yee sang

yee sang, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Chinese New year fell o Sunday and it ended on Sunday as well. We had lunch at Publika and there was this long table with a row of people eating Yee Sang. This picture was taken way after....table with remnants of Yee Sang.

Since Publika created the premier parking area and corded off the more popular parking spaces many ( including self) have been forced to park further and even ( shudder) lower ground. It's a pity the parking isn't as safe as it should feel. The drive down to lower ground is through a rather narrow road. If you're a new driver, best to avoid this. And if you're driving a bigger car than what you're used to...also do not test your powers driving down. You will surely scrap the sides as you make the turn down. On a more cheerful note, more cars are parked at the basement parking so it's less isolated. And they do have those automated green/red dots above the parking with an updated number of empty slots available to you.

A lovely surprise

A lovely surprise, originally uploaded by edina monsoon

This made my day. Today my group of ten students went out of their way and organized this impromptu "makan session" which gave us an opportunity to sit back and eat. Thank you for such a thoughtful gesture. I had a delightful tea! We feasted on pizza and donuts and some bubbly sweet diabetic-inducing drink. ( Which I steered clear of) I'm guessing them photos will make their way onto Facebook. I've opted for a more subtle picture to show my appreciation. Thank you!

happy chinese new year

happy chinese new year, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Its the year of the snake. Snakes are scary creatures. I cannot look at one without squirming. All magazines featuring snakes in the house re stapled firmly. To avoid accidentally seeing them and getting upset. So I'm guessing there won't be a baby boom. Unlike the year of the Dragon where everyone who could get pregnant was pressured into possibly conceiving. This picture was taken last Friday en route back from Sg Wand Plaza. A mad rush to the Chambers Music shop to get my score for "Meditation". I took in totally 40 minutes and ended up feeling rather sick the good part of Saturday as a direct result of exerting self.

Today is the first proper day back to work for most people and the traffic to work was heavier than usual. I suspect there must have been a stalled car somewhere along Loke Yew. I left work before 5:30pm and took only 30 minutes to get back. (yay). I'm guessing a few folks may have taken an extra day off to recuperate from driving back last night.  Happy Working folks. Clinic was long but I got chocolates and an ang pau from a lovely patient which made my day:)

a lovely present

a lovely present, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Look at this lovely present which ( ahem) took longer than expected to fix. Lego has morphed into quite a different set of tiles and bits compared to back in the dark ages when the people ( for example) were all cyclindrical in shape. Not anymore....here I am singing on stage....with curly dark brown curls ( yay) and a rather funky top. This was a pressie from SZ to me. To the left of the picture is my piano...piano stool and a mike and glass on the piano top.I am indeed a cool person. Picture taken on Friday evening. Before the mad rush to church for mass and stations of the cross. 

Smurf Village extension

Smurf Village extension, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

How many of you like playing Smurf village? This is my second village. The first one was my baby. I nutured and loved it and was devastated when it kept crashing. Last year, the village refused open and in frustration I started a second one. The feeling isn't the same. I still mourn the lost of my very first village. Here is a picture of my Cliff extension. I'm finally bonding with this new village:)

PONCHE by Lush

A drop of tequila in your shower gel which promises to give you a little ZING feeling after every shower. How can you resist such a buy? At the first sniff, you'ld think "no way this smells way too strong and sickly like a cough syrup". But if you are brave enough to try it, you will be rewarded with a lovely zing ( as promised on the bottle) followed by a lovely orangey smell which shiffs through your body as you soap and when you're done...the smell lingers on until your next shower. Oh I forgot to mention, the bathroom smells delightful after you're done too.  It's a limited edition and I'll be sorry to have this taken off the shelves permanently. Available in Lush boutique Atria, Singapore. ( No lush stores in Malaysia ...yet). And the shop in Hongkong was small and not well stocked. 

Jules Massenet

On Friday I remembered to buy the score for this song.It's one of the songs for the grade 7 ABRSM violin exam. This may replace my second song. The teacher thinks this will be an "easier" piece to play than my current song. Generally, I do not like slow songs because you have to count accurately to keep in tempo and there is a lot of vibrato in most fingers. ( Not my strong point)  The tempo is Andante Religioso . I've done the first three lines so far. There is a lot of position change. I think it may be easier to hit the right notes because the song is more familiar. But we'll have to see the progress. The score together with the piano accompaniment cost RM40. ( ouch!)

Meditation is the music from the opera Thais. And it is composed by a french composer names Jules Massenet. Did you know that? ( I didn't but before you start feeling smug, composers aren't my thing...try testing me on the British Royal Family instead) It is the music played in between scenes in Act 2 and it's in the mood of deep reflection and decision-making. The famous violinists who have played this solo with an orchestra are Izhak Perlman ( large hands...the violin looks small when he plays..he has no problem covering all positions ), Joshua Bell, Sarah Cheng and Sophie Mutter.

Mini Longchamp

Mini Longchamp, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

My latest purchase!!! Do I find it useful? Okay truthfully I'm still getting used to stashing all my coins in this. I also have my mute and rosary in it and just yesterday I squished a pack of tissues in it too. The result: fumbling for a good 45 seconds to get that measely 20 sen to pay for my thosai yesterday morning. Aargh. This is mustard weeny longchamp!

Look who has started classes

Mummy And Baby Violins, originally uploaded by Tuxtable.

The niece showed more than a cursory interest in the violin during the Christmas break. She held my full size violin and attempted to remove the shoulder rest as well as play many notes on it. So I think it is only fitting the parents choose violin classes as one of her extra curricular activities in school. ( Their initial choice was badminton...???)

And so today, we skyped...and she posed and she played. Gawd I've forgotten how bad one can sound initially but on the up side..she looked adorable. Poor parents!!!

Henna block from Lush

Henna block from Lush, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Lawsonia Inermis that's the scientific name for henna. ( Wikipedia is brilliant !!). Which makes it sound like a cough syrup or the name of an old nutty aunt. Here's a picture of my henna block. I bought two. One is with AJ and she hasn't done it yet. I did mine on the first day of chinese new year. Rather disappointing. It was more fun doing it than seeing the finish product.My black hair was shinnier which made the whites stand out even more. Sheeesh!!! I am going to tell you what you need if you plan to d this yourself.
1.You will need henna ( obviously) a bowl comb, brush, spoon, newspaper to line the floor and a shower cap( one of those freebies you nick from the hotels)
2. A friend to do it for you. Because I seriously think it will be hard and messy if you do it on your own
3. Pick a day when you do not expect visitors...we did the henna on CNY day 1 and had a guest watch the process. ( I know crazy but fun)
4. Don't expect too much.

Whether it should be done on dry day, clean hair,oily hair, two egg yolks in the pot, lime juice....I have no idea.

Lush in Singapore

Lush in Singapore, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Lush is a UK based brand. The soaps are gorgeous. And shower gel has a nice lingering smell AFTER. I was all excited with my recent visit to Singapore because this gave me the chance to shop at Lush. Lush Singapore is located at Atria and the nearest MRT station is Orchard. It's a small shop in the basement. But oh boy, simply packed with such delightful packaging that I spent a lot of time deciding which to buy and how many. So here is my shopping list ( the ones that I can remember)
1. Bath bombs.
2. Shower gel (s) at least 6 bottles in total. Am currently using Ponche which is a limited edition one. In the shop at the first sniff it was awful...I must confess I bought it only after reading that the ingredients included ( surprise) a dash of tequila. The zing effect was niceeee! So I bought a few bottles.
4. Bought Henna blocks which I'd googled the night before. the review I read was favorable and that the blocks had indigo added to it to give it a black rather than red sheen.
5. Hair shine thing I forget now what the name is.

What would I buy during my next visit
"Karma "and "honey I washed the kids" soap. Ponche shower gel because I truly am addicted to it. And A few more bath bombs.

Please go to the website and tell me if you find anything more exciting.

Ash Wednesday

February 25th 56/365 . . . Ash Wednesday, originally uploaded by TulipFleurs.

Today is Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent. Lent is a period of repentance and certainly Ash Wednesday serves to remind us of our own mortality.

Remember that thou are dust and unto dust thou shall return. Genesis 3:19

( There was no jam after morning mass so I got to work by half seven yay)

More stairs

More stairs, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

When we went indoors...I was forced (yes!) to do some stair-aerobics instead. Lemme just say...I had a great dinner with loads of plain water later in the evening

The niece explores

The niece explores, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I stayed at link hotel for two nights. For the first time, I extended my stay another day and moved to Upper Thomson to stay with an aunt.it was a scorching( am not exaggerating) afternoon and the niece insisted I follow her around the garden. Up and down stairs we went with sweat dripping down my forehead and me getting dehydrated, it's funny , she appeared not to care about the heat. I spent about ten minutes doing this before giving up and going indoors to wait for the aunt to return

Link hotel, Singapore

Link hotel, Singapore, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

This is a boutique hotel. I haven't googled or Wikipedia-Ed the meaning so I cannot tell for sure the actual definition of " boutique " in this context. I did google the amenities before arriving. Was horrified it doesn't have a gym.(no jogging during this trip). The rooms looked small in the pictures . That was another negative bit. When I arrived....the staff were polite and each one greeted me with genuine smiles. Not the over too chirpy greetings with a fake accent. That was nice, the rooms were small but the sheets were at least 400 threads.(smooth) and it had a cosy feeling and because I was on the second floor I saw trees just outside my window and the 24 hour Prata shop across the road.the breakfast was substantial. And the next morning I realized the major plus point of this hotel. It's proximity to tiong baru market and the old Singapore flats and shops selling bak kut teh wanton mee etc. Some if the ground floor shop houses are still houses. When I peeked into one, I saw a flat screen mounted on the wall, mismatched chairs and a piano. Would I consider staying here's again?yes:)