Truly Shu Huak

2011-12-23T20:52:00.002+08:00

2 months with no updates and i wonder how many readers i lost.

Updating my blog seems to be the last thing on my mind with school work, assignments, projects, work and tuition.

School have been enjoyable as usual and now that the bond between me and my girls are closer, school has become more interesting.

Sab is finally back from Australia. It's has been a month since her return. I went to the airport alone, first time receiving someone from the airport, holding a board with her name. I could not contain my tears after embracing her for the first time in 5 long months. I am really grateful for the advancement of technology, allowing us to be able to connect everyday. It's like we are simply too used to updating each other with our daily happenings.

Friends are like families that we choose and i was gladly chosen by you.

I managed to clear Semester 1 with a decent grade, looking forward to more improvement in grades. Maybe because of the things i've been through, taking a wrong turn, meeting the wrong people that made me cherish what i have now more.

There is really nothing more i can hope for now. I have everything i want, my beloved family, awesome bestie and wonderful friends. Life have been good for me and i wake up everyday feeling blessed and blissful.

I know life isn't a bed of roses and there will be ups and downs that i have to face in the near future. Learning to be strong is probably the best lesson i have taken.

Live for myself, love being me and cherish my loved ones.

Merry Christmas.

2011-11-08T20:49:00.003+08:00

This space of mine has accumulated cobwebs that will take some time to clear.

It's been really long since i last visited here.

School life have been nothing but great so far.

Joining ODAC is probably the best decision i made after stepping back to school. The great people i meet, the new activities i tried and the new experience i got.

Did i mention that i went white water rafting 2 weeks back? It was awesome! Feel really good to have cool water splashing on you while you're struggling to get yourself safe on the raft.

I'm lazy to upload photos for the past 2 months but i promised to be back more often. Check out facebook for more photos and i'll be back with new photos hopefully very soon!

2011-09-11T21:19:00.015+08:00

Okay i know i have not been updating.

Too many activities going on the same time leave me no time for updates.

Just a quick one before i head to bed.

Love from Melanie during lecture!

Studying with Gregory!

Skyping Sab with Jin Hui and Lily at Mac.

Mooncake celebration plus Jun Siang 21st Birthday celebration.

Fun at tuition!

Odac peeps !

I still have alot of photos but i'm just too lazy.

Refer to Facebook!

Next update will not be any sooner due to exams!

See ya!

2011-09-08T21:15:00.006+08:00

Hey yo! Back for an update!

School has been busy as usual.

We celebrated Zhi Wei's 21st birthday last Monday. We told her project discussion was at 1pm but the rest of us were already in school since 12pm preparing to surprise her.

It was not much of a big surprise, just the few of us hiding in the room and when she enter the room, we lied to her that the lights were not working and brought her the birthday cupcakes.

UOB girls!

Next up was Post-FOC gathering at East Coast Park. It was more of a catch up and chilling session.

Good way to spend your Sunday enjoying the sea breeze with awesome peeps.

Following by weekly ODAC training yesterday.

I'm proud to declare that i was not part of the walking party last night! I still got a long way to build up that stamina!

After training was supper as usual.

All the above activities plus assignments plus tuition plus revision going on. I'm complaining at the lack of time already.

Jia you!

2011-09-03T21:27:00.015+08:00

It's been a really busy week!

First with ODAC training then with UOL bash.

Let me start off with the ODAC training on Wednesday. A group of 8 met up for lunch at Bukit Timah Market Food Centre. As there was only one car as mode of transport, we did a what we named it as "The Magic School Car" squeezing 6 pax at the back seat.

Crispy carrot cake with generous serving of eggs. Cheap and yummy!

Slacking at the extension in school while waiting for training.

This week's training was held at Ulu Pandan campus as it was games week. Captain's ball for the night!

After training, down to Bukit Timah for supper.

Chicken Murtabak that tasted awesome! Big portion for 2!

And then "Magic School Car" again on the way home.

Thursday was UOL Bash.

I'm not from UOL but my friends invited me to join them so i crash the Bash with my odac peeps.

Pretty tiring week with assignment pressing and deadline drawing near.

Nonetheless, i had fun!

2011-08-28T20:04:00.014+08:00

Another weekend full of fun and laughter!

First up was supper and bapok watching at Changi Village.

Supper menu:

Rea Tea jelly with longan.

Famous Changi Village Nasi Lemak - long queue even at wee hours.

Lastly, sambal chili which burnt many of our throats.

Look at all the tired faces. 3.40am when the photo was taken.

It was Paintball on Saturday across the causeway at Danga City Mall!

Awesome paintball mates!

Posing with the red bull bike on display while waiting for our turns.

Group photo!

Ending with seafood dinner at Taman Sentosa!

Paintball was of so much fun and our group clinched third position in the tournament. I was even credited as one of the best female player of the day!

Now, back to my HRM assignment and looking forward to bash this coming Thursday!

2011-08-25T07:48:00.012+08:00

It was ODAC 1st ever training, not only for the year but also the first in the ODAC history.

Our training coordinator for the night - Joel.

The training includes running, statics, some legs and arms workout and ending off with a fireman lift.

Aphrodite are all physically fit!

Training to me was tough, considering how long i have not been running. I was in the walking party for the night. I need to train harder.

Next training ~ games!

Looking forward to it already.

ODAC OEI!

2011-08-22T07:30:00.018+08:00

It's been one crazy weekend that i'm having hangover from it.

Let me start off from Friday.

It was Melanie's birthday on Friday so we decided to give her a surprise. I made powerpoint slides and email it to the lecturer to show it during lesson time. While she was looking at the slides, a couple of the girls went out to prepare the cake to surprise her. The plan went well and birthday day was so touched that she cried.

Happy 20th Melanie!

Girls at University of Birmingham.

Then it was Owls gathering - Canoeing camp group at Timbre@Arts House at night.

Kendrick, Guan Hui and i went earlier to get seats for the 9 of us but it was so packed that we ended up waiting 2 hours before we managed to get in.

Credits to Fiona for editing the photos!

It was a great night but a pity that i have to leave early due to work the following day.

On Saturday, it was Aphrodite-ODAC Camp group gathering at Timbre@Substation.

This time round, it was even a bigger group. We had to get seats for a group of 20 and we were unable to make reservations. Hence, we went early. It was raining and we waited under this small shelter.

ODAC people are really outdoor people for a reason. They are so rah-rah, so easy-going and so crazy! We had so much fun over dinner!

Then a random last minute decision to go Zouk.

Crazy night- that's all i can say.

On Sunday, Joanne, Muzay and i went on a hike at Bt Timah Hill in the afternoon.

Thankfully, it wasn't that sunny and it was a good workout.

This week is going to be hell of a week. 5 tuition sessions in a week and each session will last for at least 2 hours, not forgetting paintball over the weekend plus assignments and revision to be done.

Self-reflecting moments:

I really need to be more patient and not act on impulse. Think of the consequences before i decide to say anything. Learn to be patient to everyone especially towards elderly. Always remind myself to listen, understand the situation fully before i add in my own opinions and views. One can never be too full of herself because it will lead to her fall.

Patience, June, patience.

2011-08-17T21:24:00.006+08:00

Oie people! Oie!

I'm still high and having withdrawal syndromes from ODAC camp last weekend.

The camp was held at MOE Changi Adventure Centre, all the way till the other end of Singapore. We get to see and hear the roaring engines of aeroplanes flying from 7am all the way till 2.30am. A pretty rare sight.

The campers were all enthusiastic bunch of awesome people, especially for my group mates. It was amazing how we gel so well together. Everyone seems like an old friend already even though we only met for a couple of hours.

I've got photos from many cameras and i'm too lazy to organise them. I selected a few photos for show and the rest are all up on Facebook.

To summarise the activities we did for the past 3 days, we had river rafting in which we have to build our own raft. It was fun fun fun, though i still prefer canoeing. Then we had some wet water games followed by an auction session to bid for the side dishes to go along with our pasta. Our pasta was cooked using mess tins in the outdoors. Next up, we have night walk along the beach of Changi. We also have the usual amazing race followed by a campfire session with skits. I was "asked" to represent my group in a dancing competition during the campfire. It was not an easy task as i was blindfolded. After campfire, we had a all night games session followed by area cleaning the next morning.

The last day was prize presentation. Our group emerged last but we were fine with it as our strategy was to have fun and take our time. We won the best cheer though and i got the best female camper award which was kind of surprising.

I'm missing those good times in Canoe and ODAC camp already. This weekend, no more camps but will be a busy one as i will be meeting up with my camp mates.

On Monday, caught Horrible Bosses with uni girls. A pretty funny movie and Jennifer Aniston is really hot!

Next up, paintball in Malaysia plus ODAC Post-FOC gathering plus UOL Bash plus ODAC weekly training and maybe canoeing on Sunday.

School life rocks!

Not forgetting, attending lectures, doing assignments, practising accounting, tuition and work.

懂的欣赏每一个难关，才能够飞到更远的地方。

2011-08-11T10:11:00.001+08:00

I've not changed. I just stop pleasing you.

2011-08-10T08:54:00.009+08:00

Finally a meet up with polymates after what it seems like forever especially for those who have went to serve the army.

People like Eugene and Jun Siang were hard to get hold of.

Celebrating National Day @ Timbre @ The Arts House.

It was also a belated birthday celebration for me and Hui Ying.

Thanks girls for the lovely bracelet and lovely letters.

It felt good reminiscing those good old times, listening to Jun Siang and his paramedics story, catching up with each other. The most awesome group of people i got to know from poly.

A few of us then went over to the roof of Esplanade to have a heart to heart talk about anything under the sun, or rather the moon.

The session went on all the way till 2am in the morning when the security guard came and told us that the roof was closing.

We really need to catch up more often.

I'm already looking forward to 1o Sep.

2011-08-08T09:31:00.002+08:00

Back from Canoeing Camp!

It has been an awesome 3 days 2 nights, playing amazing race, water games, putting up a skit and the best part was canoeing! Looking at the flyer at a totally different angle was mind-blowing.

Though i'm back with muscles aches all over, it has been a good camp knowing more fun and interesting people.

Next up, ODAC camp!

I want to be even more ra-ra!

2011-08-03T09:40:00.002+08:00

Another year that Queenston celebrates her birthday with us.

Look at the greedy girl with her milk bone.

Thanks darling girl for being the pride, joy and laughter of the Lee Family.

We love you!

Stay healthy and stop growing fat. <3

On a side note, i was having a panic attack yesterday when i think about the accounting lecturers which to me are Greek lessons and how i am going to struggle with my exams.

Thankfully Sab managed to calm me down and talk some sense into me. I did some practices last night and besides some silly mistakes, i managed to figure out a few chapters. I got to work harder and practise, practise and more practise!

Let's hope i can see the light really soon.

2011-07-28T20:57:00.002+08:00

It's such an irony that i'm tutoring Maths when i am bad at numbers myself.

I have never been great with numbers.

Now, i'm looking at my accounting notes and it's staring at me screaming for my attention.

The funny thing is, they seems to be screaming using alien language.

I just spent the last one and a half hour attempting the questions only to find them all wrong.

Alright, let's just stop whining and be good.

Tear off my paper, crumple it, start all over again.

2011-07-23T20:29:00.021+08:00

Alright, it was supposed to be a pretty light week with only 3 days of school.

However, the assignment is scaring everyone and i'm scaring myself with it too that i hardly keep my eyes off my laptop.

On a happier note, i finally caught the last of Harry Potter and i must say i was truly touched by it. I literally grew up with Harry Potter, reading the first book at the age of 11 and now that i'm 21, it's been 10 years down the road with them. It was definitely growing up together with the crew.

On Friday, few of the girls celebrated Wenxi's 21st Birthday in advance as she will be flying back to Australia.

Camwhoring while waiting for her.

Mini eyes!

Wenxi requested for Mexican cuisine and looking at the good reviews of Margarita's at Dempsey Hill, we went there to try out a cuisine that we almost never eat. The only thing i know about Mexican Cuisine is Taco Bell and i just did a search and the information given was it is an American-Mexican fast food, not really authentic.

I'm not sure if Margarita's is authentic Mexican but there was a good crowd last night and i enjoyed the food. However, you must be able to wait for the good because serving time was really slow. But for good food, the wait is definitely worth the while.

Lime Margarita, non-alcoholic as a couple of the girls cannot drink.

Mexican Nachos, topped with green chilies, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and minced meat.

Pan-grilled chicken for the tortillas.

Awesome beef that melts in your mouth and all the sauces for the tortillas.

Shrimp salad that comes with fresh shrimps, apples, almond and cheese.

4 different types of cheesecakes from Bakerzin.

There we go, Birthday girl.

I hope you like the bottle of perfume! See you soon!

The following was what happened during one of Queenston's walk.

This was what Sis wrote :

" This naughty girl refuse to let go of her bone even when I'm bringing her out for a walk.

The moment she finished her "business", she dragged me to the lift. When she is in the lift, she even scratched the lift door to "ask" the lift to move faster.

What's the rush? Because she knows once she is home, she will then be able to enjoy her dog bone. So smart of her. =.="

Dog bone in her mouth.

There she is, doing her business while having the dog bone in her mouth still.

And she can't wait to go home to eat her dog bone.

I know i cannot expect everyone to appreciate dogs like i do. I know i can't ask for everyone to love Queenston like i do but all i ask is for a little respect, if not for her, at least for me.

Dogs may be animals but they do deserves a place on planet Earth too. No one have the right to strip off anyone or any creature rights to breathe and live on this planet.

Back to marketing research proposal, sampling, non-sampling and it goes on.

2011-07-18T20:08:00.012+08:00

The family went on a day trip to Johor Bahru last Saturday.

On our way there.

We headed to the newly open shopping mall, City Square which is located just across the customs.

Chicken Rice for lunch.

We did some shopping and stopped over at Macs for ice-cream.

Then more shopping and finally settled at Old Town White Coffee for dinner.

It was a fun and enjoyable day trip with the Lees.

I shall keep this post short as i got to rush for my marketing project. Go go go!

You have to get hurt. That's how you learn. The strongest people out there, the ones who laugh the hardest with a genuine smile, those are the people who have fought the toughest battles. Because they've decided that they're not going to let anything, anyone put them down ever again.

And i want to be one of them too.

Goodbye Stranger.

2011-07-10T19:06:00.074+08:00

Hey dear! Updated upon your request!

I have post dated photos to share. The reasons for uploading the photos so late is due to the slow uploading of blogger and the opening of school for me.

Let's touch on that later.

Firstly, let me talk about my trip to Genting with my mum and grandma. It was rather an impromptu trip. One random day, Mum and i walked passed the travel agency, went in to find out on the prices and we booked the trip the next day. Grandma's birthday was also around the corner so we took it as a birthday treat for her.

We set out with a common goal in mind and that is to minimize shopping and to maximize eating.

There we go, waiting at plaza stairways at 5.50am.

After clearing the customs which was super slow over at Malaysia side due to the new implementation of their new fingerprint system, we had our breakfast at the first rest stop.

Big Bao for Mummy and Granny.

Ramily Fish Burger for me.

On the coach.

We reached Genting Highlands around 12.30pm but First World Hotel only start checking-in their guests from 2pm. Hence, we went to have our lunch first.

First meal over at Genting, Bak Ku Teh.

The Bak Ku Teh was awesome. It's definitely something that you would not want to miss. I recommended Sab to try when she went over to Genting and it was a positive review as well.

Then to Marrybrown for some fried chicken. In case you are wondering, yes we had our lunch but we decided that we were not that full so we went over to Marrybrown and ordered a set meal to share. I did mentioned that we were set out to eat right.

Finally got our room at almost 3pm due to the long waiting time.

We bought Durian pancakes from Shanghai 10 on our way back.

The durian filing were awesome but there were too much cream.

After freshening up, we went off to offer our prayers at a small temple. We had Baskin Robbin's ice-cream as well.

Then to Hou Mei for early dinner.

Mummy and i find our noodles yummy but Granny was very unsatisfied with her herbal duck soup noodles.

We went to the Casino after which. It was my first time in the casino. I tried sneaking in the other time when i was there with my friends but it was a failed attempt. Now that i'm officially 21, i was able to walk in openly, though i'm still required to show my passport to prove my age every time i tried to enter. I am taking it very positively! This shows that i am looking younger than 21 years of age! Haha!

The next morning while waiting for Mummy to get ready for breakfast.

Hotel Breakfast.

After breakfast, more exploring.

Bak Ku Teh Round 2 for lunch as Granny kept commenting how good they were.

Check out some coconuts!

Saigon Popiah.

It tasted good just that it was a tad too cold.

Gelatomi ice-cream!

I caught Transformers 3D alone over at Genting as i was not interested in the casino.

Pretty cheap for 3D movies, RM$21 which is less than S$11.

Burger King for supper! Yea, tell me about it.

Final day, more exploring.

We managed to find a beautiful park in front of Theme Park Hotel which is good for photos taking.

We chanced upon Old Town White Coffee on our way back and decided to stop for a meal.

Curry Mee

Prawn Mee

You got to eat Old Town White Coffee over at Genting. It's the same price as those in Singapore but in different currencies.

Last but not least, after checking out, Penang Fried Kway Teow at the bus terminal.

Oh ya! Nearly forgotten the waffle too.

Home Sweet Home.

The moment i reached Singapore, I rushed home to put down my stuff and freshen myself up to head to the airport to send Sab off .

Alright, it's been more than a week since she went over to Aussie. Whatsapp have been our life saviour, allowing us to send encouraging messages over to each other almost everyday and updating each other on the little things that are happening in our lives. We managed to skype once which is pretty funny too. Technology really shorten the distance in people's life. Up till now, it still feels like Sab is in Singapore and i will be able to see her around in Bukit Panjang.

Next up! Shi Hui's 21st jellybean birthday party.

My attire for the day. Yea, i know, yellow leggings! Like seriously?

It was a pretty fun evening, catching up with friends. I hope the birthday girl enjoyed herself!

Now back to school!

I have officially started school on Monday.

Surprisingly, there were no butterflies in my tummy when i head for school. It's the day that i have been looking for for the past year but i guess the long wait kind of numb the excitement.

Anyway, it was a lonely morning on the first day of school. I was all alone, having go through the introduction in the lecture room sitting alone.

Luckily, i managed to make friends after that through games and all. But still, i think polytechnics still offer better ice-breaking games.

Lessons started officially on Wednesday. Honestly, i had a bit of a culture shock. Due to the reason that our lecturers fly over from Birmingham to lecture, we had to finish all the lectures for all the modules in 2 weeks or less. This means having to go through up to 6 hours of lectures a day which is really mind boggling.

Back to those days of writing notes down furiously with the additional task of mugging and doing readings back at home. The first assignment due in 2 weeks' time. Who say you don't have to study to obtain your degree?

But, i'm enjoying every moment of it. The life of a student still entices me a lot and i can't believe that i'm back to one now! Whee!

Some random photos to share.

My first meal in school.

Fried Fish Soup.

The photo obviously did not do justice to the food.

Let's try the next one, Chicken Chop.

Oh ya, forgot to mention that the cafe that i bought the above dishes from adopted a Marche style of dining which means you get a card, get your food first and only pay at the end of the meal. Pretty cool, huh?

Besides school, i also have to tutor 2 groups of tuition. It can be pretty mind draining at times but i have to admit, kids at times really helps to brighten up your day.

And this should tell you why.

I'm currently working on my marketing project! Due in 2 week's time!

Okay, let's go go go!

2011-07-02T18:54:00.003+08:00

I bumped into an old friend last night.

Someone who i have been quarreling, bickering and laughing with for the entire of my secondary school days.

Hello Bok! It's great catching up! Let's do it again.

2011-07-01T10:09:00.011+08:00

Hey there!

I've got more photos of the adventures with Bestie.

Brunch at Obrien's.

Hot Chicken Ciabatta.

Tandoori Chicken Wrap.

Over at IMM Burger King in which we had BK shots for brunch.

Mini Burgers are cute!

Sending Bestie off in exactly 1 week's time.

2011-06-26T18:59:00.035+08:00

Yo! How have everyone been?

I have finally uploaded the photos for my 21st Birthday Celebration.

I had the most awfully awesome birthday ever.

I had lunch with Sab and her family over at Brazilian Restuarant at Clark Quay's on my birthday. They are having a $15 Nett lunch for some of the restaurants at Clark Quay's which is very value-added.

Thank you to Auntie for giving me a birthday treat.

As it was really empty in the restaurant, Sab and i decided to went up on stage and act like some rock stars.

Pressies from Sab!

I just tried the Vanilla Bailey's and it was awesome!

Thanks dear for the wonderful presents and yes, you managed to move me into tears.

We headed to Marina Bay after which for a movie.

Then to Dempsey Hill for late dinner.

On the 25th June, i met up with my usual clique at Shokudo for lunch.

The place is awesome!

Let the pictures speak for itself.

Award presentation of Ms Drama Queen.

Dramama-ma-ing.

Let's play the spot the difference games for the following 3 photos.

Photo (1)

Photo (2)

Photo (3)

See any difference? Jin Hui set his camera to multi shots in self-timer but only i managed to change pose in the 3 photos! Haha!

Opening of pressie time!

We decided to take neoprints after the meal as there was a machine in the restaurant. It's been donkey years and we had loads of fun posing and decorating them.

Thank you to all my friends for the wonderful pressies and celebrations. I am truly grateful and thankful to each and everyone of you. Thank you for the birthday wishes and blessings too.

Special thanks to Sab for spending almost the entire week with me! I love you dear!

Sab is flying off next Friday! She will be on strike for 5 months!

Can i have an angel please?

2011-06-23T14:47:00.004+08:00

Brunch with Sab at Coffee Bean.

Benedict Eggs.

Salmon eggs with muffin.

This week have been going on great so far. Definitely my favourite week in June.

Random picture that i find it meaningful.

Starting over may be tough and difficult but it beats remaining in the same place.

And i will love to take every step with a smile.

Just keep pushing on.

2011-06-20T21:07:00.002+08:00

Alright, i'm officially a member of the Weasley family now.

In progress.

Here's the outcome.

I know right! It's super red hair that i've got now!

It took me a total of 8 hours in the salon doing pre-treatment, rebonding, highlighting, colouring and post-treatment.

That's almost the whole day gone. Thankfully, i got the sweetest bestie ever who been through it and bought me lunch.

On a side note, we have been mistaken quite often lately of looking like sisters. I'm always the older one of course. That's a saying that you will look more and more alike with the person that you spent a lot of time with. That's where the couple look comes about.

What do you guys think?

Over at Cedele.

Yoghurt at Coffee Bean.

I think i can connect with Harry Potter better now with my red hair.

Yea day dreaming! Tell me about it.

Come on! Just give it to me. Last chance to act like a kid before i get the key.

2011-06-19T11:21:00.034+08:00

Yesterday was Juliana's last day.

She belonged to the 3rd batch of temps that i've trained and has sent off. Currently, i'm trying as much as possible to get the 4th batch of temps ready for the Primary 1 registration exercise before school starts for me.

It was 2 hours tuition after work followed by an advanced celebration for my 21st with my beloved family.

I chose the place and dress code for the evening.

Everyone has to be in black and i will be in yellow and we will be dining in one of my all time favourite restaurant, Blooie's Roadhouse at Railmall.

On our way to Railmall.

Talking about the sudden interest in the bridge who has been there for more than a decade. Mummy who has got a Facebook account lately is now more obsessed in taking photos to upload on her profile. Now you know where the genes of obsession over taking photos come from.

LMZ who refused to take photos with us.

Over at Railmall.

Everyone in black! Don't they look like some mafias ?!

We got a tower of Stella Artois. This is my first time drinking with my family and i was excited about it for the entire week.

CHEERS !

Moving on to the food, we had fried calamari rings, highly recommended by Sab which tasted heavenly. The succulent juicy squids covered with crunchy bread crumbs and dipping in tartar sauce makes it almost perfect. It tasted better than those from Fish and Co.

The classic Blooie's BBQ Chicken Wings. It was finger licking good.

Daddy's Chicken Aglio Olio.

Mummy's seafood pasta with tomato base.

LMZ's Mexican Burger.

Sis and Jie Sheng's Chicken Pizza.

My Speical Portabello Cheese Burger.

Mummy getting excited over pouring the beer out from the tower.

You can see faces going red, especially Daddy whose face started turning after half a cup of beer.

It's time for the cake after the meal. I chose my favourite Oreo Cheesecake.

The restaurant did not have a candle so the manager make his way to Coffeebean specially to get a candle for me. That's good service that all restaurants should learn.

Don't i look like an angry bird?

Removing the candle using my mouth. A classic way to remove the candle and a must do every year.

Family photo.

And one last photo at the overhead bridge to end the night.

It was a great evening. I truly enjoyed myself. Blooie's has the ambiance that i always like, together with my noisy and chatty family, bringing them for a different dining experience, drinking together and singing the birthday song together marks a new milestone in my life.

Yea, i'm turning 21 soon.

People grow older and move on. But family stay and live on.

Thank you for the great evening!

2011-06-16T17:32:00.025+08:00

It was a great evening with Potato last night.

It was a simple meet up session to make up for his birthday.

Dinner at Bakerzin.

To start with, they had really bad service. Bad bad service. We waited for 10 minutes for a table and they did not even bother to walk us to our table. They just point at an empty table and expect us to walk to the table on our own. No menus were given to us, i had to walk to the counter to get the menus.

They looked like they were understaffed so we had a hard time trying to get their attention and waited for a while for warm water and our food to be served.

Free flow of bread at Bakerzin with condiments of vinegar and olive oil.

My dory fillet with spaghetti meal box that comes with pasta, soup, garden salad and a slice of cake.

That's Potato who refused to take a photo with his food. He totally can't stand us having to take photos wherever we go.

His Teriyaki Chicken Meal box. The chicken was tender with finger licking sauce.

That's Sab main course which consist of mushroom and bread.

We headed to the Flyer for a drink at the Beach Bar after which.

On our way there, we insisted of taking a photo with the duck vehicle and Potato kept commenting that we were like some China Tourists.

Carlsberg to chill the night. Beach Bar is having a promotion, 1 jug of beer for $28 and 2 jugs for $35. However, the 3 of us only managed to finish one.

It was a great evening spent catching up. Even better when you spend it with someone you know that you can turn to for honest opinions with no judgement made.

Happy belated birthday, Qin Jie!

==================================

20 laps in the pool with Sab in the chilly morning today.

My conclusion about pool is if the weather is hot, the water in the pool will be really cold. Otherwise, you find yourself swimming in lukewarm water. Tested and proven!

We went to Broun after Sab's tuition for brunch.

As you can see from the menu above, Broun adopted a healthy dining concept with brown rice and bread.

Sab's Beef Stew with Brown bread.

The bread were served warm which really increase your appetite and they gave a generous amount of beef in the stew.

My spicy zesty wrap which made up of tandoori chicken and toasted bastilla wrap served with cream of mushroom soup.

Surprisingly, the amount of food were filing.

We headed back to Sab's house and spent the afternoon being crouch potatoes with our eyes glued to my laptop watching "He's just not that into you".

An awesome show! Do catch it if you have the chance.

2011-06-09T10:29:00.097+08:00

I'm back from Batam!

The 2 days 1 night escapade from Singapore was awesome! The whole experience was beyond what words can describe. I guess what really make the whole escapade fun was travelling with Sab for the first time. Since secondary school, we have always talk about travelling together and even though it was to Batam only, we were super excited about it.

The package that we got from Deal.com.sg includes a night stay at Harmoni One Convention Hotel with Breakfast, a 1 day city tour, a Seafood lunch, an hour Javanese massage and 2-way ferry tickets.

I went over to Sab's place the night before to sleepover so that we can leave for Harbourfront together.

We were asked to reach the ferry terminal at 7.30am to check in earlier so we have to drag ourselves up at 5 plus in the morning to get ready.

Before we leave.

Look at our "barang barang"

On bus 963 to Harbourfront Interchange.

The journey to Harbourfront Interchange brought back fond memories of those times when i was working in Sentosa especially when i first started out. I was once young, passionate and energetic about serving people. I love the interaction with people and despite having to work for long hours and enduring the long travelling time, it was by far the job that i truly enjoyed. It was also the experience that lead me to choosing Tourism for my diploma. Sadly, the passion dies down, i lost the enthusiasm and now, the last thing i want is to devote my life in the customer service sector.

Too much of a sidetrack. Alright, back to the trip. We've reached slightly later than 7.30am and was thinking that we were late. However to our surprise, the office for us to collect our ferry tickets was not even opened. We realised that we were supposed to check in 1 hour 30 minutes before our ferry departs which was 8.30am but was informed by the agency to reach at 7.3oam. We could have catch more sleep!

We decided to have breakfast first while waiting for the office to open.

Breakfast at the usual place, Starbucks.

It's funny to see people grabbing a coffee and rushing for work while we were taking our own sweet time having breakfast and sipping tea.

We got our ferry tickets at 8.30am. The person even told us that just checking in one hour before is sufficient with not even a tinge of apology for making us come an hour earlier than required. Lousy service!

Happy girls!

All ready to depart to Batam!

That's our ferry.

On the ferry.

Excited!

The journey took us about 45 minutes. It was a nice rare moment enjoying the breeze of the sea, looking at the beautiful sky filled with clouds.

Arrived at Sekupang Terminal at 9.45am, Indonesian Time. Batam is an hour behind us.

The customs at Indonesia was really slow. There were only 2 counters and the custom officers were taking their own sweet time. Talking about efficiency, we knew we were out of Singapore. The officers also seem quite apprehensive about the 2 of us travelling alone. He was like questioning us if we were travelling with family, friends or a friend and asking where we are staying.

We almost missed our tour guide too as the travel agency gave us to wrong stickers to identify ourselves and we were walking up and down the terminal trying to look for our tour guide. Thankfully in the end, we managed to locate our tour guide even though he was pretty unhappy that we walked away from him when he was standing in front of the arrival gate all the time.

First stop of the day was to Ralph Lauren shop. Our plan for the trip was to enjoy and not really to shop. Hence, while the others were browsing around in the shop, we lingered outside to take photos.

Some hard selling was going on while we were taking photos. They were all trying to sell bags, fruits, chips to us. They also tried to get us to take photos of their products seeing that we were so into taking photos. But what really wrench our hearts was to see a little boy, barely 7 years old, walking around bare-footed and trying all means to get people to buy newspapers. It really just make you feel kind of uncomfortable.

Second stop was to a shop that sells local products. We bought a bag full of food each over there.

After sampling all the food at the local products shop, all of us were hungry and off we go for Seafood lunch at Golden Prawn 933.

The lunch was part of the package that we got and reading from some review, we did not have any high expectations. However, it turns out better than expected. We had black pepper prawns, chili crab, fried calamari, sweet and sour fish, some kind of clams, fish ball soup, stir-fried vegetables and coconut.

I did not have much opportunities to take photos as we were sharing food with our tour mates and everyone seems to not want to waste any chances of tasting the food. I guess that's the way with Singaporeans. And unfortunately, the fish ball soup was placed in front of me so i have to take up the task to scoop the soup for the rest of the tour mates while they continue to eat. Luckily, i have Sab who kept a share of the food for me.

The only one picture i got from the lunch.

Fresh coconut which were tasteless.

Taking a stroll around the restaurant after the meal.

After the meal, we walk a stone throw away to a small factory that produce Kueh Lapis.

Nice pavilion for photo taking.

These are the Kueh Lapis. The original cost S$25 for a box while the flavoured ones such as the prunes, mocha, chocolate cost S$28. We did not get any as we find it too expensive and there was nothing fanciful about it.

Next stop was to a temple.

We headed to a factory outlet after which we were again not interested at all and ended up taking photos and exploring the roadside stalls.

Swee's curry puff stall which was having some good business.

We had some difficulties buying the pastry as the stall holder was unable to speak English. Thankfully, some locals who was able to speak English assisted us in the translation.

Yummy! The guide has warned us if we have weak tummies, it's best for us to avoid any roadside stalls if we don't wish to upgrade from our 4-star hotel to a "5-star hospital stay". Thankfully, our tummies are strong enough to withstand the piping hot curry puffs and yam pastry which cost $0.50 each. It was better than Old Chang Kee curry puff i must say.

And the much awaited Javanese massage!

I'm kind of wary about the whole massage thing. Despite how Sab tried to convince me that massage will really relax one, i'm still pretty scared of going through the massage as i'm really ticklish especially my shoulders area.

But i'm proud to say that beside giggling for a while at the start of the massage, i remained quiet and managed to enjoy the massage. It was my first full body massage and definitely not the last. I truly enjoyed how the masseur really relaxed my tense muscles with her skillful pressing and hitting especially my shoulders though i was having goosebumps when she was pressing my shoulders.

Funny conversations between our masseurs. They kept discussing on our tan lines. Sab told her masseur that i'm her "kaka" (sister) and she agreed that we look alike. Then my masseur asked if i'm a chinese and told me that i shared the same colour as her and was disappointed that i was unable to speak Malay. Yea, i totally can pull off the Indonesian look.

Sab and her masseur.

My masseur and me.

After the awesome massage was shopping time at Batam City Square. We only had about 2 hours so we did some quick shopping, grabbed some beer and snacks and also bought our dinner.

We decide against exploring at night for our dinner as we were told how dangerous it is for 2 girls to be out on Batam streets at night and we were on a tight budget.

Dinner bought at BFC -Best Fried Chicken. I guess it's some imitation of KFC.

Mie Ayam for Sab.

Double cheeseburger and Duo fries for me.

Headed to the hotel to check-in finally.

We were surprised when we told that we have to place S$5o deposit. We brought limited money out and totally forget about our credit cards. We did not have $50 Sing or Rupiah with us. Thankfully, the hotel staff did not insist.

Our "trophies" for the day.

An epic moment before we got into our room. We got to room 323 and tried using our room card to access into the room but was denied entry. Feeling pissed, i told Sab that if it is in Singapore, i would have gone down and scold the staff. We called for the housekeeping staff to open the doors for us and when we went into the room, all we saw was an empty occupied room with luggages inside. It took me a split second to realise that we were in the wrong room and upon checking my room card again, we were assigned room 343 not 323!

Luckily, i have the habit of ringing the doorbell and knocking the door before i enter into the room if not, i might have just went in and spoil someone's good plans. *wicked laughter*

Our room.

Dinner Time!

The food was mediocre and not satisfying. We emptied our wallets and count the remaining money that we have after a day of spending. We realised that we still have a bit of Rupiahs left and decided to do what the rich will do.

Call for room service!

Both of us have travelled to different countries but never once did we try calling room service as the pricing are exorbitant and too much of a rip-off. However, the prices on the in-room menu were reasonable and we decided to call for it. Even though it's kind of exasperating having to repeat my order 4 times as the operator was not really able to understand English, we were excited about the whole in-room dining.

The arrival of room service.

We had a Tiramisu and Black Forest cake and including 15% of GST and service charge, it only totals up to S$14. How cheap was that!

That's the tai-tai-ish life we always dream about.

Happy and satisfied.

Lazing around in the room.

They even have all the Singapore Channels like Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel U.

I had a long relaxing bath soaking in the bathtub. Sab mentioned that i was making a lot of noises in the bathroom and went to knock on the door to check if i was alright! Wahahahahaha!

Nice chilled drinks after the hot bath.

I had blueberry Vodka mix with 4.8% of alcohol. It tasted like blueberry tea and i could hardly taste the alcohol.

Sab had the Bali Hai Beer. Their alcohol are really cheap. S$2 ++ for a can of beer and the Bali Hai beer was having some promotion and it cost less than S$1.

Nice cold alcohol with chips, mixed nuts and caramelized banana to slack the night away.

We went to bed pretty early, around 10 plus Singapore time. My body clock is pretty fixed plus having to wake up so early brings me to lala land early too.

We were up the following day at 7plus Singapore time for breakfast.

Preparing for Breakfast.

Just look at how messy our room was after only one night of stay.

Breakfast time! I've always enjoy hotel breakfast especially if they are serving international buffet breakfast because waking up to a widespread of food is happiness.

The eggs station. My favourite station of all time.

Breakfast was good except for the smell of cigarettes. In Batam, you can light your cigarette anywhere, anytime even in hotel rooms and air-conditioned shopping malls.

Time for some sun tan and a dip in the pool after a good breakfast! We got our shades, towels, beers and snacks and went to the roof top.

Oh, how we love the sun!

Burned after the suntanning!

Bathed and ready to check out.

The restaurant that we had our breakfast.

We headed to the ferry terminal straight after the checkout. I literally emptied my wallet at the ferry terminal by grabbing some more local products and having lunch at the coffee shop there.

Fried mee with ying yang-bing.

Declared bankrupt. Not even a single cent left.

On the way back to Singapore.

The unhappy faces. It's the end of the short escapade.

Back to the hustle and bustle of city life.

Having reached Singapore at around 4plus, we headed to catch The Hangover II and had soup spoon for dinner.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup.

Mushroom Soup.

I truly enjoyed every single second of the trip with Sab. It was a good time for some reflection, some catching up, some bitching, some fun and loads of laughter!

In exactly one month's time, i will be sending Sab off to Australia. Something that i'm not exactly excited about but i know it will be an awesome experience for her to meet new people and experience new culture. I know she will be bringing back loads of stories to share.

For myself, school will be starting in less than a month time. I'm kind of excited and scared at the same time. The thought of having to start from the scratch, from making friends to familiarizing and feeling comfortable in school to the lectures, tutorials, assignments and projects. The life of a student! One last chance for me to be a student. I'm sure it's going to be great.

I'm going to work hard because one of my dream is to be able to bring my family for a well deserved holiday trip.

Just keep pushing on!

2011-06-03T19:33:00.006+08:00

It's a nice chill out session with my girls.

Most importantly, it's good news to accompany the long time favourite buffet.

Wee Li found herself a job within a week! The boss gave her the job on the spot after the interview. Congratulations!

Sushi!

The day ended with a chit chat session at our favourite place, Bukit Panjang Plaza.

Great day, girls!