Brotzeit Revisited

We went to Brotzeit, Vivo City at Marieann's request.

The girls shared a Kartoffelsalat (German Potato Salad, $5.80) and a Hendlbrust (Mini chicken breast fillets, $10.50). (Pictures of dishes taken and published in previous posts aobut visits to Brotzeit.)
The girls' father had a Jagerschnitzel ($23): Grilled escalope of pork with chantarelle and cepes sauce with mashed Potato. The pork was too dry and tough but the sauce was creamy and delicious.


I had a Bauern Cordon ($23): Escalope of pork stuffed with bacon, onions, mushrooms, parsley and melted cheese which came with Roasted Potato. Heaven! :) The pork with its stuffings went very well together, and surprisingly it was neither too oily nor too rich.


After lunch, we went to Haagen Dazs for ice cream. :)

New Blu-Ray Disc Player

My friends were telling me my DVD player couldn't have chosen a better time to pass on lol. The Comex 2009 is now on at Suntec.

I have got my new blu-ray disc (BD) player!! :) :) It's a Philips BDP3000. However, I didn't get it at Comex 2009. Instead I got it at Best Denki , Plaza Singapura for $299 which is the exact same price which is offered at Comex and there are no freebies included with it at Comex either. So I am not losing out by getting it at Best Denki and I don't have to squeeze with the crowd at Comex 2009 lol. :)

After getting my BD player, Juliane and I were dropped off at Far East Plaza because Juliane wanted to have lunch at Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant. We were lucky to get a table for two as it was usually packed lol. Being in a good mood as I have gotten my BD player, we went to Food Republic, Wisma Atria for dessert. I had Soyabean Milk with Rice Dumpling and Juliane had Ice Jelly with Cocktail fruits.

When we got home after 3:30pm, I proceeded to set up my BD player. It was very easy. I am my father's daughter lol. I also tidied up all the wires and cables behind the TV console. :) Now I am watching Kungfu Panda with Juliane on my BD player. :)

Hmm, something is not quite right. Ah I know. I am missing blu-ray movies hahaha. Time to go get some. :)

Handy with Tools

Remember I said my Ponyo dvd was stuck in my dead dvd player? It is not anymore. :) I managed to get it out by dismantling the dvd player haha. Juliane was watching me with great interest when I was dismantling the player. She asked how come I know what to do. I told her that her maternal grandfather taught me how to be handy with tools. I am glad for the times my father has always included my brother and I whenever he repairs stuff around the house.

What happened to the dvd player? Don't worry, it is not in pieces. I reassembled it after retrieving my dvd lol. :)

Kaput

I was watching Ponyo on The Cliff with Juliane when suddenly a loud "bang" occurred. The TV screen immediately went dark and the lights on the DVD player went off as well. There was a slight plastic burning smell.

Oh XXXX! Did something just got blown up??!! Both Juliane and I looked at each other. I quickly switched off the power plugs, just in case. I checked the electrical appliances one by one. Ok, the LCD TV is still working, the cable box is still working,.. Oh the DVD player had gone kaput and my Ponyo DVD is stuck in there!! Argh.

Looks like my DVD player is gone. I guess it is time to get a new one... hmm maybe I should get a blu ray player lol. See how it goes.

Reading Day

It's the school holidays so I don't have counselling today. I spent the day just reading, actually re-reading my novels lol. I actually have a stack of novels on my bedside table, a stack of 8-10 novels by some of my favourite authors: Matthew O'Reilly, JK Rowling, Preston and Child, and Laurell Hamilton. Before I sleep, I would pick one of the novels and read, unless of course I happen to be reading a new novel. :)

I love reading. Especially novels that I have really enjoyed, I don't mind reading them again. I will never get bored of them.

The Demon Child Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon

I started reading The Demon Child Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon. Just done with the second book, Treason Keep. The first book is Medalon and now I am waiting for the last book, Harshini. The Demon Child storyline reminds me of David Eddings' The Elenium Trilogy and The Tamuli Trilogy which I totally enjoyed and I have not managed to find another fantasy series as good until now. :)

The Demon Child Trilogy has fantasy, action, adventure, magic, politics and somehow something about old-fashion battles fought with armour and swords has a certain charm for me lol. Think 300. Ok fine, they have no armour hahaha. :P The Demon Child Trilogy is definitely engaging and you won't want to put the books down until you have reach the last page. :)

On Medical Leave

I went to the doctor this morning because of my "merlion" act last night. The throwing up has ceased and the headache had subsided to a dull throbbing.

Well, it was food poisoning. :( I was given a day of medical leave. It has been a while since I was last on medical leave. It was actually kind of nice to laze around, read, sleep and do nothing but after I sent out a couple of work emails lol. Still can't really just forget about work lol. :P

The "Merlion"

An hour after dinner, I was doing the "Merlion". Somehow dinner didn't agree with me. :( From 8pm till 1am, I had thrown up no less than 6 times. I just couldn't keep food down and my oesophagus hurt so much from all the throwing up. Besides throwing up, I was also having a massive pounding headache. The headache got worse every time I threw up. :( I really thought I might burst a blood vessel or something. I hate being sick! :( :(

I will see the doctor first thing tomorrow morning. :(

Flat Warming cum SCGS Gathering

Karen invited us over to her new flat for a gathering. By request, she prepared her delicious mee siam and chicken wings. I think most of us look forward to the mee siam and chicken wings more than anything hahaha. :P Sorry, Karen.

I brought Marieann and Juliane with me and we arrived at 4pm. Hsiao arrived next without her kids and Chung arrived at 4pm+, a real surprise to us! Lol. Steph came with her kids after their swimming lessons at 5pm+. This time round, the husbands were absent from the gathering due to prior engagements. We chatted and before long, we were eating and chatting away over mee siam, chicken wings and my potato salad. After dinner, we had ice cream brought by Chung and Karen, and cake brought by Steph. We were all pretty stuffed by the end of the night. Oh Steph's husband and the girls' father joined us at 6pm+ since they were done with their previous appointments. The kids had lots of fun playing together. Just before we went home, the kids were playing "Simon Says". It was pretty fun watching them play haha. :)

1000th Post

I just realised that a few days ago, 8 days ago to be exact, I wrote my 1000th blog post! Hahaha. Never realised that I could write that much or I could maintain a blog for that long. I am amazed at myself lol. :P I shall do my best to write interesting posts for my blog if I can. :)

What's Next?

With my dissertation completed and awaiting comments from my supervisors, I suddenly find I have lots of time on my hand. I guess it is time to write those papers which I promised to do so with my former PI, maybe try my hand at writing a paper on my own, and there is a book chapter in the pipeline too. :)

Looks like I may not have all that much free time hahaha, not that I mind. :)

I've Done It!

I have done it! Finally!

I have finished my dissertation. I submitted my first draft of my entire PhD dissertation to my supervisors yesterday. Yup, on Teacher's Day, not exactly a very pleasant Teacher's Day present, 248 pages for them to read lol. :P

It is only my first draft so I know there will be revisions to be made. But it is a HUGE relief knowing that I have at least completed it. :)

Happy Teacher's Day

Happy Teacher's Day to all. :)

I met a former student of mine in the library today. We both turned back to look after we passed each other. It is kind of scary to have your former P4 student now at university. It shows how old I am! Lol. :P It was definitely heart-warming that she remembered me for the Children's Day gift I made for her class. For one Children's Day, I had painted little tiles for each and everyone of them in my form class as Children's Day gift. It is nice to be remembered. :)

Almost There!

For the past few days, I have been writing away. I wrote close to four thousand words! :P I have to give credit to my Muse who has been working hard too, giving me the inspiration to write. Thanks. :)

Know what? Another hour or so, I will be done with my dissertation. :)

BAD Service

This is the first time ever that I am writing about extremely bad service here on my blog.
We were at Swensen's, United Square for lunch. When we arrived, the restaurant was not even half filled but it took a while to get service. Although the girls ordered the same dish, one order came much later than the other and it was only after I told them about it. And it took me a while to get their attention again to tell them about it.

The vegetables that came with my food were raw and the mashed potato was absolutely tasteless! It was obviously boiled and then mashed up. They didn't even bother to add a bit salt or butter to it. I spoke to the manager about the food and you could tell he wasn't even listening as his eyes were looking all over the place except at me. I thought that is basic manners to have eye contact with whoever is talking to you. And NOT a word of apology! Next, it took almost 20 minutes just to get our bill settled and the girls' father blew his top and told the manager off.

We will never go back to that Swensen's ever again! I have never had such bad service before in my life. During the time we were there, I saw 3 families left after a while. Obviously I wasn't the only one who thought they were giving bad service.

Taking a Break

I had initially wanted to press on with my writing since I was on a roll. However, I thought taking a break from my writing might be good too. Juliane and I dropped by POSB, Ngee Ann City first before going to look up my friend who was selling drinks to raise funds for the President's Challenge. Juliane supported my friend by buying drinks from him. After doing her good deed, we went to Xin Wang HK Cafe, Ion for a simple lunch.

We went home around 2pm. I couldn't wait to get home. I guess my mind was still on my writing haha.

Writing

Back to writing seriously again. Today I wrote almost 1000 words which is quite good. I have found my Muse who is giving me the inspiration to write. Thanks, my Muse. :) I will be able to finish my last chapter by next Monday.

The end is near. :)

Back-up

I am a collaborator for one of the projects at my research centre and I am also helping to oversee it. It has been pretty fun as well as challenging for me - liaising with MOE, emailing to schools, making sure things are going ok with schools and the RAs. The data collection is pretty intense for this project as the 6 RAs have to go out to schools practically everyday until end of Term 4. Besides being a collaborator, I am also the back-up RA for the project. :) Just in case, any of the RAs is indisposed (touchwood haha), I can go in their place to their school. But I can only be at one school at any one time, unless I can clone myself 5 times lol. :P

Heineken Funny Commercials

I am sure we have all seen the Heineken walk in closet commercial (see below). :D I absolutely love the guys' reactions! :) Love the genius who came up with the idea of the commercial, so simple yet so powerful. :)



Now, what you probably don't know is that there is a 2nd Heinken commercial with a related theme. I shall not say too much and let you see for yourself. I was laughing so much and tearing away when I saw it! Hahahaha :D Go ahead, have a good laugh!

How are you?

Goodness, this blogthing quiz is good lol. :) "How are you?" is how I greet people, especially my counsellees. See my responses in orange.

You Are "How Are You?"

When you ask someone what's going on in her life, you truly want to know. You are very genuine. You are a compassionate and empathetic person. You want the best for everyone. It just screams "counsellor", doesn't it? Lol. Your life is an open book, and you appreciate it when other people are open with you. Once someone is your friend, she'll be a friend for life. You value friendship that much. Yes, a good friend has commented that I am like an open book. :P Yes, I definitely prefer that people are open with me. Yes, friendship is important to me. :)

What Greeting Are You?

For a Laugh

Marieann's Spaghetti

Marieann's class visited Health Promotion Board's Health Zone last week and their teacher gave them an assignment to complete this weekend. The students had to prepare a healthy lunch with their parent(s).

Marieann decided that she wanted to cook spaghetti for lunch today. We bought the ingredients last night - fresh mushroom, corn, minced pork, tomato sauce and spaghetti. We started preparing lunch at 12pm. Under my strict supervision, Marieann sliced the mushrooms, put the spaghetti into boiling water, stirred fried the minced pork together with the sliced mushroom and corn before simmering the mixture in tomato sauce. The cooking process was captured through photos which Marieann had to submit as part of her assignment, together with her reflection of her lunch preparation experience.





Marieann totally enjoyed cooking her own spaghetti lunch. I kept my involvement to a minimal so to let Marieann experience the cooking. Juliane was pretty vexed that she wasn't involved in the cooking. I told her she could cook when she is older lol. :P Marieann totally enjoyed eating her spaghetti too. She had a 2nd helping! Haha.

Ionic Ion

For the second week in a row, Juliane and I are back at Ion lol. Again, we didn't browse around Ion but headed straight for The Soup Spoon. :P This time, it was Juliane who had a craving for soup, especially for clam chowder and her favourite waldorf salad.

After our early lunch, we went over to Isetan Wisma to get some stuff. However, we missed the turning to the Orchard MRT which would lead us to Wisma and we ended up lost haha. We finally managed to backtrack and found our way to Wisma. :)

PS I remain uninterested in shopping at Ion. Strange huh.

Movie Watching

Another personality quiz based on movie/ film. My responses in blue.

You Should Watch a Horror Movie

You are a bit of a thrill seeker. You love to get your heart thumping, even if it's just from watching a movie. Oh yes. Heart thumping is my way of knowing I am still alive lol. If a movie can scare you or creep you out, then it's done it's job. You love the rush of being frightened. Most definitely. :) For you, no idea is off topic or off limits. In fact, the darkness of others fascinates you. Maybe that's why I am a psychologist?! Lol. You like to see the chilling side of people, even if it leaves you scared for days. Never say no to learning more about people.

What Kind of Movie Should You Watch Tonight?

District 9

I had some time off today and decided to watch a movie. Settled on District 9. It looked interesting enough from the advert and it is only showing in a few cinemas which meant I could also avoid the crowd.

District 9 turns out to be one of the best movies I have seen so far. It is a thought-provoking movie. It makes you ponder long after the movie has finished screening. District 9 is a sci-fi movie filmed as a mock documentary by first-time filmmaker, Neill Blomkamp and with first-time actor, Sharlto Copley casted as the lead role, a goofy government officer. It is almost like Cloverfield, another sci-fi movie as seen from a videocam but District 9 is tons better!! As the movie advances, it makes you ponder long and deep about issues such as rights as a group, rights as an individual, segregation, supremacy, what is humanity. There is also the exploration of emotions. Before you dismiss it as one of those boring thinking movies, there is action too and pretty cool. :) District 9 is definitely engaging both in terms of the drama as well as the action. Oh, but if you can't stand blood and gore, District 9 might not be so suitable for you. If you enjoyed movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, you will definitely find District 9 your cup of tea.

District 9 is about a race of aliens who became stranded on Earth, and most refreshingly, in South Africa. The humans designated a district (thus, the name of the movie, District 9) for the aliens to live in but they are kept segregated from the humans. A series of events followed when the aliens were being moved from their slums in District 9 to a new district... Enjoy the trailer.

District 9 - Theatrical Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Squishy Squashy

I had a fright tonight when I stepped into the dark kitchen to get a drink. Being familiar with the kitchen layout, I didn't bother to switch on the light. Imagine my fright when I stepped onto something squishy and squashy. I immediately lifted up my foot! Before I switched on the light, I murmured a prayer, "Oh please, oh please, don't let it be what I think it is!".

Oh gosh! There really was a lizard on the floor! AHHHH!! I quickly checked my foot to see if there was any blood and gore. There wasn't any! PHEW! The lizard seemed to come alive at that point too and quickly moved away. It must have been playing dead. I hope never to encounter something like that again. It was a most unpleasant experience. Gives me the creeps. :S

Ageless

I was back at the school today interviewing the students in the library. After the interviews were conducted and when my colleague and I were about to leave, a lady who was smiling at me, walked up to me and called my name. I was surprised. I didn't know if I knew her. But if she was able to call me by my name, I would know her, right? Lol. She must have seen the look on my face (yes, I have been told by a good friend that I can be read like a book haha) and she introduced herself. Oh my goodness, she was my SCGS schoolmate. Oops! Sorry. I didn't recognise her at all.

We talked for a while before I had to rush back to office for a 2:30pm meeting with my boss. My SCGS schoolmate claimed that I still look the same as I was in secondary school which was why she could recognise me immediately. Well, she could have been polite by saying that. But she's not the first who have said that, so there might be some truth to it that I still look the same after all these years. Hmm, maybe I have found and have been drinking at the Fountain of Youth. Now if only I can recall where this Fountain of Youth is! Hahaha. :)

Interviews in School

Went to school in the morning with one of the RAs to conduct interviews with teachers for the assessment project. It is always nice going to school. I mean I like to see the buzz and action in school. :) The interviews went well and the teachers were informative. Hopefully we can get as much information from the students tomorrow.

I transcribed one of the interviews which was an hour long. I managed to transcribe it within 2.5 hours. :)

Hearty Brazilian Feast

I needed to restock my lavender oil from Perfect Potion, United Square. It was close to lunch time when we were there. Well, looking around, we saw Fiesta Brasilia. They are having a 1-for-1 ala carte deal. Not bad and I was hankering for some meaty stuff so we decided to eat there.

I had the Brazilian Churrascaria ($21.90) which came with buffet of side dishes and dessert (ice cream). I was served soup (cream of mushroom) and fried banana fritters which the girls really enjoyed. I had from the skewers - chicken heart, ham, spiced pork sausages, chicken thigh, chicken wrapped in bacon, fish, and pineapple. The meats were all tender and juicy. :)

Juliane had Porco Platter ($16.90): Brazilian pork sausages, honey ham , chicken with bacon and salad. She finished almost two thirds of the dish. I am impressed lol. Marieann had a simple dish of spaghetti in tomato sauce (no photo).


The girls' father had Bahia Almoco Set ($13.90): rice with black beans and pork bits, salad and steak but he changed the steak to pork sausage, ham and chicken with bacon.


It was a hearty lunch, at least for me it was! Haha.

People Watching

Juliane and I had lunch at The Soup Spoon, Ion. It was accidental that we were there at all lol. We had wanted to cut through Ion using the underpass to get to The Wheelock Place. However, on the way to the Ion-Wheelock underpass, I accidentally heard someone mention there's The Soup Spoon at Ion. That was all I needed to start me on my crave for soup! Lol. I dragged Juliane along and within minutes, we found The Soup Spoon. :)

We ordered the usual, Clam Chowder with Waldorf Salad. While eating, I like to observe people and how they interact and from there I guess their relationship, etc. All of a sudden, I realised there was silence. Juliane was too quiet lol. She was having her salad while looking all over. So I asked her what she was doing. I laughed at her reply.

She said, "I am watching the people". Haha. Like mother, like daughter.

In UK Soon

No, not me. How I wished! Lol. My parents are going to UK tomorrow to visit my brother and his family. They were last in UK 2 years ago, I think. My parents will be in UK for 2 months at least.

Before they leave for UK, my parents have been having friends and relatives over for lunches and dinners, right up to today, their last day in Singapore. So like my parents to think of appeasing friends' and relatives' appetite in their 2 months' absence lol.

My Walk

Another personality quiz lol. My responses in green.

Your Walk Says You're Approachable

You are outgoing, funny, and friendly. You love attention, and you make sure everyone knows when you enter a room. I dislike sneaking up on people and scaring them. So it is not attention that I want, just didn't want to scare people. My colleagues have told me that they know it is me coming round the corner by my footsteps lol. Other people see you as humble and down to earth. You don't put on airs. I can be a bit distant at times but that's because I want to be alone. Not cos I am haughty. You are assertive, energetic, and curious about the world. You never hold back, and you're often the first to try something. That's why I love travelling and didn't mind one bit about travelling on my own to far places. :) You tend to be all work and very little play. You are too responsible to let loose. Being involved in 3 projects now, it seemed to be true lol. :P

What Does Your Walk Say About You?

NOISY!

I came back from counselling today only to hear my mother telling me that our upstairs neighbour was renovating and it was really noisy. I was like "Really? There is no noise leh". Before I could even complete my thought, the drilling started! Oh gosh, it was really NOISY!! The renovating unit was directly above us so the noise seemed even more amplified. It was only when the drilling stopped intermittently that we realised we were actually shouting at each other in order to have a conversation. :(

I really hate the drilling noise. It is extremely irritating and it is giving me a pounding headache too. :(

National Day Parade 2009 Fun Pack

Through a good friend, I managed to get hold of two NDP 2009 Fun Pack, one pink and one purple for my girls. :) Thanks, YZ.

The girls were most happy to get their fun pack. :) Thank goodness, this time round, the girls were happy to settle for different colours - Marieann wanted the purple fun pack and Juliane took the pink. Phew. :P They were actually more excited about the the sweets and biscuits in the pack lol. They still don't know what the heart thingy is (the torchlight thing) because I didn't put in the batteries hahaha. :P Maybe in another day or two, they will figure out.

Wet Weather Plan

Today, Marieann, Juliane and I were supposed to go to the zoo with Marieann's classmate, Jewel and her mother. However, when we woke up at 7am, it was still drizzling and there was thunder rumbling in the distant. A quick check of the weather forecast in the papers indicated it was morning showers with thunder. Ok, it is time for Wet Weather Plan. Anyone who has been a teacher would be most familiar with wet weather plans lol.

Once the kids knew what the wet weather plan was, they were no longer disappointed about not going to the zoo lol. Instead of leaving for the zoo at 8am, Jewel and her mother pick us up and we went to Mckkies at Ridout Tea Garden, Queensway for breakfast. It has been a long time since I sat down to have breakfast at Mckkies. :) It was nice having a leisurely breakfast with the girls.



We left for Great World City at 9:30am. We thought we were early. We were seriously wrong! The only seats left were the 1st to 6th rows from the screen for Up 3D. Well, couldn't disappoint the kids a 2nd time. We took the 6th row seats from the screen. Once the movie started, it was silence from the kids. I really enjoyed the Up. It was a fantastic movie, really entertaining and funny. Go watch it if you haven't done so. :)

Up - Theatrical Trailer Movies & TV SPIKE.com

After the movie, we had lunch at the food court and browsed at the book fair before heading home for a rest so that the girls can get ready for school tomorrow. To be honest, I think the mothers needed the rest more than the kids lol.

National Day 2009

Happy 44th Birthday, Singapore.

We went to Vivocity because Juliane said she had not been there for a while. Had lunch at HK Kim Gary Restaurant. The girls had instant noodles which I thought was unhealthy but their father thought nothing of it. :( I was still too tired to object. I could never fathom why people hanker for instant noodles at a restaurant and pay A LOT more for it when you can cook it at home, and it is not exactly healthy food. Sigh.

We watched the National Day Parade on television. Somehow, I don't recall a lot of it now. :P I think I was doing other stuff too lol. But I love the segment where they put the songs from the 80s and 90s together. Sure brings back memories lol. :) Both Marieann and I did the Pledge Moment lol. She was surprised that I could still recite the pledge and even more so when I could recite the pledge in Mandarin! Hahaha.

Under the Weather

Feeling a little under the weather, feeling very tired. Didn't bring the young one out. Only went out briefly to get lunch from the nearby food court. Spent the rest of the day resting and doing some light reading.

Pleasure Viewing

Besides the number of books that I want to read, there are also a couple of movies I want to watch lol. :) G.I. Joe - for the gadgets and special effects, Up - for the laughs, Public Enemies - for the drama and Johnny Depp hahaha :P

Hazy Day

As I stepped out of my place, an acrid burning smell hit my nose. Huh? Is there a fire somewhere? Must be a pretty bad one. As I travelled towards my workplace, my eyes seemed to become"blurry" at times. There seemed to be a "mist" veiling some places.

Finally I knew why there was a burning smell hanging in the air and a smoky haze shrouding the place. The haze, which is the result of smoke from slash and burn activities in Indonesia, is back in Singapore. :( It seemed the haze situation in Singapore would only get worse as the dry and hot weather peaks in September. :( :(

Pleasure Reading

I am reading this book, The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chunk Hogan. Yes, Del Toro, the director of The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Hellboy II, Blade II and Pan’s Labyrinth lol. The Strain is Book 1 of The Strain trilogy. Gosh, the book is really gripping. I haven't finish reading it yet but I know I can't wait to read the next 2 books!

I am also waiting to read the 6th Sigma Force thriller, The Doomsday Key by James Rollins and the latest Pendergast thriller, Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. :)

What Salad?

Even salad can be used to predict one's personality, that is amazing lol.

You Are Cobb Salad

You seem simple, but you're actually a very complicated person. Most people would have sides of them not revealed... You stay well organized, and because of that, you're on top of all the chaos in your life. I am forced to be organised... lol You work well with others. You are able to check your ego and cooperate. I try my best... lol You are also very open-minded and accepting. You're happy to let people do their own thing. I try... lol

What Kind of Salad Are You?

Classroom Observations

It has been a long time since I have been to a classroom observation. I used to do classroom observations when I was an educational psychologist (EP) with MOE. I would sometimes observe students who were referred by the schools in their classes, in different lessons, in their interactions with peers and teachers. The observations would aid in my diagnosis of the students' problems or difficulties. A part of my former job as an EP was to observe the Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs). I always enjoyed observing the LSCs in action. They are a bunch of creative teachers.

This whole week, starting today, I would be going out to a school to do classroom observations. It was really nice being in a classroom again, being with the students, lol. I am looking forward to the next classroom observation tomorrow. :)

Lazy Afternoon

We went for a really late lunch at Minori Dining & Sake Bar at 1pm. The girls had ramen from the ala carte menu while the adults had the ala carte buffet.

The girls' Ramen

After lunch, we went to Bakerzin for dessert. The girls had their single scoop ice cream while I ordered the Coupe Tutti Fruity ($9.80). My Tutti Fruity was really colourful and a pure delight to the senses. :) We girls finished it in no time lol.

Workshop

I was at a whole day workshop today. The topic was of my interest and a good friend was presenting it so I thought I should be there to give support lol. Moreover, when my friend was preparing for the workshop, I gave some input with the slides so I felt somewhat responsible too lol. Overall, I had a good day even though it was tiring as it has been a long while since I had been to a whole day workshop. It also makes me miss my "workshop-giving" days lol.

Happy!

Happy!
Blogger's "Create New Post" is working fine for the second day running. :) I can finally change font colour, add photos and so on. It feels great to be creative again lol. Singnet has finally gotten its act together. FINALLY! :)

Happy!
I managed to buy the last copy of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea DVD from That CD shop for the girls. I had promised them that I will get them the Ponyo DVD. Besides, I also enjoyed watching Ponyo. I love its animation, colours and soundtrack in the movie. The Ponyo DVD I bought is a two-disc special edition that came in a tin box. A Studio Ghibli Collection item. :)

Bad Server Connection

Here is one for laughs.

Stupid ISP of Mine

It is darn frustrating. The New Post is still problematic. At least there is the box for writing now BUT the buttons are still missing. So I CAN'T change font colour or size, CAN'T add photos or videos, CAN'T check spelling, etc. Called Singnet but they said there is no problem. How can there be no problem?! STUPID Singnet!

Pain in the

Knee! Where do you think it would be?! Lol. Started getting pain in my right knee again. :( The last time that happened was in late 2007 and I had no idea how I injured my knee then. Anyway, my right knee started getting creaky just a few days ago but I didn't think much of it. However last night it turned for the worse. I was chasing after my kid and I twisted my knee. Oh boy! The pain was just excruciating! Immediately, my knee started swelling and became very stiff and I had to walk with a slight limp. :(

I should have known when my knee started getting creaky that I would be susceptible to injury. I was taking glucosamine after my knee injury in 2007 and never had pain again. However, I stopped taking it after I finished my last bottle of glucosamine early in the year. Looks like I have to start taking it again and make sure I don't stop. Like a good friend said, "Sista, you have to take it until you die lah". Haha. :P

Funniest Wedding March Ever!!! :D

This wedding entrance march is so NOT your typical church wedding entrance march!!! :D The wedding couple and their wedding party has a wonderful sense of humour!! Way to go!! :) By the way, the video has over 8 million views! I wish them every happiness and may they be always so crazy and fun!

Singnet

... is still wonky. :( Last night, I could create a post with photos and adding text colours but now, "Create Post" is without all its buttons again. Have tried various methods which other Singnet users have suggested to get Blogger working but nothing worked. It is damn frustrating! Maybe I should consider changing my ISP...

Happy 110th Birthday, SCGS

SCGS is celebrating her 110th birthday this year in 2009. :)

The SCGS 110th anniversary dinner was held at Raffles Ballroom, Fairmont Hotel. The Guests of Honour who were the Minister of Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen and his wife, Mrs Ng. Before their arrival at 7:30pm, I met up with some of my former SCGS colleagues. The theme of the anniversary dinner is Peranakan and so the dinner was Peranakan and the dress code was Peranakan/ Batik/ Smart.

Marieann and I before setting off for the dinner

Photo with my former SCGS colleagues

Photo with my former SCGS colleagues

Door gift for the adults

The children's door gifts

Marieann working on her time-filler worksheet

My former 4P student, Lishan :)

After the speeches, the dinner started. It was the first time I am having Peranakan food for a banquet dinner. It was pretty interesting. But unfortunately, I don't take spicy food and most of the dishes for the main course were spicy such as Beef Rendang, Udang Pedas Nanas, Deep Fried Fish Fillet, Ayam Buah Keluak, and Kai Lan Lemak. The only dish which was non-spicy was Nonya Chap Chye. Gosh, I paid $250 per pax and only to have the Chap Chye! :( The children's dishes were non-spicy and I pinched from them haha. :P Sorry didn't take photos of the other dishes.
First time having Peranakan food for banquet dinner: the starters - otak, ngoh hiang, roasted duck, baby octopus, lady fingers

Peranakan dinner: Crabmeat and Fish Maw Soup

During dinner, there were performance items such as dance and choir. We also took photos of the girls.
Marieann and her 1SE classmates


The girls with their Principal

The girls with their form teacher

The girls standing on their chairs to watch the performance

The dinner ended at 10:40pm. By the time we reached home, it was almost 11:30pm. The best moment for me was when the dinner celebration ended with all the SCGS girls, both present and old, singing the school anthem. It really brought me back to my old school days. :)

I am glad for my 10 years of education in SCGS. It has made me the person I am today, a woman of character lol. :) I am proud to be a SCGS girl. I am a true blue SCGS girl. :P (Note: I wore blue for the dinner haha.)

Plans

You can plan all you want but sometimes the best of plans just go awry.

I asked to work from home so that I can do some reading and writing. However, even before I could settle down to write, I received a call from Marieann's school at 10:45am. Marieann was not feeling well. Sigh. So I went to school to get her and brought her to the clinic. It was quite crowded at the clinic so we had to wait. By the time we were done at the clinic, it was 12:30pm. When we reached home, Juliane had just returned home from pre-school too.

With the girls around, there goes my plans to write . :(

Problems with Singnet

Bloggers, such as I, who use Singnet as their ISP, have been having problems creating blog posts. On the "New Post" page, the buttons for font size, font colour, add picture, etc are all missing and the alignment of things are all off! It is really frustrating when I am trying to put up posts. Urgh!

There is a help group on Blogger and it is apparent only Singnet users are facing such a problem. I verified with a good friend who is using Starhub as his ISP and he faces no such problem posting his blog posts. I really hope Singnet can do something about it.

Racial Harmony Day II

Marieann's school celebrated Racial Harmony Day today. Due to the precedent set by her sister, Marieann wore the Korean hanbok to school too.


According to Marieann, there were other school girls who wore the hanbok too so Marieann wasn't alone in her choice of the hanbok lol.

Racial Harmony Day

Today is Racial Harmony Day. Juliane's pre-school encouraged the children to wear traditional clothes to celebrate racial harmony. I took out her Chinese Cheong Sum but she refused to wear it. Instead, she wanted to wear her Korean dress (Hanbok).

Me : You are Chinese, dear, so you have to wear the cheong sum.
Juliane: No, I don't want. I want to wear the Korean dress.
Me : You are CHINESE, not Korean!
Juliane: Teacher never say I must wear Chinese, only say wear traditional clothes.
Me : Er...
Juliane: Korean dress is traditional clothes, right?
Me : Yes but...
Juliane: So I can wear the Korean dress.

Well, she made perfect sense which I couldn't refuted. The pre-school didn't specify that the children had to wear traditional clothes of their ethnic race. So she is logical in her thinking that she can wear the Korean dress as it is a traditional dress.
Hmm, I think I may have a lawyer in the making lol. :P

More Writing...

My PI is back from his overseas trip. We went through the two papers we were going to submit for a conference in the USA 2010. It seemed we still have room to beef things up a little since we have 2000 words limit. Guess it is more writing for me tonight but we are almost there. We should be able to submit by tomorrow. :)

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

The girls and I went to watch Harry Potter 6 at Lido cineplex. We got the tickets at a very reasonable price, $5 per ticket including popcorn and a drink! :) It was an movie event organised by my good friend's CC committee. Just before the movie started, there was also a lucky draw. Guess what? My ticket was the last one to be drawn! :) My friend commented that I was really lucky lol.

HP6 lasted for about 2.5 hours. It was a long movie lol. But somehow I was a little disappointed. There were certain changes made to the movie adaptation of the book which I know can't be helped as the book was really thick. Overall, I guess the movie is still enjoyable and exciting at some parts and it is still Harry Potter. :)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Theatrical Trailer 2 Movies & TV SPIKE.com

After the movie, we had lunch at Hoshigaoka Japanese Restaurant. We had the weekend set lunches. The food was not bad and definitely value for money (all under $15). :)

First H1N1 Death

Oh dear, we have our first H1N1 flu related death this afternoon in Singapore. :( Let's hope we don't hear any more such bad news...

Transformers 2 Song: New Divide by Linkin Park

I think this is one of the better music videos made of Linkin Park's new theme song, New Divide in Transformers 2. It has clips from both Transformers movies and the video quality is really good! A great find for any Transformers fans. :)

Relief!

The work stuff I have been waiting for has come through the email. Best of all, the conference paper submission deadline has been extended another week to 22 July 11:59pm Pacific time. Now, we have extra time to refine the work. :)

Phew! I am so relieved. :)

Panic!

I am still waiting for something to come through the email. I have to submit them to a conference and the deadline is 15 July 11:59pm Pacific time. Although technically I still have a couple of hours as Singapore is several hours ahead of USA, I much prefer to receive them earlier and submit them NOT at the last minute.

Panic! Waiting. Panic!

A Struggle

Struggling to write a paper for a conference.
Struggling to make it a succinct piece.
Struggling to meet the deadline.
Struggling to think clearly.
Struggling to not panic.
Struggling...
:(

What Frozen Treat Are You?

Another Blogthing quiz. :) My responses in blue.

You Are a Dipped Cone

You are dramatic, deep, and even demanding. Is it?? Haha. If you're going to do dessert, you're going to go all out with something super rich. Having dessert? Might as well go for it and be as sinful as possible! Lol. :P People might be surprised to know that you worry about how you're perceived. Well, who is completely NOT worried about how they are being perceived by others? You've got an image to keep up, and you don't ever want to appear weak. Of course, I am Chili Padi. Hahaha. :P

What Frozen Treat Are You?

A Courageous Girl

I have a girl who most probably would be in Gryffindor House if there is a wizarding world like Harry Potter's that exists along side our world. :)

We brought Marieann for her lesson. At the condo, the two lifts could only be activated by the owners for the guests to use. While waiting for the teacher to buzz us in (activate the lift for us), some folks exited from one of the lifts. Before Marieann and I could react, Juliane ran into the lift and the lift doors promptly closed. Both Marieann and I were stumped. The lift started ascending all the way to the 15th floor. Beginning to panic a little, I asked Marieann to take the other lift up to the teacher's apartment on the 6th floor while I waited for Juliane to come down again. When the lift Juliane was in opened its doors, there was no Juliane! I took it up to the 6th floor and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I saw Juliane's pink Crocs outside the door of the teacher's apartment. Marieann and Juliane were recounting to the teacher and the other students what had happened when I entered the apartment. The teacher thought Juliane was really brave. Juliane sure didn't look like she was scared too. She later said there was nothing to be scared. She just pressed 6th floor when the lift was going down from the 15th floor.

Frankly speaking, I was a little panicky when Juliane was "swallowed up" by the lift. I told her off for dashing into the lift like that and got her to promise me not to do that again. But I am really proud of her too, for being so brave. I am really glad that she is able to use her wits and not panic. :)

Close Call

I was going home from the food court at Botanic Gardens in the evening. While crossing the road during the pedestrian GREEN light, a car came turning from the side road onto the road I was crossing. Now I totally know what it's like to be a deer caught in the headlights! I could see the car coming but I couldn't move. I think the driver was rushing to beat the red light and was rushing to beat me before I could cross the road. I could see he was alarmed when he realised we were on a collision course. Thank goodness, he was able to brake in time! His car stopped less than a metre away from me. He knew he was at fault and offered his apologies.

My heart has never worked as hard as it did this evening. It was pounding so fast and hard. After I had crossed the road, I realised that I was actually quite shaken up as I was trembling away.

It was too damn close a call.

Papers

I have two papers which I will be writing with my PI. We are trying to submit them for a conference in the USA next year. If time permits, I may want to submit a paper on my PhD as well. So that will be 3 papers that I have to work on. The deadline for paper submission is 15 July. You think I have enough time to write 3 papers before then?? Lol. Wish me luck! :P

Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child

I have finished reading Terminal Freeze. :) Although it is predictable in the usual style of Child lol, it is still really engaging. I just couldn't stop reading the book, one chapter after another, wanting to know what happens next lol.

Terminal Freeze tells of a group of scientists who found something astonishing up in the Arctic Circle. But the find was not what they thought and things started to go wrong... Child combined science and Native American mythology to great effect and makes Terminal Freeze a chilling thriller. No puns intended lol. :P

If you like Relic, you will enjoy reading Terminal Freeze. :)

Students' Reactions

It has been about one and a half weeks since schools reopened and the precautionary measures being put in place in schools.

I asked my counsellees how they felt the H1N1 flu has changed their lives. Some felt it is troublesome because they have to take temperature twice a day everyday. Some felt it is fun because they can miss parts of their lessons. Some felt it is annoying because they miss parts of their favourite lessons. Some felt indifferent. But all felt that they are now much more aware of personal hygiene.

See, as I said before, there is some good when something like H1N1 comes along... :)

Falling

into place... the new project is. :)

1. We have hired the RAs, some of whom have started work.
2. The various instruments to be used in the project are coming along.
3. Our project partner is compiling the list of schools, teachers and students.

I am feeling more relaxed now that things are falling into place for the project. But at the same time, I am also a little stressed as I am entrusted with more responsibility for this project. :P

1111

4D* number? Lol. No, that is the total number of confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) as of today in Singapore. More than half of the cases were local cases.

I think sometimes it is good that something like H1N1 comes along. Hear me out first before you want my blood. I am not being evil here. :P H1N1 has created in people the awareness on how the disease is spread and it has also resulted in people being more socially responsible. I tended to notice more people wearing masks now-a-days. Of course the cynic would say those people are afraid of catching H1N1 so they don the mask. However, it could also be said that they aren't well and are donning masks to protect others. :) I also noticed more people washing their hands longer and more carefully in the washrooms and I also observed more people using hand sanitizers.

See, there is some good. :)

*In Singapore, 4D is a game whereby a person picks a lucky 4-digit (4D) number from 0000 to 9999 and if the number matches any of the 23 4-digit numbers drawn, the person wins a prize.

Pleasure and Work

Marieann has a birthday party to attend at Great World City from 1 to 3pm. We therefore decided to have lunch at Kenny Rogers. It was nice to have some good, old-fashion comfort food such as macaroni and cheese, potato salad, mashed potato, chicken soup, etc. :) After lunch, we left Marieann at the party while we browsed around in the shops.

Marieann, with her make-over, at her friend's make-over birthday party

At 3pm, the girls' father took Marieann to her lesson and brought Juliane home while I stayed on at Coffee Bean to do some work. I needed some peace and quiet to gather my thoughts lol. I could have worked longer but was beginning to feel a little chilled. :( Close to 6pm, the girls' father came to pick me up after picking up Marieann from her lesson.

I might just do a bit more work tonight or maybe I should just watch tv lol.

Flight Safety

How many of us actually pay attention to the flight safety video that is played just before the plane takes off? Now be honest. The truth is: very few of us do. (Well, I have travelled so often that I have actually memorised it and that's the truth lol. :P)

Air New Zealand has created a flight safety video for its domestic flights, showing the bare essentials of flight safety with nothing to hide, literally! Lol. :P Enjoy a good laugh while listening to the flight safety message.

Reading

Started reading one of my favourite genre again - thriller.

There is a new book by Lincoln Child, Terminal Freeze. So far, it has been pretty engaging. :) Give me another day, I should be finished with it. Yes, yes, I know, I should be writing instead of reading lol. But hey, it's the weekend, let me relax ok? Hahaha. :P

Writing

Have started writing again. Wrote about 500 words today. Not a lot but enough. If I can continue with this momentum and amount of writing per day for a week, ...

Water Beauties

My favourite flowers that grow in the water.