Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Let's save the bookstores, please!

First it was Border's bookstore in Wheelock last year, then their Parkway Parade branch followed shortly after.

This month, it's Page One in Vivocity.


What is happening to the bookstores in Singapore?!? Why are they closing down?!?
Is this the effect of the digitalization of books?
This is really sad. I love hard copy books, the smell of the paper, the ink...

Call me old school but for me, you can never replace a hardcopy book by digital.

A paper book is timeless and full of memories and stories which are beyond the words it has in print.
A beautiful handwritten dedication tells you of a loving father sharing to his son the wisdom of life as he moves away to the city and start to stand on his own two feet.
A coffee stain on the pages tells you the story of a lady who sits by the corner of a cafe, immersed in the love story of the prince and a damsel and secretly hoping that her own prince would walk in the cafe and find her.
Highlighted words tells you of a teacher who patiently and carefully studied the contents, that she may able to share the lesson accurately to her students.
Dog ears on pages tells you of a housewife who keeps a journal of meaningful quotes she's found..

I really hope this trend is not a reflection of what's happening to the bookstores in other countries too. I hope this not the end of paper books.*Big sigh*


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Hearts' Day!

Since I met my husband, Valentine's day to me has become way more special. I would never forget our first Valentine's day as a couple when he gave me one of the happiest surprises of my life. My husband also never fails to give me flowers on Valentine's day. I tell myself that this is something that I always should be thankful about and not take for granted just because I am getting used to it.

Today, I received a dozen red roses at work, from who else but my sweet hubby. My mind was set on going home as usual from work because hubby said he'll cook something at home for Valentine's day. So I thought what he going to cook was the surprisebut nope, the surprise was actually a dinner at Alkaff Mansion, a restaurant on top of Telok Blangah hill. It's an old ancestral mansion house which they turned into an Italian restaurant, it was lovely. We had a Valentine's dinner for two including a bottle of white wine (which we didn't finish, of course, so we took the rest of the bottle home, hehehe).


I really feel so blessed having a husband like my hubby. He is such a good person, so sweet and thoughtful, not only to me, but to everyone in general. When we talked about our day today, he told me about giving a rose to each of his female colleagues and not only that, he also gave something for his male colleagues -- a bottle of Redbull! :)

I love my cheeky hubby!



Thursday, February 09, 2012

My choice

I choose to be happy,
No matter where I am, no matter what job I have and what my weight is.
I choose to be happy,
No matter if someone or something tries to bring me down, whatever circumstance I am in.
I do not let unpleasant people ruin my day,
I keep my cool.

I choose to be happy today.

This is my life and this is how I choose it to be now.


Tuesday, February 07, 2012

When I stared at the stairs

In the MRT (train) station today, I was about to take the escalator as per my normal habit when the stairs got my attention:


I couldn't resist this motivation, of course, so I used the stairs instead and enjoyed the rest of the climb :)


Yeah, let's get healthier!


More calories burnt! Woohoo!


This reminded me of a fun experiment that was done in Odenplan, Stockholm. Watch this:



If only all stairs have some kind of fun on it, people would use it more.

Ahh, simple joys like these uplift the spirit...

Saturday, February 04, 2012

It should not be the end, right?




A serene sight calms the soul
Even a tree that has no leaves stands tall
Daylight bids farewell and the night will come
But don't be afraid, the sun still shines.