But First…

I miss this place sooo much!

I’ve got so much to yap about but work has been taking over me that all I did was blog in my head.

Yesterday, I had a fun day out with Filzah and something about that yesterday’s good mood spills over to today giving me some extra energy to blog this (or it might be that Macadamia Nut Piccadilly Cookie that I just had, or that afternoon nap, hehe)

One thing about us is that, we don’t meet up as often as schooldays. I mean, we’re neighbours, I could just open my door, and she, her brother’s window and we ‘already meet’. 

Last weekend, we actually met up, spent the entire night talking away and to meet again on the next weekend is like, Fuhhh! Achievement unlocked!

But between last week and this week, somethings just keep popping up that face to face meet up was due.

I cannot refuse good company on a weekend after long week of work.


As usual, we debated where to have lunch. We wanted to avoid Bugis and the array of good cafes there because of the crowd.

In the train halfway through our journey, I suggested Kucina, an Italian restaurant which was somewhat nearer and not in Bugis and lo and behold, we had a good time in that little corner that the waiter seated us.

As we finished our meal, we discussed where to have our dessert, right there or elsewhere.

Because we were vain that weekend and wanted to take pictures in Bugis (good OOTD spots yall), we decided to relocate ourselves.

But the fun part!

As we were slowly getting ready to leave, we were approached by a guy who was a friend of the restaurant owner who wanted to make sculptures out of balloons for us. We wanted to turn it down initially because, walking around with a ‘toy’ would pretty much be an inconvenient.

But scrap that crazy thought! How dare we… 

He offered to make annnnyyythhhinnngggg… I mean, he asked me what my favourite animal was and me being cheeky, I wanted to say Cheetah. Bahahaha. But, let’s not be rude.

So I ended up with this cute Bunny.

Before I show you my cute Bunny, let me show you his bag of deflated balloons. I was spoilt for choices of colours 😍😭.

Only if you don’t take my food, we can be friends.

Now I gotta live with the burden of Rabbit being my favourite animal in this world. πŸ™ŠπŸ™ˆ

Halfway making it, he stopped for a while and said, ‘I’m going to make this less kiddy for you,’ woohoo! One Tiramisu for a guy with sense and skills please!

As we exchanged conversations, turns out he’s day job is an Industrial Psychologist and this is his part time job to channel his creative energy and spread joy to less fortunate children. Bless this brothaa yaww!

As we were packing, he already moved on other customers, like…  real kids, and I saw that that little girl got a dragonfly! 😡😡😡

I want that pretty dragonflyyyy! 

But a little glare from Filzah, settles everything. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

😍🀘

At Bugis, we wandered around at the hipster OOTD hotspot – Haji Lane – and turns out it was pretty packed that we decided nope on it.

So we snapped somewhere nearby before heading to the historical yellow building – Malay Heritage Centre.

Something’s missing.

My new friend… I could get used to you πŸ˜‚

Let’s go to the next spot.

And the next one…

Check for anything that will hurt and poke you….and if not,

The last time we were here (this area), Filzah said, ‘OMG. You’re such a tourist in this place,’ when I told her I’ve never been to that stretch of road….and few other streets, haha!

😬😬😬

Can easily find Muffin Man in London but nope, not the Malay Heritage Centre.

Don’t worry…after yesterday, I already know that place πŸ’πŸ’πŸ’

Come on yo, we’ve lost daylight already.

After which, when the sun sets, we made our way to the dessert shop. (This one cannot give up.)

Her Injeolmi and my Cheesecake Bingsu.

Continued our conversations there, sang few songs, made fun of few photos, hit the mall and afterwards head back home.

As we reached home, I told her that I was already a liiiiittttlllllleeeee hungry.

I got this reaction.

BAHAHAHAHA.

I mean, technically, our desserts were water…only a little solid πŸ’

Then this happened.

At midnight, in our less flashy clothes, we head out for another Prata session to end our day and continued where we left off.

πŸ˜‚

We concluded that that day, our outing were mainly food cause even when we hit the mall, we didn’t spend a single thing.

The power of food, never belittle it guys. It bonds people.


Can’t wait to wrap up the project that I’m working on! More blogposts will be up then.

Till then… Hope your weekend has been good!

Fashion Dad, Fashion

Earlier this week, as I stepped outside of my room, my nose caught a whiff of tobacco smell.

‘Ahhhhhhh….Pops is up.’ …and true enough my dad was at the hall, on his phone – parents these days… Tsk. No ‘good morning’ nothing. BAHAHA.

So I greeted him with a ‘morning yo!’ and his sweet reply was…

Dad: Where are you going?

😳

Errr…

Me: Office? Why? What made you ask me that?

Dad: You’re going office likeΒ thaat?

Me: *scans self up and down* At least I did not forget to put my pants on…. Like one (or few) times back *

Me: What’s wrong with my outfit?

Dad: Why are you wearing trackpants to work?

Me: * stops twirling * (Yes I twirl around. Even. In. The. Morning.) It’s not trackpantsΒ laaaaa. It’s just a pants.

Then…

Me: * Leaving the house *

Dad: *Dad glanced at me one more time* Eh, I think something is wrong with your top. One is longer than the other.

Me:

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😳😳😳*Smacks Self*😳😳😳

ItΒ is meant to be like thaaaatt…..

Dad: Oh, I thought something went wrong with it. Kids these days… ‘crooked’ clothes also wear…

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

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Errr… I think I look pretty decent, if not chic.

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And then we have someone like my dad that diss Michael Jackson’s fashion and goes ‘… Trackpants…’

Clearly my dad is out of touch with fashion. Time for a little trip to Zara with him maybe!

Raya Eve: My neighbourhood is better than yours

Last Eid, I had no fun story to tell.

I was just in England from the start of Ramadhan till the end of Syawal. With 19 hours of fast daily, trust me, the most exciting part of the day for me is that I get to pray Asr even at 9pm.

Here? No chance guys. 9pm in Singapore = Witr prayers already. BAHAHAHAHA.

Anywho,Β alhamdulillah, this year, I got to fast in 4 cities –

Home (Singapore).

Dubai.

The city which took care of me for 2 years.

London, and last but not least…

Pareeeeeee! (Paris) before heading back to SG.

5 cities, Oops!

But! That’s not the point of this post… The last time I was home for Eid was 2015. While I was wondering what happened that year, my blogpost reminded me. This was what I did for Eid 2015.

When I read again, I just went, OMGGGG….. How much bimbotic can I get? Haha. Was fun though.

But this year’s Eid eve has been different.

I started the day with going for a site walk which I forced myself to sign up. Cause last week, someone wasted one of her two weekend day by waking up at half past 5.Β πŸ˜±πŸ˜‚Β #gonecase that day. >.<

The site is non other than Singapore’s pioneer “community centre” – The ‘Our Tampines Hub’ aka Tampines Town Hub.

My cousins have been telling me how big this new hub is and how impressed they are by this place. I also have some colleagues who don’t even live in this estate that have swung by this place. Of course, then there’s me. Who can’t even find my way there. Tsk.

So! Since such a wonderful opportunity came up, I better grab this chance.

Not to mention, I love site walks. You get to discuss the practical architecture. What was initially designed, why it happened and why some parts aren’t successful. Basically, what goes behind something.

Phase 3 out of 4, will be officially open next week, I think, but, since most of my lovely readers are not in Singapore, I guess, I’ll just share it here!Β πŸ˜ƒ

As we were walking around the building, let’s just say, I’ve never felt proud to callΒ Tampines, my estate.

I mean, how often do you have

Bracing game strong.

FIFA comply soccer field with 5000 seating capacity, like, 5-8 minutes drive away from your place? I mean, I know I don’t kick no balls, but I can start? (maybe, HAHA.)

Nice VIP Lounge btw. Digging the new and shiny sofa and lamp.

See, this is what I mean by behind the scenes pictures. They’re so much more meaningful than the polished and finished end product!

Does your estate also provide you with a place where you can run

What a view guys.

Around the building, internally, at rooftop level?

705m too?

Look at these houses… I bet they smell money. Hahahaha. The boom in property price here is gonna be no joke yall.

20 Badminton courts!

Tennis courts.

Gonna pause here for a bit.

See those girls in blue uniform? Those were my Primary School uniform. I was so excited to see them but when I saw the logo of their uniform – which was not my Primary School – it left me a little upset. Hahahaha.

It so happened that they had a Table Tennis competition that day with athletes from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The last logo you see right at the extreme left on that glass balustrade….. is the flag that supports wheelchair bound athletes.

I was MIND.BLOWN. We even saw them at the back competing. Twas very heartwarming.

We also have rooftop garden which allows community to grow crops.

When I heard this, I just went Β ‘Β uhuh. Let’s see how long this can lastΒ ‘at the back of my mind. I mean, growing crop in this country? Any idea what climate we’re living in? Effort sounds moot tbh.

As if she could read my mind, the architect went, ‘ You would’ve think that, how long and successful this community project can be like, right? Planting food. But …. actually it is pretty successful. Last week, one of the stakeholder actually gave me a bag ofΒ KangKong that was planted here.’

Keep impressing me guys. I’m loving this place more.

Next, is my FAAAVOURITE PART!

The….

Pool! I love pools. I love water. 😍😘

This is the Jacuzzi. The glistening water on a sunny fasting morning.

Had to hold myself back from jumping in one of the many pools. #mustbedecent

8 lane adult pool with Barrier Free Access (BFA). Basically wheelchair bound people, can easily access this pool.

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Kids pool and wading pool.

and last but not least,

Indoor competition pool. There’s two of it actually. One further at the back.

Lower seats for people involved and upper seat for spectators.

Rain or shine, feel free to compete here!

Breakout space. Cause we Singaporeans love breakout space.

And of course, if you talk about Tampines Town Hub… You can’t miss out mentioning

Festive Plaza. This hugee porous space for events. Since its Ramadhan, the monthly bazaar that’s usually held outside the train station is moved to here. To be honest, it’s so much more nicer, and cleaner.Β πŸ‘

Of course I missed it. Only made it there last day of Ramadhan 😝. But I’ll be back fo sho. So many Halal food place here.

The atrium is pretty big that our basic question was, ‘How do you keep this atrium fire compartmented?’ Cause we don’t see any sprinklers running across.

Ehem *clears throat* allow me to share with you the answer. It’s interesting.

Instead of the conventional sprinkled system, this building uses, ah, crap can’t remember what it’s called. Either ‘Smoke Monitor System’ or ‘Water Monitor System’. Should be the former, I think. What happens with this system is that it uses laser and scan for smoke from this metal panel on its opposite end.

If you refer to the picture above, you’ll see a small square box on the black strip near the highest floor’s escalator.

When it detects any smoke, from fire, it’ll send a signal to the water cannon, and the water cannon will move to the designated affected area and immediate shoot out water directly to the fire.

HOW COOL IS THAAAAT!?

Oh, if you look at the picture above, on the right, you’ll see two small box, again, on the black strip. That’s the water cannon, chilling prettily until something happens.

Nothing beats old school song and some modern english song for Raya event.

The bazaars that I missed. Sighhh…

But it’s okay, I’ll just be back

For you know, KFC or Pizza Hut.

Thanks for photobombing, Uncle!

πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

So there you go! How d’you like Tampines now? I love it even more though I don’t know when I’m popping by again. Bahahaha.

I must say that today has been very fruitful.

Woke up for site visit, went to my tailor to alter my dress for tomorrow’s visiting (yes, living up to my middle name of ‘last minute’), spring cleaning my room – like I said, last minute queenΒ πŸ˜‚, napping and getting a hair cut! Yes, hair cut!

The only I couldn’t squeeze in is painting.Β πŸ˜ͺ

By the time I wanted to paint, it’s already midnight and this post is priority. Not to mention, gotta be up bright and early tomorrow. So no paint-paint sesh tonight.

Anywho, I hope you’ve enjoyed this lengthy post and leave this post with a little more information.

To all my muslim readers, I wish you

Selamat Hari Raya or Eid Mubarak or both, whichever you prefer, haha.

To my non-muslim readers, I hope you get a good break out of this long weekend to recharge.

πŸ’š

Again.

Didn’t rain but I made it back!

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​Hello Muffin Man! Oh how I’ve missed you.

This time round, I went back alone. No sister cousin shenanigans whatsoever. Just me, my empty stomach, my huge appetite and I.

When I arrived there, possibly 10 in the morning, it was pretty much full. Since I was alone, I was ushered to the table for 2 which coincidentally is the very. same. table. I. Sat. At. With. My. Cousin. *I miss her already.*

So I sat at the same seat pretending that my cousin is in front of me. Nothing some imagination can’t fix *blows nail* Ordered my same favourite sandwich and the same ol’ same ol’ scone set.

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​The tea blooms in the pot guys. I be jakun like that.

As I sat calmly, enjoying the start of my day, a chinese lady walked in, alone. Sitting in front of my table, facing me.

After few bites of my sandwich, our eyes met and we smiled at each other.

Since I’ve warmed up my mouth with that mini chewing session, I figured that now’s the right time to make full use of this chatty lips.

So with a smile, when our eyes met, I said ‘Hi,’ followed by ‘Where are you from?’

Holy Moly… Turns out we’re from the same motherland.

This is a big news for me. Throughout my uni days, I’ve not met a single Singaporean. Forreal. Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneians were so easily found that I started wondering where all my homies be at.

Anywho, as the cafe got a little more packed, I sat with her and we had Β lovely conversations.

Shan’t dive more into it but we had conversations from travelling to drug store make up.

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Food just bonds people, I swear. Nice meeting you Daphne!

 

Gotcha Back

Merry morning errone! Before anything else, allow me to wish Ramadhan Mubarak to all my fellow Muslim and Non-Muslim readers. From Facebook videos, I see so many Non-Muslims try fasting along with their Muslim friends. Seeing these videos just. warms. my. heart. Yall THORBEST!

Secondly, this post is about to get bimbotic. If you’re looking for a distressing material, then you’re in for a treat!

Last late summer, when I went back to Singapore, for good, I bought a return ticket, because it’s cheaper. #ilovediscounts. For the longest time ever, I thought of just burning the return ticket because, hmmm, most of my uni friends would’ve been back in their respective country, I’ve nothing to buy and of course, I’m just crazy!

Turns out Ashley extends her stay for Masters and working in a windowless office just made me cancel my crazy thought.

Y’know what? I’m getting on that plane!

Ramadhan or not. Summer or not. I’m gonna be back.

So. I’m back. And thisss…. Is another story of my journey back here.


When the receptionist said, ‘Dinner is ready,’ this girlfriend just whooshed all the way in to the buffet table. I was hungry and shivering by then actually, haha *drama but true*. All the Mee Soto energy used up and burned during terawih. *flips telekung*.

There really is no prize for guessing which dish was grabbed first.

All comfortable and ready for flight!

Of course, as always, tskk… hang on, let me calm myself *breathe in*breathe out*, whenever I take Gary along with me for flights, he gets allllllll the attention. Excuse me! The one that talks is here! *waives hand frantically*

You may get all the attention from the stewardess but you ain’t getting my food bruhh. πŸ˜ˆ

Gotta be honest, I felt guilty afterwards. Before flying, all the way to landing, I was just, stuffing myself. Ramadhan ain’t about feasting deyyy!

Then, Dubai happened. The projected estimated time to get to my boarding gate or lounge was 30 minutes. *smirk* Pleasseeee, I’ll make it there in 15, thanks. So, I made my way to the next terminal, to the same lounge I’ve always gone through, which takes about 20 minutes from the aircraft, only to be told, they’ve shifted lounge.

The staff kindly showed me where the position of my gate is and where the nearest lounge for me is. With a little directional instruction, I thanked her and went down again.

*15 minutes later*

Arrived at the second lounge, only to be told that that lounge is far from my boarding gate’s lounge.

Again, they whipped out their pen and make little notes for me. We could totally save that ink and put me on a buggy maybe? But of course no.

Gotta go down again, and down again and walk straight ahead for another 10-20 minutes. (Really? At this rate, I might just end up at the Earth’s crust.)

*15 minutes later*

By the time I arrived at the third lounge, I was already a little grumpy and heaty. It does not help that the entrance of the lounge was quite dark. Can’t even see the receptionist properly. Tskk. I was about to go, ‘Pleaseee tell me that this is the right place,’ but the receptionist beat me to it, ‘You can use this lounge, just that it’s a little further to your gate and the lounge nearer to your gate is newer and nicer.’

Well, I did not arrive at THREE lounges to settle for something less πŸ˜‚.

This girlfriend had to walk further fuurrthherrr fuuuuuuuurrtttthhhheerrr down and finally! AT THE FOURTH LOUNGE, I got the right place!

Any more further I might just end up right back in Singapore. πŸ˜¬

With a light heart, I asked the receptionist my standard question, ‘Which way to the prayer room?’

She smiled and said, ‘We don’t have one here….’

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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.Image result for munch scream original

Source: Google Images

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

‘…. but we can provide a space for you.’

I. WAS. ABOUT. TO. LOSE. IT.

Forget about the long walk that I had, this new lounge, which serves everything halal on board and ground and has prayer rooms in every other lounges, even in Singapore(!) does not have it here in their LOCAL. NEW. LOUNGE.

Excuse, errr… wha-a-whats going on here?

But, okay, fine, I’ve got time and no reason to be upset.

So, I went to the ladies, which was alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way at the other end, another very much morning walk session, only to find that they only have one shower cubicle which I lost to another lady for doing my business first. Even Singapore has two, βœŒοΈ, shower cubicles.

Who is the architect, interior designer and person in charge who approves of this arrangement!?

They could build Burj Khalifa in this country but not extra shower facilities and a prayer room. I wouldn’t be complaining if this is a Non-Muslim majority country.

Sigh, I rest my case.

-end of rant-

So here I am, all comfy with my laptop, blogging about this, being grateful about life again. Truly, God tests the ones He love. He loves me sooo much that He uses this airline to keep my health in check for all the nonsense that I’ve stuffed myself with.

BAHAHAHAHA. I really hope you’ve not wasted your time reading this.

😝