Singapore botanical gardens!

Shrugs, I cant get to sleep. And for whatever reasons that cause my insomia tonight, im going to make good use of the hours and minutes awake.

the singapore botanical garden has always been a must-go on the roommate's list of 'parks to visit', however, im always more keen towards air-con & shopping la. it wasnt until labour day, which we met his uncle & auntie, that sparkled my interest towards the national icon. simple, his auntie was hoo-ha-ing about how great that place is for family gatherings and blah blah blah and the 3 of them started discussin bout the park! and guess what?? i know nuts bout the place and i kept quiet throughout their discussion. it was all question marks, question marks, question marks... and i drove him, or rather, we decided to go there right after dinner that very night.

alright, couldnt really appreciate the park in the dark and i was kinda scared, so we retreated after a good 30 min? hee. and we went again 3 days later in the day! the roommate has been nursin his dental wounds since friday and couldnt work and me, being a kind, nice & understandin gf, decided to bring him out for a breather on sunday (during my free slots in the afternoon, whaha).

greetings from singapore botanical gardens!

er, the photos cant seem to be able to upload, weird. and man, im feelin a lil' sleepy now. so good nite!

photos will be up sooon!!! =)

Ugly Singaporean.

*This entry was supposed to be posted on sunday, 4th May.*

An incident today led me to think of blinkmummy's similar experience a couple of weeks ago. And I reckon none is as big a fan of hers as i am , i pasted the exact story from this particular entry 'The Singaporean Squeeze' of hers, dated on 6 April 2008 sunday, below. nothing illegal or against the laws right?

"Anyway, back to our weekend...

Spent a good part of the day walking around Orchard Road like tourists. Despite the crowd, it's really quite enjoyable to go to that part of town once in a while. Though the parking charges could be lower. Think we paid like SGD12 for 4-5 hours. That's crazy, but not as crazy as some incident we had encountered at the URA carpark on Kovan last Friday evening. 'Good Fren' picked me up from Raffles Place. Because it was Friday and town was packed, we decided to have some laid-back dinner away from town. Teochew Porridge at Kovan! So, we drove through the crazy traffic. We got to the URA carpark and waited for a lot. A car in a lot diagonally behind us was leaving. We got really excited. Then a blue sports car drove by and stopped beside us. "Are you gonna take that lot?" asked the yuppie chirpily. "We would!!" replied 'Good Fren'. So, the blue sports car moved forward to make space for our reverse motion. Just then, a Toyota Altis slid right in that lot. We were like... What the... So we honked at the car full of people. The driver was a woman in her fifties, a grey-haired old man in the passenger seat. In the back seat, another woman (resembles the driver but slightly younger), a maid, and a kid (probably two years old) strapped to the baby seat. At first, they did not react to the honking. We thought they couldn't hear coz the car park was very busy. After a while, it was obvious that they were just ignoring the honking. Ok, here is the dilemma. Keywords: Elderly people, Baby, Parking lot, Hungry. Being young(er) able-bodied individuals, we could have let them have the lot. All was fine and within the realm of decency until the driver got out of her car and shouted indignantly, "Please lah!! 我的Baby哭到这样了... 你park别的lah..." At the same time, the old man had stepped out and removed the child from the back seat. She was quiet as a mouse. "哪里有哭？" we asked in the most bemused manner. (Have you met people who get their little children to cut queue for them and stuff?) Just then, the woman in the back seat emerged from the back seat and shouted, "You overshot already, ok!" Flipping the argument from 'urgent crying baby' to 'right of way'. Then the two women started to discuss, and looking around at the carpark which was totally jammed with cars seeking lots. "你也懂没有位ah?" I said loudly. "你哪里可以这样？Buah Paiseh ah?" 'Good Fren' said loudly. Then the woman driver put an end to the situation. She shouted very loudly,

"我就是BUAH PAISEH!"

FWAH... Win!! Dunno whether to laugh or not... For a parking lot, this woman is willing to announce her shamelessness in a public carpark. Ok, it's very clear she wants the lot very much for whatever reason. Just take and go. Her emotions must have gotten to her, because even though she remembered to display the parking coupon, she forgot to switch off her the light in her car. However, she stood at about 20m away from her car and did not walk back to switch it off. Instead, she passed her car key to a young man (probably her son/nephew from another car in his late 20s/early 30s) who did it for her. We saw this because we eventually parked in a lot near where she was standing. Someone, who witnessed the incident, had kindly found a lot for us. And it must be fate!! Our feeding destination was the same Teochew porridge stall. Their group was quite large. At least one other carful of people. They had wanted to sit at a table just beside ours when the lady in the back seat saw us. They then moved to the farthest part of the stall. =))) I must say I am rather appalled by their behaviour. If they had explained their situation politely, regardless whether the kid had really been crying, we would have given up the lot to them. I think it might be a case of these people being unable to handle stressful situations. Hence, the most primal reaction is to put up a fierce front. Too bad she lost it in the end. 'Good Fren' was trying to make sense of the situation. He thought some philosophers must have mulled over such incidents. Yes. This is where the concepts of karma, punishment by a greater being etc come into play. Where the helpless individual place his trust that somehow it will be set right. There are others who do it differently. 路霸s or Road Bullies are more 'pro-active'. They attempt to set things 'right' on their own. But to be really honest, I believe some people do get away with such behaviour and deeds at no cost. That family, made up of at least 8 adults ranging from those in 20s to at least 70s, did not undo the situation. They simply carried on with their dinner as planned. As long as they get what they want. After a quick dinner, we walked back to the carpark and passed our parking coupon to the next vehicle that parked. This is not a demonstration of moral superiority. We do this all the time. The truck driver was all serious-faced when 'Good Fren' knocked on his window, but melted into a wide smile once he understood 'Good Fren's intentions. We wanna thank the yuppie in the sports car for passing the lot to us, even though we did not manage to park in it. =_= We also wanna thank the middle age man who secured the 2nd lot for us. He did it and disappeared into the dark Friday evening. We didn't have a chance to thank him. Civil people do exist. No doubt about it. Just that those ugly ones stand out a lot more."

er, ugly right? i met one today. wasnt too pissed off, but nevertheless, i guess it was uncalled for. yes, wasnt very pissed off, but i still took a picture of his car. bleah!

similar scenario, whole family going for dinner and dad (i assume, since he's the driver) dropped everyone (kids, aunties, old granny) behind my car. at the same time, a couple walked towards their car, which is right behind me and of cos, in front of uncle.

and as i signalled for that lot, uncle did the same thing too! before i can do anything, he already inched himself nearer to the lot. wth! uncle, i WAS HERE FIRST! and even though i must admit that you were like 30cm nearer to the lot than i was, based on the unspoken rule of ethical drivers like most of us, i should have gotten the lot instead of u.

1. i was here first.
2. the lot was not as if it's very far for me and very near for u.
3. i signalled before u were here that im waiting for a lot, so dont u dare give me crap like u dont know i was waiting for a lot.
4. i signalled for the lot before the car was coming out.
5. uncle didnt even dare to look at me when i looked back. yes, he didnt look straight or in front. stop the pretense that you cant see me nor the car!

no matter what, there's no reason you should have gotten the lot unless i tell you that i dont want it. and guess what happened after he parked the car and went off? he came back!!! at first, i thought he came to check if he needed to put coupon or not until the roommate realized that he 'loitered' around the carpark. the fact is, the notice is right in front of my car and instead of going straight to it and check it out, he walked the stretch of roads behind us and checked out every car behind.

GUILTY & AFRAID THAT WE MIGHT DO SOMETHING TO YOUR CAR???

lucky for you, we are civil people. in the end, he left only until we got a lot. so there it is, a picture of his car. nice car. not so nice driver though. and yes, we saw him & the family again at alexandra food centre but i didnt bother to even stare at him though im quite tempted to made some snide remarks when i walked by their table. haha.

on a different note, was at this wang cafe in bt panjang plaza that mornin for appts and god, can somebody do something bout their level of efficiency and service?!? my client waited for 25 min in the queue before he could get us a cup of ice coffee & ice lemon tea each, and there was only like 8 person in front of him & there were at least 4 workers in the store!

their sales process go like this:

1. order & payment at cashier.
2. jammed up the whole counter after that because,

-miss-coffee-maker doesnt know who order what or what are the orders, so after the customers pay, they have to wait for their turn to 'inform' the miss-coffee-maker what he/she has paid for.
what kind of service is this?
- classic line from one of the auntie behind the counter:

我哪里有时间打蛋？

then what? are we supposed to do everything ourselves??? actually, they're just very messy. afterall, i dont see other coffee joints such as toast box & ya kun having similar issues.

...

scary!!!

finally, the impact of aging hit me and it hit me hard. of course, even more so when it came from someone who's supposedly to suffer the aging process & consequences more than i do - mama dearest.

our usual conversation before i get out for work goes like that...

me: mama, do i look fat in this?
mum: yes, u look so damn fat.
*i pray it's sacarsm & not the truth, haha. & of cos, she didnt use the word damn and whether or not i look fat that day will depend greatly on both her mood and patience at that instant*
me: ok, going out then. will be back home around xx time.
mum: the sun is so strong, arent u goin to carry an umbrella with u?
me: nope, i dont need that.
mum: have u got water with u?
me: yes, in my bag.

some extra lines today...
mum: oh, there're lines on your neck! are they wrinkles???
me: nah, think the lines are due to my fats.
mum: i dont think so, they look like wrinkles to me. see, told u that u need to protect your skin...blah blah blah..apply sunblock...blah blah blah..umbrella..blah blah blah
me: ... while the red alert siren rang through my head, heart and soul.

sulks. indeed, my skin looked dry and dehydrated.

i must say mama dearest is aging pretty graciously, thanks to her olay hazeline cream & some other stuff she uses consistently.

i was never an advocater for skin-care products and all even though my gfs are all slaves to skincare! i find it a hassle and chore to use them consistently. note, the key word is consistently. i've tried to have a routine previously but gave up after a while. i supposed i should start using them again and yeah, consistently. especially so when the weather these days have been fucking hot and humid. to kickstart, i must bring along my facial spray outdoors from tmr on, so as to keep my skin hydrated and moist at all times!

best evidence of my nonchalance towards skincare?
my l'oreal toner has been in my cupboard since uni days and im both proud & ashamed to announce that it's still perhaps 92% full!

ok, i know - it's time to get some skincare products.

it's the weekends again!

that's fast. somewhat, time just passes tick-tockishly these days. yeah i know, that's an understatement. major sighs.

first up, chang's 25th on labour day, 1st May! it must have been hard on auntie, labour & labour. haha, er, i know that's absolutely lame! anyway, we were supposed to be in zouk, but of course, anyone could have guessed that zouk was damn packed. and we had to wait for almost 2 hours (since 930pm for kj & yc) even when we were in the citibank priority queue. how crappy can that be? we backed off when we were the next in queue, cos we concluded that given the super-duper huge crowd, it's gonna be squeezy and hot inside.

worse, where in zouk were we going to put our liquor??? gone were the days of 2 jugs of long island tea yeah, now we talked bottles! so we moved on, went around from butter factory to double o and hell, double o was as packed and the queue was pretty atrocious. went back to bf, definitely a new experience cos it was all hip-hop. drinks were affordable since 4 of the covers were waived if we took a bottle (which was also our intention), no more tables available but we managed that with the bar space. and it was party time! another record time set for our bottle of chivas, even though there was a little differences in opinion. i have really no idea if we'd finished our bottle faster in lunar or butter fac. no matter, chivas overdose. and i still have a good amount of at least 3 bottles at home.

pictures time! courtesy from keet. =)

some poses and all. we were pretty high, and i guaranteed this is the first time ever i couldnt really walk straight. i wonder why? drank as much or even more than lunar, thus, i attributed it to my empty stomach. i was so famished that i finished the rice (less grace's portion) of our bah ku teh. and see the pics, almost everyone was on the way to lala-land except for our banker kj la! if he was too, he had concealed it rather well. anyway, i bet there were more unglam pictures. haha. and yc, must train harder ar; we'll bring your to lunar the next round. as keet mentioned, guess our natural progression from zouk will be at lunar then. a pretty fun place to be in and drey dear, i missed you!!! =)

next up, yunn's bday at rochester park's north border! *photos from ah-goh*

yeah, photos are SOP during uob gatherings and everyone of us got to pose with our food. haha, some things just never change. =) food at north border was fabulous, especially the steak, seafood pasta and the ribs! anyway, love the ambience there though we might be attacked by mozzies here and there. heehee. a nice heart-to-heart talk place yeah.

found another good hangout place in the day, gloria jeans @ raffles city basement, located just in front of mph. was there with the partner last week, and we've got ourselves comfy sofa seats. nice la. a different feeling from pacific coffee @ vivo though. pac. coffee is quieter and yes, serene while gloria jeans, because of it's location, is the exact opposite. not too noisy while we were there though, cos it was a weekday afternoon. haha.

lastly, this is what i call an accessible toilet!

location of this toilet, raffles city basement. good for patrons who have a lot of stuff with them and badly need more space for their precious cos some stuff e.g. the laptop, cannot be hung behind the door! good job yeah!

*partner! send me the photos of our little adventure @ hv yeah, thanks lots. haha.*

yet another weekend.

kickstarted the weekends with lots and lots of food with both my tt comrades and the gang. it's simply sinful, fattening and argh, what more can i say?

had a late and super-duper satisfying (and, to some extent, i-feel-like-puking) food at jack's place with my tt comrades at parkway this afternoon. we were too hungry and engrossed with our food to take any pics yah. but, i did some shoots while inside alvin's car. =)

the verdict is: jack place still serves good food and the student meals are dirt cheap, or rather, damn affordable la. ala carte is almost 150% more ex yeah! a pity that we cant get student prices anymore. shrugs.

nightfall came and i proceed to holland.v's harry. when i reached at 8 plus (note: lunch was at 3pm) , astonishment overwhelmed me as i saw lots of meat and deep fried foodies on the table. i really wanted to puke at that moment, i was so, so, so bloody full from the jack's place and more yummilicious western platter? also, almost the whole gang had turned up. see my contradiction? i really wanted to eat again but not only did my stomach say no, my heart veto to it too. i just couldnt face anymore food until i had a few sips of my tasty harry bellini. i heart! =) the jumbo platter @ harry is fantastic! thanks chang for ordering, love it!!! i would have finished up everything if not for the bloat in my stomach. haha.

no pics taken, but the platter is a three-tier combination of spicy chicken wings & drumlets with wedges, fried spring rolls and samosas, and calamaris with fish fillets. bagus! of course, it came with three different dips, cheese, sweet & sour and some sourish dip which i didnt try. hee.

nowadays, we couldnt seem to stay put in one place. after we called for the bill, we switched over to wala thinking we could catch some live band and more drinks but alas, we couldnt even get access to upstairs, much less any seats. wala was damn crowded! so we've decided to visit this bistro place opened by yc's friend further down, 2am dessertbar. the ambience is gorgeous and i bet bth the roommie & the partner will love it there, just that the partner will like it more, cos it's a girlies thingy. haha, it's a really comfy place. couldnt get a shoot of the sofa seats though cos they were constantly occupied by patrons.

we ordered a variety of food.
first up is gracie's prawn linguini, i tried a mouth, yes nicely cooked but the portion looks rather small. haha.

and then, tada! all the desserts!!! drey's chocolate tart, my twix, yc's blackberry and chang's tiramisu. and lastly, the green tea malted cookies were on the house. =) all tastes good and both the chocolate and expresso ice-cream were home-made. yums. but of course, personally, i felt that yc's blackberry which comprises of small balls of sorbet is not very value for money la, no matter how refreshing they tasted, haha. i love my twix though, it's a mix chocolate moouse, caramel, and peanut crumbles, so chocolaty!

the whole bill came up to $130.90. ha, up to you to decide if it's worth it. no doubt we can appreciate it, but guess we're still pretty much heartlanders within to say we're willing to spend so much bucks on them. er, get what i mean?

anyway, the roommie gave me a sweet surprise the other day. a multi-colour pen!!! hee, it's what i wanted. thanks baby.