Singapore's population hits 5.18 million as at end-June

By Janice Heng


Singapore's population has reached 5.18 million, up 2.1 per cent from 5.08 million last year.

The growth was due to increases in the number of citizens and non-residents. There are now 3.26 million citizens, up 0.8 per cent from 3.23 million in 2010.

The number of non-residents - foreigners who are working, studying or living here but not granted permanent resident status - rose 6.9 per cent to 1.39 million this year, from 1.31 million in 2010. In contrast, the number of permanent residents fell by 1.7 per cent, to 532,000 from 541,000 in 2010.

The updated population figures, released on Wednesday by the Department of Statistics, are of Singapore's population as at the end of June in 2011.

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This is really OMG!!! Why is Singapore so freaking crowded?!?!?! What's in the government's mind? They better don't complain about the low birthrate. So crowded then how do we give birth?

Interesting blog post and photos I just came across:

http://happycabbie.blogspot.com/search/label/Google%20Top%20Contributor%20Global%20Summit%20Santa%20Clara%20Mountain%20View%20YouTube%20San%20Bruno%20Ca%20California

How cool it is to work in Google and Youtube! Their office is damn big okie?!?!?!

You know that when I'm bored, I will surf the Internet, read people's blogs, etc. See whether there are any interesting stuff.

So earlier on, I came across this blog by Qiu Qiu. OMG!! She sounds so arrogant there. Seems like are the famous bloggers are as bitchy as Xiaxue? Lolx~ But I only like Xiaxue's bitchiness to a certain extend. Can't stand the others.

http://bongqiuqiu.blogspot.com/2011/02/your-brand-is-not-special.html

Review - Jones the Grocer and Arteastiq

Reviews

OMG!! Should have done this review earlier on but I procrastinated and procrastinated until now. So here it is.

One day (forgot when), Diana and I went to try this new restaurant - jones the grocer at Mandarin Gallery. The place is very cold and the food is just so-so. There wasn't much variety and the price is a bit on the high side. About $20 or so for one main course.

New dining place~

The interior looks nice though.

Mushroom rice. Not to my liking. 

Potato wedges. Yum! But cost $7 for so little pieces =.=

Overall, don't think it's worth it to go there. The food is not fantastic enough to justify the price. Just my personal opinion only.

After dinner, we went to this cute cafe called Arteastiq (also in Mandarin Gallery). I like the atmosphere and the interior design there.

art + tea = arteastiq

Nice counter. 

Diana. I like her scarf! 

Me! Chilling out =)

Diana's hot chocolate. It comes with a bar of real chocolate. Lolx~ 

My Pu Er Cha. Look at the unique teapot! 

I love their colourful chairs.

Overall, my Pu Er Cha is not too bad. Diana said that her hot chocolate is average. Price wise, it's quite similar to that of TCC so still acceptable. So now, there's one more place to chill out in Orchard area. There were not many people there so you can find a seat easily. Do check out that place if you are too tired from a day of shopping!

By the way, just wanna show you a picture of the crazy crowd queuing at H&M.

 Crazy right? Just queue to go in only. Maybe still need to queue to try on the clothes and also queue to make payment.

I can only take photos outside lor. Boo-hoo =( 

I really don't understand why people make weird requests to me. Sometimes it's really so WTH?!?!

Okie, I must stop feeling bad for not helping people.

I want this bag!! It costs USD228. I don't dare to buy it online because of the huge amount. Don't know if it will be sent to me correctly and properly. Somehow I can't copy and paste the picture here so you all just click on the link and see bah.

http://www.juicycouture.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Juicy-Site/default/Cart-Show

Wanna share some photos!! I did some editing to them. Hee~

I wanna rant!!! Buay song lah!!!

Someone asked me about this the other day. Drama~!! Got this from the Sunday Times.

Family drama at Popular bookstore after chairman's son quits

Managing director Wayne Chou quit after spat with father, who is chairman

By Magdalen Ng

It was a scene that could have come straight out of a Hong Kong drama serial.

Mr Wayne Chou, the young managing director of Popular Holdings, was having a particularly heated argument with his 74-year-old father Chou Cheng Ngok, who is the chairman of the company.

Suddenly, in front of members of management and staff, the younger Mr Chou shouted 'I quit!' and stormed out of the room.


Soon after, the company issued the official announcement on Sept 7 that has set the normally staid world of book-selling abuzz - that Mr Wayne Chou had left the company. Still, this dramatic fallout at one of Singapore's most well-known chain of bookstores was a long time coming, according to sources The Sunday Times spoke to.

PS: I love Popular leh. Heard that the Ops director has also resigned. Wonder if my ex-boss is still working there??

Just went to two wedding dinners in Malaysia over the weekend. One in Muar and the other in JB. Paiseh, did not take many photos coz I can't find my camera battery charger. So I only use my hp to take all the photos.

On Friday, 16/9, Ah-Kim came to fetch us (my auntie, grandma, mum and me) from Singapore and drove us to her house in JB for a buffet dinner at her house. Her daughter is getting married on Sunday! Congrats!! xD Reached her house at around 4pm. Could have reached earlier but there was some held-up at the custom.

A lot of food for the buffet (forgot to take photos) and my Ah-Kim has ordered a Lok Lok van. This is the first time I've eaten from a Lok Lok van despite the many times I've been to Malaysia. No idea why. Long queue for the guy to help us to cook the food so we ended up cooking the food ourselves.

Lok Lok van.

Lots of food to choose from xD

After the buffet dinner, my xiao yi zhang came to fetch us to Muar to go for another buffet dinner. Second round. Lolx~ The drive from JB to Muar is about 2.5 hours. Wah, I can't imagine driving for so long. So tiring!

Did not eat much for the second round. Too full liao. They have employed some singers and have Karaoke for the guests to go on the stage and sing. OMG! The singing was so loud that we can't hear what each other said, like in a night club. Oh yeah, I think the groom's eldest sister is very pretty. Wanted to take her photo but paiseh lah.

Went to xiao yi zhang's house to stay for the night. His house is big and nice. Sometimes, I think that it's not bad to stay in Malaysia. The houses and cars are much cheaper than Singapore and it is not so crowded. However, xiao yi zhang's wife (xiao yi) said that the tax for imported cars has increased by 300%. OMG! That's crazy! Maybe they wanna promote their Proton car =.=.

Wedding car. The bear looks cute!

The next day (Saturday), we went to our relative's house to see the arrival of the bride and the tea ceremony. They put the fire crackers to welcome the bride. So loud!

My Mum, for the tea ceremony. 

My Grandma, for the tea ceremony. Reaction was too slow and she has just finished drinking the tea and was walking away =.=

Can you tell that these are Malaysia ringgit ang bao. Cool right? Do we have this in Singapore? 

After the afternoon tea ceremony, we went back to xiao yi zhang's house to rest and get ready for the wedding dinner at night.

The wedding was held in a school hall.

Our table.


The wedding gifts. So cute! It's sweets inside.

After the wedding dinner, we went back to xiao yi zhang's house. Played some mahjong with my relatives. Won a few RM dollars.

The next day, we took a bus at 9am from the bus interchange in Muar to JB. The bus was late lor. While waiting for the bus to arrive, I saw people filming. Don't know who's the actor though.

Filming in Muar, Malaysia.

Got down at the wrong stop in JB. My Ah-Kim came to fetch us to her house to get ready before the wedding lunch at Sutera Mall, Pekin Restaurant.

Lunch reception. 

Love~

The display at the VIP table. My grandma sat there. 

The setting at our normal table. Haha~

The wedding cake.

I like this lobster soup. Should use this instead of shark fin's soup. Save the sharks! 

Yam Seng!!

Guests also toast to the couple and their families.

Went shopping at Sutera Mall after the reception. Kenna nagged at by my Mum again =.= (Don't wanna talk about that.)

Saw this Snoopy shop but didn't buy anything there. Too old for Snoopy liao. I used to love the Snoopy shop and cafe in Plaza Singapura!

Bought a pair of boots there! xD

Bought some bookmarks for my students like I promise to.

After shopping, Ah-Kim brought us to have crabs at this place (can't remember the name now). I have my favourite black pepper crabs. Yummy! It was cheap too. It only cost RM300 plus for 12 people in total. When you convert to SGD, it's only like S$100 plus. How to eat so much seafood for S$100 plus in Singapore? 

Went to Ah-Kim's house to sleep for the night. Saw that the dog, Jaco, is so poor thing. Feel quite sad now that his owner has married off. 

Jaco is sleeping. So cute~

Close-up photo of him sleeping.

The next day, Monday, went to Jusco Bukit Indah to shop. Bought 2 tops and some food to give away. Wanted to buy more but the attitude of this sales girl in this shop was damn rude and she didn't want to let me try on the tops there. WTH lor. Got changing rooms why cannot try clothes. What is the changing room for then? I prefer shopping at KL. The sales people are all so nice and polite in general as compared to JB. One thing I like about JB is that there weren't many people shopping and it wasn't as crowded as KL and Singapore.

Wanted to find hp cover for my hp but can't find any nice ones there. Regretted not buying my hp cover in Sutera Mall yesterday. Saw one quite nice with ribbons all that at Sutera Mall for RM19.90 only.

My loots. 

For my baogege ♥ 

Home sweet home on Monday night =) I miss my house and my room. Funny hor?

I miss my baogege too ♥

Hi Everyone~

I AM BACK!! Will be updating my blog soon =)

The haze is really bad in Singapore. Can smell it clearly in the air =( I hate the smell!!

Hi everyone. It has been some time since I've last blogged.

Am troubled over some stuff which I don't think people will really understand. Just like I can't really understand other people's problems when they tell me. Maybe it's because what happened to me didn't happen to them and what happened to them didn't happen to me. Whatever it is, I just wanna sigh.. Haiz~

I always tell myself that I need to be positive but it gets really hard sometimes. Maybe I ask for too much? Am too fussy?

Just came across this online and thought I'll just share it here. Don't know how true it is.


What Outlet Malls Don't Want You to Know

Outlet malls have exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of American retail. For many shoppers, this siren song of bargains and high-quality designer merchandise at a low price is too irresistible to avoid, and they simply must stop to shop. But beneath all the fancy sparkle and fresh spackle of the countless outlets popping up all over the country, do they really deliver all they promise? It turns out that outlets have a few sneaky ways of tricking us into thinking we’re getting a much better deal than we actually are.


The Merchandise Isn’t What You Think

The original outlet and factory stores sold overstocked, discontinued items, and imperfect merchandise unfit for retail sale; that’s what made the prices so cheap. But nowadays, the majority of common outlet stores supplement their stock with merchandise created especially for outlet-store sale. These lines carry the brand name, but they’re made with lower-quality fabrics and cheaper construction techniques. The companies depend on customers’ inability to tell the difference between the quality of real designer merchandise and the lower-quality knockoffs carrying the same label. The knockoffs may be cheap, but that cheapness comes at the expense of quality.


6 Ways Dressing Rooms Trick us into Buying More


It’s All About the Marketing

Merchandise at outlet stores usually comes with a price tag that prominently displays both the retail and the outlet price: “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price $100, Our Price $25.” The tags lead customers to believe that they’re getting a huge discount. But the truth is that the listed MSRP is whatever the store wants it to be—there’s no guarantee that the item is really worth that much, or that it was ever listed for that price at a retail store. This trick, called “reference pricing,” is widely used to assuage shoppers’ anxieties and loosen their purse strings by convincing them that they’re saving more money than they’ve spent.


The Location is Remote So You Never Leave Empty-Handed


Outlet malls are notorious for being located in out-of-the-way suburbs and off deserted interstate highways. One big advantage of the remote location is a psychological effect called the “sunk cost fallacy,” according to Ellen Ruppel Shell, author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. By driving twenty-five, fifty, or one hundred miles to the outlet mall, customers invest serious amounts of time and energy; it’d be a pity if they didn’t leave with something. Customers don’t like to feel like they made a bad investment, and making purchases justifies all that effort. Of course, behavioral economists know that it’s irrational to spend more time and money to justify spending time and money, but whoever said that shoppers were rational?


What Kind of Shopper Are You?


How to Out-Smart the Outlets


In reality, outlet malls promise something—high quality for a low price—that is very hard to deliver. The next time you’re tempted to swing through an outlet mall, consider these savvy shopping tips.

• Look at apparel tags. Irregular or imperfect merchandise usually carry tags that are sliced, marked on, or otherwise altered to indicate that it’s not fit for retail sale, whereas knockoffs usually carry different tags altogether. At Gap Outlets, the tags are white with blue lettering, the reverse of the retail tags. At Banana Republic Factory Stores, the tags have three small diamonds indicating they’re not retail quality. Get familiar with real retail tags, so you can spot the impostors at outlet stores.

• Know what an item is really worth. How can you know whether you’re getting a great deal at the Samsonite outlet if you don’t know the real retail price of a suitcase? Comparison shop for large purchases; don’t rely on the reference price quoted by the store.
• Think seasonally. It’s a good bet that any in-season merchandise is from an outlet-only line. Real retail overruns don’t arrive in outlet stores until after the season has passed.

• Remember that fewer stores = better quality. If you’re shopping at a store that has posts in every outlet mall in the country, you’re almost guaranteed to be getting outlet-quality merchandise. At an outlet with only a few locations, the merchandise is more likely to be true overruns, discontinued items, and last-season’s line because the company doesn’t have to fill hundreds of stores.


• Shop the sales. Outlet stores have sales at the same times that normal retail stores do, and customers can often get even better discounts at these times. But sales at retail stores can offer savings just as valuable as regular outlet prices.

Cheap stuff are never good stuff. Is that true? Well, I bought the wet wipes (photo below) from Beauty Spring (think that's the spelling of the shop) at West Mall. And it sucks!! Seriously. The wipes are too thin and flimsy. Can't really clean anything at all.

Anyway, I only paid $1 for it so I shall just forget it. In case anyone wants to buy this, don't.

Lousy =(

I still like the Guardian wet wipes =). Bought a lot!!

Still my favourite wet wipes. I STRONGLY recommend this.

PS: I have tons of things to blog about because Robin has just helped me to upload my photos!! But I'm running late now so.. blog more later. Ciao~!!

Just uploaded this 自恋 photo of mine. Haha. Trying out my iPhone app.

How is it?

Photos time. Yays~!! Just wanna share some random photos here and there =)

Had a gathering at Meatworks in ION Orchard one day with Robin, Verlene, Samuel, Jasmin and Desmond. Long time didn't see them, especially Verlene and Samuel.

Did not have a good experience there coz the Chicken Legs which Desmond and I ordered were out of stock. WTH lah~!! We waited for 30mins for our food (damn hungry okie) and the others' food were all served except Desmond and mine. When we checked with the waiter, he told us that he did take our order for the Chicken Legs but as it was out of stock, the system automatically cancelled our order. Wah biangz!! Can the system just automatically cancel customers' orders without informing the customers? So we have waited in vain?

Jasmin asked to speak to his manager but the manager wasn't around. The supervisor came out to meet us instead. He's quite a nice guy. He told us to order something else FOC. On the house. We ordered salmon spaghettis and they came quite fast as he has promised =).

Samuel's sandwich and fries

My spaghetti - not really nice

Robin's steak. Looks nice!

Can see through to their kitchen 

The sitting area

After dinner, we went to a pub in Clarke Quay area called China One. Even though it's called China One, it doesn't mean that there are a lot of Chinese there hor. By the way, although there's a dance area there, there weren't many people dancing. Only a few "weird" ones dancing. Haha.

I have to kop some photos from the Internet coz I can't take nice photos with my phone in the dark.

The interior (taken from the Internet)

There're also pool tables (taken from the Internet). Desmond and Robin played. I don't know who win though.

Lastly, our photos...

Can see? 

Better =)

Okie, that's all for this post.

Ta-das~