A stroke of luck

Imagine how happy I was to hear that since spare parts for my malfunctioning trusty Canon S1 camera were not coming in till February, that Canon was actually replacing it! And - not with the same 3.2 MP model, but a spanking new Canon S3, which is 6 MP, and has a whopping 12-time zoom. It costs $799. Whoa! And this happens a week after I buy a new Ixus 6MP gadget... which will stay in my handbag, thank you very much. We went to Vivocity to collect it, and boy, what a huge shopping complex that is. You name it, they've got it. We managed to walk around only one floor before we called it quits. A delightful bookshop by the name of Page One was discovered. A very interestingly designed shop, they sold my Oprah magazine for only $8.40; $4.20 less than Borders. We had dinner at a place called Terra, Pet had a BLT, soup and ice cream for $9.90 and I had a sirloin steak, soup and icecream for $14.90. Not bad. Shoppers, do note - the place is uncomfortably cold. What a waste of energy. So with Oprah, a new camera and a couple of stationery items (who can resist stationery??), we left.

Travelling Light

And so another dream for me begins. Today I received our Singapore tickets - request for it was made in May, mind you. We also have our Genting tickets - Row 7 on Day 1 (tons of VIPs...) and Row 1 on Day 2; Yeah. KL seems to have the highest cost - SGD258 for the front row. All my $1 coins saved are going to come in useful! Unfortunately, the Bangkok side has not gotten their act together and tickets are not yet available. Beti and I are trying to figure out a flight plan which will cut our costs. The Bangkok show is first; on the 7th, then Genting on the 9th and 10th, and then Singapore on the 11th. The Genting gentleman has been so kind to help with the tickets, gave us a hefty discount on our rooms, and is even buying us dinner. I like the Arena of the Stars in Genting; before the show, they leave some parts of the complex open, letting in the lovely, cool, February air in. We anticipate that everybody will be on our flight home for the Singapore show. Won't that be fun!

Babysitting Caitlin

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons this week saw me providing Gammy presence to Caitlin and Pepper. Pepper was so excited to see me, that she was doing bounces all over the house. Caitlin had just woken up, and was so charming in drowsy mode. Ever ready to smile, we got down to business of play, which included a mandatory round of reading. Town Mouse and Country Mouse of course made it to the top of the charts. When Caitlin got restless, she was speedily despatched to the playgym, which kept her occupied for a while. Pepper too, provided security, watchful as ever. The last photo shows her playing "Koo Koo Bah!" (Pepper, that is). After her feed of cereal which included cauliflower - which was sent in all directions - one photo shows her sitting like a samseng, all manner of feminity gone. These photos were taken by my new, nifty little go-into-my-bag Canon Ixus 60, my Christmas present to myself!

A special day, today

My second post for today :

15 November 2006 - Mischa and Edward celebrate their 3rd wedding anniversary, and I would like to wish them all the very best!

Jamie celebrates his 30th birthday today - Happy Birthday, Jamie, may all your dreams come true.

Our 2 darling grand puppies

This is my darlingest shot of Pepper, taken when she was about 6 months old. How can you resist that face? A lovable bundle of fur, she is a real doll. Pepper loves Caitlin very much and is a very good big sister; lying near the playgym on the ground, watching her, but not disturbing her toys. She climbed up on my lap yesterday while Caitlin was on it too (we were reading Snow White), and sat there patiently, while Caitlin exercised her motion skills of reaching out and tugging at her fur. Caitlin loves her to bits and keeps calling for her. The affinity between child and pet is very evident.

And not to be outdone - Dolce has also worked her way into our hearts with her big eyes and sad face. She sits next to Grandpa with her well-practised Tom Dooley look. This little minx of brown fur is saying "Sorry, Grandpa". Grandpa, as of this morning, went to work wearing shoes with no laces. He had just one last lace that had not yet been chewed by Dolce, and as he tied the knot, it came loose in his hands. And - she did not get rid of the evidence!

Powering the Point

Yesterday and today have found me sitting on my butt for 8 hours each, learning the basics of Power Point. While I know how to do a basic presentation, it is always good to learn the extra tips and other stuff that elude you. It's 9.00 am on the final day of the course, and I still am sitting here with 2 other ladies, waiting for the other 10 people from a large telco, which shall remain unnamed, who feel that they can just traipse in (yesterday they strolled in at 9.20 am). I of course have voiced my feelings to the school about how rude and offensive it is to make people wait. This evening I shall be joining my friends to visit Erik Jenkinson, offspring of Wai Ling and Phil, notably remembered for turning up in his wife's skirt at my 50th birthday party. How I miss my friends, all now alumni of SES. It's 9.05 now and time to create some murmurs about starting the bloody course so we can all finish on time and not have to rush through explanations because of these ill-mannered plebians.

Poetry in Motion

UPDATE: Sadly, we can't attend the concert because there will be poetry of a different kind at another function which I forgot about!!

Given that Blogger was not able to upload my Saturday's post till this morning, I am doing a second one today!

In the mailbox yesterday was a card from the Esplanade presenting an opportunity to "revisit those wonderful moments of yore" Huh? Anyway, it was to promote a Johnny Tillotson concert on 25 November. No promotion needed for me because for sure I will go. We thoroughly enjoyed his last show because it was full of hits. Reminiscing came alive with Poetry in Motion, Judy Judy Judy, Talk Back Trembling Lips, Send Me the Pillow, Heartaches by the Number, and my 2 favourite Tillotson songs - It Keeps Right On A-Hurting, and Out of My Mind. Nothing like the oldies for me; we knew the lyric of almost every song, and if we didn't, we knew the melody. So, the 25th will be an evening of memories and lovely music.