married, what now?

we are migrating!

2009-10-14T19:01:00.006+08:00

our blog, that is. :)

from now on, pls look to our new blog site for our family's latest updates!

blog.weiliangmingyuan.com

yahn's first tiffany

2009-10-11T23:48:00.005+08:00

the key to all your heart's desires lie within you...

♥ ah bor

-sep 2009-

our little girl received her first tiffany from ah bor (my sister). it's to be her 姐妹 symbol with her cousin, rei anne jie jie. each of them has one, and supposedly meant for their 21st year when they gain their independence. i guess my sis couldn't wait for them to grow up. :)

well, me too. i long for the day my girl can smile at me, walk with me, talk to me, and maybe even make me 啼笑皆非 with her antics. until then, i shall just play the guessing game on each of her tears, her cries and her breakdowns... ... and pray i do a good job while i'm at it. :)

18 days old and still counting...

gaming or daughter?

2009-10-09T21:02:00.005+08:00

the father has found the perfect balance. he can handle both together! -- on a good day, that is.

recently the daughter has shown us her true colours. i guess the angel we once knew was really just a newborn's first 2 weeks of sleepiness. 2 weeks has JUST passed and she has decided :

- food must be served immediately

- spit-ups are to be cleared immediately

- her parents are to be her clowns when she's bored

- the bed is not as comfy as her daddy's arms

- etc...

the daddy and me are super exhausted. those who knew us... well, let's just say we never knew our eye-bags could get any darker until now.

and so, our girl has hit her 2 weeks mark. she's growing real fast! i am finding it more difficult to carry her weight while feeding her... and not to mention my arms don't seem to be able to surround her so easily anymore. the daddy just measured her... 4kg?!?! is it really possible for someone to sprout so fast in just 2 weeks?!?!

let's hope it's a healthy growth rate. i really wouldn't want to overfeed the little tyrant. but then again, we're at her mercy. there is absolutely no way she's listening to us now... nope, not at all above her loud-hailer cries...

daddy & baby

2009-10-01T03:46:00.006+08:00

my favourite man and girl. :)

the daddy bonds with his precious girl when she gets delivered to us in the ward. looking really proud and happy (i mean, check it out! he wore a shirt for the big event!!!)

everyone said the girl looks like the dad!!

while that kindof leaves me out of the picture, i'm really quite happy to hear that cos hopefully with that... the daddy will show even more parental love to the girl, and of course volunteer more with the parental duties... to which i must say, he is already doing a great job - but who would complain if he does more right? :P

*check it out - my favourite onesie with a huge monkey on the butt. hehe... so cute*

little bundle of joy

2009-09-27T16:25:00.000+08:00

in the wee hours of 24th sept (八月初六), 2.30am......

MY : (woke up in shock) ouch!
WL : (still in dreamland) what happened?
MY : .... i felt a gush of water...
WL : (suddenly wide awake) HUH???
MY : let me go check...

confirmed. the water bag broke! so after calling the doc who told us to go hospital immediately, we hurriedly did a quick wash up, grabbed our bags and headed off. reached hospital at about 3.30am. the nurse put me up on a monitor and to our surprise, although i wasn't in pain, i was having very close contractions and was already 3cm dilated at 4am. i was in labour!!!

no time to waste, they sent me to the operating theatre at 4.30am for a last minute 5am operation. by the time i reached the OT, all my docs were there. quickly, i was given epidural and everything started speeding up. WL came to my side and not long after at 5.10am, i heard the loud wail of our little one. :)

when she was brought to me, i was overwhelmed. i couldn't help but teared uncontrollably. and then... call it anti-climax but... my first thoughts were - "damn, she doesn't look any bit like me!!" :P

so here, our little bundle of joy (and stress for the days to come) - Yeow Haau Yahn says hello to all. :)

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

our girl screams her first hellos in the operating theatre...

and here's our first family shot, in the operating theatre itself - thanks to the anaethetist who helped us take several shots...

here's our little one looking all sweet, contented and angelic...

and after 4D3N at the hospital, our new family of three head home to start our lives together! stay tuned for more updates on baby yahn! (that is, when the mommy can find the energy)

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

point of interest:

on 24th sept 2006 (八月初三), we gave our vows in front of the justice of peace to love, to comfort, to honour and to keep each other in sickness and in health, so long as we both shall live.

on 16th sept 2007 (八月初六), we had our customary ceremony in front of all our relatives and friends, announcing and celebrating our union.

on 24th sept 2009 (八月初六), our little bundle of joy was born. :) and hey, it was a date she chose herself too!!! :D

treasuring the last moments...

2009-09-23T22:46:00.004+08:00

this is us, in my 38 weeks and 0 days. the daddy is taking the chance to play with the baby bump more before it goes away tmr. or at least hopefully the bulk of it. :)

i probably will miss our little kick-boxer's actions. tomorrow this time, she'll be out and i'll no longer feel those kicks from my insides. the daddy said i'm a masochist. :) i liken this to hearing and complaining about his snoring, but yet still missing it when he's not around. :P

enjoy the last of my pregnancy shots. from tmr onwards... the focus will shift to the little tyrant (or so i'm told by all my friends *sigh* )

the final countdown

2009-09-22T21:42:00.000+08:00

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

the big day is fast approaching. and it seems like many more people are more excited about it than the 当事人 themselves. :) WL and me? we're busy enjoying the last of our 二人世界. since the day he returned, we've been super busy with our own activites. :P

the very noon of the day WL touched down, we headed to dr lim for the daddy to see his girl on tv for the last time before we receive her in our arms. :) i guess it's cos dr lim feels sorry that the father was deprived of his girl's actions for so many months that he did a almost full detailed scan to orientate the daddy of his girl. the head, the mouth, the nose, the heart, fingers, toes etc... of course the daddy is super happy. it's written all over his face. :)

for the 5 days he's been back, we have caught 2 movies (Up + The Ugly Truth), did a 4-hour karaoke marathon (Kbox @ Suntec), ate mooncakes (baked + snow-skined + durian), celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary (@ 1827 Thai), caught up with family and friends before my upcoming imprisonment etc... and of course finish up the last of the baby matters like setting up the baby cot.

i'm not sure if it was cos of the packed schedule we had that had me up and moving around more, or the mooncakes i've been eating, or just the plain happiness to have the husband back with me... but in a matter of days since WL came back, i mega ballooned. this is how i look like now (taken in my 37 weeks + 5 days)...

i feel huge... i am huge... the husband calls me a "beached whale"... ... talk about being supportive... :( oh well, as a quote i've seen -- i can't sleep... i can't breathe... i can't walk... so how am i supposed to find the energy to "glow"?

but very soon, it's no longer going to be just the two of us. in just a couple of days, we'll be welcoming a new member to our loving family. :) come back for updates then!

Don't deep-fry without a deep fryer

2009-09-13T11:15:00.005+08:00

I think the picture says it all...

Lesson learnt: don't ever attempt to deep fry stuff without the proper equipment. Even though when it is possible to use a normal pot filled with oil, and achieve the same visual effect seen on youtube videos on deep-frying...

Once the meat is dropped into the hot oil, you can see it being fried. The bubbles... the familiar sounds... the meat floating... the smell... the smoke... lots of smoke...

All it takes is less than 20 seconds to achieve those oh-so-deliciously-looking little black balls. Nothing like the picture on the packet. Maybe the “酸” character is there to 酸 me... At this point I would like to apologise to my wife for wasting such a nice present sent all the way from Singapore. Gomenasai.

I did finish the rest of the pork frying in the pan. Not as nice. Oh well, lesson learnt. And maybe one more lesson: don't follow the cooking instructions when they tell you to deep fry. :P

Spent the next few hours cleaning the kitchen stove... What a day...

Oh, can I still use that pot? Its just a few black stains... Hmm...

ah mai x2

2009-09-09T21:24:00.003+08:00

today, i'm "mai mai" to yet another. :D so happy! makes me long and wish that my turn will come soon...

well my little girl, while i'm eagerly awaiting your arrival, if you could hold on, let's wait for your daddy to return. :) i'm sure he'd really want to be there to witness the exact moment of your arrival too. let's not gang up our girl-power so fast and deprive him of his moment. :P

girlfriends

2009-08-27T23:01:00.001+08:00

it was a rare occassion that us girls were together at the same time, at the same place. so we decided to do something that we've always talked about but never got around to doing.

our photoshoot!

it's almost one month ago when we woke up super early and headed down to botanic gardens to take some shots to celebrate almost 2 decades of friendship!

'twas great fun... with great photos too!

one regret i have though.... oh why didn't we take it before i got preggers! my most unglam time somemore... *sigh....*

遙遠的Paradise

2009-08-27T16:46:00.000+08:00

在某年某月的某一天，
若我在天堂遇见你，
你会认得我吗？

不知为何，突然想起你。
或许是因为我刚看过的漫画，
或许是因为这刻等待的心情，
又或许是因为这时本该属于你。

望著你走遠我並沒有心酸
唯望天邊一方他朝可重逢
我们不曾忘记，也绝对不会忘记。
在那遥远的Paradise, 你过得好吗？

曾經　滿載了希望
你我會有天衝開黑暗
誰知　再次的失望
看這裡已經走到盡頭

＊望著你走遠　我並沒有心酸
　唯望天邊一方　他朝可重逢

＃Oh Para Paradise
　只想跟你一起　一起走向這一天
　Oh Para Paradise
　風中希冀一點　今天一再想起你

寧可　永遠的等待
也怕背棄當初的一切
如今　你遠走彼岸
告訴我那邊天色好嗎

Repeat ＊＃＃＃

time and tide

2009-08-27T02:13:00.001+08:00

what started as 64 days... slowly but surely now became 21... time really doesn't wait for anyone. but for the few times in my life, i'm really happy time doesn't stop. there are just so many things i'm looking forward to!

21 days till the man of my life returns...
~ 28 days till the girl of my life appears...

time and tide waits for no man, nor woman... and definitely not a girl who's eager to see the world... :) but hang in there little one. while patience was never my virtue, let's hope you take after the daddy in this aspect and grow healthily and happily to full term... or at least until your daddy returns. :)

meanwhile, i guess i have to put up with your abusive streak and suffer your strong kickboxing techniques... but it's okay. once you're out, we'll show you who's the boss. :P

at the 33rd week mark...

2009-08-19T20:27:00.002+08:00

if you asked me 20+ weeks ago do i enjoy my pregnancy, i definitely would have shouted loudly at you - NO!!!

in my 29 years of life, i have never known such dark moments... such dark times when i...

hugged the toilet bowl more than i hugged my husband.
fainted for no reason in public.
concussed, dead to the world, locking my husband out.
feared eating and drinking knowing what goes in will definitely come out - upwards.
etc... etc... etc...

things only got better when i hit second trimester. it's probably cos i took those 3 months to find out how to control each and every symptom. but still there are the bouts of - i really feel like dying... ask WL and you'll know. the poor man had to come home each day wondering whether he'll be facing a loving wife (on good days) or a suicidal crying machine (on the bad days)...

but we pulled through. and now, in my 33rd week with 5-7 more to go, i'm kind of looking forward yet feeling apprehensive. are we really able to be good parents? do we have the means to look after our little one? will our little one love us back?

well, we'll know in a few weeks time. the countdown continues...

give up on blogspot?

2009-08-16T11:07:00.002+08:00

it has been more than a month since blogspot has been giving me problems. i thought it was finally resolved when i managed to make my last entry, but NO! the edit / new post page is still buggy. i will write and write and not be able to post. or worse, the textbox for my post doesn't even appear! that totally exacerbates my anger...

maybe because i was a computer engineer, i cannot tolerate such bugs. once, okay... twice, tolerable... but a bug that takes more than a month to resolve is just unforgiveable! how can this come from google whom i'm a faithful user...

i have a very good mind to relocate now... so where should i go? livejournal? wordpress? or try to set up my own web server?

P/S: oh how amazing... how very interesting. i can post using internet explorer, but i cannot post using google chrome? what crap.

46 days to family reunion

2009-08-02T12:05:00.001+08:00

it has been 18 days since our family took a short break apart...

we're just apart but not separated. does that make sense? somehow i find "separation" too inappropriate a word to describe our situation. true hubby is not physically with me now, but i still feel very much connected to him - mentally, emotionally.

in this 18 days, my 24/7 companion has somehow decided that midnight was her favourite time to do kickboxing stunts. although i'm not participating, her antics has drained me out nonetheless. and when i thought i could take a nap in the afternoon, she decides to make it a full-day affair!

like what the hubby says - 8 more weeks and the kickboxer is out! but before that, i'm counting down to something happier. :) 46 more days until the hubby returns! oh, how can i fast forward these 46 days towards our family reunion.... ?

24/7 companion

2009-07-25T23:58:00.003+08:00

this is the first birthday i'm spending separated from the hubby, ever since we got together that is. but i can't say i'm spending it alone. i've got company. 24/7 too. the strong kicks and punches coming from within my tummy is constantly reminding me of this fact.

but then again, if not for the kick-boxer inside, i won't need to be separated from the hubby this year so she's not forgiven. *hmph* i can already see this as a start of many other sacrifices we'll have to make in our upcoming new responsibilities as parents.

for a start, there's the lack of sound sleep now when she decides to do some tap-dancing within. already one night i woke up with a severe piercing pain on my left side which lasted for minutes. totally freaked me out man... but thank goodness it passed and our little kick-boxer remains active as usual so i think she probably kicked a nerve or something that got me reeled over. what will come next will be the sleepless nights when she demands for food / diaper-change / comfort / whatever, as and when she feels like it. as if my eye bags ain't big enough. *sigh*

but having said all that, now in my 7th month, i've grown very attached to our little kick-boxer. not for the painful punches that she has delivered. not for the merlion episodes she has caused. not for the frequent and painful toilet visits she has given. but for the fact that she's ours, created totally unexpectedly, against all odds.

well little one, it's gonna be me and you for the next 54 days until your daddy comes home. in the meantime, be good!

an early birthday celebration

2009-07-10T23:40:00.000+08:00

it'll be the first time we'll be apart during my birthday... :( but for me to not miss out on the celebration, dearie held an advance party for me on the 10th. he went to yelp out "romantic dinner" and found Aldo Los Altos which received superb reviews from yelpers... which thankfully did not disappoint!

we had the baccala (beer battered cod, homemade potato chops, rosemary, saffron mayo) and the rigatoni del bosco (tube pasta, italian sausage, mushrooms and peas, tomato cream sauce). THEY WERE FANTASTIC! we finished EVERYTHING, right to the very last drop of sauce on the plate. yummy!

given that dinner was so good, we decided to try their dessert. ordered the salame di cioccolato (chocolate ganache, amaretti, roast hazelnut loaf, sliced and served with fresh whipped cream). it was oh-my-god-so-nice-yet-so-sinful... :P we left feeling so satisfied and so full...

but that's not the end! dearie bought me an ice-cream cake - mudpie ice cream cake from safeway. it was as it's name said - mochalicious!

arh... 'twas a great great birthday celebration. :)

independence day fireworks!

2009-07-04T23:14:00.009+08:00

and so, with TNT in our hands, we headed out to create some sparks!

we headed out to another city to do it - didn't want to risk doing anything on our home-turf. :P

we were scared (or maybe just me) - cos we really didn't know whether it was permitted. plus, we were going to go to some empty field to "light up". what if we were caught for trespassing or whatsoever? or what if our fireworks caught fire somewhere? -- the kiasee singaporean in us made us jittery... but then it also made this whole adventure more exciting. :P

and then it happened! SPARKS! erh... it wasn't quite what we expected - had thought it will shoot sky high but apparently the ones we bought were just small ones that will only shoot shoulder-level high...

darn... but now we know. :D next year independence day, we'll get bigger and better ones! hehehe....

sidenote: we found out later that night that california actually has a law against setting off fireworks in certain cities - mountain view was one of them. *phew* thank goodness we decided to run far far away to do this. found out from this site that the nearest approved city could be at gilroy. hehe... will take note of this for next year. :P

napa roadtrip

2009-07-03T23:59:00.000+08:00

it was independence day. a long weekend holiday. and our friend zhang hua came over for work so the three of us headed down to napa for a roadtrip.

it was a long long drive up that took about 2+ hours (there was a terrible jam - apparently a lot of people had the same itinerary). looking at the list of hundreds of vineyards around, we settled on visiting peju province vineyard for a round of wine-tasting.

of course i had to sit out, but i did steal small sips now and then for the kick of it. :P but WL was telling me the wine was really very distinct and sharp. they also had this provence which is a mix of red and white which tastes really light, fresh and easy to drink. those kind just for sitting in your garden and just watching time pass by. too bad for me... :( but then again, i was never a wine connoisseur to begin with so not much loss. :P

so after buying a bottle of wine, we headed out to see the old faithful geyser of california. weird. i always thought old faithful was at yellowstone... but after reading the pamphlet, i learnt there's 3 old faithfuls in the world?! the interval between it's outburst was 10-20 mins so we managed to catch a few of it's "eruptions". it's not as tall and powerful as the one we saw in rotorua NZ, but it's still a wonder to see it erupt each and everytime.

but the highlight of our trip had to be something that we would NEVER be able to do in singapore. we bought fireworks! they were just selling it along the roadside and we just had to get some! bought 3 small ones hoping to light it that same day... but alas, by the time we reached home, we were too concuss to do anything so it'll have to wait for the next day. can't wait!

homemade curry!

2009-06-28T21:06:00.000+08:00

i finally have the heart to open up the curry-pack kat and kay sent over from SG. figured that if i always can't bear to open it, i probably will end up bringing it back to SG which was stupid.

and i didn't regret it! it was so yummy! oh-so-spicy and authentic flavour! even WL who doesn't really fancy curry took a lot of it (or maybe it was cos it was the only meat dish on the table that night :P)

but we agreed it was good so we froze up whatever was unfinished for another meal. and the next time, we're getting bread so we can dip the curry to eat. :D

Pork!!!

2009-06-17T01:49:00.008+08:00

An entry from Dresden, Germany, where the husband, me, is attending a conference and stealing some time to have a taste of Germany.

yum yum.

So the saying has it that pork knuckles and bier are a must in Germany. I made the mistake once in ordering iced water and

pay the same price... And of course, I repent fast...

So here I am at Augustiner an der Frauenkirche on the recommendations fro

m fellow colleagues

for the mandatory pork knuckle. The waiter at the door looks like a bouncer - huge size and bald. Think Vin Diesel, with thick black specs and earring. It sure feels weird being smiled at. Other than that, the waiters inside are more "normal".

First came the bier, Augustiner Edelstoff, and its perfect. Smooth, non-gassy, with an inch thick of foam. I'll probably never have beer anywhere else other than Germany. Hehe. OKOK, I don't usually drink beer anyway, but you get the idea.

Adn then, LOOK AT THE PORK!!! It is OMG-ingly large! One layer of thick, cripsy crust surrounding the knuckle and beneath that, a blob of totally sinful fat that melts in your mouth. Cutting through all that and getting the real meat out makes me feel barbaric, like roaring out "PORK!!!" for every slice I make on the blob of meat. Don't get me wrong -- the meat is not tough, its just that the meat is so disportionately humongous that the feel of eating it is really an experience althogether.

BUT, the best part is not the food (I'm not gluttony). It goes like this:

"Is service included?"

"No."

"Can I just have the bill then?"

"Alright."

( I handed him a card, he goes off, and comes back with the bill.)

"Err... there's nowhere I can indicate a tip?"

"Nope."

"OK..."

I signed. He took the signed copy and left, nonchalant to everything.

That's what I call service. You work to make your customer happy, not just for the cash.

ghiradelli chocolate factory

2009-05-31T21:05:00.002+08:00

we had a scenic drive down to lafayette to pick up something from a friend. along the way, we decided to do a stop at the ghiradelli factory outlet to "look-see-look-see".

once we got out from the car, the cocoa smell was so strong and delicious! we weren't on a shopping frenzy with the 50% discounts cos i am not eating chocolates and he's not keen to put on any more weight. :P but we did buy 2 bars since we're already there.

haven't tasted it but i'm sure it's nice. :)

sharing the secret... finally

2009-05-30T03:51:00.007+08:00

perhaps it's cos i got tired of people thinking that i'm truly wasting my life away here. so many people have been asking me why i'm not looking for a job... why i'm not taking up masters... or why i'm keeping myself at home, not even excited being on this whole 18-mths-USA-adventure... truth is, half the time i'm feeling so exhausted that i hardly can find strength to do anything else...

perhaps it's cos weiliang is really proud and wants to broadcast to the whole world that he's gonna be a daddy soon... he's acting all nonchalant, but i am sure he's happy. he has to be.... HE BETTER BE! in fact, he's the one who suggested sharing this secret with our friends... :) that has to say something right?

or perhaps it's cos we just feel so bad keeping this from all our friends. it's not that we are purposely hiding a secret. it's just that we do not know how to break the news so simply. plus, we're truly first-timers at this and there are just so many worries, uncertainties and questions in our own minds that we don't know whether we're up to face more questions.

but yes, as you can see from the picture... there's going to be a new member soon! so there, you have it... our secret revealed.

p/s, this photo was taken after dinner so discount a bit okay?

strawberry picking

2009-05-30T01:41:00.008+08:00

some weekend ago, we headed out to our first roadtrip! we've been talking about it, but never actually doing it. so quite on the spur of the moment, we decided to check out half moon bay which was about 30 miles from our place.

it was a nice and scenic drive. after we reached the state beach and looked out into the vast pacific ocean, someone pointed us to the ano nuevo state reserve to check out the elephant seal pups - it's their season now!

sadly, by the time we got there, the ranger told us the area of the pups were closed for the day. :( what a bummer... so we decided to drive down to santa cruz before heading home.

but here's where the fun begins. we drove by a sign that says "ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES - PICK YOUR OWN!"... and that's wat we did! :D

initially we were quite worried that all the big nice juicy ones

are already gone - picked by the

people before us... but no! there's still so many more! we walked out with about 2lbs of deep red yummy strawberries which became our after-dinner-dessert for the next 2 days. :)

we still did check out santa cruz. did some shopping there, and had a very nice thai dinner too! it wasn't VERY exciting or touristy, but it was great fun just hanging out and doing things for the first time together.

my first haircut...

2009-05-14T06:59:00.009+08:00

for my hubby of course. :)

so, what do you think?

we've been talking about this for months. even when we were still in singapore. but never really got around to doing it. WL has always wanted to at least try back then so that if anything *bad* happens, he has his usual barber to help resolve the problem.

but nope. the maiden haircut was done in US itself. he was quite traumatised i think, since there was no mirror for him to track my progress. each snip of the scissors just made his heart jump. especially when i went "oops..." or "erms..." or "err..." hehe...

but i think the effect isn't too bad. it's not perfect, but it's decent! (at least i think so). check out the

photo on the right for the final look after the wash. :) but him being the fussy one will pick on things like "the fringe doesn't fall properly"... "the sides are still too thick"... etc. :(

but hey, you wouldn't want me to cut too much at a go and risk burning a hole right?

we're already talking abt the next haircut. :) he said given that i didn't cut THAT much, we'll have to do this more often.

i'm looking forward... heheheh.......

california farmer's market

2009-05-10T17:26:00.007+08:00

headed down to the farmers' market today. it's around every sunday on california avenue but we only just decided to check it out today and by-the-way have our brunch there.

people are walking around buying the fresh fruits and vegetables and here we are really interested in what food is tasty and nice. in the end we

settled for a hotdog and roasted chicken. super yummy!

we're finally moving around and exploring our neighbourhood. for the past month, we've been just cooped up at home, hiding from the cold - okay, maybe just me... but now that the weather is turning warmer, we're more willing to go out to explore. and it's great! we should be having more such "dates" coming up this springtime! stay tuned. :D

omu rice!

2009-05-03T14:21:00.003+08:00

in our time here in the states, we have really been experimenting a lot with cooking. not just me. even WL has been to the kitchen brushing up his culinary skills.

here's the omu rice that WL 亲手 made for our lunch. hehe... it's a lot of fun cooking together rather than by myself... and i do feel so happy too when the husband cooks for me... feel so pampered...

HINT HINT!!! :P

atlanta, geogia

2009-04-26T23:59:00.003+08:00

it was our stopover from brazil back to san francisco. for this 6 hours, we decided to check out the World of Coca-Cola, as well as the Georgia Acquarium.

here, we saw how coca-cola was born - by a pharmacist who decided to concoct a delicious and refreshing drink. and how that single one-man-show turned into a world-wide corporation. went through to see how coca-cola is now being produced from the glass bottles to the drink itself.

i think the highlight of the world of coca-cola has to be the "TASTE-IT" section, where you get to sample over 60 different coca-cola products from all over the world. YAPS! if you want to, you can just sit there and drink your fill. but we've come to realise the hard way, not all drinks taste decent. some of them are quite yummy... but some are really just plain YUCKS! i guess people around the world really have different tastes... i'll stick to the coke classic and i think so does WL. :)

i also managed to take a picture with the famous coca-cola polar bear - or rather squashed by it. :) it felt nice and warm and soft when i hugged it but i didn't know that the photo would turn out so menacing!

at the end of the tour, you're given each a glass of coca-cola to bring home for souvenir. do you know that at the bottom of each coca-cola glass bottle, it will be imprinted the city where it was made

? -- well, i didn't know until then. so now we have two bottles with "ATLANTA" imprinted at the base. :)

------

second part of our stopover... the georgia acquarium. world's largest acquarium. erms, it's not MUCH different from our own underwater world but definitely much bigger with more variety of fishes.

but we couldn't linger long. as

the time ticks towards our departure from atlanta back to san francisco, we bid farewell to the many fishes and took a quick walk across the atlanta centennial olympic park and headed back.

it was a great stopover, albeit very tiring. but no matter. one more flag tagged to our "world travelled map"!

our brazil local tour

2009-04-26T23:12:00.003+08:00

19th April - 25th April

how lazy we are. it has been almost a month since we returned from brazil and i've not actually captured our memories there, apart from the brazil samba party i crashed. :P so... here's trying to catch up on the other touristy things we did in our week there.

first of all, we hit the food. because we can't get decent and cheap seafood in the states, we make it a point to order fish whenever we could - which wasn't easy, mind you. not all restaurants

have english menus and not all waiters understood wat we wanted. but with some decent sign language, we still did manage to get things to fill our stomachs. not to forget, this being a tropical place, fruits are abundant! wat better way to chill off at the beach than with a coconut? :)

yap, if you're in rio, you HAVE TO hit the beaches. we checked out

the key ones. leblon, copacabana, and ipanema. yes, the famous one where the song "girl from ipanema" was attributed to. our guide even pointed out the booth where the "girl" would stroll past daily.. hrms, wiki shows another story... but sometimes, myths are nicer and more beautiful, eh?

we didn't actually look and stare (for fear of the jealous brazilian boyfriend coming up to pick a fight) so we just quickly took some photos and ran! while we didn't exactly see any drop-dead-gorgeous-babe (maybe cos we weren't paying attention), it was eye-candy cos all the bikini were so mini! dun even think of wearing a one-piece swimsuit here unless you want to be stared at like an item from the museum!

we also checked out the copacabana palace. it's really really grand. this is the center of everything happening on the copacabana beach. apparently every new year eve, there'll be a fireworks display at the hotel site. check out the photo (and the price!!!), gosh... it may be so spectacular, but the money could be better spent elsewhere...

then the peak of our time here would be friday (the day before we fly)

when we joined a local tour to check out the main tourist sites of rio de janeiro. christ the redeemer, one of the new seven wonders of the world. it is really quite formidable... bringing this statue up to the top of the corcovado mountain and erecting it at the present spot where it has stood since 1931...

hrms... just a thought that suddenly strike me.... pardon me for the comparison but dun you think this picture reminds us of another similar familiar sight? ANYWAY...

we also hit the sugar loaf mountain in the afternoon. it's a real pity that the day was so misty. apart from the immediate surroundings, we could not see much of rio's landscape apart from a misty blur. but we did make it up to the sugar loaf mountain and enjoy whatever view we could. i always wondered why it's called sugar loaf... the guide said it was cos it resembled the traditional shape of concentrated loaf sugar... ??? i dunno how that looked too so that's beyond me. :P

brazil. it had instilled fear in me before we travelled because of the notorious drug lords, the stories of being driven to the favelas (slums) and robbed of all your possessions (which did happen to one of the attendees of the conference!!!)... but while we're there, we truly enjoyed ourselves. -- okay, minus the fact that we have to pay money to buy mineral water, that is... :) we probably won't be visiting this part of the world again unless another chance like this comes along again.

so, brazil, conquered!

susan boyle... like wow...

2009-04-23T20:07:00.004+08:00

read her name in the news. wondered who she is since the media is hyping about her. went to youtube her audition in "Britain's Got Talent" and suddenly my world shoke.

i must have watched her clip like... 10 times... and i teared everytime i watched it.

i think it's true, what amanda said. that we've been judging people by their appearance and we've been too cynical. i admit it... when she just came out, i almost wanted to see her make a fool out of herself, just like she did during the introduction. her confidence was too high, her arrogance almost intolerable (at least for me).

but when she started singing... like OH MY GOD!!! i felt as if i was transported to watching a live musical performance! i started tearing and crying and fell absolutely in awe with her talent. i was wrong. she had every right to be confident and arrogant. because she has this wonderful talent!

check it out man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

brazil samba!

2009-04-22T22:42:00.006+08:00

imagine going to bed and waking up each day to the sound of waves breaking upon the shore... or not wanting to switch on the aircon cos the natural seabreeze is just as cooling... or just sitting there watching bikini babes tanning in the sun while humming bossa nova...

that's what we've been doing for the past 3 days! okay, maybe just me. we're in brazil, rio de janeiro! WL is here for a conference (ieee infocom) and i tagged along. not for which i probably would never have come to brazil, or even latin america for that matter.

before we make the flight, i was paranoid. all the guide books warned us of the crime rate, the drug lords, the violence, the muggers etc. worse, a favela (slum / shantytown) sits between our 5-star sheraton hotel and downtown... i do not have the guts to take this walk by myself when WL is out at his conference.

but when we do find time, we did check out the beaches together... first off the private beach at our hotel where we dared to take out the camera boldly for photo-taking. we also walked the leblon beach and the copacabana beach... no matter where we go, the eye-candy is undeniably heavenly for the men out there. but nothing beats what these "tall, and tan, and young, and lovely" ladies could do when they don their glittery and feathery costume and do their samba!

last night, i sneaked into WL's conference's welcome reception and woo-la-la... dun say the men... even i can't help but stare at their boobs and butts!!! hey, if they flaunt it, you're doing them justice by staring right? :P

so here we are... our first trip to latin america, brazil, rio de janeiro. there are things that could have been so much better (oh yeah, i could make a list....) but despite all these, we're having fun just being together. on friday, we'll head out to see christ the redeemer and sugar loaf. :) praying for good weather!!!

love from singapore

2009-04-15T04:46:00.005+08:00

i received a parcel yesterday from USPS. weird, i thought. i don't remember WL buying anything recently... until i saw the sender - Katherine Tan. and i thought, wow... she has started her shopping mission. :P

but no! it's "Kay & Kat sending love from S'pore"!!! "we heard that you totally miss local food and since you cook now, here's some quick solutions..."

i burst out laughing and crying as i was reading the card filled with love and examining my treasured presents. there's prima taste mee siam, chicken curry, sesame oil, dried condiments, a cookbook and many other food mixes. i just kept crying and tearing as i repeatedly tell my husband i have the best girlfriends in the world...

to kay & kat... many many thanks for this. i love you girls so much and can't wait to see you both soon. will not put your presents to waste. woo-hoo... mee siam, here i come!!!

dinner for two (with a fire alarm)

2009-04-13T13:57:00.005+08:00

cos the husband likes ribs, and i saw "tony roma's baby back ribs" for sale in the supermarket (all seasoned and prepared - just need to bake/broil/grill it), i bought it.

i mean i do have an oven and how difficult can it get right?

it wasn't that difficult. but the smoke generated from broiling the ribs was so strong that it set off the apartment's fire alarm / smoke detector! thankfully it stopped after a while and no damage was done. no fire engine, police, or even the resident manager came by. *at least not yet*

but hey, the ribs was yummy! maybe the effort was worth it... but this is probably the last time i'm doing this. i dun want the landlady to chase me out from being a nuisance or a fire hazard. if the husband wants ribs next time, we'll eat out.

our car is 命中注定

2009-04-12T13:09:00.005+08:00

not cos it's love at first sight...

not cos it's flawless and perfect...

not cos it's super-duper cheap...

but cos husband "buang" it like 2 seconds into the test drive...

he was reversing out of the parking lot to bring it for a run, and then *BUANG* into the pillar at the side... all i could do was throw my face into my palms and go "why me... why us... why now..."

the guy was shocked. stunned. speechless. husband was super apologetic and super super sorry. when the guy recovered from his silence, he said "let's just go for the test drive first". and they did. when they came back, they were smiling (i dunno how the guy managed it but he was genuinely nice about it - i mean some guys can be bitches too and show a chow-been-face but he didn't). from that moment, i sort of knew that if the car was decent, we'll just buy

it from that guy.

it wasn't love at first sight.

it definitely wasn't flawless and perfect.

it wasn't super-duper cheap though it is below market value.

but the feel was right. the seller was really decent (he didn't conspire with the other bidder to cheat our money from the "buang"). husband said the car's transmission felt real good (much better than another car we test drive earlier that day).

so there you go. our 命中注定 car for our one and a half years in america! (and what a way to buy a car too - *sigh*)

seoul - day three

2009-04-04T09:12:00.004+08:00

19th March 2009

our final day in seoul. after a quick breakfast at dunkin donuts, we checked out of ramada hotel and took the limousine bus back to the airport to await for our flight to bring us to san francisco.

it was a great adventure. being in a land where none of us know any little bit of the language. the furthest i succeeded was "gangsa-hamida" meaning "thank you" but even so... wat use does it do.

regardless, i'd like to go back again. the kimchi, the bbq, the stew, the food!!! (okay, it's all about the food...) the place is nice too. we didn't have the time to check out all the touristy areas but we'll leave that for our next visit.

after a quick stop at "the face shop" for some facial supplies (interestingly this was the only face shop we saw throughout our time in korea!), we boarded our flight to the USA.

oh but wait! our korea adventure has not ended! the inflight meal? --> bibimbab... to the joy of my husband. :)

** for more photos, check out our facebook profile **

seoul - day two

2009-04-04T06:28:00.007+08:00

18th March 2009

after breakfast, we headed to our seoul city tour. along the way, we chanced upon the changing of the guards at 大汉门 and so we stayed around to witness a bit and took some photos with the guards.

after that, we started our city tour with the first stop being changdeokgeong palace. it was initially built as a secondary palace but served as the residence for many kings and later became the main palace. in 1997, it became inscribed on the UNESCO world cultural heritage list!

walking through the grounds reminded me of scenes of 大长今. searching google, i found out that some scenes from the drama was really filmed here?! the palace is really pretty. as we walk along, i kept telling WL i wish i was born into royalty. or if he had been the royal prince (alike goong). i'd have really loved to live in such a beautiful place... haha... me and my daydreams. here are some more photos of the palace.

after this, we headed to the namsangol traditional korean village. here, we saw a few of the perfectly renovated traditional houses of korea and the living culture of the choseon dynasty. we even tried to play their childhood games like see-saw and top spinning. he managed to spin it!... all i could do was throw the top away from me. *sigh*

after this, we headed to the seoul tower. the highest point to have a bird's eye view of seoul. before this we checked out the teddy bear museum. it seriously brings me back to the goong days. in fact, the goong's teddy bear soundtrack kept ringing in my ears!

at the observatory, we tried to find where our hotel was but failed. seoul is so big! after weiliang had his thrill taking night shots with his new nikon D200, we finally made our way to dinner at hancook restaurant. it was costly... but superb! our best meal in seoul i'd say.

after a sumptuous dinner, a final view of seoul's night scene, we took the shuttle bus back to our hotel.

seoul - day one

2009-04-04T06:07:00.006+08:00

17th March 2009

our family on board korean air, headed to seoul for a 2 day stopover, and then to US where our 1.5 years of adventure will begin. we touched down on incheon airport around 6am, and waited for our limousine bus to bring us to hotel koreana where we were to have stayed in our 2 days in seoul.

i say "were to have stayed" because... the bloody tour agency FORGOT to make reservation for us!!! thank goodness they have at least SOME sense of responsibility and went about locating another hotel for us immediately. we ended up at a service apartment at ramada hotel & suite around the corner... we would have been super angry but the agency helped us check in before 2pm so we could rest our tired selves after the flight, and hurray! this hotel also provide free in-room internet. so our angry souls were appeased.

well the first thing we did after waking up from a refreshing nap was to find food to fill our stomachs. it wasn't easy. there was a food street filled with restaurants but not knowing korean, we had absolutely no idea wat they sell. we finally chose a restaurant with a pictorial menu outside the shop, only to realise they dun have one inside! nonetheless, with broken english, we managed to get some food and it was yummy!

we then headed out to walk along the yeouido park thinking it'd be pretty, only to realise they were doing renovations so all we saw were sand... so we moved on to itaewon which was to have been the orchard road of korea but... erh... maybe we just aren't the shopping kind so it held no appeal to us. in fact, the roads seem pretty deserted for a main shopping belt. in the end, we went into dunkin donuts and just sat there and relaxed over coffee and donuts.

after that we decided to return back to the hotel to rest (again). at only about 9pm we went downstairs to one of the many restaurants beneath the hotel and look for dinner. given it was so late at night, we wanted just enough to last through the night till next morning... but the serving they gave was huge! we've never seen such huge dumplings before! needless to say, we couldn't finish and left the place extremely bloated...

that night we rested early cos tmr is when we'll take the seoul city tour bus and check out the touristy areas!

settling down...

2009-04-03T14:21:00.003+08:00

wow... it's more than a month since my last blog post. and boy... so many things have happened.

we bid farewell to our family and friends at changi airport T1 on the night of 16th march. and wow... so many people were there! my parents, his parents, my grandma, his grandma, his relatives from malaysia, his sisters, my girlfriends and his pals. i hadn't wanted it to be such a big affair. i mean, one and a half years, it will pass by quickly..... right?

okay, maybe not so quickly. think the clock will only speed up after we pass the halfway mark. but hey! there's been a change of plans and i'll be returning to SG earlier than that (quick visit)! hehe. good for me cos i'm missing home and singaporean food - my gooey beef noodles!!!

anyway we stopover at seoul for 2 days before leaving for US. seoul was nice... (will do the blog for that another day...) SO! here we are now, in our newly rented apartment in mountain view. state of california. city of google headquarters... weiliang has started work for 4 days already and i'm just happily resting at home. i've officially fallen ill. having coughing fits which we think it's cos the air is too dry. so the darling husband cycled to walgreens after work to buy a humidifier for me. let's hope it works.

my daily KPI now is just to prepare lunchbox and cook dinner for the husband. gosh, it sounds really just like a housewife huh. but then again, that's my only contribution. IMHO, my cooking is edible, though not fantastic. my portions are small too cos i just can't find the ingredients from the ang-moh supermarkets here to do decent cooking. at the rate we're going, i think weiliang can really slim down by the time we return home. :P

okay, now that i've overcome the inertia and dusted off the cobwebs from the blog... i shall sign off here. promise pictures next time... (sorry lah, it's 11.43pm already and i can hardly keep awake). so, come back next time!

舍不舍得?

2009-02-02T15:04:00.003+08:00

it's been more than a month since i've last recorded my thoughts. and oh... wat a time it has been. it gave to me my happiest moments, but also the saddest; the strongest and also the weakest... oh the roller-coaster ride of life...

anyway, i finally did it. i tendered my resignation from my company of the past 5.5 years. something we've discussed a million times and something that i am totally excited about... but then again, what is this little nagging sense of 舍不得 i'm feeling? maybe it's just triggered by some old photos i happen to flip through...

me, probably in my prime and happiest moments with my team...

me, in my messy, cluttered, but welcoming cubicle to everyone else...

me, in one of my saddest moments when my closest pal left...

舍不舍得? i guess 我不舍得 all the friendships i have made here that made us more family than colleagues. 我不舍得 the feeling of being depended upon by my bosses, peers, subordinates and friends and then making sure i don't let them down. 我不舍得 the breakfasts, luncheons, occassional dinners and tea breaks when we catch up with each other on the latest office gossips and personal updates.

but this is my choice. i'm taking a 18 months sabbatical to rest my mind and soul. find out what i'm looking for. who knows, maybe after that 18 months, i might just end up wearing this red jacket all over again... or maybe i might just like my carefree life too much to get back onto the work force... haha... i'll keep you all updated....

girls' xmas dinner

2008-12-21T02:43:00.008+08:00

it's a lot of first for us.

1st xmas celebration at home
1st taste of chef kay's culinary skills
1st attendance of kay's guo-tie class
1st xmas party including husbands...

it was a great night of fun. watching kay in full concentration when preparing the 5 course meal that could rival any 5 star restuarants... getting our hands dirty when competing who can make the most realistic guo-tie... sitting at the dinner table licking up the last drop of the soup and clearing the plate of the last blue potato... and then the gift exchange which gave us what we all asked for.

and to kay's delight, even though she didn't get the bicycle pump, the husbands went outside with weiliang's present to help her pump up her bike!

a sumptuous meal... presents that we asked for and more!... a night of fun, laughter, gossips and updates... sigh, wat more can a girl ask for....

1st successful council trip!

2008-12-09T14:05:00.009+08:00

6 Dec 2008
All of us met at THE CHINA CLUB for Ivy and Suan Hau's wedding dinner. dressed in FORMALs and GLAMs, we must have looked weird carrying our suitcases and luggages into the venue. The bride had foresight for she gave us the upper deck (almost totally to ourselves). luggages stowed away out of sight...

dinner was great. i think the best thing was, we didn't have to wait for our food! immediately after one dish was done with, they came along and gave us another. it was truly a different kind of wedding dinner style and experience....

and then after the dinner, we began our transformation. it was hilarious! after walking down to "congratulate and thank the couple and the parents for the dinner", we re-entered the venue and started treating THE CHINA CLUB like our very own council room. we started taking off our high heels and wearing our flip flops (still in our cheongsam and dresses)... then into the toilet and out looking quite a sight in our jammies for the night but still with the makeup and hairdo intact.

wish i had a photo to capture that moment!

7 Dec 2008
We boarded the bus that would take us to the causeway and then into melaka for a 2D2N of fun (and of course, woon foong's wedding too!)

arrived and check in to the legacy melaka hotel at 4am (totally zombified). did minimal washing up and into bed we go. never did we imagine this would end up as a gourmet trip... but then again, with our personal tour guide being dafei... perhaps it was not so unimaginable.

10am, had hotel buffet breakfast (minimal cos it wasn't so fantastic).

12pm, had lunch at a restaurant, courtesy of the groom. the food was superb! 6 course meal... at just RM10 per head! shocking... maybe it might just be worth it to travel down to melaka to makan on boring weekends sometimes...

3pm, walked jonkers street and had assam laksa and chendol... not a big fan of chendol, i didn't go crazy there, but the assam laksa was just... different. the first taste and it shoots up into your head. if we live in a cartoon world, you'd see the smoke coming out from my ears!

8pm, wedding dinner at the legacy melaka ballroom... i really like the food there. (but then again i'm always a fan of wedding cuisine). despite the dinner ending at 11pm thereabouts... we next proceeded to...

11pm, supper at a nearby hawker centre! weiliang was incredulous. he just cannot believe council can still afford space for supper after a wedding dinner. i was incredulous too. i didn't know i still had space for wanton mee and mee suah and pork cutlet noodle just minutes after a 9 course meal! (but if you're really wondering, we shared a bowl amongst 4-5 people)

8 Dec 2008
10am, check out from legacy melaka... ran to have a few bites of mee goreng at the hotel buffet again while we were waiting for the taxi to ferry us to mahkota. but before that...

11am, a super sumptuous bak kut teh breakfast... it's the herbal kind with tons of 料 like quail eggs, pork balls, vege... etc. with a full stomach from breakfast, we headed to palahwan to do some quick shopping (didn't end up buying anything though the rest 满载而归).

1pm, surely we're not surprised that after 2 hours, we headed for lunch at the famous makko nonya restaurant just a few streets away. again, courtesy of the bridal couple. yummy!!!

3pm, with that, a full stomach, we returned back to hotel to collect our bags, and head down to the bus central to catch our bus back.

and there, we had our first ever successful council (gourmet) trip, 10 years since our graduation! hopefully we don't have to wait another 10 years for another council trip, and hopefully it'd be much healthier too!

lee guitars concert

2008-12-09T13:26:00.003+08:00

went to the lee guitars concert 29th nov with WL and sis. honestly, i didn't exactly know what it was all about except my favourite guys were all there. 李宗盛, 周华健, 五月天, Tanya etc...

and then after the concert started, i knew. it was a tribute to guitars, a tribute to music, and a tribute to friendship. we've got ballads like 李宗盛's 《我是真的爱你》, rock like 张震岳's 《爱的初体验》and even more rock like 五月天's 《离开地球表面》... and then we heard how the gift of a guitar, like the gift of friendship pulled them stronger together, amongst each other, towards music.

this was a great concert. it reminded me of the songs i knew when i was still a school girl, as well as songs i learnt in the last few months... oh, if i have to pay to attend it again, i definitely would.

terrorism casualty

2008-11-19T15:12:00.005+08:00

got an sms on friday night telling me that the singaporean hostage in mumbai was killed. and that she was my jc batch, my best friend's classmate.

i don't know her well, but sadness enveloped me nonetheless. it could have been anyone. it could have been you or me.

that night, yesterday and today, i wondered... what if it had been me... i started telling WL how i felt. i started telling him what to do if it had been me. he listened... knowing i was serious. and i promised i'll try to leave a message for him.

but having said all these... i hope i can spend 天长地久 with him...

for now, i pray that hwei yen's husband, family and close friends all be strong and find the strength to be able to carry on...

all i want for x'mas is you

2008-11-17T18:28:00.000+08:00

counting down to x'mas...

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is...
You

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas day
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
You baby

I won't ask for much this Christmas
I don't even wish for snow
I'm just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
I won't make a list and send it
To the North Pole for Saint Nick
I won't even stay awake to
Hear those magic reindeers click
'Cause I just want you here tonight
Holding on to me so tight
What more can I do
Baby all I want for Christmas is you
Ooh baby

All the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the sound of children's
Laughter fills the air
And everyone is singing
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need
Won't you please bring my baby to me...

Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for
I just want to see my baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is...
You

the wedding season...

2008-11-16T23:59:00.006+08:00

this is the time for love, romance and weddings... i've got 4 invitations in november, and another 3 more in december.

it all started in nov when i attended my council kor's wedding. the lovely bridal couple personalised the whole event with small little touches that made it so beautiful and so unique.

and then, my best girlfriend marries the man of her dreams. the wedding mtv done personally by the groom was so sweet that all guests present that night could feel the intensity of their love for each other. everything went smoothly and so beautifully that i wish i could get married all over again (much to the agony of my darling husband.. haha...)

oh well, more wedding dinners for the next few weeks, and yet more upcoming! add on that my favourite holiday (christmas) is coming, nothing can get my mood down!

these all reminds me of one of our favourite show "love actually" where love is literally all around!

apprehension of the unknown

2008-11-13T19:27:00.000+08:00

i remember when i was in uni, i applied for a hostel room cos i really wanted to have fun. surely it must be fun living away from parents and being independent. free to decide what i want to do, what time i want to go back, what time i want to sleep, or do i even want to go back that night...

and then i received an email saying my application was successful. i was allocated a room. at that time, i started having doubts. can i really make it alone? will i miss the nagging which i thought i really dreaded? will my parents miss me? how does the costs work out?

before all these questions were answered, i received another email saying my application was unsuccessful. i wasn't allocated a hostel room. of course i cursed the school administration. how inefficient to send me one email and the next day revoked it. but yet, that 2nd email helped me close off the many questions swimming through my mind. my life went on as usual... so normal...

but now, years later from that day, i probably need to ask myself these questions again...

命中注定我爱你

2008-11-01T15:02:00.008+08:00

第一次是偶然
第二次是必然
第三次是命中注定 ...

i am a sucker for romance... the kind that kicks you around the dust, and then carries you up into the heavens... the kind that twists your heart until it aches, and then excites it until it feel like bursting. i would have thought i'd get out of that phase after marriage. i'm glad to say i have not.

marriage shouldn't be the end of romance. and i'm glad to say at least in my marriage of the past 1+ year, it is not the death of romance. we have our dinner eat-outs to celebrate special occasions, the occassional cooking-in when we feel adventurous, our adventures and excursions when we feel the energy... and at the end of the day when we have our personal time, i have my romance drama serials to accompany me. :P

except the super-honest husband of mine when asked "if i didn't take up computer engineering, do you think we would have met?" replied stoically to "i can't think of any other circumstances how we would have met"............... bleh.

watching in fear

2008-10-28T16:10:00.003+08:00

wat happens when you watch someone who used to be so prideful, so fearless and so full of himself suddenly not able to do something that used to be so natural to him as if it's second nature?

my dad used to be a taxi driver who feared nothing on the roads. now, his only comfortable route of travel is from home to my mom's office to pick her up, as well as home to my grandma's place for weekends. however, i'm wondering whether he should even make this short distance... ever since he fell into depression and started on anti-depressants, his ability to gauge and react to road conditions has definitely deterioated...

it's a question of what is best for him... versus what is right...

should i encourage him to drive so that he can still see his value in the family especially to my mom, to still have a schedule to get out of the house each day and not lose track of time, and then to use his hand-foot-brain coordination to navigate the roads and hone his motor skills... or should i insist that he stop driving so he'll not risk any unnecessary road stress nor potential accidents with other drivers/cars...

having said all that... WL said his driving is okay... so issit really a case of me being the excessive worrier again?

Our MTV

2008-10-24T09:58:00.003+08:00

we finally uploaded our MTV onto youtube. that took like.... one year + one and a half months. this is to share friends and relatives who couldn't make it to our wedding last year, and maybe even people who want to get to know us better.

p/s i'm still amazed how we persisted to finish this using microsoft powerpoint...

trekking the southern ridges

2008-10-18T22:29:00.008+08:00

we headed out on saturday to visit hort park, as well as walk the southern ridges (part of).

oh, it was such an accomplishment! keeping to our plan and heading out under the hot sun and walking the distance. but it was worth it cos it's really beautiful (not to mentioned, long-overdue cos we have wanted to do so even before the bridges were built!)

seeing the beautiful flowers in bloom and nature at it's best, the trigger-happy me started snapping away again!

graduation shots

2008-09-28T23:46:00.000+08:00

my good side:
weiliang has finally graduated! ... okay, he has graduated since a few months back, but after seeing him in his grad getup, i'm feeling the sense of pride all over again.

after the past 4 years of wondering whether he'll ever get his phd, i suddenly understood the worry my parents had regarding me and my engineering degree. then of course finding out that i'm not alone out there after discovering Mike & Jen Slackerny... and wondering if such situations below will ever happen to me...

but now, i'm so proud of my man... :)

my evil side:
so, 5 years after my own honours graduation and months after weiliang's phd, someone decided that all of us should put on our graduation gowns again and take a photo to hang up on the living room's wall...

it's one thing having a family shoot like 全家福, but totally another thing to have to make us spend HOURS waiting for EVERYONE to appear TOGETHER, putting on graduation gowns to take just ONE PHOTO. (i think i'm just super pissed at the first fully-capitalised word in this paragraph.)

point is, if you had asked for all of us to find time from our schedule to come together to fulfill your wish, then act responsibly and make sure you (of all people) at least be on time. if you make no effort to be on time, then i have no obligation to wait for you to appear. i may have waited today, but i might not wait tomorrow.

taking a step back & breathe...
i guess i just don't see the point of all this hooha because i don't see graduation as a very defining moment in my life. i'm prouder of my achievements during my career in singtel for the past 5 years.

just like a doctor is a nobody until he actually starts work and saving people's lives.

just like a researcher is a nobody until he gets a paper published under his name.

just like a hawker is a nobody until he serves his first plate of chicken rice to a satisfied customer.

just like how i was a nobody with my engineering degree until i've slogged in this past five years, slowly and steadily climbing the ranks, contibuting to the company's growth and gaining recognition across my bosses and my peers.

that, i find, is way more valuable than just a piece of graduation paper that reads my name...

first anniversary

2008-09-16T23:23:00.004+08:00

i will always be with you to see life through...
happy first anniversary!

i like the sound of that. :)

在一起的日子

2008-09-10T14:00:00.002+08:00

为什么人在恋爱的焦急时会期待着确认和平静，

但当到达平静时又怀念那时的刺激。

我刚刚开始看“恶作剧之吻2”。让我回想起我们还在拍拖的时刻。

那时的我们，是那么的不肯定。

那时的我们，带有那么多的恐惧。

害怕未来的日子还会带来什么样的问题，什么样的烦恼。

害怕我们是否在危害着这段美好的友情。

那时的我，是那么希望着平静。

如今我们已到达那时努力争取的幸福。

有时候我会怀念那时的小浪漫，

有时候我还会记起那时的小争吵。

但不管怎样，往后我想要过的日子，就是我们在一起的日子。

dinner for two...

2008-09-07T21:24:00.004+08:00

since tonight we didn't have to go back to my grandma's for dinner, we decided to whip out some dishes ourselves! our menu was:

spinach with garlic
ginger sliced fish
steam egg (aka chawamushi and oh... wat a big chawamushi it was!)

there was supposed to be mushroom soup too but our fridge dried up the chilli bought previously so we'll KIV that for another day. just as well cos 3 dishes + rice was really too much for the both of us...

yummy! especially like the chawamushi. definitely will try it again another time... :) maybe we should cook ourselves once a week. honestly, it was quite fun... minus the washing up of course. :P

chinese garden 赏月

2008-09-06T22:39:00.004+08:00

went to chinese garden today with eunice and minglun + their other halves to 赏月.

despite the fact that it's actually 初六 and the moon is barely half, there are already tons of couples, foreigners and parents with kids in tow. the theme is sanrio... and it's not hard to tell with all the lanterns shaped like hello kitties, my melody, keroppi etc...

i may not be a big fan of sanrio but it's hard not to like all the cutesy stuff around. even though it started pouring while we're making our way around the chinese garden, we continue snapping away, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other.

a pity that the rain never let up so we decided to head home. just as well cos the carpark was getting flooded and driving in the rain was getting dangerous in a old hyundai with weak windscreen wipers. but hey, at least i got some nice photos to bring back and admire. :)

anniversary stayover

2008-09-02T19:04:00.006+08:00

in WL's words...

we each have one day off-in-lieu.
our one-year wedding anniversary is coming.
we have tons of UOB points to be used.
UOB reward sucks in terms of overseas packages

so, we checked ourselves into rasa sentosa for 3D2N last weekend in celebration of our upcoming one-year wedding anniversary, and oh wat a great getaway!

the hotel room was splendid. the hotel buffet breakfast was fit for a king (at least our hungry tummies think so). and we busied ourselves with activities-galore, tons of pampering such that we really felt like royalty in the process and a pauper at the end of the day.

the first day we just walked around, had dinner at a small simple pasta cafe and watched the laser show "Songs of the Sea"... my only comment would be - it could be SO much better...

but the next day was great. first thing we did was to try the fish reflexology at underwater world. OMG, it's so ticklish! check out the swarm of fishes at WL's feet happily nibbling away. the brave man... i couldn't look and all the while i wondered why did i have to torture myself so... such agonising long 20 mins... but the after effect was stunning. our feet REALLY looked softer... and the cuticles are gone too!

but that was not enough! are that, we headed back to the hotel in-house spa. WL went for thai massage (which he said was weak)... and i went for a nice pedicure! hehe... great treat for my tired legs...

that night we headed to SILKROAD to have a nice celebration dinner. throughout the night, we were the only guests! WL joked that he booked the whole restaurant for me... yah right. but i'm glad we gave the restaurant business for the night. :) the food was yummy!

after a great szechuan feast, we headed back to the hotel and watched discovery channel - we are such couch potatoes. :P and that pretty much sums up our anniversary celebration.

which school are you from?

2008-08-16T12:20:00.004+08:00

while WL and i were sitting in our dining room reading the papers this morning, he suddenly looked up and said, "dear, if someone asks you what school are you from, what will you say?"

without a second thought, i answered - "SC."

extract from an article from straits times today :- "The difference in university education here and abroad is exemplified by the way adults in Singapore and the West refer to it: Ask an American which school he is from, and he is likely to tell you he graduated from, say, the University of North Carolina. Ask a Singaporean the same question, and the answer that comes back is more likely to be 'ACS', 'SJI' or 'RI'."

it is false to say SC gave me the best times of my life, and therefore i call it my home. in fact, i find more fulfilment in my days as a student councillor in VJC, and more accomplishments when I finally graduated as a computer engineer from NUS. but SC remains as the only school where everyone is family.

this is the school where the teachers know us all by name, and probably our parents too (what horror!!). this is the school where we all know the names and faces of almost every other SC girl in the cohort. this is the school where we form our closest friendships that still remain true to this day. friends that have seen and still loved you whether at your bespectacled chubby worst or at your post-lasiked makeovers. friends that have seen and still loved you whether you're crying oceans at terrible heartbreaks or shedding a tear while making your wedding speech. friends that will in time to come see and still love you when you're all fat from being pregnant to absolute fat from post-pregnancy. friends that will love you regardless...

with these thoughts arising from a mere newspaper article, a familiar tune starts singing in my head....

"SCGS, you're like mother. warm and friendly to me. you're my dear alma mater. you're the jewel of emerald hill..."

nz day nine (north)

2008-07-08T23:59:00.005+08:00

Rotorua - Waitomo Caves - Auckland

after waking up to yet another freezing morning and breakfast at the hotel itself, we departed for waitomo glowworm caves. we were brought into the caves, given guided tour of the limestone formations, and brought on a boat ride to see the specks on blue lining the walls of the caves. absolutely gorgeous. another first time for the two of us - i felt so like bursting into song for the whole sheer moment! - but i didn't, forbidden so as not to scare the lights out of them :P

thereafter, we went a-visiting the shearing shed. not for sheep this time... BUT RABBITS! gosh... i felt so bad for the rabbit....

after all these, we stopped for lunch at the BIG APPLE CAFE before the long ride north to auckland for our last night in NZL... there, we did city sightseeing of Mt Eden and the Harbour Bridge, had a lot of photo-moments... before checking into sky city hotel for the night...

nz day eight (north)

2008-07-07T23:59:00.009+08:00

Rotorua

this morning was bliss. apart from waking up at 7am (the latest we were ever allowed to sleep till for this trip), we were brought up to Rotorua SKYLINE by gondola for a panoramic view of rotorua and lake. we were greeted with a glass of champagne each as we enter our buffet breakfast venue, feeling absolutely like royalty. :P maybe cos we were the only customers there?

headed for a free luge ride which was awesome! going down the slopes at high speed with wintry cold air flying past your face... it was so good, we paid money to go for another one. like they say, "ONCE IS NEVER ENOUGH.... WHEEE!!!!"

it was really a busy day. we stopped by the zorb (big balloon ball rolling down the hill with you inside － though we didn't take up the challenge), mini hiking trip to a redwood forest, visit to a well-hidden spring...

we also visited the agrodome show. absolutely cute. i mean, sheep to me was just... sheep. at most just one variant - the (baa baa) black sheep. i always thought merino was some brand of magarine... but turns out there were really tons of sheep variations. saw a poor sheep getting shaven, a cow getting milked, little lambs getting bottle fed... but wat was better was we had a chance to go up close and personal to all the sheep and the sheepdog to touch, hug, kiss if you want to... great fun - except for the smell... gosh. someone should bathe them.

and then it was free and easy again. we ended up watching telly in the hotel. "mythbusters", and this other movie starring halle berry...and another one starring gywneth paltrow. (can't remember the name). but this time, we promised ourselves we must must must head out... after all, we've got our hungry tummies to fill...

nz day seven (north)

2008-07-06T23:59:00.006+08:00

Christchurch - Rotorua

how we managed to wake up and leave at 5am to the airport was a mystery. but somehow it happened and we boarded the internal flight and left south for the north island at such ungodly hours of the morning. and oh, wat a morning it turned out.

when we were reaching rotorua, the PA system came on with our captain telling us that rotorua airport's runway is iced up and we had to divert to tarangua city, and take a coach back to rotorua. we were told subsequently that this is the first time since 30 years that it had snowed in rotorua. the weather, he said, was getting really weird...

our first stop was te puia where we saw geysers, mudpools, silver fern, tea tree plant etc... the key is of course the geysers which sportingly shot up when we reached the site. next, we headed to the lakefront and subsequently the government garden for some sightseeing. i think the beauty really lies in the vast space and absolute blue cloudless skies. that's something we don't always get back home.

we then subsequently checked into sudima hotel for a freshen up before dinner at gourmet house which specialises in venison. yummy....

nz day six (south)

2008-07-05T23:59:00.006+08:00

Fairlie - Christchurch
after bidding farewell to our hosts, we left our farmstay and boarded the long drive back to christchurch. today was largely just drive back to christchurch with multiple stops for toilet breaks. sounds boring... but today brings us our best present of the trip... IT SNOWED!!!

nope. not "hey look, snow on the ground" but really "HEY LOOK! snow falling from the sky!!!"

we were inside a shopping centre getting our lunch and doing our final shopping in south island. was just walking around wondering what to eat when we happened to look out of the entrance and saw the one thing we've seen millions of times on the telly...

needless to say, there was not much shopping nor eating done... like five year-olds we ran outside and played with REAL falling snow for the first time. catching it, feeling it fall on our faces, snapping tons of photos (again)... the locals probably think we're nuts... but hey, if you lived in antarctica all your life, i'm sure you'll take tons of photos of the rainforest trees and high-rise buildings when you are in Singapore too.

when we're done with looking like idiots running out there in the rain and snow, our guide drove us to rydges hotel christchurch for a short rest before heading out again in the rainy weather to willowbank wildlife conservatory to catch sight of kiwi bird and enjoy a ko tane maori show and a buffet dinner. sadly, cos of the weather, we couldn't really enjoy ourselves but i did catch sight of a really cute guy at the maori performance so that's a treat. :P

nz day five (south)

2008-07-04T23:59:00.015+08:00

Queenstown - Arrowtown - Cromwell - Omarama - Lake Tekapo - Fairlie

after breakfast, we headed down to arrowtown for a quick stop to see where people went for gold-panning in the past. we didn't try our luck at it cos it was absolutely freezing in the morning, but we did catch a nice moment with a stray dog playing "catch" with us.

headed back past the kawarau gorge to see some bungy activities. there was a long queue (in winter?!!) so we didn't have a chance to literally jump off a bridge - not that we would have otherwise, of course. :P

next stop, cromwell, for some fruits and honey. the other families in the tour bought a lot of manuka honey... but we who have never eaten it before just bought one small box of manuka honey lozenges for my severely bad throat. (only to regret that we just bought one box cos it did work miracles!! - damn...)

we passed yet another mountain pass with snow on our way up to fairlie and someone is so-absolutely enjoying the fresh snow. can you see the snow angel? it snowed the night before and later went on snowing till the roads closed completely for hours. luckily we got out of queenstown fast!

we had our lunch at small town omarama - chef's special. but its really just fish n' chips - the 'traditional' englishmen meal. but hey, its good food, otherwise they wouldn't take 'special' pride in that, would they?

and then another stop at lake tekapo's church of the good shepherd and sheep dog statue. pity that the weather was so cold cos even the church was closed due to bad weather. :( oh well, at least we had a lot of fun snapping away at the nice scenery and climbing up and sitting on the sheep dog statue.

finally - farmstay at fairlie. it is HUGE. 11 hectares of grassland, private driveways and a pretty house with the whole snow-capped mountain range and sunset in view. spectacular.

and fun too. having ostriches, deers, cows, llamas, pigs, sheep, turkeys and chickens all around you. some are even free to roam around and will follow you for food! a great day then ends with a good native new zealand meal, chilling out at the fireplace and a comfy night's sleep. be prepared for more fun ahead!

nz day four (south)

2008-07-03T23:59:00.014+08:00

Queenstown

it was to have been our free and easy day in queenstown... but it was really another sight-seeing and adventure-filled day for us.

we started the early morning going on board Nomad Safari - a 4 wheel drive into Skipper's Canyon. Even saw a superb view of Arrowtown (bird's eye view - cos we were really so high!).

We also had various stops to have a cuppa (courtesy of our nomad safari drivers), and a visit to the lord of the rings film-site...

again, we thank our foresight for not driving ourselves in this winter wonderland. the roads were frozen with ice, covered with snow, and if we had wanted to drive this path to skipper's canyon ourselves, we'd probably never have the chance to write this blog... the road was just wide enough for the 4WD, lying real close to the mountain valleys below... and this was supposed to have been a 2-way road??!

after the land-adventure, we signed up for some air-excitement! it was my first time on a helicopter, and woah, we had a snow landing on top of the remarkables! the snow was all the way shin high, and any wrong steps could send us free-falling down to our graves.

but we made it, and had great fun and photo moments there - albeit leaving the place with frozen fingers and a leaking faucet for a nose.

at night, we took the queenstown gondola up to have a bird's eye view of queenstown skyline. this was the steepest gondola aka cablecar i have ever taken.

no wonder there was a AJ Hackett bungy point at this same point... (nope, we didn't jump). after the 4WD in the morning, heli-flight in the afternoon, we figured we shouldn't test fate so many times.

so after this super exciting F&E day, and a comparatively mild dinner at KFC, we returned to the oh - so - fabulous - and - beautiful rydges hotel for another good night's rest, in anticipation of what tmr has in store...

nz day three (south)

2008-07-02T23:59:00.009+08:00

Fox Glacier - Haast - Wanaka - Queenstown

someone absolutely refused to wake up. but understandably why. we were tired out and the bed was comfy.

after breakfast, we headed off towards queenstown. along the way, we stopped for toilet break and photo moments at ship creek, a small river so named after part of a ship was washed up on the beach. interesting how new zealand name their rivers, beaches, etc... but then again, if singapore had so many rivers and all, we probably will just do the same?

and then as we move along, we stopped for cuppa at haast pass. just a simple coffee stop but the trigger-happy him took the time to admire life around us again..

lake hawea. we were allowed to mini-trek down to have a closer view of the river and fast rapids that runs to it. apparently the water level was much much higher in the past but over the years, the water level has largely reduced. our guide said it was unusual... hrms...

lunch stop - Wanaka. sandwiches on a cold and slightly drizzling day, alfresco! talk about heroes... then a stop at puzzling world where things aren't exactly as they seem! you get 3D photos, a slanted room that is enough to make anyone nauseous, faces that follow you where you go (think mona lisa).. as well as a perspective room where you seemingly become a dwarf when you walk from one end to the other...

but the main highlight... at least for me - was our stay at Rydges Hotel... it's OMG-ly gorgeous!!! great room, big balcony, and a great view of the lake and the Remarkables (snow-capped mountain range)! we had time to go out to play... but we preferred to chill out in the room... (aka, nua....... :P)

Dinner was at Lakeside Palace Restaurant. in the words of our tour guide, it was the BEST chinese restaurant in queenstown and i'll not refute that.

this, my friend, is what i call life....

nz day two (south)

2008-07-01T23:59:00.009+08:00

Christchurch - Hokitika - Fox Glacier

it was cold when we woke up. frost was everywhere! after breakfast at the hotel, we headed to arthurs pass and... SNOW SNOW SNOW!!! so glad that the tour guide parked by the road and let us go down to have a snow fight! after all, it's the first time i touched real snow!

after that, we headed to Hokitika for lunch and also visited their Glass Studio where we bought a mouth-blown penguin.

most of the day was just travelling on coach... but before we turned in for the night, we headed to fox glacier.. wow, real life geography lesson. weiliang gave me a refresher course on U-shaped valleys and glaciers formation etc. but we couldn't linger. the sun has set and we need to run back to the bus before it gets totally dark.

after wat seemed like a marathon run (at least to me...), our bus took us back to Glacier Country Hotel for a nice fireplace chat, and 3-course dinner. he had to order venison sausage (oh-so-exotic, he says). yaps. it was exotic cos... it tasted like lamb and he had to forgo the whole dish. :P

nz day one (south)

2008-06-30T23:59:00.012+08:00

Christchurch
after a long 9+ hours flight (of movies & intermittent sleep), we finally arrived in christchurch. first thought that hit us - gosh, it is cold!

but time was not to be wasted. immediately after being received by the local guide, we headed to the International Antarctic Centre for a tour to see how people work / survive the harsh weather in the deadly cold antarctica... and got to experience a Hagglund ride. (nobody told me it was going to be a near-roller-coaster ride and then semi-submerged underwater too)!

then we headed to Cashmere Hill, where we visited "Sign of the Takahe". it is beautiful, fortress-like, and gives a beautiful view over christchurch.. but more symbolic was that it was the major building of a series of staging points along an unbroken route to the akaroa summit (whatever that means. :P)

next, lunch at Cathedral Square, which also gave us sometime to walk around ourselves.. entered the Christchurch Cathedral to have a moment of peace and admire the beautiful stained glass windows within. and outside, we saw people playing chess in the courtyard and couldn't miss this photo opportunity!

and then Museum which was okay... (we were never very museum people to begin with), a walk in the botanic gardens, and just people-watching. it was a hobby of mine you know, people-watching. apart from just wondering what they are thinking, it means i had time on my hand to just unwind rather than be one of them rushing to my next place, trying to make my next appt.. and that's what holidays are for - to unwind. :)

we checked into the Elms Hotel. a small decent place, nothing spectacular. dinner was chinese at Pagoda Court Restaurant. oh, trust me, the food was great. maybe we were just hungry but i swear the food can rival a lot of restaurants in singapore.

turned in early for the night cos tmr is gonna be another day!

Girls' Night Out

2008-06-13T09:49:00.004+08:00

Kat, Kay and myself went out for Sex And The City. And wow... what a show. it's about love (each person's version of it), friendship (it cushions anything), and fashion (oh how it makes us feel incomplete).

i really like it (the movie). the issues they talk about are haunting... yet so real. the characters inside are so successful... yet so insecure and vulnerable. and of course, the friendships... it so reminds me of our own.

these girls never judged me, never criticised me, always stood by me such that i know even if i fail and everyone gives up hope on me, they'd still be with me. how i miss those days when we really just sit around and bitch about things... about ourselves, about each other, and about other people. the topic's changed now, as like our lives. but i'm glad that aside, the friendship's still lasting and strong.

here's a photo of us almost 10 years ago for old time sake.

celebration time!

2008-06-11T17:53:00.003+08:00

i'm finally BOND-FREE!

it was 9th June 2003 when i started serving my bond. for a period of time, i was practically counting down the days, the weeks, the months and of course the years till i can break free. (suddenly Queen's 'I want to break free' comes to mind...) but yaps. not that it matters cos i'm not like going to quit immediately but the knowledge that i no longer has a debt feels great!

of course that's minus the huge HDB housing loan we're slogging for now but that's another story... :P

beautiful girl

2008-06-06T00:08:00.004+08:00

looking at this beautiful lady, you'd never have guessed she's suffering from asperger’s syndrome - a mild form of autism. and you'd never even believe that she's a contestant fighting to be america's next top model (ANTM).

heather kuzmich - that's her name. i was watching ANTM on telly tonight and heather was not someone i had expected to find there. she was hanging around by herself in a corner when the rest of the girls were really lounging and gossiping... picked out outfits that looked more like an engineering undergrad who cared more about the comfort of t-shirt and jeans than wat was fashion... (whops... too close to home?!)

i wanted her to get in at least to the next round. and maybe even the next... or maybe top three.. . she's like the beacon of hope that the us-imperfect-girls can also become glamorous. that we all have our moment to shine.

and then came the shocker. while she looked really frumpy beside the rest of the girls without her makeup and modeling outfits, her photoshoots were fabulous. check out her portfolio taken at the ANTM. gosh, you'd think she's already a reknowned model like tyra banks and not someone fumbling along.

i googled for her. i read her interview where she shared how she managed to use this global platform to bring awareness to her disability, and how she showed in her own way she can overcome it and not let this disability be a hinderance to her dreams. how this disability is just an inconvenience but not a limitation.

she didn't win but that didn't matter. she has won more than that. she has won belief in herself, she has won hope for the rest of the people with the same problem, and she has made me come back to earth on what is really personal dreaming and achievements beyond KPIs and appraisals.

dating at lawry's

2008-05-24T21:33:00.000+08:00

had a 1-for-1 at lawry's and decided to try it out. we probably wouldn't have gone there otherwise.

ambience = very english.

service = very grand.

food & wine = yummy!

pocket = very empty......

they really cared about all the details, right down to the plate's temperature, the presentation, the food's layout, as well as the seasoning and sauces for each dish. our salad was tossed in front of us... the steak was cut and cooked beside us... everything was so yummy and perfect (except that the steak was a bit too fatty for my liking, though WL had no complaints abt it :P).

gosh... just thinking about it now is making my stomach growl... but we'll probably pass on this restaurant. it's too out of league for us. for value for money, i'll still return to aston... :)

formula1

2008-05-16T22:00:00.008+08:00

The world's first night race comes in September.

Venue: Singapore

Time: After sunset

the hype is all gearing up. if you know us, we're not F1 fans, nor have the slightest thought of squeezing with millions of people at the grandstand just to smell the rubber or hear the roar of the engine.

nonetheless, when singtel brought in a F1 simulator and housed it in somerset comcentre, we thought we could just try to soak in a little of the excitement by booking a ride on it. hey, afterall, it's "The closest you'll come to racing a Formula One car"! (plus it's free anyway :P)

thought it would be another daytona with some shakes and bumps along the way to simulate the real thing, plus a peek into the actual race route scenery (views of the City Hall, Singapore Flyer, Esplanade...) should be quite a treat right? check out WL driving past the Singapore Flyer!

WL did fine (check out his cool composure...) but omg... after this ride of a lifetime, i swear i'll never make it as a F1 driver (check out my look of pain and misery). for those who think i drive damn fast, you'll be surprised to know, i didn't even hit 120km/h! --- although i must add, i might be able to drive faster if given my lao3-pok4 hyundai elantra... :P

cheering up!

2008-05-09T15:56:00.000+08:00

after several days of drought, i finally hear thunder outside my window... but where's the rain?

it's finally friday. several times this week i almost went mad. the pace of work has suddenly shot up like a bullet train shooting across japan. i received so many emails these two weeks that i couldn't catch up with their contents. in return, i sent out so many emails and requested for so much info that now, i lost track of what the hell i'm waiting for in response.

but!!! it's exactly a month to bond-free days! that thought alone can actually cheer one up from the dumps. oh, how easy it is to countdown now! but nope, i'm giving the company another chance. i'll be transfering in july to a whole new business unit, changing my job scope totally. but i'm sure i'll make it... somehow. i mean, i have survived the two most dreaded jobs in business marketing... nothing can get worse right? ... right?

mayday

2008-04-27T14:59:00.000+08:00

WL: mayday mayday! nope, not the SOS signal, but a super hi-energy concert with courtesy of her niece... ;) omg, its not for the faint hearted.

MY: erh, to set facts right, my sis bought tickets for herself. but my darling niece fell sick and she (my sis) is grounded to do nurse duties. :D but it's true. before the concert started, i was already impressed by the turnout - FULL-HOUSE! but that's not the best part....

WL: this is the first time we ever see singaporeans being so active and cooperative. everyone is standing for 90% of the time throughout the concert, singing, swaying and shouting. we got no choice but to join in... (otherwise cannot see the stage lah...)

MY: it's the energy, my dear. (plus, if you remained seated, you're actually the odd 5-10% minority.) :P 五月天[回到地球表面]演唱会. gosh, i never knew singapore was capable of such outburst of support. even the 陶喆 concert we went to a few years back absolutely pale in comparison.

WL: they are after all a rock band mah. but the songs are nice. rhythm is catchy and lyrics are funny, even though we don't know most of the songs. we even "celebrated" one of the band members birthday.

MY: yah man. and all these are possible cos my darling little niece fell sick. :D i hereby declare, 五月天 my favourite boy-band!!!

WL: thank god its no longer some f4 or fei-lun-hai... :P

WLMY: well, see them next year!

sharing the driver's seat

2008-04-23T11:44:00.000+08:00

Rule No. 4 - "Acquire a Class 3 driving license within 1 year from today."

he did it! muahaha... great! if this carries on, maybe my tai tai dream by 35 years old will really come true! *pray and hope* :)

suddenly regret having so little requests in our wedding contract... maybe i should find another opportunity to have an addendum with additional terms. :P

the jewel box

2008-04-21T14:35:00.000+08:00

it was the last friday before i end my tai-tai dream and return to a salaried employee life. to postpone the imminent blues, my darling husband brought me out to have one last enjoyment before the nightmare returns...

we had a spectacular meal at 店小二 @ vivocity. it has always been one of our favourite restaurants cos of the oh-so-delicious-and heavenly-duck-that-we-cannot-get-enough-of... needless to say, we were stuffed. and that's only the first round of the binge we had this weekend!

to make the night more memorable and worthwhile, we took a cablecar down to jewel box @ mt faber... a glass of white wine for me, a mug of colorado for him, plus a "jewel's peak" dessert to share. music filling the air... stars shining high above... what else could we wish for? ... perhaps if the dessert was more yummy... :P

but nothing could spoil the mood of this night. after all, how often do we go out on dates nowadays...

we just gotta try to do this more often. :P

snow white & the dwarf hamster

2008-04-12T11:45:00.000+08:00

ah girl's hamster died yesterday... and this is it's final resting home (a glass coffin??) before it's burial into the ground...

showed weiliang the mms and he burst out laughing in disbelief. but actually i thought it was so sweet. hehe... reminds me of the childhood fairytale of snow white laid in a garden of flowers, in a deep deep sleep, waiting patiently for her prince to come.

okay, so this hamster will not be waiting for any prince's kiss of life. and it's probably a male hamster anyway... well, gotta check with my cousin now if she needs my help with the burial rites... after all, i have one hiamjio resting under some lamp-post in mt faber now... they could be neighbours in the underworld. :P

let's dance

2008-04-10T07:35:00.000+08:00

a bounce in my step, a smile on my face... all these had seemed so foreign just months ago but are all i'm experiencing now.

it's almost a week since i started my 2 weeks hiatus from work, and already i felt so much lighter, younger and happier! met up with my ex-colleagues over the past 2 days and having so much fun just catching up! no worries whether my boss was looking for me, and absolutely nonchalant whether there was work that waiting for me back in the office.

just having all the time in the world to slow down and look at all that is around me... stop to look at the kitten at play in the void deck, rest and sit in the library with magazines in my lap, have tete-a-tete with old friends over a cuppa... gosh, how long has it been since i did all that without looking at my watch!

remembered a poem that i first read when i was in JC. it still strikes a big chord in my heart. makes me wanna drop this competitive race in this road so straight, and just slow down to a waltz...

SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day On the fly?

When you ask "How are you?"

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say "Hi"?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

By David L. Weatherford

beautiful day...

2008-04-05T09:45:00.000+08:00

it's the start of a beautiful day... a beautiful week, and maybe two!

today i begin my 2 long weeks leave! and the first thing i did, was to get myself a beautiful pair of eyes! hehe... it was one of those "stress reliever" thingie that i usually do when i'm totally stressed and maxed out and i need something to get my mind and attention off the whole world and back to myself!

and so! i went for lasik this morning to reward myself with perfect vision.... and gosh was i freaked out. i have never been under a surgeon's knife before and what's more i'm wide awake throughout the whole procedure! okay, looking back it was not THAT bad, absolutely painless... but the paranoid me just can't help but feel totally jittery during the op.

i still can't see clearly yet... but my vision is slowly clearing up. i'm so really "LOOKING FORWARD" to a brighter, clearer world - hehe... pun intended! tomorrow's my post-op review. praying for good news!

In My Name

2008-03-26T15:28:00.000+08:00

finally. no more switching between accounts just to read my emails and enter my thoughts into this shared little treasure chest of memories between WL and myself. should have known google have this multi-user-access. could have spared me so much hassle. should never have doubted.

anyway, now, posts will be made in our own names! moving forward, you'll know who's the one actively contributing to this though... i believe you never doubted anyhow. :P muahaha....

NZ Winter Wonderland

2008-03-24T14:28:00.000+08:00

Rule No. 6 - "Bring Yuan to a overseas holiday once a year to a country beyond Malaysia."

for another year, WL has kept to his promise! this year, we're heading to new zealand's south island! :D oh what an expensive holiday... but it's now or never! okay, that's exaggeration. but we had better make this trip before any little ones start appearing else it'll be a long while before we can just drop everything and go for an escapade! :P and being the big procrastinators we are, we signed up with a package tour so we won't need to do any itinerary planning, hotel booking, and especially transportation research... oh the headache we're avoiding... :)

yippee! gosh... the planned travel date is 3 months away in end june but i'm already all excited!

stay current...

2008-03-23T04:37:00.000+08:00

went for training @ sim last month and saw this in some corridor. at first glance i thought it was someone's project gone wrong so into the trash it went.

but a second glance tickled me. quite funny... and so realistic. it even has a briefcase thrown in for realism. reminds me of all those cartoons where people are just thrown into the trashbins when they make a mistake or did something real stupid.

but while we're so caught up with work, we recognise that we gotta find time for each other and for ourselves, to recharge and rejuvenate. so tmr we're gonna head down to chan brothers / dynasty to seek out our next holiday destination. is it gonna be new zealand as WL so casually mentioned today, or taiwan which we've been talking abt for weeks?

presentations galore...

2008-02-28T17:15:00.000+08:00

*photo from Presentation Zen*

chanced upon this site that talks about "blue ocean presentations". gosh... if only my bosses will read this. 3 approaches:

Absolutely no slides (hurray!)
Five slides
A stream of slides

(1) the good thing is, at least i won't be swamped with having to churn out multiple presentations packs in one go. the bad thing is... well, i'll probably be out of a job!

(2) 5 slides. short and sweet. higher chances that your audience aren't sleeping and are attentive enough to bring home the points discussed. :P

(3) as indicated in the site, "this is not for the faint of heart". my god, for such a style, a 5 minutes presentation will probably need 100 slides, an hour presentation will need 1000+ slides??? but it's unique and innovative, different and engaging. was so impressed that i shouted for the husband to come and join me in awe, was so impressed that i sent it this to all my directors who probably think i just spammed them - video of Dick Hardt.

*occupational hazard*

a death and a birth!

2008-02-25T15:40:00.000+08:00

our baby guppy died... happened sometime early this morning in its bowl. and to think it had it's first poo just last night too! turns out to be its last....

BUT, while cleaning the tank today, we found a baby platy! this time round, we're not going to be removing it. we're letting it has its natural lifecycle... hopefully it's able to find some food and fight for it's survival in the big tank!

my patronus...

2008-02-25T09:36:00.000+08:00

dear, this weekend must have been the biggest test of your level of understanding of me so far. i sunk to the lowest ever, feeling totally moody and anti-social. whatever you said just didn't get to me. it was as if i was stuck in a big black-hole where any happiness or positivity just get sucked in and consumed, leaving only emptiness and restlessness... kindof mirrors wat jk rowling described as the effects of death-eaters...

nonetheless, throughout, you stayed by me enough to let me know you still care... and you stayed away far enough to give me the personal space i need, waiting for this period of darkness to fade.

and thanks to all that, the darkness finally snapped and i'm back to my normal self. thanks for letting me be the person i am, and letting me have such selfish moments to sulk. i think no one ever understood me as much as you have, knowing what i truly need at each point in my life. and i'm truly glad. with this, i think our relationship has risen another level of understanding and intimacy.

my promise - i will try my hardest to not let my emotions run wild again and to control it as much as possible, because i know you prefer to see the happy and silly side of me.

Council CNY Reunion 2008

2008-02-18T14:26:00.000+08:00

this year's CNY reunion was held at our place. not the biggest turnout we have had for a CNY reunion, but i'd say those who came did have fun! janis came back to join us this year for reunion too! plus a new addition - fujia.

i guess wat was so special about this year's reunion was reliving our council days from hanwen's portable harddisk. seeing how we have grown through all our fashion mistakes, how we have survived all the teenage angst, and a slow motion view of how many of us have grown vertically and horizontally through the years... the best moment that night must be when dafei's and janis' "licking photo" appeared on the telly. hehe... it was so classic... definitely R(A) to derek and yali!

can't wait to see everyone again soon, and it doesn't have to be the next CNY reunion... in the meantime... HUAT AH!

friendship day!

2008-02-13T12:01:00.000+08:00

friendship day came 2 days early for me.

early in the morning, my ex-HR manager called me. just to wish me happy new year. a quick catch up over the phone. as if showing me that it doesn't really matter where people are or where people go. as long as we've crossed each other's path once upon a time before, even when there's a period of time of disconnect, we can always catch up easily.

11am, kay called me cos she's in singtel collecting her 3G SIM card. had a quick catch up with her on her life for an hour. she's done with CAAS and now moving on to Spring. but before that...she's heading to JAPAN!!! damn, like mega asking me wat the hell am i staying put when the heart has been bugging abt the land of the rising sun since... god-knows-when. too bad WL had to sign up for his driving test in april too... urgh!~

4.30pm, alice called me cos she's in the area... erh... slacking from work. so got eric to go meet her for our usual killiney tea-break. another mega quick catchup... that led to pool with them + raymond. again, a long period of disconnect, but the catch up was so easy that it felt like she's still in singtel.

sigh.. so nostalgic. friendship day came early for me this year. hrms, maybe tmr i shall be the one to spring surprise calls to friends i've not talked to for ages... then perhaps they too will think that their friendship day this day was a little more different than usual.

family reunion

2008-02-04T22:27:00.000+08:00

had a early family reunion lohei last night @ asia grand restaurant (odeon towers). though we had a room to ourselves, i'm pretty sure our voices travelled far and beyond to the guests outside. reminds me of my wedding morning when kay was totally overwhelmed by how noisy my family can be... and how ling reassured her it's all part of being hainanese... very normal...

and like all family reunions we had, we never ran out of conversational topics. most of them memories of when we were younger. memories which could have been painful and even fearful when it happened, but always looked back with tons of laughter. words that could have hurt when spoken for the first time, but laughed at when repeated during reminiscence. all part of being family.

i remember when i was younger, i wondered at the necessity of attending all these family reunions. i've taken them for granted. after all, they will meet up every year at the same time, and they probably wouldn't miss me even if i'm not there. but now that i'm older and especially since i have a family of my own, i begun to treasure this kinship all the more. it is in our families that we can truly be ourselves and still being accepted and loved unconditionally. something that you cannot assume will be given by anyone else... until they turn family.

Loved for who I am, not what they want to see
Brothers and sisters, they've always been there for me
We have a connection, home is where the heart should be

housewarming... overdue

2008-02-03T12:42:00.000+08:00

finally held my housewarming for my colleagues (after moving in for 8-9 mths). it was so tiring but great to have so many people at my place. the house truly felt warmed. :)

thanks too for eric and all my colleagues who got me taka vouchers. i'll sure put it great use.... though right now i still dunno wat else i'll need for the house... probably get some cake-mixer or sorts.

here's the present from alice! so pretty! it's now sitting prettily at the entrance of our house. i'd admit, at first glance, it looks too cute and sweet for this themeless-just-functional home of ours. but we gave it a chance anyway... at night we went out and when we came home, it was such a sight! such a pretty welcome, anyone would feel happy coming home. THANK YOU ALICE!!!

i'm so happy to see all my colleagues outside of work. goes to show we're not just colleagues, but friendship above all. i truly feel so blessed for such friends of mine. i hope these friendships lasts... even though many have already left the company. hopefully years later, we can still meet up and just hang around. that would be so nice....

murder in the tank

2008-01-20T10:53:00.000+08:00

it was part of the food chain. but seeing it all happen in our own tank is another thing.

we were cleaning our tank last night and saw a baby new-born platy! in the midst of our excitement somehow... the adult platy came by and ate it up. talk about short-lived...

but at least now we know that the reproduction cycle is starting! at least that's a little comfort. now to hope that it the next batch of newborns can see adulthood... :)

our gallery!

2008-01-16T16:51:00.000+08:00

presenting...... http://wlmy.blogdns.com/photos/main.php !!!

if you do go there... you'd probably realise it's still in a WIP state. erh... give us time. it's already a miracle that the online gallery is up. :P meanwhile enjoy whatever's there yah? :)

first 2008 resolution!

2008-01-14T15:59:00.000+08:00

no more looking back at what could have, should have or might have been. so i'm gonna give myself a huge whack on my back and start my walk forward in 2008.

let's see.... first up, weiliang started his driving lessons! haha, funny how four years of nagging just didn't seem to work and it just takes a simple contract signed during the wedding to make him start. well, at least it shows that he has every intention of keeping all his promises made. :)

next up, last friday we went for grace's wedding dinner at bukit batok civil service club. it must be the most chinese wedding dinner i've been to. speeches by the emcee, couples and all are done in mandarin. quite nice i thought since bilinguals like us don't have to listen to the same thing twice. :P and it was great meeting up with old friends again.

not only did i meet up with my CPE friends and caught up with their lives over the banquet, i also met up with tiong keat who called me up out of the blue one day and sprung a "i got something for you, where do you live" surprise attack. haha, no change to his character after all these years i see. anyway met up with him in the middle of the dinner and had a quick flash update. i've been wanting to catch up with dehui and zhengshao too since the wedding cos i didn't manage to chat much with them during the wedding but so many things happened....

okay. resolution for 2008 - juggle my time properly and catch up with all my dear friends again - so expect that phone call coming!

adieu to 2007

2008-01-02T15:50:00.000+08:00

today marks the first day of the new year. it'll be an apt time to recall what has happened in 2007...

Apr07, it was the first time either of us tried song recording. what fun we had writing our song and recording it on tape! it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience since we probably won't become professional singers. :P

May07, 17th day, we moved into our new home at jalan bukit merah. i got emotional having to leave my nest of the past 26+ years, but that didn't beat the emotional rollercoaster when we started having to deal with the mafia...

Aug07, weiliang finally submitted his thesis. the fruit after 4 years of his phd. he never sent it to me to help proof-read and i thank him for that. i probably will never go past the first chapter. :P

Sep07, 16th day, we got married officially. we've known each other since 1999, got together in 2004, ROMed in 2006, and finally 拜堂 in 2007. we had a shaky start but i'm glad it all settled down towards a happy start of our new stage of life together.

Oct07, my dad fell ill and slipped into depression after his trip from china. he had to be hospitalised for 4 weeks and put on medication. and now he's still on the slow road of recovery. i will not rush it, but i only hope it's a steady improvement and no more backward slip.

Nov07, honeymoon. it's my first trip to usa (orlando & san francisco). first trip to disney world. first time driving in a country other than singapore. first of many many things. it's also the time when i realise should i ever migrate, the thing i'll miss most about s'pore is the food, definitely the food.....

Dec07, my cousin passed away. we spent the last day of 2007 at her wake, and the first day of 2008 sending her cortege off. she was just 25. we were not very close as she was at the other side of the family, but her passing sparks off so much memories and fears. just last year, my dearest grandpa and granduncle also passed away. i guess we can never overcome such painful memories no matter how much time has past. but life goes on.

in all, 2007, a year of extreme happiness and joy, as well as a year of total fear and sadness. may 2008 washes away the sadness of the past, and brings only good news, wealth and especially health for the whole family.

yeow's kitchen

2007-12-26T15:59:00.000+08:00

christmas day is over (though our festive mood hasn't subsided yet)!

first up, we slept very well. the lazy me only woke up at 1pm and that's only because weiliang was slamming the wardrobe doors trying to get me to wake up "naturally".... :P

and today, is our first time trying to cook a decent meal in our kitchen. it was quite exciting. check this out for our menu (inspiration from restaurant ember last night):

Yeow's Kitchen
wishes you and your loved ones a
MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Chicken & Vegetable Medley (campbell soup)
~
Orchard Offerings (apple salad)
~
Tangy Pan Seared Cod with (cod fish + lemon seasoning)
Crushed New Potato (mash potato)
~
Honey Baked Poultry with (chicken)
Traditional Italian Pasta (spaghetti bolognese)
~
Frozen Dessert with Brownie (brownie + ice cream)
~
Coffee or Tea (no explanations needed here)

so at 3pm, we headed down to NTUC to grab all the ingredients we need for our christmas dinner. started the preps at 5.30pm and finished after all our guests arrived. erh... we underestimated the amt of prep and time we needed.

but it was a success! (at least we'd like to think so. :P) we didn't finish all the food but that's not because it was inedible but rather we were all too full (at least we'd like to think so. :P)

and so there, christmas is over...

christmas weekend

2007-12-25T15:59:00.000+08:00

the past few days have been perhaps the most exciting and yet sinful of my married life thus far...

22nd Dec (Sat) AM - lionel & yuling's wedding at The Arts House (TOPH) - Chamber Room. it was a really beautiful affair and the setting was just so grand. perhaps it was also cos TOPH was the place i held my ROM 1 year back so i'm especially attached to it. of course, if we hadn't fallen in love with the place, we wouldn't have held our special ceremony there right? :) it was the first time we set our eyes on Chamber Room though and it blew us away with its grandeur. but that's not the "unhealthy part" - it only began from the gorging on the spread laid out by restaurant 1827... and yes, it was as good as we remembered. in fact, it was so good that weiliang who said he'll get headaches just by smelling mango actually went for second helpings to the mango salad dish! breakthrough moment in his life. :P

22nd Dec (Sat) PM - after we left TOPH totally stuffed, we checked into merchant court hotel (using the one night stay from our wedding 3 months back). and cos they gave us a junior executive suite, we got the executive perks including free canapes and selected alcoholic beverages at their crossroad bar from 5.30 till 7.30. being typical singaporeans, we decided to head there for some bites before heading down to pan pacific for lionel's wedding banquet... that was when we discovered the merchant court's oh-so-irresistable-but-oh-so-sinful CRUNCHY CHOCOLATE LOGCAKE. with that, both of us went to the wedding dinner with little space left in our stomachs... ... but that didn't stop us from enjoying the good food and good company. we left the wedding dinner feeling like stuffed turkey...

23rd Dec (Sun) - we should have given our stomachs time to recover but we had an appt at merchant court for their christmas buffet dinner. good food cannot go wasted so we stuffed ourselves with sharks fin, sashimi, lobster noodles, crayfish, codfish, pasta and of course, the durian puree and the CRUNCHY CHOCOLATE LOGCAKE! it should have ended there but it didn't. we went over to boat quay to tcc with eunice, minglun, xuqi and angie. while at merchant court, we met casey and kumar. it was weird seeing them again after all that has happened. while not all memories are perfect, somehow, the imperfection is making us grow a little more attached to this hotel where we held our wedding banquet. *sigh*, aren't we contradictory...

24th Dec (Mon) - alas, christmas eve... also our 99th day after our wedding. weiliang brought me to a christmas eve dinner at hotel 1929, restaurant ember. it was a place we both wanted to go to from all the good reviews received and we finally did. looking at the menu, i wondered if it's a bad choice. after all, i can't appreciate foie gras, pork belly (aka fatty pork, 烧肉) and mussels. BUT... the main dish was enough to make me feel that all the money spent was worth it. this was perhaps one of those rare times that one solo bite into the food and you suddenly thank god for giving humans taste buds - to be alive and be able to appreciate good food such as that.... oh my god... if that moment could prolong.... and it did. :) i have a loving husband who gave up half of his heavenly fish to me for me to live in that bliss longer... yum!!!

3 consecutive days of good food, great food and oh-such-perfection... if i should gain weight... i'd say it's all worth it!

10 days to christmas...

2007-12-16T00:44:00.000+08:00

remember the last post i said we were shopping for our christmas tree? here it is! our first tree standing proudly at 5 feet tall. and just beside it stands my cd player that plays non-stop christmas songs out. ooh... so in the mood!~

apart from that, we also bought 2 smaller trees to stand around the house... remember the spiral christmas tree i saw in batam (2 posts before), we found one in concourse. we probably have been looking for it for the past 2 years so weiliang thought he better buy it this time rather than to hear me whine every year's december. :P it's now sitting on the coffee table in the living room. and the other tree is standing on the dining table, adding some festive colours to the otherwise empty table. :)

10 more days to go. it's my favourite holiday of the year! why? probably cos it's the only holiday around that is full of music, songs and beautiful decorations (nope, the dong-dong-chiang for CNY really doesn't do anything for me). plus, it emphasises on the spirit of giving... if all else fails, at least it forces myself to think twice before i horn at the next guy who cuts into my path when i'm driving...

our 99th day

2007-11-28T11:13:00.000+08:00

call me boliao... but i'm staring at my excel spreadsheet when suddenly i entered into one cell - "16-sep-07"; into another cell "99"; and then summed the two of them to find - "HEY! our 99th day together is xmas eve!" of course naturally our 100th day since our wedding would be xmas itself!

okay, i'm boliao... but it's these little things that cheered me into a little more excitement. imagine staring into an excel file and wondering with paranoia what else i have missed out in my budgeting spreadsheet when something so simple and lasted all of 3 seconds could cheer me up for perhaps the next 10 hours?

ho-ho-ho.... this year's xmas is getting more and more meaningful now.

Shopping for Christmas Tree

2007-11-27T13:49:00.001+08:00

i'm so excited to be having our first christmas in the house. whether or not we can throw a christmas party depends on millions of factors... but regardless, we are still quite excited over decorating our house to the festive mood.

managed to steal an hour yesterday to check out some trees at vivocity. almost bought one until we couldn't come to an agreement on where it should be put. and then that led to a minor debate on how we should decorate the entryway, the living room walls and even the dining room. time to hit the "home & deco" magazines again...

still missing my spiral christmas tree that we saw in batam last christmas. *sigh*

wedding photos released!

2007-11-16T12:26:00.000+08:00

finally met up with edmund and got the treasured photos of our wedding memories back. as usual, he impresses us with his skills and quality of work. every single photo in the album was individually edited. even though pictures are in stills, they tell the whole story of the night and we relived it once again.

here's the link to share it with you all. enjoy...

http://edmundleong.com/weiliangmingyuan/index.htm

san francisco day four - and bye bye USA!

2007-11-09T15:50:00.000+08:00

day 13 (8 Nov): what can i say... the day has come for us to bid farewell to america. it was the first time i stepped onto this continent (probably not the last time too).

all in all it was a great holiday. planting a whole new flag in my visited countries (east and west of usa!). managing left-hand drive quite well (in my opinion of course). climbing the filbert steps (i'd do it again if need be - seriously). and hey, it's honeymoon, can i say it's not great at all? weiliang will probably kill me cos he sponsored it. :P

san francisco day three

2007-11-08T15:00:00.000+08:00

day 12 (7 Nov): another eventful day. going to hit muir woods and sausalito on the other side of the golden gate bridge. it was a foggy day so we didn't manage to take a decent shot of the golden gate bridge but that didn't dampen our spirits.

the trees were huge but weiliang told me those in yosemite are even bigger! here, we learnt that these redwoods are actually really hardy and a huge sense of survival strength. if it gets burnt, the redwood doesn't really die. from the original stump, it can spring out another redwood tree or a whole family of redwoods! check it out! the whole trunk can be hollow and injured from the forest fires but the tree still manage to grow tall, proud and strong. such is the strong survival desire of these trees...

after admiring their majestic, we descended the hills to visit the beautiful town of sausalito. beautiful town, laid back life. and it makes makes me wonder why singapore must run at such breakneck speed. the beauty of life should be to enjoy living. since we can't find such serenity back home, we are taking extra efforts to enjoy whatever left of honeymoon US can give us.

and when all was done at sausalito, we returned via ferry back to town. took a look at the ferry terminal (a quaint little building that sells nice but expensive knick-knacks). we also bought a bottle of wine to toast to a great holiday (plus we wanted to have a taste of the local wine made in napa / sonoma valley).

headed down to union square again to get last minute shopping done and dinner at cheesecake factory. to get a table fast, we agreed to alfresco dining (in that freezing san francisco weather). imagine having a meal in between the chattering of teeth. those heaters somehow aren't very effective yah...

and that's it. the last night of our time in america.