SingPost postal services...

Quoted from SingPost website:

"SingPost is Singapore’s designated Public Postal Licensee (PPL), providing efficient and high quality domestic and international postal services. We are also the leading logistics provider in the domestic market and own one of the largest retail distribution networks."

As our one and only option for postage services, it seems like the services offered by SingPost is getting from bad to worse.

Effiiciency is not really there.

Our items bought locally online sometimes took more than a week to be delivered.

There is even worse scenerios whereby the items simply disappeared.

For instance, parcels were delivered to the wrong address even though the address was stated correctly on the package.

We got to depend on our neighbours' goodwill to return the items back to us.

If it happens once/twice, we can still close one eye but it happened numerous times.

Imagine paying for things which just disappear...

What kind of service is it???

It has reached the point that registered mail is the only option to try and ensure that at least we get the items.

What exactly is the message that SingPost is trying to send?

Registered mail is the only way to go for postal services?

Why should we as consumers pay more just to ensure that we really get the kind of "efficient & high quality postal services" as mentioned as SingPost?

With monopoly over Singapore's postal services, the least SingPost could do is to provide basic regular and dependable  postal services instead of branching out into areas like Retail Business and Logistics Business.

Just because these areas generate more income for your organisation?

Even with registered mail, I would expect the items to arrive in acceptable conditions which turns out to be not true at all!

Imagine torn envelopes with items held together by rubber bands...

Almost lost 2 parcels in April/May 2011 which led to me sending frantic emails to both the sender as well as SingPost.

Although it was a happy ending (ie: items found), I was not too impressed with the level of customer service offered by SingPost.

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Standard email response by SingPost

Dear XX,

Thank you for your feedback on 28/04/2011 regarding Mail not recieve.

We deeply regret to hear of your unpleasant service experience and we want to sincerely extend our apologies to you.

SingPost is committed to provide an excellent standard of mail delivery

service to all our customers. We are therefore concerned when mail

entrusted to us is not properly delivered. We have alert the relevant delivery base manager to review this case and will revert once update.

We would like to thank you for bringing the matter to our attention.

Regards,

YY

Customer Service Officer

Contact Centre

Customer Service

Singapore Post Limited (Reg. No. 199201623M)

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After which I waited for days and there was no response from SingPost at all.

It was only after sending another email to SingPost for them to expedite the matter, would a Malay lady contact me via handphone and update on the outcome.

In the first place, customers normally email/feedback to an organisation when something unexpected/out-of-the-ordinary has taken place.

The least the organisation could do is to at least give the impression that you are trying to resolve the issue instead of the customer having to pester for a response.

Even after the issue has been resolved, nothing was mentioned about is there any new measures that they are going to put in place to ensure the same incident does not repeat again, ie: ensuring parcels/letters are delivered to the correct household.

I really feel that there is not much QC measures in place to ensure the postal services are really up to notch looking at the kind of postal services we have been 'enjoying' for the past few years.

One plus point to note is that SingPost do try and repackage damaged parcels in a transparent bag to minimise any further damages.

Shopping for Lights ~ Lighting shops @ Jalan Besar/Jurong

Have spent the past few weekends shopping around for lightings.

Went to Jalan Besar which is super near Lavender Food Centre.

Quite a number of lighting shops located here.

Went into the following shops:

1) i-Lite (351 Jalan Besar #01-01/02 S208988) - Quite a large selection of lightings & ceiling fan but didn't really take note of the prices as that was the 1st shop that we went into.

There are also numerous lighting shops located along the same stretch.

2) Arco Holdings Pte Ltd (302 Jalan Besar #01-01  S208963) - Another shop with also a large selection of lightings and prices are quite attractive too.

3) Lightings.com.sg (314/316 Jalan Besar S208972) - Prices are not necessarily cheaper as advertised. Some of the ceiling lights are selling at $75 but we saw the same lightings selling at Acro Holdings Pte Ltd at $70.

Went to Jurong East to look at lightings too. Prices generally are much higher than those we saw at Jalan Besar.

1) Hylite Deco (Blk 353 Jurong East St 31 #01-109 S600353) - Friendly lady who is able to answer our various queries. Saw a dining halogen light which we quite like selling at $220 (price before 40% discount).

2) Chelsea Lighting - shop size is twice the size of Hylite Deco. Managed to find an apple-shaped dangling dining light selling at $45. Contemplated buying on the spot but decided to KIV. Also saw this nice rectangular ceiling light with wood border selling at $130. Sale assistant claimed that she can offer further discounts but we doubt that prices will be able to match the 1s we saw at Jalan Besar. For instance, this same rectangular glass ceiling light we saw at Jalan Besar for between $75-$80 but JE shops sell the same light for $130. Are they really able to reduce prices by around 40%?

Election time!

Election time again.

It is gg to be my 2nd time voting.

As a Gen Y, I admit one of my main concerns used to be the housing issue.

Very hard to get a good queue number...

Let alone get a good queue number at our ideal estate...

Furthermore, prices are rather high even at estates like Sengkang, Punggol which are too far from our parents' places/workplace...

After we got our unit, my 'hot' concern has been replaced by retirement needs.

After spending our entire CPF savings for the next 30 years on the flat and the ever increasing CPF minimum sum, how are we ever going to retire?

Looking at the current elderly population in Sg, there is an increasing number working as cleaners/ dish collectors etc...

Is that going to happen to us in the near future?

How are we going to ensure sufficient savings for our retirement needs with the high living standard in Sg?

Spree by http://adeliciouss.livejournal.com ~ Bad review

Not too sure it is pure bad luck or what to have participate in this spree organised by Adeliciouss (adeliciouss@yahoo.com).

Participated in this SW-Box spree (Nov 2010) happily to get items for the iPhone and this was the start of my nightmare.

Until now, there has been no sight of the items, no refunds made, rare updates on the spree status.

Imagine multiple spree participants emailing Adeliciouss at least 10 times spread over weeks before we even get a reply from her.

Ridiculous service...

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Update on Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Orders are confirmed & shipped by SW-Box =)

This email is to notify that your order has been accepted.All spree updates will be done @ https://adeliciouss.livejournal.com
I'll email again when the spree is ready for 2nd payment.Thankssssssss!

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Update on Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 1:18 AM

Dear spree-ers,

There's an unforeseen delay of the shipment of BOTH parcels. After receiving a parcel from EMS I assumed it was parcel #6 but it turns out to be not the case..

I was provided by SW-Box the tracking number of the 2 parcels but to my surprise both are "delivered" by Singpost to some other address.

I've raised the issue to both SW-Box & Singpost to do an investigation of what exactly is happening, to find out which party made the mistake & of course how I can retrieve the parcel.

I've following on the progress with both sides daily so hopefully this issue can be resolved ASAP.

Thank you.

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Update on Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 12:40 AM

Dear all,

After numerous emails, calls & chasing.. Here's the latest update:

The parcels were delivered by SingPost to the return agent of SW-Box in Singapore. So upon receiving the parcels, the agent shipped them via surface (by sea) back to SW-Box warehouse. However latest check with SW-Box is they have yet to receive the returned parcels.

SW-Box management is trying to get EMS to compensate the paid freight charges. And in the meanwhile I'm trying to get them to re-pack another parcels of the orders & ship to me again but now still pending reply from your management.

So nothing much can be done now but I'll continue to chase after SW-Box for some prompt action.

Thanks.

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After numerous emails, finally an update.....

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Update on Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 12:17 AM

Pertaining to SW-Box Spree 6&7, I've yet to receive any reply from the merchant on the re-ship of the replacement parcels.

1. Tracking status of parcels show that parcels were received in Dec. (by their SG return agent & not me) but they were still indeed "delivered"

2. SW has not receive the returned parcels to date also & their return agent do not provide any tracking service for returned parcels so nobody has any idea where exactly the parcels are now

There's 2 options now

1. Wait for SW to receive the parcels &  cancel the order - get back full refund

OR

2. Cancel the order now - the intl shipping charges of USD50+ per parcel will be forfeited & will be split evenly among all spree-ers.

The majority will call the shot.

Regards,

Adele Hoe

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Update on Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 5:20 PM

I think it's pretty obvious what's the final decision based on everybody's response - Wait for parcel to arrive at SW-Box & opt for full refund.Since this is your choice, you gotta understand what's the process going to be like...1. The parcels were returned to SW-Box via surface, meaning by SEA not AIR. This normally takes 1 month from date of shipment but expect this period to be greatly delayed due to China 2 weeks festive holidays for CNY, so very high chance the parcels will only reach them some time in late Feb or even Mar.2. After SW-Box receives the parcels, the refund will be processed back to Paypal. After which Paypal will refund back to my bank account. All these transferring from one to another via various medium will take time. Normal processing can take up to 10 working days (exclusive of sat, sun & public holidays!). So expect another 1 month for me to get back the money.

If you're not that bad with calculations & so far you're still following what I've explained - Expect to see the refund back in your bank some time in APRIL.

If there's no objection to proceeding with option #1 that is to WAIT, that's all for now.

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Update on Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 9:16 PM

I'm not so sure that's what some spree-ers may want because $2 is actually more than what some people were buying. And forgoing $2 and yet at the end of the day not get anything..

My stand is if nobody is in desperate need of the money then why not wait.

I've been calling them every now & then I paid for intl calls is more than the $2 we're talking about so why stand firm & get back what you deserve?

Regards,

Adele Hoe

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From then on, there has been no more updates...

Refer to http://adeliciouss.livejournal.com/148389.html for more details.

Am I being too picky or is it really too few updates provided by Adeliciouss (Adele@LJ)?

As a spree organiser does she take her responsibility seriously?

So is she the type that disappears once things do not goes smoothly with the spree?

MUSEE CRYSTAL TOKYO at PS ~ 3rd Treatment

Will be going for my third treatment soon.

So far, have not really seen any significant results.

Just that hair follicles do fall out a few days after the treatment before growing back again =<

Hopefully the situation would improve after the 6th treatment.

The only complaint I have is the limited treatment slots.

Such a hassle to call and try to make appointments.

I think their customer base has increased by alot as compared to half a year back.

Tried to make an appointment for Sis & I 1.5 months before the actual appointment date but was not able to get the same treatment slot.

Ended up, 1 of us got to go at 10.30 am and the other at 11.30 am.

** Definitely need to decide on the next treatment slot when we go for our 3rd treatment this weekend **

 

 

 

The Fierce Wife 犀利人妻 ~ Continued

All along I thought that the last episode of The Fierce Wife (犀利人妻) is out as this drama actually started airing back in 2010.

This was why I happily settled down to watch this drama three days ago.

It was only yesterday after watching Episode 22 which I thought was the last episode, did I realise how wrong I was.

Approaching the last 10 mins of the episode, I was telling myself how it is possible that this drama can have a smooth and complete ending in such a short time frame left...

So foolish of me.

It seems that the last episode will only be aired in Taiwan on 16 April =<

Some famous quotes taken from the show:

Quote 1: 人妻三怕 撞车 撞鬼 撞小三

Translation: As a wife, there are three fears that she has, namely: car accident, ghost & third parties.

The part on 撞车, I totally agree. Imagine being disfigured for life... I rather die on impact in the car accident la.

The part on 撞鬼, I totally agree too especially in my current workplace where there seems to be plenty of such things floating around with countless people encountering them even in broad daylight =< I just hope for peaceful days until I get a chance to change my work location.

As for the part on 撞小三, I should say this is a universal fear of all women? Although we might be very happy and contented in our current relationship, who knows when a third party might enter into the picture. Personally I feel that tolerance (容忍) plays an important role. I was telling the Husband jokingly that 撞大三 should be part of the 人夫三怕.

** The female character (溫瑞萱) who said the above quote is super comical and together with her husband (郝康德), they really lighten up the drama. **

Quote 2: 

一旦你累死

就有别人花你的钱

住你的房

打你的小孩

睡你的男人

Translation: Once a woman die, there will be someone (a female someone) spending her $, staying in her house, beating up her children and sleeping with her husband.

Sounds cruel but it does make sense in a certain way.

Quote 3: 不要怕

Translation: Don't be scared

It just means that whatever comes our way, we should try and face it bravely.

Give it our best shot & don't be scared!

The Fierce Wife 犀利人妻

In the process of watching The Fierce Wife (犀利人妻).

http://upload.wikimedia.org

Still feel that Sunny Happiness (幸福最晴天) is so much nicer.

No 'weird' & psycho character like the cousin (Wei-En)...

The way she acts and behaves is something I just cannot take it...

How she justify each and every one of her actions with her crazy reasoning and just do not seem to realise how cruel she is towards every one around her.

How her actions torture people around her...

Emotional blackmail!

The way she always feel that other people are not on her side even though that is simply not true.

Perhaps such behaviour is to be expected of someone coming from a dysfunctional family.

Even worse more disgusting is Wen Rui Fan (the male lead) who is actually the husband of Wei-En's cousin.

I cannot understand how he can just change overnight and 'abandon' his family in favour of Wei-En whom he feels that makes him feel younger all over again.

If he really feels that his wife is not exciting enough for him, he should not have married her in the 1st place...

I am super amazed at Xie An Zhen (the wife of Wen Rui Fan). She is like those traditional wife where the husband always comes first. The husband can do no wrong type.

Just hope that this drama ends on a happy note.

Sunny Happiness (幸福最晴天)

Just finished watching 幸福最晴天.

Super nice drama.

dramarants.wordpress.com

This drama is about the dramatic r/s bet Xiang Yun Jie (Mike He) who is a rich arrogant man  and Fang Yong Yong (Janine Chang) who is an orphan.

They 1st met in a minor road accident.

2nd meeting was at the hotel which Xiang Yun Jie owns and where she works as a housekeeper.

Their love story started all because they came to a mutual 'fake marriage' arrangement whereby Fang Yong Yong play a fake role as his 'wife' to help get custody of his son which Xiang Yun Jie just got to know about while Xiang Yun Jie will promise to preserve the piece of land that the orphanage lies on which is also the place where Fang Yong Yong once lived for 8 years.

There are super sad moments where they lost their baby but I was glad that the drama ended on a happy note =>

Highly recommended drama without those 'lame' lines that some Taiwanese dramas have.

Balcony - Outdoor furnitures

Found this nice set of outdoor furniture for the living room balcony.

Source: http://www.2010lifestyle.com.sg

But I worry that it might be too 'high' or 'unstable' as the balcony walls are not very high (most likely about waist level).

Book shelves with sliding mechanism - Update!

Found out that Howard United Storage System actually has this Glide A Side System with Open Shelf Cupboard which is quite similar to what we want.

Hopefully they do allow for customisation as I got this feeling their standard dimensions wont fit into our bomb shelter.

Refer to http://www.howellunited.com.sg/retailshopdisplay_4.htm for more information         

Sliding Kitchen Door - Ideal design!

Found this Italian company that sells super nice kitchen doors.

Clean lines.

Elegant feel.

Too bad they don't seem to have any outlets in Sg.

Shall try my best to replicate their design.

Due to the tiny kitchen & cabinet layout, our kitchen door choices are quite limited.

Prefer sliding designs as it takes up less space (both in 'idle' mode & in operation mode)

Furthermore, the kitchen door has to slide 'outside' of the kitchen opening.

There is no way the door can be located between the kitchen cabinets & the kitchen door opening.

My preference is tilted towards 'woody like' designs as we would like to have furnishings in warm shades of brown.

Various door designs that slide from right to left

The following designs readily gives me an idea of how the door would appear like/function when installed as our kitchen door has to slide from Left to Right based on the flat layout.

Various door designs that slide from left to right

Simply love the 1 on the left.

Classy & nice.

With the door frame located outside the kitchen, I hope it equates to lesser cleaning after cooking sessions. 

Perhaps one way of DIYing/customisation to get what we want

1) Get a normal glass door

2) Apply some tinted window film on it

3) Install the door with the wooden door frame

4) Get some nice wall decals to decorate the door

Source: http://www.cristalsrl.com/doors-as-furnishing

Movie Review: Just Go With It

Brief Introduction

Danny (Adam Sandler) has a unique approach to picking up women - in order to break the ice and gain their sympathy, he pretends to be stuck in an unhappy marriage.

The instant he brandishes his wedding ring, the deal is all but cinched.

But when Danny finally meets a woman (Brooklyn Decker) that he really would want to marry, he abandons his usual approach for something more subtle.

Incredibly, it works.

But when she discovers the wedding band that he used to use as a pick-up prop, Danny attempts to cover his tracks by falling back on his tried-and-true divorce line.

Unfortunately, the plan backfires when his new girlfriend asks to meet his future ex.

Desperate, Danny recruits his office manager, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), to validate his ruse by posing as his current wife.

Before long, the lies are snowballing, and by the time Katherine's kids get involved and everyone comes together for a trip to Hawaii, it's not a matter of if Danny's plan will fall through, but when.

Source: http://t0.gstatic.com

Review - Must watch!

We would say this movie is among the top 5 list of funniest movies we have ever watched.

I would think this is high praise as we watch an average of at least 2-4 movies a month.

The best romantic comedy so far!

The show was really hilarious in a good way without any element of lame jokes which I was super happy about.

Was laughing throughout the whole show & it was really $ well spent.

The flow of the story was quite good and the characters came together in a great package.

Go watch it!

Sliding kitchen door - PD Door

Seems like that is not much good reviews so far on PD door.

Poor customer service, bad installation, inferior material etc...

Price wise, it is not exactly cheap.

Refer to http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?s=cd57c9be67c44d17ab0a022298e899fe&showtopic=18123&st=0

Basic acrylic PD door - $299 (subjected to GST) (GST waived only if full payment is made upfront) (door areas <= 800mm)

For new flats, the door area most likely is around 900 mm which means the price would be $449 (acrylic/ glass)

Even worse, I get the impression that Swing Slide Door (http://www.swingslide.com.sg/gallery_glass.html) (located @ Balestier Road) & PD Door (http://pddoor.com/index.html) (located @ Eunos) are actually the same companies.

Time to hunt for other alternatives.

**Selling** Love Summer Breezes - Bella Drape Dress (White) (Brand-new)

Source: http://lovesummerbreezes.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/christmas-prelude/

Dazzle your date, friends and colleagues with this top-notch BCBG Max Azria inspired quality

Belle Drape Dress featuring pleated details in front and a tulip drape skirt.

The great cut and superb workmanship hides all bugles and empire waist flatters your beautiful silhouette.

Made of drapey matte jersey/rayon/polyester with quality inner lining and concealed back zip.

A great boutique quality piece not to be missed!

Non-sheer, model wore black undergarment for the photoshoot.

Quality and workmanship assured.

Measurements: 12” – 18″ PTP, 33″ down

$30 (negotiable)

If interested, contact impixie@gmail.com

The Art of Mattress Buying - Mastered!

Finally settled our mattress + bed frame.

Wasn't thinking of making a purchase that day when we happened to drop by Serta (IMM).

Rather, we were trying to figure out whether to go for Aberdeen (cheaper) or Sophistication.

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The conversation was something along these lines:

Us: Eh, cant really feel the different between the 2 mattresses lei... But the prices got such a big difference

Salesman: If you really cant feel the difference, just go for the cheaper 1.

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Ended up, the salesman sort of solve this issue for us =)

He also gave us the option to upgrade to Sophistication in future @ the current prices.

I do admit that Sophistication does feel a tiny whiny bit plusher and has a super nice feel due to its pillow top material (memory foam or something).

But my mind was like telling me: it does not matter at all since the mattress will be covered up by the mattress protector & bedsheets.

Just buy bedsheets with higher thread count or nicer feel will do =)

Furthermore, Sophistication is much 'thicker' than Aberdeen and I do not want to overshoot our budget when it comes to buying bedsheets.

Although the prices might not be exactly cheaper but we are glad that one more item is settled on the To Do List.

There wasn't much bed frames to choose from and we decided on something which is slightly inclined (only 2 designs to choose from) as we both love to read in bed & an inclined bedframe would be something more comfortable.

Choosing of bed frame colour was also hassle free as there was only 2 colours to choose from.

Either a babyshit-like yellow (his preference) or plum shade (my preference) as shown below.

Guess which shade we ended up with?

Source: http://serta.com.sg

Total cost: $1519 (mattress) + $799 (bedframe)

Freebies:

- 4 pillows (exchange the sheep soft-toy for 2 pillows instead as it serves no purpose)

- 1 mattress protector

- bedside bench (option to exchange it for 2 sets of bedsheets)

Bomb Shelter Renovation List

Book shelves with sliding mechanism

We are looking for something similar to what is in use @ Comic Connection. With our ever increasing book collection, we need a design that is:

1) User friendly especially the sliding mechanism.

2) Does not take up much space. Keeping in mind that we are going to install it in the bomb shelter. It does not make sense to convert the new wardrobes provided by the developer into book shelves. Waste $.

3) Stability. I do not want my books to drop on my head!

4)  Pocket friendly. Do not seemed to be able to find any shops selling such bookshelves in Sg. If we buy online, the shipping cost alone is like double the cost of the bookshelves =<

 

Some online webbies selling the shelves:

http://en.search.borderless.rakuten.com/home_furniture/cabinet/bookshelves/slide_bookshelves/

Storage shelves

We also need to install storage shelves on other sides of the wall to store our barang barang. Most likely wooden (1st preference) or metal structures.

Renovation List

Kitchen

- Sliding kitchen door

Yard

- Windows & grills

Living Room

- Rotating TV wall (maybe)

Living Room Balcony

- Cover up planter box with wood planks/artificial grass

Bomb Shelter

- Book shelves with sliding mechanism (something like what you see @ Comic Connections)

- Storage shelves

1st Bedroom (Study Room)

- Raised platform with built-in ledge & recessed area for leg space (maybe)

Master Bedroom Toilet

- Rain shower

Kitchen Renovation List

Sliding kitchen door

Factors to consider

1) Space constraint - we need a kitchen door which does not occupy much space (especially when it is not in use) and yet be able to serve its function of segregating the tiny kitchen from the living room. Don't want the 'cooking mess' (smoke/oil etc) to spread to the living room area.

2) Material - Preferable something which is easily maintained, eg: glass

3) Working Mechanism - Design has to be such that the kitchen walkway opening remains the same before and after installation. As the opening is already quite small, it is going to be a disaster if the installation of the kitchen door further reduce the walkway size. What we need to replace any 'big' item in the kitchen and realised there is no way to fit in the item =o

4) Cost - As usual, we need something that is pocket friendly & yet user friendly.

Selected a few designs which appealed to me. Most likely will be going for a 2 piece door, eg: 2 piece sliding glass door or swing door design.

Some companies selling swing slide doors:

http://www.swingslide.com.sg/gallery_glass.html

http://pddoor.com/index.html

Bio-essence Bio Platinum BB Cream

Had contemplated getting Bio-essence BB cream for quite a while, especially when I kept seeing reviews of the products at various blogs. Tried 3 versions of the Bio-essence BB creams, ie: Bio Platinum BB Cream, Bio Multi-Effect BB Cream and the Aqua BB Cream at various Watsons stores but just could not come to a conclusion as they seemed to have similar effect on my skin. Ended up just decided to go for the Bio Platinum BB Cream and finally bought this item a few weeks back in Watsons when there was 20% off. I suspect this tube is able to last me forever with the minute amount that I apply each time round.

Source: http://www.thesamplestore.sg

I would say the item offers average coverage. Have read reviews saying that the Bio-essence Multi Effect BB cream offers better coverage. Maybe because I do not have much scar on my face to begin with so I felt that there was not much difference in coverage before and after application. However, it does average out/brighten my skin tone. This BB cream provides a natural/nude look which was exactly what I was looking for. On days where I want a more 'make-uped' look, the blusher is just what I need and I am good to go => It smells quite nice to me too without the chemical smell that some of the BB creams have.

On the downside, there are moments where I look 'whiter' than usual which is kind of scary as I am already quite pale without makeup.

Absolut Vodka ~ Absolut Watkins

Saw this new design by Absolut Vodka @ Harbourfront Duty-Free shop, retailing @ $29. It is actually designed by Liselotte Watkins and is a product exclusively for travelers. Looks so tempting but husband thinks I am mad to even suggest it. To him, it serves no purpose in getting the bottle as he does not drink and we are on our way to Batam. To me, it is such a special bottle. Even though the male & female characters are not exactly pretty but the 'jet setting' lifestyle portrayed just appealed to me. Perhaps, it is just that I love to travel and this bottle sort of represents a lifestyle that I would not be able to achieve in the near future.

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com

The bottle is actually transparent and looks much prettier in real life. Took a copy of the brochure instead since I could not get the bottle. As mentioned in the brochure: "Absolut Watkins has a distinct coffee character with almonds, caramel and warm spicy notes of chili." Kind of hard for me to imagine the taste and it does sound weird to me. Something coffeey, yet sweet and spicy? 

There are some interesting ways to enjoy the liqueur such as:

Watkins White Chocolate Martini

Ingredients - 5 parts Absolut Watkins & 1 part white chocolate syrup

Method - Stir with ice and strain into a martini glass

Garnish - A white chocolate stick

Espresso Martini Milan

Ingredients - 3.5 parts Absolut Watkins & 1.5 parts Kahlua Double Espresso

Method - Shake all the ingredients and strain into a martini glass

Garnish - 3 coffee beans

Absolut Watkins and Cola

Ingredients - 4 parts Absolut Watkins

Method - Top up with Cola

Garnish - A lime wedge

Colgate Electric Toothbrush

Just bought this electric toothbrush from Colgate during the recent John Little Sales. Always wanted to try out 1 of these electric toothbrushes but was kind of put off by the prices, eg: Oral B electric toothbrush's prices which are around $40 plus.

Source: http://www.colgate.com.sg

For half the price, this toothbrush is able to satisfy my basic needs. After the 1st usage, I felt that my teeth are much cleaner as compared to my usual brushing using the normal manual toothbrush. It is able to remove plaque and stain marks on my teeth quite effectively. It is also safer in the sense that I would not over brush and injure my gums.

On the downside, I tend to 'drip' alot during the brushing process as it takes quite a while to get used to the brushing motion of the electric toothbrush. Overall, I would say it is quite a good buy.

Wettest Chinese New Year?

It was raining non-stop from Sat till Mon. Even today, there were still showers on and off throughout the whole day. The umbrella is now officially my best friend!

Every year during Chinese New Year, the reunion dinner is the only portion of the activities that I look forward to. The steamboat with lots of wonderful ingredients that my parents will prepare, the company etc. I do not really look forward to visiting relatives. These are some of the really irritating questions that I have encountered over the years:

1) You seemed to have grown fatter over the year. (Sidenote to self: Thanks for pointing it out...)

2) Have boyfriend? Why never bring him along? (Sidenote to self: Bring along for what? For additional 'interrogation'?)

3) Where are you working now? (Sidenote to self: Why would I want to go into detail? I would rather not let you know too much details.)

Sometimes, you just know that these people asked such questions not out of general concern. Rather, they are trying to pry more details out of you to meet their own personal interest. My 1st line of defence is to surround myself with people I do not mind hanging around with and siam as soon as I can. Worse still, no more angbao collecting from this year onwards =<

Some of the Chinese New Year sayings that might coming in useful:

新年快乐 恭喜發財 吉祥如意 身体健康 万事如意

Source: http://www.malaysiasite.nl

MUSEE CRYSTAL TOKYO at Plaza Singapura - Underarms Hair Removal Package

Signed up for this underarm hair removal treatment by Musee Platinum Tokyo (PS) in Nov 2010 for $138. I first spotted the advertisement in My Paper and contemplated for quite a while before deciding to make an appointment for consultation as well as 1st treatment together with Sis. I figured out it might be better and safer to have someone for company in case they hard sell and also to prevent myself from making any impulsive decisions.

Source: http://www.musee-pla.asia

During the consultation, a few interesting facts were brought up, such as: we should not epilate/pluck as this damages our hair follicles. When the hair is plucked out, it leaves a 'hole' where new hair follicle will grow out again. After the 2nd and subsequent epilation/plucking, we will find that some hair follicles seem to grow closer n closer to the extent that they seemed to grow out of the same 'hole'. This is because epilation/plucking damages the 'hole' when the hair follicle is being plucked out. As we tend to epilate/pluck in one direction, the 'holes' will also tend to move towards one direction, resulting in clusters of hair follicles after numerous sessions of epilation/plucking. 

The consultant also pointed out that females suffering from irregular periods might have to wait longer for the effects of the treatment to take place as the regularity of the period will affect the hair growth cycle in the same manner.

So far, we have finished our 2nd treatment and I would say the amount of underarm hair seemed to have decreased. 

At times during the light exposure process which last around 2 mins (refer to http://www.musee-pla.asia/treatment/default.htm for the full treatment process), it feels like tiny ant bites. Other than that, the entire session is quite enjoyable. 

Clean rooms, no males around, no pushy sales, polite staff =)

Furnishing The Kitchen Part I ~ Ikea, Takashimaya, Tangs, Isetan, JohnLittle

Up till date, we have bought tons of stuff for the kitchen, such as:

1) WMF 5-pc cookware set (out of which 2 pcs I will be passing to my mom) ($129)

Source: http://www.home-essentials.co.nz

2) La Gourmet 3-pc cookware set ($99) - I simply love the pour rims which would allow me to drain away water/soup when necessary. No need for an extra 'separator'.

Update: I don't think the quality of the pots are good as the edges are turning brown (something like rust). In comparison, the WMF pots do not have such issues.

Source: http://lagourmet.org

3) Chopper ($20.40 after 20% discount) - Chosen by the husband as I felt quite nauseous just looking at the display.

4) Neoflam Slicer (FOC) - Selling price supposed to be ard $32.90 but the saleswoman offered to us FOC if we buy items 5 & 6.

Source: http://www.neoflam.sg

5) Neoflem Cutting Board ($27.93 after 30% discount) - 2 pcs

Source: http://www.neoflam.sg

6) Neoflam Nature Cook Suelo 18 cm Casserole ($41.93 after 30% discount) - In blue

Source: http://www.neoflam.sg

The Art of Mattress Buying - Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Dunlopillo etc

Recently, we are starting to hunt for a mattress for the new place.  We hope to get something that is comfortable and yet within our budget of $4K inclusive of bed frame. We are starting to realise the process is going to be a long and arduous one. The process of choosing bed frame is so much simpler than choosing the mattress.

One difficulty we faced is that we simply did not know where to start. There are just too many brands with different materials, different firmness, different prices. Not to mention, we have to lie down on the mattress to really get a feel of how it is like. To me, it is a mental hurdle as I will tend to think of what the previous customers might have done to the mattress and also the fact that I do not feel very comfortable lying down on a bed in such a public place. 

Worse still if the salesperson keep pestering us to look at various mattresses or trying to push us to place a deposit using reasons like last day of offer, locked in prices etc. 

Furthermore, mattresses that we shortlisted in one shop might not have the same name in another shop. Example: Sealy Laissez at Sealy boutique @ IMM is actually Sealy Castle @ Courts Megastore (Tampines).  Super annoying! Already having trouble choosing what we want and still got to think of ways to remember the characteristics of the mattresses we have shortlisted.

Our ideal bed frame is one with sufficient back support that allows us to read comfortably in bed. The colour and material is also quite important. 

LovesCoach Kate Spade - Candy Darling Rosalie wristlet

Bought this item from http://loves-coach.blogspot.com/ for the 1st time and received it yesterday by courier. Initially I was quite excited as the item has arrived ahead of schedule and it was a 3rd month wedding anniversary present from the husband.

Source: http://loves-coach.blogspot.com/

Once I opened the parcel, I was quite disappointed. There were areas where the threads were puckered and furry. In addition, there were also areas where it looked like threads was pulled out with quite an obvious  'missing line' in the material. These are some of the 'defects'.

Front View Left Portion

Front View Right Portion

Back View Centre Portion

Back View Left Portion

I emailed LovesCoach Singapore the same night with the following query and guess what was their response.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Email

Hi,

My father received the parcel on my behalf today.

Thank you for the quick delivery.

However, there seems to be a few 'defects' on the item as my father was not informed about helping me to check the item on my behalf (we assumed the item would only be arriving on 20 Jan). My apologies if some of the images are not very clear. Are these 'defects' generic? Does other pieces of the same item have the same 'defects'?

Thank you.

LovesCoach Singapore's reply

Hi

All the pieces are the same.

It is the fabric  and not considered a defect

Regards,

LovesCoach

www.loves-coach.blogspot.com

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I admit I am someone who is quite picky about the quality of things I am going to buy. I will QC etc to make sure the item is in good condition before paying for it. In this case, I assume LovesCoach will be doing the QC on my behalf as it is going to be an online purchase. In any case, their generic answer was not quite what I expected from a service provider. I do understand that there might be cases where the fabric is of such quality. But in this case, the defects are so apparent! Even if they are not able to do an exchange, their reply was quite a disappointment.

After reading tons of good reviews on LovesCoach website, I must admit other buyers were much more fortunate than me =< I guess this is going to be the last time I am buying something from LovesCoach or even any online store selling Kate Spade items. It would be better to go to Kate Spade outlets even though there might be limited designs.

Cervical Cancer Vaccination - 1st dose

Finally went for the 1st jab last week, courtesy of the $299 voucher  given by a kind soul in Cozycot. Without the voucher, I doubt I would have gone for the jabs so soon. $299 for 3 doses, inclusive of consultation fees & GST was too good an offer to pass up.

According to the doctor, Cervarix was a better choice as a significantly higher amount of antibodies seems to remain in the body as compared to Gardasil after 5 years. One point to note is that Gardasil offers protection against 2 more types of HPVs.

Freaking hot

Source: uspstudent.nus.edu.sg

Don't know what is wrong with SMRT these days. Capacity & timing for both buses & trains are always not able to meet the demands of the public.

For instance, if you know that there is always high passenger load during this particular period, long Bendy buses should be deployed instead of these New Mercedes Benz O500LE (in simple terms, short buses). Moreover, these new buses don't feel safe at all to me. Whenever there is a turn or the driver engages the handbrake, I can feel the bus shaking from side to side.

As for the morning North-South trains travelling towards City Hall, it is always packed but ventilation don't seem to be working very well. Ventilation is even worse for evening trains back home. 90% of the time I can only feel hot air blowing at me. Perhaps it is because I am sitting at the 2 seaters area. But even so, this kind of setup is not acceptable. How can there be good ventilation at only certain areas of the train (new trains somemore)? By the time I get off the train, I can feel a headache coming my way.

I believe I am not the only person with the above feedback. Wondering if SMRT management is concerned about these issues or is their main focus on their profit levels?

** My interpretation of their media logo: Creating Possibilities for lousy service, Inspiring passengers to Always complain more **

Cervical Cancer Vaccination

Planning to get the vaccination soon, sometime within the next few weeks but still in the process of sorting out which clinic offers a cheaper deal.

So far, the cheapest alternative I manage to find cost $360 for 3 doses, not inclusive of GST. Brand name is Cevarix. This promotion is only valid for Passion card members.

More information can be found at http://www.passioncard.com.sg/newmerchant.aspx#c24

Rebonding

Going to rebond my hair again this week. Realised it is a never ending 'vicious' cycle. So used to having neat,  straight and easy to maintain hair to the extent that I will start thinking about making the next rebonding appointment whenever I find my fringe starting to curl. At first, it was an annual event. But now, it seems to have 'upgrade' to a half yearly event.

What can I say? I am just so used to having straight, non-frizzy hair that I will willingly sit 3-4 hours per session for the magical transformation.