Philippines

Mabuhay! In sunny Philippines right now, enjoying my weekend (well almost).

Thought it was safe but was informed by my driver when i landed on Wednesday that there was a bus bombing incident on Tuesday. Here's my conversation with my driver.

Driver: Hello Mam! Good Day Mam!
Me: Hello!
Driver: Is this your first time in Philippines Mam?
Me: Yes! It is!
Driver: By the way Mam, have you heard about the bus bombing yesterday?
Me: No! There was? A bus bombing? Oh dear!
Driver: Yes Mam. There was a bus bombing, very serious, people went to the hospital.
Me: Oh no, was it very far away?
Driver: Mam, it happened on this road we are driving on now.
Me: Whaaaat... (Took a few minutes to recover from shock and think of potential escape possibilities)
Me: Haha, then we are quite safe because they will not bomb the same place two days in a row! :)

Anyway, when i arrived in the hotel, we took a while because every car entering needed to be scanned - the undercarriage and the boot. OMG. The front door was also heavily guarded and your bags have to be sniffed (by police dogs) and personally checked by the security people over there.

Anyway, took a step into my hotel room and its awesome! The room is great and spacious, the study table was great and of course the shower facilities are just awesome.

Actually, there are really only a few things that are enough to make me happy in a hotel room:
1) Nice clean bed
2) Shower facilities. Not bathtub
3) Big mirrors
4) Wi-fi insead of Lan. Or both
5) Dual sound system in the room and in the toilet. >> This feature is plus plus plus! I will go gaga about it.
6) Cable TV

Yup, this hotel has it all. :)

Work-wise, it has just been plain stressing and busy. no chance to explore outside hotel but at least I can watch TV while doing my work here. :)

Ku Ku and Me

Before I go on to talk about my "discovery" of the day (even though its only 9.20), let me just say to everyone Good Morning! Doesnt it feel like a Friday to you?? It does for me but maybe because of the following reasons:

1. I'm finishing work at 4.00p.m today to go for a cooking event with my bosses
2. I'm no longer coming back to THIS office until the end of Chinese New Year
3. I'm flying off to Manila tomorrow -MABUHAI!
4. Most importantly, my pay is coming in today. :)

Anyway, back to my amazing discovery. So i've been receiving emails from Kuku and Aunty Jolyn who mentioned that Ku does not receive any emails from "foodforfamily.googlegroups.com". *GASP* All my wondrous emails and blogs have not been read by Kuku! This certainly cannot continue, so i set out to solve this puzzle.

Since no emails reach Ku, not even trash/ spam, and i'm absolutely sure I have the right address in the account management... I realize today,

AIYAH, KU!!! CHINA BLOCKS GOOGLE LA!

I can't believe I did not even realise this considering the times i've travelled there. Yes, Google is banned in China and perhpas this even extents to Taiwan. So poor Ku, can't "google", can't read "blogs", can't "youtube" or "facebook" as well.

Anyway, I am still figuring out a way to resolve this but in the mean time, if we have any emails, do send to KuKu at 陳彥諨(Daniel Tan) [daniel.tan@chinatrust.com.tw] as well as the family's email. So "Leh cheh" right, yes it is. Blame Ku, not me. :)

Anyway, to Ku, i've added in your danjol yahoo account in the family account so your family will receive 2 emails - one to the wiley one and one to the danjol one. Hopefully you can still access your yahoo email and can read from there.

Let me know if it works! But then again, if you receive this means it works, if we do not hear from you, guess we'll just use the handy forward button on emails.

Reassurance

This is funny, I typed this is an email and sent it off but no one received it. I think if a file size is too big, it may not send through...

Or maybe it was just a friday and even google accounts was taking a break. :)

Anyway, here's my email.

Hi Mum (and the rest of the family),

I’d like to reassure you that Africa is not as dangerous as you think it is, or rather – the place I am going is not.

Here is a Wikipedia on Nairobi with actual pictures on how the city looks like as well as some insights to the country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi

As further proof, these are some photos on what my colleague who just went to Nairobi and took (pictures of the street/ hotel/ office place, view from the office etc)

So do not worry, there’s no raping/ murdering/ plundering/ aids infected people/ disease ridden people roaming the streets and despite what you think, I’m definitely not living in any of this kind of places:

Or this kind of place...

Or this... :)

Love you all for caring though! :)

Cheers,

Stacey

Plans Galore for Chinese New Year!

Dong Dong Dong "Jiang"
Dong Dong Dong "Jiang"
Dong Dong Dong "Jiang" Dong "Jiang" Dong "Jiang"

Haha... i'm letting you guys in on my private song for this Chinese New Year...

And the season is here once again!!!! Basically, I have not been attending family outings for the last few weeks so here is what I think is going on.. If i am wrong, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

3rd Feb:

1. Aunty Janice House
2. Aunty Valerie House
3. Aunty Sharon House
4. Aunty Lillian House
5. Aunty Connie House

4th Feb: Lunch and Dinner at Butterworth 8

5th Feb:

1. Lunch at Kuku House
2. 3rd Aunty House
3. 4th Aunty House
4. Back to Butterworth to Lo Hei (Is that right?)

6th Feb:

1. Tammy House for Lunch
2. Aunty Jennifer House for Tea

Ok... correct right? Do we have specific timings as to what time we need to be at people's house?

Once again, it's time for Stacey to dig up the Hong Bao excel spreadsheet to chart my Hong Bao progress over the years! This year, it will increase by one! Wheeee!!! Thanks Jie and Kor in advance! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Finding that Mr Right =)

I can't believe the wedding day came and went by so quickly!!

Fortunately the wedding pictures taken by uncle TM and video by Uncle Colin helps us to continually re-live the joyous day over and over again.. =)

So far, the hardest transition for me to married life is having to call Chun's parents "mum and dad"... SUPER DIFFICULT....

***************

Since I am the big Jie Jie, thought I'll share with the younger cousins lessons I learnt in my journey to finding my Mr Right!

As you know Chun was not my first boyfriend, i had multiple relationships in the past that did not work out. On hindsight, there were many obvious tell-tale signs that those relationship were not right for me:

1) I was not my usual self in front of the guy

2) Lack of conversation topics ('where to go eat' and 'how is the food' are not conversation topics)

3) Constant disagreements early on in the relationship

4) Having totally different preference on what to do on dates

5) Different perspectives on what we would like out of life

On the contrary with Chun, from the day we started dating, everything always felt right - we have never doubted that a life-time together would be our end game. Fundamentally, we realised that this stems from having similar outlook and principals in life..

Of course that is not to say that if you experience any of my tell-tale signs above, your relationship is doomed.. Every relationship is different - but at least with the above, hopefully some of you may notice the pitfalls early on, and avoid the heartaches I went through that comes with falling for the wrong person!

Another great tip from Stacey is that "there are only two categories of things that matter in a relationship - 'can accept/cannot accept' and there preferences. If between a couple, there is any item that one party cannot accept and the other disagrees with, marriage is a "no-go"."

Here's wishing you all the best of luck in your journey to finding your Mr/Mrs Right!! He/She is certainly 'one in a million' (at least!)........ =)

Alright, so nowadays I'm extremely hooked on to the BIGGEST LOSER. Watching it everyday at 8.00p.m on DIVA universal. I always feel guilty, inspired, motivated and touched evertime I watch it... It always say the same thing... COUNT YOUR CALORIES, EXERCISE, NO EXCUSES

In the last season that I watched, the contestants in week 1 went to see the doctor who checked their health. In week 3, they went back again... because of their healthy diet and exercise IN JUST 3 WEEKS... One guy who was taking 8 different medications per day no longer needs them. Another who was taking 10 pills a day plus insulin, is now down to only one with a reduced level of insulin. This reduction in medicine will save the first guy a projected US$7330,000 over his lifetime and the second guy US$20,000 per year.

If anyone is not awed by this statistics, I surely am. What a way to bring across a message that the benefit of simple exercise and diet can be translated to dollars and cents. To top it off, the newspaper which showed TOP 100 APPS to download in your iphone has many free apps advertised to help count your calories.

I immediately downloaded this APP - HPB Diet Tracker. This is absolutely amazing which shows how many calories you have consumed for the day based on singaporean food from the Health Promotion Board. It's really quite extensive - Chicken rice, Ba kut teh, Chee Cheong Fun.. even Ang Ku Kueh is there.

Basically, you key in your particulars and they estimate how many calories you should take in daily (mine is 2000). So if you want to maintain - intake should be 2000 Cal. If you want to lose- minus 500 Cal less. If you want to put on - intake exceeds your required daily amount. Then the app allows you to track everyday, based on the snacks (just tick the food you ate) how much you have eaten and whether you have burst your requirement. If you burst, you just need to exercise that amount till you reduce the intake.

It's brilliant and SO easy.

Here's a snapshot of mine yesterday: (Can you imagine, a Pau is already 300++ calories! That's the same as a packet of noodle soup!)

So here's my challenge to all of you. Start counting, start exercising. If you do not have an iphone, no excuses. Someone around you will have. I personally volunteer to be your calorie tracker. You can drop me a mail everytime you eat/ drink something and i'll gladly count it for you and tell you.

No excuses. No such thing as "I just want to live life", "enjoy the food" "I dont care" or "too late for me". Some guys on the biggest Loser were well above 60 and have lost from 167 Kg to 87 KG. Let's live life healthily!

I'll be waiting for your emails! :)

Travel Vaccinations

Hi everyone!

I'd like to share with you this link that the doctor I visited today recommended. It states what we, as frequent travelers should watch out for everytime we travel.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.aspx

simply select the country you are going to and it will provide you with a list of vaccines you need to take. Especially if you are going to third world countries or those Malaria prone regions, this guide will tell you what to do.

Here's the vaccinations I need to get for Africa

• Hepatitis A - Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection (see map) where exposure might occur through food or water. Cases of travel-related hepatitis A can also occur in travelers to developing countries with "standard" tourist itineraries, accommodations, and food consumption behaviors.
• Hepatitis B - Recommended for all unvaccinated persons traveling to or working in countries with intermediate to high levels of endemic HBV transmission (see map), especially those who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment (e.g., for an accident).
• Typhoid - Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in East Africa, especially if staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities, villages, or rural areas where exposure might occur through food or water
• Polio - Recommended for adult travelers who have received a primary series with either inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) or oral polio vaccine (OPV). They should receive another dose of IPV before departure. For adults, available data do not indicate the need for more than a single lifetime booster dose with IPV
• Yellow Fever - CDC yellow fever vaccination recommendation for travelers to Kenya: For all travelers ≥9 months of age. The cities of Nairobi and Mombasa have lower risk of transmission than rural areas. Kenya requires travelers arriving from countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. Vaccination should be given 10 days before travel and at 10-year intervals if there is ongoing risk. Find an authorized U.S. yellow fever vaccination clinic.
• Meningococcal (meningitis)- Recommended if you plan to visit countries that experience epidemics of meningococcal disease during December through June (see map).
• Rabies - Recommended for travelers spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in rural areas, involved in activities such as bicycling, camping, or hiking. Also recommended for travelers with significant occupational risks (such as veterinarians), for long-term travelers and expatriates living in areas with a significant risk of exposure, and for travelers involved in any activities that might bring them into direct contact with bats, carnivores, and other mammals. Children are considered at higher risk because they tend to play with animals, may receive more severe bites, or may not report bites.
• Routine - Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc.

And I got curious for those of us who were overseas now.. like KuKu.. Here are the Vaccines you should get for Taiwan:

• Hepatitis A - Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection (see map) where exposure might occur through food or water. Cases of travel-related hepatitis A can also occur in travelers to developing countries with "standard" tourist itineraries, accommodations, and food consumption behaviors.
• Hepatitis B - Recommended for all unvaccinated persons traveling to or working in countries with intermediate to high levels of endemic HBV transmission (see map), especially those who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment (e.g., for an accident).
• Japanese encephalitis - Recommended if you plan to visit rural farming areas and under special circumstances, such as a known outbreak of Japanese encephalitis, see country-specific information
  
• Routine - Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc.

Interestingly enough...
For visits to Singapore, one should get the following Vaccines (so get it if you havent done so!)

• Routine - Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc.
• Hepatitis A - Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection (see map) where exposure might occur through food or water. Cases of travel-related hepatitis A can also occur in travelers to developing countries with "standard" tourist itineraries, accommodations, and food consumption behaviors.
• Hepatitis B - Recommended for all unvaccinated persons traveling to or working in countries with intermediate to high levels of endemic HBV transmission (see map), especially those who might be exposed to blood or body fluids, have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment (e.g., for an accident).
• Typhoid - Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in Southeast Asia, especially if staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities, villages, or rural areas where exposure might occur through food or water.
• Japanese encephalitis - Recommended if you plan to visit rural farming areas and under special circumstances, such as a known outbreak of Japanese encephalitis, see country-specific information.

Visiting the doctor also opened my eyes to alot of precautions I should be taking and what to do in terms of emergency. I highly recommend to anyone, if you are going to a foreign land, go see the Travellers Health and Vaccination center in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. They're really clear and their advice is rock solid. And if the number of vaccinations and its cost doesn't alarm you, the doctor's true horror stories on real life cases (what happens to people who do not take their shots and go overseas) will.

hospital continuation

Wa Lao.... ELEVEN SHOTS leh... I will do them in batches... Wa Lao scared sia... Are u guys having second thoughts visiting me...

Hospital now

Yes, I'm in hospital right now... Dont panic, I'm here for the routine jab... U know the jab I need to take before my CA trip. Sorry the JABS. On one hand I'll have a swollen arm for a few days but on the other hand, it got me out of work since lunchtime and I hung out with Jie for lunch. So nothing to complain about. :) Ok going in to the doc office now.