Brisbane Day One

29 May 08, Thursday

At Changi Airport – I bumped into a little bit of a hassle there. I didn’t realize that you need a visa to visit Australia as a tourist. I always thought that Singaporeans didn’t need one. So you can imagine my horror when the check-in counter staff told me that without a visa, I could be fined A$5000 and immediately deported back to Singapore.

But all I needed to do was to get a visa and the Qantas service counter could do that for $70. Well, obviously, I had to right? Not much of a choice there.

It’s my fault that I didn’t check to make sure I had all the necessary travel documents but heck, I still think it’s a bloody rip off to charge $70 for an online visa application.

Anyway, I paid up, checked in and went on to Duty Free. Porcupine wanted some items from the cosmetic counter. Knowing my very limited cosmetics knowledge, I was armed with a detailed description, so I could simply hand it to the salesgirl, “Get me these items…fast.”

The flight over was pretty smooth after that. Qantas Cattle ..oops… I mean Economy class was cramped as usual. Supper was disappointing. I had expected the asian selection to have some sort of a standard since it was being catered from Singapore. But heck, the beef redang rice was hard, chewy and really bland. I should have gone for the fish instead.

Worse yet, I think my stomach didn’t like the food very much too. And it chose the worst time possible to launch it’s protest – 30mins to touch down and the seat-belt sign is on. Not wanting to shi* my pants, I chose to hurdle over my fellow passenger and quickly sprint into the toilet before any of the stewardess could do anything. I got out just 5mins before the plane touched down.

Brisbane - It’s been almost 4 years since I left and I had heard from my friends that it’s seen much change and developments. The good thing is that while there’s been a lot of new buildings and changes, it’s still very much familiar and I still felt quite at home.

As I walked around the streets and buildings that I had passed almost on a daily basis 4 years back, it brought back so many memories. Sometimes I couldn’t help but to smile and chuckle at certain locations. Some places made me paused and for a moment, I was transported back in time.

I think people must have thought me to be a crazy tourist because I was taking pictures of the most mundane and uninteresting things and scenes there were.

I had a rather late lunch at Kadoya. It was, and still is, a popular eatery in the city that served up the most delicious yet modestly priced Japanese curry rice I’ve had. Back then, I had most of my lunches here…at least 3 times a week. One of my most memorable presents came from here too.

The weather was quite overcast when I arrived in the morning and sure enough, it started to rain in the late afternoon and it continued into the night. I hope the next day’s weather will be better. Even though I was looking forward to the cold weather, it’s just a little too much rain.

And since it was raining, I didn't manage to go out but it was still quite nice just to curl up under the blankets and do up the slideshow for J's wedding.

G'Day Mate!I'm heading off Downunder.

But hopefully, I'll be able to post some holiday entries while I'm out enjoying myself.

There's lots to do - people to meet, food to be savored, places to re-visit, pictures to be taken - it's going to be yet another busy vacation for me.

But heck, at least it's going to be a fun "busy".

Demons of Stupidity all around

I think I cannot take this nonsense any much longer for today.

I feel like I will take my trash bin and tip it over the next moron who irritates me with a problem that isn’t a problem but became (my) problem because the moron cannot follow simple instructions.

Why am I consistently plagued by stoopid idiotic @#%*@% morons at work?

Why can’t people read and follow simple instructions?

Why are people who may be brilliant academically suddenly become more stupid than a Dodo bird with it comes to following simple instructions? And why aren’t these Dodo-humans extinct yet?

How simple must I make my instructions? I think I have made them very simple. I even have full color screenshots and a step-by-step process all nicely described.

Any simpler, then I might as well do the work for them. And they jolly well better take a part of their frigging five-figure salary and pay me.

ARUGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!

Still alive & kicking...just really busy
Gosh, can you believe it's exactly 1 month since my last post. How time flies when you have tons of work to do.

I'm still breathing and kicking - abeit just feeling a little stretched out for time.

So what have I been up to? Hmm... nothing really exciting. Just busy with work, then in the evenings if I'm not hung up with work, then I'm usually with Porcupine, or else I'd be huffing & puffing away at my RT sessions - which have thankfully finished now... but unfortunately I haven't managed to pass my IPPT. sigh...

yeah D, I can imagine you sniggering when you read this. eh..bro, don't laugh so hard ok. At least my 2.4 run is getting there. How's your waist line doing eh? It seems to be pretty prosperous judging from the photos. hahahahah.... :P

Anyway, so now I'm busy trying to finish off as much work as possible before my brief hop Downunder for my pal's wedding and a short visit to M.

I'm looking forward to the trip. It will be a good change in pace after 2 hectic months. I only wish it could be a longer trip... like maybe a month or two...or better yet.. three. Then I would really be able to indulge in a little photography and enjoy the nice cold winter season rather than the scorching hot weather that we've been having.

It's so hot that even the breeze at East Coast Park at 9pm feels like something from a hair-dryer. It's so hot that a 5min walk outside will reduce me to a damp lump of ...ermm... fabric??

It's so hot that I feel like perspiring just thinking about it.

ok... I just need to endure another 7 more days before the nice cool cool weather....ahhhhhhh..

:D

Me as a photo-journalist?
I have another of my pictures published in the media.

Even though it was a commissioned job, even though the newspaper is not found in Singapore - but hey.. that's a plus right? Picture published in a "foreign publication" looks quite good in the resume leh.

woohoo... yet another tiny step towards being a National Geographic photographer. :P

kekeke....

And, no.. I hardly have any idea what the article says. My chinese is really crap.

Monkeying around

My Department had a Team-building exercise at Sentosa last Friday.

I didn't have much expectation about it - I've been though a couple of them in school and NS.

But it turned out to be pretty fun and thought provoking at the same time.

Anyway, here are some of the more "bo-liao" snapshots from that day.

The most southern tip of the Asian continent... closed for "rejuvenation works"

I didn't know that ships needed a lifeguard too

Yours truly trying to have a diva moment...hahaha

Sunset & Coconuts

A crazy evening out

Last Friday saw a group of my colleagues going out for dinner. And while we were waiting for our orders to arrive, we just did some stoopid expressions to past the time.

Of course, there's a lot more hilarious photos of my colleagues but I don't think I'll be posting them here. But here's some of mine.

Note: Usually I'm not crazy but at the end of a hectic week, I have a tendency to do crazy things to unwind. muahahahahaaa....

"...Hmmm...I'm feeling especially hungry today. Looks like my diet plan is taking another serious hit..."

"...Why is it taking so long for my order to arrive? I want my dinner now!..."

"...I'm so hungry that I could just eat this bunch of serviettes...or maybe I'm just feeling constipated..."

"...yeah baby.. this is what I call a set dinner..."

How's Work?

Changi Airport - Terminal 3

Link (Pics taken with my mobile)

I recently went to the our spanking new, still-got-that-new-building-smell, cutting-edge, humongously large Terminal 3.

What struck me immediately was just the sheer size of the building. It makes the older sliblings, T1 and T2 look like tiny little living rooms. T3 is just this massive cathedral-like space in which even the most claustrophobic would feel relaxed.

If you haven't gone, you should - just to check the sheer size of it all, and of course, all the swanky retail shops.

Huffing & Puffing

How time flies. I'm due again for my physical fitness training - proudly sponsored by Grandpa Lee.

The "Gym"

Today was only the first session. There's another two months of pure physical exertion (1st four weeks - 2x/wk. 2nd four weeks - 3x/wk) ahead for me.

This is going to really strain my social life. However, on the bright side, I really hope this will help me shed a few kilos. I'm not asking for a lot. I just want to move my BMI from 'obese' to 'moderately obese'.

Then maybe I can finally fit into that Zara shirt I got as a birthday present.

Well, that's all from me now - I need to go and paster myself all over with pain relief patches.

Sigh...I'm getting too old for this shit.

Stressed
When the stress levels in the office get too much, we'll do stupid things.
'nuff said.

The Singapore Airshow 2008

I went to the airshow today, got badly sunburnt but it was worth it. The aerial performances were simply breath-taking and the roar from the jet engines when they zoom past just reverberates you inside out.

Anyway, here are the first series of pictures - the Airbus A380 - the world's biggest operational passenger jet. I knew it was suppose to be huge but wah lao eh.. seeing it up close and parked beside some smaller planes, really brings its size into sober perspective - not to mention it gives me the opportunity to actually touch the plane.

Official airshow site

Singapore wins 2010 Youth Olympics bid

Reuters - Friday, February 22

ATHENS, Feb 21 - Singapore will host the first Youth Olympics in 2010 after the city-state won 53 out of 97 postal votes, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge announced on Thursday.

Wild celebrations erupted in Singapore immediately after the announcement with more than 6,000 people watching Rogge on outdoor TV screens pull out the winner's name from an envelope.

The new event, which is Rogge's brainchild, is designed to generate enthusiasm among the world's teenagers who in recent years have turned away from the Games in greater numbers raising the average age of Olympics' television viewers.#

Rogge read out the winner's name at a ceremony held inside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"This is a key moment for the Olympic Movement", Rogge told reporters. "Singapore has put together a very exciting project.

"Hosting the Youth Olympic Games for the first time is a great responsibility, and I have every confidence in the team in Singapore."

Moscow won 44 votes.

Singapore will host a Games that will have about 3,200 athletes, aged 14-18, competing in 26 sports and will cost about $30 million.

Some 800 judges, referees and delegation officials for the summer editions will also be young people.

"This is a great honour for all of us," said Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at an outdoor rally of cheering Singaporeans dressed in the national colour of red.

"We will be the focus of a new era of sports development. We worked hard to achieve the dream despite the odds."

Singapore has only won one Olympic medal since 1960 but has twice hosted the biennial Southeast Asian Games, with more athletes than the Youth Olympics, and will host them again in 2013.

"I'm a bit surprised and very excited because it is a chance for people from all over the world to gather in Singapore and see what we have to offer," said Rafiuddian Sawal, a student who dressed as an ancient Greek soldier to commemorate the event.

Writing by Karolos Grohmann, Editing by Jon Bramley and Ken Ferris
Yahoo News link

Indiana Jones - Coming Soon


http://www.indianajones.com

The passing of a Singaporean Icon
Ah Meng, icon of Singapore Zoo, dies of old age
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 February 2008 1828 hrs
Channel NewsAsia article

SINGAPORE: Ah Meng, the Sumatran orang utan that was considered an icon at the Singapore Zoo, died on Friday. She was about 48 years old and had died of old age.

In 1971, Ah Meng was confiscated from a family which had illegally kept her as a pet. She then found her home at the Singapore Zoo.

Ah Meng was the first to host the Zoo's famous 'Breakfast With An Orang Utan' programme. She soon became a celebrity, both locally and internationally.

She had been featured in over 30 travel films and 'interviewed' by more than 300 writers.

In 1992, Ah Meng received a special award from the Singapore Tourism Board in recognition of her contribution towards tourism in Singapore.

As an icon of the Singapore Zoo, Ah Meng has met numerous foreign dignitaries and world-renowned celebrities such as Prince Philip, David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor.

Ah Meng also contributed to the Singapore Zoo's captive breeding programme. She had five children and became a grandmother in 1990.

As a tribute to her, the next orang utan to be born at the Singapore Zoo shall be named Ah Meng Junior.

And to commemorate Ah Meng's efforts towards generating a greater awareness on the plight of orang utans in the wild, the Singapore Zoo will intensify its conservation work for orang utans.

The public can see their beloved orang utan for the last time at the Zoo on Sunday, 11am. She will be buried on the same day.

Fanny Lai, Group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: "We mourn the passing of Ah Meng. She has touched the hearts of everyone who has met her and contributed immensely in helping to promote awareness of how each and every one of us can play a role in anti-poaching, anti-deforestation and conservation matters. We will miss her dearly."

Alagappasamy s/o Chellaiyah, who is also known as Sam, said: "I have taken care of Ah Meng since she first came to the Zoo. Her departure makes me extremely sad and it will take a long while for me to adjust to not having her around. On the other hand, I am very happy that I have had the opportunity to take care of Ah Meng and her family all these years."

Ah Meng will certainly be missed by many, including President S R Nathan, who spoke to reporters at the Istana Open House on Friday afternoon.

He said: "Ah Meng has been so much of a symbol of the Zoo. A lot of people – locals and foreigners – have enjoyed her company. I'm sure the patrons of the Zoo will miss her a great deal. But that's life."


During this festive period, a piece of sad news made the headlines. Ah Meng, the iconic star of the Singapore Zoo had passed away.

Reflecting the paths of so many Singaporeans, she had come into Singapore as a immigrant and had managed to do very well (2 sons, 2 daughters and 6 grandchildren).

Last year, I had the opportunity to take her photograph. Like a wonderfully graceful & classy lady, she was not in the least perturbed by the sight of a large lens barrel staring down at her. Instead, she give me the gentlest of smiles before hiding shyly behind her hand.

She will be missed.

Remembering Ah Meng

Happy Lunar New Year

Just some pictures from the annual Chinese New Year market in Chinatown, Singapore

Wishing you & all your Family Happiness, Health, & Prosperity for the Chinese New Year!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!

It's Pinkie's Birthday!


Dearest Pinkie,

Happy (belated) Birthday!

I'm truly sorry to have missed your birthday. I feel somewhat a bit like a lowly Orc since even you remembered mine and rang me up.

But my lame excuse was that I was occupied with other 'matters of importance' that weekend, and I did superpoke you with a cake earlier on in Facebook right? And I even bought (and ate) a cupcake on your behalf too. Not bad right? :P

I really hope that you had a riotous birthday weekend and "got some", although I have a sneaky feeling that it is more likely to be quite mundane. hee..prove me wrong.

In any case, I suppose when people reach their thirties (like us old birds), birthdays have morphed into this rather ominous sign of aging.

But then again for you, I suppose you are still in denial of your true age, and you are still insisting that you are only in your late twenties. Well, denial is one way to stay young. heeheee...

Anyway, in addition to all the usual wishes of presents, happiness blah blah blah, I also hope that God will give you a fantastic job soon, and change your status from 'Bum' to 'gainfully employed'. That way, you'll be able to treat me if I do pop by for a visit.

;-)

Take care, have fun always!
Hugs..
Hobbes

Going birdie


Just sharing some bird pictures from London.

Yeah, I know. It's been months since my UK holiday and yet I'm still posting pictures from that trip??

Well, too bad. I've been too busy with work to take any new ones lately.

Work sucks

...and that's an under-statement.

I told you soSome Bosses are indeed living in another parallel universe even though they seem to be able to co-exist in the "employee" universe.

And sometimes, you really have to wonder if they speak a different language or perhaps the Employee-universe language terms have a different meaning in the Boss-universe. So while you are saying one thing in Employee-universe, the same sentence could take on a subtle but significantly different meaning in Boss-universe.

So you can imagine the frustration and pain us Employee-universe people have to go through in order to make a Boss-universe person understand why some things have to be done in a certain manner and why simply "banging the table" does not have any magic power to make the illogical decisions, logical, and to warp the space-time continum such that a full year's work can be compressed into a 3 month assignment.

sigh...