Catching Up

It's been some time since i've blog but time has really been a luxury with National Service and all. But since i had the pleasure of a long weekend due to Vesak Day and a "holiday-in-view", i'll take time out to post. Going back a couple of weeks first.

My two uncles, John and Gerard came down to Australia with their significant other to celebrate Uncle John's and my greatgrandmother's birthdays. So it was on to Aunt Carol's house for dinner. Here are a few photo's..


From top to bottom, Uncle Gerard, Uncle John, Dad


Fooling around. You can't blame me for drinking so much, as you can see, all my uncles all do..


The Addams Sandosham Family with Morticia Addams, the lady on the extreme left.


Aarika

My two gorgeous cousins, Michaela & Aarika

Last week, Saturday night was dedicated to Quek who has finally come back from China. Thankfully, he didn't pick up a weird China accent. We have Subway for dinner before he bought us coffee at Starbucks, Raffles City. Deciding we were hungry we went to Newton Hawker Centre for supper. It was good to have such company and conversations again.
On Sunday, went shopping a little and bought 2 pants from Fox and a sweatshirt from G2000.
Then booked in for a short week in which i failed my Standard Obstacle Course but Silver-ed my IPPT. On Thursday, i decided to return to pool. So i've ended my sebatacle, and to my horror, i realise i can't play anymore. So i decided on a little personal individual training at Classic. After about an hour of playing, this NUS pool player decides to challenge me. Seeing as i was bored i accpeted his challenge knowing full well the outcome. 5-2 was the depressing score. But i'll be back, soon i hope!
On Friday, got up early to open a new Save-As-You-Protect Account at DBS and then to collect my Singapore Graduation Certificate(SGC) from school and then meeting Kwong Yuan and Dao Kang had breakfast at the hawker centre we missed so much now. We made our way down to Tampines Mall to meet Grace where we ate again at Pasta Mania. We then watched Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. I thought the show was magnificent with great action and an epic love story meshed in the plot. Who could fault Johnny Depp's performance once again as Captain Jack Sparrow. After the show, Grace politely followed me to Raffles Place to claim some free gift before we headed to Orchard Road to revel the Great Singapore Sale. I saw a lot of things i liked but unfortunately, army allowance is modest and i had to manage funds properly. While shopping in British India saw a certain ex pass by. I'd be first to admit my heart did skip a beat.. As my Mat Sergeant would say, suck it in and just too bad.
So a want list: Jacket from Domanchi -$129
Shirt from Domanchi -$89
Linen Shirt from Giordano Concept store - $60
Black leather shoes
She tried a dress from Esprit which i agreed was not worth the price. After trying to find for her shoes we settled at Sakae for dinner. After a long day, i was exhausted so we headed home.
Saturday night, went for Teochew porridge with the family at Tembeling Road before meeting Clarence and Adrian Tan, who went for the IT fare for obvious reasons. Haha, i hope nobody gets massacred for this. I meant Clarence wanted to buy a new laptop! So we enjoyed the Late Night Shoppping at Suntec and Marina Square and we eventually bought drinks and sprawled on the grass at the Sky Garden admiring the night sky.
Till next week, hope you recover quick hun!

Song of the Moment: There She Goes - The La's
This is the original 1988 classic before the 1999 cover by Sixpence None The Richer

This was the exact song running through my head when she strolled by...

Bittersweet

These last two weeks have been bittersweet, a lot more bitter than sweet though.

Firstly, two weeks ago, for my first book out, I had a long weekend due to May Day.
So on that Saturday, I went for soccer though I was tired but I was so used to waking up at 5.30, i couldn't force myself back to sleep. At night, i had a sumptuous dinner at Marche with Grace at VivoCity. After having crappy army food for 2 weeks, everything whets my appetite. And who could forget my favourite part of my dinner; dessert. The crepe with fresh fruit, custard and ice-cream is superb! Went on to meet Neil, Adrian and Clarence at Chijmes to watch a little football and have a drink. Sunday, it was just dinner with my grandparents. But at least I got to drive to Changi Village and I was thankful i haven't forgotten everything about driving.
On Monday, went for a simple dinner before heading to Boat Quay with the folks for drinks. We wanted to enter IndoChine at The Asian Civilisation Musuem but the place was just too chic for our simple dressing so we chose Q Bar next to it. It was a Mojito for me, a Lychee Martini for my mom and a pint of Carlsberg for Dad. Then we hopped over for the best live band i've seen. A brazillian outfit playing Latin Jazz with songs like Oye Como Va, MasQue Nada and Mambo Mindoro. I loved it!! The lead singer was gorgeous and she looked even better doing the salsa.
Tuesday, once i woke up, it felt utterly depressing knowing i had to book in that night itself. I had to follow my brother to Queensway to buy shoes then it was booking in.

So the first downside and by far the most bitter, RSAF has rejected me. There goes my childhood ambition of becoming a pilot. So once passion is taken away, i'm looking to become rich. My second was having field camp. Not bathing for 6 days was disgusting to most. The last 2 nights we had to dig a shell scrape which resembled a grave and sleep in it. On the last night, it became really miserable when it rained and we slept in mud. It didn't help that sleep was disturbed by wild boars.
On the upside, i've been accepted into NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. And the hardest part of BMT is over.

Over this short weekend, i had to really make use of the time i had. I had dinner with Grace at New York, New York. To satisfy my sweet tooth, we shared a waffle. We proceeded to walk around looking for Macademia nuts to satisfy her cravings so we ended up at Chocz Esplanade. There, we met Keng Foo, Chun Kiat and a girl whose name eludes me now. So they invited us to TCC, so we trodded all the way to Clarke Quay. I had a nice Coffee Margarita. After that, Grace, deciding she wanted a night walk, walked me all the way to Bugis where she took a cab home. We had a nice walk. Then i finally met up with Jie Long after not seeing for almost 2 months at about 1am. Played pool for awhile and realised we can no longer play so we headed down to RedBar and opened a bottle of EagleHawk 2005 Chardonnay. Boy, was it strong. I missed having talks like this with him and it's been too long. Obviously, Bmt and OCS were the main topics. Hope to see you soon! I'll sign of here for now as i'm rushing off to Sakae Sushi for Mother's Day dinner. So till next week...

I don't really have a song of the moment but i just bought Michael Buble's CD, "Call Me Irresponsible", and these are a few of his other songs. I absolutely adore his music!

This is the magic of the 4 greatest performers!

Memories

Let's go back a couple of weeks to just before i entered army. I tried to post but Blogspot didn't seem to want me to. So after my 2 week confinement, things are little blurred so please bear with it, and my deteriorating standard of English.

On that Monday, I had work with my Dad together with Neil and Adrian Tan. I finished up my last few lessons of circuit driving.
On Tuesday, I had dinner with Jasmine at Sakae, Changi Airport. This girl is hilarious and bonkers! It's also amazing how different our palette for japanese food were. So I tried a lot of new stuff that day. I then welcomed my grandparents back from their month-long trip from Australia. Jasmine, you're right. I hope I too can have that type of romance till I'm of that age, travelling with my significant other. By the way, your Dad looks real friendly.
Wednesday was the day i had been anticipating since I bought the tickets, Phantom of the Opera! After more work with my Dad in the morning, I rushed home to get changed before picking Bex up from her home. We had dinner at Coffee Club Marina Square before the musical.

Now, for my critical analysis for the play. It being a play about a play, there are many subtle points where it was difficult to distinguish whether it was "real" or them acting. The cast was phenomenal for the most part. Christine Daae was exceptional but I felt the Phantom could have been a little more powerful, vocally and in terms of character. Raoul, Christine's childhood lover, had good stage presence and quite a magnificent set of vocals. The costumes and props were exquisite. However, the were a couple of major hiccups and shouldn't have been made at that level, mainly sound faults. The falling of the chanderlier was weak and could have been a lot more dramatic. Little gasps or cries from the audience. Stage direction was good, making use of illusions like the disappearing of the phantom in the last scene. But everyone's favourite scene, where the phantom had Christine under his charm as he rowed to his lair was brilliant with the dry ice. The conductor had a dual role this time actually acting as well. She looked gorgeous from where I was.
But overall, I'd rate it 4 out of 5 after including the amazing scores which were penned down by the prodigious Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Obviously it was more enjoyable because of the company I had. We shared champagne during intermission. After the show, we went to my favourite Starbucks and chatted for almost an hour and a half. Sadly, the were closing and i had to meet my friends one last time before army, so in my suit, i joined them at Simpang Bedok for LAN and prata as we watched a boring Liverpool-PSV encounter.

On Thursday, woke up kinda late before finish packing up my stuff for Tekong. I met StephKoh and Samuel for my last delicious Brownie at Coffee Club Siglap. And I bumped into Ms Siva again after so long!!
On Friday I answered the call of duty.

Song of the Moment: When You're Gone - The Cranberries

Wishing there was someone to keep me warm on the cold Tekong nights...

Yin Yang

Saturday. I eventually went for football. At night it was dinner with Grace and Keng Foo at Sizzler and then we were joined by Adrian Tan and Clarence at Chijmes.
Sunday, got up early to play soccer with Raymond, Alvin, Adnan and Ivan.

I guess when humans evolved, there was a distinct role for man and woman to play. Yang, being male, strong, unbending. Yin, female, soft, yielding. A little of each in the other sex to stop us from killing one another. But 6000 thousands years after Mesopotameia, things aren't so clear anymore. What I hate, the social stigmas. I'd be the first to admit I cry a little more than I should. A sad movie, a sad song. Does that make me weak? I guess so. Explains the breakups. Just brought along too much emotional baggage than a strong independent women can handle. Maybe i'm just barking up the wrong tree and I may be grossly generalising here but i think there's a bit too much Yang in this world. But i guess that's what they teach in school, grab what you want, fuck those that don't get it. It's their problem, not mine. So in the recent weeks i've been told to be a little less unbending. In 19 years of living somebody finally told me directly to be unyielding, to be selfish and not so selfless. I just wish i had the strength like Betty to not succumb to the pressures of those around and just be yourself.
Isn't it true. I'm there every Saturday to meet friends and i've gave away 2 relationships for that. Yet I don't see the purpose of getting angry when these friends decide they have better things to do. So to answer Adrian Tan on both accounts, your parents devote hours to family and not to friends because it's a sad fact, but friends do come and go. You keep one or 2 along the way but that's if you're lucky. Family is a better investment. Ahh.. But there's always the other spectrum, those that were there when it mattered most. Through a breakup, a passing of someone dear, a rough patch.
Thus, in my final week i've filled the days with those who matter. I thank those who've help and remember those who haven't. Tuesday, it's dinner with Jasmine. Wednesday, it's Phantom of the Opera with Bex. Thursday is dinner with StephKoh and Friday I answer the call of duty.
Damn, the days are creeping up on me like a ageing man realising his own mortality. Hopefully this 2 years go by swiftly and not too painfully. So a new chapter begins...

Song of the Moment: Reflection(OST-Disney's Mulan) - Christina Aguilera

Angels on High

So i'm high. Really high. I have lost my ability to drink loads before the alcohol kicks in. 8 glasses of Tiger beer. 3 Jugs shared with my Dad. That's all. That's all it takes before I passed on my below adequate skills of pool to my brother on a worthless pool table. (I hope you don't mind me blabbering). I actually had a full conversation with my brother! Since forever. My father was way high too, but he managed to get us back in one piece. From Changi Village to Simei in 5 minutes dashing in and out of traffic. So this is what I gave up clubbing with the TJ friends for. A wonderful dinner and then a beach bar with the family. A band that could play instruments excellent-ly but needed a whole new set of vocals. But now I have too much inhibition. I saw this girl spending time with her, I presume, birthday-celebrating father, and I had no balls to ask her for her number or even a dance. The many times that she went to the toilet and hoping i'd bump into her only resulted in me walking by her. She's by far not hot but she had her charms and two relationships on, no GUTS!!!! Damn!! But now I see why people get drunk in times of trouble, it's just so... WOOHOO! Nothing much happened this week except circuit driving and a lot of reading.
This is a weird week. Went to watch Roma beat ManUtd alone at 3 o'clock in the morning. Then people I haven't talked to in 5 years all of a sudden ask me for songs. And me actually deciding to go for soccer tomorrow morning. I've never had debates when it came to soccer but with Quek gone and without any worthy adversary it seems such a waste time to go. But i'd better sign off here before I feel like fucking someone, metaphorically, or however you spell it. Till the next time, probably the last time you'll see a blabbering high ME. Till then, Cheerios!

Song of the Moment: Above All - Lenny LaBlanc


It being Good Friday, i really felt bad getting high on such a solemn occasion. But precisely next Friday, 13th no less, i will be F*&% by the sergeants in Tekong so last weekend with the parents and although I hate to mention it, my brother. I really really love this song and I almost had to perform it at the Good Friday service at the church today. Thankfully, they asked me when i'm sober, or I might have said yes. So Good Friday to all Christians and Happy Easter, and remember that Jesus died for US so that we may have forgiveness and a chance to live for eternity in paradise.

April Fools'

Once again sorry for this overdue post. Let's go back to last Wednesday. It was more drumming practices and driving lessons.
On Thursday, it was dinner with Quek, Clarence and Adrian Tan at ThaiExpress Esplanade. Clarence as usual wore a singlet and shorts. He looked out of place. Haha. Then we took a walk to One Fullerton to the my-now-favourite-Starbucks, with the view of the Marina Promenade and the Merlion. Then to satisfy my sweet tooth we settled at MacDonald's Marina Square for a Oreo McFlurry and when that closed we set on the steps with the majestic view of The Esplanade. Wasted it wasn't a clear night.
On Friday, I completed touch-ups to my room. Got a painting from my Aunt Carol which added a splash of colour. At night, went down to play soccer.
Saturday was tiring and filled to the brim. Morning, it was soccer with SLK. In the afternoon, soccer with my neighbours who invited me to play for their team. It's been a loonnngggg time since i played in rain that heavy. Refreshing. Then home to wash and clean before having dinner with te folks. I beginning to think i'm having some sought of jealousy quotient or something, but it's really nice to be without my brother. We had dinner at Maxwell Food Court near Tanjong Pagar and shared a Heineken with my Dad. Then they dropped me off at Chijmes to meet the buddies Quek, Clarence Adrian Tan and Samuel again only to watch Liverpool dessimate Arsenal, who seemed short of ammunition. Then for Quek's farewell dinner, it was food and drinks at Newton. The cockles with sambal balachan and the BBQ stingray was delicious and the Heineken that accompanied was heavenly. Couldn't believe so many of you guys never tried cockles. Geez. We decided to retire early because we had to get up early for Quek's flight off the next morning, so I was home by 12.30.
Sunday, woke up at 6.45am. In a daze, dragged myself to the airport for breakfast with the same guys. Took a few pictures with Quek then we headed off. (Hope when you're reading this, you're safe and sound in Beijing already, unpacked and ready for your project. Stay safe and only if you have to, choose a nice China girl). Got home and crashed and woke up in time for Cha Cha. After class, we're decided tentatively to go to Sibu for fishing! Let's hope it's confirmed. Then to Tampines Mall with Jasmine and went to Sans Bookshop and waited as this girl took forever to choose her book. (Don't forget the books you're supposed to lend me and i'll try not to forget yours, IF we go to Sibu). Then to NTUC to buy toothpaste and shampoo. She's more fickle then I am, damn. Then again i'm supposed to be the guy, so i chose randomly for her. As we were leaving the cashier, she looked so hard to find the things she bought, only to realise she was already carrying them. I died of laughter. So we parted ways and my mother picked me up as we headed for Alison's house in Woodlands. My congratulatory dinner for making it into Uni and my farewell for army.

So the only April Fool's joke was the fact that a sentence had been passed on me. 13 days left. And i'm trying to fill every single day. Now I sought of understand what a person with terminal illness feels like or a prisoner on death row. Live for the minutes and hours, and the months and years will take care of themselves.

Song of the Moment: Layla(acoustic) - Eric Clapton

Ranked bt Rolling Stones Magazine as the 4th Gretest Guitarist of all time. This guy is amazing! And the lyrics are especially meaningful to me.

For Everything Else

On Saturday, it was dinner with Thammie, who's enjoying his last couple of days before OCS. We were joined by Pei Fen, and we enjoyed Pasta Mania, Tampines. After dinner, Grace and Dao Kang joined us for Mr Bean Holiday. If you haven't watched it, don't. It's not really worth $9.50 or $7.50 for that matter. Sorry to the TJ soccer guys for pangseh-ing(if anybody knows the english word for this please let me know) you all. But I really didn't feel like clubbing. Thanks for the free invite though. Hope you all drank to your hearts' content.
Sunday, hell of a tiring day. Woke up kinda late and went down to the hardware shop to buy paint. Started work at around 4pm and ended at 4.00am. Replaced the old table with a lovely red oak-looking one. So my room has a little more colour now.
Monday had drving lessons and finally learnt to park both parallel and vertical in one lesson. Then it was dinner and buying stuff at Ikea Tampines. Finished the touch-ups for my room, paint wise.
Tuesday, got up late for the Cage, so taxi-ed down. It's amazing how a few days of slacking off the exercise can make you that much less fit. Had to rush back for driving lessons again. It was a nap in the afternoon cos' I really felt tired and feverish.

Spent quite a bit this week on my room.
New Ikea Ethel Bed Comforter - $16
Ikea Standing Lamp - $19.90
Matex and ICI paint - $30
Getting rid of my brother - PRICELESS
They're so right, there are somethings in life that money can't buy.
I'm looking for a nice wall clock and some landscape posters/paintings. If anybody knows a place that sells them at reasonable prices, do tell.

Song of the Moment: Better Man - Robbie Williams

Send someone to love me...