went down to queensway shopping centre with my sis ’cos she wanted to buy a pair of nike shoes. she spotted a pair of shox 2:40 zoom air at the regular shop which we patronise.
the salesperson gave a 15% off the rrp. hmm… my eyebrows were raised… ’cos by that time i had also tried on a pair of running shoes and was seriously considering buying it.
usually the discount given was about 25%, sometimes as much as 30%. the guy explained that nike had dictated the discount allowed to be given by authorised dealers and all the shops in queensway can only give the same discount.
he added further that this policy only started about 2 months ago. tough luck!
as much as i covet the new shoes, i don’t really need it now since i already have existing 2 pairs. shall wait for the post-christmas/year-end sales.
yeah! 1 point for self-discipline. :)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
cold turkey
yeah… suffering from caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
had not have my "teh peng" or any tea for that matter since my visit to the dentist for my regular scaling and polishing last friday. want to keep my teeth stain-free for just a while more.
maybe that explains my lethargy for the entire week.
my teeth stains horribly, if you haven’t noticed. it really shows after just 2, 3 months from my dental visit. but i don’t want to have more regular appointments since that might wear down my teeth too. and it's not cheap. at least $50 per visit.
another reason is that the market which we frequent for lunch is closed for washing. so my regular caffeine fix is not available. and my favourite sliced fish soup too!
arrgghhh…
not happy. :(
had not have my "teh peng" or any tea for that matter since my visit to the dentist for my regular scaling and polishing last friday. want to keep my teeth stain-free for just a while more.
maybe that explains my lethargy for the entire week.
my teeth stains horribly, if you haven’t noticed. it really shows after just 2, 3 months from my dental visit. but i don’t want to have more regular appointments since that might wear down my teeth too. and it's not cheap. at least $50 per visit.
another reason is that the market which we frequent for lunch is closed for washing. so my regular caffeine fix is not available. and my favourite sliced fish soup too!
arrgghhh…
not happy. :(
Thursday, December 08, 2005
hello ky
was reviewing my old posts and realised that ky had snucked in to leave some comments on my old posts. so sly of him to not have told me... tsk, tsk, tsk...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
work permit
saw a programme on channel u earlier… it’s a docu about a guy who married a former filipino maid.
the wife is now banned from entering singapore forever. the reason?
she broke the law according to ministry of manpower [mom] ’cos all existing and previous work permit holders need to seek approval from mom before they can get married to a singaporean or pr.
looks like she wouldn’t be re-united with her husband anytime soon as appeals through her husband's mp has so far been unsuccessful. this guy had tried for the last 5 years and his wife had waited equally long.
when the wife was asked how long she’ll wait for him, she said she’ll continue until she dies.
sometimes, it’s such individual cases that reveal and highlight the high-handedness of certain laws that were ostensibly for the well-being of our own society.
the official stand of mom is that the severe penalty is to prevent the 600,000 foreign workers from growing roots in singapore. something which our small country may not be able to sustain.
how would you feel if it happened to you?
for me, definitely outrage and indignant.
i mean if i’ve worked in australia, for example, for a few years and found someone whom I want to settle down with. then i’m told i can’t ’cos i’ll be banned from entering the country ever again since i’m supposed to be busy working and not looking for a spouse there. what the heck?
that’s so discriminating, right? haven’t i just contributed to the economy?
perhaps she’s deemed not "talent" enough for us. :P
it seems that several mps have brought this apparent disparity in treatment of these [ex-] permit holders vs those vietnamese brides that are practically bought [no spelling mistake here] into singapore for discussion.
isn’t it strange to "penalise" those who had contributed to our economy while welcoming with open arms those who may not be even be able to adapt to our way of life here?
the wife is now banned from entering singapore forever. the reason?
she broke the law according to ministry of manpower [mom] ’cos all existing and previous work permit holders need to seek approval from mom before they can get married to a singaporean or pr.
looks like she wouldn’t be re-united with her husband anytime soon as appeals through her husband's mp has so far been unsuccessful. this guy had tried for the last 5 years and his wife had waited equally long.
when the wife was asked how long she’ll wait for him, she said she’ll continue until she dies.
sometimes, it’s such individual cases that reveal and highlight the high-handedness of certain laws that were ostensibly for the well-being of our own society.
the official stand of mom is that the severe penalty is to prevent the 600,000 foreign workers from growing roots in singapore. something which our small country may not be able to sustain.
how would you feel if it happened to you?
for me, definitely outrage and indignant.
i mean if i’ve worked in australia, for example, for a few years and found someone whom I want to settle down with. then i’m told i can’t ’cos i’ll be banned from entering the country ever again since i’m supposed to be busy working and not looking for a spouse there. what the heck?
that’s so discriminating, right? haven’t i just contributed to the economy?
perhaps she’s deemed not "talent" enough for us. :P
it seems that several mps have brought this apparent disparity in treatment of these [ex-] permit holders vs those vietnamese brides that are practically bought [no spelling mistake here] into singapore for discussion.
isn’t it strange to "penalise" those who had contributed to our economy while welcoming with open arms those who may not be even be able to adapt to our way of life here?
Monday, December 05, 2005
run
just couldn’t get my body going today… somehow, i feel so out of breath during the run.
decided to just run one way and do interval training on the way back.
i wonder if it’s because i was too busy to have my usual afternoon snack that caused the lethargy. think i need a running buddy to keep up the routine. :(
decided to just run one way and do interval training on the way back.
i wonder if it’s because i was too busy to have my usual afternoon snack that caused the lethargy. think i need a running buddy to keep up the routine. :(
Saturday, December 03, 2005
tongshui café @ 54 zion road
janet suggested having dinner there and it so happened that doris is also meeting annie and wendy there for dinner as well.
was there early so i got a table first... waited for prince cayden and his entourage which consists of janet, jason and his maid-in-waiting, nora. eric, tracy, doris, annie and wendy made up the rest of the party.
the place was decorated like shanghai tang as grace had described. bold colours with mini chandeliers. tables and chairs were chinese-styled so it wasn't so comfy. the menu has a impressively wide selection of food found in a typical traditional hong kong café and more.
i ordered the iced-8 treasures tea and the instant noodles with pork chop. would have preferred that the tea to be slightly sweetened 'cos it tasted quite bland without sugar. the noodles were cooked ok, the pork chop was average with a hint of porkiness. nothing to shout about. i think the pork chop at hong kong café is tastier.
eric's verdict of his dry noodles order was he had already been doing that since he was 7, 8 years old. it was just some mixture of ketchup and chilli sauce unlike the version he had at hong kong café.
the zhu chang fen that tracy and janet ordered were "what you can get at the downstairs kopitiam" in eric's words. but the accompanying pieces of fried you tiao were rather enigmatic. we couldn't decide if it had any fillings or not. the inside texture is different and seems to be more "doughy" in the middle but not in a negative way.
the desserts were too sweet! too much "tong" as grace put it.
i had the sesame paste. it was rather sweet but not to the extent where i needed to add water which tracy and jason had to for their dumplings in ginger soup. and still they couldn't stomach the soup. it was that sweet! and the waitress even had the cheek to tell tracy that they charge for water when she asked for a glass!
so unless you need a sugar overdose, skip the 2 desserts we tried. wonder if the cold desserts are any better. the pictures look good though.
i also ordered the toast with peanut butter and condensed milk. came in a thick slice of thick toast with melted peanut butter and swirls of condensed milk. yummy if you love peanut butter like me.
otherwise, the general consensus is that the food is not as good as hong kong café. maybe we should have paid more attention to the green stickers and try the chef's recommendations instead. ;) haha...
jason even said we could do the instant noodle thing for christmas eve dinner since it's so easy. :P
was there early so i got a table first... waited for prince cayden and his entourage which consists of janet, jason and his maid-in-waiting, nora. eric, tracy, doris, annie and wendy made up the rest of the party.
the place was decorated like shanghai tang as grace had described. bold colours with mini chandeliers. tables and chairs were chinese-styled so it wasn't so comfy. the menu has a impressively wide selection of food found in a typical traditional hong kong café and more.
i ordered the iced-8 treasures tea and the instant noodles with pork chop. would have preferred that the tea to be slightly sweetened 'cos it tasted quite bland without sugar. the noodles were cooked ok, the pork chop was average with a hint of porkiness. nothing to shout about. i think the pork chop at hong kong café is tastier.
eric's verdict of his dry noodles order was he had already been doing that since he was 7, 8 years old. it was just some mixture of ketchup and chilli sauce unlike the version he had at hong kong café.
the zhu chang fen that tracy and janet ordered were "what you can get at the downstairs kopitiam" in eric's words. but the accompanying pieces of fried you tiao were rather enigmatic. we couldn't decide if it had any fillings or not. the inside texture is different and seems to be more "doughy" in the middle but not in a negative way.
the desserts were too sweet! too much "tong" as grace put it.
i had the sesame paste. it was rather sweet but not to the extent where i needed to add water which tracy and jason had to for their dumplings in ginger soup. and still they couldn't stomach the soup. it was that sweet! and the waitress even had the cheek to tell tracy that they charge for water when she asked for a glass!
so unless you need a sugar overdose, skip the 2 desserts we tried. wonder if the cold desserts are any better. the pictures look good though.
i also ordered the toast with peanut butter and condensed milk. came in a thick slice of thick toast with melted peanut butter and swirls of condensed milk. yummy if you love peanut butter like me.
otherwise, the general consensus is that the food is not as good as hong kong café. maybe we should have paid more attention to the green stickers and try the chef's recommendations instead. ;) haha...
jason even said we could do the instant noodle thing for christmas eve dinner since it's so easy. :P
Friday, December 02, 2005
best wishes to mx & kl
today’s the special day for mx & kl. here’s wishing them everlasting bliss and happiness.first time i see kl in a suit. mx looks so different in her make-up and gown.
the wedding dinner is at furama city centre. met up with a few ns friends which i’ve not seen for a very long time. hor hee guan, cheng wei siong, yeow wei chuan and tan meng kim. gordon, wee kwang and thng soon were there too.
with the exception of wee kwang who is the same age, the rest of the guys are younger than me. doris didn’t quite believe me. :P hehe…meng kim looked especially prosperous, befitting the image of a central banker. haha… :) he sat beside me so i had a good chat with him. his baby boy is 5 month-old already.
hee guan is looking tanned and seems to be slimmer than he was during ns. wei siong looks different without his glasses after undergoing lasik last year.
the usual wedding dinner routine proceeded with almost clockwork precision: 1st entrance, cut the wedding cake, 2nd entrance, pop the champagne, rowdy yam seng toast, go round the tables for photo-taking, and finally sending off of guests after dinner.some of us went up to the wedding suite to take a look and have a chat. the room number is 2108. think i shall place a little 4d bet on it tomorrow. :P
wondering why there’re no photos here?
nope, i didn’t forget to bring my digital camera lah...
just that my card reader is down so can’t transfer the files over to the pc. and i can’t be bothered to install the camera software to do it. shall update this post with the pictures later.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
chanting
witnessed something bizarre during my run today…
saw this couple chanting in the direction of the canal, complete with the wooden block [mu yu] and a metal contraption that produces a “thing” sound. after a while, they changed direction and chanted at the trees and shrubs.
thought it’s quite eerie hearing chantings along the darkened track at around 9:00 pm at night. fortunately, i had my mp3 player with me. :P
when they were done, the man and his son brought out 2 air-filled bags. i presumed it’s fishes since i couldn’t make out what they were in the semi-darkness. then they walked to the water edge quite a distance away… and resumed chanting.
this time round, the chanting seems to be more prolonged. i was done with my run and cooling down stretches before they came back.
what a weird experience!
saw this couple chanting in the direction of the canal, complete with the wooden block [mu yu] and a metal contraption that produces a “thing” sound. after a while, they changed direction and chanted at the trees and shrubs.
thought it’s quite eerie hearing chantings along the darkened track at around 9:00 pm at night. fortunately, i had my mp3 player with me. :P
when they were done, the man and his son brought out 2 air-filled bags. i presumed it’s fishes since i couldn’t make out what they were in the semi-darkness. then they walked to the water edge quite a distance away… and resumed chanting.
this time round, the chanting seems to be more prolonged. i was done with my run and cooling down stretches before they came back.
what a weird experience!
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