Life's Blessings!!

I have been so caught up in my work and wedding preparations lately that I forgot to wake up and smell the flowers around me.

With all the gloom surrounding the economy recently, it isn't easy to take it easy... :)

However, last week, I was reminded there are so many things I'll be missing out on if I do not stop and take a moment. Visiting my friend in the hospital, looking at her carrying her little daughter so delicately, seeing how happy she, her little baby and family are, was a moment to remember. I think it is the first time I have visited a friend a day after she delivered. I believe there will be more to come.

Then, my hubby informed me that his sister came up tops at her graduation. How I wished we were there to witness her receiving her scroll. Thank goodness for cameras and videos! This brings me back a full circle. For people to enjoy the latest technology, we have to work hard to provide the best.... Hmm, life is full of blessings.... Good or bad, I guess I'll have it all! :)

Meeting Nico Rosberg

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Getting a chance to meet Nico Rosberg was great because he was really nice and patient at the autograph signing session. Although I know it is part of their job to fulfill their sponsorship obligation, it must be pretty tiring having raced the night before.

The following photos are taken by my friend but put together by me. Enjoy!! :)

The many faces of Nico and friends....

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First F1 Night Race

The first Formula 1 Night Race will be coming to Singapore
next week. I can
see the final works being done to the circuit.

The race
is
special because
(besides being at night) we get to drive along the
same
roads. :) There are
other F1 tracks like that too but I do not live
in those
countries....

At the same time, there will be the
Singapore
Motor
Show.

A lot has been line up for the week. It will be a
highly
energized weekend
in Singapore.

Till then,
adios!

RSAF Open House 2008

We went to the Paya Lebar Air Base yesterday for the RSAF Open House 2008. Upon reaching the entrance, I could see many uniformed soldiers and pilots. This is my first time at an air base. I could see a line of fighter jets, helicopters, planes, trucks and many more.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the RSAF and the event showcased the 3rd Generation RSAF. Though it rained off and on, it was a fun outing. We managed to sit in a fighter plane but were not lucky enough to try out the hot air balloon ride.




There were arming demonstration and aerial display performances. We saw the Red Lions free fall from the sky, the loud and mighty F16 Fighting Falcons, AH64 Apache Attack Helicopters and also ground based actions.

The following video shows the F16 releasing bombs. For more photo, visit http://miu-artz.blogspot.com/

Singapore National Day Rally Speech

I just heard the Singapore National Day Rally Speech. The speech was publicized a day later due to the Table Tennis finals yesterday. It was presented by the Singapore Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong. The speech was full of jokes while addressing serious issues surrounding Singaporeans.

He touched on inflation, rising cost of living, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) and the need for Singaporean to have good habits. He then talked about measures to increase the birth rate in Singapore. A lot of goodies were handed out here to the many applauds of the audiences. One example was giving additional 4 weeks of paid maternity leave for Singaporean mothers. Too bad I’m only a PR. I wonder if some of the benefits will be given to PRs whose kids will be Singaporean.

Lastly, he talked about the multimedia and its influence in the modern world. Throughout the speech, he showed that he too was technologically savvy by using many gadgets and hooking up to the internet.

An interesting speech all around.

In Crutches…. On an Island… With Animals

I have written about parks, now let me tell you about my trip to Sentosa Island, Zoo and Night Safari with my fellow Crutches.

It wasn’t even a month yet after I have arrived in Singapore that I fell into a drain. I couldn’t believe my luck. Singapore was supposed to be one of the safest places around and I somehow managed to find an uncovered drain. I was supposed to meet my brother for dinner and I was late. Rushing and looking at my map, I did not see the hole. The next thing I knew was, (in my friend’s words), I disappeared.

My brother and his in-laws took me to a ‘sinseh’ (Chinese doctor) and he (the ‘sinseh’) asked me to go to the Emergency Ward. I panicked but the hospital was quite pleasant looking (Tan Tock Seng). The doctor attending to me was young and not bad in the looks department (my brother doesn’t seem to agree) but being young, he said that it’s probably a strain. Gave me the crutches and asked me to rest for a couple of days.

I immediately took the next bus back to KL with crutches. It was really really tiring and painful with the crutches. That’s when you appreciate everyone around you (more) for their kindness. The bus driver and passengers were very gracious. When I was back, my hubby, my parents, parents-in-law were all so wonderful. Through this I understand why my grandma (at that time) refused to be on the wheel chair but rather walk slowly even though her legs are weak. You start to feel that you are burden. And visiting friends were equally patient with me.

Anyway, when I returned to Singapore, the hospital called because they had discovered a hairline fracture and I had to cast half of my leg. Luckily it was not the ugly old white type.

As I couldn’t sit at home doing nothing, I went back to work with my crutches. The most difficult part of it all was climbing up the pedestrian bridge. Again, you need help with a lot of things but start to feel that you are a burden and try to do everything yourself. Eventually, I took the cab.

It was a tough period but going out helped. Strangers can be so kind. Everywhere I went, people always made space for me. When it was time to remove my cast, my spirits were high even though my leg has not totally healed. (I still have to follow up with physiotherapy sessions). So when my hubby came to visit (He was not in Singapore then), I asked if he would like to visit Sentosa. I haven’t been there for a long time.

When we arrived there, the staffs found me a wheelchair and told me I did not have to queue for the bus. Privilege for the handicapped. That was a good start. We visited a lot of places around Sentosa and I must say my hubby had a good exercise too that day ;P.

That was before they started upgrading Sentosa. We went to the observation tower and the view was good.

I even sat on the Motion Master but the highlight was the Musical Fountain. After so many years, it was still entertaining to watch. When I first watched it, it was just music with water. Then they added the laser and fire. Now they even have a projected clown and mascot performing to a story.

I was glad I went then before they closed down the Musical Fountain. That night, I did not have to queue for the Fountain too and a staff there pushed me straight to the wheelchair area. It was a great spot. In fact, I must say the staffs there provided a 5 star service that day. In fact, I was starting to enjoy sitting in the chair knowing it was temporary. I would never want to go through those 6 months again though it has taught me a lot. I think the handicapped deserves all the attention they need.

On my hubby’s next trip down, we visited the Zoo and Night Safari. By then, I did not need a wheelchair.

The zoo has changed a lot. They now have Giraffes, Polar Bear, Elephants, Camels and many other animals.


The best were the animal shows. They interacted with the audience. I was rather slow on the crutch and did not manage to cover the whole zoo.( I went back again with my parents later on. The second time was just as enjoyable.)
And that night, we headed to the Night Safari. Again, I did not have to queue. Luckily, otherwise I will be aching everywhere. We took the tram ride and I recalled riding it as a kid. This time round, the animals don’t seem as intimidating anymore. I still had fun though. :)
We walked a little bit but I soon began to feel weary. We then watched the night animal show and it was very entertaining. The animals are so intelligent. A bird flew over me to an audience in front of me. What a thrill! The little otters were so cute. And they can act well.

With Crutches or without, it was 2 good days! :) TQ all.

Down Memory Lane…

Before entering this phase of my life, adulthood (where I met my husband and started a wonderful new journey together), I had a memorable time as a teenager.

The best time was reaching the legal age of 18 :). The people I met then were a great bunch of friends. We studied together, gossip together (with girls, it was always about the guys; with guys, it was always about some chic; and together, it was about our lecturers :P) and organized outings together. We went shopping, clubbing, eating and even holidaying together.

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Out of the group, there were four of us who went for our own holiday. We four girls did so many crazy things that I made my hubby take me back to the same holiday spot so that I could share with him the fun I had. :) I guess one reason why I loved the movie Sex and The City was because it reminded me of them. All of us are working in different countries now and lead our own lives. Maybe one day when we are older, we can all meet again as a group.

And as I am writing about my marriage, I feel that I should share something about them too as without them, I would not have such wonderful memories of my teenage years.

So thank you Marianne, Joanne and Kelly!

lOve U all…. *Hugz*

Cycling in the Rain

We checked out another park with my hubby’s friends yesterday. We went to the East Coast Park. I haven’t been there for a long time except to go there for their seafood restaurants.

My friends have told me that they often go there for roller-blading and lately for wake boarding. Unfortunately, I can’t roller-blade that well neither do I do wake boarding. So we went there for cycling. The couples got the double seated bicycles while the singles got the individual bicycles.

My husband prefers to do the maneuvering while I was happy to cycle and snap photos along the way. The scenery was beautiful with the wind blowing into my face…. There were many campers and people preparing their barbeques. The smell made me so hungry but I remembered about my ‘diet’.

We cycled all the way to the chalets and Big Splash (newly opened group of restaurants with some recreational facilities). Working up a sweat, chatting and enjoying the scenery made time pass relatively quickly. However, my bum too was starting to hurt. Yet we kept on cycling till it was getting dark. We then turned back.

On the way back, it started to drizzle. I thought ‘no problem’, I have been in the rain many times before. And then the rain got heavier and the wind was blowing right at us. The chill made us cycle faster, and the faster we went, the more we felt the wind and the harder the rain felt on my skin. As it got heavier, we had trouble seeing where we were heading. We followed his friend and cycled through the foot path passing through all the restaurants. Thank goodness there weren’t many people around as most have gone into shelters. Luckily this was a shorter path and we cycled as fast as we can. As if things weren’t bad enough, my pants got stuck in the chains and got torn.

Finally, we reached the bicycle pit all drenched. At the pit, the electricity went out and it was pitch black. What an adventure this was….

Though feeling a little sick now, I am looking forward to my next adventure…. :)

10 Things to do to avoid/counteract overeating!

Last week after the photo shoot, I attended a party. Thinking I could give myself a break from my dieting, I ate whole heartedly. Drinking and eating the night away. When we got back, I told myself I had to cut back and cut back I did except for the tempting durians. I couldn’t stop myself and helped myself to quite a few. Then, I could feel my throat starting to sore and I started consuming lots of water. Luckily it was back to normal after a few days. Yesterday, I bought a tub of ice-cream. But I somehow managed to leave it in the tub unopened, (but will be eating it soon)... :P

And today, it was my friend’s birthday. He was celebrating his birthday with a Japanese buffet (ahh, my favourite) and an ala-carte one too. That means I did not have to leave my seat the whole night. All I had to do was to choose my favourite food, sashimi and it would come to me. And what do you do at buffets? You eat until you are too full. As if this wasn’t enough, we brought our conversation to another café where he (the birthday boy) ordered cakes. (Sigh, forgot to get a candle and sing a song to him… :P So if you are reading this “Happy Birthday to you!” & will sing it to you next year) .
Well, I think my break from dieting has lasted way too long….

So here are 10 things I think I should do:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat lots of fruits
3. Stop temptation by not bringing indulgences home
4. Exercise
5. Sleep earlier (so I will not feel hungry)
6. More exercise….
7. Brush my teeth earlier (so I will not eat after that)
8. Snack on low calories food (especially before attending parties :P)
9. And have lots of willpower!
10. Finally and most importantly , staying happy….. :)


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The Wedding Walks

There are 3 kinds of preparations I had to go through for my BIG day. Mental, Emotional and Physical. The most interesting and still unachievable one is the Physical part... :P

I had 2 years to prepare myself for the big day….Many would ask if it is really necessary to have 2 years? I thought so too myself… 2 years is way too long. So I dilly dallied until there was only a year left. By then I have started to go on what I called a ‘diet’ thanks to the encouragement of my friends, who obviously thinks I’m too fat… haha. But after 6 months, the scale doesn’t seem to budge. I wonder if it is spoilt :P It’s always easier to blame the scale …. :)

Besides dieting, I take walks with my hubby. Through these walks, I have learnt a lot about Singapore which otherwise would go undiscovered (by me). And I would like to share this part of Singapore with all of you.


MacRitchie Reservoir Park

Our very first Park visited was the MacRitchie Reservoir Park. We reached there fully equipped with sunblock and mosquito repellent. However, it was in the afternoon and it was burning hot. Thankfully after reaching the Park, the trees provided us the much needed shade. And somehow, the oxygen level has increased too. :P


We headed straight to the HSBC treetop walk and the view was breathtaking. Along the way, there are many cute little paws with messages. We next headed to the observation tower. By then we have been walking for 2 hours. But your energy is always full when you are enjoying yourself. At the top, with the wind in our face, it felt majestic.


After that, we were rejuvenated. We continued walking until we faced a golf course. The next thing we knew, a golf ball was heading towards us (I am not kidding you, this is for real). We waited until we saw the golfer approaching and we were on our way. We walked further until we reached a fishing pond. Well, there was a sign that says ‘NO FISHING’ but there were many fishers at the pond… ;).


By the time we are done, we had consumed at least 3 litres of water which we carried, walked for more than 5 hours and carried a ‘shoeful’ of mud home. Just kidding, we found a clean stream of water and washed it off. :)



Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

This park to us was more of an exercise than a leisure stroll. It is advisable to have proper walking shoes here as there are a lot of steep slopes. Trekking through the jungle was fun but tiring. If you are looking for a good workout, this is the place to go. There are also many paths you can choose depending on your fitness level. We took a fairly easy to moderate walk .. :P


Southern Ridges

This is a relatively new walk recently opened to join the southern parks in Singapore. There aren’t many trees in this area so we were rather disappointed to discover that there will be no shade to protect us from the hot and bright sun. And when we went there, we were just a week away from our photo shoot. Maybe that’s why the pimple popped out (See Our Wedding Story-A Journey Outdoors)- to release the heat gathered from the walk.


We started off from Vivocity onto Marang Trail. At Marang Trail, it started raining and we ran up to Mount Faber. This took less than half an hour. At night, Mount Faber would be cooling but not that day even with the rain. When the rain stopped, we made our way to the new Henderson Waves. I must say it was spectacular. A very good spot for photography. It’s definitely worth considering to have your bridal shots here. :)

After some good shots, we headed off towards Hilltop Walk. From the signboard, it seems that the walks would look nicer at night when the lights are on. We will probably have to make another trip at night. Moving along, we reached Forest Walk and then Alexandra Arch. We pushed ourselves further (though it was not far but with the sun zapping our energy, we needed to dig deep for fuel) and reached Floral Park and Hort Park. There, we took a break in an air-conditioned room and refreshed ourselves.


We then played in some playgrounds and before realizing it, we were heading to another walk, the canopy walk and finally finding ourselves at the treetop walk.








In the end, we walked back all the way to Vivocity and the whole journey took us 4 hours. Feeling refreshed, I knew I would be able to last through my photoshoot. :D
PS: Hope you'll enjoy the photos taken by 2 amateurish photographers armed with a basic camera. :)