So damn accurate...

Amidst waiting for more work in the middle of the night,
I decided to have my hands on some quizzes just for fun,
Didn't expect it to be so ACCURATE...

You Should Travel to China

China can satisfy your craving for many travel opportunities in one trip. You can hang out in modern Shanghai, walk along the great wall, or visit sacred mountains.

Oh yes,
(for the thousandth time)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE CHINA!

A day away from D-Day

had my dose of BRAND'S InnerShine Berry Essence in the morning.
not that it's gonna make me shine in the CCNA exam,
but it is said to be good for my eyes.
read here...

Mommy also steamed an entire fish for me this afternoon for lunch, topped with diced shallots and sesame oil.


Thursday
as per previous post, i was called back for OT, leaving me with one day less to prepare for CCNA.
NeuNeu picked me up and send me home.
just another evening... had dinner and rested early.

Friday, Saturday
i stayed home to mug for the exam.
NeuNeu came by after work to accompany me.

Sunday
stayed home for half a day to read.
NeuNeu fetched me from home to my aunt's place for mahjong.
he was the one playing together with Mommy, Bro, my aunts and uncle.
i was on the PSP playing my new game FlatOut: Head On.

reached home only after midnight where i conked out and he continued on the PSP.
no disturbances from NeuNeu, Melody or KooKoodile these few nights - probably coz they know i'm bushed.

Monday
out to the banks in the morning, followed by Ikea and Kallang to scout for the furniture for my room.
lunched at Geylang before dropping in on the Traffic Police for his driving license replacement.
NeuNeu got some cold desserts (thank goodness, not durians!) for my family from St 21 market before heading home.
dinner started shortly after NeuNeu left for class.
Mommy made Herbal Chicken 纸包鸡 for us but NeuNeu wasn't in time to enjoy it.

ran thru some questions for the impending CCNA exam after dinner.
then, had a few games on Viwawa.com with NeuNeu before bed.
i turned in around 1am. tried. tossed and turned on the bed like the sizzling bah kwa on sale at Lim Chee Guan but still couldn't sleep.

and so...
i whipped out my PSP to watch Horton Hears a Who (on my bed and in the dark).
i'm pretty sure i'm going to turn blind soon.

time for a short nap before more mugging!

A Short Break

will be away from office for the entire week from 19th (today) to 26th.
(last minute changes, i'll be back for OT tomorrow ._.")

some time off from work to catch up on the past-due CCNA exam that's taking place on 26th.

it seems that i've lost myself amidst all the hustle bustle.
i no longer seem to remember what it is that i'm working hard for,
no longer recall the source of my motivation (if there really is any left).

this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to take a step back,
relook at my achievements in the past year(s), my aims and future plans.

over the past few days, i've established some short term goals for myself, mainly to rekindle the passion i have... for arts.
both an excellent way to de-stress and relax myself, as well as a plausible source of income and a "backup plan" for the rainy days.
it always like me to be pragmatic (money-faced), isn't it?

firstly, the return to the studios for the continuance of piano lessons which have been throw off my mind since more than a decade ago.
which reminds me of how i dreaded going for classes because of the teacher who bore a striking resemblance to that of Godzilla. yikes.

secondly, i've set my sights on taking up a couple of photography courses -
Basic, Intermediate and Wedding photography.
a long-time interest of mine which i never thought i'd pursue seriously.

also, i'll take the chance to attend a few events and exhibitions in the local museums over the next few months since the Film & Arts Fests are both round the corner.
so, don't forget to mark down the dates on ur calendars:

Singapore Int'l Film Festival 4th April - 14th April
Singapore Arts Festival 23rd May - 22 June

last but not least, there is the impending trip to Bangkok with NeuNeu, Mommy and Bro. perhaps another short getaway at Batam's spa and resorts, and hopefully another long trip by year-end.
still undecided on the destination though we thought Taipei in summer would make a nice vacation. other feasible destinations (in my books) include Cambodia, Siem Reap, Jakarta...
i secretly hope to have travelled the entire South East Asia by the time i turn 30.


i'm keeping fingers crossed that plans will go smoothly as this probably one of the important pivot points in my life... no time for side-tracking, i'm already a quarter of a century old now...

Busy, Busy..

it's been a busy weekend.

we started out with an early movie (10am, mind u!) at Vivocity today as we had a pair of tickets complimentary of Xin.sg for its 1st birthday.
it was for Rule Number One by director Kelvin Tong, starring Ekin Cheng, Shawn Yue and Fiona Xie.
after a short appearance by Fiona Xie and Kelvin Tong, there was a cake-cutting session together with a lucky draw.
we got ourselves a goodie bag too.

we left the mall after a quick browse at Page One.

NeuNeu had to be home for a short nap and to prepare to attend Vincent's wedding.
and i was out at Ying's wedding customary and banquet on Saturday so i took the chance for some rest too.


the day before started at 5am for me, met two new friends Chunhui and Evangeline (who were also part of the "sisters").
the door-barging ended successfully (sort of) by 8.45am and we traveled a couple of times between the bride's house, groom's house, the airport and finally the restaurant where the banquet was held.
it was an eye-opener for a first-timer like me.. however, we STRONGLY believe that we could've done better (and return with more loot in our pockets)!

all that nonsensical sabo-ing aside, poor Ying had a back-breaking day..
smiling - faking it half the time,
walking - in heels, full makeup, and gowns weighing more than 3 cows,
standing - i bet after Saturday, she can win the Subaru Impreza challenge hands-down!

it all ended around 10.30pm, and we could see fatigue sprawled all over her face.
a long and tiring day indeed but all for a good cause.


may she and Andrew have a blessed marriage with a football field full of kids!

One more night to go..

my last night shift for this cycle.
hackneyed.

exhuasted to the core but still couldn't sleep in the daytime.

it's all cooling and nice because of the wet weather but...
the choir practices that has been going on (FOR THE WHOLE DAY) in the school is getting on my nerves.

i mean the singing is nice and lullaby-ish but...
they just go on and on AT THE SAME VERSE FOR HOURS.

anyway i woke up after getting barely 3 hours of sleep.
raced against NeuNeu on PSP's Burnout Dominator,
continued to toss and turn in bed trying to get to sleep (but to no avail),
then finally washed up and had my early dinner before going out.

we were at Mustaffa to get myself some film and snacks.
had some more food at ABN Restaurant, where i also bought a takeaway of Pappadam and yoghurt.

NeuNeu drove me to Dhoby Ghaut and went for his class, whilst i took a train back to office.


RAIN, RAIN, RAIN whole day.
dampened moods.

# Our First's #

Some updates to the list since NeuNeu last blogged about it 6 months ago..

Achieved ‘97
The first letter from me	- November 1997
Achieved ‘06
Our first meet up Our first KTV session Our first Vivo trip Our first Bird Park trip Our first JB, Malaysia Trip Our first Christmas together Our first month anniversary	- 30 October 2006 - 30 October 2006 - 05 November 2006 - 11 November 2006 - 05 December 2006 - 24 December 2006 - 30 December 2006
Achieved ‘07
Our first KL, Malaysia trip Our first time queuing for Lim Chee Guan Our first time at Botanical garden Buying our first Fatty Bom Bom together Our first Lunar New Year Buying our first BBQ pit together Joint savings account together Buying our first tent together Bebee first BBQ Birthday celebration Our first hike on Bt Timah Our first Bangkok, Thailand trip Our first Zoological garden trip Our first time celebrating Mother's Day together Our first time analyzing our marketing strategy Our first Bintan, Indonesia trip Our first HCMC, Vietnam trip Our first time cooking Macaroni together Our first Batam, Indonesia trip BBQ along the beach Buying our first car together Our first baking class Our second Batam, Indonesia trip Our first anniversary Our first Changi T3 & NEWater visit Short trip to KL, Malaysia Our second Christmas together Short trip to KL, Malaysia	- 05 January 2007 - 07 February 2007 - 09 February 2007 - 17 February 2007 - 17 February 2007 - 30 March 2007 - 01 April 2007 - 07 April 2007 - 14 April 2007 - 21 April 2007 - 26 April 2007 - 05 May 2007 - 11 May 2007 - July 2007 - 02 June 2007 - 12 July 2007 - 05 August 2007 - 23 August 2007 - 25 August 2007 - 02 September 2007 - 22 September 2007 - 27 September 2007 - 30 October 2007 - 16 November 2007 - 30 November 2007 - 22 December 2007 - 27 December 2007
Achieved ‘08
Our first Taipei, Taiwan trip Our second time queuing for Lim Chee Guan Our second Lunar New Year Our first National Museum visit	- 23 January 2008 - 01 February 2008 - 07 February 2008 - 08 March 2008
Upcoming ‘08
Bebee second Birthday celebration Our second Bangkok, Thailand trip Our second Taipei, Taiwan trip More savings!	- 18 April 2008 - 19 April 2008 - July 2008 - entire year

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"

i got my dose of suppressants against discomfiture that had built up in the past weeks.
on top of the suspected over-eating accumulated over the last couple of days, the long hours at work the night before just didn't help.

wasn't a full-blown relapse but was adversative enough to leave me sleepless throughout the entire afternoon.
he cooed me patiently albeit my aggressive negation.

after a short asinine chatter, and exchange of a few silly promises, i dozed off in the late afternoon only to wake up when he returned from the Driving Centre after paying for the renewal of his Road Tax.

washed up quickly and headed off to Boon Lay to get our dinners and some snacks for the night shift.
we parted at Jurong Point where i caught Bus 198 to my office and he rushed off to his.


i hope these nightmarish episodes won't recur.
the repercussions of the undesirable past that never fail to leave me daunted.. and devastated.

gawd, this is really draining me.


oh well, i better catch up on a little rest.
going to pick up the developed film after work in the morning, then recover the CPU from the store in the afternoon before going for my 3rd night at work..

till then.

Sleepless

insomnious.

i miss the nightly bedtime stories.
the ones u make up to cajole me into the depths of lala-land.

Family Day

'twas a jam-packed day on Saturday.

we were out at the National Museum at 11am for the last glimpses of the exhibits from "Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre".

i've finally had my hands on the Pentax Z-1.
pretty user-friendly despite the bulk.
currently, the film's being developed and i'm keeping my fingers crossed!
i'll pin those up together with the digital ones taken by NeuNeu later this week.

if u haven't been there yet, rush down before it ends on 16th March.
u just can't miss it!

we headed to Robinson's at Centrepoint for their 150th Anniversary Sale.
to our disappointment, there wasn't much that could pique our interests, so off we went to Suntec for the IT fair.
just as we arrived at the junction outside the carpark, we decided to give it a miss. the overhead bridge looked like it'd collapse any minute from the overwhelming fleets of crowd!

moreover, we seriously didn't think there would be any parking lots (easily) available.
drove up to Sim Lim instead to get our darned computer looked at, plus get some CDs, a Cat5e cable, thumbdrive from NeuNeu..
and of coz, our prayers at the Kwan Im temple before leaving.

stopped over at Bedok Interchange for dinner.
Mommy had a craving for the Hong Lim Curry Noodles, which i conveniently ordered a portion as well. NeuNeu had Fried Carrot Cake and the renowned Chwee Kuey 水馃 (Bedok), whilst bro had fried Kuey Teow.

last but not least, we had our fill of Mahjong just before the night ended. yet another tiring but fulfilling off-day.

i'm so glad u're always so receptive of my plans.
no matter how tired u were, u've never expressed displeasure of any sort.

some days, i just hate u for ur guts, ur forgetfulness and ur ability to irritate the hell out of me.
on others, i just love u for ur devotion, ur commitment and ur ability to melt me from within.

and Saturday, was one of the days u totally swept me off my feet.
i love u (x 100)!!!

The Big Black Hole (In My Pocket)

think this post is about environmental issues?
nope.
The Big Black Hole refers to my pocket - Burnt.

started the day good by visiting Maybank at 9am in the morning to open up a new deposit account. we (finally!) managed to try out the renowned Wanton Mee and Kolo Mee at the Tampines St 11 "Round Market" (i wonder if i managed to beat Nick to it though).

then we set off to JB no later than 11am, where we got stuck in the traffic for about an hour or so as we expected - yes, because of the 100% check on all vehicles leaving Singapore for the leader of the JI militant network.

despite minor hiccups here and there, i managed to get my PSP Slim while we were there.
YAY!
(sings: "H of the A of the PP of the Y - HAPPY!")

afterwards, we headed off to Jusco for KTV only to find it fully-booked (again) then made our way back to City Square after getting some tidbits and some Dunkin' Donuts. got ourselves a room for a 3-hour KTV session at Neway before returning to Singapore.

initially we planned for a mahjong session at home with Bro and Mommy, without realizing we forgot to go to StarHub. queued for more than an hour for our turns and everything ended only around 10.30pm, and us reaching home just before 11pm.

took a while to discuss on which phones to get and finally...

as expected, i stuck to this
LG Viewty - Ku990
(in black)



and William got this
HTC Touch
(in white)

and yet again, he's got himself a white phone and i've got myself a black one.

all in all, it was a long, long roller-coaster ride of a day.
it was time well-spent... with you.
afterall, it only happens once in every four years.


so now with the CCNA exam this month, yet-to-be-explored Pentax Z-1 SLR camera inherited from Dad, Bangkok trip in April, LG Viewty, PSP Slim, with a bundle of games that came with the package on top of those i already have at home, it'll definitely be keeping me busy for awhile.

oh, not forgetting the BIG BLACK HOLE, i should be laying low for the time being.