A glimpse at my life...

My xbox360 still works!

2010-07-04T12:23:00.002+08:00

Wow.. I plugged in my xbox360 and turned it on for the first time in probably 2 years... and it still works! I am very impressed! Have just finished updating the firmware and creating my new avatar. Not too impressed with the Live Arcade games. As usual, Asia website has the least stuff. Yawn. At least for Playstation Network, it's easy for me to log on to other regions and buy games/download demos. Wonder if I will it be another 2 years before I play my xbox360 again. LOL.

Singapore River Heritage Cruise

2010-07-03T00:19:00.004+08:00

I was invited to go for a Heritage Cruise on the Singapore River tonight. I've done the river cruise before but decided to see what this Heritage Cruise was all about.

Basically, they had a pair of actors bringing us on a journey along the Singapore River. I must admit that it was quite enjoyable. The two of them were quite funny. However, I did start to lose a little interest 30mins into the 'act'.

It was also a good chance for me to try out the twilight handheld mode on my Sony Nex. Generally, must say I quite like the modes available on the camera though on closer inspection, the pictures do appear quite noisy. I guess it's like they said, the Sony Nex is really a camera in between a compact and a dslr. And for now, that suits me really nicely. I do like the night shots and the thing is, they were taken without a tripod. :)

2010-06-28T15:32:00.004+08:00

Really nice video with the AT-AT like a puppy! Wonder how he did the animation....

Marina Bay Sands Sky Park

2010-06-26T00:52:00.004+08:00

Not sure what attracted me to the Marina Bay Sands Sky Park but when I heard that the official opening was 24 June, I somehow decided almost immediately to buy tickets for the opening... I didn't even do that when the Singapore Flyer opened. haha..

Well, I think a large part of the reason was that I wanted to try out my new Sony Nex. So below are some shots. I really enjoyed the sweep panaroma! It's so convenient that it's hard to imagine how I could live without having it in my older cameras! I know photography purists would probably be appalled that I'm using it so much, but I don't really care.... I think as long as it works well.. why not!?

The Skypark was nice, but there was one major disappointment. From the news reports, it almost appeared as if you would be able to explore the whole rooftop and look over the horizon swimming pool. But the reality was all we were allowed to explore was the rounded area sticking out (as seen from the first pic below). We were not allowed to go anywhere beyond that. Lame.

However, I'm glad to say the view was really quite worth it. A pity it was a little cloudy/hazy. But I think I managed to get some nice test shots using the sweep panorama. One criticism is that the pictures appear a little dark. Wonder if I am able to adjust the aperture setting so that the pics can be brighter when I do the panorama... hmm..

Bottom view of the Sky Park Observation Deck

Panorama of CBD (edited for brightness)

View of the floating platform and the really cool lotus shaped roof of the coming museum

The Singapore Flyer on the left with th Marina Barrage.

View of Singapore Flyer and East Coast (unedited)

View of Singapore Flyer and East Coast (after autocorrect)

Inside the Marina Bay Sands mall

More Pics with my Nex 5

2010-06-21T23:07:00.004+08:00

Went on another photo-taking spree to try and exhaust the battery. In the end, the battery charge lasted me about 360 shots. I'm having lots of fun with the Sweep Panaroma mode and the Handheld Twilight mode. So far so good! Not regretting my purchase. :)

Sweep Panaroma

Black & White Mode (1.6sec exposure)

Twilight Handheld Mode

Normal Auto Mode

Sunset Mode

My New Camera - The Sony NEX 5

2010-06-20T22:52:00.005+08:00

My Canon 1000D DSLR has been laid to rest. I tried sending it in for repairs but was told it would cost almost $390 to get it repaired as the internal parts were corroded. :( Since a brand new 1000D costs less than $800, I decided it really wasn't worth repairing it.

After a few days of consideration, I finally decided to get myself the new Sony NEX-5, a micro four-thirds camera... basically, a compact camera with interchangeable lenses and apparently, it uses the Sony DSLR CCD, so it's literally a DSLR in a compact camera body.

So today, I decided to go around trying out my camera. Started off first at the Sim Lim Square area then ended up walking around Chinatown. I really like the close-ups and the twilight mode is quite nice (See the playground pics below). Also tried the sweep panaroma but didn't manage to get any nice pics worth putting up here.

So what do you think of the pics below?

pinnacle@duxton

twilight mode

playing with the sunset scene mode

Long-Distance Cycling (approx 58km in 4hrs)

2010-06-20T22:12:00.004+08:00

Yesterday was the last Saturday which I would be free before the term starts as next Saturday will pretty much be spent preparing for the start of the new term. So, I decided to try cycling all the way to the East Coast and back. Actually, my original intention was to hit East Coast and then turn back, which is approx about 30km. However, as things turned out, I ended up cycling close to 60km in about 4 hours.

Below is a map of the route I took.

When I reached East Coast, I just decided to cycle towards the airport to see if I could actually reach it. If you look at the map, on the right side, there is this long straight stretch. Well, basically, when I reached that stretch, it turned out to be a point of no return.. haha.. I couldn't turn back (coz it was a really long retracing of my route) and so I had to go forward towards Changi Village. So I ended up cycling past Bedok, Tampines then back to Bishan. It was quite an adventure really, cycling on both the Park Connectors as well as the main roads. One discovery I made was that the area between East Coast and Changi Village is pretty rustic and quiet. It's quite a difference from the busy-ness and crowds at the East Coast.

Also realised the new Bedok Jetty is quite nicely done up (yes, it's been a long time since I visited Bedok Jetty...)

picture at Bedok Jetty

At the end, my thighs were aching and I could barely walk. lol.. quite an experience, cycling for more than 4hrs.

It was quite fun so now, I'm making plans to cycle to the other corners of Singapore. Probably gonna try cycling to Sembawang next. :) Must make full use of my bike, no?

The Truth about Taiwan (Taichung only actually...)

2010-06-17T14:39:00.003+08:00

Ok, enough hating.

It's been about a week since I've returned from my visit to Taichung, Taiwan. It was really a whirlwind visit and I think my main regret is that we weren't able to get better flights so that our trip could be a couple days more.

This was my first visit to Taiwan and I spent all of it in Taichung, never stepping into Taipei other than arriving and departing from the airport. Don't think it's a huge loss coz I can alway do Taipei any time on my own, but going on an exchange visit to Taichung is another experience altogether.

What they say is true. Taiwan is really famous for her 'small eats' or 小吃. From my previous blog posts, you can see the interesting variety of local snacks. I really wonder how the taiwanese can keep slim and fit, given their easy access to such yummy stuff. But, for me, although the snacks were really delicious, I think that Singapore definitely has better variety when it comes to snacks from different races. One of the nice benefits of being a multi-cultural place. Taiwan however has the huge advantage of still having lots of character. When it comes to food, there's always a famous shop to go to or a 老招牌to visit. In Singapore, all our food starts looking the same and there are branches of popular foods everywhere so everything feels really mass-

produced. For example, Old Chang Kee used to be a 老招牌 in Singapore. If memory serves me right, it was always a treat to travel all the way to Rex theatre with my parents to grab an Old Chang Kee Curry Puff. Nowadays, Old Chang Kee is at every corner and mall basement and they probably manufacture the curry puffs in some mega food factory. Talk about a loss of character.

The Taiwanese are a very interesting people. To me, they are somewhere in between the mainland Chinese and the Japanese. Two examples come to mind. When we landed, I went to 7-11 and was elated to find that they served Oden, just like in Japan! And at half the price! Unless I'm very wrong, Oden is a pretty Japanese thing. The other surprise came when I was at a mall until closing time. All the sales staff stood at the escalators and thanked (in unison) everyone who walked past them on the way out of the mall

. Again, this was really reminiscent of what I've seen in Japan.

As far as tourist sights are concerned, I really didn't get to see much. Other than shopping and visiting Lu Kang (kinda like a conserved old street market), I didn't go to any other tourist spots so I guess I can't say much about this. I'll leave

that for my next trip to Taipei. However, I did manage an overnight visit to the mountains to stay at a chalet run by the indigenous people. It was a nice experience, complete with a campfire and traditional dance. Also got a chance to pound sticky rice in to make traditional mua chee! nice!

I definitely don't think this will be last trip to Taiwan. With this taster, I am sure I will be back again, probably soonish.

More Reasons Why I HATE Taiwan - Lukang

2010-06-06T21:26:00.007+08:00

After the morning cycling, my host brought us to Lu Kang, kinda like a historic district near his house. It was really quite interesting walking through the streets. The shops were really trying to bring back the old toys/activities of old.

And well, I've discovered more reasons to hate Taiwan. I tried many other weird and interesting food today. Sigh. No cycling tomorrow. Really curious to see how many million pounds are gonna be added when I go home.

Anywhere, here are the pics...

Lu Kang Street

Old games - pinball of sorts. Basically, if you win anything, you are supposed to ring the gong to let the owner of the shop know so that he/she can give you the prize. :S

Here's another old favourite, throwing rings at objects. I know we have it in pasar malams in Singapore. But the difference is... look at the details! Look at the way everything is arranged so neatly!

Old lamps in one of the old temples (Ah Ma Temple)

They call this 'Zhuang Yuan Gao' or Scholar Cakes Dunno why, but they taste really good!

This I didn't dare try... little snails/shellfish.... eeewww.....

Another old favourite! Tikam Tikam! Not sure how many of you remember this, you simply pay.. choose a paper... open it up and see if you've won anything! lol.

More food streets...

Some sweet bean/yam buns... hated (really heated) the filling.. tasted like Stinky Toufu...

This is what Taichung is supposed to be famous for... Oyster Omelettes. The texture is quite nice, less chewy than Singapore's version. But they were really generous with the oysters.

These interesting buns were actually made out of strips of yam with some meat fillings inside.

And here I am enjoying the yam bum thingy...

Really liked the canopy of lanterns leading to the temple. Very reminiscent of the old Chinese Ghost Story movies.

I didn't dare try these. Essentially, deep fried shrimps. I think they call them 'prawn monkeys'...

One of the yummier biscuits... Cow's Tongue Biscuit. Not real cow's tongues of course. Just the shape I guess.

I also didn't dare eat these. Goose eggs. HUGE!

And last (though wasn't really the last snack for the day, more like the last snack at Lu Kang) but not least, here's the milk ice cream with coffee flavoured chocolates and other stuff.

Sigh. I'm so dead.

Cycling in the Countryside to the Beach

2010-06-06T13:15:00.005+08:00

My Taiwan host stays on a farm that's not very far from the beach. So this morning, while he was away on an appointment, he got his younger brother to bring us cycling. Before that, he decided to let us try riding his scooter. According to him, every taiwanese knows how to ride a scooter from a very young age so it shouldn't be difficult for us to learn... he couldn't be more wrong. lol.

So, after a few near death moments... (joking...) we decided to go cycling instead. It was really enjoyable cycling through the farmlands towards the beach. The terrain was flat and there were very few cars. I was riding an old mountain bike. How I wish I had my Gary Fisher with me.

Saw some duck farms. The duck pools were always paired with a pool breeding shellfish (like mollusks). Reason being, the dirty shitty water produced by the ducks', uh, shit... made excellent food for the mollusks which ultimately made excellent dishes for us humans. Yucks.

It's the season for watermelons and there were a few fields still waiting to be harvested. Learnt about distinguishing between red-meat watermelons and yellow-meat ones from my host's brother (the former having a lighter skin, like the one in the pic, and the latter being usually darker skinned with the typical watermelon stripes.

The experience of cycling along the breakwater and paths at the beach was even more memorable! Here's the concrete path constructed by the fishery owners so they can drive out to inspect the pools and of course, harvest them when ready. This breakwater extended easily more than 100m from the shore!

I don't think I'll ever have the experience of cycling 'on water' again. It was quite exciting. Some spots were covered with sand, making it really hard to cross and some spots which were still concrete had a layer of moss on it, making it very slippery. All said, it was still a very memorable experience.

Here's a small fisherman's hut Standing near the end of the concrete track.

I couldn't resist a pic at the top of the ladder.

My colleague and our host's brother, digging for tiny crabs in the sand.

We were seriously thinking about cycling all the way to the wind powered generators you should be able to see in the middle of the pic. Unfortunately, we only realised later that there was no path leading there. From our conrete path, it was just sand rocks. So we had to give up on our idea.

On the way back, my biked slipped at one of sections of the concrete path which was under some water. While I only had some minor bruises and scratched, my dear camera died. What you see above is the smashed-up UV filter. Unfortunately, my main camera is also dead for now.. can't see to get it to power up. Looks like it might be time to get a new DSLR.... Heh.

I HATE Taiwan...

2010-06-06T01:09:00.003+08:00

And here are the reasons why.....

It all started with this inncent prata/pancake breakfast....

To this delicious spread of taiwanese dishes for our welcome lunch...

And from there on... it's down the slippery slope of the street markets... presenting Yi Zhong street...

Sigh... wish I hated it more.... :-(

Off to Taiwan

2010-06-03T02:57:00.002+08:00

After another whirlwind last week of term (seems to be that way all the time... getting really repetitive saying that and also mildly frustrating), I'm off with a group of students to Taichung, Taiwan tomorrow.

It's my first time to Taiwan so I'm kinda looking forward to it, except that unfortunately, the trip is a little short coz we couldn't get tickets for the dates we actually wanted.

Taiwan's scary though... heard about the legendary good food..... sigh.... wonder if I can/should practice self-control....

Passion Run 2010 - A Personal Best after all!

2010-06-03T02:52:00.002+08:00

Finally got the official results from the race organizers and I completed the 10km run in 1h 15min 03 sec. I checked my timing for the StanChart run last Dec and realized it was 1h 17min 34sec. So this means I'd actually improved on my 10km timing! Nice! Must aim to improve on that but in the meantime, maybe it's also time to set some new goals. hmm...

Passion Run 2010 (10km) - 1h 15min

2010-05-23T10:33:00.004+08:00

Passion Run was quite a challenge. To be honest, I had not really trained well for it. Leading up to it, I've only done a couple of 5km and 6km runs and my last 8km run was really quite a while ago. So I was really apprehensive at going for the 10km run yesterday.

As it turns out, the timing's pretty sucky... slower than my Standard Chartered 10km run last year but I'm quite pleased that I was able to run all the way and complete the whole route, given my lack of preparedness! I really hope to better my timing at my next run. I was thinking about the Mizuno Mt Faber run but might just wait till the Yellow Ribbon Run in September.

The run itself was quite pleasant. Being at the beach, the scenery and atmosphere was really nice. Weather was also very good. I'd been worried that it would be too blazing hot but it was windy and the sun was pretty gentle. A small complain would be the non-runners like roller-bladers and cyclists who were also on some parts of the running route as east coast was a public park so it wasn't closed to the public. But they weren't a huge bother.

The bigger issues with the run probably involved the organization. Transport was terrible. Heard from my friend who took the shuttle service from the National Stadium that it was a nightmare. Too infrequent and the shuttles had too small a capacity to handle the crowds. Ended up with many people getting flustered and late. Going back was just as bad. Leaving East Coast at night with thousands of people is just not very pleasant. I managed to catch a cab but it was stuck in traffic and before even the cab left the east coast area, the meter was already recording about 12 bucks! My last complain was the super slow baggage collection. Having been to the Stanchart Marathon and the Live Earth run, I thought the baggage collection was quite poorly organized. Don't think they really had any system other than placing a couple of hundred of bags in one area. The queues were really long and moved really slowly. Thought it was a dampener to the end of a nice run.

I'm definitely gonna aim to better my timing of my 10km runs. Still considering if I should do the Mt Faber run (but the registration might already be closed). Looks like for now, I'm kinda hooked on taking part in these runs.

Really like the dry bag which they gave out to finishers. Have been thinking of getting one and now I don't need to buy one! Best finisher gift so far!

2010-05-22T00:07:00.002+08:00

I've signed up for the 10km Passion Run tomorrow. Not my first 10km run since I've completed the 10km StanChart Marathon last year, but I'm really not prepared for tomorrow's run. It's been a very busy week with my nights ending at around 12 midnight and I've not been able to do proper preparatory runs the whole week. In fact, my last run was a short 5km route about a week ago.

Two things can happen tomorrow.. i complete the 10km run and probably end up with super sore legs or I can't complete the run and end up walking to the finishing run. That would be quite sad.

Well, with open house tomorrow, then sending off guests to the airport, before going for the run, it will be a most challenging day. Hope to be able to do some posting tomorrow night... Good luck to me... :(

Cycling to Marina Bay

2010-05-15T22:18:00.000+08:00

Last week, went on my first 2+hour cycling trip to Marina Bay. It was quite an experience trying to cycle along the park connector all the way there and then returning on the normal roads. Needed to really pick up simple cycling skills from more experienced cyclists so I had asked Timothy to give me some tips... simple things like hand signals... duh! That's how little I know.

The Park Connector is a pretty good idea, except for the fact that there were too many disruptions to the path due to construction work and overhead bridges. I can just imagine how fun it could be if the park connectors were... better connected! heh.

Decided to go all the way to Marina Bay coz I thought it would be not too far for a noob and I also wanted to get my first look at the Helix Bridge. Nice views along the way and thankfully, the weather was pretty good, not too blazing hot.

Can't remember where I took this. If I'm not wrong, it was somewhere near kallang.

Took this at the Nicoll Highway.

F1 Pit with Singapore Flyer in the background. Although people say the Flyer may be underused, you can't deny that it adds a nice touch to the Marina Bay skyline.

Finally at the Helix Bridge with the (now infamous) Marina Bay Sands. I thought the bridge was really nice and that Singaporeans were just nit-picking when they complained about the lack of shade. Funny thing was the bridge was not completely opened so it went about 3/4 way before you had to turn back.

Obligatory photo of inaugural long bike ride. :)

Went a little closer to the Marina Bay Sands and I thought the underside of the skypark they were constructing was really nicely textured.

So that ends my first cycling experience to Marina Bay. Considering where to go next, maybe Sembawang or all the way to East Coast. It's kinda disappointing that I can't cycle to places and lock my bike somewhere to explore/enjoy that place. Have heard how dangerous it is to leave nice bikes chained up as they will probably be stolen. Let's see when I'll go for my next ride.

2010-05-11T23:12:00.000+08:00

I'm expecting my thighs to hurt like mad tomorrow... Went on my first bike ride on my new bike. Learnt a few things:

1. It's really tough riding on the road.

- I keep wondering when some car is gonna creep up behind me and drive over me...

2. Don't ride after it rains

- The wet grounds are gonna splash muddy stains all over the nice white bike and my nice white shirt as well!

3. Get a bell

- Especially when you are gonna ride on trails which are shared by joggers/dating couples. It's really irritating riding up behind a lovey-dovey couple who is oblivious to everything around them.

4. It's really wise to buy from good staff from a good shop which is near where you stay

- There was a little irritating click every time my right medal went one complete round. Probably nothing serious.. just annoying. Since the shop was nearby, I dropped by and asked them to take a look.. Not only did they replace the pedal at no charge, they also took some time to wipe down my bike although I never asked them to do it... Now, that's really great service, and it's nice to see them so passionate about what they do.

5. Choose the time to cycle carefully

- Today was the first time I went cycling and I chose to do it at about 6.30pm... not the best time coz I realized the traffic was really heavy due to the evening peak hour. It made cycling a little annoying as the roads were really crowded, both with cars and people (on the paths).

I think there's much I need to learn about cycling. If today is anything to go by, I think I'm definitely gonna enjoy my new bike!

My Brand New Bike!

2010-05-08T22:29:00.003+08:00

After more than a month of indecision and looking around, I finally went back to the first shop I visited and purchased my very first bike! The bike itself set me back by $695 and the additional lights and cool helmet added anther $140... So all in, spent about $830 on what I hope will be my new hobby.

Now to learn how to use the bike.... :P

My brand new white hybrid bike - the Gary Fisher Wingra...

My happening red/white helmet!

I refused to buy the conventional bicycle lights... here are the futuristic/alienistic Infini lights! (supposedly from Italy... lol!)

Ip Man 2

2010-04-29T00:27:00.002+08:00

I've been really needing some movie-getaways, just to lose my self for 120mins in the fantasy world of film...

Kick Ass was a good start and today, I caught the sequel to the really good Ip Man. I'm glad to say it's two for two right now. Ip Man 2 is really good and I think it's probably same if not a little better than the first. This movie had a few more light hearted moments and the fights were choreographed really well.

I'm looking forward to the next 'Man' on Friday.... that sounds so wrong... lol

Kick Ass really kicks ass!

2010-04-25T01:36:00.002+08:00

Go watch if you are at least 18yrs (it's M18....). Really violent and good. lol. I've really needed some good movies recently. Hate to say work has not been the most rosey. But that's life.

Universal Studios Singapore - Pretty Good!

2010-04-14T22:00:00.004+08:00

Today was my first visit to Universal Studios Singapore. I've been pretty keen to see how USS compares to the other Universal Studios in LA and in Osaka. While I must admit the marketing efforts have made me quite excited to visit the place, I was somewhat uncertain if USS would really be as good as her older counterparts.

I tried a few rides and I think they are pretty good. The few which I tried and thought was pretty worth queuing up for were the Mummy Returns indoor coaster (a new ride for me) and the Jurassic Park water ride (similar to the ones in the US, but still pretty good). It was a real pity that the Battlestar Galactica duelling coasters were still closed. I'm pretty sure it would have been one helluva ride. There was also a new Madagascar ride which I don't think is meant to be an exciting one, but still, it's something to look forward to the next time I visit.

Just as good as the rides (if not better) were the entertainment. I went for a few of the shows and thoroughly enjoyed them. From the Shrek 4D short movie to the Donkey Comedy Show to the Monster Rock Concert, it was a really fun experience. I was also pleasantly surprised that there was an outdoor performance of songs from Hairspray! Really fun stuff! I think the shows alone will justify me visiting USS again.

All throughout the place, there were quite a few fun character picture moments. I admit I got a bit silly and started taking pictures with Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, the Madagascar Penguins... seriously, I can't believe I actually posed for pics with them. But it was memorable.

Another nice thing was for now, USS was still giving out $10 meal vouchers and $5 shopping vouchers to all visitors. $10 is pretty sufficient for a decent meal in USS and although $5 buys you about 2/3 of a key chain, hey... $5 off is better than $0.

On the whole, I think I really did enjoy USS. I'm seriously considering buying the annual pass for $318 which will allow me to visit the park unlimited number of times each year. For those who have yet to visit USS, here are some pics to get you tempted...

On the right.. the duelling coasters... For my next visit... if I can conquer my fear of roller coasters.

Bought myself a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt and the obligatory Universal Studios Singapore T-shirt.
And what visit to a theme park would be complete without a key chain... lol...

Emo?

2010-03-25T23:33:00.002+08:00

I was in an emo-kinda mood today. Maybe it's coz things are not too busy yet so I have time to be emo. lolz.

A bit annoyed with some things that are happening with work but well, I guess when we have to deal with human beings, there's always the uncertainty of human interactions... that's life.

Decided to engage in some retail therapy.. always works. :) Tried real hard to spend some money. lol and ended up with some reading material (bought the How to Train a Dragon book.. yes, I know it's for kids... and no... I don't care that I'm not a kid...) and was quite elated to see that Bossini was selling their new range of Mr Men shirts. :) So bought myself a cheery yellow Mr Happy shirt and creamy Mr Funny shirt. Didn't really need them.. just wanted them. :)

Gonna spend some time with friends tomorrow. Hope to get over this moodiness before I have to start training sessions next week.

Camera Crazy

2010-03-24T21:51:00.002+08:00

I was at outside Toa Payoh MRT a couple of weeks ago waiting for a cab when I noticed the cameras they had put up just outside the station. I thought it was a ridiculous waste of money. For some reason, they needed more than 10 cameras to monitor the area! I wonder how 'narrow-angled' the cameras must be such that you would need so many cameras just to cover one area. Talk about wasting money...

2010-03-23T00:28:00.002+08:00

Term 1 was like a one way roller coaster ride. The first 4 to 5 weeks was like a slow climb up to the peak of the roller coaster. As week 6 rolled in, I could feel the coaster going past the tipping point and gather momentum as gravity pulled it all the way down. There were moments when I felt as if I was going to crash into the ground but thankfully, the coaster pulled back and the ride continued.

There were days when I was pretty going on from 7am to 2am before taking a short nap and continuing from 7am again. Lol... But the good thing is, it was work that I was enjoying. And I guess I was pretty much drawing energy from this enjoyment to keep myself going. As week 10 ended, I was hoping to get a chance to recharge during the March holz but ended up spending 4 full days at the MBTI certification course. It was a gruelling course, with 5 tests in 4 days but it was a very insightful course and while I was pretty drained at the end, I was really enriched. Not only am I now certified to conduct the MBTI instrument, I was also able to gain a deeper understanding of my own personality.

No rest after the MBTI course. I enjoyed a short respite going out for lunch with a former student but after that, it was full steam ahead for the check-in for the next batch of students for the boarding programme. The whole of Sunday was spent checking-in the boys into boarding.

Term 1 has started and the good news is that the school has managed to give me a break by taking away some of my lessons. This week is a little slower and I'm definitely hoping to take the opportunity to gather myself and look ahead to the next 10 weeks. It's definitely going to be challenging but I'm hoping it will be no less enjoyable as last term.

One resolution though... I must make time to catch more movies! I've been so starved of movies... from watching 1 or 2 a week, I was watching like 1 a month... I shall strive for some movie time at least once a week!

Onwards to term 2.

The Honeymoon's Over...

2010-01-23T13:20:00.002+08:00

Following last week's post, this post probably paints a bleak picture of my current feelings.

7 months into the job and I'm coming against some setbacks which are kinda demoralizing. The first 6 months, while tiring, did not seem to have many down moments. the 7th month, however, is turning out to be quite a challenge.

Firstly, I've had to balance the demands of my various responsibilities. It's frustrating not being able to do everything to the level I expect of myself. I know I'm not prepared to do substandard work... but to try and do everything at a peak performance level with limited resources is quite a stretch. And I find myself either getting fed up with myself over not being to do everything well or getting disappointed that even the basic level seems to be suffering.

Second challenge is overcoming my own expectations and pre-conceived ideas. It's challenging to try and move beyond what I think I should expect to what is reality and learning how to deal with it. heh.. dunno if that makes sense. I'm frustrated that maybe I'm not dealing with people around me in the right way. I keep asking myself if I'm dealing with the various situations that I am currently being faced with in the right way or in the way I feel most comfortable with. As a teacher, there is a natural 'gut reaction' to many issues. And I'm now constantly checking if this 'gut reaction' is right or wrong.

I don't know if I'm making any sense. Maybe not, coz I guess without context, the above two points would probably sound pretty random and ranty.

I'm gonna try my best to take the weekend to chill out and recharge. I think I'm gonna resort to some retail therapy. Maybe a new phone... or a PSP Go... or who knows... buying expensive stuff always helps. :)

It's only the first month of 2010... talk about challenging beginnings.

2010 Hit me like a Tsunami

2010-01-15T07:23:00.003+08:00

One month since I last posted and it really didn't seem like a month. It's not that nothing happened to me in the past month, in fact the opposite is true. When I returned from Bali, things really amped up and towards the end of the year as I was involved in camps, preparations for the second round of the RLP, staff meetings and preparations for lessons for 2010.

The past week has been particularly tiring. For some reason, it feels that the past week has just been me chasing after a train filled with the stuff I need to do. That really frustrates me. I hate losing control of the things around me. Yes, it sounds like I am a control freak but the truth is, I am. It seems as if I'm just being pushed from one task to another task that needs my immediate attention. My schedule has been packed with so many urgent things that I'm actually finding no time for movies & games! A typical day in the last week had me preparing a lesson before rushing off to lesson, then rushing off to a discussion, then rushing for a meeting, then rushing to complete a proposal, then rushing for another meeting then grabbing a bite (literally), then grabbing a few minutes to touch up the proposal then ending with another meeting before finally showering and getting ready for bed. It almost seems that I'm on the go from 7.30am to 11.20pm.... (deep breath).

I won't deny that I am quite energised by the adrenaline of the things I need to do. I am also quite enjoying most of the stuff I have to do. But I think I really need to do something to jump onto the train, into the train engine and put my hand on the throttle. Otherwise, I think I will get more and more frustrated as I see the quality of my work slip as I rush from one task to another.

It's gonna take some reflection, planning and hard work. But I think it really needs to be done... OK. Gotta try and do something over this weekend 'break'. But maybe only after I catch a movie. :)

Magical Bali - View from Kintamani

2009-12-14T08:56:00.004+08:00

I took a day trip and went all the way to the popular tourist spot Kintamani to catch the view of the volcano within Mt Batur. The trip took almost 3 hours but I must admit the view was breathtaking. The pic shows a volcano within a volcano. heh. The next time I visit Bali, I intend to do the trek to the top of the volcano which apparently takes only about an hour or two. Already planning my next trip. :)

Magical Bali

2009-12-13T21:22:00.007+08:00

I spent the last week in Bali, kinda like my present to myself for completing the 10km run. It's my first time there and I wasn't really expecting much. But after 5 days, I must say that I quite like Bali and it might just become a reasonably cheap short holiday destination for me in the near future.

This trip had many 'firsts'. The 1st First was that this was the first flight to Bali for KLM after more than 10 years! So there was a mini-reception of sorts when we arrived at Bali airport. So here's a pic of a 'chee-ko' me with the 3 beautifully dressed ladies who welcomed the passengers from the flight.

This time, I decided to stay at Tanjung Benoa beach because I'd read that it was one of the better beaches and not as overcrowded as Kuta beach. The good thing is that the beach was certainly better than Kuta's and I could just relax away from the crowds. When I visited Kuta, the beach was filled with people and definitely not a place to just chill. However, the bad thing about staying in Tanjung Benoa was that it was kinda far away from the city centre where the shopping and 'excitement' is. It took about 30min by the hotel shuttle or about S$12 for a one-way taxi ride. I guess the next time, I might decide to stay in Kuta for the food and shopping and then move to a beach resort for a day or two to chill. Here's a pic of the beach just next to Aston Bali, the hotel where I stayed. Not bad, but the water was certainly not crystal clear and the sand was still kinda rough.

I took a day-trip to Lembongan Island, about 1hr away by fast-ferry or 2hr away by Sailboat. I of course chose the sail boat for the experience. Lembongan's beach and water was really wonderful. Clear blue waters and soft white sand beaches. This is definitely one place I'll consider staying at purely for the beach and activities.

At Lembongan Island, I attempted my 2nd and 3rd 'Firsts' of the trip. The 2nd First was I decided to try parasailing! It cost about US$20 and well.. this was one activity I never considered trying due to previous weight considerations. This time round, I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a try. It was really exhilarating to be released into the sky with a parachute, being flown like a kite from the speedboat.

The 3rd First came about because I was still recovering from the high of the parasailing experience. When I returned to the pontoon where most of the activities were based, I saw a diving lesson being conducted. So I thought.. what-the-heck... I've already tried parasailing, so why not diving! So I paid my US$50, went through a quick 45min orientation and then went for my first ever diving experience. It was really quite unbelievable. The corals and fish were really beautiful and I've never had such an experience before. The diving instructor had bread hidden up his sleeve and he periodically sprinkled the bread in the water, attracting the fish to swim around us. Simply magical. I must say that I am tempted to pick up diving as a hobby but I know it's a pretty expensive past-time. Will think about that a little more. Here's a pic of me and my cheery instructor.

The last First isn't really a first coz I vaguely trying something like this maybe 15 to 20 years ago. But I certainly don't remember it being so fun. Heh. I decided to try Whitewater rafting. There were a few rapids to choose from so being a bit of a wimp, I decided to try the class 2/3 one first instead of the class 4 rapids. I shared the raft with a young couple from Shanghai and we had a great time rafting through about 10km of the river. My only regret after the experience was that I didn't choose the class 4 rapid for more excitement! Well, the good thing is that this leaves me with something new to try the next time round. :) Along the river there were many small water falls and here's one where the rafting guide let us off to take some pics.

The 5 days in Bali went by pretty fast. But it was most definitely a very memorable experience for me. The magic of Bali lies in the fact that the people are really very friendly and that there are really so many different things to do whether you want to just laze or go on some active experiences. The cost, while not cheap, is not prohibitively expensive and well, in comparison to places like Bintan, I think it's more value for money.

I think I left enough activities undone to warrant at least another one or two trips to Bali. :) Next time round, I'll want to try the tougher rafting, do the trek up to the volcano peak (Mt Batur) as well as maybe learn kiteboarding... :P

Well, it's back to work tomorrow. Surprisingly not dreading it. Maybe that's the mark of a good holiday.

My First Ever 10km Run - 1h 17min 34sec

2009-12-06T11:22:00.006+08:00

:D - 1st.time.ever.10.km.

Surabaya - Epilogue

2009-12-04T11:27:00.003+08:00

Been really busy since returning from Surabaya. There was a staff retreat to attend and then it was down to doing the admin for the selection of the next batch of participants for the programme I'm running in school.

As a closure to my Surabaya trip, I think I must mention my host family who took care of me for two weeks. Like I mentioned earlier, this is the first time I've stayed so long with a host family. It was a really interesting learning experience for me. The one thing which really impressed me was how hospitable they were and how willing they were to let me stay with them. I wonder why we don't have that culture in Singapore. It's usually extremely difficult to find host families in Singapore for our visiting students. Most cite that their homes are too small. In some way, I think it's kinda like insecurity on the part of the Singaporeans. It's really not about how big or small our houses are but about how willing we are to welcome another person into our homes. Someone mentioned to me that the reason she stopped hosting overseas students is because she had done it once and although the experience was very good, she was disillusioned when the student left and ceased all contact with her suddenly. She felt that such an insincere act really caused her to reconsider hosting future students. Personally, I guess I think it shouldn't really about what I can get out of it but what I can do to share my life with the exchange student.

Well, anyway, here's the happy family which hosted me! The Kusuma family!

From left, we have Fonita, Ming, Me, Mr Chen, Luci and Mrs Chen. The pic below shows the eldest daughter Susan and her husband Christian. Really friendly people. It's also interesting to see how the family unit is so strong within the family.

Here's the huge sitting room where I spent many evenings watching tv and chatting with the family.
Here's the all important kitchen where we had our breakfast and dinner. There was always plenty of food and I had to try very politely to tell Mrs Chen there was no need to prepare so much, especially fried rice for breakfast! I was constantly blowing my diet the first few days I was there. Speaking about food, I really enjoyed the Lemper and the Bak Pau... But I'm also glad to be back in Singapore.. no need to struggle with eating too much! In the pic is Chuan Kai, the RI student who was staying with the host family together with me.

Here's the bedroom with a large King-sized bed which I shared with Chuan Kai for two weeks. It was again a first for me to be sharing beds with anyone! Given my previous size, I've always had the luxury of being given a single bed since anyone who shared a bed with me would be seriously disadvantaged. heh.

One problem I had was the serious lack of vegetables in almost all meals (in school and at home). Most of the food that was served was fried or deep fried and I was really glad that at least for dinner, Mrs Chen would make sure there was a plate of vegetables. I was elated to be introduced to Hokka Hokka Bento which is a Japanese fast food restaurant. On top of their fried stuff, they had really good salad and soup! (see below).

On my second last day, I really indulged in two bowls of salad and two bowls of soup. The salad only cost 5000 rupiah each which is only about S$0.90 and the soups cost about 8000 rupiah which is barely S$1.50!! You don't know how satisfied i was downing the two bowls of salad...

And finally, we have the Atlas Sports Club... this was really a godsend. I was really happy to know that the gym was only about 30m from the house where I was staying. Although it cost me about S$18 each time I went, I was glad that I could keep up with some physical training while I was in Surabaya. It was near impossible to jog outdoors (I didn't feel safe and the roads weren't very wide and frequently had potholes) so I depended on the elliptical machines in the gym. Managed to visit the place about 4 times while I was in Surabaya. Seriously, it sounds weird, but I've never been so glad to find a gym. lolz.

So that's it for my Surabaya experience. For my host family, if you do visit this blog, let me say again a sincere word of thanks for taking care of me for the two weeks I was there. I can only hope I can reciprocate it in some way when you visit Singapore.

Surabaya Adventures

2009-11-19T21:13:00.004+08:00

Spent the last three days at an eco-tourism place called PPLH in Trawas. Admittedly, I went with the impression that I would be roughing it out for the three days… ie. Trekking to a campsite/dormitory, bathing in make-shift toilets and eating from a little camping stove. I couldn’t have been more wrong. PPLH, while not exactly 4-star, far exceeded my expectations. Our host school was really considerate and put us up in the supposedly VIP bungalow chalets while their own students stayed in maybe 10-20 bed bungalows/rooms which were actually also pretty nice.

While I had expected to be also having plenty of physical activities, it ended up more leisurely and fun. There was a leisurely 30min walk (not really a trek) to a local Javanese village to observe their lifestyle and another fun walk along a river which was already ‘modernized’ cause the government had already build a concrete river bank. That walk ended up with some water splashing fun in the river and eating plain rish with grilled fish using only our hands. The last activity was slightly more physical.. involving a 45-60min long trek through forest path up a reasonably steep mountain to visit Jolotunda, an old Hindu Temple.

On the whole, it was a pretty interesting experience. While comfortable, we were always on the look out for frogs and lizards and other strange insects and creatures creeping into our room. On the first night, I woke up to find a frog on top of my mosquito net! I have no idea how it got there. Thank God I decided to use the mosquito net.

4 more days before going home to Singapore. Barely 17 days to the 10km StanChart run. I’m cautiously worried cause I’d kicked my toe against the bed when I first arrived and till now, while it’s gotten better, it’s still hurting. Hope it recovers in time. Will probably get it checked out when I get home. Hope it’s nothing more serious.

Sunrise at PPLH. But couldn't find out what these two mountains were. :P

Terrace padi fields along the river where we walked

View of a canyon from the river

Gateway to Jolotunda Temple

Tomb of Airlangga at Jolotunda Temple

From Sydney to Surabaya

2009-11-16T19:57:00.004+08:00

The last couple of weeks have been a real whirlwind. Started off with an official school trip to Sydney to visit 3 local schools to learn more about their leadership and boarding programmes. Then, it was the last week of school and there were so many meetings and dinners and farewells that I could barely catch my breath. Immediately after the last farewell party on Saturday (which incidentally was also the first time in a long time that I actually stayed up all night!), I had to prepare for the overseas immersion programme in Surabaya. Phew. (Deep breath…)

I’m in Surabaya now and have been here for about 6 days. Although I have been involved in many overseas programmes and arranging for homestays, I must admit this is the first time that I will be staying with a host family for so long – almost 2 weeks! Of course, at times, it does feel like I am intruding on the family’s privacy but at the same time, the family members are very warm and friendly and do go out of the way to make my stay pleasant. Another student is also attached to this same host family so I also get to enjoy sharing the same bed with another student! Don’t think I’ve ever done that….. EVER….

Surabaya is really hot. I mean 37 degree Celsius hot. We went to the beach today and took a boat out to some sand isle and wow… the sun was burning at my skin through my long pants! It’s my first time in Surabaya and if memory serves me right, not counting Bintan, this is the fourth Indonesian city I’ve visited, the other three being Jakarta, Medan and Jogjakarta. There really isn’t much to see in Surabaya as far as tourist sights are concerned. It’s pretty much a financial/business/port city. But the malls here are quite incredible. I’ve visited Tunjungan Plaza, a mall which is about 3 times that of Ngee Ann City. You can try to imagine Suntec City… but multiplied three times in terms of the number of floors. Lolz.

I’m off for an outdoor experience for the next two nights. Again, it’s been almost 8 years since I last went for such an outdoor trek. Thank God I understand we will be staying in dorms and not tents. Sorry for sounding a little spoilt, but it’s really been a long time and I don’t know if my body can take the shock. Heh.

Will try to blog about it when I return on Thursday night… provided I am not like half/completely dead.

Until then, here are some pics. The first was taken when I was in Sydney, when I took my first ever outdoor jog around the Sydney Opera House! The others were taken in Surabaya - one taken in a cave where there was beam of light shining from the ceiling, so I couldn’t resist having a ‘Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus’ moment (google it if you don’t know what that is) and the other is me at the jetty at Kenjeran Beach. The last was taken at the Suramadu bridge, supposedly Indonesia’s longest bridge (about 5.4km long).

Running around Sydney Opera House

'Road-to-Damascus' Moment

On the jetty at Kenjeran Beach

Suramadu Bridge - Indonesia's Longest Bridge

OMG! A Lego POP-UP!

2009-10-21T00:15:00.001+08:00

This is really unbelievable... creating a pop-up model of Japan's Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto using Lego bricks!

My Other Blog - bigguydiary.blogspot.com

2009-10-19T10:38:00.003+08:00

In the last year, I've actually been maintaining a second blog. The purpose of that blog is for me to capture my thoughts and experiences while tried to lose all the extra weight. It isn't a very exciting blog because the beginning parts were just a documentation of the food I ate and the exercise I did, pretty much my baby steps in my weight loss. Right now, as I work towards the 10km Standard Chartered run, it's become more of my exercise/training log.

Take a look at it if you are interested: bigguydiary.blogspot.com

My Current Favourite Restaurant - Cedele

2009-10-19T01:50:00.003+08:00

I've recently fallen in love with the breads at Cedele. I first ate there a couple of months ago and basically found the food interesting but a little expensive. What got me hooked was the bread. It tasted really good and it is supposedly very healthy. I was able to find bread like the 100% wholemeal loaf made with 100% wholewheat and is sugarless and eggless! I just buy a loaf, freeze it and slowly enjoy it for the next c

ouple of days. The breads are a little expensive. The wholemeal loaf costs about $5.30, almost twice what a Gardenia/Sunshine multi-grain loaf costs. So, Cedele breads are more a treat then a regular bread for me.

I enjoy eating at their restaurants but the meals can be pretty expensive. A full salad with side soup can cost almost $30. But last Saturday, I discovered that I could eat at their cafe-like restaurants where a small soup and sandwich/salad costs jsut under $10!! And for $1 more, I could get to enjoy the different breads! I think I have discovered my new favourite lunch!

If you are a bread lover, you need to give Ce

dele a try. You can find their stores here.

As much as I love their breads.. need to watch it so I don't take in too much carbo! Still want to hit my personal targets. :)

I don't think this is their 100% wholemeal boule, but I can't find the exact pic on their site so I'm posting this pic which I think it pretty close to what I like.

I just discovered the yumminess of their nine-grain loaf. It's made of 50% wholegrain and is also egg and sugar free.

And here's the one that's the diet-breaker... despite all the yummy healthy food... there's the deliciously sinful selection of cakes. Yeah.. I'm sure they are made with the healthiest of ingredients but I don't think there's any way I can justify stuffing myself with this slice of heaven... this one's my favourite, the Chocolate Banana Expresso Cake. And yes, it's as delicious as it looks. :P

Movie Review: Pandorum

2009-10-16T13:29:00.002+08:00

Haven't done one of these in quite a while. Might restart with the reviews....

Pandorum is a pretty ho-hum show. Tries to be a scary sci-fi but ends up being very blah. There are some interesting ideas but generally, the whole execution is very boring. It's not the worst movie I've seen. Some movies, I really want to just leave the cinema halfway through. With Pandorum, I didn't mind sitting through it (although some parts were painfully pointless) because it seemed to indicate the possibility of something better.

As far as I'm concerned though, give this movie a miss. Your $8 is better spent wiping your butt. LOL.

Star Struck

2009-10-05T16:55:00.002+08:00

Ever since I was introduced to Xing Guang Da Dao by a friend, I've been pretty hooked to the show. In addition to unearthing some pretty good singers, I've also been introduced to many Taiwanese singers. Last weekend, I was at Bugis when I discovered that Xu Jia Ying, the winner from Season 3 was there for an autograph session. I almost flipped! She's one of my favourite winners of the show and her CD is probably the one I'm listening to most this year. My heart melted when she sang her hit song: 失落沙洲.

When I got home, I found out that she, together with another of my favourites, Lu Guang Zong would be performing at IMM on Sunday as a publicity event for this year's Singapore Hit Awards... I know this sounds embarrassing but I actually made time to go down to IMM, resorting to even carrying my laptop so I could do some work on the train since it was a long journey there.

Well, I'm glad to say there are absolutely no regrets for making the time to go all the way down to Jurong East. Lu Guang Zong was really good. He was really charismatic and really does his 'every-man' act very well. Makes you feel that he is just one of the normal people singing his songs. Xu Jia Ying was jsut as good and she sang a couple of other songs which she hadn't sung the night before. Another person who performed was Singapore's very own Tanya Chua. I've never been a fan but after hearing her, I must say I am somewhat impressed by her songs as well.

I was a wonderful evening chasing the stars. :)

Lu Guang Zong belting out his 'rock' hits.

Xu Jia Ying melting my heart... again!

Tanya Chua sharing a really heartfelt song.

2009-09-24T21:29:00.002+08:00

Somehow or rather... today is a moody day. sigh.

My First Run :D - RUN Singapore

2009-09-07T00:07:00.002+08:00

Today was the big day... my first 5km run. There was a great sense of personal achievement for me to finally cross the finishing line without stopping/walking any part of the route. Don't think I could ever have imagined doing this one year ago. Now, I've crossed my first checkpoint in my journey to the 10km run at the end of the year. :)

The starting/finishing point

RUN Singapore... my first run... ever!

12490

2009-08-30T00:17:00.004+08:00

Today, I went down to The Central to collect my first ever Race Pack for next week's Run Singapore. The pack itself wasn't too exciting, a T-shirt, 2 water bottles and a number tag. But the thought that I will be taking part in my first ever 5km run is quite unebelievable. I think the latest is that the organizers had to change it to about 4.5km for some safety reasons but what the heck, as far as I'm concerned, it's still a 5km run :).

I know a 5km run for most of you will probably be no big deal, but for me, it really is a HUGE deal. I think the last serious thing I ever ran successfully was my 2.4km in JC and that was XX years ago. Some of you know that I have been working hard to achieve my fitness goal and I decided to sign up for the Run Singapore coz I thought it would be an affirmation that I am on the right track. Additionally, I thought it would be really cool to let my first every run to be along the Singapore F1 circuit.

My real goal is the 10km run at the Singapore Marathon at the end of the year. I can't imagine every running 10km... but hey, a year ago, I wouldn't even think of taking part in a 5km. I've been doing regular runs in the last 2 months and I think I should be able to complete the 5km run without having to walk/stop.

I'm pretty excited about next Sunday and a little apprehensive as well. But I think it's going to be memorable and a personal achievement to be able to complete my first every 5km run event. 12490. Sounds like a nice enough number to begin with. :)

O.M.G........

2009-08-19T08:47:00.003+08:00

Just take a look at the newly announced Playstation 3 Slim....

There goes my US$300..... enuff said. :P

Shopping at Mustafa

2009-08-02T10:26:00.002+08:00

Last night, I was at Vivocity looking for some stuff. Shopped till 10pm when the shops closed and I was a little bummed out coz I didn't feel like going home and I had not found everything I needed. So as I was waiting at the Harbourfront MRT for the train, a thought popped into my mind - why not try Mustafa Centre (MC)? It's open 24hours after all....

So, I hopped on the train and got off at Farrer Park MRT station and began my adventure.

As far as I can understand, there are 3 buildings that make up the whole place (sound bigger than Macy's in New York City). There's a more high-class (ie. atas) MC that faces Serangoon Road. Stuff there are organized fairly neatly like a supermarket/mall. And there's the really massive, cramped, generally messy MC located behind the atas-MC that's made up of two buildings. I found out last nite, that atas-MC is not 24hours... only the messy-MC.

You can really find everything under the sun here. From obsure products of popular brands to obscure brands with wide range of products. If you are shopping for something, you better be prepared to (1) brave the crowds and (2) hunt for the item. It almost feels like a scavenger hunt at times. The layout of the messy-MC is quite confusing. More than once, I had to ask for directions to find out how to get to the basement floors or where to find a certain section. Everything is packed onto the shelves with very little regard for visibility or aesthetics. Essentially, it's a fill-the-shelf-and-let-you-hunt-for-it-yourself system. For eg. shoes are stacked in pairs on top of each other and if you want to find you size... happy digging.

I guess the two big questions are: is there variety and are the goods cheap?

For variety, I guess you can find different brands but I won't say that it's exhaustive. Like I mentioned, there are strange little obscure brands, but not all main popular brands can be found. I looked around for a knee brace and found brands from nike to kettler to something called 90mins. They also had the more 'medical' brands like Futura and 3 or 4 others in their pharmacy section. But when it came to MP3 players, I only found the usual Appele, Samsung, Creative and Philips. Not a bad selection, but being the pseudo-techie that I am, I was hoping for more.

For prices, sure, there are a couple of good buys, but by and large, I don't think they can be considered much cheaper than our super/hyper markets like NTUC, Carrefour, Giant, etc. One great buy I found was almonds... I found a 1kg pack for around $12. It's some strange brand, but since I was looking for raw almonds, I decided to give it a try. Looked fresh anyway. In the usual supermarkets, raw almonds can cost about $3.50 for 100grams. I've not opened the bag, but hope it tastes decent. When I was there, there was also a midnight special for a 42inch 720p Panasonic LCD TV. It was only $999 with another $300 in vouchers! Wow... bloody cheap! At the recent Escapades Fair in Suntec, the same model was going for about S$1200 (without vouchers!) at their hourly special. Clothes and sports goods on the other hand, were quite normally priced, I think. My general impression is that you can get cheaper stuff and better variety in Queensway.

As far as I can guess, Mustafa Centre (MC) is able to be so popular because (1) it's open 24-hours so you can shop any time and (2) it's so massive and messy that after a while, you just buy stuff (not knowing if it's cheap or not) coz... you're so confused. You just lose all inhibition when you are surrounded by so many things. It makes for a good late night shopping but I don't think I will specially go there to get stuff coz I do prefer my supermarkets neater so that the shopping is more relaxing.

When I left MC, I realized it was already 1am. Ended up taking a cab back to Bishan coz there were no night buses that I could find that would bring me home. (Another irritation I have with Singapore.... no night transport!! Trains should be 24hours!). I spent 9 bucks on my taxi fare which almost wiped out the savings I made on the items I bought! So in the end, not that cheap after all...

Back in RI

2009-07-12T11:48:00.002+08:00

Yep, after a 2.5 year break, I've rejoined RI. This time round, I'm taking on a pretty specific duty as compared to the numerous roles I was playing the last time. I will be helping to run the Raffles Leadership Programme (RLP), the leadership development programme based in the boarding school. I've not updated this blog as I've been busy adjusting to life back in RI and living in boarding. Of course, there were the disruptions due to the H1N1 situation.

Starting off in late June, I was busy moving back into RI Boarding School. My new lodge is quite nice - 2 bedrooms, a sitting room and a kitchen.. on the 10th floor! The view's pretty nice, it's facing the RI pool and the Rafflesia Condo, much better than facing the columbarium. heh. Will post some pics ONLY when I've managed to clean up my lodge a little.

On top of running the RLP, I'm also teaching a couple of CLE classes (CLE = Character and Leadership Education... a but like CME lessons in other schools). It's good to be able to get back into some classroom teaching as well.

Will blog more as I get more settled back in RI.

Some Pics of Ho Chi Minh City

2009-07-12T11:35:00.005+08:00

Some pics of Ho Chi Minh City from my trip. We spent two nights in Mui Ne, my favourite beach resort and one night in Ho Chi Minh City. I woke up kinda early and took a quick trip to Ben Thanh market, just as the tourist shops were setting up stall. So this time round, had a chance to look at the wet market in all it's gory glory.

Let's start with pig's innards... :)

Here are the tourist shops just setting up shop. It's amazing that they pack up everything in the evening and then set it up again in the mornings. As far as I can tell, some of these shops even move out their wares into the night market in the evenings. The other interesting thing is that the shop assistants barely took a look at me as I walked past, very unlike 'working hours' when you get drowned in 'sir... cheap cheap! buy t-shirt? good price!'. It's like there is an official office hour for selling to tourists.

It was a nice short getaway. Only small issue was the super long ride back to Ho Chi Minh from Mui Ne coz of the weekend traffic. But I am sure I will return to the wonderful beach again.

Now to plan my next getaway....

Off to Ho Chi Minh

2009-06-18T00:44:00.002+08:00

Looking forward to my short getaway to Vietnam. Will be spending two nights in Mui Ne, a beautiful beach place. Then I'll be back in Ho Chi Minh city for one night, to do some shopping and pho-eating before flying back to Singapore. Mmmm.. can already taste the delicious Pho!

I'll be back on 22nd, then on 23rd, I begin my new job.

Life's gonna change again.

June Holidays

2009-06-12T00:23:00.002+08:00

June Holidays has finally begun.

They were supposed to begin two weeks ago but since I've started doing part time teaching, there were holiday lessons for the first two weeks, so I've still been waking up at 5.30am everyday to go to school. Today.. I woke up at 10am. Shiok.

Went to the PC Show today to take a look at the new Nokia N97. I've actually been very very VERY tempted to buy it since I started reading about it a couple of months back. But when I looked at it and had some hands-on time with it, the excitement kinda died down. It's a nice phone, but I think the touch screen interface is still not as fantastic as it can be. I guess nothing can top the iphone at this point of time. But I still can't bring myself to buy one. Maybe I can look forward to the new Sony Idou instead.

I'm looking forward to the next weekend. I've taken advantage of the Singapore Airlines offer to Ho Chi Minh City...only S$228 which includes taxes!! Incredible. Will be going with a few friends. Looking forward to lovely bowls of Pho and authentic Vietnamese food.

I'm actually also looking at another big change in my life soon. Will blog more about it when things are more firmed up.

Happy June Holidays!

Think.RI (updated 11 June)

2009-06-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

Here's one for the history books....

I met up with some former prefects over last weekend and as expected, we started talking about stuff when they were in RI. One of the things which popped up was the famous Think.RI. I admit I've pretty much forgotten all about it and it sure brought back fun memories of how we tried to practice/make-fun-of Think.RI back then.

We tried hard to recall what it stood for and the most memorable phrase was New Day New Discovery. Couldn't remember all though. Anyone can remember those left empty below?

T -

H - Have a Plan (Thanks KM.. updated 11 June)

I -

N -New Day New Discovery

K - Keep an Open Mind (Thanks Anon.. updated 13 May)

dot - dimensions of thinking

RI - obviously we know what this stands for. :P

Star Trek - A MUST SEE!

2009-05-08T10:02:00.004+08:00

I think I might need to seek counselling.

The new Star Trek movie has only been released for 6 days and I have already watched it three times. Yep... THREE.

Yes, it's that good.

JJ Abrams has done an extremely commendable job in rebooting the Star Trek franchise for a new generation. The movie is accessible to both fans and non-fans and there's plenty of action, humour and drama for everyone. I'm impressed with how he had handled each character, giving them plenty of personality and presence.

At the same time, despite the character-building, the action almost never stops. Within the first 10minutes of the film, I could already feel my eyes tearing up and the sacrifice. Even at the third viewing, it was still a touching moment, handled with much class. My favourite dramatic scene has got to be the one where Captain Pike challenged the young and rash Kirk to join Starfleet.

The special effects for this movie are also pretty impressive. From the massive battles to the remodelled USS Enterprise, almost every scene filled me with a sense of wonder and awe. My favourite effects scene is probably that of the Enterprise rising up from the rings of Saturn.

Of course, to the true trekkie, there are plenty of plot holes to pick on. But I think the beauty of this movie is that when you are watching it, you get so caught up with the story and people that you don't really think or care too much about the few inconsistencies. Yep, it's that good.

So if you haven't caught this movie, please do yourself a favour and go watch it. I strongly recommend Grand Cathay cinema for this coz of the THX sound system and Digital projection. I've caught it at three different cinemas (Grand Cathay, GV Max and Iluma Bugis) and trust me when I say Grand Cathay offers the best experience for this movie. :)

Now... when will be going for my FOURTH screening....

The original USS Enterprise... over 40 year old!

The new USS Enterprise... all iMac-fied!

2009-05-01T00:32:00.003+08:00

It's been three weeks since I started doing part-time teaching again. I have to admit that I am enjoying this simple pleasure of just teaching and not being bothered by other duties which normal teachers have to do. Everyday, I just go to school to teach, spend my free periods marking and preparing worksheets, thinking how best to revise topics or get the students to understand something and then go home and do my personal stuff. It really brings me back to the days when I first started teaching many many many moons ago. The students aren't angels but since when are students angels in any school? I admit I do get frustrated at times, especially when I find that I'm not able to get them to understand what I am trying to explain. But the challenge for me right now is to push beyond that frustration and try to find some way or better method to get the message through. I think in some way, that's what teaching is all about.

Of course, I know I am working in an unreal situation right now. The moment I decide to take on teaching full-time, I will be swamped by admin work, cca work, department duties, school duties, meetings and who can forget... reports, reports, reports. Isn't that quite an irony? I enjoy teaching enough to want to teach full-time, but if I teach full-time, I end up getting my joy in teaching drowned in a sea of non-teaching duties?

Anyhow, that's what I'm contemplating right now. I'm currently on MOE's flexi-adjunct scheme, which basically means I get paid for every hour I work. No work, no money. It's as simple as that. If I convert to other schemes, the pay is probably a little better but I wonder at what expense? That's something I have to grapple with as I decide what I intend to do for the next few years.

Two other things have caught my attention in the past two weeks. First is the whole AWARE saga. Simply put, politics in Singapore is quite boring. Nothing like politics in US and UK. So this little political drama being played out in AWARE is quite exciting. I'm not going to bother talking about what my stand is. I just think the whole saga is kinda fun. The other is of course the threat of a Swine Flu outbreak. Talk about a double whammy. We had the economic crisis... and now, we have a health crisis. Wonder what could be next. On a larger scale, it's scary to think what an full blown outbreak could result in. On a personal... more selfish scale... an outbreak would probably mean the schools which I am supposed to bring to Japan in June will probably cancel their trips. :(

One bright spark though... next week, the new Star Trek movie opens! I am quite a fan... I've already bought a new Star Trek T-shirt to wear to the movie... :P

No bus or slow bus?

2009-04-13T22:50:00.002+08:00

Don't know which is worse. No bus or slow bus.

Was waiting for the 136 bus this morning. Missed the first bus by seconds but thankfully, the next bus came in less than 5mins so I was pretty happy. But my happiness was shortlived when I realised the bus driver was making sure he went at the slowest speed possible. My guess was he didn't want to catch up with the first bus. So here was I, in a bus rushing to catch my next bus,and not being able to do anything coz the 136 was happily plodding along.

Well, as fate would have it, when I finally arrived at my bus stop and was crossing the road to catch the connecting bus, I saw my connecting bus pulling up and leaving the bus stop. Ended up waiting for almost 15mins for the next bus and was almost late for school. If only the stupid 136 had gone at a normal pace.

So I was left with the question... which is worse? Having no bus or having a stupid slow bus?

Back to school

2009-04-12T23:43:00.002+08:00

The big change this past week is that I've gone back to doing some part-time teaching. I've actually been toying with that for quite a few months and I've finally overcome my inertia and fear of change and returned to the education service (on a part-time basis anyway). There was a strong inertia because I must admit I had become quite accustomed to my flexible lifetsyle and the thought of returning to a 7.15am to 4.15pm work life just didn't sound right. There was fear involved because I was worried if I would choose the right school and if I would be able to get back into teaching. Well, as usual, the argument simply comes down to the simple fact that there is no such thing as a sure thing in life. If I don't try, I'll never know. So, since the door appeared to be opening in the right places, I've joined Junyuan Secondary School as a part-time teacher.

It's hard to imagine that I am actually travelling to JYSS in tampines, all the way from Serangoon. At first, the thought was quite daunting. But the surprising thing is that it actually takes just about an hour from my doorstep to the school. That's not too bad actually, considering that it took me more than 1.5hrs to get to and from NUS wben I was studying there.

I'm currently on a part-time basis with the school, which means that I only need to report to school when I have lessons and I can leave school whenever my lessons end. In a way, I still get some freedom like before. The tough part is having to report to school at 7.15am 3 days a week. This means I basically have to get up at 5.30am for those 3 days. 5.30am. That's a freaking crazy time. Even when I was in RI, I could get up at 6.30am and still be in school in time. That's the toughest adjustment which I am still trying to get used to.

It's also been quite interesting trying to get back into the rhythm of teaching. It's been more than 2 years, (actually, I think more than 3 years) since I've taught. It's always a challenge to try to adapt to different students. One thing which I cannot escape is the fact that I'm really much older now and it's a little harder to connect with the students. I've already met all my students and I'm glad to say that so far, I quite enjoy my lessons with them. Hope I can continue to say that all the way to the end of th year.

It's only been a week and I'm still busy adjusting to this new routine. At the same time, I'm still handling some tour projects. So I think things should be quite busy for me until the end of the June holidays. Of course, at the back of my mind, I do wonder if I've made the right decision to return to teaching. I guess only time will tell.

Oh yes. I did something quite silly last week... last Tuesday, I actually went to the new Iluma mall at Bugis to catch a glimpse of David Archuleta! haha... can't believe I actually did that. No regrets though. Hearing him sing live was quite a treat! He's every bit as unassuming and bashful as he appears to be on tv. I did feel a little out of place though. The whole place was filled with screaming teens!

Overload of Jap Movies

2009-03-29T23:17:00.001+08:00

The last month (and apparently the coming months as well) appear to be good months for Japanese movies. I've caught K-20 and Suspect X and both were pretty good. I've been trying to watch Departures for the last few weeks but every weekend, the cinemas showing the movie were always almost full. Today, I finally caught Departures and to make it a full day of Japanese movie immersion, I also managed to catch Detroit Metal City. The two movies are totally different but are really good in their own way.

First one I caught was Detroit Metal City (DMC). The big surprise here is that the main star, Kenichi Matsuyama, is the same guy who acted as L in the DeathNote movies! The two roles are so different. L is this cool and quiet character while Negishi in DMC is a kooky nerdy goody two shoes cum heavy metal star. I really had a hard time trying to imagine that this is the same guy who acted as L. DMC is quite interesting and hilarious at times. But ultimately, it's Kenichi who steals the show. The sad thing is this movie was rated as NC16 simply coz there's plenty mention of the word F$%k. One of the songs has a chorus which basically repeats the F-word ad-infinitum. Other than that, it's a really likeable movie.

Departures is a really beautiful movie. I really like how the movie allowed us to see a glimpse of how the departed are treated with such dignity in the Japanese culture. Although the Japanese are often seen as a ritualistic society, these are some of the most beautiful rituals which I wish that we had in Singapore. I was also quite impressed that the director refrained himself from being overly melodramatic when it comes to depicting the death of loved ones. Instead, each funeral scene is done with much control and depth which makes this movie so believable. The star, Kazuko Yoshiyoko, is excellent as the guy trying to come to terms with his job. But I thought the actress playing his wife was also very good. Ryoko Hirosue had only a few lines but her presence in every scene she was in was magic. From being a supportive wife, to rejecting her husband becoz of his job, to her acceptance/understanding of his desire to stay in the job, Ryoko really played the part well.

Both movies are really very good. I heartily recommend them both.

I'm looking forward to two more which are coming in early April - The Handsome Suit and Gu Gu the Cat. Let the Japanese magic continue!

Big changes

2009-03-07T11:56:00.002+08:00

The last month has been quite exciting but it's a little tough to blog about. Basically, I left my previous company and have joined another company to continue organizing school tours. Really can't say much, especially since nowadays, whatever you say on blogs can come back to bite you in the behind. I just read about how a woman overseas (in UK I think) was sacked from her job because she expressed that the was bored at her job in her blog/facebook.

Anyway, I think the main thing which has impacted me is again how the business world can be pretty brutal. That's why in terms of real-life experiences, I think all teachers should have the opportunity to experience life in the private sector at some point in their life. This really helps us to share such experiences with our students, the majority of which will probably enter the private sector instead of the public. Regardless of how you think people behave and what you believe they are, things can dramatically change in the face of business decisions. This is something I have yet to come to grasp with. I guess in many ways, I still hold on to the idealism which I had when I was a teacher. I know the world is not all black and white and there are many shades of grey. But there are still things that are quite black and white to me. Sorry for sounding so cryptic but even as I am trying to put my thoughts into this post, I am carefully watching my words to avoid getting anybody into trouble. Perhaps it might be better to leave my thoughts within my mind with regards to this matter.

Anyway, I am temporarily with this new company as I evaluate what I will be doing in the near future. It's been 2.5years since I left the education service and I must say that there is a little itch to return to it in some manner. However, at the same time, there are some exciting opportunities open to me in the travel business. So I guess it's a question of things being in the right time and right place.

OK, let's switch frequencies.

Another reason why I've not been blogging here is... I've kinda been blogging somewhere else. Lolz. I'm not ready to share the other blog yet.. maybe in the near future.

Movies.

I've still been catching my regular staple of movies. The best movie so far this year has to go to ROLE MODELS. It's hilarious. With all the heavy academy awards nominated movies being screened in the last 2 months, RM was a breath of much needed fresh air. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott were really good in this movie. They were much more controlled and turned in more palatable performances as comepared to their other over-the-top characters in other movies. Two big highlights for me. (1) The world of LAIR. Being a WOW player, this real-life version of an MMORPG was hilarious and made me feel almost embarassed for playing wow. Almost makes me want to start my own loser-world here in Singapore. (2) Jane Lynch. She is sooooooooo caustically funny in this movie. She's the woman-boss in the movie 'The 40-yr old Virgin'. Here, she plays the director of a teen-mentor organization. For me, she stole the show. Thanks to her, I may never eat another sausage bun again. If you are really curious, check out these two Youtubelinks (1), (2). Be warned... mildy M18.... If you are old enough (the movie's rated NC16) and need a good laugh, give Role Models a try.

CNY Again.. Snooze....

2009-01-27T08:09:00.004+08:00

It's that time of year again... when pretty much 90% of Singapore shuts down to celebrate CNY. I was out at Vivocity on CNY Eve on Sunday and it was mildly depressing to see shops shutting down at 4pm. Other than the sumptuous reunion dinner, the rest of CNY is usually pretty boring. So this year, I decided to try something pretty uncharacteristic of me and go try the HSBC Treetop Walk! Below are the pics of this historic event.

I felt that while the Treetop walk was kinda interesting, it was a little underwhelming. I guess when you take the effort to walk about an hour to the bridge, I was expecting something a little more awesome. The bridge was not really that high and the view wasn't that breathtaking. It was nice. But not 'oh-my-goodness-take-my-breath-away' nice. Thought it would have been awesomer if the bridge was at least much higher. But since Singapore is pretty flat, I guess we don't have many valleys/treetops to build a taller bridge. The other small complain is the walk itself. After going on some breathtaking trails like the Kikuchi Gorge in Kumamoto, it's hard to be excited with the MacRitchie Trails. I kept wishing there would be some river or waterfall to add some life/movement to the place. The good thing was the weather was nice - sunny but not too hot, and the place was quite empty. In fact, I think 9 out of 10 people I met were foreigners. Guess Singaporeans were busy with CNY festivities. I particularly like Jelutong Tower. In the end, I think the treetop walk is a nice experience, worth at least one try. BUt I doubt I will ever make the effort to walk all the way there again. At least I'd tried it once!

Here are some pics of my first every voluntary CNY forest walk.

Entrance to the trail from Venus Road.

Monkeys. Just like any normal Singaporean, the sight of a monkey was quite exciting.

So after about an hour, I finally reached the entrance of the Treetop walk.

View as I entered the bridge.

View from the middle of the bridge.

Here's a pic looking back when I reached the end of the bridge.

Jelutong Tower - an observation tower with a nice view.

A view of MacRitchie Reservoir as I exited the trail from Jelutong Tower.

Good Start to 2009

2009-01-09T21:03:00.004+08:00

The last two months of 2008 zoomed by and I'm glad I'm finally settling into 2009. With a month spent in Japan, a week and a half in Vietnam and a week in Yogyakarta, the year certainly ended with a bang. To start off the year on an equally exciting note, I was off to Bintan with some of the students from my Sec 1 form class in 2005 - Sec 1Q.

I think the last time I was in Bintan was almost 10yrs ago. Nothing much has changed really and I think the resorts, shops, etc is really nothing fantastic. But the one thing which made the trip great was the fun we had. Although it's been more than 2 years since I left RI, I was really glad we were able to catch up with each other before they went off to Junior College. Must say thanks to Zongyi for putting in so much effort in pulling the trip together since we begain planning it 6 months ago.

To the 1Q guys who still drop by this blog, thanks again for remembering me as your FT and I want to wish you all the best as you enter the world of co-ed education. Lol.

from left side: Aaron Tiong, Zheng Yi, Joshun Tung, Ernie, Zongyi, De Sheng, Jun Xiang, Chee Yeow, Vince, Me

When we returned to Singapore on 7 Jan, I dropped by RI together with a few of the 1Q-ers to try and catch the finale for the Sec 1 Camp. Unfortunately we were a little late. However, I was really glad to catch most of the Sec 4 PSLs who were from my 2006 Sec 1 form class - 1M. Really guys, it's hard to imagine that you guys are now Sec 4s and PSLs too! Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I was really glad to see you guys. Not sure if we will still have a chance to meet up (though I certainly hope so) so let me wish you a great Sec 4 year ahead.

from left: Kwek Wei Han, Kirk, Isaac, Anurak, Me, Davin, Adil, Ted, Ashraf, Kieng, Chia Wei Han and Ye Zhou

With that, I think I'm gonna have to settle back to work. It's been 2 months since I've seriously started work and now I've gotta start getting business together or I might have to live off air alone for the next half year. In a strange sort of way, I am looking forward to 2009. I think it is going to be a good year.

Yogyakarta Day 3 - Mt Merapi & Prambanan Temple

2008-12-22T23:04:00.004+08:00

I covered quite a few memorable sights today. First off, it's off to Kaliadem which is apparently the closest and best place to view Mt Merapi.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day so Mt Merapi chose to hide from me. You just have to imagine the volcano hidden in the clouds in the pic below.

The first scene was of buildings drowned in the dried lava. The level of the lava was more than half the height of the houses. Apparently, in the last eruption, there were no fatalities except for two people who were supposedly volunteers, not villagers.

This was a breathtaking view for me. I was standing on the river bed of a former river which was dried up by the lava flow.

Further down the river was this drop. I can just imagine the beautiful waterfall which was here before 2006. It's pretty amazing to be able to actually see the river bed without any water.

The area around the volcano is extremely fertile and there are rice fields everywhere. I caught this view of farmers threshing the rice.

I continued on to Plaosan temple - A buddhist temple with hindu influences. Although much smaller than Borobudur, I thought it was no less grand.

It was also eyeopening to see a restoration project taking place. There are hundreds of these little temples around the main temple and almost all of them were destroyed by earthquakes. On the right is a temple which they are rebuilding by trying to match the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Next up was Prambanan Temple. While Borobudur is a buddhist temple, Prambanan is a Hindu temple. It was a real pity that all the main temples were damaged by the last major earthquake in 2006. All except one was closed to visitors. This is the view from the back. If I got it right, the one in the middle is the temple dedicated to Shiva. The one on the left is dedicated to Vishnu while the right is dedicated to Brahma. In front of each temple (in the case of the pic below, it should be directly behind each temple) there was another animal temple which housed the 'transport' for the gods. Vishnu's was the garuda, Shiva's was the bull and Brahma's was the swan.

Here are part of the carvings on Vishnu's temple. They show the dance steps of the Ramayana.

The final temple I visited was a last minute inclusion. I heard about the Sambisari temple from the local guide and decided to visit it. As you can see from the pic, it's actually located within a pit. The temple was originally hidden as it was covered by layers of volcanic ash. It was discovered by a farmer in 1966 and then excavated and restored.

All in, it's been a pretty busy day but very enjoyable. Tomorrow, I'll probably just spend a lazy day in the hotel while I wait for my flight back to Singapore.

Yogyakarta Day 2 - Borobudur

2008-12-21T23:36:00.001+08:00

Got up early at 6am today and left the hotel at 7am to make our way to Borobudur which is about an hour away. The plan was to try and beat the crowds. Well, we failed.

Here's my first sight of the temple as we walked towards it. The trees are in a park which was specially added to make space for the visitors to the temple. Apparently, in the past, cars could drive right up to the foot of of the temple.

The carvings on the temple walls are really amazing. There are hundreds of illustration and here is small sample of the carvings which tell the story of Buddha's life from birth to enlightenment.

Here's a pic of Borobudur's main stupa - the big one in the middle. The smaller ones surrounding it have a statue of buddha in them. Apparently, if you reached in and touched the statues (on the fingers for men and on the feet for women), your wish will come true (provided it's not about material gain!).

Here's a pic of the buddha statue inside the smaller stupas.

Our final view of Borobudur from afar as we made our way back to the coach.

Borobudur is constructed in a straight line with two other temples. Here's the one in the middle, the Pawon temple. Similar architecture but much much smaller.

And the other temple in a straight line is the Mendut Temple. The stupa on the top of this temple was destroyed.

It was an interesting visit but I must admit it was spoilt by the crowds. There were hundreds if not thousands of visitors and many were having picnics around the main stupa of Borobudur. On one hand, I think it's nice that Borobudur is so much a part of the people (from the way they were picnic-ing and having fun around the structure). But on the other hand, I wished it was accorded more respect as an important monument from the past.

Tomorrow, I'll be visiting Mt Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano as well as a few other famous temples. Hope the weather will be nice.

Yogyakarta Day 1

2008-12-21T01:01:00.004+08:00

I’m in Yogyakarata (or as the locals prefer, Jogja) and it’s been a nice start to my visit so far. I checked in for my 2-hour flight on Garuda and at the boarding gate, I was pleasantly told that I was bumped up to Executive Class (ie. Equivalent to Business/First Class) for the flight! This is the 2nd time I have had such a privilege, the first was almost 8yrs ago when I won a Business class ticket to Bangkok.

Executive Class is certainly a nice luxury. You get nice big seats and you get everything served to you in glassware. No plastic cups! Service on Garuda Airlines is nothing to shout about but it was decent. Since I was given a window seat, I took the chance to try taking cloud pics with my Canon DSLR. Here are two pics which I thought were the nicer ones. Don’t ask me what that mountain is. I have no idea. Any Indonesians know which mountain it is?

Jogja airport is a typical simple airport. Nothing flashy. You walk off the plane towards the immigration and then just a few steps after immigration, you get your bags off the ONLY luggage conveyor belt and less then 10 steps away is the customs/exit.

My first impressions: It’s already dark so I couldn’t see much. Jogja reminds me pretty much of countries like Bangkok and Vietnam. However, one difference is that there weren’t any jams even though it’s a Saturday night and the roads were quite packed. I can’t see much so I would probably be able to say more tomorrow when I go for the city tour. One interesting trivia I found out was that Jogja has about 600,000 people, of which 400,000 are students who come here to study! So the entire Jogja is pretty much like a small university town. Most of the businesses here cater to students (like bookshops/sports shops/mobile phone shops, etc).

I’m staying at the 5-star Hyatt Regency Hotel. The hotel is laid out like a resort and the pool is pretty awesome . Will try to post some pics once I get some daylight shots. Here's a pic of a cultural show which was going on in the hotel.

Tomorrow is a relatively early start. Gotta wake up at 6am so that we can reach Borobudur by 9am. I’m looking forward to the visit.

Off to Yogyakarta

2008-12-20T14:46:00.003+08:00

At the airport now, waiting for my flight to Yogyakarta (that's in Indonesia for those of you who are not too geographically inclined). Quite exciting actually. I've never been to Yogyakarata and I'm quite excited to see the famous Borobudur. This is partially fueled by the fact that I've got my new Canon 1000D DSLR and I can't wait to try my hand and taking more pics with it.

Come to think of it, this is the first trip that I've taken in the past two years on my own. Sure, I've been travelling due to the tours that I've been leading, but I've not been on my own trip. It's only a short 4 days trip but I think I've been strangely bit by the Asian travel bug. I've never been one to be excited about travelling in South East Asian and I usually end up in either Japan or USA. Now, I'm looking forward to this Indonesia Trip and am acutally planning to go back to Vietnam and maybe visit the coastal areas of Thailand and I'm also hoping to visit Angkor Wat soon.

The busy Nov/Dec travel season is over and I must say it's been an interesting 6 weeks. Plenty of ups and a couple of downs but on the whole, I think it's been not bad.

Look out for my pics of Borobudur in a few days.

In Vietnam - Actually.. on the way out..

2008-12-08T18:59:00.005+08:00

I've been in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam the last week on my last group tour for the year. I've always had a soft spot for Vietnam and I've always found it more inviting than Bangkok. Although many people come to Vietnam for the shopping, I find that it's the people and the sights which are most stirring.

This time we did the usual visits to Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta. But we also had some technical visits which were a first time for me too. One was a visit to the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park. It's quite impressive to see how a little country like Singapore can leave such big footprints everywhere. We can complain all we want about our PAP government, but we cannot deny the good they have accomplished in our short history.

The next thing which stood out for me is the visit to the orphanage for children affected by Agent Orange during the American-Vietnam war. It's not my first time at such an orphanage but it doesn't make it any easier to see these children. It's heartwrenching to see that after all these years, the effect of the chemical is still affecting innocent babies and it's even more sad to see these children living in such simple conditions. I can't help but compare this with the victims of the Minamata disease in Japan. Of course, they also faced many difficulties and discrimination, but I am glad their living conditions are so much better and some even consider the victims as 'treasures from heaven' sent to teach the world a lesson. In stark contrast, I see these children affected by Agent Orange tucked away in a corner with very little healthcare and not even a clinic in the premises. As much as it pains me, what is more disturbing I guess, is that I (and probably most of the people on the tour) will soon forget about this and carry on with our daily lives.

After the group departed, I stayed on to do some exploration of the areas around Ho Chi Minh City. I was really surprised to find this gem of a place -Mui Ne. It's a beautiful beach area and close by, there are white and red sand dunes that look just like a desert! I'm definitely gonna consider including this place in future group itineraries. It's only about 4 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City and I think it's well worth a visit.

Well, my flight to Singapore departs in about 90mins.. then I'll be home at last. Phew...talk about a busy travelling season!

In Kyushu Part 6 - Album Update for BVSS

2008-11-29T19:35:00.003+08:00

Phew. Talk about a whirlwind tour. I've just finished a pretty intense 5 day tour with BVSS and it was certainly packed coz our usual tour to Kyushu is 6 days long. To BVSS-ians, thanks for being pretty attentive and enthusiastic. I hope you have enjoyed the tour and especially the snow! Yep... you are the one and only group this season that has not only experienced snow but experienced snowing as well! I was really surprised and quite ecstatic for you guys when I saw the snow begin falling that day.

I've started uploading your photos. I will try to get it done by tomorrow night, but I might not be able to before I have to leave for Vietnam on Monday. To be honest, I'm pretty tired from the month-long stay in Kyushu, but I'm hoping I'll be rested in time for Monday's group.

Here's the link for BVSS photos.

In Kyushu Part 5 - Skies over Kyushu

2008-11-23T20:37:00.005+08:00

For some reason, I found that the skies over Kyushu were particularly beauiful the past week. I couldn't help but take a few pictures. Here are some of them.

Sky over Nagasaki. Not very well taken but it was breathtaking to see the rays of sunlight shining through the clouds. Taken at about 9am.

Picture taken when we were at Kyushu Ceramics Museum in Saga at about 12 noon.

This one was obviously taken at Kumamoto Castle. I loved the way the skies framed the castle. Taken at about 10am.

Another scene taken at the castle ground facing away from the castle (around 10am still).

Skies over Toen Junior High School at about 3.30pm.

We then made our way to Mt Aso and when we stopped at the Shirakawa Fountainhead, another awesome ray-through-cloud scene greeted us! This was around 3pm and it was drizzling slightly.

We went to Dazaifu and I caught this sky over the main gate of Dazaifu. (Taken around 3pm)

And finally, here's a pic of the sky as the sun was setting. Taken and San-do, the shopping street leading to Dazaifu at about 5pm.

In Kyushu Part 4 - Album Update for DSS

2008-11-23T20:15:00.002+08:00

Another week, another group. So far, this is the group that has stayed the longest in Kyusu, 6 nights, as compared to the usual 5 nights. DSS has been the group with a couple of 'first's:

1st time I've led an all-girls group
1st time I've led a 6-night itinerary
1st time we have had a kimono-dress-up at a castle
1st time a school group has done so much shopping
1st time I almost went crazy trying to manage a group.... (joking, joking...)

To be frank, I was a little apprehensive about leading an all-girl group, but in the end, I must admit I did have a pretty good time. To DSS girls dropping by, hope you had as much fun as I did. I still wished you walked faster (you were really the slowest of all the groups I've led!!!) but we still managed to get where we needed to go. :)

Here's the link to the online album: LINK

As I always say... take care & stay in touch!

In Kyushu Part 3 - Pics of new places I've visited

2008-11-16T20:44:00.004+08:00

Since I have about 2 days in between groups, I decided to explore other parts of Fukuoka to see if there were new places I could add into the itinerary for future groups. Here are some pics of my exporation:

Took a train to the south of Hakata. Actually, it was a Shinkansen! Only cost me 290yen. But I was more surprised that the station at the end was actually a depot and there was a whole row of Shinkansen trains lined up. First time I've seen such a scene.

Was walking towards Dazaifu when I noticed a few small stalls. First was this really yummy sotong stall! I tried the second sotong stick from the right.. yummy!

I've been hungering for some good yakitori and what better way to satisfy that with some yakitori from a road side stall! Look at the gorgeous sticks of sinful meat.... I confess, I had two of the prok yakitoris... SHIOK.

Finally made my way to Dazaifu. It was really busy coz of the Sichi-go-san festival. Quite a pretty temple dedicated to the god of learning.

As it was Sichi-go-san festival, there were many children aged 7, 5 and 3 who were dressed in their traditional japanese outfits. Managed to sneak a pic of this little boy posing for a pic. I didn't dare to take more coz i didn't want to be seen to be walking around taking pics of small kids... just felt wrong somehow... :)

A few minutes' walk from Dazaifu Shrine is the Komyozenji Temple. It's a really serene and beautiful temple. Look at the trees with the zen patterns drawn in the sand surrounding it.

In the temple was a garden which can take your breath away. Look at the beautiful autumn colours!

Finally, I went hunting for the Kanzeonji Temple, a buddhist temple completed in 746AD. It wasn't easy to find and in start contrast to Dazaifu Shrine, there was no one visiting the temple. It was eeriely silent...

In Kyushu Part 2 - Album Update for NTSS

2008-11-15T21:03:00.003+08:00

Another week has passed. Must admit that I'm feeling a little drained after two groups. But it's been fun so far and I hope it carries on being fun.

To New Towners visiting this blog to download your pics, here's the LINK.

NTSS group was kinda strange. But strange in a fun kinda way. I think I took a little longer to warm up to the group but towards the end, I think it worked out fine. One thing which I am really amazed with is how NTSS brought the good weather together with them! Seriously... before you guys (& gals) came, it was kinda rainy and not-coldish. While you were here, it was sunny and cool (most of the time anyway...). And today, after you guys left, would you believe it started to get overcast?!! By about 2pm (Japan time), it started drizzling! I can't believe the good luck you had with the weather. I won't forget the beautiful scenary of the cloud cover over Ichinomiya City (where our hotel was).

OK... Two down... Two to go!

In Kyushu - Album Update for WSSS

2008-11-09T00:41:00.004+08:00

Yep, I'm back in Kyushu, this time for almost a month! Just finished the first group with WSSS and thankfully, I have 2 days before the arrival of the next group. This is a luxury compared to my June groups when I had no breaks between the three groups. Then, it was send one group off at 3rd floor, then go downstairs to pick up the next group. Phew. Still dunno how I survived that.

Anyway, to the WSSS-ians who have dropped by to take a look, I had a pretty fun time with your group. There were some pretty unforgettable characters and I hope you had a meaningful time in Kyushu (even though I know you wanted more shopping time....) I am slowly updating my album... realized there are over 700MB of pictures. I hope to get them up by tomorrow before I start on the next group on Monday.

Here's a direct link to the album: LINK

Please leave a comment in my cbox to let me know u dropped by and let's try to keep in touch. :)

Recovery

2008-10-23T02:04:00.001+08:00

It's been two weeks since I've been discharged and well, I have to say I think I'm recovering quite well. Have already gone back to work since last Friday cause there's quite a lot of things to do before I leave for Japan on 2 Nov.

The wound is still not closed up but it seems to be improving. Have to change the gauze everyday but there's still some bloodstains. Wonder how much longer it will take. I'm hoping it will seal up nicely by next week, before I travel.

November is going to be one of my busiest months. I will actually be away in Kyushu for pretty much the whole month, leading about 4 tours! It's scary. I'm gonna be living out of my luggage and changing hotels about 4 times in a week... While I'm looking forward to having fun with each group, I'm also very very apprehensive about travelling for a month in Japan. Hope I don't fall sick.

I've managed to catch a few movies since I've been discharged and the two which I have enjoyed quite a bit are 20th Century Boys and Tropic Thunder. Here;s a little bit about 20th Century Boys...

Although the reviews have not been glowing, I found 20th Century Boys very enjoyable. I thought the characters were interesting (especially Kenji and Donkey) and I liked how the story was developed. Yes, it is very similar to movies like IT by Stephen King but I think the Japanese backdrop and the typical manga-type story makes it really engaging for me. This movie is suppoed to be the first of three. I can't wait for the sequel which is supposed to be coming in Jan 09!

To hospital to hospital.. again!

2008-10-08T21:34:00.002+08:00

After last year's MRSA attack, I've been reasonably well. However, there were still some stones (rather large ones, according to my doctor) in my kidney which I had to get removed. So guess where I am again? Yep.. in hospital.

I underwent the operation yesterday. Apparently, they cut a small slit on my back and went straight to the kidney to break up the stone and remove the debris. Yeah, all this happened yesterday and to be frank, I feel quite well today other than for a tube connected to my kidney to drain the blood as it heals. According to my doctor, I was to be able to return home tomorrow to rest at home. However, they did a scan today and discovered that there was still a reasonably large piece of stone in the kidney... so apparently they are gonna operate on me AGAIN on Friday! Arrgghhh...

But I thnk more than frustration, I guess I'm just feeling a sense of resignation. What can I do rite? The stone has to come out. If i don't do it now, i'll still have to do it soon. Not as if there's any miracle medicine that can meeeelllltttt the stone away. (If there was, it would probably melt my kidneys too. :P)

As you might have realized by now, I'm actually blogging from my hospital bed. Brought my laptop to keep me occupied with surfing/videos/games. I'm definitely more prepared this time!

Here's wishing Friday's cut is a successful one...

Singapore Flyer

2008-09-26T03:19:00.003+08:00

The Singapore Flyer offered travel agents a free ride on the Singapore Flyer. The offer ends on Tuesday so I decided to take the day off and be-a-tourist-for-a-day.

I am generally quite interested in Observation Wheels. I usually give them a try (if they are not too expensive!) when I am travelling. One of my favourites is the one in Tokyo near the Tokyo Sea Life Park. Anyway, I've been putting off trying our own Singapore Flyer coz I guess I couldn't bring myself to spend $30 for a 30min ride.

Below are some of the pics from my ride. You can see more if you click my Flickr album on the sidebar.

The F1 track was closed to cars/buses so I had to take a long scenic walk from Suntec to the Flyer. Quite a nice view walking up to the Flyer. Feels big & kinda grand.

Just before entering the Flyer Complex, I was quite taken by the moorings which were holding the wheel in place. Reminds me of some phaser canons on a galactic cruiser in scifi shows.

And here, we have lift off! Being a weekday afternoon, there weren't many people around. I had the entire carriage to myself. Shiok.

First main sight as the wheel rotated was the F1 complex & Grandstand. You've gotta be impressed how fast Singapore can build stuff! Just imagine, all these structures weren't around a year ago!

Here's a view from somewhere near the top of the wheel's rotation cycle. I think the area behind is the Kallang area where the National Stadium (which never seems to get demolished) is.

Coming down the other side (ie. after the wheel has rotated about 200 degrees or so), I had a nice view of the CBD area as well as the up and coming Integrated Resort (*cough* CASINO *cough*). As the carriage returned to the starting point, there was a nice model of the whole resort. You can see it in the Flickr Album.

And here's the view as the carriage is returning to the boarding point. Whole journey did take about 30mins.

The nice thing about the F1 road closures is that the Flyer actually provided a FREE water taxi from Flyer to Clarke Quay. It was like getting a free river cruise! I think after the F1 period, it will cost $5 to take it. Not too expensive and might be worth a ride to complete the whole experience.

I have only one complain. I was kinda disappointed that they didn't have any onboard commentary in the carriage. It would have been nice to hear some commentary on what I was actually looking at. At least they did try to provide a map-like handout to show us what the main sights were. Better than nothing I guess. I was however quite irritated at the CONSTANT F1 car-revving sounds that was being piped through the speakers. They had an F1 promotional video looping on the LCD screen and the noise did take away a little from the whole experience.

OK, so generally, I did enjoy the Flyer. To be frank, I wouldn't mind getting some membership if they allowed me to take unlimited rides on the Flyer. I think it would be interesting to take it at different times in a day, especially at night. Hmm.. since the travel agent free ride ends on Tuesday, maybe I should try to take another ride on Monday evening.... :)

Downtime - Yawn

2008-09-23T21:03:00.002+08:00

Tuesday has always been the maintenance day for World of Warcraft. Basically, it means that there's no wow-playing on Tuesdays... usually until 2am on Wednesday.

I recently bought Warhammer - Age of Reckoning (WAR), a new MMORPG to try. The stupid thing is.. they have ALSO chosen Tuesdays to do patches/maintain the server. So, instead of being able to use Tuesday to try WAR, I'm stuck with... blogging? lolz.

Anyway, a few new things I tried recently:

1. Warhammer
Many call it a WOW clone. I've played it for a couple of hours and I think that so far, the game is quite similar to WOW. But for some reason, the graphics dun seem to be very nice on my pc. I don't know if it's coz the graphics are like that or my pc is just no good enough. Compared to WOW, I find that WAR's graphics are a little too blocky and not as smooth. It's hard to beat WOW. I will probably give WAR a few more weeks to see if my interest is sustained. If not, then I guess it's WOW, especially with the expansion set coming.

2. Playstation 3 HOME
HOME is the 'second life' equivalent for PS3. Kinda like an online portal where we can create our own house, decorate it with our game trophies, and wander around to interact with people. I find the graphics really good and there are some nice touches. But since I am only trying out the BETA, there aren't many people around. So not so much interaction yet. The other minor irritation is the slow download/installation when I have to go to new zones. Since this is at BETA stage, I hope it gets better when it's launched.

3. Movies that suck 1 : Mamma Mia!
This is one disappointing movie. Two BIG problems: poor translation to movie and poor casting. I heard that the stage musical is really good. But the movie just doesn't seem to live up to the musical. The story is just feels like old people trying hard not to be old. :S And I think the director has tried to faithfully reproduce the musical for the big screen. It just doesn't work. The fantastic movie musicals like Moulin Rouge and Hair Spray all have interesting adaptations that work on the big screen. Mamma Mia doesn't . And the casting... Pierce Brosnan has lost all credibility after this movie. He can't sing and he just feels so out of place. Meryl Streep is a little better but the one who steals the show is her gal-friend, Tanya (played by Christine Baranski). This show only works if you go thinking that it's a comedy. You will be in for some painful laughs.

4. Movies that such 2: Star Wars - The Clone Wars
Watched this a few weeks ago. This movie is really bad. Only thing that is mildly watchable are the few battle scenes. Other than that, the animation is unexciting and the story is stupid (who cares about rescueing Jabba's son... named Stinky...). And I think I have been permanently scarred by Jabba's transvestite uncle with a texan accent. Please dun watch this if you haven't.

OK.. WAR has finished patching... time to see if the server is up!

WOW... again...

2008-09-10T00:37:00.002+08:00

My long silence... is due in no small part.... to... sigh.... World of Warcraft....

Although I don't think I have reached fever pitch levels like when I first started more than 2 years ago, I have been preoccupied with doing some stuff.

Firstly, I spent many days grinding (meaning increasing my level) reputation to get my cool dragon mount. To be more accurate.. it's called a Netherdrake. :P Yes.. I am VERY VERY proud that I finally got my dragon. I think it's very beautiful, yes? Looks cooler than flying around in a half-chicken, half-lion creature.

Second, I decided to try playing some new classes, one of which is a short, female dwarf priest... everything opposite from my main character... which is a tall, male, night elf warrior. For those of you who dun WOW, basically, my main character who is a warrior stands in front of the big monsters and take the punishment by absorbing the hits and pain... My new character is a priest who stands as far away as possible and tries her best to heal the warrior. So pretty much opposite type characters. So far, quite fun actually. And did I mention her name? It's Zekeypoo. Nice rite?

Just Photoshop Your Worries Away

2008-08-12T20:10:00.002+08:00

Recently discovered a link to a blog showing all the photoshop disasters. It's wonderful what Photoshop can do to your years. Just see what a couple of minutes on a pc did for the two stars below! Plenty more funny errors on that blog. Don't forget to check it out for a laugh (especially those with missing belly buttons and other body parts!

Unbelievable

2008-08-10T00:48:00.001+08:00

Can't believe the proper 'authorities' didn't even bother to brief her properly....

So embaressing, some more broadcast all over the world...

Looking forward to this...

2008-08-06T00:17:00.002+08:00

Just saw this trailer for the new Wonder Woman Cartoon Movie. DC Comics have been coming up with some pretty good stuff as far as cartoons are concerned... the entire Justice League series, the Teen Titans series, the Justice League: New Frontier Movie and the Batman: Gotham Knight DVD. I've always enjoyed the mythology of the Wonder Woman comic so I'm really looking forward to it. Here's the new trailer:

Pixeljunk Eden & more.

2008-08-05T20:05:00.004+08:00

I'm enjoying a few games on the PS3 now and the one I'm hooked on right now is Pixeljunk Eden. It's a weird game. I guess it's basically a platform game since the aim is to jump and swing your way from plant to plant in order to destroy pollen and form seeds to grow new plants so that I can reach the spectra. Heh, got it? It's a game you have to see to understand. Here's a video of the gameplay.

PS3 has also started this 'trophy system' where you get to collect little trophies for completing certain tasks in a game. I can't believe how effective it is in getting me to replay levels to get my trophies! lolz..

The other game that has begun eating up my time again is World of Warcraft. After a 5mth or so break, I've decided to return to the game to try some of the new stuff. It was a little hard to start playing again coz I'd forgotten most of the strategies and even techniques. But it's been fun getting back into the game. I'm eagerly waiting for Wrath of the Lich King, the new WoW expansion supposedly to be coming in the last quarter of the year...

Comic Sale at Funan

2008-07-20T00:37:00.004+08:00

For Comic Book Lovers out there, the comic shop at the 5th floor of Funan Centre (Alarics Comics) is having a sale of 35% off all Trade Paperbacks! It's a really good deal. I bought some stuff which I've been thinking of reading but was unwilling to pay full-price. For books which cost USD19.99, I only paid SGD18.00. That's a steal!

They don't have a super large selection, but you should be able to find the usual stuff (unless they are already sold). Don't know how long the sale will last, so if you're interested to get stuff, better go down soon.

Definitely gonna look through my collection and see what else I'm missing!

Wall-E Toy

2008-07-20T00:30:00.003+08:00

I finally saw the new Wall-E toys today at Toys R' Us and I think they are one of the better movie toys in recent times. I think the characters in this movie are well -suited to be toys and Disney has found good partners who are delivering well-designed and well-made toys. After looking at the toys, I couldn't resist buying at least one. I chose the one which could be disassembled (literally pulled apart! lol) into 20 different parts and then put together again. Damn cute rite!? I foresee myself getting more of the toys, especially after the movie. Heh.

Three Good Movies: Red Cliff, Hellboy 2, Dark Knight

2008-07-19T23:58:00.005+08:00

I'm happily satisfied with the three movies that were released these last two weeks. I enjoyed all three movies thoroughly and they were certainly worth every cent spent on the tickets (and drinks and snacks of course).

RED CLIFF (Part 1)
Like I mentioned in an earlier post about Andy Lau's THREE KINGDOMS, it's disappointing to see that no one has done a really good movie based on China's Three Kingdoms era. I'm glad to say that RED CLIFF has finally broken that trend. John Woo has assembled a pretty good cast, with a pretty good script and combined them together to form a darn good movie. lol. There is a nice epic feel to this movie and what I'm particularly impressed with is the way they manage to have so many characters and yet allow the viewer to remember all of them! This was one big failure of the early movie starring Andy Lau. Other than Andy and Sammo Hung, I couldn't really follow who was who and the other characters didn't have much personality at all. Effects were also pretty credible and the fight choreography is top-notch as I would expect from a John Woo movie. My favourite actor Tony Leung, is at his best as usual (I think I only cannot stand him in Wong Kar Wai's 2046) and acts off well against the pretty-boy Takeshi Kanishiro (who for some reason, walks like a kuniang in this movie). The only complain is the female lead. They could have replaced her with a brick and no one would know the difference. Heh.

Red Cliff is a really good movie. Only complain is that I have to wait until 2009 for the ending!

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN MOVIE

HB2 is a fantastic follow-up to the first movie. I liked the first movie and this second movie took everything that was good and made it better. Ron Pearlman is really the only person who can play Hellboy. It's uncanny how he is such a perfect fit for the role. This movie stands out with all the weird incarnations of demons and imaginary folk, right out of the mind of the director Guillermo del Tomo (who channels his best efforts from his eerie movie - The Orphanage and his enchanting movie Pan's Labyrinth). I was blown away by all the weird and wonderful creatures. The story, action and effects were all handled well and the characters really got to show more of their personality as compared to the first movie (especially dear old freaky Abe). I don't have any complains about the movie. Loved it. You should go watch it and then start catching up with Guillermo's other movies.

THE DARK KNIGHT

This is one movie that was so hyped-up that I expected it to fail to deliver. I'm glad to say that for me, it not only delivered, it actually delivered way beyond expectations. Yes, it's been written many times, but I must also say that the Joker is the best character in this movie. He is really creepy and crazy and yet, disturbingly, he was still believable! The other outstanding thing about TDK is the story. I liked that there was a good plot and not the usual Marvel-movie-type stories like Spider Man, Iron Man and Hulk. However, at the same time, be warned that this movie can be a little too dark because the Joker kinda brings out the darkest side of humanity. Thankfully, the writers did include some witty one-liners and jokes in the movie to help lighten the mood. All the other actors are also pretty good. I was only mildly annoyed with two things. (1) I don't think Maggie Gyllenhall suits the role. (2) I don't like Batman's sore-throaty voice. To be frank, I am not sure if this movie is better than Iron Man. I think it is fairer to say that both excel in different ways. Iron Man was a great comic book superhero movie. Dark Knight almost feels non-superhero-like. At times, it feels more like a real life gritty police-and-bad-guy movie. That to me is the charm of DK.

Good News? Or Not..

2008-07-11T09:20:00.002+08:00

Woke up this morning and glanced at the Straits Times. Screaming in bold on the front page was the good news that there will now be 'CHEAPER TRAVEL FOR 4 IN 10 COMMUTERS'. Wow! What great news!! And it was printed on the front page no less! Until it hit me... it meant that MARJORITY of travellers, meaning 6 in 10 or 60% would either be paying MORE or maybe the same amount (I would bet it is the former).

There has always been accusation that our media supports the government. Of course, it simply be one of those favourite past times of conspiracy theorists to propagate such rumours. But, it's distressing to read an article where it was obviously bad news for most people and yet it was spun into great news! That 4 in 10 were going to benefit! Imagine how it would have read if the headline was '6 IN 10 COMMUTERS CAN EXPECT TO PAY MORE OR THE SAME'.

Now that would have been more accurate.

Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War

2008-07-07T23:26:00.002+08:00

One of the recent comics I've really enjoyed is Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War. These two hardcover collections are a great read, especially for Green Lantern fans like me.

I've always enjoyed reading GL. I mean, come on, having a ring which can create anything you want just based on your thoughts? Which kid can resist such a gift! I remember many happy memories reciting the famous rhyme to charge my imaginary ring in my imaginary lantern... :P

Anyway, GL:TSCW is basically about how the Green Lanterns' greatest nemisis, Sinestro, decides to form a yellow lantern corp to strike fear into all the Green Lanterns. This is really a war on the cosmic scale. For a comic, there's a surprising number of gruesome killings shown in the pages. Just take a look at the cover art below, with all the impalings.

I liked the story, but at times, I did get lost among the sub-plots. But the main plot of how The Sinestro Corps drive the Guardians to amend the no-kill law and then to how the different coloured rings are formed kept me going.

The art is pretty good too, with the exception of the odd issue here and there.

Since Hal Jordan returned as the Green Lantern, it's been a great ride. But as with all comic cycles, I guess it's gonna get boring soon as they run ot of original stories to tell.

Until then, 'In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight, let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's Light!'. Heh. Yes, I couldn't resist it.

Hancock & Movie Dryspell

2008-07-07T23:15:00.002+08:00

The summer blockbuster season is winding down and it's down to the weekly releases. The bad news is... no more multiple movies to keep me busy. Good news is... there are some good stuff coming out every week. This week there's Hellboy and the new Chinese movie by Tony Leung. Next week is time for The Dark Knight. For now, we're stuck with Hancock.

HANCOCK is an attempt to make a realistic superhero. Like how superheroes can sometimes do more bad than good when they destroy buildings and bust up the roads, even when they are fighting to save the day. There was some potential in this movie, but I think the director/writers just didn't dare to take it to the next level. So in the end, the movie just ended up feeling a little blah.

They tried to explore a little about how superheroics can hurt more than help, but then they resolve it without much thought. They tried to make Will Smith a hero with a difference. But then they chickened out and show him turning over a new leaf in no time. They tried to build an interesting mythology behind how he belongs to a breed of super-humans. But they never really fleshed out the story.

In the end, Hancock just feels bland. It's not bad. There are some laughs and some nice effects. But in a movie season with great films like Iron Man and good films like Hulk, Hancock just ends up being severely mediocre. :)

1st Singapore Toy & Comic Convention

2008-06-30T20:31:00.005+08:00

Last weekend was a real busy one for me.

It was the first every Singapore Toy & Comic Convention (STCC) and I was quite excited that Singapore was actually going to have one. The other reason why I was busy was coz I was helping a friend to launch his new comic book! More on that later...

Below are some pics from the STCC. Actually, there were quite a few other things to see, but I was kept busy helping my friend so I didn't have much time to go round taking pics. You can catch more pics from some other sites (click here and here for pics from other sites - Warning! Plenty of pics so they might take some time to load).

While I'm really glad that we have our own Toy & Comic Con, I as initially a little disappointed at the whole thing at the beginning. I was there on the set-up day and I felt that the booths and exhibits were a little low-key and boring. Some thots:

- The Star Wars exhibit was quite cool, but the booth was so small and there really wasn't much to see unless you are a super die-hard fan who must scrutinize every single little figurine.

- The Lego booth was a super let-down. THey only showed some entries on some Singapore-themed Lego structures. Come on.. there have been so many other awesome lego structures which I've seen in Singapore, where were they?!! And there wasn't even any lego sales!

- There was a decent representation of Singapore Artists, but I couldn't help but wonder where was the promotion? Much hoopla was made over the foriegn guests, but there didn't seem to be more effort promoting the efforts of local artists, some of whom are really good.

- In my bid to support local artists, I bought this comic novel from kenfoo, who was in the booth just next to mine. To be frank, it was the drawing which first attracted me to the comic. But when I read it... sigh.. it was so depressing!!! Don't let the happy smily drawing below fool you. It's one of those sad stories...

- There was plenty of cosplay/costume competitions going on. Not bad really. Saw this really cool guy in a Cylon costume which actual moving red eye! Sound effects included! Kinda nice to see more Singapore youths picking up on cosplay. I think it helps our youths to be more open in expressing themselves.

I was really surprised with the huge turn-out on the two days open to the public! It seems that there really is a pretty huge fan-base for all things comic and toys. But personally, I hope that the STCC can really look into improving next year. I felt that this year, maybe coz it's the first year, they can't really decide what they want to be. Do they want to be really serious and attract the fans with very niche stuff or do they want to attract the general singaporean with plenty of sales and offers. I felt it was neither. I guess it's unfair coz I'm comparing STCC to other Comic Conventions I've been to in Japan and USA. Those are really awesome. You can spend hours browsing the booths and there are sales, artists, talks, movies, etc, etc, etc going on around the clock! Very exciting! Hopefully we'll see more support next year and we can see more booths and more exciting displays and competition.

On the whole, a good start! Hope to see it continue. Here are some pics I took:

Oh yeah, as I was saying earlier, I was helping a friend who launched his new book (below) at the STCC. We had a good time at the fair and it was really amazing that we were able to sell out all 300 copies which we had brought to the fair! The book should be out in bookstores soon. So do take a look at it if you see it and buy it if you think it's good!

Mega Movie Mini-Reviews

2008-06-30T20:00:00.001+08:00

In case you haven't realized by now.. .tonight (ie. Monday night) is server maintenance night for Age of Conan... so that's partly why there's a huge blog update. Sorry lar, for now, my life does kinda plan itslef around the two server maintenance nights for AoC :P.

The last two weeks have been movie-catch-up weeks for me. Since returning from Japan, I realized there were plenty of June holiday movie releases which I had not seen. So I hit the movies with a venegance and I've kinda realized that in the last two weeks, I've caught at least 8 movies... hehheh.

Well, it's gonna be too long to review each one of them in detail, so here are my mini-reviews for those who are still wondering if you should watch them:

KUNG FU PANDA

- RECOMMENDED! -

Good movie! Plenty of fun. Just wondering how much more interesting it might be if it were dubbed in Chinese!! Heh.

WANTED

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! -

Excellent action sequences! There are a few which litereally blew my mind away! Keep a lookout for the train scene. LOVE ANGELINA JOLIE. Jack Macavoy also played a great loser really well. Must see!

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

- RECOMMENDED (If you like Adam Sandler) -

This is Adam Sandler back to his roots. Hilarious jokes. Adult Jokes. Body Part Jokes. Can be a turn-off if you dun like Adam Sandler. For me... I LOVED IT!

- CAN SEE IF YOU LIKE -

Decent movie about gambling. Kinda predictable but it was a fun movie for me. Nothing spectacular unless you are a true maths geek and enjoy trying to understand the maths behind it.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

- CAN SEE IF YOU LIKE -

Not a fantastic show, but much better than first one. Main characters are just not as interesting as characters in movies like Harry Potter. Shows you how important casting can be. On the whole, not bad lar.

GET SMART

- RECOMMENDED -

If you want to enjoy this show, leave your logic at the door. Don't try to think too hard, just sit back and enjoy Steve Carrel in all his naive stupidity. I find him pretty watchable. He hasn't reached irritation levels yet. Anne Hathaway is a nice icing on the cake. heh.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED -

Though not as entertaining as Iron Man, this second hulk movie is much much better than the first hulk movie. Story moves along faster, effects are kinda fakey but still quite good, Edward Norton is an excellent Bruce Banner.

THE HAPPENING

- BEST MOVIE OF THE SEASON!!! NOT!!! -

This is such a wasted movie. Please avoid it. I only kinda enjoyed it only because it was so bad and I wanted to see how much lousier it could get. Even die-hard Shyamalan fans can't support him after this!

1Q 2005 Get Together

2008-06-30T19:16:00.005+08:00

Sorry... this post is long overdue but I just downloaded the pics from my camera so I'm blogging it now (I know, I know.. it's a lousy excuse. :P).

On 18 June, Zongyi organized a class gathering for former 2005 1Q-ians. It was great to meet all those who turned up and you guys have really really changed so much! When Zongyi took out his laptop and showed me some of the pics when they were in Sec 1 and 2, it was almost hard to believe that you guys are in Sec 4 now!

A big THANK YOU to Zongyi for organizing the gathering. Hope we'll continue to keep in touch!

My new distraction...

2008-06-24T00:33:00.004+08:00

It's been just over a week since I returned from Kyushu and I know my blog has not been getting many updates. Two main reasons really. (1) I'm in the finish-busy-period-so-now-I'm-super-slack mood and (2) I'm getting hooked on AoC (aka Age of Conan).

My days were kinda filled with catching up on all the movies I missed while I was away in Japan as well as catching up with friends. I've really been on a movie-watching and lunching/dinnering craze. My nights have been filled with the new MMORPG, Age Of Conan.

It's been some months since I kinda stopped playing WoW coz I was getting kinda bored of it. Things in my guild had gotten a little messy, so when I left the guild, I lost interest in the game. I still like WoW but I think I'll give it a break until the launch of the new expansion, Wrath of Lich King.

Age of Conan is the new MMORPG which is supposedly for more mature gamers (that's MATURE... not necessarily OLD.... heh...). It's reasonably fun so far. After playing for about 5 days, I'm up to level 16. That's still kinda low coz I think the action really starts after level 20.

The graphics for AoC are quite different from WoW. It's definitely more detailed and the combat is kinda bloody. I don't know if I really like this style of graphics. I'm not so much into realism. I think WoW is fantasy/cartoony enough to hold my attention and interest. And since WoW is not so graphics intensive, my laptop and old PC ran it reasonably well. For AoC, I had to upgrade my PC and even then, I'm only playing the game at a low to medium graphics level. Scary.

I'll give it a month of two to see how AoC shapes up. I think Wrath of Lich King is due for launch later this year. So I have up till then to see if I remain hooked on AoC.

Other than that... it's the off-peak season right now, so I'm thinking of taking a holiday. Can't decide to go to my always-favourite USA or try something new like Taiwan or maybe even Cambodia. Tough choices. :)

JYSS Photos Uploaded!

2008-06-16T15:10:00.001+08:00

Yep! I've uploaded the photos for the JYSS Geog Kyushu Tour.

You can click the album link on the right or here (to access the entire album).

BVSS Photos Uploaded!

2008-06-16T00:58:00.002+08:00

Hi all, it's nice to be back. Have been busy catching up on (1) sleep and (2) food!

I've enjoyed yummy horfun, vietnamese noodles, hainanese pork chop and more since I've come back. Next... laksa and chicken rice!

It was really nice to meet up with some of you from JYSS at the airport. Thanks for coming to receive me... sniff sniff.

I've uploaded the pics for BVSS. You can click the album link on the right or here.

Junyuanians... gimme a day or two more! Will upload the pics as soon as I can!

It's almost over!

2008-06-14T00:21:00.000+08:00

Yes... finally time to go back to Singapore. I love Japan, I really do... but doing three tours in 2.5 weeks is really quite tiring. Cannot wait to sink my teeth into some shiok local singapore food!

Although tiring, I must say that I have been very fortunate to have three pretty fun groups. Each group was fun in their own way and the challenges were also very different.

The last group is from SJIMB. Thanks for the fun memories guys... and stop calling me u-noe-what!!!

Another tour... over

2008-06-10T00:01:00.002+08:00

Blogging from my room in Hakata Fukuoka. Another group departs tomorrow and another group is arriving at the same time. I don't remember ever having such an exciting schedule of tours. Usually there's a day or two of rest before the next group starts. Must admit I'm feeling a little burnt out. Must push on for one more group! Kanpatei!

I'll be saying good bye to JYSS tomorrow. Thanks for a really interesting trip... I don't think I've done so much adventure work in a Japan tour before! I will try to upload the pictures when I get back or maybe I might pass a CD of the pics to your teachers. All the best! And I hope we will bump into each other some time soon. Here's a picture to remind you guys of my 500+steps of suffering. :-)

From Amakusa, Kyushu...

2008-06-08T23:09:00.004+08:00

It's been a really busy two weeks since I last blogged. I'm right now in Amakusa in Kyushu, the first time I've visited this place... and I'm almost finished with the second tour group. One more to go! I'll blog a little more when I return next week.

For now, here's a BIG HI to the students from BVSS who might be dropping by my blog. Hope I didn't make your life too miserable! heh.

I will upload the photos into my Flickr account when I get back to Singapore. Thanks for the memories and I hope to see you all soon!

Silly Notices

2008-05-25T03:29:00.002+08:00

I'm sure many of you who take the NEL have seen this notice at the escalators in the stations. Everytime I see them, I can't help but snigger coz I think the notice does make some silly implications (OK, I know my implications are statistically wrong, but hey... as long as I'm happy...)

Well, if 8 out of 10 injuries are cause by improper use of the escalators... does it mean that 2 out of 10 are caused by PROPER use of the escalators?!! That's not very assurng.

The next one is a bit sillier.

If 5 out of 10 injuries are by passengers not holding on to the handrails... doesn't it mean that 5 out of 10 injuries are also caused by passengers HOLDING on to the handrails?!! Heh. So it doesn't really make a difference whether I hold on to the handrails or not, right?

So, in the end, we are told that in order to help, we should (1) ask the elderly to old the handrails. I wonder why, since statistically, the possibility of injuring yourself is the same whether I hold on to the handrails or not. and (2) we should ask the elderly to use the lifts! lolz. So next time, whenever we see an elderly attempting to use the escalator, we should go up to him/her and tell him/her that he is not allowed to use the escalator. Might as well ban them from the escalators right? lolz.

OKOK, I know I'm just making silly implications. What to do? Nothing else to do when taking the trains mah. So think of stupid things lor. :-)

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-25T03:10:00.003+08:00

I've been itching to catch this show since it opened on Thursday. Yep, I'm not one to wait. So once, my crazy week was over, I couldn't wait to pop into a cinema today to catch IJATKCS. Lolz. That's quite a mouthful. IJATKCS is a sequel 20 years in the making. Has it been worth the wait?

Storywise, I think it's pretty much in the similar vein as the early Indiana Jones movies. Two weeks ago, I made an effort to rewatch the original movies to remind myself of them. As I sat through the movie today, I think Spielberg has remained quite true to the original flavour of the IJ movies. So story-wise, time has been kind to the franchise.

Moving on to the actors.... heh... I must admit that as much as I was impressed with Harrison Ford doing many of the action sequences, I couldn't help thinking...boy, is he old. lolz. It's been 20 years and I think it shows. He's no less entertaining. But at times, I felt it was a bit of a misfit. Shia Labeouf does a pretty decent job as Indiana's son. Yeah, we all know he is probably being groomed to take over the Indiana Jones franchise and although he doesn't really do much in this movie, I think the scenes he were involved in were done pretty well. The other main actor in this movie is Cate Blanchett as the evil russian scientist. I felt she was kinda corny. Her accent really sounded weird but oh well, I didn't go to this movie expecting academy-award winning performances.

I want to say a little about the special effects. I have to say that there were a few scenes which really blew me away. The first one was the atomic bomb mushroom cloud. Phew. It was awesome and scary. The other happens near the end. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil the ending to anyone who is reading this review. But I was really glued to my seat when the final mega-effect scene unfolded.

On the whole, IJATKCS is a fun show. Don't expect deep plots. Just go expecting a roller coaster ride. I still enjoy the clue-solving moments. I like to think of IJATKCS as a big budget version of the National Treasure series. Watch it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

A Crazy Week

2008-05-25T02:53:00.002+08:00

Phew. The last week and a half has been quite a ride. It's two weeks before the school holidays and all the schools going on tour with us have asked for tour briefings during the part one and a half weeks. In the last week alone, I've had to conduct 5 briefings in 5 days. That has been quite a challenge. Briefings entail preparing briefing notes, briefing kits, and also the powerpoint for the actual presentation. Being the perfectionist that I am, this has meant working right up to the last minute, trying to perfect the presentation. It has been very very challenging and given that I am quite a slacker... heh.. (especially since I stopped working full-time), it has required tremendous willpower to temporarily restrain myself from my usual worldly pursuits! Yep.. NO MOVIES in the last 10 days! Yep... that's TEN days without visiting the celluloid chambers! Believe me, that took alot of effort on my part. heh.

Anyway, I've been really lucky to have some part-time help in office to prepare the stuff for my briefings. Having gone through the past 7 briefings (it was 5 in 5 days and 7 in 10 days), I am quite proud to say that I think I've done reasonably well. I wanted to do more than the usual boring tour briefing and I think I've improved on my presentation through the last 7 briefings. It's quite satisfying to know that I have managed to do some different things and that I have received pretty good feedback from the teachers. The other thing that has been exciting for me is the opportunity to address students during the briefings. It's been almost 20 months since I left teaching and I really do miss interacting with students in a classroom-like environment. I think conducting briefings has been as close as I could get for now to a classroom environment. Yeah, I do wonder if I should return to teaching again. Perhaps if the time and opportunity is right...

Well, one more week and I'll be off to Fukuoka for almost 2 weeks. The week ahead is gonna be real busy as I finalize the details of the tours I have been organizing for some schools. Then it's off to Kyushu with my first of three tour groups. I'm trying to think how to make my tours different from the normal tours. Gonna definitely try to think out of the box as I plan to lead the three tours.

The next three weeks should be challenging... and very tiring! Sigh, less slacking for me...

A Nostalgic Ride

2008-05-14T21:40:00.001+08:00

Wow... Boarded bus 93 outside Queensway Shopping Centre and realised it was a NON-Aircon bus! Haven't taken one in a long time.

A great start to Summer Blockbuster season!

2008-05-06T21:43:00.003+08:00

Last Friday was a very satisfying day. Watched two movies and ended up being thoroughly satisfied with BOTH movies. It seems that the Summer Blockbuster season has officially started!

IRON MAN

IRON MAN is an excellent movie. The trailers were pretty interesting and I was a little afraid that expectations would be too high and the movie would be a disappointment. I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.

Robert Downey Junior totally fits the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. He not only seems to look the part, he also plays the role convincingly well. There is a certain playfulness and innocence with the way he explores his new found armour and it's a joy to see him flying through the air. The other roles are played quite well too. Gwyneth Paltrow is also a pretty fun Pepper Potts. She doesn't try to overact and plays her role in an understated yet convincing manner.

The story is fairly straightforward. There weren't many surprises but the story did move along briskly and at least there weren't too many silly plotholes or ridiculous storylines.

But who am I kidding. The real star of the show is the armour and special effects. This is a techie's dream-come-true. From the cool 3D computer interface effects to all the little hydraulic/mechanical parts of the armour, every moment was a moment in techie heaven.

Iron Man was a throughly enjoyable show. In the list of superhero movies, I would say it would be second to Spiderman 2, but definitely beats Spider 1, Spidey 3, Hulk, Superman and the newer, darker Batman. It was a fun ride. Don't hesitate. Watch it now.

HAROLD & KUMAR: ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY

I wasn't expecting anything much from this movie. I didn't watch the first one so I didn't know what the story was about. But since I was in the mood for something stupid, I decided to go for it. I know it's M18, so my apologies to the under-18s, but if you are of the required age... this show is hilarious and certainly worth watching.

This show is pretty no-holds barred. H&K really does make fun or anything and everything. But I think the one thing that raises it above crass humour is that it makes fun of all things American. Hollywood usually makes fun of many racial stereotypes, but in this movie, the minorities (ie. Korean and Indian) make fun of American stereotypes. It's kinda refreshing.

Harold & Kumar is good fun. But it might not be everyone's cup of tea coz there is lots of talk of weed and sexual humour.

Review, Review, Review, Review (That's 4 Reviews)

2008-04-29T23:28:00.003+08:00

OK, have watched plenty of movie so here are some quick reviews of the last few. Actually, not sure if I should continue with these reviews coz I dunno if anyone reads them even. So, maybe if you do read them, how about saying something in my cbox so I can decide if I should continue doing them or not.

NIM'S ISLAND - I didn't really go to this movie with much expectation. I caught it simply coz there was nothing else to watch that day. I have to say I liked the movie in a weird kinda way. It was certainly quite childish, but I knew it was supposed to be, so that helped. I didn't take it too seriously so I didn't have an issue with Nim (the girl star) talking to the animals. I also liked how Jodie Foster didn't take herself very seriously and played a very funny author suffering from agoraphobia. Movie can be a little slow at times, but on the whole, an enjoyable, childish movie.

FORBIDDEN KINGDOM - Oh my goodness, how wrong can a movie get. Not much more wrong than this, I can tell you. This was supposed to be the ultimate showdown - Jet Li vs Jackie Chan, but it was just a big comedic attempt. What did they do wrong? (1) Do literal translations from Mandarin to English. Since when do we enter the Gate of No Gate to return to the Land of No Land where you Love of no Love exists? (2) Make the ancient chinese act like they had bilingual lessons in school! Since when did the chinese people of olden times speak english? American english no less! Come on, this was an obvious attempt to pander to the americans. When will Jackie take more pride in his own race. (3) An american kid as a hero in a chinese movie? OMG. To be fair, he did a decent job, but the whole idea is plain stupid. (4) Bad & sad Chinese stereotypes. The Jade Warlord and all his minions had a heavy does of eyeshadow. Don't ask me why. And the Jade Warlord spoke like some kuniang! And I loved it when the Jade Emperor (supposedly the king of the chinese gods) asks the ang mo kid "What is your request? Please?" SO POLITE!!! Like the Jade Emperor was some servant. This movie failed miserably as an action/kungfu film. If you are looking for a comedy, this is it.

THREE KINGDOMS - This is one complicated movie. They did try to give it a sense of scale and some of the battle scenes were not bad. But a poor script with a poor handling of the main characters left you wondering who was who and who did what. Kinda sad coz I know this is supposed to be an epic. It wasn't lousy. Just didn't live up to what it could have been.

STREET KINGS - This movie was kinda watchable. Nothing fantastic, which is a slight disappointment considering that Forest Whitaker is in it. Sadly, Whitaker overacts in this film and channels his 'Last King of Scotland' role too much. On the whole, this wasn't a bad movie, just a forgettable one. Felt just like a longer TV episode of the typical cops & villains show.

Buzzing Cashier

2008-04-29T23:11:00.003+08:00

I never caught a proper episode of this show. Most of the time, I'm catching up on Last Comic Standing or something else. I finally remembered to set my Hubstation to record it tonite and for the first time, I watched a full episode and I must say I really enjoyed it very much!

First off, Kym Ng and Quan Yifeng are unbeatable as comperes. I've seen some of the other shows with the other mediacorp comperes and no one, not a single one, can compare to the chemistry of these two clowns. They are so witty and they can really play off each other. I don't think I've laughed so much at a mediacorp show in a long time.

Secondly, the concept of the show is really good. I heard it's loosely based on some english programme which I've never seen, so I don't really care. The basic idea is to go to a hawker/food court stall which is not doing well, offer to let the chefs undergo expert mentoring by some pro-chef and then see if they improve. This week's episode was so heartwarming I almost wanted to rush out to the food court stall to buy something from them to support the owner! The owner is this quiet, unassuming, humble man who was basically selling some mass produced char siew, roast pork, etc. So, he basically started learning from scratch how to make char siew and roast pork! He was so earnest and willing to learn and accept criticism. My heart really felt for him and his wife. I am so going to drop by cineleisure to try their char siew! In contrast, I think 2 or 3 weeks ago, I caught a bit of this hawker centre couple who were literally arguing and accusing the producers of the show when things didn't go too well.

It seems next week is already the last episode and I've missed the last 10 episodes. This might actually push me to try out mobtv so that I can catch those 10 episodes!

Great show!

My Toenailsectomy

2008-04-25T23:01:00.002+08:00

I finally decided to go see my GP and get my toe nail sliced. I can't believe it, but it's been almost 2yrs since I first started having problems with an ingrown toenail on my left foot's big toe. 2 long yrs.

I've had countless visits to the podiatrist. Endured countless excruciating nail snips. Grinned through the toe infections.

I couldn't bring myself to go get it done coz I had heard that it was really painful. Well, I'm glad to say it wasn't painful at all. heh.

My GP first spent about 15mins injecting my toe at various points with a local anesthetic. When my toe finally lost it's feeling, he started working on slicing about a quarter of my nail off all the way to the roots of the nail. Basically, the idea is to stop that part of my nail from growing back every again. After about 10mins, it was done. He showed me the part he sliced off. I was quite tempted to take a pic for this blog, but kinda decided it might not be in very good taste to show a bloody nail. heh. Would have been cool though.

Anyway, he wrapped it up tight and good and now I look like those cartoon shows where they wrap a toe/finger until it looks a huge lightbulb. The local anesthetic started wearing off about 2 hours after the cut (which is about 1.5hrs ago) and it's starting to throb.... it's obvious that the pain is finally going to show it's true face.

Been warned about possible excessive bleeding. Doctor says it might even drip through the dressing.... (still can't decide if he was scaring me for fun or if it's true...) Thankfully, dun see any blood for now.

Glad I got it done. Hope I don't have this stupid ingrown toe nail problem again.

RIP Dear Friend

2008-04-24T19:54:00.002+08:00

Today is a sad day.

After many many many years of good service, I have decided to let my favourite sleep-time-t-shirt go to the great clothes drawer up above. After many attempts at mending and patching (as you can see below), I think it's time to just let go. *sniff*

If I patched it anymore, it would probably be made of an entirely new T-shirt anyway. *sob*

It was one of my earliest BIG DOG shirts. It was one of my favouritest BIG DOG shirt.

Good bye. I will miss sleeping in you.

True or False?

2008-04-24T19:52:00.002+08:00

There Brand's Essence posters have been posted up everywhere. The implications are obvious. But i wonder how true they are. If it's true that the two kids drank that chicken essence, at least it wouldn't be too bad. But if they didn't, then it's such a sad reflection of the unethicality (heh. my word) of the marketing industry. And what are we teaching these two 'top PSLE students'? The reality of false marketing and whoring themselves out to any company who is willing to pay?

Kinda sad, isn't it?