My Fluffy Pillows

Ok. That’s not funny. What I mean was, I went for a dinner together with my mum because my dad had to work overtime.

The dinner was organized by the temple committee in commemoration of the birthday of a deity. Other then the usual feast of around 10 Chinese-style dishes, there was also a Getai display hosted by veteran Lin Ru Ping and a Chen Lei impersonator (I didn.t manage to get his name).

The Getai was hosted in a mix of Hokkien and Mandarin, with the dialect taking precedence. And although I am a Hokkien, I must shamefully admit that I am not able to properly communicate in my official dialect. But despite my limited vocabulary range, I was still able to understand most of the jokes the compares came up with on stage.

One can easily tell from the way they carried themselves in front of the crowd and the stage presence they command, that they were pros in their league. And not only can they fluently host without breaking a sweat, they do the singing as well. Besides that, they even do voice accompaniment for the other singers that performed throughout the entire event. Take a look at that you trashy American rappers! Haha!

The different singers that night came from different arrays of the spectrum. There was a 14 year old teenage girl from Malaysia, a skimpily clad China songtress, a traditionally attired Thai lady who managed to belt out a 'hock kien gua' to the applause of the crowd and recieved $50 bills thrown on stage, a made-in-Singapore disco auntie, a champion Fei-Yu-Qing impersonator and a Malaysian uncle who sang a duet my himself (yeah, he did both the male and female voice). And of course a few other singers who did not leave much of an impression on me:)

The dinner went well. There was an estimate of 130 tables consisting of 10 guest per table, supported by less than 6 kitchen staff. I wonder how they managed to keep up. Plus, the service crew was excellent. My glass was always more than half full throughout the entire course of the meal.

Anyway, I thought it was really fun to observe the attire of the service crew. Basically, there were the Carlsberg aunties and the banquet aunties. Footwear varied from slippers to sneakers to sport shoes. Although that does not look professional, they were fast and really efficient. They can top up your F&N orange, add ice cubes to your drink and refill someone else’s tea all in a single trip. When can you expect such competence at a 5-star hotel banquet?

I enjoyed myself, despite the a-little-too-warm-for-comfort temperatures, getting distracted and disgusted from the ah-peks gooey sneezes and the lack of shark’s fin soup;P

A dinner event for atas Singaporeans - NOT

I missed THE ONE concert he staged a few years back and told myself that I will go for the next one!

But now when the date is confirmed and the tickets are on sale, I'm holding back a little because they are so expensive.

Plus, I don't know of anyone else willing to burn a hole in their pockets to listen to him live.

And, I haven been to a concert alone. Don't think I want to try that out anyway.

So, sobs......

Raise your hand up in the air and holler if you are a fan and giving this concert a miss too. It may make me feel a wee bit better :P

The thief must DIE!

I remembered reading an article in the newspapers, whereby the writer mentioned that men are able to navigate and read maps better than their female counterparts because they possess higher levels of testosterone. Apparently, they found a link between navigation skills and the male hormone - the two are positively related.

More often, this research analogy contradicts my experience when the guys in the car attempt to map read.

Usually, the male ego becomes very much more apparent while you are in the car, cruising down the streets and moving further away from your destination. At this point of time, the testosterone powered homosapien will usually bury their noses into the "Singapore street directory", trying to be engrossed and fascinated by the road outlines instead of plainly admitting "I'm lost. Have any idea which road we're we at now?". The most honest feedback I've encountered was when this guy actually laughed into the directory, which translates to "I don't have a clue which freaking road I should be looking at now!". HA!

Moral of the story: Estrogen and Progesterone are able to work just as well when put to the test(tosterone)! ;P

Has anyone actually thought more about our slogan? In English terms, it is incorrect!

Think about it, will it be 'Uniquely Australia' or 'Uniquely Australian'? 'Uniquely Britain' or 'Uniquely British'? 'Uniquely America' or 'Uniquely American'?

Technically speaking, we should have been Uniquely Singaporean instead.

Which bring me to this question, what is uniquely us?

I believe the Singapore Tourism Board will quote icons, monuments and places of interest like:
- the Esplanade Theaters on the Bay : which in my opinion is too new an architectural structure to represent our young nation

- the Merlion : which most Singaporeans are unable to relate to because we are unsure about what it actually represents

- Orchard Road : which is similar to most commercialised shopping districts around the world

- Sentosa Island : which is constantly undergoing renovation

- MM Lee : who is a unique Singaporean, not Uniquely Singapore

In my personal humble opinion, it is the HDB heartlands that strikes a chord and represent the majority of us citizens. Unless you live in a private estate or along Nassim Road.

I believe most of us should be able to relate to the sight of the ah ma, waiting with her grand children for their school bus to arrive at the void decks. Stopping by the Indian mama shop for snacks or an ice cream. Being 'bell-ed' by a cyclist zooming behind you while strolling along the walkways. Being aroused from our sleep by the "Karang guni!" "Poh zua sa kor!" on Sunday mornings. Spotting the maids washing their employer's car early in the morning before the car is driven off to work. And the 'ah mud' or 'ah beng' cleaning their bikes beside the staircase landings around evening time.

It's pretty unfortunate that the tourists will not be able experience the uniqueness of Singapore, mearly by signing up for tour packages and hopping on the Duck Tours or the Singapore River Boat Cruise.

Then again, its all fair play. Since we might not be touring at locations which truly represent them and instead, end up as a "carrot" on the chopping block when we pay exorbitant fares to visit tourist hot spots when we go on a holiday:)

Lardy,

Daddy still enjoys catching ants in the kitchen. Just a few nights ago when he was spraying along the chain of ants, Daddy discovered the ant nest. He was elated!

Your Sister

Spot the difference.

Clue: Barrier

Toilets in Beijing

Toilets in Suzhou

Poor girl, she has to finish serving her time.

Whether it crawls on the walls or glides on the floors, you can batter it up and deep fry them! Nice, hot, fresh and crunchy! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Just like how our Mediacorp artistes always describe it on those food tasting programmes "wai cui nei ruan". Yummy?

Tantalizing treats from the Mainland.

I suppose they stick-ed this up so that it is easier to handle (literally) while it gets cooked and at the same time, remove gastrointestinal wastes from the creature.

China satay

As you can see, my sis seems to be adapting rather well. Good luck Lardy.

Smart looking front desk personals.

The chamber maids flaunting their stuff.

I be back with more juciy photos the next time. Stay tuned!