the lion and the lamb

2012-01-30T12:43:00.002+08:00

The 19th of Feb is our 7th anniversary. I have made reservations to have brunch at KDT, and maybe a catch a show at MBT. See how things go...

Been so busy the last few weeks, what with Christmas, followed closely by Chinese New Year and then all the stuff we could not do that had to be done. It is only today that I could take a breather.

someone said I am a cunt for hotlinking. that is a good laugh.

Agnes got her ears pierced, finally. Now to do something about that hair.

Gotta work hard this year for my bounty in the Dragon year.

it sucks kinda to go solo on a monday. period.

2011-12-15T14:47:00.003+08:00

2 more days, then we are on a well deserved break!

Monday is our 3rd anniversary. No plans yet, as I have no idea if we will even be in Singapore that day.

Have taken Zoo passes for 20th to 22nd. So if we are in singapore, then we may just visit our beloved zoo.Been a while since we were last there. My most favourite place in Singapore.

On Saturday we will be taking some relatives to Sentosa, Underwater World in particular. Hope it does not end up the same as the last time we were there with family. Imagine paying nearly $20 a head entrance fees and they took one quick walk and were out of Underwater World in less than 20 minutes. A bloody waste of money if you ask me.

Did I mention that Agnes's relatives from Ipoh are in town?

This year mumsy and dadsy decided that Christmas dinner/lunch will be at Casuarina. I do not know what to say. It is not about the food or the location.

2011-12-12T10:52:00.004+08:00

I am all alone in the office. Hasli is on leave all this week, and Ai Khim is out of the country. Worst of all, I feel awful. Like a headache coming on. Must be all these sleepless nights I been having.

On the bright side, I will be on leave all of next week. No firm plans as to what we will be doing those 9 days I will be out of the office. Initially we were planning an overseas trip. Later that was changed to a staycation at Resorts World Sentosa. And then we decided upon a trip up north to KL and the highlands. But then news filtered in that Agnes's grandmother from Ipoh was coming to Singapore the very week we had planned to go on holiday. So now we are stuck in limbo as to when and where we will have time to ourselves. Agnes wants to spend as much time as she can with grandma while she is still around, which is understandable, but we will have to work out something. Do not want our leave to be all for nothing.

On the lighter side of things, Wicked is now on at Marina Bay Sands. I have already misssed out on Lion King when they were playing here, so I am not gonna miss Wicked as well.

http://wickedthemusical.com.sg/

I am back

2011-12-12T10:46:00.002+08:00

my last post was on 17th May 2010. Wow, thats a year and a half that I been away.

But now I am back.For good I hope.

Whilst I was away I have been super active on Facebook. So that is where most of you could have kept in contact with the goings ons in my life over the past year or so. There is probably not enough time to recap all that has happened when I was away, so I will not even try.

we will be away

2010-05-17T11:52:00.007+08:00

I will be accomanying Agnes to Salt Lake City next week. we will be leaving on saturday. and will only return the following sunday.

SLC is most famous for being the global head quarters of the Church of Christ of The Latter-Day Saints or Mormons, as they are commonly known. This can be considered a bad thing, but to me it is good. it means to me free entry to attractions and guided tours! the downside of all these 'freebies' are that your gracious host will inevitably try to convert you to join them.

at the heart of SLC, is Temple Square. This is probably the most popular place to visit for tourists and the faithful. it is an expansive area with numerous buildings all related to Mormons and their history. This is like the Disneyland of Mormon-ism.

Here you will find the mormon HQ, Salt Lake Temple.

The world reknown Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Salt Lake tabernacle, which is an engineering marvel in its own right.

Assembly hall

one of the more ornate buildings in the square

There are also loads of other smaller sights to see in temple square
site: http://www.visittemplesquare.com/

the 2 visitor centres there are also a good starting point for tourists looking to visit the various places in Utah.

also in SLC is the State Capitol which is like a smaller version of the one in Washington DC.

as well as Temple Square, utah is reknown for it's excellent ski slopes and national parks.

it remains to be seen if we have the time to visit the ski slopes or parks.

Then there is the Great Salt Lake, from which the city gets it's name.

and the various Mormon settlements and sites all around Utah.

something strange going on in the blog

2010-02-13T12:53:00.002+08:00

seems like advertisements have been popping up in here lately. no idea how or why.

so my legion of faithful readers have to bear with it and be patient until I find out how to stop it posting here.

the day before

2010-02-13T12:46:00.002+08:00

tomorrow we are off to hong kong in the morning. this trip be a chance for us to do all the stuff we were not able to do the last time we were in HK.

we also plan to spend a day in Macau. never been there. but seen pics of it, especially St.Paul's.

we will be spending Valentine's Day and our 5 year anniversary in hong kong!

our tentative itinerary for our trip:

14 Sunday (CNY)
Arrive in HK
Check into Hotel
evening, explore Ladies Market or Temple Street, Langham Place (subject to availability)

Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade
8pm - 9:30pm
Where: The Parade starts at the Hong Kong Culture Centre Plazza in Tsim Sha Tsui and proceeds along Canton Road, Haiphong Road, Nathan Road and Salisbury Road, makes a U-turn at the intersection of Salisbury Road and Chatham Road South, and ends at the New World Centre.)
How:
To Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui:
• MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit E or East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit L3, walk to Salisbury Road, turn right, take pedestrian tunnel next to YMCA to Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
• Star Ferry from either Central or Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui.
To parade route:
• MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit A1, C1 & D1, or East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit K, J, L1 & L3.

15 Monday(CNY)
Ocean Park
Price: 250
Directions: Bus 629 from MTR Admiralty Station Exit B

evening at Victoria Harbour CNY fireworks - 8 pm

16 Tuesday
Ngong Ping 360 and Giant Buddha
Price: 107 to 169
Directions: MTR Tung Chung Station Exit B and walk 5 minutes to the Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal

17 Wedneday
Stanley Market (if open) or bus ride in Open Top Bus on HK Island
Directions:
1. MTR Hong Kong Station Exit D and take bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 at Exchange Square Bus Terminus.
2. MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit B, walk to Tang Lung Street then take green minibus 40.
3. Bus 973 from Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui outside Silvercord Centre.

18 Thursday
Macau
Prices:
TST to Macau= day $133.00 night/after 6 $168.00
Macau to TST= day $140.00 night/after 6 $175.00
Directions:

The China Ferry Terminal is located on the Tsimshatsui waterfront alongside Harbour City, on the Kowloon side of the harbour. It is used for Catamaran sailings to and from Macau, and is convenient for visitors staying in Tsimshatsui hotels. There are booking offices for current and advance sailings.
First Ferry
Catamarans from the First Ferry offer roundtrip sailings to and from Macau and Kowloon, arriving at the China (HK) Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. The journey takes about 60-75 minutes. The ticket price ranges from MOP140 to MOP275. For details, please call Hong Kong (852) 2131 8181 or Macau (853) 2872 7676. You can also visit the website: http://www.nwff.com.hk

19 Friday
Late check out?
at airport 2 hrs before departure

Shopping

Festival Walk:
near Kowloon Tong MTR station

The Wing On Department Stores (HK) Ltd
MTR Sheung Wan Station, Exit E3
MTR Jordan Station, Exit A
MTR Tai Koo Station, Exit D2
MTR East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit P1/ MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit G

Langham Place

China Hong Kong City
MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station Exit A1

Jardine's Crescent
MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit

Law vs Faith

2010-02-07T13:30:00.004+08:00

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."- Matt 5:17-18

Just the other day Agnes came back from her weekly church class, and she was given an assignment for the following week to memorise the Ten Commandments or something. The discussion somehow deviated to how different her opinion on the matter was from mine. Just for the record I come from a church that does not teach our members to remember the ten commandments. Our belief is that our justification is based not on works or obedience to the Law, but by faith in Christ finished work alone.

That is not to say that we are free to live sinful and licentious lives if we are not under The Law. But rather that through our justification by faith, the fruits of it will be good works and righteous living. Right believing will always produces right living.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them," Heb. 10:16.

This was God's promise, that he will write his laws on our hearts and minds, no longer of words merely printed on paper. This means that all our thoughts and deeds will be lead by the Holy Spirit. This leading is with us in all we say and in all we do. Unlike the Law written on stone or commandments written on paper, this law on our hearts and minds will guide us on all things at all times. It does not depend on our obedience or sacrifice to keep God's commandments now.

It is not that the Law of God is deficient or flawed in any way that it needs to be replaced by something else. It is rather that it is the very perfection of God's standards. The standard as set in the Ten Commandments requires perfect submission. It requires perfect adherence.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.James 2:10

There is no room for compromise in God's Law. We can be outwardly obedient in 9 laws, and yet fail in only one, but we are then found guilty of ALL. It requires perfection in the believer. Anything less than perfect compliance to the Law means that the person has utterly failed to live up to the standards of the Law.

Beyond the outward obedience to God's law, is the literal heart of the matter; what lies in the heart of every man! Obedience to the law is not merely not killing or not stealing, or just honoring your parents. It goes above and beyond just outward actions, but also deals with issues of the heart and our true motives.
Matthew 5: 17 - 30 expounds on how even hate towards another is tantamount to murder, or how even feelings of lust towards someone who is not your spouse is the equivalent of adultery. So the question remains, is there any amongst us who can truly fulfill God's laws, and maintain the perfect standards that it requires? If not, why did God give us law's that are beyond the scope of human ability?

"As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;"Romans 3:10

So we are now back to why God gives us law's that are beyond our natural ability to live up to.
The main purpose was to reveal the holiness of God, and the standard of his righteousness. By seeing this we now realise how futile even our best works, actions and obedience is in the light of God's perfect holiness. We can try as hard as we may, but even the best of us fail to come close to the perfection required of The Law. It seems almost unfair that God set the bar so high that no mortal being can even come close to the standards of the Law. Unless God is using the Law as a means to some higher purpose...

“So that the Law has become our tutor to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Galatians 3:24

The law was given to expose our shortcomings and show our dire need for a Saviour. Through the law serves only as a means to that end, and not an end unto itself. We then see the futility of our own self effort to attain righteousness with God. Law is likened to a tutor to point us in the right direction, which is to Christ. When faith has come, the law is rendered redundant. The only way to Christ is through FAITH, and not through our old tutor, the Law.

“Because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”Romans 3:20

Once again we see that we cannot be justified by the law. Rather that the law only exposes our sins, failures and shortcomings all the more. The law exposes all the more our sin for all to see. No man will be justified by the Law. Justification can only be found in the Law when the man is perfectly perfect. Only a man without sin, without even a stain of imperfection can fulfill the Law and all it's requirements.

“We reckon that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the Law”Romans 3:28

This is the famous verse that Martin Luther read that sparked off the Reformation and the subsequent Protestant movement. Here it is said that a man is justified by faith APART from the works of the law. What it means to say that a man's justification before God is hinged upon only faith, and not upon his deeds or actions in compliance with God's law, no matter how outwardly good or how noble his intentions.

“The Law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound more exceedingly”Romans 5:20

The verse here seems to say here that where the law is, sin abounds! Sin increases and multiplies exponentially! Looks here like the law is more of an antithesis to righteousness than the means by which Man obtains righteousness. Thankfully the same verse also spells out how we can negate the adverse effects of the law and sin. Because where sin abounds, grace abounds much, much more!

‘I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died in vain’ Galatians 2:21

Now this one is the clincher. If righteousness with God can be found through the law, then Jesus Christ died a needless death on Calvary's cross when there was a simpler and painless way to achieve righteousness in the first place. In other words, Christ came down as a man, was beaten and scourged, utterly humiliated and was subjected to the most cruel manners of deaths as he was crucified; and it would seems it was all for nothing, when there was already a means to righteousness through the Law.

To summarise,
- God will lead us in our hearts and minds how to live our lives.
- God's Law requires perfect obedience with no room for error.
- That no person is able to claim to be righteous through his or her own self-effort.
- That fulfilling the Law requires not only outward obedience, but that God also see's the heart's true motives and feelings as well under Law.
- the intention of the Law is to lead us to Christ and expose our need for His righteousness.
- The law cannot justify, but can only expose our inadequacies.
- Faith alone justifies apart, from our own good works
- we make Jesus Christ's death at the cross in vain if we seek righteousness through the law.

Verse of the Day

2010-01-26T01:09:00.002+08:00

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17

Lessons from Proverbs

2010-01-24T00:42:00.004+08:00

Chapter 1: verses 2 to 7

in these verses, the writer outlines the purpose and theme of the Book of Proverbs:

"for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;

for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;

for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-

let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-

for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Proverbs is a collection of the best of the best pearls of wisdom from the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon. So we are beholden to at least try to extricate as best we can from this virtual mine of wisdom.

Interestingly, the Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters; one from every day of the month!

So from today onwards I will endeavour to make bible study like Lessons from Proverbs a regular feature on this blog. Been meaning to do something like this for years now, but for some reason or other it never came to fruition.

Of course I also have to qualify that all comments and observations made here are mine and mine alone. Bible study tends to be a rather subjective matter for the most part, and I cannot claim to have the full revelation of all that God has to reveal through the richness and glory of His Word. In effect, a single verse can be so full of meaning and reference, that I will not be able to expound fully on it. and as is often the case in Bible Study, that the reader may return to the same verse at a later time and have the very same verse reveal even more, or with even greater understanding of what God has chosen to reveal. Sometimes the reader may even unveil totally different truths every each time they read the same verse(s) or chapter(s).

Verse of the Day

2010-01-24T00:35:00.001+08:00

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

2010-01-23T22:34:00.002+08:00

been a while since I last updated this blog. i fact it has been nearly a month since. but remarkably, my daily readership has been rising steadily during the interim. go figure.

updates:

- agnes been going through some hard times at work lately. maybe a change in environment would be beneficial.

- ditto me. with new staff and out with the old, the balance of power in the office has been offset. not that adversity and overwhelming odds has ever put me off fighting for what is right.

- will be taking Mazzy for servicing on Tuesday.

- however I will not be repairing the rear bumper yet, although the plan was to do the repairs when I go for the routine servicing.

- Mazda has a new service centre at Alexandra Rd, just nest to IKEA, which may just be nearer to Outram, where Agnes works. but far from just about everywhere else.

- we had been planning a trip to japan or new zealand during the CNY long weekend, but that idea seems to have been put on hold, or so it seems. in any event, we are both on leave that whole week.

- we have a new inclusion to our family: umm..STITCH! maybe Stitch II, since we already has an incumbent. agnes won it from one of those UFO Catcher things on her first try. $1. some people call it beginners luck.

- so many movies we wanna watch and so little time.

- still yet to edit and post up the pictures from our zoo trip.

- agnes may be going for some overseas training. she says it could be for a month...or more. if this really comes to pass, it would mean I will be alone here in singapore. although I do plan to visit her over at wherever she is posted to if it is feasible.

our sydney trip

2009-12-28T10:15:00.009+08:00

gotta love the irreverent aussie humour

if the fall does not kill you, the crocodile will

pat the koala's

wimpy scorpions!!

before going to sydney people warned about the racism and such. but the sydney-siders were nothing but nice throughout, with a couple of exceptions, which had nothing to do with race I feel. just bad service. in fact, the only issue I had was at Changi Airport of all places! i went to an electronic store at the airport to buy a memory stick, but the staff there paid no attention to me at all. but were instead fawning all over the caucasians that came in. go figure.

SYDNEY AQUARIUM

dugong, mermaids of the sea

it is an ok aquatic park, but seen better elsewhere.wonder how it is so highly rated to be amongst sydney's most popular sights.

AROUND SYDNEY TOWN

DARLING HARBOUR, THE COCKLE BAY WHARF SIDE

the area around Darling Harbour is bustling with stuff to do.
and lots of food and shopping to be done.
and also you can catch a ferry from here to go to just about anywhere.

ST. ANDREW'S CATHEDRAL

the oldest cathedral in sydney, but by no means the most impressive. that honour goes to St.Mary's

THE INTERIOR OF QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING
a nice building, but the shops are over-priced for people like us.

A BIG GAME OF CHESS IN THE PARK

the thing about sydney (and australia) is how the locals find so much time to play, chill and rest. even on a weekday, you see people having extended lunches, lazing in the parks or just simply having fun. a big difference to the hectic life in singapore. but think i would go mad doing nothing after a while.

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL
a truly awesome building. too bad they do not allow pictures (actually they do, but you have to pay). one of the better ones i visited.

THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE APPROACH
somehow seems more yellow than white when you see it. but somehow in the pictures..it is white! we did the obligatory tour. we were unable to catch the backstage tour though.

A CRUISE LINER UNDER THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
the bridge is huge. regrettably we did not actually walk on it, though I had planned to.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HARBOUR

UNDER THE BRIDGE AT SUNSET ON A FERRY

ALL TOGETHER NOW

SYDNEY WILDLIFEWORLD

A KOALA, MY FIRST TIME SEEING ONE
they even cuter in real life!

ANOTHER ONE, JUST BECAUSE

ROO'S HAVING A BIT OF A TUSSLE

THE HARBOURSIDE SIDE OF DARLING HARBOUR

AGNES HAMMING IT UP ON PYRMONT BRIDGE

TARONGA ZOO

BABY ELEPHANT, LUK CHAI

THE GIRAFFE'S ENCLOSURE
WITH ONE OF THE BEST VIEWS OF THE HARBOUR

THE HARBOUR VIEW FROM THE 'GREAT SOUTHERN OCEANS'

NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE A LEOPARD SEAL IN CAPTIVITY, LET ALONE ONE SO TAME AND SO TRAINABLE

REGRETABLY WE DID NOT MANAGE TO SEE A PLATYPUS AT ALL DURING OUR STAY.THE ONES AT TARONGA AND SYDNEY AQUARIUM REMAINED ELUSIVE TILL THE END.

AN ECHIDNA

A WALLABY

LEOPARD SEAL NAP TIME

FORT DENILSON

THE ENTRY TO LUNA PARK

MARITIME MUSEUM

WE WERE ALSO BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO CATCH A CHRISTMAS FIREWORKS SHOW

ON OUR WAY TO BONDI BEACH

ROSE BAY CONVENT

THE GAP PARK

BONDI BEACH

BEACH PATROL

SURF RESCUE SPONSORED BY DHL

overall was an enjoyable trip. but the food is expensive.but the servings are large. the best deal we got was at the Sydney Fish Market. the seafood was heavenly and super worth it. too bad we only managed to go there once. a good way to save is to share a single portion between us.

as for shopping, not much that you can't find in singapore, beside tourist souvenirs. the best shopping we had was at Paddy's Market, where stuff was cheap and a wide variety was available. the rest of the markets really had nothing to buy that we visited. although we did not get to go to all of them.

although we were there for nearly a week, we were not able to do all that we wanted to.if we ever go to sydney again, we will try to cover:

- Manly. a nice beach,market and an oceanarium.
- Paddington Market. purportedly the biggest market in sydney. we were unable to go as it was only on saturdays, and we went to the zoo that day.
- LG Imax Theatre- the biggest in the world. so close to us, yet we were not able to find the time for a movie,3-D or otherwise.
- Hyde Park- we did pass through a bit of it, but due to lack time did not fully explore it.
-Royal Botanic Gardens- another sight we skipped although we were in the vicinity
-Sydney Tower- although it is over-rated, it is still worth a look.
- King's Cross- we only passed through on the bus on the way to Bondi.
- other beaches- due to time we skipped Bronte and Coogee
- Woolloomooloo Bay
- Watson's Bay
- Sydney Harbour Bridge walk
- Whale Watching- a definite must do. we were a little late for the whale watching season
- Dolphin Watching
- Featherdale Wildlife Park- best place to experience the fauna, or so I heard
- Blue Mountains
- DFO- australia's premier factory outlet centre with over 80 retailers
- Glebe market
- more of Bondi
- Sydney Olympic Park
- see a platypus!!!

seems like 2 weeks worth of sightseeing!

2009-12-15T19:36:00.001+08:00

we are now at the airport waiting to board our plane to sydney.

Sydney 2009

2009-12-12T00:52:00.002+08:00

our sydney trip is only days away.
as usual we are too pre-occupied with work and the daily grind to get too excited. we be strange peoples. guess this is the life we chose for ourselves, living life day by day, with nary time to sit back and relax, and to take a step back to contemplate life's finest.

anyways...

we be staying at the Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour.

this is what they claim on their website:

Excitement, refreshment and discovery await within only minutes walk to Sydneys best tourist and shopping attractions including Darling Harbour, the Sydney Aquarium, Star City Casino, Sydney Convention and Entertainment Centre, Chinatown and the Queen Victoria Building: all the best entertainment and dining options are at our doorstep.

Best Superior Hotel of the Year finalist in this years 2009 AHA (NSW) Awards for Excellence, Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour offers 345 spacious guest rooms with sweeping views of Darling Harbour or the glittering Sydney city skyline.

so we can rightfully expect it to be quite good. best thing is that it is only 2km from sydney harbour bridge/ sydney opera house. and we are in the immediate vicinity of popular attractions like

Although we have no strict itinerary for the days we are there, I do plan to visit all or most of the following places.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE (including guided tour)

the iconic feature of sydney...and australia for that matter. heard the guided tour of the inner workings of this architectural marvel is worth every cent.

SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

if we feel up to it, we may even attempt to walk across this metallic monstrosity.

Taronga Zoo

easily one of the most picturesque zoo's anywhere. and the journey there, and the trip up only add to it's mystique.

Sydney Aquarium

very near to our hotel. and we re also able to procure joint admission tickets for this, Sydney Wildlife World and the Sky Tower

SYDNEY WILDLIFE WORLD

just next door to Sydney Aquarium, and yes, very close to our hotel. not quite in the league of Taronga or even Featherdale for that matter, but a worthwhile visit nonetheless.

Royal Botanic Gardens

a beautiful garden, with a stunning view of the harbour.

Bondi Beach

the beach synonymous with the beach culture Down Under and all that it entails.

Chinese Garden of Friendship

another attraction close to our hotel, and it seems to be featured on just about every guide book and tourist website. should be worthwhile to find out what the fuss is all about.

other places to consider if we still have time after all of the above"
- Oceanworld Manly
- Featherdale Wildlife Park
- St. Mary's Cathedral

due to the location of our hotel and where the transportation hub is, we will find ourselves at Darling Harbour and Circular Quay alot.

Some markets to visit
- Chinatown Nightmarket (Friday from 4pm to 11pm)
- The Rocks Weekend Market
- Bondi Beach Market (on sundays)
- Opera House Market (Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00)
- Paddington Market (Saturday 10:00 to 17:00)
- The Rocks Market (Saturday and Sunday between 10:00 and 17:00)

we had also wanted to go whale watching, but apparently the whale migration season ended last month, so it is a no go. but agnes wants me to talk to the whales to come back...

but we could alternatively go dolphin watching at either Jervis Bay or Port Stephens, but these are full day tours

There is also this mega free concert going on whilst we are there

Carols in the Domain
when: 19th December 2009
where? :The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens
time 12 pm till 11pm
concert starts at 8.30 pm
it's free!!
and all the big stars will be out in force.

Memories of Angkor

2009-12-04T10:56:00.004+08:00

Siem Reap is indeed popular with tourist from all over the world, hence the proliferation of hawkers,stalls and street-side vendors almost everywhere you go. The thing is that you can easily find stuff to lug back home at heavily discounted prices depending on your bargaining skills.

I loved the friendly people and the great food. Think they are the friendliest people I ever met on my travels. I would even venture to say they are friendlier than the Thais.

I was kinda apprehensive about the food before going, but as it turned out the food was amongst the best I ever had all in one place. Being the hot tourist spot it is, hotels and restaurants are springing up like mushrooms after the rain. and most of them are world class.

But the main attraction for me going to Siem Reap was the Angkor Temple Complex...

spread over 400 square km, it is probably the largest collection of ancient ruins anywhere in the world. pictures justdo not do them justice. One probably has to go there in person to truly appreciate the magnitude and splendour of the temples, cities and castles.

Beyond the true scale of the structures, there is also an almost dogged attention to detail, which one will discover when one gets up close to the reliefs. on a wall or pillar you will see hundreds or even thousands of carvings of various scenes of hindu mythology.

even amidst the throng of tourist and the searing heat, there are always moments for contemplation.

conservationist decided to allow nature to take it's own course at many of the temple sites, resulting in some of the most surreal landscape ever seen. little wonder that it was featured in the Tomb Raider movie.

The highlight of any trip to Angkor is of course a trip to the eponymous Angkor Wat.

seems even the sunsets are more beautiful there.

Cambodia has a long history of war and suffering. Maybe that explains their eagerness to please and to be so hospitable to visitors.All around Cambodia you find remnants of their war -torn past...

besides the above, I also managed to do two other things which I never had the chance to do in Singapore...

RIDE A HORSE!

and drive a motor boat!!

SYDNEY 2009...

2009-12-04T10:40:00.003+08:00

Been really neglecting this blog. my last post was just before I flew off to Siem Reap, and I have not updated since.

will probably post the pictures and links to the photographs I took soon. nearly a month overdue. although many of you may already have seen them since I uploaded them after my trip.

AGNES AND ME WILL BE IN SYDNEY FROM 15 to 21 DECEMBER!

I am now in the process of planning our itinerary. but should be a good one, if only agnes is able to leave her work behind.

we are also planning to be out of the country during the Chinese New Year holidays in February. no idea yet where we be going. but Japan and Hong Kong seem the more likely destinations.if we do decide to go after all.

my trip to Siem Reap and Angkor

2009-11-08T01:51:00.002+08:00

I will be flying off to Siem Reap on Tuesday morning.
I will be there until Sunday.

My flight departs at 6 am. so I probably have to be there by around 4.30-ish.

I will be staying at Kazna Hotel (http://www.kaznahotel.com/)

It cost me only $188 for 5 nights stay. The hotel comes highly recommended. they even provide free internet access and airport transfer. if you think that for what I paid, I would get a budget hotel standard room, well... take a look...

should be fine since it is only me.

I have also planned my itinerary whilst I am there. although this is not definitive and is subject to change.

Day 1: Tuesday
Check in hotel
rest a bit
Go to the Angkor National Museum (angkornationalmuseum.com)

Go to the famous Pub Street and the Old Market (Phsar Chas) and night market

Day 2 : Wednesday
Meet my guide at 8:30 am then leave from hotel to buy 3 days ticket
visit South Gate of Angkor Thom
Central of Angkor Thom ( Bayon , Baphoun,Elephant and Lepper King Terraces )

visit Ta Promh ( Tomb Raider Temple)

lunch and short relax
Angkor Wat and sunset at Phnom Bakeng.

back to hotel

Day 3: Thursday
leave very early at 5 am to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat .
back to hotel for breakfast and short rest.
visit Bantey Kdei , Pre Rup , East Mebon , Tasom , Neak Poan and Preah Khan temple

in the evening catch a Cambodian Cultural Show ( Apsara Dance )

Day 4: Friday
visit Bantey Srei

landmine museum
Bantey Samre
visit floating villages of Tonle Sap

Day 5: Saturday
Go to Happy Ranch for horse riding in the countryside

and more last minute shopping

Day 6:Sunday
be at airport really early again to fly home.with a stop over in Phnom Penh

My guide for the trip is Sampho Lim (http://www.angkordriver-sam.com/)

He came highly recommended and his rates were reasonable, so I chose him out of all the guides who I enquired from.

2009-10-23T10:43:00.004+08:00

Time sure flies. Mazzy is already a year old. seems like only yesterday that we let go of Sunny, and got Mazzy.Though no car can ever replace Sunny, I am sure Mazzy will make a history all of his own in time to come.
^
^
^
will be in Cambodia from 10th to 15th November.
too bad the wife is not able to come along. having some thoughts whether I should go ahead with this trip. hopefully agnes wil tell me what to do.
^
^
^
we will follow that up with a drive up north to Genting Highlands. Agnes is long overdue a break, or so she says. Being that it is the Peak and Super Peak season, it is imperative that we book our accommodations soon to avoid disappointment.

^
^
^
Agnes is reconsidering her current work position. and I have been also for quite some time. although our reasons for the change of workplace are different. Agnes is unhappy with the workload, colleagues and irregular hours. as for myself, it is just that I am doing things that I do not really believe in. so my heart is not really as into it as it should be. I love animals.plants not so much. my job requires me to do enforcement and regulation of plants, which pays well, offers favourable office hours and I simply love most of my colleagues. Been more than 10 years in the current place.
Agnes wants to set up a pet cafe some day. my dream is to own my very own pet shop. I think we could merge the two...

But seriously, I think Agnes could easily find a better job, with better pay and more routine hours. I on the other hand, will have to start from scratch if I ever decide to venture out again.
^
^
^
on the subject of Mazzy, I had a slight bump the other day with a pillar at Golden Mile Tower. Hence the right side of the rear bumper is slightly scratched and somehow that caused the right side panel to curve inward. Maybe it is a safety feature of some sort, that any rear collision is transferred to the side. The bumper scratch can be removed as it is mostly paint. but the side panel, I pressed it in and it looks better now. but may still need to get repair work done eventually.

2009-09-28T10:25:00.003+08:00

been a while since I last updated this blog. not that I been busy or unable to log in or anything. just that I did not feel like blogging lately. anyway on to the matters at hand...

be going to Siem Reap in november. I am quite looking forward to this trip. too bad agnes will not be able to join me. agnes was a little upset that I did not 'confirm' with her my trip.

it is also time to renew my road tax and vehicle insurance.

a few friends came over on saturday for dinner. shan shan made the best tom yam soup. however YL and WL were not quite so delightful. WL came late, did not eat at all, and duly informed us I was on the KIV list for her wedding. YL on the other hand said some rather mean things about our house. still think SS is the best amongst Agnes's frens.

it is official. me and agnes are hopelessly addicted to Farmville. Baaa...

so much more to write but dunno how to put it into words...

til next time...

our Cameron Highlands trip

2009-09-13T13:34:00.001+08:00

our room

the view from our window

the hotel lobby

first place we visited was a flower farm

followed by an overview of a water cress farm

then we visited a vegetable farm

nice Hibiscus

Then it was to a strawberry farm

which is also an aeroponic farm

the different types of lettuce available

more Hibiscus pics

and then finally we went to a cactus farm

even had apple and grape trees there

and...umm...no plucking!

The next day...

from our window

our hotel front

Gunung Brinchang peak

on the Mossy Forest Walk

moss covered branch

wild rare orchid

After the Mossy Forest Walk, we had a look at a tea plantation

we then went to the Bharat Tea Plantation for some shopping, tea and scones.

Day 3

view from our hotel compound into Kea Valley

our hotel is on the highest hill

road leading to our hotel

Flowers found in the hotel compound

after that we took a walk to the nearby Butterfly Farms

we were fortunate enough to catch this unusual sight

a little snake riding on the head of a bigger one.

lots of reptiles and amphibians for a place that calls itself a butterfly park

butterflies on the sides of the mesh

a nice plant

tortoises

besides the above, there were also mammals and birds there.

we saw this poor rabbit with a huge scar on it's back

the other rabbits were in better condition

stick insects

horned frogs

lizards

APPLICATION FORM FOR MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS CLUB

2009-08-30T00:09:00.000+08:00

I wish to become a Manchester United supporter and I confirm that:

1) I was born nowhere near Manchester and am prepared to show no loyalty to teams located in my local area.

2) I confirm that I know absolutely nothing about football and will never seek to improve on my ignorance.

3) I am a pretentious glory seeker and have rejected supporting my local team on the grounds that they might not give me enough reflected kudos.

4) I am prepared to eat prawn sandwiches and totally reject meat pies, burger and chips and pints of beer on the grounds that these reflect the traits of true football fans from other clubs.

5) I will buy a replica shirt at least twice a year and appreciate the kindness of the club in regularly changing the design, of transferring Ronaldo and of increasing prices in the Club shop, in the interests of us supporters.

6) I am only interested in winning and will sulk unreservedly if we do not win every game. Equally I will stop watching matches if we do not win regularly and will switch my allegiance to another team if they look more likely to win trophies.

7) I will never publicly admit that Alex Ferguson may have Alzheimer`s disease, that Glazer has no money and that the club is in huge debt and that our best days may well be over.

8) I am a total t**t.

Signed....................

2009-08-28T15:14:00.002+08:00

Be going off to Cameron on Tuesday night, but between now and then we be busy bees. Agnes has her piano exam on Monday. so between then and now it is lotsa practise at home at at the studio. Do not think we will have any time for going out or even staying at home, if that makes any sense.

A colleague of mine is giving us a fish. He says it is a Vieja argentea. looks kinda like a luohan in the pictures I searched online. Mum been telling me she and dad have been preparing the tank for the fish over the last few days. hopefully it will all be ready before we head off to Cameron, and we can put it in.

been checking out the weather in Cameron Highlands. The forecast seems to indicate that we should expect showers and storms over the few days we are there. we will try to squeeze in as much activities as we can, whilst keeping in mind the reason that we are there is to 'relax'.

one of the activities we are planning is to shop. Agnes's favourite activity of the whole holiday I am sure. Cameron is also reknown for its trekking. There are some waterfalls and such we could explore if time and weather permits. Then there are the various farms and tea plantations. we could probably sign up for the various tours offered.

here are some of the tours:

AGRO DELIGHT TOUR

price RM 65

Duration: 4 1/2 to 5 hrs

1. Exotic cactus farm with mini fruit orchard – apples, giant-sized lemons and 'dripping tomatoes'.
2. Strawberry farm with self picking of strawberries allowed.
3. Beautiful flower nursery.
4. Water-cress farm.
5. Open terraces of conventional farming.
6. Organic farming.
7. Lettuce delight.
8. Visit to a Chinese village.

Nature Discovery Tour

Price: RM 60

Duration: 4 to 4 1/2 hrs

1. A Drive up to the highest point of Cameron Highlands - Mount Brinchang located at a majestic height of 6666 feet above sea level. A climb up the viewing tower will afford you a most panoramic view of the highlands. You will enjoy the cool crisp mountain air amidst the serenity of the surroundings.
2. A short trek into the mossy forest. A world of wonders of nature awaits you. Be awe-struck by the variety of pitcher plants of different shapes and sizes, beautiful wild orchids and herbal plants such as the famous 'Kacip Fatimah'.
3. Vantage point of the tea plantation with a birds eye view of the "Giant Green Carpet of Malaysia". Be amply rewarded with the spectacular sight of the rolling green hills against the azure blue skies.
4. Visit to the renowned "BOH" Tea Factory. Have a memorable experience viewing the full process of tea and learn how the distinctive aroma of tea is developed. (Tea factory is closed on Mondays & Public Holidays).
5. Sojourn to the natives' village which has a blend of modern and traditional charm. The uniqueness of this village is an eye opener to many tourists.

LEISURE TOUR

Price: RM 25

Duration: 3 to 3 1/2 hrs

1. Potted plants centre
2. Overview of vegetable terraces
3. Market square
4. Strawberry Centre
5. Honey Bee Centre
6. Sam Poh Temple
7. Rose Centre
8. Butterfly garden and souvenir house

above from Titiwangsa Tours

Cameron Secrets Tours C.S. Tours also offers some nice tours.

our Cameron trip

2009-08-20T00:53:00.000+08:00

in case no one knows it by now we will be away in Cameron Highlands from 02/09/09 to 05/09/09. We will be leaving on the 1st September night.

we opted for the 26 seater super VIP coach.

I wonder about the wisdom of that being that we have like a 9 to 10 hour journey up north. we could have taken the executive coach which would have cost us about $50 a piece. sometimes it is better not to scrimp on comfort for such a long haul trip.

what the executive coach is like in comparision:

but what is done is done. may yet not be as bad as we feared.

we will be staying at the Equatorial Hotel Cameron Highlands.

not really planned out where we will be visiting whilst in Cameron, but we do roughly know what we want to do. we wanna visit the tea plantations, strawberry farms, vege farms and the various markets.

and then there is the little issue of the food.steamboat is definitely on the menu. as is tea and scones. we may even overdose on strawberries. *burp*

if time and weather permits maybe we could do some trekking to the waterfalls and such.

there are tours and guides to being us about the various places so we need not have to move around the hills by ourselves.

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 5)- Where to Stay

2009-08-19T23:38:00.002+08:00

Cameron Highlands offers accommodation for every budget and taste. You will find a huge selection of Hotels, Apartments, Guest Houses, and Bungalows. From inexpensive guest houses with bed and breakfast, intimate and cosy country lodges to luxury spa resorts, Cameron Highlands has it all.

HERITAGE HOTEL CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Jalan Gereja, Tanah Rata,
Malaysia 39000,
Cameron Highlands Pahang.

Heritage Hotel Cameron Highlands is a 165 room tudor styled boutique hotel nestled on top of a hill at Tanah Rata. It is a haven of warmth and friendly staff which offer very personalized service. The hotel offers a range of convenience, spacious and comfortable accommodation.

The hotel ideally located at 1,500m above sea level surrounded by lush tropical forest which gives a bird's eye view of the panoramic town of Tanah Rata. Its eye-catching tudor styled architecture, elegantly sculpture garden provide an ambience of an English sculpture countryside.

Heritage Hotel Cameron Highlands have an all day dining restaurants serving continental and oriental cuisine, plus a cozy English Pub serving cocktails, aperitifs and light snacks. There are also specialty Chinese restaurants that serving Chinese cuisine.

Price from MYR 188
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EQUATORIAL CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Kea Farm, Brinchang,
39100 Cameron Highlands,
Pahang Malaysia.

Overview
Perched at 1,628 meters above sea level, surrounded by majestic mountains and gentle undulating valleys, Equatorial Cameron Highlands is the only resort situated at the highest accessible point of highlands.

Spread over 13 acres, the Tudor styled resort offers 240 attractive, self-contained low rise apartment suites and 270 superior rooms and suites in the hotel tower that offer breathtaking views of the highland landscapes.

Equatorial Cameron Highlands is famously known for its capability in hosting events from company incentive trips to conventions and seminars. Besides the Resort's extensive recreational facilities and vast grounds, where telematches and scavenger hunts can be carried out; the Resort will also arrange trips to the "Orang Asli" settlement.

Come and experience this ultimate mountain getaway within a refreshing difference.

Price from MYR 190

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STRAWBERRY PARK RESORT CAMERON HIGHLANDS
P.O. Box 81,
Lot 195& 196, Tanah Rata,
39000 Cameron Highlands,
Pahang, Malaysia.

Overview
Strawberry Park Resort Cameron Highlands is ideally located amidst a 7 acre hill between Tanah Rata and Brinchang. The cool temperature in Cameron Highlands makes it an ideal retreat for holiday makers and business travelers alike. Strawberry Park Resort Cameron Highlands offers an exuberant concept of 230 rooms and apartments; all fully furnished cozy bedrooms with warm sofas and timber flooring.

Strawberry Park Resort Cameron Highlands offers several dining options. Jim Thompson Terrace is an all-day dining outlet serving a wide variety of popular local and western cuisine. If you prefer authentic Thai food that makes you feeling as if you are in Bangkok, dine at Strawberry Court Thai Restaurant. Relax by the fire place and let your mind wander as you enjoy your drink at the lobby bar.

Enjoy the facilities provided in this resort. Dip into the indoor pool or play tennis. There is also children playground for your kids to enjoy the vacation. Strawberry Park Resort Cameron Highlands also handled countless number of seminars successfully in our resort. The hotel has an experienced team of meeting organizers and meeting facilities include projectors, charts, and white boards

Prices from MYR 225

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LAKEHOUSE CAMERON HIGHLANDS
30th Mile Ringlet
39200, Cameron Highlands
Malaysia

Overview
Be prepared to be charmed by this Tudor-style boutique resort, Lakehouse Cameron Highlands, an exclusive getaway in the natural beauty of the Cameron Highlands. Set in an area dubbed "The Valley of Eternal Spring", this idyllic country house sits atop a hill overlooking rolling hills and verdant woodlands.

It is a short distance from the towns of Tanah Rata and Ringlet, as well as within close proximity to many key attractions.This 18-room Tudor style hillside resort features 11 Deluxe rooms, three Junior Suites, three Family Suites and one Honeymoon Suite. The main wing has 10 deluxe rooms, 2 junior suites and 3 family suites, and the house wing has 1 deluxe room, 1 junior suite and a honeymoon suite.

All rooms have four-poster bed, antique table fan, tea and coffee-making facilities, operator-assisted telephone, attached bathroom with separate shower and bath, hair dryer, vanity area and a full set of personal care toiletries.

Prices from MYR 492

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CASA DE LA ROSA HOTEL CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Lot 48, Jln Circular,
39000 Tanah Rata,
Cameron Highlands,
Pahang,
Malaysia.

Overview
Casa De La Rosa Hotel Cameron Highlands or the "House of Roses" is the latest boutique cum antique hotel in hill top located in front of the only golf course in Cameron Highlands with a total of 30 rooms with 30 different designs, inclusive of 4 pent suites, named Casa Passadena, Casa Isabella, Casa Nikita, and Casa Lambada.

Unique designs brings a different flavour to every room, as well as their own panoramic view from all angles, while the individually-designed pent suites promises a spacious, comfortable heaven for all occupants to live in total luxury. All rooms come with carpet. The bathroom comes with long bath and shower, towels and generous supply of the essential toiletries.

The Casa Osiana oriental restaurant at the lobby level provides all types of oriental food that caters to every customer's fancy. It can accomodate approximately 100 guests at any one time and is located at the right side of the entrance, near the petite reception counter.

The Golf View Terrace is the open terrace that faces the view of the golf course, and also doubles-up as a bar and reading lounge. Looking for an ideal place to unwind after a tiring day of sight seeing? Enjoy the calming ambience here with your favourite cocktail.

The hotel has a fully-equipped conventions hall to meet the needs of guests requiring set ups for seminars and meetings.

Prices from MYR 160

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CAMERON HIGHLANDS RESORT CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Tanah Rata,
Cameron Highlands,
39000 Malaysia.

Overview
Located in the state of Pahang, approximately 200 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands is a beautiful holiday destination and the only place where you can find tea plantations and strawberries in Malaysia. At about 1,500 metres above sea level, it is the highest area on the mainland and enjoys a cool climate and fresh air, with temperatures ranging between 15 and 25 degree Celsius.

Cameron Highlands Resort Cameron Highlands is situated on the largest hill resort in Malaysia, surrounded by breathtaking scenery, lush greenery, rolling hills and Tudor-styled cottages. Set on a lush hillock in this cool and picturesque hill station, the boutique resort fronts the highlands 18 hole golf course. Cameron Highlands Resort Cameron Highlands interior resembles a genteel English colonial home and embodies the charm and gentility of that old world of the colonial lifestyle.

The luxurious boutique Resort features 56 beautifully-appointed rooms and suites, and fronts Cameron Highlands' 18-hole golf course. The Spa Village offers a wide range of sophisticated treatments inspired by the restorative properties of tea, which is grown here. Each guest luxuriates in a signature tea bath before every treatment.

Much of the character of the highlands remains unchanged since colonial times. It is endearingly known to some as the 'little corner of England in Asia'. The cool climate on the picturesque plateau and its surrounding hills and forest make this a popular retreat for golfing, jungle trekking and exploration of the many plantations and gardens. Cameron Highlands Resort Cameron Highlands is ideal all year round for families, honeymooners and holidaymakers out to satiate their appetites for trails, tales and tradition.

Prices from MYR 878

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Besides the above there are still other hotels, apartments,chalets, guest houses and bungalows for booking.

Apartments are becoming a popular choice for travellers these days expecially those travelling in a large group or with family.

There are a number of Chalets, Lodges & Guest House's that can be found in Tanah Rata. The guest houses are a popular choice among thebackpackers.

Most of the bungalows that are found here most were built during British times and mostly are privately owned however there are a few newly built ones that are available for daily rental.

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 4)- Food

2009-08-19T23:11:00.000+08:00

There is no shortage of places to eat in Cameron Highlands when it comes to food. At night (especially during during weekends & holidays) restaurants are packed since there's very little to do after the sun goes down.

You can get everything from Western, Chinese, Indian and Malay food to Thai and Japanese food here. Most restaurants are located in Tanah Rata and Brinchang however you could also find some good restaurants in Tringkap and Kampung Raja where the locals usually dine.

There is no food which is unique to Cameron Highlands however dining out here can be a great experience especially with to the cold weather and freshness of the greens.

Here are a few stalls that are rather famous:

~Gerai Opah~
Gerai Opah is located among the food stalls in Tanah Rata. It has the most delicious kampung nasi lemak in Cameron. Unfortunately, they only serve nasi lemak early in the morning for breakfast. In order to taste this delicious nasi lemak, you will have to wake up very early in the morning. Once you are late, you will not be able to taste it for it is very fast selling. However, you have to bear in mind that it only does business in the morning. In addition, you will have to be very aware for you might just miss out this stall.

~Gerai Zainab Sam~
Gerai Zainab Sam is also located among the food stalls in Tanah Rata. This stall can be found easily compared to Gerai Opah for it has a big prominent signboard. It offers fantastic Malay food such as ulam and sambal belacan. They also serve special beehon goreng with seafood and chicken. Their prices are reasonably fair and their foods are simple yet pleasant.

Beside these two recommended Malay stalls, they are still many other Malay stalls that sell delicious local food. You can even find some local food in other stalls beside Malay stalls.

Chinese
There are many Chinese restaurants in Cameron highland. You can see them wherever you go. From Ringlet to Tanah Rata and even more in Brinchang. All these Chinese restaurants have their own specialty. The most famous food in Cameron is steamboat. You can practically see everyone eating steamboat in all the stores. The steamboat price may range from RM 10 to RM 15 per head. As usual, Peak season with a higher price due to the price hike in raw materials. You will be able to throw in anything into your pot. If you would like to add in anything else other than those provided, you might have to add some money as well. However, one thing for sure, you will be able to feel the satisfaction of eating steamboat. The cold weather there is definitely perfect to eat steamboat. You will never sweat when you are eating!

Western
Many western restaurants can be found in Cameron especially in Tanah Rata and Brinchang. It can be fast-food restaurant or even hotel's restaurants. There are Marrybrown and KLG, a new fast-food restaurant selling fried chicken. If you would like to eat western food, you may proceed to the hotel's restaurant. They certainly provide magnificent western food.

Others
There is a southern Indian restaurant that is rather popular with its banana leaf rice. The name of this restaurant is Restaurant No. 14 . It is located on the main street of Tanah rata. You should never miss out the banana leaf rice and the local style roti canai. It is very different from the rest. It is very tasty and outstanding. Besides this stall, you can also find many other stalls selling roti canai, capati, naan and other southern Indian food

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A delighful variety of food is available at hotels, restaurants and street stalls. Most Chinese restaurants offer a wide selection of dishes or your may opt for the very popular "Steamboat" where diners actually cook their own food in a specially disgned soup urn. A variety of uncooked sliced meats and seafood items with lots of farm fresh vegetables are served and diners put the various pieces in the soup until cooked.

Malay food in Cameron Highlands is usually spicy and rich as galaxy of spices are used to give it its characteristic piquant flavour. The most important of these are "Belacan" (prawn paste), chilli, coriander, cumin, ginger root, lemon grass, tamarind, turmeric,saffron and star anise.

All Indian cooking is characterised by tis complex use of spices to make its staple curries but is not always spicy. Dishes such as "Kurma" have a base of coconat milk. Yoghurt is also frquently used. In some restaurants, food are seved on a banana leaf. Fishhead curry is another popular favourite.

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BUNGA SURIA RESTAURANT
66A Jalan Camelia 3,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4914343
Business Hours: 6.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Authentic South India
(Served on banana leaf)

CAMERON TANDOORI RESTAURANT
Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911516
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 9.00 pm
Cuisine: Indian Tandoori

CHOP & STEAK HOUSE
50, Bangunan KLNP
Tel: 605-4912652
business Hours: 10.00 am - 12.00 mn
Cuisine: Indian / Western

COFFEE TERRACE
Strawberry Park Resort
P.O. Box 81, Lot 195 / 196,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911166 / 174
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 10.30 pm Cuisine: Local / Western

COUNTRY LODGE RESTAURANT
Lot 47, Section 3 , 39100 Brinchang
39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4911940

DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT
41 Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4912868
Business Hours: 8.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Ice-Cream / Fresh strawberries

EAST GARDEN RESTAURANT
Lot 13, Section 2, Main Road,
39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4912380
Business Hours: 10.00 am - 11.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese

EXCELLENT FOOD CENTRE
G-19, Main Road, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4914026
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 4.30 pm
Cuisine: Malaysian/ Continental/ Western

FERNS RESTAURANT
Rosa Rassadena, P.O. Box 8,
39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4912288
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 12.00 pm
Cuisine: Local / Western

GOLDED SHIP RESTAURANT
39, Main Road, 39200 Ringlet
Tel: 605-4956048 / 190
Business Hours: 11.00 am - 12.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese / Western

HONG KONG RESTAURANT
5 Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911722
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 2.00 pm / 4.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Local / Chinese / Western

JASMINE CAFACHOUR KARAOKE
45 Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911703
Cuisine: Local / Chinese/ Western

KUMAR RESTORAN
26 Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4912624
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Indian / Claypot

KWAN KEE RESTAURANT
8 Jalan Besar, 39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4911293
Business Hours: 7.30 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese

MAY FLOWER RESTAURANT
22, main Road, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911793
Business Hours: 8.00 am - 3.00 pm / 6.00 pm - 10.30 pm
Cuisine: Local / Chinese/ Highlands Steamboat

NO. 14 RESTAURTANT
Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4912280
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 9.30 pm
Cuisine: Indian

PALM LEAF GARDEN KAFE
3, Bandar Baru Brinchang
39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4914208
Cuisine: Authentic Malaysian / Thailand/ Western

RICH BAKE CAKE & COFFEE HOUSE
54-A Jalan Persiaran Camelia 3,
Bandar Baru Tanah Rata,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911071

ROSELANE COFFEE HOUSE
44 Jalan Besar, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911419
Business Hours: 8.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Local / Western

SHAL'S CURRY HOUSE
25 Jalan Besar, 39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4912408
Fax: 605-4912408
Business Hours: 7.30 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Authentic South Indian
(Served on banana leaf)

SILVERSTAR RESTAURANT
10 Jalan Besar, 39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4911387
Business Hours: 9.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese

STRAWBERRY COURT
Strawberry Park Resort
P.O. Box 81, Lot 195 / 196,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911166 / 174
Business Hours: 11.00 am - 2.30 pm / 6.30 pm - 9.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese / Steamboat

STRAWBERRY VIEW CAFE & RESTAURANT
MDCH 187, Kea Farm,
39100 Brinchang
Tel: 605-4911940
Business Hours: 11.00 am - 11.00 pm
Cuisine: Chinese / Western

THANAM RESTAURANT
25, Main road, 39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911645
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: Tradisional India / Western

THE HIGHLANDERS JOHN'S GRILL
59B, Persiaran Camelia 3,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911715
Cuisine: Western

THE SMOKEHOUSE RESTAURANT
by The Golf Course
Tel: 605-4911214 / 215
Business Hours: 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Cuisine: English

TUDOR GRILL
Strawberry Park Resort
P.O. Box 81, Lot 195 / 196,
39000 Tanah Rata
Tel: 605-4911166 / 174
Businss Hours: 6.30 am - 10.30 pm
Cuisine: Western

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 3)- the towns

2009-08-19T22:55:00.000+08:00

Cameron Highlands is made up of 4 main townships followed by smaller settlements at different elevations. The first town from the south is Ringlet, followed by Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja.

Ringlet
-------
If you're driving via the old road from Tapah, this is the first town you will reach. Located at an elevation of 1,200 metres above sea-level, Ringlet is one of the main agricultural hub for the highlands. Bertam Valley which is located about 5km away is one of the main flower and vegetable producers in Cameron highlands. You wont find any hotels here in Ringlet. The nearest hotel is the LakeHouse which is less then 10 minutes away. This is also the place to fill up on fuel if you're low on supply.

Tanah Rata
----------

Further up is Tanah Rata which is about 12 km’s (20 minutes drive) from Ringlet. This is the administrative capital of Cameron Highlands where the government offices, hospital and the district police station is located. The main bus station is also located here and this is where you would be able to get your transportation needs within and out of the highlands sorted out. Most of the chalets and backpacker's accommodation is located here in and around Tanah Rata, Almost all the jungle trekking and waterfall trails starts from here.

Local tours and transfers out of Cameron Highlands can be obtained from the various tour operators in town. Money changers and internet cafe's can also be found here. Tanah Rata would be a nice place to enjoy the highlands, especially during the weekdays. It is much more quieter compared to Brinchang where most of the big hotels and restaurants are located.

Brinchang
--------

Next is Brinchang which is about 4 km’s (10 minutes drive) from Tanah Rata. This is where you will find most of the hotels and restaurants. The night market which is open every Saturday night and on holidays, features all kinds of vegetables, flowers, fruits and other products of the highlands. This place can get really crowded during the weekends and holiday season. Traffic jams and parking problems can be a nightmare during this time. Next to Ringlet, this is the only other town with petrol stations so keep your fuel tank in check.

Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla & Kampung Raja
-------------------------------
Beyond Brinchang, the road leads to all the way to Blue Valley. Most of the tourist spots are located around this route. This is where you will find the markets, vegetable farms, flower gardens, bee gardens and butterfly gardens. The road also branches out to the Sungai Palas tea plantation from here where you can visit the factory or have a cup of tea while enjoying the breathtaking view of the plantation.
If you continue on the main road heading north, it will be downhill from Kea Farm onwards. You will see vegetables farms all the way from here to Tringkap and beyond. Tringkap is a small farming community where you can find stalls along the road selling local produce. Fifteen minutes away is Kuala Terla, another small farming community. Kampung Raja is the last town on the map. Since the opening of the Simpang Pulai road, this town has become the gateway to the highlands from the north. From here, you can head west to Ipoh or east to Gua Musang in Kelantan.

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 2)- Things to do there

2009-08-19T22:08:00.002+08:00

Cameron Highlands is famous for it's tea plantations, strawberry farms, vegetable farms, flower nurseries, honey bee farms & butterfly centres. There is also a museum and some galleries, as well as markets for visitors to explore.

Tea Plantations
----------------

The 3 most famous tea plantations are..
- Boh Tea Plantation
- Sungai Palas Tea Plantation
- Cameron Valley Tea Plantation

Strawberry Farms
----------------

Here is a list of some of the popular strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands :
- Big Red Strawberry Farm
- Healthy Strawberry Farm
- Kasimani's Strawberry Farm
- KHM Strawberry Farm
- Raju's Hill Strawberry Farm

Vegetable farms
--------------

Vegetable farms are located throughout the highlands and most of the farms allow visitors in. Drive up to Tringkap or Kuala Terla to get a roadside view of the larger vegetable farms .

Due to the increasing tourist arrivals, there have been more smaller farms cropping up all over the highlands. These farms produce everything from flowers and vegetables to strawberries. These are primarily for walk in tourists. The other bigger farms which produce vegetables for the nation's consumptions are usually not on the tourist map and are located in the interiors or Kuala Terla and Bertam Valley.

Flower Nurseries
----------------

Cameron Highlands is the leading producer of fresh flowers in Malaysia. Most of the flower nurseries are centered around Bertam Valley and all along the way from Brinchang to Kg.Raja.

At the flower gardens and nurseries, be dazzled with the mix of colors and species being grown here. The common flowers grown here are roses, carnations,chrysanthemum, dalia, geranium, fuschia and gladioli. You can buy cheap flowers at these nurseries or any market around the highland.

Honey Bee Farms
-------------

The popular Bee Farms are :

-> Ee Feng Gu Honey Bee Farm (near the Kea Farm area)
-> Highland Honey Bee Farm (along the road to the Boh Tea Plantation)
-> Cameron Tringkap Bee Farm (Tringkap)

Butterfly Centres
-----------------

Seeing a butterfly in the open is a rare sight these days. Get a change to see many different species of butterflies which used to be a common sight in the highlands many years ago. A walk through an enclosed area where each species of butterfly is happily floating around in a lush, plant-filled garden is the highlight.

There are two butterfly farms in Cameron Highlands and the are both located around the Kea Farm area.

the Markets
----------

After visiting the fruits and vegetable farms, you might want to buy some. The market is a good place to look for everything under one roof. The main day market is located around Kea Farm but you can also find many of them all along the main road from Ringlet to Kg.Raja.

On Saturday nights, the weekly night market comes to life in Brinchang. This is where you can find all the produce of Cameron Highlands sold in one place. You can get everything cheap here if you know how to bargain. This is also a place to get some good "pasar malam" food.

Time Tunnel Gallery - The Local Museum
----------------------------------

Take a peek into the past of Cameron Highlands through photographs. This is a "must visit" if you want to learn about the history behind Cameron Highlands.

A lot of the photos depicting the past are from personal collections of the locals who's been here since the pre-war days. You can also see some of the familiar items from the yesteryears.

Other Activities to do
===============

- Trekking & hiking
- Camping
- Golf

trekking map of Cameron Highlands

If you're fit and love nature, a trip to the mountains should be on the agenda. The peaks offer magnificent views of the highlands. There are plenty of jungle treks of varying difficulty and duration to satisfy nature lovers. Most of the trails are located around Tanah Rata. All these trails leads to the waterfalls and the mountains. Some tracks are ideal an evening stroll while others are tough and requires a good fitness level.

Camping
-------

Camping is popular with the youth groups or university students who would hike up and spend the night on the lesser known mountains along the main range. These trips are not for the weak. If you find that too difficult, why not just pitch a tent at the Sg Pauh campsite which is located near the Forestry Department. The campsite has got all the basic amenities like washrooms and running water. It is located near Taman Sedia and just a 5 minute drive to Tanah Rata or Brinchang. For more information about the campsite and facilities available, please contact the Forestry Department at 05-4911384.

Golf
----

There's only one golf course in Cameron Highlands and it is located between Tanah Rata and Brinchang.The 18-hole Cameron Highlands Golf Course is quite challenging with its tricky greens and terrain.

For more information, please contact the Cameron Highlands Golf Course at
05-491 1126

Local Tour Companies
================

these 3 companies can help you plan your itinerary.

Cameron Secrets Travel & Tours
website: http://www.cameronsecrets.com

C.S. Travel & Tours
website: http://www.cstravel.com.my

Titiwangsa Travel & Tours
website: http://www.titiwangsatours.com/

all of them offer tour packages to suit every taste and budget.

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 1)- Getting there and getting around

2009-08-19T21:11:00.001+08:00

About Cameron Highlands:

Cameron Highlands is the smallest district in the state of Pahang which is located in the north-western corner of the state. One of the wonders of Malaysia, it is the largest and most famous hill resort in the country. This highland paradise still retains much of the charm of an English village.

Being a primarily agricultural domain, you will find an abundance of vegetables and fruits farms here. Cameron Highlands is also the leading producer of flowers and tea in Malaysia. Be prepared for a lovely sight of extraordinary flowers you won’t see flourishing elsewhere in Malaysia!

Cameron Highlands is made up of 4 main townships followed by smaller settlements at different elevations. The first town from the south is Ringlet, followed by Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja.

_ _ _

Getting to Cameron Highlands:

The only way to get to Cameron Highlands is by road. Until a few years back, you could only get to Cameron Highlands from the south via Tapah but since the opening of the new Simpang Pulai road, traveling to the highlands has become much more easier. You can also get here from the east coast via Gua Musang in Kelantan.

You can get there by:

- Self Drive
- Train
- by Bus
- By Minivan
- Taxi

Self Drive
----------
The old Tapah route: Take Exit 132 and you will be at the Tapah toll booth. Once you have paid the toll, turn left at the traffic lights and from here onwards you will be on the long winding road to Cameron Highlands which is about 60 km's away. If you're driving from the north just take Exit 132 at Tapah and follow the same direction. It takes an average of 1.5 hours to reach Tanah Rata from Tapah. Please note that there is no petrol station this point forward until you reach Ringlet so if you need to fill up, you'll have to head to Tapah town.

update: the roads have been upgraded recently, so they are not as motion sickness inducing as the old road.

The newer and gentler route via Simpang Pulai: Take Exit 137 (Simpang Pulai) and turn right at the traffic light right after the toll booth. Turn right again at the next traffic light about 200 metres away. You are now on the way to Cameron Highlands. After about 1 hour, you will reach the Kampung Raja junction where you will have to turn right from the new road into Kampung Raja town. You're now in Cameron Highlands and you can just follow the main road to your destination. Brinchang & Tanah Rata is about 25-30kms from here.

Train
-----
There is no train service to Cameron Highlands. The nearest stop is the Tapah Road station in Tapah. You can take a bus or taxi to Cameron Highlands from here.

Bus & Minivans
--------------

Buses to Cameron Highlands operate daily from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang and Singapore. There are also daily minivan transfers from/to Pulau Redang / Pulau Perhentian and Taman Negara.

Taxis
-----

Taxis from Kuala Lumpur are available at the Pudu Raya Terminal. There are also daily taxi services from Tapah and Ipoh to Cameron Highlands. For services from other locations, please check with the local taxi terminal.
Visitors arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will be able to get a taxi from the KLIA limousine service (normal taxi) but the cost will be higher.

______________

Getting Around
===========

It will be easier to get around Cameron Highlands if you have your own transportation. There are no car rental services in Cameron Highlands. Travelling by Taxi it the next best option of you don't have a car. You can easily hire a taxi to the other towns and tourist destinations during the day. Alternately you can also get on one of the many tours organized by the local tour companies in Cameron Highlands. Some guest houses do provide motorbike rental services which you can use to get around. Bicycles are not here popular because of the terrain and the high traffic.

You can also get around by the local bus service.

Alternatively you could book a taxi.

a guide to taxi rates is as follows:
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Brinchang = RM 4.00 – RM 6.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Kea Farm /
Butterfly Farm / Equatorial Hotel = RM 12.00 – RM 15.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Sungai Palas Tea Plantation = RM 20.00 – RM 25.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Kuala Terla = RM 16.00 – RM 18.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Kampung Raja = RM 25.00 – RM 28.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Cameron Valley / Bharat Tea = RM 10.00 – RM 12.00
From Tanah Rata Taxi Stand to Boh Tea Plantation = RM 25.00 – RM 28.00

2009-08-14T08:46:00.004+08:00

went home yesterday to delivery the bunny food & clean out the cages. the folks were asleep, so once more we did not manage to meet up.hopefully the stars align when I go home next week.

hopefully we will be able to book our cameron trip today after work. agnes finishes earlier today. we could probably meet up somewhere in town and then head down to the agency.the travel agent just happens to be in the same building as our favourite steamboat restaurant.

will be working tomorrow again. it is the third saturday in a row I be working. if it is any consolation, I will not be working again until 19th September.
maybe will take off and leave in between. still have 17 days of leave to clear before January.

been a great week of concerts, what with Nine Inch Nails, Lady Gaga and Keane playing shows at Fort Canning. and next month in conjunction with the F1 Rally, we will have the inaugural F1 Rocks!

DETAILS:
Date: 24th to 26th September 2009

Time: 5pm onwards

Venue:Fort Canning Park

acts announced so far: Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Simple Minds,N*E*R*D, ZZ Top, Jacky Cheung,
with more acts yet to be announced.

tickets:
Early Bird (5 Aug 09 to 19 Aug 09)
24 Sept 09 - S$150
25 Sept 09 - S$150
26 Sept 09 - S$180

Standard (20 Aug 09 to 1 day before event)
24 Sept 09 - S$175
25 Sept 09 - S$185
26 Sept 09 - S$200

Event Day
24 Sept 09 - S$185
25 Sept 09 - S$195
26 Sept 09 - S$210

tickets from SISTIC.
so hurry and get your tickets!

Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) finally opens their Wildlife Rescue Centre. It has been an ardous and winding journey to realise this dream. and it has finally come to fruition. I may not always agree with Louis Ng and his methods, but I do respect his perseverance and drive. It is not easy to succeed in animal welfare issues in 'apathetic' Singapore, but somehow he managed to make people care about animals and their lot against a backdrop of skepticism and detractors (including myself).

DETAILS:

91 Jalan Lekar Singapore 698917

Operating hours:
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Closed on weekends and public holidays.

By phone: (+65) 6892 9821
By fax: (+65) 6892 9721

Wildlife Crime Hotline:
(+65) 9783 7782

By email:
General enquiries: info@acres.org.sg
Volunteer enquiries: volunteer@acres.org.sg

How to get there:

Buses: 172 from Choa Chu Kang Interchange / Boon Lay Interchange,
975 from Bukit Panjang Interchange.

Alight in front of the Home Team Academy (Old Choa Chu Kang Road) and
a 1 kilometre walk to Qian Hu (follow the sign and turn into Jalan Lekar).
The AWRC (91 Jalan Lekar) is located on the left of Qian Hu Fish Farm.
If you are driving, exit into Sungei Tengah Road, from KJE (Kranji Expressway) and follow the signs to Qian Hu Fish Farm.

need a new toothbrush! my current one is getting rather frayed and outta shape.

long time no...blog

2009-08-10T12:25:00.001+08:00

internet been giving me problems, hence I have not been blogging or on Facebook as much. the editor and other stuff on blogger not been displaying for some reason. same thing on facebook.

been out cycling last week around our area. seems the bikes still work a treat despite being out of comission for well over a year. gonna try to make this a regular thing to exercise every weekend.

so far our attempts to cook have been rather successful.but not always

been a while since I been back to see my folks. although I been home, they were not home at the time. and other times I been trying to go home there were no parking lots available nearby so had to abort that idea.

apparently I do not know anything about soccer according to one of my 'readers'. as usual such idiots hide behind a veil of anonymity. which of course enhances their credibility. nothing commands respect more than morons who leave rude and inane comments without leaving their name. based on the comments it must be the same guy who waxes Ronaldo's butt every weekend.

Schumacher is gonna replace Massa for the rest of the season. and Massa promises to be back. it is a long-shot at this point in light of his head injuries and eye injury, but never say never.

watched GI Joe.
was an action packed show. something to catch if you want a couple of hours of mindless violence and special effects. there is not much to it in terms of character development or storyline, but sure worth catching if you wanna leave your brain cells at home and to just be entertained. and the babes are hot.

also managed to catch The Hangover.

still not planned our september trip yet. but so far the plan seems to be to fly to penang and then find our own way to Cameron.

not upgraded my mobile phone yet either.

yesterdays NDP parade may just be the best one yet. they took a break from the usual format and presented something different this year. it felt more informal and flowed better as a whole. and there was loads more audience interaction and participation.

the flat is beginning to show that 'lived-in-look' now that we been here for nearly 10 months. wonder when the folks will visit us here again. Leo and lynn only been here once and that was only on the day of our wedding...

Singapore Idol is back and yesterdays premiere was a hoot, if only for all the Idol wannabes who think they can but actually can't sing if their lives depended on it.

a meandering stream of thought

2009-07-27T21:39:00.003+08:00

Liverpool trounched Singapore XI 5-0 during their friendly yesterday evening at the National Stadium. I was expecting the Singapore side to put up a better showing after Thailand held the same opponents to a 1-1 draw a few days ago. and besides Liverpool have not won any of their previous pre-season matches. but Singapore were undone by lack of discipline at the back, and a lack of forward thrust. The Liverpool keepers were hardly troubled all night.

Manchester United on the other hand outplayed Hangzhou Greentown 8-2 to record their biggest win of the pre-season.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been a flop so far in the two matches he played for Real Madrid. He has failed to show anything close to what forced the hand of Real to pay 93 million euros (£80m)for him, making the most expensive player of all time. For what he is valued he should be scoring a brace in every game and influencing matches. if it is any consolation, it seems his presence in the Real Madrid squad has galvanised the rest of the team,especially Karim Benzema who cost Madrid a 'mere' €35m, a pittance for what some consider the next Zidane and he has been largely impresive in his displays so far for the Los Blancos.

my prayers are with Felipe Massa and his family.

'In the second round of qualifying in the Hungarian Grand Prix Massa was struck on the helmet by a suspension spring that had fallen from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn, on a high-speed part of the track. He subsequently crashed head on into a tyre wall. He was moved to the trackside hospital and Ferrari's team principal later stated that Massa was in a stable condition and would not participate in the race on the following day. It was subsequently announced that he had suffered a fractured skull and brain concussion, as well as a gash on his forehead, and that he had undergone successful surgery on his injuries at the AEK hospital in Budapest.His condition is currently described as "serious but stable".'

the way I see it his F1 career is effectively over. get well soon

Plans are afoot to watch the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise next weekend. And then there are plans to bring back our bicycles and to cycle next week as well. We shall see how things go.
Other movies I plan to watch are G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra and G-Force.

Plan to upgrade my phone soon. the battery of my current one can barely last till evening. good thing I have a charger in the car as well. and the motorola also freezes up sometimes so I can't read messages or use the phone until I reboot it (i.e. open the casing and remove the battery, then putting the battery back). I am eligible to upgrade my phone now, so why not?
I was leaning towards a blackberry storm, but the price, $648, is prohibitive.
the other phone I have my eye on is the HTC S740 (Rose)which would set me back $268.

looks like any other ordinary phone...

...but it can be opened up to reveal a QWERTY board!

also considering whether it be wise to go back to Singtel. as much as M1 has been good to me, Singtel still seems to offer more options and competitive pricing.

forgot to mention:
I am on MC today on tomorrow. been having a bad case of the flu since saturday.

we are still 'planning' to take a short holiday in september. tba.

the back feels better lately.which is always a good thing.

I still have 17 days annual leave from last year. not to mention 21 days for this year. not sure what I am gonna do with it. I could take them piece meal until december. or I could take a short trip some place near, as some people have been suggesting. but I rather not travel alone now that I am married and have a wife.

Agnes has her piano exams on the 31st of next month. In between she has 2 practise sessions at the music school/studio. Agnes said paying for the practise sessions 'heart pain'.

the evil that men do

2009-07-19T02:03:00.002+08:00

there may have just been a singaporean dead in the Jakarta bombings. if confirmed, it would make the 2nd singaporean death due to an act of terrorism.
the count so far is 8 dead and 55 others injured. the latest speculation is that Malaysian extremist are responsible.

As a result of the bombings Manchester United have cancelled their friendly scheduled on Monday against an Indonesia All-Star XI. they will now be playing two matches in KL, both against a Malaysia XI. I would think it would have been better to have played against an Indonesia or Singapore team instead. or to even have brought the team to Singapore if they could sort out the logistics. For the record Man U huffed and puffed to beat the Malaysia XI 3-2 today, with Michael Owen scoring the winner.

Liverpool, sans Steven Gerard, will be gracing the National Stadium on 26th July.

Newcastle is still up for sale. it has been reported a Malaysian consortium, a Singapore consortium and one from Sunderland have expressed interest. no matter who wins it will be interesting.

we have still not booked for our Cameron trip.

plan to watch Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince some time soon.

Agnes not been well lately. something to do with gastric and gastric flu and gastiritis. or something.

Agnes's Commencement 2009

2009-07-13T10:36:00.002+08:00

the National Anthem

Agnes as she goes up to collect her 'cert'.

balloons & streamers are released!

2009-07-11T12:43:00.002+08:00

be going to watch Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs later. in 3-D format no less. but before that we will be going back to Agnes's office to do some stuff for "10 to 15 minutes".

we are also planning a short trip soon, probably to Cameron Highlands. we were planning to go during the National day long weekend, but it is gonna be hard to get the hotel and coach up during a Peak Season. anyway I am working on the 8th, so if were to go during that weekend, then I am gonna have to change my working day with someone, if anyone is willing to in the first place.

an alternative is to drive up. I love driving up to Malaysia, but Agnes is usually not so keen on such shenigans. was thinking we could drive up to Genting or any of the other highlands for a day then hit Cameron the following day. of course we could do the SIN-Cameron drive all at once and be there by afternoon with quick petrol stops and meals in between.

the back been playing up lately. especially when I stand or sit unassisted for too long. I guess all the years of poor posture and physical abuse has finally caught up with me. may have to see a chiropractor or a massage therapist soon to get it 'straightened out'.

went for Agnes's commencement on Thursday. will post up the pictures and video soon, if only I am able to download the video.

the non-headache inducing blog post

2009-06-29T09:42:00.013+08:00

marina bay area is getting all prepped up for the big F1 race in september. so it is surely but surely starting to resemble some hybrid of a construction site and a safari. what with all the box seats and stands being constructed. and the ominous looking cage like structures that will soon line the entire stretch of the F1 track. so be prepared for delays and jams in the area.

watched Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on saturday. before that we had a fast lunch at BBQ Chicken as our show started at 3.30 pm and we only managed to collect the tickets at 3.
Likewise dinner was a similar rush at Hao Kou Wei as we had wanted to watch the Transformers Animated live show at 7pm when our show had ended at around 6.30. but somehow we managed to do it without getting indigestion. The movie itself was awesome. maybe not as great as the first installment, but still good for what it was supposed to be. the fight scenes were visceral and graphic, not unlike chinese gong fu movies, where scenes are purposely slowed down to accentuate every punch and kick. there was even a villain(ess) reminiscent of the movie Species, amongst other familiar pop culture references. somehow Optimus Prime seemed even more noble in this installment than the first. rating: 4 out of 5.

our mext movie to catch is Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I wanna catch the 3-D version but agnes is adverse to the extra cost. it opens on 1st July in cinemas. I only wonder why this one was not released earlier to capture the young crowd during the June holidays.

the matches last night at the Tampines Stadium and the other fund raising activities for little Charmaine has raised about 420 k! only 80 k to go!! but 500 k is only for the treatment, and does not include all the other financial collateral's of Charmaine's road to recovery.

The noisy pipes thingy has been resolved. I took 'urgent leave' on monday to attend to the technician that day. it was a mere issue of a faulty valve that did us in. apparently the persons who installed the heater had overtightened the connector which damaged it, and caused it to make the infernal sound.

the kitchen area ,around the sink especially, is slowly starting to resemble a swamp of sorts. although it is supposed to be rather water resistant, it is already beginning to show signs of falling apart. we already have a mini mushroom farm sprouting behind the sink. the cupboard below was also discovered to have become disengaged from the wall! I had to push it back in place. and the cupboard below is like a mini community of ants, roaches, fungus, algae and all manner of utter grossness.

Agnes has expressed an interest in going back to church.. finally. but so far it has been a no-go, as she cites having to practise her piano for the exams.
sigh.

I hear an A-Team movie is being planned for release in 2010. stars Bradley Cooper, Bruce Willis, Common, Woody Harrelson. should be a good un'.
then there is the mother of all action movies, The Expendables.it's directed by Sylvester Stallone and the cast includes Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Brittany Murphy, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren. rumours were that Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Dammne, Wesley Snipes and Kurt Russell were also considered for roles.

CHARITY fOOTBALL MATCH

2009-06-28T00:55:00.005+08:00

Charmine's Charity Football Match today.... Malaysia Cup Veterans and Celebrity Team at Tampines Stadium this Sunday, 28 June 2009. Kick-off at 5pm. Only $10 per ticket... PLEASE come if you can!!!!

Little Charmaine has been diagnosed with neuroblastoma. She is currently in the 4th stage and fighting hard. We are greatly saddened that such a sweet and cheerful little girl has to undergo so much pain and suffering at such a young age.

Charmaine's family will need all the help they can get to tide through these difficult periods.

Let's do our part and spread the word. Every contribution and words of encouragement helps.

Our soccer icons are having a charity soccer match. Proceeds of the match will go to Charmaine and her family. It is happening this Sunday 28th June and tickets are priced at $10.

visit Charmaines's blog: Our Feisty Princess

read more here: Local Soccer Legends come together to raise funds for Our Feisty Princess

good neighborly manners

2009-06-21T23:37:00.004+08:00

on thursday night, a neighbour came a-knocking on our door whilst Agnes was in the shower. I answered the door and was confronted by a guy guy who was disgruntled about the noise generated by the pipes when we shower. he said the noise wakes up his mother-in-law, wife and kid.

it was not so much what he said but rather how he said it. it was the first time I have ever seen the guy, let alone spoken to him. yet he was rather confrontational in his tone and choice of words. it was a simple issue that could have been resolved amicably. but he chose to take the route of being abrasive and basically a prick.

I suspect this is the same family that lodged a series of complaints when we were renovating our flat a while back. this is also the same family that wakes up the neighbourhood with their shouting and banging of pots & pans. and many a time this happens in the wee hours (5 am?). so much for our shower pipes waking them up.

anyway we got the guy to come down tomorrow to see what he can do about the sound. failing which we may have to get a plumber to come down as well to resolve the issue.

marriage seminar on 4th July

2009-06-21T23:34:00.002+08:00

signed up today for it.
although there has been a change in venue, and consequently it is $10 now instead of $70.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T23:33:00.000+08:00

anniversary celebrations

2009-06-16T23:20:00.003+08:00

today for our wedding anniversary we went for dinner at Tian Fu Teahouse. Tian Fu Teahouse is situated on the 60th floor of UOB Plaza. As such it affords a panoramic view of the city if you are fortunate enough to procure a table near a window. too bad for the little windows though. Because they have one of the best views anywhere in Singapore which I feel they have not really tapped the potential thereof.

website:http://www.sichuandouhua.com/

one interesting aspect of the dining experience is the wide range of teas. and then there is the methods by which they are poured...

like I was saying the windows are rather small...

if it were me I would do away with the ornate window decor and get floor-to-ceiling glass. but once you are looking directly out the window you do get a view to die for...

where else can you see the Civic District, the Singapore River and the City so close. Equinox pales by comparision if you ask me. in fact Westin Stamford (or whatever it calls itself now) looks rather tiny from my vantage point.

with that said the food was good and service was excellent. we ordered the dinner set for two, and by the end we were too full to fish. the only downer was the dessert. it was tar hiu, a relatively cheap and simple dessert by any standards. especially since they are reknown for their over 20 types of desserts! we definitely got our money's worth otherwise and will be back again soon.

probably for hi-tea.

Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant
TOP of UOB Plaza
80 Raffles Place, #60-01 UOB Plaza 1,
Singapore 048624
Tel: (65) 6535 6006
Fax: (65) 6534 5875
Opening hours:
11.30am - 2.30pm
6.30pm - 10.30pm

after dinner we took a walk around the river area, towards Fullerton..across the bridge to the Asian Civilizations Museum and down the river to near the new Parliament House it and across to Boat Quay.
Quite sad to see how Boat Quay has started to lag behind all the progress around the river. shops and restaurants were mostly empty and shops look rather run down. a far cry from the days when Boat Quay was the place to be and bustling with activity. admittedly it was a weekday in the middle of the week, but still...

Marriage Seminar

2009-06-14T15:53:00.002+08:00

although we will not be able to go for the MND Family day on the 4th of July, we may still be able to attend a marriage seminar.

Date: Saturday, 4 July 2009
Time: 2pm–5.30pm
Fee: $70 per couple
Venue: Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

brought over

2009-06-14T15:50:00.003+08:00

finally brought over my tv, tv stand, x-box, bible and my barbells.

still have yet to bring over my cd's, dvd's and vcd collections.

and other stuff...

also considering the wisdom of taking over the 3 bunnies.

anniversary

2009-06-14T15:37:00.003+08:00

On Tuesday we have officially been married 2 years!
time passes by so fast. did not seem all that long ago when we put pen to paper to become husband and wife in the presence of friends and family.

following hot on the heels of Newcastle's relegation, is news that my 'other' favourite club, Liverpool, is so deep in the red it is not even funny.

2009-06-06T17:55:00.002+08:00

so much for picking up the pieces and making a renewed assault on the EPL title and Europe next season. without the finances to strengthen the squad we are gonna find ourselves grasping for straws again next season.

of course stranger things have happened. see Everton.

also we will not be going to the MND Family Day after all, as registration had already closed when yours truly finally decided to get around to it.

2009-06-06T17:48:00.001+08:00

after everything that has been said and done, Marcus will not be staying with us when he is in Singapore after all...

2009-06-06T17:47:00.001+08:00

was at science centre yesterday.really enjoyed the Da Vinci: The Genius exhibition. really gotta respect the guy for his persistence and intellect.

2009-06-06T17:43:00.002+08:00

the show at Omnimax, Sea Monsters, was not bad either. was a lot better that the crap we saw the last time..

no matter how many times we gone there, we have still not been able to see all the displays. there is always next time...

Spongebob at Singapore Flyer

2009-06-03T21:00:00.001+08:00

Soak up the Holiday Fun with SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star at Singapore Flyer!

Kids will be treated to FREE flights1 and meals 2, exciting fun-filled entertainment, cool freebies and special appearances by Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star every weekend from 6 to 21 June. So, head over to the world’s largest giant observation wheel with your family and friends, and get ready to play to your hearts content!

Meet-and-Greet SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star
Spend a fun-filled day with SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star! Sing along and take photos with them. You might even bring home limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants's merchandise!

DATE:
Every Sat and Sun
(6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 June)

TIME:
11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm

VENUE:
Greek Theatre

2009-06-03T11:40:00.002+08:00

I need to bring over my:

CD collection
television
X-box
TV stands
DVD + VCD
study bible
rabbits?

Eurasiana - a musical tribute

2009-06-03T11:26:00.003+08:00

26-27 Jun 2009 at 7:30PM at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

Artistic Director- Dick Lee

Featuring: Jeremy Monteiro, Claressa Monteiro, Vernon Cornelius, Don Richmond, John Molina, Candice de Rozario, Vanessa Fernandez, Alemay Fernandez, Michaela Therese, Steven Francis, Marina Xavier and Royston Minjoot

Hosted by: Brian Richmond, Eunice Olsen, Hamish Brown and Andrea DeCruz

Orchestra Singapore Pop Orchestra conducted by Iskander Ismail

tickets available from SISTIC at S$50, S$35, S$20.

2009-06-03T11:19:00.003+08:00

we be going to Science Centre on friday. we both took off-in-lieu. it was either the science centre or the zoo. and we chose the former. we can go to the zoo the next time. the main attraction is the Da Vinci the Genius exhibition.

http://www.davincithegenius.com/

2009-06-03T11:15:00.003+08:00

Agnes seems rather agreeable to allowing Marcus stay with us when he comes down in october. but more discussion is needed.
but no china 'friends' allowed. and maybe no Football Channel either.

2009-06-03T11:13:00.002+08:00

Barca whipped Manure 2-0 in the CL final.
a good result for football by any standards.

Newcastle got relegated with barely a whimper. hopefully they come back better and stronger. but for now things look bleak.

Chelsea beat out Everton to lift the FA Cup despite conceding the fastest goal in FA cup history.

Champions League Final

2009-05-23T10:52:00.002+08:00

Manure and Barca go head to head for the season finale. I am a little torn about who to support.

MND family day is on 6th July at ECP. it only cost $5 per adult and it is near us so maybe Agnes and myself could go

2009-05-23T10:50:00.001+08:00

Marcus be coming down in October

2009-05-23T10:46:00.002+08:00

so I will probably be taking a few days leave to bring him around our little red dot. and as there is a spare room in our flat maybe he could bunk in with us if he wants provided the wifey gives the get-go. and of course if Marcus is ok with it.

Newcastle go into the final game of the season having to depend on others results.

2009-05-23T10:42:00.002+08:00

Newcastle to have to better whatever result Hull get at Stamford Bridge, so it is gonna be interesting. Middlesborough and Sunderland also need results to go their way to get out of the remaining 2 relegation spots.

been crappy at the office lately. the new boss is a slave driver and everyone seems overworked. sigh. hope things get better soon... otherwise...

2009-05-23T10:37:00.001+08:00

2009-05-11T01:06:00.002+08:00

Chelsea were robbed the other day against Barcelona. not too fond of Chelski, but the truth is they were screwed royally. 4 legitimate penalty appeals were turned down!!

on the other hand Manure were convincing in trounching the Gunners at the Emirates after dominating the home leg. and they look firm favourites to retain the EPL (or is it BPL) title as they still hold a 3 point lead and have a game in hand.
hate them!!!!

all Liverpool can do is keep plugging away and rack up the points, and hope Manure slip up someway,somehow. one can always hope for miracles.

and the Toon look doomed to be relegated...
...unless... they somehow win all their remaining games and the other teams about them in the table slip up...

2009-05-11T01:04:00.001+08:00

another movie i am looking forward to is Terminator Salvation. I loved the first two installments. and the third one was pretty good too.
the trailers look good.

2009-05-11T00:59:00.002+08:00

am so looking forward to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I loved the first one, and this one looks even more awesome. not one...not two...but three super-villains!!

watched Star Trek with the guys the other day. I must admit it was even better than I expected. a fine addition to the Trek canon. a movie non-fans and hardcore Trekkies would like.

2009-05-11T00:57:00.001+08:00

we did attempt to cook the other day spaghetti.needless to say it did not turn out like we expected. but that's ok.just another step up on the proverbial learning curve.

on the other hand our other tries at cooking have been rather satisfactory.

2009-05-11T00:54:00.002+08:00

our Philadelphia trip has been canceled in light of the recent Swine Flu scare in the US of A, as well as other parts of North America. Agnes is relieved as she was not looking forward to the long trip. as for me I was kinda looking forward to the trip. I had done a lot of research on places I wanted to visit. guess it would be all for nothing in the end.

Twttering here

2009-05-11T00:49:00.002+08:00

from now on I will try to blog here more regularly(like I have not said that before), by doing it Twitter-style i.e. 'text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length ..'

it is faster and more immediate, as I will blog stuff as and when they happen, unlike now when i consolidate my content between post and just post it all at once, if at all...

2009-04-26T17:08:00.002+08:00

we tried cooking yesterday and the stove worked fine, so today we will attempt to cook again. initially we had wanted to cook tom yam soup but the NTUC near our place did not have the ingredients we needed, so instead tonight we will be cooking .... spaghetti!

more pictures from HK, this time taken by my dear wife, Agnes:

all of us in front of Victoria Harbour at The Avenue of Stars

Agnes and her friend.

Dumbo!! and then there is the poster behind me.

agnes, stitch, me, angel and..stitch

stitch cosy's up to Agnes

2009-04-24T11:19:00.002+08:00

sure was windy the other night. the curtain in the living room blew up like a parachute. we had to close all the windows due to the impending storm. as it turned out there was no storm brewing. but the gall wind did cause considerable damage as evidenced by all the fallen trees i saw on my way to work the next morning. even heard of a crane atop a condominium that broke in half and some ships being damaged. a bit closer to home a tree fell on top of a neighbours car at the upper thomson house.

am considering getting starhub cable for the bedok house.
i am missing out on a whole lot of my favourite shows here. although the cost may be considerable, starhub does give value-for-money programming, unlike Mio, which we have now.

am also considering getting a new phone in due time. the current one is starting to show wear and tear. i am torn between getting a Come's With Music Nokia phone and a Blackberry. I am adverse to Nokia phones since the beginning. have never owned one. and thought I never would. until now. Come's With Music phone come with one year unlimited downloads! a sweet deal if ever there was one.
the other contender is the Blackberry Storm.

which is a real beauty to behold. and jam packed with all the features I love.
so it is a straight fight between free music and a sexy phone.

got the cooker hob repaired the other day after much delay. hope it works now. will be attempting to cook this weekend. we shall see...

Liverpool will be playing on 26th July. will try to procure tickets if Agnes and others are keen. Speaking of Liverpool, what a season they are having. they have been at the heart of some of the most exciting matches this season. if only they could win the EPL title this season. but 4-4 draws whilst entertaining do not do much good to winning titles.

the expected wave of optimism around St. James's Park has not materialised in results on the pitch as expected when Toon legend Alan Shearer took the reins with 8 matches to go. They are counting on home wins in their 4 home games to stave off relegation worries, as they 'blow the roof off the place'.

pictures from our HK trip

2009-04-18T15:34:00.003+08:00

being it was Easter then we were there, HK was decorated with bunnies and eggs. even the electronic billboards had an Easter motif.

still think HK is one of the most beautiful cities at night...

the old clock tower

more proof how lovely the HK skyline is.

though this was our 2nd trip to HK, we have yet to ride on the famed harbour cruise boats. perhaps the next time.

we also went up to The Peak. But this time we took a cab up rather than the tram.

as it was around dusk when we got there we manage to capture some sunset pictures:

funny how small everything looks from way up there:

we also managed to visit Hong Kong Disneyland. and in the process managed to do stuff we were not able to do the first time round.

for example, visit Mickey's House:

kitchen!

table lamp that looks suspiciously like Daffy Duck.

living room

Mickey's wardrobe
..and shoe rack

bedroom

cactus donald garden?

Grandma in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle

We also managed to catch the Festival of The Lion King, which we had missed out the last time.

was quite a spectacular song and dance show.

we also took a ride on the river boat.

we also managed to catch Stitch live, after looking in vain for him the last time around.

we had missed out on the Golden Mickey's show before. but were able to catch it this time..

wings to fly

2009-03-26T23:15:00.004+08:00

next friday we will be off to Ipoh.
it is sorta like a belated wedding dinner cum Qing Ming (cleaning and sweeping of graves) cum bringing granny back to singapore sorta trip back to Ipoh.
not much of a holiday but more as a necessary duty.
Be back on Sunday.

Then on the following Thursday we head to Hong Kong.
We will attempt to cram as much as possible before we return on Sunday night.
should be fun. I really had a good time in HK when we were there last. the last time I had like 10 days to explore HK by myself (and with Agnes on weekends), so that will put us in good stead for this trip as we are able to focus and plan ahead better, whereas the other time we were playing it by ear.

Then there is the mother of all trips at end May. I have no idea how we are gonna get from here to Philly and back in one piece. the flight and transits are a killer. we will be stopping over in hongkong and chicago enroute to Philadelphia. journey is about 20 hours excluding transiting time.
nevertheless Philadelphia will offer lots to see and do once we get there. Philadelphia was central to the American Revolution & American Independence. So it will be a thrill to actually be able to witness so much culture and history first hand. our hotel is close to the city centre, so it should be a breeze to get to all the tourist sites.

chasing shadows

2009-03-16T01:07:00.002+08:00

- gotta find some time this week to go back home. the bunnies cages are long overdue a cleaning.

- we just booked today the hotel and flights for our Hong Kong trip.
we gotta plan our itinerary well for it as we will only be there for like 4 days, and with only 2 full days on friday and saturday. so we have to squeeze in as much as humanly possible into our days there.

- we may also be going back to Ipoh the first week of April. so that is a whole lot of travelling in april-june if we do indeed go to Ipoh.

- we plan to buy a conventional iron and an ironing board soon. the steam iron we have now works well enough for me, but agnes has some issues with it.

- the wrist is much better now. still some ways from being 100% but at least I now have full mobility of my hands.

- we both need to start working out. we are really out of shape. start jogging, cycling & get out more often.

- bought a new pair of army issue shoes. or rather I got a colleague of mine to buy them for me for $42.

- still have loads of stuff at Casuarina. gonna have to bring over the stuff I need soon.

- which also means I/we have to buy some storage boxes or cupboards to keep all our stuff which seems to be growing bigger by the day.

- agnes plans to print some pictures from our wedding for her colleagues.

- Liverpool thumped Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield after beating Real at their own patch 1-0. they followed that up by beating Manure 4-1 at Old Trafford!
if only they could play like that every week. funny how they are able to raise their game in the big matches yet struggle against ordinary teams. right now Liverpool are the in-form team in Europe and look well able to beat any team on the continent. or perhaps I spoke too soon..

- a planning to learn to cook. at least some simple dishes. we can't always eat out, order home delivery or 'tapau' our meals during the weekends.

Movies I plan to watch in the weks and months to come:
- House For Dogs
- Watchmen
- Panda Diary
- He's Just Not That Into You
- The Tale of Despereaux
- Fanboys
- Gran Torino
- X-men Origins:Wolverine
- Angels & Demons
- Night at the Museum 2:Escape from the Smithsonian
- Terminator Salvation
- Monsters vs Aliens
- Hannah Montana :The Movie
- Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen
- Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

phew!

little voice

2009-03-13T23:52:00.001+08:00

will be going to hong kong in april:

this time we will be going with grandma and agnes's mum.
we plan to cover as much ground as possible in the 4d/3n we are there.
will look forward to all the good food, street markets and beautiful places to visit.

in may/june, we are headed to Philadelphia

agnes is going there for some seminar or course, so i am accompanying her.
it will be our furthest trip thus far..

the 12 year old who stood before the UN...

2009-03-03T22:22:00.002+08:00

This was 16 years ago, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Rio Summit, Earth Summit (or, in Portuguese, Eco '92), a major conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. the UN international Environmental Conference.

and today I wonder if anyone there that day was even listening to what she was saying.

The White Rabbit

2009-02-20T10:02:00.000+08:00

For our anniversary, we went to The White Rabbit for dinner.

.

The White rabbit is housed in the old Harding Chapel.

There is even a topiary garden outside!

as it used to be a chapel it still retains much of the original styling and architecture, hence the beautiful stained glass , wooden counters and metal grillings.

There is even a lamp above the bar counter that looks like a halo...

the exterior view

The alfresco area:

their signature dishes are The White Rabbit Mac and Cheese & The White Rabbit Black Forest Cake. The place is also known for its brunch and lunches.

The White Rabbit Restaurant is situated at 39C Harding Road.Open Tue-Sun noon-3pm, 6:30-10:30pm.

Happy Anniversary to me..umm...us!!!

2009-02-19T11:56:00.003+08:00

Today marks 2 months since our wedding dinner...

but more significantly...

it also marks 4 years together as a couple!

just a quick and hopefully short update...

2009-02-15T01:00:00.003+08:00

Today was Valentine's Day! in typical leon+agnes style we had lunch at east coast hawker centre.initially had wanted to lunch at Sunset Bay Beach Bar, but they only serve food after 5 pm. who woulda thunk that when they open at noon on weekends.
after that we took a walk down the park.
then it was back home.
for dinner we ordered in Pastamania as we were too lazy to leave the house.

hurt my wrist the other day at work as me and a colleague were attempting to load up some bags of soil onto the pick-up. the bags were about to fall so I placed my hand under it,so as to lift up the bags.unfortunately my wrist somehow got twisted awkwardly or something so it hurts until now. I use a wrist brace at work and when I drive.
on another note, as a result of my injury I went to see a chinese physician for the very first time to get it treated. i went down to the big Chung Hwa hospital in Toa Payoh. the wait to register was long. there were like 50 people ahead of me when I got there. thankfully the queue cleared relatively quick. then it came to waiting for our turn to see the physician. the guy got there only 45 minutes after we got our queue numbers! and when he finally started to work he took like forever with each patient. we were like the 6th in line.
he did a few test to figure out what was wrong with me. and performed accupuncture.
we had got there before 6 pm, and left close to 10 pm!!

Nameless, my pet hamster finally passed away yesterday. he had not been eating or drinking much, if at all before he passed on, so we kinda knew that it was only a matter of time.
I buried him at the mass grave at the office. will in due time purchase some stuff to give him a proper grave. I have had Nameless since he was born, so he has been with me for would be considered forever in hammie years. gonna miss him. so there are now currently 0 numbers of pets at the flat.

there have been murmur of a dog again though...

as the earth turns....

2009-01-31T17:43:00.002+08:00

can hardly believe it has been over a month since the wedding banquet. it sure was a good one. feels like it was only yesterday. agnes kinda wishes we could relive that day again. and I could not agree more. think everyone who went enjoyed themselves.

as for us, we been settling well into our new home and new life together. we both kinda missed home badly the first couple of weeks we were away from our respective homes but now we have more or less settled down here. of course since agnes's old house is nearby, we end up over there quite a bit. on the flipside, I do not get to see my folks as often as I would like since our daily schedules has not been very conducive to me going home often or for very long if ever I do manage to find the time to go back there.

still not settled many outstanding issues
- redirecting all my mail to my new address
- cancelling bills for my stuff at the old house (read: max online)
- bringing over the bunnies
- go down to NPP or ICA to change the addresses on our nric's
- bring over all our stuff, still have quite a bit of stuff at our respective homes.

the office has been the usual, meaning so much is going on one can hardly keep up. two staffs have left us. another will be doing likewise soon. not to mention the people on medical leave and those who are pending retirement. with all the outgoing personnel, there seems no sign yet of any new blood to fill the void.

Mazzy went for his first servicing a while back. I went down to the Mazda service centre at MacPherson since it was the first time.I got there around 10.30 in the morning. the servicing ended around 3 in the afternoon. quite a lot of time for a routine servicing if you ask me. but at least they did knock out the dent on the side for free which may have contributed to the the excessive time spent. henceforth i will be sending it to the authorised service station nearer me. lots nearer and faster to boot.

the wedding pictures are up, as those who read my previous post would have already surmised. if you not seen them then here is the link again:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15846014@N00/sets/72157612475073389/

there are only like 482 pictures there so you should be able to breeze through them.
anyway here are more pictures:

getting prepared for her big day

the bride and her four...umm.. five 'sisters'

agnes shows us what she really thinks of us

and what the groom thinks about that

a few of my favourite things

not to forget Agnes's favourite food:

Agnes, Leon & Beemer

the not-so-traditional bouquet toss

the 'wedding cake' and the banquet hall

the emcee's for the day

cake cuttin'

trouble a-brewing between the newly-weds

Agnes strikes a pose as we wait for our cue to do the second march in...

pouring the champagne

the traditional toast and yam seng, which went better than anticipated

the groom gives his thank-yup speech

the blushing bride also gets to say her piece

the AVA folks gather for one big 'family picture'

wedding pictures (and videos)!

2009-01-14T00:20:00.003+08:00

the pictures from the 19th are ready and have already been uploaded.

Wedding Dinner Set

you may also go to view Yenling's photos she took that day

Leon & Agnes - their wedding

a hiatus

2009-01-03T00:31:00.001+08:00

this blog is on an indefinite hiatus. not sure exactly when I will be back to regular blogging but rest assured I will return.

...maybe when the wedding videos and photos are ready for posting...

tomorrow is the day!

2008-12-18T08:58:00.004+08:00

yesterday we went down to collect the gowns, collect the video montage DVD, make the outstanding payments. as we found out later the photographer we had expected is not the one who will be at our wedding tomorrow. Agnes is rather upset they changed it without informing/asking us, since we are already familiar with the guy who also did our photo albums and have struck up a rather good personal relationship as a result. besides his handy work is not half bad as evidenced when people see the albums for themselves tomorrow.

after that we headed over to New Market Street where we bought some stuff for the house. did not manage to find what we wanted but still managed to spy a nice water feature for $30 from a rather amusing man. so we finally found a water feature for the home we both can agree on...

and then it was off to Bras Basah Complex. we were looking for a box for all the red packets. did not manage to find any nice & cheap ones at the 2 bridal shops went to. the cheapest we saw was like $25 for an ordinary heart shaped cardboard box. the rest hovered in the $45 to $60 region. although they look nice they are kinda expensive for something that is only gonna be used for a few hours and only once. the alternative to buying would be to make one, wrapping up an old box with ornate papers or frills, but do not think either one of us possesses the artistry or time to embark on such an endeavour at such short notice.
so in the end we just went over to Popular Bookstore, and bought 2 gift boxes which we will later cut slots. not bad looking for the purpose it was meant for. best of all only $3+ a pop.

then it was a short walk over to Raffles City. we were looking to have dinner, but some more christmas decorations for the house and buy some facial moisturiser for agnes. had dinner at the food court.I had the Pepper Lunch thingy, and Agnes had what else....ban mian... her favourite comfort food if ever there was one. the other two things remained unresolved despite all our efforts. it seems that stores take down all their christmas decor products more than a week before the actual day so we were unable to find anything for sale when we were there. as for the moisturiser thing, those things are really expensive! those really effective ones cost in the $70 to $100 region for a little bottle. way too much for people like us who hardly use any skincare products.

then it was over to the flat where we watched a little TV, stuck up some wedding decals and decorated the christmas tree with some of the lights and ornaments I brought from the office. at least now the tree does not look so sparse. and there is no need to buy any new decorations.

as for today we still have errands to run:

~ go to HSA and collect some cream thing for Agnes from one of her colleagues. apparently it worked a treat during the biting cold in Switzerland..

~ go back to the bridal studio to collect the bridal bouquet and corsages.

~ agnes will be clearing out her house and room in preparation for tomorrows convergence of people.

~ on the other hand I will be over at the flat cleaning out the flat and clearing up all the clutter.

~ and then Agnes will bring '.. all that junk, all that junk, inside her trunk.." over to the flat. we will then place all the rubbish...umm...agnes stuff, in boxes to be placed in our storeroom. thereafter the storeroom will be commissioned as a no fly zone by the United Nations. and no living being or creature or alien unless proven otherwise shall come into contact with the contents therein until after we return from the hotel on Sunday.

~ i also have to find time today to iron all my crinkled shirts and stuff to be worn tomorrow. it is amazing how many shirts I have when they have all been washed and ironed out. I usually have to over-compensate with what I have in order to have enough stuff to wear for work. but over the last week or so, daddy has been working overtime to iron my shirts and all (with his new fangled iron!!), that suddenly I have more shirts than can fit into my 'little' wardrobe. Agnes says I have more clothes than she does. and I think she may just be right. thank goodness I will be moving out soon, so new home = more wardrobe space. I will probably only be able to move some of the more essential stuff over at this point of time. as we only have one built-in wardrobe. and a rather small temporary cupboard for all our clothes.

we will definitely have to buy for stuff for the flat in the weeks and months to come.
we still need a wardrobe or 2.
a couple of bedside tables for the master bedroom.
a tv. dunno what sort though, as we have a huge King Sized bed, and not much space for anything else. a wall mounted TV is an option, otherwise we could get a CRT one to place in the corner of the room. but that would mean we need to get a corner console which in turn would make that corner of the room impassable for all intents and purposes. another way is to make some sort of console or raise at the foot of the bed where all our stuff can be.
we also need some sort of cabinet or showcase in the living room.
maybe some shelves in the store room/bomb shelter.

we are dis-inclined to drill holes in the walls unless deemed absolutely necessary. so it becomes an issue when it comes to wall mounted TV sets, clocks and pictures on the walls.

insomuch as I enjoy living at Casuarina Road all these years, ever since I started to drive a car home, parking has always been a issue. as much as people envy those who live in private housing with their free and unlimited parking, it could not be further from the truth. it seems that when you buy a house in my estate, the number of car lots you are entitled to is inversely proportionate to the number of floors of your house. even then, it is not a certainty you will get a parking lot. people who do not own cars use the parking areas to make into extensions of their front porch, complete with plants,trees and all sorts of garden features. not to mention the high turnover of owners and the interim renovation works that it entails. so you have lorries,cranes and all manner of construction materials and devices occupying places meant for cars. and some people who have car porches in their compounds do not even use them. then there are those who run home based businesses or bring back company vehicles! so what you have is a high traffic flow of vehicles moving in and around the estate, with limited number of free parking spaces, and an 'at-your-own-risk' parking scheme. I had my car scratched a number of times, vulgarities strewn across my windscreen, anonymous notes, damaged tires and even once found my car with no engine oil!
things were better before they decided to 'upgrade' the neighbourhood by building footpaths around the estate. at least then the road was wider (you could even park two abreast if you needed to), and there was greater flexibility in parking. so you could usually find a lot if you were creative enough. so now the footpaths are white elephants which serve as areas for bins, plants and benches. so no one can actually get from one end of the road to the other by actually walking on the designated footpaths anyway. and you get a more congested road to boot. so much for 'upgrading'...
as it is now, I usually park in the public car parks in the area which have free overnight parking(5pm to 8 am), if I am working the next day. if, not i would park at the parts of the estate which are somewhat deemed 'no-mans-land', which belong to no house in particular, mainly Old Upper Thomson Road, Seraya Crescent and Jacaranda Road. but that does not mean nothing will happen to your car in these areas. after all these spots are much coveted and are all filled up by the time I get home on most nights. and you still do get the occasional vandalism as described above.

somehow season parking is not so bad when you consider the travails of free parking for me.

4 days to go!

2008-12-15T12:39:00.011+08:00

four more days to what will amount to the most important day of our lives.
most are the preparations are already in place with some stuff to be seen to:

- collect the suits and gowns from the bridal on wednesday
- collect agnes's bracelet
- clean & tidy both houses in preparation of all the guests & 'media coverage'
- go through the script with both the 'emcees' that day, Leo & the 'Honours' boy...lol...
- still undecided if we will be customising any of the music to be played that day
- whether we have the time and place to do any impromptu wedding shoots in the afternoon of the 19th
- prepare my speech that day

the other day agnes and her mum + sister were down at Tampines mall, where they purchased a lovely set of bracelet & necklace. mum also bought me a nice watch. will post up pictures of them soon at the wedding blog.

will probably be updating the Wedding Blog (whose link can be found on the left margin) more in the days and hours leading up to the Big Day. if I manage to find the time. or maybe not.

But I will be updating over there after the 16th.with all the videos,photos and such.

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the guest list is rather lopsided.
some tables are filled with 10 people.
yet others have only 6 or 7 guests.
and then there is the issue of where to seat Agnes's 2 muslim friends. I already have 1 full table of all my office colleagues and friends. so we can't fit them together. the other way around it is to split the 12 muslims into 2 tables, but Agnes is not too keen.
and now agnes has also added 2 more vegetarian guest, making in 3 in all.
have to inform sylvia about the latest changes tomorrow.

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have already emailed the limo agency our itinerary for that day. it looks a little something like this (tentatively)

9.30am - meet the groom at blk 182 Bedok North Road
10.00 am- drive over to blk 166 bedok south avenue 3 to pick up the bride
11.30 am - drive back to blk 182 Bedok North Road for lunch reception
2.00 pm - go to an undisclosed location to take some photographs if time permits
3.30 pm - check into Trader's Hotel

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Agnes and her mum are really, really close. in fact her mum is even having sleepless nights as we speak, because her beloved daughter will no longer be staying with her after her wedding. and agnes herself will take some time to get used to life in her new home.
as a result agnes and myself have agreed, to help everyone adapt to their new lifestyle, to maybe go back often for dinner and maybe even stay over at the old place if circumstances allow.
all this on condition that Agnes recognises her duties and responsibilities as a wife. it would mean that on some nights I may find myself alone at our flat. or maybe even contemplating going back to Thomson on those days that Agnes is not around. I know my parents will be missing me as well.

We're The Big Three. We Don't Need to Compete. : TreeHugger

2008-12-14T10:59:00.001+08:00

We're The Big Three. We Don't Need to Compete.

2 weeks and a day

2008-12-04T20:55:00.004+08:00

lets start off with a video of a heroic dog who saw his friend in peril and came to his rescue..
heroism, loyalty and intelligence all rolled into one.

we humans can sure learn alot from our four-legged friends.

we have already booked the buffet lunch for the 19th. it is not quite the menu we wanted but almost every bit as good.

on saturday we will be heading down to Trader's to tie up some of the loose ends and hopefully settle everything we have to before our Big Day.

many of us have self-esteem issues. we can either grin and bare..umm..bear it, or we can do something about it....

we plan to watch Bolt this monday. all the reviews seem to be positive. can't hardly wait...

The husband of slain hostage Lo Hwei Yen opened up to the media for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.In a 45-minute interview, Michael Puhaindran spoke vividly about his wife's ordeal during the Mumbai terror attacks last week.

in three parts on RazorTV
part 1
Part 2
part 3

and then there is also the 3-parter of Lo Hwei Yen's final farewell today:

can't link it here yet but you can find it at http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/

2008-12-01T21:50:00.003+08:00

my counter on the left shows 2 weeks and 4 days to our big day!
On one hand it is so darn near, yet in a way I am prone to worry that things will not be able to fall into place before then.

as it is now, we are still distributing the invitation cards.

we are also close to confirming the lunchtime reception over at our place on the afternoon of the 19th.

have already passed agnes the stuff my parents bought for her. hope she likes it.

on the 17th we are to collect the wedding dresses.

as of this writing, my search for 'brothers' is in vain. agnes managed to get 4 sisters. I guess the guys just dun get it.

the wedding montage thing is still not being done.

the other big photo album is gonna be ready sometime this week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

things are going all pear shaped at the office.
mrs pay fell and is now out of commission for the forseable future.
ai khim is upset with someone new yet again. little wonder her high blood pressure is high.
dr ali and yvonne are more or less confirmed to leave us by next year.
cheng is gonna retire in a couple of months.
mr wee is till as 'blur' as ever despite being with us for nearly 3 months.
the bosses still suck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

all the shit in bangkok and mumbai makes me sit back and realise how fortunate we are to live in Singapore, where such chaos and terror are almost a world away.

still think the PAD are idiots. they closed 2 of the main airports. it is one thing to fight for a noble cause, yet totally another thing when you tarnish the reputation of your country and adversely affect the already fragile economy. it will takes years, if ever, for the damaged cause by all these protests to be forgotten. foreigners are leaving thailand in droves and may not return. the bloodshed has caused an untimely divide between the pro and anti government supporters at a time when the unity of the nation is most needed.

and where is the King as all this is going down? seems like he does not care...

and what about Mumbai?
was a terrible tragedy what happened. especially the death of Lo Hwei Yen, the first terror victim in our history. the main lesson stemming after the smoke has cleared was how slow to react and how ill-equipped the indian police and army was to deal with insurgents. it took nearly 10 hours for counter-terrorists to reach the hotels in mumbai from Delhi, as Mumbai has no SWAT or counter-terrorist team of it's own! by then the terrorist had already gotten stuck in. it took nearly an entire army to dislodge a dozen terrorist.
the death toll is 183 not counting the more than 300 injured. number of terrorists killed....9. and one captured.
the insurgents were better trained, better equipped and better prepared. little wonder it took so long for them to be defeated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we caught Madagascar:Escape to Africa on Saturday. not bad at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we are planning to get out of the country during the Christmas weekend

here are some places we are considering:
_ Cameron Highlands
_ Bintan resorts
_ Genting/ Fraser's Hill / Bukit Tinggi
_ Malacca
_ Hong Kong
_ KL
_ Kuching
_ Perth

be a pity to be away from the family during the festive season but circumstances dictate otherwise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we will be going back up to Ipoh during the CNY holidays in january. that trip will also serve as a sort of wedding dinner II for the malaysia side of Agnes's family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a list of stuff

2008-11-26T20:34:00.003+08:00

I started off wanting to blog about all the stuff that has been going down since I last blogged. but somehow the moment this New Post thingy came up I was suddenly stricken by a loss of words.

anyway these were some of the stuff I had planned to blog about:

~ the chaos in Bangkok
~ the invitations cards for the wedding we are now in the process of sending out
~ the 'mysterious' damage on Mazzy
~ the plants at the office
~ the new colleagues at work
~ lunch on saturday at Muthu's Curry
~ pre-marital medicals
~ buffet lunch on 19th December
~ the stuff the folks bought for Agnes
~ the lousy wedding montage
~ the photo albums are ready
~ the ongoing search for 'brothers'
~ Chips Deluxe Cookies rulez!!
~ wanting to go to the zoo soon
~ real christmas trees
~ wedding dinner in Ipoh
~ overseas at Christmas
~ new pair of glasses
~ movie on friday
~ the long awaited album by GnR, Chinese Democracy
~ a kangaroo court?
~ Gong Li a Singaporean
~ 3-D cinema
~ seat-less MRT train cabins
~ Tan Kin Lian as President
~ WWE
~ EPL review
~ town councils & their investments
~ year end bonus

that is all I can think of at the top of my head right now...

Yoga..or not.

2008-11-25T23:53:00.002+08:00

Agnes is signing up for yoga classes. I am not really against it per se. but I do think that before one goes into it, one should really explore the roots of yogaism...

so what I did is I went to one of my favourite websites and found this article. it is rather long but does cover the bases:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...

YOGA?

by Michael Sherif

Yoga is pervasive. Yoga is in the east and the west. Yoga classes are offered in Central Africa, in Russia, in Australia. Flyers for yoga are on university bulletin boards, in health food stores, in the elevators of high rise apartment buildings in downtown Los Angeles, and even as part of some YMCA physical education programs. Is yoga merely a physical exercise?

Regarding the yoga asanas or physical postures Swami Vivekananda writes in his book Raja Yoga : "A series of exercises, physical and mental, is to be gone through every day until certain higher states are reached. Nerve currents will have to be dispatched and given a new channel. New sorts of vibrations will begin: the whole constitution will be remodeled, as it were."

In Yoga: The Method of Re-Intergation Alain Danielou, a French scholar on yoga, writes that the real import of yoga is as "a process of control of the gross body which aims at freeing the subtle body." The subtle body is regarded as extremely complex and consisting of 72,000 invisible psychic channels called nadis corresponding to the physical or gross body. The subtle body and the physical body are connected at seven primary points or chakras ranging from the top of the head to the base of the spine.

The chakras are believed to control the consciousness of an individual. Manipulating the spine through various yoga postures is believed to increase the energy flow from the subtle body altering the consciousness of the individual. Kundalini yoga and hatha yoga directly manipulate the charkas through their various postures and breathing exercises.

In a mind over body relationship mantra yoga also seeks to alter consciousness of an individual by the repetition of mantras, which Guru Dev, the guru of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, considered the "favorite names of the gods". Mantras are repeated silently or audibly up to several hours and produce altered states of consciousness.

Yoga is bound up in Eastern religious metaphysics and is not an innocent form of relaxing the body and the mind. The goal of yoga is the same as that of Hinduism, which is realizing that one is Brahman, the underlying impersonal God of the Universe in Hinduism. According to Psychic Forces and Occult Shock (Wilson and Weldon): "The physical exercises of yoga are designed to prepare the body for the psychospiritual change vital to inculcating this idea (the realization that one is Brahman) into the consciousness and being of the person. Hence talk of separating yoga practice from theory is meaningless. From a Christian perspective, whether the two can safely be divided is doubtful. 'I do yoga, but Hinduism isn't involved,' is an incorrect statement."

A Spiritual Counterfeits Project (Berkeley, California) publication on "Yoga" states: "For while it may suit the secular fancy to espouse only that selected aspect (the physical) of yoga which fits the bourgeois notion of what yoga is supposed to do (i.e. make a beautiful body), the fact still remains that even physical yoga is inextricably bound up in the whole of Eastern religious metaphysics. In fact, it is quite accurate to say that physical yoga and Indian metaphysics are mutually interdependent; you really can't have one without the other."

In the Shankara tradition, which pervades most of contemporary Hinduism, the raindrop is pictured as the symbol of the individual self and the ocean is the symbol of the universal soul (J.Isamu Yamamoto, SCP Newsletter). "The absorption of the raindrop into the ocean is symbolic of the absorption of the person into the impersonal universe. After people attain enlightenment, they lose their identities and become one with the all. Absorption is the goal of the monist Hindu" (J.Isamu Yamamoto, SCP Newsletter , March-April 1983).

"The candle flame is a Buddhist image of the individual; it is the light of life that flickers in the darkness of sorrow. The quest of each ardent Buddhist is to extinguish their own flame. They seek not merely a physical death but a death that will deliver them from both the physical and spiritual life. Extinction is the goal of the traditional Buddhist" (J. Isamu Yamamoto, SCP Newsletter , op.cit.).

For this author more persuasive than any authority is the author's personal experience in mantra yoga, hatha yoga, and kundalini yoga. Definite altered states of consciousness are produced by yoga. However, these states of consciousness while initially anesthetic became with constant yoga practice progressively more oppressive resulting in a disassociation from the external world. Sensory input was accentuated and produced an overreaction to external stimuli resulting in anxiety. On intensive asana-meditation courses the author experienced several blackouts during mantra meditation sessions which lasted up to an hour and a half. No consciousness of elapsed time and no memory of what had transpired during the blackout existed after such an experience.

Coping with these altered states of consciousness produced in the author mounting tension making him easily upset by trifles (slamming of a door, the screeching of a jet fighter plane, traffic). In many ways the meditation/yoga experience is the classic experience of anxiety disorder so well documented by the Australian doctor Claire Weekes in her classic book Hope and Help For Your Nerves , which also offers the best non clinical approach for curing anxiety disorder of which panic attacks are common symptoms.

Meditation and yoga in many instances cause anxiety disorder. This author's experience is that the techniques result in feelings of unreality, feelings of personality disintegration, and depression. It is the author's belief that many of the so-called "advanced states of consciousness" are no more than the result of extreme sensitization, a state in which our nerves react in an exaggerated way to stress induced by the yoga/meditation techniques, producing an overshadowing sensory unreality similar to those induced by consciousness altering drugs.

Yoga is marketed in the guise of an innocent, healthful technique, but it is far from it. H.Rieker warns: "Yoga is not a trifling jest if we consider that any misunderstanding in the practice of yoga can mean death or insanity," and that if the breath is "prematurely exhausted, there is immediate danger of death for the yogi" (Rieker, The Yoga of Light (Los Angeles: Dawn House) 1974, p. 135). Blackouts, strange trance states, or insanity are listed from even "the slightest mistake…" of practicing yoga. Swami Prabhavananda's Yoga and Mysticism lists brain injury, incurable disease, and insanity as potential hazards of wrong yoga practice.

If one is experiencing stress and needs to relax there are many ways to do this such as going for a walk, a picture show, playing sports, going out for dinner, taking a vacation than pursuing yoga. To strengthen one's body you can lift weights, run, swim etc… rather than doing yoga postures.

In Psychic Forces and Occult Shock Wilson and Weldon state, "Yoga is really pure occultism, as any number of yoga and occult texts prove (R.S Mishra's Yoga Sutras and Fundamentals of Yoga , J. Brennan's Astral Doorways and H. Chaudhuri's Philosophy of Meditation are footnoted). Occult abilities are very common from yoga practice, and the numerous dangers of occultism are evident from many studies (K. Koch's Christian Counseling and Occultism is footnoted). The yoga scholar and Sanskrit authority, Mishra, states: 'In conclusion, it may be said that behind every psychic investigation, behind mysticism, occultism, etc., knowingly or unknowingly, the yoga system is present. (Mishra, op.cit.)'" Kurt Koch in his various excellent books correlates delving with the occult with subsequent experiences of anxiety and depression sometimes resulting in suicide.

The Bible informs us that God created Adam of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Man is a created, separate being. Man can have a relationship with the Living God by accepting His Son, God's physical incarnation, Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach that through yoga man can attain progressive higher levels of consciousness so that man will realize he is one with God and merge with Brahman as Hinduism teaches or that man's personality can be extinguished as a flame is extinguished as Buddhism teaches. The Bible does not mention or recognize yoga or any system where man can become one with God.

God is so far above man that man cannot work his way up to God through his own actions. Because of the original sin of Adam and Eve man is fatally flawed. He is born in sin. But God so loved man that he provided a plan of redemption. God Himself became man (John 1:14) to provide the perfect sacrifice to atone for man's sin. The perfect sacrifice had to be God Himself as only God is without sin. Accepting God's provision for sin, his Son, gives man an eternal life in God's presence. The earthly body is shed and replaced with an eternal body at death. Man does not become nor does he merge with God. Salvation is a free gift given by grace, and not something which has to be worked for.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation, the transmigration of souls from one body to the next over time. One reincarnates to overcome one's karma or one's attachment to the material world and the recurring patterns which bind one to the material world. Only by elevating one's consciousness through yoga and piercing the "veil of illusion," which is the material world, can one transcend and merge with Brahman or snuff out one's flame and attain Nirvana.

The Bible teaches that man lives once and then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). For those who have accepted Christ there is no judgment as the decision has been made to spend eternity with the source of all goodness, joy, and purity, the personal God of the Universe. For those who never knew Christ God will judge with absolute fairness, but for those who have rejected Christ eternity will be spent in a horrible place where God does not exist, a place to which Jesus referred to more than anyone else in the Bible, a place of eternal agony … hell (Mark 9:48).

Yoga is not a panacea, it is a system where man tries to work his way to God. Yoga is not necessary and all of man's works are nothing but dirty rags before the righteousness of God. Why spend one's life in bondage chasing a mirage, spending countless hours doing yoga exercises and meditating, hoping to pull oneself off samsara, the wheel of reincarnation. Man can never become God. Because of the sin of Adam man dies. What mortal man can compare to even an angel of God? Daniel saw the angel Gabriel and here is his awesome description:

"I looked up and suddenly there before me stood a person robed in linen garments, with a belt of purest gold around his waist, and glowing lustrous skin! From his face came blinding flashes like lightning, and his eyes were pools of fire; his arms and feet shone like polished brass, and his voice was like the roaring of a vast multitude of people. I, Daniel, alone saw this great vision; the men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly filled with unreasoning terror and ran to hide and I was left alone. When I saw this frightening vision my strength left me, and I grew pale and weak with fright. (Daniel 10: 5-8, Living Bible)."

Man doesn't have to become God. God stretches forth His hand (Revelation 3:20) and all you have to do is take it by making a conscious decision to accept Jesus Christ. Ask him humbly to take charge of your life in simple words. Then the Holy Spirit will indwell you and you will have peace, joy, and certainty. Only then will you shed your old cocoon and experience God's metamorphosis.

-------------------------------

Michael Sherif practiced mantra yoga (meditated silently on a supposedly "meaningless" sound which was really the vehicle that drew him into a "Hindu" deity or really a demon from our Christian perspective). He was in bondage to this, in combination with hatha yoga for six years. According to his testimony this was a horrible experience for him. Yoga involvement is really an exercise in a demonic activity which is portrayed as "fun" and "healthy" that can lead to demonic possession. He experienced different states of sensory consciousness which were dark and sterile until Jesus set him free. You may read other articles that deal with witchcraft and New Age bondage at his website: www.earthharvest.org

all the little things

2008-11-25T23:49:00.002+08:00

got this in an email just today and decided to reproduce it here, after tidying it up abit...

Take every LITTLE thing as a blessing from GOD….

Nice one all of you must read.

LITTLE THINGS

Whatever that happens in life, happens for good.....so stop worrying about the future and forget the
past.

After Sept. 11th, one company invited the remaining members of other companies who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their available office space. At a morning meeting, the head of security told stories of why these people were alive, and all the stories were just the 'L I T T L E' things .

The head of the company started off by telling how he survived that day because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts..

One of them missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

One's car wouldn't start.

One went back to answer the telephone.

One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck everyone was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work, but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone... .....all the little things that annoy me. I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment...

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong , the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys, you
hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated.

God is at work watching over you.

one month to go...

2008-11-19T20:03:00.004+08:00

this is probably the longest I have not blogged in a while. I am not sure as for the reasons why I have not been blogging. maybe it had a little something to do with lethargy.or just plain being busy. or just apathetic. in fact it seems like no one missed me anyway.except for agnes that is.

our wedding dinner is exactly a month away today!
on one hand it can't come soon enough. so looking forward to the day.hope everything goes as planned and Agnes has the wedding she deserved in the first place.
on the flip side there is so much to get done before the day. the wedding cards will only be ready on saturday and then it is a mad rush to send them out in due time.
we are also planning a small buffet over at 182 on the day itself with friends and family.
I still have to source for 'brothers'. i was thinking of eugene,marc and ian if i can somehow get in touch with them. hasli and sin are out since AK needs them to be in the office. likewise for Poh.
Marcus is too damn far away in Melbourne.

agnes and the folks are also gonna meet up one of these days for some shopping.agnes did say they could shop without her if they wanted.

the wedding photos are ready for collection this saturday as well. we will collect the wedding invites and the photos on saturday.

seems like forever since me and agnes caught a movie.
movies i wanna catch:
- Beverly Hills Chihuahua
- Bolt
- Madagascar-escape to Africa
- High School Musical: Senior Year
- Quantum of Solace

Obama is President elect and we have to wait until January to see what 'changes' he will ring in.

The whole guy-jumped-into-the-tiger-enclosure-and died thing is not the tiger's fault. it is not the zoo's fault. it is not anyone's fault but the sick man who decided it was the best way to get out of his troubles.

getting used to driving Mazzy (to agnes: Mazy). a black car sure needs a lot of washing. sure did nt have this same problem with Sunny.

just heard the news: COE prices for category cars is ... get this... $2!!
crazy stuff. Pity all those suckers who recently bought new cars. Umm...wait a minute....

wondering about the bunnies for a moment. my dad seems to have gotten close to them all this time they been here. dunno how he would take it if they moved house in December with me when I go over there. be a pity to separate them...

Agnes and myself will be Oxford in July. so finally if anyone asks I can say I been to Oxford University! but seriously Oxford is such a picturesque city. I am sure I will enjoy every minute I am there. I just love history, scenery and culture, and Oxford has that in droves.

initially we were supposed to go to Chicago in March, but thankfully the idea was canned due to the date not falling within the new financial year. the trip would be minimum 18 hours one way if we are lucky. definitely not one for the faint hearted.

we plan to get an xmas tree this year for the flat. I am thinking a white tree, with yellow lights and purple decorations. or how about a purple tree with gold ornaments?? waaahahaaaa.. I know, I'm nuts. I am special that way.

did I mention Mum & dad traded in their old car for a Mazda 323? now Mazzy has a friend.

plan to get a double mattress for the flat soon. the thin mattress of the sofa bed is not soft enough for everyday use. little wonder that I do not get much quality sleep whenever I stay over there. but insomnia has always been a problem for me. pity agnes does not want us to use the King sized bed..yet.

Agnes came back on sunday from Montreux, Switzerland. it was barely a week (she left on monday), but was surely the longest week of my life. so glad she is back now.

the more things change; the more things remain the same.

to end things, pictures from Agnes's Swiss trip.

Chateau de Chillon

autumn colours

the famous Swiss Alps

streets of Montreux

leash your dog!

the hotel Agnes stayed at, Suisse Majestic

Lake Geneva

the task that lies ahead for Obama..

2008-11-19T19:03:00.001+08:00

pictures of Mazzy...or Mazy..or Muzzy....the new car!

2008-11-08T12:43:00.002+08:00

Bangkok (not so) Dangerous

2008-10-31T10:40:00.003+08:00

here are some pictures from our trip to the capital city of Thailand.
Although it is supposed to be a 4 days/3 nights trip, we actually only had 2 full days in Bangkok.

On friday, we shopped about the MBK Centre and central shopping area.

on saturday, we spent the day at the expansive Chatchuchat Weekend Market.

from our room we overlook the Chao Phraya river and can view a lovely sunset every evening.

a moment of quiet contemplation

saw this huge display at the airport

a memorial to the recently deceased (in January this year actually)Crown Princess, also at the airport

Agnes's favourite part of our hotel room, the television, she would watch MTV China all day just to catch her idol Jay Chou's music videos.

the kids also got a new wardrobe.Liverpool & Barcelona jerseys!

we also stumbled upon the Siam Ocean World. it was ok but nowhere as interesting as other ocean parks we been to.

bull sharks

the view of the big tank where they conduct the show.

there were penguins there as well

there were also sea turtles

not to mention water rats...

white salamanders!

they look so ethereal

there was also a glass bottom boat ride...

we had to wear lifejackets

the indoor area where the boat goes

one of the only significant sightings we had on the glass bottom boat

there were seahorsies
lobsters
alaskan crabs
jellies
and of course... fish

all in all it was an ok trip. but the weather played a major part. it was either raining, or it was too hot on the days we were there. the hotel was fine and the staff friendly and helpful. the delay in our return flight was a bummer. and it seems their route is longer than other airlines. normally a singapore-bangkok trip lasts about an hour and a half, ours was nearly 3 hours!
we did not shop as much as we had expected considering the many good bargains. the main chunk of our expenses went towards food.

Sunny's last day

2008-10-31T10:16:00.002+08:00

we took some pictures over at Ridout Garden's McDonald's carpark of Sunny before heading over to Turf City to hand him over to Kelly...

Sunny looks nice and clean from this vantage point

Agnes and Bob give a thumbs-up

a seemingly dated picture

Egg Boy, Stitch & Mummy

Agnes takes the wheel.
hopefully she will someday take lessons so she can drive for real next time.

two beauties

agnes making like a car sales person

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

2008-10-22T08:40:00.002+08:00

goodbye Sunny;hello Max
***********************
Just hours away until I go down and collect our brand new fangled car. can hardly wait. but at the same time it is a bittersweet moment as I hand over the keys to Sunny to a complete stranger. I am a sentimental sort of guy towards things and people that have played a major part in my life. and Sunny has been around for many of the highest and lowest moments of my existence of the last few years. so it will be sad to finally part ways. but at least I have been preparing for this day for a few years now, so I am more or less mentally prepared for the inevitable parting of ways.

Bangkok Bound
**************
we are also heading up to Bangkok tomorrow morning. been looking forward to this trip for some time now. but the recent political situation has cast a dark pall over our holiday, as there is the slight possibility we may encounter some delays. but I am optimistic that things will work in our favour during this trip, and that all will be peaceful and calm until we return. the thai people are one of the nicest people you will ever meet. and the recent troubles are the work of an elite few and not a true representation of the hopes and aspirations of the thai people. there seem to be a dead heat between the so called royalist and the PM. and things are not looking good for him, as evidenced by the queen and princess attending the wake of one of those killed in the recent bloody crackdown of protesters. as in all things political, there are no good and bad guys and just shades of grey, when it comes to which side is right. a democratically elected government has the mandate to rule. but the much revered monarchy also needs to be preserved in it's present form. in the midst of all these 2 pillars of governance, there is a plethora of 'interest groups' who want their needs to be maintained and their future assured. and there is no better way to get your opinions heard in Thailand than to invoke the name of their beloved King.

Obama vs McCain
*****************
over in the good ole USA, elections are coming up. by all accounts Barack Obama should sweep the board based on polls conducted. but not all has been said and dusted as far as the election results go. things could change in the weeks and days to come, but things are surely not looking too bright for John Mccain, as the world economies grapple with financial crisis and such. the conundrum for McCain is to differentiate himself from the incumbent,George W. Bush, yet also toe the party line when it comes to policies and philosophies. then there are the issues of his age which seem to make him look decidedly ancient in comparision to his much younger and dynamic opponent. Sarah Palin herself was once considered a master stroke as McCain's running mate as it re-energized the Republicans. but the subsequent very public gaffes and mis-spokes on her part seem to cast her as a political novice. the very thing that the McCain campaign has been trying to portray Obama as being not ready to lead from Day One. a little potty and black when Palin is but a 'heartbeat away' from being the next president.
with time running out, McCain has of yet failed to derail the Obama juggernaut in any of the televised debates or on the campaign trail.

wedding stuff
*************
- we went down to view the wedding photographs on Sunday. I must say they have come out better than expected. it is amazing what a good photo editing program can do. agnes requested some adjustments to be made and we will be going down on Monday to take a look again with the girls. on monday, we will also be submitting the photographs for the wedding montage to be displayed on the day.

- we have also chosen the style and wording for our invitation cards. it only remains to find our way down to their service centre at Excelsior Shopping Centre to relay our request. but we will be busy over the next week or so, so it will be a squeeze to find time to go down.

- Agnes found this shop in Chinatown selling cute wedding stuff. we may go down and pay them a visit soon. I wonder if it is anything like the shop I went to the other time to collect our complimentary tea set.

table grill
***********
on saturday we tried out our new table grill. we shopped at Giant for the food and other stuff we needed and then headed home to prepare. it was a lot of hard work buying and preparing the food. and then there was the cleaning up after. in all it took nearly 7 hours to buy the stuff, prepare it, cook it, eat it and wash up. not something we will do again anytime soon. but at least we now started to cook at home in a way. maybe we can have an even bigger one the next time with family and friends.

electric stove
**************
in the course of cooking that day we discovered that the electric stove caused the power to trip. not exactly sure what the problem is. will have to consult either Mona or an electrician to rectify the problem.

pop-up toaster
**************
we plan to buy a pop up toaster for the house. will be a fun and good way to prepare breakfast. can hardly wait.
with that we will also probably buy a microwave as well.

farewells
*********
yesterday we had a farewell dinner for mrs soh. she has been working in my department for well over 30 years. but all good things have to come to an end. she has been getting on in years and her health issues have done her no good. she is one of the few 'aunties' I actually like.
and more people to leave in the months to come.
ali...cheng..ko koh..yvonne..wong...hasli.. khim..??

2008-10-13T23:04:00.003+08:00

a week earlier!
***************
called up kelly today and managed to get the collection date for the car brought forward a week to the 22nd afternoon. Yayyyy!! initially we were supposed to collect it on the 29th. although it is a week earlier than before, we still will not be able to use Max as much as we would like as we will be flying off to bangkok the next day and will only be back on sunday. but still it is a thrill.
I also arranged with Kelly to soundproof the car, rust-proof it and glaze it. it is a bit of a luxury, but i am sure it will enhance the driving experience. the sound-proofing will cut out almost all the external sound. bet my dear will now be sleeping even more soundly than now, if that were at all possible. the rust-proofing is also good if we want the car to be in good condition a few years down the road. lastly, the glazing, which will give Max a shiny sheen for a long time to come. so i will not have to polish or wash him as much to maintain his good looks.

Bangkok
********
will be booking the tickets pretty soon.

wedding stuff
*************
- gonna have to send in the wedding invites soon for printing
- also need to select some nice pictures for our wedding montage
- on sunday, going to see how our wedding photo album turned out.
- we need to figure out when and where we gonna have our honeymoon.
- and also plan for the dinner in Ipoh

table grill this weekend
*************************
we plan to try out the new table grill this weekend. so we will need to shop for food and the soup base. hope it turn out well. there is always a first time for everything.

2008-10-12T16:18:00.003+08:00

green light city
****************
After much discussion and indecision we are still going ahead with the Bangkok trip as planned unless some new developments put another spanner in the works.
Agnes had this idea to go to Hong Kong, with Mummy in tow. But there are no direct flights from Singapore to Hong Kong via airasia. to go to HK we would need to transit at either Bangkok or Kl. the entire process would take more than half a day. it would require us to take a morning flight out to Kl, and then take an afternoon flight to HK, after which we would reach HK in the evening! which does not make much sense. and then there is the small matter of Agnes's dad, who needs dialysis a few times a week, so someone has to be around to look after him.

Cornell table grill
*******************

we collected Agnes's hotplate thingamajig. it is pretty big for a family sized dinner. Agnes and myself love going for malan steamboat at beach Road, so with this we can try to recreate the experience at home soon. just buy some seafood and food items (luncheon meat, sausages etc) and we are set. i am sure we can also get tom yam paste or soup stock for the soup base. yayyyy!!

water (un)heater
****************
Agnes's water heater at home is spoilt. it even caused a blackout the other night. so she will either have to get it repaired soon or buy a new one. until then agnes may have to use the water heater at our flat until the situation is resolved. so agnes will probably be staying over at the new flat for the next few days, or at least bathing over there. and i will join her over there if i can.

Max the Mazda 3
***************

The car is ready for collection. initially we were offered a collection slot on Wednesday. but Agnes was uncontactable and only replied me in the evening. by then the available slots were all filled up so we had to try to book other slots. the slot we got was on 29th October, which is like more than 2 weeks away. sian sian. from 3 days to 17 days!!
on the bright side, we will get more time with Sunny. be sad to let him go but a necessary stage I guess. Sunny has served me faithfully for all these years and the years are beginning to show.
I cleared Sunny the other day and 2 big boxes of stuff were cleared out. and that was only the 'extra' stuff. There is still probably a box full of stuff to come out of Sunny.
and i may probably have to clean out the car. some vacuuming and to clean out the outside. would not be nice to hand over a car as dusty and dirty as Sunny is now.

shoes
*****
bought a new pair of shoes yesterday. a pair of Nike shoes from BIRD no less. believe it or not they are my first pair of Nike shoes. been wanting to buy a pair for years but never quite got around to it due to reasons of cost or simply not being able to find a design I liked for the prices they charge. but did buy a pair of shoes yesterday for some reason although I had no intention to shop for shoes.

now to actually do some running or something to justify buying a more-expensive-than-usual set of running shoes.

2008-10-09T20:08:00.003+08:00

Bangkok (not so) Dangerous:

I have already booked the hotel for our Bangkok trip between 23 to 26 October. will probably book the plane tickets either tomorrow or saturday. Hoping that Bangkok stays calm for the duration of our stay. The demonstrations and police intervention are not things I like to see happen. 2 people dead and nearly 400 injured. but on the face of it, the demonstrators had it coming. Their protests and closure of several government buildings did little to inspire confidence of investors and tourists. of course the best people to intervene are the army and then the Thai King himself. I am just surprised the army has thus far chosen to remain neutral. but all things considered, they are in a tough spot. The PM(s) and parliament are a democratically elected goverment. and the army has no right to oust elected officials, although they have done so before. and on the other side of the fence you have this group of powerful royal loyalist, or whatever they choose to call themselves, who feel that the PM(s) are proxies of Thaksin and that the entire cabinet has to resign and be replaced by like-minded people like themselves. i do not quite know how to describe such a political system where leaders are chosen based on their status and purported loyalty to the King, rather that through a ballot box. strange way of running a country if you ask me.

Mazda 3:
in case anyone does not know by now, we are soon gonna be getting a new car!
and it is a Mazda 3 as the title implies. it is not that I do not like the car, but it was a little out of my budget (in fact nearly twice over!) and a couple of my colleagues already drive Mazda 3's, so I did not want to be redundant. But my dear wife, Agnes, had a ride in one once and has been raving about it ever since. since we agreed to split the costs 50-50 it kinda made sense to get a car we both liked, rather than one that catered to my budget. I had been looking for a small hatchback or one of those budget Malaysian or China-made cars as they are generally cheaper and supposedly guzzle less fuel than bigger cars.
all said I am really looking forward to collecting the car. we have even given him a name now...Max. gonna be a real jump in terms of comfort and stability in comparison to Sunny. and best part if for the first 20 months we are only paying $300 per month! which is even less than some people pay for a hatchback or a malaysian/china car. in fact COE for cars lesser than 1600 cc went down this month especially for me, the only category this time round to actually lower. and even the loan was approved in double quick time. then the little issue of the $300 dollars off per month in installments. now the only thing that remains is to collect the keys.

we chose mica black as our colour of choice. initially i wanted something out-of-the-ordinary,like green or orange or yellow, but in the end black is good. a bit of continuity there also. of the other choices that intrigued me were the red, blue and white.

Subaru APV:
I am not the only one in the Boyd family contemplating a new set of wheels. Mum is thinking about upgrading(or is it downgrading?) to a Suzuki APV.

which is like a mini-bus of sorts by the looks of things.

Sunny-set:
With the advent of Max, it marks the end of Sunny, my steadfast companion through some of the most eventful years of my life. In the beginning we did not seems to get along. I had objected when Joyce first had Sunny. It was because I felt that we did not need a car and were doing well getting about using public transport. It was both a financial burden to her and an unnecessary luxury I felt. Joyce ended up working 2 or 3 jobs at a time just to sustain her car. It was a bone of contention between us regarding the repairs and petrol costs. she felt I should chip in and I wanted no part of a car I never wanted in the first place. I also found Sunny hard to drive compared to other cars I driven. That was another flash point for us, as I had a different driving style from Joyce. She was like all tender and gentle handling the car, whereas I tended to try to drive more aggressively (read:normally). so i would tend to get pissed off with her incessant nagging and grumbling.
anyway despite our stormy start, Sunny was mine after we had ended our relationship due to my side having paid the bulk of the costs. In the years that followed I was always tempted to give up Sunny as he required constant repairs and maintenance. and as an old car he consumed more fuel than a newer car of the same size. so he was quite a burden financially. but things evolved over time as I got to grips with driving Sunny and enjoyed him being around. In fact he was central to so many significant events in my life over the last few years. and played a major part in Agnes and myself eventually being together. and made it possible for me to commute between NUS, Bedok South, Upper Thomson,Sembawang and now..Outram, with alarming regularity. have no idea how I would have coped with all the travel without Sunny.

wedding stuff:
Wedding cards- we have already collected the invitation cars and now have to send them to the shop for printing. we have also yet to decide on the wordings and style.

Guest list- we have yet to formalise the guest list. but i am sure we will be able to fill the hall with 150 to 160 people. still remains to be seen if our Muslim friends will be joining us that day. and the seating arrangements for certain unpopular individuals are an unwelcome headache.

photographs- Agnes and myself are also supposed to choose some choice pictures to feature in our wedding montage to be shown at the wedding banquet.

bridal present- then there is the issue of the present my folks are to buy for my wife. we have yet to set a date nor a place for when we are to shop for the 'gifts'. hopefully we can get hopping to that sooner rather than later, before the murmurings get too loud.

bridal car- it is a BMW

brothers- one aspect of a chinese wedding is for the groom (and his brothers) to go fetch the bride from her home. but before they can get to the bride, the groom and his brothers will have to get past the maniacal brood of females known as Sisters. they will subject the groom and his entourage to a sadistic and humiliating gauntlet of tasks before they can get to the Promised Land. The problem for me is finding people willing and able to join me on my arduous journey. my colleagues are out of the question as they have to work that day. and regarding my mates from other places, I have lost touch with most of them let alone close to them to even consider most of them. it is even doubtful if either of my own flesh and blood brothers want any part of this alongside me. still have not a clue how to go about this. :(

English Premier League:
Liverpool- they seem to have some steel this season that was lacking in seasons past. although it is still early days yet, they do show signs of being able to sustain a challenge for the title. they have been able to grind out results and turn losses or draws into 3 points.

Chelsea- under Scolari Chelsea look awesome. At times they resemble a hybrid of Chelsea under Mourinho and Arsenal. They are almost a complete team when fully fit. they have successfully melded their defensive strengths with a more expansive and attack-minded approach. so we get more exciting matches and no more drab 1-0 wins. Nicolas 'Incredible Sulk' Anelka looks inspired. Lampard is having one of his best seasons ever.

Manchester City- what to say about City? Officially the richest club in the world. Robinho looks a bargain even at the rates they paid for him to move over, inspiring the entire club. but the real story is the return of the prodigal son, Shaun Wright-Philips, from the wilderness, who has been their outstanding performer of the season after his disappointing 3 seasons at Chelsea where he played a cameo role and found himself on the bench more often than not. When the transfer window opens in january, this will be the club to watch. the names being thrown around is like a who's who of soccer superstars. This will make Roman Abramovich's spending spree look decidedly second-rate.

Hull City- third in the league! Although one is ill-advised to read too much into the league table at this juncture of the season, Hull do look well able to hang with the big boys and punch above their weight. they have been a joy to watch and have already pulled off the biggest upset of the season so far.

Tottenham Hotspurs - This was supposed to be the season they would finally challenge the Big 4 for those coveted Champions League spots. but instead Spurs find themselves firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table with just 2 points to their name. Bad signings and premature sales of their better players have meant that Spurs are now ill-equipped in all departments to mount any realistic run. suddenly Martin Jol seems like not such a bad coach after all.

Newcastle United- another club that promised so much and once again failed to live up to expectations. After a promising start to the season, things started to fall apart as King Kev quit as manager and fans revolted as only the Toon Army can do. Now they are second from bottom of the table although they do look to have turned a corner in their last match as they clawed their way back from 2-0 down to draw level with Everton. hopefully they can keep up the momentum and drag themselves out of the abyss. with a new owner(s) and maybe even the return of Kevin Keegan in the works, things can only get better from here.

Arsenal- Arsene Wenger's youth policy is starting to pay dividends again. They look well poised to there and about's come the business end of the season challenging for the title. the only problem they have is their lack in depth. they can ill afford to lose their key players if they are to have any realistic chance to win the title.

Aston Villa- a club that encapsulates all that is good about the English game. they are well placed to give the Big 4 a run for their money although they did display some vulnerability in their last match with Chelsea to show that they still have some ways to go before they can truly be considered contenders.

Manchester United- last and certainly least. the most hated club on earth. yet also one of the most successful. after a poor start to the season, they are slowly getting into gear and are predictably moving up the table. 6 points adrift of the leaders and with a game in hand, they are surely gonna figure in the final reckonings before it is all said and done.

in memoriam

2008-10-03T15:46:00.002+08:00

been kinda a morbid week. if that is the word for it. in short, legendary big screen icon Paul Newman has passed on. Maverick Singapore opposition figure-head Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam has passed away due to heart failure. Popular South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil was found hanged at her home.

of all of these the loss that cuts deepest is the death of JBJ. many scribes have already expounded on his contributions and legacy, so i will not have anything of note to add. have had the pleasure to have met the man himself a couple of times. although it was barely enough to make a scratch into the person behind the larger-than-life persona we seen on the campaign trails and in Parliament, he did come across a man of dogged determination and strong convictions.
despite all the obstacles he faced and the liability to his legal firm, he pushed ahead for his beliefs. it is really something when even your political foes relent to give praise to your tenacity and single-mindedness. his ezxchanges with the formidable Lee Kuan Yew are the stuff of legends. few dared to cross the 'father of modern Singapore', let alone come out on the other side in relatively one piece. His erstwhile comrade in Parliament, Chiam See Tong, put it best when he said JBJ was a man ahead in ideals for his time. He fought for the freedom of expression and civil rights at a time when Singaporeans were still mostly preoccupied with bread-and-butter issues. But his tenacity exposed cracks in the PAP monolith that they had to evolve their style of governance and thus become more consultative and seemingly less authoritative to placate the post 1966 generation, who were increasingly mobile and more plugged into the global shifts and trends. JBJ's style, though combative to some,would certainly have struck a chord with this current electorate.

As he said recently: “The strength is in the ordinary people.”

will try to attend the memorial service tomorrow if possible. and subsequently go for the funeral

anyway here are some tributes to the late Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam. nothing quite speaks of the measure of the man than the heartfelt words of the man in the street:

"A salute to you Sir for your fighting spirit. A man that fought not for self-glorification but for the compassion of wanting to genuinely serve the country’s citizenry. You will be terribly missed and may you rest in peace. Deepest condolences to your family. Mr. JBJ may have passed on but his fighting spirit will be cherish and served as an inspiration."

"JBJ was the finest example of what it means to be pro people.
Despite the despicable means to put JBJ down, we see a man with steadfast conviction to provide a voice for the people to the very end.
JBJ was indeed a patriot and a gentleman ! "

"

Allow me to take my hat off to a great politician. He deserves all the accolades that go his way.

In his heyday, none of our current crop of government leaders is a fraction of a worthy match for his reverberating convictions. He has more principles and focus than the entire 82 PAP Members of Parliament combined, including one octogenarian who will not have the pleasure of seeing Mr. Jeyaretnam crawl on his bended knees to ask for mercy.

Mr. Jeyaretnam’s had shown iron-grit determination and courage even at the nadir of his existence. This great man did not need mercy, and will not ask for one. The never-say-die spirit he embodied will live on amongst the courageous. It is a gift which all Singaporeans, especially the members of the Opposition, should emulate in their long and laborious quest towards winning a lasting and substantial change for this country.

The esteemed gentleman is a legend, and his moral legacy will outlast that of undeserved pretenders. I pay my earnest respect to one of Singapore’s last true hero."

"Mr JBJ shows that non-race based politics works.

Mr JBJ does not speak a word of Hokkien or Mandarin (By the way, myself and my family are all Chinese educated.)… He speaks only English.

Through his sincereity, his perseverence.. he managed to reach out and touched the hearts of all Singaporeans…. Many Ah Pek and Ah Mmmm, who speaks only dialect, also know that this is a fearless and honourable man…."

"JBJ - The “Nelson Mandela” of Singapore…he was imprisoned thru defamations suits, bankruptcy and barred from practising law…. a tough path you walked but with your head held high!
JBJ - You broke the ice when you won the bye-elections in Anson and your continued march into parliament was awesome even as nominated MP;
JBJ - An icon who drew the other side of the coin which changed the political scenario and opened up many closed minds. A true warrior, politician, lawyer, son, husband, father and foremost incredible believer of common man causes!"

"I would like to remember Mr. Joshua Benjamin Jayaretnam as the man who defies all odds and the full weight of the ruling machinery of PAP to survive in the harsh political scene in Singapore.
The bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? in my belief, Mr JBJ you have received this prize.
God Bless."

"LKY set up the GRC system because of the BS that we vote along racial lines. Well, Mr Jeyaretnam is the example to disprove this for he won in
a Chinese majority constituency against the govt Chinese candidates TWICE . For they all see in him a non-quiter, a determined upright man fearlessly facing a bully in the form of the PAP govt. He could well live comfortably in his previous positions but chose to fight for what he believed in and as a result became a broken man afew times financially but not spiritually.
How many us could measure to the stature of this man?"

"I will never forget what he said many years ago in one of the rallies - “Now, get that straight in your head”. The man with the biggest and strongest heart has died of heart failure - how ironic life can be. But he went as a hero, discharged from Bankruptcy and revived his political career, contented being the father of 2 loving sons. Who at 82 years old had the spirit to continue fighting for his beliefs and ordinary folks. He had the opportunity to live his life with a silver spoon but gave it all up to pursue justice and humanity. I was at his wake just now - heavy rain so not many people. But the place is well sheltered, ventilated and spacious. Many seats available as well as a memorial hall. The family is expecting a big crowd - so do turn up and pay respects to Singapore’s beacon of democracy. Vivian Balakrishnan turned up around 10.45pm alone and dressed ordinarily."

"JBJ is a legend. Our very own Singapore hero. No other comes close. He gave us his best years, his best intentions, his best effort….his all. What a fearless, courageous and honourable man he was. He feared no one, because he knew very well his convictions were just! He could’ve had a cushy life, not wanting of anything. But his sense of righteousness and the desire to see justice took him on another path. A very dangerous path which eventually led to his ruin. But being the old war-horse that he was, he bounced back again and again and again. He was the personification of courage, guts, passion, and love…….love for his countrymen."

"
My heartfelt condolence to JBJ’s family. I am actually at a lost for words because I feel a certain sense of shame, minding my own business for far too long when it is clear for all to see that the country is being run by a bunch of despicable people. Singaporeans perhaps do not deserve some one like JBJ who literally gave up everything to represent the ordinary people. JBJ soldiered on in a wicked political environment and never did he yield to the scums in white who relentlessly persecuted him.
Rest in peace JBJ, as a true patriot !"

"As a Young Boy, I hear the name JB Jayeratnam during election rallies, As a teenager, I saw Mr JB Jayeratnam in his election rallies. He handed Workers Party magazine during his rounds to various markets. As an Adult, I voted for Mr JB Jayeratnam. Now that he is gone…… Sadness….. I don’t see anymore of a 2nd Mr JB Jayeratnam fighting bread & butter for Singaporean…..sad, there is no replacement for Mr JB Rayeratnam. My Deepest Condolences………… Till we meet again, in HEAVEN.

You are A GREAT Man !!!"

JBJ’s funeral cortege leaves Funeral Parlour 1, Mount Vernon, at 1 pm on 4 Oct; for 2pm service at St Andrews Cathedral; Cremation at 4.30pm, Mandai Crematorium, Hall 3

In Memoriam: JBJ event at Speakers Corner on 4 Oct (Sat) at 6.30pm.

2008-09-28T13:31:00.002+08:00

after the treat of the cars & gals (yes they are) of the SIN 08, we now move on to the pictures from our recent trip to malacca.

our room. not too bad I must say.

the famous Melaka City square

the edible fruits of the malacca tree, by which the state and town is named

now Malacca also has a viewing tower just like the Carlsberg one on Sentosa Island

my father-in-law...umm...Grace making like a professional model in front of a cannon.

the remnants of the former fort walls which are now all under the ground after sea reclaimation.

we also visited a bee farm. not exactly. more like a shop run by a guy who owns a bee farm. so you can go there and find out how bee's are reared and honey harvested.

the talk given by the owner

step-by-step details on how you can be a walking mass of bees. do not try this at home.

the anatomy of the honey bee, just in case you are into such things

the sign announcing you have arrived at Jonker Street

2 stowaways who joined us on the trip

the view from our seats in the coach

~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~

yesterday we also were down at Suntec for the Motor Show 2008. whilst we were there we also did some shopping and soaked in the atmosphere of the Singapore Formula 1 GP and activities around the Marina area.

this is a submarine car believe it or not. the main issue I have with it is that it is an open top. so kinda makes breathing under water a bit of an issue.

and what every submarinic vehicle needs is a doe-eyed beauty to make it seem somewhat feasible

also on display at the show were artist from Australia. on display were several of their works which were also for sale

Agnes takes part in the Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge...NOT!

You better buy this car otherwise there will be hell to pay

Rubens Barrichello, Agnes C and Jenson Button in no particular order

a pretty face but someone needs to feed her a bit more.

a nice looking retro scooter at the Yamaha booth. even nicer looking rider.

just what every car enthusiast wants: lighted neon coloured rims

also spotted, these human sized running balls

too bad no adults were game to try it. so it was left to the kids to have an (un)splashing good time.

we also made an unscheduled walkabout the F1 track

be great to see how it looks live on TV tonight

the infrastructure must have cost a bundle. Singapore gets a good global image from it, but for the hotels and shopping centres in the area they are reporting a rather dramatic loss in business

the view down the straight on Raffles Blvd. here we could get really close to the action as the racers and safety cars whizzed by

crowds were already forming on every vantage point as early as 5 pm. the race started at 10 pm!

from here (near the GV Marina) we managed to catch a good view of the cars as they had to slow down at the turn as they approached the floating platform/viewing gallery, previously used for NDP Parades. unfortunately i was unable to get any good pictures of the cars.

Ritz Carlton also got into the act with a laser show on their frontage.

the noise generated by the racers (and even the safety cars) is so loud you will definitely need ear plugs if you are anywhere near the track. kids and babies should definitely stay away as their hearing may be damaged.

the post with no useless facts

2008-09-24T22:31:00.003+08:00

just back from Malacca with the Chin's. quite a change from being the one to plan the itinerary. but there is usually a trade-off when you go one of these 'packaged' tours, in that you not always to spend time doing the things you enjoy at your own pace or visit the places you wanna go. but the malacca tour was worth every cent we paid. for $135 we managed to get a coach to and fro, and to the various places we visited, as well as all our meals..and our hotel stay.
we will definitely be back to Malacca again soon. we did not get a chance to eat the chicken rice balls nor the satay celup that malacca is famous for. in fact they are reason enough to go to Malacca if you ask me. There is still stuff for us to explore in malacca even though we already been there twice together.

will post up the pictures I took as soon as I upload them.

in the meantime my faithful readers will have to be contented with the pictures from the other day when I was down at the Singapore Expo for the Super Import Nights:

the reason for the show are the cars.

it is almost like an episode of Pimp My Ride..only this time in real life...

but the real stars of the show are the sizzlin' hot babes

nice rims!!

"would you mind getting out of the way? you are obstructing my view of the car.."

three times the fun

nice abs

they put the 'import' into Import Nights

why so glum?

and all together now....

the car show girls from the good ol' US of A, and the babes from the land of Tom Yam

and if anyone is still paying attention,
here are pictures of some of the other cars that were on display..

next pit stop (my attempt at F1 speak)for Agnes and myself: The Singapore Motor Show this weekend. should be a good one.

still other stuff I want to say here but after that collection of pictures, think I better save them for my next blog entry.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

2008-09-15T22:06:00.002+08:00

The Bangkok trip is still on hold, but things are looking better over there as we speak. hopefully a resolution will be found in the coming week or so.

but no worries,mate. the next stop for agnes and myself is..MALACCA. We will be going there this weekend together with the rest of the family. It is a tour organised by the Siglap CC. The schedule seems quite packed by the looks of things. I just love Malacca. It is my favourite city in Malaysia. Always had lots of fun and memories every time I been there (except that one time I went there with my family years ago, where I fell ill with asthma for the entire trip). We will be staying at Bayview Hotel Malacca.

as for the rest:

- be applying for season parking tomorrow during lunch. I am spending a lot more time at the flat these days. and the parking is a killer with parking coupons. not to mention the fines. on saturday i was fined $30. the second time I gotten fined. so season parking does make sense.

- we will be going to look at cars the week after. about time too. hope it actually comes to pass.

- Today and tomorrow I am on course at IPAM. am taking a computer maintanance course. I must say I am quite enjoying the course. it is practical and useful since I am on the computer almost everyday.

- am considering if we need a desktop PC at the flat. or maybe I could just refurbish my old PC and bring it over.

- will be staying over at the flat on friday since we have to board the buses at 6.30 am on saturday! so it makes more sense to stay at the flat than to have to wake up extra early and commute to Bedok. and in all probability Agnes will be staying over as well due to the expected congestion at 166 in the morning.

- then on Thursday and friday I will be over at MND HQ on some enforcement course conducted by CID.

- so i will only be at the office on wednesday this week, provided I do not take time off.

- on saturday we went shopping at IKEA and Giant at Tampines. we spent quite a bit on stuff for the house.home shopping is always fun.

- also on saturday: the Mio TV went on the blink. apparently the wireless modem thingies somehow got spoilt, less than a fortnight after it was installed on 25/8. I called the helpdesk the next day, as apparently they only work during office hours, and tried all the stuff the guy on the other side told me to do to no avail. so I made an appointment for wednesday afternoon for the technician to come down. to my surprise I got a call early on sunday morning from the technician. he was in the area and wanted to know if I was home. obviously I was not, but told him I had made the appointment for wednesday. he checked back with the office and confirmed with the office about my appointment. despite the short notice and rush it was worthwhile to get it done on sunday than on wednesday, as I have to take time off or leave on wednesday to meet the technician. anyway after that he called me back. I told him it would take me about 1/2 an hour to reach bedok north from home. so i rushed as fast as sunny could go to bedok and reached there a little over half an hour later. then the techie guy came about 20 minutes later. he replaced both the wireless things with even bigger(and badder) ones. and now Mio TV works a treat.

- to be honest Mio TV sucks. we only got it because it cost $3 more than the broadband-only plan. so it made sense to sign up for that reason alone. the variety of shows on offer sucks. only worth it if you subscribe to the video-on-demands and season passes to the various popular series. the screen freezes sometimes when viewing. irritating. then there is the issue of the confusing on-screen navigation menu. so much more difficult to find films to watch than on starhub/SCV cable tv. and best of all, the set box takes at least 5 minutes to set up in a best case scenario. in some cases it can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes before one can actually view any content!an eternity if you ask me. when one can view free-to-view television almost instantaneously, it make little sense to have to wait so long when one can just view TV normally.

- Liverpool beat Man U (there I said it) 2-1 at Anfield. yayyyy. on the flip side my beloved Newcastle crashed out against Hull. so a week of mixed emotions as my two teams had differing fortunes on the day.

- in other soccer related new England trounched Croatia 4-1 over at their own patch. a hat trick from the sometimes maligned Theo Walcott and the first goal in years from the mercurial Wayne Rooney turned the betting books on their heads as England are now firm favourites to qualify from their group and put behind them the nightmare of their failure to qualify for Euro 08.

The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white, due to low budget.

2008-09-08T21:02:00.003+08:00

after much ado I finally bought the sofa bed! it was quite the ordeal getting it into the car. The bed frame itself could barely fit into the rear seat without me having to place it diagonally and collapsing the front passenger seat and making the driver seat as far forward as it could go. and then there is small matter of the mattress. after much squeezing and pressing, I found no other way but to put it in the car boot. so i ended up in a situation with an oversized mattress in my boot and a long box taking up all the available space in the cabin. as it was I had no rear vision as the mattress forced the boot lid upwards (not unlike those taxi's with bicycles or wheelchairs in their boot) and had limited vision on the left side of the car due to the box encumbering my vision. the above coupled with my limited mobility due to the awkward placement of the seat and the way the box somewhat obstructed my gear changes, made the trip from IKEA Tampines to the flat quite an event. it is a wonder no cops pulled me over for dangerous driving. and thankfully I had no close calls enroute home.

Then once I got to Bedok I had to get all the stuff up to the flat. I had to make 2 trips up and down first for the mattress and then for the bed frame.

The next day I was off (we were supposed to be in Bangkok that day), so went to the flat and started to set up the sofa bed. It was fairly straightforward until I was attempting to screw in one of the joints. The screw could not go in!! Apparently the hole was not drilled properly or something. Being that the bed frame was made of metal I was unable to make the hole big enough for the screw to enter with the tools I had on hand. After about an hour of trying in vain, I had little choice but to rush to the nearby hardware shop where I purchased a set of files, in the hope of filing off the obstructing metal piece. When I had gotten home and tried to file the hole but it was an exercise in futility. The metal was so hard that the file even started to wear down with no discernible difference to the hole made. so it was off again to the neighbourhood centre. this time I purchased an even more fearsome looking single file and a drill-bit set. Then it was back to the flat to try out the stuff I bought. after some improvising with the electric drill, I finally managed to widen the hole enough for the screw to enter.

so here is the result of two days of hard work:

the bed in it's sofa state

the sofa after it has been transformed into a bed.

The bed is fairly comfortable despite appearances, at least for me, although Agnes may have a slightly different take on the matter. I opted for the softer mattress of the 3 densities sold. so hopefully it proves to be the right buy.

When we have time, Agnes and myself will head down to IKEA again to buy a set of covers for the sofa-bed. we are also looking for a couple of bedside tables and tables for the living room for the broadband modem and telephone.

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We plan to watch Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class)sometime this week. It is one movie I been really looking forward to seeing this season. Pixar has hit another one out of the park with this heartwarming tale.

ahem ahem

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just watched the highlights of the MTV Music Video Awards. Britney is back, b****!
I guess just about everyone wants her to redeem herself after the last couple of years that her every detail had become fodder for tabloids. and especially so after the debacle last year at the same show. so good on her to show everyone that she is well on her way to reclaiming her crown as the pop princess.

but what were they thinking making Russell Brand as host. He is crap!

no idea what he has ever done in his un-illustrious career to deserve the accolade of hosting the biggest show in the MTV universe.

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As far as our Bangkok trip, by the looks of things we will only be able to go in October. The air tickets have been cancelled and the money put into a credit account which is to be used by December. And regarding our hotel stay prize, which is due to expire at the end of September, I wrote in to the hotel and requested an extension, which they kindly agreed to until the end of october. So all is well. Here is to hoping that the conflict in Thailand is resolved sooner rather than later so we may proceed for our trip.

I do not quite get the issues involved in all the protests. But it seems obvious that a vocal minority is responsible for it. The loose coalition of PAD (lol!!) seem to be motivated by self interests, although they claim the protest are being held under the guise of protecting the King. Funny how the name of the King gets drawn out of a hat everytime some moron wants to stage a coup, with both sides proclaiming their allegiances to the King.
This latest round of political instability has only served to damage the economy and tourism industry of the wonderful and friendly Land of Smiles. by the looks of things there is still some ways to go before anything gets solved. The Prime Minister and his cabinet have refused to resign, and the PAD have declared the protests will continue as long at Samak Sundaravej remains in office. The army has so far not intervened despite a state of emergency being declared, and the King himself has not made any public comments. So until one of the parties involved makes a decisive move the impasse will continue.By all accounts the King should say something...soon..

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Sunny's road tax expires in December, so before then we are gonna have to decide pretty soon what car to get next. COE prices are lower for category A cars in September than they have been for quite some time, so now is as good a time as any to get a 1600 cc and below car. The one car I have my eye on is the Chevrolet Spark. The other one I quite like is the Hyundai Getz. And then there is the whole gamut of China, Korea and Malaysia cars that fit within my budget.
The other way to go is to buy a 2nd hand car. A second hand saloon costs about as much as some of the other cars I mentioned above. So it is tough to make the call as a new car and a 2nd hand car come with their own pros and cons.

vs

if I could I would try to keep Sunny forever, but Sunny is getting on in years and the wear and tear is starting to show. Issues Sunny has to date:

- air con seems buggered. it goes off once in a while so i have to turn it off and then back on to get it back to running.

- the front passenger seat window is inoperational. decided against it as I figured I was gonna be changing cars anyway, but it has been over a year since...

- the cigarette lighter does not work. means I cannot attach portable vacuums or other electrical powered devices in the car.

- various hand hold are loose and could come off if anyone hangs on them too hard.

- engine oil tends to leak. so has to be topped up ever so often. the alternative is to do a complete engine overhaul and repair whatever is causing the leak.

- the window washer is spoilt, so I cant spray water/soap when the windscreen is dirty.

- the engine needs constant tuning. frustrating when you can't pass vehicle inspections the first few times and probably the biggest reason why I need a new car.

- the car alarm key is spoilt. both of them. so now i have to manually lock the car every time I park it.

- the glove compartment is falling apart. not sure why. so it tends to fall down sometimes when someone does not latch it close properly.

- as with all older cars it is not fuel efficient. and considering the amount I travel in my work and personal life , my petrol bills are high every month.

- the lights on the left side of the dashboard are spoilt. so at night I cant see the fuel gauge and the lower speed range (0 to 60 km/h) on my speedometer.

- not to mention rust on various joints and exposed parts.

- the rubber seals around the doors and such are starting to wear out. so on very rainy days it is not very advisable to drive at full speed through puddles.

overall the main reason we need a new car is that the cost of running a car on a day-to-day basis is currently too much. Sunny's fuel cost is more than most cars of similar capacity. and the cost to repair the problems listed above is too much to justify considering what has already been spent and how much longer he can continue on.

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the lion and the lamb

I am back

we will be away

something strange going on in the blog

the day before

Law vs Faith

Verse of the Day

Lessons from Proverbs

Verse of the Day

our sydney trip

Sydney 2009

Memories of Angkor

SYDNEY 2009...

my trip to Siem Reap and Angkor

our Cameron Highlands trip

APPLICATION FORM FOR MANCHESTER UNITED­ SUPPORTERS CLUB

our Cameron trip

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 5)- Where to Stay

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 4)- Food

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 3)- the towns

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 2)- Things to do there

Lion's guide to Cameron Highlands (Part 1)- Getting there and getting around

long time no...blog

a meandering stream of thought

the evil that men do

Agnes's Commencement 2009

the non-headache inducing blog post

CHARITY fOOTBALL MATCH

good neighborly manners

marriage seminar on 4th July

Happy Father's Day

anniversary celebrations

Marriage Seminar

brought over

anniversary

following hot on the heels of Newcastle's relegation, is news that my 'other' favourite club, Liverpool, is so deep in the red it is not even funny.

also we will not be going to the MND Family Day after all, as registration had already closed when yours truly finally decided to get around to it.

after everything that has been said and done, Marcus will not be staying with us when he is in Singapore after all...

was at science centre yesterday.really enjoyed the Da Vinci: The Genius exhibition. really gotta respect the guy for his persistence and intellect.

Spongebob at Singapore Flyer

Eurasiana - a musical tribute

Champions League Final

MND family day is on 6th July at ECP. it only cost $5 per adult and it is near us so maybe Agnes and myself could go

Marcus be coming down in October

Newcastle go into the final game of the season having to depend on others results.

been crappy at the office lately. the new boss is a slave driver and everyone seems overworked. sigh. hope things get better soon... otherwise...

Twttering here

pictures from our HK trip

wings to fly

chasing shadows

little voice

the 12 year old who stood before the UN...

The White Rabbit

Happy Anniversary to me..umm...us!!!

just a quick and hopefully short update...

as the earth turns....

wedding pictures (and videos)!

a hiatus

tomorrow is the day!

4 days to go!

We're The Big Three. We Don't Need to Compete. : TreeHugger

2 weeks and a day

a list of stuff

Yoga..or not.

all the little things

one month to go...

the task that lies ahead for Obama..

pictures of Mazzy...or Mazy..or Muzzy....the new car!

Bangkok (not so) Dangerous

Sunny's last day

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

in memoriam

the post with no useless facts

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white, due to low budget.

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