Heal The World

The despicable act of senseless killings in Mumbai sent chills down my spine. If 9/11 was terrifying, the Mumbai attacks was devastating and more so because one of us was innocently sacrificed. Suddenly terrorism becomes very real. It is now hitting us hard at home, confronting us, provoking us, enraging us.


I fear for our next generation, for this is not a world i want to leave my kid and his kids to. And now i fully understand why there are couples who chose not to have children. Simply because one day, our home may no longer be a safe haven for us all.


I can't help but be ambitious, and so let's pray that one day the world will be a better place for all to live in, especially for our children.

Watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHbJwpCVxaQ).

An Enchanted Affair II

Again, Shane did his part for this year's FaiRRytales Nite. This is his 'Guess-A-Song' segment and the vid lasted almost 15 minutes. So watched this only if you are really bored and try to guess the title of each song. I'll give you a cookie for every correct song title ;p





Btw, i dreamt i was posted to my Paris Office and Shane was given a place in an international school there!!! Now now... if dreams can come true :)


ps: i'm Chinese, i'm Chinese, i'm Chinese ;p


And if you are really really bored tonite and have not watched Shane's previous year's segment, here's the vid:

An Enchanted Affair I

If you have been reading my blog since the day i started, you would be no stranger to my "Party Of The Year" entries.


This year, it was 'Fairytales'. I was supposed to come as the Lion from Wizard of Oz but my costume didn't arrive!! I ordered twice, from two different websites and none came at all. Although i got all my money back but i was very upset with how things turned out especially when i paid almost USD100 just for shipping alone! Guess i was just not fated to wear it. So in the end, i went as a dark angel. Not sure if there is any angel in fairyland, but never mind la. Found a dress, a fake mink coat and got myself a pair of white wings which i sprayed gold all over.


Anyway, here are a few pictures from last evening to kick start this enchanted affair, carefully selected and safe for general viewing :)

Becks came back in time for the party. Here we are, having the same pose every year without fail. I kept reminding him i was wearing a short skirt so he better carry me up nicely, i don't want to expose anything!



Macho Robin Hood



Bestie Fenny, gorgeously dressed as Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. (My arms were so fat! Almost fainted when i saw this pic!! Really, i seriously need to do something about it)



With The King



Pretty Red Riding Hood

My Lighthouse

Never give up when life throws you to the storming seas. There will always be something there to guide your path, shine your way and see you thru. I found my lighthouse seven years ago and i'm very sure for those who are lost, they will find theirs very soon.


Life is definitely not fair but it's up to us to make it better.




This was made in 2006, for Shane's 5th birthday.



When You Come Back To Me Again
by Garth Brooks


There's a ship out
On the ocean
At the mercy of the sea
It's been tossed about
Lost and broken
Wandering aimlessly
And God somehow
You know that ship is me

'Cause there's a lighthouse
In the harbour
Shining faithfully
Pouring its light out
Across the water
For this sinking soul to see
That someone out there
Still believes in me

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again

There's a moment
We all come to
In our own time and
Our own space
Where all that we've done
We can undo
If our heart's
In the right place

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again

And again I see
My yesterday's in front of me
Unfolding like a mystery
You're changing all that is
And used to be

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again

When you come
Back to me again

I'm Late

Self-Portrait

During a conference call which was getting slightly bored, i drew this on the white board to amuse myself. There, my very first hand drawn self-portrait.

What Do You Think You Are?

Tough times for me now :(


I have to list my forward year goals and key responsibilities for 2009.


Self evaluation is important and one must pay attention to every little detail and how you word your answers to each question. So, do i be honest and rate myself as 'excellent' which i do think i really am for some of tasks/jobs done? Or do i stay humble and give myself a 'solid' which is like stepping in the middle ground for just in case i over-rated my capabilities? Like how some might say 'thick skin'?


I received quite a good appraisal feedback for year 2007 from my peers, heads and those i work closely with. So this time round, it'll be interesting to know how i fare and whether am i considered a consistent performer.


Alrighty, now back to working on the system to complete the toughest job for 2008 - completing my year end self appraisal.

Babybird's Birthday

Babybird was supposed to go to my office with me in the morning of his birthday but he overslept. Hence i went to work as usual and only picked him up after lunch to the office. Strawberry Aud, his future 'MIL'... inside joke :) bought a lovely chocolate (was it mousse cake?) from Bakerzin to celebrate his seventh birthday.

Big kisses to Dora, Scarlett, Strawberry Aud, Mommie Pammie, Shir, Chris and Garage Koko for celebrating his birthday and the many ang pows. I'll be sure to bring him to the office again next year on his birthday! Champion gave him an ang pow with a US$100 bill and Babybird asked me innocently, "Mommy, is this monopoly money?" Goodness.







You know, i kept telling Shane, one cm more to go, and he would have hurt his eyes :(


Finally, for dinner that nite, i decided to go to a more familiar restaurant - Restaurant Ember. The service was superb and Sabrina, the person-in-charge is one of the best i've met.







Looking at the menu, he couldn't decide what he wanted.



Second present for the nite - a science project kit. The first was a magic kit. Science and magic, his current flavours of the month.







Just can't stop looking at it.



Everything taste good @ Ember, even their bread. Hot and fresh, straight from the oven. Goes very well with olive oil. I even asked for a second one.



Shane had a mushroom soup.



Yummy!!



Shane ordered this as his appetizer, fried tofu.



Mine, foie gras with orange sauce.



Our favourites - steak.



I told Sabrina to ask the Chef to find me the smallest piece for Shane (coz i knew Shane won't be able to finish all by himself and i don't want to waste food) but still they gave him quite a big one. Ember has one of the best steak in town, i really mean it!

Shane has perfected his steak cutting skill :)



Babybird enjoying his steak



I'm bad at describing food, obviously i can't be a food critic coz all i can tell you about this steak is "it was very smooth and done just right to my liking - medium rare" :)


Ember is located at:
Hotel 1929
50 Keong Saik Road
Telephone: 6347 1928


Here are two vids i made for my Babybird's birthday celebration last year, looked how much he has grown!



Tokyo Disneyland, Japan



Science Center, Singapore

OktoberSixteen

Finally, after many weeks of sleepless nites, technical glitches, html struggles, trials, testings, css scripts, liquid templates and the uncountable self-inflicted pains (like banging my head on the wall), i am ecstatically thrilled to officially launch my little e-store:

http://www.oktobersixteen.com

It's my accessories site, lovingly handmade by me of course :)


So now, you can go tell your mothers, grandmothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, aunts, partners, everyone you can think of.


I know my store may not be that professionally done like many of the beautiful e-stores on the net you can find because yours truly can only afford to hire the cheapest designer and one she can trust and bully to do all her biddings wihout feeling guilty. Haha.


You see, Yours Truly hired Yours Truly :) So really, if things are not working fine when it should, or if you are a html master or have brilliant ideas to enhance and make my store better, will you please, please, send me an email?


Right now, my little mind is bursting with too many creative ideas that I cannot wait to share them with you. From the setting up of this store to hand making all the accessories, photographing and editing them and to how each purchase will be packaged and shipped, every single detail has been dealt with great effort and care. As i embark on this journey, at the same time, i humbly invite everyone of you to walk along with me.


With regards to my store name, it didn't take me very long to come out with it. And OktoberSixteen means a lot to me.


It not only is an avenue for my creative ideas to flow unrestrictedly (beauty is subjective isn't it?) but most importantly, the name marked a significant event in my life - the birth of my Shining Star.


Hence, OktoberSixteen is launched today on October 16, 2008 to coincide with my Shining Star's birthday. And another coincidental reason i just discovered is my Shining Star turns seven today. Well, not that i didn't know he turns seven but seven happens to be my lucky number.


So it seems that everything is laying out nicely for me at this moment (okay, with the exception of Shane's minor fall) and now if money can drop from the sky, my life would be perfect!


I'm off to work later today and my Shining Star will be coming with me. I plan to take him for a romantic dinner after work, just the two of us, to celebrate his birthday and the launch of OktoberSixteen. I like to introduce him to some interesting local 'fine dining'. You will never believe this but i made two reservations at two different restaurants. Till now, i haven't quite make up my mind yet on which to go. Depending on my mood at 5pm, i might just cancel both and go on a different direction.


That's just me, the spontaneous indecisive girl that sometimes can turn a little evil (dependingonthetargets).

Aiyoh!

My baby bird had a minor fall in school today :(