Damn Sian..

Buck up!!! I must not let a hyper active boss put me down!!!

BTSC first visit

And so I finally got to start riding lessons.. i just finished learning the parts of the rein and the gridle... and how to lead the horse out of its stable...

its a pretty simple first lesson.. I recall in Waterloo, they didn't even teach me to lead the horse and already I was on horseback.. but today we all enjoyed touching its head.. and learnt that its two sensitive parts are its ears and belly...

yea.. such an early start to my saturday.. will probably make the weekend feel longer.. lol...

there are just us four in the beginners lesson.. but the others are really young kids.. pri sch? from their conversations, i learned that one of them actually owns horses.. not sure about the others.. but they all already grew up with horses so are familiar with them!

its nice being with fellows who like horses like i do.. and we were all accompanied by our parents! haha.. quite hilarious.. cos mummy decide to tag along probably just out of curiousity..

looking forward to lessons ahead...

Near marketplace..

Lunch was amazing! the noodle was good.. charsiew was good.. juicy, bbqed well and fat.. and even the dessert was good.. all for 8,80 no service charge.. go go go!!!

Simple cooking

I made Soba today! quite pro ok.. i was trying to copy how Sun with Mood does it.. boil, cool and put the soba on ice... and the soup/sauce i add sesame and seaweed.. most ingredients from market place.. cos mumy and i was there for tea... show you the pics soon...

Actually...

last week we went to the National Museum and enjoyed ourselves very much at pompeii.. but as i was rushing to orchestra.. we only managed half of it.. so we returned to the National Museum today... to discover... THIS:

A QUEUE!!!! from the first block of the museum.. to the next block.. and then.. to the escalator that leads DOWN... and all the way into the museum!!! can you believe it!?!?! so we didn't go to pompeii (target tmr) and went to the others instead (fashion and wayang galleries.. :))

Carmen

And so we watched Carmen today... Think mummy enjoyed it very much..

The familiar tunes that defined Carmen and the Toreador.. totally hits the hearts... i think its an amazing webwork by bizet.. the harp brought in the third scene so lovely.. the cellos tune was well-written (will be great if the solo cello didn't go out of tune).. the flute signalled an entrance too.. (i wished i could be less critical.. but he faltered..) otherwise, everything else was good with the clarinets weaving in and out of the voices..

i like the brashness of Carmen.. (accompanied by the tambourine!) but is abhorred by her fickleness! the children's march mimicking was great too! haha.. so lovely and lively and well-sung! felt that Carmen's dress was a little lacking though.. didn't change much throughout! even Don Jose had more of a change of clothes than she did! -.-

an opera comic indeed.. haha.. even the songs had some funny jokes! the ending was totally silly.. just die die die..

its great to finally know what Carmen is all about... after so much studying and playing...

The Cookie Museum

This is an amazing shop.. with some history too... Absolutely Made In Singapore... the cake comes in a bottle.. for lazy singaporeans to heat up in the microwave.. but seriously.. i dun like it at all...

The best part of the experience.. besides the outstanding decor and relaxing ambience.. is the fragrance.. this is what drinking tea should be about! The FRAGRANCE! even before the tea touches my lips.. my nose is already basking in its richness...

We DISCOVERED a park!

Walking from City Hall to the National Museum.. we discovered THIS!.. a butterfly park! mummy was so amused by it.. haha...







The flowers that did the job... (of attracting the butterflies!)

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Watami

The food is GOOD!.. abit over tasty... very RICH flavours.. but good.. they live up to their motto!

Went to the one at marketplace.. but it seems the one at Central will have a better view... :P

USS!!! :D

Here we have my dream castle, the wet rides in USS and... no smoking in Jurassic Park!!!

Spot the Difference..

Mummy's provision shop

One fine day.. mummy came home to say (translated) 'i went to this shop in marketplace got 50% discount lei!' -she means city hall basement- 'that sells zha2 huo4' -i.e. sells mixed goods- 'bags, bikinis, slippers, earrings etc.'

I crinkled my eyebrows.. thought very hard to myself... marketplace got provision shop meh? and provision shop sells bikinis!??!?! and then... i went (translated) 'what's the shop name?'... thinks even harder... ' the shop named accessorize ah???

She said (translated again)'no la.. the shop got name one meh..?' -pause- 'ah, i show you the bag.. i bought a pair of earrings...' and at first, i couldn't recognise the bag.. i tot... maybe its really some random shop i dunno.. and then.... my eyes set on the word a.c.c.e.s.s.o.r.i.z.e at the botton of the bag that housed her rose earrings (she wore to Carmen today)...

sm lee insisted i post this.. haha.. its so hilarious lorz.. mummy's provision shop is accessorize... very high class leiz.....

THB Fanatics!

Woah.. went to the handburger @ 313 after work today.. (no photos thanks to stupid no camera policy..) well... ordered the chicken (caesar?) burger... no set...

its not good la... i think the chicken is too dry.. and the bread is not sweet enough... the bread is good, fresh and soft, just not sweet enough... i like the mushroom cheese though.. haha.. yummy stuff... and veggies and tomatoes.. but those are the sides! the main not good lei..

yaya tried the beef de.. she ordered medium rare (she said she forgot she had food poisoning yday).. but it turned out raw... lol... i think the beef looks juicy, except that i dun take beef.. oppz.. haha...

then they gave us this THB Fanatics card upon payment.. so smart la.. they force u to be member.. lol.. already got like 800 points in my acct le.. its quite a good deal leiz.. like 10 percent rebate for every meal... just redeem ur rebate within a year can le... and 20 percent rebate on ur bday month somemore!

oh btw, we tried the warm chocolate cake dessert.. we both loved the ice-cream!!! (the side again, somehow this restaurant does well at sides but not main..) the cake itself.. does not ooze chocolate fudge like we love it.. i think a little dry also.. so the cake not good.. we miss the tcc de... :P

not too ex if u only order main.. if u order set.. will be quite pricey for the place - its like a canteen! benches and long chairs.. plus loads of chatter just 5cm away - totally noisy and no privacy!

pre-CNY gathering

It was such a lovely event! We had yummy lunch post Saboteur with like 10 dishes per table.. Followed by this yusheng and then the matcha tiramisu with some sparkling juice and honeydew sago in between the snacks!!! Such a wonderful family gathering.. where aunts busy themselves with food preparation and washing and uncles sit around discussing and updating one another's lives and not forgetting us cousins! who finally grew up and enjoy playing so stress-free...

Fresco

a wall painting technique in which the pigment is applied to newly plastered walls: the paint bonds with the plaster as both dry creating a very durable surface.

This is the definition given by the Pompeii guidebook.

(Sigh, as I'm typing, I got news that my aunt is 1 hr late as she's tied up with playing mahjong, totally pissed now. As we could've gone back to the Museum just now if we knew she was gng to be late) (ok la, i'm more angry that she's playing mahjong than she's late. they're infatuated with such a material need i really hate it)

Took some crazy zooms of the fresco at the Museum. lol... my mother and I couldn't figure out the annotation of the latter fresco... lol...

Mosaic fountain

So my mother and I went to the pompeii exhibition, we didn't expect it to be so exciting! It was the Museum's open house, so free entry to all exhibits! we didn't finish the entire exhibition as I had to rush to orchestra, but intend to go back if we have time! The exhibition intrigued both my mother and I as we were very interested how pple used to live in the past.


This fountain was actually preserved thanks to Vesuvius eruption!








A close up of the Mosaic















A close up of the shells

National Museum

This is quite a good angle for the National Museum, I feel.

Eat. Pray. Love

And so, after I finally managed to catch the movie (in two parts actually cos halfway the plane landed then the entertainment system was switched off) on the plane ride... it got me inspired to get the book and read it the moment i landed in SG!

But its such a long and thick and trvel guide book kind of thing that I took almost a MONTH to finish it! many many hours.. i think almost 3 x 24 hr days...

The most gross thing and the only reason it got me so attached was the way I could emphatise on every single pain and happiness of hers. Its gross cos she's 34, divorced etc. But the ability to emphatise, leads me to realise there's always a silver lining if not a pot of gold.

Many may not know, it actually is non-fiction! can you believe it!? such intimate secrets printed, i totally cannot. The book did make me want to go to Naples (esp after my visit to the pompeii exhibition) and to Indonesia as well!

this is MY TYPE of travel guide. haha.. ten stars!!! read it if you can!!! its something I will read, time and again.... :D

P.S. and she's such a humours writer, i love humour in books, like that in meyer.

My pimples..

and so my pimples actually come with a looong story but I won't dwell into that..

except that the girls are all very concerned.. they suggested i go see doctor.. (like hc is in derma now but I dun think she'd be willing to be asked doctor qns post work) one suggested i try the kiwi remedy... so I'm taking kiwi everyday.. another suggested the cream she's using i think is Avene or something like that...

the one that suggested kiwi listed a list of Vitamins that I need to build up on.. but too much for me to take.. lol..

I've tried Shiseido, Jurlique but ALL dun work! We're trying to figure what caused the breakup actually. some say maybe work stress, some say probably flight stress (i flew 5 times last year)... dunno.. i hope i'm healthy! :) and happy to know so many dear and concerned friends!!! I'm very very appreciative of that!

Did I tell you..

That I've been coughing so badly?

But my colleagues are so concerned, one even left the jin1 hou2 sweet on his desk to help soothe the cough. (i just assume he left it for me la, so touched!) Some are advising what I shouldn't eat/drink , like tea will make my cough worse, cannot eat ice-cream, but camomile supposed to help soothe cough (btw, I tried Dilmah's camomile today and found its fragrance reminds me of cockroach smell) and beer is supposed to be good for cough too?

Another girl suggested drinking coke with salt.. some uncle said just gargle salt la.. haha... some suggested I avoid alcohol, didn't know its bad for cough too?

So I have one whole list of cough/sore throat remedies...

Omg...

This is so classic of the old me... How could I have made such a grave mistake????

I mistook the concert date to be 21 Mar, and thought, ah, everything falls into place, like I perform 21, den pack and go trip on 24 Mar...

To my utter shock today.. during dinner.. someone randomly spouted the 26th Mar date and caught me off guard.. i think i still couldn't believe it... till NOW>..... This means, I cannot perform.. this means, I dun understand what the guy up there is hinting?

He sent me back to orchestra with all those signs.. I am now so clear that what I really need is orchestra cos I yearn the group work.. the blending in... but, he doesn't let me perform. If i cannot perform, I most likely, cannot go back anymore.. for fear of tipping the balance of the orchestra...

I think.. I'm ok not performing.. although I've always wanted to perform in esplanade.. BUT.. its ok... i think what I'd really like is to enjoy practices.. enjoy playing with the team, the conductor and making MUSIC...

oh dear..i dunno what to do.. the very fierce cg will be so angry with me.. i dunno how she will scold me lorz.. sigh...

Did I tell you about the girl..

who encouraged me to blog? lol.. now i'm like bloggin in spurts.. cos as I re-read my previous posts.. I cant believe how much I've grown!

Just a minute ago I was thinking it will be impossible to blog about work, but the next minute i'm reading a post last year about work! omg... maybe I should, I think it helps clear my mind, sort out thoughts.. and maybe even calm me down!

And re-reading last year's resolution, OMG! I actually FAILED to meet my ONLY resolution of the YEAR! ARGH!!!!! no wonder i totally do not want to make resolutions this year. (Besides the fact that i'm so satisfied with myself i dunno what i want to improve on desperately)

okay okay.. take it back.. bu yao da wo! :D I shall stop spamming, more to come tmr! :P

Catching up..

I realised the lack of blogging could be due to my starting to use face book. But somehow, I want to make it up to this blog. Haha.. Some interesting places I've been and recommend all to go:



Egg3 Cafe @ Mountbatten Centre, Block D

I highly recommend tea-time there. Its too cosy. Too family. I'd go even if i only had an hour to spare. The lemongrass is amazing...



Philatelic Museum

We went on Christmas Day I think. It was so amazing.. I like it that I can hui2 wei4 tong2 nian2 with mummy. The photo isn't quite representative of the Museum, i didn't realise I didn't take any representative of the Museum.. haha.. but just go! I was introduced to this Museum when I was lounging in Silver Kris at T3 awaiting my working flight... things just happen like that.. and i'm so appreciative of it...

And I wrote the previous post..

becos some dear girl encouraged me to blog MORE...

Her comment made me return to my previous posts to read... I didn't realise that my life seemed to have stopped a little... Sad a little...

And yes! I want to keep this blog alive! with the conviction as when I started! So, I'm very sorry that post was so long.. haha..

But I've been so into work.. There's too much i cannot say..

growing up, I hope I am...

Visit back to orchestra..

Okay, as you knew.. after all those signs.. i went back to orchestra last Sat..

Prior to that, there were so many signs:
bumping into my favourite Sheng player at Vivo, bumping into my dearest ruan player at Suntec, etc etc.. seeing the cello appear everywhere.. during ktv, tv advertisements, on posters etc etc.. acquiantance with a semi-pro saxaphonist cum ex-pres of ntusb..

And so I was curious b4 I returned how the section was and asked the pp(principal player) i used to know.. to realise that she wasn't pp anymore.. her words made me shiver "we're playing difficult pieces this year you know", (is she thinking i'm not good enuff to cope with the repertoire?) not too friendly she is, told me she let's the new pp makes decisions... and not too encouraging abt my return either..

and you know.. the last time I touched the instrument was in 2009, for the Poland competition... in June I think.. and I haven't been near it since then.. i was so worried i couldn't play anymore! plus i'm so ambitious i'm returning to full orchestra practices immediately without participating in sectionals, also due to work commitments (sectionals are on wkdays) i may never go sectionals.. :P

And her words did get me so worried i think my legs were gng soft on my way up to the YST orchestra hall (we had to borrow their hall as CFA was in renovations)... I was so worried, my mind was BLANK! I couldn't remember which note was in which position, i totally forgotten how each of the four strings sounded.. and i was really freaked out to be on my way back to orchestra after such a long absence!

Not to mention pple would be looking at me wondering who i was, i was worried i wouldn't know most of the pple! I dunno how to find a cello, I dunno if its okay to borrow one.. i was even prepared to not play and just go home!

But it turns out that as I turned towards the hall i bumped right into the ex-pp, she was tuning her cello, so I asked if there was a spare one i could borrow, she pointed me into the room.. and as it turns out, I followed her example to tune and timidly sneaked into the hall.. as it felt so strange, i was afraid pple will stare at this stranger.. and i dunno how to explain myself. I was glad to see another alumni in the section and with relief, found a seat as his desk partner.

It was so scary at first i think my bow was trembling.. but my desk partner led me in well, showed me the bar, and it was easy to follow someone who was playing mostly correct notes. took me about half an hour and two pages of score to grow back into the cellist i was.. SIGHT-READIng.. the pipa pro later commented i'm such an amazing sight-reader as I did not have the luxury to own an instrument, I was forced to be execellent in sight reading.

OH! I missed out the most impt part, the moment i creeped into my seat and sat down, i finally raised my head to look at conductor to hear him say "wo you mei you kan cuo? na shi yan jun ma?" that broke my very tense countenance into a big great smile... :D nodding.. hee hee.. lao shi, you still rmbr me!

in any case, the conductor didn't chase me out of the room, some junior made me write my particulars down, so i'm kind of fixed for this concert... i hope not too many pple disapprove of my last min. participation..

but let me continue with my story.. it was actually more of a chinese lesson last Sat as reading the score i saw some really weird chinese characters.. some i cannot recognise, most i cannot understand... fortunately my desk partner is some cheena folk and patiently explained to me, what is "ci qi pi fu", i decided it just means to play randomly, and later went on to further analyse it means when you start screaming, i end and vice versa.

yes and with age, and being rusty, after like an hour of rehearsal, i slumped back in my seat. lao shi was then looking at us, flipping his conductor score but when he set his vision on me, he said "ah, ni men xu yao xiu xi le ma? xiu xi shi wu fen zhong ba!" lol.. i got stunned... haha.. i decided he must have saw my shagged look to suddenly take a break... felt abit paiseh though...

nobody, NOBODY, i'm very sure will be able to emphatise with me. which idiot will stop for 1.5yrs after an intensive competition and THEN sit in an intensive rehearsal!? -SIGHTREADING- wor... yah.. but its exhilarating.. it got me so hyped up i think i had a hard time falling aslp (Or it could be due to the koi tea..:P)

it gave me life.

revived a part of me that was forced to be still due to work and volunteer commitments. I have forgotten how happy i could be. I have forgotten how much i could look forward to something.

Even for a short term, I'm glad I could go back. (think sovil titus)

I've never..

Looked forward to Saturday so much in my life!

Sometimes.. No, in fact, Many times.. you don't know what you're missing until you decide to let go.

Pipe Organ

And so we were discussing the pipe organ cos its the first EVER time we heard it played and...

sm Lee says: You can move the keyboard around de..
i'm like: NO WAY!!! I was trying to imagine how the pedals ran below the floor to the pipes lorz...
sm and Leng tgt: So engr lorz...

-.-

I decided that the pipe organ is remote controlled. How advanced right?

Remember that guy..

In secondary sch?
Whom I had a crush so awful.

I watched his back from day to day,
Wishing he'd ask me out some way.

From dawn till dusk and come what may,
I wait in patience till hair turns grey.

He never did and never would,
I finally realised what was true.

A jerk he was through and through,
My friends adviced me to take it cool.

And now a decade past secondary sch,
I'm back with a crush so hard but true.

From day thru night my insolent heart,
Churns thoughts of him tears me apart.

I yearn and long to watch him afar,
A simple wish to fulfil so hard.

Tne girls' advice so keen to heal,
My brain listens the heart refuse.

A silly age for such a crush,
For there is certainly no rush.

Seen the world passed many tests,
Heart still so wild refuse to rest.

Tried all ways and found all means,
Nothing seems to work within.

A recurrent symptom of falling in love,
The heart longing in a strong rhythm.

Can't give in there is no way,
Wait in pain till hope turn gray.

The maze..

Infinite ways there are,
Not even one is far.

Ahead lies just one question,
Will there be a door open?