So Near Yet SO FAR!!

My parcel arrived ahead of its delivery schedule of 2 September! :) However, my new maid refused to open the door for the DHL delivery man saying that no one was home. Argh! :(

It was so near yet so far!! I almost had my hands on it and its accessories. Now I have to wait for another day. DHL will make the delivery again tomorrow night.

Tracking

My parcel is on its way. Soon, soon, I will get it. :) I can't wait. :)

Mad Scramble

Last minute, Marieann decided she wanted to get presents for her teachers. She had initially wanted to make presents for them. She started on the second one when she decided it was too much work. Sigh.

Thank goodness, we managed to buy all the presents at the first place we went to. Phew.

Ippudo Tao

For the second weekend in a row, we were back at Mohamed Sultan area for dinner. :P
We decided to try Ippudo Tao tonight. It was crowded when we arrived at 8pm and had to wait for about 25 minutes before we got a table. But for the ramen, it was worth the wait. :)

We decided to get a couple of dishes to share. We ordered Ippudo Shiro Tamago ($15): tonkotsu soup with chasu, cabbage, black fungus, spring onion and egg; Ippudo Shiro Chasu ($16): same as above and with simmered pork belly instead of egg; Tao Matsuri Meshi ($5): rice with chasu, lettuce, shredded egg omelette and mayo; and Buta Kakuni Onsen Tamago ($12): pork cubes simmered in Japanese soy sauce with hot spring egg. The ramen was great and the soup was really delicious. Flavourful yet light. :)

Free Day?

I just realised next Wednesday is Teacher's Day. That means I will have no counselling. Yippee, a day to do my things! :) Which means working on the revision of my dissertation. Sigh. :(

YOG

Today is the official closing of the YOG. It has been an eventful 12 days. There was laughter, there were tears, there was happiness, there was disappointment. Each and every athlete is a winner, regardless if he/ she won a medal or not, as they have all gained at this inaugural YOG 2010 in Singapore. They have gained experience, they have learnt of a new culture, they have gained friendship.

My Brother

My brother is a person of few words. However we have learnt over the years, when he speaks, we better listen up. I listened when he mentioned that Stargate Universe is worth watching, a bit like Star Trek: Voyager but darker and better.

My brother is right. After Monday's episode, I can't wait for more SGU. :)

Disturbance

My peace, my quiet is no more.
My sanctuary has been disturbed.
I will not go down without a fight.

Relaxation is Home Sweet Home

Relaxation Feels Like Home to You

You believe that your home should be your sanctuary. Life is stressful enough in the outside world. You take it easy when you're at home. It's the place where you feel like you can truly be yourself. If I can't relax at home, then where?! You are the type of person who has deep hobbies and interests. You treasure your alone time. You could spend all day at home if you had to. You always can find plenty to do around the house. Yes, I am most protective of my alone time which is usually late at night. Absolutely, I could spend all day at home reading or sleeping lol. :)

What Feels Like Home to You?

Changing Habits

I don't know if it is because of age that one changes his/her habit. I discovered recently that I have avoided going to crowded places, such as shopping malls if possible. Somehow the crowds get to me, and I feel stifled. If I do go to shopping malls, it is for a specific purpose, either for a meal or to buy a particular thing and after that I would want to leave ASAP. I just don't want to linger around...

Maybe with age, habits do change...

The Tavern

I have seen The Tavern whenever we travelled along River Valley Road. Tonight we finally got the chance to try its Swiss and Continental cuisine in a relaxed Swiss Chalet-inspired atmosphere. :)

We started off with soup - Mushroom ($12) for the girls, Lobster Bisque ($13) for me and French Onion ($12) for the girls' father. The soups whetted up our appetite for the main courses. (Sorry, no photos for the soup) The girls shared a Spaghetti with Half Lobster ($38) which came in cream sauce. The spaghetti was al dente and tasted fantastic with the cream sauce. It was rich but tasty. :P
I had the U.S.Kurobuta Pork Chop ($38) which came with mashed potato and vegetables. The pork chop was succulent, juicy and tender. It went well with the apple sauce. To me, the fatty bits were the best part haha! :P
The girls' father had a Boiled Pork Knuckles ($27) which was quite good, different from the usual crispy ones.





We didn't have any dessert as we ran out of stomach space lol. Maybe next time. :)

20,000

I have gotten 20,000 views on my blog! I am amazed that my blog would actually be read by other people, other than my family and friends. Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog and took the time to read about my thoughts and my feelings.

A big THANK YOU to all (my family, my friends, my ex-students, my followers, my readers). Love you all. :) Keep coming back to read my blog, ok? Haha. :P

YOG: Singapore...To Date

YOG volunteers = Sub-standard food + Food poisoning
YOG athletes = Food galore
2 Bronzes in Taekwondo
1 Silver in Swimming
Fallen roof repaired
1 Bronze in Archery

Good Luck

The Primary 6 students will be having PSLE Oral on Thursday 19 August and Friday 20 August. My P6 counsellees are really nervous about their PSLE Oral. The most I could do for them was to tell them to remember the tips their teachers have given them, to have a good night's rest the night before, and to keep their cool.

Good Luck for your PSLE Oral.

Live Life Splendidly

I accidentally saw this particular segment from China's Got Talent. A 23-year old young man was playing the piano with his feet because he lost his arms in a freak accident when he was 10 years old.

I am full of respect for him. Although handicapped in body, he is definitely NOT handicapped in mind. In fact, he is living life to its fullest than most able-bodied persons. I love his words of wisdom for himself which I personally feel can apply to all of us, "Either die quickly or live life splendidly!".

Hideaway

Do you have a hideaway where you can retreat to
for solitude,

for cognitive work,

for quiet reflection?

Your hideaway is

Starbucks,

the library,

McDonald's,

your study,

Coffee Bean,

your bedroom?

I have found a new hideaway - a cafe in a certain place of education.

...

Peacefulness...

Quietness...

vs

Emptiness...

Nothingness...

Youth Olympic Games (YOG)

Today's the official opening of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore.

"Citius, Altius, Fortius"

May each and every athlete gives his/ her best at the games.

Only One

There were three in 2009. In 2010, there is only one Friday the 13th. Going back the last ten years, it turns out there is one Friday the 13th every year and three is the largest possible number of Friday the 13th in a year.

1 in 2010
3 in 2009
1 in 2008
2 in 2007
2 in 2006
1 in 2005
2 in 2004
1 in 2003
2 in 2002
2 in 2001

According to a table in Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy, 13th is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than any other day of the week. Unlucky or lucky? It is only Mathematics lol. :P

The Climb by Miley Cyrus

I found The Climb by Miley Cyrus a very nice song, meaningful and inspirational.



I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

The Climb

It's a slow and lonely climb working on my dissertation. There were times when I felt like giving up. But I pressed on for myself and also for my close friends. They have been most encouraging and I can't let them down. Somehow the climb is not so lonely now with my friends accompanying me.

AMOS

Famous Amos - sumptuous
Tori Amos - an American singer-songwriter
Prophet Amos - a prophet in the Hebrew Bible
AMOS - Israeli communications satellite
AMOS Structural Equation Modelling software - MAJOR NIGHTMARE!!

Happy 45th Birthday

Happy 45th National Day, Singapore.

We celebrated National Day in our own way with some R & R lol.

Movie: The Last Airbender (3D)
I brought the girls to watch the movie, The Last Airbender (3D) as we have been following the animated series on tv. :) The movie tried to follow the animated series but I think it falls short as there were gaps and the movie felt jerky. :( But I guess if you haven't seen the animated series, the movie is entertaining. If you are a follower of the animated series, then you might be a tad disappointed. But the fighting scenes are quite good lol. :)

The girls certainly didn't feel as disappointed about the movie as I did. They really enjoyed watching it. During the big fighting scene towards the end of the movie, I thought the 3D effect was really good as I could almost feel as if Aang, the avatar was water-bending right next to me. Hang on, it's Juliane! Goodness, I have no idea how long she has been doing that. When I turned my head, she was moving her hands in the air in unison with Aang's water bending movements. She's lucky she didn't get scolded by the patrons sitting behind her. Sigh. Maybe should let her take up taiji, which is what the water-bending movements borrowed from, since she wants to "water bend" so much lol. She even asked to be renamed as Kitara! Sigh.

Food: The Pump Room
Since we were at Great World City for the movie, we went to The Pump Room for some Aussie chow after the movie lol.
Juliane had Grilled Chicken Breast with Mashed Potato and Vegetables ($10) and Marieann had Mini Chicken Burger with Fries ($10). I had a Down Under Crocodile Pie with oriental mushroom and green tomato chutney ($32). The crocodile meat which was braised in white wine, chicken stock and vegetables tasted just like chicken, just a bit tougher. The girls refused to try it haha. For dessert, we had Steamed Cream Cheese, Passion Fruit Custard Tart with Coconut Crumble ($10) and Soft-centred Pavlova with Berry and Blood Orange Curd ($10). The girls had white chocolate ice cream with raspberry which was on the house. The management could not allow a request which we totally understood. But they decided to do something for the girls, thus the ice cream on the house. Thumbs up for their attention to details and their great service!

"Spring" Cleaning

Taking advantage of the long National Day weekend, I reorganised the girls' boxes. The boxes store their books, toys and more books. The girls were supposed to help me so that they could also take the responsibility in deciding what to keep, what to throw out, and what to donate (if in good condition). But when they saw the various boxes occupying half the living room floor, they bailed out immediately on me! One cited having to do homework and the other cited that she was helping to pack the bedroom. Sigh.

I started sorting and reorganising from 12+pm while watching tv. By the time I am done, it was 9+pm and I was walking around like the Hunchback of Singapore. :P "Spring" cleaning is no joke, it is back-breaking work. :(

Shiraz: Exotic Persian Cuisine

My palate has been itching to try something different. I did a search online and decided to go for Shiraz, Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay was pretty crowded when we arrived just before 7.45pm. We opted to sit indoors at Shiraz which was half crowded.

The waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable. He recommended us several dishes, according to our specification, to try. The girls shared a Soup-E-Joh ($9): barley soup with shredded chicken, celery and fresh vegetables with a touch of pure cream and a Zereshk Polo with Chicken ($32): tender juicy saffron chicken with buttered basmati rice mixed with barberries and fresh pistachio. The soup was nice and not too salty. The girls' main course was delicious! The chicken was very tender and the spices brought out the rich flavour. The chicken went really well with the rice which had barberries and pomegranate seeds. :)



I had the Lari Chicken Kebab ($32): charbroiled tender boneless chicken marinated in yoghurt and herbs with saffron flavoured basmati rice and salad. The chicken was very tender and juicy. The flavours were well-balanced. :)


The girls' father had Caspian Kebab ($35): jumbo prawns and fish fillet seasoned with chef's secret recipe with flavoured basmati rice and salad. The prawns and fish were juicy and not over-cooked. :)


For dessert, I shared with the girls, a single scoop of Persian ice cream flavoured with saffron ($4.50) whereas the girls' father had Baghlava ($10): a rich and sweet pastry filled with chopped nuts and pistachios flavoured with honey. I much preferred my dessert as it was not very sweet.



I really enjoyed the exotic taste of Persian food and was surprised that the spices used brought out the richness in Persian food without being too cloying and overpowering. At Shiraz, there was also entertainment when we were having our dinner. There was belly dancing, much to the delight of the girls. :)

Yippee, NO School!

That's what my girls said when they thought of today. :)

Singapore schools celebrated Singapore's 45th National Day in advance today. Schools were half day but no lessons held, just National Day performance. According to my parents, Marieann was most happy when she was home by 10.30am. Juliane came home the usual time at 12+pm since she is still in preschool. But she had no lesson too, just watched performances and sang Singapore songs lol.

I wished I had half day too. :P

Kindle 3

Amazon has unveiled its latest ebook reader, Kindle 3!

Kindle 3 is now thinner, lighter, faster and better than the existing Kindles. It is only 1/3 inch thick and weighs only 8.5 ounces. It can hold up to 3500 books and documents, which is double the storage capacity of the Kindle 2. There is now built-in Wi-Fi as well as 3G connectivity. Kindle 3's battery life has also doubled, a single charge can now last for a month, with Wi-Fi turned off. It now has a 50% better contrast on its electronic-ink display and a 20% faster as well as quieter page turns. It also has an easier to grip chassis and newly designed buttons and button layout as compared to Kindle 2. Kindle 3 now comes in a new graphite colour option too, other than white.



Kindle 3 looks really cool, huh. :) But for now, I will stick with my Kindle 2 as I have no complaints about it. Besides, my Kindle 2 is more than just an ebook reader to me, it is also a symbol of friendship (remember my friends got it for me? Lol). :)

Bookstores II

It has been a while since I last bought books from a bookstore. I realised it has been so since I got my Kindle 2. :P Nonetheless I still love browsing at bookstores, just to see what are the latest titles, even if I do not buy as many books as I used to. :) Ok, maybe I will still buy academic books. Always nice to see acad books stack up on the book shelf haha :P

Council Meeting

I was elected into the management council of my estate at the AGM in June. This evening, I attended my first council meeting. It is quite an experience. :)

Bookstore

This Blogthing quiz is accurate! :)

You Are Dramatic

You are easily moved. You are very curious about the world around you and what's going on. True. You have a good memory for facts. You always are an ace at trivia. A good friend said I have elephant memory and there's too much junk in my head haha. The world excites you. There are so many places you want to go and things you want to learn. Absolutely true! :) You have a few key interests that are borderline obsessions. You can't stop thinking about them! Hahaha. Been found out. :P

The Bookstore Test

Youth Olympic Games (YOG)

It is August now. Come 14 August, Singapore will host the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) until 26 August. My girls have been asking me to bring them to watch YOG and they also wanted to buy the mascot plush toys of Lyo and Merly. I did the next best thing other than bringing them to the games and to buy them the toys.

I went to the Youth Olympic Village which is situated at the National Institute of Education to take photos of the Lyo and Merly posters haha. I know cheapskate. :P