Banana Pancakes & Boardgames

I had a pretty good weekend - managed to take time off to relax, chill out with Pen, watch a DVD and even hang out with an old friend.

On Saturday morning, playing the good wife, I got up early and cooked pancakes for the sleepyhead. It was rather yummy I must say. I had mine with butter, maple syrup topped with bananas. Pen had his just like mine, except with ice cream, a lot of ice cream. Haha.

In the afternoon, we went to Garden City and bought ourselves a couple of boardgames. :) K-Mart was having a promo -20% off all boardgames. Yipee! I've wanted to get some games for the longest time. I figured it would be a good way to spice up our evenings together at home. Some of you may not know this, but my husband gets extremely excited whenever he plays boardgames. Think Monopoly. It's an incredibly adorable sight.

After much deliberation, we bought Mastermind and Cranium. Mastermind because I'd told Pen weeks ago that I wanted to challenge him at it and Cranium because it just looks like so much fun!

Needless to say, we had a go at Mastermind the moment we got home. Guess who won. :p

On Sunday, Izaeel came over to hang out. We watched Clueless on the big screen, talked about her new business idea and just lazed. It was so nice to have another girl in the house for a change. It's her birthday this coming Saturday and we're gonna go see JT together! Woohoo!

Before I end, can I just say... We now have air con!!! It makes a huge difference having air con in the house, not that the temperature is sweltering or anything. It's just not the same when you can kick back, relax, lie on the couch, watch a movie on the projector and have the AC blowing cool air on your back. Y'know?

No to Merger

I came across this piece of news while I was updating myself on the happenings in Singapore. Have a read below.

My thoughts: Oh my goodness - please no!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MM Lee speaks about idea of Singapore-Malaysia reunion once again

SINGAPORE: Some 10 years after he publicly broached the idea of a Singapore-Malaysia reunion - to raised eyebrows all around - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has spoken about the topic once again.

In a recent interview with American journalist Tom Plate, Mr Lee said Singapore would be "happy" to go back to Malaysia should the latter practise meritocracy.

On Wednesday, transcripts of the wide-ranging interview - conducted last month in Mr Lee's office - were made available online by UCLA Asia Institute.

When Mr Plate asked Mr Lee who he thought would "come after" Singapore, the Minister Mentor said: "We are a standing indictment of all the things that they (Malaysia) can be doing differently."

"If they would just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them."

The last time Mr Lee floated the idea in 1996, it caused ripples on both sides of the Causeway, with then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad replying that he did not think "it is time yet".

While much has changed since then, scepticism towards a reunion remains.

Said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, an Institute of South-east Asian Studies (ISEAS) fellow: "The chances of a re-merger in 1996 and in 2007 are the same - Zero."

While bilateral economic links would continue to increase, Malaysia is far from ditching its decades-old bumiputera policy, "where race-based affirmative action ... has disqualified efficacy as the criterion for policy correctness", Dr Ooi added.

In Parliament, Opposition leader Chiam See Tong is often a lone, but persistent, voice on the issue of an economic union with Malaysia, espousing the benefits of a common market.

Mr Chiam told TODAY: "A political union is out of the question. The Malaysians will never agree."

Dr Ooi added: "The very idea of a re-merger on Singapore's terms is appalling to most Malays (in Malaysia) and any move in that direction would be political suicide for a Malaysian politician to take."

ISEAS' Dr Terence Chong believes that Mr Lee had in mind the future - "50 to 100 years down the road" - when he talked about rejoining Malaysia.

Said Dr Chong: "If you look at historic port cities, they all enjoy their golden eras and then decline. For Singapore to flourish in perpetuity would mean defying history."

Already, Singapore is facing a fight to keep the very talent it had successfully attracted.

Mr Lee acknowledged in the interview that the Chinese students on Singapore Government scholarships were using the Republic as a stepping-stone.

Said Mr Lee: "They come in here, they get an English education ... and they're off to America. The Indians, strangely enough, more of them stay here in Singapore because they want to go home to visit their families."

Mr Lee added: "We are net gainers for how long? I think in the case of China, maybe another 20, 30 years ... India, maybe longer - 50, 60 years before their infrastructure catches up. Anyway, this is not my worry anymore!" - TODAY/ym

Addicted to Jewellery

I was in jewellery heaven yesterday when Pen took me to Thousand Island Dressing at New Farm after church. My workmates told me I could find heaps of gorgeous AND affordable jewellery there and I've been salivating ever since.

After days of anticipation, you can imagine how mesmerised I was when I finally stepped into the shop. There were shelves and shelves of earrings, necklaces and bracelets, arranged according to colour and racks with bags of all shapes and sizes. Hee hee! I lost count of how many times I "oohed" and "ahhed" as I pranced around the shop.

Needless to say, Pen was the only male "customer" there. He was really patient and quietly followed me around the shop. When he got bored, he politely excused himself - once to get money out of the ATM and once to get a drink.

After touching and trying on every other second thing in the shop, I emerged a happy customer, adding a charm bracelet, a matching necklace and two pairs of earrings to my accessories collection! Which I must add, Pen generously paid for.

Ahhh...the joys of being married... :)

Grow Wellington Grow

I am so excited! Finally, there's some action on our plot of land!

Pen and I dropped by Wellington yesterday morning before work and were thrilled to see they've put in a retaining wall, a builder sign and a portable dunny on our land. And this morning, they've flattened our land!

Pen obviously went trigger-happy. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

No, not the house behind. It's the empty land in front.

Pen approves

Yahooo!

Rendezvous

Pen took me out for dinner last night at Breakfast Creek Hotel to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. We still can't believe we've been together for that long. It still seems like yesterday that we started dating.

We had our meal in a lovely area called Spanish Garden. Pen's ribeye steak was pretty good but my barramundi was somewhat disappointing. Lesson learnt: Never order anything else when dining in a restaurant famous for its steaks. Well the good thing was, at least I didn't walk out of the restaurant feeling like I've stuffed my face with food.

Pen getting excited about his steak


Pen and me

After dinner, Pen and I went to Portside Wharf for a walk. It was really quiet as most of the shops and restaurants there are closed on Mondays. It was not as breath-taking as usual but still beautiful. I looked at the apartments situated along the river, green with envy. I told Pen that if we sold our land and half-constructed house at Wellington Place, we would be able to move into one of these luxury apartments. He didn't seem to bite. Hmm...wonder why. Must be because that would mean he won't be able to do his gardening. Hehe.

Anyway, we had a really nice and simple evening to ourselves. I'm just thankful I have someone who loves me and who laughs with me.