really my genre.

Buddy Ng informed that she didn't like the cafe. Haha. Many factors can actually come into play such as state of hunger, mood etc. Well, I found it not bad as I was in a peckish mood craving for munchies. It's not very pricey too which is always a great plus. Nice quiet chill out place though I foresee it won't be around for long....since it's SOOO quiet.

~ Cinnamon and cheese toast which is their must-try. Interesting. Around $3.50~

~ meatballs which was okay. Around $3.50~

~ the fish and chips with baked rice set at around $7.90 and the spicy mayo fries at around $3. Noticed all the approximations coz I really can't remember the price! Spent around $20 all in all though~

iphonizer blogging

2010-12-02T21:52:00.006+08:00

Iphone newbie on the looose!! That aptly describes mochi for this week at least.

ES was so sweet... helping me to set up itunes, register for apps and helped me sync and downloaded my fave games on it on the same day. muacks!!! I'm the impromptu buyer who is only interested in buying and owning it but super lazy to figure out how to use and do all the admin stuff. woohoo.

~ apps I love~

Learnt 2 new japanese words.. nameraka na 滑らかな meaning "fine (not coarse)". and Flood is called Kouzui 洪水！！Comes with really authentic audio pronounciation too. Dam. how cool is that man...and there're even tests using flashcards for us to remember what the japanese words mean. I'm really amazed at how technology has advanced making our lives easier. Frankly, I've tried keeping a small notepad handy in my bag, jotting down new jap words and attempting to learn wherever I go. But I found myself misplacing the notebook most of time or without a pen. Unless I master the technique of biting my finger for blood as ink, I'm pretty convinced that I'll never be able to upkeep the habit.

oooh... not to mention that this new toy further shortened my 20min train ride to and from work. I'm like playing with it everywhere. Everyone should just get an iphone like SERIOUSLY.

Just that I'm careful at not falling into the category of those who cannot resist constantly checking their iphone, playing games and chatting with others on watsapp while out with REAL friends.

gomen ne...but I simply cannot stand such behaviour... TO all my friends reading the blog...be warned. heh heh heh.

Ragged doll arms

2010-11-28T14:11:00.002+08:00

it's that age where I find myself attending endless bb showers and weddings. And it's really only the beginning. Compared myself to other friends who get like 1 invitation every month or so, mine seem mediocore.

So that's how I spent the last 2 weekends.

Sigh. Received an unfortunate news today and just hope everything will be okay for my friend. Jiayou ML! Cliche it is but life IS unpredictable folks. Cherish it. Spend all your bonuses coz you never know what will happen tomorrow.

Rekindled my love for kickboxing and today was the first class. It's really THE class to go for if you really want to sweat it out and push your body so physically hard that the aches are medals representing your achievements.

I had lots of medals. Just sitting here typing is zapping my arms and fingers of precious energy. I couldn't wash my hair properly just now coz my arms and back were aching so bad that i couldn't lift them up and hold for 2 secs. They felt almost dislocated.

I want to blog about a nice new cafe I went recently at marina square called Rock n Ash..but I'll have to leave it for the next post when I feel more normal. I'll be back.

it's holiday-ING time.

2010-11-19T23:01:00.003+08:00

it's the time of the year where we're just itching for a holiday.. anywhere. I'm a super impromptu packaged traveller. I'm so lazy to plan my itinerary coz since it's a holiday, I want my precious brain to take a holiday too. Makes sense. I'm a short term person too and it's preferred that I don't plan further than 6 months. I like the sudden adrenaline rush at the thought that I'll be seeing another place really soon. Cheap thrill.

Back to 重点. Yea. I am going away for xmas. Ho Ho Ho, I'll be away santa! yeah... this time going to 张家界 in Hu Nan Province. I read the itinerary and was super excited when I found the names of the sights totally foreign. Ulu is good. Google it and you'll find yourself drooling at the scenery.Okay, maybe only applies to me. heh. Another experience with winter china since the last with 九寨沟 in 2005.

And yep, just to clarify for the sake of Emily san.... i'll be visiting the zhang family not 周家庄。lol.

On a separate note, I've been struggling to stay awake after 10pm every night.

I refuse to believe it's age. But till I can find a better reason, that has to be the primary suspect I guess.

happie PH

2010-11-17T16:46:00.003+08:00

Half of the PH is gone.

I spent my morning enjoying 3 pieces of bread with tuna and cheese and my cup of old town coffee.

Noon was a date with my family at Soup Restaurant at Hg mall to celebrate my parents' wedding anniversary. Sweet.

Afterwhich was just hours of bejeweled, brainlessly enjoying the bitchiness of britain's next top model and now surfing the net to update myself with the latest songs. Anthony Neely is so cute. Kawaii.. and bonus that he can really sing.

Not an exciting day but what better way to pass a rainy wednesday.

burnt.ouch

2010-11-06T10:52:00.002+08:00

Was distracted by the drama on tv while ironing and poked the iron right onto my knee. Don't ask why knee.. more likely injuries should be on my fingers or tummy. but ya..I like to stand in a flamingo position when I'm ironing, with one feet curved up resting on the other knee. So I kena the knee that was curved up.

It was pain. PAIN. The skin turned white immediately and the skin came loose, grossing flapping revealing the raw flesh. and mine was only a ten-cent coin superficial burn. I cannot imagine Selina's 40% of 3rd deg burns....eeeks. must be hell.

I've been listening to this song over n over again. It's one of those 耐听 songs which might sound a little odd at first but once you catch the tune, it's super addictive. Plus it's kinda rock...i like!

寂寞寂寞就好

詞/曲：施人誠/楊子樸
編曲：鍾興民
製作人：呂禎晃、郭文宗

還是原來那個我不過流掉幾公升淚所以變瘦
對著鏡子我承諾遲早我會還這張臉一堆笑容
不算什麼愛錯就愛錯
早點認錯早一點解脫

我寂寞寂寞就好這時候誰都別來安慰擁抱
就讓我一個人去痛到受不了想到快瘋掉
死不了就還好
我寂寞寂寞就好你真的不用來我回憶裡微笑
我就不相信我會笨到忘不了賴著不放掉
人本來就寂寞的借來的都該還掉
我總會把你戒掉

還是原來那個你是我自己做夢你有改變什麼
再多的愛也沒用每個人有每個人的業障因果
會有什麼什麼都沒有
早點看破才看得見以後

我寂寞寂寞就好這時候誰都別來安慰擁抱
就讓我一個人去痛到受不了想到快瘋掉
死不了就還好
我寂寞寂寞就好你真的不用來我回憶裡微笑
我就不相信我會笨到忘不了賴著不放掉
人本來就寂寞的我總會把你戒掉

Happie bday ES!

2010-10-31T13:02:00.003+08:00

First time arranging a bday surprise party and it was really a huge success. haha. arranged for chean and gang to ambush at Fiesta Brasilia at United Square while I gave ES the idea that I am bringing him for a lomantik dinner, just the two of us.

I was determined not to disappoint everyone with the stupid fever and got ES out of the house though he insisted that we should stay home and order in pizza since I'm not well.

It was a good pigging out session since a long time. ES thanked us by a signature ES dance with accompaniment from the brasilia crew. Quite proud that I managed to eat a few pieces of chicken and sausage though my appetite was really down in the drain. Lucky there's a 1 for 1 using citibank. About the food at brasilia, it's not bad. But we were really pissed with the service as the chefs came by our tables to top up our meats once in a blue moon and when they do come over, they are always back with the same type of meats..pork, chicken and more chicken and garlic bread. We didn't even know they had lamb till we feedback to the manager. Yep, it's a buffet and it's weird that our plates were empty most of the time. Is this 1 for 1 service?

~ Halloween themed chocs for ES...peanut butter filled lips..fudge filled ears...etc~

~ Happie bday baby! Thanks for the delicious cake chean and SK san! ~

~ don't look like I'm sick hor.haha.~

Fever talk

2010-10-30T12:26:00.002+08:00

I hate fevers. Especially when it attacks just before your great pigging out plan with friends. That feeling sucks.

I slept from 1pm yesterday till 7pm..waking up for an hr in between to take medicine and slept all the way from 8pm till 8am today. A solid 18hrs of sleep.

Decided to watch lots of tv to keep myself active and feel less sickly. Skipping my cough mixture which makes me drowsy. Yep, that's how I'm gonna recover.. escapism.

After popping 8 panadols which didn't seem to work, I turn to the good ole 羚羊 powdered drink from the chinese medicinal hall which always work wonders, minus the tiredness which tend to be the side-effect of panadols.

Come on. Let me enjoy my weekend.!!!

Despicable ME

2010-10-25T17:36:00.002+08:00

I got a queue number for BTO. Beginner's luck?

Ha. But yup. All the planning and anticipation brought my hopes high and with the sudden turn of events, I would be lying if I said I am not affected at all.

ES sounded indifferent and wasn't the least bit excited. It was as if a rock was tied to my heart and sank it deeper.

At the same time, I understand why he's behaving this way and the worst part is I know I should not and cannot blame him. Despicable as it is, it is always comforting to be able to put the cause of the problem on something or someone else.

So now, I can only grab and throttle myself, praying for a miracle.

23 days after

2010-10-23T11:10:00.005+08:00

the excitement of seeing her slowly having a little more response every time I see her. Her eyes jerked opened yesterday, gave a yawn and as if she noticed her condition, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears with agitation as she could only move her eyeballs. We calmed her down and assured that we're with her. We did those response thingys like "if you can hear us, blink twice." and she did. "if you are awake, try squeezing my hands." and you could feel that she was moving her hands though she couldn't manage a squeeze.

Was she awake? She definitely looked more conscious than any day I've seen her. She was staring straight and when I asked her to look at me if she can hear me, she immediately looked towards my direction.

That feeling is really out of this world. Don't we take the ability to wake up everyday for granted?

11 days after

2010-10-10T21:11:00.002+08:00

My mind has been put to a thorough test these 2 weeks. Whether it's the working or emotional state of mind, both are now high and dry. I'm quite sure I've successfully elevated to the next level of my blondie career. Jo would love to know this.

Plans we had finally just embarked on, the future we have painted just a few months ago might take a turn. Might not be for the worse but being the typical skeptical and cynical me, the negativity of everything shouts out louder to me.

It's gonna be a change and it might not be necessarily bad. I'm not religious but in my own school of thought, I believe that everything happens for a reason. So, instead of taking everything as out to kill my plans, which is not going to help at all, I should see them as challenges in life, tests to make me a better person. Sigh, anyway, these are just nitty gritties which I need to air and vent.

The bigger picture would be for her to wake up. Wake up auntie, you've overslept.

Still

2010-10-02T11:51:00.004+08:00

Things can only get better. I am believing and I'm sure it will happen. We'll not give up though knowing the journey ahead is gonna be littered with challenges. We'll hang on, motivated by the great battle you've put up so far.

Don't procrastinate in saying " I love you" to your loved ones, give them a hug if you are shy, they can feel it. Buy the food they like and just call at any time of the day to ask how they are doing. Stop grumbling about frivolous and inmaterial stuff and being self-centred. Take care of them just like how they have spent their lifetime, unconditionally loving and protecting you.. even when they are physically unable to do, they'll still be wishing you well in their hearts.

The air feels so still and my heart feels so heavy. I hope this feeling goes away soon.

not in the right frame of mind.. too free.

2010-09-30T21:32:00.006+08:00

The recent garmen land authority $11.8m fraud sent chills down my spine. It's freakin' eerie that with such mountainous bureaucracy in garmen sector, people still have the audacity and free time to commit fraud. These people are MAD. Everyday I'm already so busy fighting the bureaucracy at work, can't imagine people have time to analyse and think of how to make money out of it.

Makes me feel that perhaps all the super layers & weeks I have to go through to get ONE freakin paper / email / memo /whatever, approved... is not that foolproof. If men is determined to cheat, they will be able to find loopholes to do that. Greed will help them. Systems and processes are man-made afterall.

And yes, it's testimony to my belief of 'you spend what you earn'. The more you earn, you also will spend more. Fraudsters can never resist the temptation to splurge their ill gotten gains on material wants, even knowing it'll draw unnecessary attention to that criminal acts.

Now... I'm just praying fervently that this idiotic incident will not affect the processes at work. I can imagine agencies starting to relook into their processes and reving up measures in view of lessons learnt from this incident. The snowball effect of such incidents can be scary. LTA's system is really robust I assure you. I seriously do not need a few more layers to further make the already decade approving process even more agonising.

We're over-worked. Who says garmen work is slack and not challenging. Come join me. We have LOTS of vacancies.

new gears

2010-09-26T22:34:00.004+08:00

A steal! A steal! $120 NETT for a pair of NB running shoes, a stylo top and a pair of shorts with a slim pocket for my nano! A steal a steal! happened to see a NB booth at wisma and thought it was really value for money. Motivated to go for a jog immediately! nice sports gear really energizes me. yay....

Minced Beef Shepherd's Pie

2010-09-26T21:54:00.003+08:00

Me and ES are trying to break the mochi's guinness record. We've been spending every weekend cooking! yes. amazing. I hope we keep up this passion and soon before you know it, we'll be competing in iron chef. woohoo.

Anyway, we've been attempting western cusines due to the influence of all the american culinary shows. Should try whipping up some simple homemade dishes soon which is less time consuming and more practical as daily meals. My dream is to be able to serve my mama san a real chinese homemade dinner. Akan Datang!

I've finally fulfilled my dream of making shepherd's pie. Beef is usually used for shepherd's pie. But I'll attempt chicken next time. ooohh.. and guess which part of the pie I love the most? The mashed potatoes. I'm a carbo fanatic. It's nice though. Loved the texture and it was pretty flavourful coz I used lots of herbs, black pepper and thyme for the beef.

~ furla...I kept this much for U! too bad....lalalala.~

~ ES boiled these crayfish which we caught the other day and stir fried it with butter and salt. really high in sodium but really tasty. Great appetizer.~

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe (courtesy www.simplyrecipes.com)
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef (marinated with salt, black pepper, thyme and italian herbs)
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - I used peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth (I used chicken broth in replacement)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omitted this coz I didn't have it! but still taste pretty ok)
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

METHOD
1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four

more rooms pls.

2010-09-23T21:50:00.004+08:00

the end of an eventful week. and end of a successful event on wed. but before that, I'll have to cross this hurdle called Friday. It will be a full day of meetings from 8.30am onwards. I very reluctantly squeezed in a last minute meeting at 5pm on fri. What can be better than to end the week with a late meeting.

Seriously, we need to build MORE meeting rooms. Supply do not meet the Demand. At ALL. either we cut down on meetings or build more meeting rooms. Since most meetings are usually verrrrry important and reaaaalllly urgent, that leaves us with the only choice of building more meeting rooms...which aint happening.

First lesson at hip hop and my greatest takeaway was the song!! N-Dubz - We Dance on. Googled and found out that it's the OST from Street Dance 3D.

A good song always saves my week, anybody's week.

Chicken burgers with garlic rosemary mayonnaise

2010-09-19T21:51:00.003+08:00

ES was so determined to make our own burgers for Sun lunch that we spent Sat night fantasizing what burgers to make, what ingredients to buy and how tasty it would be. We finally chose this burger as it was aligned to our weekend theme - couch potato slackeee weekend. Took only about 20min to make, easy and tasted really good. Well, I guess anything with that dollop of mayo cannot taste that bad. Yep, quick recipe from FoodNetWork Asia. good for a lazy meal at home.

(Serves 2)

For the mayonnaise:

100g mayonnaise
10g chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or use ground italian herbs)
1/2 clove garlic, minced

For the burgers:
225g ground chicken
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 burger buns
2 tbsp olive oil (I prefer butter)
4 butterhead lettuce leaves

1 tomato (4 slices)

Method
1) For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, garlic, and rosemary; set aside.

2) For the burgers: Preheat a griddle pan over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, salt, pepper, and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture. Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 2 patties. Place the patties on the pan and cook for about 7 mins on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let them rest for a few minutes.

3) Brush the cut side of each bun with the olive oil/butter and 1 tsp of the mayonnaise mixture. Toast for 1 to 2 mins until slightly golden.

4) Spread the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Arrange them according to your preference!! Top each with lettuces and tomato slices.

looks totally intentional..

2010-09-12T18:22:00.007+08:00

This happened sometime ago but was probably too shocked at that time to bother about posting this. But yes, jaw-dropping kind of shock. I've got a nice little surprise from our very home-grown C&K brand when I bought a bag back some months back. First time buying a bag from there since they are more known for their shoes.

On the ropey strap was a strap pad to make carrying more comfy. Nothing was fishy till one day I noticed that the pad started moving alittle out of place and I gave it a hard push to move it back so that it fits nicely on my shoulder. It was pretty stiff and I gave it a harder push and I was appalled by what I saw.

Masking tape was coiled around the strap which showed the broken rope beneath it. Manufacture error? I don't think they programmed the machine to mask the strap as part of the design lor. And now the pad which I thought was meant to make it more comfy seemed more like was to cover up for the broken strap. What was more incredible was that when I went back to the shop for an exchange for the same bag (coz I really liked the design!!) thinking that ONLY mine was faulty, the salesgirl took the same bag from the display shelf and upon sliding the pad, I saw the familiar masking tape staring at me. She was shocked too and told me that she'll call other branches to check if they have the same bag and to check if they are alright. And yep, they were all faulty.

They offered to allow me to change the bag to another design which I wasn't appreciative of at all since none of the bags really appealed to me. They gave me 2 weeks to do the exchange. Trying to act like a mystery customer audit shopper, I went to almost any CK store I happened to pass by during that 2 weeks to see if they have removed this bag from display. For 2 weeks since my complaint, the bag was still happily on display. I approached a salesgirl and told her that the bag was faulty (I showed her the broken strap) and asked why was it not removed. What if another customer buys it?? She told me in a matter-of-fact manner that they KNEW about it but have not received OFFICIAL instructions to remove it from display. "After 2 weeks???" I asked her. She said, "ya, so we cannot remove. M'am, would you want to choose a replacement bag?"

I was grossly disgusted but just didn't bother anymore to argue with her. Shouldn't store managers be given the empowerment to remove goods which could potentially invite complaints from customers? At least customers like me who already became victims can receive some consolation that they are minimising the damage. The damage wasn't just a broken seam or a stain. It seemed like they had produced 1,000 of these bags, found that the straps were damaged and then mass rectified it by masking taping it and added a pad to cover it up. Cheaters.

I decided to boycott their bags ever since. My first time and last time CK. Thanks for the wonderful experience. Think you've made enough money from the blisters-inducing rock hard shoes you make. A better idea would be stop producing bags and to direct more resources to making your shoes more comfy. Better than selling bad quality shoes AND bags.

I am proud to be a SG

2010-09-06T21:37:00.004+08:00

Specialist Generalist. How a fellow SG friend described himself. He's in the midst of job hunting as his contract has ended. I could totally identify with him. He articulated the words with lots of conviction, even seeming a little proud, but the strength gave way to a cynic smile that followed.

To put it in layman terms, we specialise in being general. Everyone can be a specialist! Yep, back to to the term, I feel the same. Never regretted taking arts in Uni. I enjoyed it. It is the frustration of job hunting which really strangles and I wished to see more of "Degree in any discipline" in those job adverts.

Sometimes I think that it's as good as it gets. I've survived 3 years and there must be something that keeps me going. It might be corny but I suspect that it's coz of the bigger purpose in what I do everyday, knowing that my work would indirectly, in some remote way or another, bring about a better life for everyone. I think this bigger purpose is probably what attracts a SG. SGs are emotional people I think.

I'm in one of those positive, life is good moods again. Could it because of the short week ahead? High chance.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Chestnuts 2010

2010-09-05T21:29:00.004+08:00

Caught 'Chestnuts' over the weekend. Thanks Matt for recommending this really hilarious play. I liked it! Mirroring our little red dot politics, the latest craze, the hottest national events, pop culture and hit right on bull's eye, what it means to be singaporean. This year, being roasted were Glee, Nightmare on Elm street, NDP, iphone craze, the controversial YOG cheer, fried rice paradise, the flooding, Inception, lady gaga and the return of Wrist Low's sister, Ivory Low Ai Q.

Though the parodies might not come through for some of the themes (e.g. I don't watch Glee and nightmare...), the casts' commendable acting pulled off, making the show as enjoyable as it was to others who could relate to the stories.

The play of words, the witty humour, the clever exchange of expressions, the chemistry among the casts, the carefully choreographed dancing with the right music, and behind it all , a great scriptwriter. Enough reasons to keep me in anticipation for next year's show.

Kudos to the team!

Sausage Risotto

2010-09-05T17:13:00.003+08:00

Finally, we made risotto after getting the aborio rice from holland V cold storage. Yep, not all cold storage sells this italian short grain rice since it's not really commonly used. Includes ingredients like white wine, green peas,thyme etc. stuff really exotic to me. First time doing this and I suspect that I did not use enough chicken broth hence, the taste wasn't fantastic. It took some time to cook down the broth as well and I added in a bit of water since the rice wasn't cooked well and I've ran out of chicken broth. I don't really like sausage in it and if I do try making it again, I'll probably replace it with ham or bacon. Cooking is all about improvising it to suit your tastebuds.

The recipe if you would like to try. We scaled it to 2 pax portion but it was still a bit too much rice for us. Asians really eat like birds.

Risotto Recipe (serves 2)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 (16 ounce) package al fresco® All Natural Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine
• 1-3/4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
• 1/2 cup frozen petite sweet peas

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute sausage and onion until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and wine; stir 1-2 minutes or until wine is absorbed.

2. Stir in 1 cup broth. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until broth is absorbed, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Continue adding stock, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until liquid is adsorbed and rice is tender and creamy, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in peas and 1/4 cup Parmesan; cook 1 minute or until heated throughout. Season with 1/4 tsp black pepper. Garnish with parsley and remaining cheese. Serve immediately.

Cha Cha Cha @ Holland Village

2010-09-04T11:19:00.002+08:00

I'll be back. With more friends. To share! Just like most mexican restaurants, the portions are generous. Definitely not for those who just wants a snack. Cha cha cha is located at holland village and I think one of the better restaurants there. I'm a fan of mexican food, which essentially also means I'm a fan of carbo, starchy and beans stuff.

It's a pity that only ES and myself were there coz the portions and variety on the menu means it's perfect for large group gatherings.

~ our main course.. love the beans~

~ sweet strawberry margarita...my fave alcoholic drink~

~ the nachos were really finger lickin good! this is just the appetiser..huge.~