Home cooked meal

Home cooked meals are hard to come by on Fridays, we usually dine out or back to MIL's place. Since I took the afternoon off today I decided to prepare a simple & hearty meal to start the weekend. Bought miso mackarel (saba) - not taken in the photo because it was slightly burnt - and we liked it. Also on the table was Tasmanina grown blue mussels. It's a bit pricey at $26 for 1kg but was well worth paying for. The label says, 'Fresh, live mussels packed in life-long trays beds. and gotta wake them before cooking'. Oh well... cooked it in garlic and white wine base and it was what I expected it to be, restaurant quality; I mean the mussels. It was succulent.

Definitely going for more of the saba and mussels, but at least 1-2 months later. Now, I'm full, slightly tipsy and ready to hit the sack and gear up for a full day of studying tomorrow before heading off for David Tao's concert. Hooray!!!

So long... farewell...

Was at Jumbo (Kallang branch) last evening for colleague's farewell. We ordered quite a bit of food but nothing was left to waste. Was disappointed with the quality of their crabs and they were too generous with salt & pepper. Surprisingly, the seafood tofu and some omlette thingy they ordered far exceeded my expectations. Overall rating 3 stars.

After dinner we adjourned to K-Box at Kallang Leisure Park for karaoke. This is my second visit to K-Box after the last one in Dec. I'm shy when it comes to singing infront of a group, be it family or close friends, because I cringe when I hear my voice over the speaker. But friends who have heard me - on rare occassions - said I can sing quite well... ahem.

Can't wait for Sat to come as I'm going for David Tao's concert! I'm not his fan per se but I do appreciate his talent for music. I'll see if I can take some photos to share. I'll try.

Hi and Goodbye

Yesterday was the last day of my ex-colleague who had to leave immediately after tendering her resignation, because she will be joining a competitor. It's the norm in our industry because moi too has been there done that recently. It's obvious such rules are stipulated to stop the employee from downloading/accessing company info, database, etc. However, do employers not realize that if the soon-to-be ex-employee has plan to leave with the much needed info it can be done way before and not after the letter has gone in?? It's so ridiculous

Anyway, I'm happy for her because those who have left are much happier in their current job. Yes, I'm speaking for myself, too. As far as I'm aware they have yet to fill up the 'missing' positions as fast as the turnover rate. I say, good luck

Hubby's back today. Let's see if there are any surprises in stall for me besides F&B. He called to say there's Zara in the hotel's shopping mall so that really got me jazzed up ; )))

Berry good... Berry nice

On my second day at work boss asked if I mind carrying a blackberry and I said ok. Weeks passed and I dun see no berry so thought I'm safe. Then, something eventful happend over the weekend and the next thing I know the berry is on its way. Let's hope I won't be like the many BB users who are literally glued to the hardware checking for mails every other minute. However, I do appreciate the convenience it brings should something eventful happen again. Fingers crossed!

Spent an hour today after lunch catching up with colleagues, in the pantry - the regular 'make a cuppa & info exchange' section. It started with regular topics and then went on to everyone's favourite topic... ghost stories. It's amazing the things that you hear esp on personal encounters. One of them mentioned about the feeling of being pinned down, which then brings me to my numerous experiences at Mom's place. I enjoy napping in Bro's room whenever I'm home in the afternoon and the position of his bed is exactly where grandma used to sleep, and I felt the same on a few occassions and struggled to sit up. Eeeee... gives me the creeps as I'm writing it down.

Monday Blues?? Not this week.

What a beautiful morning it is today. Why? Because everyone's away at the Firm conference, leaving moi and a few other colleagues to hold the fort therefore I can afford to take my own sweet time to prep for work. Cleared some work this morn (of course I left some for tomorrow and the day after and the following day...), followed by a sumptous lunch of kway chap and finished it up with drinks & French Toasts at Ya Kun. Now I'm full and contented.

Dear BIL came down with chicken pox y'day. As a result, SIL and kids have to seek shelter in Bishan until he recovers, which is at least 2 weeks I think. Had mine when I was 10 and I suspect it wasn't full blown, so does it mean if I were to visit him then the likely chance of contacting is high? Hmm... worth considering...

Hubby's away in Macau. We were there in '95 with Francis and Serene (she's history) and managed to drop by one of the casinos. It was my first time in a casino and I hated it because the place was 'foggy' and a PRC actually spat on the floor and missed my foot by mere inches. Eeks!

Have you filed your income tax?

Thanks to dear Hubby I managed to e-file my income tax a while ago. It totally slipped my mind... This year I had only 1 IR8A to file while it was 3 last year, so it's a breeze - had a change of 3 employers but I'm definitely not a job hopper, it was more opportunity of sorts.

Last year IRAS got my assessment wrong but thankfully they were quite prompt with response and it was sorted out rather swiftly. Hope history won't repeat itself as I want to avoid another heart attack moment.

Dinner today was good. It was a belated b'day treat for dear Sis. Mom suggested we try out this Teochew restaurant, Ghin Tin at Blk 157, AMK Ave 4. There was some sort of celebration going on so we had to make do with alfresco dining; thank goodness there was canopy so it wasn't that unbearable. Their coffee ribs was tender with a subtle hint of coffee which is perfect for a non-coffee drinker like moi. The wasabi prawns and spinach tofu was also good, the former was crunchy with a tad of sweetness and the former was smooth. Hubby thinks the chilli crab is a bit spicy for his liking but it suits me fine, and the texture of the gravy didn't feel starchy at all. I would give it 3.5 out of 5... worth a try.