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Been on course the last couple of days at IPAM. Being that NUS and IPAM are in close proximity,I have been able to pick Agnes from home and send her to school. Too bad it rained and drizzled almost all day. That resulted in traffic jams from home to Bedok on Wednesday. Then today almost every expressway was jammed. It took me 2 and a half hrs to get from home to IPAM. Was late by nearly an hour. Thankfully I was not the only one. There were a couple of others who arrived shortly before me.

The course itself is rather uninspiring. It was not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping to see more real life scenarios and pictures. But what has been on so far, has been mostly regarding regulations,laws and Acts. Almost like a lawyers convention. It does not help any that the lecturer is an a former policeman. He really acts and talks like one! He fits the stereotypical image of a parade commander with his booming voice and poor english. hahaaa.. one more day to go.

Next week:I may be away all week at HQ doing UAT. Sianz...

Agnes been unwell. Not well almost everyday. That coupled with her tiredness makes Agnes an unhappy camper. Brought her to a clinic near her house to get some medication and cream for the red blotches and itchiness she had. Poor baby.

saturday looks to be a packed day if Agnes is up for it. Tomorrow we may go watch a long overdue movie (once again if Agnes is up for it).


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movie reviews

Dreamgirls
Quite liked this one. Great performances by Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson,Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. This is Jennifer Hudson's break-out role and shows her vocal and acting chops in this one. Not so sure if she deserves all the awards she is getting, but no doubt a great all round performance by her.
With all the hype surrounding Jennifer, people often overlook Beyonce's best performance yet. She starts off as a typical girl next door with big dreams in the beginning of the piece, and evolves by the end to a cross between Diana Ross and herself in Destiny's Child.
Rating: 4 spotlights out of 5

Letters from Iwo Jima
The companion film to Clint Eastwood's The Flag of our Father's.It tells the story from the side of the Japanese in what is probably the greatest victory of world war 2 in the american psyche. This film tries to show the heroic defence of the jap troops on Iwo Jima as they defend it from the americans who outnumber them. Despite the inferiority in numbers,equipment and support they fight valiantly against the superior americans.
In all fairness, Eastwood gives a fair account of what happened during this fabled battle. The Japanese are portrayed as more than just stereotypes and all the main protagonists are fully fleshed out by the time the finale comes around.
rating: 4 grenades out of 5
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Your Feedback

Jewel Box replied my complaint to them.
here...

Dear Mr Leon Boyd,

We refer to your email of 23 February 2007. We thank you for taking time to provide us your valuable feedback.

Please accept our sincere apology for the lapse in our service. The necessary actions have been taken to ensure that such incidents will not happen again.

Although we will never compromise on service standard we sincerely apologize for our failure during your dinner on Valentine's Day. We don't want to lose your confidence in us and hope you would not let the recent visit do so.

It is feedback like yours that helps us to identify those areas of shortfalls so that we could improve our service further.

We look forward to serve you again at The Jewel Box, and please do give us a chance to do so to serve you better.

Thank you.


Yours sincerely,


Faith Wang
Asst Operations Manager
Mount Faber Leisure Group Pte. Ltd. 197000546C
109 Mount Faber Road
The Jewel Box
Singapore 099203
Tel: 96340880/ 63779669

Not quite the reply I was expecting based of the extent of my complaint, but still a lot better than nothing.
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the supermarket

The new Supermarket near our house has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.

When you approach the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and inhale the scent of fresh hay.

When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.

The veggie department features the smell of fresh buttered corn.

I don't buy toilet paper there any more.
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stone upon stone

Dad is still in the hospital. I was expecting him to be out by saturday, but it was not to be. Still have some test to be done. and maybe tomorrow...
Went to see him on Sunday. He looks good. A bit unsteady on his feet, but otherwise quite alright.
Raffles Hospital is really like a hotel. You even get served your meals by people dressed like those you find serving you in hotels. For meals you even have a menu which you can choose your meal, complete with appetisers, main course, dessert and drinks! There is even this thick volume at the bedside on Patient Services.
and everyone quite likes the nubile nurses,..

We are gonna be visiting Agnes's friend cum piano teacher on Wednesday. She has not been well lately hence the cancellation of lessons over the last few weeks. It seems that her condition instead of getting better is gettting worse.

We tried out the new playpen thing I made on saturday. It works well if confining the 2 wabbits was the goal. But they did not seem to enjoy the outing as much as they did the previous week at Upper Pierce. Maybe it had something to do with the dripping water bottle. Or the long walk. Or the canvas sheet which made running and hopping rather tedious. Back to the drawing board...

So far we been lugging around the rabbits in their cage which is rather heavy and cumbersome. So we are now looking out for a bag or basket of sorts, kinda like those doggie carriers or those for cats to transport our rabbits in style.

3 questions a guy does not like his girlfriend to ask...

"Do you think I look fat?"
"Do you love me?"
"Do you think we are compatible?"

I have more or less soft sold the idea of my impending resignation to some of my colleagues. They are understandably sad but they gave me their blessings.

Oh...and news is that Yvonne is coming over. When? I do not know. In fact I do not know how good a fit she is to our work. If she is anything like me (loves animals!), then maybe she might get bored of the nature of our work in a hurry. But I think she does have the skills and potential to do well, but in the long term it is all about commitment and being able to adapt to a new work environment.
Anyway she is a better choice than the other guy who applied for the job.
Watched Notes on a Scandal. Powerhouse performances from Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Best movie of 2007 to me. A taut tale of forbidden sex, blackmail and homo-erotic undertones. Goes to show that Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett are the 2 greatest living actresses in Great Britain.
rating:4 out of 5 diaries

Been thinking that a china-made car may not be that bad after all. Cheaper and just as good as some of the korean and japanese models out there. Good fuel economy too.Chery's? Naza's? Geely's?

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This week

Things to be done this week:
1) Go SMU Animal Day on saturday
2) Put up the posters and car decals
3) Visit Elmi who is 'very sick'
4) Buy Nike shoes for my poor feet
5) On course from Wednesday to Friday at IPAM
6) Cut my toenails
7) get a haircut
8) Watch a movie with my dar dar
9) buy more bedding for the rabbits and hamsters
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SMU Animal Welfare Day

Saturday, 3rd March 2007

12.30 pm — 5.30 pm

Singapore Management University— Campus Green

SMU Animal Day 2007 is a day to reflect and appreciate our pets!



Exciting competitions, educational talks and entertaining performances will keep you and your pet thrilled for hours. There will be goodie bags* and lots of prizes to be won!

http://paw.means.it/
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www.pray24-365.org.sg

Cover Singapore With Prayer

Together with other LoveSingapore churches, we are involved in 24.365, a year-long prayer chain covering our nation with prayer. For this, 52 churches, unified regardless of denomination, will each anchor a week of continuous intercession.

Our week:

Starts
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2007
Time: 12pm

Ends
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007
Time: 12pm


Join us in this demonstration of unity!

Sign Up For A 15min Prayer Slot

Do your part as we share in this initiative to cover our nation with prayer 24/7! To make your participation as easy and stress-free as possible, we have split the week up into 15min time slots.

Sign up at the counter outside the Rock Auditorium on Sundays, 25 February and 4 March 2007. You may also email globaloutreach@newcreation.org.sg with your preferred time slot, or for more information.

Special Prayer Services

Come for a time of corporate prayer at two special services. God hears and answers His people, and wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in their midst.

Dates: Tuesday, 20 March 2007 and Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Time: 7–10.30am
Venue: the Rock (6th level)

For more information about 24.365 and LoveSingapore, visit www.pray24-365.org.sg

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