Trip to Batam

Geylang Sipaku Geylang..

   I have no idea what the phrase in the title section really means. All I know is that every child in Singapore will have to sing it to death in primary school.

   My sisters and I went out again despite us all being unwell. Yana and I went to Geylang to run an errand. Aida went off to meet her friend, Nabilah, to play badminton with her first.

   After the errand Yana and I decided to sit at a place called Waffle something something (I'm not sure if it is called Waffle Factory) to eat and wait for Aida. The aunty in charge was very nice.

   I ordered nasi lemak set(because so long I never eat rice) and Yana ordered nasi ala Thai set. The set comes with a drink, a bowl of delicious mushroom soup and rice/ spaghetti of your choice. Since I couldn't taste anything because of my unwell state, Yana helpede finish up my food and she kept on telling me this - "You are really missing out on a lot." - as she constantly chews on her food. And I could only look on forlornly.

   Aida came after we've finished our food. She always does that. She ordered the spaghetti set instead. While waiting for her to finish up, I ordered waffles. Yana told me not to order because she knew that I wouldn't be able to finish it. But of course, I didn't listen. And Yana ended up having to help me eat. Again. Tee hee.

   I can't remember what happened afterwards.

   Moving on...

Sick

   It has been quite some time since I've last updated my blog. I have been pretty sick lately so yes, that is the main reason why I could not update my blog.

   Since I have a lot to write about, I'll write it all in separate posts so that it seems more organised and it'll be easier to read. To be honest, I'm not one who cares about being organised, but writing it in different posts helps me sustain that interest to keep on writing. Because I get bored easily.

   Anyway, on Friday (the first day of me having a fever), I brought my sisters out to Arab Street and Haji Lane. We lunched at Fika where Yana bought chicken and Aida bought baked pasta. No, I have no idea what the exact names are. In this feverish state, my memory has never failed to fail me. But I'll post pictures here so that if you decide to order what we ordered you can just show the waiters there these pictures.

   Yana's chicken.

Aida's baked pasta

My little tea set. This was all I ordered for myself since I didn't have any appetite.

   I know I did not edit some of these pictures. As you can tell I just took screenshots of them from fb. I am too lazy.

   Oh, and we also bought traditional games when we were walking about Arab Street! We played 'tikam' and bought 'batu seremban'. I can't take a picture of them now because the toys are all over my house and I'm not bothered to gather them together and snap pictures. Maybe next time.

   Moving on..

Tis the season to be jolly (II)

   Just a bit of an update on the present giving and buying part.. and also updates on other trivial stuff as well.

   Late last night, Aida and I did some last minute shopping for Daddy! We bought a sweater, an umbrella and one more thing that cannot be mentioned here because it is just so damn inappropriate. Inappropriate in the eyes of the society in general, because to my family there's nothing wrong with it. Anyway, my father loved the sweater because it was in his favourite colour, brown, and he liked the 'inappropriate' thing as well. As for the umbrella, he didn't really show much of a reaction. Perhaps he is still upset over the fact that Aida lost his cool blue umbrella.

   Cool umbrella?

   Yup. Because it has a blue hard plastic panel-like cover that can be slid up and down over the umbrella after we're done using it. It doesn't really sound remarkable when I describe it. So here's a picture of an umbrella that is similar to my father's lost one.

   Yeah, even with the picture it doesn't look that extraordinary. But it is, really. Well, at least my father agrees with me.

Another update:

   I am going to throw my mattresses because they are infested with bed bugs and I am in a constant state of insomnia because of them. And I am planning to buy two new ones.

Another update:

   Yana is extremely sick. She has been having high fever for the past two days, and to make matters worse, she's now having cramps. At least this time around she is not crying. Yes, both my sisters tend to cry when they are sick or in great pain and I, the ever nice and concern sister, will have to comfort them.

Another update:

   Our holiday plans are not going according to planned. Not that any of us are complaining. Apparently all of us aren't really bothered about holidays that much. We are a very home-based bunch of people. 

   I'm tired. And hungry. I'm eating otah-otah now. There is a pasar malam in Toa Payoh, just so you know...

Tis the season to be jolly..

   That has got to be the worse title that I can ever come up with. I sound like those terribly unimaginative magazines.

   Anyway, today, my youngest sister, gave us all a present each!! She just got her pay and so she needed a reason to spend it (I bet). When I got my present, (all the presents were wrapped) I was a bit upset because as I was comparing the sizes of our presents, I noticed that mine was comparatively smaller. But the content made up for the size (tee hee!). My oldest brother got a sweater (hahaha! That is so Christmas-y), my younger sister, Yana, received a pretty bath set and I, received new earpiece. Earpieces. A pair of earpiece. A pair of earpieces. To hell with grammar.

  My brother's present, a thick warm sweater.

 Yana's bath set.. Isn't it pretty?

My present: A cool two-toned pair of earpiece(s).

In return, guess what I did for Aida? 

   I helped her get a new phone, another HTC. I paid for half of the upfront cost. And I allowed her to use my name for it because she's underage. Good thing is, I wanted to buy a new screen protecter for my phone and I did, but for FREE! Yana was shocked when she heard it because screen protecters cost about $15++ or ist $20 ++ and getting it for free is really something. Anyway, initially, Aida wanted the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Thank God the salesperson said that it was "lousy" or else, I'd have to fork out more. Anyway, the new HTC phone that Aida bought is apparently a very new phone - "newly launched" - called the HTC One SV. It's a 4G phone. Damn. 

   Sigh, the things that I do for my loved ones.

...

   And the things that my loved ones do for me! :)

   

What to do when cockroaches invade your house..

   We are currently sharing our house with a whole lot of cockroaches.  Every night, without fail, we'd spot at least two damned cockroaches running about the house. I think I know where they are hiding - in a crack under my cupboard.

   No, don't get me wrong. It's not like we didn't do anything. We did. For now, we're trying to get rid of these pests by using Baygon spray. And no, we did not read the instructions on the damned can. So, we ended up with half-dazed cockroaches running about everywhere around the house. Hey, at least they are now out in the open and we can kill these pests easily. To be honest, these kill-the-roaches moments are like a family bonding time for us. Anyway, the number of roaches coming out are dwindling. There are a few adolescent cockroaches coming out at night now and then, but that's about it.

   In case you're considering other alternative methods to destroy these annoying pests, I'll write here what actions we've taken and how most of them have failed. I'll also write a bit about other methods other people have used to eliminate their unwanted guests based on the forums and articles that I have read.

• Use pandan leaves: Old folks swear by it. I don't. Pandan leaves supposedly can chase away cockroaches. Not really actually, it only makes your whole house smell fragrant.
• Use cockroach bait: I didn't try this because it attracts other cockroaches as well into your house. Others who tried this said that they saw an influx of cockroaches in their houses when they tried this method but after a week they hadn't seen a cockroach. I personally do not want to see MORE cockroaches so I didn't even consider trying this method.
• Use boric acid: They said you have to sprinkle a small amount of this around the cockroach-infested places for it to be effective. I wanted to try this out but apparently, it's illegal to buy boric acid in Singapore and you need a licence or something to acquire it.
• Pest control: Clearly the most effective way to get rid of cockroaches. However, before you pounce on the phone and dial for a pest control agency, do note that it can get pretty pricey. So ask for the rates first, my fellow cockroach-haters.

   Well, that is all. I'm kind of bored writing about the same topic for a long time. Toodles!

DECIDED!

   Yes! The family has voted! (Myocardialinfarction-inducing drum rolls pleeeeaasse)

We are going to Malacca! Yayyee!

   ...Alright, enough with the exclamation marks.

   It's been decided that we are going to depart from Singapore on the 23rd (a Sunday) and we're going to stay there until the 25th. Shoot. I forgot it's Christmas. It's going to be effing packed. and.. will the museums and malls be open?? Damn. Will have to find out..

   Anyway, I have prepared a list of cheap and decent hotels there. Initially, I looked at the three star hotels only, but, when Aida started to check out the list that I've prepared, she insisted that I take a look at the four and five stars hotels instead. Yes, she's pretty high maintenance at times.

Beuford Hotel

Hotel Equatorial Melaka 

Marvelux Hotel

And of course, I also prepared a list of places of interest in Malacca that I'd like to visit:

A Famosa

People's Museum

The Stadhuys (They say it's pronounced something like stut-house)

Mahkota Parade

   Fine, the last one is just a shopping mall but hey, I consider it a place of interest.