My World - Year of Golden Tiger

Sign of new Spring - faux plum blossoms suddenly blossom in Chinatown.

The beginning of the new lunar year falls on 14 February 2010 (yea Valentine's Day) and Chinese celebrate for 15 days because it takes that long for the new moon to become full moon. And we do that by visiting the clan, whoever is related to us, uncles cousins etc etc. And we bestow luck in the form of red packets with money inside. Although lots of people abandon tradition and go for a short haul holiday.

According to Chinese geomancy, there is an incredible shortage of water element energy in the charts which means you need to create your own springtime combination by having a Dragon image in your home to combine with the Tiger and Rabbit; and to adorn yourself with water by wearing blues and blacks and blue jewels and you need like a water feature in your home, I think in the East. I'm repeating advice from the doyenne of geomany Lilian Too.

The tiger carrier of mandarin oranges is kinda cute isn't it?

My World - Around Cavenagh Bridge

Fullerton Hotel looking grand and all lit up..

Dining on Cavenagh Bridge. The bridge opened in 1870 and exists in its original form, the only suspension bridge in Singapore. It is a pedestrian bridge linking the North and South banks of the Singapore River.

Isn't the preserved old sign adorable, bringing us right back to the horse and carriage days?

yesterday once more

A bit of nostalgia puff about yesteryear.

The coffee pot with the cloth strainer, that was how we made our coffee. You get a good strong brew out of the sock filter. You can still see this contraption in traditional coffee shops. But of course now we gravitate towards Starbucks, so instead of Kopi O, we ask for latte, or mocha frappucino, which is my son's current fave. Unlike the totally wired and modern settees in Starbacks, with background music, you drink kopi sitting at the iconic marble top settee you see above.

On a different footnote, those wooden clogs that my grandfather used to wear in the kitchen and wet areas of the home, they're more or less extinct. Nobody wears them anymore. That picture reminds me of the wooden clogs I saw in Netherlands- they're similar, and different.

abc wednesday round 5

the port of Singapore: aerial view

Singapore is one of the world's busiest ports.

These are aerial views from the headquarters of the government agency that oversee our port operations, PSA International (PSA standing for 'Port of Singapore Authority'). The views are blurry but kinda rare, because these photos were taken during a specially arranged tour, a few years back.

Helps to have a bird's eye view of things, the new year and all. I guess my head is still up in the clouds, after the hols.

That's my World

Resolutions

You know, new year, new resolutions.

Sort of goals you set for yourself. I hate to do open resolutions though. Like saying them out loud to the world at large is a kiss of death. Whether it's apparent or not, one year can change you on the inside, hopefully for the better. And probably you'll want to keep in mind the things you want to succeed in doing this year, things that seem within your control.

As for me, I want to make out small lists of projects to complete. If I succeed in one or two of them, that'll make me happy with myself.

So that you could produce a score sheet at the end of the year. God or whoever you imagine will tick off, so what did you do with your life last year? You score zero if you lazed around and mucked around and that will pretty much show up in your own thoughts and feelings about yourself.

Ate the last piece of fruit cake today. Will put away the Christmas tree and trimmings. Kids are back to school. Another cycle has started.