OChre, OC

It has been a while since we were last at Orchard Central (OC). I quite like OC because it is not as crowded as the other malls along Orchard Road. We went to OChre on the 11th floor for some Italian food.

The girls shared a thin-crusted cheese and ham pizza ($11). It was delicious and fulfilling enough without making one feel stuffed. I had the Donna: 6 course dinner set ($78). It came with Antipasto: Orange Cured Yellow Fin Tuna with Salsa Verde, Zuppa: Tomato Basil Soup with Mussel and Clams, Risotto: White Asparagus and Ham Risotto, Sorbetto: Pink Grapefruit Granite, Pesce: Baked Barramundi on Sicilian Tomato Sauce, and Dessert: Strawberry Compote and Sorbet with White Chocolate and Pistachio Mousse. The flavours were exquisitely balanced to bring out the best in each course. I have no complaints, except I wish I had more of each course to savour slowly lol. :) The service is not too bad. The management knew that they took longer than usual with our orders and offered us tea and coffee on the house with our dessert as apology. :)

BlackPad?

There is a rumour that BlackBerry may be coming out with a BlackBerry tablet, not unlike the Apple iPad in November 2010. It seems the BlackPad, a likely name, will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options but not a 3G data connection.

If the rumour is true, there may be some interesting times ahead for people who are still deciding if they should go for an iPad. :)

Trilogy? No, It's Quadrilogy

I really enjoy the movie, Resident Evil (2002) and its sequels, RE: Apocalypse (2004) and RE: Extinction (2007). I just love watching horror movies lol. :P Thinking that Resident Evil has probably reached its limits in churning out sequels, I bought the Resident Evil trilogy (blu-ray) box set and brought it back to Singapore from Denver, USA this May. :)

I was most happy with my RE box set until I saw a trailer recently. It is Resident Evil: Afterlife! Yippee, a 4th RE to scare me silly haha. But a major ARGH too. I already bought the RE trilogy box set. :( Being somewhat OC, I will now have to buy the RE quadrilogy box set when it is released as I want to keep it as set.

PS. I am so going to watch Resident Evil: Afterlife when it opens in Singapore on 9 September 2010. :)

The CSI Trilogy Crossover

It was really shiok (a Singaporean slang meaning the highest level of pleasure) watching CSI tonight. :) It was akin to watching one episode lasting 3 hours lol. It was a 3-part crossover with the CSI teams of Las Vegas, Miami and New York working together to solve a shocking mystery. Dr Ray Langston of CSI: Las Vegas was the common thread weaving the 3 parts together. The first part of the CSI crossover happened in Miami, the second part took place in New York and the final part occurred in Las Vegas, the home turf of Dr Ray Langston.

Those of you who are CSI fans and have missed the 3-part CSI crossover tonight, try to catch it this Sunday. You won't be disappointed. :)

The Joe Ledger Trilogy by Jonathan Maberry

At the moment, I am reading a new trilogy by Jonathan Maberry. This is the first time I am reading his books and it is a blast reading Maberry's Joe Ledger novels! :) Both Patient Zero (Book 1) and The Dragon Factory (Book 2) are fast moving, gripping and intense with lots of action and excitement. His books kept me on the edge and made me just want to read on and on and on until the end. :)

Maybe while waiting for the 3rd book for this Joe Ledger trilogy, I will read Maberry's The Pine Deep trilogy. :)

iPhone

By now, this is definitely old news that iPhone 4 will be out in Singapore this coming Friday 30 July 2010. I have no doubt there would be lots of people, even MORE than those lining up for the iPad, lining up to get iPhone 4 this Friday. But I don't feel quite as excited about the iPhone 4 as the iPad. One reason is I was never a fan of the iPhone but i think more importantly, the recent negative reports and reviews about the iPhone 4 has further alienated me from the iPhone. :P

Tampopo

We had an early dinner at Tampopo, Liang Court. For some reason, the girls and my mother wanted to have ramen lol.

The girls had the kid's set which came with ramen and makizushi. My mother had the Deluxe Hokkaido Ramen and with $2 extra, she upgraded the pork slice to black pork slice. I decided to have the Tonkatsu with Prawn layer Set Meal which came with rice, soup and fruit ($22). The prawn layer within went very well with the tender pork. :)

The girls' ramen

My mother's ramen

My tonkatsu

Before going home at 8pm, we had a browse around Liang Court as we haven't been here for ages. Before I know it, I bought a pair of jade earring for myself lol.

What Is In My Future?

You See Optimism in Your Future

Five years from now, your life will be improving rapidly. You will be reaching new and exciting challenges. Your life is fine right now, but you're laying the groundwork to make it better. You are paying your dues. Ten years from now, you'll be living an amazing life - one close to the life you've always dreamed of. By staying hopeful and proactive, you will be able to chart your own course.

What Do You Envision For Your Future?

Touched by an iPad

Today I held an iPad in my hands! Lol. No, not the demo set but one of the first batch of iPads sold across Singapore today. The colours are nice and vivid but the screen is quite reflective. The iPad feels good in my hands but it is really heavy too! Haha :P

Oh, and no, I didn't buy an iPad. The iPad I held in my hands belongs to a good friend who started queuing at 8+am in the morning for it. Haha. :P

"Hello, Ms Wong"

Today I met my former 4P student, Natasha Goh. I taught her way back in 1999! Yup, a long time ago lol. :P I was really surprised when she greeted me. I was happy to see her and to know that she is doing well.

Natasha, thanks for stopping to say "Hi". It is really wonderful to see you again. I wish you all the best in your studies. :) Keep in touch. Oh, thanks for reading my blog too lol. :)

It is always wonderful to have my former students coming up to me. :) It is definitely nice to be remembered. :) To my former students, do feel free to say "Hi" if you see me but do forgive me if it takes me a while to recognise who you are. I am at a disadvantage here because in my memory, you girls are still the 10 year olds whom I taught! :P

Treatment

Heat pack, Voltaren emugel, pain relief plasters, gentle stretching, ...
Pain easing, bit by bit, ...

Stiff Neck

Either I have not been sleeping right or I have recently been carrying too many academic books (on statistics) around to and fro the office (most likely the latter). It started yesterday and seemed to be on the mend last night but it got worse today. :( I think I might have pulled the neck muscle too when I was waking Marieann up for school this morning. Sigh.

iPad Coming Soon!

I just heard from a good friend that iPad will be officially launched in Singapore on Friday 23 July. Haha. I bet this is great news to those who are hankering after an iPad. :) I have a feeling this first batch of iPad will be sold out quickly, very, VERY QUICKLY lol.

150 Years

Within the space of 1 month, we have experienced 150 years! Amazing lol.

Before you decide I have gone nuts, let me explain. You remember the flash floods that we have been experiencing in Singapore? The first severe flash flood was on 16 June, followed by another one on 25 June and the last one just yesterday, on 17 July. You remember what the government said when the first flash flood occurred? It was a one-in-50 years occurrence. Following that logic, now with 3 flash floods within a month, didn't we then just experienced 150 years?!

I hope the government will look seriously into the problem. To put it down as a freak accident occurring once in 50 years is fine for the first flash flood, but with the second and third flash floods, it just seemed too much for them to be freak accidents again.

In The Genes

Juliane followed my mother and I to our hairdresser's as both of us needed a trim. Juliane was very attentive in watching what the hairdresser did with our hair. I was getting a bit worried that Juliane might decide to be creative with a pair of scissors when she goes home lol.

Juliane was enjoying herself and she was only visibly upset at one point of time at the hairdresser's. That's when our hairdresser was telling both my mother and I that we have natural curls. Juliane immediately asked, "Me leh?". "You have straight hair". At once, Juliane pouted and said, "Not fair". Oh well, I guess it has to be in the genes to have natural curls.

Follow the Lead

When you watch a movie, is it because
(a) of the movie genre,
(b) of the raving review it has been getting, or
(c) of the leading actor or actress?

I guess it could be anything, one of the above, or a combination of two or a combination of all three. I usually go for a combination of (a) and (b). However when the movie has Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, it is definitely a (c) for me. :) :) :)

I have watched many movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio such as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Titanic" (I saw it 5 times haha :P), "Romeo+Juliet", "The Man in The Iron Mask", "Gangs of New York", "Catch Me if You Can", "The Beach", "The Aviator", "The Departed", "Blood Diamond", "Body of Lies", "Revolutionary Road" and "Shutter Island". Now his latest movie is "Inception" which is a must watch! Although I started out watching the movies for the lead, Leonardo DiCaprio, I am lucky too in that his movies are often in a genre that I love and his movies often received raving reviews. :)

Undecided? Ask Paul

If you can't decide between two options, you can now ask Paul. Paul who? Paul the Octopus! Ok, not the Paul, the Oracle Octopus who predicted accurately the results of the World Cup matches but Paul the Octopus, an iPhone application. Trust someone to come up with a winning idea like that, no pun intended lol. :P To ask "Paul", the iPhone user has to key in two options, e.g. Cycling or Swimming and a cartoon octopus will choose between them. Sounds fun. :)

Hmm, I wonder if this iPhone Paul can help to choose between two sets of 4D numbers?! Haha :P

New Seasons, New Series

New Seasons:
A couple of TV series returning such as Legend of The Seeker S2, and Lost S6.

New Series:
A couple of new series now showing or showing soon such as Coma, and Stargate Universe.

Need to find time to watch them lol. :P

Learning

I was invited to a MOE Seminar on assessment. Apart from learning about MOE's latest initiative in assessment at the seminar, I also learnt about how former colleagues from schools and from MOE HQ are doing as I caught up with them at the seminar lol. :)

World Cup 2010

For me, the most memorable moment of World Cup 2010 is not how Spain won their first World Cup but how Paul the Oracle Octopus predicted accurately the results of 8 matches! Haha. :P It is amazing. Simply amazing how Paul did it 8 times. I doubt even a psychic can be as accurate as Paul was. It's a pity we probably won't see Paul's amazing predicting ability at the next World Cup as he is fast approaching the average 3-year life span for an octopus. Hopefully he will pass on his ability to another octopus. :P

FDW is Here!

My FDW is finally here. :) Both my mother and I are thankful with her arrival as both of us (mainly my mother) have been doing the household chores. In the next month or two, my mother will train our new FDW, Mora on how to cook Chinese dishes, especially the girls' favourite dishes. :)

PS. Several people have asked me how did the girls' father help with the daily housework by going back to his mother's place. Well, he didn't physically do any of the housework. But his logic is: by going home to his mother's every night for dinner and getting his mother to do his laundry until the new FDW arrives, he has cut down on our housework and therefore, he has helped with the housework even though he hasn't lifted a finger to do the daily housework. Some *ixxxxxx* logic huh.

Beary Fun Party

My girls were thrilled to be invited to Jewel's birthday party held today at Build-A-Bear, Vivocity, 2-4pm. They were thrilled not just because the party was held at Build-A-Bear but also because they get to play with Jewel again. Marieann and Jewel were kindergarten friends and they were lucky to end up in the same primary school. Juliane of course knew Jewel through Marieann. The three girls have gone out together to the Science Centre, the Singapore Zoo and have been to movies as well.

The party started with a Treasure Hunt where the children had to look for certain items in the shop, followed by each child choosing a soft toy animal to make for themselves and lastly, the birthday song and cake. I think the girls enjoyed the soft toy making the best as they get to choose what animal they want to make and the outfit to go with it. Both Marieann and Juliane chose the plain bear as it would have a fancier outfit to go with it. The funny thing is, there were many different outfits which the sisters could pick from, but both of them pick the same outfit! They both reached for the cloth hanger at the same time. No wonder they are sisters haha. Now I have to find a way to differentiate the bears or the sisters might end up fighting over which bear is whose.


The sisters' identical looking bears in the same Witch outfit

All the girls with their soft toy animals


All too soon, the party ended. The girls really enjoyed themselves and they asked if they could go out with Jewel again, maybe during one of the public holiday or during school holidays. I guess I will make arrangements with Jewel's mother soon, maybe an outing during the National Day weekend. :)

"Postcards Needed" Thank You

I just want to say thank you on behalf of my 5 year old nephew in UK to all my friends, my colleagues, my former students as well as my readers who have responded to my recent post, Help!! Postcards Needed!!! either by sending postcards to him via his school or by forwarding my blog post to your friends in hope of getting more postcards.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP! :)

Hopefully, through this postcard project of his, my nephew will learn more about the world and also more importantly, he will learn about the importance of having family and friends. :)

Final Lap

I had my dissertation supervision with my supervisors today. There are still some revisions to be made to strengthen my dissertation. My co-sup believe that I am ready for external examination by early August. Only a month from now...

I don't know why but I am beginning to have self-doubt... Sigh, if only I have my co-supervisor's confidence.

Acceptance Notification

Marieann brought back a form today. It notified us that Juliane has been successfully enrolled at SCGS for Primary 1 in 2011. :) Her P1 orientation will be on 20 November. However, Juliane wasn't too happy about going to SCGS and her reason is "there is so much homework in SCGS, look at Jie Jie doing homework all the time".

I will have to change her mindset before the end of the year.

Money Money Money

Pretty accurate lol.

Your Money Personality is Reasonable

You are not concerned with your finances. If you have money, you spend it... simple as that. No lah, I do save some money too. Even if you have money problems, you try to avoid letting them stress you out. You try to stay on top of your finances. True. You are a careful and reasonable person. You think clearly before you make a decision. Yes, because money don't grow on trees lol. You are the type of person who has trouble throwing things away. You tend to have a bit of clutter in your life. ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I have more receipts in my wallet than money hahaha. :P

What Does Your Wallet Say About You?

Help!! Postcards Needed!!!

My 5 year old nephew in UK needs help with his class project. The class needs to have as many postcards as possible sent to the class from as many different countries as possible. It is a meaningful project as the children will learn about the different countries through these postcards.

If you can spare a little time (and a little money), please help by sending a postcard showing scene(s) of the country you are in to his class. The class address is:

Class 2
Fullwood Primary School
21-24 Burford Close
Barkingside
IG6 1ER
UK

Please help if you can. It is for a good cause: educating our next generation.
Thanks much in advance. :)

A Bowling Good Time

Marieann was invited to her classmate's birthday party 2-5pm at Singapore Island Club. The birthday programme had bowling first, followed by swimming. Interesting. :) I brought Juliane along with me but I told her that she couldn't join in the party as she wasn't invited. Juliane is a good girl and without complaining, she quietly watched her sister and cheered for Marieann during Marieann's turn to bowl.

Marieann in action - her first time bowling

Marieann had lots of fun bowling with her classmates as well as splashing around in the pool with her classmates. I am glad that Marieann gets along well with her classmates. I think the worst nightmare for any parent is if your child is anti-social either by being a recluse or by being a bully.


Juliane playing with the water features next to the kiddie pool

Marieann totally enjoyed herself at the birthday party. She was completely knocked out in the ride home lol. We were supposed to go out for dinner at Tampopo for Ramen but because Marieann was sleeping, we bought Hokkien Fried Mee from Newton Circus as take-away dinner instead. :P

Kitchen Helper

One of our long-term kitchen helper decided to throw in the towel after having been with us for 11 years. It left us without any last words. We are still reeling from its cruel treatment of us. How could it?! Sigh.

I bought our new Panasonic microwave from Best Denki, Takashimaya. Thanks to my father who did the work of scouting out the best deals first. The new microwave has many functions! :) But I doubt we are ever going to use all the functions except for the most basic one - Reheating. Haha :P

I hope our new microwave will stay with us for a long time to come. :)

Showers, Rain, Thunderstorms

July is supposedly one of the hottest months in Singapore. However, there has no sight of that sunny hot weather anywhere. Instead, it has been raining cats and dogs whenever it could, which is almost every day! Sigh. I have no choice but to wear Crocs pumps as my leather shoes would only get wet. Hope the weather will get better.

Call for Paper

Time flies! I received today via email the notification for call of paper for AERA 2011, New Orleans. Goodness, I only just came back from AERA 2010, Denver less than two months ago. It's tiring thinking about what to present and write about for the next conference. :(