It started like this. I was taking the train home from work when a heavily pregnant woman boarded. The lady at the “reserved seat” was old so fine, I don’t expect her to give up her seat. The train was really packed (think rush hour plus train delays, first world…) and there was a middle-aged couple seated.. So of course, you’d expect the guy to give up his seat, no?

Well, he didn’t. He eyed the pregnant woman head to toe as she was standing right in front of him and decided to SLEEP. The guy on his earphones beside him saw the pregnant woman too and simply appeared aloof. What is happening here?

I said “excuse me, but there’s a pregnant woman and she would like a seat” and no one bothered about me. I’m not mousey so I’m sure someone heard. NO one flinched. So I shouted “OEI!” and then the “sleeping” man woke up from his slumber.. So did his girlfriend who then nudged him to stand up for the pregnant woman.

Hurray the pregnant woman got a seat. End of story? No. The sleeping woman told me that I could have tried “excuse me” instead of saying “oei” to which I replied, “well, if you weren’t ‘sleeping’ you would have heard me the first time”.

My point is, I understand people are tired after work. Everyone wants a seat on the crowded train. But how can you eye a pregnant woman eye to toe and then decide to continue sleeping. It makes me so mad I feel like crying!

How can any girl choose to be with a man who doesn’t have it in his heart to love others?

If your partner can’t reach out a helping hand for the needy, if he can’t treat a lady right, if he can’t be a fuckin gentleman, whatever the excuse is, trust me when I say your relationship is in trouble.

Fat Cow’s located at Camden Medical Centre and I don’t know what possessed me to think that they would serve a nice slab of lean meat. Juicy, yes. Lean, so so. Fats, lots of it! To think I already went with the leanest cut..

How it works is you choose your choice of beef (think marbling, some more marbling, lots of marbling) and then you choose your style of cooking – Shabu Shabu, Sukiyaki, charcoal grill or teppan (there’s a minimum weight order for each style of cooking). Dad and I went with the chef’s choice, Shabu Shabu and charcoal grill.

Credit: Fat Cow

Started off with gindara which was the real save of the night

Two juicy and meaty pieces of cod

My slab done medium well but came rather bloody. Can you see the blood and fats?

They had really good sauces though

Accompanying sauce – miso and ginger

Didn’t bother taking pictures of the Shabu Shabu cos I was busy talking to dad. After we were done with the Shabu Shabu, we had a choice of using the remaining stock to cook either udon or porridge. We chose porridge and then ended off dinner with a really tiny scoop of S$7 green tea ice cream. Despite not being very satisfied with dinner, the service was excellent.

Maybe I was expecting leaner meat at Fat Cow, or maybe I just don’t know how to appreciate good meat but I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon. Maybe when they open Skinny Cow?

#1

#2

#3

Sherlyn and I started at RWS on the same day and she left about 2-3 weeks after me, so we kinda have that affinity y’knw?

Sherlyn and I

And of course, I had to take a photo with the beautiful bride. Congrats babe! ♥

Stunning bride!

♦♦♦

In other news, iFly Singapore just held a press conference to announce their first anniversary updates (so fast!!!) as well as that they’ll be hosting Asia-Pacific’s first ever indoor skydiving world championships! Representing Singapore will be Team Firefly, iFly Singapore’s ambassadors, Kyra Poh and Choo Yixuan, just 10 and 11 respectively! Here’s a cute pic of them at a Razor TV interview

Little stars

Clearer shot of Yixuan (L) and Kyra (R)

What makes men cheat on their wives? Why do some women think it’s acceptable behaviour, telling their husbands, “do what you want outside, just don’t let me know” or “just don’t come back and give me a horrible attitude”.

Cheating might have “worked” in the past as Asian wives were often uneducated and stayed at home to take care of the children, the house etc. totally dependent on their husbands to look after them financially.  In short, they were suffering inside.

Men, no woman will ever be ok with you lusting over another woman.

Why do men work so hard for something that seemed so unattainable, get it, and then throw it all away?

Marriage is sacred. It is a gift. It is a commitment made in front of God to cherish each other in good times and in bad. Marriage should not be taken for granted.

Take care of your partner not just in health, but also the state of his/her emotional well-being.

Credit: Getty Images

I graduated after spending four years in Australia, got back to Singapore and landed a job almost immediately. So it was wham wham wham – no time to process, no time to feel.

I used to cry a lot at night when I first got back.. I felt like I was gonna crumble and die in the crowd and heat. It was a snowball of factors that made me feel breathless.. The stress I experienced on a daily basis was a silent killer.

It’s quite amazing how I’ve managed to block out certain events and memories with time. It’s not easy but it’s a conscious effort. My memory used to be superb (to the point of being scary) but now, it doesn’t remember much beyond a year.

Today, I am going to reminisce (force myself to remember) about the times I had in Brisbane because you cannot avoid memories. They will only haunt you further.

I miss (you will realise it’s a lot on food):

• Being lonely at times (how odd..)
• Betty. My crap but reliable 1990 white Honda Civic hatchback which eventually got smashed by some drunk while parked
• Bringing every damn tourist to Mt Coot-tha
• Buying credit for my shit but stable phone
• Checking the mail every couple of days, hoping to find something interesting – a letter from home, a good deal from Coles and dockets for Dominos at a cheaper price
• Chopping up lots of stuff (onions, garlics, fishcakes, cabbage, carrots etc.) in very neat bits to fry up a mean fried beehoon
• Coffee sessions at La Dolce Vita aka Little Italy at Milton, Three Monkeys at West End and Freestyle at Emporium
• Crispy chicken from Toowong. I don’t even know what the shop was called.. We just called it “crispy chicken” and I would pay 50c-$1 more for extra chilli
• Driving down an hour to the coast just to get to a beach
• Going at 140km/hr in a rattling car on the motorway
• Going for night classes and meeting friends from all over the world
• Having indo mee when during exam periods
• Having late night maccas at Milton. In my jammies
• Hunting for breakfast joints
• Korean food from Madtongsan
• Late night Thursdays in the suburbs and Fridays in the city
• Lena buzzing my bell LIKE HELL daily to wake me up in time for Oprah and Dr Phil at 12pm
• Lying by the hill at Mt Tambourine, overlooking the vast valley of trees and shrubs
• My 20^th – 23^rd birthday celebrations
• My family. My cousins and aunts
• My friends. A LOT.
• Roadtrips!
• Roast meat at Chinatown, together with the power-mama chilli and ginger
• Shopping at Harbourtown
• Stocking up on Red Bull and V during exams.. Huddling in my study chair with a blankie and a heater under the table
• Studying. I was quite the mugger and note-churning machine
• Super yummy authentic Taiwanese bubble tea (this was before we had Koi and Gong Cha in Singapore)
• That huge slab of salmon sushi (I don’t even know how to explain this sushi to you.. Just know that it’s super yummy) and Hamachi head from Yamasakura at Surfers Paradise
• The citycat along the beautiful Brisbane River
• The Saturday markets at West End. Langos… OMGGG it’s fucking yum
• The WEATHER. The cool crisp air!
• Trying to wake up for church every Saturday
• Waiting forever for the 412 to get to the city
• Walking every aisle of the supermarket
• Waxing for an exorbitant amount of money.. anything beauty-related in Australia’s super expensive

Ok I’m gonna stop because I’m getting too hungry and slightly emo.

There was so much love and hope during SharkAid.. Everyone (performers, helpers etc.) helped out on a volunteer basis and it was indeed touching to see so many behind the cause of saving sharks.

More importantly, it was EFFIN AWESOME to know that people loved the “I’m FINished” tagline that my team came up with. I even heard a certain singer telling another singer in the changing room that she felt the tagline was totally “bad ass”! Yeah!

A picture paints a thousand words so I’ll let the photos do the talking ;)

SharkAid 2012

Can you spot me?

My agency’s logo

My boys

With the lovely Esta (credit: PixelHub)

Sure the one on the right is the real deal? Double confirm?

Walking with fins on our backs

Hossan, ambassador of Sharks Savers Singapore performing the opening act (credit: PixelHub)

Eli T and band

Alicia Pan on the keys (credit: PixelHub)

Opera singer Juan Jackson (credit: PixelHub)

Mum and Juan.. Look at how happy she is!!

My aunt’s all-female jazz band, Tessera. She’s the violinist.

The Ukelele Girls

My primary school classmate, Shawn, who’s one half of the Ukelele Girls

Star Search 2010 top 10 finalist, Darryl Yong (credit: PixelHub)

Singapore Idol runner up, Sylvia Ratonel (credit: PixelHub)

The other personalities who were also present included:

Petrina Kow and friends (credit: PixelHub)

One Degree North (credit: PixelHub)

NMP Mr Eugene Tan sharing why his family and him are FINished with fins (credit: PixelHub)

Robin Leong (credit: PixelHub)

Swimmer Arren Quek (credit: PixelHub)

F1 power boater, Laurence Wong (credit: PixelHub)

Class 95FM DJs (credit: PixelHub)

Man behind the “I’m FINished” photoshoot and famed underwater photographer, Aaron Wong (credit: PixelHub)

Jonn Lu (Shark Savers Singapore) and Louis Ng (ACRES)

Work – Jonn getting interviewed by CNA

Little Ian on TV

The amazing volunteers that helped out at SharkAid (credit: PixelHub)

With the SUPER team at Grayling – Jake and Kenny

I’m FINished with fins. Are you? (credit: superadrianme)

A big THANK YOU to my family and friends that showed up. You guys are the best ♥

I haven’t been eating it for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure if I’ve even had it… But I know that if a bowl of shark’s fin soup is placed in front of me, I won’t touch it.

For the longest time, the reason I gave others for not consuming fins is because fins are obtained in a cruel manner. Fins are sliced off a live shark with a hot blade and the rest of the body (still breathing) is then thrown back into the sea, either for it to bleed to death or for other fishes to eat it alive.

About two months back, I got a call from Hossan (Shark Savers Singapore ambassador) and he asked me if I would be keen to help do PR for Shark Savers – pro bono. I’ve helped friends with some publicity work but I’ve never done it for a NGO and while I believe in the cause, I didn’t think my workload would allow me to work with this organisation in the most efficient manner.

I went for a Shark 101 and I was blown away with the facts. Did you know that only about five humans are killed by sharks each year? More people die from dog bits or even a vending machine falling on them. But, humans kill over 73 millions sharks each year. That’s just sad.

Another cool fact, sharks have been around longer than dinosaurs! They have existed for 450 million years and have survived five major mass extinctions – including the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

So here I was, with a project I really wanted to be a part of and a group of people (my colleagues and bosses) that I had to convince that this would be a project really worth working on.

Cut the long story short, after a messaging session etc. we came up with the “I’m FINished” campaign that I feel awfully proud of. I’m FINished with fins. It’s edgy with a slight rebellious streak – perfect for our target audience (15-30ish).

My awesome team and I are FINished!

Everyone at Shark Savers is helping out because they believe in the cause. No one is paid for the work that they do and the response from everyone has been overwhelming. Behind the scenes, we’ve had Cathay Cineleisure Orchard come on board as the official venue sponsor, Gold 90.5FM as the official radio station, MediaCorp gave us bus stop space for our ads, @ccomplice offered their creative work etc.

Not forgetting all the various personalities that came onboard to support this cause. From Hossan Leong, to blogger Mr Miyagi, to supermodel Sheila Sim, to radio DJ Jean Danker, to female jazz band Tessera, to national fencer, Joan Ang. The list can go on and on and on but you get the gist. In case you’re wondering, all the beautiful photos are taken by famed underwater photographer Aaron Wong.

They're FINished too

Come this Tuesday (1 May), the world’s first ever SharkAid concert will take place from 5-8pm at Cineleisure (just outside World of Sports).

SharkAid is a public concert that will feature a star-studded cast of local and international artistes including Tessera, Sylvia Ratonel, Alicia Pan and Eli T coming together to raise awareness about shark conservation. Other than radio DJs including Ivy Tan and Yasminne Cheng, athletes such as Laurence (Captain of Singapore’s F1 power boat team), Arren Quek (National swimmer), Aaron Koh (wrestler) and Joan Ang (National fencer) will also be present. Hossan Leong, Shark Savers Singapore’s ambassador will be the host of the concert.

So, please come join and say “I’m FINished” with shark’s fin soup.

To find out more about SharkAid (gallery of personalities behind the cause, shark trivia etc.) and/or to take the pledge against the consumption of shark’s fin, please click on this link www.sharksavers.org/Singapore

Spread the shark love and I hope to see you there. Come say hi!

I don’t know how to say bye to someone close without feeling like the words won’t do justice to how much I’ll miss him/her. Last night, we had a farewell session for Petteri, my Finnair client, at M Hotel. Partners, people in the travel industry, agencies etc. were all present to say buh-bye to an awesome man. It was supposed to be a light-hearted event but I couldn’t help but feel horrible inside.

An editor who was present last night told me, “the relationship Finnair and your agency have is incredible. Agencies normally hate their clients but you guys love each other!”  Hehehe.. It’s true! We love hanging out together and we care for each other.. When Petteri goes back to Finland, he comes back with chocolates, gum and even plush toys for me! And of course it’s not one-way (I hope!)

I got Petteri two photo frames (with photos!) for his farewell gift. There was a short sentence behind each frame.. Should have taken photos of it but anyway.. One frame said “FOR WHEN THE BOSS IS AROUND” and the other said “FOR WHEN YOU’RE THE BOSS”. Not difficult to guess which photo had what…

Photo 1

Photo 2

We also went with flowers, chosen by yours truly! Sunflowers for the man that’s always cheery, wild flowers to show that I haven’t forgotten the wild (I meant Scandic) side to him and of course blue and white paper – Finnair’s corporate colours.

Love the flowers!

Not complete without naughty notes from the team

Here’s a photo of the team at Grayling with our favourite client! The reason why I’m smiling so happily is because I was being grumps and the cheeky man was tickling me from behind. Haha!

Three cheers for the P!

I will miss you!!! :(((((((

Anyway, there’s a story to the outfit above.. I met Lena the night before for dinner and coffee and she was dressed in the exact colours! Bright orange pants and a grey top. I should have taken a photo of her but she was being a grumpy monkey because of work and all. Sigh, don’t we have too much stress for our age?

Lena and I are gonna be bridesmaids for Tannia's wedding!!

It’s Friday and things are gonna be awesome!

Have a great weekend! xx