Poor Jelly was almost `drowned' from the down pour early yesterday morning!!
Ok, I exaggerated. You see, her crate is placed near a window and we usually leave it ajar so that she would get some fresh air.. And the wind was blowing right towards the window's direction when it poured cats and dogs at about 3am.
I wasn't asleep yet but it completely slipped my mind that Jelly's crate would be affected by the rain. Finally it was mom who went to Jelly's rescue! Poor thing, she was drenched..! and her crate was filled with rain water..
I had to mop her crate and also the floor and then I remembered Jojo who lives outside.. and yes, he was pretty wet too as the rain was so heavy! His normal sleeping place was invaded by rain..
So I let him in a while, dried him and I was thinking of letting him sleep in the kitchen. But I know he might get restless.. so I put him into his house, which he would still get wet a little..
Besides my dogs' incidence from the rain, the most `stupidest' thing that happened (thanks to the rain) was that my own room was `flooded' too!!
I don't know why I never thought of it.. I knew it was raining so heavily and I knew my windows were all opened. But somehow I thought the rain would not come in! (cos we do have quitte good awning) Then only like 10 minutes later, I decided to check. Thankfully rain water did not come in through the windows near my bed. BUT I got a shock of my life time when I went to the other side of the room, which the windows are the same direction as Jelly's crate's..
As I drew the curtain, the rain splashed towards me and I saw not only were my curtains wet, the floor was filled with water too!!! I quickly closed all the four windows and in the process got myself a bit wet too.. Then I had to find big cloths to dry the floor.. As it had rained for a while, it did look like a small flood in my room!
I learned my lesson. When it rains, especially such heavy downpour.. rule no 1 is: CLOSE ALL WINDOWS!!
Duh, like anyone doesn't know this?!!
But I could make such a boo boo!!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
More Leisure than Work ;)
If only all working trips are like this one..
HBO is a great host - we were treated like VIPs and pampered with luxurious accommodation and splendid food among other things.
We stayed at The Scarlet - a rather unique boutique hotel that I can't find proper adjectives to describe it. Vivacious, trendy, bold and passionate just come to mind. It has lots of scarlet red, black and gold. And gosh, we were fed so well! From fusion to Italian and almost fine-dining throughout, not to mention no shortage of refreshment in between..
The work was kinda relaxing too - involved watching a few episodes of the new second (final) season of ROME and a group interview with one of its lead cast - Kevin McKidd. There were four of us representing four newspaper publications from Malaysia, and we were led by our gracious host Paulin from HBO.
Anyway.. here is what I did over the three days - with the help of some photos. Overall, I enjoyed myself very much - the trip was fun and fufilling! And the best thing of all - I didn't get to do any shopping, thus didn't spend money! :)
DAY 1
With Paulin and Jessabell when we arrived at Changi airport.
Since we took a noon flight, we were all starving by then when we were taken to our hotel. So the first thing we did was to have lunch at its restaurant with a seductive name - `Desire'. It has a cosy and warm decor and the food was excellent! I've had the best bread ever!!
After a satisfying and sumptuous late lunch, we started our program by watching ROME at the hotel - including `The Making of', recaps of season one and also the 1st episode of the new season. I find the new season is getting more interesting than the previous one. In case you're interested, the first episode will be aired on HBO at 11pm on May 7.
My room is quite small but cosy and comfortable, and comes with a balcony too!
Just before dinner, this camwhore took some photos at the lobby..
The Malaysian gang - with Jessabell, Liz, Anansa and Paulin.
With lunch not digested yet, we were taken for dinner at an Italian restaurant on Club Street just nearby the hotel. Again the food was very good and we had the company of the other press as well as our HBO hosts in Singapore..
Earlier in the afternoon, I managed to get in touch with an old friend from church who's now working in S'pore. The timing was pretty good as he was to fly off (he's a pilot) the following day! It was great catching up as I think the last time we met was more than a year ago.. Eugen didn't seem to know any good watering holes at Club Street so we ended up going back to The Scarlet's lobby lounge.
Again, this camwhore made Eugen pose for a photo.. and this was the best out of the four we took!
DAY 2
It's the official `work day'. We spent almost the whole day at the HBO Asia headquarter - previewing more of Rome 2 and interviewed the lead actor. And we got a tour of the very hi-tech office!
How fun it is to work at HBO - each of the cubicle has a television!
And the recreation room was cool too - besides a theatre system with karaoke, there is a pool table, darts and lots of cosy and comfy sofas to relax in.
After the group interview which went pretty well, it was photograph time with the `star'! Here is the Malaysian gang again with Kevin McKidd, who is a really chatty and affable chap - quite a contrast to the dark and stern character Vorenus he played in ROME. And we also took personal pix with him of course..
So work is officially finished! Just like in Chiang Mai when we had a fun cook-out competition, the HBO people had put some thoughts into our group activity - we were taken to do pottery! It was pretty fun and the first time for many.
We were taught the basic technique of pinching a bowl - although all our bowls turend out to be different shape and sizes.. And yep, we even tried to do it on the rotating table ala Ghost. :p Oh, Kevin McKidd and his wife Jane also joined us in the pottery session, and also for dinner after that!
Paulin making her bowl on the rotator and me `showing off' the first bowl that I attempted..
There were many beautiful and colourful products that were on display.
It was makan-time again after this. Again, we were treated to another fine dining - a four course Western dinner at a cosy restaurant at Brown Sugar, River Valley Road. We had nice free-flowing white wine that Kevin McKidd recommended!
I had to leave a little earlier to go to a friend's place off Orchard Road, but not before I ate the absolutely delicious Molten Chocolate Cake with warm and moist filling.. I had planned to just take a few bite but ended up eating the whole thing.. yumm.
Was really glad I managed to get hold of Su Yin on the day itself as she just got back from Perth! I had stayed with her a few times in my past visits to Singapore but haven't seen her for two years and not since she gave birth to her baby daughter!
But when I reached her place, all her kids were fast asleep already. We spent about an hour plus chatting as she attempted to feed me cakes and ice-cream!
And before they sent me back to the hotel, I made sure I got a pix of us! :p
DAY 3
It is basically free-and-easy till we left the hotel at noon to catch our flight home.
I had one more friend to meet up! Earlier, I have already contacted Li Ming, who was also one of our boarding school gang, to arrange to meet up. We were supposed to meet at Vivo City - a new huge shopping mall - but I'm glad she decided to take me to have breakfast at her beautiful new home at Sentosa instead! It has a huge patio with a swimming pool overlooking the sea. And the interior was very chic and modern.. hmm.. just like a dream house.
I got a tour of the house and little Leonard - Li Ming's younger son - was really friendly to me.. took him 3 minutes to warm up to me and held my hand! :)
Li Ming then dropped me back to the hotel and came up to see the hotel room as well. And soon after saying bye to her, it was time to leave too..
With our friendly Singapore HBO hosts - Angela and Karen
A parting shot in front of The Scarlet
HBO is a great host - we were treated like VIPs and pampered with luxurious accommodation and splendid food among other things.
We stayed at The Scarlet - a rather unique boutique hotel that I can't find proper adjectives to describe it. Vivacious, trendy, bold and passionate just come to mind. It has lots of scarlet red, black and gold. And gosh, we were fed so well! From fusion to Italian and almost fine-dining throughout, not to mention no shortage of refreshment in between..
The work was kinda relaxing too - involved watching a few episodes of the new second (final) season of ROME and a group interview with one of its lead cast - Kevin McKidd. There were four of us representing four newspaper publications from Malaysia, and we were led by our gracious host Paulin from HBO.
Anyway.. here is what I did over the three days - with the help of some photos. Overall, I enjoyed myself very much - the trip was fun and fufilling! And the best thing of all - I didn't get to do any shopping, thus didn't spend money! :)
DAY 1
With Paulin and Jessabell when we arrived at Changi airport.
Since we took a noon flight, we were all starving by then when we were taken to our hotel. So the first thing we did was to have lunch at its restaurant with a seductive name - `Desire'. It has a cosy and warm decor and the food was excellent! I've had the best bread ever!!
After a satisfying and sumptuous late lunch, we started our program by watching ROME at the hotel - including `The Making of', recaps of season one and also the 1st episode of the new season. I find the new season is getting more interesting than the previous one. In case you're interested, the first episode will be aired on HBO at 11pm on May 7.
My room is quite small but cosy and comfortable, and comes with a balcony too!
Just before dinner, this camwhore took some photos at the lobby..
The Malaysian gang - with Jessabell, Liz, Anansa and Paulin.
With lunch not digested yet, we were taken for dinner at an Italian restaurant on Club Street just nearby the hotel. Again the food was very good and we had the company of the other press as well as our HBO hosts in Singapore..
Earlier in the afternoon, I managed to get in touch with an old friend from church who's now working in S'pore. The timing was pretty good as he was to fly off (he's a pilot) the following day! It was great catching up as I think the last time we met was more than a year ago.. Eugen didn't seem to know any good watering holes at Club Street so we ended up going back to The Scarlet's lobby lounge.
Again, this camwhore made Eugen pose for a photo.. and this was the best out of the four we took!
DAY 2
It's the official `work day'. We spent almost the whole day at the HBO Asia headquarter - previewing more of Rome 2 and interviewed the lead actor. And we got a tour of the very hi-tech office!
How fun it is to work at HBO - each of the cubicle has a television!
And the recreation room was cool too - besides a theatre system with karaoke, there is a pool table, darts and lots of cosy and comfy sofas to relax in.
After the group interview which went pretty well, it was photograph time with the `star'! Here is the Malaysian gang again with Kevin McKidd, who is a really chatty and affable chap - quite a contrast to the dark and stern character Vorenus he played in ROME. And we also took personal pix with him of course..
So work is officially finished! Just like in Chiang Mai when we had a fun cook-out competition, the HBO people had put some thoughts into our group activity - we were taken to do pottery! It was pretty fun and the first time for many.
We were taught the basic technique of pinching a bowl - although all our bowls turend out to be different shape and sizes.. And yep, we even tried to do it on the rotating table ala Ghost. :p Oh, Kevin McKidd and his wife Jane also joined us in the pottery session, and also for dinner after that!
Paulin making her bowl on the rotator and me `showing off' the first bowl that I attempted..
There were many beautiful and colourful products that were on display.
It was makan-time again after this. Again, we were treated to another fine dining - a four course Western dinner at a cosy restaurant at Brown Sugar, River Valley Road. We had nice free-flowing white wine that Kevin McKidd recommended!
I had to leave a little earlier to go to a friend's place off Orchard Road, but not before I ate the absolutely delicious Molten Chocolate Cake with warm and moist filling.. I had planned to just take a few bite but ended up eating the whole thing.. yumm.
Was really glad I managed to get hold of Su Yin on the day itself as she just got back from Perth! I had stayed with her a few times in my past visits to Singapore but haven't seen her for two years and not since she gave birth to her baby daughter!
But when I reached her place, all her kids were fast asleep already. We spent about an hour plus chatting as she attempted to feed me cakes and ice-cream!
And before they sent me back to the hotel, I made sure I got a pix of us! :p
DAY 3
It is basically free-and-easy till we left the hotel at noon to catch our flight home.
I had one more friend to meet up! Earlier, I have already contacted Li Ming, who was also one of our boarding school gang, to arrange to meet up. We were supposed to meet at Vivo City - a new huge shopping mall - but I'm glad she decided to take me to have breakfast at her beautiful new home at Sentosa instead! It has a huge patio with a swimming pool overlooking the sea. And the interior was very chic and modern.. hmm.. just like a dream house.
I got a tour of the house and little Leonard - Li Ming's younger son - was really friendly to me.. took him 3 minutes to warm up to me and held my hand! :)
Li Ming then dropped me back to the hotel and came up to see the hotel room as well. And soon after saying bye to her, it was time to leave too..
With our friendly Singapore HBO hosts - Angela and Karen
A parting shot in front of The Scarlet
Friday, April 27, 2007
This blogger's block
I'm back. Have so much to blog about on my three-day trip to Singapore - the activities, the trendy hotel, the food, meeting up old friends etc etc.. and of course, took quite a lot of photos to show too.. !
But alas, somehow I have this `blogger's block' - tried to start on it but didn't feel inspired/motivated to carry on.. or maybe I'm just plain lazy.. but actually, also kinda busy.
Well this is just a short note to say that I (and my blog) is still alive.. hopefully I'll post something interesting over the weekend.. But there's also work and other things.. how I wish there're more hours in a day!
And now to catch the repeat of my HK drama series over Astro :p
But alas, somehow I have this `blogger's block' - tried to start on it but didn't feel inspired/motivated to carry on.. or maybe I'm just plain lazy.. but actually, also kinda busy.
Well this is just a short note to say that I (and my blog) is still alive.. hopefully I'll post something interesting over the weekend.. But there's also work and other things.. how I wish there're more hours in a day!
And now to catch the repeat of my HK drama series over Astro :p
Friday, April 20, 2007
Barless! and other assorted stuff..
Finally got the car back 40 days after the accident! However, it's still not complete - if you notice, the kangaroo bar is missing!
And if you compare with the `before' pix, the front of my car looks kinda naked. Never did we imagine how troublesome it was to get the kangaroo bar done. First the workshop was trying to source for existing ones from accessories shop but they couldn't find. And then when we thought we managed to find the original bar, we were told that it also didn't fit because what I had was not original but was fixed by the previous owner in Japan. Finally the workshop decided to get someone to make the steel bar, but it turned out really ugly - they have used part of the old bent one!!
Just couldn't believe how they could end up doing such shoddy work.. we planned to complain to the insurance company. We have made so many futile trips there and not mentioning the phone calls. Anyway, this morning when we called, they said they would get another workshop to do it but it would take time so the guy advised us to take back the car first.. After so long leaving my poor car there, I agreed then.. thought it was time to take it back first.
So now, I am driving a barless 4-wheel drive.. but as I was driving it around town, I realised how I've missed my car!
Spent most of the afternoon collecting cheques (miserable amounts though), went to gym, slotted in a massage and even picked up a few pieces at Cats Whiskers sales before attending a function.
It was a MIFA (Malaysian International Fashion Alliance) event which also launched the MIFA magazine which I contributed to. That was the reason i was invited. It was held at Le Francais at Bangsar One - those `trendy' place. But gosh I didn't expect so many people - many celebrities and other VIPs came all dressed up and it was sardine packed! The first part of the evening was watching the `red carpet' interviews.. which to me was getting draggy and the weather was sooo hot! At least I met a few people I knew if not I would be even more bored..
Later, while all the guests were busying hob-nobbing, rubbing shoulders, and socialising, I was more concerned to look for food as I was hungry! There was no shartage of free-flowing wine but I couldn't detect any food!! Finally after 9:30pm only did I notice some waiters serving hors d'oeuvre - but the variety was quite pathetic. Still I managed to stuff myself with the teenie-weenie bits of food till I was full!
I guess the `highlight' for me was the launch of the annual magazine, which featured a `helicopter' in the air! (Ok, not real one but quite cool) They called each contributor onto stage to receive a gift courtesy of Armani. So I had my five-seconds of fame when cameras clicked away at me receiving the paper bag consisted of an Armani fragrance from the label's GM.
After making a few more rounds, I decided to leave so I could reach home in time for the American Idol's Results Show! Yeah, I am now an addict.. :p And what fantastic news - Sanjaya is FINALLY out! I mean I was betting him to get the boot after the rather horrendous performance yesterday.. But again, you never know!
Well, it was good enough that he actually got into the top 7.
Will be going to Singapore for an assignment next week - representing an English daily. What a coincidence, it is a HBO invite to cover the 2nd season of Rome and I happened to cover the 1st season press trip and had the pleasure of staying at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort in Chiangmai.
Was told by the HBO PR that we will be staying in a boutique hotel called The Scarlet. Sounds interesting.. We will spend two nights there and there will be just one session of interview with the lead actor plus previews of the show. So.. should be quite relax. Can probably look up some friends too.
Yey, get to drive my car tomorrow, although it is barless!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Suddenly...
It's all quiet at the Western front...
Dad and mom and I just sent off sis and the kids to the airport in two cars. And when I reached home (parents have gone for massage), the house seemed so empty and so eeriely quiet (ok, i exaggerated but you get the picture!) What a difference it is from the bustle and liveliness of the last fortnight!
At the airport, the kids had McDonald's while the adults had some exorbitantly-priced coffee, satay and beer. When it came to the time of parting, Miu Miu was the most sociable - she hugged each of us and kept on saying `bye-bye'.. Even when they walked on, she kept turning back and and waved at us - even when she was at the immigration counter.
Well, sometimes the kids - especially the boys - can be so uncontrollable that you feel like vommitting blood! But i can't say i didn't have fun with them around.. Edgar is pretty grown up now and can engage in proper conversation. Sean is cute when he is not in his mood of tantrum! But we have to admit that it's the adorable Alexis who has become everyone's darling.
I mean, how could anyone resist her manja way and her sweet smile and voice.. Ohh..how we will miss her.
So my `leave' is officially over now.. have to get back to some work. It has been two weeks of play and fun - outings, malls trips, playing with kids, and also feasting away!! (thanks to sis! :p)
Here are some pix taken today - at home and at the airport
Edgar pouts for the camera.. ;)
Sean makes a funny face!
The many faces of Miu Miu (poor girl was bitten by mozzies..)
Edgar and Jelly are good friends
Mom would not let go of every opportunity to take photo with Miu Miu - who is busy eating her ice-cream!
Sean is reluctant to take photo
Edgar is even more reluctant to take photo!
But Alexis loves taking pictures.. one with gong gong and por por!
And with yiyi while eating
The three kids enjoying their McD's ice-cream
A rare group pix - notice the different funny expressions of the kids!!
Dad and mom and I just sent off sis and the kids to the airport in two cars. And when I reached home (parents have gone for massage), the house seemed so empty and so eeriely quiet (ok, i exaggerated but you get the picture!) What a difference it is from the bustle and liveliness of the last fortnight!
At the airport, the kids had McDonald's while the adults had some exorbitantly-priced coffee, satay and beer. When it came to the time of parting, Miu Miu was the most sociable - she hugged each of us and kept on saying `bye-bye'.. Even when they walked on, she kept turning back and and waved at us - even when she was at the immigration counter.
Well, sometimes the kids - especially the boys - can be so uncontrollable that you feel like vommitting blood! But i can't say i didn't have fun with them around.. Edgar is pretty grown up now and can engage in proper conversation. Sean is cute when he is not in his mood of tantrum! But we have to admit that it's the adorable Alexis who has become everyone's darling.
I mean, how could anyone resist her manja way and her sweet smile and voice.. Ohh..how we will miss her.
So my `leave' is officially over now.. have to get back to some work. It has been two weeks of play and fun - outings, malls trips, playing with kids, and also feasting away!! (thanks to sis! :p)
Here are some pix taken today - at home and at the airport
Edgar pouts for the camera.. ;)
Sean makes a funny face!
The many faces of Miu Miu (poor girl was bitten by mozzies..)
Edgar and Jelly are good friends
Mom would not let go of every opportunity to take photo with Miu Miu - who is busy eating her ice-cream!
Sean is reluctant to take photo
Edgar is even more reluctant to take photo!
But Alexis loves taking pictures.. one with gong gong and por por!
And with yiyi while eating
The three kids enjoying their McD's ice-cream
A rare group pix - notice the different funny expressions of the kids!!
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