Sex And The City...

booked the tickets one week in advance...
so that we get the best seats in the cinema...

after 6 seasons of the TV series, the movie continued four years later...
all four leads have moved on in their lives...
but their characters are still the same...

my heart broke when Big did not turn up on his wedding day with Carrie...
the days of devastation that Carrie went through...
days of darkness...
days of lethargy...
days of sadness...
our girl was lucky to have three amazing mates to bring her back from hell...

no matter whether you are a fan or not...
it doesn't matter if you have not watched any of the TV series...
you will still fall in love with the movie...
cos it is about L.O.V.E...
the universal language...

SMSed Brian to want my SATC TV series DVD back...
i bought the entire 6 seasons from Shenzhen when i was there in 2005...
and finished watching it by 2006...
now Kerry wants to borrow them...

i am so going to do the SATC tour when i am in NYC come October 2008...
YEAH!!

Wedding Lunch... PAssion Run...

attended Khim Siong's wedding lunch at Merchant Court...
interesting that he met his wife from the internet...
the power of technology...

anyway, the food was lousy...
and there was no alcohol...
it would have been worst if my Director did turn up and sit with us on the same table...
luckily God was kind enough to spare us the agony...

met up with a number of the ex-staff from the Compliance Department...
felt kinda distant...
don't know what to say to them...
update about my life??
well, they could read from my blog...
update about their lives??
they are too quiet to say much about it...
and i am least interested to discuss about work outside the office...

after much consideration, decided to head down to Novena Square to collect my race pack for next week's PAssion run...
my second year running the PAssion run...
and this year they increased the distance to 15km...
i have to confess that i have not trained for the run at all...
ZERO training...
will just go at my own pace...
even if i have to take two hours to complete the run...

The Moment Of Truth... Finally...

after two delays...
the performance bonus was eventually paid on 30 May...
disappointing...
missed my personal expectation...
so now what??

The Moment Of Truth...

there has been a delay in this month's pay day...
due to Management's inability to decide on the performance bonus (PB) figures to give out...
they have been discussing with the HODs on the quantum...
and i heard from some of the HODs that the discussions were to cut the PB...
just received news that my department's PB was also cut by a total of about S$6,000...

the worst is that HR did not even announce about the delay...
my view is that the monthly salary should still be paid out as normal...
it is alright to delay the PB...

but well... the moment of truth will be on 29 May 2008...
wonder how much i will be getting this year...

Bangkok Trip 17 To 20 May 2008...

had a wonderful Bangkok trip with three friends...
too short actually...
had a good time, eating, drinking, praying, dancing, shopping, relaxing and massaging...
what more to ask for in a trip?

first time to the temples...
visited the Grand Palace and the adjacent Wat Phra Kaeo...
also the temple of the Reclining Buddha...
and the four-faced Buddha near our hotel...

shopping at Chatuchak...
MBK...
Central World...
Platinum (my new shopping place... better than Sungei Wang in KL...)

a memorable and delicious meal at Cabbages & Condoms...
authentic Thai food at its best!!

11 T-shirts... 4 bags... 2 sunglasses... 1 necklace...

Sakae Sushi...

had lunch with David @ Sakae Sushi Citylink...
Sakae Sushi has raised their prices for the normal and red plates...
normal plates are now S$2.29++, up from S$1.99...
30 cents increase or 15%...
terrible!!

he passed me the Japanese version of Madonna's Hard Candy...
there is a bonus track, Ring My Bell, in it...

Back...

back from Bangkok on Wednesday wee hours of the morning...
will blog about the trip over the weekend...
and post pictures on facebook...

now it is time to get past the two working days of the week...
wish me luck...

Sow Good Karma Seeds...

my Director is on four days medical leave...
some said it is retribution for being so critical and unreasonable lately...

Vesak Day is just around the corner...
sow good karma seeds, people...

New York City... Here I Come...

with a twist of event, i managed to get a ticket to Madonna's 06 October Sticky & Sweet concert in New York City...
a friend of mine, who is a member of the Madonna fan club, bought four pre-sales tickets...
his sister last minute decided to withdraw from the trip...
and i grabbed the opportunity to have the ticket...

will be eating grass for the next few months to save up for the trip...
checked Zuji and the cheapest air ticket is around S$2,000...
budget for the whole trip is S$5,000...
planning on staying in the East Coast for two weeks...
hopefully Mike and Amous will be available to bring me around...
and maybe visit other nearby states...

all other planned trips for this year have been cancelled...
zai jian Shanghai, see you next year Maldives and goodbye Bali...

Sticky & Sweet...

Madonna has announced her upcoming Sticky & Sweet tour...
so far dates for Europe and the USA have been released...
and tickets for the US leg will be on sale from this week...

been thinking about going to the US for the concert...
looking at the 6 or 7 October 2008 dates in New York City...
personally, i have not been to the East Coast...
visited the West Coast way back in 1996, after my graduation...
Mike Shaw has kindly agreed to put me up in their condo when i am there...
looks like i will only have to book my air ticket and my Madonna concert ticket...

Sunday Tea...

met up with Shaun, Jason and James for tea at Royal Copenhagen to discuss the Bangkok trip...
thanx to Jason for planning the itinerary (since he is on garden leave until June)...
this trip will be very much a shopping, clubbing and cultural trip...
planning on visiting two Buddhist temples, the Grand Palace and the floating market...
of course the usual clubbing, shopping and definitely Thai massage...
Chatuchak is MUST, despite the heat and the pickpockets...
and the new malls Platinum, Siam Paragon, Central World, etc...
not forgetting the delicious authentic Thai food...

count down begins...
6 more days to go...

Mother's Day Dinner...

was a last minute arrangement to have Mother's Day dinner this year...
the first time we are doing it...
invited my maternal aunties along as well...
and also my god-uncle (who has been joining us for all our birthday celebrations over the years)...

Cafe Vic at Carlton Hotel was having their durian buffet dinner...
it was a seasonal event...
the durian was superb, fleshy and delicious...
especially immediately served after the chef opened them for us...
i had to use their glove to prevent my fingers from catching the smell... hahahaha...
overall, the spread was good...
worth the price of S$45++ per pax...
of course mums got discount according to their age... how interesting...

now gotta start planning for Father's Day dinner in June...
been thinking of bringing my family to East Ocean for a while now...

Punggol Point...

went to Punggol Point with Ken...
this is my second time there...
first time was back in 2002 when i took the ferry to Outward Bound School for a team building course...
quite a serene place with a nice beach...
the sun was kind to us today...
hiding itself behind the clouds...

saw three Army boys in a tent...
presumably on "guard duty" to watch out for Mas Selamat...
spent about two hours cam-whoring...
before taking the bus back to Hougang Mall for lunch...
coincidentally, we had the same female bus 82 driver both ways to and fro...

will go back there in future just to enjoy the breeze and to have some private time to myself...

Yin Yoga...

bought Elsie and Carina lunch @ Hog's Breath Cafe to celebrate Mother's Day...
Carina was surprised at my gesture...
it is just my simple way of telling them that i appreciate them as colleagues...

went with a colleague to Pure Yoga for a trial session...
decided to do the Yin Yoga...
quite challenging for me, considering i have not done any exercise in the last three months or more...
was tempted to sign up for a package...
but decided against it...
not ready for the financial commitment...
furthermore, i have not been making full use of my California gym membership...
the thing i liked about Pure Yoga is its serenity...
and the peace i felt when i walked into the place...

dinner was at Coffee Club...
quite sinful after a fruitful yoga session...

Books Books Books...

was at Borders with an ex-colleague this evening...
bought another 4 books...
think i have bought enough books over the last week to last me for the next quarter...
but Borders 30% voucher only happens once in a blue moon...
so making full use of the opportunity...

10 more days to Bangkok...
countdown officially starts today...

To But Or Not To But...

a lot of frustrations in the office lately...
criticisms aplenty...
was talking to another head about this...
and we prefer something like this...

"dave ah... i can see that you guys have put in a lot of effort into this project... but there are some areas which i think could be improved..."

instead of...

"dave ah... there are many areas that are lacking in this project..."

but when it comes to love relationships... we prefer...

"dave ah... i don't think we are suitable for each other..."

instead of...

"dave ah... you have been doing a lot for me and i do like you to a certain extent... but hor... i don't think we are suitable for each other..."

the dilemma in life...

KTV Saturday / Shutdown Day...

KTV with Triston was arranged for a few weeks now...
but unfortunately, his grandfather passed away few days ago...
and the funeral is today...
went ahead with the KTV with Kerry @ Partyworld IB...
signed up for the Partyworld lifetime membership @ S$10 nett...
quite worth it since i get 10% off for every visit...

paid Borders a visit and spent close to S$90 for seven books...
used the 30% voucher available from their mailing list...
plus additional 10% off using my Borders Preferred Members card...
quite a varied selection...
from James Patterson's Step On A Crack to Don Piper's 90 Minutes In Heaven...
from Jesse Kellerman's Trouble to Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love...
from Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild to Nic Sheff's Tweak to Jeffrey Deaver's The Bone Collector...
for a list of the books i have read, am reading or want to read...
please visit my facebook profile...

Kerry and i had dinner @ Dome in Isetan...
something wrong with the air-conditioning and fans were brought in to coll down the place...
surprisingly, they served good food...
the chicken though small portion was delicious...

the day ended with my first movie in nearly 2 months...
Iron Man was hilarious...
but disappointing in the special effects department...
as well as the storyline...
although he is the first superhero to be made and not born...
the plot was just too thin and too slow to keep the adrenaline pumping...

was SMSing Ju Liet on the way home...
scary to know that she worked until 5am the day before...
sometimes i wish i am as dedicated as she is...
on the other hand, she wished to be like me who am able to enjoy life to the fullest...
well, the grass is always greener...

oh ya... did i tell you today is Shutdown Day??
obviously i did not take part in it...
why bother when technology is already so deeply rooted in our lives...
look forward to the future...
stop pondering too much about the past...
the days of remembering each other's home phone numbers are gone...
embrace technology and make full use of it...
i am sure it has its pros... and of course the cons...
why blame technology when it is the people who misused and abused it...
God bless mobile phones...
God bless the internet...
God bless MSN and facebook...
God bless everyone...

Post-May Day Shopping...

took leave today to shop with mum...
it is more of a pre-Mother's Day shopping rather than post-May Day shopping...
left the house at around 9am...
breakfast at Toast Box AMK Hub...
then took the MRT to Orchard...
we were too early...
Isetan was still closed when we reached there at 9:50am... lolz...
did not buy anything from Isetan and mum did not even want to walk into Tangs...
took the bus to Heeren to check out if they stock up on Madonna's Hard Candy special edition...
no luck... but bought two novels for S$20... such a surprise...

first stop was John Little...
decided to get myself another backpack...
since the Vertical one was a little too big...
after much trying and sashaying in front of the mirror...
finally settled on a Beverly Hills Polo Club for only S$39...
nearly half the price of the Vertical one bought earlier...

next came Robinsons...
was supposed to be buying handbags for mum...
ended up i also bought 4 pair of pants... cos dirt cheap lor...
Alain Delon each for about S$35...
mum bought two handbags...

just before we left Centrepoint, i saw Caserini...
remembered a friend telling me that they are having a sale...
started trying on their limited size 38 long sleeve shirts...
as there were no other customers, took my own sweet time to try out everything...
after trying more than 10 shirts, finally decided on 6...
another S$200+ spent...
looks like today is "change wardrobe" day for me...
the shopkeeper wanted to introduce girls to me...
after knowing that i am such a filial son shopping with mum for Mother's Day...
hahahaha...

last stop was OG, mum's favourite store...
as i was already carrying so many shopping bags, decided not to browse anymore...
mum bought another 2 handbags plus a pair of shoes...

took the cab home after lunch...
what a fruitful day...
there goes my S$200 Growth Dividends and S$250 4D winnings...
but i am a happy man...
so is my mum...

Billboard: First Day Sales Put Madonna On Track For 7th No. 1...

April 30, 2008, 6:40 PM ET
Keith Caulfield, L.A.

Madonna is on track to net her seventh No. 1 album on next week's Billboard 200 with "Hard Candy," based on first-day sales measured by the Nielsen SoundScan Building Chart released Wednesday afternoon (April 30).

Unweighted sales for the Warner Bros. album from the Building Chart's panel of reporters through the close of business Tuesday, April 29, stood at 100,000.

Among all female artists, only Barbra Streisand has earned more No. 1s -- with eight. Currently, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson are all tied for the second most, with six apiece.

Late last year, Chris Brown's "Exclusive" posted a first day number of 107,000 and finished the week with 294,000. However, sources close to the Madonna project indicate that with much of "Hard Candy's" first-day figure driven by iTunes sales, its full sales week could end up closer to the range of 225,000-250,000.

Madonna's last studio effort, 2005's "Confessions on a Dance Floor," started at No. 1 with 350,000.

Billboard estimates the merchants who report to Nielsen SoundScan's Building Chart -- Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Circuit City, iTunes, Starbucks,Borders, Target, Anderson Merchandisers, and Handleman Co. -- comprise about 80% of all U.S. Album sales.

Leading the charge for "Hard Candy" is first single "4 Minutes," featuring Justin Timberlake, which peaked at No. 3 on The Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs. The download has sold 1 million copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan, including 185,000 for the week that ended April 27.

Madonna first rang the Billboard 200's bell when "Like a Virgin" reached No. 1 in late 1984. Since then, she's claimed No. 1s with "True Blue" (1986), "Like a Prayer" (1989), "Music" (2000), "American Life" (2003) and "Confessions."

She also owns a whopping five sets that peaked at No. 2 -- "I'm Breathless" (1990), "The Immaculate Collection" (1990), "Erotica" (1992), the soundtrack to "Evita" (1996) and "Ray of Light" (1998).