CNY hangover

Chinese New Year is not even here yet, and already I am starting to feel the hangover. I guess it is that familiar same feeling of having so much time with nothing to do. Is it any wonder that many Singaporeans rather go overseas during this period.

Yesterday I took half day off in the afternoon. Had lunch with Mrs Pay at Yishun Central before heading down to NUS. Had wanted to watch a movie but Agnes wanted me to be there around 3-ish, so there obviously was not enough time to do that. Got there rather early so I headed down to the Science Library to do some reading (books on rabbits and my trusty New Paper). At around 3 Agnes came around looking for me. It also happened to be that I was on my way down looking for her. So we met on the stairs that connects the first level of the library to the second (duh!).

We then headed back to her lab where I was planted in front of Agnes's laptop until nearly 5 as she waited for her leaves to dry, not unlike watching paint dry I think.

There was an NUS Animal Welfare thing going on at LT28, so we dropped by for a bit. Managed to grab some car decals and posters and view some of the exhibits. Agnes was somewhat moved by the Bile Bear in a cage. I was more amused by the tiger stuffed toy in a wire cage. Agnes signed up for their mailing list even. Finally NUS has something worth joining...

Then we headed to Thomson Plaza for dinner and to grab some stuff for the rabbits. We grabbed some bedding, some pet snacks and a free AB hamster house.

Then it was back home where we brought Scruffy and Muffy out for playtime. Muffy is such a darling!! Scruffy is ok. But Agnes probably feels I favour Muffy more, but that is only natural since Scruffy is the proverbial Apple -of-her-eye. Someone has to make sure Muffy has all the TLC!! And no one better.
This playtime went on like forever and then to various locations. In the end think SAM had enough of their overly-indulgent parents and were placed back in their cage. We then observed them for a while... a long while...
When Agnes had had enough we headed back to the room for a quick nap before the call came for us to head down to Bedok South Road for the CNY shopping. After driving around in circles due to mis-direction, we finally got managed to find the place and meet up with Agnes's mum and sister. We then headed over to the hawker centre and sat down. Tried to order rojak but there was no yu tiao so we decided against it. Headed back to the car with all the shopping already done before we had even got there and sent the 3 ladies home.

One of those days when you are basically busy doing nothing significant.

Today is the eve of CNY. So later have to go for the perennial favourite of every single person, the Reunion Dinner. This year is even more low key than last year. A non-event even.

The Sentosa Flower thing on Tuesday is off indefinitely. Sigh.

Hopefully monday will be a more fruitful day. It is our 2nd anniversary since we got together. One can only hope...

til next time..
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you know when it is the year of the pig when...

Here are some signs that it's the Year of the Ter!!!

1. You’re pigging out more than usual.

2. You’re meeting your friends for talk pork sing song sessions.

3. When you refer to a girl as a “Babe”, and she thinks you’re calling her a talking piglet.

4. The literature text for this year is Hamlet.

5. Your community centre is holding swine appreciation courses.

6. Toy stores are selling “Babi” dolls.

7. The question is no longer when pigs fly, but whether they will be flying business or first class.

8. “Uniquely Singapork” banners are lining Orchard Road.

9. The Chingay Parade features MPs dancing hip-hog.

10. Those darn hawkers keep adding ter kua to your bak chor mee.

11. Your telco is acquired by Ter-masek Holdings.

12. Effeminate men are rebranding themselves as “Bak Quahs” this year.

13. This is the one Chinese New Year your Muslim friends won’t come and visit you.

14. The PM goes to the food court and orders, “Mee siam mai ham.”

from Talkingcock.com

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How's your vocabulary

Your Vocabulary Score: B+

You have a zealous love for the English language, and many find your vocabulary edifying. Don't fret that you didn't get every word right, your vocabulary can be easily ameliorated!

How's Your Vocabulary?

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Valentine's Day Massacre

We went to The Jewel Box to celebrate V day. It is supposedly a classy joint,so I paid top dollar when I made the reservations. It started off well enough. We took a cable car ride from Harbourfront to Mount Faber. Being that is was Agnes's first time in the contraption, it was extra special, to me at least. When we finally go back on solid ground, we were duly informed that we had to wait 15 minutes for our table,as the restaurant was not yet ready. So we went shopping at the nearby shops armed with a $5 discount voucher. Did not buy anything as expected
And then we waltzed back to Faber Rock where we were seated at some table well away from the edge(where the nice view is!). Not only that, it was far away from the throughfare, so it took us like forever to finally get our orders after some frantic waving and voice-raising. the place was bloody packed, so service was slow. The food was so-so, poor even. Agnes got a rose and a Care Bear for her troubles. We also had our photos taken. turns out you have to pay $20 in the end to get the big picture as well as the little pocket-sized ones. darn. Daylight robbery.

The entire shindig cost me $168.00
If only if the entire experience was worth even half that. Nothing was truly great.

Service? sucked
food? sucked
efficiency of service? sucked
location of table? sucked
crowd? sucked
3 piece band? good..but the flutist/saxophonist was a tad overbearing

Agnes's Emotional rollercoaster
Agnes was hungry.
Agnes was then frustrated.
Angry!!!
Then she was damn bloody tired.
Then she had a headache. (one thing a guy never likes to hear.LOL)
Then she had to go home.

Getting back to Harbourfront was an ordeal in itself. By then the crowd had swelled, we were in the queue for quite a while before our turn came.

By then it was too late to do anything so we had to go straight home.

Not altogether an ideal Valentines's Day. We have seen better days. But the most important thing is that we spent the day together. Or at least that is what I try to tell myself.
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a simple pre-school test....

Pre-school children were asked the following question:
"In which direction is the bus pictured below traveling?"



Look carefully at the picture.

Do you know the answer?

(The only possible answers are "left" or "right.")


Think about it


Still don't know?


Okay, I'll tell you.
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The pre-schooler's all answered "left."

When asked, "Why do you think the bus is traveling in the left direction?"

they answered:

"Because you can't see the door."


How do you feel now ???
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Which is the Largest??

"Which of the following is the largest?"
A) A Peanut
B) An Elephant
C) The Moon
D) Hey, who you calling large?

Think about it...
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Idaho resident Kathy Evans brought humiliation to her friends and family Tuesday when she set a new standard for stupidity with her appearance on the popular TV show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

It seems that Evans, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two, got stuck on the first question, and proceeded to make what fans of the show are dubbing "the absolute worst use of lifelines ever."
After being introduced to the show's host Meredith Vieira, Evans assured her that she was ready to play, whereupon she was posed with an extremely easy $100 question. The question was:

"Which of the following is the largest?"
A) A Peanut
B) An Elephant
C) The Moon
D) Hey, who you calling large?

Immediately Mrs. Evans was struck with an all consuming panic as she realized that this was a question to which she did not readily know the answer.

"Hmm, oh boy, that's a toughie," said Evans, as Vieira did her level best to hide her disbelief and disgust. "I mean, I'm sure I've heard of some of these things before, but I have no idea how large they would be."

Evans made the decision to use the first of her three lifelines, the 50/50. Answers A and D were removed, leaving her to decide which was bigger, an elephant or the moon. However, faced with an incredibly easy question, Evans still remained unsure.

"Oh! It removed the two I was leaning towards!" exclaimed Evans. "Darn. I think I better phone a friend."

Using the second of her two lifelines on the first question, Mrs. Evans asked to be connected with her friend Betsy, who is an office assistant.

"Hi Betsy! How are you? This is Kathy! I'm on TV!" said Evans, wasting the first seven seconds of her call. "Ok, I got an important question. Which of the following is the largest? B, an elephant, or C, the moon. 15 seconds Hun."

Betsy quickly replied that the answer was C, the moon. Evans proceeded to argue with her friend for the remaining ten seconds.

"Come on Betsy, are you sure?" said Evans. "How sure are you? Puh, that can't be it."

To everyone's astonishment, the moronic Evans declined to take her friend's advice and pick 'The Moon.'

"I just don't know if I can trust Betsy. She's not all that bright. So I think I'd like to ask the audience," said Evans.

Asked to vote on the correct answer, the audience returned 98% in favor of answer C, 'The Moon.' Having used up all her lifelines, Evans then made the dumbest choice of her life.

"Wow, seems like everybody is against what I'm thinking," said the too-stupid-to-live Evans. "But you know, sometimes you just got to go with your gut. So, let's see. For which is larger, an elephant or the moon, I'm going to have to go with B, an elephant. Final answer."

Evans sat before the dumbfounded audience, the only one waiting with bated breath, and was told that she was wrong, and that the answer was in fact, C, 'The Moon.'
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the boh liao post

Bought Scruff and Muff a new cage from AMK. It is nearly twice as big as the previous one. so now they can hop around happily in their cage until playtime in the evening.
but it seems my dad is bonding well with the lagomorphs. which may not always be a good thing.

Already informed my parents not to let the rabbits eat grass or fresh vegetables.

Really wonder if it is a good idea or not to let the rabbits and the cats play together? maybe some day...

Tomorrow we be taking a cable car ride to Mount Faber for dinner to celebrate Valentines day. Agnes's first time!! Looking forward to the dinner also. i hear the view can be quite nice on a clear night.



...and not forgetting their unique toilets!

Bought a gift for Agnes. Now thinking whether to give it to her tomorrow or on Monday. I really can't wait to see her expression when I give her it. But somehow our anniversary is a more suitable occasion for the gift. Decisions..decisions...

Went to Wendy's wedding on Sunday. I was not keen to go at first, but mum's nagging and guilt trips got to me in the end. The wedding itself was rather nice. I especially liked the photoshow of how they met and the video of the previous day's ceremony and such.
But my folks are nuts. mum and dad were bickering towards the end. Alden and andre were a nuisance as usual. Leo and Lynn...what can I say about them? I very almost wanted to leave the dinner early. Felt so at a loss at how to handle these people. It is bad enough having to attend these weddings, let alone having to deal with moronic family members.


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my lucky paws

First it was Flickr.And then now Blogger has gone the same way. Today I had to register for a Google account in order to access my blog. Had to do some changes to the template of my blog. I guess that is what happens when some conglomerate buys up a hot start-up. Yahoo did it to Flickr, and now Google did it to Blogger. It sucks, but what can we as consumers do about it?
Guess I am fortunate that I had already a Google and Yahoo account, so the change was not as painful as other people who had to specifically create accounts just to continue use of their Flickr and Blogger.

We got 2 rabbits yesterday from Serangoon North. Their names are Scruffy (cos he is scruffy looking) and Muffy (cos...you dun wanna know). In retrospect, their cage is too small. Probably next week we go and look for a bigger cage.



The link to the Rabbit PhotoSet can be found on my right bar.

Already made reservations for Wednesday. Hope Agnes likes it. Wun tell where...Shhhhh....

On Monday is our 2nd anniversary. Been a wonderful journey these 2 years. And I cannot imagine my life without her in it. Amazingly or not, I think I love her even more now than when we first got togeher.

This Sunday we are having a combined service at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Pastor Mark is preaching. It is at 4.30 pm in the evening. I do hope Agnes agrees to go with me. Would be so nice. And I even venture to guess that she might actually like it.



On a similar note, I think her folks might enjoy going to the mandarin or hokkien services also helmed by Pastor Mark. The fastest growing chinese congregation in Singapore no less!



Agnes been saying she wanna cut her hair. maybe she could also take the opportunity to revamp her look. Not that there is anything wrong with the way she looks, but rather that with the right style and cut she would look even better than she does now. And feel beter too. It is amazing what a change of image can do to one's confidence.
Speaking of image change, maybe Agnes and myself should go clothes shopping together soon for new threads for me!

How long has it been, and yet my foot still hurts a little. no idea what damage I caused it. But it is ok.

Probably start next week or after CNY my fitness program as I had discussed earlier.

With the Chinese New Year long weekend this weekend, it is time we made plans. Agnes has threatened to sleep, so we shall see how things go.
Things we can do:
- Go to Istana Open House
- Go Pulau Ubin cycling and sightseeing
- Go Sentosa Flower 2007
- stay home and cuddle up in bed
- bring Muffy and Scruffy out to play
- stay home and watch DVDs
- go visiting friends and relatives..... NOT!
- watch a movie or 2
- celebrate our anniversary!!

Agnes and I discussed about my state of hamsterism, and I will be maintaining them at these numbers:! syrian,2 sapphires and 1 normal winter white. At least now Agnes does not sneeze or itch as much as she used to during the halycon days.

Sin and Wong CK will be going to PPWC in April. In exchange Hasli will be returning and Wang will be joining us. When Hasli 'left', I lost a close friend. Now I am losing 2 solid workers. The 2 incoming dudes do not possess a driving license, so I am not sure how the workload is gonna be distributed. Worse still, I have to train up Wang from scratch and re-train Hasli and somehow motivate him to do his fair share of the work in lieu of Sin. 2007 is gonna be a challenging year for me.

And I wanna quit and get my business going. but sometimes it is hard when the voices in your head and the voices from the people whose opinion matters most, do not sound encouraging. It is hard to make that leap of faith with so many naysayers in our midst. But I believe in myself and my abilities. And besides, if God be for me, who can be against me?
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