Q-ing up at Taxi stands

I hope in reading this, nobody gets offended. I'm writing this in general and not against any individual who may be included in my photos. (Because I have seen some 'nobody' getting spiky before!) So don't take this too seriously please - this is all just for laughs!

There is a very strange phenomenon at the Bugis Junction taxi stand. Most times, people just can't queue up properly at the taxi stand - despite railings and arrows were laid out to guide them how to queue for taxi, people have chosen to ignore and form their own queue outside of the taxi stand.

This is what I mean:

Long queue forming -- Bugis Junction taxi stand

But the actual taxi "stand" is empty!!

First off, how did this happen?

This may seem stupid. Well, I guess it's really the 2nd to 3rd groups of people that can decide how the queue will turn out to be. I have drawn up a some diagrams to illustrate this.

First group - not an issue yet - people naturally walk up to the very edge, so can accept that.

Second group is most likely going to set the tone, but if the third group is not "smart" enough to try to stir back to the right path, then it's going to cause a situation as below:

And it's only natural that the rest follow suit - for fear of others not acknowledging them in queue:

This can cause serious clogging issues on the pathway if the queue gets too long! So far, I've only seen this happen at Bugis Junction's taxi stand. Probably it's the design of the taxi stand that is too counter-intuitive for most people to queue up properly.

Just a fun observation :p

Another revival? Multi-blogging on food, life...and the Arts.

I was just checking my blog stats, and I'm actually getting more consistent page views on this blog than my food blog!

*pat on my own back*

I'm thinking it's because I've owned this blog for a lot longer, there's more content, and that I did more work in trying to promote it in the past - submitting to blog directories and search engines etc. Makes me wonder if I should also revive this blog as well... Just posting interesting things in my everyday life or on topics I am passionate about - still "creating new memories" to stick to the original theme.

Can't believe that I'm actually doing a lot now to get back into blogging. Despite all the new social media channels popping up now and then, blogging still seems to be a popular activity - the intensity of content, and being always readily available is hard to match up with with channels like Twitter, where there's usually an information overload due to the speed at how fast information comes and goes on your timeline. You really need to be there constantly to not miss a thing.

Went to the National Museum of Singapore yesterday with my family. First time there, and even though it's no where near spectacular like the MET museum, it's still worth a visit once in a while. A Musée d'Orsay Paris collection of masterpieces has definitely sparked an interest in learning more about the different art movements/styles in history. (Vaguely remembering all those big names like Renoir, Monet and Cézzane from an Art class in middle school.)

I had the urge to wake the artistic side of me - the side that had me choose Arts elective classes and eventually tried to study architecture in college. I seem to have lost that side after moving into business and marketing.

So I started a photo blog on Tumblr where I plan to document all the art pieces, architecture, and historical facts that I find. Hopefully, it helps others to learn a thing or two and get inspired as well.

[Share] Youth Marketing - Power of Gaming

Currently researching a bit on Youth Marketing for an upcoming project.

This presentation highlights the youth behavioral profile and presents several inspiring case studies on marketing to youths through games.

Youth Marketing April 2009

View more presentations from Geert Desager.

Oi Auntie, Don't Pull Leh.

You know those auto paper towel dispenser? You probably don't see them at all in Singapore (very rarely), but they are available in Toa Payoh Jackson Square's toilets.

How it works - there is a motion censor (small blinking red light) right at where the paper towel will come out. All you have to do is to put your hand there or wave it, and paper will start rolling out for ~3 secs the stop. Cool, you like it?

Actually, these dispensers don't seem to be very efficient. The paper often gets stuck, and for a long time, the one right by my office was unable to respond to any hand motions at all. I thought it was due to low batt or something.

Well, I think I might have found the truth today after having just saw an auntie forcefully pull an extraordinarily long piece of towel out of that poor machine THRICE!! I could hear the machine's screeching sound as she did that again and again. So I said, "eh auntie, u noe how to use one not? the machine will spoil if you keep pulling liddat!"

Oki, I lied. I didn't say that to her. :p I just stared at her barbaric behavior from the mirror. Maybe I should help the management put up a sign on the dispenser to teach people how to use it properly: DO NOT PULL.

- posted from my iWee :)

13 Lo Hei ingredients and their meanings

Of all the Chinese New Year food, I hate Lo Hei (Yu Sheng) the most. Gosh it's like randomly throwing everything together, give them a meaning, and give them a representative color to fit their meaning. They simply don't taste right to me. And raw fish is just not my type.

But this Chinese New Year, I had 3x Lo Hei. Once at Din Tai Fung, once in Malaysia, and once at Tung Lok. The coolest thing for me was just the procedure to pour the ingredients together. Then the actual "lo hei".

Do you know what are the ingredients and the meanings behind their colors? How many can you name?

I picked up a flyer from Ichiban Boshi with 13 lo hei ingredients, and their respective meanings in both English and Chinese. Of course the ingredients here are tailored for Ichiban Boshi's Yusheng set this year. I read on wiki that they are 27 ingredients in the original dish.


1. Chuka Kurage
Excellence, 锦上添花

2. Red Sweetened Ginger
Luck, 鸿运当头

3. Peanut Crunch
Wealth, 金玉满堂

4. Pickled Leek
Divination, 妙算如神

5. Sweetened Lime
Merit, 苦尽甘来

6. Pickled Cucumber
Advancement, 平步青云

7. Winter Melon
Harmony, 甜甜蜜蜜

8. Fried Sesame
Prosperity, 生意兴隆

9. Chuka Wakame
Youth, 青春长驻

10. Pickled Melon
Tranquility, 风调雨顺

11. Pok Chui Biscuits
Affluence, 遍地黄金

12. Five Spice, Cinnamon and Pepper Powder
Fortune, 招财进宝

13. Salmon Sashimi
Abundance, 年年有余

Do you like Lo Hei? What was your favorite or least favorite Chinese New Year dish/snack?