Glee 3: Heart

Here are the lovely love songs featured in this episode of Glee. 

Let Me Love You (uploaded by gleefulldii)


Home (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)
 

Stereo Hearts (uploaded by GleeOnFox)
 

LOVE (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)
 

I Will Always Love You (uploaded by GleeOnFox)
 

Cherish/ Cherish (uploaded by GleeFullPerformances) 
 

Love Shack (uploaded by GleeFullPerformances)

PAIN!

I had an accident today, just before I left for work. In my hurry to leave, I accidentally stubbed my right foot on my room door which left the door rattling away. My middle toe went numb and I quickly rubbed it without looking at my foot. As I was walking to the living room where I left my computer bag, I spied with the corner of my eye a trail of red on the floor. Why is there a bloody trail?! When I looked down at my right foot, I saw my middle toe totally covered in blood! At that point of time, I felt PAIN!! I quickly went into the bathroom to clean up. The skin covering my toe was nearly tore off and flapping around. I did something which I shouldn't have -- I tore the skin off! OUCH!! It was pain upon pain. :( I bandaged it as best as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't own any peep-toe shoes/ sandals and had to wear the most comfortable covered shoes I had - my Crocs. It was hurting like hell with every step I took. When I arrived at work, my bandage was soaked through with blood and I had to change it with the supplies from the First Aid box. During lunch, my good friend drove me out to the nearest shopping mall so that I could just buy a pair of sandals to wear and to buy first aid supplies. Thanks much, DK, I really appreciated your help. 

My toe was throbbing away in pain the entire day. I had to change the bandage twice more during the day as the wound was still bleeding away. Being pre-diabetic, I think it didn't help. :( When I arrived home in the evening, I called for the family doctor as it happened that Juliane wasn't feeling well. He took a look at my toe too and scolded me for tearing the skin off my toe. :( He said that my toe nail has actually been dislodged from the bed and has moved from its original position. But he advised me NOT to touch/ remove the nail and let it heal on its own. The main worry is infection so I had to keep applying antiseptic cream on my toe and to keep it clean and dry.

I hope my toe will heal soon! I can't stand the pain. I swear the pain is worse than labour pain! I swear I will be more careful in the future.

Day of Rest

The girls had a day of rest today because SCGS decided to reward the staff and the students for the good 'O' level results obtained for 2011 and declared today a school holiday. It was timely after the school carnival as the entire school was involved and working their hearts out on Saturday 14 April and all could do with a rest day to recoup from Saturday. 

Initially the girls wanted to follow me to office again. However, as Marieann has Chinese tuition on Monday afternoons, they had to abort their plan lol. They promised that they will follow me to office during the June holidays. We will see, Girls. :)

Catching Up

As the girls were at the carnival yesterday, it was catching up time with their homework today. It was also catching up time for me with my work and my sleep lol. I am still recovering from yesterday's carnival lol.
Too lazy to go out, we ordered pizza for lunch lol. It has been a long since we last had pizza! It was really delicious haha.

SC Cares Family Carnival 2012

SCGS had their carnival today. The official opening was at 10am but most of the stalls started as early as 8.30am. Marieann, Juliane and I arrived around 9.45am because Marieann was on duty at her class's game stall from 10am-11am.
While Marieann was on duty, Juliane and I went round to look at the other stalls. We returned just before 11am to Marieann's class stall. Juliane supported her sister's class by playing at their game stall. After her duty, Marieann decided to join her friends. Juliane and I went on our own again. We bought cakes, and jellies to bring home. I also bought a handmade purse, a SCGS mug and a SCGS souvenir. :) Marieann joined us around 1pm and we had some food and drinks. We also tried our hand at scrap booking which was really fun and therapeutic lol. :) Not to mention, we got a bit of leg rest too after being on our feet for more than three hours lol. :P
There were more food stalls at this carnival as compared to the last one which I thought was a really good idea. I managed to catch up with a couple of my SCGS ex-colleagues as well as a few of my classmates. :) We finally left for home just after 3pm. We were really exhausted but we enjoyed ourselves too.

Some of the goodies we bought and our handicraft

Filing Tax 2012

It is that time of the year again that most working adults dread... Filing of income tax. :( But I must admit, the procedures and the forms have been simplified over the years. It is much easier to file tax now compared to when I first started filing in the late 90s. :P

Glee 3: The Spanish Teacher

One sizzling HOT episode lol.

Sexy and I know it (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Bamboleo / Hero (uploaded by gleefulldii)


La Isla Bonita (uploaded by gleefulldii)

Virus is in the Air

Out of the six counsellees I saw today, three of them are sick or recovering from throat infection. I was most wary lol. After all, I have just recovered from a throat infection less than a week ago. In case you are thinking that I might have spread my virus to them, I didn't see this group of counsellees for three weeks! So it couldn't have been me lol. :P

Tremors

I felt the tremors of the earthquake(s) in Aceh, Indonesia. I was at home in the early afternoon after my counselling. I was seated on my bed and playing my iPad when I felt this shaking and felt dizzy too. At first, I thought I was experiencing vertigo! Then I noticed my blinds were rattling slightly. It lasted for a minute or so. I realised I must have felt the tremors of an earthquake.
True enough, the earthquake in Aceh, Indonesia was reported in the 6.30pm news. I hope there is not much damage and casualties...

Work Appraisal 2012

I had my work appraisal first thing in the morning at 9am today. It went really well. :) I am really lucky that I have been able to work with one good PI after another.

Oral Exam Report

I just heard that my oral exam report is out since last week. However as the person-in-charge is on leave (5-9 April), I would only get it tomorrow. For an office that deals with tight timelines, there really should be an officer to cover duties. Quite inefficient. Sigh.

Gu Mama

My youngest nephew in UK, Yeun Zhen is able to address me! Never mind if it is "Gu Mama" instead of "Gu Ma" lol. We were communicating via Skype when my brother asked his son to address us. He was able to say "Ah Ma" (Grandmother). Unfortunately, my mother is now in Taiwan. If not, she would be overjoyed to hear it. Yeun Zhen had a bit more problem trying to say "Ah Gong" (Grandfather), he made it as far as "Ah" and gave up on "Gong" lol. :P He was able to piece "Gu Mama" together with some teaching lol. At least, it is better than "Mu Ma" (wooden horse) which my other two nephews called me when they were that young lol. :D

Kallang Leisure Park

Juliane had a birthday party at Kallang Leisure Park, 10-12pm. After sending Juliane to the venue, Marieann and I went to Coffee Bean to do our work. It was a good place to work. But after a while, it became crowded with people doing their work/ studying lol.
Rather than driving to somewhere else, we decided to have lunch at Pasta Mania, Kallang Leisure Park. There are quite a few eateries - Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and a food court. There are a couple of shops and Cold Storage too. Not a bad place. However, it is rather far from where we stay. Not sure if we will come back here again, just for food or shopping.

Good Friday Break

Had a good break on Good Friday.
1. Lazed around in the day.
2. Went out in the late afternoon to get a gift and had dinner with family.
3. Met a friend later for dinner again lol.

Short Week or Long Weekend

I only just realised that tomorrow is Good Friday! What a short week lol. Looking forward to the long weekend. :)
My girls happily announced to me that since they have no school tomorrow, they want to follow me to office tomorrow lol. Sorry, Girls, I am not going to office on a public holiday!

Glee 3 "Michael"

Another episode featuring mostly MJ songs.

Want to be Starting Something (uploaded by GLEEhighdefinition)


Bad (uploaded by TheOlavoF)


Never Can Say Goodbye (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Smooth Criminal (uploaded by gleefulldii)


Ben (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Black or White (uploaded by GleeFullVids)


I Can't Stop Loving You (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)

Farewell, Teck Kiang

Yet another colleague is leaving us, another statistics expert, Teck Kiang. :( We had a farewell lunch for TK at the Chinese restaurant at NTU. It was a nice and cosy lunch.
Although we have been in the same work place for a long time, I haven't had the chance to work with TK nor had I the chance to know him well. I only got to know him better in the last two years as I had to seek his statistics help for my work. I wished I had known him better earlier lol. I don't know why but my impression of him was that since he is an expert in statistics, he probably won't want much to do with a statistics idiot like me. But when I approached him for help, he was really nice and helpful. He even went beyond and gave me quick tutorials of why we should or should not use certain methods. He was totally not what I expected! Never judge a book by its cover. :P
Thank you for your help, Teck Kiang. Good luck at your new workplace. :) Keep in touch.

Behind Times?

According to Blogthings, I am only a year behind times lol. That's much better than I anticipated lol.

You Are a Year Behind the Times

You are quite modern, but you're not obsessed with being an early adopter. You adopt anything new once it gains mass appeal. You like to let other people get the kinks out. Very true! I didn't rush to get the iPad when it was first launched. Rather, I waited two weeks before I ordered it. Same with my Lumia 800, I waited until now to get it. :P You are future oriented, but you probably at least have some taste for retro or vintage objects. If something is a classic, you'll stick with it. But if something better comes along, you'll definitely upgrade.

How Outdated Are You?

April Fools' Joke?!

Just after midnight, I decided to check my work email as I hadn't had the chance to do so on Saturday. However, I had problem logging in. An error message kept appearing, saying that my user id or password is incorrect and to try again. As it was late, I thought it might be a system's error and decided to try again in the daytime.
However, throughout the day, the same error message kept appearing. Then it occurred to me that the same thing happened to me once before... the last time I had my contract extended/ renewed and there was some miscommunication between the IT department and HR department. Oh no. Don't tell me it is the same problem again. :( My old contract expired on 31 March with the new one kicking in on 1 April... What a way to start my new contract with a "April Fools' joke" courtesy of the IT department. :( :(

Earth Hour 2012

We were not able to celebrate Earth Hour at home this year. Juliane had a birthday party at Amazonia, Great World City, 7-9pm. We decided to have dinner at Kuishin-bo at 6pm before sending Juliane to her classmate's party at 7pm. While waiting to pick Juliane at 9pm, Marieann and her father went browsing around as I headed towards Coffee Bean to do editing on some book reviews . I chose to work at Coffee Bean because the cafe would be celebrating Earth Hour by dimming its lights. Since I can't celebrate it at home, I might as well do it at a place that is celebrating Earth Hour. :)

Glee 3 "Yes/No"

A bit late but this week's Glee songs about wedding proposals :)

Summer Nights (uploaded by LaloF94)


The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face (uploaded by GleeFullPerformances)


We Found Love (uploaded by GleeFullPerformances)

PhD Thank You and Thoughts

It is still pretty surreal that I have finally achieved what I set out to do - get my PhD.
Although the PhD is in my name, I could not have completed it without the contributions, support and encouragement of many people. I really have to thank the following people for my achievement.
THANK YOU to:
Dr Koh and Prof Paris, for their guidance.
Dennis, for always pushing me to think more critically and outside of my "tai-tai" box lol.
Yee Zher, for coaching me in statistics, my kryptonite lol.
Dr Chew, Dr Wong, Dr Foong, for their encouragement.
Aik Ling, Sharm, Azlina, Filzah, Han Jing, many other friends and colleagues, my former students, for their moral support and encouragement.
My parents, for putting up with all the stacks of books and articles I left all over the place and for putting up with my moods when I am stressed about my PhD.
My daughters, for putting up with the part-time mother I have been to you and for cheering on me when I was writing my extra thick "homework" of 300 pages.

Thank you to all for your support and encouragement. :)

My New Windows Phone, Nokia Lumia 800

A day after I passed my oral defense, I bought myself a new phone as a reward for myself! :) I have been eyeing a Windows phone because I just prefer a Windows phone haha. :P A Windows phone suits me well because I am not tech savvy. If I were to use, say an Android phone, I would need to be tech savvy enough to customise the user interface and every aspect of operation of the phone. I am more than happy with the user interface and every aspect of operation on the Windows phone. I did a bit of research and so far, Nokia Lumia 800 has very good reviews and there are hardly any problems reported. :) Originally, Lumia 800 comes in black, cyan and pink. Now, there is white too. :)
I have absolutely no complaints with my white Nokia Lumia 800! The build of the phone is very nice and easy to hold. The screen resolution is excellent, and the touch screen and sensitivity is great. The features are user-friendly and the camera's fantastic.
I love my white Lumia 800 in its lime green casing lol. :)
PS. I updated my particulars, no longer 'Ms' haha. :P

Farewell, Yee Zher

A good friend and colleague, Yee Zher is leaving. Actually he has already left and he is starting work today at another research centre. Yee Zher was one of the first few researchers who worked at our research centre when it started in 2003. Just recently, a couple of us who joined a few months later after him and still at the research centre, joked that we would get the 10-year long service award together lol. Now, we have one person less for the award. :(
Yee Zher is a good friend and colleague to many of us. He is always generous with his time and expertise whenever one of us needs help with statistics. He is my teacher when it comes to statistics. He taught me the statistics that I needed for my work as well as for my PhD. :)
Thank you, Yee Zher for your statistics coaching, for your friendship, and for everything. All the best at your new workplace! :) Keep in touch! :)

Yee Zher's farewell lunch, 26 March 2012

Finally, a DR!

At 11.20am, I am officially Dr. Wong Hwei Ming! :)
My oral defense started at 9.40am. There were four people in the panel, not including my supervisor who was present to give her support. However, the examiner is now in Hong Kong so we had to link via Skype. It was kind of unusual for me, presenting to four people and a computer lol. There was a small audience too, made up mainly of my friends and supporters and my PI! Haha.
I was pretty nervous when I started but the panel was really nice and put me at ease. It helped too that I could always look to the audience to see my good friends smiling at me and giving me the thumbs up. :) Thanks, Guys! Your presence really meant a lot to me. :)
Actually, the presentation was still not too bad lol. The most scary part was the Q & A. I thought I won't be able to get through it. But again, the panel was most encouraging. I got the better of my nerves and became more confident as I answered each question. Before I know it, it was the end. The audience and I were invited out so that the panel could discuss the outcome of my oral defense. My friends were really nice and waited with me even though they didn't have to. 10 minutes later, I was called back into the meeting room. The examiner was really cute and called me Dr Wong even before the Head of the panel could announce the results to me lol. :P
After the panel left, my friends came back into the room to congratulate me. It suddenly became overwhelming for me and I burst into tears. :P It's tears of happiness, tears of relief, tears of disbelief. After seven years, I have finally gotten my PhD.
Thank you to everyone who has given me advice, support and encouragement over the years when I was on my Phd journey.
It feels GOOD to have finally arrived. It feels GOOD to be called Dr Wong hahaha. :P

Throat Infection II

Besides taking western medicine, I have been drinking Chinese herbal medicine too. When my father knew that I had a throat infection, he was most worried about my oral defense on Monday. He actually started brewing some herbal medicine last night, and left the brewed medicine on the table at 1am for me to take. He is so sweet. :) Unfortunately, I was asleep by then and didn't know about it. :(
I will continue to take the brewed Chinese medicine (even though it tasted awful), and gargle with medicated mouthwash. I will CONTROL myself and NOT scream at the kids when they are misbehaving over the weekend! A good friend actually suggested that I should check into a hotel and stay until Monday lol. I really, really hope, by Monday, I can at least recover by 90%!

Throat Infection

This is the worst thing to happen now when my oral defense is just three days away! My throat was feeling sore in the morning and I thought it could be the allergic reaction to the MSG in the chips I had last night. But by mid afternoon, it seemed to be getting more painful. I got permission to leave earlier and went straight to see my family doctor. I made it to the clinic just 10 minutes before it closes at 5pm.
I had a throat infection with mild fever. :( I asked my family doctor to hit me with the strongest medicine he has got as I really need my voice back for Monday. He did, short of giving me medicine that could cause me allergic reactions.
I can only hope and pray that I get well by Monday. Finger and toes crossed!

Tired

Feeling kinda tired rushing from one job to another job.
After counselling, I rushed back to my research centre for a meeting because the overseas consultant is here this week. I had to switch mindsets because the nature of the two jobs are completely different.

Glee 3 Extraordinary Merry Christmas

We are either three months too late or nine months too early for Christmas lol. :P

All I Want For Christmas is You (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Blue Christmas (uploaded by gleefulldii)


Extraordinary Merry Christmas (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


My Favourite Things (uploaded by gleefulldii)


Santa Claus is Coming to Town (uploaded by gleefulldii)


Christmas Wrapping (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Do They Know It's Christmas? (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Happy!

My former PI (Principal Investigator) is back in Singapore! He is here as a consultant for my project. The purpose of his visit is to examine the data and see how it could be analysed further. Even though that means I will be very busy this week with data analysis, I am really happy to see him again! :) :)
Oh he is my co-supervisor too. It is really good to see him just before my oral defense, gives me a boost of confidence. :)

John Carter

We spoke to my nephews via Skype much earlier than usual today. Reason being my brother is taking them to the movies. They are going to watch "John Carter". Hey, that is one movie I am interested in watching. Boys, remember to tell 姑妈 if "John Carter" is good, ok? Maybe I will bring your cousins to watch it too. :)

(uploaded by DisneyMovieTrailers)

Getting Ready

The girls are getting ready for Term 2. By end of today, they have completed all their school holiday homework and have kept them in their homework files. They have also tidied up the ring binders for their various subjects (and I have signed all the worksheets and checklists that needed my signature). They have also checked and completed any online homework that they had to do.
Tomorrow, we will check one last time and the girls will be ready for the new school term, starting on 19 March 2012.

Movies

There are a couple of movies that seem interesting - Act of Valor, John Carter, The Woman in Black. But where do I find the time to watch them?? Every day, after work, I have to supervise and monitor the girls' homework. The weekends too are usually burnt with the supervision of school and tuition homework.
Maybe one of these days I should take one day leave and just watch movies and eat popcorn for the whole day. (I have done that before, a record of 3 movies in a day lol).

Back to Office

I brought the girls back to my office again. They brought their work to do and they have been warned that I would not have time to look after them as it is my official working day on Thursdays. They did their work quietly, quickly and without mistakes! I was surprised lol. Later they told me that the lack of distractions in the office (i.e. no tv, no computer, no iPad, no bed) allowed them to focus on their work better. Hmm, I may seriously consider bringing them to work during their next holiday.
After work, as a reward for them, I brought them to Raffles Marina. It is located at the Western Tip of Singapore, adjacent to the Second Link Bridge connecting Singapore and Malaysia. The girls were excited to see the yachts and boats at the marina. It is also the first time they ever saw a lighthouse. We sat down near the lighthouse to watch the sun setting. It was beautiful. :)









The girls really enjoyed themselves. They said that they want to come to my office again during the next holiday. :)

The Lorax

"Unless someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not."

Dr Seuss

As promised, I brought Marieann and Juliane to watch The Lorax.
It is a really good (and entertaining) movie with something to take away at the end of it for both children and adults - if we do not pay attention to what we are doing to our earth/ environment, it will come back to haunt us with dire consequences.

(uploaded by trailers)


After the movie, I brought the girls to my office. The last time they were here, my office was in a different building. They have not seen the current place since my office moved here a few years ago. Some of my colleagues couldn't believe that I have kids! Haha. Some couldn't believe that my girls are so big and they thought we three look like sisters haha. :P Thanks.

My girls enjoyed going to my office and they have asked if they could go again tomorrow. I am really surprised lol. Thought they would rather stay home with the tv, iPad, computer and bed lol.

Glee 3 "Hold On To Sixteen"

Totally enjoyed the songs, even the MJ songs in tonight's Glee 3, episode 8. :)

Survivor/ I Will Survive (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


ABC (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Control (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Man In The Mirror (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


We Are Young (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Glee 3 "I Kissed a Girl"

I missed Glee 3, episode 7 "I Kissed A Girl" on tv last week but managed to watch it on Youtube lol. Most of the songs were great.

Perfect (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


I'm The Only One (uploaded by gleefulldii)


I Kissed A Girl (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Constant Craving (uploaded by gleefulldii)

One Year On

It is one year since the earthquake and tsunami happened in Japan on 11 March 2011. It was the day we were supposed to leave for Tokyo for our family trip. We were lucky.
The Japanese are in the midst of rebuilding their lives after the disaster. I wish them courage and hope.

Big Event(s)

My mother took Juliane and Marieann for a hair trim. In two weeks' time, Juliane is going to be the flower girl at my godsister's wedding so she has to look neat. Since I went along and was at the hairdresser's, I might as well have a trim too. My oral defense is in 2 weeks' time too. I should look tidy for my big event as well lol.

1st Run

I had my first dry run today for my oral defense. My sup said it was good - the number of slides were appropriate and the pacing was just right. I just need to add in a few lines to one of my existing slides.
Phew. I thought it would be a mess. Now I just need to do another dry run or two with my friends to familiarise myself with the pacing and my notes. :)

Anti-climax

Apple has revealed its latest iPad. No, it is not iPad 3. It is simply known as the new iPad. Hmm... not sure what to think of its name... kind of an anti-climax...

iPad 3 Out Today?

Is iPad3 really coming out today? Is it?! Is it??!!
Anyone knows?! Do tell!!

Dry Run

Made further revision to my slides for my PhD oral defense. It is now version 7. :P Gearing up now for my dry run with my supervisor this coming Friday.

Bali Trip 2012

Well, it looks like it will just be my mother, my girls and I going on the Bali trip 2012. The girls' father refused to go, citing that Bali is boring. *Roll eyes*. Oh well, it will be an all girls' trip again, like my Bali 2011 trip but this time, it is three generation of grandmother, mother and granddaughters. Maybe it is better this way as we can really go shopping to our hearts' content haha. :)

Family Time

Almost every weekend, my girls saw their cousins, my brother's boys. My parents as well. No, my brother and his family are not back in Singapore. They are still in England! The girls would see their cousins over Skype lol. Well it is the only way for the cousins to get to see each other until either the girls go over to England for a visit or my brother and his family comes back to Singapore for a visit.

"Post" Birthday Gathering

Juliane invited her 3 classmates, Miranda, Stacey and Shanyce from SCGS and her classmate, Catherine from MMI to her birthday gathering which was a soap-making workshop at Soap Ministry. The workshop started a little late, around 3.15pm. It was supposedly an hour workshop. However as the girls were so excited about making their own soap that they took quite a while to choose their soap molds and their soap scent. The shop owners/ instructors, Peggy and Elaine were really nice and didn't mind that our workshop went over time to almost 2 hours, ending around 5.15pm. Really grateful that they made the girls' day, especially for Juliane. :) The girls enjoyed the soap making process very much. While waiting for their soaps to harden, they had cupcakes. The girls were really pleased with their hand-made soaps.

The girls with their maternal grandparents before leaving for the workshop

Juliane and her friends and Marieann before the workshop started

The girls with their hand-made soaps at the end of the workshop

It was close to 6pm when we got home. We had a simple birthday dinner at home for Juliane. We also invited Catherine for dinner. Juliane and Catherine played for a while before dinner. After dinner, we had the birthday cake.



Juliane had a really great time with her friends and family. Oh today is her Chinese birthday so technically it is not really Juliane's post birthday celebration lol.

Refresher/ Reunion

I attended a parent workshop on P3 & P4 Math and Science. The girls' father wasn't interested so I had to go. My former colleagues at SCGS were surprised to see me attending the workshop lol. Reason being - I have taught Math and Science before and little has changed since then in terms of the teaching approaches. But it was good as a refresher for me as well as it being a reunion time for me with my former colleagues. :)

Happy 8th Birthday, Juliane

Happy Birthday, Juliane.
Wishing you everything happy for today and the coming year!

As it is a school day, we couldn't do too much in terms of celebration for Juliane, except with a birthday cake and a birthday song with her family at night.

Parent-Child Time.

There was no counselling today as the school is having CA1 this week. In place of counselling, I went out with my parents. It was really nice doing things with my parents. It has been ages since I last did something with my parents, even if it was just going to Tiong Bahru market to have lunch and buy lunch back for my girls. :)

Glee 3 Episode 6

Songs from Glee 3 Episode 6 "Mash off"

I Can't Go for That/ You Make My Dreams (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Hit Me with Your Best Shot/ One Way or Another (uploaded by ChristianVonRappard)


Rumour Has It/ Someone Like You (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Presentation Prep II

I am done with my Phd oral defense presentation. It is version 6 and currently stands at 56 slides. My earlier versions had far more slides! Haha. I either have to talk very fast in 40 minutes or I will have to cut it down further. I have sent it to my supervisor for vetting and approval. Awaiting her reply now.

Travel Fair

Lots of people said it is a good bargain to book the holiday packages at the NATAS travel fair which is held over the weekend. However, I really dislike the crowd and have never attended any travel fairs before. I believe there is always a good deal around (if you just search for it) and not only during the travel fair. Why go through that hassle of jostling with the crowd and long queues just to save a few bucks? I prefer comfort any time lol.

Birthday Planning II

All the mothers of Juliane's classmates came back with favourable replies. :) I called and managed to book the weekend soap-making workshop, which Juliane requested for, as her birthday celebration. All good to go. Now just have to decide whether to get a birthday cake or cupcakes for the girls.

Presentation Prep

Started working on the slides for my PhD oral defense. I have a maximum of 40 minutes for my presentation. Ideally it should be about 30-40 slides for a 40-minute presentation. However, at the rate I am going, I may exceed 40 slides! Let's see how it goes when I am done.

Birthday Planning

Juliane's birthday is coming up real soon. Originally wanted to hold a small birthday gathering for her on the weekend before her 1 March birthday. It is too late now. We can only do that on the weekend after her birthday. I have contacted the mothers of her five classmates and am waiting their favourable replies.

Glee 3 Episode 5

I have got a system to remind me to watch Glee 3. My girls! Haha. They reminded me that there was Glee last night and I managed to watch it.

America (West Side Story) (uploaded by MsCherrybombVEVO)


Tonight (West Side Story) (uploaded by GleeIsrael)


One Hand One Heart (West Side Story) (uploaded by GleeIsrael)

Farewell

Another colleague, Lin Du is leaving. Her official last day is on 29 February but with leave, she will be gone by 24 February. Han Jing and I took Lin Du out to lunch on Monday 20 February. Unfortunately the other two colleagues, Filzah and Azlina couldn't join us as they were sent last minute work to do before their 1pm meeting. :( Lunch was really nice but a bit rushed as we also had to go back to office by 1pm.


Here's wishing you all the best, Lin Du. Take care.

Fickle-Minded

Our June holiday plans have changed yet again. Sigh. The girls are so fickle-minded! Now they said that they want to go to Bali because I promised that I would take them to Bali. I have already shortlisted a couple of tour agencies for their Korea+Jeju tour package. Sigh.
Now, it is back to New Search, this time for Bali. I will NOT entertain any more changing of minds!

My Girls Are on Facebook!

OMG! My girls have Facebook accounts!! Despite me telling them that they were too young to have Facebook account (for security issues), they went ahead. They are so going to get it from me.
How did I find out? It was most silly. I was checking my Facebook and one of my girls blurted out excitedly that her sister has Facebook too. The sister seeing that she was betrayed, quickly retorted that the "traitor" also has Facebook.
I posted this on my Facebook and I had various reactions from friends, ranging from sympathy to "Oh goody, give me their names, I will friend them!". I think most of my friends thought it is quite funny. Guess I will need to talk to them again about cyber-safety.

Hello!

I bought my girls across the road to Food For Thought, Botanic Gardens for lunch. It was just after 11.30am and the place was packed! We looked around for an empty table and we managed to snag one near the cashier. :) Just as I was going to grab a menu for the girls, I heard "Ms Wong". I thought I misheard as it was quite noisy at FFT and didn't bother until I could sense someone running towards me. Oh my goodness, it was my former student, Petrina Ho whom I taught in P3(?), way back in 1990 something, err... never mind it was a LONG, LONG TIME AGO lol. I am glad that I am still recognisable after all these years. :P It was really great catching up with Petrina in person (and not just over Facebook haha) and I brought her over to see my girls. With Petrina's words, my girls finally believed that I once taught at SCGS lol. All the Best in the new year, Petrina. :)


We got our food after half an hour (they were really packed!) but the girls were doing their homework while waiting so time was not wasted lol. I had Brunch (scrambled eggs, sausage, garlic mushrooms) ($8 for 3 items), Juliane had Creamy Mushroom Soup with bread, and Marieann had Creamy Pullled Pork Linguine ($16). The pasta was really good! I couldn't help but kept stealing bites of Marieann's pasta even as I was struggling to finish my brunch lol.


Oh yes, I also met my good friend/colleague at FFT. He was at Botanic Gardens exercising and went into FFT for a drink and bite. Since it was really packed, we shared our table with him otherwise the poor guy might have to stand and eat.
It has been a really nice day for us at FFT - meeting my former student, my friend and having a delicious meal. :)

Glee 3

I keep forgetting to watch the 3rd season of Glee. :( Need to put a note somewhere to remind myself.

Lush

I first started using Lush products when I was studying in Australia. I love its soaps and solid shampoo because they smell really nice and they LAST for a long time. :) It opened a branch in Singapore in the late 90s but after a while, it disappeared. Ever since then, I have been buying and stocking up on my favourite Lush products when I go overseas such as Australia, UK, and USA. However, I discovered by chance recently that Lush has started a branch in Singapore again! I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked past the shop at Wisma. Finally, I can buy Lush in Singapore. :)

The Black Sheep Cafe

My friends and I met for dinner and we tried this The Black Sheep Cafe. It is a cosy, quaint little cafe. Although little in size, this cafe's food pack a punch. :)
We ordered Duck Confit on Apple Rosti ($22.50) and Crispy Pork Cheeks on Sauteed Greens ($24). I loved the duck confit. The duck skin was crispy, the duck meat was tender and the mango relish complemented it well. The apple rosti was surprisingly tasty with apple in it, adding more zest to it.



I tried my friend's pork cheeks. OMG. It just melts in the mouth. Simply droolicious! Even by describing it, I am not doing the dish justice. You have to try it!


We wanted to try its Souffle for dessert but they were out of it for the night. :( We settled for Tiramisu which was pretty yummy too. I will definitely come back again to try its souffle lol.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Passing of Another Diva

This time, it is the passing of a Taiwanese pop diva, Feng Fei Fei at 60 years old. She passed away on January 3 after succumbing to lung cancer. The news of her death was only released today in accordance to her wishes because the Lunar New Year was approaching and Feng Fei Fei did not want her fans to receive the bad news.
Feng Fei Fei was a huge hit with my parents' generation. Every Chinese in that age bracket knows who Feng Fei Fei is. Her fans know her fondly as The Queen of Hats because she loves wearing when performing. Rest in peace, Feng Fei Fei.

Death of a Diva

I did a double take when I saw on Yahoo's Breaking News: Whitney Houston, Dies at 48. I almost couldn't believe my eyes! I told my mother and she was shocked as well.
I listened to Whitney's songs when I was growing up, such as Saving All My Love for You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, So Emotional, I am Your Baby Tonight, Didn't We Almost Have It All?, Where Do Broken Hearts Go?, Greatest Love of All, One Moment in Time, and who can forget, I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard movie. It is such a pity that her life is cut short. But I hope she will rest in peace and know that she has given pleasure to many with her beautiful voice and songs.

One Moment In Time (uploaded by Planetland)


Where Do Broken Hearts Go? (uploaded by AngelsFstyle)


I Wanna Dance with Somebody (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)


I Will Always Love You (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)

Staff Lunch 2012

My good friend and colleague gave me a lift to our staff lunch at Mandarin Hotel. We arrived around 10.40am and therefore entitled to the Early Bird Gift lol. We could choose from either Shaw movie tickets, NTUC Fairprice $10 voucher or thumbdrive. I chose the voucher because I could pass it to my father who often shops at NTUC Fairprice. :)
There were a number of pre-event activities - glamour shots, caricature sketch, silhouette snipping, airbrush snipping and hair extensions. As a memento, I would always go for the glamour shot. :) I was actually lining up for the caricature sketch but it took too long. After 40 minutes, I was still in the queue. I decided to "cut my loss" and joined the queue for silhouette snipping. Within 10 minutes, I was holding my silhouette lol. :)
By 12noon, we were seated at our Table 21. :P It was the usual people at our table - DK, YZ, C, CD, G, K, S, and a new colleague, YX. The goodie bag was really good this year - Garretts popcorn, postit notes, pen - useful and practical stuff. :) The buffet was not too bad, had the famous Chatterbox Chicken Rice. Yummy! :) This year's MC was really good too. He was funny without trying hard and without being rude. We were all laughing so hard with his jokes and antics. :)
Our Table 21 was really lucky as well, with 2 people winning prizes from the top 25 prizes and 1 person winning from 26th-100th prizes. Not bad at all, considering there were about 700 people (70 tables) at the staff lunch, amounting to about one from each table winning something. And we had 3 prize winners from our table alone! :)
The fun ended at 3pm. I am already looking forward to the next staff lunch lol. :P
Oh, what I went as? I was Fiona from Shrek 2, the before transformation haha. :)



My PERI team - "Jasonette", "Fiona", "Ponyo", "Star Trek"

Decision Made

Excitement is really building up at my work place with regards to Saturday's Staff Lunch at Mandarin Hotel. Everyone is discussing what they will be going as. I have finally decided who I will go as. :) I get to dress in my favourite colour too, Green! Haha.

What Are You Going As?

That has been the most frequently asked question at my work place for this week! Lol. This coming Saturday, our organisation is having a Staff Lunch with the theme of "Going to the Movies". We have to dress up as a character in a movie that appeared in the year that we joined the organisation. :) I joined in 2004 and there were a couple of 2004 movies that I enjoyed watching such as Harry Potter 3, Van Helsing, Dawn of the Dead, The Chronicles of Riddick, Resident Evil 2, Alien vs Predator, Anacondas, Blade 3, and i, Robot, lol. Not exactly easy to dress up as one of the characters from one of those movies.
I have dressed as a Hogwarts student during one of my MOE HQ staff retreat (and won first prize for best dressed character! Lol) so I don't want to do that again. Let me think about it... I may go as a character from the movies or I may just go as myself. :)

Missing

There is a new counsellee whom I am supposed to see once a fortnight. However, I have yet to see her because she was on medical leaves on those days I am supposed to see her. It has been four weeks since I started counselling in the new school year. I hope she gets well and I will get to see her the next time round.

Change of Holiday Plans

We were originally planning to go to Canada in June. However, due to the girls' father, we are now looking at holidaying in Korea - mainly Seoul and Jeju Island. As English is not prominently/ commonly used by everyone in Korea, we will be joining a group tour to minimise inconvenience caused by language problem.
Have to start looking at the tour packages offered by the various tour agencies.

Yuan Xiao Festival

My girls and I love eating tang yuan - balls made from glutinous rice flour, both unfilled and filled, as well as both sweet and savoury. We wouldn't miss festivals such as Yuan Xiao (15th day of the Chinese New Year) and Tong Zhi (Winter Solstice Festival) where making and eating of tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) are observed. :)
Today is Yuan Xiao Festival. My mother made glutinous rice balls/ tang yuan (unfilled) in brown sugar soup as well as glutinous rice balls/ tang yuan filled with minced meat and mushroom in chicken broth. We each had second helpings for both kinds of tang yuan! Yum yum! :)

Snow!

We were on Skype with my brother and his family. My brother, using his iPad 2, showed us the thick layer of snow outside his window. The girls were really thrilled to see the snow. Juliane commented that she wanted to go to UK the next day to build a snowman and have snow ball fight! Haha.

Old Bones

Age is definitely catching up with me lol. After attending Parents' Briefing at the girls' school in the morning, I slept for most the day. Yesterday's staff retreat at Universal Studio Singapore had a big part to play in my exhaustion lol. :P

Staff Retreat at Universal Studio Singapore

This is the first ever staff retreat that is all about teamwork and play. :)
We gathered at Universal Studio Singapore (USS) at 9am. By 9.45am, we were seated at the boardroom in the Far Far Away Castle. Our deputy head gave a speech followed by the USS game master's briefing of the scavenger hunt. There were about 70 of us and were split into 7 groups. We set off from Far Far Away Castle for our 3-hours duration scavenger hunt. Each group had to answer 30 questions by looking for the answers around USS. It was really fun. I was able to supply some answers to the questions and my teammates were surprised by my "knowledge" haha. I only realised then HOW MUCH tv series and movies I have watched! Lol. :P By 1.40pm, we were back at the boardroom at Far Far Away Castle. Although my team didn't get top 3 places, I definitely had LOTS of FUN with my teammates running around USS.

Our PERI team (one member not arrived yet)

My scavenger hunt team: Orange Squash lol :P

After the scavenger hunt, we were free to stay in USS until closing time at 7pm. I roamed around on my own - taking photos and watching the live shows lol. It reminded me of the time I spent at Universal Studio, Los Angeles but USS is definitely much smaller than US, LA. I met another colleague who was also roaming on his own and we went on the rides: Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle (first in the world), Battlestar Galactica: Cylon and Revenge of the Mummy. Loved the roller coaster rides. I was laughing the whole time while my colleague was screaming away. Strange to hear a guy screaming like that haha. :P




Transformer, my friend and I

I watch The Mummy because of him lol :)


I had a really great time at USS, and getting to know a few more colleagues. I am one of the handful who have been with the research centre since 2003/ 2004. We are known as "The oldies" to the newbies lol. Because we are attached to projects and / contracts, there is always colleagues leaving every year. After a while, it gets really tiring trying to keep up with who are the new colleagues and who have left. This retreat definitely helps to bring colleagues together. I hope future retreats would be of this nature too. :) Fingers and toes crossed. :)

Blog or Facebook?

Some of us have both a blog and a Facebook account. If you have both, do you have a preference for one over the other?
Seeing how often I have to send out a whole bunch of Belated Happy Birthday wishes through Facebook because I don't check in often enough, is evident enough which one is my preference lol. :P

The Mom Song

OMG. This is really funny. :) My mother has said some of those words to me! And I am now saying the same things to my girls!!
Best reason ever when the girls are not up to standard: "It must be your father's DNA." Lol.
Best reason ever to give when vetoing the girls: "I'm the Mom, the Mom, the Mom, THE MOM!" LOL.

(uploaded by clcintxx)