How did you spend Earth Hour?

Earth Hour came & past….How did you spend it?



For me, was at a mall & saw that many businesses did not bother with their lights or airconditioning. Fortunately I was patronising McDonalds which saw the "light at the end of the tunnel" (pun intended) & gamely switched off the lights in some parts of their place. It didn't cause the place to be less functional…in fact, it gave a nice glow to the place without the glarring white light that you usually see at Mcs. That caused me to think "Why don't Mcs consider have a schedule for dimmed lights at certain areas of their restaurants everyday?" It'll save them some money & give the Earth a breather since they contribute to the use of resources (with their individually packed food wrappers) right? The place actually looks quite inviting with dimmed lights. After all, people don't need floodlights to eat a burger or ice cream or fries anyway….

Next stop for me was Starbucks which took the Earth hour to another level by switching off ALL its lights within its premises. This resulted in a quite hilarous outcome as people were likely thinking if they were open for business at all! :) But their heart is in the right place & that's what counts…so I ordered a tall iced "Green Tea Soy Latte" to support their cause. The server was so cute as they gave both kiddos neon bracelets. (BTW if you haven't tried this "Green Tea Soy Latte", you should definitely try it - it's sumptous!)

Went back home & did an extended Earth Hour with the kids by having a lights-out:) We spent the hour before sleeping playing nice music - shining our torchlights & waving neon bracelets in the darkness for ambience.

Started by telling them stories that this is likely how their grandparents spent their childhood - in darkness with a candle to shine their night. My boy didn't take to the darkness very well initially but eventually warmed round to the idea when he saw that darkness need not be feared but can be quite fun too! In the end, both enjoyed Earth hour & now I have to do it again next Sat! :)

If you are more a picture person, click to http://www.flickr.com/groups/earthhourlive/pool/ for cool pics!

Think things differently...time to count our blessings....

Got this from a friend - it's quite a nice reminder in such times (the original email has pics so if you want it, email me yah?):

"A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said "I am blind. please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.' "

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. Invite others towards good with wisdom.

Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

Great men say, "Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness…. In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience."

Underwater World Overnight Stay (21-22 Mar) & pulau semakau trip (2 weeks ago)

Was down at underwater world for an overnight stay with kids last night & I must say that it was quite an experience....

was registered for an exciting stay with local automobile association for 70 a piece - dropped won at 6 before gathering at the UWW seminar room for a marine talk on types of sea animals that one can find there like sea star, sea angels, jellyfish, sharks, dugong etc before we got down to serious business of dinner & a tour of the 80+ meter tunnel. 

kids were pretty excited as they usually only get to see UWW during the day & not after closing time...they were basically knocking themselves out going round & round the tunnel during the free & easy time & getting themselves wet at the touch pool 

after some time allocated for supper & wash up, the 50 odd campers were brought down again to the tunnel for selection of sleeping area at the tunnel. we were at the shark area on the carpeted area. 

lights out at 1130 ish - whole new experience.... lying down on the hard carpeted floor was a torture for the ol' body & carpeting caused a sneezing frenzy for hub & boy. Doesn't help when the floorboard resounds with every step & you have kids running up & down the tunnel area. 

Finally settled down for a "nap" as before I knew it, lights up at 730 am this morning. Had a quick wash before having breakfast. We headed down to Dolphin Lagoon for a show & a rub-down of one of the pink dolphins. It was a nice fitting ending to a very different sleep-over. 

Definitely pooped after this but then again, an experience that money can't buy....just like the earlier trip that I took for my girl to Pulau Semakau (more info here) 2 weeks ago. It was definitely an eye-opener to see another side of urban Singapore where one can find diverse coral life & animal life. The inter-tidal walk started from 12 & only ended around 5-ish. Nat's quite ok with the heat...quite good considering she's so used to air-conditioning (like most kids in singapore). She's now asking when she can go there again (same thing as UWW sleepover) & I am thinking, "wait till my body recovers!" 

Fresh Apple Juice....Preshafruit *yum yum*

Discovered this really sumptous apple juice (only sold in Jasons at Raffles City)...almost like you are eating the fruit itself!! At $4.70 per bottle, it ain't cheap but the taste is really exqusite! My lil one absolutely loves the Fuji Apple (choice of apple & lemon, apple & pear, granny smith, pink lady, royal gala & of course the Fuji)...me too! Besides the taste, the bottle is really cute! Triangular!! Where can one find a triangle bottle?! Hub found another reason why he likes the bottle, it doesn't spill even if you accidentally topple over the remains (provided it's not too full)....managed to get some pics from the official website and a blog. The only crunch is the cost & the difficulty of finding the item...managed to find an online store (greengrocer) that sells the 6 in a pack but it charges $30 per delivery if you order less than $100 per order!!!

Reunion with my urut lady

Last weekend had a "reunion" of sorts with my Malay urut (massage) lady as I haven't seen her for some 3 years. Thought of her off & on for past few years but hubby had difficulty calling her to recommend post-natal massages so I naturally thought she had changed her hp.She featured quite some when both my anaks were born as she massaged away the aches & pains & listened to all my pre-birth woes & post-birth fears. She was also the person my mother called 5 mins before she passed away as my mum wanted to get a massage from her....

She's a special kind of person as although she doesn't have much of an education in the usual sense, she could help relieve all sorts of aches & pains (even uplift uterus which happens after birth cos of weight from carrying baby).

Sad to say but she's literally one of her kind as after she's gone, there's no one to carry on her knowledge & skills as all her kids are not interested in the work that she does - especially when they have to wake up at wee hours in the morning to boil the herbal oils used for the massages & be at the beck & call of customers all over the island from dawn to dusk. She wants to teach her dying art but alas there's no takers for the skill - a skill that can help to chase the "wind" out of a woman's body after birth & ensure that the body doesn't suffer from aches & pains thereafter. She claims that she even knows how to make a woman fertile as the traditional thinking is that the veins are blocked (resulting in such conditions)….for me, it was her magic touch that helped ease the pain at the left side of my body (suspect uterus drop) that I have been feeling for some few days (more painful as the days go by).

I will miss her dearly if she should pass on but for now, I am so glad I found her again to drive away my aches & pains!

Do check out this website for a more detailed description of the process! (although I just got the binding & the massage)

Interesting starts to a brand new year....

New stuff = new changes to morning routine

Kids start their morning school at 6a.m.

Join morning yoga sessions at True before reaching office at 9a.m.

Doing Hot Yoga has been great! I sweat buckets but it makes me feel refreshed... love it!

Barack Obama will be sworn in as America's 44th President on Tues Singapore time

Interesting times indeed!

Who would have thought that a black (Afro-American) will ascend to the highest office in the world during my lifetime? (Was hoping it would have been a woman but hey! he's pretty awesome!)

Heard him speak several times during the election & man! He's inspirational!

Some reports have downplayed his influence & asked "what can 1 man do?" My reply? "What can't one man not do?" He gives HOPE & that's mega important during such hard times when everyday can deliver a "down in the dumps" news - Lehman, AIG, then last but not least Madoff all dropping bombs after bombs of doom.

This 1 person can give hope, that's enough to lift the spirits of hundred, thousands and millions - that's good enough for me in such times. Many times when everything's down, I reach into my fav book that brought me through the tough times "Tough times never last, but Tough people do."

Let go and Let God

As children bring their broken toys
with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God
because He was my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him

in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help with ways

that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,

"How can You be so slow?"

"My child," He said, "what could I do?

You never did let go."

(unknown)

Last Holiday for 2008.....Hello 2009!

Just back from my last holiday for 2008 - Genting Highlands. 

Never been there but it's bloody cold (wind factor mostly) around 18 degrees. Was under-equipped for that weather & brought only some long sleeved tops & 1 long pants....even worse for kids as only 1 set each but they aren't really adverse to the cold (I think they really liked it though). Told hub that I think I am too used to our seaside vacs as the minute we stepped out of the bus, was hit by the hordes of people that I immediately got a massive headache (i.e. grouchy). The wet weather meant that most of the guests stayed at the indoor theme park which proved to be claustrophobic as 5 of the 7 hotels were fully booked for the 3 days we stayed there. It was meant to be a vacation but I don't think I had one - am soooo glad to be home in fact. Nonetheless, must remind myself not to complain too much cos at least manage to get away from the doom & gloom that clouded the past few months.....Genting news aren't fantastic which is in a way great when one's on vacation I guess :) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy New Year 

If 2008 didn't bring you joy, just leave it behind

Let's ring in the new year 2009 with good things in mind

Let every bad memory that brought heartache & pain go

And let's turn a new leaf with the smell of new year's wind

Let's learn from past mistakes & make amends for 2008 

Most of all, may this new year bring you lots of hope & cheer

(adapted from poem)

Have a great 2009 ahead! 

Interesting Hyperlinks

Here's a list of interesting reads to start off for the upcoming new year:
http://chinesefacereading.blogspot.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/id/croon/japan/china/facereading.html
http://www.jadedragon.com/articles/aow08.html

Always wanted to learn more but I am always reminded that I am student of all trades but master of none :)

After Christmas

Christmas came & went like a rocket-
Had a blast trying to get stuff ready like the tree, pressies for office staff (finally settled on nice orchids for the ladies & Christmas trees for the guys)
Kiddos got their usual Ben-10 & toys & new clothes
Caught up with some ol office friends for a chit chat....planning to do a few more catch ups after the New Year
Counted my blessings for the past year including a new job, new bosses, new colleagues, fresh starts, continuing friendships, healthy living (for 2009, looking forward to starting a new exercise regime when school starts next year with morning yoga/ gym sessions) & most of all counting the blessings with the lovies of my life with me...
Wishing joy, happiness & good fortune to one & all!

My favourite foods @ fast food restaurants.......calorie alert!

Here's a blog about fast food *hahaha*

Macs - breakfast: Big Breakfast definitely; other meal times: filet o fish (when I wanna feel less guilty eating Macs) & Big Mac (if I can't care less) & corn (for snacks)

Mos Burger - Terriyaki Chicken Burger

KFC - 2 piece chicken (crispy) with cheese fries (when I can't care less) or chicken oriental salad (when I want to feel good about myself)

Read this....

Everyone's talking about economy slow-down, jobs being at stake etc & out comes an article from Malaysia regarding reduced leave for its civil servants to (get this) "boost productivity & efficiency" & we are talking about reducing it from a whopping 30 days to a measly 25 days here....

The Director also said "The civil servants have been given a host of incentives and other allowances.So, the Government decided that after having received so much, the civil servants must produce," (I am like duh?? You know your people are not delivering results & you continue to incentivise them??) & to end it all Malaysian government departments etc are discouraged from "spending more to "improve" the level of their service".....I mean I want to work for Malaysian's civil service!!

Full article below for your reading pleasure....

Fewer days of annual leave for new civil servants in M'sia They will only be
entitled to 25 instead of 30 days. -The Star -->
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 The Star

By Sim Leoi
Leoi
PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Come Jan 1, those joining the civil services will only be entitled to 25 instead of 30 days of annual leave regardless of their tenure of service, says Public Service Director Tan Sri Ismail Adam.

Those who are already civil servants will have a choice of reducing their annual leave by five days or not in a move by the Government to promote efficiency and productivity.
Currently, civil servants who have served more than 10 years are entitled to 30 days of leave.
Ismail said civil servants did not need to get "unduly upset" by the option as they could still choose to remain under the old scheme.
"The option is given to see if civil servants are willing to sacrifice five days of leave for their service," he said in an interview here yesterday.
"The civil servants have been given a host of incentives and other allowances.
"So, the Government decided that after having received so much, the civil servants must produce," he added.
In a circular dated Dec 1, Ismail had said civil servants who were on probation, on secondment or temporary transfer, on any type of leave and facing disciplinary action would be given the
option.
However, Ismail declined to comment if the Government had plans for other incentives in lieu of the civil servants voluntarily reducing their number of leave days. Cuepacs president Omar Osman said he would be meeting with Ismail today to seek an explanation.
Meanwhile, heads of government departments and agencies have been reminded against spending more to "improve" the level of their service to the people.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said measures to enhance public service delivery were supposed to help the administration save money.
Speaking at the launch of the Prime Minister's Department Quality Day here yesterday, he said that currently many government agencies often created new posts, promoted existing staff
members or gave other allowances as a way to boost productivity and efficiency.

Christmas Tree Around the World

Check this out!

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-xmastree-pg,0,7335460.photogallery?24

My personal favs pics above!

Perceptions......

Always believed that Perceptions can be change many views...often from what actually happened to you think happened. Some examples to get the message along....

(1) At work, there was this chap that was perceived by many leaders as a rebel, someone who didn't follow the rules, didn't conform cos he always questioned the normal way of doing things.....in other words, he reminded me of me :) I was informed that I need to be wary of him & not expect much from him cos he's just a trouble-maker....I remembered myself & decided to give him a chance & now he's one of the shining stars....

(2) At home, just had a minor crisis involving my gm & the maid....maid's been trying her best to take care of her by cooking her healthy food....old lady thinks she's being mean cos she doesn't want to cook her what she wants....had to resolve the mini war that came out of that perception.....

(3) someone close to me believed that I was out to get her & her $. That meant that everything I did & didn't do was perceived as furthering that perception e.g. if I visited her, that's because I wanted to get closer to her & if I didn't visit, I was being difficult & didn't appreciate her for her being there for me. She thought of me being hard-up when I pursued my hobby & gained some experience selling them. I didn't know all of that until much later & boy was I disappointed at all that fuss for $. Gives a new perception to the whole new reason why $ isn't all it's cut out to be. It actually gave me a whole new way of viewing the commodity - 

• definitely not one that can't be brought to where one goes after life
• not one that helps mend bridges
• complicates when it becomes the focus of relationships

Growing Up....

Today I had to take a "grow up" lesson....frankly what I do is really the bad guy job most of the times......other names are the gatekeeper/ stumbling block/ red tape/ enforcer.....but today I had to exercise a MAJOR decision that brought me to the full realisation on what "doing my job" really means.

To a certain extent, making the call today was really frightening & fearful for me as the consequences are wide-ranging in many respects "business -wise" & the mother of all decisions in many respects :P

Thankully had a chat with the big guy & he assured me of his support. He even said he didn't pay me to be the "yes" man! *hurray* I guess......This assurance certainly makes the decision I had to make tonnes easier to bear.

Read this MSN article (timing is perfect I must say - wondering if is there some unforeseen hand giving me some tips....hmmmm) on "How to make the bad image work for you"

p.s. if you are wondering why I picked the poisonous frog as my picture for this entry....well, that's how I felt today when I made the decision.....

Stay at Hong Kong- The Mira & Charlie Brown

Stayed at this beautiful hotel in Kowloon Hong Kong called "The Mira Hong Kong".
The room at The Mira was beautiful - green & white being the principal colours. The place is heaven for gadget freaks like me cos free Wi-fi (wireless computer included with LCD TV being the screen) & automated shower screens etc.....that means you cannot be eye-sight challenged if you want to stay here as mood lighting is the name of the game :)

Took a Citybus from the airport (quite cheap HKD33 (ard SGD6) compared to HKD100+ for airport transfer.

Besides that, the place is wonderfully located near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station (Exit B) where the shops are open till midnight (I don't see that anywhere else in Hong Kong the whole time I was there). Love the little shops along the streets. Found a lovely cafe called "Charlie Brown" with all the furniture and fittings & figurines of the famous Snoopy, Lucy, Tweety & of course, good ol' Charlie Brown. Some pictures where even the waffles & cakes are also shaped accordingly.

Today....

Today started off pretty uneventful - I didn't plan to do much in fact as ran out of ideas on what to do for my free time *hahaha* (that's what happens when one has been working non-stop for the longest time :P)


Anyways, decided will go down for a yoga session in the morning & managed to grab a little massage on the massage chair at the yoga place before that. Met hub for lunch at a nice quaint La Mien cum Xiao Long Bao place (Hua Yi) at International Building - the Xiao Long Bao there is even better than Crystal Jade one with the only other restaurant beating it for the Xiao Long Bao is the Din Tai Fung outlets.


Grabbed a nice cold drink at the new TCC at 1st floor International Building - nice place to chill for a hot day as you can see the Orchard Road human traffice from that place. The service was good & the decor of that place was interesting (not like the other TCC outlets).


Guess what?! At that time we were at TCC, the weather changed from bright & sunny to dark & cloudy....that's weather in Singapore for you....


Was on the way out when the boss of our fav foot reflex place (Footworks) told us that my fav foot reflex guy is available for a foot rub....Woo Hoo!!! That ended a perfect day for me!

Kid's 1st dental surgery

Kid's 1st dental surgery occurred yesterday - pretty freaked as he had complained about having pain on his teeth one night and ended up with a swollen cheek the next morning (twice the size of his other cheek). Had made some panicky calls to the national dental clinic to schedule a check-up. Found out that the swelling was due to a decayed molar on his right cheek. *Sigh* largely due to bad oral hygiene. Felt like I failed as mom when I heard that from the doctor. That check-up was done on Wed & the surgery was scheduled on Thurs at 730 in the morning.

My baby had to be knocked out to get the offending tooth out. Pained me real bad as I had to hold his hand while he was being given the gas. Was told that the procedure to take out the offending tooth would take some time but he was done within half hour (very long half hour) - largely cos he yanked out the tube that was put down his throat to help him breathe.

He yelled at the top of his voice when he woke up from his stupor after the op. Kicked a huge fuss at the waiting area for about 1.5 hrs. Most traumatic experience & won't want to do it ever again if I can help it (crossing my fingers as he's got another offending molar on the other side).

Walk in the Park

Some pics I took while walking in the park -i.e. Henderson Waves & Hortpark. The walk's a great way to spend some time with your loved one or bring along a friend to see somewhere one doesn't often see in Singapore.

Link to NParks website on park connector

2 cents regarding recent financial turmoil

After seeing the latest bloodbath unfold in the financial side, I realized that investment is largely emotional affair. When markets get jitters, those who invested for reasons like stability, security, or having that retirement fund (all long term ideas mind you) will push out all those reasons aside & act emotionally (in other words, irrationally to a certain extent).

Here's my 2 cents worth on what's happening:

1. from what I have read & understood, the cpy just needs to pump in $ as it's credit rating got 2 notches down. But I am no expert in such stuff


2. even if the worst fears are true, the question is whether a bail out shld be done especially if the previous financial goals (back when you 1st got that policy) remains the same? From what I know, the local government is regarded as one of the strictest in the world when it comes to separating assets & liabilities (even when dealing with a branch of a foreign cpy like AIG). With this, I am willing to bet my last dollar that a situation will not occur where a policyholder will not get any money or get less than what he should be getting out of the policy. But then again, I am no expert.....


3. others have also said that given the unstable nature of current world economy, there's no certainty which other company is safe. From what I know, such mkt adjustments is shown over & over again in history & that old history lady has shown that there is always hope as such circumstances will not go on & on forever....


4. coffee shop talk sometimes totally baffles me esp people who encourage/put fear into the minds of friends, colleagues, relatives & encouage them to surrender their policies especially their ILPs. I do not doubt for a minute that their intentions are good but given the current situation, all bailouts come at a HUGE cost to the investor. If financial goals continue to remain long term & even if they feel (not know) that 'cash is king' in such times, withdrawal is not the best policy as far as I know. But then again, I am no expert.

The above are totally my personal views which have no basis in financial or any other deep stuff that comes along with such opinions.

1st ayurvedic treatment

I had the good fortune to trying out the following 2 therapies at Century 10 at Campbell Lane this morning:

1. Abhyanga: Ayurvedic Warm Oil Massage

2. Shirodhara: Ayurvedic Bliss Therapy (pic above)
   

The conclusion?

• Relaxing most absolutely definately - I have never felt so at peace in all my spa sessions. The feeling is totally out of this world! Clear headed, felt like I could face the world after that, light footed, walking on air, urge to only eat vege after that (go figure!)
  
• Oily definately - I needed a good hair wash at the hairdressers thereafter LOL
  
• Going back for more? Yes! Yes! Yes! In fact, booked for another session next week (same 2 therapies plus "Bashpa Swedana: Full Body Herbal Steam Therapy".
  

Info on various therapies offered