pissed

pissed again.

hang up and sell ah??

nah beh, i apologised abt last nite liao.  still ignoring mi.

stoopid asshole!   we muz b strong.  i muz b strong.

cannot call him.  cannot sms him.

if i matter at all, he will contact mi….eventually….sigh!

QQ (taken by YY)

YY the fotographer at work

i didn’t even realise tat YY has been using the cam till i saw the fotos.

on the subject of cam, was at sony shop tdy.  haben been looking at cam for past few yrs.  prices haf reli fallen.  my cam goes crazi once in a while.  looks like i should b considering a new cam…definitely a sony.

Being open

Quote “we muz always be open in a relationship……keep your options open!” Unquote

haha…tis is wicked.

but i dun mean tis.  was watching the 9pm show and apple hong explained her plight of keeping the fact tat she has a daughter from benedict goh.

she had wanted to make it clear from the start but the longer she dragged it, the more difficult it was to broach the subject.

y does tis sound so familiar?

reminded mi of wat happened wif D & moi.  and i’ve felt guilty abt the matter till nw.  it may not reli matter to the party i feel guilty towards but i feel bad abt keeping it from him.

see!  it’s all abt mi!

being open is so tat i can account to myself and not to anyone else!

tat’s y i had hoped tat the word ‘divorced’ is written on my forehead so tat saves mi from ever having to explain.  explaining is not the rite word, more like giving it as it is.

how i wish ppl can juz P&P into our life history…but i guess tat would take the fun and 情趣 out of getting to noe a person.  ppl would literally b able to read u like a book!  at least like an electronic book…how corny!

我不是好人

叹！

mi is a bad person

Je suis désolé.   Je ne sais pas quoi dire

mum’s flowers

i went out to the corridor to see the 昙花 last nite and kena arrowed by my mum to take fotos of her other babies.

now officially her flower photographer liao.

her pineapple flower

How to survive a day in the office

bday wish – 昙花一现!

mi wana see the 昙花 in full bloom.

i can’t believe i keep missing the sight.  so tat’s my bday wish.

is it a waste of my wish?  

my point is, being blessed wif  good frens, colleagues and family, i dun need much else.  not tat i mind more time, more money and everything else tat’s pretty and nice.  but i reli ain’t seriously wanting anything else tat matters. 

neopets bday banners

saw these banners on neopets last nite.  bday banners??  can it be??

Mt Everest Trash

 wow!  hope ppl i noe hoo climbed mt everest didn’t do the littering.

——————————————————————————————————

Climbers from Japan and Nepal picked up 500 kg (about 1,000 lbs) of tins, old tents, food and medicines littered on Mount Everest over decades by mountaineers, the climbers said on Monday.

Hundreds of climbers carrying tons of supplies try and climb the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) Mount Everest every year, adding to the piles of trash on its slopes.

Japan’s Ken Noguchi, who led the latest in a series of cleaning campaigns on the Everest, said most of the garbage his team collected on the northern side of Mount Everest in the past month had been handed over to authorities in Tibet.

“We have brought some of the garbage with us which will be displayed in Tokyo and Seoul to raise public awareness to keep the mountain clean,”

Japanese and Koreans are among frequent climbers of Mount Everest.

Noguchi had led several cleaning campaigns to the mountain in the past and has so far collected 8.8 metric tons of rubbish from the Nepali as well as the Tibetan side of Mount Everest.

Nearly 2,000 people have climbed Mount Everest and at least 202 have died trying to do so.

Bees strike

A passenger plane was forced to land after flying into a swarm of British bees Thursday.

The Palmair Boeing 737, with 90 passengers on board, had to return to Bournemouth Airport in southern England shortly after take-off following an engine surge.

The pilot decided to abort the flight to Faro in Portugal and returned for safety checks. The plane’s engine was thought to have become clogged with bees, the company said Friday.

Huge clouds of bees have been seen around Bournemouth over the past few days, a spokeswoman said.

Qantas ranked last

read an interesting article tdy abt Qanta coming in last in a survey for lowest overall satisfaction.

one common complaint was despite the poor service and low satisfaction level, ppl r ‘forced’ to fly qantas juz becoz of its route coverage.

SQ on the other hand, was voted top international airline.

reminded (of him)

mum mentioned him on sun…even mum noes the existence of tis person.
tat goes to show how long i’ve known him.

birthday surprise(s)

so touched…to see a bday prezzie on my desk tis morning.
even more touched tat it’s the ice hand cream gel for sweaty palms tat i heard abt.
it’s exactly wat i wanted.
and it smells so heavenly

——————————————————————————————————————–

gfs noe mi best. 
mi is wearing my new earrings tat goes PERFECTLY wif a new necklace i got recently.
the necklace has orange-reddish stones and beads.

——————————————————————————————————————–

i msg him tat it’s my birthday and he called 
ok, he has made my day and i’m beaming.
XM is rite. muz fight for own happiness.
since i want him to wish mi, i might as well juz tell him rather den dwell on the fact tat he doesn’t rem my bday.
how many guys rem bdays anyway.  i don’t even noe/rem his bday after a decade of knowing him

happy birthday to mi

thanx karen, for the prezzie and dinner last nite.  the peach beer is great!  and u noe my taste so well!

dream child

i first heard tis term at a x’mas party last yr.  a mum of 4 was telling mi abt her 3rd daughter who is a dream child.  when she was given cookies, she holds them in her hands for her bro and sis instead of eating the cookies herself.  she is every bit the dream child every mum wants.

QQ is my dream child. 
she wakes up happy and smiling 99% of the time.
she will do everything to please and b praised and is totally unbashful abt acting cute.
she luvs holding my hand whenever we r out and being pampered.
she eats by herself, everything and anything and goes to sleep by herself everyday when she’s tired.

Kerri Series

Livia, you’re a hip mom because you Are in the Know

From new trends to their favorite slang, you’re the kind of mom who “gets” the younger generation. So when it comes to being at the top of your parental game, you score big!

Perceptive and supportive, you’re able to put yourself in your kids’ shoes and understand what’s really important to them at any age. While some parents might trivialize their children’s priorities, you realize that the smaller things can make a world of difference when you’re a kid. It’s no surprise to you that understanding the ins and outs of being young is one of the coolest (and best!) ways to keep your crew happy and healthy. Way to stay hip!

生男生女

生儿子真好！

boys r more rugged and can withstand rougher handling.

boys r so charming when they exhibit their sensitive side and r considerate and acting like a gentleman.

YY is a good bro to QQ & Kerri most of the time and the ‘elder bro’ role makes him seem such a responsible little boy.

scratches and bruising r part of a little boy’s growing up package and using public toilets is less of a headache.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

生女儿真好！

daughters r always closer to the hearts of their mothers.  i luv dressing up QQ and she is so unbashful abt being sweet and cute and 嗲.

was shopping for hair bands at vivo wif mum and QQ. such an enjoyable experience as us 3 generations of female spent an hour trying on hair accessories. and we all got something.

i look forward to going shopping and doing high tea wif QQ in future.

the mother and daughter bond is further strengthened when the daughter becomes a mother.

the truth abt kopi

conclusion : i still can’t take kopi.

the cup i had at lunch gave mi gastric pains  : (

the last time i had a cup of black kopi, i ended up wif vomiting fit…like when ppl drink too much alcohol.  so bad tat i was vomiting gastric juice.

so i shall stick to my tea, especially mint tea.

Birthday Celebrations

pictures from the birthday celebrations cum potluck session at ah mun’s place on the 12th.

strawberry shortcake and durian cake from angie’s…yummy!

i wish, i wish for world peace…..haha….not tat i mind tat but i always wish for happiness for everyday of my life and i’ll work hard at it.

sweltering weather

the weather is hot, hot, hot tdy.  so hot tat i onli feel like stoning.

i did the next best thing to being on the beach and soaking up the sun.  i made a flash of ice cold peach tea (from vietnam!) and had some of my Cacao 85% chocolat….before tat, i made a cup of vietnamese kopi for mum tat i had instead.

conclusion, the kopi smells and tastes good but i don’t like kopi.  i ended up eating chocolat (fruit and nuts) wif the kopi.

《江城子·十年生死兩茫茫》

十年生死兩茫茫。不思量，自難忘。千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。縱使相逢應不識，塵滿面、鬢如霜。 夜來幽夢忽還鄉。小軒窗，正梳妝。相顧無言，惟有淚千行。料得年年腸斷處：明月夜，短松岡。

Frog or Duck

tis is kk’s avatar.  i always thot tat it’s a frog till i saw the series of fotos and realised tat it’s a duck going under water.

i showed YY tis pict and he could tell tat it’s a duck immediately.

he even told mi tat frogs dun haf webbed feet….sigh

Coffee and Gout

 good news for SY who gets high and hyperactive on caffeine!  3 cups of kopi a day is oredi way too much

—————————————————————————————— 

Coffee may cut risk of gout, study finds

If men ever needed a reason to justify that extra cup of coffee, here it is: four or more cups of coffee a day appear to reduce the risk of gout, Canadian researchers said on Friday.

Gout is a painful joint disorder caused by a buildup of uric acid in the blood. It affects about 6 million people in the United States, and tends to be a bigger problem for men than women.

In the past, patients at risk for gout were advised to avoid coffee, but Dr. Hyon Choi of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues at Harvard Medical School in Boston wanted to see just what effect coffee might have on the condition.

Choi and colleagues analyzed data from a U.S. health and nutrition survey between 1988 and 1994.

The study is based on a survey of about 50,000 men aged 40 to 75 with no history of gout. They filled out detailed questionnaires about dietary habits, including what they drank.

Over the 12 years of the study, during which 757 men developed gout, the risk was lower for those who drank more coffee, Choi reported in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

“We found that when they are drinking four to five cups of coffee, there was a 40-percent reduction. Drinking six or more cups resulted in a 50- to 60-percent reduction (in the risk for gout),” Choi said in a telephone interview.

Men who drank decaffeinated coffee also benefited, Choi said, but tea appeared to have no effect.

The researchers found significantly lower levels of uric acid in the blood of those who consumed large quantities of coffee. Uric acid is the compound that causes gout.

Choi said the findings appear to suggest that something in the coffee other than caffeine — such as a strong antioxidant — may be helping to reduce uric acid levels.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. More than half of Americans drink about two cups a day.

Choi said people should not rush out to the corner coffee shop to treat their gout.

But “if you are drinking coffee already and have gout or are at higher risk of developing gout … there is no need to reduce or stop coffee consumption,” he said.

十二点花

mummy’s 十二点花 tat opened the other day. the flower is supposed to bloom slowly till its fullest at midnite.  unfortunately, my cam’s battery went flat so i didn’t catch the flower in full bloom.

saw the same plant and wilted flower in dalat.

tis is the famous flower in 昙花一现.  the english name for the 昙花 is Epiphyllum.

mummy says tat there’re some more buds tat r blooming tonite so i’ll keep a lookout for the beautiful sight later.

home sweet home

finalli got home at 4 plus.

reached sg at past noon and set off for lunch and ‘mission’.  mission has been accomplished jointly by LJ, XM, SY et moi.

it was an impromptu decision made on the flight back.  as i always tink, there’s no better time den nw and 择日不如撞日

unexpected turn of events during the trip but it was a pleasant surprise for everyone on the trip….hehe….and the kaypoh LaLa(s) had a field time listening to our gossip!

Good Morning Vietnam!

check out our lobster feast on Nha Trang Beach

photo credit : XM (added at her insistence)

On Hols

off to HCMC wif LJ & gang

MUM

i was reading the featured blog abt earlier ads by Lysol tat promoted it for douching….OUCH!

from there i went on to tis great site http://www.mum.org  (Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health)

besides being highly informative, the jokes were reli good  http://www.mum.org/humorjok.htm

i always tink tat “Tampons are man’s greatest innovation.”

Tampon joke

My inquisitive 7-year-old son found my tampons and asked “Mum, what are these bullets for?”

Embarassed, I told him “It’s meant for girl’s use so don’t ask.”

Being the persistent little boy tat he is, he continued “But Mama, tell me which part of the body it’s for!  Is it for the ear?”

I tried in vain to brush his questions aside with “No, use below.”

He quickly jumped to conclusion “I know, it’s to put inside your buttocks”

Durian puffs

i wrote the below last thurs and got the puteri mas durian puffs on fri.

i haf eaten the puteri mas durian puffs before but tis was my first time getting them from the shop.  simply delicious!

QQ and i ate 5 each on sat and YY had 4…u juz can’t stop at one puff!

——————————————————————————————— 

wahaha…by a strange twist of fate, i’m going to my colleague’s place for dinner tomolo nite and he stays juz dwn the road from puteri mas so yes, i’ll still b bringing some durian puffs.

and i was at suntec tis morning and looking at the shops directory, looking for carl’s jr when i saw puteri mas listed too.

looks like there’s no running away from durian puffs for mi.

Give a Little, Get a Lot

i need to go on diet post hols!  juz been too lazi

It’s timely news for moms, aunts, grandmas, and any woman of a certain age.

Give yourself the gift of 5 percent — of your body weight, that is. If you’re postmenopausal and have a BMI of 30 or above, shedding about this amount (5 percent) makes your body less resistant to insulin.

Insulin Resistance Stinks
Insulin resistance is linked to a host of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart attacks. But lose weight — even a moderate amount — and you’ll shrink that risk considerably, especially if your waist size shrinks along with the weight loss, which is likely.

A big waist increases your risk of becoming resistant to insulin.

pre trip preparation

mi is super kiasu tis time and started packing on sun.

been adding more & more stuff into my bag…gosh!  how can i lug it around if we’r on the move everyday?  thank goodness i haf forego my hair and hair straightener in order to 减轻负担 coz mi bag is not tat big.

tonite i packed some food and my camera.  finally got a 2 GB memory stick for my cam.  i was surviving on 128MB all tis time.  anyway, after foto fatigue from angkor and hk last yr, mi is a lot less trigger happy.  i took less den 50 fotos for the last hk trip i tink.  the more fotos u take, the more post trip processing and screening of fotos needs to be done and i’m not a big fan of tat.

still need to change $$ over the next couple of days and i should b all set to go.

guess the good thing abt packing early is i dun mind i will miss much stuff and i can probably sleep earlier on fri.  on the flip side, bro will most prob b unpacking my stuff on fri….haha   he did tat for my angkor trip.

YY’s mama day present

see the heart shaped craftwork tat i pinned up @ my desk, besides YY’s foto.

though i bought the materials from ikea many yrs back, i haf onli tried the craft once wif HQ & LJ.  HQ rems it as back in 2002.  wow!

i decided to let YY haf a go at it on sat and viola!  i decided to claim his finished craft as a mama day present…hehe

YY and his water bottles

YY has a knack for losing his water bottles.

i tink the tally now stands at around 10 water bottles since jan.  he has even lost a couple of brand new water bottles after 1 day of use.

mum has totally given up and gifs him recycled mineral water bottles instead.  he’s juz too careless wif his things and too forgetful

YY’s spiderman

tat’s QQ ransacking YY’s spiderman skoolbag. it’s YY’s third skoolbag since jan. the first one’s stand broke (it was a trolley bag). the second one was a cheapo backpack tat looks pretty wore out in a matter of mths. and we got tis spiderman skoolbag from robinsons after we caught TMNT…so far, so good….mi is keeping my fingers crossed.

developing fotos

i finally made it to the foto shop to develop some long overdue fotos.  dun tink i haf been developing fotos for the last couple of yrs so poor QQ has beli few fotos and the kiddos r perpetually admiring the old fotos.

mum keeps some foto albums conveniently in the room and the kiddos and her flipped thru the fotos almost everyday.  i wonder if they ever get tired of looking at the same fotos or there’s always a new story or additional details to add abt the fotos.

i’ve been wanting to develop fotos in order to fulfill a promise i made to an old lady from the hospice i visited.  she has requested for us to gif her the fotos for remembrance and i dun wana disappoint her.  i tink i’ve delayed it by too long oredi so i will definitely mail out the fotos by thurs to her.

Moi @ 85 mkt

taken by HQ using her new camera fone.

burnt ears

marie kept warning mi abt my ears getting burnt since she used the hair straightener on my hair in hk.

i thot she was juz being over cautious and exagerrating abt burnt ears.

in the first wk of me using the Conair straightener, i didn’t encounter any incident of my ears getting burnt which further convinced mi abt my earlier hypothesis.

but by the second wk, i experienced the sensation of burnt ears ‘OUCH!’

my ears were burnt by the ironed hair which was beli beli hot…it feels like my ears were getting scalded real badly.

i haf to enlist YY’s help to blow my hair as i did the burning.

sigh!  忠言逆耳？ looks like it’s more 忠言烫耳 for mi!

mi & yy post Little Hearts Songs

taken at pizza hut after we caught Little Hearts Song from the film fest @ Lido.

HQ et moi went shopping in orchard wif YY in tow.  and YY is being extremely cheeky for tis foto. 

i thot YY didn’t understand most of the anime as he had problems catching the subtitles.

i was teaching YY abt not succumbing to peer pressure and to haf the guts to say ‘no’ if his frens ever ask him to do anything tat he tinks is wrong.  he suddenly told mi ‘juz like Gon’

OMG!  he actualli rems the characters from the anime…faint!  and he knew tat the ger died…wah!  nbr underestimate kiddos! 

cut-ed

tis question arose when i was toking to SY tis morning abt packing light for hcmc.

my hair straightener is pretty bulky and hard to store so i comtemplated chopping off my hair instead.  i did a quick poll and the guys were for the short or super short hair.

i oso used tis topic for testing the lotus notes buttons so marie gotta tell mi ‘don’t touch the hair!’

ann, mi reading ur comment after i cut my hair…hehe…but it’s not beli short lah and my hair grows super fast too.

went to my new found fav salon Needs Salon at mkt st.  i couldn’t rem my hairstylist’s name till i saw her in the shop.  but yes, mi is still pleased wif her skills.

i tink hair cutting is a totally subjective matter.  if i haf chemistry wif the hair stylist, i don’t mind watever they do to my hair. 

but i am hard to please so i won’t change stylist unless i haf no choice.  eg. when my stylist from Super Cuts decided to retn to m’sia.

Jurlique

marie was telling mi the story of tis powder from jurlique tat she found in the washroom at hitachi and how she asked the security if she could keep it if the owner doesn’t claim it.

the name does ring a bell but i couldn’t b sure where i saw it.  marie even mentioned tat it’s well known and organic.  tat’s when i recall seeing something about growing pure skin care on these sample cream satchets from bonjour.

i finally got round to checking the remaining 2 packs of sample cream and true enuff, it’s from jurlique.
Jurlique Purest
It’s impossible to manufacture pure skin care.  That’s why we grow it instead.

to cut or not to cut my hair

tat’s the question before hcmc

the guys vote for short hair and super short hair…juz like them to b so practical

nw to gather votes from the gers

YY working hard

been giving YY some maths and english exercises to do over the wkend and he is working hard.

unlike his usual ‘get up play gameboy, watch tv’ style.

but he prefers maths to english and he has decided he wants to teach maths when he grows up.  he tinks it’s cool to teach maths.

Releasing Cows

There once lived a wise man who lived a very austere lifestyle in the forest. He and his loyal followers spent their days ruminating about nature and life. They ate simply, mostly whatever fell from the trees, and derived their pleasures from philosophy, poetry, nature and one another’s company.
One day, the wise man was seated with his disciples in a quiet glade when a farmer passed by.
The farmer was visibly stressed. He asked the men in an anxious voice, “Have you seen any cows passing by?”
The wise man replied calmly that they had not.
The farmer became even more agitated, “Oh no? what am I going to do? I had twelve cows and they all ran away. I had a few acres of sesame seed plantation but the insects have devoured everything. I’m in financial debt and was looking forward to this harvest to pay back the money. Oh, I might as well be dead!”
The farmer then walked off with a heavy heart.
The wise man turned to his followers and said, “My friends, be thankful, for you are the happiest people in the world. Unlike that farmer, you have no cows to lose. If you had cows and plantations and debts to worry about, you’d be very busy.
In order to be happy and at peace in life, we all have to learn the art of releasing cows. If not all at once, then one by one. At first, you might think that the cows are essential to your happiness, that only with getting more cows can you attain more joy. But we slowly realize that the cows are in fact the source of our worries. The more cows we have, the more we fret about losing them.
And that, my friends, is why we are so fortunate, because we have all released our cows.”

Add Value in the Workplace

We all want to be promoted, get higher salaries, and become more valued at the workplace. But what steps are you taking towards attracting a promotion? Do you have a plan? What are you currently doing that makes you believe that you are deserving of one?
The most miserable people in the world today are those who know what they need to do to create the life they desire, but they refuse to take the actions to do so. So what can you do?
In today’s business culture, productivity is the key to promotion. Every employer by reason of economics is forced to look at the bottom line. So here are three steps to increase your productivity, and thus add value in the workplace.
First, assess the desired result.
The clearer the desired outcome, the quicker you can take action. Always be certain you are on the same page as your employer regarding the desired outcome of a task. Don’t assume the outcome you desire is the outcome your boss does.
Next, assess what actions must be taken immediately.
You may have ten, fifteen, or even fifty things to do on your plate right now, but do you know what to do next? Identifying the next action takes a matter of minutes, but is often a highly neglected practice. Look over your list of projects and ask yourself, what must I do next? Write it down. After you go through your projects and write out each action step, then determine the highest priority and get to work. You cannot do everything right now. All that matters is what you do right now and what you do next. A great question to ask is, “what action if done will be of the most benefit to you and the company?” or, “what action if not done will be most detrimental to your career success?”
And third, concentrate entirely on the most important task until it is complete.
Quickly solve every problem that comes your way and soon your stock will rise in the eyes of those who are looking for someone to promote. Allow time and your track record to speak on your behalf. Don’t force the issue. Your ability to act quickly and get more done than anyone else will cause you to stand out. If you can create a memory in your supervisor’s mind that you are person who can get the job done quickly and in excellence, more responsibility and opportunity will be given to you. Getting the job done quickly may mean the difference between you or someone else getting a promotion.

YY’s spelling 26th June

1. climbing

2. dancing

3. flying

4. jumping

5. riding

6. skating

7. swimming

8. swinging

9. hiding

10. everywhere

YY’s spelling 15th May

1. river

2. dragonfly

3. eel

4. muskrat

5. crayfish

6. salamander

7. vegetation

8. water beetle

9. duck

10. everyone 

Families end search for men missing from mystery yacht

07 May 2007

The families of three men who inexplicably vanished from a yacht off the Australian coast three weeks ago ended their search on Monday with no further clues as to what befell the trio.

Their ‘ghost yacht’ was found drifting near the
Great Barrier Reef on April 18 with its engine and computers running and a table laid for a meal.

But there was no trace of experienced skipper Derek Batten, 56, or his companions, brothers Peter and James Tunstead, aged 69 and 63.

Australian authorities called off the search after a week, saying it was unlikely the men would have survived any longer in the water.

But the families and friends of the men then carried out their own search, spending thousands of dollars to hire aircraft and boats to scour islands in the area, in the belief the men were still alive, possibly after a kidnapping.

Despite ending their search, they said they had not given up hope.

“There are so many unanswered questions on a whole range of things,” said Glen Tunstead, nephew of Peter and James Tunstead.

“While there’s very high emotion, the family’s still got that slim feeling of hope that something good might come out of this.”

Forensic experts who searched the 12-metre catamaran “Kaz II” after it was towed into port found it had a badly torn sail but no clues as to the men’s fate.

Police said the three were probably washed overboard during a sudden storm but the family contended that the men would not have forgotten to don their life jackets or left their fishing lines out during bad weather.

The additional search had not shed any further light on what had happened to the men as they made their way from Queensland towards Perth in
Western Australia, Glen Tunstead said.

“I’ve spoken to specialists in
Perth and every time you put a scenario up and start to work through it, it starts to get way beyond the character of the people and it gets to the point where it just doesn’t make any sense,” Tunstead said.

He said the decision to end the search had been “very emotional for everybody involved”.

“There was a sense of failure. On the other hand it was a sense of they did everything they possibly could. We didn’t achieve the outcome that we wanted, but look it’s still very, very tough for the family,” he added.

The Australian media has likened the case to that of the “Mary Celeste”, the ghost ship found drifting in the
Atlantic in 1872 with no sign of its 10 passengers and crew, one of maritime history’s most enduring mysteries.

 

 

四大名捕

mi been following tis serial since i chanced upon it some mths back.  but it’s been a slow and painful process coz channel 8 keeps changing the broadcast time and dates wifout updating views and website.

it’s now being screened on mon & tue 10.30pm onli.

i thot 铁手 looks so familiar.  it took mi a while to realise tat he’s 车仁表 and 追命 is 钟汉良 .  i like period dramas and the storyline is quite interesting.  of the various female leads, my fav is 五毒教首领“毒女”独孤依人.

she is one fierce character who 敢爱敢恨。

Ribena

ever since i heard abt the ribena case, i haf stopped the kiddos and even my bro from buying ribena.  i used to tink feeding my kiddos ribena is healthy due to the high Vit C contents.

but since they r making a public apology, i may forgive them and haf the occasional cheer pack.

at least i can make an informed decision wif the facts and treat ribena as a flavoured drink loaded wif sugar.

We’re sorry, says Ribena maker

May 7, 2007

The maker of Ribena has launched an advertising campaign apologising for having misled consumers Down Under over the popular blackcurrant drink’s vitamin C content.
GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty in a
New Zealand court in March to 15 charges of breaching fair trading laws, after two schoolgirls tested its claim that the blackcurrants in Ribena had four times the vitamin C of oranges, but found almost no traces of the vitamin in Ribena. GSK was fined NZ$227,500 ($167,500). The firm said in a statement on Monday that it had launched a television and print campaign in Australia and
New Zealand apologising for stating an incorrect vitamin C content.
The firm also says sorry for claiming that blackcurrants contain four times the vitamin C of oranges, because it may have misled consumers into believing Ribena contained four times the level of vitamin C than in the same quantity of orange juice.
“The testing method we used to determine the level of vitamin C in the ready-to-drink Ribena products was unreliable but we were unaware of that at the time,” Australian managing director John Sayers said in a statement.
The firm said it planned to develop a new formulation for the ready-to-drink form of Ribena and introduce new testing methods.
“We know we’ve got a lot of work to do if we hope to rebuild consumer trust in this brand. From the moment we’ve known there was a problem, we’ve been working hard to fix it,” said Sayers. Ribena, first made in the 1930s and distributed to British children during World War Two, is now sold in 22 countries 

 

老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼

i was reminded of tis phrase after the hospice visit on sat and marie turning up despite family matters.

the greatest love is not juz the love u haf for your closed ones but the love tat spills over from ur heart and is extended to everyone around u, especially unknown strangers.

the gist of tis saying is, “treat the elderly as if they are ur elders and love the young as if they are your own children”

Recovery from trauma

i sms-ed a bunch of frens when i first realised wat had happened.  i was still quite shocked and my msg started off wif ‘OMG!’

i juz had to tell someone wat had happened and i supposed tat’s part of my survival instinct.

i got beli swift responses from some of them and the xchange of sms abt the event helped mi calm down.

i could see the transition of my emotions distinctly as karen sms-ed mi in the middle of my sms xchange.  her msg started wif ‘in TRAINin’ …for a brief moment, i thot she was oso on a TRAIN!  but i was able to relate the experience to her wifout being so emotionally charged.

sharing is such a powerful and useful tool in helping mi recover from a traumatic experience.  so thanx pals, for helping mi share the trauma!

MRT trauma

i was seated at my usual 2nd coloured section from the front of the train and we have just reached Tampines station.

suddenly i heard a commotion and a man dashed past my carriage shouting “STOP!  DON’T START THE TRAIN!!”

everyone in the train were stunned and at a loss.

an ill sense of foreboding slowly came over mi as i realised tat something had gone horribly wrong wif the train i was on.

people started filtering out of the train and moving towards the back of the train to find out wat happened.  some people were pointing under the train and i had a dreadul thot tat someone was on the tracks under the train.

my heart was pounding louder and faster as i made my way towards the back of the train near the escalator.  a small crowd had gathered on the platform rite next to the train and i caught a glimsp of a middle aged man lying facing down.  he was so close to the train tat i onli saw his upper torso.  “oh my god!  were his legs caught under the train??”   i thot to myself.  i had to look away as the sight of him bleeding from the head was too much for mi to bear.

i stole another glance in his direction and tis time, i saw a station personnel shifting the victim’s legs sideways onto the platform.  i heaved a huge sigh of relief den.

i didn’t know if i should make a quick exit to take a cab or to hang around somemore.  i tried calling ‘995′ but the line got cut off after being connected.  i saw a station personnel arriving at the scene den wif a first aid kit and tending to the victim.

all tis while, there were ppl coming up to the platform and walking into the train, none the wiser about wat has juz happened.  i decided to re-board the train and see wat happens.  the train doors closed shortly, and i thot “oh no!  no turning back now!”

the train resumed its services after the brief disruption and i continued my journey in a mixed state of mind.

it’s unbelievable tat life goes on and it’s BAU even after such a traumatic experience.

Mummy dearest

Family leave: The good, the bad, and the terrible

Canada
Working moms get a yearlong leave after they have a baby, and receive 55 percent of their salary during that year. This is a government benefit, and women are entitled to the same job or a comparable one when their leave is over. Many companies supplement this benefit with additional dollars during maternity leave. “Fathers are also entitled to 37 weeks of parental leave.”

Austria
Pregnant women get eight weeks off before and after the birth of their baby, and receive a full salary.
 
Cuba
Moms get six months maternity leave, with full salary.

India
The law requires employers to provide maternity leave, but it’s not enforced.  “When a woman’s employer finds out she’s pregnant, although an employer won’t come right and ask her to leave, she’s often politely sidelined and made to feel unwanted.” Women employed by multinational corporations frequently fare much better, receiving as many as 90 days of paid leave, depending on the company.

United States
“This country is way behind when it comes to providing family leave.”  The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), passed in 1993, guarantees three months of job-protected, unpaid family leave, but only to those who work for the government or large companies. A few states have, or are considering enacting, paid family leave provisions.

Sweden
Parents receive over a year of leave and other benefits, and they can share the time off, with each parent taking half the time off to be with the child. If either parent wants to work half-time, they can extend their benefits even longer. “The family leave policy in Sweden is wonderful for parents — and for children, too.”

Hunger

i couldn’t believe the stats when i read tis :

Each year, more than 12 million American children face hunger — and every fourth person standing in a soup kitchen line is a child.

isn’t hunger something tat onli happens in third world countries?  US children being hungry comes as a real shocker to mi.
 

Forgiving and sweet revenge

Forgiveness gives you the chance to leave the bad things in the past, and refocus on the positives in your life. To invest more time, energy and love on the people and things you still have.
Remember, a life well lived is the best revenge.

Leadership

how true tis saying is!  i believe tat not everyone is cut out to lead though it can be learnt.  many a times, juz take the lead and others will follow naturely.
Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

tis is a saying i saw and liked.  i interpret it as always do wat u believe is rite and there’s no compromise when beliefs are concerned.
Always do right.  This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.  Mark Twain

Long week ahead

dead tired now and long wk ahead.  client calls every alt day and hosting a web meeting.

good thing i luv being bz coz time flies and i feel much more productive!

the onli way not to waste life is to live it as much as we can.

Kiddos

note tat QQ is wearing YY’s shoes in below picture.

Long day of supermkt shopping

spent most of the day out in supermkts!

spent almost 3 hrs in giant, bought sushi, clams, veggies, milk powder for kerri, YY, QQ and adults as well as tons of other food stuff which became our dinner.

post dinner, went to NTUC @ white sands to get my 三脚标清热水。 i’m falling sick!  been coughing for past wk and woke up wif a sore throat tis morning.  tink the longans i had last nite were the culprits.

Pissed (on fri)

been waiting for past whole wk so decied to make the first move.  after the call :

Pissed
Yes, he’s back
No, he didn’t call mi
Yes, I’m pissed coz the conversation lasted less than 5 mins and it was a load of shit.

Not calling him ever again!
(at least not till i cool down)

anyway, we did sms later in the day and he was alrite thru sms.

still super disappointed tat he didn’t call mi first.  tat would haf been very very nice.  and he hasn’t called to arrange a meet-up, tat prob means there is no cashmere.  juz as i thot.

Mansion Impossible

YY luvs to try out new games and we discovered tis tonite.

wat a fun game tis is!  at first i thot it’s monopoly wif all the real estate but it turned out to be like dope wars, juz buy low & sell high.

my current high score is 38 yrs 9 mths.

correction, from my third time playing, high score is now 23 years 2 mths.

Click to Play Mansion Impossible!

太阳公 birthday

tdy’s 太阳公’s birthday so we went to the temple at bedok north ave 4 to pray.

there was a huge crowd but i didn’t snap any pictures.  decided to recycle an old foto instead for tis occassion.
 

Yahoo to shut down Yahoo Photos service, push Flickr

juz saw the news tat Yahoo is shutting dwn Yahoo photos and askin users to migrate to Flickr.

Yahoo photos was the first online foto storage site i used and though i hardly use it now, in favour of photobucket, i thot the recent redesign was cool.

but of course, it can’t match up to photobucket.  i haben used Flickr so i can’t compare the 2.

from the news :

Outside sites include PhotoBucket — the most popular online photo sharing service among users of social network sites like News Corp.’s MySpace — or more conventional photo printing and storage site such as Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly Inc. or Snapfish, he said.

Yahoo’s move follows the explosive surge in growth by PhotoBucket, an independent photo storage site based in Palo Alto, California, from a quarter of the market a year ago to around 40 percent last month, according to Hitwise Inc. data.

In the same period, Yahoo Photos’ share has been cut two- to three times over to around 5.8 percent of the U.S. market. Flickr, meanwhile, has grown to 4.5 percent, up from 3.7 percent, according to Hitwise U.S. Web audience data.

Yahoo continued to support both Photos and Flickr over the past two years, reflecting the different audiences of the two sites.

Yahoo Photos is a more conventional photo-finishing site, full of family snapshots, while Flickr has attracted a passionate fan base of amateur and professional photographers who use the site to share digital photos online, and for whom printing is largely an afterthought.

According to data from comScore supplied by Yahoo a year ago, Yahoo Photos counted 30 million registered users, who had uploaded 2 billion photos as of June 2006.

By contrast, PhotoBucket rose to 32 million users in 2006 from 12 million users in 2005. It is set to grow to around 62 million users by the end of 2007, PhotoBucket Chief Executive and co-founder Alex Welch said in a recent interview.

Famous animals

i was at suntec wif the kiddos to catch TMNT some wks back and we were looking at fishes at the fish tank juz outside secret recipe.

all the kiddos went ‘Nemo! Nemo!  That’s a small Nemo!” whenever they saw a clownfish.  it’s not as though the kiddos don’t know tat Nemo is a clownfish.  it’s juz kiddos haf decided to call all clownfish “Nemo”.

it’s the same wif jack russells.  whenever kiddos see a jack russell, they’ll go “Milo! Milo!”

so The Mask has brought the same fame and naming convention to jack russells as Finding Nemo to clownfishes.

along the same train of thought, how come pigs were nbr called babe?

Baby Nemo finds no place like home

Baby Nemo finds no place like home

The orange and white clownfish star of the hit cartoon movie “Finding Nemo” really is able to find his own way home after spending months at sea, an Australian-led team of international researchers said on Friday.

“When they are out in the open water they are actually quite sophisticated. They can swim well, they can smell, they can see, they can hear well, and they use a whole suite of senses,” joint team leader Glenn Almany told Reuters.

Studying a tiny coral reef in Papua New Guinea, the researchers found 60 percent of baby clownfish find their way back to their home reef — only 300 meters (1,000 feet) wide — after being swept into the open ocean at birth.

The fish were identified using a world-first tagging method in which adult clownfish and butterflyfish were injected with a harmless barium isotope which they then passed on to their offspring, allowing identification of their juveniles.

The finding, announced in the international journal Science, will help researchers understand the extent to which young fish return to their home area or go off to interbreed with more distant populations. That in turn could help determine which populations needed protection or better management for sustainable fishing.

Almany said the team still had no idea how the clownfish knew which reef they came from, or how far they traveled in open sea during a journey lasting around 11 days.

“How they actually determine whether that reef is home or not is anyone’s guess, but as an educated guess I would say that there might be some sort of chemical imprinting going on when they are born,” he said.

The team of Australian, French and U.S. scientists, working out of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at Queensland’s James Cook University, planned follow up studies in Australia with larger fish species.

Almany said researchers found a similar result to clownfish for butterflyfish, although the two species had very different breeding strategies. Clownfish adults closely guarded their eggs in a nest and butterfly fish gave no parental care to their offspring, which stayed at sea for around 38 days.

“We’ve got two different species with vastly different strategies, vastly different periods of time in open water, and yet we find similar results. So we are trying to get whether this is a general pattern,” he said.

Real Chocolate

juz got tis from realage too. 
good news for mi since i luv dark chocolate.
i dun understand all the health benefits but i reckon all the rubbish means tat real chocolate is good for u….heh

Real Chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) increases dopamine releases and provide flavonoids, which keep arteries young

YY’s million watt smile

U.S. Promoters Absent From Multibillion Arab Tourism Market

May 03, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Promoters from 64 countries vied this week to lure big-spending Arab tourists to their countries at the Middle East’s largest tourism convention. But not a single promoter from the United States turned up.

Instead, the U.S. government sent officials from the Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate its mandatory fingerprinting of Arab and other foreign visitors. The only other U.S. presence inside the Americas hall at the show came from a tiny boutique hotel in New York.

“It’s bizarre,” said Sarah Wood, promoting Canada’s Ontario and Niagara Falls at a nearby booth. “People ask us where the U.S. booth is and we point them to the Homeland Security booth.”

A pair of U.S. Homeland Security officials at the show did their best to give details on America’s tourist sights, such as the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, while explaining that being fingerprinted by U.S. immigration officials doesn’t mean a person should feel like a criminal.

“We tell them, ‘We want you to come to the United States,’” said DHS spokeswoman Kimberly Weissman. “They ask us about destinations and we give them our personal anecdotes.”

The United States used to send small delegations to the show — the Arabian Travel Market — but those dried up after the Sept. 11 attacks, organizers said. Show chairman Tom Nutley has said American operators no longer see Arab tourists as a viable market. Tightened
U.S. visa restrictions on Arabs have also kept many tourists away.

Visitors at the show said the lack of U.S. promoters gives the impression that Arabs are no longer welcome in America.

“Maybe they don’t want Arabs to visit,” said Hussein bin Mutlaq, 52, a retired Emirates army officer. Bin Mutlaq said it was ironic that the Gulf militaries and governments have such close relations with Washington but that individual visits have become so difficult. Two Emiratis were among the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers. Fifteen came from neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Another visitor, who declined to give his name, said he wanted to visit America but was put off by his uncle’s experience of being strip-searched three times.

The World Tourism Organization said Arab tourists from the Gulf states spent more than US$12 billion (euro8.8 billion) on foreign vacations in 2005. Figures for 2006 were not immediately available.

The American’s absence was an opportunity for others. A Kuwaiti tour operator, Thomas Sam, said he booked 1,000 nights of hotel stays for clients traveling to Australia, Europe and Asia. Morocco’s Go Holiday tour operator reported 30 major agreements to handle package tours from Kuwait, Tunisia, Bahrain, Indonesia and Syria. An Emirati operator, Hassan al-Sabbagh said he’d set up new package vacations in Cyprus because of increasing Arab demand.

New York City’s absence at the convention was especially perplexing, as Emirates airlines flies three daily direct flights to New York, and Etihad airlines operates another daily direct New York flight from the Emirates capital Abu Dhabi.

U.S. carrier Delta Airlines operated a small booth at the convention, offering special fares on its five weekly flights between Dubai and Atlanta, starting May 31. Qatar Airways announced it would begin nonstop flights from Doha to Washington this summer and would begin service to New York via
Geneva in June.

But even in the absence of U.S. promoters, Arab affinity toward American culture was evident — Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe impersonators posed for photographs at the floor show, while American-style cheerleaders performed in front of the Qatar pavilion.

American companies investing in the Arab world, such as American Express and Hertz attended the show.

Two major U.S. theme parks announced they would open franchises in Dubai. Universal Studios, which operates theme parks in Florida, California and Japan, said it would build a US$2.2 billion (euro1.6 billion) amusement park inside the gargantuan Dubailand amusement zone. Nickelodeon Recreation announced Thursday that it would also open a theme park by 2011 in Dubailand.

But no U.S. theme parks — not even Universal Studios — sent envoys to attract Arab visitors to
America.

Kerri’s birthday cake

kerri had her birthday celebration a day before i left for hk.

we had a bbq but the highlight of the nite is the cake which was a huge hit wif all the kiddos.

there were 8 pokemons on the 2 kg cake so the kiddos got to bring home at least a pokemon each.

Good News for Late Exercise Bloomers

Realage tip that i juz saw.  tis is great for mi coz i luv to walk!  walking has a therapeutic effect on mi and helps mi clear my mind.

Metabolic syndrome (what’s that?) is not inevitable — even if you’re currently a bump on a log.
Just start walking. Doing so today could slash your risk of the syndrome by as much as 24 percent within 3 years. Even if you’re over 60 years of age. And carry a few extra pounds. And have a couch potato history.

Buck the Trend
One-quarter of adults have metabolic syndrome, and the number jumps to 40 percent after age 60. You can avoid joining those ranks with a few changes, even if you’re a Johnny-come-lately to the healthful lifestyle brigade.Here’s what you need to do to:1. Get moving
Exercise reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, even if you’re over 60 years of age, overweight, or haven’t exercised before.

2. Slim down
Extra weight around the middle is especially inviting to metabolic syndrome.

3.Control carbs

4. Snuff it out

cooking telephone porridge

ever since YY started skool, his classmates ie. fellow little boys have been calling him at home.

and they sleep juz as late coz i haf picked up his calls after 11pm.

look at YY so engrossed in his call! wat do little boys tok abt?

games and wat’s showing on tv…so gossipy…can’t stand them.

Pictures Galore

supposed to b making 30 cards for sat’s hospice visit but sadly, our very limited creative juices was onli enuff for 7 cards and those were completed in a 2 hr session.

marie and i wana make up the shortfall ourselves so as not to disappoint any of the folks we r visiting.

i haf a standard formula for mass production of postcards.  find some nice pictures, make a border and viola!  a giant postcard is done.  sounds lame, i noe but tat’s the best i can tink of.

so here i m, looking for card worthy pictures for our cards making session Part 2 tomolo.

Kerri

HQ & HJ pre trip

i noe these fotos are long overdue but i was undergoing the blogger migration to wordpress and duno where to post my fotos phase.

HJ & HQ pre Swiss trip at the airport and my mint tea from the Alps….hehe

Bowling part 2

went bowling again on labour day.  tis time, it’s wif the whole family, and i mean the entire family including kerri but mum was out on her own.

we all had fun and YY is undergoing home training to prepare him for our next bowling excursion.

i decided to bowl more regularly, juz so tat i live a heathlier lifestyle…hehe

Droolicious Daniel

tis is for u to drool over, ger (and ah bao)!

daniel is so…cute!

his acting has improved a lot and i like him more as a villian…bad boys rule!

Thailand Identified as World Top Holiday Destination

 May 01, 2007 

A recent survey of international travelers has identified
Thailand as the world’s top travel destination despite a widespread perception that the country suffers from “civil unrest”.

The survey, conducted by Visa International Asia Pacific and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), found that 52 percent of respondents were considering
Asia as their next travel destination, 9 percent more than in the previous year’s survey.

Thailand was again rated the No. 1 destination on travelers’ holiday lists, followed by Japan and
China, the survey released by Thai local newspaper The Nation on Tuesday said.

At least half of the respondents in each market surveyed chose Thailand as their most likely holiday spot despite international media attention on
Thailand’s civil unrest in the weeks before the survey was conducted. They emphasized the country’s reputation as a relaxing place where visitors could enjoy the local culture, natural beauty and friendly people.

The survey, called “Asia Travel Intentions 2007″, questioned more than 5,000 international travelers from 10 key travel markets around the world and examined their travel intentions, as well as the drivers of and barriers to their travel.

Jetstar Misc part 3

the ppl at jetstar r so nice!  i called them again tdy to check on the facilitation fee for electronic payments.

they cfrm tat if i pay offline ie. post offices, SAM and 7-11, i don’t haf to pay the facilitation fee.  best of all, i can pay by cash or NETS.  so good hor!

at least i feel tat the xtra charge for paying by credit card is understandable when profits r thin and ppl haf a choice still by choosing a diff pyt mode.

and the offline pyt options r so comprehensive.

my fav cny skirt

been wanting to post tis pict i took of my cny skirt.

i luv tis skirt tat i bought in bkk but its label reads ‘made in india’.

can hardly bear to wear it coz the shiny pieces doesn’t last too many washes.

the top is quite nice too, oso from bkk, pena house

Jetstar Misc

omg!! juz saw the promo on jetstar for bookings made on 1st and 2nd may, tickets to & from HCMC are now at $10 each!

goodness!  i nbr expected prices to drop even further！

wif after taking into account the facilitation fee of $6, the tickets r still $6 cheaper den wat i paid in jan….nah beh!

and i’m reading the fine print “All bookings made using an electronic form of payment will automatically have a facilitation fee of SGD3.00 per passenger per segment applied.”

hmm…i wonder if tat means if we pay by cash, we save on the facilitation fee…will find out.

Bowling

juz back from bowling wif YT, richard and fren.

wow!  haben bowled in ages since the last team event wif marie & dot.

and tis is the first time i bowled so many games at one shot!  and the most amazing part is i dun even feel tired though i was using the house balls.

YT saw a blue hello kitty bowl at the pro shop and was tempted to get it.

i dun mind bowling. good way to exercise wifout breaking a sweat…hehe

my ball

Jetstar Misc

juz found out tat Jetstar now charges a $3 per head per way internet booking fee.  dot saw the ‘hidden’ costs AFTER she made pyt.

u dun even see the fee being added in when u choose ur flights.  onli taxes are shown which i tink is a tab sneaky.

i was informed by customer service tat it’s somewhere in fine print when u make pyt…duh  

to make LJ & SY feel better, we didn’t get charged when we did our bookings coz tis fee was introduced on 26th mar.

and to gif credit when it’s due.

u can nw select ur seats from jetstar.  i didn’t bother to fill out bogus traveler details to test tis.  but from dot’s narration, u will see the plane’s seat layout and u can select the actual seat no.   sounds way cool and abit like checking in online.

sorry guys, since we didn’t pay the $6, we’ll onli get to choose our seats when we check in…dun tink anyone minds the trade-off rite?