Birthday Dinner @ Hosanna

As her present to the November babies, Wawa cooked Erin, Carmen and I dinner on Friday night. The menu had a kinky theme to it but since this blog is rated 'U', I can't display the name, heheh.

On the menu, we had Pandan Leaf Chicken! When it was cooking in the oven, the smell and all was heavenly...

Two types of fish-one baked and the other steamed, stir fried kailan, tom yum soup, and mash potato.

It was a simple cosy night out... girl talks, home cooked food, tv... and since Carmen's birthday was on the next day, we had a simple birthday celebration for her.

Thanks Wawa for the superb dinner! We were stuffed at the end of the night...

Be-Early Birthday

* All images in this entry were taken with my trusty Canon IXUS 30

My SEGi college gang a.k.a. the girly gang (Joey gave us an official name) organized a birthday dinner session for me. After braving through the massive after-working hours jam, we finally made it to this restaurant at Tropicana. I'm not sure if its because its a working day, or it was pouring like mad... the place was pretty deserted. But all the better, at least food was served super quick.

The portion was ridiculously huge! At the end we had to tapao loads of them. Just look at it, a mountain of fried rice. I love rice, but this is insane...

Been craving for crab for the longest time. This cream crab is a lil' too thick though, I only managed to stuff in 1-2 pieces of it before I surrendered.

This is their trademark tofu-gang. Taste exactly like sharks fin soup and it was perfect because the weather was so cold!

And I didn't expect a birthday cake. Our tradition is normally food + angpao but prior to the dinner, I requested no angpaos but dinner only. The girls bought a cake to replace the angpao... it was great! It was an ice-cream cake! I've always liked ice-cream cake :)

The obligatory birthday song serenade and group picture. Grace even brought me a special cake knife to cut the cake. Why special? Because when I hold it, the birthday song tune chimes! Cool! :)

It was apparent that everyone is super tired from work and all... really appreciate their time and effort. Thanks girls for spending your night with me, thanks for everything :)

Stepping into NUS

I was at the National University of Singapore (NUS) a couple of days ago, conducting a Garageband workshop for the students there.

NUS! OMG!

The moment I stepped into the campus, I was feeling so proud. Not the look-at-me-nose-in-the-air kind of proudness though don't get me wrong. The whole experience is truly humbling. It's not like I was accepted as a student there or anything, but to be able to personally visit a prestigious school (world's top university ranking #30 fyi), and to be able to stand at the auditorium/classroom podium is really a special feeling.

I even bought a NUS shirt just to commemorate my visit there! Felt so much like a tourist. And guess what, they have Mcdonalds, Burger King in the campus... man!

Love is...

So apparently I have a memory of a 45-year old.

It's been a few years since I had this symptom: for example, I need a pair of scissors, the scissors is in my room @ second floor, I walk up to my room, and then I totally forget what I need to take.

Recently, I think it's gotten worst, for example, when I talk to someone, halfway through the conversation, I will completely forget the point I want to highlight. It's super irritating. Sometimes I have to fake it through, sometimes I just babble something completely different from the initial conversation.

I highlighted this problem to Dr Zhang on my last visit. He looked and me and said, 'Your condition is like a 45-year old. If not taken care, there may be possibilities of Alzheimer when you're old'.

The other day when we were in the car, the topic of which gender is most likely to live longer came up (I think it was inspired by the movie 'Up', great show by the way, love it). Research has shown that generally men do not live longer than women. I suddenly felt very emotional, frustrated and worked up. I said to Boonyee, 'You know... what's the point of eating healthy and being healthy? If you pass away first I'll be alone...'

He then brushed my face gently with his hand. I looked at him, and his eyes were filled with emotions; emotions that can't be spoken or described with words. So silence took over for a while... but at that moment, I knew this love is for good.

Great Teachers

When I was younger, one of my ambition was to become a headmistress. Yeap, a headmistress. I don't know how that idea came about... I guess I was just being a kid.

Then I grew up, graduated and worked in a line completely different from my ambition. But funny thing is, though its a completely different industry, my job revolves around the education industry. God really works in a mysterious way.

In my line of work, I deal solely with education stakeholders- headmasters, technical executives of a school, educators and students. Sometimes even parents. Best of all, one of my main responsibilities is to provide training to the teachers/lecturers and students. I guess in a way, I've fulfilled my childhood dream of being a 'teacher'. It'll be great one day though, when I do retire from my current position, I can become a real educator; the cool lecturer or teacher who songwrites and photographs.

Being able to chat with passionate educators is truly a joy. I love talking to people who loves sharing their knowledge and experiences. Ms Yun Yun is one of them. I just met her for the first time a few days ago, and it feels like we've known each other for ages. She's a great person to talk to. Her students are very lucky to have a teacher like her.

PS: Sh'n told me Ms Valen Hsu actually reads my blog! I'm like, 'What??! Are you pulling my leg??! You serious??!' Ms Valen, if it's true you do read my blog, I'll like to say a big thank you to you for choosing my song for your latest album. Thank you so much for your acknowledgement and recognition. From the bottom of my heart, thank you :)

Me an Owl

Those who doesn't know me, will see me either as an arrogant chic, or a very shy girl. I'm the type of person who will hardly initiate a conversation with a stranger/new acquaintance. When Boonyee and I first met, he said I was an owl. An owl! You know, like how an owl turn its head from left to right and right to left without a sound and all... well to my defense I was at a car-enthusiast gathering, I was totally clueless about what everyone was talking about! He even asked if I had gold in my mouth. That boy...

Anyway, my point is, I'm actually very chatty. Once you get past the first impression and barrier and all, and if we become friends, you'll discover that I do talk alot. In fact, I love talking.

On my recent trip to Bangkok with the girls, I was separated from them on the plane. I was sitting next to a senior and I could sense he was a chatty person. And ok, I admit I feigned my sleep at the beginning... well, I'm not the person who can just talk to strangers and anyone new (my dad is one good example. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit his super-chatty nature). Half way through the flight I was bored and hungry and just tired of the flight, so I ate snacks that Carmen brought. Out of courtesy, I offered some to the senior next to me, and he politely say no thanks. Then, it started. The conversation persisted until we got off the plane.

The conversation wasn't bad actually... time passed faster and it was pretty interesting to hear from a senior's point of view on various things. And guess what, he even went to the extent of buying me an Air Asia T-Shirt! I was surprised by his gesture. My first experience receiving a gift from a total stranger... thanks Sir, you definitely made my first Bangkok trip memorable :)

Bangkok!

* All images in this entry were captured with my trusty Canon Ixus 30 :D

My first trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

I was curious with the shopping scene at Bangkok. I've heard too much about it. Frankly, I was more excited to try out the local Thai food. I wasn't let down.

The trip started off with a delayed Air Asia flight (I've heard too much about this too), and we reached there in time for lunch.

The must-try-Tom-Yum soup. Nice!

Omelette rice. Looks simple but it's so yummy! My tummy is grumbling while I'm typing this.

Erin's pork rice. Looks super simple but man, the pork is delicioussssss!

The hotel we stayed in: Best Western Hotel. I love love love this hotel. It looked more like a serviced apartment or condominium more than a hotel. The staffs were super friendly, transportation out of the hotel is super convenient (they have their own tuk-tuk), the room and the toilet is super duper clean! Simple setup but I give it a 5-star rating for its cleanliness, hospitality and simplicity. Room rate is super reasonable too, I think it was RM120+ per night.

Erin looks like a whale here.

My first tuk-tuk ride!

It's scary but exciting at the same time... Thailand drivers are skillful, they should be trained as car racers, seriously.

After shopping at Platinum Mall, because it was raining, we had to find refuge in the nearest restaurant. We ended having Japanese food in Thailand. Ha.

My Katsu Don. Oh man I'm so hungry now!!!

Lovely Wawa and Carmen, upcoming business partners.

Checking out and strutting off the stuff we bought on the first day.

Second day: All set and ready to go!

Chatuchak market! It's like a jungle in there! I got lost a few times and ended up at the same spot for several times... Weather was scorching hot :( There were loads of hidden gems within the market. However, according to the three girls, prices have gone up significantly.

But this is heaven... coconut ice cream. Coconut water is refillable for free too! Awesome!!!!!!

The girls in holiday mode.

And the puppies... oh the puppies! Look at this! Erin and I were making squeaky baby noises at the pups.

Look at that cute lil' butt!!!!! So cuteeeeee...

I want one... :( I really, really want one. I named this Rusty.

On the way back to the hotel, spotted a 180sx kawan.

At night, we hit the streets and tapao-ed food back to the hotel to eat. There were no restaurants to stop by or chairs to sit around the stalls.

We had Pad-Thai, Mango Sticky Rice, Salt Baked Fish (super big ok), Omelette, and Porridge. Awesome meal.

On our last day at Bangkok, we did some last minute shopping at Platinum Mall again. After a while, I gave up and retreated to Swensens. I just can't shop anymore. Everywhere I turn are clothes, shoes, clothes, accessories, clothes shoes...

Ahhhh stopping by at Swensens is definitely a wise move... Yum...

All in all, the brief Bangkok retreat with the girls is fun. We've never went overseas together before and it's just fun to get together, shop, talk girly stuff, and shop more.

So when's our beach retreat? We need to show off our bikinis :D