くろ、しろ、ねこ　kuro.shiro.neko

facebook and being single again

2009-03-15T17:43:00.002+08:00

i've sort of neglected this blog, due to an easier interface with facebook. if anyone of you are on facebook and want to add me as a friend, please do so, but please mention your blog name (i add selectively and only people i know). you can search my email addy nitrolil at yahoo dot com dot sg.

i like facebook's photo albums bcos it's so easy to add, and people can post comments. if you are not really into the facebook hype, you may want to consider signing up, if not just for the photo album feature, amongst other 无聊 stuff.

i am learning to be single again! initially, i thought i'd be lonely (yes, it's my main fear, having been with another person for 8 years).

but hey, i get to enjoy perks that i othewise would have to give up.

1) sprawling all over the queen bed
2) inviting my cats to join me in sprawling all over the queen bed
3) when i go shopping, i now think of me, me and only me!
4) when i da bao for dinner, i now think of me, me and only me!
5) my wardrobe has since doubled in space. time to contribute to the economy!
6) i no longer have to lower the toilet seat

strange as this may sound, i have also stopped smoking. i guess subconsciously, i am trying to shake away the old me that was trapped for the last god-knows-how-many years.

hopefully there are more good things to come.

essentials for kinabalu

2009-01-06T17:58:00.002+08:00

hey, did you realise there are so many different forms of insect repellants in the market??

allow me to show you.. clock-wise from top left:-

1) All natural mosquito repellent patch : lately very popular - uses citronella oil to repel mozzies. stick on clothes, no direct contact with skin. buzzword : NATURAL
(the pack i bought is attached with a bottle of spray)

2) OFF! Insect Repellent Lotion : this one contains DEET, which is a chemical used to repel insects. used to be very popular before the natural stuff came out. i bought this due to recommendation by many climbing websites. Most if not all of them stressed "DEET"

3) Aquatabs : water purification tablets. on closer look it is actually chlorine! so i will be drinking chlorine water!!

4) Beyond Bodiheat : heat pad for 12 hours of pain relief. i am sure i will be aching ALL over... a little pad goes a long way... can even keep me warm.. *bliss*

and finally,
5) new anti-mosquito wristband : this one intruiged me cos it looks like one of those sports band... haha... whether it works or not never mind. it can be a fashion statement for my climb. i bought the yellow colour one.

i was fat last year?

2008-12-29T23:03:00.003+08:00

i bumped into ole wolvie in a recent local meet-up where like-minded people got together for a common interest (well, at least thats what i went there for).

he said he could not recognize me as i had slimmed down a lot!!! hey, was i that fat then?

anyway, i was glad to meet him in person - it was like fate... so carefree... so un-pretentious...

お久しぶり、ole wolvie san...

me then...

me now...

hakone and mt fuji

2008-12-26T20:36:00.005+08:00

we were lucky that it was a very clear day and mt fuji could be seen. can you see the iconic mt fuji in the picture?

more pictures of cateriam

2008-12-26T20:18:00.003+08:00

tera could be in heat now, she kept rolling on the floor. btw, she's an ocicat and scottish fold mix

isnt this ponchi adorable? look at her innocent eyes!

this is dori - a ragdoll. she's rather inactive, prefer to pass her time in the basket

this is my favourite - airu, a calico maine coon. her fur is so soft, i kept molesting her! hehe..

cafe area

kaypoh cats checking out our jackets

xmas lighting at shiodome

2008-12-26T20:13:00.003+08:00

cat cafe

2008-12-26T19:50:00.005+08:00

more and more cat cafes are opening up in japan.

this time i went to one in 下北沢 called cateriam, opened in july 2008.

even though there were only 8 cats, i had lots of fun, and missed my babies at home.

sleeping black cat - can you see its pink tongue and white whiskers? this one is koko.

chincilla cat - even though i am not a fan of flat face, i find ponchi very cute!

and finally, tera sucking on my arm! on cateriam's website, it is written that tera likes humans wearing short sleeve tops - AHA!

long overdue!

2008-12-26T19:41:00.006+08:00

paiseh paiseh... i had all the intention to blog on a daily basis in tokyo. alas! i had to be a babysitter cum tour guide, that the dual role drained my energy by the end of each day.

btw, i think this will be my last trip in a long time. flipping through my passport, i realised i set foot in japan 7 times in the last 5 years! also, i made 4 overseas trips in 2008, adding up to 1.5 months or 50 days! and thats not counting the short quickies like bangkok and penang

so, here comes the pictures... this time, i did not bring my trusty panasonic lumix, as the new 4gb sd card i bought could not be used in the old lumix. most pictures were taken with handphone or by travel partner.

this shinjuku shot was taken from my 31st floor room at hilton.

foreigners can no longer buy cigarettes from vending machines, as japan has implemented a control system whereby one has to tap an id card called taspo. buying from cigarette shops actually makes no difference, ie price is the same, and sometimes the pack comes with free lighter or portable ashtray, all at the same price!

i promise...

2008-12-13T17:56:00.002+08:00

to update my blog for my trip everyday!

yes, heading to the land of cats again... this time half on business, half on leisure.

this is actually my first business trip to japan. and even though company is in bad shape, in survival mode, i still get to go! well, considering the potential saving i am going to bring to the company, i guess it is a justifiable trip (or so i'd like to think).

this blog has been kinda dead since marital woes kicked in.

well, i assure my readers (you guys still there?) this is going to be a fun trip, so look out from tomorrow onwards!

meow...

what a sleepy afternoon

2008-11-18T13:19:00.002+08:00

cute cat commercials

2008-11-06T20:30:00.001+08:00

http://www.jalan.net/jalan/doc/campaign/summer2007/nyalan/index.html

chanced upon this while searching for accomodation in japan (yes, i am heading to the land of neko again!).

click on the 30秒ver. the 1st one is my fav!

yummy kyoto sabo dessert and my weight

2008-10-17T16:41:00.002+08:00

i just went for annual medical checkup.

i now weigh 59kg with body fat of 27.7%.

i is sad, but i still cant resist yummy dessert like this........

check out this website - cheap clothes

2008-10-14T15:04:00.001+08:00

with everything going up in prices, this is a great website for cheap clothes!

i am placing my first order with them... ^-^

we will miss you lincoln

2008-09-20T00:24:00.002+08:00

this afternoon when i went to visit him, he was already very weak and very cold. vet said it could be the drip and put a heat pad for him.

at 4.30pm, vet suddenly called me to say he had difficulty breathing. when i rushed down he already collapsed and was on live support machine.

his heart stopped after 10 mins. guess he wanted to wait for me to come and syaang him and say good-bye.

you will be missed, lincoln my dear boy...

get well soon, lincoln

2008-09-18T21:23:00.002+08:00

this afternoon, lincoln was admitted into Allpets Clinic.

he was having diarrhea for a week now, after accidentally licking some melted butter!

he was warded after the vet diagnosed him as being extremely dehydrated and running a fever. it could be his intestines are messed up from the butter (high fat content, which their intestines cannot breakdown).

lincoln, get well soon. we want you back (but not to irritate us).

love,
weiwei, cleo, chloe and coco

why the long silence

2008-09-06T22:39:00.002+08:00

after a troubled and turmoiled 4 months, WE have decided to get a divorce.

i never thought i would have to choose between human and cat, but i guess... cest la vie!

after a long silence

2008-08-31T21:20:00.002+08:00

we are back... with a new cat bed!

san francisco

2008-07-25T14:37:00.001+08:00

i will be stopping over at san francisco for 2 days on the way back from boston.

any recommendation for nice walking area? especially cat-related stuff?...

help...

me idiot in USA..

^-^

newsflash

2008-06-29T16:01:00.003+08:00

~~reported by cleo~~

on 26 june 2008, ksn quarreled with that ill-bred boss, and even banged table wor!

according to eye witnesses at the scene, ksn, boss and the 2 service managers (read : engineers) were having their weekly service meeting, when the ib boss commented that the big boss (who's due in town next week) always say the singapore team has no teamwork.

bcos ksn was very frustrated that she had to deal with the iso preps by herself (not without TEAMWORK from her young team) she blurted that the singapore team really had no teamwork.

ib boss got really upset(later ksn learnt that ib boss has always been sensitive to this teamwork thing, but i think he is just in self-denial mode), and challenged ksn what she meant by that.

ksn cited the example of when the demanding customer wanted a quote on a certain spare part, she could not get the assistance from a cetain engineer and his manager(read : lazy).

ib boss refused to listen, and started shouting and accused ksn of not communcating with the engineer and manager. there was teamwork all right, it's just she had problem n communication.

of course ksn was very angry, because she stayed back to call the US factory AT NIGHT to seek advice on the subject matter, and worse, she learnt from ib boss that she was NOT supposed to contact the factory directly. what was she supposed to do? she just wanted to get back to the demanding customer as quickly as possible.

one thing i must tell you about this ksn. she cries easily. however, it was not tears of weakness, it was tears of anger!!

so in the midst of shouting and banging table by the ib boss, ksn reciprocated by banging table and argued back, with tears of anger.

i wish i could help ksn. she really was trying to do her job. later ib boss had a one-to-one talk with her after the eventful meeting, and told her basically she had to follow his lead, or else he will make life VERY DIFFICULT for her. he even cited what he did to her predecessor.

ksn is very perplexed. she knows she is doing the right thing, yet she is penalised for that, and the real reason she thinks is the company is so slow and messy, whatever she does now will piss those lazy people off, bcos she is rocking the boat.

i noticed that this weekend, ksn never brought her laptop home. i think she has given up trying to do the right thing. afterall, if you cant beat them, join them lor.

what do you think?

useless reply

2008-06-22T19:44:00.000+08:00

Dear Ms Tan, Thank you for your feedback. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. We will highlight your feedback to our FairPrice Serangoon North Avenue 1 branch and the respective department and take actions to make the necessary action. We would also inform the relevant department of your suggestion for their review and consideration. Once again, we would like to thank you for your feedback and we look forward to serving you soon.

Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service hotline at 1800 552 2722, or email at general.feedback@fairprice.com.sg should have any enquiries.

Thank you & regards, Elaine Yeo
Customer Relations Officer

complaint letter to fairprice

2008-06-15T20:18:00.000+08:00

I would like to feedback on the outlet at Serangoon North Ave 1.

It is frequently out of stock for many items. For example, today at 6pm, I went to get drinks. The shelf was empty for 1) Pokka Green Tea 2) Marigold Lemon Tea 3) Marigold Apple.

The service for this outlet is also not very good. There are always cartons in the aisles during peak hours, causing bottlenecks and difficulty to get products from the shelves. If I am not wrong, this outlet was recently renovated.

Please do something about it. I am from the FMCG industry and I am aware that most retail companies including Fairprice impose a fine on suppliers who are out of stock for listed skus. Then, why arent the drinks on the shelves and the shelves are literally EMPTY.

Thanks.

long silence

2008-06-12T23:22:00.002+08:00

i just realised i havent been blogging for almost a month!

what have i been up to?

1. coming back on saturday to clear up inventory mess in warehouse
2. working 12 hour days mon-fri
3. preparing for stupid iso re-certification. apparently no one has been complying to the processes, now all trying to 生 documents that date back 1 year ago
4. correcting staff who have been working brainlessly for the last 2-8 years!

will be heading to boston again in late july. this time i know where to shop liao, and what to get (no more coach stuff for me)

will update again SOON

melting...

2008-05-19T10:42:00.001+08:00

it's a hot day...

coach items for sale

2008-05-18T11:15:00.002+08:00

bought these in US, and would like to sell. consider them... impulse buy mistakes!

1) New HAMPTONS LEATHER NEW FRENCH PURSE
http://www.coach.com/content/product.aspx?product_no=10555&category_id=1270

used once only. too bulky for me... but oh, the pink was so pretty i couldnt resist

2) SIGNATURE STRIPE SHOULDER BAG
http://www.coach.com/content/product.aspx?product_no=10653&category_id=621

used twice. too small for me...

interested parties, please contact me at nitrolil at yahoo.com.sg.

price is always negotiable ;)

here are the actual photos of my stuff

random post about work

2008-05-01T20:35:00.003+08:00

so i have been in the new company for 1 month already.

it has been an adventure, to be sent to eastern US before i barely warm my seat in the office.

i have been back for 1 week, and finally, i have recovered from jetlag.

thinking back, the 2-week US trip was nothing compared to what i have to face back home.

my boss whom everyone fears (because he will not hesitate to reprimand you in front of everyone else), stammers in front of the big boss!

it's not that he is not aware of his inconsideration. in fact, he told me on my first day, that he has a temper.

i dont think it is a temper he has. i think he is just ill-bred. he has the rudest habit of interrupting others. and he will start by saying, "sorry to cut you off, ...."

well, DONT. he is non-repentant. he is just RUDE.

the first time he did it to me, i just STARED at him. i could not believe it.

such a young, respectable, hardworking, and well-dressed director, he is just RUDE.

i think everyone has been giving in to his rudeness, thats why he flaunts it legally.

everyone else are guys, so i guess they dont give a shit.

well, i DO. it's called MANNERS.

i have to think of how to stop this rudeness of his, at least when he is in a meeting with me.

otherwise, lots of challenges and interesting problems awaiting me to conquer!

scenic drive

2008-04-27T07:10:00.003+08:00

the is the east coast of usa in marblehead, massacheusetts. we can actually see the alantic ocean

2008-04-27T07:02:00.004+08:00

this personal pizza from pizza hut was very very nice. the crust was thin (though it looked thick to me). there were a lot of cheese and sausage inside. it cost U$4 only. cheaper and much nicer than our local pizza hut.

i had lots of clam chowder at different places.

this indian tandoori chicken set from my office cafeteria. chicken was edible. rice was.. er... not very good. it was a big portion though, for a price of U$7

this lobster quesadilla was very nice, though it could do better with more lobster! the lobster meat was very sweet and juicy!

this grilled shrimp pasta was a little weird in taste. sourish, and dunno why they put pieces of pork and corn inside this dish. the combination was weird...

to wrap up my US trip

2008-04-27T06:49:00.007+08:00

if anyone is wondering why i am up so early, it's bcos my body thinks it is 6pm...

yes, the amazing jetlag. actually it has nothing to do with the aeroplane i took, save for it took me to my destination. shouldnt it be called time lag? haha..

so, to wrap up my trip, i guess it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, though i put on 1 kg from all the pizzas and bread and seafood and clam chowder, my colleagues took really good care of me. and in a country like US, most wouldnt go such a way out, to take me out on scenic drives and sunday lunches.

i made a week of roast beef sandwich for breakfast, since eating out was really expensive, and i wouldnt want to spend my allowance on food! the roast beef was very tender and yummy.

when i arrived, the weather was very cold, and the trees were bare.

when i was leaving, the weather warmed up, the flowers were blooming!

foodcourt food

2008-04-20T20:50:00.004+08:00

17 years ago, i visited vancouver and edmonton on the polytechnic exchange program. the asian food at that time was terrible. lots of msg, didnt even taste close to the real thing.

17 years later, i must say i am pleasantly surprised that the asian food tastes better. though not like what we have at home, it is passable, taste similar to some of our coffee shops or foodcourts.

cost is about U$6, expensive, but the portion is huge! 2 persons can share.

chicken teriyaki with rice
fish with rice and mixed vegetables

dinner in downtown boston

2008-04-20T20:43:00.002+08:00

we went to a japanese restaurant - wagamama. actually it is not really a restaurant, it is similar to pasta de waraku.

wagamama serves mainly noodles, fried and soup, plus side dishes.

trish (colleague) had yaki soba while i had the teppanyaki beef yaki soba.

i liked the beef (very tender) but typical of yaki soba, the sauce was quite sweet, so half way into the meal, i already felt jelat.

alamak

2008-04-20T20:39:00.003+08:00

a colleague kindly offered to take me out on friday night.

we went to downtown boston - charlestown and north end. the night view of boston is really nice. i only bright my phone which has a 3.2mp camera.

took 2 pictures of the night view.

turned out like that... haha.. i think i will have to pick up a postcard at the airport.

cat beds

2008-04-18T08:28:00.004+08:00

this was in a store (called target) near my hotel. it is something l ike carrefour. the cat beds are all very pretty and cheap. U$12-15 nia!

too bad i cant buy for my cats. got one pee-er who likes to pee on soft material.

every cat bed that i buy gets peed on within 1 hour - 1 day!

office at beverly

2008-04-18T08:07:00.006+08:00

so i have been here in Beverly (half hour drive from Boston) for almost a week now.

things have gotten better since the ordeal.

my colleagues are all very nice. julie my US counterpart picks me up from hotel and drive me to office every day (5 mins drive). she also drives me back and even offer to have dinner with me. at lunchtime, there is always someone who will take me to the cafeteria for lunch (yes, they pay and charge back to company).

so, it has been very nice.

only problem is, i keep getting electrocuted!

i seem to have a lot of static electricity, on monday and tuesday, i keep getting 电 when i shake people's hands. so much so, i am afraid of shaking people's hands i will tell them. i met at least 30 people so i got zapped 25 times (last 5 i just tell them i am charged).

the office/factory compound is huge, almost the size of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. cafeteria is very nice. they got salads, sandwiches, pizza, soups, etc. and price is cheaper than mall and fast food restaurants. of course much cheaper than hotel.

tonight the regional planner in charge of singapore took me out for dinner. he is italian and he looks like a younger robert de niro! hehe... he tells me he cooks and bakes. wow... i was impressed.. i told him a lot of things about singapore and malaysia and japan.

these were what we had.

this was asian chicken roll. the skin is flour based. nothing crispy like popiah. it was quite dense flour. the filling is chicken with broken bee hoon. served with peanut sauce. quite nice actually. much better than the chinese food i had in canada 17 years ago!

this was grilled chicken (breast). not dry at all it was quite juicy. i dunno why chicken breast in singapore are all very dry..

the teary flight

2008-04-14T12:12:00.002+08:00

i cried a lot during my 19 hour flight. watched the following movies

1) 恋空 a japanese story about a high school girl's love. she went through virgin sex, had miscarriage, later boyfriend broke up with her because he had cancer (but of course never told her), and how they came back together and finally boyfriend died. cried the most during this show

2) Le Grand Chef, korean movie about a talented chef against his evil 师兄, i think this show was in singapore late last year. i cried when the chef had to slaughter his own cow whom he has kept since she was small

3) PS I Love You - a touching story about how a woman cope with the loss of her Irish husband. Husband wrote letters to her to help her cope with his death. Starring Hilary Swank. dunno if this movie was in Singapore? i never watch movies at home one

4) National Treasure 2 - the sequel starring Nicholas Cage

the service on SQ soon to be discontinued executive economy class was very much better than i had expected. there was definitely more leg room and i could cross my legs. also, i had once upon a looooong time ago took business class, and this ee class is almost like raffles class - crew was attentive and there was even a self service snack bar. i had 4 packs of nachos and 1 pack of pretzel!

the meals were however definitely economy. i had chicken breast with risotto (aka nuah rice) for lunch and sauteed prawn for dinner. they offered ben and jerry's ice cream bar for dessert but i skipped cos it was HUGE...

happier post

2008-04-14T11:02:00.002+08:00

so the first 2 posts i blogged about usa are bad.

this is going to be a happier post lah. partly bcos my luggage finally arrived, and not without incident lor.

luckily i was hanging around the lobby, when the front desk staff came and tell me my luggage came (i was blogging the other post and COMPLAINING and WHINING). happily i went out to see, only to find the bag WAS NOT MINE. heck, it wasnt even red!

heng the (stupid) driver still at the driveway. then i got MINE back.

during the last 22 hours, besides COMPLAINING and WHINING, i also wondered why a series of suay things happened to me.

i came up with 2 conclusions:-

1) ksn's theory as to why the US airlines keep losing money. bcos they keep losing passenger luggage, they have to pay for claims and courier service to deliver to passenger hotels.

2) the logistics here sucked because my luggage arrived at boston airport at 1pm but it was delivered to me only at 10.30pm. surely this is a sign to make me feel what my customers may feel if the parts they order come late, especially if it is critical? that means i must work really hard to ensure my company's logistics work, and send the RIGHT PARTS

wow, i am so blown away with my 2 findings...

i must have been very bored in the last 22 hours lah. haha.. i shall go take a shower and do my face mask and pamper my body a bit...

qualification

2008-04-14T09:41:00.002+08:00

bcos of some (ahem) feedback that i am whiny and complain complain only, i must qualify that i dislike the US doesnt mean everyone should, or will.

i dislike the US bcos 1) i dont drive so its extremely difficult to get around

2) i dislike the fake service that is so obvious here

and why should tipping be compulsory?

its personal ok, ie i am personally suay. i am not a complaint queen, like "some other people"

ps STILL waiting for my luggage...

still waiting

2008-04-14T03:47:00.002+08:00

it has been more than 12 hours, and i am still waiting for my luggage. it is sunday 3.40pm, and i am stuck in the hotel with nowhere to go, and also i dont want to go anywhere until my luggage come in safe and sound.

morale of the story - do not rely on the reconnecting baggage check-in service here.

better to be on a bit and drag the luggage to another terminal for checking in the usual way.

10 reasons why i dislike US... and its only day 1

2008-04-13T19:48:00.003+08:00

1) must pay (!) for cart at airport - USD3 (no, it is not deposit, like our supermarket trolley, put in USD3 never get back one)

2) must pay for bottled water (USD2.50!!) in hotel room

3) luggage didnt come on time (i am still waiting, it got left behind at Newark airport)

4) cab driver didnt know the town i am staying. i arrived 1.5 hours late (should have been a 20min drive). that is after getting lost at 11pm in some pitch dark town and asking for directions. in the end he gave up and i took another cab.

5) amenities in hotel very poor (it's USD129 per night, breakfast not free somemore)

6) cannot find anything to eat except pretezels, chips, sandwich.

7) no in-room slippers (what the????)

8) no fridge in room - must ask one

9) boston (which i wanted to go) is half an hour away and cost USD93 one-way

10) cab is expensive (which equates to i will prob stay in this miserable hotel most times)

and counting!

my own room

2008-04-10T15:08:00.001+08:00

complete with name on door!

more ramen!

2008-04-10T10:18:00.002+08:00

in the vicinity of toyoko inn at otsuka station, there are many small shops specialising in ramen.

this is hakata ramen. the broth is thick and rich, supposedly made from pork bones and cooked for long time. a bit too jelat for me, nevertheless, it was nice to try something different.

the following 2 ramen and chicken karaage is from a cool little ramen shop called sun ramen, which i did not see anywhere else in tokyo. so i dont think it is a franchise (yet).

this ramen is chicken flavour, with lots of seaweed (green stuff), and the cook put a slice of grapefruit inside, which i squeezed and it was pleasantly refreshing!

this ramen is the one i am going to rave about. it is actually the shop specialty - sun cheese ramen, made from tomato paste. you can say it is something like pasta? but it is flavourful with tomato and cheese, but at the same time light and not jelat. very nice!

this karaage (fried chicken) was foc. i redeemed it with a coupon on my 2nd visit there.

the cook and staff were also very nice. the shop is open kitchen concept, so you can see your ramen cooked right in front of your eyes. i didnt take a photo of the shop after the stupid shouting incident at yanaka ginza.

curry rice

2008-04-10T10:15:00.001+08:00

this is on of the nicer curry rice i had. cost is abouy SGD7, but the tonkatsu (pork cutlet) had a very thick layer of flour coating

ramen and curry

2008-04-10T09:44:00.003+08:00

this was what i had for dinner on one night. there are many such food shops in tokyo. i think they are franchise shops.

of course, taste is not fantastic, but for the price of SGD7, cant complain right? :)

long trip away from home

2008-04-07T22:08:00.001+08:00

i will be going to boston for 2 weeks come this saturday.

i will miss my cats, esp lincoln my darling boy.

i hope i meet many cats there...

i am sure i will be blogging often there, as (blah) i dont drive and it is quite handicapping to go around without a car in the states.

pls drop me a line or 2 to ease my homesickness!

cool site

2008-04-04T23:42:00.001+08:00

this is a cool site spotting trends in japan.

http://www.kilian-nakamura.com/blog-english/

my first day at work

2008-04-01T19:39:00.002+08:00

was rather uneventful, except the pleasant surprise that i get my own room!

wow, my virgin room leh... hehe...

the hr manager had his 5 week old baby boy photos as screen saver. and i realise that i am not at all impressed with babies. but if i see cats, i will go goo goo and ga ga over their pics.

cat day cont'd

2008-03-31T19:58:00.004+08:00

after leaving the cat cafe and walking in the residential area, i saw a mother and daughter across the street checking out this beautiful tortie.

Tortie was very coy and even posed for me!

cat day

2008-03-31T19:37:00.008+08:00

i re-visited this "home convert into a cat goods shop on weekends"
they had a eco-neko exhibition. eco is short for ecology (i think), or environment friendly. neko is cat in japanese. it is actually a environment friendly bag exhibition.

after nen-neko ya, i chanced upon this cafe that has 2 sister cats.

the black cat sat beside my bag while i had my delicious lunch

residents of the cat cafe

2008-03-31T16:47:00.010+08:00

very hyper-active russian blue, checking out birds beyond the window american shorthair taking a break from the crowd exotic calico hiding in basket *leave me alone humans!*
this american curl, no matter how i disturb it, just wont budge. haha..

this calico scottish fold has a simply bo chap look
so cute, i couldnt resist taking more pics of her

all about japanese cats

2008-03-31T16:28:00.005+08:00

i went to a cafe that feeds stray cats. this cat was snoozing on top of the aircon unit

this sweet black and white one was in the cafe

i noticed most japanese cats i came across are chubby and plump

saw a man walking a very big dog in the park

at 1pm, i went to the cat cafe which i have made a reservation. it was packed with humans!

bento accessories

2008-03-29T17:48:00.005+08:00

loft is one of my favourite shops. in this section, i found many many types of bento boxes, and tools to make bento into the cute shapes they are. they even have a case to keep banana!

okonomiyaki dinner

2008-03-29T17:41:00.005+08:00

later that night, i met my jap girlfriend whom i got to know in singapore where she worked for 2 years.

she brought me to this lovely okonomiyaki restaurant. i tell you, it is so much nicer than the food you find in takashimaya food court! of course lah, the price also different. hehe.. well, actually not that much difference. i think the dinner costed 5000 yen for 2 persons.

this is chicken cooked in okonomiyaki style. i loved the bonito flakes and mayonnaise!

this is yaki soba or fried noodles in omelette.

and last but not least, okonomiyaki ~ tada

freezing thursday at kamakura

2008-03-29T17:27:00.011+08:00

it was raining and freezing on thursday. i took a train to kamakura as planned, but alas, i could not walk from the north kamakura station to kamakura station as it was too cold.

i took a train to kamakura station, and walked 10 minutes to see the famous 大仏 or in chinese 大佛.

on the way back to the station, chanceed upon this interesting cat goods shop. they have very pretty postcards and ornaments.

i bought this jacket for 199 yen, which is only $2.60!

my dinner on wed 19 march

2008-03-29T17:10:00.003+08:00

there was a supermarket near my hotel. so i went to do some grocery shopping, and da bao my dinner to eat back in my room.

it's yaki soba and tempura prawn.

i am back in one piece

2008-03-29T12:12:00.000+08:00

watch this space, will be updating pics soon!

the japanese are losing it

2008-03-23T17:05:00.004+08:00

today is both a happy as well as a sad day for me.

this is my 5th trip to tokyo in 3 year, and i realized that the japanese are slowly losing their manners and homogeous nature.

example, when i took the train from airport to the hotel, i spotted litter (!) in the 'always have been clean and spotless' train. then within the next few days, it became a common sight. bits and pieces of litter on the train floor and seats. yesterday, i even witnessed a mother and daughter pair, drank their starbucks drinks and left the empty plastic cups on the platform. horrors!!

then today, something traumatizing happened to me. as i was strolling along the yanak ginza (a typical 商店街), i was shouted by the owner of one stall for wanting to take a picture. and i was not even close to the stall. he literally shouted, OI, TORU NA!!! you can imagine the loudness, cos i was standing 2m away from his stall. luckily or unluckily for me, i knew exactly what he was saying, as my sensei had taught me in school.

i assume his business must have been very bad that day, cos other stall owners were busy attending to customers, and he had the time to shout at me.

anyway, i really didnt understand what his problem was, or why he could not have told me nicely. there are plain and even polite forms (which, of course, was taught to me in school). what he used was outright commanding and demanding form of speech.

so that is the sad news.

good news is - i saw many cats today. i went to a cat cafe, had lunch with a black cat sitting beside me, went to a cat goods shop which had 4 cats. i even saw a cat on the street!

well, all i can say is, the japanese are definitely changing, and are not so polite or conscious about manners anymore. i wonder if it's because of the influx of foreigners, or their society is growing tired of being righteous and polite all the time.

heck, i am going to miss the old japan.

weather is kind to me

2008-03-21T18:06:00.003+08:00

today started with light drizzle and very strong wind.

luckily, the sky cleared up, there was even some sun!

still, the cats didnt come out to play :((

tomorrow, i will be going to the cat cafe.

die die must see cats on this trip (yes, even if need to pay $$)

ps today is a day of taking wrong train. i did it twice!! after alight from my train, somehow feeling the excitement of rush with other passengers, i instinctively cross the platform to board the train. haha... luckily, it is a habit of mine to check the next station name, so as to confirm (er, yah lah, a bit ks). so had to turn back lor. wasted some time and some energy... hehe..

kena played out

2008-03-20T17:11:00.004+08:00

bbbrrrr!!!

it has been raining since i arrived. before i left, the weather was supposed to be around 15 deg.

today, i planned to go to kamakura. end up the wind was soooo strong, my umbrella almost flew away. the temperature was only 7 deg.

seven!!!!

and because i was played out the last 2 times (weather was warmer than forecasted, hero me brought only a thin adidas jacket. the type that can use in singapore office.

die lah..

heng i passed by a closing down shop. bought a windbreaker for only 199 yen.

199!! that is less than 4 singapore dollars.

heng ah...

kamakura - all i know is wind very strong, i didnt manage to walk from one station to another. i was happy to sit in the train and monorail. haha..

tomorrow i am thinking of changing plan to spend in shibuya and shinjuku. in the shopping malls lah. haha..

cats - i think they all hibernate liao. who wants to come out in this treacherous weather??

2 more days to freedom

2008-03-16T22:17:00.002+08:00

finally! my itinerary is completed.

19th wed - arrive at tokyo check in hotel and proceed to bookstore

20th thur - holiday in japan, so better to stay in town than to visit tourist spost (and kweh sio with thousands of people). plan is to visit one cat cafe in 吉祥寺 and spend time in the town (maybe can get to pet resident cats?)

21st fri holiday in singapore - will go to kamakura　鎌倉 where there is a very big budda statue. will also drop by 江ノ島. heard there are many stray cats there!

22nd sat - will go to kawagoe　川越 also known as Little Edo. a bit touristy, but the cat 散歩 book i bought tells me there are some charming cats in this old rustic town. so...

23rd sun - will spend time in the hip towns of 自由が丘, 下北沢, do some light shopping

24th mon - early morning need to chiong to 箱根 Hakone! plan is to cover all the ropeways and cable car rides in one day, before retiring in this nice little hotel with hotspring!

25th tue - chiong to this outlet mall before making my way back to tokyo. will also change hotel to a ryokan without bathroom.

26th wed - slowly stroll around yakana

27th thur - as usual, go to ameyoko at ueno to buy pocky and other tidbits, before heading to narita airport

28th fri morning - home sweet home!

visiting taipei?

2008-03-07T23:20:00.002+08:00

found this website containng infor on taiwan cat cafes!

new discovery - new cat cafe in tokyo

2008-03-07T22:34:00.002+08:00

this cafe was featured in retuers news. do a search on "cat cafe"+japan http://homepage3.nifty.com/calico/

this one is more expensive but newer http://www.nekojalala.com/index.html

another one! website and blog

so many cafes! so little time!

toilet or no toilet

2008-03-03T10:45:00.002+08:00

should i stay in a traditional ryokan with no attached bathroom, one night 4,000yen (approx $52) or a normal business hotel per night 6,300yen (approx $82)?

dunno whether can tahan 4-5 nights without private bathroom leh... so far, i only stayed 1 night in a ryokan (and that's bearable)..

choice between privacy and $$$!!!

very excited...

2008-02-16T08:35:00.003+08:00

to plan yet another trip to the land of cat adorers!

yes, as promised (to myself lah), once get a new job, must take holiday.

this time, i am torn between northern tohoku (where yummy apples come from) and izu peninsula (where fisherman villages line the coastal area).

also, since the intention is to relax before the start of a fresh and exciting career, most of the accomodation will be at ryokan or minshuku, where freshly caught fish served as sashimi. these inns usually cater to a minimum of 2 pax so they dont make a loss

i need a travel partner at short notice!

gold...sponsored by auntie p

2008-02-14T20:35:00.005+08:00

kosong

telur

close-up

non-conformist

2008-02-11T21:33:00.001+08:00

or wrong direction? >-<

what wrong direction?? i am a non-conformist ok!!

always true to meow-self
my fengshui master say i must face east in the rat year to 发发发！

开工日

2008-02-11T12:03:00.000+08:00

and my stomach is scolding bad words in the morning!

it sounded like, "gimme more pineapple tarts. more! more!"

withdrawal from new year goodies...

next year this time

2008-02-08T20:45:00.000+08:00

i am leaving the country!

i realise it's the same old same old. though i have put up cny decorations (for the first time in my life!) did serious spring cleaning, and even bought some auspicious feng shui ornaments for the house, including my 马上封侯 for career, dragon tortoise with ru yi for overall luck, even a lucky rat and lots of gold ingots, i still find it meaningless to go visiting and give ang pows to kids i dont know at all.

only thing i am looking forward to is tomorrow's steamboat with some good friends, including a spcial guest.. hehe...

oh, did i mention that the programs on TV suck big time?

so, this time next year, i am going for a holiday!!

新年發! 發! 發!

2008-02-05T17:01:00.000+08:00

looking forward to a better year for ox people... 2007 was a trying one. 新年發! 發! 發!

growing up

2008-01-23T21:53:00.001+08:00

hit by the korean wind 韩风吹袭我家

2008-01-23T21:27:00.000+08:00

it was while watching the korean drama coffee prince, that we were inspired to cook kimchi fried rice.

actually, cooking kimchi fried rice is idiot proof!

just throw in kimchi and sliced beef / pork into cooked rice, and fry! add a bull's eye to make it creamy... mmmmmm.... yum...

speaking of 韩风, how can i leave out the handsome and charming Gong Yoo! i usually dont go goo goo or ga ga over young guys/actors, but he is really really charming in the drama. he is even on my pc wallpaper! (ssshhh... dun tell the hubby)...

restructure... again!

2008-01-15T18:24:00.000+08:00

sigh... 2nd re-org in 6 months...

is this a crazy company or what?

i think i better prepare to be axed... in case the big boss changes his mind again...

rest in peace jiji

2008-01-01T18:43:00.000+08:00

you were the perfect companion any human could have.

forgive me lincoln and i will miss you

poster boy

2007-12-29T19:47:00.000+08:00

remember bryan, the cute little lad who came and stay with us for a while last year?

well, he has been rehomed and the owner is so talented at making him a pin-up boy, he even has his own postcard calendar!

dunno if lincoln will grow up to become the next poster boy or not??... hehe..

or jiji?...

i now pronounce you... wife (on top) and husband (below)

2007-12-29T19:35:00.000+08:00

it was a good day

2007-12-28T22:29:00.000+08:00

wishing very hard for birthday wish

hanging out

2007-12-22T16:28:00.000+08:00

sniffing out lincoln

2007-12-22T16:25:00.000+08:00

2007-12-10T20:58:00.000+08:00

foster? i will manja with ksn until she adopt me as a permanent resident!

auntie p, you win a prize!

2007-12-10T20:56:00.000+08:00

pls contact me for details...

nitrolil at yahoo dot com dot sg

presenting lincoln aka whitetip aka q-tip

2007-12-10T20:54:00.000+08:00

foster

2007-12-05T13:38:00.000+08:00

dunno since when, i have become an unofficial foster. or is it fosterer?

ashley the queen who brought balance to the household (somehow her presence made everyone mind their own business), has been adopted.

last night, a boy by the name of "white tip" came.

can you guess why he is named "white tip"?

will post pictures soon. correct answer gets a prize! (where are you, catdonna??)

weird dream

2007-12-05T13:30:00.000+08:00

2 nights ago, i had a really strange dream.

i dreamt that my current next-door neighbour cornered me, violated me, and forced me into prostitution.

i have to say that for the last 33 years, i have never had a dream as such.

my confidante at work said that subconsciously, i must be feeling very suppressed.

i dont usually believe in dreams, but i am not surprised if it were true.

it has been an unethical working environment for the last 2 months.

more later. and also got juicy stuff about ceo and pa.

need hair styling tips?

2007-11-22T21:39:00.000+08:00

http://www.gatsby.jp/tv/index.html

cant get enuf of...

2007-11-22T21:08:00.000+08:00

the new gatsby ad!

compared to the moving rubber series, this one is soooo pretty... hubby gets the creep everytime the song comes on on our TV.. haha...

which is your fav?

ps i am going to watch HERO this sunday, as part of my "revision" for jlpt exam on next sunday.. hehe..

who's the evil boss

2007-11-04T18:33:00.000+08:00

i have a shocking and not too pleasant announcement to make.

i sacked my only staff on 1 nov.

yes, people asked, why dont you give her a chance? i am sure she could be guided. she needs the job.

blah blah and blah

well, my conscience is clear. i could sleep well at night before and afterwards.

i have given her way too many chances. i have tried the soft approach, the hard approach.

i am very glad i made this decision. especially so after sorting out her stuff afterwards (mind you, i have to do her work till new staff is found).

she has not followed up on a lot of things, even though i have spelt out very clearly in writing and verbally!

good bye, alice!

because mia can

2007-10-18T21:10:00.000+08:00

remember my friend mustachio?

well, this is mowgli's mate, mia. her little spirit is larger than her body.

go! mia go!

ramen

2007-10-18T14:39:00.000+08:00

it's pronounced as ra-MAN, not ra-mun or ra-MEN

http://www.worldramen.net/
http://www.rameniac.com/index/
http://www.ramenramenramen.net/

and it's wasa-BEE, not wasa-BEH!!!

fat butt, move away

2007-10-16T21:31:00.000+08:00

new toy!

2007-10-16T21:14:00.001+08:00

there's something about crinkly stuff that make cats tick

hint of autumn in nikko

2007-10-13T09:57:00.000+08:00

the weather was still quite warm, temperature around 22 deg. leaves just starting to change colour

my 3 pairs of new shoes

2007-10-13T09:46:00.000+08:00

puma limited edition 11,000 yen
uniqlo 2,000 yen
another colour of puma

japanese snacks

2007-10-13T09:35:00.000+08:00

you can get these seasonal pocky here, but it's definitely cheaper in japan, especially in ameyoko. these were $1 per box.

this is my all-time favourite - yoku moku

long and winding road 日光

2007-10-10T21:42:00.000+08:00

回転すし屋で

2007-10-10T21:39:00.000+08:00

松坂牛肉 at 銀座

2007-10-10T20:56:00.000+08:00

look at the marble...

goods

2007-10-09T12:59:00.000+08:00

now waiting for boarding, very bored. cant shop anymore cos cant carry anymore.

this very short 6-day trip was more like a shopping trip. and dunno is it bcos of the season and the merchandise available now, i bought

1. 3 pairs of shoes (2 puma, 1 uniqlo) - all sports shoes!
2. 4 sweater jackets (1 adidas, 2 uniqlo, 1 nike)
3. 3 nike dri fits (2 polos, 1 long sleeve
4. 1 onitsuka t-shirt (very ex, but no choice, i like the onitsuka tiger)

will post pics over the weekend...

count down to tokyo....

2007-10-02T22:23:00.000+08:00

home-cooked nasi lemak

2007-10-02T22:19:00.000+08:00

over the weekend

我的心情是秋天

2007-09-27T21:05:00.000+08:00

the ceo i respect and idolize the most...

is having something with his p.a.

sigh... and worse, cannot be more obvious lor...

why???... cant they be more discreet? dun they know it's really inappropriate in the office..

i know i sound jealous... but cant help it.

他已经打破在我心里的完美型像。。。

chicken pox has made me

2007-09-15T11:52:00.000+08:00

a very nua person...

and because i stayed home and watched a lot of Travel and Living on cable, i have an unstoppable urge and desire to visit my pilgrimage land - Japan.

yes, i am going... 3-8 oct...

haha...

brand new cat

2007-09-11T20:45:00.000+08:00

overall, it was an almost uneventful grooming session (me and hubby stayed for the whole time for fear things may turn ugly, in case, humans get injured!).

the session started with shaving of the belly hair... not bad, ashley could keep still.

help... i am getting violated!!!...

then, it was a quick clip of the nails, and trimming of overgrown paw fur.

just when we thought we could relax and go get a cup of coffee...

wAIL..... wAIL.... HISSSSS.... HISSSSS.... KAO PAY..... KAO BU....

it was bathing time, and ashley did not like it at all. she tried to bite the groomers! (wonder if it was usual for cat grooming session to have 2 groomers - 1 to cut and the other to sayang and massage the cat most of the time)

then, just when the ordeal was over, the fur trimming session. by then, ashley had a "muzzle" over her head and mouth...

end result...

くろ、しろ、ねこ kuro.shiro.neko