Post Christmas Shopping....

Yesterday went post Christmas shopping with my family and my visiting aunties. Our first stop (or should I say, our only stop in the end...hahaha) was Ngeeann City and they all went wild with the sale as everything was cheap for them especially after conversion to EURO. So I became the "ah mat" with all the bags....(I didn't mind though). I too got 2 good buys from Armani Exchange....1 pair of jeans and a pair of shorts. All in all, it was an eventful shopping day.

Cheers

Personality Test

Just took this test and this is the result.

Cheers

Family Visiting....

For those of you who do not know, I have relatives in Europe and this year, they all decided to come for a visit during the Christmas season. It was a long time since they all came back at the same time for Christmas so it should be fun. The best thing is that, we are the only ones who know that they will be back as they all want it to be a surprise. It would be interesting to see the reaction from my other relatives. :-)

Cheers

What a Weekend...Hehehe...

Went to Orchard on saturday afternoon to do some shopping with my family and it seems half of Singapore was also doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Had to go to several places before we managed to get a parking space. These were the places that had no parking space:

1) Ngee Ann City
2) Wisma Atria
3) Wheelock Place
4) Carpark next to Wheelock Place
5) Shaw

We finally managed to get a lot at Liat Towers (and we had to go all the way to the top floor). Our first stop was Ngee Ann City and it was really crowded especially Takashimaya. Next we went to Wisma Atria and it was full too but we saw a very nice choir singing Christmas caroles at the atrium. I had already done my Christmas shopping but just went along for the ride with my family. It was fun to help them spend money...hahaha. My mum and brother were definitely in a spending mood so we ended up buying and buying....hahaha.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Parkway Parade to get some groceries and a few other things. It was packed too as we went round and round before getting a lot. Lucky we didn't decide to stay long there so it was ok as we all had appointments at the hairsylist...hahaha.

Cheers

Birthday Dinner....

I'm sorry that this is a delayed posting for my birthday....(lots of work plus was sick).

My family brought me to Ah Yat's Seafood at Shaw (along Beach Road). It would have been easier to enter from the Nicoll Highway side as we had to walk far to get to the restaurant from the Beach Road entrance. They have lots of tanks filled with seafood for you to choose from. Since they just opened not too long ago, they were having a 50% discount on all food items for weekdays and 30% for weekends (excluding public holidays and eve).

These are the dishes we had (sorry no pics again..seafood...what to do?) :-)

1) Hairy Crabs
2) Chilli Sri Lankan Crabs
3) Baby Abalone in Sharksfin Soup
4) Deep Fried Soon Hock
5) Baby Squid
7) Peking Duck (meat was fried with noodles)
8) Drunken Mantis Prawns
9) Mantou (5 fried and 5 steamed)
10) Fried Baby Kailan
11) Desert

The food was nice plus with the discount, really reasonable so we will definitely go back there again.

Cheers

Lousy Bo Sim Birthday Lunch...Yucks!

Well...its my birthday today...yup 34. Time really flies when you're enjoying yourself. My boss decided to bring me out for a birthday lunch with my team. However, she did not even ask me where I would like to go, but instead just decided that we would go to Swensens at Chinatown Point. First of all...no birthday greetings from her at all (like as though...she had to do this out of obligation). So we walked all the way to Chinatown Point (my office is at Robinson Road). The food was really lousy...everything was sweet. Even the main course was terrible...what a let down. What a terrible meal from a person like that.

On the flipside, my ex-boss remembered my birthday and even gave me Royce chocolates to enjoy. She even sent greetings...through one of my colleagues. Even my colleagues wished me....so you can imagine my disappointment when it came to my current boss.

If she did not have any good intentions at all to bring me out for lunch (which would have been cool and better), I could have enjoyed a nice meal with my friends instead.

Well at least I will have a nice seafood dinner with my family tonight....more details tomorrow.

Cheers

Big Birthday Bash!!!

We celebrated my elder brother's birthday with something special. We all went to dinner at St Pierre Restaurant at Central Mall. For those of you who may find the name of the restaurant familiar, its because the "Chef in Black" is there. We had a special private room to ourselves so it was nice and intimate. The menu was pre-planned for us as all the items were already specially selected for us. Here are some of the things that we had (forgive the photography).

Fricasse of Escargo petit gris with green asparagus graninated with bone marrow, organic herb jus casse, crispy bacon, edamame puree and parmesan foam

Classic pan fried foie gras with caramelised green apples and old port sauce

Grilled and roasted black angus beef tenderloin chateaubriand with piquillos, olives, mustard parsley and xeres dressing, home made oxtail croquette crusted with fresh almond and carrot rognonade

Roasted wild scottish salmon crusted with brioche crumb viennoise, caramelised orange zest, wild girolle mushrooms, edamame beans, green asparagus and roasted capon jus

Apricot-passionfruit iced soup with crunchy gianduja praline ice cream and lychee spherification

Chocolate birthday cake with oreo cookies and raspberry sorbet

There were other dishes but we forgot to take pictures....

1) Smoke salmon quenelle with white chocolate and oscetra caviar tuile and foam of vitellotte potato

2) Panfried hokkaido scallop with wild herb crust infused with imperial soy sauce, pistou of french coco beans, home smoked duck breast and veal jus

3) Wild mushroom soup with shavings of black truffle

In between courses, we had different sorbets to cleanse the palate.

What a day....

Yesterday my dear and I decided to go to Vivo City for meals and maybe catch a movie. Much to our surprise, half of Singapore also had that same idea. We were directed from one carpark to the next as all of it was full and had to queue to get out of the carpark lane to find somewhere else to park. We ended up parking at HarbourFront instead. When we walked over to Vivo City, the place was so pack and it really did feel like everyone was there too. The movie that we wanted to catch also was sold out. However we still had a nice time together as we were there with each other. Had food at "White Dog Cafe" which had a nice menu plus a view of the ships. All in all, it was a nice day together.

Horrified!!

I was really horrified when I read an article on animal abuse in Singapore.

This couple came to the rescue of an abandoned dog in Yishun Park on Monday after hearing its cries for help. The puppy was locked up in the carrier and left to die in the bushes. It was totally drenched from the rain and was all skin and bones. It was sitting in a puddle of its own urine with clumps of fur in the carrier. Apparently it had been eating its own fur to stay alive as it could also be found in its vomit. This poor puppy was also covered in maggots.

This incident really horrifies me to the bone on how in-human some people can be. Being a dog lover, this really sickens me on how they can abandon a life so easily especially when all it gives is itself to the owners. Dogs are one of the most loving animals in the world. They trust and love their owners and protect the home from intruders.

I really hope that the puppy will recover well with this couple. I will keep you posted on updates as this couple will put it up for adoption once it is ready.

Kinda Interesting

Joined Facebook not too long ago and its been a good place to stay in touch with friends that I have not seen or heard from in ages. Some of whom I'm surprised and happy of the developments in their lives.

I wonder if more of my old friends could be on Facebook too?

Why??

Today when I went out for lunch, to my horror I realised that all the trees along Cross Street have been chopped to a stump. It used to be nice cool downstairs with the trees shading the walkways, but now its very hot. In this day and age when global warming and greenhouse gases are a major issue, why is the government allowing these old trees to be chopped to a stump? It is really terrible and horrifying to see the stumps...worse of all, the workers digging under the stump to uproot what is left.

Its is really sad for an island state which claims to be the Garden City to do such a thing? Are they going to plant something else in its place? The trees there used to provide nice shade and a respite from the afternoon sun, now there is nothing there at all. I wonder what is really going on here.

Recent Blooming

This is in bloom now again and so is the baby. It has a wonderful colour and fragrance. I simply love the intense darkness of the colouration.

More New Developments

Seems like these days there are lots of new developments. First of all...377a did not get repealed. Next, my friend who wanted to distance herself from certain people, brought all of them to her new forum and basically distanced herself from the ones that planted the seed in her mind in the first place about gays.

Next, looks like lots of couples have been having problems in their relationships recently. First, the people I was talking about in my previous post regarding the drunk guy at the party, they broke up after that incident. Another friend of mine is also having problems with his partner too. I wonder if it is all coincidental or something is in the air.

Went club hopping on Friday night with friends and had a nice time just hanging out.

Lovely Evening

Yesterday I was invited to attend a talk followed by dinner at the Botanical Gardens by the China Society. The theme of the evening was Lotus so all the dishes were cooked using different parts of the Lotus plant. We even had tea brewed from the Lotus leaves which was really wonderful and aromatic...(I didn't know it could be done...hahaha). All in all, the evening was really wonderful as the hostess was in top form and made sure everyone enjoyed themselves.

At Least Something

At least something positive came about today as the Admin that I mentioned in my previous posting has been removed. To me its a small step in the right direction as removing the source of the problem does ease the tension alittle.

Problems Again

There have been issues raise about a forum I belong to. According to the "Netiquette" (Rules & Regulations) of the forum, no political comments or racial or religious comments would be allowed on the forum. However an Admin of that same forum violated the rules by trying to push his own agenda on 377a with a link to the online petition to retain it. He has so far not admitted to doing any wrong and refuses to apologise to the members. I for one think that he should be made aware of his mistake and he should take responsibility for it. Instead so far he has not done so which does say alot of his character.

For a man his age, he should have known better as not everyone on the forum shares his view on such matters. He aggrevated the situation by not thinking of others but his own personal agenda.

Total Embarrassment....

I was invited to a party at a mutual friend's place on Saturday night...so I went with 2 other friends. There were juices and alcohol served and one of my friends decided to help himself to the alcohol. It was a nice laid back kind of party with music and all. Nice conversation and meeting new people at the party too. After having one too many alcoholic drinks, this friend of mine passed out. He had to be carried to the sofa where he subsequently vomitted on. It was a total embarrassment to me as well as my other friend. Firstly, if he could not hold his liquor, he should not be drinking so much. My friend and I had to carry him to the bathroom to clean him up as well as to change his shirt. Then to also clean the sofa as the host was totally unhappy about the whole thing. After cleaning him up, we decided to take him home as the host did not want him there at all, so we had to drag him out as he was too heavy to carry...(total dead-weight).

I for one was angry with him and it was not even my party. I totally do not agree with someone drinking himself silly and passing out for others to clean up after. We had to take a cab all the way to his home and ask his parents to help us bring him up...then taking the same cab all the way back home again.

I am still angry with this person so for now I have stopped all contact with him. My family also agrees that I should stop all communication or association too. My other friend's mum has also made me promise to help keep that person away from her son (my friend) too. It is out in our network on what has happened and everyone agrees on the decision to stay clear of that person.

New Developments...

It seems that there is an online petition to keep 377a going around. I was forwarded a link to it to sign. I have not signed it on the basis that this law simply does not uphold the rights of these people but telling them that they are criminals for being who they are.

I know some of my friends are adamant that you can change your sexual orientation as it is all about choices. I hear where they are coming from but also the fact still remains is that, why are we trying to force them to change by saying that they are "criminals"? Would you like someone to regulate your sex life by saying that it is unlawful?

However, I am not saying that someone who preys on children for their sexual kicks, or if a person forces someone else into having sex with them should not be punished. Those people should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. All I am saying is that, why are we putting gays in the same group? If both are consenting adults, should the law come between that? 377a is telling them that they are criminals because they have a different sexual orientation. All of them are normal everyday people, only thing different is that they prefer someone of the same gender as them.

Would it be so disastrous if 377a was abolished?

Went Clubbing

On Friday night, my friends and I went for dinner then decided to go clubbing. I have not gone clubbing for at least 3 years so felt like a "fish out of water" for awhile. After having a drink, was able to relax and soak in my surroundings. It was an interesting thing to be in a club after so long but it was nice to just relax and talk with my friends. The music was not too loud so it was just nice to chat....kinda cool I thought. What made me even more relaxed was that this was the first time I went in a club where I don't smell cigarette smoke....kinda refreshing.

Again....

Well...what else is new...that my manhood has been called into question again cos I seem to be pro-gay. I just believe that I have come to accept people as who they are and not just label them. This is also to say that I respect their rights as a human being too. People are more than just straight or gay, male or female, white, black or asian. There are also characters and feelings behind that. However far we have come as a civilisation and society, we still have not grown to accept people as who they are.

New Things...

After talking to one of my friends on her decision, she is standing firm on the basis of the character of the other party. I cannot really blame her for her stand as she is a mother protecting her family, but she is willing to overcome it and still be friends with the other party. I can now only hope the other party will also overcome whatever it is and work on some middle ground.

However I will stand firm that I will not be forced to choose between my friends. I treasure the friendships that I've made so I will still stay impartial between the 2 of them.

Lots of Things Happening

Well looks like lots of things have been put in motion at the present moment. I've made a decision not to put myself in the middle of things but just stay a distance away from it. Although it does involve me to a certain extent as a friend. I just wish people would just put aside their differences and let things be as they were before....(I know this is a very naive way of thinking). Who cares if a person is straight or gay, male or female. It only matters if you accept a person as a friend knowing what you know beforehand, you should accept the person as a whole and not based on what you want that person to be. No one should befriend someone just to change that person. In the end, you loose sight of what drew you to befriend that person in the first place.

Friendships that are not treasured are fragile and easy to loose. I always thought that the friendships that you make over time should be stronger than whatever that comes between the 2 parties if it was true friendship to begin with. If it was only a "fair-weathered" friendship to begin with, then who gives a hoot. Why do people judge their friends based on superficial things rather than the character of the person? It only belittles the friendship that has been made. If the thinking of such closed-minded people are left to their own devices, what will the world come to be?

I'm happy for the friends that I have now but am sad to see factions beginning to form that threaten things. I do hope that the whole situation will come to pass and both parties put aside their differences and just accept each other. People should make an effort to know the true person behind all the superficial veils. Behind all that glitz may lie a person you would treasure as a good friend, if you just give that person half a chance.

One of my doggies...

Hi Guys

Thought I would share a pic of one of my doggies - Hammie. He is a silky terrier, 6 years old and have been with us since he was a month old. He came to us as a gift when the previous owner's dog gave birth to 4 pups. Hammie was the runt of the litter but he was so adorable so we choose him. He is now all grown up and really likes to "kiss" people on the lips and also lick your face all over till you laugh. The blue tint you see on the hair on his head was done by the hairstylis at the salon near my place. He loves to go for walks there and have made friends with the stylis. So one day, one of them decided to give him a playful highlight. I think it looks kinda cool...hehehe.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Went to watch this movie on sunday afternoon at GV Great World City with my dear. It was a really hillarious movie and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Most of the time I laughed till I had tummy cramps and I know my dear too. I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to have a laughing great time at the movies to catch it while its still on.

Cheers

Wonderful Dinner Yesterday...

Yesterday went to the East Coast Seafood Centre with my family to celebrate my dad's 69th birthday. The weather was really wonderful with the sea breeze blowing while we had our food. We went to our usual place - Red House and had lots of wonderful seafood. We have been going to Red House for as long as I can remember.

Last night we had lots of food but sorry no pics as everyone was really devouring the dishes as they came....hahaha. We had:

1) Cold Dish - egg with sharksfin, prawns in salad cream, ngeo hiang, duck & cucumber (thai style)
2) Baby Squid
3) Steamed Bamboo Clams with Garlic
4) Steamed Prawns - very fresh and sweet
5) Baby Kailan with Garlic
5) Steamed Red Garoupa
6) Chilli Crab - 2 Large Female Crabs
7) Man Tou - 5 fried & 5 steamed
8) Birthday Buns

The food was really yummy and everyone was really satisfied after the meal, especially my dad. :-)

Cheers

Stupid Gals.......

Today I came across 2 very idiotic and stupid gals in the morning. I decided to take a cab this morning as I missed my bus again....so I was waiting for a cab and here comes these 2 gals who knows I'm waiting for a cab, they just stop not even 100m from me and tried to flag a cab too. I know they knew I was waiting for a cab as one of them kept telling her friend that I was there. Her friend apparently told her, "so what?" and kept on trying to flag a cab....completely igoring me. They were obviously students and really didn't gave a hoot that there was someone else waiting for a cab too.

In the end I decided to call a cab and when it came, they tried to take it too. This time it really made me angry so I stomped over and gave them a piece of my mind. They just gave me this "so what? who do you think you are" kind of look.

Kids these days, I'm not sure if they were brought up or simply "dragged" up by their parents from the gutters of society.

More Bloomings...

Phalaenopsis Samera...this is a primary hybrid....really fragrant.

Cattleya Valentine....I really like the name of this one....hehe. Enjoy!

New Blooming....

This is a first time blooming for me for this beauty...Blc Pink Diamond. The bloom certainly lives up to its name.

Very Shocking News...

Had some very shocking news on Monday afternoon. One of my reservist mates passed away alone in his flat at Yishun early Monday morning. He was only 33 years old and we just finished our reservist for this year together on Friday. It was shocking as I bumped into another reservist mate at the junction just below my office building after a meeting with a client and he told me. At first I thought it could be a mistake but then our officer called us after to check if we noticed anything amist with him during our reservist....then it dawned on us that it is true. The navy is now investigating if his death could be caused by our recent reservist. It seems that no one knew he was seperated from his wife and living alone.

When he finished his reservist, his mother had tried to call him several times but he did not respond. So early Monday morning, his mother and brother went to his flat and knocked on his door but he did not answer...so they called the police. The police then broke down the door and found him dead on the living room floor. The coroner estimated his time of death at 4am. This is now a police investigation due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding his sudden passing.

Screwed up and Rude Cabbie

I had a really lousy start to my day this morning when I got a mouthful from a rude cabbie (from Premier). I flagged the cab this morning after missing my bus as I was rushing for a meeting in the office. I told the cab that I wanted to go to City House, Robinson Road just across from Lau Pah Sat. So I told him to take ECP and exit at Marina South. When reaching my destination, I told him to stop me at Lau Pah Sat instead and I can just cross the road. He told me with the new law now, he is only allowed to stop his cab at a designated taxi stand...(can anyone verify this?). Then I told him he can stop me at the Market Street Carpark Taxi Stand instead. He then proceeded to turn into Robinson Road when he was suppose to go straight. When he realised that there wasn't a taxi stand there, I told him to stop me at AIA Tower instead and he complained that he was not a taxi stand and my fare (S$15.80) would not be able to cover the fine. I told him that I instructed him to stop me at the Market Street Carpark Taxi Stand and he went the wrong way so he does not have to right to scold me for his own stupid mistake. He did stop so I paid him with a $50 note and 80 cents. He proceeded to scold me for not giving him advance notice that I was going to pay him with a $50 note. This time I just waited for my change and slamed the door and walked off. It was a really crappy way to start my day after my reservist.

Back....

Hey Guys

Back from reservist and burnt to a crisp again. On the first day, all of us looked like cooked lobsters but then we became lobsters that were way beyond rescue. Today when I came back to office, most of my colleagues could not recognise me and thought I was a new colleague....haha. They were really shocked to see me really black and this was emphasized more with my striped white shirt today.....hahaha.

Cheers

Well....On Reservist Again....

Well...like the title suggest, I'll be on reservist again. This year is rather unusual in the sense that it starts on a Sunday. If you do not already know, I'm in the Navy so....a sailor boi...haha. I live in the east but my reservist is in the extreme west...kinda shitty but you cannot help it.

Cheers

Wonderful National Day Celebration

Saw the National Day Parade the other day on tv...was actaully not bad. It was really better than I would have expected. This year was the first time it was held by the water front and I really love the mix of the lights in the water coupled with the vibrancy of the formations on the platform. I actually missed one part which was normally included in the past...the Military Police Rifle Drills. Hope it makes a comeback soon....

Cheers

People...

Yesterday I had my usual monthly orchid society meeting at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. It was a hot and humid day as usual in sunny Singapore. Ever since the Singapore Garden Festival/Singapore Orchid Show in December 2006, we have many new members. It is encouraging to see many new faces at our meetings and mostly are there to enjoy the company of like minded people as well as to learn from each other. However, there are also a few who presume to know everything there is to know about orchids and putting people who have been growing them for many years, down. Some of these people who have been growing orchids for many years, are regarded as experts/specialists in their respective areas. Unknowingly, these new members have proven that people who lack substance, often try to blow their own horns. It is rather sad though to see this but I do hope that they would be able to learn more from these experts at future meetings.

Funny How Things Are...

Since I read my friend's blog, It has really got me thinking and reflecting about myself. Have I been treating people unjustly? Have I been mean to people whom I call my friends? I like to think of myself as a person who looks beyond the physical - male/female, white/black/yellow, gay/straight, young/old. However I have been made to reflect on these things when I realised that there are still prejudices governing my actions. Strange how things get you thinking and pondering. The action of "Paying It Forward" should be part of our daily lives and not just an after thought. "Little Steps" taken to improve the life of another person or the world as a whole should be celebrated. I know this idea is easier said than done but if we all put in that little effort, think of the things we can accomplish.

I have been rambling on and on about how the world or people as a whole should do. However, I would like to make this pledge of making a conscious effort to put myself in check when these prejudices do crop up in my own life.

Lots of New Things....

Well...looks like I'm on a blogging streak now. Lots of new things have been happening to me this year. For those of you who know me....I got "knocked" out of a relationship this year or should I say more accurately "slapped" out of one. Lots of new things have also been happening in that department too so we'll see how and where it progresses from here.

I have also finalised all my bookings for my Miami trip in January 2008. The hotel bookings have finally been done so I hope everything else will fall into place. I have also lots of annual leave to clear for this year as I can only bring forward 5 days. So may go for a vacation this year too or else those days will be wasted. Otherwise I may save it for Christmas time.

I also have a low-key ICT in August and of all days, it starts on a Sunday. This is the first time that this has happened to me and I think mindef is always thinking of ways to screw around with people's lives. First of all...I live in the east and my reservist is in Tuas. I have a friend who lives in Lakeside area and his reservist is in Changi. Sometimes I think they are just playing us like pawns in a chess game. I also got a letter stating that I've been promoted in rank so I hope this does not extend my reservist obligations as I have only 2 more years of this thing to go. Well I think this is enough blabbering for one post.

Cheers

What the hell....Just Doing it....

Well...this is my first post so what the hell. Forgive me if I seem blur cos I've never done this before. For those of you who know me....know that I'm an orchid lover and freak.....haha. Well...there are some things that my friends know about me and some which only a few of them know. ;-) hint...j & k. Recently things have been popping into my mind and it has been playing over and over again. I'm not sure if it is indicative of things to come or just plain nonsense. I recently read the blog of one of my new friends and it has got me thinking alot. It all has to do with what can be done for the community at large and not only for oneself. Think this is enough blabbering for my first post.

Cheers