Oh my! Cart bought me a Vespa!
A custom painted Vespa PX 125!
So its not a real scooter. But who knows what will happen one day 😀
Other stickrinaz adventures :
This gives me motivation to continue exercising
In all honesty, I was a little grossed out looking at pictures of myself in December. It was entire my fault, not watching what I was eating and consuming food like Pandoro almost every day and then making it worse by stuffing my face with loads of comfort food when I was back in Singapore.
My weight reached almost 70kg. Definitely not good.
This is a picture of me and Jules in December. I keep looking at my arms, thinking about how succulent they were.
The problem probably began last year.
Being newly married meant that Cart and I wanted to share everything together. And that includes food. When cooking, Cart liked to measure and serve the food portions equally. I’m pretty sure that other couples would empathise.
And have you ever seen Italian food portions? It’s huge!
This pizza is a portion for one person. In the beginning of the year, I could only manage eating half of it. Slowly as the months went by, I found to my horror and fascination that I could finish it all by myself.
While in Singapore, I’d be exercising regularly, doing yoga and aerobics, taking advantage of the affordable fees from community and sports centre. You could go for weekly session for about $50 Singapore dollars for 3 months. I loved the facilities and the instructors are mostly fantastic.
The prices of exercise sessions in Rome on the other hand, is much costlier. The most affordable one that we could find was about 54 euro per month and the place looked rather dated and I didn’t fancy some of the instructor’s methods.
So slowly, after going there for a few months, I started to slack and eventually stopped going. Probably not a wise thing to do. I kept telling myself that I’d supplement by going for daily jogs. But that never happened. And the weight kept going up.
Finally in the beginning of the year, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I told myself that I better do something about this weight gain.
I would like to reaffirm that I do not believe in quick fixes like diet pills, weight loss spas, detoxification programs and I’ll never ever endorse them. You might see temporary weight loss but then gain it all back some weeks or even days later. Its a waste of time and money in the end.
Coincidentally YesPecan was recommending an exercise regime called the 30 day Shred by Jillian Micheals. I gave it a try.
The first few days was a challenge for me. While lifting my weights in front of me and doing leg stretches at the same time, I felt so wobbly! And I was so sore the next day. Every step I took, I felt my muscles complain.
Regardless, I carried on. At first, there was no weight loss but eventually, it was really nice to see the numbers go down 😀
It was not a dramatic weight loss. But I’m realistic. I’m happy just to lose slow and steady at 0.5kg every 2 weeks and not gain them back. As for food intake, I still eat practically everything I feel like but I moderate myself to stop when I feel full instead of trying to finish everything on my plate.
But what gives me the most motivation is seeing the physical results itself. This is me after finishing my 30 day shred.
I still have a long way to go, but I feel so psyched that I am started to see a little definition in my abs. And as tired as I feel, seeing this inspires me to continue to have a more toned body.
Please feel free to join me! If I can do it, I am sure that you can do it too! Come on and lets motivate each other to lose weight together!
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I love my Rinaz stuff!
I like Vector Graphics.
The first time that I played around with Macromedia Flash, I thought that it was very cool and eventually, I made a couple of interesting characters.
Eventually, I found myself drawing this :
Which is a cuter version of me with the layered hair and the Eva Mendes like mole 😛
Anyhow, it stuck with me since. I used the image for my blog banner, as my avatar for almost every website that I register with, and eventually took it to the real world.
This is my very first Rinaz Item. My Rinaz badge!
Just for the fun of it, I made this for wearing it tothe Nexus Event. It was pretty simple to make, basically it was a colour printer cut out and stamped on a badge press. I was really happy at how it turned out.
At the event, it was really interesting to see the number of people who recognized me from the badge!
Later on, after seeing how outdated my old namecards looked like, I made new ones to replace it!
I couldn’t help but to use the lovely picture that Fari snapped me for the front. The back are some of the characters for my award winning book if I ever stop procrastinating.
Anyway namecards are very useful for during events such as blogger events for exchanging information with each other, rather than using a scrap of paper and pen. And it looks much more professional when you whip out your card, arch your eyebrows and say suavely, “Here is my card!”
I’ve since updated my namecard to this one
It’ll take a while for to run out of these ones since there are hardly any events that I go to in Rome.
About two weeks before the wedding, I was still pondering about which cake to get till a friend suggested that cupcakes could be a good idea. By this time, it was such a last minute idea but I gave it a try anyway.
I was very lucky that Izah was willing to accept and rise up to the challenge. She did such a lovely job with the decoration and tiers, that the cupcakes were such a hit! 🙂
I wish I had a couple extra to be frozen in the icebox for future generations to come though.
Later on, after purchasing my Lenovo S10 netbook, I got for myself a customised skin on a whim.
It was just a few days after the wedding, so I had a lot on my mind and was a little muddled on the design. In the end, I submitted a repeating image. The skin wasn’t cheap, but I’m really happy with how it turned out since it looks so personalised 
After living in Rome for a while, I didn’t think that I’d have any more Rinaz stuff. But it was a pleasant surprise that I still did.
My friend Lynn, who is a talented crafts-maker made this badge for me.
Oooh! Much love! I love it as its an exact replica and it looks so 3D! I wore it practically everywhere with pride. Unfortunately I accidentally left it in the washing machine and the varnish is scratched. Luckily it’s not broken, and it’s now in Lynn’s good hands at the moment for repairs.
Nevertheless, I had a peek at Lynn making a Cart badge too. I wonder if Cartcart would be willing to wear it around 
Finally I stumbled upon Beading and Beyond – a website making customised jewellery and upon looking at her works, I ordered a set and was really excited to see it when I reached Singapore.
Personally I wish that the figurines look more true to the image, but nevertheless, they look really cute and well made 🙂
In any case, I love my Rinaz stuff! If you or you know anyone who can craft me a Rinaz stuff, please let me know. I’ll be looking forward to seeing them 
Sidenote : If you haven’t done so already, come and join Rinaz.net on facebook! 🙂
Spending Valentines day at Castelli Romani
Pretty much like last year’s Valentine’s day, this year was a pretty simple affair. Regardless, Cart and I had a very nice day.
The initial plan was to head out to the Mount Terminillo to see the snow but the weather in Rome has been rather bad, hence we headed to Castelli Romani instead.
It was interesting going through the roads. There were layers of snow everywhere. Since we were outside of Rome, it was colder and more prone to snow.
By the time we reached there, the main roads were closed and I saw a number of traffic police wardens giving fines and towing vehicles away. And then I saw a number of booths being set up. It looked as if there was a market about to start.
I was very curious by this point of time. What was going on?
But there was no time to stop and investigate as we both did not want to be late for lunch. Italians are very iffy about their food times. If you go to a restaurant at 3.30 pm or later for lunch, big chances is that you’ll be turned away.
Anyhow, we headed to Trattoria dei Cacciotori. And much like the last time that we were there, there was an interesting display that we saw, the first thing that we entered the place.
We were lucky that even with the large amount of patrons in the trattoria, we had a table. It was really crowded. The waiters were running around serving the patrons, some looked quite tired.
Here I am posing with my mini-hat that I bought while in Singapore. I’m wearing it now since its the last few days of Carnevale.
Eventually, our food arrived and it was interesting to see how our table was decorated. With the red flower shaped place mat, and the heart shaped napkin holder.
I was admiring the napkin holder and that’s when I saw some words printed behind it. Rubato alla Trattoria dei Cacciotori. And I asked Cartcart what Rubato meant.
And he replied, “Stolen from”
We had a good laugh out of that.
Soonafter our food arrived. I had my beloved Piccantine ai funghi porcini and Cart had his Ravioli.
And then Cart had his artichoke while I had my verdure cotte in the background.
Cart absolutely LOVES artichoke and he’d buy 6 pieces of fresh artichoke at one go in the market. For one week he’d make fried artichoke, artichoke in fritata, pasta with artichoke – basically every dish he could think of using artichokes.
Initially I wanted tiramisu but since they ran out of it, I settled for this Torta Della Nonna. It was good! I loved the lemon cream in my cake.
And Cart had Creme Caramel.
We left the trattoria after having our espresso and thats when I saw what was going on. The booths were fully set up and there were loads of people in costumes walking around. There was a carnevale festival going on!
Its not as festive as the ones in Rio De Janeiro but it was still very cheery and happy anyway. I loved looking at the different colours which was in contrast to the cold chilly afternoon.
Everyone was having fun, smiling and playing with each other. There were heaps of confetti pieces everywhere. On the floor, on people, being strewn in the air.
And there were so many people wearing costumes both young and old. I spotted out this group of costumers wearing a Cleopatra outfit, an ancient Roman soldier, a princess and Pinocchio.
There were also several cute outfits that I spotted out, like a really adorable Hello Kitty baby! Daphne would love that!
This is Po from the Teletubbies. By the way, it’s interesting to note that the Italian version of Teletubbies, speak properly, not in baby language.
Here is a cute little chicken.
And this is a fake looking Minnie and Mickey mouse.
And there were countless of kids throwing confetti and spraying foam from cans.
These kids are having fun spraying it on their friends. Their cheeks a bright pink from all the running around. There was one boy who made a foam beard on himself even. He looked like a young Santa Claus.
I saw a couple of policemen confiscating the foam cans from a couple of kids and pulling out the nozzle so that it doesn’t function any more. The ironic thing is that there was a small booth selling it just next to the policemen. So is it illegal or no?
Anyhow, there were also a few sideshows. Cart and I spotted a small parade band, a South American musical performances and this acrobatic act.
We later drove to Nemi just for a quick look see since it was along the way. Cart feared that it would be like during the Ferragosto period and would have absolutely no space for parking.
Fortunately, it was fine, and we found a spot at the entrance.
I was still fascinated by the stacks of snow everywhere. The different seasons is something interesting to see. The same spot looking different at different times of the year.
Lake Nemi is still as pretty as the last time that we’ve been there. I liked looking down to see the different buildings and farms which is built in a concentric manner around the lake and the cars going by the roads. They were so tiny from down there! Like the size of ants.
Having a bit of time before it was completely dark, we walked up to an area where you could see the lake better.
It was really nice to see the area decorated with valentine’s day decorations. There were balloons and pinks at every turn and corner.
We walked down the bridge and thats when I saw a familliar face. Its the same kitty I saw the last time we were here with Jerrick!
Its impossible to take a clear shot of the cat since she’s always moving and wriggling. And she is still as claw-y as ever. Here she is molesting my chest and clawing my coat 
But it was probably because of the cold. I’m tempted to just kidnap her but she looks well fed and taken cared of, so I’m sure that she belongs to someone.
Anyhow, it was getting darker and colder, so we went to seek refuge into a little bar called Locanda lo specchio di Diana.
While this bar has excellent strawberry and strawberry cakes, we were here more for the hot chocolate instead since we were still full from our lunch.
What was interesting about this place is that they had speciality hot chocolates. I had the orange and cinammon flavoured one and I liked it very much.
While Cart had his with chilli.
I tried a bit but I didn’t like it that much. It was a tad bit too hot and a little strange for me.
Anyhow see what the hot chocolate did to Cart.
First it made him, “Woah this is very hot!”
Then he was like, “Urgh! This burning feeling, but I’ll be macho”
And then he’s like, “Oh please, it’s not hot at all!”
And finally he’s all Giles-like, “See, I’m a man!”
We left Nemi pretty much tired from all the walking, but it was such a nice day experiencing and seeing all the sights and sounds together. I really enjoyed Cart’s company 🙂
Oh and before I end this post, check out the hat I bought from the festival. So cute!
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My first time seeing snow!
It snowed yesterday morning in Rome.
I could sense that there was something different. The colour. It seemed a lot brighter than usual. I pulled back the curtain and I was just amazed at what I saw.
Oh my! Its snow!
It was my first time seeing snow ever and as cheesy as it sounds, it looked quite magical seeing the little flakes floating down.
Having lived in Singapore all my life where there is sun all year round, the only time that I’ve seen anything close to snow was from my parent’s old icebox or the skating rink in the mall in Jurong East before it got torn down.
Excitedly, I went out to head to the park near our house have a look see.
It was really cold outside. Every step I take feels like I’m crunching the snow below my boots. That reminds me, Ugg boots are not good for snow, since the snow can seep in and melt on your feet.
Everything was covered in white flakes, it was so beautiful. I never thought that I’d ever see snow in Rome since Cart told me that its not so frequent for Rome to have snow. The frequency is about once every 10 years or so.
So even if snow might not be a big deal, seeing this was quite special to me.
I was amused to see a couple of kids trying to slide down using the snow sled. The funny thing is that the snow wasn’t thick enough.
And there were some who were throwing snowballs at each other.
I didn’t think that I could do the same since my fingers already felt like they were going to get frostbites if I stayed out even longer. I haven’t even touched the snow!
In any case I couldnt help but to take the opportunity to do one of the things that I love to do …
Camwhore!
Unfortunately the snow didn’t last too long and by the afternoon, it the snowfalls stopped and the white slowly melted away.
Anyhow, this is a quick video I took while it was still snowing just for memory’s sakes 🙂
How to get Italian men to flirt with you
1. Carry a box filled with food. A box of pizza or a box of cakes will do just fine.
2. Walk around alone, without your husband or your boyfriend with you.
And then slowly you’ll find random Italian men waving excitedly and smiling at you saying things like :
“Oh for me? Grazie!”
“You really shouldn’t have!”
“Yes! That’s mine!”
What happened to Maggi Mee?
Hello Singapore! Finale
Its the last week that Cart and I were in Singapore. This is it. This is the last leg. The final dash in the marathon. I tried to maximize it the best I could to visit at least a couple of interesting spots in Singapore before we leave.
After our trip to Jurong Bird Park, I thought that Cart would be interested in seeing the rural side of Singapore. And thus we headed to Qian Hu Fish Farm.
The ride through Lim Chu Kang Road was very relaxing as we passed by many landmarks and places that makes me feel like we went back to the early 80’s. Like the bus stops. When was the last time that you saw the orange and white seats and roofed bus stops? It was so retro!
Eventually, we reached the fish farm and I saw this interesting looking sign :
We entered inside. There were so many different types of fishes that I was amused looking at Cart looking so excited at the different species of fishes. I saw stingrays, some panda fishes, angel fishes as well as many others that I don’t remember the names anymore.
Whats impressive to me was that, there were a number of really expensive fishes. Some of the breeds were up to thousands of dollars! That’s a very expensive pet. For me, if I were to have a fish tank, I’d be happy with just these Parrot fishes.
This is my favourite type of pet fishes. Always smiling! They look so happy and cheerful! How can anyone not like these?
After Cart and I have examined practically each and every one of the fishes, it was time for us to head to the fish spa which was just a few steps away. Cart was alredy starting to look a little stressed. We changed into slippers and then dipped our feet in the pool and immediately the little fishes were attracted to our feet.
Although, I’ve already had experience at the fish spa, it took a while for me to get used to the fishes because the fishes were a lot bigger compared to the last time that I was there. Nevertheless, it took a while for the ticklish feeling to go away. On the other hand, Cart keeps saying that it felt wierd.
Here is a video of our fishy experience.
Well … its something to experience and I’m glad that Cart was willing to try it out 🙂
In the end, the both of us have soft and smooth and touchably soft feet 😛
And since we were still in the farm area, I wanted to bring Cart to the Goat farm but unfortunately, when we reached there, it was already closed for the day. Darn! Ah nevermind then, we’ll just head off to the organic farm.
So we hopped on the scooter and I went past the road by the interesting retro buildings as well as a old house that reminded me of where I used to live. We finally reached Bollywood veggies where we found out that it was closed on mondays. What a shame 🙁
Oh well.
That means that we had a leisurely time go head over to Jurong East. So leisurely that we could shoot this video on my new Ixus 200 IS 😀
I hereby call this bideo – Theme from Karang Guni. You know, as a tribute towards Theme from Mahogany 😀
Soonafter we reached Jurong East! We met talented photographer and fellow blogger, YesPecan, for a quick chat and to pass her some EDM items. We shared our orders together since it was cheaper that way.
We walked past the shops where I spent years walking past after secondary school. Suffice to say, there were lots of gradual changes here. And we headed towards the hawker center where Cart noticed a new Italian food stall. Guess what he ordered?
Penne Arrabbiata, naturally!
It was his benchmark food to compare if it is up to standard to his Italian tongue. Anyway Cart thought that it tasted a little strange though with the massive amount of garlic, the inclusion of bay leaves and the sweet tomato sauce. I didn’t pay too much attention though. I was too busy eating my fried pineapple rice. You cant get that in Rome!
I had a lovely chat with Yespecan and we quickly updated each other with what’s new, unfortunately, time passed by too quickly and we had to say our goodbyes as I wanted to rush home to fetch my mum to head to say hello to my old exercise class.
Mum and I used to go for aerobics together every Monday evening and after work, we’d get ready and ride the scooter to get to the community center and for the next hour, we’d burn fat together. As mundane as it sounds, I quite miss this arrangement.
I saw this cute little kitten on a motorcycle as we went towards the community center.
When we entered the exercise room, there were a number of new people but there were also faces that I remember. They were there for my wedding too 🙂
And naturally, after the exercise class, I disturbed them for a picture 😛
Don’t we look sexeh? Unfortunately for me, I cant help but to stare at my tummy. I really gained a lot of weight since I’ve arrived in Singapore. I need to exercise more and lose weight! 
—
The ironic thing is that next day, the first place that Cart and I went to was Macdougals (This spelling is on purpose)
Yes, there are plentiful of Macdougals in Rome too, much to Cart’s disdain, but it was pretty much in Singapore and in Malaysia are the Macdonalds which I was sure to be halal.
And the egg mcmuffin was the only one thing that I liked from this place, so I better fill up my quota right? 🙂
In anycase, we headed towards the city area and parked my scooter inside Takashimaya shopping center – the land where where tai-tai’s roam.
Yeah, act Taitai only
Sidenote : Normally, when I am in Orchard Road, I’d usually park at Wisma Atria or Far East Plaza. I wouldn’t park at Takashimaya the parking rate there is crazy for 2 wheelers. When we left, at least $5 were charged to my cashcard. Freaking heck. That’s a lot for a motorcycle.
Anyways! We are here to spend my voucher which I won from the Ping.sg 2nd Anniversary event!
Guess what I decided on buying? Was it electronic items? Was it household items?
I bought bras!
Yeah, I could have bought some in Italy itself, but I wasn’t ready enough for Italian women to be fondling my girls.
I headed towards the Sloggies corner since I prefer my bras to be simple without all those embellishments. Not sure what my size was, I asked the saleslady for help.
I was surprised to hear from her that I am now a 36C cup.
I’m not too sure if that’s such a good thing.
As a sidenote, I had a rather strange saleslady, she kept knocking at the changing room, shoving in more bras and making me try on more and more stuff. But I really didn’t want to bust my voucher cap. Moreover, these bras are not what I’d regularly wear since it was a little on the expensive side. Nevertheless, the fit was pretty good.
C cup eh? 
But anyway, here are my new ahem cup holders 😀
After lunch, we dropped by Funan Center to collect my new namecards.
There sure were a lot of pigeons right next to where I parked
I still wondered upon why I did made the namecards when there are hardly any events that I go to in Italy. Regardless, I think my new cards look spiffy with the new updated Italian words in them. But in retrospect, I think that I should have added some words regarding the things that I do at the back, instead of leaving so much green space.
Is just that I’m still not sure what to put. Writer? Photographer? Video Editor? Sexeh blogger extraordinaire?
Anyway, what do you think?
And since we were in the area, we popped by one of the electronic shops to get an additional battery for my new Ixus 200 IS camera. If I am not wrong, the place was called Song Brothers.
It was completely a smooth experience buying items from there. The lady serving me was polite and clear. None of the drama that happened as when I was at Sim Lim Square. She sold me a battery and even helped to stick a protective cover on my camera’s LCD.
It was then, when I asked her how much does the same camera costed there.
I dont remember what she quoted but for sure, it was a more competitive price to Sim Lim Square and even Mustafa Center. It was heartbreaking that I had to go through all that drama when we could have gone here instead! Doh!
Seriously everyone, I will never ever go to Sim Lim Square ever again and nor do I recommend anyone, locals or tourists alike to go there.
Anyhow, I was already rushing to head back to Jurong where we will be meeting my aunt and cousins later but Cart pulled my hand and insisted that we have coffee, “It wont take long, it’s only espresso”
So we walked towards Espressoul which was just a couple of blocks away from Funan Center and facing Parliament House.
“Two espresso please! Make it ristretto!”
And that was when Cart finally had the espresso that was acceptable to his standards 😛
And by pure chance we met with Danny! Head barista and one of the owners of former Geek Terminal. Geek Terminal is popular hangout with a large number of bloggers as it was the location where quite a number of blogger related events were held. Plus, they had really good coffee. Illy! The best coffee according to Cart.
Danny told us that they have since shifted from the old location to there and rebranded themselves as Espressoul. Unfortunately, we did not have much time to chat more and we said our goodbyes and we rushed down to the Singapore Discovery center.
The last time I was at the Singapore Discover Center, it was in 2006 and I had to accompany a few club members for a competition. It seems much the same since then except for the newly functioning Joo Kun MRT station. Hopefully, now, it will be more accessible for more visitors 🙂
Anyhow the reason why we were here was mainly to watch Avatar! My cousins has been raving about this movie for weeks and was willing to watching it again!
Check out how tall the seats go up to
Personally, I quite liked watching the movie here. Its not crowded with people so it was more conducive and feels more relaxed. The screen was as good as a regular cinema since it was about 5 storey tall. Plus you could bring in your own food and choose your own seats 😀
It was good to spend some time with Cik Enon and the cousins 🙂
Just too bad that my mum couldn’t make it and my sister already fainted in bed, tired from school. I’m sure they would have enjoyed it too 🙂
Coincidentally later Juli asked me out for dinner at Holland Village just as we left Singapore Discover Center.
Why not? I thought to myself. When will be the next time that we meet anyway?
And thus, we went to Holland Village. It was an interesting place to go to on account of the number of expatriates hanging out here, thus the culture and the air is a little bit different. I guess a little more well heeled.
We met Juli and walked towards a Lebanese restaurant, and I was a little bit stunned at what was on the main road. There were at least 20 soldiers guarding the area. I was too nervous to even snap a picture lest they shoot me with the rifle they were holding.
The restaurant caretaker assured me that they were there just for safekeeping as there were concerns that there will be fights brewing from the many pubs in the area. And eventually, we made our order.
It was a rather nice place and I quite liked the decorations. I didn’t take much pictures though. I don’t know, I guess I just wasn’t in the mood 😛
Anyway the food was alright. I didnt liked the appetizer too much but I enjoyed my shawarma plate but poor Juli couldn’t eat her food as it looked and reminded her too much of the male anatomy! LOL!
After we said our goodbyes, just for the fun of it, I did a little detour to see my former schools. The gates were shut since it was night time, but its nice to be back in memory lane.
This is what used to be Jurong Institute. Jurong Institute doesn’t exist anymore but I had a lot of happy (as well as not so happy) memories here. I could probably write a teen novel based on the accounts that happened to me here. Ho ho ho! Idea!
And here is Bukit View Secondary. It was a lot larger than what I remembered. Even during my short stint as a teacher there, there were plentiful of changes.
One of the memorable incidents that happened there was when my friends treated me to a coke drink during my birthday. I took a sip and it was horrible! Turns out that they spiked my drink with soy sauce!
Urgh!
Happy birthday indeed!
—
The next day we went back to Vivo city to meet with sweet (and newly married!) UFC for lunch. While waiting for her, Cart and I contemplated on buying this made in Singapore aromatherapy diffuser. But I was worried that I would not have any space in my luggage so in the end, reluctantly, I didn’t get one.
We also passed by this shop. Can you spot something interesting?
We met UFC and we had a chat about her new married life and what she was up to and she handed me these adorable little hair sticks that I picked from her blogshop. She even gave me more discount … I should have gotten more stuff! 😛
These are hairsticks, not colour pencils
And then we went to Candy Empire to buy the German version of Pocket Coffee.
Before I coming to Singapore, I was contemplating on bringing something unique from Italy. Initially I thought of bringing Ferrero Rodnoir, however a friend informed me that it was already available in Singapore. So I brought Pocket Coffee instead!
The supermarket cashier was giving me wierd looks when I bought like 20 boxes at one go. So I give them a seductive look in reply. Like this :
Rinaz act seductive
Anyway, to my horror, it was only when we arrived in Singapore when my friend, Eu Chai informed me that was Pocket Coffee being sold in Singapore albeit, it was manufactured in Germany. And Cart and I had to see this for ourselves.
Suffice to say, it doesnt taste the same as the original, Italian version. So we were a little more placated.
We said our goodbyes to UFC and that was when suddenly I remembered … I didnt take a picture of UFC!
We then rushed over to Jurong Point to meet with my friends Jayden and Mus and Hema! We had such a lovely time chatting the whole evening from Coffee Bean, all the way to Swensens where we had dinner later.
Its nice to be surrounded by happy, funny and cheerful people. Mus even declared that he wore a green sweater specially for me since I like green! Bwahahaha!
I dont remember what we chatted about, but for sure, I had big smiles and was laughing all throughout the evening.
And here were are in an unofficial United Colours of Benetton advertisment.
—
Thursday. It was our final day in Singapore.
I woke up early and already I felt the webs of sadness starting to form. But in any case, I had a of of things to settle before the flight.
First I headed to the ICA to collect my new passport since the old one was expiring mid 2010. It was a leap of faith thing. I wasnt sure if they would be ready in time since I applied just the week before. But luckily for me, the man behind the counter pulled out my new passport and thus I was cleared!
As a sidenote, isn’t it annoying that government websites still needed internet exploiter for online transactions such as these? It took some while for me to get through it since I was using Ubuntu on my netbook and Internet Explorer isn’t compatible with Linux. In the end, I had to use my brother’s lappy with windoze. Go figure.
And then I rushed to send some packages to friends and then to the post office as I was anticipating that my luggage might be over the airplane limit and thus I bought a Singpost box.
Little did I realise that it was a little too big for me to stuff on the scooter.
Luckily for me, I had a long elastic hair band which I attached to one end and used a brochure to hold the other side. And I rode slowly, praying that it didn’t break.
I even rushed by Jurong East Library to pay my fines (How did I get one anyway? I havent been borrowing for over a year :-P)
And I saw the familliar Jurong East Entertainment, which was right next to it, being half demolished. A little nostalgic for me I guess, since this was one of the places that I hang out at as a student. Anyone remember the $1.99 meal from Long John Silvers?
Finally after all of the chores, I rushed towards home and rushed to the wet market and then to fairprice to get some condiments and Singapore foodstuff, you know, stuff that I couldn’t get in Rome. My Lingham’s Chilli Sauce is my main priority!
Here is a portion of the food that we bought. Initially, Cart was concerned that the food might not clear the immigration, but I was gung ho about it and wrapped it neatly among our clothes.
And then we packed like crazy! So much things to pack and I was already worried that including the books that I wanted to carry with me, would be too heavy in the end and I had to reluctantly leave them, for now.
It took several hours to pack and after the whole affair, I saw that it would be impossible to have time for a family dinner at West Coast Food Center, so we had to make do with the hawker center which was next to our house instead (My dad wasn’t too fond of the food there unfortunately)
I desperately tried to eat a couple more Singapore food to ease me through the next 11 months or so. I wouldn’t be able to have these anymore 
And this is the final meal that I had in Singapore. Half eaten chicken rice before I remembered to snap a picture of it. And then it was already time to go to the airport.
Hema was so kind to volunteer to drive us to the airport. Juli was already there in the front seat next to her and I took in the last Singapore sights. Several of my relatives were there to wish Cart and me goodbye, my aunts, cousins and grandmother. I was mostly quiet the entire time because I was feeling emotional.
Bye everyone. Thank you so much for your hospitality! It has been a lovely three weeks. Its too bad that I was not able to show Cart all of the places that I wanted to show him, like the Singapore Museums, Haw Par Villa and others. But hopefully we’ll be there December 2010. God willing 🙂
We’ll meet again soon! :-]
And stop pressurising me to have kids. KTHANXBAI!
Hello Singapore! Part 6
On the last day of 2009 thanks to Geri, Cart and I visited the Jurong Bird Park.
Its been a long while since I last been here – probably in my early secondary school days. Like the Zoo, for sure, there has been a lot of changes here. It seemed a lot larger than I last remembered it.
One of the interesting species of bird that I noticed was this one which originated from Egypt on account of the strange angle that its bending its legs as opposed as to how a cat will bend its legs.
I also saw a number of beautiful looking birds. Like this Malay Fish Owl.
Ohh … look at how striking the eyes are! Now if there were ever a Bomoh Potter, Asian version of Harry Potter, he’d totally take this beautiful creature.
There were so much to see in the park.
The only unfortunate part is that, still being a school holiday, the park was crowded with rather hyperactive kids
We went in the area where there was a penguin feeding and the kids were running around on the parquet stage despite the emcee’s plea for the area to be cleared. There were parents even encouraging these kids to carry on what they were doing
In any case, Cart and I had a really nice time exploring. We just wished that we went there earlier though. I thought that we could have explored the place in about 3 hours. Unfortunately, there were a couple of displays that we had to skip because of lack of time.
Like the African bird display. By the time we got there, we only saw these creepy displays.
Being it almost sunset, I was nervous to stay too long in case they turn alive and kill us both and hung us up a pole. Like this
I dont like human sized statues! Seriously! Look at how sinister they look!
The next day, Cart and I headed to Vivo City to meet a couple more Singaporeans living in Italy.
I quite like this picture. Even wearing casual clothes, we look so high society! Its a bit sad that its evident that I’ve put on quite a bit of weight while in Singapore, with the incessant stuffing of my face with local food.
It was as always nice to meet people who have experienced the same situation that I did, living overseas, overcoming language barriers and the homesickness that comes every now and then.
A few hours later, after the rest had to leave, Eu Chai a fellow Singaporean that I met through the facebook group, Cart and I adjourned to Barcelos. I’ve seen rather confounding restaurant reviews between Barcelos and Nandos since both specialise in chicken and both lets you choose the level of spiciness you want.
I loved my chicken so much.
The picture might not give it much justice but its good! Red flag means Supa Peri. That means I am strong enough to take the heat!
And Cart had a vegetarian stir fry. Red flag! We are both powerful people!
And we gnawed a bowl of potato wedges between us.
Barcelos is a little on the pricey side if you compare it to regular fast food restaurants, my set meal costed about $14 while Cart’s was $13 but I think that its nice to try something new once in a while. Ayam penyet is still the best!
Anyhow, I had a really lovely chat with Eu Chai. I find him witty and charming with a lot of interesting stories to share. There was one time when he was in university in Venice when a classmate asked him, “How do I say in Italian, do you have a lighter?” And he cheekily replied, “You say, Can you light my fire?”
And she went up to a guy and said just that! Last Eu Chai said was that they were in a relationship because the guy was ecstatic that a girl would ask him that.
I was amused and could listen to Eu Chai for hours. But we had to leave to go to another meet. So we were forced to say our goodbyes.
Before we left, I snapped a picture of a map from Gothere.sg on how to go from Vivocity to Hillcrest Road
I still got lost anyway -_-
And Geri was furious! “Where are you guys?!” She smsed “I am hungry! You are late! late! late!”
I was flabbergasted. My internal GPS failed to function when I saw the unfamilliar road. Moreoever with a pillion behind me, I got even more confuzzled. To add to that, it started to drizzle.
When we finally reached peperoni’s pizzeria, we were about an hour late. Geri looked as if she was about to faint from hunger. I tried to bribe her with a present but I don’t think that it worked though 😛
Anyway Geri got me a really thoughtful gift in return, which I love so much 🙂
I looked at the menu and ordered a pizza. In my opinion, Peperoni is probably one of the best pizza that I have ever had in Singapore. The grand sized pizza is something to be seen
Sweska, Nicole and Daphne posing with pizza in January 2009
Anyway Cart ordered Penne Arrabiatta
Its his benchmark of checking the standards of pasta in Singapore by always ordering the same item in places that serves Italian food. Even Pastamania.
While Geri ordered creamy chicken pasta
Creamy pasta is her favourite type. Well, if she comes to Rome, we’d gladly whip up some creamy pasta for her 🙂
It was lovely to be in the company of Geri. We met a long time ago in the heydays of IRC and I always admired her intelligence and savvyness.
Unfortunately, Geri had to go soonafter the dinner since she had to go to work the next day. Serves us right for being late!
The next day, Spai, Cart and I made the decision to finally buy the electronics items that we’ve long wanted. Since Cart has been stolen of his handphone, he desperately needed a new one and I was keen to try out editing in HD videos.
So Cart has decided on getting a Nokia E72 and I was enamoured with the Canon Ixus 200 IS
And thus the three of us made a trip to Sim Lim Square to look at the prices. Personally for me, I was already disenchanted with Sim Lim Square due to the very rough salespeople there. And I really didn’t have the intention to buy anything there. But since the boys said that it will be fine, alright then.
After having a nice cuppa coffee right below Sim Lim Square, (Spai was most enchanted by the pretty coffee art) we looked around the first two levels since they specialised in gadgets such as these.
So after a while, after comparing the different prices in the shops, we went back to the shop with the best quoted price. I was ready to make my purchase when the boys started to ask about additional batteries that the camera could use.
Salesman : This battery is very good! Comes from Japan. $45 only!
Me : I don’t want the battery. Looks expensive. The second floor shop sells it for only $25 (And it was true)
And thats when the salesman flipped out
Salesman : YOU ARE SO STINGY! EVERYTHING WANT TO COMPARE!
I was stunned
Me : Why are you so rude? I was ready to buy from you but you are being so rude!
Salesman : GET OUT OF MY SHOP! DONT WASTE MY TIME! I DONT WANT TO SELL TO YOU!
It took a while for me to calm down. I was really pissed off by the man’s rude behaviour. I didn’t do anything violent. But the situation really hit my nerve. Its people like him that gives Sim Lim Square a bad reputation.
Please avoid focuspoint electronics at all costs. I made a feedback to Singapore Service Star. But I doubt that they would do anything about that.
To calm me down, the boys took me to have dinner at Little India which is just a bit of a walk away. I was upset more at how idiotic people could be, more than anything else.
It was always full of life in Little India. Kind of scary to ride a scooter in during the weekdays though, but there would always be something interesting to see at every corner. Indian clothes shop, Jewellery Shop, Eyebrow Threading shop …
We were joined with fellow blogger, Bradley and his friendly wife Margie for dinner at Cart’s favourite Indian restaurant, Komala‘s.
At this point of time, I forgot to take pictures due to the animated conversations that we had between the 5 of us. I found Brad and Margie to be intelligent, easy going and fun loving people. Brad shared his experiences of living in Singapore and Margie started to tell me about the similarities about tagalog and malay language and I was quite surprised at the number of words that we shared. Like Gunting for Scissors, Tolong for Help and others that I dont quite remember right now.
Serves me right for taking such a long time to blog 😛
They tucked in to a hearty Indian meal. While I had my veggie burger with potato wedges
I seriously wouldn’t mind turning into a vegetarian if I could have food like this every day. Its really flavourful and a lot more satisfying than the Steakhouse burger that I had some weeks prior to that. Thus Spai, Cart and I enjoyed our meal but I’m not too sure if Brad and Margie did though, since the next day he twittered something about having stomach pains. Uh oh.
The five of us then went over to Mustafa center which is a 24 hour shopping mart which is popular with the locals as well as tourists due to the competitive price that they had. Not to mention the much more professional service by the salesmen.
Check out our new toys 😀
I would have preferred my camera in green but there wasn’t any for that particular model. Cart naturally couldn’t stop fondling his new Nokia E72. It was a lot easier to type on plurk and twitter on that. Darn, I should have gotten one too.
And thus, from this point onwards, the images in this blog post uses the new Canon Ixus 200 IS.
The next day mum hosted a kenduri with our extended family for giving thanks and prayers for the safe journeys that my parents had while performing their pilgrimage and for Cart and my travel here.
A large amount of people arrived, which was expected since my mum had 10 siblings while my dad had 12. Go figure the number of cousins 😛
It feels somewhat like Hari Raya with the familliar faces all around and for a moment, everything about Rome was forgotten. It was until they started asking when Cart and I are going to have kids. Everyone keeps asking that! This is stressful!
Anyway! To change topic, my uncle set up a chocolate fountain and all the kids scrambled to eat it! It was interesting to see the chocolate sloshing down.
Here’s a video I took of the chocolate fountain in HD!
I should have took a few seconds to include all the yummy home cooked food though. There were so much! And I ate like there is no tomorrow.
Later on during the evening, a couple of my secondary school classmates arrived – Jamaliah and Surina.
And we told each other stories of how we hanged out beside the bookshop and thus nicknamed ourselves the title of, “Bookshop Girls”. And we marvelled at how coincidental that each of us in the group (save for one) married a non Singaporean (How wierd is that?) as we looked at each other’s wedding photos.
And here we are posing with the ketupat that I bought while in Geylang. I’m totally going to hang this up for Hari Raya this year. If Italians can hang wreaths on their door during xmas, I want to hang a ketupat.
Its a pity that my ketupat is a bit flat from the flight back to Rome. Ketupat penyet.