Golden Shoe / Allergy...

was at Golden Shoe for lunch today... all the way from Raffles City Tower... hahahaha... had my all-time favourite nasi lemak... so glad that Golden Shoe is open for business after a long period of renovation...

came back to the office and started to scratch myself... it's getting more and more unbearable... started yesterday night after my dinner at Bobby Rubino's... i had ribs, platter of mushrooms, chicken and fish and my favourite drink, Sex On The Beach... at that time, i thought the itch was mosquito bites... didn't really pay much attention to them... reached home and the scratching continued all the way into the night, while i was sleeping... this morning everything was fine... except for very very minor itch here and there... but after lunch, everything just went crazy... pure madness...

went to see the doctor... he confirmed it's allergy... but as to what, he could not tell... it could be the mushrooms, the alcohol, the combination... but he confirmed that the hot weather does accelerate the condition... argh... got some anti-histamine to stop the itch and some cream for the rashes...

i'm back in office now... still have an interview to conduct this evening at 6:30pm...

I Not Stupid Too

watched the special preview at Prince yesterday... Vincent managed to win a pair of free tickets... before the show, there was a guy and a cameraman outside the theatre interviewing the audience about what we were expecting from the movie... both of us shied away from the camera... i knew i was a shy guy after all, despite popular belief (or disbelief)...

i did not watch the prequel, hence, went into the cinema without any expectations... so...

what can i say? Jack Neo did it again... a very very heartland... topics close to our hearts... juvenile delinquency... gangster father... busy parents... comparison to younger & brighter brother...

the message this time is simply: look at the positive aspects of people, and not just focus on the negative... similar to the book, How Full Is Your Bucket?, that i've read last year...

the storyline was simple and predictable... yet one still can't help but to be moved by some of the scenes...

the two male leads from the prequel have grown up...

like what was written in STLife today... Jack is not much of a director, when compared to Eric Khoo, but he's able to produce such wonderfully touching movies time and again... impressive...

the critics disliked it, probably on the technical aspects of the show... but a typical Singaporean like me, enjoyed it through and through...

thanx, Vince... for inviting me to the movie...

Weekend (20 - 22 January 2006)

Friday (20 January 2006)

met Kerry for dinner... was at Pearl Centre first to check out the prices of the new Motorola L7... lowest quote was $440 with a 256MB flash card... decided not to buy cos not urgent...

we went to this "ulu" place in Chinatown called Relations... it's opposite Maxwell Market... no wonder no business... hahahaha...

they served very nice fried potatoes... as well as chicken drumlets... i had the spaghetti while Kerry had the rice in egg... i enjoyed the food very much... and the very Balinese setting...

before we left, Kerry met his old-time Army mate, Cyril Wong, the poet!!!!!

**********

after dinner, we met Kal to shop at Chinatown... the place was packed with people... we could hardly move in the small lane... i was perspiring like crazy the whole time... but it was a nice feeling to know that Chinese New Year is around the corner... the atmosphere was great... there was also a laser display near to Chinatown Point...

Kal and i were the biggest spender for the night... we kept telling Kerry to stock up on his CNY goodies and decorations... hahahaha... maybe we can drop by after our "countdown" at Happy on CNY eve to get the cheap lelong stuff... by then all the stall owners would be frantically trying to sell all the goods away... since most of the goodies are perishable... food for thought...

Saturday (21 January 2006)

did a presentation to the office staff this morning... so tired after that... but still went to Liang Court to buy an Acer notebook... supposedly on offer (for Straits Times subscribers)... spent close to $2,700 for the notebook... basically it had what i was looking for: 1G DDR RAM, 100G HDD, DVD-RW, 15.4" screen, etc... some free gifts: a 40G portable HDD, a Brother printer-cum-scanner-photocopier that can read 5 different types of memory cards, 2006 McAfee anti-virus software and some insurance coverage for 6 months... hahahaha... i also extended the warranty for another 2 years at $250...

reached home and started to play with my new toy... so much so that i was late for Kerry's housewarming... we had too much food AGAIN... hahahaha... quite normal for potlucks...

we were busy playing Uno from 10pm to around 1am... took a cab home and was so dead tired by then... gotta leave my toy alone and headed straight to bed...

Sunday (22 January 2006)

supposed to meet Ros for running at MacRitchie... SMSed him last night to say that i can't make it... too tired... need to sleep...

the whole day was spent on my new toy again... installing this and that...

met my ex-students for dinner at Novena Square... decided on Fish & Co... boring stuff but the food was great... i was glad that the two of them managed to pass their N levels... i was tutoring them Mathematics for the last 2 years, until i lost my hearing in June last year... one of them managed an A1 for his prelims but only got a B3 for his N levels... he got me 2 bottles of vodka from Bangkok... so nice of him... appreciate it... hahahaha...

anyway, they've requested for tuition since it's their O levels this year... and i have agreed...

TGIF... So...??

Friday...
in G2000 stripe shirt...
yes...
stripe shirts...
only on Fridays...
remind myself...
and...
those around me...
it's Friday...
and...
weekend is here!!

duh, i know...

but...
listening...
光良's 童話 album...

duh, i know...

Chinatown...
tonight...
"feel"...
chinese new year...

duh, i know...

63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

the Golden Globes has ended...

as expected, Brokeback Mountain was the biggest winner, winning four of its seven nominations, receiving recognition in Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director (Lee Ang), Best Song (A Love That Will Never Grow Old) and Best Screenplay...

Memoirs Of A Geisha lost out in the Best Actress category (for Ziyi Zhang) but won in the Best Original Score for John Williams... i did enjoy the music in the movie... the Best Actress Drama award went to Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) while Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) was the Best Actor...

yet on the Asian front, both The Promise and Kung Fu Hustle failed to grab the Globe for Best Foreign Film... the award went to Paradise Now, a Palestine movie... next time, Stephen Chow / Chen Kaige...

both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix of Walk The Line won in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor awards for a Musical / Comedy respectively... Walk The Line also won the Best Motion Picture Musical / Comedy...

Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) and George Clooney (Syriana) won in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor awards for a Drama respectively...

Desperate Housewives won the Best TV Series Musical / Comedy but lost out in the Best Actress in a TV Series Musical / Comedy, despite garnering four out of the five nominations in that category... the award went to Mary-Louise Parker for her performance in Weeds... God works in His mysterious ways...

the much-talked about TV Series, Lost, went home with the Best TV Series Drama award...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers was crowned Best Actor in a Mini Series for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis...

Anthony Hopkins (of Silence Of The Lambs fame) received the lifetime achievement award... well deserved...

for the full list of winners, please visit 2006 Golden Globe Winners

Obituary...

i have this bad habit of looking at the obituary page daily... probably to remind myself about the fragility of life...

something caught my eye this morning... this 34yo guy by the name of Jed Tan Heok Khuang looked like my primary school classmate... and his dialect name was exactly the same... we lost touch after i moved to Hougang 20 years ago...

there's a mobile number in the column... so tempted to call and find out more... or even go to the wake...

but i'm scared to face the truth...

Memoirs Of A Geisha

watched the movie on Saturday night, 11:40pm show @ GV Bishan...

didn't have much expectations... or rather, much skepticism and bad expectations... was pleasantly surprised when i stepped out of the cinema...

despite having to speak English throughout the movie, the 3 female leads were able to pull it off with style... kudos to Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and of course, Ziyi Zhang... amazed at their capability, reminded me of Meryl Streep with her Australian accent in "shit-what's-the-name-of-the-movie-about-her-killing-her-baby"...

the film was beautiful... a beautiful love story, with a happy ending... my friend cried at the end of it... hehe...

i have only one issue: i just cant imagine Michelle Yeoh as Mameha... the great geisha... actually i simply cant imagine Michelle as ANY geisha... hahahaha...

You Know You're In KL When...

you know you're in Kuala Lumpur and not Singapore when:
1. the LRT runs above as well as under ground...
2. the monorail runs in the city too, not only in Sentosa...
3. the LRT ticketing machine can only accept one note per transaction; the remaining fare has to be paid in coins...
4. the cleaning lady barges in even when you are standing at the urinal minding your own business...
5. Dome does not serve white sugar... only brown sugar and SYRUP...
6. McDonald's provide self-service chilli and tomato sauce dispensers... so USA... ("Malaysia Boleh" afterall)
7. there are more women in tudungs than in spaghetti straps...
8. Christmas trees in major shopping malls are up two weeks (NOT two months) before Christmas...
9. most, if not all, Chinese speaks Cantonese, not Mandarin...
10. the biggest cinema has 18 screens!!!!!
11. chinese tea could be served with ice...

Marketing...

had this conversation with my colleagues while in Batam:

C1: i think i'm in the wrong profession...
D: me too...
C1: what do you wanna do then?
D: something that allows me to meet people, talk, etc...
C1: then you come and take over Corporate Communications lah...
D: i've thought about that before leh...
C1: or you can do sales / marketing...
C2: dave cannot do sales / marketing one...
C1: why leh?
C2 cos when he's unhappy, his facial expressions will show immediately...
D: @#$%^&*

**********

but i have to agree with colleague #2... my unhappiness SHINES on my face IMMEDIATELY...

strange thing was how come colleague #2 knew that since i have never worked with him before...

What Day Is It...

shit... i kept thinking today is Tuesday (cos i wasn't working on Monday and Tuesday) and yesterday was like a Monday to me...

while my colleague kept thinking today is Friday...

i'm going crazy...

Batam - 6 to 8 January 2006

going to Batam from 6 to 8 January 2006 for official matters... there goes my weekend...

planning on taking leave on 9 January 2006 to "create" my own weekend since 10 January 2006 is a public holiday... hahahaha...

Seven Deadly Sins

si beh jun sia... especially Lust and Pride...

**********

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	High
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	High
Pride:	High

Discover Your Sins - Click Here

KFC Chicken

this was on the KFC delivery receipt:

Thank You for ordering

Choice of KFC chicken parts is subject to availability.
This is because our chicken comes in standard parts comprising:
1 keel (breast), 2 thighs
2 drumsticks, 2 ribs & 2 wings

so farnie...

Fish Also Got Asthma Attack?

saw this headline "Lohan Being Treated After Asthma Attack" on AsiaOne website and was wondering how come fish also can get asthma attack...

then i realised it was Lindsay Lohan it was referring to... think i seriously need a break...

The Chronicles of Nar-Hia *: The Bitch, The Lioness & The Closet...

saw the movie on New Year's Eve... disappointing... it's just not there lor... the buildup to the fighting scene was simply weak... i guess after Lord of The (Cock)Rings, no fight scenes could be any more grand...

being a non-Christian, i wasn't able to understand / appreciate the biblical references in the movie (e.g. resurrection)... and all the time i was asking if the Santa Claus thingy biblical too?

oh yah... the cold ice queen looked very much like Jacelyn Tay... hahahaha...

* nar-hia in Hokkien is some vulgar expletive...

Slacker...

first working day of the year... and i was late... by 5 minutes...

SLACKER...