Matreshka Siesta Fiesta

Teacher

2010-05-21T21:40:00.000+08:00

My parents came over to watch the kids today. When they were leaving, EJ decided that he'd teach Emma (who's just under 4 months) a thing or two. Looking at her, he said:

"Mei mei, call 'Ah Kong'. Say 'bye bye'"

Yes, teacher!

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

First MRT ride

2010-05-18T19:00:00.001+08:00

Milestone: Emma took her first train ride today on the NEL from Chinatown to Outram.

Collected her passport today.

She starts cracking up while playing peekaboo.

She did her first full flip 2 days ago

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Kueh Bankit

2010-02-27T23:12:00.001+08:00

It's Chinese New Year, and as usual, we stocked up on a number of festive goodies.

Pointing to the Kueh Bankit, EJ went: "Eat!"

I asked: "How many?"

EJ: "Many!"

Me: ...

On TV one day

2010-02-12T11:41:00.001+08:00

A Tiger Beer Chinese New Year commercial was showing on tv. When the bottle appeared in the last frame, EJ exclaimed:

"JUICE!"

Such innocence.
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Contractor Encounter

2009-10-22T14:42:00.000+08:00

We moved into a new place two months back and have been doing our renovation in phases. We're now in phase 2, but a few days ago, I spoke to our designer to have some cabinets done during Phase 1 rectified. He was briefed in person, and he said that he'd arrange for the carpenter to come down.

Today a team of two persons came down: Carpenter 1 and Carpenter 2.

Carpenter 1 went upstairs to fix the cabinets in the bathrooms, while Carpenter 2's role was to fix the ones in the hall. After he fixed some, he said he completed it. So I pointed out one main area that wasn't fixed yet. Basically a piece of a wooden panel looked slanted... but he couldn't see it. And when he finally did, he told me...

Carpenter 2: It's like that because of the heat and sunlight. That's why it's warped.

Me: Huh? It's only been 2 months since we moved in. (Plus it's indoors!)

Carpenter 2: Ya, it takes only a month or two before it warps.

Me: (err... do you think i'm that dumb? If it warps, then ALL the panels would be affected right?) It's been like that ever since you guys completed the job. (We just decided to point it out to you guys since you're doing phase 2 now.)

Me to Carpenter 1: Do you see that the edges of this part is protruding?

Carpenter 1: Yes, I see it.

Carpenter 2: ...

So I left it to them to fix it. After they were done, it was much better. But I decided to throw in a spanner.

Me to Carpenter 2: If the wood warps so easily, why did you guys supply me such low quality material? Shouldn't you guys have suggested something better?

Carpenter 2: Err. All wood is like that one.

Me: (riiiiight. Not the first time I'm doing renovation, you know)

If the workmanship is at fault, don't blame the poor wood. Anyway all is good now :)

Back...

2009-10-22T11:56:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last posted an entry. So many things have
been happening and well, most of our updates have migrated to
Facebook. haha.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T10:10:00.000+08:00

Five days late, but what the heck.

I wonder when I'll ever get round to updating this blog.

heh heh heh.

New Baby Game

2008-10-31T01:20:00.000+08:00

EJ has a new game that he seems to enjoy. It doesn't require any toys, and it's cheap.

It's just a little painful at times.

It's called "Let's fry bee hoon on mummy's head".

My hair is the bee hoon.

Our Family ;)

2008-08-06T01:29:00.001+08:00

ALT. FCT. EMT. NST. SKT. QKT.

School vis-a-vis Tuition

2008-06-04T10:26:00.000+08:00

Read this in the papers: http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_244162.html

What really baffles me is this statement: "... one teacher recently suggested that my son get tuition and learn the lessons ahead of the class so that by the time she gets to the lesson, my son can follow it."

I'm not familiar with the current education syllabus, but I'm getting the impression that tuition is now much more effective than going to school! In that case, maybe kids should just go for full-time private or centre-based tuition and save the 6 hours which-was-previously-meant-for-school per day for play instead :-)

I never knew...

2008-05-24T17:05:00.000+08:00

... that fish could sleep vertically.

... that fish enjoy "lying" down on surfaces (sand bed or rocks) to sleep.

Either that, or we really have a bunch of weird fish.

Phones Go Religious. Really?

2008-05-03T09:17:00.002+08:00

Saw this on Popgadget which led me to this article on Wired: The Buddha Phone. Nokia has come up with a Buddhist version of the N70 phone. In gold and jade, it's complete with Buddhist chants, an engraved picture of the Kuanyin or Goddess of Mercy, built-in Buddhist scriptures in MP3, a picture of the Buddha for it's start-up screen, and even with waves of light spiralling out behind when the phone rings.

Even the battery is embellished...

The phone has been endorsed by a Buddhist monk, but according to the writer, he's less/or not famous and also unheard of. It also includes a certificate with a picture of the Monk. Though the laminated certificate seems quite out-of-place in a Nokia-designed packaging.

I wonder if the official Nokia site has information on this phone. Here's the translated version of their Taiwanese source. And here's the original post in Chinese.

Wow I'm impressed

2008-05-02T17:08:00.000+08:00

With myself. I have mastered the art of wearing Elijah's socks with one hand!

*cue applause*

What other mommy feat do I have to accomplish, I wonder? I need the mommy wu3 lin2 mi4 ji2! (watched too many eps of Legend of the Condor Heroes already lah...)

Progress update

2008-04-16T00:16:00.000+08:00

Elijah is now 9 weeks old... And boy oh boy has he grown! From 3.455kg at birth, he weighed a hefty 5.7kg 2 weeks ago. Just on Sunday, he's put on another half kilo to make 6.2kg! His height at birth was 53cm, and on 1 Apr, he was already 59.5cm.

He's found his hands... And has started communicating with gurgles, ooohs and aaahs. He's also responding with smiles, especially to silly sounding tunes. heh.

Recently, he's also become more observant and has been smiling and "chatting" with the Cat, dog and duck pictures on the wall by hos cot. It's quite amusing!

Golf is funny

2008-04-07T12:39:00.004+08:00

Got this from the Charlie Bit Me link... check out the baby's laugh while he's watching Wii Golf. It's quite infectious.

Other babies...

Kung Fu Baby

Baby laughing like the devil...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXNnJE6gNEk&feature=related

Charlie Bit Me... 16 million views

2008-04-07T12:28:00.002+08:00

I caught this on CNN USA's (StarHub Ch 93) Not Just Another Cable News Show.

A simple 40-second home video featuring two brothers that garnered a whopping 16 million views on YouTube (on CNN it was reported as 14 million then). It's been so popular that it's gotten many spoofs, and their father has even set up a Facebook group that currently has 907 members.

Amazing. =)

Sleep Terrorist

2008-03-26T16:49:00.003+08:00

This Mas Selamat business has got to end soon, man...

A few days ago in the early morning, I received a text message. Half dazed, I looked at my phone and saw a mass SMS from the police. The message read somewhat like this:

"Mas Selamat has been nabbed. He was caught under a viaduct (or bridge) at Shunfu (or some street near Macritchie reservoir)."

I collapsed back to bed. Next thing I knew when I (really) woke up, the SMS was gone from my phone. So there were only two possibilities:

1) I accidentally deleted the message in my half-sleep mode.
2) It was a dream.

I checked with Adrian (via SMS) if he received such a message, and checked out ChannelNews Asia at the same time. Adrian's answer to me was "nope", and the top story on CNA was something less newsworthy. So the conclusion was #2.

Psychic dream? Perhaps the police should go hunt under all the bridges around the Macritchie area. Will I get the rewards then? heh heh.

There's so much of this news going on that even the terrorist has invaded my dreams... Freddie Krueger. It just felt so real. :S

ESP

2008-03-17T16:34:00.000+08:00

Little Elijah has just turned one month old... and he already has ESP.

ESP - Eat. Sleep. Poo.

12 Feb 2008

2008-02-20T12:26:00.000+08:00

Just a quick (and overdue) update -- our son, Elijah, is finally here!

Was admitted to Mt Alvernia Hospital on 11 February and Elijah was born in the wee hours of Tuesday 12 February. :-)

Thanks to everyone who sent their congratulations, made the trip to visit us in hospital and especially to all the doctors, nurses and hospital staff, and pastoral care volunteers involved.

Will give more details later!

STILL waiting for Elijah

2008-02-10T22:36:00.000+08:00

In case you're wondering, the little one is still being elusive.

The expected date of delivery was originally on 8 Feb 2008 - which was also my birthday. But two weeks ago, when we went for our appointment, it seemed likely that he would have been an early baby, and expected to be out before the Chinese New Year.

So in anticipation, we waited. We didn't mind it happening during CNY itself, and even better -- if it were on 8th Feb so we could share the same birthday.

So we waited. A week passed, and at the next appointment, our doctor said that it looks like there's no sign of an early delivery and we'd play it by ear.

By the 6th of Feb, we had everything ready -- baby car seat, hospital bag, cameras, documents, etc. All ready to go in case we needed to head to the hospital.

No sign.

7 Feb. No sign.

8 Feb. EDD day! No sign.

9 Feb. No sign.

10 Feb. Today. STILL no sign.

The little one has been playing cat and mouse (or Rat) with us. We've been getting SMSes and calls asking if the baby is out yet. And today, when we went for Mass, our friends and priest saw that I'm still pregnant. ha ha.

Maybe he wants to be born on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes on 11 Feb. Well, let's cross our fingers that he does! =)

There are nice people afterall

2007-12-21T17:30:00.001+08:00

It's going to be a beautiful Christmas. I just got on the train headed towards Novena for my antenatal class. The train was full at first. At the other side of the carriage, I saw someone give up his seat to an old lady.

Subsequently, at the next station, someone vacated his/her seat across the train... but unlike the usual seat-grabbing situation, a couple and a teenage boy gestured to me that there was an empty seat and everyone waited for me to take the seat.

When at first I felt hopeless that Singaporeans were generally apathetic, I am now hopeful for the few I've seen today..

:) :) :)

Long time no blog

2007-12-19T21:10:00.001+08:00

So many things have been happening lately and I haven't quite updated this blog... Not to mention, Flickr has taken a hiatus as well.

Let's see...

17 Nov - Cheryll came back for a short vacation and the girls came over for a gathering. We also kind of inaugurated our Nintendo Wii with Wii Sports, Ravin Rabbids and one of Veggesaurus' super-violent games (not available here).

18 Nov - my dad received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmed and Adrian had his Confirmation as well in a beautiful ceremony in Church.

2 Dec - Adrian did his 3rd full marathon. As usual, I was runspirator following the trail.

For 5 weeks every Tuesday from Nov, the two of us took basic Spanish lessons. Our teacher is the mom of Ami (our wedding videographer) who came from Mexico. It's a small group and it was pretty fun. Tho I must say that espanol is pretty difficult! For me at least.

Now that the lessons are over, we're attending weekly antenatal classes at Mt A. Yes... We're having a baby. Haha. It's been 8 months and come CNY 2008, we'll have a new addition. 4 more lessons to go! The exercise bit is quite fun... Esp the part where Adrian learns the massage techniques. hahah

ok. That's all for now. My fingers are cramping using the small keyboard on the treo.

Fidgeting

2007-10-24T19:27:00.001+08:00

On the bus now and the lady who's sitting next to me keeps fidgeting her legs... As if there's a cockroach running about. But I don't think so.

It's making me a little uncomfortable. Brrrr...

How apt!

2007-09-20T10:03:00.000+08:00

I'm wearing my Threadless "This is not a pipe" tee and while walking to the bus stop this morning, the theme song for Super Mario Bros starts playing in my iPod.

I actually felt like Luigi and Mario for those few minutes. Ha.

She's back!

2007-08-18T17:17:00.000+08:00

I've been waiting for this day since I bought the tickets to Cai Qin's concert in May. My indulgence -- ahem, category 1 tickets.

TONIGHT! We will be headed for the Indoor Stadium to witness the wonders of this magnificent diva's voice again.

I am so looking forward to it.

Gold Class: More Than Meets The Eye

2007-07-31T08:26:00.000+08:00

Yes, I know we're s l o w . . . We caught the Transformers movie only last night. But we watched it at Golden Village VivoCity's Gold Class theatre. There are 3 Gold Class theatres at GV Vivo, with a common lounge area that serves wine, food and other beverages.

Inside... with velvety red seats, akin to the size of airlines' business class seats, and adjustable leg rests at just a touch of the button, it was a night of absolute entertainment luxury. Between the two seats, was a mid-sized table so you could put your food and belongings on. There was also a service button, so if you wanted to order some food or drinks before or in-between the movie, you just had to call for the staff. By the armrest was a large blanket that you could cuddle under -- something we didn't expect. Because before the movie, we were actually worried that it would be cold because of the rain.

The distance to the screens was pretty comfortable, and even though it looked like a small theatre, the screen was actually pretty huge. And considering it was a Monday night, the theatre was almost full house.

We noticed that quite a large proportion of the audience were expats. Perhaps because of the higher-than-usual cinema ticket rates in their home countries, they might be used to paying similar amounts for a normal movie. Gold Class tickets here at $25 per pax might be quite a nominal sum for the luxury and space they get.

Watching Transformers at the Gold Class theatre was well worth it. We're now quite sold to the idea of Gold Class -- but we'll have to be selective of the shows we'll catch there!

The next show that we might catch? (but not at Gold Class) La Vie En Rose about my fav French singer - Edith Piaf!

My Onitsuka Tiger

2007-07-08T00:30:00.000+08:00

I finally got my Onitsuka Tiger sneakers! Tried a pair at Tangs but the last pair in my size was a display piece, so I bought it from Star Three Sixty at Wheelock Place instead.

At the sports chain I worked at (a long time ago), I learnt that Asics was *the* brand to buy for running shoes. Even its average pair was lighter than the Air Huarache, Nike's lightest shoe then. But Asics' designs never quite caught on with me, and they were mainly running shoes.

So I bought the suede Adidas Gazelle when it was first bought into Singapore in 1994. And in 1999/2000, the classic Adidas Superstar. I wore them to death.

Since then, I've been hunting for a pair of Superstars that I really liked. But I haven't found one like my old pair.

Till I saw the Onitsuka Tiger. So now I have my first pair of Asics. :)

The Kids Are Not Alone

2007-07-02T12:02:00.000+08:00

It was a very eventful afternoon yesterday. The actual event day for Hair For Hope by the Children's Cancer Foundation. From 12pm to 7pm, Novena Square was buzzing with activity. At Square 2, was a YES 93.3FM stage event, and at the new wing of Velocity, was a signing-up exercise for the People's Association PAssion Run. Over at the main atrium at Novena Square, was Hair For Hope 2007 where volunteers took the brave step to have their heads shaved completely bald -- to let the children, who have been afflicted by the illness and undergoing chemotherapy, know that they are not alone and that it's OK to lose your hair.

We turned up early before Adrian's scheduled turn, so we hung around the area. From upstairs as we watched the event, we saw volunteers of all walks of life. There were male and female, young and old, short haired and long haired... they all turned up. There were people who didn't sign up beforehand, but walk-in registrations who contributed $30 and had their heads shaved on-the-spot.

I saw a 6-year old boy getting his head shaved. A 13-year old girl. A lady who had grey hair and looked like she was retired. Then we saw two visually-impaired volunteers from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) going up on the platform with their canes. It was touching. When interviewed by the emcee, one of them said, "We are also beneficiaries from the SAVH and we also want to show the children that we support them." For sure, they've shown that everyone plays a part and there's really no such thing as a barrier when it comes to acts of charity.

Adrian's shave was scheduled at 5.05pm. Towards 4.40pm, friends and family started appearing. Aside from our families, our friends from RCIA Holy Cross, Alvin & Irene came with family in tow - Megan, Gabriel and their maid. Agnes was there too. We also met Lance from Church, who happened to be one of the volunteer organisers for the event. As I found out, he's been an active CCF volunteer for the past 10 years. Our friends Esther, Ivan and Nat were there too. And on the spot, Alvin signed up and also offered for his head to be shaved. At 5pm, Adrian and Alvin queued for their turn.

Watch the video (high-speed) here!

Fundraising efforts are still continuing. Do drop by here if you would like to leave a message or give a little contribution.

If you're around Novena tomorrow (Sunday 1 July)...

2007-07-01T00:29:00.000+08:00

Do come by Velocity@Novena Square between 12pm - 7pm. Over 250 brave volunteers (male and female, young and old) will be having their heads shaved for the charity fundraising event, Hair For Hope, for the Children's Cancer Foundation. (See my previous post here)

Adrian's head will be shaved at 5pm. So if you're around the area, do pop by and give us and the rest a shout! =)

Ocean's Thirteen

2007-06-24T01:00:00.000+08:00

After a very sumptuous dinner at Crystal Jade Kitchen, the 4 of us went into Lido 3 for the 9:45pm screening of Ocean's Thirteen.

I enjoyed both Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve, but I was a little apprehensive about the third instalment. I figured that it would be good, but I was afraid that I'd be disappointed. And as I found out later, Adrian felt the same way too.

2 hours later, the verdict is out. We LOVED it!

Great cast and camaraderie, it was fresh, hilarious, smart, sneaky and uber cool. Catch it, if you can :)

Bad for the heart & soul

2007-06-22T23:30:00.000+08:00

I met the most obnoxious (or unhappy) woman at Paragon today. I was at the supermarket and waiting in line at the cashier when this woman in her 40s or 50s conveniently sneaked over and slid in front of me. When I realised what had happened, I leaned over and informed/reminded her, "Excuse me, I was here..."

Immediately, she shouted at me, "SO YOU GO LAR! NO BIG DEAL!"

*gasp* Err, hello? I spoke softly to save her any embarrassment in case it was a genuine mistake. But since she decided to blow it up herself, I figured that she was only embarrassing herself. And since she was so defensive, I guess she must have cut in deliberately. She obviously knew what she did since I didn't even get to finish my sentence. So if it were really "no big deal", she needn't cut the queue. After all, I was the last person in the queue and I didn't have that many things to buy.

She stomped off and queued behind me.

I was taken aback at her outburst and I was tempted to say something in retaliation. But something held me back and I decided to let it be.

After a while, I saw that she had gone off to another queue, but since that other queue took too long, she switched queues again.

When I was leaving the supermarket, I looked out for her. For some reason unknown to me, I wanted to give her a smile.

Maybe to ease her surliness? Maybe to tell her to 'relax'? I don't know. It was just something I wanted to do.

It was a pity though, that she seemed to avoid looking at my eyes after that.

I just hope that it was a bad day for her, and not because she's usually so high-strung. Bad for blood pressure - for herself and the people around her.

At the end of this episode, somehow I feel pretty glad that I didn't snap back at her in order to feel vindicated. Patience... patience... I guess the pilgrimage must have really done me some good :-)

Pilgrimage to France

2007-06-21T21:14:00.000+08:00

We returned from our pilgrimage two weeks ago. It was a good two-week experience visiting the various churches, cathedrals... and lots more. Seeing the faith that people have in God. Being witness to the amazing things that God has done. Realising that the Saints, no matter how simple their lives seemed to be, weren't that simple afterall. Because their faith runs in much deeper than any of us can imagine. They faced persecution, they faced hardship, they were mocked, they suffered. But it was just the very thought of knowing that God was on their side comforted them.

It was good meeting more people from Church and from other churches, the fellowship that we enjoyed. The crazy things we did... doing the Amazing Race and running down the streets of Paris, the Champs-Élysées, l'Opera... Some of us lying down on the ground at midnight at La Defense.... and we were all aged between 28 and 50+! Still so youthful ;-)

Eating baguette every single day for every single meal. And most importantly, learning that:

"Today is the first day of the rest of my life."

Absolutely fulfilling. Absolutely memorable.

Check out my collection of photos here.

Plus, Adrian's thoughts on the trip!

Nuts about donuts

2007-06-16T22:16:00.000+08:00

It's been three weeks since we've been to the nearby heartland mall. Today, we noticed two new additions: a fish & chips takeaway joint and Missy Donuts, another donut outlet which has joined in the donut craze foray.

The write-up at its lightbox says that it's been around since the year 2000 and that all their dough nuts are freshly baked/prepared "right before your eyes".

The restaurant we were dining in happened to face Missy Donut (which incidentally has the exact same colours as Dunkin' Donuts), and because we were in such a strategic position, we had a very good view of the queue there.

Using a particular lovey-dovey couple as our marker, as they started from the end of the queue (I am estimating 20 - 25 customers ahead of them), we kept time. From 8.30pm, they slowly inched their way through the snaking queue.

I hear it takes a queue of 2 - 3 hours before one can even buy anything from the popular Donut Factory at Raffles City. Well, for a placed considered "ulu" by lots of people, it took a good 45 minutes for the couple to reach the cashier counter to place their order. They managed to leave by 9.20pm. A total of 50 minutes in all... to buy dough nuts. And hey, there are at least 2 - 3 other confectioneries at the same level selling dough nuts too. Yet, the line here was neverending.

Will we ever try these donuts ourselves? I don't know when that'll be... perhaps in one year's time when all the queues have died down? Or if someone (who's willing to queue) offers to buy them for us! :p

Saints

2007-05-30T05:21:00.001+08:00

It's day 3 (day 1) was on the plane. We're on our way to Le Puy now (literally, in the coach). We just came from Ars where we visited the church where St Jean Marie Vianney's body and incorrupt heart lies. Patron Saint of dioscesan priests.

We stayed the night at Paray le Monial last night where we saw the incorrupt body of St Margaret Mary Alacoque, who was visited by Christ with his sacred heart. Before that, was our first stop - Nevers, where we visited the place where St Bernadette of Lourdes spent the second half of her life at. Her incorrupt body with the most peaceful look on her face lies in the chapel there.

Hair For Hope 2007

2007-05-19T18:00:00.000+08:00

Dear Friends

On Sunday 1 July, Adrian will be participating in Hair For Hope 2007 at Velocity@Novena Square. Hair For Hope is an annual fundraising campaign for the Children's Cancer Foundation where volunteers will have their head shaven bald. At present moment, there are 122 people who have promised to have their heads shaven for charity. On top of raising funds for kids stricken with cancer, the event aims to raise further awareness of childhood cancer in Singapore and also tell the kids that we are rallying behind them.

We look to your support in making this campaign a successful one for the kids. Below is the link to Adrian's Hair For Hope online pledge page where you can make a donation. No matter the amount, your contribution (and/or prayers for the kids) will be greatly appreciated. You can also post a message in the page. :)

Adrian's Online Pledge Page

Do read some of the testimonials from cancer patients and their families.

We look forward to your support and we hope to see you there at Novena Square on 1 July (12pm - 7pm)!

Please do spread the word too if you can. Thank you!

God bless

Mercy Relief - Philippines

2007-05-11T09:13:00.001+08:00

Mercy Relief - Philippines
Originally uploaded by Mr Miyagi.

This is long overdue. haha.

In February, my sister emailed us this link that she stumbled upon while doing "boh-liau flickr surfing" as she called it.

It's Mr Miyagi's Flickr site and Adrian was in some of the photos taken when Mercy Relief went to the Philippines after the typhoon in December.

It was quite a surprise to find this.

Paradox

2007-04-21T14:53:00.001+08:00

Why is it that for the longest time, I feel that my hair is a mess?

And finally when I'm sitting in the salon waiting for my hairdresser before the haircut, that I suddenly feel that my hair looks perfect?

Weird, huh?

- blogging from the seat at the hairdressers now. -

Brack Toe

2007-04-16T23:30:00.000+08:00

Remember that line from Lost in Translation?

Somehow on Friday morning, while trying to get my dog from under the dining table, I stubbed my toe against the chair. It hurt, but I thought the pain would go away.

I wore my shoes and went off to VivoCity to meet my colleagues for a birthday lunch. Then I started hobbling. We had lunch at Marche, and I hobbled around Marche. My colleagues wanted to go to Daiso. So I hobbled to and within Daiso. Then went down to the basement to buy lunch for another colleague. And I hobbled down. It really didn't help that VivoCity is touted to be the LARGEST shopping mall in Singapore.

I got back to the office.
Took off my shoes.
Took a look at my right foot.

My colleagues and I and gasped in horror.

"ALAMAK! I didn't realise my toe was THAT bad!"

I have a brack toe. And no amount of manicure will help :-(

That's cos the bruise is on the toe itself, not on the nail.

I took a photo of the toe on my phone and sent it to Adrian. But he couldn't really make out the picture cos it was too dark, so he said that he'd take a look at it when I got back.

After work, I met my two old friends for tea at Royal Copenhagen @ Takashimaya. I hobbled there... so unglam. Basically it was me hobbling around town... to Tangs, to Far East Plaza and back to Wheelock.

Later that night, Adrian examined my toe and he said, "You might have cracked it." So I'll have to let it heal by itself.

Thus for the next week or so, I will be somewhat pai kah.

Wakey wakey...

2007-04-11T00:43:00.000+08:00

At her 1st month birthday party

Welcome Home!

2007-04-10T23:58:00.000+08:00

Pre-Quink. This is our welcome greeting every time we return home.

And now there are three. =)

jo elle

2007-04-09T23:14:00.000+08:00

Our niece officially turns a month old on Thursday.

Joelle's the little daughter of Joshua & Michelle, Adrian's sis.

And although the similarity of her name to her parents are purely coincidental, it makes the idea all the more cuter.

So here's a thought. If adrian and I were to adopt the same formula for kids' names. We'd have either:

Frandrian (yikes)

or ...

Aces (!!!)

Guess it doesn't work as well with our names :-p

Rosary

2007-04-04T15:10:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, I learnt how to make a rosary. It's the first time I've ever attempted anything remotely like jewellery making. And even though I appreciate nice beaded necklaces and all, I prefer buying them off-the-shelf. I've never actually been interested in trying to make any. I didn't think I had the knack for it. When I found out that Adrian's friend's wife made her own wedding necklace, which was truly spectacular for a handmade piece, I was impressed -- but I never thought I could ever do it myself.

So I was really a little apprehensive when I signed up for the rosary-making session because I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it at all.

Boy, was I wrong!

Irene, who helped organised the session, helped me purchase the tools and the Swarovski crystals. Because I didn't know the colour selection available, I just told her 'blue' or any 'dark colour' and left it up to her. And her taste was just perfect, as she helped me get crystals in turquoise. Beautiful.

The session was conducted at Alice's house, who was the main instructor. She was concise in giving instructions and was very, very encouraging. (she's not only skilled in crafts, she's a great cook as well! Lunch was delicious.)

For each complete rosary, of 5 decades, I would require 59 beads. Using pliers and twisters, we had to twist the metal links and create little loops. Some parts were really intricate (at least by my standards). Initially it was pretty tough. It was tiring, and painful. Because once you get the 'pattern' of doing it, you find your most comfortable position, which after a while, becomes a little strenuous once I stay in that position for too long. Also my index finger started to hurt because of the pressing. I joked about getting calluses.

In total for my first attempt, it took me a total of 3 hours to complete the rosary. Despite the initial ouches, once I got the hang of it, it was so fun!

New hobby? Perhaps!

:(

2007-03-22T13:24:00.000+08:00

Just read this terrible piece of news.

It's not the dogs' fault. They're just trained to do so.

Sigh

4th Sunday of Lent

2007-03-18T11:56:00.001+08:00

The prodigal son returns to his father.

Jolie Joelle

2007-03-16T08:34:00.001+08:00

Adrian's sis gave birth to a healthy bouncing (well, really we've not seen her bounce) baby girl on Monday 12 Mar.

Joelle Wong.

She's a gorgeous little one. And such a cutie pie.

Brand New Scanner

2007-03-15T01:11:00.001+08:00

Brand New Scanner
Originally uploaded by matreshka.

This is our brand new Epson Perfection 3590 Photo scanner. It actually is no longer in the market, but I'd been hunting for a scanner with an auto feed function to facilitate my photo archival process. With the help of helpful Epson staff, I managed to source for one... direct from Epson itself.

I had to purchase the scanner (with auto film loader), and an additional Multi-Photo Loader attachment. The Multi-Photo attachment actually cost more than the scanner itself... but I think the fact that it scans 3R and 4R photos (works better for matte photos) automatically (plus cropping!), it's well worth the money.

Yay!

Happy 10,957 days!

2007-03-11T22:30:00.000+08:00

9 March 1977

946,684,800 seconds = 15,778,080 minutes = 262,968 hours = 10,957 days = 1,560 weeks = 360 months = 30 years

9 March 2007

Happy Birthday Adrian!

There were two parts to the celebration.

Part 1: 9 March, Friday night

Dinner at Gordon Grill at the Goodwood Park Hotel of Wagyu beef, foie gras and oysters. Yum. Topped off with a little birthday cake from the deli at the hotel. The birthday boy's review of dinner here! :)

Part 2: 10 March, Saturday night

Surprise birthday party for Adrian. Now that was quite an adventure... but I will have to go zzz now. Will update tomorrow! =)

My birthday at Morton's

2007-02-10T22:45:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Adrian, I managed to savour yet another delicious course of steak from Morton's.

Two years ago when we went there, it was on a weekday. It was quiet, somewhat peaceful with a few diners. Last Friday when we went there, it was full-house. That made the whole atmosphere so different with chattering and laughter coming from all corners of the restaurant.

Between the both of us, we had one appetiser - Half-dozen Oysters (HUMONGOUS!) and a side, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms (YUM). For the main course, Adrian had a double-cut Rib Eye steak (FLAVOURFUL) and I had a double-cut Filet Mignon (TENDERLICIOUS).

After the mains, we were recommended a dessert platter of berries with ice cream -- sadly no chocolately desserts because of my bad throat. However, my bad throat was a good excuse for us not to order any cocktails/wines. That would have certainly jacked up our bill by a third. And finally we ended off with tea for myself and cappuccino for Adrian.

The service was, as usual, superb. Two thumbs up for Idris! Great food advisor, humorous and friendly.

Thank YOU for such a wonderful bday :)

Have you ever wondered...

2007-01-23T10:06:00.000+08:00

About anything in the Christian faith?

The story of Adam and Eve... was it true?

If Christ was really born on 25 Dec, and why all Christians celebrate it even though it is not specifically dated in the Bible?

About Catholicism and why there were breakaways (Protestant churches) and now non-denominational churches?

How is it that the Catholic church can be considered "inaccurate" by other Christians even though it was the original church?

Why there are more books in the Catholic Bible... or rather, missing books in the Christian (non-Catholic) Bible.

If Catholics really worship Mary and the Saints?

Why Catholics have images and statues... is it really idol worship?

Why priests don't get married?

If you've ever wondered about any of the above, I'd like to invite you to join us for the RCIA course at Holy Cross. Whether you are Christian or non-Christian, or simply just curious. RCIA is a programme where people come to consider the faith -- totally without pressure and without obligations. Eventually there are those who decide, and those who feel that they're not ready or just not for them. The decision is totally yours and it will be respected. Most importantly, the RCIA sessions are to clear any doubts you might have over the Church -- especially if you've heard it from someone else. This is a good opportunity to find out why we do the things we do.

Conducted by Fr Richards Ambrose, this RCIA will explain the teachings of the Church and you are free to ask any questions (in person or anonymously) that you may have.

RCIA at Church of the Holy Cross
450 Clementi Avenue 1
Every Thursday, from 25 January 2006
7.45pm - 9.45pm

Walk-in registration welcome. If you are unable to attend for the first few sessions, you're welcome to join us in the following weeks as well.

See you there!

Electric Current

2007-01-19T20:54:00.000+08:00

Yesterday evening, my former boss told me, "You've toned down a lot already, ya? Last time you used to have THAT funky hair."

When I worked with her, we happened to share the same hairdresser. It was all a coincidence. So yesterday, I jokingly "blamed" it on our then-hairdresser and said that I had left it up to her. Which was true! My hairdresser had been convincing me to do something different, and when I finally granted her that wish, she gave me a frizzy perm.

When it was first done, it looked pretty nice. But later on, everytime I let my hair down, I looked like I got electrocuted. So I decided to reduce the shock by tying them at the sides. Some of my then-colleagues called it the Pikachu look, since tying it up made it look like ears. Plus Pokemon was the 'in' thing then.

The first time I met Adrian, my hair was tied up. The second time I met him, my hair was electrifying. It's a wonder why he didn't get frightened. ha ha.

The worst part was, I had to take a photo of my electrocuted look for my office security pass. And it didn't help that the guys who manned the photo-taking computer terminal took a really unflattering shot. Boo hoo.

After some time, I figured I couldn't maintain that hairdo anymore so I had it straightened. That spelt a life of "normalcy" from then on.

Hee. ^__^ (learnt that from my friend Elaine)

Hi Def Has Arrived

2007-01-18T23:00:00.000+08:00

This evening, I attended StarHub's launch of HDTV (High Definition Television) at City Hall (not the train station, but City Hall proper). Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts graced the event and former Miss Universe Singapore & re-elected NMP Eunice Olsen was emcee. Amidst the dancers, the Cirque du Soleil-like acrobats and hors d'oeuvres, StarHub showed us what we could expect of HDTV.

The two main channels to kick-off HDTV are National Geographic HD and Discovery HD. Even though the main screen that was used was a large projection screen, I was suitably impressed with the quality of the footage. Somehow though, National Geographic HD's footage was extremely clear, all having been shot on HD format. In the footage, Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of the late famed underwater filmmaker Jacques Cousteau) spoke about his programmes on StarHub HDTV, and it seemed so crystal-clear. Imagine what it would be like on an HD-enabled TV. I did not scrutinise its quality on the Samsung HD Television that were displayed around, but from afar, it seemed pretty clear.

I think the programmes are something that Adrian will enjoy. Especially since he's always on Channels 11 & 12 (Nat Geo & Discovery respectively) by default.

For us, we'll probably wait till we get an HD-enabled plasma/LCD TV (not so soon!) before we upgrade to HDTV. And, we have to maximise our Smart TV (StarHub's version of Tivo) first!

Senior Centrefold

2007-01-17T09:25:00.000+08:00

Me: Hey! Do you remember <Name>, the former teen model who was the covergirl and centrefold of <Magazine>?

Adr: Vaguely. I remember the name, but can't remember the person.

Me: Oh, she was my senior in school and I saw her during lunchtime today at <Shop> in <Building>. I don't think she recognised me, so I didn't say hi. She's quite pregnant now... but she still looks damn good lor. Life is so unfair...!

Adr: Ya. Some guys have all the luck. Her husband's such a lucky guy.

Me: . . .

Quink goes offroading for the 1st time

2007-01-14T19:25:00.000+08:00

We joined the rest of the LROS (Land Rover Owners Singapore) folks for some offroading fun on Saturday morning. Everyone was invited, kids and dogs included. We wanted to bring all 3 of ours but figured that we wouldn't have enough time to bathe them all after we got back (we had to go to Esther & Ivan's place in the evening), so we only brought one. Since Nelle and Socks had already gone offroading before, we decided to bring Quink instead for his first experience.

The place was literally flooded, and it rained occasionally too. There were a number of challenging portions, especially one very steep slope, but everyone managed to get through it safely.

Photos here!

Here's a video clip (pls turn head sideways to view):

I want...

2007-01-12T13:02:00.001+08:00

F1
Originally uploaded by matreshka.

F1 to come to Singapore!

I thought talks had gone down the drain, but it looks like it's not over yet!

So exciting.

The Post-It Note Jaguar

2007-01-12T08:28:00.000+08:00

The Post-It Note Jaguar
Originally uploaded by Scott Ableman.

Just saw this on Flickr. The idea's so cute, it's hilarious.

Post-It notes covering an entire Jaguar.... (!!!) as a prank.

Here's the entire sequence!

Real smart!

RCIA begins 25 Jan 2007

2007-01-06T22:43:00.000+08:00

"Cradle" Catholic
When I was 7 months old, I was baptised a Catholic at the Cathedral near my grandparents' place in Indonesia. And since then, my mum brought me to mass regularly - first at St Bernadette's and then to Holy Cross.

I attended catechism, joined the choir and attended youth liturgy. I had my first confession, first Holy Communion and at 15, had my Confirmation.

Evangelists
In my teenage years, I was often approached by evangelical non-Catholic Christians along the streets, wanting to share the Word. When I told them that I was Catholic, I found myself challenged by them.

They would say things like, "Do you know what you're doing is wrong? Praying to Mary is wrong. Having statues is wrong..." (This is a whole topic altogether)

I tried to reason with them, but I suppose not having memorised verses from the Bible didn't help me with my arguments. And I guess it happens to many Catholics who are not as Bible savvy. Who can pick out quotes at the snap of the finger, regardless if it was in context or not.

Our Journey
Two years ago, Adrian expressed interest in attending the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) course to find out more about the Catholic faith. Having been brought up in the Christian faith since young, his knowledge of the Bible was far more extensive than mine. He also had questions on the faith - its beliefs and practices.

When it was not too convenient to attend the one in 2005, we decided to wait for a year when his schedule was more stable. In February 2006, the both of us signed up for the RCIA session.

Fr Richards Ambrose took our class, which was full to the brim. There were many questions from so many people about the Christian faith and Catholicism, about Jesus, about Mary, about the Holy Trinity, about vocations, the sacraments, traditions and practices, etc.

The Results
For Adrian, it clarified many doubts he had formed from his years in other churches. For myself, it reaffirmed my faith and I finally knew more about the faith that I had been brought up in. Then, I didn't know why we did what we did. I just followed, but having gone through one year of classes, I now know better the reasons why we do things. While I still have a lot to catch up on spiritually and bibically, I am now better equipped with the knowledge that I have garnered.

Now
The RCIA isn't just for those who want to be baptised or be converted. It's a good experience just listening and learning what the faith is about. You may agree, or you may not agree with what's said but the choice is left entirely to you. Join in, or drop out whenever. The strange thing was, when we attended last year, Adrian and I were always looking forward to every session.

We'll be attending another round of the RCIA as a refresher this year. If you're keen, the RCIA sessions in English and conducted by Fr Richards Ambrose will begin Thursday 25 Jan 2007 at 7.45pm at Church of the Holy Cross, Clementi Ave 1. Sessions are weekly, every Thursday from 7.45pm - 9.45pm, unless otherwise stated.

A list of RCIA programmes in other churches here.

God Save The Queen

2007-01-06T00:58:00.000+08:00

5 Reasons to watch The Queen

1) It portrays the British royal family
2) It features tons of Land Rovers, including the Defender 110 which Queen Elizabeth II apparently drives. Plus the Range Rover! *drool*
3) Lots of dogs - Corgis and Labradors!
4) Lots of Princess Diana footage
5) Helen Mirren is the Queen

After a long hiatus (probably 6 months) from the cinema, we finally made time to catch two movies in a week - Borat last Friday and another this evening. We actually meant to watch Charlotte's Web today, but I think because its run is soon coming to an end, they've stopped the night screenings. So we bought the next option - The Queen.

The movie was simple, but interesting. It gave a different perspective of the Queen after Princess Diana's death, and how she reacted trying to protect her family from the media frenzy.

I honestly do not know whether or not the incidences and conversations portrayed in this film is accurate, or how the screenplay was derived, but it did actually make me feel for the Queen and her family, while everyone else was grieving for Diana and feeling anger and disappointment towards the royal family.

10 years
2007 marks the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. A year or two before that, I'd just done a school project on media and personalities - how they made use of each other to their benefit. One of my subjects was Michael Jackson, and the other was Princess Diana.

>> Fast Fwd 1 year later
I had already started working. Then, I had this habit of watching CNN when I had nothing to do. It happened to be one of those nights when I just lay on the couch with CNN on the TV when it flashed "Breaking News" on TV. It announced that Princess Diana had been involved in a serious car accident in Paris near the River Seine. I still remember that night, and I was shocked. I stayed glued to the TV and practically watched the same news footage over and over again as they replayed it every top of the hour, with updates. Many hours later, the ticker tape flashed "Princess Diana dead." It felt surreal.

>> Fast Fwd another year
I'd been working at a public broadcasting station which featured info-ed programmes and documentaries, and part of my job included having to organise a mini tribute event for Princess Diana on her 1st death anniversary. There were docus of her life on TV, and even the cover of the station magazine was dedicated to her that month.

All this while
I had never thought much about how the rest of her family (save for her sons) might have felt. Till today, that is. It is a good movie, and Helen Mirren definitely lives up to her reputation as a great actress.

Watch the trailer here.

A short one

2006-12-24T11:43:00.000+08:00

Not much time so I'll just do a short one

Have a blessed Christmas!!!

So many shows, so little time

2006-12-07T00:07:00.000+08:00

Two nights ago, we went to the mall nearby after work for dinner.

And within one hour after dinner, we blew almost $350 on DVDs -
serials, to be exact.

1) Return of the Condor Heroes (the one with Andy Lau - $150 after
50% discount!)
2) Stained Glass (my FIRST Korean drama serial!)
3) My Lovely Samsoon (my SECOND Korean drama serial! - I redeemed
this with $25 worth of vouchers garnered from the above two purchases
at TS Video. Had to pay only a balance of $14)
4) M*A*S*H Season 5 (cos we've finished 1 - 4)
5) M*A*S*H Season 8 (cos seasons 6, 7 and 9 were unavailable)

And because of our immense loyalty at Laser Flair (ahem). We
redeemed a free copy of ARMY DAZE The Movie VCD.

Now the only problem is - where GOT time to watch?

Welcome to the Family

2006-11-27T09:38:00.000+08:00

Adrian was baptised yesterday. And received Holy Communion for the
first time.

Livelier

2006-11-24T09:55:00.000+08:00

It's been a year since the revamp of BPP, and the mall has never been livelier.

I love it, this heartland mall.

Saturday breakfast at Wangjiao. Dinners at Bifengtang. I finally tried Cafe Cartel. Herbal soup at Kopitiam. Thai Chinese at Sakura.

And in a span of 3 months, we've blown over $400 on DVDs at Laser Flair alone! That's not including stuff we've bought at TS Video and Sembawang. We haven't bought anything from CD Rama @ Popular yet.

Now for the BIGGEST news. Superbowl on the top level has been boarded up (ie. CLOSED. yay!) and something new is on its way. I'm seriously hoping that a cinema will take its place.

Two years ago I kept wishing for Starbucks and CBTL -- and it happened. Starbucks arrived with the revamp.

Just a few days ago, my colleagues and I were wishing for MOS Burger at Novena where we work -- and yesterday I found out that *TADAH* it's now there at the new Velocity!

So now, I'm going to hope for GV, Cathay, Shaw or even Eng Wah to open it's doors here.

*I'm wishin and hopin and wishin and hopin...*

I wanna watch...

2006-11-18T03:17:00.000+08:00

Charlotte's Web. Full star-studded cast! But most of all, one of my favourite stories of all time.

Come!

2006-11-04T16:48:00.000+08:00

Come, Nelle!

Come, Socks!

Come, Quink!

Infernal Affairs

2006-11-01T09:05:00.000+08:00

Having once watched the first instalment of Infernal Affairs on DVD a few years ago, Adrian and I sat down to watch the complete trilogy over Monday and Tuesday.

It's a great show - highly entertaining, gripping and one of the most memorable HK movies I've watched.

The somehow, the movie has left us somewhat disturbed.

Aaahhhhh

2006-10-13T15:14:00.000+08:00

My friend sent this link to me… Things that make you go aahh. Check out April 13^th.

Doo do doo do

2006-10-13T00:06:00.000+08:00

Oh, it's Friday the 13th

Camping food

2006-10-13T00:03:00.000+08:00

Need some great fuss-free camping food ideas for breakfast, lunch and
dinner.

No time to cook for breakfast and lunch so it has to be easily
prepared. There'll be some luxury of time for dinner, so cooking is
possible.

Any ideas to share? Share! Share! (the few of you who read this)

It's the effort that counts

2006-10-11T13:49:00.000+08:00

During class, Fr Richards mentioned a specific quote that Mother Teresa said before:

"I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I don't know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will NOT ask, How many good things have you done in your life?, rather he will ask, How much LOVE did you put into what you did?"

– Mother Teresa

So true. While we strive for power and money to make our lives more comfortable, it is not the be-all and end-all of our existence.

Here’s another quote from her:

“People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may Accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be Honest and Frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.”

– Mother Teresa

And here’s an excerpt of an interview she gave with TIME magazine.

Signs

2006-10-05T22:59:00.000+08:00

Words everywhere. These were the signs I saw on the road this evening:

Caution
Adam Road Hospital
Cluny Park Road
Danger - Keep Out!
Farrer Road
Slow
Ahead Humps
Marketplace
Cold Storage
The Master Hair Salon
La Cuisine
Vineyard Medical Clinic
Tierney's Gourmet
open 24 hours
i'm lovin' it
McDonald's
Serene House
Jl Serene
70
Give way to traffic on right
For Sale/Rent
More taste
St John's Chapel
Woollerton Park
Pedestrian use crossing
Michelin
Blk 6 & 6A
Caution Vehicles Turning Ahead
Gallop Gables
Holland Road
Queensway
Concealed Exit Ahead
Circle Line
LevelZ
Reduce Speed Now
Waterfall Gardens
U-turning Vehicles Keep Right
Give Way
SBS Transit
Merge
60
The Estoril
VIVOcity
Taman Warna
Ulu Pandan Road
Entry Exit 50m
Safety First
WH-STEC
Esso
75
Quinterra
HSBC
Biopolis
Health Partners
Next
Fosters
crocs color your world
Lor Mambong
Launching Soon DTZ Debenhem Tie Leung
AYE
imagine it
Left Turn Green Arrow Ahead
Buona Vista Service Centre
42 Tonnes
Daikin 100% Aircon
Handycam
Sony
Easy Shoot, Playback, Share
MRT: Coming Your Way
One-north
Phase Z.Ro
Uniquely Singapore
Look out for cyclists
Drive with Care
JTC
agape
Hydrogen
BP

As Cai Qin's song goes... 三年

2006-10-03T11:15:00.000+08:00

We celebrate our third wedding anniversary tomorrow.

365 + 365 + 365 + 1 day in a leap year = 1096 days

It's funny how it really hasn't felt like such a long time. Yet, when you think about it. THREE years in our context is a long time. It's about one-tenth of our lifetime so far?

Now that it's been three years, and with some of our friends' impending weddings coming up, we feel like old birds or old hands at this. Not that we're experienced in weddings (NOT Liz Taylor), but hey, we've been married a looooooong time. LOL.

Very soon, our friends won't be able to ask us for advise anymore -- cos we'd be so out of touch with the "wedding scene". hahah. Alas, the wedding is an event to be celebrated, but it's not the be all and end all. What's more important is the rest of it.

As the motto of our marriage preparation course goes: A wedding is a day, a marriage is a lifetime.

It's on a car decal stuck on the front window of our Landy and it serves its purpose as a reminder in our daily lives.

Happy three years, Adrian.

Delicious Monster

2006-09-30T18:22:00.000+08:00

I've just discovered Delicious Monster while looking for a cataloging programme for our books, CDs and DVDs.

At first I found one at Collectorz.com but this one seems way much cooler - it allows barcode scanning via iSight. Am in the midst of downloading it right now, will go check it out in a jiffy =)

1996

2006-09-18T10:52:00.000+08:00

As tagged by Mini

10 years ago

1. I was busy working on school projects.

2. I discovered the joys of colouring my hair.

3. I enjoyed hanging out at the short-lived McDonald's Jelita (where the present Caltex station is), but usually had to settle for McDonald's King Albert Park for proximity reasons.

4. I did not have a mobile phone. I relied on my black NEC pager, and then my yellow Motorola one.

5. Singnet userids were restricted to 8 characters.

6. I was still afraid of dogs.

7. I wore funny patterned socks - I even had a lime-green Halloween one.

8. I was still crazy over Esprit.

9. Nex:is, Flyers were the places to shop.

10. I enjoyed receiving snail mail. Because bills were never an issue then.

outta touch

2006-09-18T09:45:00.000+08:00

YellowSub and I went to Bugis Junction on Saturday, and it hit us.

We've turned into our parents, our teachers, our what nots.

We shake our heads at the way kids these days dress and behave.

Somehow or another, we've just become OLD.

Yikes!

Disillusioned

2006-09-14T08:48:00.000+08:00

Yesterday in the office, I finally heard the ORIGINAL version of Wonderwall on Gold 90.5FM.

Till then, I never knew that the song Oasis did was a cover.

The original did sound kinda weird though... and the "new" (old) tune's kinda screwed up the "original" (well, actually the Oasis version of the) tune that I had in my head.

Argh

Grandpa, Anwar Tirta

2006-08-26T16:58:00.000+08:00

Grandpa, originally uploaded by matreshka.

My grandfather passed away at 11pm Jakarta time (12am Singapore time) last night.

On Thursday, my parents made an emergency trip to Jakarta to see my grandfather after receiving a few calls on his deteorating condition.

Last night on Messenger with my sister, I was asking about my parents who had not replied my text message. She told me that they had just called her within the half hour and that the situation was "not good".

A moment later at midnight, she called my mobile. My dad had just informed her that my grandfather had passed away.

Even though he had been admitted to hospital for almost a week, to me, his passing was somewhat unexpected. It was like a fear that I didn't want to come true. I hoped, and expected that he would recover. On Wednesday, I even sent him a get well eCard on behalf of all of us in Singapore. In it, I wrote that he would have been discharged when he read that. I guess it's an eCard that he'll never get to see here, but when he's with God.

Grandpa, despite having suffered a stroke 15 years ago and not so physically able, was a smart man. He was knowledgeable in all aspects -- from geography to current affairs, and could remember things that happened in the past. For his age, he was a real technophile. He was one of the first few older persons I knew who used the Internet fervently. When ICQ was popular, he'd sit in front of the computer to chat with my little cousins in Canada. He often contributed to the family's Yahoo! Groups and almost everywhere he went, he'd bring along his DVD camcorder. He's the very reason why I actually have a little 8mm filmlet of myself when I was 2 years old.

On Monday, we say our final goodbyes to him. We will miss him, but one day we'll say hello to him again.

Opa & L'il A

2006-08-20T17:50:00.000+08:00

Both my grandfather and little cousin A are in the Intensive Care Units of the same Jakarta hospital now -- warded for two
separate issues.

Please help me pray for them. Thank you.

Decisions, decisions

2006-08-19T00:08:00.000+08:00

Eyelash curler: Shu Uemura or Shiseido?

Both highly recommended.
Both Japanese.
Both start with the letters "Sh" and have more than 3 syllables.

snips & clips. bye bye. sniff

2006-07-14T19:50:00.000+08:00

Snips & Clips, the groomers for Nelle and Socks have just broken the bad news to me. After 4 years of operation, they've decided to discontinue the business as their lease is up. Veronica and Deborah, who have been running the business are two very sweet and dedicated groomers. They were highly recommended by Adrian's sis because they were the only ones who could handle her cocker spaniel, Russell, who tended to be pretty difficult with groomers.

Each time I called them for an appointment, the two of them would show up at the door in the morning to pick up Nelle and Socks. And each time, the two doggies would happily leave with them. When they came back after their first appointment, Veronica and Deborah passed me an appointment card each for Nelle and Socks! They took a polaroid photo of the well-groomed dogs with their details in the card. So sweet!

And after every groom, Nelle and Socks would be decked out in a new scarf each.

Aiyah... how to find such fantastic groomers? Sad, sad, sad. :-(

Headstrong

2006-07-10T04:58:00.000+08:00

Oh no, Zidane.
What have you done?

8 years ago you won France the Cup with your headers.
Today, you got yourself red carded with your headbutt against the
Italian player.

Don't leave home without it

2006-07-07T11:59:00.000+08:00

Hai! I left my iPod at home today... and I feel so uneasy without
it. If I don't get a seat on the bus/train later today, there'll be
nothing else to distract me cos I can't fiddle with my phone, pda or
laptop.

What's this with being attached to too much technology!?!

Ronald, where are you?

2006-06-02T08:57:00.000+08:00

Somewhere out there in Florida, Ronald McDonald is being held captive in someone's home/office/warehouse/wherever.

Smart thinking, Asok

2006-06-01T19:17:00.000+08:00

Outsourcing

2006-05-31T20:03:00.000+08:00

One of my all-time favourites

2006-05-31T02:19:00.000+08:00

When I was a kid (since before nursery), I used to watch loads of TV and listened to the radio quite a bit. My favourite bands then were ABBA, The Carpenters and yes, *ahem* The Village People. I loved the song "Macho Man" and they appeared on TV quite a bit.

Two of my all-time favourite songs, which are related to television shows are The Muppets' The Rainbow Connection and The Greatest American Hero. Back in the early 80s, my mum and I would listen to Radio One's (now Gold 90.5FM) 1-hour request and dedication programme on radio. Then, there was no email, so we'd often send in postcards with our requests. Almost every week, we'd send in one postcard and my mum would write it while I dictated my request (I did not know how to write then).

Radio programming was then much more conservative than today. Today, you can have one song on rotation on practically every shift in a day, every day. Whereas the DJ in 1980 would say, "Well, I played this song last week, so I'll play another song for you instead." Perhaps this was largely due to the pre-Zoo 101.6FM, Perfect 10 98.7FM and Radio Heart 91.3FM days. There were only 4 local radio stations - Radio One, the current Capital Radio 95.8FM in Chinese, the current Warna in Malay and Oli in Tamil. The only other foreign station I remember is the BBC. And now the number of stations has exploded at least threefold... all thanks to Batam's Zoo 101.6FM!

So here's The Greatest American Hero (ala the human SuperGrover): The show I loved and the song I loved.

Things idiots do

2006-05-30T17:04:00.000+08:00

What an idiot.

This guy put his girlfriend's baby in a tumble dryer and spun her around just because she spilt milk on herself. As punishment, he should be put in the prison clothes dryer (i believe it's ultra-gigantic?) and tumbled around on high heat for 80 minutes.

Frances The Band

2006-05-30T15:15:00.000+08:00

I found a band which share the same name as yours truly! Founded by an American, Paul Hogan and strangely enough in a bizarre coincidence, in an elementary school in the east of *drumroll* ... Singapore.

I've heard some of their tunes so far, and the verdict is (i'm glad to say), I like it! =)

Check out Frances The Band

ADDENDUM
Update @ 9.10pm: I dropped the band an email earlier, and they replied (really quickly). Here's their clarification:

Hi Frances - Thanks for your email. The band wasn't actually founded in Singapore. I've been there a few times and like it. As you'll notice, the bio says "somewhere east of Singapore," so I think New York City falls under that category sort of, yeah? It's a stretch, I know, but its fun to stretch out on what would be an otherwise boring biography.

I'm glad you like the tunes. Best wishes.
Paul

Awww. The coincidence is too good to be true, I guess! At least Singapore gets a mention in their website =P

First the Beatles, next Elvis

2006-05-30T13:52:00.000+08:00

Cirque du Soleil recently announced their Beatles-themed show, LOVE. And now, Elvis Presley.

This would be interesting. I'm going to buy the DVDs if I can't travel to wherever they're performing!!!

Elmo and the Goo Goo Dolls

2006-05-30T11:43:00.000+08:00

Singing Pride. How cool (cute) is that?!!

ack... are we showing this ad all over the world?

2006-05-28T22:32:00.000+08:00

I hope NOT!

What an embarrassment.

This second one is not as bad... but it's STILL contrived.

tsk tsk.

Sands wins IR bid

2006-05-28T22:27:00.000+08:00

So it seems the Integrated Resort bid has been awarded to Las Vegas Sands. Actually it doesn't matter to me who wins or doesn't win the bid.

Until I realise that...

Alas! MGM Mirage losing the bid means no Cirque du Soleil permanent show!

Boo hoo.

Dilbert at the supermarket

2006-05-28T17:48:00.000+08:00

Snapple's USD 2million Ad Campaign

2006-05-28T10:31:00.000+08:00

Well, kinda.

Well actually it's a non-ad campaign.

As part of their promo efforts (ie. publicity stunt), Snapple spent USD 2million on airtime on an American radio station to NOT air any ads for 40 days. But does no actual recorded advertising mean no credit mentions at all? I'm sure the radio station will still have to give Snapple credit mention during talktime - eg: "Ad-free, thanks to Snapple".

It's an interesting concept though. And a HUU-UUGE coup for the ad sales exec who handles the Snapple account. Wonder if the rest of his/her sales colleagues are upset since these 40 days are blocked out for the rest of their clients. =P

The story of Flickr

2006-05-28T10:21:00.000+08:00

Like 3M's Post-its, well at least the glue for Post-its, Flickr came about by accident as well.

As featured on Fast Company.

Singapore gets a mention on Variety.com

2006-05-26T08:42:00.000+08:00

All because of Coldplay, of course. =)

Dilbert & his search engine

2006-05-21T09:39:00.000+08:00

Linked from here.

Poor Britney... or her kid?

2006-05-20T10:28:00.000+08:00

Read this on Salon who got the story from AOL, and then again on CNN entertainment.

On one hand, I feel sorry for Britney for being scrutinized from head to toe as a mother, but on the other I feel sorry for her baby that all these 'almost-mishaps' and mistakes have been recorded. Cos there are other celebs with kids in tow, and yet you hardly hear about such things happening.

From a layman's POV

2006-05-20T10:10:00.000+08:00

See lar, see lar. Why did *they* have to sue Apple?

...

Whoa. But check this out. The new Apple store - ala the cubic Louvre.

Inspiration comes at the wrong time

2006-05-18T11:55:00.000+08:00

How is it that blogging ideas come running aplenty everytime I'm waiting for a bus, taxi or MRT train? And when I DO get to a workstation, I suddenly lose my inspiration to write.

Can't write too much on my PDA... my running thoughts are translated better with a keyboard than with a stylus.

Meme - Just for Fun

2006-05-05T11:05:00.000+08:00

Mini tagged me so I'm a-replyin now :)

Four Jobs I have had in my life:-
1. Sales assistant at a sports chain (basket, i still remember that stupid SCGS girl who tried to bully me)
2. Data-entry clerk for an Aust Biz magazine distributor (proudest moment: I completed my batches so fast, I kept asking the rest of the data-entry people if I could do their share)
3. Marcom in a local tv station (and strangely selling Teletubbies for a short period of time)
4. Promos in a local radio station (otherwise also doing car-decal-distribution-under-the-hot-sun work)

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. The Godfather
2. Clueless / Legally Blonde (same cateogory)
3. Cheung King Express
4. Only You

Four places I have lived
1. Singapore, DR
2. Singapore, BP
3. Aust, Melb
3. Indonesia, somewhere near JKT (few months each time counted or not?)

Four TV shows I Looooove to watch
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Tonight Show with Jay Leno... and Late Show with David Letterman
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. That 70s Show

Can I throw in a dash of CSI too?

Four Special Places I have been on Vacation:
1. Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand - just on a roadtrip. Beautiful beaches!
2. Nepal - our "rough" & tumble honeymoon
3. Kenya & Tanzania - where I *pant pant* conquered Mt Kenya & Mt Kilimanjaro
4. Cities: London, Paris, NYC, Melbourne - I have to lump these all together because I can't choose which one I prefer more! I'm a true city girl at heart.

But every other place I've been to is special...

Four Websites I visit Daily
1. Flickr
2. Yahoo! Singapore (it's set default webpage on my browser)
3. *brainfreeze*
4. *brainnotworking*

Four of my Favourite Food
1. Sushi, sake sashimi, edamame and chawanmushi (my conveyor belt jap restaurant staples)
2. Like Mini, i love CORN. Jagung on the cob, Cup jagung, Black pepper jagung, Jagung-in-my-salad, MOS Burger's jagung soup.
3. Chilli crabs & steamed prawns
4. My mum's cucumber & carrots vinegar salad,

Four places I rather be right now:
1. At the airport (with lots of money) shopping, and not working :p
2. At home or at the park playing with the dogs
3. Back at Ao Nang
4. The spa

Four Friends that have been tagged who I think will
respond:

Can I tag back the person who tagged me? kekeke.

Rite of passage

2006-03-26T21:24:00.000+08:00

We were having a late breakfast yesterday morning at the neighbourhood mall when I noticed out of the window, two uniform-clad secondary school girls carrying a tin each and some YMCA stickers.

Flag Day.

Ah, these girls trying to score some community service points, I figured. As we ate, I observed them. They didn't look very motivated or the least bit cheerful when asking for donations. I guess they must've been tired from all the rejections they were getting.

I wonder if Flag Days serve any purpose. Aside from the 'free labour' that the charities are getting, I think Singaporeans are too desensitised by this method of fundraising.

If anything, I figure Flag Days must be a rite of passage that every teenager has to go through. It is THE day when they have to face rejection, despite trying many times. It is also THE day when they may feel demoralised - why are we so 'ngeow' (stingy)? It is also THE day that they have to be thickskinned enough to approach strangers for donations.

I've done my share of selling flags - twice. I recall a couple of incidents during my rites of passage.

1. Singaporeans are so used to Flag Days that we tend to drop our spare change in, if any. 10 cents, in exchange for one sticker - our passport that signifies that we've "already donated, so pls don't bother me".

2. Tourists tended to be more generous. Much more. Because I was near a hotel, I met with a couple of tourists who dropped in Ten DOLLAR notes, even even Twenties. (The yellow $20 note was still in circulation then)

3. A pregnant woman shoved me. (??!?!?!?)

4. Aside from placing the stickers on their shirts, some fellow students, stuck the sticker onto their plastic buspass holders and flashed it at me as I approached them. I felt like a bus driver.

5. When I got back to school to return my tin, the teacher who was collecting the tins commented "Why your tin so light?!"

Eh, HELLO... that's because my tin was filled with NOTES and NOT coins lah! Guess my teacher wasn't too bright afterall. :p

Last month in an issue of the Sunday Times, there was a letter from a student who participated in a Flag Day event. The student recounted that at the end of the day when he/she went back to the charity organisation to return his/her share of collections, the organisation said that because the student had not hit the 'target', the student would not be receiving his/her community service points. The student was appalled.

So was I. Yes, granted that the student had chosen to do this due to the community service points that he wld receive, but instead of the amount of money raised, shouldn't the student be given the points based on the time he had put in? I mean, had the student known about this target from the beginning (which apparently he did not), it wouldn't have been too difficult for him to withdraw $30 from the ATM machine and just plonk it into the tin. Seeing how affluent society is anyway, the lazy ones who can afford it, can easily do so! It takes just 2 minutes to get the money, and they can spend the rest of the 4 hours lounging at Starbucks.

But despite our many pleasant/unpleasant encounters for flag donations (esp in town on Saturdays) Flag Days will be here to stay. It is undeniably probably the cheapest, and easiest avenues of fundraising. Costs are minimal, and logistics and manpower are spread out.

So I guess we'll continue playing real-life Super Mario Bros (to avoid the turtles) along Orchard Road, and students of generations to come will continue learning how to face rejection, and feel demoralised for at least a day!