Explore the world with different perspectives...

Lund

2008-08-20T02:44:00.006+08:00

Sunrise above Moscow

In case some of you have just realised that i've disappeared from Singapore, i'm currently now an exchange student over at Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

So I arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark after a gruelling 10hours overnight flight....

Copenhagen International Airport

Trained over to Lund C station, Sweden. Cost me 101 DKK for a 30mins ride....

And finally arrived in Lund city...

School of Biology

Compare this building with the Biological Sciences block in NTU, which do you prefer?

P/S: I shall be blogging/photoblogging on my life in Lund University over at this new blog space.

Something Random

2008-08-15T01:11:00.007+08:00

I suppose many of us here have experienced this particular feeling of looking at your parents' greying hair and realising how much they've aged. (P/S: If you haven't, just take some time off and take a good look at them).

The first time I saw this scene, my heart sank. 23 years have since passed and they're no longer adults in their prime. Their bodies embattled just to keep things going for these kids requiring an education.

The other day I was at the barber's when the first bunch of hair fell victim to the blade. As it came into view, what struck me stumped was the sight of a significant amount of greying hair on me. A young lad with once thick black growth is now blooming with white.

I felt sad.

How would you feel?

Cambodia Trip: Phnom Penh

2008-08-08T13:09:00.029+08:00

Sunset View of The Royal Palace

Phnom Penh, Capital of Cambodia (02 August - 05 August 2008)

The decision to Phnom Penh was a rather subtle one. I was contemplating between Bangkok (again) and Phnom Penh. The difference in airfares helped me decide the destination for a short getaway. Bangkok is too expensive for a revisit.

There's no longer anything fresh about shopping in Bangkok, nor freezing it out in Genting...just for a brief moment, look out further to the forgotten nations.

Asked why I chose to holiday in a 'backward' country, my reply would be: "Have you been there?"

Day 1: Arrival in Phnom Penh (02 August 2005)

We were kept pretty much awake on the (dreaded) 1.5hours flight from Singapore to Phnom Penh by this lovely baby here. Everyone say hi to baby Joshua!

Baby Joshua

And so we arrived in Phnom Penh at an unearthly hour:

Pochentong International Airport, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Here's my transport from the airport to hotel:

Toyota Camry L.E. as Taxi Service

We made reservations for this hotel: Hotel Cara which I shall elaborate in a bit more detail as i'm greatly satisfied with the quality of service provided.

Nicely Decorated Reception

Cosy Waiting Area

The Room (Overview)

The warm ambience and deco

The Washroom (Overview)

Neatly-packed necessities

A nice mini balcony to sum things up

HOTEL CARA
A: No. 18 Street 47 & 84
Sangkat Srass Chork
Khanh Doun Penh
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
E: stay@hotelcara.com
T:+855 23 430 066

Rates: SGD44/room/night
Remarks: Daily breakfast provided. Free Wifi available.

First Stop: Wat Phnom

I know nuts about Cambodian or Phnom Penh history in particular. History lessons in school though interesting did not cover enough of everything. According to the receptionist at Hotel Cara, long ago there was this Lady Penh who built what we know as Phnom Penh today. Phnom Penh is obviously named after this great lady.

Wat Phnom is the temple built to commemorate her. There's a legend to this temple too. Hearing from the receptionist again, he told us that Lady Penh did not manage to enjoy marital bliss with her loved one even until she passed on.

And it's a strong Cambodian belief that couples who are not married must never enter this temple for their relation shall bear no fruit!

Entrance to Wat Phnom (plenty of steps)

Shrine on top of Wat Phnom

Shot taken at the back of Wat Phnom

Elephant rides around the temple were available too!!

Another shot at the entrance of Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom
Entrance fee: USD$1 (foreigners)

Second Stop: Central Market (PHSAR THMEI)

No doubt the largest and most organised market in Phnom Penh, the Central Market sells a variety of stuff from (pirated) bags and shirts to delicious roadside Khmer food. As we can see from the map below, the central market consists of a main building and 4 wings.

Map of Central Market

Central Market Building (under renovation)

Tissot Clock Tower right in the middle of the dome

The main building consists of stalls selling more upmarket stuffs like silver, jade, watches etc

The exterior is like our local pasar malam selling things like flowers, shirts, paintings and food.

Khmer-style roadside kebabs. (1000Riels/stick = ~S$0.34)
From left: Charcoal-grilled cow liver, beef, pork and chicken wings

From same stall, their local dish which is like our local 'popiah'. (4000Riels = ~S$1.36)

The yellow dough skin, beansprouts, crunchy peanuts, cabbage, minced meat and made fragrant with a douse of lime.

Third Stop: Soriya Shopping Centre

Soriya Shopping Centre, which is just located opposite the Central Market, is the largest shopping mall in Phnom Penh. There's another newer Sovanna Shopping Centre which we didn't have time to visit.

Soriya houses the really upscale brand names like Sasa, Swensen's, Osim etc. It is a 7-storeys building with an in-lin skating ring at the top floor.

Soriya as seen from the top floor

An interesting trade discovered inside the mall: Wrapping electronics (e.g. handphones, laptops, cameras) with a clear plastic protection film. (USD2-3 per equipment)

Last Stop: Dinner @ Restaurant Tell

The rattan lamp radiating a rosy glow

Restaurant Tell is well-recommended on many online forums for their soothing ambience and great food. Following in the gourmet-seekers' footsteps, we found ourselves in a relaxing environment, the sort of environment we can expect for fine dining in Singapore. A very nice laidback dinner indeed.

Interior of Restaurant Tell

Exterior of Restaurant Tell

Interior seat layout

Their famous Swiss Cheese Fondue

Swiss Veal Sausage w/ Potato

Dessert: Apple Strudel!

Restaurant Tell
A: #13, Street 90
Sangkat Wat Phnom
Daun Penh
T: +855 023 430 650
E: RESTAURANT@tellphnompenh.com

Remarks: USD34 for the above dishes + 2 glasses of Edinburg beer

Quiz

2008-08-06T11:42:00.003+08:00

Today's a tad boring so I did a little quiz inferred from Sy's blog...

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Blogging

2008-07-09T17:04:00.004+08:00

Research life sucks.

Nowadays I only have time to update my lab journal.

Research work drains your life and soul.

Love

2008-05-27T19:04:00.002+08:00

I love my lab so much that I'm still playing with flies at this hour...

Screw Neuro...I have even better news

2008-05-11T22:33:00.003+08:00

I received this email reply after a super long wait from Lund Uni:

Dear Weixin,

I have accepted you to marine biology (BIOR12) and Plant Biology (BIOR26). Formally you lack Ecology. If possible, maybe you could read some Ecology text book yourself before the start of the course.

I'll be enjoying my dives while the rest enjoy the brain etc. Cheers!

E-Hub @ Downtown East

2008-05-05T16:00:00.010+08:00

Malls are springing up all over the place in recent years and they come in different themes. There's the famous Vivocity but now let me introduce the latest family-styled mall all the way at Downtown East: Entertainment-Hub (E-Hub).

E-Hub at night is lovely with all the vibrant lighting. There's also a big ferris wheel inside the mall sponsored by Cadbury which is the main attraction at the mall...

There's also a brand new bowling alley but damn expensive though ($4.50 for peak hours)...
Ferris wheel in daytime, it spans 3 storeys and is the key attraction...
Ferris wheel at night, reliving the fantasies of childhood...
A last shot of E-Hub by night and the ferris wheel....

Dinner was settled in a Hong Kong-styled eatery right at the basement. Had this Hong Kong Happy Bowl (鹵肉飯) for S$4.50. The dish comes with an egg, nicely-minced 鹵肉, a piece of fried tofu and the important thing is, they use Japanese rice!! Demonstration on how to prepare the Happy bowl for the taste test...

Next up, we have the Pork Chop Apple Curry Rice. Comes with a large serving of fragrant pork chop, a nicely fried egg and of course the taste curry sauce. This costs S$5.80...

Dessert was ChocoMilo with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream. This is the only thing I won't recommend for consumption. Too many ice-cubes and not really worth the price of S$5.

Cycling @ Pasir Ris Park

2008-05-04T23:19:00.008+08:00

One fine day, the BS people decided to venture outdoors to discover new biodiversity and they ended up right here in Pasir Ris Park.

They stormed ridges and hills...

Braved diverging paths....

But eventually decided to call it a day with big wide smiles...
Melisa and I decided to examine the mangroves...
We ended up amongst the tree-tops...
Discovered some weird looking fruits...
(take a look at this shot with my S770, it's really crisp!)
Found some 'single-pincer' mud crabs....
And finally a lone mudskipper...

Stay tune for the next updates in the search for biodiversity by the BS people....

Chocolate Frenzy

2008-05-04T23:11:00.007+08:00

Tasty dark chocolates can never be enough. I'll choose this Dark Chocolate Decadence ice-blend anytime over Starbucks.

P/S: Mad, regarding the Godiva dark chocolate bread spread you posted previously, it's freaking expensive at S$18 for a puny bottle!!!

Another new gadget

2008-05-04T23:02:00.006+08:00

Let me introduce my new handset for the next 2years:

The newly-released LG KS20 PDA Phone!!

Got a fairly good deal, S$298 comes with the handset itself coupled with a free leather pouch, a desktop battery charger and a spare battery!! I'm loving my first PDA phone...

Casio Exilim EX-S770

2008-05-02T21:00:00.004+08:00

My new toy, the CASIO Exilim Card series: EX-S770. Really light, slim and handy. Best of all, it takes really sharp images and videos! 1 wonder about this camera: while on video recording mode, the user can still snap photos with an approximate lag of about ~1second. I'm never leaving home without it.

For those interested to find out more, do visit their homepage at:
http://www.exilim.com/intl/ex_s770

God's Will?

2008-05-02T20:14:00.003+08:00

Ok, for those who are religious hardcores, your journey ends over here. For the rest, please proceed as you deem fit. Thanks.

Prior to the exams, I've been reading some blogs from friends, cousins and some other random readings (due to plain sickness of the notes). Throughout the examination duration, I've also seen and heard some stuff which forms the basis of what I'm going to blog about now.

To start things off, I find some things rather disturbing. In particular, I read my cousin's blog about her success story in the national examinations. The gist is, she goes to the Sunday class(for church) and the teacher/pastor requests for her to tell the class whether was there holy intervention to which she said she felt it throughout the entire examination duration. For a long while after this, I still can't make sense out of it. I'm not sure about you lot out there but the whole idea of linking one's success to holy intervention is like...overly idealistic? She's the success story of Jesus Christ and there was a positive response to her faithfulness to her religion. Yes, God is great!!

But just hold on a second, so am I getting the signal that whatever is going good and exceptional is the work of God whereas whatever's not smooth-sailing is attributed to the lack of faithfulness? What about the rest of the class over there? Didn't they share the same faith as my cousin? What about those in the same class that did not score well or even failed the examinations? Am I to infer that they aren't praying hard enough or God has a ruler of sorts to determine who succeeds and who fails?

Similarly, throughout the exams, group prayers prior to entry into the examination hall is a common sight. I usually don't pay much attention to what they say but there was once I walked past this group that was praying real loud. It went something like :" ....we pray that whatever we studied will come out and what we didn't won't.....". Sorry but I almost laughed out if I didn't manage to suppress it. I was thinking...what if all of them in that group focussed on different topics? So if God heard their prayer, wouldn't it cancel out all his holy intervention? Ultimately it still boils down to diligence. Study hard and you won't need God to magically remove questions you won't want to deal with. Inferring slightly deeper, I wasn't really pleased. Am I right to infer that only Christians who pray hard should do well and the rest who didn't pray and succumb to the faith should be a level below them?

Honestly speaking, I've been to church when I was a little kid but I've stopped the weekly routine for almost 20 years now. On a personal note, I'm really just coping fine with things around me. All these while I've worked and studied, I've always held the belief that there are always solutions to everything and nothing is linear. If this way doesn't work, let's go by another until we get to the target. I don't condemn the occurence of divine intervention or miracles, I just hold more belief in the fact that through crisis and hardship, it had not been God that aided me. When I required help, it was always people...common man like me and you, people whom we call friends, relatives or even acquaintances. When I was hungry back in camp, my sergeant brought me food. When I was down at the pits, it was my friends who showed me the way. When it was time to grow up, I learnt it the hard way.

If I had to give thanks, it won't be to God, I have lived 23 years of my life without holy interference of any degree. Instead, I have to thank my seniors for guiding me along during school life. I have to thank my mum for her chicken essence. I have to thank Qing Yuan and Eugene for their timely help at many times this semester. I have to thank my relatives for solving Melisa's visa problem at a time I had no time to make other arrangements. I had to thank some friends for understanding that I really have no time to contact them and the list never ends.

So people, why not look around you and appreciate the more practical stuffs of life? The immediate comfort of your friends, your family. Give thanks to them more than you have to give God. God might or might not aid you in times of need....they will.

Till then...

Back after a long while...

2008-05-02T11:12:00.004+08:00

Returning after a long disappearance, let me start off by presenting my girlfriend, Melisa!!

Finally something relevant after studying BS203...

2007-12-17T13:52:00.000+08:00

Finally, something useful...at least I managed to appreciate this process. Our lovely apoptosis in action with the TNF-alpha and Nf-kB.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040526065457.htm

Supper @ Gluttons' Bay

2007-12-15T21:37:00.001+08:00

Gluttons' Bay @ the Esplanade, not exactly my favourite haunt to satisfy a grumbling tummy late at night. But owing to Eio's ingenius planning, the initial 5, dwindling to a pathetic 3, ended up having supper there.

So here we have it, my virgin step into Gluttons' Bay...

Fried Oyster Omelette. The oysters were distinctly detached from the dough but the dough was well-fried though.
BBQ Chicken Wings...definitely not the best I have eaten.
Satay satay...I'm in love with Surabaya's now....

There was a BBQ Stingray...but we emptied the plate too fast for photos to be taken.

Anyway, here's the lovely duo, Eio and Mark.

Life after death

2007-11-17T19:43:00.001+08:00

Prosthetic legs don't occur on humans or animals alike. The relatively new chair which apparently was broken by yours truly just got a fix. Metal plates and rivets now constitute a main portion of the leg.

So dear friends, rocking chairs aren't meant to be rocked. Please stop rocking yours if you don't wish to spoil the chair, get a scolding, break your piggy bank to buy another or get a painful butt from the fall!!

See no evil

2007-11-01T20:33:00.000+08:00

Happy Retirement!

2007-11-01T20:04:00.000+08:00

The greatest teacher doesn't need to proclaim he/she is one; People will acknowledge you.

The lousiest doesn't need to take much effort to know that he/she is one; It's obvious.

24 October 2007: The best biology teacher finally retired.

Time really flies, it's an old phrase but it brings out the aptness best. I can still remember the days when she used to complain about MOE refusing to allow her an early retirement. 6 years down the road, finally all of us students old and current were there to witness her final words in BPGHS. I believe in any trade, your final report card is how people see and respond to you the day you leave. And I suppose Mdm. Quek scored a well-expected A* with distinction.

Pupils will miss her presence in the school...at least I will.

The graduate batch of 2001:

Blend of 401 & 402. And where are the 02 girls??

The chairman of 402 presenting a token of appreciation to Mdm Quek

(a framed photo of us taken with Mdm Quek back in 2001)

All the appreciations presented by current and ex-students. 02's on the right!

Spring cleaning

2007-10-12T19:53:00.000+08:00

Spring cleaning done on some unknown part of my house, not by me of course. I wish I had the time to get rid of those bacteria colonies all over my room. My mother did...and somehow a childhood toy was discovered hidden in a box.

Ahhh....sweet childhood...days of no work and all play. Highly nostalgic to those days...

Till then.

Neglect

2007-10-08T18:21:00.000+08:00

This blog is so neglected i nearly forgot I own one. Anyway, i'm still lacking the the important thing called 'time' so don't expect anything fanciful. School work is strangling me...

On a more relaxing note, the submission of 2 assignments last Friday gave us a real good reason to unwind with this:

A nice fragrant piece of waffle with a generous scoop of cookies and cream at Haato. The waffle's real nice, I love it! I suppose Gelare's should stand aside for this. Price is reasonable at S$6.50 too. Man, I should start baking waffles....recipes anyone?

Till then.

Dim Sum @ Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant

2007-08-21T22:55:00.000+08:00

I need elaborate no further. It's the much anticipated dim sum lunch gathering @ Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant, Turf City. Second visit to this ulu place located on a peaceful area of Singapore. It used to be rowdy on the weekends, at least from my memories of the place. One can hardly squeeze up the buses that pass through Bukit Timah with all the gamblers rushing to make their killings(or get killed) at the racecourse. The process of event organisation is a mental torture. Especially true when you see the attendance dwindling...from 7 to 6 and finally 4: Garrie, Michelle, her bf and me.

Anyway, dim sum at 50% discount on weekdays at a high-class restaurant, what else to ask for? Look at the pictures:

The eggtarts. Michelle was demanding eggtarts on the way there, we were thinking "eggtarts for dim sum? Since when did eggtarts originate from China?". Got stumped when we saw it on the menu. Honestly, not the best, just normal, better than those at bakeries though. I still prefer the ones from Crystal Jade.

Forgot the name for this. But supposedly it's Chee Cheong Fun with either shrimp or Char Siew wrapped in it. A big serving of both. The shrimp's fresh and the char siew's good. But one complain though, the skin's too thick...i prefer mine thin and slippery so it glides in well. And once again, CJ offers better quality.

The must-have dish, Steamed Shrimp Dumpling. My favourite at every dim sum affair. Disappointing dish though, I had high expectations for it. The skin's too think and the fillings aren't juicy enough! Not fantastic but I suppose it isn't that bad either.

Deep-fried Beancurd Roll with Shrimp. Oh I quite like this, the beancurd skin's well-fried to a golden crisp and the shrimp filling inside is substantial. Finally something I don't have much complaints on.

The Char Siew bun. Common dish to occupy some space in the stomach. Sorry but i'm not a particular fanatic of buns or bread. The char siew inside was nice and juicy though. Worth a try.

Halfway through the affair. How could I have forgotten about the carrot cake on the right? This, my dears, is a very nice carrot cake. Slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with the occasion fragrant shrimp. You won't regret trying this. Give the dumpling rice with abalone a miss though, heard it's not really palatable. A plain space filler.

I remember this name. Something like Fried Banana balls with red bean paste. I wouldn't try it a second time though. Taste exactly like the Goreng Pisang from the hawker centers, no taste of the red bean paste. Money-waster, try others instead.

Here comes the finale, Deep-fried Seafood Roll. This is the best dim sum of the day. Something unique that i've never eaten before and it's fantastic. I can really just order a whole table of it for dim sum. I suppose it takes quite a bit of effort for this dish, crispy outer layer with an intricate blend of seafood paste in the middle. I tasted lots of shrimp and others which I still can't figure out. This is really good, a must-have for the affair.

For such quality and a 50% discount, the 4 of us chalked up a bill of merely 46 bucks. I suppose this is a cheap price to pay. Some hits and misses but overall worth the amount we're paying for a fulfillng meal. One thing to note, especially for people allergic to seafood, is that most of the dim sum uses prawns and I mean lots of prawns as the main ingredient. A distinct difference from many others who use the cheaper alternative that is pork. A thumbs-up for seafood lovers but no-no for seafood allergic poor souls.

Till then.

Dinner @ Essential Brews

2007-08-21T21:53:00.000+08:00

Long absence from the blogging arena and especially so for my own space. Welcome my re-entry with posts on more food.

Finding a cosy corner for a good chat with friends is not an easy chore, active organisers should empathise with me on this issue. Seeked high and low, had decided to take a break from Holland Village but it's hard...really hard. So many delicate eateries amalgamated into a quiet corner away from the bustling city. I just can't seem to steer away from this area...just yet.

Anyway, ended up making reservations @ Essential Brews on a stagnant Wednesday evening for a chit-chat session cum belated birthday celeration with Jiawen. Essential Brews, a 2-storeys restaurant, but somewhat more inclined towards a cafe. The 1st storey's quite non-happening as few can be seen at the ground level but it's a different story altogether once you get to the upper level. Over here, there're no hard wooden chairs. Just an elevated wooden platform with low tables and guess what? Plenty of cushions to go round for comfort...perfect place for lazing around on a passive evening. Besides that, I managed to reserve a seat just by the windows, ensuring us of a sumptous night scene.

Food pictures coming right up!

My salmon...I should say this isn't bad at all. In fact I like the taste of it. A generous thick chunk of pan-fried salmon with some 'tea-extract' sauce. The sauce's on the rice too. I love salmon! Was it $14.50?? Can't seem to remember but should be near.

Ah...the much awaited Green Tea Creme Brulee. LC this is for you!! A daring venture but with all honesty I declare mine as the preferred choice. This creme brulee isn't what i'll call 'smooth'. Maybe just for the green tea flavour. $4.50 for this 'moss-lookalike thing'.

Our Tiramisu...think it's the first time I tried this so can't really comment. Supposed it's normal. Anyway, as per the Creme Brulee, it's a shared dessert between Jiawen and me. $4.95 for this.

Essential Brews as the name suggests, should be a place for drinking tea right? So definitely we ordered a brew. Can't decide on any so we saw this "Chef's hat" icon beside this "Camomile Tea". Greatest regret of this meal....and I finally realised the function of the bottle of honey that comes together with the tea. The camomile tea is simply just not my taste and I ended up adding so much honey it became a hot honey beverage.

Well, it's the company that matters most.

Till then.

Another new school year

2007-08-09T12:49:00.000+08:00

Time flies. It really does seem that way. 3 months of 24 hours definitely aren't enough. Working really saps most of my precious time and energy away too. Finally the new school year kicks in on monday and there I was happily still thinking school starts next monday!

Anyway, school began with a gentle pace. Just nice to remind me of the impending workload and allowing me to re-adapt to life as a student.

Ziping came to crash my lecture yesterday. And of all lectures I had to let him see one of the worst scenes in Bioscience. He had to come for the lecture by Dr. K.

By the way, this Sony Ericsson's latest phone W660i is my new toy. I can even blog direct from the phone!

Check things out
http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=sg&lc=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ver=4000&template=pip1&zone=pp&pid=10867

Some updates from last week.
An urgent exit from the workplace on Friday, my colleagues gave me a sumptous treat at Botak Jones, Ang Mo Kio Branch. Work can get stagnant and boring but these agents and of course the secretaries' company definitely livens up the mood! Sorry to Alvin and the others for not attending your dinner cum movie at Vivo ok! I'll not be seeing these nice people for a long while.

Ok, this is my 'Double Botaks'. 300grams of hand-pounded beef. I would rate it as rather good but not excellent. Honestly, I prefer a little blood in my meat. This is too dry for my liking. But the serving is really huge for the pricing.

Bianca had her beef coated in cheese.

While the rest had 'Cajun Chicken'. Check their website for the pricing etc.

For every event, it's always the company that matters. That night, the food and ambience were exceptionally good. And we chatted away late into the night. Reallt hope to meet up with these people again soon. Insurance anyone?

Till then.

Weekends

2007-07-02T21:13:00.000+08:00

Weekends are the days for the busy office workers to withdraw from the strugglings of the corporate lifestyle and retreat for some tranquility. But weekends forever seem so short to me.

Saturday was spent on tuition with the boys. They weren't particular cooperative, really gave me hell of a headache this weekend, A power nap ensued and soon I was out on a jog with Kianyong. Much to our surprise, we met Mad on a bike which she refuses to dismount from to jog with us!! How unsporting.

Sunday mornings are to be spent accompanying my grandmother. I spent the morning to afternoon chasing after her, feeding her and folding+unfolding+folding again clothes with her. Everything irritates her....tough times. Rushed home and embarked on a baking adventure. My oven had never worked as hard as yesterday for its duration in my household.

Began the ambitious drive to bake 2 things:

Creme Bulee

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Creme Bulee(Recipe courtesy of LC's recommendation)

Baking accomplished, out came 4 jiggly custards. Can't eat it yet but the aroma is overwhelming!

A close-up shot of the most successful custard. Anyway, the blackened areas are not overcooked, they're just caramelised. Sweet tasting, no where near those cancerous stuff.

The process of making the caramel layer. I don't own a fancy butane torch, so let's just improvise by using the griller. But apparently I was getting much of the heat too. Watch those brown sugar bubbling like hot lava.

Presenting to you....Creme Bulee!!

The freshly-made caramel layer was crispy and really blends in well with the custard below. Can be consumed both warm or cold. Word of advise though, the elderly might find it a tat too sweet. I took ~10mins to caramelise 1 of this, my mother took less than 3 secs to scrape, scoop and sling a big chunk of the caramel layer into the bin!!

Smooth and silky. Simply melts in your mouth.

Chocolate Chip Cookies(Recipe courtesy of my boss' friend)

Everything blended in and ready for baking!
On the cookie sheet, the pioneer batch awaits.
Tonnes of deliciously baked cookies!
This is for grandma and relatives taking care of her.
These are for me!!! I never knew cookies could taste so nice.

Till then...

I got tagged!!

2007-07-02T20:18:00.000+08:00

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Each player of this game starts out by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog!

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Ok, kind of bored over here, so let's just play a little mad's game of 'tagged'. 6 weird things, I wonder if a plain normal guy like me has that much deviation from the common lot.

I like to sit cross-legged, as in when we were younger back in primary/secondary school days and we had to bear hours sitting cross-legged in the hall listening to boring speeches. Somewhat rather, even when I'm sitting on a chair, I feel more comfortable or to a greater extent, I can think better in a cross-legged position.

I like to cook or bake. Quoting Mad, i'm 'domesticated', a rare species....probably extinct! I love good food, I love sharing good stuff and I believe that's what made me want to try cooking/baking nice delicacies for all to share. Sharing and giving, those are joys of life right? Seeing the smile from the person you just shared with makes every hardship worthwhile. By the way, I just did something nice yesterday, will blog about that in the later post.

As mentioned, I love food and taking scenic pictures of them. Partly as memories of having eaten them but mainly to share and put forward a direct picture to interested parties. Doesn't the saying goes like 'a picture speaks a thousand words'? Seeing is better than me spending extra effort and using every possible adjective to portray the best image.

I don't really fancy the idea of staying home. I like to go out travelling. It doesn't necessary have to be overseas, I travel locally too. I can just finish work, go to a bus stop, hop onto the first bus that comes along and go with the flow. I've been telling some people in the past that if you dump me in town, I can't find my way home. But since coming out to work and with the fabulous invention called the bus concession, i'm proud to proclaim that i'm much more aware of this little red dot.

I speak/treat everyone differently depending on what level you are at. If my feeling is that you are a potato, by default i'll speak to you in English and the converse is true. Here i'm talking about mental preparedness and maturity, not anything physical. If you are mature, i've serious topics for you too. Well if you're aged below 16 and still a kid, that's perfectly fine with me, i'll lower my level to suit you. If you're over that age and feel that i'm talking a little kiddish to you, then time to reflect though. You really can't expect adults to talk to kids serious stuff right?

I don't sound very linguistic nor do I look very much like it but I do have a slight flair for languages. I honestly wonder why too. I stopped reading books since P4, the first book I read after that was just 2 years back(Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code) but my languages aren't deproving.. I love learning new languages and i'm not repugnant to learning other languages. To me, everyone, every race and every human is equal. There's no such thing as a higher/lower language, no one should ever decide on that either. English, Chinese, Le Français needs further improvement....Thai, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish will be next to explore.

Who's going to get tagged?? Here's the list:

Garrie
LC
Haojun
Shiyun
Siya
KT

Till later...

Updates

2007-06-23T20:34:00.000+08:00

Yet another week has passed. Work is work, nothing much to blog on but currently i'm in the midst of doing up the recruitment advertisements for our district. Mostly done, what's left is submission for approval by the corporate marketing department. The next headache's going to set in soon enough in the upcoming week. The website's going to be a chore, there's no direction for me and sad to say, i'm no agent, i'm not exactly sure on how to go about promoting the district.

Anyway, gained some new insights this week. Attended their monthly meeting, got to gain first hand knowledge about their newest personal line product which i'm keenly interested to purchase myself. No agent is pursuading me to get anything whatsoever, I don't buy policies based on relationships, I make my decisions and purchase based on needs. It's really pointless to buy a policy just to support a friend or something but end up getting something worthless and financially draining. On this new policy, it's really quite a good plan for the whole family protection, maybe i'll just pay for it out of my own pocket.

It's orgasmic talking to sensible people and people who has their own perspectives. I finally managed to talk to one of the agents who was an ex-teacher on the prospects of teaching etc. Really grateful to her for sparing her precious time doing clarifications for me on this career pathway and even offering to help me check out on some other information which she's not familiar with. From the conversation, what I can conclude is that teaching is no longer teaching. A teacher has got to be a teacher, a friend, a coach, an administrator, a planner, an organiser and the list continues. Gone are the days school ends at 1pm; you must be glad to reach home by 6/7pm. And that's the reason she switched line to become an agent instead, she wants more time for her family and herself. I fully empathise with her, I may be working temporarily now but I do feel the strain of a routine 8-6 job. Currently, I don't even have enough time for myself or do the things that I want to. Now then....who wants to get a policy from me?

For those curious about my previous post about the hospital issue, that's my grandmother in hospital due to stroke. No need to probe or do subterranean whisperings. So ended up having to go down hospital every now and then after work to talk/check/liven up her spirits. It is also during such trying times that you see the nature of the human heart, in short, there are the stayers and the deserters, people with no concept of priority. But thankfully, she's now back home and I suppose she's on the road to full recovery. The other day I went down to check on her, it was the 17th day after that fateful day. She managed to get up from bed, walked to the living room, sat down, crossed her legs, stood up, walked back, button her own shirt, lied back on the bed. Simple tasks aren't they? Try picturing someone who can't move an inch 17 days before, that was a touching scene. She has the willpower to live on, and it's up to people close to her to edge her on.

And of course, how can we forget about food? Some fresh updates and news.

We went back to the Kirin Restaurant opposite our office again. This time armed with Roger. Instead of the usual trio, today we went as a quad. Tried some new dishes and this is nice, something like fried tofu skin. There're scallops inside, very crispy.

Ribs...common fare in dim sum. Not bad either but as usual Jane doesn't know how to appreciate such delicacy.

Roger's a big eater. Look at the difference in size of plates of his(on the left)and ours.

Something famous from the Tanjong Pagar market. Accolades from Channel U. Tried and tested by me. No good! The only taste available is on the outside with the red bean paste and the peanut powder. On the inside, it's plain plain and more plain. Try munching on pure ice. Tasteless, an apt description for this. I won't try it again though. Costs S$1.50. I definitely prefer any other ice-kachang from any dessert stall.

I also finally entered into a new arena for food at Maxwell Food Centre. We walked 1 big round when we were going there but on the return trip, it's freaking near!! Like just 2 roads away?? Anyway, got to try the supposedly famous Fish Slice Noodles. Hmm...maybe the freezing cold air-conditioning in office numbed my taste buds...accolades aplenty but to me it tastes average? Well, one man's meat(food) is another's poison.

Till then....

Languages

2007-06-18T21:11:00.000+08:00

My Hokkien is as good as my grandmother's Mandarin;
My Hockchew is as good as my grandmother's English.

Office: A Brief Introduction

2007-06-15T21:49:00.000+08:00

As promised to Suihar, let me do a general introduction to my workplace at AIA Tanjong Pagar. And just to clarify my jobscope again, i'm no agent! Some pictures with some descriptions, hope that would suffice.

Early morning at the office, SP-Jeffeury district office. No one's around just yet except for me and the secretary.

My workstation. I get to use 2 laptops, 1 dopod, another laptop in my boss' office and 2 standalone desktops.

My tablet and my dopod(I wished...)

This is an adult's fridge!!! Children under age of 18 please do not intrude.

Meiyan and I opened a bottle to celebrate the 'non-arrival' of our bosses.

I believed I mentioned there are brothels just below my workplace. This is just 1 of them. Those with the red lanterns/red words. Keong Saik is a unique blend of decency like the coffeeshops, high-end hotels as well as office buildings and indeceny such as pubs, ktvs, massage parlours etc.

Bored again...someone disfigured my 'Angel Pig'...so the blu-tack took a different form this time.

And most definitely, never forget about food when you visit my blog. Finally managed to try the famous 'Wanton Noodles'. Got to read up on the newspaper article pasted right at the window pane. This wanton mee is famous!! Voted Top 5 Famous Wanton Mee in Singapore by the Straits Times. Well, it sure lives up to it's name. For me, I believe the essence of wanton mee lies in the noodles. The chef has got some real skills and good technique. The noodles are really smooth and like what we usually say: "very Q" or "springy". The char siew meat is unique too, made of up lean meat. Nice blend..definitely not the normal type of dry char siew we usually get outside at hawker centres. This wanton mee is good. Costs a mere S$2.50. Foong Kee Restaurant is the place.(6 Keong Saik Road). Wanton mee lovers, you got to try this!

Till then...

Bus Ethics

2007-06-15T21:23:00.000+08:00

I did a previous post on MRT ethics previously. Let's just do another for our affable bus services. Taking a bus to work is nothing less than a daily chore, something better than slavery. On my daily escapades, I made several realisations, the gist of which is that some Singaporeans are monsters:

These people have 'larger-than-normal' butts that overflows onto 2 seats.
These people have thick fur coats.

As to why I made such conclusions? Please do allow me to elaborate. Our bus seating usually has 2 seats in a row i.e 2 person can sit together. Somehow, the number of seats get decreased tremendously when there are the people who:

Have such big ***** that they have to spread their legs so wide.
Have luggage as heavy as 1kg that they need to place on the adjacent seat.

Why thick fur coats then? I believe i'm not alone in witnessing that the 2 air-con holes will most probably be pointing at only 1 person. 1 person requires 2 air-holes at full blast to be kept sufficiently cool?? And worse of all, when the neighbour switches 1 over to his/her side, the former will immediately switch both back to facing him/her again.

On a better note, something good did come out from my daily bus trips. Just a few days back, I witnessed someone giving up his seat to an elderly lady. I felt comforted. And no, I was not in a position to give up mine, I was firmly lodged right at the last row window seat, that had been my permanent seat for 2 weeks straight. Some anti-climax here, the volunteer was non-surprisingly not a Singaporean. It was a caucasian who had lodged himself comfortably with his bags packed around him and who was conscientiously reading a book. When the elderly lady walked in, people suddenly became tired and dozed off; people suddenly had smses gushing in and phone calls ringing non-stop; This caucasian immediately stood up and offered his when everyone else did the opposite. Learn well fellow Singaporeans!!!

Till later...

Daily Lunch Affairs

2007-06-14T22:56:00.000+08:00

Work is not boring but I should say the stagnant feeling sticks to us. Getting out during lunch time is a joy and getting good food(not brain food) is essential for keeping my spirits high. And my am I lucky once again to have colleagues who love food hunting!! This particular venue is located just opposite us, newly-opened restaurant serving supposedly Hong Kong-styled dishes. Kirin Restaurant is the name. They were issuing brochures with this marketing strategy:'Eat as much as you like, pay what you want'. So off we went sampling....

You lot must be wondering what's this horrendous looking thing doing here. By the way, waiting for the 2 secretaries to get ready for lunch is an even longer and boring process. This, was the origin of the blu-tac "Angel Pig". It's fully equipped with a functional halo and wriggly tail at the back.

We ordered many dishes but the rest were gobbled up too quickly to be photographed.

These were some of the dim-sum we ordered: "Shrimp Dumplings", "Scallop Dumplings" and "Tian Jin Buns". The shrimp and scallop dumplings were good! S$3.20 for each if i'm not wrong.

Tender Chicken fillet stirred fried in XO-sauce and celery. Got a real nice orchid on it too. Taste wise...I'll rate it as normal. S$8 for this.

In either sense, this restaurant has some good and bad points. In a way, I suppose it's one of those hit and move on type of restaurant. Nothing really fantastic, if it's dim sum you're looking for, there're nicer ones out there.

Cousin's Wedding

2007-06-14T22:44:00.000+08:00

Just a quick update, over the weekend attended my cousin's wedding. Held at Rasa Sentosa Resort all the way at Sentosa. He's a cousin many years in advance of me, exact age unknown to me. But things were good that night, the bride was super chio that day!! The dinner was good too, at least much better than the one I attended for Shangri-La Sentosa held at the same place. Cheaper too...S$600+ per table. At the very least, the former doesn't serve red wine that tastes like ribena. Food was good too...table for 10 but my table only had 8 and subsequently only 5. That only equates to increased servings for me!! Cod fish, scallops, sharks' fins....hmm.....shiok!!

A much larger than expected chunk of Cod fish!!! Nice!!! Big, fleshy and chewy.

I managed to capture a video of my cousin's cute little baby boy too. Cute little Jerome but i'm not going to post it up here. Copyright goes to my cousin! However I can share with people who wishes to view it. Ask me for it.

Till then....

Apologies

2007-06-09T23:14:00.000+08:00

As the post suggests...apologies. Apologies to those that have attempted to get me out but i've to kindly reject. Those few that know, ya, the hospital's like my 2nd home now, day in day out. So at least until end of this week, I can't commit anything. So enjoy yourselves out there in the meantime. Most sincere apologies!!

Food

2007-06-09T22:04:00.000+08:00

Yeah, forget the unhappiness for a moment and let's talk food. Just scanned through my hp and realised some food picts are left stuck in it. Let me do them justice all at 1 go.

After the exams, the food frenzy started with my date with Zp at Queensway. We ended up with lunch at Alexandra Village. Over here, I ate the most delicious roasted meat!!! And when my tongue says nice, it's real nice. But the meal was rather expensive, around S$13 for 2 person's share.

Look at all the accolades, if I can get that amount on my door, i'll be rich!!

Rice, Salted Veg Soup with no MSG and the meat(Roast meat, duck and char siew).

A closeup shot of the meat...Roast meat and duck were nice!!! Char siew was comme see comme sa only

The really nice roast meat!!! It's not the usual oil oozing meat that we get in normal hawker stalls. Just take a look at this piece of meat, most of it is lean meat, the skin is super crispy and the adipose is just a thin layer at the top! Miss the fragrance...

Other un-mentioned good food are nonetheless tried and approved near my workplace. Tanjong Pagar is a food paradise!! No pictures yet though...i'll just list what i've consumed over the past 2 weeks.

Tanjong Pagar Market

Braised Duck Rice - S$2.50
Japanese food(Pork Katsu Don and Chicken Teriyaki) - S$3.50

Amara Hotel Foodcourt

Western Food(Fish&Chips, Chicken Chop) - S$5.00
Thai Food(Pad Thai, Pad xxx, Thai green curry...shiok!) - S$4.50 each
Fishball Noodles(The fishballs are hand-made and huge!) - S$3.00
Curry Rice + Bread(Mutton & Chicken curry...gravy was heavenly enriched with dissolved potatoes. Really fragrant, tender meat and crunchy bread!) - S$3.00

Pearl Centre

Braised duck rice(delicious!!) - S$2.50
Hongkong-styled 'Chee Kueh' -S$2.00 for 3

Along Outram Road

Original Kolo Noodles(Taste is good but the serving is puny!!) - S$5.90

Not forgetting 'Chewy Junior' cream puffs and the really soft and fluffy muffins from Tanjong Pagar!!

Oh, remember the roasted meat stall at the 1st picture? I went back with the intend to satisfy a craving today, only to find it closed. What a great disappointment! But 1 disappointment usually leads to something better! I discovered this really really and I mean really nice chicken rice stall!! The stall's just located a few stalls away from this roasted meat stall. Ordered S$3.00 chicken rice. The whole packet was filled to the brim, in it was a thick slice of tomato, 2 slices of cucumber, a spoonful of 'Ah-char' and the main attraction: I tasted the most delicious and tender chicken meat today!! Definitely worth the price...my packet was made up generally with chicken breast which normally feels real rough to chew on but guess what?

This is real tender and smooth with a rich taste too!! I was exclaiming on the 'nice-ness' of the chicken to my uncle who was in disbelief until he stole a chunk of meat from my pack and had to agree readily with my exclamation. No pictures though...I didn't wish to be laughed at for taking a photo of a styrofoam box with rice in it. Next time maybe....

Till then...

Concluding 2 weeks of work

2007-06-09T21:14:00.000+08:00

My boss tortures me and the secretary abuses and forces mountain-loads of stuff on me, even the secretary next door aren't treating me like human. Haha...well, those are lies. 2 weeks of work at AIA, and no, i'm still not an insurance agent so no worries. Working there is rather enjoyable, the first few days there were generally monotonous but once I get to know the people there, things get real cosy and rowdy. And yes, i'm the youngest again at that workplace!! The relationship between the 2 sister secretaries and me have evolved to become 1 aunty, 1 little girl and 1 poor little boy. Things got off to a slow start, for my role there, I get to be an "unofficial intern" as i've mentioned. So far, i've dealt with and settled internship issues, progress reports which almost killed me, set up a new database; Currently still working on recruitment issues, getting catchy advertisements done, recruiting new agents from all channels and also the troublesome website. Anyone with references to anyone interested to earn some cash to do up the website, please contact me!!! Assignment-based...should be a 1 time payment and may/may not need follow-ups. In either case, money will be rolling into the pockets of the chosen one.

Getting back into the workforce once again reinforces my long-standing ideals on pursuing the right degree. I believe this is an issue concerning many of us undergrads, especially been hearing numerous from bioscience side on the job prospects of graduates. Let me share with you my belief: 'If you are capable, you get the job'. Allow me space to explain this further...i've also faced problems with friends and relatives enquiring about the job prospects of my course. To which, I have no qualms in replying I should be able to get into most industries with the exception of those specialisations like medicine or dentistry to state a few. Engineering grads do not necessary end up as engineers, chemistry grads do not end up as chemists and arts students do not end up as teachers! A degree is essentially a basic gauge of your ability to process information, whether you have obtained a certain level of IQ designated for the job. However, the top student in bioscience doesn't necessary equate to the best worker suited for the working society. He/she might have the memory space to accomodate the whole textbook but can that same person accomplish an assigned task? Conversely speaking, a person with 'lower IQ' but 'higher EQ' can do the task better. As an employer, what is your choice? A person with good paper qualifications but poor work capabilities, or someone who can share your burden and get the job done? Thus, I strongly believe that anyone with the determination and capability shouldn't be bothered by the lack of job opportunities etc. Such whinings are really for people with no true abilities.

Coming back to work issues, just this week I get to fix up my boss' pda phones and laptops. All the connections are screwed, the wireless connection's in a mess and she can't synchronise her pda phone. Being the greenhorn there, I definitely can't resolve the ip issues, since each organisation has their own internal settings. So we got the Helpdesk down to do the configurations. There's this technical fellow called W*****, brought the laptop down, told him the problem and was asked to repeat the problem another 3 times. There and then, I knew it was a gone-case, he is definitely one of those waiting for allowance crediting into his account every month. He doesn't even know how to connect the LAN cable and even plugged my power supply into powerless sockets. In short, what he does after all the crapping is just plain trying to do a "smokeout". Asking me brainless questions, trying to drag time and best of all, asking me for the password for their own internal network. I was like hello....this is your job and you're asking me? This is technical helpdesk assistance: A computing graduate with paper qualifications best-suited for this job but with zero capabilities. And just before I forget...this really pissed me off: He dare ask me to google the error and see what are the ways to resolve this issue.

Anyway, wasted 1 hour of my time with no yield and a severely pissed-off me. Retrieved the laptop, switched on another and decided to resolve it myself and after another hour or so, finally managed to set up the whole thing. I'm definitely no computer expert or whizz kid, I just dare to venture and test out things, and most important of all, I don't like to say the words "I don't know!".

Espresso

2007-06-04T23:12:00.000+08:00

I was hungry...lunch was at 1.30pm but i'm still hungry. The time was 6.30pm and I walked past the same vending machine again. Wanted a milo to quench my hunger but this aroused my curiosity:

Aromatic Espresso, that's what the can insinuates and what I was led to believe. I should go learn jap, maybe the footnote in jap reads something like: 'One man's meat is another man's poison' or something like that. The can came out from the machine...I reached for the can and released it immediately. The can's bloody hot!!! It's hot coffee in a can...damn! But anyway, the coffee sucks, taste like diluted coffee you get at a kopitiam. The only consolation is that I paid $1.50 for the red can, it looks nice and unique though: It doesn't have a tab.

On Courtesy and Ethics

2007-06-04T21:59:00.001+08:00

Sometimes, I just feel so disgraced to be a Singaporean...1 reason I hate to take the MRT is I hate to be associated with the corresponding disgrace by many fellow citizens.

40 years of independence, 40 years of successful education...it all boils down to nothing when our fellow countrymen can't even appreciate the basic sentence of "Please stand behind the yellow line". These 6 words aren't deep literature, they are words with meanings even my primary 2 tutee knows. But apparently, when put into a sentence, many Singaporeans have a hard time deciphering the code.

I was fed-up with waiting for a particular bus today and ended up switching to MRT for a smoother ride home, only to face the same scenario i've faced for the past 21 years of my life. "Please stand behind the yellow line....please stand behind the yellow line"...this phrase was repeatedly broadcasted but many do not heed the advice. The early birds were standing at the sides of the door openings, those later stood directly in the middle blocking the train exit and others? Tried squeezing through, some 'smarter' ones decide to step across the deeply engraved yellow line to do a left/right flank in when the train arrives. It's all out war once the door opens...people can't get out while people outside were still gushing in like torrential waves. They push, they squeeze...all with nothing but 1 purpose: To get their butts well implanted onto a cold, hard plastic seat. Some would say it's to get their money's worth, transport is getting expensive by the year, the smart choice would be to make full use for the fare we're paying.

Putting on a fierce fight and getting what they wanted...I got down 1 stop later, a journey of 2 minutes, to find many alighting with me.

Some actions I deem as really un-courteous and inconsiderate. Peak period, the train's pack and everyone's rushing to get home. Majority are standing packed like sardines with nothing to grip. But deeper in, there's a particular someone lying comfortably on the metal pole with his back well-supported when others are struggling to even keep their feet on the floor. Don't test my patience on this, i'm a man of extreme actions; the back was duely removed from adherence to the pole.

Another nonsensical action will be that of passengers refusing to move inwards. In fact, most will move outwards near to door. When reaching the station, they go into position, start their formations, do all sorts of stunts like: Blocking, pushing, stealth etc. There are the silent creepers too, those that you don't even see them near you but end up right in front when approaching the station. There are also the ruggers...bashing all the way through until they are right at the door step. All this hassle for what logical reason may I ask?? I see the caucasians, PRCs and other foreigners all not in a hurry, not in a dashing mode. Then why the need for us locals to be special? Though not in large numbers, there had been cases of people falling down onto the track with deadly consequences. Aren't those the best reasons for us not to overstep the limit?

The transport services should cease taking responsibility for casualties of such nature. People fall over and the transport authorities take the rap. The public censure the authorities for the lack of safety precautions, they question the effectiveness of the current systems, they take a dig at all possible loopholes there might be but what have they ever demanded of themselves? People submit proposals to construct 'gates' similar to what we have at the underground stations, put up metal railings that open only when the train arrives etc. All these are just going to be time and resource costing with only superficial treatment. What this part of our 'sick' population needs is a permanent cure. It would be much more worthwhile to send them into reformative institutions to re-educate them. Singapore is a FINE city. If resources have to be deployed to construct infrastructure as a preventive measure, I would suggest building gates; Gates not with doors but armed with EZ-link detectors. The moment anyone steps across the designated zones when the train is no where in sight, money would be deducted from their EZ-link cards. It tames these people while generating revenue for the nation. Maybe we can even earn sufficient to reduce our GST rates back to our lovely 5% or even 3%. Maybe we can afford a system overhaul if things turn out well!

Till then....

Just another update

2007-06-01T22:53:00.001+08:00

I'm still alive, not yet drowned by bricks firmly tied to my feet. Now working at AIA Tanjong Pagar where all the happening stuff is. Heard of Keong Saik brothels? Yeah, just directly below me. Duxton Hill? Directly across the road. And no, i'm not an agent, so I should not be expecting to see no one on my msn when I log on tomorrow. Good food is aplenty, still have to slowly source out the good and worthy. Work is fun, relaxing yes but definitely not when looking at tonnes of figures. My tutees' parents' agency, they're the boss, i'm the employee. But i'm not grouching over the lower than usual pay though, everything's a learning experience, over here, I get to see the life of an agent, their woes, what they deal with, and of course learn the ropes of business, marketing and definitely insurance.

But for now, i'm tasked with rather heavy responsibilities, no, i'm not a clerk there. I'm an "unofficial" intern there. Tasked to do recruitment, internship, webbies, progress charts...yes, things i've never done before and i'm not whining, i'm loving this experience and this workplace...and very soon will be learning those programs thingy and hopefully by the end of my work period, will be sufficiently armed in the field of insurance and marketing. Hopefully property too if I get a chance. Well, working closely with the secretary of my bosses, nice girl...haha...a surprised coincidence of sorts which i'll explain why.

First day at work, just conversed a little, she doing her stuff while I was till busy 'adapting' to the new environment. We were chatting when she asked where do I stay and to our surprise, we just live on opposite sides of the road! So much for coincidence...and she's my age, but a few months older. And today got to know her friend, another agency's secretary and also my age! Damn...and all older than me...So i'm officially the youngest...somewhat rather, everyone there from the security guard to the agents say we have the sibling's look and so we became 'unofficial' siblings! So now we've the da1 jie3, er4 jie3 and xiao3 di4. Mum and dad required, positions opened for registration now! Lunch and office work are no longer boring with them around.

Just something more interesting, guess everyone should know by now that there's this drink called "Anything" and "Whatever". Some lame advertisements they have but they are gaining publicity. Well, not going to talk about the drinks, haven't tried either of them. But there's this book-cafe just below my office, know as 'Whatever' too! Hmm....looks interesting and nice, shall check out or organise an outing there someday. Let me just research on it more...

Till then....

Dinner with Sebastian

2007-06-01T22:25:00.000+08:00

Working makes 24hours a day seemingly much shorter. At least that's how I feel after work each day. By dismissal, it's already evening 6pm, into the night, by the time i get home, 7pm and will be left with only 5 more hours until midnight to do my stuff. People might ask, what about the hours from 1am till morning? As I mentioned at the beginning, it's work, working for your employer, you are the employee, you get the benefit of reaching office way before your boss does and the remaining hours after midnight are for sleep and ensuring full exploitation of your energised soul for the next day at work.

On Wednesday, I finally managed to squeeze out a time-slot for dinner with Mr. Yang who will be headed for Australian exchange soon. My treat for him, venue at Golden Mile Complex, food is no doubt Thai cuisine. Just a brief summary of the happenings:

Sebastian!!

A familiar 4 seasoning in Thailand, an uncommon sight in Singapore.

Seafood pineapple rice...S$8...sufficient for 2. But I prefer the pineapple rice at Sembawang Shopping Centre though. Here, they made it stickier.

Seafood Tom Yam...S$7...trust me, their spices are free...1 bowl down and my mouth's out of action. Bowel action was ermmm....hot..haha

These vegetables look plain but in fact they're real nice!! Trust someone who hates his veg...I ate quite a bit.

Pad Thai(pronounced as Pud Thai)...S$3...hmmm...nice no doubt, but definitely not the original taste from Thailand. Modified to suit the locals' tastebuds. The beansprouts are raw but when blended with the peanuts, sugar and glass noodles, amazing dish. I still prefer the one I had in Thailand though.

The Thais are quite reowned for their 'skewered' stuff. Those that they put a chopstick through and put on the grill. From the most common fishballs, to meatballs, to chicken wings and you might have guessed it, insects: centipedes, crickets, grasshoppers. In case you are still wondering what's in the picture below, those are frogs!! They almost landed in my belly if not for the filling dinner I just consumed.

Khor's Baby Boy...

2007-06-01T22:08:00.000+08:00

Busy week...that's how it should be described. Jap curry was saturday and sunday was the day to visit khor and his cute little baby boy. Met up with Mark and Khor after a real long duration, more than 1 year. Barely 2 months old, didn't manage to meet this little when he was 1 month old...having my exams back then. But finally got to see, feel and touch him!

It had been years since I carried a baby and a 2-months old little thing as such!! Poor little boy, his neck still hasn't gained strength, so had to cradle him in my arms. Anyway, Mark is afraid of a little boy! He gets scared stiff even from touching the baby. Afraid that the baby might start crying, frightened about carrying him and was thus practically running away from the baby!

This little boy...has got a pair of beautiful eyes...simply love those eyes.

The rascal refuses to sleep since he realised there are guests in the house!! Shot of him in the sarong bouncing away, eyes wide open and wriggling around.

It was a gathering too, 1st time all the way to Hougang, the place where birds won't even bother shitting at. Mark brought beer and Khor bought KFC for dinner. So there we have it, a rowdy gathering right in the living room.

Whilst on the journey there, a question popped into my mind: What will this boy here call me when he grows up?? Uncle or Kor kor?? I'm 22 years older than him no doubt but i'm still a young 22, not some uncle of 30+, 40 years vintage!!

402's gathering: A love affair with jap curry

2007-05-31T23:49:00.001+08:00

Finally, after a long wait and intense preparation, everything's set to roll. The mini-gathering started at k-box with yj and his harem. I gave that a miss due to tuition, work before play! The rest met up at Lot 1 and we proceeded to yj's house for the curry cooking. Some japanese curry our LC brought back from japan and decided to share with the old friends. Anyway, enjoy the pictures below.

yj with his harem of girls at K-box.

Chef Chong and Chef Xu at work.

Masseur Tan massaging his chickens...

The wayang trio: Yongjin with the pot, Qiujuan with her onions and Shujun with my potato!!

The curry...2 big pots of japanese curry stew. Chicken chest fillet, selected potatoes and carrots stewed to perfection. Curry stirred to give off a delicate aroma.

Cooking?? Oh no...not...Shujun's trying to steal a piece of meat!!

Good old 402 people...a last group picture before we head for home.

Quick Summary

2007-05-28T20:47:00.000+08:00

Yeap, thanks to sy for the reminder, I've just realised that blogging has slowed to a halt since my last post for the exams for that stinky paper. Come to think of it...the results are going to be released soon!!! Anyway, too many things happened after the exams, overwhelming amount of activities took place: Gatherings, celebrations, meet-ups etc. Took up most of my otherwise vacant schedule.

Just a quick summary of the more significant events that took place. Pardon my lack of information...getting old and senile. Plan dependent on whatever leftover memories of events.

Event 1: Celebration for Zhiwei, Siya and Jasmine's birthday

Ok, one's on the 29th, the other on 7th and the last 9th. So we 'lupped' them together and did a celebration for the 3 of them. Namely 1 old man and 2 young babes. Started off with some game playing session at 'Settlers Cafe' all the way at Clarke Quay. Played some puzzle thingy, the same thing that the management always recommends everytime i'm there. Ended up with Jenga and 2 sets of Jenga altogether. Proceeded to 'Brewerkz' for dinner and there. the highlight of the night began..

The participants for the night

The couples

Polygamy

Me and Alvin

Cake from Bakerinz: Chocolate Amer is her name. My present to the 3 lovely people.

Although it's full chocolate, the choc taste is rather well blended, you don't get sick of eating all the choc. Wonder how they work the magic on this cake. But for the exorbitant price i'm paying, it better be good!

And lastly, someone took a photo of this tag with full flash on a reflective surface and asked why can't she see anything...lol

Event 2: Gathering with Garrie and gang

It's happening, as he puts it, the 1st T3 class gathering. Activity was bowling at CDANS Gombak. Being a SAFRA member, bowling per game was $1.60 and shoes at $1.20? Correct me if i'm wrong, I simply can't remember such nitty gritty stuff. Cheap bowling area unveiled. The rest went for a dinner gathering at Vivo but too bad i've got tuition with my boys. The rest of the week was tuition tuition and more tuition for the boys to prepare them for their exams.

Event 3: Preparation and Actual Tioman Trip

Tioman trip's on the 11th which is almost exactly after the last paper. So, much time was spent arranging and settling for the excursion and I, being the organiser, has to settle the bills, confirm bookings and of course check out activities to carry out. But sad to say, our dead Miss Lazy can't join us. And we are thankful to Belle's friend, Lydia for her invaluable company.

Preparation includes going shopping with Zp to get his Adidas shades to protect his precious eyes from the UV-emitting sun and me getting some new berms to bring on the trip. Division of labour includes me bringing sunblock which is now almost empty, Zp sponsoring his insect repellent and Hj for his toothpaste. Excursion eve was done with an orientation dinner with the associated people. Orientation slogans, flags and cheers...were delegated to individuals to prepare...but by morning of departure, everyone came empty-handed. So much for the enthusiasm, guess all of us are becoming old men and women in need of peace and tranquility.

Some pictures from the trip:
Arrival at Tanjong Gemok Ferry Terminal

On the ferry and no, it's not Penguin. It's the Coral Express. This is Lydia(left) and Belle(right).

Xiuwen and Yihan

The guys...

Tioman here we come!!

Arrival at Paya jetty

Just look at the clear water...Those spiky fellows are sea urchins

Our resort units...really not bad. We were expecting something like a rundown kampong-styled hut or something.

But the inside was rather spacious and well-equipped with air-con, proper toilets and bathing area, 1 queen-sized bed and 2 single beds, TV with Astro and a dressing corner. A good blend of urban yet maintaining a rustic feel.

The babes...Xiuwen, Lydia, belle...personally I feel this is a good take!! I took this!! They look great!

The dudes...

Our 1st meal on Tioman. Ok, being the honest chap i've always been. Lunch stinks. This is Kampong Fried Rice, cost RM5, looks ok...the problem's with the serving and taste. Try eating lumps of salt...

This is Maggi Goreng, costs RM4.00...salty...small serving...waste of money.

No, this is not Goreng Pisang. Sad to say, these are chicken wings fried using the goreng pisang dough. Not nice at all...oily...even the cat doesn't want a bite.

After beach games we prepare for dinner. This is the dining place...scenic isn't it?

The gang..our 1st dinner at Paya Beach Resort. The buffet spread was lovely, the mutton was nice, the curry squid was our favourite, we practically took every single bit from the metal tray.

Sunset...

Kampong boys and village girls

How can we miss supper? BBQ Stingray, sotong and satay!! The satays are going for RM0.60 per stick. But I think it's nice, haven't been able to taste such satay in sg for a real long time!

BBQ Stingray...firstly, the sambal is shiok!! And it's cheap...RM3 per 100gm. This baby here only costs around RM9.

Yeah, BBQ Sotong!! Damn nice especially with the lemon!! We ordered almost all what they had except for 1.

Ok, this is not food. We came across this cardboard box containing this female cat which just gave birth. The kittens were freaking small and cute!!!! Open up your palms, the kittens are even smaller than that.

And the drinking begins...1 Black Label and many cans of Carlsberg. Alcohol there is duty free. RM80 for black and RM10 for 3 cans of Carlsberg. The Heineken's RM4.

The next morning...none could get up on time. It's supposed to be snorkelling at 9am! All the equipment lying around outside.

Rushed for breakfast, breakfast was good. Grilled potatoes, pancakes, hotdogs, omelettes!!

You steal my sunblock, I steal your shades...

Ya, as mentioned, next up was snorkelling around the Tioman waters. Too bad we didn't bring the camera along, our cameras were non-submersible. Really wasted though..the scenery below was superb! We get to see tonnes of corals of all shapes, colours and sizes. Plenty of colourful fishes, sea urchins were aplenty and of course there are sea cucumbers all over the place! Managed to hold and touch 1 too!! Got to squish it...haha...best of all, we saw a sea turtle swimming in the waters! Great experience...swimming in the sea.

We got back for a simple yet sumptous lunch. Before that we ate some chendol and ice-kachang too. Almost wanted to try the 'ice-balls' where you get to hold it in your hands like the ancient times.

The first lizard on the moon...

Xw wanted a coconut...and I opened one for her the caveman style...but when it's finally opened, she refuses to drink! So much for wasting my sweat and effort.

2nd night's craze: Singing the k-box kampong-styled and getting drunk. 18 cans of beer, 6 cans of coke, half a bottle of black from our own and more from other tables!

Dunking liquor down the throat...

Ended up with a 'Sadako'....

And 1 person missing for breakfast!

The resort staff was super friendly, recommended us more scenic spots to take our group pictures for remembrance, this was one of them.

Finally heading back...

We were real lucky, the days we spent there we experienced real nice weather but just as we were departing, dark clouds started to loom over Tioman.

Zp, Me, Hj

Ziping and Me.

And I still get plagued by NTU even on a vacation.

In summary, this is Tioman. However, there are tonnes more pictures and exciting moments that will really take time for me to narrate. Maybe another post on this island again in the near future.

Misc Events: Went running, swimming, training for IPPT and all the normal routines of tuition. Learnt a few more Thai words and completed Tiberian Wars. Not exactly nice though but anyway I completed the thing. Look forward to more updates though not frequent.

Till then...

30 April...

2007-04-30T22:04:00.000+08:00

Such an eventful day...2 papers at 1 go. I believe Dr. P must be sneezing non-stop now. No, not flu....definitely it isn't....even if it was, it should be the most irritating and hideous strain. And no, i'm not whining over the lack of preparation, in fact I didn't even bothered much except to read through once. I should have slept more and watched more shows last night. It should be concepts concepts and concepts, and something that we have learnt before. There shouldn't be the choice of more than 1 answer. In short, this paper stinks!

811 was fine though, that's the good thing about S/U, relaxed and easy. I definitely can pass....who can't? And got to try out the hyundai matrix today thanks to Marilyn. I haven't driven a car for more than a year, thank god I'm still good. At least i'm still blogging now after the drive around NTU. Ok, never get a korean car, no power, squeezy, no leg space, slow acceleration, dying when going up a slope. Even when on flat ground when the brakes are freed, the car doesn't even move an inch etc...definitely toyota or honda anytime...but I still prefer the luxury of BMW 300 and 700 series though.

Reports

2007-04-26T19:16:00.000+08:00

1 year of reports....anyone gotten a single "Good" for any of them? Well I got 1 finally, even got a double tick...but for something more amusing. At least I think it's amusing, for all my hard effort in my discussions I got that compliment not where I want it to be.

Things to do (Draft)

2007-04-17T21:48:00.000+08:00

This upcoming holiday is going to be real long....3 whole months and since i'm bored now, let me just try pondering on what activities to carry out:

Dump my notes
Go Pulau Tioman for a relaxing holiday
Revisit Pulau Ubin...I miss that place tonnes.
Read Harry Potter
Read some management/business books.
Explore opportunities.
Much as I hate it, go for IPPT. And no, i'm not as unfit as I might appear. The S$200 for silver award is mine!!!
Get a full-time job for 2 months, need to source out my contacts real soon.
Tame monkeys.
I'm going to learn conversational Thai this holidays! Just got my passion card...maybe I should learn conversational German too. I'm done with French, now it's self-learning.
Not forgetting to splurge on food. I've got countless haunts to seek and test out. There's high tea at Goodwood Park, the french stall(i'm gonna try snails!!), the guthrie bakery, the amk crab, ju ju steamboat, italian sausages, thai food at golden mile etc...got a place you wanna try out? Ask me along if you can't find a partner.
I must go back to Terminal 2 for the western food..i'm gonna eat the grilled catfish no matter what....
Go JB for seafood...
Bake some new stuff...i'm gonna try pandan cake...
Get over to someone's place and we'll all cook LC's jap curry thingy and invite everyone for dinner.
Watch le fantôme de l'operá!!! A must!!
Swimming
Jogging
Basketball
I might just go to Surabaya for a holiday before school starts again. Shall confirm again later...

I'll add to the list when I think of more stuff....

Cholesterol

2007-04-17T21:25:00.000+08:00

Above is the closest replica of an "artist's" impression of a cholesterol molecule. Make a guess on the artist's identity if you can afford the time....it really isn't hard.

22

2007-04-14T18:44:00.000+08:00

Well well...that's a number our batch will be getting increasingly familiar with but Garrie got it way ahead of us. Everyone's getting old but I'm still rather fresh from 21~!! Anyway, had a mini gathering for the man yesterday. It's the exam period, yeah yeah I know, but birthdays aren't supposed to be spent with books and notes! The crime scene's at NYDV, Holland Village.

The group...excluding Beverly

Ok, now we're missing Chung Ping...

The Babes...it's an XXY combination

The Dudes..

Time for some role-play...

Now be good and say 'ahhhhh...'

His Cake: The Oreo Cheesecake...damn filling...Just look at him, he's one happy contended man!

His Gift: A shirt from Raoul

Just before I forget, this is my 'Cowa-Bunga with Zitt Pasta'.

And this is Beverly with Chung Ping's humongous Nikon SLR!!

Credits go to the $3k man, Chung Ping for the wonderful pictures and of course the organiser and purchaser, Michelle. I bet he went shedding tears once he reached home for the effort we put in!!

Never study late...

2007-04-11T00:11:00.000+08:00

I believe those who stays in hostels or near forested areas do experience this phenomenon: Insects all flocking into your room when yours is the only bright spot in the whole neighbourhood at midnight. It just happened to me again...this time it wasn't the cute little baby, it was the big fat ugly papa or mama. Suddenly flew in, snucked up to my ceiling and dropped right onto my bed with a loud *piak* sound. I'm never afraid of these crawlies...but i'm not going to be friends with them either. All the rough paper from scribbling notes come in real handy during such times.

So this is the consequence of trespassing:

But it still aren't giving up...I did a video of it squirming and trying to flip around.

It got whacked a few more times till fainted and committed 'induced suicide' with my assistance from the 11th storey. There was a little baby praying mantis right outside my window too. You lot can guess where it went to...

Till then....

Rich-O-Meter

2007-04-09T22:31:00.000+08:00

Single guys are mostly rich; Single girls are mostly poor.

Try this out!!

2007-04-09T22:03:00.000+08:00

Aunty Rosy's recommendation for stress relief:

>> How Smart is Your Right Foot <<

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2.now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction.

Another amazingly fruitful day....

2007-04-09T19:56:00.000+08:00

Yeah I know, it's supposed to be the "mugging season" for all and I should be a nice, good boy and stare at my notes but i'm here blogging. Well, I know many are stressed out over exams and not enough time to study repetitively etc...but somehow I simply don't feel stress. I know i'm mad, maybe some neurons died or my stress gene got repressed, I never get stressed over exams and tests. I believe stress will make a person under-perform!

Just to start things off...107 lecture was relatively un-boring as everyone's looking out for possible tips. I was telling Alvin to use his psycho knowledge to analyse which are the potential questions from Droge's tone. But his lecture was hilariously short, just 30+ minutes, ended at 9.10am and French lesson's at 12.30pm while everyone's flaunting their "i'm going home" look to me. I really dread going for this last French lesson ok!! Timing sucks and there's going to be the distribution of the cursed test paper back. But this is where the good stuff starts to flow in though. I dragged myself to class...

1st rude shock: I forgot to do 2 whole questions for homework again...I honestly somehow always forget to do something for homework.

2nd rude shock: I didn't fail my test, in fact, I got 21/30. Not very high right? It's not the quantity that counts ok, it's the quality...I took a quick glance, the average's around 17-18. I'm surprisingly the highest? lol...so currently totalling up my score for all 3 tests, I should be somewhere at the above average to high end. But there's still a weak link: listening comprehension done with a cassette is sucky, it's not meant for human ears.

Being the last lesson, the tutor asked whether any of us will be taking lesson 2 aka LF81 next semester. Well...French is manageable but whether to further it or to take a new language, let's just leave it for later. Anyway, French lesson was no doubt damn fun today with all the group practice. J'adore la français!! Now i'm starting to have regrets on exercising the S/U option...lol

Another good thing just came in....i've got a date with Xq for Pirates 3 or Spiderman 3!! I'm gonna be treated...how nice! Thanks in advance!! And now where's LC with le gâteau pomme café?? lolx...

Till then...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-04-06T13:54:00.000+08:00

Yeah, as the name suggests, it's with regards to the upcoming harry potter series. Yilin brought my attention to this lovable series years back and her enthusiasm had rubbed off me. I pre-ordered it online, kind of expensive but oh well, on the 21st July, I shall lay my hands on this book!! Let's just look forward to what's in store for us...

Till then....

French

2007-04-05T22:14:00.000+08:00

Today was the last lesson for French. Last lesson in the sense that this is the last lesson where the tutor teaches. Next week's lessons will be revision and a final oral examination. Everyone has his/her slot and just has to report for that 10mins. I wonder if it was the 'last lesson' syndrome but today's lesson is seemingly enjoyable and fun. We get the whole class laughing at each others' nonsensical sentence structure, at the funny accent and most important of all, unintended meanings.

For example, 'Je fais du cheval' translates to I do horse-riding. But as for 'Je fais le cheval'...for people with a little creativity and talent for the French language, you get a good laugh. For those with no background, well, it literally translates into 'I do the horse' or 'I eat the horse'. Think about it.

And of course, we get our usual role-plays in class. This time we get to do mass oral practice. The tutor random selects 3 person at a time and we have to start a conversation. Things started off well but it turned scandalous towards the end. Mostly it was due to the insinuation of the tutor no doubt. There was this conversation where this girl asks this guy to see an exhibition at 8.30pm. Doesn't sound incorrect right? But the tutor was quick to point out whether there are still exhibitions at such timings, or is the date for something more fruitful for the pair? Well, that's up to your imaginations. There was another that got twisted to become an affair in Paris. In short, french lesson today was toute super! Till then...

On Today...

2007-04-03T16:18:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered why there's never much publicity when something good is been done and somehow many just has to know when bad things are happening? Well, I was making my 'illegal exit' this morning and I met a whole chain of people. Once I got out of BS, I met wf, while on 179 I met LC for the 1st time ever since my inception into NTU. The probability of this happening is 0 and today it just happened. And waiting for 174, I met Dong Liang. Oh man...my reputation's sliding fast.

On a lighter note, I know this is mad but I just put on my No. 4 once again. My mother's clearing out the cupboard and there it was lying on the bed. Fits like a T ok! At least there aren't any unwanted bulges....yet.

Cannibalism

2007-04-02T16:14:00.000+08:00

I was on the bus headed for home today. When I saw something real disgusting. Irks me so much it's still imprinted in my brain even until now. The bus pulled along at a bus-stop, and from where I was sitting, I was looking at this crow apparently having its meal. But the thing is, on closer look, the thing that it was chewing on, had feathers. Looking in greater detail...damn!!! It's a dead crow the bird was chewing on. The abdomen region was like gristly ripped open?? A patch of red on black...just picture it. I can even see the flesh bits man...how can any bird be so dumb as to even eat its own kind??

I must admit i'm a carnivore except for humans or corpses...but eating their own kind? Oh man...just shoot the bird dead!

Gathering Continuum- Yihan's Birthday Celebrations

2007-04-01T16:09:00.000+08:00

Things aren't over after the night of turmoil...finished tutorial classes, went home with the deadly intent to have a 2 hours nap. Only to be woken up by Zp. I had barely napped for 1 hour!! For a long time after that I was paranoid of my hp's ringtone man...this I swear! I though the details for the celebration were already ironed out, only to be awoke to be greeted with 5 unread messages and 3 missed calls. Changes in plan, in location, in people available. In a semi-conscious state I was like "what the hell???". Of all things, ask me to settle this sort of mess...I can easily cancel a run in my camp last time but things in a civilian world, don't always ask me to be the bad guy man. Decision making is an issue for headache, there seldom is a solution where everyone's happy. Anyway, got everyone except Hj, settled the location, the tasks of individuals and off we go.

Location: Sakae Wheelock Branch
Time: 7pm

As expected of everyone again, only me and Zp arrived by 7pm. Miss Lazy's confidence in punctuality was shattered when she was still at Toa Payoh at 7pm. But she's forgiven since she had to get the cake. I almost had an heart attack though...at 7.15pm, Xw and Yh were are vivocity!!! How exciting eh? Well, he's the birthday boy, it's his privilege just for the day. Me and Zp were so hungry we gulped down this Chawamushi first.

This chawamushi sucks real big time ok. It's called Sakae's Chawamushi?? Can't really be bothered with it...waste of money even if it's meant to fill my hunger temporarily. Kuishin-Bo's was the loveliest I ever ate until now.

This is from Kuishin-Bo...isn't the difference simply obvious??

The couple 1: Xiuwen and Yihan...

The couple 2: Yihan and Ziping

The triples...

Why you staring at me??

Nothing much about food this time round. Sakae sushi, nothing special to mention about since most frequent this place excessively. Anyway, this is my ramen...someone please remind me not to eat Sakae's Ramen again. It can never fit into the description of nice.

Yihan's birthday bento treat. The fish looks delicious though...yummy...

This is something worth mentioning...fried salmon's head. I'm not sure of the Japanese name for this though. But no doubt it's nice...I like salmon...especially pan fried ones where the salmon's frying in its own oil.... Slurps...

The cake...we learnt a lesson. If there's going to be dinner preceding cake-cutting, get a small one. Finally for once, we finished the cake. Nice peach cream and choc combination.

Need to say more?? The birthday boy...

Cake cutting ceremony...the distribution

The clique since J1...Xw, Yh, Zp, Me, Jt and Belle...we're missing out Hj though...I was so sleepy I swear I can just doze off there

After which, we chatted and joked and headed to DFS...for the loo. First time i've been inside though. Sounds like someone who just came out of a cave right? But the inside has some classy decor, like a posh hotel sorta thing. Anyway, some shots:

This setting in the middle of the hall gives a soothing ambience. All the roses are real too...what extravagance!!

Yihan the pianist...not! Haha...By the way, there's a restaurant behind him. On checking out, it's opened 24 hours daily. From 11pm-4am, there's buffet supper provided at S$19.80!! Looks like a good deal...shall try it someday.

Roses on the table...

So that concludes the fun and exhilaration for this week. The next food conquest same be high tea at Goodwood Park Hotel! The trip's yours to plan zp!!

Till then...

Supper at Jurong West

2007-04-01T15:26:00.000+08:00

As promised, here's the post. What's the occasion so important that I must blog about this? Well, some of you should have read the previous blog posting about chicken rice with Leo. He was still around on Monday and since we didn't get to talk much to Leo during Saturday. I planned another, just a small cosy gathering of friends. I proposed, Leo endorsed, and the Bukit Batok-Jurong-NTU Hall 8-Jalan Bahar Confederation rose in support.

Anyway, had a nice gathering and supper with these friends again. Nice chat, nice entertainment by our Uncle Chua and of course packaged with my presence, good food. What's a gathering without good food? Here's the food:

Xiuqin wanted stingray but unfortunately, the sole BBQ Seafood stall has ceased operations for the night. So we have to make do with coffeeshop standard dim sum and a plate of satay. No complains though...the dim sum was rather yummy. Anything tastes good when you're having supper.

Let's discuss the origin of this satay. Me and wf were hunting for BBQ Stingray until we realised that there was none even for the Tze Char stalls. No one sells stingrays...talk about the amalgamation of 7 coffeeshops huh..no stingray! So we decided to settle for grilled wings but to no avail. Grill wings were out of stock. So we got satay from the rojak stall. The auntie wasn't very friendly but we ordered anyway. Btw, the satay's not nice! Don't waste precious money!!

The satay story has a sequel. I bought the dim sum while wf went to collect the satay and the auntie lent him a tray to put the satay with the gravy which he promised to return. But halfway through our eating, he got stunted and realised the cleaner cleared the tray from our table. We were like telling him to forget it since somehow it will return to her but a promise is a promise eh? Responsibility...don't you girls just love a responsible man...ok, over here I should downgrade him to semi-responsible for losing it! Anyway, found it back for him though.

The table got overcrowded with food and drinks to accomodate anymore, so all of us moved to a new table just in front of the western food stall to be welcomed with more food courtesy of Leo. By now all of us actually quite full. Just look at the time man...supper, deep-fried chicken wings and fries...heaty food. No wonder Xq said she fell sick. Most will get a pimple rage!!

And just as we gathered, we parted ways with Leo and head for home/hostel. Had a picture taken right in front of the western stall. The gang...Wf, me, Uncle Chua, Leo, Auntie Phuar and Xq. Everyone looks like going to bed, I'm dressed like i'm headed for school. Yeah, i'm going...but to crash wf's hall for the night.

And just before I forget, there're the videos from Leo for the night. Thanks to Leo for the effort in making things happen man. With yj giving his reflections on being promoted to an 'Uncle' at the age of 22. Damn funny...not going to post here though to respect their privacy. Interested people can get from them! I'll release it to only the people present that night!

Me and wf get the honour of sending Auntie Phuar home in a cab too. Then back to Hall 8. This is the most hard to get shot ok! Go flip through your photo albums people, wf taking a solo picture with you is RARE!! This is my 1st with him too after 8 years?? This is the 2nd time I get to 'sleep' with him though...lol...it was a tormentous night. Don't start thinking creatively...the weather's just damn hot and humid that night.

A new addition!! Wf's roomie, Zhiliang!! Not a fresh face to me though...got to know him years back too from jc period. He's one hell of a nice guy.

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All the way until morning...to realise that I'm late for class, I did the wrong tutorial for BS107 and that i've consumed 5 cups of coffee within a 12-hours frame. This is a CAT 1 for pimple outbreak even for me...thank goodness nothing struck.

Hectic Week

2007-04-01T15:21:00.000+08:00

Well...this week had been wild but I haven't been allowed to suffer from amnesia over the fact that there are tutorials, the damn BS802 assignment, stupid lipids, secretion, osmosis, molecular cloning reports to settle. And best of all, there's a French test tomorrow. Yes, again....total of 4 tests in 1 semester of French Level 1. Tomorrow's will mark the end of the 3 written tests, there's going to be 1 oral test with the tutor from another class. Hope things go well though...may all the spiritual beings bless me with overwhelming luck tomorrow. Best outcome will be the answer script falling from the sky cuz...i've done no revision for French.

Just let me be lazy for a while more....let me clear my overdue blog postings...and i'll get down to flipping through French notes later.

Just wait...

2007-03-29T09:17:00.000+08:00

It had been a mad weekend all the way till tuesday night man. Real crazy and fun...just let me consolidate all the picts and videos and i'll do proper blog postings on them. Need to catch up on sleep and assignments first. Just be patient!

A Realisation...

2007-03-28T21:02:00.000+08:00

I was chatting with a friend today whilst going for lunch. And we stumbled upon the topic of asking questions during tutorials and lectures. As generalised, Singaporean students will stick to their chairs, eyes glued to apparently blank pieces of paper during tutorials when the tutor asks for volunteers to answer tutorial questions. This is where the differentiation comes in. There'll definitely be people answering the questions, asking more questions and clarifying doubts. This is a disruption of the common culture in Singapore. I wonder how each of you fare, but personally I found myself at the mercy of my own crime. Basically speaking, I stigmatised these group of people whose positive ideals were what I preached and acted on. These are in fact good practices that we lack and we really ought to reflect on our actions.

What is the purpose of education? To get good grades, to get settled down with a job or to seek knowledge and the greater truth? The last option is definitely a "yes" to the question. When faced with a problem, pry open your mouth and ask. You might be stigmatised but at the end of the day, who learns more? Who gains? And the questions posed, are they beneficial to the general cohort? It might very well be a question everyone's dying to ask but no one dares make the first move. That's a huge stumbling block to learning. Not just in educational terms, in life, in solving issues etc. When faced with a problem, no matter personal, relation-based or work. It's always good to clarify and clear things. Don't let things choke up, it gets unhealthy.

I've this working principle that I preach:" Never say anything's impossible until you've tried and exhausted all means". I really despise people who simply replies there's no solution to the problem when they've only analysed and performed 'skin-deep' attempts. And i'm guilty of this, especially in this semester. Not only did I not put in my best effort, I even labelled others, i'm utterly disgusted with myself over this. Last sem I really put effort into clarifying all that I don't know, I learnt and re-learnt a lot, the people whom i've asked should be nodding their heads off while reading this. Thank goodness I got reminded in time, I agree fully with the discussion. Now let's all work towards a greater understanding....till then

Planning for Tioman

2007-03-25T18:25:00.000+08:00

Planning for this upcoming Tioman trip is definitely an ardous task. Changed from 28-30 May, to nil and finally did an about turn twist and ended up with the auspicious date 11-13 May. So now my dearest Tioman Khakis, read this blog posting to remind yourself of the fun and excitement we gonna get!

Details
Event: Trip to Pulau Tioman, Malaysia
Date: 11 - 13 May 2007
Resort: Paya Beach Spa and Dive Resort

People involved:
Xiuwen, Yihan, Ziping, Hanjie, Belle, Junting and me!

Remarks:

2 twin standard rooms and 1 triple standard room for the 3 single dudes.
Rooms are wooden but air-conditioned with proper facilities. I was told the only negative issue is that you get to hear the sea-waves.
Upgraded to full-board package. We get transport, accomodation, snorkelling trip, daily breakfast and 2 BBQ dinners!! Looking forward to the seafood we shall get!
Bring along your swimming and tanning suits! Cuz there'll be not just snorkelling; canoes, sampangs etc for rental too. Promise of nice beautiful beaches too...
Total cost works out to be S$1015 i.e. $145 per pax. Cheap way to have tonnes of fun! (Return me my money!!!)
Check out the following links for more insight and information!

http://www.tioman.com.my/

http://www.smarttravelasia.com/tioman.htm

Thanks a lot to xw too!! We finally got things together...feel so accomplished. Indeed it has been a long weekend drag. And Jt, i'll treat you to a good meal over there for been so nice. Haha, and i've yet to forget my promise of Redang to you!! The next place we conquer shall only be Redang.

Another Marvellous 02 Gathering

2007-03-24T18:09:00.000+08:00

Venue: Tiong Bahru Chicken Rice (Chinatown)
Time: 1330hrs [treize heures et demie]
Event: Meeting up with Leo and for delicious chicken rice

I've got an amazing harvest today. I shall elaborate about it in parts. Firstly, Leo's back from Japan for his spring break people! But he'll be headed back soon next wednesday[lundi], so try to meet up with him while he's still in sg. And today, the mini class gathering's at a chicken rice stall in Chinatown. Xiuqin and Lianchiu were exclaiming about the nice and cheap chicken rice. For a long while, I thought the 2 of them were going to give the rest of us a treat! But good things just don't happen, I get to treat Weifeng though!! Old ties were rekindled and reinforced and classmates just catch up with each other, got to know more about the happenings of each and everyone else there today. The focus shall be on LC...haha...we always have got things to talk when it comes to food, France, exchange and backpacking in Japan. So there you go, I got my translator for my grad trip. We shall backpack the whole of Japan!! As agreed, i'll confirm with you 10 months prior to the trip so that you can arrange for maternity leave!! Do keep me informed after your supposed trip to Europe too! Introduce nice places to me to tour...Visiter France est interressant!!

Since the focus is for Leo, i'm gonna dedicate this paragraph for you dude. Really felt bad the time just now was too short for us to have a good talk. But think we should know it, even though we aren't contacting that very often, we can always rely on the trust that we'll be there to support each other man! Damn nice to have such a friend like you! Now now, just don't let those tears roll...haha...and thanks a lot for your recent help too! I really am appreciative of your effort! Thanks again.

Since we're there for food, how can I miss out on a review about the food? First stop, chicken rice. In all, we ordered chicken rice, salad cream sotong doughsticks and fried tofu. 6 of us were there earlier, and waited till the food turned cold..haha...so might not be a good review either. Anyway, here goes:

The main attraction, the chicken rice. But in my opinion, I wonder if it's cold though but the rice isn't that fragrant and somehow I feel the chicken meat is a little too taut for my liking. But no doubt, $2 is a good deal, not worth running there for it though! The chicken rice stall at my house here is nice though the rice's a little too oily for my liking. Think it was famous for a certain period of time, the stall at Bukit Batok Central is nice. For $2.50, they really offer a succulent serving of chicken meat. Check with me again if you're interested to try, organise another hunt for chicken rice below my house. My treat...no prob

Ok, I must really give credit to this "Salad Cream Sotong Doughstick" aka you tiao in chinese. It's real nice and crispy...and just look at the combination, I think it's rather nicely fried, not overcooked and hard...that's what I like about it. Definitely worth your try. Costs $2 for this plate.

Last but not least is the "Fried Tofu". What can I say? Nice too...chilli haters, don't be deterred by the red chilli, they're for garnishing purpose, trust me, you won't even taste anything spicy.

Finished up lunch, chatted for another long while before we decided we have to leave. Leo had to rush back home for dinner with family so we left...but not long until we found ourselves lodged in a dessert stall. Leo didn't get to join us though...another round of fun with food over there. It's this stall just near to the McDonalds. Got endorsed by this variety show by Bryan Ong's "排排站，查查看"...Kiat was damn enthu about this place, saying it looks nice and everyone got in soon after him. But...haha...sad to say, the dessert here isn't that fantastic, we had a nasty encounter with dessert too. See the picts:

This is mine...almond paste...looks like glue though...don't think the almond fragrance is there. But beware though, not everyone likes almond, definitely not for the faint hearted. This cost me $2...but kudos to Weifeng for his generous sponsorship.

This is LC's "Mango Pomelo Sago" something along these lines...taste like...mango? $3 for this...think this is the most decent tasting thing in the shop though.

Peanut Paste...even tasted Skippy's peanut butter? Mix that with some water to form goo...i'm no fan of peanut butter, so...haha...don't trust me on this if you're a fan of peanut butter. $2 too...

This is plain "Guilingao" aka herbal cooling jelly...$2

This is obviously "Squid ink"...haha..no la, that's just our little comment, this is "Black sesame paste"...doesn't really taste good...I honestly wonder why the desserts doesn't go down well with us.

Just realised I missed out the photo on the most unpalatable dessert of the day ordered by Keeyang, "Egg Pudding in Ginger Sauce"...that thing stinks. Ever smelt raw egg? That's the stench...see if you have the adventure spirit. Anyway, it ended up as forfeit for our little game of "终极密码". LC and Weifeng were the big losers...you all should see their twisted faces when swallowing the pudding! haha...damn comical!! And the rest was gulped down by Yongjin who has to rush for a study session back in NTU. How sick could that be?? NTU on a lovely saturday afternoon.

In either way, I won't recommend this dessert shop. Give it a miss...you won't lose out in anyway possible! Just as I thought my day was over when we parted ways for home, guess who I met while on my way home? My secondary school HCL teacher, Mdm Chu Suat Bee. Real nice chinese teacher, she was voted as the Best Teacher Award years back during my time. Appeared on newspapers too! But sadly she left BP for MGS where she is now teaching at. And she really made my day, I was thinking she won't remember me, but guess again, she still remember me and my full name. Perhaps we were 1 of the last few batches she taught, she still remembers kiat, jesper, yongjin. The 6 sole males from 02 to go 03 for HCL lessons. Found out more about her situation, talked a little about people nowadays and her determination not to have kids cuz last time was "养儿防老", but now it has evolved to become "养儿烦恼".

Till then...

My 1st Cheesecake

2007-03-23T21:24:00.000+08:00

The enthusiasm struck and we raged after it...on a lovely sunday afternoon, Choi and me embarked on the adventure of baking our 1st cheesecakes. An engineer and a lab fellow doing the job of a baker. How does that appeal to you? In either way, we baked them no doubt...using techniques of our specialisations. Nice cake though, Xiuwen endorsed it, my mother did...the only complaint from myself was the top layer was slightly overcooked and the cheese layer not fluffy enough. But like what Xiuwen says, it's very good for a 1st timer le.

From raw ingredients...

To a fluffy white cream...

To baking in the oven....

And we have 2 cheesecakes and 4 cheesetarts...1's already in my mother's stomach

Sorry for the low quality pictures...took it at night, the whole cake looks dull from the lousy lighting.

Chilling it...

And in my tummy...like what I said, I think the biscuit base and the top crust is good even though it looks burnt. Damn crispy...shiok...but the cheese layer...I would prefer it to be softer though...i'll alter the recipe next time round.

Here's what we used:

100g Marie biscuit
80ml Melted butter
500g Cream cheese
80g Sugar
3 Tablespoons cornflour
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla essence
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
3 Eggs
80ml Whipping cream
80ml Milk
Grated lemon peel

Q: What's the similarity between baking and doing a lab?

A: You mix everything and pray nothing goes wrong.

A Kindred Spirit...

2007-03-18T22:14:00.000+08:00

"How long does it take you to read this post?"

This was Garrie's blog posting. Simple yet ambiguous...it might be thought inspiring for some, I pondered a little as to what will be in the posting? My first guess was some IQ question, a riddle, and lastly a puzzle of sorts. Never would I realise that the post is in fact about "...people do not have the ability to process information as fast as "normal" people do."

When was the last time you did any form of volunteer work? What was the last thing you did for charity? For me, the last time was years back. Only went to this 'Ju Eng Home for the Elderly' with army because everyone else had to go. The next nearest date would be my college days where CIP counts towards your CCAs etc...Ju Eng Home is a freaking rich shelter for the elderly by the way. If anyone has been there, you'll realise what I mean by this. Some of the old folks there aren't there because they are abandoned, they are there because they are old and lonely and need company. That's one reason I never liked going there but nevertheless there are people over there who really needs our company and compassion.

When was the last time you asked "eh, got lobang for volunteer work not?" or "when's the next charity roadshow or run" or even "when's the blood buddy coming?". Those thoughts haven't been with me for a real long time I must confess. It aren't right not to confess something so sinful. Instead of those phrases, I personally believe the following will be more endearing to most of us: "hey, got lobang for part time not?", "this saturday got lobang for roadshow not, I short of cash", "got sales is it? until when huh?", "this weekend want go sing kbox not?" and even "that guy/girl is damn CUTE!!! I wanna date him/her!!"

I've lost touch with community involvement projects for a long time. Was quite active back then though...not for the points even though they count towards my CCA score. I don't really bother about CCA points, we only live once on this world, do something new, experience something different...that's what living is all about. Back in the secondary school days we plan for Children's Camp for Nee Soon East CC. Lasted all the way into college...there were other events too no doubt. No pay, no nothing, just a plain heart for doing something meaningful. College's CIP program is simply lame....collecting newspapers from people, all the acting and advertising on a "Friendly School". But I was in charge of a nature walk on Pulau Ubin though. That was my 2nd home before I entered army. You can find me on most weekends there, providing free guided trails for groups, for visually handicapped personnel and at the same time at home with nature. Damn I miss that place...the interaction with people, letting them taste some wild leaves/fruits, and letting people feel and be with nature.

Some random pictures from Ubin years back:

This is the Secret Garden...real nice and tranquil place to be in

Anyone seen a quarry with crystal blue water? We don't have tall mountains or raging waterfalls...but this will definitely make you gasp in awe

Bukit Panjang ROX!! Yeah...this is the combined effort of Wen, Wee, Haojun and me.. :)

Nowadays, where's the volunteerism spirit? In university, people volunteer to join certain CIP projects, but is it out of compassion for these less fortunate people, or for a higher chance to remain lodged in hostel? Where's the compassion of Singaporeans? We seem to be measuring it in monetary terms, how much was collected during a flagday, or the donations collected on tv. Are we really that compassionate or are all these just to make ourselves feel better, that we are in a sharing, caring society? To me, the kindred spirit is something that is intangible and it should be that way....immeasurable. So instead of thinking where to go find money over the weekend, trying asking where to do something more meaningful for the society. So where will you be this weekend? Till then...

Garrie, jio me along next time if there's such events. Thanks..

On French...

2007-03-12T22:59:00.000+08:00

I am feeling damn sore and grouchy over today's French lesson. Last week le professeur says there are 2(Deux) quizzes this week: Monday(Le Lundi) and Thursday(Le Jeundi) meaning 2 different quizzes, Quiz 2(Deux) and Quiz 3(Trois). But, what happened deviates from expectation. Quiz 2 is divided into 2 parts, roleplaying to be done today and the written portion on Thursday. I was like so...traumatised down there even though I didn't study much, it's still effort made and no outlet to release my pumped-up adrenalin ok! Damn!!

At the beginning of the French course, le professeur le Français says that French is easier than English(Anglais). I didn't believed her...I'm still glad I held my belief. Guess what we learnt in class today? Numbers(Numero)...sounds simple right? Just counting 1, 2, 3, 4....100. No, counting in French is madness...complete madness. Let me cite an example of what I learnt today:

1(Un)
2(Deux)
3(Trois)
4(Quatre)
5(Cinq)
6(Six)
7(Sept)
8(Huit)
9(Neuf)
10(Dix)

Simple and easy right? Just a matter of pronounciation. But this is not the crux of getting mad over numbers in French.

11(Onze)
12(Douze)
13(Treize)
14(Quartoze)
.
.
20(Vingt)
.
30(Trente)
.
40(Quarante)
.
50(Cinquante)
.
60(Soixante)
..
69(Soixante Neuf)
.
70(Soixante-Dix) = (60+10)
71(Soixante-onze) = (60+11)
..
80(Quartre-Vingt)= (4x20)
81(Quartre-vingt-un)=[(4x20)+1]
..
90(Quartre-vingt-dix) = [(4x20)+10]
91(Quartre-vingt-onze) = [(4x20)+11]

Just look at the way the numbers are pronounced from 70 onwards. Numbers 1-69 are still considered rather simplistic. The numbers from 70 are madness...try it if you like, give yourself a number and try to say/write it in French. Anyway, for people interested to experiment to see whether French is your cup of tea, there's this website: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/french/french.htm

Try it if you have the time, it's very interactive and provocative!! Till then...

On Genetics...

2007-03-12T22:28:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered why on earth are we studying genetics when news are aplenty that we get no jobs when we graduate? Weekly practicals, tutorials and lab reports definitely aren't something worth looking forward or to be proud of. In fact, they drain the life out of us. Ask most bioscience students how they spent their weekends, the reply would be rather idiotic to guess: "I was rushing my report". Why didn't we opt for a change in course, like changing to major in engineering, business or even arts? Think for many, they would say, a science degree is the safest to obtain. But looking deeper, have you realised that genetics have in fact become part of us, or to a greater extent, already in us?

When was the last time you saw a short person and you attribute it to genes. This may seem like a touchy topic, but the texture of skin, pimples, sebaceous secretions....did you attribute them to genes too? Look at a plant, in place of green leaves it has purple...genes? Fat, slim, medium...aren't all these attributed to genes too? Even the degree of intellegience, blood type, or the way people act. In a word: Genes!

For people who have no biological or genetics background, genes are IN us! In secondary school science, we study about cells as the basic unit of life. In fact, in a cell, genes bring about all these processes carried out by cells. Genes are all around us, anything that is alive has genes. Viruses, bacteria, insects...all contains this miraculous thing called genes. Since the market for genes is never ending and ever so wide, when will humans be satisfied with their current knowledge?How can we bioscience graduates ever run out of job if man continue to seek more knowledge about the world we live in?

The following are some examples, some photos in fact with relation to genetics. I would never have realised genes played an important role until I studied them. If I knew nothing about genetics.....

This will just be a shark with webbed feet...it'll end up on the table somehow

This will just be a white bird amongst other black birds....

But since I learnt something, the shark may have inherited some gene mutation or simply it might be an "un-evolved" shark. Remember people, the theory was there was fish, then they crawled onto land, grew legs and became land creatures. "Mal-evolution" perhaps?

The bird...the normal colour is black but it's white. So I suppose white feathers are recessive alleles and this particular bird gets 2 of this recessive genes? What next? We can calculate the probability of this occurence...but..that's for another day. Just want to tell you people, or bring to your realisation the importance of genetics around us. Genetics is not useless!! Till then...

On Labs...

2007-03-12T22:04:00.000+08:00

Did your teachers at 1 point or another of your schooling life tell you that lab's interesting, hands-on, fun and exciting? Where you get to mix 2 transparent chemicals and *poof* you get a nice colour in a test-tube; You get to dissect animals such as rabbits, frogs, hearts, eyeballs etc...all the more interesting for students into gore; You get to swing a pendulum and count the periods...how fun; (Btw, this is why I hate physics, literally dry and tasteless); As we go onto JC, we are introduced into another form of lab, labs dealing with DNA, western blotting etc and there the teachers go again. Isn't it marvellous this thing about DNA discovery, we can see the proteins, pass a current through and there you have intense bands in a sea of black.

I remember when I was younger ( before I even touched labs...when practical sessions were putting a dented ping-pong ball into a hot cup of water and watching it regain its shap), those were the rosy pictures I had of lab. And at a certain point of my life, I think I swore to be a scientist? Damn...I can't imagine studying science for so many years only to wash test-tubes in a pathetic lab.

Anyway, for those young kids still having a rosy outlook of laboratories, think thrice....because you may jolly well just end up like this halfway through the lab session:

By the way, this is the current Dr. SIYA Chen, PhD, A/P School of Sleepology, NTU. Applications are now open for the 4 years-direct honours course in Sleepology. She's hiring lab techs too...so bioscience grads, no worries...another job opportunity for us.

Face of a Garung Soldier....at a wrong place?

2007-03-06T15:53:00.000+08:00

I woke up from my slumber, saw the newspapers and decided to flip through. And there's a few pages on Minister Teo's summary of the armed forces in parliament. Talked about defence spending, 3G army and lastly the incorporation of PRs and new immigrants into our nation's defence. That's the article I posted above. I was just about to flip the page, when I notice the 2 guys(in red oval). Looked closer and realised those are people from my unit! Regular armament technicians...they deal with weapon repairs...forgotten their names though. I only remember them as 2nd Sergeants and that the one on the left always fails IPPT and I see him so very often when conducting tests.

The good citizen, the good soldier or the best he can be. I personally don't know who this new officer is but things definitely sounds rosy. The picture looks good and it's definitely representative of the SAF. Guess where the picture is taken? The infamous "yellow-box" area...don't know what this means? In short, it's an invention of army, called the "smoking area". People gather here to smoke after canteen breaks in all postures: Standing, sitting, squatting. You name it, they have it. Over here, this officer is clearly squatting and I have no doubt he has a cigarette on either of his hands. Now to think of it...why the hell did they take a picture of him when he's smoking?!!

Tremors? Earthquake? Who cares...

2007-03-06T15:41:00.000+08:00

My chair rocked independently even though i'm not moving an inch from the table with all the notes. Sitting up straight, the image in front still looks 'shaky'? I thought it was due to lack of sleep and giddiness is setting in. So I slapped myself...no...things are still shaking...I look at my water bottle, the water's swirling on it's own...I switch on the TV, there's an earthquake of 6.6 in Indonesia. Stupid earthquake...wonder how many lives it took away this time.

First time I felt such tremors so strongly though. And the epicentre was 430km away from Singapore? I wonder how the people in Sumatra even stood on their feet! I'll just sit on the floor if it was me. And I wonder why people in Singapore even bother panicking and running out of buildings when the tremors only lasted like 15seconds? Unless you are staying in a mud-house, please don't panic and stay indoors. Singapore buildings are built to withstand earthquakes to a certain extend. The whole ceiling or wall won't collapse on you, the most you'll even see are crack lines on the walls. So stop panicking, don't fight to dial into the news-stations, don't create a mountain out of a ant-hill! Get on with life...i've got a test tomorrow...

Second time it shook, I was sleeping...or just asleep...felt a little shaking. Didn't bother about it, went back to dreamland. But...was soundly woken up by my fanatic father telling my mother it's an earthquake. His voice shook the house... :(

About Lectures....

2007-03-03T12:32:00.000+08:00

Bioscience lectures are mostly boring...people fall asleep at various parts of the lecture and i'm no saint either...Here's a classic example of sleeping through a lecture:

Gone Fishing

2007-03-01T10:04:00.000+08:00

I was doing my usual food hunting online when I found this café situated right in the Hillview area know as "Gone Fishing". So on a lovely afternoon yesterday, me and Eunice decided to check out the place. Just a mention, this place has currently changed hands and managed by my ex-bpghs senior, Hon Shin. Suppose only those secondary school mates, especially from scouts or guides will have memories of him.

This café is situated at quite a 'deserted' area, and I didn't even realise there was a row of shophouses there in Hillview till yesterday! But nevertheless, we spent a whole afternoon there, lunching and having a good chat. As the café promotes "...for the unhurried soul", we really sat there for 5 hours? lol...let's now introduce some of the food now happily sitting in my stomach.

This is the café, called "Gone Fishing" for the unhurried soul....

This is my main dish, it's a ribs+sausage combo meal. The set comes with a soup of the day and a beverage too. This set costs S$17. The sausages and chicken combo cost around S$12? I'm no fanatic of sausages, so I can't really compare or comment on the sausage part. But as for the ribs, they are SUCCULENTLY DELICIOUS!! Definitely worth a try...the rice isn't bad too...before the rice was served, Eunice was already commenting that the rice smells very nice.

Ok, here is the beverage: Almond Coffee...hmmm....maybe it's just me. But there isn't much aroma of the coffee...sorry but I prefer my coffee strong and black though.

We get to do graffitti on the walls in any manner too...the walls were already generally packed, so we had to spend time looking for empty spaces to do some scribbling...

These were scribblings of Eunice solely...I had no role in these

These are combined efforts...

Anyway, for those interested in visiting the café, check out their site @ www.gonefishing.com.sg Can be a real nice place to hang and rot the whole day...

CNY Visit to Ah Meng's House

2007-02-25T22:03:00.000+08:00

After some tussle and fussle, finally set a time to go visit Ah Meng at his house. It has been a real long time since we last went to his house at Seng Kang. And this time, we have an additional member, Jingwen with us on this voyage. Me and Choi headed to his house first while Li Ling waited for Jingwen at the interchange. Got a mini gathering of the workers from PSB of the past...talked about some recent happenings, ate some new year goodies, and took some pictures. As usual, Kimberley was the highlight at 3 months old. Adorable little girl who knows how to choose her playmate. lol...see the pictures below.

This is Ah Choi with the young babe...she cried shortly after.

Liling with Kim, somehow she looks like she's the mother!! lol...anyway, the baby's trying to run away from her crutches...and guess what?? Less than 3 seconds after she took Kimberley from Jingwen, Kim started wailing super loudly!! She really knows who's nice and who's not! Smart girl!!

On timer mode...only Jingwen, Choi and me are looking. Those horrible 3, don't know what they trying to do...

Finally, a more proper shot...

This is KIMBERLEY!!!! Pretty??

Sending uncle and family off at airport

2007-02-23T21:57:00.000+08:00

It had been a long while since I went to Changi airport and on this beautiful, lovely morning, I arose to the ringing alarm and proceeded to the airport to send my uncle and family off as they going back to Taiwan. Poor me doesn't have a car, so I get to take the efficient MRT system all the way from West to East.

Ok, here are the pictures taken just before they enter the departure hall:

Aunt and my cousin

Aunt, my mother and cousin

A group picture...i'm inside too!! There's a nice background too...nice orchids

I thought these were fake flowers initially until I felt them...real orchids!! And lots of them...purple too...love the combination

Lunch was marvellous as well...took a while to source out the food centre located at Changi Terminal 2. It really is a huge food centre man...all sorts of stalls with attractive rates for staff.

I must make special mention of the western food stall man...really really OISHI!!! When I look for food, first I follow the queue, then I follow my nose and I ended up at the western stall. I wanted to try this: "Grilled Catfish Fillet with Creamy Dill Sauce"....Arghz...sadly...they only offer that on tues, thurs and sats. Anyway, that costs S$5.50 and it really looks nice...no choice, have to settle for the below: "Linguine Seafood with White Wine Sauce". And guess what? It's really damn nice!! Not what you would expect of hawker fare and I should say it's the best pasta i've eaten so far. No bullshit man...i've got a golden tongue when it comes to food, and when Weixin says it's nice, go try it!!

The chef is really damn good in her culinary skills, she used quite a bit of garlic which I hate to the core but there's no garlic taste and it goes down well. And she manages to merge the sauce and the linguine nicely. The clams were of a generous serving too...7 clams in all, rather fresh too. Cost me S$3.90 for this dish but I would say it's worth every single cent. Coffee and tea sucks in this food centre though...go get some can drinks instead.

And btw, on the way out of airport, passed by Terminal 1's Crystal Jade bakery and I saw this "Coffee Egg Tart", looks interesting and new, so I tried it...hmm...innovation's there....but but...the taste just doesn't blend in well. The tart itself is good and crispy. But the coffee firstly isn't strong enough and ya, don't think it's a good combination. This thing cost me S$1.15...wasted.

Chinese New Year...continued

2007-02-22T21:33:00.000+08:00

Ok, the previous blog was just me whining and some thoughts about the festival. Let's now look in-depth at some of the happenings during this supposedly festive season. CNY Eve as usual, stayed in Singapore, went to my grandmother's place where we had our reunion dinner with the rest of the family. And as usual, I help prepare the food and in particular, I help slice up the abalone...*grinz*...so you lot can guess what filled my stomach that night. CNY day 1 itself, morning woke up erm...sufficiently early to prepare for visit to my grandmother's house before heading to Malaysia. Everyone's still preparing so while waiting, the hand-written script of BS108 tutorial by xuweixin was borned. Lunch was settled at grandmother's place and I got my 1st red packet for this year...lunch was a strangely familiar sight from dinner the night before....lol. But nevertheless, there were some new dishes...and there was 1 last slice of abalone amongst the vegetables!! How could I have missed that the night before??!!

Anyway, headed for the customs into Malaysia. Ok, a little bit of my history... firstly, i'm not a Malaysian...the next person to say i'm a Malaysian again will get roared at. I'm a made-in-singapore product. My father's singaporean but my mother's malaysian, so i've got relatives on both sides of the causeway. There's something I want to complain here though. The damn malaysian customs are SHIT! Sorry if there are malaysians here ok, but your customs really sucks...can you even imagine people queuing up until the shelter way outside of the main immigration building?? There are at least a few hundred people stuck at the customs but with only less than 20 slowcroaches on duty? The air-cons are not switched on and to make things worse, ventilation's real bad and people just fainted while queuing and they still don't bother doing anything about it? And on the walls, there're long, big banners saying: Welcome to Malaysia, Visit Malaysia 2007" and right in the middle, we have this ironic scene. I really think those Malaysian officials ought to be ashamed of how they handled things during this festive peak duration. For 10+ years i've been going through that screwed-up customs, for 10+years I repeatedly see this scene. It took me 2 hours to move a distance of less than 100m, how's that? I honestly think their proposal for change submitted every year is "We open all counter to clear passport". Wake up you inefficient fellows...there's such a thing called EFFICIENCY in english if there's none in bahasa melayu. I'm not even bothered if PM Abdullah sees this...I have faith that if he is to see such a scenario, he too will be put to shame and question what the hell are his men doing.

That's just a side issue...so we reached Yong Peng(永平), Malaysia where my mother came from. Went back to my maternal grandmother's house at a village called Lam Lee(南利新村) where the gathering is for so many years. In fact, there wasn't supposed to be any gathering at that house as my grandmother has passed on. But since my uncle's coming back from Taiwan for this CNY, it was an abrupt decision for everyone.

Cousins, aunts and uncles and everyone gathers around in the old house...below are some clips and photos...let them speak for themselves:

This is 1 part of the living room and the photos on the walls are my maternal grandmother and grandfather. I've never seen my grandfather though...even my father don't have the chance to meet him.

This is another part of the living room. There's just too many people around, so by night time the living room becomes a bedroom.

This is the room I slept in though...haha...those 3 on the floor are my male cousins. Damn lot of mosquitoes...they having a feast while I sleep.

Anyone seen an uncut pineapple before?? There's plenty over here...

This is my youngest cousin, Nicholas. He was so cute and chubby when young...now already 12 years old...damn, I feel old...he tried getting his mother to get him a RM1000 hamster...I told them that's either a golden hamster or simply a CHINCHILLA!

Ok, I must make special mention here about these 2 dishes. The black gooey stuff is Lor Mee and the other is Butter Fried Sotong. Both are damn nice dishes. There was a BBQ Stingray too...forgot to snapped a picture of that. The Lor Mee is definitely not the type that we eat in Singapore. In fact, I never eat Lor Mee in Singapore. If you ever see Weixin eating Lor Mee in Singapore, that's an impostor. This Lor Mee is the specialty of the place, real nice...drool...but too bad I only get to eat it once a year.

This is something most of you have not played before...FIRECRACKERS!!! But these fly though...you lot are missing out on lots of fun...

The dull night sky was colourfully lighted up by fireworks. Not some fancy fireworks you get to see at the Esplanade in Singapore, but something plain and simple close to you...

Chinese New Year 2007

2007-02-22T20:57:00.000+08:00

First of all, just let me clear the most recent events and some interesting events shall follow. I don't go round tagging everyone's blog, so let me wish everyone a Happy Pig Year! May your wallets and grades be as fat as the pig!!

Chinese New Year seems to have lost its touch as we grow up. I keep wondering why in the past. But now, I suppose I found an explanation to it. When we were way younger(oh gosh, suddenly I feel so old), maybe in the era of 4 years old onwards. That will be the age most kids start realising things around them and start having deep impressions. Everything just seem so new, everything's red, so many candies and new year goodies to go round, all the family members gather and you are 1 of the start attractions and there's no doubt, cash in the form of red packets. As we proceed onto primary school, we join in the celebrations with a much larger group of people, and there's the half day where we don't get to study(hurray!) due to celebrations etc. Then we move onto secondary school, new people, new friends, new environment but things start to get boring though. lol...I remember the same old performances, same old sequence of events, same faces and as usual, the enormous crowd of ex-students crowded all around the school hall participating. But I suppose by then, Chinese New Year becomes more of a routine rather than an enjoyment. It's a must do rather than want to do sort of thing going on. As we move onto college, I don't think there is a further need to elaborate more...haha...just guess the flow...

University?? As in the current situation? CNY of course means a long holiday...but I won't be too happy with this break though. Celebrations are done with tutorials in mind, with assignments being a pain in the arse and reports to rush. I was telling Siya on the morning of CNY I was a real good boy....haha...guess what?? I have no choice but to complete BS108 tutorial before I left for my grandmother's house and later on, to Malaysia. Yeah I know it sucks, and readers should be cursing me, what a mugger I am etc etc...but don't lie to yourselves ok!! All those in university must have done some form of homework or another!! :P And was there even any festive atmosphere in school?? I suppose the nearest match should be the red bus 170 that comes and goes daily. Oh, not forgetting the red packet I received when I reached school today...all those PRC students...think they really are too free...fancy giving away red packets with some chocolates and a pack of peach tea powder. Anyway, it's now sitting nicely where it belongs...the bin.

And coming back before I lose focus...I believe this is the phase which i shall term as "Can't be bothered" phase. Why? Simply because, things just follows a routine, eat reunion dinner on eve, day 1 visit this and that day 2 do that, day 3 do that, day 4 go back school etc. The main point is, my role for this whole phase is just to open mouth, say happy new year, receive a red packet, eat more goodies, answer questions from all relatives, catch up with relatives and cousins etc. I don't even bother getting new clothes for CNY these few years...feels just like another long weekend to me...clothes as usual ends up settled by my mother and I dragged Choi and Sebastian out to Queensway to get my shoes 1 day before the eve...not because of CNY though but because my old shoe has officially evolved into a "Crocodile".

I believe the next time i'll look forward to CNY will be the time I get more involved in the festival. Maybe when I get to have a girlfriend? And most probably when I have my own household to manage. Then will there be major involvement and maybe the festive mood will come in again. Just imagine having to take note of CNY coming, changing notes into small change, cleaning up the house, decorating the house, shopping for food and goodies, taking note of the price of bak kwa, abalone and prawns etc. For now, there is no life....no life...

A Re-start

2007-02-22T20:54:00.000+08:00

Sorry to the people viewing my blog...think by now everyone who frequents this blog knows it has been dead for a long time....1 month to be exact!! apologies to all...things cropped up, things happened, workload just piled up and the list goes on. In short, there'll be a stream of continuous updates in these coming days, so stay tuned!

Bored....

2007-01-23T12:57:00.000+08:00

Right now...i'm utterly BORED!!! 5-hours break is a killer...and to think I get them on a weekly basis. It would be so nice if lectures could be webcasted on Tuesdays. I'll get to go home early...or to a certain extent, I get to sleep late at home! Now in Shaun and Chek Meng's hall...Shaun's snoring away, Chek Meng's mugging...and me...i'm 'supposed' to do some reading...but...who cares??? Boredom is killing me....it's ripping my life away in large chunks...save me!!!

Je aime la biologie mais je n'aime pas conférence!

Pourquoi le professeur de biologie est ne belle pas femme? bah....bored

Melvados

2007-01-19T23:00:00.000+08:00

Oh man...sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've practically been "busy" in a sense...busily slacking away and refusing to do anything that requires the brain to be squished even a little. But...just let me whine about this thing called "Melvados" first. Ok, I got to see the introductions on tv and an outing there to sample the food is underway. Next Saturday dinner people, don't forget our date! Anyway, just to tantalise your taste buds a little...it got my gastric juices churning and stomach roaring away....the descriptions are horribly...effective...

Just look at this:

Baked dory fish with cream cheese $12.50
Dory fish baked with cream cheese layer on top, served with a choice of tartar sauce or teriyaki chicken sauce.

Tangy Roast Chicken $12.90
Oven roasted succulent chicken thigh marinated with our original fragrant sauce for that mildly spiced flavour, topped with our unique tangy sauce and served with a generous portion of corn and potato salad.

Beef Stew in Bread Bowl $8.90
Thick and juicy pieces of beef cubes, stewed to perfection with onions and tomatoes for that nice aroma.

Can't you just taste or even smell them???!!! Arghz...food....I need good food...

Heavenly View From My Room

2007-01-14T23:48:00.000+08:00

These few days have been pouring mad with continuous rain. There were even reports of 3 landslides in Bukit Batok with 1 at the MRT line from Bukit Batok to Gombak!! Thank goodness my laziness saved me in a sense...lol...was supposed to go get some assessment books for my tutee, Jerel. The spot's just beside the bus stop outside the BB bus interchange. Phew...dangerous places are all over recently. I'll have to try to avoid walking on roads beside a slope etc at least until the weather heats up and the rain ceases.

Anyway, the rain sort of paused for a short moment. And at that short instant, a beautiful scenery was formed on top of Bukit Timah Hill. The view's really breath-taking I should say. The sort of view you might get if you climb all the way up some tall mountain called Mount Everest, Kinabalu or the gamblers' heaven, Genting Highlands. Stop wondering...i'm no rich kid staying at some high-end condo with a fabulous view. Just a poor fellow whose room faces the hill and thankfully the tallest building in line is the low lying church.

But I should say this rain is really destructive...just look at the 2nd picture. Look at the newly exposed mud surface at the bottom left corner. Haven't seen such a sight in my 10+ years of staying here at all...nothing of this manner and magnitude. Apparently one large chunk of mud got washed off and a landslide occured at hilltop? Now i'm wary of buildings that are constructed on hilltops, maybe I should avoid staying at such places...the thought of the whole house sliding down with people screaming in it is...urghz...Thank goodness i'm staying high up but on firm concrete ground...till then...

What Animal is this?

2007-01-14T23:32:00.000+08:00

Ok people, first take a look at the below picture first before I reveal what some people have named it:

Suihar calls it a "giraffe" with spots.
Siya says at first look it looks like a "dog".
Anonymous says it looks like a "bear".

So what's your guess before you read further below?

The answer : Kangaroo

I pity my dear Weifeng who bought me this 2 years back from his Ex. Wallaby in Australia man...he bought a kangaroo soft toy souvenir for me, only to be called other unsightly names..tsk tsk...

1 Noisy Hamster

2007-01-14T23:17:00.000+08:00

The other day met Ah Choi for lunch before heading for another short 3.30pm lecture at our favourite Bak Chor Mee stall again. It's always Bak Chor Mee with Kopi-O for me and Bak Chor Mee with Teh for Choi. Lol...by the way, I wonder why it always rain when me and Choi are eating Bak Chor Mee...either the noodle's cursed or we are.

So after lunch, brought Choi up to my house to check on my 2 'lovely' girls...but...seems like they don't welcome Choi!! Keep screeching non-stop till it even got on my nerves. For no reason, they just screech mad...running round and screeching. Haha...must have been the unfamiliar smell of Choi or he must have been a real hamster torturer for my little hamsters to hate him so much.

Anyway, here's the clip...a short "Screeching Symphony" by 1 hamster:

By the way, the background sound's not any interference ok? That's the screeching sound by my hamster...no idea why the recorded version becomes so "Un-screechy". Till later...

Studying is become a mad issue...

2007-01-10T11:12:00.000+08:00

The other day I started my tuition with my tutee, Jerel for this coming 2007. Haven't blogged about him before, so I shall give a short commentary about this guy. Primary 5, unmotivated to study, better than average brains but complete laziness equates poor grades. I can still remember last year when I taught him for the first time. He don't even know where his textbooks are the day before exams. Amazing isn't he? I'm surprised he even passed his exams...and thankfully still managed a 69 for his maths. Science was horrible though...my blood pressure was at a consistent high for 11 months.

This is the infamous Jerel during kindergarten days...found this photo lying around....so on my blog it comes...

Anyway, he's now in primary 5 and I was flipping through his science textbook the other day. I really got the shock of my life...look at the below photo to know why...

For bioscience students, it should be fine because we just did a revision of it last semester during Alex Law's module. But look at those names and their discoveries...I dare to say people outside, even graduates who doesn't take any biology modules know nuts about these people and their discoveries. How to even expect those science teachers teaching these poor kids science to even know? I believe when some of those stuff wasn't even in the teachers' syllabus when they studied university. Madness...life science shouldn't be brought in at such a young age. Genes?? They don't even realise they are made of cells yet...

When I was younger, I always hear the older generation say that studies nowadays are so simple, graduates are literally "littered" all over the place unlike the old days when graduates are worshipped like idols on an altar. But as I reach higher education and learning, I realised that their views were really greatly biased in the sense that they thought they had a hard time. This, I truly beg to differ.

Comparing textbooks for chemistry in secondary school, my aunt passed me some organic textbooks they used in the past for my reference...that book was everything...let's just compare it with ours nowadays:

I think it's quite obvious from view the difference in thickness and size, the font size is exactly the same as per our current books. Just as technology advances, the information, knowledge and content follows. And all these ended up as the new-age syllabus, every review makes the books thicker. So I really don't agree with the saying that graduates nowadays are getting life much easier. WE GOT MUCH MORE CONTENT TO STUDY AND APPRECIATE!! The olden days of memorising are fading away as it's really just madness to memorise the vast information available. For me, I try to do concept studying as I call it as far as possible. Nevertheless, some content still has to be memorised or the concept studying fails too. So in short, I believe that graduates back then had a "tougher" time in the aspect that people back then:

Do not see education as an important part of life?
Many do not have the financial ability to further their studies after college and lack of substantial assistance or scholarships etc?
And how can we forget the scarcity of resources and university vacancies...unlike nowadays, where govt allocates much more resources to allow more people a chance at university, slots were rather limited and courses then were few.

I found this interesting stuff in the old textbooks...dissection of frogs...we didn't get to do it though during my time...what cruelty to animals etc...I would love to open them up and check them in detail!

However, we must give credit to the pioneers who went on to do research and discovered what we now know as modern science. Technological advancements cannot happen if these pioneer researchers did not venture into the unknown zones. And ya, I do curse them at times for discovering new stuff that I have to study now! I'm guilty of it too...to me, anything that is examinable is no fun...Till then..

Hilarous moment on 1st School Day

2007-01-08T13:12:00.000+08:00

Ok, finally school begins with me grudgingly dragging myself to NTU...1 month of break equates to me clearing leave and preparing for ORD ok! Holidays are disruptive for studies, once they begin, they never end...at least for me. Reached the canteen, and there they were, 1 bunch of 4 guys sitting there and sipping coffee. Fish was there too and soon enough, I mentioned to Fish about my previous blog on him looking like the singer, Eason Chan.(http://satisfyyourcuriosityaboutme.blogspot.com/2006/12/looks-similar.html) Fish was there complaining about his plight about being compared to Eason since secondary school when our dear KT decides to chip in and share his fate with us. Guess what?? KT said that:"People say I look like Takeshi (aka 金城武)...". This comment really send shivers down the spine man...personally if he does look like Takeshi, then there must be a part of Takeshi that none of us have seen before!!

Picture comparison below, please feel free to comment on the similarity!! lol...

Remember to tell me which part of KT resembles Takeshi...i'm no analyst of guys...but to me it's perfectly obvious there isn't any on visible spots! Keep the comments rolling....

22nd Birthday Celebration for Xiuwen and Hanjie

2007-01-07T22:10:00.000+08:00

Just as most '85ers had fond memories of their recent 21st birthday celebrations, 2 unusually old person from this same batch turned 22! Time really seems to have zoomed past real fast, I still remember for their 21st birthday, the clique went all the way to Thailand for a holiday cum birthday celebration for them. Now, we are at it again...Xiuwen's birthday is on the 5th and Hanjie's on the 6th. But I guess for this birthday, everyone's in a much joyous mood than previous!

The initial plan by Yihan was to do a steamboat ourselves at Xiuwen's house and play mahjong all night long. However, me and Junting counter proposed with a simple dinner at the Riverside Indonesian Restaurant(www.riverside.com.sg) and with a chocolate banana cake from awfully chocolate (www.awfullychocolate.com). So off I went to make all the necessary reservations for the cake and dinner.

So this is the shop at Cluny Court just directly beside Serene Centre...a pure white and black ambience. Simple yet classy decor for the interior...at first look, Ziping and Me thought we entered the wrong place because it just doesn't look like a bakery!

Shots taken in the shop while the nice shop assistant helps us to write the words "Happy 22nd Birthday" on our Chocolate Banana cake. Not a bad deal considering the size of the cake and that it's made of dark chocolate...a cool S$23 for ours. Surprisingly, the full chocolate cake only costs S$21?? I didn't know bananas are more expensive than chocolate!!

I really like this high-back armchair...I shall get one in my house next time, really comfortable sitting on them while we wait for the cake to be ready.

Finally we arrived at Riverside Indonesian Restaurant 1 hour later than our reservation time. Really off timing man, but thanks to the kind in-charge who allow us our seats despite us being late for the allocated timing. Below is the group picture just before dinner commences. By the way, the meals here are reasonably priced. S$10 per pax for a minimum of 4 persons. We've got 6, total cost inclusive of GST and towels etc adds up to a cool S$73. Free flow of rice too for people who can't live without rice!

The dishes from left: Tahur Gelur, Chicken drumsticks, Satay, Belacan Kang Kong, Sambal Stingray and Sotong! When Weixin says the food is nice, the food is nice ok!! I've got a golden tongue for food...special recommendation for the chicken drumsticks, stingray and sotong. 2 thumbs up!! :)
Another group picture right after dinner...1 new member, Isabelle joined in...now we've got 7.
Another group photo with the Riverside point as background...
Top left: Junting,Isabelle and Xiuwen
Bottom Left: Ziping, Me, Hanjie and Yihan
Group photo with Singapore river and Clarke Quay as background...
The love-birds, Xiuwen and Yihan...something interesting that we realise about Xiuwen during the last trip to Thailand: When taking photo for her, by the count of 2, the button must be pressed because she will lose her smile by the count of 3!!
No more space in our tummies for the cake at Riverside, so off we walked to "Pit Stop Cafe" over at Boat Quay. However, overcrowded due to weekend, so off we moved to "Settlers Cafe" on another stretch of road. Along the way, Junting was commenting she got the biggest buttock and the fattest legs!! lol...so we decide to do a comparison of her and Isabelle. Junting's on the right with white pants. Anyone wants to comment?
Settler's Cafe finally...cake cutting ceremony!! The branded cake from Awfully chocolate...not awful cake as what Yihan says ok!! Presenting the birthday boy and girl!!
Of course, we cannot forget the cake...
I wonder whose birthday is it?? Somehow it became Junting's!!!
The many faces after tasting the cake in order of liking....it's obvious to guess the pattern!
Game time...how can we play no games when at Settler's Cafe? I forgot the name of the game though...but it's fun...we've got 9 picture cardboards on the table, and supposed to pick a card when your turn comes and find the picture/related items as stated on the card. See the cake over at the corner?? That has its due role in the game....
The many faces of Junting!! lol...
By the end of the game, a group photo!! Only Yihan and Isabelle went unscathed....Junting ended up as the sore loser with the most flowery face!!

After the whole thing, there was mahjong planned at Yihan's hall but sorry guys, i've got tuition early in the morning on Sunday. And guess what? I almost didn't get to wake up today in time for tuition man...i snoozed my alarm 2 times before I got up reluctantly...So looking forward to another fun gathering....the next person turning old will be none other than : Miss YAP JUNTING!!! Till then...

02's Outing at the Zoo (2 Jan 2007) - Part 2

2007-01-06T13:11:00.000+08:00

The zoo trip can be considered a rather good success, I believed everyone had their share of fun just like the good old days back in BP. It's real hard and rare to gather these people on outings nowadays with everyone busy with their stuff, relationships etc. And the zoo trip did not just end at the zoo. Next stop was to fill our tummies...2 buses available: 926 heads to Woodlands whereas 927 heads to CCK. Once again, we reach cross-roads, how do we decide? We shall board the bus that arrives first. So 927 came and back to Lot 1 we go for dinner at "Let's Eat" as recommended by Harris. Had a lot of chatterings, catching up, gossips of everyone...talked about life these years...and guess what? Lian Chiu just came back from exchange in Japan!! And what's more surprising is that she told me the trip's less than 10k?? That's a rather good deal considering Japan's high standard of living right? Now i'm even more determined to go for exchange programme...sounds real fun...

We arrived at a point when we realise we're taking up too much space in the foodcourt just doing plain chit-chat and decided to move...1st stop to Macdonalds...here we continued our chit-chatting and discussion on which movie to watch...so off we move again...2nd stop, cinema at 5th floor...so let's remember properly this time, cinema's on 5th floor, not the 6th!

Group Picture at Mac...

The timings doesn't fit....so down to "Ya Kun Toast" we went...and they are at it again....the finger game...
Coffee ran out and bread was finished...but there's still no winner and again we find ourselves a nuisance hindering their business and so again we moved to Macdonalds to continue the strive for a winner...

Finally the time comes for us to depart...during the session today, discussed many outing suggestions such as going to Zouk, going to overnight at airport etc...it's still the crazy old people we have over here...mad, yet fun loving people...looking forward to next gathering! Let's get all the missing people this time man, all those that we love and hate...lol...until next time....

02's Outing at the Zoo (2 Jan 2007) - Part 1

2007-01-05T21:43:00.000+08:00

Ok, finally the date is set and everyone is ready. From the initial trio of me, Xiuqin and Joanna, we now have a relatively huge strength of 12 old 'kids' willing to embark on the journey to relive childhood. Supposedly lunch's at 11.30am at Lot 1, but guess what? We only gathered at the food court at past 12noon. And eventually left the place at 12.45pm when we were supposed to be at the zoo by this time. We are lucky though, we go 4 more hunks to join us for simply lunch. Thanks to Jesper, Kiat, Weifeng and Zhongyi for joining! You guys add spice to lunch gathering.

Lesson learnt: Ling Ling, Joanna and Shujun are potential late-comers.

The 4 girls acting cute during lunch time at Lot 1. There're some other pictures but with Leo's cam, so stay tuned for the update for lunch!

After lunch, Yongjin tried to smoke out by not going but in the end, the lure of $5 tickets finally roped him back once more. Thanks to Harris for the corporate cards that admits 8 person. That leaves us with a bill of $60 shared by 12 person. Great deal!! By the way, the admission tickets for adults = $15. So 12 kids boarded 927 and off we head to Mandai Zoo to see animals!

The entrance tickets nowadays are real nice!! I like the zebra design though...kids nowadays are so lucky their world is so colorful. I remember in the past it was just same plain paper!
First picture just after the entrance, left is Harris, right is me on the coconut trawler...
At the tiger's lair....Kianyong and me plucking the tiger's teeth...
The 3 white tigers swimming around...awesome creatures...
Zebras...I still remember the last time we went Saiyok training, Warrant Teo called giraffes "zebra"....lol...
At the Australian outback exhibits...me with a fake kangaroo...
Group photo on a ranger's rover
Clockwise from left: Yong Jin, Zhonglie, Xiuqin,Qiujuan
Middle: Me!!
Anti-clockwise from right: Kian Yong, Harris, Ling Ling and Shujun
Baboon Galore! Almost the whole family's out during feeding time. Me and Qiujuan were busy seeking the "dominant male" in this clan of baboons. At least something useful from Alex Law's lectures...lol
Hippos!! Aren't they just chubby lovable creatures? I didn't know they eat watermelons though. Are melons in season?
The larger gang...Joanna, Bingli and Leo sidetracked ahead of us.
The 4 girls with the wooden idols...Ling Ling just love those breasts on her statue! Envious perhaps? lol...
Ok, Guys' turn to hug the statues...
Penguins...they're so small and cute...And the first time I see Yong Jin's enthusiasm since he entered the zoo...maybe he likes penguins!
Close up of 1 penguin, it dived in to perform for us...
The penguin swimming and diving round...

Mother Manatee with Baby Manatee swimming...the girls exclaiming in background...

The fat Manatees doing a body flip in water...big but still graceful flip

Kian Yong and me in the bird aviary...Xiuqin told us there was the "金鸡" from 大长今 just in the bush behind us...every bird is just another bird to me..no difference
We were in luck, the zookeepers were just about to bring the ponies back to their stables after providing rides to numerous kids. And I requested for a picture to be taken with them....and was agreed readily by the zookeeper! But no touching of the pony's back he says fiercely!
This is an interesting horse. It is a miniature horse...and guess what, it poses when it realises someone is taking photos of it!!! I'm not lying...it raised its head and looked at the camera!
Giraffes...the baby giraffe has grown up to such great heights...
This is a candid shot...you don't get giraffes without heads everyday...
And talking about heights, I don't know why Joanna took a picture with the ruler!!
Lian Chiu joined us later...her first group picture I suppose? btw, I think Ling Ling's mouth crammed or something... :x
The main star at the zoo right now. On left is Sheba the mother bear, right is Inuka the baby bear. Sigh...the zoo's going to close down the polar bear enclosure...last shots of the polar bears...
A very scenic garden in the background...good for dates
Adorable otters lazying around...
Joanna took this picture grudgingly...lol...she only wants the otters
Last stop for zoo...the whole gang at the zoo's souvenir shop...taking pictures with all the lovely soft toys...and our sweat stuck on them...took pictures until the point when the in-charge comes and tell us no photos...
Final Group Photos at entrance
Finally we depart...to fill our groaning tummies

02's Gathering at Jack's Place (30 Dec 06)

2007-01-05T21:15:00.000+08:00

It has been a real long time since the Function Rep aka Miss Lee Ling Ling organise a class gathering...maybe 2 years? I know the girls have their own mini gatherings once in a while...but without the guys, those gatherings don't suffice as a class gathering right? Supposed to be going to the V'llage Restaurant at Heerens but seems like insufficient spaces for the 21 of us entering.

Ended up with a last minute change of location to Jack's Place...it is here that we see the longest stretch of tables for the 1st time! Tables for 21 people....long...like the king eating dinner in fairy tales...from 1 end to the other end, people can't even talk properly....

Firstly, I will like to apologise for the poor quality of these pictures...Joanna doesn't know how to set her camera!! End up all as thumbnail quality...someone please give her a step by step guide to using digital cameras!

Proof of us eating at Jack's Place...

Just look at how long the tables are...can't even see the other end...
Anyway, that's Yong Jin, Kianyong, Me, Melvyn, Keeyang and Zhonglie

Group Picture just outside Jack's Place...a damn embarrassing picture cuz we took it in the middle of the walking street!! Everyone has to pause to let us take this picture!

Another group picture!! This time we got smarter...we disappeared to another corner with the christmas lightings as background...

Guys acting cool....

Girls acting cute....

After the group pictures at town, off we head to King Albert Park(KAP) to continue our gathering...these people are real mad, they intend to stay overnight talking and playing...Anyway, Meiyun, Szeli, Yilin and Yunping left us...but the remaining's still 1 large group of 15! No pictures on this trip though...my photos and videos got deleted!!!

It was also during this time that I managed to round up more people for the zoo trip!! Haha...at least there're still people that aren't repulsive to the idea...and for the last time for those people with "mature" mindsets...going to zoo is not a childish thing...don't let me catch you bringing your kids to zoo next time!!

A Late 21st Treat

2007-01-01T21:59:00.000+08:00

Finally, after repeated postponement of the meeting time, numerous obstacles and queue cutting by other people, I finally met up with the old S1 of 6DSMB, Meiling for her to pay tribute to me. The most initial plan was to have a steamboat treat at Parody Centre (is this the proper spelling??). The final execution was carried out at Plaze Singapura. Dinner was Burger King's Whopper Jr. Student Meal, movie was "Curse of the Golden Flower" and beverage during the show was coffee latte from Starbucks.

Anyway, we were rushing through our food in BK due to the lack of time...Below's some posters and photos of the show we watched...wouldn't really say it's a fantastic show but it's passable except for the last scene. I don't really like the way this show ends...this show talks about all the symbolic stuff, what circle in a square, harmony and logic of life etc. Chow Yun Fatt again acts as the emperor (more of a prophet in this case). Guess Jay Chou's got his fat paycheck easily in this show, nothing much for him to do in fact, raise a sabre i.e. attack, raise it again i.e. halt, raise again i.e attack again...but I suppose many viewers of this show are his dedicated patrons though. Not much of a plot in fact, everything is rather predictable in a sense. It's expected the empress is going to rebel, expected Jay will assist, expected he won't win because the emperor is too scheming to even trust his sons...in short, wouldn't recommend this show except for the majestic display of troops, warfare and exquisite settings.

Took a picture of Meiling just before we left for home...but the picture got deleted...oh well, you guys have no luck to see her "retard" face...lol...i'll try to get a picture of her next time, so no worries. Till then...

At Last, 2007...

2007-01-01T00:05:00.000+08:00

Finally, 2007 sets in with a joyous mood. We can at long last usher in the new year with much laughter, happiness as well as well-wishes for everybody. The past few years seemed to be engulfed in economic slowdowns, news of wars, retrenchment, sluggish economies. This year seems to be good though...let's hope everything is smooth-sailing!! Once again, Happy New Year to all my friends, buddies and relatives!!

After a long 3 years wait...my 1st academic results

2006-12-31T22:13:00.000+08:00

Ok, above are my results for the 1st semester of my university academic studies. Overall got a GPA=4.2 (Full marks is 5.0), hitting a 2nd-upper honours grade currently. Not exactly impressive but I believe this will suffice for now. I should say it has been a thrilling experience in checking my results.

The past semester had been quite a chore as I really struggled, especially in the beginning to play catch up academically. 2 years of college life I wasted away not studying and another 2+ years of serving the army really cleared my brain of much information. If anyone is to ask me what's my greatest regret in my life, I would say wasting my college years away...those were the days, too young, too immature in handling my own life, only living to regret.

I really have to thank the people who aided me lots in my pursue of lost time and knowledge, my chemistry "shifu", Stella; Econs I had Alfred, Alvin and Yilin; Physics I had Biochemistry and Siya's Atkins to thank...and last but not least, the biology modules not forgetting Shiyun and Xiuwen too!! All of you really made a difference...if not for you, maybe I won't even be passing...and these are real heartfelt words from me ok, you don't hear them often from me!

I know some people like KT might want to murder me for writing this. However, with the exception of HE191(econs) and BS102, I was expecting better results for 104 and 101. Not that it's boasting or whatever, it's just achievable by everyone in fact. Better luck in the next semester? Perhaps...i'm going to strive next semester...no more bugging economics...i'll need a 4.75 go pull me up to 4.5 though!! I suppose after this semester of "finding my brain", I should be capable of greater feats. So let's all just work hard together...no more 2 tutorials for you KT, you better make my bet worth it, i'm betting you'll do at least 4 tutorials this coming sem!!! GAMBATTE Singaporeans, we mustn't lose to foreign talents!!

Past Event: 26 Dec 06, Cousin's Trip to Singapore

2006-12-30T14:18:00.000+08:00

Apologies to readers!! Been blogging about past events for the past few posts...blame the earthquake in Taiwan for the inaccessibility to blogger. Guess this will be the last past events post. I'll try to be as current as possible in my postings from now on!

As stated in my title, this post shall be on my cousin, Ping Yee and her boyfriend's visit to our lovely country Singapore. Their 1st day was been entertained by another cousin and my sister.
As for their 2nd day here, I was supposed to bring them to the zoo as many will already know by now...lolx...i was finding companions to accompany me to reduce my 'brightness'! Did all the planning the night before, expected the weather to be cleared but of all times...unexpectedly, some rain clouds decide to drop by Singapore and was pouring from 1am onwards, hence thwarting the plans made for zoo. Called up the zoo in the morning and was told that there is almost no indoor enclosures for viewing...so changed of plans. Decided to bring them to 2 places namely:

1) Singapore Discovery Centre
2) National Museum

Sounds boring right? Guess anyone will go "Oh...boring place" etc...I did too!! I confess but it definitely beats going Vivocity again for a 3rd time ok?! (PS: Anyone suggest going vivo again, please make sure you don't call me along). Somemore these 2 places just finished their renovations and revampment. 1st stop travelling in the rain-->Discovery Centre.

I honestly wonder what has Discovery Centre been doing with their funds. After such a long period of renovation, it still sort of ends up as a National Education centre for recruits. Walking around the place can get quite disappointing, the rain didn't make things any better. The main highlights would be the 3D animation show, the bus-ride into SAFTI MI to view the officer cadet school and last but not least, let my cousin and her bf try out our SAF's SAR21 simulated firing.

A picture of older cousin Ah Ping and younger cousin Nicholas 3 years back....when I was still a botak head recruit...lol...

This is the now Ah Ping and her boyfriend, Han Chen...the family says that boyfriend and my cousin Nicholas looks alike, what say you?

This robot used to be walking around the Discovery Centre...now it's just a display item?

A tour of the officer cadet training school, SAFTI MI...this is the tower...people who wore green should know of this tower...

After the Discovery centre trip, took them back to Jurong Point where I treated them to a sumptous lunch at Crystal Jade Restaurant, not the La Mian Xiao Long Bao branch though, I thought the other branch might have better food and dim sum. Cost quite a bit but I think it's money well spent!! The food's fabulous and the ambience and service is great too...never regretted a time I dine at Crystal Jade. Thinking back now makes me drool again...dim sum....

This is no doubt a luxurious meal...but never come fight with me for payment ok! When guests come from afar, i'm the host...so it'll be my treat...just eat happy. And when I get to go over, just play a good host to me next time! lolx...

This is my '港式水饺面' aka Hong Kong style dumpling noodles...real nice....it take skill to make the noodles nice and springy...

This is Han Chen's '牛腩面' aka Cow's belly noodles...the noodle's real crispy...and the sauce is green curry....oishi!!

This is Ah Ping's '牛肉炒饭' aka beef fried rice...smells really nice ok!! Can smell it from afar...!!

The Dim Sum is real nice...especially the Char Siew Puffs and the Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun...simply heavenly...I make make special mention of the Puffs...real soft, you can't get them outside...even the edges where you expect the dough to be hard, they are actually real soft!!

After lunch, it's another long 174 journey down to the National Museum...in fact, was expecting it to be another boring trip...much to my surprise...the newly renovated museum has got some real nice ambience and artistic flair added to it!! I paid $5 for student rate though...that's the only good thing about being a student.

Cousin and boyfriend's picture...I like the dome

I really like the dome....the transparency of the glass ceiling...would be lovely if they have lights on the dome at night...view will be superb

Inside 1 of the Singapore History Galleries...the security guard says no pictures...but who cares? I even got him into the picture!

The only photo of me for this whole trip...behind me is the merlion...looks more like a sea lion to me...

Ok, this is interesting....I never knew photo negatives were the exact size as that of the photos in the past!! They really are huge...

This is a unique christmas tree...made up purely of wooden shavings...and shaped like horns...

This is a super large screen along the hallway...remember those zappy images on TV when you don't get a channel in the past? However there are different images amongst these apparently randomised dots...

I love the ambience of the top level of the museum...blue lighting...just gives everyone there a sense of calm and tranquility...visit it if you have the chance. Anyway, those are some funny comics at the top level...rather interesting
So that about concludes my journey as a tourist...in fact, I must confess that I haven't been to these places in a long time...disgraceful as a local Singaporean right? Don't even know much about our own stuff...

Looks similar??

2006-12-29T14:57:00.000+08:00

Ok, here we have our friend Fish, and we have the singer Eason Chan....i find their lips strangely similar....a trait of hongkies??? lolx...

I think Fish needs more curly hair....get a better voice, grow a little taller....then he might be a good match!!!

Past Event: 13 Dec 06-Uni Chalet at Costa Sands(Downtown East)- Part III

2006-12-29T13:50:00.000+08:00

Sleepover Phase

A continuation from the previous post...this will be the final portion on the uni chalet. Most of the people left for home, only leaving behind Siya, Wanting, KT, Alvin, Zhiwei and me. Brandon and Suihar abandoned us for home. In future we get an outing, we must make them sign a contract stating compensation for broken hearts, loss of atmosphere etc for last minute withdrawals. It was bridge as usual...the gambling queen, Wanting decided to learn another game besides her favourite mahjong.

Hmm....which colour should I take??
The 3 lady gossipers...
The 4 Gambling Kings and Queens
Alvin and me were sleeping around until I was thrown off the bed when the gambling quadruplets decide to play mahjong. I was woken up and towards the end played a few rounds of mahjong before going into hibernation mode again....not long after that, everyone followed suit!! Talk about not sleeping....bah...

This is just unsightly, KT and Wanting had a rendezous right in from of our very eyes...
Refuses to get up???
Tickling begins for sleepyheads....haha...we discovered Wanting's feet got 1 mole!!

Coming to an end to the chalet at long last....didn't realise Downtown East Resorts provides morning wake-up calls too to remind us to check out by 10.30am. Anyway, checked out, went Pasir Ris and settled brunch at mac...then off we go....dozing off on the long train ride....Zzzzz

Past Event: 13 Dec 06-Uni Chalet at Costa Sands(Downtown East)- Part II

2006-12-25T20:53:00.000+08:00

BBQ Phase

Rain simmers to an almost stop and off me and Alvin head to the pit to get the fire started first while the rest take their time to stream down slowly with the rest of the food etc. Less words here though...enjoy the pictures....descriptions will be along with the pictures for interesting ones. Enjoy!!

Weather's all fine and sunny...that's Suihar and me trying to get the sausages opened and Sandy staring in wide amazement!
The guys who "stay" together: Alvin and KT
Group Picture at the BBQ Pit
From Left: Sandy, Eunice, Suihar, Me, Zhiwei and Alvin. KT's presence is to block the spotlight
Granny Wanting with her grand-daughters
Suihar with Jasmine
Glutton at work: KT's 1st 'stick'
Glutton at work: KT's 1st mushroom...not even cooked and he can't wait...
Brandy doing calligraphy on food...Siya? Don't know talking to who man....

Me bbq-ing....again, I wonder who Siya's talking to??
Glutton strikes again: KT's 1st 'meat'

Brandy painting, me staring...
Night falls...was this before or after the rain?? I just noticed a symmetry...2 whites on left and right, 1 orange in centre...Jasmine's replaced by Wanting in a later photo...

4 straight,---1 crooked...Zhiwei, Alvin, Me, Brandy, --- KT

Close-up on Suihar...laughing with food in her mouth.....lolx...This is a funny picture...only those there knows what happened man...imagine the photographer counting 1,2,3 and telling the food to smile...

Glutton strikes after rain: KT's 1st kebab
Wanting's turn to strike for food...I remembered we had the series on Wanting's 1st food too...she deleted them?? Anyway, KT and Wanting make a real good match....too bad though...
Girls' group picture...7 sisters of T3...Suihar, Yenni, Eunice, Wanting, Sandy, Siya and Jasmine
Final Group Picture for the night....

BBQ time was the highlight of the event when full attendance was achieved with arrival of Brandon. He was supposed to come at 2pm, but came at around 8pm?? Haha...all of us thought he went to run a triathlon or something for the inter-school game. Quite a fun and eventful night with people running each other down, Wanting poking fun of most people especially Alvin, and me being her nemesis...rowdy group we have over here. It's just like a small orientation BBQ for the few of us. Anyway, each of us had our share of fun I supposed.

Just to make it relevant, there's the video clip titled 'I'm Cute' by Wanting....

After the BBQ, gambling started again but this time with bridge. Sorry no photos on the event as the photographers are 'busy' with cards and me too dead to move. Btw, the exact clip was posted previously. Check my previous entry if interested. Wanting got played out by us....haha...cheers!