Lost it!

I lost my temper today and banged on the table at our estate's emergency council meeting. Some individual council members did some things which did not follow the SOP and without the expressed consent of the whole council. While they had good intentions, they ignored the SOP and showed no care for the governance. The SOP are there for a purpose! Good luck to them if they continue to think that they can do it their way. Sooner or later, what they have done will come back to bite them in the a** or worse, is detrimental to the whole estate. Argh.  

Chives

In the first place, I don't like chives. My mother had to force me to eat it. :S To think that my personality is like the chives, how ironic lol.

You Are Chives

You are a complex person, and you are more versatile than others expect. You do a lot of things well. There are two sides to your personality: one is all about art and color, while the other is all business. You are very resilient. It is hard to keep you down, and you know how to overcome almost any obstacle. You are balanced and understated. You have a compelling depth, but you don't broadcast it to the world.

What Fine Herb Are You?

Walk in the Gardens

I took a walk in the gardens yesterday morning after a delicious pancake breakfast at Food for Thought, Botanic Gardens. 

Red jungle fowl (wild ancestor of the domestic chicken), usually roams in the undergrowth but not today! :)

Happy Hari Raya 2014

Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends! :) 

At noon, my daughters' friends (4 of them) came over for a play date. My mother cooked them glutinous rice for lunch. Although it was a play date, they didn't really play. It was more of lazing around and watching tv lol. :P It is the last bit of fun the older girls (P6) would have before their prelims in mid August. I brought the six girls, including my two daughters to Tanglin Mall for a little retail therapy an hour before they were due to go home lol. Not easy trying to get 6 girls to move from shop to shop haha. :P By 5:30pm, the girls' friends  were pick up by their parents as there is school tomorrow.

Nature's Beauty

Book Reviews

This weekend is reserved for working on my review editor work. I have at least 5 book reviews lined up for my reading and editing if necessary. Hope to get half of the reviews read and edited.  

All of the Stars by Ed Sheeran

Nice song from The Fault in Our Stars movie. 

All of the Stars (uploaded by Ed Sheeran)

Kumquat

As the research assistants have to use their voices intensively during data collection, I have been thinking about what I could get for them as care for their throats, short of getting lozenges. I wanted something more natural and less chemical. My father found it for me. He bought home a bag of kumquats and told me that it is good for the throat. I didn't really believe him but true enough when I took one, it does seem to soothe my throat. I started to research about kumquat. True enough, not just for sore throats, there are heaps of other health benefits too of eating kumquat. :) Research has shown that kumquat has got expectorant as well as antitussive qualities, each of which lead to the cure of a sore throat. :) :)
Click here to read more about the benefits of eating kumquat.

Dengue Alert

I saw this notice at the bus-stop near my home. 

Dengue cases must be on the rise. Apparently, after checking the NEA website, a few areas near my home are under surveillance for dengue such as Farrer Road, Commonwealth, etc. Better keep an eye out in my estate, and in my home.

Intense

There is only one word to describe the data collection currently on-going in my project. 
INTENSE.

Ordinary

We had our first management council meeting for our estate after the AGM last month. After a few years of being an office bearer (treasurer, secretary), I am glad to be just an ordinary council member again. No more signing of cheques, no more vetting of minutes, ... :)

Olive Oil

My mother sometimes uses olive oil in her cooking.
I am curious as to what kind of olive oil I would be lol.

You Are Chili Oil

You are highly adventurous and free-spirited. You expect to like most everyone and everything. You like seeking out new experiences, places, and friends. You are never bland or boring. You get along best with people who have strong personalities. You can be overwhelming to those who lack courage. You are gutsy and impulsive. You are the type most likely to agree to an outrageous idea and hope that it all works out.

What Kind of Olive Oil Are You?

Chili oil?! I don't even take chili haha. :P But my nickname has a "chili" in it. 

Family Gathering

My father and his cousin finally met again after having lost touch with one another for more than 10 years. :) They were the best of friends when they were kids in Malaysia. Both cousins have tried to contact each other but with the moving of homes, phone numbers and addresses inevitably got misplaced and lost.
When they finally made contact again, his cousin and wife and their grandson booked their flights and came to Singapore to meet up with my parents. My parents invited them over for a family dinner gathering together with my other Malaysian cousins who are now living in Singapore.

Black olive rice, braised duck, san bei squid, fried crispy long beans, braised pork with buns

An earlier visit on Wednesday 16 July when the uncle, aunt and their grandson arrived in Singapore

Holiday Destination is... II

Bali! We finally came to a decision. :) Now, where should we stay in Bali - Ubud, Seminyak, Kuta, Nusa Dua...???

Radioactive - Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix (Imagine Dragons Cover)

The combined talents of Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix to make the cover of Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

(uploaded by Lindsey Stirling)

Daft Punk by Pentatonix

I feel so techno listening to this cover song by Pentatonix. :P

(uploaded by PTXofficial)

Somebody That I used to Know by Pentatonix (Gotye cover)

A really nice cover of Somebody that I used to know by Pentatonix (Gotye cover).

(uploaded by PTXofficial)

Click Click Click

Today, I noticed a clicking noise coming from my office Fujitsu notebook. It has been with me for 6 years now since 2009. I hope the clicking noise is not a symptom of something serious to come. Spooked by the clicking noise, I started backing up all my data. A colleague thought it may be the fan making the clicking noise as it came from the left side of the notebook. I really hope so. 
Any "new" replacement notebook from my workplace are recycled notebooks from projects that have been closed and they are likely to be at least 3-5 years old too. :( Not any newer or better. Sigh.

Fever II

Now it is Marieann's turn to be sick. :( She probably caught the viral fever from her sister, Juliane. She was running a fever as high as 38+ last night and today. She has been given a day of medical leave for Monday and also exemption from Physical Education for the whole week. Hope she gets well soon. Prelims coming :(

Butterfly & Moth

Do you know the difference between a butterfly and a moth? The easiest difference to spot is when they are at rest - a butterfly holds its wings vertically when at rest and a moth holds its wings flat against its body when at rest. There are other differences such as their colour (butterfly usually colourful and moth usually dull) and their antennae.
By the way, that came about because of the blogthings quiz I took lol.

You Are Pieris Celestina

You are very perceptive and observant. You rely on your own senses to determine what's going on. You integrate information well, and you have a strong intuition that is very rare. Your inner voice is often right. My sixth sense helps me often in my counselling and in other aspects of life. I often regret it when I chose to ignore my inner voice. :( You value harmony and will do what you can to make sure everyone gets along. And you are always in favor of personal growth. You focus on dreams and believe in possibilities. You refuse to accept limitations and will do what you can to eliminate them.

What Kind of Butterfly Are You?

Fever

Juliane's fever came back. Decided to keep her at home to rest. Strange to see Marieann leave for school alone without her sister in the morning.

Recharged

After a month of break, I am recharged and really to get back into counselling. The school holidays are timely for me to take stock of my cases as well as for me to recharge emotionally. Some cases can be draining on the emotions. But whatever it is, I am always happy to see my counsellees. :)

Yoda

Yoda is not just the greatest Jedi Master of the Force, personally I think he is also the greatest teacher! Many of his wisdom is applicable to teaching, learning and life. :)

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
You must unlearn what you have learned. 
Always pass on what you have learned. 
Train yourself to let of everything you fear to lose.
Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.  
In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way. 
Luke: I don't believe it. Yoda: That is why you fail. 
If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are ... a different game you should play. 

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. 
Named must your fear be before banish it you can. 
When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.
To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night.

Guess where Yoda is :)

Youth Day Hol

It's Youth Day school holiday today. However, Juliane couldn't enjoy it as she was down with high fever of 39C since yesterday. It was an acute viral fever and flu and she has been given a day of medical leave for tomorrow.

Holiday Destination is...

Can't decide! Marieann said that she would like to go for a short holiday after her PSLE. London, Los Angeles, Taipei, Melbourne, Perth, Seoul, Jeju, Bali have all been mentioned...

"Peranakan" Tiles

The girls brought back their pottery masterpieces from school yesterday. I particularly like the "peranakan" tiles that they made, their own take of peranakan tiles. :)

Marieann's "peranakan" tile

Juliane's "peranakan" tile

Australian Food

Thought I would take this blogthing quiz "What Australian Food are You?" and see what I get. :) Meat pie?! I don't even take all that much meat pie when I was in Australia lol.There was a nasty rumour about meat pies during my time as a uni student in Australia so I kept away from it haha.

You Are a Meat Pie

You are a down to earth and very traditionally minded person. You pride yourself on being practical. You are a good person, and you always act as ethically as possible. You are not overly sweet, and you let your actions speak for themselves. You like to help out as much as you can, and you are concerned about world causes. You believe in making things better. You may seem a bit flaky to those who don't know you well, but you are true and loyal deep down.

What Australian Food Are You?

Observation & Hands-On

Today is the start of our project's intensive data collection period. We have to collect data from 49 schools within 10-12 weeks. :S With permission from the school, I led my 7 part-time and full-time RAs to the school to conduct data collection. I felt like a mother hen with all her chicks lol. :P I always believe that seeing and doing helps one to learn better than just listening. Indeed the part-timers felt the observation and hands-on were useful for them. :)

"Quiet" World CUp

I suddenly realised that World Cup has been happening for a while now, at least half way through now since it started on 12 June 2014. I admit that I am not a sports person at all so I don't keep up with the World Cup 2014 news. :P But I thought I would at least hear some excitement/ shouts/ yells in my estate that will let me know that World Cup is still on-going. Nope, not a sound. Maybe it happened very early in the morning when I was fast asleep. :P

All Set!

Today I conducted a training/ briefing for the 8 part-time research assistants that our project hired for our intensive data collection. It is a pretty big group. :) This is a nice bunch of ladies and everyone was focused and attentive. We are all set for our data collection which will commences this Thursday and Friday! :)