One round of eating done

I'm half glad Xmas is over.....despite vowing at the beginning of every festive season "Not to eat too much", the vow goes out the window the moment the first party starts. It's been almost a week of non stop eating and now i feel like going on a 365 days strike against food. 

But that's wishful thinking, cos the moment I wake up in the morning, my uncooperative stomach grumbles for breakfast, so on boxing day, i HAD to eat the leftover tiramisu my mum made....

Doesn't help i had 2 pieces of zam zam mutabak, 1 mee soto, beef rendang & too much wine the night before at a party.....now, i feeel gross n fat n gross n fat *bleah* 

The next round of over eating's gonna be at the NYE party.... i don't even know I'm gonna be able to fit into my dress!! Think i gotta starve myself for the rest of the year.

It doesn't end at NYE.....on the 19th Jan, we're booked on the royal caribbean 4N cruise and there's gonna be FREE & ENDLESS food! Even room service is free and 24 hours. There's a gym onboard though and I've always liked the gyms on a ship cos the treadmill always faces the open sea...makes you feel like you're running on water into the horizon. But knowing me, there's a 20/100 chance I would actually go to the gym.  Think I'll let my dress on NYE decide how fat i feel.

After the cruise, it's CNY....this one no need to say, sure eat alot one....sigh

Maybe when i get to Sydney in Feb, I can go on a pleasant diet of fresh fruits & veg....n maybe walk everywhere....n maybe learn how to surf.....n maybe learn how to sail.....n maybe....

It's Xmas time again

To my dear friends,

Click here to view my secret Xmas wishes for you =)

Secret Xmas Wishes

Happy'R Us

What i hate most about my work

I generally enjoy my days at work, especially the control and flexibility, running your own business offers. 

But what I really really hate most about what I do is to have to chase and some times beg for payment after the job's done and complete. And I'm someone who hates to ask for money even if I'm perfectly justified to do so.

When we're in the middle of the project, the client calls like every other hour and expect things delivered like we're some super human-being with more hours in the day than others.

However, the moment's work's completed and when payment's due, the clients are suddenly uncontactable or evasive.

I just don't understand why this has to be the case.

The best thing about it is we are generally expected to give at least a 30 day (sometimes 60 days) credit term to our clients. Mind you, the clients we deal with are mega multi billion corporations like Nokia, HP, Sony Ericsson and yet, these multi billionaires expect my teeny tiny $2 paid up company to FINANCE each and every project out of our own pocket. What kinda logic is that?

Despite already giving them more than 30 days for their retarded accounts department to process our invoice, I still have to hound and beg them for payment!  

Sometimes, AFTER waiting through the 30days, the reply i get is "oh sorry we misplaced your invoice, can you send it again?"

THEN I'm expected to wait ANOTHER 30 days for the "new" invoice to be processed!

Geeze

More Reasons than One

It's a slow sunday afternoon after having prepared the rempah for my impending Assam fish tonight, cutting my fingers in the process of peeling shallots, I came up with an idea for my new entry: Real Reasons Why I want to live in Australia. (and no being able to buy a cheap bmw is not one of them, even though it IS freaking cheap! but noooo...it does not qualify as a REAL reason)

Ok, so here goes:

1. I love walking under the vast blue australian sky

2. I love the 4 seasons, the smell of spring, sitting in front a fire place in winter, soaking up the summer sun in a convertible, watching the delicate descend of golden autumn leaves.

3. I love the coffee in Australia

4. I love finding quaint, tucked away lil cafes in places you'll never expect

5. I love the Orange Poppy Seed muffins & Toasted Banana Bread you'll find in most cafes in Sydney

6. I love being able to smile at strangers and having a warm smile back in return and you know there's no ulterior motive to that smile

7. I love the idea of having a herb garden in my backyard, being able to pluck them fresh as and when you need them

8. I love that there's more to life than work and more to a person than his/her namecard

9. I love the fact you don't need (alot) of money to be happy. eg. Walking along the beach, having a picnic by the river, BBQ's with friends, taking a drive to the mountains or along the coast, watching the sky turn burgundy when the sun sets, sipping a glass of wine on your balcony are all wonderfully happy things that don't cost alot of moulah

10. I love the fact that most Ozzies don't give 2 hoots whether you're a hotshot lawyer or you're someone who works in construction so long as you make an honest living.

11. I love being able to bring my dog everywhere without having grown adults scream in terror when my dog's like 10m away

12. I love the fact that kids can have a real childhood 

13. I love the positive-mindset most people adopt towards their work and life

14. I love being able to make friends so easily even if that friendly chat was only for a day

15. I love how you can cook up a simple meal just be relying on the quality of fresh foods and vegetables for it's flavour

16. I love being able to get my driving license quite easily (i hope). Oh btw, anyone can teach you driving, all you need is to put an "L" plate on your car. When you're ready, you just go sit for the test. 

17. I love the idea of being to escape back to nature just a few hours drive away from the city

18. I love the fact that there's always things to do, places to visit on weekends

19. I love how creative alot of Australians are

20. I love how the culture of positive-ness inspires me to be a better person and do better in whatever i do

So there's that. 20 Reasons on the top of my head.

Ok it sounds pretty biased so here's one reason why I hate Australia:

1. I hate it that it's so damn difficult to get a Australian PR!

Appalling

Latest news:

"an 84-year-old woman and her mentally-ill son reached an
agreement with on a partial refund from DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (D05.SG) on
derivatives backed by Lehman, the South China Morning Post reported Friday,
citing the woman''s younger son."

While it is good news that the bank is doing a PARTIAL refund for this case (i really wonder how partial is partial)

But it really makes me wonder how on earth can any banker or simply a human being bring themselves to sell a complex structured product to a 84 year old woman and a mentally ill son? How on earth did the bank's management allow such a sale? Isn't the age 84 years old already a super RED FLAG on the suitability of such a product to this person??

This is just one specific case that has surfaced and reached a conclusion but from what i've read so far, the incidences of gross act of alleged mis-selling to elderly folks by DBS seems quite rampant! The majority of the outcry comes from these elderly folks who, more likely than not, had no freaking idea what they were getting themselves into. 

So for those who think this is a laughing matter that people shouldn't get "uptight" about it. Please have abit of compassion and empathy towards the plight of these people. Don't be naive and think this is just about money. The reason things have blown up to this proportion and the source of anger of most of these investors is because: TRUST WAS BETRAYED! The foundation of the banking industry is TRUST and INTEGRITY. (That is why people leave their monies in banks and not under their pillows). 

Think about it. Every damn investment now (whether it's Unit Trust, Stocks, Currencies etc) would have seen the values halved or more but you don't see huge PUBLIC outcry and protest do you? Why this product in particular? 

I'm not even a victim of this saga and yet i feel their pain not because money has been lost but more importantly the pain from the injustice of the trust betrayed. 

Even if you don't wish to show that teeny tiny bit of compassion, the very least you could do is not rub salt to wound.

Fine Dining in F1 corporate box
Beaming from my first F1 race!
this was before the race started, notice no earplugs yet
Beaming & happy
Rooftop terrace for bird's eye view of the track with free flow champagne through out the day. Life doesn't get any better =)

F1 hype

Witnessed my first F1 race yesterday and had an amazing time. It definitely helped that I was seated at the corporate box where they really know how to spoil you silly. First, you're greeted with a cold wet towel, then offered a class of the official champagne. There's a whole long bar worth of really really good food! You're then constantly asked if you'd like more wine, beer, coffee etc. And of course, the most important part, the box's air conditioned! 

Well, I guess for $3k they better treat you like a royalty!

Hhaha I've not even talked about the race yet. 

You start feeling the excitement and vibes the moment you enter the gates. The whole place was like a carnival, there were baskers, alot of food tents, people just enjoying the sun on the grass....

the random group of rowdy ferrari fans waving their patriotic flags. 

The qualifying race itself only started at 10pm (we were there since 4pm!). All I can say about my virgin F1 experience is I truly understand the meaning of 'catch no ball', in this case it's "catch no car'. The cars just zip by so quickly, leaving only a trail of VERY VERY loud screeches! The sound is no joke man! At first I tried to be hero, declining the offer of ear plugs but humbly went in search of one the moment I heard the first car go by. 

The only disappointment was, there were no accidents! I was really hoping to see one especially since we were seated right between 2 very sharp bends. 

Ok la I've to confess, i enjoyed the "spoiling me with booze n food" part more than the race itself hahaha. 

Will post some pics here soon but don't expect any photos of the cars cos they were too damn fast! 

Flabbergasted

Wow, I'm really flabbergasted by the huge public outcry over the DBS high note. It's simply unimaginable how many people lost their hard earned savings to these products that were purportedly sold as "low risk" investments. 

In sad contrast, MAS took a super long time to respond and when they eventually did respond, all they could say is "not my problem, go take it up with your bank". WTF??? 

But thank goodness for the internet, affected investors were able to come together through blogs and hopefully take a collective action in order to be heard more effectively.

This is impact of just one investment bank (lehman) going down, there are numerous notes tied to others like Goldman, UBS, Merril, Morgan Stanley, all of whom are in serious trouble now. I think we should all collectively pray that the US bail out plan works man otherwise the amount of wealth literally down the drain is too scary to imagine. 

Check out the links:

http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2008/09/sad-experience-of-minibond-investor.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Money/Story/STIStory_281540.html

http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=13637

http://www.lioninvestor.com/what-will-happen-to-my-lehman-minibond/

crystal ball strike 2

Following my post yesterday, this just came out in the news:

"New York - Morgan stanley became the next great wall street name in peril on Thursday with reports it was in talks to be bought by US Wachovia Corporation.....

With flames of the financial crisis outrunning renewed central bank intervention...media reports meanwhile said Morgan Stanley was looking for help"

and so the saga continues....

Credit Crisis Crystal Ball: What does it say?

I chanced upon a bloomberg article written in 2007 which sheds alot of light into the Lehman brother debacle and possibly predict "who's next?"

Since as early as sept last year, the bond market already signaled the impeding end for Lehman brothers when bond yields show that Lehman is considered riskier than Columbian bonds. Columbia, based on their credit rating, has essentially has a junk bond status. And yet, lehman bonds were trading at an even bigger credit spread discount against columbia.

As far as I can recall, Lehman has always been a very aggressive and highly leveraged investment bank that did not have a superb credit rating history. Therefore, it comes as no surprise Lehman would be hardest hit and first to fall as a result of the credit crisis.

Ok so now we know "Lehman's kah-put", the multi billion dollar question is "who's next?"

Let's look into the crystal ball called the bond market again:

Hmm, I see a name appearing.....it says Goldman Sachs and.....possibly Morgan Stanley

Goldman last year issued a $2.5b senior debt and the bond market basically considered Goldman's bond no better than near-junk yield despite their AA-rating.

To make matters worse, firms in the limelight now like Lehman, Goldman, Merrill and Morgan Stanley are facing this year almost US$133b of bonds maturing. Merrill had the highest debt due this year at $42b (and as we all know they're in the shits now), next in line is Morgan Stanley at $34b. So could they be next? 

Or perhaps it's Goldman? 

I think now it's not a question of who's in the brink of bankruptcy. It's more a question of who will the Feds chose to bail out. The US have been the world's largest debtor since the beginning of time. Therefore, the Feds will have limited capital to sustain enough life support machines for these financial institutions in ICU now. 

While everyone grapples with this financial tsunami, i think the consensus is that, it's far from over. The cancer has so far only affected Wall Street, it has not even hit the main street yet. 

Siem Reap

I'm finally getting round to editing/processing my siem reap photos. I don't like the digital ones much cos I accidentally set the ISO wrongly to 800 so images came out murky looking. but here's the few I managed to salvaged:
Our lovely hotel (made more lovely but a super chilled glass of Tiger beer greeting us and never ending flow of more FREE Tiger beer for the 3 days we were there)


Chilling out at Pub Street where we had an overdose of a cambodian dish called Amok Fish



Angkor Wat










I'm getting the photos I shot on film this sat and it's been AGES since I shot on a film camera so I can't wait to see them!

Chicken Rice Many Styles

We went through a Chicken Rice obsession over the last couple of weekends. It started with my craving for my mum's version of chicken rice. This dish was a great source of comfort while I was growing up where Mum would make it when dad's out entertaining or on business trips. Dad didn't like this dish, I never got round to asking him why since it's so damn yummy.

Ok so here's Mum's Chicken Rice, cooked by yours truly of course:



So that was one weekend, the next weekend, I had a whole load of Thai herbs from BKK and we still didn't get enough of the Chicken Rice.
So I decided to try a Thai style version of the Mum's chicken rice. I was kinda apprehensive initially as I couldn't quite imagine how the flavours of the herbs would come out. Almost ditch the idea altogether at the last minute but thank goodness I didn't cos it turned out heavenly! Just imagine, the flavours of fresh lemon grass, kaffir leaves n loads of garlic cooked with the chicken n rice....topped off with crispy fried sweet basil leaves and chilli padi.
Here's how it looked:

Too much of a good thing

Just got back from Bangkok (yes again). Prior to the trip, it was a really tough month before that. Alot of shit happening and like they say when shit happens it usually happens all at the same time. You won't believe the stuff and stress Conrad and I had to go through man. IT's so bad I don't even have the strength to bitch about it.

So.... we really really needed the time away from Singapore and the BKK trip couldn't be more timely.
We decided in Bkk we're gonna relax and be indulgent. That includes eating all our favourite foods and MASSAGE!
But I think, we overdid the massage part.
The first 2 days in BKK we were hard at work. But the next 2 days, we had TWO massage a day! And I'm not talking about the spa-rish kind where the therapist go gentle on you. I'm talking about the HARDCORE Thai kind. wah liao eh....when you're gettingit, it feels shiok but after that.... every where also damn pain. Now I feel bruised and battered all over and for some reason even more tense than before.
I think I'm having a bad case of massage hangover....think maybe i need another massage....heh heh heh

TGIF

I chanced upon this while blog surfing.
Coming from a Christian, it's rather blasphemous but it's so damn funny I can't resist sharing....afterall, since God created "murphy's law" I'm sure the big guy up there has a sense of humour
So to all you ladies who love their labels, here's pray for you:
WOMEN'S DAILY PRAYER

Armani, Which art in Hermes,

Hallowed be thy Gucci.

Thy Cartier watch, Thy Prada bag,

On Rodeo, As it is in Tiffany's.

Give us this day our Visa Titanium

And forgive us this overdraft

As we forgive those who decline our Mastercard


Lead us not into JC Penney, And deliver us from Sears.

For thine is the Chanel, the Gaultier, and the Versace, For Dolce

and Gabana.

Amex .....

True wealth

True wealth
Wealth is not a specific number or amount. It is an attitude.
There is more than enough abundance in the world. It is yours to the extent that you imagine it to be and then proceed to live and to genuinely act according to your expectations.
The less you need, the more you have. When you need nothing, you have it all.
What you grab from others will be of no use to you. It is the value you're able to provide to others that creates enduring wealth.
You can be wealthy this very moment. For when you sincerely see yourself as wealthy, you truly are.
Look within yourself and discover the true wealth that is unique to you. And find real joy in building upon that wealth, day after day.
-- Ralph Marston

I found this little passage very meaningful after a nasty experience with a very wealthy person (the filthy rich kind).
It always saddens me when there are too many people out there who place too much value on monetary wealth. From my own observation, I've notice a direct coorelation between unhappiness and monetary wealth. But let me qualify it is not the amount of wealth one has but the VALUE one places on money. I notice the more importance one places on monetary riches the more unhappy they become. What's even more saddening is when one values riches at the expense of family ties and friendship.
I guess the more one pursues wealth the more distrustful and bitter one becomes even towards people whom they're suppose to care for.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all rich people are unhappy. I personally know very wealthy people who are truly happy beings but these tend to be people who are humble and kind hearted.

Look at Warren Buffet, he's one of the world's richest man yet he still lives in the same house, drives the same car and is married to same woman as when he had mere pennies in his pocket. On top of that, he is known to be a very charitable and humble person. To me, that's true wealth.
There are many successful people in this world but very few great ones.

Jaw dropping homes...

How would you like living in these houses?
The one on the water apparently cost Euro20M EACH!
t
I love the Tree houses...have always dream of having one since I was a little girl...but definitely not in Spore though...too many creepy crawlies and wait tree got termite and cannot take my weight haha

I'm back...

Just got a friendly reminder that I've not been updating my blog....so here I am.
I've been blog surfing but abit lazy to write on mine. Maybe it's becos I've been so busy at work that by the time I get home, I'm too tired to think and write.
Honestly I don't really like writing. I'm more a visual person (hence my photography) or if I need to communicate, I rather talk (hence my ji-za-bo-ness).
So in this entry, I've decided to post my long overdue pictures of my trip to Japan with my mum and bro.
I had a really nice time, it's been awhile since I got to spend so much time with my mum n my brother and no place nicer to spend it in but a cherry blossom filled land of the rising sun.

Home sweet home

Have been travelling almost every weekend over the last 2 months....in fact this is my first weekend in Singapore and I'm loving every minute of just vegetating at home with lovely home cooked meals, endless dvds and cuddling up with my two pets =)
I'm really gonna savour just staying home now cos come next month till June, the endless travelling starts again.

Last night i invented a new pasta dish, Thai Spiced Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta...dun wanna compliment myself but it was FREAKING GOOD!

Tonight we're gonna have fried GARLIC rice (by Chef Lim) with Steamed Seabass with Tom Yam broth (by Mua)! Can't Wait! Perfectly yummy, perfectly home cooked.
=P

the day i got wet...

As you can see, I got shot point blank by this kid


Ocean's 11 thai style







Had so much fun @ the Water Festival in BKK for the first time. Although I was not armed with a water gun as I was only intending to be a DRY bystander....but we realised there's no such thing as being outdoors and dry during the water fest!
I guess being a girl didn't help since I was a 'victim" of alot of water "blessings" from the thais whilst Conrad managed to stay relatively untouched...
I just love how adults reveled in such child-like delight playing with the kids blasting each other with their very sophisticated looking Water guns.
Conrad and I promised to return again next year for the Water Fest but this time ARMED with SUPER SOAKERS!

oosh 3rd Anniversary party

the boys

nick gets all the girls

Ok la

Ok la....am out of my moody mood cos discovered the best cure for hangover mondays tuesdays and everyday.
When you get sick of work, get a healthy dose of ONLINE SHOPPING!
When you're busy clicking away on your laptop with the look of INTENSE concentration....you look like you're busy "working" mah
tee hee

sick n tired

Sick n tired of the way things are at work.
I'm having one of those days where you just wish you could curl up under the blanket and hide from the world. Sit in front of the idiot box and watch dvd all day long...

I don't know what's wrong and what's happening anymore. Think the only way to cope is to detach myself from everything, otherwise I'll just go crazy.

wet wet wet

Going to Bkk for the weekend...
2 dudes have promised to get me very very very WET....
I'm getting Xcited just thinking about it









hehe








It's the WATER FESTIVAL!!
Gonna walk the streets in nothing but my slippers n bikini
Woohooo!

more random pix taken in BKK

City girl

In Kyoto now, enjoying the sakuras. Very pretty and scenic, especially when the weather's nice and you get to see the dainty flowers against the clear blue sky.
Went walking through the "Path of Philosopphy" which is a small gently wind-y path along the river lined with cherry blossoms.
My thought's after walking down the "path of philosophy"?
"Too much a good thing is not good"

i.e. Think I've seen enough cherry blossoms and quaint villages, I NEED to get back to the buzz of a city where I can find a good cup of freshly brewed COFFEE and food that comes in adult portions.
When I'm a working city girl, I kid myself that life's so much better and easier maybe living in some farm some where.
After 4 days of sub-urbania, I'm craving the mad rush of life zipping by me in a city.
So I guess, not so deep down inside me, I'm a city girl afterall.

Eat Drink and be Merry!

Man and God

Ugly LV bags for sale.
Inside store: S$1200 up
Just Outside store: 1200THB up