Just Hard to be Chirpy

29th March 2010, Monday

Little sis's customary on Friday was aye ole fine till after the buffet lunch held at a sparkling new hotel at Johor Bahru.
My old man who looked worn down by his age of late made a turn from the hotel to the main road, without putting on his signal and cutting into the outer lane.
At this point, a local Proton wagon blazed towards our tail and made a hard brake prompt enough to avoid collision with a scratch sustained by both vehicles.

Just as we thought the episode was over, the ruffian like locale Malay driver in his bootleg Man Utd jersey and all-so-cool shades walked down from his car while all a long beeline was built up on the road, knocked on our driver's door and demanded my father to stop at the nearest turn in the light drizzle.

Mom handed Dad RM$50, hoping to quell the situation as the first thing that came to our mind was that it was a ploy by the local to lure upon unsuspecting Singaporean, create a fracas and hope to bamboozle a hefty sum for the foreigner who did not want any trouble, especially when their authorities can be bought over with money.

Dad was visibly shaken when dealing with his younger protagonist while I too alighted to render any form of support for my old man though deep inside I was filled with fury and some level of fear since stories aplomb of what these crazy Malaysians were capable of.
The driver was riled at the sight of his all so sacred Proton was scratched minimally while Dad was all so apologetic in his limited command of Malay while stuffing the $50 in his hand which he was of course not satisfied with.

We then fled the scene before he called for back-ups.
Though it was my father's fault ultimately, I was well perturbed for the friggin' hell hole just north of our island and vowed never step a foot there again.

Hours back home my beloved Dolphins fell to Home United rather meekly but it was kind of anticipated.

On Saturday, in the midst of my third season on the Football Manager, there was a hard crash of the PC.
Since it happened a fortnight ago with little repercussions, I thought things were fine but it was not meant to be as I had problem launching the game without the PC crashing once again.
I had heard of the notoriety of the game of crashing but the timing was really sucky.
To aggravate the situation, my PC crashed while I was watching a video stream online...
It was barely a year and a half since my last upgrade but I think I might be tempted to go for Quad Core motherboard soon.

The only oasis in a mired weekend was the gathering with the La Tendo clique for Karen's farewell dinner, sadly almost half the crew could not make it due to other commitments or sickness.
Nice fusion vegetarian with steep prices but at least whet our tastebuds.
It followed by the impromptu karaoke session which stretched till midnight on a Sunday evening.

Back to work on Monday morning to face the email from Shitty Green after my candid response for his flagrant comment on our inadequency in our preparation process.
Created quite a fracas but did not even compare to the fact that my seemingly idle time had raised eyebrows of my younger colleagues who were swamped with work and went to blow whistle on us.
Wintery times at work and overall hard to be chirpy for the start of a truncated week.

Japanese 陽気 (Chirpy) Even the birds don't chirp today

What Are You Busy With Lately?

11th March 2010, Thursday

Oh gosh this blog has degenerated into those one post a month blog?
Seemingly so...sigh

The other day while chatting with Chan on the MSN he opened the Pandora's Box when he was baffled at how come I do not have time to get started with Final Fantasy XIII on my long untouched Playstation 3 console (which of late was decapitated by a ploy from Sony to oust those old models forcing pre-existing owners to spend on the new slim and improved ones).

"What exactly are you busy with?" he asked.

The truth is I am not quite sure about what had been eating up my leisure time but at this juncture, definitely spending hours addicted to a console game in front of the TV does not sound very appealing to me.

While the missus has not been the beneficial party of my free time as usual, we do try to spend a bit of time here and there.
Been catching up with old friends and acquaintances over the Lunar New Year period which transpired to be quite enjoyable just catching up old times.
Also stepped into the dark side with the creation of a Facebook account...so done a bit of microblogging which really does not mean much.

Of course the positive start of Sengkang Punggol FC's 2010 campaign got me head over heels and devote quite a bit of time chasing their progress.
Together with my strange bedfellow Foo, the blog we created really causing some buzz in synchrony with the explosive start of the Dolphins.
This created a domino effect for me renewed interest in local football and thus prompting me to work on the database for the Football Manager which really took up quite a bit of time since last weekend.

Attended a concert with the missus at the tail-end of the month.
I would not say she coerced me into it but it was kinda short (~1 and a half hour) to see the Backstreet Men plying their trade despite their bones are getting brittle.
The over-zealous jumping and shrieking of the fans did not help to improve the viewing pleasure.

At work, there's confirmation of a change in our boss...yes the 3rd time in just 3 years.
For us it's just back to the drawing board and do what we do best as usual.
The new platform encountered some issues as predicted but will iron out eventually and seemingly I am the main man in charge.
I am definitely looking forward to hold a more significant role in the group but from the latest appraisal, it looks like I might had accomplished what I set out to do.
It's not so bad just staying put here despite a recent tirade of SMS exchanges with BY indicated that the outside world just ain't as greener a pasture as it seems.

Finally at home, my little sister is getting ready to move out and start her family which we all hoped will be a smooth ride.
She truly needed to tone down her temperament and appreciate her husband who truly is a decent chap.
Mom is going to Hokkaido, sadly I am not the one who brings her there, while my old man just lament that the cost of a Japan trip is way too high for his liking, or he is just plain worrisome and paranoid.

I have no real picture in my head how the next few months will be like, and truly I am in the "go with the flow" state...watch this space.

Japanese word of the day: 流れ ~na-ga-re~(Flow) My mantra of late...no expectation no disappointment

Roaring into the New Year? Not so...

17th February 2010, Wednesday

My first post in like 2 months, surely do not bode well with respect with the usual routine I have always been banking on.

Work sort of take precedence for like the first few weeks of the year till the whole evaluation thing just ride on choppy waters which I really could bother less.
Beautiness' usual "this year's performance bonus gonna be crappy" talk was not enough to lift the spirit either.

One of my objective this year was to keep in contact with some close aides of the past and was pretty proud to do so over the course of the past few weeks.
Let's see how that transpired as time goes.

The annual repayment of debt to SAF with regards to the IPPT began early this month and I was glad it was close to be over.
Of course it still looked a long shot from fully paying this debt with them holding me hostage with the slow ICT recall, I am just bidding time for the next few years.

The Lunar New Year came and gone with the staple objectives being met.
The typical questioning for a baby was raised time and again and this time it was the missus who got riled.
We are still maintaining the "go-with-the-flow" approach but hopefully the fruits might bore in due time.

Wanted to visit TW and family yesterday but my poor buddy was decimated by a bout of fever, so it was called off.
Staying at home was not a bad buffer for the start of a truncated work week but somehow the missus was reeling under the weather, so MC for her today.

This Sunday will see a rare La Tendo clique gathering under less somber overtone but still Chan is not willing to leave his business party in the lurch while Ferris and spouse s' attendance was still unanswered, so surely it would not be a full reunion but close enough...

Japanese word of the day: 負債(Debt)I dun gamble but there is still debt to be paid...

Buying and Selling

13th July 2009, Monday

There have been a flurry of buying of I would say items of luxury in my household of late.

I had overheard from my folks that they had been contemplating on a new refrigerator since the existing Sanyo one was getting pretty run down. I supposed it had been around for more than 5 years now and I always thought it should last till the end of time.
Then of course my household greatly utilized the fridge and freezer due to our culinary preference to eat in.
The new Hitachi fridge had a really sleek chassis and with at least 3 ticks in saving electricity, it was surely a good buy. They even managed to scratch a lucky draw card which award them some vouchers that enable them to get a rice cooker for Sis' new place... Double good deal!

This weekend marked the appearance of the new iPhone 3GS which sent the entire nation into a frantic queue at the Comcenter for it.
I scorned at their "jump on the bandwagon" syndrome and made fun of them braving the drizzle and wastage of precious time....
But wait who's that familiar face in the midst of the human snake...It's my wife!?

Yes my fickle-minded missus who had been switching her target for a smart phone for ages now finally got her eye on the iPhone 3GS.
Like many Apple-idolizing fools, she was prompt to make a reservation for the the phone from Singtel, the monopolizing service provider who made full use of M1 and Starhub s' inability to struck the deal to bring in iPhone days before (though she was less an Apple-idolizer than myself)

After a 4 hours wait she finally got the phone with sheer ecstacy and came home harping about it. At $400 for a 32GB memory space smart phone, it was a decent deal I must admit.
The following day, my Sis also acquire a 16GB version for merely $188 as she was a new subscriber of Singtel.
The montly subscription of $50+ was rather reasonable which really threw those who rushed the gun (I.e. Ferris) who spent close to a thousand last year for the much inferior iPhone 3G, off the boat with a big "SUCKER!!"

However my missus was cooking one more purchase which will surely be the mother of all buys.... A CAR!
Her strong yearning for an automobile had reached the feverish threshold and what had been holding her back was my nonchalant or seemingly lack of support.
Of course for me it was about the financial side of things.
After missing out a good deal of a second hand car just 2 weeks back, she immediately fixated on another from the online car-mart and took time with her old man to check out the car.
Over the weekend, she had been enduring the difficult decision of whether to make the purchase, all this time while fiddling with her new phone.
I agreed on using the money from the joint account for the first payment which really caused a big dent in the sum we had painstakingly accumulated over the past 3 years.
But as my mom said, we should simply indulge in life sensibly when we are still young and vibrant.

After working out her budget, she finally gave the call to the agent for the deal as it looked like half her month's pay devoted to the car alone.
Of course, she had to make the first move before another prospective buyer will.

Myself the main spending I made during the weekend was around $15 on groceries with 2 boxes of pastry style biscuits as an lavish indulgence.
But I did sold a figurine for $160 (waaaayyyy below what I had wanted to sell), so it all added up nicely...

Japanese word of the day: 購買(Buying) After the car, think we had to live a very frugal life from now on... *sob* (;___;)

Harsh Reality

24th February 2009, Tuesday

Been back for 5 days now from a trip which was truly gratifying for me and the missus and surely one to savor at the end of it...you can read all about it here (though it would only be out next week or so).

So it's back to reality once the fun has subsided...
Work was almost non existent once I had returned with the completion of whatever project at hand since I had left. While new projects are at the horizon, the lack of work surely makes me a bit uncomfortable.
Retrenchment has been everyone's mouth since the turn of the year and now at the crest of recession, everyone just want to hold on to their job.
Myself will want to hold on to this job I cherish very much and with my 3 year contract coming to an end, I do have a fear within...*fingers crossed for a new contract come May*
From the townhall session the director had with the company last week which I had missed, it seems like our department will not be taken with much regards for the coming work year and with the gaffer now in Boston, we just hope for the best...But I still have optimism that our group will be crucial to the institute.
As for performance bonus, since this recession is even worse than the SARS period, I can't expect much this year...no expectation no disappointment...

As for the missus, her industry being at the brunt of the diminishing demand for their product has started to adopt the four-days work week to reduce cost.
At the moment it is alternate Fridays till September and with her annual leave fully expended, it means her pay will be downsized due to this policy.
At least she keeps her job...

Our government had came our with a recession package including a employment credit to ensure we remain status quo and double the GST Offset package with the first payment coming in a week's time.
The amount is not much but sure do help in some way... The electrical bill is set to reduced (though still overpriced) as well as public transport (by mere 2 cents)...
As chatted with Beautiness this morning, it surely is a year to try scrimp and save as much as possible....

In such times of recession, I still hear some nuptial bells ringing... Firstly my buddy TW in October and coincidentally that of Eriko and Sou in the same month.
We have decided to fly down to Morioka just to attend the ceremony due to our friendship as well as perhaps the only chance to witness a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony which they had intended to go through instead of holding in a chapel.
Lastly my sister and her beau are thinking about tying the knot soon but maybe not the customary just yet...
Really time to get a decent suit...any good tailor to recommend?

One mildly pleasing news is that the high key in-camp training to Kao Hsiung had been cancelled..
I speculated that it could be due to the funds been cut but got wisp of the fact that it could be the unavailability of ships...
No matter what it's good to know I need not visit the southern city of Taiwan again for the 3 year in a roll though I still have one more high key to clear in the coming years...

Finally been really in groove with Foo for our side project in our quest to support of our beloved team, Sengkang Punggol.
The trip had taken us to unbelievable height for now as we meet some crucial characters in the local footballing fraternity.
Somehow watching the games now seem to hold more meaning and life surely become more interesting at this juncture...
At least it takes some blues about current economic climate away...

Japanese word of the day: 現実 ~gen-ji-tsu~(Reality) surely everyone has to wake up and smell the coffee...

Incoming Bull Run

28th January 2009, Wednesday

So the Lunar New Year came and gone...work resumes on this day but a truncated week should see us still buoyed in festivities mood surely....

The new year brings in what they call the "golden ox" but the wave of retrenchment in many sound companies like Caterpillar and Pfizer surely seems like the ox is trying to replace human in terms of employment...Ultimately we just had to slog like an ox to ensure we have a job to keep the money in by the end of the day.

The preparation of the New Year didn't started off on the right foot when yen rate as compared for Singapore dollars rose to unprecedented (or at least since I start noticing the rate because of traveling to my motherland) rate of 1.72!
While really setback on my plan of exchanging at 1.55 just weeks ago, it also resulted in my good friend over at La Tendo to increase their new stock according to the rate.
However that was not the sole excuse to jack the price of a set of prized item figurines (Part 1 out of 11) which I had my eyes on to collect for this year to $210 for mere 7 figurines...and each is barely as tall as my right thumb?!
I'm sure it was down to terrible assortment issue that the lads resorted to such exorbitant means but still I just couldn't help ranting about it...surely not worth to pay so much...money saved in such hard times for sure...

Pretty much the same old routine for the next few days just a change of schedule and scenery here and there....
Met up some relatives who we had not seen for a while now and I developed a sweet tooth over the course of the few days and now it seemed body was inflamed with the heatiness from all those New year delicacies.
Dialed "999" for the 1st time in my life to get the police to inspect a rampant stomping of the door of my Malay neighbors a level below us which woke the family at 12 midnight on the 1st day of the New year. Turned out it wasn't loan shark or a drunken man as we fear but our inconsiderate neighbors themselves as their grandpa with hearing impairment had padlocked the main door...don't they know of a technology called telephone?!
Got a ride on my brother-in-law's luxury toy, his BMW wagon which was surely a state of the art and comfort included....
Played some mahjong with the family when Lady Luck smiled on my old man and my missus who were just picking the game as of late...talk about beginners' luck...

The coming year by some almanac fortune-telling would be quite okay for those under the year of horse with our lucky color white (yes....white socks everyday). Need to curb on my temperament and seemingly I will meet my fated benefactor...let's hope so....

Meanwhile with the New Year gone, all I can look forward to now is the start of a new S League season and of course my trip to Japan in 2 weeks time....

Japanese word of the day: ウシ ~U-shi~ (Ox) Yah better not blow it off like a bull in the china shop this year

A Sweet Fruit Tart doesn't sweetens a Bad Loss

23rd December 2008, Tuesday

Something sweet to whet our appetites on Sunday for the family X'mas dinner:

These nice (and costly) pastries from The Patissier as well as the spicy herbs pasta the missus cooked up which I can never get sick of eating as well as Mom's crispy roasted chicken, it was a perfect evening for dining with the family as well as my buddy who came to deliver the white wine.

The dinner also prevented me from heading to the National Stadium (yes it is yet been tore down despite set to do so 2 years back) for the return leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup semi final between our Lions and Vietnam with the first leg ending 0-0 in Hanoi.
I had the luxury of watching it with my buddy at the comfort of my home and that surely had "blessing in disguise" written all over it.

The mission was a simple one...scored against the Viets and we will hold on for a victory and proceed to the final against highly-fancied Thailand.
However that was very much hindered by the resilient Vietnam team following the wise tactics of their Brazilian gaffer, Henrique da Silva Calisto while our boys also showed the lack if luster especially at the final third.

We saw glimpses of brilliance from Sharil Ishak on the left after reinstated to the first team duties after been struggling from match fitness for so long; however the final ball always didn't end up at the back of the net.
In the 2nd half we saw Ridhuan who had been the mired one for most of this tournament coming to form butu his passes and Jiayi's setpieces just aren't doing much for our wasteful forwards.

With minutes ticking away, Vietnam compounded a cruel stroke with 12 minutes to go with a fast counter attacj which saw substitute right back Ismail Yunos being brushed away.
We tried in vain to find the leveler and Raddy's proud unbeaten record in the ASEAN cup came to an end to much joy of the well-represented 5000 strong Vietnamese crowd while our local fans left home, sadly without the chance of seeing our national side claiming the title for a 3rd time in a row.

Well if only the real world would be as easy as how me & TW whipped England and Calamity James' asses in PES2009...

Japanese word of the day: 甘い~a-ma-i~(sweet) Well things can't be sweet all the time...

A Brush with the Italian...Ma...Pasta

10th November 2008, Monday

This is perhaps the most unforgettable gift for my birthdays so far:

A rather deep gash (blood clot and coagulation by the following night) on the right eye-lid which resulted in a rather swollen affected area when I come in for work today

How did I got myself to this unfortunate blemish on my beautiful angelic face you might ask...well here goes:
It was a pretty humid night in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Me and the missus were happily dining at a rather cozy pasta joint by the name of Michaelangelo's when the notorious Greco mafia (or what they like to know themselves as Cosa Nostra) who were waging a new interfamily war for dominance of the well-established mafia family suddenly dirsupted our beautiflu night of dining.
Unruly scuffled ensued at the restaurant and in the midst of it, a wine bottle was hurled towards our direction...We managed to dodge the glass bottle in full acceleration, but I couldn't escaped unscathed from the impact of the glass shards from the shattering of the same bottle on the cobblestone pavement hit my eye lid, resulting in that gash...
The lucky part of it all was that I hadn't gone blind because of it...

Well sorry to have my imagination runs amok there...

We did went for dinner at a Italian restaurant known as Michaelangelo's but it wasn't at Sicily but Jalan Merah Saga along Holland Drive in Singapore.
For years since I ever patronized Holland Village (not that it's a personal favorite of mine but with the close proximity of NUS and then my current workplace, HV is always a good place to hang out), I had always seen the shop logo of the renowned restaurant but always at the rear.
When the missus offered to take me out for dinner for my birthday and with my undying love for Italian cuisine especially pasta, I was compelled to finally grace this restaurant which TW gave 2 thumbs up for ambiance.

On Saturday, due to me too immersed in my soccer games on PS3 and on PC, we left home pretty late, and the only viable transport method was hailing a cab since we had intended to drink that evening.
We hadn't taken cab as often due to the constant inclusion of more surcharges, but when we do take one usually for late night out without the comfort of our own transport, it's usually those drivers from hell who deep down trying to be the next Lewis Hamilton...wearing out their brakes much faster than wearing off their condoms...
The missus hated those diabolical rides but on Saturday we were glad the Malay cab driver had much control behind the wheel and she even slept the entire journey.

Not knowing the exact location of Michaelangelo's, I just went on intuition when we turn into Taman Warna and hit the jackpot.
We arrived the restaurant with most of the front yard being used for dining leaving a small path for passerby to gaze at the fine dining across the picket fences.
I had made reservation for dining indoors but we immediately realized it was slightly too stuffy inside and we shifted outside before I could admire the mural of the angel inside.
It was much more comfortable outside with a rather still evening though slight breezes cause the flame of the oil lamp to flicker.

The hospitable waitress (think we were been served by 6-7 different staff that evening, some from the neighboring sister restaurant Sistina) handed us the menu for the main course.
There weren't a wide selection to choose from the appertizers. pasta and grill items, but we had to ensure we order the right item to suit our taste, whet our tastebuds and make the money worth.

For appertizer the missus went for something more conventional in crab salad while I chose Bruschetta (it's authentic Italian restaurant item as well as the cheapest of the lot).
For main course, my penchant for pasta made me go for Tagliatelle Agrocosta with succulent lobster meat and asparagus while the missus took on the black cod in coffee sauce by the name of Tip di Meluzzo..
To live up the lavish dining, we asked for the wine list as well but we had totally no idea a specific winery or year we want, so the waiter recommended a bottle of Australian white wine which certainly right up our alley.

With the nice warm November breeze, chic Italian music playing on the background, authenthic Italian cuisine and fine wine as well as Caucasian diners to our left and right, for a moment we felt we wern't even in Singapore.

When I looked at the portion of my pasta, I felt I might not be full by the dinner ended..Boy was I wrong...it could be the thick saue that really filled me up or perhaps I had too much white wine...
That didn't stop us for going for some dessert and coffee.
Surely I had tiramisu and didn't regretted my choice as the missus rue over her brownie though that wasn't too bad as well.
The specialty coffee which seems to include a high level of cafe liqour was surely was something but the concotion of the white wine and then the coffee as well as the liqour in the Tiramisu, I was beginning to feel queasy.

A nausea feeling hits me and I knew I might had lost control of my alcoholic level for the night.... It's not the best time just get drunk with the missus unable to drag me back home.
I staggered my way to the restroom located deep within the interior of the restaurant... I felt the need to take a leak or at worst vomit I wouldn't embarrassed myself outside.
Fortunately the latter didn't occur but within the dimly-litted lavatory, I felt I really lost all voluntary functions of my body but I did try to wash my hands at the sink, except I doubt I even managed to turn the water on.
As I tried to leave the toilet in my groggy state, I hit my head hard on the wooden door but it did sober me up a bit.
I was still finding my balance when I try to return to the seats when a friendly bemoustached Indian waiter came to my aid and gave me the support before I managed to pace myself back to the table.
The missus had no idea what had happen but was alarmed to see the gash on my head.and crimson blood standing out on my pale face.
Mr Nice Waiter then came by to offer me some lime juice to ward off any excessive alcohol level within; by then I was close to fully sober...starting to felt silly for my mishap.

We still had still quite a bit of white wine to go but at this juncture, the wine wasn't as chilled and because of the sweetness of the lime juice, it's kind of repulsive to finish it up.

We left the restaurant very much enjoyed the dining experience and the personal touch of the crew of Michaelangelo's they are so well-known for.
As we left to the Cold Storage supermarket at Holland Road Shopping Center for some groceries, the bleeding from the gash was relentless but not profusely that would freak out the general public...
We left for home by any trip by cab...

Wine & Dine at Michaelangelo's : $200+++
Cab rides To & Fro : $35
Got drunk on white wine and cafe liquor and knock myself silly on the toilet door: Priceless

Would love to go back to the Italian restaurant again in the near future I hope...

Japanese word of the day:飲まれる (Drunk) I'm usually conscious on how I can hold my alcohol without being too over the top with the ugly state of lying in my own vomit...luckily I didn't end my prestigious run on Saturday

Digestive Overload

16th September 2008, Tuesday

It had been a frantic weekend for my esophagus, stomach, colons, ileum, jejunum, duodenum and the rest of the digestive tract as I embarked on a three day dining spree

On Saturday the 13th, the missus celebrated her 27th birthday and what better way was to dine (minus the wine) with our La Tendo buddies.

The celebration however begun a day earlier when we headed to Bar & Billiard Room for the well-recommended international cuisine buffet which the missus had been treated by a colleague some months back and felt I would truly enjoy the gastronomical journey.
The former colonial billiard saloon with a prominent bar in the middle of the hall with nice European style design and ambient lighting to create the mood surely should be more for fine drinking and listening to some classy French music or jazz.
Instead the place was bustled with boisterous chattering and deafening laughter while the entire floor was seen with toddlers scurrying around.
I questioned the idea of bringing the kids who usually don't eat much to such high-end buffet but obviously there are quite a hefty proportion of loaded parents who simply dote their young offsprings.
Working through from the salad bar to the nice selection of cheese and bread and grilled steaks which I find a bit to tough for my liking; I had a penchant for the main meal section with nicely stewed sauteed veal and cream fresh scallops as well as baked cheese macaroni which was much unlike those I had tasted previously which was an overkill to my appetite.
I even went for a 2nd serving...
By then despite only taking small servings of each of the wide selection, I was 80% stuffed to the brim.
The main feature of the buffet surely has to be the dessert corner... With nicely baked pastries, cakes and praline & chocolate delights, the allure for a high glucose and calorie level is simply too hard to resist.
In the end, I did managed to gobble down that few items from the counter I had my eyes on from my first scouting trip and was blissfully satisfied while the missus who skipped lunch and upped her usual consumption only had a bit to nibble on.
We had a good stroll around the City Link area at HMV which was the only store open at 10pm when we were there.

On Saturday, we were late for badminton despite it was almost at our doorstep in Yio Chu Kang as I had to snagged the missus out of bed on this nice wet Saturday morning to work off some of the calories we attained over the binging last evening.
She did sweat it out with that few duels with Ferris and Ek but also hurt her brittle bones along the way as well.
After lunch at AMK Hub followed by a stay at La Tendo's alliance shop, Funz Center where I got the strategy guide for Disgaea 3, we parted ways as we went on to catch "Hana Yori Dango F" which was just a vehicle to showcase how much money TBS and its collaborator can dump in for such extravagant film but at least with a cushy-wushy happy ending as the TV series have always done so previously.
With a combionation of late departure as well as traveling to the east of the island to drop off some goods as well as a brief stopby at La Tendo, we were running late for the dinner at Quality Hotel.
To compound misery to our race against time, the missus mistook her route and we landed somewhere in Braddell as we stare down to almost an hour late.
As usual knowing my wretched nature, I blew my top and it really didn't solve the problem but I simply couldn't help it as my insensitive self kicks in, even on her birthday.
Perhaps if I had more sense of direction of Singapore, things would work out fine... damn I'm a loser.
Anyway we got to Quality Hotel eventually and the vegetarian buffet was quite a spread. Even with the lack of meat, onions or garlic, the food tasted great as Vincent (who was made an appearance last minute since returning from his exchange trip) had quite a few servings.
However we should had leave a bit of space for the orange-apricot cake Chan had ordered for the occasion and many of us couldn't finish our cream-ladened slices.
We then chose the teams for the X'mas party as well as the prospective gift target.. Think more on that in the coming months.
With a well-loaded digestive system for the 2nd night in the row, we headed back home after there was a heated discussion on how the woeful Man Utd lost 2-1 at Anfield to home side Liverpoo...

On Sunday which was the Mid Autumn Festival, I went to work in the afternoon as of last week with His Beautiness as my partner.
By 5 plus, the missus came to pick me up for the dinner at Pagoda Street with my family to commemorate Dad's lunar birthday.
It was an authentic Teochew restaurant at an obscure corner at the flip side of Pagoda Street which you would miss if you didn't look carefully.
Being Teochew descent, I had an appetite for nice Teochew cuisine especially when you have a mother who can churn them out on daily basis.
However we were all clamouring how good the dinner was at the end of it especially the Chestnut Stewed Chicken and Fried Oyster Egg (Or Lua) and for the missus Yam Paste (Or Nee) with Pumpkin.

With such a gastronomical marathon, my poor digestive system surely is overwork and what goes in surely has to come out to maintain the balance.. So over the next few days, just hope that my work out routine can burn as much calorie as possible....

Japanese word of the day: 小林尊 ~ko-ba-ya-shi ta-ke-ru~ I am no eating champion like Kobayashi-san

Bereavement, Breakthrough and Babies

18th August 2008, Monday

Over the weekend, my forth maternal uncle (and the 2nd last surviving ones) passed away at the ripe age of 70 due to colon cancer I assume from what I can depicted from Mom.
My recollection of him usually was during that few and far between expedition to the small durain plantation the household owned.
A swinging bachelor with a history of promiscuous lifestyles, he certainly had a life he envisioned to be and hopefully he felt it was fulfilling enough for him. May he rest in peace.
Once again it is hard to accept when there is a death in the household, despite not a close one... but life goes on...

The Olympics though took centerstage in the family and perhaps the rest of the island when the female table tennis team managed to clear the semi finals stage to earn the rights to go up against the home team and World No. 1 last evening to claim the gold medal.
However we were already in jubilation on Friday when they toiled to beat South Korean in 5 sets as we would the least get the silver medal, an honor 48 years in the making.
The live telecast even put the Prime Minister's National Day Rally at the backseat as we braced for a near impossible task to overcome a China team with the top 2 seeds in the world.
In the end, we lost sheepishly in 3 rounds with Dad adding his own commentary about how bad our "bought-over" team is and what rights they had to earn 750K prize kitty. He was just being sore and negative as usual and the missus who was watching the first few match-up with him in the living room got tired of his constant hounding of our local peddlers whom she supported and retreated to the comfort of the room for the final match up.
Elsewhere Phenomenal Phelps finally notched his 8th gold medal on Saturday and he barely lost his 7th (1X100m Butterfly) by 100th of a second.
Jong Oranje failed to beat hot favorites Argentina in their Quarterfinal tie while 10 men Belgium caught the scene by storm by beating Italy 3-2 to make it into the semi finals.
Rafael Nadal won gold medal for men's single tennis while Federer redeemed himself by clinching gold for Switzerland in the doubles.
Russia clean swept the women's singles while the Venus sisters retained their doubles gold.
Usan Bolt became the fastest man of earth with his 100m sprint but China's golden boy of the tracks, Liu Xiang ended his quest for his 2nd consecutive Gold in 110m Hurdles when he pulled out of his heats due to problematic Achilles tendon, surely to much awe and exasperation of the local fans supporting him.

While even the Prime Minister was exhilarated with our first Olympic medal for half a century, many insensitive mood-spoilers claimed that there is no glory with the medal since the team including the coach comprised of mainly China-born Chinese.
This brought the whole FTS (Foreign Talent Scheme) issue up on the surface and it was so well documented and discussed, I'm starting to yawn just typing this.
Seriously with no sporting culture whatsoever, the laidback mentality of Singaporean plus the way our government manufactured us to be, we would never win anything on international level without imported talent as highlighted by the PM himself.
In a virtual reality of 2017, a Singapore National football team won the 3rd placing of the Confederation Cup, beating the likes of Colombia and Uruguay and matching against Spain and Argentina with a squad comprising a Chilean rightback and a couple of Thai midfielders and on anyday might even include some China-born players as well as a Nigerian defender and a host of many other non-Singapore born players...

Mr Lee also emphasized on our appalling birthrate especially among the Chinese population, and fervently encouraged more couples into the parenting bandwagon.
This news came to me mere minutes before the missus bemoaned how envious of other friends who are basking in motherhood.
I do believe in having my own children but once again I just don't know when...
Once again another topic we had stumbled upon time and again...sigh

Think Foo & myself had finally gave up hope on Sengkang Punggol when we witnessed yet another pathetic display one which if I have a kid would never want to show them.
We made an effort to head down to Jalan Besar for the S League duel against fellow strugglers, Young Lions hoping for another victory under Gravobac's tutelage.
But almost half of his first eleven was robbed from service and the youngsters modeled themselves after the senior squad in the most wretched way.
For an entire match, we couldn't string a good attacking opportunity and there was perhaps a tame shot on goal even Massimo Taibi can save for sure.
The Young Lions our next hope for national team isn't any better in footballing wise but just lucky they meet a Sengkang squad on their usual lousy day as we succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.
Once again it's not about the scoreline but how woefully the team displayed in the loss that really made us jaded....doubt we may attend another match featuring our team for sometime till the end of the season.

Japanese word of the day: 育てること(Parenting) If a kid is like a professional footballer, I may fancy taking up parenting. But if it's like Sengkang Punggol, I rather not...