BreadTalk SG50 Promotion

BreadTalk SG50 Promotion
5 for $7, 10 for $12

Means one bun costs $1.40 or $1.20
Unless you buy mostly floss, other buns mostly ranged between $1.30-$1.50. The discount is only like 10cts.
If you have a big family or a party, it is quite worthwhile to buy 10 floss buns to eat at one go.
If not, it is quite unhealthy to be eating so many in such a short time. Check the calories at myfitnesspal app!

Then came the next realization, the buns are made smaller than before. As regular, I noticed floss and sausage buns are smaller than usual. I wondered did any other customer noticed this given the long queue to buy 5 or 10 buns at one go.

They also did not make bun like bacon and cheese for this promotion.
Verdict - not value for money promotion

Review of AB double eyelid glue

Now, after the Japan trip, I did not find the brand in Singapore. Hence I started looking for similar products. It was a total disaster!

The packaging looks so professional

I am writing my personal experience with this product AB.
The sale person strongly recommended this as compared to those double sided tape type. I regretted my purchase totally and I will explain why in this article.

Below are the reasons:-
1) it is totally uncomfortable after applying
2) when I apply too little, it doesn't work at all
3) if I applied too much, the glue is too liquid that it will just flow into my eyes and sting
4) it needs eye makeup remover to remove at the end of the day
5) however, mine cant even hold till end of the day and I can feel the glue on the eyelids
6) I can never put equal amount of glue on both eyelids, making it very difficult to make both side balance
7) the glue is not sticky and fold the eyelids in different ways every time I blinked.
8) i have to apply a lot of glue to let it starts sticking together.
9) it gave a very heavy feeling on the eyelids after application.

In the end, I threw this away.

Review Prud'or Double-sided eyelids tape from Japan

Being a natural hidden double eye lids all my life, I always wanted to try 'opening' my eyes bigger ^_^
Only people like me will understand our 'misery', the comments we hear from people, sometimes they hurt. But it is not bad enough for me to want to go for plastic surgery.

Throughout the years, I always use such tapes on and off, like once every 5 years. However, a trip to Tokyo sometimes back has renewed my interest again when I chanced upon a very very very good double sided eyelids tape.

Firstly, the tape is easy to apply.
Secondly, the tape stay in shape & can hold up for the whole day.
Thirdly, the sticky part is just right.
Lastly, the price is reasonable.

By far, this is the best product I used before. I will give it 5 stars.

buyer beware - 2 scoops is is not charge as double scoop @ swensen's - Caveat emptor

I must say we had a interesting event at Swensen's over the weekend.
We frequent Swensen's almost on a weekly basis. We usually ordered 2 ice-cream to share among 3 persons. (The evil wanna eat but still afraid of putting on weight)
Our typical order is always plain scoops of ice cream for the one who does not like any topping at all and an other type like cookie summit, coit tower, mighty nutty etc.
This time, we asked for 2 scoops, one vanilla & one macadamia flavour. The other order is a might nutty. The waitress took it that we wanted 2 separate single scoop ice cream and proceed to send us in separate cups. Unknowingly, my boy ate up the 2 cups of ice-cream  and I did not give much thoughts to it except commenting that 'so funny, why she must separate the ice-cream.

After settling the bill, I then realised that we were charged 2 single scoops ice cream of $4.50 each (total $9) instead of the double scoops which cost $6.50.
What I wanted to put across is the poor service then took place. I feedback that I wanted 2 scoops and not 2 single scoops, however because I have made payment, the cashier refused to reverse the bill. She asked if they were served in 2 single cups and i replied yes. So she insisted that I ordered wrongly and hence it was my fault and there was nothing much she can do. She even had the cheek to said I must order using the word DOUBLE and not 2 scoops.
What kind of service is? I am utterly speechless.

It gave me a feeling that double scoop order will be lesser than a single scoop!!!
Is that why they won't reverse the mistake?

I wondered if I have ordered a double and separate them, what would they charge me?

It is a buyer's beware market !!! Caveat emptor!

Bad driving attitude

Trans-Cab driver of SCH5984S driving attitude on the road needs improvement. 
It is very dangerous thinking and he needs to change his mindset that there are many people sharing the road he is using.

On 1 Sept 2014, Monday around 7.25am on CTE bound towards Yishun. At around AMK exit 3, the lanes are split into a few for exits. This driver knowing that he is exiting AMK5 did not attempt to slow down while still on lane 2 and high beam + honk to attempt to overtake. He ended up jamming his break after he overtook because of the many vehicles on the road. 

His attitude will cause danger to other road users including his own passengers.

Experience with F&B service

Today lunch I was ordering pepper rice for takeaway  and realized that in today world (where I am living), seller is always right!

I ended up being lecture by the cashier.

My order was double beef pepper rice, upgrade rice/corn, add egg, no pepper, take away.


Extract of her lecture as follows:-
'No pepper must say early, if receipt come out already, use hand written kitchen will scold me, why got computer don't use must write' 

I smiled at her with no reply. She continued repeating it. I said ok! And the fact was that while ordering, I had not pass her the money for transaction, she hasn't punch the final sale yet, receipt is not out yet. So, I just take it that she was having a bad rainy day and let her vent her frustration on me, if that made her feel better.

So I guess next time my order should be NO PEPPER double beef pepper rice, upgrade rice/corn, add egg, take away. I hope she wont lecture me again on takeaway must say early else blah blah blah...whatever excuse!

Kinokuniya gains a member

Today I want to talk about my experience with Kinokuniya Singapore. I always find the membership too expensive and by not signing up, a way to prevent me from buying more stuff (books, stationery etc).

Recently I bought a copy of a Japanese magazine that came with a complementary gift. However, when I opened the gift, the quality of the product was very bad. The zipper was totally slanted.

I went on internet to look for the magazine publisher contact but could not find it. So i decided to write to Kinokuniya where I bought the magazine and asked them to feedback to the publisher. Surprisingly, Kinokuniya actually offered me an exchange for the item. The customer service was beyond my expectation and I actually decided to sign up as a member. yeah! Cheers to good services!

A 'smart' note to travelling friends who shop in foreign currency using credit card

For those who travel often and shop in foreign currency using credit card, this is an important information.
If you purchase an item and decided to return it later for whatever reason, do note that you need to inform the merchant to cancel your credit card transaction instead of performing refund into your credit card account.
Last month, I purchased a pair of heels from Macy's and upon returning to the hotel, discovered that there were defects on it. I returned the item on the next day. Today I received my credit card bill and noticed that that the purchase and refund currency conversion actually has a 3.5% difference. In layman words, I am paying 3.5% for nothing with the hassle of buying and returning a defective item. How sad!

* Of course the currency can be the other way round and I could be on the receiving end of the gain. But the fact is that I am now 3.5% poorer :)

Vine Vera

I was window shopping at suntec city the other day when I was approach by this promoter giving out free sample. She tried their nail file on my left thumb, assuring me that the shine can last up to 30 days. I was and still am quite impressed with the results. It has been like 10 days and my nail is still shining looking very healthy compared to my others poor dull looking fingers. Now I am so tempted to go buy the manicure set!

thumb up to DNC

Excellent after the implementation of DNC
this trip compared to 8 months ago, i received so many less smses
and saved some money.
Actually the smses i received were mainly from the bank.
One particular bank actually sent me multiple time of the same message to verify a particular credit card transaction.
 
 

Standard Chartered Online banking review

The OTP sms did not arrive at least 5 mins after, made me wait and wait without knowing what''s wrong.
This problem is on and off. happened sometimes.

Ajuma online shopping spree

These are what i bought online in April.
From Qoo10, usually quality is pretty low. But these 2 pouches are quite good. Fit my requirement to protect my new iphone5s perfectly since I wanna 'show-off' my GOLD color phone, i couldn't buy those typical cover to use.

Love the sandal boots from Rakuten best. This item was also available on Qoo10 when I made the purchase, and Qoo10 actually was selling cheaper after factoring the shipping cost from Rakuten. :(
From ASOS, very sweet outfit, yet to try it out. Love the plaid pattern skirt. Just take delivery took a while, by then excitement die down.

 

ASOS online purchase review

before I made the zalora purchase, I bought something else from ASOS online  10 days before. As ASOS delivery is from UK, the goods normally took 2 weeks to arrive.

I made the order on a thur evening, and received my goods 13 days later on a tue, a time frame acceptable and consistent with my previous purchases.

The goods are usually of a higher quality compared to those on Qoo10.

However, this site is not for those last minute urgent purchase for the evening dress u need over the weekend or the trip u going away next week as u have to wait up to 2 weeks to receive the goods.

 

Zalora shopping

online shopping is always so tempting and irresistible.
u can simply buy anything anywhere,
and especially when the pictures are all so 'well-taken'
it is so very hard not to click purchase.

I also spent a considerable amount of time online shopping (window or not),
and sometimes as usual, I succumbed to those sales.

I am especially vulnerable to polka dots, plaids type of stuff.
It only took me less than 5 mins to decide to purchase this dress from zalora.

Can you see why I was sold? *smile

white and plaids is a sure killer to me as I will definitely fall prey to it.

The online purchase from Zalora is pretty fast, within 6 hours, I received email informing that the item was packed and in the hub for delivery. From past experiences, I normally would get my 'loots' by the next 2 working days.

However this time round, it took 2 days for the update to reflect that the item is ready for delivery. And I still did not see my dress on the next working day.

Quite disappointed.

Flaw in carpark

Location  United Square
Flaw: parking lot taken but vacant light still turn on, making drivers confused and slowing down traffic trying to locate the real vacant lot.

Review purchase process from Qoo

after a long while of not purchasing from Qoo as the quality of the items are usually quite low compared to other online websites like Rakuten, ASOS and Zalora, I decided to give it another try after viewing the recommendation from the page. But alas, the experience is still bad. Here is what happened:-

i chose my items i wanted, 2 pairs of shoes for free shipping.
confirmed my order and made payment.
dated was 29 March.
the items were updated as sent out on 4 April.
then on 7 April, i received messages from seller telling my one of the items was out of stock, asking me to replace with another if I want to enjoy free shipping.
that same day, i chose another pair for replacement, seller said will check stock.
seller did not contact me again
on 9 Apr, I dropped a message to the seller asking for an update.
first the selling sent a message saying items were send.
after a while, seller said no stock, order cancel.

it was very confusing from my point of view as I was given conflicting information. I personally think the service is very poor, the seller is freshline.

anyone need discount code for vPost?

bus peak hour suggestion

i noticed that during morning peak hours, when 3-4 buses all arrived at the same time to a bus stop, the traffic will build up terribly causing a long queue that usually took 5-10 minutes to clear. It was made worse when some of these buses (2 out of 4) were moving from bus stop on the left to 3-lanes across to the right in order to turn right in less than 50m.

another thing i observed was that sometimes there were only 1-2 passengers left on the bus. could they have gotten down earlier? or the volume was actually low?

one thing for sure, the bus was very slow in maneuvering due to its sheer size.


consider replacing some 'double-decker buses with low volume' even during peak hours to mini bus to improve traffic jam.

the passengers may also like this as the mini-bus will be able to move faster although it may increase cost for the bus company as each mini-bus with a driver will fetch a lesser number of passengers.

it is not easy to run a city!

Inflation

Definition of inflation from Dictionary.com

a persistent, substantial rise in the general level of prices related to an increase in the volume of money and resulting in the loss of value of currency

After spending a month overseas, I came back and felt that food prices in sg have risen quite a fair bit. 

Food court prices have increased from around $3.50-4.50 to $5 to 10. Hopefully this increase will stabilize the shortage of manpower in the f&b industry. 

Not only that, I also noticed that a lot more small restaurants (aka cafes) like Bakezin / Wee Nam Kee are beginning to charge iced water by cup in the range of 30-50cents. I personally think this is not the way to go in term of business.

When planning pricing of the products, f&b should consider factoring such cost into the food product to create a pleasant environment for its customers. This way of business, the waitresses are reluctant to bring water to the table. They have to 'double confirm' how many glass of water the customer 'want to pay'. I think mainly because it is not a culture to charge for water. It made the dining experience very focus on 'are you willing to pay before I bring you the item'!

 

In Tokyo, most restaurants provide free flow of water. Cost of a bowl ramen or a curry katsu don is slightly more expensive than sg. The overall dining experience is more pleasant than in sg. The same goes for United States.

Singapore PSLE

On this day that used to be Children Day in Singapore, until it was redesignated to the first friday of Oct, I would like to rant a bit on putting these young children through examination.

I personally is not against examination. In fact, I have full support for people to continuously gain knowledge from a young age. A certain level of testing of ability is good.

The question here is the type of examination and I am going to mention specifically PSLE 12 years old (and there about) are required to sit. If it is purely to test on knowledge, on things that the children learned, things they should know, it is perfectly justifiable.

However, if you take a look the various questions set at preliminary examinations in schools and the sample questions sold in bookstores, you will realize it is not about testing their knowledge. Half the time, the questions are set with tricks for them to fall into. Do we need to teach them to be so cunning at such a young age?

I remember quite clearly in my university 1st year, my lecturer was very particular about our report writing standard. Rule number 1 was in a report, if you write 12 as numeric number, you are to follow that standard throughout. If you decided to write 12 as twelve, then same for the rest of the report. In the event that he sees 12, then three, he will hit the roof and the grade will reflect. This is basic report 101.
However, a simple Maths question of 3 lines will have a mixture of words and numeric to confuse the young child further.

Planning for a long trip in Fall

The great fall travel from Asia to America.
This is my pre-departure note. The idea of this trip was mooted sometimes in July. The objective was a overseas exposure on basketball cum holiday for the family after the big exam PSLE!
 
Hence the itinerary will have to designed / planned around the basketball event.  
When come to basketball, we are definitely talking about USA & NBA. We want to see Miami in action. Therefore, the state to visit is definitely going to be Florida. Since we are going to Florida, we might as well go Disneyland!!! 
Yes! I am a Disney fan. So far, I have been to Tokyo, Paris and HK Disneyland. 

I started to research on the available flight options. As usual, our first choice of airline is SQ since we are going half way across the globe..

Although options were aplenty, I can tell you it is not easy to get a reasonably priced, minimum hours route, comfortable airline. I am not keen on UA as I had bad experiences with them, engine failure and poor service. Talk about it on another post.  
My first choice was going via New York by Singapore airline which was our favorite. However, the transit and pricing were both not ideal. I spoke to some friends and there were suggestion to go via London direct to Orlando. It is always good to talk to more people to get ideas and opinions. We were seriously considering this option when we visited the travel agency to make reservation on multi-cities option because I couldnt find on internet to do this. It was at this point that the agency recommended delta airline.
Since delta flies via Tokyo, the thought of going for a quick stopover in Tokyo took place as a by-the-way trip. *happy
Slowly from August when the dates of travel became clearer, I began to make arrangement.
As I was planning the itinerary, there were a few days to spare. At that point when I was about to make reservation for air tickets, the Las Vegas sector popped into my mind. Grand Canyon was one of my must-visit places! I definitely want to take this chance to go take a look. So finally, our multi-cities fall trip read as follow:-

Singapore-Tokyo-LV(viaLA)-Orlando(Atlanta)-Bradenton-Miami-Atlanta-Tokyo-Singapore.

Wow! I even get the chance to celebrate my birthday in Vegas! I am so blessed!

After Disneyland, we even have time to visit an old friend in Florida.

We are looking forward to watch the season opening match between Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. How wonderful! I thank God for all these possibilities!

Next I started to plan the daily itinerary.

We have hotels booked in Tokyo, Las Vegas, Orlando & Miami. 

Mt. Fuji day tour check. Grand Canyon explorer check! Disneyland 2 days park hopper check! Miami Heat tickets check!

We are almost ready! We pray for smooth traveling.

I am so looking forward to the outlets shopping, photography, theme parks and Miami opening basketball match. How can I use words to describe my excitement?

vpost delivery part 2

today is 22 Aug 2013
when i log in to track my parcel from Japan
it is still not up to date
reflected on 13 Aug when the shipping was paid.
when I made payment, the estimated arrival was 17-23 Aug 2013.
I will rate this service POOR as there is no update, customer has a tracking number to check status BUT it is sorry, there is no result or too many request, please try again later.

review of vpost charge

when I got a promotion leaflet from vpost in my mail together with dbs bank, i thought i do a personal review of the service provided.

first i signup for an account with vpost, which is quite easy. after that I proceeded to surf the internet aka online shopping from vpost website and landed on a japanese shopping bag. I chanced upon a very lovely bag which was having sale at about $35 and decided to place an order. I checked out the item and found that they do ship direct to Singapore. At the checkout, shipping cost will be advised by the seller before they shipped the item. I was quite pleased with such a service and decided not to use vpost which i have no idea the shipping cost. I placed the order on 6 August and to my delight the shipping cost was less than $20 using EMS and I got the item delivered to my doorstep on 12 August. The bag weighs 600g. I still have not given up on testing vpost. So on 7 August, I shopped from another item from the same website and found a lovely shorts, this time I checked out with shipping instruction to my vpost japan account.

Immediately they indicated the delivery charge of ~S$2.10. The shorts costs about S$18. I was thinking vpost cant be more expensive than EMS since their delivery is much longer. I only received an email on 13 August 3pm informing me that the parcel arrived that the Japan venue. I login to ship to Singapore and my gosh!!! the shipping cost is a whopping $23.25, cost more than the shorts itself, and the weight is only 200g. I was so disappointed! Not only that, the estimated delivery is 20-23 August, a good 7-10 days wait!!!! But what to do, still got to pay right, since the item was already paid for. Luckily I got the 30% off shipping to help me defray the cost!

Quote of the day

"do something wonderful, people may imitate it" - Albert Schweitzer

A quick, easy & cheap dessert to combat the haze

this is a quick and easy way to strengthen your lung anytime.

Ingredients:-
Pear
Honey date
Red dates
White fungus
Sweet almonds
Rock sugar

Instructions:
Soak half palm size white fungus in water for about one hour, remove all the yellowish part.
Boil about a litre of water
Wash red dates
Wash the sweet almonds
Rinse the honey date
Peel the pear and cut into 4

Put all ingredient into the boil water and bring to boil.
Add in rock sugar to taste.
Chill before drink. 

How to help Kinesthetic Learners to read especially wordy books, articles

Use bright highlighters to add colors to the article, 'draw' up key points on index card.

focus on their potential

boost their creativity  - do not shot down their ideas too fast
let them try it out first. expose them to many options

turn everyday routine into a learning journey - even if it is just the supermarket trip.
there are many things to learn. from reading to identifying colors.

Importance of water

from GLOW magazine 2012 2qtr

Help your child to manage schedule

be it homework or sports

1. know your child's habits, study or active time. when is the good time for them to focus on what

2. do not cram everything into a tight schedule

3. have a fix place for homework

4. create a calendar and fix on the fridge door

5. be positive

6. rewards, harmless bribe, do it with care

my very first advise for parents

plan for your children

but never let your children know...especially how much you have

How to teach Maths to Kinesthetic Learners

How to teach elementary Maths to Kinesthetic Learners

To begin learning numbers, one way to start is by drawing boxes with number on the floor using chalks. By shouting out a question, the children can try to jump to the correct number box.

Why children do not speak to their parents

1. they do not find it meaningful

2. they do not feel their parents would listen

3. they fear their parents' reaction

4. they do not feel their parents' care

Foolishness vs Childishness

Evolving relationship

1) lead by influence/example

2) Interaction

3) Impartation

Reach the heart of your child

1. Credibility

2. Teach a responsibility

3. Show interest in them

4. Show/tell them they are loved

5. Guard your tongue & your tone

learn ways to support your child emotionally

what makes learning challenging for your child

Applying Strategies for Auditory, Visual and Kinaesthetic learners

My personal observation after putting my boy who is totally a non-auditory learner  through the education here.

In Singapore, education method is mainly in auditory format. In primary school education, the children are usually arranged in a classroom all (40 of them) facing the teacher in rows and columns. Very minimum interaction is allowed between the children. Most of the time, the teacher will do the teaching and the children the listening.
This is the most traditional teaching method.
However, in a population, what is the percentage of children being a auditory learner is unknown. No study was conducted.

Although the modern teachers educated in teaching and education university undergraduate environment, most still do not know how to help kinaesthetic learners. They build in so-called outside-classroom learning time but the method is still very traditional, even on a outing to Chinatown, the children are still handed pieces of paper to complete with wordings.

I am doing more reading on this and will write more soon.

attitude vs belief

attitude governs actions

belief governs behaviors

learn to ask the right questions WHY vs WHAT

Principles of Instruction

1. say what you mean & mean what you say

2. show consideration

3. allow for appeal

other considerations:

- encouragment (put courage into)

- correction

Full time housewife

quit the job and look after the well-being of the kids full-time

i believed a lot of mothers have went thru this thot somewhere along their journey

it is a real option in today double income families?

I know some pple will talk about how much you want in life

the satisfaction, giving up the material things etc etc
i must salute those that quit...

help build up your child self esteem

say positive things to them

My experience with a helper

This helper is from country P.
Usually we do not enlist the helper from them as there is quite a big culture difference bet us.
However, bcoz my previous helper from country was bullied by my mil's helper from I, I thought a helper from another country will help them to respect one another.
True enough, these 2 get along so well from day 1, that my new helper R decided to camp next door at my mil's place 24 hrs a day with very minimum housework done at home. She even retorted to cook inedible dinner such that we packed food from outside daily.

Not only that, she attempted to use our laptop at home and caused the laptop's hard drive and a portable hard drive damage.
She broke a tap and a door stopper in the short time span of 2 months.
In the end, we had to let her go. She lasted a year.

monopoly singpost sucks

i hardly write negative blog about sg
about today i hv to do it
hoping to help improve the level of competence in this tiny island

Dear CEO BT Lau


Subject: Lost mail/time to train your staff

What: Item posted 6 Nov 11:45am at Newton Post Office


When: Postage was also bought at the outlet at around 11:40am. On that day, I requested the counter staff to take the item as it was slightly thicker than a normal mail and worried about breaking if I dropped into the letter box.


However, I was told that singpost no longer accept mail through counter.


To date, item was not received by recipent.



As I am operating a business that required posting of items to customers, this incident has created a very bad reputation for me. It affected my business operation.



I wrote in on 13 Nov via the internet feedback.


On 16 Nov, I called singpost hotline to register my concern for any recourse.


To my horror, the officer Ms Jen Hua was totally unhelpful. Her immediate reaction was there is no way to help. This is without even asking about the situation. I have evidence that the postage was purchased and posted on the spot. I would at least expect the Ms Jen to advise me on what i need to do if she cannot help me. However, she can even tell me that if it is not registered, nothing can be done.


Even if the item is lost during postal service, the minimum I would expect will be Singpost acknowledgement to the item being lost under their care. But why did I get the feeling that they are trying to push away the responsibilities. Only upon my unhappy tone that they should at least investigate the case, did the officer asked me to submit a feedback via internet, only then is it possible for them to investigate. Tell me, what is the purpose of having a call-in hotline?



As a customer with a lost mail, how will you feel if you are in my shoes to be given such response? In today environment, who is going to compensate for my losses? Who is going to answer for bring the bread to the table?


Of course I am anxious.

I have a photo of the item taken just before it was dropped into the letter box. I am not posting her to protect my customer's privacy.


I am also shocked to find so many complaints online.


And there is nothing we can do because SingPost is a monopoly.


Not only that, they always suggest registered post, meaning adding more cost to the customers, does it make sense?


Are you saying that the basic business model of posting cannot be trusted?


Have you forgotten your pledge of service?

http://forums.keeptouch.net/showthread.php?t=72951

Monopoly Singpost sucks

I hardly write negative blog about sg
but today i hv to do it
hoping to help improve the level of competence in this tiny island

Dear CEO BT Lau


Subject: Lost mail/time to train your staff

What: Item posted 6 Nov 11:45am at Newton Post Office


When: Postage was also bought at the outlet at around 11:40am. On that day, I requested the counter staff to take the item as it was slightly thicker than a normal mail and worried about breaking if I dropped into the letter box.

However, I was told that singpost no longer accept mail through counter.

To date, item was not received by receipent.



As I am operating a business that required posting of items to customers, this incident has created a very bad reputation for me. It affected my business operation.



I wrote in on 13 Nov via the internet feedback.

On 16 Nov, I called singpost hotline to register my concern for any recourse.

To my horror, the officer Ms Jen Hua was totally unhelpful. Her immediate reaction was there is no way to help. This is without even asking about the situation. I have evidence that the postage was purchased and posted on the spot. I would at least expect the Ms Jen to advise me on what i need to do if she cannot help me. However, she can even tell me that if it is not registered, nothing can be done.

Even if the item is lost during postal service, the minimum I would expect will be Singpost aknowledgement to the item being lost under their care. But why did I get the feeling that they are trying to push away the responsibilites. Only upon my unhappy tone that they should at least investigate the case, did the officer asked me to submit a feedback via internet, only then is it possible for them to investigate. Tell me, what is the purpose of having a call-in hotline?


As a customer with a lost mail, how will you feel if you are in my shoes to be given such response? In today environment, who is going to compensate for my losses? Who is going to answer for bring the bread to the table?

Of course I am anxious.

I have a photo of the item taken just before it was dropped into the letter box. I am not posting her to protect my customer's privacy.

I am also shocked to find so many complaints online.

And there is nothing we can do because SingPost is a monopoly.

Not only that, they always suggest registered post, meaning adding more cost to the customers, does it make sense?

Are you saying that the basic business model of posting cannot be trusted?

Have you forgotten your pledge of service?

http://forums.keeptouch.net/showthread.php?t=72951

Possible GEP questions

i rem i used to solve such problem sums in P6....
however, the kids are now exposed and expected to solve them even earlier....

Cat and Mouse: Direct and inverse proportion

is such logic required to be taught? or it comes naturally...
i do rem to me...it came very naturally....without any extra tuition....

Thoughts on GEP

There are 2 schools of thots on the good & bad points of GEP.
Today i would like to discuss one of these thots, that it is better not to be in. Generally pple who speak out loud that not getting into GEP is good, others may said they are sour grapes (吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸). Of course I don't deny there are bound to be detractors. However, if we take the stand of positive view, there are valid points to this thot that not getting into GEP is good.

In reality, there is only 1% chance that a child is gifted. Hence it is 可遇不可求! The gifted trait is natural and not nurture. So considered it lucky if your child belong to 1% of the cohort. Isnt it better than striking toto? So in a school with 30% of the students considered gifted and getting into GEP, arent the 29% all forced? Forcing a child unduly may backfire. There is also the worry that they become anti-social like a lot of stories going round that students from GEP classes are nerd, cant socialize, cant solve real life problems.



Although gifted in in-born, this is not saying nurture is useless. Nurture can improve weakness or strengthen a strength.


Perhaps the term GEP is inappropriate. Since GEP measures the linguistic, mathematical & general knowledge ability. The term to use maybe more appropriate with academic gifted program (AGP).

Alternatively,  we hear a lot of stories about gifted people not sociable. Maybe a way to measure gifted is thru social ability?

we will cover thot 2 in next article....

Happy Children Day!

Wishing all children in the world happy, healthy and free-from-worry childhood

I must blog about the drop in service of ikea

2 weeks ago...i was at the tampines outlet trying to get a high stool
i searched around but couldnt find it
so i managed to stop a staff to ask for help.
i was told to try check-out counter...diligently i went
which i was earlier but didnt see it...
at the check-out counter, searching the whole row of check-out and still didn't see it, i stopped another staff to ask
he told me to try the bathroom section, which is a long walk back since i need to pass 20+ racks
at the bathroom section, i couldnt find anyone to help me
finally i managed to find a lady staff at fabric....she didn't allow me to finish my question and told me to go children section....
which is one level up.....i was desperate by then....i came all the way and walked so much....i must find it.....
off i went to climbing up the stair....
at the children section, i stopped a really young looking staff
he told me....we only have this $3.90 stool (which is not what i was looking for)
by then, i was about to give up....i went back down.....
about to go home and thought i gave a final try to this lady staff doing some deco on ladder
low and behold....she was able to tell me "if i m not wrong, it is out of stock"
gosh.....it took so many staff to tell me such a simply thing?
i am very disappointed.....

fast forward to today
i was there making some purchases
i have written my requirement on the paper provided in-house
this particular item need sale assistant help according to the tag
so i spent 15 mins locating one....
she looked at the paper i had and made some calls
and finally printed the payment slip for me to bring check-out for 2 items
i made a total of almost $700 worth of about 10 items....another delivery charge payment
and imagine my surprise when i took out the receipt during dinner to have a look
the item keyed in by the  staff is wrong.....

so i quickly went home to call ikea
and mine mine.....the customer service line is busy i was put on hold for at least 10mins with no response
i hung up and call again....this time....the lady told me to leave my number as they were experiencing high call levels......and will return my call
one hour later....no sound no picture of ikea!!!
although i can choose to return after the item is delivered
but imagine the additional effort required to do that?
and mind you....i paid for delivery....

what a lousy experience....

Cant believe my LUCK

another portable HDD is gone again
with my previous experience, i now have a portable HDD that i carry around and another that I permanently fixed on my workdesk
but can you believe my luck
this permanent that store all my previous 10000+ photos memories went bonk
and i couldn't do anything about it
i regret not putting all the pic up on the blog

and to think that this year is a good year for me....
can something better happen? like striking toto 1m
i'm going crazy....

Creating a Conducive Learning Environment

• show interest in your child's learning experiences and encourage him/her to share them with you
• Encourage your child to learn through meaningful games
• Read books and newspaper together, starting with attractive illustrations
• Bring your child to the library or bookshops to cultivate reading habit
• Watch quality television programmes together
• make use of objects in the environment such as road signs and advertisements to engage your child
• build up your child's confidence by not correcting his/her mistakes excessively

credit: MOE

the new happening bank

i have not done much business with ocbc until recently when my life pattern changes and i now live near a branch that operates at very convenience hours...
so i took out my almost forgotten bankbook, and to my surprise
the bank has improved tremendously....in term of customer service
the bank i m talking about is OCBC Bank....
for example, there are sitting bench provided for queuing customers....
i m really impressed....

Why I think DBS sucks

why i think dbs sucks

1) poor customer service
2) double standard treatment to customers

hurray...no spelling/diction next Tue?

due to learning journey....i hope so ^v^

Raising Happy Kids

As parents, we want our children to experience a well-balanced development and most importantly, to be happy while doing so.

Here are some useful suggestions

Connections

Children need unconditional love from one or both parents and benefit when they have close ties to their extended family, feel part of their school, and help care for pets.

Play

Open-ended play, in which children can invent scenarios and solve problems by themselves, helps them discover their talents and use their own resources.

Practice

When kids find out what they're good at, they'll want to do it again and again.

Mastery

From practice comes mastery. When children achieve a skill -- whether it's learning to tie their shoes or play the piano -- they're further motivated to tackle new challenges.

Recognition

Approval from one's parents, teachers, and peers for a job well done connects children to the wider world. When kids think what they do affects others, they're more likely to exhibit moral behavior and, ultimately, to feel good about themselves.

credit: Unilever

Lotus

very nice lotus found in angkor wat

we realised they only blossom during the day :) how interesting

Bananas leaves

the typical leaves

the perfect leaf

the fruits

african violet

blossoming...

usually once a year....

Hot hot hot

is it me or is it really hot these few days...

i'm melting....

MM Lee Kuan Yew's birthday

Today is the nation MM's 86th birthday....

Happy Birthday our founding father!

Lady finger

fairly young...maybe about 1 month

My jackfruit tree

3 months old

boys

男孩要有度量
this is the value that i always train my boy in his day to day living.

which is the most important to you

righteousness, honesty, magnanimous, kindness....

some people will argue that since they are all positive traits, it doesnt matter

my question is, can you be a kind person and at the same time dishonest?

can a magnanimous person be non-righteous?

Queuing

there is this rhythm

cut queue bbq let the fire burn on u

to see how gracious is a country

look at how the pple live in their daily life

do pple queue?

or they just do as they like

the survivor of the one with the brutal force

in singapore....although u noticed pple do queue up generally when buying lottery, food...

but it is a different story when it comes to driving...

either they are not prepared in their route

or they simply just like to cut queue

& there are another type...who simply like to speed up when driver's signal to change lane

especially when there is a need to change lane for turning purpose...

it is against basic courtesy idea

i thought when someone signal, it is more polite than someone who juz butt in???

such actions left my scratching my head....how to teach them gracious / kindness action?

are you guilty of such an action?

why don't you try to give way the next time when someone

trust me...the feeling is good when you do that....

give them room to grow

children need a lot of space to discover & develop their talents

do not stifle their potential by restricting them things that they can do

i personally go for the 'cast a wide net' opinion

yes! time is limited

there is only 24 hours in a day

do let them try as many as things as possible

remember, i did not say EVERY thing

take for example musical instrument....

i know many parents will 'force' ( encourage) their children to take up piano or violin at a young age

but why not expose them to all sort of instruments first....

they may have talent in drums instead :-)

or is it a wishful part of mine...lols

Happy 44th Birthday Singapore

Day 8

my goodness, this is the 8th day and i can still sense the tiredness in boy

Let's discuss a bit on the academic stuff

for those with school-going children...

it is a tough balance - between childhood fun and academic excellence...

and especially for those working mums....it is even more demanding on them to figure out the right mixture...

these mums hardly have time for themselves...

we will discuss about pampering mums another time....

i will also be collating the various tuition centres to post up in the link area...

look out for it....

Day 5

fever is gone

but the tiredness is still there...

still monitoring

Fever no more Day 4

A day of no fever
hooray...thou we are still following up on tamiflu
luckily the side effects are gone
either bcoz now we try as much as possible to take it immediately after food
or boy's body is used to it....
thank God

Fever Day 3

Thank God
boy went to bed with 38.5 degree and
the fever went down throughout the night
by day time, his fever has come down nicely....
hovering around 37.5
i am so glad...
we continue with tamiflu
and as of now...temp is within 37.0 range
thou he appeared tired and sleepy....

Fever Day 2.2

GP warned me about some possible side effects of tamiflu
true enough....
boy felt dizzy and tummyache after the 1st dosage this afternoon
he vomited around 7pm....
hopefully he will be alright after a good nite sleep

Fever Day 2.1

the fever continued to rage upwards in the afternoon

and did not seem to want to retreat

i called up the clinic and spoke to another GP on duty

and after discussion, the GP wanted to take a look at boy

we rushed to the clinic and after observing him for a while (temp was 39.5)

tamiflu was prescribed as a precautionary measure

the GP recommended to take within the 1st 2 days onset of fever

and boy seems a bit listless and confused too

we started first dose of tamiflu at 4:30pm...

it went much smoothly then i thought

i guess boy must be feeling real bad that he is willing to take the medication....

by night time, fever is still hovering around 38.5...

i gave him another dosage of nurofen to take care of fever at 8:45pm

at 10pm, i gave him tamiflu again

he went to bed after that.....

pray for recovery soon....

discipline vs abuse

when to wield the cane?

do not cross the line when emotion is involved....

never lash out at a child in a fit of anger/rage, advised Dr Brian Yeo, a psychiatrist in private practice...

Role Model

like it or not...your child learns from adults around him/her

be a role model to children.....

if you don't want your child to scream at you, make sure you don't do it to your parent/s (in front of them). S/he won't be able to understand why you can do it and they can't.

My living guide

This article appears on Wobao on 21 May 2009

It is discussing habits - good and bad.

Do not let the bad habits pull you down.

There is a chinese saying "学好三年,学坏三天"

Literally- it means it takes a person 3 days to learn all bad habits but 3 years to kick them.

Mutliple intelligences

i came across this theory last year when i started to research on my boy's education
now i am reading more into this...
there are many different types

the most common is

1. Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):

the rest are
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Jack fruit about 2 weeks old

parenting is a

privilege and a responsibilty.....be encouraged....u r not alone in this....

White daisy aplenty

My living guide

New articles - wobao 22 Apr

Bascially - the title says do not let angry gets to your head

questions on upbringing

is there a standard CORRECT way of upbringing?

is instilling fear in children during upbringing detrimental?

Parenting to me is

be prepared to let your career takes a backseat

Parenting to me is....

....be present

my very first advise

plan for your children

but never let your children know...especially how much you have...lol

"force" yourself to improve a little day by day

how? you must be wondering...

think of it this way?

if we can improve ourselves by 1% every day, in 100 days, we will be able to achieve 100% improvement. 100 days is only slightly more than 3 months.

the 1% can be anything....start with simple easy task....

Why wait...start trying it out now....

Ethics of Communication

1) Moral Principles

-trust

-tone

-time

-tact

2) Creating opportunities to talk

-family time

-bed time

-travelling time

3) Listen for content and intent

never too late

never give up and abandon them
pursue them
never too late to start

Why children do not listen to their parents

they sense you are not real

they sense your sarcasm

they sense your lack of moral confidence

Phases

discipline (0 to 7) - give instructions

training (8 - 12) - imitations

coaching (13 - 19) - influence

relational (20 & beyond) - be a mentor

it's a constant struggle

why do i say so?
with a kid in tow...
almost all parents will give priority to them
they are young...they are dependent....they need help...assistant...care...etc
until so that we may lost themselves...
it is a balance between the freedom of doing what we used to do...or want to do
and giving all our awake time to them...sometimes even in between sleep...

to be continue....

Lovely Oct flowers

HDD gone!

my portable HDD which i have been storing all pixs was dropped onto a carpetted floor not long back and that's it....it is no longer working....i hunted high and low for someone to get it repaired...or at least to retrieve my data...but to no avail...was a very heart pain experience...a lesson learnt as well....for losing so many precious pixs collected over the past 5 yrs or so....especially for those that i have no backup.

so this site became so precious....bcos most pixs uploaded here are gone....enjoy!

Safety tips in the swimming pool

here are some impt ways to keep your child safe in the pool:

1) always accompany them when they are near or in the water.
2) keep an eye on them at all times.
3) use floats and stay near the shallow end
4) no running or pushing near the pool

children are slower to realise dangerous situations and therefore more prone to injuries.

every child is talented

do not assume that they are lousy when they don't meet the grades in school...there are many more types of
intelligent than you can imagine....
Below is an extract from Psychologist Howard Gardner:
1. Linguistic
Children with this kind of intelligence enjoy writing, reading, telling stories or doing crossword puzzles.
2. Logical-Mathematical
Children with lots of logical intelligence are interested in patterns, categories and relationships. They are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments.
3. Bodily-Kinesthetic
These kids process knowledge through bodily sensations. They are often athletic, dancers or good at crafts such as sewing or woodworking.
4. Spatial
These children think in images and pictures. They may be fascinated with mazes or jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing, building with Leggos or daydreaming.
5. Musical
Musical children are always singing or drumming to themselves. They are usually quite aware of sounds others may miss. These kids are often discriminating listeners.
6. Interpersonal
Children who are leaders among their peers, who are good at communicating and who seem to understand others' feelings and motives possess interpersonal intelligence.
7. Intrapersonal
These children may be shy. They are very aware of their own feelings and are self-motivated.
source: http://professorlamp.com/ed/TAG/7_Intelligences.html

Learn to ask the right question

To punish (cane) or not?

this is really a tricky question....
it really depends on your own values
do u believe in caning?

It's very exciting

Happy 43rd Birthday

Singapore 43th Birthday Celebration!