Shummi's Squiggles

this blog has been on hiatus for a looooonnnngggggg time.
i just got a data plan for my phone and am figuring out how i can update my blog from my phone. Update more later!

2mths 26 more days to go!!!!!
:D

This came in the mail today...

2010-03-20T20:49:00.005+08:00

HAHAH! I am so surprised that it actually came! Thought it was only meant for japanese locals. But I'm sure glad that they took the effort to send this all the way to Singapore. Thumbs up for their service!

Woots!

2010-02-11T00:40:00.000+08:00

The planning has started!
So exciting!
I hope all is well
and we can go according to plan...
:)

小虎队21年后再聚

2010-01-24T11:23:00.004+08:00

小虎队 will be coming back as a group to perform at China's 2010 Chinese New Year show. Wow, really brings back memories from my pri/sec school days... The first time i stepped into the casette shop to buy my 1st ever casette tape - their album hong qing ting. Gosh! Time has really gone by. The 3 of them should be close to about 40 and they even speak with a chinese accent now! Really happy that each of them have found their own niche areas after all the ups and downs around the late 90s. Looking forward to their performance in the CNY show! :)

Korea Links

2009-11-28T01:13:00.009+08:00

Hotels
Decksan Spa Castle
T.H.E Hotel and Vegas Casino
YongPyong Ski Resort
Hotel Riviera

General Information
Korea Official Tourism Website
Seoul Subway Map

Places to Visit
Dragon Peak, Mt Balwang (YongPyong Ski Resort)
The Face Shop
Everland
Lotte World

Seoul
Dongdaemun Market
Dongdaemun Official Website
Namdaemun Market
Namdaemun Official Website
Namdaemun Map
COEX Mall
COEX Mall Official Website

Ugh!

2009-11-11T17:38:00.001+08:00

ugh... down with flu... got caught unaware by the sudden drop in temperature. :( really sucks to fall sick while you are abroad, especially if you are overseas for work. Cant get the rest that I really need. :(

Leaving again...

2009-10-30T00:37:00.002+08:00

Leaving for next trip next weekend... company trip this time. Quite stressed as there's lots to do before going and sure to have much more to do when I'm back. Anyway taking 1 step at a time. No point to think so much. haha~

uh-oh. its heading across the whole of japan!

2009-10-07T00:07:00.002+08:00

台風18号の状況 2009年10月7日 1時推定
中心の緯度	25°55'	強さ	非常に強い
中心の経度	130°30'	進路	北
中心の気圧	940[hPa]	速度	20[km/h]
大きさ	--	中心付近の最大風速	45[m/s]

I'm back!

2009-10-03T19:36:00.003+08:00

Back! had lots of fun.. 1 of the best trips to japan so far... haha... the typhoon diverted and we had superb weather for most of the days. Luckily it got cloudy and little bit of rain for the days we went shopping.. haha!

Drats x2! Its headed towards Japan!

2009-09-15T18:36:00.002+08:00

drats

2009-09-15T03:25:00.002+08:00

Kansai Links

2009-08-30T23:16:00.015+08:00

General Links
Hyperdia
Asahi Weather
Kansai International Airport
Surutto Kansai
Osaka Unlimited Pass
Tsuchidaen

Osaka
Osaka Info - Osaka Tourist Guide
Osaka City Web Page
Hotel Ilcuore Namba
Universal Studios Japan
Rinku Premium Outlets
Shitennoji
Floating Garden Observatory
WTC Cosmo Tower Observatory
Shinsaibashisuji Shopping Street
Osaka Castle

Kyoto
Kyoto City Tourism and Culture Information System
Kyoto Official Travel Guide
Kyoto City Web
Kyoto Imperial Palace
Gion Corner

Nara
Nara Sightseeing Homepage
A journey to the ancient city
Nara City Official Website
Todaiji

My 1st Europe Trip...

2009-06-07T23:23:00.000+08:00

7~18 May 2009
Central Europe - Paris, Switzerland, Italy
Went as a foursome and came back as a group of 24.
Good weather, no traffic or queues, nice food...
Skies that miraculously cleared up just before we leave the place...
Snow that still covered the Swiss Alps even though we are in the mid of May...
Feather snow that fell ever so lightly when we were on the mountain tops...
The snowstorm that raged, while we were out on the cliff, which highlighted the harshness of nature and the fragility of life...
Gypsies who opened our eyes to another face of life...
and most importantly, superb companions...
Thank you God, Thank you everyone for such a wonderful trip.

PS. More pics coming up.

3 weeks only?

2009-06-07T23:08:00.000+08:00

1 month ago, on 7th May... we departed Singapore for Paris...

Tomorrow marks the 3rd week since we touched down at changi airport on 18th May...

OMG.

Only 3 weeks?

Feels much longer than 3 weeks...

Haiz.

There are...

2009-05-21T23:22:00.000+08:00

2 policemen in my house now. Quite good looking, both of them.

My sis got flashed at and she made a police report. Hence the policemen showing up in my house.

Haha~

I'm Back!

2009-05-20T12:57:00.000+08:00

had a fun fun fun 12-day holiday... met lots of people, been inspired by people, seen how others lived their lives... feel very glad and blessed to be able to have joined the group, met all the great people and spent some good time with them... the trip was good, everyone was safe and sound, we had good traffic, good weather, some rain, some snow, a snowstorm while we were on the mountain top, good shopping and food... haha!

got a sinking feeling in my chest. is this a post-holiday withdrawal syndrome? well, well, as our TD Gary says, there is a time to work and there is a time to play... i had my fun and its time to concentrate on other things - work and my exam is coming up in july.... argghhh!!! so this means delay in photos...? hahaha...

will post a review of my trip soon. had some terrific weather when i was there... think i managed to get some good shots. :P

Ciao!

Links

2009-05-02T23:16:00.000+08:00

Paris
Mercure Paris La Defense 5
Batobus
Lourve
Dome Church
Eiffel Tower
RATP
River Seine Night Cruise
Sacré-Coeur

Interlaken
Chalet Oberland-Interlaken
Interlaken - Gateway to Jungfrau
Interlaken Tourism

Lucerne
Hotel Astoria
Lucerne Tourism

Italy
Hotel Russott (Venice)
Hotel Cicerone (Rome)

Chuzenji Temple

2009-03-21T00:25:00.000+08:00

Kegon No Taki

2009-03-20T19:30:00.000+08:00

Kegon no taki (Kegon waterfall) in Nikko, 1 of Japan's top 3 waterfalls.

Grandma's 80th Birthday

2009-03-15T02:19:00.000+08:00

Celebrated my grandma's 80th birthday today at Carousel, a buffet restaurant in Royal Plaza on Scotts, with a few close relatives. Very happy day for all of us, with good food and many jokes and catch-ups.

Grandma's cake, from my aunt, bought from Carousel that came with a special birthday song sang by their staff... yummy~!!!

Beautiful

2009-02-22T01:02:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-25T22:45:00.000+08:00

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Shin nen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Nikko Yuba

2008-12-27T00:43:00.000+08:00

Yuba, also known as tofu skin, is a Nikko speciality made from soybeans. During the boiling of soy milk, in an open shallow pan, a film or skin forms on the liquid surface. The films are collected and dried into yellowish sheets known as "yuba".

We had yuba in our meals in Nikko... We had raw yuba, boiled yuba, fried yuba and tempura yuba. Each type of yuba tasted different - fresh, springy and light tasting.

1st Nikko meal a resthouse near Chuzenji temple - Yuba set meal (1575 yen)
Top left is raw yuba in ponzu sauce, yuba tasted soft, milky and almost melted in my mouth. Top is assorted vege tempura, the yuba here was light and crunchy. Tempura was not oily and remained crunchy even when soaked in the udon soup. Left is fried yuba in udon with white fungus. Yuba was rolled into a tube of many layers and lightly fried. It absorbed the soup very well and was very soft when bitten into. Yummy!

Lunch near Tobu-Nikko Station before leaving. Yuba udon (950 yen). Similarly yuba in udon but the soup base was different, a lighter tasting soup with vege. Yuba appeared to be hand rolled , and the folds of the yuba skin can be seen quite clearly, yuba also tasted lighter than the previous udon i had.
We also had yuba for dinner at the pension that we stayed. Need another post for all the dishes we had in the sumptuous dinner.

a cat with an 'A' for attitude

2008-12-26T13:51:00.000+08:00

Sunset from Tokyo Sumida River

2008-12-25T20:18:00.000+08:00

Rainbow bridge in the sunset...

On way to the Nikko Strawberry Park

2008-12-25T18:09:00.000+08:00

Shi2 Lian2 Pai1 from the 2 Jie-Mei "Bao"

2008-12-25T15:53:00.000+08:00

shi2 lian2 pai1 means 10 consecutive shots. looking from the number of shots i have in my camera... i think they did 3 sets of shi2 lian2 pai1. judging from the increasingly wider smiles and redder faces, i guess its good way to relieve boredom during a boring train ride.. hey, wait a min... but the ride was only 8mins long!

houtou ほうとうfrom lake kawaguchi

2008-12-25T15:20:00.000+08:00

Houtou, a traditional dish from Yamanashi, comprising of thick, flat noodles, vegetables (especially pumpkin, potato, carrot, spring onion and shiitake mushroom) and usually meat, is often served in a cauldron-like bowl. Its something like our ban3 mian4, but tastes several times better without the floury taste. (1,260yen)

Trip Review

2008-12-25T13:47:00.000+08:00

Been about a week since I'm back. Been busy catching up on work and nursing a bout of flu which i suspect is due to me not being used to the hot and humid sg weather... argh.

here's what we did in japan... :)

Day 0 - 7th dec - getting to nihonkoku
went for my jlpt exam at smu in the afternoon. smu pretty well done up, with escalators and security check gates at the ground floor. classroom was big and airy with lots of natural light coming in. seems like a conducive place to study. exam finished at 1800, rushed home for a bath and some last minute packing and off to the airport for checkin. we ended up with JAL flights and we had access to the business class lounge with some food. flight was jal was bearable, but their movie selection wasnt fantastic (i watched the dark knight.. finally... yippee!) and they woke us up at 4am for breakfast. whoever eats breakfast at 4am? nevertheless, the porridge served was quite good.

Day 1 - 8th dec - around tokyo
took limo bus to sunshine city prince hotel in ikebukuro. super far from the jr station. room and bed mediocre. i definitely wont be staying there again. shared the same hotel with mjc band. students are having it good nowadays with these sch trips. bought lake kawaguichi and nikko passes, did some shopping at uniqlo, had lunch buffet at keio plaza hotel, saw tokyo from the tokyo metropolitan govt building (at no charge, haha!)

Day 2 - 9th dec - disneysea
thank goodness for the rain... cos the crowd at disneysea was very little and we had very short waits for the rides. went on indiana jones, journey to the centre of the earth, tower of terror, etc. ok ok la. simple rides haha. the rain and wind on the way back was horrible. our umbrellas were blown backwards and we got drenched... horrible.

Day 3 - 10th dec - move to ueno, hatonosu valley hiking and jieying's arrival.
experienced the morning hr rush when we moved hotels in the morning. an eye opening to the world of sardines. but surprisingly no tempers flared and everyone was calm and courteous... but just crowded... and squashed. hatonosu was very pretty but the hike was horrid. i dun mind hiking if the walkways are well defined. but there was no path! only rocks! upwards is ok, but i got a phobia of going down and this was made worse by the rain yesterday. the rocks were either wet or covered with leaves. thank goodness we made it back safe and sound. met jieying at the train station at night. our foursome is now complete.

Day 4 - 11th dec - disneyland
another day of fun and rides. weather was very good and we had lots of fun. food at disneyland/sea was nice, although a little ex, but was delicious and worth the money. much much much better than wat i eaten the HK disney.

Day 5 - 12th dec - lake kawaguchi
early morning train to lake kawaguchi. mt fuji was majestic and the snow cap covered halfway down the mountain. went to herb hall, made a keychain and hp strap with the dried flowers, mt tenjou, but the sun's glare was very bad at tat time and mt fuji was covered in a mist and we couldnt get good shots. followed by a very delicious houtou lunch and we visited the music forest. later we checked into our ryokan where they enjoyed hot springs bath and we had a sumptous dinner (like those in japan hour, haha!). We met the nice guy who regularly updates the hotel website with mt fuji pics, he showed us many pics of mt fuji which we hv no chance to see. told him how i look forward to seeing his photo updates and he promised to mention my name in his next update, which he really did. see post on dec13th. haha!

Day 6 - 13th dec - lake kawaguchi and shopping
breakfast at ryokan was delicious. yikes! eating all the way. then we went to the natural living centre for jam making. now i know how to make jam! hmmm, alternative career perhaps? hahha. we went back to tokyo and went omotesando for shopping. jieying bought a blue label wallet which she is gonna use for the next 10 yrs.

Day 7 - 14th dec - harajuku, asakusa, odaiba
shopping, shopping and more shopping. and it rained again... the rain stopped at 2plus when we were at asakusa. took the "himiko" water bus to odaiba. 1st time seeing tokyo from the river and the tokyo sunset.... nice nice! went to a new shopping centre at lalaport - converted from an old shipyard. found a bargain for watches at 1000yen (16 bucks) each. heehee.

Day 8 - 15th dec - nikko
woohoo! snow! lucky for the heavy rain yesterday and nikko is covered in snow and we had clear blue skies... woots! went chuzenji temple, kegon falls, delicioous yuba udon lunch, made a snowman (keke!), sanbonmatsu plateau and we had a small snow-covered hill just nice for romping and snow-angel making. yeah! lodging was at la revage pension, with hot bath and dinner was terrific with sweet home grown vege. hv nvr tasted such sweet vege before!

Day 9 - 16th dec - nikko, strawberry picking
visited the world heritage sites of toushogu and rinnai temple. then went strawberry picking.. we got a good recommendation from the taxi driver who brought us to a nearer strawberry park. japanese strawberries are machiam sweet! i hv nvr eaten so many strawberries before in my life. hahhhahah!

Day 10 - 17th dec - home sweet home and ferragamo temptation
shopping at airport and on the plane there was a ferragamo long wallet sold for abt 600 sgd... arghh so tempted to buy... but i'm contented with my 3-yr-old burberry for the time being...

pics "slowly"coming up in the next few posts....

merry xmas!

I got mentioned....

2008-12-13T22:46:00.000+08:00

so sweet of him... heehee....

Japan Links Updated...

2008-12-06T22:23:00.000+08:00

Doing research for my nihonkoku trip... cant wait to go....
stupid yen is so expensive now.. argh!!

This post will always be on top when its updated. Scroll below for recent postings.

New immigration procedures since 20th Nov 2007... For details, check here.

東京 Tokyo
京成スカイライナー / Keisei Skyliner
Hyperdia

New Izu Hotel Ueno
ホテルサードニクス上野 / Hotel Sardonyx Ueno
Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Shinjuku

Tokyo Tourism Information - Self guided tours to explore Tokyo
TokyoTower
Tokyo Disney Resort
Yokohama Bayside Factory Outlet
Tokyo Cruise (Suijo Bus to Odaiba)
La Foret Harajuku

奥多摩/ Okutama
Mt Mitake

河口湖 Lake Kawaguchi
秀峰閣湖月 Shuhoukaku Kogetsu Ryokan

富士河口湖 / Fuji Kawaguchiko Sightseeing Information
UKAI 河口湖オルゴールの森 / Music Forest UKAI Museum
自然生活館 / Natural Living Center
河口湖ハーブ館 / Kawaguchiko Herb Hall
河口湖木ノ花美術館 / Konohana Art Museum
天上山公園カチカチ山ロープウェイ / Tenjou-yama Park Kachi-kachi Ropeway

Access to and around Lake Kawaguchi
河口湖・西湖フリーきっぷ / Lake Kawaguchi - Lake Sai Free Pass
フジサン特急 / Fujisan Express
レトロバス / Retro Bus
カチカチ山ロープウェイ / Kachi-kachi Yama Ropeway
河口湖遊覧船 / Cruise boat

Kawagoe
Kawagoe Tourism Site

日光 Nikko
星（あかり）の宿　ヴィラ・リバージュ / Villa Revage (pension)
Chuzenji Pension

日光観光協会 / Nikko Tourist Association
Nikko City
Nikko You You Guide
奥日光 / Oku-Nikko
OkuNikko.org
神橋 / Shinkyo
三本松 / Sanbonmatsu (戦場ヶ原 Senjougahara)
戦場ヶ原 blog
Yudaki Resthouse

Access to and around Nikko
Tobu Railway (Spacia)
Tobu Bus
Bus to Tachiki-Kannon-Mae
Spacia (Asakusa to Tobu-Nikko)

福田いちご園 / Fukuda Strawberry Farm

Tmr's da day!

2008-12-06T17:31:00.000+08:00

kan4 kai1 liao
at most retake next yr....
hahaha...

Ugh

2008-12-05T00:14:00.000+08:00

snow melted
warmer weather
possible rain

exam on sunday
havent studied much yet

work still lots of issues

flying on sunday
luggage not packed yet

sucks.

Woohoo!!!!

2008-11-26T15:19:00.000+08:00

I hope the snow lasts... Next week seems like a warmer week...

PS. 11 more days. Bangkok airport closed. Hope we are not affected. But SQ lets us change flight to later with no penalty. On waitlist for direct flight later on the same day.... Crossing fingers now...

Snow snow snow!

2008-11-23T09:49:00.000+08:00

snowing already! at oku-nikko! hope we can get more snow over then next 3 weeks before we go nikko, heehee.

At Sanbonmatsu,

At Yu-no-ko, see the whites at the island and base of the mountain?

Mt fuji looks real good. And the sky is real nice. i hope we can get lots of clear blue skies when we are there..... praying hard and crossing fingers and toes, i really need clear blue skies when i am there!

PS. 14 more days!

17 more days...

2008-11-20T12:32:00.000+08:00

Arghhh!!!!

havent finished itin
havent started studying
havent settled work issues yet (though i dun think theres any closure soon)

but still

argghhhh!!!

the lights came crashing down

2008-10-08T23:50:00.000+08:00

crashing down,
crashing down,
and so the lights came crashing down,
luckily no-one's hurt...

new rosin

2008-10-07T23:55:00.000+08:00

and it freaking costs 19.90sin.
argh!
it better be a good rosin
and cannot shatter into pieces when its accidentally dropped...

seems rather high class, with its own pouch.
hmm, think the pouch will work fine as a small purse.

the old shattered-to-pieces rosin

*edit: the new one seems better.
i do not need to put so much and the powder does not fly up and i dun get a itchy nose from it. but the tone is rather different, need to work on controlling it better.

f1 fever

2008-09-29T00:25:00.000+08:00

yah, a wee bit of the fever rubbed off me as well... and i spent 2hrs in front of the telly watching the cars go 61 circles around marina...

chocolate racing car at royal plaza on scotts

actual racing car on display at parkway

its a miracle....

2008-09-26T22:57:00.000+08:00

i passed.... !!! with merit..... !!!!!!!

\(*v*)/

cuute elmo

2008-09-14T00:07:00.000+08:00

elmo had a fan request today!
someone tot elmo was reeaaal cuute and wanted to snap a picture of him
of cos i gladly gave my consent
then i also took 1 oneself later...
hmm, elmo IS cuute!

poor elmo almost got lost once
when the metal strap broke and elmo fell to the ground.
good thing the person behind me picked elmo up and returned him to me...
i would be so heartbroken to lose elmo...
then i have to get another one from universal studios in japan... :(

it was a downright, outright...

2008-09-05T19:39:00.000+08:00

NIGHTMARE!!!!!

things that i normally get correct, i got it wrong
sucks
dun wanna talk abt it or be reminded abt it
sianed

exam tomorrow...

2008-09-04T10:38:00.000+08:00

the day has finally come...
exams tomorrow...
sorta overtaxed myself yesterday
and i shant make myself tired out today
need to conserve strength for tmr....

24hrs more to go...

countdown...

2008-09-01T19:58:00.000+08:00

4 more days....!!!

had a bad dream this morning.... dreamt that the examiner is a meanie china man and hes super fierce! then i couldnt remember how it went and i went to ask my teacher and my teacher replied that he didnt hear cos he was doing his tutorial... @#&^$~!!!

on the way home from class today

2008-08-30T23:37:00.000+08:00

singapore post centre, in the nice blue sky. it quite soothing to see such nice scenery after a long day of class...

10 more days!

2008-08-26T23:22:00.000+08:00

argghhhhhh!

save me, someone!

vids tat make me smile during this period of stress

2008-08-24T10:50:00.000+08:00

we always see sleeping babies trying to stay awake, this time its a kitten. :)

he shd know better than to tread on thin ice!

hahaha!

my 1st masterpiece!

2008-08-21T00:39:00.000+08:00

yep! i did it! i self assembled a 2-tier rack all by myself today!

getting the pcs out of the box
halfway there!
ta-daa~! *pats myself on my back :)

20 more days to go...

2008-08-16T00:26:00.000+08:00

and it still is not good...

arghhhh...

:(

30 more days to go....

2008-08-05T23:24:00.000+08:00

ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more from the black knights

2008-08-03T11:32:00.000+08:00

the heart again... this time in pink smoke! seems like actual NDP gonna be in pink. Cost-cutting during the previous previews. hah!

since we are on food

2008-08-03T02:40:00.000+08:00

ashton's at serangoon gardens
went there for lunch last week
bbq chicken chop
5.90
with 2 sides
cheap and good

yum yum!

2008-08-03T02:20:00.000+08:00

yummy dinner with family at t3 today... arranged to meet at tcc, then my sis wanted coffee club instead. duh... waited for them for 45mins. i was the 1st to reach even though my class ended real late and i wasted time waiting for a non-existent train. :S

food porn at tcc while waiting... i was so bored! read the menu back and forth and i can even memorise whats in it!

lychee jazz, must try this! nice! 5.80
close up shot. yes, thats how bored i was!
potato wedges, also very nice!
coffee club seafood lasagna. so-so... seafood too chewy for my liking. dessert was nice, too busy eating to take pics.

removed the ticker...

2008-07-26T23:42:00.000+08:00

too stressful
keeps reminding me of the number of days i have left
and i think its subconsiously affecting me in a bad way

i'll reserve the tickers for happier events. :)

talking about not counting...

2008-07-21T11:08:00.000+08:00

and i went to add a ticker to the top of my blog
ha ha ha

1 mth 2 weeks and 1 day
sounded much longer than what i was thinking yesterday. hah...

but its actually in fact...
45 more days!

hmm
i really need to make every single day count!

i've stopped counting

2008-07-21T01:22:00.000+08:00

stopped counting
dun wanna count

part of me wants to get over and done with D-day
the other part doesnt want D-day to come at all

5 weeks to D-day and i need to change
well...
at least i still hv 5 weeks and not 5 days

will take 1 day at a time
and make most of every day

hope everything will work out fine in the end

NDP Practice

2008-07-10T16:38:00.000+08:00

drawn by the air force knights

i miss japan!!!

2008-07-07T23:42:00.000+08:00

i miss pudding!
i miss hokkaido!
i miss ramen!
i miss kyoho grapes!
i miss listening to japanese talking!
i miss the rumbling sounds of trains!
i miss tonkatsu!
i miss jap tv!
i miss taking photos in japan!
i miss japan's weather!
i miss doing an itinerary!
i miss sightseeing!
i miss tokyo!
i miss returning back to my hotel room after a fun day of play play and play!

1 of my fave spots - Otaru Canal

57 more days to D-day
and
everything still sucks
crap
plus bad timing with projects coming in
crap x2

sianzzzz

i survived fri!

2008-07-04T23:59:00.000+08:00

i got thru today!
it wasnt as bad as i tot it would be
in fact
i quite liked the experience
except for that wretched gecko
who was hiding behind the toilet door
and
scared the hell outta me
stupid gecko

tmr is 1st lesson...
scary
wonder whats its like
haha

emo

2008-06-29T20:38:00.000+08:00

yep, thats what im feeling right now,
heard the word from my younger grp of frens,
nvr imagined tat i will ever use it on myself,
well,
if this is wat emo feels like,
then i really dun like this emo feeling...

haiz...
enough of this,
gonna focus on my practising,
putting my mind into something will help,
i suppose.

off to work.

Great Teamwork at Play

2008-06-19T23:09:00.000+08:00

Chanced upon this army of ants building their new home. Was very amazed by the tremendous amount of teamwork they put in. Notice how most of the ants are stretched way out on the leaves and holding on to the adjacent leaves to form a closed wall, while a few other ants scurry around with white 'glue' in their mouths and sticking the leaves together. The wonders of nature!

Oh ya! Forgot to mention that the pics are taken by my trusty SEK800i's macro function. Whoots! SE rocks!

Time flies...

2008-06-19T22:33:00.000+08:00

And its 10 weeks more to D day...

arghhhhhh....

Shera Ceiling Board

2008-05-26T19:03:00.000+08:00

ooh... this is sooo damn hilarious. fell off my seat watching this... hahaha~!

Biei

2008-04-30T22:58:00.000+08:00

Prawnking just came back from a 25-day japan trip with his family... waa, lots of fun and photos. i miss japan~~~! i'm also tempted to put up some of my photos from my previous japan trips, to relive some of the memories. and yes, the photos that were taken long ago but still sitting in my hdd... untouched...

here's 2 pics from a half day trip to Biei. Biei is near Furano and its covered with lots and lots and lots of snow. it was a warm year when we went and the temperature was -7 degrees. normally, it will be -25 degrees. can u imagine how cold that is?

i booked a 1-hr taxi tour to bring us to a couple of famous sights. hmm, i need to review the area as i already forgotten what their names are... the tour was real worth it. 6000yen for 2 people and the warmth of the car was definitely well worth the money. i cant imagine walking to the sights which are mostly 1-hr worth of walking. no wayy~

snow in biei is very different from those in sapporo and otaru. very light and fluffy... ideal snow. and it wasnt really that cold. guess the air is relatively dry and there's no humidity to make one feel cold...

here are 2 random shots. will post more when i'm done editing them.

Sapporo TV Tower and Illumination at Oodori Park

2008-03-16T16:19:00.000+08:00

glad i lugged a tripod on this trip, else i wouldnt be able to get such clear shots... Xmas was nice, had to brave the snow and cold to take photos... hmm, i wonder how would Oodori Park look like in summer....

taken from the sapporo tv tower. cramped and full of horrid light reflections. had to do without flash else i cant even get a clear shot of the outside. the huge mounds of snow seen in the pic are specially transported from by military trucks in order to build the huge snow sculptures for the sapporo snow festival.

i've decided...

2008-03-11T22:04:00.000+08:00

to walk home from the mrt station, a good 20-min walk...
to climb up the stairs to my flat, 8 storeys 16 flights of stairs
everyday
except when its raining (stairs ok, walk from mrt no)
except when i feel sick and tired...
yep, i've decided to do so and i will stick to it.
hah.

PC and Happy

2008-02-17T22:57:00.000+08:00

Yipee! my pc's back from hospital. silly motherboard's slots are spoilt, couldnt get any display and the docs found some corrupted system files and had to reformat the whole pc... anyway, glad that its back... busy restoring it back to normal...

and my family got a pet turtle! his name is Happy.... duh, right? haha. happy's cuute... he sleeps with his right hind leg stretched out, hates the sun, and likes perching on the rocks with all his 4 legs tucked into his shell, his left hind foot is deformed, looks like his 3 toes have been chopped off, leaving only 1 toe... and oh ya, he poos a lot after he eats.. and its immediately after he eats... input with immediate output... uuggghhhh...

the black stuff is his poo... after eating some kangkong leaves... a lot of output, right...? we have switched to giving him turtle pellets and upgraded him to a larger house with rocks...

back alley in macpherson...

2008-02-03T03:18:00.000+08:00

Twisted Ankle

2008-02-02T01:08:00.000+08:00

walking home in the rain
carrying that heavy laptop bag of mine on my left
holding an umbrella in my right hand
discussing work on the phone with my colleague
suddenly veered off the pavement step and went onto the grass
twisted my ankle as i kept my balance
hurts now. :(

Sick

2008-01-28T23:09:00.000+08:00

Doc's verdict - passage between the ears and nose is blocked, tonsils are swollen... gave me some nasal spray which causes my ENT cavity to hurt after i spray it in, a course of antibiotics and flu medicine...

and i'm not better yet. it hurts, even just to swallow...

sigh...

Back from trip, but Sick :(

2008-01-27T22:59:00.000+08:00

it hurts... pain~ the place on top of my throat... cant swallow without feeling any pain....

nose blocked...

ears blocked too...

argh...

time to go to the doc tmr...

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exam registration is here...
argh...
its gonna cost me 213 bucks...
double argh....
exam in sept... going to be feb soon... so fast...
triple arghhh.....

need to start working hard now!
cannot play play liao...

angry!

2008-01-04T17:18:00.000+08:00

fuming mad!

2 things i cant stand...

1. pple using the word "always", ie. u always say this, u always say that...
-> i dun always do that ok. dun use 1 single moment and label it as ALWAYS!... and worse, i didnt even do it!

2. pple saying "dun u know i xxxx"
-> of cos i dunno la! cos u nvr tell me mah!

pekchek! ggrrrr!

Did some personality tests

2008-01-03T22:23:00.000+08:00

Are they accurate? Hmm... this means tat... I'm a mess? hah...

From "you are what you eat"

You are a negotiator. You'll do anything you can to avoid open conflict so you never start quarrels. You will give in when you think it's appropriate side.

You are always wilful and most of the time, you are a stubborn person. But you love to work and are quite honest, which makes you good to get along with as a friend or lover.

You are vigorous yet gentle. You appear to be mysterious to those who don't know you very well because you don't often reveal your feelings. You like to socialize and are popular among your peers.

You are logical, smart and inventive. Sometimes you are too cold and selfish.

From a "left, right brain" webby...

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Funny Quotes...

2007-12-20T16:02:00.000+08:00

A MAN WILL PAY $20 FOR A $10 ITEM HE NEEDS
A WOMAN WILL PAY $10 FOR A $20 ITEM THAT SHE DOESN’T NEED

A woman worries until she gets a husband
A man never worries until he gets a wife
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can ever spend
A successful woman is one who can find such a man

haha~

Its the HOLS!!!

2007-12-16T14:09:00.000+08:00

finally! 2 weeks of no sat class...
yippee!
think i'll take a break,
will work hard next year...
keke...

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on hindsight...
guess i'd better do some practise,
lest i "de-prove"... (warning from my teacher)

btw, is "de-proved" a word...???

jlpt1 exam finally over...

2007-12-07T00:52:00.000+08:00

finished my jlpt 1 exam last sunday... finally! it marks the end of my rushing down after work to class every monday nite, reaching home at 11pm, tearing out my hair on the numerous grammar, kanji, vocab homework, and the countless of tests that we had..... argh... i wonder how i managed all these for the past yr...

i seriously hope i can pass... it doesnt really help my confidence after the exam, finding out that most of my classmates are re-taking the exam this yr... and 1 guy is taking it for the 4th time! also... it definitely make it worse after finding out that the vocab, that i didnt know and practically did guess work for every qn, can be found in 1 of the set of notes from the teacher.... argh... :(

some photos i took that day...
at the entrance of the jap sch, 1st time going to jap sec sch for exam, used to be the pri sch in changi. forgot to snap a pic of the classroom that i used for exam, was too pre-occupied.. duh...
cable cars from mt faber to sentosa, took it from the overhead bridge to haborfront...

Cham!

2007-11-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

not really studying as much as i should be right now....

argghhh!!!

5 more days...!

Passing on...

2007-11-13T23:42:00.000+08:00

B, from my previous post, has passed away on 10th Nov... 51yrs of age, ending the fight with lung cancer. I would say B fought gallantly... Heard that B kept a journal for the 2months of sickness, from the day of the diagnosis till the day B left... B even planned every detail of the funeral - the procedure, the food catering, etc.

I'm impressed with B's state of mind, the control of emotions, the reactions and actions to sickness. B didnt let the sickness deter anything. Took the medication, went for treatment, and was also prepared to leave this world... B's positivity is what we could learn from...

However, the irony of things is... B passed away not bcos of the lung cancer... but from chest infection that B caught after the radiation treatment... radiation destroys all the bad cells in the body, including the good cells, making one susceptible to infection... and tats wat took B away... not the sickness, but the treatment for the sickness...

sigh...

well... i guess what we can do is feel happy for B, passing on to next life... and remember what B's spirit has taught us...

appreciate life, accept and let go...

Paradoxies of Life

2007-10-27T23:47:00.000+08:00

hmmm... received news that 2 pple i know have cancer...

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1 is my co-worker 'A', high calibre, high flyer, smart, very hard worker... went to work as an expat in another country... this co-worker puts works as 1st priority, and works very hard, often skipping meals/sleep/rest, just to do what is needed to get the job done... good husband, good father... diagnosed with early stage of stomach cancer and went straight into deep depression... upset with his life that had turned out this way... last heard that the cancer has went into 2nd stage and is spreading...

the other is a fren 'B', whom i'm not very close, but we have known each other for many years and had some lunches together... very very very nice, kind-hearted person, and very very very health conscious... always eating light, little for meals... lunches were mostly porridge with vege... opted for early retirement and went for holiday and collapsed halfway throughout the holiday... went for checkup and was diagnosed with 4th stage lung cancer... non-smoker and diagnosed with lung cancer... but 'B' accepted the sickness and looking positive...
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why? why is it like that? ok, i understand the part abt neglecting health for work and falling sick... but eating healthy, not smoking and getting lung cancer...? i think 'B' follows the so-called food pyramid tat we learnt in sch for healthy and balanced eating, but still got sick in the end...

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this reminds me of another co-worker who passed away in Feb this yr - he's very well respected in our team and has many credits to his name... dinners with him were always filled with laughter... my 1st nickname was also given by him... haha.. he was almost near retirement and looking forward to receive his pension and enjoying life with his wife, after putting his youngest son thru college... however, late last yr he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and has left us this Feb...

also, another co-worker, who pass away a couple of yrs ago.... early 30's, just got promoted, just got married, with a new condo and car.... collapsed all of a sudden from heart failure and left us...
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why? why is it like that? 1, who has worked hard all his life from rags to riches, and almost able to enjoy his fruits of labour... the other, at the prime of his life, with all things going well, looking set for success... why?

paradoxies of life...

i guess what i can do now is to...
treasure life/family/frens more.
enjoy when i can.
not worry abt things that cannot be done.
work as hard as i can without compromising my health.
fulfil my dreams when i can and not "wait till i'm older/retired".
live my life to the best that my life can.

2007-10-26T11:04:00.000+08:00

TGIF !!!

Still alive...

2007-10-23T00:07:00.000+08:00

long time no blog... been back for more than a month, lots of things have happened, some rather significant... will try to recollect what have passed through my mind these past few weeks...

watching movies in the plane
broke my record for watching movies on the return trip to the US
1. pirates of the carribean 2
2. pirates of the carribean 3
3. blades of glory
4. fantastic 4: flight of the silver surfer
5. just follow law
6. 300
7. the protege
8. oceans 11
9. oceans 12
10. oceans 13

Hello from the US!

2007-09-08T22:44:00.000+08:00

very sleepy now... 19hrs flight to SF via seoul. was very impressed with the new plane boeing 777 - wider seats, more leg space, larger personal tv screen, handset stored in front and not at the side of the seat... ooh~ i watched so many movies - pirates 2&3, blades of glory, fantastic4: silver surfer, just follow law, a bit of 300 and listened to 2 violin albums (lullaby for zzz). ok... i will let the pictures do the talking.... yawnz... gotta sleep soon...

2007-08-26T00:59:00.000+08:00

i like this guy! Choooo~ funky!

OK... now i'm more motivated to do Bach! Heehee~

War of the Worlds

2007-08-13T23:59:00.000+08:00

eventful day with 3 wars happening consecutively...
1st war, in the early afternoon, lasted 2hrs which our team won.. not bad... considering the odds were against us...
2nd war, in the late afternoon, our team was the 3rd party and we watched the war raging between the other 2 parties... interesting... lasted ard 1hr, short and fiery, lots of ammunition involved, both had their own stand to make and both succeeded in not letting the other party see their point. in the end, it was a draw with our team having the action item, hah....
3rd war, in the evening, lost horribly... total loss... sigh~...

Humoresque @ Cantabile 2007

2007-08-12T23:34:00.000+08:00

Asahikawa Zoo

2007-08-10T22:43:00.000+08:00

aching all over now.... trying my best... hope everything goes well...

well... here are my long awaited photos of my trip to the asahikawa zoo, hokkaido... we took 1.5hrs of train ride and then 40mins of a bumpy bus ride, before reaching the zoo. we were there about 15mins before the opening time and there was already a long queue of people waiting outside the zoo to go in...

the highlight of the zoo, the main reason why i made the freaking trip out and into the freaking cold... -7 degrees!!!, was..... the emperor penguins!!! the most exciting part was where the penguins were let out of their enclosure for a walk round the zoo. this only happens in winter and only when there is enough accumulated snow, to let the penguins get some exercise... we were very very close up to them... just abt an arm's length away...

here's some of the photos that i took...

2007-08-07T02:04:00.000+08:00

scared... worried... apprehensive...
but i know i gotta do it....
argh.....

and i dun believe i cant master bach !!! grrr !!!

The Final Potty...

2007-07-21T22:40:00.000+08:00

The final potty is at long last out... started reading it almost immediately after i got it, even while waiting for my class to start today. i had a hard time resisting the temptation to turn to the last page to find out whether harry died or not. but my teacher appeared out of nowhere and said that harry didnt die! grrr.... btw who will ever turn to the last page to read the end before reading the front?! GRR...!!!

here's another nice weather pic that i took while walking home. i like the cloud! and the blue sky!
ok... i'm off to finish reading potty! will post asahikawa zoo pics the next time!

Gloomy gloomy days this whole week...

2007-07-14T01:03:00.000+08:00

changes changes changes... ya ya, change is inevitable... change is the only constant thing... blah blah blah... but there's still the heartache there...

here's strange habit of mine... i like to take pics of skies and clouds, cant resist snapping a few shots whenever i chance upon a good sky... here's what i took these few days using my SE k800i...

while walking home from the mrt station...
at the mrt station... humongous columbus clouds against the clear blue sky...
sunny day with clear blue sky... from dennis' car...
this is dennis.... haha...

Rabbit on Kachi-kachi Mountain

2007-06-07T00:03:00.000+08:00

Went Lake Kawaguchi during the Jan trip this year. didnt had much luck with the weather and it was super cloudy. but at least it managed to clear up a bit during noon, and we managed to get some shots of mt fuji.

our 2,000yen pass included a free ropeway trip up the kachi-kachi mountain. had a very good, super nice view of mt fuji. there were many cute animal statues around the mountain... tanuki, rabbits, etc... some cuute~ rabbit shots...

Birthday

2007-05-29T23:01:00.000+08:00

Me birthday today, haha :) what i did to commemorate my bday...

1. took leave today... but still worked, had a conference call from 9am to 11am, work sms at 7.50am, customer calls in the afternoon, meeting arrangements, and... i just realised my boss hasnt approved my leave application yet, and my leave is already over! haha!

2. watched shrek 3 with frens! fun show. but i found the parts with snow white, cinderella, sleeping beauty more funny, esp the fights, lol! and i like the cat's doe-eyed look! so cuute! hmmm... maybe can try this innocent look sometimes, and i think the effect can be enhanced with a few flutters of the eyelashes, haha!

3. ate from the 4 major fast food outlets, all in 1 single day... almost freaked out when i saw the food. think i going to lay off fast food for some time! 1 more birthday lunch from david, looking forward to it~!

4. ate ben & jerry's cookie fudge ice-cream. nice! but had a bad coughing fit after that. almost, but luckily never, triggered an asthma attack. think my tolerance to cold stuff has gone down. :S

Bach Concerto for 2 Violins

2007-04-30T00:39:00.000+08:00

aiyo... chimalogy~~~

Michelle's Studio Shoot and Sentosa, Sun 22 Apr 2007

2007-04-25T02:18:00.000+08:00

yippee! so happy~ went out with some frens on sun! went to kaypoh a studio shoot with michelle and staci and then went to sentosa for outdoor shoot. practically did nothing at the studio, except munch on tidbits and chatting with dennis. haha... got help a little la... gave suggestions, helped to choose color for lighting and helped to move the full length mirror back to the corner.

very long never nua on sunday already. my sundays are normally packed... jap homework (7 sets!), violin, work, then study for jap kanji test at night. but this week.. heehee... my violin teacher forgot to plan my lesson and so i only have a 6-liner etude to finish before the next sat. and i managed to finish my 7 sets of jap hw early, and i didnt feel like studying for my jap grammar and kanji tests, so i threw everything away and went out! and totally enjoyed myself!

photos are taken with my SE800i. so this is the 1st time i am posting my hp pics on this blog. pic quality turned out quite good on my pc and i only did a resize to a smaller file size.

this is dennis, pretending to be a dog doing his business against a coconut tree... this really reminds me of the trip to sarawak cultural village (click on the links for photos!) and damai beach in kuching.
michelle, while posing for the camera. i think she did very well as a 1st-timer and there were many strong poses. cant wait for staci to finish editing the photos!
fave pic of the day - sunset at siloso beach.

Otaru Night View

2007-04-24T23:33:00.000+08:00

i like otaru! small, peaceful town... sells lots of ornaments... and of cos their famous music boxes... made 2 music boxes myself... heehee...

some pics of otaru at night. it was snowing quite heavily at times, and it was quite difficult to get a clean, good shot. and i was so worried that the snow will go into my camera... but the snow resulted in the pictureque effect... i'm so glad i brought my tripod along, worth the effort lugging it around hokkaido...

i forgot the name of this building, but its opposite the music box museum. has an european feel to it, especially with the snow falling down.
the famous otaru canal... it was snowing like crazy a few minutes before and it just stopped suddenly. all the sudden, it was calm and peaceful, doesnt even looked like it snowed just now. the snow spoilt a lot of my photos and used up the last of my batteries... and it was a freeking freezing -3.6degrees that night.