back from vietnam!

An Introduction
ho chi minh, or commonly referred to by the locals as saigon. together with hanoi (the country's capital), it is one of vietnam's most populated cities. there, the houses are cramped so close together, you can climb across to the other unit even on the third floor and not feel like you may fall. hawker fare (especially the baguette) is mouth-watering(ly) delicious and unbelievably cheap! one baguette stuffed with a generous amount of vegetables, eggs and a variety of meat costs you only 60 cents! and a t-shirt can cost as little as $2.20.

Buying Your Way Around
with a population of 11 million, saigon is a city bustling with activities and excitement. their trades vary - small shops that sell clothes, men who walk about selling shades and lighters, aromatic vietnam coffee and tea, flowers, dried goods, fruits. locals are always encouraging tourists to "see first", and "price later". but of course, it's the other way around. some shop owners are happy to give you a good bargain, others try to knock you really hard. from experience, most initiated prices can be slashed by more than half, especially for the clothes.

Traffic
a thriving city advances, and motorcycles have taken over bicycles. cars are mostly taxis, otherwise only driven by the very rich. BMWs and Toyota Camry are commonly seen. traffic there is a danger, with deaths totalling to 2 daily in the city. in saigon alone, there are more than 7 million motorcycles. 7 million. more than half the population in the city. yes, rub your eyes and read it again. on the first day, you'd be scared even to step off the curb onto the road.

Living Standards
living standards vary in saigon. there are the backpackers, who lodge mostly in backpackers' hotel that costs about USD $4 if sharing a room. then there are the tourists and businessmen who stay in high end hotels like the new world hotel which, if you are not willing to fork out more than USD $100, can forget about the idea altogether.

locals live by, mostly running their own businesses. the men don short-sleeved shirts and pants, while the women are a little more adventurous. these are the middle class, who i assume make enough to get by. the richer locals own backpackers' hotels or get people to work for them. these families can afford to keep pet dogs of import breed, and live in 2-3 stories houses. the younger generation of these families are well-educated and hold jobs like tour-guides and run tour agencies. the poor are the beggars, who head straight for foreigners. there are the mothers with few month olds in their arms, the blind, the old, the disabled, the kids. it is heart-breaking to see. but really, can you afford to give everyone? a suggestion is to buy food for these people, because you don't really know where your money goes to either.

when old habits die hard

come what may, what singapore may be, in a couple of years to come.

an old man and his fishing rod, against the new sentosa that will emerge, is a nice sight that will be missed sorely when that generation is gone.

boxer

brought boxer to pet movers last saturday. generally he's quite well behaved, only too excitable at times. but he's okay lah. funnily though, i've noticed that he hates golden retrievers! and he hates it when other dogs play fetch in the water and he can't beat them to it. cos he's so small. haha! must be the jealousy.

so when he reaches the pool, see other dogs play fetch, and it is dominated by gold retrievers, hell starts. wah he becomes so uncontrollable you want to slap him very hard!


but see this picture and tell me how to stay angry with him?

IT fair

just so you guys know.. if you happen to drop by the IT fair this weekend, find me at Expo Hall 6!! i'll be selling Jabra bluetooth. lol.

dad's & grandma's birthday

we celebrated their birthdays yesterday at marina south. it was a huge family gathering.. haha check out the photos. i bought the passion fruit meringue @ the patissier (www.thepatissier.com.sg). this time, the waiter did put it in the fridge and the cake on the whole got much better response than yihao's birthday.. because the guys at hooters placed it in the freezer! =(



and if you guys didn't know, all the shops at marina including the steamboat outlets are going to close latest by 1st Jan 2008. the government's taking back the land. so make a trip there before it goes down to history.. as another place that we had fun at when we were kids. the kite flying, the bowling alley..

in pieces

somehow after the concert.. this song stuck in my head.

breaking the habit

yihao took this.

linkin park live in singapore

the photos are MINE!!! wahahaha!

hour to nine

we didn't wait minutes to midnight, but we did wait an hour before the guys from linkin park started their concert. sure.. we got a little edgy, cos the same thing happened the other time they were here. but, me and yihao were definitely thankful we weren't in the standing crowd! it's funny to see people being pushed and squashed all in the comfort of your seat. haha.

but from the first note to the last, all the hassle of waiting, caught in jam, no proper dinner - was worth it. the minute they jumped on stage, the crowd roared and cheered. and everyone stood till the end. all those hands in the air, and singing along, the indoor stadium was well alive that night. chester and mike were in top form vocally, and came together seamlessly. the rest of the band played splendidly, not missing a cue.

and unlike the previous concert in singapore, they even sang the slow numbers, and hearing it live was.. just different. at the end of the 90mins, they left the audience pumped up and wanting more.

the concert had no flashy costumes, or smooth dance moves. it was just solid live music, one after another. and singapore had a rocking good time!

*pictures will be uploaded tomorrow!

just came back..

and linkin park ROCKS!

the seduction of darkness

as she groped darkness, it felt like an old lover. effortlessly, they became one, as they danced to the silent music. darkness flashed bright, and she held on tight. it was the lover that had never really let go, lurking when she needed him most. surrendering, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

and out of nowhere, just like that, a throbbing began on her right arm. but darkness brushed it away, and it became alright. their dance continued in heated passion, and she began to sweat. beads of perspiration rolled down her neck, onto her heaving chest. it was the best she ever had.

and just as it went away, the throbbing came back, this time harder and more urgent. she waited for darkness to make it go away, but his hands never came. it became a push, then another. she started to panic, and whirled wildly around. she and darkness lost that momentum, and she reached out in all directions, trying to grab onto something. darkness became further, and she stumbled to get closer. the pushing became shoving.

soon she realised she couldn't turn back. the hands forbade it. and the hands delievered her to death, who was waiting with darkness.

it's a big one

haha of all the stuff i've done, this one is the huge-st! my big break.. literally. wahaha.

this huge banner covers three whole glass panels and measures 4.4METRES by 3METRES.

tell me size matters.

stardust

if you want a review of stardust...


i am not the person to come looking for.

because i fell asleep right at the beginning, after i finished my cup corn. =(

motherfuckers

these bastards ought to be punished. damn it. breaks my heart to see the old man going from one to another asking for the money. assholes!

blackout

no not britney's album that's gonna be out tomorrow... but i was driving along ikea tampines when the road lights just went off. it was COOL okay. the whole car was pitch dark, lit only by the interior orange lights. and the road only lit by my car's headlights.

a change from the well lit roads of good old Singapore. slightly dangerous, but very nice.

the original

gimme more

this is just mean.. but funny as hell! wahahaha!

another 2 days

yesterday had lunch with my grandparents at toa payoh.. walked a bit then sent them home. today we went bedok haha. actuallly cos my grandma wanted to eat the fried kway teow. she said they fried it without mee, and she doesn't like mee. so we went there but today the guy insisted that they can't do that. could tell the my grandma was quite disappointed. i think i almost argued with the stall owner.

met up with dan, qq and yihao for supper yesterday. seriously, i think there's no hope to lose weight lah. no matter how much i control during work.. i make up more than enough on my off days. and God help me if i take leave.

we went swensen's for fries, baked rice and ice-cream! not forgetting qq's celebrity brownie. yum yum! and i think swensen's has one fo the best fries around. talked about everything and nothing.. it was nice. conversation was easy and smooth. haha. and we got to sit dan's dad's mercedes. wahaha.. talk about riding in comfort and style. i parked my uncomparable mazda at his place and saved a considerable amount of petrol. lol. thanks dan!

and to passerby.. my car's supoorted by my parents. i pay for a bit here and there.. sometimes petrol, coupon, cashcard. sometimes they pay. i'm also lucky that my pay is slightly higher than what SAF offers.

and i'm just KIDDING about my 'umcomparable mazda'. i don't want to sound like an ungrateful bastard. i love my car and i am very thankful that my parents are encouraging and generous and can support.

and it's work tmr. SIAN!!! two days just fly past.

sian sian sian

tomorrow got work.. how? i dun waaaaaaant! although it's cool and exciting, but morning drills? bah! pui! yucks. waste my time and make me sweat like nobody's business so early in the morning. then have to endure until evening then can bathe.

some more tomorrow my mum and sis joining my aunts and cousins at east coast. i also wanna go leh.

work's a drag. and i'm so whiney can!

*whine whine whine*


anyway went with manda to print her birthday invite! she trusted ,e with the design! haha. she says she likes it.. but i'm like "hmmm, i'm not sure.' BUT, all i know is i wanted a copy and she refused to give it to me. humph! she insists to post it to me. manda, it better arrive in my post soon. here's a little peek of how it looks like. i had to make it smaller so it doesn't ruin the surprise for people she intend to send to. and also so that u can't see the details, if not you turn up uninvited.


remember ah manda, i get the 'important friend' tag. and i get to kick start the buffet! lol.

dent like that lor

yes, then have to send for repair lor. and it burnt a huge hole in my pocket.. but at least my smile's genuine now.

facebook

haha yeah, besides madly updating my blog these few days.. i've just joined facebook! wahaha. here's my pic, and it proves the wonders of photoshop. lol.



and don't think i was smiling when i scratched my car. the picture is deceiving one. haha.. i was fucking pissed off okay when it happened. i can now accurately define the sound when my car is being scratched. and i hate it.

and dent how?

my one month plus car but check out the dent. fucking shit. it's gonna cost me a whopping $550 and damn it. so far all my misfortunes happened in car parks. i hate car parks!!!

doggy outing

we had a doggy outing last saturday!! haha it was very fun okay. some people think bringing dogs out is plain stupid and a waste of time. but i say it's fun! and both owner and pet enjoy.

anyway we were all introduced to QQ's fudge! but he's called fudgi instead and i also think it sounds nicer. and i really don't know why she didn't bring him out earlier! he is damn cute can! he's such a sloppy dog hahaha. he drools and lies down all day! i think the most active part of him is his tail.. keep wagging. and before we met him QQ was like he very ugly one. look like pug and smells. hahaha but she's so wrong!! he's really very cute!!

and joyce's baby really very nian to her leh. everywhere she go, baby goes. and i mean everywhere. and she's so small and timid. haha.. when anyone else touches her she goes stiff and not move at all. and her eyes grow big, as you can see in the photo.

and boxer? he's an old pro already lah. i still remembered the first time we brought him there we had to push him into the water! now? he jumps in himself and swims like nobody's business. or maybe he was showing off to the other two lol. just like how other dogs showed off to him previously.

and finally, the three participated in a dog race with the other dogs and boxer got in third! haha.. the game was for someone to hold on to the dog, and the owner walks a distance away. then when the MC says go, the person releases the dog and the MC times how fast he takes to get to the owner. haha.. boxer's timing was 8 seconds! fudgi didn't even make it to QQ. lol.. apparently nature called. *snigger*

and here are the photos!

fun times!

here's some photos i stole from yihao's blog. anyway it's almost like people who read my blog reads his. so i'm just like re-posting them, all in the name of updating my blog. anyway we had fun that night at the airport before shonia left. i thought it was a great goodbye dinner.. but we have to see her in like 6 weeks again. *sigh* LOL! i'm kidding you know right shonia!

let me tell you this though, BREEKS! at the airport is a great place to hang out after hours!! it's open 24/7 and the food is really not bad!! just don't attempt to try to "brownie topped with warm melted cheese." haha. that is just weird. but other than that, order the delightful potato island - freshly baked potato-halves still in their skins, topped with bacon and stuff!! also try the cajun chicken and fish&chips! only, remember to diao the waiter before you leave cos he's like quite rude.

and in the end we took tons of photos!! as yihao says.. shonia just won't quit! haha in the end everyone moved damn fast into positions so that can go home sooner!! haha can imagine how tired everyone were! then again, try jumping around at 3 in the morning, not very energetic can!







and just yesterday, dan brought me and yihao to his VERY EXCLUSIVE club One15 @ Sentosa. Oh my God! It was freaking beautiful. I love love love the pool, damn chill out and relax. Good music to accompany that cold drink in your hand while dipping in the water. The food at the restaurant was also really good! it was lunch but it lasted us till supper. thanks dan!!

It's amazing how much sentosa has changed. Now, most of the reception area of the island has been flattened, making way for the new theme park and resorts.

and we met up with everyone else again at about 11 plus for supper at oasis!! haha.. the very famous taiwan porridge. sadly that too is going to be demolished to make way for a water sports centre to accompany the national stadium. i will miss that place a lot when it's gone.. i love how it's so nice to be there, eating by the window and looking out into the waters. day or night, it's beautiful.

no photos only rambling..

yeah.. thanks to mr roy, i don't haven't been taking photos recently. and he pretends to not pick up his phone lor.. even though shonia's back.

was supposed to be off yesterday.. but got CALLED BACK to work. argh. i'm going for my eye review later so I'M GONNA BE AN OFFICIAL FIRE-FIGHTER again! haha.. oh you poor souls. lol.

and i got a blue-tooth!! haha.. prada okay. lol.. all thanks to yihao. =) i love it.

anyway just came home.. going to whompoa with my grandparents and aunt for breakfast. i better start moving, if i wanna pick them up and get there on time!

and shonia.. thanks for the humongous strudel haha. it was yum-yum-licious! wahahaha.. lucky u didn't try to bake that. and the minties also. haha.. and curb your temper lah!! so gwumpy one!! see u later today or tmr!!

it's all a show

i used to brush away how my friend andrew used to tell me, clubbing is bad. i always tell him, as long as it isn't habitual, sometimes letting yourself go just for that night is a good thing.

but yeterday, i realised it isn't really as simple as that. me and my friends? we go there to have a good time, have fun and enjoy each other's company. when you're on alcohol, everything's a blast. you can dance sexy, you can drink more, you can dance with a hot girl next to you, you can do anything. you think you can.

but in reality, you are no different before that few glasses. if you dance like a monkey, you dance like a monkey. if you think you can drink more, you'll know better soon enough. if you dance with a hot girl, maybe she's just as drunk. or most likely it's the lights.

the club, is the devil's manifestation. i'm sorry it sounds exaggerated and harsh. but if you take time, one day, to not drink so much and look around, it really is scary. the lights are flashing, you see sweaty faces in different stages of emotions. some are crying, some are laughing, some are slutty. strangers are dancing intimately with each other, fights break out. people push around, people trip and fall over stairs.

is this something we really want to see? everyone is dressed up, but everything else is in a mess. and while i will go again if there's an occasion, i'm trying to bring across this point of obsession with something that's supposedly cool, but in reality you don't really know why.

some photos

admiring the sunset

a little bit of perhentian

when the world is at peace, and there's only the sound of the waves..

run run run

i just came back from work! and though i may be freaking tired, i am going jogging.

i was thinking about it last night, but a comment from my friend this morning decided for me.

i was at the bus stop oppisite, and i wasn't too sure if it was him. anyway, i think he pretended he never see me. so i gave him a ring and waved frantically! anyone could see my enthusiasm, i was radiating it. i even like to think i was so enthu, it was contagious and i spread some joy this gloomy morning.

and so he picks up the phone and says, "where are you?" and i say, "opposite!" and he says,

"huh. that fei zai (fat boy) is you ah! wah i cannot recognise you from far leh. see you put on so much weight! few days back like lose, today.. wah even more fat!"

after i put down the phone, the morning became, if possible, even more gloomy.

SO I'M GOING DOWNSTAIRS TO RUN!! but not before i get some breakfast. hehehe.

fat fat fat

firstly to update, i've been putting on weight. my t-shirts dun really fit as well.. and my jeans? let's not even go there. suddenly my life has become belt free.. cos i no longer need them. I MUST EXERCISE! but when?

met up with dan, qq and yihao yesterday for taiwan porridge at oasis. maggie and joyce didn't come leh. =( haha.. then started talking about going for a trip before year end! wahahaha.. so excited!! we finally settled for taiwan (go around the different cities on train), krabi ("sun again!" says qq) or star cruise ("budget!" says yihao). actually i'm most excited about taiwan but as long as a trip materialises i think i'll be happy enough. i hope everyone can go!!

saw amanda and roy this week as well.. went to holland v for mexican food! not bad.. but bit ex. but it's a nice place.. can't remember the name of the restaurant.. but will be going there with my grandparents and aunt next week. and.. i scratched my car already!! so fast right?? lucky it's damn small can't really see. P-plate drivers stay clear of the car park behind parkway!

fel.. mr amos haven't call me yet. i think i must go downstairs and knock door already! haha.. i need $$$!!! and oh, i didn't get the project that i mentioned in the previous post. but i've just finished the first draft of the brochure for KCS medical. meeting them on monday to see what can be improved. i'm quite pleased with it actually.

so to friends who i haven't seen in a long time, I MISS YOU GUYS! joyce, remember to meet up soon to take the cage and doggy bowl.

i'm so tired!

i've not had enough sleep since comex started.. damn tired now! argh and i haven't been blogging either.

well, in brief i think i'm little bit richer =p, very tired, love shonia - for sending the minties and chocolates all the way from australia!! thank you so much!!! work's tmr and i feel damn sian!!! my brain's almost dead and so is my vocab. i don't even know why i'm still typing!

okay i should stop..

but yet! i have to tell you that i watched rat-a-too-ee today!! and it was good.. and i'll be catching it with my grandparents and sis next week probably. and my next 2 days off will be eaten into because of some STUPID community day thing that we're involved in. damn it!

i should sleep now. and oh! i just sent my portfolio, hope i like what i hear.

GOOD NIGHT!

with my grandparents

i went to watch 881 again with my grandma and grandpa at GV tamp today! i think my grandma got a little teary at the end. oh well.. it's really quite a sad show. well, it was the first time ever for me, watching a movie and had all different seatings! check out the ticket.. we three were all seperated. bit weird, but actually okay lah. not that bad.

going to work tomorrow.. damn sian. but i shouldn't complain too much lah. compared to others.. i considered very lucky already. but it's just.. i don't really enkoy my job. so dread it a bit. and finally.. i think i've grown tired of 8 Days. after so many years since primary school, i had no longer the urge to buy it the moment i pass a mag stand, read every article in the mag, and jason hanh has ceased to be as amusing as he was last time. like yihao said, quite sad. but things change.

women, beware

"What a wonderful invention, ships! Of course, I am told they are bound to disappear for 'market reasons', because they no longer pay. This is how our world works, and so we deprive ourselves of one more pleasure. In the end we shall even get rid of women! Inventions of God! Of course, we shall do without them the day we find a way to make children more cheaply in test tubes without waiting nine months, the day we find there is no 'market' for love, and men can stick their willies in a machine electronically programmed to satisfy all desires with no risks of diseases - a machine that will ask nothing for itself, except money."

- Tiziano Terzani A Fortune-teller Told Me

brown rice

today my grandmother asked me, "which comes first? the chicken or the egg?" and i told her, "there's no answer."

boxer had his first doggy bowl of brown rice today!! haha. we bought a pack for him, 2.5kg for 4 bucks. and for the first time ever, he took, by his standards, a very long time to finish it! he actually ate, walked away twice, and then go back to eating.. i was amazed. for a dog that eats anything, brown rice must taste damn bad for him to not really like it. i think i'll buy some mutton for him the next time.. add a bit more flavour haha. he's spoilt.

and he had his usual walk and we saw this guy who has 3 jack russells! omg. they looked like 3 boxers! all pulling so hard at the leash and whining. so scary! haha imagine yihao's place 3x the mess everyday lol. can faint and get high blood pressure.. but boxer's so cute! i think he's the cutest jack russell i've seen! heh.

and we saw this lady with her jack russell. we can actually see her kitchen from yihao's place.. so when she first bought him, boxer was already a little bigger. so we used to look over and he's so cute!! but now he bigger not nice looking already. lose to boxer hahaha! and we saw her downstairs today then she damn zhuai. pretend never see us.. she got no dog owner etiquette leh.

rule number one: always smile at the other dog owner when your dogs meet.

like that also dunno. tsk tsk.

amy green

"A moment on the lips, forever on the hips."
- Amy Green (on Joey's obsession with pizzas)

websites

hey guys, please pass it on.

if you guys know anyone who has a business that need a simple website that customers can refer to for latest updates, please recommend me! they can visit my blog and click on the banner on the right. best are small or personal businesses that sell things online, like clothes or hand-made stuff. design won't be too complex, simple and stylish with easy navigation.

i can also help take photos of the products they are selling, or digitally edit them to make them look better. datelines will be met promptly, and of course as promised, the prices are reasonable and definitely affordable. cheers!

a fortune-teller once told me

a travel book (no matter what he calls it), by tiziano terzani

this book was born from an event in 1976. back then, tiziano was told by a fortune-teller in hong kong, not to fly in the year 1993. the start of the book sees him in a inner conflict - whether or not to believe in what westerners call superstition. and he decided he needed a change in his hectic lifestyle (he is a journalist), so in 1993, tiziano travelled by land and sea through eleven asian countries. turns out, a UN helicopter crashed in cambodia that very year, full of journalists. "Among them was the German colleague who had taken (his) place."

along the way, he continues his new-found fascination with this alternate form of believes. what promises to be a journey of spirituality and insight into the asian way of life is marred by tiziano's love for his own words. he sees it as a neccesity to end each paragraph with a beautifully written sentence that, i can only suppose, intended to lead the reader into a new level of realisation. in the first chapter, it is pretty impressive. but after that, you just want to ask him to stop. the man takes himself way to seriously, coming up with sentences like,

"What an ugly invention is tourism! One of the most baleful of all industries! It has reduced the world to a vast playground, a Disneyland without borders. Soon thousands of these new invaders, soldiers of the empire of consumerism, will land, and with their insatiable cameras and camcorders they will scrape away the last of that natural magic which is still everywhere in this country."

seriously, does he even read his own books? his love for the untouched, places spared from modernisation can be understood, and even applauded. while the masses are conforming to the ever-changing west, we need our own identification. but his constant whining in the book is irritating and laughable. he is not only in love with his words, he is in love with his ideals and is determined to make sure we readers can memorise it.

and his affection for asia, obviously does not extend to the people that make up this part of the world. chinese, according to him are the ones responsible for the peoples' need to modernise. chinese, immigrated for money. chinese, monopolised thailand and made it what it is today. he also states his discontempt for the way women are dressed in malaysia. he speaks of the kampucheans like they are of a mystic past, and not the warm, friendly people they are.

such sweeping statements, and from a journalist too. many of his so-called quotes come from only one person, and he uses that to justify as if it spoke for the majority. the last straw for me came when he reached singapore. he does not bother to hide his disgust for our country. he openly criticises out government, and our father MM Lee Kuan Yew. he writes of things that i can only name them as 'conspiracy theories". it is utterly revolting and disgusting to read, coming from someone who isn't even singaporean. He says,

"What happens to a society that grows up like this, without the learning to make distinctions, with only the computer's logic of 'yes' and 'no'? What happens in the heads of children who grow up with the impression that every problem has a solution, and that everything is at most a question of software?"

this part made me so indignant that i dog-eared the page. and i never do that to books. but he exceeds himself when he gave snide remarks about our racial harmony, saying it cannot possibly exist, and that chinese are the dominating race. our taxi drivers, are irritating and we like in a air-con city.

there will always be this debate of urbanisation vs. our origins. even tiziano himself agrees that when given a choice, people (who live in less developed places) will opt for urbanisation. and why? because of the convenience and comfort it brings. while i too enjoy the occasional escape, it is unfair to impose upon others what you think as beautiful and untouched. is it right then, hindering people to move on? is it fair that because you think something should be left alone, that the people living in it should also be denied the chance of sleeping in an air-con room and a comfortable bed?

tiziano may have good knowledge about asia. but in a book written so fluffy and with that little credibility, i say skip it.

quality time

today i spent some great time with my grandparents. had breakfast at Hans (tampines) then walked around for a while. my grandfather bought 4D heh, and my grandma went to the bank. after that we took the free shuttle bus to IKEA! and GIANT. it was so fun! there weren't many people today.. and the place was generally quite quiet. we shopped for fruits and a cushion for my aunt. i really enjoyed it.

and today, after 21 years, i finally found out exactly why, my grandma has two names! and all my life, my grandma's only occupation is a nurse. something she is very proud of, something everyone knows her by. when she goes back to whompoa. everyone calls her "MIssy ah!" which in hokkien means, "nurse ah!". apparently, before she began her career as a nurse, she had a stint in a factoy which produced paper bags. and she was a also a... JEWELRY sales girl at the age at 18!

oh the irony of it! my grandma is never one for the riches and beauty that came with it. my grandmother is a down-to-earth, no nonsense kind of person. she has a heart of gold, and she and my grandfather brought me up.

and why, is my grandmother's name Tan Ah Sam @ Tan Mei Chin? see? my grandmother's hip okay. she had an email address way earlier than me. my grandmother's born in malaysia and at that time, her name was written in arabic on her birth cert. and the nurse at the hospital apparently didn't really know arabic.

so since birth, everyone assumed she's Tan Mei Chin. all the way till when she's 18, when she dropped out of school in Form 4 (secondary 4 in our time). it was till then, when she wanted to come over to singapore (we were still with Malaysia that time) that a clerk told her that no, your name isn't Tan Mei Chin!

can you believe it? what a slap in your face. imagine everyone calling you robert when your name's actually dick. but maybe if you're called dick, you wouldn't want people to find out anyway.

so my grandmother had to go to court and swear about something (i didn't really get that part), and now her I/C states, Tan Ah Sam@Tan Mei Chin.

cool right? and she's going to start cell group soon. my grandma goes to Trinity Church.. and they already found her a cell. and she wants to be water baptised soon. i'm so proud of her.

i love my grandparents so much!

881 (by royston tan)

it's a bit like a heritage journey. makes you proud.It's nothing like his previous works 4.30 and 15. 881 is a celebration of local getai with a plus. The show is a feast for the eyes.. bursting with colours, and the cast breaking into songs throughout the show. It is spontaneous, fun and the waterworks come naturally. Costumes are elaborate and grand. The duo, Yeo Yann Yann and Mindee Ong are Big Papaya and Small Papaya respectively. Together they are the Papaya Sisters. And are they.. to the very last glitter on their dresses. On stage, they are captivating to watch.. It's almost like like you were transported back more than 10 years back, only better singing and less sleazy.

Qi Yuwu gets biggest billing. He gives a convincing act as Aunty Ling's son who can't speak. He emotes quiet anger, despair, joy that is painful to watch. The cast have great chemistry and even May and Choy (who obviously can't speak chinese), fit in perfectly. Even better are the getai verterans. They are loud and as clourful as the show. Watch out for Karen who's like this big sister of the trade.

Royston does well. This feels like an epic, comparable to the likes of Moulin Rouge. A local Moulin Rouge if you may. Royston is definitely a new director to look out for. Jack Neo's best was Homerun but his recent productions have been disappointing. 881 is a tribute to our local, dying getai scene, and has a little something for every Singaporean who lived through those times.

our generation

"fireworks are a few minutes of joy... why do you burn this (when) you can build a community club? that's my generation. it's hard-earned money. but this is what they (the new generation) want. they want the excitement."

- MM Lee Kuan Yew

family fun

had some fun with my mum and sister while watching the national day parade.. the biggest ballon's mine. the smallest my mum's. lol!

and here's a picture of boxer sitting down beside me.

loss

i promise not to take anything for granted anymore. i have, for the second time, felt what it could have been without. and it would've been very sad, if it was to be forever.

in desperation and lost

it's a scary feeling.

today i experienced the long 2 hours of my life.. it was disorientating and painful. but i also experienced closeness, which i haven't felt in some time after.

china wine

i know.. pastor's wife right? from church right? got kid right?

so what? guys give her a break lah.

she has chart topping dance singles in the UK and the US. we have got to open up a little, see the bigger picture. what she's doing is amazing, bringing asian music to a whole new level. we're talking about wyclef jean here okay. the one who told us that 'hips don't lie' and brought shakira to a new level of hotness. she's done things that most can only dream about, and here we are being all whiny about how she's selling out.

seeing what people comment on the video just makes me wanna laugh. why bring in all the personal insults? typical singaporeans lah. talk about her clothes and always always the church. all the minor, petty things and missing the whole big picture in the end. that she is doing something so huge. people, loosen up a little man.

tomorrow's national day and i say she's doing singapore proud!

we are singaporeans!

all in good spirits, for it's national day tomorrow!!

while we may complain at the hike in transport fares, or the 2 years compulsory national service, or how we don't have democracy, or how we have all sorts of campaigns or that you have to stand in a yellow box to smoke... or the many other things that been oversaid. if i may, over-complained.

but it's national day tomorrow and let's be thankful that we are the citizens of a beautiful and ever advancing nation. a nation where people of races can live together in harmony, where there are no natural disasters, where our government is one of the least corupt in the world. we, whom from a nation torned apart in war, became what we are today. a secure place in the new world.

let's not forget how we are almost safe to walk alone in the streets at night, and how our army is ever-ready 24/7 for a battle when the need occurs. and also medical and fire services at your beck and call in 9 minutes, no matter where you are.

so fellow singaporeans, i urge you to think hard about what we have and not just concentrate on the negetive. there can never be a perfect government or system. but what we have now, is already better than most.

disturbia

every killer lives next door to someone
Kyle (Shia LaBeouf) is placed under house arrest after punching his Spanish teacher. His mother Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss), terminates his accounts with iTunes and XBox. Bored out of his wits, Kyle takes to spying on his neighbours as a alternate form of entertainment. Enter next-door hottie, Ashley (Sarah Roemer) whom Kyle soon forms an obsession with.

He soon sees a pattern in his neighbours' everyday life. And he gets more than what he bargained for when he soon realises he could be living just opposite a wanted serial killer, Mr. Turner (David Morse). Things gets dangerous after Julie pays Mr. Turner a visit.

While the plot isn't the best and most original, the cast makes up for that. Watching Shia LaBeouf take lead in this movie, makes us forget his humble (and cringe-worthy) beginnings in shows like Even Stevens. In a show like Disturbia, the build-up and parts leading up to the climax of the movie focuses a lot of the characters. He is intriguing to watch and holds the movie perfectly together.

Sarah Roemer plays Ashley, whom Kyle has a crush on. Not much from her though. Not exactly bad, but some how I felt that her take on the character wasn't how I expected it to be. Her portrayal of Ashley came across as a little too reserved, to the point of being a little distant, even when more than halfway through the show. Maybe it was her way of playing hard-to-get and sexy, but it just didn't work too well for me.


The adults brings stability to the show. David Morse as Mr. Turner is subtle and creepy. He appears out of nowhere, and talks so calmly it is unnerving. Yet, you sense this dread and fear, this power he radiates. He makes sure this movie isn't a scream fest. Julie, Kyles mother, played by Carrie-Anne Moss is the on-screen troubled single parent to the last scowl and frown. She doesn't really know how to handle Kyle, yet tries to meddle in his affairs, often making things worse.


In all, the producers managed to esembe a strong cast and perfectly casted roles. The only one scene that made me a little disappointed was the car scene between Mr. Turner and Ashley. While Mr. Turner was chilling to the bone, Ashley just looked like a damsel in distress. What could've been a great scene only turned out to be okay.

Hmong Lao in Laos

they are "the forgotten refugees of southeast asia and the world beyond".


while we live in the comfort of our homes, the luxury of many things we take for granted, just take 15 minutes to know what else is going on in the world. even if this is just one of the many atrocities happening in our time, at least you did something.

Refugees SG

please carry on this post on your blog.

knocked up

skip it, unless you're pregnant after a one night stand

when 8days, my favourite magazine gave this one 4 out of 5 stars, i tagged it mentally as a must-watch. When IMDb users combined, gave it a 8 out og 10 rating, I told myself I can't miss this one. And when i finally decided to watch The Simpsons first, before this one, I was having an internal heated arguement in my head while watching the adverts and trailers, wondering if I made the right choice.

Turns out, I absolutely did. Knocked Up didn't work for me at all. While the characters are funny and amusing to read on print, on screen they just don't deliever. Katherine Heigl as Alison Scott plays it much too serious as the pregnant woman, reducing the laughs by half. Seth Rogen as Ben Stone is like Jack Black in Nacho Libre. Not afaid to flaunt what other don't want to see. Performance wise, he is a little bland and does not have a great commanding screen presence. And was it absolutely necessary to show them having sex cos people in the audience were going like "eww..". AND, if you're the squirmish sort, watch out during the delivery. I had to close my eyes, a first, when watching a comedy.



And his friends are a weird bunch that smoke weed and do nothing with their lives. Could have been much funnier and more fun. But they come across more of creepy than funny. And the Asian girlfriend just made me cringe. The only pleasant surprise is Paul Rudd, Phoebe's boyfriend-turned husband from f.r.i.e.n.d.s. Not that he was fantastic, but he was good enough.



Reason why I'm so bitter is, I was expecting a comedy. A crude, laugh out loud comedy that I paid $7 for. Not a semi-comedy embedded with a couple's ardous 9 month journey, filled with nuggests of advice. Really, it doesn't concern me. So unless you're pregnant after a one night stand, don't watch it. The 2 hours is almost as tiring as getting the baby out.

when?

when will i ever:

1) get a perfect shot. the very one photograph that will define me at this moment.

2) pass my traffic police. (i'm hoping this 10th of August)

3) learn that nothing lasts forever

4) learn to let go

5) get to go on a holiday again

I know what's wrong in my life, but the changes are coming too slow.


a picture of boxer who can't wait to get a bite of that lamb pizza.

Untitled

"Maybe she'll come back," says Elly.

I just look at her and don't say anything. Our entire conversation this afternoon was pretty much like that. She did the talking, while i muttered a few indecipherable replies or grunts. I wonder why she puts up with me, especially when I'm like that. So I ask her.

"Well.. You are my friend aren't you? And that's what friends are supposed to do. Not give up even when your friend hasn't bathed and shaved for days, or even when they don't smell very nice." She emphasized on the word nice.

I don't reply again, but look at her from the corner of my eye. And she's looking right back at me, expectantly. "What?" I say grudgingly.

Her face changes to exasperation. "How many hints do you want me to drop before you actually take it?" she demanded. "I'm asking you to go and take a bath."

I knew I have to, but I didn't really want to move from my spot. I felt safe there. Venturing from it would mean seeing things that reminded me of Rachel. And I'm not ready for that. I refused to look at Elly, and instead say "Later, alright?" to the one last slice of pizza in front of me. Elly clucked in disapproval, but kept quiet.

When I think back, it was really funny. Me and Elly met, on what was supposed to be a date. And as disastrous first dates went, this one pretty much topped everything. Set up by my mate Matt, we knew immediately when we saw each other that this, was a mistake. A huge mistake.

She was in a stunning black, body hugging dress that went a little below her knees. Me? I was in a I heart New York t-shirt and grubby three quarters that had seen better days. And I realised how this could happen. We met in a part of town that, while had casual, homely pubs and eateries on one side of the street, had posh and up there restaurants on the other. I'd say that meeting would've gone straight to the top of the many top five lists I had. This being the "Most Embarrassing and Awkward Moment".

We just stared at each other for a while.

the simpsons

just came back from work with only 5 hours of sleep. i can't take it anymore!! i'm so freaking BORED at work, and to think there's a little more than a year to go. and when i finally get back my pink IC i want to run around and scream.

saturday was good though. dan, roy, qq, yihao and me caught a movie, ate fish&co., and had some drinks at iguana.

so if you're thinking of a movie to watch, catch the simpsons. the family is hilariously dysfunctional and weird. dumb guys are endearing, like homer and joey. the movie guarantees an hour and a half of mindless and slapstick humour that will just make your day. but if you're the snob who wrinkles his nose in distaste at flicks like hot chick and white chicks, you can let go of this one.

you rigid, prim and stiff person you.

Some poeple are just rude rude rude!

I'm quite pleased with myself. Why, you may ask. Well, despite my unwllingness, i dragged myself out of bed, just 2 hours into of my afternoon nap, to bring my maid for x-ray at jurong east. My mum had decided to keep her for another 2 years, which I think a wise choice.

Anyway, I was armed with my Harry Potter book 5 ready for the long wait. In the end, all it took was a very short 5 minutes and totalled to an amazingly small amont of $12.50. As Joey would say, "Could it be any cheaper?" I think not! But then again, maybe it's cheaper cos it's a referal.

I treated my maid to a pineapple (heh), and got me one as well. Lucky for us, the bus was just about to leave when we reached the bus terminal, so we managed to hop on. This malay lady was pulling a luggage and she sort of blocked my path, but she said sorry and smiled. You know, people like this make your day. You feel better about yourself, you feel better about the world.

But with the good, there's always the bad and ugly. And there was this guy who flagged for the bus very late and the uncle tried his best to stop for him, to the point that it was a little dangerous. Showing no appreciation at all, the guy strolled to the bus and calmly tapped his card without so much as acknowledgement that the uncle did something nice, lest to say a thank you.

I know it seems like a small matter but don't you think we'd expect more than this? A simple act of goodwill returned with feigned ignorance or plain rudeness really deserves a good and hard smack on the head.


Urban life is good, but it's always nice to go back to basics. I really do miss Cambodia.. and Ah Ling is there now. Bah!

all that talk!

Hanging out with the BCs always mean good food and conversation! but sometimes things get a little out of social normality when they start talking about stuff that's.. let's just say, done behind closed doors. And before you get all excited, not that. Behind a cubicle door. Well, get excited if you're into weird stuff.

Anyway it gets a little worrying to me when people have no qualms talking about it at the dinner table, no matter how close we are. But apparently, many people think it's okay. So maybe it's just me. But we had a great time, and ky and me shared the best vanilla&bailey's milkshake @ billy bombers.

you'd never know what they talk about! lol.

an almost candid shot.


Thanks shonia, for the Saturday at Manhattan Fish Market (a clone of Fish&Co), then at brewerks and iguana. Haha you must be damn broke! And we shamelessly accepted your treat. Lol. Don't worry when you come back the next time it'll be on us!! Promise! And now you're probably back in aust so all the best for the school term. Come back sooooon!!!

and here's a picture of my HP book


and i'm done with it by the way, so i'm open to any discussions! if you told me the ending before i read finish the book, i'd have gladly thumped you. haha.