Marriage @ zoo

Miss me? ~ Been busy during the Christmas period with all the weddings.

Today I am sharing one of the unique weddings I went @ Zoological Gardens.

Arriving at the zoo, there were trams picking us up to the venue - zooming pass the animals was like a childhood memory.

Being one of the helpers, we adorned animal hats together with the zoo committee who were in charge of the wedding flow. I wore the white lion and my friend wore the panda.

As we settled down the guests and the solemnizer -
My friend and his beautiful wife arrived in regal splendour atop a maharaja-styled elephant as guests look on adoringly. Looked like a prince and princess coming down the elephant!

And we could feed the elephants after. The kids and old people were delighted. fed them mangoes, apples , water melons and honey dew.

They were suppose to engage graceful horses in a classic white Victorian wedding, complete with a horse carriage wedding but the horse was injured.
Imagine how nice it would have been too!

For a memorable moment that will be toasted for years to come, the ring bearer was a charming miniature falabella.

And I heard you can also take pictures amid a flurry of butterflies. Favorite!

Dinner was in an air-conditioned comfort at Forest Lodge.

Accompanying us home was the lovely cute animal soft toys.

Revised taxi fares Singapore

For my dear friends who sits cab all the time but does not like to read the newspaper. Here you go :)

So the solution is ....
Set aside more money for cab or sit the bus :) or try and pool people to sit the cab with you :) cheers :)

And for the article that says it should reduce rental rates rather than revise taxi fares to meet rising cost. I am back to griping how every consumer is whining about cost and how companies are unable to whine about a tightening of profits. Don't forget that our salaries are paid by the companies and the lower the profit the lower bonus so it's a cycle.

Violence - not a solution!

Some many cases of violence nowadays. What is happening in Singapore? What is happening to the youth? Is it so difficult to control anger ? To lead to a loss of life and a loss of family member? What is the solution? Education in school? Is that sufficient? Where peer pressure is so strong and to fight back helps create an identity of power?

Volunteer appreciation 2011

Grateful to be invited to the volunteer appreciation session - for it open my eyes to see that there are people who has been volunteering for 35 years. Amazing right :)
And the message that day was enlightening: we might not be all doing the same thing but the different agencies and volunteers work together to create the song. No one sees what you are doing but the impact is tremendous. Quietly supporting people who are in need. Protection of families and people. Believing in the cause. Comes from the heart.

You know you can make the diffrence: you light up my life song- dreams are the seed of change - seed of hope love and dream. Eg probational guy drop out since sec 3 motivate him step out of comfort zone and move forward.

Sowing of the seeds impact not just one but generations to come planting the seed not grown or trees that went their own way - do not be discouraged. We Also benefit from the seeds planted along the way.

Nowadays there is many schemes. She shared on helping mother at store - completely exhausted wake up 430am going to school was a relief allow one to sleep - Saturday and Sunday. I am sure you are capable of better things move up to the front ; people show that they care works wonders. You do not need to do big things small things matter. Inspire and motivate.

As civil service alone will not be able to run as much without the volunteer support. When love takes you in everything changes ---

If you can't feed a thousand people feed one.

More cpf protection for children with special needs

Cpf board is stepping in to help provide a measure of financial security to children with special needs when their parents are no longer around to care for them. - via SNSS special needs savings scheme.

Current: parents set up trusts for their children with the special needs trust company but this requires a min $5000 cash.
Now: SNSS has no admin charges and no min amount.

SNSS - parents can arrange to have their cpf savings diabursed in monthly payouts to their disabled offspring after their deaths. A nominee cpf account will be created for a special needs child upon the parent's demise and funds will be disbursed from those accounts. Same interest rates as parents accounts of up to 4% with an extra 1% on the first $60,000.

Who can apply:
Parents of disabled children who are attending a special education school or who need help in at least one activity of daily living such as getting dressed eating or moving around. For people with disabilities and cannot support themselves.

When will it be Implemented:
Early 2012.

For more info: visit
Http://www.cel.sg

Jalan Kayu - The Hangout near my place :)

Some random sharing on Food :)

At Jalan kayu now, eating my new found love prawn mee noodle. - Blanco prawn noodle house which opened a few months back.
This stall sells 3 in 1 noodle which has pigs tail, prawn and pork ribs. Normally I eat the sliced prawn noodle - which is okay. The one that is recommended is the jumbo prawn noodle or the pork ribs and prawn noodle. Try it out!
It's beside the famous jalan kayu prata. Cost : $4 per bowl estimated.

Usually after that I will pop by Jane's cake store for their famous durian and chocolate cake.
Buy it home and chill it and eat it after a meal. Delicious.
For me, I like their chocolate cake. My parents like their durian cake though.
Opening hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm(Mon-Sat), 12:00pm-4:00pm(Sun,Ph)
Close on Wednesdays

Chocolate Cake: The cake is incredibly light & moist, the chocolate fudge is sufficiently chocolaty without being too rich & overall it’s not too sweet.

Durian Cake: It has a strong fragrance and the sponge is moist and soft, although I think they use a bit too much buttercream in the filling. The durian taste is covered by the cream. Its good for people who like a lighter taste of durian.






And of course! Who can miss the awesome Otah store Hiang Soon Food Catering .I love the taste of the Otah - Not very spicy and it does not have much of fishy taste. Can eat it for breakfast everyday.

SIM women leadership forum 2011

Was representing YWLC for the SIM women leadership workshop held today. It was informative and made me think deeper on the role of women and men in Singapore society. Just for those who have not been following me: Ywlc stands for the Young Women's Leadership Connection. It is a platform that aims to connect young women leaders and empower them with the aptitude and attitude to lead and serve in society through mentoring, volunteering, workshops.

One major takeaway that I had was:
You do not need to climb the corporate ladder to reach the top to feel successful.
You are successful according to how you define yourself.
Love yourself and others will love you. Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Personally before I had joined YWLC and SCWO, I had no idea on the issues that were pertaining to the women leaders in Singapore. Is it true that there is a gender disparity or is it because we feel insecure as a women? You see majority of leaders on the top ranks especially in the private corporate world to be those that are not married and who have not given their careers break for child bearing. You also hear a number of Gen Y and Gen X mentioning that they need to climb the corporate ladder so children is definitely a NO-NO or that they would rather wait till their career is much stable. Is it so for our society in Singapore? And many who has given birth, puts their family as priority and after a while, feels isolated by the working world and prefers to stay home for the rest of their life, regardless of whether they hold a PHD or higher education. Is there a fear that holds them back?

One of the issue that were brought up today by women leaders:
- Women have less leaders to emulate so they always emulate the males - but the males either find them too emotional or too aggressive. They want to voice out but is uncertain of the way to do so without stepping over the boundaries. Does voicing out mean being emotional?

And the conclusion from the seminar is that gender diversity is not about the issue of gender. It is about you accepting yourself as who you are - a female- and embracing your femininity and using it to your strengths.

And the question to ponder
- Why do we want to balance gender in Singapore senior management?
How might we :
Retain talent
Grow talent
Attract talent

How to engage majority of consumers
Increase sales and shareholders value

How to stop stereotyping
How to promote diversity
How to be more inclusive

How to maximize leadership

How to get more women ready- indicating they want job of leadership positions
How can we encourage more women to be role models
How do we offer more support to women leaders in the society?
How do we create the support network for women
How to help the incumbents pave the way
How to transform our leaders to be more inclusive ? Education?
How to support women to return back to the society after childbearing ?
How to encourage women to retire gracefully? And be proactive in using their expertise to contribute back yo the society?
How can we be more participative - does work environment encourage that?

In summary , Prioritize key issues action steps are :
1. Have more women role models where they are willing to step out and be a mentor. Spend a day every month to chat about the difficulties faced and how to solve it. How to balance their work-family life.

2. Bring policy makers and discuss what works and what don't. How to encourage women leaders in stepping up.

What say you ladies? Is this an issue in our society?
Really?!?!?