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Warm hands and warm feet November 23, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 1 comment so far

It has been two weeks since I moved to my new office area, and boy is it freezing cold here! Even after we complained to the Facilities folks to turn up the temperature, it did not help. My colleague even suggested bringing in a heater, just so we don’t freeze to death here. It is times like these that I wish I could be teleported ala Hiro Nakamura, just for now, to somewhere where it is warmer, even if it is just for a few hours. I’m thinking the New York Yankees Spring Training would do the trick. It’s a chance for me to learn more about baseball and also a good reason for a vacation I so earnestly need. Unfortunately though, the Yankees Spring Training Schedule only starts next year in April!  More chilly days ahead for me then!

Shiraz, Merlot, Zinfandel November 21, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 4comments

I’ve come to realize that my refrigerator is getting a little too small for the bottles of wine I am storing there. When we bought our fridge, it looked like a really huge one, we were sure we would not run out of space. With our growing collection of wine, we really need one of those classy wine racks I have seen on display everywhere, especially in home decorating books. My hubby and I love appreciating wine and we have more than a few bottles of red and white wine from when we visited Napa Valley years ago. I remember I was practically in wine heaven when we were in Wine County, although I was rather disappointed that some of the vineyards charged us by the glass for tasting! Anyway, that’s behind us now, and I have hardly indulged in wine for the past couple of years, mainly due to pregnancy and then breastfeeding. We have been telling ourselves that we would uncork that bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Mondavi to celebrate a special occasion, but that has not occurred as yet. Coupled with the fact that my aunt, who loves wine too, gives me a bottle of Australian merlot every time she visits. So now, we have a collection.

I would certainly love to display my bottles of wine in a beautiful wine rack like this one:

Besides being an attention-grabber, it sure will serve as an excellent ice-breaker for a conversation. The black wrought iron curves resemble the creepy-crawly grapevines and would look absolutely stunning on my marble table. I can imagine how it would set off each bottle in splendor.

 

While I am at it, I am also thinking of getting wine glass holders. We currently have an array of wine and liquor glasses at home: glasses for red wine, white wine, whisky, brandy and champagne. Yeah, we have the entire collection. Would be awesome to get a grapevine wine glass holder to match the wine rack.

Or perhaps, in the spirit of Christmas, I might opt for an adorable moose-inspired design instead. Maybe Santa and his reindeer might want to join us for a drink too! Hehe…

Wait, there’s more. I also know that there is a secret WROUGHT IRON GARDEN GATE backdoor that would get me fantastic discounts for these items! Like a sleuth, I searched the site to open this secret door, and finally found it when I went to the main door of the site, scrolled down to where it says: “Our Store now has over 1,300 home & garden items for you to choose from!”, and clicked on the comma in that sentence! Oooh, I simply love the mystery and suspense…bye, I’m off to do some wine-rack shopping!

Unsigned & undiscovered November 19, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 1 comment so far

The new season of American Idol will be upon us soon.  I cannot wait to find out who makes the cut this time.  Will it be someone who sings primarily rock numbers or a crooner who is soulful and jazzy at the same time?  Will it be a guy or a girl winning it this time?  I wonder if any one of these independent artists will pass the scrutiny of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, because some of these singers from these independent bands are really really good!  In my humble opinion, some of them are better than some American Idol audition hopefuls who only want publicity for themselves!

One of my favorite genres of all time is jazz.  In fact I specifically requested for jazz music to be played during my wedding reception.  However, not everyone can appreciate true jazz, so we had to mix it up a little with some contemporary tunes.  I also like to check out Christian artists and their work.  It is very interesting to see how gospel music has evolved through the years, while maintaining its essential ingredient.  Hmmm… perhaps my brother would be interested to register himself as an artist in this site…

Only a rocket quiz away! November 15, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 2comments


If there’s one thing I absolutely like to do, it’s taking online quizzes.  I used to relish taking those multiple choice quizzes in Cosmopolitan, ticking away my answers in reckless abandonment and then eagerly checking my score to see “How Sexy Am I?” or “What is your bedroom personality?” or other similarly crazy topics.  Now, I don’t even have to purchase a magazine to do these quizzes.  I am so glad that the internet has brought these quizzes to our very homes, just with the click of a mouse!  See, now I can find out “Who am I?” (duh!),  “How much of a dumb blonde am I?” or take a completely out of the ordinary are you goth test.   Now no one will EVER leave the PC!!!

Diamonds & precious stones November 12, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 8comments

As a little girl, I encountered many weird yet funny moments. But one of the weirdest and funniest experiences was during the tea ceremony at a Chinese wedding. Make that *certain* tea ceremonies at *certain* weddings. Following Chinese tradition, the newlyweds will pour and serve tea to their elders, including their parents, parents-in-law and other relatives and next of kin. In order to qualify to be served tea, one has to be older than the newlyweds. It does not matter if you are married, single, widowed or divorced. However, if you are younger than the newlyweds and you are married, you get to claim a red packet or angpow from the newlyweds. So anyway, after partaking of the sweet, sweet tea (usually boiled with longans and red dates), a token of reciprocity will be given to the newlyweds. Some choose to give a simple angpow containing cash, but the traditional folks will present the newlyweds with a piece of jewelery.

So coming back to my weird experience…some newlyweds choose to employ a lady called a “sang-keh-mm” (in Hokkien) to assist during the tea ceremony. And assist she does. She doesn’t just pour the tea, mind you! I have witnessed these ladies offering their assistance of sorts during the entire ceremony. Her face will light up when she sees a token of appreciation in the form of a piece of jewelery. She would then open up the box and hold up the bracelet, earrings or pendant for all to see. At the same time, the “sang-keh-mm” is someone who is never short for words. She has plenty of sayings and poems up her sleeve, and she will be chanting all these whilst displaying the jewelery. Well, some even go as far as displaying how much cash the angpow carries! Then, the bride would be *forced* to wear the jewelery. To the “sang-keh-mm”, it is certainly not sufficient that the bride is already adorned with her Wedding and Engagement Rings, all other rings received must adorn her every finger too, better yet if they are all Diamond rings! If at all possible, every piece of jewelery received will have to be worn on the spot! I have seen brides with so many chains and Diamond Pendants around their neck, so much so that it looked as if they were weighing her head down! Normally, the groom will receive chains or rings, and believe me, he is not spared from being a jewelery model either!

Those who give expensive diamond jewelery will beam with pride. To them, it is a sign that they have *made it*. Yes, shallow but true. Unfortunately for those who give meager gifts, woe betide them for this exercise could be quite a mockery.

I have seen gifts made with so many different types of precious stones: Emeralds, Rubies, Topaz and of course Sapphire Rings. But come to think of it, I’ve never seen people giving Black Diamond rings before though. Could it be that it is because the traditional Chinese view black as a no-no color for weddings?

Well, I didn’t have a “sang-keh-mm” during my wedding. I wasn’t going to be modeling jewelry on my special day, that’s for sure! All the gifts I received were promptly taken by my maid of honor for safekeeping. However, that didn’t stop one of my guests from helping herself to the *tradition* by putting on a gold bracelet on my wrist! Hahaha!

Boulevard of Honda Cars November 9, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 4comments

We took our Vios for a much-deserved shower today. And as we waited for the polishing and vacuuming to be completed, my hubby and I continued our discussion on the possibility of upgrading to a new car. Yes, we are contemplating a change in the near future, not because our Vios has not served us well, but because we are thinking of possibly a more comfortable ride too. Then again, it’s not like our Vios ain’t comfortable too. I would say it is more like our itchy hands and our wandering minds that have caused us to dream about our next car upgrade.

My hubby has been eagerly checking out car sites and also car blogs and lately we have our eyes set on one of these sporty Honda Cars, a Civic to be exact. We are comparing Honda Car Prices versus the trade-in value of our Vios to see whether it would be worthwhile to get a new car. Of course, my role in this whole exercise is just to offer my take on what color car I like. Getting to the nitty-gritty of the features and specifications of the car and also comparing Honda Car Quotes are all up to my hubby.

On the other hand, I might not have the heart to sell our Vios too. It holds too many dear memories for me, and being a sentimentalist that I am, it really is going to be hard to let go. Yes, I am rather weird that way. Well maybe hubby might end up just getting the Civic as an additional car instead of replacing the Vios?

Time to get physical, baby! November 8, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 3comments

I’m seriously thinking of starting to exercise regularly again.  My muscle mass has decreased tremendously and I definitely do not feel as fit as I did about two years ago.  My stamina could do with some improvement too.  I am contemplating checking out the gym at my workplace to see if they have improved it somewhat.  The last time I was there, the equipment was all not properly maintained and I don’t know about you, but I find it icky to work out when there is someone else’s sweat all over the equipment!

Perhaps I could consider starting a simple exercise routine using a Swiss Ball. I remember using it for strengthening the abs and yes, I do have one at home too!  It was a Christmas present that I received two years ago.  And the good news is that I also have an exercise mat at my disposal. :)  In addition, I have the panel of experts at PhysioRoom to help with all my injury-related questions too.

So what’s stopping me?

These boots are made for..? November 2, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 1 comment so far

Exercise is still eluding me. It has been ages since I have gone hiking. I used to hike up Penang Hill on a weekly basis, and even timed myself while doing so, but now, with the lack of exercise, I am not confident if I can even make it halfway up. I am afraid I will pass out from sheer exhaustion! And then today, Rinnah suggested that I bring Ethan hiking with me. He would absolutely love it, I am sure. Actually my hubby and I contemplated hiking up Penang Hill with Ethan strapped on our backs! We figured Ethan would do good for our strength training. Hah…I bet my boy would enjoy that, but I dare not think how my knees would feel! I wonder if getting the right shoes for hiking would help alleviate the pain and discomfort. I wonder if these Hunting Boots can double up as hiking boots too. I wonder when I will eventually start exercising.

You can always lean on me November 2, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 2comments

With great power comes great responsibilty, that’s the tagline from Spiderman. And that’s the phrase that has been reverberating in my head for the past couple of weeks. I had a recent change in role in my work and while it is not a drastic change, this new role encompasses a broader aspect in terms of project management and ownership. At the same time, it commands certainly much more responsibility on my part. I can’t say much about the “power” portion though, but I do feel empowered to produce results. That’s a good thing, no?

There are plenty of project management methods out there, but the one that is taking the world by storm is probably the Six Sigma Methodology. In fact, I just completed my first Six Sigma White Belt project not too long ago, and last month, I had the opportunity to participate in an important Six Sigma Lean Management project. I was perusing some slides concerning the Six Sigma Lean Management just yesterday, and was enthused by the fact that there are so many tools related to this aspect of the Six Sigma methodology. While Lean Management eliminates waste in order to achieve productivity, it makes use of the concepts and practices of Six Sigma to attain its goals. Using this similar comparison, we can even apply the concepts to our working environment to improve our worklife efficiency. Now, if we are efficient, we can certainly get more things done better and faster and hey, maybe even sneak in some blogging and face-book-poking, and oh…I don’t know.. maybe some Rock Paper Scissors and slaying some vampires too, if we are super-efficient?

Hair today, gone tomorrow November 1, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 1 comment so far

I can firmly attest that breastfeeding speeds up the process of losing weight after the delivery of a baby. Each breastfeeding session is akin to a cardio workout in the gym, minus the sweat of course. However, despite this, breastfeeding cannot prevent hair loss in women after childbirth.  This, I am afraid, in unavoidable and unfortunately, I too, suffered from this, although thankfully, it was only just a temporary phase.

About five months after I gave birth, my hair started dropping. At times, I would make horrific discoveries of clumps of hair on the floor.  They were all long strands of hair, so there was no doubt who they belonged to!  The hair loss condition became so bad that I even contemplated seeing a specialist about it. Of course, there was nothing I could do to prevent this hair loss because it was primarily due to a hormonal change. But now that I think about it, I would have possibly placed an immediate order for women’s provillus, had I heard about this product then. Yes, thus was the extent of my desperation.

Well, I am glad that that phase is now over and my tresses are all glowing and healthy now.  Up till the next time round, that is…. I shudder at that thought.