5 Weeks Post 60DWCC - Another Korean Drama Marathon & 13th Wedding Anniversary (ROM)

THL and I have been busy lately. We have been collating a list of Hong Kong and Korean dramas to watch over the next few months. Now that we are finally at the last few episodes of 功夫状元 , in order to prevent another melancholy attack, we have already gotten ready the next set of drama to watch. LOL. The new drama shall be revealed later inside this post. Watch out for it. :D

Day 89 - Saturday

I went for a run this morning, thanks to the delicious dinner at MOF last night. Although it is not really that sinful a meal, it has inevitably provided me with more "carbo" than I really need for my age.

After breakfast, THL and I continued our pursue of the last few episodes of 功夫状元 after sending RK to his tuition class. We lunched in today for obvious reason and we finally finished that HK drama at around 430pm. Phew...

As for dinner, we decided to take a shuttle bus from West Gate to IMM. After walking around for a bit, we finally set our foot into Bali Thai, a restaurant that we have not eaten in for ages.

Another reason why we are here at IMM is to shop for the 2nd anniversary gift (ROM version) for each other. We have 2 anniversary dates to remember, thanks to the different dates for both ROM and hosting of wedding dinner. LOL.

After we reached home, THL and I watch our next drama series. It is a Korean drama series that features a middle aged not-good-looking man (man in white) that got duped and revenged on by his wife who was a victim of his parents' wrongdoings a couple of decades ago.

That man later went for a painful plastic surgery and he managed to reclaim back everything, thanks to his new handsome look (the guy with the black shirt on the left). Interesting show, isn't it? :D

Day 90 - Sunday

Although it was a Sunday morning, the 3 of us woke up rather early and we went out for breakfast at our nearby coffeeshop. After that we went to the video rental shop that is closing down soon to cherry-pick some discounted DVDs.

 THL and I spent the afternoon doing household chores. She also spent some time gift-wrapping RK's goodie bags that are to be given to his classmates on his forthcoming birthday. THL cooked lunch and we watch some TV programs together with RK.

As for dinner, THL and I went down to buy back as we already need to get some necessities from the nearby provision shops. We resumed our watching of the new Korean drama after RK went to bed.

Day 91 - Monday

Another routine Monday that makes time flew by so quickly that before I knew it, it was already time to fetch RK home. As usual, the afternoon times are typically spent coaching him on his homework and upcoming spelling tests and what not. I could only resume my work after he goes for his afternoon nap.

We went down to Jurong Point in the evening to meet up with THL for dinner. We had Pepper Lunch for dinner and since it was our anniversary today, we also bought home a cake from Prima Deli. We took a cab home after getting some necessities from NTUC.

The rest of the night was spent having a 8th year old amateur photographer taking pictures of us showing off our anniversary gifts (an annual family ritual) and cutting of our cake. Last but no least, we manage to catch an episode of the Korean drama before going to bed.

Day 92 - Tuesday

A typical day that flew by without any special happenings besides us watching our favorite Korean drama series.

As the PSI index is on the rise lately, THL and I have already equipped our family with masks in case the haze decided to visit Singapore early this year. :D

Day 93 - Wednesday

Another monotonous day working at home while taking on the role of a Penguin Dad.

The watching of the Korean drama series continues....

Day 94 - Thursday

As it was already the last day of school before the 1 week school holidays, THL and I helped RK bring down his big bag of goodie bags to his school. He was so happy that it is finally his turn to distribute goodie bags in celebration of his birthday.

 After that THL and I had breakfast at the nearby food centre before she left for work and with me taking a bus home.

We had dinner with THL's family this evening and we took a cab home since it was already quite late into the night. We were both tired but that did not deter us from catching a few episodes of the Korean drama.

Day 95 - Friday

As RK has no school today (elearning day), THL and I decided to make a trip down to JB - City Square.

 We had breakfast at KFC (JEM) before taking bus 160 down to Woodlands Checkpoint. From there, we went through the checks before taking another bus into Malaysia custom. As it was a weekday, there wasn't much of a queue and so the entire trip to City Square was super smooth.

 We indulged ourselves with foods and drinks across a few food outlets and we eventually had our proper meal at Sushi King at 3pm.

After the stomach-bursting meal at Sushi King, the 3 of us went back to Singapore holding on to our heavy stomach. Again, the journey back was also smooth except for the time spent waiting for the bus back to Singapore.

The 3 of us were so full that we decided to skip dinner and we only had a bit of a finger food at around 9pm while watching the Korean drama.

Transport Expense (Day 89 - 95): $46.35

Day 89: $3.64

Home to JE Interchange => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82 

Day 90: $0

Day 91: $9.07

Bus Ride:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Home to Jurong Point => $0.83 + $0.41 = $1.24

Taxi Fare:
Jurong Point to Home -> $7



Day 92: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 93: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 94: $14.66

Bus Ride:
Home to School => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 => $1.82
School to Boon Lay Interchange => $0.73
School to Home => $0.73
Home to Lakeside MRT => $0.73 + $0.36 => $1.09

MRT Ride:
Lakeside to Pioneer => $0.73 + $0.36 => $1.09

Taxi Fare: $9.20
Pioner to Home => $9.20


Day 95: $15.66

Home to JE Interchange => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
JE Interchange to Woodland Checkpoints = $1.51 x 2 + $0.58 => $3.60
Woodlands Checkpoints to Malaysia Checkpoints =>  $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
Malaysia Checkpoints to SG Checkpoints=> $3
Woodland Checkpoints to JE Interchange = $1.51 x 2 + $0.58 => $3.60
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82 

Weekly AfterThoughts:

This week has certainly been a bad week for our stomachs. We have had quite a few good and heavy meals across the last 7 days and while all these food has little to no effect on RK who has very high metabolism, they have certainly weighted both THL and I down a few pounds. :D

Taking the public transport has certainly become second nature to us now and we have not been splurging on Taxi too. While taking public transport has its disadvantages, the financial benefits of not owning a car (at this point in time) have certainly far outweigh it.

3 Weeks Post 60DWCC - Planning and Booking a Family Trip to Hong Kong

2 weeks have quietly slipped by before I realize it is time to update the 60DWCC blog again. For our family, the first 3 months of the year are usually packed with family events, birthdays, anniversaries, CNY, Valentines and so on. Hence it can be quite a challenge to 'find' time to write when we are 'swamped' with so many DVDs to watch (ha!), family to-do lists and so on. By the way, I have run out of excuses and so here goes...

Day 75 - Saturday

Saturday Morning Run

I went for a run this morning. No, I do not usually run on weekends. But I find that it was necessary as I have had too many 'good food" over the week. It is so easy to overeat these days without even realizing it when there are so many luring food temptations going around everyday.

Change of Family Tour Destination

We had to make a another trip to my parents' place due to the fact that the flight vacancies for March have sold out for most ideal tour destinations like Hong Kong and Taiwan. In view of that, we have decided to change the trip to June and instead of going Taiwan, and we have decided to go Hong Kong. THL and I will start to source for June HK packages beginning tonight and we will try to secure the best possible Free and Easy package.

After having dinner at Carl Junior at Jurong Point, we went back home to start working on finding the best online package for Hong Kong for June.

Day 76 - Sunday

THL and I spent most part of the day hunting for good online bargains for trip to Hong Kong in June. As we wanted to take SQ flight, stay at 5 Stars hotel as well as having good accessibility to the MTR station, it was really quite a challenge to finally shortlist a couple few packages that fit our criteria.

We spent the entire day at home with THL cooking both lunch and dinner. In order to get the best possible deal, we have decided to wait a couple of days before booking the tour as there may be price changes during weekdays.

We ended the evening re-watching a Japanese thriller DVD - DeathNote - Part 1.

Day 77 - Monday

Today was a pretty routine day with me performing all the weekly household chores and working on my projects. I also spent some time monitoring the prices of the Hong Kong deal on the website that we intend to book from. As the pricing did not change, we decided to wait for another day and see how it goes.

We watch Deathnote - Part 2 in the evening after our dinner.

Day 78 - Tuesday

I rented some DVDs home today after getting lunch back. To my dismay, instead of going down, the price of the Hong Kong package went up by around $450 today. It was truly unexpected, THL and I regretted not booking it over the weekend. Sigh... THL and I decided to take the risk and wait for another day.

After our dinner, we watch one of the rental DVD - Gravity. It is a relatively new show and it has grabbed many awards and while there are only a few casts throughout the show, the storyline and script were superbly written and in my opinion, it would have been well worth the money even if we choose to watch it in the cinema.

Day 79 - Wednesday

Dry Spell 

It has not been raining for a few months since last December and the weather has gotten very humid. RK and I were feeling hot and sticky even with minimum mobility around the house. It seems this dry weather will persists until late April.

The price of the Hong Kong did not change today and we decided to book it before another round of increase happens.

We spent the evening going through the Hong Kong pictures that we took when we were there in 2010. RK was only 4 and the half years old and it was fun looking back at some of the happy moments that we shared back then.

THL and I also planned out some places of interest to visit when we bring our family there in June.

Day 80 - Thursday

I had dinner with THL at KFC today with RK waiting at home. We bought back RK's share after that and since it is a Wednesday, RK went for his tuition after dinner.

THL and I begin one another drama serial from Hong Kong - 功夫状元 this evening. It was an old DVD package that we bought a few years back and we forgot about it. The starting part of the show was slow and boring but it does get a little better as the show progresses. 

 

Day 81 - Friday

RK and I took a bus down to Jurong East to meet up with THL for dinner at Food Republic - West Gate this evening. This is the first time we are having dinner at the branch in West Gate. 

After dinner, as usual, we walked and shopped around to have with the digestion before heading to get some necessities from NTUC at JEM. We took a bus home after that.

THL and I continued our watching of the 功夫状元 after RK hit the bed at 10pm.

Transport Expenses (Day 75 - 81): $18.67

Day 75: $8.39

Bus Ride:

Home to Bt Panjang => $1.27 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.12

Bt Panjang to Jurong Point => $1.31 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.2

Jurong Point to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Day 76: $0

Day 77: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 78: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 79: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Day 80: $1.56

 

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Lakeside to JW Blk 502=> $0.73

Day 81: $3.74

Lakeside to Home => $0.83

Feeder bus to JE => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

Feeder Bus from JE to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Weekly Afterthoughts:

Although the trip to Hong Kong for the 3 of us may set us back by about $2k, it is still worthwhile amount of money to spent as it is a once in a lifetime trip to finally have the chance to go on a oversea holiday with my family. Moreover the amount of transport expenses that we have saved from not owning a car have more than pay for the entire trip itself. 

 The 3 of us are looking forward to the Hong Kong trip in June and I will be sure to blog about it when I get back. So stay tune, ok?

Day 59 of the 60DWCC - Dinner at JCube Foodcourt

As it was already 5.30pm by the time I finished the last bit of my scheduled work for the day, RK and I quickly took a bus to Jurong East to meet up with THL to deposit some cash (mostly from RK's CNY red packets) at the POSB ATMs outside the CPF building.

There was quite a long queue but it was nothing compared to the one I saw last night at Jurong Point - can you imagine some 50 to 60 people in front of you queuing up to deposit cash? What kind of horrible nightmare is that??

After we are done with the cash deposit, we make our way to JCube. We checked out the food court at the basement to see if it was already packed. To our delightful surprise, the foodcourt was only half full so we had our dinner there. We order the pepper lunch from one of the stalls and since it was having a discount, we ordered 3 set meals for only $6.90 each. It is not everyday that you see such delicious deals. :D

After dinner, we walked over to West Gate for THL to grab some breads for breakfast. After that we walked over to JEM where THL bought herself a piece of neck wear. After that we took a bus home and ended the evening watching the Korean drama again. :D I guess we are truly addicted to the Korean drama already, aren't we?

Transport Expenses: $3.74

Bus Rides:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
Jurong East Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

One more day to go and we are at Day 60 of the challenge already, time really flies, doesn't it? As the days gone by, the urge to quickly get another car diminishes and for now, I will really want to see if there is really a true need to get one.

My mum's health has gone downhill since last 2 years and if I had to get a car, it would probably be for the convenience of fetching her for her many medical appointments at NUH and SGH every other weeks.

Day 39 of the 60DWCC - Fulfilling Meal at Menya Musashi Restaurant 麺屋武蔵

After staying inbounded over the past 4 days, THL and I decided to have a meal at WestGate. At 5.30pm, RK and I took a feeder bus down to Jurong East Interchange. As per plan, RK and I will find a place to eat dinner and THL will look for us there when she arrived.

After wondering around for a bit, I decided to pick Menya Musashi restaurant for our dinner. THL and I have walked past this Japanese restaurant a few times and we always see a long queue outside. We reckoned that the food must be nice since there is always a long queue.

RK and I got ourselves seated inside and to our surprise, every table comes with a mini iPad for customers to place their orders. How cool is that?!

While waiting for THL to join us, RK and I ordered something to chew on using their Mini iPad. The food and drink came within 2 minutes after I placed the order. Wow...I was impressed...

THL ordered her share when she arrived, We also order a Kids Meal set for RK and some little side dishes to share. All in all, despite the hefty price, the quality of the food was good, served hot although the service level could have been better. The space in between tables was rather cramp and the people sitting next to us could easily hear everything we say. No privacy at all.

Anyway we just wanted to try out the food so it is still fine with us. Will we still eat here again? Probably not.

After dinner, we walked around West Gate and JEM. After that we took a train to Jurong Point hoping to get a couple of Micro Charger cars for RK but we were told the cars are sold out islandwide. :(

We took a cab home from Jurong Point as it was already quite late and we were all tired.

Transport Expenses: $14.67

Bus Ride:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East Interchange (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

MRT Ride:
Joo Koon to Jurong East (THL) => $1.23
JE to Boon Lay Stn => $0.93 x 2 + $0.46 = $2.32

Taxi:
Jurong Point to Home => $9.20

Daily Afterthoughts:

We probably would not have eaten at the Japanese restaurant if we are still financially burdened with the hefty monthly expenses of the SUV. Now that we have this huge financial relief we are looking forward to pampering our tummies with good food once in a while. :)

Day 31 of the 60DWCC - Extravagant Dinner at Poulet

After RK and I are done with our daily routines which also include his napping times and doing his homework from school, we took a train ride to Jurong East to meet up with THL for dinner.

Dinner at Poulet

To congratulate and reward ourselves on our perseverance towards taking public transport over the last month, we decided to have a good meal at Poulet. As it was my first time dining at Poulet, most of the items on the menu looks good to me and that could explain why I ordered quite a lot of food for the 3 of us. :) Although the bill comes up to about $100, it was well worth it as the food quality was excellent and the service staff was friendly and attentive to our needs.

After our heavy duty dinner, we shopped around West Gate and JEM for some CNY clothing before taking a feeder bus home from Jurong East Interchange.

Transport Expenses: $3.74

Bus Ride:

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

MRT Ride:

Lakeside MRT to JE Stn (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

Daily Afterthoughts:

Instead of feeding our car with expensive petrol which is constantly on the rise, we are now feeding our tummy with good food. With the thousand over dollars in saving each month, I do not think it would be too much to occasionally treat ourselves to some good food.