Don't Miss A Call

Property sales agents treasures each and every call that comes in at all times of the day. A missed call may mean a missed potential for business. In a meeting or during an appointment, they may have missed some important calls from their important clients or enquiries. To know who these callers are, using a feature called Reverse Mobile Phone Lookup is a great idea. At least you know in advance when the caller comes up again, you will be available and prepared to answer the call in the most professional manner.

Enchanted By This Song

I have been watching Enchanted with my daughters repeatedly because they love it. The story is actually a combination of various Disney's classic fairy tales, all conjoured into a semi cartoon, animation, life and musical fairy tale! My girl could identify Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and more in just this one show that started with cartoon briefly, real characters in the middle, some computer animation and ends in cartoon form. I thought it was entertaining and the best part is, the song is really addictive! We played them both in Chinese and English version too.

I found myself humming and singing those few lines that the kids love and even my helper sings it without realising it..

We all are really addicted to this show because the girls will bring it with them to watch in the car DVD when we drive out to town! Only the driver misses out but I noticed he sneaked some glances at the screen at traffic lights... Yes, it is very addictive.

I've got a video of the song here if you wanna catch it. Enjoy!

Getting A Good Grip Finally

Can you imagine how bad the state of my tennis racquets have become? The overgrips were all coming out and sticking to my hands. hahaha. Certainly they neeed to be re-wrapped! Lazy ol me, I still can play tennis with them in the past weeks, not bothering with it until end of the game, I just give my hands a good scrub.

Peeling off, then it sticks to your hands,
to your face - if you wipe your face..lol

Rae's racquet has Roger Federer's face and
signature on the cover. Nice?

Okay Okay, so I thought I better go and do something. Especially last week when the state of my girl's junior racquet was also coming off! It was just hilarious. Rae places tissue on the racquets and it becomes shredded after a few hits. She then rubs her face, scratches hands or knees and you see her looking like a black monkey end of the game! See this mommy.. let the kids suffer this helpless situation.

So yesterday, I dropped by Royal Sporting House at the last hour when they were about to close and pick the Overgrips for racquets. The cheapest with 3 grips straps cost $7.20 only. Some of them had only one but I have to wrap 4 racquets, so I thought I shall pick 3 that needed to be wrapped first.

4 Racquets, 3 Overgrips. Pick which 3?

This afternoon, I started to take off the old ones. It was really yucky and I have pictures to show...LOL look how my hands become after the end of the process! It took about 10 minutes scrubbing with a scouring pad...

The process of banding the grips.

Yucky hands! Would you gladly shake this hand if I win the match? LOL

All looking nice and clean. No more patches!
But I didn't do a great job at the final part.
My hands were all yucky and it was difficult to band it.

Rooms In Your Garden

Whenever I bring the girls to the zoo, we sometimes take a little rest at a little indoor shed located along the way. Those are little indoor huts, built to make zoo trips more comfortable as they are air conditioned and also it also helps to get shelter from the rain too. I always thought these shelter areas are a good idea. And I definitely would love to have one outdoor at mom's place if she don't mind giving up the old worn out garage. We do not need the garage because it is basically just a storage space and full of junk collected over the years.

I came across this website that actually build something what they call, a garden room. Small like a room or customized slightly larger, it can be built up like an indoor shelter, an extra space for the kids play area or even use it for your little barbeque dining area. The smallest build up area is 8 sq metres and it can be built to as large as 30 sq metres.

The Garden Escape, the company that specializes in this brilliant product, offers many different designs for different functions. A condo development can build this to house gym equipments, sauna, house developer can also have this build near development sites for their temporary offices and schools can even have them for arts and crafts room or a little library.

I definitely would love to have them as a little space for painting and craftwork. Wiring, power points, water and telephone access points can be arranged for these little garden rooms too. There is no limitation. Imagine how wonderful to have a little comfortable piece of heaven in your garden. Wouldn't you like that?

Murphy's Law. My Washer is Broken too.

The end is here. My washer died. In the past few weeks, it had been giving me problems. We got this in early 2000 so it should be close to 7 or 8 years old by now. This is the second of the same model that we bought in the last 14 years. We liked this washer because it has a stainless steel drum and the operation similar to the front loading except that the opening is from top. When I first got this, I couldn't believe my eyes when the advertisement showed a raw egg with a lipstick stain being placed to be washed. End of the cycle, the stain was washed and the egg wasn't broken. So when our first Thomson showed signs of stress after 7 years, we got another of similar model.

The new Thomson washers can only take at most 5.5kg and both the ones previously we have been using are only 5kg in capacity because it was bought in before or early 2000. Now the belt doesn't hold the stainless steel drum down and when it spins, you probably think that some one is using a cake mixer! It is so loud. The past two weeks, at the end of the spin cycle, it trips the house power down. We definitely need a new washer. This one has to go. It consumes electricity and water for this model. But I liked it's features and the hot water mode alot.

So last Sunday we decided to get a Japanese brand to replace it instead. The Government is now encouraging those models with the 'tick' sign for energy savings and also water saving feature. European brands that we saw in Courts, Best Denki and Harvey Norman did not have these features. Many of them recommended Japanese or Korean models. We were torn between the Hitachi and Sanyo but decided that the Sanyo design is much more pleasing to the eyes. I didn't like the Hitachi ones because there are too many lines and designs on top. I prefer something streamlined and simple.

My new washer was delivered yesterday. It looks good and small compares to other bulky models but none can ever be compared with Thomson, of course. We had to dismantle the shelving cabinet for extra 4" of space our Thomson was only 16 inches wide and the new one is 20 inches wide.

The width of my old Thomson model was only 16" wide

My new Sanyo is 20" wide (no hot water feature)

Hangs Up After 3rd Ring

I received 3 calls last week from the same number. The caller did not let it ring for more than 3 or 4 times. It is irritating when this happens. Surely you don't expect a person to be picking calls by the third ring. When it rang, I was driving and tried to fix my handsfree on. I do not recognize the number but am curious who the caller is. A way to find out is by a feature call Caller Identification. It is the place where you can actually search a database to find out the owner of the number and other particulars too. If I do not know this person, I will put this number up in their listing for all to see.

When A Gesture is Vulgar

It was like any other day. I was in the lift with my 8 year old daughter. I was sending her to school. The lift took a while because traffic is usually heaviest in the mornings with residents going for work. We were in the lift. A neighbour was inside, when the lift stops further down about 4th or 6th level, a couple came in. We exchanged smiles.

Horror of all horrors! Did you know what my girl did?


She clenched her hands into a fist, and beat into the palm of her other hand. She repeated the process till we reached ground level.....


OMG!!! Did you know what that looks like? Oh No! She was just as innocent as any other child. She didn't know better! I didn't dare to look at the others in the lifts. Not sure what they thought! I just can't tell her in front of them either.

I hope they thought along the lines, no problem. She's just a kid. Or did they just snigger behind the 'masks?' Perhaps they thought.. this girl must have picked it up from home.. Thoughts ran through my mind.. oh no oh no...

In the car, I said... Rae, half whispering, half sounding in desperation. Did you know that you cannot punch your fist in your palm like that? I showed her how she did it. She asked.. "Why, Mummy? Why?" I said because that is an action of a bad word. A vulgar word... She told me her classmates in her class did that so she followed. I said, then you should tell them what your mummy told you why girls shouldn't do that.... She didn't quite understand why. I told her that it means something rude. She agreed to do that.. Well, I hope she does...

All Grown Up

I was going through old photos this morning. Time really flies. I was looking at the girls' pictures when they were babies and how much they have grown to be cheeky girls now. Lea used to be that quiet little baby that many neighbours in the estate used to come to crowd around to. They all loved her and no one could ever get to carry her because she would cry out loud if anyone would even go near. And Rae had been more sociable because she grew up as my little helper in the restaurant, serving up plates of chips for her neighbour friends. And bullied the staffs by demanding for unlimited supply of ice cream.

They have really grown, and I feel so proud of both of them. Now, like every mom, I guess the only dreaded thing is when they grow up, and leave the nest...

Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights

Jewish population, according to 2007 statistics was estimated at about 13.2 million people. Out of these, 41% lived in Israel. Their religion, Judaism is among the oldest religions that are still widely practiced today. They celebrate an eight day holiday, called Hanukkah, that is also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is celebrated about the same time as Christmas. To understand more about the celebration and traditional practices, Jewish Chatrooms are wonderful places to be, to chat and make new friends.

I Enjoyed The Palmistry Talk

Last week during the Mid Autumn Festival, I happened to be in Fajar in the west where they had a carnival and some activities. Although not intending to be around, I ended up staying there a short while because there was a lady in heavily accented Shanghainese mandarin talking about Palmistry.

It was certainly very interesting and I sat throughout to listen to her but I wished I had someone who could translate the chinese proper for me then. She spoke about the prominent lines, like the head, heart, luck/fate and love lines. This lady had been a resident in Singapore for about 14 years and has practised palmistry reading for a long time in Hong Kong before she came to Singapore.

Since that day, I've been searching Palmistry websites and trying to read my own palm! Interesting, eh.

Reviewing Websites

I love to browze shopping sites when I am home. Most of the time I also like to check out prices of household gadgets because I am just terribly addicted to it. I've been looking for a particular Cuisinart Coffee Maker for a long time. I wanted a particular one touch auto type and not the type that needs to run through a coffee filter.

Many stores that sell these products are located in the US and they do not ship to Asia. I have not found any agent that sells this product. It is very disappointing. Some of these stores are highly recommended as Top Websites for their sales, support, quality and more. What a disappointment that these websites have nice products but has shipping limitations. I believe I should be the first to Write a Website Review, based on shipping restrictions.

Hello Kitty Flask

I bought this cute Hello Kitty thermal flask for hot and cold food just a week ago. I needed one cos the one that I had was lost since Lea was about a year old. We had brought her congee out and my helper only told me two weeks after I asked her where the flask was. She has a habit of keeping these things and only tell me when I asked. It was the same when I one day found why did my crystal tortoise had one of the legs glued with scotched tape. She told me that she had dropped it and it broke. I was really upset because she should have told me that when it happened. Not because the crystal was expensive but because I don't like the idea of keeping broken crystal glass as it may be dangerous.

She also broke both the glass covers of my Vision cookwares, my six month old laundry hanger, my favourite coffee cup with my name and also lately the thermos for boiling water. I think she is really very careless with my things. What I really don't like is that she don't tell me until when I am looking at it or why it doesn't work and then she tells me it is broken. Gosh, just mentioning these, I am growing furious. Better stop now.

Chatroom for All Faiths

There are many different religions and faiths in the world. We have to give our respect to each and everyone of them in their beliefs and not try to change them to follow our ways. Many chatrooms are being created to provide social interraction and know each other such as hobbies, cultures, language and even Christianity. There is one that was created for Christian Men and Women for the benefit of those who need support or just widen their circle of friends.

Dates for Seniors

I've seen many elderly people having a good time on trips with their friends. As we grow older, we worry about who our friends are and if we might live alone all by ourselves. It is not too bad if one has a spouse to accompany till the twilight years but there are some who prefer to be single. There are chatrooms such as Senior Dating online to keep these elderly people occupied so they can mingle and get to know one another. It can prove to be fun to meet new people of their age.

Not A Fine But An Angry Reaction

I dropped my elder to school this morning quite early. Then when I came back, I wanted to park next to a grey Matrix. To my disappointment, I found that the driver had parked a little over the allocated lot and forced me to look for another parking space. Otherwise I would not be able to open the car door on my side.



When I walked past the car, I noticed that someone had placed a little note on this car.. guess not only me who had the same thought. Guess what this other person wrote on the note.



I wonder if the driver had parked it this way because he was in a hurry yesterday or he really didn't care? I know who the owner of this car and the couple had always been arrogant. Even the helper is always pulling a long face when she washes the car. This is karma... hehehe

Websites That Deserve The Mention

We get most of our resources and information through the internet lately. From educational, entertainment, games to retail therapy and services, it is a massive world out there. If you would like to share some good reviews about the sites you have visited or just want to voice out some unhappiness or bad experience with any, User Website Reviews is the place for you. Let us know why some Top Websites deserve the mention. Save your precious time and avoid the sites that have bad reviews too.

Makes Perfect Half Boiled Eggs!

I have been trying to get my maid to make the perfect half boiled egg. And it never comes out perfect. Sometimes the egg is too small, too big, not in room temperature or the egg is out from the fridge.

I tried the old fashioned way of covering the eggs in water, pour it out and add hot water again and cover for about 10minutes. Yet it doesn't come out right. I like my egg whites opaque and not too runny. Do you have the perfect method for half boiled eggs?

So to make things easier, I bought this Half Boiled Egg maker. All you need is to put the eggs (up to 4 nos) in the container. When the water is boiling hot, pour into it according to the measurement line (1, 2, 3, 4 lines equal nos of egg). When the water drips down completely, that means the eggs are ready. Easy Peasy!

Goths Stick Together

In society now, there will alway be those who finds that they do not fit in the way life is set out for many. Those who have sought their own free thinking ways are sometimes subject to society rejection and these people have found their own subculture. They are none other than the Goths, who finds solace and acceptance among themselves. Those who have found themselves within their world have even found their own Goth Match as lifelong partners. Goths can be found in many places and their varied tastes for music, clothes and looks had even started a trend in the fashionable world. Interesting.

Painted Skin

If you enjoy an exciting action thriller, perhaps you might want to catch this movie. Titled Painted Skin. This is directed by Gordon Chan, starring Vicky Zhao and Donnie Yen. A young man who fell into the trap of a young damsel in distress had been attracted to this woman. Little does he know that this woman is a 'ghost' who feeds on her lovers' skin and hearts. It will be in the cinemas on somewhere in the 3rd week of September. Too bad this film was not released earlier during the month of the Hungry Ghost festival. That would have been a lot of fun, actually.

Laptops Are Great

Laptops are great working companions. You can kill time while waiting for appointments sourcing for important information, check your email or even watch DVD in the car. As there are wifi connections in many buildings and restaurant, it is wonderful to get online with a friend on Skype who is far away in another country.

Long before I bought my Asus laptop, I had been sourcing out particularly for the asus eee pc from stores. I had no idea what to look for in a laptop and there were many different sites that provided different reviews that were conflicting. I needed to compare price for the same model and also which stores can offer a better deal. It was through a website that enable me to understand and set priorities for my needs in a laptop and the features a laptop may have. I then decided that what I really need is basically a lightweight, portable and basic. It was hard trying to choose between many reputable brands like the HP, Sony and even the Toshiba laptops. They each have their strengths in a particular feature, design and frills. My choice for my selection was budget that rules above all, thus I chose the Asus that also has many great features plus an attractive price to boot.

So, in future, if you really need to do a proper research, Savebuckets is a great place that puts your mind at ease. Besides laptop reviews and comparisons, they even have great tips on buying guides.

Out Of Breath But I'm Around

Since school started, I've been really busy. Guess it's stuck to the routine of going in and out of the house day in and day out. Forgive me if I left my msn on and did not reply to some of you when you buzzed me. That is because I am in one minute and out the next and sometimes I will forget to update the status in my msn.

I send my girls on two different timings in the mornings so it is a rush to go out and hurry back to pick my younger one which is an hour apart. I tried getting both ready at the same time but it was a little ridiculous as you never know what kind of mood and temperament they can be in the mornings so one at a time is less stressful. My elder has to be out of the house by 7.30am and younger one at 8.30am.

And picking them up is just as stressful too. In between these hours, I try to rush to get some groceries and tries to limit it to an hour but sometimes it is easy to exceed. So coming back I sometimes skip lunch because I find it too stressful to eat and look at the time before I'm off again. There are many occasions where you see me driving home to put the groceries down and in that 15 minutes I am out again.. I had few visitor friends from overseas and I had to bring them along with me and my frantic timing and it is hard to be hospitable and sit down for a cuppa coffee with them.

Afternoons are definitely worst. Because my elder girl stays back in school few days a week and has other classes in between too. During these times, I go out to bring her the lunch box as queing time is too long before she starts afternoon activity or extra classes. She only has 30 minutes between dismissal and class. Classes last anything from an hour and a half to two hours. And this time is rush hour for me too because by the time I get back to catch my breath, I will be sending my younger one for her classes too. Drop her off and soon it is time to pick my elder one!

I don't like to wait for them for an hour or two so I rather drive myself back home to blog. Even half hour of blogging is addictive.

Some days I can be taking as many as 7 or 8 trips or double if you count both ways! I cannot imagine how one juggles if they have 3 or more children. Perhaps school bus? For me, school is not really that far and to take school bus, my girl will have to leave home earlier and come back later because of the route and drop offs for each child. I'd rather drive them myself and see to it that the schedule is kept to a minimum so that they have more time.

So, please bear with me if you can't find me on msn.

Fitness Partners

I brought the girls out for inline skating just yesterday afternoon. I realised that I have not even been doing much exercise and I get exhausted just keeping up with them. I suppose I could do with some exercise or maybe pick up inline skating with them. Of course, I will never be able to be as fit as some of them who really exercise at least 3 to 5 times a week. If you are as fit, why not find a Fitness Match with someone who is as passionate as you are in a chatroom? There might be lots of fitness tips to share.

GIRL is for ADULTS

Anyone seen this before? I picked this up at the petrol kiosk yesterday, along with the miniature Coca Cola collection. I saw this a month ago but didn't get it because I was pressing for time.


So what is this. It is a Litchi flavoured liquer. Some call it Lychee. It has Vodka and Cognac in it too. I believe it will taste slightly sweet and mask the alcohol content. Cocktails usually do.

This is what is written on the back of the label. *Subtle blend of Lychee, Raspberry, Premium Vodka and Cognac, GIRL is excellent neat, on the rocks or in a long drink mixed with apple, orange or cranberry juices*.



The alcohol in this bottle is 25%, by the way.

The bottle is very pretty. But can be too attractive for girls, because my girls love pink and she thought these are suitable for her. Furthermore, the name of the concoction is named GIRL. I would have thought it is some kind of fruity fun EDT.

Tattoo Youths

I was in the lift just this morning and a pretty lady in a decent outfit came in. She was polite and gave my daughter a smile. I've seen her before and she lives just on the level below us. When the lift touched the ground level, I held on the door for her to go out first. As she walked out, I could see that some parts of her arm and back from her sleeveless blouse that there were tattoos that was really large and colourful. It was parts of a butterfly, probably almost half or her upper torso. Decades ago, tattooed youth were shunned upon as bad company but not anymore. Now it is trendy to have on but I can never imagine such a large one on her body. Now one can even find friends in Tattooed Singles chatroom and chat about tattoo whole day long.

AIG Nerve Wrecking News

Did anyone read about the financial crisis in the States yesterday? I got worried because I read that AIG nearly collapsed. It says that AIG has a day to raise up to 80 billion dollars to avoid bankruptcy.

In Singapore alone, the news reported that there was a crowd at the Central Business District and many of the policy holders were trying to get answers and there were those who wanted to surrender their policy in order to cut losses. It was in the news, big time.

This just happened a day after the news that Lehman Brothers had filed for bankruptcy protection and how Merrill Lynch was also sold.

I have insurance policies with AIA in Singapore and this is nerve wrecking indeed.

Of Flamencos and Bullfights

Latinos are known for their Flamenco music, exotic dances, the rough it out bullfights and their warm friendly people. Jeniffer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Salma Hayek and Cameron Diaz are all of Latin descent. There are Latina Dating chatrooms if you are a Latino yourself. This is the place where many Latinos and Latinas who are located in different countries around the world come to chat and make friends online.

Singapore Style Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is my family's favourite meal. Ah Boy hunts for his favourite Bak Kut Teh in the weekends. When he doesn't do that, we will cook it at home. In the weekday, we also cook that for Rae's lunch one day in the week. She loves it. I've tried to cook the herbal type for her before but she doesn't like it. She thinks the herbal ones tastes slightly bitter. So I usually buy this one for home cooking. This one is nice, and very faint herbal taste. It's more of a peppery flavour and is Rae's favourite. A pack of this costs $1.80 in Singapore. There was a time when they were on offer and I bought 6 packs at one go. That's as good as a pack free! hahaha

Seah's Bak Kut Teh

Add mushrooms (button and enoki)

I just bought two packs this morning at the supermarket, and some prime rib cut for that. Here is a picture of our home cooked Bak Kut Teh we cooked last week, with button and enoki mushrooms.

Marriage Information

When couples get married, they go through a formal occasion of which the couples will need a witness to be present. These information as well as the couples personal information are then recorded in the county and state and their records are kept permanent. For those who need to find out if the status of any person in the US, Public Marriage Records can be obtained online. A marriage is illegitimate if the previous marriage had not gone through a divorce.

Mooncake Pile Up

Another mooncake to top on that stack of uneaten mooncakes. Gosh, these stuff keeps coming in. This time this one is a little more traditional. The box is just normal looking printed with a traditional Chinese print and chinese words. Hmm, Nope I don't read chinese so I can't understand those words.. is that a poem? something that rhymes? I thought it is great to post these mooncakes on my blog because at least along the coming years, I have some memories on what kind of mooncake gifts I have received, over the years.

This one is from Leong Sang Hong Kong Pastries at Sago Street. I think this one is the one close to Tai Zhong Kok, the traditional one that we used to buy for years. I remember when I worked nearby there was one that a friend recommended and said belong to a Hong Kong Boss.

Anyone wants to come over for some mooncakes and tea?

Beyond The Surface

Society and peer pressure sometimes puts us in a situation whereby we prefer to follow the predictable marriage partners of our culture and to avoid gossips about our love life.

However, it is something that some have learnt to live with when they have partners of a different race or colour skin. It may be hard for friends and some family to accept them initially but when you really get to know the person, you'll be surprised how warm they can be. Some male friends of mine have gotten themselves gorgeous looking wives of a different race and religion. They may be the subject of attention when they go out but beneath those beautiful Black Babes, there lies hearts of gold. Chatting online and getting to know them first is a good way too.

Miniature Coke Collection

I was at the petrol station topping up this morning and while queing at the cashier, I saw this really cute stuff. I used to be a Coke fan and would collect the different types of Coke bottles and cans from other countries. My favourites are mostly the mini cans of coke that you usually get on the plane. Then I also love those coke that comes in cans but shaped like a bottle, from Japan.
Imagine my delight when I saw this at 7-eleven at the petrol kiosk this morning. It was a box of miniature cokes and food items. They were so cute, really small. I got a box and went home like an excited kid opening to check what is inside the box.

See how small they are!
I placed a little ruler that measures in cm.

They have about 8 different collections altogether. I might just buy them all and also the little rack for displaying these items! There are versions of coke with hot dogs, pizzas, nuggets, spaghetti and more! I got the Noodles and Fishball collection for a start. Anyone knows if it is available in your country?

There were also many Formula 1 premiums on sale as Singapore is going to host the Formula 1 night race in the third week of September soon!

Marrying Age is Now Different

Single individuals these days enjoy the carefree life more. Instead of settling down and getting married, they prefer to date and know more friends before choosing the Mr or Miss Right. With the internet and technology, some prefer get acquainted through online chat rooms like Asian Singles which is a place for many Asians to make friends. Therefore, it is not surprising that the marrying age has now beeen pushed to the 30s, compared with in our grandparents age when couples in their late teens or early 20s get married.

Hello Kitty Guitar

Wanna share with you a cute find. In the recent weeks, I have been shopping for lots of cute stuff for my kids. And on a trip to the east recently, I saw this cute guitar that is of the popular Japanese Sanrio Hello Kitty. I was fascinated by it. Lea wanted to have it but that guitar is only available if you have NTUC Fairprice points of 5,000 plus additional top up of $400! A lot, eh? I take a long time to accumulate 2000 points for that rebate voucher, I don't think I can make it in a single year!

It is so cute but then I don't think someone would get that since you still have to pay additional of $400 in cash. A normal guitar that is good quality can be bought for about $200-$300. A Made in China one costs only $60.


Lea pestered me to get that. Of course that would be ridiculous. She can play with her toy guitar. Until she picks up guitar (which she wants to) I probably only can afford one that is less than $100 for kids' size!

Maybe collectors might get it.

Taiwan Chicken Chop is Extra Large, Extra Yummy

Have you ever tried one of those Taiwanese Chicken Chop? Their Chicken Chops are usually extra large and is deep fried, then cut and sprinkled with lots of paprika like spices and pepper. It tastes yummy and I couldn't help myself buying one of those at the *Pasar Malam the other day. They are deep fried and comes out piping hot. No need any sauce or gravy as they are seasoned well enough. Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks in Singapore has that too but this one at the Pasar Malam tastes better. Costs $3.80 per piece. I chose the Honey Chicken Chop (far right in the picture) seasoning. It was the last day of Pasar Malam yesterday. Hope the next one with be soon!


*Pasar Malam - Something similar to flea market/bazaar that can be found in random places in any neighbourhood town in Singapore. These Pasar Malam are usually stalls set along the pavement along roadsides. Sells anything from snacks, clothings, bags, knick knacks and more. Opens usually from the late afternoon till midnight. Some stalls open from mid-day.

Which Webhost Is Right For You?

Several friends of mine have been blogging for over a year in their free hosting sites. So when they decide to purchase a domain, I was just as excited. You see, having a domain is actually about having your own unique name of your online website. You pick a name that you like or search to see if the name you currently is using is still vacant. After buying that domain name, you will need to get it hosted, for a fee. There are many web hosting companies online. It doesn't matter if you are living on one end of the world and the hosting company is located far in another country because in cyberspace, distance is never an issue. The most important thing to look out for are, bandwidth, service that your host gives, simple navigation, support when you really need it, some tutorials and of course the price that suits your budget.

Before you sign up with any webhost, you have to know what kind of webpage you are setting up. If you are expecting a high traffic to your site, it is best to go for a package that is optimized for that. You wouldn't want your viewers to be waiting for a long time for the page to upload. Some do not have the patience and prefer not to wait. This affects viewership or potential customers if you are setting up an online store.

Certain packages let you do an upgrade when you need it. To fully understand what makes a good web host, it is important to do some research first. Some who are IT savvy may require more than cheap hosting. It depends on the priorities. Check out a site that already does all the homework for you in terms of seeking best blog hosting, best budget hosting, best ecommerce hosting and more. It also unveils the price of each webhost, the features, quality, support and value for money.

Do You Remembered These Baskets

With all that mooncakes in those fancy boxes and multi flavours, has anyone forgotten about the traditional piggy biscuits in the baskets? I know they don't have fillings and are mostly plain but they are my favourite! When I was younger, my aunt used to buy these for my sister and I. Also, whenever you purchase mooncakes, they will also give one as a gift for every box you buy. My mom used to buy some boxes for friends and relatives and it comes with these cute baskets with piggy mooncakes inside. I dunno what we used the baskets for but they sure bring back sweet memories! They do come in many colours. These are part of the gifts we received with our mooncakes.

My kids doesn't seem to be interested in these, so much difference from out time!

The Culture That Makes Up Emo

Call me old-fashioned but I had no idea what Emo meant until now. I've always thought this word derived from the original English word - Emotional, so if you tell me about Emo, I'd probably liken it to a feeling of desperation or sensitivity that ends up in anger, sadness or even tears.

Then I did a little research on this context and found out that a culture trend called Emo was born in the first influence since the 80's. It started as a personal experimentation of a hardcore punk style of music and evolved into a stereotype trend or fashion this millennium age. To find out what Emo cultures are about, a chat room called Emo Chat had been created for all those with a passion or curiosity towards this trend and fashion.

Emos have also been presumed as bisexual or homosexual due to the style of fashion. However, most of teenagers I see embraced the Emo culture as only a design or trend to feel cool in. They usually have their hair done up with long fringe, bangs or curls covering part of their face or eye, dark black hair, tight jeans, thick black rimmed glasses, belt buckles. Some of those who dressed up in Emo culture are also in the design industry.

SpongeBob Animated Lantern

Mid Autumn Lanterns! Have you gotten your lanterns? Oops, i mean for the kids. My girls get lots of free lanterns most of the time. I don't buy them anymore. Sometimes they get the same ones like the previous years. Nowadays the lanterns all come battery operated and has some irritating squealing music. I usually tape the music down with the masking tape. Some of the music are Chinese New Year Songs *baffled* and some even comes in Christmas tunes!


















My girl received this one few days ago. It is the SpongeBob battery operated lantern. This unique thingy even waves it's arms when it is turned on! But the music is just irritating, as usual. This one is some familiar retro chinese music but the level of it is pitched high! No volume control.. sigh!

Lets Widen Our Horizons

I used to chat so often in this chatroom called Penang Hokkien Chat Room in the last three years. It is still fun and I made many friends, good friends. However, I find that sometimes this chatroom only restricts us to a certain limited group of people, those with a passion and interest for either Penang and Penang Hokkien Language. It's great, of course. Perhaps we all can learn a little more about other cultures in Asia from an Asian Chat room too. We still have a lot to learn from each other, especially cultures, language and religion.

That Retro Feel

The pasar malam is here again. My girls pestered me to bring them of course. Pasar Malam is different from those in Malaysia that I've been to. Singapore ones are usually lined at the roadside, and spills into the void decks of flats in the neighbourhood. It can be fun for some, or noisy for those who are living just on the block where it is. But they are usually there for as few as 3 days to about a week or more.

As usual, the girls pestered to go on those rides and games. I've brought Rae there for the 3rd time this week. Today is the last day of the bazaar. They picked up snacks like those skewered sticks of food, drinks, and lots of things to buy.

I was amused by this stall that sells drinks in bottles. I think it has been a long time seeing such drinks that comes in bottles. Nowadays soft drinks are usually in PET bottles (plastic) or in tin cans. These are all brought in from Thai or Philippines. They are small bottles of cokes, sprites, fanta in many flavours.

Pickup Spanish from Chatrooms

I've always been interested in Spanish language. Spanish is widely spoken in many countries and the culture is always associated with exotic and passionate. I found a place where I can actually put into practice the basic Spanish language in a chat room called Latina Chat. Many of those who are in there knows their culture and language well. One can also make many friends from women and men who speaks Spanish from all over the world. Learn about their exotic culture, their food and also dance moves.

Finger Puppet

I found this cute finger puppet in my drawer. I had bought it and forgotten about it. This one is made of cloth and has some spongy thingy inside. It is a finger puppet toy, ala Japanese style. I gave it to my girls to play and they are having fun. Each gets two puppets. Now all I need is a little puppet house or those desktop frames so they can stand behind and do a puppet performance. Anyone knows where to get such a thing? The last time I saw one was at Ikea but they don't sell it anymore. Any ideas?

My younger daughter is still very adament to be a superhero. Perhaps I should get her a superhero costume. I gave her a scarf as a cape but she insists it is not a superhero cape.. She even notices the little brief superheroes wears outside the tights..

A Metropolitan City Online

I've lived in a metropolitan city for half of my life. I do like it here. The people in the country of Singapore live alongside each other regardless of race and religion, in unity. However with the busy lifestyles and working till late, sometimes they hardly have time to make friends. I found a new place where there is no segregation of race and religion. Everyone is in Interracial Chat room for the same objective, to make friends. That is similar to a metropolitan city, but it is online. Great during middle of the night when you find yourself having problems sleeping. Can chat and make friends there.

When Is 'Chong Chiu Cheh'

I have a problem looking for calendars lately. In my house, there are very few calendars and the ones that I have are missing! I suppose it's my girls taking them and playing or scribbling with it again. There was once last year when Rae took them and coloured all the numbers on it. I need the one that has the Chinese dates on it. Sometimes it is helpful as I am in touch of the chinese 1st day and 15th day of Full Moon. Does anyone know when is the 15th day of Chinese month for this Mid Autumn Festival? It's so that I know I can bring the girls out to have fun with their lanterns when everyone is having fun too. Is it tonight?

Chat Without Any Download

Sometimes being online has it's benefits. That is, we can make new friends without getting out of our homes. Yes online friends, that is what I meant. In the recent years, I've met some really good friends online. I also read that there is a new chatroom that requires no software download. In the previous years, we've had to download softwares like IRC, MSN, Yahoo Messenger and Skype. This one is called Online Chat City. Just register to get started. Easy.

Many Sick Now

I had problems logging in my MSN for the past few days. Wondered why and if any of you had the same problem. Anyway, I had been terribly busy so in the night, I am hardly on my pc.

When my msn is on, I see all the little public messages. I can see that so many of my friends or their kids are having the flue, fever, cough as well. My girls are down with fever. Although the elder had already recovered, the younger one is now down with diarrhoea.. sigh.. is the weather really that bad?

About 5 of my friends on msn is either sick or their kids sick. It's been raining and hot recenly. I also read about how Penang mainland is having flood in many outlying areas... Is it a sign of Global Warming?

Breaking Up

Superstars live a different life from us. With their tight schedule and work, it is common to find them changing married partners every now and then. There are some marriages that lasts but you read the gossip collumns and find them with a new wife or husband ever so often. There are some who marry in record number of times. Brad Pitt was among the widely talked about when it comes to her marriage with Jennifer Aniston. Who am I to say about their marriage but I could never get over it when they did break up. I thought they were the best couple ever. It was the same with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. These two couples seemed perfect. I'm sure you will be able to find more information on anyone's marriage from the Divorce Records database. These cover all states and county in the United States.

Want to eat Thaksin Beef Noodle

Politics sure is hot. The names that are linked to them are spicy hot too. Guess what I found when I was at a food centre over the weekend. A stall that sells Thaksin Beef Noodle. What actually cracks me up was the tagline that says:

THAKSIN BEEF NOODLE
We are bullish about beefing you.

*makes me laugh so hard!!*

This seller seems to like everything about politics. On the glass panel in the stall is also a banner that reads: --> Obama is President

Looking closely under his stall signage has a picture of the owner taken and some names of the local newspapers at the side. Wonder if it was done purposely or was he actually featured in the papers? If so, was it because he stood out for the signage name, for his food or for his passion in politics? I didn't dare find out. I just took a shot and made off. It was interesting, though.

I wonder if someone will open a Samak Tom Yam next.

Bikers Galore

Riding bikes can be fun. Some use it as a basic mode of transportation but there are some who rides for a passion. You can see by the way he polishes his bike, designs it and some even fix a radio. Bikers can be seen with their friends hanging out and exchanging tips about the parts or experience for the knowlege. For those who are passionate about this hobby, it would be great to make more friends who owns bikes and share more information with each other. There is a place for all bikers, called the Biker Chat Room. Look for new friends and show off your bike or even join a chat via webcam with one another.

Gift of Mooncakes Again

Mooncakes! Mooncakes! They are getting hotter and hotter! It is the Mid Autumn Festival, after all. Since end of last month, I've received to date, 4 boxes of Mooncakes in total. What am I going to do with them. I wanted to give one to my neighbour but she can't handle it she says. LOL. She is also having too many at home. Hubby gets a lot of them from friends who visits and gives us. Some are really good but some are just something that I don't know how to appreciate, not that it taste horrible. Look at this one from his friend, a Display Artist. I believe he even had his name stamped on it. His name is Ping Xi. If you know how to read the chinese text, does it read his name? This one is made to look like a gold treasure box.. hahaha There are many different designs nowadays. Amazing!

Online People Finder

I know some families have problems trying to find a lost family friend. It may not be so difficult if you have the first and last name, age, city he or she was in. There is an online public search called the People Finder. This service is available to the public when they need to find records of people. These records will help them to retrieve personal information and lead them to find the person they are looking for.

Feeling Peckish?

I bought a box of these to snack on last week. And I am really addicted to it. It tastes great with those dips. I get my self creamy cheese in a tub. It goes well with sour cream too. Each pack comes in four individual smaller packs. I usually keep them in my bag in case I feel peckish.. If only they have dips in small packs too.. hahaha I know, that is a lot to ask for. I think Kraft Foods sell some little snack biscuits with cheese or a dip too.

You should try them. I think these are great for parties too.

Are You Married?

A close friend of mine had just closed a chapter of her married life. That is, she is considered a single once again. Some marriages just do not work out. Stress, money, interest and third party are just some of the problems that cause some marriages to fail. Some finds out that about the past history of their partner that he was still married with someone else. The best defense for a woman is to check Divorce Court Records to know if the person they are marrying was married before. Some parents-in-law goes through that to protect their daughters from being cheated by married men. These records are available for public in the United States.

Animal Rides

Decades ago, we didn't have the rides like these. Nowadays, any mall that we go to has animal rides. It is almost impossible to avoid them because they are all over the place. Kids get to ride on these for about $2 or $3 for about 15 minutes per slot. A young kid can get an adult to sit on it as these creatures can withstand adult weights too. Just a pedal to get these moving. My girls love it. They always pester me for these rides. Rae has no problem reaching the pedal but Lea's short is still rather short so I get Kakak to sit with her.

I'd love to ride on one on my own, (see the green dinosaur) but so far no adult alone has done it. Should I be the first? LOL

Lea on a Giraffe

Rae sits on a Pink Piggy

Pick Up The Pieces

Some marriages are made in heaven. But not all of it. When the married couples find that they have drifted apart due to some reasons, a divorce is the only option. After a divorce, some finds a new life and for some lucky few, a new love. It is not easy picking up the pieces after a divorce for many as it could be about trust and learning to accept. If your partner told you that he is a divorcee, find out the truth. There are public records online. The search is wide and covers all the states in US such as Alabama, Idaho or even California Divorce Records or any state your partner lives in.

Glutton Sandwich

It is still raining and I'm just too lazy to go out. I wish I could be in bed snoozing away. Of course I can't do that because the girls have to be in school. This week really flies and it is already Thursday.

The pass few days, I've not really had a good appetite. Probably because I've been running in and out of the house sending the girls to school, coming back, then out for tuition and classes. The weather was hot and cold. Rain one minute and sunny the next. Yesterday my dinner was only sandwich. Had cooked some soup and a dish for the girls but sometimes I can't really eat what I cook. Guess what I made.

A Glutton Sandwich. What on earth is a Glutton Sandwich? Mashed eggs, spicy tuna, yellow mustard and top with sliced cheese. I wanted to add lettuce but was too lazy to peel them out. This work fine, time being.

I feel such a glutton already.









*Glutton defination (Wikipedia) - One who over-indulges in and over-consumes food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste