Thoughts and Reflections

Unbalanced work life?

2010-11-20T15:29:00.004+08:00

It's the school holidays again and this time for 6 weeks. After deducting the 8 days which I need to report for work and the 2 days for staff retreat, I have 20 weekdays to relax. I really wonder how I am going to spend this period??

During the school term, it has been so hectic and stressful, with so much work to do every day, whether in school or at home. Suddenly the major school events which had stressed me up over the past few weeks were over one by one, and I have no work to do until I report for work at the end of the month.

I am beginning to find my work life so unbalanced. During school days I can't even catch my breath and my mind is forever thinking and processsing. During the year end school holidays I am so free that I have no idea what to do! One thing for sure that I will do is to go jogging regularly, to prevent unnecessary weight gain.

Glad that I will be travelling to Beijing soon. At least I won't feel so bored.

休息是为了走更长远的路

2010-09-09T13:19:00.003+08:00

最近我感冒了，鼻涕流了好几天，嘴唇裂了，声音变了，开始咳嗽了。

一直有在服药，可是并没有好好休息，要忙工作，赶来赶去的。

昨天终于可以好好在家休息，不想工作，只想让自己快快还起来。^_^

所以我一整天只是吃药，睡觉，吃药，睡觉。即使睡不着，躺着也好。

我还看了两部电影dvd：Da Vinci Code; Helen the Baby Fox.

今早睡醒，感觉自己真的好了很多很多！好开心！:)

又有精力做自己想做的事了！:)

Happy birthday dear!

2010-07-20T22:04:00.002+08:00

It's my hubby's birthday today!
Decorated this 4-inch cake at the Icing Room from Breadtalk as a present for him. :)
Didn't use up all the icing and sugared flowers provided as I wanted to keep the decoration pleasant and simple. :)
He was smiling when he saw the cake! :)
My dear, may all your wishes come true! :)

Last day of June

2010-06-30T18:25:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I really can't believe how time passes soooo fast. Is it because age is catching up on me? Just one month ago, I was really excited that the school term had come to an end, and I didn't have to rush home everyday to write the children's observations, prepare teaching aids on weekends or do research on internet for teaching ideas. I was in high spirits for the past few weeks, and I smiled a lot when I was away from Singapore on a holiday.

Today is the third day of the new school term. Suddenly lots of issues came up. Such issues mean more work, on top of the usual stuff that I have been doing outside school hours. An active girl scratched herself on her face in class today, and I didn't notice how or when she did it. This added to my stress as this child has really particular parents, nope, it's grandma and mother. They have the past records of seeing the MP to file complaints against the teachers. Well, at least I didn't get a call from her mum or an angry grandma knocking on the door to demand an explanation after her class today. Hopefully I won't hear from them tomorrow.

With additional work to do and more challenges to face, I really hope I won't have to worry about children getting hurt and having parents' complaints. I am a simple person who wants a simple life. I don't pray for promotion or pay raise. Every night I just pray that everything goes smoothly, the children are obedient, nobody gets hurt, no parents complain and I could finish all my work smoothly.

I think my luck has not been too good these days. I must pray at the temple this Saturday....

Hang in there...

2010-05-22T07:32:00.008+08:00

Just 4 more work days to go... and it will be the loooooong awaited school holidays! It doesn't matter when I still need to go back to work for 6 days in June, no, should be 6 days plus 1 Meet-the-people session duty at the RC, at least for 4 weeks I do not have to deal with active children or face parents' complaints... What an exhausting school term it has been. A temporary peace of mind at last.

I try not to think of the challenges in the next semester and stress myself up. Enjoy while I can!

Have to work out a plan to spend my holidays constructively soon. Loads of things I have in mind: try out new recipes, finish reading two novels, exercise and lose weight (sign up Amore?), go on a holiday trip, meet up with friends, try out new sewing projetcs, perhaps grow new plants?

If I don't spend my holidays constructively, I bet I will feel soooo grouchy and moody when school reopens!

Just 4 more work days to go! Hang in there!

Meals cooked my way

2010-05-09T20:47:00.013+08:00

One good thing about marriage and leaving away from parents is to own my kitchen, a place where I whip up meals according to my cravings and needs. I am able to cook "exotic", "strange", "inappropriate" meals (to my mum or mum-in-law) which I won't be able to, if I were to share the same kitchen with them.

Making pancakes or omelettes for breakfast may seem a hassle to them since they do not have a habit of cooking in the mornings.
Cooking a one-dish meal like green curry, japanese curry, kimchi soup, tom yum soup, western food or pasta is weird to them too, since non of the above is something which they normally cook. Pureed soups may seem strange to them, since they have been cooking clear chinese soups all their lives. Making long sandwiches (like Subway) and lettuce salad for dinner is definitely a no-no for my mum, as it is regarded as "not filling" or "not appropriate" for dinner.

I cooked a "strange" combi of dishes for dinner tonight again :)

Cheesy potato bake

Black pepper chicken chop (small portion)

Instant corn soup with parsley flakes added

But I and my husband enjoyed it! :D

Something funny to share

2010-05-09T11:59:00.003+08:00

Last Friday I had a storytelling session with my 3-yr-old students on the book "It's Cloudy Today". There was a picture of dark and grey clouds before a storm in the book and I asked the children, "What do you think will happen if you see dark clouds like these?"

A girl from PRC said, “天会黑。”

So I asked her, “天黑了会怎样？”

Guess what she said? “会出现一个大怪兽！”

Happy Birthday to me

2010-03-14T09:48:00.004+08:00

30岁了。蛋糕上插着3根大蜡烛。
希望我可以凡事看开一点，放松一点，勇敢一点。
少忧虑一点，少在意他人眼光一点。
要开心一点！

Cooling tea

2010-03-06T12:25:00.006+08:00

Feeling real warm and sweaty in the recent nasty weather?

How about making your own cooling tea? :)

You just need to use some chrysanthemum, luo han guo and

wolf berries. :)

I boil them with water over small flame for about an hour.

Fuss free and soothes the throat when taken cold! :)

Tantrum kid

2010-02-24T20:01:00.003+08:00

This 3 year old kid was not paying attention during my lesson. When I asked him to point to his mouth, he pointed to his nose instead. Obviously he had not been listening. So I said to him, "You are not listening!" and he started throwing tantrum by remaining in this position for more than 15 minutes. He refused to budge even when I tickled him. Other children were laughing to see me tickling him, but he remained in this position and refused to look up. He refused to join the class when they left the carpet and had their snack. He remained in this position on the carpet.

His way of protesting. Just because I said, "You are not listening!"

Countdowns

2009-12-22T14:57:00.006+08:00

At the blink of an eye, it is approaching the time of the year to have the New Year countdown. While people out there are playing hard during such occasions, I have never been excited about all New Year countdowns.

When I was a student, the New Year countdowns symbolised the end of the long school holidays and the start of a new school year with more difficult school work. For the recent years, the New Year countdown symbolises the end of yet another year and as I look back at the new year resolutions which I made a year ago, hardly half of them have been accomplished and yet I am another year older.

Can't help getting the blues for this coming 2010. I am getting 30!! When Chinese New Year comes, I can bet the relatives will be bugging me when I will expect a baby, especially when I am no longer young!! *roll my eyes* I hope none will ask me to seek medical help!

Eeeks! Hope my birthday will never come!

感谢水声

2009-11-25T22:13:00.004+08:00

昨天夜晚，我独自回家。
踏进屋门，一片漆黑，鸦雀无声。
我开了灯，开了窗，开了小池塘的水流。

悦耳的水声打破了房子的寂静。
突然间，我不再感觉寂寞。

感谢小池塘陪伴我度过每个独处的时刻。
也感谢曾经陪伴我的小鱼儿们。:)

Cruise to Malaysia

2009-11-15T20:20:00.013+08:00

I went on a cruise again, this time on board Superstar Cruise Libra for a 4D3N cruise to KL and Penang, with my husband, his mum and sis.

Though the vessel was smaller than Superstar Aquarius which I cruised on last year, we had a cabin with porthole. :) However the weather had been cloudy the past few days and we couldnt really catch a nice sunrise or sunset. But it was great fun to view the sea and sky just from the cabin!

Arriving in KL Port Klang... The link way connecting the harbour to the terminal hall, where our coach to bring us to Mid Valley Megamall awaited.

Mid Valley Megamall reminded me of Vivo City - with its size and branded boutiques. Basically there was no bargain up for grabs, so a 3-hour allowance in the mall was more than enough for most of us.

The new harbour in Penang, which coincidentally had its first opening on the day which our Superstar Libra docked at its pier. So we were warmly welcomed by the local authorities, together with their traditional drumming as heard in muslim weddings! Even the custom officers greeted us with a smile just like PR officers!

Queensbay Mall in Penang, some what like Suntec City.

Chinese cuisine on Superstar Libra.

Dim sum breakfast.

Italian seafood pasta. Creamy and authentic!

Italian grilled chicken with a unique taste.

Another Chinese meal with totally different dishes and soup.

The only show on board which we were allowed to take photos. "The Underwater Escape" performed by world magician Charles Bach from Las Vegas. He managed to hold his breath for more than 2 mins underwater to set himself free from the chain and locks. Bravo!

On the whole, the trip was enjoyable and the service by the crew was excellent. It would be better if we were given more time to explore Penang's unique heritage, architecture and... food! We only get to try Penang Laksa and their Hokkien Mee (prawn noodles). Aww....

老天保佑

2009-10-28T13:48:00.003+08:00

老天保佑，保佑我永远也不会得糖尿病。

我宁可得癌症，起码医的好，可以过普通人的生活，大不了死了就一了百了，离开人世，脱离烦恼。

糖尿病还比癌症可怕，它永远也医不好，永远得控制饮食，吃一辈子的药。若病情控制得不好，还有可能影响到肾，肝，眼睛，甚至中风。到了那个时候，我有能力照顾自己吗？

老天保佑，保佑我永远也不会得糖尿病。我好爱吃蛋糕，好爱吃巧克力，好爱吃水果。天气热时，我超爱吃冰淇淋，喝泡泡茶和可乐。我也好喜欢吃面食，好喜欢马铃薯制作的一切。可是一旦得到那个恐怖的病，我就得跟我喜爱的一切告别了。

那活着岂不是很痛苦？

老天保佑，保佑我们大家都远离那个可怕的病。

Bargain books at HMV

2009-10-27T09:24:00.011+08:00

Ha! Bought these 2 bestsellers at HMV last Sat at the City Link Mall branch. Yes, HMV actually sells books! And at a very cheap price too - 1 for $12.95, 2 for $20! Can you believe it?

Glad that I finally bought "The Time Traveler's Wife". Had wanted to read this book way back in 2006, now that even the movie is out shows how long I have been delaying the read. :)

Too bad HMV didnt have a copy of Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper". Had wanted to read this book back in 2006 too and till now didnt get to borrow this book from NLB. HMV had "Nineteen Minutes" though but its story of a court case involving violence didnt really interest me.

Dale Carnegie's series are worth collecting too, I have read his "How to enjoy your life and job" (mentioned in my blog last year in Aug) and find it really insightful and awesome. :)

Oh yes, I saw 2 of Mitch Albom's books on sale too - "The five people you meet in heaven" and "Tuesdays with Morrie". Too bad I have already read them, or I would have bought them too.

I must say the selection at HMV is not wide, but you may just find something that you like, and at unbelievable prices too. :)

What knowledge is of most worth?

2009-10-22T15:44:00.005+08:00

Today I shopped for a blood glucose metre with my mum at Unity pharmacy and we were glad to receive so much new info from a pharmacist, as if we had visited a doctor.

Besides demonstrating how to use the metre step-by-step and advising my mum on what types of food to avoid, the pharmacist also recommended a type of supplement Sugar Guard (made from bitter gourd - thus "bitter gourd tablets" in short) to help balance the glucose level in the body.

I feel that it is really cool that pharmacists have such vast knowledge on medicine, health supplements, health-related issues and even operating of health devices. The way that this lady pharmacist spoke, though a bit dramatic (for comic relief, I suppose), did provide us with not less info than if we had visited a doctor. Furthermore, she had recommended us with relevant, inexpensive health supplement which was not something that a doctor would normally do.

I gradually can comprehend what Herbert Spencer (English philosopher, 1820 - 1903) meant when he believed the knowledge that was of most worth was "the knowledge needed to pursue those activities which directly minister to self-preservation". Doesnt that simply mean knowledge on health issues? Of course! How can a soldier save himself and others injured in a war if he has no knowledge on first aid? How well can we keep ourselves from being infected by H1N1 virus if we do not know anything about hygiene practice? When our health is not there, how can we succeed in doing any other things?

Glad that I have always been reading health magazines. :)

Hooray!

2009-10-19T16:41:00.005+08:00

Ahhhh!!

I couldnt believe my eyes when I first looked at the weighing scale. And I opened my eyes wide.

I have lost 1 kg!

My hard work has paid off! The jogging works! The pilates works! The stop-snacking strategy works!

Yes! I am on the right track! Will continue till I lost 1-2 kg more! :D

Trying to lose weight

2009-10-16T18:04:00.005+08:00

The most important thing on my mind now is trying to lose weight - fast. Well, besides wanting to look good at a friend's wedding (and fitting nicely into the evening dress) at the end of the month, I am seriously scared of having to replace all my clothes that I normally wear to work. Already 2 pairs of G2000 pants and a pair of Lawman jeans are impossible for me to squeeze in. My skirts are still wearable but that wont be convenient if I work with young children. I seriously do not wish that the rest of my bottoms need replacement soon!

For the past week, I have been faithfully following the most basic rule of losing weight - do not eat more calories than I burn. As such, I have been trying to stop snacking. In the afternoon I only have either an apple or a fruit juice for a snack (so hungry!) I am trying to avoid sweet things and stuffs with high carbohydrates too. And I am beginning to wake up earlier to do some exercises like jogging or pilates.

Haiz. After trying for a week, there is still no signs of weight lost. *depressed* My stomach is still so bloated after meals and even my T-shirts seem to get tighter. :(

I think I really have to put in more effort in burning more calories per day. My target is to lose 2kg in the next 10 days. That's about 200 grams per day. Possible?

I knew it

2009-10-05T17:25:00.006+08:00

I knew it. I just knew that sooner or later, I would cut my hand when slicing the lotus roots.

I HATE SLICING THE LOTUS ROOTS. The roots are hard, of irregular shape, and when the chopper slices through, it cuts through the holes inside and the slice of root breaks. When this happens, the chopper may just slip, and slash through the skin on my finger. Wow, that's a lot of blood lost, considering a sharp chopper has been used. The good thing is, the "slice" of skin is still dangling on the finger (and not on the chopping board).

You know what, I have this sense of failure all the time when I am slicing the lotus roots. It is simply impossible for me to cut completely round slices all the time. Wonder if it is due to the knife or my strength applied?

Anyway, I conclude I HATE SLICING THE LOTUS ROOTS. It is either I break the lotus slices or I cut my finger. It is so difficult to choose between perfection and safety.

Getting fleshy

2009-10-01T20:26:00.005+08:00

Hm. I realise I have put on quite a bit of weight lately... a total of 3-4 kg! This comes as a shock as I have never seen my weight approaching 50kg ever since my JC days. And the strange thing is, when my face and arms were "fleshier" few years back, I had weighed lighter then.

Hm. I guess the fats have accumulated elsewhere now... like in my tummy and butt. Yes, I am developing a belly... and "fleshier" butt and thighs. So much so that those bottoms that used to fit nicely are too tight to wear now and those that used to hang loose are getting tight as well.

Hm. I guess too much snacking is the main culprit. This is something that I need to reflect upon... Hm.

Jurong Safra Club

2009-09-23T15:03:00.013+08:00

My trip to the newly opened Jurong Safra Club began when I wanted to check out the Kbox outlet there (as the Kbox outlets near my place - Lot 1 and Jurong Entertainment Centre - had closed down). At first I planned to take a feeder bus there from Boon Lay Interchange, but hubby found out that it was just a stone throw from there. In fact it was just a 5min walk! :)

Entrance of Jurong Safra Club

This Kbox outlet has only 28 rooms. Those guests who

did not make reservation were turned away....

Kbox room with touch-screen monitor for songs selection. You may also select sound effects like hand-clap, cheer, whistle and jeer to play after one song is finished, haha!

Cozy ambience with pretty wallpaper

Reminiscing the good old days with Coca-Cola posters....

Each room was given a pack of protective covers for the mics.

We checked out other facilities at the club as well....

Swimming pool with some variety of water-play facilities.

Kidz Amaze - giant children's playground.

Lots of slides, slopes, balls, etc within the playground promoting physical development in children. Entrance fee is not cheap at all, about $12 per entry, accompanying adults pay $2 each.

Grand ballroom for functions.

Restaurants like Jack's Place are available.
There is also a unique foodcourt based on Japanese theme.

Water feature along the corridor.

Hmm.... We are considering getting the membership at $30 per year, I think. The member is allowed to bring in one accompanying guest to the swimming pool each time. Maybe that will force us to go swimming at least twice a month, since we have already paid the fees... :)

小月

2009-09-16T17:08:00.005+08:00

Yesterday's 4th episode of 《溏心风暴之家好月圆》 left me pondering over a character 小月.

小月 was adopted by the family when she was 18 months old. However she grew up to have strong ties with her family. Yesterday's episode featured her quarrel with her aunt which ended with her grandpa instructing her not to interfere with his family's matters and causing such unhappiness. Those who watched the entire segment would know that it was the aunt who told a lie first and sparked off the fight between the two women. What 小月 wanted to do initially was to protect her mum's and grandpa's interest but she ended up getting blamed by her grandpa.

I see 小月 in myself sometimes. Not that I get accused or blamed by my family or friends. But the part when she "interfered" with something that she couldnt see eye to eye with does resemble what I always do at home. When I see things being done in a slipshod way, I interfere; when things are in a mess, I interfere. Why? So that things are done systematically and everything turns out neat and pleasing to the eyes. And guess what happens? Most people like to do things they way they want, even though the way I suggest is really more organized.

Ha, a lesson learnt from 小月's misfortune: Just leave things as they are (as long as there is no danger)... After all, what others do dont concern me directly. No use fuming over someone's stubbornness and disrupt the peace in the family or workplace. :)

Lottery and me

2009-09-03T11:07:00.003+08:00

When I was teenager up to the time when I was in my early 20s, whenever I walked past the queue at the Singapore Pools counter, I would secretly "despise" the folks in the queue, thinking that they were a less hardworking lot, only dreaming to strike it rich one day. I also felt that if they could save up the money that they placed on the bets that never seemed to win, they might be much richer by now.

Strangely, when I walk pass such a queue now, I would heave a sad sigh secretly in my heart. Why, most of them are poor folks who wish to buy a "hope" from the lottery in order to have a better life. It is not strange that many of these people are the unemployed, retirees or housewives. I mean, how often do the rich buy lottery? Basically they do not need the winnings! I must confess that even I myself tend to buy more "hope" when I am not generating income. My mum has been buying more "hope" these days too, as a sudden windfall will take care of all her medical bills and buy her more tonics and supplements.

In my opinion, buying lottery has no harm as long as the bets are small. It is not the same as gambling in a casino or placing bets on horse races where peer pressure exists and one may lose everything overnight. A person definitely has better self control when buying lottery at a Singapore Pools counter.

Of course I am not trying to advocate buying lottery here. Just penning down the changes in my viewpoints regarding this fascinating game. :)

Changes

2009-08-26T16:43:00.002+08:00

I have been helping my mum out at her place lately, with the daily washing, cooking and cleaning, and even uncovering ant nests! Sometimes I also notice there are better ways of storing things or keeping things neater. But when I suggest the changes to my mum, she would brush them all aside, saying that there is no problem with the current arrangements.

Haiz. She is resistant to changes.

生日快乐，爸爸！

2009-08-16T23:08:00.004+08:00

今天跟一家人一起庆祝爸爸60岁的生日。:D

虽然只是在餐馆吃了简单的一餐，然后回家切生日蛋糕，可是大家都很开心！（尤其是妈妈！）

祝爸爸生日快乐，身体健康，笑口常开，心想事成，愿望一一实现！:D

午后闲情

2009-08-10T23:01:00.005+08:00

昨天心血来潮，烘了一打mini muffins :) 有3种不同的口味，有oreo cookies, blueberry 还有chocolate chips!

再配上一杯blueberry smoothie... Mmmmm..... 感觉真不错！:)

好久好久没那么悠闲了，真是难得！:)

Tetra bag

2009-08-07T22:51:00.005+08:00

My second sewing project - tetra bag - completed!

It turned out to be simpler than I thought, because the denim fabric was of a nice thickness and made the sewing by machine easier. I didnt have to unpick any problem stitches and that really saved a lot of time. :)

Yeah, I have a new bag to carry around whenever I go somewhere nearby! :)

P.S: The name "tetra bag" comes from my sewing book, but I guess the authors mean "a bag in the shape of a tetragon".

My first sewing project

2009-08-07T13:12:00.010+08:00

Do you own a tissue pouch? Do you use it?

Ha, I always wanted to have one, but somehow I didnt buy any. Never had I dreamt that my first tissue pouch would be machine-sewn by myself! :D

Well, it took me almost 2 hours to complete the first one, from measuring and cutting the fabric, ironing the fabric at various stages to create the necessary creases for easy sewing, to unpicking ugly stitches and re-sewing.... hmm... it was not as simple as I thought!

Then I decided it would be more efficient to work on more fabrics at the same time, and along the way, time-saving ideas struck me as well. The subsequent tissue pouches really took much lesser time to complete, about half an hour each on average? I must admit that my machine stitches were not fantastic, but I believe my skills will get better as I have more practice.

What a good buy of my Brother sewing machine at $125! :D

My next project? Hmm... can't decide! Too many ideas!

I am back! And what a journey it had been!

2009-07-31T23:05:00.002+08:00

Gosh! When was the last time I posted an entry?? 13 Feb 09! More than 5 months ago. And now I am back, finally. Guess what, today I have completed my last assignment for my course, and I am handing it in on Mon! :)

What a journey it has been during this 10-month course... Very tedious, very tiring, very taxing on the brain... I feel like I have never thought so hard in my life! Every weekends had been spent doing assignments that seemed to be never ending, and there were presentations every now and then, whether they carried marks or not.. Goodness knows how many powerpoints I had prepared for those presentations!

But there were fun moments too, such as making ice cream in class during the science module and doing a group collage using all sorts of materials during the art module. And there were class excusions too, like a visit to Australian International School to learn about their play-based curriculum and to SAM to appreciate the art pieces (and to complete 3 art critiques on 3 pieces of artwork, which took me 3 weekends to complete, for I am an art idiot!) Oh yes, the Bedok library performace too *faint*, where each of us had to put up an individual rhyme and song (with actions) as well as a group rhyme, song and dance as part of our music and movement assignment. Gosh, can you imagine putting up a public performance as part of your assignment? I recall that we only had 4 days (including Sat and Sun) to prepare for it. But I must say I enjoyed practicing the group dance to the tune of S.H.E's 《不想长大》, even though from the video recording we looked hilarious.

I must say this course requires a lot of thinking and creativity. There was an assignment requiring us to write a Math story using powerpoint... and there was one requiring us to write a language story using words that start with a particular letter of the alphabet. Guess what was the letter I was given? Letter Y! *faint* couldnt really write a fantastic story with so few words that start with Y. I recall using up almost all the words that I could find in the dictionary!

And there were times when we were "forced" to give individual presentations (and no marks given for them) to the whole class, like bringing a children's storybook to do storytelling (and I had to borrow a nice and short storybook from the library that I knew would not bore the adults to sleep) and presenting our philosophy as a preschool teacher to the whole class. Ha, I remember my philosophy was the 3 Ps - passion, patience and persistence.

All modules have a group assignment and individual assignment. I am glad that I had done most of my group assignments with a same group, of which 2 of them are current childcare centre operators and they have lots of resources. When I worked with this group, we never had to meet up over the weekend to discuss our projects and work had always been allocated efficiently. But the drawback was, most of the time I was the one to compile the group assignments.. and the good thing? They always "trusted" my work and nobody bothered to make changes, so at least that part saved me a lot of time, ha!

In this course I have met a lot of people with great passion to educate young children. They may not have high academic qualifications but they are nice people who are easy to get along with. There are also some who show determination to further their studies to be a better educator - they started out doing a certificate in preschool education, then a diploma, then they intend to carry on to do a diploma in leadership! I really admire their determination, because for me, I will never want to go back to the days of working and studying at the same time - I want a proper life please!

Although it has been hardship for the past 10 months, I must admit that I have learnt a lot, and I believe many things that I have learnt in this course (and other memories) would not be forgotten easily. Ha, a mixture of nice and horrible memories!

Joy

2009-02-13T16:47:00.002+08:00

Joy, the most positive of the emotions, is also the most elusive. Seek it and you may not find it. Try to experience it directly and it may elude you. But live a normal life and it will appear spontaneously.

Joy does not occur so much on its own as it does as a by-product of something else: a pleasant surprise, a happy thought, a good friendship. In other words, this emotion is indicative of feeling good about oneself, others, and life in general.

-- Beaty, J. J. (2006). Observing development of the young child. (6th Ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall

Check out Jurong Point extension!

2008-12-11T22:28:00.003+08:00

Woohoo! The new Jurong Point extension is now opened! What a crowd there was this evening, gosh, I think the residents in Boon Lay were all there! Of cos, with over 200 additional outlets in the new mall (they call it JP2), you bet everyone is curious!

I find that the new mall looks like Marina Square/Vivo City now :) That is, having more of a "town area mall" taste rather than a "neighbourhood" taste.

Here are some of the new stores that interest me:
Chomel
Pretty Fit
The Cheongsam Shoppe
The Clothes Publisher
Bakerzin
Benten Cafe (Japanese pasta restaurant)
Burger King
Cavana Express
Dian Xiao Er
Ding Tai Feng
Haagen-Dazs Cafe
Ji De Chi Dessert
Jia Xiang Mee Village
Kuishin Bo
Lai Lai Hong Shao Niu Rou Mian (although I no longer take beef now)
New York New York
Old Town White Coffee
Sky Thai Fastfood
Thai Express
ToastBox
Skin Food
Mini Toons
Aussino
Pets' Station
Harris bookstore
Challenger
Fairprice Xtra
Yamakawa Super
And lots of little shops selling cute gifts and apparels...

Just walking past the new shops today is enough to excite me! I have not even gone inside them to browse and shop!

Kiddy toys

2008-12-08T18:13:00.010+08:00

Haha, hanging around with little kids is getting into me... I am starting to develop an interest in window shopping at Toys 'R' Us and Kiddy Palace and wowing at toys. Hey, it is amazing how advanced and comprehesive toys are these days, compared to those from my time. Gosh, I love the big set of 64 pieces of fruits and vegetables and cooking utensils. And mind you, the food pieces come in velcro, so that you may "slice" them and fix them back later on.

But my favourite is still the Sylvanian Families series, which I can never afford to own a big set with a house and so on. But I am contented enough to DIY a mini set of "cake shop" with cakes pieces, table, chairs and a rabbit figurine. :) Comes with a small pack of candy too!

Haha, bought this battery-operated bubble gun at Giant. Have always longed for one. While those "original" ones are selling at close to 20 bucks, this costs only $2.90, and the pack comes with a bottle of bubble solution. :)

Wow, tumbling blocks! Haha, never played this before and I always wanted to know how it feels to have blocks crashing down. Finally get to tried my hands on this today after buying this imitation from Toys 'R' Us. Guess what, it comes with a handy tin box and costs only $7.90 after discount! This will make a good family game when I have children in future. :)

Finally it's over!

2008-12-07T11:55:00.009+08:00

Phew! Finally it was over, my centre's annual concert, on 5 Dec 08. Only we the staff and children know how painstakingly we prepared for this day. The staff spent several months training the children for their concert item as well as doing up the back drop and decorations at the concert venue. The children didn't have it easy as well, they had been practicing everyday, perspiring hard as they sang and danced, through several formations. It was even worse when they had to practise with their costumes on, poor them!

Seriously, do they have to go through all these? If I am a child I would have rejected the idea of performing on stage, especially when I am as young as 3 years old. I remember my days in my PAP kindergarten where during year end concert, we just sang a simple song as a whole class on stage wearing our school uniform. And I went up on stage to receive my award for being 2nd in class. That was about it. No stress at all. And we had a simple pot-luck party in our class before the school holidays. There was no need for our parents to spend money to buy costumes for our performance, no need for us to remember lines and formations and dance steps in the drama. Although children these days can really do much more than those from my time, I really wonder how much they enjoy doing all these.

Haha, maybe I belong to the lazy category who prefer doing simple and stress-free tasks that are error-proof.

Anyway, I am so glad that it is now over! What a long day I had on that day. When I reached home, I was really dead-beat. Just imagine waking up at 5.30am for the 7am shift and reaching home at 11pm after the concert... Gosh.

The only happy time was when I took photos of the children! Gosh, they all know how to pose for pictures!

My mischievous class of K2 graduating children.

Some characters with lines in the K2 drama - Queen, Prince and Cinderella.
Doesn't the prince look a little like 林宥嘉？

2 royal servants in the K2 drama.
.

A dwarf in the N2 drama. Doesn't she look a little like 曾佩慈 ?
There is another girl in her class who looks like 赖铭伟. 好多明星脸啊！

More dwarfs and royal servants in the N2 drama - Snow White.

Award winners from N1 class. Spotted the twins?

2 turkeys in the N1 play. Good looking boy and girl!

4 award winners from the playgroup.

The 3rd girl from the left is the younger sister of "曾佩慈". Hahaha!

Congratulations, HJ!

2008-11-30T11:23:00.005+08:00

Went to attend HJ's church wedding at ARPC at Adam Road yesterday. She looked really beautiful and her hubby looked so cool! Really like the glitters on her gown, they made them look like there were lotsa stars on her :) Even the pastor was so good looking, hahaha. Guess what, her march in song was also Canon in D, like mine :)

Cosy and warm setting with grand piano on stage.

Couple taking the marriage vows - they actually had to memorise the lines!

Groom giving thank you speech. Check out the glitters on HJ's gown!

Father's Kite-buying tale

2008-11-30T00:52:00.004+08:00

My sis told me my father saved $1.50 from buying a kite at Chinatown and how the savings came about was quite ridiculous. Here is how the story goes:

My father bought one kite at Chinatown at $4.50 and went to test fly it nearby. It was rather windy and the kite flew. A mother and her child walked pass and the child said "I want! I want!" Therefore the mother went up to my father (thinking that he was selling kites) and asked him how much was the kite. My father quoted $5. The mother tried to bargain with him but my father told her it was already very cheap and his profit margin was only 20 cents. In the end he completed the sale at $5.

My father went back to the shop and bought a second kite and went to test fly it again. This time 2 students went up to him and asked if he was selling kites. He told them he was a demonstrator. Again he sold the kite to them at $5.

My father went back to the shop again and bought a third kite. The shop owner remembered him and asked "Didn't you just buy a kite?" My father replied, "Well, I am your regular customer!" And the shop owner said, "Well, then you may have the kite at a 50 cents discount - $4 for you then!"

(LOL....)

Rest In Peace

2008-10-10T22:58:00.010+08:00

I didn't expect Normal to go so fast.

Yes, it had poor appetite 2 weeks back. Its stomach was slightly bloated and whenever it gobbled up the food pellets, it simply spat them up without swallowing. But didn't its stomach go back to normal after several days? Yes, it seemed to have shrunk in size without having much food over those days but didn't it start to eat and swallow some smaller pellets again?

Things seemed to be going well until 2 nights ago, I noticed little bloating at its stomach again. It couldn't have put on that much weight overnight? Oh dear. And guess what, yesterday night its condition got even worse. The bloating became more intense and even the scales seemed to have puffed out. Internet sources say that this is a disease known as "dropsy" where there is building up of internal pressure caused by bacteria infection. Although there is antibiotic treatment, most cases of dropsy are fatal. But I didn't give up hope after knowing that. We planned to get the medicine from an aquatic store the very next day (today). I said a prayer before I went to bed last night, hoping that Normal would recover soon.

But just this morning, when I looked in at the quarantined pail, poor Normal's body had flipped. It had gone....

Normal's body lying in its "coffin"

Coffin being sealed... (sob sob!)

Burying in progress...

You must have suffered, Normal. Hope you rest in peace...

Never to grow up

2008-09-11T18:52:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I wish I had never grown up.

Being a child is great. No burden, no responsibility. They just need to eat and play. No one will blame them if they do not excel in their studies. When they make mistakes, they will be let off after they get punished, and their mistakes would be forgotten by adults. If they show improvement in their behaviour or studies, they get lots of praises and rewards. They can say whatever they like, without thinking whether their words will hurt others. What is money to them? They just know money can buy things, but never wonder how hard it is for the money to come by.

Being a toddler is even better. Adults are happy as long as they do not cry and do not fall sick. Who remembers what kind of tantrum the child got into the day before? If they can follow simple instructions, it is a bonus.

What about an adult? Lots of burdens and responsibilties. People remember the mistakes you have done. Sometimes there are nice people around to show you some guidance, but you are expected to show improvement fast. If you do not perform up to par in the expected time frame, the nice people will still get annoyed.

Smart people pick up things fast and they get more in life. For example, in a dance workout, if a student can catch the steps and routine in that lesson, she gets to work out more and enjoy the lesson more. The slower students remain blur throughout the whole lesson and don't get to perspire much. In short, they waste their time and money. It is even more true in any workplace. Which boss likes an employee who is dumb and slow?

This is a competitive society we are living in. Is the society willing to be more patient with slower people or slower people have no choice but just have to keep striving?

I wish I had treasured my childhood days more.

Happy MV :)

2008-08-21T18:38:00.008+08:00

When I saw this MV on cable tv the first time today, I was really captivated by its bright cheerful colours, cute bubbly artistes and lively tempo! Although I didn't really catch what the lyrics were all about, although I could tell that Fahrenheit's singing was way below SHE's, I was really in high spirits throughout that few minutes. :D (unfortunately this Youtube version is not as clear as the one I saw on tv)

I really felt strongly, for the first time, that the artistes in the MV did succeed in their role, that is, to entertain.

How to enjoy your life and job

2008-08-10T21:41:00.011+08:00

Author - Dale Carnegie; Publisher - Vermilion

I find this library book so awesome that I simply must make a record of its summary somewhere, lest I forget them in the near future.

Part 1: Seven ways to peace & happiness

- Let's not imitate others. Let's find ourselves and be ourselves. Remember, there is no one else on earth like you.

- Apply the four good working habits that will help prevent fatigue and worry: Clear your desk of all papers except those relating to the immediate problem; Do things in order of their importance; When you face a problem, solve it then and there if you have the facts necessary to make a decision. Don't keep putting off decisions; Learn to organise, deputise and supervise.

- Most of our fatigue derives from our mental and emotional attitudes - boredom, resentment, anxiety, worry, etc. Such emotional factors exhaust the person, makes him susceptible to colds and reduce his output. Therefore you must learn to relax while you are doing your work. Begin by relaxing your muscles. Think of yourself as an old crumpled sock. Otherwise you are producing nervous tensions and nervous fatigue!

- Our life is what our thoughts make it. You can direct yourself to think thoughts of courage and happiness, power and peace. By thinking the right thoughts, you can make any job less distasteful. Think of what getting interested in your job will do for you. Remind yourself that it may double the amount of happiness you get out of life, for you spend about one half of your waking hours at your work, and if you don't find happiness in your work, you may never find it anywhere. Keep reminding yourself that getting interested in your job will take your mind off your worries, and in the long run, even if it doesn't bring promotion and increased pay, it will reduce fatigue to a minimum and help you enjoy your hours of leisure.

- Would you take a million dollars for what you have? Count your blessings - not your troubles!

- If you are tempted to be worried about unjust criticism, remember that unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. Remember that no one ever kicks a dead dog.

- Do the very best you can; and then put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism from running down the back of your neck.

Part 2: Fundamental techniques in handling people

- God himself does not propose to judge man until the end of his days. Why should you and I? Therefore, don't criticise, condemn, or complain.

- The big secret of dealing with people - give honest and sincere appreciation.

- Arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him.

- Do this and you will be welcome anywhere: Be genuinely interested in other people!

- How to make people like you instantly: Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Part 3: How to win people to your way of thinking

- A sure way of making enemies and how to avoid it - Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, " You're wrong."

- Gentleness and friendliness are always better than fury and force. Begin in a friendly way.

- In talking with other people, don't begin by discussing the things on which you differ. Begin by emphasizing - and keep on emphasizing - the things on which you agree. Get the other person saying "Yes, yes" at the outset. Keep your opponent, of possible, from saying "No." This will set the psychological process of the listeners moving in the affirmative direction.

- How to get cooperation: Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

- Appeal to the nobler motives. Individuals who are inclined to chisel will in most cases react favourably if you make them feel that you consider them honest, upright and fair.

Part 4: Ways to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment

- How to criticise - and not be hated for it: Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.

- Talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person.

- Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

- Let the other person save face.

Onboard Star Aquarius!

2008-08-04T20:29:00.012+08:00

View from Harbourfront Cruise Centre: Getting ready to go onboard!

Checking in...

11 years ago, we stayed in cramped cabins with double decker beds; now the cabins are much more spacious!

Sumptuous lunch at Dynasty Restaurant, with yummy cakes and pies!

Lift lobby on Deck 9

Posters of past performing artistes - eg.费玉清，张宇，甄妮

Sun rise on 2 Aug, 7.15am

Short workout at the gym

Swimming pool outside Dynasty Restaurant

Live band at outdoor restaurant serving BBQ food

I must say I really had a good break during the cruise! Well, there wasn't much to do except to stuff myself silly with the yummies and take little naps when there weren't any interesting programmes. What a waste of time by sleeping away, you may think, but waking up at 6am to catch the morning sunrise (and sleeping at 1am the night before) was really tiring! Of course I needed to make up for the lack of sleep! :P

The casino was really an eye opener. It was much much bigger than the one at Genting. My little sis and I had a great time going from table to table, not to play, but to figure out how the different games worked. Heeheehee! We even discussed which game dealer had an easier time in his/her work!

Oh yes, almost forget, I counted more than 70 stars on the night on 2 Aug 2008! At first I could only see a few bright stars but as I stared longer into the sky, my eyes were able to see more and more faint stars. Hmm.... This taught me not to see things on the surface only... and to be more patient.... :)

Weekend Cruise!

2008-07-30T14:45:00.005+08:00

Woohoo! Guess what, I will be onboard Star Cruise this weekend! Will be going with my parents and little sis. Well, my 2nd sis was supposed to go with them instead of me but she had to pull out due to a last minute arrangement by her company to go to Malaysia. And I get to go instead! The most exhilarating part is, my father sponsored the trip and I just paid $20 to the tour agency for amendment fee!

Wow, it has been 11 years since I last went on a cruise. Looking forward to watch the stars, sunrise and sunset! Am going to feed myself fat with the sumptuous buffets! They have really yummy Chinese and international cuisines. Hmm... shall I bring my track shoes and sports attire to their gym? After all, I won't be able to go Amore this weekend...

Will post photos when I come back! :D

梦

2008-07-10T16:38:00.006+08:00

有谁会解梦？

最近我常梦见以前的同学，尤其是中学的同学，十多年没见的同学。在梦里，她们的样貌依然是十多年前那样。有句话说“日有所思，夜有所梦”，可是我并没有在白天的时候想着她们啊，哪来的“日有所思”？

难道在我心深处，我很想回到以前那种无忧无虑的日子？

改过自新

2008-06-30T23:33:00.007+08:00

今天6月30日是我改过自新的第一天！昨夜我睡前，就跟自己说，我不可以再过着颓废的生活了！我不可以让意志再消沉下去了！

这几个星期来，如果没去打那份兼职（薪水又微薄）的工，我几乎可以赖床赖到上午10点多（还好那天Normal出事时，我还来得及救它！），早餐与午餐也吃得乱七八糟，下午也没做到任何建设性的事，直到4点多才想当晚要煮什么晚餐，这才舍得去买菜！新鲜的肉都被早起的auntie们买去了！要不然就是胡思乱想，想一些很负面的事！就连Amore也懒得去！

我真的受不了这样的自己！前阵子我还兴致勃勃地说婚后要好好规划人生，要活的精彩，如今怎么变得那么没有斗志？？我一定要改过！

所以我今天调了闹钟，让自己9点前起身（我要开始训练自己越来越早起！）。正正经经地吃完早餐后，我就去上Amore 10点半的课！运动后觉得精神好好，整个人都充满了斗志！才中午12点，我就去吃午餐了！难得今天有定时吃早餐与午餐，心情好好哦！还有还有，午餐过后，我就去买菜了！而不是像平时那样，等到最后一分钟！

当然，我所谓的“活的精彩”不应只是早睡早起，吃的定时而已，但那是最最重要的。我一定要做到。即使现在还没找到全职的工作，我也要让自己每一天都过得充实。我可以看很多书，看新闻，看食谱，弹keyboard，做些手工等等。要不然，开工后，就很难找到时间做这些事了。

明天一早我要到图书馆去！今天逛书局时看到几本励志的书，我把书名和作者都抄了起来，回家上NLB网站search, 没想到我家附近的图书馆可以借的到噢！真是奇迹！既然这些书是畅销书，它们一定很抢手，所以明天一早我就得到图书馆去把它们找出来，免得被别人捷足先登！

今天会比昨天好，明天会比今天更好！加油加油加油！

Chasing Game

2008-06-26T15:01:00.004+08:00

Gee! I think Normal is back to normal again, in fact it is very greedy now, every time when I approach the pond, it will swim towards my direction and keeps opening its mouth. Haha! I do give them a little feed in between meal times and the feed is practically snatched up in seconds! Sometimes I wonder if I have been starving the fishies but the speed at which they zoom past is amazing!

It is interesting to watch them play this "chasing game" whereby Normal is always being chased by 红鳍子 and the latter is always being chased by 红眼睛. As a result, they line up in a single file and swim in circles.

Hahaha, what a life.

Poor Normal!

2008-06-19T11:25:00.002+08:00

Sob sob! I found Normal motionless on the floor outside the pond yesterday morning! It had leaped out of the pond while I was still in bed!

I thought it had died but I could see very faint breathing at its gills. I quickly placed it back in the pond but it remained motionless, its body half-floating half slanting in the water. 红眼睛 and 红鳍子 seemed to be aware of what happened and swam beside Normal and remained by its side. What a worrying sight!! To my surprise, Normal's breathing got stronger and stronger and finally, after a few minutes, it managed to flip back to vertical position and swam a few cm away! It was alive once again!

But Normal appeared so weak. The scales on one side of its body seemed rather ruffled. It must be injured when it landed on the floor.. Its body seemed so unbalanced when it swam and it kept hiding in a corner for the whole day...

Have a good rest, Normal. Hope you get well soon. And please please, don't be so adventurous again. It may cost your life.

Fishies for my Pond!

2008-06-17T18:09:00.002+08:00

Please warmly welcome the new members to my family! Their hometown is Qianhu Fish Farm and their breed is Shubunkin (玉如意). After they made themselves comfortable in their new environment, the first task for us was to assign names to them to enable us to distinguish them.

The one that has red eyeliner is named "红眼睛"; the one that has a small red patch on its fins is named "红鳍子" and the one that appears most normal is named "Normal".

May the little fishies grow big and strong! :D

Fallen ill.....

2008-05-12T00:44:00.002+08:00

I finally believe what my father said is true. Someone who falls sick often will recover from his sickness in a short time; Someone who seldom falls sick will take ages to recover, or even his life may be endangered.

Yes, I think it makes sense for the second category. After all, if someone whose immune system is ultra strong can get sick, it means the virus is so strong that it can destroy the antibodies completely. Therefore the body needs a long time to build up antibodies again to fight against the virus and hence the recovery time is long.

I fall into this second category. I have not caught the flu virus or had fever for the past 2 years. In fact, I even received a medical incentive of $100 from my company for taking only 1 day MC in 2007, and that was due to mild stomach discomfort. While there was a period which my whole unit took turns to take MC, my body was strong enough to fight against their germs and viruses. I was the only one who didnt fall sick. While I was still proud of this "victory" till last week, my immune system was put to a test after being in contact with a virus carrier (my husband) for 2 days.

Alas! My poor body had been fighting hard for the first few days. Just that stupid me neglected the warning signs of a strangely tired body and didnt have enough rest. Even on the 3rd day when I started to have running nose and had slight fever, I still thought I had recovered when the running nose stopped and even went out with my sis on the 4th day. I think my body could no longer take it. When I came home, the fever started building up again. At one time, my temperature hit 38.1 degrees Celsius. The panadol tablets did manage to suppress it quickly and that night before I slept, my temperature had dropped to 36.9 degrees Celsius. But the next morning on the 5th day, I woke up having my whole body aching. I knew the fever must be back again. True enough, the temperature was 37.8 degrees Celsius. I finally decided to see a doctor.

When I came home from the doctor's visit, my temperature had already risen to 38.6 degrees Celsius and I had a bad running nose and cough. All symptoms of flu started showing up. I even thought I was about to lose my life (after all, I had not had such high fever for almost 10 years!). Even after taking the medicines from the doctor, I still had slight fever till the 6th day, but at least I was recovering...

I guess my body has to build up its immune system all over again. It is really depressing that the strong foundation built up over 2 years had collapsed eventually. Maybe I need to go for flu vaccination before my Japan trip, in case I fall ill again while I am there...

Farewell, One Raffles Quay!

2008-05-04T19:01:00.009+08:00

Muahahahahaha! I can't believe I have really bade farewell to my workplace on 30 April 2008!

Goodbye to the crowds at Raffles Place! Hope I wont have to squeeze in the crowded trains with you for a long time to come. Hope I wont have to vie for seats with you again during lunch hour in the near future.

Goodbye to my office building One Raffles Quay! I must say you are beautiful, and your receptionists and umbrellas (to lend) are beautiful too! Even your washrooms are beautiful! I have nothing against you, really. :) If not because of you, I might have chosen to bid farewell earlier!

Lastly, goodbye to my office seat (and colleagues)! Hmm... I realise I dont really have much to say to you. Hope all of you get along fine with my replacement! All the best!

P/S: Hopefully, my next job will be far far away from Raffles Place and very very near to my new home! I do not wish to spend so much time to travel to work again!

I fell down!

2008-04-20T17:47:00.003+08:00

Sob sob! Such big bruises! Result of a trip and fall last Sat! And guess where the accident happened?! At my new home! Am I not a fool??! Who would get hurt so badly at home? Well, I could only blame myself for not keeping my eyes to the front but to the right instead, and I tripped onto some large barangs on the floor and fell with a loud thud (followed by a yell in pain, of course).

What I can only do now is to continue to rub medical ointment on the bruises day after day until they finally fade off. Kneeling really hurts now and I am not able to attend the stretch-fit/yoga/pilates lessons where sometimes I am required to balance on the knees. Haiz! :(

乐器如人生

2008-03-21T09:51:00.005+08:00

乐器是很神奇的，没人去碰它时，它就静静坐在那里，一声也不吭，谁也不知道它的厉害。或许我应该说，它厉害不厉害得看弹奏它的人有多厉害。同样的乐器，出自不同人的手里，可以像杀鸡杀猪，也可以令人陶醉。即使是同一首曲子，由不同人演奏，感觉又不同。可别忘了，它原本是安静不吭声的，可是却有能力带来优美动听的旋律！

人生不也像乐器一样吗？每个人每天都有24小时，有些人可以活得精彩，有些人却过着毫无目的的日子。我相信“熟能生巧”，如果一个原本不吭声的乐器可以奏出动人的音乐，那原本空白无色彩的人生也可以丰富起来！

希望婚礼过后，我可以好好规划我的人生，让它更多姿多彩！

弦歌有你张信哲 x 交响乐

2008-03-16T00:49:00.002+08:00

刚去看了张信哲“弦歌有你”演唱会，真是令我听出了耳油！他真的好棒哦！听他唱现场，真是一种享受！他的声音永远都是那么的清晰优美！你知道吗，演唱会门票完全售完，满座！和交响乐的合作也很新鲜，音乐和歌声都是live的，感觉更能接近观众！

虽然大荧幕上并没有播放歌词，可是当他唱着那些经典歌曲如《过火》，《爱如潮水》，《难以抗拒你容颜》等，大家还是可以跟着唱，可见他真的有好多好多经典歌曲，令人百听不厌！这些歌曲带给我很多很多的回忆，我突然觉得他就像一位很久没见的老朋友，感觉还是那么的熟悉，毕竟我中学年代开始听他的歌，那也是十几年前的事了!

我好像已经好久没买他的CD了，我所拥有的都只是卡带，可见真的是好久好久了。那些卡带都发霉了，不能听了，而我现在才感到遗憾。我怎么不再买他的CD了呢？他的声音还是和以前一样令人陶醉啊！他还是跟以前一样亲切有礼啊！他不就像一位老朋友吗？

演唱会到尾声时，大家都high了起来，很多人甚至跑到台前去想更接近他，他还笑说“怎么演唱会要完的时候，你们才high啊？”不管怎样，我想大家都和我一样，真的很enjoy!!

他说他的新专辑《逃生》将在4月发行，他也有在演唱会上唱了一首很有京剧味道的《牡丹忧》，好好听哦！这张专辑我一定会好好支持！

Dream on wedding

2008-03-08T10:12:00.002+08:00

Last night I had a vivid dream of my wedding day.

The dream started off from the banquet venue and I was having the march-in rehearsal with my husband, wearing the white gown with the long tail. I was not wearing any shoes and had to tip-toe as I walked in order to match my husband’s height. He started off walking faster than the tempo of the music (not on beat) and I pulled him back so that he would slow down. I had been worried that I might step on my gown at the front and or even trip but my march-in seemed to be a breeze, even at the point where we walked up the stage.

I saw my jie-meis hopping in, one after another, after the rehearsal. All of them were wearing pretty white dresses with similar designs and materials. Their make-up looked professional even though they had done it themselves. All of them looked very sweet and happy. They were chattering among themselves, didn’t really speak to me.

Not sure why, but the next scene was outdoors. I was trying to look for my wedding shoes (remember I didn’t wear any during the march-in rehearsal?) I was opening up boxes and boxes of shoes but couldn’t find the pair that I was looking for. And goodness knows where all the other shoes come from in the first place! I heard my jie-meis shouting the countdown to the start of something (not sure what) “10! 9! 8! 7!.....” but I still couldn’t find my shoes! I hurriedly went over to them but they had already locked themselves in a little room to discuss how much ang pow they were going to demand from my husband. I banged on the door and shouted that I couldn’t find my shoes and asked them to help me but they ignored me totally. At the same time I also realized that I had forgotten to have a discussion with them beforehand on the details of the gatecrash and the amount they would accept.

It was already past 8pm and the banquet was supposed to start. All guests were already seated. And I was running about bare-footed in their presence trying to look for my shoes! I began to try on some of the shoes in the boxes and they didn’t seem to fit. I was still trying to recall where I had placed my wedding shoes. In the end, I remembered. They were at home.

The lessons learnt from this dream:

-I must remember to bring all the necessities to the banquet venue, eg. my gowns, matching accessories, SHOES, ang pow box, toiletries for bathing, etc. If I forget any one of them, that’s it.

-I must not forget to have a discussion with my jie-meis on the details of the gatecrash.

Gosh! Hope everything turns out well on that day!

王子

2008-02-12T22:36:00.005+08:00

你可曾遇过你心目中的王子？

你心目中的王子是怎样的？

我想，应该是你第一眼看到他，就很奇妙地被他吸引，有他在你身边，你感觉从未感觉到的幸福，就好像自己是个公主一样，而当他离开你的时候，你感觉从未感觉到的心碎。即使好久不见，若在街上遇到他，你还是会心跳加速，你还是觉得他依然有“王子”的魅力。

昨晚我做了一个很长很长的梦，在梦里我就遇到了这样一个“王子”。

Sentosa Flowers 2008

2008-02-08T22:19:00.000+08:00

New year is to celebrate the end of winter and the start of spring traditionally. What image do you have in mind when you think of spring? I think of the bright blooms, chirpy birds and warm cosy weather. :) You can find all these at the Sentosa Flowers! A good place for families, couples and friends to visit during this festive season. But I must say the response this year is really overwhelming (on 2nd day of CNY), such that you see more people than flowers, and there are long queues at "photo spots". Well, but again, where is the atmosphere of New Year if there is no crowd?

Mochi!

2008-02-08T22:13:00.000+08:00

14 flavours of mochi. 55 pieces. Only 3 dollars! Just stuff as many as you can in a plastic bag and the seller even throws in one more handful for you as he packs the bagful in a carrier. What a great buy at Chinatown on the eve of CNY! :D

金元甜甜！

2008-02-02T18:15:00.001+08:00

今天逛百货公司看见有个摊位在买应节糖果，就是100克$1.00任由你挑的那种，其中就有巧克力金元，让我想起了中学时，校长每年给我们的红包:)

每年的红包都有2个巧克力金元，还有一张爱心字条，我至今还收藏的很好嘞！一共有6个，从1993到1998 （1997和1998的红包应该是初院期间特地回中学庆新年而得来的吧！）字条上的寄语如下：

亲爱的宝贝：

新的一年又来临了，甜甜的金元为你们带来连年的好运。

我祝你们

身体健康，学业猛进。

生活愉快，笑口常开。

心想事成，万事如意。

愿你们在学习中成长，

做一个温文尔雅，

高贵大方又内涵的淑女。

愿天主降福予你和你的家人。

好怀念中学的时光哦！

请问有几所学校会像我的那样会分发这么有意义的红包给学生呢？我觉得自己很幸运，可以在这么一个有爱的环境下度过4年。除了学校走廊挂着悦耳的风铃，我们还养了许多小动物，甚至有公鸡和鳄鱼！我还记得有几次我们在草场升旗礼时，校长突然要我们静下来，闭上眼，聆听鸟的叫声。请问有几位校长会那么诗情画意呢？

我希望我可以永远记得这些回忆，希望曾经和我一起在这个爱的环境下成长的朋友们也可以记得这些回忆。:)

好心情！

2008-01-30T19:59:00.001+08:00

有时候，遇到一个好人，会让你的心情好上一整天；有时候，遇到一个坏人，会让你的心情坏上一整天，甚至气到流泪。而我今天，不只遇到了一个好人，工作也异常顺利！

今天我接到一位时常有工作上来往的bank dealer的电话，他说他帮我找到了红包封套，想在午餐时间拿给我。初次见面，原来这位bank dealer还蛮帅的，虽然他已经38岁了，看起来好像30出头而已！他给我一个大信封，里头有20多包的红包封套，我都觉得有点不好意思，哈哈。他还请我吃roti prata/muttabak哦！我们还聊的蛮多的，这一餐吃得挺开心的！

今天我的office mailbox还蛮静的，没有什么紧急email, 我可以专心做其它事，如果接下来每天都这样，年除夕那天有望作半天就可以回！

我的女manager问我，今天过得怎样？我说还好，应该可以早回，说完便笑了笑。她竟然说，"Do you know that your smile is very sweet? Your husband must have told you that." 我说, "No, he didn't, hahahahaha!" 也许她希望我在公司可以多笑吧，无论如何，有人说我的笑容很sweet, 我应该开心吧！

我今天真的蛮早回家的，6.20pm. :) 今天我老板又反常，6.15pm 就回了，我也更没理由留下来工作了。哈哈。:)

有时候，遇到一个好人，真的可以让你的心情好上一整天。:)

Puppets!

2008-01-20T21:38:00.000+08:00

I managed to catch the Guangxi Puppet Art Troupe in action at Jurong Point yesterday. At first I thought it was just some traditional dance item when suddenly some dancers appeared with large rod puppets. They put up items like 《梁山伯与祝英台》, 《天鹅湖》，《女孩与孔雀》，《西游记-大战红孩儿》. It was amazing to see how the puppets could move in such a life-like manner, especially the ballet puppets! Controlling a ballet puppet seemed the most tedious of all, it needed 3 performers-one in front to control the legs, one in the middle to control the head and spine, one at the back to control the hands.

Notice how the performers wore matching costumes like their puppets. I liked the costumes of the peacock item best of all! Both ladies and the peacock puppet displayed such graceful moves!

Caring family and friends

2008-01-10T22:16:00.000+08:00

I had been leaving office after 9pm for the past few days and for 2 days consecutively, I left my office at 10.30pm. As my hp was in my bag, I was not aware that my home had called me. It was always my father. There was one voicemail that he left asking me where I was and what time I was going home. When I finally reached home, I saw my father or mother heating up the soup for me and the rice cooker would still be in "keep warm" mode. :)

For the 2 consecutive days when I reached home at 11pm plus, my parents had already gone to bed. My little sis would also turn on the fire over the stove to heat up the soup. I didnt get to see my parents for that 2 days. When I saw my mother this morning before I went to work, the first thing she said was "每天做到这么迟啊?" and she asked me if I had taken any food at dinner time. :)

Ani sms-ed me at around 10pm last night informing about a piano class. I replied her at 10.30pm telling her that I had just left office and had not had dinner. She replied at 12am "Oh dear. Sleep my dear friend, you are working so hard." :)

During the emails exchange between me, Ani and Doreamin, Doreamin wrote something that gave me strength to move on: 深呼吸，放轻松，天无绝人之路! :)

Today I could finally leave office at 7pm! And I happily sms-ed my little sis, Ani and a friend who had lunch with me today. They were all happy for me. My friend replied "Great, have an early rest and weekends coming! Hurray!" Ani replied "Yeah! Rest well! Eat well!" When I reached my doorstep, my little sis opened the door, popped her head out and shouted "Yay! 恭喜你！恭喜你！恭喜你！Congratulations!" :)

My mother told me she had got me a sandwich to bring to work this morning but when she came home, I had already left the house. Although I didnt get to eat the sandwich, I was touched by her gesture :)

I must say I really had it bad at work these few days. Many things had not gone smoothly. My luck was extremely bad. My daily prayers didnt help. But at the end of it, I realised how caring my family and friends are. :)) I must always remember that no matter what happens, I still have them. :))

Last post for 2007!

2007-12-31T19:24:00.000+08:00

Can you believe it, we have come to the last day of 2007!

Well, I guess other than work, the only decent "accomplishments" I have personally are:

started a blog (and reading friends' blogs) and hence kept in constant touch with good friends
signed up for Amore package and started working out regularly
had wedding plans finally

I must say my health has been considered good this year with no major flus or coughs or fevers, thanks to my daily intake of multi-vitamins, echinacea and the regular exercising. :D While there was a period of time that I kept getting bruises due to bumming into objects (or strangers' objects bumming into me), such "accidents" have greatly reduced for the last few months. :) But for my stomach, it has been as weak as ever and I still rely a lot on 保济丸, hahaha... hopefully it will get stronger next year.

Despite having good health, my sweaty palms condition is getting from bad to worse. Perhaps it is due to my work getting me all tensed up. Hopefully next year's work will be smooth going always and may heaven gives me the strength to face any difficulties without fear.

For 2008, I hope to....

read more books
explore more recipes in cooking and baking
start lessons in music (or at least find some scores and play some decent music)
explore drawing and painting
explore sewing
explore more Amore dance classes
do more good deeds
be more gracious, less petty
smile more, frown less (less "black face")
take things easy, stop excessive worrying
be more optimistic

别了，2007!

希望2008会更好！愿所有我爱的人和所有爱我的人都能健康，平安，快乐！:D

Cheapo!!

2007-12-24T19:07:00.000+08:00

Christmas - the season of giving... presents? Frankly I do not see the joy and need to buy gifts for everyone, even your co-workers. Perhaps many people like the idea of gifts exchange. They find joy in shopping for gifts, wrapping them up and giving them away and they like the surprises when they open up the gifts from others.

As for me, you may call me a bore. I find such gifts exchange a waste of time and money. This is especially so when I am not even close to my co-workers. So what do I do when I unexpectedly receive gifts from some of them who tend to give presents to all in the department? Well, as the Chinese saying goes, we have to "礼尚往来”. Of course I cannot accept their gifts for nothing and therefore I have to buy something back for them.

And the headache comes when I have to decide what to buy and the amount to spend. Perhaps the most practical type of gift will be something that the recipient can use. I have received gifts like photo frame, body shop gift set and electric lamp cum essential oil vapouriser from them. But it seems like I do not have any usage for them: the photo frame is 5" by 5", I will have to cut up my photo in order to fit it in, which I have no intention to do. The body shop gift set has got a body lotion and bath lily, which I do not use. The electric lamp is nice but my nose is allergic to essential oils and perfumes, therefore the vapouriser has no use for me as well.

I have come to the conclusion that chocolates are the best Xmas gifts ever. Normally people will feel happier from eating sweet stuffs. Even if they do not have a sweet tooth, at least they can share the chocolates with their family right? If not, can even keep them for Chinese New Year! No doubt chocolates lack novelty (or even sincerity) but hey, you can't deny that they serve more practicality than gifts that they will not use?

I guess the only trouble with chocolates is that everyone knows their value since they are easily available at supermarkets. My co-workers must be calling me a "cheapo" now, since I only spent $6 plus on a box of chocolates, when I just realised (after giving them my gifts few days ago) that they had spent between $14-18 on their gifts!

My goodness. I find this whole thing so irritating. Firstly, I received gifts that I have no use for and secondly, perhaps I am being regarded as a "cheapo" or greedy person now. And it is so weird now to prepare another gift for them to make up their "loss".

But in the first place I didn't ask for the gifts! 无奈....

梁静茹 - 《崇拜》专辑

2007-12-20T12:26:00.000+08:00

难得今天有时间可以一边看着歌词，一边仔细聆听整张梁静茹的《崇拜》专辑。觉得有几首歌的几段歌词很有画面与感觉，特别令我留下印象。

1．《暖暖》的第二部曲：《每天第一件事》和《三寸日光》

《每天第一件事》的甜蜜歌歌词有：

你送的灯像在床头放了星星

让我每一个梦都闪耀着暖意

在捷运里一通贴心的简讯

赶走了我的蓝色星期一

每天张开眼睛第一件事就是想你

空气有草莓的香气

你的周围太多事要你烦心

就算我帮不了忙至少让你放心

每天分手回家第一件事就是复习

快乐和感动几比几

每天都是因为你而看见风和日丽

你为我发明最美的天气

《三寸日光》平凡幸福的愿望：

深秋山顶风微凉

恋人并肩傻傻看夕阳

仰望你为我敞开的天窗

一段日光落在手心三寸长

你说秋天早上的日光

一寸能许一个愿望

希望我爱的人健康个性很善良

大大手掌能包容我小小的倔强

你的浪漫只有我懂欣赏能让眼泪长出翅膀飞离我脸庞

还想每天用咖啡香不让你赖床

周末傍晚踩着单车逛黄昏市场

我的浪漫只有你懂欣赏

就让每个台风晚上不恐慌紧张

第三个愿望还不想讲

你自己想一想望微笑的月光

2. 苦等的凄凉：《知多少》

等的人　等待中花落知多少

经得起　岁月动摇

想的人　感伤的日落知多少

或许这世界上　有些梦

美在永远握不到

看那朵云　是我想飞的羽毛

堆砌在空中　放慢地飘

我好想他　于是我将心缠绕

静静地守候着人潮

3．失恋后要忘记悲伤，勇敢往前走！《生命不可承受的轻》

爱真的需要一点勇气

就看我们敢不敢忘记

我和彩虹最短的直径

也不一定没有你不行

就让我狠狠地加速前进

脱离你所给我的梦境

再零点零零一公里就可以清醒

我决定不再等你决定

我决定不再当局者迷

我决定属于我自己的黎明

距离你一世纪下一个世纪

My English sucks!

2007-12-09T15:37:00.000+08:00

My English is getting from bad to worse! I seem to have forgotten how to spell certain words which I knew so well years ago. For example, I will spell "commitment" as "committment" as I confuse it with the spelling of "committee" (with double "m" and double "t"!) It is only the 2nd time or 3rd time that I look at my word "committment" do I realise that this word looks too long and too weird!

And there is the word "humorous" which I always thought it was spelt as "homourous"! I also thought the spelling of "intermittent" was "intermitten" because I would connect it with the word "smitten" (without "t" at the end). Same thing for the word "fulfil" vs "fulfilling" which I might spell as "fulfill" without thinking.

My goodness, this reminds me of the Chinese 辨字section in our tests and exams during primary and secondary school days. A classic example will be “幕”，“募”，“墓”，“慕”，“暮”. The look-alike and sound-alike type of words. So English has such things too!

My little sis told me such spelling mistakes are common as she has seen more ridiculous ones, and the mistakes could come from people who are supposed to be very good in this language! For example, "receive" could be spelt as "recieve" and "silver" could be spelt as "sliver".

Whatever it is, I should not be too complacent and should always make it a point to use the spelling check tool where available. After all, I do not wish the recipients of my emails/sms to think how lousy my spelling is!

New Laptop!

2007-12-09T00:04:00.000+08:00

Woohoo! Woohoo! My free laptop has finally arrived! What a fantastic offer from Starhub whereby you just need to sign up for a 2 year MaxOnline 12Mbps plan and top up $299 to get a laptop!

Now I am able to surf wireless at home anytime! Don't have to wait till my sisters are not at home, hohoho!! I can watch more online anime and DVDs! I will be able to surf the net more often and blog more! :)

Oh yes, check out my pink mouse too! Cheers!! :D

Meaning of Christmas

2007-11-25T14:23:00.000+08:00

What is the meaning of Christmas to you? A colleague asked me this question a few days ago. I replied that perhaps to many people, Christmas is a day of giving and sharing, a day of peace and joy, but to me, it is just another public holiday.

She then asked me if I know what was the reason for Christmas? I told her it was to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Indeed it is. But seems like these days, Christmas has become a day to have parties and to exchange gifts. "Imagine it is your birthday and the whole world is celebrating it, but no one invites you to their celebration!" she said. I smiled and didnt know what to say next. Nevertheless, I am not one of the "guilty ones" - I dont join in the countdown or put up Christmas tree in my home or buy gifts for everyone. I dont even send out Christmas cards now!

Hero Movie!

2007-11-25T13:53:00.001+08:00

Woohoo! After the long wait and aniticipation since early October, I finally went to catch the movie yesterday! The movie picks up where the TV special left off and still retains the style and characters of the tv serials. Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) never fails to touch me with his determined pursuit of truth! Oh yes, he is really cool wearing that black leather jacket when he appears in court! (Is it the same old one from six years ago?)

Although some parts of the plot have not been fully explained, the movie is still as good as the tv serials! Way to go, public prosecutor, Kuryu Kohei!

Antique weighing scale

2007-11-14T19:02:00.000+08:00

Yoz! Find this familiar? Remember when you last since seen this? I think I would have forgotten its existence if it didn't catch my eye outside a Shop & Save supermarket in a old shopping mall at Tanjong Pagar!

I think I had tried it when I was a little girl, heehee and hey, the "price" for one try remains the same at 10 cents! But even so, wonder how many people will use it? After all, it is so common nowadays to have a bathroom scale in a household. ;)

Is S'pore getting too crowded?

2007-11-03T19:22:00.000+08:00

Remember my blog entry on inconsiderate people on Mrts?

And Ani told me she witnessed a fight in the train as it was too crowded and violent shoving began.

Yes, I blame the overcrowding in trains mainly on the increased population in S'pore. When I was in primary school, I remembered my teacher telling us that the population then was about 3 million. And now the statistics show a huge increase to 4.68 million! Why is this so when the birth rate has not been going up?? Well, this is due to the growing number of expatriates and foreign workers living here, about 1 million of them! This figure makes sense, I mean, do you remember having foreign classmates when you were in school? Perhaps we only knew a few from JC onwards. But now, foreign students are so common in primary schools!

The journalist from Today who wrote an article on this spoke to a sociologist professor from NUS. The professor doesn't believe the crowd situation here is bad.
It's nothing compared to Jakarta or Bangkok or any Indian city, he said. He has a different way of looking at "density".

"The only measure of density is the quality of life. If you find yourself unable to be polite and civil, then it's dense."

Maybe the professor is right. Perhaps I am getting more impatient and intolerant.

And maybe not only me alone.

Fruits Galore!

2007-11-03T17:36:00.000+08:00

Wahahaha! My title sounds misleading but if you are to eat everything of the above by yourself after a dinner, wow, that's really "galore"!

I really love cherry tomatoes! That's my favourite after-dinner snack! No one really loves them as much as I do at home and great! I can have most of them to myself! I pop them into my mouth as if I can eating grapes! And you know what, one medium-sized tomato may provide almost half of a person’s recommended daily amount of vitamin C. Tomatoes also aid in the development of healthy teeth, bones, hair and skin (吃了脸美美！); lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and possibly reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. :))

Now for the huge and juicy strawberries! They can be really filling man. 2 big ones can fill your stomach like a small apple! Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of antioxidants, which fight free radicals. (Free radicals are elements that can damage cells, and they are thought to contribute to the formation of many kinds of cancer.)

Woohooo! Am I full after these 2 servings of fruits! ;P

Serenity at Raffles Place

2007-11-02T20:00:00.000+08:00

I found a new place to have lunch when I am alone :) It is an area along Boat Quay, opposite Fullerton Hotel/ May Bank building, in front of the Asian Civilisation Museum. There are quite a number of small stone benches here and I was sitting at the very bench in the picture, with Fullerton Hotel across the Singapore River. It is really peaceful and quiet here! Such a miracle to find such serenity at the crowded and hectic Raffles Place!

And isn't it lucky of me to find a Lunchtime concert going on at the Museum at 1pm today! (Presented by Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music - every Friday from 12 Oct - 16 Nov - free admission)

Wow! So many people were already there at 1pm! All the seats were occupied and I could only stand at the back. Strangely, most of the audience were either ang-mohs or little children who came with their parents or teachers. Perhaps they were students from music schools. Don't think there were many office workers like me. The performance today were by 4 players on 3 violins and 1 cello. Didnt really take note of the pieces they were playing, they all sounded unfamiliar to me, hahaha. But I could see their harmony and rapport, even without a conductor!

But haiz! Time passed so quickly, I could only stayed for 20 min before I walked back to my office... Wonder what time did their performance end?

White hair! Eeeeks!

2007-10-25T22:24:00.001+08:00

Eeeeks! I found 2 strands of white hair on my head today!! I NEVER had white hair before! Both were discovered near my forehead and were short "baby hair".

One of them started off as a reddish brown hair, then the colour got lighter and lighter and eventually turned to white. The white portion was about 3cm long, I think. I pulled that strand out and realised that the tip of the hair had turned black once again. But never mind, I never like the idea of displaying white hair on my head. >_<

The other strand also started off being reddish brown and eventually turned to white. It was still white at the tip. I just touched it lightly and the whole strand came off. Must had been an extremely weak hair.

Sigh!! What has happened to me?? Am I getting old? Or have I been thinking too much? :(

龟苓膏

2007-10-19T22:24:00.000+08:00

啊！终于！今天总算品尝到真正的龟苓膏了！平时都是吃易拉罐装那种，今天竟然让我在Westmall basement 的福华燕窝行找到现做现卖的传统龟苓膏！好大一碗才$2！好开心啊！:)

龟苓膏是梧州的传统药膳，相传最初是清宫中专供皇帝食用的名贵药物。它主要以名贵的鹰嘴龟和土茯苓为原料，再配生地等药物精制而成。其性温和，不凉不燥，老少皆宜，具有清热去湿，旺血生肌，止瘙痒，去暗疮，润肠通便，滋阴补肾，养颜提神等功效!

这碗龟苓膏吃起来苦涩苦涩的，良药果然苦口！它肯定比其他甜品来的更健康！:)

I have a new blog!

2007-10-19T19:28:00.000+08:00

Hohoho! Welcome to my new blog! Am I glad now that my pictures here turn out to be much bigger! And there isn't any restriction on how many pictures I can upload a month? Great!

Yeah, I should have come to this website to blog instead of Friendster! After all, my main purpose is just to write down some of my thoughts and reflections and not to keep in touch with long lost friends. What a loner I am, you may say, but ha! I don't care! ^_^