woah!

Kaili out,Mona in

Well, all bad things have to come to an end. Kaili, our interior decorator had resigned from Barang Barang, and thus left us in a bit of dilemma. She left us 2 options of which one was to continue with Barang Barang under a different ID. The other option she gave us was to follow her over to her new company and continue where we had left off. After discussing, Agnes and myself decided to do what we should have done in the first place, and that was to go and take our business elsewhere. So I duly informed Kaili of our decision. Her reply was a terse 'alright'. As a result we now will forfeit the deposit we made at our first meeting and she will keep whatever designs she had drawn, for whatever that is worth.
That same night I got in touch with Mona of Asia Renovation. She will get back to me on Monday on how we will proceed. I do hope we can settle matters as soon as possible and commence renovations by March. Unlike Kaili, Mona gave off good vibes from the very first time we met her. Mona is hardworking and enthusiastic. Best of all she provided quality service at a good price. We kept bringing up Mona in our discussions whenever we ran into a brick wall with Kaili these last few months. On a number of occasions we had wanted to sack Kaili as it was getting increasingly frustrating dealing with the irregular meetings, escalating costs and impractical designs, but stopped short of pulling the trigger as I had feared all our effort these last few months would be for nought if we sacked her mid-stream. But recent events have forced our hand.
Now with the ending of our business with Kaili, and the resumption of our relationship with Mona, that leaves the affair of how to incorporate what we have designed so far with Kaili into our plans with Mona. Of especial concern are all the lightings and fans we had bought at Balestier the other day. This means we have to build an L-box to fit the spotlights and other such fixtures more or less according to what Kaili had designed. Spoke to both companies and refunds or exchange are not possible. Designer Lighting Boutique requires 1 weeks notice prior to delivery and installation. Likewise for our bathroom accessories from Tapz Boutique. Will have to get Mona to arrange with them on the specific details of the delivery and installation.

wedding banquet

On tuesday we have made 2 appointments with Traders Hotel and Holiday Inn Park View to go down to make a site visit and then decide from there what to do. It has been a process of elimination thus far. And these 2 are the only hotels left standing after eliminating those that did not fit our needs in terms of cost-per-table, central location, minimum number of tables, quality and ranking. By all accounts we should be going for Traders Hotel as a venue. Although not as centrally located as Holiday Inn Park View, it does project a different sort of ambience and class. We had considered Novotel Clarke Quay but we were unable to meet its minimum tables requirements. Meritus Mandarin likewise, as only their large hall, which fits 50 tables, was available. We were looking for 15 to 16 tables only, as we had wanted a small, intimate and cozy wedding and not one of those grand ones that others like to put up. The problem is that many hotels only cater to 20 tables and above. And those that did cater to smaller wedding dinners tended to be the less reknown hotels, which is not what you want to do for your special big day. We had ruled our having our banquet at a restaurant despite the allure of the ease of booking, flexibility or seating and lower prices.
So at 2pm we have one appointment and then at 6.30 another. We have both taken half a day's off and by evening we should have some idea where we can proceed on to next.

Wedding Workshop by Holiday Inn Park View
Singapore
Date:16th March 2008, Sunday
Time: 12.00 noon - 4.00
pm, Crystal Ballroom level 2
Venue: Holiday Inn Park View
Singapore
Admission: Free

Bridal Extravaganza at Traders Hotel, Singapore
Date & Time: Saturday, 15 Mar 2008, 1pm - 5pm
Venue:The Gallery, Traders Hotel,
Singapore
Attendence:$38 nett per couple(Special price to SingaporeBrides.com
members at $28 nett per couple)
Programme:Bridal Fashion Show, Chinese set
lunch with buffet dessert, lucky draw and door gift.
Book your wedding
banquet during the wedding show to enjoy additional perks (terms &
conditions apply).

our anniversary

On Tuesday we celebrated our anniversary. We have been together 3 years. And spent the last 8 months as husband and wife. And Valentine's Day marks our 4th V-day spent together.
Moving on...
We decided to dispense with candlelight dinners and such this year. Who can forget the debacle that was the Jewel Box last year? So we decided to plump for a seafood dinner this time round. It had to be seafood with a view,i.e. the sea. We had wanted to try Palm Beach Seafood at One Fullerton but they were fully booked. So we waltzed over figuratively speaking over to Esplanade to No Signboard restaurant. We settled for one of those set dinners for 2 pax. I must say it was one of the best dinners I have had in a long time. The only downside was that they were renovating the stage area in front of the restaurant, which cut off our view of Marina Bay. Which otherwise whould have made it a perfect meal.

menu:

• yee-fu noodles
• lobster salad
• sharks fin soup with crab meat*
• chilli crab with man tou
• stir fried scallops with brocolli
• all washed down with chinese tea

*Despite our 'no sharks fin soup' policy, I must admit this was one of the better ones we ever had.

our flat

Pending our discussion with Mona, I will have to start removing all the stuff in our flat. We have an inflatable mattress, a table, 2 chairs, assorted boxes of tools, a kettle, a rice pot, 2 bicycles and other stuff which I cannot even remember now. So as we get closer to the date when the renovators start to move in, I have to remove all the stuff above so they can do their work unimpeded.

32" TV

We bought the tv a couple of weeks ago. It was taking up way too much space in my room, so I decided to take it out of the box and actually use it until the new house is ready. So now it is placed on my tv console. My old tv is packed away above my dry box. The box which the new tv came in is now stored away above my wardrobe to be used later on when we have to move it again. Meanwhile I have a spankingly large screen in my room. Great for watching Animal Planet, movies, soccer and playing games.

Siberian Huskies & Alaskan Malamutes

I am stil trying to figure out what is the difference between these 2 magnificient dogs.

Siberian huskies

Build: Moderately compact, balanced, elegant
Weight: 45-60 pounds (20½-27kg.)
Height: 21-23½ inches (53-60cm.)
Coat: Thick double coated, woolly undercoat and a soft outer coat
Color: All colors from black to white permissible; all colors derives from the 2 main colors, namely black and white, and copper and white
Head: In proportion to body
Teeth: Scissors bite
Eyes: Almond shaped, moderately spaced and set a trifle obliquely. Eyes may be brown or blue in color; one of each or parti-colored are acceptable.
Ears: Medium, triangular, close fitting, set high
Tail: Well furred, fox-brush shape, usually carried over back in graceful sickle curve
Limbs: Parallel and straight
Feet: Oval, with pads tough and thickly cushioned
Life span: Median 12-15 years

Alaskan Malamute


Weight: 34-38.5 kg, 75-85 lb
Height: 58-63.5 cm, 23-25 in
Coat: Harsh and thick, with plush undercoat
Color: Gray, sable, black, or red, always with white
Litter size: 4-10 puppies
Life span: 10-14 years

I also came across these 2 interesting relatives of the above,
miniature huskies , like the name implies a miniature siberian husky!


Currently, Miniature Siberian Huskies can reach a maximum weight of 18–25 pounds (7–8 kilograms) and reach a height of 12–14 inches (30–35 centimeters) at the withers. Their coat lengths and colors, and eye colors, offer the same range of variety seen in standard sized Siberian Huskies.

and the alaskan klee kai, smaller more compact version of the Alaskan Malamute.


Weight: 4.5–10 kg, 10–22 lb Height: 25–43 cm, 10–17 in
Coat: Double coat, short to medium length
Color: Black, gray or red always with white
Litter size: 1-3 puppies
Life span: aprox.12-16 years