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New kid on the block

Been a roller coaster week. Some downs which I would not want to remember.

Anyway, there’s a new kid on the block. Someone called Cinnamon too, but totally changed dog.

After the last ‘failed’ attempt, the rehomer who found Caramel for us found another chihuahua. 6 years, female. She had to be rehomed because the lady had another 2 CHHs and she had received complaints from others despite the 3 of them being quiet (like nobody’s home). And more surprisingly were the ones who complained, were from other blocks, and they even had dogs for their own.

Some people can just be so ‘nothing to do’.

G saw the dog and took a liking to her, coz she looked like his previous dog which died because she accidentally ate something poisonous while having a walk outside. And such was the connection that we immediately took the dog away on the same day.

Cinnamon refused to walk on the leash, probably coz she goes out in a bag and not walked (her paws are soft and smooth). But being a clever dog, she finally started walking now and even looks about for Caramel when she didn’t see him in front of her.

The next thing to train her is to pee outside like Caramel, instead of being paper trained. Then she can go up on the bed.

On the day she was brought home, she actually pee-ed on the bed after running around with Caramel. Probably thought it was an extra big pee pad. So no more until she starts easing herself outside.

Another thing to train, is to be able to walk up the stairs. Now she can only go up the last steps and not a whole flight. She would just sit on the steps when I leave her there.

Yes, she really has got a mind of her own. No, means no.

On the nite where she was left in the toilet with Caramel while we were out, she jailbroke the barrier and I guessed Caramel was very happy when he saw us coming home. Yes, he received us at the gate, which I wasn’t too surprised because I heard Caramel’s bell when we reached back. But as Cinnamon couldn’t go down the stairs, she was actually walking around the 2nd floor.

Photos up soon, once she is confirmed to be staying with Caramel. Right now she is still on probation and at the moment everything seems fine.

She’s one sweet looking lass.

Lunch at Saraceno

*This entry was first written on 24 Oct 2009*

Earlier this last week, CEO came into office in a good mood (probably also coz he took a long break for Deepavali) that he told me to go find a place for lunch for the whole department. Actually I thought I heard him say the next day’s lunch but then by 12pm I realised it wasn’t, and was supposed to be TODAY.

To cut things short, someone suggested to go to Saraceno at Duxton Road Bejaya Hotel. Italian!

I did a fast check on what I was to expect for lunch. Hmm…good reviews. I made a call, but found the receiver of the call a bit no standard. I asked for 18 pax but then he thought I said 5. Plus he was like speaking so softly and I couldn’t even hear what he was trying to say. Anyway, I managed to get the reservation done before I had the urge to scream at him.

SERVICE.

I find the service so-so only. I think they were trained to do things some ways. Coz we had 18 pax, we took nearly an hour to settle down and order food. They go from the ladies first, then to the guys. My CEO got impatient and wanted the guy to bring the ladies orders to the kitchen first then take the guys’ orders, but they explained that the food will come out at different timings which would not be good.

Well.

Most of us ordered starters. But for some reason, my soup of the day didn’t come until last. Another guy colleague had his soup that came before me, then they seemed to have stopped serving us food before I reminded him of my soup.

Second, my main. When they laid the cutlery, I knew something was wrong. I was having lamb but was handed a table knife. My colleague next to me, on the other hand, was having fish but she got a steak knife. Hmm…I was looking at my knife thinking, I bet I’m going to have problem with cutting lamb with that knife.

True enough, the waiter laid the lamb on my colleague’s front. I told him I’m the one having the lamb before he realised a mistake again.

Lastly, when the bill came, there were some discrepancies on the bill. We were overcharged on the alcohol. Didn’t understand why when it came to food order taking, only one did the work, but when in terms of serving drinks, a few of them took the order.

And because of that, the food order taking took some time, and still ended up with mistakes, and the drinks had extra orders entered into the system.

FOOD.

Food quality was not bad. They served 3 types of bread, and we curbed our hungry tummies with them.

My appetiser was the pumpkin soup of the day. It was generally quite thick but not overpowering, and with the sweet taste of pumpkin with every mouthful. Only thing is, I think it didn’t come piping hot, which I would much prefer.

My main was the lamb chop with some sauce (can’t remember). I like how they manage with the doneness (I asked for medium rare) and it came just right. But I didn’t really like the sauce that came with it. I thought it took away the natural taste of the lamb and frankly, I much preferred the ones they served at Tanglin Club. But one thing to comment, no lamb-y smell.

Dessert was panna cotta with Amaretto. That was good. I like how the bitterness of the liqueur complemented with the slight sweet taste. And I think I felt a bit high from the dessert after that which surprised me coz I CAN’T BE THAT BAD A DRINKER RIGHT?

Overall, I give a better rating to the food quality rather than the service. It was uncalled for because they even took down orders on paper and still, mistakes were made.

Hopefully they can improve on their service, and…pls set up a website for this restaurant coz I couldn’t find anything on it except from food reviews and articles.

BB Camera

Been ‘obssessing’ with the camera on my BB phone. And who else had been my model?

Caramel likes to lie down in front of me when I do things on my MacBook. And by chance I caught him red handed:

Not only did he refuse to move away, he even did this to me:

See? Dogs nowadays are getting techie too.

No more

If you have been following my twitter, you should have known this:

NO MORE

No, she’s still pretty much alive, thank goodness. Just some screw ups with her rescuer.

The rescuer, a friend of the rehomer, was trying to get a PERFECT HOME for Cinnamon. PERFECT means:

• Someone must be around at home 24 hours
• She must not be kept in the toilet at all
• The rescuer can drop in anytime to check that the above is adhered to.

Almost like SPCA. I mean the 24 hour thing.

Apparently there were quite a few who wanted to adopt Cinnamon but all were not considered PERFECT enough for the rescuer. The rescuer can’t adopt Cinnamon coz he/she had quite a few dogs already and cannot handle another one. Yet because of the ‘NON PERFECT’ people around, the rehomer can’t let go of the dog coz the rescuer doesn’t allow.

It was a pity but we’ll treat it as no fate. Just a bit disappointed and sad that Cinnamon cannot be let go because of some stupid rule that people can’t adhere to easily. The one who helped us find Cinnamon (and Caramel) was also frustrated but there was nothing that she can do. She could see that we are good owners by seeing how Caramel had improved by leaps and bounds and character changed to be more outgoing.

Well, we’ll just keep all the love for Caramel now. Maybe a better one will come along.

Just hope that Cinnamon would be happy and stay healthy wherever she ends up at.

Sad findings

For some reason I googled “foods to avoid if you have hypothyroidism’ out of the blue today, and was dismayed at some of the findings.

Foods rich in the amino acid tyrosine are recommended because tyrosine combines with iodine to make the thyroxine, one of the key hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Meat, fish, turkey and chicken breast, low fat milk and yogurt, almonds, avocado, bananas, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and lentils are examples of foods rich in tyrosine.

Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormones, but it must be handled carefully. Too much can be as bad as too little. Ideal food sources include sea salt, seaweed (sushi, nori rolls), salt water fish, and other sea food. Iodized salt is used by many but should be used in small amounts under the direction of a doctor.

Some foods have come under fire for making hypothyroidism worse. Frankly this information annoys me a great deal because these foods, termed Goitrogenic, are the very ones that we are urged to eat. And I enjoy them. The foods, brussels sprouts, rutabagas, turnips, radishes, cauliflower, potatoes, corn, millet, cabbage, peaches, pears, strawberries, and kale, have compounds in them that can negatively interact with thyroid medication, nullifying its effects. People on thyroid hormone replacement are now advised not to eat these foods in large amounts.

Source: Fit Fare

I like to eat turnips, cauliflowers, potatoes, corn, cabbage, peaches, strawberries. Some even say broccoli should be avoided which is a BIG BOO HOO for me.

As I read on to see some of the comments there, there are some with pretty serious conditions affiliated to hypothroidism. Some were of coz side effects of the illnesss, some were actually side effects of the medication they are currently on.

I didn’t realise that the side effects can get that bad. All I focused on previously was to make the thyroid levels normal and also with the hope that I can be off medication if the levels are controlled. But now, it seems more complicated now (and probably I would be on lifetime medication now.

And I <3 food so much. *sighz*

The doctor at AH did say that if I intend to get pregnant, I would need to go for regular followups to keep the thyroid levels stable and regulate the medication dosage.

Going for a follow up next month at AH. Hope the blood test reads well.

Something to know…

The other day when I checked my Citibank bill, I was angry to find that I had been charged late payment for my bill last month. I was angry coz I remembered that I paid for it on the due date itself, via AXS machine. And there is no reason for me to pay if the processing time for Citibank is so late, right?

So I called (spoke to them rather coldly too – short of not shouting over the phone) asking for an explanation on why I must pay if it is Citibank that is slow in processing?

They said that the cut off time for AXS machines (inclusive of Saturdays) is 8.30pm for same day processing, otherwise the payment will be processed on the next working day (like seriously how would I know?). And so I told the CSR that I am not going to pay for the late charges, which he asked in return so how can he help?

Duh…what else?

I managed to get them to reverse the charges.

Nowadays I find Citibank very ngiaow. Even late one day also they want to charge me. I forgot to pay off UOB once in time and was late for 2/3 days, but they didn’t even charge me.

Citibank didn’t use to be like that. Now they are straight as ruler.

So nowadays I use more UOB than Citi. Unless for petrol coz Citi got more discounts off.

Trying out

Just downloaded the app for WordPress for BB. Wanted to see how it’ll turn out to be.

Oh, my mummy’s coming back from her holiday tmrw. Yay!

Tired out

The poor boy was tired out with all the hustle bustle, that he was all tired out and didn’t react as fast as he used to last nite.

Total conked out.

And he was still lethargic at 10+ in the morning.

Still curled up sleeping. I like the way he curls up like a ball coz he looked like just a ball of wool.

Just got news that Cinnamon is ready for collection, which we went to visit her earlier this week to see how she was (and amazingly changed dog coz she is overweight now due to the food she has been eating).

Now she got small head big body.

*All photos taken with BB Bold.

The day the dogs gathered to bully me

I must have used the most number of tissues and wet napkins this evening.

Went for steamboat dinner just now at AA’s place. His leg is still in a bad shape but slowly recovering. He had to keep sitting on a chair with his leg raised and moving around in that chair.

I had asked AA in advance before I brought Caramel over, and he did the most embarrassing thing ever.

He pee-ed to mark at his place. Which was unusual coz Caramel never did it at anyone’s place before. Not even at home. And he did it twice there.

Then he was behaving like that was his home. Walked around, kept trotting behind Sparkle (AA’s dog), then jumped up on the sofa. Sparkle wasn’t even allowed to jump up on the sofa. I caught Caramel doing that several times. He thought he was at my place.

I asked YX how big Chaser had become. I was a bit skeptical about the size he showed, but I thought maybe long time since I’ve met her so I might have overestimated how big she had become. And the latest photos on his FB also didn’t seem to be one gigantic dog to me.

HL went to fetch Milo. Then Caramel went berserk and kept going after (and licking) him. Milo then started to mark his place too. I was squatting near him and then he pee-ed some on my knee and culottes.

I asked AA why the dogs that came tonite liked to do marking at his place.

Then then then, YX brought Chaser. Holy shit, he was double what YX had showed me earlier on with his hands!

And she also became berserk. He kinda shifted the dining chair and the carpet around, plus provided some extra breeze to the guys while they played their Winning Eleven on TV.

Then she pounced on me, licking me on my face. She got me pinned onto the floor. I think the pimple that is coming out from my chin might just disappear with the way she had licked me.

I suspected Caramel might have picked up something (he was practically doing the vacuum cleaner thing the whole nite) and started puking on me when I was holding him to calm down. First puke was just white foam. Then 2nd time comes, part of his dinner came up at the same time.

Seriously, I won’t be surprised if it had also been his excitement and jumping about that might have contributed to his puking, and caused him some indigestion in his little tummy.

Hmm…wondering why all the dogs presented me with something tonite. Must be the Hush Puppies top and bottom I’m wearing tonite.

Suggestions

I just got my BB Bold few days ago, and I’m loving it!

Yea, I heard that the new BB will come out soon. How fast they can get.

Downloaded MSN, Gmail, Google Maps, BBM5, Twitterberry and UberTwitter at this moment. But not sure what else I can download. Any suggestions? Hmm.

I downloaded UberTwitter just today, as it came with a good review. Actually the Twitterberry didn’t work out too fine for me, for I tried to upload a photo but it gave me an error message. So I thought I’ll try the former and see if it is better. I’ve not tried the same thing on UberTwitter yet, but the functions I see there seems to be more, and that it doesn’t load very slow like Twitterberry.

And Twitterberry icon had come up twice on the screen, despite me going thru the whole thing, I couldn’t find out why the icon appeared (with a 2 beside it). Had to reboot to make the icon disappear.

Now wat else can I download? Suggestions?

Oh, one sad thing. The Speedy was out of stock already. Only Azure but the Paradizer has got the same colour and I still prefer the Ebony Damier.

I hope I can get it early next month from G. *crosses fingers*

Maybe not meant to be??

SC BBM last nite telling me about the price of the Speedy 30 which after tax rebate and conversion is about S$200 cheaper than in Singapore. I was like made up my mind to get it, but had to call the Paradizer to ask about her organiser since SC had to most probably get it last nite (evening).

So da da da…we’ve all decided to get it, then she BBM me again saying she just saw the last piece of my Speedy sold before her eyes!

Urgh.

Maybe not meant to be….

Anyway she said she will try again today, though not sure if she has got the time coz the fair ends today and she might have to pack up and the freaking mall closes one hour later. But I think I shouldn’t get my hopes too high.

Well, I told G that he will have to get it for me when he goes to Germany in 2 weeks’ time, if it doesn’t come back this time.

And I think JH is now somewhere in Europe too. She’s a great fan of LV so she’ll be able to help too.

If really cannot, that means no fate with the bag then.

*whimper*

Last Sunday was declared taitai day

I finally made a visit to ION. Haha, like so suaku.

The Paradizer and me acted taitai for the afternoon on Sunday lusting after all sorts of branded goods. We went from Paragon to Taka to ION before we ended up at Heeren for dinner.

Taka was having it’s anniversary sale and Agnes b was filled with people. 10% off and additional 15% if you are Taka credit card/DBS Black Card holder. Other branded stuff had almost the same discount. So the whole mall was filled with people.

Went to A|X coz she needed to see if there is anything she could get for a fren’s birthday. We thought it was horrible to get a guy’s present and she asked me whether the shirt looks ok for a person I’ve not seen before. Haha.

Presents for ladies are easier to get. Always.

We nearly got a top each, and me a bag and skirt.

We have such discipline coz we didn’t get anything for ourselves in the end, despite passing thru many more A|X shops in between. Wahaha~

Then we went to Bottega to check out some wallets and bags, Mont Blanc for some pen-window-shopping before we went to ION. I went to see the shoes that I saw on the mag at this shop called New Look. Unfortunately, the shoes doesn’t look as good as in the mag (the difference is a lot lor!), and the Paradizer said I look scary on such high heels.

Then we went to LV to check out bags and prices, before I BBM SC to check out the price in Cologne, and to buy if it was a lot cheaper. Wahaha. The Paradizer was grinning from ear to ear with the hope that she can buy her dream organiser cheaper.

Oh ya, there is this cool stationary shop in ION called Kikki K, which you’ll see all sorts of cool stuff and organisers and calendars on sale. I nearly wanted to get one for myself till the Paradizer says we can DIY ourselves. Idea sia. Haha.

After feeling taitai-ish, we headed for Blue Basil for dinner, only to find out a group of people having a shoot in there. Sian. Have to walk back, ended up at Heeren which looks super isolated now. I told her no Waraku pasta for me, so we had dinner at Fish&Co.

And thus, we missed out buying the sashimi again at Paragon. Sheesh.

I miss my fish.

Restaurant City vs Cafe World

Playing Cafe World now. Got sucked into playing that.

Slightly different from RC. RC requires more artistic talent in decorating and fun in swapping ingredients. But gets slightly mundane after going up to the higher stage where you just need to swap, upgrade and feed the employees.

Cafe World requires more planning and thinking and not so into decorating your place. Coz each dish you make takes time, and you need to plan when you will log on next coz the food will take up to 2 days to complete (depending in the dish). So if you leave it on the stove for too long, it will turn bad.

Only thing is, it’s a bitch if you get disconnected. In addition, no ’save’ button around yet, and the coins it yields actually doesn’t reflect that much. Hmm…

Anyway, I’ve lost quite a few dishes by decomposition, and one dish coz I was trying out something.

Will explore more in that.

Early meeting, more Crocs and the homecoming…soon

This morning I had to wake up early supposedly to meet a customer who came from Durban. Was supposed to meet him in office yesterday afternoon but he was held up (and also too lazy to drop by away from town), so we met today instead.

The appointment was at 8.30am, but when I sms and called him at 8am and 8.15am respectively, no answer.

Luckily I didn’t go out yet, but he finally called me at 8.30am and told me he has just woke up. So we ended up meeting at 10am.

I always have a habit to call before I go over to meet an overseas customer, coz usually of the time difference they might end up jet lagging and cannot wake up in time.

I asked what his programme for the day, and luckily he is same as me. He doesn’t really like to go lunch, dinner, whenever he is overseas. Prefer some me-time.

After the meeting I dropped by Bugis to get lunch. And I deserve a pat! Coz I didn’t do shopping, though I did go into Charles & Keith and Pedro to sneak a look at their shoes.

——–

I went by the Crocs sale yesterday again since I was to be at T3 to receive my sis and bro-in-law back home. Truly they were restocked and even extended their space a bit more. It was also good coz there was barely anyone there (except the crowd grew when I was looking thru what I could find again). and I got 2 more pairs. Even got a pair for my sis.

One to be used for my diving and the other, casual sandals.

Quite happy now. Hehe.

——–

So boring at work today. *yawn* Seems like people knows my mum is not around. Only 2 walk-ins in the morning and another to collect her clothes. Looks like it’s going to be going off earlier. Even Caramel looks lethargic now despite being like a mad dog in the morning. Sometimes I suspect he has a biological clock in him that tells him it’s Saturday. He will act mad in bed by running around early in the morning, like he’s crossing terrains and mountains.

On normal days, he will just act sian and refuse to acknowledge the fact that humans need to work and have to leave him alone at home. Don’t even look at you when you leave for work.

And I hope his gf will come soon. Apparently she went for spaying and the wound became unstitched. The temp rehomer claimed that the stitching was not done properly and the vet claimed that she bit off the stitches herself. So she’s got to be recuperating for another week…

I’ve already got her leash and collar ready. Looking forward to see her soon…