Spa Retreat!

Took the opportunity of a public holiday to enjoy a spa retreat! Before the retreat, we went to watch the movie "Enchanted" and it was really good. A mix of humour and good special effects had us roaring with laugher....

Now more abt the spa retreat. The spa is situated in Cathay (you can guess roughly which one issit) and it had a spa pool (read jacuzzi). We spent half an hour in the jacuzzi and it was heavenly. The pool was big and they even had Ribena for us next to the tub. The jacuzzi was followed by an hour massage and I must say that this is one of the best massage I ever gotten before. I am usually not a person that likes massage cos of the pressure on my muscles. However, I enjoyed this a lot cos there was a lot of loosening up of your joints, etc. Really worth it!

A well-planned holiday! Can't wait for the Christmas break coming up!

3 years of agony

Have been pondering for some time but decided to do it after much thought. Yes, I am talking about putting on dental braces. People have been asking me why do I want to do something that are usually done by teenagers but I did not have the opportunity to do it when I was younger.

It's a long process and there is an operation coming up in 1.5 years time. Am worried about the length of time and the operation but I decided that I should do something soon before my teeth gets wore out.

Thanks for all the encouragement people have been giving me. It feels like you have been hit by a baseball bat after the first few days of putting on the braces but I am fine now. Slowly eating back normal food again.

3 years and counting.....

Nation Serving

Will be away for reservist for the next 3 weeks....time to put on my greens again to serve the nation. Hopefully a good break from work!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Took the chance to catch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang last night on their world tour. First caught it in 2005 when I had a free afternoon in London. I remembered wondering around Oxford Street and initially wanted to walk to Haymarket to catch Phamton but was too lazyy and chanced upon the Palladium at Oxford Street. Was intrigued by the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and thus decided to watch it. The interesting part was that I managed to get the best seats in the house for the cheapest guy due to the friendly guy at the counter. In addition, the lead was played by Brian Conley, a famous British comedian and he was excellent. Enjoyed myself thoroughly.

2.5 years later, the same musical came to Singapore and I had no hesistation to watch it again. It was Gala night yesterday but there was nothing fantastic or extraordinary. The musical was fantastic and the songs were very "sing-able". Especially love the comedian act from the Vulgarians. There was this scene where they said whether they could be English and still vulgar and the answer was that that would be American.

For fans of musicals, go catch it before the end of the run in December. Definitely worth your money!

Bridal Show

Attended my first bridal show at Traders' Hotel last Saturday. Was a pretty last minute thing but thought it might be interesting to go take a look. The show included a fashion show from one of the wedding gown providers but the highlight was the food. It was essentially like high tea that includes things such as sharks' fin soup, lobster bisque, interesting salads, sushi, steamed groupa, roast chicken, duck, etc, etc. The dessert menu was also superb that included nonya kuehs, mango pudding, cakes, rice ball dumplings, etc.

And the bonus was that it cost $11 per person. Definitely worth the value. The search continues for more shows! :-)

Who is this?

Apologies for the long long hiatus. Got back from Japan on the 10th of Oct but it has been a whirlwind 2 weeks. Have done up my photos for my Japan trip. For those interested, you can take a visit at http://cheewing.multiply.com/photos/album/18/Japan_2007_

Will attempt to tell more stories about the trip but the trip was really great. A lot of good food (I think you would have guessed from the pictures taken) and great scenary.

At Asakusa, we chanced upon some celebrities as there were a whole load of people following them. Not sure who they are but took some pictures for others to identify....any clues?

Japan here I come!

Will be away to Japan on holidays for 11 days starting this saturday. Sianz...a 6 am flight but looking forward to it very much....really need a good break.

More updates when I return!

JBJ

Ever heard about the play "The campaign to confer the public star on JBJ" The play first played last year and was at first curious but the title. The play returned this year and I managed to catch it on Tuesday. I must say the first part of the play is smart. JBJ, as everyone knows, is a opposition leader in Singapore and thus his name is tabooed and worse, who would have thought of conferring him a Singapore award?

Thus, to create the sense of curiosity, a fictional JBJ was created as the Secretary General of WP, Wildlife Preservation. Smart play with a lot of interesting reference to everyday's issue like PM wearing a maroon shirt at the National Day Rally, etc, etc. The second act also takes a poke at the civil service....rather amused by it.

The main plus of the play is that it is only performed by 2 person. In the first act, the guy is the main character with the female lead (Pam Oei) taking on multiple roles. The roles are reverse in the second act.

Simply fabalous...go watch it before the end of the run!

No more earthquakes pls

For most people, the earthquakes over the past week or so had been rather terrifying due to the tremors experienced in certain parts of Singapore. For me, I experienced some form of swaying in my office as I am situated on the 24th floor. Last thursday morning, I could feel the tremor as I was in the bathroom and I could feel the water in the pail moving.

However, for me, that is another added dimension due to the earthquakes. For a matter of fact, I oversee the met service in Singapore and thus was called upon to update people on top regarding the earthquakes. Two weeks and 2 precabs later, I am definitely a more hardened person in dealing with such emergencies.

No more earthquakes pls!

27

I turned 27 on Sunday...low keyed event. Another new year to look forward to.

Six Affairs

Just thought that this is damn funny...

Six Affairs

The 1st Affair:

A married man was having an affair with his secretary. One day they went her place and made love all afternoon. Exhausted, they fell asleep and woke up at 8 PM. The man hurriedly dressed and told his lover to take his shoes outside and rub them in the grass and dirt. He put on his shoes and drove home. 'Where have you been?' his wife demanded. 'I can't lie to you,' he replied, 'I'm having an affair with my secretary. We had sex all afternoon.' 'You lying bastard! You've been playing golf!'

The 2nd Affair:

A middle-aged couple had two beautiful daughters but always talked about having a son. They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted. The wife got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy. The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son. He was horrified at the ugliest child he had ever seen. He told his wife, 'There's no way I can be the father of this baby. Look at the two beautiful daughters I fathered! Have you been fooling around behind my back?' The wife smiled sweetly and replied, 'Not this time!'

The 3rd Affair:

A mortician was working late one night. He examined the body of Mr. Schwartz, about to be cremated, and made a startling discovery. Schwartz had the largest private part he had ever seen! 'I'm sorry Mr. Schwartz,' the mortician commented, 'I can't allow you to be cremated with such an impressive private part. It must be saved for posterity.' So, he removed it, stuffed it into his briefcase, and took it home. 'I have to show you something you won't believe,' he said to his wife, opening his briefcase. 'My God!' the wife exclaimed, 'Schwartz is dead?!?!'

The 4th Affair:

A woman was in bed with her lover when she heard her husband opening the front door. 'Hurry,' she said, 'stand in the corner.' She rubbed baby oil all over him, then dusted him with talcum powder. 'Don't move until I tell you,' she said. 'Pretend you're a statue.' 'What's this?' the husband inquired as he entered the room. 'Oh it's a statue.' she replied. 'The Smith's bought one and I liked it so much I got one for us, too.' No more was said, not even when they went to bed. Around 2 AM the husband got up, went to the kitchen and returned with a sandwich and a beer. 'Here,' he said to the statue, 'have this. I stood like that for two days at the Smith's and nobody offered me a damned thing.'

The 5th Affair:

A man walked into a cafe, went to the bar and ordered a beer. 'Certainly, Sir, that'll be one cent.' 'One Cent?' the man thought. He glanced at the menu and asked, 'How much for a nice juicy steak and a bottle of wine?' 'A nickel,' the barman replied. 'A nickel?' exclaimed the man 'Where's the guy who owns this place?' The bartender replied, 'Upstairs, with my wife.' The man asked, 'What's he doing upstairs with your wife?' The bartender replied, 'The same thing I'm doing to his business down here.'

The 6th Affair:

Jake was dying. His wife sat at the bedside. He looked up and said weakly, 'I have something I must confess.' 'There's no need to,' his wife replied. 'No,' he insisted, 'I want to die in peace. I slept with your sister, your best friend, her best friend, and your mother!' 'I know, I know,' she replied. 'Now just rest and let the poison work.'

Where's my wallet?

Had a terrifying experience losing my wallet on the 8th of September. Was at Liat Towers banking in a cheque and the next minute it was gone. Thoughts of the processes involved in getting replacement for all those important documents floated in my mind. I immediately cancelled my credit cards as those were potentially the most vital things. Then contacted staff at Liat Towers to help me looked out for my wallet. In the end, the search was in vain, had to make a police report to report the loss of my IC, etc.

Sunday morning, I received a phone call very early in the morning. It was from Citibank and they said that SOMEONE ACTUALLY FOUND MY WALLET! Actually spoke to the kind lady who found the wallet at Liat Towers. I must have left it there while I was banking in my cheque. Felt so relieved and thankful for that person!

I must remind myself to be more careful in the future and be thankful for the fortunate event.

Appalachian State???

I hope I got the spelling correct..appalachian state. You must be wondering what the hell I am talking about but for people who studied in Michigan, this name will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Last saturday, our beloved wolverines was beaten by Appalachian State, a second rung football team from North Carolina. The pain was worse considering that the loss was at the Big House.

What happened to the all conquering Michigan team that so nearly went to the BCS Championship game? Was looking forward to this season as the schedule have been favourable. We will be playing Notre Dame and Ohio State at home with the tricky tie probably only at Michigan State. Alas all our dreams are shattered with the loss.

Anyhow, let see how the season pans out considering that this is only the 1st game of the season.

Go Blues!

Tiring Weekend

Had a tiring but rewarding weekend. Went to IKEA on saturday to get a new wardrobe. The toughest part was actually lugging it into the car. We had to convert the v-com seat to a bed and manage to slide in across the car's length. Not that easy considering that the wardrobe weighs 40kg. Was actually quite surprised that the assembly was rather simple. Took us 1.5 hours to assemble and was actually quite proud of our achievement. Unfortunately, the wardrobe is not mine. :-)

Sunday was equally tiring as my whole family decided to wax and polish the car. My arms are aching from removing all the old scratch marks and now the cars appeared brand new.

Productive weekend and hopefully a productive week ahead!

Drowned with Sashimi

Other than visiting Grand Copthorne, I also took the opportunity to visit Ikoi, a Japanese restaurant at Miramar Hotel. I heard many rave reviews about this place from many friends and have been wanting to go there for ages but somehow, they are always fully booked. Managed to get a seat at the bar counter for dinner and was gladly surprised by their selection.

First stop, sashimi. They served many different varieties of sashimi, salmon, tuna, yellowtail, cuttlefish, octopus, snapper and swordfish. We had a grand total of 3 plates of raw fish and it was heavenly. Next stop was tempura, katsu, tori karaage, chawanmushi, seafood soup, miso soup, etc, etc.

The quality of the food was excellent and totally no complains. Oh, I forgot it's a buffet and the price is pretty reasonable at $30+++/pax.

Fireworks Galore

Every year, other than the National Day Parade and New Year's Eve, the yearly Fireworks Festival is something to look forward to for fireworks lovers. Enjoyed last year's event but the thought of squeezing with millions of people is simply not enticing.

This year, I watched the fireworks on the 17th of August from Tampines. Even though we were so far, we could still see most of the fireworks. Quite spectacular I must say. On Saturday, we decided to go to Grand Copthorne at Havelock. Was actually quite surprised by the view that we got and except for a few construction sites, our view were perfect.

A perfect place for a romantic evening. If anyone is interested, Room 1816 at Grand Copthorne Waterfront is definitely worth a visit when there are fireworks!

Garibaldi

Went to spend a "romantic" evening at Garibaldi, an Italian restaurant at Purvis Street. I had heard about this restaurant for some time and heard that they were very snobbish and the food was only so-so.

So I braved myself and we reserved a table last Tuesday. We probably arrived early compared to others as the restaurant was pretty empty. We started with the bread and it was heavenly (later we found out that the bread costs $7 for half a loaf). It was our first time there so we requested for the antipesti palate. It was very good with all the variety. The soup that we ordered, pumpkin soup with crab was heavenly. The soup was sweet with the crab meat and with the bread....

The main course was not that fantastic. I had the linguine with crab. I thought it tasted pretty ordinary for the price. The finale was the dessert, simple tiramisu but made to perfection. Well worth the price.

Overall, the experience was good. The service was very good as well. However, not a place for the price sensitive (yup, that includes me :-(). Maybe for the next special occasion!

Vittorio

Listened to a fantastic album by Vittorio Grigolo, an italian singer. His voice is fantastic and very soothing. Reading about him at Wikipedia and found that he is the only person in Italy to be given the chance to skip military service so that he could concentrate on his career. Wow!

One of my favourite songs of the album is Bedshaped, a song previously sung by Keane. I liked both versions a lot and the tune of the song is always ringing in my head. Another song is "You Are my Miracle", a duet with one of the members of the Pussycat Dolls. The lyrics are really meaningful.

Let me know if anyone is interested in the album!

Joke of the Day

My colleague sent this to me and I found it hilarious. Enjoy!

11 AM

There was this case in the hospital's Intensive care ward where patients always died in the same bed and on Sunday morning at 11a.m., regardless of their medical condition.

This puzzled the doctors and some even thought that it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths took place at 11 AM.

So a world-wide expert team was constituted and they decided to go down to the ward to investigate the cause of the incidents.

So on the next Sunday morning few minutes before 11 a.m., all doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books and other holy objects to ward off evil........

Just when the clock struck 11...

Santa Singh, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system & plugged in the vacuum cleaner.

The Simpsons!

For anyone who is not a Simpson's fan, go watch the movie! I would say that the Simpsons is one of my favourite shows on tele (Seinfeld counts as my other strong favourites for sitcoms) simply because it is so simple. The show basically touches on common issues with a very humourous touch. Started watching it probably in secondary school but at that time could not really understand most of the jokes but as I got older, I realise that the issues they talk about are very real and honestly funny if you look at it from their perspective.

Saw the trailer for the movie probably 1 year ago, when they did a spoof on the Superman movie where Homer is actually superman. I think the movie came at a right time as people have been waiting for it for the past 18 years. The storyline was also apt as it covers environmental issues and made a few spoofs as well to jazz up the movie.

All the favourites were included in the movie with some exceptions such as Side-Show Bob, etc. Some of the scenes that sent me laughing were:
1) Chief Wiggum's son screaming out the Fox's theme music
2) Homer complaining of paying to watch something which can be watched free on tele
3) Homer praying that Flanders is gay
4) Of cos, spider pig and Harry Plopper
5) Cocoa done up by Flanders
6) Homer being toss between the rock and a hard place

Ok, I think that's all the summer blockbusters for now. The next big movie I want to watch is Ratouille! :-)

Bored!

This upcoming week will be boring! Work is killing me but somehow this is also the time that I am most lonely. Anyone keen to catch up for this week, do jio me? :-)

Gastric Flu

Been struck with gastric flu for the past week or so.....been a horrible feeling but still trying to pin down the source of it as quite a few of my loved ones are also affected.

Just hope to recover fast!

Harry Potter Mania

Yes, every 2 years, Potter mania begins when a new book is published. The journey is finally coming to an end when the 7th book is published on 21st of July. Have been a Harry Potter fan since 2000 when my senior brought the first book to our ski trip in France. After arriving back from London, I immediately ordered all 4 books available at that time and read them all within 1 week.

Somehow, potter mania can convert many non-fantasy fans to instant Harry Potter's fanatics. The movies have also helped to crystallize some of the thoughts many people would have on the plot and characters. Just watched the 5th movie and I must say I am impressed. My impression of Book 5 is that it is long and draggy but somehow the movie has managed to capture the main essence of the book. Kudos to all the actors/actresses as well for bringing out such a good movie.

Now the wait will be over in slightly a week's time when the final instalment of the book is released. I can't wait! :-)

Relaxing Weekend

Finally, a weekend away for a relaxing break. Nothing fancy, just a weekend away at Sentosa. We stayed at Rasa Sentosa resort for saturday. Reached the resort at about 7pm as I had to meet some friends earlier and our Die Hard 4.0 movie. Ta baoed KFC as well. :-)

The disappointment started when we arrived at the hotel. The hotel did not had our reservations and we nearly ended up without a room. When we got to the room, the room was a big disappointment. Very basic and simple and the television is even smaller than 21". The toilet did not have a shower screen and did not even have a holder to hold the shower head. Considering the price we paid, it was definitely not worth it!

However, the trip was more to recharge ourselves since it has been more than a month since my exams. Am super tempted by the Bintan Lagoon discount...maybe in end August :-)

Movies Finally

It's been a month after my exams and finally can start to watch movies again. Here is the list of movies I have watched since the end of my exams on 3rd of June.
1) Shrek 3
2) Pirates of Carribean: At World's End
3) Transformers
4) Die Hard 4.0

I must say this summer is really fantastic for movies as there are so many blockbusters coming up. The next 2 of my list are Harry Potter and The Simpsons.

Somehow, we have been revisiting Golden Village more often compared to Cathay. :-)

One year ago, when I retired my old 6610 and bought a new phone, I was over the moon with the new purchase. Alas, the phone (a Nokia 6280) did not live up to expectations. In my short 1 year stint with it, it has broken down twice and made me spend countless hours waiting at the Nokia Service Centre. The latest problem was that the speaker was not working. For the past 1 or 2 months, I have been fiddling with my handsfree set or talking on the loudspeaker.

Last saturday, I finally got my new phone. Something new for a change and a Sony Ericsson K810 to play with. The functions are cool with its 3.2 megapixel camera with all the frills of a normal digital camera. To top it all off, it looks damn good as well. :-). Still trying to get a hang of using it for messaging and trying to manoevure my fat fingers around the keys but I am certainly very excited!

I am addicted

Yes, my friends, I am officially addicted to Zara shirts. Was out shopping on Tuesday and I think I tried a grand total of about 10 shirts. I am actually already a proud owner of 2 zara shirts and am glad to add another one on Tuesday.

The shirts are pretty pricey at 90 bucks a piece but I must say the quality is pretty good and the design are smart and current. Am keen to try Massimo Dutti and Charles Tywritt as well....now I am having an oversupply of shirts :-) Not that I am complaining.

It's Over

Yup, the agony is finally over. Six gruelling hours of exams is finally behind and it's definitely a weight off my chest. The exam was ok, I thought I tried my best so I have no regrets. Saw quite a few friends at the examination hall as well.

Now the exams is finally over, there is so much to look forward to. Finally a break from studying every weekend! :-)

Final Lap

6 months ago, I was busy preparing for my CFA level 1 exam. 6 months on, never would I expect to go through this torture again. Yes, the adventure has not stopped and the worse thing is this time the stuff are much more tougher and there are so many things to read and remember.

I have been studying non-stop for the past 1 year. Really can't wait for this exam to be over and hopefully take a 6 months break before embarking on another adventure.

One more week to go and I will be free. :-) Wish me luck! I need plenty of it.

PS: Apologies to everyone for not updating this hogwash for so long. :p

43 days...

We had started a new streak after our 22 days and 12 days streak and it started on the 30th of March and ended on the 11th of May. A total of 43 days!

It was unfortunate that we had to end the streak but I guess it's for the best!

:-)

May Day

Haiz...May Day has come and gone...have to wait for the end of the month for the next public holiday.

Anyway, it was still good break from work but unfortunately most of the day was spent studying. Am in panic mood already since it's one month and one day more to go before the exam day. I am still pretty lost by a lot of the concepts and definitely need to work harder. Thus I have already decided to take 1 week leave in 2 weeks' time to concentrate full time on it. Wish me Luck!

Anyway, May Day was good in general and I manage to get a massage as well. Not really very friendly but overall it was good. I have too much chronic pains and thus it was a good relief. :-)

Dinner was spent at Katong eating Ampang Yong tau foo...simple pleasure in life.

Invincible!

My colleague passed me this movie "Invincible", an inspirational movie about how one overcame the toughest odd to succeed. Somehow this movie did not make it to Singapore probably due to Singaporean's unfamiliarity with the sport even with Mark Wahlberg as the lead actor.

The sport concerned is American football and the story begins with a bartender, Vincent Papale who had always dreamed of playing for his beloved Philadephia Eagles. In America, in order to play professional sports, you have to go through the ranks i.e. to go through college, play for your college and get selected by the professional teams. However Papale never did that.

The Eagles were a faltering team in the 70s and it was only when new coach Dick Vermeer came in and he decided to hold a trial for anyone to try out for his team. Papale impressed and was selected for the team. As a member of the special team, he was famous for intercepting a punt and scoring a touchdown playing against the Giants.

The movie highlighted that nothing is impossible in this world! For those who are interested in the movie, do get it from me. :-)

I still have another American football movie to watch and it's also another inspirational one starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox called We are Marshall!

Busy, Busy

It's been a busy April thus far. Work has been increasingly like crazy and now my portfolio is left only me and another colleague. It gets me thinking whether it is sustainable working in this line for long. I know friends working in various sectors and most of them are having problems coping with work stress as well.

Somehow, the pace in Singapore is always to cheong and get as far ahead as possible in terms of career and make as much money as possible. For me, coming from my background, money is definitely important but I guess I have a new priority in life. To be able to balance one's career and personal life is never easy and definitely one has to take sacrifices to reach a balance point.

Not sure why I am grunting about this when in fact the civil service is raising our pay. Let's just say I am quite satisfied with my current state and I have no complains. The key question will come when my bond ends in 3 years time and that's when I need to make the crunch decision.

Alright enough grumbling for now! Any comments are welcome.

Bangkok!

Had a wonderful weekend at Bangkok last week. The 2 photos should be enough to describe my trip. :-)We spent the 2 days at Banyan Tree and am I impressed. Actually after their hotel experience, I can't wait to spend it in their resort either in Phuket or Bintan.

Did quite a bit of shopping as well, including going to Pinky Tailor to make some shirts. Am fully stock now with 5 new shirts and 2 pants! :-)

Ah....now awaiting my next holiday....

PS: More photos available upon request. :-)

Gotcha! Part 2

Gotcha once again! Just to clarify that I did not go to the Falklands recently :-)

At least the hard work is paying off.

Cat out of the Bag!

Another cryptic message here...

Music & Lyrics

Managed to catch the Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore's movie over the weekend. I must say the storyline really suck big time. Very poorly stringed together and somehow it felt that the writers had lots of great ideas and were forcefeeding it into the movie.

However, there are lots of pluses on the movie as well. Firstly the acting were genuine and sincere. Not going did Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore stand out, Brad Garrett (more popularly known as Raymond's brother on Everybody Loves Raymond) and Kirsten Johnson (the tall chick from 3rd Rock from the Sun - and man she has really put on weight) were outstanding.

The bonus of this movie were the songs. I was surprising impressed by Hugh Grant's singing. Most of the songs were very well-written and the songs are really stuck in my head. I reproduced the lyrics of Hugh Grant's Don't Write Me Off Just Yet:

It’s never been easy for me
To find words that go along with a melody
But this time there’s actually something on my mind
So please forgive these few brief awkward lines
Since I met you my whole life has changed
It’s not just my furniture you’ve re-arranged
I was living in the past but somehow you’ve brought me back
And I haven’t felt like this since before Frankie said relax
And now I know based on my track record
I might not seem like the safest bet
All I’m asking you is
Don’t write me off just yet
For years I’ve been telling myself the same old story
That I’m happy to live off my so-called former glories
But you’ve given me a reason to take another chance
Now I need you despite the fact that you’ve killed all my plants
And now I know that i’ve already blown more chances
Than anyone should ever get
All I’m asking you is don’t write me off just yet
Don’t write me off just yet…

Batam!

Apologies for the late posting. I had my yearly divisional retreat at Batam this year (really missed the company of last year and our eating bonaza). Had to wake up super early to catch the ferry and we only managed to reach the resort at 9am so as to maximize our time there.

Did the usual discussion about our workplan and it was a quick one as everyone was raring to go for the leisure section. We started with go-karting straight after the discussion. It was a hot afternoon but I think everyone enjoyed the adrenaline in such high speeds. Probably helped me lost some weight as well. :-)

Lunch was pretty sucky but the massage was really good (Am looking for a better one when I go to Bangkok at the end of the month). And that's marks the end of the retreat. Pretty rush in a sense but it was great getting out of the country!

Time really flies. I am going to mark my 2nd anniversary working soon.

Show time!

Yes, the past 2 weeks had been super hectic preparing for the budget debate but it's finally showtime tomorrow. Our current timing is from 1pm to 4pm. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and can celebrate! For faithful readers, let me know if you want to see the speech I wrote after tomorrow.

Am looking forward to the end of the ordeal.. Batam awaits this Friday :-)

12 Days and counting....

Yes, 12 days on and still counting....let's just hope it will never end!

Update: Correction - The streak has extended to 15 days already :-)

Update 13/03/07: The streak has ended at 22 days!

Aftermath of the Budget

Today marks officially the beginning of the end. A total of 26 "cuts" for this year for our budget debate. A near 100% increase from last year. The next few days will be very painful. I shall not even think about it!

Gotcha!

Been sifting the internet to find this famous headline in 1982 when Britain capture back the Falkland Islands.

Here it is:Need I say more :-)

Crunch Time

Ok, the budget has been announced. Crunch time for the rest of the civil service now. A hectic 4 days of getting questions and another week of busy preparing for replies. The year certainly fly past and soon the end of the road is near!

Onward march!

Happy Friendship Day and...

Happy Friendship Day to everyone. For those who have their special someone, Happy Valentine's Day!

Chinese New Year beckons!

Revival of Chinese Movies

Managed to watch 2 Chinese movies over the past weekends and I must say I am quite impressed. Most of the time, I do not bother going to the theatre to watch Chinese movies as they are shown on tele quite quickly normally after about a year.

Incidentally both movies I caught were in Cathay and starred Louis Koo.

The first was Happy Birthday. A romantic and touching movie about a couple who had an on-and-off relationship over the past 20 years. They became apart during their studies but somehow still manage to maintain a close relationship. The movie ended with a dramatic twist and I guarantee that it would make any girl weep (pls note :-))

The second movie was the Protege. A local production starring international stars such as Andy Lau, Daniel Wu and of course Louis Koo. The story revolves around a drug cartel fronted by Lau and him looking for a protege to look after his business. His protege actually turned out to be a police spy and he was determined to bring to an end the drug trade. Excellent movie overall!

Hmm...what the watch this weekend? Epic Movie anyone? hehe...

Superbowl 41

Took my customary leave on 5th of Feb to watch Superbowl 41. It's been a tradition for me to catch the Superbowl since I was indoctrinated to the sport of American Football during my one year stint in Michigan.

This year, the Superbowl featured the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. The Colts have been the team to beat over the last 5 years. With star quarterback Peyton Manning, Colts have arguably the best QB in the league but each and every year, they have been stopped by the Patriots (the team I support) during the play-offs. Chicago have been a lucky team thus far. Using a rookie quarterback, Rex Grossman, they depended much on their defence to do most of the work.

Had actually watched Grossman play way back in 2002 when he was the starting QB for Florida Gators. Michigan was facing the Gators for the Outback Bowl and we soundly thrashed them. Thus had never been impressed by him and was rather perplexed why Chicago did not field their experience QB, Brian Griese (another wolverine alumni).

The game started explosively with Chicago scoring with the opening kick-off. The Chicago defence dominated the first half and it was only because of Grossman's fumbles and interceptions that led to the Colts picking up points.

Overall, an exciting match and worth the off I took. Now, a long break before the season restarts in Aug/Sept.

Bhangraman Part 2

Part 2 of Bhangraman!

Bhangraman

For those who studied in UK, you probably would have watched this show "Goodness Gracious Me" It is a skit show with 4 Indians basically making fun of how indians trying their darnest best to assimilate to the British culture.

Among my favourite skit is the "everything indian", "cheque pls" and of course Bhangraman!

Enjoy!

Charles and Keith Visit

Decided to post our Charles and Keith's visit photos online. Was quite impressed that they actually finished the showroom on the day of our visit.

Maybe can save for a pair of Pedro shoes soon :-)

Post course Withdrawal Syndrome

Am currently suffering from post-course withdrawal syndrome. It's been three days back at work since my two week course and it has not been easy thus far. All my coursemates have also been suffering from the same syndrome. Work seems to be coming in non-stop :-(

Have to look forward to the weekend and Superbowl on the following Monday. Bears vs. Colts!

Charles and Keith

Part of my course was also to learn more about entrepreneurship and how as civil servants we can provide a conducive environment for such people to flourish. Thus our visit to Charles & Keith, a local women's shoes retailer who has done very well internationally.

We actually manage to meet the brothers Charles and Keith. Both of them were young and already so successful. They told us about their story and it was really a rags to riches story. They started by helping their mum at a shop at AMK in the early 90s (incidentally the shop was near the OCBC bank in AMK). They then decided to develop their own brand and started at Amara. Their business multipled exponentially and thus far they have more than 50 shops all ard the world.

What struck me most is their humility. They told us that they did not do well in school and thus had decided to strike out on their own in the business world. They were very sincere about our visit and in fact they rush to finish their showroom at their new HQ for our course.

Their next step is actually to go into the men's market. That is where the brand PEDRO is from. Too bad we did not get any discounts or loyalty cards from them. We did get both Charles and Keith's namecards, so hopefully that will count for something. :p Anyone want to buy new shoes?

Focus Adventure

Just found some of the photos for the teambuilding adventure that I attended last Monday.

Mousetrap Tower
Group Photo

Next President of United States of America

My friends - meet the future of America's Democratic Party - Barack Hussein Obama. Bornt to a mixed marriage, Mr Obama is sweeping America's off their feet.

Mr Obama is young and charismatic and had just declare his interest for the United States Presidency. He is still an unknown as he had only 2 years in the Senate so far but his support is gaining strength.

Just watch this video to see his declaration speech (watch out for the twist at the end)

Enjoy!

2-week break from work

I must say I am quite fortunate. I am currently on a 2-week course called the "Executive Development Course" It brings together various people from the different government agencies to learn more of civil service as a whole and to understand the key challenges facing it in the future.

First day of the course was fun as it was a team-building day at Sentosa. The activities were facilitated by Focus Adventure and they were very good especially the facilitators. Most of the teams were indoors as it was raining quite heavily. One of the more interesting game is confidence building game through mousetrap. Not many people would know how to set up one and it was really quite a painful experience. We were then supposed to build a tower consisting of the "activated" mousetrap. Our team managed to 12 levels!

The next 4 days were mostly lesson-based with some discussions in between. One more week to go before going back to work!

Really must enjoy this week!

Crazy Week at Work

Have been crazy at work since the new year. Bosses returning after their holidays and decided to add more stuff to do.

It has not help that I am bogged down with so much problems as well.

Anyway, not really concerned anymore. Am on course for the next 2 weeks. Looking forward to that.

End of College Football Season

Yup, it's the end of the College Football season in US. Unfortunately, Michigan did not produce the goods and were soundly beaten by USC by a score of 38-18. It was a disappointing end to such a incredible season. Again 2 losses in the final 2 games for the third year in the row. Next year, quite a few of the class will be graduating. Will have to hope that suitable replacements will be found.

On a similar note, Ohio State Buckeyes were thrashed by the Florida Gators (famous for Gatorade). The professional NFL season is coming up to the exciting part...Superbowl in 4th of Feb. Time to apply for leave.

Botak Jones

Finally went to try the famous Botak Jones over the weekend. Have been hearing so much about it and never had the chance to try it. The good thing is that it is right near my place in AMK. Actually pretty near where my grandmum used to stay at Blk 608 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5. The coffee shop looks pretty ordinary but the fragrance of western food soon overwhelmed you.

I was expecting a long queue and so I went at about 5.30pm. The coffeeshop was already rather crowded and it was not long before the queue started building up. Managed to place our orders before the queue started and we had to wait a staggering 30 to 45 minutes.

For the records, we ordered the botak burgers and the cajun chicken. The burger was rather ordinary and rather tasteless. The cajun chicken was good. Well grilled and tender. The good thing was also the cajun fries and the servings were huge. Thus for about 5 bucks, you get quite a decent serving. May try the other stuff on the menu soon...

PS: Personally there is another western food stall that I like and that is at Crawford Lane (just behind the ICA Building at Lavendar). It's variety are really good and they have some weird serving such as Maryland Chicken, etc. The food is also very cheap. Next to the same western food stall is the famous Hill Street Bak Chor Mee (previously at Marina Square). The queue there is also ridiculous!

Kyushu

Decided not to do a detailed write-up for my Kyushu trip. For detailed breakdown of our trip, you can visit mf's blog: http://gnoofyem.blogspot.com/

I have posted my photos at the following weblink: http://cheewing.multiply.com/photos/album/16?mark_read=cheewing:photos:16

Comments are welcome pls

PS: Yes, I do snore :p