Final Call
"Final call for passenger Ms H*** W**P** traveling on flight BA*** to Adelaide. Please stop loitering around Duty Free and report immediately to the departure gate or else we will just leave you and all of your luggage behind on the runway."

ok ok... M wasn't actually late for her flight - I think. Well.. at least we know she didn't miss her flight b'cos she's now downunder - 'enjoying' the summer heatwave.


M left S'pore for Adelaide on Sat, 10 Nov 07 to start a new chapter in her life with hubbie A. She said with a mischievous grin that she was looking forward to "catching up with A".


Anyway, strangely enough, it's kinda depressing (for a short while only though. heehee :P ) that M has upped and left the country. As S would say, "...it's like my parrot has gone and flown the coup..."

Now I'm short of a good friend & buddy who:-

(1) entertains/stuns me simply by saying the darnest things (otherwise also known as "Melisms") - like insisting on calling the Phamton's staff/stick a Shaft.

(2) gives the most out-of-the-world and inappropriate relationship advice - like "... you need to be more of a bad boy b'cos all girls like bad boys..." Or "...Was there sexual chemistry between the 2 of you? That's very important..."

(3) can turn up 30mins late and consider herself to be still on time.

(4) has un-tamable wild hair that goes all over the place despite of heavy-duty hairspray.

(5) considers herself an expert psychologist after a semester or two of classes.

Well, M... what else can I say? You will be missed...maybe... occasionally...

So hurry up and put up your blog already!
:)

Post Holiday BluesAlmost 2 weeks ago, I was still traveling with my buddies, having the best time ever.

2 weeks later, I’m back home, back at work and very very sian.

Yeah.. I think I’m down with the case of post holiday blues – oh and I also (finally) came down with a horrible cough and infected sinuses.

Only today, I could really have a good look at my pictures. I remember the places we went, the conversations we had, the smells, the biting chill of the wind, the warmth of the sunshine, our painfully tired legs…but somehow it almost feels quite unreal – like it was all just a very vivid dream.

But it was great this holiday happened. It’s very hard to find people that you can get along to go traveling and can still get along laughing despite the occasional wrong turns looking for toilets, potholes, and getting lost from the pack.

I’m very glad and thankful that we could all go on this great adventure. As I remarked in an email, all of us are scattered all over again and I really don’t know when we will ever get together again like this.

But as most singaporeans would say, "...better than don't have wat..."

PS: More on the holiday proper later.

Roman SnapshotsJust some snapshots from the Rome leg of my holiday.

I'll post more when I can. I've another 6 vacation days to go. heehee...

Some statistics: 14 days - 3 cities - 4319 shots (11.9GB)

Gone Traveling

We all need some time to ourselves - just a few minutes a day to get reacquainted with the one who's been there since the beginning...

Well folks, by this time tomorrow, I'll be at the airport checking in, and on my way to my European holiday!

Woohoo!

I had to stay back in the office to tie up all my lose ends, and I still have to go in tomorrow morning for a meeting (hopefully a short one) but heck, it's worth the stress.

For the next 20 days, I'm out of the office. Yipeee!

Of course, this also means that I won't be online much too. But hopefully, I'll be able to post some travel updates here from time to time.

So in the meantime, take care and have a great time.
Catch ya laters.

:)

It’s Hantam Bola time!
Time has become a very precious commodity with me this last week. There are just too many things that I need to do both at work and for myself.

Hence, I’ve been neglecting a lot of other important non-work things – like writing witty and thought-provoking blog entries, superpoking and throwing stuff at people on Facebook, pretending to be a slug watching TV, catching up on my winter hibernation quota…you know – generally having a life.

Quite honestly, life’s been very daunting – I don’t like the fact that I’ve been effectively reduced to a machine that eats, sleeps, shits and bangs away at the PC. I hardly have the time to even plan my own holiday!

Of course, people’s usual response to such situations is “to prioritize and time manage”.

Yeah, I know that too. Who doesn’t? Unfortunately that piece of advice can’t do jack when you realize there’s no way you can prioritize and time manage when all the tasks are tagged as top priority, complex and have looming deadlines. (so I decided to do something a little simpler – like blog. Hahaha..)

Anyway as if my life isn’t exciting enough, life decides to hantam me a bit more, just to make things a little more spicy.

Hantam number 1: Skin rash
Pityriasis rosea is a skin disease marked by patches of pink, oval rash. These rashes are often found on the back, chest/stomach, inner thighs, inner upper arms and inner forearms. Wikipedia

The rash doesn’t really bother me that much since it’s pretty much confined to the trunk of my body. But blardy hell, it itches like crazy sometimes, especially when it’s hot and I’m sweating like a leaky sponge. Fortunately, this rash is quite harmless and generally non-contagious.

But still si-bei suay, right?

Hantam number 2: The powers-that-be-decide-to-impress-Zeus
For some weird reasoning that’s beyond me, my project has been (seemingly) arbitrarily committed to a January 2008 delivery deadline – without any due consideration to the amount of work that is remaining. And this occurs 5 days before I’m due for my holiday. Hence, my last weekend before my travel is pretty much burnt to finish as much of the planning as possible.

Damn kana sai right?

Hantam number 3: Crocodile shoes
Ok, this doesn’t exactly qualify as a hantam but it’s still very inconvenient. Of all times for my shoes to go crocodile, they chose to do so a week before my travel. So down to Queensway Shopping Centre I went to pick up a new pair. Spent about 1 hour walking around, trying to find a pair of nike shoes that I would like. Sigh…it’s either I’m old fashion or shoes are simply getting too fancy / colorful. Is it too much to ask for relatively plain looking running shoes without all the outlandish splashes of color/design? In the end, after 2 hours and $140, I managed to convince myself to buy a pair.

Sheesh..

Hantam number 4: Sorry, no size
Because of my ever-increasing prosperity, I only have one pair of jeans that would fit me comfortably. So for my travel, I figured I’ll get another pair from Giodano. And I thought it was great when they started their 20% off sale. But you say suay or not – my size got no more stock – islandwide.

Really damn suay right?

Let’s hope that I will get my life back from 18th October – or at least some semblance of it.

Humor Therapy

Pardon the half eaten peanut-butter & cheese sandwich.
That's my brekkie today. I was eating halfway
when I decided to write this entry.

Most times when I feel stressed out, I think the quickest way to cheer me up (temporary at least) is for me to watch a really good movie.

So given my state of affairs recently, naturally, I went to the movies.

Two movies over 2 weekends. One- Ratatouille, Two- Death at a Funeral.

Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee) - The movie lives up to Pixar's reputation for making animations that are simply wonderful. I loved every minute of it. And I laughed my head off at the part where the rats tied up the unfortunate health inspector and that nasty Chef. heehee..

Death at a Funeral - This little publicized movie turned out to be an unexpected gem. I didn't even know that this movie existed until a friend suggested watching it. The title itself is rather intriguing, don't you think?

At first, I thought it would probably be something along the lines of Four Weddings and a Funeral, perhaps with a twist somewhere just so that it wasn't a blatant copycat.

But no... It's totally nothing like what I expected. The start was a little slow, boring even - I dislike movies that show the credits before starting - but right after that, it was almost a laugh a minute.

Using a base of relatively-unknown actors, the director manages to stew common British stereotypes together with a simple but witty storyline to create a wonderful comedic treat with a simple message.

Mid Autumn Festival

"Traditionally, the Mid Autumn festival is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties." Wikipedia

Yeah, Wiki's got it right. But there's just so many varieties of mooncake available now that its simply 'moon'-boggling. There's the traditional lotus seed paste ones, Green tea flavoured, the modern chocolate truffles with champagne, updated traditional snow skin with wolfberry and the very Singaporean durian mooncake..... and more types which I don't even know what flavor it is called. Heck, if you got money to burn, you can even get mooncakes that are topped off with a thin foil of pure 99.99karat gold. How's that for extravagance eh?

Anyway, what better way to check out the vast varities of mooncake available than to check out the Takashimaya Mid-Autumn Festival? Where you can sample mooncakes from almost every reputable mooncake maker in town.

So for what has become an almost annual trip, I braved the weekend crowds and jostled with all the people for some free samples. Buy mooncakes? No need one. heehee... (yes yes.. I know. I'm very cheapo.)

Mid Autumn Festival 2007

Demons of Stupidity

Warning: Potent, nonsensical, adult language ahead. The following post may only be a figment of the author's fantasy. Not suitable for senior management types. Continue reading at your own risk. Stupidity may be contagious... yes... even over the Internet.

~ Rant mode on ~

Recently, I've been pretty stressed out at work.

I'm not really stressed out because there's so much work to do (it's more fatigue than anything).

Neither am I bothered very much by a new boss coming into the office.

However, what really irks me is the fact that management sometimes does not see (or perhaps more likely they chose not to see) the problems on the ground.

And because they do not understand what is happening on the ground, they often make decisions that impact negatively on the staff morale and hence productivity.

They believe that by using the "I believe you can do it" motivational approach is enough to resolve whatever resistance/problem there may be. Worst yet is the "I don't want to hear No or cannot be done" approach.

For example, since eons ago, we've had known that we would need to work on a big event in Nov. However, it’s only recently that we were told what the big bosses wanted to do. So how many weeks do we have until that event date? A measly 2 months, in which we are expected to conceptualise and produce a whizz-bang exhibit booth. Why did it take them so long so decide on such a supposedly large and important event?

How dumbass / stupid / retarded / moronic / all-of-the-above can you get?!?

Important projects get launched late. Timelines of complicated projects get trimmed to the verge of insanity.

Can management actually become so detached from the realities of work? Do they seriously think that by applying a few inappropriate and clumsy management techniques, they can compensate for their dumbass decisions?

The plain truth is that our office is stretched – no, correction, it is those of us who can do work that are bleeding from all the arrows in our backs while the incompetent / lazy ones escape relatively unscathed, and can even get promoted! What the bleedy f*@^$#2?

And then when reviewing why projects get delayed, they try to lay the blame on us. What the bleedy f*46*&&k!?! In the first place, who the hell decided to change the policy? Who was the f&#^#$k$r that decided to keep going with the development despite the fact that we were still changing our policies, and in the end, we had to keep amending the work done. Better yet, who was it that decided that all a massively-complicated-never-been-done-before project needed was someone to work on part-time - despite feedback that we need to work on it full-time?

And when we try to claim OT for all the damn hours we put in after work, they have the blardy f&@k76 cheek to tell us to moderate our claims!? And where the hell did they find the blardy balls to tell us that we can't take long leave at the end of the year because there's so much work that needs to be done. Harlo! Who's f*@*&^ fault is that? Is that how you reward / motivate your overworked staff? I don't see the other departments in the division working so hard. Our department regularly stays behind after hours to work while the rest can cheerfully leave on the dot.

Do they seriously think that staff will just sit back and take that sort of nonsense? F*^$& you! People will (have have) started to leave. Heck, it is an employees market out there now. Why should we put up with so much stupidity for such a measly paycheck?

In the final analysis, the simple truth is that there are simply too many demons of stupidity in my office. And there's no way in hell you can exorcise them all to hell.

So to preserve my sanity and soul, I think it is time that I consider getting out of there. Not now but after the bonus payout of course.

~ Rant mode off ~

Pardon the language. But sometimes, stupidity & frustration can drive you to do ...er... write stupid things.

Ramen Ramen

What better way to de-stress from work than to go have some great food with excellent company?
Presenting the "Char Siew" Ramen with hardboiled egg from Ramen Marutama at Central.

Doesn't it just look heavenly deliciously yummy?
Too bad I was too hungry to take more pictures of the ramen but trust me, it IS good stuff.

The char siew is just perfect - the succulent meat simply melts away in your mouth. The broth is delicate balance of flavours without any hint of the corner cutting MSG. The hardboiled egg is done such that the egg yoke is still a little soft and almost a little runny. The chopped chives and spring onions provided just the right amount of fresh "crunch" to the broth.

This one gets 4.5 / 5 chomps from me.

Sick
After being knocked out for 4hrs, I finally felt well enough to drag my sorry ass to the doc's just now.

Doc says my temp is quite high - 38.7 c. Blood pressure also a little high. Good thing is I've got no rashes now, otherwise it could be Dengue. &&#@^$!

Today wasn't a good day. In fact, it is the most sucky, dumbass day I've had in a long time.

Barfed out my lunch; Head feels heavy; Uncontrollable shivers; Alternating between feeling hot and cold. I think I rather feel hot - at least I can deal with that by showering. Hate feeling cold - its the kind that really creeps into the very core of you and really feels horrible. I seldom fall sick but if I do, I really fall sick. I guess my body likes to do things in a very dramatic way. Enjoy yourselves now you sicko germs. Wait till the antibiotics get you.

Office politics chose to rear its dumbass ugly head today. I'm feeling totally peeved. Being sick didn't quite help either. But at least I was subdued enough to just listen and not argue back. Maybe I should have just gone and coughed a few times on that person. Afterall, we should share the joy and germs right?

Think the last time I fell so sick was in London. Even then, it was much better compared to now because at least I had someone TLC'ing me.

As you can tell, I'm not really coherent now. That's cos I'm in my hot state, so I can come out of my cocoon of blankets. A little drugged out also from the medicine.

Bleedy hell, I think I'm starting to feel the chills again.

sigh.

Crabs Ahoy at Ang Mo Kio!

This place is so popular that they have not 1, but 2 queue lines! One for Reservations and one for Walk-In customers.

The place is none other than the famous Mellben Seafood Restaurant.

Friday evening, 7pm and the place is already packed with diners. After taking our orders, we still have to wait over an hour for our crabs to arrive.

Crab Bee Hoon

Pepper Crab

My favourite Chili Crab.

Note the rich gravy thick with egg. Hmmm....

Heehee.. hungry yet?

Photos of great taste

I may not be able to cook as well as the rat but I certainly know how to eat like one. heehee...

Today's dinner was at Ma Maison over at Bugis Junction. This is a restaurant that serves western cuisine but it's been prepared japanese style.

Dinner consisting of Clam chowder soup, cold Japanese soba salad and Pasta Carbonara (ala Ma Maison style).

The Clam Chowder was quite ok according to my friend. I didn't try it because I don't really like clam chowder. But it seemed rather nice... visually at least. The portion was rather generous and it was served in a very 'atas' looking soup bowl with a sprinkling of basil leaves.

Next came the cold Japanese soba salad. This was actually very nicely done. You could taste the freshness of the noodles, and when it was mixed with the mayonnaise on the side, it was simply wonderfully tasty. The crisp salty seaweed flakes set off really well with the fresh cabbage and tomatoes. The ham strips were not just fat but nicely lean.

There was a little bit of a disappointment when halfway through eating, we found a piece of what seemed like a small chip of porcelain in the salad. We called the waiter over and they quickly apologized and replaced the salad. So I guess no harm done. Kudos to the restaurant.

Now we come to the main course - the Pasta Carbonara ala Ma Maison style. I was kinda expecting my carbonara to be stewing in a rich creamy-eggy sauce. But this particular pasta was not done that way. It was a dry sort of carbonara. It turned out to be quite tasty although it didn't really look or taste much like a conventional carbonara. The table had a pepper grinder which had the most aromatic and finely grounded black pepper I've had so far. And this went very well with the pasta.

All in all, a very satisfying meal in a nice cosy environment. I think I'll be going back there again for dinner soon. The bill was quite reasonable too. Next time, I think I'll try the hamburger steak. If the window display is anything to go by, it should be just as good. hmmmm..

4 out of 5 Chomps.

My new Objects of Desire

Two new, extremely drool-worthy DSLR bodies have been just released by Nikon.
Sheesh.. when am I going to be able to get my hands on one of these babies?

Nikon D3
The latest Professional grade DSLR from Nikon.

• First ever Nikon DSLR with a Full-Frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor (coined FX format)
• 12.1 megapixel full-frame sensor (8.45µm pixel pitch)
• ISO 200 - 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25,600)
• Super fast operation (power-up 12 ms, shutter lag 41 ms, black-out 74 ms)
• New Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 300,000 exposure durability
• New Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
• Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)
• Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning) now available (fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings)
• Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)
• Nine frames per second continuous with auto-focus tracking
• Eleven frames per second continuous without auto-focus tracking
• Ten / eleven frames per second continuous in DX-crop mode (AF / no-AF)

and loads more features.

Nikon D300
The new semi-professional DSLR

• 12.3 megapixel DX format CMOS sensor
• Self-cleaning sensor unit (low-pass filter vibration)
• ISO 200 - 3200 (6400 with boost)
• Super fast operation (power-up 13 ms, shutter lag 45 ms, black-out 100 ms)
• Shutter life 150,000 exposures
• New Multi-CAM3500DX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
• Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)
• Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning) now available (fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings)
• Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)
• Picture Control image parameter presets (replace Color Modes I, II and III)

Happy Birthday Cheekboo!

Dear Cheekyboo,

Happy Birthday!

I hope you've had a great time at your birthday party! I wish I could be there too, joining in the fun. Your Mom is a pretty good party planner.

I'm sure you got lots of presents too. Remember to thank all the nice uncles and aunties for the presents. And also to thank your Mom for throwing you such a wonderful party.

I'm sorry that I haven't sent you any presents but I'll have a little surprise for you in October.

Anyway be a good little girl and don't be too naughty eh.

Hugs,
Uncle JH

Isn't it great to be a three year old?

Cubicle City

Brand new office, new furniture but same job and same pay. Somethings change but others still remain the same.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my little cubicle at work. It's all spanking brand new and looks pretty 'atas' (read high class) huh. But the white table top is hell to keep clean.

I've also got a niffy little chiller set up under the table but I forgot to take a picture of that. It's a really cool, orange door, mini fridge with a whooping 6 can capacity. I use it to store my stash of coke and wet wipes. I'll try to put up a picture of it later.

Are you on Facebook yet?

Welcome to the World
Introducing the cute and adorable Zachary Ni, born on 6 August 2007 to the proud parents P & M. Congratulations! He totally looks like a 'mini' P.
heehee..

:)

Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore!

More pictures to come later.

Soulmate
Natasha Bedingfield

Youtube Link

Incompatible, it don’t matter though
‘cos someone’s bound to hear my cry
Speak out if you do
you’re not easy to find

Is it possible Mr. Loveable
is already in my life?
right in front of me
or maybe you’re in disguise

Who doesn’t long for someone to hold
who knows how to love you without being told
somebody tell me why I’m on my own
if there’s a soulmate for everyone

Here we are again, circles never end
how do I find the perfect fit
there’s enough for everyone
but I’m still waiting in line

Who doesn’t long for someone to hold
who knows how to love you without being told
somebody tell me why I’m on my own
if there’s a soulmate for everyone

If there’s a soulmate for everyone

Most relationships seem so transitory
They’re all good but not the permanent one

Who doesn’t long for someone to hold
who knows how to love you without being told
somebody tell me why I’m on my own
if there’s a soulmate for everyone

Who doesn’t long for someone to hold
who knows how to love you without being told
somebody tell me why I’m on my own
if there’s a soulmate for everyone
If there’s a soulmate for everyone

10 ways to entertain young children for $1 or less (without the TV)
I know it's never easy to keep hyper-active, 2-3 YOs entertained for long periods of time. I remembered the time when little Cheekyboo had me running around Borders playing Hide & Seek. I was tired out just trying to dodge around the shelves hiding from her. Ahh.. the endless energy of youth.

So when i saw this article, I thought that it would be quite helpful for Saggies.

Saggies, this is for you.