Pasta Mania dinner

had dinner wif alex & karen @ TPY's pasta mania last nite.

we shared 2 pastas and 1 pizza but still the spread looks too much!

didn't even finish the garlic bread so i tabao back.

2nd time tat i realise they r not forecoming in giving u discounts and privileges tat u r entitled to.

every main = 1 chop and 6 chops = 1 free dessert.

the last time tat i ate at bugis junction wif LJ & HQ, they gave mi the card wif our 3 chops after i asked for it. same thing last nite, i had to ask them for a card.

if the purpose of the card is to build loyalty & create repeat sales, shouldn't the staff b promoting tat proactively?

if the cost of the loyalty program is too high, they'll need to review the program.

but to continue wif a program tat they'r not supporting actively is reli no point.

compare tis wif macdonald's membership which is so user frenly. EVERYTIME i go to macdonald's, their staff will ask if i'm a member after i place my orders. i m beli appreciative of their efforts and yes, it does pay off. i enjoy earning points for my purchases and redeeming them for treats.

and the redemption is so easy and available 24/7 at the booths located in every mac branch. great set-up & consideration for their customers.

yes, QQ & YY were converted fans by fries & balloons respectively. and i m converted by their excellent loyalty program.

Words of Encouragement

i came across tis email tat i recd last yr. been wanting to post it since last wk coz i tink it's beli meaningful. it tells u tat ur circumstances r determined by ur mindset.

A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities;

an optimists is one who make opportunities of his difficulties.

tis wk's been pretty eventful for mi. had to deal wif some personal emotions and wanted to address some career related stuff as well. tis is the 2nd time tat i m seriously contemplating where i m going.

while looking at my job as merely a job has helped mi achieve the work/life balance and emotional detachment i desired, i missed the passion of my work life, risk mgmt.

i m so reluctant to even consider moving from my company. yet, the draw of my passion may prove to b too strong. sigh...it's a tough choice.

Annual Employee Survey AES

the AES is a BIG thing in my company.

held annually and on a global level, tis is the time when employees can make themselves heard no matter wat post u r holding in the company.

message from senior management of my business unit :

"We're fortunate that this Company cares about employee opinion.

Let's all take advantage of this opportunity to relay our thoughts on what makes our company a great place -- and how it could be even better"

juz did my AES. tink i need to rest earlier tdy. coz i've been having the yawns since morning.

beli unusual for mi. or mayb it's the wet weather.

Words of Wisdom

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will wind some false friends and some true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat on you.

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give the world the best you have got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway."

(Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

my take on tis :

do everything for urself, not for others, not even ur loved ones and certainly not for anyone else hoo doesn't matter anyway.

do something becoz u want to, not becoz u tink ppl tink u should.

when u do things of ur own accord, u'll b happy tat u did watever u want to. u derive happiness from ur actions and not by measuring it by its returns ie. others reciprocating

and by setting the record rite tat u r doing the things for ur loved ones becoz YOU want to, it sets the expectations or rather it eliminates the expectation of them doing rite by u too.

u r accountable for ur own happiness, no one else owes u tat so dun find excuses or push the responsiblility to someone else. i find it especially sad when ppl expect their happiness to b derived from their loved ones.

if u love them and they love u back in watever way, whether big or small. b grateful. they dun haf to love u unless they want to.

and dun tink tat by deferring ur own happiness by 'sacrificing' for ur loved ones, u r being noble. hoo r u to judge if ur loved ones r happier juz becoz u made a 'sacrifice'?

if they love u, they'll b happier if u r happier. so b good to urself.

i m selfish but at least i m honest to myself. and tat's all tat matters at the end of the day.

No fotos till now

Blogger's picture upload decided to die on mi tonite.

mayb it's becoz i made up my mind to do some serious chinese blogging.

ah...the great mystery of the law of attraction.

after the umpteenth try, it works now!

tis is the outdoor dining area of a restaurant at....2nd floor of ppl's park mkt. unbelievable rite?

A Puzzling Indulgence

Don't you hate when people assume that once you become a mom your mind is nothing more than a storage space for Wiggles lyrics? Well, if you want to prove them wrong, remember that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Need another clue? Okay, it's a game of words in numbered squares. And it's 8 Across.
That's right. Fight back against the simple-minded-mom stereotype with a crossword puzzle.

Scientists around the world advocate these puzzles as a way of exercising the mind and extending the average life span.

Doing crosswords is also recommended for those wanting to protect themselves from memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

Even the surgeon general encourages the age-old brain booster for all ages, so get the kids a crossword of their own and play together.

But if the idea of getting through the New York Times crossword has got you both "cross" and "down," don't worry.

You can pick up today's edition -- the newspaper's puzzles escalate in difficulty from Monday to Saturday, and an extra-large one appears every Sunday -- or go online to find ones that range in skill level and topic.

You can define and decode all you want with puzzles focused on entertainment, current events and, yes, even parenting.

See how far you can get without using any outside resources. Then do some sleuthing to fill in the tough terms.

After finishing the crossword, you can astound your (12 Down: Skeptics...) naysayers with sparkling wit and gasp-inducing puns.

Mistakes

If a barber makes a mistake, it is a new style.

If a driver makes a mistake, it is an accident.

If a doctor makes a mistake, it is an operation.

If an engineer makes a mistake, it is a new venture.

If parents make a mistake, it is a new generation.

If a politician makes a mistake, it is a new law.

If a scientist makes a mistake, it is a new invention.

If a tailor makes a mistake, it is a new fashion.

If a teacher makes a mistake, it is a new theory.

If a programmer makes a mistake, it is a new virus.

If an accountant makes a mistake, it is a new journal entry.

If a store keeper makes a mistake, it is return goods.

If a vet makes a mistake, it is a new breed.

If your boss makes a mistake, it is YOUR mistake.

HAAHAAHAAHAA

Beer hour

not in the best mood tdy so karen went for a couple of beers wif mi.

she brought mi to TPY lor 8 which is under Mr Chiam's charge.

estate looks very well maintained and orderly and the alfresco dining style between the coffeeshop and hawker centre is cool, literally

YY's creation

went to popular on sat & got YY some books.

spent above $30 so entitled to get tis puzzle for half prize.

it comes wif a pattern book wif various designs eg. car, house, crab

but YY was so creative tat he made tis gun on his own. tink tis puzzle is good for promoting creativity in kids.

onli prob is QQ fights over the puzzle pieces wif YY.

Mountain of chicken wings

had a treat from jeslin for yest's lunch.

the auntie brought us a mountain of chicken wings.

as expected, there were more den 2 pieces per pax.

Tulip Hearts Day for Children's Cancer Foundation

Mi is doing street sales of the tulips for CCF on sun. taking pre-orders now. $2 per stalk and 10 colours to choose from. colours of the rainbow : White-Red-Blue-Yellow-Green-Orange-Violet

Yellow
Cream
Lilac
Purple
Blue
Light Blue
Light Green
Pink
Red
Magenta





the handphone straps are quite nice too.

$5 a piece. let mi noe if anyone wants

Funny signs

got these from hock, i tink.

couldn't read them clearly in my email so saved the files.

now for mass viewing pleasure & laughter

Roadblocks aplenty

juz back from supper @ newton circle wif alvin.

first time i had seafood there. actualli mi onli been there once for kambing soup many yrs back.
somehow i've always felt tat i will b overcharged at newton circle so no urge to eat there.

didn't take pict of our very sinful supper of bbq stingray & sambal kangkong. beli salty & oily :P

saw so many roadblocks on my way back tat i was puzzled by the operations on a mon nite.

the first one i saw was along marymount but in opp direction from where i was travelling.
den i saw the roadblock at AMK ave 3 exit soon after i got onto CTE.
after i exited TPE, i oso kena roadblock.

heng ah, tdy no drinks. drinking is not a good idea on mon nite.

Livia, your celebrity smile style is Innocent Like Drew

While we'd never believe she's Never Been Kissed, Drew is sweet and innocent smile is what makes so many women want to be her, and so many men want to be with her.

Like Drew, you have a sparkling personality that can light up a room (or a movie set) the moment you walk into it.

Accompanied by an easy-going manner, your charming nature tells people that you are trustworthy and ready for a good time.

You love to laugh about anything — jokes, pranks, yourself — and you prefer to maintain a childlike sense of wonder and amusement about the world.

Even when things don't go your way, your positive attitude always helps you find the bright side of things. Keep on smiling!

Dogs of the temples

went to loyang pek kong and 太阳公 on sat & sun to pray.

noticing the no. of stray dogs in the compound, i decided to take a few shots of man's best friends on both days.

Where the Germs Hide

E.T., phone home -- and ask for some disinfecting wipes, pronto.

That device you use to reach out and touch someone -- your phone -- may be touching you back with dirt, germs, and other baddies.

In a study of household surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms, scientists discovered that phone handsets and mouthpieces were two of the most contaminated.

So grab a cleaning wipe and give yours a rubdown regularly.

RealAge Benefit: Protecting your immune system can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

High levels of amylase, an enzyme that warns of contamination from saliva, sweat, urine, or other bodily fluids, were found on the handsets and mouthpieces of phones that researches recently tested in 17 households.

Phones tended to have even more amylase than baby gear, including baby changing mats.

If that's not bad enough, researchers speculate that contaminated phones might be a culprit in nasty cold and flu infections.

Viruses can survive on certain surfaces for hours, or even days, depending on the room's humidity and temperature.

And once you touch a contaminated surface with your hands, it's maddeningly likely that the virus will be transferred to your nose or mouth -- and bingo, the bug's in your body.

So clean your phone, and don't forget to wash your hands afterward!

Sunday swimming trip-Jalan Besar

the kids were ready for their sunday swim.

QQ looks quite demure in her skirt, save for her tongue





















the theme of yest's swim session was animals.

which explains QQ's turtle top and the rubber duckie on the float.

haha...just kidding lah.

the rubber duckie is QQ's bathtime toy which she decided to bring swimming.

Sushi eating

YY wanted sushi so we went to sakae @ east point on sat.

we ordered so much maki and YY was fooling around by stuffing the maki into the gap of his dropped front tooth.






















the pair r sushi lovers and tat's YY wiping a satisfied grin off his face after finishing his chawanmushi

Cavana chicken

had lunch @ cavana chicken, white sands on sat.

missed the chicken wings but somehow, it didn't taste as good as i rem.

the concept of cavana chicken has evolved yet again wif curry and noodles being added to their offering now.

Steve's dog and out of office

we get asked alot if steve is in office so we decided to put up the closed sign on his chair.

and yes, his mascot is his bear lookalike 'dog'

Lunch makanan

showcasing my lunch food. tis is 猪脚河粉 wif yummy corn soup.

















my fav and only choice at concourse foodcourt. the yong tau foo. looks pretty healthy if not for the fried food

太阳饼

i juz wana confirm if tis is the same famous 太阳饼 tat LJ always buys

Outing to istana

we visited the istana for the national day open house.

first time tat i visited the president's office so quite excited.

we didn't get there as early as we wanted to for the art competition but it was still an interesting experience.























upon entering the grounds, we were first greeted by a pond wif swans














next was an exhibition of colourfully decorated canvas shoes




















i took tis shot of YY running out of the toilet as i wana highlight how ulu the toilet is.

totally concealed by the greenery and very far off.






video of the kids running around on istana grounds





the game tat YY played. the puzzle cubes were a little too heavy for YY.





















the incredibly long queue for balloons.

QQ was disappointed as they decided to postpone the balloon distribution while we were still in the queue.










i thot tis was a real strategic sight to behold us as we stepped out of the istana.

and QQ has a new tool. a mini fan bought on istana grounds.

Whatever Cafe

went for lunch wif the mkting gers hoo brought us to whatever cafe, a vegan theme restaurant.

i had a cream based pasta and the sauce was excellent, full of flavour and very rich.

the servings of water were huge and our starters wif various dips were very nice.

didn't haf space in our stomach for their signature dessert though.