What's the buzz.....30 Oct 2007

Dear oh dear! My childhood friend Serene Yip from Melbourne is back in town, this time with her family. Her mother-in-law passed away last week and had the funeral yesterday. My condolences to her husband Francis Soh and his family.



The 'Hong Hiao' group meeting is on. Yes, tomorrow evening. It's like a time machine that brings you back to the mid 90s whenever we gather. Same old jokes being refreshed and sound like new again. Haha! Though there were crashes during our time working together, somehow we still treasure each other after we've gone seperate ways. That's what make this bunch special. Cheers!!!!!!

Liverpool vs Arsenal 07

Fyn's cousin, Jared, invited us over to his place to watch the match between Liverpool and Arsenal. Like Smily, he is a Liverpool fan. At about 11.45 pm, me, Fyn and Smily marched over to his place, which is a few blocks away from ours. For your info, Fyn is also an Arsenal fan.
Liverpool managed to disrupt the flow of Arsenal play and scored a goal thru a free kick in the 10th minute. Both Jared and Smily celebrated with joy. In fact, Liverpool could have finish Arsenal off with another goal. Luckily, they went on to defend instead and rely on counter attack. The 1st half belonged to Liverpool.
In the 2nd half, Arsenal tried and played better. Me and Fyn were sighing. As usual, Adebayor was having his off day. It was not until the last 15 minutes that Arsene Wenger replaced 3 players, The game came alive and Frebagas scored on the 80th minute. Arsenal hit the pole twice and Liverpool were lucky to escape defeat. Towards the end, Jared felt down and sad.
All in all, it was a fair result. Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal. Manchester United, you are next.....

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath!!!

Black Sabbath at Fort Canning Park


Black Sabbath rocks!!!


The fans unite

Holy shit!!!! Black Sabbath rocks!!!! Sabbath bloody Sabbath!!! Die hard fans in South East Asia unite at Fort Canning Park Singapore for this ultimate concert. There must be at least 10,ooo or more. Though it was meant to be a concert for the middle age like me, I was surprised by the younger crowd of my children's age. There were 'Seow Ang Moh' too. A very good mix.
The band started playing at 8.30 pm, which was about half an hour late. The music was deafening and I could feel my heart pounding with each beat. I joined the crowd head banging with each song. SHIOK! VERY SHIOK! For a while, I lost my soul...... Boy oh boy, this rock concert is real! Vinny Applice did a drum solo and his performance left me breathless. It was a class act. As for Tony Iommi, he is known as the cool guitarist who scale his guitar at breakneck speed. Such a joy to watch...
The setback: Personally, I prefer Ozzy as the vocalist. I would not dispute Dio's vocal is more powerful but Ozzy's voice is Black Sabbath. I didn't enjoy last night performance in total because they were playing songs from the latter years of Black Sabbath. I couldn't climax myself without Warpigs, NIB, Into the void, Paranoid, Ironman, etc.
Anything, whatever....... I wish they could bring Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk Railroad in the coming year.

Vinny Applice
Tony Iommi
The crowd roars!
That's me at the concert

What's the buzz.....25 Oct 2007

My mother

Visited my mum the other day and snapped the above. She was happy with the photograph because she don't look so plump. Well, girls or ladies no matter at what age, do want to look good and beautiful. She is no exception. :)

Okay, I confess that I am a Rock-a-Holic. I bought the ticket for the coming Black Sabbath concert. Mind you, it's $110. The last time I attended a rock concert was about 5 years ago. Yes, that was Uriah Heep live at Fort Canning Park. When I was young, I could only dream of attending their concerts. To date, I have attended the Deep Purple concert too. The organizers should be praised for bringing these groups here, thus fulfilling my dreams. It's never too old to rawk and I can't wait to get a 'kick' come heaven or hell.....

Margaret and I resumed our swimming session last evening after a 2 weeks absence. We missed the pool and enjoyed the swim, off course at our own pace. Gosh, it's always fresh and relax after the swim.

Black Sabbath live in Singapore

Black Sabbath, the epitome of rock heavy metal

Yes, yes, yes! Black Sabbath reunites with Ronnie James Dio live in Singapore at Fort Canning Park on 27th October 2007. Sadly, we gonna miss that crazy rocker Ozzy and hopefully Dio rules on that evening. Dio is a powerful vocalist who is more Rainbow, whereas Ozzy is totally Black Sabbath with style. The other rocking machines are Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Vinny Appice on drums. It's a privilege that Singapore is their only appearance in SE Asia. See me in 'Heaven and Hell' this coming Saturday evening......

Arsene Wenger, Home Sweet Home

Home of Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium

Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal FC

I come to know from the New Paper that it's his 58th Birthday today. Cheers to you, Arsene! He is also known as the 'Professor' for his wisdom. I admire him for his loyalty, patience, ability to identify and cultivate potential youths into superstars. Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas are 2 good examples. Presently, I believe he is a happy man for Arsenal is in good form and still unbeaten this season. Mind you, the average age for the team is about 22. Carry on kicking!

Margaret and I stayed home for Smily during the weekend. As I have nothing much to do, I played with my phone's camera by taking pictures at home. Surprisingly, some of them turn up quite well. Home sweet home.........

Get well soon

My 'one-armed swordsman' son is responding well after surgery. Margaret brought him to Outpatient Clinic to change dressing this morning. The nurse told them that the wound has healed considerably and do not need to bandage anymore. Guess he is thankful that the whole family is behind him. I understand from Fyn's blog that she cooked nuggets for him the other night.

Shoulder surgery

Photograph by Fyn

Praise the Lord. The shoulder surgery went on smoothly for Smily yesterday. He checked in at 12.30 pm and had the surgery an hour later. Being a good son, he put on a brave front in order not to let us worry. At about 4 pm, there was still no sign of him at the Observation Room. Margaret started to panic. I went to check with the staff nurse and was told that he was being observed at the Post-Anaesthesia Room. He was finally wheeled out to the Observation Room at 4.30 pm. It's sort of a family reunion. He looked healthy and related what he went through to us. The biggest surprise came from his colleague who visited him out of nowhere. We were puzzled how he sneaked in and managed to locate him. Later we were told that he was familiar with the place as he too had his shoulder surgery there last month. What a joke! Fyn took a photograph of Smily before he was finally discharged at about 6.40 pm.

P.S. We would like to thank all the well wishers for their concern and prayers.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends.

Well, just upgraded my handphone to Nokia N73 ME. I was rather hesitant to trade-in my Nokia N70 for it was in good condition. Moreover, it had been with me for nearly 2 years. Sob sob. I need not buy a digital camera now because this N73 comes with a 3.2 megapixels camera. Here are some of the pictures I have taken :








Me and Margaret brought our kids to visit my mum at Queenstown this afternoon. She enjoyed the sliced guava with special seasoning prepared by Margaret. I could see her joy with her grandchildren's visit. At her age, she was sharp and alert to notice the changes in Smily and Fyn. Hope that we could visit her more often.





Can anyone tell me who is this Hong Kong star? Took this photographs at Bugis Junction this evening.

Swimming in the rain

I swam in the rain last evening. It was kind of weird but nice. The sad thing was that after 5 laps, the lifeguard stopped all activities due to the thunderstorm. I reluctantly accepted that it was for safety reason. Though the session was short but I felt good. Before the swim, my body was all aches and pains.

Back to the English Premier League, Arsenal is into their 10th win in all competitions. Due to complacency, they nearly dropped points. Final score : Arsenal 3-2 Sunderland

Guess I need to consult a doctor later. I am having a sore throat for the past 2 days and it refuse to go away. Hope to recover soon.

To all my dearest neices and nephews, your grandma at Queenstown wish that all of you can visit her more often. Even a ten-minutes visit would make her day. So, what are you waiting for? Come on.......

A day in Johore Bahru

It's been more than a month since we last visited JB. We should be more familiar with the place by now. As usual, we had lunch at our favourite Japanese restaurant Kinsahi. We started with a potato salad dish, followed by bento sets and vegetable tempura. The place has an ambience on its own and the service is good. Moreover, the food is delicious and the price is reasonable. Overall, we paid RM $60 for the lunch (tax inclusive).




A traditiional Malay kampong house

We could feel the Hari Raya atmosphere as we roamed the shopping centres. Speakers were playing Hari Raya songs and the bazaar selling the festive goodies. It's more crowded than usual. The musicians with their traditional bamboo and wood instruments performing at City Square caught my attention. I enjoyed their music very much. How I wish I could jam with them up there.....

Happy birthday Smily!

Smily celebrates with grandma and cousins

Happy 20th birthday to Smily! Celebrations started with a big bang at his maternal grandma's place this evening and needless to say, with all his cousins in attendance. Joke of the year: Fyn called Jeffrey to arrange an appointment this afternoon and was only informed of the celebration by him. Communication breakdown..... felt let down by Smily. He should have the courtesy to invite his sister in the first place and not expecting us to arrange. Okay, let's forgive and forget for the birthday boy is king on his day. In fact, he will be celebrating with his friends this weekend. Cheers!

What's the buzz....3 Oct 2007

Smily is going for a minor surgery on his arm at TTSH on the 17 Oct 2007 due to years of playing rugby. This morning, Margaret accompanied him there for a pre- admission counselling and evaluation. Understand this surgery is quite common among youngsters nowadays. Moreover, it is a keyhole surgery unless complication arises. Let us pray for a successful surgery on that day.

Fyn joined us in the pool last evening. Like me, she swam 20 laps. As for Margaret, she was not feeling well. Most probably it's due to stress in her work. In fact, she should swim more often to de-stress herself.

Yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of my late father departing from this world. All the sons attended a simple praying session at Khong Meng San temple in his rememberance.

Okay, Armani Exchange bazaar is over. For you shoppers who do not have enough, there is another bazaar by French Connection @ Isetan Scotts starting on Friday. Happy shopping!

Happy Children's Day, Monday Blues

Happy Children's Day to Clarissa and Vanessa! I can't think of anybody else for all you 'kids' are celebrating Youth Day nowadays. Once again, "May the children of the world be blessed with joy and good health".



Monday Blues

• Boarded a bus to work this morning
  
• Put my bag on the seat and read the papers
  
• Miss the bus stop and alighted at the following one


• Damn it! Discovered I left my bag in the bus


• Took the following bus to the terminal


• Approached the former bus captain and enquired


• Luckily the bag was still in the bus


• A sigh of relief ......

Brazilian art of self-defence demonstration at Orchard Road


Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Bugis Junction

They are back!
Yes, Smily and Sheryl are together again. Congrats !!!!