How to INCREASE ANG PAO collection $$$$$

THERE ARE INDEED MANY WAYS TO INCREASE ANG PAO COLLECTION.

I provide you with a few... and also let you in on how you can be creative when you're bored at your relatives' house, how can can occupy yourself and probably bag a few more of those red packets.

1. stake out at your grandparent's house.

You know, many people visit the older folks, so if you stake out there, not only do you get an endless supply of food, you also get ang pao from everyone who visit... I know this from watching one of my cousins (shall not name him) stake out every year at ah mah's. Smart rite? Instead of visiting others, he stays with Ah Mah at her house and get people to "visit" him instead.

2. Wear damn bloody red or damn bloody GOLD

You see, if you do so, people think you're bringing them LUCK, so they give you $$$$

3. Get your parents to change $1 notes instead of $2.

Don't know if it's just me, but my parents seem to also keep track of how much other relatives give and "give back" the same amount to their children (unless of course it's an underpriviledged family then daddy can be very generous). So this year, somehow get your parents to change many $1 notes and if your giving $10, 10 pieces of $1 feels SUPER THICK, so in return, relatives think your parents have upped the amount due to the thickness and will return the favour. Disclaimer: Next year though, you will get a lot less...

4. Get your parents to up the amount for good

By doing so, for the same reasons as stated above, your relatives will be "obliged" to give you more money, so as not to be seen as "cheap".

5. STAY SINGLE (and even bring your bf/gf along with you for the windfall)

We all know that if you're married, that ends your journey of ang pao collection and starts your new path of giving ang paos. Singles, stay single for this year at least, so your prolong your ang pao reception by a year and delay your giving by a year. Good idea also to bring your partner for ang pao collection...

(haha then remind them to split half of THEIR collection with you since they got it from your family... take it as a commission!!!)

If all else fails, learn how to do this, and I'm sure you'll get more money... Enjoy and gong xi fa cai everyone!! (P/s: the above was said in jest, please do not take me seriously)

GONG XI FA CAI EVERYONE!!! LOVE LOVE!!!

Why FOOD is good... mouth watering pics

Weisan and I met a fortnight ago... you know, just to catch up and all... just between us girls. OMG she's getting MARRIED! yes, it's true. My sec sch gf getting married. Oh how we used to drive the chemistry teacher crazy... it was good.. and now already as i speak, she is legally a MRS. *shudders*.... I'd DROP DEAD if I were married...


Ok.. enough of gossip. The other day, Daniel from Moscow visited and we went to Kuriya, this nice Jap restaurant in Raffles City... we even got a private room, thanks to Mr. TONG...

Yeap, you can't have Jap without SASHIMI!!
OR COD FISH!

OR MEDIUM RARE STEAK!
(OK FINE, NOT SO JAP BUT IT WAS GOOD CAN?)

OR UNAGI!!

.... DANIEL HAD SOME RED BEAN ICE PASTE WITH GREEN TEA ICE CREAM AND WE HAD A COUPLE OF BOWLS OF LIKE SOBA AND ALL, BUT I DIDN'T GET GOOD PICS OF IT.

The price was expensive, but I guess that's what you normally pay for good food?

Talking of good food, 2 weeks ago, we went with Wendy and Mike to Tratorria Lafiandra

... for pizza and pasta. I think it's only and OK place but Ming seems to love it for some reason. Yes, it's reasonably priced.. and the pizza is great, but I think the pasta is so so only...

This was some brinjal dish..

I know it looks yucky, but even how much you hate your greens, you'll love this... there's so much cheese it hardly tastes like you're having vegetables... if u hate cheese, stay off this.

Wendy had a risotto, which was too salty and had to be changed for a new plate, but it turned out just as salty.. may it's supposed to be that way? I don't know but the last time I had risotto, it was super, so maybe my expectations were way up there...

I had some arrabiata shit.. which was ok la...

As always, the pizza is a winner for me. If you like thin crust pizza, oven baked with like tons of oooey doooey cheese, you'll fall in love with this!!! MAMA MIA!!!!

This is a pic of Daniel (from Moscow)... we brught him to another Sudanese restaurant I think, at Suntec City... The name of the restaurant eludes me now..

Hungry hungry boys!!!

And Denka calling the shots and ordering our yummyicious food!!!

Mutton... and the funny thing is u can suck the marrow out of the bones after eating the meat... check out the straw!!!! Of course I gave it a MISS!!

Beef Rendang below... or was it mutton?? *dang*

Have to have your greens rite?

Then some fishy fish fish!!! SPICY!!

MORE FISH!!! i really loved this one.. it was as crunchy as keropok!!!

Speaking of which.. we also had crispy fresh keropoK! YUMMY! pokpok!

And below I present you wit us gluttons... yes all 16 of us!

WHO'S COUNTING THE CALORIES? I TELL YOU FAT SELF CALORIES DON'T COUNT ON WEEKENDS... @#$%^&*(@#$%^&*(

I'm 63% uber 9eek. What are you!? + BANGKOK HOL PICS!

63%Are you an Uber-Geek? Quiz courtesy of Whirlpool Parts from Easy Appliance Parts

I received this email from a reader of my blog. Very sweet of her to email me a quiz to test my "UBER-9EEKYNESS"... which is cool, cuz sometimes I wonder if I'm really a 9eek or trying to pass off as one...

SO I'M 63% UBER GEEK!!

IT'S GOOD TO KNOW ANYWAYS...

So like one of the questions is:

What is Shareware?

1. Clothes that you share with your best friend
2. Copyrighted software that someone expects you to pay for if you use it regularly
3. A plot by the government to infiltrate your computer and track your actions
4. Communal dishes in your local Hostel
5. Not sure but I think that a shot of penicillin will clear it up

haha... funny right? Maybe you guys can try to take it and tell me how u scored?

On a lighter note, I'm going to post some backdated photos from my trip to Bangkok...

We stayed in the Shangri-la.. very nice view. Managed to upload this picture from our hotel balcony... the night of New Years' Eve itself....

The countdown was fabulous. We were so near the barge shooting fireworks, we could literally feel the reverberations from the explosions...

I mean I go for NDP all the time, but this experience took fireworks to another level altogether...

Pic of our pool downstairs!!

More importantly, we had great food during our 5 days there. Apart from the fancy places, we visited chinatown with Ekkawat (Thai who lives and studies in S'pore now) and we had roadside food... which, to be honest was just as good, if not better than the food served at restaurants.

I'm a sucker for roadside filthy food!!!

The prawns were huge man, one of my friends even asked me if they were lobsters... she is doing her PHD in Oxford now, so means she's smart ok... not like it was a stupid question. Truly, we don't see GIANT PRAWNS like this here.

This is a pic of Ekka holding up his "FLYING PRAWN"...

Yup, more prawns for you there...

I troed Goose Webbed Feet for the first time... OMG... it tastes like nothing I've ever had before. Sophia, a gf of mine told me it was yummy and dang, I had to try it... Ive never even had chicken feet before.

The thought of sucking on someone else's toes just isn't too
much a turn on for me...

CRAP! THIS WAS SOOOOO GOOOD!!!

Our sucking pig being roasted... I LOVE PIGS AND I CAN'T LIE!!

There!!! OINK OINK!!!

YUMMY!!!!


Of course, we had our fair share of "good food" = more expensive and more visually stimulating food. We were at Bangkok's landmark State Tower, and dined at the Breeze

- a gloriously glamorous setting 200 metres up in the sky, life surely doesn't get any better. Welcome to heaven on earth...

******
We also visited another Thai restaurant.. forgot the name, but from our faces, you can see we were nothing short of HAPPY AND FAT!

More of us girls...

HAPPY AND WELL FED!!!

Just us 5 9irls .... and a CAMERA

Surely pictures paint a thousand words. 5 9irls together taking pictures... I was intending of writing captions for all the pictures but then again... when you have 5 9irls having fun.. you don't have to really put in in so many words...

Bottom row: Amy, Estee and Dawn (L to R)
Top row: Yvie and Cyn (L to R)

Amy, Estee and Dawn


We sure know how to have fun!!!