Thursday, January 31, 2008

Milo's glamour shots

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


Taken with Nikon D40, 10 June 2006.


Shot on Canon EOS 400D, 26 Jan 2008.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Kootoo turns 3!

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



Here's wishing Kootoo more handsome years to come! :)

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Beijing tales

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


The quintessential tourist pix at Tiananmen.


The roof of one of the halls in the Forbidden City.


My fav pix - twisted branches against an icy blue sky.

The best part of the winter holiday was that I didn't feel/look fat, not when everyone else is wearing layers upon layers! Winter is a figure-flattering season :)


See the snowflake in the middle of my hand?

The worse part was going to the toilet. Peeling off layers after layers before doing our "business" is no fun, and the water from the tap is icy cold! Hmmm, does that explain why most of the locals don't wash their hands after going to the toilet? No, I kid you not - we went to several eating places, and I observed that the food handlers, who are easily identified in their uniforms, walked straight from the toilet cubicle into the food stalls. Urgh.


I also have Agreeable Feelings :) Notice the thin layer of fresh snow on the road?

We stayed at the Nanjing Great Hotel, which is just off Wangfujing and a stone's throw away from the Donghuamen Night Market (东华门夜市).



It's food galore at the market, which offers some rather "exotic" grub.


Sea urchin anyone?


Skewered creepy crawlies!

Or how about some crispy starfish snacks?


Candied fruits for picking.

Papa Porky haggling with a vendor.

There were a number of vagrants rummaging among the rubbish bins at the night market, feasting on half-eaten food discarded by tourists. One of them, an old man, hovered near us, glancing surreptitiously at the food in our hands. We bought him a plate of piping hot fried noodles, which costs 5 yuan (S$1). He was surprised by our gesture, and thanked us profusely. I shall never forget his face.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Back to sweltering Singapore

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


Braving the chilly winds at the moat outside Forbidden City.

Don't laugh. I know I look like an Eskimo. It was freezing cold that day. Temperature dipped to minus 11 degrees Celsius. And when the bitter northern winds blew, it felt like a knife which threatened to cut off my nose. Hence the cover up.

We couldn't have chosen a better time to go Beijing. But hey, we saw snow and had a close-up look at a snow flake, okay? We even had a McDonald's sundae one afternoon when the temperature was 1 degree Celsius! And candied apples (冰糖葫芦) never tasted this great!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Counting down ...

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

... to our Beijing trip! We'd be freezing our buns off in the Chinese capital from next Tuesday till Sunday.


Muffin: The Pigs are nuts! It's nearly zero degree in Beijing now!

Yes, I think we're mad to visit Beijing in the height of winter, but hey, when was the last time you did something for the first time? ;)

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Reminder to self

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~ Plato

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Back to the grindstone

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


Milo: Ommmm ... ZzzzZzzzzzz ...

December didn't look like it will ever end. Work was slow, everyone was in a holiday mood, and the bosses were away (read = the mice can play).


Milo: Sleeping 16 hours a day is tough.

But December whizzed past, and now it's time to pull up our socks and focus on the KPIs and deliverables again :(

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



May all human beings practise compassion, and not let our ignorance and self-centreness result in the destruction of innocent lives. Don't make excuses, be more aware, responsible and tolerant. If we can't even take it upon ourselves to work with one another to resolve issues humanely in the community we live in, how then can we address the broader concerns of humanity?