The highlights of 2013!

It has been an awesome 2013! I'm not saying that it has been a total smooth sailing 2013, but I'm satisfied and happy with my 2013 on the whole :)

Before I start making resolutions for 2014, it's time for me to summarize my 2013. 

1) I joined the first ever marathon in my life, and from then on, my life has been changing for the better. Running was never easy for me, I mean for someone who hardly run at all to becoming someone who can complete a 10 km marathon. It's probably something which I will never regret doing! Even though there were times when I would question myself: "What am I doing at the starting line when everyone else is sleeping at home?" 

I'm very grateful, and will still be for the rest of my life, for everyone who were there to encourage or introduce me to join the marathons. 

2) My long awaited graduation trip to Taiwan with the fiancé because he finally graduated! And never did I know that my Taiwan blog entries were so well received by my readers :) 

3) My status changed from Single to Engaged!

Every time I pass by this place, the sweet memories of his proposal would come to my mind. I'm constantly reminded of how blessed and fortunate I am. :):) 

4) We had our first outdoor photoshoot. Though it may be a simple graduation + casual shoot, we had a great and tiring time exploring NTU for the last time. The shoot actually kind of prepared us for what to expect on our real wedding shoot.

5) I went to BKK to celebrate my birthday! 

It was my first time celebrating my birthday overseas. And if you're wondering that its unfair for Derp, you are absolutely wrong! Because we actually celebrated his birthday overseas twice! 

For the past 3 years, my birthday has always been clashing with his exam periods. Hence, we can't have any overseas birthday celebration on my birthday. That probably explains why I was so looking forward to this trip. :)

6) I've gotten my first ever new flat and they are ready!  I'll be getting my keys in the first week of 2014. A great start to 2014 isn't it? :)

7) In 2013,  I discovered, explored and blogged about many new places in Singapore, especially all the restaurants and cafes! Singapore may be small, but it is really not that boring, it's about making the effort to go hunting for new experiences and all the fun stuff. Trust me, usually at the end of the day, you'll find it all worthwhile. Oh and not forgetting, I've started reviewing all the various loots from online shopping. 

8) I've attended various Nuffnang events in 2013 (I haven't update the latest Nuffnang event yet). I'm more than happy to meet new people from this blogging sphere. :)

9) I've received mails from readers telling me how useful my blog posts were, and that really kept me motivated all these while to continue blogging!

That pretty sums up my 2013. Though 2014 has not arrive yet, I'm pretty sure it will be an exciting year for me! Looking forward to it! :)

Osaka Ohsho @ Westgate

Derp and I went to the newly opened Westgate for our Friday date night a few weeks back. It was during the week it first opened, hence we expected a massive crowd.

I reached there first and starting exploring Westgate on my own. Our original plan was to have Sushi Express, but the queue was just too long, so were the other eateries. I couldn't really decide on what to eat, so I waited for Derp to arrive before we make a decision together. 

As I was walking around in the mall, I spotted Paul Bakery. They had opened a cafe/restaurant in Westgate. They are known to have pretty good tarts and Derp loves them. I would love to go there one day to have their tarts and coffee though it's not cheap at all. I also spotted Four Fingers the moment I stepped into Westgate. It is not opened yet, but I'll be waiting patiently for it :)

There were lots of Japanese restaurants in Westgate. We settled our dinner at Osaka Ohsho since the queue wasn't as bad as the other restaurants. Osaka Ohsho is famous for their gyoza, and I was tempted to try them. 

They were having this 2 dollars off promo for their set meals which makes dining there an even more sensible choice at that moment. 

With this gigantic gyoza outside their restaurant, it's pretty obvious what their signature dish is. 

Their menu. And you would have realized most of their set meals come with gyozas! 

Lots of pretty artificial food on display outside the restaurant. 

They actually have the queue number system which will send you a SMS when your number is reaching soon. In the meantime, you can walk around first while waiting.  

I only took the number for fun, because at the end, I still need to queue up. The queue ain't that long and the staffs weren't asking people to get the queue number too, so I guess they haven't started using the system yet at that time.

The staff gave us an order form to tick the food we wanted. We handed in the form when we finally got our seat. And never did I know, there's actually an iPad menu at each of their tables :)

I ordered the Chicken Karaage Set. You won't believe this whole set costs only $10.90! It's totally worth it and the portion is damn huge! The chicken karaage meat was really crispy and juicy. 

I would have expect probably 2 piece of gyoza but nope, they gave you 6 pieces for every set meal you ordered! That's whopping a lot! 

Before tucking in to a super filling dinner. :)

 And no doubt, both of us didn't finish everything. We should have shared a set meal together. 

For our side dish, we ordered the meatballs which they kept advertising. And since there was the $2 off promo for these meatballs, why not? We didn't finish the meatballs and we felt that the meatballs were only so-so. 

Nothing really special about it and it's too much for 2 person. We got sick of it after like 2 meatballs per person. We still very much prefer the IKEA meatballs. 

Derp ordered the ramen set. It costs $11.90. 

I did try a spoonful, the noodles were not bad and the soup was lightly seasoned. Derp added in a lot of chilli powder and oil because he loves his ramen spicy! $11.90 for this ramen and gyoza is a good deal isn't it? :) 

My Friday date :)

Osaka Ohsho 

#03-09, Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive

We walked around Westgate after our dinner and spotted this reindeer on display! There's quite a lot of reindeer at different malls this year. 

And not forgetting to mention, the Isetan Supermarket at Westgate is heaven! It's just like the one at Taka basement. :) 

With the opening of Westgate, I guessed there's really not much of a need to head to town area to get your stuff if you're staying in the west. 

Ending this post with the xmas carebears I saw in Bishan Junction 8! 

Flea Party @ Lucky Plaza by For Flea Sake

Those who know me well enough probably know that I've got way too much clothes and a bursting wardrobe! It's time for me to clear them before I move to my new home. Some of the clothes have been there for 4-5 years, which are way out of season.

If you think that donating your pre-loved clothes away seems to be too much of a waste, the only way to earn back some $$ and clear as much unwanted clothes as possible are through fleas!

I've participated in fleas organised by forfleasake few years back, and it was held outside Queensway Shopping Centre. You can read more about it here, though I didn't write in-depth of what happened. But the sales that time was better than expected. I actually thought that it was quite an ulu place, but nevertheless, all those tents set up for the flea did a pretty good job attracting the shopper's attention.

After reading that the response for the flea at Lucky Plaze (Opposite Jollibee) was really good, I decided to ask Karen to share a booth with me. Since she's been reminding me to ask her along if I ever decided to join another flea. :) This time it was also organised by forfleasake.

Some preparation work we did for the flea / what to expect during the flea:

1) During my most recent BKK trip, I went to get plastic bags for the flea. I bought 1kg of transparent plastic bags just for the flea. It was really heavy to carry it all the way from BKK back to SG, but it was much cheaper there as compared to buying it from SKP locally. It's less than 5sgd for 1kg, the price of the plastic bags depends on the sizes you want too. 

You can find various types of plastics/paper bags in Platinum Mall Level 4, all the way left of the mall when you take the escalator up. There's one particular stall supplying all this plastic/paper bags. Do note that some patrons actually prefer to have opaque plastic bags rather than transparent ones!

2) I also bought some labels (Those with a big "SALE" word) from the same shop too, which costs around 50 cents per piece. 

3) Remember to bring a marker, A4 papers and masking tapes, so that you can write your price BIG BIG  to attract customers.

4) Most importantly, pack your clothes! I didn't bring the slightly more expensive dresses to the flea, so in the end, I simply sold all of them at the same price. Also because I had foreseen that the flea at Lucky Plaza would be kind of crowded and chaotic, hence to make things simpler, I decided to set all the clothes at the same price. 

5) Be prepared to cut down your prices as time goes by, unless you think you've earned enough from the flea. Stall vendors tend to cut down their price as the day progresses, so do be prepared for some friendly competition. 

6) Your target audience would be 95% maids. As I was selling my clothes at a really low price, I didn't really encounter customers bargaining for a lower price. Though most of them would find my price reasonable, there are still some that simply bargains for the sake of it. So be mentally prepared to face such customers!

7) Be there really early! 

Though it was stated that stall vendors can officially set up their stalls at 11:30am, the queue started to form as early as 10:30am. Karen and Kelvin were there early to have breakfast, but never did they know that there was already a queue. They decided to join the queue despite having left their flea bags in the car!  Derp and I went to take over them in the queue so that they can go grab their stuffs. 

As there were no official allocation of the stalls to you, you'll have to find your 'lucky' spot yourself. That explains why everyone was there early so as to get a better stall in terms of location.

The amount of people waiting to rush in to set up their stalls. And at 11:30am (the offical time to set up stall), the queue started to move really fast and you know it's time to grab a crate at a good location. We can't really see what's going on at the front, hence we're just blindly following the crowd. 

As I was preparing to unpack my flea bags, I've spotted quite a few potential customers camping around and waiting. And the moment I unzipped one of the bags, one of them actually reached in and pulled out a few pieces, and even started going through the bag on her own. For a moment there I was taken aback by their "kiasu-ness", but then I thought: "What the heck, let the 76th hunger games begin!", and I went on to tip the bag over and poured all of them out onto the crate. Lol! 

The stall on our left was probably the most happening one at the whole flea. They were selling clothes to raise funds for the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan survivors. Their clothes were going at the lowest price at the flea, hence they drew the most crowd. But since they were doing it for a good cause, we didn't blame them for attracting all the customers and spoiling the market (@ 6 pieces for $5). 

Kelvin + Karen started shouting to attract attention, gradually customers started coming over. In short, our area basically became the center of attention. Soon, more shouting were heard all over the flea market, there were moments when everyone got so high that it became more like a celebration. Lol. It was a new eye-opening experience for all of us.  

That's the crowd on the left of the photo flipping through the clothes from the stall on our left. 

You can probably spot some of them on a higher ground, those were the stall owners who were standing on chairs shouting in an attempt to attract customers. 

Karen and Kelvin were also standing on the chairs shouting, and waving our labels to attract customers. Whereas Derp and I were below juggling with the $$ and wrapping the items for them. 

At around 2-3pm, Derp and Kelvin went to get our lunch! 

8) There's KOI and Mcdonalds at the lower levels of Lucky Plaza, these 2 would probably be your saviors if you get thirsty or hungry. You wouldn't have time to sit down and enjoy some noodles or rice because of the busy crowd! Burgers and nuggets would be a more practical choice. The air-con was down that day, and hence we were all sweating like mad. A cold drink from Koi really saved our day :)

9) Another important thing, if you happen to have a sensitive nose, do remember to bring a mask along. When everyone starts flipping their old and dusty clothes around, you'll see more and more stall owners sneezing their noses off.

And if you're wondering how much clothes I brought to the flea.. Here it is..

                               

I've actually intended to bring another bag of clothes, but considering the fact that Derp and I am going to take a train down, and we have to walk all the way to Lucky Plaza, It's better for us to leave a hand free. There can always be a next flea. :)

The amount of clothes left from the flea, probably less than 10 pieces 

I still have another few bags of clothes left to clear. For the next flea, I'm still deciding to join the flea at Lucky Plaza again or go back to Queensway Shopping Centre.

The crowd at Lucky Plaza is definitely the best but don't expect to get much profit, unless you join the Saturday's flea instead of Sunday's. The fee of joining a flea at Lucky Plaza is also much higher as compared to Queensway Shopping Centre. I shall see what are the rates again and decide then!

Can't wait to clear all my remaining clothes! There seems to be an endless pieces of clothes to clear from my wardrobe!

You can find out more on the various flea markets around Singapore at For Flea Sake.

Xmas Eve 2013 @ Exit Plan

One fine day in the office, probably many months back, Karen prompted me whether I heard of this very new and in thing called Escape Artist? And I replied her something like ya! ya! I've seen quite a few friends who went to play and it seems quite fun yet scary. 

Both of us were totally clueless what this whole thing is all about, but we figured out that it's probably solving something within a given time frame and escape from the room. It doesn't sound easy at all because we've seen people failing the mission and stuff like that. 

So, I went to ask the rest of the colleagues if they were steady about trying it for our yearly Xmas gathering. We've been complaining for the longest possible time that our gatherings should not be just plain eating and talking. Everyone was keen to find out what this whole new concept of game is all about. 

The era of board games seems to be over and now this reality games room seems to be getting a lot more attention.

Just 2 weeks before Xmas, we finally got to know our company's plans for Xmas Eve, which was to watch Hobbit 2 at The Cathay before releasing us to go enjoy our Xmas Eve. 

I chanced upon Exit Plan on Groupon, and noticing that it was at Chinatown, it seems like we got chance to finally try this reality games room. It's not easy getting everyone out on the weekends, hence we can only make use of this kind of after-company-event opportunity to gather everyone together. Dhoby Ghaut and Chinatown are just a few stops away, so its quite convenient for us to go after our movie event.

I checked their website to see what are the available time slot left. They were actually quite fully booked for the month of December because of their Groupon deal. But anyway, booking your time slot need not include your voucher number on the Groupon deal. Hence, the booking process is quite hassle-free.

I booked the time slot first before getting the Groupon vouchers. That's because some of my colleagues are unable to confirm their attendance with me till the very last minute, but at the same time I'm afraid that the time slot we wanted is being booked by others. I needed to be kiasu and so I went ahead to chop the time slot with the confirmed no. of pax first.

At any point, you wish to cancel/change/edit your booking, you can simply login to do so. It's really very hassle-free. :) 

Just as I was going to buy the Groupon deal, it was SOLD OUT! I remember seeing that there's still like 5 days left or so, but when I went back to see again, it was SOLD OUT! Anyway, all of us were pretty alright to go ahead without the Groupon Deal since we really wished to try. :)

We reached there 15 minutes before our time slot which is pretty good. We were all pretty breathless after climbing the stairs up to their shop, hence we need some time to cool ourselves down. Not forgetting the fact that we are feeling kan cheong cause we don't know what to expect. 

The friendly and professional staffs briefed us on the rules and regulations and etc. We locked our valuables into their lockers and our bags were left with the counter staffs, since their lockers isn't big enough for all of our bags. We were a team of 7 people. 

We chose to try the Zombie Apocalypse. The scare factor was the highest among their other rooms. Seriously, we really thought that there would be real zombies coming out to scare us or whatsoever, just like walking those haunted house at Sentosa during Halloween. But nah, we think too much lol! The focus here was to escape from the room within the given time frame and not to scare us/making us scream and run all over the place. 

As the clock starts to count down, we started trying to solve all the missions inside. The staffs had told us many times to think out of the box but we were too used to think within the box, hence we were stuck for pretty long at first.

We managed to solve till the last puzzle before the time was up. We requested for 10 minutes extension (for $12) but to no avail, we were still stuck at the same part. We were so close in getting it and just when CQ spotted some more clues, It was all too late, the staff had came in to wrap things up.

He went on to trigger our thinking a little more and we eventually solve the last part. At the very least, we were not left hanging there thinking "so what's the answer??"

Kudos to the great service by the staffs at Exit Plan. They were really friendly, patient and helpful :) We had a great time there even though we felt as though we had no more brain juice left after the 50+10 minutes session.

Group pictures taken by the staff. 

We've seen couples trying to challenge the Zombie Apocalypse. It's a good activity to try it with your partner during this festive season if you've no idea what to do yet! It can also serves as a good gathering/bonding events among your friends :)

Though we did not buy the Groupon Voucher, we ended up paying the same price as the Groupon voucher! That's because they are having this promo price for the whole month. Not sure till when but it's still on till further notice. Perhaps you can call to check with them before going down.

And trust me, this is probably one of the more convenient reality games room to visit as compared to the others in Singapore. Derp and I are actually thinking to go back try their other games room when we are free!

ExitPlan

279 New Bridge Road #03-01 Singapore 088752

Achievements of 2013

As 2013 is coming to an end, it's time to sit down and look back what has happened this whole year. 

The first run I joined this year was the Nike She Run. I happily chanced upon the registration for the race after seeing one of my friends sharing on facebook. There's this buddy deal going on, it's cheaper if you sign up with another friend. 

I happily jio-ed Karen and she kindly agreed. I was thinking "wah Nike run! Sounds good to go since the event t-shirt and finisher t-shirt will be Nike Brand" Come to think of it, if she didn't agree to join with me, I will still probably be unfit and flabby all this time. So peers support plays a great role! :)

It was just a 5km run, no harm joining, even if you can't run, it will take you probably an hour or so to finish it. Sometimes, you just need to have this kind of thinking and you will see yourself accomplishing something bigger each time. Trust me, it works. Don't need think so much, just do it and you will see yourself at the finishing line even if it takes 1 hour or more of your time.

I didn't really trained that much, just basically 2.4km everytime I go jogging. I could not even run up to 3.6km at that time. It kills me to run that much at that point of time. Now, 3.6km/4.8km is my normal mileage everytime I go jogging.

Derp kindly agreed to accompany go for my first run. Though the organiser screw up big time, the race started late and the human traffic was equally bad, I completed it and never regretted joining it in the first place. The sense of achievement you get, is something which you can never get elsewhere. 

After completing my first 5km, I signed up for Jurong Lake Run 2013, I chose the 6km run over the 10km run because I was not at all confident for the 10km run. 

It was my first race that I went alone because I didn't asked Derp to accompany me since it was really near my house. I will be back home without him knowing.

It was a well organised run with beautiful scenery that I will never expect in Jurong area. One of the runs I tell myself to join every year and I'll be going for the 10km next year. 

The run was after the haze period, I'm glad that the race wasn't postpone or cancelled. Because I myself thinks that a little bit of haze won't kills. It's better than running behind someone who is smoking. #fact

Having to complete a 6km run, it was time to challenge myself again to a longer distance. 

Derp and I happily joined the Kranji Coutnry Side Run. The 8km was cancelled due to the heavy rain. It was on the same day as Adidas's KOTR. 

It was an eyeopener and our first time visiting there. It would be cool to run there but too bad it was cancelled.

Such unforeseen circumstances were bound to be expected at ever race, oh well there will always be next time. 

We happily went to sign up for the CCK Big Farm Walk and Run 2013. It was yet another 8km run. Best part, it costs us $8. It's near our place and there's shuttle bus from our place to the starting point. Seriously, why not? 

I still remember I asked Derp while we were waiting at the starting point "what are we doing here when the rest of them are sleeping at home?" That's because I was yawning like mad before the race start. Many a times, I asked myself this question, especailly during morning run. I will probably scold myself and tell myself " I ownself find one, I can't blame anybody"

After scolding myself, I still went to sign up for more runs in the end. I know it's pretty contradicting.

After all this while, I've learned to spot the camera and pose for it. But sometimes, I'm just too tired and the picture will turn up super unglam. And also I learned that by wearing a cap during your run, makes you look less unglam haha! Even during a night run, I will wear a cap too to prevent my hair from flying everywhere.

So I've completed, 5km, 6km, 8km, next up will be 10km! 

Great Eastern Women Run was one of the run with the most women joining it. It was my first 10km. It's as good as reaching another milestone, challenging myself again and again.

It was going to rain that morning and it started to drizzle while I'm running. It was a good run afterall and I'm satisfied with my timing. Derp was there supporting me with his umbrella :). Super touched from the bottom of my heart, it's better than those expensive gift okay? 

My last race of the year was Run Happy 2013. A leisure and non competitive race. 

I ran alongside with Derp and it was more shag that running Great Eastern. Our timing was pretty bad, but since it's the last race of the year, nth much to complain about or be sad about. I'm glad that I've completed all this race for this whole year. 

I never expect myself to go this far and I aim to go even further in time to come.

From someone who hasn't been running for the longest possible time,  at least for 7-8 years. It was not easy to pick up running again. But I'm glad I did and preserve on, there are days where I feel tired/lazy/grumpy and just do not wish to run, but I went ahead. Timing might not be the most ideal, I can only tell myself to try again next time. It's better than sitting at home waiting for fats to miraculously disappear. 

Less than 2 months to the start of my first 2014 run, looking forward to it. 

Babies, Babies and more Babies!

I know the title may somewhat sounds misleading, but I had a baby-fied(I made this word up myself) weekend few weeks ago.

First up, it was Prof's Wesley baby shower. He was Derp's FYP professor and also my networking tutorial teacher in my final year in NTU.

I will never forget how enthusiastic he is when it comes to teaching. He will make sure everyone of us understand the tutorial questions in depth before moving on. He have his own sets of tutorial answers which are different from the standard answers. 

He will present his tutorials solutions in such a way, to help us understand it easily and makes it less painful for us. I still remember the bunch of us went over his room to copy down the tutorial answers because he can't distribute the answers online. It's all worth it because it helps us to understand so much better.

I recommended Derp to choose him as his FYP professor. Derp did really well for his FYP and he's probably one of Prof Wesley's A* student. Other than being his FYP professor, he often care about Derp's academic results and encouraging him on. He was there for Derp's convocation and requested to take a photo with Derp for keepsake purposes.

We are really happy that he's a father now. Though he has more commitments now, we believe he will be a good father. We are more than willing to be there for his baby shower. And not forgetting, he's our future neighbor when we move to Seng Kang! Looking forward to see his family again and baby Qiao En soon :)

Enough said, pictures time!

Decided to dress up a little on a Saturday since I'm going to a prof's baby shower haha! 

#OOTD - Hearts all over the world tonight dress from BKK. I name it that because the heart shape prints are just all over the dress and it was love at first sight for this dress.

A close up of the dress.

My red armswag that day was bought during my recent trip to BKK. It was bought at a street stall in BKK. I hardly wear any armswag but I see that it matches my nails, bag and shoes, so I wore it out. :)

The baby shower was held at a pavilion in Bedok South. I've been there before because it's really near to Esther's place. Too bad Esther wasn't home, if not we would probably pop by to see Kyler since it's been sometimes we see him.And that would makes the no. of babies I met that weekend to 4. Now you know why I say I've a baby-fied weekend.

The catering area. 

It's the first time I went to a baby shower in a open space. The pavilion is pretty cooling and spacious. 

Prof Wesley's wife is currently doing confinement at her mother's place hence they chose this pavilion to hold the baby shower. The house is a walking distance from the pavilion, hence when it comes to changing diapers and etc, it isn't tat bad. And the couple need not carry all the baby stuff with them to the baby shower.

Catering by Elsie's Kitchen 

The food was not bad though I still prefer Angeli.

Say Hi to Qiao En! 

She's one of the rare babies who I met during baby showers, who is wide awake. Most of them are usually sleeping. 

A group shot before we left..

Prof Wesley in the superman t-shirt, his TP colleagues, his current fyp student followed by us. 

Yummy Pinegarden's Cakes given by Prof Wesley. He generously gave each of us a box before we left. 

Pinegarden's cakes are defintely in my list when comes to choosing cakes for Guo Da Li. :)

We also popped by the newly opened Bedok Mall that day since we are in the vicinity. Quite a number of shops have already opened as compared to West Gate. Will blog about my trip to West Gate soon :)

Emme's 1st birthday was on the next day. It felt as though she was born not long ago. Time flies since 12.12.12. Now, she knows how to stand and walk wobbly with aid. Sooner or later, she'll be running around! Glad to see her growing up fast and healthily. 

I was tasked to help Karen get the Happy 1st birthday balloon pumped up. Lester came over to drive Derp and I over to Serangoon North, Thanks to Lester, if now we will have to carry the balloon all the way via train.

#OOTD - Easy Breezy Ruffled Tank by Hollyhoque and Emme's Balloon. The balloon is too cute to resist not to camwhore with haha!

It was a small event hence there were more than enough food for everyone. The yummy food was from Angeli and we went to take more than 1 round. I'm so going to hire them for my housewarming next time :)

The cute baby shower favours. We packed home quite a few tubs because there were pretty lots of leftovers. I reused the container to store my stuffs in office :)

After Emme's party, we headed over to Punggol to visit Derp's colleague newly renovated place.  His colleagues greeted us with his 4 months old baby girl. His cute daughter melts our heart when we first see her.We didn't went for the babyshower because we went for STGCC.

We were pretty pai seh to trouble people on a Sunday to let us view his place. So we bought some gifts for his baby girl. One of which is the pooh bear below. :)

His colleague kindly lend us his measuring tape and we went around his house to start visualizing our own house. His colleague's house layout is almost 90% same as our house. We do learn quite a bit from his colleague after he brought us around the house explaining to us the different materials and stuff like that. Really grateful for that.

We didn't stay that long either so as to let the family of 3 enjoy the rest of their Sunday together.

The pooh bear we gave her haha! This picture totally makes our day even up till now because she's such a sweetheart. 

That's all for my baby-fied weekend! Hope all this cute little babies photo brighten up your day as much as they do to me :)