MsSheepy

It’s Labour day today and it’s also a perfect day to celebrate mum’s day as well as to catch up with ex-school mates. I spent my whole afternoon at Chinatown-Outram area.

I celebrated Mother’s day with the in-laws and had a great dim sum lunch at one of the teahouses in Chinatown. MIL is also considered my half-mother.

We went shopping around OG and the new Chinatown market before i left to meet my buddies at Outram.

Today, we went to a new KTV lounge situated along Teo Hong Rd. The lounge had a cool name called ‘Crystabelle‘. We got there via exit H at Outram NEL station. The KTV is right in front of the mrt exit.

From the outside, the entrance does look rather sleazy, but once you stepped into the shop, you will be greeted by a friendly uncle.

The price is quite reasonable. There were 7 of us and we spent 4 hours in the ktv (from 3pm to 7pm). The whole room cost $75 nett for 8 people. This price is inclusive of 2 plates of small tidbits, 2 plates of fruits and one drink each.

Name card of KTV Lounge

Their menu

Interior of KTV room (Quite big ^_^)

Do you enjoy playing board games with friends? Then i am sure you have not missed the popular board game cafes in Singapore. Heard of the Mind Cafe and the Settler’s Cafe?

This evening, my two buddies and I decided to hunt for another board game cafe called the De Coder’s Cafe. I only heard about this place from my school’s monthly e-bulletin promotions. I myself have personally went to the old Oasis Board game Cafe along liang sia street some years back, but I doubt it’s there anymore.

What I love about this cafe is, the food is nice and their service is good. The place is kinda cramp and noisy today due to its good business. In order to secure a good place, I would suggest that you make a reservation before going down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gifts, no matter how big or small, are valuable to me. Especially if it came from my close friends. It’s the thoughts that count.

We arrived at Changi Jetty at around 9.15am, and could only get on the bumboat at around 10am. I had the sense of déjà vu when i arrived at the jetty. I saw the familiar arrival and departure hall. I saw the usual queue for boats heading for Pulau Ubin. Nothing’s change after so long – around 3 years?

The queue for Pengerang was kind of strange. It wasn’t as straight forward as Pulau Ubin. The boat owner will only set off when there is a maximum number of 12-13 passengers for his boat. No more or less in number unless the passengers are willing to pay more. They charge us $8 per pax now. It used to be just $7.
The journey to Pengerang was a smooth one, with only the exception of the arrival of unwanted ‘visitors’. The bumboat was stopped by a Police Coast Guard and a few police officers actually came down to search our boat for a very wanted man.

Anyway, we arrived at our destination safely and managed to eat our seafood lunch at Jade Garden Seafood restaurant situated at the town centre of Pengerang- Sungei Rengit. We had to take a cab from the jetty to that place.

I really enjoyed going trips with this clique. I feel so comfortable with them. Even though there might be quiet times when we are together, rather than feeling awkward like how I felt in other groups; I felt a sense of peace and mutual understanding. Who says a nice and close group must laugh and be crazy all the time? We need quietness sometime too.

Picture from the drama series “Friends”

Looking forward to many trips in the future.

Everyone says baking bread is harder than baking cookies, but my friends and I have proven our mothers wrong by making a nice first attempt in our regular baking session.

Look at our achievements!

Oh my, it’s been a long time since i last sang a song …. to my heart’s content, and this time, it’s not in a bathroom.

I took a day’s leave to accompany my ’sister’ to a great KTV session@Orchard Cineleisure Singapore. KBox is one of the leading karaoke companies in Singapore. I’ve been to the others but their songs are not as updated as KBox.

I will not say i am a professional singer. All i can say is, i have many years of singing in bathrooms, in my dreams, in front of my laptop with youtube on, as well as in private ktv rooms It’s a great form of relaxation from work and studies apart from exercising.

So anyone wants to hire me to sing part time? Hahaha

I must admit that i am not a very good host to begin with. My house, though not that new (about 3 years old from the day i bought it) seemes rather unsuitable for entertaining formal guests. The facilities are simply lacking in basic areas like:

1. No baking appliances. I did not have any baking appliances for friends who wants to bake with me. And i will not go to the extend of buying those appliances just for the sake of entertaining friends alone. (Well, i hardly or perhaps never bake at home) And my small kitchen area seems to be discouraging me from doing so too.

2. No mahjong set. I cant play mahjong for nuts despite having learnt it years ago on a long trip to New Zealand. I guess i had a fair share of beginner’s luck then.

3. No Karaoke set. As a karaoke queen, it’s sad not to purchase a KTV set at home. Hahhaa, perhaps in the future.

However, this does not deter my clique from dropping by my house yesterday. They are so self-entertaining! Gee, nice friends i have. We can practically be our own self in front of each other, to the extend of digging noses in front of one another without feeling embarrassed. There are a few mahjong fans in the clique, and as i’ve mentioned earlier, there’s no way i can produce the mahjong table and tiles for them.

To my utter amazement, one of the girls got attracted by my square coffee table (the mahjong table is also in the shape of a square). And another too came prepared and produced this: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s nice to have a close group of girlfriends. Thank heaven that i have 2 very close girl cliques. The most ‘headache’ comes when we have our annual girlish events that falls on/have a purpose such as:

• Christmas day
• Somebody’s birthday (not mine of course)
• Valentine’s day
• Friendship anniversary
• Weddings!

Many a times, i have to crack my small brain on what to get for my friends as presents. Girls are well equipped with thousand and one things. From shoes, accessories, to cool IT gadgets and fashionable clothes. So what else do they really lack of??

Somehow or another, I’ve managed to get the “perfect” gift for my friend… after some intense headache.

Here are some of my personal tips, it works for me for a few years, so i thought of sharing with you:

Tip 1## Don’t ever buy a gift which you yourself will not use

I remembered the day when i got married. My girl cliques showered me with wonderful gifts and cards. Yes yes, many people will tell me, ‘C’mon girl, don’t be so fussy with the gifts, it’s the thoughts that count!’ If out of 20 good friends, i got 15 figurines/photo frames as a wedding present, you call this ‘a nice thought’? I could just walk into a shopping mall, move to the section with ‘Wedding gifts’ as category, grab a figurine/photo frame and ta-da, i’ve got my friend a wedding gift.

Have you ever thought about your poor friend (the receiver of present), who might have a display problem in her new home? Did you really make an effort to take a peak at her new home decor? Let me tell you, my home decor and renovation has everything except display shelves. So you tell me what will happen to the figurines/photo frames that were given to me?

Tip 2## Be more observant to your friends’ shopping behaviour

So it’s time for our girly shopping trips down to places like Suntec or Orchard. Don’t just stare and hunt for your favourite clothes or accessories. Assist your friends in choosing their choice of clothes or whatever. Observe the colors/design that they love, observe things they yearn to buy but not enough cash for the day. These are little clues for your next gift hunt.

I missed this important point once and i felt so helpless when my friends approach me for advice.

Tip 3## Be a good listener and not always the ‘I, Me’ conversations.

When communicating with your friends over lunch or meals, always make it a point to allow time for your friends to talk about themselves. It might not be as effective as Tip 2 but it sure has it’s own plus points.

Tip 4## Play a little game to make it less obvious

Sometimes one week before christmas day, my friends and i will play a little game called, ‘My Wish List’ where we wrote pieces of wishes on small papers and paste it on a christmas tree. This will make it less obvious since everyone is writing it down. Who knows you will find friends who wrote more than one! That’s enough for you to buy a few years of presents for them.

Tip 5##Research

If all else fails, here’s the second last attempt. DO your research. There are many resources out there. Here’s a list:

• Approach the friend’s family (bro, sis, parents)
• Ring up the boyfriend
• Check out their Friendster, Facebook accounts for hints
• Search the net for practical gifts for her (though still may not be what your friend wants, but at least it’s practical in one way or another)

Tip 6##Food is the best gift in the world

Okay. I gave up. I have NOTHING in my brain after going through the first few steps. What i can do now is:

• Treat my friend to a nice and unforgettable meal
• Buy a nice cake for her (be it wedding, anniversary, birthday or christmas)
• Buy chocolates

That’s all i can share with you folks. I hope you will have a better idea on how to chose the almost perfect gift for your close friends. Let me know if you have better ideas!