Escapade!

This time, travel-buddy Lynn and I make our way to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia! We set off tomorrow, woohoo!

Am really looking forward to 3 full days of carefree sightseeing, shameless camwhoring, binging on glorious food, unadulterated spa pleasure, carousing on dirt cheap beer (only US$1) and combing the streets for local knick-knacks!

Check out our hotel!

Picture removed to protect the privacy of the hotel we stayed in (See blog entry on "Creepy Moments"). And to get myself out of unnecessary lawsuits.

Ain't it pretty?

Mama-bear and the stick insects

Attended my old friend Cheng Li's wedding on Friday in Hyatt Hotel, JB. Cheng Li (CL) and I go way back to our NJC days, together with the other 2 suspects, Guak Ee (Guak) and Kareen Pang (KP). We used to stay in the former Hwa Chong Hostel, where we would hang out at Guak and KP's room for blanket parties (this involved 3 of us - usually KP, CL and CY, hiding behind a blanket and doing a little ditty. Guak was usually in-charge of playing the music) maggi mee feasts and disco dancing (dimming the lights and playing retro music to boogie-woogie to).

We always thought CL would be the 1st to marry, but KP beat her to it! Muahaha!

Sadly, after JC, we all parted ways. Guak and KP went to NUS, CL went to LSE in London and I went to NTU. Fortunately for the 3 of us in Singapore, we still had the chance to meet up now and then. For CL, who was far far away in London, the only way to communicate was via e-mail, and even then, we could not maintain the correspondence over the years.

Anyway, CL got in touch with us a couple of months back to invite us to her wedding! She was getting married to "Parrot" (the nickname we bestowed on her husband-to-be back in the hostel days). Why we nicknamed him that, I have no idea...presumably because he looked like one?

CY with the blushing bride CL!!

With Guak, the mei-nu of our group!

KP (left) and Christina (right) Chris was my roommate during our hostel days. Super gung-ho and outgoing, she used to throw apple cores out the window and scream at the neighbours to SHUT-UP when things got too rowdy.

Group picture. Does the groom resemble a parrot? You be the judge.

I had a hard time picking out the photos 'coz I looked like a bloody sack in all of them. I thought a baby-doll would do well to hide my flaws, but my plan obviously backfired! I felt like a mama-bear next to my petite stick-insect friends. And I acted like one too! I was going for my 2nd round of the buffet but my friends were already into sweets! Felt like such a glutton man!

Boy would I love to be labelled a stick insect one of these days! And I'm going to hide this unflattering dress into the deepest, darkest corner of my wardrobe! Boo!

/end

An excerpt of the conversation I had today with XX, a colleague who joined the company the same time I did. Before you proceed, "family care" is defined as one of the following:-

• Leave you take to care for your family (duh)
• An excuse for fakers who are too lazy to get a MC
• Annual leave in disguise

xxx

XX: Hey, have you taken family care leave before?
Me: Yep!
XX: Did you have to submit a MC or anything at all?
Me: Nope!
XX: Do you know whether our family care leave is prorated?
Me: I dunno, I'm not HR. Why don't you call them to check?
XX: (presumably pissed) You just have to tell me you don't know, there's no need to say you're not HR.
Me: It's just that you've been asking me so many admin questions, but we joined the same time, so I'm actually just as clueless as you are.
XX: Anyway, next time I won't ask you anything.
XX: /end
Me: (Feeling bad) Hey sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.
XX: I said /end
Me: Okay okay /end

xxx

Admittedly, I was in a pretty foul mood and he chose the wrong time to talk to me but hey, at least I bothered to apologize okay? And this /end thing? It was reminiscent of the childish quarrels I used to have in my P-school days. My friends and I would hurl abuse like "You are stupid, full stop!" just to get the last word in. HAHAHAHA

IKEA's Spag Combo Meal for April

AT A COOL PRICE : S$9.80

Yum yum! Such great value and delicious to boot! Hay and I ordered the spag combo, curry chicken, meatballs, chicky wings + drinks and we stuffed ourselves silly with the hearty Swedish fare.

Catch this while you can, as the offer ends 30 April 2007. The Combo meal for May is the poached salmon and I'm gonna snitch about this dish, coz when we were ordering our food, there was this old couple who was complaining that it tasted fishy and wanted to "return" their salmon. The slightly condescending counter people told them that salmon tastes like that but the old couple was indignant and insisted that "they eat salmon almost everyday, so they know what salmon tastes like!". Anyway, it's cool that the old people got their way...shows that Ikea cares :)

And so, here's the moral of the story: Don't eat cooked salmon if you can help it. But by all means, help yourself to some sashimi, they're my fav.....haha.

You may also want to check out this website if you're still not convinced.

Interestingly, one of the reasons given is that fishes are smarter than dogs and enjoy hanging out with friends. Hmmm....I read somewhere that pigs are pretty smart too, but who's giving up on char siew and shio bak?

Happy 19th Month Baby!

Yes, P and I have been together for a cool 19-months! Yea, I know it's kinda sweet that we keep track of this special day by the month, except for the 1-2 occasions where both of us forgot *oops!* But we're not the sweetest ok? I know of a girl who used to celebrate by the week! That's so sweet it'll give you diabetes.

So after work today, we decided to go for a lomantic dinner at Clarke Quay. We spent a good half an hour deciding on which restaurant to hit, as everything looked so enticing! :) Finally settled on Bayang, a Balinese restaurant with pretty reasonable prices. P ordered the grilled jumbo prawns combo and I was fixated on the baked duck combo (duck, being my favourite meat). The combos come with coconut rice and salad and costs 2 bucks more than the dish alone, so we thought it was pretty worth it. Feeling ravenous, we ordered another Ayam Panggang (i.e. roast chicken) marinated in some special sweet sauce to share.

Verdict? Delectable and very tasty. I found the jumbo prawns a tad dry but P was digging the prawnhead for roe with relish (help! help! cried the unborn baby prawns). Thumbs up!

After dinner, we joined chio-babe Lynn and her friends at Bice (pronounced Bee-cheh) for drinks. It was the opening night for Bice, though for the life of me, I can't understand why. The place has been around for quite a while guys! Maybe it's just an excuse for Mr Choo to host a party! The place was pretty cool and the interior reminded me of a library 'coz of its woody feel. There were also a couple of gals with deep cleavages trotting around, so that was pretty engrossing. After 2 glasses of white wine, I was beaming like a lobster and ready to go home!

Techie let-down (Part -1)

Techie accidents always freak me out. This goes way back to the time I bought my first digicam. Let's see, was that in year 2004?

xxx

I brought my precious to the 2004 Annual D&D with my then-company. Snapped lots of pretty photos of sexy girls with pouty lips. Got home reeling with excitement at the prospect of uploading these photos onto my laptop. Switched on my camera and Viola! The photos were not there. Took 3 deep breaths to stay calm. Called a tech-expert friend to seek help. After half an hour of messing around, had not managed to retrieve a single photo. Friend told me he has to go. Overwhelmed by helplessness, started crying into the phone. Huge, loud sobs. Blows nose. Friend was compassionate but seemed eager to get off the phone. Hung up and continued sobbing in solitude.

xxx

That's the kind of drama-mama reaction I kick up when a tech gadget fails me. I could never handle this aspect of my life very well, and I guess I will never be technically accomplished enough to. Thank goodness I now have my tech whiz bro and supportive bf to help me out in dire tech times. For that, I am thankful :)

Techie Mishap

Woe is me! Last night, my CD drive kapooted on me. First time I tried, I had difficulty pushing in the CD, it was as if something was lodged deep in its recesses. I pushed and urged, and succeeded in coaxing the CD in, but it just wouldn't read. Feeling slightly frantic, I tried again, and this time the CD slid in, shook its hips for 10 sec, and popped right out. By this time, I could feel the panic rising in me, so I grabbed a pair of scissors (in the absence of a ruler) and tried to dislodge the suspected food particle (possibly tiny bits of Mamee - BBQ flavour as I've been munching on that in bed for the past few nights) in the drive. But I found none, and in the process of probing and poking, possibly aggravated the drive. For the third time I tried to insert the CD, it got totally stuck. The stubborn CD refused to budge. F***!

I brought my baby to the clinic straight after work today, but the GP attending to it said the problem was a lot more serious and she would have to refer me to a specialist. I asked her what the charges were, and she calmly replied that it would cost $100 for the specialist to touch and inspect my babe, and another $500+ to replace that faulty limb. I struggled to maintain my composure, but I was feeling pretty distraught by then. Despite the mambo-jumbo going on in my head, I managed to rationalise that my 3 year-old baby is obsolete enough as it is (I've been ridiculed for owning my humble G4 when Powermac and G5 were already ubiquitous). It just wasn't worth spending that kinda money on a gadget which I was already thinking of replacing next year.

If you're thinking "where's your warranty?", that shit expired exactly 35 days ago. So you can imagine my frustration! I swear there's some kind of tech conspiracy going on. Have you ever wondered why nothing happens to your gadget during the period it's covered by a warranty, but the moment the warranty expires, that damn gadget decides to flip on you? Or how when you think you're lucky and ain't needing that expensive warranty because nothing untoward has ever happened to your good self, your usually unadventurous gadget decides to do a dangerous somersault and break its back?

The motto of the story is: Getting a warranty on your gadget is like buying life insurance. Always insure your tech gadgets for as long as possible, no matter how lucky you pride yourself to be. That little bit of money can really save you loads in the long run, should your lucky stars burn out.

Foodie!

P and I decided to satisfy our tastebuds (and wallet) at Basil Alcove. It was my 2nd time there and P's 1st. When we got to the "restaurant" (the inverted commas coz' the place ain't exactly posh yea...it has a coffeeshop feel), we were told that we'll have to wait 45 minutes for our food to come. What! That's freaking long, but since we were already there, oh well, yes we'll wait.

So we twiddled our thumbs, and contemplated getting the papers to read under the dim lighting. But then the beer came, and not long after, the Caesar Salad with chicken. I've tasted so many salads that Julius Caesar will be proud (okay, corny joke!), but this has got to be the BEST Caesar salad ever! There was a generous serving of tasty chicken and cheddar cheese, and the guy at the table next to us remarked "There's more chicken than lettuce!". So please believe me when I say generous. Of course, faced with such a delicious salad, P and I walloped every bit of it and waited for our mains to come.

P ordered lamb rack (most expensive main on the menu at $18.80) and though the serving was not large, it was delectable and not the least bit foul smelling. And again, do take my word for it coz I'm not a huge fan of lamb, but I thought the dish pleasant. Of course, P the carnivore attacked the poor baaa with relish. I had a simple Aglio spagetti (cheapest main on the menu at only $5.50) and for an inexpensive dish like that, it was extremely satisfying.

It was a pity that dessert is not the chef's specialty and so they didn't have any on the menu. But we were so stuffed and contented we wouldn't be able to stomach any more food anyway, so the lack of sweets was not too big a disappointment.

All in all, we were happy with the fine-dining-without-the frills concept, and will definitely return for more! Burrrpppp!

A play to brighten up your day!

It's been a while since I caught a play. The last play I caught, I believe, was The Dresser, starring none other than the man himself - Mr Adrian Pang. Can't for the life of me recall who I watched this with...CX was it you? As always, Mr Adrian Pang was a star! I've tried to watch as many plays as I can with him in it, The Odd Couple, A Twist of Fate etc. And he never ceases to entertain with his wit and clever acting :) But watch out Mr Pang, your roles are getting just a tad stereotypical!

Sadly, our local productions all cannot make it one. We talk about taking our best i.e. Forbidden City abroad and making it a world-class musical. Kudos to Kit Chan, she made us proud, but the songs she was singing? They all sounded like Dick Lee's Life Story from yonks ago. And Hossan with his yin-yang friend was so not-funny! Pretty disappointing musical and far from being world-class!

I'm catching Blithe Spirit on Sunday and I'm apprehensive that it may turn out to be another Boeing Boeing! or worse, Private Parts. Man, PP has got to be the most over-rated play in the world. We shelled out our hard-earned money just to watch that cutie (wait, wait...not that bimbo in her short skirt k?) Timothy Nga look boring. Come on, boys and girls, the guy is hot la!

But here's an excerpt of what he said in an interview with MIW:-

Qualities of ideal partner

As for looks, I'll be honest here. 'Beauty is a necessity'. I would not apologise for that as I would want to wake up every morning and go 'wow' and not 'urgh!' (laughs)

Would you say this in an interview and have it published, even if you meant every single word? *Rolls eyes*

Match made in heaven?

Have you ever had a brainwave that 2 people who are related to you but don't know each other could be so good together?

When something like that hits you, what do you do?

1. Conjure opportunities for these 2 special people to meet?
2. Tell each of them that "Hey, this person I know would be so perfect for you" but don't do anything about it?
3. Think "Yea whatever, fate will bring them together!"

If you chose 2 or 3, you're a lousy friend, alright?

But if you chose 1, or have taken this option before, you would realise that it ain't easy to bring 2 strangers together. Trust me, I've tried, but my efforts came to nothing. And I've been tried too, with the same negative results.

So what exactly is the problem? Based on personal experience (and some feedback from the subjects of my failed attempts), I'd say it's the contrived environment that these 2 people are put through. Despite the emphasis that the meet-up is nothing more than a casual get-together to make a new friend and have some fun, these 2 subjects, more often than not, put pressure on themselves to make things happen. Examples include forcing yourself to laugh at every joke the other person makes, even if they're not funny, attempting to speak in perfect English when "la-s, blahs and ha-s" define your linguistic habits, or worse, trying to speak with that phony accent. Of course, trying too hard is counter-productive. But at the same time, not trying defeats the matchmaking agenda, which is to impress the other person, and possibly make him/her fall head over heels in love with you.

Or maybe our expectations of love have scaled new heights. We have a check-list with 101 conditions we want in our partner - great career, fat wallets, no BO (very important, this one), good teeth, bright smile, kind heart, loves children etc. When it comes to studies, we've always been asked to take our expectations a notch higher, so that we strive to do better. But when it comes to love, I say it's best to let your expectation slide a notch, so that we don't end up feeling too disappointed. Afterall, doing well in exams is something that is within our control, but finding love is not.

Anyway take my bullshit with a pinch of salt. I'm certainly no love guru, but if you think what I've said makes sense and would like to learn more about my theories of love, hate and conspiracy, pick up the phone and dial now.

Can you sleep?

I can't sleep.

Just one of those things that hasn't happened to me in a while. In close to 2 years to be exact.

In the past, I used to suffer from insomnia. I would stay awake all night thinking about...stuff. You know, like if I've had an argument with someone earlier in the day, I would be coming up with scathing remarks in the night of what I should and could have said to hurt that person. Inane really, but such thoughts could keep me up all night.

And if I've had an old friend call me minutes before bedtime, I would be replaying that same conversation over and over and over again in my head even long after the conversation has ended. I would be thinking about what she said, what I said, why she said it, why I said it, how she said it, how I said it, and then I'll read between the lines. If after all that reading, I'm still not happy, I'll re-read until it's so late and I'm so freaking tired.

Sometimes, I worry about work. I worry about how well (or badly) I'm coping, how I measure up to my peers and how I hate this or that colleague. I wonder why people seem to think that accountants are monotonous and boring (I know I'm not!) and how unfair it is that Zouk has "Crew night", "Media night"etc but no "Accountants night". What, you think accountants don't club?! Pharking discriminators.

I've even tried counting sheeps. But the sheeps got pretty interesting and my fascination with them did not encourage sleep to come. The sheeps were jumping across the fence in delightful hues of red, green, black, yellow. Some were fat and wooly, and some pitiful ones had just been shaved. Some gave long "baaaaas" but others a squeaky bleat.

I used to stay up feeling lonely. Wondering why all the guys who were interested in me were such assholes. Why my love life sucked. Imagining myself that bottle of ketchup in the supermart which was getting closer and closer to being swept off the shelf, not by some paying customer, but into the bin for being past expiry date.

Those were tumultous times. Feeling tired and having to rely on coffee every morning to give me that surreal burst of energy was painful (and I hated smelling coffee in my pee...ugh!). Having bottles of cough syrup and muscle relaxant stashed away like precious gems because they were the key to dreamworld was sad, not to mention pathetic.

I am truly grateful that the sleeplessness that was tormenting me for so long had decided to go away. Perhaps I had come to terms with some of the issues I used to wrestle with. Or maybe the sleep-less spirit didn't like me anymore and left to seek another body to possess.

Pirates!

Having exhausted all the CDs from Season 1 of The L Word and dangling from suspense whether Bette was going to be a cruel bitch and run off with that gay carpenter, I had had had to get my hands on Season 2!

So of course, I headed to my favourite shopping centre (with P in tow), dead intent to get what I seeked. Lo and behold, we realised to my dismay that every DVD shop in the complex was closed! Bummer, it was only 7pm! Asking around, we learnt that there was a police raid minutes ago, which explained the lack of activity. But surely one tiny, self-sufficient shop remained unscathed!

After 10 minutes of frantic search, we got lucky! Though the goods were not displayed in the shop, the owner, sensing our interest, took us to the hideout via the dark stairwell. Mind you, I had never suspected that the untenanted shops with poster-plastered doors in the back of the building were the secret location of the stash! Unfortunately, they did not have what I wanted and I had to leave with my head hung low.

Feeling slightly depressed, and not to mention desperate, we continued roaming the complex. This time, a couple of idle men, like pimps, had seated themselves outside the still-closed shops. As P and I walked past, one of them murmured "Any DVDs for you, boss?". I recognised this man as one Captain Jack Sparrow of DVDLand. He had impressed me once with his astounding knowledge of DVDs and eloquent speech, which had spurred my bro to empty his pockets in that shop!

The Captain messaged his crew on a walkie talkie and got an immediate response. Yay, the DVD was available but could we walk around and come back in a couple of minutes, his man will bring it down for us.

So we walked, and when we returned 3 minutes later, he signalled us over into a quiet corner. I was entertaining funny thoughts when he unbuttoned and reached his hand into his shirt, all the while glancing furtively around, but out pulled the loot. I quickly paid for my merchandise, with a little bargaining of course, and left in a flurry.

What a sneaky experience! Hahahahaha