a secret life...

i must have a secret life... my secret life of a rock chic! haha!

this week, i watched a rock concert (maroon five) and just came back from a great rock musical (we will rock you). i almost gave it a miss, coz i thot i might not know so many songs by Queen. but a force up there wants my rock chic persona to be released!!! haha... basically i got complimentary tickets from mediacorp (yes... now i get the tickets coz got no marketing boss! haha). back to the musical... i actually knew majority of the songs... it brought back great memories from the partying days! from we will rock you...we are the champions... radio ga-ga...i want to break free...under pressure... and of course bohemian rhapsody!!! the singing was great, the band was brilliant (but a bit too loud at times that it drowns some singing), great audience too! the crowd was standing towards the end (partly a standing ovation but also because you can't sit at the finale of a tribute to the best of rock!). yes! standing!!! not typical of musical crowd, so it was really an experience.

so strongly recommend you to go watch it before it ends!

the angel came by again

just when i thought the day was not turning better, the lil' angel came by with 2 paper bags of goodies...

from sandwich to croissant, from danish to muffins... thanks dear! haha... think got glimpse of your branding somewhere... :)

absent minded me

what a saturday morning... nothing went right (and only half a day has past)...quite glad that i decided to stay home instead...

woke up as early as 8.15am, and when i opened the door to get my papers, they only delivered my straits times (we asked for the saturday edition of tnp to be delivered from this saturday). then decided to go get breakfast and papers with my sis. when we went down, the bee hoon was sold out, the tnp was sold out!!! arrrgggghhh... in the end we had to walk all the way to the market to find the dry market was closed for renovation! so settled for the bee hoon from the coffeeshop. after spending so much time walking around, i had to takeaway my breakfast cause my sis was going back to school. i bought a mini pandan cake too and it was in the same pink plastic bag as per my bee hoon. so after i had my breakfast, i sort of tie both the bags and left in on the table for a while. when i went to the kitchen, i took the bag with the beenhoon wrapper and can to throw... that was what i thought! when i sat down watching tv, i sort of saw the coke can in a pink plastic bag staring at me!!! omg!!! i actually threw the wrong bag! i threw away a whole pandan cake, totally uneaten, untouched! how silly of me! sigh... better not touch anything else for the rest of the day... 11 hours to go to hit sunday...

fell in love with...

he is usually not my type... too skinny... haha... but seeing him live in concert...sigh...totally mesmerised by him! he oozes natural charm... his voice was so powerful... even in a simple white t-shirt and black jeans... nothing fanciful but just him with his guitar.

hehe... adam levine from maroon 5 is just so cool! now i can imagine why he has so much rumours about his love life! haha! he is really very charming! the concert was only slightly over an hour, and it was really so short! it was a really "high" concert! the whole indoor stadium was standing right from the start...ok... R and I started standing like half way thru coz adam levine urged us too! hehe... think only the couple behind us refused to stand up!!

anyway, guess the best of concerts are from bands coz the concert was all about the music. no fanciful backdrop on stages, no stage effects, not even loud costumes or styling. super high!

oh... when we were on the way to the taxi-stand, we heard screams. so we looked out of the overhead bridge and realised adam levine actually walked out to sign autographs for the fans!!! arrgghhh... i was calling for cab, so no hands to take my camera out! hehe... my little excitement for the week!

past-time of an old dame

haha... felt like an old dame this long weekend... the original plan to just "nua" or rest and relax at home already show signs of aging!!! but plans are always changing! but even with activities, it seems to be activities for the senior citizens! haha!

good fri - was home watching dvd till 2.30pm when R sms me to turn on my msn! (yes... i was actually trying to spend less time on the computer). so a last minute dinner at vivo city was planned. while having dinner, we were chatting about our ex-colleagues and sms one of them for a last minute MJ game! in an hour's time, we were on our way to hougang for MJ!

sat - slept till about 10am (since i went home at abt 4am), still tired... but had another MJ game at 3pm! haha... yes... another... this time at my god-sis's place. she organised a gathering with my sis and their stc clique. besides MJ, the dinner was super yummy nasi lemak prepared by god-sis's mom! home made ngor hiang, fried chicken wing, ikan billis with peanuts, fishcakes, omelette etc... was super stuffed at the end of dinner as we were over fed with fruits too... had thai mango, fresh prunes, strawberries, miniature kiwi etc.

well... had 2 lucky streaks at the MJ table. won $11 at the first and $52 at the second.. so cover my cab fares (esp the one from hougang!) and still can give my mom and sis a treat for breakfast this morning.

another snack introduction

realised i have been buying lots of snacks these days! what's more... not the usual snacks, i have been buying expensive snacks! haha... gosh... that's bad for the waist line and the wallet! hehe!

kinder bueno white. found it in the cocoa tree at vivo city. looks interesting and thought i should give it a try. its white chocolate covered wafer with a milky and hazelnut filling. there are even sprinkles of delicate chocolate crisps giving it extra crunch when eating... yummy! bought a box of 8 packs (each packs with 2 bars) cost me $17! but it was really good, so its worth the money.

so this is another snack recommendation by the travelling footie... :)

not once but twice...

had quite stressful weeks recently... had stocks issues... had major issues with my agency causing me to make a decision to use another agency 2 weeks before my campaign!!!

today was my briefing to the restaurant managers. i was prepared for the worst as i was rushing my "new" agency like crazy to get the artwork ready to share with the restaurant managers. so, i went through my briefing and right at the end, asked the managers if there were any questions. 1 manager put his hand up and went (summarising it since i can't remember the exact words) - "i understand you are introducing new and different ideas in promotions and advertising etc... i just want to say a JOB WELL DONE!"... it totally caught me off-guard... my AGM told me afterwards that he was surprised this manager praised me in front of the group... apparently he was one of those who challenged the previous marketing managers! so it made me happy this morning...

then in the afternoon, i was having a conversation with my franchisor... after getting approvals etc, she told me i am doing a great job so far... praise number 2 for the day!

getting praised twice in a day is an ego booster! feels good especially after i have been doubting myself... now i need the sales to pick up to prove that i am doing it right! everyone go eat at BK!

blood orange

always seen blood orange being used as ingredients in yummy desserts... like blood orange creme brulee, blood orange sorbet, blood orange cheesecake, blood orange tart etc...

so it was quite a surprise when i found blood orange at ntuc during my grocery shopping on sunday... decided to buy some and try the original taste of blood orange... not cheap... 3 small ones for $2.55!

finally tried it today... it is really sweet... no seeds... juicy...

so i went to google more information about blood orange... originally from sicily, most abundant in italy and spain...gained popularity in us... high in vitamins...great for juicing, sauces, sorbets and salads...

so here's my little food tip for the day! :)

snacking weekend

what do you do when you are home for the weekend? Watch tv and snack!!! totally bad for the waistline!!!

anyway, while doing grocery shopping at ntuc, i found a range of japanese snacks and decided to try out those flavours that you hardly find in singapore! bought this glico collon - pudding flavour... thought it was a bit expensive - $4.50 for 6 mini packs... compared to the usual $1 for a box. but i always like the pudding/creme brulee/tiramisu etc... the smell when i opened up the pack is so sweet... just like the real pudding! hehe... finished the whole box in a day! its addictive! so here's the packaging for the recommendation! haha!

an angel

its another rainy day again... wishing i could sleep-in instead of going to work today! didn't help that i watched liverpool beat inter milan till abt 6am... plus wednesday is also the day of my weekly management meeting.

there is always surprises as i had an angel sent me some sweetness in the rain... hehe... mermaid brought me a box of donuts from j.co... 雨中送甜甜圈! haha... thanks dear!

the donuts are not too bad... its a pity that i ate it much later in the night... so the glazed ones sort of melted... the white chocolate with almond was a little too sweet... but the overall rating is not too bad... tends to be on the sweet side...the dough was soft and fluffy... some were too soft... haha... i am such a fussy donut eater!

saturday night live

its past midnight... so technically its sunday already... but i have a life this saturday :)

was supposed to have my monthly mahjong game this afternoon, but one of my kaki had a last minute doctor appt, so the balance 3 "legs" went for a movie instead. watched "juno" at vivo city. not bad at all... not a big production but i thought it was enjoyable.

after that, i went to my god sister's birthday celebration at SAF Yacht Club at tanah merah... it was pretty far, but the view of the chalet is really nice. had a barbeque right in front of the nice sea view...

ate and drank loads!!! we had many rounds of alcholic lychee slurpees!!! hehe... very refreshing and cooling at a barbeque. the place is also open for public, think it is nicer than downtown east... just that it is a bit far out... took so long to get a cab! maybe that's why they don't charge too much! :)

follow-up on displeasure...

haha... this is just a follow-up to my displeasure yesterday...

another mistake today, but i didn't said much... more kan cheong to get the problem fixed than to start pointing fingers. anyway... the funny part was when we went off at the end of the day, my staff suddenly asked me this... "after all these mistakes, is it going to affect my confirmation?". Seriously, it is not like they are huge mistakes (i believe i have done worse before), so i told her just learn from her mistakes.

now my mood will frighten people... ;p

displeasure

today marks the first time i got frustrated with my staff and think they were scared... actually, compared to the type of outburst i used to show to suppliers, agencies and some ex-colleagues, this is way way way too mild...

guess i was already bogged down with a lot of things to be rushed out in the morning... so every little thing could trigger my irritation. imagine giving an instruction, then the moment she turned around, she did the total opposite! i didn't raised my voice or anything, but just said in an irritated tone "didn't i tell you otherwise"... all went silent... i continued to work on my laptop as i was rushing an document for urgent approval, but i could tell there was tension...

was in meetings the whole afternoon, and everytime i stepped out, i was greeted with 1 bad news after another... all mistakes that lead to misprints... sigh... alr have small budget, still must bear with unnecessary costs. guess my displeasure really showed on my face! received an apology sms from my staff after she left. can't imagine if i really flare up...

contented...

think i am beginning to get contented easily... its that good or bad?

after one and a half months of work at BK, there are times that i question my capabilities... mainly due to all the shit (pardon my language) i am trying the clear... plus all the people management at my office and the franchisor...

so this evening, i was like a little girl jumping for joy when i received an email from my franchisor on approving my concept and the words that brought that smile..."its a great idea! been a long time since!" hehe... don't ask me why i am happy, but i guess it just made my day better... :)

family ties

decided to be a fillial girl today... brought my mom, my god-granny, one of my aunt and my sisters for a dim sum lunch today... yes... at my current fav chinese restaurant... tung lok signatures at vivo city. basically feels that the quality is worth spending the money...

besides the usual 虾饺, 烧卖... had such interesting dishes too... some of my fav...菠萝叉烧包 / Mini roast pork bun

pan fried taro shreds with pumkin

奶黄流沙包 / pan fried custard bun

带子饺 / scallop dumpling

蛋塔仔 / mini egg tarts with flaky crust

anyway, was glad that we had this outing... we usually only visit my god-granny during festive occasions... think it is the first time we brought her out for a meal. she mentioned how good girls we are, especially to our mom! hehe... got praise from elders...

really felt the importance of family ties when i watched the memorial service of lydia sum. many of the speeches really touched me. and you can tell her whole life was all about her daughter and vice versa. life is short, must remember to be good to my mom and not find her words of wisdom as nagging!!! as usual, the emotional me sat thru the show with tears flowing uncontrollably... my sister said my crying tap got turned on and couldn't be turned off! my eyes were actually swollen after the show!