Fireworks

For many years, when national day approaches, I will ask (people around me) "want to rent a hotel room to watch fireworks?". Usually, no one will answer me, which I will then take it as "no". Finally this year, WK initiated and booked a hotel room (9 Aug), but I will be out of Singapore! That's fate..

Then Aunt Cindy sms us to say that we can watch fireworks on 30/Jul at her office, which is at SLT, on the 37th floor. So we went yesterday night.

The fireworks is not bad.. I guess, my interest in fireworks is due to the one and only time that I attended the national day parade when i was in primary school. The feeling of watching fireworks outdoors (at the parade), where the fireworks is booming "right above your head", and the feeling watch indoors, behind closed glass window, is very very different. For so many years that I watched the fireworks from windows, I've have never feel the same "high" as I felt during that day at the parade. So next year, I think we going to "chop" place at 4pm at one of the outdoors venue, such as Merlion, or MBS sky garden. I really want to find the same feeling again. Hopefully, its not a age thing...

Anyway, the pictures turn out quite good:

Reno and Deco (II)

Our mini project of renovating and re-decorating our house due to WK's moving out is finally done. Lynn has been sleeping, on and off, in the room she shares with WK's mum. She's actually relunctant/ half hearted about not sleeping with me, but we manage to negotiate with her that she can sleep with us 3 times per week (Fri, Sat and Sun). For the past 3 nights (Mon to Wed), she kept to the agreement and had slept in her room with WK's mum.

As for the living room, the furnitures were delivered during the week that I was in Atlanta.

Firstly, we got a new sofa. For the past 20 yrs or so, I always have full leather sofa. This time round, we(I) made the (painful) decision to try a bonded leather sofa. I'm still trying to get use to it. I don't know if it's just my prejudice against it, or it is really less comfi than full leather. And black colour is not as easy to maintain as the red and orange colours that I use to have.

I got some nice cushions for the new sofa:



Secondly, we got a new TV console and coffee table. So far, I like them very much. They are nicer in design/look, and the quality are good. What I didn't like about my old ones are the watermarks between the glass top and the wood surface. The new set also have glass top, but should be easier to clean if water really seep thro'.

WK wanted to "cover" the socket points beside the TV console. I told him that I want to get a big vase and fake plant. This is what I got:

They look a bit strange right? Haha, I actually think it's (the round plant) quite unique. Instead of putting a colourful arragement of fake flowers (which I will get sick of in no time), I went for this cos its special, and I have some "fun" ideas of how I can "change" it's look as often as I like:

Ha, those are real roses! I had the idea that if I have gathering or celebration at home, I can buy real flowers and stick them into the fake round plant. So I experiment on this idea last weekend, with 2 bunches of roses. Next time i will try other flowers.

This is how the whole TV console area looks like:


Lastly, we had the contractor built a full height shoe rack!! It's my dream to have BIG built in, rather than (a small and squeezy) purchased shoe rack. I wanted a lot, a lot of space, for a lot a lot of shoes. I know that its the dream for many ladies too. Ha, so far, I have no time to go shopping for shoes to fill up the whole shoe rack yet...

My "dream" is tinted by the fact that shoe rack built by the contractor is not nice. Like what WK's mum say, it looks like a wardrobe in the bedroom. Since it's already done deal, I can only find ways to make it better. So I scouted for wall decal to decorate it.

Anyway, the shoe rack is beside a door for the storeroom. I got 2 sets of wall decal. The first one (on the shoe rack doors) are very nice and suitable:

The 2nd one is translucent, and thus not suitable for dark background:

In all, we spent about $7k. Overall, I'm very happy, cos other than the new furnitures, we did a lot of other improvement such as replace faulty doors, lights, wall fan, rusty dish drying rack and change the position of a lighting switch. The living room, has a "floral" theme, so its very me. If anyone of you come across a wall decal that you think will suit my design (to replace the translucent ones), let me know!

New Office layout and furniture

I like my new office. My cubicle is much smaller than before, but because we were mentally prepared for the "downgrade" (the other departments' relayout were carried out before ours) most of us didn't feel bad.

I love the new colours, so bright and cheerful. And I'm so near my team now, I just walk out of my cubicle to talk to them. I think they need some time to get use to me always popping up behind them, haha...

My workspace. The layout and how my staff keeps coming one by one into my cubicle and sit on the visitor's chair to discuss issue, is really like "doctor see patient":

Behind me, to my right, is a cabinent, which I place my plants:

This is where my team sit:

Along the corridor:

Office relayout

Our finance office is getting a relayout this weekend. The facility team and the contractors need 3 days for the work, so we were asked to "clear" the office by 10am on Friday (yesterday). A lot of people didn't want to come to office on Friday just for 2 hours, so everything was packed on Thursday.

On Friday morning, I'm one of the 7 persons who went to office. We worked in the finance office till 10, and then proceed to a nearby conference room to work for the other 2 hours. All of us took 1/2 day off, instead of whole day off like the rest.

The office is so deserted on Friday morning; I took some pic of the place, for memory sake:




We are going to get new furnitures, which will be yellow and grey. Will post some pics next week!

Biz Trip to Atlanta

It was a short business trip, with nothing much to write about. Not because there's nothing in Atlanta, but because it was a really short biz trip so we din do any sight seeing nor much shopping.

The "memorable" thing is the long flight of course.. I've been to Europe (12-13 hours), US West coast (18-20hrs). Actually, I've been to US East coast before, which was about 10 yrs ago, when I was still young and can take long flights. Those days, I took United Airlines (US airline), so the trip probably take 24 hours due to more favourable timing. This time round, because we wanted to take SQ (which is more comfi, but has more stops/less favourable timing), so the trip took 28 hours! Some people in my office says that I'm crazy (for doing this for the company's sake). Well, I'm definately quite aggressive sometimes in terms of work. I really want the project to go live on time. I am willing to do ensure some level of hardship..

Anyway, I didn't take much photo. We wanted to take some photos of JFK airport (to show that we went New York), but it is so... unglam, like a small domestic terminal. Can't even find a sign on the building or any landmark, so we just took pic of the airport bus that says "JFK airport"



From the international terminal #4, we went to terminal #3, to take the domestic flight on Delta airlines from New York to Atlanta:


Took some pic of the hotel, but nothing memorable to show here. It's a cozy and well run chain of Hilton's. It's near the office. Because we don't drive, so there's a limit to where we can roam, by the 5miles distance that the hotel shutter would go. We end up at a decent mall for all the 3 nights that we spent there. There's GAP, Macy, H&M, but no factory outlets for the branded names.
The mall:

We went Costco, one of the mega supermart chain. The flowers are so cheap and nice!!


I will be there again in August, again for a week. Hopefully, the project will go smoothly..

Luggage delay and item stolen

I reached changi airport on Sunday morning, and was being informed by SQ groundstaff that JFK airport informed them that my luggage, and my colleague's, were not loaded onto the airplane. Once they receive them, they will send them to our home.

On Monday morning, I got a call that the luggages had arrived, and they would be delivered at noon. When I got home from work yesterday night, I discovered that a ring that I purchased on the trip was missing from my luggage. The ring cost USD98. It is definately stolen from my luggage.

So suay.. Going to log a insurance claim tomorrow. Lesson learned, never leave valuation items in check-in luggage. Curse the stupid thief!

Home sick

I'm going home!! This must be my 4th or 5th trip since my projects started in Sept last year. I'm seldom home sick. This trip, I felt home sick right from the start. Just called Lynn to talk to her.. I very happy now, cos I'm going home in a few hours' time..

Reno and Deco (1)

Didn't blog for a month! cos I was busy shopping for furniture and home stuff during the past 3 weekends.

WK's brother is finally moving out. Took this opportunity to do lots of improvements to the home. He remind me very much of the time WK and I bought and set up our first in Bishan. At that time, our furniture are all hands-down by my Dad and my uncle. We probably spent less than $2k buying a bed and painting, and didn't do any reno at all. WK's brother did almost the same thing, taking lots of furniture from us. He's happy that he didn't spend but got very good and useful stuff; I'm happy and willing to give, cos I have totally legitimate reason to buy new furniture!

Our living room is not ready yet (new furniture not in), but Lynn's room (she will share room with WK's mum) is done! It may not be as beautiful as those children's room shown in magazine and TV, but it's the end result of my ideas, so I'm very very satisfied. Lynn's very happy with her new room too. Let me show the pics:
Pink table and yellow stool from Ikea. Strawberry Shortcake wall decal (gift by lixing):

Stufftoy net from Ikea. Lynn loves this; she allocate slots for her fav stufftoys. In the background, the taller brown cabinet, is given to us by Jocelyn about 2 years back. This cabinet is used by WK's mum. During this "exercise", I manage to "clean up" quite a lot of useless stuff from the cabinet. Happy happy me..

Wall decal of her fav animal, CATS!! Winny recommended this online site. Lynn took part in the pasting very enthusiastically. We couldn't find the diagram (suggested design) that came with the decal, so I discussed with her how she wants it. And in the background, is a fresh coat of purple colour paint for the room, done by WK's brother for us!

Cute hanger/hook from Ikea too, in the shape of animal backside/tail..

Finally new bedsheets for her bed.


All these done, to entice her to sleep in this room, rather than sleep in our master bedroom. Yesterday night, let her sleep with me, cos I flying to US for work for a week tonight. Now its 3+ already, still hasn't pack...

When I'm back, I will post pic of the living room!