Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year period is gonna come to an end soon so I'll just give you an update on what's been happening. 

On 初一,
The family and I went visiting to our relatives' places. First stop was my aunt's house which is just a few blocks away, but before that, we had our mandatory temple prayers. While at my aunt's house, we also sort of had our lunch there since aunt prepared a lot of food for us and it would be a waste if we didn't eat some of it. Also, we did a lou hei there and I'm always the one who take all the crackers/biscuits/whatever-you-call-that-crunchy-thing because they are really good. The other ingredients are nice too, but only with the unique lou hei sweet sauce. After we're done visiting our first stop, we went back home and I fell asleep. What a productive first day of CNY, right. 

 (Taken before we head out at night)

Anyway, after napping away an hour or so, we decided to go to another temple located at woodlands, and this temple is no joke. It's super big with lots of sculptures and there's lots of people praying even though it was night time already. They must be really famous for making people's wishes come true. They also gave out free beehoon and drinks. Hehehehhe. 

After that, we went to visit my cousin's house as they have called for us to come over and so we did. And guess what, MORE FREE FOOOOOOOOOD. Nomnomnom. 

Don't worry, I'm nice enough to not finish them all. But seriously though, all those CNY goodies & snacks are tasty as heck. 

We also took a polariod there, the person behind the camera is not very skilled at using a Polaroid camera but he did his best. Headed home after that and played blackjack & Big 2. And actually, that's pretty much it for CNY this year. We were supposed to go Malaysia to enjoy playing firecrackers, but because my passport wasn't renewed on time, we decided not to go after all. :( 

And the rest of CNY days are spent lazing around at home or finding part-time jobs.

Yeah, my life is kinda boring.

Back

Sooooooo, I finally signed myself up for drumming lessons at MyDrumSchool because I wanted to drum and get in touch with the drums again. 

After attending the first lesson which is on the 11 Feb (right smack in the mid of my exams), it's pretty good! The place was unexpectedly small though. The photos from the site made my expectations high and to be honest, I kind of inspected the area before entering as I thought I've gotten the wrong location. Also, the studio was just big enough for 2 drumsets but it works well with me. Anyway, for the first lesson, I got in touch with rudiments like paradiddle and some other rudiments I've never seen before, while playing patterns with the base drum and hi-hat. Some co-ordination problem there. 

(I used a scanner as my phone's camera sucks)

Also, I got to know more about the genre gospel and it's pretty cool! But that's pretty much it, since I can only afford 30 minutes per lesson. All in all, I look forward to my next lesson! Hahaha. 
Oh, and on my way back, I got myself some beauty products. I've no idea how am I gonna squeeze out time to take care of my skin but I guess it's better to start early, right?


On the day of my last paper which is 13 Feb, Shu Fei and I had a shopping date and we went to invade 313 Somerset, H&M, Scape and Cineleisure. And we got lots of clothing from F21, passport cover from the underground haven (I don't know if this is the right word but whatever) of Scape, and a hearty meal from 18Chefs at Cineleisure. WOOHOO. It's a day well spent.

But I still didn't manage to get a pair of shoes for the new year. I need to get one asap. :/


On Valentine's Day, the family and I went to my aunt's house, as usual, for the Lunar New Year gathering aka Reunion Dinner aka Gramp's Birthday Celebration. 3-in-1, we're one efficient group of relatives. Anyway, my aunt's house has never fails to surprise me. For instance, the last time we visited, my cousin had this arcade machine built by himself in his room which is totally awesome btw.

So this time round, they bought a solowheel. No idea what is that? Here's a picture:

It's basically a unicycle but without the seat and pedal, so just a wheel and two platforms for your feet. It's powered by electricity and it works by leaning forward or backwards or even sideways to turn. It's super amazing and fun to move in. Everyone should try it if they can! 

I made a silly face. Don't judge me.

The one which I rode on had training wheels so it's safer and easier for beginners like me. Hahaha. My little cousin called me slow because I was still uncomfortable riding this wheel. -.- Anyway, we had steamboat for Reunion Dinner and I went exploring the backyard. There, it has 2 swings and a treehouse!

This is the treehouse, it's not all that big or fancy or comfy but it does have a hamlet and it's built on a tree. Good enough. After that, it's time for some fun with the arcade machine. Hehehehe. And I also got to try some champagne and ciders. 

But we missed out on the birthday celebration because we were busy hitting the buttons on the arcade machine. All well.

;)

Smooth

I was so bored one day that I decided to drag my lazy feet out of the house and satisfy my wanderlust (kind of). Got myself dressed up and went to NEX to get my cup of smoothie from SmoothieKing after some research. It seems to promote healthy and good smoothies. Also, NEX is somewhere the youngsters would hang out after their school and I was so afraid to bump into any of my sec sch friends I didn't want them to know that I'm wandering about alone. I'm such a failure. 

Sighs. Anyway, I got my hand on this smoothie called Angel Fruit (I think). Tastes like a mix of strawberries and bananas, it's pretty good actually. No wonder it's popular. Plus, the cup is made of styrofoam! The smoothie doesn't get warm nor does the cup collect water droplets on the outside. WONDERFUL. 

Look at it:

The amount of smoothie there is is also a plus point (more than what Starbucks serve for the same cost). I've been walking around NEX and shopping through CottonOn and UNIQLO while drinking it and guess what, I was only 3/5 through the smoothie. If it was the Green Tea Latte in my hand, it would have been long gone. The amount is shocking. Would definitely go back and try the other flavours! :)

I went back to Northpoint after spending my time at NEX to shop the CottonOn here. I have nothing else better to do, sorry. Anyway, I didn't find anything worthy of my money there so I went to POPULAR to look for Khaled Hosseini books, particularly The Kite Runner. The tumblr users which I follows are highly recommending this particular author and so it got me curious. And they all recommended that starting from his first book would be ideal so as to get use to his writing style. His second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, has gained much love from the readers, so I can't wait to get my hands on his books. Unfortunately, POPULAR isn't selling The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, but they do have his latest work: And The Mountains Echoed. I didn't get it because I wanna stick to reading his first book. Hence, I went to the library to look for them but to no avail. Instead, I borrowed The Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino, the same author for The Devotion of Suspect X. I loved his books because it's so intriguing, the way he weaves through the crime and all. 

Excited. 

Another day, my family and I decided to go out for dinner and so we headed to Jack's Place and it sure is packed. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait too long for a table for four. The down side was, there weren't enough waiters so it took a while for them to take our order. Dinner was great nonetheless. 

I ordered Grilled Salmon Steak and the salmon was heavenly. Hehehe.

Another waiter came afterwards to pour the condiments onto the baked potato and it tasted so much better.

I wanna enjoy a meal at their place again. 

17 Birthday

Celebrated my 17th Birthday with my friends and afterwards my family on the 18th September. I didn't really took much photos and I bet you would know why by now, since I often mentioned it in my previous posts. Anyway, I'll show you what I got. :)

From my sister.

From my friends.

In the morning was celebration with my friends. We have mango cake and also oreo cheesecake for my other friend. We did surprise her with the cake and the cute bunny present. Hehehe. And after filling our stomachs with cakes, we went for a movie, The Maze Runner. It's really good and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I guess you could say the plot is pretty much like The Hunger Games. But nonetheless, the movie was directed fantastically with all the actions and thrills. Ohh, and the cast is amazing. You gotta check the movie out.

 Lots and lots of running.

Minho:

 Newt:

Amazing casts (I mistyped this the first time as cats. Hahaha)

They're a bunch of dorks actually. Hah.

I initially only intended to upload 3/4 pictures but Thomas Brodie Sangster got me carried away. Help. Tumblr is my new heaven now. *Fangirl screams*

"She's the one."

Anyway, let's carry on before I get carried away (Hohoho. Did you notice the pun). So, after the celebration with my friends, I got home while carrying that enlarged photo frame wrapped present around which was such a burden (plus I was carrying the 3/5 eaten mango cake too. Gosh). And I collapsed onto my bed soon after. By the time I woke up, it's already night time and my parents had already made the decision to go out for dinner as my birthday celebration while I was sleeping. Well, what can I say, I'm the kind of person who goes with the flow. So while we're at it, I might as well also decide on the dinner location from the recommendations on google sites. It's Bar Bar Black Sheep, a pub-bar restaurant. Some photos on the meal.

 Cheese burger meal. Underneath the sunny side up was a thick beef patty. Oh my.

This is Virgin Mary and I'll never try it a second time, ever. 

And that's about it. On my actual birthday was quite boring, I just stayed at home and cleaned up my room a bit, there's still my desk which is just a messy pile of worksheets mixed with stationery, small toys and plastic bags. I wonder when will I ever get my desk tidy. And thanks to all the people who wished me! Ohh, and the release of results was also on my birthday and I got a GPA of 3.96/4 which is pretty badass I must say. Hahhah. 

The Summit

Family Outing #2:
Soo, last Saturday we went to climb the Bukit Timah Hill at about 5pm. This is really impromptu and thus the late timing. Wasn't really in the mood to climb but oh well, some quality time spent with the family is no harm done. Here are some pictures because pictures speak a thousand words and I'm too lazy to describe. Sumimasen. 

The air over there is really fresh and natural, it also have the taste of trees and leaves. Hahaha. The first picture was taken out of impulse just right above my head. You don't even have to find the angle to take the best photograph because every angle will give you a magnificent photo. Trust me. It'll look as abstract and as simple as the photo I took anywhere you are in the nature reserve. 

And we saw monkeys on our way to the summit! Hehehehe.

And finally:

THE SUMMIT! :D

The Bukit Timah Hill wasn't really high to begin with so we could reach the summit within an hour. Like hey, it's height is only 163 metres, so it's a piece of cake. Hahaha. 

And after the climb, we went to grab our dinner at Beauty Plaza which is located somewhere in Clementi and somewhere near my school. It's a pretty old building because there's still brick walls and old-style flooring. Anyway, we had Korean BBQ and it's awesome! The shop is opened by Koreans too! 

Time for some pictures again! :)

The BBQ  plate was slated to one side so as to drain the oil from the meat to the lower side and into a container. Hehehe. So much meat. WOOHOO. 

Not to worry because we wrap the meat with vegetables and garlic and kimchi and rice so it's healthy! Not too meaty! :) IT'S DAMN GOOD. YOU SHOULD TRY IT. ARE YOU DROOLING RIGHT NOW? GOOD, BECAUSE I AM EVEN AFTER I HAD MY DINNER. YES, IT'S THAT GOOD. Hahahaha. 

Sat Sat Saturday

• My package finally arrived! I've ordered a cotton sweat shirt and a pair of jeans, but the jeans was a little too loose. Sigh, the disadvantages of online shopping. Well, at least the sweatshirt is still as awesome as it looks online. Hehehe. 
• So, since today's Mothers' Day, my mum requested that I cooked up something for her and I've decided to go for the easiest one. Zha Jiang Miannnnnn~ The style of cooking is really similar to pasta except that the sauce is not tomato sauce. In conclusion, the noodle is edible and the taste is not bad (it has the Zha Jiang Mian flavour in it - the salty and savoury taste). But I think it was too oily. I've put too much oil. Oops.
  
• Mothers' Day Celebration - Skipped Alumni Band Prac : So we decided to go to Chinatown to have dinner as our Mothers' Day Celebration. We walked around those streets selling super duper cheap souvenirs and stuffs which were like 6 for $10. Hahaha. Then we walked through 美食街 to look for good food but everything looks good there and also since my mum couldn't decide which to eat, we had to walk through it again. When we were walking through 美食街 for the second time, my mum suggested we go an empty so that we can sit inside for the air-con (because my sis was complaining how hot the weather is even though she was already wearing thin clothing). And so, we went into this quite empty restaurant and we ordered our food. Then there's this green tea which they sold it for $5. We expected that the green tea would probably be good in both quality and quantity since it costs 5 bucks but in the end, we got ONE CAN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH GREEN TEA. WOW. FOR FIVE BUCKS. But the food was nice, so is their chinese tea. Ohh, and while we were waiting for the food to arrive, I played Don't tap the while tile on my sis's phone and I beat her high score for Arcade and Rush. MUAHAHAHAHAH.