a new experience, life and adventures. i am thoroughly enjoying myself and learning more about myself as i go through the days. perhaps, just maybe, i am a little closer to finding out what do i REALLY want out of my short life on earth. it’d been a pleasant ride so far, am appreciating the serenity of this new environment.  in contrast to the sg friends i have met here who cannot wait to get back home, i am liking the laid-back style and calmness. on contrary, my life has been pretty hectic with the crazy pile of things to do/finish. yet, i still found the time to accommodate leisure pleasures.

been hooked on korean drama my princess in sg and finally completed the series. another typical cutesy romantic drama serial and i am so liking the male lead. a sure sign of growing up is when i start to find older men sexy. song seung heon is 36, sizzling and yummy. for the first time ever, i’m going to behave like a moronic hormonal, star-adoring teenager fan and post pictures of this hot man.

DROOLS.

oh, the female lead kim tae hae is massive gorgeous as well. but, are they plastic much?

posting a photo on fb reminded me again to never underestimate the power of the very public social network.
the day i should be blowing out my candles and not receiving a jab + 6pills (if of any consolation) for an allergy reaction.

a slightly different birthday this year.
with sight of a new beginning, a new adventure.
always seek and trust.

another slit & stitch and the pain is finally gone!
(he commented i’ve expensive teeth)

when you’re prone to self-inflicted injuries and run out of bandaids, you know what to do naturally.

*p.s: why do we not have black friday? not that my bank account can afford it though, but STILL.

completed my exams in the first week of september and had a mini celebration for the twins’ birthday at santouka which has really good melt-in-mouth pork cheeks and desserts after that at nectarie. we managed to soak in a little of the mid-autumn festival atmosphere by coincidentally being at clarke quay where big lanterns were displayed. for this year durian mooncakes choice, i’d asked for peony jade’s mao shan wang. was planning on getting home’s again but decided to try something different. read that the snowskin covering is made from organic pandan flavouring (i’m a huge fan of all things organic and pandan) and that it’d won the best durian mooncake in 2009, instantly i was sold. it was pretty good but overall, it’s fair fight against home’s. (tai chong kok has the best traditional mooncakes in my humble opinion by the way!)

the pork cheeks (i didn’t really appreciate the ramen though, i like mine thinner)

the 90s

left for beautiful and serene krabi the next week. the price we’d paid was a real awesome steal. before the trip, we were warned that it was the low/rainy season (hence the huge discount) and so, we were expecting to spend lots of time indoors which was okay with us as we could just relax/rest. but no, i was badly burnt and tanned! we didn’t want to come back and thought of extending our stay but i could not spare the time. we shall be back next year! (this reminds me that i’ve yet to do a write-up on tripadvisor as a favour).

(will have a post solely about the trip, so much to rave/share about – the food, the service….)

the reason i couldn’t afford to extend our stay was because i was to go to bintan for community service 3 days later.  i was pretty hyped as it would be my first time in indonesia and my first trip via ferry out of sg. signed up with the school and with quite a bit of preparation work done, we were finally there lending our smallest of helping hands. it was a memorable experience with many friends made. once again, it was burdening to witness poverty and the helplessness of the people inflicted by it. with that said, bintan is definitely more fortunate due to the substantial tourism industry (especially from the “rich” singaporeans).

came home and rushed to get my i4 before the promotion and free bumper period was over. 2 days later, i headed up to kl/genting/malacca for a school islamic banking trip. it was enriching to learn about the differences between islamic banking and conventional banking. that said, i do not think i will consider working in the islamic banking industry despite the huge huge $ to be earned especially in the uae (in $billions). first thing, i do not agree with the fundamentals of doing islamic banking (good for customers, bad for banks). do you know there is no interest charged for late payments for islamic “credit cards”? anyway i bought pineapples tarts, almond cookies and chestnut paste cookies (like tau sar piahs) from malacca and they were fkingly good. all cleared within 2 weeks which is a new record in my house where everything else usually stays unfinished till they expire. finally got to taste the authentic chicken rice balls as well as chendol.

carrying the load of food

ended the holidays with a mini sleepover, with the parents in genting. other than spending money on food, being the nicest sister and gf that i am, i made them breakfast one morning. (expenses borne by the mother)

the last semester at school started in a flash. it’s week 2 now and just 1 more month to “graduation”. while it is extremely unnerving to not get an internship placement yet, i can only blame myself for not being pro-active and procrastinating. in the meantime, i’ll fervently wait and pray. in the last 2 weeks, it has been a mad rush through the multiple school assignments/projects and will continue so until this sem is over.

but somehow, over the weekends, i’d found the time to attend a friend’s engagement “party” as well as another friend’s solemnisation ceremony and joined the nikerace (both on the same day)!  it was my first marathon and with my long-standing hatred for running, it was so feel-good for completing the race and my timing was not too bad (to everyone’s surprise)! that aside, what’s it with weddings?! i’ve 3 to attend next year. a hint i’m getting older perhaps? or maybe just the bf getting older? (since they’re mostly his friends’)

congrats to the blissful bride & groom!

the mates

the reason for the priceless expression & swollen side:

the dentist said she is v surprised at my high tolerance of pain (like i didn’t know already, HAHA). as usual, i was hugely excited yet slightly scared when deciding to proceed with the minor surgery. impromptu!

i am recovering extremely well, thank God! no consumption of any painkillers and eating solid food like seafood aglio olio capellini from olio cafe the very next day (nothing short of chocolate icream with waffles from chocz for dessert). spicy tonkatsu ramen the following day, all with 3 stitches in my mouth. how’s that? everyone was crazily amazed at how i could lick my plates/bowls clean and to such relish.

having my much-needed term break now, thanks to yog. exams are ahead but i’m hooked on various drama serials, variety shows and the epl. 2d1n is joy and laughter. my short-term memory is going downhill and my eyesight is worsening, but my tummy is burgeoning.  it’s time to do healthy.

*all my love to sp sb, giving us the 1 week term as study week.

compare them against these by ks

“They designed all the clutch “cover” art in-house and were able to get permission to use The Great Gatsby, Emma, The Importance of Being Earnest, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities because they were written before lawyers thought about licensing potential.”

see the similarities? i say they are both v nice with ks’s designs being more fluffy in details and colours. to me, the winning edge of ks is that it’s more user-friendly and functional. may the best design win always! and they always say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery so be proud, olympia.

]]> http://michcheok.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/a-neat-design/feed/ 0 michcheok 169384 169360 kate-spade-book-of-the-month-clutch-bag book-bag-4 cats 2 http://michcheok.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/lets-eat/ http://michcheok.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/lets-eat/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:11:27 +0000 michcheok http://michcheok.wordpress.com/?p=1833 ]]>

dropped by the korean supermart after dinner at bt timah and icecream at udders for dad’s birthday. this was tasty but wasn’t nasty hot enough for me.

“pre-birthday” patissier cakes from the boy. he said it’s not worth buying in slices so it’ll be in wholes the next time i guess? winkwink

deceiving cheery cupcakes found at sweeheng – one bakery which i majorly avoid. reminded me again why i don’t seem to like their products  much when i had rock hard cuppies in my mouth.

dropped by my fav fish soup stall at seah imm market and had post lunch desserts at a new shop in vivo. the rice balls in ginger soup was initially comforting but got boring after the 3rd ball as they had all contained the same weird coconut-y filling. the mango in black glutinous rice was nice but too rich for full consumption, or perhaps we should have chosen to have it served chilled instead.

this burger is called the works and should namely be so. with sides like onion rings made from real onion circles fried in batter, french fries from strips of potatoes with skin left on, the food is a natural magnet for return visits. the glorious mysterious  sauce nested in between the bacon and the portabello mushrooms is sooo delicious. don’t get tempted by the other promotions and skip all other burgers, this is the real deal.

went for the sg food fest to unwind in the midst of my cramped project days. it was our joy that this year’s focus was on the different chinese dialect groups as we are as singaporeans as bak chor mee. our first time eating hainanese chicken riceballs which was surprisingly yummy. it was not at all like those hard dry ones described by people who tried them in malacca and warned us against them. these were pretty tasty and was the best dish of our lot. it was also my first tasting braised pork in vinegar, done canton style. supposed to be excellent for post natal care but the boy seems to like it quite a lot (?). the taste was quite expected with a sourish tinge and gave a warm fuzzy feeling in the tummy. but i do not think drinking it for 1 month straight post babies is tolerable. the rest of the food were quite sub-standard. too touristy i guess. please remind me again why do i go to the sg food fest year after year.

with macaroons able to rivals those of jewels, strudels with exciting fillings like red wine pears.. we are sold to become slave of another pastry outlet. the only disappointment was the clumpy warm choc cake. else, it was a tiny piece of haven nested in the nightlife scene. with such wallet friendly prices, i think we might soon be heading to clarke quay for more of this than drinks.

living in the west sucks because all the good food remains untouchable by car in the far east. but thankfully, i stay within walking radius to this mouth-watering indian eatery along upp bt timah. karu’s curry always for any rainy day blues. be ready to wait on weekends though.

with some projects completed, the boy in patriotic camp and an old man’s cough, i finally have some time to look through the photos from the past months. am loving some of the precious family shots and shall get them framed soon. that aside, 23rd was a cosy affair as i had requested. the cake was mind-blowing KICKASS. even my parents who usually avoid all things sweet loved it! i spent a night contemplating on a few choices before deciding on this meringue of a baby which was a little too troublesome as  it has to be ordered in advance but made, bought, delivered and consumed in the same day (thanks to boy). 100g of goodness each was wayyyy too little. my sis spent a good 5mins frantically licking her spoon and plate.