Hello Kitty Madness 2014

They did it right this year. The whole Hello Kitty set can be ordered online right from the get-go. I applaud McDonald's for investing in the online ordering store for Kitty.

Meimei bought 3 sets this year. One for keeping in mint condition, one for displaying (she suggested the car, but we'll see >.<") and last one for her colleague in KL. Although the sets come with 6 $5 extra value meals, at $80 for the whole set it isn't cheap.

Well, at least there are no joshing and pushing this year at the stores. Honestly though, it does make the experience less engaging ... I know I am being weird. But somehow the queuing and worry about not getting a kitty makes it exciting to be gunning for one.

Bowl Stickies

Meimei was at Diaso again today and bought a number of bowls and plates. She decided to borrow my hand to 'hold' the stickers as she peeled them off the wares.

The Art of Conversation

So I was lying in bed, waiting for sleep to come. These are the best times for thinking, for deliberating on whatever bugs me. Most times I just think of weird stuff, nonsensical gibberish or maul over unhappy events and injustice.

Last night I started thinking about what I might be doing wrong when conversing. You know some people just have the gift of the gap. Maybe its the tone of their voice, the way they fit their sentence into the context of the conversation. I dunno, somehow everyone around me seems to be able to speak a lot better than I can.

Now it's not that I have a limited vocabulary, far from it. I do not profess to have excellent English skills but I would say I'm average. Reading helped a lot in this and my sentence structures do not suffer from Chinese influences.

I think the problem lies in that I like to be heard. Self-centered mentality maybe? Know it all, I'm always right mentality maybe? I dunno ... well I should really. I find it hard to converse with people. Those who are nice try to accommodate me in the conversation. Other nastier souls just brush me off.

So really I need to reach within to improve my art of conversation. "Hear, stop, think, offer small morsel, stop, check reaction, offer more if listening, if not stop." I think it's about being more intuitive to the listener's reactions to what is being said. So rather than simply going on and on about something, I need to learn to watch for their facial expressions to what I've said. And learn to listen more rather than speak.

I wonder how long I could remember on this point for self-improvement. Will my natural instinct to speak and speak mess me up again? I dunno ... only time can tell.

Cold & Spicy, SiChuan 凉拌菜

Meimei first introduced to me this variety of SiChuan cuisine a couple of years ago. If you are like me where you have a tiny cautiousness or skepticism of Chinese immigrants, you would be happy to know that at least they brought something of note to the Singapore food scene.

There was a stall selling 凉拌菜 at Bedok and it was extremely popular with  the Chinese nationals. Look around the kopitiam and you will find one munching on a 馒头 with a plate of the chilli red accompaniments. Every dish is mixed in a 'healthy' doze of chilli and garlic mix and the spiciness appeals to Singaporean's palate. Sadly the stall closed a few months after my first visit and for quite awhile we couldn't find another place in the east for this deliciously appetising cuisine.

We finally found our go-to stall in Chinatown last year. The meats are mostly cow or pig innards, cooked and frozen till they become cold dishes. My favourite is the bean curd skin. I eat it like you would rice or noodle. 

For some odd reason I didn't get a pic whenever we had it and thus never blog about it. But really ... this was something we love to eat and finally we remembered to take photos before we dig into them. 

So if you are keen on spicy food and haven't had the chance to try this, I highly recommend you make a trip to Chinatown. And while you are at it, you could also try the China-style 麻辣火锅 at the food centre. Note though I've not tried the 火锅 myself as it looks extremely spicy, but go ahead if you are the adventurous sort ... just remember to bring lots of napkins!

No Opinions!

I really need to keep my opinions in check. No opinions, no emotions, no statements. If I have any, suck it up and keep it to myself.

Just the other day I rambled on about something and it irritated Meimei alot. It was right of her to point it out, she is the only who cares about me to tell me my flaws. I truly appreciate it. But I'm useless ... After all these years I've still not learned. 'Go with the flow!'

So now it takes more drastic methods to try to curb my over fixation on any topic. I will keep humming 'no opinions, no opinions!' whenever I talk or hear conversations. That might distract me from the conversation but hey, failing to follow or hear the conversation would help me to be confused and not respond as well. So it's like a voice in my head that messes with my concentration so words pass by and I don't listen enough to react.

I believe there are several stages to getting into a 'good EQ' category. Meimei hopes I can jump straight to the expert level of cutting through the gist of a conversation and offer factual non-bias comments. But sadly I'm very inapt in the EQ department. So I have to start small by a doable means to 'not take offence' or 'not offer opinions' before I can slowly learn to dissect what I'm hearing so I don't jump at a certain opinion which may offend people.

So first step, 'No opinions! No opinions!'.

Tulips Galore

Gardens by the Bay has a different focus display every month. And it's tulips in April, which excited Sis and Meimei so much we are braving the crowds on the first weekend the new exhibit is open.

The flower dome was transformed into a sea of tulips. The wide variety of colours brought the place to life, with striking vibrances at every corner.

For those who do not have a chance to experience a tulip garden in holland, this is your next best bet for a chance to pose against a multi colour field of flowers.

If gardens keep up such stunning displays, I might invest in an annual 'Friends of the gardens' family pass.

Flowery Social Media Icons

Spot this at Changi Airport Terminal 3. Never a fan of social media but like how they made the icons pop with clever use of flowers.