a great day at johor!
i was quite pissed off in the morning because my mother sort of lied saying that we will get back by afternoon. and it got more irritating when we were stuck in the sbs bus along the way to the m'sia checkpoint.
but the feeling got off very soon as our uncle picked us off for lunch.
so we arrived at this small (but luckily air-conditioned) shop that sells snacks confectionery etc. but i heard that their soon kuey is nice so all of us got quite a number of each flavour to try. oh they are quite nice. the skin is thin enough...though the filling is not as much as compared to those sold in sg...
next we went to a kelong! quite anxious along the long trip to some deserted kind of wooden jetty.
so we reached there...walked on the wooden planks (not a row of nicely placed ones but sparsely spread with spaces between each other) of the jetty...climbed down a few steep steps to the floating platform and onto a small boat.
frankly speaking it was my first time to such a place so i got nervous at the start. but after i began to adapt to the floating platform and seeing my big sized uncle getting more nervous of not balancing himself and fall, i began to ease.
so we spent quite a while and effort to get ourselves onto the boat and set off to the kelong. very short trip of only a few minutes.
we boarded up the kelong (after a short while of alighting everybody up) and...quite nice is what i can say about my first impression. no matter what it was my first time so many things look interesting at that moment- the scenery, what those guys (my uncle's friends) do at there etc...
they are actually growing mussels (of a few kinds) for sale. they are also selling some baby mussels (which actually don't come with the shell). unfortunately they just started out this business and the first batch of mussels were only down in the sea two months ago (upon asking i was informed that mussels are ready for harvesting only after six to eight months).
scenery wise it was so so...at my back it's m'sia so in front of me it's sembawang and its shipyards... -.-
and it was quite hot even with some sea breeze at the middle of the afternoon.
so an indian guy was getting ready to fish with young mussel flesh as bait...two chinese guys doing some maintenance...my uncle and my mother soaking their legs in the sea water while i paced around looking at the scenery and somewhere which is cooler.
after we went ashore we went to a shopping mall (in which we bought some food and i got a t-shirt) and then dinner.
a small looking stall opposite a shop house at the corner. seems normal (with some flies) but my uncle recommended it for their satay, nasi lemak and rendang chicken. so we had a try of all of it and...oh man. the rice is full of fragrance...the rendang chicken is not spicy yet tasty with its hard to forget rendang sauce...and the satay. we got ourselves chicken and mutton (too bad i can't get myself beef when i am with my mother) satay as side dish. i dare to say that's the best i have eaten in my life...especially the mutton sticks. let's just compare...you know those typical sg mutton sticks? small sized, hard and dry ones? as compared to bigger meat fillings, very fresh (the charcoal was just done when we reached), juicy and soft. it's not burnt badly despite the habit of malay vendors grilling with strong charcoal flames; only with some soot here and there so i can say because of that the mutton's tenderness and juiciness is wickedly retained. paired with a plate of satay sauce...heavenly.
i ordered a cup of some tea (which i have no idea what it's called in english) by the suggestion of my uncle. it has literally three layers of ingredients when served- the top layer being the tea, at the middle condensed milk and lastly some thick brown sugar solution at the bottom. oh that's nice too. it's just like...iced milk tea with more fragrance brought by the brown sugar. but it doesn't get you thirsty after that. drools.
well at least today was not badly spent.
things to get:
-digital watch for ns
-shaver
-any other ns related/recommended items
-cool sony mp3 player! (optional though)
5.30.2009
when the tvs first came out entertainment grew to further heights. so are the artistes.
many entertainment companies are eager to hire artistes for various reasons and aspects of entertainment. as there were often shortages of such talents, scouts from various companies are always out to keep an eye on any possible options for grooming and nurturing.
you are counted lucky in if you were one of those scouted. but does that bring you stardom right after this? hell no. it's just the start of all the hard work and determination to stay in the industry.
so now with HD tvs just out and right after that LED tvs as thin as my finger emerge. speed is everything nowadays. the same applies to entertainment too.
big entertainment companies nowadays are those with big money, big stars. so perhaps the big gets bigger and over shadows the small sooner or later.
so you want stardom? which kind of company will you join?
on the other hand the big boys in the industry will also want to get the best diamonds out there. somebody who can create an instant impact. from the start. how about the end? who cares?
so what gives the supposedly big star an instant impact on the public? first impression of course. if that is accompanied with lots of advertising and packaging i am sure many will be hooked. so basically if you have the so called "x-factor" (which can mean anything), then the big boys will have the cash to spend on you.
it's quite surprising too that amidst a small bunch of those who still work hard to get popular, the majority of them are still embraced by their die hard fans ever since that impact hit on them. hard work wise it's quite debatable but i am sure their fans wouldn't really take that into consideration at all.
many entertainment companies are eager to hire artistes for various reasons and aspects of entertainment. as there were often shortages of such talents, scouts from various companies are always out to keep an eye on any possible options for grooming and nurturing.
you are counted lucky in if you were one of those scouted. but does that bring you stardom right after this? hell no. it's just the start of all the hard work and determination to stay in the industry.
so now with HD tvs just out and right after that LED tvs as thin as my finger emerge. speed is everything nowadays. the same applies to entertainment too.
big entertainment companies nowadays are those with big money, big stars. so perhaps the big gets bigger and over shadows the small sooner or later.
so you want stardom? which kind of company will you join?
on the other hand the big boys in the industry will also want to get the best diamonds out there. somebody who can create an instant impact. from the start. how about the end? who cares?
so what gives the supposedly big star an instant impact on the public? first impression of course. if that is accompanied with lots of advertising and packaging i am sure many will be hooked. so basically if you have the so called "x-factor" (which can mean anything), then the big boys will have the cash to spend on you.
it's quite surprising too that amidst a small bunch of those who still work hard to get popular, the majority of them are still embraced by their die hard fans ever since that impact hit on them. hard work wise it's quite debatable but i am sure their fans wouldn't really take that into consideration at all.
5.27.2009
went back to the poly campus for the last few times to meet up with my classmates attending the graduation ceremony. kind of draggy at the area outside convention hall and the weather was quite hot.
took them quite another while to decide on another place to lunch out later (because the initial place set was quite expensive to some people). then we set off to marina square's seoul garden for lunch.
well i can say the atmosphere at first wasn't that great because of late guests and some emo faces...but when the food is brought i guess (at least for my table) it got better. so we eat and eat...
meal's done with and some of them had to leave early...so left with a bunch of guys who decided to go lan gaming all the way till 10 plus. end of day.
i don't know why but i sometimes feel quite out of place yesterday...
three years flashed past...more or less i think it's kind of wasted as usual...just like the secondary school days. oh well. hopefully i can find a proper part time job soon.
so i was going to board the lift at my flat just now when this old lady asked me to let her in. she said ninth floor even asked me which floor do i stay. then she requested me to accompany her to the ninth first.
i thought the job's over but she said no that isn't her flat. she then asked me to accompany her to go down a floor to have a look. i was sure she isn't my neighbour upstairs but i still let her have a go. i decided to call my mother at the eighth floor (she did help an old lady look for her flat and i thought she might be the same person). luckily she remembered where the old lady stays and i suggested to bring the old lady over to the correct flat.
and i knocked, knocked and pressed the bell to nobody in the flat. with the old lady saying that she doesn't have the house keys, she suggested that she will go down to the senior citizens' area and wait for her son to pick her up.
along the way she asked me which floor i stay twice, whether i wanna have her packet rice twice, what floor is this many times (at different floors) and thank you for many times.
the last thing i can help her is to put her with the folks around here and let her wait till her son comes to look for her.
took them quite another while to decide on another place to lunch out later (because the initial place set was quite expensive to some people). then we set off to marina square's seoul garden for lunch.
well i can say the atmosphere at first wasn't that great because of late guests and some emo faces...but when the food is brought i guess (at least for my table) it got better. so we eat and eat...
meal's done with and some of them had to leave early...so left with a bunch of guys who decided to go lan gaming all the way till 10 plus. end of day.
i don't know why but i sometimes feel quite out of place yesterday...
three years flashed past...more or less i think it's kind of wasted as usual...just like the secondary school days. oh well. hopefully i can find a proper part time job soon.
so i was going to board the lift at my flat just now when this old lady asked me to let her in. she said ninth floor even asked me which floor do i stay. then she requested me to accompany her to the ninth first.
i thought the job's over but she said no that isn't her flat. she then asked me to accompany her to go down a floor to have a look. i was sure she isn't my neighbour upstairs but i still let her have a go. i decided to call my mother at the eighth floor (she did help an old lady look for her flat and i thought she might be the same person). luckily she remembered where the old lady stays and i suggested to bring the old lady over to the correct flat.
and i knocked, knocked and pressed the bell to nobody in the flat. with the old lady saying that she doesn't have the house keys, she suggested that she will go down to the senior citizens' area and wait for her son to pick her up.
along the way she asked me which floor i stay twice, whether i wanna have her packet rice twice, what floor is this many times (at different floors) and thank you for many times.
the last thing i can help her is to put her with the folks around here and let her wait till her son comes to look for her.
5.23.2009
quite a long day out.
had to do all the crap in my house until my friend "saved" me from the depths of hell when he asked me to go out first.
already had the desire to go to far east to look for tops or what not...so "escaped" quickly to orchard to meet my friend.
quite disappointed by what i could find or see. i really wonder the problem lies on the quality of the stuff sold or i am too picky for anything...the whole 2 hour plus trip the only item i saw was a glam black pair of zara shoes. $89.90. Let me observe the situation during the great singapore sales then.
went to bukit batok later to meet some poly classmates for friend's 21st birthday bbq. everything was still ok though we didn't have much for that bbq. feel kind of weird because we had to leave for jurong point before the cake cutting celebrations took place.
so we had to leave to jurong point to find another friend to buy/get her the birthday gift. as we left a little late to get her a bag from espirit. spent quite a long while to decide between a really average bag and another slightly above kind of bag. i had to ask them to vote before we got an answer. before the staff really get irritated by our last minute efforts.
met our friend up and decided on some hong kong restaurant to have a simple meal. along the way...now to think of it...i am kind of like a support. on one corner we have a couple in the cliq...one corner we have another classmate who just joined us then left shortly...then 1 guy trying to share (and maybe to gain attention?) his ns experience with the rest...or maybe specifically to the girl he likes...
so that guy talk and talk...and his usual habit of blurting anything out became his dead spot...again. blurted something on the couple were kind of unsettled on and the girl's face changed all of the sudden. they are actually going to genting with the girl's family soon and yet the guy doesn't want the girl to accompany him to the ferry terminal for bmtc...because he might miss her badly? huh? i am a little blur on his reasons though.
so the atmosphere turned to the down side for a while before we decided to foot the bill and go home (it was a little late too).
"if the foundations are weak and you insist to build on from there, basically you are waiting for it to collapse."
"没有100分的男女朋友, 只有50-50的情侣."
had to do all the crap in my house until my friend "saved" me from the depths of hell when he asked me to go out first.
already had the desire to go to far east to look for tops or what not...so "escaped" quickly to orchard to meet my friend.
quite disappointed by what i could find or see. i really wonder the problem lies on the quality of the stuff sold or i am too picky for anything...the whole 2 hour plus trip the only item i saw was a glam black pair of zara shoes. $89.90. Let me observe the situation during the great singapore sales then.
went to bukit batok later to meet some poly classmates for friend's 21st birthday bbq. everything was still ok though we didn't have much for that bbq. feel kind of weird because we had to leave for jurong point before the cake cutting celebrations took place.
so we had to leave to jurong point to find another friend to buy/get her the birthday gift. as we left a little late to get her a bag from espirit. spent quite a long while to decide between a really average bag and another slightly above kind of bag. i had to ask them to vote before we got an answer. before the staff really get irritated by our last minute efforts.
met our friend up and decided on some hong kong restaurant to have a simple meal. along the way...now to think of it...i am kind of like a support. on one corner we have a couple in the cliq...one corner we have another classmate who just joined us then left shortly...then 1 guy trying to share (and maybe to gain attention?) his ns experience with the rest...or maybe specifically to the girl he likes...
so that guy talk and talk...and his usual habit of blurting anything out became his dead spot...again. blurted something on the couple were kind of unsettled on and the girl's face changed all of the sudden. they are actually going to genting with the girl's family soon and yet the guy doesn't want the girl to accompany him to the ferry terminal for bmtc...because he might miss her badly? huh? i am a little blur on his reasons though.
so the atmosphere turned to the down side for a while before we decided to foot the bill and go home (it was a little late too).
"if the foundations are weak and you insist to build on from there, basically you are waiting for it to collapse."
"没有100分的男女朋友, 只有50-50的情侣."
5.22.2009
when i listen to various songs sometimes it's interesting that i would have the deja vu feeling from it...
was listening to the old mando-pop songs in my library when that feeling came back again. i then realised that it's not deja vu...i have just put a right song for that exact moment.
birthday girl's bbq tomorrow! kind of look forward...at first. but upon hearing that some of the guys are not going i am starting to cross my fingers...
kind of surprised that the organiser of the bbq is the exact birthday girl...but she's getting a ipod touch!
...there i go again.
hopefully i will watch all of these movies asap...
terminator salvation
night at the museum 2
transformers 2
blood
up
5.21.2009
it's been a while from my last post. been a little busy from last friday onwards...so sort of trying to rest (a lot) and catch up with the stuff i have to do.
worked for a three day IT bazaar thing in CK Tangs last friday. Everything went quite smoothly...just that the event perhaps didn't turn out to have a very good response at the start...
at first the event was opened only to visa card holders (was it platinum and above?)...but the crowd response...maybe it's because it's only a friday afternoon...
so the privilege of having such visa cards mean that you are entitled to shop in this allocated area and buy various IT products with discounted prices (coughs and clear my throat) using your card.
soon it was 6pm and they suddenly opened to the public. so for the second day and third day the guys from Tangs have to open up to the public with the discounted prices to everyone...
-.-
i wonder what will those card holders who bought something on the first day think of this. perhaps they wouldn't care much about that too but...oh well. this issue is very debatable.
the good thing was that my friend worked with me through those three days. we chatted and joked around quite a lot (because we don't have to promote at all unless approached by customers) and didn't really care about the sales...
but through him i was able to reflect on quite some issues and my plans after ns...hopefully we can keep in contact in the near future.
next thing...i should say is a piece of good news. one of my good old friend (that same guy who fancied that girl bound for further studies at UK) is starting think properly at least...haha. majority of the praises should go to the club cliq he is close to now...they really discussed the relationship with the girl with him and has more or less been persuaded before he approached boss character (and that's me! because i have already told one of the guys beforehand that i will be the bad guy for this issue) for advice.
well i don't have to say much to let him understand my point. though he complimented that my opinion is on the general scope of the issue instead of pin-pointing the details, his personality flaws etc. which helped him more but i feel that if he doesn't accept the details then he couldn't have seen the bigger picture i tried to depict to him.
well i certainly think that it's a good start for him...not too late.
then off they went to genting for three days two nights! sobs...
so envious of them...but i rather save up now...even if it's just a mere S$150++.
but it also triggered me thinking on where to go for my uni graduation trip...hong kong? japan?
friends' birthdays coming up...one of them is receiving a ipod touch for her 21st birthday...cool.
one my friends asked me what do i want for my birthday and i was like...huh? asking me for my birthday gift? though i don't really like it this way but apparently nothing is on my mind now...
but my mother is right. it's better than they buying something that i might not like later. sighs. how i wish i can tell them i don't want anything. sounds stupid huh? after paying up for the rest of the gifts and not expecting something back...but i just don't like the idea of asking...
and how i wish i can really be that greedy to have that for my birthday gift...i can carry on daydreaming then.
worked for a three day IT bazaar thing in CK Tangs last friday. Everything went quite smoothly...just that the event perhaps didn't turn out to have a very good response at the start...
at first the event was opened only to visa card holders (was it platinum and above?)...but the crowd response...maybe it's because it's only a friday afternoon...
so the privilege of having such visa cards mean that you are entitled to shop in this allocated area and buy various IT products with discounted prices (coughs and clear my throat) using your card.
soon it was 6pm and they suddenly opened to the public. so for the second day and third day the guys from Tangs have to open up to the public with the discounted prices to everyone...
-.-
i wonder what will those card holders who bought something on the first day think of this. perhaps they wouldn't care much about that too but...oh well. this issue is very debatable.
the good thing was that my friend worked with me through those three days. we chatted and joked around quite a lot (because we don't have to promote at all unless approached by customers) and didn't really care about the sales...
but through him i was able to reflect on quite some issues and my plans after ns...hopefully we can keep in contact in the near future.
next thing...i should say is a piece of good news. one of my good old friend (that same guy who fancied that girl bound for further studies at UK) is starting think properly at least...haha. majority of the praises should go to the club cliq he is close to now...they really discussed the relationship with the girl with him and has more or less been persuaded before he approached boss character (and that's me! because i have already told one of the guys beforehand that i will be the bad guy for this issue) for advice.
well i don't have to say much to let him understand my point. though he complimented that my opinion is on the general scope of the issue instead of pin-pointing the details, his personality flaws etc. which helped him more but i feel that if he doesn't accept the details then he couldn't have seen the bigger picture i tried to depict to him.
well i certainly think that it's a good start for him...not too late.
then off they went to genting for three days two nights! sobs...
so envious of them...but i rather save up now...even if it's just a mere S$150++.
but it also triggered me thinking on where to go for my uni graduation trip...hong kong? japan?
friends' birthdays coming up...one of them is receiving a ipod touch for her 21st birthday...cool.
one my friends asked me what do i want for my birthday and i was like...huh? asking me for my birthday gift? though i don't really like it this way but apparently nothing is on my mind now...
but my mother is right. it's better than they buying something that i might not like later. sighs. how i wish i can tell them i don't want anything. sounds stupid huh? after paying up for the rest of the gifts and not expecting something back...but i just don't like the idea of asking...
and how i wish i can really be that greedy to have that for my birthday gift...i can carry on daydreaming then.
5.14.2009
feels like having a cold war with a 7 year old friend...feels kind of...bad.
frankly i have to apologise for making my comments harsh for something small...perhaps i shouldn't have picked on that...
on the other hand it would really be a waste for such a friendship to go fragile because of a small matter...argh i have no idea.
jun cheng you are right. if you don't hate that person you have to tolerate.
frankly i have to apologise for making my comments harsh for something small...perhaps i shouldn't have picked on that...
on the other hand it would really be a waste for such a friendship to go fragile because of a small matter...argh i have no idea.
jun cheng you are right. if you don't hate that person you have to tolerate.
5.10.2009
happy mother's day to all.
went out with my family early morning for brunch at dian xiao er (jurong point). along the way met quite a number of people...lucky.
the food was not bad but somehow it didn't give me deja vu...too bad though.
accompanied my mother to orchard to get shoes.
perhaps i am tired today or what...i feel robotic at outside. so bored. maybe another round of shopping will hype me up. haha.
oh gosh gaga's in my head...listening to her latest songs from the fame. let's go gaga people.
went out with my family early morning for brunch at dian xiao er (jurong point). along the way met quite a number of people...lucky.
the food was not bad but somehow it didn't give me deja vu...too bad though.
accompanied my mother to orchard to get shoes.
perhaps i am tired today or what...i feel robotic at outside. so bored. maybe another round of shopping will hype me up. haha.
oh gosh gaga's in my head...listening to her latest songs from the fame. let's go gaga people.
5.09.2009
just got back from some bbq gathering. so surprised by the potential couple. on the other hand i am happy for them should they get together...to me they look compatible. one's a leader one's a follower. but kind of funny because she had a good impression of him because he was looking for advice on getting another girl...haha.
but they might be faced with quite a lot of obstacles...one's going england for further studies soon the other going to ns...feel kind of sad for them that they found each other that late.
oh well. once again i am proven wrong. i thought such wierd pairings can't work. now then i know i have been too naive. on one hand i don't care but on the other i feel envious for them. one pair is already around for like a few months while the other...more or less ok.
sighs...what to do? just now along the way back home i kept telling myself my turn is not up yet...it shouldn't bother me etc...but in the end i still felt inferior. i wouldn't say that i have no confidence...but some things are already decided when you are borned.
"out of the weirdest elements come the perfect compound."
but they might be faced with quite a lot of obstacles...one's going england for further studies soon the other going to ns...feel kind of sad for them that they found each other that late.
oh well. once again i am proven wrong. i thought such wierd pairings can't work. now then i know i have been too naive. on one hand i don't care but on the other i feel envious for them. one pair is already around for like a few months while the other...more or less ok.
sighs...what to do? just now along the way back home i kept telling myself my turn is not up yet...it shouldn't bother me etc...but in the end i still felt inferior. i wouldn't say that i have no confidence...but some things are already decided when you are borned.
"out of the weirdest elements come the perfect compound."
5.06.2009
random.
jun cheng i am lazy to tell you personally but...today a suddent thought came into my mind.
still remember you told me that she ignores you and only approaches you when help is needed? i realised that perhaps it's because of the fact that you two are from different worlds means that you don't have a common topic with her?
i still remembered telling you about how realistic she was when she approached me on msn and in the end it was all about gpa. now i realised something from my part too...i have never treated her as a friend. i guess that really explains quite an amount of things from both points of view.
jun cheng i am lazy to tell you personally but...today a suddent thought came into my mind.
still remember you told me that she ignores you and only approaches you when help is needed? i realised that perhaps it's because of the fact that you two are from different worlds means that you don't have a common topic with her?
i still remembered telling you about how realistic she was when she approached me on msn and in the end it was all about gpa. now i realised something from my part too...i have never treated her as a friend. i guess that really explains quite an amount of things from both points of view.
5.05.2009
went with my friends to tiong bahru for X-Men Origins. well...unless you are there to see hugh jackman and his bulk of muscles or else please try to restrain your movie addiction for the the other upcoming titles. the storyline is quite stagnant and the actions...so so in my opinion.
"i don't know whether i am the alien in their eyes or they came from another planet."
"i don't know whether i am the alien in their eyes or they came from another planet."
5.04.2009
was at bugis yesterday playing initial D arcade stage 5 when some guy suddenly requested to use my EK9...
after that it was as if i am watching the anime. he's damn good. and his timings are all in the top 3 rankings for all time attack maps...oh my god. my friend and i were totally totally demoralised.
but he's a nice chap. taught me quite some stuff on how to play it better. but he really surprised me when he said he's 31 when i thought he's just 20 plus...and one look my other friend said he's one big otaku. lol.
"i realised that i didn't lose you. i lost to myself and eventually got lost."
after that it was as if i am watching the anime. he's damn good. and his timings are all in the top 3 rankings for all time attack maps...oh my god. my friend and i were totally totally demoralised.
but he's a nice chap. taught me quite some stuff on how to play it better. but he really surprised me when he said he's 31 when i thought he's just 20 plus...and one look my other friend said he's one big otaku. lol.
"i realised that i didn't lose you. i lost to myself and eventually got lost."
5.02.2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)