In A Happier Place

Got an sms on my way home from May that Joanne had passed away. It was not surprising as her condition had deteriorated the past week. My regret is that I procrastinated going to visit her since I found out about her condition last October. And I can't even go to her wake tomorrow as I'll be going back to Kunshan again for another week! I believe Jo's in a happier place now with Him - free from the suffering and pain she had gone through the last few years. Her passing has taught me the lesson to never leave things till tomorrow - or it may just be too late. I never got down to seeing her and I never will again. Sorry Jo. And goodbye. You'll always be remembered for your strength, determination and faith.

The Kunshan Mission

Had been in Kunshan, China (an hour away from Shanghai) the past week preparing for the take-over of Traders Hotel. The hotel's new ownership by Kingdom Holdings led to Swissotel being appointed the management company of the hotel. The re-brand is scheduled for 1 July but if you ask those of us who were there the past week, this seems almost like Mission Impossible. The detailed legalities hasn't seem to have been concluded and more importantly, staff are jittery about the new management. The Exco team there weren't very cooperative. Almost the entire team had resigned. So Monday till Wednesday was almost a sit-there-and-wait situation. We tried to make the most of it, doing what we can. My checklist of 399 logo(ed) items & collateral kept me on my toes - meeting China printers and suppliers who claim they do ANYTHING. Even if they didn't do it, they often had friends who could produce it. I have yet to meet any supplier who said they were unable to produce something!

The Hong Kong / Macau Room was made our office. Everyone slammed away at their laptops relentlessly. Of course, I had to take pictures to document the take-over and this includes the sunset view from our make-shift "office"...

My shipment from Singapore arrived - much to my relief.

We tried to make the most of the evenings by going out for dinner and then returning to the "office". Suneet, Noel and I ventured into town (yes, there is a shopping area in Kunshan) and had dinner at this interesting restaurant. They put us in a little room which reeked of the smells of food mixed with sweat. Suneet didn't trust the cleanliness of the place and decided to bathe our chopsticks in the hot tea that was served in a thermos flask. The food was ok, except for the pork and fish fins I ordered. The pork was covered with dried chilli while the fins tasted "fishy" Ewww!

And the one fabulous dish we have almost every other day is the fish head soup. It takes about an hour and a half to cook and the soup is simply spectacular. We had dinner at Kunshan Hotel (the entire hotel smelt like the little room at the restaurant) and Annie ordered this giant. Noel insisted that putting his chopsticks in my picture would give a more accurate indication of the size (of both pot and fish head). China is known for its amazing literal translations of the English language. I spotted a huge SPA area on the way to the hotel with a "huge" name as well. Welcome to "Hai Kuo Tian Kong Take A Bath The Center" :-PAnd this scene of a burning van, spotted along the highway was also quite amazing.

It was a terribly tiring week in Kunshan and we have to be back there on Wednesday again. I really need a break after this... hopefully with Gideon and Terence to the long-awaited Gold Coast.

Serene Turns ...?

We celebrated Serene's birthday on Wednesday with a nice (as in the company and not the food) lunch at Doc Cheng's. For once, the four of us were not munching grass (as in salad), Janice's "staple", at Cafe Swiss :-) Food was so-so but the attention (not service) was simply a little overwhelming - probably so when they found out we were from Raffles and Swissotel. With the short time we had for lunch, we wished they would stop coming over at every course, asking if we liked the food. Argghh!

Anyways, Happy Birthday Serene!

Now This is TALENT!

Chanced upon this on YouTube and I have to confess that I was guilty of judging a book by its cover. I thought this was going to be another William Hung gig but boy was I wrong. Check this out and while you're at it, you MUST see Conny the little girl as well!

For those who appreciate Mandarin pop, check this out and you'll agree that Jay Chou should feel a little threatened by now. These are two of the most popular 'stars' of a Taiwanese version of "American Idol" - Superstar Avenue. Now sit back and be suitably impressed :-)

My GSS Find

Yes, call me 'slow'... just when everyone has almost savoured all the great buys offered at the GSS, I decided maybe I can find something for myself. The objective was a pair of Ferragamo pumps but the legs took a right turn into Gucci instead. There hidden in a corner (looking like a new arrival that wasn't on sale) was a unique blue sling bag. I walked over to the quiet corner, saw that it WAS on sale, and the rest was history. The blue babe now lies in the bedroom - my prized GSS find :-)

SHREK 'G'

It's Shrek mania and McDonald's had these crazy Shrek ears on sale for a charitable cause. Noel's and Erin's birthday party was held at McDonald's Kallang last week and a bunch of these were given away. Pity we didn't take a group picture 'cos there were more of us adults with those ears, than kids! But we got this one of Erin and her "boyfriend" Gideon :-) Awwwwww...

In Search of the Doctor

I remember the days when my sis had one of these - Dr Scholl's Wood Exercise Sandals. Never thought there'd come a day when I actually think they look really nice - kinda retro even. Problem is, can't seem to be able to find them in the stores! At least not these ones I'm eyeing. If you know where I can find them (apart from mail order), let me know.