Tot Ziens

Went to Changi Airport to send my aunt and cousins off on Sunday night. The flight was scheduled at 2305 hrs and we reached around 2030 hrs. Hopefully I'll get to see them soon, again. An interesting thing to note... there is now a "minty" trend among my relatives and family members. All of us including myself are hooked to the mint "eclipse"... my cousin, sister, mum, aunts, uncle...! Ha ha.

Argh! Forgot to take pictures! Only managed to snap 1 in the midst of departure... =(

Chat with Wan Ci on msn after they arrived back in Holland... and she send me a picture of one of her favourite art pic drawn by her. It was so well-drawn that I wanted to post it here to share with you all (of cos after getting her permission). Its drawn in acrylic... and yes, there's an extract from Roy Lichtenstein Kiss V. Marvellous drawing! =D

Went to my friend's place on Monday to play with dogs. =Þ Yes, its pomeranian! The breed that I like most and it makes me feel like getting some for myself. Not one... some! Hee hee. Really missed those days working in the zoo... I really love animals and feel like going back to work as volunteer in Singapore Zoological Gardens again. Its only on weekends, anyone interested to join me feel free to contact me. =)

p.s. Tot Ziens - Goodbye in Dutch

龙虎门

Ages (3-4 years ago...?) since I watched a Chinese film! I enjoyed the movie if you ask me but please don't ask me to give further comments... especially about movies or food, cos everything is okay, good or great to me. But if I ever say something is lousy, it definitely is. =Þ

Date: 29th July 2006

Time: 1415 hrs

Venue: GV Yishun

Hall: Hall 1, H-06/H-07

Up, Up... and Away!

Two more days and my cousins are going back to Holland... =(

As a farewell dinner, my aunt made a reservation at "Ting Yuan" for steamboat dinner. Its located at Liang Seah Street (Somewhere near Parco Bugis) and is famous for authentic Chong Qing style buffet. Each pot comes in split style and we chosed Duck broth and Herbal mala soup. I didn't really eat much during the dinner as I'm not used to eating steamboat, furthermore, most of the dipping ingredients were meat and seafood... (Hee... I can only blame myself for choosy). However, the dinner was more than enjoyable and I did enjoy the veggie wonton, dumplings and fish. =D It was really rare to see my cousins from my First Aunt, perhaps the last time I saw them was 4-5 years ago.

After dinner, we decided to let Wan Ci and Zheng Yang take the DHL Helium balloon located 1 street across. There was a total of 6 of us who boarded the balloon and we were like hogging the walking space. =Þ The balloon rose to a height of 150 meters, approximately 40 storeys before suspending there for several minutes. It was really thrilling to see Singapore at such a height accompanied by the gentle night breeze. There was 1 dissapointment though... the night light of Singapore wasn't that flattering. Its really nice and beautiful...! but kinda not what I have pictured in mind... Will definitely try it in the day some other time. =)

After the costly flight, we decided to head home with Wan Ci staying over at my place. Watched "The Longest Yard", "Shrek 2" and 1 episode of Adventures of Tin Tin before we Zzz...

Some pics taken on the night by 1 of my cousins using my handphone who didn't board the balloon. Hmm... its time to get a decent camera. =Þ

How Much Do You Love Me?

Got Dragged to watch this show, okay, dragged is too strong a word. Initially I just want to accompany a friend to watch this movie. I cant believe I'm saying this... but I found this movie actually really nice. It was artistically filmed leaving space for viewer's imagination. Although in french, its really a nice show and I'm glad I watched it =)

Date: 27th July 2007

Time: 2130 hrs

Venue: The Cathay

Wisemen

Was so attracted to the show "Trust The Man" that I keep watching the trailer, only to realize that I was attracted to the song used in the trailer (but the movie is equally nice as I liked the plot).

Really loved the song... shall share its lyrics here with you guys. =)

Singer: James Blunt

Title: Wisemen

She said to me, "Go steady on me
Won't you tell me what the wise men said?
When they came down from Heaven
Smoked nine until seven
All the shit that they could find
But they couldn't escape from you
Couldn't be free of you
And now they know there's no way out
And they're really sorry now for what they've done
They were three wise men just trying to have some fun"

Look who's alone now
It's not me, it's not me
Those three wise men
They've got a semi by the sea
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?

Really sorry now
They weren't to know
They got caught up in your talent show
With you pernickety little bastards in your fancy dress
Who just judge each other and try to impress
But they couldn't escape from you
Couldn't be free of you
And now they know there's no way out
And they're really sorry now for what they've done
They were three wise men just trying to have some fun

Look who's alone now
It's not me, it's not me
Those three wise men
They've got a semi by the sea
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?

Look who's alone now
It's not me, it's not me
Those three wise men
They've got a semi by the sea
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?
Got to ask yourself the question
Where are you now?

Where are you now?
Where are you now?
Got to ask youself the question
Where are you now?
Got to ask youself the question
Where are you now?

Movie List.

Once again updating my blog in the early morning... Its actually 1.54am Thursday morning as I typed this post. But I manually updated the time to be 23:59 Wednesday... have to do it else my posts are always one day late... furthermore, its confusing for you guys when I type 'today' or yesterday' before people asking me which day I am referring to?

Hasn't been productive at all for the past few days... Mostly occupied with my busy schedule of hibernating and games, and of cos to catch up with my friends. Bumped into one of my close friends in Secondary School the day before and had a drink with him at Coffee Bean. Though it has been donkey years since we last met up, what moved me was that the closeness we shared last time was still there. =)

Life just seems so bad. Nothing seems to be going in order and everything seems to go against you. It kinda happens to everybody and anyone... its actually not the case cos humans dont really observe or give praise to good things that happens in their life. Humans tends to concentrate on the flaws and bad stuffs, making a mountain out of a molehill from something insignificant. What makes me made this comment was the bad timing of all the stuffs that has been happening recently. My aunt and cousins are returning to Holland this weekend and of all time, different group of friends are making all sorts plans this week. Secondly, my reservist next year starts on the day after one of my close friend birthday, how am I going to celebrate with him?

Went to Seasons Park to play Tennis today. Man, does my stamina sucks... wonder how much running I need to regain my fitness again. Played for about 1 1/2 hours before we decided to call it a day. Was having dinner at Yio Chu Kang after the game when I bumped into Yew Seng at one of the coffee-shop and found out that he quit his job 2 months ago... A little recommendation for you guys, the Wanton mee there is delicious! I'm not sure if its due to fatigue and hunger, but the soup and mee taste really great! =Þ Could have another helping if not for the Heineken messing up my appetite. (The coffe shop is located opposite the Community Centre and a temple nearest to the market.)

Reached home around 11.30pm and realize that my cousin is spending the night over at my place. Considering that there wasn't much to do and he seems kinda bored (obviously I'm not a very good host...) we decided to watch "Doom" together. Bought the dvd months ago and left it to rot, didn't get the chance to watch it in the cinema either and I'm glad I didn't. I quite like the movie though, and never expected The Rock to turn into one of those monsters at the end. The ending was quite unexpected too with John becoming superhuman.

Speaking of movies, there are tons of movies that I'm gonna definitely watch. Most of them wont be out until the end of this year or somewhere next year. Just some of the 'not to be missed movies' on my list that caught my attention...:

• Barnyard
• Basic Instinct 2
• Charlottes Web
• Children of Men
• Click
• Deep Sea
• Dragon Tiger Gate
• Happy Feet
• John Tucker Must Die
• Little Miss Sunshine
• Monster House
• Spiderman 3
• Stick It
• TMNT
• The Break Up (Jennifer Aniston! Definitely will watch!)
• The Science of Sleep
• Trust The Man

Saw the trailer of "Happy Feet" and I cant believe there's actually a movie just about dancing penguins. Main purpose is to watch it and see how it goes... "John Tucker Must Die" and "Stick It" are the normal chic-flicks, "Stick It" seems very similiar to "Bring It On" except that its now talking about hot gymnastic girls... hopefully they will get screened in Singapore. =)

p.s. How difficult is it to post pics in Blogspot !? It always screw up and I have to retype my post to make it work.

Aye! Pirates Ahoy.

Yes, I went to watch Pirates of The Caribbean again on Monday 24th July 2006... and I cant believe that I will be watching it most probably next week again with another friend... ha ha. Abit ridiculous wasting money to watch the same movie 3 times in a cinema, but I guess its worth the time and money watching with my close friends. =) This time round was with my cousins and auntie.

I could have enjoyed the movie as much as the first time if not for the fidgety horny couple sitting beside me. I wasn't paying attention to them until the lights went out when they get all lascivious and nudge-y. Its perfectly okay if its just normal hugging or stuffs like that, but believe me, what they are doing are outrageous with hands all over the place. Perhaps they thought its dark... but Allo! I know its dark, but I'm just beside man... and I pay money to actually want to watch a movie and not their unflattering erotic skit. Cant believe people who goes to cinema to satisfy their burning loins...

"Geez, get a room..." thats what I blurted out and thats when they decided to stop. I mean... its okay for couples to do what they want, I have my fantasy of doing it in public too cos its exciting, but definitely not when there are people around.

Anyway for those who have not watch the movie... a little info. Remember to stay till the end of the credits as there's a short clip after that... Just like in X-Men 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 1 ;) I didn't stay for the first time and nobody informed me of the short clip at the end, however I just got this gut feeling and I told my cousins to remain seated.. and was I right! =D

Was solving some puzzles today when a question strike me. Here goes... How far would you go in a relationship (be it love or friendship) if you know its not going to last, knowing that it will terminate early at some point in time? For example, you got to meet this fantastic ideal girl/guy of your dream only to realize he/she has terminal illness, to befriend someone from overseas knowing he/she will leave Singapore never to return, to adopt a pet from the shelter knowing that you will get attached to it and lose it in less than 5 years time... I know what my answer is and I believe most people too. But why does humans choose something they know is going to inflict pain at a later point of time?

Yes, I already forsee that many of you will debate on this topic and as usual force your views on me, but perhaps we can discuss this next time when I want to... All I wanted is just want to pen my thoughts even if its rubbish...

Lastly, the exact issue date for the Biometric passport is out...! Have been waiting for that day for a damn long time. Finally can get on a trip with Hao Xin and Xin Yan and whoever who will be jio-ed along... yeah =)

Magical Night...

Just got back not long ago and still abit high on alcohol as I type this post. Haven't really got the time to update my blog for the past few nights... as I was occupied, chatting with some of my close friends. Picked up a queer habit of updating my blog in the wee hours of the morning... when everything seems so peaceful... the air so cooling and fresh with the occassional speeding sound of cars along the road around my neighbourhood.

Was introduced to the song "All Over Again" by Marilyn two days ago and since then had the song looping in my playlist. It was this song that reminded me how much I used to like Ronan Keating songs, bringing back fond memories of days during JC... when things seems so much better, when life seems so much simpler, when everybody seems so much happier... when Alvin is still around to crack me up... I'm an emotional person and I dont deny it... I get affected by things easily, get distracted by people around me... cry each time I watch Jerry Maguire though I've seen it more than 20 times.

I like treating my friends nice... enjoy the smile on them when I helped them... the satisfaction is priceless to me, thats why in the past I used to go all out for my close friends. I'll travel far to buy something my friend need, pass things to them thru their mail-box cos I like to give surprises, attend plays or games to give support to friends that are involved... doing all these with or without their knowledge doesn't matter cos it makes me feels good just doing stuffs and being there for them. However many things have happened throughout these few years that made me grown weary... somehow the dissapointment seems to out weigh my beliefs. I still do these stuffs now... but lesser I guess. Not sure what I'm ranting about, but there's this recent incident that makes me ponder some stuffs again. After pouring out to Marilyn, which somehow always seem to be there when I need a listening ear, and someone who can offer me various perspectives on each problems... I realize that perhaps I made a mistake this time round. Haiz.

This week really seems to be a long week. Went to watch Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest but cant really recall which day in particular. The movie was fantastic and definitely worth the wait and anticipation. =)

Played Tennis at Season's Park Condo on Thursday. Finally got back my racket after lending it to Guan Aik for months. Haven't played for a long long time and my stamina is definitely gone. I love Tennis cos its one of the sports that I played better in. Had a really great time though its just an hour game. Went for a 1km run which almost killed me before going my friend's place to enjoy his cooking. Its time I start doing sports again, getting too fat and unfit. =(

Went to Holland-V for dinner and beer on Friday. When my friends mention dinner at Holland V, I usually expect some nice restaurants for meals, perhaps a $15-20 budget meal... (cos after spending the effort of travelling down, why eat something that is plentiful elsewhere) but we ended up having dinner at the Hawker Center located in the heart of Holland-V. Had chicken rice and a bottle of Carlsberg before settling at Coffee Bean for a drink whilst surfing the web and watching Dead Or Alive latest trailer. The girls inside the trailer looks really yummy especially the blonde... ha ha.

Saturday afternoon... Went down to Marina South to watch Hao Xin play soccer against other teams in their weekly league. Unfortunately, their teams lost due to shortage of players. I went down without informing him... cos initially I just want to go down to support him, and to spend some time alone sorting out my thoughts, bask myself in the evening sun, lazing on the grass enjoying the cool breeze. =D

23rd July 2006 Sunday. Went to catch the movie "Nacho Libre" at Yishun 10. Just feel like watching some nonsensical stuffs and did I truly get what I wanted. I always found the trailer ridiculously funny. The main theme of the movies sounds really good though, shall go buy the soundtrack if its available.

Shopped for a while at Northpoint after the movie before heading down to Jurong to meet Arthur. As Arthur needs to drive Bob back to the Naval Camp at Changi, we decided to have dinner at SAF Yatch Club. Tonight was my first time there (second time to be exact, the first was 6 years ago when our unit has the route march there) and the place was heavenly, it was so...so beautiful. The ambience of the cafe was lovely with the sea and yatches park along side accompanied by the sound of waves. The cafe has a soothing theme with its pier gently decorated with lights... while having my Fish n Chips and beer, there was this group of guitarist serenading us with "Sealed with a Kiss"... The night just seems so magical... =)

Not really sure what I'm typing now also, the flow is messed up, eyes half closed and my mind is missing. Most probably will laugh / regret what I wrote today as I read this post some time later.

iStory

Tiring week considering that I've been going out consecutively for days and reaching home at around 11 plus every day. Totally burned out that I cant find the time and energy to self study the GMAT books I borrowed. However, there was a book that caught my attention and would like to share with you guys...

iMac, iBook, iPod, iTunes... possibly other 'i' products from Apple that I missed out and not listed here. Whatever the case, let me introduce to you their new product in the market... "iCon". Possibly not something new as it was published last year in 2005, which only caught my eye recently. Its actually a book titled, "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in The History of Business". When I first saw the title, I thought it contains some sort of pun like "i con someone for money"... it turns out to be the biography of Steve Jobs, an icon person in the business world. Although I'm only at the first few chapters, its truly an interesting and inspiring book worth recommending. Its starts off introducing Steven Paul Jobs (or commonly known as Steve Jobs) parents and his adoption since birth. His history since young and progressively mention how he became the CEO of Apple and Chairman of Pixar.

Its simply amazing how the Apple "i" craze doesn't stop. Aside from their products, their names and usage has become so popular that one can actually hear slangs such as "nanogasm" used in Europe. (Nanogasm defined as obession and erotic enjoyment derived from Apple iPod Nano), really interesting... Perhaps I can modify the name of my blog to be iJourney for the thrill of it... =Þ

Went to shop for my cousin's PSP yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 18th July 2006). We practically surveyed all the shops in Sim Lim Sqaure trying to find the best bargain for the game console. We later made a trip down to Funan to check the prices only to realize an offer of $330 was the lowest from one of the shops in Sim Lim Square. However when we returned back to the shop in Sim Lim, the price of $330 will be offered only if we purchase extra accessories from them which costs around $50 more. We ended up buying the console from Sim Lim and a game from Funan before sending my cousin home.

The graphic display and game play of PSP was terrific. He bought only 1 game, "FIFA Street 2" and I was already addicted to it. Anyway, some tips for interested buyers... There exists 2 versions of PSP, version 1.5 and version 2.6. The latter version supports only original games which costs around S$30, to a range up to S$70. Version 1.5 or the earlier release supports downloadable games from the net and therefore more costly. Both version comes with a choice of Standard Pack or Value Pack, each with different prices making purchasing a real headache.

Went to meet Hao Xin for dinner at Macpherson road. Played pool at Dhoby Ghaut before heading home. My performance was terrible today... utterly horrendous! Guess I was too tired from all the walking in the afternoon. Argh, so tired...

Time to end this posts and call it a day... or night... watever... =)

Birthday Boy...!

Celebrated my Cousin Birthday on Saturday (15th July 2006) at one of the Chinese restaurant near my grandma's place. It was kinda nice as the attendance was amazing. Seldom do I get to see all my aunts and relatives on a single occasion... and its even harder to meet up with my aunt and cousins from Holland. (Not even on Chinese New Year)

Though nice, I starved throughout the dinner. The dishes were mainly meat starting with the roast pig followed by goose meat, prawns, shark fins soup and other funny stuffs that I dont eat. I ate only the mee, fish and some veggies... and definitely lots of chilli, ha ha. Cakes! Lucky there was a Birthday cake for me. =Þ Well serves me right for being so choosy on food, cant blame me on the seafood though due to allergies. Perhaps its time I learn to be more of a carnivore....

Got my cousin Holland's World Cup Jersey and he loved it! =) Gonna bring him to get his Play Station Portable (PSP) tomorrow. This month is definitely burning a hole in my wallet considering there's no more income...

My Cousins (some of them) ... =D

Some pics on the dishes for the night:

Updates...!

It has been a while since I last update my blog... kinda cliche sentence to start a blog, but hey, its really the case...

Called up one of 1996 Saint Andrew's survivor today and found out that he's having quite a bad time and is on the verge of commiting suicide. Didn't know he was in such a bad shape until I called him out for a game of badminton yesterday afternoon. He dropped me a message at 1.30am and asked me "What is the meaning of life...?" He is pretty much the reason for the bout of inspiration to post something this early in the morning...

I'm not that good a councilor myself nor would I say I'm doing great... But I have been there, suffering and tormented with the downs in life... lost a couple of very close friends due to death and misunderstanding and I am not ready to lose another friend if its within my control. My reply to him was "... we shouldn't expect too much in life... Metaphorically speaking, life is like a new toy, a display item or a new country foreign to us. Yet, its up to us to explore its beauty and not get intimidated by it..." There are other stuffs that I said but I will spare the details on my blog as its something really personal to him. I just seriously hope that he will not do anything silly and I will try my best to make him see light in his life.

Enough of depressing stuffs and a little update on what's happening to me for the past few days (for people like Marilyn who read my blog to keep track on how I'm doing, really appreciate it =] )... apologies for other readers, if you have been following my life and like me to know, feel free to drop me a message!

Firstly, I quit my well-paid job on 30th June 2006. I wasn't really happy with the job and would like to pursue something that I find enjoyable. The only thing that I liked was the superb view that it have over the CBD. I do have something in mind and that would be a career in Banking or the Financial Sector. This pretty much spur me to borrow some books on GMAT two days ago. I really hope to do well and its time I stop procastinating and put in some effort.

Went to watch "Superman Returns" with Hao Xin on 2nd July at GV Plaza. Wasn't really eager about the show and wasn't expecting anything much mostly due to the fact that I wasn't a big fan of DC-Comic and Superman. Surely there's no fantastic twist and definitely nothing new to expect. C'mon, how much more can you expect from a guy who is super and invincible? But I was proven wrong and the movie turn out surprising nice. Not the plot! It was the direction and cinematography that was brilliant. The way Clark look at Lois was so beautiful... the way they portray him looking at her through the lift was superb... really beautiful, not just that particular scene, but the whole movie in general.

Catched "Scary Movie 4" earlier on but couldn't really recall the exact date. Not a bad movie and had some really good laughs =D

Probaly the second time I went to ArkCafe this time on 5th July and to support a friend who is singing live in the cafe. They have moved from Apollo Hotel and is now located in Safra Club. It still has the nice warmth cozy ambience... with more pretty gers. Modest decorations and soothing lights, the mood was remarkably nice accompanied by light-hearted chats of the hosts for that night. Although most of our dedications were scraped, the melodious voice of the singers made it a pleasant, relaxing night.

6th July and my Aunt from Holland decided to give us a surprise. Together with my cousins, they arrived in Singapore Last Thursday and would be staying in Singapore till the end of this month. It has been 2 years since I last saw them in year 2003 when I was still staying in hostel. Brought them to Singapore Science Center as requested by my Aunt. Singapore Science Center new look is amazing (though I haven't been here for years), with the water 'play-ground' display attracting both children and adults.

Went to watch the iMax movie "T-Rex". I personally didn't enjoy the movie. Seriously, I was expecting some dinosaur actions and some bloody scenes or at least something educational. Instead, the movie involves a bimbotic paleontologist affirming the evolution of dinosaur into birds based on some horrendous time-travel dream after sniffing some gas. Although I enjoy the experience of sitting inside the Omni-theatre after so many years, the ridiculous plot somehow killed any excitement. Definitely the worst film ever...!

We went for a short tour in Science Center and I would say I'm impressed with the exhibits. Could have appreciate them better if there were less rowdy school kids running all over the 'shop'. The exhibits were informational and intuitive carefully categorised under different areas (Chemistry, Aviation, Robotics, etc). Educational yet fascinating. =)

Thursday (13th July)... Wanted to attend a talk by ACM (Asian Civilisation Museum) about "Ghost Marriages" but was later requested to attend a seminar by GoldZone. The latter one sort of affecting my chance of a job in the company forcing me to give up the chance of learning ghostly rituals. The seminar turn out okay and I had the chance of knowing employed people... ha ha.

Its 4am... Time to stop ranting and play some games before I hit the bed, tomorrow is another long day as I need to do some shopping for my cousin's present... =)