Most Expensive Shoes Ever

I finally purchased a new pair of shoes that's needed for my new job. Since I need to do more walking about in this job as it isn't a desk bound job, it's important to get a good pair of shoes. Presenting the most expensive shoe that I have in my shoe cabinet: my first pair of aerosoles shoes! It costs 148 bucks before discount and 103 bucks after discount.

Family Photoshoot

You have seen too many words in my previous two posts! So now it's time for you to have a visual feast. 
Finally I have some time to post the photos taken during a family photoshoot last year november!
Resolution isnt that sharp for a few because I used my camera to take pics of the developed photos, so it's like taking photos of photos. If you get what I mean. Anyway, the studio does not allow you to bring your own camera there, which I dun understand. We already spent thousands at your studio, cant we take a few candid shots on our own?  

 If you havent guessed it, this is Serangoon Broadway Studio. It's famed for taking graduation photos. 

 Sister pretending to look surprised when I sneaked in and took a pic of her.

After putting on make up by the make up artist who isnt that skilful. She gave me thick and dark eyebrows. I was expecting eyeliner and more blusher cuz I looked slightly colorless in here.

               Xiaoyan, yanfen and yanni. All different course of study.

                                                Again again!

Candid shots. It was really warm wearing this gown and the air conditioning wasnt that strong over there. Or probably it was because we went on a day which had more people?

                              My dad and I. He brought his own blue tie!

 I asked if I can let my fringe down while wearing the mortarboard. The stylist said no to me sternly. Ugly leh. Looked so much nerdish with no fringe.

 Eldest sister helping fourth sis to adjust her mortarboard. Such a heartwarming scene.

 The shoot took approximately 2 hours in total and it was pretty enjoyable as the photographers were really helpful and friendly. However, the backdrop/background that we can choose from was a little limited since we are a huge family. That's the downside of it. So here are some of the photos taken. Parents' ones first!

 Mom wore her cheongsum that she had only worn once during sister's wedding. Asked her to wear for other functions, she says no cuz very paiseh as people will remember that she repeated her clothing. Come on lah you think everyone really remembers what you wear to gatherings or weddings? Our memories usually fade with time. So this is the second time she wears this number out, courtesy of me who managed to persuade her. Dun leave this 600 bucks cheongsum rotting leh!  

 My parents are at loggerheads with each other almost every single day, but in this photo they look really loving! Looks are indeed deceiving. Haha. I guess dad was really happy in this photoshoot and he had a great time there.  

 Pardon for the poor resolution. I am not doing justice to these beautiful pictures.

This one not that nice as mom was standing. I feel that the male should be the one who is standing. My fav  shot of them is still the first one. Genuine smiles. 

Ok now for my shots!

 I chose to remove my mortarboard for all my individual shots because I want to look less nerdy. This is the photo that I had chosen to blow up and frame it up. Some form of editing was done of course! Look at that stray strand of hair on my forehead.

                               My sister actually preferred this photo more.

 I dislike this one the most because of the hair. There was this patch of hair stucked on my forehead! 

This one was okay but sister said the bear seemed to be in the limelight and I seemed to be the accompanying one. It would be nicer if the bear wore the same outfit as me. 

Back row from left: Yanfen (bachelor of science, environmental engineering), Xiao Yan (masters of arts and social sciences, economics), Ai Tee (masters of chemical engineering), Yanni (masters of business), me (bachelor of arts and social science, psychology). Front row from left: Wee Ming (masters of engineering), Yen Peng (masters of chinese studies), mom, dad. A nice mix of domains. 

Overall, the experience was pretty good during the photoshoot but the photos didnt turn out as good as I expected. People were saying it's very very good, it's professional, it's top notched, eh but got difference meh? How come I cant discern the the good from the bad. It all looks the same to me. Service was good but the photos were average.   

Next time I shall try out other studios, maybe do a couple photoshoot with breadman on one of these days. Heh.    

Be Your Own Boss

Today, I met up with my customer at the MRT station as usual, passing him his blazer. To his horror (and  mine as well), he couldnt fit in! To be more precise, he could fit in, but he couldnt button. He was a little hesitant and told me he couldnt purchase even though he already made a deposit. Lucky for me, my persuasive techniques worked. I told him I do not have capital to keep my items as instocks and currently I am still doing more preorders hence, I had ordered his item specially for him as he had confirmed on it and made a fifty percent deposit,  if he were not to purchase, my stocks will pile up and I will be making a loss. I added on that I am still not well off financially, blah blah blah. So that was my angelic self at work. In fact, my devilish self wanted to just blurt out: hey i bought already then you say you dun want? You are wasting my money you know? I already stated measurements on my item listings n i told u to measure, now that you cant fit in then you wanna back out? Very funny right, mister. However, I have to refrain myself from acting on impulse. First thing, this man is burly looking. What if he punches me? Secondly, it is still not worth to be punched for a $25 blazer. Haha. It still revolves about stereotyping. Burly looking equals to having violent tendencies, not to be mess with. Anyway to cut the long story short, eventually he still bought the item, except that it was for his wife which was about my body frame. I guess she just needed to alter it and it would fit her well. 

It turned out that he was an entrepreneur who sells washing powder and detergent. You might probably laugh. Detergent? Why not sell things more profitable.Wrong. He was selling a necessity and he was smart enough because his target group is huge. Who doesnt use detergent? Majority of the people would. His washing powder is more different than the normal kinds, I didnt probe so I am not sure of much. Anyway, he wanted me to work under him part time since he felt I have a good business sense. Plus, he said that my current business wont bring me good money. Fair enough, I am earning on average 200 to 300 bucks per month for this extra business that I do leisurely. It isnt a big amount, but I derive satisfaction from it. This amount can probably offset my lunch fees and transport fees for work. He has good intentions, but I probably wont take up his offer. He said I am still young and I should be more adventurous and ambitious. He said I can juggle between my job, my current business as well as join him in his business. That's like juggling 3 different things at one go, not to mention my time spent with family and loved ones? That's too hectic. I am  not profit-oriented, not overly ambitious, I am happy with the current state of things and I dun see why I should take up one more business and underperform in all 3 areas when I am happy just having my work and my own business. Your priority might be to earn your first 1 million, but sorry, that's not mine. I dun believe in slogging and making myself tired daily just to earn more money. I'll rather spend the extra time going to my favourite places, with my favourite people. Simple joys like reading a book while sipping hot tea. Going to the park to get your daily dose of fresh air. Smiling at the people around you. Those are life's simple pleasures that cannot be bought using money. This is the second time I have encountered someone who wants me to join them in their business, but as usual, I declined. Maybe next time la, when I am retiring.. haha. So I really do have business sense? Haha sure a not? *Gives myself a pat on the back. Hopefully I can have my own cafe next time! My domokun theme cafe. That's my future dream.

Life's pretty good these days even though I have not recovered fully and I still do not meet up with majority of my frens. This is probably because I have different priorities in life right now after falling sick for the longest time I can remember. Oh yes, in my next blog post I shall share with you this girl who fell sick too and doctors couldnt diagnose. Her mom actually asked me for remedies. Hmmm... I have no solutions on hand but I can tell you what I have been through. Someday I shall talk to her and see how she is currently.. heard that it has been weeks since she fell ill and she has done a myriad of examinations and tests in hospitals and all came out negative and were inconclusive. As usual, these incompetent doctors suggest that she go to see a psychiatrist because she was probably imagining  her symptoms. This was just like my story and I am not surprised that there are many who went through this. Anyway, sister encouraged me to write a book on my ordeal. To be frank, when I was really really sick a year and a half back, that was my intention: to write a book. I wanted to record down each and every event that took place during the period when  I was sick, my cognitions, my symptoms, my emotions as well as the things that happened around me. Back then, I think to myself, if i were to die because of this illness, at least more people can really benefit from reading when I wrote! Haha.. anyway this idea didnt really materialise. I "wrote" it all on my mind, but not in actual words. Haha... I might try to write a book now that I am better. But I forgotten the dates! Hmmm. I forgotten when my lips start to heal n stop producing pus. Forgotten when my lightheadedness slowly decreases in frequency. The only date I can remember is 1/1/2012. The dreadful date that I fell ill after a darned trip to macau and hk. Not sure if that trip was the cause, but things just werent the same to me after that. That's why now I have travel-phobia. I dun see the need to travel. What if this episode repeats? I dun have many two years to fall ill. I am just heartened to know that there are more and more people who are like me, who is going through this phase whereby people think that you are crazy or are just feigning illness when actually you are really ill. We should totally start a support group! We are not alone, peeps. It's just that the doctors arent skilful enough.       

Alright, the night is late! 1.24 am now and I just coughed up two blog entries because I suddenly feel the need to blog! I shall discuss more about this soon. Have a good weekend people! I am on my 10 days break till my next job :) Social services! Wait for me!
              
       

Embarrassing Tales

Embarrassment is when you just finished your grocery shopping at Sheng Shiong Supermarket and you grabbed your bag of groceries plus the receipt and hurried off to the lucky draw counter, trying to fill in your particulars on the receipt but was puzzled when you realised there werent't any space allocated to it, you were scrambling to find a pen still, and adamant about it while some interested passers by were staring at you. Then, it finally dawned on you after you asked your sister who went shopping with you. There's NO MORE sheng shiong show. No more lucky draws period. Forgive me but I always thought the lucky draw is ongoing even without the show on TV! Haha. Silly silly me.

Embarrassment is when you were happily munching on two slices of peanut butter bread freshly baked from the oven, which was purchased from an old school bakery that was featured in the newspapers, walking to the MRT station on your way home, walking and munching, walking and munching and you realised a few individuals smiling at you and you smile back out of courtesy and you think to yourself, this day is a good day, people are nice and smiley. As you were about to finish the last bite of peanut butter bread, you suddenly peered down at yourself. A running streak of peanut butter was in the middle of your blouse, a big fat stain. It was probably the length of your 30 cm ruler and it sat right in the middle of your chiffon blouse, probably grinning at passers by who cant contain their amusement. Running streak because the peanut butter was too liquid. Upon the realization, you just want to dig a hole and go into it. No more peanut butter bread for the rest of the month! Oh yes the peanut butter bread is still very good. It's located near Taiseng Mrt station if you are keen to get it!

So yes, these were some of the more embarrassing events that took place recently. Oh did I mention that I accidentally went into the gents twice? Not once but TWICE! I even thought to myself: hmmm the toilet looks different today, with the partitions and stuff, did they revamp the design? Lucky for me, I didnt see anything that I wasnt supposed to see. Haha. Please increase the size of toilet signs in the future! For the benefit of people like me... Haha.

         

1357 Desserts Cafe

Here's a really backdated post! I visited this cafe last year November after my photoshoot in Serangoon Broadway Studio since it was just a few shops away from the studio.

 The place was eerily quiet on a Saturday afternoon, my sister and I were the only people around.

 I really really love the design and furnish of this place. I like how recycled materials are used. The table is constructed using 3 wooden planks glued and nailed together. In order to make it easier to clean, a glass sheet is placed on it. A nice rustic feel it exudes. Even the chairs are wooden! I am such a sucker for wooden things.   

Waffle with peppermint ice-cream ($2.50 for the waffle and $4.50 for the ice-cream). It seems like the price difference is drastic! The peppermint ice-cream was too sweet. If even someone with a sweet tooth like me labels it as sweet, so please think of how high the sugar level it has. I think next time I'll just get the waffle itself.    

 Sis's order, same same but different. This one is with a scoop of Monster Choc ($4.50 per scoop) which tasted like double chocolate ice-cream. This one fared better than the peppermint one as it had a slight bitter taste and the sweetness isnt too overwhelming. Waffle wise, taste was disappointing. Even after waiting for more than 15 minutes, my waffle was not served hot. It wasnt even warm. It was cold :( Now please dun give the excuse that the ice-cream made my waffle cold.

 

In case you start to wonder why these two girls can eat so much, let me tell you that this waffle was eaten on another day, at the same place. I decided to combine the two posts into one for simplicity's sake. Haha. This was waffle with maple syrup. Frankly speaking, this was really really well done! Way better than the other time we had visited this cafe. However, waiting time was 20 mins though we were the sole customers in there. The waffle was crisp, smelled of buttermilk and it's not too sweet. The icing sugar dusting complemented the maple syrup, making this dessert really delectable. I can still remember the aroma of these freshly made waffles!         

                                         Dun these colorful ice-cream entice you?

                         Different types of floral tea for you to try out.  

I really hope this little cafe is here to stay because I really like the ambience in there. SO please do drop by to this new cafe and support it! Prices are really pocket friendly! Where else can you find a waffle that's $2.50 in a cafe?  

Total Damage: $16.50

Overall Ratings: 3.5/5

1357 Desserts Cafe
1357 Serangoon Road
Singapore 328240
Tel: 9846 6814

Something's BIG brewing

Breadman and I had a BIG celebration during Valentines' day this year. If you hadnt guessed it,  let me reveal it now! *Drumrolls* We had our first virgin staycation at the BIG hotel! The BIG hotel is located at 200 middle road, conveniently next to bugis mrt station. It is just a 15 minute walk from Bugis mrt station and it is situated just behind fortune centre. This hotel is still a new kid on the block and is pretty unheard of as compared to other big names amongst boutique hotels such as Wanderlust hotel and Hotel Majestic.

As we wanted to celebrate vday altogether as well as to make it a memorable celebration, we decided to take up the Vday promotion for a superior room ($227 including taxes).  Each superior room (13.3 sqm) is equipped with

1. free movies-on-demand
2. high thread count linens
3. internal protocol tv
4. opulent rain showers
5. digital room safe
6. in-room tablet
7. hairdryer
8. hansa sanitary fittings
9. complimentary wifi
10. comfy bed with plush top
11. 24hr cable/internet tv
12. 32 inch LED television.

But before that, we had to make our way to the concierge so that we can check in ( check in from 3pm onwards).

 There was quite a queue forming when we reached there, waiting time was 20 minutes on average. Oh yes, a deposit of $50 is required before you can check in (will be returned on your day of check out). So don't be surprised like me! I totally wasnt expecting that since I have already paid the full amount using credit card. (Breadman and I split half the amount.) Lucky for me, I had 60 bucks in my wallet. Haha. Then we excitedly proceed to the 10th floor, to room 27, our love nest for that night. Haha.

Our room number, 1027. Buy 4D. Huat ah! Isn't it really cutesy to use varying sizes for the numbers?

Tadaa! Welcome to our home.. oops I meant our hotel room! Erm the bed was nicely made btw... it was just that we immediately jumped onto the bed, before I realised I forgotten to take a photo of it. This room is pretty compact and cozy and I didnt feel clastrophobic in it. Some rooms are so small that you feel really stressed in it. This wasnt the case. Though the tv is mounted on the wall and there is no walking space in front of the bed (bed is placed snugly in the room), which means you cant actually walk to the windows., it felt generally alright. I literally had to jump on the bed to reach the windows. I really loved the fact that there are free movies on demand for us to watch as well as the radio channels on the tv. We switched between class 95 and yes 933 fm.    

As this is a valentines day package, we received a nice vday gift for the couples. The gift pack was randomly selected so I guess each room differs.

 

                          So here's the mysterious looking gift pack we received.

Contents revealed: tickle me fancy feather, condom, keychain with bell.
If you are wondering, we DID used every single item! Not in the way you think of course. Rang the bell, tickled breadman. Laughed it off. Oogled at the condom. Hahaha.

 A small pack of prepacked royce chocolates with a non-existent ice pack because it had melted....I guess the chocs were prepared too long ago. These were chocolate truffles that were alcoholic. I love them anyway since I am a huge fan of royce chocolates. After we settled in for a while, we tried out the digital safe which worked well and started to hunt for the in-room tablet. By its name "in-room", we expected it to be in the room. Right? Wrong. Haha. After searching the whole room and almost ransacking the place, we concluded that the tablet was not there. Turned out that we had to go to the concierge to get it. So, dun be such sua-ku peeps like us if you happen to go there for a stay. Hahah.

Here's a selfie of us after we checked in. Still looking fresh and energetic. Haha. He was dressed in his typical black shirt while I decided to don a white one.
However, I had to bring my work to the hotel which means I needed to work on my laptop for a couple of hours. Thus, it isnt just play for us. Got to work loh. No choice. Who asks me to be so responsible.

             My beloved lappy... who went through thick and thin with me... It is 6 years old this year.

This was the view in front of me... as I worked diligently on my editing ... Haha. Not very appealing but ok la. I am not a complainer. I do not care about scenery since we are just there for a night.
    

 Complimentary tea for you. Water jug. The water cooler is located at the lift lobby. There is even an ice cube machine for you.

Rain shower. However, I badly wanted bathtubs so that I can have my bubble bath! Imagine soaking in a tub filled with red rose petals, while drinking a glass of champagne. What a beautiful sight? Think I am under too much TV influence. Haha.   

Shower gel and shampoo.This is really mini mini size! Each bottle is just palm-sized. Shampoo was more than enough for us, but not so for shower gel. I guess the idea is to prevent wastage.  I loved the smell though! It's ylang-ylang. which pretty much smells like lemon grass. Think of aromatherapy. Hehe.  

 

Breadman eating the gift from the hotel. Since we cant use it, might as well eat it!  Haha. No la. He was eating my vday gift for him.

Anyway time really flew past and it was time for dinner! Initially, I wanted to eat Indian food, naan specifically or Northern Indian food, but this man wanted to dine at atas places. So okay loh, I am nice :)

But before that, here are a few pics of the hotel interior.

 These were pics taken at the lounge bar. There werent many people on a Saturday evening in there... A good choice if you want to have a nice conversation with your companion.   

 Pool table in front of the bar completes this chill-out area. Sometimes you just need the peace and serenity, away from  rowdy crowds and tipsy drunkards asking you for a dance. Did I mention that once a caucasian asked me for a dance while in a pub? That was totally awkward. I cant dance. I don't dance with strangers who have many female companions. Haha. Enough said.   

A wine cellar with different kinds of wine. Name it and you might be in luck to find it here! 

Pardon for the lack of clarity in these pictures. Somehow the resolution is really bad for dimly lit areas. Maybe it's time to consider getting a new camera. No DSLR for me as it's too complicated to use. Just something basic yet reliable n user friendly. Might still go back to getting Samsung.

The ever-friendly bartender who stopped for a pose! A pity the picture didnt do much justice here. It's blur once again ! Anyway he isnt really the bartender because the next morning I see him ushering guests to the dining area! Haha. Wearing plenty of hats I guess. 

Dinner was at BonChon Chicken because there was no queue. I didnt really wanna wait too long because I prefer to spend more time shopping at Bugis + and also we had a movie to catch later on. We watched The Lego Movie and trust me, it was one of the best animated films I watched in 2014 (erm or perhaps between 2013 to 2014)! Haha. I can seriously watch that film over and over again.     

We ordered a 4-piece BonChon Chicken wings non-spicy set as starters. According to the menu, the selling point of its chicken is its double-frying method which ensures the crispiness of the chicken and to prevent it from tasting too dry. However, it is also stated as transfat FREE! Is that possible? How can you fry plenty of times and still be transfat free? Hmmm... I am highly sceptical about that. Anyway there should be a restaurant which sells food using the airfryer! At most 1 tablespoon of oil is used, contrary to the buckets of oil used in fastfood restaurants. Anyway, I forgot the price of the food we ate so for this once, no prices will be listed. Pardon for that :(

First bite into the chicken, YUM! The chicken was coated with slightly sweet soy garlic sauce which reminded  me a little of thai sweet and sour chilli sauce. Haha. What an odd link.. you must be thinking! 

This is really good chicken! Very crisp. No smelly chicken smell. All lean meat. No fatty deposits in the chicken joint. I devoured my wings fairly quickly. Another plus point is that it was served piping hot! Waiting time was relatively short too. 10 mins or less? Thumbs up. I havent tried 4 fingers chicken so I am not sure how they fare when compared.. However, I have tried Nene chicken and BonChon is the clear winner of these two. 

 

I ordered Kimchi Mandu Soup (oops pardon for the wrong name in the photo!) which is a bowl filled with goodness! You get to eat chicken chunks, shrimp filled dumplings and a generous amount of kimchi. This dish is served with a bowl of rice and it tasted pretty good too. I was almost blowing my nose because the kimchi soup base was a little spicy, but really good to eat with rice.

 Portion was good. Just the right portion. Anyway the only reason why I like to eat in Korean restaurants would be because of the metallic bowl! Next time I gotta stock up such bowls in my new house. New house will be ready in late April or early May!

Here's Breadman's main dish for the night. BonChon Chicken Burger. This dish did not fare as well as the previous two. The chicken patty was really petite and it tasted strongly of chicken smell. Bleah. The number 1 no no for chicken burgers is its overpowering chicky smell. So this one is not recommended. I ate one mouth and I think to myself: it's better to stick to chicken wings. The sauce used in this one wasnt the same as that used for its signature wings. 

Overall Ratings: 4/5 

BonChon Chicken

Bugis+

201 Victoria Street

#01-11 

 

Someone has gotten a craftholic!That was my vday gift from Breadman. We were just shopping around at Bugis + when I spotted it in the shop. I actually just wanted 1 but it was on promo so we got 2 instead. So now the black and white one is with sister who has been longing to get a craftholic for ages. Haha. This is designed in Japan but Made in China. Actually if you ask me, I am not exactly sure what is all the craze about these fluffy stuff toys. 

 Spot the human in there. This is seriously a darn good movie! Please watch it while it's still showing in cinemas! It's a simple plot but I guess all of you who have played with lego can fully resonate with the storyline. I enter the cinema with the mentality that it's just another animation. How nice can it be with a few talking lego bricks? However I was truly wrong! I fell in love with this just after 5 minutes of watching! In the movie, I love Emmet, the ordinary rule-abiding worker who happens to be the hero who saves the world of lego .. I love batman as well as the a too!  This is really sheer perfection. To the directors and producers, hats off! If you know me, I do not usually sing praises for animations. So this is a first.    

Something wrong with Breadman that day, he actually got this popcorn and chips set! Must be his good mood. Looks like the staycation does him good.  We do not usually eat in cinemas if you know us. Sometimes I eat it with frens, but never with Breadman. I like the packaging for the popcorn. It's like packaging used by americans. Heh. Mixed popcorn as I like sweet ones while Breadman prefers the salted ones. So it's a surprise with each bite cuz you dunno which one to expect as you eat them. Love the surprise that brings. Haha. Life's simple pleasures.

Back to the hotel to retire for the night after the movie! It really helps that the hotel is just minutes away from Bugis +. This hotel is really BIG on convenience. There is a cheers convenience store next to the hotel entrance. So pop by there if you are looking for something in the middle of the night. 

 Hotel lobby at night. Cozy little corner isnt it? You can even borrow the books off the shelf. I like the ambience it exudes. Cozy yet chic at the same time. 

 

Holding onto these new babies! Jailbird and rainbow. Jailbird's now safely at sister's house. I kind of regretted giving it away. Darn! The bear is actually easier to hug than the rabbit as the rabbit has really long ears which makes it not so comfy to hug. 

 

Preparing for bed.. Oh yes this is the weird thing about BIG hotel. The wash basin is in the room itself. Not in the toilet! I have been to many hotels while overseas and this is the first time I see the basin placed in a corner in the room. It's a little strange for me.   

 Okay, a little childish in here. But well, we are still in our twenties! If not wait till thirties then do this meh. I think we look slightly alike in here, dun you think so? Must be seeing him too often.   

                             Good night, sleep tight, dun let the bugs bite!

That concludes the night for us. We went to bed after some cuddling. Oops. Not suppose to reveal the details. 

 Next morning, looking not so refreshed because I slept for like 2 hours only. Conclusion: I cant sleep with someone next to me because I need a big space. Breadman was squishing me because his area was too cold. Of course la, someone slept without clothes on. Of course cold. Oops. I blurted that out intentionally. Haha. Whenever I was falling slightly sleepy, it's either his hand or his leg that would bump into me. That jolted me awake again. Then I needed a long long time before I can  catch the sleepy bug again. That's y I woke up being a little grouchy. Haha. 

Then after washing up, we headed downstairs to have breakfast at The Nook. Breakfast was a buffet spread international style. Selection was limited but still alright for me as I am not an extremely picky eater.

 English breakfast. Bread, grilled tomatoes, salad and cheese. 

 Fried rice, pancakes, peanuts and spring rolls. My fav is still the spring roll! It's served hot and it's crispy. 

Also ate yoghurts which tasted pretty nice. After that we went back to the room and lazed for a while before we prepare to check out.

End off with my favourite photo taken during this staycation. He rarely poses for pics like this so must share. Haha.

 As I type this, it seems like I am relieving all the memories of our staycation! All the fond memories. Yes we should go for another one pretty soon!  Thanks honey, I may not be the best, but I'll strive to be.

The BIG Hotel

200 Middle Road 

Tel: 6809 7988