bali!

went to bali with friends before going to shanghai and here are some picture highlights

Bubba Gump, a themed restuarant based on Forrest Gump movie. Very yummy, highly recommended!

ms vong doing her mountain song while enjoying coffee @ some plantation

Bali Mother Temple - the biggest temple in Bali, but not worth making the trip just to see this

we went for white water rafting. very fun with no danger factor. its a water theme ride in nature.

wan a pair of nike bali? had to buy these for the rafting

Kuta beach was littered with people who gathered there to watch the pretty sunset

patchwork blanket - balinese style

smouldering shanghai

was in shanghai for the past two weeks and it was hot hot hot there - temperatures went up to 40 degrees. at least that's what 'they' say. anyway, below are some pictures from the trip.

this was taken at some wholesale market that sells curtains, bedsheets, household stuffs, about 1 hr ride from puxi city. i bought a quilt cover there and its amazing - choose the fabric you like, they will sew and it will be ready within 10 minutes. it will probably take me an hour to do it.

the english translations are usually amusing. the picture below's just one of the many i have seen.

this is nanjing buxingjie - a vibrant pedestrian street filled with shops and people. somehow, buxingjies are very popluar all around in china (@ least i have been to a few already) and usually, there's a mini tram to ferry people up and down the long street for a small fee.

my favourite xiaolongbao, especially those filled soley with hairy crab yummies. this place's called JiaJia Tang Bao @ 62 Liyuan Road

these ppl make the best use of what's left. here's what i saw - the lift door opens, a construction works rolls out a cart and empties it on the floor. the people would then rush towards the rubbish and rummage through it for scrap metal or anything remotely valuable exchangeable for money and put into their own carts or boxes - first come first serve. its a sad sight, yet its amazing how ppl make full use of everything they have.

cleaners do not use modern machines, nor nice brooms to sweep the roadsides. they merely gather dried twigs into a bundle to become a broom. another money saving and environmentally friendly idea.

this place needs a revamp

Was at kallang today to support tyre's tennis game. While he was doing his warm up, i went over to KFC to have a drink. To my horror, the facade of the KFC was horrible - the paint was peeling and faded. It was in such stark contrast to clean and new MacDonalds opposite. Anyway, i had a craving for the cheesy fries so despite the unwelcoming entrance, i still chose KFC over MacDonalds.

And regretted - the interior was just as bad as the exterior. There was a horrible smell and the fittings were all old old old. Took a seat and the seats where dirt filled (at the gaps) and there were bits of chicken and crumbs littered on the seats. Also noticed that the staff merely wiped the crumbs off the table, and ignored the seats.

Yucks yucks yucks!

random thoughts on love

i read something someone wrote sometime back. here goes, not in the exact words, but the main idea holds:

you fell in love with him for who he is
yet you wan to change him after getting together
but then, would you still love him after he has changed
for he will be a different person

suitcase full of my shanghai buys

will post some of my shanghai trip pictures next time, but for now, here's the suitcase full of goodies which i brought back from shanghai!

forgotten crafts

spent the past 3 days packing my room. was in the mood to clean up and i came by these.

the first one was a box of paper cranes. i've forgotten why i did all these but i do remembered that i wanted to at least 1000 paper cranes because according to people - make 1000 cranes, make a wish and it will come true!

the second one was pieces of cross-stitches. before i discovered my interest in sewing, i had been doing cross-stitch instead and here are some of them. the thing about cross-stitch is that after finishing a piece, i could only do cushion covers or frame them up, both which i felt were pretty useless.. hahahahaha :D

surprise from tyre!

first thing i saw when i reached home (after a two week stay in shanghai) was this pretty huge box! its from tyre!! guess what's in it?

its my very own Bernina Activa 220 sewing machine! yay! had already ordered it more than a month ago and wanted to buy for it myself but tyre 'conspired' with the salesguy and went to buy/pay for it while i was in shanghai and had it delivered the day before i returned! :D now it sits prettily on my craft table! cant wait to use it!

i have given it a test run just now and it purls like a cat! finally! my very own bernina! :D

my own threads organiser & holder

I had been wanting to buy a threads holder similar to the one in the picture below but couldnt find it anywhere in Singapore and i couldnt bear to fork out US$20 just to buy one on ebay. hence, thought of doing a simple one myself.

Just need some nails, a wooden board (bought from ikea for only S$2) and a hammer!had wanted to paint the nails pink but that would take too long so here it - the end product!

flat tyre!

this is the second time our mini got a flat.

the first time was when i was driving to work on a rainy day and had to abruptly stop by the petro station to seek help in changing the tyre.

this time, it happened while brother was driving home. we tried our hands at changing tyres but the screws broke so we had to call for a tow truck in the end. brother stopped conveniently under a durian tree (Try to spot the fallen durian at the bottom center of the picture). ! :D

and this was the highlight of my first day unemployed!

the dreaded deodarant

deodarant is like a taboo word. to use deodarant = to have body odor.

but recently, ms vong put the use of it in a new light to it. i quote her "to use deodarant is a form of courtesy to others!" it may not read much, but the way she said it sounds good. :D

so, inspired by her form of courtesy, did a little research online on homemade deodarant and here's one of the commonly suggested formulation:

Combine a quarter cup baking soda, a quarter cup cornstarch, and 3 drops of tea tree oil . Mix thoroughly and viola, you have it ready to use! and according to reviews, it can be kept for months.

i'm going to buy the ingedients and make myself a pot of homemade deodarant!