Leap Year...

today is a leap year...
happens once every four years...
watched Juno with Kerry...
it would be too lame if we were to watch The Leap Years...
cannot remember what happened in the past leap years...
well, is there a need to remember??

Juno Friday...

met Kerry for dinner and movie...
quite last minute...
luckily could still get tickets to Juno... my first Oscar Best Picture movie...
would love to catch the other Oscar-nominated movie too...

it's always good to catch up with Kerry...
so much to update each other...
although i always wonder if there have been so much happenings in my life??
i kept thinking mine is a boring life...
at least Kerry is starting a new job on Monday and happily dating...

Juno is a heartwarming movie...
simple story about a teenager who got pregnant after having sex with the man she loves...
and the process of her giving up the baby for adoption...
Ellen Page's performance paled when compared to Hard Candy...
the screenplay was excellent...
tonnes of quick-witted humour...
no wonder it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay...

Jakarta Trip 18 To 26 February 2008...

survived the business trip in Jakarta...
did not fall sick during the period...
unfortunately my staff did... bad case of indigestion due to our late dinners everyday...

the one weekend we spent shopping at the various malls...

Saturday we shopped from Grand Indonesia to Plaza Indonesia to eX...
watch Jumper in the cinema... with a 2-minute technical breakdown in the middle...

Sunday was a Car Free Day and the main roads were closed...
the cab driver had to take the small lanes which were jammed...
was in the cab for 1 hour 20 minutes before reaching Mangga Dua...
Mangga Dua sells all things pirated... from LVs to Gucci's to computer games, etc...
more shopping at Mangga Dua Square before heading to Plaza Senayan for dinner...
called it a day and had massage and manicure in the hotel spa...

it was pouring the entire day we were to leave Jakarta...
took the 8:15pm flight out of Jakarta... rain had stopped by then...
reached home at around 11:20pm...
so dead tired by then...
and tomorrow gotta work...

Jakarta Updates...

today is our fifth day in Jakarta...
not as bad as we have imagined it to be...
the people are friendly... the food is good...
only issue was the security...
entering every building (including shopping malls and hotels) requires us to go through a metal detector and bag search...
even cars have to be inspected with their bonnets opened...
that is the price to pay after the various bombings in Indonesia...
and we felt we have lost our freedom...

been eating Chinese and Japanese food for lunches and dinners...
the country head has been driving us around...
checked out some of the malls during lunch times...
huge posh ones like Grand Indonesia to the hip young ones like EX to the more run down ones like Ambassador...
will check them out in details over the weekend...

been warned to be careful with the food we eat...
not to try the roadside stuff... and even the food court stuff might not be safe for consumption since our tummies have not been tuned as yet...
unfortunately, my staff fell ill this morning...
was vomiting, felt giddy and cold... and the tummy was churning with acid...
saw the hotel doctor and was given some medicine...
i told him to rest in the hotel and monitor his condition...
if need be we have to seek further medical assistance...

i am having a really good time with my Krispy Kreme and J.Co donuts...
i still prefer Krispy Kreme for the sweetness... although J.Co is softer...
let's see how much weight i am going to put on this trip...

Finally...

received the news via SMS that the Compliance Director has tendered her resignation...
finally...
after so many of her staff have left...
hehe...

Jakarta...

off to Jakarta for business in a few hours...
will be back on Tuesday 26 February 2008...
Sydney trip officially cancelled...
:-(

CNY Sunday...

had breakfast with my parents at AMK...
the usual Sunday morning affair... hehe...

last minute we decided to visit the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple to "bai tai sui"...
we just need to give them our names, date and time of birth...
the prayers and stuff were done by the priests...

younger brother dropped me at my secondary school classmate, Joseph's place...
it was our Lost Boys gathering, although only five lost boys could attend...
two were overseas... but good enough...
was playing mahjong most of the time...
while entertaining Junlong, Joseph's three year-old son...
i still could not believe that i could spend an entire afternoon with the kid...
even gotta entertain him during dinner...
had dinner with the gang before heading home to pack my luggage...

leaving for Jakarta tomorrow for 9 days of work...
wish me luck...

Busy Saturday...

went to market with my parents at 7am...
it must be the earliest we have been so far...
was early because mum wanted to buy stuff to prepare for grandmother's 25th death anniversary...
for my relatives will be at our place for the prayers...

met up with Ju Liet and Ming (and her family) for our CNY lunch at Roland Restaurant in Marine Parade...
it was a mistake to drive dad's car to marine parade for it took me close to 40 minutes to find a parking space...
Martin and family could not make it because Yuki was unwell...
lunch was very nice... no wonder the restaurant was fully booked for dinners on today and tomorrow...
after lunch, drove Ju Liet to Hougang Mall for her manicure and pedicure...

came home and played mahjong with my aunts... lost S$130...
had dinner and continued... won S$60...
net loss S$70...

helped mum to clean up the place...
before heading to bed...

One More... Two Left...

another colleague from the Compliance Department resigned...
the third in less than a month...
and the twelfth in the last seven months after the Director joined...
with this resignation, the old team has all left...
what is remaining is the Director and her two new recruits (of less than 4 months)...
with no newcomers to replace the loss...
wonder how long more before the whole team is gone...

More Lunar New Year Visiting...

last minute decided to visit my god-uncle...
my parents were already there when i called them at Kovan MRT...
two more gatherings this weekend and that will be the end of the lunar new year celebrations...

could not resist the temptation and started on Season 2 of Brothers & Sisters...
gotta quickly catch up now that the writers' strike is over in the US...
soon new episodes will commence filming and showing...
at least now we will have a proper Oscars this year...

Lunar New Year Visiting Continues...

the lunar new year visiting routine continues...
today visited my sixth uncle's place at AMK...
left the office at around 7:20pm...
jason called to ask if i can meet for dinner...
told him i have visiting to do...

we missed visiting my fourth uncle cos his whole family was holidaying in Perth...
finally met his family today at my sixth uncle's place...
they all looked burnt from the hot Perth sun...
lolz...

2008 lunar new year visiting is more or less complete...
left with my younger aunt's place this Sunday...
Saturday will be another gathering of relatives at my place for my grandmother's death anniversary...
and i am off to Jakarta for business from Monday...

rush rush... hurry hurry...

Madonna Wins Grammy Award...

Madonna's The Confessions Tour won the Grammy award for Best Long Form Video...

Amy Winehouse is the biggest winner this year...
picking up Record of the Year (Rehab), Song of the Year (Rehab), Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album (Back To Black)...
Mark Ronson, Amy's producer for the songs Rehab, Back To Black and You Know I'm No Good wins Best Non-Classical Producer of the Year...

Lunar New Year Of The Rat...

had our reunion dinner on the eve...
then accompanied my parents to the River Hong Bao event at Marina...
loads of people, especially Chinese nationals working in Singapore...
left before 10pm...

was watching TV with my parents after that...
did our prayers to my deceased grandparents...
busy watching Brothers & Sisters on my notebook after that...
managed to finish season 1...

the usual visiting routine repeated itself again this year...
Day One all my relatives came over...
Day Two we visited my grandmother's sister's family and my dad's god-brother's family before going to my eldest aunt's place...
Day Three was off to my eldest uncle's place and my mum's siblings' place...
played a round of mahjong with my uncle and lost S$25...
then to my second uncle's family in Emerald Yishun...
Day Four was my fifth uncle's place... or actually his son's place in Kovan Melody...

luckily got my Sec 1 cousin to challenge me on Nintendo DS Lite...
we had so much fun playing Mario Kart and Mario party...
if not for that, i would have been quite bored...

been trying very hard to teach my cousin's son to remember my name Dave...
my uncles and aunties wanted him to address me as Uncle Dave, which i refused to admit...
after four days, he still could not remember my name...
lolz...

my fifth uncle tried to match make me with a NUS graduate...
told him i have no plans on settling down...
mum also came to my rescue... *phew*

so tired after four consecutive days of visiting...
and it's back to work tomorrow...

Another One Bites The Dust...

another staff from the Compliance Department resigned...
this must be the 9th or 10th person since the new Director came in...
and he was recruited by her 4 months ago...
i am beginning to pity the Director...
although i don't really like her...
because she has the tendency to arrow my department to do some reviews...
but when you have such a high turnover rate, it is getting worrying...
hopefully some changes are made before the remaining 3 staff also leave...
they once used to be double my department size...
but now they are smaller than us...

Brothers & Sisters...

first it was Heroes...
next came Women's Murder Club...
then it was Damages...
now it is Brothers & Sisters...



thanx to the writers' strike in the US that i am able to catch up on these series...

Brothers & Sisters is very enjoyable...
drama family... with drama siblings... and a drama mama...
Calista Flockhart (of Ally McBeal fame) plays the sister...
some parts are hilarious... while others are touching...

i simply adore this series...
was watching it over the weekend...
at episode 10 now... 13 more to go for season 1...
then continues with season 2...

watching this series made me realise the importance of family...
they are the ones who will stick with you through the ups and downs...
i sincerely believe that blood is thicker than water...
and you can count on your family to pull you through every adversity...
the problem usually lies with us...
who, for whatever reason, are unable to open ourselves to our family...
instead we choose to distance ourselves from them...
thinking that that is the best thing to do...
embrace our family... and we will feel the blessings of and from them...

Family Dinner...

elder brother is flying to The Philippines on Monday morning...
hence, the family decided to have dinner together tonight...
buffet dinner at Parkroyal Hotel in Beach Road...
this is one of my parents' favourites buffet places...
surprised that they even served lou hei as part of the buffet...
with fresh salmon from their sashimi counter... so worth it...

i didn't eat much yet felt totally full...
wonder if my dieting plans have shrunk my stomach drastically...
but then again, i was able to continuously eat bak kwa non-stop while watching TV...
lolz...

dad still want to have reunion steamboat for four of us on CNY eve...
i welcome the idea...

Spring Cleaning...

stayed home over the weekend to spring clean my room... only my room...
Saturday cleared the clothings... two full trash bags of unwanted clothings...
either out of fashion... or out of size... cos i have grown substantially since two years ago...

Sunday was spent clearing the magazines...
Men's Health... Time... Singapore Accountant... and others...
no point keeping them cos i will not be re-reading them again...
still could not bring myself to throw away my books and CDs...

sealed some clothings in air-tight bags...
vacuum the room...
clear my dressing table...
and i am done by Sunday 5:30pm...

of course i did not use the full weekend to spring clean lah...
was watching Brothers & Sisters on and off...
i am officially an addict now...

"they tried to make me go to rehab... i say no, no, no..."