A New Chapter....

When I wrote my first post in this blog in June 2006, I wanted it to be a journal of my "tiny adventures" and thoughts to be shared with close friends, especially those who are overseas. I was also traveling extensively for work and keeping insane hours, so it was a good place for close friends in Singapore whom I was not able to meet as often as I would love to, to check in on what I have been up to.

It was not meant to garner as many hits as possible to earn money; it was not meant to publicize and shout to the world what I have been up to. And I intend to keep it that way - as private and personal as possible.

Some of you may already know that I am embarking on a new chapter of my life in 2011. It will be an extremely exciting journey with lots of unknown challenges as well as happiness and joy (hopefully! Ha!). I thought long and hard about it; it was a tough decision but I have decided to get a new home (URL) for my blog starting 2011. It is to signify a new beginning :)

I know for a fact that the friends below follow my blog on a regular basis:

• Holliday
• Bear Bear
• Jamie M.
• Oliver M.
• Edwin W.
• Terror
• Ranzi
• Felicia
• Michelle J.
• Nicholas P.
• Been T.
  
• CK Tan
• Jason C.
  

I will be dropping you a note with the new URL. For those of you who have my blog on your RSS feed, I request for you to update it after I send you the new URL.
For those of you who have a link to my blog from your own blog, I request for you to continue pointing to this existing blog, for now.
I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.

There were several others whom I remember giving this URL to but I am not sure if you are still following it. If you are (& please pardon me for missing out your name above) and would like to continue to do so, please drop me an email or a note in Facebook and I would be more than happie to continue sharing my life with you :)

Meanwhile, a big THANK YOU for sharing my life online for the past 4.5 years. It has been an awesome journey!

Have a Fantabulous 2011 and I'll see you in the new blog in the New Year!

Maldives 2010

The glorious sunset

Toy Story 3

The third (and last?) instalment of a very successful Walt Disney cartoon. When I was watching Toy Story 3, it dawned on me that the first one was 15 years ago. 15 years! Time flies!

An awesome weekend!

My Thai colleague Doong, who is also a good friend, was in Singapore recently. I spent a weekend with her and we had a blast!

We met up for lunch on Saturday - first stop was Boon Tong Kee.

Spinach cooked with chicken eggs, salted eggs and century eggs. One of my favs! Fried beancurd Boon Tong Kee famous steamed chicken Then we went to town and made a pit stop for snacks, TWICE! First was yoghurt and this was taken during the second time, creme brulee...
Then we went up the Marina Bay Sands Skypark. Before we did that, we went shopping! Check out her shopping bags! :) I like the colours of the dusk.... View from the Skypark As it got darker, the lights came on... Then it's time for dinner!! No visit to Singapore is complete without Chilli crabs! Yummy! Black pepper crabs! It looked like a black lump of something, but this black lump was extremely yummy! Bamboo clam with garlic and vermicellin. Trying to balance the sinfulness with some healthy brocolli :) Breakfast on Sunday was at the Botanic Gardens with Coffee. Unfortunately, it was drizzling a bit so we did not take any pictures. Lunch was Bak Kut Teh. I was so stuffed and tired after the lunch that I had to surrender and left Doong off @ Ikea for more shopping. An awesome weekend and hopefully to do it again soon, whether in Singapore or Bangkok! :)

Mooncakes

This is such an overdue post but I just gotta write about the yummy mooncakes I had during the Mid-Autumn Festival! :) Home's Favorite Mau Shan Wang Durian Mooncake
It melts in your mouth. Yummy!

Raffles Hotel Champagne Truffle Mooncake
The soft snow skin...
Heavenly!
Peony Jade Yuzu and Mau Shan Wang Durian Mooncakes

Quote of the Day

"Be practical and be grounded. And be optimistic. There's no problem that time will not solve. You'll be a lot happier if you learn to look on the bright side."

~ Madam Leong Yuet Meng

No, I don't know Madam Leong personally. She was featured in an interview in our local newspapers recently and she mentioned that this is what life taught her. It struck me. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I am the "glass is always half empty" person. This quote came at a time in my life when I felt totally down, totally confused, sad, hurt, lost, helpless....

Sometimes, we all just need a reminder....

Now it is two....

It is exactly two years:

- 8 quarters;

- 24 months;

- 104 weeks;

- 730 days;

- 17,520 hours;

- 1,051,200 minutes;

- 63,072,000 seconds.

I am so glad and relieved it is all over. Finally. Wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope you are well. I wish you good health and happiness.

The Story of a J....

It took me a while to contemplate if I should “waste” a blog entry on this. You know, we humans are very forgetful; we forget things as time passes (for better or for worse). So I thought it will be good to document this for prosperity sake. Ha! And when I do look back at this in future, I can shake my head at the silliness of it all and if I feel like it, I may even delete it.

So this is a true-life story about one man (Jeep) and two women (Ugger & Alien). Names have been changed to protect the identities…As with every movie or novel you come across, where there are three persons of opposite sex involved, there is always a love triangle. So Jeep is caught in between Ugger & Alien and the following happened within a short span of two weeks.

Monday

Jeep to Alien: I am unsure about Ugger; I don’t think we will work out…

Tuesday

Jeep to Alien: I wish I have the courage to leave Ugger….

Wednesday

Jeep to Alien: I am choosing you. I love you. Please do not leave me. We can be happy together.

Alien to Jeep: You are not supposed to choose me. Based on what you said before, you were supposed to choose Ugger. I don’t think you are making the right decision.

Jeep to Alien: I am. I am sure! Very sure!

Thursday

Jeep was emotionally unstable as he tried to cope with making a decision he was actually not sure of.

Friday

Alien was sick with a crippling migraine. Despite that, worried for his well-being, Alien went to pay Jeep a visit at his place after work at 11pm on a Friday night. She called him on his mobile but he did not pick up the call. She left without seeing him. When she got home, she vomited twice.

Saturday

Jeep had s*x with Ugger. (What the ...?!?)

Sunday

Jeep “supposedly” broke off with Ugger.

Monday

Jeep called Alien to tell her the “good news” that he had broken off with Ugger. Alien was skeptical. Jeep went to meet Ugger at night and talked for 3 hours.

Tuesday

Jeep to Alien: I am unsure about my decision. Ugger wants to get back with me and is waiting for me. I am confused.

Wednesday

Jeep to Alien: I am not changing my mind. My decision is still you.

Alien was crying with Jeep beside her. Then Jeep’s mobile rang; it was Ugger on the line. Jeep stepped away to answer the call and the call went on and on and on. Alien walked away.

Thursday

Jeep to Alien: I am so confused now. I wish one of you will dump me so that I can move on.

Alien to Jeep: Do you mean what you said?

Jeep to Alien: Yes

Alien to Jeep: You know what? I am dumping you. You cannot make up your mind. You ding-donged to and fro and wavered on a decision that you made. You are wishy washy and do not know what you want. You made me happy one day and then hurt me on another. I have had enough of this!

Jeep to Alien: Please don't go! I am not changing my mind about you!

Saturday

Jeep and Ugger are together again. Jeep went with Ugger to the marathon expo even though Jeep is not running the marathon. Ugger was sticky with him throughout. Then both of them went off together (may I add, for a round of s*x at home).

End of Story.

What does this tell you about Jeep? He went to f**k Ugger after telling Alien that he had decided on her. Then he broke off with Ugger. Then he went back to Alien. Alien got smart and decided to dump him so now he is back with Ugger again.

Questions

- What does Jeep really want?

- Who does he really love?

- Is s*x all he cares about?

- Why can't Jeep just make a decision and live with it and move on?

- Why did he lie?

- Why did Jeep do the things he did?

- How can he live with himself for causing this mess and hurting all involved?

- Why would Ugger still want Jeep back? Is it because he is rich, has his own apartment and his own business?

- Will Jeep & Ugger have problems down the road because Jeep is unsure about her as well?

Guess we will never know the answers to the questions, unless you are a Jerk, oops, I meant Jeep yourself. Or mabbe there are no answers to these questions because these are typical things that a Jeep would do, you know, something like "Two typical weeks in the life of a Je**", kinda thing. It's no big deal. What makes it even more puzzling is this Jeep is supposedly a God-fearing Christian. Would Jesus have done all these things? OK, I know I am treading on dangerous sensitive grounds here...so I better stop, but you get my point lah....

Gimme a cuppa!

I like how the lighting plays on the colors of his fur :)

Roller Coasters

I remember when I was a small “wide-eyed innocent” kid, I loved visiting amusement parks. These outings were rare (I do not come from a well-to-do family) and it definitely beats playing marbles in the neighborhood playground. There used to be one at Kallang. I love going onto those thrill rides, especially the roller coaster ones.

When I was a teenager, I still get the adrenalin rush from roller coaster rides. My first overseas trip by airplane after my “O” level examinations was to the amusement parks at the Gold Coast Australia. I went onto all the thrill rides available, especially loving the roller coasters.

When I was in my 20’s & 30’s, work gave me the opportunity to visit Florida twice. No prizes for guessing what I did. I went to all the different Disney worlds and took as many thrill rides as I could. I also made sure that I got my butt onto the highest and scariest roller coasters!

I love the anticipation, especially at the beginning where the roller coaster goes up the steep slope before plunging down on the other side; followed by the feeling of your guts dropping onto your feet. And then it does not stop until it reaches the end. You can never know when the next twist is coming, when the next upside-down is coming. I would normally scream my head off on these rides and then I will end the day with a bad headache, but a happy baby :)

Some people do not see the sense of roller coaster rides. You put yourself through the gut-dropping and liver wrenching fears and you achieved nothing in the end. You get off the ride at the end, the adrenalin rush stays with you for an hour or so and then life goes back to normal. Nothing has changed. I see it differently though. To me, life is all about experiences. It is our experiences that made us who we are and what we are.

For the past seven weeks, I was on a roller coaster ride. It was the biggest and longest roller coaster ride of my life ever. There were tons of ups and downs, twists and turns. I didn’t know where I was heading. When I thought the ride was ending, another upside-down twist came along. It went on and on. It came to a stage where I was desperately trying to get off the roller coaster ride. It had gone on for far too long; I was tired, confused, lost, helpless, sad, hurt; my life was turned upside down. I could not hang on anymore. I don’t eat well and I don’t sleep well. I cannot even think straight. I was a total emotional wreck. Days went by in a blur.

The worst part about this roller coast ride was not only did I get onto the ride; I had dragged people whom I love along. I can deal with my own emotions and pain but it kills me to see the people I love in pain and suffering as well.

I don’t know if I will ever recover from this roller coaster ride. It took a lot out of me. I don’t believe in time healing all wounds; it just allows me to understand certain things better.

Would I do anything to change the roller coaster ride I was on? Well, if being on that roller coaster ride allows me to understand things better and get to know people for their true colors, I would gladly go onto it again (in exchange for that truth).

Would I get onto another roller coaster ride ever again, even if it is the best/highest/longest one in an amusement park in Florida? I would say, “No, thank you. No other roller coaster in the world can top the one that I had just experienced.”

Doraemon cake

Doraemon is the ONLY cat I like coz I am generally a dog lover. This is on top of a piece of chocolate cake that I bought after work one day coz I was feeling down and wanted to cheer myself up. Cute! :)

A new Swatch!

For someone who has many watches, I suddenly found myself without a watch to wear!
- My 10 years old Omega Seamaster is in the workshop for a major overhaul that is going to bankrupt me;
- My favorite casual Donald Duck watch has a crack across its face :( so I guess I won't be wearing it anymore;
- My other beige Swatch Skin battery died (permanently) on me. Think it's too old liao;
- My brown Emporio Armani battery is dead as well;
- I sent my Franck Muller in for regular servicing;
- And not to mention the many Swatches that I have in the storeroom whose batteries are all dead;
- So I am only left with my white Chopard.
So I got this!

The packaging

Two of our favourite colours - black & white! The dial is actually quite interesting in that it is textured, although cannot really see from the picture.

Bali, Indonesia 2010 - Day 4

Past few days' posts have been about doing nothing much. If you are wondering what is "doing nothing much", the picture below is an example :) The pink float, which was bought at the supermarket nearer the resort, provided entertainment for endless hours in the swimming pool...

I can get used to this....

Tea break! It was the weekend, so there was a performance by some children during the tea-time. Very adorable kids.
We took a 1/2 day in the afternoon to visit the Uluwatu Temple. This is the other side of the cliff.
The Uluwatu Temple atop a cliff-edge against the Balinese sunset.
Tons of monkeys near the temple. They were quite agressive! One of them took a banana from my pocket!

Tickets to the Kecak and Fire Dance

The glorious sunset while waiting for the Kecak Dance to start

The Kecak Dance

The Fire part....

Dinner at Jimbaran Bay - BBQ seafood!

Bali, Indonesia 2010 - Day 3

Didn't do much on Day 3 as well :P Spent most of the day by the resort pool/private beach. Then decided to venture out to Kuta Beach before dinner... Kuta BeachChanced upon A&W, which is extinct in Singapore. So had to eat it! This is the Chicken Burger. Chicken & Bacon Burger

A&W Curly Fries! Yummy!

Bali, Indonesia 2010 - Day 2

Day 2 in Bali - What was the itinerary? Actually nothing! :)

Breakfast, lazed by the pool, then went for tea, lazed more by the pool then went for dinner. That's what I call life! My favorite sunny-side up!
Pancakes with strawberry for tea

Cheescake & Coconut crepe
My cucumber juice

Dinner - seafood platter

Yummy chicken

Fried Noodles wrapped in omelette