wallflower

Friday, January 30, 2009

Butty ice-cream! That's seasalt caramel and chestnut. Love the salty sweetness of the seasalt caramel but not a fan of the yellow and more expensive chestnut though. A bit too tasteless.

Beautiful chandeliers at Centrepoint. Love the glitter!

And this reminds me of those shiny idol cards that we used to buy as kids. The one where we dumbly put in our 20c and turn a knob, awaiting anxiously to see what card we've got, but only to be disappointed 8 out of 10 times when it isn't one of the "Four Heavenly Kings"

Some alien fish we spotted at Isetan. Check out the prices! No wonder their eyes are bulging!

And here's what we had for lunch, and what Dan had for tea. Mee sua! Had the pork rib one at some shop in PS which wasn't too bad, though we were totally butchered for the price we paid. $3.50 for such a small cup of mee sua? Blardy hell... we spent $10.50 on what we could have made for less than $4!Nevertheless, we're suckers for this thing and can't stop eating it!!!

And who can resist this?!?! Tell me you can and I'll call your bluff!

And here we are, after having been drenched in the rain. Of all times to rain today, it chose to do so just when we stepped out from Far East to make our LOOOOOOONG and WET way to the MRT station. And it didn't help that at our first step, it poured even heavier than it did previously. Damn.

Nevertheless, it was a GOOD day! A great one in fact. Hoooray!!!

Oh, and that's despite how I nearly fell out of the train at Dover cos I was so engrossed playing solitaire on Dan's phone that I forgot I was leaning on the door that was opening.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Gong xi fa cai indeed!

Moo~ it's the year of the Ox, my year! So here's what's been going on -

As usual, we've had reunion dinner at my parent's place - steamboat

Someone's all set to dig in

The table-full of food - yummy yummy

Watch out food!

The men busy cooking and eating

The hustle and bustle of visiting's pretty much done for the past 2 days. And as for today, whilst people get ready to get back to work and start return from the holidays, I'm at home cooking and cleaning. Tried my hand at making Jap curry with pork cutlet. Not too bad, except some parts of the cutlet was too raw, cos frying apparently isn't all that easy. Well, hopefully I'll have better luck next time with chicken cutlet.

Here's the crispy pork cutlet, although I've realised only after frying that the tempura flour that I used to coat the meat has expired. No bouts of stomachache yet though.

The curry cooking on the stove, and a little naughty boy in the background getting his grubby fingers on the pork cutlet.

Vodka awaiting impatiently for his meal.

I can smell it!

Kino falling asleep under the table, tired of waiting. "Wake me up when it's done"

Here's their dish going into the wok. Dinner will be served in 10 minutes, Mam' and Sir

And here's our pork cutlet rice with Jap curry! Yummy!

My newest craze for the past few days - Connect 4! Lost several times to Jaymond, but after some practice and careful strategising, finally got the hang of it.

Look at how tiny it is! Bought this tyke from the mama shop under Dan's ah ma's house for just $1.90! Travel Connect 4 anyone?

新年快乐！恭喜发财！万事如意！心想事成！

Monday, January 26, 2009

Gong xi fa cai! Xin nian kuai le!

It's the year of the Ox again. That's two rounds of the zodiac in my life.

Reunion dinner as usual at my parent's place - steamboat. Still in steamboat withdrawl from our mini reunion dinner with the tenents so didn't manage to eat much. Although I am proud that I did eat more than 10 crabsticks, probably.

Had reunion dinner at Dan's granny's place on Saturday, which made things much simpler - less fluster to finish one then rush to another for 2nd round. And with my shrinking appetite, I doubt I can pull of such a feat anymore.

And visiting takes on the familiar routine that we've been undertaking for years - from as long as I can remember actually. Kum po's home then Tiong Bahru.

I'm am thankful that most of my relatives stay in clusters in the same area, which really reduces the need to travel, making CNY visiting so much more convenient. It's either up or down a floor, or just the next block. Yay.

And after that, it'll be to Dan's granny's and prob Dan's mom's, which most likely will result in a night of mahjong and gambling.

Well, my lonely CNY eve has ended, since Dan has returned from a round of MJ from his mom's. Time to hit the sack and prepare for the festivities to come.

Gong xi fa cai! Wan shi ru yi! I LOVE YOU MY SMELLY BEBE

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

1 advanced reunion dinner that lasted for almost 3 hours. Steamboat with grill. Tons of food that was left over.

Result? Dan and me will have to eat steamboat ingredients for the next few meals.

Lunch today: Fried rice with hot dogs, abalone mushrooms, button mushrooms, straw mushrooms and fishballs and additional ingredients of cheese tofu and fuzhou fishballs; and prawns in black sauce

Dinner today: Leftover fried rice from lunch; mushroom pot made with the above mentioned types of shrooms and golden mushrooms; sambal chili sotong; and oyster sauce xiao bai cai.

Left in the fridge are hot dogs (+1 unopened pack), fishballs, golden mushrooms 3 packets of unopened crab sticks and a bag full of vege with some corn.

Looking forward to lunch tomorrow. Not.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Watching Reunion Dinner is like watching myself on TV - the same worries, the same problems faced by the various families.

At least Nana can work as a beer lady.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

And just after blogging about my runaway dog and constantly choking dog, I left the house and nearly returned with a bundle of joy.

From deficit to nearly positive. If only I were talking about stocks.

Got the shock of my life when this stray dog approached us just when I was trying to put Kino's gentle leader back on, which she pulled off once again. And amidst the flurry, luckily Bin Bin was there and helped me out with Vodka, whose gentle leader came off as well after all the excitement at the arrival of the new dog.

Just when I turned around to help Vodka put on his gentle leader again, the stray took the opportunity to hump Kino. Totally got the shock of my life!

An uncle came over and helped us chase the stray away, after I tried in vain to fend him off Kino. Had no choice but to get her to sit most of the time, since tht would be the safest position for her.

Ended up having to fend him off all the way till the lift lobby, cos I gave up on walking them to find Dan. I think I'll never walk the two of them alone again, for fear of meeting another rapist dog.

Please Kino, don't pop out a bunch of black puppies anytime soon! Time to sterilise someone.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Bloggin on the new laptop now. Testing it before I hand it over to mom... I've always had a soft spot for new electronic gadgets like this new baby that is awesome! For a 'free' laptop it looks damn nice! No more ugly fugly dinosaurs that schools usually hand to the students - a brand new ass-kicking machine this is! The shiny metallic finish, touchpad buttons and even a tiny light for dark moments.

Anyways, before everyone thinks I'm crazy swooning over a non-animate object, I'm totally aching all over! Nothing to do with throwing shot puts or the discus, but spring cleaning. Yes, climbing up and down, scrubbing hard to reach places and all. Really works weird muscles that I didn't know I had.

It's only when I start cleaning my own house that I realise how much our parents have done for us. Finally understand my mom for the constant nagging to clean up the house and help her with the chores, cos they are such a pain in the arse. Almost wished that I had my own kids whom I can nag into doing the chores with me too.

Woke up from my nap in a start once again - Vodka had one of his choking, trembling and shaking fits. Dan was home this time round and had such a shock. He didn't puke out what was causing the choke, but he got over it after a while.

Guess he swallowed whatever it was. If it was something that flew into my house from the ledge outside, all thanks to the idiots who constantly throw trash out their windows cos they are too lazy to move their fat arses to the dustbin, I swear karma will bite them in the arse so they won't have one to sit around on anymore.

After his terrifying ordeal, he ended up walking around in a trance-like state, pacing from the kitchen to the toilet for about 5 minutes. We were so scared that the lack of oxygen to his brain had impaired his thinking ability or functioning. Thank goodness he was back to normal after a while.

There's something about losing my dogs this week - Kino almost ran away yesterday during our walk minutes after we left the house cos the leash came free after she successfully pulled the gentle harness off her snout and she ran for her life.

Was so shocked that I just stood there. Somehow a strange calm overcame me. It could have been that I didn't really care if she ran away, or that I was so sure that she would not.

Devised a plan after realising running after her blindly would not have worked. I grabbed Vodka and told Dan to run with me in the other direct, and hook, line and sinker. She followed us and when she was within grabbing distance, I reached out for her collar but she dodged away before I could do anything and ran off again. Dan sped after her, full speed, and managed to tackle her to the floor and leashed her again.

Almost lost her again when we were heading home - was passing the leash over to Dan when it slipped out without any of us grabbing onto it. But luckily, she was rather tired from our jog that she just stood there and Dan stomped on her leash.

A runaway dog and another dog who chokes and suffocates too often for comfort. My weird pair.

On another note, celebrated Jac's birthday at Kushin-bo JP. Food was good! Yummy yummy... although I think Jac will steer clear of Jap food for a while now, esp salmon. ;P

Here's us!

Each of us made a cup of our own concoction for Jac to finish up and here's Dan's ice-cream covered with a hardened layer of chocolate from the chocolate fountain. Poor Jac had to hack through the chocolate to get to the ice-cream.

Here's Bernard's killer wasabi with salmon. Looks harmless but packs a mighty punch!

Left Jac with a reddened face after she finished all 3 slices of salmon spread with wasabi.

Mashed tofu made by Jeremy. Looks gross, smells gross, but the most harmless and healthiest in fact.

Tried to sabo her with a cup of hot tempura sauce lemon tea when she was off to the toilet but clever Jac took a whiff and knew something was up and didn't drink it. But the ever-sporting girl took a sip just for fun to find out what we gave her.

And as requested by Jac, all of us had to complete a stage of DDR with her. I guess we found out most of us don't have much leg-eye coordination, except for Jac the DDR queen!

Happy Birthday jac! Hope you had a great time with us! :)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The 'special 3' Absoluts

Here's the range of flavours that we have

And here's all, including the 'special 3'! Photos taken by my dearie... so nice rite? Who knew he has such talent.

Thanks to Kimmy! New accessory. Yay!

And in time for the upcoming CNY, I have decided on what to wear for visiting - my Prosperity Cat costume! Designer: Danny Lim. Interested parties please contact him to purchase the merchandise. Human not included.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I wonder what I've done to be ousted.

Perhaps it's just me being paranoid. Perhaps it's true.

But whatever it is, I didn't play anybody out.

Shites if u think this is fun. Cos I don't.

Why am I always in such a sucky mood after Mendaki sessions? I'd hate to think it's teaching that causes this, cos if it is, then I'm screwed.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

I hate cheating and lying scoundrels aka blardy BEB. It's one thing to cheat, it's another to hide behind religion and lie.

I hope karma bites u in the ass, or as my friend so dearly puts it, even if it doesn't, hopefully a dog will. And guess what? I have 2 dogs with sharp canines awaiting the sweet chomp called 'revenge' on ur cheating ass.

And just a tip. The next time u decide to cheat, pls make sure ur new gf doesn't place incriminating evidence on her blog. At least be smart about it. U wanna cheat, do it so that people won't have solid proof, much less one that's available for the entire world to see.

And dearest L, u are way worthy of someone waaaaaaaaay better.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

A string of totally irrelevant thoughts

Goin back to school is like not going back to school... yet. Things are just coming in and with the mere 4 compared to the past 7 or 8 modules that we had to take, it really seems more like a slack year, although we did just find out that we have to churn out 11000 words for a certain module.

Hard to get back in schooling mode, esp with the timetable that's given. 4 day week, and with 2 hours in the morning for Thur and Fri. Kinda like schling part-time in fact. Which is good I guess, cos that means I can take on more tuition jobs, seeing as how the tutee that terminated my services before then hired has fired me again. Gee. Recession sucks.

Cutting back in our own way - sacrificing TV time or choices rather. Bye bye cable. I'll miss Star Chinese Movies and Starworld the most. Upside is that the immense amount of time I've spent on watching TV can then be spent on something more meaningful. Like blogging. Hah.

It's been a slow sluggish start this year. Not just in terms of the economy, but in terms of my willingness to do things and be enthu about anything. Not for my dogs though it seems. They're happily pouncing on one another and yelping. Perhaps it's cos of my sluggishness = lack of walking them = them being more hyper. Hmmm makes sense.

I wanna watch Marley and Me. Am currently re-reading the book for fun's sake.

Oh, and did I mention that my attention span is equatable to that of a fly now? I find myself staring at lecturers and looking attentive but my mind blanks out and irrelevant thoughts appear. Kinda like this blog entry actually.

I used to be able to listen to songs and pay attention to the lyrics and the beats. Now, music is just background noise to me. As much as I try and pay attention, my mind drifts to something else totally random. So how could I be expected to pay attention in class, rite?

I always seem to be regretting something at some point in time. Even whilst looking at Facebook photos posted by others. All the holiday pictures. Damn, why didn't I take up an interest in medicine or law when I was a child? Then I'd be rich enough to travel all I want.

Ok, I think it's pretty apparent. I'm bored.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year peeps!

Had a busy New Year Eve this time round - first up, woke up bright and early and headed to Kranji Countryside for a little walk, only to find nothing much there but the seafood at the restaurant there being the most interesting thing there. That and 'green milk', a drink made from some kinda grass called 'cow's grass' in Mandarin.

A tank-full of Octys

Super humongous fish - dinner anyone?

I'm supposed to be peeing in this pic but the stream of 'pee' isn't too obvious

Then we headed off to Sungei Buloh

Croc alert!

No crocs spotted this time, but tons of their relatives, the monitor lizards

A solitary huge bird on the waters

A huge group of small birds

Tree-climbing crabs

Gigantic Tiger Prawn... yummy...

And then came fishing at Tanah Merah, where we caught nothing but a baby snapper that was unfortunately killed when Dan was trying to get the hook out

Peaceful and serene place

Went back home to wash up and wash the car as well before heading out to Chinatown for dinner where we got slaughtered by one of the stalls - cockles for $18 anyone? Geez! Nevertheless, we had a fruitful and scrumptious 2nd round at Food Street where we had pepper crabs, gong gong (new-found love!), la la and sotong. Oh and of course, my all time favourite - ah balling!

After dinner and supper, we headed to Boat Quay for a little countdown celebration for the New Year. Stood on the wrong side of the river and could only manage to sneak the partially blocked view of the fireworks but nevertheless, it was indeed a big bang to the start of the year.

Next up, CNY!