.....times of refreshing.....

It's been raining lately and that's welcoming as it was so hot and humid for the past few months! I was not sure whether is it me only but nowadays whenever I go to work in the early morning in my long sleeve attire, I will sweat profusely!! And, it doesn't help while waiting for the train or bus with the morning sun shining on poor commuters like me. I remember in the past, the early morning was cold and I gotta wore a sweater in the air-cond bus but it seems not anymore. Thus, I really welcome the slightly cool weather of late and hope it can last as long as possible.

With that, after my workout, I went for a warm and comforting Korean Ginseng soup for dinner. It was so nice for a rainy night and really chicken soup for the soul!



Just a short post today, have a fabulous weekend!!

Lately I have been listening to sermons on contentment and it also reflected on me that life's great with the little nice things around. My life is kinda routine now with two schooling kids on a weekend where Sunday is a schooling day. That means, no more short getaways to nearby towns or theme parks. Saturday is just having meals together while fetching them to tuition classes and church school and my wifey and I make sure they get to bed early for school on Sundays.  We have to wait for the school holidays if we want to go somewhere farther and longer. However, there are moments to cherish like I enjoyed seeing them going to the church school and playing/fellowship with other kids after the short 1 hour session, in the calm evening at 6pm at the church. Even those lunches and dinners we had at some nice restaurants or eateries are great, though we no longer ate somewhere in Melaka, having bak kut teh in Kota Tinggi or drinking awesome coffee at Kluang's railway station. Back in Singapore, I also enjoyed the moment of going to the gym earlier before the sunsets. I am enjoying all these small stuffs, and it's difficult to explain and maybe its contentment.  Of course, having said all these, I hope to go overseas at least once a year from now....muahahahahaha...

Oh, after a workout, I am back to the Chinese eatery operated by a Chinese national nearby my home, though I didn't order any chinese beer this time round. I had a braised beef noodles and a shallot pancake, all for S$6.50. Not bad for a hungry me at 10pm. :)

Beef noodles S

Love the Shallot pancake...crispy and delicious!!!

Have a great week ahead and don't forgot to slow down and smell the flowers!

I have known her since 1986 through some radio's song requesting program and I was kinda smitten by her then.  Then, in 1991 I visited her on the third day of CNY. She was then fair, had long straight black hair, slim and pretty. I remember I felt quite nervous in her home then with her entire family around but it was a great feeling. After the visit, where her home was quite far from mine in Perak, I called her and asked her wonder when can we meet again ? She was studying in KL then and I was in Ipoh doing my polytechnic course.

We lost contact one or two years where I went for my further studies in the university and she started working. Mobile phones, which were as big as water bottles then, were expensive and not popular.

And, after 23 long years, both of us didn't thought we can meet again. It was of recent that I managed to get her contact via facebook from her school's page . She was in Singapore currently with her family but will be leaving very soon to a place far away for good. It was great seeing her again and we had a good time chatting for 2 hours long during lunch. When biding farewell to each other after the lunch, I felt deja-wu when she asked me when can we meet again ? This was what I asked her 23 years ago before this meeting!

I wish her and family all the best, and hopefully we can meet again. :)

Merry X'mas to everyone!! Wishing you a great, warm and wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and friends, as well as Happy New Year 2013! Though I was not as active in blogging for the entire year, I really appreciated your visits to my blog. I will continue to visit your blog as well!

A decor from Legoland :)

This is also a perfect Christmas for me as I got the biggest Gift in my entire life. I was baptized into the Christian faith two days prior to Christmas in the church which I have been attending since 2007. The immersion into the small pool of water makes me felt I was in the womb again and when I arose from  the water, I felt so refreshed! It was a great day for me and my family!

Christmas is again, all about the Gift from our Lord Jesus Christ and the gifts we bought for our loved ones are all about the love we had for them, which also reminded us about the Lord's love for us. Let's celebrate the birth of our Lord joyfully and merrily!

Again, Merry Xmas folks! Have a jolly good time! :)

oppps.... it should be termed as the last coffee for the day. Went for a heart scan just now which consisted of a 10-15 minutes scan of the entire heart, resting ECG and treadmill ECG at a nearby hospital which cost me RM560 in total, including the cardiologist's fees. I was complaining of irregular heartbeats for the past two weeks which scared the hell out of me, though two doctors assured me it's mind over matters and asked me to cut down on caffeine intake. Anyway, one of the docs suggested I do a full heart checkup to ensure there's really nothing wrong with the heart before he prescribed relaxing pills to me, and again less coffee.

The three tests turned out to be allright and infact as someone who ran on the treadmill regularly, I continued to run till the end of the stress test, though the nurse told me I can stop if I feel tired...hahaha... Well, can't help it, have to show off a bit to the young, petite and cute hitam manis malay nurse. Seeing nothing wrong with me except probably stress and high caffeine intake, I was asked to relax more and cut down on coffee, tea or coke. The doc asked me to substitute with green tea instead. Ok, not too bad as I love green tea too.

After the checkup, my family and I were slightly  hungry and we drove to Taman Pelangi for Niniq bistro. We  ordered a focacia turkey ham and cheese sandwich to share (as below) which tasted good!!

Turkey ham and cheese focacia

 And well....I was uneasy when the waiter asked us for our order for drinks and when wifey said coffee, I told him two coffees please. Then, wifey gave me a short stare and well, I told this will be the last one for the day..... sigh...  It's rather unusual not to order coffee in a place where they make good kopi....

Flat white

Ok, I keep to one cup per day from tomorrow onwards first and see how.... Have a good week, folks!

In a span of two days, two incidents occured to me which enlightens me of having a plan B in my career. No worries, these are not bad things that happened to me but rather it stimulates my mind to be aware of uncertainties in working life, which contributes income to us and family. It's nothing new to have a plan B but rather, due to the busyness in work, we hardly think about it. Somehow, this leds me to recall some of my friends who took part-time courses in other skill enriching programs as well as involved in part-time work to learn a new skill and gain new insight.

I was interviewing some candidates for a junior position where a 50+ who has experience in working at a higher management level attended one of  my interviews. He has vast experiences in  both technical and management skills and I was shocked to see someone of his calibre here. He should have gone for management position at least. However, due to the tough job market and competitive environment, he has to make ends meet.



Before that, I was in a cab chatting with the driver who was a retired engineer. He enjoyed driving and drove to earn some pocket money and work for short hours. Then, he will go home to enjoy his leisure times. I told him I envy him that he no longer have worries about financial commitments while I still got a long way to go before my kids grown up. We discussed about doing part-time job to supplement my income and learn a new skill. He even asked me to get a taxi license just in case something bad happened to my current job. :)

Sometimes it's not easy to continue doing the same work in the same line as you grow older and uncertainties are inevitable. Maybe it's wise to check out and spend some time on learning  other skillsets while continue to enjoy our current career. Sales, property agents, teaching, writing, consultancy and etc..... there are endless possibilities? It's up to us to find out!

Have a good weekend!

As the proverbs said, ' there is always a season for everything....' And this is a season of poor health and work for me. Urgent or challenging tasks just comes and go, one after another while I was sick on and off for the past two months. I can't help feeling anxious whenever there are issues in work. And, whenever I ate something wrong, my throat will get startled up where I needed to reach for the antibiotics and cough mixture. Anyway, things getting better now as I guess most of my difficult tasks started to stabilise and I am feeling better. It's time to go back to my routines.

After away from working out for a while and gaining weight, it's really tough to get myself back to the gym. The word is 'lazy', as I would prefer to go home, had a nice dinner and relax in my bed either by listening to music, surf or read a book. I am also having problems waking up early on Sunday morning for church, where I prefer to snooze a little bit longer, till the brink of noon. I remember an elderly folk who actively exercises told me once you stopped exercise, it will take some efforts to go back. How true!! I also been skipping some of my other activities after work like doing my toastmaster club projects and badminton. It's high time to push this cold engine to start up and get going...hahhaa...

By the way, check this out ....

My favourite Miso Ramen with garlic oil at Men-ichi Ramen in Northpoint, Singapore

Craving for a salmon (sake) sushi and decided to order a plate..yummy... love the feeling of dipping some wasabi onto it and chew!

Chawanmushi - something I can't do without when having Japanese food. It was great on a cold night.

Burp..... and TGIF.....and long weekend!!!!! Enjoy yourselves, folks! It's the season to wind down already......

I think I have not been very active lately like in the past year where my weeknights are almost taken up by activities. However, also no  thanks to some of the activities which were stopped, like my church cell group and badminton practices which have been disbanded. I found that I headed back home earlier than before after work.  Anyway, though I can have more personal time and ample rest, I realised I spent most of the time on the net and ended up sleeping late at night.

In my opinion, being active makes one feel more 'alive'. Though it can be quite tiring, but it do helps developed ourselves (if we use the time to indulge in personal development) as well as makes us more open to others and not forgetting making new friends. I love my badminton practices in the past where it gave me a good workout and improve my game. My cell group has makes me grow in my religion. Like some bloggers who attended events, I'm sure it do open up their minds on new stuffs and knowledges.

Well, instead of facing the notebook screen or the cable tv, guess it's time to join some activities. Don't you agreed? By the way, I love the Starbucks breakfast. It cost S$6.90 for the below, a ham with cheese sandwich and freshly brew coffee. Have a good mid-week, folks!



:)

Though I understand that time is precious, however I seems to forgotten it especially when I started working. Well, this seems to be a confusing statement. Before I started working, every day counts in the varsity as we have datelines for our assignments and projects as well as studying for our exams. We can't afford to waste too much time then. Once I started working, as long as I completed my work, its time to wind down and relax. That's how working life should be, spend money, indulge yourself and relax.

During that one and half month where I was rushing to finish my revision for my exam, I find myself lacking time since I did it part-time after work. Suddenly, time is important to me again!! The two to three hours I had daily after work seems so precious!!!



Now,with the exam over, instead of 'lepaking' (wasting time) after working hours, I  planned to try on some other tasks... maybe take another certification exam, earn more $$$ or etc. Of course, I still need time for rest and recreation else my body and mind will break!! However, an awareness of time has motivated me back to appreciate it again for better things in the future. Anyway, weekends are still strictly for family and that's quality time!!!

Just some sharing, have a good mid-week folks! :)

I was stopping my car besides a condo while waiting for my wife to collect some documents. While glancing around the condo to see if there's any pretty babes around, I notice this small hibiscus hiding among the bushes. I quickly got out of the car, walk towards the bushes, kneel down and took a macro shot of the hibiscus with my iphone.


It was not a perfect picture but I like it very much. I also posted it on my Instagram account. Well, philosophy wise, it also said there's always an hidden beauty or talent in everyone of us....you just need a little effort for yourselves or others to discover it.

Have a good weekend!

I felt terrible over the last weekend and it's all thanks to my Prince2 (Project management) Practitioner exam which I failed by a few marks. I was in a meeting then when I received the email and for a while, I could not focus on the meeting though I tried. Well, in actual fact, most of the folks failed in their first attempt as it was not an easy exam and usually it has to be retake 2-3 times before you finally earn that certification. However, I still can't over it and feeling slight disappointment. Moreover, I have to pay S$368 to resit the exam which is to schedule mid next month.

Anyway, nothing much I can do except to resit again and study more and do more mock up questions. Moreover I only had 4 nights to study in the past, as well as it's not an easy exam to pass in the first attempt. I also need to adjust my usual activities to allocate time for studies.

Sigh...how I wished I pass it but that's life!

It was the time of the year again where my company took part in some badminton tourney. The standard was not of national standard as national players are barred from competing. However, ex-national players can turn up for their organisation. Well, definitely we are not there to win as our standard are simply don't make the mark but it's fun to join in. And, not forgetting the preparation, anxieties, deciding on the strategy as of who played who and the after matches supper with teh tarik and pratas.

It consists of one singles and two doubles. My team did well in the first group match when we won 2-1. However, we were humiliated by last year's finalist, who beaten us 3-0. In the elimination rounds, we were beaten 3-0 again, this time by a local polytechnic, but the matches were quite close.

Yours truly in action... :P

Definitely, there were disappointments in losing but that  tells us  where we stand and helps us to continue to improve, though I felt that the aim is not exactly to win a trophy or something. It's more of to make ourselves better players so that we can enjoy the game even more.  I find that I still need to work on my stamina, strokes and footwork.

Anyway, it's fun and great to participate. :)

Well, it's the school holidays but I also think it's a good idea to send kids to simple, fun and enjoyable courses. There are lots of it out there be it physical ones like learning to play a sport, mind enriching ones like crafting, painting, singing, dancing or academic types like improving a language or maths. Though I believe it's a time for the poor little things to rest, it's also a good time to spare some of their leisures to indulge in some activities, rather than staying at home and glue to the TV or PC or PSP...etc.

Though nothing that special, I sent my kid to his kindy's extra classes during the holidays and besides learning, they also have fun. It was a Saturday morning and his kindy brought them to a playground for some fun, had some dipping into the water at a small inflatable pool as well as teaching them on how to shop in the supermarket by giving them a RM5 voucher. Next, he is doing a mental arithmetic course too.

All these occured in the morning and he had his own kiddy time for the rest of the day.... Meanwhile, my wife and I having a nice bowl of Old town Hor Fun and coffee while waiting for him to play and shop in a nearby mall....hehehe...

yummy... my fav hor fun!

and my kopi-C

 I always believe keeping ourselves occupied, be it a kid or an elder. That's makes us feel alive! Have a good week , folks!

It was a great and beautiful Sunday! Firstly, I attended church again after been away for a few months. It was surely a refreshing experience for me especially singing the worship songs. I have been skipping church lately but now, I hope to attend regularly again.

After church, and a simple lunch, I took a nap before heading to my kid's kindergarten graduation night with my family. It was raining heavily! My kid was performing that night and as parents, we are definitively excited and get ready our cameras and etc. Firstly he received his certificate for completing his kindy. (hahaha...I didn't recall I got one during my time....) Then, he performed in his dance.

Receiving the award and certificate

Getting ready to perform with his kindy mates

A closer shot before he performed

Here's a short clip of his performance. I am proud of him tonight as he kept himself composed and calm during his performance as he used to be quite shy (like me... :P ) I'm looking forward to his 'actual' graduation from the varsity 15 or 20 years from now ...hahaha...:)

Have a great week!

What a surprise! I went to collect my cholesterol report where doc asked me to check regularly of late due to my high cholesterol for almost a while. I'm expecting it to be high as usual but somehow it drop to an all-time low! In my previous tests for years, it usually floats around 260+ but this time round, it went down to 170+. woohooo....

I guess my routine of running longer helps as I have doubled my running time to 40 mins to hit 4-5Km, took oats regularly, consume enough fiber, reduce fatty stuffs, took fish oil and as well as medication. Well, doc still wanted me to continue the medication and I have to do another test in 3 months time.

I thought mine is a lost cause but it seems like it still controllable. Will continue to live an healthy lifestyle!

Since it's halloween, let's have some fun in storytelling. And, of course, I mean, stories of the supernatural which I heard or encountered.


Story 1 - In Genting, we were staying in an old but refurbished hotel since there are no more rooms in other hotels. The place was really nice, with new carpets and a great scenery of nature. The room looks great too at an affordable rates. We rented two rooms. I had a great sleep in the cold weather. When I woke up at almost late morning, my wife's niece was checking where her shoes were and to everyone surprise, it was in our room next door. Well, she couldn't have walked back to her room bare footed the night before, unless someone had wore her shoes again to our place. However, when she went back to hr room, it was late and nobody claimed to wore her shoes over. Unless that someone is not human.....

Story 2 - My wife and I always love to follow my bro-in-law and family to explore places around. These are not so famous places in Malaysia but still it's consider a recreation spot. One of the places we went too was a waterfall, where there's an hiking trail all the way up to some mountains. We had some pictures too and looks good on the camera. When I viewed the picture again on my PC, I saw some sort of a Japanese geisha head formed out from the stream. Well, that could be due to camera trick or was it really an ghostly head as it looks quite real.I have deleted the pix,btw.

Story 3 - when I was a kid, I stayed in those government flats which overlooked a nice park with a beautiful pond. The only problem with the pond was that it was a great place for people to commit suicide. I remember clearly I was awoke one particular night with dogs howling and an evil loud laugh. That was too much for a kid to take, who already scared shit with the numerous ghostly tales with the pond. I will never forgot this experience!

Story 4 - My school is well known for being haunted but I was surprise there are ghosts too in the daytime! I was in primary school going to the loo and while I was busy doing my business halfway, I heard a loud shriek from the back of the long toilet. I quickly ran off and err...did I wet my shorts? Thinking back, well, it could some mischief students shouting but then, how come the shout was so sharp and long, and in the school some more?

Story 5 - One of my friend had a 'third eye' who can see supernatural beings when he was young. Luckily, the 'gift' is no longer there now and it also was 'mild'. He told us whenever he drove pass a certain winding road at a small town, he will always see a lady ghost sitting on the tree. It will always be at that Same area, sometimes she sat at the opposite trees and so on.

Happy halloween folks!

Finally it's weekend again and I am so looking forward to this short break since last Monday as it's an indication of my project completion. It was a tough week as I have a deadline to meet today and well, it's all ended today. I'm glad I can wind down a bit now.

I joined my colleagues for lunch today and we tried out Eatzi International Restaurant, which is almost all over Singapore. They have lunch sets daily and today, the main course was either sirloin steak or grilled fish. It's been some time since I had these lunch sets which comes with a soup and toast, the main course, coffee/tea and dessert. I go for the sirloin steak set which cost around S$11.

Sirloin Steak and well done...

I checked out the Grilled Fish where some of my colleagues ordered and it seems better than the steak. At least, it's healthier and have more vegetables. :D

Grilled Fish

I had my coffee of course, though I didn't snap a pix of it but I love their dessert - Mango Pie.

Mango Pie

Well, not much comments on this eatery but it's nice to enjoy a set lunch again, which reminds me of those coffee house back then in Ipoh when I was a kid.

I'm sure I will have a good and relaxing weekend to rest and relax and I hope you have a good one too! Let go, clear your mind of any negative emotions and thoughts and just wind down and have fun! Do what you like! :)

I just receive a brochure from the National University of Singapore inviting folks to enrol in their Master program. Of course, my first impression is, the course will be too tough for me to do part-time for two and a half years. Some of my friends and ex-colleagues I met at times did mention the advantages and goodness in advancing our studies and upgrading ourselves. Said ..let's do this la... take that exam la...and etc.

It's always good to pursue something that's beneficial to us but however, I felt that it should also come with passion too. Without interest and passion, whatever we set to work on will become a burden to us, instead of some journey to knowledge and wisdom. I used to be kinda ambitious, wanted to learn this and that but end up nowhere..LOL. Actually, what I am lacking is passion. I remember I was studying for an exam and finished the book half-way but I kinda procrastinate and after a while, stop there.

 Of course, on the other hand, there are times that we sometimes 'force' to take up some courses and exams, like certification exams required by an organisation and etc. However, it's always good to instill passion into the project that we are committing ourselves onto and enjoy it. I'm sure regular bloggers here are passionate about blogging and end up learning lots of stuffs related to blogs, like self-hosting, earning wages from the blogs, attending events and so on.

I guess before we start on anything, let's make sure we have the interest and passion to keep it up! Have a good weekend!

Received my medical report of my cholesterol checkup last Saturday and thanks to almost every Friday's Bak Kut Teh, kaya toast every morning, McD once or twice a week, char siew & BBQ pork rice at times and etc. My cholesterol level only improved slightly after taking a more powerful statin and I gotta continue the medication while doc asked me to be really discipline...go for an healthy diet. Yeah, I always strived to eat healthily but then, due to temptations and convenience, end up eating fatty and fried stuffs.. Im sure STP is laughing now.  hahaha.... :D

OK, with that, again I will try to eat light and healthy food for three months till the next checkup. hehehe.. So, wifey and I ended up having salad with less one thousand island dressing, after receiving our report.

yummy!

I have been quite 'rebellious' and didn't really take lots of fruits but now, I guess I gotta incorporate my diet with lots of greens, fruits and cereals... LOL. Though I have been quite active in sports, diet is still something that I need to control. However, luckily I don't have to shun kopi.

Must have a kopi 'kao' anytime of the day...

And, here's yours truly with a 'V' sign on the 'first' day of diet .... No problemo! :P

Pix taken by my kid... :D

Have a great week folks and eat healthily!!

Well, it's been two weeks since I last updated my blog, thanks to my hectic schedules at work and the flu bug which struck me first, then my son and over the last weekend, it struck my wife and my baby daughter. :( Well, glad all of us are feeling better now. Life is kinda dull for me lately as it's just work and work , did some exercise at night and rest during the weekends.

I came across this beautiful pix which was shared by my ex-colleague in facebook of a nearby lake. It was really a refreshing image of nature and beautifully taken. I passed by this lake almost daily  but never seen such a beautiful portrait of it.