Frozen In Time 及时行乐

2009-05-22T01:45:00.001+08:00

Moving on

Check out My Secrets

2009-04-16T23:07:00.002+08:00

School holz no more

Today marks the last day of exams, last day of the term and last day of my 16 years of education.

I am no longer a student>

And I am currently unemployed. haha

I wonder what lies ahead... but for now I need a good break :)

2009-03-04T23:20:00.003+08:00

Random bites

What happens when it's almost 3pm and you haven't had lunch?

You end up eating your fill of lunch, tea, dinner and maybe even supper :)

2009-03-02T23:43:00.002+08:00

Tea time celebration

Hidden among the many maid agencies, furniture shops and enrichment centres in the long-forgotten Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, is a little cafe.

Its interior:

We had our tea "alfresco", well, outside the shop at least. It would be nice if it's really set out in a garden or something>

A mini celebration with (clockwise from bottom left) rose tea, cinnamon tea, nonya kueh, mango pudding and apple crumble :)

2009-03-01T23:49:00.000+08:00

A Merry start to March

Our monthly fix of Waffletown, a reward for myself as I take a short break from FYP.

I foresee a mad rush in March although I still look forward to a month of magical miracles :)

2009-02-27T23:25:00.001+08:00

Thrills of the unexpected

I had more than the rojak and snap shot I wanted when I dropped by the coffeeshop at Blk 177 Toa Payoh Central.

Ha sounds like the first line of my FYP draft.

Unexpectedly, "being caught" by the coffeeshop supervisor for taking pictures without permission actually gave me the opportunity to gather extra material for my FYP>

So I guess what seems bad at first can eventually turn out to be good :)

2009-02-26T23:52:00.000+08:00

Micky Mee

Micky

Mee

& friends. Ha.

2009-02-25T19:08:00.003+08:00

Rainbow Wishes

woke up from a nap,
got an sms,
looked out of the window.

there it was,
a myriad of colours,
waiting to grant a wish :)

2009-02-23T23:26:00.001+08:00

Table for 5

As usual, when dining at a Korean restaurant, we end up with a whole table of food. And this was even though the 5 of us only ordered a BBQ set for 2 at Han Sang Korean Family Restaurant>>

And the dining experience would have been much more pleasant if the staff were not ...... Ha ok I should be more tolerant towards foreign "talents".

I think food-wise I still prefer Su Korean Cuisine. Wonder if the Korean waiters there have been substituted by cheaper alternatives? Ha.

More Korean food anytime>>

2009-02-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

Yum cha X 2

A cosy meal of dim-sum on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

The smoky dessert which caught our eyes right from the start turned out to be nothing but dry ice. Smart gimmick though.

And because the rain spoilt our plan of exploring Chinatown, we ended up at Far East Square where I had another dose of cha - hot almond milk tea at Mr Teh Tarik :)

2009-02-19T23:36:00.002+08:00

Writer Substance

I am not.

And I guess it doesn't really matter. I won't be a writer or reporter for sure.

But for now, I just have to write my way through the choice I made.

2009-02-15T21:41:00.002+08:00

Blocked

It's so terribly blocked that I can't sit still without fiddling around my nose.

And it's giving me a ear block and mental block as well :|

Everything is odourless and tasteless, as if I'm 2 senses short. Scary.

2009-02-14T21:59:00.000+08:00

Happy V Day :)

2009-02-03T00:48:00.003+08:00

Final February

Just when I was happily thinking how productive I am today, I realised I missed out a whole chunk of interview between 7 min & 18 min> I'm sick of transcribing>

And I haven't even started writing. That leaves me with only less than a month. If I can't finish, I'm finished.

Good luck to myself...

2009-01-04T23:35:00.010+08:00

Happy Sunday>>

안녕하세요.

Ha what an experience it was, learning to make kimchi from a Korean family> It's surprisingly quite manageable and edible too ha.

Check out my kimchi>

After that, walked to my primary school while waiting for my dear naughty boy.

A new building, partially renamed but at the same location. Is it still considererd my primary school?

We headed to Bukit Timah Plaza to try this highly affordable Korean food recommended by the Korean family.

Bibimbap

Black noodle

Seafood pancake

All for only $14.50 at Ming Jia.

Then it's home sweet home to eat the dessert cooked by naughty boy and we had a good laugh watching Campus Superstar :)

A happy first Sunday of 2009 to start off a new week - the start of a final semester for me>

2009-01-02T23:32:00.000+08:00

Oyster Hokkien Mee>>

Woohoo finally had our XO (Xtra Oyster) Hokkien Mee at Kim's Place,

before heading to Chinatown where we saw a HippopotaMoo -

a Hippo-look-alike cow deco. Ha

2009-01-01T14:38:00.002+08:00

2009>>>>>>>>>

What lies ahead in 2009?

The mystery awaits us.

2008-12-23T23:05:00.002+08:00

DIY Spaghetti Lunch

Back from "supermarketing" at NTUC Xtra. Supposedly big, but we couldn't find the white mushroom sauce we wanted :|

Boiling spaghetti

Boiling potatoes

Going into such detail for the first time - spaghetti in ice water.

Boiled meatballs

Cooking in progress

Heh the overboiled potatoes ended up as mashed potato rather than potato salad.

Yum yum> Not bad for our first try I would say :)

2008-12-11T18:55:00.003+08:00

Long-lost tidbit

At a mama-shop in Jurong East, I found my Bee-Bee in its original 10 cent packaging>

And it's still 10 cent after all these years :)

2008-11-30T22:57:00.005+08:00

Snow White and politics

Wahaha "The queen" was the one who dug out the sand from S'pore playgrounds and replaced them with sponge>

And here's a long-time-no-see party pack for us to make noise during the play.

2008-11-29T23:40:00.002+08:00

十一月二十八号的海角七号、海岸十六号与加冷十三号

《海角七号》中，几个小人物组成乐团在垦丁沙滩开演唱会。

现实中，两位观众看了电影之后，心血来潮，乘搭十六号巴士去东海岸走走。

回家的路途，上了十三号巴士，意外地被载到红灯区兜一圈才到加冷地铁站。

这就是十一月二十八号。

2008-11-27T00:10:00.003+08:00

Yay Yay Hurray

I survived Yr 4 Sem 1> This sem passed by pretty quickly. It seemed not long ago that I was finding it hard to get back to the study mode after working/slacking for half a year. But yup, before I knew it, it's over.

And with every ending comes a new beginning. It's time to really panic for FYP> How I wish I can just slack and zuo-bo this holidays......

But for now, I think I at least deserve to slack away this weekend. And here's clumsy little PomPom to signify the start of a Happy Holiday :)

2008-11-21T23:44:00.003+08:00

Woo~Ah

Mango Sorbet & VAMilla ice cream> But the mango sorbet was a tad "too healthy". Seems that the counter crew was already giving us the hint when he offered to let us test-try. Unfortunately, we didn't get his hint. Haha.

And the long-time-no-see "chalkboard" from primary school days> Haha the days of having to "do duty" during recess.

Btw I thought Udders is pronounced Woo-ders but no, it's Ah-ders :)

2008-11-18T01:04:00.002+08:00

Buzzing Big Bitez

I'm in the midst of becoming a mozzy expert>

Haha.

2008-11-16T01:10:00.002+08:00

Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia: moralised concept of happiness

Ha don't know why but I think the word sounds Jappy although it's of Greek origin. Well of course. Who has heard of Japanese philosophy?

I'm defintely not eudaimon right now, what with having to study about eudaimonia>

Are you?

2008-11-14T23:47:00.001+08:00

Feeling Restless

Is that an excuse not to rest less?

Ha.

2008-11-10T01:21:00.002+08:00

I Love Examz

Haha coz got goodie bag> Wahaha

一起加茶吧> :)

2008-11-09T23:17:00.002+08:00

东西吃不完

哈就继续慢慢吃吧〉

2008-11-05T23:40:00.012+08:00

Go, Going, Gone

I didn't know it will go.
I didn't know it's going.
I only know it's gone.

It was quite a shock when we arrived at JEC yesterday only to realise that it has become an empty ghost land. We were still looking forward to having fried mushroooms at Zingdo. I haven't eaten there before and now it's gone. I wonder if it'll still be around after the revamp.

I already thought it's a pity when I knew that KBox was going. Afterall, I had some memories there. I didn't expect all the other shops to go as well. Well, in the name of becoming bigger and more exciting I guess it's inevitable change. Although I still think that it's more important for a place to have some kind of character rather than trying to be another one of those big malls.

And on Sunday, after the Big Walk, managed to catch a last glimpse of another empty ghost land - the steamboat area at Marina South. Gone were the days of kite-flying, steamboating, bowling and arcading there.

Go, wherever you want to go, before they really go.

2008-10-26T23:03:00.005+08:00

Cannot run but can eat

A bright sunny Sunday it was, meant for a 10km run. But it seemed that I was destined instead to have breakfast buffet at Delifrance.

Pastries

and more pastries.

And of course the scrambled eggs which were "scrambled away" by us before we could snap it :)

2008-10-24T23:43:00.001+08:00

Drinking snow

Vanilla frappe with milk base.

Ha it's really Snow White>

2008-10-12T01:02:00.011+08:00

2 many goodies in a day

I finally had a taste of my childhood at Waffletown>

Although it's now at Balmoral Plaza and not Bukit Timah Plaza where I used to go as a kid, I think it's still good old Waffletown afterall. Maybe except that instead of "Waffletown USA", it's now more like "Waffletown S'pore" with items such as sambal fish rice on its menu and "Waffletown China" as it hires China workers.

The rather old-school "turning chair" which seemed vaguely familiar.

The 许环良-look-alike serving customers, mostly foreigners and families with kids.

Our set meals: 2 piece chicken and fish & chips.

And of course the star:

Waffles with ice cream and whip cream>

I'm coming back for more :)

2008-10-01T23:04:00.002+08:00

Happy Children's Day

to the kid in all of us :)

While dining out just now, a girl at the table beside was eating chicken wing while trying to do her homework...

Hey it's dinner time and also Children's Day isn't it? Take a break girl >

2008-09-28T23:42:00.005+08:00

Happy Birthday

My birthday, which falls within the one-week break was a good excuse for me to play harder rather than work harder. So yes, I ended up having almost a week-long "celebration".

Pretty presents and of course the wishes from my dear friends, a few of whom are not exactly close friends but friends whom I know will always be there for me. It's nice to know that they bothered :)

Not forgetting the surprises that are beyond words (ha even a picture can't say it all even though it's suppose to speak a thousand words) and the people behind it.

Thanks>> really appreciate it :)

"Happy Birthday" is not sung as such for no reason.

It's truly a Happy Birthday :)

2008-09-27T23:28:00.008+08:00

Deafening excitement

Yes to the former, not quite to the latter. Maybe because it's only a practice session. Ha but count myself lucky to be part of this historic moment of Singapore.

F1 second practice session: Zoom>>>>and it's gone>

In the afternoon: featuring the less speedy cars.

The earplugs came in handy even during dinner time at Changing Appetites. Ha maybe that's why there's 15% discount.

(Clockwise fr left) Golden Blossom, Fish & Chips, Cheese the Chicken

And at last, a peace of time at Gelare before heading to catch a glimpse of the night practice.

Misty blue skiez & Mango fizz

2008-09-25T23:33:00.009+08:00

Picnicycling

It's been a few years since I last cycled and many years since I last had a picnic.

Off we go >>

The explorer in us wanted to do some walking and so we alighted at Eunos instead of Bedok where we could have had taken a direct bus to PP. We boarded bus 13 and alighted somewhere at Marine Crescent, only to realise we were unsure of the way to PP. So naturally we headed straight for ECP via the underpass.

Had late Turkish lunch at Kebab Station.

Mushroom pide, Chicken musakka and some curry-like "soup" which according to the owner, was "on the house".

Ha we were expecting the mushroom soup we ordered because we misinterpreted that he would still go ahead to prepare although mushroom soup was supposedly not available.

After lunch, it's time for a cycling refresher course with instructor WM haha. After taking some time to get my balance, we were ready for a ride.

On and off, I would uncontrollably zig-zag my way through the track, ha so WM could only tail behind my bike. I held on tightly to the grips and was concentrating really hard to keep my balance and avoid tripping over yet another seed or bumping into other people. The feeling was actually quite scary and I felt insecure as I was rather unstable. Along the way, we passed by quite a few places: Bedok Jetty, bougainvillea garden, Ski360 Degree, OBS... Don't think I've ever had such a long bicycle ride, so in a way it's a little achievement for myself.

After cycling for about an hour, we decided to catch a breather,

ha at the peaceful "Canada" beachside,

Where we were rewarded with the sight of beautiful trees.

And a cosy meal of

Sandwiches, sushi, cakes, biscuits and chocolate.

And then it was a long way home as we cycled back, returned our bikes, walked to PP, waited 20 min for bus 966 and took a train from Eunos MRT.

A long, happy day out albeit full of aches everywhere :)

2008-09-23T19:22:00.004+08:00

Lantern Fantasy 2008

哈超多布丁狗>

不过，相比之下，它的曝光率其实还蛮少的。

结论是：布丁狗的模型比较难做。（是否发现布丁狗有时候比较像布丁兔？）

2008-09-20T01:26:00.004+08:00

悄逝的记忆

是导演太感性还是甘榜生活就是如此地令人念念不忘？

我在想，是否有一天，我也会对什么地方产生这么强烈的感觉？那会是一种怎样的感觉？

2008-09-19T00:03:00.002+08:00

Last Day

of Semester 0.5. Ha at last.

A precious one week ahead>
Hope to work hard, play hard :)

2008-09-17T22:33:00.007+08:00

拉。丁

终于去吃拉面啦>

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen

比一比。。。

还真有点像>

哈原来布丁狗是custard caramel-flavoured 的。

2008-09-15T23:25:00.001+08:00

喝喝喝喝喝

我发现自己今天喝了超多饮料： Coffee, Apple Juice, H20, Yakult, Strawberry green tea!

哈无论如何，继续加茶吧 >

2008-09-14T18:11:00.004+08:00

月饼日快乐!

哈虽然对于许多人来说，除了月亮比较圆，或许今天和任何一天没什么两样。

昨天听到家楼下传来阵阵笑声；是一些小朋友在玩灯笼。看着树上挂着的灯笼，感觉还蛮温馨的。哈至少现在的小朋友玩的不是什么online lantern 之类的网上玩意儿（但我猜想那可能是迟早的事）。

记得小时候总是很期待玩蜡烛。那是十几年前的事了。

其实没人规定说长大了就只能吃月饼，不能提灯笼、玩蜡烛。但很奇怪的，中秋节似乎只是一个属于童年时期的节日。

是我们再也无法从中得到乐趣，觉得有更重要的事等着我们去做，还是觉得自己已too old for such stuff？

2008-09-12T23:48:00.001+08:00

Stuck

FYP is getting nowhere.

Hopefully this is just part of the process of getting it right,

ASAP.

2008-09-10T23:27:00.000+08:00

Poisoned

Yesterday was lost to the evils of food poisoning.

Yet again. Well well, somehow I have to get poisoned at least once a year.

Ha perhaps having to feast on sugarbread and H20 for 2 days is a blessing in disguise since I was just complaining over the weekend about how I seem to be growing sideways (putting the blame on the damn mooncakes).

But sideways or not, I'm craving for proper meals now!

2008-09-07T23:25:00.002+08:00

Lies and Exaggeration

That's the IR

...model, from the top of the world. Ha.

2008-09-05T01:15:00.002+08:00

The Vicious Cycle of Thinking

The fact that I have to think.

The fact that I am still thinking.

suggest that

I need more time

to think.

2008-09-03T15:57:00.005+08:00

Survival of the Fittest

But not that fit either.

Ha. After about 2 weeks, it still looks like the green bean that we used to plant for primary school Science experiments.

2008-09-02T19:55:00.000+08:00

不听话

九月了，天空还是下着雨。

2008-09-01T18:27:00.001+08:00

Nobody knows

Perhaps it's elusive in the first place.

2008-09-01T01:13:00.002+08:00

Sunny September

Ha at last, I managed to spot a flip-sided flag today, before all the flags go into hiding till August 2009!

Anyway, passed by a biscuit shop today; there's a big "flower biscuit" hanging in front of the shop and it just looked so funny and cute. Should have taken a picture of it! Ha I just found out what I deemed to be "flower biscuit" is actually known as Ais Jam on the shop's website.

With that, marks the end of August.

And hopefully, bringing the rain away with it.

2008-08-31T01:41:00.002+08:00

我也不想这样

不能让人快乐就算了。

但不想让人不快乐。

2008-08-30T12:53:00.006+08:00

哇烤

最后一次去东海岸是几时？
根本没有印象。所以应该是很久很久以前吧。

但其实不重要。
重要的是难得昨天能在那里度过一个美好的星期五夜晚〉

而且是和一群朋友去烤肉。

哈这算是扛食物换取的酬劳吧 - 傍晚时分的美景。

我知道你扛了好多好多，包括那五公斤的冰。。。但不要想不开! 哈哈

哈虽然起火的不是我，但我想我大概学会了吧。

后来就只顾着吃了。

难得来到东边，当然也少不了到处去走走。凌晨时分还在东海岸公园走来走去，还真是第一次!

2008-08-27T23:35:00.005+08:00

没关系

没去过日本、没看过下雪天。
但都没关系。

细雨中，在“日本花园”绕一圈感觉也不错。

哈最近才得知 Japanese Garden 的华语名称其实是“星和园”。

桥后面的那栋建筑若是度假村之类的，那该有多好!

2008-08-27T00:10:00.003+08:00

窗外

路途中，那八月尾的雨景。

2008-08-26T00:50:00.003+08:00

I Just Wanna Play

Oh no.

I think I've been playing too much... Ha but I'm happy :)

Time to gear up for a new week>

2008-08-24T23:45:00.001+08:00

十二莲花

女孩因衰人而成疯女人。

就这么简单却又那么深奥。

片刻的沉默、黑暗。。。

依然喜欢陈子谦这样的，较非主流的风格。

2008-08-23T23:53:00.007+08:00

Turkish Treats

Sofra, I haven't had enough of you...

I'll be back someday.

2008-08-22T23:50:00.000+08:00

Surprise>>

Finally checked out the area behind Bugis Junction! It seems like such a happening place when I looked down from the food court upstairs - and it sure is!

There is a good mix of kopitiams, cafes, restaurants and especially steamboat eateries on both sides of the street; mostly packed with people. I like such "roadside eateries" which make me feel as if I'm out of Singapore.

There's food from "around the world": the usual hawker fare, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Western, Shanghainese etc. Great variety, but definitely a headache for undecisive people like me who want to eat everything. Ha but well, I wasn't there to eat.

Anyway, Top One KTV is actually located there too. Heard it's rather cheap to sing there on weekday afternoons and the rooms are quite nice too. Ha but it seems like a rather sleazy place at night?

While walking along the street, for a moment I thought it was going to rain. But what I thought was the sound of thunder actually came from the burst of fireworks!

Didn't expect to catch "French Romance" - one of the fireworks display for this year's Fireworks Festival and away from all that crowd too!

2008-08-21T11:44:00.005+08:00

花啦啦啦啦 “开花了”

那天，在好奇心之下，买了这个“怪怪的东西”：

猜想这个玩意儿大概是骗人的。

没想到。。。

今天突然长出花苗来咯!

是否会开花成美丽的波斯菊，就拭目以待吧!

2008-08-18T23:47:00.003+08:00

积极点吧！

谢谢。我想我应该是做到了。哈。

2008-08-16T23:58:00.003+08:00

Too busy (studying the menu) to talk

"Elmo and Cookie Monster are talking！"

Ha...the things that kids say.

2008-08-15T23:33:00.004+08:00

Finally Friday

That long-lost feeling is back - tired, restless, uneasy, dispirited, lost?

Or perhaps I just haven't snapped out of my slacking mode :|

And there's no running away.

2008-08-13T23:17:00.002+08:00

Ploughed & Ploughing

That's what I've largely been doing - to the readings that keep piling up and have no signs of slowing down. And FYP and other projects have not even really take off yet！

By that time, I definitely have to explore more survival methods although the ploughing will still continue. Haha.

2008-08-12T00:11:00.003+08:00

后悔是如果判下的死刑

早知我就不该。。。

没有如果。
只有如此的后果。

一切太迟了。

2008-08-10T00:28:00.003+08:00

空荡世界

很多

人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人

除了

一
个
人
，

没有其他人。

2008-08-07T16:35:00.005+08:00

Forday

Why is a table called "table" and not "chair" or anything else?

......

Yesterday, the Linguistic Prof gave an example of how her nephew came up with his own word, "pruned" which is used as such: "We are pruned！" (when winning a soccer game for example). And he is actively using it among his group of friends in the hope that the word would be picked up by others.

It got me wondering who has the right to invent new words. I suppose the answer is anyone. It's a matter of how to popularise that word.

Today, I accidentally invented a word while trying to think of a heading for my timetable:

Forday - (verb) pretend to forget or attempt to cause delay due to reluctance to do something
Eg. I admit that I was fordaying time because I didn't want to go for lecture.

By the way, it's not an any-no-how invention. By rationale, "forday" comes from the word "forget" and "delay" while by instinct, "forday" just feels very draggy. Haha.

Looking at my timetable, there is no reason for me to forday time:

Do spread the word. Haha.

2008-08-06T22:41:00.002+08:00

"Chat with me"

says god.

Haha, for the bored. Enjoy.

2008-08-05T22:49:00.002+08:00

No Doubt In Doubt

The thought of eventually "publishing a book" is motivating.

But am I up to it?

I would like to believe I am.
And well, I'd better.

2008-08-02T23:48:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday

Well, in advance.

Ha I was thinking...

Instead of the yearly NDP which is really a strain on resources, why not the President, MM, SM, PM and all the other big shots just gather together to cut cake and sing birthday song for Singapore?

And of course they have to put up a high-standard "parade" of their own！

Ha wait long long...

Maybe by the time white no longer rules.

2008-08-01T16:20:00.003+08:00

Bye & Hey

Bye Joyful July~

Technically, I've achieved nothing yet it's been a colourful month:

Soccer sessions, dinner & celebrations, urban hikes with new buddies... all involving people associated with ulu land. And I'm thankful for all the happy times :)

My own urban hikes & walk-abouts, lots of running & my first 5km run, a song-recording experience at LWS School of Music... And hopefully I will decide to "just do it" sometime soon.

Hey August~

I'm not exactly looking forward to you but well, good times fly and life goes on. Although it's time to break away from distractions and temptations, I will try to make you as much as possible, an Amazing August！

2008-07-31T23:11:00.005+08:00

Journey to the East

It's a happy day out with my new urban hike/food hunt buddy and we made a journey from the west to the east> :)

We started our journey by catching bus 30 at Boon Lay Interchange. The ride was rather long but we passed by many interesting places (potential places to check out) and roads. We were laughing at how xian taxi drivers will be if they hear something like "Uncle, I want to go Gray Lane". (@*^%！Where the hell is that?！)

The empty upper deck by the time we arrived at Bedok Interchange.

Had lunch at Bedok Interchange Food Centre. There's quite some good food over there but with a craving for prawn noodles, I ended up with this:

Haha the chili tasted like...that of the canteen noodle stall during my primary school days.

After that, we walked around Bedok Town Centre and other parts of Bedok North. There's actually quite a few town centres around. It wasn't much of an adventure but still an enjoyable heartland hike in itself.

One of the housing estates.

And there were some nice and interesting sights along the way: the swing, which is a rare sight at playgrounds nowadays, MCP Supermarket (for Male Chauvinist Pigs?...ha what a name), drawing of a pig-like creature with a speech bubble that says "I'm a tiger" and 3 flipsided S'pore flags. Haha W was adamant about seeing flipsided flags and sure enough he managed to spot 3 just before the end of the journey！

And not forgetting this:

Eh, so you want to be "Shing Song" or "Sheng Siong"??

Our random walks brought us back to where we started off - Princess, the old-school cinema. Then it was journey back to the west, this time on bus 197. It's my longest bus ride ever - 2 hr 15 min！

2008-07-29T23:05:00.005+08:00

雪超人

超强的，永不溶化的雪人

大热天看到它，会不会感觉凉快些？
哈，这是否就是它存在的意义？

2008-07-28T15:26:00.002+08:00

虽然下着雨

心却是晴的。

那份感动 -
一道永恒的彩虹。

2008-07-25T23:18:00.005+08:00

Korean Junk

Woohoo~ junk food from Sol Mart! :)

Haha I wonder how the instant cupcake (bottom left) will turn out...

2008-07-23T21:34:00.004+08:00

Memories@Queenstown

Time for another one of my urban hike on a nice afternoon. Starting off at Commonwealth MRT station, I was hoping that my random walk would eventually lead me to ABC Food Centre which I've heard and read about quite a bit recently. Haha but no such luck.

I first passed by a few secondary schools and when I came to a junction, the route I chose led me to Queenstown Community Centre and then the MDIS Campus at Stirling Road. What a place to build a campus! I decided to take a walk in the estate, thinking there might be a short-cut. The flats there seemed old and somehow I felt that the residents there are people who have a lot of stories to tell. I guess the people who live there are probably those whom I don't get to see or interact with in my daily life.

Tucked away in the estate was Global Indian International School. I didn't even know such a school existed. I took a walk in Mei Ling Estate and was stuck in there for quite some time. Before I knew it, I'd walked one round and was back at the school. I got out of the estate and realised right opposite was the central area which I'm so familiar with.

So despite looking forward to checking out new food places, my feet eventually led me to the old and familiar. All these years, what I deem "Queenstown meepok", is still my favourite. Once in a while I would still come here with my family. Haha this is the first time I'm having it all alone! After more than ten years, the price of the meepok has only upped by 20 cents to $2.20! Haha except for the fishballs which have cut down by 2 and don't taste as nice, the meepok itself is still as good!

After that, I went to Queenstown Library. I used to come here almost every Sunday during my childhood days. Haha it was a time when community libraries did not exist yet. But of course the library is no longer what it used to be, the place where I borrowed my favourite books such as Miffy and then later, the Boxcar Children series. Don't know why, but I just have the greatest impression on these 2 titles. Haha I still remember I enjoyed observing how the library staff did the manual processing of the books: scan the barcode with a pen-like thing, glue a new piece of paper on the inside cover of the book and stamp the due date on it.

From the library, I walked downwards, passing by a few other places: Queenstown Remand Prison, Rainbow Centre, Queenstown Baptist Church, MOE Exam Centre... Later, I saw a sign which pointed to Dawson Place which seemed to be a neighbourhood shopping centre. I intended to check it out but ended up walking a park connector at Alexandra Canal Linear Park. I like this thing which reminds me of pocky sticks haha.

I could have walked on and on to the end of the connector but I knew it was time to call it a day. And I was right, just a few steps ahead was Redhill MRT station :)

2008-07-20T23:09:00.003+08:00

Run Fun Sun

Had a dose of all 3 at my first 5km run! It's more manageable than I expected, considering that I only had 2 hours of sleep the night before! Thankfully, I wasn't feeling hollow-headed.
I guess it helps to run together with a friend and therein also lies the motivation factor of running in a "race" with so many other people.

10km... Not sure how well I can manage that but I'm tempted to give it a shot!

2008-07-18T19:08:00.014+08:00

It's a Happy Day

It was fun meeting up with Jo! It's been ages since I went on urban hike with anyone. Glad to know that she also enjoys urban hikes and food hunts!

We started off by trying to locate the bus terminal to catch bus 191. We even asked for directions but ended up walking in circles in Holland V! We were tempted to take a cab but decided there's more satisfaction if we manage to locate the place by ourselves. After some time, we were back at where we started off and realised that we could have had easily just boarded the bus from the bus stop opposite! ~Faint

But luckily, we were just in time to catch the bus which comes only once about every half an hour. Except for a few angmohs who alighted after a few stops, we were the only ones in the bus throughout the entire ride. Haha we were laughing at how only slackers like us have the time to come to such a place.

Arriving at where I've always wanted to explore:

Colbar! A very old-style eatery which I first discovered on someone's blog while food-hunting online. The place looked exactly like how it had been portrayed: the scale at the entrance which seemed rather out of place, the distinctive blue building, the very old framed photos of football teams...

The menu is rather extensive with about 100 plus items. But I thought what we ordered (Pork Cutlet with Mushrooms & Chips and Fish & Chips) were only so-so.

I read about the history of the place and apparently the eatery was moved to the current location part by part to preserve everything in its original form.

Other parts of Wessex Estate:

It's a place worth coming, to spend a laid-back afternoon, away from the hustles and bustles of life. I'm definitely coming back. Hope to check out the chocolate bar or Italian restaurant next time!

After that, met up with the "lunch@1 gang" for dinner to celebrate their farewell from that ulu land. Happy for them! And I'm happy to see them again although we just met up a few days ago haha.

And something random...

The all-too-familiar thing at ulu land:

"Thanks for "stealing" back 2 weeks of time for me. Although not long, it's definitely one of my best times! Haha I will hold on to it tightly!"

2008-07-15T02:28:00.005+08:00

那冰块说

太阳，感谢你的温暖。
冰块，总算溶化了一些。

太阳，请别这么快熄灭。
火光，至少要储存。

太阳，请耐心点。
月儿，在某处正等着你照亮。

2008-07-14T15:28:00.005+08:00

March of the Penguins

I finally caught this show on Arts Central yesterday and I'm glad I did! Poor but brave penguins, having to fight hunger and extreme cold to protect their young.

I'm curious why adult penguins look like this:

while penguin chicks have this white layer on their face:

I want to study penguins haha!

2008-07-13T00:35:00.007+08:00

Welcome To My World

Haha due to reallocation of seats, lucky me managed to move from the balcony seat to the terrace seat!

That's Cao Ge in a Bruce Lee suit. (Haha This is the best that my very old camera can capture.)

I'm not a fan and I'm not exactly very familiar with his songs but his vocal is undeniably good and I guess that's precisely what matters the most in a concert.

There were some surprises here and there, the random things he said (haha at times obviously talking cock), the strip and especially the presence of Yang Zong Wei among the audience! Previously I thought he would most likely be the guest singer, who would have expected him to turn up as a guest audience instead!

Talking about guest singer, Zhuo Wen Xuan blasted everyone's ears with her ultra squeaky high-pitch voice. I was rather put off by it... Anyway, when I saw her on TV recently, somehow I just felt that she looked different. And indeed, after seeing her at the concert, I highly suspect that she had a nose job done haha!

2008-07-12T00:16:00.007+08:00

Singapore Fly...er...

more like Singapore Crawler?

Doesn't look very exciting... Haha I'm more interested in checking out Popeye Chicken & Biscuits! Today's not the day, but sometime soon I hope!

First-time Runn...er...

more like First-time jogger?

Looking forward to my first run...don't need to chiong, complete can liao! Haha 4D anyone?

2008-07-11T23:51:00.002+08:00

有人快乐就有人难过

美好的，
都值得被羡慕与祝福。

就算难过的，
可能是自己。

2008-07-10T00:03:00.005+08:00

疯子疯纸

见识一下黑白复印的世界吧。。。

这是疯子干的好事（疯子只差没把自己也复印一份）。不过，我喜欢！只有这样的疯子才能让我笑到翻！哈哈。

2008-07-09T23:53:00.002+08:00

除此之外

很多时候，我听歌都不太注意歌词。今天，仔细看这首歌的歌词。我竟然唱到。。。

我想，我终于了解这首歌背后的意境。

Say Goodnight　晚安　谢谢你陪我一整个夜晚 Close your eyes, be quiet　我明白你有自己的不安

很多来不及我不曾看见　我只遇见你的现在不管你接受或离开　I hope to stay for a while

除此之外　要你明白　你的笑我真是喜欢看于是我一次又一次等待其实都还算愉快除此之外非常遗憾　你的心我还是打不开 And if you need somebody　我确定我会在不会走开

So Goodbye　晚安　舍不得看你觉得不自在 It's alright, I'm fine　看起来　这故事会写不完

很多差一点你没有发现　你只认识我的现在不管你留下或走开　I'm gonna stay for a while

除此之外　我要你明白　你的笑我真是喜欢看于是我一次又一次等待其实都还算愉快除此之外非常遗憾你的心我还是打不开 And if you need somebody　我确定我会在

除此之外我还在等待你的心将为我敞开 But if you need somebody 你知道我会在不会走开

2008-07-07T00:23:00.008+08:00

Ah Pek United

2008-07-06T00:46:00.002+08:00

Himalayan Teh Bing

"Can I have this?" (pointing to Himalayan Tea Frappe on the menu because I have no idea how to pronounce frappe)

I was expecting some kind of exotic taste but it turned out to be nothing more than teh bing with extra bing and sugar :|

Well, well, at times it's perhaps a better choice to stick to the usual, isn't it?

2008-07-05T19:04:00.003+08:00

MuSTARd™

Haha just doodling randomly and along the way, came MuSTARd.

2008-07-01T23:18:00.003+08:00

Nostalgic Charm

For no reason, I headed to Tiong Bahru and felt like a tourist once again in my home country.

I started off with Tiong Bahru Plaza. Although malls in Singapore are pretty much the same, there's still novelty in visiting the unfamiliar. If I remember correctly, the last time I was there was during JC first 3 months after our Sentosa outing. At that time, boarding the Sentosa bus from Tiong Bahru was a way to get to Sentosa......

After a walk in the mall, it's time for my urban hike or rather heartland hike. I first walked past blocks of old-style 4-storey flats which I suppose is a rather rare sight today. At some point, I just felt like cutting through the blocks of flats and I'm glad I did. It led me to Tiong Bahru Market which was exactly the place I had long wanted to check out. It's such a well-known place for lots of nice hawker food yet I haven't been there before. But now that I've been there, I'm still short of having done that. Hope to check out the food there next time.
And opposite the market were rows of shophouses, eateries and houses with spiral staircase. I like to see such shophouses; somehow they just make me feel that I'm not in Singapore, or perhaps in a different era.

I then walked out onto the main road once again and saw a Japanese restaurant on the opposite side, housed in a modern building that stood out among all the other older buildings. It turned out to be a boutique hotel - Link Hotel. And it's name is not without reason. The hotel comprises of two buildings on both sides of the road, linked by an overhead walkway.

Read that there used to be a Tiong Bahru Bird Singing Corner which was demolished to make way for the hotel. Seems that it had been relocated but I didn't chance upon it. If it's indeed there, next time, I will.

I then continued walking, past the ad firm DDB and HSA's Centre for Forensic Medicine. Forensic Science is such a mysterious topic and the place too, what with the sign that points to the "Mortuary".

Further down was Outram MRT which marked the end of my urban hike. I brought a camera along but just didn't feel like taking any pictures. Perhaps I didn't want to feel too much like a tourist :)

2008-06-30T23:40:00.000+08:00

Quirkiness

I just had to get this:

Lego brick thingy

Not that I need it...

So now, I have:

A Lego brick, a chocolate bar & a watermelon stick

Maybe my friend is right to say "你每次喜欢怪怪的东西".
Haha alright laugh at me but at least they are usable stuff！

2008-06-29T19:23:00.002+08:00

难过可以很快乐

“你快乐吗？”
“还好吧，至少不难过。”

不难过的我，到底快乐吗？

我的结论是：
不难过 = 快乐
难过 ≠ 不快乐

因为有些快乐一直都在：自由的快乐、和平的快乐、回忆的快乐。。。

只不过，往往我们太在乎自己所得不到的，而忘了早已拥有的快乐。

快乐其实可以很简单。

2008-06-27T00:45:00.008+08:00

Going Places & Random Thoughts

I'm back at Tanjong Pagar once again. On the way to meet my friend at her workplace, I realised there's actually 3 other Korean restaurants on the other street which I didn't cover that day. The restaurants looked pretty much the same but we settled on one which had been featured on newspaper before, as displayed outside its shop.

Come to think about it, it's actually a mistake to think that media coverage guarantees that the food is good. The number of eateries in Singapore is not infinite while media coverage on food seems to be never-ending, taking many forms such as TV programmes, food reviews etc. Many hawker stalls and restaurants out there boast media coverage in one form or another. In time to come, every other eatery would be "worth a try" and it'd be hard to differentiate the really good from the not-so-good.

That said, somehow the media is powerful enough to (mis)lead people to certain eateries. In our case, we were misled to Korea Garden Restaurant. We didn't get to barbeque the meat ourselves which is the whole fun of it and it's a tad too expensive considering that we only ordered 3 dishes. It's not exactly that bad but perhaps not very value-for-money as compared to some other places.

Anyway, the customers there were mostly Koreans: a group of Korean monks (which got us wondering whether they were supposed to be eating at such a place) and a group of teenage Korean girls, apparently students and led by their teacher, a Bae Yong Joon look-alike (which also got us wondering if they were on an educational tour and if so, they must have been cheated here because there's not much S'pore history to learn).

After lunch, I passed by the muffin shop again！ It's opened today but no, it's still not muffin time！

Headed to SAM thereafter and viewed 3 exhibitions: Alain Fleischer - Time Exposures, Xu Beihong in Nanyang and Post Doi Moi - Vietnamese Art after 1990. I liked Post Doi Moi the most. I guess I don't really know how to appreciate art that's too abstract or with too much historical background. I prefer modern and contemporary paintings. In particular, the piece of art that left the greatest impression on me was one entitled: Rainwater Even Though Salty is not Speechless. There's something that I like about it. Perhaps it's the quirkiness of the title. And coincidentally, the painting is featured on the SAM website.

Rainwater Even Though Salty is not Speechless by Tran Trong (http://www.singart.com/)

And then I'm back at ulu land once again after almost 2 weeks. It's nice to know that certain things haven't changed but it's a pity that certain things would never be the same as before. Well well, we can never please everyone, can we? And we can only learn to accept it and live with it.

2008-06-23T19:24:00.004+08:00

It's not Muffin Time

I headed to Tanjong Pagar with the intention of buying muffins. Instead, I ended up having a mini urban hike on my own...

I walked and walked, walked past many eateries, pubs & Ktv, bridal shops, antique and handicraft shops only to find myself at Chinatown！

Ended up having lunch opposite where I was last week:

Curry San@Far East Square

After lunch, I went to China Square Central. I don't think I've ever been there before and I found out that it's actually a paradise for toy collectors. However, most of the shops there seem to be surviving only on passion and dream.

I could have walked on and on but I wanted to get the muffins before they were sold out. I walked and walked again, back to Tanjong Pagar only to learn that the muffin shop is closed on Mondays！ What luck again！

Instead, I checked out the muffin's neighbour:

Donut look-a-like: Chewy Junior@Tanjong Pagar Plaza

No muffins today, but still a happy day nevertheless:)

2008-06-21T12:17:00.002+08:00

想太多的孤独怪人

有位朋友在她的博客上介绍这个心灵测试网站：
http://www.kindheart.com.tw/cgi-bin/element1.pl

这个测试算是蛮准的。

以下所形容的，在很多方面真的很像我！

　　你是個和善而固執的人，對人生有自己獨特的想法，和理想中的生活方式，會非常頑固的堅守自己的信念，實際上就是固執。外表看起來好像與人相處十分隨和，其實心裡想的都是自己的事情，並且多半會照著自己的想法努力去實現理想。
　　如果想成為頂尖的佼佼者，在你的專業領域中有輝煌的成就，通常有六、七成的機率可以實現，但是在這麼高的成功率背後，卻也如影隨形的潛伏著激烈的危機，不得不注意喔！
　　在情感上，對朋友講義氣，感情付出很多，而且對你的另一半非常好，雖然外表看不太出來，其實你內心深藏有孤獨感。這與你的固執有關，越固執則越好強，越好強則對感情要求越高，提醒你好強對事業或許有幫助，但是對感情一點也沒有幫助。
　　「不要太期待對方」是給你的建言，你可能習慣依賴對方來得到良好的成就，雖然事業上的合作運還不錯，但不論在愛情或事業上，真正要獲得成功，凡事先要自我要求，確信自己最終必能達成目標，如果一直都是在期待對方的行動和給予，最後可能會導致一場空喔！
　　你的生命目標是重視學以致用，以及發揮自己的才能和特質，因此你適合是一個專注研究學習的人，但不一定當一輩子的學者，只要能夠學以致用就很圓滿了。提醒你無論是學習、思考或研究，如何能夠發揮所學的長才，將理論落實到實際上，才是你的生命目標喔！
　　你的個性特徵是比較內斂、沉穩，常常一個人在思考，然後會編出自己的一套理論、想法，或是一套原則，因此很適合研究一些規則性的東西。你其實不是不喜歡和人說話，只是當你在思考的時候不會去管到別人，因此有時在別人眼中是個常常自言自語的怪人喔！
　　你的優點是處事很有原則，並且非常的理性，思考非常細膩，並且可以用不同的表現方式讓別人明白。你的缺點是有時候不太能夠變通，執著於自己的想法，不會主動去關心別人，也不太會與人相處，常常情緒無法抒發，是個學者型的人。
　　建議你多多練習人際關係，比如針對不同年齡的對象用不同的方式去溝通，並且讓彼此都能接受，傳達彼此的感情與訊息，要知道他人的反應是自己的一面鏡子喔，你可以從周遭人的反應來調整自己，讓自己更受人歡迎。
　　你的人生運勢蠻平穩的，通常是比較孤獨的一個人，因為你比較重視頭腦裡面的東西，以及穩定的生活，並且會靜靜等待發揮的時機，如果你的好時機一到，所學的東西就能夠通通發揮出來。那是因為你缺少主動積極創造運勢的衝勁，因此在你進入職場工作以後，升遷、升級都要等待幸運之神的降臨了。
　　你的天賦潛能就是研究精神和學習能力，因此不論是那一種新科技或那一個專業領域，你都能夠學有所成，並且學以致用。

2008-06-20T22:12:00.004+08:00

Mr Soy ≠ Mr Potato

The print version of a TVC which caught my eye recently.

I like the ad concept of "perfect combination". I couldn't help but laugh when I first saw the TVC. And I actually mistook Mr Soy as Mr potato!

2008-06-19T11:56:00.003+08:00

미안해

I broke something today.

There's no reason for me to be upset.

But I am.

And I'd be lying if I say I don't care.

I can only say 미안해.

2008-06-18T23:40:00.009+08:00

我和骗子没两样

I was craving for the sliced fish bee hoon with very milky soup. As such, I walked to my old neighbourhood just to buy it for lunch...

View of my old neighbourhood from my old house

...only to find the stall closed!

How disappointing! Haha but I still had my dose of milky soup from the zi char stall. Not as nice but a different taste all together with mushrooms and tofu. It's always nice to try new versions of fish bee hoon with milky soup - my all-time favourite food!

鱼“骗”米粉（哈哈。永远的冷笑话!）后，还敢加牛奶!
而明知道不对，我还要鱼“骗”米粉! :)

哈哈，冷到了吧。。。

2008-06-17T14:13:00.002+08:00

That Cup of Tea

Green tea/Black tea/White tea/Oolong tea?

Tea leaves/Tea bag?

Amount of tea & water?

Water temperature 100°C/85°C/60°C?

Steeping time 3 min/4 min/5 min?

Milk/No milk?

Sugar/No sugar?

Hot/Cold?

It's hard to get that cup of tea right.

2008-06-16T22:56:00.005+08:00

The Slack Life: Day 1

I'm glad to have people accompanying me on my first day of "retirement life". It feels good walking around aimlessly, going where our feet took us; doing what we wanted, at our own time and pace.

Eating like there's no tomorrow@Chinatown's Honglim Food Centre.

Bowling@CSC Farrer Park.

It's been a few years since I last went bowling. I missed those times during JC first 3 months when we always hanged out at AMK bowling alley which has since closed down.

This place is where I frequent for swimming lessons in the past. Haha I still remember the very fierce swimming instructor who shouted at me, who made me dive into the pool and end up having to drink lots of pool water.

Perhaps it's time for me to start what I've stopped.

2008-06-14T23:56:00.009+08:00

All the Best

What I have been drinking for the past 6 months:

Everyone's shared memory - Best Water.

All good things come to an end. Even the best has to step back and take a rest.

"Best Water, you are no longer my best! You are now Past Water! But you had the honour of being the only one captured on camera." Haha.

All the other things captured in my memory:

Lame jokes. Bingo. Horoscope.com. Soccer. Movie. KTV. Dinner. Teh-O Bing@Kenny Cafe. Green milk tea@Chicken Man Shop......

"I will remember all the good times."

And of course the people who have allowed me to be who I am. I wanted to take pictures with them but I didn't. Because I know I will still see them. Well, at least I hope so.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy. Thanks everyone for everything: for making me open up more, for making me look forward to each day at work, for making my six months worth it......."

The many people who have come and gone/stayed on/will always be there to stay:

Junwei. Shahidah. Nicholas. Safwan. Rozita. Ashri. Samsul. Ramle. Harun. Han. Amran. Hazwan. Joanne. JC. Amanda. Alison. Jun Liang. Benedict. Grayce. Tam. Osama. Sami. Don. Huiling. Amin. Stacey. Rohan. Nani. Zhen Ming. Wei Min. Shawn. Ivy. Aunty Siti & the 2 Aunties. 2 China man. F&G.

"I hope not everyone is just a passerby."

Here's a song from the past. But I guess it sings out how I feel now:

《日记忆》

翻开日记
回顾从前的过去
一字一句
是最珍贵的体验

你的名字
出现日记哪一页
你曾经过
我人生的途中

生命的过客很多
但有几个人
是你我生活的动力
在我们的心中留下一道永恒的彩虹

什么时候在这里
我遇见你
才知道什么叫作幸运
你说的每字每句
为我做的一切
都深深感动我的心

什么时候在那里
你离开我
才知道什么叫作难过
（你知道我有多么不舍得）
你说的每字每句
为我做的一切
都深深藏在我的心里
永不忘记

我们会在某年某月某日
在哪里相见

2008-06-12T23:41:00.000+08:00

Z有品种

Type Z (verb).

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Type Z (noun).

Z, z, ZZ, zz, Zz

I don't know what I'm trying to get at. But anyway if I'm not wrong, Z seems to be the most rarely used letter among all the other alphabets. Am I right?

And perhaps it's time for me to ZZZZZzzzzzz...