Exhausted

Still very tired to update anything on my Taiwan trip. And I missed song recommendation by two days! So here it is:

Song No. 9: I Swear
Artiste: All-4-One
Album: All-4-One

Released: 1993

Fun Facts: I didn't know that this single was actually recorded much earlier than All-4-One's version, by John Michael Montgomery. However All-4-One's version enjoyed much more success and peaked at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for eleven consecutive weeks! Being one of the most well-known love ballad around, it's still being played on the airwaves like Class 95 every now and then. Back in primary school, I would gather with a few of my classmates and sing this tune quite often. Definitely one of the best R&B song of the 90's.

Read More

First Official Day of Slacking

Woke up at 12 noon. Thanks to watching the clash between Turkey and Czech Republic earlier in the morning at 2:45am to 4:30am. It was the most dramatic reversal of fate of footballing history, I thought. With only 15 mins to a final place in the quarter-finals, and at 2-0 lead for the Czechs, Turkey managed to find a goal and even an equaliser at the 87th min. To make it even more unbelievable, the very same person, Nihat Kahveci, scored his second goal, Turkey's third goal, within two mins, to crash the Czechs out of the Euro 2008. And Petr Cech, the Czech goal-keeper, was to blame for this blasphemous exit for his team, thanks to a grave blunder which should never have happened. Must be a very big blow for the goal-keeper, as his club, Chelsea had just lost the EPL, CL, at second placing, and now this early exit from the Euro. Like people always say, 球是圆的. You never know what will happen until the final whistle is blown. And I'm definitely gonna get a heart attack if I were to bet on this match. Bet on Czech Republic to win? Heartache at the end. Bet on Turkey to win? Heart-stopping last 15 minutes like going on a roller-coaster ride. I may not survive at the end of the match with all the twists and turns if I had betted on any of these two teams. Match of the competition, for now. There may be more unbelievable matches up ahead. Now that Turkey is into the last 8, with several players booked, including their goal-keeper Volkan! And I forgot to mention that with all their subs used, Turkey had no choice but to get Tuncay to replace as the goal-keeper! How dramatic could it be?

14th June 2008, Saturday

We (Jiahao, Peiyi, Peyyong, Siying and me) visited 2902 Gallery for the exhibition which was ending soon. Nothing much this time. Then we went to Suntec and walked around looking for a red T-shirt so that I can wear it to the stadium for the night's World Cup qualifiers. I gave up searching for a nice red T-shirt and therefore we went to the PC Show as planned. Nothing much also. Plenty of people though, as expected. And guess who we met along the way? We saw, Soo Khim and his gf, Zhibin and gf (Jeannie), Tat Yeong, even San San. It was just my last day the day before and I get to meet my ex-colleagues once again? Hahaha. We then went for dinner at Ministry of Food @ Marina Square. Pretty nice Japanese dinner.

Then we headed down to National Stadium, which was to be the last time we see it as it is now. Peiyi couldn't join us cos she had to visit the hospital. After that last match against Saudi Arabia, the National Stadium will make way for a newer and modern successor. We chose a seat right in the middle, overlooking both sides of the pitch. This game proved to be a rather boring match, with nothing for the Singaporean fans to cheer about. The previous qualifier was way better, even though it was a rather disappointing score of 7-3. At least we had three goals to celebrate. This time, there was not much fanfare or huge support from the crowds. The match finally ended with a 2-0 scoreline, of course Singapore not benefiting from it. We took pictures of the stadium for the last time, and even managed to take a picture with our mascot.

Saw Lye Heng and gf, as well as Da-niu, after the match was over. They all still looked the same. So we then walked Kallang MRT station. Along the way saw Huiru and bf. Finally saw how her bf looked like. LOL.

So we then took the train to Tampines, where we settled at the McDonald's at the bus interchange. We grabbed seats at the side, which provided a good view of the large plasma TV mounted on the wall. We managed to get Yaokun to join us for the night. Then we waited for the match to begin, between Spain and Sweden. Very exciting match. David Villa finished as top-scorer once again, having scored the decisive goal against Sweden to make it 2-1. We even stayed on for the match between Greece and Russia. This time Guus Hiddink's men did Russia proud, by scoring the only goal in the game to make the defending champions have an early exit from this tournament. By the end of the night/morning, we were pretty tired already, but I still walked home from the interchange. Peyyong and Yaokun ALSO walked home! Steady liao loh LOL! But I think Peyyong took a cab after they reach Bedok Reservoir. I don't think anyone would wanna walk from Bedok Reservoir area to Bedok Camp area eh?

Read More

Friday the 13th, D-Day

Yes it is. And I totally don't feel a thing. Whereas when I left DSO, it's so much difference. The sense of belonging to ST wasn't there at all. LOL. Anyway went back to ST for clearace. Sooo mafan! Have to go look for all those people that I dunno at all. Sign this sign that. And of cos, I saw the girl which might be the one Jiahao told me about. There's a new girl in HR department. Very tall, slim and good-looking. Too bad it's my last day. Wahaha! I then spent almost one hour talking to our Technical Director, one who had helped me with my project previously. He's a pretty decent guy, although sometimes full of rubbish too. So I sat in his room and we chatted over my future plans, why I decided to leave etc. He's probably the only guy I would like to speak to honestly during my exit interviews.

Then I met quite a few other people in the company quite coincidentally. Told them that it was my last day. LOL. None of them were surprised. Looks like it's a pretty common trend nowadays. Then I went to Jalan Kayu to meet up with Weiqiang, who had left our company just two days ago. Wahaha! We had prata and chatted over our plans also. We then went to the Rochor Tow Huay shop to have Tow Huay, and Siang Ann from FDS just happened to sit beside my table. What coincidence. He's working at ST-Aerospace. However when I asked him how he was doing, he said he's probably gonna go through what I'm going through right now. O_O Wow I think I can't finish counting all the people who're jobless right now. Even on this very day, Siying is also having her last day at work. LOL. What is the world coming to?

Then since I had nothing better to do and didn't feel like going to the PC Show at Suntec, I thought perhaps should go to Weiqiang's house for a visit. He agreed and we therefore made our way to the LRT which was just 5 minutes' walk from Jalan Kayu. We took the LRT and then changed to NE line and went to Buangkok station. Only then did I realize that Huimin's house was very near Weiqiang's. And all the shops had already opened. NTUC, BreadTalk, etc. The last time we went to Huimin's house, which was during Chinese New Year, all these shops weren't opened yet. So we walked over to WQ's block, 275A, and went to the 5th floor. Upon entering his house, I saw quite a cosy and newly-designed home. WQ said we all were so sad, jobless and everything. But at least he's already got a wife and such a beautiful home. I have absolutely nothing now. Wahahah! We then played Winning Eleven with his lappy attached to his LCD screen in the living room. LOL. What a way to mark the start of my unemployment eh?

So we spent the afternoon gaming, until 4+, and then we made our way to the MRT. We then took the MRT to Little India, where I took 23 home, and he went to Sim Lim to get his stuff.

Looking forward to Taiwan trip next Tuesday. Let's hope everything goes smoothly.

Read More

One More Day to ORD!

Yeah the day has finally arrived. Somehow I don't really feel very ecstatic about leaving my company. Perhaps it's the sense of losing a source of income? Hahaha. There was also a feeling of losing something. Perhaps it's the near to two years of being at some place, and suddenly you have to leave the place and never go back at all. And all my hard work is left there... Hmm... Oh well always look forward to the future eh?

And it's the 12th of the month already! I forgot about my regular song recommendation! It must be the busy schedule I have recently. Euro 2008 at 12 midnight, 8-10pm of 2x. Not much time for other stuff. Been watching all the 12 midnight matches, and I must say, there are 4 teams which I feel should make it to the last 4. Germany, Portugal, Holland, Spain. And the final 2? Should be Germany and Holland. Let's see if my predictions are correct.

So here's song recommendation no. 8.

Song No. 8: I've Been Waiting For You
Artiste: Guys Next Door
Album: ?

Released: 1990

Fun Facts: Nothing much to say about this song, except for the fact that it's almost 20 years old! The band actually acts in a show with similar name. The lyrics are pretty simple, yet quite meaningful. And of course I simply love the melody of this song. Boring MTV though. Just listening to the song will do.

Read More

Euro Fever Started!

Yes it's the UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria-Switzerland! The first two games featuring Group A's Switzerland vs Czech Republic (0-1) and Portugal vs Turkey (2-0) started earlier this morning. I watched the first 20 mins of SUI vs CZE and was pretty bored with it, cos there aren't many people I really know from these teams. POR vs TUR was, of cos, more interesting with who else but Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Deco and gang. Turkey were a formidable force too, but they succumbed to the brilliant tactics of Portuguese coach Scolari and the magnificent team, ending in a 2-0 scoreline. No goals from Ronaldo yet, but he did send a perfectly aimed freekick into goal, only to be saved by goalkeeper Volkan.

The matches coming up in Group B features co-host Austria with Croatia, and later Germany vs Poland. I would be very interested to watch how the Germans perform, cos they are the most likely winners predicted by many soccer experts. I've even gotten myself a German jersey all the way from Germany! Thanks to my ex-colleague Kah Wai. Haha! Although it was a bit expensive, I really like the design of the jersey. In fact I compared the price of a similar jersey sold in the Adidas shop in Vivocity and discovered I had paid about $40 more for something similar. Hahaha oh well, there is a difference though. The one at Vivo is made in Vietnam while the one I have is made in China. Are good made in China more inferior? Hahaha! Oh well too bad there's work tomorrow, so I guess I can only watch replays of GER vs POL.

Went for a long "walk-in-the-park" with Peyyong and Peiyi today. Our MKG numbers getting smaller with each outing wahaha! Anyway we met in Bedok for lunch before taking bus 30 down to somewhere near NUS. Then we went to the nearby Cheers to grab water and snacks for our journey. Ok won't describe much. A picture says a thousand words.

Doesn't this look like Akina Hill from Initial D? =P

Arti Arti!!!

Rows of greenhouses

The Wizard of Oz comes to life!

Great home design ideas for the nature lover

Alexandra Arch and beyond

Henderson Waves

Only one word to describe the scenery I witnessed for the whole day's journey. Breath-taking!

We walked all the way to Vivocity and had dinner at Marche! It's been decades since I last had dinner at Marche. It's the only branch left in Singapore though. Had so much of a spread that I could hardly walk after the hearty meal. Walked around Vivocity before we went home to rest after a long day's route march.

6th May 2008, Friday

It's the final lunch with all the people of DSO and ST. Miss Ng printed out a list of restaurants with buffet lunch and told me to choose one. Diao all very expensive sia. Bobianzz very paiseh, so chose the cheapest one in the list. It was a place called Pete's Place @ Grand Hyatt. Come to think of it, my farewell lunch seems to be the most expensive of all the previous farewell lunches I've been to. Holy shit. Let's hope the guys don't grumble at the expensive pricetag that goes with their meals. Haha.

Read More

Dumplings Anyone?

Today Grandma and Big Auntie came over and together with Mummy, they made dumplings. It's been almost a decade since they came over to make dumplings together. That time Grandpa was still around. T.T

They always make nonya dumplings. Wah the aroma filling the whole kitchen was soooo shiokz. Tomorrow have homemade dumplings for breakfast liao.

Today is another chiong maple day. Free 2x for 6hours. Therefore made the best use of time and stacked until 4x. It's about time I trained a Fire/Poison Mage in Delphinus to overtake the one I left rusting in Cassiopeia.

31st May 2008, Saturday.

Chin Keat was the organiser for the Blk 22 BBQ. It looks like the last BBQ for the batch of Zhongming and gang as residents of Blk 22. However we're relieved to hear that Chin Keat shall take over the job of organising more Blk 22 gatherings in hall for the next one year. I reached Boon Lay interchange at 7+ and took the usual bus 179. On the way to the busstop, I was overwhelmed by the sea of Banglas and mainland Chinese swarming all over the interchange. Woah Boon Lay really damn crowded. It's no longer Singapore already if you look at the people around you. Then I went to the busstop and saw Kong Hooi in the queue. Then took the bus together. I saw Kong Hooi had just bought the aluminium BBQ pit and that means they've not started the fire at all. -___-

So we reached the hall and I went to disturb Zhongming from his sleep LOL. Then I proceeded to grab whatever I can from his stash of goodies. Hehehe...

So the people started coming and the juniors started the fire etc. Not many people turned up though. However it's still quite a number already. This time, Kota, our block counsellor's little boy, joined us for the BBQ. He was so talkative and full of energy. LOL

And so we all had our fill and talk cocked the night away etc. I wasn't planning to stay overnight, but some of them did. Chester drove me to Boon Lay MRT station where I then took the train all the way back. Luckily I have my PSP with me throughout my journey. Otherwise 4 hours of travelling really sucks. I even managed to complete Patapon on my way to hall earlier on. Ahahaha!

Read More

Super Sunday!

It's a new month once again! It's gonna be a very interesting month ahead. Plenty of things to look forward to.

Firstly we can look forward to Singapore's 3rd round World Cup qualifiers with matches against other Group 4 teams from Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Tomorrow's the home game against Uzbekistan. I'm gonna watch it! Woohoo! Come to think of it, I've never watched a single live game of our Lions against other teams. Go Lions go! Within this month we will know whether Singapore will advance to the 4th round of qualifiers to the 2010 World Cup!

Next up is what else but the UEFA Euro 2008?!? Plenty of soccer action this month. The event starts on the 6th and ends with the champions crowned on the 28th in Vienna.

Then I'll be officially leaving my company on Friday the 13th. Lucky day.

And of course I'll be leaving on a jet plane to Taiwan on the 17th! Woohoo!

Like I said it's gonna be a very interesting month ahead. Oh yeah!

Here's song no. 7.

Song No. 7: Return To Innocence
Artiste: Enigma
Album: The Cross of Changes

Released: 4th January 1994

Fun Facts: This song actually consists of samples from an aboriginal Taiwanese chant, without the singers' permission. Also, the beat of the drum is sampled from a Led Zeppelin song. Highly unoriginal. ZZZzzz... However the resultant product is a Number 1 smash in over 10 countries. It's even used in several movies and dramas. One interesting thing to note about its MTV is that it is totally in reverse order. And even the story in the MTV is about the life of a man in reverse order. This song totally rocks! Surely you have heard of it, ya?

Read More