Christmas 2009

One first celebrated X'mas ever since i enter Poly. X'mas since then are either busy working or stuck in camp. While this year, I decided not to work and go for as many gathering as possible. If I'm not wrong, a record breaking 5 gatherings!!

18th Dec: TP Tri Team gathering at Coach Pekya's place.

Place is still as crowded as before. A mix of super lao jiaos and super xin jiaos, gap around 10 years? This year, coach decided to shift the main food selection outside, while appetizers and desserts in the dining area. She also shifted the sofa set against the wall, giving the living room more space to maneuver.

Food are sufficient, enough to fill up my stomach. We had sandwiches, pizzas, fried and grilled chicken. I'm surprise with myself that i even had salad!! Was so hungry that i over ate at the start, didn't really have the appetite to eat Wilson's home-made cheese cake or tiramisu. Had a few drinks with Arnon's concoction and some terrible ones from me. Of course not to missed out Charles entertainment of getting people to drink.

Left at 11 plus pm.

19th Dec: CDO officers gathering

One of the most successful gathering we held so far. Total strength of 19, Present strength of 16. Venue is the Sakura at Dhoby Ghaut. Had some problem trying to link up, maybe because all never bring coloured flag or torch. The area is quite new, at least to me. I'm not a city dweller.

It is also one of the longest meal i had. Stayed there throughout the operating hours! We left around 9 plus 10? Walked around the area and decided to leave early, while the rest decided to go for a drink. Good catchup with the rest. Most probably gather back together again the next ICT.

25th Dec: Family gathering.
My family members are not those who really celebrate Christmas. But this year, my uncle decided to hold one just for gather of family members. Another makan session.. curry chicken, BBQ chicken wings, bee hoon, satay, otah.. eat-till-i-siao session!! White flag came out within 1 hour. Never pace myself again... Had another gathering to rush in the evening. So left my uncle's place at 7plus.

25th Dec: James aka BodyKong party/gathering

Reached there at 8plus, quite a good timing as the crowd and my group of friends are there already. Settled down quite fast, never attack the buffet line as stomach is still fighting the food i had previously.

This gathering is a open invitation to all James and his family friends. Main bulk of the people there are from his Church. However, our army group is not losing, holding up at least 2 tables and half of his accompany time. Left there pretty early, as i decided to get a ride home from my dad while fetching my siblings back from my uncle's place.

26th Dec: TP Tri Team Year (2006-2008 batch)
Contra to all above gathering. This is a drinking sessions, with enough food to hold back the effects of alcohol. Stomach bloated due to over drinking instead of over eating. Imagine you need to drink plain water to dilute the amount of alcohol we drink, maybe at a ratio of 1:5?

Reached there around 9plus, stayed till 3plus am. Heavily drinking at around 10pm. Arnon's place is like a club house to me. Like his wall paper theme, mixed of dark grey and reflective silver. Always like to visit people house see their home theme and furniture arrangement. Very long, never see Charles, also never see him 'high' from alcohol before. Good to see him around.
Cycled home after Wilson shake me up from my nap. Reach home and on my bed at 4am!

Would say that this is one of the most happening Festive Season i had after all these years. Truly a post worth archiving down these memories.


Merry X'Mas (belated)
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Backlog Piling Up!

Damn just noticed i was too engross in my Oakley blogshop that i have neglected my own blog. Had so many post that i need to start penning them down.

1. My First Reservist, which i think will be pretty short. Nothing much to talk about, also much have been forgotten or cant be shared openly.
2. My First X'mas celebration, have much to share but will make it short also. Basically how i spend the two wonderful days.
3. 2010 Resolution. Im sure everyone is working on it. Mainly will be goals i want to achieve for 2010.
4. 2010 Races: Will share my races i will be joining for year 2010, my plans and goals
5. 2010 Financial Work Year: Since i open a blogshop, thou its not a formal 'job' but i shall apply some of the accounting standards on it. Also changes i want to make for accounting my own personal finance.

Need to start thinking how i wanna present all these posts to you guys. Will make use of my New Year Eve and New Year to blog. Maybe a Blogging marathon. Haha!


Looking Ahead
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Why I Make My Life So Difficult

Felt that i was so super burnt out the last week especially after Tues (which seems like the only rest day i have). Willingly accepted the slots to work on Wed and Thurs. Both which are super last min, but since I'm still able to make it for training so why not...

For the whole week, i didn't have the chance to sleep on my bed for more than 8 hours. Always wake up while the whole family are still in bed. Best still, one of the morning is having a downpour in Tampines! and I'm making my way to WORK!!

Wed and Thurs: Wasn't so tired, even thou i had training after work. But Thurs is a sleepy day for me as I'm catching the Tour De France live till 11+ pm the previous day. I have to wake up at 4+am in order to make it for the morning 510am taxi..

After a long day with work and training, the night i continue with my TDF chase till 11+pm again, laying on bed at 12mn.

Fri: Oh gosh, another morning shift, need to wake up super early so reach work place on time. Thought it will be super easy day, but I'm wrong! Not physical demanding by mentally tired.. Reach home 11+pm, catch the final kilometers of the TDF where most of the excitement are.. Same thing, laying on bed at 12mn..

Sat: Thanks god no morning shift. Oh dear, its the ride with Joyrider. Wake up at 5am, to have my early breakfast and make my way to meet Grace and Wilson 6am at TP Taxi Stand. So tired that i slept on the pavement as I'm 10mins early. Ride there is sleepy and tiring, body still sore from Thurs run and stretch cord pulling. Felt as thou the whole upper body is strapped with weights.

Thankfully we reached Tampines at 830am, got to have a long sleep before i get ready for evening shift work. Asked to leave early so not to take the midnight transport which is super waste of time. Extra 2hrs to get home.

Sun: My body had reached its max from previous day. Leg sore form the ride, upper body still aching from the stretch cord. Had bring down the brick set to 2 instead of 3, which choice. Read my training log for more info.


New week: Woke up 9am today!!!!!
YES! I'm free from any commitment! Never booked any days for this week. Abit regret as no work = no money. But i feel that i really need some rest. Maybe will consider 1 day, but see how.

Going to pamper myself with a upper back massage at Wan Yang while Foot Massage at Pasir Ris West Mall later today. Maybe will drop by the pool for easy swim this evening and make my way to Grandma House for dinner. Sorry not going Coastal for extra mileage today.


REST DAY
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*** Disclaimer: Not for Faint-hearted!!! ***

Been 2 weeks since my last paper. Staying at home most of the time to, playing old school games, reading backlog business magazines and watching 100 over series of anime. Life have changed into an OTAKU, the word Wilson always like to call my little brother.

Out of boredom and upcoming marathon race, that vain-ness of mine that flows in my blood keep reminding me that i have to do something about my hairy legs. Not long, i found myself wiki-ing for sugaring recipe. For ladies who don't know whats sugaring, check GOOGLE. An alternative to waxing which is much easier to prepare at home. 4 units of sugar, 1 unit each for water and lemon juice. End of the day you will get a molted candy, which is edible but used for my legs.

My Work Station

Hotplate shove
Metal basin
Metal Mug
Metal Plate
Wooden Spatula and rod
Sugaring cloth from Bodyshop

It took me 3 days to get the consistency of the sugaring right. Apparently the recipe is not that accurate although alot of site says the same proportion. Almost ended up with 8 units of sugar to 1 unit each of lemon juice and water

I'm no pro in sugaring, amateur with only 3 DIY experience, but getting the hang of it. Never gone waxing before, hence not able to give a good comparison between waxing and sugaring. But its pros and cons can be googled easily from the net. Anyway here's a sample of my art piece.

OUCH!!!

The troublesome thing about DIY sugaring is the the preparation. It is when u are planning to sugar the portion on your calf and hamstring. Why? Blind Spot... Imagine doing stretching while sugaring. Or painting a ceiling but with your leg over your head, fearing the hot molten sugaring will drop on the floor anytime.

Shin and thigh is the easiest portion, right under my nose. However, still left a few 'survivors' under my hamstring, will sort them out later once i finish this post. Cant wait to run the Sundown with this 'new pair of legs'. hohoho

Ladies for more info on sugaring legs can find me. Men, don't be shy. Sharing is loving, especially when it comes to PAIN!!! muahahaha!!!


Disclaimer: This is not a gay site
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Missing In Action

Woah! looks like I'm being away for more than a week. Sorry about that, just found a new past time to do during free time.. Being a Crouch Potato in front of the TV, watching the educational channel from Cable TV.. Really discovered/learnt new things around the world (actually mainly US) everyday!

Got a few posts in my mind, yet to put them into words.

For Ritz, i have a interesting function which i worked for. Hopefully by the time I'm free to write it, the memory still as fresh. No much events these period, so nothing much to share.

For Training, started on my training for Nationals and soon Sundown Marathon. So expect to see a post over the weekend. Also having a new coach, adapting to new teaching methods and mindset towards training.

For SIM, oh yes! Lots to share.. From the reviews of the lectures under UK lecturers to What irritates me the most during lectures. Don't worry, no Ah Tiongs. Hopefully I'm objective enough to point out the irritating acts by students rather then their nationality (but sometimes its hard to draw that line)

For money-related stuffs. Currently working on a self-given assignment to find out on my own daily expenses, currently on data collecting stage. Also another mysterious topics which i trying to find out whether is it worth blogging about.

OMG! Seems like a long list of work (8 posts!) for me to do. Maybe will rec the 'Dirty Jobs by Mike Rowe' to come out with a few first tonight.


Back Log
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Family Meeting | Economic Crisis

Some of you might know that my parents also own a Condo at Simei, which is currently rent out at $3+k per month. Seems like a decent amount of money to most of us, but not going to last us long. As the contract for the rental ends this year July, and most probably the rental will drop to 2+k if renewal.

Adding on to the situation, both my parents CPFs is sounding their siren, moving into the red zone. Unable to continue servicing the payment for both HDB and Condo. Together with the high leverage of loans, my parents had borrowed to service the down payment of the condo, totally to about 50k (my estimate)

So why do i mention all this scenarios. Currently their is a interested buyer offering 600+k for it, which means making about 10k of loss. *Some background info, peak value of the Condo is 700+k! So you can see how the financial crisis had affected their investment plan. 100k of potential earnings is what some of the working adults could earn in like 3-4 years!*

Its painful, i can feel the pinch even thou its not my money. But somehow, we decided to let it go. Take the 10k as the rental of the Condo for the past few years. Its too taxing for my parents to continue support both apartments, both my sis and my study fees. Their monthly cash flow is already in deficit. We know cause we do the paying of bills on their behalf.

So after liquidating the apartment, paying off all long-term liabilities and topping up my parents CPF from the sale, whats left is a few Ks to sufficiently pay off the study fees for both my sis and I.

Glad that my parents are opening this kind of topics to us. Let us be involved in family decision making. We still yet to experience the stormy and harsh events of being a working adult with family. But a good head start to take a peek into what they are bothered with at their age.


Relating it to my bike selling experience, i usually set aside 3 level of budget. Profit making, Break even and Minimize losses.

When you are making a paper profit, we will sure be greedy and think that price will continue rising. A question to ask ourselves when making investment decision. "How much is enough? (earning)" Even after the sale, prices continue to rinse, don't get dishearten. At least you get what you wanted, be contented with what you have!

Break even is what the cost you get for the asset you own. Although different people have different method to tabulate their break even cost. At this stage, we will be stuck with a dilemma, to hold or to sell? The decision making at this stage is the hardest. We are affected and taking a risk, make or break. At this stage, focus on the satisfaction level and any gain (non value) you can get from the asset rather than the value.

Loss, seeing the value turning red is the last scenario we like to see, just like our study result. Loss limit should be done together with profit, before getting the 'asset' you want. Why? By the time you see red, its already too late. Stay firm on the price limit and cut off all ties you have with it. Don't hesitate!
To feel better even making a loss, tell yourself its the depreciation/rental/whatever cost for you to own that asset.

**Above suggestion are for physical assets. **

Run your Family like Economy
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Evil Shades! | Oakley Romeo 1.0

Saw the MI:2 The shades that Tom Cruise wore? Its the Oakley Romeo 1.0, discontinued model.

EVIL RIGHT!!!
See already, soul kanna sucked! (not by Tom Cruise)

What i like about it, comparing between Romeo and Juliet, is the joint at the nose bridge. Looks more rigid and solid!

Unfortunately now Oakley have replaced this beautiful Romeo 1.0 model with 2.0.

The nose bridge which i like, has change to the nose bridge which Juliet model is having. So the only difference Romeo and Juliet series is the half frame, temple and hinge. I think after making this change, Juliet has taken over the position of Romeo.
*Note the Romeo 1.0, its has 4 screws for its frame, to change lenses. Juliet only have 2. Now Romeo 2.0 don't even have one!

So you guys must be thinking how much this toxic asset will set you back in your balance sheet... In eBay, current market is 300USD -500USD!!!!

Have been looking and learning on the models of Oakley recently. Found that they are REALLY ATTRACTIVE! But lucky, my small wallet is holding me back. Will try to do more write ups on Oakley in the future.


Ah~ Its getting bright in here
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Visit to Body Contours @ T3

Reached T3 at 1140.. Heng~ Ahead of time, went to grab a small meal in their food court. 3 vege + rice for $3.50! I know we shouldn't eat before massage, but I'm just too hungry!!!

Never been to T3 basement 2 before. Its where all the retails shops are. Looks like a ghost town when i walk through there. Ok found Body Contours, near to the exit from the MRT.

Before i say talking about the whole experience, let me 'gian' you are will the interior design/facilities..

I guess the thing that should caught all your eyes, should be the showering area.. My first time seeing it also.

Briefing tell you all the procedure of this SPA treatment. It is bamboo body scrub. So the first 20mins is scrubbing my body with bamboo dusts. Then i go shower, they gave us 10mins. Lastly is a 30mins body massage.

I was told to wear this super size nylon pants, lay bare top on the bed. When he first apply the scrub on me. It give me this irony feeling. It feels that same as mixing the sand from ECP and the J&J lotion then rub your body!! So next time after bia/tri races, tell the masseur don't clean off the sand from our legs, mix the J&J lotion and massage to gain that marginal satisfaction level. haha!

The problem while he is doing this (yes the masseur is a guy!) i wasn't covered with any blanket or towel. Freaking baring my whole back inside the air-cond room. Some more applying the scrub lotion on my back. Damn cold!!

As he is rubbing the lotion gets thinner and thinner, i feel like I'm being sand by a P60/80 grade sandpaper. Pain but shoik!!! Lastly, he uses a face towel, rinse in it hot water and wipe off the grains from my back. (hot towel, sometime always prepared for the VIPs to clean their face, now i can enjoy it with my back~). But another problem, after wiping, you can only enjoy a short moment of warmth, next is back to freezing cold. Almost like wiping alcohol on the back.

So when the whole back is done, i thought i could enjoy the bath.. But then i don't feel like 20mins. Next moment, he tapped my by my shoulders and say turn around~ !_!'' I thought to myself, "you going to repeat the scrubbing process on my belly and chest too~??" Yeah he is..

So obediently i now resting on my back, exposing my naked belly button. Not a very comfortable position.. Everything was fine when he scrub my front. Until he reaches the belly~ Feeling as thou he is rubbing my intestines and kidney. Got to flex my core muscles just to avoid the unbearable feeling.

Yes finally all over, he taught me how to use the controls in the shower room. And i just cant wait to step in it.. You can choose how to be showered either by the shower head (neh i always use this), next option is the sprinkler from the ceiling.. Cool right~ It is also able to produce steam from the bottom, so to have a steam bath effect. But decided to have a longer massage duration, hence once showered, i changed up and get ready for the massage. (Lucky i didn't make a trip home to bath before going for it).

The massage is nothing special to talk about. Some rubbing and kneading.. Just that the masseur commented that my back is tight. of course tight la, just chiong over from a Biathlon leh~

In short, I'm not those who will go for such pampering treatment. They are just too costly.. So most probably wouldn't see me going there anymore. But its really revitalizing! If Sing Bia had deducted 60% from my lifespan, this treatment at least brought me back 50%. haha!


太太先生， Mr. Tai Tai
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Take a Break

Time off for me and my studies. Just felt as thou my brain is thrown into the the orange squeezer machine in Ritz. Maybe served together with main course, middle raw brain, deco with shredded lecturer notes as their complimentary juice.

Progression is slow for my revision on Principles of Banking and Finance, the concepts and theories! Slow but fruitful, at least now i know what the hell the lecturer is trying to tell us. Never like theory question. But now i seemed to enjoy them more than quantitative (accounting and management mathematics)

Maybe thanks to the sudden surge of interest in reading books. Lecturer notes, study guide and reference books ARE NOT BOOKS. So super dry, that they can catch fire if you put them out in the sun. I suspect the forest fire in Tampines is caused by students dumping them there!

Having papers on Mon(accounting), Wed(math) and Thurs(marketing). Decided to dump my maths, giving it only 2 days of revision. Enough of rant, time for lunch. Brain empty, stomach empty.


Have a Kit Kat
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Down on my knees

*I'm not proposing to a girl

Defeated by my own bike projects, brought down by my ill management of money when I'm in army and the loss of my 2 beloved commute bikes..

Recently had liquidated both my bikes, Identiti and Cube. Find that too much money are poured into them and not efficiently utilised. I can keep them and continue using for the next few years, milking all possible satisfaction from them. But the huge amount of money of 6k+ discouraged me to park my money on them anymore, not to mention the dropping level of satisfaction level.

For both projects, already liquidate 2k+ worth of parts, making a realised loss of 17%.
Still have another 1.5k+ worth of parts still posted online waiting for their new owner. Expecting a paper loss of 10% so far
Lastly are the 'sunk cost', money paid for item which i deemed not unsaleable. Totally to 1.5k+.. However good news is i can utilise these items to fix up my next upcoming project, Single Speed Cube..

Hand itchy, bought Oakleys Juliet and a Road Bike for 'investment' purpose. Hoping to clear them soon. Shouldnt be hard to clear them off within 3mths.

Money had been flowing in from the sale. But flowing out, thanks to driving lessons.. Argh~!!! I'm back to square one again. Need to start setting aside money for another wave of school fees and maybe considering a sub 2k bike to train on.. Bottom line: I need to work hard again!! But upcoming mock exam papers (march) and exam papers (may) is deterring me from working too much. Time management is really not my forte, not including the discipline to study even when i have the time.

Work and Training: Correlation ratio, -1 | After long hours of work, my legs so super chui, cant run. Not to mention, waking up early to join the team for Sat trainings.

Work and Studies: Correlation ratio, -0.5 | After a hard working day, i just prefer to sleep/rest the next day.

Studies and Training: Correlation ratio, 0.5 | Training have positive effect on studies and vice versa. But it also can be a double edge sword. Train too hard, too tired to study. Study too hard, cant concentrate for training (mentally shag). Study moderate, look forward for training. Train moderate, alert to study.


Enough of Rest, Back to Revision
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I passed my Driving Test!!!

Finally after 3 years, 2 basic theory test, 2 advance theory test and 3 driving test. I got MY LICENSE TO DRIVE!! haha! beware all road users!

Scored 14 points, no more striking of curb, no more dashing across orange light. Last of all, no more forget to wear safety belt. I know i can pass when exiting the circuit, i cant be bother by those 2 marks deductions, as long as no striking of curb. My route after exiting the circuit is just a small round loop beside the center.

Yes! i can see my money starting to flow back to my bank account. The driving lesson is sucking my money dry! One liability strike out. Now is save money time again... Use the money to regain my bike building hobby, such as investing in commonly used bike tools. Also thinking of going for bike license, but that will not be in my this year consideration.


Road Killer
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Belated 21st Birthday Celebration | With SJ

After much anticipation from those who are wondering, how am i spending my birthday with SJ, whom also share the same birthday date as me. Here goes!!

Well waiting patiently after my lesson, 3pm till the end of her lesson at 5pm. Took a bus which is only 3 stops away from SIM, and here we are, Sunset Way..! Reach there pretty early, around 530pm. Sky still bright, so much different from what i see online, where all the pictures are taken at night.

Here are some daylight pictures (taken from others)

SJ with her birthday gift

*In case you guys are wondering, the gift wasn't given by me.

Took quite a long time going through the menu. In the end, asked the waiter to give us his suggestions, Angus Ribeye Steak (middle) & Kurobuta Pork Collar. Then my itchy mouth asked for some bites/snacks and he recommend Kobe Beef Short Ribs, so i ordered.

First come the complimentary salad (various leaves, pineapple cubes and raisins tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil). I'm fine with it, but i think its first time for SJ to chew on raw veg. While having the salad, the Kobe Ribs are served. Maybe I'm used to swallowing my food while eating. But to SJ, this course seems like bubble gum to her. Watching her trying to chewing the small 1 inch piece of meat for like minutes, until she gave up and spit it out. haha! In total, she only ate like 3 out of 10 pieces.

After the snacks, we had a short break before the main course being served, used the time to do some chatting and review on the salad and small bites. Then comes the main courses!

Sorry i cant tell which is which.
Left should be the Pork Collar while Right is Ribeye Beef

We cut gave each other half a portion of our main course, to try out each other dishes. The pork is much better than the beef steak! I always thought that pork is drier and plainer than beef even with sauces. But this Kurobuta pork is different! (maybe i never eat before expensive pork before). The beef is middle done, with its blood mixed together with the sauces, turn SJ off for a moment. But after trying, she agree that it isn't that bad, at least doesn't have the raw smell.

After trying 2 different meat, it kinda makes me sick of eating after the whole dish. Maybe the lack of other side ingredient (used to have mashed potatoes, some carbs) which usually goes with them. The both dishes looks pretty plain with just the dressing and few small grilled potatoes, and salty (probably the seasoning)

Just when I'm thinking of getting some desserts to clear my taste bud, the waiter came over with a blackboard, offering us desserts. Lazy to think this time, we just asked him for his recommendation which are Fried Milk and Choco-melt Lava.

Choco-melt is nothing special, just that they pumped hot chocolate syrup into a brownie like cup cake. So when you cut it open, you can see the hot chocolate flowing out like lava. The ice cream that comes with it, also very normal.

Fried Milk, similar to Fried Ice Cream. I don't really enjoy hot stuff for dessert, hence just eat to finish what i ordered.. haha!!! Aiya cant ask a caveman like me to rate ambiance and quality of food.

I think for the whole dinner, the best time we had is an hour long chat after everything. The waiter keep coming over to top up my plain water, for like 5 times, which in the end send me visiting the toilet.

So next question mark in your brain now is how much it worth.. Wah~ its damn expensive, but somehow i didn't feel that much of a pinch (thanks to the ang bao i collected from work and birthday). Answer: Slightly less than $100.. Hope your faces didn't go 0_0!!! haha!


Chill out at Grill Out!
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Belated 21st Birthday Celebration | With Family

oh~ so tired. Just finished my celebration with my parents. No Swensens this time, but i do have one of my favorite cake, DURAIN CAKE!

Not only had a cake, I also have Yu Sheng! (vegetarian). This would be my 7th Yu Sheng to be involved in, but this time got to eat it!

A pretty simple gathering with my family members, invited my grandparents and aunt. A few of my parents religious friends as today is the lunar 16th, house got prayers. So don't ask me why i am in long sleeve shirt and black long pants.

Dinner turned out to be a steamboat with mainly vegetables, mock fish balls and stuffs. Only went for the vegetable as they are the most 'real' thing available.

Aiya don't know why, my birthday with family just doesn't seems to be nice to blog about. Maybe I'm busy MSN-ing. But was really glad that i had a official celebration, cake cutting and birthday songs. Not many families does that with their big kids nowadays. Quite sometime since we had a Family Photo. Last time, my brother's head is just above this table.


全家福
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Under Construction Blog has been removed!

Ok for those who missed my blog and wish to see what latest update have. Most of you all should be disappointed seeing this window

I was still wondering is it my blog's URL which i just entered. Got bad bad feeling about it since i heard that Wilson got his blog closed before. The idea of all my CNY blog post all gone, even thou i have did a backup recently on the 9th of Jan..

Next i tried log in via my blogger account. This is what i see...

WTF! they removed my blog just because they think it has some characteristic of being a spam blog. Did some search on other user who might encounter with this.. Well not little, in fact there is a spam Friday which they did massive removing of people blog! I want to know when i can get it back! Some say 10days, some even say 20! OMG.

I have even open a new blog, named it "Temporary Thoughts".. haha! Anyway finally got my blog back within 2 days. Missed out a few things to blog about, but never mind. One of them is rant about how Wilson does his ranting in public area...

What you will see soon is my BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS! in Ritz and with family members..


no-blog-phobia
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新年快乐！| 大年初一和初二

Its 初三 today! Let's sum up what have i done for the past 2 days..

大年初一
Spend the afternoon visiting relatives' house. Had my favorite 白菜汤 at my grandparents, grandfather's brother and sister place. Seems like its a 家传菜. Overall the dish consist of 白菜 and 猪扒, but different style of cooking by them. My Grandfather knows that we like MEAT! So he usually will throw in lots of Fish Maw to make the soup base, and lots of Fish balls and Pork Ribs. Ends up like Fish Maw soup with Fish ball and Pork Rib.. haha! Grandfather's Sis will make this dish into a steamboat style by adding in more ingredients. Then for his brother side, i think its the more 'traditional' style (more effort), since we usually reach their place for dinner.

My Grandfather's 家传菜

My 大伯 is a fishmonger, so whenever we visit them for CNY, we will see lots of seafood dishes. Steam pomfet fish (size larger than my head!), Prawns with Broccoli, Curry Chicken, Roast Chicken & Pork, etc..

So end of the day.. I drowned myself with the 白菜汤 for all 3 meals.. A few containers of Pistachio and Cashew Nuts. Surprisingly, little Bak Kua... since i cant find them from the other elders' place.

大年初二
Yeah today is my 农历生日(Chinese birthday)!! Everyone prefer CNY to be on the Feb but not me! For most of my Birthday always clashes with CNY.. Whenever i wanna host a party on the Saturday, most of my friends will be mostly visiting relatives.. Also hard to order Birthday Cakes, all the shops will be close! Some good points actually. Last time usually only Swensen's will be open, hence my cake will be ice cream from there! haha.. Lastly 初二 , my relatives will tend to remember them easily. So the Hong Bao is not only for CNY, also include Birthday.. haha!

So for the morning, my mom will prepare for me 寿面! They know i dislike mock meat, hence my 寿面 only consist of my favorite veg and half cooked eggs..

寿面

Didn't really need to visit any relatives from my maternal side. Since my grandma is staying with us. Usually will be a stay-home day for our whole family.. Lucky my uncle (paternal side) came to visit us.. along with his pet dog, 旺旺！

The bitch, i had an affair with.
Hip-hop right, with the hood on..

Anyway, my 初二 isn't a fun day to talk about.

So bored that i decided to go explore my Sundown Route.

So bored that i wanted to rent DVD from VideoEZY from East Point. But you know what! The whole mall is 'closed', the only shop open is the fast food and Giordano. (WTF Giordano opens the shop for???)


Remember my English Birthday!
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新年快乐！| Blogging Marathon! | 大年初夕

Today is the eve of New Year, had my reunion dinner at my Grandparents place this evening. As the family getting bigger, the number of tables starts increasing and the room to walk around gets lesser.

Received not just 红包 for Chinese New Year. As my Chinese birthday falls on the 初二, i also received a "红包" from my aunt. Nice figure (money, not my aunt!) $108, 一路发！Will either use to money to buy some books which i had been aiming for or save up.

10ft long board table.

Its has been a Chinese tradition to stay up over the night of Chinese New Year, a belief that said to increase the life span of our elders. My father had been doing that for the past decades, partly due to our religion. I also attempted a few times, however every time ended up on the bed...

So this time, i want to make use of the long night to do up a blogging marathon. But nothing much to blog about, currently on my hand is RHM's yesterday birthday celebration. Maybe will try to blog on how i survive tonight's 守岁.

Updated
In the end, cant find the mood to blog. Ended up staying up till 4am watching Cable TV Shows.. 守岁failed again this year..


大肥年
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Happy Birthday Tidbits Of Thoughts | 2 Years Old!

* Firework Displays
* Popping of Champagne
* Cheers from all my readers

Yeah!! its 2 years old for my TOT blog!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Tidbits.Of.Thoughts

Looking back with only weekly postings of my army life, constituting to most of the entries for 2007. Now "Army Life" still standing as the highest entries, although i have long stopped blogging about it.

Some Labels that will not have anymore entries

• Army Life
• Training Log 2007
• Training Log 2008

However do look forward for more postings on my Ritz Carlton Adventures and Training for 2009 as they are more weekly based.


Haha the graph doesn't makes any sense, i just enjoying creating graphs and charts to admire. Anyway, frequency of my post is positively related to how free i am. Free to think and type out the post. When busy, we tend to overlook or go into thoughts of the things surrounding us.

Thinking of writing more about my Study in SIM, more about the modules that I'm learning currently. How they can be applied to our daily life, since they are business/money related.

Will continue with the current presentation of my post, Pictures with lots of Writings (bear with the poor language). With my N82, I'm now more tempted to snap interesting pictures and blog about it, which also explains the sudden rise in my blog entries.

Currently my Commitments are Schooling, Working and Training, hence postings will more or least surround these 3 topics. But do except a few random postings and forecasts, since i like to plan ahead of my events. Bicycles, Gizmos and Races are expensive posts. Whenever you see them, means money is spent~!!


Blog for Life
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First "Good Deed" for the year

For those who know, on last Sunday while working. I FOUND A IPHONE 8GB!!! If not wrong, is should be a 1st Gen 2G, export set. The back of the phone is metallic colour unlike the newer 3G model where its back is gloss black or white.

My plan was to trade it in for a more expensive handphone from Starhub. But Ben told me that found HP will be track. So decided to either continue use it as a spare phone or sell it online to bargain buyers.. Maybe still can get $200-300.

Tried using it in SIM with the Wifi. Not that user friendly to me, such as the Keypad. Lazy to explore the phone, as i do not have the manual. The only thing i like is the interactive interface, nothing else.. Maybe next time if i ever venture into touch-screen phone, would be HTC, Samsung or Nokia. Not Apple, unless more features are added.

Just when I'm firm i keeping the phone for further personal use. I told Lian Yin about it. That's when she told me that Ritz LPD may track for the HP.. Remember once, a manager got fired just because he drank some alcohol during working hours. Surveillance camera everywhere in Ritz.. Its shaken my plan of keeping it. Damn! Lian Yin!! shouldn't tell you!! haha!

Also on Monday, i had did a hard reset on the phone. It is another reason why I'm so reluctant to return it to the owner. Scared that she will ask me question on why i picked up the phone and reset it..

Anyway, i called up the owner's mom. With less then half an hour, she met up with me at Clementi MRT. Guess what she driving? Lexus 2 seater car with a 2 digit number plate.. Cool~ When she unwind her window, can tell she is a super 'tai tai' haha!! After handing her the HP, still got compliment for being "honest".. okok I'm sure most of you guys now sure have the "OMG" or "WTF" comment ready to fire out from the mouth. Please restrain form doing so..

Now glad that i returned the phone, able to have a goodnight sleep without the guilt pestering me..


Despicable Samaritan
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Need for Speed | Hafiz No. 2

Had my driving practical test this morning 11am..

Driving off from the start already awarded me with 2pts which i only realize when i had the AAR with the tester. I NEVER PUT ON SAFETY BELT FOR THE WHOLE TEST!!!! Excellent Chee Chin *Pant on the my shoulder

Strike curb at for the Directional Change which is my first obstacle. Strongly demoralized me... Another 10pts gone.. Throughout the whole circuit is smooth sailing, except for the Plank course which i manage to savage the situation for almost hitting the 2nd curb.

Out on the road.. I made another grave mistake, Proceed on Amber Light, 8pts...

Score a amazing score of 30pts (still better than Hafiz's record of 38).
The tester said that i need to refine in my clutch and accelerator control.. If not for the amber light incident, maybe he still can close his eye on the seat belt which may pass me by 1mark.. Never mind i don't blame luck or the tester, got to admit that I'm nervous for the test. Legs trembling when stepping on the clutch.

Imagine w/o the strike curb and amber light, my score could be 12<.. All careless mistakes. Some pointers i noted.

1. NEVER hit curb! 10PTS!! As good as receiving a 99hit combo and see your life bar gets reduced half..
2. Don't rush the test. Tester say i have to be more defensive..
   

Next PT will be on 28th Feb.. Will start my lesson after Dec. Seriously broke after all the circuit lessons. Then shall see whats my score again.


Learn From Mistakes
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My First Levis Jeans!

Levis Red Tab 508
$59.90 (after $50 trade-in of old jeans)

Been wearing jeans for decade but never know how to find a proper pair. When i was younger, jeans was usually given to me by my mom. Older, jeans is just buy and wear... Tapered, Regular, Straight, Baggy.. i know this terms but never really consider them when buying.. This pair should be a straight ba.. i also not very sure.

Price was quite tempting, from the front of the shop which displayed mainly $129-159, we filter them out until we saw $79-109.. In total i tried about 5 pairs of jeans and 'opening GS table' in Levis shop, discussing on how to match the jean.. "How-to-match-a-jeans" should be written into a book for dummies (like me) and put for sale in book stores. When comes to zhng-ing a bicycle, no problem.. But I just cant visualize myself wearing different jeans matching with different shoes and top...

Finally I'm left with a $79 and $109, thinking i should come back next day for either 1 which i didn't buy today.. Then i read the promotion flyer again so not to embarrass myself when footing the bill. Indeed!! a sentence in very small fonts states that the trade-in is only valid for jeans worth more than a 100.. (use your computer's magnifier to read this text). So the it helps me in my final decision on which to get in the end.

What i have learnt from Prof Wils & Shop Assistant:

• 5XX number stands for different cutting. Different design will cost more within that model.
• Canvas shoe goes well with any jeans.. which is why I'm sourcing for a canvas shoe.. Maybe should get pink canvas..
• There are designs that are suitable and not suitable for smart casuals
• I cant wear baggy.... Legs too short.
  

Brand Consious
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