Disneyland Hong Kong

Disneyland is absolutely fun!!! I think I had more fun than my girls did. My inner child was more of a child than my girls are hahaha. :P

***
We set off for Disneyland after our late buffet breakfast. it was just after 11am when we arrived at Disneyland. It was scorchingly hot! Our first stop was the Disney shop hahaha. We wanted to hide from the sun. At our first Disney shop, among many of our shop visits in Disneyland (haha :P), we blew over $200 (Singapore dollars). :P Well, it was mainly on souvenirs and gifts for friends hahaha. We realised we would be broke if we stayed any longer in the Disney shop so we made our way down Main Street, USA to Fantasyland where Sleeping Beauty Castle is. My girls and I ran for the Cinderella Carousel where we each rode a horse, lol. :) It was so fun! :) Next, we went for a spin on Mad Hatter Tea Cups. The girls were thrilled. After which, we went on a leisurely cruise in "It's a Small World" and for the air con too, lol. We stopped by Royal Banquet Hall for a light lunch at 2pm and followed by photo taking with Pooh, Minnie, Mickey and Donald at Fantasy Garden and a storybook journey cruise through "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh".

We visited Tarzan's Treehouse in Adventureland. The girls had fun taking the raft to Tarzan's Island and climbing up and down the treehouse. :) We proceeded to Tomorrowland for some action. Actually I dragged everyone to Space Mountain at Tomorrowland lol. :P When we were finished with the ride, we saw a photo of us which was snapped during the ride. I burst into laughter hysterically. The photo showed Marieann (beside me) with a stunned look, Juliane (in the second row) with her jacket's hood pulled over her face, and their father (next to Juliane) with his eyes squeezed shut tightly! I was the only one (next to Marieann) with the most gleeful smile on my face! Hahaha. I know I was laughing the entire ride. It was such a rush! :) I love rides, especially roller coaster rides, nothing like that to feel alive lol. :P However it seemed none of my family were too thrilled about Space Mountain, lol. We went for another milder ride in a UFO before heading back to Sleeping Beauty Castle forecourt for "High School Musical: Live!" performance at 5:30pm. The girls were singing, humming, and swaying along to the HSM songs lol.

After the HSM, we waited around for the Haunted Halloween special - "Glow in the Park" Halloween Parade. Marieann and her father took a rest in one of the alleys of Main Street, USA while Juliane and I went right to the edge of the sidewalk to view the parade. :) We stayed for the finale - "Disney in the Stars" Fireworks at 8pm, Sleeping Beauty Castle. The fireworks were spectacular and stunning! The girls were completely enthralled. When I saw their looks, I understood that they felt the same as I did. It was simply magical. :) We lingered around for a few more photo shots before going back to our hotel, Disneyland Hotel for dinner.





















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We had buffet dinner at Enchanted Garden around 9pm and the girls were excited about the Disney characters that were going round taking photos with the diners. Again, my girls and I took a couple of photos with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto, lol. :) The girls were too excited still to have dinner at the restaurant so we ordered room service for them around 11pm. Despite being tired for being on our feet for more than 10 hours, we were all on sensory over-load, haha. Finally, the girls fell asleep at 12am+ again and I am still trying to update my blog with today's Disneyland adventure (at 2am+), lol. :) It has been a great fun day. :)





***
I think my girls weren't the only ones who enjoyed their Disneyland trip. I DID too!! :) I am still pretty blown away by the whole Disneyland experience, my first Disneyland experience. :) Being at Disneyland totally freed me from the shackles of being an adult - I was dashing for the rides, enjoying the rides, taking photos with Disney characters unbashfully, laughing without care, believing again without a doubt all dreams can come true. For the 10 hours I was at Disneyland, I was a child again, without stress and worries! That is the magic of Disneyland. :)

PS. Have to admit, the many shop visits, amidst the rides and shows, also upped the happy factor, hahaha. :P I will update better photos of the fireworks when I have time to go through them carefully. :)

Hong Kong Holiday

It has been found that holidaying is actually more tiring than relaxing lol. So far, my first day in Hong Kong has been really tiring and we haven't even hit Disneyland yet!

***
We managed to get to the airport by 6:30am because we forgot Marieann's medication and had to go back to get it lol. :P Checked in was really fast and easy. We had a light breakfast while waiting for boarding. There was a telly playing and of all shows, it was airing "Air Crash Investigations"! My kids were asking why air plane crash and if ours would crash. Choy, touchwood, hahaha. :P Our flight, CX710 took off without delay at 8:05am. Around 9am, breakfast was served to the children first before the adults had theirs. The girls really enjoyed their breakfast, so did I lol. I managed to catch the movie "Hancook". :) We landed in Hong Kong at 11:40am. This is the first time my girls and I are in Hong Kong lol.

At the airport when it is still so dark! Lol.

The girls have some fun while waiting to board the plane.

In the plane, in our seats.

The kidie's meal. Wah, a lot of nice stuff.

The adult's meal, quite standard.

We are at the Hong Kong airport.

***
We were finally at our hotel, Disneyland Hotel via the transport provided at 1:30pm. We were all wowed by the hotel. :) I guess it is the Disney magic. I couldn't help but feel the smile bursting forth from somewhere deep within me, from my inner child. :) The hotel and its rooms are of Victorian style, thus the quaint and old world feel to it. :)












After settling some stuff, we left at 3:20pm via the shuttle bus to the public transport interchange where we took the train to Citygate Outlet. However, as we got to the outlet shopping close 4pm, and after a late lunch at KFC, there wasn't much time left to look at the shops closely. But we each managed to buy a top, at least the girls' stuff were from the same shop, Esprit lol. :P I think I would like to come back again if possible.





Hong Kong KFC has chicken ala king, honey biscuit and egg tart - things that we don't have in S'pore KFC

***
We left the outlet shopping around 5:30pm to catch a train to Central to meet the girls' father's friends for dinner. The girls' father almost got us lost because he couldn't remember which exit to exit from. Sigh. What's with men and their denial that they are lost? Lol. Anyway, we met his friends and we had dinner at this famous restaurant called Yung Kee. It is famous for its roast goose. :) Dinner was very, very nice. :) Ok, I think I am beginning to see why they call Hong Kong, the foodie paradise. Shopping, not sure because I haven't even began to do that seriously yet haha. :P
Consulting the map but still couldn't quite figure out how to get to where we wanted to go.

The famous roast goose that is on every table. No kidding!

***
We finally returned to our hotel at 10-ish pm. However, the girls didn't fall asleep until quite late! They were all hyped up. Poor me have to watch them while their father had already fallen asleep. I am just too tired to do anything to them. Just hope that they will expend their energy and fall asleep SOON so that I can catch some sleep too.

PS. They finally fell asleep at 12:50am. But now, I am just too exhausted to fall asleep. :( How, I have major shopping to be done at Disneyland?!

Holiday for Me?

We will be leaving for the airport in 6 hours' time. It has been 3 years since the girls last went overseas and it is also before Marieann enters Primary 1. The girls' father decided to bring them to Disneyland, Hong Kong. Well, Hong Kong is not exactly my choice but I have to go along lor.

We will be in HK for 6 days, from 22 October to 28 October. I will be spending my birthday in Hong Kong on 27 October. Wonder if it is going to feel any different, lol. I will try my best to update my blog everyday from Hong Kong but I anticipate that I will be tired from looking after the girls, lol. It is a holiday for the girls but is it a holiday for me? I hope so. Lol.

Shopping, Food, Sight-seeing

I had lunch with my PI and her colleague, the Korean Asst Professor. The lunch was for us to meet up to talk about what we are going to do in Korea after the conference. Lunch was nice and fun as we had plenty of laughs over what we wanted to do in Korea. I wanted to have bigger boobs hahaha. ONLY JOKING!!! Not enough time lah. LOL. :P

Dr Kim is really nice. She is going to take me to visit one of the palace and its neighbouring shopping district called Insa-Dong because I wanted to see something that is representative of Korea and its history and culture. Insa-Dong has plenty of shops selling antique and traditional Korean handicrafts as well as traditional tea shops. I think I will enjoy immersing myself in the Korean history and culture. Of course, tasting the Korean food is a must! I want my Samgye-tang (ginseng chicken soup) but I am more than happy to skip San Nakji (live baby octopus!!). :P

I think I will enjoy myself even though I only have 2 free days to roam and explore Korea after the conference. :)

Last Minute Rush II

After we had an early lunch at The Soup Spoon at Paragon, I had to run one more errand. I needed to get a travel journal from Muji. So far, I found Muji has the best travel journal. Well, technically, it is not really a travel journal but a F4 sketch book. What I love about the sketch book is that it comes with ribbons so that it can be tied together to prevent stuff from dropping out. :) I have been documenting our travels in such travel journals. I hope for the girls to have a different kind of visual memory other than the photos.

After that, my mother and I went for a hair cut. Juliane accompanied us. We told her it would be boring but she didn't listen lol. Well, she was pretty bored waiting for us but she didn't misbehave. Instead she chose to amuse herself by making faces in the mirror and laughing at herself, and pretending to cut my hair while I was waiting for my hair-dresser.

I guess all the last minute rush over the weekend has taken its toll on me. I took two naps, one in the afternoon after my hair-cut and one after dinner, lol. Feeling pretty refreshed after my naps. Now to review what I have written for my Chapter 4. :P

Last Minute Rush

This is the last weekend where I could still run my errands in preparation for my two overseas trips which is one after the other immediately.

In the morning, we "divide and conquer". The girls' father went to the girls' pediatrician to get some medication (fever, flu, cough, diarrhea) on standby for the Hong Kong trip while I went to the post office to mail a parcel to my nephews in England. Boys, your pressies are in the mail, should get to you boys by next week. Thanks for being patient with 姑妈. :) After that, I went to my family doctor with my girls to get my standby medication for my two trips while the girls' father went to Apple store at Wheelock. We met back at Wheelock and decided to have lunch at Sun with Moon Japanese restaurant. It has been a while since we had food here.

The girls shared a Tori Kamameshi ($17.80): chicken with teriyaki sauce, miso soup, appetiser, pickles, fruit and tea. The girls were more thrilled with the hourglass that came with their set lunch than their lunch, lol. But they managed to finish everything and even had some of my lunch set. Haha.


I had Hokkai Sushi Roll & Sapporo Charsiew Shoyu Ramen ($32.80): sushi with scallop tempura, crab meat and asparagus, salmon sashimi, ramen with soy sauce stock and charsiew, pickles, fruit and tea. The girls shared my ramen. The ramen stock and charsiew weren't too bad but I thought the ramen could have been a little more springy. I really like the sushi, the combination of scallop, crabmeat and asparagus were really good. I gave away my salmon sashimi because I don't take raw fish.


The girls' father had Hotate Butter Yaki & Mini Buta Don ($29.80): grilled scallop with butter, mini grilled pork rice bowl, salmon sashimi, pickles, fruit and coffee. The grilled pork was a little tough but the taste was not bad.


We all shared a Tofu Cheese Cake and a Blue Berried Honeysuckle & Vanilla Mousse ($5.80). I thought the mousse was really unique and delicious. I could taste the honeysuckle and it gave a refreshing slant to the mousse.



After lunch, I went to POSB, Centrepoint to get the bank's swift code as I needed that for the Korean conference while the girls' father went to get a jacket from Robinson's. We also pick up some toiletries for the trip. Once home, I started to pack for the trips - the girls' and my clothing for the Hong Kong trip in one luggage and in a separate luggage, the clothing for my Korean trip. No choice, I have to pack my Korean trip luggage now, otherwise there is no time when I return from the Hong Kong trip.

I got a lot done today. But there is more to be done, lol. Later, I will make a small addition to my conference presentation slides and work on my Chapter 4 Results. :P

Kin Meng's Farewell

Yet another good friend and colleague is leaving.

A farewell lunch was organised at Sakura, Clementi Woods for Kin Meng. There were 10 of us - some are his colleagues working in the same project while some of us are his good friends. It is my second visit to Sakura. I thought the variety of food was not too bad and the price was quite economical too, lol. Amid the eating, we were able to relax and chat with one another. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay and linger longer at the farewell lunch as I had to rush back to the office for a 2pm meeting.

Kin Meng, it has been great fun being your neighbour - back when I was "squatting" in your fishbowl to being an official fishbowl mate in your fishbowl and to now, in the same cluster in the current batcave. Thanks for always keeping me up to date about the latest IT fairs, the latest mobile phones and notebooks, especially when I was looking for a new mobile and a notebook. Really appreciated it. :) Thanks for providing me with laughs, wait, isn't me that is the one providing you guys with laughs?! Hahaha. :P Whatever it is, I think it would be a little quieter with you gone, lol. DO keep in touch. All the best in your new job. :)

OCD

There will be an audit next week at our office.

Last week, I started my own stock-taking of all the equipment in the project. I made a list of what the equipment were, where they were and even of those items missing. My PI was pretty amused with how detailed I was when I was in her office doing the stock-take, lol. A good friend who saw me doing up the list thought I was "OCD" with all the minute details, lol. Well, it's better to know where everything is than to look for them all over the place when the auditors come round. Right?! Lol. :) I managed to update my list today with a few more equipment and also reorganised the order.

Ok, fine, I do realise how "OCD" that looks, lol. But I prefer another way of looking at it, I am just very efficient and detail-oriented. Hahaha. :P

Worries

Worry 1:
I had sessions with my P6 counsellees today. I was most worried for a few of them about their PSLE. I do not want to see anyone staying back to repeat P6. I do hope everyone will do well enough to go to secondary school.

Worry 2:
My PhD statistical analysis is giving me some problems. I don't agree with what I have been told. All the stats stuff that I have read, nothing has revealed it to be the way I was told. I think I will stick to my own way. After all, it is my PhD.

Worry 3:
I am leaving next Wednesday for Hong Kong and there is still so much to be done, especially for my Korean conference which is immediately after the Hong Kong trip. There are documents that I have to get ready and print out for the Korean trip. I only have 12 hours after I land in Singapore from Hong Kong and before I fly to Korea the next day. I don't think that is enough to do anything but sleep, lol. So that means the rush now to get things done. :(

Ok, I better stop worrying and start acting.

Yasmin's Farewell Tea-Break

Today, we had a "surprise" farewell tea-break for Yasmin. Well, it was supposed to be a surprise for her but she found out about it. So much for our covert operation, hahaha. :P

There were plenty of food which Yasmin loves such as cakes from Cedele and ice cream from The Daily Scoop. Lovely, nice, sweet sweets for an equally lovely, nice and SWEET Yasmin. :) There were lots of laughing, chatting and of course, eating. :P After the food, we made Yasmin give a speech, followed by those who worked closely with her, hahaha. :)

I don't work with Yasmin but I got to know her when I was "squatting" in her fishbowl, lol. :) Yasmin is the most unassuming and friendly person I have ever met. She really puts people at ease and she has a great smile. Come to think of it, I have never seen her without her smile. :) She is also a very talented artist. I actually read SingTeach just for her comics (ok, also for the prize in guessing where the errors were), hahaha. Oops, don't be offended hor, Publication team, I do look at the other stuff in SingTeach, after Yasmin's comics. :P Anyway, what I want to say is that it has been really fun knowing you, Yasmin and thanks for your smiles and friendship. Please do keep in touch!

Yasmin among friends

Yasmin with cake

Yasmin giving a speech

Arief giving a speech and some secret thing going on in the library, lol

The three funny guys

PS As Dennis so aptly put it, GET ON FACEBOOK!!! You owe me since I already fulfilled my side of the bargain - interview for Jan 2008 SingTeach! Lol. :)

Ready for ICSENS 2008

After I finished my slides in the early hours of this morning, I sent it to my PI for vetting. In the late morning, she came back with some minor additions to the slides and the notes. I printed out a copy of the slides, and prepared some handouts for the audience. Yes, it looks like I am all set for the ICSENS 2008. :) For the conference at least, haha.

Now comes the hard part - what to do, see, eat and buy in Korea after the conference??!! I have about 2 and 1/2 free days to roam and explore. :) Thank goodness, a Korean Asst Professor whom I know will be at the conference too. She will at least solve a part of my problem by bringing me to a famous palace in Seoul. :) Now I have to figure out what else to see, what to eat and what to buy in Korea. :P Any suggestions, anyone?

Self-motivation

After spending several hours working on my conference slides last night, I am near done, just another 5 to 6 slides to go. I decided to give myself a little break before starting work on the slides again. I had wanted to take Juliane out with me but she wanted to stay home. Oh well, then I can take my time to shop lol. :P

I got myself with a pair of shoes haha. :) Ok, now I am happy, I have the motivation to finish up with the slides tonight. :P

Family from Near

It has been a while since we last met up wth Juliane's godfamily. We decided to have our usual dim sum lunch at East Ocean Teochew Restaurant. It was nice catching up with Anthony, Ivy and Kuan Ling. The topics of interest were about the recession in Singapore, and the crash of stocks and shares, lol. Boy, am I glad that I have never been interested in playing with stocks and shares haha. :P

With the children being older now, there were more interaction between them. :) Malcolm, being the oldest, was teaching the girls this Math game using fingers. It was a rather interesting and challenging game, even the adults lost to Malcolm hahaha.

Happy 4th Birthday, Matthew!

Hi Matthew,

Here's wishing you a very HAPPY, WONDERFUL, and FUN day!!!
Hope you have a Happy 4th Birthday in UK!!!

Lots of love, hugs and kisses,
Ah Ma & Ah Gong
姑妈, 姑丈,
Marieann 姐姐 and Juliane 姐姐,
Singapore

Coincidence

I just realised that I will be missing out on Marieann's Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony on Saturaday, 1 November. :( At that time, I will be in Korea attending a conference on Science Education. I guess the girls' father will have to take lots of photos for me to see.

Now I come to think of it, not just Marieann is receiving her certificate. I will also be receiving a certificate in Korea on 1 November. I will receive a certificate of the fellowship of which I have been granted at the closing ceremony of the conference.

Coincidence huh, both mother and daughter will be receiving certificates on the same day, haha. :)

What Animal Am I?

This Blogthings result is quite spot on, lol. :P

You Are a Pig

You are very intelligent, and you enjoy being around people. You can trust others easily. You have great reasoning skills, and you are quick learner. You are able to adapt to most situations. You tend to be very territorial and picky. You don't like people messing with your stuff. You have keen senses and reflexes. You can defend yourself well and quickly sense danger.

What Animal Are You?

It's Not Easy to be Me - Five For Fighting

I kept hearing this song on AXN Beyond or is it Sci Fi channel, I can't remember, haha. :P The song just sticks in my mind, lol. I think the song was previously from Superman.

Good News

I was notified today by a colleague that I have been awarded the fellowship by the Korean Conference which I will be attending in late October/ early November. Yippee! :) My first award, lol. I hope there will be others to come, haha. :P

Earlier, I also received notification from the conference committee that my abstract has been accepted. :) Now I must work hard on my conference presentation. There is a Best Presentation Award too (for graduate students). Lol. Who knows, maybe third time lucky?! :P

Gag Order

Thinking that I am on my way to recovery, I overdid the chatting last night. My throat was very sore when I woke up. I went to see my doctor in the morning. He gave me an MC for Monday and told me not to talk or shout for at least a day. I have been given a gag order.

Sigh. It was so difficult for me today. How not to shout when the girls are naughty?! I was like miming when trying to get them to stop whatever nonsense they were doing. Of course, they ended up laughing at me more than being scared of me. Just they wait till I can talk again...

Family from Afar

Marieann's Godmama Evelyn, Godsister Pippa and Godpapa Kenneth were in Singapore for a very short trip - 3 days. We met up today, their last day in Singapore before they go back to Dubai.

We met up with them at Mandarin hotel where they were staying. It was extremely nice to see them again! The girls were thrilled to see them and I was happy to see them so soon again, especially after I attended Evelyn and Kenneth's wedding just six months ago in Melbourne, Australia. :) We had light dinner at the business lounge lol. It was a great 3 hours of fun just relaxing, enjoying the great company among family and chatting away. We kept up to date with what's happening with each other's lives and there was no lack of laughter. :) There are more chances of meeting up with Marieann's godfamily as Kenneth's work now brings him to Singapore more frequently, at least once a year. Hopefully, the girls' father might get a chance to go to Dubai for a business trip so that we can tag along and visit Evelyn, Pippa and Kenneth, haha. :P

What's a gathering without photos?! :)

The girls using their tote bag pressies as helmets, haha.

Weekend Food

Somehow whenever the weekend comes around, my mind turns towards food lol. My responses in blue.

What Your Burger Says About You

You are very gluttonous. Even if you're full, you'll still clear your plate. I have been taught never to waste food, must finish all that's on the plate lol. You are emotional. You have a big heart, and you tend to go for comfort foods. Anything rich and creamy, yummy! :) You have trouble making decisions quickly. Everything looks good to you... especially at a restaurant. So many dishes, so little stomach space. I want to try everything! Haha. You are creative, open minded, and friendly. You are interested in all types of food and new dishes. Yes, I am interested in all types of food except spicy ones. :P

What Does Your Burger Say About You?

Flare

I think I shocked a quarter of my office today lol.

I was going to make a phone call when I discovered that my Treo Pro stylus was missing. I was alarmed. I looked frantically everywhere for it - my bag, my table, the floor. But it was nowhere in sight. I was really annoyed with myself that I have lost my stylus so soon and I only have the Treo for less than a month. I hate losing my things. I get really upset and irritated with myself. I told my friends sitting in my cluster that I have lost my stylus. Then one of them said he had it. Can you imagine the relief that I didn't lose it out of my own carelessness?! But that relief turned to anger and my poor friend had to endure a tongue-lashing from me. One of my friends later told me that everyone was so shocked by me, including those in the next cluster and nobody dared to breathe a word! I think after that, people kept away from me for fear of incurring my wrath. :P

Anyway, apparently my friend said he was using my stylus right next to me for 5-10 minutes before returning to his work station with it. But I hadn't notice, maybe because I was so engrossed with doing my work. But whatever it is, I felt bad for flaring up at my friend. I should have controlled my temper better. Sorry, Friend. :(

New York New York

There is New York: The Big Apple, there is New York: CSI and there is New York New York Deli, lol.

Yup, we were back at Centrepoint again to get more clothes for the girls as we found out they have outgrown some of them. After shopping at Robinsons, we went to New York New York deli for lunch.

Marieann ordered a Fish & Chips ($14.90). It came with fries and coleslaw. The fish was fresh and batter was nice and crisp.


The girls' father had Pancakes with Maple Syrup and Eggs ($7.90). We were surprised the serving was quite substantial.


Juliane and I shared a Spaghetti with Seafood in Cream Sauce ($12.90). It was actually tomato sauce but I changed it to cream sauce because I was just craving for some rich food lol. I also had a Fisherman's Clam Chowder ($6.90). No picture as it looked average but there was a lot of clam in it. :)



By the way, today is Children's Day as well as Hari Raya. Happy Children's Day, girls.