concluding paris

didn't get internet access at the 2nd hotel and hence the delay in pictures.
i'm now in london and its christmas eve!
just got back from the london eye and here are some christmas treats.


la mer by charles trenet

musée du lourve

opéra garnier

eiffle tour

moulin rogue

arc de triumph
(avenue des champs-elysées)

day 2 (highlights)

Day 1 (continued)

I woke up and gosh! It is so dark. It looks as if it is 7pm in Singapore but its only 4:15pm Paris time. Not sure why the journey was delayed and we were behind schedule to arrive Paris.

The train finally stopped at Gare du Nord at 5:00pm. Mine was the 5th cabin so when I got off the train, I had to pull my luggage for 10 more cabins before I could reach the exit (sortie in French).

It sure looks chaotic at the terminal. Probably thousands of people were there. Not surprising when I found out that this is Metro Interchange Station and a Bus Terminal. I quickly look for the ticketing office and bought 10 carnets of Metro tickets for 11,41€. This is 10€ cents cheaper. After which I looked for the correct line and headed for the hotel.

It is not exactly friendly for travellers with luggage as the passage ways have many steps and the entrance gantry is too small to even pull the luggage through. I had to use the side gate and continued to hand carry my luggage until I reached the platform and wait for the Metro.

Luckily Line 4 was not crowded when I boarded it. I managed to grab a seat near to the exit but because I had my luggage with me, I took 2 seats as the space it is really cramp inside. I felt embarrassed when some passengers were looking at the space taken up by my luggage.

It was a total of 20 stations and about 30minutes when I finally arrived at the terminal station Porte d’Orleans. I wasn’t really sure how to get to the hotel as I merely know it is located along Boulevard Jourdan and so I looked for the signs in French which directed me to the road. Fortunately or unfortunately, there were many exits to Boulevard Jourdan and I just took one which seemed to have the least steps. And when I was on ground level, the hotel just stood in front of me with the iconic pink door arc.

It’s a pink corridor before I reach the automatic door. The receptionist greeted me Bonsoir, and I greeted her back. Unfortunately, the credit card machine wasn’t working and I have to part all my Euros. She told me there is an ATM just outside the hotel. I was already thinking about the additional $5 per withdrawal charge I have to pay. I hope the fee has not increased.

The lift is so small! I could hardly pull my luggage into the lift and it’s probably less than 1X1 meters. The room is pretty decent. I wasn’t expecting anything posh with only 70€ per night. I quickly unpacked my toiletries and showered. Changed and headed out for dinner.

I was walking around the neighbourhood and saw mostly French cafes. I saw a pharmacy and happily walked into one, hoping to buy some drinking water and something to eat. The local pharmacy only sells things we can find in Guardian. That was such a disappointment. Unlike those in the states, it’s a mini mart where one can get almost everything. I decided to try my luck and walked further until something caught my eye.

I discovered a Chinese restaurant selling Panda Express like food and was so thrilled! I immediately walked in and spoke in Mandarin with the lady boss. Their set dinner costs 10,80€ and it includes fried rice and a side dish, together with a drink. The a la carte items were sold by weight (per 100g) and since I missed the chow mien so much, I picked and chose 3 items and it came up to 12€. That’s close to S$24 for our mixed vegetable rice equivalent. But it taste good, not as good as the Panda Express I had in San Francisco.

On the way back, I bought 2 bottles of Evian that cost 1,20€ each and I headed back for the hotel.



It is now 4:20am in Paris and I am typing away. Better catch some sleep and start the day with the city view of Paris. More pictures to come.

Day 1

I arrived at changi airport at 9:30pm and found out that the row to check in. It was at row 1 and before I reached row 1, I already saw a long queue forming at the counters.

Apparently KLM and Air France had combined their check in even though the departure timings were different. KLM was supposed to depart at 10:50pm while Air France at 11:30pm. The problem came when the system couldn’t work fast enough to check in the KLM passengers so the ground staff panicked. It was a messy attempt to sieve out the KLM passengers from Air France passengers to check in the remaining KLM passengers.

Luckily I’ve already check-in online and joined the internet luggage drop-off queue. Even so, by the time I checked in my luggage, it was already 10:15pm.
I quickly headed for gate C26 which was right at the end of terminal 1.I only managed to get to my seat at 10:40pm, knowing that there are still passengers who have not boarded.

I waited, waited and waited and I fell asleep. It was about 40 minutes later that I realized that the plane is still grounded. My guess was about 11:25pm. There was nothing else to do but to wait. All of a sudden at 11:50pm, the captain made an announcement:

“We apologise for the delay. We are having difficulty getting clearance to fly over Afghanistan and right now, both the Singapore Air Aviation and the Netherlands are making the co-ordination so that we can fly over Afghanistan at a specific timing. We have been re-scheduled to depart at 1:50am and are expected to arrive at Schipol at 12:30pm local time.”

The whole plane protested as a reflex. I was originally scheduled to take the transfer flight to Heathrow at 7:15am and I am only likely to arrive at 12:30pm at Schipol? I was telling myself, there goes my Paris trip. The Eurostar ride, the hotel bookings, the paid tickets for an opera and a city view of Paris will be gone just because KLM wasn’t cleared to fly over Afghanistan. For that moment, I really thought I better off staying at home and not planned for this trip at all.

On hearing this, the stewards and stewardesses quickly dished out drinks to appease the passengers who were protesting. I’m impressed by the speed the drinks were served after the announcement was made. It was almost as quick as the protesting passengers.

Wait, wait and wait.

Finally, the captain made the 2nd announcement. This time apologizing again and informed us that we are 2nd on the list to fly out of Singapore, however we were not told of the estimated timing to depart.

At about 12:30am, the captain made the 3rd announcement: “Cabin crew please get ready for take off.”
Immediately, the stewards and stewardesses collected the cups at an amazing speed and within the next 3 minutes, the plane took off but clearly it wasn’t an all seat belt fasten situation.

We finally flew. The captain apologized again and assured the passengers that there is sufficient fuel to make up for the delay but he couldn’t tell us for sure what time would we be arriving at Schipol. So, there is still a possibility that I cannot catch my flight to Heathrow and subsequently the Eurostar to Paris.

Things went back to normal. Meals were served shortly after the plane took off. I eagerly searched for any information on the flight timing and I managed to see that the estimated time of arrival in Schipol was 6:08am. Okay, the possibility of me missing my transfer flight has been lessened and I felt much relieved.

Ate dinner, watched Wall-E and slept. Woke up to watch Sex in the City, ate breakfast and was on time to land at Schipol. The flight didn’t pass Afghanistan at all. It made a detour over Russia and flew through eastern Eurpoe instead. This is indeed a classic example of rush to wait, wait to rush. And it is really amazing how the delay of 1 hour and 30 minutes can be compensated. From this I gather that airlines can actually fly faster than their usual scheduled timing. But so long as I can catch my Heathrow flight, who cares.

When I finally landed, it was already 6:20am. I ran towards gate D7 as it was so far away from E37 where I landed. That took me about 10 minutes, only to see another queue at the gate.

Waited, waited and waited and I boarded the plane at 6:50am. The flight from Schipol to Heathrow was pretty short. The whole journey took about 40 minutes and I arrived at Heathrow at 7:50am.

The immigration counters at Heathrow were generally quite fast, only a few who went the extra mile to ask questions like: “How much pounds are you carrying right now? How much is your credit card limit and how much is this limit in pounds?” For that, other counters would have already cleared 5 visitors.

When I was at the arrival hall, I headed towards the sign which says “Underground”. It’s the tube. It cost me ₤4 to reach King’s Cross St Pancras Station. The ride took about an hour and it was quite packed as the train approaches the heart of London. The seats are knee-touching opposite each other. Well, for shorties like me, I have more knee space.

It was quite a distance from King’s Cross Station to St Pancras International Station. I was trying my best to doge the mob who were dispersing from all corners of the station. I walked right to the end and went into a sandwich bar. Ordered an egg and bacon sandwich and a latte and that cost me ₤5. Even McDonalds won’t cost that much, let alone the lousy serving of eggs and bacon in the poorly toasted bread. Lugi big time lor.

I took my time to sort out my stuff and headed to print the Eurostar ticket. WOW!! Just insert the credit and viola! The tickets are printed in 5 seconds. It amazing! And using the same ticket, I just slot in to a tube-like gantry to gain access to the customs and no manpower is required for the entire process. Lots of catching up for Singapore.

I headed for towards gate 6 to board the Eurostar leaving for Paris. Apparently it will only open 20 minutes prior to its scheduled departure timing. So I waited again with my red and black.

As the departure timing drew nearer, I saw more people congesting at the 2 gates. With so many people on board this train, can it leave on time? But the train left St Pancras as scheduled. I’m impressed and so here I am typing all the way onboard the Eurostar.

It is not exactly a nice ride, somewhat like those KTM rides I took since young. Comparatively, the flights were so much smoother. What I see now is a gloomy countryside of eastern London. Erm, as a matter of fact, I've just past the Lile Station, which means to say that I've already crossed the English Channel and I'm already in France!

But, I think I’m having motion sickness. Feels like puking now. See how long I can hold on. Better take some rest. Later.

i've been accepted!

if all things falls in place, i should be able to move my parents out in 5yrs' time. its time for them to enjoy life and i suddenly have feeling that my load is being lessen. one of my happier moments for the past 2 months.

la capitale française

christmas in foggy town

乳鸽与乳猪

小明：老师，老师， 请问你乳鸽的乳字是什么意思？

老师：哦，乳鸽的乳字是小的意思。就像乳猪的乳字也是指小的意思。

小明：哦，那我明白了。

老师：很好！那小明你就造个句子。

小明：最近经济不景，爸爸就买了一栋比较小的乳房。我们上个星期才搬进新家。

老师：*难为情* 不对，不对。 小明你再造多一次。

小明：哦？不对啊？*停顿了一下* 虽然我年纪小，但还是跳不过那小小的乳沟。

老师：*开始慌张了* 不对！不对！小明你再想清楚。

小明：啊？还要我想？老师，我不要想了！再想的话，我小小的乳头就快要爆掉了！

another drama

"fine, i'll do it because you are angry." - how shallow can this statement be.

it totally disregarded the reason why i got so worked up in the first place.

how do you reslove between not telling the person what to and not to do repeatedly, yet worry something life threatening would happen.

and why must something (bad) happen before someone can appreciate my insistence?

that is so painful for me.

little nonya

this is again a long story which began from a supposedly dinner appointment with my aunt yesterday. she smsed me on thursday night to cancel it because she had a last minute engagement. since i was on leave i thought i might as well still have dinner with my parents and i shall cook up a full peranakan dinner.

so i flipped through my cookbooks and selected the dinner menu:
1. sayor lodeh
2. ngo hiang
3. itek sio
4. papaya titek
5. pulut hitam

i went a few places for grocery shopping after lunch with my darlin and started seasoning the minced pork for the ngo hiang the moment i got home. next, i had to cut up the the itek (duck), which was as fat as i am and marinated it with chopped shallots, asam juice and corriander powder. the pulut hitam had to be soaked overnight. all these had to be done 1 day before cooking.

on saturday after returning from breakfast, i took out the pork and started to roll the ngo hiang one by one. cooking the itek was next and followed by the pulut hitam. then i cut the sayor into strips. then i had to peel all onions, garlic and shallots. followed by grinding them into rempah (paste) together with lemon grass, buah keras and blachan in order to cook the sayor lodeh. as for the papaya titek, i had to cut the papaya, grind the salted fish, hae bi and blachan. after all the grinding is done, i cooked the sayor lodeh and the papaya titek. by the time i was done with the soup, it was already 5pm and i decided i do not have sufficient time to fry the ngo hiang. before that, i sent the the meat loaf for my babies into the oven and packed the dishes. i washed up all the unused pots and utencils before i showerd.

it was indeed tiring and time consuming affair but the results are satisfying. so i went home for dinner with my parents and they loved it. i chatted with them about this and that and i returned home at about 10pm to have the pulut hitam. things were okay until after i finished the dessert, i heard this: "i dont know what you want to do with the food so i left them there." and when i turned on the kitchen lights, the pots of itek sio and sayor lodeh are still there, the pot for the pulut hitam is soaked with water in the sink. so the little nonya had to do the finishing touch and clear everything. i went striaght to bed after shower.

silent treatment.

a few days ago i watched singapore dreaming. its about this typical singaporen, hdb-staying chinese family who are trying very hard to live a better life, fighting to achieve the 5Cs. i felt tremendously for the mother character when she said this:

"i got 1st in a singing competition before i married him (her husband). and eversince marrying him, i find myself waking up early everyday to sweep the floor, mop the floor, wash clothes, go to the market, cook and make herbal tea. i've never sing a song anymore, its as if i cant sing at all."

deep down i saw wat my own mother had done for us. and im doing exactly the same things she has been doing. moo moo often say i should spend more time for myself. i did what he said for the past 2 days. i did no cleaning up, no cooking, i even went out for lunch with darlin (which really made me very happy). and i thought, eversince that day i had to clean up the house even though i was so sick, only to be reciprocated with someone feeding the babies with apples on the floor the very next day, i have decided to stop all these.

this is already the 3rd week since i last cleaned the house and it havent been cleaned since then. last night was probably one of the last time im cooking. its a shame that cant be the last because the ngo hiang are still steaming to be frozen and deep fried another time. darn!

car servicing

my darlin recommended me to send my car for servicing at the caltex petrol station along upper thomsom road. so i happily left the house and reached there at 10am, only to see this:



so i drove further and saw the spc opposite it providing the same services. so i stopped by and they quoted me $105 for the service package, additional $20 for tyre rotation. the other workshop in yishun quoted me $140. so i drove into spc and had my car serviced. i could tell that the staff are quite thorough and serious about their job. the only thing is they will try to promote other services, to the extent of asking if i wanted to upgrade into a 16" rims and tyres.

that was such a bad move i thought. my 15" ralliart rims and tyres and still in very good condition, which the serviceman correctly pointed out and told me that it can fetch a good trade-in price. okay, but trade in for some ugly looking, dunno-made-in-where rims for $800? i said no thank you.

the final bill comes up SGD$125 for 1.5hrs. i think autobacs had a $88 service package but the queue is ridiculous. and had i drove in to the workshop in kluang, that would be RM$150 for half the day. (time stuck in jams is not included)

drama

i made a call on tuesday to the nus computer centre and enquired about my laptop i've bought years ago.

apprently an administrator account had been set up such that i am not at liberty to un/install programs and hence the call.

me: i'd like to make an enquiry about my laptop. is this the correct number?
xx: yes. (note the response is yes for laptop)
me: apparently there is an administrator account set up for my laptop and i cannot un/install programs freely. may i know how can this be resolved?
xx: may i have your student account number?
me: im sorry, i have graduated some time ago.
xx: sorry we do not serve non-nus students. i can only give you the number to the sales vendor for the brand of your laptop.
me: oh? by giving me the number of the sales vendor, how can they assist me with my problem?
xx: i'm not sure but you can try.
me: so what does the computer centre (the one i called) do now?
xx: we only service desktops. (note how quick the change in response is. from laptops to desktops only)
me: oh? so from what you are saying, i can try calling the sales vendor and see if they can help me with my problem and the computer centre only service desktops?
xx: correct.
me: and may i know who am i speaking to?
xx: (short pause) i don't think that is necessary?
me: and why is that so?
xx: because we do not serve non-nus students.
me: look, if you are not guilty about the information that you have just given me, i see no reason for not telling me your name.
xx: (still very ya ya papaya) i am not guilty and why should i give you my name?
me: fine. if this is the attitude that you are giving me, i'll make sure you pay for it.

i immediately looked for the service quality manager's number and chatted with her. it was a plesant chat and she immediately highlighted the matter to the IT manager. below is his prompt response:

Dear 君,

Thanks for bringing this up to my attention. I am truly sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience in which I have launched an immediate investigation to your case.

I have spoken to the agent who was involved in this incident and I would like to double assured you that she is feeling very bad about the incident and has assured me that she has no hint or intention to be rude or apathetic to your issue. As a punishment, I have cancel her Saturday off for the next month. I have spoken to her about the need to display professional phone etiquettes and be sensitive to all callers' needs. I have also taken the opportunity to educate her and all my agents that they should provide the necessary reference for the caller to seek help for the laptop they purchased during their stay at NUS.

Once again, I am truly sorry about what happen and I would like to assure you that I would look into ways to ensure that the same mistakes would not happen again.

Let me know if you need more information or wish to speak to me in person.

Warmest Regards
AAAAAAAAAAAAA(MR)
Service Delivery Manager
IT Care, Computer Centre
Hotline: 6516-2080 Fax: 6872-5231

many times when i encountered horrible responses over the phone, i would not fail to ask for the person's name. my intent is simple, to alert the person that the conversation has not been plesant and its time that they reflect. never had i asked for the person's name and shot it up to their immediate boss. same for this incident. had the person given me a name, i would not have persued the matter. what puts me off is really the stinky attititude.

a response to the impulse

no dramatic changes.
life goes on.

an impulse

im meeting my stylist tomorrow.
watch out this space for updates.
make or break!

1 week later

i was in town (again) and saw these:










i cant stop laughing...

saturday morning

i was driving towards town this morning when i saw this:

a golden mazada driving out from a slip road. nothing unusal (ok, yes. the orbid colour on a mazada caught my attention) except that there was a cake on top of the car. immediately when the car joined the main traffic, the cake fell and smashed right on the road. 2 seconds later, a car behind the mazada drove through the mess and created a line of cream on the road. gross!

香港 2008

standard chartered marathon 2008

one of the two things i have set up for myself this year. finally have the courage to register for it. training starts tonight.

the other is to learn spanish.
hola, bueno, vino, amor, mucho gracias, adiós, amigo, señorita...
still a long way to go

12 莲花

watched 12 lotus last night.

the ah huey is as tragic as the script writter had wanted her to be and i thought there were not much development to the plot.

but i did teared at the beginning of the movie - the scene where little ah huey was caned when her dad who taught her how to sing. it was the excact way i was taught how to read and write by my own dad. i wonder how would my dad feel when he is watching the scene?

没有痛，哪里有爱？
没有爱，哪里有痛？

ko lian ah~ lian huey ah, si zai ko lian dai.



伯公疼傻人，观音疼世人。

原来我什么都不想要

i am sadden over how some friends of mine are cancelling on me.

yet i can walk pass a friend while walking my babies without acknowledging her innocent call.

at least i wasnt even expecting to see her at where i am staying right now. too close.

i had an old school gathering recently. one told me that budget is not an issue when in fact, it is. and it turned out to be the most awkard dinning experience.

ive unsubscribed from my uni mailing group, who still behave as if they are undergrads.

i am deleting the links to some of my friends blogs too.

oh well, one of my encore items when i go ktv.

the day before a 2-week long ict

in addition to the huge credit card bills, i bought a new toy - 80GB iPod classic. busy going through my cds collection and transferring them. its a pity that i have misplaced quite a few. my last resort is to revive my old laptop whose cable was bitten off by my son when he was less than 1 year old that time. oh well.

had my hair cut really short last saturday for my in-camp training tomorrow. coincidentally my stylist happen to be from the same division and he told me horror stories about how his own hair was cut - they way a discipline master in school would do to his students. gasp! i think the last time my hair was this short was like 9 years ago? still trying to get used to my look right now.

its the babies' birthday next week. they're 2! its really comforting to see them growing well and better behaved each day. occassional tricks still but i love them.

friday 13

spent my birthday in bed... caught a cold :(

got a speeding ticket. fined $150 and 6 demerit points. the good thing is i usually drive faster than that. otherwise it could have been more. :)

car battery went flat on wednesday morning. had to trouble my darlin to send me from work to rescure the car. only to find it running on its own when we got back. must be the oozing charm my darlin has on my hum sup car.

huge credit card bills.

reservist for 2 weeks.

so much for the big 3. yucks!

diamonds

im hooked playing online bridge for the past week.

clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades & no trump

kung fu panda

the laws of karma

sharon stone was slammed for saying that the quake in sichuan is a karma for what the chinese government had done to the tibetan dalai lama.



consider this: if sharon stone and the dalai lama share the same religious belief, then all the slammers are plotting a religious war, putting themselves against the religion.

sometimes people just let their emotions get the better of them.

yes, it is important to help the victims, but i say we don't just jump into the wagon and follow blindly. it strucked me somehow some people just want to be seen to be doing something for the victims. that puts me off.

and sharon stone did made a good point about the big lesson: "to learn to put your head down and be of service, even if the people who are not nice to you."

how true can that be.

coming this summer

while a lot of people i know are raving about sex and the city movie, im absolutely dying for this to come:



it happen to be the first musical i've ever watched and its amazing how the abba songs are woven into the story and nothing beats the thrill of singing along with the cast.

movie ticket: sold
dvd: sold

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again
My My, just how much I've missed you?

the japanese are really good at this

7 years later

i remember visiting hk with my parents just before i entered uni in may 2001. it was a make-up trip which i missed when my family left in 1998 while i was preparing for my a levels.

subsequently, i went back in 05 to see stephanie's concert and 07 to discover a huge outlet mall. both times in sep just before mid-autumn festival.

and when i asked my parents last night if they want to visit hk again, my mum was glowing.

买东西， 吃东西，买东西， 吃东西。。。

香港之夜 鄧麗君

btw i skipped mother's day celebration this year because 天天都是母亲节、父亲节。

1020

julie is the new audrey

even though im a fan of audrey hepburn, im beginning to think that julie andrews should be the choice for miss eliza doolittle in my fair lady.

here's one reason why:

love

i heard this song this morning when i was preparing my children's breakfast.
it sure brought back memories from my uni days.



if you get there before i do,
don't give up on me.
i'll meet you when my chores are through,
i don't know how long i'll need.
but i'm not gonna let you down,
darling wait and see.
and between now and then,
till i see you again,
i'll be loving you, love me.

this led me to search for this song, which i listened intensely to, again in uni.



there's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and its sad to know its your heart you can't trust.
there's a reason why don't stay where they are,
baby sometimes love just ain't enough.

kinda of contradicting. well naturally, since they were introduced to me by 2 very different people.

许美静8年没发新专辑了...

你还会不会继续听许美静的音乐呢?

不知处

再见了 陌生人
忘了钟点也算是旅程
寻觅着 那眼神
会望穿多少星辰

梦很真 如果能
相信了就让他全发生
但愿结局没有悔恨
会是怎样的抉择

为知你最初
沿途偶尔会迷路
也许在云端 也许再又故为受点伤
如果有哪天 与你擦肩的回头
认出我梦醒别放手

开演唱会不是夢想 主要是回馈歌迷

曹格亚洲巡回演唱会2008

曹格：我自己正在筹备一个惊喜，今年6月份会开始亚洲巡回演唱会，从马来西亚到新加坡、台湾、东京、印尼、香港。目前有6场大型售票演唱会，不知道厦门有没有人邀请我过来开演唱会，如果有就再加一场。

OMG! im so going to see his concert!
malaysia, tokyo or hong kong?

she's here!

puccini's turandot will be showing here at the esplanade.
this is the first opera i've ever watched and the one i fell in love with.

i guess having watched the metropolitan opera's version,


the actual forbidden city version,


and at least 3 other versions which i'm not exactly crazy over, i have extremely high esperanza on the set, the orchestra and the cast, expecially for liu, calaf and of course the principessa. unfortunately, i do not really think much about ping, pong, pang though.

even a-mei did a taiwanese version of turandot.


im betting that the local production would be a joke.
already the chinese translation for turandot is wrong!


my favourite version and scene of the opera.

a favour

my brother sms-ed me for a favour - to help him think of a nice name for his transportation business.

his specifications:

"i need you to think of a nice name, not like some tim's transport service. too old pattern using this kind of name and no class at all."

im still very tickled by him using 'no class at all'

giggles.

how not to go home early?

豆沙包，馒头，大包，莲蓉包和叉烧包

豆沙包和馒头一起去看电影。
豆沙包哭了但馒头没哭。
为什么？

豆沙包和大包一起去看电影。
这回大包也哭了，而且哭得比豆沙包还厉害。
为什么？

豆沙包和莲蓉包一起去看电影。
豆沙包哭了但莲蓉包却哈哈大笑。
为什么？

豆沙包和叉烧包一起去看电影。
叉烧包哭了但豆沙包没哭。
为什么？

dumb

i just called the credit card hotline, only to discover that huge bill i've chalked up below cannot earn me any reward points.

apparently it can only earn smart $, redeemable only on the next purchase.

gotta play the right cards from now onwards.

a passing thought

i was watching the debut of 唯我独尊 on channel u and i had this thought:

i think singapore is just too slow to sensationalize reality shows and telent search competitions. otherwise i could have had a shot at them. looking back, singing competition was only held in school halls (if there were any) and telent search was definitely not even a by-product of the culture then.



i heard a comment over the radio and had this thought:

" 郑惠玉和范文方可以继续当阿姐， 但她们应该把机会让给新人。"

since when have these kids been taught that opportunity is given and not earned? opportunity is not given by default just because you are new.
hello? wake up!

reality check

first credit card statement to arrive


a few more to come plus my car insurance due next month.

horror!

mummy is 5 years old today

intelligent beauty oozing motherly grace.
mummy you are the best!

the pictures as promised

chrysler building


miss liberty


broadway


downtown manhattan


wall street station


city hall park


brooklyn bridge


chinatown


philadelphia by night


city hall


oh, did i mention that it was about 1 or 2 degrees when i took these pictures?

highlights from the big apple

Accommodation and Dining
Royalton Hotel
44 West 44th Street New York, New York 10036

Husdon Hotel
356 West 58th Street New York, New York 10019

'21' Club
21 West 52nd Street, New York, New York 10019
excellent food! personal waiter. tipping is charged into credit card. great dining experience.

Golden Bridge Restaurant
50 Bowery Suite 2nd Floor New York, New York 10013-4801
delicious dim sum at reasonable prices. traditional chinese decor with cantonese speaking staff.

Getting around
The Metropolitian Opera (aka The Met)
Lincoln Center, New York, New York 10023
watched la traviata
a flawless performance with over the top stage decor, housed in the iconic hall with exquisite chandaliers that rises before the performance.

Theatre District, New York
watched
sunday in the park with george at studio 54, 254 West 54th Street New York, New York 10019 and
gypsy at st james theatre, 246 West 44th Street New York, New York 10036

Museum of Modern Art (aka MoMA)
11 West 53 Street, New York, New York 10019-5497

SoHo, New York
shop at the major fashion chains at one go. look out for the 3 storey Uniqlo flagship store, 546 Broadway, New York, New York 10012

there are of course the other eating places and areas for sight-seeing.
look out for the pictures.

oh and special mention about thai airways for their new york express. fastest from southeast asia. thai airways, smooth as silk.

left side of the road

im usually on the right side of the road while driving to work. and since im taking the plane later, i took the bus to work this morning.

nothing unusual this time, although its been coming 2 years i have not took the bus, except i noticed that a row of army personnel were deployed some 50m apart one another along the foot of mandai hill. and if you recall, this morning was raining and i wonder who in the right mind would be standing in the rain?

must be waiting for mas selamat, i thought. the extent of resources pumped in just to capture this person is tremendous. sometimes had the security been vigilant, all these would have been unnecessary.

oh well, i wish checking-in later at the airport will be a breeze.

new york here i come!

guess who i saw?

i was doing some last minute shopping for my ny trip at a high end mall along orchard road about 10:30am just now. i simply love to shop at this time since the shops are usually most neat and empty. most importantly, traffic is clear and parking is a breeze.

so i was comparing the product function and unintentionally i noticed a guy with a landyard around his neck nearby. then i also noticed there was an ear-piece in his ear. so i looked around to find that there were at least 5 of such people around. and further down, there was a couple shopping for something.

OMG! its them! the wife was wearing her usual cheong sum blouse and pants; the husband with grey hair was in shirt and pants. i hate to say this but the wife certainly has a higher rating than her husband, even though the husband is someone we are more familar with. for that moment i thought they actually shop? not just shop, they too like to shop at this time of the day huh?

3 more days before i fly!

friday, february 29, 2008

catching la vie en rose this evening, alone.

this should be the second time im watching movie alone. the last time was like 9yrs ago?

to be open and take it from there...

ever imagine how would your life change without your significant partner?

i remembered a friend telling me that he cannot imagine how his life would be without his significant half several years ago. however, both of them ended up going seperate ways.

i guess i cannot imagine that too, at least for the moment.

i suddenly felt lost, not knowing what to do and i do not like this feeling. so i washed every piece of the laundry, cleaned the house and tidy up the planter box. took the babies for walk, 3 times, drove to hv just to buy nasi lemak and even cooked sausages with eggs for breakfast on a sunday morning. it's scary.

made meat loaf for the babies, made more ice-cream, watched dvd over and over again...

continental plates

sometime last year, i noticed quite a number of continental plates driving around and was wondering what the license plates mean. so i went to the forum, only to discover that such plates has been spotted since 2006.

apparently it was just a craze and indeed it was one big craze. i see continental plates on japanese and korean cars, then there are those plates carrying initials like jpn and hk, which is so not continental!

until recently there was a new report about such plates and these drivers have violated the laws. then this morning when i went down to the basement, i saw my neighbour's jpn plate returned to its original form.

that was pretty fast i thought.

of cowards and chickens

i really wonder what goes into making a kid these days.
they only f***king want enjoy the privileges and none of the responsibilities.

we used the most primitative way (scissors, paper, stone) to decide which group gets to stay in the air-conditioned room. and when the game was over, the sore loser inisted that the results were invalid and refused to move. not only that, he even tried to stir shit by coercing his group to stay put so that maybe the winning group will move instead. however, when majority of the group started moving, he diverted his soreness at me, calling me unfair and it was my fault that his group had to leave the room.

i had to maintain my composure and usher him out, firmly. apparently the soreness did not just go away. in fact he and his side kick drew their displaced anger on their journals.

these ignorant kids really have no idea who they are messing with. but then again, they would not be selected for the program had they been angels.

12 days of lunar new year

lunar new year has gone by pretty fast and today is already the 12th day.
looking back, here's a summary of what i have spent:

1. Mum's Ang Bao $488
2. Dad's Ang Bao $288
3. A shirt for my brother $50
4. Losses over mj table $270 (at least)
5. Lo Hei Dinner $410
6. LCD TV $1199

OMG! $2705 so far.
but the joy and contentment of my loved ones is priceless.

你们快乐，所以我快乐。

the diving bell and the butterfly

kinda depressing to have watched this during the cny holiday...

the demon barber of fleet street

dark and bloody.

风水

my astrological weight at birth is 四两一钱

Solar Birthdate: 08 June 1978
Lunar Birthdate: 03 May 1978

You are born with a life that has distinct phases. You are very capable and will enjoy great recognition. In your middle age, you will emerge as someone widely respected. You have a joyful life with plenty of fans and followers. If you are a celebrity or a high profile personality, the press and the people will adore you


my animal sign is horse
my year name is mou wu

The headstrong male horse.
Independent, candid, articulate, obstinate, easily agitated, realistic, ethical, frank, dependable, modest, you are a man who looks gracefully solemn on the outside but edgy on the inside. You hate lies and will try not to succumb to them. You are easily attracted to beautiful females and will sacrifice your heart and soul on the altar of love. Your boss can depend on your performance at work.

The earth male horse.
Good natured, laid-back, less excitable, generous, you are a survivor and may occasionally be edgy and impulsive.


my 卦 number is 4

my best compass direction
North: Success
South: Health
East: Love
South East: Personal Growth

my worst compass direction
North West: Unlucky
South West: 5 Ghosts
West: 6 Killings
North East: Total Loss

its time to get a pocket compass.

dong dong dong chiang!

went to far east floral yesterday morning to get some plants for the house. picked up this pot of japanese begonia and its now perfectly fitted in the living room, along with others.

mahler number three

i was driving towards the esplanade for the performace and i almost got into an accident.

a lexus was making a left turn to come out from the side road. without checking if the on-coming traffic was clear, his sudden left turn made a honda civic swerved into my lane and almost hit my rear bumper had i not stepped hard on the acclerator. as i look at my rear mirror, the driver of the honda civic was pointing finger and horning at the lexus.

all these happened in less than 5 seconds and had i been hit, i would have missed the concert. phew!

and the ultimate thing is this: the lexus which almost caused the misery of the 2 innocent drivers was actually an off peak car! beat that!

an luxury car in an off-peak plate? please pardon my snobbishness.
___________________________________________________________

i attended the longest symphony ever to be recorded in the guinnes book of records tonight. it was a beautiful piece and since it was the longest symphony, there was no intermission for this performance. i had the balcony seat and this made the whole esperience a pleasurable one.

passport collection

i went to ica and collected my biometric passport this morning. reached there at about 8:40am to find the waiting area already crowded with people. it was amazing how easy it was for me to get a parking lot though.

i waited for about 40mins before my number was called. there were 123 people ahead of me when i collected my queue number. i must say it was quite a smooth flow given the crowd.

this is so unlike me but i bought my new passport number at a 4D kiosk.
HUAT AH~

biometric passport: checked
winter coat: checked
greenback: checking the rates this few days

1hr 15mins to 6pm

thats a result of nothing to do in the office, not because im lazy or inefficient. i had specifically set out things for the school to finish so that i can follow up when im back from ict this week. but who knows, nothing was accomplished from them, and so here i am, chatting over msn and snacking away...

rattlings

i sat through this morning's meeting and sharing session thinking about that i've been doing and the impact on the students.

time and again this question never fails to haunt me and this time when i look at the struggles i encounter while working with school personnel, it became quite obvious to me that i am always the one pushing so hard for things to happen.

perhaps these things that i'm doing may not even be not essential for them afterall?

___________________________________________________________

i've made enquries about chinese new year menu so that i can bring my family out for a meal since i've decided to quit queuing for Lim Chee Guan bak kwa this year.

there is this particular one which i'm so totally disgusted by their response.

they quoted me $170++ per person for 6 dishes while their most expensive menu for 10 person for 9 dishes is valued at $1688++ per table. please note that the indredients used are much more superior than the menu which i have chosen.

so i asked them what's their justification for quoting me so much more, and this is their reply.

"oh the 1688++ are all communal dishes for sharing while your menu will be individually plated"

my foot! 3 of the 6 dishes which i have selected are communal and they dare tell me that the dishes will be individually plated.

oh, if you really want to know which restaurant, its my humble house at the esplanade.

utterly disappointed.

to an old friend,

pay no attention to the lyrics but when this song was sung.

creativity is indeed shorthanded

somewhat disappointed to discover this:

Saturday in the park by Chicago


奈斯男孩 by 曹格

my 1st ict after ord-ed for 7 years

an update of my ict for the week.

saw many unfamilar faces as only 2 mates were from my previous active unit. i found out that there were also a few who were there for the first time and bulk of the pple are 35yrs and above.

the school brought back many fond memories when i was there as a trainee. it was the best time during my 2.5yrs of national service, albeit a short one. it was the time where i was the fittest and most gilato.

i passed my ippt (school standard) and completed a 4km route march during this ict. the route march is a latest directive from the top so as to keep ns men combat fit. so if you're going back for ict, be prepared. i heard the distance is going to be progressive.

there were changes the no. 4. name tag is no longer camo based. it has to be in solid kaki green and its no longer restricted to the initial + surname. i guess anyone can be called 'takeshi' or 'valentino' from now onwards. formation logo on the right collar and division badge on the right sleve.

this ict was quite a refresher course i must say. and i'm surprised that i'm still in touch with the equipment and procedures.

mob manning next week and one more ict coming up in june / july.

have a good laugh =)

Mr Blackwell’s Worst-Dressed list 2007

1. Victoria Beckham
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Mary Kate Olsen
4. Fergie
5. Kelly Clarkson
6. Eva Green
7. Avril Lavigne
8. Jessica Simpson
9. Lindsay Lohan
10. Alison Arngrim

year of the (dead) rat

i was on my way to buy breakfast this morning and the moment i opened my car door, i saw this:
the poor rat was probably just ran over by a truck that left the parking lot. the blood is still fresh and the body trembling.

something i saw along xxx road.

i was driving home from work yesterday when i saw 2 guys by the roadside waving. on a second look, i realised that they were holding 2 boxes of cigarettes, one red and the other is green. i shall not advertise the brands but smokers should know.

that moment, i remembered reading an article on the straits times about such illegal activites in other parts of singapore some 6 months ago. i guess these people have laid low and are trying their luck again.

this morning as i was driving to work, i saw the same 2 man on the otherside of the road waving again.

now as i'm blogging, i'm thinking its a bad choice of location. it would be conspicuous should a vehicle stop by this stretch of road. Not only that, it would be dangerous since most drivers who use this road drive at least 20km/h above the speed limit. <-- ops!

十四年前。。。

虽然我没因此一夜成名，但这也算是我一生中的一项成就吧。
还记得在上台前的几分钟，我的琴弦竟然断了。 真是急死人了！


这将会是我的下一项挑战吗？

office spring cleaning

pictures of my beloved babies.

heading for a great start in 2008.

more pictures on my mobile!