Believe me, despite already been working in Excelics for almost 2 months... i have never eaten out with my colleagues before. Over here, its a 'lunchbox' culture...everyone(well, almost!) packs their lunchbox to work on top of their briefcase. We always dined together in the pantry...

I always avoided fast food like a plague.... but i have been hearing raves about this US burger joint even when i was in Singapore.... and since everyone was game to indulge today...

The menu is nothing u usually see in a fast food restaurant!! Goodness.. they ONLY served cheese burgers and french fries(and drinks of course). But the main course... was really only cheese burgers!!! The only choice you had was probably the number of patties you wanted in your burger. And thats it!... Talk about a cheese burger specialist....

It has a unique taste to it. Nothing you can find in Singapore definitely. But its greatest edge over other burger joints is its freshness. Their burgers are only baked, cooked and assembled upon ordering. Even their french fries are freshly sliced and fried. Unfortunately, i did not take a picture of what was inside.. i was too excited for a bite of it..... it really looked too enticing to be rotting under the sun.....!!

My lunch party from the office... friendly bunch of people from all over the world....and special thanks to Jessie(the lady on the extreme left) for the treat..... aiya, so paiseh to have an intern to treat the whole gang....

2 luxuries i will rather not have...

This occurred to me while doing my household chores today...

1) A bath tub - its difficult to clean!
2) A double-storey house/mansionette - Climb, climb, climb......

I usually stay home on weekends to rest... and climbing up & down the entire day really makes me appreciate home even more....how i miss HDB!!!!!

The day time slowed down....

It was grocery shopping day! And being the KS Singaporean, i wanted to be the earliest to beat the crowds. After hanging up with my sis on Skype, the clock showed 915...which is late!!... The doors open at 9am! Hastily i rushed down to the grocery store....only to see a dead town......No one there??!!!

Went up to the grocery store, only to find it closed... but the sign says they open at 9am. And my watch showed 930am!!...What is going on??!!

I asked the janitor in the vicinity, and he told me very nicely that there is a minus 1-hr adjustment due to the beginning of autumn. So, i was actually too early...0930am in summer & spring = 0830am in Autumn & winter....Therefore, there is a 15hr lag from sg time in summer & spring, but a 16hr lag in autumn & winter!!...Sheesh.....felt so silly then....

Hari Raya @ Sam's!!

No travelling yet... but had a wonderful time yesterday at Sam's place for Hari Raya!... Chatting with fellow Singaporeans are wonderful...finally, i can comfortably express my 'lahs' and 'lors' without fear of being misunderstood.

Salizah is really a wonderful cook... with all that wonderful lontongs, sambal chicken and asian dishes, i juz felt soooo at home....:)

End of workday greeting...

After a typical long day at work.... this is the kind of greeting i get at home... haha...Since Halloween is juz round the corner, i shall forgive him.... haha...

Cutie!!

I finally managed to coax my landlord's son into my room to take a pic with me....:)....He is another cute kid..... and my mum says he has a mischievous look. He actually "intruded" into my room, and climbed onto my lap to see why i was speaking to my laptop...haha... that was when my mother saw him.




With this 'kid craze' going inside me, i wonder what would my parents' reaction be if i were to leave Singapore alone, and return with another 2 people............

San Francisco Chronicle

Its finally Sunday, and i can wind down abit. Managed to grab hold of the Sunday papers while grocery shopping. My god, its 3 times more expensive than the usual day's paper...its $1.50USD. Hmm... but its sooooo thick!!

Its contents are of hardly anything about world news. Half of its thickness is contributed by "savings coupons" of all kinds of shopping outlets, grocery stores, pharmacies... etc. Even so, some of them are hardly even considered savings! C'mon, im Singaporean, i can differentiate a real sale and a fluke.

Really, the news here is all about America.... about some gay congressman, some statistics about American couples, blah blah.... and of course the North Korean nuclear test hoo-hah...Thank the heavens there is always channelnewsasia.com....:)

Disappearing Act!!

Just in case everyone has been wondering what has happened to me.... well, to provide some clues, this is a picture of my office desk...


Ya... have been busy with work... haven done much travelling and exploration. So far just busy checking out the best deals for grocery shopping.... cost of living is so high here!

Free Car Wash!!

It finally rained in Sunnyvale!! Its my 1st day experience with rain here....

Had initially wanted to wash my car during the weekend...but my landlord advised me against it, due to the coming rainy season(ie.autumn).

For once, i'm thankful that i was feeling lazy.....

Of Little Alya and Haystacks...

Its the 1st time i have seen a maze constructed of
haystacks. But what really caught my eye was the
decor they had created for the upcoming Halloween season. Well, little Alya was so excited that she just ran in!! But in her excitement, she ended up abit lost...















But still, she had her fun despite being lost....

Oh dear... and she brought some hay back...

I realized that i am always charmed + enthralled + fascinated by little Alya's chatter and ever-changing expressions. So adorable!!!...

And finally, after many many attempts, we managed to get Alya to sit down with Sam and myself to pose for a picture....:).... whew... the toughest task of the day...

Pumpkin Patch in MountainView..

Its a cold and lazy Sunday, and with the Autumn season beckoning, temperatures are dropping by the day. However, despite such sleepy weather, and the Ramadan month, Sam was kind, and fortunately, energetic enough to show me around in this pumpkin patch at MountainView.




Halloween is coming.. and the pumpkin patches are stocking up on their pumpkins. Heard from Sam that this place becomes a Sunflower patch during other times. While other pumpkin patches require an entrance fee, this particular one is free!





Frankly, i have never seen so many
pumpkins of all sorts and sizes in my entire life.












The owners of this place really have a knack with decorating pumpkins!