早到的生日礼物

原本想选一支 solar powered 的 G-Shock 或 Baby-G 的，但因估计到我在 Iceland/ Norway/ Sweden 时可能只有2,3个小时的太阳，才觉得以防万一，选了用电池驱动的款式。



距离９月９日越来越近，我的准备却还未齐全，有点担心和不安。
但既然决定了，就得加油，坚持到底。加油，加油，加油！

17th July (土曜日) - Ma's belated bd lunch

Finally. After 2 weeks of confinement due to recurring diarrhea, puking and fever, the little princess was finally allowed outside for a fresh breath of air. We had gone over to No Signboard @ The Esplanade for lunch. Nothing happened out of the ordinary except that the princess nearly choked on a huge piece of biscuit, which my bro-in-law had to use his fingers to dig it out and got bitten by the little one in the process. A rather nasty bite I must say.

After the hearty seafood meal, Pa brought her outside for a short walk and she pretty much worn him out with her almost-never-ending "requests" to climb up and down the stairs. Again and again.



Had a little fun making her wear my cap - which was way too big for her head and it kept slipping down, covering her vision. She seemed to kinda enjoy it though. Maybe she thought it was a new way of playing peekaboo?



We then went over to Haagen Dazs for some delicious ice cream - which got her crying real desperately when we didn't manage to feed her (with ice cream) fast enough.



On my Sis' sudden enthusiasm, we began to take some very touristy family shots. You know - like standing in front of the "durian", or have the merlion in the backdrop kind? The pictures were rather embarrassing, so I shall not post them here.

Princess' 'stone' face when it was time to head home.



After a short rest @ home, we had the bd cake. A pretty expensive one. But Pa wasn't impressed by it and thought it was a bit too sour. He didn't change his mind even after we told him that it was a yogurt cake and it was supposed to taste that way. Mom on the other hand, couldn't tell the difference between this and the cake we'd on Pa's bd. Sigh. I call this G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-O-N G-A-P.

15th July (木曜日) - Martial Combat @ RWS

Woooo~ attended my first ever "combat" show that day.

It started off funny ('coz of the way the amateur fighters were battling it out and the people behind me were giggling and laughing away at the 2 "kids" on stage), then it got a bit interesting when the Australian and U.S fighters took the stage. Was quite impressed by the mutual respect they showed each other before, during and even after the match - true sportsmanship.

But the one that got me all excited (and the rest of the audience too) was the round where the girls fought (one from China and the other from Philippines) - and man, they fought more aggressively than the guys. Within minutes, blood was oozing out from both of them. Oh boy, how I wish I could whip out those same ass-kicking moves and punches effortlessly. And oh! Not forgetting those damn-quick reflexes too. Just how did they master those moves? Damn.

Too bad I didn't bring my camera along so all I could do was to use my handphone to snap a pix of the ring. Sigh.



P.S: The final fight for the night was unfortunately a huge disappointment and a super big anti-climax. The Indian fighter surrendered at just round 1 (there's supposedly 5 rounds) and the winner was booed by the audience as he had made some impolite remarks and reactions towards his opponent during the fight and after he had defeated him. Gosh. What a disrespect towards the sport. That was kinda the spoiler for the night. Sheesh.

Forces of nature

Damage from last nite's heavy rain & strong winds...

3rd July (土曜日) - NDP Preview @ Padang

很幸运的，Tuk从亲戚那边拿到几张票，让我们有机会出席5年一度在Padang 举行的国庆日庆典。可惜天公不作美，下了一整天的雨，害得我们从一进场就一直淋雨，整整淋了3个小时左右。幸好隔天没生病，伤风。

看一看当天跟我们一样急着进场的民众！



原来那么多人一起穿着雨衣会是这样的场面哦。。。



终于找到位子了！先拍照留念再说。



彩排正式开始了！





直升机带着国旗出动了！



然后是一贯的“总统”出列巡视。



紧接着便是真正的performance。
由于观众席是用钢铁搭建起来的，时不时会随着合唱团的人一起摆动，让我感觉它好像会随时垮掉似的。真是有够吓人的。









由许多被亮起的国旗所组成的“满天星”场面。



没多久就finale 了！




不知道是否是因为这是一场彩排的关系，烟花并没想象中的灿烂多姿。
也或许是会场的局限吧。烟花发射地点被份成几个地方，感觉上有点散，失去了那种视觉上的震撼。可惜。可惜。

Sometimes, the most mundane stuff in life makes me happy...

I had cookie monster a few days ago (^ _ ^)

2nd July (金曜日) – Office away day @ Tanjong Beach Club!

超清新的空气，‘优美’的环境，却好死不死，下了一整天的雨。
结果一系列的 training 只好在寒冷的室内举行。真是又冷又闷得要命。只能从室内‘观赏’海景，却无从参与。真扫兴。(- _ -)

幸好用餐时，雨稍停了一会儿，我们才有机会到外头用餐，吹吹海风。



食物还不错。有稍微 lifted 我的心情。(^ _ ^)



小休片刻后，我们又得回到寒冷的房间，听一系列的讲座。Zzzzzz
本来还以为在分组讨论时，会有机会到外头的 pool lounge brainstorm 一番，但因一直下雨，我们都只好呆在室内了。

当我们正式结束一整天的 training 后，又在一次被分组。这一次是为了分组学习及调出具有 Tanjong Beach Club 独特风格的鸡尾酒。调酒师还在示范的过程中，不小心太用力取出杯子，结果把整个杯子都打碎了。玻璃碎片还真的是满天飞。幸好他没大碍，玻璃片也没往人群里头飞。过了一会儿，他又回到工作岗位，继续为我们示范。



上了这堂课才发现，原来想调出一杯又好喝又好看的鸡尾酒，还真是不容易。
单单为了调出三层不同的颜色就已花了我不少时间。调出来还未必好喝。好复杂哦！我看我还是继续上夜店点一杯吧，或是到超市买一瓶 Choya 配署片算了。

虽然我的组没有赢，但我们还是‘调’的很开心。
说穿了，我们只是乱参罢了。哈哈。
以下便是劳苦功高的评判们。可怜的他们得喝尽各组所调出来的酒。。。



调酒比赛过后，终于到了用餐及自由时间了！
可惜那时还在下着绵绵细雨，更本没法在 pool lounge hangout. 实在太可惜了。
(- _ -)



庆幸的是我有一群 fun-loving 的同事在身边，让这个充满‘扫兴’的一天变成一个 fun night!

1st July (木曜日) - Voyage de la Vie @ RWS

Thanks to Cheryl, I got 4 tickets to Voyage de la Vie - 2 for me & Tuk, and the other 2 for Ah Hua & her friend. (^ _ ^)



I went for the show thinking it was a Singapore version of Cirque du Soleil as the show had been positioned as "a theatrical circus spectacular [that told] the universal story of a young man seeking to discover his destiny", but was deeply disappointed.

Bits that stood out like a sore thumb were:

a) The plot sucked BIG TIME. It really was more of putting the different acts together in a half-hearted manner. The boy (which Jonathan Leong played) was supposed to be missing link to connect the different acts together. But his role was under utilized and there was barely any interaction with the respective performers. It was just so rojak (aka random).

b) The 'desire' scene was a mess and totally lost me there. The music sucked and the stage design for that scene too.

I'm sure there were others, but I couldn't remember them at this point.

Well, not to be critically cynical, the show did have its merits too. Kudos to the stage designers (except for the ones in-charge of the 'desire' scene) and the stage effects. Really mesmerizing and impressive.

Was also greatly impressed by Viktor Kee's stage presence - the team should really utilize him more. His role as the lantern master should appear alongside with the boy and interact with the respective performers more. His body language was just so damn mesmerizing and convincing.

Was also impressed (and with great pain when I saw him contort) by Alexey Goloborodko. I had the goosebumps (in a good way) when he performed. I couldn't stop pinching Tuk who was sitting next to me.

Had draped in cold sweat when Martti Peltonen performed as well. Same goes to the rest of the cast who had performed mean feats.

Oh well. The script writers really need to do something about it. But overall, still quite an enjoyable show (if you don't go in with the same preconceived notion as I did). Go in with an open mind and you'll be fine.



After the show, Cheryl, Tanpopo and us met up for a drink at Hard Rock Cafe @ RWS and chilled.

Sang the same birthday song twice to 2 strangers in the cafe, and headed home to rest after that. Oh well. I must be getting old to retire home so early. Damn!

Free sheet

Had helped out my boss' friend with her assignment.
Got featured as a result (- _ -)