I don't know why I have days, like today, when I absolutely can't produce anything at work at all. And then I'll spend my time reading my own blog entries over and over again, thinking I should have added this fact, or that I should have phrased the sentence better. Yes, I mentally edit them. Is that loserly or what.
SIAN. TOTALLY SIAN.
Thank goodness I foresaw my sian-ness this morning, and packed my swim gear even though I was running damn late for work. I even postponed my phone interview.
Can't wait to go swimming later. Swimming laps has a mysteriously calming effect on me, other than the fact that it helps me shed kilos, well err....more like a fraction of a milligram. Then again, maybe it's just sweat loss. The walk around Toa Payoh after that is also pretty relaxing. No harried and hurrying shoppers, just heartlanders strolling in and out of shops and ah peks lazing on the stone benches looking like they have all the time in the world.
Oh yes, I'd probably not be able to resist a peek into Comic Connection. The last time I did that, I ended up buying a Naruto calendar, cos it had droolsome Kakashi (he's a ninja sensei) in it. And err...a notebook with a Kakashi cover.
*jolt back to reality* Not doing anything today also means I have to write three stories over the weekend. Ultimate SIAN.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Bizarre? Eventful? You decide
Today was a day of eventful happenings. Some that made me raise my eyebrows till they could go higher no more, others that made almost shed a tear or two.
1) In the morning, I had to interview two instructors of entrepreneurship programmes and one of them said things that nearly made my jaw drop. Well, this man has opened successful businesses of his own and even written books, but he has also dabbled in illegal activities! Well, in his definition, they were not illegal in those countries that he did them in, so he said it was actually a case of "thinking out of the box" to earn money. ie entrepreneurial thinking. HUH???
He's had money hidden under his clothes, all over his body. He has traded in weapons. And he's even on the banned list of certain countries in the region. He said that to find some form of sanity after this crazy business of money-laundering and what not, he decided to settle down with his proper retail businesses in Singapore. Errr...I don't know about you, but I don't think I call money-laundering entrepreneurial.
2) Lunch: met an old friend who said her boyfriend proposed!!! WE are really moving into the next phase of our lives. Happy for her :)
3) Second interview: supposed to interview an organisation on why it's holding a tourism studies programme for participants as young as JC students. You know, it's really just a simple story where the lead-in is, as usual, a JC student saying how he likes the programme and then the rest of the story using comments from some chairman of this association that's offering the programme.
Well, I ended up entertaining a whole entourage of pple!!! The interview took place in a school cafe with two teachers in charge (both HODs), the PR person of the organisation, the head of the organisation, the head of a division of this organisation, and the head of the tourism school set up by this organisation. OKAAY.
For the photoshoot, I had requested a maximum of five students, plus one instructor to be photographed in a tourist spot, BUT I got a busload of students - at least 20 - instead. Get this: the school chartered a coach to fetch ALL of us there. Meaning me, JK the photog who of cos couldn't resist rolling her eyes, all the pple who were in the school cafe with me, and the many students.
I was damn tired after that interview and shoot man. The PR woman said she knew I'd told her I didn't want so many pple, but that the organisation really wanted to support us and give us all the help we wanted.
I wish pple would understand that it's damn difficult interviewing so many pple at one time. I have to bloody remember who said what, and in the end, end up using only one quote of each. Thank goodness I have brains, so I simply kept looking at one guy who looked like he knew all the answers. It helped. He provided the bulk of the answers.
4) Visited K's cancer-stricken mother at SGH. Family thought she would not have lasted the last few days. Felt really sad looking at all the onco patients, reminded me of days I saw my dad and aunt in those wards. K's the teenage girl attached to me in this youth programme I'm involved in.
I'm quite happy to hear from K that her mother's accepted Christ though. At least she can go to an eternal heaven where she'll suffer no more.
Tired....
Oh but Naruto episode 121 has come out!!! And Leroy's msning me the file right now!!! At least, that's some comfort for this day of weird happenings.
1) In the morning, I had to interview two instructors of entrepreneurship programmes and one of them said things that nearly made my jaw drop. Well, this man has opened successful businesses of his own and even written books, but he has also dabbled in illegal activities! Well, in his definition, they were not illegal in those countries that he did them in, so he said it was actually a case of "thinking out of the box" to earn money. ie entrepreneurial thinking. HUH???
He's had money hidden under his clothes, all over his body. He has traded in weapons. And he's even on the banned list of certain countries in the region. He said that to find some form of sanity after this crazy business of money-laundering and what not, he decided to settle down with his proper retail businesses in Singapore. Errr...I don't know about you, but I don't think I call money-laundering entrepreneurial.
2) Lunch: met an old friend who said her boyfriend proposed!!! WE are really moving into the next phase of our lives. Happy for her :)
3) Second interview: supposed to interview an organisation on why it's holding a tourism studies programme for participants as young as JC students. You know, it's really just a simple story where the lead-in is, as usual, a JC student saying how he likes the programme and then the rest of the story using comments from some chairman of this association that's offering the programme.
Well, I ended up entertaining a whole entourage of pple!!! The interview took place in a school cafe with two teachers in charge (both HODs), the PR person of the organisation, the head of the organisation, the head of a division of this organisation, and the head of the tourism school set up by this organisation. OKAAY.
For the photoshoot, I had requested a maximum of five students, plus one instructor to be photographed in a tourist spot, BUT I got a busload of students - at least 20 - instead. Get this: the school chartered a coach to fetch ALL of us there. Meaning me, JK the photog who of cos couldn't resist rolling her eyes, all the pple who were in the school cafe with me, and the many students.
I was damn tired after that interview and shoot man. The PR woman said she knew I'd told her I didn't want so many pple, but that the organisation really wanted to support us and give us all the help we wanted.
I wish pple would understand that it's damn difficult interviewing so many pple at one time. I have to bloody remember who said what, and in the end, end up using only one quote of each. Thank goodness I have brains, so I simply kept looking at one guy who looked like he knew all the answers. It helped. He provided the bulk of the answers.
4) Visited K's cancer-stricken mother at SGH. Family thought she would not have lasted the last few days. Felt really sad looking at all the onco patients, reminded me of days I saw my dad and aunt in those wards. K's the teenage girl attached to me in this youth programme I'm involved in.
I'm quite happy to hear from K that her mother's accepted Christ though. At least she can go to an eternal heaven where she'll suffer no more.
Tired....
Oh but Naruto episode 121 has come out!!! And Leroy's msning me the file right now!!! At least, that's some comfort for this day of weird happenings.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Peeved
I hate it when sloppy editing's done to my story. Especially when three pple have gone through it and still mistakes are there. Argghh!!! I found two missing words and one wrong word usage in my story today. Pissed. I need things to be perfect in my story, especially when it's not my fault that mistakes were introduced. And it's really embarrassing when the newsmaker reads it, and wonders how in the world such errors could be made by someone working for a newspaper.
Arghhh!!!! I don't even want to read it.
Arghhh!!!! I don't even want to read it.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
The word game
Mr Jai the old man played an unexpected word game with me on Friday. He was looking for a meat mincer to make jam. (More about that later.) At first, he thought he wouldn't be able to find it from the clutter in his house and had wanted to see if he could borrow one from me, if I had.
But when I visited him, he asked me to pick up a piece of paper with torn edges from the table and this is what it read:
"I was finally able to FIND the meat mincer."
He looked me in the eyes and said: "You're a writer. Tell me, is there a better word for "find"?"
Stressed, I offered "chanced upon" and "discover", but he shook his head. Finally, he told me to turn the slip of paper over and there was the word "locate" staring back at me. What a sense of humour this guy has!
As for the jam business, well, he suddenly missed his late mum's jam and wanted to try his hand at it. It's gonna be pretty tough cos he has to peel lots of oranges (yes, orange jam), shred the peel and cook them. But it's gonna be interesting to see how he manages it :)
But when I visited him, he asked me to pick up a piece of paper with torn edges from the table and this is what it read:
"I was finally able to FIND the meat mincer."
He looked me in the eyes and said: "You're a writer. Tell me, is there a better word for "find"?"
Stressed, I offered "chanced upon" and "discover", but he shook his head. Finally, he told me to turn the slip of paper over and there was the word "locate" staring back at me. What a sense of humour this guy has!
As for the jam business, well, he suddenly missed his late mum's jam and wanted to try his hand at it. It's gonna be pretty tough cos he has to peel lots of oranges (yes, orange jam), shred the peel and cook them. But it's gonna be interesting to see how he manages it :)
Friday, February 11, 2005
Papa's house: Every Chinese New Year, when I visit my papa (husband of my former nanny), he never fails to remind me that I used to sit in this multipurpose chair when I was young. Papa is 68 this year and his wife, who's passed away, cared for me until I was four. This antique "throne" for the kids can act as a stool or leg rest too, depending on how you turn it around. Sadly, one adjoining part on its side is broken. But, papa can't bear to throw it away cos generations of kids have sat in this! First to use it was his youngest son, who's about 30 this year. Next was me, then my bro, and I think three other boys, and then papa's own grandchildren!
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Love is in the air
Well, love for those who need it :)
Two colleagues brought food for Mr Jai yesterday and today, and A LOT of food. Mr Jai said the first one brought him a "seven-course" lunch! Haha. And he was very happy and surprised to hear that it was cooked by this guy's wife. He couldn't help but exclaim: "Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!" over the phone.
Today, another colleague visited with her dad and her dad gave him an ang pow. So nice. I'm pretty happy the old man has had a pretty filling Chinese New Year.
Just some interesting tidbits about this man. He told me that, as a former doctor, he still disposes of expired medicine of his the correct way. Said you can't just throw the pills into the dustbin carelessly in case of drug abuse. Someone could pick them up and consume them. I don't know who could be so desperate anyways!
So he pours the pills into empty tins and fills them with leftover (think unsold) food from a stall that someone sends over to his house. I saw curry once in the tins. He then lets the concoction ferment before throwing the tin away. This way, the medicine gets disposed of properly.
Oh yes, he says it's a good way of clearing the junk in his house too, cos he has tins and cartons packed to the ceilings! How methodical.
Two colleagues brought food for Mr Jai yesterday and today, and A LOT of food. Mr Jai said the first one brought him a "seven-course" lunch! Haha. And he was very happy and surprised to hear that it was cooked by this guy's wife. He couldn't help but exclaim: "Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!" over the phone.
Today, another colleague visited with her dad and her dad gave him an ang pow. So nice. I'm pretty happy the old man has had a pretty filling Chinese New Year.
Just some interesting tidbits about this man. He told me that, as a former doctor, he still disposes of expired medicine of his the correct way. Said you can't just throw the pills into the dustbin carelessly in case of drug abuse. Someone could pick them up and consume them. I don't know who could be so desperate anyways!
So he pours the pills into empty tins and fills them with leftover (think unsold) food from a stall that someone sends over to his house. I saw curry once in the tins. He then lets the concoction ferment before throwing the tin away. This way, the medicine gets disposed of properly.
Oh yes, he says it's a good way of clearing the junk in his house too, cos he has tins and cartons packed to the ceilings! How methodical.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Eat, drink and be merry!
Six of us had our wonderful reunion dinner at an Italian restaurant called Menotti (next to Delifrance) at Raffles City last night. And we had great food and dessert! Haha, let me talk about the desserts first.
We shared three different bowls of gelato, with interesting combinations of flavours and toppings. Menotti has so many varieties of yummy gelato, you'd be spoilt for choice. I'll post the pictures once Marilyn my 16-year-old cousin uploads them. She went berserk shooting the pix and I helped do a bit of food styling (you know, put a wine glass here and there) though err...didn't turn out very successful. Ha!
Mavis my cousin had the Portofino - three scoops of vanilla gelato, each topped with a puffy pastry. Ooo...yum :) My favourite.
Marilyn had the Menotti - chocolate, strawberry and something else. Not bad.
I had the Sorrento - lemon, passionfruit and chocolate chip! Such interesting combi. The rich cream and milk of the chocolate chip gelato balanced the sharp sour flavours of the other two perfectly. The gelato was topped off with a fruit salad and two cookies.
Prices were very reasonable, about $8 for my Sorrento, for example. Dinner was value for money too. I had duck leg braised in red wine, served with mash potato. It cost about $18. Not bad. And the portions were just right. Maybank and UOB cardholders get 15 per cent discount too! I have both cards. Heh.
After dinner, we adjourned to the River Hongbao. Pretty fun soaking in the festive mood there too. The God of Fortune was a towering giant, by the way. Of cos, trigger-happy Marilyn kept snapping all the way. I took pix with my mum in front of our zodiac animal - the goat. They were sort of gigantic lanterns and came in a family of four - Papa, Mama, and two kids (no pun intended!). The other animals were displayed all over a big square.
Anyways, let me do a 10 amusing things I observed last night (ala magazines' usual 10 things I never knew...):
1. My aunt (oldest one) and my mum have never been inside the Esplanade. My aunt even thought we were not allowed to step further inside the building cos she assumed you needed tickets of something. Yes, suaku, they admitted :)
2. The zodiac Dragon at River Hongbao is a bl**dy pink!!! According to Marilyn, who was utterly disappointed that HER animal was such a disgusting colour, said it looked like a COW. Haha.
3. .... oops...have run out of things I noticed. Hahahaha. FAIL! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! BE KIND TO CHICKENS THIS YEAR!!! :)
We shared three different bowls of gelato, with interesting combinations of flavours and toppings. Menotti has so many varieties of yummy gelato, you'd be spoilt for choice. I'll post the pictures once Marilyn my 16-year-old cousin uploads them. She went berserk shooting the pix and I helped do a bit of food styling (you know, put a wine glass here and there) though err...didn't turn out very successful. Ha!
Mavis my cousin had the Portofino - three scoops of vanilla gelato, each topped with a puffy pastry. Ooo...yum :) My favourite.
Marilyn had the Menotti - chocolate, strawberry and something else. Not bad.
I had the Sorrento - lemon, passionfruit and chocolate chip! Such interesting combi. The rich cream and milk of the chocolate chip gelato balanced the sharp sour flavours of the other two perfectly. The gelato was topped off with a fruit salad and two cookies.
Prices were very reasonable, about $8 for my Sorrento, for example. Dinner was value for money too. I had duck leg braised in red wine, served with mash potato. It cost about $18. Not bad. And the portions were just right. Maybank and UOB cardholders get 15 per cent discount too! I have both cards. Heh.
After dinner, we adjourned to the River Hongbao. Pretty fun soaking in the festive mood there too. The God of Fortune was a towering giant, by the way. Of cos, trigger-happy Marilyn kept snapping all the way. I took pix with my mum in front of our zodiac animal - the goat. They were sort of gigantic lanterns and came in a family of four - Papa, Mama, and two kids (no pun intended!). The other animals were displayed all over a big square.
Anyways, let me do a 10 amusing things I observed last night (ala magazines' usual 10 things I never knew...):
1. My aunt (oldest one) and my mum have never been inside the Esplanade. My aunt even thought we were not allowed to step further inside the building cos she assumed you needed tickets of something. Yes, suaku, they admitted :)
2. The zodiac Dragon at River Hongbao is a bl**dy pink!!! According to Marilyn, who was utterly disappointed that HER animal was such a disgusting colour, said it looked like a COW. Haha.
3. .... oops...have run out of things I noticed. Hahahaha. FAIL! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! BE KIND TO CHICKENS THIS YEAR!!! :)
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