My Baby!

"vacvac306 has safely landed on our premises and is surveying its new home", my sister sms-ed me. Here's are pictures of my newborn lying on my little bed:

I couldn't wait to open and hug it. I was so impatient that I forgot to remove the plastic bag covering vacvac306. Plastic bags could suffocate, I'm a terrible mother!

Isn't my baby gorgeous, with or without plastic bag?

Yakinikutei Ao-Chan

My boyfriend, sister and I went out to celebrate my aunt's belated birthday today. My boyfriend had earlier recommended this Japanese barbeque restaurant in Meridien Shopping Centre. He said that it was really good and so I suggested the place to my aunt and made reservations. After I did that, he tells me that the place isn't cheap. Dang! He told me to be prepared to spend about S$150 - 200 for 2-3 people.

The tables come fitted with a grill. See below pictures; one of them showing my boyfriend drooling at the delectable spread:

You have the option of ordering a la carte or set but I think that the a la carte is probably more worth it. Plus you can choose exactly what you want to eat. They serve mainly beef with choices of chicken and pork too but it seems that their specialty is beef. I tried and it's good. The plate that we ordered (see below, half eaten) costs S$55 before GST.

Don't worry if you can't cook because all you need to do is just turn the meats every once in awhile. Other times, you leave it on the grill. See it curl and cook and smell the sweet aroma of burnt meat - smells even better than your outdoor barbeque. It's all good and tender too. And even if you cook it just right, the meat comes out delicious with that slight burnt taste yet still retains its juiciness.

My boyfriend also ordered some side dishes. He got a bowl of Plum rice for himself and salad (tastes a little spicy and sour, like kimchi - which I didn't like) to share. Unfortunately, he had to finish it himself as none of us liked it. Boyfriend also ordered a bowl of edamame (green beans) for me. We shared but I ate most of it! *grin*



There were 4 of us for dinner that night. We ordered 1 mixed beef platter, 2 plates of chicken, a small plate of mixed pork, 3 bowls of rice, a salad, an edamame, a plate of corn, 2 glasses of soft drink and 2 green teas. The bill came up to S$139. (My sister insisted on paying half the bill as she wanted to treat my aunt too. Thanks sister, you're such a darling!) As I had mentioned, it wasn't cheap but I guess it's pretty worth it. I totally enjoyed myself. And here's a picture of my HAPPY sister to prove it:

Yakinikutei Ao-Chan
100 Orchard Road
#02-22/26 Hotel Meridien
Singapore 238840
Tel: 67356457

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday: 12.15pm to 14.30pm & 6.00pm to 11.00pm
Saturday to Sunday: 3.00pm to 10.30pm
Public Holidays: 3.00pm to 10.30pm

Casio W93H

2 years ago, my boyfriend bought me a Tissot analog watch. I love it and I use it everyday. But I'm going diving next week and I'm afraid that the watch might (for whatever crazy reason) fall into the deep blue ocean. So I went to Burlington Square today to buy me a cheap watch.

I found one which was about the right size, is 50M water resistant and best of all, it only costs S$24.00! It was a quick buy so I didn't really take note of it's other features. It was only after I went home and played around with my new toy that I realised, it's a pretty darn good watch!

Main Setting
- display of "hour:minutes:seconds"
- display of day of the week and "month-day"
- can use either 12-hour or military time

Countdown Timer
- can countdown anywhere from 23:59:59 to 0:0:1
- 10 second alarm beep when it reaches 0:0:0
- while not counting down, it displays the time
- can beep at regular intervals (for times greater than 5 minutes, it beeps on every minute divisible by 5; for less than five minutes, it beeps on the minute; for under one minute, it beeps every ten seconds, and on each of the final five seconds)
- can automatically restart the timer (this can easily do Tabata intervals by having it countdown from 30s; after the first cycle, it will beep from 30s down to 20s, which is your rest time, and then you work from 20s to 0s, when it begins to beep and do the cycle again)

Stop Watch
- counts up from 0:0:0 to 23:59:59.9
- can start the timer on a five second delay, which gives you a beep for 3-2-1-0
- while not counting up, it displays the time
- can set the watch to begin a 10 second beep at a goal time; for example, if you want to run a 55s 400m, set the goal time to 45s, at it will begin to beep to let you know how hard to push it

Alarm
- an alarm can beep for 10 seconds, twice a day

Dual Time
- displays the time in another zone

Other Features
- light button which illuminates the display for 10 seconds
- option to make the light turn on when the watch is held parallel to the ground (in the normal fashion of checking a watch)

I love Pimples...

... especially on my forehead!See, if you count them - there's about 14 of them on my forehead. They started appearing after I used The Body Shop's seaweed skincare range. Don't think they're bad, just doesn't suit my skin I guess. I've stopped using, hope the pimples go away as quickly as they appeared.

Door scrapes skin off foot

I had a blister from wearing my newly bought flatted shoes. So the skin on my ankle was tender. Today when I tried to close the toilet door, I roughly banged the door against my ankle and the skin came off. Here are pictures to show you my agony:



It only hurts when it gets wet though.

Gecko Tattoo

The Great CLEO Swimsuit Shoot

In my post Bikini anyone?, I had signed up for the Great CLEO Swimsuit Shoot. It is CLEO magazine's attempt at The Largest Ever Swimsuit Shoot. Today, 420 girls in swimwear (mostly bikini *wink*) turned up for the shoot at Siloso Beach and together, we broke the national record and earned ourselves a spot in The Singapore Book of Records. All voluntary participants, like myself, enjoyed free mini-massages, spray-on body art, music and a bag full of summer goodies. Here are some pictures to share with you:

Lump on my Neck - 3rd update

Note: If you don't know what lump I'm talking about, then read this post first.

HISTOPATHOLOGY REPORT

Gross
Two pieces of tissue, measuring 0.8 x 0.5cm and 0.8 x 0.4cm. (A1-2, no reserve)

Microscopy
The histology shows a dermatofibroma. There are intertwining fascicles of spindle shaped fibroblastic and histiocytic type cells with typical storiform configuration. Nuclei are plump, mitotic activity not significant. The lesion is present within the lower dermis and extends into the subcutis as well as abuts against the skeletal muscles on the deeper aspect. On the periphery, there is a focal chronic inflammatory infiltrate and displaced appendages noted. Covering epidermis is unremarkable.

No malignancy is seen.

Diagnosis
Right Neck Nodule

Dermatofibroma.

The Doctor says that it is benign. In layman terms, he said that it was a cluster of scars. Like scarred tissue. Whatever, so long as I'm in no danger. hahaha

Lollipop

Looks yummy, doesn't it? I can imagine the minty - sweet flavour in my mouth. What kind of lollipop do you think this is? Those soft gummy kind or the hard shelled type with juices in the middle? Perhaps this next picture might explain a thousand words:

Yup, that's right. It's a lollipop belly ring. To be precise, they are called Candy Stripe Belly Button Rings and I got mine today! The piercing artist is my long time school and classmate, Tee Wen. She's pretty good, check out her blog for more details. I strongly recommend Tee Wen to humans who are interested in hurting yourself.

Lump on my Neck - 2nd update

Note: If you don't know what lump I'm talking about, then read this post first.

I went to see the specialist today to have the lump removed. The first time I had a surgery when I was a kid, around 6-7 years old. My Mother was still alive then. All I remember was the nurses drawing blood from my arms and giving me GA (General Anesthetic). The next thing I know, I woke up and was lying on the bed and the surgery had already been done.

Today is my 2nd surgery in. The Doctor said it would be a minor surgery so I thought, he'd just inject me with LA (Local Anesthetic) and remove the lump by sucking it out with a syringe or something. Well, this is how it actually went:

• The nurse asked me to remove my T-shirt, bra and pants
  
• Then I was made to wear those disposable surgical robe (or whatever you call it)
• I had to lie down on my side
• They covered me with this operating disposable cloth where there's a small whole in the middle - from which the Doctor will work through
• They injected anesthetic which hurt a bit
• Then the Doctor started to scrape and I heard "krrek... krrek..." noises which made my hair stand
• It didn't hurt but I could feel him pulling/ pressing on my neck
  
• There was blood (I could hear from their conversation)
• Then there was a part where he used static to clean the wound too. I felt a bit of pain there
  

And finally, here's a picture of the tissue in my lump and me after the surgery:

Bikini anyone?

Click here to find out more.

Lump on my Neck - 1st update

Note: If you don't know what lump I'm talking about, then read this post first.

I went to see the specialist today and he confirmed that it's just a benign cyst. Meaning, it's harmless. It's only under the skin. I can leave it there or I can have it removed. He said that if he removes it, there will be a little scar. I have opted to remove the lump on 12th June.

I think, a little scratch mark is less visible than the lump. Right?

public toilets ARE filthy

No matter how clean and sparkling they look, please do not be deceived by public toilets. I will share some of my experiences with you.

Rule #1: Never sit on toilet bowls
Many times, I've seen urine and period (sometimes shit too) stains on toilet covers. Often, the cleaners wipe them but only with tap water. They seldom use disinfectant so imagine sitting on someone's acidic and toxic wastes.

The solution is simple - carry disposable toilet seat covers which you may easily flush away or line the toilet seat with toilet paper. Alternatively, squat in a sitting manner (half squat/ half sit). That way, your pee won't drip down your thighs and you're safe from the toilet seat.

Rule #2: Never use anything that you drop on the toilet floor
I'm sure you've stood in front of the mirror to put on lipstick or comb your hair before, right? Well if you drop your accessory, throw it away! I have personally seen (cross my heart and hope to die) cleaners dip their mops in the squatting toilet bowls and flushing the toilet (to clean the mop I guess?) then use the same mop to mop the floor. Imagine using a lipstick that has fallen on a floor cleaned with toilet bowl water!

Rule #3: Tear away the first piece of toilet paper
Many times I've seen ladies come out of the toilet cubicle and straight out the toilet door. They do NOT wash their hands after using the toilet. You can't be sure if they have touched the toilet paper that you're about to wipe on your private part so please, tear away the first piece. I guess it's not environmentally friendly but health comes first right?

Rule #4: Do not touch sink taps and toilet main door
Similar to rule #3, many people (I have seen countless times and am very disgusted) do not wash their hands after they use the toilet. So try your best not to touch the doors or taps with your hands.

Solution - wash the tap with soap and water so that it's clean when you use it. To open the door, use your foot or hold on to some toilet paper and open the door with that. Or... if you see someone else opening the door, quickly rush out the door behind them.

Rule #5: Layer the surface of water with tissue
Put at least a layer of tissue slowly onto the water in the toilet bowl before you shit. Else, your droppings might cause some water to splash onto your ass. (Thanks for reminder, SJ!)

I'm not a hygiene freak but I get really disgusted with these dirty public antics. I mean, how can you use the toilet and NOT wash your hands? I'm more disgusted than anything. Please, always remember the 5 toilet rules above.