Cheers For Cherries

Guess what, I finally installed MSN Messenger on me office laptop. Yah, I know I'm probably the last guy on Earth to do it but well, better late than never.

It's cherry season again! I love cherries! $28 per kg. Although they kinda have this ...er...laxative effect on me, like hours later. All right, so you didn't really need to know that!

Was toying with me new camera and took some shots of the hottest mutants in town. Here's something for all you fans of Wolvie and gang, you know who you are, ladies!

Here's the gang in their Jim Lee-era comic book costumes.

This one I picked up in Japan last year. Pretty neat huh?

Revenge Of The GSS

It's that time of the year again here in Singapore where it's the Great Singapore Sale. About couple of years ago, I bought a ton of furniture for my very own new apartment and I really did save a lot. This year, two days into it and I already spent over a grand. Geez....no shit. Let's see now, the Harvey Norman at Suntec was having a moving out sale and I finally got the Nikon S5 that I was eyeing for the last few months. $529 with case and 512 memory card. Trust me, did enough research to know that's a pretty good buy. Plus a handheld vacuum cleaner and a new Philips DVD player ($139) that plays Divx Video which means I can watch downloaded shows like the latest episodes of Grey's Anatomy, 24, Lost etc. No, I don't download them but I know people who do. And a ...er...hmmm...little brown card holder.


Found more stuff at me folks' place. These are just some of the hats or caps that my uncle bought for me when he was working in the US many years ago. I used to have lots more! He got me hats such as a baseball helmet, a big feathered red indian chief headgear as well as the one with just single feather and also a Robin Hood cap. I still have a pix of me as a kid (about 5 or 6 years old) in the big red indian chief headgear with a real pipe in me mouth. Too bad I ain't got a scanner.

Wanna know what I think of the new X-Men movie? Hell, if you are a comic book fan and not familiar with The X-Men stories, then you will love it. If you are a comic fan and like The X-Men, then you probably won't like it at all.

With a little help, it's now three down and three more to go!

The Great Egg Mystery

Whew...what a week. Time to write something good and happy I guess cos work has been crap and I sure as hell, can't talk about that. Well, it's not all bad. Went out for drinks on Wednesday nite at Wala Wala (missed CSI cos of that!) and Wine Bar on Friday nite.

Here's a little mystery. Was packing all me old stuff at me folks' place and found this.

Two stone eggs which I have absolutely no idea how or where I got them. That's a real chicken egg on the right. I just placed it there for size comparison. Now the green egg is made of some kinda jade-like material. It's obviously not jade. And the brownish one has a textured surfaec with some kinda petal markings on it. They are both pretty heavy too. No one in the family knows how I got them. Me mom said they could be from me late aunt. But I don't remember a thing. I also found some really cool stuff that I thought were gone forever such as me old Playmobil and Airfix toys.

Before I forget, two down and four to go!

My Ex-Dream Job

Been waaaaay too busy last week to write anything cos of work. Yah, half the office went on long weekend leave two weeks ago and the other half last long weekend. Me? I’m saving them for later. So there I was, thinking bout all them long hours and fantasizing bout the perfect job. Thing is, I have already been in the perfect dream job many years ago. I figured maybe writing bout it now would kinda me feel better …or not. It's not like I'm trying escape back into my past but sometimes you just wanna think about the good times, know what I mean?

Now, I can’t really say what exactly I was doing (don't ask, another long story) but it was the coolest thing ever. Not even my folks knew exactly what I did, only my closest friends knew. One even said it was a “honeymoon job”. I’m pretty sure whoever is reading would probably have a hard time believing it but …hell, it was all real for me and it really happened, at least for a year.

There were about 20 of us led by six Americans. Really cool and fun guys. The only reason they shut down our department was cos of some bureaucratic big wig upstairs @$$hole pulled the plug on our funding! What we were doing was freakin’ years ahead of its time! It’s damn true cos today, there’s a very, very famous organization doing pretty much exactly what we were doing. After that one super year, I went back into the media industry. But not before a little solo trip to Hong Kong but that's another story for another day.

Anyway, we worked hard and we played just as hard …we celebrated Halloween with a party (I came as Dilbert, easiest costume with the just a flipped up tie!) and had a Fourth of July BBQ too. Well, as for work. I guess you could say there were days when we got shot at and there were also days when we shot back. And I suppose there were those days when a couple of things blew up.

At least one good thing did come out of it. One of the Americans (the only guy I knew who ever worked with the CIA) met and married one of our local colleagues. Heh. Everything happens for a reason I guess!

Okay, back to today. Mother's Day was yesterday and it kinda reminded me of what me and my best bud used to do on that day when we were teenagers. Most Sundays we would hang out at Orchard Road and on Mother's Day we would always check out the daughters that were out with their mothers. Why? Cos we were always figuring out and asking ourselves "Hmmmm. cute babe but I wonder if that's how she'll look like when she's older." Bwahaha! Give us a break! We were just kids then!

Oh yeah, decided to rustle up some pancakes over the weekend too cos of the leftover maple syrup. Thought of getting the frozen ones but decided to try 'making' them instead, for the first time actually. Turned out pretty good. Will try to get some sausages to go with it the next time.

One down, five to go!

Toasty Morning

If you guys seen me first few entries, you would know of me love-hate relationship with baking. So here's the latest attempt this morning! Woke up at 7am and decided to make meself some French Toast after coming across this simple little receipe over at Baking Sheet. It's kinda different from other French Toast receipe cos it consists of smaller pieces of bread instead of an entire slice.

Turned out pretty good but not as sweet as I expected, so I added more maple syrup while eating. Am afraid the pix didn't turn out as sharp as I hoped.

Anyway, went for drinks last Friday at this roof top joint called The Loft. No, it didn't turn out like that other Friday! Mainly cos there were no one-for-one drinks or happy hour! I only had an Irish whiskey and two beers. Most of us were there for the first time. It's kinda strange cos it's like an open-air, roof top bar but the roof is only on the 3rd floor! So it's like surrounded by all the other much taller buildings around it. Needless to say, after an hour it became pretty hot and humid. Plus the patrons there kinda gave some of us the impression that it's more like a pick-up joint for expats, instead of a friendly chill-out place. There's another open-air, roof top place called The Balcony in town. I haven't been there but some of us figured that it's gonna be just as warm cos the place is also like only a couple of floors above ground.

Oh yah, Camper at Takashimaya has finally brought in some new shoes and sandals. Woo hoo!

Womanly Words Of Wisdom?

You know there are some things you never ever forget, things people say to you when you were just a kid and till today, you still remember them. Well, here are three things said by three women many, many years ago that I still, for some really weird reason which I don’t know, still remember today.

This was what a classmate’s girlfriend said to me when I was like, only 12 or 13 years old. She said, “Don’t tell me you intend to marry your first girlfriend?” … or more or less, words to that effect. I guess at that time it just struck me as really, really odd that a girl would say something like that. First girlfriend? During my entire academic career, I have never been in a single relationship! Good little Child of Order remember?!? Hah!

Next a woman said this to me when I was in my late teens just as I was about to join the army. She was like about ten years older than me, and also the first person to give me my first break in the media industry. We went out a few times but nothing physical or intimate happened between us. We were just friends although of cos, I started having feelings but she kinda nipped it in the bud by saying something like this, “In this kind of relationship, its always the younger person who feels that it’s ok but the older person will always be uncomfortable. I was in the same position as you before.”

Now this was what a local food reviewer said to me when she was doing a review on some small food stalls. When asked if she ever gave a really bad review, she said “No, I try not break somebody’s rice bowl.” I sat back and thought about it. Yah, no one should ever break another person’s rice bowl.

Hey, look what I found...was looking for a pix about luv to go with my last entry on the topic and I finally dug up this from my you-know-where trip! Taken at my hotel lobby! A western-style Japanese wedding, check out the ladies in the kimonos. Well, since this entry has something to do with women and weddings usually have them in it...