Untouched Perfection

Time for a change

2009-11-26T22:26:00.002+08:00

I HAVE MOVED.....TO HERE!

Got Milk?

2009-10-07T20:03:00.010+08:00

Picture of the Day???

A protester spraying milk (direct from a cow's udder!!!) as part of their protest demanding greater support from the EU. Thousands of European farmers have brought Brussells to a standstill, spraying milk and manure onto the streets and pelting police with bottles and chickens in a protest against falling milk prices.

"European milk farmers have dumped three million litres of fresh milk onto pastures and roads in a massive, organized protest against lowered dairy prices.

In Belgium, farmers spread milk across roads near the southern town of Ciney. Elsewhere, about 300 tractors dragged milk containers through plowed fields in southern Belgium, dumping a day's worth of milk production in that region."**

**Extracted from CBCnews.ca To read more click here!

Milk farmers say prices dropped so low they had to sell products at half their production cost, leaving increasing numbers of farmers unable to pay their bills. To highlight their desperation, about 300 tractors dragged milk containers through plowed fields in southern Belgium, dumping a day's worth of milk production in that region.

Broken Down

2009-09-21T02:36:00.005+08:00

Only 25 years old and I'm already breaking down in all the wrong places....

First it was the ankles which over the course of many repeated sprains is now pretty much busted.

Then, there was the torn calf muscle which left me immobile for about 2 weeks.

Had a pretty bad lower back (L4, L5 and S1) problem about 4 years back - acute facet joint dysfunction, which with the help of physiotherapy got me back into action only after 4 months +

and apart from the other random injuries sustained....

.... I'm back to being pretty much immobile again - with a sprained lower back that is!

Not sure how it got aggravated, but was playing touch rugby on Saturday and somehow I probably landed in a damn awkward position when I was going for a try. The pain got progressively worse through the day and now it freaking hurts just to change positions like getting up from the chair bed, bending down or even sneezing...etc. My range of motion has been narrowed down to possibly a pathetic 10 degree of flexion and hyperextension of my back.

Doesn't help that today's Hari Raya and Monday is a public holiday. No freaking sinseh/chinese physician is open! I'm trying to avoid pain killers or muscle relaxants, but the thought of it sure is tempting just to relief myself of the pain. I have to say my threshold for pain is pretty high.... so when I say I'm contemplating pain killers, you kinda get the rough picture right? Wonder if back pains in the late stage of pregnancy is as bad as this? I hope not!

Crap now my training plan is gonna get screwed up big time. How to run and train for half marathon? Dammit!

Any good chinese sinseh to recommend???

Fireflies

2009-09-17T01:27:00.005+08:00

I've kinda taken a liking to this song... Fireflies by Owl City.

Don't exactly know how to describe it. It's not a mega awesome track or anything, but I like its simplicity of the lyrics and the fairytale-ish, kiddish-dreamy sound of it. Kinda makes you reminisce those childhood days.... carefree and all....

Disclaimer: This is not the original music video. Got it off Youtube, done by some girl. I think it's kinda cute and really compliments the song. :)

Owl City - Fireflies (lyrics)

You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
Cuz they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude, but I would just stand and stare

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Cuz everything is never as it seems

Cuz I get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they try to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread (thread, thread)

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Cuz everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
Cuz I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep?
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far to tired to fall asleep

To ten million fireflies
I'm weird cuz I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (said farewell)
But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
Cuz I saved a few and I keep them in a jar

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Cuz everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Cuz everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

So much to update, so little time.

2009-09-06T12:10:00.007+08:00

It's about time to revive this domant blog of mine...

3rd Sept, was invited to attend the UWA (Faculty of Science) Alumni Cocktail Party held at the Singapore Cricket Club. It's different now that everyone has graduated and moved on to start jobs and families. Was really great to see most of the Human Movement and Exercise Science gang again, especially since I left good ol' Perth in 2006. Back then we were exchanging lecture notes, now its fancy namecards. Haha...

Great networking, made new friends, met super 'alumni' students and of coz, met one of my favourite lecturers -Kerry Smith! Honestly, she's tops. A motherly figure back during my uni days and someone who has given me such wonderful opportunities which has got to where I am today. Proceeded with drinks at an Irish pub somewhere along Boat Quay, and it was only a Thursday night. :)

So much to update, so little time.

Aerial Awesomeness

2009-05-17T10:14:00.011+08:00

I've always had a closet interest in watching freestyle motocross events . This interest prob dated way back since I was in JC. If you have no idea what freestyle motocross is, it's basically a competition/event whereby bikers perform aerial jump stunts. It's kinda similar to BMX stunts you see during X-games competitions...just that these are done on motorbikes and the heights they reach are usually much higher! It's amazing shit I tell you....Below is just a preview of what motocross really is...

Singapore hosted its first ever Red Bull X Fighters (Freestyle Motocross) exhibition tour last Saturday (16th May) evening. Location.... the F1 track just behind the Singapore Flyer, which provided such an awesome backdrop. It was such a 'sick' event... and I mean it in a good way! Aside from the fact that the event was FREE.... the stunts those bikers pulled off was pure magic!

Glad that I decided to head down to catch the event with my biker-crazy friend (who too brought along a few of his other biker fanatics). As usual, even though we got there an hour early, a long queue had already formed. Never knew that Singaporeans were into such stuff! Then again, possibly coz its free. *duh*

Anyway, as this was just an exhibition tour, they only brought 4 riders down to perform. But the stunts that these crazy guys pulled off more than satisfied the adrenaline crazy crowd! The best stunt of the night.... THE BACKFLIP!

Seriously, you wonder to yourself, how in the world does one execute such stunts on a bike, less on a motorbike which weighs so much more. I can't even do a backflip on the ground for crying out loud! Didn't manage to take photos of the guys in the air.... they move a tad too quickly for my lousy pocket camera. Added some videos taken by others for now, too lazy to upload mine. Enjoy.

Hopefully, Singapore will eventually play host to more of such events to come such as the Red Bull Air Race and possibly future Freestyle Motocross events. That would be sweet!

The ramp with Sg Flyer in the background

A little blur... but that's 3 of the 4 bikers who performed (the last one is hidden behind)

Playing around with my camera while waiting for the event to start

The venue

Hell yeah...

My very first......

2009-04-12T20:18:00.008+08:00

Having been a huge fan of the All Blacks Rugby squad, I'm can finally say that I'm a proud owner of an original All Blacks Jersey! Woohooo... of coz this would not have been if not for a good friend of mine. So much for a 4 month overdue Christmas present... but this was sure worth the wait!

I've supported the Blacks probs since way back when I was in secondary school. Despite being a fan, I'm ashamed to say that I hardly own any of their fan merchandises aside from the fact that all my computer wall papers are display pics of the team (even the office ones..hee), an All Blacks rugby shaped squeeze ball, a key chain and heaps of photos of my favourite player- J. Collins and the rest of the squad. Hhaha....

I love my jersey, although it's a tad big for me. Really looking forward to the upcoming Tri-Nations now... gonna wear it and root for my team from the opposite end of the screen! YEAH!

Did I not mention already..... I LOVE MY JERSEY!!!!!!

The sibling's creation

2009-04-12T19:47:00.006+08:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, the siblings and I have decided to prepare dinner today and here's the outcome....

Ja's very own home-made garlic bread (with loads of garlic...yums!)

Fresh green Garden Salad

Rosti with Chipolata Sausages

Stir fried Asparagus with mushrooms

The 3/4 prepare dinner table...

It's Easter and the bunnies are coming out to play

2009-04-12T13:15:00.007+08:00

Thank God for the long weekend! It's about time.

I think I might have gone a little overboard on the sports and food during this period. Chels and I might have gotten a little too carried away with our touch rugby sessions and decided that since it was a public holiday, we should go on with a game on Friday and Saturday.....

So yes, 2 games, one after another. I must say it was swell despite the unforgiving heat. I sweated buckets! I really hate the fact that I sweat so much. Either I have an hideous amount of over-active sweat glands in my body or my body really hates the Singapore climate bad. Anyway, I'm upset. I've been labeled for life. :( The guys at touch have just adopted a new name for me, and I really have no idea if it's something to be proud of. The guys insist that its a compliment but I beg to differ. In short.... they have nicknamed me after one of the current All Blacks rugby players, but why Him???? There are like 14 other players to choose from and I have to be HIM??? :( (If u really want to know, Chels has kindly revealed my nickname to the entire bloggersphere in her latest post).

Weihao finally got down to the arrangements and invited a few of us over to his house for a Brownie baking session. Well.... the final product was ok, but not as good as the one Chles and I previously made. Nonetheless, we all dug into a generous serving of freshly baked brownies along with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.... sinfully sweet and gratifying. WH's mum was really nice to us and cooked us curry and never stopped feeding us from the moment we stepped foot into her house. I think she loves us. Hahhaa... Dammit, I'm such a suckup and Aunty Killer. I must admit I'm pretty good at it and my friend's parents can't help but love me. Heehee... hey, it's always essential to built good rapport with your friend's parents ok! Not everyone can do it.

Can't believe it's already Sunday. So tempted to take another day off tomorrow. It's only 1.30pm now but I've enjoyed my Sunday thus far. Had a simple but yums Dim Sum breakfast with my siblings after church this morning (of coz I had to foot the bill!). It was great just spending time and catching up with them coz I think we haven't managed to spend much quality time together coz all of us are busy with our own lives. This evening the 3 of us are gonna whip up dinner for the family.

On the menu:

Mushroom soup topped with croutons served with Jacinta's home-made garlic bread;
Garden salad topped with grilled chicken;
Home-made Rosti with Chipolata sausages and saulted onions on the side; and
Stir fried asparagus with mushrooms.

Another great way to spend time with my siblings and show over love thru our cooking to our parents. Our parents have definitely taught and brought us up well. I reckon we are all pretty decent cooks. Hahhaa....

Happy Easter everyone!

I'm still very much alive....

2009-03-29T11:26:00.021+08:00

...Or so I would like to think!

Think I'm currently averaging one lonely post per month. What can I say? Besides, really, nothing much has been happening aside from my usual routine in life. High time for some infusion and injection of raw adrenaline, whacked out craziness and A HOLIDAY!!!!

Yes yes, I'm in a desperate need of a short getaway. I'm thinking some beach in Thailand... either Phuket/Patong or Krabi, just to laze on the beach, some snorkeling, rock climbing and of coz some cheap shopping??? Still trying to find someone who's interested to go along... if not, I'm actually contemplating going on this getaway on my own. Some alone time might actually do me some good I reckon.

Enough with the boring rants on my life....

Touch Rugby has been keeping up with its weekly games and it's mightily awesome I must add. The games have been taken up a notch and more fancy moves displayed. We've been having more new guests coming down coz they apparently heard of the group via Google! How sweet is that.... The Turducken's are on GOOGLE!!! We're going global! Hahaha...

I've meant to write up a post here on our previous Beach Touch session held way back in Dec 08. But obviously the procrastination has gotten to me, so I've taken the link I've done on the Turducken's Blog instead: Click here.

With our crazy and irregular work schedule, a few of my colleagues and I have since the beginning of the year made a resolution to hang out together at least once a month. The idea was to chill out over drinks, check out new foodie places and just spend time together out of the office. Well.... I must say it has been going well, in fact a little too well!!!! For one, we've been heading out almost every other week, but it seems like we have kinda settled into rotating around the same few places we love. So much for checking out new places... still trying though. Not to mention... the alcohol. Beer!!!! I need to cut back. Not that we drink excessively, but taking in 1-2 glasses each outing is really not helping my running and weight loss program! hahah... One more coming up this coming Friday.

Chilling @ Wala Wala

Timbre @ Old School

Yashi and Me

Timbre @ Arthouse

Ok, this portion is just something random. Chels is so gonna scream at me for posting these pictures on my blog. Haha. But, it kinda went along the line of what alcohol can do to you and just me reminiscing our good old housemate days back in Perth. Enjoy!

Easter Party @ 3/64 Broadway!!! Before the alcohol...

Bashful bunnies....

Point of note: We made the bunny ears ourselves... we had bob tails too.

Ummmm.... ok, evidence that alcohol makes one happy and in love.

On a high and sprawled on the floor...

Sometimes, even without alcohol, the violent tendencies do arise...

It makes u ditsy at times, making u do silly stunts in the middle of the road....

But despite all that... we really do lub each other.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

The little joys in life

2009-02-06T18:25:00.006+08:00

Sometimes it only takes someone to say something nice to make your day!

*grin*

Decided to kick start my Thursday at work with a nice cuppa of Vanilla Toffee Latte from Spinelli. As I was waiting, the guy behind the counter who was brewing my coffee turned to me and said - 'Hey, haven't seen you in sometime. You slimmed down quite a bit eh?'

*double grin*

Touch you there!

2009-01-17T20:20:00.014+08:00

The Touch Trio

It's 2009 already!!! Can't believe we've entered into a brand new year.

As with the typical excuse... my blog's been kinda dormant of late due to work and that alike. Despite my busy schedule, I'm glad to be able to make the effort and find time to squeeze in some sporting hour and chillout sessions.

I think one of the main highlights that I've always been wanting to blog about is the success of our Touch Rugby sessions. What started out as a gathering of 6-8 touch rugby enthusiast has now grown into a so-called 'club' if I might call it. It's pretty amazing shit! Hahaha! We even have a club name - Turducken Greens Touch Rugby Club! Don't ask me how this name came about. It's wonderful to see so many people willing to learn and who bother to wake up early every Saturday morning just to make their way down to good ol' Bishan Park for 2-3 hours of touching fun! The group has just been growing... u know... friends bringing their friends, spreading about via word of mouth and by the most awesome creation ever - Facebook! It's amazing how connected people are thru this medium! Wish I was smart enough to invent such stuff! I'll be a millionaire! Then I'll use the money to build our fantasy underground touch rugby stadium in Bishan Park! Hahha (ok, this is an inside joke only the touch ruggers will know).

The group when we started off

When we first played at Bishan Park - our current homeground!

After our Christmas Touch Rugby Session

Well, I must add that the weekly sessions has definitely improved alot of our skills. Having Laremy around has also been a huge plus plus... the current coach of the NIE touch team, he sometimes incorporates short drill time sessions which I think really help in the technical aspect. So much for recreational team hey??? We get a good mix.... several more experienced ex-rugby players, some who have played touch for several years, other touch fanatics and people who are willing to pick up a new sport. Intensity varies... but trust me on getting a good workout by the end of the 2.5 hrs. Got to know alot of new people which is good too. My entire Saturday mornings and afternoon literally just go by like that.

I think the max turnout we ever had was about 23 players. So much so that we had to create 3 teams and play round robin format. Best session to date - our Christmas touch rugby session...that was hell fun. With everyone dressed up in X'mas colours, girls and guys with green and red ribbons tied to themselves. The crazy trio of Chels, Joyce and Me in our red and white soccer socks! hahaha... one of the more memorable sessions that will go down with me. I think the group currently just enjoys the 'recreational' aspect of the sessions, don't think we've compete in any league that soon either. But u never know, we might one day when we feel that we're ready. Watch out!

Just for interest sake, check out these links below:

Turducken Greens Touch Rugby Club (Facebook)

Turducken Greens Touch Rugby Club (Blog)

Touch You There (A site for Touch Rugby enthusiasts in Singapore)

Rebonded

2008-12-21T23:19:00.002+08:00

After much procrastination and deliberation... I finally got down to it!

Yes, I actually sat myself down at the hair salon for like 4 hours (possibly more) and got my hair rebonded for the first time! I reckon it really looks better now coz it appears less damage and dry. hur hur hur.... cheers to beautiful hair!

My father said

2008-12-11T20:13:00.003+08:00

It was one of those random chats with the dad about life.

But what stuck me most was this sentence he said.

'The buying of a nice house is not important. What matters more is the building of a HOME.'

It really got me to stop in my track and ponder over the words that just came out of his mouth. Somehow, those words felt so powerful. I never mentioned it to him, but I realised that all these years my father has truly stuck by his believes and he has certainly built and nurtured an awesome home! I can never be more grateful.

Definitely something I will keep in mind when I start my own family!

Will you walk a 1000 miles?

2008-12-06T13:54:00.004+08:00

A friend of mine was giving me a lift home yesterday and the song '1000 miles' by Vanessa Carlton was playing over the radio.

Halfway thru the song, my friend asked me a question which I thought was quite hilarious.

Friend: Please la, this song is rubbish. Do you even think any girl will walk a 1000 miles just to see a guy? Singapore girls walk a bit already complain. Don't think such things ever happen.

Me: *laughs* Well, I would walk! Ok, but maybe not 1000 miles. Max 20km still possible. :P

Friend: Aiyah, you different. I'm talking about girls in general.

Anyway, we came to a conclusion that the song was pretty gay especially when a guy sings it. Think it was all because of the movie 'White Chicks' that spoilt the entire image. haaha... but it was a hilarious movie.

On the point of walking a 1000 miles. It's time once again for the annual Standard Chartered Marathon. Will be doing the half marathon this year. Point is now, not sure if I'm gonna run coz was running a fever yesterday, but it's subsided since. Will see how I feel later tonight to decide. I hate it man, always falling sick at the wrong time! Same thing happened before last year's Stand Chart as well! Sucks mega time!

Rugger-doodles!

2008-11-26T22:15:00.009+08:00

Can't wait for the rugby match between the All Blacks and England this Saturday night! Just checked the starting lineup on my all time favourite website: ALL BLACKS.COM and its a dream team of pure perfection! Sweetness!

1. Tony Woodcock

2. Keven Mealamu

3. Neemia Tialata

4. Brad Thorn

5. Ali Williams

6. Jerome Kaino

7. Richie McCaw – captain

8. Rodney So’oialo

9. Jimmy Cowan

10. Dan Carter

11. Sitiveni Sivivatu

12. Ma’a Nonu

13. Conrad Smith

14. Josevata Rokocoko

15. Mils Muliaina

Reserves:

16. Hikawera Elliot

17. John Afoa

18. Anthony Boric

19. Kieran Read

20. Piri Weepu

21. Stephen Donald

22. Isaia Toeava

(look out for the highlighted players! my favs.)

May the English squad crumble under the rugby boots with metal studs of the All Blacks! Hahha! May their defence dwindle under the relentless pressure and ruthless attacks of the Blacks! May oh so sexy Mr Carter convert all tries scored, may Ali Williams perform the Hakka with so much oomph and tongue-sticking-out passion, may Rokocoko sprint like there's no tomorrow and may McCaw lead the team to another sweet sweet victory. Ok, fine, I'm bloody biased. Too bad.

Looking forward to my weekly dose of Touch Rugby with my fellow Turduckens this sat morning as well. It's Lynn's homecoming touch game! Welcome back Lynn! Wooohoo!

Clearing my off on Friday. I need it bad. Sleep in, wake up late, eat and go run.... I like.

Stuck in a Moment

2008-11-15T00:44:00.002+08:00

I finally got down to it. I submitted my application for my Master in Science (Research) program under NUS. I'm not exactly sure how I'm feeling right now. There's part excitement to a new academic chapter in my life, yet on the other hand, I'm starting to worry and get a little hesitant about what I have gotten myself into.

As a good friend said to me "Ja, you're so gonna have no life for the next 2 years at least. Better find yourself someone now!"

Ummm... ok. I not too sure what my friend was trying to get at, but it definitely dawned upon me that I'll prob be slogging away for a good part of the next few years to come. I think it all boils down to discipline effective time management. How I'm gonna do it... I'll find out for myself. I love my sports hour, chill-lax sessions and friends too much to sacrifice.

The next thing to do is keep my fingers crossed and hope I get accepted into the program as well as the company scholarship I applied for. Please, please let me get it! As for the area of research I wanna do.... I'm still in a huge delima. It's so damn tough to think of a good research study to do! Arghhh.... I'm gonna age so rapidly at this rate! Save me!

So if anyone has any great suggestions (stupid or genius) please share and enlighten me ok?

Diverting from my ramblings... just awhile ago I was at my neighbourhood coffee shop having a cup of tea with my dad when we 'sort of' witnessed an accident unfold before our eyes (i said sort of coz I didn't really see everything that happened, only saw it when it started flipping over!). Somehow, this yellow Suzuki Swift made a U-turn way too fast, mounted the curb, crashed into the opposite sidewalk curb, flipped over and landed on its roof!!!! Shit man.... during the entire process, the only words coming out of my mouth were 'shit, shit, shit...oh my God!

What was worst... 2 patrons at the coffee shop immediately sprinted to the scene and opened the passenger side door and pulled out a little girl (prob around 3 yrs of age). They also managed to help the female driver out. Thankfully no one was hurt. Can't imagine how traumatising it was for the both of them.

As usual the typical Singaporean crowd gathered to provide eye power... but I was highly impressed with the 2 guys that literally sprinted at lightning speed to the scene to help. They were just eating, minding their own business... saw what happened, went to help and after the civil defence and ambulance came, sat back down at their seats to finish their meal. I'm glad there are such responsive people around who respond to such situations. It's comforting and reassuring.

Bestie's Wedding

2008-11-12T22:17:00.014+08:00

I love weddings. A day where 2 faithful people unite in matrimony, committing their lives to each other - in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, thru joy and sorrow... for as long as they live.

What makes it more special is when your best friend's the lucky bride! Hers was a pretty traditional chinese wedding and I sure am honoured that she asked me to be one of her 5 'jie mei' (sister/bridesmaid in the chinese context). Really happy for her and her husband. You could just see the love and happiness between the both of them.

The lovely couple

I must admit that this wedding was slightly different for me. Not coz she's my besties, but despite having lived in Singapore all the 24 yrs of my life, I have never attended a proper traditional chinese wedding. Ya, I know. *call myself a chinese eh!* haha! Well, that's coz pretty much all the weddings I've attended have either been catholic church weddings or christian ones, if not, they would be swaying towards the western influence.... so it was a good change!

Being a 'jie mei' sure is tiring. I was so buggered by lunch time! Not to mention, walking in heels the entire day! *Blah* Just some random pics from my camera... never really got the time to take some proper shots, will wait till the camera man passes us the pics before I post up more (and of coz prettier) ones!

Congrats to my dear Man Ling and Jun Liang!

(the happy couple's now honey-mooning in USA!)

I need to find a man soon! hahah....

Looking pretty and all...

ManLing in her 'Kua'

Photo taking in Sembawang Park

The carrying of the bride into the new house

Awww...so sweet!

The dinner march in

Peizhen and I

Secondary school friends - Jillyn, Pearlyn and me

JC mates

5 weeks... That's all I have???

2008-10-30T21:42:00.004+08:00

5 weeks... or to be precise, I have 37 days to train up for my first attempt at a half marathon. I'm so dead man. It's such a bad excuse but I really haven't been able to run and train as much as I would like to due to my crazy schedule at work. It's that time of the year again where the high period rolls in....more projects and trials to conduct, more reports to write and stats to analyse! Well, good for the company, bad for me!

All I'm hoping now is to just survive thru the entire run and cross the finish line in one piece. Sometimes I really wonder why I put my body thru such torture! But i like the feeling! Hah! Hopefully I'll complete the whole thing without walking - that would be ideal! Not going for any best timing for now. Just running my own race to challenge myself. If all goes well, I might consider attempting the full marathon the following year! Anyone wants to join me and start training for that???

Oooo... I'm so happy, just one more week and my bestie's getting hitched and she has asked me to be one of her 'jie mei's'! So happy for her! I love weddings... so exciting! We're having a manicure party the night before her big day over at her place. Time to pamper ourselves and look all pretty! Time really flies... seems like alot of friends around me are getting hitched. I'm starting to get pretty worried... only because I'm not even worried at all! Hmmm....

On a sidenote: November will be another shitty month for me in the lab. Not really looking forward to it. Boo!

I'm 1234!

2008-10-12T12:27:00.007+08:00

Sweetness... how cool is this!

Went down last night after work to collect my race pack for the upcoming Great Eastern 10km Run. Didn't really realise till I got home and checked the freebies that my race bib number was 1234! How awesome is that! Hahah... one thing's for sure, I won't forget it!

Honestly, I don't really think I'll run well for this one. Haven't been able to find much time to trian due to ongoing trials which are taking heaps of time, less totally feeling bummed out by the time I get home. Oh wells, I'll just make it a fun an easy run I guess.

Ciao.

Random question: Should I cut my hair short??? Hmmm....

Tassie Pics : Part 1 of more to come

2008-10-09T22:48:00.010+08:00

Just a preview of more to come....

Nothing beats outdoor cooking with lush greens in the background!

Family pic!!!

Ahhhh....beer!!!

Wine Glass Bay, took us a 1 hr trek up this relatively steep route to get to this view point!

Sunset

Jess and I about to being our trek around Cradle Mountain

The pond where we did our trout fishing...

The pond again...

Jess and I at the base of Guide Falls

Sunset at the Sand Dunes...Lovely!

It actually Snowed!!!

Guide Falls...only the begining!

Nothing beats having a hot cup of coffee at hand as u go exploring!

Now the actual Guide Falls...

I love this shot... cute!

YEah!!! WIshing I was back there again....

The wonders of Wii

2008-10-07T21:15:00.002+08:00

Ok, I have to confess that I'm pretty much a virgin Wii player! I know I've kinda took quite some time to catch onto one of the latest IT craze going on. But never too late I guess...

Anyway, a few of us had a Wii gaming session over the weekend. Pretty impromptu with only 4 of us turning up coz the fifth person decided to change his mind the last minute (ummm hmmm... Nic!) We had several games of tennis doubles, bowling, golf and the highlight... boxing! Was really fun indeed. It came to the point we got a little competitive, with YuZheng ultimately given the winning title of Nintendo Wii Boxing Champion (well, I could have nearly got that title coz he only won 1 game more than me! Humph!)

What's Nintendo Wii without the ever popular Guitar Heroes? Well, all I can say is that the game is bloody hell addictive. But I kinda suck at it coz I think I have really bad coordination. Nonetheless, I shall persist to get better at it overtime! Denys and Aloysius were totally into the game and didn't even want to go home despite it getting a tad late (or early for that matter!). Out gaming session ended with a simple but interesting board game... For Sale.

I swear the four of us were aching around the arms and traps the next day coz of the crazy boxing we did. Not to mention the fact that we also played touch rugby earlier that morning. Wii is fun. I'm a computer game convert, after I think the last time I ever played computer games proper was the SEGA era!

Guess who's back?

2008-10-07T21:05:00.003+08:00

I'm back!!! The entire Tasmanian experience was awesome, every single bit of it! Will update more on the trip with tones of pictures soon (when I eventually find the time that it!)

Being away for so long and trying to get back to work sure is tough! The inertia is so great that I think I'm still very much in holiday mode. Not to mention the flooded email inbox when I opened it upon settling into my office cubicle. Arghh!

That aside, I'm totally bummed out about the fact that I missed out on one of my favourite bands play here in Singapore over the weekend - LIFEHOUSE! They were having their concert at St. James Power Station on 4th Oct and apparently I heard it was quite good! Dammit! If only I knew earlier, I would have definitely gone for it! Jason Wade is so gorgeous! The organisers didn't think the band was popular enough to have them play at bigger venues like the Indoor Stadium.

Oh bummer....

GETAWAY!!!

2008-09-18T14:18:00.004+08:00

Finally, a timely and well needed break. A getaway from the hussel and bussel of Singapore life and work.

TASMANIA & MELBOURNE.... HERE I COME!!!

Updates and a hell lot of pics when I return...

Might even update along the way if opportunity permits!

SWEETEST SATURDAY

2008-09-14T11:23:00.008+08:00

Once again, the All Blacks have done it - despite trailing by a good 10 points just after halftime, the All Blacks rounded up their line of defence and counter-rucking against the Australian Wallabies, standing firm right thru to the 81st minute to claim their 9th Philips Tri Nations title (and 4th in a row) as well as retaining the Bledisloe Cup with a 28-24 win at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

A brutal game it was with relentless attacks and several petty fights breaking out on both sides. Ultimately, the was the Blacks who remained undeterred bringing the game to a glorious and sweet victory! As always, team Captain Richie McCaw lead the entire team through a fine game. Also, the 2 halfbacks, Jimmy Cowan and Piri Weepu put up an awesome support driving the ball forward into the Aussie territory.

Check out their traditional pre-match Haka! It's so 'MAN' when they do it. You can really see it in their eyes that they want the win bad, especially when you have people like Ali Williams doing the Haka! He's so passionate about it and McCaw is simply just oh so sexy! Love it!

Go All Blacks!!!

Tries scored: Mils Muliaina, Tony Woodcock, Piri Weepu, Dan Carter ; Carter 4 conversions

Anyway, aside from the Tri Nations win, my Saturday was awesome yet again. Was totally drained by the end of the day. We had our usual touch rugby session again this week @ Bishan Park. Despite the gloomy weather and slight drizzle and the fact that it rained the night before, I'm certainly glad we chose to carry on with the game. After all, getting muddy and dirty is all part of the fun in sports like rugby! *woohoo* The turn out numbers are growing as well. This week we managed a 5-a-side game going with roll back. One things for sure, it was a tiring game alright. It's either because I'm damn unfit or that the intensity of the game went up a notch, and it didn't help either that the afternoon sun was coming up, which kinda screws with ur brain a little! Nonetheless, it was definitely fun. Quite upset I won't be able to join the gang for the next 2 weeks as I'll be on a family vaccation.

The after game proceeded with lunch and heading over to my place in preparation to catch the final Tri Nations match. It's really fun when u watch it with a whole group of friends supporting the All Blacks (with 2 crazy die-hard supporters) and just 1 Wallabian! Haha. Ok, anyway, kudos to the Aussies for putting up a good fight right through to the end! :P

I think my house kinda looked like some Sports Club den yesterday. I'm pretty sure both my parents and sister got quite appalled at the sight of so many people in the house. First was my group of friends who came to watch the rugby match. Right after, my brother hosted and invited a whole group of his soccer friends(like abt 20 of them) over for a potluck cum 'let's watch Man U trash Liverpool' soccer match which obviously didn't go their way. But it was scary alright, can u imagine how noisy it got whenever a try or goal was scored. I should have video tapped the scene. Quite a sight it was.

Final words of the day: Touching is fun! hahahaha!

Overwhelmed

2008-09-09T23:08:00.006+08:00

As you guys probably figured from my lack of blogging.... yup, I have been busy alright!

All I can say is that the past 2 weeks at work hasn't been the best for me. Somehow, work seems non-stop. Work is meant to be done only during working hours and not brought home, less over the precious weekends! I'm starting to really question myself if it's just me that I'm so inefficient and not caught up for the job??? I really hope that's not the case!

I think work took its toll on me last Thursday, coz for the entire day, I wasn't me and deep inside I totally felt so damn overwhelmed with work that I think my brain just popped out from my skull! It was till the extent I nearly wanted to cry and let out in the office... obviously I didn't to not make a fool out of myself! Thankfully I have awesome colleagues and a wonderful mentor to keep me sane and grounded to earth! Sometimes, hearing those simple words of encouragement and knowing that you're not the only one feeling that way really make a whole lot of difference. You know who you are. Big thank you!

That's part and parcel of the adult working life I guess. On to happier stuff....

I LOVE touch rugby! I ain't great at the game but I think I'm getting better overtime. The group of people you play with really makes a whole lot of difference! Even though majority are newbies to the sport, everyone has got to start somewhere.... and somehow, the game just seems so much more fun. Although I must admit that playing with the 'more experienced' group in the past was kinda fun to a certain extent coz the playing level is different and you're kinda forced to learn and move faster. But yea, I think I'll choose company of my friends over bad team play anytime! I think only Chels and Aloy will understand what I mean. :)

The touch rugby sessions have been going pretty good so far. It's coming into its third consecutive week of play, which one must understand its a huge steeping stone forward by itself! No activity organised in the past within the Blitzkraft team has ever exceed its second week! So, keep it up team! Let's keep the numbers rolling in and continuing touching away! hahaha! *no pun intended u sickos!*

More pics....

Ummm... Nic where in the world are u running towards? Try line's on your right!

Deliberating on something....

Trying to get the touch on our very one Speedy Gonzales!

The Touch Rugby Gang

Ok, and a random photo of my colleagues and I after the Amry Half Marathon 08 on 24th Aug

The Perks of Running!!!

2008-08-24T19:50:00.009+08:00

Thank God for the really nice weather this morning down at the Padang. The annual SAFRA Army Half Marathon (Singapore Bay Run) was awesome. Well, apart from the horribly muddy and icky Padang field filled with squishy mud patches which left everyone trying to walk as gingerly across as possible so as to minimise soiling their running shoes! Well, either way, my pair looks really spic and span now coz after I came home I gave it a good scrub! *yay...happy shoes*

Anyway, I'm really happy with my run. I think it was one of my personal best timings, although i must admit that I think my timing could have been better if not for the human traffic that left some areas congested. Oh well... the downside of mass running events. Nonetheless, I had heaps of fun... will upload pics once I get them from my fellow colleague! Nike Run next week...

Speaking of The NIKE Haman Race which will be held on 31.08.08, met my sister after my run at Clarke Quay to collect our race packs. Luckily my sis was early so she started queueing, coz by the time I arrived the line had snaked all the way till... I dunno where. Obviously I didn't bother, coz it really didn't matter at this point in time when we were pretty near the front. Not bad la, we only had to queue for about 45mins or so....

But I think it was all worth the wait coz the stuff in the bag was pretty sweet indeed.... check it out:

The tote bag which contained....

It's gonna be an awesome event I reckon!

The huge Nike water bottle that came with it

The front of the uber red dry-fit race t-shirt with each runner's personalised tag number printed on (I'm runner 0866277... haha, feels like some prisoner id! yikes)

What's on the back of the shirt

The list of the participating cities...

The lot.... i like!

Hey if anyone is interested in attending the after concert...apparently there are some international bands and local bands playing.... let me know coz I have 2 complimentary passes (coz i was the 1st 4000 to collect my race packs..hahah). Only ppl with these passes can enter the concert area. More details go to the race website ok.

The Sinful Olympics

2008-08-21T23:35:00.008+08:00

The Olympics is so sinful!!! Well, ok, obviously I don't mean this literally. But ever since the Olympics commenced I'm been pretty much glued to my telly every opportunity that I can. This is so bad, my entire weekends are just gone... poof... sitting for hours flicking from channel to channel, catching all the various sporting coverage of the games that come only once every 4 years! Thank God for Starhub cable!

Some delayed news here, but I thought I ought to pen it down here in my Blog coz it's history in the making!

After a long awaited 48 years.. Singapore has finally clinched a Silver medal in the Olympics in the sport of table tennis! It's about time something like that happened! Although there has been much talk about the players not being pure Singaporeans and all... I feel that credit really goes all out to them for the wonderful persistent performance that the put up! Of coz it would be great if Singapore nurtured its own talent pool of sporting athletes... but looking at the situation and the amount of support, funds and opportunities that come about, it's really gonna be a good long while before Singapore ever catches up with the other dominant nations across the globe.

I'm apologise if I'm contradicting my earlier statement but in reaction to the Silver medal win by the paddlers, it's really quite sad how many locals have reacted to the fact that this win was in a way.... an empty win. Much talk has been emphasized on the fact that all the players were foreign imports. But this really happens all across the world... it's reality... if u want your country to win, u go out and scout for the best in the business and draw them into ur county! A simple example is seen within the table tennis sport itself... it seems like no matter which country plays against each other, all players seem to have some sort of Asian genes! Like today's USA vs Singapore match... chinese vs another chinese? *the world is weird*

Ok enough of my nonsense blabbering... on to other exciting updates: Usain Bolt certainly lives up to his last name indeed! Those are some magic feet that he has, not to mention those flashy gold running shoes that can probably sell for millions on ebay! Not only has he clinched the gold medal and smashed the world record for the Men's 100m sprint finals... he made it again into the record books by repeating the same feat in the Men's 200m finals... world record time ok! Amazing stuff indeed! Not to mention, must be the most awesome present one can ever get just one day before his actual birthday! I honestly don't really like his personality coz I think he's kind of a showoff... but then again, I admire the magnificent double feat that he pulled off! It was quite funny coz my sister and I were watching his race and the moment he crossed the finish line in record time, we both turned to each other and said "They are so gonna check him for drugs!!!". Hahaha.... but it's true....

Oh and women's soccer is quite awesome stuff to watch too! Hey these chicks are good. Well, I haven't really seen much female soccer action before so it got pretty exciting to watch these girls all gunning for the ball. I hate to admit it but I seriously think most of these female teams can easily match or even surpass the standard of our local male soccer clubs. Hey, I'm just stating my personal opinion!

Thank God it's Friday tomorrow.... another crazy week gone by in the blink of an eye. I wish the Olympics never ended.... hahaha.

Just keep on running...

2008-08-19T23:59:00.005+08:00

Latest update: My poor index finger is still bloody swollen and pain! Not to mention, the bruied on my forearm and right butt check are showing their true colours! *sigh* Thank God it wasn't my right finger...!

On a happier note, I'm totally stoked and looking forward to the next 2 weekends! It's the Army Half Marathon aka Singapore Bay Run this coming Sunday and the NIKE Human Race 10km the week after! I'm actually really looking forward to the NIKE run. Not only because it's the first run I'll be doing with my sister, but the race itself is the first of it's kind! Knowing that you are part of the World's first largest running event makes it even more special.

Imagine, 25 cities around the world hosting this event, over a million runners all running at the same time dispite their respective geographical locations.... all for a good cause! It's so gonna be awesome. Hoping that I can do a good personal best timing for the Nike human race one... will see how it goes!

Come on legs... just keep on running, keep on running!

Slip...Thud...Ouchie

2008-08-19T00:34:00.004+08:00

Promise you don't laugh after reading this post...

Had to stay back late at work this evening to finish up some stuff. As my colleague and I stepped out of my office building to head home, the friendly security guard said bye to us. Being the nice me that I am, I looked back up and said my cheerful goodbye...

::::::

... somehow I think I must have missed a footing, and the next thing I knew, I landed on my butt and slipped down 4 steps in the process. Not to mention, I was in heels and wearing a skirt!!!!!!!!! According to the exact words of my female colleague "I tried to grab hold of you, but the next thing I knew, you went bom bom bom down the stairs!"

Damn freaking pain ok. I quickly got myself in the most galm manner as I possibly could. I think the security guard and my colleague were kinda worried, coz it seemed like a really bad slip on the stairs. I laughed it off and said that I was totally fine when in actual fact it was *ucking hurting the shit out of me especially on my right butt check and left index and middle fingers! On board the bus I showed my sore fingers to my colleague and not only were they red... they had swell up about 1.5 times its oringal size! I now have like red, tender sausage fingers. My index finger is now officially sprained. It's really hurts damn bad ok. Can't bend it at all. Sigh.

I think I'm also gonna get a bruise on my right butt check and on my left forearm too. It's somewhat of a faint bluish-purple now! Craps!

What a way to start my week.... poor finger!

08:08:08

2008-08-09T13:20:00.003+08:00

Catching the live telecast of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony last night, I must say Kudos to China for showcasing such a spectacular performance. I certainly was impressed at the magnitude and scale of the efforts and creativity that went into it. I particularly like the segment where they lit the Olympic torch. A good change from the past.

I'm typing this post out now as I sit on the couch with my sister watching the Men's gymnastics event. I love watching this sport. The technicality, power, flexibility, endurance and gracefulness all packed into one sport. Another one I'm surer to catch is swimming and hopefully they'll be nice enough to show some highlights from the flat water kayaking events! *which they hardly ever do!*

I think I'm running out of things to blog about. Haven't been doing anything happening or going out much. Can't really blog about work due to the nature of my job. So yea, that leaves me we nothing much actually. *sighz*

Anyway, here's wishing Singapore a very HAPPY 43rd BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY EVERYONE!

Rugby vs Lee Tong Kee Ipoh Hor Fun

2008-08-04T22:56:00.014+08:00

Now now, how in the world does rugby and ipoh hor fun have anything to do with each other... or rather, with this post at all?

It's a really tough fight between the both of them. Ultimately, being the biased me, I'll vote rugby as my winner for my awesome Saturday! Well firstly, as much as dear old Mr Lee Tong Kee's Beef (Ngau Lam) hor fun was filled with slurp slurp goodness, I can't deny the fact that those beefy rugby guys running and crashing into each other on the pitch was probably a little more to my taste!

Mr McCaw in action....

The match was awesome! 39-10, a great revival from last week's very disappointing test match! Not to mention, 3 crazy gals (2 loyal diehard all blacks supporters vs 1 uh hmm...'wallabian' who actually dosed off during the match!) mad over their rugby screaming their lungs out on the couch over at my place whenever a potential try was being set up. Of coz there was the usual cursing of the opposing sides when it didn't seem to go our way. Nonetheless, a BIG welcome back from injury to team captain - Richie McCaw!!! *so man he is* I think the guys who joined us over at my place didn't really comprehend the sense of the game and how it had such a profound impact on us girlies. Now come on.... Cristiano Ronaldo... the epitome of soccer? Please! *yawn* So over rated!

Be afraid.... be very afraid of the Haka!

The All Blacks' forwards did really well, with Tony Woodcock contributing to 2 of the 4 tries scored! Nice work there mate! Halfback, Jimmy Cowan played a fine games as well, and who can forget Mr Dan Carter... nice legs there! woohoo! Ok, I think I'm getting a little high from this tri-nations fever!

That's it Mortlock... too bad this time round!

I really miss playing touch rugby now!!!

*chels when r we getting back into the game?*

Dinner after at Lee Tong Kee's was a nice change too. The place was pleasant and food was yums! The beef hor fun is worth the try - gooey gravy poured over those smooth and slippery hor fun noodles. The gravy had a strong aromatic taste to it, you could clearly taste the cinnamon and star annis spices used. *i might be wrong, but I'm sure some traditional spices were used... i ain't no food expert* I loved the mini deep friend prawn dumplings though... crispy and filled with a generous amount of prawns for its size.

Lee Tong Kee Ipoh Sar Hor Fun Outlet

Yummy Beef hor fun

Mini prawn dumplings and veg in oyster sauce

The ipoh hor fun gang with the 3 rugby crazy gals

The gang with the photographer in the picture now...

Lee Tong Kee Ipoh Sar Hor Fun

278 South Bridge Road
62260417
10am to 9pm daily

They even have a website!

Check it out http://www.ipohhorfun.com/

A nice place to check out for some old school tradition ambiance and food.

I loooOOoo0ve my weekends!

Frumpy Feeling coz it's Sunday already!

2008-07-27T18:44:00.009+08:00

DSO Dragon Boating Team

Listening to Jason Mraz on my iPod now... love his music! Easy listening and talented musician he is.

I'm dreading that Sunday has come round again. The weekends sure pass way to quickly for my liking. I wish all weekends had like 10 extra hours to them... only the weekends that is!

Anyway, this weekend passed pretty quick coz for most of my Saturday, was down at Lower Seletar Reservoir for the 9th JTC Dragon Boat Competition. It's a corporate dragon boat race and my company was one of the participating teams. Unfortunately, unlike last year, we went home without any medals. Totally sucks. We came in 4th, just 1 sec behind the 3rd placed boat. This feeling really sucks even more! Maybe it's just that competitive streak within me. I'm not ashamed that I love to win. hahahah! Then again, who doesn't right? Oh well, I guess we all did our best and we had fun. Ultimately that's what matters most. Next year perhaps...

Pre-race briefing

The dragon boating chics

A final team cheer!

Group pic!

I came up with a new running regime for myself. Decided that I was getting a tad bored with my routine runs along the same route. My run times seems o have just plateaued. Need to do something about it especially since I've already registered for 3 upcoming races - Army Half Marathon, Nike Human Race, Great Eastern Women's Run and of coz I intend to do this year's Stand Chart, but the half marathon, don't think I'm mentally and physically prepared to complete a full one. But eventually I'll love to run one.

So the plan now is to clock at least 3 runs per week, 4 if my body permits. Gonna vary the distance - one short run (3-5km), one mid distance (5-8km) and one long one (10-15km). I think 15km will be the max I'll go for now. Hoping to slowly build up on that. It's gone good this week.... let's just hope I keep it up. Don't want this to be a say only and no action kinda plan. Kambate Jacinta!

Ooo.... I'm looking forward to next Saturday already. If plan goes on, it'll be the entire day of hanging out at Sentosa, chilling and having fun with my ex-canoeing team mates. Praying hard Mr SUN will be all happy and cheery that day. Keeping my fingers crossed that the attending numbers will grow over the week. It's quite pathetic for now I must admit.

Arghhh.... MONDAY tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

High Tea @ Scotts Lounge

2008-07-22T21:07:00.028+08:00

As part of an early Birthday treat, decided to spend some time with my lil' sis and take her somewhere nice for a meal. Just for a change from the usual westernised restaurant norms, I took the liberty to reserve a table for 2 at Scott's Lounge - English High Tea!

Well, not sure if you would actually consider it 'Tea' per se, coz they open their doors at 2pm. So yea, kinda still in between lunch and teatime proper. Anyway, I really like the place alot. Quite quaint, good relaxing and chic ambiance, nice working staff, not too crowded and of coz.... good food! Duh!

The both of us ate of guts out I swear, but obviously not in a gluttony matter. It's an English High Tea buffet and they serve up such a wonderful array of teas where you go up to the counter, select your tea (flowers/tea leaves), let the nice guy at the counter know and he'll brew up a plunger of it for you. It's really pretty I reckon. Not to mention, simply delightful as well! Oh ya, they also serve up coffee as well (not just your plain black coffee.... latte, cappacino...etc.) So as you can see, I kinda put myself on a caffeine high that day.

Onto the food - just 3 words - lovely, glorious, satisfying. I'll have to admit that they don't boast a huge spread of food items as compared to most buffets that we're so used to seeing. But that's why I also like it. Personally I feel that you don't have to force yourself to try every single thing coz the spread they lay out is just nice. Also, you really enjoy the taste and quality of each food item there, without spoiling your taste pallets too much!

Smoked salmon bruschetta & smoked tuna w potato salad

Cold prawn & squid cocktail

In the background: Freshly baked scones served with cream and jam

Crepes

Just some of the food items: Crepes made on the spot, cold prawn & squid cocktail, smoked salmon bruschetta, roast beef, assorted sandwiches, crabmeat stuffed rolls, puddings, smoked tuna....etc. Oh and not forgetting their awesome freshly baked scones with cream and jam! Love those! To top it all off, a whole assortment of yummy pretty desserts of all your small little cakes, pastries, chocolate fondue and other sinful pleasures.

Chocolate fondue

Assortment of yummy & pretty desserts

My personal 5 top fav. dishes:

1. SCONES with cream & jam
2. Assorted spread of teas
3. Crepes
4. Prawn and squid cocktail
5. Smoked salmon bruschetta

Scotts Lounge @ Grand Hyatt Singapore

10 Scotts Road
Singapore 228211
From 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Available on Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays

For reservations, call +65 6732 1234.

Price: $28.00 (adult) and $20.00 (child)

We literally sat thru from 2pm - 5pm, enjoying the meal and of coz more importantly, each other's company. It's been awhile since I sat down for a nice meal with my darling sis. I really adore her so much. Sometimes I reckon I spoil her too much! But can't help it, she's my only and most favourite sister, bestest friend in the entire world, part-time maid and errand runner at times, sports buddy, gossip bitch buddy and role model in some aspects la (believe it or not).

Wishing you a very very

HAPPY & BLESSED

BIRTHDAY

JESSICA!

View from my bedroom

2008-07-13T15:30:00.009+08:00

Was just sitting at my computer yesterday evening doing the usual surfing of the net stuff. Looked out of the window upon hearing the roaring of the the fighter plane jet engines and managed to capture these shots of the RSAF black knights struting their stuff for the NDP Parade preview.

Not bad a view eh???

Pretty heart in the sky...

The black knights zipping away into the sunset

Fly past by the Black Knights

TRI NATIONS

2008-07-05T14:34:00.025+08:00

Tri Nation Match Fixtures 2008

Yuppie... less than an hour to the start of the Tri Nations 2008 series!

GO ALL BLACKS!!!

I'm so bloody excited man! Opening match - NZ All Blacks VS SA Springboks, Hope it's gonna be a good match. As much as I love the All Blacks, things look pretty uncertain for the team as most the more senior and more experienced players have either left the team (i.e. my man - Jerry Collins) or are on contracts playing with other teams in some other part of the world! Less to say that Captain Richie McCaw is still nursing his injury from the previous test match.

Line up for the All Blacks (NZ vs SA match):

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Andrew Hore
3. Greg Somerville
4. Brad Thorn
5. Ali Willliams
6. Adam Thomson
7. Rodney So’oialo (c)
8. Jerome Kaino
9. Andy Ellis
10. Dan Carter
11. Rudi Wulf
12. Ma’a Nonu
13. Conrad Smith
14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
15. Mils Muliaina

Reserves:

16. Keven Mealamu
17. Neemia Tialata
18. Anthony Boric
19. Sione Lauaki
20. To be named
21. Stephen Donald
22. Leon MacDonald

Thank God Ali Williams recovered in time from injury. Hope all goes well. I hope coach Henry will put Richard Kahui at least on the reserve bench, coz i really reckon he's a blossoming player based on his debut performance in their last test match!

Ok, time to chill my beer and get ready to enjoy the match! Wooohoo!

Derrick Barry as Britney Spears

2008-06-28T15:41:00.004+08:00

Was just surfing Youtube when i chanced upon this video. Omg... it's scarily impressive! He-She's quite pretty and much like the real thing I must add! Go Derrick!

Hahah.... the Hoff's comments are hilarious!

Test your IQ

2008-06-24T22:54:00.013+08:00

Check these 2 IQ quizzes out.

IQ Test 1 - Crossing the River

you can also click HERE!

Below are the rules that apply for this IQ game.

Only 2 persons on the raft at a time
The father can not stay with any of the daughters without their mother’s presence
The mother can not stay with any of the sons without their father’s presence
The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member if the Policeman is not there
Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft
To start click on the big blue circle on the right.
To move the people click on them.

To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river. Click the above screen to load the game and then 開始 button to start the game.

IQ Test 2 - Help your family cross the bridge (click on the link)

Apparently the second test is used in Japan as an employment test in some IT engineering firm. How sad!

Heheee... I managed to solve both within 20mins (ya i know... showoff!). Have a shot at it. Beg me for the answers when you finally surrender!

Have fun!

No one messes with the ALL BLACKS

2008-06-23T22:44:00.022+08:00

HAIL TO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!!!

Another glorious win yet again over their last test match against England in this round's IVECO series. Yay! A whooping 44-12 score. Asta la Vista all other teams in the rugby union! Hahaha!

Not the best performance yet, but several good passes and tries scored. The newbies sure did strut some good stuff on the pitch. Totally on form was Richard Kahui, making his debut test match on the All Blacks starting lineup with an awesome try just 14mins into the game! Carter as always, superb quality performance ( 1 try, 4 conversions and 3 penalties) by the hottie, not missing a single conversion in 2 straight matches (possibly more, coz i didn't follow the earlier matches)!

Not all was smooth sailing for the Blacks. Star players , Ali Williams (Lock) and team captain - Richie McCaw (Openside flanker) both had to be taken off the pitch with seemingly serious ankle injuries even before half time. McCaw's one looking way more severe! Nonetheless, the All Blacks stayed strong and fought on with their forward lineup doing a great job even without the senior players! Sweet sweet victory indeed!

I'm getting so excited. Totally looking forward to the upcoming Tri Nations series. Things certainly do look promising for the All Blacks (even without my Jerry Collins!). Oooo... update: I just found out that Jerry Collins although retired from NZ rugby, will now be playing for a French club - Toulon (2008 French Pro D2 champions) on a 3 year contract.

Just one more pic of him... *swoon*

*** SO Man!!!***

Memories from our Ski Trip

2008-06-18T23:37:00.008+08:00

Was just browsing through some of my old photos on my computer when I came across this set of videos from the ski trip that a group of my close uni friends and I went on during our 2006 winter break.

Really brings back such fond and enjoyable memories. It was one of the better trips ever. Staying on top of the mountains for an entire week, skiing everyday till our legs were bruised and sore! Fresh snow fall, snow angles, snowman and just spending time together in front of the fireplace and just having heaps of fun. Swell time indeed.

In case you were wondering, we went to Mt. Hotham in Melbourne. Nice place to go if you have a chance to!

Ok, so in this video, my friend Zack is video taping as myself and another friend (Ben) get ready to ski down one of the slopes. As you watch, after I've done my ski run down, Zack turns the camera only to find our dear Ben tumbling down! Zack's reaction was pretty hilarious! hahaha...

Taken on one of our chairlift rides up to the submit. Enjoy the pretty and simply breathtaking view of Mt. Hotham. Amazing!

This clip is us on another ski route. As with the above Zack is Mr. Camera man, while Ben and I (the noobs), ski down...

I'm filming this time round. Zack was supposed to do some 'stunt', but ummm... why not u watch the video and be the judge. Ben follows after again.

Blading Video

2008-06-15T22:11:00.004+08:00

Here's the video to our blading session @ East Coast Park last Saturday! (apologise if it didn't turn out to clearly)

Enjoy...

::: Noobs, Stumbles, Falls and FUN :::

2008-06-15T15:34:00.021+08:00

It's been quite some time since those good ol' canoeing days that the few of us have actually got together to sweat it out. Saturday was an exception... we (Sacha, Chels, Nic and myself) went ROLLER BLADING at East Coast Park.

We started our day relatively early coz our dear Sacha was so overly excited and couldn't wait to slip on her new blades that she bought 2 days before! She's a little annoyed with me coz I went with her to choose her blades and when asked to comment on her new wheels, I just said ' they are ok la' Hahaha... but yes, they are nice, just not my flava! They look pretty 'fierce' though.

Sacha's new wheels

We had 2 roller blading noobs with us - Chels and Nic (no offence...light hearted ya!). After renting their blades, things got off to a slow start coz its been eons since those 2 noobs bladed. So step by step, glide by glide and several stumbles and falls on thier bums and well protected knees later, they actually warmed up and got pretty good I must say!

Nic trying on his blades

Off we go....

Nic crusing along... or so u think...

The entire session was filled with fun and sweat I must add. With Chels bursting out into her random screams when she felt she was gonna fall, to an inconsiderate Nic who on the other hand has a very bad habit of grabbing onto the nearest person to him when he's about to fall and taking them down with him! I think all 3 of us gals fell victims to him! *Prick*

Rest break - Chels & Sacha

Sacha & Ja

Chels, Sacha and Me

As for myself... not bragging ok. I'm just an average skater, really! Sacha and I managed to squeeze in a few decent skates, (thanks to Chels and Nic who insisted we should just go on without them coz they felt bad for holding us up and that we might be feeling bored)... but nah, I think we both had fun helping u guys and of coz watching u guys fall! Hah! :)

One last thing to add.... TWIGS on the ground are very small and lethal objects! Humph... Sacha and I were cursing at those seemingly harmless objects of nature throughout the session. There's just so many on the ground, even when u try your best to avoid them, there are times when those buggers get caught between your wheels and it's not a good feeling I tell you. Thank God for a good sense of balance! *showoff* pardon my bragging!

Nonetheless... hello nice arses and thighs! We might have another session next Saturday. Anyone else interested in joining us???

*********************

Later that night, another bunch of us canoeing peeps (Chels, Nic, Weihao and myself) caught up for a mini chillout session at Brewerkz @ Kallang.

Lovely night light of Tanjong Rhu along the Kallang River

Finally managed to catch up with Weihao who always seems to be soooooo very busy. If he's not studying, it'll be work, if not, it's girlfriend day. But he's such a sweetie. Hahha. Aside from some Ale all round, we got ourselves an order of Fried Calamari, Nachos and Mini sausages to share. The fried calamari was okay only. Not fantastic coz it wasn't the very crispy ones that we thought it would be. At least it wasn't over cooked! The sausages were pretty yummy. Loved the Spicy Italian flavoured one. Guess the best dish hands down was none other than the sinful platter of cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream covered Nachos.

Ale, Ale, Ale...

Yummy Sausages!!!

Fried Calamari

Awesome and sinful Nachos

Brewerkz (Indoor Stadium)
2 Stadium Walk
#01-06/07/K1 Singapore Indoor Stadium
Singapore 397691

Tel: (65) 6345 9905

Operating Hours
Mon – Weds 5pm – 12am
Thursday 12pm – 12am
Fri, Sat & Eve of PH 12pm – 1am
Sun 11am – 12am

Was certainly nice finding time to catch up with each other, reminiscing those days where we rowed in the Kallang River. Brewerkz was also showing coverage of a footy match and Chels and I realised how much we missed those times back in Perth where we caught random footy matches on TV, how much the Aussies were so into the game and just the sheer passion that the entire country has for it. It's an awesome game I tell you. The day ended with several rounds of bridge, which Chels and I unfortunately lost to a pair of just very lucky players! * i swear it was pure luck*

On a sidenote. I'm such a twit. I just found out from Chels that Starhub cable offers a free-to-air channel - Australian Network, which screens AFL and rugby matches! Good news for me! It's gonna be a new favourite channel! Yay!

Alone time

2008-06-11T22:29:00.007+08:00

I think some alone time at this point in my life will do me some good. I just need an escape to somewhere far away. Peaceful, relaxing and enjoyable.... somewhere to take time off to reflect and really think about what I want in life, what life directions to take and what I really wanna do.

I'm contented now with my stable job and of coz, my family and friends. But I think there's so much more in life to do. I don't have the answers and that's why I wanna find it out myself.

Maybe my priorities are getting a little mixed up. Maybe it's just my stubborn and perfectionist personality that makes me do things the way I do and get so frustrated and upset when I don't meet my goals. Tried to change the way I 'function' but it's hard. I think I take things a tad too seriously. I need to chill-lax more.

... an island getaway (Maldives in my dreams!), just me alone, watching the sunset and swimming with the whale sharks! Simplicity of life...

.... I need a GETAWAY!!!!

Farewell & Goodbye Collins!

2008-06-08T00:29:00.012+08:00

Rugby Union ain't gonna be the same no more!

My sexbomb - Jerry Collins!

On the faithful day (more like tragic day to me!) of 26th May 2008, All Blacks hardman and Wellington rugby hero Jerry Collins announced his retirement from the game in New Zealand.

Tell me, how can this possibly be! He's still so young (he's only like 27!), so fit and need I mention, so HOT and SEXY when he's playing on the field, tacking and bringing his opponents down to the ground! NOOOOooooo... now my huge ass plan on going to New Zeland in 2011 to catch the next Rugby World Cup seems to be insignificant and meaningless, coz I really wanted to see him in person and fulfill my 'fantasy' of checking out how huge and rock solid his pecs are (hahaha.... only Chelsea will understand what I'm talking about!).

No one stands in the way of - The Terminator!

As much as I really love the All Blacks and the way they play, the team without the blonde crop Collins just doesn't seem as 'whole' anymore! I simply love his 'aggressiveness' when he plays. He really goes all out and when he tackles... he tackles hard! A mean machine he is! Hence why his nickname - The Terminator! Wooohoo! I love my Jerry Collins!

*in dreamy admiration* - So strong Collins!

But yes, I'm still quite upset upon hearing the news. But I guess he's got better plans perhaps? As he said in an interview -

"But I’ve been thinking about things for a while and I know in my heart that it’s time to step back. That’s just where I’m at."

"New Zealand rugby has done a lot for me and I really do appreciate the way this has been worked out."

On and ending note, the final words from the man himself, Collins...

"With me, I’d like to think that what you saw is what you got. I always tried to put as much as I could into every match on the field. I wanted to leave at the right time, and after thinking about things over the past week and then getting through Saturday night’s match, that time is now."

To know more about my hottie rugger, click here and here!

Collins shows No Mercy!

Training hard...

That's my ball...sucker!

If condoms had sponsors...

2008-06-06T22:11:00.008+08:00

Just something to lighten up your day...

Truly Inspirational

2008-06-05T21:36:00.006+08:00

You know how sometimes we feel that life is such a burden and that things just don't seem to be going the way you'll like it to be?

Take a look at these 2 videos below. Never once has it failed to move me and put me back to perspective and realise that life ain't all that bad afterall. I first chanced upon them on an episode of Oprah several years back and till today, everytime I watch it, my eyes never fail to flood up with tears! The great lengths a father will go just for his son. An amazing story of a father's love. You should look at their race track records! It's...it's *gasp* AMAZING! I certainly couldn't do that, much less the weight of someone else!

Total Events

224 - Triathlons, 6 - Ironman distances, 5 - Half Ironman
20 - Duathlons
65 - Marathons, 25 - Boston Marathons
8 - 18.6 Milers
81 - Half Marathons
1 - 20K
35 - 10 Milers
29 - Falmouth 7.1 milers, 1 - Falmouth in the Fall Event
8 - 15K
208 - 10K
147 - 5 Milers
4 - 8K
17 - 4 Milers
101 - 5K
7 - 20 Milers
2 - 11K
1 - 7K

Total 958 events

Highly motivating and inspiring indeed. If only I could be as strong and brave as them, both father and son - Team Hoyt (click on the link to read learn more about their amazing journey together!) - I salute them!

Inspirational video of Team Hoyt

The Hoyt Story

Oh Gilbert!

2008-04-10T22:25:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday I finally got back to some Touch Rugby action. It was awesome fun, minus the aches and DOMS (delay onset of muscle soreness) especially in my calves which only set in when I woke up Tuesday morning!

The weather seemed pretty darn good in the morning, but apparently started raining around the West side of the island as we made our way there. But it was decided that the game would go on, thank God it was a passing shower!

Anyway, the field was still water logged and muddy in some areas, but what the hell right since we were all already down. Turn out was surprisingly good, honeslty didn't excpect that many players. Manged to get a 8-9 a side game going. I haven't played in a muddy field prob since I was a kid... for some reason, it just felt damn good coming out of the game all dirty with mud all over your clothes and legs. Kinda unleashed the inner kid within me. We had a good mix of players... majority of the guys were ex-school team ruggers so in a way there was a decent game going on. A couple of gals present as well... ok, actually it was just Joyce, Chels, Nari, 2 other gals and myself. I feel that it just makes the game a little more fun and even when more gals play.

Really love the group I play with. Even though we all don't really know each other that well, the guys are really nice and helpful. They give tips and at least will pass the ball to the gals, unlike many mixed games I've played previously, usually the guys tend to pass it amongst themselves. Not sure if it's just an ego thing or they prob think that us gals don't play as well. Well I really can't answer that. Nonetheless, 2.5 hrs of touch just went by like that... looking forward to this Saturday's game again! Please let the weather be good!

If anyone else is interested to join, feel free to let me know. Anyone's welcomed, regardless of skill level and knowledge of the game. You've gotta start somewhere anway!

Cheers!

An Evening with my Bestie

2008-04-10T00:47:00.014+08:00

It's always great catching up with Jo-my bestie!

With the both of us having entered the working world, we haven't been meeting up as often as we would like too. Yesterday evening was an exception.

Jo suggested that we try out this new Jap eatery @ Raffles City - Shokudo Japanese Food Bazzar. Honestly after having had dinner there, nothing that fantastic. Decent and enjoyable, but nothing special to rave about. If you haven't heard about it, think Marche - Jap style.

You pretty much walk into the place, get issued cards where food credit is put on for payment later. Then you have little food booths lined up around the place where you get to take your pick and the dish prepared infront of you. The place boast to have more then 230 food items available on its menu. They even placed those once popular neoprint booths within its premises for customers to take super kawaii shots! Can't believe I used to take those back in lower secondary school days! I've found a better way now... cam whoring with my own lovely cannon ixus camera! Hah!

Anyway, back to Shokudo. The place even sells rosti (Marche's signature grated potato pancake dish), albeit topped with seaweed powder. We had a serving of that, but still cannot compare anywhere close to the orginal ones from Marche! Found it a little too buttery and the potatoes just don't seem to have that fresh taste you get from those served in Marche. There's a pretty extensive spread of Jap food ranging from your traditional sushi and tempura sets, udon, ramen, tempayaki to Jap-infused western food such a BBQ eel pizza and mentaiko (cod roe) pasta. Also available are western-food dishes with a jap twist to it, like burgers with chips and miso-flavoured beef patty. Price wise, slightly above food court prices, averaging about $8 for a main course. They even have Japanese Gelato ice-cream apparently imported all the way from Japan!

SHOKUDO JAPANESE FOOD BAZAAR
Raffles City Shopping Centre B1-44E

Tel: 6837-3793

Open 11.30am - 10 pm daily

On the whole it was ok by my standards. I think the company of my friend made up for the rest of it. Heehee. Following that was dessert time.. for a change we decided to settle down in J.co cafe. Yup, the popular donut haunt in Raffles. They upgraded man... now they alongside their counter of popular yummy donuts they've set up a cafe serving up coffee/tea. Jo had an ice chocolate while I had myself a good ol' hot cup of cafe latte! They even gave a complimentary frosted donut! Yum! Totally satisfied that evening! Of coz the catching up with my good ol' friend was way better.

So sweet this Jo, she gave me a shocking pink Gerbera flower just as a gift and a pretty belt which apparently was my super belated Christmas present which she has yet to pass to me! Thanks! Love the flower... so bright and cheerful. Really made my day!

Quote of the Year

2008-04-06T00:02:00.012+08:00

Kinda like this quote that Maria Sharapova said after winning the final match against Ana Ivanovic in the recent Australian Open 2008...

"... Pressure is a Privilege."

I really like it alot. It's something for me to think about! :)

SPLASHED!

2008-03-24T23:58:00.004+08:00

Has something similar to this occured to you before?

Well, so much for my luck earlier on this evening... I GOT SPLASHED!

You see, I was working late at the office today so headed out to grab some dinner. It's been pouring the entire evening. It just makes u wonder if the Gods up there are bitch fighting or something. Maybe zapping each other with their powers! *Neat*

Back to the unfortunate incident... so naturally the roads were pretty flooded in the area I was working at. Was walking along the pavement back to the office after grabbing dinner in one hand and hanging on to my umbrella in the other. Suddenly, this stupid idiot CR-V comes happily zooming down the road, drives thru the huge ass puddle or should I say POOL of water ..... and u know what happens next....

:::

...... I had to walk back to my office with the right half of my body soaked wet! Thank God I was wearing dark brown! FREAK!

Saturday Food Galore

2008-03-23T18:16:00.009+08:00

Saturday was like the attack of the killer calories day! I think I ate ate least 2 day's worth of food, all within the timeframe of 9 hours! Yikes! Had to force myself to swim and run it off today.

But yea, aside from counting calories, I had sucha good weekend just hanging out and shopping with my sis and catching up with good ol' friends!

Went for a swim in the late morning with my sis. I swim pretty regularly, but I haven't been to the pool with my sis for close to a year! So u can imagine, after some hard work at the pool, we were starving by the end of our 90min swim session. We were craving for Jap food, so headed to Ajitei @ Bugis to fill our tummies. The both of us really like the place alot, one of our favourite mid-range priced jap restaurants. It's a good place to go if u just wanna have like a tea-time/light snack, coz they serve small portions of a decent variety of jap dishes. Our favourites have to be the Tonpei Yaki (cabbage& egg omelet), soft shell crab and fried curry squid.

Clockwise from the top: Tonpei Yaki, Ajitei's Logo (they are a branch of the Ajisen Ramen Restaurants, Fried curried squid, soft shell crab, lotus chips and Nagoya style chicken.

Aji Tei Kyoto Sabo
Bugis Junction #01-88-09
80 Middle Road
Tel: 63339880
Opens daily 11.00am to 10.00pm

Shopping @ Bugis with my sis was awesome....not to mention that we spent quite a bit, guess some retail therapy does help espcially when the past few weeks haven't been that great. Got myself some pretty accessories - a necklace and a ring. Also got 2 dresses for a good deal... yes dresses, u heard me right indeed. Hello feminine me! Went shopping at Muji as well and got myself this funky pen that I'm so gonna use as my 'work' pen. Was also a good time to walk some calories off considering that I was due to meet my other grp of friends for dinner in less that 3hrs.

Next sinful stop to pack the calories was Lai Lai Family Restaurant where I had dinner with Min, Zac and Sharom. It's a small Taiwanese restuarant along Liang Seah Street just opposite Bugis Junction. They're pretty popular for their Taiwan style beef noodles.... I bet those army guys who have been to Taiwan know exactly what I'm refering to. It's pretty yummy especially when it goes along with the chilli! *Shiok* The 4 of us ordered their 'Value-Set for 4 paxs' which entitled us to a set meal each - a side dish, drink and a main dish of your choice. Kinda added up to about $11 each which is really worth it if I might add (decent portion!). But yeah, all of us had the house speacial - standard taiwan beef noodles. The pics below will elaborate on the side dishes we had...easier than me describing!

Clockwise from the top: Squid in tomato sauce, deep fried squid, their menu, red milk tea with perals, menu, salt and pepper chicken and BEEF NOODLES!

LAI LAI FAMILY RESTAURANT
20 Liang Seah Street
Tel: 6837-1556/7
Open daily 11.30am til 3am!

That was not the end! The guys wanted to go somewhere to chill out so Min suggested TCC - The Coffee Connoisseur @ Bugis. I was so stuffed by then. Had myself a nice hot cuppa Cafe Latte. The rest went with the cold coffee drinks. Sharom who was eyeing their lovely desserts gave into temptation and got himself a nice sinful platter of their 'Dark Devotion'. The name itself gives it away! Of coz being the good friends we are, whipped out our forks and helped attack the helpless dessert.

Left to right: TCC, Sharom's sinful dessert - Dark Devotion and my Cafe Latte.

The Coffee Connoisseur
Bugis Junction (Main Boutique)
80 Middle Road #01-92-96
Phone : 6837 2027
Sunday to Thursday & Public Holidays - 8.30am to 11pm
Friday, Saturday & Eve of Public Holidays - 8.30am to 1.30am

Uni maties - Min, Sharom, Isaac and Me!

So much for food! Made myself swim 40 laps of the pool this afternoon just to make myself feel better! Hah!

Missing in Action

2008-03-21T23:21:00.009+08:00

Having just read Chels' blog has kinda promted me to realise that I haven't touched my blog for a really long long time.

But yes, the past 2 months at work has been pretty hectic and stressful. Learning alot but it can get pretty crazy at times. Anyway, I shall not bring work into the topic of my post... it's the long weekend afterall! Thank God!

I've finally got down to painting my room a pretty shade of plumish purple. Contrasted it along with another lighter lilacish colour. I love it! Proud of the final outcome considering I did it by myself. Actually choose the lilac a shade too light coz it looked more like white when I first painted the wall... in the end decided to do some colour chemistry of my own. I'm still wanting to do a mural of this black/white fairy-like abstract portrait on the wall above my bed. Took quite a bit of time to select the perfect picture... now is just finding the time to do it. Might post a pic when I finally get down to it. Hah!

Here's the room before...stripped bare!

This was where colour chemistry had to come in coz the whitish purple didn't turn out the way it was supposed to be.... took me some time to figure out mixing to achieve the right shade!

Ok I know I look spastic with the shower cap. But hey, it's like the best way to prevent your hair from getting splashes of paint especially when painting the ceiling!

Fooling around while painting...

The room after....

Anyway, I'm getting so freaking fair from being stuck in the office it's really quite scary! Especially for people who have always known me to be a little tan, that's the first thing they realise about me nowadays when they see me! I hate being fair, and since I have been down with this prolonged irritating cough for the past 3 weeks, haven't got as much sun and exercise as I would have liked to. Nvm, tomorrows gonna be the start of my mission to get back my tan!Swimming!

Sigh, kinda feel that so many of my friends are leaving the country, either to study, work or migrate! Most of my closer uni friends have all gone back to Aust after the summer break and have already started their semester, so it won't be at least another year till I get to meet up with them. Others have gone on with post-grad studies which makes me come to think of what I really wanna do next...Masters degree??? I think I've become a pretty boring person, haven't been going out much as I used to. So need to get back my life! So friends, do call me out ya. Gosh I sound so pathetic!

Bye 2007, Welcome 2008

2007-12-31T22:15:00.000+08:00

In less than 2 hours, yet another year would have just gone by as we welcome in a brand new year - 2008!

So here's wishing all a very Happy and Blessed New Year to come!

Reflecting back on the year that has just gone by, I truly think that 2007 has been different and challenging from all others - the usual ups and down, big changes in life and lots of adjustments to accomodate to... yet I do have alot to be thankful for.

Actually, I should really count my blessings. From graduating from Uni with good grades, finding an awesome new job almost immediately, being close to my family and friends again after being away for 3 years and just seeing changes for the better within me. For all these, I'm truly grateful.

I'm actually really excited and looking forward to the start of a brand new year. I really don't know what 2008 will bring, but all I know is that I intend to make the best out of it. Having no expectations is probably not the best description, but I kinda wanna take things as it comes... u know go with the flow. Yet of coz, I do have some goals that I have set for myself, like pursuing my masters in exercise physiology.

I'm not the kinda person that makes new years resolutions whenever a brand new yr is ushered in, coz most people just say it without any actions taken. However, I feel that there's this perosnal need within me that wants to make some changes this year, not for anyone, but myself. I really do hope I keep to my resolutions... I will definitely try! It's gonna be a challenge!

Here's looking back at the best of 2007:

Graduating from University!
Just being back HOME again with my family & friends
Job hunting
Being offered an awesome job (where I'm able to apply what I've learnt in uni) almost immediately after graduating
Attending my first ever rock concert - Linkin Park live in Singapore!
Taking part in my first ever Standard Chartered Marathon and finishing up my targeted timing, even though I only took on the 10Km route.
My awesome week-long Cambodian Adventure with 2 other great friends.
Owning my very first new pair of roller blades that I love so much!
Just getting back to what I love doing - Dragon Boating and rowing @ Kallang.
Being able to spend more time with my lil' sister and just being there for her - I love her to bits!
Blitzkraft.... what more can I say! I love the team!

The list goes on... just posted it so that I'll be able to look back next time and remind myself that there's much to be thankful.

So bye to a great 2007... and I look forward to a even better 2008 to come!

Cambodia...Here We Come!

2007-12-13T23:30:00.000+08:00

3 MORE DAYS TO MY CAMBODIAN GETAWAY!

Getting really excited now. I really need a getaway soon, somewhere out of this country to somewhere different for a change... Cambodia it is!

Min and Sharon will be going as well. That makes a really fun gang to hang out with. We've been meeting up, corresponding thru the trusty email and msn with regards to the planning of our trip iternary and stuff... that has already been fun to start with! Can't imagine how much nonsense, laughter and retardedness will go on during the trip!

We leave early Sunday morning and get back only a week later. Angkor Wat.... wait for us!

Will update more with pics and all when we get back! Meantime to the rest of u, happy christmas shopping and Merry Christmas!

Standard Chartered Marathon 2007

2007-12-09T01:02:00.001+08:00

The annual Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2007 is back yet again! The difference this time... I actually took part! Yay!

Atmosphere was good and it was just something different to do over the weekend for a change.

Nevermind I only ran the 10km route, guess everyone has to start somewhere. Run time wise, I think I did relatively ok, not my best for sure, but still under my targeted end time. I'll be back next year, this time round, hopefully doing the half marathon.

Bogglific Fun

2007-12-06T00:22:00.000+08:00

The latest craze to hit my gang of friends and myself! It's quite addictive I must admit. It gets pretty competitive when we play, seeing who can form the most number of words possible. A great way to improve and widen your spelling and vocabulary with heaps of 3 letter words you never knew even existed and would have hardly used in your everyday speach! What the heck...it'sgood fun, that's all that matters!

What Happened... the Past Week?

2007-11-21T22:32:00.000+08:00

Ok let's see...

Quite a bit has happened over the past week... in a good way I guess. So much so that I'm kinda sick at the moment coughing my lungs out and nursing a slight fever. Just to gross u out more, I'm coughing out greenish phlegm! Hah! I think it all started because it got so sore from all my screaming and singing at the top of my voice during the Linkin Park concert, followed by my company's team building and then coaching over the weekend. Strepsils are now my best friends!

So what really happened???

13th Nov Linkin Park Live in Concert @ Sg Indoor Stadium - This was the concert I long awaited for ever since I heard that they were coming to Singapore. As I said in an earlier post, I totally missed them the last time they came to Sg and performed at the Padang coz I was still studying in Aussie land. Anyway, in short - the concert was rockingly, samashingly and wickedly awesome! I loved it, we got pretty darn good seats and had such a blast there headbanging my head off and screaming along with Chester to all their songs. Possibly the best concert I've been to in a long time (not that I've been to that many in the first place!). Chels and her brother came along as well.... and yea, I think her bro was really into it coz he pretty much knew all their songs by heart! *bravo to Aloy*

Linkin Park's new logo

But yea, LP can really perform live! Apart from the fact that they pretty much scream for most part of their songs... they're one talented and successful band alright. At least they do a good mix, from the slower with a softer more classical edge to it, down to the more hard core classic rock songs. With a near sold out crowd and a very disappointing late start from the scheduled time, I guess all was forgotten when the curtains came down and the band strutted their stuff. Everyone went wild especially when their popular songs came on.... like 'Numb', 'In the End', 'Crawling' and 'Bleed it Out'. Chels and I were totally into it, singing along and screaming. Not to forget, oogling at Chester and Mike. Hahah... so much for fun, time just passed by so quickly, and soon more than 90mins ended just like that. Nonetheless, it was a good night alright! I'll definitely go for their concert again, maybe this time get the standing tixs!

Pics taken off from a friend who was standing pretty near the stage...

The Opening Act....

More of Chester!

15-16th Nov Company Team Building @ Pulau Ubin

Ok, I have to confess I initially dreaded this day to come. Hello, like who likes team building events and Pulau Ubin? Are u mad? Aren't the mosquitoes there fat and well fed enough? Anyway, no choice right, so just have to make the best out of it.

Surprisingly it didn't turn out all that bad in the end. There were your typical silly crappy ice breaker games and yea, team building activities where there's no winner no loser, coz the main objective is that the entire team works together and stuff....blah blah blah. Ok, so apart from that, I think most of my enjoyment came from hanging out with my fellow colleagues from my lab. We play quite a few silly games which were totally hilarious. Made each other feel stupid with lame brain teaser games and just crapping away.

I used to visit Pulau Ubin quite often when I was younger with my family. Usually headed there to cycle and stuff, also coz my dad had a friend there who owned a fruit plantation. We would usually help him harvest his produce by picking his limes, durians, rumbutans and jackfruits! That was so much fun, especially the eating part! Since then, it sure has developed and change quite a bit coz we actually stayed in air-conditioned chalets, so yea, we were pretty spoilt I admit. Quite nice and comfortable to sleep in too. In the end, I'm glad I went and I'm glad its over.

This was actually taken when we were heading back!

The dragon boat chics

Our chalet

Spastic smile... :)

Coaching over the Weekend...

Need I elaborate? Nothing special... same ol' same ol'

Wakeboarding

2007-11-10T21:55:00.000+08:00

I had such a blast today. Wakeboarding is indeed awesome fun, but tiring! So much for having a power boat pull you on water and yet u feel so tired after.

Anyway, the weather didn't start off that great this morning. Woke up to a gloomy morning with a slight drizzle. But that didn't dampen the mood for any of us. The session lasted from about 9am all the way to 4pm and each of us got to go several rounds on the water. Thank God the sky cleared by noon and there was finally some sun shining on down!

Uncle Robert the coach was really patient and cool. He's a good person to have teach any beginners coz he really encourages and never gives up on you till you at least get to stand upright on the board. Uh um.... pardon some boasting here... hehehee... I'm proud to say that I actually managed to get up on my first attempt, although it did not last for long. Thanks to a great coach and great friends, who were also great assistant coaches and loud hailers, who practically repeated and shouted out loud whatever instructions the coach had to say when I was on the water. Hahaha. Managed to get quite a few decent rides... my objective for now is just to stand up for long enough. Next step will be learning to go from side to side.

There was a good mix on the boat, some more abled than other beginners like me. But its all good coz they help and guide u along the way. Wakeboarding day ended with a nice BBQ by the docks. Nice atmosphere topped up with charred grilled chicken wings, sausages, chips and booze. Certainly was one heck of a day out. Bet I'm gonna have sucha great sound sleep tonight. Can't wait for the next session again! Wooohoo!

Eagerly anticipating tomorrow...

2007-11-09T22:30:00.000+08:00

I'm praying very hard and keeping all my fingers crossed that we'll have really good weather the whole of tomorrow! I've been looking forward to this day....yup, finally going wakeboarding with a friend and the rest of her gang. Always wanted to have a shot at it... now I've finally got a chance. Let's just hope I'll be able to stand without too much trouble, or at the very least not make a complete fool of myself! hahaha.... yay! BBQ follows topped up with beer and wine... what a great way to spend a Saturday!

More updates and hopefully pics (if i don;t get too caught up in the fun) after tmr! See ya!

Awesome Evening

2007-11-07T00:23:00.000+08:00

Jo and I had such a great Sunday last week! The Rockapella concert was awesomely amazing! I'm just so simply blown away by the sweet A capella music they make with their God given talented voices.

They really sound better in real life than what you hear and see on videos on Youtube and stuff. Their voice percussionist - Jeff, is hot and oh so sexy when he spits his beats, completing Rockapella's band-without-instruments sounds! Their tenor - Kevin, sweet sweet angelic voice indeed. Main man & high tenor, Scott Leonard - funny, charming and he can sing! John - voice of gold! Super Bass man - George... husky and cool with his low low manly tones.

For slighly over 2 hours I felt as if I was taken into another dream land. I was so immersed into the whole performance, loving every single minute of it. They did their own flava of popular songs like My Girl, Stand by Me, Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego, The lion sleeps tonight, Dancing in the Street and many more! Everyone who attended the concert was in for a treat! What was meant to be a 90min long performance stretched a good half hour longer, with Rockapella performing 6 encore songs, including a debut track which they had never perform live before. My favorite song to date by the group - People Change. Will try to find the youtube link and post it up.

Not only are they great singers, they're really a bunch of cool and funny entertainers too. Made the whole performance more interactive and lively. Some nifty dance moves and butt shaking was seen too. Was so tempted to try getting a video of them, but the door people standing guard are just so alert and on the prowl to catch such ppl! Ughhh!

The evening didn't just end there. The group was nice enough to take some time out to have an autograph session with their fans after the concert. So yea, I got to meet the group up close and personal and managed to get my CD and poster signed by them. Happy happy me! Really made my day!

Hope they'll come again next year, I'm sure to go catch it again, maybe this time round I'll bring my sis or mum. I reckon they will love it just like I did. ROCKAPELLA!!!!

Super Size Me.... Not!

2007-11-02T22:39:00.000+08:00

After a hard day's work, nothing beats having an awesome dinner at The Prata Place along Upper Thomson Road. Not the healthiest of options I admit, but hey... we were starving our guts out and who cares right? Among the 3 of us, we each had a cheese and mushroom prata and shared a kickass artery clogging rich bowl of kambeng soup, masala thosai and to top it all off, nothing better than a nice cold cup of ice milk tea!

My colleague actually wanted to top it up with one more banana prata for dessert... but we just had to stop as it was becoming too sinful for the body! That's it, tomorrow is burn the fats and calories day! The Prata Place I reckon serves up quite a mean menu of prata along with all other kinds of indian snacks. Their curries that accompany the dishes are really yummy too... the kind I love - hot and thick with a dash of spiciness to it. Service is pretty efficient considering the number of customers patronising the eatery. Of coz, prices are fairly reasonable considering the portions they serve up.

Speaking of which, you know the movie that came up a few years back called 'Super Size Me'? The one where they decided to make a documetry film on the consequences and effects of this guy eating McDonalds for all his meals for an entire month! Ya...crazy right! Like, duh, I don't think anyone needs to tourture themselves doing that when you jolly well know what the outcome of it will be!

Anyway, my collegues and I were just thinking.... imagine someone making a similar documetry film, just that this time it'll be called - Super Size Me - The Prata Edition! The person would have to follow the same concepts applied in the original film:

Revamped rules for 'Super Size me - The Prata Edition' :

Person must fully eat three Prata Place meals per day (this means he must force himself to eat even when he starts getting full)
He must sample every item on the Prata Place menu at least once over the course of the 30 days
He must only ingest items on the menu. This includes bottled water. Any and all outside consumption of food is prohibited.
He must ''Super Size" his meal whenever, and only when, the option is offered to him. (In this case, so long as the prata man ask if he wants to add an egg or whatever else to the prata or to order a larger portion or recommend a new item on the menu, he needs to say yes! )

Imagine this scenario:

Guy: Can I have 2 cheese prata and one ice milo.

Prata man: Sir, you want to add egg to your prata? Drink make to Milo Dinosaur? Yes? Good! Want to try of new chocolate prata, it's very nice!

Guy: Errrr, ok (no choice right?)

Prata man: Oh very good Sir!

Can you imagine having this for one entire month! All the ghee, curry and oil and cholesterol rich kambeng (mutton) soup! AHhhhh, I think the guy will die of a heart attack god knows how soon! ( i don't even want to know man!). Haha, imagine someone having to eat a Mega-Murtabak! The thought of it is just hilarious!

Rocking with Rockapella

2007-10-27T01:10:00.000+08:00

I'm so looking forward to the month of November! Somehow, for some reason or other, it just feels like it's gonna be a good month. Partly coz you know that the end of the year is fast approaching and that in a wink of an eye, Christmas will be here again! Yay!

Anyway, the main reason why I'm looking forward to November - Rockapella and Linkin Park!!!!!!!!!!!! Yup, I'm really lucky alright, always wanted to attend these 2 concerts but never got the chance to the last time they came to Singapore coz I was still away in Australia. Now that they're coming back to Singapore, there's just no way in the world I'm gonna miss it!

So come 4th Nov, I'm attending ' An evening with Rockapella' at the Esplanade with my best friend. They're such an amazing A capella group! Great mix and oh so awesome harmonisation of vocal tones as well as beat boxing/voice percussion! It's great coz they like to use more popular songs like 'Stand by Me', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and 'Pretty Woman'...etc and sing them in the a capella version *faint* Good A capella groups are hard to come by... and this is just one of the few groups that leaves u awestruck at the wonderful sounds that pure vocal talent on its own can produce! It's hard to explain, you just need to hear it to judge for yourselves. I love them personally! Will update more about their performance after their concert. Meantime, check out some of their videos on youtube...

Check out Jeff's awesome kickass beatboxing! *swoon*

I wouldn't mind being in place of that gal...

Come 13th Nov, will be attending and rocking along to Linkin Park live in concert! Will be attending with 8 other friends and I reckon we'll have a smashing good time! Think I'll be so deaf the following day that I won't realise how loud I might actually be talking. haha. So exciting.... It's high time I learn to treat myself a little especially when such groups come to Sg. Seems as if Singapore's starting to bring in heaps more performers than ever before. Keep it up man! Stay tuned for more updates on the concerts... laters!

Leaking nose

2007-10-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

Grrrrr....I hate falling sick! Then again, I don't think anyone does. Think there has been a flu bug going around in my office the past few weeks. Seems like one by one, each of my fellow colleagues are coming down with the flu and now it's got me too!

Dammit, there goes my weekend! So much for planning to go swim, blade, run and row.... looks like I'll have to confine myself to my bed and recover asap coz next week's gonna be a long tiring one at work. I hate begin cooped up at home not doing anything active. I get really irritable and grumpy, then my poor family members have to put up with the moody me, which I know it's kinda mean! But hey, I'm trying my best to keep cool.

Supposed to be out tonight with Chels and the gang for a KTV session, but looking at my state, I'll have to give it a miss! *sighz*

Think I might just go to sleep now, the irritability is starting to set in.... shall wake up to catch the rugby match later... I'm not gonna openly cheer for the team I'm siding for, coz whenever that happens, they always seem to lose!

Life ::: Canoeing ::: Rugby

2007-10-13T21:49:00.000+08:00

For some reason I just feel as if the energy has been sucked out from within me this entire week. Been feeling rather lathargic and sleepy. Maybe I've been trying to do too much within a day. Tried to catch up on my sleep the past 2 days, hopefully the week ahead will be a better one. :)

Oooo... I'm feeling really happy now. Finally managed to contact my ex-canoeing team coach and he says I can come down to use his boats to train again! He's sucha nice guy, I'm not saying this bcoz he letting me row! Heehee! It's been eons since I last paddled.... really miss the whole feeling and adrenaline of rowing. I'm thinking I should start forcing myself to train in a K1, coz the T1 events are getting pretty outdated already. Well, that's it for my paddling joy! Yay, tanner skin and fitter me, here I come! *I'll just have to make sure I don't bulk up to the JC canoeing days me!*

On another note, first semi-final match tonight - England vs France. As much as I'm upset about the All Blacks being knocked out (as u all would know by my ramblings now), I love the game of rugby, so I'm gonna catch it with my family later at 3pm on the telly. Actually, I'm quite surprised at how the rest of my family have taken an interest in watching rugby matches, even my mum who's not exactly ur typical sports fanatic. It's nice to know, but it can get quite annoying during the match especially when she starts asking why certain things are happening or why they keep kicking the ball out. Haha... she's cute!

Well, not that I'm a fan of either teams, but I'm hoping France will win this (even though they knocked out my All Blacks), just becoz I'm hoping the finals will be a showdown between South Africa and France. That would be worth to watch! Yea, it would indeed. Then, if that happens, I'll cheer for the Springboks. Hahah, I sound like a traitor to the French!

The Tingster aka Chels was asking me if I was considering to go to New Zealand for the next Rugby World Cup 2011. At this point in time, it sure sounds like an awesome plan and I'm seriously contemplating it. It'll be a terific experience for sure being on home ground of our favourite team! Hopefully, I'll finally get to see the All Blacks in person.... especially u know who... uh hmmmm.... Mr Collins! Well, at least this gives me some time to plan ahead and start saving up! Now I'm secretly hating my cousin for migrating from NZ to Aust, if not for which I could have put up with her during my stay there... even better, coz she was based in Wellington - hometown of Mr. Collins! Arghhh...why did she move!

NZ 18 : 20 France

2007-10-07T14:13:00.000+08:00

Never in my entire life have I felt this devastated after a sporting match. It's literally a stab straight through my heart. I feel for the team as well... the tournament favourites busted out of the Rugby World Cup - yes, the NZ All Blacks.

It's just weird, I know it sounds very exaggerative, but the sudden emptiness and sadness you feel after your favourite team loses really sucks to the core. What seemed to be didn't turn out the way it should. For one, screw the stupid refree. Bloody idiot did not see the ever so obvious forward pass the French made, which ultimately gave them the opportunity to score the try they needed so badly to even out the scores. Shit happens in the world of sports I guess or anything for that matter!

All Blacks played well the first half bringing them to lead the french 13-3. But France made a stronger start from the second half. Luck was just not there for the Blacks. A major tactical change and several well-timed substitutions sparked France's comeback win over New Zealand, with what unfortunately was to be history repeating itself all over again for NZ.

Ok fine, credit does go out to France who defended superbly and played with the utmost passion and fire. All Blacks on the other hand, not the best game they played for sure. Several ball handling errors, topped up with 2 major defence errors left wide open for the French to penetrate through. Sighz.

Not to mention, as what commentators said, Luke McAlister - from hero to zero. I know its not the way to go about bitching your fav. team's player, but despite the try he scored in the first half,he did cause the team to be short of 1 man for a good 10mins after having been sin-binned for obstruction. Next, the missed conversion which should be been. Why why why!

Nevertheless, I'm still behind my All Blacks no matter what. It's a big blow to all of us fans, but I'm sure it's a million times worse for the players themselves. A memory that would be left lingering. Kudos to the team for the effort and fight spirit all the way to the end... typical of All Blacks, and yes, I still love my Jerry Collins! I'm proud of his play during the game.

God, I'm sounding like I'm churning out a match analysis/report for this post! Pardon me guys.

Anyway, with NZ knocked out of the world cup, the next thing to keep myself occupied with for the remainder of the tournament will be to cheer and root for the Springboks. Although at the back of my head I'm also hoping that Fiji will do well, coz they really do deserve it. But it looks like only the best team shall advance.

Shall look forward to the next rugby world cup.... hopefully things take a turn for the better then when All Blacks get to play on home ground! RWC'2011 - New Zealand! heehe...i should fly there hey?

Just for Fun: 5 Minute Management Course

2007-10-06T10:30:00.000+08:00

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.

"After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

"It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies.
"Great," the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great > opportunity.

Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, > driving a speedboat, without a care in the world."

Puff! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life."

Puff! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: " Sure , why not."

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull.
"They're packed with nutrients." !

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the! tree.

Moral of the story:
Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson 6:

A little bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

THIS ENDS THE 5-MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Oh what a Gentleman!

2007-10-06T00:20:00.000+08:00

I've so gotta blog this down! It's like history in the making. There's some hope in the Blitzkraft world afterall! Hahaha.

Was a typical Thursday 2 days back. Typical day doing the typical stuff at work. Was nice that Nic buzzed me even though it was a rather last minute thing asking if I wanted to meet him for dinner. For one, I was actually honestly happy to received that call... I just so needed to do something different apart from the head straight back from after work routine. Secondly, I was starving my guts out coz I had to skip lunch due to work stuff.

Yea, so met Nic @ Cityhall. He was early for once...and yes, I was late. Headed to Glutton Square near the Esplanade. The Hokkien Mee there is pretty yumm stuff, topped up the meal with 2 BBQ chicken wings each as well. But highlight of that evening had to be when Nic actually said he would peel the prawns for me coz I didn't want to eat them as I was being a bum to even bother peeling them...heehee. *actually underneath it all, it was a ploy...hahah!*

So yes, Nic so kindly took the gentlmen job of helping to peel my prawns..not just 1, but 3 of them. Hey this heads straight into my record books man.... how often is it that Blitzkraft guys do such stuff when in comparison, casual greeting are more often than not acknowledge with a wack on the back! You see Nic, told u I would make known ur ever so kind gesture of prawn peeling that eveing. I've reflected such a good impression of u to all reading this. So u owe me one! Hahaha... keep it up ya!

Linkin Park! Linkin Park!

2007-09-21T21:55:00.000+08:00

Hell yeah! I'm gonna be catching the ever so awesome LINKIN PARK live in concert on 13th November '07! I missed them the first time round when they performed in Singapore... So looking forward to having a head banging good time there, ear drums bursting and screaming my throat sore! My friends and I were so excited we immediately booked our tickets the day sistic released them!

I'm finally able to relive the fantasy my housemate Chels and I used to do in our rooms - pretending that we were standing near the stage at a Linkin Park concert, at arms length to Chester and Mike ...reaching out to them, screaming their names as they rocked on! Hahhaha....hey Chels, remember that? We finally get to do it for real....! Ok, maybe not the at arms length part...sighz!

CHESTER!!!!! MIKE!!!! ...So looking forward to seeing and hearing this!

Rugby Madness

2007-09-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

I've decided to take the AM off tmr morning. Actually contemplating on taking the entire day off instead, but I've got some stuff to settle in the PM. *boo*

I swear the past 2 weeks have literally been a whirlwind for me. This time it's nothing to do with being stressed up at work or feeling sick whatsoever.... it's that time of the year again - Rugby World Cup 2007! Ahhhhh...*waves hands in the air frantically* Honestly, I have no idea how I even got to appreciate this wonderful barbarically skillful game of brut strength, power and agility, yet it carries a certain artistic element to it. Think it prob dates back a good 8-10years when my dad introduced to me to my first RWC match - the year where Australia took on France in the finals to win the title (on the telly...duh), since then I've fallen in love with it. Pity it's not a big sport here in Singapore... all they telecast on cable are your random Trination matches, World Cup matches (which u have to wait 4 yrs for) and other selected rugby 7's matches that the Starsports channel decides to screen when they have nothing else better to show!

Needless to say, I absolutely love my New Zealand-All Blacks team! Keeping my fingers so tightly crossed that they'll make it to the finals and ultimately clinch the World Cup title that they so rightfully deserve! Hence why the past 2 weeks I've been suffering from sleep deprivation and moments of hypertension, hyperventilation and many instances where I think my heart stopped beating for awhile. Ok, that was over exaggerating!

My favourite player by far is No. 6 -Jerry Collins (blindside flanker). God, he's the man! Chels and a few others will know just how mad and crazy I am over him. The way he tackles his opponents, the amount of force he takes them down with and that inner bull within him when he drives his way thru in the ruck! *faints* I await the day I get to see him in person! Not to mention, a sexbomb he is too...well he's no pretty boy like Dan Carter, but I like! heehee.

I'm so happy once again that we're kinda starting to play Touch Rugby back here in Sg with some random others... (no full-on contact rugby for me, my mum wld be screaming her head off!) Miss those sessions back in Perth. Hopefully Chels and I will keep up the weekly routine! Haha. It's good fun though.

Next match to look out for....Sunday, where NZ take on Scotland. Bloody hell, I just found out they are resting Collins for that match! Craps...

Talented Human Beatboxer

2007-09-02T14:32:00.001+08:00

I've always enjoyed and marvelled at the talents of a good human beatboxer. It's hard to come by... but this guy is amazing! Happened to be surfing Youtube for beatboxers and chanced upon this guy - Joseph, who took part in some French talent show.

Not only does he spit out really good beats, he even tops it up with additional background music simultaneously! Hey, it's not easy beatboxing and yet having to churn out the tune of 'Ring my Bell' in the background! That's what I call talent! Check him out. It's pretty cool if you're into such stuff!

COTTON ON

2007-09-01T20:57:00.003+08:00

Went shopping after dinner yesterday with my girl friends. It's been eons since I last walked round Wisa Atria and Takashimaya Shopping Centre, or the whole of Orchard for that matter. Felt kinda like a tourist coz quite a bit has changed, except the darn weekend crowd. Same old same old.

We were walking around, lo and behold... ever since when did Singapore have a Cotton On outlet???? Was actually kinda surprised to see it, seems as if the Australian markets are starting to invest and build more and more franchise outlets of various Aussie labels and eateries here. There was like Boost Juice Bar and now Cotton On. Ok, I think there are several others, but I can't remember them off the top of my head right now.

Had a look-see, walk around the shop and I was actually telling one of my girl friends that I reckon I owned 1/8th of their shop in my own home! Coz when I was in Perth, I kinda like shopping at Cotton On for their summer and winter apparels...they're pretty comfortable and not to mention, prices are reasonable too! I have to confess that I own 4 different colours of one of their shorts design. I loved it so much that before I left Perth to return home, I hurried down to the city to grab 2 more pairs! Now, having seen the same shorts sold right here in Wisma Atria, I just stood there pursing my lips whilst staring at the shorts, with the thought going thru my head 'If I knew earlier.....'. Then again, I think the outlet didn't open until quite recently.

So if any one of u (yes, they sell both hunky and girly stuff), I've got the link here for u to check it out. If not, just pop in when u're in Wisma. For the girlies who love and adore the layering effect fashion even though it's like 33degrees in Singapore, Cotton On's worth a check-out!

Click here to check out the Cotton On Website.

Yet again...

2007-08-25T23:30:00.001+08:00

Yet again, my weekend has officially been eaten into. It's now 11.30pm as I'm typing this post out, but I'll have to leave the house and head to work at like 2.15am. Literally an early start, especially for a weekend!

The Singapore Bay Run/ Army Half Marathon 2007 is going on later this Sunday morning. Have to been there as part of work stuff to run some trials on some marathoners. The thing people do for reseach eh. But I still love my job.

Ok, I guess I better go take a cat nap for now... nites!

Review: The Bigrill

2007-08-25T01:01:00.000+08:00

Been heading out with the guys quite a bit in search of good but 'cheap' food. Ok, let's make it clear here. Cheap in our context does not refer to your typical $2 plate of chicken rice. I would say the better word to use would be - reasonable. You see, not all of us can always afford to dine at fine and fancy place hey.

Anyway, our stop this week, by Nic Tan's recommendations- The Bigrill. A small stall serving up western food meals right in the Yishun heartland (Blk 110 Yishun Ring Road, #01-401 You N Lai Coffeeshop). Apparently, they were reviewed in a couple of food writeups to be rather good going by coffeeshop standards. Yep, you got me right there. It's in a coffeeshop! It's kinda like the other popular western food stall - Botak Jones, except that The Bigrill boast to serve up more exotic dishes like their special BBQ crocodile meat steaks. Never got down to try that; not my kinda thing. Chopping up a cow already sounds bad enough for me, much less a croc! Seems to me that there's some sort of an evolution thing going on with the local food scene in Sunny Singapore. Even the coffeeshops now are competing in terms of ambience, quality and uniqueness.

There's your typical fish and chips and chicken chop being served. Also on the menu were the other dishes we tried - Cheesy Fish, Texas Sirloin Steak (another popular dish) and Mary Lamb which I had. At first glance, quantity and appearance wise, the food looked really good for coffeeshop standards. Taste wise, it was still good, but not that fantastic as I thought it would be. I liked my lamb though. It was served with this blended mint paste thingy which goes really well with the meat. I even found myself taking in more of it on its own! Oooo.... I also liked their chilli fries they serve on the sides - my kinda thing (anything spicy is good by me). Didn't fancy the coleslaw though, found it a little too rich with mayo dressing.

The stall owner even took time to pop by out table to check-in on us. He was a pretty nice chap, asked us for feedback and our dear Nic Tan was honest enough to tell him that the food wasn't as good as compared to the last time he tried it. Hahaha.... honesty is good, we should all learn from Nic!

Price wise, you pay on average $10 for 200g of steak that actually taste like steak unlike your usual $6 at your common western food stalls that look just like slabs of 'meat' and not steak- steak (I think u should get the idea) . I think the croc meat was about $18 for 200g). Overall, I would have to say that The Bigrill definitely ranks above your typical coffeeshop western food stall in terms of standards and taste. But, don't rock up there with too high expectations like the gang and me.

Address:
Blk 110, Yishun Ring Road
#01-401, You N Lai Coffeeshop
Singapore 760110

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat: 4pm - 11pm ,

Sun: 11am - 11pm

Bridging the Gap

2007-08-17T23:32:00.000+08:00

I dare say I'm starting to get a little better at this game of bridge. I'm a pretty late starter to the game... but hey, who gives a damn! I still remember how my ex-housemates back in Perth used to try teaching me the art of the game. They've resorted to all means and ways like dragging me out of my room (where I was happily being a nerd) and forced me to sit next to them so that I would pick up the game - it's only because they wanted an extra person who would know how to play in the house!

Think I finally realised how interesting the game can get, especially when you play amongst friends like Wei Hao, Nic and Shiming. Hahhaha. For some sudden reason, they guys have been spending the past 2 Saturday nights over at my place playing bridge. You see, Saturday is 'time away from girlfriend day' for them, so it's a time for us to catch up as friends. Even my parents found it rather queer that the 4 of us were so entertained and enjoying ourselves over a deck of cards! Hahhaha....

Anyway, Wei Hao and I make a good team... usually. That's only because Nic Tan kinda sucks (Nic, don't angry ok, kiddin only). But really, he's so blur and he loves to out bid everyone else -just for the fun of it. Somehow it makes him feel good for that moment! Weird. Ya, but this tootface goes on to bid for like 6 of something.... and as you'll prob figure.... ends up losing - badly! Not just that, we've caught him a couple of times not even knowing that the game was over. It's totally amusing playing with these people!

Another round soon ya guys! I'll open my place anytime for any bridge games! Heehee. ( See Wei Hao, at least you won't have to send me back!)

Pictures Galore!

2007-08-08T21:28:00.000+08:00

You prob can figure out from the lack of updates that it's been pretty crazy and busy for me lately. Ongoing trials to conduct and stuff... work just seems to be never-ending!

Anyway, I'm gonna keep this post rather short and let the pictures do the talking...

1. NDP Preview 21.07.2007

My good friend Min who's a teacher managed to grab an extra ticket for me to watch the NDP preview with her primary 5 kiddies; one one condition that I help look after the kids that is! I've only actually caught the parade on the actual day itself when I was still a little rascal. That's a good 15 years back I reckon. Oooo.... floating platform. Hhahha.... I guess the parade was ok. Not that great, but at least they tried to change it a little. Loved the segment where they were showing off their 3G soldiers and weapons and of coz the main highlight - Fireworks!

2. 8th Jurong Island Dragon Boat Competition 04.08.2007

Since I joined my new company a couple of months back, I've been invited to join the company's dragon boating team. The last I recalled rowing and paddling my kayak/dragon boat was a good 3 years back, before I went over to Aust for Uni. Having now regained momentum , I've once again scummed to the addiction and love for the sport! Anyway, this was my first race with the team, but I'm glad to announce that we clinched a Silver medal for our excellent teamwork and efforts! Next target race - River Regatta! See u there....

3. Blading outing with Sis 05.08.2007

Since my sis ended her prelims, decided to bring her down to East Coast Park to blade. Haven't bladed for quite awhile. Even the guy at the shop where I usually rent their lockers to keep my stuff surprised me by saying he noticed that I haven't been down blading over the past 3 weeks. Indeed we had an awesome time blading up and down the coastline. I must give credit to my sis who despite having not bladed for a few years, surprised me by blading at quite a fast pace... and she didn't even fall once! Heehee! Love all my sister time with her!

So there u go.... In the meantime, HAPPY NATIONAL DAY to Singapore and everyone else!

Date at the Hairdresser

2007-07-26T23:45:00.001+08:00

Took my day off from work today.... and what did I do????

Spent close to 5 hours at the hair salon!

Ok, pardon me. For one, I'm quite a cheapo when it comes to doing my hair at hair salons.
I've never spent more than $30 bucks to have my hair cut. I don't usually go to those classy posh hair places like REDS, Jean Yip and so forth. My theory is that I hardly let my hair down coz its just either to hot in Singapore to have my hair left down or coz of the fact that I'm doing sports for most of my spare time. Hence I usually can't be bother and tie my hair up in a ponytail and that's it! No one can really see how messy it is or whether it's nicely cut - Problem solved and also saves me time in the morning instead of having to ensure that my hair is tame and pretty before I step out of the house.

So today, got kinda bored with my 'according to my mum - Are you trying to be an Ang Moh' hair colour. Since it was my day off... decided to take a trip down to the hairdresser to have it coloured nicely for once. You see, as I mentioned above, I've never once had my hair colour by a hairdresser. It's usually either with the help of friends or DIY! Hey... and it usually turns out pretty good ok!

Ok, so back to my point. Apart from my close to 5hour sit in the saloon, the hairdresser gave me a pretty good deal -$100 to get my hair coloured, highlighted, trim and layer the ends as well as a treatment to smooth out my dry and sun/chlorine damaged hair! Service was pretty good too... Workmanship was good, although I really had a hard time communicating with her coz she was just too cheena-fied for me!

Can u imagine, I spent close to 5 hours mostly sitting in the chair, with the several short trips over to the wash basin! Well....

Here I am now, happy and contented with my new hair colour. Mum's happy too coz she thinks I look more 'normal' now!

Chill out with the Gang

2007-07-21T01:37:00.000+08:00

After filling our tummies with BBQ steamboat,

it was time to sit back, relax and chill @ Marina Pier.

Pretty nice place it was,

not too many people around.

Setting of the chill out place was what I would describe as -

Made to Chill.

With drink all round,

under the Singapore night sky.

The fresh cool sea breeze blowing into our faces,

the laughter, rubbish and crap we talked about.

Great friends, great night, great life.

Is Friday here yet???

2007-07-12T20:58:00.000+08:00

Really haven't had the time to sit down to post stuff on my blog. It's been buzzingly busy at work lately. Really looking forward to the weekend... catch up on my sleep and go blading! It's been awhile!

For the whole of today, I think I sat thru the ultimately most boring company talk . Had to attend it coz it was compulsory for me to go. Struggled to keep my eyes open, especially after suffering the 'post-lunch effect'. So much for drowning 4 cups of black coffee today. Think I'm feeling the side effects from a caffeine overdose in my system. My heart's palpating rather rapidly. Yikes!

Blitzkraft Reunited '07

2007-07-02T00:10:00.000+08:00

It's been such a long time since I last met up with the guys. In fact, haven't seen most of them sicne I got back from Australia. Was a good get together dinner session... it's great to know that everyone's doing fine and moving on with life. U know, although it's a 99% testosterone filled team... being the only gal does have it's fare share of perks! Hahaha.

Dinner was followed by several rounds of bridge... stupid Nic... lousy you! *blur sotong*

Whose Line?

2007-06-27T23:33:00.000+08:00

The weather has been so darn hot and unforgiving lately. It's making me feel so irritable. Not to mention that my bedroom has no air con in it. It's times like this I wished Sg would have temperature that drop below 10 degrees! That would be nice, temporarily.

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

2-Line Vocabulary

Let's Make a Date

Phlebotomy / Venipuncture

2007-06-26T20:13:00.000+08:00

Did my very first venipuncture today; and yes, it was successful!

For those who are unsure as to what the hell phlebotomy aka venipuncture is, here's a rough insight:

In medicine venipuncture or venepuncture (also known as phlebotomy, venesection, blood draw, drawing blood or taking blood) is the process of obtaining a sample of venous blood. Usually a 5 ml to 25 ml sample of blood is adequate depending on what blood tests have been requested. In many circumstances it will be done by a phlebotomist, although nurses, doctors and other medical staff are also trained to take blood.

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!

SPSS

2007-06-22T23:29:00.000+08:00

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.

Blading Again

2007-06-19T00:20:00.000+08:00

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!!!

The art of Pronunciation

2007-06-16T13:41:00.000+08:00

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

Just for the fun of it, we also threw in some French words...

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!

Certified First Aider

2007-06-16T12:43:00.000+08:00

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!

New Blades!

2007-06-13T23:08:00.000+08:00

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?

Picture Diary 1

2007-06-13T22:58:00.000+08:00

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.

Cafe Del Mar

2007-06-10T21:35:00.000+08:00

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!

Blading

2007-06-09T23:41:00.000+08:00

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!

2007-06-08T23:56:00.000+08:00

Just some pics taken while I was in Aust....

Did I mention I simply love sunsets....

Tixs!!!

2007-06-08T21:51:00.000+08:00

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....

Big Fishy

2007-06-07T11:53:00.000+08:00

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!

Everything - Michael Buble

2007-06-07T11:33:00.000+08:00

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....

Lyrics - Everything

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