Halloween!

As usual, my office had a Best Decor & Costume competition.

Hairy Crabs

No time to post some pretty food pics on a dinner I had last Sunday. It's a quaint old Chinese restaurant (family run) that served up the hairy crabs we Chinese love so much at this time of the year. The crabs are only done 1 way - steamed, with the tags attached (to certify their authenticity). Huge platters piled high with the crustacean are sent out from the kitchen.

Singtel Roadshow

Oops! Spoke too soon. There is a Singtel Roadshow at my office today. I bought a new phone and upgraded my plan to include 50GB of internet capability @ 3600K speed. At current staff discount rates, I get both the new phone and 1 year in fees for the original price of the handphone.

My HP bill just jumped from $14 to $50 per month. I can't believe it still.

Glad I still have my job =)

I have been so busy at work that I don't have much time for anything else. The clock watcher in me doesn't like that it goes on spaced throughout the 14 hours that I am ready to pickup emails and calls and cannot be finished all at once in a stretch. Ah well, given today's economic climate, I am glad I still have my job. Hence, my willingness to pick up calls and answer emails when I am home.

It's a sign of the times when all the wedding invitations are on weekdays or even afternoons. This means I can save loads on wardrobe. The semi-formal clothes can all be re-worn as work clothes.

I have also adopted money saving habits lately. Choosing to spend my weekends re-organizing my desk, wardrobe, book shelf etc. In place of more expensive pursuits such as shopping and clubbing. Big purchases have been put on hold (at least until bonus time) and purchases are only on essential items such as food and clothes. Retirees aren't the only ones who have seen their financial portfolios halved.

Autumn Flowers

An Autumn arrangement that is meant to be dried. There is a similar floral display at Ngee Ann City this week. Wonder what the occasion is.

Spring Cleaning

I decided to do a little spring cleaning over the week. I started on my shelves last month and managed to empty 2 entire shelves. The decent items get donated to the Salvation Army and the rest get dumped. Delighted by the space I now have, I decided to start on my tops & bottoms cupboard. It has 4 years worth of clothes I wore to University and almost 5 years worth of work clothes. This (see picture on the right) is after I was done with it. 4 trash bags full of clothes to be donated.



The picture above is a little misleading. I received comments on how 4 bags of clothes could come out from the cupboard and still look so full. So I squashed all my clothes to the left and took this picture. You can believe it now right.

Mom's Birthday

It’s my mom's big 60 birthday today. So we got her one of those giant 3D peach birthday cakes because peaches are meant to represent longevity. It's such a traditional form that it's not sold at regular cake shops. My sister had to hunt down an old confectionery that still made it in the Pek Kio heartlands. It's really just visual appeal as the marzipan on top of the cake is to soft and gummy to be consumed. The entire cake is black forest with generous portions of the blackberry jam and deliciously soft and fragrant sponge cake that has been freshly baked to perfection.

In theme with the traditional type of cake we got her, we also made bookings at the revolving Prima restaurant on top of the Prima Flour Mills. It is strangely located in the middle of a warehousing facility next to Vivocity. Accessible by car only past the security gatehouse. The restaurant offers a panoramic view of the surroundings and revolves one complete circle in the duration of a 10 course Chinese meal. Dinner with entertainment.

Restarted classes

Restarted my floral arrangement classes after a long break due to work. So therapeutic working with fresh flowers. The scent acts like aromatherapy and after the session I have something pretty to look at.