Uncle Leong Seafood

my colleagues have been talking about how sedap and delicious the crabs there are since last yesterday... now i'm so tempted to go check out the place...

PAP Or WP?

the coming elections will be the second time that i am casting my sacred ONE vote... and just like any other things, i'm torn between the heart (Low Thia Khiang for his personality) and my brain (Eric Low for my covered walkways and upgrading)...

maybe residents in the Hougang and Potong Pasir should just let the PAP win this round to deliver all the goodies that they are promising... and then 5 years later, we hand the constituencies back to the opposition?

is that possible?

Blading...

after yesterday's blading session, i am addicted... hopefully the interest will last...

after doing my maths... it's cheaper to get my own blades, instead of renting... saw a pair of Nike blades at the shop in ECP yesterday going for S$199...

Crap

清明时节雨纷纷。。。
月到中秋份外明。。。

A Fantastic 2 Week(end)s...

it's been a while since i last updated on my life... time to do some "reporting" and hopefully some reflecting...

17 March 2006 (Friday)

had dinner with my colleague, Ken... went to this underground food court near to Palais Renaissance... used to go there in the past after clubbing at the now-defunct Venom... we had Mee Goreng, Stay Bee Hoon (with huge half-cooked cockles), Deep Fried Prawn Paste Chicken and Tofu... great food, great company... chatted about a lot of things... kinda enjoyed such small gatherings with people...

after dinner, i decided to drop by Borders to see what's on offer... i especially like their 3-for-2 offers in the past... indeed, Borders did not disappoint me... the 3-for-2 section had quite a good variety... was tempted to buy A Million Pieces, The Constant Gardener and one other book... made my calculations... good savings... BUT... i have not finished my current collection of books... and one of my many new year resolutions for 2006: no new books until exhausting current library at home... of course, i would like to save up lor...

it was home sweet home after that...

18 March 2006 (Saturday)

lazing at home for most of the morning and early afternoon... nice to do nothing serious / important on a Saturday morning... hehe...

met Ken and gang at East Coast Park (ECP) at 3pm for cycling... it must have been ages since i last cycled... but just like most things that we have learned, we never seem to be able to forget how to do it... once i was on the bike, everything was a breeze...

the bike shop near to MacDonalds was good... not only did they charge us the price of six (for seven of us), they also gave us an extension of half an hour... we cycled to the side where Bedok Jetty was... the final stop was the (SAFRA) chalets at the very end... we stopped, rested and took photos... then it was back to return our bikes... along the way, we stopped at Bedok Jetty for more photo-taking... we also passed by a water ski park... automated pulleys to pull you round and round... looks fun...

after a good rest at MacDonalds (with my cold cold Coke), Ken and i went to check out the chalets cos he's planning a gathering in June... the chalet was currently under new management, with the lease expiring in July 2006... after that we had dinner at the hawker centre before meeting N at MacDonalds... i've never walked so much in my life in Singapore, i reckoned...

after that it was time to head home to change for my first Ministry of Sound (MoS) experience...

decided to have some vodka vanilla before leaving the house for MoS... by then i was a little "high"... hehe...

met Kerry and J outside MoS... no queue (as expected)... went in, got our stamp and left for Liang Court MacDonalds... J commented that i was hyper... SY joined us after his movie...

a not-so-pleasant encounter happened... while eating, the cleaning lady in MacDonalds came to our table suddenly... pour out the fries on the tray and threw the holder into the dustbin... we were all shocked at her sudden actions... being the vocal one in the group, i told her off... yet she said that it's easier to eat the fries on the tray instead of in the holder... i gave her the "duh" look and told her (in an angry tone) that it was very rude of her to do that... i didn't wanna kick up a fuss (and my gang wouldn't allow me to anyway)...

my first virgin experience at MoS sucked big time... everything was just so wrong... the music (it was a night of Hed Kandi's music... house... and there was this irritating trumpeter playing the trumpet and the drums for the entire night... the sharpness of the trumpet just couldn't get J and i into the mood)... the 54 room (was stuffy and hot... and the DJ was not even mixing the songs... he simply played them one after another)... the hip-hop room (great music of Beyonce and The Pussycat Dolls... nice "cage"... but the crowd sucked... all the ah bangs and ah diks... Malay words for brothers and sisters)... the Pure room (J was stopped at the entrance because he was not 25 years old... not sure why the strict age limit... it's just a normal room)... the Tunnel (which was closed for the night)...

the only consolation i had was the great company... and thanx to Kerry for showing us around the place... there're simply too many steps in MoS... will tend to trip and fall if one's tipsy... hahahaha...

NO MORE MoS FOR A LONG TIME, i think...

19 March 2006 (Sunday)

reached home at 5am... slept and woke up at 1pm... whole day wasted... luckily i had the foresight to postpone my 3pm tuition to Thursday...

maybe it's time to hang up my dancing shoes for good... the post-clubbing recovery period is getting longer and longer... can't believe i'm writing this... but yes, i am NOT young anymore... ARGHHHHHHHH...

20 to 23 March 2006

nothing much happened this week... busy at work... socially inactive... had a MSN, followed by an SMS, exchange of words and opinions with Jsen... trivial to me, but it meant the world to him... the power of love (and ego and pride and competition)... sigh...

glad that the week was over ever so quickly...

24 March 2006 (Friday)

last minute arrangement to meet Kerry for dinner... he wanted to shop for some stuff... and we're getting a gift for Sarah too...

first stop... Robinsons for a wallet with notes clipper (not sure what's the correct term for it)... nothing caught his eyes... mission 1 (temporarily) failed...

next Sembawang Music Centre for Feng Fei Fei's concert album... not in stock... mission 2 (temporarily) failed...

then we went to Gramophone to continue our search for Feng Fei Fei... not in stock too... mission 2 (still temporarily) failed...

Funan Centre for dinner... while shopping, he found his iMic... a mission that was not planned was completed... ironic sia...

after much searching, we finally found Feng Fei Fei at the Sembawang Music Centre in Funan... looked like Funan is his lucky place (though there were some not-so-nice memories lah)... mission 2 FINALLY completed...

dinner was at Delifrance... after that, received calls from my colleague, Ken... as our plans for the night were too fluid... told him to proceed with his own plan...

J called... he's in Heeren... so we decided to head to Heeren to meet him...

we finally completed mission 1 at The Wallet Shop... also bought Sarah's gift there... nice Pierre Cardin wallet... loved it (personally)...

next stop HMV... couldn't resist Mariah Carey's "Don't Forget About Us" single... also saw Delta Goodrem's DVDs... i bought her first album instead, cos it was on sale at $14.95... looked like i was the only one who had heard of Delta Goodrem recently... Kerry and J knew who she was... and i heard her ballad Born To Try over the radio, WKRZ91.3, in the wee hours one night... of all places... hahahaha... WKRZ91.3 was known for their dance tracks... Delta has a good voice, reminded me of Jewel...

after all the shopping, it was time to have a cuppa... ended up in Coffee Club outside California Fitness... chatted, drank and ate... Kerry was sharing with us his song selection for the competition he's taking part in... hilarious... cos he's gonna perform Feng Fei Fei's song... hahahaha...

reached home at 2am... slept at 4am cos i was playing the tennis java game in my SEk750i mobile phone... darn... i was addicted... managed to win a tournament... that's two for the record... a few more to go before i'd be done with the game...

25 March 2006 (Saturday)

woke up at 9am... had breakfast... rested... lazed around... i am really enjoying the lazing arounds on Saturday mornings... hahahaha...

met Ken at ECP for yet another round of cycling... this time we went the other way, heading towards Fort Road roundabout... we decided to rent the bikes for 2 hours... and the kind lady extended for us to 3 hours... phew!! with so much time to spend, we were able to complete both sides of ECP and yet had time to detour to book the chalet... June 10 (XXXX) Saturday... unit number E6...

after 3 hours of cycling, we were both exhausted... Ken had his dinner at MacDonalds while i would be meeting Kerry and Jerry for dinner at Siglap... so nice of them to travel from the West to meet me in the East... and Jerry came to pick me up too... hahahaha...

dinner was at Thai Express... nice deep fried chicken rice... but the service sucks... hahahaha...

then it was off to Secret Recipe for dessert... wanted to do Haagen Dazs but it was packed with people... had a good time catching up with Jerry... he seemed melancholic... a lot of thoughts... reflections... etc... hope he gets out of them soon... prioritise his life... sort things out... and move on from there...

26 March 2006 (Sunday)

met Chris and Sheung for lunch at East Coast Road... nice dumpling place, with great food... then we went blading at ECP... this should be considered my first time, cos the last time i did it was back in 2001 or 2002... had a few falls but they were not unexpected... i've not perspired so much in a long time...

after blading, we had coffee at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves... that's where the two deafies taught me some basic sign language... learned the alphabets and numbers 1 to 10... also some other vocabulary...

watching them communicate brought the meaning of "eavesdropping" to another level... it was difficult to decipher what they were saying to each other... i was motivated to learn more about sign language... although i knew that besides them, i won't get a chance to practise it...

dinner was at Parkway Parade food court... very crowded on a Sunday evening... did a bit of window-shopping after that... before heading home to have a well-deserved rest...

i knew my body's gonna ached tomorrow... after two consecutive days of sports... but i enjoyed myself thoroughly... can't wait for the next cycling or blading session...

is the weekend over already? but of course... i wish i could start each week with a fruitful weekend before it...

goodnight world... i felt blessed...

West Side Story

got my ticket to West Side Story (WSS)... booked the matinee on 22 April 2006 (Saturday)... KC (from KL) can only make it for that time slot cos he's coming to SG for the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF)... told him i'm gonna give SIFF a miss this year cos after WSS, not enough financial resources...



April also will be going for the following:
1. A Language Of Their Own (6 April 2006 with Kerry - ticket bought)
2. The Magic Fundoshi (11 April 2006 with ex-colleagues - ticket bought)
3. Huang Shu Jun concert (22 April 2006 with Ken - ticket bought)
4. Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (23 April 2006 with gang)

gonna be a busy April...

The Virgin Suicides... The Aftermath...

i should have known better than to read it...
argh...

*sob sob*

Quotes from the book:

"Capitalism has resulted in material well-being but spiritual bankruptcy."

"The essence of the suicides consisted not of sadness or mystery but simple selfishness. The girls took into their own hands decisions better left to God. They became too powerful to live among us, too self-centred, too visionary, too blind."

"We couldn't imagine the emptiness of a creature who put a razor to her wrists and opened her veins, the emptiness and the calm."

"It didn't matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls, but only that we had loved them, and that they hadn't heard us calling, still do not hear us... calling them out of those rooms where they went to be alone for all time, alone in suicide, which is deeper than death..."

Lousy Monday...

it's been a lousy Monday so far... can't wait for it to end...

明天会更好。。。

Harper's Bazaar - Madonna...

isn't she gorgeous??

V For Vendetta - My Comments...

saw this on Wednesday with Ken and Pat... our second movie outing...

back to the movie... i've never seen / read the comic before... hence, i have no idea what the movie was all about... my main purpose was to see Natalie Portman bald... so darn cool lor... yeah, i know i'm shallow... hahahaha...

surprisingly, the movie was superb... great dialogues, good plot, very political and of course fantastic bomb scenes... the use of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was perfect... (i was first recommended to the 1812 Overture by my ex... who was a fan of The Swingle Singers, an acapella group, who "sings" the 1812 Overture, in acapella...)

the movie makes me start to wonder what if a lot of the terrorist attacks were staged by those in power... 9/11... London... Yishun... be afraid... be very afraid...

fear is nothing but a weapon in the politician's armoury...

Wed Movie...

what shall we watch next week leh?



which would you choose??

Pics For Cemerung Waterfalls...

copied these from some one on the trip... anyway, will post more when i received the other photos...

the water is really very very cold lor...

look how small we were... the power of Nature...


huge caterpillar...

a visit to the fireflies sanctuary... they were cute little creatures...

what is a hiking trip without booze... hahahaha...

Ulcer...

been having ulcers in my mouth for more than two weeks now... started off with one on the upper lip, just a few days before i went on my hiking trip in Terengganu... was tear-ing at every meal... then it got worse after my return... one bigger one popped out under the tongue... been using the watermelon powder recommended by mum and friends... mum had also been feeding me with chinese herbal tea to bring down the "heat" in me...

and just two days ago, a huge one appeared near my tonsils... terribly, incredibly and unbelievably big... couldn't bear the sight of it... went to see the company doctor this morning... doc said that it's a virus, way beyond the usual "heatiness"... gave me some gargle and cream to apply... decided to take a pic of the ulcer and here it is...



this pic was taken with my beloved new toy, SE k750i... the light was perfect for the pic...
btw, the ulcer was the yellow patch to the right...

Tai Chi...

the art of tai-chi (in office context)... when will we master it? or are we naturally good at it but never notice it?

Army Daze - My Comments...

saw the show yesterday... i left the theatre in a daze... didn't live up to expectations...

the jokes sounded used...
the acting was so-so... (especially hated Robin's portrayal... probably he forgot that he need not "act" his part... just be himself and the "chao ah gua flavour" will be oozing perfectly...)
the lack of punch...
the poor pacing of the play...

one reason could be i watched the movie back in the 90s... and the (repeated) jokes just couldn't bring the laughter out of me... the same sentiments from another friend of mine who had watched the movie too...

however, i did like the set quite a bit... nice big drawings of the ship, bunk, etc...

of course sitting next to a lady who couldn't control her laughter made the whole experience even more unbearable... not only was her laughter ULTRA loud, they were prolonged (way after the joke ended)... remembered her friend sitting next to her to be an actress in some other musical i watched before... not sure if they were there to spoil the play for everyone (for whatever reasons)... some of the audience did turn their heads back to look at her... at one point when it wasn't really that funny, yet she kept laughing at Hossan Leong... to the extent that Hossan looked a little stunned on stage... such a spoilsport...

another bad encounter i had while watching Crash... this guy (a few seats away from me) was hiccuping right from the start of the show until like a quarter way through... and his "hics" were loud and disturbing...

what is this world becoming...

Food...

my colleague had this during lunch earlier... so "lack of colour"... and the cafe was called Bossy Restaurant & Cafe... duh lor...




interesting bananas...

Crash - My Comments...

finally saw the movie, Crash, last night... wanted to see for myself how Crash deserved the Best Picture at the recent Academy Awards...

the movie was good...
interesting and realistic story...
great (and huge) cast...
good editing... multiple stories into one...
nice twists at the end...

and most importantly, morally correct (as opposed to the controversial, gay and "immoral" Brokeback Mountain)... challenges the audience to look at differences from different angles... not only differences in race, but also in gender, social status, authorities, and even between siblings... one man's meat is another man's poison...

4 out of 5

---

i was glad that Brokeback Mountain didn't win Best Picture... however, i also didn't think Crash should win... if not for the fact that the voters were generally from Los Angeles where Crash was filmed, my heart went out to Capote...

btw, of the five Best Picture nominees, i've only watched Brokeback Mountain, Crash and Capote... missed Munich while Good Night, Good Luck didn't make it to the local screens...

Tim Tam... Yummy...

boss came back from Perth... she got these for me... YUMMY... but will only eat them after my ulcer has fully recovered...



this pic was taken with my new SE k750i mobile... i am totally impressed with the resolution... why didn't i switch to this earlier??

Crash Tonight

watching Crash tonight with Kerry at GV Grand (Great World City), the only place that's showing, at 9:20pm, the only showtime they have... monopoly sia... hahahaha...

Literature Textbooks

a recent encounter with someone reminded me of my 'O' Levels Literature textbook, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe... think i will start to re-read all my Literature textbooks next month... here they are:

Sec 1 - The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
Sec 2 - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
'O' Levels - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe & Julius Caesar by Shakespeare

what are your Literature textbooks? share share leh...

Sick Weekend...

Saturday was supposed to go on a movie marathon to watch Walk The Line, Munich and Crash... but my world crashed on me cos i was down with fever... must have been the ulcer under my tongue getting infected... popped panadol to control the temperature...

was home setting up my new SE k750i mobile phone... quite a change from the Nokia and O2 i was so used to... first installed the PC Suite so that i can sync all my contacts from my Outlook to the phone... next gotta transfer my old ringtones and message tones over... also installed the themes Dom sent to me last week... spent the next 2 hours or so reading the manual, messing around with the various settings and playing with the java tennis game that comes with the phone... hahahaha...

next i was watching DVDs... it's been a long time since i last had the luxury of lying on the sofa while watching DVDs... decided on some Taiwanese production called 孤恋花 ( Love's Lone Flower), starring 袁咏仪， 李心洁， 庹宗华， 萧淑慎， 高捷... only managed to finish one of the three DVDs... will have to continue again some time...

the rest of the evening was spent finishing Dan Brown's Digital Fortress... then it was more panadol before heading to bed...

oh ya... struck 4D starter prize 7761... $250 coming my way... hahahaha... ;-p

The Virgin Suicides

finally i am done with all four books of Dan Brown... what a roller-coaster ride experience reading his books has been... i lent his Angels & Demons to a female colleague of mine, who eventually finished the book within a weekend... she couldn't put it down once she started... my exact sentiments...

---

i'm now reading The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides... saw the movie on DVD about a year ago and now decided to read the book...

Huang Shu Jun

anybody keen on this? i was at his mini concert @ Esplanade Studio Recital last year when he was here in SG...

Date: 21 Apr 2006 (Fri), 8.00 PM to 22 Apr 2006 (Sat), 8.00 PM
Venue: NTUC Auditorium
Price: $60 / $50

please visit sistic website for more details:
Huang Shu Jun

Arty Farty...

watching these @ the new Drama Centre @ National Library:



14 March (Tuesday)



11 April (Tuesday)

TGIF...

finally it's TGIF... but i have training in office until 8:30pm tonight... ultra sianz...

Oscar Movies...

did a count... still gotta catch the following Oscar movies:
1. Walk The Line
2. Munich
3. Crash
4. North Country
5. The Constant Gardener

will be having movie marathon this Saturday / Sunday!!!!!

Walk The Line

watching this on Saturday morning at GV Plaza... want to see for myself how did Witherspoon win the Best Actress Oscar...

Transamerica

saw the movie with friends last night... simply adored it... Huffman was great in the movie... it was not one of those "chao ah qua" movie with a lot of drama-mama... Huffman was so controlled throughout the movie... her determination to become a woman outweighs everything else... an award-winning performance...

SE k750i

finally got my k750i (thanx Pat)... it's my first SE phone... been with Nokia from 1998 to 2005... then O2... will need time to explore and get used to it...
will have to start transferring / syncing my phone book over... think will do it on Saturday...

BBM 20% Discount @ MPH

Brokeback Mountain made it to MPH's best selling list of the fortnight... 20% discount now... should i buy?

I'm Back...

back from the hiking trip... spectacular waterfalls... beautiful sandy beach...

back to office... three candidates to interview today... *yawn yawn*

back to life... embracing it...

West Side Story

West Side Story coming... anyone watching?

please visit Sistic website for more details...

Wakes & Funerals...

Ju's grandpa passed away during the Chinese New Year month... mum said cannot attend the wake because:
1. it's still the CNY period...
2. my horoscope this year says cannot attend wakes...

apologised to Ju about the incident... and sent her my condolences... the best that i could do...

am i superstitious? yes, i am... i am a mahjong player, what do you expect?

Underworld: Evolution

watching the movie tonight... Kerry and i are totally stressed with work... needed a break...



i like Kate Beckinsale in that tight suit... ooh...

the show is M18... wonder if they will check my IC... lolz...

Sorry, Mum...

yesterday forgot to tell mum that i won't be home for dinner cos i was out with friends... reached home and saw the considerable amount of food on the table...

this morning mum was clearing the food and washing the plates and all... apologised to her about it...

Sorry, Mum...

Work...

copied from a friend's blog:

work is just another 4-letter word...