Another pre-CNY ang pow

A damn busy week in my work. Apologies to my 'kakis' for not being able to have coffee with you all. I promise to show up should there be any Lunar New Year gatherings.

Margaret was excited and happy when she recieved a cheque of $1500 from a local bank. At the last CNY period, we put in a small amount in their structured deposit promotion. In fact, we were talking about it recently and couldn't be bothered to check the status. The reason is simple : we didn't expect much. As the saying goes, "it's easier for money to find you than you going around looking for money." That's another pre-CNY ang pow. The God of Fortune has arrived! Believe there's more to come. :)

Happy birthday Margaret!

Happy birthday to my dearest wife, Margaret. She celebrated with her colleagues with an Italian lunch this afternoon. They bought her a birthday cake too. As it is a working day today, we could only celebrate with her in the evening. In attendance were me, Smily, Fyn and Sheryl. We had dinner in a Japanese restuarant at Novena Square as per the birthday girl's wish. Me, Margaret and Sheryl enjoyed the assorted sashimi that came with our bento sets. Gosh, the last time I had it was months ago. Both Smily and Fyn have no appetite for this delicacy and they ordered their sets without it. Apparently, Sheryl was first introduced to us at Margaret's celebration last year. Happy 1st Anniversary to her too. Cheers!

My early Ang Pow

Luck is on my side. I gave up my Aria 12-string guitar for its' tuning knobs and strings were rusty. Moreover, 2 strings broke. I bought this guitar for $150 after a 50% discount in the late '70s. Left it in the Utility Room after I bought a classical guitar for Fyn a few years back.
Yesterday, I was packing the room and decided to throw it away. Margaret suggested otherwise i.e. sell it to the karung guni man. I doubt the karung guni man would want even if I give it to him for free. So, I brought it to the Cash Converter this evening. Guess what? They gave me $35 for that guitar. In fact, I asked for $50-70. Anyway, it's an early ang pow for me for this coming CNY. Cai Shen Dao!!!

Getting ready for CNY ' 08

11 more days to Chinese New Year. Oink, oink! Mr Piggy is going back soon afterwhich it's the begining of a new zodiac cylcle. Yes, Brother Rat will lead the way beginning 7 Feb 2008.
Since there's no Spring season in Singapore, we will give Spring Cleaning a miss. Haha, what a good excuse! Jokes aside, we still need to clean up our place to welcome the coming New Year for good luck, health and prosperity. God of Fortune bless homes which are clean and tidy. By the way, we bought new bedsheets for our children and ourselves. Talking to Fyn the other day, she is still looking for a new pair of shoes. As for Smily, another long sleeve shirt would complete his New Year's attire.

Back to the pool

I feel good! Finally, went to the pool with Margaret last evening. Surprisingly. I swam 20 laps with several breaks of course. We hope to be back in the pool at least once a week in order to maintain our fitness. By the way, I have slimmed down a kilo or two. It's rather encouraging. Will continue to watch my diet. Dieting rocks!

Thaipusam 2008

We would like to wish our Hindu friends 'Happy Thaipusam'.

My late father brought me and my younger brother to the Tank Road Temple to watch the procession of this festival many years ago. I must be somewhere about 8 years old. I was fascinated by those devotees carrying the kavadis. From then on, I have the tradition of watching the celebrations annually. There were few years where I missed the procession due to work. I felt so sad.

I went down to the temple after work today. It gave me a 'high' to watch those devotees dancing with their kavadis on and to the beat of the Indian drum and music. I admire them for their faith, devotion and spiritual strength. They started their journey from Serangoon Road and walk all the way bare footed to Tank Road. When they reached the temple entrance, they danced all the way into the temple to pay their respect and give thanks to Lord Muruga for his blessing. Mission accomplished. Congrats!

Beautiful Sunday....

Nowadays, everyone is busy. That includes my children. Hardly have an opportunity to have a meal together, weekend inclusive. Fyn is occupied with her Track and Field training while Smily, busy with girlfriend lah. Good thing is that they find time to visit my mother whenever I reminded them to. They visit their maternal grandmother regularly too.

We had dinner at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre after visiting their paternal grandma yesterday. While waiting for the Shanghainese Dumplings and Noodle, Fyn ordered a cup of Teh Peng ( Ice milk tea ). Much to our surprise, it was served in a mug and the colour of the tea didn't look right. You don't need to taste to tell that it taste horrible.


Teh Peng?

After dinner, we proceed to Isetan Scotts for the Hokkaido Fair. Sheryl joined us there. As all of us are seasoned food samplers ( thick skin ), me and Margaret noticed that Sheryl was quite shy to ask for samples. Probably, it's a weird experience for her. Haha! In the end, Margaret bought a packet of cheese sticks. The miso ramen was out of stock and we may need to go down another day to get a few packets.

Hokkaido Fair

The Hokkaido Fair returns to Isetan Scotts. I enjoyed the food samplings like frozen cheese cream, cheese cake, miso ramen, japanese fish cake, etc. I bought a few cakes of facial charcoal/horse oil soap the last time and was surprise that each piece can last about 4 months. Don't forget to try the dried scallop should you visit the fair. Happy food sampling.

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Me and Margaret have started to shop for new clothing. To date, I bought an orange polo-shirt and Margaret, a blueish grey top. We leave our children to shop on their own. Well, need to visit my mum this weekend to give her the fish maw for the CNY steamboat and the few tubes of muscle relaxing cream.