His need/want list

Just a random note so I don't forget - his bday (& x'mas) is coming up and he needs/wants:

1. mobile phone
2. bluetooth
3. cycling shoes (clip-ons)
4. cycling magazines
5. (surprise surprise)
   
6. ...

Hmmm, what else?

xoxo,
v

to the garden ..

Ok .. so here I'm in an attempt to revive our blog .. A year has passed and we're celebrating our 2nd anniversary together (albeit with a long break in b/w - but same date as well!!).

Had a great anniversary dinner last night at Au Jardin in the Botanics ... 100% for service!! Very nice experience .. Photos of the degustation menu that we had coming right up ..

A bouquet of 99 roses to start the night .. :D
2nd I've received in my life, the 1st being from him as well back in Sec 2 in the ACS auditorium
sigh~ so young and carefree then ..

It is like 4x the size of my face ... heavy too.

Presenting Au Jardin .. in the midst of the trees

VCP Rose champagne @ something like $35/glass - yup, I was rather shocked
This is when I find out that I'm mildly allergic to alcohol ..
Nevertheless .. *cheers* to us ..

To start: Finger food - prawn row, celery/apple mix

Momotaro Tomato - with water melon, Modena balsamic & extra virgin olive oil
I am personally not a big fan of tomatoes .. & u would never catch me snacking on them ..
Neither is he ..
But this was superb, unique tasting .. not squishy :P

Alaskan King Crab - apple jelly & petit salad
Not bad ... whets your appetite for the many dishes to follow

Maine Lobster - & sweetbread ravioli with seasonal mushrooms
Good mushrooms with lobster juice is just heaven for me ..
Wanted to lick the plate dry .. but too unglam.

Midway, the restaurant suddenly started to freeze up ..
To my most pleasant surprise, I was offered a shawl just as I was starting to feel uncomfy .
*contented me snuggling*

Blue Fin Tuna - with baby mache & thousand island hollandaise
This was my favouritest dish of all .. (!!)
So fresh .. paired with lovely sauce.

Pigeon - roast, juniper berries, beet confit & sweet corn
This was my least favourite ... *urgh*
Apart from the sweet corn that is ..
Maybe it was the thought of eating a pigeon ..
But anyway, it actually tastes like beef!!! Seriously ...
They recommend it rare .. I had mine well done; still tasted the blood ..
I absolutely hate bloody meat ..
He liked his though .. said it tasted much better rare than well done.

Wagyu Beef Cheek - slow cooked, foamy potato & wilted young spinach
The beef just collapses in your mouth!! & love the light foamy potato!!!
Can someone pls teach me how to make that foamy stuff?
At this point, I was bordering full .. I find it so amazing that even though the portions are minute, you still get full at the end of it all

Mango soup - chilled, coconut sorbet & pomelo pulp
Tastes similar to the chinese dessert
Pomelo bits were nice & crunchy though :)

Dessert - Chocolate moelleux
Rich chocolate with some sour sorbet to end the meal!

Happy and full us!

Green tea chocolate, lemon tart (sour!), sugared gummy like thing

Rose garden ... love
It is actually the bouquet ..

Voila! Eh yah .. I should get back to reading now ... :x

xoxo,
V

It's been a year ..

Happy anniversary!! *muackz*

Bummer to have it 2 days before the exams though :| Urgh ..

Anyway, I'll be back with a proper entry .. soon !

where are we?

ever wondered what you're working towards all your life?

it took me to sit down with my lil cycling bro on a bench on a beautiful saturday morning in the middle of a park, overlooking what the exceedingly bounteous Singaporean coastal skyline had to offer and just enjoy the view, the conversation and the cool breeze...

we make so many choices everyday, what to eat, what to wear, what to do later after taking a crap, how to do them and we are continuously responsible for every thought and action. i have made many life changing. many gut wrenching and plunges into the deep end this year, and i know a part of me will never be able to forget some dreams, never be able to not regret some choices.

i do know though, that i am living everyday now to the fullest i can, and i've got a great thing going on in my life right now. the hours are long, they call beyond the normal office hours, and its a constant worry about balancing numbers, managing stocks and most importantly, dealing with people with an ever cheery face no matter the mood i'm in.

i hope anybody out there reading this will not mope whatever your situation, and don't look back so often you never take that big meaningful step forward and progress in your life. There are many risks to take in life, do it while you're young and don't be afraid to fall!

i know the road is long ahead, but i'm sure the scenery and experiences along the way will be a blast.

arrivedecci....

WORK WORK WORK! and dreaming of the SEA Games...

whew.... you just don't get what it takes out of you to be working full time, so much to do every single minute of the day, it seems like there are never enough hours...

i've figured, right now in my life, i've got three things to worry about.
1) the shop
2) cycling
3) ms pinky

i'm still dreaming of cycling at a compettive level because i'm still so young??!!! and at the bottom of it all, i feel like i've not accomplished the most i'm capable of... i think i'd live to regret it if i didn't give my all to be in the best competitive form and try win a medal (GOLD of course!!!)... it'd be an all or nothing, there are just too many things in life to worry about next to be able to cycle at a regional/international competitive level for the next few years, and who knows? maybe a renaissance when i'm 29??? heh, all i've got to do is put my head down, and prepare to eat a whole lot of pain, suffering and sacrifices. you can never underestimate how much the support of your loved ones can bring you through.

learn to lean on them more, learn to treasure them everyday, and never ever forget that they are the reasoning and purpose in your life...

i'm gonna be training my ass off until they announce for sure that they're not sending a team to the SEA Games for cycling, until then, ciao~!

TOURISTY SINGAPORE

ciao!

man alive! its so hard to find time for yourself and just blog abit these days, but things have certainly not been a boring white bed sheet, more like polka dots, pins, stripes and what have you.

hokay! ms pinky and lycra man had a wonderful half week of being tourists in Singapore, and you know what Singaporeans? our country ain't that bad! ha, no need to travel half the world, endure fat people crammed up next to you in Economy, no need to cling on to your purses with sheer desperation for fear of being pick-pocketed, and most certainly no need to look high and low for wonderful glorious food!

we managed to do most of the things we planned to do, like do the Night Safari, stay in a Singapore hotel and bum the streets of Orchard Road, eat at a restaurant and speak with an accent, basically have a damn good time in good 'ol singapura.

The Night Safari is seriously a good touristy attraction that has bothered to upkeep itself over the years, I still remember when I was yay high and going in for the first time with my mum, and it has evolved so much over the years! The guides spoke fluently, they were exceptionally (almost freakily) friendly in waving goodbye at each tram stop, at each encounter along the trails and the new entrance with its open concept (almost felt like we paid for the entrance fees for nothing!) is simply world class. Only draw-back was the HORDE of Indian nationals who were so anxious to rush forward to snatch and grab seats for the animal show that they really did almost spoil the night with their mad stampede for... guess what! more than enough seats for everybody! man alive.... if only they could see how they behave from a neutral eye.

And staying in a decent 4-5 star hotel in Singapore (fantastic promos every now and then!) could possibly be the best get-away from it all (just remember to switch off the handphone) if you are pressed for time and want to enjoy some SERIOUSLY luxious sheets. I just couldn't get enough of that huge King sized hotel bed, and I just wanted to lay in it forever. =) Should've just called in a lorry and lifted the bed from the room for the house...

damn, work calls... gonna update more with photos (definately ms pinky's job there), and more on the melaccaa trip! cheerio till next time... andiamo domani

Night Safari

Sorry no time to blog ... so just going to upload some photos. :) Maybe cajole sweetie into doing it later *hint hint* It was quite nice (except for some stupid crowd incident which nearly killed me) ... costs $28 each. Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, no flash allowed!! & my camera's nightmode is not that fantastic ..

Cyfora race in Melaka

This post has long been overdue ... haha, only because I've been busy working. Well, life as a pupil has not been that bad as yet ... Slightly better than I expected. But then again, apparently it's because we only have a month and the lawyers can't really give us that much work because soon enough, we'll be gone for PLC again. And it's only been 3 days since I started. Killer period will be when we return for the next 5 mths :P

Nonetheless, I feel that I've so much less time left to do anything and I only have some free time today because it's a public holiday. Even then, I need to go shopping for more comfortable shoes and more working clothes ... Anyway, looking forward to many more public holidays in the future ..

On another note, went to Melaka last Sun to watch Sweetie race!! It was my 1st time watching and it was really interesting ... especially because I was able to sit in the support car which followed the cyclists around. Most interesting part of course, was the last part approaching the finishing line. 1st group in front that broke away had say ... about 10 pple? And because Sweetie was in that group, we followed it ... cheering all the way!!! He ultimately came in 4th ... but he should have been first!!! Poorly organised and marshalled race ... poor dear~ Started sprinting too early (i.e., going all out which they do sometime near the finishing line) because there was still a huge roundabout (unknown to him) to go around instead of going straight to the finishing line .. that's when the other 3 overtook him. :P But well done!!! *hugz* Proud of him.

JustinA, him, Eddie
Many thanks to JustinA for driving his car up. I drove them back in his car after the race *grinz*

The Schroeder team in discussion before the race

him in action

Eddie & him shagged out at the end

Heh, and for all those who know how lazy I am ... surprise surprise, I got a new road bicycle. Haha, I'm going to take cycling up!!! Eh, but it's seriously scary .. I got horned once last night while TRYING to cycle at 10+ pm. I panicked and felt damn scared ... some huge truck/lorry/cement mixer whatever ... Heellllllo, it was a 3 lane road and sweetie and I were taking the left most lane .. WHY did he want to squeeze with us?? The road was empty!!! But the wind blowing against you is just great :)

Note: the elite/procyclists of course cycle mostly in single file close to the pavement so that cars can actually still share the same lane with them. But I am unstable and lousy so sweetie cycled BESIDE me on the right and we took up 1 lane so that no vehicle would knock me by "accident". We have a right to though, seeing that it's illegal to cycle on pavements. :|

Video of him in action coming up!! -

lonely days in singapore without my sidekick

think this is a little overdue... -sheepish smile-
spent the last 13 days without my ever faithful buddy, sidekick, confidant and partner in crime ms pinky since she was too busy strolling the streets of western US of A. (do it, just drawl it like a nasty fi-ty yeaaaar ol' texan from the depths of dusty bowled aal la bam ma!)

its been almost two weeks of lotsa of riding, and being a slave to the shop, but pizza nights, shit talk sessions and the occassional night out with some long lost friends were definately enough to keep me sated till ms pinky gets back to Singapore. ha! we're gonna plan to have a Tourism Singapore Week when she's back, the plan is to do as many things that we normally don't do being residents of the country, like walk the streets of our forefathers, go to the zoo, the night safari, watch the beach volleyball tournament at Sentosa, stay in a hotel, etc, it'll be a last blast of wanton carefreeness for ms pinky before she starts work on the 28th!!!!
ROOOOOOAAAR!!!!








WOOT! lotsa scantily clad babes running all over the sand...


you never do quite miss people, especially your loved ones as much as when you're actually apart from each other, i definately don't feel quite so complete these days... but like they say, absence makes the heart fonder, i'm definately gotta get me one of those bungy cords with a lock on her when she's back... ciao! andiamo domani! (till we next meet!)

dodgy day in hong kong

pssssssst....

-oi mai piu mo?-

ha, galavanting the streets of hong kong as a black market ticket broker might just be my calling i tell ya, the rush, the excitement, and of course the disappointment... it was quite a blast trying to buy tickets off dodgy looking people (8/10 of them were just waiting for friends though!) in a desperate attempt to get tickets to watch:

SHOW MI! SAMMI!

damn, such a groupie, but only for the night, apparently the black tickets were sold out by 5pm, we were there at 7pm and the show started at 830pm! man alive, black market trading is a booming trade!

we got over our disappointment though, we caught the MTR to the Avenue of the Stars, posed with ol' Bruce, strolled the esplanade, caught the ferry across the Channel to Central, then took the Peak Tram up to the Peak. dead tired by the end of the day, but it definately was fun...

lycra man... ouT!!

Last part of the trip

Am in HK now and the weather is soooo HOT ... Just ended my grad trip in USA and now just finishing the rest of the trip with the parents and bf. Haha, I can't believe this ... But parents sent Dan & I to camp outside the Coliseum hoping that some black market guy will be there selling tics for Sammi Cheng tonight ... Wish us luck :)

Sunglasses!!

Am in a very good mood today because managed to finally get my Gucci sunglasses!!! *woohoo* Love them to bits .. Haha, been shopping around instead of studying .. Can't help it, I have zero motivation what with half the world having ended their exams ...

Side view (brown frame with flowery print on white background)

Front view (brown lens)

Boo Insurance !!

Then again, I hope I do well because judging from the ICF paper ... I'm going to need a good grade. Ok, better start working for it ...

About the Dean's message and cakes

Prof. Tan CH (the dean of NUS Law School for those who don't know), is such a kind and funny man .. Heh, wish there were more like him around!! He sent us this email:

Dear law students,

My apologies for this belated message as I was away. I want to wish all of you the very best in your exams. Don't get overly stressed as good grades, while helpful, are neither a necessary nor a sufficient measure for future success.

With best wishes,
Tan CH

*beams*

And today!!! I baked a carrot cake *yummy* ... not so sweet. For those more health conscious, don't worry, I always reduce the amount of sugar and use olive oil if possible .. and the eggs are Chew's which are low in cholesterol. Guess it might not appeal to some who prefer things sweet, sweet and sweet (albeit some things are meant to be sweet, but not all). But works extremely fine for most I think .. Took me 3 hours of shopping for ingredients, putting them together, and getting the finished product!!!

**tada**

Freshly baked carrot cake

Final product with the cream cheese

Lycra Man testing out the cake

Mum testing out the cake

By the way, for cakes and desserts, CANELE has the BEST Strawberry shortcake and Le Royale ... It has since become slightly more commercialised after opening a 2nd branch @ Paragon. When the outlet @ Robertson Walk was the only one, there seriously weren't enough Strawberry shortcakes to go around. The first time I stepped in, just after noon, there weren't any left. :( But now i realise that they've seriously stepped up on the production ... after dropping by the branch @ Paragon yesterday at 8+, there were still a few of them left!!!! They're still so good and moist though ... :) Have to try them!!

More food ..

Restaurants I've not eaten at, but would like to soon *yum yum*:

1. Ristorante Da Valentino off Rifle Range Rd
   
2. The Grill @ Hillcrest
3. Friends @ Jelita
4. Halia Restaurant @ Botanics
5. Haldhi Indian Restaurant

By the way, there's this really nice Japanese restaurant which is very reasonably priced .. Authentic restaurant which serves Kobe beef if you like it. It's something like on the 4th floor in Liang Court Complex. Near to Tung Lok Restaurant. Oh, maybe I should try our Tung Lok Restaurant too ...

Haha, yes Vic ... I know .. more food. Glutton-ous ...

fish and chips

ms pinky and i have hardly been having time to eat together these days, so it was really nice to spend a Sunday cooking a home-made meal of baked salmon with baby spinach and home-made rosti to compliment!

forgot to take some pictures, but i thought i'd share a craving i've been having every once in awhile. best fish and chips i've had bar none (even the aussie fish and chips have yet to meet this one on taste and the tartar sauce!)

Fishermen's Wharf, 27 New Bridge Road

just order the cream dory fish, or the catch of the day, guaranteed to be fresher than the rest and you'll come back for more! the cream dory's $6.50, and the catch of the day varies in price according to what fish is available, but its usually really worth the while, at least a 30% discount on the fish's usual going rate if its not on special.

try the place and let me know what you think!

Signing off.....Lycra Man!

Lousy pasta

The food @ Pasta Fresca sucks ... After not having patronised the restaurant for ages, decided to drop by one day for dinner. Had the linguine marinara ... *bur* Pasta was undercooked, shellfish had sand in them ... Not that nice an experience. And they actually deco the restaurant quite cosily ... Oh, but did u know that there's a discount for students?? Haha ... 10% if by cash, 5% if by card (the one near NUS at least). But nonetheless, didn't feel it was worth it at all ...

*I need some good food* Any recommendations pls?

xoxo,
v

OMG, this is chocolate paradise .. courtesy of E from Melbourne. Oh dear lover, how I wish I'd been with u in Melbourne to savour all the desserts.

Flo on the go

Courtesy of Breastie, I discovered ... FLO ON THE GO! I am dying to get the 2 more stars left to make my record just perfect ... & I've been trying hard, but to no avail. Oh why oh why ... sigh~


Can't wait till ICF is over on Monday ... and then insurance ... and then I'll be gone!! *woohoo* To USA for my grad trip .. and then HK to watch Sammi Cheng in concert "Show Mi" ... If I can get the tickets that is. As of now, it's a sellout.

Why Sweetie is a sweetie -

me: I am craving for that nice waffle thing near your shop ...
him: Then come down!!
me: But I don't have the car ...
him: Take a cab!
[silence]
him: Take a bus!
[silence]
him: Walk here! ... Cycle here!!
[silence]
him: Wear a short skirt, point your finger out, and hitch a ride ...
[ ... ...]
him: Tell you what, give me 20 and I'll swing by after talking to this customer ...
me: *one happy girl*

Achievements .. haha

I cut my fringe and I look like a kok ... I should have just gone back to Edwin @ YESS. I am sianzzzzzzzz ... But nvm, it'll grow out soon. Thank gdness it's study break.

And I'm thoroughly proud of myself - self declared Diner Dash QUEEN ... reached expert in ALL THE LEVELS!!!! *woohoo* Compare and contrast the 2 pictures below:

My star-filled screenshot

Sweetie's lack lustre performance (not forgetting that I actually helped him to attain more than 1/2 the stars)

Bah~ and so he says that in order to be a good cyclist, you need good psycho-motor skills .... Ok, maybe so. After hanging out in his shop so much, I suddenly am slightly interested in road cycling .. burhurhur. Maybe after exams I should pick it up ... yah right, likely to get run over by some huge lorry.

Anyway, also made "awesome" tiramisu yesterday!!!! *beams* Perfecto~ maybe just lacking a little in kahlua ...

Lastly, pls congratulate and offer Sweetie your well wishes .. His official opening was yesterday. May his business prosper, and moolah start flooding in .. hiakz. Anyone interested in getting a new bicycle?

oo yay! Meeting Breastie and E for dinner later~ They're using peer pressure to force me to go to United Sq or whatever ... zzzzz

xoxo,
v

Mr Bean

Watched Mr Bean's Holiday yesterday ... was a pretty good show I must say. Albeit the fact that I was seated in the front row, 4 seats away from the aisle + the huge screen (neck cramp alert) ... Vivocity is jammed packed on Saturdays! We were lucky to find a lot in B2, whilst sweetie's friends parked on level 4. In the movie, Bean looks really lengthy .. but apparently, he's very tall too .. so figures. He walks over park benches like they're stepping stools or something ..

waitress: blah blah blah ... (in francais)

Bean: Oui ...

waitress: blah blah blah (in francais)

Bean: Non ..

waitress: Your french is very good ...

Bean: *beams* Gracias!

On another note, just woke up from my nap .. Haha, I actually have a foldable bed (from IKEA) for naps in the bf's shop. He's busy outside making some sale now, and I'm confined to his miniscule office. :P But it's all cool .. I enjoy being here anyway. Quite interesting to see all these cyclists, triathletes whatnot walk in and out. And I entertain myself playing games on his new Dell which has Windows Vista - uncanny similarity to Apple computers.

ICF is next Monday, and am i prepared? Hell no!! But whatever, like it'll make that much of a difference anyway. It's the last sem (if I don't get retained)!!!!! Before joining the workforce *boohoO* Better enjoy life as a student while it lasts .. before it is taken away forever. :(

xoxo,

v

Eileen the Evil

Eileen is an absolutely evil being .. she has banned me from her wedding as a distinguished guest (what more about being her maid of honour) even BEFORE she has found a new bf. *bur* I've since been demoted to being her children's GODMA.

Or reduced to sitting at her reception with a paper bag over my head. So next time you see someone with a paper bag over her head, you know who it is. And it'll be Eileen's fault.

Bici Passione

Ciao! Commes'tai?

don't know if i'm high on endorphins from the ride i just did or delirious from the work having set-up the shop, some pics as promised!

its still so messy, so much stuff not in yet, and still so many things to do, but being a great passion of mine, most certainly a labour of love... ha!

like they say, when you do something you love, you don't work a day at all...

thanks to all the people out there who've helped with the renovations, moral support and encouragements, its been everything i've hoped for and more. time to work hard and not disappoint the people who have the faith! =) especially to sweetie who has been doing all the little things which matter the most... -gush gush mushy mushy-

more pics when the shop warming's on!

cheers,
Lycra Man over aaaaaaannnnnnd OUT! for tonight anyways...

Exam blues

Exams are just around the corner (less than 2 weeks away) .. I should stop slacking and kaypohing around his bicycle shop .. It seems such a long while ago that I was helping him with the renovations and busying myself from early morning till midnight at his shop (actually just the whole of last week) ... Come on!! Time to start studying for exams!!! Oh, someone .. just kill me. I hate studying ..

There there .. his shop details. Pls help spread the word to all cycling enthusiasts :)