Conversation

What could they be talking about? The ant & the snail?

Magic Bottle

Niece, H, got this bottle for my mum last Sunday:


There's something swimming in there...Can you see them?


2 little shrimp!!!


Here's a close-up pic of the cute little shrimp...


We're having steamboat for our CNY reunion dinner...No, no, I'm not hinting anything. These 2 fellas will never end up in the pot, that's for sure...they're mum's pets & much too tiny...
...

Happy Lunar New Year!

Exodus

A belated Happy 'Rabbit Year' everyone!



So many colleagues have resigned and left after the Lunar New Year break, with a few more leaving in the next couple of months, some of whom I work/mingle closely with. It's especially difficult to do the exit process with this group, so hard to say goodbye to friends...



"WHERE SHALL I GO?

(1) To the left where nothing's right?
or
(2) To the right where nothing's left?"

Fear

I love horror movies. So can you imagine how excited I was when I found out that horror movies would be screened on Okto channel every Sunday at 10pm in the month of October? Unfortunately it turned out that none of them was horrifying though. How disappointing.

And it was this disappointment that made me want to re-watch some old horror movies that I had enjoyed in the past - The Shining & The Exorcist. Though I still find the movies quite scary, I thought nothing beats this greatest fear of mine. This thing makes me so petrified with fear that I swear I often imagine I could see it from the corner of my eye only to turn my head around & find there's nothing there.


Before you start thinking I'm a nut, let me introduce you to one of my greatest fears - The Thing:


I don't know if you've heard of this Chinese (Teochew) saying that goes something like, "the more you're afraid of something, the more likely you'll face it". Of course being a typical 黑仔, I was not spared. I remember this incident that happened one night a couple of years back...I came home late from work & as I was walking out from the lift, one of these Things landed exactly on the back of my right hand with a thud, right side up! My immediate reaction was of course to fling my hand vigorously & luckily The Thing was flung off. But I was scared stiff, hair standing.


I wonder how many of you have had the same experience? Exactly, I believe the answer is NONE! Isn't this suppose to be like one in a million chance of a lifetime kind of thing? Yet it had to happen to me, to someone who's absolutely terrified of The Thing! Don't mean to complain but you know, I really think life's unfair sometimes.


Recently I was even forced to confront this fear by exterminating them whenever I see them around in my home. In the past, I used to let them off by pretending to be oblivious to their existence but I could no longer do so as they seem to be making themselves more & more at home these days without my permission (well, not that I would have approved even if they asked). I understand that they, too, have their right to live on this earth but definitely not in my home! I'm sorry & please forgive me, you absolutely have to leave.


Now, now what was I thinking? I absolutely abhor these things but now I have immortalised them! Ugh, what am I supposed to do with these two? Anyone want some felt lizards? These 'darlings' are looking for a nice family who's willing to adopt & care for them...

Sky Watch

Took this photo in the morning on my way to work.

I like the lone contrail in the sky, the aircraft nowhere in sight...

Singapore Flyer

Have you been on the Singapore Flyer yet?


Took a ride on the Flyer, with compliments from my Bro #1, on 4 Sep 10.


These pictures are posted one month late as they were taken using my handphone & I only transferred them to my laptop recently.


Hmm...But why do the pictures look so grey? ...

To Market, To Market...

Spent this morning at the Giant hypermart with my mum, sis-in-law #2 & niece H. As usual, we bought alot of groceries. I don't cook, my mum does but I enjoy these weekend trips to the supermarket cos I enjoy shopping. :)

Sewed a couple of peas (pods) when I got home... inspiration from my supermart trip? :P





Seems like a short post today but you know I can't leave you just like that without sharing a small interlude from a day in the life of the clumsy me, can I? Well, what happened was I bought 3 big cups of drinks but 2 decided to slide off the food tray I was holding, causing a sticky mess, not on me but on the hypermart food court floor. Sorry to the Uncle who had to clean up the mess for me. 真系黑仔, 鸡手鸭脚嘅我唔只系茶煲,仲白白浪费咗$4.20添. 心痛. 当黑!

Happy Birthday, Bro #3!

Greetings to another birthday boy in this month of August. Happy Birthday to you, Bro #3!

Here's your birthday treat but I don't know how you like your hotdog so I prepared all 4 types. Take your pick:

Plain:


With mustard only:


With chilli only:


With chilli & mustard:



I like mine plain or with chilli only. What's your pick?

Happy Birthday!


*This mini hotdog is about 3cm long.*

Happy Birthday, Bro #2!

生日快乐!!

Rather than sing you the English birthday song, how do you like this Cantonese version?




"祝寿歌"
恭祝你　福寿与天齐　庆贺你生辰快乐
年年都有今日 岁岁都有今朝
恭喜你 恭喜你


(粤)系唔系觉得好'老饼'啊? 哈哈...

Anyway, not forgetting your present - a handmade dog charm for you:

Food For Thought / Calico Bunny

A few weeks back I was asked to prepare a guide & if possible, conduct training to share with the supervisors & line managers on how to counsel & discipline problematic employees in the workplace.


This evening when my eldest brother came to visit, he asked if my car pool problem was resolved (see my previous post, "A Chicken's Dilemma"). I told him that I had spoken to that colleague & she had also agreed to keep to our schedule from now on. I then told my brother that I shall observe her for a period of time & if there's no improvement shown, I shall proceed to arrange my own transport thereafter.


This conversation with my brother just made me realised that talking to that colleague about her tardiness problem, making her see the problem she had caused me, getting her to agree to make an effort to keep to the schedule & taking the decision to observe her over a period of time to ensure that the problem is not repeated - by doing all these, haven't I just conducted some kind of counselling/disciplinary procedure though on a personal front? Haha...I have always believed that things happen for a reason. Now I can finally see the link - perhaps the work assignment was given to indirectly help me deal with this personal problem I was facing? A very good opportunity for me to put theory into practice, isn't it?


This calico bunny has got nothing to do with what I wrote about today. I sewed this over the weekend & just wanted to show it to you....Or maybe there's a link somewhere afterall, waiting for me to discover?...:D

A Chicken's Dilemma

Which category do you fall into? Are you normally:

(i) early or on-time for appointments; or
(ii) late for appointments?


I'm in category (i). Unfortunately, most of the people I'm supposed to meet fall into category (ii).

I have never been late for work, not until recently...


My colleague (who's staying a few blocks away) & I share a cab to work every morning. We're supposed to meet at 8am & will normally reach the office in about 10 mins, leaving us 20 mins to settle in before work starts officially at 8.30am. This arrangement had worked well so far until problems began surfacing a few weeks ago.

Recently this colleague's son started to take lifts from us as his new school's located somewhere near our office. I do not mind giving him a lift except that they have caused me to be late for work 3 times in the past few weeks already! Not only do they show up at our meeting point as late as 8.20am, they took their time to stroll down with absolutely no sense of urgency knowing very well that by the time we detour to drop her son off, we will be at least 15-20 mins late for work!

What would you have done if you were in my shoes? Would you tell her frankly about how you feel & risk causing unhappiness or adopt the mentality that 'if you can't beat them, join them' & be late for work as well?


I don't like to be late and really don't like being passively forced into making it a habit. I guess it's time to have a talk with her & if need be, stop sharing a cab if our schedules & habits no longer jive but I would have to tell her tactfully so as not to jeopardise our working relationship...


Whatever it is, I will not be a chicken...

Have Been Busy...

...Reading...


I noticed that whatever I do depends very much on my mood. On days when the bookworm pays me a visit, I could read book after book for days & weeks. But sometimes when I'm not in the mood for reading, I will leave my books & not touch them for months. Same goes for crafting. Are you like that too?


...Searching...

Recently I've lost both my dentist & hairdresser. No no, not lost forever as I believe they are very much alive (thank heavens) but that they have both left their respective practices. My favourite dentist has decided to be a stay-at-home mum while the hairdresser, well I don't know what happened to her as her colleagues & boss at the salon did not say much except that she'll not be back anytime soon in the near future :(.


Now, I have to go scout around for a new dentist & hairdresser which is absolutely distressing for me! While I understand that change is a constant thing, the problem is, I am a person of habits. After I got comfortable with say, patronising a certain store or following a certain routine which I think works for me, I am quite reluctant to change. Moreover, it takes time (& possibly luck) to find another whose skills & presence I can trust & enjoy. Are you like that too?

To all those who provide services to the public, you have absolutely no idea how important you are to this habitual creature...


Meanwhile, though distressed, I'm still in the mood for reading...

Happy Birthday, Brother #1

♫♪ Happy Birthday to you ♫♪ Happy Birthday to you ♫♪ Happy Birthday to Bro#1 ♫♪ Happy Birthday to you! ♫♪


It's your big day today!

I didn't 'bake' you a cake this time. Thought I'd make you something else this year...

How about a crocheted slice of birthday pizza? Hope you like it.







生日快乐! Here's wishing you good health & happiness always!

Daiso

Hello! I'm feeling much better already after being sick for almost 4 weeks.


So, to celebrate my almost full recovery, I decided to go shopping. My friend, Helen, brought me to Daiso located at the Rivervale Mall a couple of weeks back. And yesterday afternoon, I made my way back there once more, all by myself this time.

I took the MRT - travelled on the East-West line (in green), Circle line (in yellow), followed by the North-East line (in purple) & then transferred on to the LRT at the Sengkang station.


But I got "lost" along the way as I boarded the wrong LRT (took the West instead of East Loop service) headed in the opposite direction instead. As a result, I got to tour the entire Sengkang estate before finally reaching my destination.


The whole MRT + LRT journey lasted 1.5 hours!

Here are some of the stuff I bought at Daiso - some craft supplies & some non-craft items including the wooden monkey above....:)






I love Daiso & will definitely go back again but I need to find a faster/shorter way to get there...any suggestions?