Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Geylang Bazaar Outing!

Who knew that at this point of time, Hari Raya is 9 days away! Not that I'm looking forward to visits, change of outfits, and all the merry get together stuffs because I basically celebrate it with my own small family unit only. In the past yes...but well, our family is always of a different kind! haha.

So one of our family thing to do every year pre Raya is to visit the bazaars and the last one we went to was the Woodlands Bazaar situated right outside the Woodlands MRT station. It looks like a typical Pasar Malam, which I believe you're not a true blue Singaporean if you haven't been to one before, but if you enter and go past the food kiosks, they have stuffs you can buy for Raya. They even have a carpet auction and I don't know but is carpet auctions an 'in' thing to do now? I've been to this bazaar, the Geylang one and even at a recent Halal food expo and they have this auction thing going on too.

While the food choices are pretty much same same every time, you gotta be selective and not greedy over your choices because they can cause a stomach upset like me the other time. So now I'm a bit more careful. I still think because I ate some food that were spoilt by the time we reached home. I watched how they cooked the Ramlee Burger which is a popular bazaar and Pasar Malam food. Basically you either choose beef or chicken patty and they'll fry cook it on the spot, bath it in all sorts of sauces and then wrap them up in a freshly made omelette. Here's an article telling you more about this popular Pasar Malam or Night Market and an interesting fact that the actual Ramly patty is banned in Singapore so it's not really authentic. They're locally made patties. I don't mind, coming from Singapore who had a stomach flu after her visit to Kuala Lumpur eating a myriad of food..haha.

Most of the fry cooks make the Ramly burgers like an assembly line and they're so much into this line, special orders can be a bit tricky. So if you don't eat certain things like the chilli sauce, you can go to those with much lesser people, which isn't difficult to find because so many are selling them, and get them omitted. They may look at you funny but who cares. The one I went to buy at the Geylang bazaar had the burgers slathered heavily with this Planta margarine I believe..like seriously, heaps and heaps of it. So much so I had to buy one and share with my brother. Scary stuff.

Besides the burger, I bought a new top! This tradition is more for me. You can get a decent nice top for less than $20 and if you can bargain the price, you can get it slightly cheaper at let's say, one or two dollars off. The one I got was $16.00. It's free size (that's what they all say..) but it's stretchable too so I guess I can fit in it. Yah, I haven't try it out yet. Normally my mum  is very enthusiastic about me trying on new clothes if she's around when I buy it but I guess she was too tired yesterday..haha. No picture but from the pictures below, you can see the displays of clothes and they're pretty...but some can be gawdy looking too. I don't know..I'm quite particular about the design of clothes and the materials. I like mine simple with clean lines and not with weird baubles and other additional unnecessary things. Oh, and I don't believe in paying so much for something so simple. 

Another highlight of our trip is to buy some small cheap bottles of kuihs or Hari Raya biscuits for our consumption. Yes, we're a sad little family with no visitors..haha. We just buy for the thrill of being in da mood but we only spend slightly over $20 for 3 kinds of biscuits. My mum still makes some cookies so we would rather spend a little bit more on buying the baking ingredients. Her chocolate chip cookies are da bomb! We ain't buying these from outside.

And yes, what is Geylang Bazaar without the lights, eh? They're pretty but somehow not interesting enough. You'll probably miss it quite easily..ha. 

Crowd wise? Funny enough, it's crowded but not that bad like there's still some space for walking even though it's a Sunday night. I guess people would rather stay home and rest than go out if they have work the following day. I can't say for this coming weekend though. People would be rushing like mad to get their decorations ready for Hari Raya because by then it will be mere days only.

Enjoy the pics and do zoom in for a closer look!

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Lights Up! And it's not even Christmas..Gardens By the Bay

 It has been a year but I have never been to the Gardens by the Bay even though it's mostly free unless you want to go to the OCBC Skywalk which is like a treetop walk except the trees are fake yet majestic and artistic looking. If you look at the pictures or at least visit their website, you will know what I mean.

I went at night and the weather was cooling. It is situated near the ECP but there is a MRT station nearby which is Bayfront, part of the Circle Line and the minute you exit, you will see it straight away although you need to walk a bit to see the supertrees.

They are so majestic and who knew, they were man made. Okay, actually you can tell but really, it's a unique architecture combining concrete and plants. You've got to see it to believe it. You can either go day or night although if you go in the day, it can be blistering hot but it can't beat the heat experienced by moi at the Jurong Bird Park..ha. I practically thought my skin was chapping badly. Okay actually it did experience some redness. Even Sentosa didn't make my skin chap like that.

I had to wait for quite awhile before the light show started and here's a funny bit. We saw quite a number of people sitting on a grass patch in an open space facing the Supertrees and I suggested we do the same. The minute we sat down, my skirt was wet. Not as in wet wet but there was a patch on it. And my denim skirt is not dark but in a light blue shade which makes it eve more obvious. Talk about wanting to blend in with the crowds. We decided to sit somewhere nearby which was more comfortable. But comfortable to a certain extent because the person next to me kept playing this noisy game on her tablet even throughout the light show. *kill me*

It's all good though! I enjoyed myself especially if I don't have to fork out money from my pocket but can't say much about our dinner afterwards at McDonald's cafe..haha. It's not situated there even though they have some restaurants for you to eat with your family and friends. But I think the best is for you to hold a mini picnic with them to save on moolah and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

But do check first if the grass patch is wet first.

Enjoy the pictures! (Click on the pictures..if you wanna zoom in..that is if you want to)

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Monday, July 22, 2013

Woodlands Bazaar Outing! - Plus a Tummy Upset

We are currently in the midst of the fasting month and come this Wednesday, it will officially be two weeks. This coming Hari Raya is going to be different because it will be a day just before National Day. Coolness. I saw the term National Raya or something in that line being coined.

So! As usual, my family will be one of the fams left out of the celebrations. It's a joyous occasion definitely with family and friends gathering but yah, we're very low key..haha. Okay, we shall get to that more later.

As for now, we shall concentrate on our fasting and also to perform good deeds. Oh, and eat all the yummy food my mum will specially prepare during this month. This is also a chance for me to lose some inches, even if the kilograms don't necessarily drop. I've been pretty much stuck at the same damn weight and while it doesn't bother me too much, it will....probably help having to wear a  pair of jeans that do not cinch too much at the waist. Just sayin'

So! I had a tummy upset this Sunday morning because I ate too much rubbish the night before. Sigh. Where should I begin with the food. McDouble from McDonalds, McWings, cheese hot dog, half a Ramlee burger, half a turkish chicken wrap, red velvet cake shared with the fam...and the list goes on. It's no wonder I woke up with a tummy upset..heh. 

But I think the real cause was because I ate some rice with egg and the vegetable was spoilt already. This is the problem with the buying food from such Ramadhan bazaar. Such bazaars are specially opened during the fasting month for the Muslim community to buy break fast needs and to prepare for Raya  like cookies and baju kurung which is a traditional Malay long dress. Nowadays there are so many designs I'm pretty much lost but I still like a simple clean design or anything that makes me look slimmer..ha.

So I allowed myself to go a bit crazy with food on Saturday but well..I shall stick to simple home cooked food for now or until our next bazaar outing such as the one at Bussorah Street and Geylang.

Some pics from the night!

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Exploring Historical Site: Fort Canning Park

I took history lessons in the past and I also did the subject for A level, plus somehow managed to scrape through. How? Dunno.

Anyway, my brother will always think of ways to explore Singapore without burning a holey moley in the pocket because we're not that well off. I think even if we are, he will probably still be very stingy with his money. So he has always wanted to explore the Fort Canning Park which is an important historical landmark way back when Singapore was at war with Japan. There's quite a lot of things to see..and er..a lot of stair climbing. Fort Canning  Park has many archaeological finds such as relics and ancient brick buildings.

The hills offer a great view which prompted Sir Raffles to build his first colonial residence. Beautiful architecture. When I was standing on the majestic residence porch, I felt like a Queen waving to her subordinates down below..ha. The last time I went here, I ruined my expensive pair of Zara sandals from an outdoor concert watching Muse. They were super great but there were soooo maaany people that my feet were tossing around in the muddy area. It was raining prior to that so that explains it too.

By the time we finished our exploring, I was drenched in sweat. What a workout. 

So enjoy the pics below! (Click on the pics for a larger view)

Back to Blogging..Story of My Life

It's been ages since I've last blogged. So guilty about it. I've been busy attending to my online shop orders and while I'm thankful for it, I've been losing sleep on some days where I have to work throughout the night to make the goodies. I would take a nap about 10 to 11 ish at night and wake up about 2.30am to start work. Sometimes, I start the ball rolling by doing some simple designs after work or try to finish up last night's work. 

In other words, it has been hectic. Although not all are paid orders, some are giveaways which I'm pretty generous in order to generate interest and build up my online portfolio. I try to be fair by using the random generator and select those who have not won anything yet but sigh, ok..at least they did buy something in the end. Except for one and she won again. Oh well.

I am doing all this despite having a full time job. Sometimes, I don't understand why I am doing all this. But what made me continue, which includes having to pass the goodies to someone in Jurong East right in the west area yesterday, is that I want to earn a good side income. While this month's pay has increased again to a point where my gross salary is now more than $2K like finally, I just want to have money all the time.

Yes by the way, while I did try to save up the money I've earned from my online shop, not sure how to explain but somehow I still managed to be so broke, I was down to $0.66 and I'm not even a hardcore shopper. Yes, I do buy things to supplement my hobby, which also earns me some money, but still..it is taking a toll  on me when it comes to buying thing for my family's daily expenses.

However, with this month's pay which includes the mid year bonus plus the slight increase in my pay, I hope to make a fresh start. I still buy things as an  investment for my online shop because in order to make money, I have to use money but I am cutting back and trying to use as much current supplies as I could.

I know I have said that so many times but I have always failed to do so. But now I've got no more excuse because I will have to pay my school fees by July 30th. That amount is $600 which is actually below the estimated amount of $790. So I was contemplating how to pay the $800. I thought I would use the GST voucher to pay but I recently found out, along with other people, that I won't be getting the amount as of every freaking year. Why? Because now, they look at the salary as in my earnings in 2011, instead of just looking at the value of my house. Of course I was shocked because seriously, $500 can go a long way for me. Okay at least it will help to pay my school fees, LOL. 

It's fine. Looks like I have to use my mid year bonus instead. On top of that, my brother will also be getting his bursary next Saturday which amounted to $1800..phews. That's a lot of money for him. So he's kind enough to give me $300 of which I will use to pay part of school fees. One of the things I am glad about my brother is that how he is not a spendthrift and unlike many other teenagers who favour style and brands, he is simply bo chap or don't care as long as it looks neat and presentable...and doesn't make him look so fat..haha. I believe his family in future will be taken care of and we will be taken care of too because he is good in managing his money. He even want to use half of his bursary money as emergency fund, for unforeseen things like paying for the electrical bills when it gets cut off, like recently.

Bless his soul..

The only thing standing in his way of setting aside that amount for emergency is my mother. Haha, yes, of all people. Thought we could do it secretly and not let her know the amount. But he will have to attend a ceremony to receive the cheque and there is no way we could get past our mother for that. We are still sticking with our game plan of telling her that it is $900 and I sincerely hope she doesn't eat into my $300 which I have planned to use to pay for the fees. That's my other fear, like she thinking I don't need the money. I also hope she doesn't open the envelope which will reveal the true cheque amount.

Why are we so fearful of her? Well, we have concluded if she wants more, then we'll give her more and that is if she finds out. We don't want her to think we have such amount because we are afraid she will use the amount. I know she won't use it for selfish things like buying jewelry and other expensive things. But she doesn't really think when she spends. She also expect us to do the same. She said we shouldn't be so uptight about spending on the family but well you know, things aren't exactly cheap here so we have to cut back.

Let's seriously see how this goes.

Meanwhile, I will continue to work hard and bring in the dough for my online shop, even if it means losing sleep once in awhile..haha.

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Long Weekend, A Little Rambling & My Lack of Gratitude

The day I discover IG filters It's almost mid week to August..argh. I am in the midst of a long weekend, which sadly will come to ...