Simplicity

Boyboy!!!

If you paid attention to the blog on “It’s a small world after all”, I mentioned about bringing Boyboy to the East Coast Park on Vesak day with Mr Poto. Presenting to you….the new short fling of my life: Boyboy!

Boyboy is actually Mr Poto’s brother’s dog. His ex-gf gave boyboy to him, so lucky right? I really enjoyed playing with him at Mr Poto’s house during mother’s day. He is simply soooooo adorable, even when he was humping me. Haha.

Mr Poto was so smart to come up with the brilliant idea of letting me spend a day with Boyboy over the Vesak day as his first birthday present to me. He wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a dog. I was thrilled to bring Boyboy home with us. Boyboy is a really smart and friendly Shih Tzu. He is very affectionate and loves to follow wherever we walked around in the house. I tried teaching him the ‘Bang’ trick, think I’m halfway there already.

After being the 1 day proud owner of Boyboy, here are some of my afterthoughts.

1) Singapore is definitely not a very pet-friendly country. It was hard to bring him along for meals. We had to tabao food in the end.

2) Having a dog brings about quite a bit of attention. People will just look at you and the dog, making remarks…”Oh, soooo cute!” Hence, if you are shy, perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to bring your dog out for walks. Worse still, it will be even harder for celebrities.

3) It gives you a different sense of purpose for life. It can make a person become more mature and responsible. You are forced to learn how to take care of another life. You have to take care of your pet’s needs. You would constantly be thinking about your pet, worrying if he or she is hungry, thirsty, happy etc. I even woke up much earlier than my normal timing with Boyboy in the house.

4) It gives you a sense of joy and the feeling of being wanted. In what other scenarios, will you have another life following you wherever you go, even if to the toilet. (Apart from unrealistic fans chasing after their idols.)

Overall, I realised that I really would love to have a dog of my own. But on the other hand, I feel that I will be devastated if one day, my dog should pass away. Just like, how I am missing Boyboy now, though he should be living happily with the brother…

My happy memories…

Last Sunday, one of my 5 years old student, Kate, sang a few songs to me. I was blown away. She reminded me very much of Connie Talbot in Britain’s Got Talent. The first song that Kate sang was also ‘Over the Rainbow’…she was able to sing with vibrato, and she had the voice of an angel.

Here’s a video of Connie Talbot’s ‘Over the Rainbow’:

Kate also sang a few songs from ‘Hairspray’, that I couldn’t even sing with the fast beat. But she was able to sing those songs effortlessly. I was really impressed! I guess I am not just teaching geniuses, I am teaching future superstars too!

Yes, it’s a small world after all. When it comes to Singapore, it’s even smaller! Mr Poto and I spent our Vesak day with Boyboy at East Coast Park. In the evening, we decided to go the Tapas Wine Bistro cafe at Holland Village for dinner. Parking was terrible, and I even had to go out to ’scare off’ another car, who wanted to take advantage of us. He’s messing with the wrong girl, especially one who was getting hungry.

We had made reservations for the dinner, and was somewhat shocked to see only one couple at the restaurant. I was even more surprised when the only couple there turned out to be Mr and Mrs Koh! Haha. Mrs Koh and I surfed around the internet the other day to look for nice italian food, and chanced upon this place. Who would have thought that we will go to the same restaurant on the same day and timing? This is what I would call…fate!

Here’s the happy couple! They certainly looked so blissful and happy together.

Knowing my pattern, they kindly offered to help us to take a picture too. Hee.

Well, in my opinion, I felt that the food service was a little slow. We waited for at least 10 minutes for the tomato soup. But it was really tasty, hence, I gave them the benefit of doubt. The soup was freshly made, unlike those canned soup that are served immediately. For the tapas, we had soft shell crab and calamari. I did enjoy my tapas, they were rather flavourful. However, I was a bit disappointed with my main course - Seafood alfredo pasta. The taste was just not enough to satisfy me. The carbonara wasn’t that fantastic either. Dessert was melon and chocolate ice-cream. I found the melon ice-cream to be very refreshing. Perfect on a hot day. In terms of value, it was rather good value for a set meal of $25.90. But I don’t think that I will be revisiting the place again, at least not for their mains.

Meeting up with the girls never fails to brighten up my mood. Even if the day sucked, everything will still seem to glow as I looked forward to meeting these angels. Old friends are really the best. They love you for who you are. True friends make you feel at ease by being yourself. You can say the lamest thing and they will still adore you. Yes, they are certainly one of my oldest pals. 10 over years of friendship…my goodness. It’s like half of my lifetime so far.

Good friends and good food spells the word….PERFECTO!

P.S: (Ladies, must be more ONz for my wedding okie?!!!)

Woke up this morning with zero expectations. Even thought that I will just stay at home and play mahjong. My dearest mummy woke me up and told me her big plans for the day, and I was ready to spend my good Friday.

We had lunch together at Shang Palace (Shangri-la Hotel). The dim sum was fabulous and relatively inexpensive. I love the papaya pastry! It’s soooo soft and crispy, that it practically just melts in your mouth. And lucky us, we got that dish for free! The bill came up to about $70 plus for the 3 of us. I even met my ex-parent and child at the restaurant.

 You have always dazzled me with your wonderful montages of our moments. Here’s a little something for you!

In just a flash, chinese new year is soon to be over. The feeling of chinese new year hasn’t really sinked in yet and now the holidays are over. Does this mean that I am not truly seizing my days to the fullest?

Chinese new year bears a lot of hidden emotions for me. I remember how I used to love chinese new year when I was young. My mum would buy new clothes for me. I would always look forward to this special day where I need not go to school and can even get money out of this holiday. It was the best festival ever! Though as an only child, there wasn’t much for me to do at my relatives’ houses, but at least my parents were there with me. They would be talking happily with the adults, while I would sit there and watch tv. It was a simple affair. Wake up, doll up, greet the adults and say thank you when they handed me the ang baos.

Then, my beloved grandmas passed away. This spells the end of happy chinese new year for me. My parents started to go overseas during the new year, and I could not go at times as I still have to go to school after the first 2 days of new year. I was left alone. I still recalled how I had to go down to get Mac for lunch and came back with tears. I saw how others are with their family, happily walking along the streets, while I was alone with my pjs and buying food for myself. For many years, I hated chinese new year. It is the time of the year where I feel most lonely and dreadful.

Now, you came into my life. You brought me along to your relatives’ house for chinese new year. You made me realize the warmth of family again. Your nieces and nephews, your aunties and uncles, your cousins and parents..they are so warm and kind. You give meaning to this festival again.

With you in my life, I will not cry on this day again. I will not feel lonely. I will hold your hands and look forward to each new year to come. For that, thank you.

Congrats to my cousin for his wonderful marriage!

I am a simple girl. I do not know what things that I have done is classified as meaningful. But, I am thankful for all the experiences that I have went through in 2007, be it good or bad.

This year’s new year’s eve is a simple affair, just the way I like it. For the past 2 years, we have spent our new year’s eve overseas, counting down to the new year in foreign lands. This year, we are happy to spend this day in the place closest to our hearts - home.

Mr Poto and I had steamboat at home. It was delicious and delectable. Mr Poto is a wonderful chef. He is always able to whip out wonderful dishes. Thank you Mr Poto for always taking care of my physical well-being.

So here’s my new year resolutions for 2008.

1) Save money

2) Be happy and healthy

3) Be a happy bride

Simple. 3 is the magic number, my favourite number in fact! Happy 2008 to all! =)

Happy us in 2008! (first picture of our year)

P/S: Let’s work hard together Mr Poto to 12th December 2008!

It has been 2 weeks, but I still remember how you proposed to me… The amazing experience cannot be mentioned in just using a few words. Just as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words. So, here’s a picture that will always be in my mind. It is you - Mr Poto, that made that day so special and wonderful. For everything you have done, thank you. I love you.