Mid-Autumn Sin Festival

Last year, I didn't buy any fanciful mooncakes. This year, I almost didn't too, if I had not pia-ed finish my work by afternoon of the last Sunday before Mid-Autumn Festival.

My siblings and I descended upon where all mooncake hunters in Singapore has converged - Takashimaya. Super crowded, could hardly move. So many hotels! Managed to taste some mooncakes fragments, the size of my pinkie's nail. Is superior cutting skills a job requirement for manning mooncake counters?

Some hotels have sold out, like Goodwood Park, no chance to eat.

There's a brand whose core business is mochi, but has ventured into mooncakes this year. Their snowskin tastes like... mochi. How can lidat? Tsk tsk.

I'm more keen on snowskin mooncakes as I believe my parents will buy the traditional baked-skin from neighbourhood bakeries. And my brother koped a box of branded mooncakes from various hotels hohoho.

After comparing prices, wanted to go taste 美心月饼 for a final decision, but stopped at 香港大班冰皮月饼 booth since it's not so crowded. The black sesame is not bad. Decided to get it since it's less than $40 for 8 different fanciful flavors. It's supposedly blast-frozen at -18°C, but of what concern is it to me when it's going to sit in my home freezer at the end of the day? The sales assistant opened up the box for us to inspect the mooncakes before packing it into a cooler bag. Nice! Don't have to go home immediately!

Ok done with mooncake shopping! No more! $40 this year, not as much as I had expected.

After that was dinner and after that, we went to Raffles City, where we found yet another mooncake fair, albeit EMPTY! It was getting late and many of the booths have closed for the day also lah. Got to taste more mooncakes. Mmm~

Explored the building a bit, and came across Swissotel The Stamford, Sze Chuan Court Restaurant's booth, empty as well. We very boey paiseh, still go and taste although I had totally no intention of buying. Tasted ALL their flavors! Haha!

Champagne Truffle & Chocolate Ganache - Couldn't taste the champagne ley. And I don't really fancy white chocolate with nothing much to contrast its taste (to prevent me from thinking it's just vanilla).

Strawberry & Dark Chocolate - Sweet-smelling and tasting strawberry, but somehow I thought chocolate and lotus paste don't belong together.

Baileys Chocolate - Where's the Baileys? Better to pour my own Baileys over some other mooncake.

Rum & Raisin Chocolate Truffle - Nice! Not too sweet, with a rum-flavored raisin to offer some contrast.

After eating and saying it's nice, what's next? Walk away? >.< Sis wanted to get it, but I didn't really want to, so I proposed splitting the bill. Actually didn't really expect her to pay lah. The mooncakes cost $46, but the good news was there's 15% discount for Citibank. The bad news was haven't count GST yet. Final bill was $41.84, only slightly more expensive than 大班!

The 8 different flavors of 大班. The funny flavors means XX mixed with mung bean paste aka 绿豆蓉. I thought what special bean lor, green bean nia.

Cut open the mooncake... this is the mung bean-only flavor.

The Swissotel mooncake box. There's a removable mirror and stand on the box. Can't see clearly one lah.

The white mooncakes. White lotus paste, white chocolate shell and raisins.

Cut up. Seriously, how did those sales assistants do a clean cut?

This year, the Swissotel mooncakes are the best! The skin is more chewy than 大班's. Flavor wise, it's more exotic than 大班, which is more of the fun factor.

For traditional baked-skin mooncakes, I realized branded ones really do taste better than neighbourhood bakeries'. I could munch on them without feeling 腻, which is actually the reason why I only liked mooncake skin in the past. It's less oily (you should look at the oil seeping through the skin of brandless mooncakes), less sweet and smoother. So next year should kop more back!

The main office sent boxes of mooncakes and boxes to us for giving away to our customers. And not even 1 mooncake for us. Sooooo sad :(

After so many years of indoor-only activity (i.e eat mooncakes only), this year I went to Bishan Park to breathe polluted air! Watched those kids throw sparklers into the pond, make fires and explosions, lanterns burn up... while eating mooncakes brought in the 大班 cooler bag and drinking softdrinks. Pure sin! Before that, I had Thai Express green curry laksa for dinner :X

Eucerin Hyaluron Filler Eye

So how did my free sample work?

Well, it DIDN'T! Yup, lines still there.

But how can I expect it to, when I sleep after 0030 without fail everyday, stare at the pc almost every minute I'm awake, stressed by work for as long as I've been trying it?

I need a product clinically tested to work despite all my chronic habits above.

After leaving this product in my drawer at room temperature for about 1mth, oil has begun to separate out from the cream. Yeww.

---
Product Information


Hyaluron Filler Eye (15ml)

Intensive Wrinkle-Filling Treatment.

Instructions:

Apply the product after cleansing to the eye contour areas by gently dabbing it into the skin. Use regularly every morning and evening.

Attributes:

* Hyaluronic Acid
* Bioactive glucoside Saponin, one of the most effective Hyaluronic Acid stimulants
* Appropriate for use after Hyaluronic-Acid injections
* Non-comedogenic
* With concentrated Dexpanthenol to support the regeneration process over night

Benefits:

* Instantly visible effect: Hyaluronic Acid immediately restores skin volume to visibly reduce wrinkles.
* Wrinkle Filling effect from the inside: the bioactive glucoside Saponin stimulates skin's own synthesis of Hyaluronic Acid in the deeper layers of the skin.
* The dipped connective tissue under the wrinkle is refilled.
* Wrinkles, even deep ones, are plumped up from inside out.

Ingredients:
Aqua, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, C18-36 Acid Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Cetyl Palmitate, Behenyl Alcohol, Methylpropanediol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Glycine Soja, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Bis- Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Stearyl Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Silica, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Trisodium EDTA, Methylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Propylparaben, BHT, CI 77891, CI 77491.

Retail price:$51/15ml

River View Hotel Buffet and the Storm Before

The department secretary decided that we had too much money in our department fund and decided we should spend some of them. We have been to Penang Place twice in a year, so it's time for a change. I'm so totally bored of it that I wouldn't go there again. But the question is, where to?

First on the radar was Sakura. Near the office, value for money. But it was dropped for reasons I don't know. I'm ok, since I had it so many times these years.

Other places being considered and dropped were Furama, Swissotel Merchant Court for their durian pastries (too ex)... and a few others. The poor DS must have spent at least 2 weeks planning this. Unfortunately I couldn't contribute the places I have been to or lemming to go, as they were either too pricey or non-Halal, non-vegetarian. It's really a pain to think of a place that caters to all groups. I think a place that makes everybody happy doesn't exist. I wouldn't want to be guilty of suggesting a discriminatory venue. If we end up at Penang Place again, I would rather go home. I wasn't the only one. Even a few Indians weren't keen on the dinner because they thought they would be eating laksa and ice-cream only again (what the non-veg Indians ate at Penang Place).

The DS finally decided on River View Hotel, River Garden Coffee House & Terrace which is a non-Halal, non-vegetarian international buffet. What happened to all the dietary concerns?

L couldn't take it lying down. She replied to everybody in the email invitation, appending "NOT FAIR" to the email subject.

...

Are you implying that vegetarians and people who are particular about HALAL cannot attend ?

We are also part of the department. And if this is a departmental gathering please cater to us also.

Wa so fierce can? I didn't respond to the invite, in case they were going to quarrel or change the venue. In my project, Indians are the majority, but department-wise, Chinese are the majority. Because we have always tried to accommodate the lowest common denominator, I have never truly enjoyed the meals we had together. Because of halal alone, Jap, Chinese and Western food are out. Aiyah whatever lah, looking at this department, I'm resigned to eating Indian food or Penang Place for as long as I'm here.

So I will just watch the email war.

The DS's reply:
...

Thank you for your feedback.

Since you've raised your concern, I would now pass the organising baton to you.

Pls be reminded that the following criteria need to be met :

1) Allocated fund $1,300.00 for 50 headcounts
2) Halal certified compulsory for muslim staff (we have at least 3)
3) Indian vegetarian (some take egg, some don't - pls take into consideration)
4) Chinese Vegetarian (no garlic, no onion)
5) Chinese Food with some Pork dishes inclusive (majorty of populations within dept are chinese)

Boss, L will take over from here, pls follow up with her on updates.

Thank you in advance

Eeks L organize is 101% Indian food! Not twice in a week please!

L's reply:
You cannot pass the baton to me. I have raised a concern.Address it if you can
I am not accepting the Baton.

DS's reply:
The answer is, I CAN'T address your concern. Since you felt is NOT FAIR, then pls take up the challenge.

Anyway, I'm hands off for this.

If you not accepting the baton, pls find someone you can passed it on.

We shall stopped all emails from here to avoid flooding the mailbox.

Aiyah end of email war. Nobody did anything then. Bosses all not in also.

The next day, when boss came in, it's time for him to put his conflict-resolving skills to use.

What I overheard:

**
Boss: If you have something to say, you should just email DS only and not to the whole department! What is the meaning of sending to everybody?
L: No, I didn't mean anything! I just thought everybody should know and see if they want a change.
Boss: If they want a change, they will tell DS! No need to email everybody like that!
DS: I'm ok if you email me only. You know how much time I spent on this, trying to cater for everybody? You know how hurt I am when you sent that mail to everybody?

The truth is, I don't think anybody will speak up at all, except L. And she sure knows the power of sending emails to onlookers. She likes to cc the PM when asking me to assist in her official testing, and not cc-ing the PM when asking me to help in things she could have done herself.

**
L: I think it's discriminating against halal and vegetarians.
Boss: All along, we tried to cater to halal and vegetarians. But the Chinese always have nothing to eat! You know the Chinese must eat pork? No pork nothing to eat! If you look, the majority here are Chinese. So everytime the majority not happy when we go out to eat! Now we want to enjoy one time. What you are saying now is discriminating also!
L: No I am not discriminating!
Boss: No, no, no, you are. Discriminating means excluding a certain group!
L: Then the vegetarians have nothing to eat! Even the Chinese vegetarians!
Boss: How many Indian vegetarians are there? You want us to eat the same thing for the few people? How many Chinese vegetarians are there here? DS you are vegetarian right?
DS: Yes, I can only eat salad and dessert at the buffet but I still decided on that place you know.

Well-said boss! I know you are carnivorous, standing up for your own rights now!

**
Boss: Since you have objections, why don't you organize?
L: I can't, it's not my responsibility.
Boss: Then you shouldn't make noise! If you organize, you can go to a place you like.

Ya, so I don't make noise also hehe.

So we still stuck to River View and DS still had to organize. She asked the hotel for directions. She was told that the nearest MRT is Clarke Quay, followed by a 10-15min walk or 2 bus stops away. They even showed us a map on their website.


When I looked at their map, cannot be lor, trying hard to make Ngee Ann City look like it's only 1 street away! I checked out the street directory. At the default magnification of 6, I couldn't see Clarke Quay. 5 also cannot. 4 then can see lor!
Does this look like a 15min walk at all? If I used to take 8min to walk to AMK MRT, this would easily take 30min.

Anyway, I wouldn't be walking there. Good luck to the rest!

Most people took 30-40min to get there, plus losing their way. The record was 1hr. Some gave up and wanted to take the bus, but they saw the buses but no bus stop. Many taxis cruising around, but too expensive at evening lah.

We were assigned tables at the alfresco area. Not warm lah, the Singapore longkang river and Robertson Bridge are right outside. After eating, still can go jalan jalan for digestion and come back for next round. If you like, you can even walk and never come back. How thoughtful.


No soft drinks in the buffet. Must pay $3.50. Don't think their coffee and tea are included too. Not interested also, it's Thursday.

Their Coffee Pork Ribs looked interesting, but some commented there was no coffee taste. So... it's coffee-colored only? And it looked too tough, when a colleague was trying to cut it but made noise instead.

Things I didn't eat (and can remember):

• Prawn mee, laksa, sushi. Too filling.
• Roast pork, chicken and duck. Why, don't I eat them often enough? Except the pork.
• Ordinary-looking ham. Yawn.
• Smoked salmon. Not a fan.
• Marinated octopus. I strongly feel I might get to eat it at a coming wedding.
• Deep fried money bags. Not a fan of fried food.
• Cold seafood like scallops, mussels and prawns. Where are the oysters?
• Chilli crab. Not there to dirty my hands! Don't eat chilli crab anyway.

Things I ate:

• Prawns fried with meat-floss-like thing, which felt overcooked.
• Chawanmushi, which has corn in it.
• Chicken satay. Meaty with peanutty sauce, nice, but a bit cold.
• Sashimi, but as usual I was stuffing myself silly with salmon sashimi, which can hardly go wrong.
• Fruits. Got papaya, dragon fruit UNPEELED (how dare them!), apple, melon.
• Chendol drink and chin chow soy bean milk. For the chendol, they just put glasses of coconut milk with 料 in them and my colleagues took them just like that. Chendol what, where is the gula melaka and ice? Funny one haha.
• Various cakes, but not many varieties. The best was a warm pie, something like a watery Portuguese egg tart.

So I'm still quite a picky eater huh. Many warm dishes, but mostly not special enough. It's $28+++ mah, what to expect.

There was a handicapped live singer. Boss went to xian1 his minder and found that they are members of the hotel, so we got 15% discount!

By 9pm, people started to leave. 5 of us were going to lompang the bosses home, but they were still happily chatting, like don't want to leave! We waited a while more, but by 9.30pm, we couldn't take it anymore. So much to say meh? Or was it because the bosses' boss was there?

Me: How, they talk until 依依不舍.
K: Don't know ley, go and tell them?
Me: B, you go ask ley, PM more convenient!
B: Huh don't want, big boss is there!
K: Or I drive you all back lah! Boss J left his car keys with me.
Us: Huh why he gave you his keys? Men a lot of pockets one right.
K: Don't know ley, he gave me lor. Wallet also gave me lor.
Me: Maybe pants too tight.
(Anyway it's not the first time Boss J did that. Last time at xx event also throw his bag to a lady (again) and don't want to take back)
K: Can lah! You all got buy insurance right?
Me: Wallet also here? If out of petrol can go pump! And tomorrow morning can come pick me up!
Silence
E: How?
Me: K, we share cab lah.
E, H: We go first lah. Bye!
B, K, Me: (Shouting) Bye! BYE!!! BYEEEE!!!
E, H: Bye!
B, K, Me: (Shouting) BYEEEE!!!

Then the bosses said it's late and the girls wanted to go home, so they stopped! YAY! They caught the hint!

O this Boss J so cheapo, say don't want to eat buffet, want to drink beer only. In the end still kop the dessert to eat! At least he did lah, better than a drink-driver on an empty stomach.

In all, just slightly more than half the department turned up.

Khansama Tandoori Village

G is going to London (a change from the usual back-to-India after marriage), hence L volunteered to organize a farewell dinner for him at Khansama Tandoori Village. The public transport directions sounded nightmarish. Take bus/MRT to Buona Vista MRT, then take 92 and drop off at the last stop. Haha I bet everybody was super turned off after hearing that! So near, yet so far.

Out of the blue, R is leaving as well (and paying for his notice), so it became a farewell for 2.

I'm not a fan of Indian food. Coupled with the fact that it's not a department-sponsored event and I had a slight sore throat, I contemplated flying plane. What's worse was that all bosses aka drivers were not in office by evening, which meant I would have to spend on taxi to eat something I didn't fancy. But there were 3 more people willing to share with me, so I went lor.

Before we set off, I checked the street directory as evening is a bad time to lose your way in a taxi. Wa it's located in the depths of Science Park I lor! Exit AYE at Buona Vista, turn to Science Park Drive and drive till the end of the road. It's good in a way, because it's easy to remember.

The taxi fare was $12. Ouch.

The restaurant deco is very cosy and Indian. The place was rather quiet, save for a few tvs screening Bollywood MVs. The food was surprisingly palatable to me. It's not exceedingly loaded with spices that go up my nose. The curries are not too spicy.
The only thing I couldn't take was a baked cracker.

1 of the guys was breaking fast. I think he really made up for all the 3 meals! O_O For me sure cannot 1 lah, miss already, that's it. Can't make up for it later.

A: How come the movies they playing are all so short?
Me: They are MVs lah.
A: Is it? Look like movies ley.
G: It's MV but taken from the movies.
Me: O... so clever can save money.

Since it's a farewell, after we were done eating, must have some interaction. But G and R didn't say much, their bosses didn't either, and people who usually are very talkative also nothing to say. It didn't help when we couldn't hear very well with the tv above us. When my father came and I got up to leave, they all too the opportunity to leave too -_-;;

It could have been better if we ordered catering instead, since all of us without our own transport took taxi.

Since 25 people accepted the dinner invitation, excluding the 2 we were treating, the restaurant suggested providing us with a special buffet costing $522. But 6 people flew plane, hence we faced the grim prospect of paying for all those we didn't turn up. Weird lor those people, at the end of the day still said coming coming, in the end disappeared. Some informed beforehand that they wouldn't be able to make it, but most didn't. Fortunately, a PM stood up for all of us and made the pilots pay. If not really boey tahan!

Think we will all be wary of farewells in future. Luckily I still went! If not never go but still must pay!

Purchases and Freebies

New stuff for this month!

Drugstore
My favourite mask was running low, so had to restock from a Drugstore spree. Was damn lucky to come across a spree where the organizer was going to use drugstore dollars to offset shipping!

My sister bought Aveeno Lip Conditioner, USD3.69.


My Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque, USD3.79 each. It's so good and cheap that I foresee myself sticking to it for the next 1 year. Decided to buy 2 of it in one shot to save on postage.

Spree organizer placed the order on 16 July and my parcel landed on my desk on 19 August. 1 month's wait! But it's totally worth it man, because on top of the drugstore dollars, the spree organizer even had 12% UOB discount for Vpost shipping, and don't forget the low exchange rate! Therefore, the USD->SGD conversion rate for this spree is 1.807.

In conclusion,
Aveeno Lip Conditioner SGD6.67
Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque SGD6.85 each

Yay!

Beauty Credit
HSBC sent me a mailer to redeem a free Travel Pack from Beauty Credit. (Got other stuff that required spending lah, so forget them)

CoQ10 essence, keratin shampoo and conditioner, and brown rice mask.

I thought it would be travel-size facewash and stuff, so was quite disappointed. Haven't use yet.

Fr3b
Joined the online free sample site, Fr3b and redeemed my first sample, Eucerin Hyaluron Filler Eye.

Haven't used it yet!

Well, I was charged 80 cents for postage, but the stamp on the envelope read 50 cents, so they overcharged me. I noticed it's flat postage, so next time I should redeem more at one shot or get potentially heavier items.

Monistat

Monistat's Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel, $10 secondhand.


This thing is actually meant for relieving and preventing chafing in the inner thigh and bikini area, but those American women found a wonderful alternative use for it - as a makeup primer. My nose gets oily real fast and nothing helped so far, so I got this to try.

Tried it on a normal day to work. (No, I don't wear makeup to work, I'm a lazy sotong) It did work, but my nose still shined. Still, a vast improvement from Care Pre-makeup cream from last year. So... thumbs up?

Fish & Co Swordfish

Ken Noodle House wasn't open, nothing exciting to eat at Centrepoint, so it's Fish & Co after n years.

Ordered their swordfish which took ages to arrive. O boy, it's HUGE!
With sweet and spicy sauce.

The meat.

They were having a Nescafe promotion where we could get a free can of their new can coffee, but it's out of stock although the promotion was only 3 days old. And not many people around on a slow Sunday night. Waitress said it's crowded on Fridays. *rolls eyes*

Express Citizenship

... the China-born lass first caught the eye of the Singapore Table Tennis Association early 2007 ...

She was then coaxed into joining the Singapore team last March ...

... made a Singapore citizen in January this year.

So that's what, 9 months? :O

Takuya Did a LKY

Even Japanese tv wants to copy us.

j Must Be Followed With sp

I wanted to name a photo's extension to .jpg, but ended up with .jsp instead. *rolls eyes*

Of Reservations and Oily Cake

Thanks to KB for organizing the SWSNG gathering!

Our original plan was to dine at Square2, Pasta de Waraku. I volunteered to make the reservation.

1) Called if ask if they accept reservations. They do, great, so we can fix the venue there!

2) Called to reserve for 11 at 8pm, but the reply was that the latest time for reservations is 7pm. Why wasn't I told the last time? I asked KB to ask around who could come at 7pm and sit down first and order first, but only KB and I could. When only 2/11 has arrived, I felt there was the possibility that PDW wouldn't let us in. I didn't want to ask PDW about my fear lest I gave them ideas, like "wow, ya thanks for reminding, we won't let you in since only 2/11 are here!". Our final decision was to book anyway and play drag with them.

3) Called to reserve for 11 at 7pm. Now, the reply was that they couldn't accommodate 11 as they had to leave some tables for walk-ins. However, if we walked in, it's very likely we can get a table. What bloody logic?? I understand their concern, but if only they had been more upfront with me. But maybe I gave them ideas with my previous 2 phonecalls :\ All these goes to show that PDW doesn't have a clear reservation policy.

On the day itself, even with people arriving before 7pm, they couldn't secure a table for 11. We would have to wait for at least 20min and even then, PDW couldn't guarantee that the tables would be together. So what to do, find an alternative lor.

My sister passed by Secret Recipe just now and found it rather empty. GOOD! It's been long since I was there, 2006 I think.

Speed and pacing of serving the dishes were ok at first. Salad and drinks came before the mains, the way it should be. Unfortunately for M who came late, his Vietnamese noodles took too long. We asked them about it, no reply. Continued waiting long long. Either they truly forgot, or it's coming via MRT from the Bishan branch.

A number of items on the menu were unavailable despite the prime dinner time. The waitress explained that they only ordered limited quantities daily. Come on, we were easily the first round of dinner customers that night, run out so fast? But well, considering that we were also the last round of dinner customers, and in the first place, we were not even supposed to be there, they were forgiven.

No free iced water is served. They charge 50 cents for bottled water with a glass of ice. To maximize your 50 cents, order hot water. You will get a mug of hot water + the bottled water!

My sister and I ordered:
Their new Oxtail Stew. The portion is not big actually, because the bulk of it is bones. Due to the irregular shape of the bone, it's hard to eat cleanly. Gravy is nice, not too salty. Mashed potato is good considering the pricing, unfortunately nowhere comparable to Paulaner Brauhaus.

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Not wanting to pay 50 cents for something that should have been free, we ordered Apple Katsuri, which is green apple with 酸梅. Nice!

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Ok this is my own picture. This is the moist chocolate cake. A huge disappointment. My sister didn't know it would be served warm. I was ok with it being warm, but not ok with oil oozing from it! Walau gross can! I have accepted the fact that cakes are fat-loaded, but no need to show that the cake was so oil-saturated that oil come out! The cake wasn't moist as the name has claimed. Ok lah, it's more moist than your regular pandan cake. It's too 腻 for me; after a few mouthfuls, had to drink my Apple Katsuri. My yardstick for cakes must have crept up unknowingly, no thanks to July's feast. We left much of the chocolate alone.

Somebody ordered pasta. The longest strand was no more than 10cm, mostly around 3cm. Machiam leftover scraps!

My sister commented that the dinner wasn't nice. Ya, when my brother when I have been feeding her exotic food.

I don't know if I'll ever be back there again.

Sotongs is Surrounded by Aunties

What can turn ladies and taitais into aunties?

SALES!

For unknown reasons, I assumed the Triumph Warehouse Sale would be an annual affair. I waited and waited, and finally got the news that it would be back from 1-3 August! The venue has changed to Chevron, which is near my workplace. I should rejoice, but I wouldn't elaborate on the reason for why I didn't feel so. Moreover, it meant my mother and sister would be unlikely to join in the madness.

Nevertheless. I shared the news with a colleague, who in turn broadcasted it (expected :P). She offered to help me buy, but I declined since the fun in a sale is to chiong and pick on your own!

On 1 August, the first day of the sale, the ladies in my office all chionged during lunch. I couldn't resist and asked them to help me get a design that I really really die die must get :P They all returned happy with their 战利品, but couldn't find what I wanted. Nevermind... :\ Some even went during office hours. All came back to describe the horrendous crowd, having to 捞鱼生 and emerging triumph with their desired design and size and comparing buys. And watching people who look so 斯文 morph into an auntie once inside the sale.

Went home and thought about it. Making a trip down specially on Saturday morning wasn't a hard decision to make. I would have to forgo some sleep, nobody would be with me to help me 捞, but it shouldn't be a problem if I reached earlier than opening time, grabbed and be off right away, right?

So I was there 30 minutes before the stipulated 10am opening. Dismayed to observe people sneaking into the sale and being sent out. The mass of people outside the door burgeoned as time went by. When the doors opened, people appeared from all corners of the building and streamed through it :O Waa jialat ah...

The operation of the sale was similar to last year. We were handed clear plastic bags, no bags allowed. The workers quite nice ley, asked me if I needed a chair. No need lah! How to chiong seated? :P I headed straight to the design I wanted, but don't have my size ley! So hard to 捞 myself also T_T. A sales assistant came to me to promote a type of panties called "Lilac" that prevents leaks during periods, going for 5 for $15. I was kind of looking for that, but it's low priority, so I asked her to help me find what I wanted. She directed me to a trolley that she thought was more worth it. Ehh the seamless T-shirt bra! Wa 3 for $30 only! So found some for me and went back to tend her Lilac trolley.

I tried to walk around a bit more, but found the place getting challenging. After my father finished his phone call, he was starting to look like the numerous bored-looking men standing at the perimeter. I've gotten the essentials I wanted, not worth to tire myself over optional items. Forget the panties, and looking at the Lilac! Bye!

Total damage: $30, but still happy :D

Apples Are Not Much Healthier Than Kantang

Think apples are healthy, therefore apple food products are also healthy? Think again.



Snack healthier... Snack Seneca
...
Seneca Snack Chips meet the quest for a tasty, yet healthier snack alternative. Less fat, low sodium, no cholesterol...
...
So go ahead, snack healthier...
...

In the supermarket, my sister found that all the "healthier" are blacked out on the packaging. She randomly grabbed a packet of potato chips and they all contained less sugar than it -_-;; It does have less fat, but not very significant. 7g vs 10g in Lays, according to a website.

Foods of the Month 3: Birthday Cakes

Last year, I decided that I would get my cake from Coffee Bean for my next birthday. When the time of the year came, the decision wasn't as easy as I thought due to several distractions.

Coffee Bean
Last year my intention was to get a mega chocolaty ultra heaty cake. Haven't targeted on any.

Tiramisutra
Last year, my colleague ordered a tiramisu cake from there. Shiok! Unfortunately it's a no-more.
Boohoo I miss it!

Lil’ Foot Pâtisserie
You should look at their Signature Chocolate Cheesecake! The checkered interior and spiky top made the cake look soooo appealing. Not to mention the numerous positive feedback there (could have been moderated) and a positive from a friend's friend. The downside is that they have increased their prices and a 10" cake is now $80. Ouch.

Then their tiramisu cake is $100 for 10". Aptly named Insomnia. Pay $100 for a cake sure get insomnia.

Bakerzin
Lavande is chocolate-loaded and comes with my latest craving - macarons! Dream combination! (haven't found the TPY shop yet at that time) It's an equilateral triangle, can cut into many mini-triangles! $70.55 for my desired size - Gasp!

Fraisier looks like an alcoholic's dream come true, yet healthily-strawberry. $77.35 for my desired size, not again... I have expensive taste.

Why not consider my sister's cafe, Prive? Since she promoted the cakes until so good and got staff discount and no service charge, why not? And it's likely that she won't be there next year hehe.

Looking through the cake list she compiled, Rich Chocolate Cake looks good! Even has 100% positive feedback!

Shall I get tiramisu? Sister said it comes in a cup, not a cake. Boo.

Hazelnut Royal Praline Cake looks good too, sounds very royal!

Luscious Peanut Butter Brownie caught my eye. Peanut butter in a cake? Sounds fun! Ok I want 1 whole of that!

But my sister advised me to get the Opera Ganache instead. Hmm actually it looks good too. And since she sounded like she wanted to eat it badly, ok lor.

1 exotic cake is not enough! Make it cakes! :D Got staff discount and no service charge mah... Final decision is 1 whole cake and several slices.

Opera Ganache! YUM! Thick, smooth, melting chocolate and coffee, with almond sponge (can't taste the almond though). Best!

This is the serving size outside, for almost $7. So small right? Where got enough? My sister said when she told the chef that she wanted 1 whole Opera Ganache, he thought she was mad.

Left side, top to bottom: Hazelnut Royal Praline Cake, Rum & Raisin Cheese Cake, Rich Chocolate Cake
Right side, top to bottom: Tiramisu, Blueberry Cheese Cake, Luscious Peanut Butter Brownie

Close-up of the tiramisu with its tattooed chocolate slice. Won't feel 腻, the sponge is booze-soaked! Thumbs up!

See that gold leaf on the Hazelnut Royal Praline Cake? Tastes like a very thin crunchy biscuit. The cake is normal only.
The Rum & Raisin Cheese Cake is forgettable. I see the raisins, but where is the rum? It's not in the cake. My sister thought it's in the raisin, but I didn't taste it. So it's like slightly heavier Carrefour cheesecake with raisins at the bottom.

Luscious Peanut Butter Brownie, the one I almost bought whole. The light brown stripe is the peanut butter. A bit strange to taste something salty in the middle of a chocolate cake. Overall nice lah, but too odd to have a whole of this.

Realize don't have a close-up of the Rich Chocolate Cake. It's really good! Not too sweet, very chocolatey. Love the crunchy balls on top.

Spent a total of $66.30.

Foods of the Month 2: Ah Yat Seafood

A birthday is an excellent excuse to eat something you wouldn't usually eat. Having visited Ah Yat at Shaw Towers for crabs, I decided that I must eat crabs again! And this time must bring my whole family so I can order more food :D~~ Not to forget the 50% discount for seafood on weekdays gimmick, and that my birthday is on a weekday, and that my sister won some vouchers and my father said their abalone is famous, it's a sign that I must go to Ah Yat! And order 1 whole abalone, gigantic prawns and many huge yummy crabs!

But my mother wasn't supportive of the idea because she didn't want to eat freshly-suffocated sea creatures. It sounds cruel to her and especially bad to do it on a birthday, but to me, it's better to kill on-demand so that I know the creature did not die in vain. Imagine the stale seafood discarded daily in the markets island-wide lor...

Anyway, I tried looking for a low-cruelty alternative that's still fit for a birthday. There was a Teochew City Seafood Restaurant voucher for $28 off with min $60 spent lying on my table. Checked out their set menu online. The less pricey meals looked like our regular wedding dinner. How about something more luxurious?

六人位上套餐B Set Menu B for 6 persons $288 ++
(Individual servings）
潮州冻蟹
Teochew Cold Crab

潮州小鲍翅
Braised Superior “Baby” Shark’s Fin Soup with Fish Maw & Crab Meat

潮州卤水鹅片
Braised Goose Meat in Teochew Style

金菇焗大虾皇
Baked King Prawns with Golden Mushrooms

烧汁焗鳕鱼
Grilled Cod Fish with Japanese Sauce

白玉鲍丝拉面
Sliced Abalone with La Mian

白果金银芋泥
Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts & Pumpkin

Got their signature cold crab and goose meat! And I like yam paste (this is actually in almost all the meals anyway)! So exciting! *Drool*

But $20 off will be negligible lor. End up still have to pay $63/pax can! Siao lor! Cannot lah! And there's no guarantee that they are not going to do real-time fishing for the crab, cod fish and prawns. So it's still Ah Yat. Because got $200 voucher. I'm cheapo.

Asked my sister to make a reservation but the restaurant didn't have a record of it! Wa cannot make it! Luckily still have seats on a Friday night lor! Now I understand why my department secretary must reconfirm her bosses' reservations several times.

Looked very hard at their set menu, until my brother reminded me that no discount for set. Ya hor! Put back. Hands off.

Our food:
Shark's fin
This is a single portion only. Not bad, there are actually chunks of sharksfin, which makes it better than your average wedding dinner. Got abalone in it too. Soup is not the starchy and full of MSG kind.

佛跳墙
This is a single portion too. My mum commented it's a bit sour and couldn't stop saying that for as long as the bowl was on the table.

Strangely, my mum thought it looked bad when I put the whole 盅 in front of me. Hey, it's actually a single serving, therefore the scenario of splitting a small bowl of soup among 5 pax should looked worse?

The abalones in the soups were rather tasteless already. Or were they tasteless to start with? Whatever it is, I still wished I had ordered one on its own. To convince myself once and for all that it's really NOT NICE and what I really like is the canned STOCK.

Bamboo clams
We chose stir-fried with garlic. Really fragrant! I love the garlic, although it came with lots of oil. 久久一次 nevermind lah... (Say this a few times more then I know)

Deep fried scallops with yam paste
The picture of this dish stood out in the menu so we ordered it. But it turned out to be the biggest miss of the night. The scallops were so thin that I thought they had been sliced into halves. The scallops were tasteless, not sure if its due to the quality or cooking style. The yam was the yam wall kind, crispy on the outside. Ok lah, but too much yam relative to the scallop.

伊面
Carbo of the meal. It's the wedding dinner type. Left my portion to the last of the meal but unfortunately it had turned cold by then and the starch in the 汁 has coagulated. Eee.

Steamed 老虎斑 in soy sauce
Decided to get something my sister likes, so asked to cook it the wedding dinner style. Now wedding dinner where got garoupa liao?

Mud crab in creamy pumpkin gravy
At first I asked for 1 large sri lanka crab, but wasn't sure if it's enough, so the waitress suggested getting a large crab. Not sure what the difference was, but I said ok since she assured it would be enough. They caught the crab and showed my father, who said ok. I only saw it when it was served on a gigantic claypot! Got such a big sri lanka crab one ah? The waitress asked if we wanted 馒头 (for mopping up the gravy) to which we declined.

Delicious! Especially when I had the pincers. Tried to saturate each mouthful of crab with gravy, but still can't beat my mum, who was warning us about high cholesterol and lapping the gravy up at the same time. 久久一次 nevermind lah... (Say this a few times more then I know)

When I saw the receipt, I learned that it's called mud crab.



I didn't check beforehand whether they accept the vouchers. Even if they don't I'm prepared to pay all. Just eat 菜饭 for lunch everyday only.

When I got home, I recalled the HSBC GSS rebate promotion. Be the first 1000 to spend at least $50 and get $5 rebate and lucky draw chance. I sent the sms and hey, I'm still the first 1000! Further $5 off! :D

Things to note

• Only the part of the restaurant at the tanks is warm enough for me
• Chrysanthemum tea only comes in canned form
• Ah Yat knows their crabs' abilities. Even the largest ones can't climb out of the tank.
• The kitchen is oddly located next to the main entrance

Foods of the Month 1: Macarons

Macarons
Pretty, burger-like, sugar-coated, brittle, airy biscuits sandwiching cream. SWEET.

My first macarons were dapaoed back from my brother's workplace's Christmas party last year. Wa nice lor! But Bakerzin was selling it for almost $2 each... 亏我吃到这么爽... dunno so ex =_=

Going over to J's new house for dinner, I can't help with the cooking, but how can I go empty-handed? What's really nice to bring and not too common? Macarons!

There must be other places selling at a more affordable price. There's the Canele for $2.30 each *faints*, Gobi@Katong which is too far, and Amande@Toa Payoh $4.80 for 5. This is it!

The day before I went to find Almonde, when I knew my sister was going to Liang Court, I asked her to see if there are any there, knowing that it's quite popular in Japan now.

After work on Friday, I chionnnnngggg across the island to find this shop.
Bad news #1: My father walked around the whole HDB Hub but couldn't find the shop.
Bad news #2: I ended up buying 3 necklaces for $10 XD

Sigh what should I bring to J's house tomorrow? When we almost rode out of the carpark, I turned my head around and spotted the shop!! Yay!!! Grabbed 2 boxes, 1 for J's house and 1 for my family.

I didn't tell my sister that I bought macarons. She bought also! It's the Japanese cheesecake brand with the picture of a chef. Only 80 cents each, cheaper than mine.

5 different flavors from chef-logo shop.

Close-up! Yum~~ There's no cream sandwiched for this one.

From Amande. See the cream? Picture koped from Eat And Train without permission because I don't want to let a stranger know about my blog.

So sweet, so shiok! Satisfied my craving!

Amande's address: Blk 520 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 #01-50, right at HDB Hub's end of the traffic light.

Fun Products

After spreeing online for 1 year, here are some really weird items I have come across.

A Lamp You Can't Clean
Introducing the Salt Crystal Lamp!


"Salt Crystal Rock to improve air qualities by enriching air with " Negative Ions " and ionized air beneficial to humans as they are natural air ionizers.

Negative Ions produced by Salt Crystal Lamps effectively, and naturally improve the quality of the air by producing negative ions - the "Vitamins Of The Air". Negative ions can be found in nature, concentrated in air by the billions; (on Mountain Tops after Thunder Storms, near water falls, forests, and by the Sea). Negative Ions give the air its invigorating freshness, airborne bacteria free, clean which is so beneficial for humans .

Non-illuminated crystals (cool Salt Crystal, underground Salt Mines) produce Negative Ionizing effect, however the Salt Crystal Lamps which are illuminated from inside with a lamp (warm Salt Crystal) produces and emits a higher number of Negative Ions and delivers a more efficient Ionizing Effect.

Today, the health benefits of Negative Ionizers are well recognized all over the world. While most ionizers on the market are man-made machines, Salt Crystal Lamps are a beautiful, less costly, maintenance free, natural alternative of Mother Nature's to improve air quality. With time, the Salt Crystal Lamps will not reduce their ionizing effect!

Beside Air Ionization and Negative Ions production, Salt lamps Illuminated by a light bulb, also produce a beautiful, pleasant to the eyes, mind, and sole, natural Glow of different colors and shades from orange to yellow. This Light Color Glow and Ionized, Clean, Fresh Air create a special atmosphere of calming meditative balance, tranquillity, peace and well - being for humans.

Going for:
S (3-4kg) ~ S$39
M (5-6kg) ~ S$49
L (7-8kg) ~ S$59

Basically, it's a gigantic lump of salt with a light bulb inside. I don't think this lamp is for reading.

And of course it's not for cleanliness freaks. Imagine your lamp dissolving away with each swipe of the wet cloth...

And of course not for people living at Marine Parade or Singapore in general. Unless you are prepared to watch it shrink daily till only the light bulb is left.

You know what? Just use the salt shaker in your kitchen.

Fat-gain Tea
While the world is going crazy over weightloss tea, we have a brave innovation going against the tide.

Introducing the...

By now, I believe most have heard of the F Cup Cookie. According to the Taitai Mandate, cookies go with tea, so read all about it in this hilarious (and bordering on obscene) website! I wonder if it's translated from Japanese.

Going for $23 for 10 bags.

Some snippets:
"Your peach color bust is getting grow day by day"
O_O

"Guys must be looking at you! You can feel people who have a glamorous body and their boyfrends can't stop touching their glamorous bust. (*'-'*)"
Ewww...

"Of course, because of the Pueraria Mirifica but this time we created a tea which contains secret ingredient "Womenalize" almost no body knows."
It doesn't exist, of course nobody knows!

"You can't help touching a soften peach bust. "Fuwa Fuwa" "Puru Puru""
PAS will die of shock I tell you!

Also, there is a new chocolate flavour for the cookie.

It contains 68.9kcal vs 68.7kcal for the plain, 3.91g fat vs 3.9g for the plain, resulting in accelerated breast (and waist and bum) growth!

Ladies contemplating consuming the F Cup series should do their Maths. The hidden cost of buying bras from your base size to F and the extra cookies/tea to be consumed when you miss doses and suffer a relapse... implants might turn out cheaper.

Inedible Popcorn
Love popcorn? Those multi-colored ones from Beardpapa?

Introducing the...



Popcorn pen!

After the ink dries, your words become illegible and remains inedible! Will it crush like a real popcorn when you slam your friend's autograph book shut?

Going for:
Set of 5 - $9.90
Set of 10 - $18.90

Everyone Can Start a Slimming Centre

Introducing the Marie France Bodyline REBORN Slimming Wrap!


In Marie France , S$2000 enables you to use 20 rolls of the wraps, NOW you just need S$158 to enjoy the same benefits and have the results HAPPEN on YOU!!!

Everyone knows Marie France, you pay for the treatments and you don't bring your flabs back.
NOW with the same treatments and results, you pay only 7.9% of the total sum you pay Marie France!


Must put cling wrap also one!


It is a BODY BURNING aid! Sounds potent ok! Dun pway pway!

Acupuncture On The Go!

Introducing the magnetic slimming ring!

You don’t have to excessively diet, exercise and this product has no side effects; eliminates unnecessary stress and torture of slimming down. Just have to put this ring on the right and left big toes and go about your daily routine while it works at slimming you down.

The secret lies in the 2 pieces of magnets which can emit 1,100 Gauss's magnetic force to stimulate the acupuncture points. This will activate those areas which are normally not in use while walking, and improves muscles sagging.

The all-too-familiar magnet wonder. It's only a matter of time that they get throw out with the mattresses, bracelets, necklaces...

Static Magnetic Therapy Does Not Decrease Pain or Opioid Requirements: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial

Roll, roll, roll your fats


Introducing the face roller for face slimming, and Y-shaped Cellulite roller for arms and legs slimming!

Roll the face... then roll flabby arms... then roll wobbly calves... I think only your arm will slim down at the end of the day, from all the rolling.

Going for $2.90 and $4.20 each respectively.

Pink = Beauty
We know many females are obsessed with pink.

(courtesy of Mr Bad Guy)

Introducing Pink Magic!

• Made and formulated in Korea, well-known for good beauty products like BB creams!
• A clear gel that you can apply on your cheeks, lips or other areas to gain a natural, pretty rosy pink!
• If you’ve always wanted those naturally pink, flushed cheeks that look as if you’ve just come in from the winter cold (like those pretty Japanese girls with rosy cheeks), then this product is for you! You'll look like you have naturally rosy cheeks :)
• Just apply a pea-sized amount on your cheeks and after about 30 seconds, you can see your cheeks slowly turning a radiant, natural, pretty pink. No need for anymore blush or lipstick!
• The effect is very very natural and doesn’t look like make-up at all.
• Blush can't achieve this natural effect!
• The best thing is that the pinkness will last the entire day so you don’t need to touch up, unlike make-up! ^_^

Sounds fantastic? Below are some comments from a beauty forum.
...even though my lips look a bit pinkish after application, it doesnt last long. Worse thing is, it came off when wiped with tissue; the product turns pink on the lips but doesnt make lips turn healthy pink

my cousin used pink magic for 2 weeks and her face got bad breakout. She said lucky she didn't use on her nipple

But there are still people who like it lah.

For me, I will prefer good old makeup. Cheaper and the problem of touching up doesn't apply, because I don't touch up wahahaha.

Also sold in Watson's. Going for $63 in sprees.

Snippets

Heard of conjoined twins? I never knew they occur in grapes as well. In this case, it's probably conjoined triplets (or more).
Compare the size.

Look at the rippled surface!
Found a crab crawling at the staircase landing outside my house. But it died the next day. I can only think about eating it.
Mini Wacoal panties on mini mannequins at Paragon Metro. Those Japanese!
Horror: Spent about $590 in one day shopping, eating, taking cab.
Relief: Shopping for 2, food and transport for 3.

Best buy: A long necklace for $4.90. Flipped the pricetag to the back and found that it was slashed from $27.90! But it's not something that can look expensive by tagging a sky-high price lor.

Worst buy: G2000 blouse for $43 :( Why did I buy it man...

Horror add-on: HSBC charged the annual fee. Not that I didn't expect it lah.
Relief: They waived it! But this is also expected :D

I have always thought that Spageddies is an expensive restaurant, but it's actually pretty affordable. Maybe I looked at its menu when I was a poor kid.

Tonkichi's rice is good. But it's a pity I can't eat much rice. The claypot dishes didn't come in a claypot like in my mental picture, but the food is piping hot lah. A bit too salty. Cabbage salad is nothing special IMO. Expensive, in the sense that every meal is at least $20.

2yrs of Loyalty is Only Worth $96

2yrs ago, when my Singtel contract was up, Singtel offered 3 SE models at a discount and I got my K750i for $38 after $100 trade-in :D

Last year, used my brother's renewal to get K800i. Nice camera, but it's too bulky. Looking forward to a thinner phone for my coming renewal!

Singtel's offer letter came.


A) Sell myself to them for a measly $4 bill rebate per month, for 2yrs. Total $96 if I make it through the 2yrs.

Thank you for choosing Singtel Mobile. In appreciation of your continuous support, we are delighted to present you a special Monthly Bill Rebate offer.

Take up the offer and here's how it works:

* The Bill Rebate will be credited into your Account one month (depending on your billing cycle) after acceptance of offer. It shall be used to offset the total charges (before GST) billable under your account.
* There is a 24-month Minimum Subscription Period.
* Liquidated damages will apply in an event of downgrade of your Price Plan, termination of your subscription or temporary suspension of your mobile service during the Minimum Subscription Period.

What's more! You may choose to UPGRADE to a new mobile phone with SingTel Mobile at any point in time during the 24-month Minimum Subscription Period at the prevailing prices. The Monthly Bill Rebate will then cease upon the handset upgrade. All terms and conditions apply.

So, hurry! Proceed for more details on the Bill Rebate offer or call 6743 4844 for clarifications.

Can't stand it when they try to make restrictions sound like special offers! It's special because it's so shitty!

B) Downgrade my hp camera by getting the free phone. Or be too lazy to sell it off. My K750i is still at home. The $30 off other models is too pathetic.

Felt so worthless and shitty. Sigh.

New Dorama!

Old news, but anyway...

What a cheapo banner.

Some Updates

Wow I haven't been blogging for so long. First, I was so free that nothing was happening in my life. Then life became so happening that I didn't have time at all. Yup, rushing project again. This time, it's something that has been signed off almost exactly 1yr ago, coded, but users found the program didn't suit their needs, so here we go. I wonder if any project in this world has gone smoothly with zero hiccups at all, EVER.

My blunders
Yup, there's some contribution from me, resulting in a mad rush. Didn't follow the specifications exactly. Sometimes when coding, I put in some logic from previous projects unwittingly. Or left out something. Luckily easily rectified. Only resulted in some time wasted, but it's still time wasted.

Too faithful to the specs
The system is browser-based, so everything is in HTML. Previously, our spreadsheet is coded such that the spreadsheet header and body are in different table tags, so if the data to wider than allowed by the column width, the header and body of the spreadsheet will go out of alignment.

+----+--------+------+----------+
|Name| NRIC | Plan | Cost |
+----+--------+------+----------+
|ABC |S1234567D|MacDonald Plan|7|
+------+------------+---------+-+
|DEF |S9876543D|Meh Plan |2|
+----+---------+--------------+-+

It looks terribly ugly and unreadable. It's also a waste of the developer's time to try to align it because it is mission-impossible when the standard resolution for this application is 1024x768. In short, not enough space on the screen for long data. The only pro about it is that on loading the screen when no data is populated in the spreadsheet, there is a white background to delimit the boundary of the spreadsheet.

So some genius (I mean it, not being sarcastic at all) came up with a new layout that solved the above-mentioned problems once and for all. The only con is that on loading the screen when no data is populated in the spreadsheet, there is NO white background to delimit the boundary of the spreadsheet. Last year, the whole team was instructed to use this new layout for future new developments.

But I find that people have the problem with that cosmetic difference on load, despite the overwhelming cosmetic (and usability) improvement once data is loaded. Comments from our very own internal QC (L again, who tried to promote me quack science) for this project (and also asked before by another QC for another CR).

L: Why is there no white background?
Me: I am using the new layout.
L: What? There's no white background. It should have.
Me: No, the new layout is like that. (Maybe can, but I don't have time for that)
L: You should follow the specs!
Me: But we were told to use the new layout. Otherwise the alignment will go out.
L: But the specs said it should be like this.
Me: The user wants the OLD layout?
L: Yes! Follow the specs!
Me: Ok...

Of course I was unconvinced. How can anybody actually prefer the inferior layout over the new? I wasn't in the mood and position to argue with L over that. She has more experience with those bunch of users, surely I can't know them better than her? So I decided to give her what she wanted first to get her off my back and I could move on to more pressing issues. Of course I made a backup of my beautiful file first. They WILL want this :) Didn't try to hard to align the old layout properly. As I had said, it's mission-impossible.

After the files were migrated to SIT, I warned L that the alignment was out and there was nothing I could do about it. Indeed, it was so awful and she decided the users would not accept it and consulted the PM. A discussion between them ensued and when it quietened, the PM came to talk to me.

PM: Hi Sotong, can I talk to you?
Me: Sure!
PM: The screen is out of alignment, you know that?
Me: Yes I know, but there is nothing I can do with this current layout.
PM: You know right, our users use our application to dispense drugs. They look at it day in day out, and it is very frustrating if they cannot see things clearly. It can cause them to make mistakes if they mistake one column for another. For example, screen XXX, last time the users made so much noise because of the misalignment.
Me: Yes I agree. (Funny, how come suddenly tell me this story?)
PM: Actually you know what to do right? Just last week you suggested to use that new spreadsheet in the mockup I asked you to do.
Me: I know, I did it that way at first, but L asked me to change.
PM: The other screen you gave looks ok, because the data is not so wide. But this one ah, cannot you know?
Me: (Confused!)Wait, you are saying if alignment will not be out, we should use the old spreadsheet? Only when it is out, we use the new one?
PM: No, it may look ok now, but what if there is long data in the future? It will go out again.
Me: (Trying to look helpless. I suspected L didn't tell the PM the whole story, if not, why would the PM be telling me all these?) But L asked me to do this way.
PM: I will go talk to L. But you understand right?
Me: O... so always use the new spreadsheet lah?
PM: Yes!
Me: Ok! I will change.
PM: Will it take a long time?
Me: 5min only, I just have to revert to my backup. (Flashes a grin)
PM: Next time you have such doubts, you can come talk to me.
Me: Ok.(But I still prefer to let them fight things out without me)

I don't blame L, it's only her job.

Played by machines
Always kena funny problems, but this time is the worst.

Lousy Websphere Application Developer (WSAD) couldn't detect my new EJBs. Took several rebuilds and restarts of my pc, which are very time-consuming.

Then WSAD even missed compilation errors, can you believe it! I had compilation errors that went undetected throughout my whole development period, only to surface in SIT as runtime error.

Then after that file with undetected compilation errors was corrected, while compiling the files for deployment to SIT, somehow that same cursed file kept being compiled with the old version, meaning still with the compilation errors (and undetected somemore, sheesh). Not just once, but many tries! Even the TL was stumped. So much time wasted here. And it's my file! People who don't understand must have thought I am so damn lousy, boohoohoo.

Then there's a point in the program where it called a method it's not supposed to call, resulting in runtime error. In any case, it shouldn't go there, but it did. Nobody knows why. Fortunately, it was solved by redeploying once only. But the bad news is, it's my file again. SO MANY BLOODY UNEXPLAINED ERRORS, SO BLOODY SUAY.

If you don't know what I'm talking about even with programming background, it's because it simply doesn't make sense at all. Really 被玩到死死.

Last minute structure change to a main table
... after I have completed a screen to display data from that screen. Meaning I had to recode it with more complex logic. From the easiest screen (just select and spit out all), it became the toughest, most time-consuming and... more to come below.

Other areas impacted are small, not a problem.

Investigating a bug... only to find that it's not you
An existing screen was enhanced by the TL for this CR. While testing for him, I discovered some info will disappear and later reappear. I was tasked with the debugging (he had other things to do). Had to merge our files to make sure it's the latest, recompile them, which took up like 2 or 3hrs in all. And frantically chasing this mysterious case among unfamiliar codes, methods calling classes calling classes calling methods.... to find that the offending code is in a file untouched by the CR i.e existing bug. Since it's 1)not affecting the CR, 2)been there since Day 1 3)and the users don't have a problem with it, we don't have a problem with it either :)

By then, whole afternoon gone. OT again.

Last minute requirement change
1 week before the UAT, we were to give the users a demo of the CR. They were done at 7pm and were happy with it. Their departing gift: to change the display logic for the easiest-turned-toughest screen. The original logic was to display all. But now, they wanted it such that when they searched by criteria A, it should display effective records. But if there are only past records, it should show all.

Sounds easy? NO LOR, when the screen is about searching and displaying records, and you want to change the way it works, we are talking about a major revamp.

Remember the time now? I must complete it by end of next day to make it for the next deployment so that eventually the users can have it by UAT.

F-U-C-K-I-N-G S-H-I-T

This is not the only change requested. There's 2 others, but much easier compared to this so I won't complain about them.

2 days later, the users requested to come to see the changes they wanted "because it's hard to visualize". They found the F-U-C-K-I-N-G S-H-I-T change so cool that they wanted to apply it to 2 other search criteria as well!!!!!!!!!!! And PM said ok! DUE THE NEXT MORNING!!!!!!!!! To be in time for deployment again.

BLOODY HELL THEY THINK IT'S SOME DRAG AND DROP COMPONENT IS IT??? 40% revamp!!! It's 5.30pm by the way.

Should have been a CR lor! Never do impact analysis and anyhow ok!

...It's not you, but still have to fix
During UAT, users found a bug in an existing screen and they had a problem with it. Asked to fix :( Really weird cause, but very easy to fix.

紧张刺激的UAT
If you need some excitement in your life, you really should have UAT. If any hiccups occurred, it MUST be your fault and you will scramble to clear your name by frantically investigating. To increase the excitement, the UAT environment is located in a different level of the building which is not so convenient for me, or accessed via VPN, for which you have to compete with the rest of the office for access. Person conducting the UAT will keep pestering for updates because "users are waiting".

Luckily nothing bad for me, yay!

I need to go out.

GT1353L Owns Lornie Road

While traveling along Lornie Road towards Thomson at about 7pm, approaching the flyover at MacRitchie, a dirty green van decided it wanted to change from the center lane to the rightmost lane and did so... without looking for oncoming traffic first.

Don't try to nudge your fatass in, we were there first.