Lousy service @ Delifrance Plaza by the Park

Came in at 2 pm and ordered a 'Hearty $9.90 Deal' of Chicken-Baked Rice for the mains.

Soup came in 15-20 minutes later... Stared at the service personnel but decided not to bug them and entertain myself by doing my work as I was supposed to.

Waited another 15-20 minutes but my main dish is still not in sight. Like any other Singaporean who doesn't want to blow up the matter, I kept quiet and continued to do my work. Finally... 3.45 pm and the manager came by, telling me that they have ran out of rice and could they replace it with pasta. Oh dear, I was flabbergasted that they only realised they did not have the ingredients for my dish a full 45 minutes after I placed my order?!?!

I guess I should have thrown up a bigger fuss. But it's just not my nature to do so. Besides, I was in a good mood, having just did some work on my laptop.

But seriously, the service at this outlet really deserves to be polished. Although, yes, this outlet really does not have more than 10 customers at any one time during the weekends. If not for the free internet access and power supply for laptops, its spacious tables, peace and quiet of the place (no customers mah), I really wouldn't come. $12 for a meal is not exactly cheap.

Okies. My dessert is here. Shall go enjoy it before the ice-cream melts away.

I'm an ESFP

ESFP Strengths

• Enthusiastic and fun-loving, they make everything enjoyable


• Clever, witty, direct, and popular, people are drawn towards them


• Earthy and sensual


• Down to earth and practical, able to take care of daily needs


• Artistic and creative, they're likely to have attractive homes


• Flexible and diverse, they "go with the flow" extremely well


• They can leave bad relationships, although it's not easy


• Try to make the most of every moment


• Generous and warm-hearted

ESFP Weaknesses

• May be frivolous and risky with money


• Tend to be materialistic


• Extreme dislike of criticism, likely to take things extremely personally


• Likely to ignore or escape conflict situations rather than face them


• Lifelong commitments may be a struggle for them - they take things one day at a time


• Don't pay enough attention to their own needs


• Tendency to neglect their health, or even abuse their bodies


• Always excited by something new, they may change partners frequently

Think the above points are true about me? *grin*

First week of school

It's Friday!

Will be meeting GT and WS later today - can't wait! Hope I remember to take photos.

I love my timetable today. The rest of the week has been hectic and lessons non-stop. But also because of the full timetable for the past 4 days, I only have 2 teaching periods today.

Otherwise where got time to blog so early in the morning?

Just like to share a funny incident that happened last Sunday.

Was out in town with a guy friend and we ended up at Best Denki after dinner. I needed to shop for more electronics for my brother's move to Sweden.

Spent some time shopping for vacuum cleaner, humidifier, and last but not least, a water purifying device for the tap. We ended up at Osim to buy the water purifying device and the (cute) salesman was the ultra-chatty type.

While I was filling out the warranty card and waiting to make payment, the salesman kept referring to my guy friend as my "husband". I wanted to correct him straight away but was too busy writing out the warranty card. In addition, I found it quite funny.

Sigh... I wonder if it was a mistake.

Because neither my friend nor myself corrected the salesman, he continued to try to promote other items (e.g. massage chair, etc) to my husband. I think he called my friend "my husband" a total of no less than 5 times. I cringed every time but it was too late to correct him.

And I kept wondering what my friend was thinking...

Was he waiting for me to correct the salesman? Did he think it was funny? It's so typical of Singaporeans to make such an assumption. Only married couples would go shopping for electronics? Singles don't need electronics one meh?

Anyway, many thanks to my "husband". Not only was the shopping experience a highly entertaining one due to the misunderstanding, he provided the muscle power to help me carry all the bulky items I ended up buying. Now, with friends like him around, why do I need a real husband? *grin*

No more income soon

Last paycheck coming in 2 weeks later.

Just made arrangements for an acquaintance to take over my tuition assignment. Then realised, darn!, there'd be no more tuition income either!

Wah! Really have to survive from next month purely on my savings. *shudder*

Must remember to stop all unnecessary expenditure asap!

Small lodgings

It can be quite depressing seeing how nice my brother's accomodation is while mine is kinda...

See for yourself...

Chasing cockroaches

Chased after yet another cockroach in the kitchen just now.

First time I missed hitting the b*******. All the huge boxes of electronic goods and grocery items my brother bought for his Sweden trip got in my way. I hope my brother won't bring along some Singapore "xiao qiang" to his new home in Annebo, Sweden.

His place is so nice!


I can't wait to visit him. We'd only be 1 300 km apart, thanks to Google Maps' Distance Measurement tool.

But he's quite far from Stockholm. Not sure if there's actually anything in Annebo, Sweden. CityGuide Europe indicates that the nearest city to Annebo would be Karlskoga, and that it's the place for outdoor experiences all around the year. There are woods to pick mushrooms and berries, mountains to go hiking, and canoeing to see the best of Karlskogas surroundings. Apparently, there are no less than 3 000 lakes and watercourses there. I might even catch a glimpse of both the elk and the beaver. Cool! (Really must learn to swim first!)

Kinabalu, Sabah 2008 photos

Finally consolidated the photos from the Kinabalu trip.

I can't wait for my next trip...

First Class All the Way

I love this new show on AXN. (yes, yes, I still try to make time to watch TV despite all the things I have to do...)

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams are reality for Sara Duffy, an eccentric go-getter with a meticulous attitude who runs a luxury travel concierge business.

Billionaires, socialites and entertainment moguls turn to Sara and her team of travel experts, dubbed "Sara's Angels," to scour the world in search of the best, one-of-a-kind experiences.

Outrageous demands are nothing out of the ordinary, as Sara and her team ensure that there is no mission too great, no corner of the world untouchable, and no experience too immense.

First Class All The Way takes viewers inside the world of high-end luxury travel while revealing the drama that goes behind keeping demanding clients content and making extravagant dream vacations come to life.

Advice to myself

"Jobs come and go,
Education is for life."

"No one will look out for your benefits,
You have to look out for yourself."

Mount Kinabalu

Have been running errands like mad the last 2 days. So didn't have time to blog about my Kinabalu trip...

Seeing that my trip-kakis have blogged about their experiences, I guess I better sit down and pen a few words before I crash for the night.

Let's see...

Came back from Japan with the weekend to unpack and rest, etc. Took the entire night before flying off to Kota Kinabalu (henceforth shall be known as KK) to pack my stuff into my backpack. Wasn't entirely sure how much stuff I have to lug with me while hiking, etc, so tried to minimise my packing. No make-up (despite getting used to it in Japan), minimal clothes (one set per 2 days, and 2 sets of night clothes), minimal money (RM201.30 - watever I found while spring-cleaning)...

Turns out my kiam packing was for both good and bad.

Let's talk about the bad first...

I ran out of clothes to wear. Yup. Had nothing nice to wear when we went out for the night activities coz most everything else was dirty after the hike up Mount KK. Thank goodness I'm not that vain a person.

I ran out of money. But thank goodness, had enough cash with me to change to RM for my shopping on the last 2 days.

Didn't pack a smaller daypack. Thot a waistpouch will be enough for the hike up Mount KK. Man, was it cold up there! 7 freaking deg C! Still can't believe there's a place in MALAYSIA that's 7 freaking deg Celsius. Thank goodness I love the cold. My Nike track pants was enough to keep my legs warm. Used my towel as an impromptu-beanie for my head. As I trekked up the mountain, wore a tanktop for first 4 km, then a t-shirt when it got much colder in the top part. When it started raining, told myself to bear with it and did not put on my long sleeve t and track pants. Good decision. Coz dry clothes are the key to keeping warm!

Didn't get to throw away any of the clothes that I had brought over to throw away coz everything turned out so useful...

The good...

Amazed that I can really survive with the little clothes and stuff that I brought. Reinforce the fact that all other stuff is just... stuff.

Okies. It's really getting late... Let me come to the key points of the trip then.

(1) I did not make it to the summit. Kudos to NT, JT, AC, AT, ZP and SLoh for making it to the summit!

(2) I have come to recognise and acknowledge my limits. Esp my physical limits. I wanted to go to the summit. Very much. But I knew I will be pushing my physical self to the max. I already struggled to make it all the way to Laban Rata, the 6 km mark. For me to trek 3 km in the cold and dark, to get to the summit, will prob drain me of everything Sharon has to offer. And I'd end up becoming a burden to the group. In the end, yes, I made the right decision. By not going for the hike to the summit, I was able to enjoy the Via Ferrata much more and I started the hike down earlier with Pa. Hence, we were able to reach Timpohon Gate just after it got dark and I was even able to help support Pa when her knees started to give out on her. I even helped to carry her bag for her during the last km down!

(3) I need to learn how to swim. On our trip to Manukan Island, I really wanted to snorkel and see the corals and colourful fishes swimming all around. However, stepping just barely a metre into the water, I was gripped with this deep fear of slipping, falling into the water and drowning. So, I had to go rent a life jacket. However, I was still afraid and didn't swim very far out. I was hoping to be able to grab hold of one of my friends when they swam out to see the corals but they went off without me. Hence, I missed seeing the corals. *sad*

(4) I'm sorry if I offended NT when me and ZP started critiquing him. We were only trying to bring some things to your notice. In fact, I would say I'm very worried about you, NT... Talk to you personally another time, k?

Kyushu, Japan 2008 photos

Yup. Just back from my Science Learning Journey to Kyushu, Japan.

Gonna fly off to conquer Kota Kinabalu in a couple of hours. Haven't packed yet... So, I better get started... *grin*

Hope I survive. Fitness very bad. I think I'm like the most unfit among the whole group... *bleah*

Anyway, photos of Japan as below. Enjoy! I know I did...

Sex and the City movie

Just watched the movie. Told myself i couldn't wait till after my Jap trip. I was quite sad i couldn't watch it on Wed when it first came out.

Very glad i watched it, despite my crazy schedule today. I have barely another 2 more hours before i have to leave for japan. Japan - yoo hoo!

Anyway, back to satc, I'm still incredulous at how much a sucker i am for the show. I'm fascinated at how carrie can buy so many branded goods, and seemingly not need to work. The fashion were both good and bad. Some things i like, some "wat is that?!?"

Maybe I'm reading too much into the movie. But it has much to offer on being oneself, friendship, forgiveness, communication, and of course, love.

I also can't believe i actually cried during the movie. Not once, not twice, but a grand total of 3 times!! I think the last time i cried was when i watched all those people dying in titanic.

Hang in there!

Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things. They are not there to keep you out. They keep other people out.

Traumatised by birds

Photo courtesy of Forest and Field Bird Wallpaper

There's something with me and birds these 2 days. I had 2 incidents involving birds within 12 hours of each other.

Late yesterday afternoon, a small young bird settled on my lao di's car boot on our way home. My lao di promptly took out his camera and started clicking away. It was not afraid of us and refused to move despite our near-ness. It was also not camera-shy and gave my lao di plenty of still frames.

We took a long time pondering if the bird was old enough to fly away, and wondering how best to get rid of the bird. Finally, we decided to grab hold of the bird using a rag and our hands. And it promptly flew away at the moment our hands barely grabbed hold of it.

That was bird incident 1.

Bird incident 2 was a lot more dramatic.

Was feeling extremely down after talking to my big big boss yesterday and got a lil clinically depressed, I think.

Had no appetite but made myself eat 2 slices of the pizza that I bought from a new pizzeria near my place. I hadn't anything the whole day other than a small chicken pau.

Actually went to sleep straight after my 2 slices of pizza. If I'm not wrong, that was like 8 pm!

Got the required 5 hours of sleep and woke up slightly after 1 am. Felt much better after the rest and went to work looking for more information regarding the PDL and other admin nonsense.

Emailed some of my close friends for their advice. Hope they get back to me. I have more or less decided on my course of action but it's always nice to get different points of views from my friends instead of the constant bombardment of "stay, stay, stay!" from my colleagues. For one, the latter would be biased. Guess I should be glad that they wan me to stay instead of rushing me to leave? *grin*

Ok. Anyway, back to my traumatic incident with the 2nd bird.

So, I woke up real early just past 1 am and did computer work. Made my way to the kitchen around 5 am to prepare for work. Went into the toilet and hear some rustling. Thought it was some "large" lizards moving around and the sounds being amplified in the early morning quietness. Disregarded the noise and sounds. BIG mistake.

Walked out of the toilet after changing and saw this big black mass flapping its wings furiously and hitting everything in its wild flight path. I hurriedly hid back inside the toilet. I didn't have my spectacles on and I was so shocked! Immediate thought was that it was a bat. Hence the black mass, wild wings and crazy flying.

Waited a looooong while before I tried to get out of the toilet again. 2 steps out, thought the crazy thing was gone, started to brush my teeth and the thing flew out of onwhere! I yelled and ran back inside the toilet. This time, I saw a flash of blue and thought the wings sounded rather feathery. Hence, I decided it was a crazy bird, not a bat.

Shouted continuously for my grand-father and brother, but they chose this morning to be deeply asleep and my shouts were in vain. Hid out in the toilet for another looooon while before I took my towel to hit the toilet door and agitate the bird. Finally, it decided it had enough and promptly flew out the kitchen window. Thankfully, I was peeking out of the toilet door and saw it flying off. Immediately, I closed the kitchen window and went about getting ready.

Was still a lil paranoid though, until I left my place. Hope the bird doesn't show up again. But guess my mum is always the first one up. She'd scared off any birds that does find its way into our kitchen. Will ask her when my parents return from their holiday in Sydney if any bird have come in before... *sigh*

Ironman

Photo courtesy of Ironman Movie Website - Gallery

Ironman is a great movie!

I have not read the comics before but the movie really enticed me to grab a copy to browse through.

Watched it the first time with my lao di and he fed me with so much information about the background, the Ironman character, other Marvel hero characters, technical questions I had of Ironman, etc.

Watched it a second time with Jon and it was a quieter movie. The cinema ambience was definitely much better, with much nicer seats and bigger screen. Was pleasantly surprised when Jon decided to satisfy his craving for KFC and bought dinner for me as well. It's been such a long time since anybody made decisions for me - it's really nice. Pity he needs to go back early to rest - would have loved to spend more time out with him and get to know him better.

Anyway, back to the movie...

I have always loved Robert Downey Jr. I got more addicted to Ally McBeal after he joined the show. I can't wait for the other 2 episodes of Ironman. Yes. Ironman is gonna be a trilogy!

And all the engineering and technical stuff of the show just made the movie so much more fascinating for me! The sleek design of the arc reactor, the creativity and ingenuity of a guy kidnapped and trapped in a cave and his ability to build a high-tech suit of armor with his injury and limited resources, the 3D visualisations of Ironman prototype 2, etc, I can just go on and on...

I love the movie more also because the hero is not one with supernatural powers. He's just a "normal" guy with flaws, a dry sense of humour, smarter brains than most, and he's trying to make the world a better place with the tools and machines that he has at his disposal.

But of course, nothing beats the whole experience of watching a great movie with even greater company, with 2 of my favourite guys.

I hope to catch a number of movies before I go for my trips to Japan and Kinabalu... Movies like "Made of Honour", "Prince Caspian" and "Sex and the City.

Cleaning up my room

Yeah! Finally started on part 2 of my spring cleaning efforts.

Part 1 was cleaning up all my CDs, VCDs and DVDs collection. I would say that accounts for 10% of the bedroom mess in my bedroom.

Started on Part 2 last night. That was all the papers lying on and around my bed. Another 10% cleared.

Still have another 80% to go. Wonder if there are enough weekends to get to everything?

I truly am a HOARDER of the biggest magnitude. Really have to attach less value to the objects around me and be happy without material things.

Let's see what my other 80% of my bedroom mess is huh?

• 10% travel-related - souvenirs, maps, entrance tickets, pamphlets, etc
  
• 10% books - story books, self-help books, just books...
  
• 10% magazines - shape, cawaii, ff, cosmopolitan, red book, smitten, etc
  
• 10% fashion accessories - ear-rings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc
  
• 10% handicraft - beads, cross-stitch, knitting, craft stuff...
  
• 10% stationery - pens, pencils, erasers, scissors, rulers, more pens...
  
• 10% toiletries and make-up - sample sized facial wash, shampoo and body foam, face masks, loads and loads of make-up (sample size and full size), etc
  
• 10% everything else - sports, games, i dunno...
  

Dinner for 2

Cooked dinner tonight for my grandfather and myself.

White rice, fried fish, omelette with bacon and a chicken and mushroom soup.

Will put up the photos later.

Not too bad.

The rice turned out okay. Was afraid it'd be too wet or too dry. Yes. People can screw up white rice even with the rice cooker. Anyway, mine turned out fine - it was just nice.

Used a tad too much oil for the fried fish. I'd stick to my old fave of pan fried salmon next time.

The best dish is of course my omelette with bacon. I'm good with eggs. Steam eggs, egg soup, fried eggs, porridge with salted eggs, etc.

The soup was not too bad. Used canned chicken stock and sliced mushrooms. Dumped in fishballs and crab sticks just before serving. Some real shredded chicken bits would make the soup perfect.

And yes, like my mum always said. Always wash up as you cook. That way, you dun end up with a HUGE pile of stuff to wash at the end of the meal. I hate washing up. I may love cooking. But the thought of washing up always turn me off. However, I'm great at thinking ahead and manage to re-cycle the cutlery and crockery I use to contain my food prep. Hence, less stuff to wash up.

Bought some stuff to cook for tmr... Stir-fry pork with ginger slices, healthy steamed enoki mushrooms and baby carrots, sze-chuan hot and sour soup with tofu pieces.

By my side

When I'm sick,
I just want
Someone
To take care of me.

When I'm sad,
I just want
Someone
To comfort me.

Someone...
Where are you?

Someone
To stay by my side
In good times
And bad

Someone
To love me
Even when we fight
And argue

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals. For more, visit www.cmu.edu/randyslecture.

"Journeys" are special University Lectures in which Carnegie Mellon faculty members share their reflections on their journeys -- the everyday actions, decisions, challenges and joys that make a life.

For those of you who aren't familiar with who Dr. Randy Pausch is, the short story goes like this:

He is a happily married man with three very young children. He spent years working for Disney as an Imagineer who helped them develop some of their theme park attractions. He then went on to teach at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania where he still is to this day.

Abruptly, his life took a turn for the worse when he got cancer and fought it off after years of treatment. The cancer has since returned and has near-totally corupted several vital organs leaving him with mere months to live.

This video is his shortened speech on how not even death can bring this man down and how the dreams he sought to come true can inspire us all.

Several quotes I really appreciated from his talk:

• Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things. They are not there to keep you out. They keep other people out.


• When somebody is going to ride you for two hours, that’s because they care enough to make you better. When you’re doing a bad job and nobody points it out to you, that’s when they’ve given up on you.

This video below is a shorter version shown on Oprah which I was first shown during one of my staff meeting. Fate has it that I came across it as I was channel-surfing at home one evening and I got to see the whole show in its context.



This video below is a much longer version. It is the original version that Prof. Pausch gave in Carnegie Mellon University.



So, feel free to pass this video on to anyone you feel takes life for granted or just pass it to someone who loves to live.

A new beginning

Each second
You can be reborn

Every moment
There can be a new beginning

Hope is a gem
A jewel beckoning to us

Let us press on
And dig deep

See the sparkle
Of a new beginning