Weekend full of Food!

Finally a weekend to catch up with friends and food. After last saturday tiring excursion at my company's sports carnival, this weekend started with nearly everything planned. Finally completed my root canal treatment for my molars, costing me tonnes of money. Was not as painful as I feared but still, it was still agonising. From then, travelling in the comfort of a Mazda 3, met the gang for lunch at Pek Kio. Been mentioning to the rest of them abt Pek Kio for ages and this was the first time I actually brought them there. Had the wonderful Soon Kee Wan Tan Mee before proceeding to the actual reason behind us meeting, which was to choose flowers for our dear friend's wedding. After that, it was onwards to Chomp Chomp and Ice3 for dinner and dessert.

Sunday started with breakfast with close friends and a surprise call to accompany my friend to purchase a car. He made the plunge and the newly commissioned CPT in the SCDF is the proud owner of a silver Hyundai Getz. Very happy for him.

Super busy weekend with little time for myself! Still catching up on the Economist for the week and have borrowed the latest version of "Random walk down Wall Street". Will take that to Cambodia to read. The week was rounded off with Blackburn triumphing over Arsenal to lift themselves to 5th in the Premier League. Honestly, I would be happy for a top 10 finish. Well done to Mark Hughes and his team of combatants.

Next week, will be entertaining the Bazaz!

Awaiting the F1 season

Was at Borders over the weekend and I spotted a book by Murray Walker, the grand guru of Formula 1 racing. Somehow, the face of Murray Walker brought back all the memories of watching Formula 1 on ITV every alternate Sundays from March to November. I used to curse the Formula 1 qualifying rounds as CD:TV would be shortened to about half an hour. Stuck in my cold room and tele, Formula 1 racing was really one of the weekly habits on top of watching all the other shows.

The voice of Murray Walker shouting "Go, go, go!" when the green lights are turned on was really one of the main reasons of watching F1 on ITV. Was particularly interested in watching the engineering aspect of racing (coming from UCL where some of our more famous alumnis have gone on to become engineers in F1) Those days, Mika Hakkinen were ruling the circuit with Schumacher just finding his mark in Ferrari. Those were also the days when the tour was still limited to the same few cities before circuits in KL, Bahrain, Shanghai, Turkey burst into the scene.

When Murray Walker finall retired in 2002, he was given a momentus farewell after being in the industry for more than 30 years. His voice was sadly missed and somehow I felt that the excitment of the race were not there anymore. Those Sunday afternoons when grocery shopping had to wait till F1 was over were sadly missed. Had a torrid time in the US when I had to wake up at 8 am to catch the races in Europe and even more disappointed when I came back to Singapore. Somehow, no one can replace good old Murray.

So the time has come

Well, we have been preparing for it since Sept last year and it finally happened! The COS season was meant to be the super peak season of work but somehow the process seems less painless than I ever imagined. The "cuts" came in only on Tuesday and somehow due to our preparedness, we were able to churn out the replies quite fast. The process was also well-executed and thus there were very little delay. There were late nights but it was enjoyable with the company and we try to contribute to other portfolios as well. The good news only came late on Friday evening when all the replies were cleared by Minister. The next week will be busy tidying up the speech before the actual speech the following week. Good grief the season is over!

Take Me Out!

Went with a ex-army friend to watch the rocking Scottish band, Franz Ferdinard. Had dinner at No Signboard before adjourning to the Indoor Stadium to enjoy the music. It was a great concert and the band was of great entertainment value (even though we hardly understood the Scottish accent). Some of their great songs such as Take Me Out, The Darkness of Matinee, Do you want to and Walk away. The band even invited the crowd to their hotel for a party after the concert. Dun think the hotel management would be pleased. Was rather disappointed that there was totally no encore after the concert but overall it was a well spent 70 bucks!

I attached my favourite Franz Ferdinard song "Walk Away" lyrics:

I swapped my innocence for pride
Crushed the end within my stride
Said I'm strong now I know that I'm a leaver
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
Mascara bleeds a black in tear, oh
And I am cold, yes, I'm cold
But not as cold as you are
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
I love the sound of you walking away, walking away, hey hey

Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?

Why don't you walk away?
No buildings will fall down
Don't you walk away
No quake will split the ground
Won't you walk away
The sun won't swallow the sky
Won't you walk away?
Statues will not cry

Don't you walk away
Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?
Why don't you walk away?
Hey

I cannot turn to see those eyes
As apologies may rise
I must be strong and stay an unbeliever
And love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
Mascara bleeds into my eye, oh
And I'm not cold, I am old
At least as old as you are

And as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away

Oh, as you walk away
My headstone crumbles down
As you walk away
The Hollywood winds will howl
As you walk away
The Kremlin's falling
As you walk away
Radio Four is static

As you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Oh, as you walk away
Hey

The stab of stiletto
On a silent night
Stalin smiles and Hitler laughs
Churchill claps Mao Tse Tung on the back

The Day I got my first PQ

Well, Wednesday, 15th of Feb was the day I got my first PQ. For those who knows what a PQ is, I am sure you will understand the agony! Well, at least my end of the work is done, so just wait for the bomb to explode!

PS: Will prob receive about 20 "PQ"s by next Wed. Wish me luck!

Superbowl XL

Took leave on Monday morning to catch the annual Superbowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks in my home state of Michigan. The first Superbowl at downtown Detroit in Ford Field was on a blistering cold night but luckily the stadium was indoor. The game was not really that exciting and the controversial calls by the officials did not make it any more exciting. In my opinion, the Seahawks were robbed of a touchdown in the 1st quarter but had that disallowed due to a pass interference foul. The first Steelers touchdown was also a mistake as Roethelisburger did not really cross the line before his knees touched the ground.

The second half was much more exciting with the Pittsburgh jazzing the crowd with a 75 yard touchdown run. They did a sensational trick play with a running back throwing the ball for the next touchdown. The Seahawks fought back but could not overturn the deficit. The Steelers came out winners 21-10 and making them an elite league that had won 5 Superbowls. The others were the 49ers and Cowboys.

Good work for the Steelers and sad to say, we will have to wait till August for football again. The football season ended quite miserable for me especially with the Wolverines losing in the Alamo Bowl. Hopefully they can re-group and re-capture the Big Ten Championship and qualify for the Rose Bowl!

Catching up with old times

Was nice to meet up with some ex-colleagues yesterday at Bishan. Been quite some time since 3 out of 4 of us left my previous organisation and it was good to hear what's happening in the organisation and how some of the people are surviving in there. I do miss my previous work environment. Even though I was working as a lowly NSF, I got to know many people and most of them have stayed as friends ever since. The office culture wasn't fantastic but man I do miss the people. The good thing is that one of my friends paid for the dinner and he insisted that we do not pay him back. His deal is that we should meet soon enough so all of us can take turn to pay for dinner. Excellent idea yandao! Next time someone is proposing Furama Hotel..hehe :-)

Violin Maestro

Had the opportunity to watch an excellent violin concert on Tuesday. Was late for it due to work and only managed to catch the second half of the show. Was rather disappointed to have missed the first half but the second half was superb. It was filled with short but impactful pieces. The 2 violinists are talented and young and show plenty of promises. One of them is only 25 years old and had just completed his Masters! How I wish I was more musically inclined and had the chance to learn music when I was younger. Nevertheless, bring on Franz Ferdinard next week!

Great Weekend

Well, it seems weird that I am writing about my previous weekend when it is already Thursday. It was one of the more fruitful weekend that I really enjoyed myself especially on Saturday. Started the day really early by bringing me mum to Ikea. It was personally my first trip there as well and was really amazed by all the stuff they sell. I was looking for a desk and a bookcase to fit into my tiny space in the bedroom. Did not buy my desired items in the end as I wanted to go back home to measure the exact space I have. Well that's one of the disadvantages of staying in a 3-room flat.

Had lunch at this Jap restaurant, Kuriya at Shaw Centre. Was nice but a bit expensive. Anyway, I met a new friend there as well :-) The highlight of the day was hanging out at my colleague's place in the evening. Went to his place in a ulu part of Singapore but it was worth it. We tucked into a nice dinner of KFC and home-made sushi. Spent the evening watching Dogma, a movie banned in Singapore due to its content of taking the mick out of christianity. We remained chatting till nearly 3am before we started to leave.

PS: Btw, my colleague had to stand by living room the next day for his wife. Poor guy :-(

Blackburn has done it!

Well is Man U on a decline or what! Blackburn Rovers, the team I supported for the past 12 years have beaten them home and away for the first time in 75 years. A win in Old Trafford early in the season have cemented Blackburn's position as a tough team to beat in the Premier League. A win in Ewood Park last Wednesday was the last coffin in the nail to prove that Man U is no longer the force to be reckoned with.

A Ferdinard's mess-up was the gravest mistake for young David Bentley to become the first player to score a hat-trick against Man U since 1992. Blackburn has been known as the "bad-boy" team with players such as Dickov, Bellamy, Tugay, Neill and of course Savage. Teamed up with speedy players such as Pederson and Bentley, Blackburn would do well to push for a European place this season. Mark Hughes have brought in his team and has done well for his first Premier League job.

For all Blackburn fans (not too many left), keep on supporting the team.