happy birthday sisters!

october is always a madness month for me, coz both my sisters are born in october - just 3 days apart.

annita's birthday was yesterday - 25th oct, but she received her present the week earlier. treated her to sandy lam's concert. her idol mah... so she has the ticket stub to keep!

waiyu's birthday is on 28th, but she has her celebration today since her actual day is a working day. her best friend (my god sis) organised a barbeque for her. but i decided to make a special breakfast for her this morning. bought back a pancake mix from san fran and decided to make them today! complete american breakfast: spiced pecan pumkin pancakes with maple pecan butter & maple syrup, scrambled eggs & luncheon meat (forgot to buy ham lah). the pancake was delicious! i am so glad i lugged them back!the pancake mixthe american breakfast from my kitchen - the last piece of the pancake was a bit burnt!

then for her bbq, i cooked the prawn paste fried rice, marinated the beef & pork. although i didn't do much barbequing, i was also tired lor! there were loads of food! we ended the day with the cake of course! recommended the lychee martini cake i tried at LY's party and hope she like it too!

she didn't get her present from me yet coz she wanted to have a present to open on her actual day! haha! ok... so another 2 days to go... but i guess the best present was liverpool DEFEATED chelsea! AT STAMFORD BRIDGE! woohoo!!! happiness!!!

one of my unlucky day

how do you tell if you have a day of bad luck? today is one such day for me! although nothing major happened, but it was a day of mini-bad mishaps

- started the day by breaking the cover of my mug. its a porcelain mug with tea strainer, and its a gift from a friend. it slipped off my hand while walking to the pantry...

- then i read an email from my apac office that he heard that our supplier has stopped accepting orders for december promotion and heard that we have not placed our orders. after a check with my purchasing manager, she said i didn't confirm the product!!!! omg! it was discussed in my meeting every week and why didn't she ask the supplier or tell me abt the cut-off date? now i have to find a replacement product and explain to management on our "mis-communication".

- so another quick call to my apac office to discuss some stuff and got everything i asked rejected!!! couldn't believe my luck!

- then the cab that i took to a meeting almost bumped into the car in front coz the car in front braked suddenly! thank god nothing happened.

although its minor mishaps, i just felt that it wasn't a good day for me in a way! a better tomorrow?

reality bites...

reality sucks... reality hurts...

the truth kicks in officially today, arriving in a little white envelope - my credit card bill! have been trying to delay calculating how much i've spent for 2 weeks of happiness & joy of shopping and feasting. so right in front of me is the evidence that money can buy happiness (haha... thou short-lived)

this is my most expensive by far... yes... even with free lodging in san fran... guess air tickets are a great gauge of the inflation through the years... but this is also not a budget trip as compared to the rest of my trips. ate well, shopped a lot (this time, spent more on myself), stayed at hotel (in vegas) instead of hostels.

summary of my expenses:
Air ticket (SIN-SFO-SIN) $1,628.00
Vegas (flight + hotel) $702.46
Cash (USD1000) $1,435.00
Credit card bill (incl insurance) $3,093.99
=================================
SUB-TOTAL $6,859.45
GRAND TOTAL: PRICELESS (experience, memories and relaxation)

stop shopping!

while i am still waiting for my credit card bill to arrive, i was supposed to stop shopping after my shopping spree in US.

but someone in retail must hate me! received lots of mailers tempting me to shop and the biggest temptation? taka sale with additional 15% for cardholders! the additional discount given is usually 10%, so the 15% is pretty tempting! so since i was going to the world hunger relief carnival at escape youth park, might as well go take a look.

so i went to taka with my sis at 10plus in the morning, and in an hour plus, i bought another SWATCH watch and a disney schedule book and someone's christmas present! haha! how do i stop myself from shopping? sigh... is there a shopping anonymous therapy somewhere?

hot hot singapore!

its so hot in singapore!!! after 2 weeks of breeze and no sweat in USA, i am perspiring like mad these days!!! don't even feel like walking out of the air-con office!

the humid weather makes me even more sianz to work... how to get back the mood and momentum? this month is crazy with planning and lots of meetings... it is going to be a nightmare!!! its payback time after the holidays!

San Francisco

the best part of this trip is meeting up with joce and it was really a rest and relax part of the holiday. my usual trips are usually budgeted from lodging to food... this time round, sort of just let go... bought so much clothes (happiness), branded bags (unbelievably COACH), great wine & dining experiences (yummy).

earlier post on vegas photos, so here's the san francisco part:

wine & dine


italian (E' Tutto Qua) for day 1, ravioli with chicken, potato & brocolli in some pink vodka sauce. dessert was the souffle.

clam chowder & sourdough bread at pier 39

sweet treats...


home-cooked


yummy breakfast


lunch & dinner

dinner @cafe claude

french onion soup


beef stew in red wine
dinner @ Ottimista (a wine bar)
tasty risotto balls
braised pork
beef burger @ girl & the fig
last dinner @ firefly...
shrimp & scallop potstickers
lamb skewers
scallops with mashed potato
beef brisket


farmers' market



the sight-seeing
Fisherman's wharf & pier 39


alcatraz


legion of honor - muesum

the golden gate bridge

wine tasting @ napa

we even had a picnic!

the shopping (just some of it)