Ending 2008 with no thanks

I remember naming all the people I'd like to thank and reflecting on the past year when it was coming to an end. But this year, it all has been going on in my head and I didn't feel a need to write them down anymore. My hand is also hurting from too much typing (I supposed from too much use of my laptop) - quite a good excuse and save the trouble of missing any name out!

Like most others, this year has been a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs. I can't say I have had more downs, as life hasn't been bad to me afterall. I have a shelter, food to eat, clothes to wear and fortunately a little saving to last my poorer times.

2008 has been painful, because in the one year, I have found and lost, I have to lose things I once cherished so much but decided it was time to let go. I have also learnt from them, the good and bad times. Life is a non-stop discovering process of oneself, and I am still walking down that path, finding myself :)

Let's all celebrate the loss of 2008 in less than 7 hours time (as of Singapore)!!! I believe, strongly do, that the next will be nothing worse than 2008! WELCOME 2-0-0-9!!! Thanks to a friendly invite, tonight I'll be somewhere cosy with friends playing "funny" games as I was told, and will be laughing hard till the new year arrives.

By the way, this year, 2008 happens to have a leap second! 1 more second to countdown. ARGH, even my friend was complaining about this on her facebook status, LOL. No one likes another second of 2008. Neither do I!

Happy new year, my friends!!!

My cradlesong

A lullaby that put me to sleep the other night.



Slipping Away

All that we needed was right
The fresh hold is breaking tonight

Open to everything happy and sad
Seeing the good when it's all going bad
Seeing the sun when I can't really see
Hoping the sun will at least look at me

Focus on everything better today
All that I need and I never could say
Hold on people that slipping away
Hold on to this while it's slipping away

All that we needed tonight
Are people who love us and like
I know how it feels to meant
Oh and we leave here, the seas

Open to everything happy and sad
Seeing the good when it's all going bad
Seeing the sun when I can't really see
Hoping the sun will at least look at me

Focus on everything better today
All that I need and I never could say
Hold on people that slipping away
Hold on to this while it's slipping away

So long
So long

Open to everything happy and sad
Seeing the good when it's all going bad
Seeing the sun when I can't really see
Hoping the sun will at least look at me

Focus on everything better today
All that I need and I never could say
Hold on to people that slipping away
[14x]


This song is a little sad, isn't it? But it's one of my favourite, I'm such a sucker for melancholy. But good songs are often sad, aren't they?? Everytime I listen to it, it inevitably reminds me of something sad.

And so... last night, I decided that my cradlesong has to be a happier one and I listened to some French songs my sister once introduced me to. They are much more lively, chirpy and since I didn't understand them, it's much more convincing that they're the "happy pills". Here's the French artist (Ridan) I'm currently so into... and his songs make very good lullabies ;)

Plump plum pudding

A Christmas pudding, something I got for everyone at home to try... It turned out pretty sweet, and not the kind of thing I'd eat very often or very much. I was too lazy to get vanilla ice-cream too, so had it with the dark chocolate we had at home. I thought plum meant something a little sour, oh well, the Australians have it the other way round. Can I have a more sour kind of pudding - Someone, please invent!

Another good news

My camera has returned to my side (woohoo) - FREE OF CHARGE repair. I will write in to thank the manager who has approved it.

But at the same time, I wasn't quite happy with their service. They didn't even bother to deliver it back to me the same way they picked it up. I don't think I'm that hard to please but I felt they could have handled it a lot better with this, with the closure of their most accessible repair collection centre in town, and their main service centre being located in the most inaccessible place surrounded by road works in progress. It was certainly a hazard - I had to walk alongside the road with NO PAVEMENT and at one time, an angle where I couldn't see the oncoming traffic but I have to walk over that bend to get there! Horrifying shit.

The worst is over. If the camera fails me within a year, I guess I'll bid farewell to the brand too.

Christmas - silent night

Oooppss.. Christmas day is over, I'm a little late, am I not! I guess I just wasn't in the mood to write, so much to reflect on before the new year arrives. And I certainly can't wait because the next can't be any worse than this one :)))) Tell me, please!


First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you... (the above picture is specially for you ;) ) I have already sent my greetings on e-mails and I guess it has reached most people I wanted to get hold of, except a few with invalid email addresses. Thank you to those whom have responded too.

I also met up quite a couple of old friends this month, there was a baby shower... an old schoolmate visiting from HK and the usual christmas-gift-exchange gatherings (which I never seem to get tired of). I haven't had chance to see more people but I'm sure things will fall in place nicely when time comes.

This year's Christmas eve is very unusually spent. The initial plan of heading out for a countdown was cancelled, after most of my friends decided to stay indoor because of the weather or "tired" or "being with kids" or "spending with family"... My family do not celebrate it, and I gave it a miss to join my sister and her friend for a drink too. It was actually quite peaceful, I took out my old wordcross puzzle book, and did 8 freaking puzzles related to winter and christmas! Can you believe that?!?? It's a bit taxing on the mind when I get a little competitive later on (with myself of course). But I was enjoying the weather, very cold (for Singapore) and watching a film on TV at the same time.


What is Christmas without gifts or presents?? Thank you friends, because I absolutely love the things I have received. I also made some small candy packs to give out to old friends whom I randomly meet. I received 2 more snow globes for X'mas, and my current collection has hit 9. Damn, I need to find them a proper storage space! I can imagine next time, I have to allocate a whole shelf just for them. One of them is shown below :)

One very interesting gift I got from a good friend is actually a FENGSHUI keychain which will probably improve my luck - ask me this again one year later, lol. I'll tell you then if it has worked!

I'm actually quite blessed to say I have spent two Christmas before in real winter (one even with snow!), so can't complain much when I have a quiet and warm one. Looking forward to spend my Christmas elsewhere again - wherever that is going to be!

Love you all!

Life's never a fair equation

In life, we lose some... we gain some.

Please tell SANTA I want this dress & maybe I can wear it in my dream!

Mmmm... hungry?

Bad kid's pies aren't bad at all. Quite cute (from the picture).

The new and upcoming brand in the neighbourhood, Pie Kia (also literally translated as "bad kid" in hokkien) does some wonderful mini pies. I can't say about their larger version of baked pies but their miniatures do please me well.

The little sardine one - gosh - as good as A1's sardine puff I would say. I love A1's sardine puff to bits because it is ALWAYS filled, juicy and serve hot! Okay, before I get too far away, Pie Kia's little sardine pie is stuffed with chili sardine, warm and tangy. I'm loving how their sardine can be nicely spiced. I also tried the bigger baked cheese & ham, but felt it wasn't cheese-y enough plus it was more peppery than cheese-y.


Mmm... and then how about a refreshing drink to accompany that?

Marigold recently had a promotion with 8days. Every purchase of the magazine came with a free 1l pack of Passionfruit & Pear Yoghurt drink. It gives a very smooth and well blended taste, so nice that I could down the whole packet during a hot afternoon!

And... wait, I have another beverage to introduce, it's by First Choice. Dad bought it, the packaging wasn't that appealing, but hey, the moment I had a sip, my thoughts about it changed! It's instantly refreshing... and very cooling, I could even feel the chill down my throat! It's actually a mixed juice from Grape & Peach!

Try it!

Mummy's book

Finally... Sorry for being tad lazy, 'cos I've been wanting to tell you guys about this book. Procrastination got me lately especially when it comes to writing reviews (same goes for the movies.. bugger!).

YES.
APPLES FOR JAM by Tessa Kiros. Big kid cookbook for the adults. I call it "big kid" because this lovely mummy author created lots of recipes for her babies in this cookbook. It's such a lovely thought, very considerate and loving mum to have! Reminds me of mine, aww!

And so, I decided to test out one of her easier recipes which turned out to be not so easy. I guess the easiest thing still requires a bit of skills! LOL. But she did make it sound like a lot of things are actually a breeze to make! A must-have for mummies whom love their kids to bits, because it's full of little things you can even do for kids' parties... It's rated 5 stars out of 5 on Amazon, isn't it amazing ;) I know I'm not a mummy yet, but I love things made of LOVE :))

JAM SHORTBREAD. My Friday experiment, it started off pretty easy and quick, I managed to put the dough in the fridge within 30 minutes of starting. But the hardest part came when I had to lay the dough, roll it flat, apply the jam and add another layer on top. That was really tough, because that dough was sticky like hell! After putting heap and heap of flour, I managed to cover it nicely and placed it in the oven! I laid one side with orange marmalade, the other with champagne strawberry... mmm does it already sound yummy?

It does look pretty okay, but I'm not satisfied with the result. Part of it turned out pretty okay, part of the shortbread was too moist (I reckon it wasn't thin enough... mmm could it be something else?). My sister and mum sampled it and told me it tastes pretty good except for the fact that it's kinda moist! Argh! A 2nd try next time I guess... I've yet to eat the "dry" portion of it though.

Me recommend this!

Something I indulge in every now and then... and a definite during Christmas!

Last year, I bought myself this again. The first time I bought this was back in London (2004) when I decided to visit my ex-boss and his family before I left for Germany. I got a box of this (very expensive back in London then! was about £4.90), I wrapped some into mini boxes as gifts for the boys. I couldn't resist not having the rest myself! In Singapore it was about S$9.90.

This year, I'm tempted to buy it again... but... something else caught my eye. Lindt has came up with a few limited editions for the festive season! This one below is one of the new additions, it certainly sounds yummmmm.... It's named "Lindt Snowman Lindor Truffles" -- Milk chocolate shells with white chocolate truffle centers.

However, that's not the one I purchased, if you do know me well enough, I would buy anything more than 60% cocoa over milk chocolate! So, something well perfect got my heart swayed! "Lindt Dark Peppermint Lindor Truffles" -- 60% Cocoa Extra Dark Chocolate Shell with a Smooth Peppermint Filling! They taste like another one of my favourites "After Eight" mint chocolate... but this is heaven because it's LINDT!

Thank you Lindt for making my X'mas this year so minty with your dark chocolate!

X . X

If I survive, I shall cross my fingers for the days after 14th December :)))

Updated on 14/12/08 8:28pm
I'm a survivor! Still alive!

Mistaken for the greens

I'm keeping the environment green and inevitably I became a part of it.

I just survived a stinging swelling bite from a plant insect, one I suspect named "Damsel bug or a scientific name, Nabidae". Actually, I should say that I have survived if I'm still alive tomorrow. I wonder why the hell did a plant insect feed on me!?!

I went into my mum's room to watch the telly. Amid the darkness, as I was settling down on the bed, something just stung me. Fortunately, mum was napping on my sister's bed. There came an immediate flood of pain! And for a while, I panicked, looking for whatever ointment I could apply on it to relieve it. It left a little black dot, there wasn't blood or anything when I tried to press around it to get the "poison" out. It was just stinging.

I caught that insect, thought I crushed it and threw it in the bin. To my horrid, I realised it wasn't dead (but it is now) when I decided I should keep it in case I need to show the doctor. It was still crawling in the bin, and I managed to put it into a container! Another relief, else someone in the house would get risk of being bitten too!

Everyone gave me some sort of antiseptic cream to put on, I decided to use a needle, wiped with antiseptic solution and get whatever was "hurting me so much" out! And then I applied the cream, the area around the bite became warm and "heated". I came online, wanting to find what bug that was... and ways of treating a stinging bite. I have since put two ice cubes on it, and managed to subdue the pain.

IF IT IS THE DAMSEL BUG, THEN THE BITE IS PROBABLY MEDICALLY HARMLESS. IF NOT, PRAY YOU STILL SEE MY NEXT BLOG ENTRY.

The swelling seemed to have gone down, but it still feel a little sore when I touch the affected area. I have already put yellow Double prawn herbal oil on it for now!

Another disappointment?

From Fujifilm.

I finally wrote in to Fujifilm, expressing my disappointment in their products and brand. To my surprise, the manager decided to take my faulty camera in for a diagnosis. Over the brief phone call, I stated I WILL NOT be willingly to pay for any cost for this camera (a camera which they replaced a new part and came down time and time again with the same error). Why does a consumer have to bear costs for a mechanical error we have no responsibility for, why does the consumer have to bear any cost for a faulty camera they failed to repair it in the first place (to prevent it from happening again and again)??? They even sent me a quote for the repair when I have already made it clear, I WILL NOT BEAR ANY COST.

We'll have to wait and see...

不要放弃，不要气馁！

Not losing hope (as it says above).

Too much air of negativity have been hanging around me. Even though most of them aren't directly related to me but I feel for them. My friends - the ideal couples - the couples whom many of us thought will end up together or even forever. 3 loving couples broke up, some of them have even discussed about marriage! One ended up in divorce. What is the world coming to??? Why do so many people give up on making things work, or perhaps it might be a blessing in disguise to meeting the right one later on? I don't know! But it's very demoralising, not just for them but also slowly bursting more and more bubbles of this dream (a happy ending) I have built up in my head.

Speaking of that, being single is sometimes a good thing. I have stopped setting an age limit like many others (especially the locals) like an ideal to get married, to have kids. I have also stopped defining happiness as only the happiness you could derive from being with a loved one. Life has to go on, even if it doesn't consist of the person you once loved this much. Even though at the very end, most of us still hopefully wish to find that person to grow old with (Is there really such thing as THE ONE or can humans stop being greedy and always yearning for greener pasture??). Quality time is often much better than quantity :))