Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts

8 Oct: Day 3 and Happy 29th Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday To ME!!  Cant believe this is my last birthday before i hit the big "3"!  I am getting old.. sigh..

K wished me Happy Birthday twice yesterday, once at midnight Japan time, and once at midnight Singapore time.. haha.. Then he hid my present behind my pillow.  It was a Baby Blues 2011 calendar.  He knows i love Baby Blues comic, and I was also looking for a 2011 calendar for my office desk.  So i love it!  But the best present he gave me was this trip to Osaka.   But then he forgot to get me a cake.. So we went out for a romantic stroll in the rain searching for a slice of cake and candles at the 24 hour convenience stores near our hotel.   The stores only sell those standard white candles - 24 in a box.  And ugly.  So in the end, i got myself a slice of those plastic wrapped chocolate cake, and K used his lighter to light up a flame for me to blow out.  By the time we reached the hotel, it was past midnight Japan time, so k said we will celebrate based on Singapore time.. haha..

Today was a whole day of shopping and eating.  I bought 2 pairs of shoes and some clothes for myself and baby from Gap.  Sometimes i really wished i was living in a place with winter.  The winter baby clothes are SOOOO adorable!!  I think i will go crazy shopping for winter baby clothes for Bria. 

 My new shoes..

My new H&M top..

K and I had another bowl of ramen (our 5th since we came) and more Takoyaki. Initially, K had planned for us to go for a river cruise, and then to the magnificent Osaka castle but it started to rain around dinner time.  So i guess we will go Osaka castle tomorrow. Eventually, we went to this shopping mall with a whole floor of dining on the 7th floor.  All the restaurants had great views of the city, but i couldn't find any to my liking.  Wanted to eat sushi, and there was this one sushi restaurant but without any view.  In addition, the stupid waiter wanted to sit us at the counter seats even though there were so many empty booth seats.  He said booth seats are for 3 people and above.  Rather leave it empty than have us.  Stupid! Eventually, K and I went to the basement supermarket, got some tonkatsu and more takoyaki, and went up to the 7th floor public viewing gallery to eat our dinner and enjoy the view.  Was just about to finish my meal when a security guard came and told us to stop eating.  Bummer..

I just went on Gmail to check my emails.  Got so many emails from Facebook, so decided to log into Facebook.  I got so many birthday wishes on my Facebook!  Those wishes really put a smile on my face. 

3 more days before flying back to Singapore!  Must really eat and shop all I can while I am here.  Although a large part of me missed baby. I called home during my ramen lunch today to talk to her, but she refused to utter a sound.  C told me she just keep smiling when she hear my voice over the phone.  If only i can do a video call with her and see her cute little face.  That would make a really nice birthday present. = )

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Bria is 10 months old!

Bria turns 10 months today!! And my mom 56. = )

I took one extra day leave today, cause i knew i would be dead beat after touching down at 1140pm last night at the airport.

There is so much to blog about on my 5 day Osaka trip. I did actually blog a bit while I was there, just didn't post it yet. Will do so over the next few days!

Anyway, I took Bria to Tampines for lunch with my parents to kinda celebrate my mom's birthday. We had Jack's Place, and went grocery shopping after that. Most of the groceries were for Bria. = )

Then I left C and Bria at Eunos MRT where K picked them up, before I headed to M1 at Change Alley to settle my handphone bill. Stupid M1 cancelled the outgoing calls and SMSes for K and my lines because we didn't pay our bills in full.. Sigh. K made a mistake during his 3 week reservice, and called me everyday using this *138 service by M1. We ended up getting a $1600 handphone bill. Sigh..

After the bill payment, i went for my long overdue pedicure. I had planned to do my toenails before i leave for Osaka. Sort of like my birthday treat. But my pedicurist went back to Malaysia. I went for the full pedicure with dead skin removal and scrub. My first time doing a full pedicure, and it was a wonderful experience! But i think my pedicurist was horrified at the massive amount of tiny dead skin bits raining down from my feet onto her towel.. haha.

Nonetheless, she did a great job. I love my toenails now!! They are so pretty i have this sudden urge to buy a new pair of open toe heels so i can show them off!

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Counting down!

One more week to my birthday!!

And 5 more days before K and I fly to Osaka to celebrate...  can't wait to go shopping and eat all the ramen and octopus balls!

Really hope the weather will be nice to us when we are there.  And I won't miss Bria too much.. = )

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K's Birthday

Last Tuesday was K's 29th birthday.  For some reason, K didn't really want to celebrate this year.  He seemed quite depressed that he's getting older but haven't really achieved much in life.  Sigh..

So this year, we kept it simple.  On sunday night, the usual gang gathered for dinner at Tian Tian chicken rice in Joo Chiat.  Everone was quite surprised at this arrangement cause we usually would go to a nice restaurant or buffet place to celebrate, and there will usually be a cake.

I took 2 days leave on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I took Bria and C shopping for K's present.  My plan was to buy K a watch, an ipad and a crumpler bag to put the ipad in.  K has been targeting all 3items for some time already, but refused to buy them.  The plan was to go to Funan and get the ipad cause there were quite a number of retailers carrying it.  But alas, i spent nearly 2 hours in Funan looking for the ipad, cause all the stores were sold out!  Eventually, i resorted to sitting at Macdonald's for half an hour and calling all the retailers in the north, central and east of Singapore.  But all were sold out.  Except for one reseller in Lucky Plaza. But that stupid reseller is selling at $250 more.  The problem was, I was running out of time.  So the next thing i knew, i was on a cab to Lucky Plaza.  It was raining heavily at that time, and C and I had to wrap Bria with her spare clothes to avoid the rain cause there was no shelter between Funan and the taxi stand.  Plus, there were no cabs cause it was like 5 minutes to the peak surcharge timing. 

When we finally alighted at the Lucky Plaza taxi stand, it was almost 530pm.  I went to the reseller shop, paid for the ipad in cash, and headed to wheelock place next to buy the crumpler bag.  The people at the crumpler shop were all so friendly and played with Bria while I settled the payment.

We took the train home after that, me all exhausted from the day's work.  I hid all the presents underneath C's bed.  At midnight, I played hide and seek with K and asked him to go and find his present, which i had hidden in his wardrobe. I think this year's birthday present is one of the best I have given to him.. haha.. he was so happy.. = )

The next day, which was K's birthday, we spent the whole day in town shopping, and also for K to replenish his Moleskine notebooks at his customers' shops. We had Japanese buffet for lunch at Heeren, shopped around a bit, before heading off to Bukit Timah to collect his birthday cake.  This year, I bought a customized birthday cake for K from my boss's sister, who is into baking.  It was a one of a kind Almond Earl Grey tea cake.  Basically, i told the lady that K likes almonds and nuts.  She suggested almond green tea and almond cheesecake.  But K didn't really like cheesecake, and he preferred earl grey to any other tea.  So viola, we had a winner - earl grey almond cake.  So special right??  And he loved it!

We had dinner at home while watching "Love", and then had our cosy little birthday celebration as a family with the cake and candles.  I think Bria enjoyed her first birthday celebration with Daddy too!

Our lunch place

The resemblance after a heavy buffet lunch

K's new toy


The crumpler bag

The one of a kind birthday cake




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MIL's Birthday Dinner

K and I had dinner with my in laws at Sushi Tei East Coast today..

It was supposed to be my mom in law birthday dinner, but end up she footed the bill instead.. Sigh...

Initially, we wanted to bring Bria along, cause I wasn't too keen on NOT seeing or playing with her the WHOLE day.  Plus, dinner was at East Coast, so I thought it'll be nice to bring Bria for a stroll by the beach after dinner.. I already don't get much time to see her because of work, so after work, I didn't want to go anywhere else except home.  So when K told me about dinner plans today, I wasn't too happy.  K says I am being dramatic cause it's only 1 day, but he doesn't understand how i feel...

ANYWAY, we were all packed and ready to go when Bria started to fuss really badly.  So in the end, we didn't bring her for dinner but left her at home with C instead. 

Over dinner, we talked about going for a family holiday in USA on my birthday next year.  Will be bringing Bria along.  By then, Bria will be 2 years old, so hopefully it will not be too difficult! Can't wait already!! = )

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And the celebrations continue!

CNY celebrations continued for me over the weekend...

On Friday, K and I had a Teochew feast for dinner at the highly acclaimed Mong Hing at Keypoint.  Jas had her wedding there and i liked the food so i was quite excited that we were eating there.. but the dinner turned out to be average only.. it was full house so it was very noisy and crowded.  Plus, the food wasn't that fantastic.. So disappointed.  After dinner, K and I picked F from Raffles Place and proceeded to Gleneagles to visit ZY and Zhen and their newborn son Issac.  They had a one bedder.  Super huge with big LDC TV and fridge some more leh.. so envious!  Most expensive room in the most expensive hospital!

J and Pam were there too, and I was like the "senior" in the room.  Cause Pam is 5 months pregnant with her first child, and Zhen just had their newborn.  So they were like asking me questions, and i was shelling out advice and experiences as if i am an "old bird" at mothering.. haha = )

K, F and I  headed for supper at Blk 85 Bedok North Road after the hospital.. Along the expressway, we saw K's uncle and auntie, and wind down the window to wave at them.. Shortly after, we saw FJ's car with J and Pam, so we wind down the window and wave wildly at them again on the expressway.. it was hilarious!  The people in the cars behind us must be thinking we are a bunch of drunkards waving at everyone else. = )

On Saturday, K and I popped over my sister's house to "Pai Nian".  We had fried e-fu noodles and chicken for lunch, played Wii games for a while before sending them to River Ang Bao.  They have games like Dance Revolution on Wii!  Makes me wanna buy the Wii now!  

After dropping my sis and her kids off, K and I went to his Uncle's house for dinner and Lou Hei.. I had home made kueh lapis, the best ever so far!  K's auntie is so so talented and hardworking.  Apparently, she makes her own kueh lapis every year and gives to her relatives.  It's super delicious!

On Sunday, my parents, sis, bro in law and nieces came over to my place for lunch and mahjong.  K and I bought mee rebus from this famous stall in Blk 58 Bedok South Road, and C fried bee hoon and made old cucumber soup for lunch.  Everyone complimented that the food was good especially the soup.  Haha.. i am such a good tutor.. = )

It's been a long long time since i played mahjong with my sis and my parents.  The last time was when we were all still staying together in Simei. I think my Dad was extremely happy that day.   A nice meal with all his grandchildren and children, and mahjong.. Plus, he was the overall winner for Mahjong!  Mom betted on Bria's birth cert number for 4D that day and struck the 3rd prize.  = )

I told K that i really enjoyed myself that day, and that i want to do this more often next time.. Cook and invite my family over to my house.  = )

That night, after my family left, K and I met up with his parents and sister to celebrate my father in law's 61st birthday .  We went to the airport to pick up my mom in law from her trip to Vietnam before having our dinner at Lerk Thai.  By the time we ate, it was 9pm.  My father in law did not receive any present, because this K and his sister did not plan properly and went looking for a birthday present at the last minute.  Hai.. I have been nagging at K for the past few days regarding this.  It's like i am more concerned than him even though it's not my father!

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Sis's Birthday

Last Friday was Sis's birthday.  Earlier in the morning, i popped by this florist at Eunos MRT and arranged for a bouquet of sunflower with a baby pooh bear and a little red "Happy Birthday" cushion heart to be delivered to her office.  The pooh bear is supposed to be me.. = )

In the evening, i met up with her for dinner.  Apparently, there's this new Japanese restaurant called Tonkichi at Tampines Mall, and she wanted to try it..  But the food was nothing spectacular.  They were known for their black pork cutlet, but neither of us were fans of black pork, so we ordered the usual tempura soba and teriyaki sashimi sets..  Halfway through our dinner, Sis asked a waitress if her set included chawamushi (cause she wasn't sure).  The waitress nodded and almost immediately brought over a bowl of chawamushi.  Seconds later, she was confronted by one of her female colleagues (apparently someone more senior than her).  This female colleague asked the poor waitress sarcastically, right in front of me and my sister: "My table got chawamushi set meh?  Open your eyes big and see properly ok!"  To which the poor waitress responded by apologizing and taking away the chawamushi from our table..

Sigh.. some people are just so narrow minded.. She shouldn't have done all that right in front of the customers and embarrass the poor girl.. The sad thing is, this girl is also very young herself.  But just because she is more senior, she behaves like this..

Anyway, after dinner, we went shopping for clothes.  We finally ended up in this little store called "Cache" in Tampines One.  There was a sale going on so there were a lot of people in the store.  I went in with my sister, but didn't last long inside.  After being elbowed by a middle aged auntie who didn't even apologize, i told my sister i will wait outside the store for her.

K came to pick me up shortly after around 930pm.. I was already exhausted by then.. = )

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Mom's Birthday

Monday was Mom's 55th birthday. I brought her for high tea at Marriott and was surprised to see so many people on a Monday afternoon.. Didn't know so many people didn't have to work on a weekday.. = )

Anyway, it wasn't as good as all the reviews said.. In fact, i didn't think Mom really enjoyed it. She kept saying there was no staple (like rice or noodles) so it's not a proper meal.. Sigh.. to her, rice and noodles is the only thing that will make any meal proper!

After high tea, we went shopping, and i exchanged the dress that she and Sis bought for me (for my birthday) for another much nicer design.. Haha... i really think there is a generation gap between us. The dress they picked for me made me look like a penguin cause it had these black and white stripes in front from the neck dodown to the hem. I really couldn't bring myself to wear it, so i had to be honest with them and change the dress. = P

Mom and I headed to her place after our shopping, and joined Dad and K for a home cooked dinner. It's been more than a month since i last went to my parents' place. It was as if nothing had happened.. Sigh..

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Birthday Celebration - Part 2

I am officially 28 years old!!  My birthday celebration with K started with breakfast at this really small and cosy bakery just a few minutes drive from our place.  This bakery had been featured (and given a high rating) on http://www.hungrygowhere.com/ so K decided to give it a try..

I had quiche lorraine, mushroom soup and freshly squeezed orange juice, while K had a cheese twist and rosti with veal sausage.. Everything was perfecto!  Haven't had such a delicious Western breakfast since NZ!


The wide selection of bakery goodies we had to choose from


Me enjoying my birthday breakfast!

After breakfast, it was all work again.. K drove me around to meet up with 3 more printers near our place for the Luftansa deal.  By the time we were done, it was almost 2pm.  We then headed to a car showroom and this baby hyperstore to shop for baby stuff and cars.. Our MX5 is really getting quite uncomfortable for me these days, so we have decided to buy a less "selfish" car.. = )

Next up was more baby shopping at Takashimaya.. We bought a big bag of baby stuff, but my list of things to be bought still seems very long! = (   While shopping, we saw Kumar from Boom Boom Room.  He had been hired by the organizers behind the New Face 2009 contest, so he was standing behind the stage when we saw him.. I decided to take a picture with him, cause he was SO nicely dressed! Plus, i just went on You Tube recently to watch some of his stand-ups, and i must say he's REALLY good..


A very fat me with a very skinny Kumar

After our little shopping spree, K and I went to catch a movie at Cathay. We watched "Funny People" starring Adam Sandler.. Some people say this is his best movie ever.. but i beg to differ.. it's nice, but not his best show definitely, just a good movie with a slightly different tweak / new angle on portraying comedy.

My plan had been to take as many photos as possible on my birthday, but that didn't actualize.  Mainly because my entire day was spent either at factories (visiting printers), or indoors during the shopping and movie watching..  So there weren't many opportunities or nice places for picture taking... Sigh.. looks like i have to set aside another day to dress up and take photos of my preggers body!

After the movie, K and I went to our favourite Modestos for dinner.. I had a complimentary 3-course birthday meal, and K ordered an extra pizza for himself.. It was a simple yet romantic dinner.. We tried to ask the wait staff to take some pictures of us in the restaurant, but gave up cause the lighting was too dim, and all the photos ended up looking blur.. Sigh.. In the end, we decided to just stick with K taking pictures of me instead...
 Me enjoying the focaccia and my favourite dish - Salmon Fettuccine!


Side profile of 28 years old pregnant me, and my Birthday Tiramisu Cake!


By the time we reached home, it was nearly 11pm.  I spent the last hour of my birthday going through all the quotes from the printers, and preparing a final quotation for Luftansa.. So sad right!  Really hope i can get this deal, otherwise all my efforts would have been in vain!  If i get this deal, that would be a really nice birthday present.. although my best birthday present so far is still little baby Bria... = )

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Birthday Celebration - Part 1

10:27 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
My mom and sister took half day's leave on Wednesday to celebrate my birthday with me.  We had lunch at New York Cafe at City Link mall.. Food was so so only, but it's the company that counts... = )  After lunch, the 3 of us went shopping for baby stuff and for my niece's birthday present cause it was her birthday that day..  Sis got her daughter a barbie doll set, whereas i bought her a Dora The Explorer lunch box in addition to the 2 educational card sets that i bought earlier last month.  I figured since she is going to Primary School next year, a lunch box would be useful.

We had a coffee break around 4pm at Ya Kun.. then i had to leave early to rush to Orchard Palais Renaissance to meet up with Luftansa airlines... As usual, they called me one day before and asked me to meet them at such short notice.  Sigh.. no choice loh, got potential business so cannot complain.. So for the second half of my day, i was running around like a mad woman so that i can get a quotation to Luftansa.  After my meeting with them, i went to Bras Brasah to show one printer the samples, then i went to the airport to get more of the samples cause i only had one.  Then i met up with another printer below my house after i left the airport.  By the time i was done, it was nearly 8pm.  K landed at the airport since 3pm but i didn't get to see him until late at night.. = (  What a day!!

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Shopping & Eating!

Tuesday was my shopping and eating day..

I went mystery shopping for Nokia in the morning.  A friend from the MX5 club who works part time for market research companies gave me this lobang.  So I spent 3 hours walking around 2 Nokia shops in Suntec and Parkway Parade with a hidden camera inside my hand bag.  I felt like a spy.. haha.. = )  But it was quite fun.  After the whole mystery shopping, i had to go back to the market research company office to view the video i had recorded, and discuss the "findings"..  It was only after that that i could walk away with my $200..

In the evening, K and I met up with F and B to celebrate F's birthday.. We had buffet dinner at Pan Pacific.  Food was very well presented and everything looked really really good.. but it's all surface.  Taste-wise.. average only..  We were all quite disappointed cause the food had really looked promising.  B arranged for a slice of birthday cake for F, and when the staff came in singing, they thought i was the birthday girl.. haha.. Dessert was the best i felt.. with lotsa nice cakes and sweets.  B brought the chocolate ice cream with fudge for me, but accidentally dropped the spoon on the table, so the whole spoon, which had fudge on it, went spinning, and a few drops flew onto my top and both me and F's bags.. haha.. = )

The 4 of us chatted and ate until we were the last customers in the restaurant and about 3-4 wait staff were standing directly beside our table and staring at our empty plates, like they will attack it and ready to clear them all once we stand up.. Even after we had no choice but to leave, the 4 of us still hung around at the hotel, sitting at one of their sofas and chatting until nearly 11pm before we left.

What a night!

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29 Aug: Of breasts and babies

Breasts and babies.. These would be the 2 keywords to summarize my day today.  K and I attended a breastfeeding seminar organized by Philips Avent this morning at the Philips corporate building in Toa Payoh.  For 2 hours, we listened to healthcare professinals explain the advantages of breastfeeding.  We had signed up for the seminar mainly for the goodie bag, which was supposedly valued at $118.  For $10 registration fee, i thought this was a good bargain.  But the goodie bag didn't impress me.  All it had were Pampers diapers, a small 125ml milk bottle, a milk storage bottle and some vouchers.  The buffet lunch was not too bad though.  I had 2 helpings even though we were supposed to attend a birthday party in the next hour.

After the seminar and lunch, we headed to the service center in the next building to check if my hair straightener had been repaired.  I have been on the verge of going crazy from not being able to straighten my messy hair for the past 2 weeks since i came back from NZ.  Unfortunately, the guy at the counter told me it's not ready yet, despite me sending it for repairs 4 days ago.  Argghhh... looks like i still have to continue tying up my hair or risk meeting my customers with messy let down hair..

We went over to K's cousin's place in Punggol for her son's 1st birthday.  More buffet food and relatives asking about my baby etc.. The birthday boy wasn't too happy though, kept crying throughout. Which was a real pity, cause he's such a handsome boy. K's cousin actually entered him in a photo competition, which he didn't win, but got into the top 12.. here are some photos of the birthday boy taken for his photo competition.  Simply adorable isn't he?!  And so full of expressions.. = )


If we weren't relatives, i might match make him with my baby Bria!

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24 Aug: The Day Little K was Born

Exactly 28 years ago today, little baby K was born.. = )

We didn't really celebrate this year.   Basically, K and I spent the entire day at home, watching movies and eating in.  We had the fried bee hoon from my mom's place the day before, some vegetables from the coffee shop downstairs, sausages and fruits.  I started sneezing and having a runny nose in the afternoon so we decided to just stay home.

In the evening, K and I met up with my sis and mom in law for dinner at Crystal Jade @ the airport. K had wanted somewhere quiet and not crowded. The waitress at the restaurant even offered me a cushion to support my back, which i thought was a really nice gesture.  So far, it's been great being pregnant.  I've had lots of seat offers on the MRT.  One guy even gave up his seat so K can sit beside me!  Then there was once i was buying fish balls at this stall.  I dropped one of my coins while digging for change inside my purse, and this young man behind me quickly picked it up for me.  Having said that, there are of course some not so nice cases where i can stand wobbling for ages in front of an occupied seat in the MRT and still get no seat offers..

Oh well, i guess the world is not perfect!
 

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Grandma's birthday!

Grandma's birthday is coming up next month on 19th April, and i intend to bring her to Shangri La hotel for her birthday celebration.

Shangri La is having this Flash Your Age promotion, where those celebrating their birthdays at either one of their dining outlets will be entitled to a percentage discount that is equivalent to their age. My grandma is 81. Haha.. which means we can get a 81% discount off our meal! Perfect.. terms and conditions states that it must be on the actual birthday, and 19th is a Sunday, so it's all set! I hope Grandma will like it though.. = )

Actually, K and I had planned to book a BBQ pit at one of his condos for the birthday celebration. But my sister and the rest of the family were not for the idea because it's too far, transport difficult blah blah blah.. always have so many problems.. sigh.. I still remember the incident on my grandma's birthday last year. My uncle and I had brought her to East Coast beach before the dinner. We were supposed to have dinner elsewhere, but i changed the dinner to the Jumbo at East Coast because grandma was already there. In the end, everyone was not happy with me for making the change, mainly because the place was inaccessible.

The way i see it, we should accomodate the birthday girl, do what we think she would like / most convenient for her. We are all healthy and can walk and run, so anywhere in Singapore is accessible right!! I don't see what the problem is. For the BBQ, i also don't understand what is so inconvenient about it. Grandma can hop on a taxi and go anywhere in Singapore! And although i won't know for sure, i think she would like a BBQ rather than the usual "go to a nice restaurant and eat." The issue is the rest of the family don't want to make the effort to go.

So.. the final decision is that we will go to the coffee shop below grandma's house for dinner. Period. But that's on the 18th. So i still have the actual day to celebrate with her in a different way at Shangri la! If the rest don't want to join me, then i will execute my plans myself.. = )

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K Box!

I went to the K box at Marina Square after work yesterday evening to celebrate a colleague's birthday. I heard there was gonna be a buffet dinner, and since I wasn't planning to sing, i told my colleagues they could entertain me while i feast on the buffet spread.. = P

The K Box @ Marina Square was surprisingly good.. We had a nice room to ourselves, the service was prompt, and they served good food at the buffet spread. I was a happy camper.

First up, drinks. One of the staff came in and took orders for our drinks almost immediately when we went into our room. All of us ordered honey lemon. I was expecting some really lame honey lemon drink to be served (as i had experienced in previous karaoke lounges), but the honey lemon actually tasted good. At least i can taste both the honey AND the lemon rather than just hot water!

Secondly, they served decent food at the buffet spread. I actually liked most of the food they had there, although i had expected a huge variety of crappy food. They had a tim sum corner ( loved their steaming hot kaya bun!), a Japanese food corner (salmon sashimi was delicious), a laksa corner (the laksa is actually not too bad!), fried stuff corner (yummy chicken wings, onion rings and fried fishball), cooked food corner etc etc.. AND.. their fruits are actually SWEET!! Can you imagine that! And all this for $30 per person including 4 hours of non stop karaoke. I think that's as reasonable as it gets.

It was overall a fun night.. i think i overate though.. haha.. went off early in order to hitch a ride from our lawyer colleague who happens to live in the east.. K won't be home for the next week, so looks like i have to start making friends with more car owners in the east!! HAHA.. I know, i'm so pathetic.. = P










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Lunch, Mahjong and Dad's Birthday..

I invited my parents over to my place for lunch yesterday.. Cooked Mee Sua soup for them.. K kinda got sick of my mee sua soup so he went downstairs to have lunch instead.. I got my dad's maid to help me with the housework, and now my house is spick and span.. I don't think my toilet has been so clean before.. So happy!!

During lunch, i broke the news of my going to New Zealand to my parents.. The reaction i got was as expected.. My mom is never one to be open to the idea of going overseas for anything except for holidays, PROVIDED she must be IN the holiday plans.. Then the conversation on $$ came up.. without a stable salary, i wouldn't be able to give them as much monthly allowance per month.. plus my dad's monthly rehab fees and the maid's wages .. Sigh.. Why is it that there is such a huge difference between my parents-in-laws' reaction and those of my very own parents??

Should the next generation be punished if their parents did not plan well financially for the future (thereby having to depend heavily on their children)? Should i sacrifice my future and stop pursuing my dreams because my parents do not know how to save when they were younger?? I continue to ponder.. Sometimes i think i am born in the wrong country. I should be born in Europe / USA or some cultures where parents force their children out of home at the age of 16-17 so that they can live on their own and become more independent. My parents, i think they would want me to stay in Singapore for as long as possible or if possible, live with them forever, so that I can take care of them and continue to give them money every month. It's not that i don't want to take care of them, but can't i just take a break for 6 freakin' months??

Sometimes I just feel so tired.. What is the highest level of filial piety? Rather, what is the furthest we are willing to go to be filial? If one were to sacrifice everything and even be willing to die for their parents, even though he / she has the potential to have a bright future ahead, is that being very filial? Or just stupid? Would the situation change if the parents are the ones who ask their child to sacrifice everything and die for them? If the child listens and does it anyway, is he considered filial? Or plain stupid?

ANYWAY.. after lunch, K and I played mahjong with my parents till 5plus.. After which my parents left, and we headed out for my father in law's 60th birthday dinner. Dinner was at Jia Wei restaurant at Grand Mercure Roxy, with 2 tables of aunties, uncles and cousins. Food was unique and good, plus I got to play alot with a happy baby (K's cousin's baby boy)! Service was quite lousy though. The dumb waiter served the birthday cake while everybody was halfway through their desserts. Totally bad timing, and they didn't even bother to check with us first.

When we met my father in law yesterday, his surgery wound had healed much better. At least now not so red and swollen. He'll be removing the stitches tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes well..

I went to Grandma's for dinner today.. My sis, parents, and cousins were there. Now the whole family knows about my NZ trip. Mom did the whole "black face" thing and complained to my sister. I told them i might not come back if i really like it in NZ. In fact, there is a selfish part of me deep inside that just want to escape from all these and not come back.. hah. I should make this my birthday wish this year, perhaps it will come true.


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K's granny is on Facebook!

Yes, i couldn't believe it myself either.

And this old lady celebrated her 85th birthday 3 days ago on Monday. I asked her about it, and she laughed. Then she went on about how she is looking to buy this online mahjong game so she can enjoy her favourite hobby alone at home.

Grandma's birthday celebration was at Pine Court, Meritus Mandarin. We had 3 tables set up for 28 people and 2 babies. As i looked at the old lady, sitting and smiling happily in front of her huge durian birthday cake, surrounded by 28 of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and making her birthday wish, i made a wish of my own. That i will age happily and healthily just like her.

For both K and I, our grandmas are the only living grandparents we have. But that's probably where the similarity ends. While his grandma is exploring Facebook and online mahjong games, my grandma just got discharged today after 2 long months in the hospital due to stroke. While his grandma is hoping to live longer every year so she can go on holidays to China and South Africa, my grandma tells me she wants to die (cause she's got nothing to live for).

And it hurts me so much that i am not able to do anything about it.. She tells me i should have a baby soon. That's probably the best i can do for now, give her a cute and bubbly great-grandson.

Every time she tells me she wants to die, i tell her she can't, cause she has to wait for my baby to be born. I fear she will go once her great-grandchild arrives. There's a belief that each time a life is created, another one ends. It's the yin-yang balance. Perhaps it is this fear that is causing me to stall..

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Birthday Dinner & Drinks @ Clarke Quay

I met Ruby and Jasmine for dinner on Monday night after my Jim Rogers talk. June was supposed to join us, but she cancelled out on us last minute due to work fatigue. This was supposed to be my birthday treat. I had suggested GRAINS restaurant at Clarke Quay, as i thought the food would be healthy and not too expensive.

K dropped me off at the Central Mall where GRAINS was located. By then, i was hungry and thirsty. I had not had anything but fruits since lunch, and that was more 4 hours ago! So i decided to head straight to the restaurant and meet the girls there. The first thing i did when i sat down was order a hot cup of chrysanthemum tea. Ruby arrived shortly after, and offered a very hungry me some super nice chocolate croissant roll from this bakery downstairs called "Petit Provence". I liked it so much i wanted to get some myself after dinner, even though one costs 60cents!


Jasmine arrived shortly after, and we ordered some vegetables, beancurd, fried rice, and soup. They had this appetizer dish of fried cod fish that was so nice we asked for a refill. Jasmine asked the waitress if it was chargeable and the waitress told us one bowl costs $2.50. So expensive! So Jasmine tried to pull a fast one, and asked the waitress if she could have 50 cents worth. I laughed so hard my sides ached! In the end, the nice waitress gave us our refill on the house. = )

After dinner, we went to Petit Provence to get the croissants. My chocolate ones were already sold out, but Ruby and Jasmine bought the custard ones. We then decided to go for some drinks at one of the watering holes along Clarke Quay. I had wanted to try out the hospital-themed bar "Clinic" but realized they didn't have indoor seating. I wanted so much to sip my drink from a drip and sit in a wheelchair! But it was too warm to sit outside and "chill". So we decided to go to this club called "LUNAR" instead. Jasmine had a friend working inside so we managed to get in for free. Upon entering the club, i was so fascinated by the decor that i started taking lotsa pictures.

Here are some of my fave shots of this poster of a woman in lingerie, and a red color sculpture of Mao Zhe Dong..








I was quite impressed at how huge the club was. Didn't seem like much from the outside! Loved the decor and furniture inside. And the ceilings were given much attention, with all kinds of framed posters and ornaments hanging from above.


This was the huge red leather sofa that the 3 of us sat in.. Loved the silky red cushions!


And the live band downstairs which started only at 10pm... nothing spectacular.


The various ornaments hanging from the ceilings.. they even had bird cages! = )



The 3 of us left around 1015pm. Jasmine's husband gave us a lift, and dropped me off at K's office. K was working overtime, so i met him at his office, and we went home together after that.
I had a nice evening with my 2 long time buddies (17 freakin years!!).. too bad June wasn't there to complete the group..

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Rice Table & Mom's Birthday

2:05 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
Last Sunday was mom's 54th birthday. Actually, i was supposed to be born on mom's birthday, but mom said i was too eager to see the world, and popped out 4 days prematurely.

After we checked out of the hotel, K and I went for lunch at Rice Table downtown. It had been a long long time since we last had Rice Table.. We consumed the buffet to our hearts' content. The restaurant was playing some really nice chill out songs while we were there. I especially like "Where I Do Begin" by Shirley Bassey. It's a remix, and i liked it so much i asked the waiter for the song title and singer. K's trying to download the song for me now so i can put it as my ringtone. = )

After lunch, K and I went home with the hope that we could get some rest. It's strange how we still feel so tired after our supposedly relaxing weekend stay in our hotel suite! I called mom on the way home, and asked if she wanted to hang out. It was after all her birthday so i thought i would spend some time with her before our dinner later in the evening. We ended up in Parkway Parade less than an hour later, so i didn't get my rest. We shopped for a while at Isetan. I saw this nice knitted jacket at Mango, thought that would be quite suitable for my Perth / Paris trip. But decided to look around for nicer winter wear. Mom was shopping for a dress to wear to Meiqi's wedding next month. After the shopping, we went for coffee at Coffee Bean and caught up with each other. I brought her cake-shopping, and she ended up choosing a mango cake from Four Leaves.

Initially, my plan was to meet mom at Tampines Mall. So i would buy the cake, pop by her place to put the cake while she's out waiting for me at the Mall, then rush down to meet her. But since she wanted to go to Parkway, which was near my place, the plan was not feasible. So i asked my Dad and his maid to buy the cake instead when mom left the house. Of course, my sister could have bought the cake, since she was not meeting us for shopping. But for some strange reason, she seemed relunctant to do so. Maybe she dreaded the idea of carrying a cake with her 2 daughters tagging along. Anyways, while i was shopping with Mom, my sister text me and asked me why i asked Dad to buy the cake. So i called her. Apparently, she felt i was wrong to ask Dad and the maid to buy the cake, cause he was not very mobile, and the weather was too hot. I found that reasoning absolutely absurd. Firstly, he is not immobile, and the maid was there to assist. Secondly, he always goes downstairs to the mall with the maid. It's not like i am asking him to do something out of the ordinary! And lastly, i hate that I have to treat him as if he is paralyzed. Cause he is not. And i want him to go out as much as possible, and get as much sun as possible. So he can get well faster! But my sis didn't seem to think so. Her arguement made her sound extremely filial. And I on the other hand, was made to seem like I didn't care about my dad. I didn't explain to her my reasoning. I was too tired to argue. So i said i will buy the cake and ask Mom to choose, and I called my dad to inform him.

After our coffee, Mom and I went to the hospital to visit Grandma. My sis and her family, plus my 2 uncles were all there. We chit chatted a bit, then left for mom's birthday dinner about an hour later. By then we were late and Dad was already calling to vent his frustration as he was made to wait.

Dinner was at a restaurant near my parents' place. Chinese stir fry. When Mom and I reached, Dad started to yell at us for being late and all.. We had taken a cab there, whilst Sis and her family decided to take a bus. K arrived shortly after. Dad was getting hungrier by the minute as we waited for Sis to arrive. She finally did about 20 mins later. The food sucked, and i don't think my mother was truly happy. After dinner, we all went up to my parents' place for the birthday cake. There was the usual singing and birthday wishes, then we had the cake and ate it. I still prefer the mango mousse cake from Bakerzinn. = )

I played with my 2 nieces for a while. Then we all left at about 9pm. That kinda ended my weekend of celebrations.. = )

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A very cute birthday card..

I came to office this morning, and saw this nice paper bag on my chair.

Inside the bag were some products from the Loreal Whitening series: Facial wash, toner and sunblock. And this birthday card from Emily, my best friend and "mother-hen" in the office:



She was on leave yesterday cause her husband was hospitalized.. I asked her how she knew i used Loreal brand. Apparently, she had seen me purchased some of their products before. So SWEET!! >_<

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