Simple Joys in Life

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Walk to Marina Bay

I spent Hari Raya Puasa morning walking with my friends from Nicoll Highway to Helix Bridge, Marina Bay Sands and finally Amoy Street Food Centre for brekkie. Some photos to share :)

We took a short break and ate some berries.

The breeze shelter is cool - the solar cells will generate energy from the sun and the motion sensors upon detecting any motion will activate the fan to keep anyone moving under the shelter cool.

White Neck posing for the camera

Oreo has been staying in the park since late 2007 when his owner abandoned him at the void deck. Soon after, I got him sterilised with a tipped ear. He is quite an affectionate cat and receives attention from other people who are attracted to his pedigree look, but no one brings him home.

I had not thought of putting him up for adoption until a few months ago. His long fur on his back was badly matted and he would be all wet after a heavy downpour. Mom and I thought it would be worth a try to see if anyone could adopt him after we sent him for grooming.

Oreo in his previous hairy look.

After grooming, he looks so much cleaner.

However, we decide not to put him up for adoption, as he was shouting loudly at my friend's flat on the 4th night when she was helping me to foster him after the grooming. He was probably not used to the new environment and has been used to the big space offered by the park. By nature, he is also quite a vocal cat. He will make a strange loud sound when we try carrying him. He screamed when I put him into the carrier to send him for grooming.

Back in the park for the past few weeks, he has been happily eating. I like his new GI look and his fur feels very soft.

This is Oreo's favorite resting position :)

We think he is happier in the park and hopefully the cats in the park can continue to live there peacefully

Monday, August 30, 2010

Evening @ MacRitchie Reservoir

After the exciting and almost scary experience @ MacRitchie Reservoir with a friend on Fri evening, I was there again this evening with 2 other friends and an adorable boy.

Some lovely photos of the sky, water, trees and man-made stuff.

Souvenirs from Bintan

My 3 girlfriends are really sweet to get me these souvenirs when they were in Bintan over the National Day holiday.

This busybody was curious about the newcomers :)

Rainbow Brite

Remember this cartoon character?

A friend asked me to keep a lookout for their stickers if I were to visit Target in US. I didn't manage to but my friend from US visited Singapore recently and got me 2 of these magnet stickers, so that I could pass them to my other friend.

Aren't they lovely? :)

Homecooked meals

I always feel nice and warm eating the food prepared by mom and dad.

Healthy salad

I recently bought some expensive natto bean (fermented soya bean) powder from Isetan Supermarket and have been adding it to my bread by sprinkling over my spread or to my healthy salad. A bit stinky but I like it :)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

The wallpaper on my office laptop is

The other photos lining up to be on my desktop are:

I so love my Olympus EPL1 camera. The photos I've taken of the cats, US and Hanoi look fab :)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

AVA's Responsible Pet Ownership Art Competition 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Casino hotels in Las Vegas

I read the first few paras of an article in ST this morning about casino/gambling in Singapore being given a glamorous image or made more accessible by parents who bring their kids outside the casinos. I read with some interest because of my recent visit to Las Vegas. There is no entrance fee for the casinos in the hotels and there are many slot machines (from 1 penny onwards) and tables for black jack players. However, I wasn't interested at all and didn't even try my luck at any machine/table. It was interesting to observe people of all ages gambling initially but after a while, I just wheeled my friend's baby around in the pram (as babies aren't allowed to be in the area or be stationery). I also wasn't keen to breath in the cigarette smoke air as there is no smoking ban like in Singapore.

I'm definitely not going to pay $100 to enter the casinos in Singapore :)

National Day Celebration in Hanoi

While I was in Hanoi for a meeting, my colleagues and I were invited to join the National Day celebrations at Melia Hotel. There were other Singaporeans as well as people from the diplomatic and business community. I was more interested in admiring the familar stuff.

All these reminded me of home. The cakes, laksa and hainanese chicken, etc. didn't taste as yummy as those back home but it was still a good effort to bring a bit of Singapore flavour to the overseas Singaporeans.