Pre-May Day Dinner...

bought an Eternity perfume set for S$65 at the sale worth waiting for in Robinsons...
fantastic buy considering the original price of was S$105...
also bought a Nike toiletries bag at S$19... discount of S$10...

met up with the gang for dinner @ Seah Street Deli...
my Bangkok travel partners, Shaun, Jason and James plus Kerry...
sort of mapped out our itinerary for the 3 days 3 nights trip...
of course there will be the usual clubbing, shopping and dining...
with massage, temple visits (Wat Pho), sex clubs and maybe the floating river...
we realised that the trip was a little short...
but i am sure we will make full use of the three days...

home sweet home after that...

Hard Candy Hits Singapore...

Madonna's latest album, Hard Candy, has been released in Singapore today...
That CD shop was blasting the album as i walked past it during lunch...
entertaining the long queue of people waiting for their Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day ice-cream...



i am waiting for the special edition of Hard Candy...
it is a DVD-sized hinged box containing the CD (with 2 extra remix tracks), a 16-page full-color booklet, and a package of Starlite Mint candies...
the package is jewel case width, 8 inches tall, and 1 1/2 inch deep....has hard candy in the package...

S$200 Growth Dividends Shopping Vouchers...

checked my bank account this morning...
noticed the S$200 Growth Dividends credited already...
just in time for my shopping @ Robinsons tonight...

Sunday 4D...

i struck 4D starter prize...
0516 is the last four digits of the telephone in my room...
mum said just in time for our shopping trip this Friday...

Sunday Facial...

went for my facial @ Bella...
i am left with one more after today's session...
the manager succeeded in her sales talk this time...
she gave me a 50% discount...
signed up for 15 more sessions of facial plus 10 sessions of back...
Agnes, the therapist was chatty, bubbly and entertaining...
eventually i fell alseep...
for i was tired...

Saturday Tea...

met my ex-colleague, Ju Liet, for tea on Saturday @ Royal Copenhagen...
yet another wonderful tea session catching up with each other...
discussed about work, travelling, families, etc...
glad that we will have more such opportunities now that she is stationed in Singapore...

after that visited Borders to look at books...
did not buy anything...

finally another ex-colleague of ours joined us for dinner @ Sushi Tei Paragon...
my first experience with Sushi Tei Paragon a couple of years back was bad...
but since then i had many more visits to Sushi Tei Raffles City and loved their food...
after dinner, we had fresh fruit fondue @ Coffee Club Paragon...

an ultra sinful day for the stomach...
but an ultra fruitful day for the mind and soul...

You Gave Me Fever...

suddenly felt the heat in my body just before lunch...
and the body went downhill after that...
was trembling after my shower...
and had to hide under my covers to keep myself warm...
not sure what happened...
popped the panadol...
heading to bed...

Mah... Salah... Mah...

mum, wrong, mum (literal translation of the subject)...
the saga continues with PM Lee making a parliamentary speech on the escape...
and to quote what he said:

"I would remind Members, however, that we must not get into a witch-hunt mode, that you must make sure when a mistake happens, you must get to the bottom of the matter before you decide to punish people. Because if you generate a culture where nobody wants to make mistakes and you are afraid to do something for fear of making mistakes. That, as Dr Goh Keng Swee would say, is the biggest mistake of all. Not of the officers, but of us setting the rules and the culture which leads to that happening. You may be angry about it, but you have to stand back... assess objectively, fairly, and then decide who deserves what."

we are not hunting for the witch...
but at least we should know that those who had made such grave mistakes are punished accordingly and appropriately...
in countries like Japan, the Minister would have resigned or taken his own life...
but in Singapore, he is still able to deliver parliamentary speeches more than one month after the escape...
the question is whether there are mistakes that are too big to be forgiven...
and knowing that they had a terrorist on their hands...
the lapses were simply unforgivable...

but then again, i am sure there are a lot like me who still want our covered walkways in Hougang...

Mas Selamat?? Alamak??

so the inquiry report is out...
sounds like a bad movie script...
to believe or not to believe??
we want to believe, i am sure...
but how to??

Are You Ready To Fly??

air tickets booked...
hotel accommodation reserved...
leave approved...

Bangkok 17 May to 20 May 2008...
celebrating Vesak Day in a Buddhist country...
that is a first...

Negative...

i always imagine myself as one of the most negative employees in the company...
always complaining about a lot of things...
but i found my match today...
in the short one-hour meeting, he tried to pour his sorrows on us...
until i have to retort him to shut him off...
hope he is not affecting the newcomers in his department...

Race Vs. Nationality...

just realised some campaign is going on to get the Chinese to place a "heart" on their MSN nick...
to show support for the Beijing Olympics...
although i am Chinese, i am a Singapore Chinese...
i am not a China Chinese...
i do not wish to mix race with nationality...
the Chinese could be boycotting Carrefour for all i care...
but it is national pride that they are defending...
not the pride of the entire Chinese race...
or are they??

Pampering Sunday...

met up with Ju Liet for manicure and pedicure at Nail Palace in Hougang Mall...
my virgin trip to a nail place...
well, the experience was fine...
except for the lack of privacy during the entire session...
and somehow the seats were a bit cramped...
quite torturous for a two-hour session...
as expected, i was the only guy there...
sitting opposite the aunties and ladies...
felt kinda awkward but luckily had Ju Liet for company...
finally realised how troublesome it is to maintain the nails in healthy condition...
so many creams and steps...
and do you know that nails need to apply masks too?? unbelievable...

came home and tried to catch some sleep...
had insomnia the night before after the coffee at Starbucks...
was still awake at 5am chatting with William in KL...
he was thinking of joining us in Bangkok...
would love to have the extra company...

Cycling...

cycling was the second outdoor activity i organised for the group, after the Treetop Walk last month...
i was glad that Ken and David could join us this time...
and Keng Hock with his friend in their own bikes... damn cool...
somehow, this cycling was very rush cos we cycled to near Changi Airport and back...
all within two hours...
hardly had time for breaks and cam-whoring...
eventually, Kodak moments were taken during our walk to Big Splash for dinner...
managed to meet up with Jsen right after we had returned our bikes...
his bike had a burst tyre and so they had to detour to get it fixed...

dinner at Mingles was a mistake and the let down of the day...
when we were there at 6:30pm, the restaurant was quite empty...
but as the evening progressed, more families arrived... with kids in tow...
i have nothing against kids if they behave themselves...
however, the bunch of kids next to us were nothing but brats...
we did not see the same with the kids at the other tables...
the conclusion has everything to do with their parents and their upbringing...
coincidentally, today's Sunday Times had an article on the noise level in Singapore...
somehow misbehaved kids were not surveyed...
instead the hoohah was about TV Mobile...

then evening ended with coffee at Starbucks...
and finalising our plans for Bangkok...
will try to behave myself this trip since it is Vesak Day...
a holy day in a Buddhist country...

Bye Bye...

been spinning Mariah Carey's new album, E=MC2, on my ipod nano for the past few days...
it has started to grow on me...
my favourite track now is Bye Bye...
meaningful lyrics...
makes me treasure what i have now much more...
i have reproduced the lyrics below...

---

This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man or your lady
Put your hand way up high
We will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mammas, daddys, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky
'Cos we will never say bye

As a child there were them times
I didn't get it but you kept me in line
I didn't know why you didn't show up some times
On Sunday mornings saying I miss you
But I'm glad we talked through
All them wrongful things seperation brings
You never let me know it, you never let it show
Because you loved me and obviously
Theres so much more left so say
If you were with me today face to face

Chorus
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"
"Miss you but I try not to cry"
As time goes by
And as soon as you reached a better place
Still I'll give the world to see your face
And we were here next to you
It feels like you're gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do is say bye bye

(Bye bye bye bye bye bye) x3

Bye bye

And you never got a chance to see how good I've done
And you never got to see me back at number one
I wish that you were here to celebrate together
I wish that we could spend the holidays together
I remember when you used to tuck me in at night
With the Teddy Bear you gave me that I held so tight
I thought you were so strong
You'd make it through whatever
It's so hard to accept the fact you’re gone forever

Chorus
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"
"Miss you but I try not to cry"
As time goes by
And as soon as you reached a better place
Still I'll give the world to see your face
And we were here next to you
It feels like you're gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do is say bye bye

(Bye bye bye bye bye bye) x3

This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man or your lady
Put your hand way up high
We will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mammas, daddys, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky
'Cos we will never say bye, bye

Chorus
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"
"Miss you but I try not to cry"
As time goes by
And as soon as you reached a better place
Still I'll give the world to see your face
And we were here next to you
It feels like you're gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do is say bye bye

(It's hard to say bye bye bye bye bye bye
So come on somebody sing it with me
Wave your hands up high
Hey hey, this if for my peoples who just lost somebody
So this is for everybody
You put your hand to the sky
'Cos we will never say bye bye)

Growth Dividends...

received the letter from CPF a couple of days back...
informing me that i will be receiving S$600 from the Government...
S$200 each in April, July and October 2008...
how not to vote for the PAP in the elections??
lolz...

time to think of how to spend the money...
it will help to defray part of the holiday costs in May...
yeah!!

Housewarming Sunday...

attended Siang Leng's housewarming in Pasir Ris...
met up with Kerry and Lik Kiam, who had quit his job three weeks ago and is enjoying life now...
also met Tai Kok, Timothy & Nam Choon, my ex-AGD colleagues...
except for Nam Choon, we have all left the organisation...
after lunch we were playing Nintendo Wii tennis, bowling and boxing...
quite fun but tiring...

Mahjong Saturday...

played mahjong with Shaun, James and Jason...
played two rounds and lost S$140...
bad luck sia...
dinner was at AMK...
wanted to eat in Chomp Chomp but could not find a parking space...
we had coffee at East Coast Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves...

Qing Ming Sunday...

another year has passed...
time flies and waits for no man...
today is our family's annual Qing Ming affair...
left the house at 9:30am...
reached Lim Chu Kang cemetery to pray to my grandmother...
then it was to Kopi-Sua (Kopi Hill) for prayers to my great-grandparents...
and finally to Tze Toh Ann to pray to my grandfather...
super hot weather...
had a slight tan... luckily no burnt...
reached home at 2:30pm...

noticed that the group is getting smaller and smaller as the years passed by...
this year we only have 23 people...
my generation was represented by my brothers and me and 5 of my numerous cousins...
those cousins who were married have stopped joining us for the prayers...
the regulars are now the singles and my parents, uncles and aunts...
wonder what will happen after their generation has passed on too...
only time will tell...

Arty Saturday...

first it was a Singapore International Film Festival movie titled Lucky7...
it is a film project by a group of 7 Singapore directors...
each one is to film a 10 to 15 minute segment only knowing the last minute of the script of the previous segment...
and the only condition is to use the same actor...
quite an interesting idea... but the result was far from coherent...
i felt like i have watched 7 short films being forced together into one film...
applause to Sun Koh for the effort...
and to the 6 other directors for pitching in to complete the project...
the most memorable segment is the one by Boo Junfeng...
his segment is the most down-to-earth and real...
the others were too abstract and were considered as film art to me...

in the evening, met Guhan & Desmond for We Will Rock You...
decided to catch it since i love musicals...
since missing Beauty World in January, i have told myself to catch whatever that comes to Singapore next...
the tickets for the show was slightly pricier than The Phantom Of The Opera...
but it is definitely worth every single cent... and it is far far better than the boring Phantom...
actually i have no idea what the musical was about... went without any expectations...
the only publicity knowledge that i had was the male lead was the runner-up to some INXS competition in Australia where they were looking for a lead singer for the band...
the set was beautiful, bright lights and computer animations...
the singing was pitch perfect and crispy clear...
the humour was fun and hilarious...

of course, the highlight of the show has to be Queen's music...
similar to Mama Mia (that uses Abba's music), We Will Rock You is pieced together using Queen's music...
it is pure creativity to come up with The GaGa girls and the GaGa chicken (think of KFC)...
familar tracks such as Under Pressure, It's A Kind Of Magic, Killer Queen, Another One Bites The Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Somebody To Love filled the Esplanade theatre...
and the ending where everyone was up on their feet clapping and singing along to We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions...
the crowd refused to leave and the cast continued with Queen's signature tune, Bohemian Rhapsody...
much to the audience's delight and thunderous applause...
i had so much fun and enjoyed myself thoroughly...
felt like i have just witnessed a Queen concert live...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

today was also a day of feasting...
from breakfast with my parents in the early morning...
and then early Japanese lunch with James at The Cathay before Lucky7...
followed by tea with James and Shaun at 4:30pm at Swensen's Plaza Singapura...
and we took off to Marina Square's Billy Bombers for dinner...
after the musical, i met them both in Palauner Brahaus for a drink...
and we had German sausages and fried buffalo wings...
together with beer and wonderful singing from the live band...
that was the perfect ending to an arty farty Saturday...