the lastsplash

I thought I saw small waves forming, as my bus swam through Lower Delta Road in the morning. Can you imagine the famous duck ride (only that it was in a bus)? But the smaller cars were just sitting ducks. I must be very lucky for it was the first time I experienced a flood and I got away dry. Some were less fortunate as they rolled up their pants and stood on the chairs at the bus-stop. It was much scarier compared to watching the flood on TV...

Amid the 65-hr working week in the past month, I managed to sneak some time out for one of the great moments in my life! 7 September 2008, our Solemnization Ceremony. But before that, I did quite abit of thinking. Besides filling "Married" for marital status in forms, what are the other changes? Well, no thinking could quite prepare for the moment when I said my wedding vows. It felt surreal. Something changed, but I could not spell it out clearly. It was a mixed feeling of happiness and new found responsibilities. Part of me felt more mature as my relatives told me that "I am an adult now". I would say the most notable change is the wedding band on my finger and I am proud to be wearing it. Other than that, we'll be living together only after our customary marriage next year and life will be the same till then. And my head was stuck deep into work again the very next day... Let me share with you some of the beautiful moments from that day, capture in photograph...

难赚。。。

One's willingness to give, does not ensure the other's willingness to accept. Can hardly keep that frown away. Can hardly contain that aching heart.

With just a lil' over a month to the big day (no, not the Beijing Olympics or the Nat'l Day!), we decided to check out the venue again to visualize how we would decorate the place. But before we started to work, a mini-feast! Some pictures of food for my photographer to get familiar with my camera... heh heh. And when the lunch was done, it was off to work! We took several shots from different angles and thought about how we would arrange the tables. And finally, my hardworking models of the day posed at a possible spot for the group photo. Don't you think they have poise or what! So cool looking eh? P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L models lorh ... :D Btw, the photos of food you see isn't what that will be served on the actual day. I promise it'll be something even better! Hee hee . Yum yum!

The mahjong-kakis ate in style at Al Dente Trattoria , an Italian restaurant at Colours of the Bay Esplanade , this evening to celebrate Theresa's birthday! Thanks to the AMEX promotion, we "could have been able" (???) to enjoy the main courses at 1-for-1. Why? lol . We were enjoying this wonderful appetizer, Antipasti Sampler Platter ... Salami slices, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, ham with melon & cold seafood cuts on fresh garden greens... ...when 阿发 said that he had left his AMEX card at home! We all knew he is good at cracking such cold jokes. Unfortunately, it was true! Anyway, we went on to enjoy our main courses which we couldn't really make out what they were from the menu till we saw them in front of us! Our birthday girl had the Filleto di mauve ? Anyway, its beef tenderloin ragout of mushroom and pancetta with red wine glazed... mmmm yum yum. Juicy and tender! Dear had Pesce al forno ... which is oven roasted red snapper and ba...

Not knowing what to expect, my JC mates and I were in for a big surprise at the National Museum last night! Studio Festi from Italy performed at the open area between NMS and SMU for the first Night Festival. If you remember the performance, Water Fools , at the opening of the Singapore Art Festival this year, this was something of similar grand scale, but it was up in the sky! The performance was befittingly known as " The Dancing Sky ". Singaporeans must have acquired the taste for such audio and visual splendid, for the turnout was really good too! I was only able to see the dancers in the sky from afar... The graceful dancers glide through the facade of the National Museum, creating romantic images of magic... A closer inspection, you can see the performers hanging on the trapeze. Then planets carrying dancers floated in... On the ground, there performers danced to the tune of Vivaldi's Four Season... And dancing with fire... Dancing in a bowl of water, smooth like a...

It was official. Not sure how much impact I made in the past two years. Probably none. For three hours, two to three days a week, I felt more like a guest. But yet, I gained quite a bit. Neither am I sure when or how I can use what I gained. For now, I know at least I made a few people proud. =) The traditional photos at the staircase, And with the giant ceremonial bear! One of the best thing is to have accomplished it together with my dear. Before we take the next steps of our lives together, arm in arm. A moment for us to pause and celebrate! And I will leave the rest of the reflections to another day bah... hah .

I woke up an hour earlier today. I would leave an hour earlier for lesson, so I wanted to get to work an hour earlier as well. At 5.30 am, the air was fresh. It was dark and cool. My mind was blank but very much awake. I regained some of the inner peace which I had during the couple of days when I was on MC. It was some sort of calming feeling. I could take my time in everything and nothing would agitate me. Then, the early morning evoked some memories. These were memories of days when I was awake by 5.30 am. There was the BMT days at Nee Soon Camp. At this time of the day, I would be having my water parade and then marching to training shed near the cook house to wait for breakfast. There was the secondary school days. I would be one of the first few in school, to finish homework from the day before. :-P Sometimes the gates were not opened yet and I had to scale the low walls. As the train emerged from the tunnels at Redhill MRT station, the dark morning skies had turned to baby blue....

You may be wondering why am I blogging at this time of the day? Well, I am on sick leave at home. This is a much needed break for me. On the work front, it had been more than challenging lately. Having to juggle tasks of different nature, and wearing hats much bigger than my head. I constantly keep in mind the size of my head and try to do my best to fit into the hats I have to wear. But its not easy lah . I made a couple of mistakes due to my negligence. I am keeping myself positive. Hopefully, the hard work will pay off soon. On the home front, it had been smoother. After receiving the keys , we had the flat painted and cleaned thoroughly. As the new man of the house, I washed the two toilets, scrubbing every inch of the floor and walls, digging up the little corners of dirt. Thanks to my four years of staying in Hall One, I had plenty experience in washing my toilets. =p My future mother-in-law helped us with the kitchen. She did a splendid job in turning it sparkling clean. While ...

I read this article, " Put away that PSP and pick up a book " last week on myPaper . My little opinion this is that to each its own . But to begin with, perhaps his observation is a lil' flawed. While it is true at times many people are indulged in their hand-held gaming devices, there are also times when I see many reading papers ( Today, myPaper , etc.) in the train. Some even tried reading when there isn't nuff room to stand! Of course, that will be another entry on its own. :p The fact is we are living in modern times where we are spoilt for choices of things to do during our journey between places. Do you remember the times seeing many people playing the brick game or Tamagotchi in the train? Many new gadgets fill our hands from time to time, but the pleasure of reading is here to stay. Personally I enjoy my PSP. There are times I rather read a fiction book and get hooked to the story. There are times when I prefer to just glance thru' the morning papers to...

Today's horoscope reads, " Your friends are beautiful, but sometimes when they disagree with you, they make you crazy. Fortunately, when their perspectives are different from yours, you can usually avoid discussion about that topic. But not today. Even if it's a challenge to let it go, keep in mind that nothing good will come from direct conflict if no one is willing to change positions. " I guess its easy to come up with such advices, since it is well-known that Taurus are usually seen as stubborn in nature. I wish I had read it earlier to remind myself how others may perceive my actions. When actions are accepted, Taurus are seen as determined and hardworking. And when they are not, Taurus are seen as stubborn and difficult people. While some people may never understand our true intentions, perhaps it is better to avoid putting ourselves into positions that fulfill this prophecy. It does not matter we live to become what our horoscope's description of us, or the...

As I tried the keys to the various rooms, I realised that this IS our very own. Today we unlocked the very first step in which our family unit started to take shape!

Nothing like spending an afternoon shopping with two of my very very good friends. -smiles- It was the first time I did a "crazy" thing of taking leave for the Great Singapore Sale. Like the typical guy, I was the first to complete my shopping - within the first few minutes - and never looked back. And like all typical women, the ladies only managed to get one item for themselves in the entire afternoon. I suspect it was due to the difference in variety. Most people are unable to notice the subtle differences in a rack of slacks. Navy blue? Black? Elephant? Thin lines, thick lines? No lines? But with women's clothing... Wohhhhh ... the colours, cuttings, styles, auntie-type, classy-type, young-girl-type, elegant-type, etc. In a way, it was good shopping with them. First, it prevented me from spending more than necessary. Secondly, it was a good form of exercise. Most of the time, I would involuntarily start to yawn. Thus, I had to actively participate in giving comments...

more productive comfortable not drinking too much regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week) getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries at ease eating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats) a patient better driver a safer car (baby smiling in back seat) sleeping well (no bad dreams) no paranoia careful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole) keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then) will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in wall) favours for favours fond but not in love charity standing orders on sundays ring road supermarket (no killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants) car wash (also on sundays) no longer afraid of the dark or midday shadows nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate nothing so childish at a better pace slower and more calculated no chance of escape now self-employed concerned (but powerless) an empowered and informed member of society (pragmatism not idealism) will not cry...

I must have been ranting, complaining, and whining too much. So much that I have headache and feel myself surrounded by smoke. Like this episode from xxxHoLic ... Ha ha ha ... better watch my mouth.

When I shared this story , there were two messages I wanted to put across: 1. The level of soberness may not determine the behaviour of a person. 2. Always walk away when being provoked. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions to who is the baddie in this case, "the guy who pushed" or "the friends who encouraged to chat with the girl". And I know its not big deal. It is common for people to chat up with strangers in pubs, and fights to occur in pubs. But I hope people can focus on the messages instead. Regardless of where it may occur... ;op

When was the last time I was at Zouk ? It must be during my national service days. In fact, that was almost ten years ago. The place was pretty much the same when we visited it just now. It was filled with young people, those of my age ten years ago. For old folks like us, it had been a long time since we drank. I was quite intoxicated just now. Yet, I'm still sober enough to pen this post. =p Why would I wanna do this? It was because it had been quite an exciting night. We were all high after three jars of Long Island Tea. Out of fun, we encourage one of our friends to chat with this girl whose boyfriend had wenta the toilet. My friend merely asked for her name, and whispered a few words. When you get high, you tend to do some "crazy things". Tho' I think chatting up with someone is still quite sane. Surprisingly, when her boyfriend and his friend came back, they threatened to "whack" my friend. As we tried to explain that we were just chatting, the guy pus...

We were surprised by the size of the crowd that had gathered by the Singapore River... The French street theatre troupe, ilotopie , had kicked off the Singapore Art Festival 2008 with their unique performance on water. The early birds were nice enough to sit in neat rows at the front. Tho' I suspect maybe they were just afraid to be pushed into the river by those behind, so it was safer to sit! -lol- But those at the back rows were less considerate and stood throughout the performance. Thus, we had on stand on the steps from far, twist and turn our heads, so as to get a glimpse of whatever was happening, through some of the small openings among the crowd! The ilotopie is a collection of actors, sculptors, musicians and creators from France, with over twenty years of performance experience. The show they performed in Singapore was entitled "Water Fools". It was a show of ingenious contraptions that float on water, with performers on them that played with fire, and beautif...

Recently, the heat wave has gotten a lil' too much to handle. My idea of paradise now is anywhere cooling, with a glass of cold drink (make that 2 or 3!). It had been a less than bearable for the past few days. My room faces the West aka 西赛 . The air-con broke down months ago. That wasn't such a bad thing as I can save on the electrical bills. But my fan is also giving me trouble. My daily routine when I get home these days is to "jump-start" the fan! I have to hold it at a certain angle, in which the blades will start to rotate faster. While doing so, I also need to hold my breath as any slight movement will cause the blades to slow down again. For now, I will continue to "jump-start" it everyday bah. Have to save up for bigger things to come...

Presents fall in! *drum rolls* First, a tie and a pair of cufflinks from my parents! Next, a Levis Tee from my sister! Its the same design I wanted to buy the day before, only that this is a darker shade of blue than the one I wanted. And a pair of portable speakers from my dear! I think they look really groovy! Finally, a pair of really fantastic earphones and Kino vouchers from my buncha great buddies (yes, both items are from my wish list !)!! My good friend asked me whether I was abit disappointed with the gifts as it was no surprise. I told her, I wasn't a little disappointed at all. In fact, I am really happy to receive them. It is okay even if there isn't any presents cuz it is already so wonderful to have so many people to celebrate my birthday. Next year... no need presents for me le okay? ;op Taking pictures with those who gave me the nice presents! So what did we do? We did one of my favourite activity, KTV! For the four hours, I hogged the mic most of the time! In b...