YY

 

in another pose in TKD gear

 

Side Kick?

YY felt inspired by TY’s fb foto and decided to do some side kicks too

 

 

 

my fav earring

 

is tis horseshoe and flying horse one, ok, i forgot to crop the pict

Egg Plant

 

The basil was growing well till the painters came and we moved it indoors, under the kitchen sink

mum repotted it and some other plant is in its place nw in the egg pot

the most fun part is when u crack the top of the egg…it needs lotsa and lotsa water to grow

brenda has basil seeds so i may try growing them again, in a bigger pot tis time

 

YY’s assessment books

 

 

Way Back Into Love

 

ok, my reaction is very delayed.  nw den i find tis song beli nice as i listen to the lyrics.  TY recommended it while music & lyrics was showing

Sung by Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore

[Verse 1]
(Drew Barrymore)
I’ve been living with a shadow overhead,
I’ve been sleeping with a cloud above my bed,
I’ve been lonely for so long,
Trapped in the past,
I just can’t seem to move on!

(Hugh Grant)
I’ve been hiding all my hopes and dreams away,
Just in case I ever need them again someday,
I’ve been setting aside time,
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind!

[Chorus]
(Both)
All I want to do is find a way back into love.
I can’t make it through without a way back into love.
Oooooh.

[Verse 2]
(Drew Barrymore)
I’ve been watching but the stars refuse to shine,
I’ve been searching but i just don’t see the signs,
I know that it’s out there,
There’s got to be something for my soul somewhere!

(Hugh Grant)
I’ve been looking for someone to shed some light,
Not somebody just to get me through the night,
I could use some direction,
And I’m open to your suggestions.

[Chorus]
(Both)
All I want to do is find a way back into love.
I can’t make it through without a way back into love.
And if I open my heart again,
I guess I’m hoping you’ll be there for me in the end!
Oooooooh, Ooooooh, Ooooooh.

[Middle-eight]
(Drew Barrymore)
There are moments when I don’t know if it’s real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration
Not just another negotiation

[Chorus]
(Both)
All I want to do is find a way back into love,
I can’t make it through without a way back into love,
And if I open my heart to you,
I’m hoping you’ll show me what to do,
And if you help me to start again,
You know that I’ll be there for you in the end!
Oooooooh. Oooooooh. Ooooooooh. Oooooooh. Ooooooh Ooooooooh. Ooooooooh.

timetable

 

should b learnt in mandarin, i always believe

coz it’s so much easier for kiddos to memorise in chinese eg. 一二二， 二二四， 三二六 etc

and studies show tat doing maths in chinese is faster den english

another exam cum hol goal for YY

and QQ took mi by surprise when she started reciting the 2 timetable coz she remembers it when YY kept repeating it

reading

 

YY scored the highest ever for his chinese spelling.  6 out of 10 and tis time after i piloted a new method of teaching him without him having to practise writing his spelling words

but i still tink his reading ability is not acceptable.  everything in his textbook is wif hypy so he relies on hypy so much tat he can’t read properly wifout it

test papers are wifout hypy and he has such a hard time understanding the questions tat he can’t answer them

so my strategy for his SA1 is to ensure he can read every single word in his 2A textbook

and thanx to ah bao for getting the chinese assessment coz got a lot of passages inside tat r wifout hypy

it’s so hard to find stories wif hypy coz most of the chinese books in the library are wif hypy too

and i decided to b kiasu and start QQ on reading chinese wifout hypy too

goal for the hols will be to teach them at least 2 poems and make them recognise the words for the poems

it’s an experiment to improve their chinese

thank goodness they haf no problems wif eng, but if they do well at eng, it oso means tat they r not linguistically uninclined so the prob lies wif the teaching method and the environment they r in

i tink it’s a disgrace if chinese can’t read and speak (and write) chinese well.  but i dun expect a lot from the writing part of it from YY & QQ.   writing is not difficult and comes wif practise.  but overall chinese standard is not abt being able to write the words but being able to express urself well both in written and spoken form

yes, i want them to experience the same sense of pride when they speak chinese well in china and get praises

 

 

 

dis-illusioned advertisers

 

i m reminded of the ad at the bus-stop near my place for KFC meltz tat went “if you can resist this, u r in denial”

OMG!  whoever came up wif such a lame line?

every time i see the ad, i feel like writing to KFC tat if u tink nobody can resist the Meltz, u r in denial !

postsecret spinoffs

 

i m a loyal reader of postsecret for a few yrs nw.  i await the weekly secrets every sun wif great anticipation.

i saw tis msg tis wk & went to the mypostitsecret website.  gross!  it’s so plain obvious tat the idea was stolen.   even the url is so similar.   i haf lost all respect for 3M and will nbr buy their postit again.

 

—–Email Message—–
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:49 PM
Subject: Book of Secrets

Hey Frank,

Ever notices how the (corporate owned) media reports on big companies that prosecute people for “stealing” music and other creative content from the web. But you never read any stories about the corporations like 3M and NBC that pirate from PostSecret and other websites.

my ankle

 

is so much better tdy, especially in the later part of the day

so counterpain works much better den salonpas, but the overpowering smell is abit hard to endure

good thing it’s not greasy at all

mcgriddles sux

 

i limped to mac tis morning to tabao bfast

the bfast q was quite long and i heard mostly orders for big bfast or suasage mcmuffins

unsuspectingly, i ordered the new mcgriddles…ok, i suaku, nw den try

omg!  the combination is horrible

the bun is much too sweet wif the honey in it and didn’t go well wif the savoury egg and sausage at all *pui pui*

nw i understand y nobody in the q ordered mcgriddles

in the pict, the offending mcgriddle…before i realised it sux

 

world hunger

 

i haf been stressing to the kiddos tat grain is scarce so pls dun waste food

YY started asking qns on y grains, in particular rice, is getting scarce?  he asked if it’s becoz there’s less land to grow the rice.  i told him i’ll let him read the world food bank report.

was i concerned abt world hunger at 8?  no way!

US presidential candidates selection

 

imagine my surprise when YY told mi tat hillary was on tv.  i mean, y would a 8 yo noe who are the US presidential/pre-presidential candidates

we watched the news tog tat nite and he pointed to each side of the screen in turn while stating “Obama, Hillary”

the world is getting smaller lor

 

lonely office

 

most of my frens r now at comtech…so sad…the office will nbr b the same again wifout their familiar faces

earrings

 

last fri nite, i did a stock take of the earrings i m wearing.   i dun usually rem which earring is in which position  

the next morning, i realised tat one earring was missing when i woke up and it was still on the pillow

the following day, i realised another earring was missing after going out.  to my surprise, the earring was still on the bathroom floor when i returned

damn weird lor

my left ankle

 

started to ache yest and developed into a throttling pain tdy

2 pieces of salonpas didn’t help so my last resort is counterpain which really took away the pain.  hopefully i m fully recovered by tml.  i hate limping!

 

化腐朽为神奇

my 座右铭 when playing MJ!

salonpas

 

mi has been surverying prices of salonpas these few wks as i realised the price differs greatly.

the cheapest i found so far is at mustafa which is 1.10 for the hot version

sheng siong sells it at 1.30 if i rem it correctly and 7-11 at shell stations sell it at more den $2 each!

i went to the chinese medicinal hall next to melben seafood last nite and to my surprise, the salonpas onli cost 1.10.   since i doubt i will ever b there again to buy tis, i decided to get 5 boxes to stock up

i use the plasters quite quickly as i usually use 2 to 4 pieces each time.  there’r 12 pieces in a box.  i luv how effective and clean the plasters r.  great when ur legs are aching from shopping

i used to carry them in my toiletries bag and used them in hk too.  i ran out of them in coolum and hurt my rite arm and couldn’t even lift my ar.  good thing adrianne had them too and gave mi 4 pieces which saved my arm.  she told mi the salonpas she got from jap seems to b stronger.  it didn’t help matters tat i hurt my arm before the long roadtrip where i was the sole driver

i noe salonpas make their plasters in viet.  mayb it’ll b even cheaper there and i can stock up, one yr’s supply!  reminds mi of all the counterpain i lugged back from bkk which last mi till nw coz the smell is so so strong

 

 

 

 

food prices and charity

 

as i read the article abt rising food prices and hunger rising worldwide, thots of the volunteer group we ran into at awwa tdy come to mind

they brought so many donations of food stuff becoz they knew the prices have risen so much

it’s nice to see other volunteers in action and know tat so many ppl do care abt the elderly

the event went well tdy.  it was a straightforward plan to bring some snacks for the elderly

when i got there wif QQ, we were the only ones there and the home’s helper offered to help wif packing the cakes.  i was worried tat i had stretched the timing too thin for the elderly’s tea break.

the rest of the volunteers arrived at almost the same time and everyone quickly got dwn to the task.  i was amazed at how quickly the task were completed.  the 240 pieces of cake were all packed in less den 10 mins.  truely, one person’s strength is limited but when everyone is united, the potential is enormous.

post tea time, we mingled wif the elderly and visited their rooms.

we oso took part in lotsa unplanned activities.  some helped wif handicraft and washed cups and others supervised the removal of an old bed and set up a new one tat someone donated.  yet others got dwn to cleaning the elderly’s home when bed bugs were discovered.

i hear so many requests for us to repeat the visit and do more, from outings to cleaning of their homes, meals and personalised mugs.  juz the food suggestions tat poured in were enough to hold monthly tea sessions

another fact tat reli impressed mi was, EVERYONE on my invite list turned up and some wif partners, EVEN the tentative few and those who didn’t reply.  how often do u get a 100% turnout rate?  i dun tink i haf ever seen tat kinda response rate for gatherings or even wedding dinners

i tink it reli goes to show how much everyone would like to do their part for charity but we are often too caught up wif  the hustle and bustle of life to actually do something so all we need is the rite opportunity to come along.   i hope to b able to make it easy and convenient for ppl to do good, to haf the 抛砖引玉 effect

and it’s the first time i brought kiddos along. surprisingly, QQ was comfortable wif the elderly and was even kaypoh enuff to watch the ah peks play chess.  i m glad she wasn’t a hassle at all and is independent enuff for such events

 

 

 

Sri Lanka

i often hear how beautiful it is from colleagues, but it sounds like a dangerous place to venture to especially when tamil tigers come to mind.   and i noe they haf very high quality tea! 

 

At a formal ceremony innovatively held inside an aircraft at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Nations Trust Bank’s American Express Credit Card together with SriLankan Airlines formally announced the launch of the American Express Internet Payment Gateway with the SriLankan Airlines Internet Booking Engine – This will see both companies offering enhanced and flexible services, greater rewards and opportunities for customers to take wing to the skies.

Through the Internet Payment Gateway, American Express Cardmembers for the first time will be able to make online bookings of their airline ticket on any SriLankan Airlines flight. In the spirit of this partnership American Express Cardmembers will be offered a saving of USD10/- for every ticket booked online. Cardmembers will also enjoy a 10% Savings on inflight duty free products in the Serendib Treasures catalogue for preorders above USD 100 and 5% savings for orders above USD 70. The duty free products in the Serendib Treasures Catalogue can be booked online on www.srilankan.aero/dutyfree in order to enjoy the Savings.

food and hunger

The world faces a “silent tsunami” of soaring food prices and more must be done to help secure future supply, the UN food agency said Tuesday as experts gathered in London for a special summit on the problem.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said an extra 100 million people who previously did not require help could now not afford to buy food.

It said the soaring prices threatened anti-poverty and health improvement initiatives in the world’s poorest nations and left a 755-million-dollar hole in the organisation’s 2.9-billion-dollar budget.

“This is the new face of hunger — the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are,” said WFP executive director Josette Sheeran in a statement.

“The response calls for large-scale, high-level action by the global community, focused on emergency and longer-term solutions.”

Food prices have risen rapidly since the last quarter of 2007, blamed in varying degrees on rising populations, the use of biofuels to combat climate change, higher demand from developing countries, natural disasters and higher fuel prices.

Price hikes for staples such as rice — which is now nearing the 1,000 dollars per tonne mark, more than double the cost in early March — have led to riots and protests in a number of developing countries.

In the latest unrest, demonstrators took to the streets in the Afghan city of Jalalabad and the Gabonese capital Libreville on Tuesday.

The Asian Development Bank, which believes the increases mark the end of the cheap food era, said it was a distribution rather than a food shortage problem, while Thailand has attacked critics for laying the blame at biofuel producers.

Sheeran, who described the situation as a “wake-up” call about the threats to food supply, refused to pinpoint one reason for the crisis, instead stressing the urgent need for action by governments and world bodies.

She was later one of 25 experts in the field who attended a summit on the subject hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his Downing Street offices.

A statement from Brown’s office released after the meeting said that delegates pledged to work with the G8 and EU towards a global strategy to tackle price rises and increase support for the world’s poorest nations.

There was also agreement that a World Trade Organisation deal could help developing countries, particularly in agriculture and that there should be a review in the approach to biofuels.

“We need to look closely at the impact on food prices and the environment of different production methods and to ensure we are more selective in our support,” the statement read.

“If our UK review shows that we need to change our approach, we will also push for change in EU biofuels targets.”

Brown has vowed to look again at government targets for use of biofuels, which although developed to help cut greenhouse gas emissions, have been blamed for global warming.

They have also cited by some for fuelling the food price surge as they use land and resources that would otherwise be given over to food production — Oxfam, for one, called for governments to scrap mandatory targets on biofuels.

In Bangkok Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej attacked the World Bank and the UN for criticising biofuel producing nations for soaring food prices while sparing oil exporters.

Britain earlier announced a 910-million-dollar aid package, including an 800-million-dollar, five-year commitment to agricultural research, in a move welcomed by aid and development agencies.

The European Commission in Strasbourg then announced a further 117.25 million euros (185.5 million dollars) in food aid, having already pledged the EC’s biggest-ever food aid package — 160 million euros.

“Food price rises pose a significant threat to poor people in developing countries, many of whom spend more than half their income on food already and will face hunger and even starvation unless we act now,” said Phil Bloomer, British charity Oxfam’s director of policy.

“For this reason the money announced today by the government is welcome, as is their recognition of the need for both short and long term responses.”

我愛你

i luv tis MV…nbr fails to leave mi in tears

 

从你眼睛 看着自己 最幸福的倒影
握在手心的默契 是明天的指引
无论是远近 什么世纪
在天堂拥抱 或荒野流离
我爱你 我敢去 未知的任何命运
我爱你 我愿意 准你来跋扈地决定 世界边境
偶尔我真的不懂你 又有谁真懂自己
往往两个人多亲密 是透过伤害来证明
像焦虑不安 我就任性
怕泄漏你怕 所以你生气
我爱你 让我听 你的疲惫和恐惧
我爱你 我想亲 你倔强到极限的心
我撑起所有爱围成风雨的禁地
当狂风豪雨 想让你喘口气
被划破的信心 需要时间痊愈
梦想牵着怀疑 未来看不清
就紧紧地拥抱去传递
能量和勇气 我爱你
我爱你 我想去 未知的 任何命运
我爱你 让我听 你的疲惫和恐惧
我爱你 我想亲 你倔强到极限的心
哪里都一起去 一起仰望星星
一起走出森林 一起品尝回忆
一起误会妒忌 一起雨过天晴
一起更懂自己 一起找到意义
让我爱你
我不要没有你 我不能没有你 绝不能没有你

没有不吃鱼的猫

 

how true!

tis came from a discussion i had wif marie yest

omg, 真是一针见血.   men r a lot more objective abt such matters while women play on emotional factors and don’t see the real prob

goes back to my pt, if it’s the one, how can tis happen?   the passion will nbr sizzles out

and if it’s not the one, wat’s the pt of sticking it out?   mayb they can live tog for the next 50 yrs or till one of them dies, and tis is wat they want and their idea of blissfulness.   but i m totally against any compromising juz to b tog unless it makes them happy to b sticking it out

ultimately, it’s abt nobody else but urself and if wat u r doing makes u happy

i m very apathetic abt such things.  there’s no rite or wrong but u muz b able to reconcile wif urself and b true to urself.  u dun live for others.   u onli live for urself and u onli live once and u always haf a choice

it took mi a long time to understand i always haf a choice tat’s not listed instead of juz choosing bet wat’s available.   i can choose NONE OF THE ABOVE and tat’s the most impt choice i ever made

i m constantly challenged by my choice emotionally & physically.  but i know tat i can b strong and not deviate and time & time again, i know i m rite.   i simply refuse to plunge headon and hurt another.

 

 

sat

fotographer needed for sat’s event

need tinking of doing tis for long long time since first visit 2 yrs back!

glad i got ard to planning it and got so many likeminded frens to join mi too. the best part abt ctf is not juz personal gratification from planning and participating in events but the frenship i gained. when likeminded ppl get tog, there’r a lot more sparks

it’s on a small scale and all the more impt and meaningful coz it’s wifout corporate endorsement and juz from a personal initiative

Competitive

 

from petrolhead, onetrack and nw parking wars, my competitive streak is showing and i m cultivating YY’s too

but whenever we get too far ahead in the tables, we will moan if we win another race.   无敌是寂寞

疾风知动草，路遥知马力

 

from my 励志系列 pencil

Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns

April 21, 2008
Bank of America, the second- largest US bank, said profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans.
 

Definitely Maybe

And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to understand that it’s definitely never too late to go back…and maybe even possible to find a happy ending.

 

if i were april, i would nbr take him back.  ok, i’m mean but i dun believe in second chances/rite timing.  if it’s the one and it didn’t work out, too bad

my songs

yes, i haf some fav albums and soundtracks but nuthing beats a compilation of my fav songs

and tat’s wat i did.  i made myself a fav cd for in car music

the novelty and excitement factor was great as i didn’t know which song would come on next

but i threw in some songs to fill up space and end up skipping them

i wana compile a mix of songs tat consist of only my favs, both old and new, wat a brilliant mix

wif or wifout oso can

the famous phrase goes ‘don’t b someone u can live wif, be wif someone u can’t live wifout’

ok, point taken, nbr compromise

but i believe nobody needs anybody to survive so wat’s the motto of the story?

come as you are

Come, as you are. As you were.
As I want you to be. As a friend.
As a friend. As an old enemy. Take your time.
Hurry up. The choice is yours. Don’t be late.
Take a rest. As a friend. As a old memory, memory, memory, memory.

Come. Dowsed in mud. Soaked in bleach.
As I want you to be. As a trend. As a friend.
As an old memory, memory, memory, memory.

And I swear that I don’t have a gun.
No I don’t have a gun. No I don’t have a gun.

Memory, memory, memory, memory (don’t have a gun).

And I swear that I don’t have a gun.
No I don’t have a gun. No I don’t have a gun.
No I don’t have a gun. No I don’t have a gun. Memory, memory…

现代女性 and love

as women evolve, the scales haf been tilted and i wonder where do men stand nw?

the term tat comes to mind when i tink of women is not merely 强 but 强悍

wat’s in it for us if we r stronger den the men?

Music of Definitely Maybe

Definitely Maybe is the title of a hit album from Oasis and one of the songs “Cigarette and Alcohol” is in the soundtrack

the amazing thing abt the soundtrack is lj & i can’t place any of the songs in the show except for the opening song

my fav song from the show is Come As You Are coz it’s like Wills and April’s song and it’s not in the soundtrack!

YY’s chinese spelling

i tried a different method of teaching YY his chinese spelling on fri.

he practised the strokes wif his fingers and i tested him straightaway.

he got 7 of the words rite and and i haf very good vibes abt it. hopefully he rems in skool.

i recall reading an article which says tat mental rehearsal is a lot more powerful den actual doing something

Reward : i got him the Red Rescue Team on sat

friday’s topic of the day

everyone was asking everyone else tis in the office

Topic of the day : are you going for the farewell later?
Most heard answer : No, I know him but he doesn’t know me

World’s Most Innovative Companies 2008

Innovation by Industry:

Financial Services

1 Goldman Sachs Group (GS)

2 Bank of America (BOA)

3 Citigroup (C)

4 ING Groep (INGA)

5 JPMorgan Chase (JPM)

6 HSBC (HSBC)

7 American Express (AXP)

8 Charles Schwab (SCHW)

9 Fidelity Investments

10 Wachovia (WB)

McGriddles

i wonder if it’s nice

i like mac but whenever the kiddos vote for mac, i try to change their minds coz there isn’t much filling food for them there. they haf nbr finished a grilled chicken bun or even 4 pieces of nuggets by themselves.

Citigroup posts $5.1 billion loss for Q1 in 2008

definitely maybe

very nice show! wif fairytale ending

like the idea abt someone being the one for u but didn’t like the way Will and April kept settling for someone lesser and missing the boat for each other for so long

if Will broke up wif his college sweetheart and fell in luv wif apr, y bother to go back to her

is there ‘the one’, definitely!
is there more den one ‘the one’, maybe!

Dope Wars

 

is totally addictive!

i luv tis game!

万名华人华侨巴黎集会支持北京奥运

    

法国学侨界当地时间19日12时-16时在巴黎共和国广场举行支持奥运集会，集会形式包括万人签名、合唱爱国歌曲，华人、华侨、学生代表演讲等。集会主题为“支持北京奥运，反对媒体不公”。

　　截至下午13时记者发稿，现场已聚集了将近一万多人，但是人群仍在不断从四面八方涌来。巴黎共和国广场完全淹没在五星红旗的海洋中，广场上空回荡着华人华侨们此起彼伏的国歌声和口号声。

　　据称，这将是近二十年来法国规模最大的华人大集会，同一天，英国伦敦、德国柏林和美国洛杉矶等城市的华人也将举行类似主题的民间集会和游行。

 

CNN辱华

 

“I don’t know if China is any different, but our relationship with China is certainly different。We’re in hock to the Chinese up to our eyeballs because of the war in Iraq, for one thing. They’re holding hundreds of billions of dollars worth of our paper. We are also running hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of trade deficits with them, as we continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food and export, you know, jobs to places where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff that we’re buying from Wal-Mart. So I think our relationship with China has certainly changed, I think they’re basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they’ve been for the last 50 years.”

CNN主播（卡弗帝）Cafferty在一挡名为“The Situation Room”节目里，使用了几个非常不被中国人熟悉的英语单词，来描述他心中的中国政府形象，这引起了外交部的严重抗议。原话如下：“我不知道中国是不是有什么不同。但我们与中国的关系绝对是不同的。有一件事可以肯定的是，由于在伊拉克打仗，我们已经把身上几乎所有的东西都典当给了中国。他们手拿着我们数以千百亿的美元。我们手上拿的却是数以千百亿价值的贸易逆差。可我们还在继续进口他们的垃圾，上面有超标的铅，还有宠物食品也毒。”“所以，我想，我们与中国的关系真的是改变了。我想他们基本上还是那群过去50年间一直没有什么改变的暴民和匪徒。

YY’s SA 1 spelling words

 

caterpillar

earthworm

terrible

invitation

mosquito net

penniless

vegetables

swarm

echo

sword

dinosaur

fabulous

warlords

bunch of keys

skateboard

prosperous

crumpled

miner

beautiful

tunnel

beware

pupa

delicious

magnetic

comfortable

frightened

rumble

growl

squirm

homemade

 

 

sony ericsson fones

 

wat i can’t stand is, it hangs!

argh!  actualli i still prefer motorola

fatigue

 

juz hit mi like a bag of bricks

beli sudden after i got home and not even related the hrs i slept in tis morn

 

SHG SQ flights

from SQ website :

Singapore Airlines customers flying to and from Shanghai Pudong International Airport should take note that Singapore Airlines flights will begin to operate from Pudong Airport Terminal 2 from 29th April 2008.

US airlines go bust

MyPoints member promo:

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Dope Wars

OMG! Dope wars!

my fav!

情为何物

剪不断，理还乱

les mis cd

for some weird reason, there was a strange and persistent noise when i got to a certain track number of the les mis cd

perplexed, i tried playing it on the lappy and the disc was great

tink my car stereo and the les mis cd are bullying mi

headlights

my left headlight again blew after i changed it so i was quite irritated abt it

den it decided to light up after a few days. which means tat it didn’t blow previously, strange?!

definitely,maybe

under LJ’s strong recommendation, i shall catch tis show

baidu

i luv the top 200 artistes…so many of my fav singers and songs to listen to

Lassi and mysore mutton

juz discovered the great yoghurt drink lassi tdy

tink i tried once at arab st and it was so horrid, sour & wif weird yoghurt taste

a few flavours to choose from : sweet, salty, banana, mango, peach

i had the peach one and it was so good! LJ will luv tis drink!

den we had naan wif mysore mutton which is dry and spicy small mutton chunks. i like tis a lot too!

HELLO-HEEL

is a range of footcare and shoes products from bkk

i luv tis brand coz the products r high grade and truly value for $$ unlike the overpriced scholl products in sg…anyway, the scholl tat we get here is from UK and doesn’t seem related to dr scholls from Schering-Plough.

HELLO has wonderful wonderful heel cushions for the back heel which makes shoes fit so much better

MUJI

was browsing in MUJI while waiting for joc

i started checking the place of origin for the products and omg! almost everything was Made In China (MIC) even YY nows tis term nw

super overpriced lor! tink we r suckers?

the few items made in nippon r their local foodstuff

even the tea leaves r from china. unless they haf factory there, den wat i get in MUJI is the same as wat i get from tea speciality shops in china

winds of change

getting sian

if it’s fate, should hang ard and wait or should go look proactively?

nuthing interesting leh…hard to get out of comfort zone but need new challenges

spit-roasted penguins

dad first posed tis questions many yrs ago

penguins r so round and fat, can eat anot?

i brought tis topic up while we were toking abt eating kangaroos. someone’s comment, the shape of penguins is juz rite for spit roasting….muahhaha…i agree lor

and for comic relief, imagine the eyes of the penguins are crosses

no lah, i m juz being mean, i dun reli intend to eat penguins unless ppl at south pole do

i wonder if it’s too much if i categorise tis posting under food….hehe…ok, juz my raving

Beijing Rooms

* One of the bigger agencies to pre-book many rooms around the city is Sino Star Sports/Beijing
Travel Service ( www.2008service.com ) with rooms from three-star upwards.

there’s a countdown meter on their webpage. it’s 113 days to the opening ceremony on August 8th,2008 of 北京 2008 年奥运会 (Beijing 2008 Olympic Games)

Consumer Banking & Card Units Splits at Citi

 

March 31, 2008 
Citigroup named a veteran retail banker Monday to head its North American consumer banking unit, splitting it off from its credit-card business as Citi struggles to become profitable again after suffering its biggest quarterly loss in its 196-year history.

The latest move is the biggest sign yet that CEO Vikram Pandit, appointed in December, wants to fix Citi’s major parts rather than sell them off to raise cash — at least for now.

It also addresses shareholder concerns over what steps Pandit would take to attract more consumers to Citi’s retail banking unit.

Citi’s worst problems are in its investment banking segment, which made huge losing bets on the mortgage industry. But its bread-and-butter business of lending to and collecting deposits from average people has also been underwhelming shareholders.

Citi is ubiquitous throughout the United States, but in recent years has lost customers to rival banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wachovia Corp.

Pandit’s new hire, Teresa Dial, certainly has an impressive track record.

Dial, 58, spent nearly three decades at Wells Fargo & Co., including serving as president and CEO of its Wells Fargo Bank subsidiary. And since June 2005, Dial has been leading the turnaround of Lloyds TSB Group PLC’s retail banking in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Steven Freiberg — the head of the old global consumer group who will now lead the global credit card business — is bringing to the table about 25 years of credit-card experience at Citi.

And in another change, Pandit is giving more autonomy to executives in Citi’s various locations around the world, most of which are growing faster than the flagging United States. Ajay Banga has been put in charge of the Asia Pacific region; William Mills is leading Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Shirish Apte is head of the Central and Eastern Europe region; and Manuel Mora will continue to oversee Mexico and Latin America.

Overall, the changes point to an effort to decentralize management at the sprawling New York-based company. They appear to rule out either a more radical restructuring, or the sale of a major business or geographic region.

Nearly four months on the job, Pandit has reconfigured Citi’s mortgage business, closed some retail branches and made some new key hires in its investment bank and its risk management.

Citigroup shares rose 59 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $21.42 Monday.

Amid worries about the still-tight credit markets, Citi’s shares recently dropped below $20 — the lowest price since Sandy Weill spearheaded the merger between Travelers Group and Citicorp in 1998 that led to the formation of Citigroup as it’s known today.

Citi’s market capitalization since the summer, right before the mortgage and credit crises blew up, has lost more than 40 percent and sunk to $107 billion. That’s well below what it would take to recreate the company; the Citicorp-Travelers merger back in 1998 was valued at $140 billion.

Analysts expect Citi to write down its portfolio of investments — many of which are backed by mortgages — by an additional $10 billion to $20 billion when it reports first-quarter results in two weeks. Some believe the bank will have to raise more cash by selling additional stakes in itself to outside investors or by slashing its dividend again.

Since November, Citi has sold stakes to investors including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. for a total of $20 billion. It has already reduced its quarterly dividend to shareholders by about 40 percent; if it cut its dividend completely, the bank could raise nearly $7 billion a year.

Citi’s key debt ratios are healthier than they need to be for the bank to be considered “well-capitalized” by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But analysts note that many of its assets were bought at a price that was higher than book value. This extra value is an intangible asset called “goodwill,” and can’t be sold for cash.

And even if Citi has suffered the worst of the credit crunch already, investors — and customers — remain worried about the bank’s ability to grow and be competitive.

So while most investors are looking at Pandit’s restructuring as a way of squeezing the most profits out of Citi’s various arms, the moves may also serve another purpose: allowing each business to become more independent so if Citi is still hurting a year or two from now, Pandit can shed it easily and for a good price.

If the rest of Citigroup incurs a lot of losses, it gives them something to sell.  Even if there are credit card industrywide losses, their credit-card franchise is one of the best in the world.

 

Aches & Massage

i wrote tis on fri when i was aching all over and suffering from stiff neck and back.  i muz be getting old.  i was dying for a masssage but didn’t haf time till following thurs.   wat a prolonged wait!

had my neck and shoulders massage last nite at the salon.   how blissful!

will get my massage soon and next wk got massage from facial…mi is so 幸福!

i realised tat i haben been getting massages since shg, no wonder i was aching.

GE money and Universal Studios

About Universal Studios
Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

About GE Money
With more than $200 billion in assets, GE Money, a unit of General Electric Company,  is a leading provider of retail banking and credit services to consumers, auto dealers and retailers in more than 50 countries around the world.

Flight cancellations

 
American Airlines canceled 595 flights nationwide(US) Friday as it continued working to fix faulty wiring in the wheel wells of its Boeing MD-80 fleet. The world’s largest airline has canceled 3,000 flights since Tuesday, when federal regulators warned that nearly half its planes could violate a safety regulation designed to prevent fires.

i read a few other articles and in struck again by how vulnerable travellers r.  going to the airport and finding ur flights cancelled is one thing.  Not being able to book urself on another flight and not knowing when the next flight is can be so frustrating

mi is 归心似箭 post trip, hope i nbr haf to go thru being stuck at airport.  it’s bad enuff tat i suffer from lost buggage symptom.  i brace myself for my luggage not to appear on the belt as time passes and start planning contingency arrangements and looking for luggage claim counters.

China Unionpay accepted in SG

Visitors from mainland China will now find it easier to go on a plastic-fuelled shopping spree while in Singapore.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) has just signed an agreement with China’s national card network operator, China Unionpay (CUP).

The deal will allow the growing number of Chinese visitors to make payments in Singapore using CUP credit and debit cards.

CUP cardholders can already get cash from ATMs at Singapore’s three local banks: UOB, OCBC Bank and DBS Bank.

However, this is the first deal that allows CUP cardholders to use their cards at retail outlets.

The service is available at merchants who sign up with UOB, which has a 40 per cent share of merchants accepting MasterCard and Visa.

The deal also gives the 1.4 billion CUP credit and debit cardholders the convenience of cashless transactions in their national currency, and special discounts offered by UOB merchants.

UOB currently has 17,000 merchant establishments under its wing ranging, from hospitals and convenience stores to firms in the leisure and telecommunications sectors.

Some of the retailers and service providers who will be accepting CUP cards include hotels like Shangri-La, luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, electronics stores like Best Denki, and dining chains such as the Tung Lok Group.

Merchants interested in tapping the huge influx of Chinese tourists into Singapore have been invited to sign up with UOB to provide the payment service.

Last year, more than a million Chinese tourists visited Singapore – the second-largest group of foreign visitors after Indonesians – and spent more than $1.1 billion. Merchants in Singapore are hopeful that the deal will help boost spending by visitors from China.

CUP is teaming up with UOB for the initiative as it hopes to make the most of the bank’s strong profile in Singapore, especially its strength in the luxury retail sector.

For its part, UOB is capitalising on CUP’s dominance in the Chinese market to build its brand there.

UOB and CUP are also set to launch a new credit card by the end of the year, which will allow Singaporeans to pay for purchases made at retailers worldwide which accept CUP cards as well.

This collaboration is the latest in a series of agreements signed by Singapore banks and China Unionpay to increase the acceptance of CUP’s cards in Singapore.

US airlines go bust

Frontier Airlines is the latest airline to file for bankruptcy,

Its processor, First Data Corp changed its policy and imposed ‘holdback’ on Frontier Airlines’ sales.

While it’s not uncommon that banks processing airline credit card transactions hold a certain amount of a carrier’s proceeds in their own accounts until a passenger completes his or her travel, it is unusual for a processor to suddenly change its cash withholding policy, analysts say.

The move ends a policy under which First Data Corp, passed on most money from ticket sales to Frontier. The change is intended to protect First Data, which would be on the hook for ticket refunds if Frontier stops flying. Frontier plans to continue operating while in bankruptcy.

ATA Airlines, Skybus Airlines and Aloha Airlines all have filed for bankruptcy in recent weeks. Champion Air plans to shut down and MAXjet Airways went bankrupt in December. High fuel prices and falling demand are some of the common factors

 

China visas

 

heard tat China Multi Entry Visas on hold till after Olympics

汽车

 

yes i like, not juz those on the rds…haha

if onli tis is all i need to do

 

 

Taxes

 

Rem to file your taxes!  Deadline is till 18th Apr for efiling

We Will Rock You Memorabilia

I luv the magnet and dog tag!

 

 

Pretty Estelle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Free Spirit

The Free Spirit — Like celeb mommies Kate Hudson and Maggie Gyllenhaal, you’re a laid-back, go-with-the-flow kind of gal. You prefer to let your natural beauty shine through and to wear clothes that are colorful and comfortable. As a mom, you’re focused on giving your kids the freedom to express themselves and the space to develop their own way of being in the world. You’re not big into routines, but you are into creativity, free play, and lots and lots of laughter. Your kids appreciate your low-stress take on life and your ability to inject fun and lightheartedness into almost any situation. They’re the ones most likely to be running naked on the beach, sand all over their faces, with smiles as big as the ocean.

We Will Rock You!

bouquets :

good script & plot, witty dialogue, lotsa humour and great performances by the actors and actresses

 

My fav lines :

i m madonna and i’m a virgin

victoria beckham died to save us

chick is only second to bitch

rock stars don’t die, they juz fade away (in las vegas!)

 

 

bats :

killer queen was so muffled i couldn’t catch wat she’s saying

the ending was abit abrupted and not tat brilliant a job done at moving the crowd

 

We Will Rock You! picts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

evans rd

 

else i forget tis road name again

tis is the road from bt timah tat brings u ard the botanical gdns, past a prata place and to holland where u can turn left to gleneagles or right into minden rd and dempsey

i wanted to take tis route and make a u-turn into dempsey coz i didn’t noe i can turn right and den into minden.  good thing, i took a chance when i got to holland rd

anyway, both dot and i noes evans rd as in we noe where it leads to and wat’s along the rd but both of us can’t rem the road name

tis is not the first time i take tis rd so i was beli confident tat i’ll noe the road name when i see it

juz before stevens rd and after robin walk/rd/lane, we came to the conclusion tat we muz haf passed the rd we want to turn into and was looking for alt routes

so happy when i spotted evans rd not long after passing stevens

OMG! I hate cats!

 

shit sit holy shit!

i can hear a few cats making so much screeching noises at nite!

damn eerie lor, i hate cats!

 

Blast from the past

OMG! Cat Alert!

 

i juz heard my neighbour’s daughter go ‘Meow, Didi’ outside my door and she seems to b searching below the flower pots.   OMG!  Cat Alert!

刁蛮公主

 

last episode liao~!   missed it on tv but luckily i oredi found all the episodes on youtube

one episode is usually split into 5 parts so i’ll open all 5 parts and watch when the loading is complete so i dun haf to wait for the streaming

 

my schedule for tonite

 

i m feeling quite inspired after visiting little estelle so wana make something for her as a full mth present

101 things i wana do tonite, including some work

there’s no time to waste when inspiration hits!

Histeria

 

the plot sounds interesting enuff, 5 schoolgirls staying in a dorm who pretended to b histerical and possessed.   the horror starts when one of them dies

i regret going for the show as soon as it started.  i m a scaredy cat and horror flicks r reli not my cup of tea

i braced myself for scary scenes but thank goodness there wasn’t many so i survived pretty well.  but no thanks, no more horror films for mi

lion dance QQ

 

 

 

 

 

Cambodia Landmine Museum

 

the cambodia landmine museum left a deep impression on mi as tis is where i saw the happiest and most innocent children in cambodia. and all this ‘goodness’ arise from the ugliness of war as irresponsible individuals condone and advocate the use of weapons meant not juz to kill but to maim

the kids staying there are landmine victims and haf gone thru a lot more pain emotionally and physically den i can imagine. yet i haf onli fond memories of them, ‘aki ra’s boys’ as they were called for last yr’s SIFF video. their thirst for knowledge, desire to learn using very limited flashcards and stationery and their cheerfulness and playfulness as they splished splashed and dived in the river behind the landmine museum remain firmly entrenched in my mind and touched mi.

after browsing their new site, i reli feel like revisiting cambodia and seeing the new facility for myself.

The directions from their website
The new facility is located 6 km south of Banteay Srey Temple on the main road leading from Siem Reap. It is located on the right hand side of the road if you are traveling north towards the temple. Admission to the museum is a donation of $1. All contributions to the NGO are utilized for the facility’s sustainable relief programs and humanitarian outreach.

New friend

i m very AS on IM and FB. i will ignore all friends and chat requests from ppl i don’t know

juz made an exception for someone who stated it’s for parking wars

it brought an immediate smile to my face and i haf to gif my fellow parking wars addict cum new friend credit for being candid

dustin tri nguyen

 

the villian in the show.  fantastic acting!

i was searching for his info when i found out he’s also on dead or alive.

the funniest thing was, as i walked home from the carpark, i thot abt the four heavenly kings

bonus to the link on dead or alive : there’s a foto of dustin and daniel !

as i read his profile i realised he’s of Little Fish fame.  the name sounds familiar.   guess wat?  i watched Little Fish during SIFF 06

 

The Rebel *****

 

wat an amazing show!  i’d gif it 5 stars *****

the synopsis looks interesting enuff to mi to make it one of the only 2 shows i m catching for SIFF tis yr.  but it doesn’t even half reveals how action packed and amazing the show is!

tis is the first viet show for mi so i didn’t know wat to expect but one thing’s for sure, i would nbr haf imagined the show to showcase such high standards of action scene and chereography!

the storyline is simple and the execution is brillant.  the couple running away wif the enemy hot on their heels remain mi so much of 十面埋伏

the action in the show can certainly match up to hollywood standards!  no wonder too when after the show, there was a Q&A session with the director Charlie Nguyen and Dustin Tri Nguyen, it was mentioned tat Dustin and Johnny are both actors and stuntmen in hollywood.  in fact, johnny has done spiderman and pirates so most of us would haf seen him/his body

the martial arts moves in the show is unlike any tat one has seen.  as dustin explains, martial arts r also an integral part of vietnamese culture and tis traditional art has not been captured on film before.

it’s an interesting period of time in vietnam tat the movie covers.  the vietnam/american war has been shot to death so it was refreshing to see another piece of vietnamese history.  the freedom fighters’ rise against french colonisation of vietnam is touching.

the female lead’s acting is also good and i m equally impressed by her moves

 

Gangster QQ

DWYW

 

means Do What You Want, according to YY

The Mischievous Princess

 

i haf decided to watch it on youtube….hehe

parking wars is up

 

it came back on immediately after i complained!  magic~

parking wars down

for 2 days liao!   sibeh sian!

QQ in ladybird CNY dress

Lou Hei @ fav family restaurant

teochew style yusheng…yummy!

the restaurant has come a long way from coffeeshop to the restaurant tdy

Lights at Loyang Pek Kong during CNY

YY and flowers

QQ

YY @ Playground

tis ‘toy’ at the public playground is amazing.  juz wind up by turning the blue knob and it’ll play some recording…so high tech!

 

kiddos at downtown east during cny

kiddos in the house

pussy willow sprouts

 

mum bought a ‘live’ pussy willow for CNY which grew sprouts!

i m so amazed but alas, the plant did not survive long in our tropical climate