2-Line Vocabulary
Took half day off today. Was good indeed. For the first time in a long while the whole family was home in the afternoon. Dad and Mon took half day as well, Sis got home from school early and my brother got back from his NS training in Brunei this morning. Sweet. Took a 3.5hr nap coz I was utterly exhausted - it's only mid week man!
Anyway, lately my source of entertainment to perk me up has been to watch clips from 'Whose Line is it Anyway' on Youtube. Love that show. Pity they're not airing it anymore on the telly. It's quite funny coz I usually plug my earphones into the com and watch the clip.... then I'll burst out laughing randomly coz the stuff they do and say can get really hilarious. My sister thought I had gone bonkers for a moment from my work! Coz for those of u who know me, my laughter's quite contagious.
My hat goes out to the people on the show. Bloody talented and witty they are. Love Wayne Brady tops. Spot on imitations, great singing voice and just one heck of a funny dude. Colin and Ryan are another 2 hilarious duo. Just watching several clip helps lighten the mood and keeps me sane. Laughter certainly is the best medicine!
Here are some clips for ur viewing pleasure. Enjoy.
Excessive Arm hair Infomercial
Going Bald Hoedown
Stand, Sit, Bend
Let's Make a Date
Venipuncture If u wanna find out more click here. It's basically what doctors/nurses do when you go for a blood test. U know how they insert the needle into your forearm and draw out a tube or two of ur blood sample. Yea... get the idea now?
Anyway, due to the nature of my job scope, several of my colleagues and I were sent to NYP to attend this 4 day Phlebotomy Course so that we would become licensed phlebotomist - We are often required to draw blood samples and run them to test for various stuff during our physiology research.
I must say it definitely was a nerve wrecking experience. Honestly, I don't really mind getting poked with a needle as I have a pretty high tolerance to pain. But, ask me to insert a rather large needle into someone else, I get freaking nervous and scared. The theory part of it all was rather straight forward.... come to the practical part, we initially practiced on fake mannequin arms with fake blood oozing out. The real thing came this afternoon when we had to use the actual needle and equipment to insert into our partner's arm and get an actual blood sample.
[ You see, since it's a course and there were no 'patients' to practice on, we had to pair up with our partners and perform the venipuncture on each other - scary shit eh!]
Thank God my partner and I did fine. Managed to locate the vein and perform a successful blood draw. Yeah. *pat on the backs to both of us* Hands were trembling initially; really hated the fact that I had to inflict pain on another person. What worried me the most was if I missed the vein and inserted the needle deeper than what I was supposed to... think abt it, u're vein is pretty thin and small eh!
I need to perform one more venipuncture next week! Hope all goes well again!
TGIF!!!
At least my workload at work has toned down a little this week. Finally completed running the stats for my research trial today. So much on my 1hr intensive crash course on how to use SPSS -Statistical Package for Social Sciences, which is a computer stats programme that.... yup, no points for guessing - run statistical analysis.
For one, I totally hate stats and half the time I knew not what I was doing. Basically, I'm real bad a Mathematics, period. Anyway, I'm just glad that it's all done for now. Come next week and another load of work comes in. Till then, I'm just gonna enjoy my weekend!
Hmmm.... thinking what I should do tmr. Don't really feel like heading out or anything. Maybe an early morning jog, breakie at the market (i'm craving for you tiao and soya bean milk), sleep the afternoon away.... sounds good for now.
I think I've found a new passion for roller blading which I can now add to my 'Favourite Sports I Like to Play' List!
Went blading once again this Sunday @ East Coast Park, just this time round it was with my colleagues. Had a blast. We spent a good 4 hours blading, covered quite some distance... and by that I mean we probably bladed more than 30km... possibly more. All of us were pretty decent bladers I would say, so we managed to get some speed going on down the path. Hell lot of people around at the park though.
I tell you, some of the cyclist on the cycling/blading path are hell reckless. Especially those fools who think they're doing some stunt by swerving in and out of the lane.... and stupid pedestrians - use the pedestrian path for goodness sake. It's just simple lane courtesy and also to save ur arse from being knocked down and possibly injured from bladers who can't stop in time or cyclist who lose their balance. Hate it how pedestrians especially just walk along the designated cycling path and think that it's their grandfather's road. So irritating. Ok, enough of my bitching.
As I was saying... the blading session was really enjoyable. Guess what, there's another session coming up this weekend again. This time we have a bigger group of people coming! Yeah... really looking forward already.
I love my new blades!!!
I personally think that the English language is one of the hardest languages to learn apart from Tamil and German, especially if its not your first language. It may seem easy to speak it for most, but I'm referring more to the nitty-ditty detail behind the art of pronunciation and the many similar meanings that a single word can hold. Amazing isn't it.
This all started during the first aid course that 3 of my colleagues and I attend over the past 4 days. Being real bored during the sessions, we decided to to play a game and test each other on commonly mispronounced words. It was hell funny man... coz we'll spell the word and the others were supposed to try pronounce it correctly. So here are some examples. Give it a shot. I'll post the proper pronunciation next time.
1. Salmon
2. Almond
3. Baton
4. Three
5. Athlete
6. Plastic
7. Nuclear
8. February
9. Sorbet
10. Film
1. Baguette
2. Grand Prix
3. Peugeot
4. Lingerie
5. Forte
We had more words, but they're not popping up in my head at the moment. When I do think of them I'll post them down.
Oh and one more just for fun, especially for the guys out there. Did you know that the word 'Bra' is not actually a proper word. It's only the short form of a word. We women just say the word 'bra' for convenience sake. Apparently most guys won't know this, some girlies don't too... so what's the proper word for 'Bra'???
Have fun!
Due to my line of work, the company sent 3 other colleagues and myself for the First Aider Course at the Red Cross Training Center. So yes, now I'm certified first aider.
Was trying to get out of it coz I went for a similar course 6 years back, but they said it would just be safer and better that I went again for a refresher. Darn. As predicted, the course was hell boring. Imagine, 4 long and boring days. I think the time frame set aside for the course was a tad too long. 3 days would have been better. I really felt bad for my instructor, but she honestly could not teach well. Real naggy as she kept beating ard the bush and as much as she tried to make the lesson interesting, it was lame, period. I'm not trying to be a smart arse here, but my colleagues and I reckoned that we could have easily passed the test if they just gave us the manual to read.
I think the instructor could not be bothered with the 4 of us. We initially tried to pay attention, but soon after started to talk amongst ourselves (of coz softly). Always the first to leave the class for lunch break and dismissal, last to rock back up for the class after. Such bad students, but we really could not be bothered. Anyway, glad it's now over and yes, all of us passed the test!
Yes, as u probably figured out from the title of the post....
After 4 months of contemplation and blade browsing, I finally got myself new roller blades! I love em! They're a K2 model - Kinetic 10.0, real nice indeed. 'Nice' price too, but I was lucky enough to get a good discount, so in the end it was like the super best bargin buy for this particular type of blades.
I shall post a pic of it when I get more time to do so. Been so busy lately.... as if when am I ever free right?
Really like this pic too...
This was taken when I was back in Australia for my convocation. Happened to be walking along one of the beaches in Yallingyup, about a 3.5hr drive down south of Perth, Western Australia, when I saw this group of 4 men lined up along the shore casting their lines. The waves were pretty rough for one and the sea breeze was real strong at that time. Not really sure how in the world they could fish there. But the guys were nice enough to chat to me and said they were actually regular fishers at this beach. Guess what! They were fishing for SALMON!!!! How cool is that. Apparently, they are so good at this they can just look into the water and judging by its colour cast their lines ard that particular spot... coz that's where the salmon fishes are. Interesting indeed. Impressed.
What a great time I had spending my Sunday chilling and lazing with QY under the warm tropical Singapore sun @ Cafe Del Mar in Sentosa. Was my first time there since it opened end of last year... I must say it's a pretty nice place to hang out. Kinda chic sortta atmosphere.... great for chilling especially by the pool side with a nice cold beer at hand! The music ain't too bad too... gives u that loungy kinda feel.
I must say the ambiance works well.... u have ur restaurant at the back, the pool in the middle with the poolside bar, music thumping loud enough, but not to the extent that you'll go deaf and lottas nice comfy beds which double up as ur deck chairs... or deck-beds I should say. It also has a nice clean feel to it... white and blue theme... and of coz to top it all off, ur nice sea breeze and the soft sand beneath ur feet.
Weather again today was kind... sun high above, relatively low cloud cover; to sum it up - NICE! Happened to find out that an old school friend was working there at Del Mar... I had a good time, wouldn't mind going back there again! Although I kinda need to mention that staff service there definitely ain't the best; I shall stop at that. Now, despite having tried to shield my face from the sun, I'm already red as a lobster and starting to feel the itch setting in. Time to slap on the moisturizer!
Come dinner, met up with Big 'D' for a great meal at Chomp Chomp in Serangoon Gardens. Had the usual good stuff - BBQ stingray and chicken wings, sambal kangkong, oyster omelet and of coz, nothing goes better than to top ur spicy meal with a nice huge glass of fresh cold sugar cane jucie! Yummy! We were not done yet...
Went to check out this new desert place called ICE. We each order ourselves one of their house ice cream creations. Not too bad really. Reasonable price, ambiance once again was not too bad - they had this small cosy corner with sofa seats and stuff... comfy. Although my friend did kinda mention that the sofa corner did have a little sleazy vibr to it coz of the dim lightings with the red and purple drappings on the walls. Hahahha.
I'm sooooo stuffed and bloated right now! Yikes... need to work it off tmr!
Headed down to East Coast Park this afternoon with 4 other friends to roller blade. I think its been a good 4 years plus since I last bladed. The last closest things I did to blading was skiing down the mountains of Mt. Hotham on my ski trip in Melbourne last year.
Anyway, typical weekend crowd was there at the beach. Spent about 2 hours blading up and down the East Coast stretch. Was good fun I must say, especially after not having bladed for a freaking long time. I'm not that great at blading.... I can move at a pretty decent speed, but I cannot stop properly for nuts! Option one for me is to jump onto the nearest grass or sand patch in sight. If not, I try attempting to stop with the back break... which I need to emphasize is not that effective unless I'm going at snail pace.
Nonetheless, I think all of us had a pretty good time. The weather was kind and was just good having to catch up with my ex-team mates.
I wanna go back and blade again... suddenly after today's session, there's just this great urge to wanna blade there again. Anyone keen on joining me??? Let me know ya!
Just some pics taken while I was in Aust.... Did I mention I simply love sunsets....
Not bad, not bad at all....
The company where I'm working at kinda booked an entire theater at Vivo City for the staff to catch the upcoming movie - Fantastic 4 : Rise of the Silver Surfer. Well, the tixs don't come free, but still its a pretty good deal. 2 tixs for the price of $10, inclusive of drinks and popcorn. Not bad a deal hey.
Now comes the part on deciding who to bring along to catch the show....
Ponders....
My brother is so gonna kill me if he finds out that I've posted his pic on my blog!
My bro (above right) and his group of buddies went on a fishing trip over the weekend off the local waters. Apparently they hired some boat and the whole grp of them just had their 'brudder-time'. Look at the whopping size of that fishy they caught just after 3 hrs...ain't bad for a start! They caught plenty more too though...
Now, i think 1/4 of that fish has already been thru and out of my system. Mum cooked up a mean fish curry dish the following night. Was real tasty!
Ooo.... I love this other song sung by Michael Buble. It's just sucha happy, carefree, ditsy-feel-chillout kinda song. I kinda reckon for those friends who know me well, it's really a very 'Ja' kinda song - if u get what I mean. I dunno, but it just feels to be.
So lalalalalalala....
You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.
And you play you're coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.
[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.
And I can't believe, that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.
[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
Was just jogging along my usual route on Sunday when I happened to pass this man (prob in this 30's) walking his dog. Not too sure what breed it was, but it was one of those medium sized dogs - quite pretty actually. Anyway, there was this little girl (say ard 5-6yrs?) who was running towards our direction. I think she kinda strayed from her mum who was a good 50m away. Suddenly, she just froze on the spot upon seeing the dog.
So ok, from my perspective, the doggie saw the girl and thought, 'Great, a kid who's cute enough to play with me! Maybe I should run up towards her and lick her...'
*Dog runs towards girl*
Poor little girl starts screaming and out of fear, runs about in circles...literally! Stupid owner didnn't really do much to help except try calling his dog back by name. Obviously, the dog is too occupied trying to get the attention of the girl thinking that she wants to play coz she's circling about! Girl on the other hand looked rather hysterical by this point...
Seeing that nothing was being done, I decided to be 'gung-ho' and chase after the doggie, in an attempt to 'SAVE' the girl. *Ooooo* Boy.... am I good or am I good? Managed to grab hold of the dog's collar and held it still. But girl was still running in circles! By this time her mum came and did what most mums would do la... sayang, hug hug, kiss kiss.
*returned dog to owner, who didn't have much to say*
Continued on my jog...
Then this thought flashed thru my mind as I jogged away...
Why the hell was the girl running in circles! I know she was in fear and all, but I'm thinking instinctively, I would have ran straight back towards my mum! I dunno la.... just found that rather funny. ( U need to see it to understand.... was pretty hilarious! I'm so mean!)
Ignore the MTV, coz its definitely not the greatest, but I really love this song heaps! The melody is nice and soothing to listen to. The lyrics on the other hand I can relate to, especially when you have experienced a failed long-dist relationship. I think over the period of this entire week I've listened to it on my iPod more than 20 times on my way to work!
Michael Buble - great singer. Like his other new song - Everythying.
Enjoy!
"HOME"
Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm
Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that
Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home
Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home
And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me
Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home
And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home
Oh my goodness! Caught up with 2 of my besties for lunch today at Swensens and one of them broke the news that her BF proposed to her yesterday... and she said YES!
Hahha...then comes the flashing of ' THE ROCK'!!! Pretty pretty! It was just really sudden to hear this surprising news. I mean I'm really happy for her and all but my other bestie and I were literally surprised. I guess coz she's a rather private person by nature and doesn't talk much abt her love life to us, hence there's not much updates in that area. I respect her personal choice.
Anyway.... the exciting part comes after. They're planning their wedding to be set for the end of next year and she asked if I wanted to have the honour of becoming one of her bride's maid! How exciting! Ok, for one, I've never been a bride's maid. Secondly, I always wanted to become one but never got the chance to coz I'm like right smack in the middle of my extended family, so my older cousins who have already tied the knot usually asked the other older cousins to do the honour! But hahaha....it's my turn now! Really looking forward to that.... pretty dresses and stuff! (Great, this gives me more motivation to keep up my exercise regime!) Heheee!
Gosh, another friend getting married! What abt me....??? Still very much single and available, but I'm totally digging singlehood at the moment.... not pressure whatsoever as of YET!
Toodles...
Sibiling outing to the movies yet again.... this time we cuaght SHREK 3. Wasn't that bad, but I reckon it wasn't as good as the first two. I usually find that the case with all movie sequals; it mostly ends up that the initial ones are always better than the last. I think maybe the producers and directors try too hard to 'complete' the storyline and hence either make it too draggy or too complicated.
Just to name a few:
1. Spidey 3 -- too over-rated (still liked 1 and 2 better)
2. Happy Potter -- they're trying to squeeze too many things in for the sake of not having to come up with another Harry Potter movie... (anyway, I think Daniel Radcliffe and gand are becoming a little too 'old' and matured to be playing their parts)
3. Oceans 13-- When is it ever gonna end? It's always the same concept... robbing a bank/ casino or some rich place in under 5 mins!
4. LOTR???
Anyway, as I was saying....
Shrek 3 was alright. You kinda get the morals out of it - believe in yourself, you're ultimately the one controlling who you want to be and stuff like that.... blah blah blah. I thought the scene when the the Frog King was choking and dying really hilarious! It's suppose to be the death of a character, but it really tickled me. OOoo... and those little Dronkeys (half donkey, half dragons) were soooo darn adorable! Fav. character on the other hand has to be Puss in Boots. So Suave and that sexy Antonio Banderas voice.... Hahhaa.
I do enjoy Disney and Pixar kinda animated movie.... best thus far has still gotta be The Little Mermaid. - that's a classic! The Lion King is not bad either. Always love the songs and light-hearted ways. With this standard, I don't see how that new movie - Legends of the Sea (or whatever it's called) can even make it into the box office! For one, I think the animation really sucks! Not something I would bother to pay to watch at the movies.
After a long draining day at work, nothing beats returning home to have a nicely prepared dinner all set and ready for you to tuck into.... Labels: Family
Especially when the chef is none other than ur own sister! It might just seem like a very simple meal, nothing fancy whatsoever; the fact that she took the trouble to whip up a meal coz the parents are currently abroad really made my day!
She was so cute... got a text msg from her this afternoon while I was still at work saying that she was cooking up something for dinner and I was like..... Awwww! How sweet and thoughful!
Thanks babe. Dinner was great and truly satisfying! I'm stuffed!