What is the drill when it comes to "buying things for friends while you are on vacation " ?

Remember my colleague who wanted us to get her a certain Prada bag from Europe if we are going there? Well Jim (guy who works in another department, & guy we know quite well) is going on a vacation to Paris soon. She is planning to hand him her shopping list. Top of it, is that bag!

So what is the drill when it comes to "buying things for friends while you are on vacation " ? That was what we were discussing & it moved on to being debated hotly in our group chat. So conclusion is: if it's small like a key chain, a scarf or even a miniature Eiffel tower that can easily be bought at the airport, that don't take up much space, it's ok. However, it's like a designer's bag, complete with it's usual very big, beautiful box & shopping bag, (exactly the bag my colleague wanted) is a big "NO". It's just not convenient for the other party. People would like to buy their own stuff too right?

Naturally colleague who wanted that designer bag was very disappointed, but she understand. Still she told Jim, if at the end of the trip, & he has not bought anything yet, please consider doing her that flavor. Thank God, someone else has a girlfriend who's working with the airlines & will be having a Paris flight soon. So it has been settled, the girlfriend will get the bag, & everyone will be happy again, until the next new bag hits the stores ....lol...

All of the above happened last month. She is very happy, as she has the "IT" bag now. Jim had a wonderful vacation & he brought us a beautiful mug each ! So sweet !!! 

This is my mug!!! So nice right ? Love it! Thanks Jim !!!

Wish I can go to work in my PJs ...lol..

Working in the financial world does have it's perks. Many people envy us it seems. Like my friend Kim who works from home as she has a small child now, told me she's in her PJs day in & day out. She don't feel very glamorous, not like us.

Hmmm.... but we have a different set of problem. Yes we do get to doll up, as it's part of the job. And I have to admit it's fun but it's expensive too. E.g. Amy bought a new Prada bag from Paris 4 months. Another colleague just came back from Europe with another new bag. Amy has been eyeing it since she brought it to work. Yesterday she confess, she has to have that. If any of us is going to that region, we have to buy it for her ....lol...

What I'm trying to say is, it's never ending. The bags, the clothes, shoes the whole thing. Sometimes I wish I can come to work in my PJs. Told Kim that, & we laughed ... The grass is always greener at the other side isn't it?

It'll be wonderful if we can wear PJs to work!

What's your reaction when something wonderful happens to your friends?

What's your reaction when something wonderful happens to your friends? Say, they will be marrying a wonderful handsome guy, or they are going to that European vacation that you have been dreaming of or they get a raise while your boss had not given you one in 2 years. What you do then? You get jealous? Angry, sulk or just give up?

On second thoughts, things are usually not as they seem right? Who knows what lurks on the inside of that wonderful guy. And that European vacation, hmmm.... will it be that rosy? We've heard of tons of tourist being robbed there right? What if something like that happened to us? As for the raise, they'll expect you to work harder I suppose ...lol...

As they say, there's always 2 sides to a coin. What ever goes up must come down. So don't be so discouraged if all the wonderful things seems to be happening only to people you know. Maybe it's all about the right timing. Also if you are the one that's on the receiving end of the good fortune, don't be complacent either.
That's all for today:)

May Luck be with you always !!!

Show off your new look, have a fling !!!!

Well if you have cut your hair & changed the wardrobe like me, don't waste your amazing new look – time to show it off.

Endless pics of your fabulous new single life can look forced (and aren't that hard to see through). All you need to show your ex what he is missing is one fabulous profile picture update. 

You can't heal heartbreak by jumping into a new fling, but there's nothing wrong with reminding yourself there's still life out there. Extremely attractive life. Extremely attractive life that flirts back and makes you feel like being SINGLE again ain't so bad after all.

.......LOL.....

The importance of trying a new look!

Many a post-relationship makeover has been done in the heat of the moment and sorely regretted later. But the break-up haircut is cliche for a reason, and changing up your look dramatically can be hugely cathartic. After breaking up with my long-term boyfriend, I chopped my long hair to a boyish cut, and immediately felt like my former relationship had been cut away with it.

Everyone commented I looked so fresh & much younger. I even change up my wardrobe. In the past I seldom wear minis as he didn't like people starring at my legs. Now I go to work rocking mini skirts & dresses everyday! I'm like a different person !

What's the first thing you do after a break-up?

So what's the first thing you do after a break-up? This is a legit question, very important.

You delete his presence in all your social feed that includes FB & Instagram- obviously. New people you meet aka potential bfs would be looking & checking up on you. And you don't want them to have the image of you & your Ex during happier times at the Maldives do you?

Also that goes the same for you. Don't check up on what the Ex is doing & his latest activities whatever! Just block him!If you see him with a new love interest, you'll feel like hell !!!

Delete all romantic pics like this!!!!!

When do you start dating again after a break-up?

Last weekend I went to a colleague's wedding dinner party. It's strange as the bride ( Jaz my colleague) who's suppose to be super busy still has the time to "introduce" her X-classmate to me.  I've just gotten out of a relationship & didn't want to dive back into another one that soon. Still licking my wounds as they said. Jaz 'wink' at me as she made the introduction & I wished a hole in the ground would just open & gobble me up. This is major embarrassing for me & also the guy.

He was strategically seated beside me, while the rest of the company looked/stared at our 'progress'- all smiling & winking & whatever facial expressions they do, making me want to throw some of the food across the table at some of them. They thought it's pretty funny.

Well to be fair Brian 'the guy' was really not bad. But as I've mentioned, I'm not in a good place at the moment. The break up was amicable but still, I need time, to do whatever people do after a break-up.

My younger sister said I should send this to all my friends ...lol.. she's a darling !

Christmas Shopping : the best plan!

When ever December arrives, I have a headache. I'm sure most of you have the same problem. Though it's fun with all the Christmas atmosphere everywhere, the problem lies with getting the right gifts for all the loved ones. And when you have a big family & lots of friends, it's not easy.

So what I do is, I usually start gift hunting since November. It's just easier & it gives me time to get better gifts rather than a last minute gift from Watsons ...haha...

This year, my friend has a perfect plan. She is going on a trip to JB, where she is going to buy like 10 books for all of us. She declared just the other day we'll be getting, cheaper books from JB from her. She even made us tell her what kind of books we wanted. We laughed at first but after some thought, it's really not such a bad idea. One, she gets to save at least 50%. Two, we get what we want. Three she'll have fun shopping in JB. The only problem is, some of us don't read ....lol....

Finally, we decide to go with her ....lol....
Yes, so this year, we'll be getting presents from JB, at a lower cost. All shopping done within a day. Call us cheapo, but it's more economical & the idea just keeps getting better each day. The trip is next week, & more friends are signing up to join us !

When we protest about this book' as a present' idea, she sent us this ....lol...

Do you have a lousy job and a lousy Boss?

Yesterday I saw Grace a colleague of mine. Was really surprised when she told me she had quit for 5 months already. Really? Wow! Well we don't see each other very often since we were from different branches. Still I'm surprise news like this didn't reach me. It's a small circle.

Anyway She told me the job was making her anxious & unhappy, & it was affecting her home life. One day she just thought "I can't take it anymore" & told her boss. She took a lower-paying job that had no daily character assassination & have never been happier. Money is not everything, her well-being is worth so much more.

That got me thinking, was it really so bad? I've heard rumors about her boss & department. But didn't know it was that bad. I thank my lucky stars. Most of my colleagues are pretty nice. My Boss is already thinking of taking us for a nice Christmas buffet next week. So if you have a nice Boss & colleagues like mine, be thankful !

Do I love Whisky ?

After my friends caught me wearing a T-shirt that says "I love Whisky " sometime ago, all of them suddenly thought I'm some Whisky expert. Last week Ben my good friend got me a couple of these Glencairn Whisky Glass.
Often considered the best of the best when it comes to whisky vessels, the iconic Glencairn Whisky Glass boasts a short but sturdy base and a tulip-shaped body to funnel the aroma of your scotch toward your nose. Crafted from lustrous crystal, the Glencairn Whisky Glass was the winner of the 2006 Queen’s Award for Innovation. In the 11 years since it won that award, it’s become the go-to glass for even the most accomplished scotch drinkers. Why I know this? Well I just do ok.

Then for my birthday, Judy my pal got me these : Matterhorn Glass, which features the famous Alpine mountain emerging from the bottom. Not only does it look cool, but it helps open up that single malt as you swirl it around. Awesome isn't it ?

By the way the T-shirt was given to me by another friend. I tried explaining to them, but for some strange reasons, their perception of me has not change! They seem to love the "whisky-loving" me ...lol...

Matterhorn Glass

Saveur Art at Ion Orchard- Review

We were at ION Orchard & wondering what to eat. Went to the new Imperial treasure & boy, it's full again ,Have to wait! Well we are not the patient sort so walk around & saw this Saveur Art Restaurant. The restaurant lay out is kinda interesting. It's very open, deco looks chic. We check the promotions outside & decided to give it a try.

Both of us ordered the set lunch.

Our first dish: Salad & a pasta.

 The Salad is really good & the pasta , delicious & special ! We love it.

Mushroom pasta , main course

 This mushroom pasta is my main choice. My friend ordered the duck & he quickly started eating it before I could take the pic ....lol.. Skin of duck is crispy & taste great. The pasta is of course awesome. Below the cheese ,was an egg, so cute :))

Dessert : yogurt, apiece of cookie & a piece of frozen cream 

The dessert was just nice. The piece of frozen cream below the cookie was kinda interesting. It's not sweet, so it enhances the whole dessert. Don't make me feel so guilty ....lol... Cost us only $66.85 for this wonderful meal.

Saveur Art @ Ion Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
Ion Orchard, #04-11

Tel: 66341141

I know .... dieting is tough!

Do you feel like this all the time ?

I know .... dieting is tough! I bump into an old friend a couple of days back. First thing she saw me, she just couldn't believe her eyes. Yes I've lost much weight since she last saw me & that's like years ago. I've slim down a lot !

Went to the doctor, took duromine, panbesy & a fat burner Garbaslim. But besides all these aids, I do watch what I eat very carefully now. She buy me lunch & wanted to hear all about it. But it boils down to a bit of will power. You have to stop eating so much, stop over eating. Now I'm just used to eating less. Cut down on the snacks, no more buffets ...haha... When I told her that, her eyes went so big! NO Buffets ???? Yes if you want to look perfect. But good news is : once a while you still can indulge a bit. You can sneak in a buffet or two.
But not every week OK?
Good luck !

Don't confuse being promoted with being good at your job!

Someone in another department just got promoted. We didn't know it till now & it's ruffling a lot of feathers. However no one is surprise by the news as the person is like the management's shadow for the whole of last year. Every time we turn around we see her hanging around someone from the management !

It's painful for a couple of us, as we have been working so hard for a long time & we got sidelined by this bootlicker. Especially my immediate Boss, Lou, it's supposed to be her turn for promotion.
Well it is what it is, better luck next time.

Lou just sent me this ....lol....

Cool gifts : Whisky stones!

My friend just got back from America & got me this cool gift.


Yup, whisky stones! Have you seen it? I have not either. Didnt even know something like this existed!

At first glance I thought the stones contains whisky. You know like those rum chocolates, or whatever. Then on closer examination ....

They do not. They are supposed to replace ice or to be used as "ice" . You place them in the freezer. Once they are cold, (you know, stones can be real cold) used them as what you would do with ice.

The plus point is : they don't melt, so you still get cold undiluted drink!

Now isn't that cool ????


Will have to try it first haha....

Verdict: no... it's not as good as it's supposed to be. First it leaves a weird 'stony' taste. And it's not as cold as ice !

The Great Romantic Getaway !

Coming weekend I'm going to a resort in Phuket with my boyfriend. I was crazy excited about it until I started planning on what to bring. Then I just went crazy!

This is our first time on a trip together, can you imagine the stress, worries & expectations? Thanks to the media, & other people's Facebook feeds, I've become an expert on how to do it right. How I should look, act & feel in almost every situation. So even though this is my first trip with him, I'm determined to be nothing but awesome at it. I should be wearing a willowy white dress & walking bare footed on the beach, where a light breeze is blowing, making it super romantic. This is the Great Romantic Getaway, & I should look the part.

But wait !!! I don't have a willowy dreamy dress. I'm rushing to the stores to get one tonight !

Something like this & that hat, must get one like that too !!!

What if you accidentally lick a self-adhesive stamp

This morning Boss ask Ah Boy to post a letter. Ah Boy (the office boy) took the letter lick the stamp, stick it on the letter & left. We all witness it.

Jean go :     ' YIKES....so unhygienic' .
William go:  'leave him be, he's a boy!'
Mrs Lim shouted after him :' Boy don't do that in the future, it'll kill you one day!"
Mimi go   : 'it's dangerous, the side of the stamp could cut your tongue! & where the hell he get this ancient stamp, I thought all stamps are self  adhesive now!'
Jean         : 'that's right, don't tell me , he lick the self-adhesive stamp? YIKES !'
Mimi        : 'if he did that, wouldn't the  self-adhesive stamp stick to his tongue already?
Jean         : 'Good point...YIKES !!!!

At this point, Mimi is already texting Ah Boy to find out if he has indeed lick the self-adhesive stamp ...lol...
We are still waiting for his reply :))

You only lick this kind of old stamps ...lol..

Guys like this should wear a warning !!!!!

A colleague of mine had taken 2 days leave 2 weeks ago for personal reasons. She didn't reveal why so we leave it as it is. This week she did it again ,another day of sudden leave. My Boss ask me to check if everything is OK, as she seem pretty tense when she was in the office. He has reasons to be concern as we are all dealing with big clients.

Asking people about personal things fall into the 'tacky' category. It's infringing on people's privacy. Something is obviously wrong, we just need to give her time to work out what ever she's going through. Maybe a parent is ill? Anyway yesterday when she was at work, I bump into her in the toilet. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. I pretend I didn't see so as not to embarrass her.

After work I followed her out of the building, wanting to talk to her. I saw her boy friend waiting for her. I've seen him before at other functions. When he saw me approaching, he stared at me. A firing squad would've been friendlier. Boy... it's clear now- relationship problem. Well I signal for her to call me & move off.

She texted me later & told me, they are breaking off. He had taken all the money from their joint

account ( total almost $ 70,000-) invested it & lost it all completely. Her family was so mad as most of it was her savings. They suspected he had gambled it away. He denied it & now he wanted to break it off since "no one believed him & blame him". Wow... that's a 'good excuse!" She is totally at a lost what to do. Mad with him for being so irresponsible and not apologetic at all. Her family insisting she should dump him as they were furious. He want to break it off, as he is furious as well.

I feel terrible for her. Tell her to take her time to deal with this mess. We will be there if she needs anything. I know it's lame, but what else could I say?

I'm Queen of my domain again !

Beginning of this week was a total mess. My mother's friend & her daughter came to visit (from UK) & stayed with us in our guest room for 4 days before moving on with their trip to Bangkok. They were nice & have fun stories but, I'm just not used to having so many people at home. Also I 'need' to behave nicely as the host- that's probably the thing that 'gets' me all edgy.

Our guests finally left yesterday. I took a day off today & felt as if I had won an all-expenses-paid, all-nude-all the time vacation in my own home! Ok... I didn't go walking around nude but at least I gain the right to leave my magazines, my sunglasses, my keys on the coffee table, safe in the knowledge that my mum wont scream at me to 'tidy it up' for the 'guests'!

I feel an unexpected calm today as if I was given a reprieve from everyone. It's not that I'll do anything scandalous than walking around with my face mask on, leaving used cups in the sink, but the air is filled with the idea that I could stay up all night blaring Adele, that I could sacrifice a live chicken in the bathtub if I want to. Know what I mean?
I'm Queen of my domain again !

Some fat burning food you should consider

1. Green tea
Green tea contains a chemical called EGCG which sparks a process in the body known as thermogenesis (aka "fat burning"). Research has also linked daily green tea consumption with increased metabolism and a smaller waistline.

2. Oats

Oats have a very beneficial effect on blood sugar and insulin, which can keep metabolism in fat-burning mode. They're also a rich source of fiber, which helps you stay fuller longer as well as slows the absorption of fat through the small intestines.

3. Chili peppers

Spice up your meals! Capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their fiery kick, has been shown to rev up metabolism. An UCLA study found that dieters who took capsaicin doubled their energy expenditure for several hours after eating

4. Lean meats

Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass -- the more muscle mass you have, the more efficient you are at burning calories. Even better, protein requires more calories for your body to digest than either fat or carbs. Just be selective about your protein source -- only opt for lean meats such as skinless chicken and turkey breast and lean cuts of beef

5. Fatty fish

Fatty fish (such as tuna, salmon, mackerel) are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which fire up fat burning. These fatty acids lower levels of the hormone leptin in your body, which directly influences your metabolism: The higher your leptin levels, the more readily your body stores calories as fat.

6. Coffee

Coffee does more than perk you up, a cuppa also provides enough caffeine to raise metabolism. "Caffeine increases the release of fat from fat cells and boosts the consumption of oxygen and fat burning,"  Too much caffeine, however, has side effects including increased heart rate, so drink in moderation.

7. Water

Ok water is not food but it has a direct impact on many metabolic pathways.  Adequate fluid intake also helps prevent overeating. Much of what we perceive as hunger is actually thirst, You can demonstrate this for yourself by simply drinking a glass of water next time you feel hungry. Half the time the hunger will be gone in a few minutes.

Oh NO....Another research on weight loss again ???

We were having lunch & a new colleague just found out I have a blog mainly on topics about weight loss. Then looking pretty smug, he code some big time study (from don't know where & from a never heard of journal) that claim that inactivity & overeating will cause quick weight gain & excess body fat !

We stopped eating for a second to digest that. I was mid way through my banana muffin at that point in time. And was thinking ....wow.... this coming from someone with an MBA from UK ? Which group of researchers or scientists are so free to spent thousands probably millions of dollars doing such a research? To confirm something which everyone with some common sense would probably instinctively knows? Hmmm.....

my delicious muffin ....lol...

Now I'm wondering who would approve such a study in the first case. Well stranger things have happened...lol..