Plain Words

My new smile at last!

2011-10-13T00:31:00.003+08:00

I just wanted to practice my new smile, and it didn’t take any effort to make that pleasant upward curve. No more rough, tough and edgy braces in the way. It was an effortless glide of the lips over smooth teeth into a smile.

Smiling never felt this good. And I just can’t stop smiling.

I felt the yank of brackets and rings out of my mouth, followed by a gentle warning not to swallow any small debris . Then, I caught a small reflection of pearlie white (fine, slightly yellow) teeth in the shiny surface above. Are those mine?

When the orthodontist first asked if I was alright, I fumbled to re-shape my lips and orientate to my new mouth. Then I muttered, “I don’t think I know how to speak properly anymore”. Closing my mouth over bracket-less teeth felt different. It was a good kind of different. My lips approved of the smooth surface on my teeth.

It no longer mattered that I had skipped dinner, was the last patient and it took a while to get my braces done. I was happy. No. That’s an understatement. I was over-brimming with joy!

I thought I had a few months to go, so did Mr Orthodontist. “I never expected adult teeth to move this fast, but yours did,” he said.

Hainanese beef kway teow at Toa Payoh Lorong 7 marked my last meal with braces on.
Mr Bean warm soya bean milk was the first thing I had after my braces went off.

And 12 Oct 2011 marks the unexpected birth of my new smile! :D

Thank you Dr Phan, Thank you dear dental nurses, Thank you Dr Oh, Thank you Smile Avenue, Thank you AllSmiles Dental Care, and Thank God!

My Portuguese Holiday

2011-09-14T17:20:00.002+08:00

Slept like a baby.
Woke up to a Madeiran sunrise by the Atlantic Ocean.
Had international breakfast like a king. (Of course I had the portugese egg tart too)Dived with rainbow-coloured fish, sea urchins and sea snakes.
Lunched like a pauper (Breakfast was just too good.)
Watched the sun set behind mountains of deep green and gold.
Scanned the horizons and the limitless span of sky, sea and ever-changing clouds.
I am happy.

Yeah, I was a teeny bit enslaved to work on Monday, and some of Tuesday. I must say I have underestimated how potent the work poison is. One drop of work is capable of dissolving the most delightful holiday mood. That single drop of work was capable of conjuring up thoughts of removing myself from my profession altogether. I finally understood why a person who works has an occupation. If you allow it, your work will just occupy you.

Now that I’ve gotten the last ounce of work off my chest, I’M FREE!!! Free to sit out in the open like now, free to watch the blue skies and clouds reflected off the glass on my table, and free to watch seagulls soar above the sapphire ocean.

To my right lies an endless stretch of shimmering blue and green that blend straight into the sky. Above this undefined line of water and sky lies puffy clouds dyed pink and orange by the morning sun. I enjoyed my lovely breakfast to this every single morning. And as I look at the calm infinity pool, I see the pink, orange and blue sky all mirrored on it. A perfect reflection like no other.

To my left lie the hills and valleys of Madeira. I have never seen hills and mountains that extend up thousands of feet up into the clouds! You cannot even see the sky, just green, brown, yellow and gold shrouded in mist.

I was buzzing around like an excited kid on my mini tour up the mountains. It just felt surreal to be in the clouds and to look at postcards in live size. I couldn’t even believe that they weren’t postcards. (My friend had to put up with me and remind me to calm down.) Dotted all over the hills are houses, white with orang-tiled roofs. There’s the occasional bright pink house too. If kids ever colour their drawings of houses, fish and hills in rainbow colour, they’re not wrong. These exist!

On top of these hills, I enjoyed Strawberry Cheesecake B&J ice-cream. Yes, B&J ice-cream business has soared to certain heights eh? I also had to take away with me Madeiran chestnut liquer as souvenir. I do not take much alcohol, as some already know. But, I’m a tourist right? Of course I have to bring something back with me that is unique and only available from here.

I am a happy tourist. Happy enough, and inspired enough to blog again. :)

Wishlist updated

2011-07-02T21:51:00.003+08:00

Wishlist
~~1) Shoes. Seriously comfy and lasting flats.~~
(I bought plenty of these! Once I favoured Summer Story, then it was Noda, then it was Pazzion, now it is Gripz!)

~~2) Bags. Waterproof, rugged and classy bag that I can fling around and still have it in one perfect piece.~~
(I love my black Harvey's Lola Ruffles! And I'd tell you it's made of seat belt)

3) Clothes. Shirts that are either so long that they can be easily tucked in, or classic enough to betucked out and still go with a blazer.
(I'm still looking for this one.)

~~3) I want to watch Rapunzel!~~
Watched it and loved it!

~~4) Go on leave after Christmas!~~
Yes I had a good Christmas last year!

~~5) A new phone. A smart one. I need to FB and google map around. Okie, maybe blog and tweet.~~
I love my Samsung Ace too. Yes, I FB, googlemap and tweet!

~~6) Ipod nano. I need to expand the KTV song list. haha.~~
Better than that, I got an iPod touch for my birthday last year!

What can I say, I'm a very happy kid.

My new wishlist
1) To visit the Hort park and Henderson wave.
2) To eat plenty of local food like Bak Kut Teh and Rojak at the Food Trail@ Singapore Flyer.
3) To check out the new Marina Bay Sands area
4) To go to Universal studios!
5) To climb Bukit Timah Hill.
6) To go to Mount Faber.

Once the list was filled with items. Now, there are places at home I wanna go.

Weekends

2011-07-02T21:08:00.003+08:00

It feels like a long time since I last enjoyed a work-free weekend.
I cannot begin to describe how light-hearted, how enjoyable, how delectable and how delicious the sweet weekend is when there's no burden and no shadow of work lurking around any corner.

The weekend is mine!

Time always seem to be be running short, running out and running out of hand. And the mind tries to work ahead of time, to beat it, but the body hasn't followed.

Then, this sweet weekend came. I can't believe how time slows, and how every minute is so pleasurable.

I read the book I've displayed on my shelf for 6 months.

I attended a talk and met my old old friends there.

I had a leisurely Starbucks with my good old friend as time, surprisingly, crawled by. I thought time usually flies when you are enjoying yourself.

I bought the white skirt I was looking for.

I had dinner at my old primary school, which is now a youth hostel.

I reminisced. And many many thoughts, reflective ones, that never had time to surface ahead of work, all came to me one after another.

If I tweeted, I would have at least 20 tweets per hour.

I thought, "I miss my ex-colleagues. My old workplace, it feels the same, yet different. Yes, same same, but different."

I looked at my old primary school and thought, "The first time I was here, it was TWENTY years ago!!!"

I looked at the kids learning Wushu at the new Wushu school in my ex-primary school (which is now a youth hostel) and I thought, "That is so cool! I want to go back for classes! Baking class, kickboxing class, language class.... and I want to do that before I age anymore and I become slow to learn!"

I looked at my school canteen and thought, "The canteen looks so small now! Have I grown that big? Or was I that tiny?"

I looked at where the old eco-garden was and thought, "I used to catch tadpoles in that pond. And one day, during science outdoor class, spiders fell from the trees and brought about a spate of screaming."

I thought about the then and now.

I never really dreamd that I would be where I am today. Tomorrow is always a surprise.

The world tells me to worry.

Worry about cash and retirement. Worry about being alone for the rest of my life. If I'm not planning, striving and acting on fixing that, I haven't grown up.

Really? Is that why grown-ups wear an aged, weathered expression, with much weight on their shoulders?

Maybe, I'll look just like that very soon. Maybe, that's why we all look back so fondly at the carefree past.

So then, I am actually younger and more carefree today than tomorrow.

So, why worry about tomorrow? Tomorrow will worry for itself.

Look yourself in the mirror and smile, because today, you look good! No lines, no wrinkles... you look better than you will be 20 years later.

Cheers, wonderful weekend!

Home

2011-01-24T20:54:00.002+08:00

11 days away from home. I lost my routine. I lost my sense of belonging. I didn't feel I was home. I felt like a tourist. I looked at my home with new eyes, as if it was all new and unfamiliar. It took me a day to recover, to remember what I've anchored myself to, to what I call home.

Then again, maybe I've attached myself too much to the routines of this earth. This temporary sense of detachment reminded me that home is not really the here and now. I'm a tourist, a traveller, a passerby. I'm on a long journey home, heavenwards.

Parting.

2011-01-24T20:23:00.003+08:00

天无不散之宴席。
夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。

I remembered how it was when my my senior resigned. My tear ducts would be activated whenever she put her arms around me. And on my last day at my previous , I cried buckets, and missed my dear kakis to bits.

People do come and go. It's an event, and the aftermath of such events fade with time. Somehow, just somehow, I don't think I can get used to such bittersweet partings.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

9th day away from home, and my first snow

2011-01-24T20:10:00.001+08:00

The 9th day away from home. My last bit of sunshine is neither withstanding the cold, nor the dreariness of it. And “It” refers to the humdrum of work.

7 days into the trip, I was over the moon. I saw my first snowfall, and scrutinized the first snowflake that stuck to the airplane window. I was overjoyed when I saw the fluffy bits float down and disappear into shiny puddles that turned the ground into a colourful reflection of lights from nearby planes and the airport terminal. I even exclaimed aloud that it’s snowing, and refused to believe myself till I heard the passenger in front of me exclaim that too. It rarely snowed in Shanghai, and yet, there I experienced my very first snowfall on 18 Jan 2011.

Needless to say, I took plenty of photos of the snowscape and the bare, leafless trees that lined the roads. Like an overgrown and extremely excited kid, I openly stretched out my hands to catch snowflakes. I opened my mouth to attempt to eat a snowflake, and I was happy to walk out in the cold, day or night. I discovered a new use for the umbrella. It’s good against the snow too, next to rain and shine. I realized the importance of ear muffs and gloves. I felt what it was like to live in a fridge, and to no longer feel your ears, nose and face. I was delighted to be in the cold!

It always took me 10 minutes longer to get dressed with all the clothes. And it always takes forever for me to take my eyes off the snowscape outside my window.

And then, day 9 came. Day 9 just splashed me with cold icy water somehow. Every morsel of novel enthusiasm was frozen. I’m bound to go home on Day 11, back to sunny island, back to a normal life. No more taxi-taking from place to place. No more sumptuous international breakfast waiting for me. No more gatherings with friendly colleagues across the globe. I’m going home to the mundane and usual. 1.5 hours MRT ride to work, emails to read, and problems to solve. Not that I’m not doing that now, but from day 11 onwards, it’s all without all the novelty of being in a new place.

Work and travel, travel and work. I enjoy it no doubt. But alas, this is an intense lifestyle.

As with my only new year resolution, I need to pull the brakes, pause, think, and see. Humdrum is never humdrum, and a piece of an amazing, grand and perfect plan. Oh how great, how great my Creator God is!

New year resolutions

2010-12-31T00:39:00.003+08:00

I only have one for this year.
To wake early, to work hard. So that finally when the weekend comes, I rest, and see that the world revolves around so much besides work.

Happy new year!

On the road

2010-12-18T14:34:00.002+08:00

For the lack of battery in my camera.

Honking non stop during peak hour.
Boy walking calf on leash.
Man riding horse on the road alongside heavy vehicles, Japanese cars, Korean cars, local Tata cars, single-seater electric cars.
Boy holding garden hoe along the roadside.
Clothes left to dry on rusty fence by the main road.
Three-wheeler rickshaws jamming up the traffic in all directions.
Gasoline tank delievery on bicyles.
Lady dressed in bright orange sari, sweeping the road bare-footed.
Advertisment for Chronicles of Narnia, The Dawn Treader.
Advertisement for Pond’s gold radiance.
Houses built of canvas, bricks and wooden planks.
Undressed little boy squatting by the roadside.
Three wheelers plastered with sign that says “Stop TB, do not spit.”
In contradiction, the driver of the three-wheel spits nonchalantly on the road.
Kingfisher academy.
Vroom vroom of the three wheelers.
Roads with undefined lanes. No, not undefined. Just faded, forgotten and disregarded with time.
Honking war ensues.
Sparse traffic lights.
Hawkers peddling good, and whole bunches of cauliflowers by the road.
Man walking with a basket of bananas comfortably balanced on his head.
Red buses plastered with adverts and crammed full of people.
Sign that says, “Every vice has its excuse ready.”
Sign that says, “Married by day, single by night. Whatever it is, be pure.”
Bulky luggage bags balanced atop the small moving car.
KFC.
MacDonalds.
May big fat crows and eagles.
The Holy Family Church, with aged walls and a statue of Jesus on the cross.
INRI was written on the cross.
More posters of glamourous woman and spa advertisements.
Vodaphone.
Limping dog crossing the road.
Kids peeping out of narrow lanes.
Adverts for the Gold flake snack.
Poster saying, "Son of shiva. God is great."

An uncomprehendable homogenous co-existenence of the ostenstatious elite and the unhidden marginalized.

The Traveller pens.

2010-11-28T20:11:00.002+08:00

So, I’ve been warned that I should brush my teeth with mineral water and stay away from anything that’s not steaming hot enough to disintegrate micro-organisms. Nevertheless, convenience got the better of me. The people here use this tap water every single day right? And that yoghurt looks too good to be left out of the chicken biryani set. Therefore, I ate.

I’m still alive. Alive enough to be sitting in the club lounge, typing this while looking out at the lounge balcony filled with pigeons twice the size of those I see at home. I thought they’d be scrawny, but no, they are absolutely not.

I caught the sunrise too, much to my pleasant surprise. An orange-red disc that rose slowly from the old building across, and slipped behind clouds dyed a sea of orange and vermillion.

I like the sun. But sunrise and sunsets always evade me. I had to do a 300m-dash to catch the sunrise at Surfer’s Paradise at 4am in the morning. I was rushing on a cab to Dan Shui, Fisherman’s wharf, Taipei, only to catch a glimpse of the orange egg-yoke of a sun disappear behind the shadows of traffic and buildings. The storm at Bondi beach totally rained disappointment on my dreams of having a sunshine beach day. Perhaps, my middle name is Rainie. Make that Rainy.

The sunrise from my room pretty much made up for the plane ride at unearthly hours, and fellow passengers who hog the plane toilet for an average of 20minutes each. Contrary to popular belief, smells seemed only to be a myth. Nevertheless, I think we do have differing concepts of personal space. Too close. Much too close.

I started queuing at the immigration at 5.16am. I collected my luggage at 6.40am. I impatiently placed my hands on my hips three times, and quickly caught myself when I remembered that was supposed to be a rude gesture here. Otherwise, I made it to the hotel pretty smoothly.

All is well. All is well.

And I remember, once upon a time, I wanted to travel, and write. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Suddenly, going on trips alone doesn’t feel so bad. I feel alive, because I'm writing!

Dream again.

2010-11-27T22:56:00.003+08:00

My bags are packed, but I'm not so ready to go.

I once wrote that I wanted to travel. Yes, I so do want to travel, but I guess the innocence, and ignorance, of my daydreaming youth failed to include the hard work behind a jet-setting career.

That's why it's a dream. Reality smacks you in the face, and the dead weight pulls at your feet to bring you back to earth.

Once upon a time, when I was fourteen or fifteen, I once idealisitically and unrealistically said, "If my first job doesn't pay me at least 2.5 to 3K, I will never take that job." Ya right. The number that glared off my very first payslip was less than 2K.

I started that job without intending to stay, but I did. Why?

Three reasons:
1) I wanted to work with people.
2) I wanted to keep learning.
3) I wanted to do something still related to what I studied. (And once upon a time, when I was fifteen, I had wanted to do medicine.)

There's a 4th reason perhaps. I'm not ambitious, and just happy to do what I do.

Hang on, let me rephrase that. I'm not ambitious with titles and job progression, but I have to keep learning.

Maybe that is why I unintentionally repeated my quotable quote in mandarin, "这份工作不适合我." (This job is not suitable for me). And on some days when I'm down, I'd think, "I'm not suitable for this job."

(Side-note: I wanted very much to teach, but apparently that was not my calling. haha! If that was not the intended plan for you, you get a very firm NO.)

And so, I stuck to the same job for years. And my dear colleagues all thought that I would root there and become part of the furniture.

Don't get me wrong. I love my colleagues, and I like my job.

Then one day, a miracle happened. I was offered something else. I still get to work with people. I will definitely learn much more, and re-learn what I've lost. It's true that we lose what we don't use. I had missed being creative. I had missed writing. And I had dreamt about travelling.

Here I am. My bags are packed. Am I ready to go?

I miss my ex-colleagues, the teamwork, the camaraderie. Perhaps this is part of "the-grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side" syndrome. I'm sometimes bogged down by the harsh reality of work. No one would disagree that work can be a chore, and that's the nature of work ever since it has been cursed in the time of Adam and Eve.

But we were meant to work, and enjoy working! So, let me work, and dream again!

Wishlist

2010-11-27T18:24:00.003+08:00

Wishlist
1) Shoes. Seriously comfy and lasting flats.
2) Bags. Waterproof, rugged and classy bag that I can fling around and still have it in one perfect
piece.
3) Clothes. Shirts that are either so long that they can be easily tucked in, or classic enough to be
tucked out and still go with a blazer.
3) I want to watch Rapunzel!
4) Go on leave after Christmas!
5) A new phone. A smart one. I need to FB and google map around. Okie, maybe blog and tweet.
6) Ipod nano. I need to expand the KTV song list. haha.

(Apparently, wishlist items become more ostentatious with age.)

Imagined Expectations

2010-11-24T00:36:00.002+08:00

5 months.

I can't believe I'm doing what I'm doing. Is this me? I thought I knew me? And I never imagined that Me can do this at all. So, if Me is not up to me expectations, it's exactly as I imagined.

Maybe I expect too much, and imagine too little.

Resilience

2010-11-17T18:57:00.002+08:00

I need a good dose of resilience. The worst battles are never really physical.

Age is catching up with me. I never thought I would be worried about blood pressure and hot flashes.

In moments like this, the little crack in whatever resilience I have will let happy memories of simple days past slip in. The fading echoes of good old days with kakis, silly jokes and common battles that were won hand-in-hand and side-by-side, sound far, yet not too far. The choice of going back there beckons.

I play with the idea.

But that, is probably just the escapist in me trying to back away from the here and now.

Like I said, I need some resilience.

Starting again.

2010-11-16T15:03:00.003+08:00

2 years, 1 month and 2 weeks.

That's how long I've stopped writing. I've stopped snapping pictures, stopped reflecting and stopped appreciating.

I've let the world swish me around and flush my creativity down the toilet bowl.

Then again, whatever goes down the toilet bowl will ultimately make its way through the sewage, back into the all-welcoming open sea. And there, once again, the world is before your eyes, and you feel alive again.

I'm back!

Im the Idealist

2008-10-02T23:44:00.001+08:00

Plenty of people just want to pop my bubble which they call the idealistic world. They just find it ridiculous to think that I can't accept the standards of this world. The boot-licking, the power struggle, the materialism that's eating everyone up, the vanity, the selfishness, the lies and the pretense. It's not supposed to be like that, and we can choose to not be like that! But if you ever hint that the world is not supposed to be that way, people will just laugh at you, call you a simple-minded, immature and ignorant kid. If you choose to not follow the ways of this world, you'd be riduculed for blindly taking the losing end.

Is this it? Values are nothing compared to success, which by the way is highly equated to wealth and power? Is that how simple-minded and blinded the world can get while pretending to be extremely sophisticated?

It's perverse.

The world is moving forward with all its might into the regression of humanity.

I can hiatus everything.

2008-08-11T23:01:00.002+08:00

I think hiatus is not the right word to use.
Hiatus is a period of interruption in the continuity of a work or action.
The emphasis is continuity. The hiatus doesn't change the fact the work is continuous, and will carry on after the hiatus.

The right word is P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-E.
To procrastinate is to put off until another time. And that's so tentative. So undefined. So uncertain. So unsecured.

Procrastination dulls me. Like a dull and blunt blade that cannot cut, even in the hands of a good chef.

Stamp out procrastination pleeeassseeeee!

Dreaming

2008-06-28T23:00:00.002+08:00

My suspect friend kicked me off to a dreamy weekend. I've forgetten how to dream. Singapore's pragmatism and kiasu-ism have gounded my feet so firmly to practicality and down-to-earth security that I stopped dreaming.

But now I'm coming back. Yes, I so love food. I'm always snapping photos of food. It doesn't matter if it's your typical hokkien mee or the atas lobster on the big platter. I'm still gonna take the pic and post it up and share the joy. (okie... my old lappy's gone & the pics are not up & I aint doing much blogging ever since who knows when.)

And yes, I so love artsy fartsy stuff. I think I wanted to open a paper shop like Prints.

Yes I write. I wanna do food writing.

I think Martin Yan is cool. He has a masters in food science! (And I have an A levels chapter in Food chemistry...)

And moving on... I'd want to study mass communications. And write. And travel. And eat. And write. And cook too. And that's life!!!

Hiatus does brain cells no good.

2008-06-24T22:35:00.003+08:00

I'm back from outter space. And the blogging hiatus certainly does my brain no good. Especially my spelling. And grammar. And vocabulary... and whatever makes up the english language.

My ex-lappy's spoilt keyboard and the humdrum of work dulled my brain plenty. It's not that my work isn't exciting, it's just not creative.

If there's one point which one of my suspect buddies hammered home today, it's that you may not be good at what you like, but you can get better at it. That beats doing what you are okie with (or don't really like for that matter) and get better at it.

I'm mildly claustrophic when it comes to jobs that gives no room for creativity. Yea, you get comfortable in that small space because you're gonna acquaint yourself with every mundane inch well enough. But you don't expand. And your brains conform to that little space. And it gets packed and shaped and confined into a hard mould. All that moulding is going to make you think you can't expand anymore, and that you fit perfectly fine into that small space. That marks the death of creativity.

I need some room to get my brains working. And I'll be happy when the creative juices start flowing again.

2008-02-08T23:02:00.000+08:00

The struggle

A hole filled with
A mass of experiences,
a mass of emotions,
a mess of reasoning,
and a mess of not knowing.

Then it came.
Abandonment:
Personified thrice.
Followed by what comes after a loss:
Three times.
Denial.
Anger.
Disappointment.
Depression.
Acceptance has not arrived.

Just Had a Bad Day

2008-02-04T21:24:00.000+08:00

Not exactly a bad day. But it's one of the days. Those low, low, low, depressing days. Maybe these kinda of days jab too hard at my perception of my self-worth and my purpose. It's one of those low, low, low, days when I believe the world wouldn't be different without me. If I were to melt away the next instant, I'd be no more than a lost memory. Or, if I hadn't even appeared, the world would have been a better place. It's one of those days when I think I'm not good at what I'm currently doing, and probably won't be much better anywhere else.

And maybe, I'm stuck in my own vicious cycle of belittling my existence, shrinking away from the real world and the people in it, thereby fulfilling my self-fulfilling prophecies of how this world isn't affected by my presence.

So dreary. so Meaningless. And so half-hearted.

Sheesh. If I continue like this, I might turn into one of those old folks living in those retirement studio apartments... and die there without being found out till decomposition spews forth the smelly news.

Wah biang ah. So morbid. Eeeewwww. I shall stop here.

Tell me that tomorrow is always a better day.

Bugger. Teethhhh...

2008-01-21T22:48:00.000+08:00

4 months outta blogosphere.

Tons happen in 4 months.

"If you were my daughter, I'd like to have the most predictable outcome for you."

A predictable outcome costs $25,000. That's for braces and 5 teeth implants to fix my falling baby teeth issue.

And $25,000 is... astronomical! I'm a poor kid. A $25,000 smile. Is it worth it? At first I thought, "NO!" I can live without that. That amount of money can easily get me an eye job plus a nose job. Or whatever other job. I can even get a 2nd degree, or a masters, or a phD. Or, I can feed the multitudes starving in poverty in 3rd world countries.

And even if I had that money, wouldn't feeding the multitudes somewhere be more meaningful than spending it on my smile?

I can still eat. Yeah, it feels different. But I still masticate my food sufficiently. Yeah, I can still enunciate my consonants relatively distinctly. It's just... having missing teeth isn't the most attractive thing you know. To begin with, my original set of dentition isn't already the most dazzling one.

So, here comes the offer. For $25,000, the dentist would fix my missing teeth, and would be missing ones... and correct the un-pretty ones. And fix my bite problem and what have you.

That, he plans for his daughter. But I'm not a dentist's daughter.

Perhaps, I'd reconsider his offer when the rest of my baby teeth drops and threatens the way I masticate or communicate.

Eh dentist friends, what's your take?

Wish list continued...

2007-09-30T17:09:00.000+08:00

Cute add on to Wishlist...

This yellow tofu is so kawaii! But there're some stuff that I hesitate buying. It's not a need, it's a want and a spur-of-the-moment. But... I won't mind getting it ;)

Keep the Food Coming II

2007-09-30T16:14:00.001+08:00

Desserts! I like Azabu Sabo!!! Food's great! Ambience is great... and ice-cream is absolutely lovely. Feast on the pics! I like the ice-cream coz it's not too sweet... and they're so pretty to look at! :)

Strawberry ice-cream; green-tea ice-cream; black sesame ice-cream (the best! Rich and fragrant!) and mango ice-cream.

Vanilla ice-cream with caramelized sweet potato!

My personal order-- buttery Hokkaido hot balls with dumplings and red bean paste! It's a warm and light Japanese pancake with a buttery custard filling... and it's all-so-yummy when complimented with soft red-bean paste that also has the savoury butter flavour!!!

Love it. :)

Keep the food coming!

2007-09-30T15:27:00.000+08:00

Food is my past time.

I may be a clumsy eater, but I enjoy my fare.

The Coffee Connoisseur
See for yourselves. Aesthetically pleasing drinks with beautiful names (which I forgot)... Going clockwise, we shall first take a sip of water to clear your taste buds. Then we'll serve you smooth coffee with hints of sweet-smelling roses, topped with cream and rose petals. Take another sip of lemony-fresh cool water... and try the minty ice-coffee. Sorry about the blurred shot... but that's my drink coming next. It's pink. And it's beany. haha. It's Japanese soy milk topped with red beans. I like. When you're done, we'll have the yoghurty and fruity peach sunrise. Last but not least, there's the vanilla matcha!! Sweet-tooths will like this green-tea milkshake-type of drink. (erm, forgot to take pic la. So repeat the rose coffee. haha.)

Okie... cheers!

FooDie GooDies back at 4head!

2007-09-30T15:09:00.000+08:00

I miss the people who are part of my growing up.

The same old prawn mee that's been there for more than 10 years. The same few people. And the same essence that makes us who we were and are still lingers. We're almost the same, minus the baby fat.

Really had a good time with my good old 4-head coffeeshop gang! wahaha.

Cheers to the prawn mee! And let's meet again in this small, small world! :)

Little ramblings

2007-09-25T23:05:00.000+08:00

Thought of the day:
You get more involved when you have a stake in it.

Perhaps I thought I was just a small insignificant fly buzzing my way around at times. There're seasons when I'm helpful, and seasons when I'm to be swatted around. And perhaps I imagined myself to be somewhat dispensable. Nobody is indispensible, right?

So there you have it. I have no stake. When I've no stake, I only have half a foot in, and the other is tap-tap-tap-a-taping somewhere.

This half-heartedness does me no good though. I need a good kick to jump start my fighting spirit and give it my best shot. That's the attitude right? Wake up, wake up, wake up! Nothing's too small for me, and nothing's too big either!

The Lord is my helper, what can man do to me?

The FooDie GooDie strikes back!

2007-09-22T00:39:00.000+08:00

I've been way outta the blogosphere these days coz my lappy's keyboard has been out cold. $105 got it fixed at a small, neighbourhoodly IT mama-shop counter kinda shop.

So... my lappy's back... with a vengeance. Muahahaha.

Behold the yummies before your sight!!!

(No photoshop this time! Too excited to get blogging to photoshop)

1) Mr Bean soy bean ice-cream! LOVE it! It's not too sweet, not too sticky or milky... it's smooth and all soy-beanie! And it's healthier too!

2) Pastamania's something something spicy sausage something fusilli! I drowned it in cheese and spared it from Tabasco sauce... coz it's really kinda spicy. haha. Nevertheless, thumbs up for all tomato-based sauces! I like!

Anyway, I was pretty amazed at the name of the farfalle. Quoting from Wikipedia... ' Farfalle is a type of pasta. Commonly known as "bow-tie pasta," the name is derived from the Italian word farfalla (butterfly). The "e" at the end of the word is the Italian feminine plural ending, making the meaning of the word "butterflies." '

3) I absolutely LOVEEEEEEE Donut factory!!! It's soft, it's sweet, it's tasty and it's multi-choco-flavoured!!! LOVE 'em!!

4) As always, I dig traditional desserts... and this is the 鸳鸯 version of your 芝麻糊 and杏仁糊! I like having the best of both worlds muahaha.

5) Love Soup Spoon too! Here's a $10 meal consisting of rich and creamy mushroom soup (solid solid one), a home-made tasting ice-lemon tea, a huge Caesar chicken sandwish, some tangy, spicy coleslaw with a free mini choco bar to go! The Tokyo something stew is really nice ( & therapeutic according to my fren haha) too!

6) Swenson's FONDUE!!! YUmmy!! But after trying the Fondue at Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar... ahem ahem. hahaha. I love Max Brenner's choco drinks!!! But no pics yet... In my friend's camera.

7) Corn Muffins! Home-made and freshly-baked in the kitchen of yours truly! Smells and looks good eh? But I think I overdid the cornmill. haha. It's a tad grainy la. Will work on it again. hahaha.

8) Bongo at the bird park offers some high-class fast food with high-class presentation! But... so-so la. Just thought the zebra-striped plate looks nice.

9) Swenson's Caesar salad with breaded chicken! YUMMY! The sauce is really good! A little peppery... a little sourish... and altogether very fresh and appeitizing!

10) Here's a close up on my friend's fruity and prawny salad that comes with a mango-based salad sauce!

11) My 5-head market gang finally made our move and tried this newly-opened wantan mee! The queue was long, but the wantan mee was GOOD!! Tasty! The wantan-s come in bite sizes and I can't stop popping them one after another... haha. Peeps who live near 5-head, go try!

12) Aston's Specialities!!! Really good western food at katong at really reasonable prices! $8 for a huge drink plus main course?!?! Good right! Every single side dish was yummilicious! The potatoes used in the salad ain't your typical potato... the skin's really thin... and it's just so barely cooked to perfection that it's still fresh and tasty! THe mashed potato's really silky... and the chargrilled chicken... oh mY!! It's seriously juicy and tender! Okie. My mouth's watering. 'Nuff said. Go try.

For $15 (less actually) you can try the salmon steak plus a big ice-tea! Good portion of salmon steak there! The onion rings are really crispy and the coleslaw is so well-dressed that you know it's fresh and you won't get tired of it!

This is some fish seasoned with herbs... light and good!

More food pics to keep you drooling...

and last but not least... hahaha. A picture of Slipper Swish (if you remb my Slipper Swish chronicles)

(PS: Pardon my grammar and spelling ya. Thankew velly much.)

Wishlist!

2007-09-16T15:52:00.000+08:00

I feel a little handicapped without my lappy. It's up for repairs at my neighbourhood computer store... and the Computer uncle put it very matter-of-factly that he doesn't know when he can find the parts to fix it. In other words, it'll be at the repair shop indefinitely. And that also means... no new photo updates over here. I've tons of food pics and strange sightings to share... but sollie ah. Lappy's gone.

I'm going to linguistically and grammatically handicapped soon if I stop blogging.

Anywayz, here's my wishlist (for no good reason) at the moment:

1) Namecard holder -- to hold my one-inch stack of namecards which I'd like to bring around. They give me inspiration for the next foodie outing or chill-out session.

2) Spongey-airy L-zip hp pouch-- To keep my earpieces. I'm addicted to tuning into all my songs on the way to work. I'd feel even more handicapped when my earpieces or my phone gets damaged.

3) Handbag! -- After I bought this nice dainty bag for my friend's bday, I slightly regret not getting one for myself. Besides, lugging my huge brown runaway-bag isn't suitable all the time.

4) Rollerblades -- Had my eye on this Fila one...which has disappeared. Regret not taking up the $160 offer... but then again, I refuse to associate myself with that chikopek dealer. Sigh, and the pretty ones are all above $250!! Alamak. All are welcome to contribute to my bday buy-the-blades fund.

5) Running shoes-- Asics please. My old shoes are gone... the sole's flapping off. Come on, it's been around since my JC days leh. I want new shoesssssssss.

6) Watch -- $10 watches are not meant to last I guess. But the older I get, the more I start to appreciate dress watches.

Okie... That's all for now.

If you're kpo enough, here's one entry with my previous wishlist ---> click

Wah. The items on my wishlist are getting increasingly expensive hahaha. But some things really don't change you know. Girls will never get enough of clothes and bags and shoes and accessories hahaha.

A Slice of Life

2007-09-12T19:18:00.000+08:00

Five seconds ago, I have just slammed my window on my ring finger. This culminated in an "Owwwwwwwwwwwwww" and resulted in a red, sore, throbbing finger which could no longer press guitar strings. There goes my plan to de-frustrate myself by spending time with my Little One (aka my guitar).

I'm constantly bruised nowadays. Literally. Blue and black all over. Perhaps I walk a little too recklessly fast at times. But that's the pace of my current slice of life. That being said, the other parts of me can't seem to catch up. It's the go-between phase of my life where I'm suffering from severe quarter-life crisis. I'm way over 21, but I don't think I'm looking like it, acting like it, feeling like it, or living like it. I don't fit the image of what you can imagine an "adult" to be. There's some missing X-factor when I relate with other "adults". This missing X-factor is probably something that means "the exact opposite of ignorance".

I get it. I'm intimidated by this adulthood because I've put myself in the same category as those in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. I expect myself to be able to relate with them, and to be somewhat like them. But I'm not. The scale is tipped. I'm at this little end where I feel like a small kid in this scale of adulthood. I probably look married to those in primary school and secondary school because that world beyond the school is unimaginably huge and foreign. No little kid would imagine a legal adult above 21 to be feeling so small and inadequate at that slice of life, would they?

I don't discuss politics; I don't read the papers enough; I don't study the stock market; I don't even notice property market changes. I don't understand the laws that make me legally adult, I don't even have the drive to own a license and I haven't even gone near thinking about starting a family.

I'm still hanging at the edge of pre-adulthood, savoring the lingering bitter-sweet taste of the past as I wait for the time when I'd ripen and fall into the adult world.

Heart and Brain

2007-07-29T20:37:00.000+08:00

When out-of-the-usual things happen, I kinda function on a spilt mode.

Brain would say, "Go about your normal life. Worrying gets you nowhere. Decide when and what course of action you wanna take, and just get it done. Step by step."

Heart says, "Don't just sit there and do nothing. You're so gonna regret it when you are doing nothing when you could have done something. And nothing else matters anymore. Just do what you can until you know things are okie."

When the brain-heart tug-of-war rages on, things become a little fuzzy, a little surreal, a little dream-like. It's as if nothing is really happening, but things can be seriously "happening". Sometimes, no news is not bad news, and all you need is to get a little hint that things are okie. And all you want, is just to have the person safe and right here with you.

Relaxing

2007-07-27T19:56:00.000+08:00

I figured that relaxing is not doing nothing. It's doing something else that you enjoy doing.

My brain was so fired up and boggled and clogged with work stuff somehow... that today didn't even feel like the eve of a weekend. How can this be man. So... my brain tried to craft a little escape route for this choking suffocation by day dreaming about Gelare ice-cream. Blueberry yoghurt, strawberry cheesecake... mango, chocolate... yummmmmm. I love Gelare ice-cream.

And I started dreaming about the days when my 5-head market gang will get together for our long-discussed trip in search for the nice fishball noodles, nice vegetarian mee fen, ji cheong fun and awwww gui ( yam cake la). And of coz, there'll be our regular shopping trips to Good luck provision store to stock up the work place with tidbits and munchies to aid de-stressing.

And... there'll be the plans to go exercise, play badminton, swim and go blading. (Eh 5-head market gang! Are you reading this? hahaha)

And being the same old closet guitar player (who really can't figure out how anyone can ever listen to a song and juz play offhand like that), I still like my guitar tho' I make no progress whatsoever. Despite that, attempting to listen to the same old songs over n over again in hope of finding guitar-strumming-enlightenment kinda de-stresses me. haha. Maybe I'd find enlightenment one day. Maybe.

And baking is still fun. As long as someone eats whatever I bake. hahaha. I know Ls will do that. Righttttt???

Seeya all around. Relaxxxxx...

The ultimate hair experience...

2007-06-07T23:50:00.000+08:00

In a nutshell,
it's a change from this:

(and these <-- click)

to this....

If you're wondering, "Where'd all the hair go?"... you're asking the right question.

FooDie GooDie Part II

2007-06-07T23:33:00.000+08:00

More food!!! Specifically... desserts!!

I can't shop when the weather is too hot. It gets me all uncomfortable and worked up... and sian. And to deal with that, I just need some desserts. Thanks to certain ice-cream loving kakis who indulge on good ice-cream with me when we go out, I've started craving for ice-cream everytime I go out. ARgh. I love SCOOPz ice-cream. And New Zealand ice-cream too. Of coz, there'll always be B & J and Haagen Dazs and this Japanese ice-cream that looks like a pyramid (eh, forgot the long name... it's some expensive ice-cream from this ice-cream place at marina).

Back to the pics...

I ate here:

This place sounds Hong Kong-ish but my friend says there's no this shop in HK leh. Izzit?

Personal fave!!! Big round tang yuan with fillings! I like them all! Yam, red bean, peanut or sesame! And this stall at outram market sells durian ones too! And I love 芝麻糊 and 杏仁糊 too! (Did I write those words right... haha) Erm, what's that translated into ang moh... sesame paste and almond paste? Sounds a little strange. haha. But you know what I'm talking about right?

Ultra mango dessert... Has real mango in it! And a lot a lot too!

Two really nice and fruity desserts... the one on the left has red rubies! You know... the chestnuts coated in a soft and chewy layer.. I like!!

Sheesh. I'm hungry now.

FooDie GooDie Part I

2007-06-07T23:03:00.000+08:00

As promised... More food pics!! Here's some goodies from New York New York! I love concept of the little cubicles... haha.

JT being JT, I shall serve you the desserts first...

Fried Mars Bars! I don't know how they did it. If not, I'd DIY at home.

Waffle ice-cream! Choco chessboard waffles, maple syrup & choco ice-cream. Good for sweet tooths. I'm a sweet tooth of sorts. But not that sweet a sweet tooth la. I think I overate that day. By the time desserts came, I was up to my throat with food... and was just trying not to let anything out from my stomach...

Back to the starters... some soup.... Forgot what. My friend had it. Erm, minestrone? I'm the kind who'd go for cream of mushroom, clam chowder... or even cream of tomato. haha.

Yummy Yummy bratwurst saugsages! Imagine biting into a warm, juicy piece of bratwurst wrapped in grilled-cripsy bacon!!! Love the salad side too... not your regular salad drowned in salad cream. There's a good variety of veges that I don't recognize... and they taste light & refreshing! Of coz, fries will be fries. We have loved fries since the day we had our first Macs Happy Meal.

Grilled chicken with sphagetti in cream sauce... Big & nice serving of chicken there!

Giant meatball pasta! I was expecting more giantic-looking meatballs tho... but I like tomato base pasta. That's penne for you. I don't mind fusilli or linguine.

Here's fish and pasta... Fish... I like them fresh and light. Less messy than eating chicken. wahaha.

Seafood pasta! I like! This one tastes very mussle-ish. But okie, it's tomato-based. hahaha.

I think... the more I blog and the more you read, the more you'd know my appetitite and my tastebuds. haha. I think I seriously enjoy good food. Can eating yummies be considered as a past time?

Juz some Singlish Mumble-Rumble.

2007-06-04T22:21:00.000+08:00

I've tons of foodie pics to load... and I've also got pics of my dog's major makeover haircut. And I've spent more than $100 on the GSS. I'm done with all the shopping. Shopped till I drop le. Tired siah. I'm taking a break from shopping. Got almost all that I need and want... except for jeans and shoes maybe. haha. And I wanna watch Pirates, and Shrek and Narnia.

Anywayzzz, from the little TV I watch, I have this to say:
The Xiao4 yuan2 super xiaodidi Shawn rocks! haha. He beat all those other gorgors (who are supposedly more shuai) flat man!!! Compared to the rest, can tell that he's the one with the charisma and he's more musically inclined than the rest la! Go xiaodidi!! I support! I think Xiaomeimei's will also support him. Jiejies will also support. He's gonna make it.

Emo emo emo.

2007-05-20T21:44:00.000+08:00

I'm seriously in one of my moods. Nah, nothing to worry about. It's just one of those days when I'm tired and sian. And when that happens, things start looking a bit blue. It's one of those days when you'd entertain the thought that the world would be better if you weren't there to make ripples in the puddle. It's one of those days when you remember that you've 1001 things that you should be doing at the back of your mind and you don't feel like doing them. The 1001 thingies are the fuzzy background menial everyday tasks that you'd have to finish up in order to get that bugger naggy feeling off your back. Meanwhile, in competition with these 1001 things, there's the 1002th which comes along a little later. It's the meaningful thingie you know you should go the extra mile to do, but you struggle coz you still have 1001 that should be cleared in order to get your life fixed up. And you feel bad about struggling coz you do the 1002th thingie unwillingly. And you know that even if you didn't do the no. 1002th meaningful thingie, you still wouldn't touch the 1001 things that you don't feel like doing. If 1002 thingies aren't enough, you suddenly get appointments and outings coming along your way. Some you'd wanna avoid, and some you really wanna go out and enjoy. But you'd go out thinking about 1001 things and the 1002th thingie, and the opportunity costs of it all. In the end, shrinking into a corner at home under the shroud of anti-socialness seems like the best self-preservation policy. My world, no one else. My pace, my time. Me, myself and I. Selfish-inward looking brat. Aaaack. -shake head-

Sorry peeps. Give me some time. I'd get outta this shroud soon.

Food Glorious Food (& Cakes!)

2007-05-02T21:29:00.000+08:00

Food makes me happy. I think I'm spending way too much on entertainment. Food, cakes, movies, musicals, shopping, ktving... and cab ares when I'm late... oH nooooo. Now with school loan repayment on the way... watch out JT. Watch out. Or you'd be having plain bread and water soon.
But... since I've already had all the yummy food... Lemme share it with you!
(Sorry ah, lazy to photoshop much.. but here goes!)

Mango Mousse!!! It's so smooth, so full of mango and it's light and melts in your mouth! As my friend puts it, "Once you've tried this, you won't want any other mango cake!"

Absolutely delicious choco cake that's warm, moist, rich and splits open with a reservoir of thick chocolate flowing out! And there's an orange slice that's right at the bottom to give it a natural, tangerine taste that completely compliments the chocolately experince. Of course, you have your ice cream and pretty fruits to make it all mouth-watering and ultimatley satisfying! Perfect score! 10/10! My personal fave!

Apple caramel something topped with vanilla ice-cream! Made with real-apples and caramel! Warm and nice and the slight sour-sour taste from the real apples goes perfect with the ice-cream!

Frasier! A yummy cake that melts in your mouth! The creamy part of it is sooooo light and sooooo nice! And there're real strawberries embedded inside too! There's some flowery fragrance that's really light and it's not too sweet... it's just perfect! If I'm not in my heavy choco mood, I'd go for this personal fave no. 2!!

Strawberry shortcake! Light, spongey and so soft, so moist, so nice!

Personal fave no. 3!! I love cheese! And I love cheesecake! Absolutely delicious! It completely melts in your mouth! So light and the lemony taste is just nice! Even the crust just melts in your mouth... amazing!!! I'd go for this again if i'm in a mood for rich foods (other than my choco...haha)

It's poofy stuff filled with ice cream. Portellini or Porfollini or something. Ooops. cant remb the name but it's specially for all sweet-tooths! Little puffs filled with vanilla ice-cream and absolutely drowned in chocolate!!!

Sorry, I was so excited about the desserts... I forgot to intro the starters and the main course. Here's the pumpkin soup...

Followed by the 4 pastas...

(I'm plain biased towards desserts. I'm so biased that I've designated a separate compartment of my stomach for desserts. Anywayz, all these yummies are from Bakerzin! If you're asking me out for dessert, you know where I wanna go now hor? But arm yourself with at least $25 for main course and dessert k? Erm... make that $50, if you're giving me a treat. muahaha)

Inspired by ... Rainbow

2007-04-29T01:29:00.000+08:00

I wanted to blog about good food, and I wanted to blog about the Quotable Quotes that have impressed me. But no, what's fumbling and jumbling in my mind, waiting to be thrown up and out is inspired by a particular person.

Let's just say that this person has a particularly colourful personality. And it's an unpredictable one too. The main point probably is that you should try not to offend this person, or this person's colours will descend upon you. Let's just call this person Rainbow. I've heard how this Rainbow has exiled other people out of sight coz Rainbow doesn't feel particularly flattered or pleased with them. Oh, to put things into context, Rainbow and the rest have a superior-subordinate kind of relationship. Sad to say, I've made it to the Rainbow's blacklist and I've experienced a teeny fraction of Rainbow's verbal expression of displeasure. (Reads: Unkind words and sacarsm. Well, volume was loud at one point of time.) Rainbow watches the blacklisted and has a flair for encouraging others to be as perfect as they can be (ie. Rainbow has the ability to spot all your mistakes, point out extra mistakes you didn't make, and of course, conjure up a cause to correct you on what wasn't even a mistake.)

Naturally, I was upset when Rainbow's colours flashed, thundered and drenched me. But on hindsight, maybe I shouldn't be. Rainbow reminded me that I should work to the best of my ability. I'm challenged to do my utmost best such that Rainbow would have nothing to pick on. Well, if Rainbow does want to get personal and create an unpleasant experience, I'd have to remember that those comments and verbal abuse are invalid and unapplicable.

There is no excuse for unapologetic use of verbal abuse.

Siansiansighsigh

2007-04-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

Sighsighsiansiansian. Sian-ness is everywhere. It's suffocating. Nope, no happy thoughts at the moment. Buggered by sian-ness. I'm getting stoney-faced. Maybe even black faced. Getting apathetic and impatient. Either that, or frustrated and pek-chek. Permanent state of PMS. Not thankful, not caring, not joyous. Dry, gruelling, withered. Sianly stuck to passivity in probably all areas of life.

Room in mess,
work is work,
books unread,
brain unthinking,
heart not praying,
speech is stinging,
mind degrading,
heart is hardening,
songs are fading.
Bleeding,
bleeding.

Oh how depressing.

Chocolate therapy anyone.

Stressed is Desserts spelt backwards.

JR, Lia, ZL, YT... I'm so sorry... so so so sorry... A disastrously strong wind indirectly caused a major accident to the most sweetie pie present... It shattered and it broke my heart to see the pieces. I'm so going to glue it back and keep it with me no matter what.

That's the Phone!

2007-04-21T11:17:00.000+08:00

My oldie 6610i has been dropped a gazellion times and it's still in a perfectly usuable state, save for the scotch tape that's required to hold its cover in place. Nevertheless, I've been scouting for some kinda phone that'd made me go, "That's it!!! That's the one!", but to no avail... until I've received a flyer thru' the mail...

This is the ONE !!! The w880i Walkman phoneeeeeee!!

It's not a slidey phone (don't like slidey phones), it's skinny (it's only 9.4mm!), it can store tons of music (like 900 songs!) and it's pretty and bla bla bla... I LIKE!!!!

Somebody buy for me please. Thanks.

My first dress!!

2007-04-17T22:24:00.000+08:00

Correction. Make that my first spaghetti dress. muahaha. I've got one white prom dress and one little brown office-y dress... and one brown and white spag dress! (What's with brown and white.)

tadaaaaa...

Nice?

Saturday Fever

2007-04-14T22:52:00.000+08:00

6 new pairs in 2 days!

And I've a toothache. That shortening root prob... it's like a sleeping volcano. Disaster coming soon. Pain pain pain :'(

Ranting once upon a time...

2007-04-10T21:43:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, there lived a cheerful little girl. She would smile at anyone and everyone, and brighten up everybody's day. Even when the meaniest people showed threw their nasty-ness at her, she'd just smile and try to be understanding towards them.

As the little girl grew up, she met more and more mean people. Her smiles grew heavier, and being understanding was a trying thing. However, she'd never want to be like the rest, those nasty people.

Nasty people come in all forms. There're those who'd appear all warm, nice and cuddley, but they're just like a bunch of roses-- sweet and pretty, but full of sharp thorns. There're also those who're like cactus-- outrightly thorny and prickly. There's also others who treat you like glass -- plain and transparent. Or others who treat you like a scab -- something to pick on. Nasty people come in all shapes and sizes, and they're found everywhere.

One day, the girl met a nasty person. A combination of the rose type, and the treat-you-like-scab person. At first, she tried to smile, but it was not easy. And it grew harder, and harder. Then more and more such people came along. And she couldn't even smile anymore.

As the cacti and roses gathered around, life wasn't so much a bed of roses anymore. She couldn't smile and she started to ignore these nasty people. Yes, treat them like glass--plain and transparent. And as the people picked on and pricked each other, she too, grew her own set of thorns to protect herself. And she thought in her heart, that if anyone were to tread on her toes and pick on her, she'd give them their fair share of the scab treatment too.

Little did the girl realise that she's stopped smiling.

She has blended into the world of the nasty people.

Grandma's chilli sauce

2007-04-08T22:52:00.000+08:00

My grandma's probably the best cook in the world. Her chilli sauce's a blend of ginger, garlic, chilli, dark vinegar, salt and sugar cooked in chicken stock. Beat that man! But this taste-bud stunner is hard to replicate, coz all it takes to make this, according to grandma, is love and estimation.

Sorry no pics... good sauces have gone down my stomach with my grandma's signature prawn noodles.

Shopping Shopping

2007-04-08T00:18:00.001+08:00

I love IKEA! For their ideas and their food (reads: Swedish meatballs. But where on earth is their waffle hotdog? Haven't located it... but I want it)!

So here's what's been taken off the shelves from Ikea...

A clean and fresh-looking white shelf, several handy plastic boxes that can double up as drawers, and pretty floral magazine holders!

Love all the little thingies you can find there! My personal fave furniture & idea place! :)

The Swan Song -- Slipper Swish IV

2007-04-05T22:56:00.000+08:00

Things that drive people up the wall always come in packages and bundles.

Slipper Swish. Once a pesky slipper in the ocean... now hard, weathered, cold and torn.

Just feeling a little rebellious, and a little unreasonable.

Dear So-and-so,
I regret to inform you that I have hereby decided to tender my resignation, for which the terms and conditions will be non-negotiable. My duties can be readily re-directed into another's plate. My obligation (or whatever that is taken to be under the unspoken expectation) is not withstanding once I tender my resignation. Rejection of my resignation due to any disagreement on the issue of obligation and well-being will not be accepted. I wish to restrict the purpose of my resignation as being private and personal.

Yours Sincerely,
Slipper Swish.

The Chronicles of Slipper Swish:
Letter I (2yrs 2 months ago)
Letter II (1yr 7 months ago)
Letter III (4 months ago)

Organized mess

2007-04-03T20:28:00.000+08:00

I'm an advocator of organized mess. Don't mess with my things. They look like a heap of junk, but I know what I've stuffed where. Don't attempt to pack things for me, coz tho they'll look neat, it's really more than disorganized, worse than being unclassified and will definitely be immaculately random.

Packing is a personal chore. Leave it to me.

My things, my way, my time.

Little black dress

2007-04-02T21:35:00.001+08:00

Not exactly the classic little black dress... but it's soooooo prettyyyyy!!! If I were ever to own a little black dress, it'd look like this!

Here's the webbie! It's a dress galore!!!

That's what I call relaxing!

2007-04-02T20:48:00.000+08:00

If u've stared hard enough, you'd see one prawn and one 2 dollar note. That's my prize prawn which got me a lucky draw and a lucky $2 note! Yep, I went prawning with two off my buddies. One buddy to help me nab this sneaky prawn which challenged me to a duel and chewed off a few of my baits before getting hauled up mercilessly... Muahaha... and the other buddy (the observant one who reads the rules and regulations at the prawning pond) to notice that this stubborn sneak had a tag attached which entitled me to a lucky draw!!

Prawning was shiok!! It takes your mind off all thingies and each haul-up feels like some sorta victory hahaha.

Of coz, prawning wouldn't be the same without my two buddies.

Prawning? $52 for rental of 2 rods and a total catch of... 6 prawns.

Friendship? As my buddy says, priceless.

All Things New

2007-03-26T21:10:00.000+08:00

Hope.

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
-- Ezekiel 36:25-27

I'm new.

2007-03-25T20:53:00.000+08:00

Warning: A long long entry full of mumblings

What happens when JT packs her room?

--- On cards, letters and such ---
Upon fishing up all old letters and cards, and burying myself in a heap of dust and mountains of old memories, my spring-cleaning led to nowhere. I can’t bear to discard all the simple sentimental stuff, and I can’t pinpoint where I should keep them. Anyway, most of them remain out of sight, and out of mind most of the time.

I found out that I’ve had a pen-pal in my lower sec days. She lives in HK, wanted to study law, and loves Wang Li Hom. Dishing out those old letters sprinkled with cutie stickers and cartoons stirred some sentimental yearning to write to this friend again. And those tons of X’mas cards… I didn’t event send a single card out last year. I received a few tho’ and I really feel like picking up my pen and just do some writing. Emo emo emo. After all, my cutie letter pads are all still around, complete with my cartoonie cutie stickers. Maybe, I’d relive the days of snail mail again. Maybe…

Snail mail requires effort tho. It’s not just the writing, it’s the getting the stamps and getting down to posting it. Of coz, there’s the fishing, dishing and searching high and low for addresses. And after sending, u’ve gota wait. And you’d wonder if you’ve gotten the address right. And today, your friend would probably smile at the letter, send u a thank-you sms or email. End of snail mail. Sheesh. Gone were the days of anticipating a reply snail mail.

--- On school uniforms and clothes ---
Mails aside, what exactly do you all do with old school uniforms and CCA uniforms? Like those badges and stuff. Dump them? I’d feel like it. But u’ve been wearing those for years you know. Worse still are those organization T-shirts… you can’t wear them coz you’d represent the organization upon putting them on (especially when u’re aren’t part of them anymore). And you can’t give them away. And it’s mean to mop the floor with them… My mama says, “Sell to karang guni la”.

--- On photos ---
Oh yea… and those photos! I can’t even remb some faces… oh sheesh. Mean right. I’m a meanie. And those were the days of my flawless skin… and big, bright eyes. Now I look old, weary and wizened. Plus dotty pimples. Eeks. My sisters call it the “effect of 2x”. Teenagers have it – energy and youth. The 2x aka twenty plus people don’t. I don’t want to imagine 3x and 4x. Will my pimples stop at 3x? mmmmm. (Do I sense some sorta vain bimbo-ness creeping up on me…)

--- On the little secrets of the past ---
And I found my diary. Those dear diary books. Eeeeks. I now come face to face with my past. It takes courage to flip through and read it and laugh at myself. Little secrets that I buried and kept all to myself in primary school and secondary school. I feel like throwing it away. Or maybe I should keep it. Re-reading it should help me understand the frustrations of growing up when I’m too old to empathize with it. Maybe I should designate a few days in a year—some sorta getaway for myself to read all these journals I keep… prayer journals and all my little diaries… to come to terms with all the little dark corners in my heart… to put closure to the little bits I’ve forgotten and to grow up and face the future with courage in the name of the Lord.

--- On the old academic world ---
Sec school textbooks; JC notes; Uni notes. What in the world do you do with all the hard work u’ve put there? Dump them? Im giving them away.

--- On finishing up... or not---
Arghhh I’m tired of packing. Half-done at least. I’m stuffing the rest somewhere for now. Break time.

Regressing sleepaholic

2007-03-24T22:19:00.000+08:00

I'm always sleepy, always hungry. I don't read the newspapers. I have problems understanding storybooks. I lack the attention to savour the details, and am deprived of patience to finish them. I sleep more than 12hours if I can. I forgot 3/4 of my vocabulary, lost 9/10 of my analytical skills, am too shelled up to do anything more, and am afraid of the consequences of my doing less and less.

I'm in another kinda world. Kinda routine, kinda unreal. What's real or not real. Acknowledged vs not acknowledged? Conscious vs subconscious vs unconscious? Acceptance and self-denial? Gee. What am I rattling about.

Blogs. Kinda like another world. An unspoken world with a kind of painful depth that only literary texts can have. And blogs reveal some kinda dark and gloomy side ppl have once in a while. Sunshiney on the surface, dark somewhere, hidden somewhere, unspoken of somewhat. In the new generation where phonecalls are rare, and where thumbs do all the sms-talking, ppl rarely have conversations do they.

How do I reboot my regressing brain. And stop my sleepaholic addictions. oh sheesh. I need my bed.

Somebody saveeeee meeee....

2007-03-13T20:45:00.000+08:00

Work's getting to me. Day in day out. I'm getting stringed and uptight. And my brain doesnt stop thinking about what I haven't done, or what I might have forgotten to do. Sometimes I wonder if people are picking on me. But maybe, they're not. I can be thankful for people who tell me things I havent done straight in my face rather than behind my back, but it doesnt seem to go down well with something. Some sorta mental indigestion. Like I haven't started well and haven't ended well. It gets to me. It gets to me coz people form an impression of who you are, glue you to that stereotype and seemingly start to take special notice of nitty gritties to prove the point that their impression is correct. Maybe they're not. Maybe i'm over-sensitive. I don't like undercurrents. I don't like the way I'm treating this. I'm tired, but my brain doesnt take 5minutes off. youtube and anime doesnt get much relaxation done. I'm not stopping to pray. But why's that. Why's my brain moving in restlessness. Why do I want to keep doing something... to keep busying myself for endless work. Why do I want to toil for tomorrow. I'm worrying aren't I.

I miss the blue skies and puffy clouds. I miss lying on the beach, under the trees, popping seedless grapes and looking up at the endless sky, like there's not a care in the world, and you see nothing, but the sky, the clouds, the leaves and the sun.

Tired. restless. burdened.

Paintbrush

2007-02-20T20:20:00.000+08:00

I keep my paint brush with me
Wherever I may go,
In case I need to cover up
So the real me doesn’t show.
I’m so afraid to show you me,
Afraid of what you’ll do - that
You might laugh or say mean things.
I’m afraid I might lose you.
I’d like to remove all my paint coats
To show you the real, true me,
But I want you to try and understand,
I need you to accept what you see.
So if you’ll be patient and close your eyes,
I’ll strip off all my coats real slow.
Please understand how much it hurts
To let the real me show.
Now my coats are all stripped off.
I feel naked, bare and cold,
And if you still love me with all that you see,
You are my friend, pure as gold.
I need to save my paint brush, though,
And hold it in my hand,
I want to keep it handy
In case somebody doesn’t understand.
So please protect me, my dear friend
And thanks for loving me true,
But please let me keep my paintbrush with me
Until I love me, too.

--Bettie B. Youngs

A poem I koped from my friend's blog. Sheesh. I'm feeling emo now... that I've met my friends whom I realise I really really miss. Friends whom I'm so comfortable with. People I can be vulnerable to. People I trust. People who see me for me. People I feel safe with.

Paintbrush in hand,
Layers of paint,
walking alone.
Safe in an isolated world.

Aging up...

2007-02-11T02:09:00.001+08:00

The more I look at myself, the more I think I look like my dad. It's kinda strange to look so much like your dad when u're a girl. Like, a younger female version of your dad.

And I can see age creeping upon me in all those photos. It's all in the eyes. Age comes in the form of weary eyes and the loss of bright-eyed energentic-ness in all the photos. The next stage as I see it... will be fine lines on my face. I must learn to age gracefully.

Growing grass

2007-02-10T00:39:00.000+08:00

I'm growing grass in my field of intellect and analysis,
absorbed in multi-tasking in a healthcare environment.
Seeing people at work with new eyes,
somewhat not new and yet unfamiliar.
Somewhat managing and yet not up to personal expectations,
somewhat disjointed from the bigger portion of the world,
ignorant of current affairs and,
lost in focusing on the insecurity of not having done what can be done.
Aha. Changes.
Welcome to the working world!

(ok, completely irrelevant picture. But my dog looks intellectual eh?)

The vicious cycle

2006-12-06T21:46:00.000+08:00

There's no regret if you thought it was better that you left.
There's no reminiscence if you didn't remember what it was like.
There's nothing to remember.
A blank piece of paper.
A new beginning.
Another story,
yet the same ending.

But all these, a delusion.

Yet another letter-- Slipper Swish III

2006-11-26T21:05:00.000+08:00

The 1st letter as of 22 months ago: swish swash I
The 2nd letter as of 15months ago: swish swash II

A third letter from slipper swish-- old, weathered and weary.

The slipper. Washed towards another shore and singing another song.

The song? One that hints of another final letter. The coming of a swan song.

Dear so-and-so,

thank you very much for your kind patience and guidance. Without a doubt, I see a sincere heart filled with the most genuine concern for my growth and stretching. But just as waves crash helplessly against unmoving rocks, your kind words have merely washed over me. Little seeped in, and little changed my heart. The waves can push and crash harder, but each push and crash only reveals how unmoving and resistant rocks are. Rocks stand still. Rocks stand hard. Rocks stand cold. I propose to finish up my duties for the year as a close. Perhaps, we need to have a meeting soon.

Yours sincerely,
Slipper swish.

Back back back.

2006-11-05T12:43:00.000+08:00

So many little lines have been running through my head.
Echoes from here, there, and elsewhere.

Drunkards get drunk on alcohol;
Nerds on knowledge; and
mugging undergraduates on coffee.

If you don't mind your looks, nobody will mind you.

I'm dispensable.

How much are memories worth? To keep or not to keep the box of cards that I received during my teenage years?

The few transitions in life at 12, 16, 18 and 21 will throw u off balance and change u.

My personality doesn't seem to go well with what is expected of one in the work force.

When you were young and much younger, being truly caring and sincere was more effortless. Then, the world hardens u in the name of streetwise-ness and the struggle begins.

My transition may turn into drudgery, if I'm not careful.

I need to get back to driving school.

2006-09-30T18:14:00.000+08:00

Apologies to the faithful who've been browsing this humble blog which has succumbed to a bout of lazy silence and inactivity.

2 months of silence does not equate with 2 months of bustling elsewhere. It has been a 2 months of neither-here-nor-there. An in-between lull period choked with indecisiveness and lukewarm attempts to get something started. There's the scattered emotional shuttling between lethargic contentment and passive disatisfaction. The keywords are "lethargic" and "passive". I'm neither contented nor satisfied, and I'm doing nothing about it.

I feel like a ballon that's floating away. Filled with an emptiness some might call air, I drift higher and higher, go further and further and feel lighter and lighter. Soon, I become more and more detached. Obstinacy and pride steers me further away from the hand that's released my little string. Away and away from my only anchor to the ground. Tossed and ruffled by the winds with whispers of dreams and reaching the clouds, I float to a distant nowhere.

Paradoxes

2006-07-30T22:25:00.000+08:00

Paradox 1: Life comes through death.
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)

Lord, even martyrs who gave their lives for a cause, and in death, gave life to the purpose they championed, showed how the end of something marked the continuation of another. I've so wanted to remain a preserved seed, retreating into the safety of my comfort zone and paving the way for a time of no growth. I want to keep my eyes onJesus, who in His death, gave life and salvation to all who believe. I want to learn to give my life for His purpose.

Paradox 2: Keeping comes through giving.
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25)

Lord, too many a times, I horde my life for selfish ambition and security, which turns my heart all sour, inward-looking and crumbling . You are a God who gives abundently. Others who give generously and sacrificially inspires. Father, I give you my life.

Paradox 3: Honour comes through serving.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, myservant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. (John 12:26)

Lord, teach me to move forward with boldness and passion, to give no matter what responses I'll receive. Slander, accusation and misundersanding are not the end. I see Your promise of life and honour in serving and giving. May I act on Your Word and obey You always.

In Christ's name,
Amen.

WHy....

2006-07-28T23:03:00.000+08:00

Why do Christians say grace?
Read here

How to be sure I'm a Christian?
How do I pray?
How do I break free from sin etc etc etc....
Read here

PS.: Hey mortal, I hope these webbies and their links will be a helpful read ya? :)

57

2006-07-23T15:10:00.000+08:00

Number of the day: 57
Time: ~11.15pm
Venue: Citilink mall, bench.
Activity: Eating instant heat-up crab n cheese pizzas from 7-11 with sis.
Response: Stares from passer-bys. Approximately 57 in total who met us eye-ball to eye-ball (hungry? hahaha) and looked away in awkwardness.
Comments: One way to get noticed is to eat 7-11 pizzas.
Tagline of the day: 7-11, it's a store and more!

The Song.

2006-07-21T22:40:00.000+08:00

~天冷就回来~
陈洁仪

从前对着收音机
学唱旧的歌
我问妈妈为什么
伤心像快乐
妈妈笑着说
她也不懂得'
我想出去走一走
妈妈点点头
天冷你就回来
别在风中徘徊
妈妈眼里有明白
还有一丝无奈
天冷我想回家
童年已经不再
昨天的雨点洒下来
那滋味叫做爱
wu...
别在风中徘徊
wu...
天冷就回来

渐渐对着收音机
学唱新的歌
我问朋友为什么
做梦也快乐
朋友笑说
他从不相信梦
我想出去走一走
朋友点点头
天冷你就回来
别在风中徘徊
朋友的眼里有明白
还有一份期待
天冷我想回家
年少已经不再
今天的雨点洒下来
那滋味就是爱

现在对着收音机
听自己唱的歌
我的他问为什么
幸福不快乐
我微笑着说
我也不懂得
他想出去走一走
我对他点点头
天冷你就回来
别在风中徘徊
我猜我眼里有明白
还有一丝无奈
天冷他没回家
我仍然在等待
明天的雨点洒下来
那滋味就是爱
wu...
别在风中徘徊
wu...
天冷就回来

Some funny test

2006-07-15T23:25:00.000+08:00

I'm on a non-blogging streak ever since I got a job... and so... I'll amuse you with the results of my "What's your goddess identity?" test.

Here's some crappily flattering results:

JT, you're an Angel!

Just like the haloed and winged guardians of good, you truly have a heart of gold, sweet Angel. Whenever there's a chance to pitch in, save the day or just make life easier for the people around you, you're the one for the job.You don't just jump in without planning — you use your angelic head to figure out how to do things right the first time, like only the most dependable goddesses can. Whether brainstorming a new solution to a problem, planning a surprise party for your parents, or lending your friends a wing to cry on, you've got the right instincts, so follow them whenever you can. As natural as it is for you to take care of the people around you, don't forget to treat yourself right, too. The best friendships, and loves, of a lifetime tend to blossom when you become your own guardian angel. So don't listen to those who say nice girls finish last. People have always seen you as a goddess of thoughtfulness and good intentions, and it hasn't slowed you down a bit. All in all, Angel, you've got it made with your glowing attitude and ability to see from on high. So get out there and change the world!

Eggs.

2006-07-07T14:39:00.000+08:00

As mentioned, eggs are a cook's best friend.

About the temporary dosmetic management

2006-07-05T15:23:00.000+08:00

As temporary as this bus-stop sign is, I've been allocated the responsibilities of being the domestic management for the next two weeks. Duties include: -

1) Washing and ironing.
Lesson learnt: Appreciate the sun while it shines.

2) Sweeping and mopping.
Lesson learnt: Dog hair makes up the bulk of the dust.

3) Feeding and coaxing the sulky dog.
Lesson learnt: Appreciate his company.

4) Cooking and washing up.
Lesson learnt 1: Eggs are a cook's best friend.

Lesson learnt 2: Nobody complains about your cooking when you're cooking for yourself.
Lesson learnt 3: You get so bored that you take photos of the 8 steps of cooking a one-dish meal.

Figure 1: Steps 1-3

Figure 2: Steps 4-6

Figure 3: Steps 7-8

Final lesson learnt: Food tastes better when you share it with someone, even if its the spoilt and sulky dog.

I-am-sorry

2006-07-02T17:28:00.000+08:00

The three words that the deceitful and proud heart refuses to acknowledge. The three words that, when finally acknowledged and conceived, twist back and forth in my heart and mind. And after making endless circles, the words finally make it to the throat, only to get stuck there.

I think I owe these three heart-felt words to a lot of people. A giganormous apology debt. My debt? Where from? From and for the things I did, said, and forgot. There're promises I've broken and forgotten. There're things I've said which hurt and cut. There're relationships I've taken for granted and forgotten. There're people I've disappointed. There're people whom I ran away from and left bewildered and frustrated. There're people whom I've hurt through the way I treated them. There're people whom I wanted to walk with through ups and downs but I failed. I'm sorry.

I am sorry.

I never had the courage to say these three words. Or acknowledge that I've hurt you... Maybe some of these people aren't even upset with me to begin with, maybe they've forgotten it all. But I regret what I did and didn't do. I am sorry.

I pray that I'll find the courage to face my regret and surrender it to the Lord together with my pride.

Despite these regret-filled shadows, I know the mercies of the Lord are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness O Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.

NC-9: Prehistoric War

2006-06-30T16:53:00.000+08:00

Let me show you the picture I've promised...

The picture depicting violence, outroar and WAR between pre-historic animals...

The scariest war that ever raged between the minds and pens of a 21 year-old and a 9 year-old...

I bring you...

The Dinosaur Wars.

If you would just look at the pic, you'd see who's attacking who and whom came to save who. The war was exciting while it raged. And I seriously enjoyed it. The most creative creatures were obviously drawn by the most humble and cute... 9 year old cousin of yours truly.

Read more about him here.

I think he brings out the kid in me, and reminds me of the sweet and carefree ways of childhood. Who cares about my age, it was fun while I skipped, raced and bobbed along the endless passageways of Guangzhou airport hand-in-hand with him. And the good thing is, nobody suspected that I was aged anywhere above 15. hahaha. okie I promised China stories and I'll get to them soon. soon.)

JT the movie-reviewer again.

2006-06-29T21:29:00.000+08:00

The Usher eyeballed me a few times before he decided that I was over 16 and I was off to watch King and the Clown.

The movie. It felt so tragic.

After squirming in my seat and shaking my head at the serious sexual innuendo and obvious sexual jokes (which whacked you in the face 15 minutes into the show), I got amazed at how pretty boy Gong-gil was really so pretty. Sharp features, gentle smile, slender build and lady-like composure. Then you make your slow plunge into the darkness of the perverse human nature. You see a teary Gong-gil victimized by the ability of the vile, rich and authorative to manipulate the poor and powerless into unwilling sacrifice of their flesh and bodies. Tragic. Lust is a scary thing. And male lust for younger males. Disturbing.

At the same time, you get a small inlet into the lives and misery of every character that stirs complex and mixed emotions... like sympathy, outrage and fear all at the same time. I despise the King for being tyranic and psychotic. Yet, he somehow wrenched sympathy from me because of his sad childhood and upbringing amidst domestic upheaval and murder. But that's no excuse for being a cold-blooded and violent murderer who ridiculed and frustrated his most loyal subjects.

I ache at the helplessness of the loyal subjects, who served 3 Kings through the rise and falls of their empires, and resigned to suicide as the expression of their hopelessness in working for a stubborn tyrant. Stubborn is an understatement.

And then you see the somewhat ambiguous friendship between the two protagonists, Jang-Seng and Gong-gil... One trying so hard to protect the other. Brotherhood or something more? I insist on thinking it as brotherhood.

Plenty of drama on power play, nepotism, political schemes and murder.

And on a more artistic note, there's a certain depth that I haven't fathomed. Something Jang-Seng mentioned... now that he was truly blind (physically) to the world, the world was truly his stage. It was something about being past caring about authorities and influences, something about perceiving life as a play, something about darkness and light, about pain and numbness, about something that tugs away at the strings of my heart.

And yes, tears welled up in my eyes. And the show set me thinking. I don't know if I'd say it's a show worth watching coz there's too much perverseness in it that made me really sad.

King and the Clown.

The clowns put up a show,

so satirical, so cynical, so bold.

The King laughed at the show,

so cutting, so revealing, so cold.

I watched a show,

so dark, so disturbing, as it's told.

Blogging Worth

2006-06-27T12:42:00.000+08:00

My blog is actually worth money? So amusing hahaha. Eh, the estimate is wrong. My blog is priceless ok. hahaha. I wonder how's all the calculation's done.

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

Spree

2006-06-27T12:04:00.000+08:00

I went on a shopping spree and exchanged more than $100 for a series of odds and ends I deemed exciting and necessary for work. Or are they? Ah whatever. Anyway, I bought this pretty $15 dollar top yesterday, much to my satisfaction, at this outlet which usually carries them at something like $39.90. Shop name? BIFC. I like clothes from there. Start saving money for my bday present if you like. (What's with my intensifying BHB aura?! I can't stand it myself.)

And... I gave my heart to this dark metallic silver weave bag which passed my strict qualifiyng criterias of being spacious, multi-pocketed with ergonomically-designed straps and being safely neutral for most fashion police. But being your typical sale-shopper out for best bargains, I lingered around for too long and other more quick-handed and generous shoppers have snapped up every last piece of my BAG. *heart-broken* I saw this bag again yesterday, selling for twice the price. Maybe I'll find it again tomorrow, which has been desginated as my next shopping day. haha.

Quote of the day (dedicated to the workforce):

The day after Sunday and before Tuesday... the unspoken day. -- Flubby

There and Here, Home and Back.

2006-06-24T22:50:00.000+08:00

I've been back from Hainan for about a week now and I have tons and tons and tons of things to blog about. If I'd internet connection and a lappy over in China, I'd have told you about my extended family history going 6 generations back, since pre-WWII days to post colonialist periods, together with bits and pieces of village (civil) wars, politics and romance. I think I should compile an autobiography of my grandmother's life (revealed in the form of bedtime story-like chit chat) and sell it to TCS. From there I'd make the greatest load of copyright fees and what nots for the hottest and longest drama serial. Better than 真情 I assure you. Nono, I'm not a commercialised dudette. I just think my family history beats those tv-drama formulas hands down!

I've whet your appetite, haven't I? One of these days I'll blog about my trip to China, back to the villages which connected the then and the now, the poverty and the wealth, the romance and the rivalries. I don't know how much dirty laundry I can wash in a public blog, but when I intend to get enigmatic and crpytic, you know that I'm at the limits of saying too much.

Watch out for my next few entries. (All rights reserved to turn lazy and hold the stories.)

(Picture? You're looking at the endless doorways of my grandfather's hometown in China.)

2006-06-09T14:23:00.000+08:00

Global Day of Prayer 2006

I have never seen so many Christians in my life. Twenty-four thousand of them. All praying and worshipping the Lord. Across denominations, beyond language and race differences, we all prayed. And for the first time in my life, I sang praise in unison with 24000 other brothers and sisters under the immensely vast and beautiful sky. I looked up and knew that God truly deserves all glory and praise.

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom
coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

More Nostalgia

2006-05-29T12:52:00.000+08:00

The same old bus stop with tiled floors and orange seats.

(Just in case u're wondering about that ghastly ghostly figure in the billboard reflection. That's me. hahaha.)

Another wave of nostalgia. Nah, guess that I'm just moving a bit faster than most of my peers. And I just get this picture that they'll be waving at me... and I'll be off into the next phase. And without even noticing, hustles and bustles will just filter in and cloud the memories. Okie, maybe it's not that bad. But this nostalgia thing just hits me once somebody says that they'll miss the times we had.

Tears were welling up yesterday when my grandma brought me to her room and gave me a warm hug, telling me how happy she was that I was graduating. And how my late grandpa told her to take care of all of the grandchildren... how I was the apple of their eyes... and how I'm finally graduating. I hope can get a pass for her at my grad ceremony.

Dear peeps, all of you are invited to come and celebrate the start of my new phase on 8th July, 10am. Erm, venue and stuff, I'll tell u all again k! :) Come and take photos with me! haha~

Quote of the day:
What matters is not what you believe,
What matters is the Truth.

What you believe is not going to change the Truth.
Truth is absolute.

(Sneak preview of next entry: Prehistoric wars and Art that puts you to shame)

Late night cravings...

2006-05-27T01:49:00.000+08:00

I want milo. Milo Float. Vanilla to be exact....

Graduation is for real.

2006-05-25T21:08:00.001+08:00

I'm graduating. It's surreal. I had no feelings. Until my friend smsed to tell me that she'd miss having lunch with me. Suddenly my fingers started to tremble. And the waves of nostalgia came. I'll miss my friends. I won't be with them anymore. You can't be together forever like that. You don't move together. Nobody does things for the sake of doing them anymore. Like crashing lectures just to be with your friend. Or rushing from one faculty to another just to meet your friend for lunch so she won't be alone and you won't be alone. No more V-day gift exchanges and mass sharing of presents. No more sweetie pie notes and cute "jiayou" smses. No more late night smuggling of coffee into computer labs and hush-hush eyeing of 70-percents and eye candy. Neither cranky jokes and the liberty to be loud, candid and even brash. No more gushing, no more acting cute and no more being blur. No more mugging in the library, no more fooling around in the labs, no more cheap thrill of smuggling food into LTs and libraries. No more freezing exam halls, no more printing of lecture notes. No more playful jokes and silly puns. No. No more.

If there's none of these, then what comes next?

I should be celebrating and yet I feel like cry.

Don't play me Vitamin C's "Graduation" now. I will cry. I miss the people in school. Regrets about school life? Maybe. For not studying harder? For not joining CCAs? For not making more friends? For not being involved in school? No, not really.

The only regret is perhaps, being half-hearted.

Neither hot nor cold, neither here nor there. Fit for nothing.

Yet fit for the King.

He qualifies who He calls and my tomorrow lies in His hands. To bid half-heartedness farewell is to trust and obey.

"When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
Not a shadow can rise
Not a cloud in the skies
But His smile quickly drives it away
Not a doubt, not a fear
Not a sigh, not a tear
Can abide while we trust and obey."

Everyday

2006-05-25T11:49:00.000+08:00

My home.

My cuddly fluffball...

who faithfully waits for us to come home everyday...

and wags his little tail in habitual expectation to be hugged and carried like a spoilt brat...

up to my room.

Been there, Done that, Thought so.

2006-05-23T22:24:00.000+08:00

That's the title of a book actually.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." (Matthew 5:13)

Salt-- a preservative. a flavour. a thirst-maker. And that's what Christians are called to be. An eternal preservative through sharing of the message, a true flavour through purposeful and meaningful living, and one who draws others to thirst and know the ONE God.

No particular reason for putting this sheep here. It's a cutie pinkie sheepie from Settler's cafe, complete with couches, sofas, cushions, soft toys and plenty of board games... quite a good hangout for friends... with western food and oreo shakes and ice-cream floats.

Food rhymes with mood. For this lame reason, I have the excuse for writing about that which struck me today... about how easily excitable people like me should not be overwhelmed by the ups and downs of life.

"There are certain things in life that we need not pray about -- moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simple that we won't. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination." (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers)

Look at a half-finished cross stitch from the bottom and you see a mess of strings. But take a look at it from the top... and you'll see a beautiful picture in the making. Moods and circumstances take a different light when you look at the things as from the Above.

Of foods and moods, here's some food for thought... some quote of the day thingie I used to have. Here's another one.

OKieeeee!!! Photos photos here they come!
I've been wanting to blog but haven't managed to bolt myself to the seat... and get photoshop and blogger to work for me. I wanna learn flash! And dreamweaver! And... I'm up for kickboxing next sat! hahaha. And I've finally made a slow start at driving school... yes yes I'm on my way... and here's the photos...

This is ze Moonriver River Restaurant... a nice jazzy place furnished with couches!! haha. The lighting is relaxingly dim... and there's dark blue panels, artsy wall pics, bookshelves... and desserts, cakes and food, food and more food! Serves Western food and Japanese curry (comes in normal, spicy and extra spicy. My pick? spicy.)

My pick of the day at Moonriver was... the homestyled fish! Crispy and super tender and soft and juicy! haha. See the herbs in the fish? There's oregano in it! And the potato and brocoli are blanched or erm stir-fried... I don't know what they did to them but there's a really nice and light buttery smell which is not at all oily! Butter rice wise.... I think you should go try Pepper Lunch (arm yourself with $10-15) :p Anyways, good to have at least $20 with you at Moonriver.

More food over here. This has been endearingly termed as the budget Western food! ($10 bucks will do for a meal!) Welcome to Hans. You're looking at ze Sirloin steak together with ze cream of potato soup-of-the-day as well as toasts and orange juice and honey dew... Hmmm. Well. I think I still miss Bobby Rubino's tossed salad. Honey mustard please. (Bobby Rubino's? Bring your credit card :X)

After you're done with budget Western food... you go to the ladies at Tampines Mall... and you see one of the ideal toilets!!! (Yeah, I blogged about toilets. Go read the toilet's 'Must' and 'Must nots') What you see is actually the mirror reflection of ze toilet! Thumbs up for big, fingerprint-free mirror and nice couches in the toilet! And there're dressing counters/ tables/ make-up stations for ppl too! This is one good public toilet you can sit and have girlie chat in... haha.

And when you get home from a good heavy meal with a good old friend, you'd be drowsy and tired... and ready for a warm bath and bed. Upon emerging from the lift, you realise....

You can't get to your house without balancing on some shakey wooden planks which weren't there in the afternoon. Guess this happens when PAP had a walkover in your consituency haha. Floorworks and upgrading. Well, after performing balancing acts for a few days, it seemed a little worthwhile that the corridor looks much neater and cleaner after that. :)

With that, I end with 2 pictures, freaky to different extents.

Picture no. 1:
Scenario: I was half-awake, rushing off to camp at 7am when I saw a girl with long black hair lying on the pavement, curled up and unconscious... My heart skipped a few beats and I wondered what I should do...

Then I shook my head and rubbed my eyes... It wasn't a girl. It's a black trash bag with white paper and branches spilling out of it. Sheeesssh.

Picture no. 2:
Scenario: I was waiting for the bus when I spotted something squiggly squirming and worming from the corner of my eye. It's something spikey. No, make it hairy. It's a Hairy yellow caterpillar with a one-inch long spike near it's head!!

See that brownish black spike jutting out hear it's orange head? Gross! I wonder if it's part of the caterpillar or if it's a poor caterpillar that has been struck by a sharp twig... And out of all my curiousity, I stood there staring... and with my lousy phone that has no zoom function, I had to place my phone within just one mere inch of this hairy thingie to get a decent picture. So appreciate it ya.

Till my next entry... tata.

Fluffball Grooming

2006-05-05T13:47:00.000+08:00

I absolutely detest grooming. I say this once again. WHaT'S WroNG with MY ruffled HaiR?! Who likes having a slicker run down your spine to the edge of your crown of glory (I refer to my tail), which I bother to wag daily to amuse the people species?!?! Prrrthhhh.

Crossroad Mumble-Jumble

2006-05-04T23:37:00.000+08:00

Leaping. From primary school to secondary school. And from Secondary school to JC. Then from JC and halfway almost not to Uni. Now, we're going from Uni to near graduation.

Time check: 1 day after exams.
Event: Had a wonderful dinner with dear jie meis at Bobby Rubino's, Chijmes.
Emotion of the moment: Sinking into the uncertainty of reality.

Some pictures for you:

Chijmes is such a pretty place. Food was so good, we dined before photography came to mind.

Pretty places aside...

Thoughts a-fumble.

Will I graduate? Will I do honours? Should I get a job? Full-time Job? Part-time job? Should I be getting my resume done? Get a professional photo taken? Shop for professional clothes? Make-up? New specs? Flip newspapers for jobs? Upload my resume on job search? Go take on Project serve for a while? Start driving lessons? Start making phone calls to check out kickboxing/ hip hop lessons? Get my friends to start exercising? Start playing bball in preparation for teen games? Start thinking about ministry? Start thinking about what I want to work as? Think about my calling? Think about my vocation? Think about what am I doing in this life? Think about how distracted I am? Think about why I want to leave certain things behind?

Exams. The safe period where you can just lock everything else out and escape into mugging. Now that it's over, the memories come fumbling back.

Welcome to the ocean again, slipper swish.

See what I see

2006-04-30T14:03:00.000+08:00

More I wannas...

2006-04-30T13:21:00.000+08:00

I wanna....

2006-04-24T13:16:00.000+08:00

Durng exams, I'll have this "I wanna do this, this, this, and this" thingie. It hits me everytime. So for this sem, which is prolly my final sem...

I wanna:

Go back to driving school
Go shop for interview clothes
Go sign up for kickboxing or hiphop with LS
Go on a trip somewhere to do something meaningful. (Mission trip?? Teach English in China? Maybe return to the Hainan Islands with Grandma)
Meet my dearies in ministry and get the ministry fuelled by the students.
Seriously think about what I wanna do. Graduate? Honours? What's work all about? Should I be getting outta my little-girl-the-world-is-too-big-and-scary-mode and snap into the world of make-up and professionalism? I have tons to say about make-up the other day. And so I'll say it now.

On Make-up...

Nowadays, when my friends go shopping, they'll make a detour to the Make-up section while I'll be straying somewhere off to the facial wash and hair waxes... and by the time I'm done with my touring, my friends will still be checking out the different eye shadows and blushers and foundations and bases and nail polishes and bla bla bla... and it's a foreign world to me.

Nah, I've nothing against make-up. Just that I don't own it and I don't use it. Maybe coz I don't know how. Make-up can make you or break you, depending on your skill, which according to many, comes with practice. Secondly, I get this feeling that it'z gonna clog your pores and ruin your skin. I don't use make-up, but I'm still vain enough to cleanse, tone and moisturize once in a while k.

And I guess the greatest reason is that make-up sounds like the start of a phase that that is no longer simple and sincere... and it's part of a world that puts so much more emphasis on first impressions and appearances. I don't like that. I don't like to look one way, and actually be another. I can't keep up with appearances. I probably can hold a 15-minute presentation and actually look professional but I can't hide that somewhat kiddish bubbly-ness that will spoil my whole professional image right? I can't walk around in professional heels and trip, can I? (Yes, I tend to trip.) I can't look professional and be ignorant at the same time right? Something about donning a power suit and looking professional scares me. Something screams at me that it's not me at all.

But that's not completely true. I can grow up if I ditch my habitual looking-back, move forward, take full responsibility for my thoughts and actions, find courage to face the unknown and take the process of growing out in my stride. And when I'm close to that, I'll go join my friends at the make-up and contact lenses section.

They complete each other

2006-04-21T19:49:00.002+08:00

My dad and mum are just about the 2 cutest parents in the world. Okie, I'm biased but they're my parents. In Ice-age 2 terms, " [they] complete each other". Mum packs my dad's stuff before he flies off. Mum calls the cab to pick dad up. Mum's dad's secretary for all the small stuff. Dad's cool. And knows much more about travelling and business talk and international culture. And he playfully laughs at mum sometimes for her ignorance. But, dad burns the fish and mum has to rescue it. Dad's a panic-mess without mum when he's gonna fly. And mum's a ganjiong spider when dad's not around to fetch her around and work out the groceries... and handle 3 girls who never seem to grow up... oh well, I just love them.

In more modern terms. Mum and dad are like 豆浆油条 (yah, in Lin JunJie's singing terms)

我知道你和我就像是豆浆油条
要一起吃下去味道才会是最好
你需要我的傻笑
我需要你的拥抱
爱情就需要这样它才不会单调

我知道有时候也需要吵吵闹闹
但始终也知道只有你对我最好
豆浆离不开油条
让我爱你爱到老
爱情就需要这样它才幸福美好

Love ya Dad n Mum.

More quizzes

2006-04-08T00:06:00.000+08:00

To give this blog some life.... here's sthg. So I'm the bio plant plant animal kinda uni student. and the test says I'm an artie artie major. I think they're right. hahaha. Can i hv the best of both world? Artie scientist? Mmmm.

You scored as Art. You should be an Art major! How bohemian!

Art

92%

Theater

67%

Dance

67%

Journalism

67%

Linguistics

58%

English

50%

Philosophy

50%

Chemistry

50%

Psychology

50%

Sociology

42%

Anthropology

42%

Biology

42%

Engineering

42%

Mathematics

33%

What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3)
created with QuizFarm.com

I like...

2006-03-23T23:59:00.000+08:00

I like creativity.
I like throwing out ideas.
I like to brainstorm for new things.
I like to share ideas with people ... and get people to develop them.
I don't like to be suppressed by the systems.
I enjoy meeting people. Younger people maybe.

So, what's the job for me? Mmmm.

All on the loveydoveys.

2006-03-05T21:38:00.000+08:00

Another good webbie to visit:

http://www.pureintimacy.org/

My A levels, His story.

2006-03-03T20:08:00.000+08:00

The A levels results were released. Some rejoiced and some ended up in tears. Some didn’t know what to do because they had too many options while others cried over having almost nowhere to go. Having to face the future and all the decision-making was one crazy period for these A leavers, especially for those who realised that their University dreams were dashed. Suddenly, the normal flow with the upward stream got disrupted and they seem stranded.

Do we align ourselves and our identity too much with this linear upward hierarchical flow that most believe is synonymous with success? I think so. Since secondary school, I've been psycho-ed to think that getting to a good JC and straight to the University was the only way to go. Note, I said "ONLY way". I truly believed that straying off this 'flowy' tract would imprint the word "failure" on my forehead. So, when I finally got my A level results, I was devastated. I was mingling with possibilities of being the University reject. The word "failure" was slowly scratched into my heart and mind.

I struggled and went through the process of condemning myself, regretting my actions, pushing the blame, questioning God and drowning myself in tears. I was lost. I once had a map-- a map that showed me the route to JC, which then led to Uni and finally to treasure island which had good job prospects. However, when I saw my A level results, someone tore my map of success into shreds. It wasn't just my career prospect that was at risk, my character suffered the greater blow. I prided myself as the under-performing smart person but no, I was definitely under performing and I was not smart. It no longer mattered that I was from a branded school. Look at the word imprinted in my heart -- "Failure". It was a time of mourning.

After a period of I-don't-know-how-long, it struck me that I must take action. If I don't stop mourning, I might just end up with nowhere to go. I was certain that I still wanted to study and I’d go for alternatives, just as long as I could study. There's poly, private schools and perhaps, the University.

I was going down a different road. There's no more street-wise worldly advice from friends and the security-in-numbers mentality was no longer applicable. I was on my own. When I had no one else with me, I turned my eyes to God. He was the only One with me when the others departed down a different lane.

I went to various schools and did multiple applications alone. I was never the independent sort but I had to go alone. I held on to the Lord's promise that He was sovereign and all was perfect and good in His time. I found courage to face all these, knowing that God has plans to prosper me and not to harm me. I learnt to rejoice in knowing that the Lord teaches and disciplines through the process, and that He is perfecting my character through trials. It's my character that mattered to Him and not the mere sheet of certification that supposedly indicated my success or failure. I learnt that God is more concerned about me as a person-- my character and how I live.

Many weeks after the rush for poly and uni application, I got accepted by 2 polys but there was no news from the university. Yet, I knew the Lord was with me, and He gave me the courage to accept my place in one of the polys. I went for the orientation, paid the school fees, prayed, and prepared myself for this route which I never expected myself to take. My parents were supportive and I knew that as long as the Lord was with me, there was no need to be afraid.

Weeks later, I got a surprise. After the traumatic and strenuous episode which taught me submission in waiting for the Lord and changed my perception of the less-treaded upon route, I received another letter. The letter was from the university and I was accepted.

I was stunned and elated. I had no idea how my grades would enable me to enter the university. It could only be God.

The Lord broke my pride but He lifted me up in His grace. Through this episode, He showed me what was important in life. It was the process and my response that was important. The outcome that mattered was my change of heart. It was about trusting and obeying the Lord. God took care of both my spiritual and physical needs and desires. I now see that I cannot do without Him. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!!!

ENFJ-ish

2006-02-01T20:28:00.000+08:00

Here's my results for some personality test (which was highly recommended by a friend):
Extraverted
Intuitive
Feeling
Judging

The ENFJs optimistic outlook toward social relationships is a burden to them at times. When external conflicts affect a group, the ENFJ is likely to assume responsibility. Their ability to empathize then turns into a liability. ENFJs, when over-identifying with the pain of others, will loose sight of their own concerns and interests. Their idealism can also be the cause of some distress when their assumptions are unable to weather the winds of reality. Fantasized relationships rarely translate into reality and even the best charismatic leader encounters unexpected resistance. Like all NFs, ENFJs will disassociate themselves from stressful situations in an effort to protect their sense of well-being and togetherness. The ENFJ, however, will repress the unpleasant side of life only to have to face it later in an intensified form when it explodes from its hiding place. It can manifest itself as fits of anger, sudden outbursts, or emotional explosions. Often the ENFJ's body will reflect pent-up stress by manifesting various physical symptoms that will erupt unexpectedly.

Careers
This lists represent careers and jobs people of your type tend to enjoy doing. The job requirements are similar to the personality tendencies of your personality type. It is important to remember that this is not a list of all the jobs possible. And it is very important to remember that people can, and frequently do, fill jobs that are dissimilar to their personality... this happens all the time...and sometimes works out quite well.

entertainer
recruiter
artist
newscaster
writer/journalist
recreation director
librarian
facilitator
politician
psychologist
housing director
career counselor
sales
trainer
travel agent
program designer
corporate/team trainer
child welfare worker
social worker (elderly...services)
interpreter/translator
occupational therapist
executive: small business
alcohol/drug counselor
sales manager

(PS: that webbie says plenty, but I'm kinda lazy to read it :X )

Girly Youthfulness.

2006-01-22T22:59:00.000+08:00

It must be my fringe. Or the fact that I share similar tastes with a sister who's 6 yrs younger. Or perhaps it's the wadrobe that my sisters and I are planning to share.

Here's an account of the shopkeeper-auntie's little conversation with yours truly.
"You are in sec what?"
" Erm... I'm not in sec school anymore..."
" Or, so u're in poly?"
" Actually... no... in uni..."
" Oh, it's your first year?"
" Erm... no.... ... ... "
" It's so good to look young right? You can pretend to be from sec school. "
" Erm. Ha ha." Ha. Ha. Ha.

Yours truly had a good mummy-sponsored, daddy-chauffered and sisters-accompanied CNY shopping experience (spoilt-rotten brat I am). Yours truly is perpetually attracted to the colour white, and recently (and maybe transiently), green. Yours truly is not attracted to extremely girly girly clothes, with some exceptions. Yours truly and her sisters hope to have a shared big walk-in-wadrobe. hahaha. Oh man, what girly utterings.

Guilty website

2006-01-21T19:53:00.000+08:00

Perhaps I'm the kinda person who's been wearing myself out by feeling bad... and I realise that I don't have to be plagued by guilt/ guilty feelings if I've understood what guilt really is and what has already been done for me.

Here's a website on Dealing with Guilt

Thank you Lord.

Banana points.

2006-01-19T21:14:00.000+08:00

It's just a crappy title. I've been craving for bananas recently. And they make a good, healthy and ever-ready snack.

Some amusing information on ze Banana:
1) anti-ulcer
2) mild laxative effect
3) aphrodisiac
4) helps in regeneration of red blood cells.
5) Banana + milk = a nearly complete balanced diet (power!)

Banana's aside, I've been reading the papers and here's some itzy-bitzies for you:

Itzy-bitzy 1:
This week's URBAN looks at how some celebs share about the similarities between them and their pooches. *Looks at my dog* How am I similar to you? (eeks, unglam un-photoshoped pic)

Oh, yeah, the both of us don't really like starfruit, unless juiced and mixed with honey.

Itzy-bitzy 2:
When shopping gets boring, an inquisitive curiousity towards novelty led me hotel-exploring and Oooo-ing and Ah-ing at posh decor and the classy interior design. That's what ulu-gated people like me do when I step into many-star hotels. But for people like Mr. and Mrs. Ong, they step into exclusive hotels, set their eyes it... and may just acquire it (refer to Straits Times article). Tell me, who steps into a hotel/resort and think, "Looks good, maybe I'll just get it." At best, I'll think the exact same line only when getting little things which require less than green and red notes. It's out of this world to read that there're people who can acquire hotels one after another... I don't even accumulate enough money to do that in a game of Monopoly.

Itzy-bitzy 3:
Taken straight off ST URBAN pg 13... you have....
"Civil defence ... to fend off inquisitive relatives and friends" about singlehood.
Here's some of amusingly feasible suggestions...
1) Fight fire with fire: Ask an equally embarrassing question. Eg. "When are you giving birth?"
2) Binge your way out: Stuff yourself with CNY goodies so that your mouth will be too full to entertain any questions.
3) Play victim: Blame your relatives for not introducing a nice girl/guy to you. And while you're at it, you can also blame your parents, siblings, teachers and the society for your lack of romance.
4) Strength in numbers: Hang around with other singles. If you are with older bachelors or bacherlorettes, even better. They can be canon fodder as you make your escape.
5) Delay tactics: Reply "maybe December" when you relative asks when. Just don't specify the year.

Meanwhile, Happy Cheena New Year! :)

Bitter

2006-01-09T21:48:00.000+08:00

It
squirms and squishes
swirls and smudges
stains and spittles
Choked bitter.

Mr Drummer next door

2006-01-07T21:16:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last strummed out with my little One. The weather got chilly and things grew a little cold between the both of us too.

On my way home yesterday, as I shielded myself with a puny umbrella against the wind and rain, I heard Mr. Drummer from the opposite block doing his thing again. (Well, it could be Miss Drummer doing her thing.) Mr. Drummer practises his new drum beats regularly without fail, be it rain or shine, in warm weather or in chilly ones. When he starts doing his thing, I'll look at my little One, remember our strumming good times and get my fingers to work again.

Eh thanks Mr. Drummer... keep playing!

Webbies i wanna visit

2006-01-05T21:51:00.000+08:00

dkproductions
artwire.com

2006-01-05T19:36:00.000+08:00

New word of the day:
Podcast: A podcast is a web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to subscribe to. (Wikipedia)
Hmmm... now now... a challenge to mainstream broadcasts? How about censorship? Shrugz.

Dreamie home of the day:
Waterfront bungalows at Sentosa Cove Coral Island -- "Each of the 'regular' bungalows comes with a berth for a 12m yatch, a private swimming pool, a roof terrace, golf store and boat store, kitchen appliances from designer names like Gaggenau, and sanitary wares from luxury brand Villeroy and Boch... ... Extra goodies [for the $13.9M bungalow include] a covered outdoor pavilion, two living rooms, a separate formal dining area, a smaller second dining room, 3 parking spaces for cars, a cloak room, a steam room with an adjoining bathroom, a roof terrace on the 2nd floor and another in the attic." ( The Straits Times)
Giganormous! Children's wonderland for hide and seek! Surreal! But it's nothing compared to my real home. wahahaha.

JT's real home in time to come:
The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

Encouraging reminder of the day:
"I AM Too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.

Mumblings.

2005-12-30T01:44:00.000+08:00

There and not really there
Aloof and not really anti-social
Recalled and not really remembered
Sailing off with cold and easy solitude
No strings attached.

Stressed is Desserts Spelled backwards

2005-12-29T16:03:00.000+08:00

The most darling sweetie pie present.
(Thanks JR, Lia, XY, YT n ZL!)

All my presents are photoshoot-worthy and really like them lots! But so sorry I'm such a bummer at times and didn't really take too many photos.... :X But you see, I'll be carrying your prezzies around! Thanks peeps and thanks Mum and Dad and my sisters and my jiemeis for the prezzies, the sms-es, the cards, the e-cards, the msn wishes, the effort you put in and the fact that you actually remembered. Thanks for all the memories! :D