Favorite spot of the month!

decided to check out the newly-opened 'Central' at Clarke Quay MRT after work today. the experience was very pleasant, cos it's still relatively new and unheard of and we managed to get away from the sickening Orchard/City Hall crowds. though quite a few shops weren't open yet, a fair number were, which made the trip there still worthwhile. highlight (and main purpose of trip too) was dinner at Japanese restaurant Waraku. They had quite a few non-mainstream dishes, such as this creamy greenish salmon and spinach creamy udon or something. wanted to try that initially; but ended up opting for a safer option. Food was quite decent and the view was great. The restaurant's on the 3rd floor and right opposite the Clarke Quay 'shophouses', so if you're lucky enough to get a (full-height glass) window seat, you'll essentially get to enjoy a night's dinner beside the glistening Singapore River in air-conditioned comfort. After dinner, got Hokkaido ice-cream at first floor and picnicked on the steps along the river. It's really a good idea to let ppl sit just by the river... something you couldn't really do on the opposite side. While sitting on the steps and glancing back at the restaurant where we dined at, realized that actually the Kopitiam food court above Waraku prob gets the good view too :P hehe so if you're budget-conscious, can go food court and enjoy equally good view :) however, i wonder if this place will be still as nice and peaceful say 3 months down the road?

was so sleep-hungry today that I made my Dad send me to work in the morning. and when he does that, I'll usually arrive at work say 15 min early. so today, upon arriving at work, bumped into boss distributing rose stalks to all his lady subordinates... at like 8.15 am!!! I seriously take my hat off to some very zai individuals. I can never really figure out how boss, who sometimes clears emails till 1.30am, manages to wake up at like 7 something the next morning to work efficiently all day as if he's had a good night's rest. AND this also happens quite 'regularly'.... how do all these ppl do it? how to suffer prolonged sleep deficit and remain both sane and good-tempered and all? Section head's another mystery. She can churn out emails at record speed; usually works more than 12 hrs a day and has almost everything at her fingertips. Yesterday, section head also gave each of her some 100-over staff 8 mandarin oranges each; and personally arranged them nicely on everyone's workstation!!! this was definitely done after i left the office close to 9pm... she revealed that she actually did the mandarin-orange arranging till 1am yesterday.... OMG. these ppl really put me to shame.

I got to witness today one of those MP walkabout/ ang-bao giving ceremonies that have taken up considerable airtime over local news of late... only that mine's a SERS completion ceremony - usually held when residents have completed their move from their old flats to their new ones. and so being the OIC for this particular completion ceremony, was in charge of putting together the info folder for the bosses. that was extremely time-consuming and hair-raising (when you're expected to go dig out info from eons ago). also got some first-hand, personal 'how-to-be-a-good-subordinate' training from boss... like when the big boss is mingling around with bigger shots, have to be watchful... such that if he shoots you a glance from the corner of his eye; it means "come quickly i got something to ask you/ i want you to do something"... and so instead of occasionally getting carried away by the silly antics put up for residents on stage you're supposed to watch your immediate boss closely... so boss watches dept head, i watch boss... (haha i'm sure this is very common lah. and actually boss was nice to remind me. just that i'm being complainy hehe)