Hidden Talent

Interesting. My mother did say I was a lot more rebellious than my brother was when growing up. :P

Your Hidden Talent is Your Rebellion

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

More Assembly Time

Assembly Coffee is a pretty good place to do work. Sometimes it can get a bit noisy as the place is small but it is small price to pay for a good working place. :) 

Strawberry tea and Granola with Greek Yoghurt

Egg Mayo Croissant

Good food for a busy mind. :)

Flapped into the Sunset

I came home from work and heard from my girls that Flappy Bird has died. 
I was like, "Err, ok. Just play again?"
No, they said the creator of Flappy Bird has pulled the game from App Store. There is no more Flappy Bird! The girls were commenting how lucky they are to have downloaded the game before it was gone.
Oh, ok lol. 
Bye, Flappy Bird.

Behind Times

I was told that I was behind times by my girls. :( 
Why? Because I was still playing Candy Crush Saga whereas they have already moved on to Flappy Bird! What flappy bird?! They showed it to me. Just tap tap tap and the little birdie flies. Wait, why is it called Flappy Bird? Shouldn't it be called Tappy Bird?! 
Anyway, I tried my hand at Flappy Bird and I "died" immediately, the birdie just dropped to the ground. Tried second time and I "died" again, hitting into the first pillar. That was the last time I played Flappy Bird. Flappy Bird disadvantages people who are "eye-hand coordination" challenged.
I will stick to my Candy Crush Saga. Thank you very much.

SCGS CNY Gathering 2014

The long-awaited SCGS CNY gathering is finally here. Yes, I waited two years for the gathering as I missed the one in 2013 due to the clash with my organisation's staff lunch. 
Mee Siam, I missed you so much. Kueh Pie Tee, I missed you too. Both cooked by Karen, most delicious! Not to mention this year, there was pork ribs curry cooked by Hsiao's husband! The curry was mild as he toned it down. :) It went really well with the basmati rice. The fish cutlets (made by Hsiao) and brownies (made by Hsiao and her elder boy) were yummy! :) The dark chocolate ice cream and lemongrass ice cream (made by Steph's husband) were fantastic! :)
Oh yes, I missed my SCGS friends too. :) Somehow over 2013, I had been too busy to catch up after having missed the CNY gathering. I have forgotten how much my throat would be sore after all the laughing and talking at our CNY gathering.
This year I forgot to take photos of the food, being hungry and all when I arrived at 1+pm lol. Intended to take photos of the mee siam, chicken wings, kueh pie tee and brownies which I packed home for dinner but again, I forgot in the haste to eat the yummy food. :P

"We" have arrived!

My boxes from my Brisbane home were delivered to my Singapore home today at 1pm. From collection of boxes in Brisbane on 28 November to shipment on 23 December to arrival in Singapore port for goods examination on 14 January to delivery to my home on 8 February, it only took 72 days. I deemed that's pretty quick, thought I would only receive my boxes in March. :) I would definitely recommend Seven Seas Worldwide to those who intend to ship back their belongings, excess baggage, etc. from overseas. Seven Seas Worldwide is efficient, professional and very reasonable in their pricing! :) If I ever have to ship anything from overseas back to Singapore again, I will definitely use Seven Seas Worldwide.

I was very excited to see my boxes again. They contained my personal effects from my Brisbane years. They are meaningful and have plenty of sentimental value to me. As I unpacked the boxes, memories came rushing back about my years in Brisbane. If I thought packing was emotionally difficult, unpacking was equally hard. :( I am really glad for my friend, Azlina who helped me with the packing of the boxes in Brisbane in November 2013. She helped to focus my attention on packing and it made the whole packing process less painful. Every now and then, I would pause to reminiscence as I unwrapped the items. Such wonderful memories of Brisbane, of UQ, of my life experiences. It is sad that my life in Brisbane has ended but I take heart that the memories of my life in Brisbane will be stored in my heart and mind.

"I was assailed by memories of a life that wasn't mine anymore, but one in which I'd found the simplest and most lasting joys." Albert Camus

"Garden" Living

Staying right next to Singapore Botanic Gardens have its advantages:
1. Crisp, cool, clean air in the night and early morning. 
2. Walks at the garden (any time within opening hours, arrive at garden within 3 minutes)
3. Enjoy the flora and fauna at the garden
The best advantage for us is that the fauna sometimes come to us. :) 
Two days ago, we saw a family of four Oriental Pied Hornbills hanging around our estate. It is the biggest sighting of hornbills thus far. It was most exciting for us, as evident with the four of us whipping out our phones and camera to take photos! :) 

One of the four Oriental Pied Hornbills sighted - a chick as its beak

A second Oriental Pied Hornbill - an adult

We have seen other birds at our estate too, such as yellow-crested cockatoos, goshawks or buzzards (can't really tell the difference), white-throated kingfisher, as well as sightings of squirrels and long-tailed macaque monkeys (wondered how they crossed Cluny Road to get to our estate).  

Happy Birthday to Men

Today is the 7th day of Chinese New Year, also known as Day of Men or 人日 (rén rì). Today is the day when all men grow a year older and is celebrated with Yusheng (鱼生, yúshēng), also known as Lo Hei (usually a salad made with thinly sliced raw fish, shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments) which has a symbolic meaning of abundance, prosperity and vigour. 
We had yusheng today at dinner to celebration everyone's birthday. :)

Contemplative Singapore?

Singapore, an intelligent city?! I never knew. According to this quiz, I think better in a more active environment and would do well in Singapore, Boston or Amsterdam. Sigh. I thought I might get an Australian city lol.

Your Ideal City is Contemplative

You're the type of person who can enjoy a city without necessarily being right in the mix. You like to sit back and observe. You can learn a lot from people watching and getting down the rhythm of the streets. You think better in a more active environment, and who knows? Maybe the city will inspire a great theory or novel. You would do well in an intelligent city like Singapore, Boston, or Amsterdam... all known for their brain power!

The City Life Test

Back to Work

BUT wishing I was back on hols instead. :P Well, I am not the only one who felt this way. The girls did too lol. Like mother, like daughter?! :P
The build-up towards CNY (spring-cleaning and preparation for CNY and reunion dinner) as well as the two days of visiting eroded whatever rest that would have accompanied the holidays. However, I must be thankful, usually there are only two days of public holiday for CNY and I often return to work feeling exhausted. At least this year we had two more days - one day to sleep after the two days of visiting and hosting and one day to truly appreciate the peace and restfulness. 

4th Day of CNY 2014: Substituted Public Holiday

As Saturday 1 February 2014 was a public holiday for Chinese New Year (2nd Day of CNY), it is substituted and observed by our organisation today*, Monday 3 February 2014. As such, it is a really long weekend, counting from Thursday 30 January afternoon till today, Monday 3 February. It would have been another perfect day of rest except that I have to work on some stuff today...

*However, not every organisation would have today off for their employees, e.g. hospitals and banks and so such organisations would allow their employees to take a day off in lieu of the public holiday.

3rd Day of CNY 2014

It is a day of rest! :) According to the traditional Chinese customs, people do not go visiting on the 3rd Day of Chinese New Year (CNY) for three reasons. 
One, today is the Red Dog day (Red Dog = God of Anger). Apparently, God of Anger brings bad luck to people so people don't go out on this day to avoid losing temper and getting into arguments with others. 
Second, there's a saying that today is the Mice's wedding day and so people want to prevent mice from breeding too fast (or something to that effect, there's a saying in Minnan dialect which I can't recall). 
Third, today is also known as the day of "Sending off the Poor". If you have any rubbish which was not removed before CNY, this is the day to clear them out. And also for the first two days, there was no sweeping allowed and so today is the day to sweep out the "Poor Spirit" from your home. :) 
On a more practical note, after days of CNY preparation and 2 days of CNY celebration, most people are tired and the 3rd Day of CNY is the perfect day for a rest. :P There are definitely wisdom in these sayings by our ancestors. :) 

2nd Day of CNY 2014

For the 2nd day of CNY, we stayed home as we usually have friends visiting us for CNY and for our signature dishes lol. As usual, my mother prepared our Hockchew red wine chicken soup with mee sua and her Taiwanese-style braised pork with buns which were served throughout the day. :) This year, we only had three families visiting us but we were busy entertaining from 10:30am until 6pm! Tiring. :P
Three other families couldn't make it today but have already made appointments to visit on Friday 7 February for CNY visitation as well as for the food lol. Looks like we will be having mee sua and braised pork buns twice within the week! :P   

Chinese New Year 2014

Happy Chinese New Year!

May good health, good luck, good fortune and great success be yours in the Year of the Horse.

祝大家: 新年快乐, 心想事成, 马到成功! 

With no extended families here (both my paternal and maternal side), we only had five places to visit on the first day of Chinese New Year - the temple (to pray for blessings for the year), my grandaunt, an elderly family friend, my primary school teacher and another elderly family friend. :) Pretty relaxing for us. :)

Chinese New Year's Eve 2014

It is Chinese New Year's eve 2014. The girls are at home because their school has declared today a school holiday because of the excellent results for PSLE 2013 and O level 2013. Yes, their CNY holiday is 5 days long!
In the morning, my family prayed to my ancestors and asked for their blessings for the year. In the evening, we had reunion dinner at home as always. :) Being practical, we feel it is not worth it to be fleeced by restaurants for dishes with over the top prices just because it is the Chinese New Year and it is also uncomfortable to eat within a time limit because of the crowds. For us, it is so much easier and comfortable to have dinner at home as we always have steamboat. :)

Preparing the Yu Sheng with seasoned seaweed, jellyfish and scallop

Yu Sheng all done up :)

Home-cooked steamed chicken and steamboat soup

Steamboat

After dinner, we just relaxed and watched television. Actually, it feels like any normal day lol. Oh yes, I gave out red packets to my parents and the girls, and also to our domestic helper. :) The next two days will be busy with visiting family and friends as well as hosting family and friends who come visiting.

The Dispensary @ Tiong Bahru

I finally visited The Dispensary today with a friend. In its former life, it was an abandoned Chinese medical hall which has been revived and transformed into a cafe, now known as The Dispensary. My late paternal grandfather used to own a Chinese medical hall so it is really wonderful to see the owners retaining the old Chinese medicine cabinets as it is a fond reminder of my childhood. There are also many items on display that serve to show a glimpse of life in the 50s, 60s and 70s. :) It was kind of a little travel back in time. I didn't get to see upstairs as it was closed. Hopefully, I can see it at the next visit.

I didn't get to try out the cupcakes as I have hoped as there weren't any. :( Perhaps next visit, I will have better luck. :) Instead, I just had a Babycino while my friend tried a Ham & Cheese toastie and a latte.

I love The Dispensary's vintage decor which gives the cafe an idle and nostalgic air - perfect in getting me to slow down and take it easy for the time I spent at The Dispensary. :)

Finding Comfort

in Stories. That's me. :) 

You Find Stories Comforting

You love to dream, imagine, and escape into a beautiful story. There's nothing like leaving the real world for a while. Books are the ultimate relaxation for you, but you can also be drawn into the right movie, tv series, or even song. For you, there's no better experience than finding a book you love, especially if you connect with the characters. You can lose all sense of time in a story, and at the end of it all, you have a new perspective on the world!

The Comfort Test

This is so true for me! When I need a break or when I am stressed or when I want to relax, I read. :)

2014 Chinese Zodiac Animal Forecast II

Here is another 2014 Chinese zodiac animal forecast which is pretty good, with positive news and suggestions/ advice on how to avoid/ minimise the negative stuff. :)

Chinese Horoscope Forecast for 2014 by Joey Yap

Have fun reading the forecast.

CNY Prep Checklist

Another four more days and it will be Chinese New Year! 

Girls' CNY clothes - checked
My CNY clothes - checked
CNY gifts for my elders - checked
Prepare red packets - checked
Sparkling juice for reunion dinner - checked
Yu sheng ingredients (minus raw fish) - checked

CNY goodies for visitors - unchecked

At Assembly Again

Not the school kind of assembly but the cafe kind of Assembly. :) Visited Assembly Coffee again. :) Wanted to try out its other food items and drinks. The menu is not extensive but it has enough dishes to satisfy the hunger pangs. :)

Iced Chocolate and Latte

More latte art :)

Ham & Cheese Croissant and Carrot Cake

Pulled Pork Sandwich - apple slices added a new twist :) A tad dry though

Scrambled Egg Croissant with Honey Baked Ham - simply delicious!

Inside Assembly before it got crowded

We tried various dishes. My favourites are the scrambled egg croissant and the carrot cake. The eggs were scrambled just nice and the carrot cake is most moist and there are pineapple bits in it! :) The pulled pork sandwich was quite tasty with the apple slices, which gave the sandwich a new twist. However, it was just a tad too dry. Could do with a little bit more sauce. As Assembly is a coffee place, understandably there are a lot more coffee drinks. They do offer other than coffee - chocolate (hot/ iced), freshly squeezed juice and tea. As a tea drinker, I am hoping maybe one day soon, Assembly may just add a tea latte or two into their drinks menu... :)
What I also like about Assembly is that the smell of food doesn't cling to your clothes and hair, unlike in some other similar small cafes. In fact, there is hardly any food smell even though they prepared the dishes onsite, except for the aroma of coffee. :) 
Although it is small, Assembly is an unpretentious and cosy place for a drink, a simple meal, a little catching up with a friend or two (and for working too!).