Hello Everyone,
I’m sure many of you would be excited about the upcoming movie, Marvel’s The Avengers, which would be out in the cinemas on 1 May 2012 [a.k.a Labour Day]! There have been tremendous publicity and promotions with regards to Marvel’s The Avengers and I believe it would be one of the greatest blockbusters this year! Personally, Baby and I have been extremely excited about Marvel’s The Avengers when we caught the surprise trailer after the Captain America movie which was released last year.

Of all the Avengers, my most favourite Avenger would no doubt be Iron Man because he is highly skilled in weapons that could cause immense damage to his foes and not only that, he is a tech geek that invents and customises his own suit and weapons. Because of Iron Man’s profound intelligence, it is no surprise that he (a.k.a Tony Stark] inherited the Stark Industries from his father.

Marvel’s The Avengers Trailer:

Catch Marvel’s The Avengers in cinemas this 1 May 2012 and like the Official Marvel’s The Avengers Singapore Facebook Page and subscribe to Marvel Singapore YouTube Channel!

Hello Everyone,
I am really so thankful for the long weekend last week because it was really an awesome time for me to recharge and refresh myself. In fact, I more or less paid back all the debts I accumulated [in terms of number of hours] due to a lack of sleep during the weekdays.

Well, as it was Good Friday, I went to Church with Baby and we brought along some friends to catch the drama production. We were absolutely blown away by the splendid performance that the drama team put up and we were so touched by the presence of God. I really appreciate the hardwork and personal sacrifices that the drama team made so as to put up such a powerful production. In addition, I was really glad that my mum, my brother, and my brother’s friend attended the service as well. It was really nice of them to take time off and accept my invitation.

Awesome Drama Production- Blood Brothers

From Easter 2012

As Baby and I wanted to bless our friends in Church for their love, care, and concern to us for the past year, we bought some Chocolate Eggs [Kinder Surprise/Kinder Joy] and gave them out. This idea was conceptualised by Baby and boy, were we glad we purchased the Chocolate Eggs 1 month in advance because the last we checked, it was totally sold out. And the best thing was, we bought the Chocolate Eggs at an amazing price! [definitely value-for-money]

Yes, we hunted for Easter Gifts before Easter!

From Easter 2012

And we decided that Chocolate Eggs were more ideal and practical!

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

Well, if you are planning to give some thoughtful gifts to someone special, do check out the shop that is located at the 1st Floor of Plaza Singapura, next to Cafe Cartel! They sell premium chocolates at amazing prices!

Check out the smiling faces of our lovely Church friends! and yes, Baby made them wear the cute bunny ears!

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

Kenny and Zhen Zhao were camera-shy.

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

Kenny and Shuyi, the most cutest couple on Earth!

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

From Easter 2012

So, it was definitely an enjoyable long weekend and we can’t wait for the next long weekend to come.

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

God Bless!

Hello Everyone,
Baby and I have booked our flat today and we are really excited about our upcoming flat that would be ready by the year 2016. Anyway,our new flat is going to be situated in Punggol and we have heard of many friends of ours whom have booked the same area too. So, looks like we would be seeing many common faces around the neighbourhood when we move in.

Why We Chose Punggol?

Well, we have heard alot of people lamenting that Punggol is really far away from Town and is rather inaccessible. Moreover, Punggol is an under-developed estate and there aren’t much amenities around as compared to mature estates like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, and Serangoon. So much for the negativity but truth be told, we chose Punggol because we liked the surroundings. The place is rather scenic, peaceful, and would most likely become the next Pasir Ris/East Coast Park. In fact, we felt that there are quite a lot of business opportunities in Punggol and Punggol might be the next hottest place where people can relax and chill.

Here’s Our Future Flat [Artist Impression]

From Our Punggol BTO

Debunking the Myths That Most People Have…

1). Punggol don’t have educational institutions

From Our Punggol BTO

2). Punggol don’t have amenities/shops for groceries shopping

From Our Punggol BTO

Anyway, for those of you who have applied for BTO and are wondering what are your chances of securing a unit of your choice, this is a tip that you might want to consider. Credits goes to my Baby because she was the one whom found out about this.

a). Look at the number of units available and the number of units offered. Note that the number of units offered is fixed [as determined by HDB]! If your queue number is more than the number of units offered, it means that you will have an extremely slim chance of choosing a unit of your choice. If your queue number is less than the number of units offered, congratulations!, you will have a higher chance of obtaining a unit of your choice.

b). What if your queue number is quite high but less than the number of units offered? Well, in our case, our queue number was 199 and the number of units offered was 216! If you take 216-199, you will get 17. So, this means that out of 216 units available, we only have 17 units to choose from [assuming all the applicants before us selected their flats]. However, we know that this is not possible because eventually, there will be people whom will give up the selection of flats for numerous reasons. So, to determine your chances of obtaining a flat of your choice, look at your date of selection and the present date.

For example, if today is 10 April and your date of selection is 15 April, that would give you a total of 6 days. Take 6 days * 5 [the number of applicants selecting their flat per day] = 30 applicants [whom are selecting flats till the day of your flat selection.] Take the number of units available for example, 80, and minus 30 from it, you would get 50. This 50 is the number of units that are available for you to choose. I’m not sure if it is a standard that HDB sees 5 applicants for every flat selections but from our countless experiences in applying for BTO, it has been like this so far. So, you can try using this method to gauge if you would be able to select the unit of your choice on your selection date.

From Our Punggol BTO

Well, we are really excited about our new flat and we can’t wait for the year 2016 to come! We hope that this blog entry would also have helped you in your BTO selection!

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

God Bless!

Hello Everyone,
I have been taking note of the Sengkang Bus Accident and it was released on Yahoo! News that SBS is going to pay the funeral expenses of the deceased victim. For the full news report, you can check it out here <–

Now, many people who have read my blog entry yesterday enquired if I managed to “download” or “captured” the video that was posted on Youtube but I have to apologise that I do not have the video. I personally have watched the video on Youtube before it was taken down and I must say that the video was very disturbing. I do not know the reason why it was taken down but here are a few reasons why it was taken down:

1). The video was too disturbing and disgusting that the person who put it up decided to take it down for the sake of other viewers.

2). SBS Transit might have traced the person who put up the video, request him/her to take it down, and offer some form of “bonus”.

3). The video could be bogus.

Please note that the above reasons are just assumptions and I do not have any credible sources to back the reasons.

Since the video has been taken down, there is no way I can actually share the video but to describe as fully as I can to you readers what it was all about.

The video began by showing a lady attempting to cross from one side of the road to another via the pedestrian crossing. The traffic light was showing a blinking green man which indicated that it might change to red anytime soon. While she was about halfway at the pedestrian crossing, the SBS bus made a quick right turn and knocked down the woman. After a few seconds later, a red car happen to pass by, blocked the scene, and the video ended there.

Even now, I still have lots of questions in my head after watching the video.

a). Is the video source reliable/credible?
b). Why was it that when the woman was knocked down by the bus that a red car past by, blocked the scene, and the video ends? Isn’t this just too coincidental?
c). Why did the person who uploaded the video take it down? Was the video a “set-up”?

But well, whether or not the video is credible, the fact that the accident victim died from the accident remains. As reported on Yahoo! News, “SBS Transit had asked Kenix Lau, 33, the younger daughter of the deceased, to submit a proposal to their management.” This is really dumb. Who would be in the right mood to submit a proposal in this trying time? Which is more important? Submitting the proposal or finding time and space to recover from the grief of losing a loved one? If only the bus driver had been more attentive and careful, all these wouldn’t even have happened!

Yahoo! News also reported that the lady “was just 350m away from her daughter’s flat in Block 232 when she was hit by a SBS bus 159, which was making a right turn at the junction.” I really want all of you readers to put yourself in the shoes of the family members. Imagine, what if the accident victim is your loved one (father/mother/brother/sister/daughter/son) whom was 350m away from reaching home? [350m is 3/4 of the running track around the Stadium] How would you react and what legal action would you take against SBS Transit?

Well, I guess this would perhaps be my final blog entry on this topic. I really do hope that justice is served and that these kind of road accidents would not occur so frequently in future. God bless the deceased victim and the family.

Stay tuned for more updates from us.

God bless!

Hello Everyone,
just yesterday, I saw yet another news about a SBS Bus accident and in this accident,  a woman was killed.

To be honest, I didn’t want to do a write-up about this because accidents on the road are taking place almost at least 2-3 times a week! However, I decided to write this because there is just too much road accidents involving buses, especially SBS Transit Bus in the last few months and I really hope that this would create an awareness about these accidents which could have been avoided if the Bus Drivers were more careful.

SBS Bus Accident At Bedok, Year 2010

Apparently in this accident, the SBS Bus was trying to overtake the slower-moving crane vehicle but he didn’t realise that the crane was protruding out. And so, it scrapped the entire upper deck of the bus resulting in the death of a passenger.

Here’s a youtube video of the accident that was reported on Channel 5 news:

SBS Bus Accident At Eunos, Year 2010

In this accident, the SBS Bus crashed into the bus stop and 15 adults and 6 children were conveyed to the Changi General Hospital and KK Children’s Hospital for follow-up medical attention.

You can read the full news here <–

SBS Bus Accident At Victoria Street, Year 2011

For this accident, witnesses said the bus had gone past the traffic junction even though the light was red and it tried to swerve so as to avoid hitting a Silvercab taxi which was travelling in the opposite direction but failed. The bus apparently went on to clip another three vehicles which were waiting at the junction for the traffic light to turn green. Three people from the Silvercab taxi were hurt and sent to the hospital while one of the three passengers on the bus was hurt and was given outpatient treatment.

You can read the full news here <–

SBS Bus Accident At Compassvale Drive, Year 2011

In this accident, the SBS Bus apparently crashed into the back of a coach. No further details were given in the report.

You can read the full news at here <–

SBS Bus Accident At Bishan, Year 2011

This was one of the very fatal SBS Bus accident that resulted in the loss of a life. In fact, this accident could have been totally avoided but well, it’s really sad that this happened. It was written by the Chinese evening daily that the accident occurred at the junction between Bishan Road and Bishan Street 14 while the retired couple was going home after a day out shopping and eyewitnesses account of the SBS double-decker bus losing control while trying to merge into a slip road; hence the bus hit the side of the deceased driver’s stationary car that was headed toward Bishan Street 22.

In this particular report, I noted this statement that SBS Public Relations Department made, “We are very sorry that this has happened. Our immediate focus is on helping the injured.”

This is a youtube video of the accident that was captured by one of the witnesses:

SBS Bus Accident At Ubi Avenue 2, Year 2012

For this accident, the SBS Bus crashed into another SBS Bus that was in front and no further details were given.

You can read the full news report here <– 

SBS Bus Accident At Sengkang, Year 2012

This is the most recent bus accident that happened and it is really tragic because it resulted in the death of a woman whom was just crossing the pedestrian road. In this accident, the woman was crossing the road at the junction of Sengkang East Way and Compassvale Road and as she reached the mid-point of the road, the unsuspecting woman was run over by a SBS Transit Bus that was making a right turn at the junction. It was reported by The Straits Times that the woman was dragged under the bus for about half a minute and the bus driver only stopped after being alerted by other motorists.

Apparently, the youtube video of the accident has been removed.

And in this accident, I once again noted what SBS Transit said, “According to CNA, SBS Transit said it is very saddened by the incident and extends its deepest condolences to the family of the victim.”

Ok, my point is this, in most of the accidents that resulted in the deaths of passengers/road users, the SBS PR Department/Spokesperson only know how to use the standard template for responding to such incidents. There really isn’t any sincerity at all! Truly, is an apology enough to justify the loss of a life that could have been saved if the bus driver had been more attentive and careful? The answer is NO. In most of the road accidents resulting in death, I really feel sorry for the victims and their families because it is really tragic that they passed on in such a manner like this. And just in case you don’t know, in most of the accidents involving SBS Buses, some of the accidents are not reported on the news at all! And if you visit their website at http://www.sbstransit.com.sg and check out their press releases, there are no mention of any accidents involving their buses. So, I really wonder, are most of the accidents involving SBS buses been covered up and settled privately? This really is a question that is in my mind. If that is true, then there perhaps are other accidents involving SBS Buses that we might not even be aware of!

Some other pressing questions that I have in my heart are, are the SBS Bus Drivers well-trained? Whom are the SBS Bus Drivers involved in most of the road accidents? What precautions have been taken thus far after an accident so as to prevent it from happening again? What disciplinary measures are used to deal with errant SBS Bus Drivers? Are the disciplinary measures tough enough to deter SBS Bus Drivers from reckless driving?

Truly, these SBS Bus accidents are such a common occurrence in recent months that I believe most of you would have noticed one way or another. If you look at one of the core beliefs of SBS, that is, “Maintain safety as a top priority”. I personally feel that it is bullshit! Go check out their mission, vision, and core beliefs at http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/about/vml.aspx

Hopefully, the authorities are doing their job to audit the safety measures and training standards of SBS Transit.

Well, that’s all for now.

Stay tuned for more updates from us.

God bless!

Hello Everyone,
in today’s blog entry, I want to create an awareness of the power of Google/Internet and the Social Media. Henceforth, I appeal to everyone reading this blog entry to take this seriously and take some precautions to safeguard your future.

The Power of Google/Internet
I am very sure many of you would have used Google at least once before. But, have you ever tried doing a Google Search on yourself? Well, if you haven’t, go and do a Google Search on yourself and you might just be very surprised at the results that you might find. For instance, when I did a Google Search on myself, I found some articles that were written about me in the past, articles that I have written about something/someone in the past, and even my past blogs previously hosted on Blogspot!

Now, stop and think for a moment. What else could be found on Google? To be honest, this is a really scary thought because seriously, your contact information and personal particulars could even be found online and stored somewhere in somebody’s database. And well, your prospective employers might also employ the tactic of doing a Google Search on you as a form of background check. Worst still, if you become popular overnight maybe because you invented something or did something rather extraordinary, the Paparazzi/media would pound the internet to harass you or even stalk you.

Seriously, you can just Google about anything on earth and most of the time, the results can be pretty accurate. If you type in questions in the Google Search Bar, you can expect to find the answers to the questions you have. The “search” function is becoming really smart!

So, while what we have done online in the past cannot be “erased” nor changed, I would suggest everyone to safeguard yourself by taking the following precautions [not an exhaustive list] after reading this blog entry.

1). While we have an online personality, we too have an offline personality. So, you might just want to project a consistent image of yourself, both online and offline.

2). Be careful of the photos that you upload online. Once it’s online, it is easily replicated/duplicated. Personal photos should either be kept offline or if you want to put it up online, make sure that the photos you upload does not leave you in questionable circumstances. If you do not want to share any personal photos, make sure you activate your privacy settings accordingly. Sometimes, even though you have ensured that your privacy settings are in placed, be prepared for circumstances where what you put online might just somehow leak! [the “Print Screen” button is usually the main culprit!]

3). Do not absolutely display your bank account details, credit card information, and other sensitive information online. I am not sure if anyone of you have heard the latest technique employed by scammers but it goes like this, someone obtains your bank account number online, deposits money into your bank account, and then give you a threatening call, demanding  you to return the sum of money plus interest fees.

While the 3 precautions as mentioned are by no means exhaustive, the rule of thumb is, whatever that is personal to you and you don’t want others to know about, don’t put it up online. While sometimes you just need an avenue to vent out your frustrations, think about the repercussions that it might later have on you. Be responsible for what you put online. Think about the many cases that have happened recently, especially those related to discrimination, defamation, racism, and etc.

Social Media
First and foremost, I am very sure that most of you would have used applications (apps) such as Foursquare and Check-In [on Facebook]. Now, more often than not, I have seen people “checking-in” to places such as homes, bus-stops, shopping centres, and etc. Well, there is absolutely nothing wrong in telling people where you are but the fact is, by doing so very often, potential criminals could actually track your every single movement and that itself is a very scary thought. Think about it for a moment, I know of this app that can actually tracks how frequent you “check-in” to certain places and the time you “check-in”. This can pose a threat as potential stalkers would be able to know where you are and at what time. Again, I am not sure if you have heard this before but someone have actually gotten their houses burgled because they posted a Facebook Status saying that they are away on a holiday.

While sharing what you are doing, where you are going, and what is happening may seem harmless, it is important to note that what you share will definitely attract the attention of potential criminals whom are just waiting for the right time/opportunity to strike. Don’t give them an opportunity to do so!

I hope that through this sharing, you readers would be more aware of how modern technology has advanced so much to the extent that somehow, your privacy is actually at stake! Start taking precautions today!

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

God bless!

Hello Everyone,
I caught The Hunger Games movie with Baby today and I must say, it is absolutely one of the best movies that I have watched in the last 4 months! Thanks to Baby for the movie treat because I have been ranting on and on about why we should catch The Hunger Games. By the way, the movie is rated PG and given the slight violence in the film, I would recommend it for those above 14 years of age.

By the way, in case you don’t know, The Hunger Games movie is actually adapted from the novel, “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins and it was published on 14 September 2008. [that was like more than 3 years ago!] And having caught the movie today [yes on April Fool’s Day], I really can’t wait for the next movie sequel to be out! In fact, I have every good intentions to purchase the novel and read it.

Well, here’s the movie plot [from Golden Village] site:

“The Hunger Games” chronicles a dystopic Capitol which requires its twelve subjugated districts to pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl, forced to participate in the annual “Hunger Games,” a fight-to-the-death live televised event. Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen in the lottery to participate and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Although persevering through hardship is commonplace for Katniss, she must start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love in order to win the games and return home.

What we liked about the movie:

We really liked the storyline and seriously, the movie was quite touching and emotional. In fact, I was so engrossed with the movie that at one point, I actually dropped my whole popcorn bucket! And well, the setting of the movie was perfect and the actors acted pretty well. If you haven’t read the novel, don’t worry that you would not be able to understand the movie. In fact, I would recommend that you catch the movie first, and then embark on your journey to reading the novel.

What others say about the movie:

Many people whom we spoke to gave two thumbs up for the movie. There were also a few people whom said that the movie removed some crucial aspects/components of the novel and as a result, wasn’t as fantastic as the details as described in the novel.

The Hunger Games Movie Trailer:

If you haven’t caught The Hunger Games movie yet, seriously do go and catch it! May the odds ever be in your favour!

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

God Bless!

Hello Everyone,
we sincerely apologise if you haven’t seen any new entries this week as we are in the midst of revamping A Winsome Life and as well as restructuring the whole site. As many of you would have known, A Winsome Life is not just a blog but also a social enterprise that provides marketing services such as printing, events organising, and graphics designing. With effect from today, A Winsome Life would no longer be providing marketing services but would instead reposition itself as a lifestyle and entertainment blog.

Well, what about the marketing services that we used to provide? We regret to inform you that we have moved on to bigger projects that are currently in the pipelines and we hope that you would continue to give your unwavering support to us. We are really indeed thankful for the many opportunities that were offered to us in the last few years and it has been an honour serving everyone of our clients.

What are the projects currently in the pipelines?
With A Winsome Life solely a lifestyle and entertainment blog, we would be establishing and owning two other business entities over the next 2-4 years; one of which is an Online Store and the other a Cafe located somewhere in Singapore. As the details of the business entities are confidential, we apologise that we cannot release any details yet but we might drop some hints in our blog posts on A Winsome Life.

Performance of A Winsome Life

A Winsome Life was started less than a year ago and was initially hosted on WordPress’s site. In December 2011, we decided to host A Winsome Life on our own domain and since then, we have not regretted making the move as we have seen a spike in the number of visitors coming to our blog. In Dec 2011, we saw 1367 visitors, and in Jan 2012, Feb 2012, and March 2012, we saw 2062, 3575, and 3073 visitors respectively [as of 28th March 2012 @ 2300 hours]. In total, we have welcomed a total of 10,077 visitors over a span of 4 months. This could only be made possible because of the constant support that we have received from family members, friends, and even friends of friends. We really want to thank you for this and we hope that you would continue to give us your feedback so that we can remain relevant in the blogosphere.

In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to thank OMY.SG and Nuffnang for inviting us time and time again to numerous events, movies, and restaurants. Also, we want to thank the various organisations whom graciously hosted us and for giving us the privilege to give constructive feedback on their service efficiency and product quality. We also want to make special mention that this whole site would not have been possible if not for the service and help rendered by Vodien.

Below is a screenshot of A Winsome Life’s stats.

Last but not the least, we want to thank God for giving us the honour to serve Him in the marketplace.

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

God Bless!

Hello Everyone,
as Baby and I have been eating too much good food and growing horizontally and not vertically, we decided that it was time that we side aside one weekend to exercise our hearts out and burn some fats! So, to kick off our exercise regime, we decided to go swimming! Since we wanted to make our exercise regime fun, we chose to swim at the Sengkang Swimming Complex as they have a variety of water slides there and moreover, it was located quite near our place too.

The admission fee is $2 for adult and $1 for children on weekends and the rental for a locker to put our personal belonging cost us $0.40 for 2 hours. [quite cheap ah!]

This is the indoor swimming pool! So, be it rain or shine, you could still swim at the indoor pool and avoid the bad weather!

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

By the way, the indoor swimming pool is also a training pool, so the water depth is not that much and is very suitable for amateurs.

Seriously, the Sengkang Swimming Complex is also a really good place for family gatherings and for bringing your kids [if you have any] out to have fun. Just look at the water playground! Even Baby and I were tempted to just have some fun at the water playground.

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

And for the more adventurous and daring ones, make sure you try out the various water slides! I think I’m getting a bit old because when I had a go at the water slides, I screamed like mad and my stomach churned like crazy after the whole experience. But well, I wouldn’t mind going for a few more rounds at the water slides because it was just so exciting and fun!

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

Well… we hope that this short write-up about Sengkang Swimming Complex would get you inspired to do some swimming and also get started on planning your exercise regime!

Yes I’m fat, that’s why exercising is a priority for me now.

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

Baby’s getting slimmer, so exercising for her is not a priority.

From Sengkang Swimming Complex

=P

Anyways, stay tuned for more updates from us!

God Bless!