Recent happenings : Reflection and Renewals

The wet spell in Singapore has finally come to an end, I think. it's now bright and sunny, and just perfectly nice timing for me to get to Batam for a short respite over the weekend and also to embrace year 2006 with a final touch and then welcome the springing of a brand new year of 2007. Not forgetting another new year kick-off trip to HK from 6th-13th Jan 07, 6 more days to go.....And while other people are already starting to make new resolutions since the beginning of this month, I have also made some too. Isn't it quite a common topic to come across when you read your other friends' blog as well? =p

My new year resolutions are as below:
1) To become more mature in thinking, to be able to understand better other people's idiosyncracies with open arms without any first impression prejudice and appreciate the art of diversity in life.
2) To be able to use VBA in Excel for macro purposes and enhance SPSS programming proficiency by end of April.
3) To clear off more of my outstanding tuition fee loan(thus think on how to earn more money and at the same time not neglecting family and friends!!).
4) To sustain equanimity when adversities of life happen and recur which makes life hard to survive.
5) To understand that challenges are inevitable and it's a state of unease over things that we are not familiar with, which ought to be perceived as a chance to get to know better our own limit of ability and stimulate our minds to try to think of the best way to navigate through the challenge, during which, new skills will be discovered, mistakes familiarised, and eventually, will hit a level higher than before. Need to be more resilient and have a long-term vision, patience is a virtue too, only then a sense of achievement and valiance will not be far-fetched.
6) To revise all foreign languages that I have learned so far, including Vietnamese, German, Japanese and coming up is Korean for which I should be taking classes two months later! Haha...

Anyway, it's just a short summary of the direction of my self-improvement plans in the coming 2007. Hope it would not fall short, so I ought to internalise a drive of positivism, stamina and resilience!

Had a department lunch last Thursday at Curry House(Clarke Quay) organised by Pei Chin. It's North Indian cuisine and this time round, everyone turned up. Food was splendid and we had a long 2-hour lunch(one hour longer than usual) since we had had a long busy work week. I did not take any photos of the dishes so no photos for you guys to see this time. Be patient, there are bound to have many other food photos coming up to make sure you don't miss out any nice makan outlets in town!

Yesterday was the last day of work for year 2006, so everyone left on time if not earlier to enjoy a long long weekend. It was the same for me, as I headed down to Marina Square and met up with Princess for dinner at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. We ordered Baked Pork Chop Spaghetti with Cheese(quite cheesy but I like it), Chicken Curry with Rice and side dishes such as BBQ Pork Pastries, Prawn Dumplings, Cheung Fun. There was an on-going queue of customers too, so actually I think the cafe has been quite popular in town. Quite full at the end of the course. The bill was close to $30 but I think it's still not expensive considering the food quality and portion. After that, she wanted to go to Suntec to shop for Guess bags so we walked over there and she ended up with a top instead. Haha. After that, there wasn't much to see, so we walked back to Marina Square and walked around and went window-shopping. Nothing much to see also, we were already on our way back to City Hall MRT and after she was done with buying buns at Bread Talk then we felt like going for a drink so we went over to Chijmes for a drink at Le Baroque at basement level where there was 50% off for house pours. Ordered champagne(Moet & Chandon), and two shots of house pours(Jim Beam & Smirnoff Vodka). I forgot what kind of wine the Jim Beam is. Haha..Ambience was cosy but not too well air-conditioned, still I think it was pretty nice for a place to chatter with your friends over the weekend to spin your mind out of the busy work schedule for the night. Pretty enjoyed ourselves that night. Chijmes is a cool pubbing place.


***Sudah berapa lama aku tak bertutur atau menulis dalam Bahasa Melayu?Sejak kudatang ke Singapura agaknya, lima tahun lebih. Walaupun, disini langsung tak ada peluang untuk bertutur dalam bahasa ini yang diagung-agungkan di Malaysia, kurasa ku juga mesti mengekalkan taraf percakapan bahasa Melayuku sebagai warganegara Malaysia. Bagaimanapun, ku tak rasa kesal datang sini untuk melanjutkan pelajaranku dan mendapati perkerjaan yang agak stabil buat masa ini. ***

I came across this local Malaysian Chinese singer but she sings a Malay song named "Cinta Hello Kitty" which I like it. Enjoy the song~~~

Artist : Karen
Song Title : Cinta Hello Kitty-Hello Kitty's Love(with my English translation)
Lagu: Whye Yang
Lirik: Asmin Mudin
Lirik Ihsan Prodigee Media

Mengapa kau membutakan telingaku (Why did you deafen my ears)
Mengapa engkau membutakan hatiku (Why did you blind my heart)
Sehinggaku tak peduli (Till I don't care)
Semua insan berbintiku (Hmm..how to translate this line?)

Hinggaku sanggup melarikan diri (Till I was willing to run away)
Tinggalkan ibu ayah dan Hello Kitty (Leaving mom,dad and Hello Kitty)
Bersamamu ku temui (Together with you I've met)
Yang kukenal sehari (The one I've known for a day)

Korus:(Chorus)
Ku tahu ibu ayah terguris hati(I know mom and dad have been hurt)
Siang dan malam gelisahkan aku (Day and night worrying me)
Hello Kitty tolong aku (Hello Kitty,help me)
Katakan aku ok... (Saying that I'm okay)

Esok aku meraih hari jadiku (Tomorrow I celebrate my birthday)
Air mata berlinang dipipiku (Tears flowing on my cheeks)
Hello Kitty tolong aku (Hello Kitty,help me)
Tiupkan lilin yang buta ini (Blow off this blind candle)

Setelah kepalsuan mencelikkanku(After falsity opening my eyes)
Setelah penyesalan menginsafkanku (After regretfulness making me realise)
Hello Kitty tolong aku(Hello Kitty,help me)
Aku mahu pulang...(I wanna go home....)

Countdown to HK: 11 more days.....

Looks like I am really getting excited over my trip back to HK which will be very soon,just 11 days from now....and still figuring out whether I should go to Guangzhou for a one-day trip or not on 7th JAn....

Snooping around

The Internet is overwhelming. You can know a person's blog without him/her knowing about it. Scary,isn't it?

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Here I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope all of you get the presents you want!!

My brother dropped by in Singapore to meet me up after attending his friend's wedding banquet in Muar. His buddy,BH also came along, and I suggested to have dinner at Vivo City. And we dined at the Asian Kitchen.

I ordered the Suan La Mian(Sour Spicy Noodles-top picture ) and then we collectively ordered the xiao long bao, pork and prawn dumplings, traditional tofu with peanuts(picture at the bottom) and braised mushroom with brocolli and then iced longan red dates drink.Not bad for a dinner, but not too outstanding for a Xmas eve dinner. Yet it's still acceptable because dinner was on my brother! Haha. I would rate 6.5 out of 10 for the overall satisfaction.

After the dinner, I brought them to the rooftop to catch the night view of Sentosa and the harbour front, since it was still drizzling, we didn't linger for long so we decided to make our way to Orchard and throng along Orchard Road to feel the Xmas experience before the crowd condition got too bad. For some time, we were simply stucked in the huge crowd and couldn't even inch our way back to the MRT station. I could see that it was almost unbearable for BH and my brother since they had had a long day walking around before that.

Xmas dinner @ Moonfish Restaurant

This is not a Chinese seafood restaurant, PQ =p(though it might sound like one,hehehe..). It's a western-style pasta & seafood restaurant located at Marina Square #02-04. There was a one-for-one mocktail promotion going on. Went there to have an early Christmas dinner with Mich so as to avoid the expected huge crowd on Eve and Christmas Day itself. Mich had been thinking of dining at Indulgz Bistro @ Tan Quee Lan Street but it was fully booked before she could place a reservation. Anyway, there we were, having seated near the window, and then started to make orders to satisty our gastronomic pursuit. Hehe..we looked through the menu, there were several signature dishes, but we didn't order that......for appetizers, we ordered the clam chowder soup, then for me I thought that the Rottiserie Chicken would taste nice so I ordered that, then the Tropical sunset mocktail and then the classic New York cheesecake(nice!). Oh..we exchanged Xmas gift too. Very happy indeed. Got a Adidas watch from her.
It looks good on my wrist, now I have watch to wear already!!Haha, well actually I have a Casio watch that I bought from a shop at Bencoolen Street but I am lazy to buy the battery. Haha. Too busy to do that too. Went to walk around in Marina Square and then found my Tai Yang Bing!!!!It's the famous Sun biscuits my colleague brought back from Taiwan. It really felt heavenly when I first tasted that...so I went into that shop(Lao Zhao Pai) and then asked for the sun biscuits and they actually had that and was at the front counter display! Waaa..I bought Traditional and Honey sun biscuits one pack each and then after tasting it..it tasted quite nice also but not as nice as the one my colleague bought in Taiwan! Hmmm.. And I forgot what that brand was..

This is a picture of the one I bought at Lao Zhao Pai before it was slowly savoured and devoured in my stomach. Haha..anyone going to Taiwan please by all means buy one box for me as souvenir okay? I shall treat you very well from then onwards...Haha..=p

<-------Clam chowder soup

<------Tropical Sunset Mocktail

<------Curry Beef Brisket in Capsicum(Crystal Jade Macau Cafe)

<------With Noodles(Crystal Jade Macau Cafe)

<-----Watercress Honey Drink(Crystal Jade Macau Cafe)

This seems to be looking like a blog on food lately...as I always talk about food and photos of them are being uploaded here..haha.. well who doesn't love eating and want to know about the latest information on the happening pigging-out places in town...come to my blog often and I'll promise you an adventure of my gastronomical pursuits.

Brother's coming to Singapore tomorrow, so gonna expect another round of pleasant dinner tomorrow night. Haha. Maybe I will bring him to Macpherson Barbeque Seafood Restaurant at South Bridge Road to try the BBQ Stingray! Good idea!

Am I becoming a workaholic?

A sense of achievement. Is it really worth you spending your time slogging in the office from 7.30am until 4am the next morning?This was actually what I did last Wednesday when the FTMS project had to be completed quickly to meet the tight schedule ahead. I did not see the sun the entire day! Perhaps I am really hoping for a good yearly annual increment and bonus coming this April which will be based on my senior department manager's assessment on my performance at work. I always remind myself that since I am in this line by on-the-job training and not training by education, I gotto do triple amount of homework compared to others. Especially at the incipient phase of my job, I think there's a need to see the job as a career, see it under the positive light.

Dinner on Thursday was at Crystal Jade Macau Cafe Restaurant(@Seiyu Bugis)-it was Curry Beef Brisket in Capsicum with Noodles and watercress honey drink. Nice dinner~~~, and then yesterday I had to order a takeaway at Yoshinoya(yes,again) and brought back to office to eat with my colleague SM who's also rushing for project before going on a long year-end holiday with her family. Tomorrow she's flying from Senai airport and since she's going to bring back a lot of luggage, she'll be taking a cab from Singapore(Toa Payoh) directly to Senai and it's about SGD50. Does anyone of you reading this know any other cheaper taxi rates for the same destination? Let me know.

Heard from my senior department manager(Felicia) that she was hit by a car whose driver was drunk long time ago so she has lost 50% of her arm strength. She has to undergo minor surgeries from time to time as complications keep on coming up. So friends,be more careful at night when standing at the pavement waiting to cross the road. Otherwise, there may be unprecedented consequences that is beyond imagination.

Just a light note

Singapore's been cursed with a wet season lately,or shall I say blessed also?Haha. When it comes to raining then, I can't help but feel sentimental over matters around me. Something to ponder over before going to bed, as we grow older, automatically we will sort of know what kind of people that we like to befriend and be close to them, likewise, when some people utter even the first sentence, they will be people whom we want them to stay out of our sight. Perhaps it's because we know roughly how exactly we are, then seeing the trend of our friendship over the years as we age, we will tend to have that kind of first impression which might be prejudicial and unfair to those group of people. Oh well, life is sometimes like that. By saying that, are we really surrendering ourselves to fate?

Hectic work schedule

Just managed to settled down now at my desk with a drizzle still going on, subsiding from a downpour half an hour ago. It's been quite a hectic work day for me as the agency in China screwed up as expected and delayed in reverting on time. Had to stay until 9 something but waited for nothing eventually. Well, at least I had a sumptuous dinner at Yoshinoya, it was Hoki Fish Set with Spudster(Fried Mashed Potato Balls). Upsized for another dollar and was feeling replete by the time I finished dinner. Lunch was okay, went to Cineleisure food court with my colleague DS and we were meeting our mutual friend Princess over there. Princess said that she intends to go for the SIA air-stewardess again, and this time, it was actually encouraged by her boyfriend. Perhaps he loves her so much that he has to let her do what she dreams of doing. But for a long distance relationship, it certainly will be quite a feat to maintain and improve the relationship. If she succeeds, she'll be flying around the world going places, meeting different kind of people and it's quite possible that her perception towards the relationship might change and might turn out to be sour eventually. Especially when you can meet pilots who are equally good-looking and well-off, I'm sure it's rather tempting. As for my case, as some of you who are quite close to me might know, deep inside my heart, it is still a puzzle. What do I want? My gf doesn't read my blog, it might matter if she gets to know about this blog, yet if that's is so, this blog is gonna be moved to somewhere else where it is safe. Why am I thinking like that? I certainly feel that some of my inner feelings are so vulnerable that I am not ready for her to delve into it and conquer them. My tendency of being reticent about my true feelings sometimes are beyond my control.

Went to an event called "Youth Advolution for Health(YAH) 1st anniversary at DXO Club, next to Esplanade last Saturday by the way, free flow of mocktails was the one that drew me to that place and I asked my gf along too. And there were cool performances like the samba masala band, radical group breakdance show,a DJ performance, a pseudo-DJ mouth performance(I don't know the proper term for that!), songs by past Idol finalist Daphne Khoo and I think the host was quite good too. And unexpectedly, there was a free buffet dinner too, there was rice, fried beehoon, fried fish fillet, braised chilli chicken, brocolli/cauliflower mixed veggy dish, cakes and fruits. Best of all, we had a free flow of mocktails said early, and I tried a few glasses of Shirley Temple(Raspberry punch), Virgin Margharita(Lime punch) and Pussyfoot(Pineapple punch).I am still not so sure of the peculiar names given to cocktails/mocktails/alcoholic beverages generally since I am not a night owl. This event was a no-smoke,no alcohol event(I think also no-junk-food, no-casual-sex!) by the way, but I still think it's splendid.

Left the club after 3 hours plus and then wanted to just take a stride along the Esplanade leading to the Clarke Quay area and then when it was about 8:30pm, we saw a congregation at the al-fresco performance area where free performances are usually held. So we went to check it out and then it was a half an hour gig from the NUS Jazz Band! Haha..cool, so we found our way to the front row of seats apparently unoccupied and sat through the entire performance. And then......suddenly the conductor seemed to be facing me and asked me..."Do you know cowboy?Wanna try playing it?". Then I was like "No thanks......" coz I didn't understand what was referring to and didn't want to take any chance to self-embarass myself. Haha..then on the second attempt, he went to get the "Cowboy" and then brought it down to me and asked me to play that. Hahaha..I thought what was it, it was a woodblock instrument! Initially, I tried hitting that, and awkward thudding continous sound was made by me hitting the woodblock with the conductor stick. Then I got comfortable and played along with the jazz band with my "percussion". Very fun and interactive indeed.

After that, we were planning to go back already and on our way we saw circle of chairs and there were some volunteers and then some basic musical instruments being laid on most of the chairs. The leader of the volunteers called on anybody to join in the Community Drums Circle and have fun! Haha..we stood and observed a while, before being tempted to join in the circle to "hit" some fun out. Haha. Quite tired at the end of it already,but it was a fun event too!

So, that night out was quite a significantly happening one after for such a long time, and I feel youthful and refreshed again! And on a final touch, it sort of rekindled some love sparks again in my relationship with Mich.

Observance = Oversensitive?

If you find yourself paying too high attention over trivial details, you might be wasting time and energy resources and might be affecting the environmental disequilibrium of the society. The tendency to become too observant is very easy nowadays considering the fact that perfectionism is so much ingrained in each individual , thus causing them sometimes to be extremely nervous, trying to ensure no mistakes being made in every minute detail of their work. It might be a good characteristics to have, but along the way try to ensure that it won't be derailed into obsessive compulsive disorder that may go catastrophic in terms of one's emotions and rationale.

Anyway,I had a great night out yesterday,haven't been having fun for such a long time due to my busy working schedule. Will blog about it soon as I got to go out now.

Double Whopper with Cheese Burger @ BK

Extremely tired today because I OT-ed again! Haha...but left after 8pm and went to get my dinner at BK, yeah, fast food again...I couldn't finish a burger for the first time..coz it was too huge for me..haha..there were double beef patties in it..but I don't think it's tasty so I think I just will stick to burgers with turkey bacons when it comes to BK! Didn't finish the upsized fries too, so dapao-ed back home.

Fumbled clumsily at my presentation today, maybe because I didn't really prepare for that. But it was a good lesson to learn since it's considered a learning process too. Hmmm..

Morale-boosting

Great! I could make use of it to pay off my loan partially although it's not much. Thanks JD Power. I will look forward to April '07 for brighter news. Hehehe..

Meanwhile, yesterday's dinner was at Vivocity's newly open Hong Kong Kim Gary with Racer. Supposed to be the first outlet in Singapore while there are plenty alraedy in HK and Malaysia. I would rate a 7.5 out of 10 for the food quality there as I slowly took bites on the chicken steak baked rice with swiss cheese and white sauce. And I've been wondering what sauce the white sauce was. Haha. The red sauce picked by Racer was tomato sauce. Service wise was just fairly acceptable as I need to make several calls of request for the things ought to be present on the table. Hmmm..Cards were not acceptable yet, so we paid in cash. The Christmas tree at the main entrance spotted a groovy design, but overall it's quite presentable and special, not like the hideous xmas decorated trees you could see right outside Plaza Singapura.

As for today, OT-ed and ate at Macs again. Were served by a Malay service attendant, exchanged some small talks,friendly person, not like the Chinese in his mid-40s who took my order at the same outlet two weeks ago, he didn't bother to give a smile at all. After finishing my dinner, I made effort to throw my rubbish myself and not leaving it on the table. Haha, maybe after reading the news article on Today recently so I felt like upholding my long-lost civic-mindedness again..Haha..Oh well, that's a good and proud feeling to have after all.

Took train home as I pondered how to structure my presentation on how to do the mTab final materials tomorrow. It's within my grasp almost completely, and it just needs a finishing touch where I could make use of an hour's time or less tomorrow morning. Voices in my head are telling me to be ambitious and stay positive to embrace new challenges with open arms for the betterment of my personal market value.

Submitted application form to NUS Extension for Basic Conversational Korean I. Going to take that course with Molly on every Tuesday 7-9:30pm from 27th Feb 07 onwards, which is right after my CNY holiday at home, but for beginning of the year, there won't not be a deluge of projects so I reckon I should be able to manage the course well. Sooner or later, you will see me typing Korean in MSN nick or even keying in my thoughts here. Haha. Still putting my Japanese language learning to shelf, not knowing when to continue that. Molly is doing hers at JCS, but I think for a year, she has not learned the Kanji words yet, which I think should be learned from the beginning as well, together with the Hiragana and Katakana writing system. Oh..having inflammation is rather torturous, maybe it is a sign of ageing. Tsk tsk tsk.

Tourism industry in Singapore

Booming should be a descriptive word to be used for the tourism industry in Singapore considering the SGD15 billion revenue(windfall in trade) to be generated by the year of 2015 for the two Integrated Resorts(IR) projects which will going under construction very soon. The government has been quick enough to implement these projects to remain competitive in the industry on regional, if not global basis. Therefore, we will have more places to spend our time and life would become much more happening.

I'm so absolutely looking forward to the IRs, hoping that it'd be completed ahead of time!

Universal Studios with a huge theme park bigger than the one in Los Angeles, Las Vegas Sands Casino at the Marina Bay IR,The Quest Marine Life Park, The Equarius Water Park, The Maritime Xperiential Museum, and other entertainment offerings located along FestiveWalk.

(.....more on the IR,courtesy of Yahoo! Asia News...)

"..........Universal Studios will have its largest theme park in Asia at Resorts World at Sentosa offering 22 attractions within seven themed worlds, of which 16 will be specially designed for Singapore. There will be seven themed worlds within Universal Studios Singapore namely: Waterworld, Lost World, Egypt, Super Hero City, Back Lot-The Big Apple, Hollywood Boulevard and Cartoon Studios. Key highlights include the all-new “Journey to Madagascar” attraction and the Dreamworks Digital Animation Studios which will showcase the cutting edge of movie-making and real-time animation. Resorts World at Sentosa will also offer other family entertainment experiences such as Quest Marine Life Park an oceanarium spanning 8 hectares with the largest single marine tank in the world, a 6.5 million gallon Whale Shark Lagoon, and interactive dolphin habitat, operated by the world-renowned Dolphin Quest. Other attractions include the 1.3 hectares Equarius Water Park which is a water theme park custom-designed to integrate with the hillside terrain of Sentosa and a Maritime Xperiential Museum set at the waterfront. This is expected to be the world’s first maritime silk route museum, dedicated to the subject of the maritime silk route between East Asia and the Middle East and will house the world’s first historical research centre dedicated to the subject. There will also be exhibits such as a full-scale glass replica of an ancient trading ship, a 360-degrees multimedia motion shipwreck theatre as well as live performances by acrobats on-board the ‘Bao Chuan” (Zheng He boat). There will also be entertainment along the retail, dining and entertainment precinct of FestiveWalk, three public amphitheatres: The ShowPlace, an open-air 2,150 seat public amphitheatre; The Bull Ring, a 6,300 seating capacity amphitheatre; and Imagineering, a 1,714 seating capacity theatre which provides a magical dreamlike show with water, light and visual effects.Visitors will also be able to catch the Crane Ballet, a showcase of multi-media moving art with choreographed animatronic crane dances nightly at the Festivewalk, with colourful streams of light, water and fire, all in sync with music and enhanced with video images on giant LCD screens. Resorts World at Sentosa will also feature a resident show – ‘Le Vie’ (Life)which is put together by members from the same creative team behind the Cirque du Soleil blockbusters such as ‘KA’ and ‘O’ in Las Vegas.There will be a total of six hotels offering 1,830 rooms including a first-in-the-world hotel - Hotel Michael - designed by award-winning architect, Michael Graves. In addition, there is the ESPA Spa centre, offering programmes for wellness and self-improvement as well as 42 private ESPA Villas. Visitors will also be able to be entertained at signature gourmet restaurants with Masterchefs such as Alain Fabregues, Alan Wong, Scott Webster, Marlon Abele-MARC Group, Gary Kunz, Harlan Goldstein, Susur Lee, Luke Mangan and Don Pintabona..........."

....Despite the fact that I won't be going to the theme parks again and again, I still strongly welcome the idea of the project, and much more key and novel projects will be welcome too.

As for office affairs today, it ended on a positive note and I have finally found my niche at work, not 100% yet, but confidence level has been highly boosted due to greater familiarity and days of hard work and countless OT hours to scramble from scratch.

***removed the photos coz the links don't seem to be working..hmm**

Xmas gift shopping

Christmas is just around the corner, I shall be going for gifts hunting for my gf. What should I get for her this year? I need to go to the town and see what is nice and trendy stuff lately. I suppose she's now cruising towards Penang, enjoying her time with family. Kinda miss her now actually as I used to talk to her on the phone every night before turning in. Hmmm..

Called home just now and my family just came back from a trip to Ipoh. Hmmm..the last time I went there was last year's August when my NUS classmate, Angela was holding her wedding banquet there. Mich also went along and we stayed at the Casuarina Hotel, where the banquet was held too. The hotel seemed to be quite cosy and nice and we enjoyed the stay there despite the fact that we didn't go to the touristy spots like the temple caves. She was not feeling well then. Hmmm.

Anyway, I intend to take the Basic Conversational Korean I in late February at the NUS Extension, the class timing should be alright as it's a Tuesday night from 7-9.30pm starting from 27 February. Molly(my colleague) has been also wanting to do that so I would probably with taking the lesson with her. Hehe, she's also an ardent language learner and perhaps some day I can pick up a few Thai phrases from her. Yeah, she's a Thai and working fully on Thai projects in my company.

Here's some backdated photos for your viewing pleasure....

Mattcha Zen @ Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream,Marina Square

It's green tea ice cream with glutinous rice balls & red bean toppings. Absolutely delicious.

Love fades,life still goes on

My ex-high school mate,SS just broke up with her bf again. Yes again, and this time it seemed to be so serious that she's always breaking down. That ex-bf of hers totally shut her out of his life, didn't seem to be wanting to be even a friend to her. Yesterday she was confiding in me that he seemed to have blocked her or even deleted her msn based on what she had observed since that guy always used to go online every night. So that was why she suspected so and asking me whether I knew the logic behind his action. She told me that he has been ignoring her calls even if she had tried calling him from noon to dusk. The way she unfolded the story, made me feeling sad for her predicament too, shedding tears after every sentence she uttered out about her sorrows. She was particularly confused why would he wanna block her in msn. I guess he should be feeling embarassed about what to talk about as friends, and perhaps he just wanted to stay out of her life and moved on to a new relationship which he is now having. Love fades, life still goes on, SS. I do hope that she will quickly move on to her life since there are other aspects that we should cherish such as family and close friends who are always by our side. SS, there are other better trees in the forest, do not give up just because of one rotten tree,get me? I think he was also not a good bf, always playing computer games, refusing to have meals with her family occasions sometimes(birthday dinners etc), seemed to be neglecting her at times.

On hindsight, thinking of my own predicament, I still feel like a fish out of water, feeling like a wooden log, being drifted away to a non-specific direction on the sea by strong currents.Feeling like I'm in Pacific Ocean, with no land within my sight. Or perhaps I'm picturing myself in the Sahara Desert, being dehydrated, looking for an oasis. Every day, I'm rumbling about having unsolved problems with her, but on the whole, no concrete decision has been made to rectify the current situation. I am just fearful of marriage, I just don't want to get married early, but why am I so fearful of getting married?Is it because of the marriage itself, or perhaps I just want to remain in the status quo? Why is it that change is something that I fear of now? Is it because that she is really not somebody that I wanna get married to? This question is hitting my mind every now and then, it's something that I am seriously thinking for a solution. Why am I looking for a solution now?I just don't want to waste my gf's time if I am really not into her. A girl's youth is limited especially when one plans to set up a family with a few kids to raise.

Things to spend money on for HK trip

1) Octopus card HKD150(refundable deposit of HKD50)

2) A prepaid card from 7-11 HKD100

3) Museum pass(for the primary museums) HKD50

4) Cheung Chau trip(2 way ferry fare from Central Pier)/Poi To Islands-Need to do research on the fare

5) Disneyland-Regular Day HKD295, but I have a friend whose mum's colleague knowing a staff working there, so it's gonna be in the range of HKD100-150.

6) Pigging out in HK-this time I'm gonna be serious in looking for great food...as a starter, I will go to the Golden Seafood Restaurant(somewhere near Tin Hau) and eat the lobster and crab which has been recommended by my friend as delicious and affordable! And at least one famous Dim Sum restaurant.

7) Lan Kwai Fong-Hei hei Club, Edge, Sugar or Club No 9

8) 1-2 day trip to Guangzhou/Shenzhen, but that would be a single entry visa application of SGD80 plus a two-way bus trip costing HKD200. But I think it might be cheaper to catch a bus from Shenzhen bus terminal if there's one as I will be staying in Tai Po which is quite near the PRC border. I think perhaps I can go to Shenzhen to visit the touristy sports like "Windows of the World" , "Splendid China" and "China Folk Culture Village" if time and money allow.

9) Concert in Coliseum? Hmm, I haven't checked whether there is any particular singer whom I like will be staging concerts in Coliseum when I am in HK...gotto follow up on that soon.

10) Sai Kung Country Park-some outdoor activities-cycling

11) Steamboat with Edmund and his family at home, yeah HK people like to have steamboat during winter season, perhaps I can spend around HKD 200-HKD300 to buy all the ingredients or bring them out to a restaurant to have lunch/dinner.

12) Shopping at Tsim Sha Tsui/Nathan Road/HarbourCity/Mongkok/Causeway Bay/Yau Ma Tei....I wanna buy some nice working shirts there which has special/groovy designs. But it can't be so groovy that it will look gayish. Haha. Some souvenirs and titbits for friends and family.

13) A new digital Camera? Panasonic Lumix FX50. Canon Ixus is not bad, but I think the image stabilisation mode for Panasonic has an unbeaten track record. And I prefer the wide angle 28 mm and the 3 inches LCD screen so that everyone can be captured in the photo without much difficulties. 3.6x optical zoom should be better too. About SGD400-500.

14) Hong Kong Island
a)The University of Hong Kong @ Pok Fulam. Back to my alma mater where I studied for one semester(4 months). Gonna make a tour to see how it has developed.
b) Causeway Bay-carefree shopping and sing K at Green Box(since in Malaysia we have Red Box and Neway already =>)
c) Central-meet up with a friend for lunch who's working there.
d) Wan Chai-Golden Bauhinia that area.

15) Sheung Wan/Kennedy Town- to hunt for nice dried goods for my mom and granny.

15) Lantau Island
a) Ngong Ping 360-should be a breathtaking revolving cable car trip from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping-new touristy spot this year.

16) Lei Yue Mun-to take photographs of the tranquil fishing village

Places that I have been to and won't be going most probably:
a) Victoria Peak
b) Stanley Beach
c) Shek O-I think I had a BBQ orientation party there under German Association.
d) Po Lin Monastery & Mui Wo(had seafood there b4)-Lantau Island
e) Tsuen Wan(Yunnan Ma La super spicy noodles shop)
f) Lamma Island
g) Wong Tai Sing Temple
h) Shatin Race Course

沉默

我觉得我的生活实在太沉闷了。刚刚和FF在MSN聊天，现在觉得舒服一点了。真的要感谢她肯为我担忧。其实，我总是觉得最了解我的人并不是我的女朋友，这件事我知道不是一件好事，可是我无可奈何。即使和他拍拖有五年的时间，我还是三番四次在想她到底是否一个我想要娶的人。五年以现在的标准来说，是相当之长的一段时间。难道我真的要这样拖下去吗？真的想不通。这个困扰一直在这几个星期缠着我，让我有时候坐立不安。どうしようかな。。。。

Costochondritis

The title seems a little hard to digest. So what is costochondritis and what is it got to do with me? Yes, I have been diagnosed of having that and it was the same thing that I had back in late January this year that caused me to quit my 1st job for health reasons. Now I am having it again and I am quite worried that it might be taking a toll on my life again. I had been told by two doctors that there was no instant cure and the causes were unknown too.

Time of the Year

It's the time of the year where resolutions are made so that we are much better off year after year. Nevertheless, I have yet to think of any yet, but I will kick off year 2007 by a 8 days 7 night trip to Hong Kong. Yes, the HKSAR. I absolutely love the country to the max!! No kidding, I have ever thought of maybe going there once a year, provided my best HK friend welcomes me all the time! So I should always think of a high value investment in birthday present that I mail to him yearly since 2004. *evil laughs* . Edmund, as I call him, is a really friendly and caring friend. He has come to Singapore for a few times and actually thinks that it's a much cleaner place than HK so that's why he prefers Singapore. He seems to like spicy food here and me too! Haha. we can get along very well, so I'm seriously looking forward to staying at his house and meeting his family. His house is at Tai Po, a town located in New Territories, which is not near to the Hong Kong Island. But then again, staying with a HK foster family is my first time and then I suppose not much people can get to experience that so I indeed feel so privileged. Planning to go to Disneyland to see what is it like since I don't have the budget to go to the real Disneyland in the Florida or even Tokyo Disneyland.

Now I am thinking whether I should drop by at Guangzhou/Shenzhen or not since Malaysians have to apply for visa to get into China. About SGD80 for a single entry visa and then about HKD200(SGD40) for a return bus ticket fare. And a one-day trip would suffice according to one of my friend who's a new immigrant from China in HK. New immigrant as in her parents emigrated from China to HK while she was still a toddler. This community is termed like that in HK for those people. Well, I need to go to those places that I have never been to yet in HK, such as Cheung Chau Island, Sai Kung, some good restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui along Nathan Road,
and some other interesting places that I will find out by borrowing travelling books from Woodlands Regional Library. Will meet some of my friends whom I have met there and happen to be able to click with me, as compared to others. Edmund, as I mentioned earlier, Nelson, Winnie, Carmen,Connie, Michelle, Fiona, Jerry,Candice. And then maybe I will go visit City University of Hong Kong and other universities if there's time. Not forgetting The University of Hong Kong which is such a nostalgia to me.

Photos from Big Boyz Toys

I just came back from Expo, visiting the Big Boyz Toys and SITEX, and a bit of John Little. Anyway, the title is photos from Big Boyz Toyz, but where are the photos??Aiya, this blogspot is having a problem with the server now, wish4ver said that it's due to the change to beta google version that has made it rather unstable. Beta version is also touted to be unstable. Sheesh! Okay, be patient, my audience. I will upload them in my friendster first, so maybe you can go there and take a look.

Snacked a lot at the Expo, ate the Chilli Crab Chicken Jazzi Bun, and then Korean Sausage(which costs SGD2.50...), then a packet of char mee, with soya bean as the finishing touch. Hehe..feeling replete in the end.

And today, at the Expo, I have bumped into my long lost friend who is currently a pilot trainee at Seletar Camp. Wow, it's been I think 8 years since I last saw him. He was with a pretty good looking lass, whom I thought was his gf. Anyway, it made me think of the days with him during my A Level course back in KL.

Department dinner was great...

The dinner that I organised was a success! Though some of my managers like Felicia and Gokul were too busy to leave the office with us and were late despite having me scurrying them for a few times. Oops..so we walked to Suntec City and then there we were, Marche Movenpick, but we were told that they could only seat us until all of us were present. Oh my..more waiting then....finally F and G arrived and we hurriedly made a beeline to make our orders since it was 8 something and by then we were made so famished..I ordered a plate of sambal stingray while Andrew chose the dory fillet. And then we shared a plate of Swiss Rosti + Jumbo Garlic Sausage..very sinfully delicious! Right after that, based on my suggestion two days ago, we took a walk to Marina Square to proceed to our next activity. Dessert at Azabu Sabo at which I ordered a bowl of Mattcha Zen.It is a scoop of Hokkaido style home-made green tea ice-cream surrounded by red bean and plain glutinous rice ball which tasted awesome!Worth my time for recommending that to my friends.

Department Dinner Dec '06

Having fun tonight again, I'll be organising a dinner for my department of 9 people, so must do that well.

Well

Yes,I got back with my gf, almost broke up with her last week, but patched things up with her soon...but today I am talking to her about the issue of marriage again as she may not want to wait until after 30 years old for that. It may also be unfair to her if we break up a few years later due to the same reason again..So what should I do now...

Login-ed to my xanga again and then found out that the features there have improved...Maybe I should be updating both blogs again....Hehe..

Had dinner with Mich at Dian Xiao Er which is located at Marina Square. It's a Chinese restaurant and the Mongolian Pork Ribs was delicious! And for the first time I drank the Nu Er Hong(Daughter Red/Rose). Nice experience because I have always heard about that in period dramas but never had the chance to get a taste of it.

Love bug

Approaching 5 years into the relationship,and what's the next issue would you wanna discuss with your lover?Marriage, inevitably, would come up in your mind spontaneously if you are witty enough.

I attended my colleague's wedding banquet at York Hotel at Orchard yesterday night, and there he was, treading on a slow but steady procession on the red carpet with his wife with whom he is going to spend the entire life. The newly wedded couples looked exceptionally fabulous, that's why in Malay language we have the simpulan bahasa(idiomatic phrase) called "Raja sehari". They were both king and queen the night, having all the eyes focused on them while being on the stage. Video footages of both of them growing up were played and then also the things that they have been doing together, photos of the places they have travelled to, and the marriage ceremony they had to go through before coming together as a legally married husband and wife.

So, back to myself, is my gf the one I really wanna marry? It's an important issue now, as I need to know whether I really can't live without her. Is it really that serious? Yes, of course when it comes to marrying somebody and living with her for the rest of my life. If it is not clear, then one might end up marrying somebody and end up getting a divorce which would spell disaster to each one's life. It can be a catastrophy. The truth is, you can be happy with your lover before getting married and then there's chance that you will argue with him every day after marriage.
I am not thinking that far ahead,but right now at this moment, I believe that I am rather not so happy, though the nostalgic feeling keeps on rolling in insidiously as I slowly reminisce the sweet memories we had together and how nice and fulfilling gf she was until I said that we need a break up. Yes, that's the climax. I said break up to her yesterday night, in a really serious manner, not considering the teary eyes I had while talking to her about that.

Unwanted

This is another entry for chronicling my depressive state again. I feel unwanted again. Feeling that this world has no place for me to stand in, there have been so much daunting events which befell me for the past few weeks that I begin to think that whether I am really that bad or not. My self-esteem has been rock-bottom for a month already, which won't be surprising to you if you have been reading my blog religiously. Sometimes I think the more I blog about my depression here, the worse it will become. This kind of inferiority complex is really killing me, I really feel very down, despite having friends consoling me that it'd be alright sooner or later.

Ironically, to manage my depression, I have been attempting to cook several dishes, including curry chicken with potato which I managed to cook it successfully yesterday. I bought the curry paste from Fairprice, and also lemongrass, chicken drumsticks, small red onions and potatoes. Wahh..it's my first curry dish, it seemed to be quite tasty, but I think it may need an extra touch of taste from additional curry leaves because the curry paste ingredients contained curry leaves so I did not buy it separately. Anyway, I'll be cooking it again this coming weekend as requested by someone special. Haha. Okay, I think it'd be good since I can go and shop for better ingredients in Little India. Furthermore, the three cookbooks that I borrowed from the Woodlands library today seem to promise me tantalising dishes that I'd be learning to cook for the next two weeks so as to occupy some free time of mine to avert from falling into the depression trap again, hopefully.

Staying Alive

I am still here. Comparing to others, I consider myself as a fortunate person relatively. I think I ought to feel complacent to the level I don't feel depressed anymore, but not to the level where I am so comfortable with my current position that I stop searching for a permanent job. Do I really have to find a job now, or is it a career that I'm supposed to find now so that history would not recur? My doubts are not as intense as previously though, I think I managed to boost my self-esteem a bit after securing a temporary position to do for one month. For people who are concerned with me, I really thank them for their supports which have enabled me to carry myself well all this long, and I can still take care of myself well despite being in the doldrums. I think I have become a stronger person, and lately I tend to see bad things that happened in a positive manner, I think everyone should see those things as blessings in disguise. Any bad happenings are deemed as resource to train you to become more independent, and it should be viewed as something value-adding to our life. It's a bit ridiculous if you think of it initially. Sadist, in the emotional way. But at least, it keeps me going and helps me with how to live a happier life.

Life goes on, even if you are faced with the worst setback

It's been really a difficult period for me, as I've been reminding myself to stay calm and hope for a better tomorrow. This melancholic feeling is growing within my mind again. I really think that I'm good for nothing, I really feel that my degree is useless, nobody wants to employ me, so what will become of me? I don't know. Yes, that's always my answer to things that seem complicated to me. It's a flight response. My entire mind is controlling my body not to fight subsconsciously. I think it's better for me to die and relieve myself of all these sorrows. Seriously, you would be thinking that I don't deserve any compassion since the things I've said here are utterly stupid, as you may be thinking that comparing to those people living on the streets and under the bridges, I am far much better than them and should learn to be complacent and live on and fight till the end. Unemployment sucks. Really. Not that you have never experienced that before, it's just that you have to overcome the misperception of others hailing you as somebody who is a useless piece of crap. It's really something ugly to conceive about. Your friends may always support you morally or sometimes even financially if you have earned their trusts on you previously, however things may become ugly if egoism and self-esteem get in your way of thinking. What I need to find is my self-esteem. I wanna find it back, though I may not have a very high self-esteem last time, but I guess it's going down the gutters if I am unable to get a job soon, whether permanent or temporary position. Now I am in position of neither here nor there. Like getting stucked and lost at a cross junction, not knowing which direction to go. Undoubtedly, I don't have friends who know me inside out. Even my girlfriend thinks that it's gonna be alright and things will be better soon and then I would feel better eventually. Yeah, perhaps she's somebody who's been my supportive and closest friend of all. Beyond that, I don't think that anyone else could understand me more, not even my family members. But in the first place, you can't expect somebody else to know what you are thinking deep down inside, for the reason that it's gonna be extremely intimidating that every move you make would be anticipated by that person. After all, I am just an ordinary and unremarkable person only, it's pointless for others to predict what I am going to do next since it would be very likely to be something justifiably predictable.

What I am trying to achieve in this blog entry is to keep reminding myself to think positively, to think that I am living my life for myself, not for other people, so comparison with peers and friends would deem to be rather useless. The important thing for me is to stay on the track, and try to avert off-track emotions which ought not to be in such a critical time for which strength and determination hold pivot roles for me to continue my hunt for the next job. Positive thinking really helps a lot really, perhaps I can take this unemployment period as a time for me to look at things clearly and from different facets of views. Friends that know me mostly think that I am friendly and sometimes loud, but I can get rather sensitive and emotional at certain things under different circumstances. I really hope that I can ward off all the negative thinking that have been infesting my mind for the past few days.

那些水果是凉性的，那些是热性的？

天气分寒热，水果也是分寒热的，如果自己的身体不适合吃寒性或热性的水果，食用不当或吃得过多，就会对身体造成严重的负面影响。那么，究竟水果如何分寒热，爱吃水果的你又该如何选择呢？

寒凉水果解燥热

夏天的水果多属于寒凉性的，比如梨和各种瓜类。一般来说，实热体质的人夏天代谢旺盛，交感神经占优势，出汗多，经常脸色通红、口干舌燥、易烦躁、容易便秘，夏天特别喜欢吃凉东西。所以，热体质人群可以适当多吃一些寒凉性的水果。 但是，寒性水果不能多吃，否则对身体有害。比如，梨味道甘甜，具有止泻、通便、助消化的作用，经常吃可以使肌肤白嫩。但由于其中含有丰富的糖类和钾盐，食用过多会有损心、肾健康，像冠心病、心肌梗死、肾炎及糖尿病患者都不能多食，而中气不足、精神疲劳的人倒可以当做滋补水果多吃一点。 而像梨、柑橘、柚子等水果，具有止咳、化痰、润肺、助消化的作用，但多吃却容易造成肠胃紊乱，还能导致牙痛、痔疮，甚至引起皮肤黄斑。因此，有胃病、胃寒的人最好少吃。 气虚、脾虚的人在选择西瓜、香瓜、芒果、梨和香蕉这几种冷性的水果时要特别谨慎，最好不要吃。气虚，一般是指中气不足，这些人一般脸色比较苍白、体格瘦小、吃不下饭；而脾虚，是说消化系统比较差，肠蠕动慢。所以，越吃寒冷的水果，越会降低肠胃蠕动，使肌肉无力，吃多了会因为消化不良而导致腹胀。因此，肠胃功能不好的老人和孩子，不太适合吃寒凉水果，如果真的很想吃，可以在午饭后、晚饭前，少吃一点，不可过量。

夏日寒凉水果：香瓜、西瓜、梨、香蕉、奇异果、芒果、柿子、荸荠、甜瓜、柚子等。

温热水果补虚寒

虽说夏天寒凉性水果比较多，但在众多水果中，像荔枝、桂圆、杏等属于温热性,也是相当受人们欢迎的。尤其对于虚寒体质的人来说，他们气虚脾虚，基础代谢率低，体内产生的热量少，四肢即使在夏天也是冷的。相比较而言，这类人群的面色比常人白，而且很少口渴，也不喜欢接触凉的东西，包括进空调房间。所以，这些人多吃些温热的水果无疑是补寒妙法。 不过，一般人大热天吃太多温热的水果却很容易上火。 比如，荔枝中含有降糖成分，多吃会出现低糖反应。而对于热性体质的人，由于本身就精力充沛、晚上不易入眠，再加上代谢率偏高，所以更不能吃温热水果。另外，正在发烧或某器官正在发炎的孩子也尽量避免食用。

夏日温热水果:荔枝、桃、龙眼、樱桃、椰子、榴莲、杏等。

Funny

Tips on resolving arguments

These guidelines below tend to have its usefulness when the time comes. Ponder over it and you will see the light.

1. Compromise
Having a little of something to make your partner happy is better than not having anything at all. Think of ways that you can solve the problem through giving and taking a little.

2. Be positive
Instead of focusing only on the negative, think about the positive aspects of your relationship. It will keep you in a better frame of mind to address the issues ahead.

3. Listen
Take the time to consider your partner's views and show that you have understood what is being said

4. Remain calm
Getting frustrated solves nothing. If the discussion is getting nowhere, take some time to cool down. Go for a walk, or simply retreat to another part of the house till you are calm enough to pick up where u left off.

5. Watch your body language
You may say you are sorry but if you are gesticulating wildly, the message your partner gets is very different. Make sure that your body language, facial expressions and vocal tone are consistent with what you say

6. Say what you mean in a tactful manner
You may be afraid to say something or address the real issue at hand. But beating about the bush or being sarcastic about it will make things worse. It is better to get things out in the open so that the problem can immediately be dealt with. Learn to be tactful.

7. Agree to disagree
You are both 2 different individuals so it will be difficult to find a solution that is agreeable to you all the time. If this happens, focus on the positive and end the discussion on a good note. Put across to your partner that while there is no solution at the moment, you will try to work together to find one

8. Stick to the subject
Talking about events in the past which are totally unrelated to the issue at hand only makes things worse. Stick to the issue at hand if you want a fast resolution

9. Respect your partner
Never be rude or put your partner down and say hurtful things deliberately. You will regret it later after you have calmed down, but you can never take back the hurt which you might have caused.

10. Remember why both of you are in the relationship
A healthy relationship doesn't equate to agreements all the time. And the ability to resolve conflicts may differ according to different individuals, but do keep in mind that a healthy relationship necessarily means the willingness to resolve the conflict.
Also remember, a relationship may be that of between friends, family members and colleagues.

Four quadrants of women

Maybe women can be categorised into 4 groups with 8 subsets
I) eye-candy and nice
II) eye-candy and ah-the-not-so-nice
III) ah-the-not-so-eye-candy and nice
IV) ah-the-not-so-eye-candy and ah-the-not-so-nice.

Wow, it seems like a categorisation idea from someone by the name of Robert Kiyosaki. Haha. Oh well. Yeah, eye-candiness refers to the external appearance of

the woman and niceness means the degree of internal beauty.

Women in group I seem like those movie stars you can easily spot on TV. They are the most popular one amongst men and they seem to men always like the damsel in distress, triggering male protective instinct. They are seen as pretty, sexy, eye-candy, alluring, nubile, aphrodisiac people who remain as fantasies in the minds of men. On top of their appearance, they are in fact pretty within themselves as well, exuding adequate degree of courtesy, respects for the elderly, having compassions for the unfortunate ones(or benevolent), unmaterialistic, down-to-earth, having reasonable consideration towards their loved ones, extremely tactful, so on and so forth. Praise the Lord! Where can I find such a nymph?Haha. God damn it I think this group can be enlisted as Endangered Species.

Women in group II, I would describe them as having complete disregard for the all the people in the world just because they were born pretty. They and their superiority complex, are in fact contemptible and well-deserve a high level of disrespect. Obsessions with their own looks and unscrupulous disposition towards most men whom they don't like, make the entire world full of tearful chaps. They tend to be so over-zealous with the stuffs they do(cosmetics, pedicure, manicures, facials and the list goes on and on) and never keep tabs on their emotional development, making them seem to be like doltish bimbos who are out there to smite powerful and rich mature men using their cosmetically-enhanced appearance and a whole list of masqueraded dispositions.

Now come to women in group III, oh,this group has a broad coverage from the not-so good-looking ones to the cannot-really-make-it faces and flat-chested,as well as those who think that they have unique beauties, who fortunately, have developed a sense of tact and benevolence towards people surrounding them. They know themselves well enough, sometimes grumble over why were they born like that though. Nevertheless, I reckon that the majority women fall under this category considering the trend that I'm seeing now. Haha. They have distinctive ways to make them endearing to the surrounding people, notwithstanding their unattractive(or happen to look rather not-so-appealing to that guy) looks. Sincerity and a reasonable care for other people's feelings(yeah, it's tactfulness again) come into play often when it comes to inter-relationships.

Ahem, the most despicable group, women in group IV. Oh gosh, these people have all the positive qualities stated, not. Ugly, not self-conscious, self-interested, blatant disregard to the people around them(could it be due to the fact that they weren't as lucky as others to be born unappealingly???!!), irascible, dangerous, unreasonable, lackadaisical people apparently. But strictly speaking, the people in this group will have the chance to upgrade themselves to group III if they are able to see the light that this world is not really as merciless as they have always been thinking. There must be friends around to lead them out of the lives of denials for them to live a fulfilled life. I really beseech for the extermination of this group as soon as possible, okay, some buffer period has to be alloted to make time for the group III upgrade so as not to seem like an unabated unfairness. As I am really concerned with the victims in the vicinity of those predators, the victims would be assasinated emotionally on a greater scale, not to mention visually after all.

The very kiss

Suddenly the feeling's coming back again. Yes, the very kiss that I got at a particular night from this adorable girl. That happened after I was able to sell my 1st fridge as a promoter back then. It was really sweet, that moment really belonged to both of us. It's impossible for us to be together, but I guess just merely reminiscing the times we went out was simply sweet. And I wish her well with her other half. Momentarily, I feel like seeing her again now, though it's impossible since she's far away.

Oh, one more thing to add, I believe that I am getting more and more serious with I've said lately, it's absolutely a relentless pursuit of the truth. I am gonna become blunter than ever, whenever I feel that particular issue is really heating up intensely in my mind, then I'll spout it out here. Hmm, definitely names would not be mentioned here. It's just that some people need to have some idea what other people think of them and try to reflect whether they really INDEED have any problem with their bizarre dispositions or not. And OF COURSE, I would not mind people talking bad about me if there is anything bad to talk about in the first place. After all, to err is human, to forgive divine.

Simply doltish

Read somebody's blog entry complaining that she was being "harassed" repetitively by a guy in friendster. I reckon that he's in fact representative of some of the doltish people in the male community. There is a function called 'Block' in the friendster messaging system for god's sake, and then again, some people just simply are nincompoops, as I find they are really a disgrace to us(yeah, a collective noun of victimised male community) to go and try their luck with girls in the online domain. Get on with your life dude! But seriously if you do, please go and open your eyes widely and for god's sake choose those pretty ones and not those with cannot-make-it face which are very capable of making you throw up and have a deluded thought that they are pretty with their hopeless incurable superiority complex. And for God's sake, go fuck with the mirror first before even thinking that you even have the slightest chance of being good-looking. Yeah, that's a term by the name of internal beauty, if you don't have it, regardless of even have the prettiest face in the world, I would call you ugly. Seriously, go fuck with the mirror, or maybe go out and look at the reflection of yourself in the undrained gutter outside your house. Yeah, it may be very likely look like you, and even smell like you too, that is, ugly and stinky. God damn it!

Shimz Interview

Hope that I would get this job with Shimizu and then be posted to Japan so that my Japanese language skills would be put to good use.

Spoilt CD Burner

My less-than-a-year HP Compaq nx6110 notebook's CD burner is spoilt! Dang..

Occupational safety and health

"In order to eliminate deaths, injuries and ill-health from all workplaces, what are the strategies needed?"

This was the topic of the 30 minute written test interview before going to the real interview. Haha. Panicky. Die liao.

In touch with HK again, spiritually...

It was in fact a great time having friends from HK visiting me again. My distance to HK had been pulled nearer as I drift further apart from there since it's been nearly 2 years and a half already since I was there. I have always been swept off my feet by its culture and its people. Wini is somebody from whom I could learn a lot of things, as in all along the line there were things that she said which made me realize that I should take more initiative to get to know more about our surroundings. My laziness, of course, exerts the biggest gravitational force from everything which hinders me from even thinking of doing something. Haha, oh well, I try and try to see things from different perspectives, not only from the perspective that I always find true to myself because this whole world is really multi-faceted after all.

We had drinks at Modestos, and since it was a Sunday night it was about to close when the time we went there, so we had half an hour's time to spend chatting and drinking at the pub. I ordered Bacardi rum on the rock, and it didn't taste nice at all. Haha.

Thinking of going to HK again, probably on Jetstar Asia with return airfare of SGD282(Inclusive of tax). I'm sure one month after getting my new job, I am gonna fly to HK once more even if it's a short trip.

Cooking pacifies my mind

Black glutinous rice dessert with sago and coconut cream(santan). Yup, it's what i cooked just now and it has cleared my mind off some dillemmas, or disturbances that have been plaguing my rational thinking for the past few days. Of course, when it comes to cooking, it's downright procedural at first, as you need to know the right proportion of ingredients beforehand, as well as the cooking procedures, within which instinctive adjustments have to be made to ensure it comes out adequately sweet, sour, spicy, salty, having the sufficient "level of fire" as for soups, so on and so forth. Also, you have to cater for the taste of the people you are cooking for if you are making your meals in your family, needs for elderly members of the family since they are mostly likely to believe in Chinese medical studies in refraining from a certain kind of food to avoid aggravating their illnesses and taking certain kind of food to enhance a certain body function or general well-being of a person. There'll be some members of the family who crave for exceptionally hot and spicy dishes that not any ordinary person can easily consume! Is there a term by the name of socio-culinarism?Perhaps so, since we have different kind of food represented by different races and nationalities. Well, I indeed start to like cooking but not to extent of making it a career. Why not, people ask. Oh well, there are things that would remain good to be a hobby as if you make a hobby into a career opportunity, you might end up disliking it eventually.

Breaking up is hard to do

Don't feel like calling my gf anymore, as we always end up in disputes. It's something about personality clash, something to do also with family upbringing that has caused all those indifferences, friends were saying that couple do argue in order to improve their relationship, but is there a benchmark for me to abide by?Friends also said that it's such a long relationship, so if I let go it would go wasted. There is no benchmark for that, as if the flaws of the relationship are getting more and more prominent till a level that one is unable to tolerate any longer, then something has to be done after a dragging period so as not to waste each other's time any more.

Changing lane

Should I be accepting the position of Recruitment Consultant/Executive with the recruitment agency? I am just wondering if it's rewarding, then I should in fact just accept the job offer. Next Monday is gonna be the day by which I have to submit my feedback to the company. It's gonna be a 6-month probation and for the first three months it's very likely that I am not eligible to any commission, and even after that period, commissions would be paid two months later for each month. *Pondering*

Revisit to past

I'm back in Singapore now. In fact I came back by bus a couple of days ago. What am I thinking now?Hehe, I am thinking of my addiction to Friendster for two years already. I think I had been so fanatic about it that I opened an additional profile each for my primary school,secondary school and college. Feedbacks have been good since I have rallied near to 200 people for my primary school and a whopping 500 over people for my secondary school. So if there's anyone who wants to advertise in both my accounts, contact me immediately, as I can do that for you at a discounted rate. Haha. I am actually in dire straits, I need money now! Haha. Oh crap.

Had been browsing through some profiles in friendster just now and found out some really familiar faces. In primary school, someone actually borrowed money(20 cents I think haha) from my grandma when she went to pick me up. There was an occasion where I got bullied by a few girls during my Primary 2, and I still remember one of the girls' names was Chui Ping, and till now I still could not trace her back. Haha, it wasn't bullying completely, I was just being so shy that they actually talked to me and then teased me eventually. Haha, so funny! There's another primary school classmate who used to be the school and state swimmer, whose mother used to be my mother's colleague, so therefore, my mom used to always mention her name at home again and again back then. Sien. Haha. Another one was the smartest girl of the my primary school whose mother used to give arts tuition outside who just stayed at the house across the street. I used to idolise her because of her intelligence, always wondering how she used to study for exam. Haha. Let me think further first.......Hmmmmmmmmm....................

Secondary school. It's another memorable place. Really. Puppy loves, secret admirers, gangsters, office politics(fighting for president's position), marchings, falling in and out of love, copying homeworks etc. So many things happening that would have influenced the person that you have become of. All these seem to be groundbreaking at least to the weak minds of teenagers, but somehow, they would start to have their way of thinking towards things from that time onwards. Yuppers. I actually felt something like liking a girl when I was in Form 1(was it too late?haha), the girl who used to sit diagonally in the front row of my desk. Liked her ponytail hairstyle, it really looked cute to me. Darn, I was scared to near-to-death to even open my mouth to talk to her. Haha. Gosh. I still remember vividly that I cried on the last day of school of my Sec 1, because I was going to be promoted to a better class and wouldn't be in the same class as that girl. Crazy. Haha. Then in Sec 2. I met another her again. Yaya, you might be thinking that I was not loyal to love or something but give me a break, I bet other guys were also very likely to behave like that during the secondary school, come on! Haha, I got to know her better through Emil Chau's music. Yeah, strings of notes made us closer as friends. I remember that before that trip to the poultry farm in Sec 2, we didn't know each other early of the semester even though we were in the same class. But then again, we were in the same Sports House(Bintang House) and there was once we played volleyball together, she was in the opponent team. But I guess I didn't get noticed by her since thinking back now, I really looked so terrible that no girl would look at. Of course that doesn't mean that girls would look at me now la. Aiyoh. Anyway, back to the trip, it was the singing, yup, whose singing then?Hmmm.. singing of me and another good friend of mine on the bus while listening to the walkman with an inserted cassette of Emil Chau's first Cantonese album of mine. She was seated behind. We continued to sing till we slowly discovered that there was an echo of our singing but in a girl's voice. Haha, oh that was really umpteen years ago man. That was how the friendship bloomed like a flower. There was nothing happened between the two of us, just pure friendship, I think probably also due to my hyper-inactivity. Haha back then even though I used to have liking for girls, but still studies remained my top priority. I was too innocent as well I guess.

Library in my sec school. Another nostalgic place......I was a librarian. Liked a junior librarian. Enjoyed talking to her, love her smiles, then I sent her a stalk of rose on Valentine's day, didn't confess to her because didn't really know the actual way.Basically, I didn't know that I had to ask her directly when she wanted to be my girlfriend or not. Stupid lor. Haha. Later on, she got attached but the boyfriend was definitely not me. Sorrows unleashed and I was truly heartbroken even though it never actually started. Lessons learnt though. I was the class monitor for Sec 4 & 5, well nothing much to say about that, except that people think that I seemed to be always listening to teachers' instruction, seeming to them as some sort of way to "polish their shoes". Haha, oh well, orders must be followed and silence should be observed in the class. Well, I thought that I had become the pain of asses of my Malay classmates back then. Just couldn't stand them running around in class and playing truance from time to time. Haha, well maybe you hate class monitors, but I think as for me I had really fulfilled my job throughout the two years. Had many tuitions, tuition centres and private group tuitions as well. Basically, these tuitions were given by tutors who had qualifications to teach, at least for my Science subjects. When I came to Singapore, I was quite suprised that tutors here were mainly students of tertiary institutions. Hmm, never mind about that. Joined the Red Crescent Society at school for 4 years, it was a good experience for me to learn about First Aid and team work. Loved the marchings a lot in fact. Commanded the junior troop for several times, but it felt nicer to be marching in the line after all. Haha.

GCE Cambridge A Level....done it at a private college in Kuala Lumpur which was not far or near Petaling Jaya,my hometown. It was my first time staying away from home, at a hostel with one roommate. Ah Wong was my roommate throughout the whole course. Stayed in Block G, yeah I still remember...Room 313. Thinking back, I wonder how did I survive in such a shabby hostel. Block E was my favourite block, as it had all the girls that I used to like. Hahahaha. But anyway, I did not feel comfortable at first as I found it difficult to adjust to a new environment, with so many new friends from all over the states of Malaysia. Most of my classmates were local, as in Kuala Lumpur people. I was labelled as the PJ boy. But generally it was fine, they were quite hospitable,nice people. Yeah my class was SN0a. Worst thing to happen after the 1st sem of the course was that one of my classmates with whom I got quite close to passed away due to a motorcycle accident, and I was absolutely shocked upon hearing that, and I initially thought that it was a joke when my other classmate phoned me to relate to me that accident. Gosh. From that moment onwards, I told myself I won't go and get a motorcycle license as it was really dangerous even though it would look cool. I still remember that we went to Jusco in Wangsa Maju together to buy clothes one night. I was in fact devastated upon knowing his demise.

Anyway, later on I started to like a girl who used to sit behind me. Haha I know it's all about close proximity. I felt that this girl was ultra friendly to anyone, but perhaps I didn't realise that so that's why I started to have some feelings towards her. But she seemed very popular among the guys at college, seemed to have lotsa friends and she was with the Xia Xiang Duan. I wanted to join that but was refused entry because my inability to speak proper Mandarin back then. ARgh. Haha. Oh well, gone was my opportunity. I wasn't confident of my appearance too. So I tried improving myself, I thought that it might be a good idea that I buy new and oustanding clothes so that I would really get noticed by her. Yeah, so superficial was I, childlish it may seem, and I thought that I'd overdone it sometimes. Haha. Money I thought invested, had been wasted if I think back of the way I handled this thing. It was not about all those after all. Definitely a matter of attitude and compatibility with her. And guts to confess were never really there. Haha as usual. There was once I managed to ask her out or a night meeting, wanting to tell her how I felt about her, but ended up saying that I liked another girl in her class. Wahahahhaa. Kanasai~! She was really good and nice, I remember her cup of honey for me when I had incessant coughs. It will remain as a sweet memory, story of a one-way love revolving around a cup of honey drink. Another thing I remember was two girls of my classmates always come to borrow my bicycle. Haha. Really funny because back then I looked quite serious and when one of them wanted to borrow my bicycle, I heard that she didn't dare to ask from me and had to make a friend of hers to tag along and ask me. Haha, yuppers, when I don't smile, I look fierce, of course even now it's like that as I have been borned like that. It can't be helped already. I just felt that it was soooo difficult to smile to others, that means I didn't really adapt well in staying in hostel even for more than half a year. The grass the other side is always greener, and so do the girls. Eh, not greener, but prettier. Haha. Yuppers. I had great time spending time with neighbours who stayed along the corridor of my hostel floor. I think maybe we had to endure staying in that shabby hostel till we shared a lot of pain, and also pleasure when it comes to playing together. Haha...steven, ah chai, ah wong, shyan, epanloo, some juniors whom I've forgotten their names, and whistling at girls when they came to our block..Haha...playing magic cards, then crapping, blowing water, teasing one another,washing clothes in the bathroom, cooking instant noodles with water which was not really hot enough from the ever-breaking-down water dispenser,singing in the bathrooms, complaining about the other roommate's, mass-studying like a flock of birds into the study room, occasional trips out to Taman Bunga Raya, Wangsa Maju,Desa Setapak and the pasar malam at which I forgot the name already, talking about the hottest girl in the college, acting crazily with lotsa makeshift props, oh well, haha that was what I miss a lot back then.

Last night in Petaling Jaya

Yuppers, it's gonna be my last night in Petaling Jaya, and tomorrow I'll be on my way back to Singapore tomorrow by 3.30pm. Taking Transnasional coach back to JB and then I will take bus 170 from Larkin to the Custom and then change to bus 950 and then 901 back to my flat in Woodlands. Yeah, that's quite tiring, but most economical way though. And then again, Transnasional is my only choice of bus as it is the best so far and it has not disappointed me yet by its service. Reasons are the bus always leave on time, and then after the half-way half an hour meal & toilet break, the driver will always check on the number of passengers on the bus before leaving the area so as not to leave anyone behind. And then I feel more secure with the driver wearing his blue Transnasional uniform. Haha. On top of that, I can extend the date of the ticket if I wanna postpone my trip to later date with just merely RM1.20 at Transnasional office in Puduraya. All these factors suffice for me to pick Transnasional as my one and only choice. Haha, I don't get any money from them making such advertisement but I don't mind being the spokesperson if I am asked to be one. Haha.

Drove around in SS2(Chinatown in PJ) today and found out that there are a significant number of restaurants here having Hong Kong influence in terms of their interior design as well as the dishes available there. Another thing is that the names of the restaurants are mostly in Cantonese. Haha..I was quite suprised by it actually, anyway, I guess it's a good place to bring my overseas friends to go there and take a look and they would be suprised the same way too.

Oh ya, do vote for my friend Adeline Ong, F5 in the NUS Students' Arts and Social Sciences Club's Beach Fiesta 06 Polling. http://www.funkygrad.com/beachfiesta06/

A hug a day will keep the doctor away

Things change. Things are never the same again. It is part of parcel of life. Maybe I am not those lucky persons who have good friends all along. But perhaps I have but I happen to take them for granted. What kind of person I have become nowadays, it's frustrating to know that I have become so introverted. I wonder how my friends think of me actually, sometimes what they think in fact matters to me so that I can improve myself. This is a time where apparently all my flaws seem to be very obvious to me. Therefore,a sense of vulnerability creeps in. Insecurity is the word to describe the state now. Never have I had such feeling so intensely that I might want to surrender to the world. Really.....I think in my entire life, I have never ever sober up and think of what I actually want out of my life. This also triggers the feeling of loneliness in my heart, despite having my family and girlfriend's moral support. I know, deep inside me, I don't want to be a happy-go-lucky person. I yearn for some achievements now. I guess I may sound a bit too pathetic by now, but truly it's what I feel deep inside my heart right now, and I need a hug, will you spare me one now?

Bliss for her

Met her again when I was in Penang. Gave her 'bliss' in the form of a gift. I wish that she would have a smooth relationship this time round.

Winds of Change

Came back from KTV not long ago, and of course the KTV here in Malaysia is much better than those in Singapore, really really better. Haha, because over here the Cantonese songs are updated from time to time. Cool! Hope that Redbox will open its first branch in Singapore soon.

KTV in Klang Valley

I didn't know that singing ktv in Petaling Jaya(Sunway/The Curve) is more expensive than that in Kuala Lumpur generally. Seems like PJ has really developed a lot and I am really proud of my hometown. It's gonna attain city status soon this year, and Malaysia has ten cities so it's gonna make its residents special. Haha, anyway, I am gonna have gathering with some A Level ex classmates tonight at Redbox Low Yat Plaza. Haven't seen them for two years already. One of them is my ex-girlfriend too. Haha, oh well I guess it should be alright. Anyway, the KTV charges per head for Redbox in Low Yat(KL area) is RM35++ per head(exclusive of 10% government tax and 5% service charge) and the titbit charge of RM10 for two persons.
But it's cheaper than singing KTV in Neway in Berjaya Times Square(KL area) which is RM45++ per head and RM9 titbit charge for two persons, as well as Redbox in Sunway/The Curve which is RM44++ per head. Yeah, when I called them to make enquiries, the staff talked in Cantonese, so I had to talk to them in Cantonese to make my questions answered. Haha, for those who don't know, KL and PJ people in Malaysia are more likely able to converse in Cantonese, since many people migrated here in ancient times from Guangzhou and Hong Kong. But as for people in Penang, my friend said that people can speak Cantonese there, but I don't seem to hear it being widely spoken, because what I think is that Hokkien(Fujian dialect or Min3 Nan2 Yu3) is the main Chinese dialect used there. Since I can't speak Hokkien, then I had to use English and Mandarin to speak there to order food and get me around.

Increased blog readership: Good or bad thing?

Well, I think it's a paradox to have an increased blog readership. The good thing is that for every happenning event, it can be shared among your family members and friends immediately after you update an entry on the event. But sometimes, after relating your friends to the blog you are writing on, there are certain issues that you don't want a certain individual or even a group of friends who know that individual closely to know about the things you are going to write in that particular entry which is of course has something to do with them.

Happy for her

Thinking of my ex classmate now, she had been working with a Singapore company in Singapore, and now there she is, in Yokohama, being posted there to work, very likely to leave her boyfriend behind in Singapore for more than half a year. Haha, oh well, I think it's gonna be indeed a groundbreaking exposure for her working there. Hope to get her phone number soon, so that I can start giving her basic Japanese language lessons via phone, haha. I wish her all the best. I wonder when I can make use of my language skills at work, put them in practice, since if it continues to be like that, it would seem to be a total waste of time for me learning them in the first place. Initially I always tell people that language learning is just one of my favourite hobbies, but after all, it's kinda expensive and time-consuming, eventually making me into thinking that it's an investment rather, a long term one that needs to have a promising return whether in monetary or spiritual or even gallant terms.

Penang trip photos are up in myspace

Yeah, I have uploaded some photos of my trip in Penang, you can check this link out http://spaces.msn.com/travelling1981/ . Haven't got time to do the same with the Langkawi photos yet, probably will do it over the weekend when I can get internet access using my lappie at home. The trip in Langkawi was superb! It was really nice lor....I took a boat trip from Penang to Langkawi and it took about 2 hours and a half to reach the jetty in Kuah. The daily boat trips from Penang to Langkawi are only at 8.30am and 8.45am. I took the 8.30am one. The single way is RM45 but I bought the return boat trip Penang-Langkawi-Penang for RM80. The ferry trip was pretty stable but it was just that it got me all wet and salty as I came out of the cabin seats to appreciate all the natural beauty along the way since the boat was not high after all. Met a Swiss lady and we went to travel around in Langkawi together. Haha, as I said, don't get the wrong idea, she is old enough to be my mother, 56 years of age la. We rented a Proton Iswara(RM50 per day, deposit of RM50) , and I was declared the chauffeur for next two days in our Langkawi trip. What I heard of was that two days were the minimum days you are allowed to rent the car, but it seems that when I was there to rent, they said it was up to me. Anyway, I rented it for two days. Drove half an hour from Kuah town(southern Langkawi) to the guesthouse I will be staying, which is in Pantai Cenang(Gecko Guesthouse). This guesthouse costs me RM25 per night with attached bathroom, it was pretty good also as it is very near to the beach. The guesthouse belongs to a Caucasian lady, with another Dutch guy and a Malay guy working there as assistants. The Swiss lady which I met also stayed in the same guesthouse since we shared the renting cost for the car and it would be quite inconvenient for her or me to stay elsewhere.

On vacation

Now I'm happily resting in Penang, and it's like a sabbatical leave to me, as I am backpacking alone to places which I've been to before, and then places that I have never been to before which is Langkawi. Yeah, I'll be taking ferry to Langkawi in two days' time and staying in a place where it's just so near the beach. Yeah yeah, I am not afraid of tsunami since life is all fated.

Reflections of the past

It is supposed to be a joyful kind of feeling that I should be having, at least it should be within my expectation since I'm getting a darn long break back at home in PJ. Feelings of joy apparently seem to have died down as segments of past memory appear to be unleashed, bringing forth a line of depressive thought in my mind.

Is it because that I have been apart from my girlfriend for a long time that I start to miss her so much? Or is it.....is it because of the girl who I used to admire secretly, feelings for her start to rekindle?Sometimes, the immaturity of my feelings rather embarasses myself. Am I putting this steady relationship into jeopardy? Questions of such kind are beginning to inundate my already puzzled mind. The big '4' is coming real soon. In less than two month's time. Perhaps I just go and get married soon to get over that feeling. Haha.

Wang~wang~wang! Happy Chinese New Year 2006!

It's the time of the year again, where family members, relatives and friends congregate and spend time together updating one another about how one has been doing for the past year, whether good or bad times, and also for some people, it's the time to show off their possessions to peers. To cite an example, you can see how well-off a person has become by seeing the car they drive to your home during Chinese New Year visiting. Haha, anyway, I am the happiest this new year even though I am out of job now, but that one is not of a big problem since I know I would be able to clinch a new job again very soon. I have adequate confidence. The decision to resign from my company was considered a major one, it was rather a difficult decision to make since it was my first job and I always thought that I should have gotten at least a year's work experience before job-hop to another company. I actually felt unhappy working in the company and the urge to leave the company had become stronger as messiness and its disorganisation began to unfold. I didn't give a month's notice to the company as stipulated in the contract that I signed with the company as my boss believed that there's no point holding an employee for another month because he had no intention of working for the company already.

Okay. I won quite a lot of money playing Blackjack with my cousins and my uncle on the 1st day of Chinese New Year. Yeah, I guess this is a good sign since that's a prosperous start. Haha, oh well, I only gamble with them once a year, but it's actually considered not a lot of money being gambled after all, since I don't really quite like to gamble, otherwise I would be on my way to Genting to gamble by now since my luck seems to be quite good apparently.

Just came back from visiting my relative who is turning 95 years old this year. My family must pay him a visit once a year during Chinese New Year. He seems to have grown weak this year, he had to depend on crutches this year to walk out from his room. He still seems alert though, but not as chatty as before. Thin and some part of his skin seemed rather black, probably due to dead skin. Hmm...

Photos before CNY 06