30 Nov 2011 – Goodbye Nov 2011!

Happy Hump Day and here is another  new version above, fun with letters and words 🙂

Here is another good one with letters 🙂 🙂

After being married for thirty years…..

A wife asked her husband to describe her…..

He looked at her slowly……then said,

‘You’re A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K.’

She asks….. ‘What does that mean?’

He said, ‘Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot.’

She smiled happily and said… ‘Oh, that’s so lovely…..

What about I, J, K?;

He replied, ‘I’m Just Kidding!…….

The husband is now recuperating in the hospital!  LOL 🙂 🙂 🙂

Already Famous***This local production stars SIN actress Michelle CHONG as Lim Ka Kiao who sells TVs in Malaysia but she wants to be on TV! She heads off to SIN to fulfill her dream. She meets a shy coffee shop assistant who helps her achieve her dream. Not just about the trials and tribulations of making it in showbiz, but also finding finding herself and her soulmate!

OK and entertaining catered more for the local SIN audience and market!

Acting is not about being famous, it’s about exploring the human soul –
Annette Benin

28 Nov 2011 – Cheese & Wine

Yesterday a pleasant surprise call from cousin Linda who lives in CA/USA with her husband Alfred TAY. Linda’s mom LAM Yuet King is my father’s cousin, ie paternal grandfather LAM Song Kwee and Linda‘s maternal grandfather LAM Jee Chiew were brothers. LYK celebrated her 100th Bday this year, unfortunately could not make it as the births of James and Olai were happening around the same time.

Linda, tkx for calling and touching base. Hope that perhaps our paths will cross in 2012 and can then exchange notes on the family tree!

Pix credit to Alfred of auntie LYK’s 100th Bday with 5 of her children, Linda in pink.

Sun: a relaxing brunch with Bev, Ting & CH. Just too lazy to go anywhere! Appreciations to Ting & CH for bringing cold meat, cheese, garnish, bread and crackers. Tkx to Les, the wines were perfect for the occasion. Tkx Bev for early Christmas gift! CH enjoyed the light saber, the one used on Halloween when Yoda was with the Force in SC/USA 🙂

Brunch continued to dinner at the coffee shop across the road, was a relief not to be near any of the weekend crowds in town. Another event at the common area downstairs, this time a flea-market. Ting was happy shopping with her eyes 🙂 🙂

Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking – Albert Einstein

27 Nov 2011 – Belated Thanksgiving Dinner…

Sat: woke to the commotion downstairs to discover a Carnival for Active Ageing! Had to walk by to get to the wet market to buy flowers. Looking at the crowd, seems like some free bees were on stage, not very active, how ironic 🙂

Tkx to Ivy, Les, Kat & Greg for a lovely family dinner. K&G prepared a delicious 10lbs/4.5kg turkey and it was gobbled up! The cranberries and butter-squash soup complimented the turkey. Besides the turkey there were good champagnes, wines and a nice spread of noya food catered by Chilli Padi. Appreciations to Kim Beng for the King of Fruits, yummmmmy durians and thankful as durian I love and pumpkin pie is the least favourite pie 🙂 🙂

4 generations together celebrating life, with por-por/Ivy’s mom carrying the most seniority! The orange generation (children’s generation) are going strong, adding more to the purple generation (grandchildren’s generation)! Safe journeys to K&G who are flying off early this morning  back to NYC.

This eloquent beautiful message is from a brave US Army soldier father in Afghanistan to his daughter. Matt Bowman, he has learnt well, proud of him and thankful to him defending his country. To Nancy & Jim (Matt’s parents), you have all the reasons to be proud. Fond memories of our children’s high school Days. Today Matt is a father of 2, Scott, a father of soon 3, Linn, mother of 5, May, mother of 1 and me, grandmother of 6! Pix from 1992, where did the 20yrs go 🙂 🙂 🙂

I love you too! miss you and hang in there. Please remember to love every moment of life, no matter how bad you may think it may be, because the simple fact that you are there to live it makes it worthwhile and it is a moment you will never get back so why not make the most of each and every one of them. It’s ok to be sad, it’s ok to be angry, it’s ok to feel the way you do, but it’s always best to choose to love, and find the best and brightest in every moment. To give thanks for what you have rather than dwell on what you may not 😉 Love you lissy girl!

26 Nov 2011 – Mumble Jumble…

Wed: met with Aileen & Yulis for our bi-annual lunches (ie when I return and before I leave SIN!) at Thai Express***@Iluma Bugis. Amazing how things change so fast. Except for a few handful of eateries, arcades and movie cinemas, all the shops are closed and gone. Wonder what is happening to this modish building with shops at an overhead bridge across Victoria St? Was opened only 2yrs ago!

https://amylamsg.com/2009/09/24/ilumia/

Happy Feet 2***Mumble’s son Erik is reluctant to dance. Erik meets Mighty Sven, a penguin who can fly! Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by Mother Nature and his penguin colony is trapped. He brings together the penguin nations and their allies to the rescue.

Strange and perhaps out of context to hear Erik singing to the music of Puccini’s Tosca/E lucevan le stelle (even when it is one of my favourite arias) with words of admiration and pride about his father.

Thu: Happy Thanksgiving. Had to wait for the dripping AC to be fixed. Called Mon but this is their only available day. Thankful that the past week has not been too hot!

Fri: met Rita & Richard@ICA where she had to collect her passport. Was here 2yrs ago and was impressed as to how efficient and organised it was. Today there is a new ICA Gallery with documents etc back to the 1800s. The wait was app half hour, not too bad considering the crowd and that we were there after 1100hrs; unlike 2yrs ago, at the counter 0805hrs and was out in 10mins with a renewed passport!

https://amylamsg.com/2010/01/06/ica-the-vicinity/

Lunched@Glory****http://www.sbestfood.com/glorycatering Nonya/Peranakan food. This SIN cuisine combines Chinese, Malay and other influences into a unique and tasty blending. Tkx to Rita for catching up and lunch! She heads back to Spain Sun. Safe journeys to her and hope that our paths will cross in 2012.

The cuisine of a country is the only exact attestation of its civilization – anonymous

24 Nov 2011 – Happy Turkey Day…

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111122-thanksgiving-2011-dinner-recipes-pilgrims-day-parade-history-facts/

On Thanksgiving, Pass the Pigskin

For many U.S. citizens, Thanksgiving without football is as unthinkable as the Fourth of July without fireworks. NBC Radio broadcast the first national Thanksgiving Day game in 1934, when the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

For a festive few, even turkey takes a backseat to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, originally called the Macy’s Christmas parade, because it kicked off the shopping season. The tradition began in 1924, when employees recruited animals from the Central Park Zoo to march on Thanksgiving Day.

Helium-filled balloons made their debut in the parade in 1927 and, in the early years, were released above the city skyline with the promise of rewards for their finders.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, first televised nationally in 1947, now draws some 44 million viewers-not counting the 3 million people who actually line the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) Manhattan route.

Thanksgiving weekend also boasts the retail version of the Super Bowl—Black Friday, when massive sales and early opening times attract frugal shoppers.

Whatever Thanksgiving may or may not mean, one can always be thankful for our blessings, not just today but everyday. Thankful that my immediate family have arrived safely to meet up in FL/USA. Will be thankful and looking forward to a family reunion with my extended family this Sat. To friends, appreciate and grateful for your friendship.

If you want to catch a feel good movie, go see Tower Heist where you can have glim to what the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan is about!

Happy Thanksgiving & Safe Journeys to all.

23 Nov 2011 – Goodbye Rochor Centre

Mon: lunch with Sebastian, a young man who someone thought is my bro, so have adopted him as a younger bro since the days of Oxley Rise, ie 12yrs ago! Seb lives@Rochor Centre (pix credits to CHENG Chee How), the HDB that are going down to make way for another highway. Hearing about the woes and complains of the Rochor Centre residences stirred up memories from childhood when family property was acquired (or rather axe!) in the 1960s and 70s! Seems like the old trick of ex-ing still continues to make ways to playgrounds for the super-rich…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/luxurytravel/8904481/Singapore-playground-of-the-super-rich.html

Pleasant spontaneous dinner with another young group, Aya, KiWi and Chee Hoew@Hong Kong Cafe***East Coast Park (app 10mins walk) from the flat where we return for dessert and Lakka! One comment about Chinese food, it always taste better than the looks, unlike Japanese food where presentation is important! Our choices of 3 noodles, 1 congee, 2 side dishes, 4 drinks was S$65, S$16 pp.

http://www.hkcafe.com.sg/

Tue: a movie buff catching 2 movies back to back. You are Apple of my Eye***sweetly entertaining about a bunch of  junior high school following them into the senior high school and University days. About friendship, bonding and love. Probably this movie is aim for the audience of the younger generation but there is a personal reminder to not let the  inner-child/Peter Pan in us die! So if you have the time, it is worth a watch.

Tower Heist***a contemporary Robin Hood where a group of hard-working guys find out they’ve fallen victim to a wealthy business man and they conspire to rob his high-rise residence. And of all days, Thanksgiving Day with the floats and the parade. Crime comedy starring Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, a cast who lured me to see it! Comedy and again worth it if time permits.

Tkx to Angela for arranging this get together dinner of classmates from early 1960s CHIJ/Victoria Street. The unpolished rice from Thailand with the Chinese liver sausages are yummy together (do not even mention diet and calories!) Lynne, great to catch up, safe journeys back to Cornwall. Hope that our paths will crossed somewhere and somehow in 2012.

Last night there were 3 grandmothers. 4 never married. I think the nuns showed us that you can have a happy life without marriage – anonymous 

21 Nov 2011 – A Compassionate & Humane Movie!

Fri: the German Film Festival took place all of last week but only managed to catch one movie on Fri. Tkx to AmyR we not only got to see this movie, we also got caught up with our latest happenings and gossips over dinner 🙂

Satte Farben vor Schwarz/Colours in the Dark**** Married for 50yrs, Anita & Fred can look back at a fulfilling past. Fred becomes terminally ill and takes some liberties, which Anita interprets as an affront and she starts to question their relationship. The last weeks in the life of a loving couple which concludes for me what I consider a humane ending, the freedom of choice! Beautiful and compassionate.

Sat: a stroll to the corner coffee shop( takes 3mins) for an ice-coffee/excellent local coffee with condensed milk  for S$1. Nasi lemak/coconut fragrant rice with chili, eggs and fish wrapped in banana leaf. Adding 2 pieces of otak-otak/minced fish wrapped in palm leaf and grilled. Yummy for S$2, total S$3. Eco-friendly eating and no washing up! (eat with hands) 🙂 🙂

Have been having problems to access the blog on and off, rather frustrating. Trying to rest and recover from one of the worst coughs ever experienced. These coughs take up so much energy 🙁

Sun: dinner with Clem (celebrating his new job) and his branch of the family. It is difficult to get everyone together, even in this branch. Bro Steven/Onn was out of town, sis-in-law Poh Kit is next to me in pix. Nieces and nephews Vince&Annie, Judy and Daisy are into their 40s and Clem will soon be 40!  The 3 grand nephews, Stanley (15), Darryl (12) and Andrew (4) are the ones who really make me feel my age.

Tkx Clem for including me@Redhouse Seafood/Robertson Quay***Appreciations to Daisy for driving me back to the East Coast.

Interesting places and trendy designs@Robertson Quay! Have an interesting and wonderful week ahead.

Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings – Jane Austen

16 Nov 2011 – Virgin, Orchids & Elephants!

What are the chances of receiving this LOL pix while reading about:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_733807.html

Held every 3 years the WOC is the largest event in the international orchid calendar. Returning to SIN after 48yrs, the 20th WOC themed Where Old and New World Orchids Meet. 12th uncle John LAM TinLeun was one of the pioneers in the orchid society here and would have enjoyed this show@Marine Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre/MBS.

Not being an orchid connoisseur, the posted pix caught my attention and not because they are winners. Just enjoy viewing them as I enjoy sharing and do not ask for names of orchids 🙂

Tkx to nephew Clement for lunch@MBS Food Court. The newly constructed walkway, Waterfront@Marine Bay from MBS to the business district is lined with Christmas trees. Will take pix of those one evening with the lights. Was pleasantly surprised with the elephants and other artworks. The 3 giant sensor fans are quite a novelty!

162 elephants are in SIN. These statues are decorated by celebrities and artists for Elephant Parade and is the largest open-air art exhibition solely dedicated to saving the Asian elephant.

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/11/10/162-elephants-head-to-singapore/

More artwork by the new Customs House. Somehow those benches do not look comfortable to sit on! Will edit this post another day when time and weather permit to linger checking for more details. Was glad that SIN 1st overhead bridge is reopened but do remember crossing that road with my father holding my hands in the 1950s 🙂 🙂

Pix below from 1960s. More pix down memory lane at the sites below. Would be very interesting to used those shots and try to get the exact angle for today. Next project… hahaha 🙂 🙂 🙂

http://www.slideshare.net/fluxguru/singapore-in-the-sixties

http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/tag/singapores-first-overhead-bridge/

Elephants and grandchildren never forget – Andy Rooney

14 Nov 2011 – The Kingdom of Happiness!

Watched a movie@Kallang Leisure Park, an interesting building. Tried the new Circle Line/yellow line from the Stadium station to Mountbatten, just one stop, but nice to be back in good, clean and efficient public transport (as long as NOT in rush hours!).

One Day***After one day together at a college graduation, Emma & Dexter begin a friendship that will last a lifetime. For the next two decades, key moments of their relationship are experienced over several times as they celebrate the day they met. Together and apart, we see Dexter and Emma through their friendship and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears.

Somewhere along their journey, these two people realise that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along and finally come to terms with the nature of love and life itself. A pleasant way to keep awake on a stormy rainy Mon afternoon!

Athena (http://amylamsg.com/2011/10/26/row-of-lights/) is now in Bhutan for 11 days. Imagine, need US$200 per day to be allowed there. Always wanted to visit this so-called Kingdom of Happiness…

but for US$250 (from 2012) per day and after reading Lucy TAN’s write-up, need to reconsider!!

http://singaporegirl.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/bhutan-shangri-la-with-a-price-tag
Looking forward to hearing from Athena and seeing the rest of her pix.  Below Bhutan pix credit to Athena.

Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health – Julia Child