STUCK!

STUCK!!! Smily is denied a place in the university. Though his result is just average, he will appeal and hope for the best. On this auspicious day, I pray for his success.



I went with Margaret to Marina Square to buy New Moon chicken essence at Guardian. It came with a kilo of rice free. We passed by Jia Xiang Restaurant and had Kuching 'kolo mee' there. They claim that their noodles and ingredients are air-flown from Sarawak. Considering that, to pay $5.90 per bowl is reasonable. Actually, the noodle reminded me of my Primary school recess time. Fyn joined us in the late afternoon and we proceeded to Chinatown with the intent to visit the new Buddhist temple. To our surprise, the queue to enter the temple was loooooong. Upon giving up, we had dinner around there and returned home to enjoy my latest craze, Chinese Tea Session.

Kuching 'kolo mee'

My tea set

Happy Vesak Day, Serene homecoming

3 hours to Vesak Day. Wishing all Buddhists a Happy Vesak Day. May you be blessed with good luck and good health too.



Surprise, surprise, surprise! My childhood friend, Serene Yip, who had migrated to Melbourne is back in Singapore. She called me yesterday to announce her arrival.
It's been a year since she last visited here. Understand her dad had just been discharged from hospital.
In fact she had helped me to buy 6 tubes of Metsal analgesic gel. It is cheaper there. Her mum and mother-in-law saw her packing and enquired about the gel. She gave them a tube each. Of course, my mum and my mother-in-law will have a tube too. Trust the gel to relief their arthritis and muscular pain.

Vesak Day is near

Vesak Day is just 3 days away and the buddhist devotees begin their celebrations. It is the holiest day in Buddhism, commemorates the birth, the Enlightenment and the attainment of Nirvana of Buddha.

Mm.... yes! I had removed the skin tags on my neck last week. The doctor told me to try not to go under the Sun. How can???? Got to work mah...... Actually, my neck looks very awful now. A lot of them asked me whether I am having chicken pox. Haha... It takes about 2 to 3 weeks to heal completely. There is no other way except to wait..............

Singapore Food Expo, Malay Wedding

Food, food, food! The annual Singapore Food Expo is here again. It's 'people moutain people sea' (in chinese please) there. As usual, me, Margaret and Fyn went for the food sampling.
At the Pokka booth, they were promoting their new Pomegranate juice drink. Understand it will be out in the market in July. We bought 2 packets of Horse brand good grade, japanese mushroom at a 15% discount and Bee Cheng Hiang BBQ slice pork @ $18.90 per 600 gm.
Margaret went for the Katong laksa which was at $1 per (small) bowl. Fyn opt for the Taiwanese quality dessert @ $4 per cup. Born a typical teochew, a bowl of traditional yam paste from Teochew City Seafood Restauarant made me a happy man. Beside those, we had cod fish otah and many others.

Malay Wedding @ my block void deck
Congralutions!!! It's Faizal and Nenny's big day. Sad that they are my neighbours, I do not know them. The signboard announcing their marriage is unique and eye-catching. They are protrayed as superstars. Yo, it rockz!!!

It is one of the most beautiful decorations I come across for a malay wedding. So grand and the rich culture remains.

Music speaks

The music in me is inborn. I learned to play the guitar when I was in Primary 4. That Congress guitar belonged to my eldest brother, Thomas, who played in a chinese band. Years later, I was influenced by Francis into heavy metal.
In 1975, I was introduced to Peter Lim who taught me classical guitar. My proudest moment came when I mastered the guitar plucking for Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. It was in that year that I developed complete feelings for music. My guitar spoke for me and I wrote the song Broken Man. Together with Peter, Dong and Patricia, we participated in the 1st Singapore Song Writing Competition organised by Yamaha but didn't go far.
I brought my music to the Poly campus and army camp too. The big joke came in 1980 when I was made a drummer for my platoon band in my battalion anniversary. I dropped the stick when I rolled the drums during rehearsal. LOL. Luckily, everything ended well.
To date, I have 2 guitars at home. One belongs to Fyn. Both Smily and Fyn are drummers too.
Guess they have my gene.
P.S. Peter Lim migrated to Tasmania in the early 90s and passed away in 2002.

What's the buzz.....21 May 2007

Smoking in restaurant is prohibited in Singapore. But the government allows a smoking section in the coffee-shop. I was sitting behind the smoking section at the coffee-shop watching the FA Cup the other night. I was so irritated by the smoke ( created by the smokers ) drifting towards my direction for the whole match. I totally agree with the poster and support a smoking ban, failing which the relevant authority.......... silly.
It's another one-two!!! This time is not about football but the SIA Cup. Shadow Gate rocks!!! What's more, Cosmo Bulk came in second. These two Japanese horses dominate this year race. My favourite South Africa Oracle West failed badly. Well, there's alway's a next year...........

FA Cup and SIA Cup

Basic football won the FA Cup 2007 for Chelsea last night. A neat one-two between Lampard and Drogba and the striker's brillant touch got the Man U goalkeeper beaten.
I joined the crowd at my neighborhood kopitiam. The fans from both teams created the atmosphere (that includes those cigarette smoke). In fact, most of them were Man U fans and they went home disappointed.



Defending champion, Cosmo Bulk


Oracle West, from South Africa, is my favorite to win the SIA Cup this year. Me, Margaret and Fyn enjoy watching the race (telcast live on TV) annually since year 2000. We were very proud when Ouzo, a locally trained horse , won the race that year.
Each one of us would pick a horse and support it till the race is over. In between the race, we would scream ourselves coarse. Imagine the excitement. SHIOK!!!! Can't wait for the race to start @ 8.20 tonight......

My clothes shrink!

I have not been eating chocolate for a long time, yet my tummy is growing. It's not only chocolate but carbohydrates. Of late, I am cutting down my carbo intake and have lost about 2 kg. Sadly, most of my shirts, t-shirts and polo shirts which I bought last year shrink.
Sale, sale, sale! Every shopping centre is on sale. Hopefully, I am able to find clothes that fit my shoulder and tummy as well. Hey, darling relatives of Peizhi! Tuck in man! Go Sports @ OG Orchard Point.

Chit chat 16 May 2007

Blake Lewis was disappointing last week. Such a weak performance that if he don't live up to expectation this week, he is hitting the final nail on himself.
Hey, guess what? I am addicted to the programme Deal or No Deal. It's not only about money but those sexy ladies holding the suitcases.....lol.......just a joke. The show wanna starts soon..... adios..........

Dinner @ Din Tai Fung

A mother's day dinner treat for Margaret at Din Tai Fung Restaurant ( Paragon Shopping Centre). Celebrated with our children and Smily's girlfriend, Sheryl. We enjoyed the Xiao Long Pao, Prawn Dumplings and the noodles that come with various variations like pork chop, mince meat, etc.
We didn't celebrate with my mum and mother-in-law as they are engaged. Hope they enjoyed their outings as much as we did. Once again, Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all mothers: Happy Mother's Day

Double Happiness for Chia

I had dinner with CY Chia, Leslie Lee and Song at Kim Keat last night. It's been a few months since the last time we gathered. Btw, they were the former frontline staff of the St Francis Convent project. There's a double happiness for Chia. He is getting married at the end of this month and will be going over to Capitaland as a Project Manager next month. Cheers! ( Chia, thanks for the dinner)

What's the buzz....9 May 2007

Margaret and her colleagues are enjoying their swimming lessons. Understand they are learning fast too. Maybe I need to join them to swim once a week. Suckz..... got to tell myself, I must not be lazy (X 100times)

Hey, this guy rocks! Simply love his originality. He can make those songs come alive. Wonder what his performance will be tonight.... Rap man rap!!!

Newspaper

Took this picture this morning while on my way to work. I didn't believe my eyes. In the year 2007 AD, you can still see someone carrying newspaper by shafting in between the pants and buttocks. Maybe that's a convenient and lazy way of bringing it around. What an awful sight!!!

Football, football, football

The Premiership trophy is back at Old Trafford. Congratulations to all Manchester United fans (my wife is one of them lah).












And not forgetting Smily's favourite football club, Liverpool. Congratulations to all its fans too, on making it to the UEFA Champion League grand final. Hey, HHG ultimate survivor! You must be laughing all days in your office. Haha....

Punctuation

Exercise consistently

I find the above, very cute and meaningful. Thank God, I gave up smoking 3 years ago. The setback I have is putting on weight. The only way to manage it is through healthy diet and exercise. It's easier said than done. I had a chat with Francis Ng (my 3rd brother) a few days ago and he enlightened me with this, I quote "it's not a matter of how much you exercise but consistency" Right on man!