Chinese New Year Eve Reunion Dinner with Family

Lunch with ex- schoolmates and teacher

Had a meal with my former schoolmates and our ex-teacher. He is seated second on the left next to me (standing). He is now 85 years old and is our role model even now as we aged. His recipe for a healthy and long life is "eat whatever you like and keep busy meeting friends". He was RI's discipline master in the 1960s. Currently, he lives in Canada with his wife. We will be lunching again after the Chinese New Year season.

Din Tai Fung...to me it's average

We had our dinner at Din Tai Fung. None of the 4 dishes we ordered really satisfied us. We prefer the food at Crystal Jade which features Cantonese style of cooking. Din on the other hand is mainly Taiwanese cooking.

"The Grass Is Blue" written and sung by Dolly Parton

Above is the video of Dolly Parton performing "live" in London in 2009 at the age of 63. 

In 1999, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has composed over 3,000 songs, notably "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", and "9 to 5". She is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. As an actress, she starred in films such as 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, and Steel Magnolias.

Below is the lyrics for this touching and lovely song, "The Grass is Blue".


I've had to think up a way to survive
Since you said it's over
Told me good-bye
I just can't make it one day without you
Unless i pretend that the opposite's true
Rivers flow backwards
Valleys are high
Mountains are level
Truth is a lie
I'm perfectly fine
And i don't miss you
The sky is green
And the grass is blue

How much can a heart and a troubled mind take
Where is that fine line before it all breaks
Can one end their sorrow
Just cross over it
And into that realm of insanitive bliss

There's snow in the tropics
There's ice on the sun
It's hot in the arctic
And crying is fun
And i'm happy now
And i'm glad we're through
And the sky is green
And the grass is blue

And the rivers flow backwards
And my tears are dry
Swans hate the water
And eagles can't fly
But i'm alright now
Now that i'm over you
And the sky is green
And the grass is blue
And i don't love you
And the grass is blue

We had bak chor mee  and some of the veggies and fried eggs which was brought from home for lunch. We thought since we wanted to eat out, we should supplement our meals with some fibre food.
The bak chor mee near our place is undoubtedly one of the best we had tasted. It's inexpensive ($3.50) and worth the money spent.

Lunch@ Crystal Jade, Zhongshan Mall

If you love dim sum, you must visit Crystal Jade because their dim sum is one of the best in Singapore. All the 5 dishes we ordered were delicious and the bill came up to a reasonable $30.
The parking is free for the first 2 hours at Zhongshan Mall, Balestier. The place was not even full when we were there this afternoon.

PayPal's service is deteriorating

I've been using PayPal to receive payment from my clients since 2009. It used to be efficient and would notify me within minutes when payment is made. Lately, it has somewhat stopped notifying me of payment made. Without the notification, I would not have a clue as to when,what and who is paying for my goods and services. This has caused inconveniences and delay in responding to my buyers.
There are many PayPal competitors in the market providing the same kind of services. I understand that PayPal being the best in the service and now declining, others may be the same as PayPal,if not worst.
Therefore, I have used my own initiative and create my own payment system. In this way, I could respond to my clients promptly and efficiently. Besides, I could save on commissions ( between 3% and 4%)....thanks to PayPal!

Lunch and Dinner

Dinner @ Sushi Express

We had our lunch at home. It was spaghetti with minced beef and green mussels. Accompanying the pasta was a plate of broccoli and okra (ladies' fingers).
As for dinner, we went for sushi at Sushi Express. Both were good and satisfying meals.

My meal, shopping and the weather

Had this fish soup with rice at Long Xing Fish Soup, 409 AMK Ave 10. Must be patient as the queue is always long and may take you 15 to 20 minutes to get your food. One thing for sure is that the fish (batang fish) is fresh and tasty. The smallest bowl like the one I ordered above is $4.50 including rice.
I had it for breakfast.

There is a market and many shops around Block 409 (Teck Ghee) AMK Ave 10 selling meat, fish, poultry, fruits, clothing etc. I bought the above vegetables and fruits from the market.
This place is not as crowded as Chong Pang market but has all the stuff I wanted. Besides, it is half the distance from my place as compared to Chong Pang.

Sudden change of weather

One moment the weather was fine with lots of sunshine and next, a thunderstorm followed by a heavy downpour at about 4 pm today.

Cheap & nice Yong Tau Fu for lunch ($4)

Too many taxis, no drivers ?