Weird peh-peh

I wonder if it pays to be nice. I guess not all the time. Today I gave up my seat to a peh-peh, someone old enough to be my grandpa by the look of it. When a seat was available, I ended up sitting besides him, he then got a little friendly and asked where I was heading. I told him reluctantly, coincidentally he was heading to the same destination. Then he asked where I am staying! I gave a rough answer about the area but he kept asking me for my block number that it freaked me out. He told me he's staying at Block 260. Hello peh-peh, thanks for telling me that, but I have no intention to let you know where I stay. Say I'm paranoid if you want but this is not the kampong era where you probably could easily trust all the people in your little kampong.

Voyage de la Vie

Thanks to my colleague, I received free tickets to the show, Voyage de la Vie created by world renowned creative producer Mark Fisher! This is Resorts World Sentosa's resident theatre show, as seen from the poster, it's been on since last year?? I have watched musicals, but never a theatrical circus performance before, and so this is the first. I took my family and a friend along. Apparently, one of my sister and dad weren't the least interested.

It was mum's first time watching a performance in a theatre like this, I bet she was excited. After the show, she sounded really impressed by it and bragged to the ignorant ones staying at home ;)

"Voyage de la Vie" - " Journey of Life" - tells a boy's metaphoric journey to adulthood. Join the boy on an adventure to discover his identity as he meets memorable characters like the mysterious Lantern Kepper and the Crystal Cat. Told through energetic dance, athletic circus acts, and catchy songs, catch Singapore's first theatrical circus spectacular at Resorts World Sentosa. (text copyrighted to RWS website)

At the beginning of the show, the casts slowly drizzled in. Some found crawling over the seats, others parading down impressing the crowd with their glamourous costumes. As no photo taking was allowed, I can't show you more than I would like. Soon enough, they pulled someone up from the audience to show a very silly trick and then it began.

It was a combination of song and dance, magic show and aerobatics. The sets were amazing and never failed to captivate - I really liked the starry sky with a crescent moon with Aurelia Cat sitting on it (as shown below).

photo copyrighted to RWS blog

It was a shame Alexey Goloborodko (a dancing contortionist) wasn't performing that night as the "Game Master", it would have been great to see the world's most flexible person on stage!

photo copyrighted to RWS blog

They also managed to cut up someone right in front of me... As we were in row F, pretty near to the stage, still I couldn't tell how it was done! Joy nearly covered her eyes~

photo copyrighted to RWS blog

Overall, the ambience was great and the show was entertaining. If you have spent the money on the tickets, I would say it's all worthy! But it would have been awesome if we could get to see the original casts performing rather than the replacements. But this was complimentary, so I can't complain too much ;)

Too much foods kill

I haven't been to IKEA for breakfast for a while. And it's a joy to go there with friends :) They always have a different breakfast menu and that is very enticing. I was late, so I got my friend to order some stuff to share. This time they were serving organic pancakes and french toasts. My friend was dying to have the trademarked meatballs and wings too... and so, I gladly obliged.

The mouths did not stop there ;)

Next, our first visit to U.d.d.e.r.s (local homemade ice cream) along Upper East Coast road, it's a hassle for me as I hate the winding bus journey. But when you have company, time on the bus flies by. I was so tempted to have a double scoop but for my waistline, I decided to just stick with one. Oh boy, what a tormentous decision to make!

Above picture shows Strawberry Field (with the real sour strawberry taste!), Orange Chocolate Bitters (intense dark chocolate with alcoholic orange taste) and the famous Rum & Raisin (yummy with real raisins soaked in rum). Very very yummy... I'm sure to revisit to try the wineberries which I tested if it's still there!

We also showed our talent on the board. The above tiny animals in bright blue were drawn by a little girl who was inspired by our mini zoo and wanted to add in her contribution :)

We walked under the scorching sun to explore the nearby restaurants and decided to head for Katong Laksa which we supposed was around the corner. Fortunately, we took a bus, because it was a long way ahead! The famous ones are the No. 328 and 49.

We settled for 328 as my friend fancied the air-conditioned seating, but the laksa didn't meet my expectation. In fact, I thought the "non famous" one at Holland Village I had over a month ago did a better job! So no no for a re-visit, no matter how many newspaper clippings you have on the wall!!

I wonder if this combination (alcoholic ice cream plus katong laksa with lots chilli) was so lethal that it made me so exhausted when I got home. After a short nap, I woke up with body ache and a headache that didn't leave me for over a day. To make it worse, I think all the walking under the hot sun didn't help! Today my face broke up in red itchy patches and pimples :( I might be allergic to something. Is it the ice cream?? Or the laksa?? Or was it heat exhaustion? I told the doctor who was amused when I said it might be allergy (haha, sometimes I'm a self doctor), he didn't think so but gave me the medicine anyway. True enough, after 2 pills and a mask I put on this morning, my skin totally recovers! Phew!

WWWhooot!

After the last complaint about the train frequency, this morning I boarded a train WITHOUT AIR CON! Can you imagine with the stupid weather and the crowd at peak hours!! SMRT, what the hell are you doing...! Everyone inside was trying to fan themselves with anything they could and when it got crowded, the air was so still and humid!! It was getting so stuffy inside that I alighted a few stops after to wait for the next train. Imagine when I stepped out, the air outside (which was warm) felt even cooler than the air in the cabin, gosh, I wonder how those people survive another 20 minutes to get to town! I'd rather be late than arrived hot, sweaty and frustrated.

A storm tonight

Floods have visited Singapore again. Singapore seriously has to look into flood prevention and prepare for stormy weather for the future. It never used to be this rainy during May or June.

As I pulled in the window pane, I felt the stillness outside, the trees were barely swaying. But the breeze brushed against my skin and knocked on my bamboo chimes. I looked up, the sky was red... almost dark red. It was as if it was bruised and awaiting revenge. I could feel it coming.

I lay in bed. Minutes ago, I read about a tsunami from the sky in the west of Singapore from a friend. I'm also getting live updates about it hitting Sengkang, the north-east side. I hear the chimes from my kitchen, the sky moaning softly... and I know it will all be here very soon.

Nothing's gone right

This week is terrible. The hot weather is not making things any better. I can't pinpoint what, but everything is not running smoothly.

I got in later and later at work, and I suspect SMRT has now decreased their train frequency after PAP's bad performance for the election, I had to wait for 5 minutes instead of the usual 1, 2 or maximum 3 minutes in the past. The platform was packed with people and by the time the train reached Bedok, passengers couldn't get in anymore. 5 minutes of waiting, scorching hot weather, "kiasu" people standing in the way of alighting passengers, inconsiderate people who wouldn't move when standing on the right side of the escalator... I know it's probably worst in other countries but I have seen better in Taiwan and Hong Kong. I wonder what's the appeal of working in Singapore for the foreigners?

I booked my spinning class and it was being cancelled without me being informed. I would have blown my temper but I decided I had enough of a bad start for the week and shouldn't cause more trouble. So I just kept my mouth shut, and arranged for the next session. Just my luck, the evening session is full. Okay, patience, patience. It's just testing my patience! I hope flu is not coming to me, as I have been feeling slightly under the weather. Goddamnit! 所谓心静自然凉。。。 I must keep my cool, reap some good karma ;)

So I probably am going to paint my nails and eat some chocolate tonight to make myself happy :) Not very difficult to please, is it?

A burnt cake in the oven

I hate the weather!! Absolutely hate it! Without a doubt!

I would swear at the weather, if only he would understand me! I would put up a fight with him, if he has limbs. I would try means and ways to make him cry, the way to make him pay for the fiery temper we have been putting up. How much do we love him for the light and warmth he has given us? How much again do we hate him for making us melt like a snowman under the scorching heat! Every step under the mighty sun, I feel my pores opening and the sweat glands begin to work like a factory. I feel my shirt getting soaked, my throat getting dry and my skin getting burnt. I hate 32°, 33°, 34° and all of their extended families.

I want to hide inside the house, warming my hands with a cuppa as I watch the snow falling and the smile on my face widening. I want!

Bizarre beings

I'm not sure if they are human beings and thus the word "bizarre beings".

I like observing people, and I also pay attention to my own behaviour. I know when I have a bad day, woke up on the wrong side of the bed, have PMS and am extremely irritable and I would write less on those days when my sensitivity towards others would peak and I would be easily annoyed.

 I am going to write about some people I bumped into recently, usually the unpleasant ones. Sometimes interesting and quirky characters, these however do not come by very often.

One morning, I boarded the train. It was full and a pregnant lady came in, with her husband. She stood in front of the "reserved seat" and out of consideration the lady stood up to give up the seat. But not even a word of "Thanks" or a smile, how rude! I began to wonder why such people come in and readily assume the seat is owed to her. Yes, it's reserved for people in need. But HELLO, the world does not owe you anything, is it so tough to show some appreciation? Throughout the train journey, she was glaring at the people around her and her face is just straight and "black". Seeing such people really pulls a wet blanket over the bright sunny morning!

Next, it's the security guard uncle at my office. He's one of a kind, I don't know why, but he exudes composure and an old man's sophistication. You know, like age with style! He always put on a stern face, I guess probably due to the nature of his job. Every morning I see him, I always try to greet him "Good morning!". But his reply is always silence. After a while, on occasions I get greeted the same back, but not very often. One morning, he actually replied differently and I was shocked. As I was running up the stairs, I saw him looking up and replied,"It's still early!" From then on, I know he's still a cool old man, not unfriendly but just need someone to melt his icy exterior.

p.s: Tagged "pest" for some of the people I mentioned here.

A better future?

The general election is over. I'm not pleased with the results, but seriously what can we do. We lost good ministers but the bad ones stay. Even the counting of the votes, the system is unfair and inconsistent. After reading the experience of a counting agent (who counted the votes), did you people realise scribbling swear words or tarnishing the logo do count as a vote for them! Please don't be foolish next time. I don't want to go on about who should be in or who shouldn't be an MP... The news circling around on Facebook is enough to make me sick of them. Let's just put a stop, there seriously isn't much in our control if you know they still have 93% of the seats. We can only pray for better things to come...

GE day

The D-day is here. I don't want to get too political on my blog as I'm not very much into politics. However, all the hooha going on in Facebook somehow affected me. I began to go to a rally, I read the newsletter, followed the newspaper, watched videos on Youtube and even shared them. Many of my friends have their own voices too and it's very obvious whom they are going for.

I have to agree the recent years things have deteriorated, quality of life isn't as good as the past, living in Singapore is taxing not just for us, but also for our ageing parents. Who is supporting our unemployed or retired parents whom have no funds but worked their younger days to support the family and contributed to the country today... US! Not the government. Where is the welfare benefits for the sick and needy considering how expensive it is in Singapore? Why are people migrating, why do people try to get a chance to leave and doesn't wish to come back anymore? Why are we allowing our population increase rapidly over the years but without doing much to cater for it - housing, transport, and jobs! Why do we need 1/3 of the population to be foreigners? Why is GST forever increasing and our salary raise not being able to catch up with the inflation? How are all the average Singaporeans going to afford S$400K HDB flat without being in a long termed debt, without slaving to survive in a place we called our home country? Why do we have casinos? Why is everything all about $!? Where is our freedom of speech?

Everything seems to have surfaced - the concerns, complaints and unhappiness of Singaporeans. But we have to vote wisely. I don't think people are being smart trying to make our voices heard by voting for the opposition blindly. We must decide if they are able to contribute to the society, to represent our voices and address issues correctly. After hearing the rallies, there are things I agree and disagree with both parties. This is not the easiest choice to make. But things have to change to minimise our sufferings in future... Let's all vote with a clear head, my fellow countrymen!

Always a second time

I'm definitely recommending these places because I've been back the 2nd time ;) I might have written about them briefly for my first visit but here's some real pictures taken during the re-visit :)

I went back to Ma Maison again, this time to another outlet with another friend, BS. This is taken a couple of months back but I still think it's worth mentioning. I ordered the sizzling steak which the waiter came over and lit my steak on fire! WOW. The service is polite and attentive, ambience is superb and cosy like the bugis outlet. The staff there are mostly Japanese as I think the Central branch has a lot of Japanese customers. Read about my first visit.

This is my dinner at Food for Thought at North Bridge Centre. Like the first time, the food is only prepared when you order, and of very good quality. The Shiitake Mushrooms (pasta) in garlic and olive oil dressing came with a side salad hence the portion is smaller. It does good for me, not sure for a big eater. I also had the Lychee Saga drink, which is a freeze but it dried up fast (gotta admit I'm a fast drinker), I think there was too much ice than juice! If you're thinking about having the fanciful looking cakes, think twice. After trying this Old Southern Red Velvet cake (photoshopped into the picture), both my friend and I didn't want to finish even half of it. I would have gone for Chocolate Banana Malteser but its not available that day, but I'm having second thoughts since the quality of the cake is greatly disappointing. But I will always go back for the food! The only thing I don't really like about dining there is sitting near the cooking area, it made us smell of grease at the end of the dinner!  Read about my first visit.

The Rotisserie, an australian place offering grilled juicy chicken (a little like Kenny Rogers but feels more like a healthier option) and a great venue for lunch. I have not written about this place before, but I have already been there twice by now. The picture above is my first visit, we weren't allowed to have chips as we opted for salads, so we must choose two salad types. Chips come as one of the choices but you are not allowed any vegetables or salads. There's the vegetables option and you can have all four of them I am surprised when I heard the staff saying that. So one could have the mashed potato, sweet corns, macaroni and cheese and califlowers if I remeber correctly. The second time, my friend had the chips while I remained with my salads so we could share :) The desserts also look tempting, and I heard the coffee's good too. Delicious and always worth revisiting as there's other stuff to try!

Dessert time

Now, let's talk about some good local finds... Not everything I listed are good, but well, it's subjective anyway ;)

Spotted this bakery near my office (this is at Raffles Place MRT underground), it's always packed with people. From breakfast, lunch to dinner time, you never fail to see people queueing up. Barcook Bakery also has another branch near my office (nearer to Chinatown), and that one offers a better variety. You will be surprised sometimes they are only baking two types of breads but everyone is already buying them like hotcakes.

One of my best friends surprised me with this delicate piece some time ago. It's from Glace and it's yummy! They have a variety of flavoured cheesecakes but this one is original as my friend does not know what's my preference. On the top right (inset), it shows how creamy and rich the cake is. Mmmmmmm...

Little sister got a craving one day and ran down to Le Cafe near Selegie to get these beancurd tarts. Unlike egg tarts, these are not as sweet, light and perfect for a dessert after dinner. Oh waooo... I think I'd like to satisfy the craving again soon.

I went by this place named Dessert Cup at the newly renovated Raffles City basement a couple of times, but never bought any. They are so pretty, alluring and tempting to add on to the waistline. Priced at S$4.50 each, I thought it was a bit hefty for just cupcake. So one day, the sister bought it and I had a sample... and I think I will come back and buy myself one or two on a sinful day.

My friend and I chanced upon this newly opened place that offers milkshake and ice cream at Raffles Place during lunch, and so we decided to give it a try since there was a opening promotion. The ice cream were too stiff for my liking, I guess that's why I prefer yogurt, sorbet and soft serve... We had cookie & cream, rum & raisin and another one which I forgot but they were a bit too milky for my preference. Maybe the milkshake would have been a better choice?

Are you committed?

Commitment comes from contentment. No?

By nature, humans are greedy. Do you not agree? Maybe more so nowadays with the inflation from a bus fare of 20 cents (when I was young) to currently a maximum of over 2 dollars, how can life be as simple, how can all of us survive with the same amount money your parents used to make. My dad was the sole breadwinner, he used to earn slightly over 1K, and it was enough to feed a family of 5. Now, anyone would struggle with a 3K income for the whole family. Money is important to survive, and even more if you want to afford better things in life.

But I also realised being contented is an important factor to being committed. One of my friends is earning an average pay at the age of 30 (maybe a lot lesser than most his age), yet he's not complaining. He's happy with what he has and is not looking for greener pasture. On the contrast, my other friend is leaving his job to his ex-employer because they're giving him a 40% raise. I can't blame him, can I? If you ask anyone (including me), I will go back too, even if the job isn't ideal. It's a shallow decision to base the decision on money but in Singapore, it does matter! My friend had left because the job was too much too handle but again he's turning back, this time with a better package and even more responsibilites. Anything that comes with a high price, there's bound to be a price to pay. So I guess, don't be envious and say,"Wah, so good! I also want!" I think it's better to remind yourself that,"If I'm taking that amount of money, I better be able to prove I am worth it!" I say,"Good for him. Good luck. But I'm sure he's able to make it!" It's a pity he's not working near me the next time but I'm sure it doesn't mean we won't have lunch again, we have the "lunch buddies affinity" since 2002... and somehow we bump into each other again and again.

But at the same time, you can't help but wonder how long it takes for most of us the average salaried commoners to save up and buy a place!!? Now we know why so many people are pinning hope on lottery!

What to expect working in Singapore

The papers have been saying how good the economy is in Singapore, how many more jobs there are now and how much increment we can ask. Even yahoo article says so. Saying all that, but when we do ask for a higher salary at the job interview, we get all the answers like budget constraint, matching educational qualification, getting on par with market rate or even limiting the pay range based on working experience. While many graduates in Europe start their first job as a manager getting a very good salary, it doesn't happen here in Singapore. Some of the people I know complained to me about the miserable S$50 increment... I wish the government can implement a standard (%) increment for companies after a certain amount of time in the company or even based on performance (so the lazy old birds won't get all the advantages from it) than all of us being given excuses without any ability on our side to ask for a raise. Now I feel so underpaid (after reading the stupid report). But this is compensated by a good working environment, I will hang on to my rice bowl till something really worthy comes along.

The 2011 budget will give us all some extra cash. While a lot of my friends are so happy about it, I don't see why we should. They give us advanced cash so they have the rights to raise the transport fees and miscellaneous later part of the year... So it's not free money, it's money for adjusting to the inflation really!

You've been warned

Like the "anonymous" mentioned, there are indeed many rude Singaporeans in Singapore and I do not deny that at all. And also my post on one Ang Mo IS NOT MEANT to generalize the whole population, I hope you ("anonymous") understand when I stated  "Ang mo like these" and not "All ang mo". Anyway, I know who you are, so BP, just sign your name off next time :)

Today, thankful for the rainy day, I had an umbrella to wack this b*tch. We were queueing at the ATM, there were 3 lanes, she was on the last while I stood on the middle one seeing that there was no queue. Admittedly, she was there before me, but she WAS NOT queueing on my lane, when the person finished, she just cut across! I was fuming, but I closed an eye since I didn't want to confront her and made a fuss on a Monday morning. That's not the worst! When she was done, she deliberately pushed me, she knew I wasn't too happy about her cutting my lane (by her own conscience). I know most people would not but out of retaliation (to top it off that she cut my queue without any sign of apology!), I wacked her legs with my umbrella. Everyone was looking, I seriously don't care more because it was all recorded in the CCTV if anyone wanted a re-enactment. I swear I would pick up a cat-fight if she did come back asking for more. B*TCH!

I can tolerate but don't push things too far.

遇见怪脾的人 (17) - Having a beer belly is pregnant?

Ang Mo like these made me feel like going up to them and say, "Sir, where are you from? You should go back to your home country instead of being another disgrace to Singapore." So what if he's ang mo, that only means he earns more money and should be able to afford a taxi, right, since he doesn't even know what "considerate" is. He doesn't even look old enough to have brittle bones, and yet he acted as if he's blind to the pregnant woman standing right in front of him. Please lah, we need less of your type of species here to add on to the already kiasu Singaporeans.

p.s: If he happens to be your boss, please ask the company to send him back home!

Now I am deprived...

Public holidays! I want more, I want more!!

Singapore, can you be a wee bit more generous??

Counting the number of public hoildays the people of Republic China get, the rest of us just want to bang our heads on the wall... Don't we all suddenly wish we live and work there? Make a guess?

31 freaking days in 2011!!!!!!!!

And that doesn't include their annual leave!??

I probably get the same days (31) after I add up my annual leave and Singapore's public holidays. Singapore is not the worst to be honest, we are on par with a lot of other countries that average about 10-11 days of public hoildays. But China, Tokyo and Hong Kong are obviously leading the numbers with 31, 18 and 17... Okay, now I'm envious (maybe not so much of Tokyo and Hong Kong as they work a hell lot!!). But from what I know, Japanese companies are not very generous with their annual leave, so that is perhaps fair with 18 days of additional holidays. So I guess this is why we see Chinese tourists everywhere when we go on our holidays, hahaha.

Perhaps you like to know how the 31 days come about? They have 3 consective days off for almost everything, from New Year's day to Labour Day to Dragon Boat and Mid Autumn Festival. Gosh, seriously, 3 days for a festival, we celebrate them in Singapore too, not as if we get any for them!! Then they get a week each for Lunar New Year and their National Day, they seriously love their culture and nation! We need that in Singapore too!

遇见怪脾的人 (16) - I hate pushing aunties

Today I made a rude remark to an auntie who was pushing behind me to dash to catch the train heading to Expo. (I was also boarding the same train, the train was there waiting, so why so kiasu!) She turned back to look at me and I almost wanted to show her my middle finger!

A lucky find

The other day I happened to be in Kinokuniya, I thought I'd have a look at the magazines. Just then, I happened to see a last copy of beautymap (Nov 2010), a beauty magazine (or they called themselves "monthly beauty report") which was introduced fairly recent. I remember the first few issues, one almost just like a pamphlet, but they always come with very good gift with purchase (what many of us termed "gwp").

I decided to get it, since it was my luck ;) The staff told me a customer was searching frantically for this but this last copy was well hidden behind other fashion magazines and I happened to find it. It came with a Stila eye shadow but the color was a mystery till I opened it. But it's a tiny piece, but it's the full retail size, at 2.6g for USD18. Look here for the swatches, I got illimani, a pretty matte chocolate brown. The branch at Ngee Ann city was giving away the lip gloss but it was snatched up within hours it was out last Thursday.

Here's how it looks like:

I have to say it's very alluring, even though tiny and packed in a very dull packaging. I reckon it will go quite well with my banana yellow eye shadow or even the beige or green.

I got in the mail today, a surprise. Someone mailed me a copy of beautymap (Oct 2010)! It is outdated but I am surprised why I received a copy, I didn't subscribe it. I don't remember, maybe I did give my details somewhere or took part in something?! Whatever it is, thank you :)

Sick planes

Qantas' A380s seem to be sick. Here's the 2nd incident that the plane had to return to Singapore just after takeoff. Lcukily there was no casualities for both incidents.

3 years ago, I met a friend whom was sent here to check on Rolls-Royce engines, it was the time when A380s were newly introduced and the first fleet of A380s were for Singapore Airlines. Now I hear that they need to investigate this issue on Qantas A380s and it might take a year. Who knows, maybe my friend will be back to work on it? Or maybe not. Just a random thought!