tick tock tick tock

less than 24 hours away, and i havent started to pack my 25" luggage..

panick!

on a lighter note, idiot me has just realised that some travel chargers can be used for 100-240v, which means i dont have to get a transformer, which means i can use my 3g handphone, and bring my digital camera charger, and my ipod, and my electrical toothbrush.

all i had to do was to buy a $2 adapter.


duh... my staff said, you mean, you went japan so many times and you didnt know???

*blush*

when you want something from me part ii

dear s&m

i hope you will refrain from saying its a shipping problem as we are all working in the same company. logistics dept is to support sales and it is our aim to help you rush out shipments as long as its within our means. Fingerpointing will not solve the problem.

i hope we can work amicably as one family and help one another.

thanks and regards
xxx
===============================================
dear xxx,

this is not finger pointing. i am taking this matter as a whole. it is indeed a logistic problem (in general). i did not mention that it is YOUR fault or MELS logistic dept fault. if you want to take it so personal, then by all means.

i understand that we are all working as a family and likewise, i do hope we all can respect each other individually, and not to discriminate either position-wise or nationaility-wise. again, I am saying this as a general statement.

in conclusion, if in any way that i have said things which cause such misunderstanding, then i will apologise. but rest assured, I will never take things too personally or finger pointing to anyone. as like what you said it well, fingerpointing will not do any good to anyone.

regards,
idiotic s&m

when you want something from me part i

please, ask nicely, and state clearly.

i do not know what's going on in your head, neither do i owe it to you.

fare thee well...

weiwei : remember bryan, to survive and be top cat, always look guilty when the human say NO (!). dont forget to act cute. punish those who threaten you. when there's a food bowl, always stick your head in it, irregardless of consequences.

hmmm.. fur looks glossy and healthy

last check - backside, so that i can remember your scent


bye bye, all the blogger aunties and uncles

bryan settling in

bryan

yesterday brought bryan home, cos foster (friend's mum) is away on holiday. unlike other kittens i rescued previously, bryan is not needy and does not run towards me when i call. perhaps he doesnt see me as his surrogate mum (cos he already has one). well, will see how he warms up in the next few days.

lunch at waraku 和楽

grilled ika

uni sashimi (no it doesnt taste like shit)

tonkatsu curry don

asparagus bacon (yum!)

baked scallop in cheese and mayonnaise (double yum!)


affordable and delicious. including my tonkotsu ramen (not shown), meal for 3 persons cost less than $100. highly recommended!

someone stop me from drooling please!

the salmon roe or ikura don

a japanese language classmate told me sea urchin (uni) sold in singapore (i assume in normal, non premium restaurants) taste like shit. and that those in hokkaido just melt in your mouth. well, cant say i have tasted shit before!


cant decide between uni and ikura? why not order the nishoku don, best of two worlds!

or the goshoku don, best of five flavours!

finally, how can we forget the kani, which is limited to 10 sets per day!

ice cream in winter, anyone?

hokkaido is a land of ice cream, weird ice cream flavours like, uni, ika, natto, etc.

but of course, there are nice, heart warming flavours such as lavender, rose, mint, etc


i wonder how it feels to eat a frozen ice cream at temperature of 5 deg c?

will find out and let all of you know!

for pocky fans

click here and drool

supper time

where's my food?

kuro's tip #6 - more onsen and ￥saving tip

from a taiwanese guidebook titled 無料北海道 (literally, free hokkaido), found the following onsen place at otaru, with free bus service to and from sapporo.

http://www.yunohana.org/index.html
the onsen entrance fee is ￥600. the train fare from sapporo to otaru is ￥620.

taking the onsen bus would let you soak in onsen for free, and save ￥20!

who says japan is expensive?..

unwrapping of pu-re-zen-to

mahjong, anyone?

kuro's tip #5

follow-up from tip #4, to ensure that your pass is well invested in, below is a tool you can use to research on fares before purchase.

fare search

remember i talked about saving on transport? some hotels / resorts offer free pickup to and from major stations.

In Noboribetsu 登別 (onsen town in Hokkaido)

Takimotokan
Manseikaku

kuro's tip #4

transportation cost will always be a major part of travel in japan. especially if you intend to go to many places, or should i call station hopping?

this following tip is not for the faint-hearted or lazy feline... cos you really have to plan your trip well in order to save time and $$. too difficult, join a tour then. natas fair is coming (24-26 March).

everyone has heard of the jr pass. but did you know that there are other cheaper sectoral passes like the hokkaido rail pass, jr east pass for those who only travel in kanto area, jr west pass for those who focus on Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya and the vicinity. finally, there's a jr kyushu pass which strangely enough, is limited to one time purchase per peson only.

for kuro, the hokkaido rail pass is definitely worth considering. however, the street smart travel partner has found an even better way to save $$, ie. to travel without paying! yes, you heard me. no, we are not going to put our thumbs out to hitch hike lah.

look out for the next tip.

sales and marketing

what do common folks understand by "sales & marketing"?

some companies hire "sales & marketing" executives

to me, a sales & marketing department is crap. they exist in companies which live in the old era. such as, my company.

for a start, sales and marketing have very different objectives. sales is very number-driven, marketing is about penetration and development of new products.

my sales & marketing dept thinks they and/or customers are god, and try to tell me how to do my logistics job.

my logistics exec calls them pita, pain in the butt

i agree

kuro's tip #3

if you want to have a good meal, try to go to expensive restaurants during lunchtime.

they usually have good discounted sets for lunch, which cost more durng dinnertime.

for dinner, can settle for ramen or kaiten sushi (approx. $10-12)

(dont believe me, just compare the prices of reputable japanese restaurants in singapore - lunch menu price and dinner menu price. almost the same food, more ex for dinner. same principle)

next cat tower upgrade

not so fast lah, in a year or 2 or when i strike toto...

kuro's tip #2

who says things are expensive in 日本？ bet with you i can get a set of office attire @ less than S$100.





nope, it's not muji...

warm and fuzzy

kuro's tip #1

trash the lonely planet and frommers and all the angmoh guidebooks.

if you wanna see the real japan that is.

instead, go for the hk published guidebooks (sorry, in traditional chinese only, and often, language is akin spoken cantonese) like these.



they tell you
1) more than 3 ways to get from narita airport to tokyo (time, fare, complexity etc)
2) real shops with maps (not souvenirs)
3) what's in for the season
4) how to purchase subway ticket and tips to save on fares

available @ kinokuniya bookstore, and hong kong of course

rittle red riding hood preparing for vacation

destination


ps it's not true that the country i am going is expensive. that is what the ill-informed thinks. singapore can be expensive too right? in the next month, i will be revealing best kept $ saving tips and tricks. watch out for it...

artistic photo

married for half a decade

yep, it's today...

i should suggest for every year celebrated we increase the household feline population by one..

gimme biscuits anytime!

canned food time

notice that weiwei has already finished his plate. there is another empty plate which originally belonged to cleo, but she's not a fan of canned food, unless it's sheba. unfortunately, it is not imported into singapore.



weiwei checking out how stitch is doing. he is a little slow in noticing cleo's plate which is almost untouched.