Thursday, July 07, 2005

Back from Redang!

Haven been updating my blog regularly since I finished my IA, since most of the time i spend blogging is during office hours on IA.

Anyway, a quick update on wat has happened in my life in the last few weeks

Went to KL on 18 n 19 June with Dad, Mum n shan. Pa n Ma were going there for some health talk (sounds like MLM to me, din bother to find out more) and I made it clear to Dad that I won't be joining him for the talk, so it was shopping n sight seeing for me n shan.
It was on this trip when I realised that sometimes its better to handle your holidays yourself or someone whom u know u can rely on. There was huge timing problems with Dad and his frens. We arrived 2 hours early for our departure bus trip, and arrived another 3 hours early for our return bus trip. All thanks to Dad not getting the proper timing with his frens who organised this trip. I had to waste another 2 hours running around KL just to accomodate to Dad's request.
Otherwise, the trip was pretty fun.

Lessons learnt from KL trip:

  1. Always do your homework on your destination before you go there. It really HELPS a lot.
  2. Never let people who dunno a shit about travelling and scheduling to liase for your transport, they will just simply burn your precious time in huge quantities, and they still think they are always correct!
  3. Never travel along with people who dun have the same mentality on travel as you. Unconsensus during travel is simply a waste of time and
    spoils your mood. (those tai-tais really can drive you nuts)

Just came back from Redang a couple of days back. It was pretty ok too. Shan did the searching and booking of the resorts, as well as for the bus transport as well. We saved probably around SGD60 this way. Stayed at 'Redang Bay Resort', which was pretty good, compared to the Pelangi Resort we had stayed at 2 years back. Redang is still as great, just that it is sad to see those needless pollution going on, and the effects of global warming which raised the sea levels. The coastline have receded quite a bit since my last visit. The dives were pretty good. Finally got to see a sea turtle after so many dives!

Thursday, June 16, 2005

2nd Last Day of IA

Tml is the last day of IA. Had a farewell lunch with my colleagues at Jack's Place. Quite a coincidence my frens and I patronized that restaurant at the start of our IA and to end the IA with a meal there as well.

Baked some cookies to give away to my colleagues as a parting gift just before I leave. Specially packed 4 small bags of cookies to give away to my mentor n sup in the 2 dept. Spent 3 nights to make the cookies. Made 2 batches of cookies on 2 nights, and the last night was spent packaging them. It was fun, but pretty tiring to bake them in small batches cos of the small oven that i used. The taste is there, but the presentation is a bit off target. Ha ha. At least not too bad for a first-time baker. Thanks to Dear for pointing out all the mistakes that i made on the 1st batch. Will try out some of the recipes in the cook books that dear had borrowed from the library. The food in the pics look good!

Will be going to KL this weekend with dad mum n Dear. It will be my first visit to KL as far as I can recall. Just a short trip to eat and shop. Sort of like a celebration to end of IA. Hopefully I can get to walk across the sky bridge on the Petronas Towers.

Monday, June 13, 2005

End of IA !!

Its the final week of IA. Its really amazing how time flies when u are not suffering (note: i din say enjoy, i just say NOT SUFFERING). Going to leave my company soon. Gotta take a few pics of the office and with my colleagues. Gonna miss some of them. I'm thinking of baking some chocolate cookies for my department. Sort of like a farewell gift. Afterall they had given me quite a bit of guidance and helped me a lot. Maybe I getting a farewell card for my mentor n sup as well.

Had an uneventful weekend. Saturday was spent rotting at home doing nothing. Basketball on Sunday was lerthargic, slow and boring. Even the trip to sentosa was no good either. Poor weather and no Ais-Kream for the eyes. Half a day of tanning on the beach din even give me a slight shade of red! The only redness that I have on my shoulders and back is from the abrasion on the sand. The only interesting thing is the sedap Green Thai curry that BC let me try at HarborFront after we left the isle. Its the first time that I tasted green curry, for I had always tot it looked yucky. Now I'm getting interested in Thai food again. Ha ha ha. But Jap food is still my fave!

Think Ah Di is having some health problems lately. The patches on his skin is getting worse, and he keeps on licking and scratching at it. The medications that i had got for him seems not to be working, or did have the chance to work on him. The bitterants I apply on his wounds to prevent him from licking does not deter him for licking at the wounds too. I really hope that its just a minor problem, for he is an old dog already, anything serious would have far fetching consequences. Gonna take him to the vet soon.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Growing Up

Was reading JS's blog a couple of days ago, when he mentioned about a basketball match we had against some other sunday basketball team, which was like during the sec sch days. Makes me reminisce about the good old times when JS, CS, Bek n me would gather every sunday to play bball then. It was nice to have such a close bunch of frens loving n doing the same things together. Now, CS is always missing, Bek has already given up playing bball. Only JS n me are still playing, infrequently. Its sort of like a reminder of how much we have grown, and have our own world now. So there's less time for each other. But their places in our hearts will never change. Meeting up less doesn't mean that we will drift apart. Though there may be lesser common topics to talk about if we are all doing different stuff. I definitely miss those days when we would always hang out together, but we have all moved on. Well, so much for Growing Up.

Monday, June 06, 2005

9 days break

Had 2 of my wisdom tooth extracted last Monday, and was ‘rewarded’ with a 5 day MC. So in total I had 9 days off from work. Shiok!

The surgery wasn’t as bad as I thought it to be. Couldn’t feel a thing after the anesthetics kicked in. The only painful part was the dentist trying to stretch my mouth. Otherwise it was a relatively simple n fast surgery. But the pain started to act when the anesthetics wore off, and I was almost down with a fever on the first night. Luckily I got better after dinner (porridge with some fish. I couldn’t chew and had to swallow directly)

Had a swollen jaw for the rest of the week, and spent most of the time at home, playing games. Ha ha. Slack all the way. Thanks to dear for taking care of me during this period. (not to forget the chicken porridge she cooked for me on Tuesday as well)

Went to JB with dear, BC, Ivy n Adrian on Friday. Spent half a day in there, shopping, buying CDs (games, music, video) and of course, EAT the cheap n nice seafood! The buttered Cray fish was heavenly

Bought a Jdorama there: Last Christmas. And oh boy it was a good show. Nice music, story and good acting too. Would recommend this to all Jap culture worshippers.

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Sleepy in office...

Wrote this some time earlier in office, so its a delayed post:

Feeling quite sleepy n bored in lab, so tot i might as well write somethingjuicy for my blog to keep myself awake. Not many pple might have knownthis stuff. Perhaps only with the exception of lishan. Well, dun tink it will hurt to share. Its above my love life, which has been pretty quiet all the way till NTU.

Back in primary school, around primary 5, there was a girl named Yvonne who was said to be interested in me. I was a fat,ugly, short-tempered nerd back then,so i wondered what did she see in me. I din really take to her in the firstplace. Nonetheless, to an unpopular ugly guy, a girl interested in you is a rarity and flattering, and it is always tempting to give in, even though when one has no realinterest in the other party or not. I was tempted to get closer to her then.But as BGR is unheard of in our generation at that age, it progressed no further than the occasional childish teasing like "eeeee, she likes you lei!". She stayed at the flat facing mine on the opposite block, so we could clearly see each other when we go home. But i suppose it was just a passing puppylove/crush back then. Which I din hear of anymore since we left primary sch.What I would later get to know in sec sch is that she died in an asthma attack.Feels bad when u have a fren passing on so early in life.

Anyway, the 2nd girl on the list is Daphne, whom shan n i always refer to as"almost has been". Yes, Daph n I were an almost have been. I was in Sec 2then, she was a freshie. It was during the NPCC annual summer camp that wegot to know each other. She was in my group and I was the team leader then.I was one of the fitter guys, ok, I'm the FITTEST, in the sec 2 boys squad. So naturally I impressed many with my finesse in the games and my capability to lead the group. However, I was too focused on winning games for my team andguiding them to realise that she was interested in me. It was only i received the "best camper" award then one of the freshies told me that I had garnered quitea bit of attention. Somehow Daphne had gotten hold of my number and began to callme frequently after the camp. And we found out that we actually stayed in theopposite block, and there was a line of sight where we could see each other inour rooms. I din have any interest in her at all initially. It was until sch reopened and we got to know each others' frens then I got to know that she wasinterested in me. Then again, the unpopular guy theory I had stated above set in again.There are some other guys after her as well. Somehow there came a lot of people between us (guys after her, and girls after me; her claim, i dunno if its real or not), but we were unfazed. We were getting closerto each other all the time but somehow, at the end of Sec 2, things just did not work out and we just ended as almost have been. Guess I'm just in this just for the competition, not the girl. I quite a competitive person. So most probably I just got bored with thecompetition, and din really like her after all.

The 3rd girl is Wenxin, whom shan n i refer to as "zui mei de" (prettiest in chinese) She was in my batch in NPCC, and was EXTREMELY popular withthe guys. I started to have a crush on her since Sec 3 camp. She was pretty, fun and frenlyto speak of. I never had the courage to go after her, even though I took steps to get closerto her. It was pretty obvious to everyone that I had a crush on her. So much so that even "mum" (my form teacher) got to know about it. I had the impression that she was also kindainterested in me too, since she was quite frenly to me. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive then.Somehow we start some correspondence in Sec 4which continued all the way to JC2. She went to TJC and me, TPJC. I wanted to go to TJC allthese time, partly because of her too. But just too bad that my grades couldn't get me in.I had expected a girl like her to be able to get a BF quite quickly in JC, and not before longshe really got a BF. Not that I'm surprised but I was still pretty heartbroken that she's gone.Actually I had quite a few chances to date her before she got a BF, but I just din have theballs to do it and chickened out a few times. Cos I always felt inferior. I never really gotout of the mindset that I had back in primary school that I was undesirable, and read: unpopular guyThis is probably the reason why I would never get any girl then. I thoughtshe with such good qualities would look for a handsome, sporty and intelligent BF. But I knew I was wrong when I saw her BF. Not to backstab him but I'm just stating the facts. Her BF wasn'tgood-looking and had bad grades (we r just using a simplistic formula here, intelligent = good grades,dun flame me), but pretty sporty. Nonetheless, I was still hopeful that someday I can get togetherwith her. My crush on her lasted from Sec 3 to JC2. That's probably the reason why I din try to getany GF in JC. Not that I tot I could either. Throughout my army time, I would still occassionally think of her, for she was the only girl who had ever left such a huge impression on me back then. But it was also during my army time, then I finally realised that the the person I liked is the Wenxin in 1997, not the current person. And this managed to help me drop the idea of waiting for herand move on in life.

The first semester of my NTU life was pretty tranquil. Too focused on studies and I still looked fresh fromarmy with the nerdy black plastic specs from army and a crew cut head. It was only until yong qiang draggedme for a hair dye with him then things finally started to change and I started to attract some attention from theopposite sex. By the time exams were over, my copper red hair grew longer into a floppy style and has faded into a nice blonde color, and I made my first pair of contact lens so that I could play rugby in IHG.

The 4th girl in line is Jenny (3rd which I know to have had interest in me, put as 4th just for numbering sake)Got to know her through a canvassing job which she got for us for hall stuff at the PC fair as a sales promoter. As all my frens know, that I'm quiet with strangers, and only talk crap with close frens. Somehow the sales promoter job had forced a change in me in making me open up n be more talkative so that sales would come (n commission $ as well) When the job ended, I managed to get her number and took a photo with her with my arm on her shoulder. Thus She got to know me under that impression, that I was like one of those "buaya" from ACJC. But all that were do in the moment of fun. I din intend to call her or proceed any further than that. It was until we went back to hall, and there was once when she came over to chat with me in front of all those horny neighboursof mine. Everyone was shocked to see a "chio bu" approach me, and soon everyone was teasing me and egging me to go afterher. We progressed quickly, but soon I came to see the differences between us and realised that we aren't suitable foreach other. The person she liked is the junx during the PC Fair, the one who was outgoing, talkative and "buaya", and ofcourse, physical attraction plays a significant part too. I fitted into the 'ideal' BF description which I had set earlierin sec sch. Sporty (i was still damned fit from army), intelligent (simply speaking, good grades) and handsome (i lookedbetter then with the stylo hair n contact lens and bothered to dress up a bit). But such things cannot last for long,for i wasn't being myself during the PC Fair. I will revert back to my original bo chup mannerisms before long.She wasn't the type of girl that I liked either. I admit I was in it was largely due to peer pressure, physical attraction and the unpopular guy theory. Since i knew clearly we weren't made for each other, then I just started to drift away from her.

It was around this period when I got to know my dear better. First got to know dear when we were in the night cycling committee together but wasn't that close then cos I tot she was bryan's GF. It was also during this IHG period when bryanwas after another girl then I knew that she was single. I totthat she would make a nice GF, and was the type that I liked too. Fun, sporty, sporting and frenly! During this period, the guys would always go for late night suppers and she was always onz for supper, so I just called her to come along whenever possible, or buy back some supper for her. She liked to play video games too, and we would spend some time playingtogether as well. Some times we would eat lunch/dinner together and chat a bit online. But all this while we were just normal, close frens. When I hit the rocks with jenny, then I turned to her for some advice cos she was my only close female fren, so I tot she might give me some good counselling. (for the record, jen n me were never an item). Then somehow dear n i got closer and we started to take an interest in each other. Then its was during the CNY period when I needed some help to buy new clothings that we went to JP together as frens, and returned to hall as a couple. And we never looked back since then.

Hopefully dear will always be the final character in this story...
Mmmmmmmm, I'm fully awake now!

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Finished my Final Report!

Finally finished the friggin final report that i had been putting off for so long. With the final visit of the tutor over as well, it is literally holiday now for me!

Went to the National Dental Centre last friday for a check up on my wisdom tooth. Got scheduled for the extraction on 30 may. Will be getting a 5 day MC for that, meaning i won't be reporting for working for 9 days straight! (surgery only available on mondays) Actually I feel pretty bad about this, cos my mentor has been very nice to me and I dun 1 2 play slack n shrink from my responsibility to the company. But the pain is coming back again, and I think its best to get over n done with the wisdom tooth issue ASAP. Maybe I'll just talk to my mentor to arrange n c when is the appropriate period for me to AWOL (absence WITH official leave)

Got my first choice FYP. Went to see the sup last saturday. Think its highly possible to get an A this time, since the sup is pretty nice, my partner is hardworking, and I understand most of the stuff that needs to be done. On top of it, I have capable backup staff to help me in the form of my bro n sis! Ha ha ha. Think this is a happy ending for me to the FYP saga.

A new engineer came in yesterday. And he took my place! *Hmph!* Anyway, its good that he took my place too, since it is quite 'exposed' and the monitor faces the pantry. Ha ha. Got a new nice workspace next to my mentor. No more unlimited whole day msn chats anymore, but heck! I gonna leave this place in exactly 1 month's time!

Monday, May 09, 2005

Jap Food...

Bro just left for France for 2 weeks for work. So nice to be able to fly around for work (and for free) I'm so envious! Haha.

Yesterday was mummy's day. Dear came over and helped me with the Japanese cuisine that I wanted to make for mum. Well, its been about 10 years since I last made sushi, so I almost totally forgot how to do it. Luckily those recipes can be easily found online.


Out of the 3 dishes that we prepared, the agedashi tofu turned out to be the best. Its surprising how easy it was to make this dish.


There were 3 types of sushi that we made. Unagi, Prawn Roe and Crab stick. It was during the making of this sushi then we realised that making sushi ain't as easy as it looks. It really takes a lot of skill to make nice sushi, not to mention good tools as well (a super sharp knife is damned important, no wonder the katana is renowned for its sharpness)


The tempura was a failure. Ha ha. All thanks to mum for giving me her (thai) 'tempura' powder and messing up my original recipe. Well, I was getting a bit lazy to manually make the mixture already, so I tot it would be a nice short cut to use the (thai) tempura powder. The shrimps turned out to be just like ur standard fried prawns instead of tempura ebi. Lousy. Haha. Will attempt to do it properly next time.

Now I understand why Japanese food ain't cheap. Their ingredients are damned ex. Think making this meal costs me well over $50. (but not all is spent on one meal, there are plenty of leftover condiments and talc rice). Hope mum likes it

Luckily dear was around to help me to make this. If not I dunno how long would I take to finish preparing! Thank you dear!

Home-cooked Jap Food anyone? Damned free loaders, bring your own ingredients! I ain't loaded!