Oh... OotoYa

Took half day leave to accompany BF. He is on leave for two days!

We decided to go Ootoya to eat because I checked the reviews were all positive. They are very renown in Japan and have many chain outlets. When we reached there, we had to wait for about fifteen minutes for our turn. Surprisingly, this restaurant was crowded with office staff while other restaurants were so empty during lunch hour.

We had a hard time making our selections because every bento set was almost unique and succulent. I finally made my choice after flipping the menu several times. By the way, they served fragrant genmaicha and I was so famished I managed to finish my bento set, even their authentic Japanese rice!

Overall, the dining experience was great and we will definitely come back for more. We have not try the desserts because we are already too full.

After lunch, we walked around the shops in Orchard Central and then to TCC for drinks. Our agenda for today was to discuss our Japan trip. We shortlisted a few hotels after some research done. But no booking made yet as we wanted to wait till the agency confirms our flight arrangement.

We then went searching for our leather jackets. BF bought his leather jacket from Zara at S$179.00. Looked nice on him! I saw one from Pull and Bear. Tried it and looked very stylish but I did not buy as it's still too early to November. There's too many picks for women's jackets these days. Or maybe I was waiting for a sale or something. haha..

Leather jackets look cool, aren't they?

Happy Birthday bro~

I thought it will be nice to blog about last night incident before I leave for the day. hehe. I am on afternoon leave. Yippee!!

Yesterday was bro's birthday and all of us actually forgot to buy him a cake! He came over to my room and asked me if there was a cake for him. I told him no because I already treated him dinner last Friday. Upon hearing this, he looked very disheartened. Then he explained to me that his friends have asked him out but he declined their offer so as to spend his birthday with us. When I heard that, I was guilty but I kept apologising to him that, no cake this time... :(

I quickly dialled my sis's HP for SOS help who was having her supper with her friend. They drove to West Mall and what a relief there was still a cake shop opened during this hour.

While my brother was playing his computer games in sister's room, we secretly lighted the candles and standby our camera. We walked into the room and sang "happy birthday" song, he was caught by surprise and looked so stunned! haha. I can see that delighted look on his face.

That ended the night happily.... ^^

Quote of the Day:

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Research for free and easy...

I know I'm very greedy but if time allows, below are some of the few places that I must squeeze time to go in Tokyo.

• TOBU World Square - with minature buildings *Optional
  

• Ueno Park

• Akihabara - dear's favourite gadget and electronics products
  

• Tokyo tower - A must go at night for the lovely, romantic view!
  


• Other shopping district like Harajuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku are compulsory for a shopping queen like me... (click on links for more info.... )

Quote of the Day:

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Sun with Moon

I just had my fill at Sun with Moon with BF and brother. That was meant to be a birthday treat for my little cute brother. I'm glad my brother was satisfied with the dinner because he is a Japanese food lover, just like me!

I have to add this, the efforts on the food presentation amused us and not only that, the attentive service staff are one of the reasons for making our dinner a pleasant one. They are having 30% off all food items till end of this month, only at wheelock place. Try it! I will be going down again next Friday for a dinner with my ex-colleagues!

As you can notice, I have just add on 'Quote of the day' on the top left corner of my blog. Hope a simple sentence a day may inspire me and whoever is reading my blog now..

Bought Brand's Essence of chicken with vitamin B complex for BF and myself. Sometimes we are so busy with work and daily lives that we tend to neglect our health. We need health nutrition to maintain our body's well-being.

Star of the day!

The two most important men in my life!

Quote of the Day:
Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.

Busy month

August is a peak month meeting up with friends! I will need a break in September!

I would very much like to keep my time occupied with friends around or do things at my own pleasure but for some reasons I can't. Sometimes, I tend to get beat tired after each meet-up.. Do excuse me if I decline your offer or last min cancellation. I do not want to look worn out in the presence of friends. But rest assured that I will try my best to fulfill promises I have made.

Here's a simple collage of Jen & me when we met up last Sunday...



At times we do feel low in spirits due to work or relationships. It is a human cycle which will never end. For me, I have been thinking of ways to motivate myself by doing things that I can look forward to, spending on something which I have always desire or choose to think of happy moments. A little comfort from loved ones is always welcomed. To some you may not agree with me 'cuz it might not work 100% for you. It's still in our mindset to decide how we want to live this life.

Tomorrow is Friday finally and I will be catching UP movie with BF. Saturday we will be going KTV @ Liang Court with Des & Rain and then Jumbo dinner to celebrate Grandma's birthday! Sunday will be going dinner @ Beaulieu house to celebrate bro's advance birthday. So I need sleep now!

The Pursuit of own happiness... =)

My recent weekend has been loaded with activities. So much to blog about and yet insufficient time to drop them in details. I'm not uploading all the pictures here as I have not re-install Photoshop to my desktop. It's so troublesome and time-consuming to size down images manually.

Well, I'll just keep this post simple and short =)

Here's a short recap:
Attended my bestie's wedding last Saturday and elated that she found her other half whom she is gonna spend her life with! Also met up with Jen for shopping spree on Sunday and yesterday went to People's Park complex to book my holiday. Hey, my dream has turned REAL!!!

No doubt it's still another 3 months to go, but I'm already perked up with excitement 'cuz there is something to look forward to! I will have ample time to do my research which I presume I will not procrastinate my actions.

We have requested to extend three days F&E on our stay (subject to flight confirmation). As such, I will be doing intensive research for our self-travelling. It's evident that I'm definitely not very streetwise so I'm putting my trust on BF's intelligence with the maps and direction. lol

To begin with, I have solicited help from ET on some budget hotels and he also printed the maps in colour for me!

UP Movie
Friends said this is one of the best animated movies so far. So how could I not watch it? Luckily BF also wana watch.. hehe. So can watch with me =)

Body wellness

I need to get my body back to good shape! And what do I mean by good shape? It's my body's wellness. Cuz I'm sure I will be doing tons of walking in Japan and I tend to get tired easily :(
Three months to train myself up =) There is no excuse to be lazy!

TGIF: Snooze off

Office is pretty quiet today. Finally survived this one week in office alone most of the time. It has been a great tolerance.. :/

I received a $100 Robinsons voucher from one of my salesmen. It's very generous of him. He must have seen my dejected expression on my face at work these days cuz I'm busy helping to settle his accounts and some others. haha. But really touched lah. It's a gesture of appreciation from him.

Will be catching this movie Murderer starring Aaron Kwok with Tyan and HJ at new mall, Illuma later. I am certainly not a big fan of his movies but I have watched the trailer and it seems interesting, some kind of detective story. It better be cuz I don't usually support chinese films... hee...~

If you noticed, it has been on a regular basis that I will update my blog during work hours. Basically is to divert my mind away from work stress.. But that doesn't mean I am very free hor.. keke. I still have tons of work but sometimes I feel that I need a mini break.

I am beginning to snooze off while waiting to knock off. Coffee doesn't help much! Counting down... It's 20 mins to knock off time!

I wish this week will fast forward. There's many events for the month of August :)

To quote a few, my best friend's hens party and upcoming wedding, meeting Jenny, belated birthday for ET and probably KTV singing. There's one PH on one of the Mondays for next month! haha... So it means one less workday for everyone! :)

Yesterday night, restored my desktop back to factory's settings due to some "technical" problem. I did a backup of my files and folders. All my programs installed previously were not be able to retrieve back. But it's a solace that it has not been in a really bad shape.

BF and I are enticied in taking ROM shots from Pixel Pixie Photography after seeing Faith's blog. Saw the sneak previews of the beautiful shots taken and I was going 'WOW! How nice if we also can take such shots leh!' It will be fascinating to take a set of casual shots as a symbol of our unconditional love for each other.

I was reading up today on the autumn foliage: http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo/081121.html Breathe-taking sights!

Sweet treats with loved ones

It was a coincidence that my sister was around town so we met for dinner together at Sushi Tei, Paragon.


Our first dish calls for our favourite, Salmon Sashimi!


My sister is better at posing funny, cute poses. =)


This spicy ramen was recommended by sister, but way too spicy for me to take it! In spite of so many dishes ordered, we managed to finish all of it. Yummy.


Oh yes! I visited Rain & Des' new flat at Sembawang and I really can feel the blissful joy when planning for their sweet, lovely nest... The waiting is finally over. I reckon we will be 'loitering' inside their house when it's ready. haha~

Though I wish for mine to come too but I know planning is very important. I am still not ready for that for now. But one and the half years down the road, I will be ready to move on to the next stage of my life. =)

"Koyo" Autumn viewing

I wanted to stock up some daily necessities so we headed to Chinatown. BF & I had our lunch nearby at the hawker centre. Previously, we did price comparisons and the prices at Swanston is much cheaper. Hence we make a point to go there to buy our daily necessities and end up spending an exaggerated amount!

Since we were at Chinatown, we decided to drop by the tour agencies at People's Park complex. We went to CTC, SA, Hong Tai and ASA. I must said I'm satisfied with the lady, Cecilia whom we approached at Hong Tai. She provided us the pricing to consider. We decided to bring forward our travelling plans to end October - early November instead as end November is getting close to winter and we are just afraid it might be a bit risky if we want to catch autumn season.

We are still considering which places to visit and what packages to sign up for. Probably, we will sign up before end August to secure our hotel lodging and air tickets.

Autumn is one of my favourite season in Japan, besides spring. Since I could not wait for next spring to arrive, I decided to go for autumn viewing. Do you know that autumn foliage is gorgeous too. It is a season of warm colours and you can look out to the trees and you see yellows, oranges, reds among the green. I have seen a few nice photographs from the web and it can be so pleasing to the eyes.

Most of the areas in Japan are covered with trees and meaning, the autumn foliage is particularly beautiful the deeper into the hills you go... I am sure it will be a breathe-taking sight! Guess what! I'm planning to pluck a few maple leaves back to Singapore!

Link on when to view autumn foliage: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/seasonal/seasons_2004autumn-winter/index.html

Currently following this Japan link on city guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/
If you have any links to share, pls post in my blog, thanks!

Here are two pictures I abstracted from Alfie Goodrich's photo blog that made me go WOW!

Hope to see beautiful maple leaves like these pictures on our trip!

Happy treats

My pay slip is out! I got a pay increment and bonus. Yes, I am very happy that in this economic downturn, I'm blessed to be given a small amount of bonus and increment instead of facing a pay cut or retrenchment. I thanked God and I thanked myself for clinging on no matter how life sucks at work. I hope this extra cash will motivate me further in work..

There are many treats I want to give but I don't know where to start. hehe. Firstly, my BF. He is the most important person in my life and he is entitled to what I lease. We share woes and joy together. And guess what, once the money is credited in tomorrow, we planned to have Sushi Tei tomorrow! It's my treat!

Then my brother's birthday. So far, I have not got him anything expensive (except paid for his meals) so whatever it is, his wish will be granted! Next, have a family reunion dinner....

I have to start fixing a day to meet a couple of friends and ex-colleagues whom I have lost contact with. But I will be busy starting from August as I have to start sourcing for reliable and affordable tour agencies. Planning is not easy, have to start from some research and then jisaw them together.

Friends, pls be patient. I'll meet up with you pretty soon. ^^

It's going to be the same cycle again where I am alone again at work. AGAIN! :( I certainly hope to have a physical well-being to survive for next week! Bless Me!

New bags, new clothes

Yippee~

The two bags I have ordered are finally here.. It makes my day brighter for this week.. And there is something more to look forward to because I have also ordered more clothes from Mayuki and it will arrive next week!! They have speed up on their delivery. That's very fast! hehe....

I dont think I will be doing any shopping in Singapore for the next two weekends. That is a good relief to my bank account.

It's going August soon and I have to start planning for my Central Japan trip liao. My friend reminded me to book early as there are early bird discounts.. Something to look forward to it. Four more months only leh!

Yesterday after work, had dinner with ET at BT panjang and we shared alot of discussions on stock market, on work, on life, relationships etc. By the way, I still owe him a birthday treat since June. haha.. ~ I have promised to make it up to him next month.

I still had a hard time trying to get to sleep at night these few days and will go to toilet to pee a few times. I have avoid drinking water before I sleep so I don't know why it's happening. For the time being, I have to put up with the number of times I went loo and how annoying I am whenever I have to wake up to work. Don't know if there is a cure for this.

A walk at Joo Chiat

BF and I decided to visit Joo Chiat as we have always wanted to explore this place.. I had done some online research the previous night to check out some famous stalls.

We parked our car very far from the stalls and had to do a bit of walking. During our walking journey, we came across a very classic red building and this caught our eyes immediately, we began snapping away until an uncle waved to us and politely invited us in to visit his gallery. We hesitated awhile but we accepted his invite. We went upstairs to the gallery to take some photographs. Though we weren't born artistic but there were one or two nice oil paintings that caught our eyes and were dazzled with the artworks.

The uncle who invited us in was actually the owner of this gallery and he even treated us to cakes and mineral water. We thanked him for playing a good host and then continued our search for Kim's Seafood place, managed to find it after walking for another 1 hour.

We ordered the famous XO hokkien prawn mee that comes with big oysters! The mention of oysters here tickled my cravings again and I want to go back for more! haha. It's nicer than those outside but it's slighter on the expensive end. One plate is sufficient for two people's share.

Next, we headed to look for Kway Guan Huat for it's famous popiah.. It certainly took us some time before we found the stall as we aren't familiar with Joo Chiat area. We ordered one roll and tried it. To our dismay, it was not as good as what the reviews have recommended! It was a disappointment. There was nothing fantastic as it seems. I seriously think Qi Ji popiah scores far better than this!

On our way back, we bought durian puffs and cakes from Puteri Mas to call an end to our Joo Chiat journey. My parents simply loved durian puffs and it's a complete joy to them...
Unfortunately, BF fell sick soon after and couldn't enjoy the durian puffs...

Shall upload the photos soon... ^^

I had a bad headache on Saturday while BF was having bad sore throat and flu so we decided to stay at home resting... It must be the tiring walking and the scorching sun that caused our unbalanced bodies. haha. BF said I spread the virus to him! I'm innocent~ I didn't spread my virus to BF hor! It's very unusual of me to be at home on a Saturday but I'm glad I did as I had my beauty sleep replenished.
Well, I slept almost the whole day and finished reading my magazines. How time passed when I'm at home!

Stars For A Cause 明星志工队

Today is the first episode for Stars For A Cause, debuts every Thursday from 8pm to 9pm.

I watched it with tears inside my heart. It's a show about how the celebrities joined charity organisations to different parts of the world to spread the love. It's a heart-warming programme that I believe it will influence many audience and also understand that riches and power may not be the only happiness in life. Sometimes, we should be contented with our lives and not demand too much at times.

I have always had a liking for Ah Bu who previously hosted King of Adventures. He appeared to be born a natural man, a big brother who can engage in conversations with any age, any race. He is very sincere and upright and I always have a deep impression of him playing a humorous TV host. Today it's about how he had travelled to the rural area of China to visit the poor kids staying in poor conditions. I can't believe they never brush their teeth and wash their face since the day they were born... When Ah Bu taught the kids how to clean their face and teeth, they were over-whelmed with excitement. One deep impression left on me was about a young gal who incurred an illness, thus unable to speak and hear. Eventually she was kicked out from school so as not to affect other children from learning... Oh my, I almost cried when I saw this. I'm always an emo weakling for such programmes. >.<

This programme inspires me further to get engage in charity work someday. I know actions still speak louder than words so I will not elaborate too much on what I am going to do. But I hope to be able to commit to charity work someday when I can afford the time and energy. I'll bear this in mind and will add this in my prayers. ^^

I took leave tomorrow. I'm still recovering from my sore throat, ulcers and abit of cough. My brain needs a break. I need a break before my body suffers under this six letter word "STRESS".. Glad that BF has been encouraging me and giving me hope!

Plans to run some errands like setting up POEMS account... and also visit Joo Chiat for some local food. Some research done! ^^