351 upper bukit timah road

when u see the surname "pitt", it may not necessary be brad pitt okay. chinese also got tis surname. he is pitt kuan wah, the director of the national archives of singapore.

he was introducing the "memories at old ford factory" at 351 upper bukit timah road. so what is tis "memories" we're talking abt and where abt is tis "old ford factory"?

old ford factory is a former car assembly plant located at bukit timah. and it was where the british surrendered to the japanese in 1942 (yes, during WWII).

an excerpt from TODAY, 20-Feb-06, pg 27.

tis former car plant comprises of 10 thematic sections and a 70-seat audio-visual theatre that screens documentaries, the restored monument gives insight into the heroic struggle of singapore's forefathers and their lives during the japanese occupation.

pitt said "these accounts collected from close to 300 war survivors are as authentic as it gets. the emotion conveyed is most real."

to enhance the experience, a garden plot behind the building has been planted with wartime crops such as tapioca and sugarcane to serve as a remembrance of the resourceful survival skills of those who lived through the harsh times.

what drew me to tis article was the title that read "memories of eating rats to survive the japanese occupation". it was said that the rat meat smelled horrible. yeah, i'd think so. bleargh!!!

pitt also mentioned that the younger generation will better appreciate what they have now after the visit.

other than its free admission, its also getting to know more abt what our predecessors have gone through during the wartimes. only downside is, its opened mon-fri 9am-5.30pm and sat 9am-5.30 1.30pm. how are the much younger generations suppose to go? sats are reserved for ECAs right? or are they called CCAs now? or are CCAs carried out on weekdays afternoons already? anyway, try to find time to go, whether u belong to the younger or much younger generation.

morning affair at wisma

the lift at wisma opened up to level 3.

ki-kok, ki-kok, ki-kok, ki-kok......

i'm drowned in a sea of heels ki-koking ki-koking.....
(a few us ladies heading for our respective shuttle services at the taxi stand)

it then occured to me that I'M WORKING, doing the rat race.

is life all abt ki-kok ki-koking to work, spending 8hrs in the office, then ki-kok ki-koking home?

i love my job but there is more than love for the job, there're other loves in life too.

a different portrait

wah ha ha.... done it so many times in the lab.... but never once crossed my mind that tis can be turned into a business idea.

a canada based studio, dna11, adopts a science approach to producing works of art. they basically take a sample off you (saliva is the most convenient) and then use a method called gel electrophoresis to produce a portrait, your portrait.

layman description of gel electrophoresis
your sample of saliva will go through many many steps of chemical manipulation so that its "small" enough to be "run" on a gel. yes, jus like a piece of gel/agar agar. slightly cloudy whitish in color.

see the gel? on the left end of the gel are wells.


after chemicals and what not, your saliva (which contains DNA) will break down into small enough molecules to travel within the "pores" of the gel. at one end of the gel are wells where your small enough saliva sample + a blue dye will be added. this gel is then placed in a buffer solution (i think so...cant remember :P) and attached to a simple apparatus where there're electrodes. and jus like that, after abt 1hour or so, u can see on the gel different bands of blue. it uses the basis of size and electric charges. this piece of gel is taken to a special machine where its being captured/ photographed and a printout being generated. so how do our DNA show up on photographs? well, thats the reason we added the dye earlier on. the blue dye with our DNA fluorescent under the UV light within the special machine.

here's a paper printout of the gel. the white bands are DNA. in the lab, we'll have to analyse the size of the DNA.


u can see here if u wanna know more abt how we run gel electrophoresis in the lab.

i can feel that i miss school alot....i miss lab work too. no PR needed. no faking at all. jus being the usual me. not that i need to fake alot at work but working in a lab is like being in your own world. who doesnt like that? i guess we all might like a lil of both. own time + interaction times. a balance. when u dont feel like yakking or not in one of those moods, u retreat into your lab. no obligation to talk at all. how great.

okay... i applaud dna11. they have a wonderful cool idea embracing science and art.

for the those who are interested, they ship internationally.

u can order your DNA portrait in any of the 3 sizes.


18"x24" - US$390
24"x36" - US$490
36"x54" - US$790

there is also the couple portrait. what a good idea as v-day or wedding anniversary gift. cool isnt it?

24"x36" - US$640

36"x54" - US$940

for a piece of yourself, i think its all worth it.

dotty dotty

i'm back to my first blogskin. dots...and more dots.

did u grow up with A&W?

remember the nostalgic times tucking into their root beer floats, curly fries, coney dogs, waffles topped with ice-cream?

remember when it comes to doing social studies, science, geography or history projects with classmates... we surely arrange to meet at A&W?!?! and we definitely order a rootbeer float each and share a packet of curly fries?!?

the girls out there. remember sharing a waffle topped with ice-cream cos u cant finish 1 whole waffle by yourself?

remember looking forward to tuesdays? cos tuesdays were coney days!!! coney dog selling at $1.50 and we can finally afford it with our meager pocket money without asking mom for that extra 1 or 2 bucks to top it up.

enough said. i'm drooling.

click here to bring A&W back.

life into life

a radio toaster


media destroyer/ shredder for cds, credit cards


garlic peelers


10inch apple LCD tv


salad knife


frosted glasswares.... i love these tumblers (in 12- & 8-ounce)


bird lamp


featured in "O at home" magazine. O for oprah.

Bangkok 17-22 jan 2006 --- Part 1

finally, photos from my bangkok monitoring cum barely shopping trip. too many photos in one entry so i'll be splitting them into a few batches. so now, photos of my arrival and the hotel i called home for 5.5 days.

departure SIN & arrival bbk

onboard the plane at changi airport. the control tower is practically right on top of terminal 1.


flight was quite bumpy and i was SCARED. my palms were wet and were clenching the armrests during every bumpiness and turbulence. luckily there was no one sitting next to me and so no one saw. :P

leather seats.... color jus like my travelling companion.


doh, my travelling companion.... in my handcarry bag.


check out the air stewardess... all of them decked in polo tees, beige casual pants and trackshoes/ sneakers.

arrival at bangkok international airport. humble decor.




queuing to clear customs. got camera taking pic of u when u present your passport at the counter. is tis new? cos i dont remember tis when i came the last time which was 8yrs ago. ancient time lah i know :P


on the cab to the hotel. cost me abt 260Bht.


holiday inn bangkok




on level 6. my room number: 666. so spooky. but all was well.


view from my room. cant remember the name of the shopping mall opposite. the famous buddha temple was abt 2-3mins walk away. and that was the skytrain track. chit lom station is a mere stone's throw away.

~ the gorgeous room ~






the bathroom.... the most impt room in the entire house or anywhere else. didnt take a shot of the tub but its very clean. no blackish spots or dirts in tub. met my standards.


red earth toiletries. ermmm.... the fragrance was quite overpowering though its better than some ulu brands. still, i stuck to my biotherm. i really love biosense body. too bad, its not for sale in spore.

~ cafe G ~

where i have my buffet breakfast every morning. my faves: juices, danishes, viet pho.

~ hotel lobby and surroundings ~

the front desk.

cant remember if tis is in north or south wing.


aromatherapy burners at some corners of the hotel lobby, corridors and one at every level's lift lobby.




a wall feature at the entrance to the pool.

viola. part 1 all done.

next round (part 2) will be on food!!!!! yum!