How to stop your boss from reading your personal email...

Hahaha.... when I saw this at work, I really couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud! Hahaha... It's soooo funny!! :P

How fast do you type? - My best score so far!

This is my best result so far, so I gotta post it... Hehe... Will keep trying until my score improves! :)

76 words

Speed test

ASUS Eec PC 8G - My latest obsession! :P

I saw it at Courts today. I HAVE TO GET IT!! :D

Here's the official website of ASUS (link)... check out the Quick Guide. It's so small! And it fits my criteria for internet surfing, instant messaging, watching videos, listening to music. And it's light-weight (less than 1kg!!) and it's SOOOO cute! :P

Here's also a YouTube video which introduces the mini-laptop. Let me know what you think. :)

"Claypot" Yee Mee

I might be able to give German Pub (Menara Haw Par, Kuala Lumpur) a run for their money! Hehe... Without the claypot, of course it's a little different, but tastes pretty good. :P

Bulgarian Idol - Mariah Carey's Ken Lee

Bet you haven't heard this version before. :P

Bachata video... from En La Pasion 2008

My friend just told me how to insert a video... so here it is! :P

Baked salmon & pasta... Yummy!!

Yes!! Another dinner I made myself!! :P Ok, first try and I think the salmon was a little over-cooked. Mustn't leave it in the oven too long. 10 min should do it. The presentation looks good too, don't you think? ;) Aren't you feeling a little hungry now? :P

How fast do you type?

Try out this test to see how fast you type. http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com/

I thought my typing speed was not bad, but just realised that it actually isn't!! Boo-hoo! :P

Give up your seat to those who need it more...

Today I got on the MRT at Raffles Place to head home. As usual, the office crowd was all heading home and the train was pretty packed. At City Hall, which was just a stop away, more people crowded into the train. And in walks a pregnant lady. She must be at least 6-7 months pregnant, and to me is definitely classified as one who needs a seat on the train. So she squeezes her way towards the center of the train... close to the seats, hoping that someone would give up their seat for her.

Unfortunately for her, nobody budged. As I looked to those people sitting in front of her, I wondered. Maybe they thought that they deserved the seat more than she. Admittedly, the people seated were not youngsters. Yet they were not that old either.

Sitting right in front of the pregnant lady was a man who must be in his mid-forties, chatting away on his phone with a big backpack. Maybe he thought he was carrying a backpack, so needed the seat? After he put down his handphone, he turned away to look out the train window and chose to ignore the pregnant lady standing in front of him. How rude!

Then next to him was a working class man, possibly also in his forties. He was probably tired from working all day and thought, "I deserved to relax on my way home, so I won't get up. Someone else will probably give up their seat for her anyway." How inconsiderate!!

Then further down next to the working class man, who started to close his eyes and try to sleep, was another lady in her forties, with her eyes closed and sleeping (or at least pretending to). Ya right...

No one batted an eye. Only the ones who were standing around the pregnant lady were concerned for her... waiting for someone to do the right thing. But no one did.

A lot of people complain that it's the youngsters who neglect courtesy and do not give up their seat when the occasion calls for it. But I'd like to prove them wrong. More often than not, I see teenagers and young working adults who are the courteous ones, who willingly get up to let an elderly or pregnant lady have their seat. Is it because we're supposed to be young and strong enough to be able to withstand the MRT journey on our feet more than our relatively older counterparts? Are those in their 40's considered 'old enough' to be considered one of those who "need it more"?

The poor pregnant lady had to stand for 10 stops before the 'sleeping lady' got off the train at Ang Mo Kio. Sigh...

En La Pasion 2008 - Bachata Competition @ Upper Club

I don't know how to insert a video on here, but I really really wanna show you guys the video of the winners of the Bachata Competition I watched on Saturday night. It was EXCELLENT! Oh my gosh, if you see that chick move, guys will salivate and girls will wish they can shake like that... You have to click on this link and watch it!!

Man walks through table??

Quite amazing! See if you can catch the 'trick'... :) [Click Here]

Mosaic Music Festival Singapore @ The Esplanade

The Esplanade is currently hosting the Mosaic Music Festival where for 2 whole weeks there'll be lots of foreign acts who are in Singapore to show off their music. The music on display ranges from Indie, Rap, Hip-hop, Jazz, Funk and many many many others.

I wasn't actually aware that is was on! Fortunately for me, I stumbled across it as I went to the Esplanade Library to study, and at the Singapore Arts Cafe (inside the Esplanade Library), they were having some showcases. I heard them singing and walked into the Cafe to take a look. And that's where I heard Andrea Hamilton sing.

She's from California, USA and she's only 23. Her songs are self-composed and lyrical. More of an Indie feel to it. It's lyrics are about everyday experiences (mostly her own, I think), emotional and mostly about love and life... it's ups and downs... the disappointments, and also about finding your way in the world. And her voice is a little husky and quite clear and brilliant. She sure can hit those high notes. I'm sure she can give those American Idol contestants a run for their money. :)

Anyway, here's her website http://www.myspace.com/andreahamiltonmusic where you can actually check out her music. I especially like "It'll Be Alright" and "Only Love". Hope you love it as much as I do. :)

Here's the EP CD that I bought after her performance, and it's autographed! Hehe...

Celebrating with our new talents!

Can you spot me? :)

Gonna be a bear!

In this life, I'm a woman.
In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear.
When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for 6 months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat!

Yup, gonna be a bear!!

Yummy healthy dinner! (And yes, I made it all by myself!)

It's been a long time since I made a pasta-bake dish. And since I've recently resolved to eat more vegetables, and cut down on meat, I decided to make a Baked Vegetable Pasta dish. :) And voila...! The dish you see above is the result!!

In the dish, I've put brinjal, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms. Healthy huh? ;) The brinjal and mushrooms were first grilled in the oven with olive oil. Broccoli, carrots and a little bit of linguini were boiled with hot water & a pinch of salt. Finally, it all comes together in the baking tray, layered with Prego's pre-bottled pasta sauce, topped off with mozzarella cheese. Yummy! :P It took me almost an hour and a half to cook it (preparation + cooking time), but it was well worth the effort!

*BURP* My stomach is still bloated from it! So much for trying to lose weight by eating less carbs and meat! :D

Happy Birthday Alexander Graham Bell!

Everyone should be celebrating the birth of this remarkable man, coz without him, we wouldn't be able to communicate with each other as easily as we do today! Even kindergarten kids have a mobile phone now! Crazy!

And so creative of Google to create these icons! I'm sure during the Beijing Olympics they will have another series. Can't wait to see them! :P

More about Alexander Graham Bell: He was born on 3 March 1847. And invented the telephone (duh!) around 1876, for which we will forever be grateful! :) He and his family also made a lot of contributions towards helping the hearing-impaired.

Riding the MRT... the decision-making process

Everyday when I ride the MRT, I actually have to make several 'important' decisions. I'm not kidding! (Ok, maybe only I think of these things, but they do make a difference! :P) It's kinda like betting, even though there's no money involved. What you do 'lose' is the extra energy that would have be expelled from either walking / standing longer than is probably necessary. :P

Ok, here's what I'm talking about:

First of all, when you go to the MRT platform, you need to decide - which section of the platform should I stand at to board the train? The front of the train, middle section of the train, or towards the end of the train? This decision will require an assessment of several factors:

1. Which MRT station(s) did the train just come from? - This will kinda influence how empty the various compartments of the train would be, and will determine whether you actually have a chance to even board the train!
   
2. Which MRT station are you alighting at? - You wanna be strategically located at your destination station so that when you get out of the train, the escalator to the exit should be right in front of you! :P
   
3. Is the door of that particular compartment positioned in the middle of the compartment? - This is so that you have more chance of accessing an empty seat. For example, if you enter at the door that is near the end of the compartment, one side would be the connector of the compartments and will have only 4 available seats. As opposed to entering in the middle of that compartment, you'll have more options to your left AND right. ;)
   

Now, assuming you've chosen which door to enter the train. As the train comes to a stop, you notice that both sides of the door you are about to enter have empty seats. Great! OK, the second decision you have to make is: Should you go left or go right? You look around and assess the people around you. You look to the OTHER compartment doors and assess the people there: Will they be heading to those same seats you are targeting? You would probably want to choose the direction that you think least people would head towards so that (hopefully) those empty seats will still be unoccupied by the time you reach it! :D (Ok, some of you are probably shaking your head at me right now... but bear with me. The 'torture' will end soon. :P )

And suppose the 'worst' has happened: You do not find a seat. No problem at all. But now you're required to make ANOTHER decision: Where should you stand? You may think that this is ridiculous, but this is actually the difficult part, as you need to gather all your past experiences and intuition, and of course with (a lot of) luck, to assess the people who are currently seated. Assess their clothing (work clothes, school uniform, housewives?) , what they are carrying etc, and try to guess whether they are going to alight soon... you want to be standing in front of these people so that you can take over their seat when they stand up and leave the train. :)

Ok, so this 'decision-making process' is not an exact science, and most of the time it's just pure luck. But it's something I thought is quite interesting (and funny!) and wanted to share. :P I'm sure everyone does it to a certain extent! Well, I know I do... :P