of cats in costumes, p-sch kids and newborn babies

work this week has been pretty gruelling and rather demoralising, but that aside, snippets of my friends' lives have made this a palatable week nonetheless. first... the guest star appearance of Nick in his Frankensteinish Halloween costume! haha... this was the cat that would disappear the instant he sensed my presence.. remember blogging about him last Thanksgiving (it's been a year...!) and regretting how i didn't maange to capture any shots of Nick. poor Nick here looks rather tortured in his costume... no offence, Courtney :)
also attended my ex-primary sch muscial at the National Library Drama Centre last night... had a brief meeting with my ex-teacher; and saw quite a few ex-teachers :P but instead of going up to them, i was silently eyeing many of them haha... cos most wouldn't remember me anyways...most of them look quite the same as they did some 11 years ago! and some of the performing kids... they are really quite little! really felt old in comparison.
last but not least, i received the joyful news of the birth of a newborn baby. My ex-landlady Tonya gave birth to a baby girl last week. would have been exciting if i were still there to witness this... i'm thinking of buying some baby accessories/bedding/clothing as a token gift... briefly looked at Pottery Barn (which has the SWEETEST baby things) and Baby Gap... haven't decided on what to get though. ideas on both online/local shops specialising in babywear are most welcome! and for now... it's off to a 2-930pm workday for me in a couple of hours' time.

attended a one-day course at the Civil Service College today for the first time and met a very chatty fellow attendee.... we were just discussing some things and it somehow led to her commenting that oftentimes, it's not that we don't really dare to do certain things. rather, we have no courage to deal with the consequences.... and the fear of facing the undesirable consequences makes us think twice about acting in the first place... not that i don't know this at the back of my mind, but no one has put it so explicitly before. it's so true.

also discovered this cool bookstore/antique/furniture store at Chip Bee Gardens, right opposite Holland Village.. It's called Cho Lon, which means marketplace in Vietnamese... has a very interesting collection of books! and it also sells unusual items with the Urban Outfitters feel... good spot for Christmas gift shopping! though quite pricey :(

even though i usually dun get to sleep in on Sunday mornings, i always look forward to the one hour before my Japanese class... cos i'll usually get to sit peacefully at the McCafe outside Isetan Scotts before the rest of Singapore flocks to Orchard :P I've also fallen in love with this frappe drink that I can only find at McCafe outlets-- something called the Himalayan Tea Latte... it's a little like Chai but not that 'spicy'... i dunno. not sure what they put in it but i'm quite addicted to it :P perhaps it's good that McCafe's not quite as ubiquitous as normal McDonald's outlets; else i would have burnt a big hole in pocket, since it only comes in one size (large). on the other hand, if i get to drink it everyday i'll probably grow sick of it sooner than expected. so yeah, though i'm usually rushing Jap HW while sipping my tea.... the relaxing music in the background + the rare tranquility in Orchard actually makes sitting outdoors at a cafe in Sg still somewhat pleasant. this would be perfect if we were blessed with non-freakish Berkeley spring weather all year round :)