Bakerzin Cheesecake

I am not a fan of cheesecake. Maybe I am just weird. I am not your typical girl-next-door who simply swoons over chocolates and cheesecakes. Among the so many desserts, chocolates is possibly something that I hate most. I am always ready to swap any chocolate gift. Unfortunately, I have received so many chocolates which still stay in my fridge.

Given a choice of cheesecakes, fruit cakes and chocolate cakes, I will certainly opt for fruit cakes. Boring? Yes, but it beats the other 2.

Maybe cheesecakes are acquired taste. The more you have, the better it tastes. Or I have not tasted declicious cheesecakes before. Gradually, this dislike lessens. Now, I may not be a huge fan of cheesecakes, but I will eat cheesecakes, especially the more renowned one.

Bakerzin is having promotion for its blueberry cheesecake. Now, this is also one of the more tasty cheesecakes. The cheese is creamy but not too rich. The blueberry is sweet but without overempowering the cheese taste. The crust at the bottom is flaky despite my consuming the cake only 1 day after purchase.

Hurry up if you wish to try the cake. The promotion ends end Oct.

Balloon Galore

This is almost an exhibition of balloon sculptures. I wish I was a child and could be allowed to enter this 'underwater world'.

The Painted Veil

If you have chanced upon some of the entries pertaining to book reviews, you might have guessed that I was more of a contemporary fiction kind of reader than a fan of classical novels. Yes, I have read some of the works of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare of Jane Austen when I was younger. Sad to say, I cannot recall much of these works. Neither will I feel compelled to revisit their works.

Among the classics, I so far have not read anything from W Somerset Maugham. The name rang a certain bell but I could not recall where I have seen this name. I mistook Somerset Maugham to be a Nobel Prize winner, but Google results confirmed this misimpression.(http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/)

The Painted Veil was quite surprisingly an easy read as the works of a classic writer. The protagonist - Kitty was a simple minded girl who loved parties and dances. She lived in an age where the success of a lady was determined by the husband she was betrothed to. Being the prettier sister, she was pressured to marry the next person who came along when her uglier but younger sister found her suitor. Needless to say, a loveless marriage soon bored the fun-loving Kitty to tears and subject her to other temptations - extra-marrital affair with another married man.

When her bacteriologist husband discovered her affair, the tamed and boring Walter issued an ultimatum. If Kitty could get her lover to marry her immediately, Walter would divorce her. If not, Kitty had to follow Walter to the cholera-plagued China city of Man-fu-tan. Walter, being a better judge of characters than the air-headed Kitty, was very certain that the lover was a self-centred callous man. The lover would never marry Kitty and jeopardise his current family, status and career.

Kitty was certain that Walter was so infuriated by her affair that he set to kill her by bringing her to a death zone when she could not get her lover to marry her or to convince Walter for a change of mind. What started off as a misadventure soon became an opportunity to be reacquainted with her husband as well as her own character building. She was startled to discover Walter's intelligence and compassion towards the sick and destitute. At the same time, she was surprised of her ability to contribute at the home for the orphans and sick.

At this point, if you are expecting a happily-ever-after, maybe a more contemporary fiction will be more of your cup of tea.

Walter soon died of cholera which attacked his low immunity due to overwork. His death was not as accidental as it seemed. Apparently, he had injected himself with the virus. Was it for his own research purpose that he experimented on himself? Or was it a self-destruction with his unreciprocated love? Or did he view his death as a way of freeing Kitty? No one knew.

Kitty was indeed free from her love-less marriage and from a husband whom she never quite got along with. Instead of flocking to her exlover's arms, she decided to leave Hong Kong and went back England to accompany her father.  

It was a simple story. The language was not as archaic as other classical writers. If you wish to cultivate your reading pleasure in classical works, The Painted Veil may be a good starting point. Perhaps I have oversimplified the whole story moral and theme? Being one of the worst literature students ever (I have once only gotten one mark for my Literature test where the one mark was simply sympathy for my pathetic effort), I tend to read things rather literally, at face value. If you gain a different understanding, please share. This is the beauty of reading. Unlike television, you are not just shown in the face of everything that is there with no room for different imagination and interpretation.

Spagghetti - Ma Ma Mia!

For many novice cooks, the Italian pasta is often one of the first culinary experiments that we endeavour. With many of the ingredients that we can buy off-the-racks of our supermarkets, we need not fret as much as some other more complicated dishes that we do not even know the procedures or the ingredients that the recipes were dictating.

Making edible pasta may not be as difficult but making world-class standard pasta will be a different mountain to climb. Don't all chefs always proclaim that the easier the dish, the more difficult it is to make it good? Hence, there is even a show revolving one of the easiest dish - Ratatouille?

After attending a talk in her company, my sister was dying to lay her hands on some pasta to cook us some pasta. Off we went to the supermarket on a Sunday morning to get the freshest ingredients. For the pasta, we decided upon Angela's hair (I was surprised to find that my favourite Macaroni was known as Elbows in Italian pasta). For the sauce, we were getting Prego's tomato sauce. White cream sauce was often too rich for our liking. We decided on a seafood pasta with prawns, squids and mussels.

Well, good work for her first atempt.

The pasta was chewy without being tough. The seafood was delicious. The only area of improvement perhaps lied in the sauce. There was too much and too sweet for my liking.

Hmm, maybe I should try it the next time round.

Mid-Autumn

For once, mid-autumn is on a non-working day. Unlike China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Singapore does not get a public holiday on mid-autumn. It is a bit sad when I receive emails from my overseas offices saying that they will be on holidays while we continue to slog in Singapore. For once, we can also have time to drink our tea, eat our mooncakes and admire the moon.

Too bad, it was drizzling with heavy clouds. So much for admiring the moon. Sigh!

Once I was a Princess

I am not certain the accuracy of this heart-wrenching memoir by Jacqueline Pascarl. The story narrated her less-than-childhood to her abusive marriage. Unlike other novels where we expected happily-ever-after-ending, all was not well for Jacqueline. Her beloved children were kidnapped by her ex-husband and removed from her.

Jacqueline, an Australian, was married to a prince of Trengannu, Malaysia - Bahrin. This started her nightmare. Not only was Bahrin not supportive and patient with her assimilation into a foreign culture and land, he also physically and emotionally abused her. Fortunately, her friendships with some of the ladies of the royal family helped provided friendships.

When she continually been belittled and assaulted, she decided not to return to Malaysia with her kids during her visit of her grandma in Australia. Despite a fierce legal battle to secure custody of her children, she lived in constant fear that Bahrin would take revenge. Her fears were not unfounded. Bahrin took 7 years to plan the kidnap of his children.

Faced with her exhusband's social influence and status in Malaysia and Australian Government's diplomatic concerns, she was hapless in the fight to gain back her children. Till today, she still had not access to her children at all.

The memoir vividly depicted Jacqueline's dysfunctional family during her childhood, her happiness during Bahrin's courtship and her nightmare during her marriage to Bahrin. I was not certain of the degree of accuracy and truthfulness. However, it highlighted a woman's worst nightmare of an abusive husband. many had suffered in silence for many years. The same occurred for Jacqueline. She had time and again forgave her husband. It was only when she thought of her young children, that was when her maternal instinct took charge and she decided to take more drastic measures to protect them and herself.

Secrets

Yes, I am out-dated. I have not qualms confessing that I am certainly most out of touch with movies among my contemporaries. Secrets was the first movie directed by one of the most talented musicians in the Chinese pop scene - Jay Chou. It was his first foray into another area of the performing arts. When the movie was first launched, there was also rave reviews which proved that Jay Chou was not just a talented musician but rather a talented artiste.

With the proliferation of online sites which allowed one to catch up on movies that one has missed when the movies first shown, it was certainly a convenience for people like me, albeit low resolution. No longer would I regret not being able to catch a movie and constantly wondering how the movie is, I can now catch it even if I cannot make it while the movie is screening.

Secrets, on the surface, was a romance story about two young musics student - Ye Xiang Yun and Lu Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu was an enigmatic girl from 1973 who could actually travel in time by playing the song - Secrets, in an old practice room. She travelled to the future in 1999 where she encountered Xiang Yun - a nerdy but extremely talented student. They fell in love with each other, but Xiao Yu knew that it would be hard for them to be together since they were separated by 20 years.

When Xiao Yu travelled back in time, only Xiang Yun could see her. Yet Xiang Yun was not aware of this. Although he found Xiao Yu secretive, he never guessed that he was the only one who could see Xiao Yu until the day of his graduation. That was when truth revealed itself. The day of his graduation was also the day that Xiao Yu passed away from asthma twenty years ago. Can Xiang Yun travelled back in time before the old practice room was demolished to save Xiao Yu?
(http://www.mysoju.com/)

Well, that would be a secret to those who had not watched the movie. Sshh... ...

Mr Maybe

I like the writing of Jane Green. She often gives very vivid description of the characters in her novels. Her works may not involve plots that are out of the ordinary. Neither does her writing involve alot of mulling and pondering. The characters lead ordinary lives and are troubled by trivial and mundane matters just like you and I. Maybe this is the reason for the stories being especially endearing. It sometimes creates a mild ache in your heart or brings a faint smile to your face. All because we see a hint of ourselves in these characters.

Mr Maybe is about a young girl who was caught in the perennial dilemma of being with someone who was suitable for her or someone who she could connect better.

Mr A was a young successful banker who was voted as one of the most eligible bachelor. He was eccentric and was boring. However, he had a steady job, could afford to pamper the girl and even had a house ready for marriage. He pampered her greatly.

On the other hand, Mr B connected very well with the girl. He was the girl's best friend. However, he did not have a steady job. When they went on dates, the girl had to be paying for their expenses. He was unkempt and mixed around with a bunch of arty farty. Just like most girls who were good chameleons and could morph into the dream girl of any guy. She dressed down when she was with Mr B and became a socialite when she was with Mr A.

Bread and love? Which one did you go for?

Well, I shan't spoil the fun of finding out the ending for you. If you were her, which were you choose? Is your heart so malleable that you can ignore its pleas and opt for bread? Can love retain its power in the face of hunger? The balance between bread and love is different for each person. You need to make your own decision.

Abalone Feast

I heard raving reviews from some colleagues about the value-for-money abalone feast which is just across at Orchard Central. The more I heard, the more I was looking forward to eating my abalone feast. A few of use decided to check out this new eatery.

We were expecting queues for its promotional offer. We were pleasantly surprised that it was not as crowded as we thought. Perhaps it was still relatively new and few had heard about its current offer.

Of course, we had to go for the $5 offer for the second order of abalone fried rice. Initially, we were concerned if 4 servings of abalone fried rice were enough to feed 5 starving girls, especially when one of them would be eating for 2 people. We decided to add a plate of vegetables to balance our nutrients.

The abalone fried rice was certainly more than enough to go by. In fact, we were feeling so full after the meal that we were worried that we could not stay awake for the remaining afternoon (lucky, there was no meeting scheduled). We were pretty satisfied with the meal and hoped to come back for more.

Spring Cleaning

There will be some friends coming tomorrow, so we have to do some spring cleaning before we welcome them. Although we have moved in only for 8 months, I cannot believe the amount of dirt and rubbish we have accumulated in a short span of 8 months. What initially meant to be only a minor cleaning turns out to be a half day's work of intensive wiping.

My legs and arms are aching very badly now.

The Alternate

I think I am weird. Recently, When I watch dramas involving 2 guys falling in love with the same girl, I ended up rooting for the second male lead instead.

In My Queen, I was rooting for Yunhao rather than Lucas. I felt that Yunhao was a more suitable partner for Wushuang given their same background and his maturity. Lucas was too rash and too young to really understand what Wushuang was going through sometimes.

In Flowers Over Boys, I was rooting for Zhihou rather than Ju Junbiao. Again I felt for Zhihou with his silent but unwavering love for Jin Sicao rather than the huge actions from Junbiao whose stubborn love could harm Sicao more than what he foresaw.

Strange, but I actually wanted a different endings from what the producers of the show intended.

Confession of a Spinster

Spinster may sound derogatory. Bacholorette is too much of a euphemism and connotes too ideal or a rosy situation. My Queen depicted the life a single woman who has since passed her marriageable age, ie 30-year old and her attempt to fend off social pressure while seeking her ideals.

She was mistakenly preceived as an obnoxious workaholic by her colleagues. Her well-intentions often took an unforeseeable twist which resulted in some dire consequences. To survive and to excel, she had to disregard the preceptions of others so as to get her goals. After being so committed in her career pursuits for several years, she had built an armour of an aloof and even unscrupulous facade.

You may think this is sad. You may shake your head at her behaviour. I certainly can relate to her.

No matter how advanced we are in our society, we still steadfastly hold on to the ideals that all women should get married, have children and devote their lives to the caring of their family. Do not get me wrong, I agree to these ideals strongly. Yet, we never know what life has in store for us. Not everyone can realised this ideals or live out their lives in accordance to these ideals, by the drop of the hat.

Meanwhile, for those of us who have yet to attain this ideal, life still goes on. Without the comfort backing of a husband or the convenient excuse of juggling family and work, we can only strive to excel in work. It is both for survival and finding meaning in life. We need to ensure that we do well in work so that we can support ourselves financially because we do not have someone to share the financial load. We have to commit ourselves to work because success in work is the only yardstick for our meaning in life. We can never turn to having to tend to young babies as reasons for getting a bad appraisals. If we ever get bad appraisal, it is simply because we are lousy.

We have to be aggressive and independent. This is our weapons. No one will tend to us when we need help, so learning to help ourselves is the only choice. Do not suggest friends. Friends who have started their own families become distant faces that you only see during major celebrations or festivities. We have to be aggressive because there is not knights to fight of the dragons. Wake up. The best way to fight off dragons is to scare them away.

Work-life-balance? We have aplenty. Our routine involves going to work, work, and going home. Social calendar? More blanks than marks. Our battle at work to ensure we emerge as victors have left us drained. Moreover, our shrinking social circle only serves to exacerbate the situation.

Do not misunderstand. This is not self-pitying. Neither am I lamenting at my own circumstances. Granted this may sound more depressing than my original intent, but I am still a happy spinsters. Let's face it, I would rather enjoy my mundane life than to learn to live with an unsuitable spouse. Meanwhile, while I hold on to the hope that my soul mate is certainly somewhere out there, I will continue to luxuriate in my freedom.

- Confessions of a fellow Spinster

Lies - Difference between a Man and a Woman

The night before Yunhao was to marry Wushuang, he was left alone as Wushuang was rushing the report to clarify that Lucas was not a murderer. He met a marriage consultant whom Wushuang had gone to previously to find a suitable match. During the conversation, his troubles were perceived by the astute marriage consultant. She shared with him that men lied to protect themselves while women lied to protect the ones they loved. The morale of the story was that Wushuang might have lied about her love to Yunhao in order to protect Yunhao given what he had gone through for the past 6 years.

Is this true? It may again a sweeping statement. Yet, we often cannot deny it being more often right than wrong.

When you go shopping with your husband or boyfriend, how often do they lie so that you will quickly grab and go and they can go back to their soccer? When you go shopping with your girlfriends, how often do they lie so as to make you feel more confident and less self-conscious?

It is certainly food for thought.

Hooked on My Queen (敗犬女王)

(http://www.mysoju.com/)

My Queen is about a 33-year old career woman - Shan Wushuang who was long past her marriageable age. Despite her successful career, she was often teased for being an old spinster. She encountered a man who was eight years her junior. Although they fell in love with each other, it was not without the trials and tribulations typical of any Taiwanese drama, However, their challenges were more real and less dramatic as they had to deal with their eight years' gap as well as the society's stigma for such a relationship.

Jen and SM were strongly recommending me this series the last time we met. I never knew what they were talking about until I started watching. Then I realised I was hooked. I just wanted to know what happened next. It has been ages since I tried to watch a drama so tirelessly. In fact, I was reduced to a couch potato for the whole of the long weekend.

Shan Wushuang was so endearing that I felt like watching again even after I completed the series. I could relate to the show so much probably because I could fully comprehend the dilemma and could empathise with her plight very well, albeit minus the successful career part.

It is not just a show for single women and men. It is a show for everyone.

Love of Piano

I have almost forgotten my love for piano. Unbelievable, isn't it? How can I banish from one's thoughts that one likes? The monotony and the drudgery have banished any interests and dreams to a faraway land where I start to question whether such dreams exist even in the first place. Sad, isn't it?

Fortunately, these loves have just merely be hidden and not killed. When there is any trigger, the loves will reveal itself again.

I have played the electone before. Just like language, music is not something I excel in. I guess I have always been a more methodical person who do better in sciences and maths which are based on facts rather than talent. On music and language, I can pass if I work hard enough. Unfortunately, in this case, working hard is simply not enough.

No matter how hard I practise, I can only perfect the techniques but never the song because I just do not have a good rythmn sense. Getting the chords and beat right often is based on counting right from the start of the tune to the end it. For those people who have sung ktv with me before, you might have noticed that I tend to sway a fair bit when I am singing. This is not to show off my dancing skills (or rather the lack of). This is my form of counting the beat so that my off-beat singing will not be as obvious to make the song unbearable.

Notwithstanding my incompetence, I still love music and all musical instruments, especially the sound of piano. Some instruments will rake up certain memories when you listen to its tune. For instance, the cello tend to be more melancholic, while the viola tend to be more vibrant. The harp is soothing while the drum excites. The oboe reminds one of winter while the flute reminds one of spring. Yet, the piano encapsulates all seasons and moods depending on the tune on hand. I like its versatility.

These sentiments were ignited once again when I passed by the Yamaha music school - a place where I have spent many after school hours there for the first 10 years of my school. The lovely piano playing drew me into the school and I was once again enraptured by the piano. It may be a silly stereotype but I always feel that people who can play a musical instrument exudes a certain confidence and grace. This aura enhances their beauty.

Maybe I can learn to play a piano on leisure, since a piano is in many ways similar to electone. I know I will never reach professional standard but this may be a way to fulfil a long-time dream.

Philosophical Enquiries and Pretentious Postulations

From the title, one can immediately discern that it is a book devoted to denouncing the importance of philosophy especially on the grounds of philosophy being pompous and pretentious.

The book started off with a humourous twists to some of the more popular sayings.

What we know: "The early bird gets the worm."
The humourous version: The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse will get the cheese."

What we know" "Light travels faster than sound."
The humourous version "Light travels faster than sound which is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."

What we know: "Time is the best teacher."
The humourous version " Time is the best teacher. Unfortunately, it kills all its students."

There are other quotes which are seemingly meant for a quick laugh but are not without a hint of truth in them.

"Nothing is impossible if you don't have to do it yourself."
Isn't this blatantly familiar? Some of us are demanding of our colleagues or our spouses, not knowing what it takes to do something. Only when we have to do it, then we realise we have dozens and one excuses for not able to do it.

"A conclusion is a place you reach when you are tired."
How often do we give in to reach a compromise simply we do not want to argue further or we just want to keep things going?

"It is better to be poor than rich. The rich always fear becoming poor, but the poor never fear becoming rich."
We, human beings, are sometimes bringing troubles to ourselves. Even when we are happy, we worry when the day will come when we will lose our happiness.

For those of you who enjoys a pun, then the next few quotes will light up your day.

"On the other hand,.... ..... you have different fingers."

"If you have a completely open mind, will your brain fall out?"

"What happens if you get scared half to death twice?"

It certainly sets me thinking but in an extremely unorthodox way indeed on philosophy.

Flirting through SMS

This was an interesting study that I heard over the radio. There were many people who flirted with another person via SMS and the recipient of the SMS was not their partner.

Sending SMS to keep in touch with another friend is a convenient way of sending our regards. Sometimes, the messages can be more flippant or humour depending on how you read it. In these instances, will these messages qualify as flirting? If these messages are sent to a casual friend rather than only to your partners, is this then an act of unfaithfulness?

SMS is a useful communication tool espcially for the less verbally expressive people. In case you have not noticed, many of us are more articulate and daring when we get to hide behind our mobile phones. We are bolder than a face-to-face conversation. There is no 2-way communication. Our courage is not deterred by a less friendly body language of the other. We can always be more thick-skinned as the mobile phone also provides a shield against any impact from disapproval of the other person. We will not let down our guard in front the person as he/she will not see the hurt his/her rejection causes. Hence, many use it to profess their admiration for another or even to break up with their boyfriend or girlfriend.

To successfully flirt over SMS is also an art with the constraint of text and also the lack of body language. Yes, you have not read it wrongly. The non-face-to-face interaction can both be a boon and a bane. Many people flirt successfully through body language, from the tilt of your head, to the wink of your eyes. SMS means that you can flirt solely using words. For those who are less proficient in the language, this hampers rather than aids.

So what are you? Are you for or against flirting via SMS? Have your sent a more flippant message before to a dating candidate?

Utterly Embarrassed!

I never expected myself to join the ranks of those who were constantly featured in the forum or "snap-and-tell" websites for committing socially uncourteous acts.

In fact, I often show black faces to those who pretend to be busy or asleep when a person in need of a seat stands near. Shameful to say, I have not progressed beyond angry stares to telling these pretenders off directly yet. My black faces are of little help when these pretenders are pretending to be asleep. I always feel strongly that Singapore is still far from being a gracious society. Notwithstanding how small a part, we should all work towards being a more considerate and friendly country.

Yet, I never expect myself to behave so badly.

I was on the way home from class. I was lugging my laptop and my super thick file home for study and work. My arms nearly gave way from the weight of the thick file. My 'auntie' nature kicked in when I saw a young man getting up from his seat. I immediately moved ahead and sat down. I then flipped the file open to continue my revision for the test.

Strangely, the young man should be alighting soon, but he did not get off. Instead, he hovered near the seat somewhat lost. Only then I noticed that there was a more senior lady, probably in her sixties standing nearby. Apparently, the young man gave up his seat for her, but I was so engrossed in my revision moments before that I failed to notice the elderly lady. I was simply thankful to grab a seat at last.

Now that I was seated, I was caught in between. Should I stand up and give up this 'usurped' seat or should I just pretend that I have not noticed the old lady? The latter was the more morally and socially correct. However, I was too thin skinned and embarrassed and simply froze there. The young man sitting besides me and who was the travel companion of the first young man decided to give up his seat for the elderly lady. This saved me from further action, but without first making me feel like digging a hole there on the spot and bury myself.

To avoid further embarrassment, I kept my eyes glued to my file and refused to make any eye contact with the fellow passengers. I just hoped I would reach my destination soon and alight.

Phew! Passed!

Whoppee! I finally passed the test though not as well as I expected. The guy who sat beside me in the last module and got the highest mark in the first module now obtained full marks. Although my results had improved but marginal.

Never mind, I had passed. Phew!

Burn Mid-night Oil

It has been ages since I burn mid-night oil to study. Yes, burning mid-night oil to rush for projects and presentation slides are common for my work. Burning mid-night oil to study is totally a different experience. For one, working is usually more intense and engaging, so there is no slack time for any sleep bug to take over. Studying requires concentration which is an elusive exercise during the wee hours.

I have never been a night person. Even during school days, I never burn md-night oil to study. The few feeble attempts were disastrous with me not be able to study effectively at night nor concentrate effectively in the day. In the end, I ditched whatever mid-night oil plan and just studied in the day. Whatever I could absorb, I would absorb. Even if I could not finish studying, a good night's sleep with a fresh mind would be better than a groggy mind with 10% more knowledge. With a sharp mind, at least I could still analyse on the spot even if I could not recall the concept.

I had never learnt from those failed attempts, had I? I again tried to study in the night, but my eyes became heavier and heavier slightly past 9 pm. The 8-hour of hard concentration in the day seemed to sap all my energy and left me utterly exhausted by 9 pm. Nothing got in. I gave up and slept and decided to wake up at 3 am to continue because I still had another 100 pages more of notes to go through.

When the alarm clock sounded at 3 am, I dragged myself out of bed despite the protest from my brains and eyes. I started reading and finished reading by 4.30am. I was not sure how much has gone into the brain, but I could not care less. I was dozing off. I needed all the brain power to last throught the day and test.

Good luck to myself.

10-cent Bread

My lunch for the past few days were made up of nothing but 10-cent bread. I was not exactly scrimping and saving in particular, though I could always welcome more money. I was eating the bread purely out of cheap thrill. Do not worry, I was not torturing myself with any plain buns. In fact, I was feeding myself with high-class bread from one of Singapore's most well-known confectionery - Breadtalk.

From teriyaki chicken, cranberry and cheese to strawberry pickaboo, I was basically having a bread party. All those years of wondering the taste of these exotic bread were gone. With each bun going at 10-cent, I could afford to be adventurous. After all, if I disliked any of these exotic flavours which were less tried-and-tested, the opportunity cost was only 10-cent.

The 10-cent promotion was offered to loyal SingTel customers. A SMS was sent to these customers. They only had to flash this SMS at any Breadtalk outlets, they would be able to enjoy each bun at 10-cent. Each person was entitled to 2 buns per day. How could I let such a good chance slip? Of course I had to have my fill of Breadtalk buns.

Hence, for the last 3 days, I ate 2 buns each for both breakfast and lunch. There were some that were nicer than they looked. Some of the nicer looking buns were not quite my cup of tea. Ahh, I hope there is more of such promotions.

Back at Six Sigma Course

Today was the first day of the module 2. It was good to see my classmates again after more than a month. However, it was also demoralising to try to switch back to the studying gear. Concentrating on the lessons for a full 8 hours is tougher than I thought.

This was especially when we kicked off module 2 with many statistical tools such as ANOVA, Chi-square and T-test. Testing for Null and Alternative Hypothesis was something that I probably had in-depth study when I was in JC and subsequently university. Yet, most of these tests were mere names where I could not remember a single thing of the concepts behind these tests. Name-dropping was certainly not enough if I were to pass the test 3 days later. It seemed like I would have a lot of studying to do in the next few nights.

Oh dear! I felt so ashamed that my grey fluff seemed to be deserting me at this crucial hour. Maybe these statistical toold were simply too complex that my brains performed an auto shut-down. Not only did I not get a single thing into my RAM during class. The worst was I even had trouble keeping my eyes open. To think that statistics used to be one of my stronger subjects. I could not believe that my brain power had degenerated so rapidly over the past 7 years.

Maybe I should seriously consider a part-time course to upgrade myself to keep my brain power exercised.

Bookstore Shopping

I was not really shopping in a bookstore because I had no intention of getting any books. I was there merely to pass time while waiting for my mum who was shopping at Daiso. As usual, a 10-minute browse soon turned to a more than half an hour wait as I could finish browsing through numerous shelves, including finishing a simple book and a glossy magazine.

Putting aside by impatience for waiting again, I was also thankful to have this opportunity to have some private time at a bookstore. Since young, I had cultivated a habit of reading as a way of passing time. Reading brought me to another world. It introduced me to different cultures and practices. It added colour to my rather boring and monotonous life.

I was shocked at how out of touch I was with reading. Now, I never knew what were the most popular books that made it to the best selling list each week. I felt abit lost wondering from shelf to shelf on the various subjects. I was also pleasantly surprised by the number of patrons in the bookstore, especially with the e-generation. Reading was a past-time that transcended all generations and seemed to in vogue in any era.

Have you picked up a book yet?

The Traveler

The traveler was about a young boy who had everything in the world. He had doting parent, kind friends and a sweet girlfriend. However, he was not happy. He did not how he could spend his time so that he could be happy. He decided to go on a journey to find his happiness.

The young boy packed his years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds into his suitcase. He bade his parents and friends farewell and set off.

He passed by the ocean and was attracted by the fish and the octopuses. They invited him to spend his time with them. Although he was happy in the ocean, he was not certain if he would like to spend all his time in the ocean. He said goodbyes to the fish and octopuses and continued his journey. Later, he passed by the grassland, the dessert and many other places. None of them was what he wanted to spend his time on permanently.

Finally, he went back home and saw his girlfriend. He knew then his happiness was at home. He wanted to spend all this time with his family and friends. However, when he opened the suitcase which had since become lighter, out came only a month. All the years, month, days, hours, minutes and seconds were all gone. He was now an old man.

The book was simple to read. Even if you are a slow reader, you can probably finish the book in half an hour. The book reminded me of children’s book with its nice illustration and simple words. In fact, the story line reminded me of “The Little Prince” with a rather sad ending when the traveler had little time with his happiness after he eventually found it.

If you are like the traveler searching for your happiness, please also note the time that has passed during your search. If you are interested in this book to seek your own enlightenment, you can find this book at the self-help section of Time Bookstore.

Back to Books Again

I am resuming the Module 2 of Lean Six Sigma next week. Before I start module 2, I better revisit what was thought in Module 1 again, especially when I have to cram all the studying to 3 nights since the mornings will be filled with lessons. This time, the studying will be more stressful as there will not be a weekend break for me to catch-up on the studying. With my rusty mind, absorbing on the spot is definitely out of the question.

Pre-course preparation has to start this weekend. This is also to ensure that I do not make a fool of myself in front of my all so intelligent and knowledgeable classmates. So, it is time to hit the books again.

Oh my, it is tougher than what I have thought. Previously, the revision was a crash-course cramming of as much information into my grey fluff of a brain as possible. It was never meant for long-term retention. This meant that I have lost almost 99% of the knowledge from one-month ago. Hence, this weekend's revision is almost as good as studying anew.

Urggh, I have lost touch and momentum after so long. Every time, I turn the page, the words float in front of me. I feel like going into la-la land. No matter what, I must persevere. I cannot be the first one to fail this course.

09/09/09, 09:09:09

Once in a centennia will we get another 090909, 090909. What were you doing in that exact day, hour, minute and second? I hope you were not like me who was burying my head in spreadsheet. Before I knew it, the moment has passed. Sigh! Another uneventful spending of a significant moment.

Chiong

This is destined to be a week of chionging - dialect for rushing or charging, that is if I wish to be able to make it for a four-day course next week.

The course happens at a bad timing. It is the week of financial review. It is also the week of mid-year forecast review. Given that the product I am handling and the expense item I am handling are missing the target big time, the depth of my analysis will also have to be big time. By out of action for 4 days in one of the most crucial week can be relatively unfair to my colleagues and boss.

The way to ensure that my course will not inconvenient anyone and still be able to attend the course to get my certification. There is only one solution. I will need to work doubly hard the week before the course so that I can clear as much work as possible.

So it's chiong, chiong and more chiong. It is a small price to pay in order to ensure that I can attend the course in peace.

Chionging is part and parcel of my work life for the past 7 years. In fact, I should be glad that I only have to work until 10 pm each night instead of past mid-might. I will survive!

Memory - Theme Song of Okuribito

I finally found the name of the theme song. The melancholic hum of the cello emphasized the sadness of life and death. Yet, the more cheerful tune lightened the mood of the song. It is best enjoyed quietly and in a relaxed environment.

The Time Traveller's Wife

The Time Traveller's Wife is a romance of a girl who has met the man who time-travelled due a genetic disease when she was a little girl. She fell in love with the man and married him despite knowing about his condition. Even when she was aware of his condition, loneliness still gripped her when he disappeared for a couple of weeks during the holiday season. Their romance was not always smooth-sailing. Her numerous miscarriages with the suspect that the foetus she was carrying could also be time-travelling out of the womb started to drive a wedge between the couple.

Fortunately, she has managed to carry a baby girl to full-time.

Their challenges did not stop there. Soon, they would be separated by death. During one of the time-travels, the time traveller hurt his leg and had to be wheeled chair bound. This caused inconveniences to him as he time-travelled. He knew his time was near.

His young daughter was also a time-traveller but she could control where and when she time-travelled. When she informed him that he would die when she was five-year's old. He started to get himself prepared.

The saddest part of the movie was the fact that he knew his death would come soon. The living towards death was so hapless. Hence, it is not untrue that sometimes ignorance is bliss. At least, it takes away the fear and the inevitable.

Quiznos

My colleagues and I have always dubbed this "Subway-lookalike". Given the recent popularity of Subway, I am sure many are acquainted with Subway and its sandwich offerings, especially with its mission of providing the fresh ingredients in its sandwich. Moreover, with the ability to customise your sandwich with your choice of bread, sides and sauce, it has been a hit among the yuppies and students.

Now, Quiznos can give Subway a run of its money with its flagship store at Orchard Central.

It has less customisation than Subway. Other than its bread, the rest of the ingredients come in sets and cannot be mix-and-match. Oh, don't we all love mix-and-match where we can impose our creativity on our sandwich? It is also part of the fun. Hence, the lack of customisation causes the sandwich to be perceived more of a commodity.

Notwithstanding this, the sandwich is still delicious. Perhaps the lack of customisation is a good tactic because being amateur means that we often ending mixing weird concoctions that ay be detrimental to our taste buds instead. Also, sometimes it is better to trust the expert. Having less choice may be the best choice.

Beauty of Lotus – a Compliment or an Insult?

Ever since Ah Peng introduced me to Flowers Over Boys, I have been hooked. Watching this drama serial becomes the highlight of the week. Even if I am out on a Saturday evening, I will rush back to catch the latest episode of Flowers Over Boys faithfully.

In the last episode last night, Jin Sicao was complimented by a monk in the temple to have the look of a lotus. A lotus thrives in a hostile environment. It grows out of mud but can purify the water it grows out of and still brings pristine beauty to its environment. It is often a compliment given to ladies who overcomes their hostile environment.

Or so it seems.

Many years ago, someone has made that comment to me. He was my uni ECA (now known as CCA, I believe) junior. We were having tuition for our students. I could not remember the details but we were talking about our alma mater. When he heard where I had graduated from, he was incredulous. He told me I was like a lotus untainted by the mud.

My first response was surprised as I had never expected this and so openly. It kept me happy for the whole session. It was only later that I felt that it was an insult. I felt guilty for being charmed into believing it was compliment and disloyalty towards my alma mater. Drawing an analogy of my alma mater to mud was definitely an insult, not only to the school but all the sisters.

I have always been proud of my school, its culture, the sisterhood, the creative and free environment to develop individual personality and interest. It is in no way hostile. In fact, the friendship forged during those years becomes my strongest social support. The values inculcated were those that I often strived to constantly practise in life. It is one of the best schools to be educated in. It is an honour to be immersed in such a good school. If I ever have daughters, there is no question asked which school I will encourage her to enroll in as long as she can make it through the high cut-off point.

With hindsight, if I were faced with this compliment, I would certainly give the guy a piece of my mind for his insult to my alma mater.

Initiative

Strangely, one of the directors who was the most matronly among the directors, perhaps due to her senority and her constant interaction with her four beautiful daughters, would sometimes stopped by during lunch for chit-chats. I was usually the lone fighter during lunch as I believed it working through lunch so as to be able to go home earlier.

Maybe it was out of pity and to keep me company, so sometimes she would stop by my workstation to talk to me. Being a friendly and easy-going person, she can share alot of advice from her wealth of experience. My 'single' status is also one of her concerns. She shares with me some tips that she thinks will help me snare the dream guy. She says that sometimes both parties need to give each other a chance and one must take initiative. Taking the initiative is the first chance to know each other better and friendship to blossom.

I share the same statement later with Ah Peng. She holds a completely different opinion. She thinks that if the male friend holds a torch for the female friend, he will definitely has alot of initiative. Well, she also has a point.

My view is that many Singapore guys are in general a very shy bunch of guys and with especially thin skin. Many guys are also generally very laid back and take things rather easily. In fact, many success stories among my friends are of my female friends taking the first steps. Some are more successful than the others. My female friends generally take a more light-hearted approach. When their initiatives are being rebuffed, they will just share it with other friends and get other consolation before we move on. For the successful ones, good for them.

Yes, to certain extent, it is true that usually guys will take the first steps if they are interested to know the girls better. However, I observe that the shy guys in Singapore will usually take a bolder move if they feel that the feelings are mutual. Hence, some of the girls need to drop usually rather apparent hints.

However, as contemporary and independent the girls are, we are still traditional at heart. Nothing flatters us more when the guys take on the first romantic gesture. Moreover, most girls are kind at heart. Even if we were to let the guys down, we will do it with the utmost diplomacy and as delicately as possible to minimise the bruising of the guys' feelings and egos. Even if the girls do like you enough to take the initiative, there is always a threshold to her patience and enthusiasm. If the guys continue to be so laid-back, the girls are not going to sit around forever waiting for you.

Hence, my advice to boys and girls out there. It does not matter if one of you take the initiative as someone will need to kick off this friendship. Guys, please do buck up if you wish to wish the heart of your favourite girl. Love waits for no one. Just as you let go when the girl does not reciprocate, so will the girl. Taking chance and initiative is the best move to win over the girl.

Goodbye, One-for-One

It is really a pity.

If you ask me to rate the many western food restaurants in Singapore, I would have given at least a three-and-a-half out of five for Swensen's. To me, Swensen's is always value-for-money with its wide range of selection to cater to meat, vegetable or even pasta lovers. It will always keep you coming for more with its seasonal offering. The warm and casual ambience also rather suits me as I need not dress up to the nines for an enjoyable meal. I can literally tuck in to my baked rice even in my shorts and within 15 minutes from my home. Ahh... what decadence.

Hence, the one-for-one lunchtime special is really good a good bargain dangling in front of its loyal patrons. When it was first launched, it drew huge crowd with long queues a prevalent sights in many outlets. The overwhelming response led to an extension of the offer. Even then, crowded still thronged the much-loved family restaurant.

Before I knew it, even the extended offer was coming to an end. I had only enjoyed the offer twice. There was still so many main courses up for grabs which I had been dying to lay my taste buds on. What had I done all this while?

A pity indeed. How I wished it could be a permanent promotion all-year-round.

Departures

(http://www.mysoju.com/)

I regret missing the movie when it was first shown. It has received raving review when it was first shown in Singapore. My interest was piqued especially when it was a movie about death – a taboo in many Asian cultures.

The male lead was a cellist in the orchestra. When the orchestra was disbanded, he went back to his home-town with his wife. He was attracted by a job ad in the papers recruiting people to help others in their journey. He mistook this to be a job in the tourism industry. He only found that the ‘journey’ referred to a person’s final journey after he was recruited and the job was encoffinture – preparing the dead before placing them in the coffin.

Many were repelled by his job, including himself and his wife. It was only when he saw his boss preparing one of the dead with such elegance and dignity that he understood the importance and meaning of his job. All those who initially were against his job changed their minds when they saw the meaning of his job.

I was moved. It has also changed my perception of death. My respect for those who helped the dead with their final journey grew tremendously. Death is but another phase in life, just like coming of age, marriage and birth. It is only that in this last phase in life, one remains oblivious to and has no control over the decisions being made.

Despite the heavy subject, the movie was felt with humour which lightened the solemn topic without being disrespectful or turning it into a circus. The humour was subtle, such as determining the make-up to be used for a transvestite – male or female or the scene where the girlfriends of a dead Casanova leaving kisses all over his face.

It was the first time that I learnt of the beauty of the cello. In an orchestra, a cello rarely took centre-stage among the string instruments. It often formed the bass with its pitch being lower range. In the movie, cello became the melody rather than the accompaniment. Not only was the low range pitch unboring, it was also more soothing to the ears compared to the higher pitch violin or viola.

The movie is moving in that it creates a dull ache in your heart. This ache stays long in your heart everytime you remember scenes of the movie unlike Korean dramas which leave you teary but often short-term. It also sets you thinking about death without it being too overwhelming and scary. Please watch it if you have the time. I hope you enjoy the movie as well as I do.

P.S. The Japanese name of the movie is "Okuribito".

Saved by an Angel

Having just finished the book by Paulo Coelho on The Valkyries, I could not help drawing similiarities between the book and my personal experience. In the book, it was mentioned that things happened for a reason. Sometimes, such things were the acts or words of our angels. For instance, a person might accidentally left his car keys at home and had to head back home before starting his journey. When he went home, he realised that he had not left any message for his family members about where he would be going. Hence, he then did that and his family could reach him later on. If he hadn't and if he met any trouble later on, no one in the family would know. The forgetting the keys could be an act of the angels to remind you of some important action.

I nearly made a risky investment decision under the 'heat' of the situation. I could not help but feel that my guardian angel was helping me when I forgot to bring my cheque book along.

Many times, we can be lured into a false excitement about the prospect of a certain investment especially when you are among many equally emotionally charged investors. Their irrational optimisim can create an illusion of exaggerated returns. It is during these times that we commit unnecessarily to an investment which may be beyond our risk appetite. During those moments, we ay make impulsive decisions for fear of being left behind.

Initially, I was disappointed when I forgot my cheque book, knowing that I might once again miss the boat. Strangely, my sister also commented that she remembered about the cheque book the same morning but somehow it slipped her mind to remind me. Since I forgot my cheque book, I knew that the trip was only a 'study' trip. It was only afterwards did I realise what a narrow escape I had made. If I had brought my cheque book, I would have committed an irrational decision. I could not help but feel that it was my guardian angel at work and prevent me from jumping into the wagon.

I was thankful for this because at least I did not do something that I would regret subsequently. Missing the boat is better than jumping into a sinking boat.

Nasi Briyani

For the past 2 years I have walked past the stall and been extremely tempted to try its nasi briyani for it smelled so good. For some unexplained reason, I never got to eat it despite this desire and craving.

When I finally took a mouthful, I wondered why I waited to long. The rice was grainy without being too tough. The meat had crispy skin but juicy flesh. It was so heavenly. It came in substantial portion so that it would also fill your stomach unlike some other good food where the serving was miniscule.

Yum yum. Best nasi briyani in Singapore - even better than the well-known banana leaf briyani at Northpoint foodcourt!

Forgotten Language

I nearly wanted to bury my head in the ground. Again.

While having dinner with SM and Jen at AMK, I met one of my ex-students at the deaf school. I used to be a tutor at the deaf school during my university days. To be a tutor, we have undergone crash course in sign language. We also constantly practised in class when we were interacting with our students. After lessons, we also put to practice sign language by learning how to sign a song. The song signing session was usually led by a team of people - different teams and songs each week.

7 years had passed and I truly lost touch with sign language. Even signing alphabets become an issue. Signing alphabets was the most basic way of signing as if you are unfamiliar with certain words, you can choose to spell out the words to the person you are communicating.

When I met this student, he immediately signed to me. It took a long while for me to figure out what he was trying to say. Hence, for simple chit chats on how we were getting on, it took us 15 minutes to get through. Stupid me, I forgot about my mobile phone or I could have easily typed out the message to him on my phone and he could do likewise. It would have been easier than he signing several times to say something to me and I pausing a long while to decide how to reply to him.

I felt so guilty for losing touch, not just with the students but also with the only bridge of reaching out to them. I was one of the worst signers aong the tutors then. I was sure I would still remain the worst signer today. How could I forget one of the most important language I have picked up? How could I also forget all these students whom I once had so much fun with? I felt low for concentraing the last 7 years mostly on work. Maybe it is time I become reacquainted with sign language. Maybe it is time I should do more for the deaf kids.

Gathering of 3 Single Women

It has been ages since I meet up with my closest friends from secondary school days. It has been extremely difficult to coordinate any gathering with our various commitments and schedules all over the place. Now without 6 months’ advance booking, it is almost next to impossible to gather the whole gang.

It has been so long that we are out that I almost forget about how I miss talking about the moon and the stars with them. I have forgotten how much I miss our extended discussion about the latest drama that we are catching. I have also forgotten about the laughter – mostly self-deprecating about ourselves.

We were busy catching up some of the latest developments. We were busy sharing with each other some of our past and future holiday plans. Talking about holiday was a great escapade which allows us to forget about the mundane troubles and to dream. We were also sharing some of our latest interests and career and personal development plans. Of course, we could never leave out any discussion about the latest dramas. For some strange reasons, often our chats were devoted largely to the discussion of some drama plots. This was what happened this time round with “My Queen” (the latest popular Taiwanese drama) taking centre stage. The plight of the 33-year old protagonist was very endearing. The devotion of Lucas was equally touching. Come on, which lady will not be moved by a man who is willing to lay down his life to take care of you?

The hours flew by in between our food and our drinks. Time passed by so quickly when you are in great company.

The Secret Language of Business

I never pride myself to be a perceptive person. Strangely, some think that the higher the IQ of a person, the lower will be the EQ. However, I thought was a good example to prove that this hypothesis is false, ie no correlation between IQ and EQ. I am a walking example that one can also be both low in IQ and EQ.

Being born less privileged, it only means that I need to work harder in order not to lag behind. Isn’t it Einstein who emphasized that 70% of the success is determined by hard work and only 30% is based on innate abilities? Well, do not despair, maybe there is still hope if we work hard enough?

As one of the steps to minimize my blurness especially when dealing with another person, I hope to gain more insights through the book “The Secret Language of Business” by Kevin Hogan. It is not as academic as most books which devote a lot of the pages to quoting theorem from xx professor or yy award winning papers. Hence, it was not as yawn-inducing as other similar books fortunately. It has also cited some interesting facts that have more practical applications.

Some of these interesting facts include that most ladies tend to have their ring fingers at the same length of their index fingers. For most gentlemen, their ring fingers tend to be longer than the index fingers. For ladies who have ‘gentlemen’ fingers, they are likely to be good in Maths. For men who have ‘ladies’ fingers, they tend to suffer from depression more frequently. Another interesting example included sitting on the right of a right-handed person if you wish to calm the person down. This is because when the person look to the right, they tend to activate more of their left brain which is predictive of people feeling more at ease

Most of us know that women tend to read body language better than men. We often attributed to women’s more perceptive sixth sense. This was not without grounds. The reason why women could read body language better than men was because of maternal instincts as the only way to communicate with babies was only through body language.

For ladies who wish to tell your dates that you like your dates, you can send a strong massage by using your eyes. When breaking eye contact, avoid looking side-to-side, at other people or things, or up. When breaking eye contact, look down, defocused and then bring your eyes back up to meet the other person. If you wish to create comfort with your business partner, one way is to mirror the body language of the other person.

This book is an easy read for introduction to the world and importance of body language. However, due to the difference between Asian and Western cultures, some of the examples might not apply so intimately in an Asian context. Moreover, there was also fewer examples of various scenarios in business context as there were generally more paragraphs devoted to general concepts. Notwithstanding it is still a good introduction.

Aromatherapy

I used to dismiss aromatherapy and its effectiveness, thinking that it is one those new alternate medicine that the businessmen had developed to con consumers out of their hard-earned money. Smelling nice could perhaps create a happy mood, but to cure an illness seemed abit far-fetched.

Being a non-practioner, I was open to the different wellness therapies – from music therapy, hydrotherapy to even aromatherapy. Nevertheless, other than the feel good and relaxing factor, I was skeptical their effectiveness as a cure.

Recently, I found myself indulging in aromatherapy more and more. When I select toiletries, a good-smelling one will be preferred over one whose smell is not as appealing. When I feel low and stressed, the tension ebbs with each rub of a sweet smelling shower foam A higher quality sleep can be easily attained with the rubbing of a soothing moisturizer over my tired skin before sleep.

Do I feel I have a stronger stamina or higher immune system with the incorporation of aromatherapy into my daily rituals? Probably not directly. Certainly indirectly.

When I feel less stressed and happier with the lavish use of scent, at least I can more easily achieve inner peace. We all know that maintaining internal balance is one of the keys to longevity. Promoting good quality sleep is also necessary for a more higher productivity at work. Feeling good is the first step actual goodness – the law of attraction.

Go on, when you next feel stressed, try on aromatherapy.

Imperial Treasure Chinese Restaurant

My mum loves the food from Imperial Treasure. There are fewer branches of Imperial Treasure than Crystal Jade Kitchen. We can only satisfy our cravings for Imperial Treasure often only when we are in town. When we happened to drop by Cityhall area, we already knew where we would certainly head for our lunch.

To be frank when the food was served, we were slightly disappointed. We had only stopped patronizing the restaurant for a couple of months but the servings seemed to have shrunk.

The fried pork rib noodles (la mian) whetted our appetites with the springy noodles and the succulent pork ribs. The pork ribs were juicy and fried to golden brown without being too oily. Despite the crispy skin, the meat was still tender. The noodles was springy and soft without being mushy.

The soup dumplings – xiao long bao, were still as soupy as ever. We had to handle the dumplings with care. If we exerted too much force, the skin could break easily. Then the soup contained within the dumplings would be lost. This would then be equivalent to eating wanton noodles without the wanton. The essence of the dumplings lay in the soup.

Soupy rice was something that we tried for the first time. It was made of rice soaked in soup. The rice was still hard and grainy unlike porridge. There was also less soup than porridge. Mixed with vegetables, eggs and chicken, each mouthful of rice would allow one to taste the freshness of the greens, the smoothness of the egg, the tenderness of the chicken and the sweetness of the rice. Ahh….a perfect concoction. It was simply my favourite as I was a lover of soup and rice. This combined the best of both worlds.

Perhaps it was due to a drought of Imperial Treasure for many months, it was truly a satisfying meal.

Thai Express

I am a great lover of Thai food. However, there are very few Thai restaurants in Singapore matching up to the standard of an average stall in a Thai foodcourt. The only ones which I found good in Singapore were only Sticky Rice in Ang Mo Kio Hub and Lemon Grass which used to be at Hereen.

I have tried Thai Express which used to have an outlet at the Esplanade many years ago when Esplanade first opened its doors. I was not particularly impressed thinking that it was slightly overpriced and the quality was mediocre. I have similarly tried Bali Thai at Novena Square once. To be frank, it was way below my expectation.

Recently, Thai Expresss opened a new outlet at the revamped Northpoint. After so many years, the menu might have changed. Hence, I decided to patronise Thai Express despite my reservations. Well, the food certainly looked tantalising from the display. What about the taste?

1) Curry Softshell Crab with Rice

This is the best among the dishes we have. The crab is crispy without being oily. The curry is a little sweet. It would be better if it were spicier.

2) Tom Yam Rice Noodle Soup

The Tom Yam is way too spicy without being sour enough. For people with lower tolerance of spicy food, this is certainly something you should avoid.

3) Pad Thai

Very few pad thai could match up to the standard of Bangkok. This is not exception. The pad thai is too sweet. The pad thai was too oily.

Generally, I will not recommend a repeat visit.

Back To Reality

After so many days of training, I am finally back to reality. Work has piled. Urghh! It is time to bite the bullet and just work.

More Training

For the past 2 weeks, I have been spending at least 2 days on training and this week is no exception. I am at the Serangoon office training for our Business Warehouse system. Training provides a good respite from work and to keep up updated but it can be disruptive if there are work to be done. Again, I have to steal time off training to catch-up on work and to answer queries from the line. Sigh!

Brida

Reading Paulo Coelho books is often a disturbing experience. It is disturbing the sense that it sets you thinking about the greater wisdom of life which we often shelf it aside to make space for more mundane decisions, such as what to eat for lunch and how to spend the weekend. From the Alchemist when one confronts the need to have a dream and to pursue the dream relentlessly to Veronika Decides to Die when we have to confront death.

Brida centres around soul mates, path to spiritual development and faith. Brida was a young girl seeking spiritual path to magic to better understand the meanings of the world and to find her soul mate. She studies from the Magus who practised the Tradition of the Sun and from Wicca who practised the Tradition of the Moon. Through her practise, she also self-discovered new knowledge and wisdom. When she found her soul mate, she would be able to see the light above the left shoulder of his soul mate.

I have extracted some of the more meaningful passages and paragraphs here to mull and ponder upon.

"...each person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to plant. The builders might take years over their tasks, but one day, they finish what they're doing. Then they find they're hemmed in by their own walls. Life loses its meaning when the building stops.

Then there are those who plant. They ensure storms and all the many vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely rest. But, unlike a building, a garden never stops growing. And while it requires the gardener's constamt attention, it also alows life for the gardeners to be a great adventure."

Do you want to be a gardener or a builder?

" ...for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what mught happen even in the next minute, and yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have faith."

Do you have faith?

"And when people think of reincarnation, they always come up against a very difficult question: if in the beginning, there were so few people on the face of Earth, and now there are so many, where did all those new souls comes from?
...
In certain reincarnations, we divide into two. 
...
In each life, we feel a mysterious obligation to find at least one of those soul mates.
...
By taking risks. By risking failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never ceasing in your search for your Love. As long as you keep looking, you will triumph in the end."

Do you believe in soul mates? Have you found your soul mate?

"Sometimes we set off down a path simply because we don't believe in it... All we have to do then is to prove that it isn't the right path for us. However, when things start to happen, and the path does reveal itself to us, we become afraid of carrying on."

Have you spent time destroing paths that were wrong rather than following the right path?

William Blake - "What is now proved was once only imagin'd"

Hence, one should never stop imagination.

"People give flowers as presents because flowers contain the true meaning of Love. Anyone who tries to possess a flower will have to watch its beauty fading. But if you simply look at a flower in the field, you will keep it forever, because the flower is part of the evening and the sunset and the smell of the damp earth adn the cloud of the horizon."

 I hope the above paragraphs and passages have invoked some thoughts and feelings in you.

Free Promotional Treat

To be frank, when we first teased a line manager whom we had worked closely with for a free treat in view of his promotion, we did not expect him to agree to it so quickly. Unlike the less generous people, not only did he agree immediately on the spot, he even set up a calendar invitation for the lunch without any reminders from us. We graciously accepted his invitation even though we were feeling slightly embarrassed and guilty for sponging off him again.

Nevertheless, we should thank KL for his lunch and for his generosity.

Chinese Imperial Women

Women living in current era have more freedom and choices than the women of previous generations. Chinese Imperial Women is a summary of the history relating to women in the various dynasties in China.

Some of the more well-known women included Wu Zetian who was the first and only female empress fro the Tang court. To achieve power, she had even killed her two sons so as to ascend the throne. When she ascended the throne, she changed the name to Zhou Dynasty. She reigned for about 15 years.

Yang Guifei was one of the four beauties in China history. Her beauty has caused the downfall of the emperor when he spent all his time with her. She was subsequently ordered to die.

The most ruthless empress was actually Empress Lu from the Han Dynasty. She was the empress of Liu Bang - first emperor of Han Dynasty. She had cut off the hands and feet and removed the eyes of Qi Ji - Liu Bang's concubine when Liu Bang died. While she wielded her power after the passing on of Liu Bang, she installed many of her relatives in important roles in the court. She drove out many of Liu Bang's relatives and descendants. When she died, her family was driven out of court.

The last empress was Empress Wanrou who was the empress to the last emperor of China - Puyi.

The book gave a quick overview of the women in Chinese history. It was an easy and entertaining read.

Pow Sing Kitchen

Pow Sing Kitchen offers one of my favourite Nyonya cuisines. The main kitchen is located in Serangoon Gardens - a few minutes from Chomp Chomp Food Centre. For those who do not lived in the north-east part of Singapore but will like a taste of Nyonya food can drop by the branch at Food Republic - Wisma Atria.

After a shopping trip with my mum and my sister at Orchard Road, we stopped by Food Republic for dinner. Since we had not been to Pow Sing Kitchen for ages, we decided to have our dinner there. From the balachan ladyfingers to the barbecued stingray and the claypot cabbage, Pow Sing had not failed us. The food was sumptuous. 

Hey, I always believe that life is short, so we should not waste our calories on unpalatable food.

Ion Orchard

We were dismissed from class early after we ended our test. On my way home, I decided to drop by the newly opened Ion Orchard to check out this mammoth shopping landmark along Orchard Road.

The concept again resembled that of Orchard Central. Gone were the days where all shopping centres had a large lobby which allowed one to view all the shops from the lobby. There were many shops and the whole complex was pretty maze-like. One could never know what to expect as one turned the corner or travelled up the escalator. Some of the escalators would also bring you to different floors. Hence, while taking escalators, beware or you would end up in a different floor from where you wanted to go.

There were many Japanese eateries at basement 4, some of which were pretty unheard of or were previously only located at one part of Singapore. For eg, one would find the famous bakery along Holland Village - Provence having another outlet here. There were also new eateries selling Hokkaido ice-cream, Japanese burger such as R burgers. The doughnut chain - Dunkin Donuts which had disappeared from Singapore market for some-time made a come-back at Ion.

With this new shopping mall, it would certainly enhance the shopping experience along Orchard Road.

Phew! Passed Test

Phew! I have passed my test. The studying has paid back! At least I would not be a disgrace to be my bosses. Although I was not the top of the class, I was the second among my course mates. The top scorer sat beside me. I wondered if my good results was due to his intelligence rubbing off me - god results by association? Hmm... nevertheless, it was a relief to be able to pass the test.

The Illusionist

Eisenheim was a renowned illusionist who could make trees grow out of soil. He could also make images appeared in the mirror with different actions of the person being reflected. His performances were received with rave reviews. Many were intrigued by how he had managed to perform these stunts. Many sought to find the loopholes to his magic.

When his beloved - Duchess von Teschen was murdered by her fiance, Eisenheim went into despair. He disappeared from the theater for a while. When returned, he brought with him a new magical act - where he could summon spirits whether alive or dead to his stage. This performance attracted many audience who wanted him to summon the dead. During one of the performances when the Crown Prince Leopold - fiance of Duchess von Teschen, went undercover to view this performance. He summoned the spirit of the dead Duchess who pointed out that her murderer was in the audience.

To prevent complications, Crown Prince Leopold ordered the capturing of Eisenheim who disappeared as the spirits he had summoned in one of the shows. At the same time, the murdering act of Crown Prince and his evil plans to usurp the throne was discovered. Leopold shot himself before he was being captured.

The ending showed a spirited Eisenheim racing a horse to a cottage to meet the Duchess von Teschen.

This was an unexpectedly good movie.

3 Year Anniversary

Today marks the third year anniversary of my blog.

For the past 3 years, this blog serves as an outlet for me to freely express my feelings of the moments, the sights I have witnessed and the people I have encountered. It has also been a place where my thoughts become an open book to some of my friends. It registers my transition over the past 3 years.

When I first set it up, it was partly to ride on the technology wagon as well as for me to indulge in one of my favourite past-times - writing. 3 years on, I know I contribute less frequently to this blog than when I first started yet. Yet, its importance as part of my life has never diminished.

Now, when people started to move on to Twitters - a more real time and shorter blog of the thought of the minute and the experience of the hour, I still hold on rather stubbornly to blog. To me, a sentence or two about your thoughts cannot sufficiently capture everything. Given its very instant nature, it also does not provide the opportunity for one to mull through the thoughts before putting down in words. This can lead to easy misinterpretation.

I do not know how long I can keep this blog running. For all I know, this blog may soon be phased out by technology progress. For the day that I am still managing this blog, this will still be my listening ear for pouring out my crazy thoughts or angry grievances. Till the day you are still visiting this site regularly, thank you for being the listening ear in kind.

Chilli Crab - Yum Yum

Crab is something that I have a love-hate relationship with. It is one of my favourite food. Be it chilli crab, crab bee hoon or white or black pepper crab, I love them all. However, it is also one of the messier food which I need to use all my fingers and my teeth extensively in order to have a wholesome meal. For the dainty ladies and the faint-hearted, my word of advice is to avoid seeing my while I am attacking my crab. Moreover, it is also believed to be one of the food with the highest cholestrol. Given my sedentary life-style, consumption of this seafood should be restricted to the minimal.
Since I normally make a scene when I eat crab and crab is something that requires leisure consumption to be enjoyable, packing them back home and eat slowly is the best choice.

The zi char stall in the nearby coffee shop offers value-for-money dishes most of the time, but we have not tried its crab. Suddenly, we had cravings for crab. Chilli crab would go very well with the farmer's bread that we just purchased from NTUC. We packed 2 chilli crabs of a total weight of about 1 kg home for our dinner. 

The crabs did not fail our expectations with their chunky claws, succulent flesh and abundant roe. Soaked in the chilli gravy, I was practically drooling over the crabs. We wasted no time in tucking in immediately. As I savoured the sweet and spicy crab on my soft farmer's bread, I was overcome by a warm sense of bliss. Pleasure could really arise from the smallest things in life. Having a favourite food could certainly brighten my day despite the need to hit the books soon for my test preparation.

Despite it being just 1 kg in total, the 3 of us still could not finish the crabs. Again, not to waste food, we decided to keep gobbling down even when we were immensely full.